In the hearts and minds of the people of God Psalms 79 and 80 resemble heavenly twins. They both reflect wistfully on the Church's past spiritual prosperity, they both ache with longing for deliverance from present calamities and they both promise to praise and thank the Lord should He be pleased to send that deliverance. They both cry out in their agony: "How long?" and they both 'lie low' under a sense of God's anger with His own people. Finally, they both have no hope except in the mercy of their divine, heavenly Shepherd.
Why do I describe them as Psalms for our Day? Because the similarities between ancient Israel and our own nation are so evident.
For one thing, no nation on earth received such great privileges as Israel of old. To them were committed the oracles of God (Rom 3.2); to them pertained the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the law, the service of God, and the promises (Rom 9.4); and from them came the patriarchs and our Lord in His human nature (Rom 9.5). All this was of sheer grace, for "the Lord did not set His love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people...but because the Lord loved you." (Deut 7.7-8).
As a response to such grace Israel was enjoined to remember two things: first, that He is a faithful God, who keeps covenant and mercy with all who love Him and keep His commandments; and second, that He will not be slack to repay to their faces all those who hate Him (Deut 7.9-10). Accordingly Moses wearied himself in warning Israel of the dreadful consequences of rejecting Him.
But reject Him they did. When God 'rose up early' to send His prophets to them, they slew them. And when 'last of all' He sent to them His Son, they crucified Him. The judicial murder of our Lord Jesus Christ marked the climax of their rejection of God.
For centuries the history of the Jews has been a mournful commentary on their own self-imprecation: "His blood be on us, and on our children." (Matt 27.25). Our Lord Himself wept over their doomed city. His apostle Paul suffered 'great heaviness and continual sorrow' over their tragic plight. Christian missionaries have spent their lives and Christian societies their resources to place the Hebrew Scriptures in their hands. Yet for all this they are still far from their longed-for Messiah.
The parallels with our own nation are clear. We too have had the oracles of God. A long line of faithful translators, from Wycliff to King James's men, toiled day and night to give us the Holy Scriptures. And what were the fruits, by God's grace? "Theology rules there," said the Dutch jurist Grotius only two years after the death of 'Gloriana' (Queen Elizabeth I). Hear the testimony of one of England's great historians: "No greater moral change ever passed over a nation than passed over England during the years which parted the middle of the reign of Elizabeth from the meeting of the Long Parliament. England became the people of a book, and that book was the Bible. It was as yet the one English book which was familiar to every Englishman; it was read at churches and read at home, and everywhere its words, as they fell on ears which custom had not deadened, kindled a startling enthusiasm." (John Richard Green) That enthusiasm was for truth, justice, mercy and God. "The whole temper of the nation felt the change," Green continues. "A new conception of life and of man superseded the old. A new moral and religious impulse spread through every class... The whole nation became, in fact, a Church." When, two and a half centuries later, a Nigerian prince visited the country and asked for the secret of Britain's greatness, Queen Victoria (whom it is so fashionable to denigrate today) ordered a courtier to fetch the Bible. Handing it to him, she said emphatically: "This is the secret of Britain's greatness."
And have we forgotten the covenants? From 1557 to 1688 Scotland renewed her covenants with God time and time again, against all the cruelties of the time-serving Carolingian prelates, through all the horrors of the Civil War and despite all the martyrdoms of the Restoration period. In 1638 the flower of Scotland pledged themselves to cleave to their gracious covenant God. Five years later, at Westminster, representatives of the entire British Isles pledged us to God in the Solemn League and Covenant. We are a covenanted nation and the covenants are national documents.
And were not the laws of our land, by and large, framed according to the law of God? Was not justice, that constant theme of the late Lord Denning, the glory of our legal system?
And has not God adopted many sons and daughters out of these islands to be His own? Who can recall the noble army of martyrs; the numerous 'devout and honourable women' that have adorned our Reformed, Puritan and Evangelical churches; the Pilgrim Fathers and the great Social Reformers who fought to abolish slavery and child-labour and appalling working conditions without recognizing them as children of God?
And was not the worship of God once a beautiful reflection of the divine dictum: "I will be sanctified in all them that draw nigh me"? Rid of the trappings of Popery, our people learned to worship God in spirit and in truth. The windows of the sanctuary let in light, the pulpit was central, altars, 'lady chapels', priestly chanting, ornate vestments and all the other rigmarole of ignorant superstition were banished. Our services were marked by reverence, adherence to the Scriptures, faithful preaching, fervent praying and sweetly solemn singing. And was not the dew of heaven on our public assemblies then?
And were not millions of poor, simple believers brought to feed on the promises which God in Christ had so liberally scattered among us?
And was there not once a glory in our land, by which we became the fear and envy of the nations? How quickly the papal antichrist ordered the stopping of the persecution of the Waldensians when Cromwell threatened to train his warships on Rome! And how wonderfully have we been protected from 'treasons, stratagems and spoils' throughout our Protestant history!
All this was because God was among us. Like Israel of old, He loved us because He would love us. And having loved us He came to dwell in our midst.
Yet where are we now? The Word of God has been torn to shreds by unbelieving critics [who ever gave man permission to criticize the Word of God?] and diluted into literary pulp by innumerable 'popular' translations. [I well remember the late Dr Lloyd Jones referring to the N.E.B. as "the I.T.V. version of the Bible." And that was by no means the worst of them!]
As for the covenants, they are hardly even a historical curiosity. The late Professor G.D.Henderson observed over fifty years ago that in the Scottish churches there was no thought of renewing them. In England they serve only as a fit subject for commemoration. Most British Christians, I venture to surmise, have no idea what the covenants are!
Furthermore, our laws are being turned into licences to sin, the worship of many is nothing but fleshly self-gratification, few know either the joy of feeding on God's promises or the Spirit of adoption whereby they can draw near to God and call Him "Abba, Father."
How would we like to experience no rainfall for three hundred years? Yet spiritually God has already done this to us. For three centuries He has been turning "a fruitful land into barrenness for the wickedness of them that dwell therein." (Psa 107.34). We are now reaping what both we and our fathers have sown.
And to crown all, 'Ichabod' may be written over every corner of our land. Even areas that were once gardens of God are now nothing but spiritual graveyards. The godly Lachlan Mackenzie of Lochcarron, while never claiming to be a prophet, foresaw the day when a man could travel from one end of the country to the other without meeting a godly man! Is this not true of our day? Even as long ago as the late 19th century, one minister said: "I am happy to have had a glimpse of the Ark of God in the Scottish Highlands before it vanished out of sight." And things have grown much worse since. From the days of the old Jewish theocracy, no nation has been raised so high, and then been brought so low. Truly, the glory of God has departed from us.
Yet our churches are full of those who cannot bear to think of a God who punishes wickedness. "He is a God of love," they say. "We are all His children." And so they never warn others when they are alive and they easily put them up to heaven when they die, fully expecting the same soft treatment themselves. But God is also a God of judgment. And wherever He sees sin, He will punish it. His wrath is already revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. (Rom 1.18). Soon He will cite us all before His awesome throne. "Then," says Samuel Rutherford truly, "we shall all appear in our blacks and whites." There are no greys at the judgment seat of Christ. And only the righteous shall survive that dreadful ordeal.
But is not the Ecumenical Movement gathering all the people of God into one? Salvation Army and Methodist, Independent and Presbyterian, Baptist and Paedo-Baptist, Anglican and Roman Catholic, Orthodox and Brethren? Indeed, are we not beginning to embrace all world religions in the arms of our loving, tolerant 'god'? Dear friends, do not be deceived. When apostate churches that have wandered far from the Reformed Faith combine against the Lord's anointed, and fraternize with His avowed enemies, we can expect nothing but persecution. Some of us have tasted mild forms of it already. Who knows what awaits us yet?
What, then, is our duty? Psalm 80 tells us clearly. We must cry to God with our exalted Saviour in view: "Let thy hand be upon the Man of thy right hand, upon the Son of Man whom thou madest strong for thyself." We must plead with Him: "Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts: look down from heaven, and visit this thy vine." We must ply the throne of grace with the mournful refrain:
"Turn us again, Lord God of hosts,And if we seek His grace to do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with our God, who knows but that He may open the windows of heaven on us and pour out a blessing. The late Roderick Mackenzie, the godly minister of the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland Relief Congregation in Glasgow, said in his day that things would grow worse before they would get better. Let us beg God not to let them grow any worse than they are now, for our children's and grandchildren's sake, for the churches' sake, for His Son's sake, and most of all for His mercy's sake.
And upon us vouchsafe
To make thy countenance to shine,
And so we shall be safe."
'The Holy Spirit teaches us in Scripture that our mind is smitten with so much blindness, that the affections of our heart are so depraved and perverted, that our whole nature is so vitiated, that we can do nothing but sin until he forms a new will within us.' (Dedication to Edward VI of Commentary on the General Epistles.)
The Puritans:
'Alas! poor creatures, conceived in sin, brought forth in iniquity (Psa 51.5) those whom we fondly miscall "innocent babes" come into the world...full of guilt, full of filth; bloody, loathesome creatures...nothing in them by nature that is good; an averseness to all good, a proneness to all evil.' (Thomas Lye. ibid. II.109.)
'God knew before the world was created whom He had elected for salvation.... Hence, when Peter calls them elect according to the precognition of God, he intimates that the cause of it depends on nothing else but on God alone, for He of His own free will has chosen us.' (Comm on 1 Pet 1.2.)
The Puritans:
'There is no such thing as general redemption ...There is a certain number of elect persons whom God hath chosen to grace and eternal glory before the foundation of the world was laid; for the apostle Paul saith expressly (Eph 1.4) that "we are chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world." ...Some are chosen, others are left; nor doth he say, who hath chosen us upon foresight of our faith or holiness, but "that we may be holy," holiness being the fruit of election. (William Bridge: Works: 2.243.)
'How has He loved His Church? ...He has given Himself for her.' (Sermons on Ephesians. 572.)
'John's purpose [in 1 John 2.2] was only to make this blessing common to the whole Church. Therefore under the word "all" he does not include the reprobate, but refers to all who would believe and those who were scattered through various regions of the earth.' (Comm on 1 John 2.2.)
'Christ was so ordained the Saviour of the whole world, as that He might save those that were given unto Him by the Father out of the whole world.' (Treatise on the Eternal Predestination of God. 1927. 94.)
'The universal term "all" must always be referred to classes of men but never to individuals.' (Comm on 1 Tim 2.5.)
The Puritans:
'All His meritorious passions [ie sufferings] were endured by Him in the name of His elect and for their use, and are fully belonging... to every believer. What Christ as a Mediator did personally do is credited... to the Church (Stephen Charnock: Christ Crucified. 1996. 99-100.)
'This is the engine for bringing down all haughtiness, this the sword for putting an end to all pride, when we are taught that we are utterly nothing and can do nothing except through the grace of God alone. I mean supernatural grace, which comes forth from the spirit of regeneration...There are in any action two principal departments -- the inclination, and the power to carry it into effect. Both of these he ascribes wholly to God. What more remains to us as a ground of glorying?' (Comm on Phil 2.13.)
Paul's saying, that "it is God who is at work to will in us," (Phil 2.13), would not make sense if any will preceded the grace of the Spirit. Away then with all that 'preparation' which many babble about!' (Instit. II.ii.27.)
The Puritans:
'This perfect gift, the grace of God, comes from above, from the Father of lights. There is no principle of grace naturally within a man. It is as childish to think that grace comes from any principle within us as to think that the dew which falls upon a stone is the sweat of the stone ...God works upon the soul... preserving its freedom.... God works strongly and mildly: strongly, for He changeth a stone into a fleshly heart; and yet sweetly, He breaks not any power of nature, but advanceth it. For grace doth not take away or imprison nature, but lifts it up and sets it at liberty. (Richard Sibbes: Works. II. 331-2.)
'Under the Papacy a diabolical opinion prevails, that we ought to doubt our final perseverance, because we are uncertain whether we shall be tomorrow in the same state of grace. But Peter did not thus leave us in suspense; for he testifies that we stand by the power of God, lest any doubt arising from a consciousness of our own infirmity should disquiet us.... As then we are begotten by faith, so faith itself receives its stability from God's power. (Comm on 1 Pet 1.5.)
The Puritans:
'That which the Lord Jesus, as Mediator, requesteth and prayeth for continually of the Father... that shall certainly be accomplished and brought to pass... [is]... the perseverance of believers and their preservation in the love of the Father unto the end.' (John Owen: Works.XI. 369.)
Should it be argued that the differences between Calvin and the Puritans lay not in the foregoing areas, but in relation to the doctrine of the covenants, Paul Helm has sufficiently answered this cavil in his article 'Was Calvin a Federalist?' (Reformed Theological Journal. Vol.10. Nov 1994. pp 47-59.) We re-state his conclusion: 'There are undoubtedly differences between them ...differences of style, emphasis, theological organization and terminology. But it is one thing to recognize development and change within a tradition, quite another to imply that the federal theology was a degenerate form of Calvin's theology, one that overturned his views of God and grace...It does not appear that Professor Torrance has provided sufficient grounds for re-evaluating the tradition of Calvin and the federal theology in the way that he proposes.' (pp 58,59.)
In an equally-convincing article entitled 'Did Beza's supralapsarianism spoil Calvin's theology?', Joel Beeke concludes that 'in no case does Beza's theology [from which the Puritans allegedly took theirs, via William Perkins] differ qualitatively from Calvin's; in fact, a quantitative distinction is the only cleavage an accurate historian could safely place between them.' (op.cit. Vol 13. Nov 1997. p 66.)
Let us lay to heart the Holy Spirit's injunction in relation to these things: 'Mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned, and avoid them.' (Rom 16.17).
Calvin:
'The defection of our first parents...proved [to be] the destruction of the whole race... [consequently] no part of us is sound.' (Comm on Gen 1.6.)
'Adam is as the poisoned root, and the clusters are envenomed because the root was poisoned...every child that comes into the world sucks in poison with his first breath, and is no sooner a living creature than a deformed sinner.... (Psa 51.5) The soul of David was no sooner united to his body than sin was united to both.... David complains...that he was dogged with native corruption...he was wrapped in sin before he was wrapped in swaddling-clothes.' (John Wells: Cripplegate Morning Exercises. V. 107,109, 111.)U. Unconditional Election
Calvin:
'The foundation and first cause, both of our calling and of all the benefits which we receive from God, is here declared to be His eternal election...This leads us to conclude that holiness, purity and every excellence that is found among men are the fruit of election.' (Comm on Eph 1.4.)
'We see what is a blessing worthy [of] all thankfulness, even... our election...This is the root out of which all these blessings grow...God doth not choose because of faith, and holiness, and perseverance foreseen, seeing He chooseth us to these things, [which] follow by force of His election, and therefore [they] cannot be the cause of that which is before them.' (Paul Bayne: Comm on Eph 1.4.)L. Limited Atonement
Calvin:
'Christ ...is expressly called the Saviour of the Church.' (Comm on Matt 1.21.)
'Christ offered Himself a sacrifice of expiation for His people.' (David Clarkson: Works I.49.)I. Irresistible Grace
Calvin:
'God anticipates us by His grace, and also calls us to Himself ...We do not turn through our own will or efforts, but it is the Spirit's work.' (Jer III.233.)
'No man in the strength of his own parts or gifts can do anything so as to be accepted. "Without Me ye can do nothing." (John 15.5.) He doth not say that you may do something, or that you can do but little, but "You can do nothing without Me." He "worketh all our works in us" (Isa 26.12), even the will and the deed. (Phil 2.13.) (Henry Wilkinson: Cripplegate Morning Exercises. 2.495-6.)P. Perseverance of the Saints
Calvin:
'It is impossible that we could stand one moment in the contest with such enemies as Satan, sin and the world, did we not receive from God the grace which secures our perseverance.' (Comm on Psalms III.37.)
'The fifth and last fruit of sanctification is perseverance in grace. The heavenly inheritance is kept for the saints, and they are kept to the inheritance. (1 Pet 1.4.) ...The saints' perseverance is much opposed by Papists and Arminians, but it is not the less true because it is opposed. A Christian's main comfort depends upon this doctrine of perseverance.' (Thomas Watson: A Body of Divinity. 1992. 279.)
"If one died for all, then were all dead." (2 Cor 5.14). That is so because Christ was representative of all when He died. The death that He died on the cross was in itself the death of all....
We may imagine a dialogue between the law of God and a sinful man. "Man," says the law of God, "have you obeyed my commands?" "No," says the sinner, "I have transgressed them in thought, word and deed." "Well then, sinner," says the law, "have you paid the penalty which I have pronounced on those who have disobeyed? Have you died in the sense that I meant when I said: 'The soul that sinneth, it shall die,'?" "Yes," says the sinner, "I have died. That penalty you pronounced on my sin has been paid." "What do you mean?" says the law, "by saying that you have died? You do not look as though you have died. You look as though you are very much alive." "Yes," says the sinner, "I have died. I died there on the cross outside the walls of Jerusalem, for Jesus died there as my representative and my substitute. I died there as far as the penalty of the law is concerned." "You say Christ is your representative and substitute," says the law. "Then I have indeed no further claim of penalty against you. The curse which I pronounced against your sin has indeed been fulfilled. My threatenings are very terrible, but I have nothing to say against those for whom Christ died."
That is what Paul means by the tremendous "therefore" when he says: "one died for all; therefore all died." On that "therefore" hangs our hope for time and for eternity.
But what does he mean by "all"? "One died for all," he says, "therefore all died." He seems to lay considerable emphasis upon that word "all." What does he mean by it?
Our Christian brethren in other churches, our brethren who are opposed to the Reformed Faith, might be tempted to make that word "all" mean in this passage "all men." They might be tempted to make it refer to the whole human race. They might be tempted to interpret the words "Christ died for all" to mean that "Christ died for all men everywhere, whether Christians or not."
But if they are tempted to make it mean that, they ought to resist the temptation, since this passage is really a very dangerous passage for them to lay stress on in support of their view.
In the first place, the context is dead against it.... All through this passage Paul is speaking not of the relation of Christ to all men, but of the relation of Christ to the Church.
In the second place, the view that "Christ died for all" means "Christ died for all men" proves too much. The things that Paul says in this passage about those for whom Christ died do not fit those who merely have the Gospel offered to them; they fit only those who receive the Gospel to the salvation of their souls. Can it be said of... those who reject the Gospel or who have never heard it that they died when Christ died on the cross? Can it be said of them that they no longer live to themselves but to the Christ who died for them? Surely these words cannot be said of all men....
Perhaps it will be said that Paul is speaking only of the purpose of Christ in dying for all men, without implying that that purpose was accomplished....
Well, quite apart from the difficulty of supposing that God's purposes ever fail, I can only say that if that meaning is attributed to the passage, the force of the passage is seriously impaired. Did Christ on the cross die merely to make possible my salvation? Did He die for the great mass of humanity and then leave it to the decision of individuals whether they would make any use of what Christ purchased for them at such cost?....
I tell you, my friends, if I thought that -- if, in other words, I became a consistent Arminian instead of a Calvinist -- I would feel almost as though the light had forever gone out of my soul. No... my friends, Christ did not die there on Calvary merely to make possible our salvation. He died to save us. He died not merely to provide a general benefit for the human race from which we might at some future time draw (as from some general fund) what is needed for the salvation of our souls. No, thank God, He died there on the cross for us individually. He called us, when He died for us, by our name. He loved us, not as infinitesimal particles in the mass of the human race, but He loved us every one.
Do you ask how that could be? Do you ask how Christ when He died could have in His mind and heart every one of the millions of those who had been saved under the old dispensation, and [of those] who were to be saved in the long centuries that were to come? I will tell you how it could be. It could be because Christ is God. Being God, He knows us every one, with an intimacy that is far greater than the intimacy of the tenderest mother's love.
To say that Christ died for all men alike, and then [to say that] not all men are saved ...takes from the Gospel much of its sweetness and much of its joy. [It also takes from the Gospel its essential truth. Ed.] From the cold universalism of that Arminian creed we turn ever again with a new thankfulness to the warm and tender individualism of our Reformed Faith.... Thank God we can say... as we contemplate Christ on the cross, not... "He died for the mass of humanity, and how glad I am that I am amid that mass," but "He loved me, and gave Himself for me. My name was written from all eternity on His heart, and when He hung and suffered there on the cross He thought of me, even me, as one for whom in His grace He was willing to die."
Adapted
The Individualism of the Gospel
by J. Gresham Machen
[Part of an address Dr Machen delivered as out-going Moderator at the opening of the second General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of America, 12 November 1938. Ed.]
- J.C.Ryle.
From the charity that forbids us to say anyone is wrong,
From the peace that is bought at the expense of truth,
May the good Lord deliver us.
1. God's eternal love and free grace, which towards us is the highest link of salvation (Rom 8.29-30). It is not those He 'will glorify', but those He 'has glorified', to denote that glorification is linked with justification, and is present with it in regard to the eternal predisposition of God, though not in actual execution.
Now this eternal love and grace is not founded on reasons in the ungodly, for He loved us when we were His enemies by wicked works (Rom 5.8; Col 1.21). Now if our wicked works could not prevent the love of God then, why should we think they can nullify it now? If His grace went before our repentance, [in order] that we might return, shall it not much more preserve us repenting, that we might persevere? If the guilt and greatness of Adam's sin, in which we are all sharers, and the deep-dyed sins of our unconverted life when we were His enemies, could not frustrate His purpose to love us, why should any subsequent sins overturn the stability of that love and purpose, now [that] we are His sons, especially when He has given us a spirit to lament our lapse? As Fulgentius says, "The same grace of God's immutable counsel that begins our righteousness also consummates it in glory."
2. God's promise, flowing from His love and grace. 'An everlasting covenant will I make,' says God (Jer 32.40). Observe, it is everlasting, and not made temporary by us. 'I will not turn away from them,' says the Lord, 'to do them good.' True, Lord, Thou dost not repent of Thy love, nor turn from us; but we turn from Thee! 'No!' says the Lord, 'I will put my fear into your hearts, that you shall not depart from me.' Elsewhere (Isa 54.9-10) He tells us that His covenant is like the waters of Noah. Our sins can no more reverse God's covenant of mercy towards us than they can bring back Noah's flood onto the earth again. He may be angry with us for a while, but His mercy is everlasting. As the promises of God have truth in them, so also they have power in them. They do not depend on our resolutions for their fulfilment; but by faith receiving them, and hope waiting on them, they accommodate our hearts to the conditions He has promised to bring about by them. God makes us do what He commands; we do not make Him do what He promises. The same faith He works in us to save us is the instrument of the same power to preserve us. When we are taught by God, and hear and learn from the Father (John 6.45) our hearts voluntarily attend to the ineffable sweetness of that teaching, so that it is nothing in ourselves, but only the immutability of His grace and promises which keeps us from being consumed (Mal 3.6).
3. The sealing of the Spirit, ratifying and securing these promises to our hearts; for the Spirit is an earnest and seal of our redemption. This is not only a sealing unto redemption, proving the certainty of the end on the application of the means; it is also an establishing of us into Christ as the means to that end; so that from the first-fruits of the Spirit a man may conclude his interest in the last fruits, just as Paul from the resurrection of Christ concludes the final resurrection (1 Cor 15.20).
4. The nature and effect of faith, which makes future things present to the believer and gives them a being, and therefore a certainty to the soul when they do not as yet have a being in themselves (Heb 11.1). In the same way, our Saviour concludes that when men hate us we are blessed with a great reward in heaven (John 6.54; Luke 6.22,32). Such an inference could not be drawn unless the power of faith is able to give a pre-subsistence to the things promised. For it is the privilege of faith to look on things to come as if they were already ours; and the Covenant of Grace, sealed with an oath, makes all the gifts that are in it irreversible and sure.
Besides, not only are the death and merits of Christ ours by union to Him, but also the life, kingdom and inheritance of Christ are ours too. Indeed, even His victories are ours, so that not even all our sins, enemies and temptations shall overcome us.
Lastly, we have the benefits of Christ's intercession, so that our faith shall not fail, but will hold out to the end.
These are the comforts which secure the life of Christ in a lapsed but repenting sinner. Since we do not stand on our own base, like Adam, but are branches of a Vine which never withers, members of a Head who never dies, sharers of a Spirit who purifies the heart, partakers of a promise which is sealed with the very oath of God; since we do not live by our own life but by the life of Christ, we are sealed not by our own spirit but by the Spirit of Christ' we do not obtain mercy by our own prayers but by the intercession of Christ, we are not reconciled to God by our own endeavours but by the propitiation wrought by Christ, who loved us when we were enemies, who is both willing and able to save us to the utmost, and preserve His own mercies in us; whose office it is to ensure that no-one who is given to Him be lost; undoubtedly the life of Christ in us, underpropped by so many supports, is an abiding life. He who raised our souls from death shall either keep our feet from falling, or of we do fall, will heal our backsliding, love us freely and save us to the end.
Adapted
by Edward Reynolds (1599-1676)
What I shall say can yield no comfort to a man persisting in apostasy, but to one seriously humbled with the sense of his lapse it may offer comfort. Let such a one consider the security of his life in Christ on these grounds:
I find that the devil often makes use of the confession of sin to stir up again the very sin confessed into new exercise, so that I am afraid to dwell upon the confession. I must ask experienced Christians about this. For the present, I think I should strive against the awful abuse of confession, whereby the devil seeks to frighten me away from confessing.
I ought to take all methods for seeing the vileness of my sins. I ought to regard myself as a condemned branch of Adam -- as a partaker of a nature opposite to God from the womb -- as having a heart full of all wickedness, which pollutes every thought, word and action, during my whole life, from birth to death. I ought to confess often the sins of my youth, like David and Paul -- my sins before conversion -- my sins after conversion -- sins against light and knowledge, against love and grace, against each person of the Godhead.
I ought to look at my sins in the light of the holy law, in the light of God's countenance, in the light of the cross, in the light of the judgment-seat, in the light of hell, in the light of eternity.
I ought to examine my dreams, my fleeting thoughts, my predilections, my often recurring actions, my habits of thought, feeling, speech and action -- the slanders of my enemies, and the reproofs and even banterings of my friends -- to find out traces of my prevailing sin, matter for confession.
I ought to have a stated day of confession with fasting, say, once a month. I ought to have a number of scriptures marked to bring sin to remembrance. I ought to make use of all bodily affliction, domestic trial, frowns of providence on myself, house, parish, church or country, as calls from God to confess sin. The sins and afflictions of other men should call me to the same.
I ought on Sabbath evenings and on communion Sabbath evenings to be especially careful to confess the sins of holy things.
I ought to confess the sins of my confessions -- their imperfections, sinful aims, self-righteous tendency -- and to look to Christ as having confessed my sins perfectly over His own sacrifice.
I ought to go to Christ for the forgiveness of each sin. In washing my body, I go over every spot and wash it out. Should I be less careful in washing my soul? I ought to see the stripe that was made on the back of Jesus by each of my sins.
I ought to see the infinite pang through the soul of Jesus equal to an eternity of my hell for my sins and for all of them. I ought to see that in Christ's blood-shedding there is an infinite over-payment for all my sins. Although Christ did not suffer more than infinite justice demanded, yet he could not suffer at all without laying down an infinite ransom.
I feel, when I have sinned, an immediate reluctance to go to Christ. I am ashamed to go. I feel as if it would do no good to go -- as if it were making Christ a minister of sin, to go straight from the swine-trough to the best robe -- and a thousand other excuses; but I am persuaded they are all lies, direct from hell. John argues the opposite way: 'If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father.' Jeremiah 3.1 and a thousand other scriptures are against it. I am sure there is neither peace nor safety from deeper sin, but in going directly to the Lord Jesus Christ. This is God's way of peace and holiness. It is folly to the world and the beclouded heart, but it is the way.
I must never think a sin too small to need immediate application to the blood of Christ. If I put away a good conscience concerning faith, I make shipwreck.
I must never think my sins too great, too aggravated, too presumptuous as when done on my knees, or in preaching, or by a death-bed, or during dangerous illness -- to hinder me from fleeing to Christ. The weight of my sins should act like the weight of a clock: the heavier it is, it makes it go the faster.
I must not only wash in Christ's blood, but clothe me in Christ's obedience. For every sin of omission in self, I may find a divinely perfect obedience ready for me in Christ. For every sin of commission in self, I may find not only a stripe or a wound in Christ, but also a perfect rendering of the opposite obedience in my place, so that the law is magnified, its curse more than carried, its demands more than answered.
Often the doctrine of Christ for me appears common, well known, having nothing new in it; and I am tempted to pass it by and to go to some scripture more taking. This is the Devil again -- a red-hot lie. Christ for us is ever new, ever glorious. 'Unsearchable riches of Christ', an infinite object, and the only one for a guilty soul. I ought to have a number of scriptures ready which lead my blind soul directly to Christ, such as Isaiah 45 and Romans 3.
by Robert Murray M'Cheyne
To maintain a conscience void of offence, I am persuaded that I ought to confess my sins more. I think I ought to confess sin the moment I see it to be sin; whether I am in company, or in study, or even preaching, the soul ought to cast a glance of abhorrence at the sin. If I go on with the duty, leaving the sin unconfessed, I go on with a burdened conscience, and add sin to sin. I think I ought at certain times of the day to confess solemnly my sins of the previous hours, and to seek their complete remission.
1. Those who do not love God. If we do not love God, we cannot love those who resemble Him or those who do not, for His sake.
2. Those who love the godly for the wrong reasons. Sometimes the ungodly love the godly, but not because they are godly or like God. It is for some natural reason; for when the godly let their light shine, then the ungodly express their secret aversion by avoiding them.
3. Those who live only for themselves. Their heart is estranged from everyone. They lack even natural love.
4. Those who live only to satisfy the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. In their eyes the godly are a despicable lot. But they honour their drinking companions, fellow gamblers, boasters and fornicators.
5. Those who show their hatred of the godly openly, by speaking of them with contempt, slandering them, sneering at them, trying to catch them out, laughing when they are in trouble, oppressing and persecuting them.
Many are unconcerned about this. They say, 'What is that to us?' My reply is that it affects you very much. It means that:
1. You are not born of God (1 John 4.8). If you say, 'But I do love God', then God says, 'You are a liar' (1 John 4.20).
2. You are not a Christian. You are without Christ. If you reply, 'But I am baptized. I take the Lord's Supper. I live as a Christian', again God says, 'You are lying' (John 13.35).
3. All your so-called good deeds are of no value, however wonderful they appear to be, for they lack love. If you loved God, you would love others; but since you do not, then all your works are dead works (1 Cor 13.1-3). Everything depends on love, and if you lack love, you lack everything.
Therefore be convinced of your dreadful state, be concerned about your soul and flee to the Lord Jesus for pardon.
To observe the lack of love in the ungodly is grievous. But to see the godly so deficient in love is even more grievous.
Consider the conduct of some: they love the godly because God loves them, but they love nobody else! They love those who agree with themselves, but they ignore everyone else! If one of the godly has a fault, they immediately suspect his godliness! Then suspicion, resentment and the cold shoulder emerge, as if he had not the same Spirit as themselves! And when do they rejoice at the ungodly's prosperity, grieve over their afflictions, and show concern for their spiritual and physical welfare?
Why is this state of affairs so common? Because of
1. the lack of communion with God. God is love, and communing with God makes us grow in love to others.
2. the lack of assurance. This makes us yield to listlessness, and we fail to live tenderly. Instead, sin gains the upper hand, so that, not daring to put ourselves among God's children, we do not show others their love.
3. the soul-slumber brought on us by love for the world. Clearly, the more we love the world, the less we will love others.
4. a cynicism brought on by being disappointed in those we thought were godly but who have proved otherwise. We act as if it were a sin to stop loving those who have let us down.
5. seeing too little love expressed by other godly people. Where there is a lack of mutual love among believers, the love of one believer fails to ignite the love of another.
6. seeing the godly sin without sorrowing for their sin. If they only showed some sorrow for sin, our love for them would be strengthened rather than impeded.
7. the prevalence of self-love. Some people want to be loved in return for their love, or insist that we love them first before they will love us. But we must take the initiative and love whether we are loved in return or not.
Begin to love others and the duty will soon become sweet to you.
1. Take the initiative in loving, and do not wait for someone else to make the first move.
2. Do not seek love in return for your love. Never allow your love to terminate on yourself. If you do not receive love, do not let this worry you, for you are not worth loving anyway. Rather, be content that God allows you to love others.
3. Highly esteem the love you see in someone else. Do not be suspicious of it, but regard it as genuine. It will not harm you to love an ungodly person who appears to be godly.
4. Do not let offences given you by others hinder your love for them. You do not know what a struggle they may have over their indwelling sin, nor how much they may grieve over it in secret.
5. Express love in all your conduct -- your looks, words and actions, even when your heart is lukewarm. It is not hypocritical to try and love as we ought when we cannot love as we would or should. Hypocrisy is when we pretend to love when there is no love in the heart.
6. However small your love may be, let it shine, so as to honour God and benefit others.
7. Be much in prayer for the grace of love, for it is all from the Lord. In your own strength you cannot love. But when He gives you grace, you will be able to love till He takes you into the perfect love of glory.
by Wilhelmus a Brakel
Introduction
God created Adam with love towards others in his nature. After the Fall, He continues to require that love, even though we cannot render it. The law (Matt 22.39), the prophets (Lev 19.18,34; Deut 10.19), the apostles (Rom 12.10; 1 Pet 3.8; 1 John 4.11) and the Lord Jesus (John 13.34; 15.12,17) all make this clear. Therefore, impress God's requirement on your heart, not only as your obligation, but also as your motive.
Those without Love
We know it is our duty to love others, and we may see how much we fulfil it and how far we fall short of it. The following do not love their neighbour:
Consequences of Failure to Love
Lack of Love in the Godly
Guidelines for Loving Others
Highly esteemed by Jonathan Edwards and described by George Whitefield as 'a worthy old soldier of Jesus Christ' and 'the beginner of the great work' (ie of spiritual awakening in the northern eastern colonies in the 18th century) Frelinghuysen exercised a ministry characterized by the most searching application of the doctrines of grace. The very titles of the sermons in this collection hint at one of his major concerns: to distinguish the regenerate from the merely nominal and formal Christian -- The Acceptable Communicant, The Righteous Scarcely Saved, God's Judgment Upon Corrupt Members Of The Church, A Mirror That Does Not Flatter. While reading them, your reviewer both trembled and rejoiced. The burning intensity and terrible earnestness of their author makes most present-day preachers sound bland by comparison. Frelinghuysen must be one of the few ministers in print today who preached as if most of his hearers were unconverted. This is not to suggest that his ministry was lop-sided. On the contrary, there are here warm-hearted encouragements to the struggling people of God. A particularly fine example is The Poor And Contrite God's Temple. Furthermore, this collection is very instructive regarding the orderly application of Reformed principles to the life and government of the Church -- so much so that I cannot recall a church that implements these principles as they ought to be implemented. In short, this volume is a superb antidote to the 'iceberg' approach of so many avowedly Reformed ministers. If God would be pleased to bless it, it would prove instrumental in curing us of our proud, doctrinaire barrenness.
are a collection of thirty-one true stories and twenty-six devotional meditations for children respectively. The stories, beautifully written, are calculated to insinuate divine principles into young hearts, while the meditations are most direct and challenging to the 'slippery ways of youth.' May God bless them both.
Reformation Heritage Books also sent Octavius Winslow's Help Heavenward, which was reviewed as a Banner of Truth title in our last issue.
Books from Reformation Heritage Books. 2919 Leonard St. NE. Grand Rapids. Michigan 49525. U.S.A. E-mail: orders@heritagebooks.org
Forerunner of the Great Awakening: Sermons by Theodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen (1691-1747) 339 pp. Pbk. $12.50.
Building on the Rock($3.50) and God's Alphabet For Life($3.00)
1. There is here no narrow concentration on one or two controversial issues connected with the Last Things, but the study ranges over the entire field.
2. The author's conclusions are derived from a soundly-based exposition of Scripture itself, rather than from any pre-supposed scheme into which Scripture has to be strait-jacketed.
3. It contains an exhaustive critique of Pre-millenialism, which has been the bane of (and, we fear, the hobby of many in) the churches since the days of Darby and Scofield.
4. Its author uses the New American Standard Bible(1979 edition), a translation made on the principle of formal equivalence rather than of dynamic equivalence. That is, it seeks to reproduce the English equivalent of what the inspired writers actually said, and not what the translator thinks they meant. This is the principle behind our venerable Authorized Version.
5. It is the fruit of a project encouraged by the late Raymond Zorn, who devoted much of his time to a Biblically-orientated study of eschatology, and whose Christ Triumphant (with its telling refutation of Reconstructionism) was previously published by the Trust.
6. It draws heavily on Anthony Hoekema's The Bible and the Future, one of the sanest exegetically-based studies available on the Kingdom and Church of God.
The fifty pages of Bibliography, Glossary of Terms and Indices are a very valuable supplement to a thorough and uplifting study.
Despite the excellent doctrinal exposition of Romans chapters 1-11 (though we have reservations about the beloved 'doctor's' interpretation of parts of Romans 7 and 8) here, we feel, the distinguished 'physician of souls' comes into his own. There is not merely the customary 'heart-diagnosis' of our motivation, likes and dislikes, but an earnest sense of the absolute importance of true Christian godliness. These sermons are as vibrant with the life of faith as their predecessors are with the doctrine of faith. We are not surprised that Dr Lloyd-Jones takes issue with even Luther and Calvin over the nature of New Testament 'prophecy', nor with Romanists and Anglicans over the necessity of episcopal ordination. How we love the 'spiritual pugilist' in him (whether we entirely agree with him or not) whenever he believes truth and holiness are at stake! Here is a man to whom the very details of the service and worship of God mean so much (in stark contrast to the sloppy, careless antinomian attitude of so many today). His belief that 'it is the doctrine alone which shows us why we should live the Christian life,' and indeed that 'nobody can live this kind of life except the Christian,' points us once more to the truth that it is impossible to sever life from truth. Modern Evangelicals and Liberals, who are forever harping on about following the example and teaching of Christ without saying a word about our natural inability and our absolute need of grace to do so, would learn much from this volume, if only they would read it! Cordially recommended.
This reprint of the American 1911 edition is to be warmly welcomed, especially for the 'robust, warm, evangelical, Reformed Christianity' it records and promotes. [The words are J. Ligon Duncan's] The thumb-nail sketches of such outstanding church leaders as Samuel Davies, Archibald Alexander, William S. Plumer, James Henley Thornwell, Robert Lewis Dabney, John Girardeau and General Stonewall Jackson alone make the volume worth-while. But there is much else besides: how these stalwarts fought for true spiritual and democratic freedom (the hall-mark of the United States of America to this day), how they dealt with internal divisions so as not to split the church, how they evangelized and extended the kingdom of Christ, and how they viewed a Christian education as essential to the building of free and truly progressive nations. etc. This title will be valued not only by those in the States who love their Christian heritage, but also by believers in 'the old country' who lament the widespread apostasy from these things in our day.
The cover photographs of this title and of the author's previous The Thought of God both depict a man standing on a rocky eminence surrounded by swirling clouds. This must be intentional. The image aptly points us to the status, thought-life and life-style of the true Christian. The present title, a collection (like the former) of editorials from the Banner of Truth magazine, rightly lifts our concept of Christian living above that which is entertained by many. It is, he says, a 'high calling.' In view of the alarming loss of the sense of vocation from our nation, its contents are timely. O that we would listen to the author as he traces this glorious life through its various stages -- of spirituality at its root, of conflict against sin, of delight in the present enjoyment of grace and the future prospect of glory, and of the implications of true holiness for the church. We trust that our esteemed Christian brother will be spared to produce more of the same kind in future.
Virtually a practical exposition of 2 Corinthians 3.17-18, this account of true Gospel liberty is worth its weight in gold. When so many of God's people are weighed down in their Christian race with the most crushing legalism, both obvious and insidious, this little treasure is truly a gift from God.
Here is yet another splendid title from Evangelical Press. The editor, the Dean of the Institute of Reformed Baptist Studies at the California branch of Westminster Theological Seminary, has combed through the six volumes of Spurgeon's Treasury of David and extracted 366 daily readings for private and/or family use. Following each selection, a concise quotation from one or other of the authors included in Spurgeon's original work is included as a basis of meditation. The extracts are not laid out haphazardly, but consecutively, following the order in the Book of Psalms. A very useful twenty-page introduction to the Life and Legacy of Spurgeon is provided by Michael Haykin. The selections retain the great Victorian preacher's distinctive style, while the binding and printing are of the highest order. A delightful collection.
Grace and its Fruits by John Calvin. ed Joseph Hill. 320 pp. Hdbk. £9.95.
The present title is also a selection, this time from Calvin's sermons on the Pastoral Epistles. Its editor is Associate Professor, Emeritus, of Biblical Studies and Greek at Geneva College, Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. It is no less splendid than the Spurgeon collection. We can easily understand the zeal with which the French refugees in Geneva hung onto every word of these sermons as they were delivered, and why almost every person in Geneva attended their preacher's funeral. These sermons, like the Reformer's sermons on Ephesians (and much else) sparkle with gems of spiritual perception. Similarly, the division of the book into topics such as Our Election Revealed in Christ, The Purpose and Grace of God, Strength for the Battle and Grace, Godliness and Glory delights the mind as well as the heart. For those who find ploughing through the Institutes too demanding, here is the glorious Reformer at his most digestible. At times, with such treasures laid to hand, life seems too short to explore them all. But then, in glory we shall not need such helps.
Jesus Is Both God And Man by Stuart Olyott. 192 pp . Pbk. £6.95.
This sequel to the author's The Three Are One is a model of concise and lucid communication. It sets forth in flowing conversational style the mystery of Christ; ie. His two natures in one Person. Each of its nine chapters closes with a poetic fragment or hymn, drawing out the heart to worship Him whose glory it has just indicated. Two appendices contain the historic Creed of Chalcedon and Athanasian Creed, which formulated the Biblical doctrine of Christ for the Church in all ages. After reading this title, we may understand a little better why His Name is Wonderful.
Turning Back To God by Michael Bentley. 256 pp. Pbk. £7.95.
This simple explanation of the Minor Prophets Hosea and Obadiah not only places the writings of these faithful men of God in their appropriate historical settings (a feature lacking, for the most part, in the older commentaries), but also shows us the eternally faithful character and dealings of the God of the covenant. What David Jackman in his Foreword calls 'the rock of God's sovereign immutability' is the only hope of His erring and backsliding people today as it was in the days of the prophets. This is the prime message conveyed here. While this reviewer would like to have seen a few quotations from Jeremiah Burroughs's excellent Commentary on Hosea, he was impressed by the good use the author makes of more recent commentators. His chapter on The Danger of Complacency is particularly relevant to post-war Britain.
A Sad Little Dog by Jim Cromarty. 176 pp. Pbk. £7.95.
This collection of 52 stories is the seventh of the author's books for family reading. When there is so much trash available to young people today, anything as faithful to Scripture and as attractively told as these stories is welcome. As John MacArthur says of them, the stories are understandable by small children, while the spiritual lessons they teach are well suited to mums and dads.
"Thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself." (Psalm 50.21)
"I saw the Lord, sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up." (Isaiah 6.1)
What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us...No people has ever risen above its religion, and... no religion has ever been greater than its idea of God...
Always the most revealing thing about the Church is her idea of God...That our idea of God correspond as nearly as possible to the true Being of God is of immense importance to us...A right conception of God is basic not only to systematic theology but to practical Christian living as well...I believe there is scarcely an error in doctrine or a failure in applying Christian ethics that cannot be traced finally to imperfect and ignoble thoughts about God...It is my opinion that the current Christian conception of God... is so decadent as to be utterly beneath the dignity of the Most High God ...
Perverted notions about God soon rot the religion in which they appear. The long career of Israel demonstrates this clearly enough, and the history of the Church confirms it. So necessary to the Church is a lofty concept of God that when that concept in any measure declines, the Church with her worship and her moral standards declines with it...Before the Christian Church goes into eclipse anywhere there must first be a corrupting of her simple basic theology...Though she may continue to cling to a sound nominal creed, her practical working creed has become false. The masses of her adherents come to believe that God is different from what He actually is; and that is heresy of the most insidious and deadly kind.
The heaviest obligation lying upon the Christian Church today is to purify and elevate her concept of God until it is once more worthy of Him -- and of her.
by A. W. Tozer
[If the reader is tempted to complain that Tozer was not Reformed, my justification for including this brief extract is that I know of no contemporary Reformed author whose writing and worship springs as spontaneously from his high view of God as Tozer's did. Ed.]
You will surely be wondering to get a letter from me. Don't think that I never think of you, but we are all busy, and have little time for writing.
The year is a wonderful year for us. When my brother was a leader of the party which came to Scotland last year, he was in Edinburgh and read a Dutch sermon to the group, and God came into his heart, and he saw in one night his way of living for 25 years. He saw all his sins, but God sent His love into his heart, and when he came home he was another man. His wife Anneke was very upset about this. She had the text with her all the time: "Together in one bed, one shall be accepted, and one shall not be accepted." She could not eat any longer. She read and read in sermon books and the Bible, and prayed to God if He will come into her heart too. And the Lord has come into her heart; she even tasted the love of God. You can imagine how glad my parents were. We know that we have a father and a mother who always pray for their children, and God has heard them.
You know that I was in Scotland as well last year. A few days before I left, I got a message from home that a cousin of mine, 29 years old, had died. I was sitting with the letter in my hand, and thought, "That is not possible; such a nice girl and so young; I dream." But I realize after a while that it has to be true, and I thought, "It could have been me instead of her, and what would have happened then?" God gave me 23 years to pray for a new heart and to think of my soul, because after death I have to appear in front of God, and He will judge me. Of course, I prayed in my life for a lot of things, and He was so good that He gave me very often what I asked; and I asked for a new heart, and I went to church. But now I know I did all this because I was used to it.
After the news of my cousin's death, I thought, "How is it possible that I am still alive after all I have done against God? I am here on holiday, but God can take me away in a moment, and I am not ready to meet Him."
When I reached home, I thought about this day and night. I prayed and read as much as I could. This only was important to me. I could not understand how other people could live so carelessly, but I forgot that I was the same, as God didn't work in me. God seemed so far away, and when it was the Lord's Supper, I was so jealous of people who went to the table. I missed God so much. But once, before I went to sleep, I got the words of Psalm 145:6 -- "And I will declare thy greatness." Through this verse I got a little strength. Ach, I can't tell you what I thought and did in these months.
There came the Lord's Supper again, and the Holy Spirit worked in my heart, and the minister preached just what there was in my heart, and at the table, he repeated the words I got in my heart several times, and I know that God has brought me Himself to His table as an Esther, with the words, "If I have to die, I die, but then at His feet." It was a big wonder that we sat at the table with all our family.
I have often thought of the time I was with you, but I didn't understand the language of Canaan! We are blind to it ourselves as long as God doesn't work in us.
As long as we live, we have to learn and to learn. We have to die to ourselves and to all our sins, and every day we must learn that we are nothing, but the Lord is EVERYTHING. All that we get is from Him, so we can never become proud of ourselves. We try to do this better and that better, but still again we learn that we have nothing else but sins, and we can't pay for them to God. But Jesus Christ suffered to satisfy God the Father. He first gives us love, before we will love Him. The Holy Spirit will show us our sins first before we will see our sins. And the wonder to me is: "Why did God come into my heart? Why didn't He pass me and go to somebody else?"
And now I am just like a baby. A baby doesn't get directly potatoes and vegetables. First of all it gets milk. The baby is a child of his father and mother, but he doesn't know it yet. Slowly he gets to know everything. So it is with me. I pray to God that He will open my eyes more and more. There is so much to learn. Sometimes I have such a strong believing, and another time I am so weak that I think, "Is it all true what has happened in my heart? Am I on the good way?" But if we will follow Him, and if we pray that He will show us the way, ach it will come out good. And sometimes God brings us into circumstances which we don't understand, like Joseph who was sold by his brothers to become a ruler later on, and to give his brothers food. Wonderful are God His ways!
I have been in Israel and have seen lots of places: Jerusalem with her gates and hills, the garden tomb, and Golgotha, and the Olive Mountain. It is wonderful to see these things with the thought, "Jesus Christ has walked here, spoken to the people, and has suffered here." I saw a blind man standing at the Damascus Gate asking for money, and I thought, "So has the Lord walked and made the blind healthy when he believed." I think this is the best holiday you can have in your life.
I hope that you can understand my double Dutch! Sometimes it is difficult to say in English what I mean. You have to learn Dutch!
You now know, and you knew it, that I have not forgotten you.
Love and regards,
EVERDIEN.
A Letter From Holland
Dear Friends,
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