========================================================================
  SPURGEONS SERMONS VOLUME 41 1895
  by C.H. Spurgeon
========================================================================

Volume 41 of Spurgeon's collected sermons, a posthumous publication from 1895
containing messages prepared by the 'Prince of Preachers' and published after
his death in 1892. These sermons continue to display his characteristic biblical
exposition, vivid illustrations, and passionate gospel proclamation.

  Chapters: 6

------------------------------------------------------------------------
  TABLE OF CONTENTS
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    0. Spurgeons Sermons Volume 41 1895
    1. A People Prepared for the Lord
    2. Joy, a Duty
    3. First Forgiveness, Then Healing
    4. The Ark of His Covenant
    5. Kept From Iniquity

========================================================================
  CHAPTER 0: SPURGEONS SERMONS VOLUME 41 1895
========================================================================


========================================================================
  CHAPTER 1: A PEOPLE PREPARED FOR THE LORD
========================================================================

A Sermon (No.2404) Intended for Reading on Lord's-Day, March 17th, 1895,
Delivered By C. H. SPURGEON, At the [1]Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington On
Lord's-day Evening, March 13th, 1887. "To make ready a people prepared for the
Lord."?Luke 1:17. John was the herald of Christ; he was to prepare the way for
the coming King, but from this text it appears that he was to do more than that.
He was not only to make the road ready for the Lord, but he was also "to make
ready a people prepared for the Lord." That was a great work, a task in which he
would require strength and wisdom greater than his own. He would need that the
Spirit of God, who was to be given without measure to the coming One, should
also be in a measure within himself, if he should really "make ready a people
prepared for the Lord." This is not at all a usual expression; at first sight,
it hardly looks to us like a gospel expression. We sang just now,? "Just as I
am?and waiting not To rid my soul of one dark blot,To thee, whose blood can
cleanse each spot,O Lamb of God, I come."We sang over and over again those
words, "Just as I am," "Just as I am," and we are prone to protest against the
idea of being prepared for Christ; we preach constantly that no preparation is
needed, but that men are to come to Jesus just as they are. Yet here is John the
Baptist set apart "to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."The fact is,
dear friends, that to get men to come to Jesus just as they are, is not an easy
thing. To get them to give up the idea of preparing, to get them prepared to
come without preparing, to get them ready to come just as they are, this is the
hardest part of our work, this is our greatest difficulty. If we came and
preached to men the necessity of preparation through so many weeks of fasting
during a long Lent, or through so many days of scourging and penitence, they
would attend to us at once, for they would be willing enough to make any
preparation of that kind; but, when we say to them, "Come just as you are now,
with nothing in your hand to buy the mercy of God, with nothing wherewith to
demand or to deserve it," men want a great deal of preparing before they will
come to that point. Only the grace of God, working mightily through the Word, by
the Spirit, will prepare men to come to Christ thus, prepared by being
unprepared so far as any fitness of their own is concerned. The only fit state
in which they can come is that of sinking themselves, abandoning all idea of
helping Christ, and coming in all their natural impotence and guilt, and taking
Christ to be their all in all.Beloved friends, this is the true preparedness of
heart for coming to Christ, the preparedness of coming to him just as you are;
and it was John's busines thus "to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
That is also my business at this time. May the good Spirit, who dwelt in John
the Baptist, work through us also, that some here may be made ready for Christ,
"a people prepared for the Lord"! Let us see how John carried out his
commission; we shall then be able better to understand the text.I. First, John
made ready "a people prepared for the Lord" BY AROUSING THEIR ATTENTION. The
people were asleep; they had fallen into a condition of religious lethargy, when
suddenly there stood in their midst a man clothed with camel's hair, and with a
leathern girdle about his loins,?a prophet, manifestly, by the boldness and
truthfulness of his utterances. He spoke in such a way that the people in
general heard of his speaking, and they advertised him by saying the one to the
other, "That is a strange man who has begun to preach by the River Jordan, and
whose meat is locusts and wild honey."The whole style of the man set the people
wondering and talking; and when they came to listen to him, he did not flatter
them, he did not utter mere commonplace truths to them, but with burning
earnestness he drove straight at their hearts, and spoke like Elijah, the great
prophet of fire, had done in the ages gone by. So he set them thinking. That is
a great preparation for coming to Christ just as you are, to be set a-thinking.
We have always hope of men when they once begin to think about religion and the
things of God. See how the bulk of them hurry on with their eyes tightly shut,
rushing fast and yet faster still down to destruction. You cannot make them stop
and think. There are thousands of men who would almost sooner be whipped than be
made to think. The last thing to which they will ever come of themselves is
thoughtfulness. Let me appeal to some here who are still unconverted. Did you
ever give the affairs of your soul the benefit of an hour's serious
consideration? You have your regular time for stock-taking, those of you who are
in business; do you ever take stock of your spiritual estate? I know that you
are not such fools as to neglect your ledgers, you cast up your accounts to see
whereabouts you are financially; but do you cast up the account between God and
your own soul, and look the matter fairly, and squarely in the face? Oh, if we
could but bring you to do this, we should feel that you were being prepared for
coming to Christ just as you are, for no man will come to Christ while he is
utterly careless and thoughtless! Faith is a matter of thought; it requires a
mind aroused from slumber, a mind that has taken wing; and John the Baptist did
good service for his Master when he startled men into that condition, and so
made them consider their ways.He did more than that, for, having first made them
think, he preached to them a Saviour. He told them that One was coming with
power to baptize them after a higher sort than his baptism. He cried, "Behold
the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world," and this message
infused into the people a measure of hope. The poor people said, "What shall we
do?" for they had a hope that there was something to be gained. Even the
tax-gatherers, despised as they were, began to look up, and think that there
might be something even for them, so they said to John, "Master, what shall we
do?" And the rough Roman soldiers thought, "There may be something for us," so
they also asked, "And what shall we do?" John inspired the multitudes with hope.
It is a very blessed state of mind for a man to get in when he begins to hope
that he may be saved. Then he will be prepared to come to Jesus, just as he is,
when he feels that he is not shut up to despair. "Oh!" says the poor man, "I
need not, after all, be lost; I need not abide for ever under the wrath of God.
There is an open door set before me, there is a way of mercy even for me." I
wish it were possible that everybody whom I am now addressing had that feeling;
it would be part of the making ready of "a people prepared for the Lord" when
thought had blossomed into hope.But John led his hearers on further than that,
for they began to expect something as well as to hope for it. They expected that
the Christ would speedily come, and they expected some great blessings through
the coming of the Messiah. And oh! when men, after hearing the gospel, have
great expectations concerning God and his salvation, surely their expectations
will not be long disappointed. I remember a man coming one day to see me, and he
said that he wished to take a sitting in the Tabernacle. He had been hearing me
for some time, and he wanted to take a seat; but he desired to be very honest
with me, and not to take a seat except upon a right understanding. I asked,
"What is the difficulty, my friend?" "Well," he replied, "the person who sat
next to me on Sunday told me that, if I became a regular hearer here, you would
expect me to be converted." "Well," I answered, "that is true, I shall expect
it." "But," said he, "you do not mean that you will require it of me." "Oh, dear
no! "I replied, "nothing of the sort; I do not expect you to convert yourself;
but I hope and trust that you will be converted, that is what I mean. I shall
expect that God, in his grace, will meet with you and save you." " Oh!" he said,
"I hope that, too; only I mean that I could not guarantee it." "Ah!" I said, "I
see that you have taken the word 'expect' in the wrong sense; but I think, dear
friend, that if you come expecting to be converted, and I preach expecting that
you will be converted, it is highly probable that it will soon take place."
"Oh!" he exclaimed, "God grant it!" The good brother has long since gone to
heaven. A very few weeks after our conversation, he came and told me that the
expectation in which we had united had been fulfilled, and he trusted that he
had found the Saviour. When people come really expecting a blessing, they will
be sure to get it. I do believe that some folk go to hear ministers with the
idea that there will be something to find fault with, and, of course, they find
that it is so; and when people come to hear another preacher, with the hope and
expectation that God will bless them, of course God does bless them. Their
expectation is divinely fulfilled. I have always a bright hope that a man will
lay hold on Christ when he begins to expect to be saved, for he feels then that
the time has come for him to find eternal life. John made ready "a people
prepared for the Lord" because, first, he led them to thought; next, he led them
to hope; and then he led them to expectation, and this is a high measure of
preparation.John did more than this, for he cried, "Repent ye: for the kingdom
of heaven is at hand," that is to say, he put a pressure of presentness upon the
people. A brother, who is an eminent preacher, but who uses rather long words,
was explaining to me the benefit of the preaching of Mr. Fullerton and Mr. Smith
in his place of worship. He said, "I do not know exactly why these brethren were
the means of the conversion of many in my place whom I had never reached, but I
perceived that they had the power to precipitate decision." It sounded rather
strange, but when I thought it over a little while, I rather liked the
expression, "the power to precipitate decision." That is the power that leads
men to make up their minds, and say "Yes," or "No," to feel that the decision
has to be made at once, and that the putting of it off is impossible because it
would be a kind of insanity. Now that is the meaning of what John said, "The
kingdom of heaven is at hand! Repent ye! He is coming who wields the axe of
divine Justice; bear fruit, or else be cut down. He is coming who uses the great
winnowing fan; be the true wheat, or else be blown away." He put the truth so
pointedly, and so earnestly, that he did by that means make ready "a people
prepared for the Lord."II. Now, secondly, John made the people ready for Christ
BY AWAKENING THEIR CONSCIENCES.His very first utterance, as I have reminded you,
was, "Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." "Repent! Repent !
Repent!" was John's continual cry. This awakened the consciences of his hearers
concerning their sin. Preaching repentance meant, "You have sinned; change your
mind in reference to that sin. You have sinned; quit the sin, mourn over it, ask
forgiveness for it. Repent ye!" Whenever a man brings to the minds of others
their sins, when he so does it that they begin to feel that they have sinned,
then they are being prepared for the Lord, for no man will come to the Saviour
unless he knows that he needs a Saviour; and no man will feel that he needs a
Saviour until he feels that he is a sinner. Hence it is a real preparation of
men for Christ to convince them of sin. This John did; he brought their sin
before them, and then he showed them their need of cleansing, for he stood by
the River Jordan, not with a scallop shell, as some depict him, but he stood by
the flowing stream, ready to immerse all those who repented. This was
practically saying to them, "You need to be washed, you need to be cleansed; and
I show you this truth as I baptize you with water unto repentance. Be this a
token to you that there is no entering heaven in your filthiness, but you must
first be washed. As your bodies are washed with pure water, so must your souls
be washed and made clean ere you can enter heaven." This was John's plain
teaching by his action as well as by his words.Then he went very straight to his
point of arousing their consciences by telling them of their need of a change of
life. He said that it was no use for them to pretend to grieve over the past,
and then continue to sin in the same fashion. "Bring forth fruits," said he,
"meet for repentance," or, "answerable to amendment of life," as the margin has
it. And he took pains to point out what the fruits must be. If they were men of
greed, they must become generous, and give to their needy neighbours. If they
had been unrighteous and exacting, they must become honest. If they had been
domineering, and brutal, and murmuring, they must become contented, and quiet,
and gentle.He not only preached to the multitudes about repentance of sin in
general, but he pointed out the precise sin of each class of persons that came
to him, and urged them to perform the special duties which they had neglected.
Now, brethren, I believe, as I have often said, that there is no sewing with
silk thread alone; you must have a needle as well. You need a sharp needle to go
first to draw the thread through the material; so you must preach the law, you
must denounce sin, and you must individualize, and condemn special sins; and you
must be personal, and pointed, or else men will not feel in their consciences
what you say to them. Conscience is very apt to get seared as with a hot iron,
to lose sensitiveness, so as to be no use at all as a conscience. Some say that
conscience is a spark of deity, a divine monitor; it is nothing of the sort, in
many a man it is almost extinct, for it does not act at all. The preacher who
would "make ready a people prepared for the Lord" must come out with his axe,
and lay it to the root of the trees; he must be definite and distinct in
indicating this sin and that sin, and crying to all men, "Repent of these sins.
Give them up. Get clear from them. Be washed from them; or else, as God lives,
when the Christ himself comes, it will not be to save you, but to blow you away
with his winnowing fan as the chaff is blown into the fire."This is "to make
ready a people prepared for the Lord" by their being convinced of sin and led to
repentance. That, I think, is a second meaning clearly illustrated in the
ministry of John the Baptist.III. But thirdly, John had "to make ready a people
prepared for the Lord" BY POINTING OUT THE NATURE OF TRUE RELIGION.He showed
that it did not depend upon external privileges. As soon as ever John began to
preach, the men of Jewish race, proud of their pedigree, pressed near; and John,
with all the courage that a servant of the Lord could have, said, "Begin not to
say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That
God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham." You see the
drift of his preaching, do you not? He says, practically, "Men and women, there
is no virtue in your boasted privileges, there is no merit in your religious
descent. As for supposing yourselves to be the peculiar people of God, you are
not to be saved that way. Say not, We have Abraham to our father." Oh, how many
hug that idea, "My father was a Christian." Others say, "Well, I live in a
Christian country." They suppose that there is something in the very race from
which they have sprung. Away with all such notions, for whatever external
privileges you may have had, they are not sufficient to secure salvation for
you.Then came the Pharisees and the Sadducees; they were the religious people of
the time, the great observers of all outward propriety, but John taught them
that true religion is not the same as official pretension. He called them a
"generation of vipers." This was very disrespectful, and very shocking indeed on
his part; all the newspapers of the period, if there had been any, would have
cried him down for his want of charity, but he wanted those who came to him to
understand that true religion was not the same as professing to be religious. It
was not making broad the borders of their garments, it was not wearing a text of
Scripture as a phylactery between their eyes, it was not making long prayers at
the corners of the streets, that would save them; there must be a thorough
change of heart. So John spoke right straight out; and this, I believe, is a
great way of preparing men for coming to Christ, when you tell them, "It is not
your early training, it is not your going to church or chapel, it is not your
infant sprinkling and your confirmation, it is not even your adult baptism, nor
your saying prayers and reading the Bible, that will save you; but 'ye must be
born again.' There must be an inward spiritual change, wrought by the Holy
Spirit. You must believe in Jesus Christ, whom God has sent, and you must so
believe in him as to be made new creatures in him, or else you cannot be saved."
Now, when men realize that all this is true, it startles them out of their false
refuges, and makes them ready to flee to the only true refuge, so that it is
really the way of making ready "a people prepared for the Lord." While John set
forth this matter negatively, putting down all the wrong hopes of his hearers,
he was exceedingly plain in telling them that the way of salvation would involve
them in the necessity of being right before God. "There," said he, "the proof of
a tree's life is its fruit, and the evidence of your new life will be your good
works. 'Now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees; therefore, every
tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.'"
Unless our religion makes us holy, it has not done anything for us that is
really worth doing. Unless we hate sin, and love righteousness, our religion is
a sham and a lie. John stated that truth very plainly; and that is the way to
drive men to Christ.He told them also that the trial of a life would be by its
weight as well as by its fruit. "Look," said he, "at the heap that lies on the
threshing-floor. He that hath the fan in his hand begins to winnow it; that
which is light and chaffy is blown away, that which has wheat in it remains on
the floor. So," said he, "there must be weight about your religion?stability,
reality, sincerity. There must be heart-work in it, it must be no pretence; it
must be true from beginning to end, or else it shall no more avail you than a
heap of chaff would avail the husbandman when it is blown into the fire."Then
John taught his hearers that Christ himself would be the great Trier of human
hearts; not ministers or fellow-professors, but, Christ himself. When men feel
this to be true, then they begin to say to themselves, "There is more required
than we at present possess. There is more demanded than we can ever manufacture
of ourselves. Let us go to him that hath it, and ask him for it. Let us go to
Christ, who hath grace to bestow upon the poor and needy."This, then, is the way
to make ready "a people prepared for the Lord," by pointing out to them the
nature of true religion; that is what I have tried to do, dear hearer. When you
know that you cannot save yourself, you sing?"Not the labours of my handsCan
fulfil thy law's demands:Could my zeal no respite know,Could my tears for ever
flow,All for sin could not atone:"and then you are ready to finish the verse by
singing?"Thou must save, and thou alone."IV. Now I shall close my discourse by
noticing a fourth way in which John made ready "a people prepared for the Lord."
He did it BY DECLARING THE GRACE AND POWER OF JESUS CHRIST.My brethren, if I
were to preach to you merely to arouse your attention, to awaken your
consciences to a sense of sin, or simply to show you the nature of true
religion, yet you would not be prepared for Christ unless also you knew
something about him, something about his suitableness and his power to save you.
So, John preached Jesus Christ as a mighty and glorious Saviour on whom the
Spirit rested. He says that, when he baptized our Lord, as Jesus came up out of
the water, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode
upon him. And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the
same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining
on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost." John boldly
preached, and told the people that the Spirit of God rested upon Jesus Christ,
yea, abode upon him. Now, this would lead them to him, and this should lead you
to him. Whatever there is, poor souls, that you need to make you holy and
perfect, Christ has it, for the Spirit of God rests on him, and abides in him
without measure. It you want the grace of penitence, Christ has it to give you.
If you want the grace of supplication, he has it to give you. If you want the
grace of faith, he has it. If you want the grace of holiness, he has it. "It
pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell," "and of his fulness
have all we received, and grace for grace." John taught this to his hearers, and
I teach it to you. There is nothing wanted between hell-gate and heaven-gate but
what is in Christ, nothing wanted for the biggest sinner out of hell to make him
the biggest saint in heaven but what Christ has, nothing wanted in any hour of
temptation, in any time of depression, nothing wanted in any moment of sickness,
or in the article of death itself, but what it is in Christ, and there for you
if you trust him. If you are willing to have it, it is freely presented to you.
He who makes you willing to receive is certainly willing to give. If he has
emptied you, and prepared you to receive of his fulness, do not think that he
will refuse you when you come to him for it. He hath said, "Him that cometh to
me I will in no wise cast out." Last Sunday morning, I blew the great trumpet in
the hope of startling some to Christ; on this occasion, I would ring the little
silver bell with a gentle noise in the hope that some may, by that means, be
made willing to come to Christ. My hearer, thou canst want nothing which Christ
does not possess; all thy requirements are fully met in him. The Spirit of God
dwells in him as a fulness, and as an abiding fulness; therefore, do but believe
in him, and even that faith he will give thee, do but trust him, and thou art
saved, and fully supplied in him who can meet all the necessities of thy case.
Now, brethren, John taught the people this, that they might be ready for Christ,
"a people prepared for the Lord," for, when men begin to see what a Christ
Christ is, what a Saviour the Saviour is, then they are ready to come to him;
and I pray that many of you may so come to him even now. John also told his
hearers that the Christ whom he preached was able to baptise them with the Holy
Ghost. "See," says he, "I only plunge you in the flowing stream, I can do
nothing more for you than dip you in this River Jordan, on profession of your
repentance of sin; but this Saviour, this Christ of God, can immerse you into
the Spirit of God. He can give you of his power to fill you; you can be baptized
into the Holy Ghost by him:" Dost thou hear this, sinner? Jesus Christ can come
and give thee the Holy Spirit in such measure that thou shalt be baptized into
him?"Plunged in the Godhead's deepest sea,And lost in his immensity."This will
make thee to be really his, and make thee truly to live unto him. The very
fulness of grace, then, is with Christ, and he is prepared to give it; and this
should make men prepared to receive it. Did not the poor prodigal son say of the
provision in his father's house, "There is bread enough and to spare"? It was
partly that which made him go to his father's house; and we may say of the
Spirit who is in Christ, "There is enough and to spare for every poor sinner who
comes to him;" therefore, come along with thee, be prepared at once to come and
receive the Saviour.Lastly, John said in his preaching, "Behold the Lamb of God,
which taketh away the sin of the world." He pointed out Christ as the
Sin-bearer, bearing human guilt in his own person. That is the master-key which
lets men into the kingdom of heaven. Oh! how I do delight to preach Christ as
the Substitute, Christ as the atoning sacrifice; and when you have heard Christ
preached in that way, it makes you ready, "a people prepared for the Lord." How
can men come to Christ if they do not know what Christ has done for them? If you
do not understand that he suffered in your stead, the Just for the unjust, to
bring you to God, how can you come to Christ? But when you have learned that
holy and blessed doctrine of Christ's propitiation for human sin, why, then,
methinks, you will leap at the very sound of it, and say, "Yes, I will take this
propitiation to be a sacrifice for me. Blessed Lamb of God,?"'My faith would lay
her handOn that dear head of thine,While like a penitent I standAnd there
confess my sin.'"John's preaching Christ was the best way of making ready "a
people prepared for the Lord," and there is no better way of preparing you to
come to Jesus. Oh, that God would grant to some of you that "precipitation of
decision" of which my learned friend spoke! Oh, that in some lives the
turning-point might be reached to-night, the happy moment when they should
decide for Christ! Lord, decide them! My friend, you have come to the
cross-roads; peradventure, to-night, if you reject the Saviour, it will be your
last rejection of him, and it will finally seal your doom; and I am sure, with
no peradventure whatever, that if this night you look to Jesus, and trust to his
finished work, you shall be saved, and saved for ever.Here is a text for you:
"Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved." Is not that a
wonderful "whosoever"? "Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord" in
believing prayer, asking mercy, trusting Christ for mercy, "shall be saved."
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." "He that believeth
on the Son hath everlasting life." Most of you know these texts by heart; grip
them as with hooks of steel. If you say that you are hungry, and I put a loaf of
bread in front of you, will you sit and look at it all night? If I meet you in a
week's time, will you still complain that you are hungry, while there is the
bread in front of you still untouched? You deserve to be hungry if that is the
case, you deserve to be famished to death if, the bread being there, you will
not have it. Take it, and eat it. "May I have it?" asks one. Thou art commanded
to have it; this is not a matter that is left to thy option. "The times of this
ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent." Our
Lord himself said, "Repent ye, and believe the gospel." It is, therefore, a
gospel command that thou shouldest repent and believe, and truly thou mayest
obey a command given by the Lord himself. There is no question about thy
permission to obey it; then, obey it at once, and take Christ to thyself."You do
not know me," says a sorrowing one away there in the corner, "you do not know
me, sir; else you would not talk so." I do not need to know you; but if you were
the devil's own, if you would but come to Christ, you should be at once and for
ever Christ's own. Though thou wert sunk almost into hell by a life of horrible
crime, yet if thou wilt now come and repent of thy sin, and lay hold on Christ,
thou shalt be saved. I do not know how to use language that shall be stronger
than that; but do not think that I will withdraw it, or qualify it. If I did
know how to speak in broader terms even than those I have used, I would so
speak. Ye guiltiest of the guilty, you most condemned of all the condemned, for
whom the hottest hell would be your due place, yet come away, and look to
Christ, and you shall live, for none are too vile for him to cleanse, none are
too guilty for him to pardon. Oh, that you would believe in Jesus while yet the
gospel bell rings out, "mercy, mercy, mercy!"! God help you to do so, for the
Lord Jesus Christ's sake! Amen. HYMNS FROM "OUR OWN HYMN BOOK"?546, 549,
419.Luke 1:5-17, and 3:1-18Chapter l. Verses 5, 6. There was in the days of
Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of
Abia; and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.
And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and
ordinances of the Lord blameless.You have here a very interesting couple,
Zacharias and Elisabeth, a priest with a wife. I have often marvelled why the
Church of Rome should think it wrong that priests should be married, when it is
evident that the priests under the law were so. The priests had grown so
numerous that there was not room for them all to work at the Temple at one time;
they were divided into twenty-four courses, and Zacharias would, therefore, come
up to Jerusalem for a fortnight to take his share of the service.Zacharias and
Elisabeth were notable for excellence of character: "They were both righteous
before God." Not only did they stand high in the esteem of men, but the great
God, who reads the hearts of all, and sees how they live in secret, reckoned
them to be righteous: "They were both righteous before God, walking in all the
commandments"?that is, in the moral precepts of the law?"and ordinances"?that
is, in the ceremonial rites?"of the Lord blameless."7?9. And they had no child,
because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in
years. And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before
God in the order of his course, according to the custom of the priest's office,
his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.Certain
offices of the priest were considered to be more honourable than others; and so,
to prevent any jealousy, they cast lots as to which they should take in turn. It
fell to the lot of Zacharias to burn incense; this did not happen by chance.
"The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord;"
and there was a special reason why this good man should stand at the altar at
this particular time.10. And the whole multitude of the people were praying
without at the time of incense.While he, in the inner shrine, was burning
incense, the multitudes in the outer courts were engaging in prayer. I think
that is a very beautiful symbol,?the priest unseen, like the Lord Jesus Christ
in the Holy of Holies above, and the mass of the people engaged in prayer while
the unseen priest is offering the sacred perfume before the altar of Jehovah.11,
12. And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side
of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear
fell upon him.He was a good man, yet he was troubled at the sight of an angel.
Consciousness of sin, even in an outwardly blameless man, makes us all tremble
in the presence of anything heavenly. This bright spirit had come fresh from the
courts of God; he was a courtier of the heavenly Temple, and he had come down on
a sudden with a sweet and cheering message for the earthly priest; but the
priest was troubled, and fear fell upon him." Brethren, we cannot know much of
heaven here below, because it would cause us trembling; we are as yet unfit for
all the glories of that upper state. Good John Berridge wrote,?"And now they
range the heavenly plains,And sing their hymns in melting strains;And now their
souls begin to proveThe heights and depths of Jesus' love."Ah! Lord, with tardy
steps I creep,And sometimes sing, and sometimes weep;Yet strip me of this house
of clay,And I will sing as loud as they."Yes, and so will we; we will be as much
at home as the happy saints, who dwell in light, when once we are delivered from
this hampering flesh and blood.13. But the angel said unto him, Fear not,
Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard;The best quietus to fear is answered prayer.
If God has heard thee, be not thou again afraid.13. And thy wife Elisabeth shall
bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John."The grace" or "the gift of
God", so the name "John" signifies; and it is a sweet name for anyone to bear:
"Thou shalt call his name John." I do not think the prayer alluded to here was
so much a prayer for a son; if so, methinks that Zacharias had long ago left off
praying it, and now his old prayers are heard, after he had discontinued them. I
think that it alludes rather to his prayer for the coming of the Christ, the
appearance of the Messiah; that prayer was heard, as we shall see further on.14,
15. And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.
For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor
strong drink;I do not say that it is the duty of every man to drink neither wine
nor strong drink, but I beg every man to notice that if anyone was to he
peculiarly consecrated to a holy calling, it was always to be so: "He shall be
great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink."
If there be nothing defiling about wine or strong drink, there is certainly
nothing sanctifying about it; and the tendency seems to lie the other way, else
it is a strange thing that men dedicated to God were so continually bidden to
drink neither wine nor strong drink. 15?17. And he shall be filled with the Holy
Ghost, even from his mother's womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he
turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power
of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient
to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.In the
third chapter of this Gospel, you will find the record of John beginning to
fulfil this prophecy concerning himself.Chapter iii. Verses 1?7. Now in the
fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of
Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of
Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abiline,
Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the
son of Zacharias in the wilderness. And he came into all the country about
Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins; as it is
written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one
crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths
straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be
brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be
made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God. Then said he to the
multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who
hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?Does not John the Baptist speak
like Elijah? Here are no honeyed phrases to delight the popular ear. The prophet
of the wilderness talks like one who is all on fire with zeal for God, and
indignation against evil.8?11. Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of
repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our
father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up
children unto Abraham. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees:
every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast
into the fire. And the people asked him, saying, what shall we do then? He
answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him
that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.John was wonderfully
practical in his advocacy of a holy charity and benevolence. His words cut
against all greed, all hoarding, all hardening of the heart towards our
fellow-men.12, 13. Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him,
Master, what shall we do? And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which
is appointed you.They were accustomed to gather the taxes unfairly, and to
increase the rates by oppressing the people, getting, perhaps, twice or even ten
times more out of them than they could legally claim. John speaks to the point,
does he not?14. And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what
shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man,Those rough Roman
soldiers, as they had conquered the country, were very apt to treat the people
as though they were their slaves; so John says to them, "Do violence to no
man,"?14. Neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages."With your
rations, your allowances," so it runs. They were very apt to be contending for
an increase in their pay, and to drag civilians before the courts with false
accusations unless they chose to give them bribes to let them go. John does not
mince matters with any of his hearers; he speaks with wonderful plainness and
courage, and therein proves himself to be a true herald of his Master.15?18. And
as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John,
whether he were the Christ, or not; John answered, saying unto them all, I
indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of
whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost
and with fire: whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor,
and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire
unquenchable. And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the
people.


========================================================================
  CHAPTER 2: JOY, A DUTY
========================================================================

A Sermon (No.2405) Intended for Reading on Lord's-Day, March 24th, 1895,
Delivered By C. H. SPURGEON, At [2]the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington On
Lord's-day Evening, March 20th, 1887. "Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I
say, Rejoice."?Philippians 4:4. THERE IS A marvelous medicinal power in joy.
Most medicines are distasteful; but this, which is the best of all medicines, is
sweet to the taste, and comforting to the heart. We noticed, in our reading,
that there had been a little tiff between two sisters in the church at
Philippi;?I am glad that we do not know what the quarrel was about; I am usually
thankful for ignorance on such subjects;?but, as a cure for disagreements, the
apostle says, "Rejoice in the Lord alway." People who are very happy, especially
those who are very happy in the Lord, are not apt either to give offence or to
take offence. Their minds are so sweetly occupied with higher things, that they
are not easily distracted by the little troubles which naturally arise among
such imperfect creatures as we are. Joy in the Lord is the cure for all discord.
Should it not be so? What is this joy but the concord of the soul, the accord of
the heart, with the joy of heaven? Joy in the Lord, then, drives away the
discords of earth. Further, brethren, notice that the apostle, after he had
said, "Rejoice in the Lord alway," commanded the Philippians to be careful for
nothing, thus implying that joy in the Lord is one of the best preparations for
the trials of this life. The cure for care is joy in the Lord. No, my brother,
you will not be able to keep on with your fretfulness; no, my sister, you will
not be able to weary yourself any longer with your anxieties, if the Lord will
but fill you with his joy. Then, being satisfied with your God, yea, more than
satisfied, overflowing with delight in him, you will say to yourself, "Why art
thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted in me? Hope thou in God:
for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance." What is there on
earth that is worth fretting for even for five minutes? If one could gain an
imperial crown by a day of care, it would be too great an expense for a thing
which would bring more care with it. Therefore, let us be thankful, let us be
joyful in the Lord. I count it one of the wisest things that, by rejoicing in
the Lord, we commence our heaven here below. It is possible so to do, it is
profitable so to do, and we are commanded so to do. Now I come to the text
itself, "Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice." I. It will be our
first business at this time to consider THE GRACE COMMANDED, this grace of joy;
"Rejoice in the Lord," says the apostle.In the first place, this is a very
delightful thing. What a gracious God we serve, who makes delight to be a duty,
and who commands us to rejoice! Should we not at once be obedient to such a
command as this? It is intended that we should be happy. That is the meaning of
the precept, that we should be cheerful; more than that, that we should be
thankful; more than that, that we should rejoice. I think this word "rejoice" is
almost a French word; it is not only joy, but it is joy over again, re-joice.
You know re usually signifies the reduplication of a thing, the taking it over
again. We are to joy, and then we are to re-joy. We are to chew the cud of
delight; we are to roll the dainty morsel under our tongue till we get the very
essence out of it. "Rejoice." Joy is a delightful thing. You cannot be too
happy, brother. Nay, do not suspect yourself of being wrong because you are full
of delight. You know it is said of the divine wisdom, "Her ways are ways of
pleasantness, and all her paths are peace." Provided that it is joy in the Lord,
you cannot have too much of it. The fly is drowned in the honey, or the sweet
syrup into which he plunges himself; but this heavenly syrup of delight will not
drown your soul, or intoxicate your heart. It will do you good, and not evil,
all the days of your life. God never commanded us to do a thing that would
really harm us; and when he bids us rejoice, we may be sure that this is a
delightful as it is safe, and as safe as it is delightful. Come, brothers and
sisters, I am inviting you now to no distasteful duty when, in the name of my
Master, I say to you, as Paul said to the Philippians under the teaching of the
Holy Spirit, "Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice."But, next,
this is a demonstrative duty: "Rejoice in the Lord." There may be such a thing
as a dumb joy, but I hardly think that it can keep dumb long. Joy! Joy! Why, it
speaks for itself! It is like a candle lighted in a dark chamber; you need not
sound a trumpet, and say, "Now light has come." The candle proclaims itself by
its own brilliance; and when joy comes into a man, it shines out of his eyes, it
sparkles in his countenance. There is a something about every limb of the man
that betokens that his body, like a well-tuned harp, has had its strings put in
order. Joy?it refreshes the marrow of the bones; it quickens the flowing of the
blood in the veins; it is a healthy thing in all respects. It is a speaking
thing, a demonstrative thing; and I am sure that joy I the Lord ought to have a
tongue. When the Lord sends you affliction, sister, you generally grumble loudly
enough; when the Lord tries you, my dear brother, you generally speak fast
enough about that. Now when, on the other hand, the Lord multiplies his mercies
to you, do speak about it, do sing about it. I cannot recollect, since I was a
boy, ever seeing in the newspapers columns of thankfulness and expressions of
delight about the prosperity of business in England. It is a long, long time
since I was first able to read newspapers?a great many years now; but I do not
recollect the paragraphs in which it was said that everybody was getting on in
the world, and growing rich; but as soon as there was any depression in
business, what lugubrious articles appeared concerning the dreadful times which
had fallen upon the agricultural interest and every other interest! Oh, my dear
brethren, from the way some of you grumble, I might imagine you were all ruined
if I did not know better! I knew some of you when you were not worth twopence,
and you are pretty well-to-do now; you have got on uncommonly well for men who
are being ruined! From the way some people talk, you might imagine that
everybody is bankrupt, and that we are all going to the dogs together; but it is
not so, and what a pity it is that we do not give the Lord some of our praises
when we have better times! If we are so loud and so eloquent over our present
woes, why could we not have been as eloquent and as loud in thanksgiving for the
blessings that God formerly vouchsafed to us? Perhaps the mercies buried in
oblivion have been to heaven, and accused us to the Lord, and therefore he has
sent us the sorrows of to-day. True joy, when it is joy in the Lord, must speak;
it cannot hold its tongue, it must praise the name of the Lord.Further, this
blessed grace of joy is very contagious. It is a great privilege, I think, to
meet a truly happy man, a graciously happy man. My mind goes back at this moment
to that dear man of God who used to be with us, years ago, whom we called "Old
Father Dransfield." What a lump of sunshine that man was! I think that I never
came into this place with a heavy heart, but the very sight of him seemed to
fill me with exhilaration, for his joy was wholly in his God! An old man and
full of years, but as full of happiness as he was full of days; always having
something to tell you to encourage you. He constantly made a discovery of some
fresh mercy for which we were again to praise God. O dear brethren, let us
rejoice in the Lord, that we may set others rejoicing! One dolorous spirit
brings a kind of plague into the house; one person who is always wretched seems
to stop all the birds singing wherever he goes; but, as the birds pipe to each
other, and one morning songster quickens all the rest, and sets the groves
ringing with harmony, so will it be with the happy cheerful spirit of a man who
obeys the command of the text, "Rejoice in the Lord alway." This grace of joy is
contagious. Besides, dear brethren, joy in the Lord is influential for good. I
am sure that there is a mighty influence wielded by a consistently joyous
spirit. See how little children are affected by the presence of a happy person.
There is much more in the tone of the life than there is in the particular
fashion of the life. It may be the life of one who is very poor, but oh, how
poverty is gilded by a cheerful spirit! It may be the life of one who is well
read and deeply instructed; but, oh, if there be a beauty of holiness, and a
beauty of happiness added to the learning, nobody talks about "the blue
stocking," or "the bookworm" being dull and heavy. Oh, no, there is a charm
about holy joy! I wish we had more of it! There are many more flies caught with
honey than with vinegar; and there are many more sinners brought to Christ by
happy Christians than by doleful Christians. Let us sing unto the Lord as long
as we live; and, mayhap, some weary sinner, who has discovered the emptiness of
sinful pleasure, will say to himself, "Why, after all, there must be something
real about the of these Christians; let me go and learn how I may have it." And
when he comes and sees it in the light of your gladsome countenance, he will be
likely to learn it, God helping him, so as never to forget it. "Rejoice in the
Lord alway," says the apostle, for joy is a most influential grace, and every
child of God ought to possess it in a high degree.I want you to notice, dear
friends, that this rejoicing is commanded. It is not a matter that is left to
your option; it is not set before you as a desirable thing which you can do
without, but it is a positive precept of the Holy Spirit to all who are in the
Lord: "Rejoice in the Lord alway." We ought to obey this precept because joy in
the Lord makes us like God. He is the happy God; ineffable bliss is the
atmosphere in which he lives, and he would have his people to be happy. Let the
devotees of Baal cut themselves with knives and lancets, and make hideous
outcries if they will; but the servants of Jehovah must not even mar the corners
of their beard. Even if they fast, they shall anoint their head, and wash their
face, that they appear not unto men to fast, for a joyous God desires a joyous
people.You are commanded to rejoice, brethren, because this is for your profit.
Holy joy will oil the wheels of your life's machinery. Holy joy will strengthen
you for your daily labour. Holy joy will beautify you, and, as I have already
said, give you an influence over the lives of others. It is upon this point that
I would most of all insist, we are commanded to rejoice in the Lord. If you
cannot speak the gospel, live the gospel by your cheerfulness; for what is the
gospel? Glad tidings of great joy; and you who believe it must show by its
effect upon you that it is glad tidings of great joy to you. I do believe that a
man of God?under trial and difficulty and affliction, bearing up, and patiently
submitting with holy acquiescence, and still rejoicing in God?is a real preacher
of the gospel, preaching with an eloquence which is mightier than words can ever
be, and which will find its secret and silent way into the hearts of those who
might have resisted other arguments. Oh, do, then, listen to the text, for it is
a command from God, "Rejoice in the Lord alway!"May I just pause here, and hand
this commandment round to all of you who are members of this church, and to all
of you who are truly members of Christ? You are bidden to rejoice in the Lord
alway; you are not allowed to sit there, and fret, and fume; you are not
permitted to complain and grown. Mourner, you are commanded to put on beauty for
ashes, and the oil of joy for mourning. For this purpose your Saviour came, the
Spirit of the Lord is upon him for this very end, that he might make you to
rejoice. Therefore, sing with the prophet, "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,
my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of
salvation, he hath covered me with a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom
decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her
jewels."II. Now we come to the second head, on which I will speak but briefly;
that is, THE JOY DISCRIMINATED: "Rejoice in the Lord."Notice the sphere of this
joy: "Rejoice in the Lord." We read in Scripture that children are to obey their
parents "in the Lord." We read of men and women being married "only in the
Lord." Now, dear friends, no child of God must go outside that ring, "in the
Lord." There is where you are, where you ought to be, where you must be. You
cannot truly rejoice if you get outside that ring; therefore, see that you do
nothing which you cannot do "in the Lord." Mind that you seek no joy which is
not joy in the Lord; if you go after the poisonous sweets of this world, woe be
to you. Never rejoice in that which is sinful, for all such rejoicing is evil.
Flee from it; it can do you no good. That joy which you cannot share with God is
not a right joy for you. No; "in the Lord" is the sphere of your joy.But I think
that the apostle also means that God is to be the great object of your joy:
"Rejoice in the Lord." Rejoice in the Father, you Father who is in heaven, your
loving, tender, unchangeable God. Rejoice, too, in the Son, your Redeemer, your
Brother, the Husband of you soul, your Prophet, Priest, and King. Rejoice also
in the Holy Ghost, your Quickener, your Comforter, in him who shall abide with
you for ever. Rejoice in the one God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob; in him
delight yourselves, as it is written, "Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he
shall give thee the desires of thine heart." We cannot have too much of this joy
in the ord, for the great Jehovah is our exceeding joy. Or if, by :the Lord" is
meant the Lord Jesus, then let me invite, persuade, command you to delight in
the Lord Jesus, incarnate in your flesh, dead for your sins, risen for your
justification, gone into the glory claiming victory for you, sitting at the
right hand of God interceding for you, reigning over all worlds on your behalf,
and soon to come to take you up into his glory that you may be with him for
ever. Rejoice in the Lord Jesus. This is a sea of delight; blessed are they that
dive into its utmost depths. Sometimes, brethren and sisters, you cannot rejoice
in anything else, but you can rejoice in the Lord; then, rejoice I him to the
full. Do not rejoice in your temporal prosperity, for riches take to themselves
wings, and fly away. Do not rejoice even in your great successes in the work of
God. Remember how the seventy disciples came back to Jesus, and said, "Lord,
even the devils are subject unto us through thy name," and he answered,
"Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but
rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven." Do not rejoice in
your privileges; I mean, do not make the great joy of your life to be the fact
that you are favoured with this and that external privilege or ordinance, but
rejoice in God. He changes not. If the Lord be your joy, your joy will never dry
up. All other things are but for a season; but God is for ever and ever. Make
him your joy, the whole of your joy, and then let this joy absorb your every
thought. Be baptized into this joy; plunge into the deeps of this unutterable
bliss of joy in God.III. Thirdly, let us think of THE TIME APPOINTED for this
rejoicing: "Rejoice in the Lord alway.""Alway." Well, then, that begins at once,
certainly; so let us now begin to rejoice in the Lord. If any of you have taken
a gloomy view of religion, I beseech you to throw that gloomy view away at once.
"Rejoice in the Lord alway," therefore, rejoice in the Lord now. I recollect
what a damper I had, as a young Christian, when I had but lately believed in
Jesus Christ. I felt that, as the Lord had said, "He that believeth in me hath
everlasting life," I, having believed in him, had everlasting life, and I said
so, with the greatest joy and delight and enthusiasm, to an old Christian man;
and he said to me, "Beware of presumption! There are a great many who think they
have eternal life, but who have not got it," which was quite true; but, for all
that, is there not more presumption in doubting God's promise than there is in
believing it? Is there any presumption in taking God at his word? Is there not
gross presumption in hesitating and questioning as to whether these things are
so or not? If God says that they are so, then they are so, whether I feel that
they are so or not; and it is my place, as a believer, to accept God's bare
word, and rest on it. "We count cheques as cash," said one who was making up
accounts. Good cheques are to be counted as cash, and the promises of God,
though as yet unfulfilled, are as good as the blessings themselves, for God
cannot lie, or make a promise that he will not perform. Let us, therefore, not
be afraid of being glad, but begin to be glad at once if we have hitherto taken
a gloomy view of true religion, and have been afraid to rejoice.When are we to
be glad? "Rejoice in the Lord alway;" that is, when you cannot rejoice in
anything or anyone but God. When the fig-tree does not blossom, when there is no
fruit on the vine and no herd in the stall, when everything withers and decays
and perishes, when the worm at the root of the gourd has made it to die, then
rejoice in the Lord. When the day darkens into evening, and the evening into
midnight, and the midnight into a seven fold horror of great darkness, rejoice
in the Lord; and when that darkness does not clear, but becomes more dense and
Egyptian, when night succeedeth night, and neither sun nor moon nor stars
appear, still rejoice in the Lord alway. He who uttered these words had been a
night and a day in the deep, he had been stoned, he had suffered from false
brethren, he had been in peril of his life, and yet most fittingly do those lips
cry out to us, "Rejoice in the Lord alway." Ay, at the stake itself have martyrs
fulfilled this word; they clapped their hands amid the fire that was consuming
them. Therefore, rejoice in the Lord when you cannot rejoice in any other.But
also take care that you rejoice in the Lord when you have other things to
rejoice in. When he loads your table with good things, and your cup is
overflowing with blessings, rejoice in him more than in them. Forget not that
the Lord your Shepherd is better than the green pastures and the still waters,
and rejoice not in the pastures or in the waters in comparison with your joy in
the Shepherd who gives you all. Let us never make gods out of our goods; let us
never allow what God gives us to supplant the Giver. Shall the wife love the
jewels that her husband gave her better than she loves him who gave them to her?
That were an evil love, or no love at all. So, let us love God first, and
rejoice in the Lord alway when the day is brightest, and multiplied are the
other joys that he permits us to have."Rejoice in the Lord alway." That is, if
you have not rejoiced before, begin to do so at once; and when you have long
rejoiced, keep on at it. I have known, sometimes, that things have gone so
smoothly that I have said, "There will be a check to this prosperity; I know
that there will. Things cannot go on quite so pleasantly always.""More the
treacherous calm I dread Than tempests lowering overhead."One is apt to spoil
his joy by the apprehension that there is some evil coming. Now listen to this:
"He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the
Lord." "Rejoice in the Lord alway." Do not anticipate trouble. "Sufficient unto
the day is the evil thereof." Take the good that God provides thee, and rejoice
not merely in it, but in him who provided it. So mayest thou enjoy it without
fear, for there is good salt with that food which is eaten as coming from the
hand of God."Rejoice in the Lord alway." That is, when you get into company,
then rejoice in the Lord. Do not be ashamed to let others see that you are glad.
Rejoice in the Lord also when you are alone. I know what happens to some of you
on Sunday night. You have had such a blessed Sabbath, and you have gone away
from the Lord's table with the very flavour of heaven in your mouths; and then
some of you have had to go home where everything is against you. The husband
does not receive you with any sympathy with your joy, or the father does not
welcome you with any fellowship in your delight. Well, but still, "Rejoice in
the Lord alway." When you cannot get anybody else to rejoice with you, still
continue to rejoice. There is a way of looking at everything which will show you
that the blackest cloud has a silver lining. There is a way of looking at all
things in the light of God, which will turn into sweetness that which otherwise
had been bitter as gall. I do not know whether any of you keep a quassia cup at
home. If you do, you know that it is made of wood, and you pour water into the
bowl, and the water turns bitter directly before you drink it. You may keep this
cup as long as you like, but it always embitters the water that is put into it.
I think that I know some dear brethren and sisters who always seem to have one
of these cups handy. Now instead of that, I want you to buy a cup of another
kind that shall make everything sweet, whatever it is. Whatever God pleases to
pour out of the bowl of providence shall come into your cup, and your
contentment, your delight in God, shall sweeten it all. God bless you, dear
friends, with much of this holy joy!IV. So now I finish with the fourth head,
which is this, THE EMPHASIS LAID ON THE COMMAND: "Rejoice in the Lord alway: and
again I say, Rejoice." What does that mean, "Again I say, Rejoice"?This was,
first, to show Paul's love for the Philippians. He wanted them to be happy. They
had been so kind to him, and they had made him so happy, that he said, "Oh, dear
brethren, do rejoice; dear sisters, do rejoice. I say it twice over to you, "Be
happy, be happy,' because I love you so well that I am anxious to have you
beyond all things else to rejoice in the Lord alway."I also think that, perhaps,
he said it twice over to suggest the difficulty of continual joy. It is not so
easy as some think always to rejoice. It may be for you young people, who are
yet strong in limb, who have few aches and pains, and none of the infirmities of
life. It may be an easy thing to those placed in easy circumstances, with few
cares and difficulties; but there are some of God's people who need great grace
if they are to rejoice in the Lord always; and the apostle knew that, so he
said, "Again I say, Rejoice." He repeats the precept, as much as to say, "I know
it is a difficult thing, and so I the more earnestly press it upon you. Again I
say, Rejoice."I think, too that he said it twice over, to assert the possibility
of it. This was as much as if he had said, "I told you to rejoice in the Lord
always. You opened your eyes, and looked with astonishment upon me; but, "Again
I say, Rejoice." It is possible, it is practicable; I have not spoken unwisely.
I have not told you to do what you never can do; but with deliberation I write
it down, "Again I say, Rejoice.' You can be happy. God the Holy Ghost can lift
you above the down-draggings of the flesh, and of the world, and of the devil;
and you may be enabled to live upon the mount of God beneath the shinings of his
face. "Again I say, Rejoice.'"Do you not think that this was intended also to
impress upon them the importance of the duty? "Again I say, Rejoice." Some of
you will go and say, "I do not think that it matters much whether I am happy or
not, I shall get to heaven, however gloomy I am, if I am sincere." "No," says
Paul, "that kind of talk will not do; I cannot have you speak like that. Come, I
must have you rejoice, I do really conceive it to be a Christian's bounden duty,
and so, "Again, I say, Rejoice.'"But do you not think, also, that Paul repeated
the command to allow of special personal testimony? "Again I say, Rejoice. I,
Paul, a sufferer to the utmost extent for Christ's sake, even now an ambassador
in bonds, shut up in a dungeon, I say to you, Rejoice." Paul was a greatly-tried
man, but he was a blessedly happy man. There is not one of us but would gladly
change conditions with Paul, if that were possible, now that we see the whole of
his life written out; and to-night, looking across the ages, over all the scenes
of trouble which he encountered, he says to us, "Brethren, rejoice in the Lord
alway: and again I say, Rejoice." Did you ever notice how full of joy this
Epistle to the Philippians is? Will you spare me just a minute while I get you
to run your eye through it, to observe what a joyful letter it is? You notice
that, in the first chapter, Paul gets only as far as the fourth verse when he
says, "Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy." Now
he is I his right vein; he is so glad because of what God has done for the
Philippians that, when he prays for them, he mixes joy with his prayer. In the
eighteenth verse, he declares that he found joy even in the opposition of those
who preached Christ in order to rival him. Hear what he says: "The one preach
Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds:
but the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel. What
then? Notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is
preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice." And he does not
finish the chapter till, in the twenty-fifth verse, he declares that he had joy
even in the expectation of not going to heaven just yet, but living a little
longer to do god to these people: "And having this confidence, I know that I
shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith;
that your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to
you again." You see it is joy, joy, joy, joy. Paul seems to go from stave to
stave of the ladder of light, as if he were climbing up fro Nero's dungeon into
heaven itself by way of continual joy. So he writes, in the second verse of the
second chapter, "Fulfill ye my joy, that ye be like-minded, having the same
love, being of one accord, of one mind." When he gets to the sixteenth verse, he
says, "That I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain,
neither laboured in vain."But I am afraid that I should weary you if I went
through the Epistle thus, slowly, verse by verse. Just notice how he begins the
third chapter: "Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord." The word is
sometimes rendered "farewell." When he says, "Rejoice," it is the counterpart of
"welcome." We say to a man who comes to our house, "Salve," "Welcome." When he
goes away, it is our duty to "speed the parting guest," and say "Farewell." This
is what Paul meant to say here. "Finally, my brethren, fare you well in the
Lord. Be happy in the Lord. Rejoice in the Lord." And I do not think that I can
finish up my sermon better than by saying on this Sabbath night, "Finally, my
brethren, fare you well, be happy in the Lord.""Fare thee well! a if for
everStill for ever, fare thee well."May that be your position, so to walk with
God that your fare shall be that of angels! May you eat angels' food, the manna
of God's love! May your drink be from the rock that flows with a pure stream! So
may you feed and so may you drink until you come unto the mount of God; where
you shall see his face unveiled, and standing in his exceeding brightness, shall
know his glory, being glorified with the saved. Till then, be happy. Why,
even?"The thought of such amazing bliss,Should constant joy create."Be happy. If
the present be dreary, it will soon be over. Oh, but a little while, and we
shall be transferred from these seats below to the thrones above! We shall go
from the place of aching brows to the place where they all wear crowns, from the
place of weary hands to where they bear the palm branch of victory, from the
place of mistake and error and sin, and consequent grief, to the place where
they are without fault before the throne of God, for they have washed their
robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Come, then, let us make a
solemn league and covenant together in the name of God, and let it be called,
"The Guild of the Happy"; for the?"Favourites of the Heavenly KingMay speak
their joys abroad;"nay, they must speak their joys abroad; let us endeavour to
do so always, by the help of the Holy Spirit. Amen and Amen.Philippians 4This
Epistle was written by Paul when he was in prison, with iron fetters about his
wrists; yet there is no iron in the Epistle. It is full of light, life, love,
and joy, blended with traces of sorrow, yet with a holy delight that rises above
his grief.Verse 1. Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy
and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.See how the heart of the
apostle is at work; his emotions are not dried up by his personal griefs. He
takes a delight in his friends at Philippi; he has a lively recollection of the
time when he and Silas were shut up in prison there, and that same night
baptized the jailor and his household, and formed the church at Philippi.2. I
beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the
Lord.These two good women had fallen out with one another. Paul loves them so
much that he would not have any strife in the church to mar its harmony; and he
therefore beseeches both of these good women to end their quarrel, and to "be of
the same mind in the Lord." You cannot tell what hurt may come to a church
through two members being at enmity against each other. They may be unknown
persons, they may be Christian women, but they can work no end of mischief; and
therefore it is a most desirable thing that they should speedily come together
again in peace and unity. 3. And I entreat thee also, true yokefellow, help
those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with
other my fellow-labourers, whose names are in the book of life.He tenderly
thinks of all those who had helped the work of the Lord, and, in return, he
would have all of them helped, and kindly remembered, and affectionately
cherished. May we always have this tender feeling towards one another,
especially towards those who work for the Lord with us! May we ever delight in
cheering those who serve our Lord!4, 5. Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I
say, Rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.We
have come to understand this word "moderation" in a sense not at all intended
here. The best translation would probably be "forbearance." Do not get angry
with anybody; do not begin to get fiery and impetuous: be forbearing, for the
Lord is at hand. You cannot tell how soon he may appear; there is no time to
spare for the indulgence of anger; be quiet; be patient; and if there be
anything very wrong, well, leave it. Our Lord Jesus will come very soon;
therefore be not impatient.6. Be careful?That is, be anxious?6. For nothing; but
in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be
made known unto God.See how the apostle would bid us throw anxiety to the winds;
let us try to do so. You cannot turn one hair white or black, fret as you may.
You cannot add a cubit to your stature, be you as anxious as you please. It will
be for your own advantage, and it will be for God's glory for you to shake off
the anxieties which else might overshadow your spirit. Be anxious about nothing,
but prayerful about everything, and be thankful about everything as well. Is not
that a beautiful trait in Paul's character? He is a prison at Rome, and likely
soon to die; yet he mingles thanksgiving with his supplication, and asks others
to do the same. We have always something for which to thank God, therefore let
us also obey the apostolic injunction.7, 8. And the peace of God, which passeth
all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest,
whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are
lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if
there be any praise, think on these things.If there is any really good movement
in the world, help it, you Christian people. If it is not purely and absolutely
religious, yet if it tends to the benefit of your fellow-men, if it promotes
honesty, justice, purity, take care that you are on that side, and do all you
can to help it forward.9. Those things, which ye have both learned, and
received, and heard, and seen I me, do:Paul was a grand preacher to be able to
say that; to hold up his own example, as well as his own teaching, as a thing
which the people might safely follow.9.And the God of peace shall be with you.In
the seventh verse, we had the expression, "the peace of God." In this ninth
verse, we have the mention of the "God of peace." May we first enjoy the peace
of God, and then be helped by the Spirit of God to get into a still higher
region, where we shall be more fully acquainted with the God of peace!10. But I
rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath
flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity."I
rejoiced." So Paul was himself in a happy mood; these saints in Philippi had
sent to him in prison a gift by the hand of one of their pastors, and Paul, in
his deep poverty, had been much comforted by their kind thoughtfulness about
him.11. Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever
state I am, therewith to be content.That was not an easy lesson to learn,
especially when one of those states meant being I prison at Rome. If he was ever
in the Mamertine those of us who have been in that dungeon would confess that it
would take a deal of grace to make us content to be there; and if he was shut up
in the prison of the palatine hill, in the barracks near the morass, it was, to
say the least, not a desirable place to be in. Soldier chained to your hand day
and night, however good a fellow he may be, does not always make the most
delightful company for you, nor you for him; and it takes some time to learn to
be content with such a companion; but, says Paul, "I have learned, in whatsoever
state I am, therewith to be content."12. I know both how to be abased, and I
know how to abound: everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full
and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.These are both hard lessons
to learn; I do not know which is the mor difficult of the two. Probably it is
easier to know how to go down than to know how to go up. How many Christians
have I seen grandly glorifying God in sickness and poverty when they have come
down in the world; and ah! How often have I seen other Christians dishonouring
God when they have grown rich, or when they have risen to a position of
influence among their fellow-men! These two lessons grace alone can fully teach
us. 13. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.What a
gracious attainment! There is no boasting in this declaration; Paul only spoke
what was literally the truth.14, 15. Notwithstanding ye have well done, that ye
did communicate with my affliction. Now ye Philippians know also, that in the
beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated
with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only.The Philippians were the
only Christians who had sent any help to this great sufferer for Christ's sake
in the time of his need.16?18. For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again
unto my necessity. Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may
abound to your account. But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received
of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell,
a sacrifice acceptable, well pleasing to God.I do not suppose that they sent him
very much; but he knew the love that prompted the gift, he understood what they
meant by it. I always had a fancy that Lydia was the first to suggest that kind
deed. She, the first convert of the Philippian church, thought of Paul, I doubt
not, and said to the other believers, "Let us take care of him as far as we can.
See how he spends his whole life in the Master's service, and now he may at last
die in prison for want of even common necessaries; let us send him a present to
Rome." How grateful is the apostle for that gift of love! What gladness they had
put into his heart! Now he says:?19. But my God shall supply all your need
according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus."You have supplied my need out
of your poverty; my God shall supply all your need out of his riches. Your
greatest need shall not exceed the liberality of his supplies."20, 21. Now unto
God and our Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen. Salute every saint in
Christ Jesus.The religion of Christ is full of courtesy, and it is full of
generous thoughtfulness. I do not think that he can be a Christian who has no
knowledge nor care about his fellow church-members.21. The brethren which are
with me greet you.They saw that he was writing a letter, and they therefore
said, "Send our love to the Philippians."22. All the saints salute you, chiefly
they that are of Caesar's household.Only think of saints in the household of
Nero, saints in the service of such a demon as he was, and saints who were first
in every good thing: "Chiefly they that are of Caesar's household."23. The grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.HYMNS FROM "OUR OWN HYMN
BOOK"?136, 720, 870.


========================================================================
  CHAPTER 3: FIRST FORGIVENESS, THEN HEALING
========================================================================

A Sermon (No.2417) Intended for Reading on Lord's-day, June 16th, 1895,
Delivered by C. H. SPURGEON, At [3]the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington, On
Thursday Evening, June 2nd, 1887. "When he saw their faith, he said unto him,
Man, thy sins be forgiven thee."?Luke 5:20. I HAVE READ TO YOU the narrative of
the healing of the man taken with the palsy; and many of you remember that, last
Sabbath evening,* I preached upon the Pharisees and the doctors of the law who
were "sitting by." I tried to represent the position of many in our
congregations who are just "sitting by." I preached to the outsiders of the
congregation, on the divers reasons which led to this "sitting by." I must
confess that I did not reckon on so large a blessing as I have already seen as
the result of that sermon. When I came here on Monday afternoon, that being
Whit-Monday, when everybody is supposed to take a holiday, I was surprised, on
my arrival, at about three o'clock, by a friend running up to me, and saying,
"We are glad you have come, sir, for there is a room full already. There is
quite a nice number of friends who have come forward from the congregation, and
who one after another have said, "We cannot be 'sitting by' any longer; we feel
that we cannot remain among the sitters-by, but that we must come in and partake
of the gospel feast, and join ourselves with the disciples of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ." This blessed result of my sermon has set the bells of my
heart ringing all the week, and I have felt deeply thankful to God for it. I
said to myself that, as I had taken one arrow, which had sped so well, out of
that quiver, I would take another. Having spoken to those who are "sitting by",
I think I will now speak to those who are not sitting by, but who indeed are the
principal persons in the congregation, namely, those who are sick and sorry, and
who need the Saviour. For this palsied man, who was let down by ropes through
the ceiling, was the most remarkable person in that congregation. We may readily
forget those Pharisees and learned legal gentlemen; but we can never forget this
man to whom, as soon as ever they "let him down through the tiling with his
couch into the midst before Jesus," the Saviour said, "Man, thy sins are
forgiven thee." I trust that, at this time, there are some present in this
audience who are not sitting by, but who are already praying, "God be merciful
to whose prayers are rising to heaven in accents like these, "Lord, help me!"
"Lord, save, or I perish!" You are the principal persons in the congregation
both to the preacher and to the preacher's Master. He cares more about you, and
about what shall take place in you, than about any of the Pharisees or doctors
of the law who may be sitting by. God is glorified in scattering his miracles of
mercy where there is the greatest need of them. Our Lord Jesus, when the poor
man was let down by his four friends through the ceiling, said to him at once,
"Man, thy sins are forgiven thee." Matthew puts our Saviour's words thus, "Son,
be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee;" while Mark's record is, "Son, thy
sins be forgiven thee." Well, Jesus may have uttered all of these words, and all
the different versions of the story may be correct, for it is not every man's
ear that catches the whole of every sentence that is spoken, and we may be glad
that there are three Evangelists who have recorded what the Saviour said. There
is no real difference in the sense, and the difference in the words may only
show that Jesus said all three sentences. I am going, on this occasion, to talk
a little about this man, first, before his forgiveness; next, a little more
about his forgiveness itself; and then a little about what followed after his
forgiveness. I. First, then, let us think of this man BEFORE HIS FORGIVENESS.We
are not told much about him. If I indulge in imagination a little, you will take
it for what it is worth. This man, it seems to me, first, had faith which went
out towards the Lord Jesus. Evidently, as I read the narrative, he had been
suddenly paralyzed. This affliction usually comes upon a sudden; men who have
been about their business, as active as usual, have been in a moment struck down
with paralysis. This man appears to have been completely paralyzed, so as to
have been unable to move; and, as he lay in that helpless state, he heard that
Jesus of Nazareth had come to the city, and he believed that Jesus of Nazareth
was able to heal even him. It does not strike me that his friends would have
brought him to Christ unless at his own request; the most rational explanation
of the whole proceeding seems to me to be this, he believed in Jesus as able to
heal him, and he continued to cry out earnestly, and to pray that he might
somehow or other be taken into Christ's presence. He could not stir hand or
foot, but he had friends, and he begged those friends to take him to Jesus.Well
now, there never was a soul yet that had faith in Christ but what Christ
revealed himself more fully in the way of love to that soul. If thou knowest
that thou canst not save thyself, if thou believest that Christ can save thee,
and if thy one anxiety is to be laid at his feet, that he may look upon thee,
and save thee, he will assuredly accept thee. "Him that cometh to me," saith he,
"I will in no wise cast out." Whether he comes running, or walking, or creeping,
or borne of four, so long as he doth come, Christ will accept him; and if his
faith be but as a grain of mustard seed, our Lord Jesus will not let it die. If
there be but a smouldering faith, he will not quench the smoking flax. Believest
thou this? If thou dost, let it cheer thee and comfort thee. There is something
that is well with thy soul already. It was better to be paralyzed and to have
faith in Christ than to be walking upright like the Pharisees and lawyers who
had no faith in him. The apparent wretchedness of thy condition is not the real
wretchedness of it; it may even turn out to be the blessedness and the
hopefulness of it. If thou believest in Jesus, I care not how far thou hast
fallen, nor how great is thy inability; if thou believest in Jesus, thou art
brought into contact with omnipotence, and that omnipotence will heal thee.This
man, I believe, further, thought that Christ could heal him, but he began to
feel his great sinfulness. I am certain that he did, because Jesus never does
forgive where there is no repentance. There was never yet the fiat, "Thy sins be
forgiven thee," until first there was a consciousness of sin, and a confession
of sin. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins,
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." This man, lying there paralyzed,
wept at the thought of his past life, his omissions and his commissions, his
falling short and his transgressions, and his heart was heavy within him. He
seemed to say to his friends, "Get me somehow to the great Prophet; get me
within sight of this wonderful Saviour. Oh, get me within touch of him, that I
may be restored, that I may have this great load, which presses me down so
sorely, taken off my heart! Worse to me even than the paralysis is this awful
sense of sin. Take me, oh, take me into the presence of this Messiah, this Son
of David, that he may have mercy upon me!" That I conceive to have been his
condition before the word of pardon was spoken to him.Next, being hopeful
himself, he inspired those about him with hope. Of course, they would not have
taken him to Christ if they had not had some sort of belief that possibly he
might be healed. It is wonderful what sick people can do even when they can do
nothing; how, when they seem to be utterly powerless, they find a strength in
feebleness. Their very helplessness seems to be a plea where there is anything
of generosity left in the heart of those who are near them. So this man pleaded,
"I believe Jesus will heal me, I believe he will have mercy upon me; get me to
him, do get me to him."They resolved to do it if they could; and he was willing
to be carried to Christ. Four stout stalwart men said, "Yes, we will get you to
him somehow, though it is a difficult task, for the house is small, the room is
crowded, and there is sure to be a press about the door." "But," said the poor
man, "Oh! try to do it, for it is my only hope. If I could but get where Jesus
could see me, he would look on me, and save me. Oh, get me to him, get me to
him!" The palsied man would make no dispute about how it was to be done, so they
carried him to the door of the house, and then they said to the people crowding
around, "Make way for this poor palsied man," and he would say, "I pray you,
friends and neighbours, make way;" but they could not; perhaps they, too, had
their friends who wanted to be healed, or they themselves had an anxiety to hear
the great Teacher, so they pushed and pressed to get as near him as they could.
You see, those quibbling Pharisees and doctors of the law had got in first, and
they blocked up the road. They are always in a poor sinner's way. What must be
done? The poor man's bearers would have abandoned the task, I think, but he
said, "No, do not give up trying to get me in; it is my only hope. Oh, get me to
him! Get me near him!" So, next, the man was willing to be lowered into the
presence of Christ. There was no other way but to go up those stairs outside the
house, and to take him to the top of the roof; and he, not fearing as many would
have done, said, "Ay, break it up, and let me down." These four men, belonging
to a fishing town, were adepts in the use of ropes, and they soon had their
tackle ready, and they broke a way through the roof. As I told you in the
reading, I always feel pleased at the idea of the dust and the debris of the
roof coming down upon the heads of the Pharisees and doctors of the law. It
always delights me to think that those gentlemen would have dust on their heads
for once; since they were there, they were bound to have a little of it. 0f
course, when these gentlemen come to a place of worship, one feels bound to be
respectful to them; but if they come at an untimely hour, when there is any
rough work going on, one does not feel any particular regret. If, when souls are
being saved, these gentlemen should have their corns trodden upon, we do not
even ask their pardon, or make any apology. Such a work as Christ had to do
could not stand still for the sake of reverence to the learned doctors of the
law; so the roof was broken up, and this man, though paralyzed, was not afraid
to be let down. It is probable that there were no outcries from him when they
began to let him down; I think, if it had been my case, I might have been afraid
that one rope would go a little faster than the other. But no, the man keeps
still in his paralysis and courage mingled, till down drops the pallet just
before the Saviour.There he lies upon his mattress, on the floor of the house,
just before the Saviour's eyes, exactly where he wanted to be. Here I address
myself to some who would give all that they have if they could but be brought
under the eye of Jesus. The one thought of such a sufferer is, "Oh, that I could
be near him! Oh, that I could be near him! Oh, that he would look on me, and
cure my helplessness, and pardon my sin!" What a wonderful picture this scene
would make! The crowd are obliged to make way, or else they will have to bear
the man and his bed on their heads; so he is dropped down into their midst, and
there he lies. The great Preacher has been preaching, and he stops. There is an
interruption which is indeed no interruption to him. His discourse is but broken
off for a minute, to be illustrated with engravings, that men may see, in after
years, that what they have heard is but the letter-press, and that the miracle
which is now to be wrought shall be the engraving which shall convey the
Teacher's wonderful meaning to all eyes. So the poor palsied man lies there
before the Saviour.Is that where you desire to lie, dear friend? In your deadly
sorrow, and sin, and weakness, do you wish to lie at the Saviour's feet? That is
where I want you to lie; and if you will to lie there, that is where you do lie.
The Lord Jesus is in the midst of us to-night, and you can at once cast yourself
down before him. Do so, tell him about your paralysis, tell him how sick you
are, how sinful you are. Nay, you need not speak so that I can hear you; his
ears will hear the whisper of your soul. Your heart-beats will be vocal to his
heart, and he will note all you say or feel in your inmost soul. Just lie before
Jesus; and as you lie there, what are you to do? This man did not speak a word;
but, as I believe, he lay there repenting that ever he should have lived as he
had done, mourning that he should have wasted his life and misspent his time. I
think, too, that he lay there believing, looking at that wondrous Man, and
believing that all power was in him, and that he had only to speak the word, and
the sinner should be at once forgiven. So he lay there, in the presence of
Jesus, hoping and expecting forgiveness and healing.II. Now, in the second
place, we are to consider THE FORGIVENESS ITSELF.This poor paralyzed man had not
lain there long before the blessed Master broke the silence, and said to him,
"Man, thy sins are forgiven thee." I think that the four men up on the roof,
looking down to see what would happen to their friend, would hardly understand
what that sentence meant. They had brought him to Jesus because he was
paralyzed, but he had wanted to come first of all because he was a sinner. He
did desire to have his paralysis cured; but secretly in his soul there was
another matter which they might not have understood if he had tried to interpret
it to.them; it was his sin that was his heaviest burden; and the Saviour, the
great Thought-reader knew all about that sin, so he did not first say to him,
"Rise up and walk," but he began by saying, "Man, thy sins are forgiven
thee."Observe, that the pardon of sin came in a single sentence. He spake, and
it was done. Jesus said "Man, thy sins are forgiven thee," and they were
forgiven him. Christ's voice had such almighty power about it that it needed not
to utter many words. There was no long lesson for the poor man to repeat, there
was no intricate problem for him to work out in his mind. The Master said all
that was required in that one sentence, "Thy sins are forgiven thee." The burden
of a sinner does not need two ticks of the clock for it to be removed; swifter
than the lightning's hash is that verdict of absolution which comes from the
eternal lips, when the sinner lies hoping, believing, repenting at the feet of
Jesus. It was a single sentence which declared that the man was forgiven. Next,
remember that it was a sentence from One who was authorized to absolve. He was
sent by the Father on purpose to forgive sin; and do not imagine that he has now
lost his authorization to forgive; for "him hath God exalted with his right hand
to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness
of sins." Jesus is appointed as High Priest on purpose that he may stand on
God's behalf, and declare the remission of sin. What Jesus said was spoken with
divine authority. It is vain for a priest to say to a sinner, "I absolve thee."
What can he do in such a case? He, or any other man who does not call himself a
Priest, may speak in his Master's name, and say to the penitent, "If thou dost
sincerely repent, if thou truly believest, I know thou art.absolved, and I
comfort thee with the assurance of this absolution." So far, so good; but the
Master alone can really give the absolution, it must come from him who has power
upon earth to forgive sins.Now, my hearer, hast thou never been forgiven? Art
thou in thy pew, and yet lying at that dear Master's feet, and dost thou desire
above all things that he should say to thee, "Thy sins are forgiven thee"? And
dost thou believe that he can say it, and wilt thou accept it from him as being
by divine authority? If so, I think he says it to thee, for in his own Word he
declares that they who believe in him are forgiven. He says to each one of those
who are penitent, and believe in his grace, "Thy sins are forgiven thee." Take
thou the absolution, and go thy way. Do as Martin Luther did, in the days of his
dark distress, when a brother-monk said to him, "Dost thou not believe in the
Creed, and dost thou not say, 'I believe in the forgiveness of sins'? Now
believe in the forgiveness of sins for thyself." Trust Christ's Word, and thou
wilt be believing what is absolutely true. Trust it, take the comfort of it, and
go thy way. It is thus that Jesus Christ, by the preaching of the gospel, and by
the revealed Word of God, says authoritatively to each penitent, "Man, thy sins
are forgiven thee."Further observe, that this sentence, although it was but one,
and was so short, yet was wonderfully comprehensive: "Man, thy sins are forgiven
thee." Not one sin alone, nor many sins, but all thy sins are forgiven thee.
When you go into particulars, you are apt to leave something out; hence, the
declaration is made all-inclusive, there are no particulars given. "Thy sins are
forgiven thee." Sins against the holy God? Sins against a righteous law? Sins
against the gospel? Sins against the light of nature? Sins of this and sins of
that kind? No, there is no enumeration. "The blood of Jesus Christ his Son
cleanseth us from all sin." "Man, thy sins are forgiven thee." Murder, adultery,
theft, fornication, blasphemy? Yes, in a word, "all manner of sin and of
blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men." "Man, thy sins are forgiven thee." At one
sudden sweep of the divine wave of mercy they are all washed away. There is no
such thing as a half-pardon of sin. I heard someone talking, the other day,
about original sin being forgiven, and the other sins left; but sin is a whole,
it goes or it stays altogether, it cannot be broken up into pieces, it is all
there or it is not there at all, and it is not there if thou believest in Jesus.
This blessed and comprehensive sentence sets free from every jot and taint and
stain of guilt: "Man, thy sins are forgiven thee."Observe, also, that this
sentence contains no conditions: and the blessed gospel, speaking to every
repenting and believing sinner, gives him absolute forgiveness. Behold, the
tally is destroyed, the record of thy debt is nailed to the cross and as for thy
sins, they are like the Egyptians when the Red Sea swallowed them up, the depths
have covered them, there is not one of them left, however great or many they may
have been. If thou art now a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, he says to thee
now by his Word, "Man, thy sins are forgiven thee." I pray the blessed Master by
his Holy Spirit to make his Word come home to many here with power. Oh, that
those dear lips, which are as lilies dropping sweet-smelling myrrh, did
themselves speak to you! Oh, that those wounds of his, which are mouths that
preach pardon to sinners, might speak to you, and say, "Thy sins are forgiven
thee." There is no mouth that speaketh pardon like that gash in his side, out of
which his very heart speaks, as he says, "I have loved thee, and given myself to
death for thee. Thy sins I have borne on the tree, and put them away once for
all. Man, thy sins are forgiven thee." Oh, that Jesus himself might thus speak
effectually to many of you!But note, that this sentence sufficed the receiver.
When the Saviour afterwards raised this palsied man to health and strength, he
did not do it to let the man himself know that his sins were forgiven. The man
knew that already, and did not need any more evidence of it; but Jesus did it
for another reason. To the scribes and Pharisees he said, "That ye may know that
the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of
the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine
house." Those unbelieving men had not evidence enough that Christ could forgive,
but he to whom Christ spake wanted no further proof than the power of that voice
in his own conscience; and if he shall speak to thee, my hearer, thou wilt not
want any books about the evidences of Scripture, the proofs of inspiration, and
so on; to thee, this indisputable miracle of pardoned sin shall stand for ever
as a holy memorial of God's mighty grace. It shall be unto you for a sign, for
an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off, that God has pardoned you, and
spoken peace to your soul; and this God shall be your God for ever and ever. To
every soul that is in a similar case to that of the poor palsied man lying
repenting and believing at the feet of Jesus, his Word gives the comfortable
assurance, "Believe, and thy sins, which are many, are all forgiven thee."
Believe it, and go thy way in peace. III. Now I close by noticing, thirdly, what
followed AFTER THIS MAN'S FORGIVENESS.He was absolutely, irreversibly, eternally
forgiven; for "the gifts and calling of God are without repentance." He never
plays fast and loose with men; he never issues a pardon from his throne, and
afterwards executes the pardoned sinner. His pardon covers all that may come
afterwards as well as all that has gone before. But what happened to this man?I
believe that, first, there was an inward peace that stole over his soul. If you
could have looked into the face of that palsied man, whilst still palsied, and
lying there in that hammock, you would have seen a wonderful transformation. Did
you ever see a face transfigured? If you are a soul-winner, you have often seen
it. All human faces are not beautiful, some are absolutely repulsive; the
countenances of some who have lived long in sin are dreadful to look upon. Yet I
have noticed faces, that at first I could scarcely endure, when the persons have
been gently led to the Saviour, and they have perceived the love of God to them,
and have at last believed, and felt within their soul the kiss of peace, why,
they have looked positively beautiful! I should have liked to have had them
photographed, only it was too sacred a thing. Speak of physiognomies; the grace
of God is such an eternal beautifier that the face, from which you would have
turned away in disgust, and said, "There can be no good thing behind that
countenance," is absolutely changed by the Lord's mighty working. I say not that
a single feature may be altered; the person may be the same in feature, but, oh!
what a marvellous difference there is in the expression of the whole contour of
the countenance when free grace and dying love have cast their magic spell over
the spirit, and the Holy Ghost has made the dead to live, and the person has
been born again in Christ Jesus. Well, that change took place in this man's
mind, I am sure it did, when Jesus said to him, "Thy sins are forgiven thee." He
was in no hurry to be raised from his palsied state; he does not appear to have
said a word, and those scribes and Pharisees looked on with their malevolent
countenances, but they did not frighten him; he lay quite still, and was in no
haste even for the Master's next blessing. It would come in due time, he knew it
would, and he was of good cheer, for had not Jesus said to him "Be of good
cheer, thy sins be forgiven thee"?But next followed the Man's immediate cure.
The Master said to him, "Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house."
Our blessed Master was accustomed to preach the gospel in a way which I have
heard some friends greatly question. They tell us that we ought not to bid men
to believe and repent, because they cannot. There are two parties on opposite
sides of this question; one says, "If you tell a man to believe and repent, that
proves that he can," which I do not believe; and others say, "If they cannot
repent, you ought not to exhort them to do so," which also I do not believe.
Though I know them to be as helpless as that poor palsied man, unable to lift
hand or foot, yet in the Master's name we do say, as the Master was wont to say,
"Rise, take up thy bed, and walk." "Oh!" says one, " I could not say that to an
unregenerate man." Do not do it, brother, if you cannot do it; go home, and go
to bed; what is the use of you for such work? The man who can speak miracles is
the one who is wanted, and the man who can speak as his Master has bidden him
speak. Surely, the faith does not lie in believing that the man can himself do
what he is bidden to do; the faith lies in believing that Christ can do it, and
therefore, speaking in Christ's name, we say to the sinner just as the Lord
Jesus did to the man with the withered hand, "Stretch forth thine hand," and he
does so. Look at Ezekiel speaking to the dry bones in the valley. Ezekiel, dost
thou believe that these dry bones can live? "Not I," says he, "I know that they
are dead." The Lord says to him, "Ezekiel, prophesy upon these dry bones!" How
can he do it? It would be inconsistent with what he said just now. "I have
nothing to do with that," says he, "I was sent by the Lord to do it, and I do it
in the name of God." That which may seem perfectly inconsistent with your
reason, is quite consistent when faith brings in the supernatural element with
which God moves those to whom he gives the commission to preach the gospel in
his name.The Saviour said to this man, "Arise, take up thy couch, and go into
thine house." Now observe his precise obedience. "Immediately he rose up before
them all." The tendency of a paralyzed person is to be paralyzed in will. There
are some persons, no doubt, who have ailments that can easily be cured if they
believe they can be cured, because there is not much the matter with them after
all; but this man was completely paralyzed, yet he so fully believed in Christ
that up he rose, and stood before the Master. Then Jesus said, "Take up thy
couch." I think I see him undo those four ropes, and quickly he shoulders his
mattress. "Walk," says the Master, and he walks. "Go into thine house," says the
Master. He might have stopped, and said, "No, Lord, do let me stay and hear the
sermon out;" but no, not a word did he say about it, but off he went to his own
house. Oh, that all were as obedient to Christ as this man was, that, having the
simplicity of faith, they would render the fullest obedience! But thus it often
is that the very chief of sinners, when pardon is given to them, have given to
them at the same time a tender conscience, a willing mind, a yielding spirit.
"Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it," said the virgin mother to the servants at
Cana of Galilee; and that is good advice for you. If Christ hath healed you,
obey him, obey him at once, obey him exactly, obey him in everything, be it
little, or be it great. If some say it is non-essential, remember that what is
not essential to salvation may be essential to obedience. Do it if Jesus
commanded it. Do it whether it appears to thee to be essential or not. That is
not a question for thee to ask, that is a heartless, loveless question. He hath
healed thee, do what he bids thee, as he bids thee, when he bids thee, and raise
no question about it. Take up thy bed, and go into thy house, if so he bids
thee. Or, if he puts it to thee, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be
saved," believe thou, and be thou baptized. Be thou obedient unto him who
deserves to be obeyed.Now, lastly, this man, it is said, "immediately rose up
before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house
glorifying God." I think I hear what he said. "Glory!" he cried, "Glory be to
God!" He felt so glad, so happy, that he took up his bed before them all, and as
he walked along he glorified God; and would not you have done the same if you
had been paralyzed, and had been restored as he had been? And will you not do
so? If you have been sin-bound, and Christ has set you free, surely, you will
take the earliest opportunity of telling others what Jesus has done for you, and
you will seek to glorify his name. I did not wonder when a brother lately said
to me, "I have been spending all the morning in the workshop telling the men
that I have found the Saviour," and one, last Sunday, turned to his wife in this
Tabernacle, and said, "I am saved!" She said to him, "Don't disturb the
worship," but I almost wish he had done so. What a mercy it is to be saved!
Salvation puts a new sun in our sky, and a new joy in our hearts. Believe on
Jesus, and this salvation is yours. God grant that it may be, for his dear Son's
sake! Amen.Luke 5:12-26.Verse 12. And it came to pass, when he was in a certain
city, behold a man full of leprosy:As far gone with leprosy as he could be;
thoroughly tainted, and eaten up with that loathsome disease.12. Who seeing
Jesus fell on his face, and besought him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst
make me clean.He felt that the difficulty lay in the will of Christ, not in his
power. No other teacher would have looked at such a man. Everybody shrank from
him, for he scattered defilement wherever he moved. A leper was a being from
whom all kept clear, so this one was afraid that the great Teacher was not
willing to cure him. "If thou wilt," said he, "thou canst,?I know that thou
canst make me clean."13. And he put forth his hand, and touched him,This was a
wonderful instance of condescending love on the part of the Lord Jesus; and
touching the leper did not defile him. On the contrary, Christ removed the
defilement from the leper: "He touched him,"?13. Saying, I will: be thou
clean.It was the will of Christ that wrought the miracle, that secret movement
of the heart of Christ, that silent omnipotent going forth of divine energy,
that accomplished the leper's cure.13. And immediately the leprosy departed from
him.Christ can heal sin in the same way that he cured this leper. If he touches
the worst man in this place, he can make sin to depart from him the moment he
touches him. It does not require years in order to perfect the work of
salvation, it can be done in a moment, such is the wonder-working power of
Christ: "immediately the leprosy departed from him."14. And he charged him to
tell no man: but go, and show thyself to the priest, and offer for thy
cleansing, according as Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.Our blessed
Master did not court fame; he did not wish to make himself notorious, the crowds
that flocked around him were inconvenient to him, so he did not wish to have
them increased. There was danger in such crowding, and Jesus was wise in his
generation, so he charged the healed leper to tell no man, but to show himself
to the priest, and to present the offering enjoined under the law.15. But so
much the more went there a fame abroad of him:Fame is like fire. If you heap
anything on it to prevent it from spreading, it often acts as fuel to the flame;
so, the very effort to hide the light of Christ's power, made it spread all the
more widely.15. And great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by
him of their infirmities.I wish that all congregations would come together from
the same motives?to hear and to be healed by Christ. What is thy disease, my
hearer? What ails thy soul? What is the mischief in thy spirit? What is the
malady in thy heart? Jesus can heal thee. Oh, that thou wouldst at once seek to
be healed by him! 16. And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and
prayed.Just when there were such grand opportunities of doing good, just when
everybody sought him, does he get right away from them into the wilderness to
pray? Yes, because he felt what we ought to feel but often do not, that he
needed fresh power, that as the servant of God he must wait upon God for fresh
power for his great life-work: "He withdrew himself into the wilderness, and
prayed." No doubt it was the constant habit of Christ to pray, but there were
certain special times when he retired into lonely places, and his prayer was
peculiarly fervent and prolonged.17. And it came to pass on a certain day, as he
was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which
were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judea, and Jerusalem: and the power
of the Lord was present to heal them.The word "them" scarcely gives the right
sense of the original; it should be, "the power of the Lord was present to
heal." Jesus did not heal the Pharisees and doctors of the law, but he healed
many of the congregation. Now, how do you account for this power present to
heal? Why, by that wilderness prayer: "He withdrew himself into the wilderness,
and prayed," and afterward, in a very high and remarkable manner, "the power of
the Lord was present to heal."And when the power to heal was present, the
patient to be healed was very soon present, too.18, 19. And, behold, men brought
in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him
in, and to lay him before him. And when they could not find by what way they
might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and
let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus.There
does appear to have been, according to Mark, some breaking up of the material
that formed the roof of the house where Christ was. It was not altogether such
an easy matter as some have imagined to let this poor palsied man down into the
presence of Jesus; and if some of the dust from the roof fell down upon the
Pharisees and doctors of the law who were sitting by, it would only be what they
were accustomed to throw into other people's eyes.20. And when he saw their
faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.Christ has eyes with
which he can see faith. You and I cannot see it; but he can: "When he saw their
faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins be forgiven thee." This was going to the
very root of his disease. Jesus knew what the man really ailed; he was palsied
in spirit as well as in body, and Christ removed the root of his disease by
forgiving his sin.21. And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason,The
gentlemen I alluded to just now began to reason. It was just like them; instead
of beginning to praise God, they "began to reason,"?21, 22. Saying, Who is this
which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone? But when Jesus
perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your
hearts?See, Jesus can perceive thoughts. I have heard of "thought-reading"; here
is a true specimen of it: "Jesus perceived their thoughts, and said unto them,
What reason ye in your hearts?"23. Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be
forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk?Anyone can say, "Thy sins be forgiven
thee," or, "Rise up and walk," but to forgive sins, or to give the power to rise
up and walk, equally needs a God. If God be present, and can make the palsied
man arise and walk, he is also able to forgive his sins.24?26. But that ye may
know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto
the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go
into thine house. And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that
whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God. And they were all
amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear,With awe, and
reverence. They felt that God had come very near to them, and they perhaps said,
like Jacob of old, when he was afraid, "How dreadful is this place! This is none
other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven." They were filled
with fear,?26. Saying, We have seen strange things to-day.Oh, that we might see
such "strange things" in this house to-night, and whenever we meet to worship
God!HYMNS FROM "OUR OWN HYMN BOOK"?567, 566, 564.


========================================================================
  CHAPTER 4: THE ARK OF HIS COVENANT
========================================================================

A Sermon (No.2427) Intended for Reading on Lord's-day, August 25th, 1895,
Delivered by C. H. SPURGEON, At the [4]Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington, On
Thursday Evening, August 18th, 1887. "And there were lightnings, and voices, and
thunderings, and an earthquake And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and
there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament [covenant?R-V.]:, and
great hail."?Revelation 11:19. I SHALL take the passage quite by itself. I do
not fully understand its connection, whether it relates to that which goes
before or that which comes afterwards; and happily, it is necessary for us to
know this, for the passage stands complete in itself, and is full of valuable
instruction. Dear friends, even we who believe have as yet failed to see much of
the truth of God. We know enough to save us, to comfort us, and to help us on
our way to heaven; but oh, how much of the glory of divine truth has never yet
been revealed to our eyes! Some of God's children do not fully know even the
common truths as yet, and those who do not know them realize but little of their
depth and height. From our text, it appears that there are certain things of God
which as yet we have not yet seen there is need that they should be opened to
us: "The temple of God was opened in heaven." When our Lord Jesus died, He rent
the veil of the temple, and so He laid open the Holy of Holies but such is our
dimness of sight, that we need to have the temple opened, and we need to have
the Holy of Holies opened, so that we may see what is not really concealed, but
what we are not ready to perceive by reason of the slowness of our
understandings. The two words for "temple" here may relate not only to the
temple itself, but also to the Holy of Holies, the innermost shrine. Both of
these, it seems, need to be opened, or else we shall not see what there is in
them. Blessed be the Holy Spirit that He does open up one truth after another to
us. Our Saviour's promise to His disciples was, "When he, the Spirit of truth,
is come, he will guide you into all truth." If we were more teachable, if we
were more anxious to be taught, and waited upon Him more, He would, doubtless,
lead us into many a truth which at the present moment we have not fully enjoyed.
It is a happy thing for you and for me when at any time we can say, "The temple
of God was opened in heaven, so that we saw even that which was in the innermost
shrine of the holy temple." The saints in heaven doubtless behold all the glory
of God so far as it can be perceived by created beings; but we who are on the
right way thither behold, as in a glass darkly, the glory of the Lord. We know
only in part, but the part we do know is not so great as it might be, we might
know far more than we do even here. Some suppose that they can know but little,
because they say that it is written, "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither
have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them
that love him." Yes, but why do you stop there? Half a text is often not true;
go on to the end of the passage: "But God hath revealed them unto us by his
Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God"; and
that which your eye cannot see, and your ear cannot hear, and the heart of man
cannot imagine, can be revealed to you by the Spirit of the Lord. Oh, that we
were more conscious of the power of the Spirit, and that we waited upon Him for
yet fuller instruction! Then I am persuaded that, in our measure and degree, it
would be true to us, even as to the perfected ones above, "The temple of God was
opened in heaven," and they saw that which was in the holiest place. What did
they see when the temple was opened? When the secret place was laid bare to
them, what did they see? That is to be my subject now. "There was seen in his
temple the ark of his covenant." If we could look into heaven at this moment,
this is what we should see, "the ark of his covenant." O sinner, thou thinkest
that thou wouldst see an angry God, but thou wouldst see the ark of His
covenant! O child of God, perhaps thou dreamest of many things that might
distress thee in the glory of that sight; but rest thou content, this would be
the main sight that thou wouldst see, Jesus, the incarnate God, the great
covenant Surety! Thou wouldst see there, where, the Godhead shines resplendent,
the ark of His covenant.I. I shall begin by noticing. first, that THE ARK OF HIS
COVENANT IS ALWAYS NEAR TO GOD: "There was seen in his temple the ark of his
covenant."Of course, the outward symbol is gone; we are not now speaking of a
temple made with hands, that is to say, of this building. We speak of the
spiritual temple above; we speak of the spiritual Holy of Holies. If we could
look in there, we should see the ark of the covenant; and we should see the
covenant itself always near to God. The covenant is always there. God never
forgets it; it is ever before Him: "There was seen in his temple the ark of his
covenant."Why is this? Is it not because the covenant is always standing? The
Lord said concerning His people of old. " I will make with them an everlasting
covenant," of which David said, "Yet hath he made with me an everlasting
covenant, ordered in all things and sure." If God has made a covenant with you,
it is not simply for today and tomorrow, nor merely for this life, but for the
ages of ages, even forever and ever. If He has struck hands with you through the
great Surety, and He has pledged Himself to you, remember, "If we believe not,
yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself." Jehovah hath said, "The
mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not
depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed." What He
hath said He will stand to forever. He will keep His Word. He said to His Son,
"I will preserve thee. .and give thee for a covenant of the people"; and He will
never revoke the gift. This covenant stands secure. Though earth's old columns
bow, and though my spirits sink, and flesh and heart fail me, yet this covenant
shall bear me up even to the end.The covenant of grace is forever the same,
because, first, the God who made it changes not. There can be no change in God.
The supposition is inconsistent with a belief in His deity. Hear what He says:
"I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed." The
sun hath his changes, but the Father of lights is without variableness, or
shadow of turning. "God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of
man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he
spoken, and shall he not make it good?" God has never to alter His purposes; why
should He? Those purposes are always infinitely wise. He knoweth the end from
the beginning; so His covenant, which He made with such deliberation in the
councils of eternity, that covenant which is sealed with the most precious
things He ever had, even with the blood of His only-begotten Son, that covenant
upon which He stakes His eternal honor, for His glory and honor are wrapped up
with the covenant of grace?that covenant cannot be changed because God Himself
changeth not.Then, next, the Christ who is its Surety and Substance changes not.
Christ, the great Sacrifice by whose death the covenant was ratified, Christ,
the Surety, who has sworn to carry out our part of the covenant, Christ, who is
the very sum and substance of the covenant, never alters. "All the promises of
God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us." If we had a
variable Saviour, brethren, we should have a changeable covenant. Look at Adam;
he could change, and therefore he was a poor representative of the human race.
Our first federal head soon fell because he was a mere man; but the Surety of
the new covenant is the Son of God, who, like His Father, faileth not, and
changeth not. Though He is of the substance of His mother, bone of our bone, and
flesh of our flesh, and therefore can stand as man's Representative, yet is he
Light of Light, very God of very God, and so He standeth fast and firm, like the
unchanging God Himself. In this great truth we do and we will rejoice. The
covenant is always before God, for Christ is always there. He, the Lamb in the
midst of the throne, makes the covenant always to be close to the heart of
God.And, beloved, note you this. The covenant must always be near to God because
the love which suggested it changes not. The Lord loves His people with a love
which has no beginning, no end, no boundary, no change. He says, "I have loved
thee with an everlasting love: therefore with loving-Kindness have I drawn
thee." When the love of God's heart goeth forth toward the believer, it is not
changeful like the love of man, sometimes high and sometimes low, sometimes
strong and sometimes weak; but, as it is said of our Saviour, "having loved his
own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end," so can it be said of
the great Father that His love is evermore the same; and if the love which
dictated the covenant is always in the heart of God, depend upon it that the
covenant which comes of that love is always there in the secret place of the
Most High. Reflect also, beloved brethren, that the promises contained in the
covenant change not. I quoted to you, just now, one passage about the promises,
and that is enough: "All the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen."
Not one single promise of God shall ever fall to the ground unfulfilled. His
Word in the form of promises, as well as in the form of the gospel, shall not
return unto Him void. O souls, you may hang your whole weight upon any promise
of God! You need not fear that it will break. Though all the vessels of the
King's house were hung on one nail made by Him, that nail would bear them all
up, as well as the fagons as the vessels of smaller measure. Heaven and earth
may hang upon a single promise of God. The voice that rolls the stars along, and
keeps them all in their orbits, is that voice which spoke even the least of the
promises, and therefore every promise of God stands secure forever.And once
more, not only the promises, but the force and binding power of the covenant
change not. All God's acts are done with a reference to His covenant, and all
His covenant has a reference to His covenanted ones. Remember what Moses said of
old, "When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he
separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the
number of the children of Israel." Everything that He does follows the line and
rule of His covenant. If He chastens and afflicts, it is not in anger, but in
His dear covenant love. When first that covenant came into full action with the
redeemed, it was all powerful; but it is just as powerful still. All that God
doeth is still guided and directed by His eternal purpose and His covenant
pledges to His people. Stand still, then, and when thou lookest up, if thou
canst not see that temple because thine eye of faith is dim, if thou scarcely
darest to look within into the secret place which is the holiest of all, yet
know thou of a surety that the covenant is still there, and always there,
whether thou seest it or seest it not.I will tell thee when perhaps, thou wilt
best know that the covenant is there; that is, when the storm-clouds gather the
most thickly. When thou shalt see the black masses come rolling up, then
remember that the Lord said to Noah, "I do set my bow in the loud, and it shall
he for a token of a covenant between me and the earth." Then shalt thou know
that Jehovah remembereth His covenant; thou mayest even be half glad of a black
cloud, that the sun of the divine love may paint upon it the many-colored bow,
that God may look on it, and remember His covenant. It is good for thee to look
on it; but what must it be for Him to look on it, and to remember His covenant?
Be thou glad that the covenant is always near to God, as out text declares, "And
the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark
of his covenant."II. Now, secondly, THE COVENANT IS SEEN OF SAINTS: There was
seen in his temple the ark of his covenant."First, we see it when, by faith, we
believe in Jesus as our Covenant-head.By faith we know that God has entered into
covenant with us. He that believeth in Christ Jesus is in covenant with God. "He
that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life." "He that believeth on Him is
not condemned." He that believeth in Him is at peace with God, he has passed
from death unto life, and shall never come into condemnation. Thou art in
covenant with God, believer. Wipe thy weeping eyes, ask God to take the dust out
of them, that thou mayest see that there is an unchanging covenant made with
thee tonight and forever.Next, we see this covenant when, by faith, we perceive
it in God's actions toward us. Faith may see the covenant of God in all His
actions. Do you not remember how the old Scotch woman blessed God for her
porridge, but she blessed Him most of all because the porridge was in the
covenant? God had promised bread and water, and therefore it was sure to come to
her. God sent her bread to her in the form of porridge, and she blessed the Lord
that it was in the covenant. Now, I thank God that food is in the covenant, and
that raiment is in the covenant. It is written, "Thy shoes shall be iron and
brass," so they are in the covenant Life is in the covenant and death is in the
covenant: "To die is gain." Everything that is to happen to us is in the
covenant; and when faith sees it so, it makes like a happy one. Am I chastened?
I say to myself "Well, the rod was in the covenant, for the Lord said that, if
His children disobeyed Him, He would chasten them with the rod of men. If I
never had the rod, I should be afraid I was not in the covenant." Is it not
written, "In the world ye shall have tribulation?" That is a part of the
covenant, you see; so that, when you get it, say to yourself, "The God who is
evidently keeping this part of His covenant will keep the rest of it to me, His
child."Brethren, we get, perhaps. the best sight of the covenant when by prayer
we plead it. In that hour of our wrestling, in the time of our inward craving of
mercies from the hand of God, we come at last to this. "Lord, thou hast
promised; do as thou hast said." I love to put my finger on a promise, and then
to plead it with the Lord, saying, "This is thy Word, my Father; and I know that
thou wilt not run back from it. O God, I believe in the inspiration of this
Book, and I take very word of it as coming from thy lips. Wilt thou not seal it
to my conscience, my heart, my experience, by proving it to be true?" Have you
ever found the Lord's promises fail you? I remember one who had put in the
margin of her Bible in several places, "I and P"; and when she was asked what
those letters meant, she said, "That they mean, 'Tried and Proved.' As I go
through life, I keep trying and proving the promises of God, and then I put a
mark in the margin of my Bible against every one I have tested, that I may not
forget it the next time I have to plead it." That is the way to see the covenant
at the right hand of God, when you plead it in prayer. And there are some of us,
I think, who can say that our experience up till now proves that God does not
forget His covenant. We have wandered, but we have been able to say, "He
restoreth my soul." for He has restored us. We have needed many things, and we
have gone to Him in prayer, and pleaded that word, "No good thing will he
withhold from them that walk uprightly," and He has listened to the cries of His
servants. He said He would do so: "Call upon me in the day of trouble: I will
deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me." He has remembered us in our low
estate, for His mercy endureth forever; and some of us who are no longer young
can set to our seal that God is true because of many experiences of His
faithfulness. If they tell us that there is nothing in the Bible, and nothing in
God, and nothing in the gospel of Christ, we laugh them to scorn. We have now
for many a year lived upon the faithfulness of God, and we cannot be driven into
a distrust of Him. He is faithful, and His mercy endureth forever.Do you not
also think that, when we arrive in heaven, we shall have a wonderful retrospect,
and that retrospect will all come to this: "The temple of God was opened in
heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his covenant?" Miss Hannah
More very prettily puts it that, often, we do not see the right side of things
here. She went into a carpet manufactory, and she looked at what the workmen
were doing, and she could see nothing that looked like beauty of design. 'There
were tags and ends hanging out, and she said to the men, "I cannot perceive any
design here," and they answered, "No, madam, for you are on the wrong side of
the carpet"; but when she went round to the other side, she saw the beauty of
the workmanship. Alas! we are at present on the wrong side of God's work; we
must get to heaven to see it perfectly, and when we get there, we shall?Sing,
with wonder and surprise,His loving-kindness in the skies.and we shall say, It
was all right; it could not have been better.Every dark and bending lineMeets in
the centre of his love.God hath not erred. He has not gone abut the longest way
to do His work, but He has done in the wisest and most prudent manner all that
was for the best and highest interests of His dear covenanted ones.Thus, I have
shown you that sometimes, and it should be always, God's people do see that
glorious covenant of grace which is in the temple above.III. Now I want to have
your attention while I say briefly, in the third place, that THE COVENANT
CONTAINS MUCH THAT IS WORTH SEEING. Let us think of what was in the ancient ark
of the covenant, for all that was in that ark as a type is to be seen in Christ
our heavenly covenant ark above.In that ark, if you and I could have gone into
the holy place, and have had our eyes strengthened to look. we should have seen,
first, God dwelling among men. What a wonderful thing! Over the top of the lid
of that sacred coffer which was called the ark, there shone an amazing light
which was the index of the presence of God. He was in the midst of the camp of
Israel. He that filleth heaven and earth, the infinite Jehovah, deigned to make
that place His special dwelling-place, so that He is addressed as, "Thou that
dwellest between the cherubims." Here is a part of the new covenant: "I will
dwell in them, and walk in them." It is marvelous that God does speak with men.
He whom you heard thundering, last night, as He drove His chariot through the
sky, that God in infinite condescension speaks with us, and has come down to us,
and taken us into relationship with Himself in the person of the Lord Jesus
Christ, who is at once the fellow of the Almighty, and the brother of the sons
of men. O beloved, rejoice in the covenant, that God is no longer divided from
men! The chasm made by sin is filled, the gulf is bridged, and God now dwells
with me, and manifests Himself to them; and "the secret of the Lord is with them
that fear him."Next, in that ark you would have noticed, if you could have seen
into it, God reconciled and communing with men upon the mercy-seat. Over the top
of that ark, as I have told you, was a golden lid, which fitted it, and covered
it exactly, and that golden lid was called the mercy-seat, the throne of grace.
There God spoke with men. He sat there, as it were, enthroned as the Friend of
men. Now, it is a part of the covenant that God hears prayer, that God answers
our petitions, that He meets us in a way of reconciled love, that He speaks to
us in tones which the spirit can hear though the ear cannot. Thank God for a
blood-besprinkled mercy-seat. What should we do if we had not that as our
meeting-place with the thrice-holy Jehovah?Then, within the ark, underneath the
lid, if we could have looked in, we should have seen the law, the two tables of
stone, which represent law fulfilled in Christ, and henceforth laid up in His
heart, and laid up in our hearts, too, if we delight in the law of God after the
inward man. Now, this is our joy, that the law of God has nothing against the
believer. It is fulfilled in Christ, and we see it laid up in Christ, not to be
a stone to fall upon us to grind us to powder, but beautiful and fair to look
upon as it is in the heart of Christ, and fulfilled in the life of Christ. I
rejoice in the covenant which contains in it stipulations all fulfilled, and
commands all executed, by our great Representative. Together with those tables
of the law there was laid up a rod, a rod which had originally been a dry stick
in the hands of Aaron, but when it was laid up before the Lord it budded, and
blossomed, and brought forth almonds. So, in the covenant of grace, we see the
kingdom established and flourishing in Christ, and we rejoice in it. Oh how
pleased we are to bow before His fruitful sceptre! What wonderful fruit we
gather from that blessed rod! Reign, reign, Jesus, reign! The more Thou dost
rule us, the more Thou art absolute Sovereign of our hearts, the happier shall
we be, and the more shall we delight ourselves in Thee. There is no liberty like
complete subjection beneath the sway of Jesus who is our Prophet, Priest, and
King.Then, by the side of that rod there was laid up the golden pot full of
manna, the provision made for the wilderness. Let us rejoice that there is in
the covenant all the provision that we need. God has laid up for us in Christ
all our spiritual meat, all the food that we shall ever need between here and
heaven. "Feed me till I want no more," we cry to our blessed covenant
Representative, and He will do so.Then, over the top off the ark, sat the
cherubirm with outstretched wings, as, I think, representing how the angels are
in league with us, and with the angels all the forces and powers of the
universe. This day, the beasts of the field are our friends, and the stones of
the field have ceased to be our foes. Child of God, you may travel by land or
sea; you may go where you will; for everywhere you are in your Father's house.
All that you see about you is a friend to you, since you are a friend to God. I
often wonder that the earth bears up ungodly men. It must groan beneath the
weight of a swearer; it must want to open and swallow him up. But with the
gracious man, the man who fears God, all things are at peace; and we may know it
to be so. "Ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace; the mountains
and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of
the field shall clap their hands." We do not often enough realize, I think, the
friendship of all God's creatures to those who are His children. St. Francis,
thought he was a Romish monk, yet had a true idea when he used to regard the
sparrows and other birds of the air, and even the dogs in the street, as his
friends and his brothers, and talked to them as such. And Luther was much of the
same mind when he opened His window, and listened to the chirpings of the robins
in the early spring, and felt that they had come to teach the theological doctor
some lesson which he had not learned. Oh yes, oh yes, we are quite at home
anywhere, now that God is our God! True, the earth travaileth, and is in pain,
and the creation suffers and will suffer till Christ comes again; but still her
travail is our travail, and we are in sympathy with her, and when she doth
reflect the glory of her God she is our looking-glass in which we see our
Father's face.Thus, I think, 1 have shown you that there is much to be seen in
the ark of the covenant. God give us grace, like the angels, to fix our eyes
upon it! "Which things the angels desire to look into." We have more to do with
the ark of His covenant than they have; let us be more desirous even than they
are to look therein.IV. I close with this fourth point. THE COVENANT HAS SOLEMN
SURROUNDINGS. Listen: "There were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and
an earthquake, and great hail."When the people entered into covenant with God on
Sinai, the Lord came down upon the top of the mount, and there were thunderings,
and lightnings, and voices, and an earthquake. There were all these tokens of
His presence, and God will not leave the covenant of his grace without the
sanctions of His power; that thunder, that lightning, that storm?all these are
engaged to keep His covenant. When they are wanted, the God who smote Egypt with
great hailstones, the God who make the Kishon to sweep his enemies away, the God
who made the stars in heaven to fight against Sisera, will bring all the
overwhelming forces that are at His command to the help of His people, and the
fulfilling of the covenant which He has made with them. O you who are His
people, fall back in confidence upon the God who has treasures of snow, and
hail, and the dread artillery of storms and tempest! Most of you, my hearers,
have never seen a great storm yet, no r heard in its majesty the thunder of
God's power. You must be in the tropics to know what these can be, and even then
you would have to say, "These are but parts of His ways." Oh, how the Lord can
shake the earth, and make it tremble even to its deep foundations when He
pleases! He can make what we call "the solid earth" to be as weak as water when
He doth but lift up His finger. But all the power that God hath?and it is
boundless?is all in that right hand which has been lifted high to heaven in the
solemn oath that He will save His people. Wherefore, lean upon God without the
shadow of a doubt. He may well put all your fears to rest even by the thunder of
His power. Then reflect that there is another side to this truth. You who are
not in covenant with God, you who have not believed that Jesus is the Christ,
you who have never fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before you, you
who refuse the divine mercy which comes to you through the bleeding person of
the suffering Christ, do remember that there will be for you the thunderings,
and the lightnings, and the voices, and the earthquake, and the great hail, for
these set forth the terrors of eternal law, overthrowing God's adversaries. You
have no conception of what God will do with the ungodly. False teachers may
smooth it down as much as they like, but that Book is full of thunderbolts to
you who refuse God's mercy. Listen to this one text: "Consider this, ye that
forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver." Can you
sport with that? Listen to another: "Ah, I will ease me of mine adversaries, and
avenge me of mine enemies!" What will you say to that, or to this? "And again
they said Alleluia. And her smoke rose up forever and ever." "The same shall
drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into
the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in
the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke
of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever: and they have no rest day not
night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark; of
his name." That they talk as if we invented these terrible words, but we do not;
we merely quote the Scriptures of truth, and they are terrible indeed to the
wicked. That they should make men start in their sleep, and never rest until
they find a Saviour. A Universalist once said to a Christian man that, whatever
he did, God would not punish him, and the other replied, "If I spit on your god,
I suppose he will not punish me. If l curse him, if I defy him, it will all come
right at last?" "Yes," said the Universalist. "Well," answered the other, "that
may be the character of your god; but don't you try that kind of thing with my
God, the God of the Scriptures, or else you will find that because He is love He
cannot, and He will not, suffer this world to be in anarchy, but he will rule
it, ;and govern it, and He will punish those that refuse His infinite
compassion." So I beseech you, my hearers, fly to Jesus at once; weary, and
heavy-laden, look to Him, for He saith especially to you, "Come unto me, and I
will give you rest." The Lord add His blessing to the truth I have tried to
preach to you, the sweet and the terrible alike, for Jesus' sake! Amen.Hebrews
9.Verse 1. Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service,
and a worldly sanctuary.That is to say, a material sanctuary, a sanctuary made
out of such things as this world contains. Under the old covenant, there were
certain outward symbols. Under the new covenant, we have not the symbols, but we
have the substance itself. The old law dealt with types and shadows, but the
gospel deals with the spiritual realities themselves.2, 3. For there was a
tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the
shewbread' which is called the sanctuary. And after the second veil, the
tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all;All this was by divine
appointment; the form of the rooms, the style of the furniture, everything was
ordained of God; and that not merely for ornament, but for purposes of
instruction. As we shall see farther on, the Holy Ghost intended a significance,
a teaching, about everything in the old tabernacle, whether it was a
candlestick, or a table, or the shewbread.4, 5. Which had the golden censer, and
the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold wherein was the golden
pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant;
and over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercy seat; of which we cannot
now speak particularly.It would not have been to the point which the apostle had
in hand, so he waived the explanation of those things for another time.6-8. Now
when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first
tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God. But into the second went the high
priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself,
and for the errors of the people: the Holy Ghost this signifying.It is from this
sentence that I am sure that the Holy Ghost had a signification, a meaning; a
teaching, for every item of the ancient tabernacle and temple; and we are not
spinning fancies out of idle brains when we interpret these types, and learn
from them important gospel lessons. "The Holy Ghost this signifying,"?8. That
the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first
tabernacle was yet standing:It was necessary that you should take away the
sacred tent, the tabernacle, ay, and take away the temple, too, before you could
learn the spiritual meaning of them. You must break the shell to get at the
kernel. So God had ordained. Hence, there is now no tabernacle, no temple, no
holy court, no inner shrine, the holy of holies. The material worship is done
away with, in order that we may render the spiritual worship of which the
material was but the type, 9. Which was a figure for the time then present,Only
a figure, and only meant for "the time then present." It was the childhood of
the Lord's people; it was a time when, as yet, the light had not fully broken in
upon spiritual eyes, so they must be taught by picture-books. That they must
have a kind of Kindergarten for the little children, that they might learn the
elements of the faith by the symbols, types, and representations of a material
worship. When we come into the true gospel light, all that is done away with; it
was only "a figure for the time then present."9. In which were offered both
gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as
pertaining to the conscience:All those rites could only give a fleshly purity,
but they could not touch the conscience. If men saw what was meant by the
outward type, then the conscience was appeased; but by the outward sign itself
the conscience was never comforted, if it was a living and lowly conscience.10.
Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal
ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.These ordinances were
only laid upon the Jews?not upon any other people?and only laid upon them until
the better and brighter days of reformation and fuller illumination.11. But
Christ?Oh, how we seem to rise when we begin to get near to Him, away from the
high priests of the Jews! "but Christ"?11. being come an high priest of good
things to come,Not of the shadows, but of the good things themselves: "an high
priest of good things to come,"?11. by a greater and more perfect tabernacle,
not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;That tabernacle was
His body, which was not made with hands, nor yet formed by carnal generation as
our human tabernacle is. This greater and more perfect tabernacle was made
according to the power of an endless life.12. Neither by the blood of goats and
calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having
obtained eternal redemption for us.The Jewish high priests went once a year into
the Holy of Holies. Each year as it came round demanded that they should go
again. Their work was never done; but "He entered in once," and only once, "into
the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us." I love that
expression, "eternal redemption"?a redemption which really does redeem, and
redeems forever and ever. If you are redeemed by it, you cannot be lost; if this
redemption be yours, it is not for a time, or for a season, but it is "eternal
redemption." Oh, how you ought to rejoice in the one entrance within the veil by
our great High Priest who has obtained eternal redemption for us!13-15. For if
the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the
unclean. sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: how much more shall the
blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to
God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this
cause he is the mediator of' the new testament, that by means of death, for the
redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which
are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.When you come to
deal with Christ, you have to do with eternal things. There is nothing temporary
about Him, or about His work. It is "eternal redemption" that He has obtained
for us, it is an "eternal inheritance" that He has purchased for us.16, 17. For
where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.
For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength
at all while the testator liveth.Or, "Where a covenant is, there must also be
the death of him who covenants, or of that by which the covenant is
established." Or read it as we have it in our version, for it seems as if it
must be so, although we are loathe to give the meaning of "testament" to the
word, since its natural meaning is evidently covenant: "Where a testament is,
there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is of
force after men are dead; otherwise it is of no strength at all while the
testator liveth"; or, if you will, while the victim that was to confirm the
covenant lived, the covenant was not ratified; it must be slain before it could
be thus effective.18-22. Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated
without blood. For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people
according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and
scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people,
saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you.
Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the
ministry. And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without
shedding of blood is no remission.There is no truth more plain than this in the
whole of the Old Testament; and it must have within it a very weighty lesson to
our souls. There are some who cannot endure the doctrine of a substitutionary
atonement. Let them beware lest they be casting away the very soul and essence
of the gospel. It is evident that the sacrifice of Christ was intended to give
ease to the conscience, for we read that the blood of bulls and of goats could
not do that. I fail to see how any doctrine of atonement except the doctrine of
the vicarious sacrifice of Christ can give ease to the guilty conscience. Christ
in my stead suffering the penalty of my sin?that pacifies my conscience, but
nothing else does: "Without shedding of blood is no remission." 23. It was
therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be
purified with these;These things down below are only the patterns, the models,
the symbols of the heavenly things; they could therefore be ceremonially
purified with the blood which is the symbol of the atoning sacrifice of
Christ.23, 24. But the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than
these. For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hand, which are
the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence
of God for us:He never went within the veil in the Jewish temple; that was but
the symbol of the true holy of holies. He has gone "into heaven itself, now to
appear in the presence of God for us."25-28. Nor yet that he should offer
himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with
blood of others; for then must he often have suffered since the foundation of
the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin
by the sacrifice of himself. And as it is appointed unto mere once to die, but
after this the judgment: so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of
many;There is no need that He should die again, His one offering has forever
perfected His people. There remains nothing but His final coming for the
judgment of the ungodly, and the acquittal of His redeemed.28. And unto them
that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto
salvation.Christ's second coming will be "without sin," and without a sin
offering, too, wholly apart from sin, unto the salvation of all His chosen. May
we all be amongst those who are looking for Him! Amen.HYMNS FROM "OUR OWN HYMN
BOOK"?327, 228, 193.


========================================================================
  CHAPTER 5: KEPT FROM INIQUITY
========================================================================

A Sermon (No.2432) Intended for Reading on Lord's-day Morning, September 29th,
1895, Delivered by C. H. SPURGEON, At the [5]Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington,
On Thursday Evening, September 22nd, 1887. "I kept myself from mine
iniquity"?Psalm 18:23. IN our reading we had a very wonderful description of
God's delivering mercy towards his servant David. He was very peculiarly tried
in the court of Saul; he deserved so well of the king that it was doubly hard
for him to be treated so ill. He had been the deliverer of his country when he
slew Goliath, yet he was hunted as if he had been the grossest of malefactors.
He had to fly for his life, like a partridge upon the mountains, and all the
while, no doubt, Saul and his partisans accused him of all manner of evil. There
was scarcely any bad thing which they did not attribute to David; but he was
upright before God, and he dared to challenge the investigation of the Most
High, for he was sincere and true to the core. He proved by his conduct that he
was so; for when Saul was in his hands, on two memorable occasions when he might
readily have taken his life, he disdained to do so. He would not put forth his
hand against the Lord's anointed, and in great grace, in his own good time, God
was pleased to deliver his servant. If men blow out the candle of a Christian's
reputation, God will light it again; if he does not do so in this life, remember
that at the resurrection there will be a resurrection of reputations as well as
of bodies: "Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of
their Father." It is, after all, of very small account what is said by men whose
breath is in their nostrils. "They say. What do they say? Let them say." Let
them say till they have done saying; it little matters what they say; yet, to a
sensitive spirit, like that of David, the tongue is a very sharp instrument, it
cutteth like a razor, and pierceth even to the bones. He felt, therefore, the
slander of many, and was sometimes greatly troubled by it. However, God was
pleased to work a very marvelous deliverance for him. It seemed as if the Lord
would sooner shake the earth to atoms, and crush the arches of heaven, than fail
to deliver his servant. He will do so still, depend upon it. "He shall never
suffer the righteous to be moved." David attributes his providential deliverance
to the mercy of God by which he had been kept clear in his conduct: "I kept
myself from mine iniquity." Whatever you do, if you do right, God will see you
through; but, whoever you may be, if you turn aside to crooked ways, you will
soon fall into a bog. If you try to carve for yourself, you will probably cut
your own fingers. He who thinks that he can do better by suppressing truth, or
by speaking falsehood, or by acting contrary to the dictates of his conscience,
will find that he has made a great mistake. Do thou so trust in God as to hold
to thine integrity. "Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look
straight before thee." Ponder the path of thy feet, and God will bring thee
through as surely as he is alive, which is saying much more than if I said as
surely as thou art alive; for, as the Lord liveth, before whom we stand, he will
not forsake the righteous, nor cast off them that serve him faithfully. This is
the passage we have to consider, "I kept myself from mine iniquity." Here is,
first, a personal danger: "mine iniquity." And, secondly, here is a special
guard: "I kept myself." And then, thirdly, here is a happy result. David could
say, as he looked back upon his life, "I kept myself from mine iniquity." There
was no boasting in this declaration; but as his enemies accused him falsely,
like an honest man he defended himself, for he was able truthfully to say, "I
kept myself from mine iniquity." I. Well now, here is, first, A PERSONAL DANGER:
"mine iniquity."This is a dreadful possession to have in the house; a man had
better have a cage of cobras than have an iniquity, yet we have each of us to
deal at home with some special form of sin. It is said that there is a skeleton
in every house. I do not know whether that is true; but I do know that there is
something very much allied to a skeleton, that is, the body of this death with
which we all have to deal; and it takes a special shape in each good man. There
is some particular sin which he may call "mine iniquity." Not only is there the
general iniquity which affects the whole race, but each man has his own
particular form of it: "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every
one to his own way." There is a general sin, but there is a particularity in it,
too; each man has his own way of sinning, so that he can speak of "mine
iniquity."Let us think of the particular form of iniquity with which some of us
have to do. It takes its speciality, perhaps, from our natural constitution. He
who judges all men alike does them an injustice. There are some who have but
little tendency to a particular form of evil, but they have a very great
inclination towards some other sin. Some are sanguine; they are expecting great
things, and they fall into the sin of expecting to drink sweet waters from the
cisterns of this world. There are some of quite another temperament, who are
inclined to despondency, perhaps to suspicion; they may fall into mistrust, or
various forms of unbelief, and even into despair, which will be very grievous to
the God who is ever gracious. There are some men who, from their very parentage,
are inclined to drunkenness or to unchastity. There are others, favoured by God
with a godly ancestry who, if they were left to themselves, would not probably
fall into either of these forms of sin, yet they might be proud of their own
integrity, and proud of their own uprightness; and is not pride as great a sin
as those more open transgressions? Depend on it, my dear friend, thou hast some
tendency peculiar to thyself, and there is a special point where thou liest open
to the attacks of temptation. Happy will that man be who so knows himself that
he sets a double watch against that postern gate through which the adversary is
apt to creep in the dark. Peculiar constitutions may lead to special forms of
sin, and it behooves the godly man to keep himself from his own iniquity.Our
tendency is to decry the particular form of sin that we find in others. We hold
up our hands as if we were quite shocked. Better look in the looking-glass than
look out at the window. Looking out of the window, thou seest one for whom thou
art not responsible; but looking in the glass, thou seest one of whom thou must
give account to God, and thou wilt do well to ask God to keep that one. Thou
wilt, likely enough, within a day's march, not see a much worse man than he is,
if thou dost know him well. I remember Mr. Berridge's quaint joke. He had,
hanging round his room, the portraits of many ministers; and he would say to his
friend, "Here is Whitefield, here is Wesley, here is So-and- so;" and then,
leading his visitor to a looking-glass, he would say, "Here is the devil." Yes,
he is somewhere about there where thou art looking. If thou lookest long enough,
thou mayest detect some of his handiwork at any rate, for there is something of
his work about us all. Sin, therefore, may be something peculiar to
constitution.But any man may also know that "mine iniquity" may be engendered by
education. How impressible we are in childhood! We bear the print of our
mother's fingers when we are fifty years of age, and it is not gone from us even
when we are old and grey-headed. Things that were done at our father's home are
likely to be done in our own home. Things that we saw, things that we heard,
when we were very young, may abide with us, and help to shape our whole life.
May God help us so to look back upon our early training as to discover the
defects of it, and, not laying the sin upon others, which would be a wicked
perversion of the truth, yet let us recollect that, as we lived in a sinful
generation, we have acquired some taint therefrom, and we have need to watch
against the sins which were taught us when we were young, especially any of you
who have been rescued by grace out of homes of drunkenness and debauchery! I
bless the Lord that there are many here who have been brought by sovereign grace
out of very dens of iniquity. There are some here who are, so far as they are
aware, the only ones of all their household who know the Lord; and when they go
home to-night, it will be a great pain to them, as they cross the threshold, to
think how very different the atmosphere will be from that in the house of God
where they have worshipped. Well, my dear brother or sister, we sympathize with
you in your trial, and pray the Lord that you may carefully watch and that you
may be kept from your iniquity.No doubt there are certain forms of iniquity
which grow out of our particular condition. The young man has his iniquity; it
is not the iniquity of the aged. The young man is tempted to sinful pleasure,
the old man to covetousness. Each period of life has its own special snare.
Pray, I beseech you, young people, middle-aged people, old people, pray the Lord
that you may be kept from the peculiar iniquity of that part of the life-passage
through which you are going. He who quits the shores of England for Australia
may ask the guardian care of God while yet the white cliffs of Albion have
scarcely melted from his view. Let him ask God's blessing as he passes through
the middle passage of the Suez Canal; but let him not forget to pray when the
captain tells him that, within a few days, he will come in sight of the southern
shore. No, all along we need keeping. It is so with our condition of life as to
our outward circumstances. The rich man has his temptations. Few know how great
they are, or they would not be so eager after riches. It is as hard for a rich
man to enter the kingdom of heaven as for a camel to go through the eye of a
needle. It is a natural impossibility, for so many difficulties surround the
possession of riches; but with God all things are possible. Yet the poor man
will not find that he has a much larger hole to go through. His straitened
circumstances will not materially help him. Agur did well to pray, "Give me
neither poverty nor riches." There are peculiar trials in each condition; and
even the middle way between the two is not without its own special temptations;
so that, whether thou hast much or little, pray God that thou mayest keep
thyself from thine iniquity.There are iniquities which come through prosperity.
I have never yet prayed to God to preserve me in going up in a balloon, for I
have never had any idea of entering one; but whenever you prosper very greatly,
and especially when you prosper very fast, you are very like a man going up in a
balloon. If people knew the danger, they would send in prayers to the Monday
night prayer-meeting, asking that the Lord would have mercy upon the man who is
greatly prospering, for there are very peculiar trials surrounding that
condition. Oh, that men might be kept from that cleaving to the world and
letting the Saviour go, which so often follows upon great success in life!But
equally must he pray who is in adversity. Oh, the ills of adversity! The worst
ill of all is the tendency to doubt God, and to put forth your hand unto
iniquity in order to remove the heavy load. Pray the Lord, thou who art losing
everything, that he will keep thee from thine iniquity. Thou needest not pray,
like Pharaoh, "Take away the frogs;" but pray like David, "Take away mine
iniquity." That is the prayer of the true child of God.I may be speaking to some
who have great talents. Well, you have need to pray, "Lord, keep me from mine
iniquity," for great talent is a very dangerous thing for a man to possess, a
charge which needs great grace. And, if thou hast but one talent, thine iniquity
may be to wrap it in a napkin, and hide it in the earth. There is a temptation
in the one talent as well as in the five. Therefore, pray the Lord to keep thee
from that iniquity which is often the accompaniment of the particular condition
in which thou art found.Brothers, there are some of you who have need to pray
this prayer in reference to your calling. I do not think that any calling is
free from temptation, but there are some positions in which the temptation is
very terrible. I need not go into those which surround many of you in trade,
when everybody seems to "cut the thing fine," as they say, and to cut the truth
much finer than anything else, and say a great deal that is not true, under the
notion that somehow or other it will help his business. If there be customs in
your trade which all others follow, and which you know to be wrong, do not adopt
them; but say, "Lord, keep me from mine iniquity." You need not begin to say,
"Those grocers, those milk-dealers, those publicans, all have their iniquities."
Think about your own; quite enough iniquities may crowd into your shop without
your thinking about the shops of other people. Pray the Lord that you may be
kept from your iniquity.And, O beloved, what iniquities there are which surround
us all in daily life! Into what company can you go without being tempted? In
this city, at the present time, the position of a Christian is very much like
that of Lot in Sodom. I speak what I do know; I do not exaggerate the conditions
which surround the lives of some Christian working-men and Christian
working-women who are not able to let their children go into our streets by
reason of the filthiness of the language that they would hear. Even round about
this house of prayer is a very cauldron of iniquity, so that many say, "We
cannot live there, and we do not know where to live to keep our children out of
the temptations which now surround them." I say not that one age is worse than
another, but I do say that the peculiar trials of to-day should make Christians
walk very near to God; and, instead of loosening and relaxing the lines of our
religious profession, let us tighten them as much as ever we can, and seek to be
thoroughly Nonconformist, not conforming to the world, to be out and out
Dissenters, dissenting from the ways of this ungodly generation.Still, to help
you to find out your iniquity, I will make one or two more remarks. It is likely
to be that iniquity which thou hast oftenest fallen into in thy previous life.
What has been thy sternest struggle? Against quickness of temper? Then, that is
thine iniquity. Doubt and mistrust? That is thine iniquity. Has it been
covetousness? Has it been slowness to forgive any who have offended you? Has it
been gossiping and mixing untruth with your talk? That is your iniquity.
Whatever it is which hitherto has stained thy life, that is probably the thing
which will stain it again unless thou dost watch, and call in the power of the
Holy Spirit for thy protection. That sin which you find yourself readily
committing, which you drift into without any effort, ay, which you drift into
when you are making a great many efforts not to do it, that is your iniquity.
That which you have returned to after having smarted for it, that which you have
vowed you would never be guilty of again, and which yet has in a moment, like
the bursting forth of some hidden spring of water, carried thee away with a
rush,?that is thine iniquity. Oh, how canst thou keep thyself from it unless God
shall keep thee? Cry unto the Most High to enable thee to keep thyself from
thine iniquity. That is thine iniquity which has overtaken thee even after thou
hast prayed against it, and laboured against it, that thou hast concluded that
surely thou wilt never do it again, and yet thou hast done it. Let me tell you
one thing more; that which you do not like to hear condemned, that which you do
not like the preacher to mention, that which makes you to wriggle in your seat,
and feel, "I wish he would not say that, he is coming too closely home," that is
your iniquity. And if thou canst not bear that thy wife should speak to thee
about it, or that thy brother or thy sister should give thee a friendly word of
advice concerning it, that which thou art most loath to hear, probably has to do
with thine iniquity. We may often judge ourselves by this test. It is that which
thou art most loath to hear that thou hast most need to hear; instead of being
angry with him who points it out to thee thou shouldst be willing to pay him for
doing it. When you go to your doctor, and ask him to examine you, if he says,
"There is something a little amiss with the heart, or with the lungs," do you
knock him down? Do you get into a passion with him for telling you the truth?
No, you give him his guinea, and thank him even for imparting evil news. And
should we not thank those who rebuke us, and tell us of our faults? When God
sendeth thee not a faithful friend, I pray him to send thee an honest enemy, who
will deal straightly with thee, and let thee know where thy weakness is, that
thou mayest then cry to God, "Lord, keep me from mine iniquity."II. Now,
secondly, in our text there is A SPECIAL GUARD: "I kept myself from mine
iniquity."Someone may perhaps say, "I have a special temptation, but I am going
to set a guard against it." Let me ask you first who you are; are you a child of
God? Have you passed from death unto life? If you say, "No," I am not referring
to you in this part of my subject. You must be born again, you must go by faith
to Jesus Christ, and ask for cleansing in his precious blood, and renewal by the
Holy Spirit; but I am now talking to the child of God, the man who has spiritual
life. I speak to you, my dear brother, because you can, by God's grace, keep
yourself from your iniquity. How are you to do it?Well, first, you must find out
what it is. You must get a clear idea of your own iniquity. Ask the Lord to
search you, and try you, and know your ways. When you have found out what that
iniquity is, then endeavour to get a due sense of its foulness and guilt in the
sight of God. Ask the Lord to make thee hate most that sin to which thou art
most inclined. Remember that thou art a child of God; it ill becomes thee to be
friendly with any of the King's enemies. Remember that Christ has bought thee;
thou belongest to him, thou shouldst not be the slave of any sin, thou must not
be such if the life of God be in thee. The life of God in the soul hates sin;
thou canst not take pleasure in any sin if thou art indeed a regenerate man or
woman. Therefore, I say to thee, seek to get a sight of the heinousness of thy
particular sin and the danger which attends it, that, as thou hast an
extraordinary horror of it, thou mayest set that over against thy tendency to
it.Then, be resolved in the power of the Holy Spirit that this particular sin
shall be overcome. There is nothing like hanging it up by the neck, that very
sin, I mean. Do not fire at sin indiscriminately; but, if thou hast one sin that
is more to thee than another, drag it out from the crowd, and say, "Thou must
die if no other does.I will hang thee up in the face of the sun." Strive against
thine anger; strive against thy covetousness; strive against thine envy; strive
against thine evil temper, thy malice, if that be thy fault; for there are some
who are very slow to forgive. Strive against it till thou gettest thy foot upon
its neck. "I cannot do it," says one. Why, the Lord has said that he will bruise
Satan under our feet shortly! Surely, if you are to have the devil under your
foot, you can get all sin under your feet by God's help; and you must do it. It
is a part of that work that must be wrought in us to bring every thought into
captivity to divine grace. You are not able to subdue the least sin apart from
Christ; but, by the help of the Holy Spirit, there is nothing that can master
thee. I tell thee that, if thou let any sin master thee, thou wilt be lost. If
any sin should remain unconquered, thou art ruined; for this is the way of
salvation, the absolute conquest of every sin through the grace of the Holy
Spirit. It must be so with thee ere thou canst enter heaven, and thou art able
to overcome it in the power of Jesus Christ. If thou hast an iniquity that more
than another haunts thee, then keep away from all that tempts thee to it. Is
there a house where thy company is much liked, but where thou art never able to
come away without having fallen into sin? Keep away from that house. It is often
one of the most essential things in young converts that they should quit the
company in which they once sported. You may go into some company to do good; but
mind that you are strong enough to resist the evil, for it does not always do
for those who have but little strength to attempt to pull others out of the
fire; they may be themselves pulled into it. No, come ye out from among them, be
ye separate; touch not the unclean thing. You have no business to be in that
place where it becomes almost necessary that you should sin; that necessity
should warn you not to go there. The true path of safety is to pray and believe
against all sin. We conquer sin by faith in Christ. This is the axe that will
cut down the upas tree, and there is no other that will do so. Believe thou in
Jesus Christ the Saviour, who died for thee; and then believe in him as living
again, and willing to help thee in every conflict against sin. Go thou, having
Christ crucified with thee, and ask him to crucify thy sin, and nail it up to
his cross. So thou shalt be helped to overcome; but there must be care, and
prayer, and watchfulness, and trust, and continual looking up to the Lord for
grace. Only so can you say, "I kept myself from mine iniquity."III. Thirdly, I
conclude with A HAPPY RESULT.David says, "I kept myself from mine iniquity." He
does not say that he could not sin, but that he would not, and he did not. When
a wicked man gets old, he may say, "I do not sin like those young people." No,
because you cannot; it has been well said that there is many an old man who, if
you could put young eyes in him, would look the same way as he used to do. That
is not what we want; it is not the failure to commit a sin because your passions
have grown colder, or your strength has left you; it is a change of heart that
is wanted. "I kept myself from mine iniquity;" that is, "though it would try to
tempt me, and did so, and I might have yielded to it, yet by the grace of God I
would not yield."I do pray, my brothers and sisters, that, if we live ten,
twenty, thirty, or fifty more years, we may be able to say, without any
boasting, but in deep humility before God, "By his great grace, by trust in
Jesus, I kept myself from mine iniquity," because, if we do so, see what a
blessing it will be to us, for it will be to us a reason for our being brought
out of the trouble. If when you are in need, if when you are under temptation,
God helps you to keep straight, you will come out all right at the last. What a
number of stories I might tell here of young men, who were great losers at first
by being godly; but they kept themselves right, and they had to thank God for it
ever afterwards. I know, at this present moment, a personal friend who was a
banker's clerk. On a certain day, he was told to do something which he judged to
be, speaking plainly, dishonest; and he told the manager that he could not do
it, whereupon he received a month's notice. It was a country bank, and he was
not sent about his business at once; and he had to turn the matter over. He had
a wife and children; and when he went home, it was not easy to tell the wife
that the excellent situation that he held would be vacated within a short time.
But he stood fast in his integrity, he said that he was sure God would bring him
safely through, and he never had even the slightest thought of doing other than
he had said he would do. It was within twelve months that he obtained the
situation of manager for that very bank, and it belongs to him at this moment;
he very speedily became a man in a much better position than he could have
expected to have obtained, simply from the fact that it had been proved that he
could be trusted. It is not always so; some people have to be a long time under
a cloud; but, in the long run, if thou as a child of God wilt but stand fast,
God will not let thee be a loser. If he does, it shall be thy glory to lose
everything sooner than tarnish thy character. Thou shalt find it a greater joy
to lose all things for Christ than it would be to gain the whole world by doing
anything that was wrong. If you are able to say, "I kept myself from mine
iniquity," then you shall also be able to say with David, "I will love thee, O
Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer. I
will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised."Next, if you act thus, it
will be a triumph of divine grace. Brethren, we want to show the world what
grace can do, and every member of the church ought to feel that he is put upon
his behaviour to prove what the grace of God has done in him. What credit is
brought to Christ by professed Christians who are so like worldlings that, if
you put them under a microscope, you could not tell the difference between them?
If you can do what worldlings do, you shall go at last where worldlings go. If
grace does not make you to differ from them, it is not the grace of God, it is
all a sham. We ought to feel that Christ's honour is in danger by our ill
behaviour, and so live that we can glorify our Father who is in heaven by our
good works, keeping ourselves from our iniquity.For again, this will be our best
testimony to others. It is well to preach as I do, with my lips; but you can all
preach with your feet, and by your lives, and that is the most effective
preaching. The preaching of holy lives is living preaching. The most effective
ministry from a pulpit is that which is supported by godliness from the pew. God
help you to do this!And, lastly, what a sweet peace this will give to your
conscience! Though we know we are saved by grace, hear this, ye ungodly. There
is no way of salvation for you , or for us, but by the grace of God through
Jesus Christ; yet when we are saved, the evidence to our own soul of that work
of grace upon our nature is very sweet when we can say, "I have kept myself from
mine iniquity." A well-spent life, a life that is pure, a life that has been
consecrated to usefulness, a life in which there has not been a turning aside to
the right hand or to the left, helps us to lie down with comfort upon our dying
bed, and bid farewell to all our dear ones and feel that we are leaving behind
us the legacy of a gracious example in which we do not glory, but for which we
give God the glory, and thank and praise his holy name. Begin at the cross;
there is the source of your salvation. Then go, and live like the living
Saviour. God help you to do so, for Christ's sake!


========================================================================
Source: https://sermonindex.net/books/spurgeons-sermons-volume-41-1895/
========================================================================