To the Army
The sermon urges the army to abase themselves before the Lord, be humble and meek, and avoid being deceived by fleshly reasoning in order to remain faithful to the Lord's purposes.
Isaac Penington preaches to the army, urging them to reflect on their past betrayals of the Lord and the missed opportunities to fulfill His work. He calls for humility, meekness, and a readiness to listen to the Lord in order to avoid being deceived again. Penington warns against the dangers of fleshly reasoning and urges the army to keep simplicity alive, seeking God's guidance to prevent worldly wisdom from taking over. He encourages them to stay upright and faithful to the Lord's purposes, carrying out His will without deviation.
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TO THE ARMY
[no date]
FRIENDS,
Do ye not see how often ye have been betrayed? The Lord hath done great things for you, and by you, and put great opportunities into your hands: but still they have been lost, his work fallen to the ground, and his name become a reproach over all the earth, through your means. Oh! be abased before the Lord, and lie very low, and consider how justly he may lay you aside from being his instruments, in that great and glorious work he hath to bring to pass. If ye desire to stand, look up to the Lord, to keep your spirits very low, and poor, and meek, and ready to hear. Oh! wait to know what hath betrayed you hitherto! for assuredly that lies in wait to betray you again: and if the Lord mightily preserve you not from it, will make you forget him, and cause you to mind and seek yourselves afresh, so soon as ever your fears are over. Therefore, in the day of your prosperity, the Lord watch over you, and keep you close to the stirrings and honest movings for public good, that have sprung up in your hearts in the days of your adversity; and take heed, lest the subtlety in the wise, fleshly-reasoning part deceive you; but fear the Lord in your reasonings, and beg earnestly of him to keep the simplicity alive in you, that the fleshly wisdom get not mastery over it. For the evil counsellor is near you, even in your own <293> bosoms, and he lies lurking in plausible and fair-seeming reasonings. Therefore keep close to the simplicity, and let your reasonings be servants to it, and not masters over it. Ah! remember how often ye have started aside like a warped bow: become now at length upright to the Lord, carrying faithfully to the mark those his arrows which he is shooting at the regions of Babylon.
This is from one who waits for what the Lord will effect, and hopes at length to see an instrument in his hand wherein his soul will delight.
ISAAC PENINGTON THE YOUNGER
Sermon Outline
- The Lord's Disappointment with the Army
- The Importance of Humility and Meekness
- The Danger of Fleshly Reasoning
- The Need to Keep Close to Simplicity
- The Evil Counsellor in Our Bosoms
- Keeping Reasonings Servants to Simplicity
Key Quotes
“Oh! be abased before the Lord, and lie very low, and consider how justly he may lay you aside from being his instruments, in that great and glorious work he hath to bring to pass.” — Isaac Penington
“For the evil counsellor is near you, even in your own bosoms, and he lies lurking in plausible and fair-seeming reasonings.” — Isaac Penington
“Ah! remember how often ye have started aside like a warped bow: become now at length upright to the Lord, carrying faithfully to the mark those his arrows which he is shooting at the regions of Babylon.” — Isaac Penington
Application Points
- We must be willing to abase ourselves before the Lord and consider how we may have contributed to our own disappointment.
- We must be careful to avoid being deceived by fleshly reasoning and instead keep close to simplicity.
- We must remain faithful to the Lord's purposes by keeping close to the stirrings and honest movings for public good that have sprung up in our hearts.