Feb 12
17
“The secret of the Lord is with those who fear him; and he will show them his covenant.” Psalm 25:14
There is no truth more offensive to the carnal mind, nor one more sweet to those taught of God than this—that true religion is of a spiritual and supernatural character. That God should dwell in man; that the blessed Spirit should condescend to be our teacher; that we know nothing except through this divine tuition; that all saving faith stands wholly and solely in the power of God; and that there is no true religion independent of the inward work and witness of God the Spirit in the conscience—such a creed as this may well raise up all the scorn of the natural mind. But take away the Spirit’s work, and what is left? Nothing but a dead carcass of forms. There can be but two kinds of religion—the one external, and the other internal; the one natural, and the other spiritual; one that stands in forms and ceremonies, and the other that stands in the communications of mercy, grace, and truth out of the fullness of Jesus. So that if a man denies the inward teachings of the Spirit of God to be the sum and substance of religion, he has no other refuge but Popery; and, to be thoroughly consistent, he should declare himself a Papist at once; for there is no real stopping-place between vital religion wrought in the heart and conscience by the power of God the Spirit, and that which stands in external forms, rites, and ceremonies.
But it is the especial privilege of God’s people, and when enjoyed it is the very comfort of their souls, that all vital godliness is wrought in their hearts by the power of God. They are well convinced that they have no more religion, and no less religion, than is brought into their conscience with divine power. To have a measure of this heavenly teaching, and to live under the enjoyment of it, constitutes all the happiness that a child of God can really feel here below. He learns this, not only from the presence of it when divinely communicated, but also from its absence when these blessed communications are withdrawn and suspended.
extract from a sermon Preached at Zoar Chapel, London, on August 4, 1844, by J. C. Philpot
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Psalm 26
Prayers, professions, and resolves are here interlinked. May the Holy Spirit draw holy lessons for us!
1. “Judge me, O Lord; for I have walked in my integrity; I have trusted also in the Lord; therefore I shall not slide.”
The voice of Jesus should be here first heard. He appeals from all injustice of the courts of men to Heaven’s tribunal. He could claim vindication of His cause on the firm ground that all His ways were perfect holiness. Every one that is born of Him will strive to be pure and holy, even as He is pure and holy. May our faith be strengthened by ceaseless effort and ceaseless prayer; for when our trust is firm, we shall move firmly along the slippery paths of life.
2, 3. “Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; try my mind and my heart. For your loving-kindness is before my eyes; and I have walked in Your truth.”
The heart is deceitful above all things. Who can know it? Who can have full acquaintance with its intricate and devious windings? Therefore the sincere man will often pray God to come with the light of His Spirit, and the torch of His Word, to search each deep and hidden corner, that no Achan may lurk undetected. Happy the prayer which is supported by the plea, ‘My eyes are ever gazing on Your wondrous love, and all my steps are set in the holy way of Your revealed truth.’
4, 5. “I do not spend time with liars or go along with hypocrites. I hate the gatherings of those who do evil, and I refuse to join in with the wicked.”
There is no communion of light with darkness. There is no fellowship between righteousness and unrighteousness. The believer must come out and be separate. He must not touch the unclean thing. How rich his gain! The Lord will receive all who thus withdraw, and He will dwell in them, and walk in them. He will be their God; they shall be His people.
6. “I will wash my hands in innocence; so will I compass Your altar, O Lord.”
The Temple and all its rites and all its furniture was one clear Gospel-lesson. The laver was the cleansing blood of Jesus. Constant ablutions typified the washing out of guilt. The altar, with its dying victims, streaming blood, and curling smoke, proclaimed the all-atoning sacrifice. Jesus often tarried in these courts. His eyes would rest on symbols significant of His work.
The believer, in spirit, will frequent this holy ground. Abhorring sin he seeks the laver that no stain may soil him. His happy walk is round the altar; gazing on it at each step, delighting by faith to see his dying Lord, clasping to his heart the truth, for me He died, for me His blood was shed, in Him I am completely saved.
7. “That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all Your wondrous works.”
Views of redemption lead to grateful love, and prompt the voice of praise. They warm the heart; they cause the lips to sing; they fill the inner cistern; and the waters overflow. There is no theme so joyful as the Lord’s wonderful works. Faith strives to speak, but due utterance fails. It is far easier to count ocean’s drops, than to portray the Savior’s love, His worth, His righteousness, and the glories which He has purchased. But still, the more we speak, the more we feel; the more we feel, the more we speak.
8, 9, 10. “Lord, I have loved the habitation of Your house, and the place where Your glory dwells. Gather not my soul with sinners, nor my life with bloody men; in whose hands is mischief, and their right hand is full of bribes.”
The sanctuary displayed God’s glory. Bright rays shone forth from many symbols. The blessed Jesus loved to frequent this mystic spot. The ordinances of God were His delight. It became Him to fulfill all righteousness. This mark distinguishes His children. In public worship they joy to lift up the voice of praise. They hasten with happy step to join the assemblies in which united prayer is made.
There is an dreadful contrast. There is a bundle of tares that shall be burned. There is an assembly in which every form is sin, and every sight is unmasked ungodliness. Hell is no fiction. The very thought is horror. What must be the dreadful reality! Let the thought give power to the prayer—Oh, gather not my soul with such!
11. “But as for me, I will walk in my integrity; redeem me, and be merciful to me.”
The thought of the second death gives energy to the resolve to walk with God now, that we may dwell with Him forever. The resolve is scarcely formed, but life returns. The truth appears that our best is only evil. The frightened believer flies to redeeming blood; he cries for mercy; he avows that his only hope is in the cleansing blood. His constant prayer must be, God be merciful to me a sinner!
12. “My foot stands in an even place; in the congregations will I bless the Lord.”
Hope revives. Faith realizes that it firmly rests on immovable ground. It receives a kingdom which cannot be shaken. It looks beyond the earthly courts and congresses of pious men to the innumerable throng. It forgets the present praise in forethought of the never ending song. Their one ecstatic chorus will forever swell—Blessings to our God, and to the Lamb. Lord, fit us to bear our part! Henry Law.
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“Is the Church Under the Judgment of God?”
Matthew 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
I received a note yesterday from a man who has been confused by the teaching of a self-appointed, free-lance radio preacher, who urges people to quit “attending church,” asserting that “the Church Age is now over and the church is under the judgment of God.” So my confused correspondent asked me, “Is the church under the judgment of God?”
What an absurd thought! How can anyone imagine such a thing? Did not the Son of God assert, “I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it”? It is written of him, “He shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it” (Zechariah 4:7). Of his church, the psalmist sang, “God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early” (Psalm 46:5).
To declare that the church is under the judgment of God is to declare that those who make up the church, God’s elect, to whom no condemnation (judgment) can come (Romans 8:1), are under the judgment of God. It is to assert that the redeemed of the Lord, the church he purchased with his own blood (Acts 20:28), are under the judgment of God. It is to insist that the Bride of Christ, loved by him with an everlasting love and espoused by him to himself from eternity, to whom the Son of God wed himself from everlasting, is under the judgment of God. And to teach that the church is under the judgment of God is to teach that the Lord Jesus Christ himself, (who is the Head of his body the church), is under the judgment of God!
No, the church is not under the judgment of God, never has been, and never can be. The church is redeemed, justified and sanctified in and by Christ Jesus. The church is the Family of God. The church is under the blessing of God from everlasting to everlasting!
Babylon is under the judgment of God. Babylon is the false church that is married to Satan, the great whore of freewill, works religion. She wears many names and dresses to suit her hired lovers. She may call herself Buddhist or Baptist, Mohammedan or Methodist, Papist or Protestant; but her doctrine is always the same. She asserts that salvation ultimately depends upon and ultimately is determined by man, not by God. All who dwell in her house and sleep in her bed are “will-worshippers,” not worshippers of Jehovah!
The Lord God speaks plainly to his people about Babylon. — “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues” (Revelation 18:4). Compare this with Isaiah 48:20, 52:11, Jeremiah 50:8, 51:6, 45 and 2 Corinthians 6:14-71; and you will see that this is God’s command to his people in every age. If we would walk with God, worship and serve him, we must make an absolute, unmistakable, clean break with Babylon. If we would be Christ pure virgin, we must not identify ourselves with the great whore of the world.
Let us utterly abandon every form of false religion, giving no credibility to the will-worship religion of Babylon. But let none who seek the honor of God abandon the assembling of his saints for public worship (Hebrews 10:25). Don Fortner.
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The furniture in my Father’s house
When I was a child living under my parent’s roof, I remember those times when I would come home to find the furniture in the living room rearranged. It always surprised me at first. Sometimes I did not like it. Yet, it was my father’s house and his furniture. But, in a little while I discovered that nothing about the house had changed. My father was still my father, I was still his son. He still loved me and was still providing for me. He was, still is, far more important to me than the furniture. Brethren, our houses, jobs, and earthly possessions are furniture which belongs to our heavenly Father. When things are rearranged we are troubled at first. Fear not. It is our Father’s house and furniture. We like to point our couches toward man-made lakes. What love when God, our faithful Father, rearranges the room so as to sit his child down in a better direction, facing Christ! We soon discover that nothing in our Father’s house has changed. He is still our Father and we are still his child. He still loves us and still continues to provide all for us in Christ our All. This is the Peace that Christ gives, not as the world gives (not peace in the furniture) but the Peace of knowing we are accepted in the Beloved and nothing shall change his Love to us. God our Father and his Son Jesus Christ our Lord is far more important than the furniture!
Clay Curtis
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The Compelling Power of the Cross
What is it that makes the young man devote himself, as a missionary, to the cause of God, to leave father and mother, and go into distant lands? It is a thing of power that does it; it is the gospel. What is it that constrains the far away minister, in the midst of cholera, to climb up that creaking staircase, and stand by the bed of some dying creature who has that tragic disease? It must be a thing of power which leads him to risk his life; it is love of the cross of Christ which urges him to do it. What is that which enables one man to stand up before a multitude of his fellows, all unprepared it may be, but determined that he will speak nothing but Christ, and Him crucified? What is it that enables him to cry, like the war horse of Job, in battle, Yes! and more glorious in might? It is a thing of power that does it—it is Christ crucified.
What encourages that timid female to walk down that dark road some wet evening, that she may go and sit by the victim of a contagious fever? What strengthens her to go through that den of thieves, and pass by the depraved and perverted? What influences her to enter into that house of death, and there sit down and whisper words of comfort? Does gold make her do it? They are to poor to give her gold. Does fame make her do it? She will never be known nor written among the mighty women of this earth. What makes her do it? What impels her to it? It is the power, the thing of power; it is the cross of Christ—she loves it, and she therefore says, Were the whole realm of nature mine, As a present it would be far too small; Love so amazing, so divine, Demands my soul, my life, my all. Charles Spurgeon.