Studies for Believers
CROSS-BEARING.
"If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily, and follow Me" (Luk_9:23).
Introduction.
Startling.
1. It is difficult for us to imagine what such a statement meant for the disciples and how startled they must have been.
2. To them the Cross was a hateful, accursed thing.
3. Our Lord first mentioned the necessity of bearing the Cross when He commissioned them (Mat_10:38). Now He speaks most emphatically.
Cross Deified.
1. One reason why it is difficult for us to imagine what their feelings were when they first heard of the Cross is that now we view it differently.
2. The Cross is now a symbol of all that is holy and precious.
3. Alas, by many it is deified and worshipped.
4. This was never God’s intention.
When Change Occurred.
1. It was not until the commencement of the fourth century when Rome, the mistress of the world, adopted the Cross to supplement the Eagle as a military ensign, that this change took place.
2. Constantine sought to honour the Cross, to which he ascribed the success of his arms, and the attainment of his ambition, by putting a spear in that form into the hand of the statue erected for him at Rome.
3. A most baneful sign indeed.
4. The spear and the Cross had met before under totally different circumstances.
5. But now a worldly policy had practically made the Cross of Christ of none effect by taking it under patronage in a most public manner.
Early Christians.
1. It is significant that the Cross was never used by the primitive Christians of the first century. Indeed, it was not until the fourth century that they began to do so.
2. To them it was simply a symbol of torture and shame.
Who Invented It?
1. No one can tell us who invented the Cross.
2. It is believed the Romans introduced it from India for the punishment of criminals and slaves, and others whom the executioner must disgrace as well as kill.
What it Meant to Bear the Cross.
1. To bear the Cross meant to bear disgrace.
2. To bear the Cross meant to bear the instrument of suffering and death.
Our Lord’s Words.
1. Our Lord declared that none can follow Him unless:
1st. Deny self.
2nd. Take up Cross.
3rd. And that every day.
2. Indeed, in Mat_10:38 He declares we are not worthy of Him if we do not.
3. And in Luk_14:27 declares otherwise we cannot be His disciples.
Not as a Punishment for Sin.
1. It must be understood that we are to bear the Cross not as a punishment for our sins, nor to put away sin.
2. His Cross does that.
3. We come to Him, and get deliverance from one burden only to receive another.
Two Crosses.
1. No one can be a follower of our Lord without bearing two crosses.
2. One is a cross laid upon us, the other is a cross we take up.
3. The first is an inward cross, the second an outward.
I. The Inward Cross, the Holy Spirit and Divine Nature.
Compelled.
1. Let us again remind you of our Lord’s word "cannot."
2. There was one who was compelled to bear Christ’s Cross-Simon (Mat_27:32).
3. No choice was left to him in the matter.
4. The difference is, that Cross was laid upon him by the Roman Government; ours by God Himself.
Two Crucifixions.
1. Think you that Christ had two Crucifixions?
2. His Divine nature was the constant Cross of His human nature.
What Makes a Christian?
1. Is it not the anointing? The word Christ means the anointed one, and you are not a Christian until you receive the anointing.
2. What is the anointing but the coming in of the Divine nature.
Real Cross.
1. The Crusaders used to carry a painted cross on their shoulder.
2. Our inward cross is no painted one.
3. And we carry it, not on our shoulder, but in the heart.
How Coliseum was Saved?
1. It is said that when the Roman Coliseum began to fall into decay, the people used to take the stones of which it was composed to build their own houses. To such an extent was this practice carried, that many feared this noble relic of the Imperial City would soon disappear.
2. To prevent so great a loss, antiquarians consulted together, and talked, and talked, but all to no purpose.
3. At last the Pope devised a simple plan. He had a huge cross made and planted in the centre, whereby declaring the building hallowed.
4. And it thus became sacrilege to remove the stones.
How God Saved Humanity.
The world was in an awful condition as Romans, chapter 1, shows.
But the planting of the Cross of Christ brought fresh life-brought regeneration and renewal. How are We Saved Morally?
1. Men’s souls, like the Coliseum, are fallen to ruins.
2. How is the work of the spoiler to be stopped?
3. The planting of the Cross, the infusion of a new life and a new nature.
How can we Mortify?
1. The Cross is the emblem of that which is painful and mortifying to the flesh.
2. We are exhorted to mortify ourselves-but how?
3. The only way is by the true inward cross.
II. The Outward Cross. Suffering and Disgrace.
1. Most of the references to the Cross in the Gospels imply suffering for Christ’s sake.
2. "If any man desire to come after me," said the Lord Jesus, he must be prepared to suffer pain, disgrace, and persecution for My sake."
Easy to See.
1. You will readily see why this must be so, when you remember whose territory we are marching through.
2. "We’re marching through Immanuel’s ground," we sing. But are we?
3. As a matter of fact we are marching through the enemy’s territory.
Not Sullenly Endure.
1. But please observe that little word "take."
2. If we are followers of Christ we cannot get away from these outward crosses.
3. But how shall we act?
a. We may put up with it as that which is inevitable. b. We may sullenly endure it.
4. But there is no joy in such an attitude.
5. Our Lord wants us to consent to it, to carry it willingly, to take it up as an act of willing submission.
6. To shoulder the Cross bravely is the noblest way of all.
7. And the path of blessing.
What Rutherford Found in the Cross. We have in one of our favourite authors-Samuel Rutherford-an illustration of this. He had to suffer grievously for conscience sake. But he shouldered his cross heroically- and see:
1. He found it Light. "However it be, the din, and noise, and gloom of Christ’s Cross are weightier than itself."
2. He Found it a Joyful Thing.
a. "Seven crosses-seven joys."
b. "If it were come to exchanging crosses I would not exchange my cross with any."
c. "Some have written to me that I am possibly too joyful of the cross, but my joy overleapeth the cross, it is bounded and terminates upon Christ. I can report nothing but good both of Him and it, lest others should faint."
3. He Found it Light and Helpful.
a. "The Cross of Christ is the sweetest burden ever I bear. It is such a burden as wings are to a bird, or sails to a ship, to carry me forward to my harbour."
b. Not a hindrance, but a help-lifting him up to God like the wings of a bird, and helped him on, like the sails of a ship.
4. He Found Christ and His Cross Inseparable.
a. "Christ and His Cross are sweet company, and a blessed couple. He and His Cross are two good guests and worth the lodging."
b. "No cross, no crown"-we rightly say.
c. Let us also add "No Christ, no Cross."
5. Application.
a. Will you not invite this Guest?
b. Will you not say with Rutherford: "Welcome, welcome, sweet, sweet and glorious Cross of Christ; welcome, sweet Jesus with Thy light Cross."
TRUE SELF-DENIAL.
"Then Peter took Him. . . saying, Pity Thyself, Lord." "Then said Jesus, … If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself" (Mat_16:22, Mat_16:24). ("Let him cross himself out," Burroughs.)
Introduction. Pity thyself-Deny thyself.
Difference.
1. What a vast difference between these two statements!
2. Yet all are either doing the one or the other-either pitying and sparing, or denying and ignoring self.
Marvel.
1. Men often wonder why there are, comparatively speaking, so few disciples of Christ.
2. We ought, instead, to marvel there are so many.
3. For look at the conditions of discipleship-they are not easy.
4. For no teacher or leader had ever proposed such conditions.
5. In profane history we read of many noble acts of self-denial, but no lives of habitual self-denial.
6. Yet that is what our Lord claims of all His followers- it has got to be done every day. St. Luke adds that to his account in Luk_9:23.
7. No holiday but our habitual habit and practice.
First Time.
1. This is the first time our Lord referred to the denial of self as a condition of discipleship.
2. Cross-bearing and self-denial up to now had not been the badge of discipleship.
Result.
1. Until our Lord made this declaration He had many followers.
2. Up to this time our Lord had proclaimed the Gospel of the Kingdom.
3. But He had been rejected.
4. Now He hints at a new order of things: the calling out.
5. For the first time He spoke of the Church.
6. Now it is not the Kingdom, but the Church.
7. And from that time His followers dwindled.
Evidence of Humanity.
1. Do you not detect an evidence of His humanity-in the question He asked His disciples? (1Ch_4:13 and 1Ch_4:15).
2. He was curious to hear from His disciples (of course what He already knew) of the world’s estimation of Him.
3. How differently they viewed Him: John, the ascetic; Elijah, the ardent, enthusiastic, and fierce; Jeremiah, the prophet of the tender heart and tears. They saw all three in Him.
4. Then He inquired: "What am I to you?" He desired to know their own views of Him.
Opinions.
1. But there is in these questions something else besides an evidence of humanity.
2. Is there not manifested here His deep concern respecting the opinions of His disciples?
3. Say some: "It matters not what our opinions are- it’s conduct that counts."
4. This is utterly wrong-creed influences conduct.
5. The inquisitors had hearts of flesh, but creeds of iron.
What if He had Pitied Himself?
1. "From that time" He spoke of Cross and self-denial.
2. This was too much for loving and impulsive Peter.
3. If He had pitied Himself we would verily have been in a pitiful condition.
What if You Do? And if we pity and spare ourselves we shall at last be found in a pitiful condition in spite of that atoning death of Christ.
Who Suggests?
1. Note, the suggestion to pity self is from Satan.
2. To deny self, from God.
I. The Nature of Self-Denial.
General Idea.
1. The general idea is that which is exhibited in weeks of self-denial-denying to ourselves certain things- food or pleasure-pleasant to the natural man.
2. We would that there were more of this.
3. But true self-denial is something much more.
4. Possible for self to be very prominent in self-denial.
5. And so-called self-denial to be really self-glorification.
"Himself."
1. Note these words were addressed to men who had already made great sacrifices in order to follow Jesus.
2. But He asked of them an even greater sacrifice- themselves.
3. Observe, deny, not to himself, but himself.
4. To ourselves is but one aspect of self-denial.
II. The Necessity of Self-Denial. "But," you may inquire, "why should I deny myself?"
1. There is No Salvation Without Self-Denial.
a. Do not imagine it is a thing of little consequence or merely the high attainment of some few of the saints.
b. It is a thing all must have that will be saved.
c. As Baxter, the Puritan, says: "It is a plain contradiction to be saved without self-denial. For as it is self that we must be saved from, so to stick to self is to be lost and miserable, and therefore not to be saved."
d. Self is the root, tree, and branches of all the evils of our fallen nature.
e. Every son and daughter of Adam are in the service of self, and what an awful and disastrous service it is.
f. What hurried Eve headlong upon the forbidden fruit, but that wretched thing herself? What drew that one to kill his brother Abel, but that untamed self? What drove the old world on to corrupt their ways? Who but themselves, their sinful selves.
g. Listen to Rutherford: "Every man blameth the Devil for his sins, but the great devil, the house-devil of every man, that house-devil that eateth and lieth in every man’s bosom, is that idol that killeth all, himself. Oh! blessed are they who can deny themselves, and put Christ in the room of themselves!
h. Remember this: "Till a man deny himself, he denieth God" (B.).
i.. "Deny self or you will deny Christ" (B.), for self is both an Atheist and an idolater, self is an Antichrist, and glories in self-exaltation."
j. The initial act of self-denial that leads to our salvation, must become the habit of our lives.
2. There can be No Successful Service for God Without Self-denial.
a. A man and a boy went fishing. The boy caught plenty, but the man had not a single bite.
b. The man inquired; when the boy replied, "Ah! thee mun lie thee daan, mon!"
c. He was tall, and stood up, and the sun cast his shadow upon the water, frightening the fish.
d. It is the shadow of self that mars our work.
III. The Example Our Lord Gave to Self-Denial.
1. Look at the Life of Our Lord-Ponder over these sayings.
a. "I can of mine own self do nothing" (Joh_5:30). b. "I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent Me" (Joh_5:30).
c. "I do nothing of Myself, but as My Father hath taught Me, I speak these things" (Joh_8:28).
d. "The words that I speak unto you, I speak not of Myself, but the Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works" (Joh_14:10).
e. "For their sakes I sanctify Myself" (Joh_17:19).
2. Learn.
a. He came to this earth by the Father’s wish.
b. Not a word did He speak by His own power.
c. Not an act did He do of Himself.
d. He was moved and controlled by God.
3. If Jesus thought it Necessary to Deny a Holy Self, what shall We say about our Sinful Self?
IV. The Path to a Life of Self -Denial. But how can I possibly live such a life? By walking close to Him.
1. A little boy was walking by the side of a missionary on the way to a meeting. The little fellow amused himself by the shadows they cast upon the path as they walked. After trying in vain to keep the shadow of himself from appearing outside that of his friend, he gave up the attempt, and said, "Please take my hand." In a little while he cried, "Oh, look, you can’t find me now; you can’t find one bit of my shadow now. I’m lost in you."
2. Exactly.
3. If you try by yourself to deny self, you will fail.
4. It is only companionship with Him that makes such possible.
5. It is only as we walk with our hands gripped in His.
6. Is not this sentence significant: "And Peter followed afar off." If following afar off led Peter to the denial of his Master, surely following very closely will lead to a daily denial of self.
Conclusion.
1. To pity self is to destroy yourself.
2. You cannot "come after" unless you come to Him.
THE LORDSHIP OF THE SPIRIT.
"Where the Spirit is lord, there is liberty" (2Co_3:17). (Rotherham).
Introduction. The Apostle is contrasting the glory of the Old Covenant with that of the New, the Ministration of Death (1Ch_4:7), and the Ministration of the Spirit (1Ch_4:8), the Ministry of Condemnation (1Ch_4:9), and the Ministration of Righteousness (1Ch_4:9). The veil, originally on the face of Moses, is here spoken of as on the hearts of the people (1Ch_4:15). Now we have to admit that there is not always liberty where the Spirit of the Lord is, so it is with relief, we note Rotherham’s very fine rendering.
I. The Presence of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is first without us, striving with us for God, seeking to convict us of sin. He then loves to draw us to the Saviour. The moment we come to the Blood of Sprinkling, the moment we come to the Fountain of Blood opened for us, that moment the Holy Spirit regenerates us, imparting to us the very life of God.
Yet the Holy Spirit may be dwelling within us as a grieved Spirit-grieved because of our disobedience and carnality-grieved, yet not departed.
II. The Lordship of the Holy Spirit. A woman-a godly Christian woman-lost her husband just when her two boys required the firm hand of a father. She had to take in lodgers to make a living. One of her lodgers, a fine Christian man, after staying there for about a year, married the widow. The guest became lord and master. It was most interesting to watch the change for the better in that household. It made all the difference in the world when the guest became master.
The Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit at your conversion, dear reader, entered your heart and life as Guest. Have you made them Lord yet? Unless we recognise the Lordship of the Holy Spirit, and make Him Lord of our lives, we can never have lordship over ourselves, can never have the mastery over the world, the flesh, and the devil. Instead, our experience will be a very up and down one. Unless the Spirit is lord within us, we are unmastered, and our being is not in harmony. Pray observe, the Holy Spirit can be less than lord to us!
III. The Liberty Through the Lordship. In history we read of a Roman Emperor taken out of prison, yet with chains on hands and feet, placed on the Imperial Throne in order that state business might be transacted. How like many a Christian man and woman-truly the Lord’s, yet in bondage to sin and the world. Verily he is not free who drags his chain. "Oh, Lord, make us grammatical Christians," earnestly prayed a man in a prayer meeting. Of course he really meant "genuine," only he had got a bit mixed in his English. A woman there took the petition up, and prayed, "O Lord, Thou hast blest us in the past tense; Thou are blessing us in the present tense; and oh, Lord, Thou wilt go on blessing even in the future tense!" One present at once thought of 2Co_1:10, where we have the three tenses connected with deliverance. Praise God, He can do all three!
IV. The Growth Through that Lordship. 2Co_3:17 could read: "Now the Spirit is Lord, and where the Spirit is Lord there is liberty." And the next verse: "But we all with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from a Spirit that is Lord." This is a suggestive rendering. It clearly proclaims that, after we have made Him Lord, there is rapid development in our Christian lives, with a marked growth in the Divine likeness.
Our gracious British King honours a public benefactor with a peerage, a lordship. The Holy Spirit has bestowed and conveyed to you great benefits, make Him Lord! Then greater blessings will follow.
V. Three Statements About the Spirit. In Eph_1:13-14, we have three statements concerning the Holy Spirit.
1. He is Called the Spirit of Promise (1Ch_4:13). He is called by this name either because He was the promised Spirit, or He is the Spirit whose coming to us promises so much, is full of promise, and those promises are never broken or frustrated, only save through our own folly. To see some of the glorious possibilities, note the full significance of the other two names.
2. He is Likened to a Seal. The Holy Spirit Himself is the Seal. And the fact that we are sealed:
a. Is a proof of our value, for only valuables are sealed.
b. Proof of our acceptance in the Beloved (proof that Mordecai had gained the King’s favour was in possessing his seal, the seal of the kingdom-study Esther).
c. Proof that we are owned by the Lord. For He would not seal anything or anyone not belonging to Himself.
d. Pledge of safety. Pilate sealed the tomb of Jesus to make it safe.
e. Pledge of freshness. We seal jars when filled with Jam to preserve.
f. God’s method of conveying the Divine likeness. The seal makes the impression.
3. He is the Earnest (1Ch_4:14). When we come to Christ, we become joint heirs with Him, and the Holy Spirit is the earnest and pledge of our ultimate possession to the full of that blessed inheritance.
HOLY FURY.
"And the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard those tidings, and his anger was kindled greatly" (1Sa_11:6).
What a strange effect of the Holy Spirit of God! We all know well that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, and other most admirable and desirable virtues-but Anger? Well, that is a surprise! The biographer of Savonarola, the great Italian patriot, commenting on his writings of the year 1492, remarks, "They are filled with manifestations of religious zeal to which the term Holy Fury may well be applied." What a striking phrase-Holy Fury! The Reformer was furious in his denunciation of wrong and his agitation after national righteousness, and this holy zeal found expression in Holy Fury.
There is one command in Holy Writ that has troubled many, viz.: "Be ye angry and sin not." What does this mean? Human and sinful anger laments injury to self, whereas Holy anger laments the injury done to God. The way to be angry and sin not is to be angry at nothing but sin. When God’s holy fire shall fall upon me, then I shall know what it is to be angry and sin not.
The tidings that came to Saul was indeed sad. Read the context. God had not forsaken His people. He had one He could use, so He filled Saul with the Holy Spirit, and the result was righteous anger and Holy Fury.
But note the preparatory work. It is very clear by chapter 9 of 1 Sam that Saul’s first interview with the prophet Samuel was at a great sacrifice. The step to that Sacrifice was a step to the Throne. We, too, must meet the Lord at the Cross, discovering there God’s view of ourselves, and His great purposes for us in the future. A question is asked in Psalm 90: "Who knoweth the power of Thine anger?" What a question. Only the Lord Jesus got to know the power of God’s anger, and then at the Cross, particularly during the three hours’ darkness.
"The Lord, in the day
Of His anger did lay
Your sins on the Lamb,
And He bore them away."
The next step in the preparation of Saul was when he was "turned into another man" (1Sa_10:6-11), and that by the action and operation of the Holy Spirit. Does this not stand for what we know as Regeneration, the New Birth?
And it all comes to this: Before the Spirit of God can fill me with holy anger and fury, He must be allowed to lead me to the Cross to see my sin dealt with, to save me from my sin, change me into another man by His wonderful regenerating grace, and then fill me with His Holy Spirit.
THE NEED OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
"But the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet" (Jdg_6:34).
The Holy Spirit required for the right performance of common duties. Did Gideon really need the special enduement of the Holy Spirit in order that he might blow a trumpet? "At Christmas," you say, "I only know too well that my children can blow trumpets quite easily without any special assistance!"
Ah, you miss a great lesson by reasoning of that sort. The great truth here is that we require the aid of God’s Holy Spirit for the right performance of our ordinary everyday duties, as well as for the extraordinary things of life. Nothing counts in Heaven save that which is done by His grace and power. Really, what He desires is that we should do the ordinary things in life in an extraordinarily effective and efficient a manner. Even to quote a very familiar text, in the proper and effective way, we need the Holy Spirit (see 2Ch_15:1-2).
The late Dr. A. B. Simpson, in one of his addresses passed on a thought all Christian workers would do well to heed. It is as follows:
One Touch of God. At one time a group of men were attempting to raise an obelisk in Egypt to its base, and the work was under the supervision of a very exact and careful engineer.
They had raised the great mass of granite to within few inches of the level of the base and then were unable to lift it further. They could not get it up to the level of the pedestal by their utmost efforts.
But there was a secret in Nature that they did not know. There was a sailor there who knew all about it. He shouted, "Wet the ropes!" As they did so, the ropes began to groan, and strain, and shrink, and the great mass rose, and rose, till it came to the level of the base, and they could push it over and establish it firmly on its pedestal.
It was a little secret, but it was an effectual one. The men had pulled at the cordage and strained away at it, but the obelisk was in mid-air, and there it hung until the cry came to wet the ropes.
Dear friends, the instant we let the Holy Ghost saturate the soul, the Lord Jesus Christ brings into it all His infinite forces of love and power. One touch of God will do all that our tugging and struggling could not do.
"O, YE OF LITTLE FAITH."
There are four occurrences of this word:
1. When our Lord rebuked Care, Mat_6:30
2. When our Lord rebuked Fear, Mat_8:26
3. When bur Lord rebuked Doubt, Mat_14:31
4. When our Lord rebuked Faulty Reasoning, Mat_16:7-8
FIRST THINGS.
1. Seek, Mat_6:33
2. Give, 2Co_8:5
3. Reconciled, Mat_5:24
4. Cast Out, Mat_7:5
5. Learn, 1Ti_5:4
6. Say, Luk_10:5
7. Count, Luk_14:28
FIRE, AN EMBLEM OF THE SPIRIT.
"He shall baptise you with the Holy Ghost and with fire"
(Mat_3:11).
Introduction.
Holy Fire.
1. Or "with Holy Fire," as Dr. B. says it can be rendered.
2. Not, as some have thought, Holy Spirit and Tribulation.
3. But the fiery influence and power of the Holy Spirit.
Wanted.
1. A Chinese convert was asked what China needed. "What China needs are men with hot hearts, to tell the love of Jesus."
2. That is the great need of the world.
3. Whitsuntide shows us how that need and lack can be met.
4. It is being immersed in this Holy Fire; it is by knowing experimentally the fiery and glowing character of the Spirit’s operations.
5. What China needs, Lancashire and all Christian countries require.
Contrast.
1. In this verse we see John’s lofty conception of the work of Jesus.
Water and fire-our two great cleansing ministrants. Which is the more searching?
2. As is the difference between the two elements, so was the difference between his ministry and that of the Lord.
3. "The one effecting an outward cleansing, the other being an inward," penetrating and purifying power, "searching men through and through."
4. The one cold and negative, the other glowing and positive.
5. John recognised that the religious movement under his ministry was not sufficient for the human need. It was not equal to the deep corruption within men. It was a mere cleansing by water whereas what was required was a cleansing by fire.
Emblem of Deity.
1. Fire, all the world over, has been considered an emblem of Deity. In some cases it has been worshipped.
2. And in the Bible it is a much used symbol.
a. Lamps of fire passing between the dismembered sacrifice and Abraham. (Here fire represented God.)
b. The fire which enveloped the bush that Moses saw, and the pillar of fire at night, and fire on Mount Sinai.
c. New Testament says: "Our God is a consuming fire."
3. And how diverse in the Bible are His operations. Sometimes the fire of God’s Spirit is a wrathful energy, working pain and death to the transgressor. At others a merciful omnipotence, bringing light and warmth and joy and peace.
Trinity, Dove. "For the first time the Trinity, foreshadowed in many ways in the Old Testament is fully manifested." "Spirit descends. Father’s Voice," and presence of Jesus.
1. How opposite to the other emblems.
2. Spirit fell upon our Lord as a Dove, on disciples as fire.
3. In Christ there was nothing to consume; in the disciples there was much to destroy.
4. Before we can know the Holy Spirit in His Dovelike, gentle office, we must know Him as the Fiery Destroyer, as a Consuming Fire.
The Powerful and Searching Ministries of Fire.
1. What this emblem of the Holy Spirit can teach is simple and easy to discover and grasp.
2. We have eight of its ministries in mind-others may suggest themselves to you.
I. Fire Awakens. Fire of London. Strange find after Great Fire of London.
1. It is said that the heat of the Great Fire of London in 1666 so penetrated and warmed the soil that unknown flowers sprang from long and deeply buried seeds.
2. There the seeds lay asleep and forgotten in their tombs.
3. But the fire awakened them-called them forth.
Seed of the Word.
1. Is that not taking place in the spiritual world everyday.
2. The seeds of the Kingdom have been lodged in heart and mind from infancy, buried and forgotten.
3. But the fiery energy of the Holy Spirit calls them forth-and they spring up and bear fruit.
4. Oh, that God might do that now! Rabbi Duncan.
"One day as I sat down to study, and took my pen in my hand, I suddenly became the passive recipient of all the truths which I had heard and been taught in my childhood. I sat there unmoved for hours, and they came and preached themselves to me." So testified Rabbi Duncan.
II. Fire Reveals. 1Co_3:13.
1. This is the statement in this Scripture: "It shall be revealed by fire."
2. Fire shines as well as searches-it reveals as well as tests.
It Tests and Reveals my Godless Morality.
1. When the fire of God begins to shine upon us we find out the true nature of our godless morality.
2. And this is one of the most difficult matters.
3. Only when we see ourselves in His light do we get a right view of sin and unworthiness.
III. Fire Consumes. Isa_40:7.
1. There is a strange and unusual phrase in Isa_40:7. "The grass withereth and the flower fadeth because the Spirit of God bloweth upon it."
2. We would have written the contrary.
3. Here the Spirit is spoken of as a Destroyer!
4. Probably Isaiah had primarily the scorching east wind in mind-for there is but one Hebrew word for wind, breath, or spirit.
5. Even then we have a helpful lesson-he counts the withering, scorching wind as from the Lord.
6. But you will see he has men and women in mind.
Recreation Ground.
1. One Spring we saw men burning rank grass.
2. In September of same year the site of the charred mass was covered with beautiful fresh grass.
3. Before there can be fresh useful grass there must be a destruction of the old.
4. Death is the prelude to life.
5. The old growths, the product of your old life, must go in order that you might be clothed with the garments of beauty.
6. And under the breath of God’s Spirit that beauty which is the product of the old nature will wither in order that you may be clothed with His beauty.
IV. Fire Purifies. How appropriate is Mal_3:2-3.
Purify.
1. Only by fire can we separate the dross from the precious metal.
2. And fire, better than anything can destroy the impurities which are the germs of disease.
3. It is said that the Great Plague of London lingered and kept bursting out until the City was thoroughly purified by the Great Fire of London.
4. For the fire destroyed the germs of disease.
My Need.
1. Purity.
2. Sweetness.
V. Fire Softens.
1. Stone and iron become soft under its fierce rays.
2. What need of tender hearts and bowed necks.
3. His Holy Fire can melt my hard heart, making it soft to take His impress.
VI.-Fire Transforms.
1. Here is a piece of hard, cold, rusty iron.
2. Put into the fire it loseth its rust and becomes white and glowing.
3. Fire lays hold upon cold dead matter, making it sparkle and blaze and turning it into the likeness of its own leaping brightness.
VII. Fire Enflames.
1. It transforms the hard cold iron into a glowing mass.
2. And Holy Spirit comes to kindle in men’s souls a blaze of enthusiasm, of Divine love, melting all the icy hardness of the heart.
3. He gives ardent desires, warm and glowing hearts.
VIII. Fire Protects. Travellers in wild regions protect themselves at night by fires. Surrounded by fires they are safe and secure. Three Fires.
1. Observe a triple reference to fire.
2. But these three fires have not the same effect.
3. The first and last destroys, the second cleanses.
4. The first and last are in the form of serious warnings and threatenings, this is a gracious promise.
Remember.
1. There is a fire of anger as well as of love; the fire of the lightning which burns and consumes, as well as the fire of sunshine and of the cheery hearth.
2. Will you be baptised in the fire or consumed by it?
John.
1. What must I do to be baptised with the Holy Ghost?
2. First and foremost I must come to the Blood.
3. Note order in Joh_1:1 st, Christ as Lamb of God bearing away sin. 2nd, as Baptiser with the Holy Spirit. 3rd, Behold Lamb-just the Lord as Example.
4. Be first taken up with the work of Christ for you then the work of Christ in you.
THE SPIRIT AS STANDARD BEARER.
"When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against Him" (Isa_59:19).
Introduction.
Standard Bearer.
1. The Standard Bearer was an important officer in olden times.
2. He not only bore the military insignia under which the army fought, but he always began the battle by striking the first blow, e.g., when Romans invaded Britain.
3. He was thus in the forefront of the battle, and bore the brunt of the fighting.
4. In the severe conflict, in the long campaign the Christian is engaged in, he has a standard-bearer, the Holy Spirit.
5. Thus the Spirit is the Standard-Bearer for and on behalf of the Lord’s people.
6. To lift the standard-
a. Means the declaration of war.
b. Also organisation for war-gathering of foes.
c. The actual conflict.
Reasons for Not Becoming a Christian.
Not Refrain from Doing.
1. The advice our Lord gives in Luke 14 has been misunderstood by many.
2. He did not mean that, before you commence to build or go to war, you must first sit down to count the cost and refrain from doing so if you think you cannot succeed.
3. He meant that, by sitting down and carefully thinking over the matter, be able thus to make full and complete preparation so as to carry on the work successfully.
Why Some Refrain from Doing So.
1. There are many who, after calm reflection, fear to decide, for, say they, I fear to step over the line because Satan and temptation will come in like a flood sweeping me off my feet, bringing to me dismay, disaster and dishonour.
2. My friend, you have done well, not to underestimate the power of the enemy, for at times he does come in as a deluge, but Another will meet him for you.
3. Oh, timid soul, look up! Remember there are always two coming-ins.
Examples.
1. Do you think God will allow the enemy to triumph? Never.
2. The enemy’s coming in is always met by the coming in of the Spirit of God.
3. And we have abundant proofs of this in Bible and history.
In the Beginning.
1. It was so in the beginning.
2. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
3. But according to Isa_45:18, He did not create it without form and void, as we have it in Gen_1:2.
4. It was the coming in of the enemy as a flood that brought about chaos.
5. Was the enemy to have all his own way?
6. The Spirit of God lifted up a standard against him: "The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters."
In the Days of His Flesh.
1. Was it not so in the days of His flesh? Before the Lord’s temptation there was His baptism.
2. Was not that awful tragedy on the Cross an evidence that the enemy had come in as a deluge?
3. But what about the Spirit of the Lord?
4. Pentecost followed Calvary.
In History.
1. It has often been so in history.
2. Often and often the enemy has come in as a flood, and everything seemed to be at his mercy. But the Spirit has come in, and all was changed.
3. Take the time of the French Revolution as an example.
4. Christianity was dethroned, and Atheism ruled supreme, and the streets of Paris ran with blood.
5. But do you know things were ripe for similar events in this country-yet the Spirit of God through the revival under Wesley stemmed the horrid torrent.
6. Are we not ripe for a similar effusion of grace? (Note the awful coming in of evil in our own day and generation).
In this Chapter.
1. So in this chapter.
2. It opens with an appalling description of Israel’s moral condition. (Read Mat_3:3-4, Mat_3:7 and Mat_3:8.)
3. Then in Gen_1:9-15 we have a heart moving confession.
4. And then, as there was no intercessor (Mat_3:16), God Himself interposed, and the Spirit of the Lord sweeps in.
5. This is a prophecy, and shall take place in Israel’s history.
Difficult Verse.
1. This verse has evidently been a difficult one to translate.
2. An alternative rendering in R.V.: "For He shall come as a rushing stream which the breath of the Lord driveth."
3. Showing not only His agility, but also force, the power of His coming.
4. Put him to flight-showing the success of His coming. a. To masticate, break up food, is necessary to digestion.
5. We love to take a text and break it up.
I. The Enemy is a Person and not an Influence, and his identity is clear.
1. "The Lord shall lift up a standard against him," note.
2. This statement needs emphasising these days.
3. The master stroke of the enemy is his persuasion of men that he does not exist.
4. No one can hold this belief who clings to the inspiration of the Bible.
5. He is a person to be reckoned with.
a. It was he who inspired Hannibal, Alexander, Napoleon, to execute their campaigns.
b. He is at the bottom of all sin and intrigue.
II. His Coming Implies a Former Ejection.
He Must be Out.
1. His coming in implies that he must have been out.
2. Is this so with you?
3. This is a word of comfort addressed to those out of whom he has been cast out.
The Enemy’s Home.
1. What a telling description our Lord gives in Mat_12:43, of the unclean spirit’s resting place: "When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none."
2. No real rest for the enemy out of our corrupt heart. How has the Enemy to be Put Out?
1. Only the Spirit of the Lord can, as margin has it, "put him to flight."
2. And to secure the incoming of the Holy Spirit there must be a coming to the Precious Blood.
III. The Casting Out of the Enemy is Followed by a Twofold Peace.
1. Have you noticed the twofold peace in Joh_20:19-22?
2. Twice over our Lord said: "Peace be unto you."
3. The first is the peace which rests on the blood; the second is the peace which depends upon the Spirit.
4. "He showed him His hands and His side," as much as to say, "It is a peace which rests on sacrifice accepted."
5. But when I receive that peace I am yet conscious of war within. An inward disturbance.
6. That war will only end by the incoming of the Spirit.
IV. The Condition of His Coming-Come to the Blood.
1. So it is in this chapter.
2. Before we read of the Spirit, we hear of the Intercessor and the Redeemer.
3. We must know the efficacy of the Blood before we can know the power of His anointing.
4. There must be repentance and a turning to the Blood: "Repentant tears are the waters upon which the Spirit of God moves."
V. When Once Ejected, the Holy Spirit will Keep him Out.
The Ejection of the Enemy.
1. It is one thing to get the enemy out, another thing to keep him out.
2. That was a sad case our Lord referred to in Matthew 12. Then he saith: "I will return unto my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept and garnished."
3. There was no Spirit to withstand him.
4. The soul garrisoned by the Spirit of God is impregnable.
VI. When the Enemy Swoops Down upon us we shall Not Succumb-for the Holy Spirit will Put him to Flight.
How to Keep the Enemy Out.
1. Some temptations come to us as a wee purling stream.
2. Others gather force and come in as a pent up flood.
"Tempted and tried! oh, the terrible tide
May be raging and deep, may be wrathful and wide!
Yet its fury in vain, for the Lord shall restrain,
And for ever and ever Jehovah shall reign.
"Tempted and tried! There is One at thy side,
And never in vain shall His children confide;
He shall save and defend, for He loves to the end-
Adorable Master and glorious Friend."
CHRIST, THE HEALER OF THE BROKEN HEARTED.
Psa_147:3-4; Isa_61:1; Luk_4:18.
Introduction.
A Common Malady.
1. A broken heart is a very common thing at the present day.
2. Perhaps commoner now than it ever has been in the world’s history.
3. Heart-break is not a rare and tragic episode in human experience.
4. Note, there is a difference between being broken-down and broken-hearted.
Broken-Down, not Broken-Hearted.
1. "Broken-down" people are not always brokenhearted folk.
2. We have known some who were broken in health, broken in wealth, even broken in love, yet not brokenhearted.
3. No; when we speak of people broken-hearted we mean more than broken-down.
Ruptured Heart.
1. We have heard of people who have died of ruptured heart.
2. Through brooding over sorrow.
I’m Heart-broken.
1. Meaning a great and overwhelming grief.
2. Something more than a pin-prick.
Hopeless.
1. So far as this world is concerned, such are hopeless.
2. Science has to a great extent conquered physical pain.
3. But science has done nothing to diminish mental pain.
4. Christian Science-which is no science at all-seeks to cure by leading people to ignore-funny sort of cure, isn’t it?
Various Causes for Heart-Break.
1. Broken by Grief.
a. That is suggested by Psa_147:3 (for "wounds," margin has "griefs").
b. Grief through bereavement.
c. Grief through loss and sorrow.
2. Broken-Hearted by Failure.
3. Broken by Sin. "The sacrifices of God are a broken and a contrite heart." "He will have a whole heart or none, yet He won’t despise a broken one."
a. Their Own Sin.
(1) There is little of this, alas, to-day.
(2) Why should there not be? We have sinned as great as our fathers.
b. The Sins of Others.
I. The Lord’s Commission (Isa_61:1). He is the Great Heart Specialist from the Court of Heaven.
1. The great and crying need has been met, thank God. "Sent."
2. A skilful physician or surgeon sometimes is sent to a Crowned Head suffering, in response to a pressing need.
3. He was sent:
a. Not because we asked Him to come.
b. Nor because we desired Him to come.
c. Not to the great ones only, but to all.
4. He is a Heart Specialist, from the Court of Heaven, sent by the Father Himself. "He hath sent me."
Five Symbols (Luk_4:18) of sin’s handiwork.
1. Poor-sin impoverishes.
2. Captives-sin imprisons and captivates.
3. Blind-sin blinds.
4. Bruised-sin bruises.
5. Broken-hearted-the result of the discovery of all the former.
II. The Lord’s Qualifications. His Greatness.
1. The Lord Knows, the Mystery of the Stars (Psa_147:3-4).
a. What a strange combination.
b. The Psalmist speaks of star-counting and heart-healing in the same breath.
c. What a grand breathless thought of God!
(1) "He telleth the number of the stars."
(2) The mystery of the stars is known by Him.
d. Why speak thus of God?
(1) Only the infinite can heal the soul.
(2) God could not minister to broken hearts if the stars were too much for Him.
(3) "The mystery of the stars, and the mystery of human pain are parts of one great mystery that is no mystery to God."
(4) The God Who alone can heal is the God Who counts the stars.
(5) No thought of God narrower and lower than that can ever truly comfort us.
2. He has Received the Heavenly Enduement. He has received the Spirit in fulness.
3. He has Suffered with the Same Malady.
a. Jesus died of a broken heart, and not as the result of the physical tortures of the Cross.
b. We could not insist upon medical men suffering from certain maladies before they attempt to cure them. Yet Jesus has suffered from a broken heart.
c. A broken-hearted man needs a broken-hearted Saviour.
4. He Made the Heart.
a. He who made the heart alone can heal it.
b. He is the only real heart doctor.
III. The Lord’s Success.
He First Binds.
a. Giving instant relief.
b. Giving instant rest.
So Binds that it "Heals."
a. It is not a partial or temporary healing.
b. It goes to the very core.
How Does He Heal?
a. Ah, you must leave that to Him.
b. Come to Him.
Application.
1. To find healing for such sorrow as this men must find God.
2. When our Lord read Isa_61:1-2 in the Nazareth Synagogue He added: "This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears."
3. Has it been fulfilled in your experience? It may be.
THE SERAPH’S WINGS.
Isa_6:2.
Introduction.
1. This is the only mention in Scripture of the Seraphim.
2. Are they identical with the Cherubim? Note, Cherubim are always spoken of as before the Throne, whereas the Seraphim above.
3. These are celestial beings named but unexplained.
4. Word "seraphim" means "burning ones."
5. Burning ones:
a. Nearest the Throne.
b. Flashing with splendour.
c. Full of swift energy, as a flame of fire.
d. Glowing with fervid love.
e. Blazing with enthusiasm.
6. There is no ice in His presence.
7. The nearer we get to Him the more we shall glow and burn.
8. Cold religion is a contradiction in terms, though it is a reality in professors.
I. The Wings of Reverence. "With twain he covered his face." As a man brought suddenly into the sunlight, out of a darkened chamber, by an instinctive action shades his eyes with his hands.
1. The incapacity of the highest creature, with the purest vision, to gaze undazzled into the shining light of God.
2. Though with far feebler sight and more sinful, we may behold His glory veiled in Christ.
3. Absolute need of the lowliest reverence in our worship of God.
4. In many congregations it is apparent to all that there is a carelessness and shallowness, and a want of a realisation of the majesty of the Father. This should not be.
5. If a seraph hides his face, surely it becomes us to do likewise, crying "Holy."
II. The Wings of Humility. "With twain he covered his feet."
1. An instinctive lowly sense of unworthiness, caused him to fold wings over his feet.
2. The nearer we get to God the more we shall be aware of our limitation and unworthiness.
3. Once get that sight, and away goes my self-conceit, and all my fancied superiority above others.
III. The Wings for Service. "With twain he did fly."
1. That is the emblem of joyous, buoyant, unhindered motion. Alas, how slow-footed we are!
2. Whoever, beholding God, has found need to hide his face from the light, and to veil his feet from the All-seeing Eye, will also feel impulses to go forth in His service.
3. The act of service here was the purging of a sinner from his uncleanness.
4. Cherubim have to do with brazen altar, Seraphim with the laver.
5. Those make the best workers who are reverent and humble, and who see the King of Glory.
THE VISION.
Isaiah 6.
I. The Vision of the Lord.
1. He was worshipping in the Temple when he saw the Lord.
2. Whether he saw this outwardly or inwardly we know not.
3. Great leaders go; but God remains. The Throne of Judah had been emptied but he saw the Throne that is ever filled.
II. The Vision of Perfect Service. Only reference to seraphim in the Bible. He saw two of the Lord’s servants.
1. Position. Near the Throne. Oh! to be near!- "above it. "
2. Posture.
a. Covered faces-reverence.
b. Covered feet-self-hiding.
(1) Forgetful of past service rendered.
(2) Not taken up with past service.
(3) Hidden service.
c. Flying.
(1) Alacrity. Rendering swift, unquestioning obedience.
(2) But not before adoration.
d. Fellowship with one another. "One cried unto another. "
(1) Not dumb to each other.
(2) Spoken to each other of the Lord.
(3) Spoke of the holiness of the Lord. The Prophet’s Confession.
1. He discovered his own impurity by gazing on purity.
2. The revelation given to him was of uncleanness and unfitness in speech and word.
3. He had been busy pronouncing six woes on others, he reserved the seventh for himself.
4. What he confesses is not what he had done, but what he was: First, "I am": we are concerned about what we have done at conversion; Second, at what we are-sanctification.
The Prophet’s Cleansing
1. God uses three main agents in cleansing men from their defilements-Blood, fire and water, i.e., Calvary, Pentecost, and the daily action of God’s Word upon the conscience.
2. The prophet was cleansed by fire and blood-"Live coal" (burning wood) from off the altar of sacrifice.
Note the Points-Seven C’s.
1. Contemplation. "I saw."
2. Conviction. "I am unclean."
3. Confession. "Woe is me," etc.
4. Cleansing. "Thy sin purged."
5. Call. "Whom shall I send? "
6. Consecration. " Here am I."
7. Commission. "And He said Go."
THE MINISTRY OF THE CLOUD.
"It shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud" (Gen_9:14).
Introduction. There were three Covenant signs.
1. The Rainbow. Sign of God’s promise to preserve the earth from another flood.
2. Circumcision. Sign that the circumcised was in the covenant of blessing.
3. The Sealing by the Holy Spirit. A sign of the Justification and Regeneration of the believer.
The rainbow was God’s first covenant sign. He did not want His people to live in fear and dread. The appearance of the rainbow, which seemingly united Heaven and earth, proclaimed the friendliness of God.
I. Clouds Come Over Us.
1. How familiar we are with the clouds in the sky.
2. Clouds come not only over the sky of nature, but the sky of our lives.
3. Often there is for us the clouds of adversity, of sorrow, sickness, and bereavement.
4. We sometimes say, "So-and-so is under a cloud," and we know what is meant.
5. But if clouds come over us, let us not forget it is
II. Only by God’s Permission.
1. "I bring a cloud." Clouds do not please themselves, but obey wonderful laws, and the Lawgiver.
2. God knows all about our clouds.
3. We read, the disciples on the mount of Transfiguration "feared as they entered into the cloud."
4. We ought not to fear, for-
a. He has brought the cloud.
b. The clouds obey Him, and, further,
III. God is in the Cloud.
1. Said He to Moses: "I come unto thee in a thick cloud."
2. Thus the clouds are the dwelling-place of God.
3. Often God answers our prayers to be drawn nearer to Him by sending a cloud.
4. We get to know each other better in the mist, before the mists are rolled away.
5. The clouds shut us in to God.
6. Remember
IV. His Presence is in the Cloud.
1. Therefore brightening and glorifying it.
2. We read in Exo_16:10 : "The glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud."
V. There is no Cloud Without a Bow of Promise.
"The bow shall be seen in the cloud."
VI. Dark Clouds Mean Bright Blessing.
1. This is so in nature: dark clouds mean showers of fertilising rain.
2. It is equally so in grace.
3. Thus the clouds are more than shutters; they are also springs of blessing.
Application.
1. A woman prayed for more patience.
2. God answered the prayer by sending tribulation.
3. Tribulation worketh patience.
"Ye fearful saints fresh courage take.
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercies, and will break
In blessing on your head."
THE METHOD OF THE DIVINE PLOUGHMAN.
"The plowers plowed upon my back" (Psa_129:3).
"Doth the plowman plow continually to sow? Doth he continually open and break the clods of his ground?" (Isa_28:24, R.V.).
I. The Ploughing.
1. How often we are able to repeat the words of the Psalm.
2. They are particularly applicable to our Lord.
3. And Israel as a nation, too, can take up the words.
4. Yes, we, too, know something of the work of the Divine Ploughman. The plough of God’s providence has often cut deep, turning over our plans, and purposes, breaking up the even tenor of our life.
5. And making the once clear plain a sea of choppy ridges.
II. Why the Ploughing?
1. The joy of harvest is the outcome of the painful operation of ploughing.
2. We would never know ourselves unless the plough had not turned over revealing the hidden depths of our being.
III. How Long?
1. Not continually.
2. If God ploughs, He ploughs to sow.
3. He does not use the plough for fun.
4. He does not exercise Almightiness to crush feebleness.
IV. Great Comfort.
1. To Israel. The plough has been at work nearly two millenniums, but it will cease and blessing follow.
2. To Sinners.
a. Plough of God’s Spirit at work, but will be followed by
b. Conversion and regeneration.
c. The plough is working, let Him lead you to the Saviour.
3. To Saint.
a. Plough of God’s providence works in our lives.
b. The calm will follow the storm; day follows night; harvest follows Spring.
c. There will be the joy of a great harvest by and by.
OUR HAIRS NUMBERED.
"But the very hairs of your head are all numbered"
(Mat_10:30).
Observe, "numbered," not simply counted. Dr. Pierson has pointed out that "every hair has its own number, and if one had disappeared that number has gone out of the list. What marvellous thought it is!" Note the statement just before this: "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father." This means more than that God knows: it means that He is with the fallen bird. This is wonderfully comforting, especially when we remember that we are of more value to Him than many sparrows.
THREE HARVESTS.
1. Past, Jer_8:20
2. Present, Mat_9:37
3. Future, Mat_13:39
COME.
1. And Rest, Mat_11:28
2. And See, Joh_1:39
3. And Drink, Joh_7:37
4. And Dine, Joh_21:12
5. And Follow Me, Mar_10:21
6. And Rest Awhile, Mar_6:31
7. And Inherit, Mat_25:34
WEEPING, YET SOWING.
"They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him" (Psa_126:5-6).
What a splendid verse is this! It has been an inspiration for the Christian worker ever since it was penned by good King Hezekiah nearly two and a half millenniums ago. It may be called an inspired proverb. It has found its way into general literature, and is frequently quoted for different purposes. It really is prophecy, fulfilled many times in Israel’s history, with a fuller and grander fulfilment yet ahead.
But right on the surface it presents a problem. For whoever has heard of a weeping sower, of a farmer or gardener weeping as they sowed! Usually this process is undertaken in a spirit of great cheerfulness and abounding hope. They surely never "sow in tears" though they "reap in joy." What a problem this presents.
Yet the clue is very simple. Study the whole Psalm and readily the problem will be solved. It is a Psalm of Captivity, or rather, a Psalm of the return from captivity. "When the Lord turned again the Captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream." The news of imminent emancipation seemed too good to be true. Yet the promise materialised. "Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing." Even the heathen exclaimed, "The Lord hath done great things for them," so overwhelmingly patent was their deliverance of the Lord’s own doing. When the happy and fortunate freed-men heard this they with one consent exclaimed, "The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad."
Gladly, joyfully, triumphantly, they returned to their own beloved land. But the sight of ruined cities towns, villages, and vineyards unsealed the fountain of tears and the mourning choked the new-found joy. But here is the point: Did they abandon themselves to their sorrows? Did they nurse their grief with folded arms? By no means. Though with tears, they commenced their labours to remedy the sad state of affairs. They ploughed, and harrowed, and sowed, though with tears. Though they went forth weeping, yet they carried with them their seed baskets, bearing precious seed. Consequently, by and by, they came again "with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him."
The application is not difficult to see. Many a business man to-day is face to face with ruin. A good business, the result of years of labour, has ceased to exist. What then? Must the unfortunate one abandon himself to despair? No; though with tears, the old tasks must be taken up. The day following the disastrous Chicago fire, this notice was found on the blackened ruins of a once flourishing shop: "Everything lost, except wife, children, and hope I Business resumed as usual to-morrow morning!" Capital!
Leaders of Christian enterprises sometimes, through no fault of their own, find the work of years undone. What then? Hope must not be abandoned, but the seed basket taken hold of, and the old familiar tasks taken up in the certainty of an abounding harvest.
Is there not a message here for defeated and dispirited believers who are grieving over their backslidden state, and over the waste and ruin in their lives and experiences. If confession of sin is made, there will not only be forgiveness, but in Jesus Christ there is full and complete deliverance, and the restoration of the years that the locusts have eaten. Such may, yea must, take up again the old and blessed familiar tasks in the Lord’s service, assured that "They that sow in tears shall reap in joy."
There are seven facts concerning the Christian worker to be noted in pondering on this Scripture.
I. His Activity. "He that goeth." God has a work for all to do. Happy are we if the tasks occupying our time and thought are Divinely appointed.
II. His Unselfishness. "He that goeth forth." Will-ing to leave comfortable arm chairs and warm firesides at the call of duty, remembering that there can be no gains without pains.
III. His Sincerity. "He that goeth forth weeping." That is to say, attending to the allotted tasks in no mere dry and perfunctory manner. Doing our work in no empty professional manner, but with real heart and feeling. Suffering is the price of all real progress.
IV. His Resources. "Bearing precious seed." The seed is the Word of God. His precious truth has to be sown in faithfulness and confidence. What a glorious seed-basket have we in the Word of God.
V. His Assurance. "Shall doubtless." Turn that word round-less doubt, without any doubt. We can go forth in absolute hope of a glorious harvest.
VI. His Gladness. "Come again with rejoicing," The joy of harvest is a real very joy indeed.
VII. His Reward. "Bringing his sheaves with him." Coming before the great Reward Seat not alone, not empty handed. What a reward for sacrificial service.
LO!
ONE OF THE MONOSYLLABLES OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE.
The Lo! of-
1. Spiritual Surrender, Mar_10:28
2. Consecration, Isa_6:7
3. Christ’s Continual Presence, Mat_28:20
4. Doing the Will of God, Heb_10:7
5. Real Worship, Rev_5:6; Rev_14:1
THE FLOWING OIL.
2Ki_4:1-7
Introduction.
Trivial.
1. "A simple, trivial, incident, not worthy of incorporation in a Divine Book," say some.
2. "Simple," we admit; "trivial" we deny. It is as full of lessons as an egg is full of meat.
The Story.
1. "A certain woman." Rabbis say she was wife of Obadiah.
2. She had lost her husband. Sad, sad loss!
3. He had left her with a load of debt. Not the first or the last of such instances. How careful husbands should be!
4. The creditor, according to Mosaic Law, had the right, which he was about to put into practice, of taking the children to be bondmen. (See Exo_21:1-11; Lev. 25.)
5. "Pot of oil." Had she kept this for her burial?
I. Literal Application to Those in Money Difficulties.
Widows.
1. This is one amongst many instances in the Bible of God’s care for widows.
2. Jer_49:11 has been a comfort to many: "Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive, and let thy widows trust in Me." This is a glorious promise.
Literal.
1. We have so spiritualised this that we have lost sight of the fact that it was a literal money difficulty.
2. How this debt had been incurred we know not. Rabbis say Obadiah incurred it in feeding the 100 prophets.
3. "He feared the Lord," therefore it was not incurred by ill-living.
A Natural Instinct.
1. The afflicted, by natural instinct, look to religious people to help them in their hour of trial.
2. They even come to penniless people like Elisha and missionaries.
3. Unlike many such suppliants, she was a good woman.
How Solved.
1. By the "Shut Door."
2. By the woman’s "Shut Door," and not merely Elisha’s.
3. Many ask our prayers, but do not pray for themselves.
Easier.
I. Some say it is easier to pray about the soul than the purse.
Debt Paid First. Note: First pay debt then keep rest for yourself.
II. Spiritual Application is to Spiritual Insolvency.
1. What about the empty vessels of our neighbours? Empty hearts, minds, lives.
2. You are to fill them. How?
3. You must have your own vessels filled first, then your neighbours.
4. How filled. "Shut Door." The value and importance of prayer for others and for ourselves.
1. Her Condition of Need. Spiritual Insolvency.
(1) There is such a thing as spiritual as well as financial insolvency. (In Church: dearth of great men. In individual life: carnal living.)
(2) There are spiritual obligations:
a. To God. He expects holiness.
b. To man. They expect more of us,,
(3) There is such a thing as spiritual bankruptcy. A bankrupt is one unable to meet his obligations.
(4) She herself was not the cause of her unfortunate position. It was due to another. So is this with you and me. Our state of insolvency is inherited.
(5) Others were dependent upon her.
a. No one liveth unto himself.
b. Others suffer for our lack of grace.
2. Her Assets.
a. She had Good Family Connections.
(1) Some are proud of noble ancestry. They boast of possessing "Blue Blood."
(2) "Have you any lords in your family?" asked a schoolboy of another. "Well," said the little fellow, "I have heard my mother say as how the Lord Jesus is our Elder Brother."
(3) By nature we have a sad family connection-with Adam in his fall.
(4) By grace we have a glorious family connection- with and in Christ.
(5) Can you declare your pedigree? Have you the assurance of salvation?
b. She was Thoroughly Dissatisfied.
c. She had a Good Friend to Consult. Yet that was not sufficient.
d. She Already Possessed a Little Oil.
(1) Oil, emblem of Holy Spirit.
(2) Only applied after the Blood.
(3) Unless we have the Spirit we are none of His.
(4) But has the Holy Spirit got possession of us?
3. Her Deliverance.
a. Was by the Way of the Cross. In two cases. First: Cross of Christ. Second: Her own cross.
(1) She had to be quite willing to become to her neighbours a laughing stock.
(2) This was not the world’s way of wiping away debt.
(3) Remember He is still without the camp!
(4) She came to an end of herself.
b. Was by the Multiplication of Oil
(1) That was how her insolvency disappeared.
(2) But when did the oil multiply?
c. Was by the Shut Door.
(1) Not by the reading and study of good books.
(2) Not by attending good meetings.
(3) But by getting alone with God.
(4) By spreading before Him our own empty vessels of desire and expectancy. (We can do this each day.)
(5) And the neighbours empty vessels, too!
The Shut Door. Can we undervalue the Shut Door? Yes. It is of vital importance in life and service.
1. It meant Salvation for Noah and his family (Gen_7:16). First Shut Door in the Bible; and God shut that door.
2. It meant Sanctification in figure for the widow in 2Ki_4:4.
3. It meant Satisfaction for Thomas and rest of disciples (Joh_20:19-20). No other Evangelist mentions that Shut Door.
4. It meant Success for Elisha (2Ki_4:33). Gehazi did not shut his door.
THE IRON THAT SWAM.
2Ki_6:1-7.
Introduction.
The Incident.
1. Some of the most wonderful stories are recorded in the life of the prophet Elisha. Possibly none more wonderful than this of the "Lost Axe Head."
A school of prophets flourished under the fostering care of the prophet, who lived with and at the school.
2. The prophetic college became too small. Need of larger premises.
3. The prophet’s permission for extension was first sought, then his presence solicited.
4. They decided to do the alterations themselves.
5. On reaching the Jordan banks they commenced operations.
6. Whilst engaged in this healthful exercise, one of the young prophets, possibly wielding his axe with more force than judgment, caused the iron head to fly off and disappear under the water.
Some Smile.
1. Some worldly wise folk smile unbelievingly when they read or hear read this incident.
2. It is valuable.
I. A Lesson on the Divine Care.
1. This spiritual application is thus put by John Newton:
Not one concern of ours is small.
If we belong to Him;
To teach us this, the Lord of all.
Once made the iron to swim.
2. This may seem a triviality to the worldly folk.
3. But He takes a real, living, practical interest in everything in our lives.
4. It was bad enough to lose an axe head; but worse, seeing it was borrowed.
5. He is interested in your axes and knives, and pots and pans and brushes.
II. A Lesson in Spiritual Effectiveness.
1. It points out for the Christian believer’s edification, the danger of losing spiritual effectiveness.
2. The man did not lose the whole of his axe, but the effective part of it, without which he was useless in the work.
3. The axe head was lost.
a. At a time of growth and expansion.
b. In the midst of service.
4. He did not lose:
a. The axe handle, nor
b. His knowledge of how trees should be cut.
5. How he recovered his loss.
a. He confessed his loss.
b. He returned to the place where he lost it.
Satan does not mind if we deepen our knowledge and keep sound our doctrine, but he wishes to rob us of the keen edge of spirituality that is effective.
6. One great secret of retaining our spiritual effectiveness is abiding in Him, as in our next point.
III. A Lesson on the Importance of Union.
1. In this story the truths set forth in John 15 may be found.
2. Two kingdoms here. Iron, belonging to mineral; wood, to vegetable.
3. When separated-useless.
4. Nothing must be allowed to come in between the Lord and ourselves.
5. If left to ourselves we shall "sink" and be useless.
6. There is always the downward pull in the world, and always something in our old nature to answer to that pull.
7. How to maintain our abiding.
a. Union maintained.
b. Meditation of the Word.
c. Cleansing by Word.
IV. A Lesson on the Salving of a Sinner.
The Sinner.
1. The axe head may be taken to represent the sinner.
2. He had lost what was really not his own. We belong to God.
3. Its nature was to sink deeper. So poor sinner is only capable, apart from the power of God, of getting further away.
The Place.
1. The place where it fell, Jordan, the sinner’s position before God, viz., in the death of trespasses and sins.
2. Jordan stands for death.
How to be Saved.
1. Can the axe head raise itself? No; help must come outside itself.
2. God has cut down a branch (Isa_11:1), and cast it into the pit of death.
3. When cast into the waters it disappears.
4. But only for a moment, to re-appear in resurrection.
Comes to Us.
1. The stock came to where the axe head lay.
2. So the Lord Jesus comes to where we are.
The Result.
1. Recovered.
2. Raised.
3. Not "the iron did float"-a dead corpse can do this.
4. The iron did swim-does what is contrary to nature. This meant progress.
5. Union with the living Christ means:
a. Life.
b. Energy.
c. Progress.
d. Restoration.
6. Restoration to proper and original owner-God.
How to be Raised.
1. Tell the Lord.
2. Consult the servant of the Lord.
THE LORD WRESTLING WITH JACOB.
Gen_32:24-32.
This Contest
I. A Literal Fact. Not a dream or vision.
II. Its Purpose. To bring him to the end of self.
III. It Took Place. When he was alone with God.
IV. It Concluded. When resisting Jacob became clinging Jacob.
V. Its Fruit. Shrivelling of self-life and enriched character.
Low Shelves. The late Dr. F. B. Meyer once wrote: "I used to think that God’s best gifts were on tall shelves, and I must grow tall in order to reach them. Now I have learned that they are on low shelves, and that we must get down in the very dust to take them." The Lord had bestowed many gifts and blessings on Jacob, tall though he was in his own estimation, but ere he could have the best of all he had to bend very low.
Jacob’s Prayer. He schemed and plotted first (Gen_32:3-8), then prayed. He reminded God he was on this journey by His command (Gen_32:9); confessed his unworthiness (Gen_32:10); remembered God’s bountiful kindness to him (Gen_32:10); frankly disclosed his fears (Gen_32:11); reminded Him of His promise (Gen_32:12). "The best we can say to God in prayer is what He has said to us." The Fruit.
1. A Life-long Limp. "The limp of Jacob was indeed a life-long disability, but it was also the patent of his nobility."
2. The Shrivelling of the Sinew was symbolical of the shrivelling of the "I," the self-life.
3. The New Name. He was knighted on the field, on the scene of his defeat.
4. Power with God and Man.
5. Sunrise. It is sunrise with the soul which has definite experience with God.
THE APPLE OF HIS EYE.
Zec_2:8.
At first sight it is not easy to say whether "His Eye" means God’s eye, or the eye of the one who seeks to injure God’s servant. The latter is certainly true. He that toucheth you, toucheth the apple of his own eye, i.e., will do himself irreparable damage, or injure himself in the most sensitive part. The enemies of God’s people sooner or later find this out by bitter experience.
But we may take it that God is here calling His people the apple of His eye, and this figure of speech is most suggestive, teaching us several things.
I. The Delight we are to Him. We are the Apple of His Eye.
II. The Blessed Unity Between the Lord and His Own. He calls you His eye. It is the most prominent part of our appearance. What a close and blessed unity this suggests. Nearer we cannot get, for how near the eye is to the individual!
III. The Loving Care He Exercises over His Own (Deu_32:10; Psa_17:8). "He kept him (Israel) as the apple of His eye." Thus declared Moses concerning God’s care over His people. You thought you were friendless and helpless, but you have a wonderful Defender, and He exercises a wonderful care over you. See how swiftly and automatically we defend our eyes. Let David’s prayer be yours: "Keep me as the apple of the eye" (Psa_17:8).
IV. Learn the Special Mission He has for His Own. In the Hebrew the pupil of the eye is called the gate of the eye, because through it enters the light. How appropriate is this. His people is the pupil, the gate through which the light comes to lighten those in darkness.
THE LORD THINKETH UPON US.
"But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me"
Psa_40:17
I. A Confession. It is a confession of poverty. That may be true in a literal sense-poor as far as this world’s goods are concerned. But it certainly is true in a spiritual sense. A confession many do not care to make. It is so natural for us to hide the fact of our poverty, whether temporal or spiritual. Some do not make it for they do not know of it. We refer specially to spiritual poverty (Rev_3:17).
Don’t be afraid. He knows. Don’t be afraid to tell Him. Whether you do or no, He knows all about it.
II. An Encouragement.
Comforting. How comforting it is for a poor person to hear that some wealthy relative is thinking of him. Alas! they often just think, and nothing more!
Certain. One thing is certain, if God thinks of us, all is well. "What meanest thou, O sleeper? Arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us that we perish not."
How do we Know He Thinks of Us? Because of what He says in His Word. "For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil" (Jer_29:11). Because of what He is constantly doing.
III. The Nature and Character of God’s Thinking.
Not about, but upon us. There is a sense of awayness, of distance, in His thinking about us.
When the children are at school, mother thinks about them; but when they are seated at the table she thinks upon them. It might be rendered, "is thoughtful over me." There is a sense of nearness and affection in the expression-"Upon." God’s thinking is done whilst bending over us in love.
"Jesus now is bending o’er thee,
Jesus lowly meek and mild."
THE MYSTERIOUS YOUNG MAN
Mar_14:51.
Who was he? The more we ponder on this incident the more we are led to believe it was Mark himself, the writer of this Gospel, and for the following reasons:
1. This way of referring to himself is quite in keeping with the usual manner of personal references in the Gospels. This was how John spoke of himself in his Gospel.
2. The very triviality of the incident seems to point to Mark as the young man concerned. This incident has little or no bearing on the story. Yet it was not trivial to Mark.
3. The minuteness of the reference inevitably suggests that the Evangelist is giving a bit of his own history.
4. "Having a linen cloth"-having a sindon, a fine and very costly cloth, so called because it was woven at Scinde, India. It was a kind of linen cloth greatly valued, but exceedingly costly, and only the very wealthy could afford it. Now we do know that Mark and his mother were wealthy.
5. In all probability this young man had been a silent, hidden observer of our Lord’s agony and prayer in Gethsemane, and that is one reason why, though the three selected disciples were asleep, we have so full an account of what really happened.
A STRANGE NESTING PLACE.
"Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest. . . even Thine altars, O Lord of Hosts" (Psa_84:3).
Introduction.
A Strange Nesting Place. A strange nesting place was chosen by a pair of Birmingham thrushes, under a railway car that four times a day does the journey between Sutton and Birmingham. But here is a stranger-the Temple altar.
Context. The Psalmist is not hinting that the altars of the Lord had been so neglected and disused that birds had nested there. Unable to attend the services of the sanctuary, his heart yearned for that privilege (Mar_14:2), and he envied the birds that nested there.
The Altar. The lessons are simple and important. The altar speaks of bloodshedding, of sacrifice, and loudly speaks of Cross.
The Cross, God’s Best Altar.
I. The Weakest can Find Sanctuary in the Altar, Place of Safety. The weak sparrow and swallow found sanctuary in God’s house. But the place of blood-shedding was the place of safety. The Cross is your only sanctuary, your only City of Refuge.
II. The Weakest find the Place of Death the Place of Life. The place of blood-shedding was not only the place of safety, but the place of life. When I cling to the Cross I find-
1. Pardon.
2. Life for a look.
III. The Most Timid find the Place of Sacrifice a Place of Quietness. In this distracting world it is possible to be quiet and do our work.
"Peace, perfect peace, in this dark world of Sin,
The blood of Jesus whispers peace within."
IV. Place of Sacrifice the Starting Point of all True Service. Here the altar was a place for busy service.
SEVEN ASPECTS OF SALVATION.
1. Horn of Salvation-the Power of Salvation, Luk_1:69
2. Rock of Salvation-the Stability of our Salvation, Psa_95:1
3. Tower of Salvation-the Security of our Salvation, 2Sa_22:51
4. Helmet of Salvation-Preservation of our Salvation, 1Th_5:8
5. Cup of Salvation-the Joy of our Salvation, Psa_116:13
6. Wells of Salvation-the Refreshment in our Salvation, Isa_12:3
THE FIVE RECORDED OCCURRENCES OF OUR LORD PRAYING.
1. At His Baptism, Luk_3:21
2. On the Mount of Transfiguration, Luk_9:28
3. When Choosing His Disciples, Luk_6:12
4. When the Jews Sought to Kill Him, Joh_12:27
5. In Gethsemane, Luk_22:42
AMEN.
"My heart wishes it to be exactly so"
(Chinese Version).
"Amen" Study No. I.
Introduction.
1. No word used more in devotion than this.
2. And we might add, none more lightly used.
3. We use it as a fitting finish to our prayers, though its full significance is not so well known.
4. It is a word capable of many renderings, its precise meaning to be decided by context.
I. It is Used as a Note of Affirmation. In the Douay Version of Scriptures our Lord’s "Verily, Verily" is rendered "Amen! Amen."
II. It is Used as Meaning "True, Faithful, Certain, Steadfast." In Rev_3:14, Christ is called "The Amen." Oh, how true is He! How faithless we are!
III. In 2Co_1:20, All the Promises of God are said to be "Amen in Christ," that is, they are certain and firm to those in Christ.
IV. There is a fourth use and meaning of the word "Amen," the one we often make of it. The use our Lord taught us to make of it: "So be it," or, "So let it be."
V. A friend stated that his sister says it ought to be pronounced "A-men!!!" meaning "It shall be!" Sometimes we feel we are storming Heaven and can then lay full claim.
VI. But the Chinese Characters used for Amen, mean, "My heart wishes it to be exactly so."
a. Is this not a charming definition.
b. Another way of saying: "Lord, this is not the mere expression of my lips, but the language of my heart."
A VERY DESIRABLE "AMEN."
Oh, to leave this world thus with a benediction.
Luk_24:50-53.
"Amen" Study No. 2.
I. Joy and Praise.
1. No real Christian can but long-
a. For more joy (Luk_24:52),
b. And for more of the spirit of praise.
2. To our sorrow we have to confess we lack often these essentials.
3. Now and again we are in this frame of mind.
4. But these were so "continually."
5. Said John Livingstone (1603-1672): "The capital crime of the Lord’s people is barrenness in praises."
6. Rutherford said: "How joyful is my heart that ye write ye are desirous to join with me in praising, for it is charity to help a debtor to pay his debts."
II. Praising and Blessing.
1. Not interchangeable terms.
2. To praise is to magnify His mercy; to bless is to speak good of His Name.
III. Continually. Some seem to think that this meant "attendance only at stated hours of prayer."
IV. What will Lead Us to this Frame of Mind and Soul?
1. Be blessed by Him (we must be blessed before we can bless).
2. Worship Him.
3. Abide in Him (He is our Temple).
4. Then you will praise Him more.
"AMEN" TO JOHN’S STRANGE COMMAND.
1Jn_5:21
"Amen" Study No. 3.
I. What is an Idol?
1. This "Amen" must be considered as not merely a fitting conclusion to the Epistle, but as a heartfelt desire concerning this last command.
2. We might be inclined to think this has no application to us.
3. There is much idolatry to-day even in England.
a. Of course there is to-day Image worship. We would do as John Knox did, when lying in irons in the French Galley. He was asked to worship an image of the Virgin Mary, but he flung it overboard, declaring it was "but a pented brod"-a painted board.
b. There can be idolatrous systems of worship. The following of any man-made religion is idolatry. "All worshipping, honouring, or service of God invented by the brain of man in the religion of God, without His own express command, is idolatry," said John Knox in later life.
c. Dr. Torrey said: "That which a man thinks most of- that is his god. It may be money, position, or pleasure."
II. Who are the "Little Children?"
1. 1Jn_2:12-13 and 1Jn_2:14 decides.
2. Observe three stages of growth:
a. Spiritual babyhood, or infancy.
b. Spiritual youth.
c. Spiritual maturity.
3. Little children are in particular need of a word about forgiveness (1Jn_2:12), victory over sin (1Jn_2:1), power of overcoming (1Jn_4:4), etc.
III. "Keep yourselves." Let God have His rightful place in your hearts and life.
"AMEN" TO THE CURSES.
Deu_27:15.
"Amen" Study No. 4.
Introduction. This is the most difficult "Amen" of the Bible. It is easy to say "Amen" to the blessings. It is quite natural for the heart to wish for them. But the curses? Ah, that is difficult. These are instructions concerning a strange ceremony to take place on entrance into Canaan.
Why should it be difficult to say "Amen?" It is comparatively easy to say, "It shall be," one of the definitions of "Amen." For whether we say "Amen" or no, it is bound to take place. But to say, "My heart wishes it to be exactly so"-well, that is the difficulty. And yet that is the position the Lord desires us all to reach. Our hearts should only wish to be and to hear and do what is His wish and will for us.
I. Is it His Will for Us to Tread some Lonely and Tortuous Way? Pray for grace to say "Amen."
II. Is it His Arrangement for you to Bear Many Burdens of Responsibility? Pray for grace to say "Amen."
III. One Thing that will Help us to say "Amen" to the Curses: The presence of the Altar. The altar had to be fixed on the side curses were announced.
IV. If a Curse Rests on Every One that Continued Not in the Book of the Law to Do Them, yet "He was made a curse for us."
"AMEN" TO THE LORD’S COMING.
"Surely I come quickly. Amen" (Rev_22:20).
"Amen" Study No. 5.
1. Can we all say this to this Divine intimation?
2. I fear there are many professing Christians who could not.
3. When our friends tell us they intend to call upon us some day we ask them to send us a card so that we might get ready for them.
4. How we wish the Lord would do the same.
5. But He does not. Why? He desires us to be always ready.
6. Note the present tense: "I come." He desires us to live in the expectancy of His Coming.
7. Our Lord’s Coming is mentioned 318 times in the 260 chapters of the New Testament, and it occupies 1 in every 25 verses from Matthew to Revelation.
8. Much, from time to time, has been said about the Eastward position. The Christian position is the upward position, the upward gaze.
HOW TO SAY "AMEN."
Rev_19:4.
"Amen" Study No. 6.
1. We had for our meditation in Study No. 4 one of the most difficult "Amen’s" in the Bible.
2. We think we have got on very far in the Spiritual life when we can say "Amen " to all God’s dealings with us.
3. But there is something else required. How do we say "Amen?"
4. So many say "Amen" to God’s providences in such a way as though they were martyrs in having to submit to them.
5. Notice in Rev_19:4 what the "Amen" is followed by.
6. If it takes a lot of grace to say "Amen," what grace is required to say also "Alleluia!" A lady went to China to undertake missionary work. With a deep love for the Chinese people, she tackled the language. After some months she was asked to remain in the Training Home. Surprised, and for the moment disappointed, yet she said Amen, but some time passed before she could add Hallelujah.
7. Rev_19:4 tells us one secret of being able to add, "Praise the Lord!"
8. When we remember that, notwithstanding all the darkness, and all the unintelligible things, yet God is on the throne, it is then we can say "Alleluia," as well as "Amen."
9. And when He is on the throne of our spirits, crowned Lord of all, then we can say: "My heart would have it so-praise the Lord."
THE APOSTOLIC BLESSING.
2Co_13:14.
"Amen" Study No. 7.
Introduction.
1. This verse is most familiar to us, as it is used universally in the dismissal of congregations.
2. We have all repeated "Amen" after the preacher, and it is good to so respond.
3. But what an "Amen" this is.
4. This "Amen" practically amounts to two things:
I. Our Acceptance of the Trinity.
1. If Jesus is not God the Son, and if the Holy Spirit is not a Personality, it were blasphemous to associate the names thus.
2. It does not mean that we understand the Trinity.
3. But we can accept that Doctrine.
4. It was Henry Ward Beecher who said it was easier for him to believe in the Trinity than the Unity of God.
5. Science has something to say in favour, for in nature the highest organisms are the most complex.
6. Philosophy teaches that love demands love; that Eternal Fatherhood implies Eternal Sonship.
II. Our Wish for Blessings to be Bestowed by the Trinity. What a splendid wish and prayer this is for a congregation about to leave, or for that matter, for all our friends.
1. The Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. "Be with you."
a. Note, not Jesus, but Lord Jesus. How reverently that peerless Name is uttered.
b. Not only the blessings that come to us through Jesus.
c. Or the blessings that are bestowed by Him.
d. But there is a further meaning-the refinement and gracefulness of the Lord Jesus.
e. Jesus Christ was always graceful in His deportment and manners.
2. The Love of God. . . "Be with you."
a. A constant realisation of the love of God.
b. His own love constantly dwelling within us.
3. The Communion of the Holy Ghost. . . "Be with you."
a. God has only one Vicar on earth-the Holy Spirit.
b. He is here now right by our side.
c. We can have partnership, oneness, with Him in all His wishes and desires.
Note the ascending scale.
First: Grace.
Second: Love.
Third: Fellowship.
When I get grace I am made to know of the fact that He loves me, and, most marvellous of all, we then can have communion.
TASTING.
Psa_34:8.
1. This means that Christianity is something to sample as well as something to believe.
2. Conversion is spoken of in 1Pe_2:3 as "tasting."
3. Strange, yet true, that those who know nothing experimentally about religion have most to say about it and against it.
4. Why the Psalmist longed for others to "taste." Because his God was a God who-
a. Answered prayer (Psa_34:4).
b. Delivered from fears (Psa_34:4).
c. Lightened hearts of those who look to Him (Psa_34:5).
d. Saved people out of their troubles (Psa_34:6).
5. What is necessary in order to "taste?"
a. Call upon Him.
b. Come to Him.
c. Take from Him gifts offered.
PRAYER. A MATTER OF THE HEART.
"Therefore hath Thy servant found it in his heart to pray this prayer unto Thee" (2Sa_7:27).
Prayer Study No. I.
A Find. Note that expression. David had made a find, a great find, an important one. And the find was in his own heart. And the find was a desire for prayer-a heart desire-a love for prayer. Have you a love, a heart affection for prayer?
Highest Form. This is the highest form of prayer. Prayer first begins as a matter of necessity. But it soon ought, and should, become a matter of the heart.
Madam Guyon has defined prayer as "nothing else but the application of the heart to God." In other words, the heart talking to God, and communing with Him.
Independent. "The prayer of the heart," wrote Madame Guyon, "cannot be interrupted by the occupations of the mind." Nothing can interrupt the prayer of the heart but unruly affections.
Essentials. In order to find prayer in the heart, the following are essentials:
1. A Heart Right with God. If the heart is not right with God, communion with God is impossible. An impenitent sinner finds no such thing in his heart. He has no intelligent wish to enjoy God’s friendship. The whole atmosphere of prayer is foreign to him.
2. A Heart Filled with Him. That is a heart in which He is quite at Home, and which He has filled with Himself.
3. A Heart Set on God’s Word. "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly." This is a trustingly beautiful prayer by David. Read it carefully and prayerfully. When examined, you will find that David is only talking over and repeating and thanking God for His own Word. This is one secret of blessing and successful prayer seasons and times.
PRAYER: A MATTER OF THE INTELLECT.
"Ye said also, Behold what a weariness is it!"
Mal_1:13
Prayer Study No. 2.
A Sad Mark of Spiritual Degeneration is Here. The sacred offices of the sanctuary had become a weariness. Sad, oh, so sad, when prayer becomes a weariness! Yet is there a Christian who has not found it so at times?
Indolence. It suggests that there can be weariness and indolence in prayer. Coleridge thought the act of praying to be, in its most perfect form, the very highest energy.
Dead Prayers. We offer many dead prayers through mental indolence. We do not shake ourselves up to think and act.
Matter of Intellect. We noticed in our last study that true prayer is a matter of the heart. It is also a matter of the intellect. We may pray with the intellect without praying with the heart; but I question whether we can pray with the heart without praying with the intellect. We have to serve God as well as love Him, with the mind, as well as heart.
Let your Prayers be:
Affectionate-with real heart in them.
Intelligent-with real thought in them.
Energetic-with real energy in them.
1. Old Dr. Chalmers spoke of Dr. Doddridge’s prayers as having an "intensely business-like" spirit.
2. An old American preacher, in denouncing indolent prayers, said: "Can we expect that our sins can be washed by a lazy prayer." Think on this.
3. Of course it is the Blood of God’s Son that cleanseth from sin, yet prayer for that mercy usually precedes the blessing.
4. The Lord save us from lazy prayers!
THE MIGHTY INFLUENCE OF PRAYER.
"The heartfelt supplication of a righteous man exerts a mighty influence" (Jam_5:16).
Prayer Study No. 3.
F. Rays. We have been startled lately at the discovery by an Italian of what are now known as "F. Rays." These Rays will blow up a ship with its own dynamite at a distance of 20 miles. It is an invisible yet mighty force.
A Mightier Power. But we know of a mightier power. Invisible, too, viz., that of prayer, as James here declares.
James. The tradition concerning James is that his knees were worn hard as a camel’s, through his constant habit of prayer. This gives force to his statement concerning prayer, for he lived the prayer life. He practised what he preached, and he preached what he practised. James insisted on the extreme value and power of prayer (see text).
Is this True? The great majority of us have little faith in prayer. Christians often have little faith in prayer as a power in real life. Or though we may say differently with our lips, by our lives we show little faith in prayer.
Heathen Shame Us. Heathen habits of devotion shame us. Heathen prayer, whatever else it is or it is not, is a real belief in the heathen mind.
When Ethelred, the Saxon King of Northumberland, invaded Wales, and was about to give battle to the Britons, he observed near the enemy a host of unarmed men. He inquired who they were, and what they were doing. He was told that they were monks of Bangor praying for the success of their countrymen. "Then," said the heathen prince, "they have begun the fight against us; attack them right away."
Mighty. Remember prayer is a mighty weapon. Use it.
Key. Prayer is a golden key, which, kept bright by constant use, will unlock the treasures of earth and heaven.
THE VALUE OF SILENCE.
"Be silent unto God, and let Him mould thee" (Luther’s Translation, Psa_37:7).
Prayer Study No. 4.
Seeming Injustice.
1. It appears that the Psalmist often noticed the seeming injustice of God’s dealings with men as witnessed in the frequent prosperity of the wicked, and the frequent adversity of the righteous. What then?
2. Why, do not fret, and don’t be envious, but-
a. Trust in the Lord.
b. Delight thyself in the Lord.
c. Commit thy way unto the Lord.
d. Rest in the Lord.
Luther’s Rendering. Luther gave a suggestive rendering and translation of this verse. The margin of our A.V. says, "Be silent to the Lord."
Value of Silence. We are slow at learning the value of silence. It seems one of the most difficult to learn these bustling 20th century days. And that is the reason so many break down in body, and also why there is so little worship.
In Nature. We have an example of the value of silence in the natural world. The silent seasons of life are not inoperative. The winter is the mother of spring; the night is the fountain of physical forces of the day.
So in Grace. The greatest things in our spiritual lives come out of our waiting hours, when all activity is suspended, and the soul learns "to be silent unto God" while He shapes and moulds us for future activities and fruitful years.
Silence-what in? Silence sometimes of our own clamorous needs and petitions. Silence of our own mental doubts and difficulties. Silence of our own plannings and scheming.
Why-what for? To hear His voice. To learn His will. To have His mind-his thoughts imparted to us. To have our characters moulded.
QUIETNESS BEFORE GOD.
Psa_37:7, R.V.
Prayer Study No. 5.
Cecil. We were much impressed by a remark of Cecil recorded in his Memoirs: "Quietness before God is one of the most difficult of all Christian graces." This is a remark by one who was wise and understanding in the things of God and in the ways of men.
Recognised. David seems to recognise it as such. See, it is the fifth grace mentioned here:
1. "Fret not" (Psa_37:1).
2. "Trust" (Psa_37:3).
3. "Delight" (Psa_37:4).
4. "Commit" (Roll thy way upon the Lord, R.V.). (5).
5. "Rest" (be silent to the Lord, R.V.) (7).
How necessary it is to enjoy God and hear His voice.
Higher Degree. Madame Guyon calls a state of quietness before God as one of the higher degrees of prayer.
A Help to This. Madam Guyon says: "It is also necessary that you should go to God, not so much to obtain something from Him as to please Him, and to do His will; for a servant who only serves his master in proportion to the recompense he receives, is unworthy of any remuneration."
THREE STEPS IN THE PRAYER LIFE.
Psa_5:1-7.
Prayer Study No. 6.
I. The Prayer’s Request (Psa_5:1).
1. He hears every word we speak in even ordinary everyday conversation.
2. How often we grieve Him!
3. He hears also our thoughts! Oh, how that startles and humbles us!
4. But the Psalmist has particularly prayer in His mind.
5. He hears our prayers when offered audibly or inaudibly.
II. The Prayer’s Determination as self-preservation (Psa_5:2 and Psa_5:3).
1. Come what may, "Unto Thee will I pray."
2. And one thing that makes him most determined to pray is the fact of the holiness of God (Psa_5:4).
3. By prayer I receive strength to avoid and gain victory over evil and temptation.
4. And thus live and dwell in His Presence.
5. He determined to pray specially in the morning for "well begun is half done." And after prayer, continue all day to "look up!"
III. The Prayer Attitude (Psa_5:7).
1. He would not approach God on the ground of His own goodness, but rely on His mercy (Note, "multitude of Thy mercy").
2. And he would approach God in reverence. "And in Thy fear.
THE IMPORTANCE OF WORKERS, OR THOSE IN TROUBLE GETTING ALONE WITH THE LORD.
Mar_6:31.
Prayer Study No. 7.
Introduction.
1. How familiar are the words of our text.
2. We remember them in times of sickness, when we note with thankfulness that it is "Come," not "Go," suggesting He is there to greet us.
3. But there are two classes suggested by the events of the context.
4. And we particularly remember our text in relation to waiting on God.
I. There is Sorrow, Because of Bereavement or Other Losses.
1. By St. Matthew 14 we learn that these words were said immediately after our Lord heard of John the Baptist’s martyrdom.
2. He wanted to get away from the bustling crowd.
3. There is nothing like solitude with God for healing our soul trouble.
4. Strange, often we feel least inclined for Him at such tiroes.
II. Christian Workers, After Public Service, Require Loneliness.
1. The Apostle had returned after a successful missionary and evangelistic campaign.
2. They were jubilant.
3. He calmed them by taking them aside.
4. We will soon get flat if we do not have our times of solitude.
5. And we will soon begin to think unduly of ourselves if we do not seek for solitude.
III. Even as Christians we Need Such Solitude to Regain Lost Brilliancy.
1. An archduchess possessed some of the most magnificent pearls in existence.
2. Having been left unworn for a long time, the gems lost their colour and became, as the authorities declared, sick.
3. Experts declared that the only way to restore their original brilliancy was to submit them to a prolonged immersion in the depths of the sea.
4. At the foot of a cliff, under the windows of a Castle, at a depth of 80 feet below the surface of the Adriatic’s clear waters, in a cage fixed by divers, they lay for years.
5. We lose colour and become sick through wear and tear, and lack of solitude with Him.
OUR CHIEF WORK.
"On that day did David make it the chief work to give thanks unto the Lord"
1Ch_16:7, R.V.
Prayer Study No. 8.
This Psalm is a compilation from three others. Verses 8 to 22 consists of first 15 verses of Psa_105:23-33, quotations from Psalm 116; 1Ch_16:34to36 from Psalm 106.
David drew attention-
1. To Works of God (1Ch_16:8, etc.).
2. To Majesty of God (1Ch_16:23, etc.).
3. To Mercy of God (1Ch_16:34).
This latter is sweetest note of all. The chief work not to pray, but to praise. In everything give thanks. When He took the cup He gave thanks.
AT JESUS’ FEET.
1. For Redemption, Luk_7:38
2. For Adoration on account of mercies received, Luk_8:35
3. For Instruction, Luk_10:39
4. For Consolation, Joh_11:32
5. For Intercession on behalf of others, Mar_7:25
6. For Worship, Mat_28:9
THE "MUSTS" OF THE SCRIPTURES.
1. The Must concerning the sinner and the putting away of sin (Ezr_10:12 and Act_9:6).
2. The Must concerning Regeneration and all (Joh_3:7; Act_16:30-31).
3. The Must concerning Propitiation for sin (Joh_3:7; and Act_4:12).
4. The Must concerning Worship (Joh_4:24).
5. The Must concerning Faith (Heb_11:6).
6. The Must concerning Receiving and Confessing Christ (Luk_19:5).
PROPHECIES RELATING TO CHRIST.
The author has several times used this Bible Study with Agnostics, and with others who doubted the full Inspiration of the Bible, and never without, by the blessing of God, making a tremendous impression, and with remarkable effect. Usually after pointing out these Scriptures existed hundreds of years before Bethlehem and Birth of Christ, he asked: "How can you account for these exact predictions?"
I. His Birth.
1. Mode, Gen_3:15
2. Nation, Gen_12:3
3. Tribe, Gen_49:10
4. Family, Isa_11:10
5. Mother, Isa_7:14
6. Place, Mic_5:2
7. Forerunner, Isa_40:3
II. His Life and Death.
1. Poverty and Suffering, Psa_22:6-16
2. Worshipped by Gentiles, Isa_60:6
3. How He Entered Jerusalem, Zec_9:9.
4. For the Sake of Others, Dan_9:26
5. Object of Conspiracy, Psa_2:1-3
6. Followers Dispersed, Zec_13:7-9
7. Ill-treated, Isa_50:6
8. Pierced, Zec_12:10; Zec_13:6
9. Vinegar to Drink, Psa_69:21
10. Spat upon, Isa_50:6
11. Cut off Without Trial, Isa_53:8; Dan_9:26
12. Garments Distributed, Psa_22:18
13. No Bones Broken, Psa_34:20
14. Rise Again, Psa_16:10, applied in Act_2:27-31.
III. His Second Advent.
1. Return to Gather, Deu_30:3
2. Rejected-Reigning, Psa_2:1-12; Psa_50:30; Psa_95:10-11
3. Waiting, Psa_110:1
4. Endless Government, Isa_9:7
5. Good Government, Jer_23:5
6. A Priest-King, Zec_6:13
7. Everlasting, Dan_7:13-14
Autor: James Smith