Fwd: In the Presence of God. Rev. John McNeill

CONCERNING AUDIENCES, PREACHERS, SERMONS, AND CONVERSIONS. A Sermon DELIVERED IN REGENT SQuaRE CHURCH on Sunpay, Marcu 9TH, BY THE REV, JOHN McNEILL. "Now therefore are we all here present before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of God."—Acrs x. 33. Tus chapter, as you are aware, notes for us the beginning, the entering-in of the Gospel among the Gentiles. That is its great interest. That is why, no doubt, so much detail is given of this gathering and of this sermon. The Lord is here doing a new thing. For generations, for centuries, He had committed the revelation of Himself and the working- out of. His gracious purpose among men, to one narrow channel. To Israel's people mainly He had confined Him- self; but now that Christ has come, that narrow channel was to be broken down, and the stream that was flowing in it was to overflow all its banks. Here, in this chapter, is the beginning of the breaking down of all Jewish dykes, and the outbursting and overflowing of that brimming river of grace and salvation, the waves of which are gently lap- ping at our feet to-day. So we have a special interest No. 18. 274 CONCERNING AUDIENCES, PREACHERS, in taking up this text, because the Spirit of God seems to point to this audience through it, and to be saying to us, «'Now, watch this people; see how they gathered together, and learn from them something about audiences and preachers and sermons, as long as audiences shall gather, and preachers shall confront them, to open their mouths, like Peter, to testify of God and His Son Jesus Christ." May we be helped to-day with this familiar Scripture to see where we are, and to know that this is no vain gathering. It is not a gathering of chance, neither is it a gathering entirely explained by long familiar custom and routine. The arm of the Lord has been shepherding you to meet me, and the same arm of the Lord has brought me forth, as out of His own very presence, to speak to you; and the Spirit of God, who fell upon the hearer's heart then, is the same Spirit who seeks to-day to fall, with all His gracious power, upon thy heart and life, even while thou art waiting here. ''Now therefore are we all here present before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of God." | There is something unusual in the text, in this, namely, that before the preacher began his sermon this '' innovation" takes place—the audience spoke up to the preacher, the pew spoke up to the pulpit, and said, '' Now therefore are we all here present." It was a splendid audience, though not so very large; but splendid when you look at it from the point of view of the narrative. How earnestly they | came together! What a solidarity there was in this | company! How these people were all bound together as | one! lyes front, heart front, mind front, conscience front. No wandering thought or eye, but all was focussed and | settled; calm and purposeful both in body and soul; so that ere the preacher began, one man could speak for the | whole company, and say in truth and soberness, '"' Now therefore, are we all here present before God.' I should like to have seen that company, Well, I trust I see it as often as I am here, and that all of us preachers have the — SERMONS, AND CONVERSIONS. 975 'same conditions given us, in the midst of many difficulties with which we have to contend, without and within. May this audience bring its contribution to the preacher and the sermon, while it expects the preacher certainly to bring his! The contribution he has a right to expect is, that the people should come to hear—that the people should come united, full of expectation, led into the temple like Simeon of old, who was led into the temple by the Spirit of God, at the very moment when the parents of Jesus came to present Him before God, according to the custom of the law. No chance, no hap-hazard in this gathering. We have not 'come here to spend an idle hour. It is wrong to say, as, _ perhaps, some may say carelessly, when they go out of this place and are asked, ''Where have you been this morning ?"'—it is wrong to answer the question by saying, "Qh, I dropped in to Regent Square.' You did not drop in, my friend, nor drop out. You came in purposely. The Lord's providences for the whole of the week, like so many collie dogs, have been barking you in here, hedging up your way, and securing that to-day, at a certain time, you should be here. Fall in with God's arrangement. Let all depress- ing feeling which comes from custom and routine be taken away. I know you are apt to say, 'Yes, there is some- thing very vivid and fresh in this idea, as it relates to the first gathering; but you know, preacher, that was many centuries ago, and to come to church is now so regular and steady a thing, that it is hardly just to apply this text to this gathering to-day." My friend, all things here are spiritual, and belong to faith ; they do not belong to sense and sight and mere human arrangement. Do not regard your presence here, on this lower plane of your own habit and intention ; but see how the Word of God sets this hour in a strong, clear, and eternal light. God brought the people there, and had a great purpose in view concerning them. As it was then, so it is for ever— God has a purpose in bringing us to His house this day and hour. 276 _ CONCERNING AUDIENCES, PREACHERS, I like to dwell on the word all, The people were invited. Cornelius invited his kinsmen and his near friends, and the invited people came. This morning the very hour invites us, 'the bell invites me" to this place. I trust we have all come—that we are all here present. The husband is here, the wife is here, the children are here—no, they are not. it is of no use pretending they are, for they are not. That is one of the drawbacks in the gathering. We have not the young people as we should have them. We are not all here, and I feel when we haven't the children we lack a splendid part of the audience. I know there are explanations. -I do not go into them, but let us try our utmost to fulfil this condition: '' We are all here present before God.' I know there are many excuses. I know you can tell me about young children, and sickness, and waiting on the sick; about fogs, and bitter east winds, and long distances, and wet days, and I don't know what besides. But making full allowance for all these things, there is still great need for the preacher, now and again, even with a full congregation, to take up this text, and insist upon this word being repeated every Sabbath as far as may be, '' We are all here present before God." For there is often, with all our talk about this place and day, when you come to the practical point, there is often a heavy discount to be taken off. There is a great discrepancy between our creed about the Sabbath day and our actual conduct. In many families, at ten o'clock on the Sabbath morning, attendance at church is still an open question. Often in a working man's house, and in others that are not working men's, after waking, after dressing, after breakfasting, it is an open question, '' Will you go out to-day?" It is no open question o2 the Monday morning, "' John, will you go to work to-day ?'' They never dream of asking such a thing. ' Oh," said a farmer in Scotland, when a minister rebuked himfor not attending church, and said, '"'You know, John, you are never absent from the market." <' Oh," was the repiy, ''we maun gang to the L market." (We must go the market.) Unconsciously it came out. But to come to the house of God was not to be put on the same level, for urgency. Oh, there is a difference between our creed and our actual conduct and custom. But when we look at this audience we see the great benefit of continually setting ourselves the task of coming with a purpose to God's house. It will need plan and purpose to accomplish this. Some of you are here to-day only because you have trampled upon a hundred obstacles in order to get here. If you had given way you would not have been here. And some are not here who might have been included in this '' all here present,' because they have given way to things which will not be allowed for a moment to stand in the way of the world's engagements to-morrow. I know there are difficulties and obstacles and young children, and so on; but in the case of many there are no difficulties that could not be overcome. You have not all young children -and babies at the breast. In many households 'the key could keep the castle," and nothing would either burn or boil over if all came out, and not a hoof was left behind. And then, when we do that, when we all come, don't you think the Lord notices that, and marks how we have pressed forward to meet Him. I think there is no sweeter sight to His holy eyes in London and in England to-day than to see the people wending their way to the house of God— to see them in cities and towns and villages and in quiet hamlets all going up to worship the Lord. All things the same as on another day, and yet all things different. SERMONS, AND CONVERSIONS. OTT '¢ How sweet the morning of the Sabbath day ! Hushed the ploughboy's whistie, and the merry milkmaid's song, The scythe lies glittering in the dewy wreath of tedded grass, Which yestermorn bloomed, waving in the breeze, The blackbird's note comes mellower from the dale, And sweeter from the sky the gladsome lark pours forth his song." > , 278 CONCERNING AUDIENCES, PREACHERS, | All thé same, and yet all different, on the Sabbath dey And says another :— "* O sweeter than the marriage feast, *Tis sweeter far to me, To walk together to the kirk with a goodly company ! To walk together to the kirk, and all together pray, While each to his great Father bends, Old men, and babes, and loving friends, And youths, and maidens gay !" Long may such gatherings be the crown and flower of our land! 'Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together, as the manner of some is, and so much the more, © as ye see the day approaching." Oh, there isa great dealin — determining to be there, and to be always there, and making it the key-note of all Sabbath morning arrangements. You womenfolk, my heart is with you. You have great burdens in connection with domestic arrangements, and I would sometimes that you could get a longer sleep and take it easier; but not on the Sabbath morning, if you please. Be up a little earlier, and see to it that that day you take everything into prayerful hands, and shape and guide every- thing to help me and my Master behind me. You have a great deal in your hands—a great deal of responsibility And when you come in this expectant way, how it helps the reception of the sermon! How we have all suffered from coming to the house of God in a disorderly, hurried way, both as regards body and soul! We come tumbling in late, because we only made up our minds half an hour ago that we would come at all, and the service is half over before you know where you are, or what you are, or how you are, or what is being said. Then you look up to the preacher and expect him to work miracles on your higgledy-piggledy soul. Your very clothes are not on as well as you would like, and you are distressing yourself as to whether your personal attire is becoming? And yet you look to me, and expect me to soothe and smoothe you, and make you iz : SERMONS, AND CONVERSIONS. 279 feel that this is the house of God and the gate of heaven, It is not so in our text. What a sight is here—every eye eager; everything prompting with the suggestion, a great business is on hand, and God and man are straitened till it be accomplished. '' Now, therefore, are we all here present before God," they said. Ah! thereis another point. They realized God's presence. May He grant that we may realize it to-day and always! Try to realize God's presence; get past outward and temporal things, and call upon your soul to pass into the secret place of the tabernacle of the Most High. Compel your soul to grasp the thought-—-God is here! God is here! Iam in His presence. Thisis the house of God; the Lord is with us in this place. '' Surely God isin this place;" and instead of.saying, ''I knew it not,' our heart is saying eagerly, ''We know it, and wait to see a still clearer revelation of His presence. He made me, and redeemed me, and sustains me, and before Him ere another Sabbath I may stand-in judgment. This is holy ground. The burning bush is here, with the voice of God speaking out of it, and saying '' Draw not nigh rashly, heedlessly ; put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground." Do you know that where you are sitting God, by His Word, has converted men ere now? Canst thou come and sit in these pews, where God has done His mightiest work, carelessly, heedlessly, and merely as a matter of custom and routine?' Yes, here and there, and all over —could we see this holy place with God's eyes—we should see that this man, and that man, was born there, and there, for God is present in this place. How canst thou sit carelessly, when right from where thou art souls have gone to their eternal home? Thou art occupying the room and space of men and women who to-day are before the eternal throne. The church is a grand place; it is the house of God. 'This word is true: '' We are all present before God''—and therefore let there be nothing a 980 CONCERNING AUDIENCES, PREACHERS, mean or low; nothing unworthy of such a Presence and such a place. And how' the thought of God's presence will help still further to focus our attention; to take our eyes off each other, and off the preacher! How it will help to prepare us to receive God's Word! How it will reduce to the irreducible minimum the over-critical spirit! Said a preacher to myself, ''I notice when I give out my text, my people settle down and settle back; but, I am afraid, not so much to hear what I have to say as to watch how I get through." I wonder if that is how the congregation does at Regent Square—if they settle back to see how I get on, and to observe with what dexterity, or want of it, I shall handle the theme? Ido not wish that we should turn the pulpit into a coward's castle, in which, speak as I may, I am safe from remark as to my message—either its matter or delivery. Yet there is a bound to be set to our critical tendencies—a very definite bound; and many of us every day overstep it, sadly overstep it, and we get no good, but much harm, thereby. Now, the thought of God's presence puts us in our right place as regards our neighbour and our minister, and the minister in his right place as regards the audience. May the Holy Ghost come upon us, and the power of the Highest over- shadow us! Oh, what a place this would be now, if He came into our hearts! He 7s here; and we are here, in the sight of God. And then Cornelius said further, '' Now therefore are we all here present before God, to hear all things that are com- manded thee of God." They came to listen, to hear God's Word. You know that to-day there is a tendency to revise the Directory for Public Worship; to say, '' Oh, the hearing" —meaning the hearing of God's Word at the preacher's mouth—'*' has been too much magnified. We shall change all that." We have made a mistake. '' What I come to God's house for," says one, 'is to worship; what I come for is to join in prayer and in praise. The preacher getg : SERMONS, AND CONVERSIONS. 981 |far too much place and far too much space. There is so |much room given to him in the programme that it is no | wonder if he exalts himself and wearies or bewitches us | with the display of his eloquence or learning, or both."' |There may be something in that, but it is seriously exaggerated. What was central here, and what must always be central ina gathering of saints or sinners, in evangelistic missions, or regular services like our own; what must always be central is the preaching of God's Word, and the attending thereto by the hearer. That is worship at its highest. All the powers of the soul get their highest use and their fullest freedom when God's Word is - faithfully and lovingly proclaimed. We are here to hear. Faith cometh by hearing. The large, central, integral, essential part of our work is to preach and to hear what is 'commanded from God. And Cornelius said they had met to hear "all things that are commanded thee of God.'' I have been speaking strongly and straightly to you, but now your turn comes. This is the portion for the preacher, when the pew says to the preacher, '' Now, give us to-day what God has told you. There are many things that might interestingly occupy an hour; give us, however, the thing that brought us here, that for which the house is built, and for which the ministry is appointed—the Word of God, the Gospel of the grace of God that bringeth salvation untomen. We need that to- day." And I should like always to be kept right by being pushed hard here. We must study. We look ahead to the Sabbath day. It is our special work: we are not engaged in secular work. There were great preachers in olden days who worked at, say, tent-making through the week, and did not utter slim discourses either when the Sabbath day came round. We haven't got to the bottom of them yet. But, so itis; we preachers are given up to this business. Now, out of this room and time for study there may come a serious detriment tothe Gospel. We get s0 immersed in favourite lines of reading and study, and 282 CONCERNING AUDIENCES, PREACHERS, this may so unconsciously tincture and colour our utterances on the Sabbath day, that we may need, severely need, that the audience should approach us here, and say, "' Now, preacher, God's Word and truth; all things from Him to- day, and nothing else—nothing else. Never mind about reconciling science and revelation to-day ; we can live with- out that; we can get that in our own magazines and periodicals for sixpence a month. We can read that at home, on the sofa, in the afternoon, when dinner is over, unless we fall asleep. We are really so little concerned about it that we give it the sleepy hour. But give us to-day what really concerns us—the Word of God as the Word of God, and what is meant to save our souls, to purify our hearts, and to guide the practical daily life we are living—' All things commanded thee of God.'"' | Oh, see what it suggests! It suggests that the preacher comes from God's hand. I say it suggests that the preacher comes from the secret place. '' Now, then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us, we pray you, in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God." Before we came to meet you this morning, we were in before the Lord the King, and had our message from Him. Aye, we do need to be reminded, sharply in these days, that we exist to feed the hungry with bread. Peter needed that. It needed a great work of God's Spirit and providence on Peter's mind and heart and imagination to enable him to preach that day. Peter was a narrow, bigoted Jew, if left to himself, and he would never, of himself, have preached to Cornelius and his company the sermon they needed. And so the Lord had to widen the preacher's views, and by a vision from heaven He had to prepare Peter to preach to the Gentiles salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. At the best we are but men, and of narrowness and prejudice we have our share. There- fore there is tremendous need that the preacher should be in God's hand, and come frem God's presence with his soul and voice attuned to a large, full, free, and glorious utter- 4 SERMONS, AND CONVERSIONS. 283 ice of the Gospel of the grace of God. Leave us to urselves, and even the largest heart and most liberal ulture may be found preaching away at something that is 8 Narrow as a razor's edge, and quite '' Rom the purpose'"' f preaching. There may be some little glimmering light fin it, but it is only a little; there may be light from every — iquarter, to use the phrase of the day; from every quarter— isave the Sun! The-Lord blow out all our penny candles, 'His light has come. We need to come forth from God, He having poured into us something of the breadth and fulness of God's mind and heart, and of God's love for those to whom we are to speak. * All things commanded of God.'' What a word for the preacher! How it humbles us, and makes us tremble! 'How it would make Peter stand at ' Attention!'' as he looked into hungry eyes and hungry hearts, and said to himself, '' What am I to say?" I stand before you to-day, and the very look is enough to shake either man or angel to the very foundation. What have you come for? Why are you there? Why are you there, and why am I here? Almighty God, give us the explanation! You are here because God has a purpose to save and bless you, and that purpose is to be accomplished by my mouth to-day. Now, what was the sermon? 'Then Peter opened his mouth.' Do not run over that phrase and say, '' Of course Peter opened his mouth." Not 'of course" at all. A number of us cannot open our mouths when we preach—it is the most pitiable mumbling ever was heard. It is said of our Lord, He went up into a mountain, and, when His disciples were gathered around Him, '' He opened His mouth and taught them." Donotrun overit. It is not an " of course." Sabbath-school teacher, Bible-class teacher, when you meet with your company to-day, preacher—for I speak to brethren here who before this sun sets will be doing the very thing I am trying to do now—to all of you I say «Open your mouth, and teach the people.' Let it be seen in the very manuer of our speech that our mouth is open, 984 CONCERNING AUDIENCES, PREACHERS, for our heart is enlarged; that it comes, not feebly and faint and constricted, but glad and full and free, for the Lord is with us. Do not say, 'I have no eloquence." I could say it, and with truth. Do not say, '' I have a stam- mering tongue." Who made man's mouth? "Have not I the Lord? Open thy mouth; behold I put My words into thy mouth." What does Isaiah say? 'Lift up,'' he says— and how much it is needed in this namby-pamby, over- refined, hypercritical age —'' Lift up thy voice with strength, lift it up; be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God." It is as if Isaiah had seen the, nineteenth century, and had seen that we have fallen upon) such over-refined times, that to speak with open mouth and full heart is to be vulgar, and lacks refinement; and that to chirrup, chirrup, chirrup, so as not to be heard beyond the choir seats, or to be as white in the face as the paper you are reading from, is to be surrounded by tokens of thoughtfulness ; aye, that is the word, thoughtfulness, and culture. '' Peter opened his mouth.' He lifted up his head, and let go! We put down ours, and hold on/ I won't go into his sermon, but will only read from the forty-third verse: ''To him gave all the prophets witness, that through His name whosoever believeth in Him shall receive remission of sins. While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word." There is the sermon, and the effect of the sermon. We have spoken of the audience; then the preacher; now the sermon, and the result of the sermon. What was the sermon? It was the Gospel, the old Gospel. It was new and fresh then; it had only been '" finished" a few weeks before! That is one thing that one does sometimes envy the first preachers for. They had seen Him; they were with Him on the holy mount, and had seen His glory ; they heard His words, they were at the Cross, and saw Him crucified, dead, and buried. He appeared unto them after His Passion; as Peter say's here, ' not to all people," but to us, His witnesses, who did eat and drink with Him after ' SERMONS, AND CONVERSIONS. ; 985 Me rose from the dead. He preached Christ, you see. # is not theology, not a creed. I am fond of theology, md have a very definite creed, as many of you, and those in my communicants' class well know. I have definite theology and creed; I took it in with my other's milk, so to speak, and I believe it as strongly as ever, though perhaps with more charity towards people whose creed has not at all the points the firm, sharp out- ine of my own. But what Peter preached was not so much ereed or formulated truth as Jesus, sent for a particular purpose from God and by God ; how that, carrying out that irpose, He had died on the cross and risen again, and that hrough Him is preached forgiveness of sins. It was no ewish ritual. The Jewish ritual is for ever swallowed up and done away with. You have simply to bow your heart, and give your heart to this Jesus whom I, Peter, saw on the cross, and after He came out of the tomb. I am witness for Him. I am His witness, and this is the burden of my message to you to-day, ''that through Him you may re- eeive forgiveness of sins."' That is where the Gospel began then, and where it begins to-day—forgiveness of sins to the man who is described in the same passage as being a devout man, and one that feared God, and made prayers, and gave alms. Yet he needed to have forgiveness of sins, if he would become a true evangelical believer. Here was one who prayed and cave alms, yet Peter dared to begin with Him at this low level of remission—forgiveness of sins. '' Oh," people would have said to-day, '' with an audience like that, what you want to do is not to take them to the cross; do not begin with them at forgiveness of sins, you will only make them stumble. Show them Christ, of course; but Christ as the sreat ideal and embodiment of all that is pure and noble and beneficent; and ask them to be loyal to Him, and as like Him as possible. Show him Jesus Christ, and a devout, God-fearing man like Cornelius will be enamoured with Christ and make Him his Leader and Pattern. Preach 286 CONCERNING AUDIENCES, PREACHERS, _ Christ to him, but not Christ crucified." '' No," says Peter; "" we preach the Christ who died for sin to everybody, to everything human." Do not dare to begin, unless you begin down there, and at men's sins—preach forgiveness through a crucified, divinely-appointed Redeemer. If not, the people will be still in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of | iniquity. j By Him I preach the forgiveness of sins, men and brethren. Now, are you forgiven? After coming forty years to Regent Square, are you forgiven? Christ is our atoning Redeemer first, or He is nothing —nothing. Woe be unto us if we do not preach Christ and Him . crucified ; not because you are good, but because you are © bad, and nothing less could satisfy either your conscience — or the justice of God. A French officer, whose ship had — been taken by Nelson, was brought on board Nelson's vessel, and he walked up to the great admiral and gave him his hand. '' No," said Nelson; '' your sword first, if you please." That is the Gospel. Oh, there are great com- panies of people to-day who are going to take the preacher's hand and Christ's hand! '' Jesus is such a noble character," say they; ''we are enamoured with Him; we will walk with Him." Nay, nay! not so fast. Your sword first, please. Give up your rebellious will first; admit your guilt, then Christ will take your hand with a grip that He will never relinquish. Thatis the Gospel. You are either forgiven through faith in His blood, or you are remaining in your sins. Where are you? 'To Him gave all the prophets and apostles witness;" and I stand 'in the Apostolic succession, in a straight line from the cross and the resurrection, down and down and down, through the great roultitude of witnesses, I speak to-day as with a thousand tongues, when I speak with heart and voice, and say that the Gospel is this— That Jesus died for our sins, that He lives again, and is with us, and begins by blotting out all our sins for His own great name sake. And when I utter that Paul is with me, and Peter, and John, and Isaiah, and David, and Moses— all are standing with me in this pulpit. 'To Him gave all the prophets and apostles witness." There is no doubt about it. Forgiveness of sins is preached through Him who died and rose again. Now, are you giving up the sword? Are you giving up yourself to Him as a poor lost SERMONS, AND CONVERSIONS, 28% sinner? I believe I am speaking this to not a few (Dorneliuses. You are devout men and women, and fear rod to such an extent as makes you depart from flagrant iniquity. You conform your ways wonderfully in some hings, outwardly, to the ten commandments. You pray mand give, and your prayers and alms are come up for a emorial before God. He would not have you standing in the outer court. He has sent me to-day to ask you to ome in, but you can only do so as a poor sinner. Oh, be washed from sin ; be saved by the pardoning grace of Jesus Christ to-day! While Peter yet spake these words—there is a new name \brought in here. I have talked of Cornelius and of the jaudience. I. have talked of Peter and of Jesus. I have jtalked of God the Father, but here is another name. | While Peter yet spake these words about Jesus, '' The Holy 'Ghost fell on all them that heard the word," on Cornelius 'and his kinsmen and his near friends round about him. There was no visible flame, as at Pentecost; but they felt the fire 'in their hearts. Cornelius possibly had only heard of Jesus 'as a name of reproach and rebuke and blasphemy. Now, Jesus leapt up into his heart as his Friend and Saviour, and Redeemer and God. That is the miracle of the Gospel. That is the miracle of to-day. That was the miracle wrought for me on a day never to be forgotten. I heard these words, or truths conveyed in words like them, and the Holy Ghost fell along with the word; and that Jesus, who before was only a name in history to me, became my Redeemer, who died for me, who lives for me, who is with me here, and intercedes for me yonder. That is what the Holy Ghost does. If you know Jesus Christ, flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto you, but the Holy Ghost. Peter was there, as the preacher is here; and the sermon, with its appeal and arguments and illustrations ; but the Holy Ghost gives the increase and blesses the word. The Holy Ghost brings forth fruit unto everlasting life ; and without Him fruit cannot be. I am not going to leave youina puzzle. I used to get puzzled between Jesus and the Holy Spirit. I was told (and it is true), '"' You are saved by Jesus. He died; He has done the work ; His blood and righteousness are your salvation; and you have nothing to do but to believe in Him." But I was also told I could not trust Him without 288 CONCERNING AUDIENCES, PREACHERS, ETC. the help of the Holy Spirit ; and what between looking to Jesus and the Spirit one gets into a little dilemma. My friend, you have nothing to do with the Holy Spirit—not mow. You have not to do directly with Him. The Holy Spirit does His work by getting you to look to Jesus; but when, by this sermon, He lifts up Jesus before you, and — seeks to fasten the eyes of your understanding upon Him, | this word comes in as the explanation of the great result — that follows. As an explanation to serve for all time, and — to give us the assurance that it was not the eloquent preacher, nor wonderful arguments, nor special appeals, but the supernatural work of the Holy Ghost on an otherwise . dead and dark heart, that revealed to us Jesus as our Saviour, who loved us and gave Himself for us. So do not be in a dilemma. I preach to you Jesus; but I tell you to encourage you that there are more at work upon you than myself. The Holy Spirit is preaching to you Jesus. Would you obey the Holy Spirit and satisfy all that He requires? Then simply say in your heart, '' Yes, I take this Jesus to be my Saviour, I give up myself into His hands." Then all Godhead ic satisfied. Oh, how familiar! Will you believe Him to- day? Cometo Him. Here is no room for the display of eloquence. Will you believe in Christ to-day? Hear the word of this salvation: believe in Him to-day; trust in Him to-day; then thy sins are blotted out. It will have to be done some day, if ever it is to be done. While these words are being spoken may the Holy Ghost fall upon your hearts, and all who receive the word will be saved! God could save the whole congregation at once. May God come and save this twelve hundred in Regent Square! It would only be a lift for the little finger of such a mighty Saviour. We can hardly take it in. We think God comes to pick out one here, and another over there. We think that God's election is a narrow thing. We have forgotten the sweep and scope and embrace of the Gospel. We have forgotten that there is One amongst us to-day whose arms are long enough and whose heart is big enough to draw all within these four walls into His embrace and keep us there for ever and for ever. O Blessed Spirit, we have lifted up Christ! Now, let sin- ners find a refuge in His cleansing blood. Amen. Henderson & Spalding, General Printers, Marylebone Lane, London, V Regent Square Pulpit. 'SANS EYES, SANS TASTH, SANS EVERYTHING" —-BUT GOD AND HOPE. A Sermon DELIVERED IN REGENT SQUARE CHURCH ON SuNDAY, ths Marcu 16TH, BY THE | REV, JOHN McNEILL. "And even to your old age I am He; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will 'deliver you."—IsA. xlvi. 4.

# posted by Groseys messages @ 6:54 AM

Tuesday, July 01, 2025

1 Timothy 2:1-5 You Need A Mediator Heidelberg Catechism Lord's Day 5 and 6

1 Timothy 2:1-5 You Need A Mediator

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people,2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior,4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.7 For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

15 Q. What kind of mediator and deliverer should we look for then?

A. One who is truly human and truly righteous, yet more powerful than all creatures, that is, one who is also true God.

16 Q. Why must He be truly human and truly righteous?

A. God's justice demands that human nature, which has sinned, must pay for its sin; but a sinner could never pay for others

17 Q. Why must He also be true God?

A. So that, by the power of His divinity, He might bear the weight of God's anger in His humanity and earn for us and restore to us righteousness and life.

18 Q. And who is this mediator - true God and at the same time truly human and truly righteous?

A. Our Lord Jesus Christ, who was given us to set us completely free and to make us right with God.

19 Q. How do you come to know this?

A. The holy gospel tells me. God Himself began to reveal the gospel already in Paradise; later, He proclaimed it by the holy patriarchs and prophets, and portrayed it by the sacrifices and other ceremonies of the law; finally, He fulfilled it through His own dear Son.

Patriarch Job's Court Language

contend (Job 9:3; 10:2) answer (9:3, 16)

judge (v. 15) set a time (v. 19)

daysman (v. 33) reason (13:3)

order my cause (v. 18) plead (v. 19; 23:6)

hear me (31:35) adversary (v. 35)

2 Questions

"How can I be righteous before God?" (9:1–13)

"How can I meet God in court?" (v 14–35)

I Need A Mediator
For He is not a man as I am that I may answer Him, That we may go to court together. There is no umpire between us, Who may lay his hand upon us both.

A Mediator Provided
1 Timothy 2:5-6. "For there is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus; Who gave Himself a ransom for all....
Why Is Jesus The Only Mediator?

The Eternal Purpose Of God

1Peter 1:18-20 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold,19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you who believe (1 Pet. 1:20).

Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love5 he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,

He Is The Eternal Person

Anselm of Canterbury: salvation "could not have been done unless man paid what was owing to God for sin. But the debt was so great that, while man alone owed it, only God could pay it, so that the same person must be both man and God. Thus it was necessary for God to take manhood into the unity of his person, so that he who in his own nature ought to pay and could not should be in a person who could."

He Paid The Eternal Payment

"The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45).

He paid the debt He did not owe I owed the debt I could not pay
I needed someone to wash my sins away And now I sing a brand new song, "Amazing grace" the whole day long Christ Jesus paid the debt that I could never pay

Acts 4:12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."

1 Timothy 1:12-16 "It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life."

1 Tim 2:1-6 This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.

Calvin, "the apostle's meaning here is simply that no nation of the earth and no rank of society is excluded from salvation, since God wills to offer the gospel to all without exception."

# posted by Groseys messages @ 3:32 PM

Monday, June 30, 2025

Paths of disappointment

R G Lee

Paths of Disappointment

R.G. Lee

"Vanity of vanities; all is vanity." Ecclesiastes 1:2

Thirty-seven times the word "vanity" occurs in the Book of Ecclesiastes. Moreover, vanity is the key word of the Book of Ecclesiastes ? the keynote to its dirgelike message.

"Vanity of vanities…All is vanity!" Now these words are not due to a fit of temporary depression. They are not given utterance because of some passing adverse circumstance. They were not born of the quick and passing bitterness begotten by the foul play of some friend who turned traitor. Subtle pride did not prompt this language of Solomon. They are, according to our judgment, the result of experience arrived at after mature and deliberate thought.

They are not the words of a man who walked a few paths, but the words of a man who walked many paths. Nor the words of one bored with the routine of some prosaic task. Nor the words of a man whose courage failed in some steep ascent of toil. Nor the words of one in prostrate rebellion against the tortures of some couch of pain.

Rather let us say that these are the words of one who sailed over many seas of human experience and made, with deliberate care, special notes and charts of his voyages. Words they are of one who drank of every cup and wrote a label for each. And in these words Solomon the wise, Solomon the rich, Solomon the mighty, has left the testimony that even a king could not find and cannot find genuine satisfaction in things finite, in things perishing, in things of the earth.

By what path shall I go to find the home of perfect happiness?
Which road must I take to compass heart satisfaction?
What must I do to find contentment?
What must I do to have a "good time"?
What must I do to be superior to the habitations in which I am domiciled?
What must I do to have the merry heart within the stern war of things?
What must I do to know the intoxication of pleasure without the dissipation of the soul's finest resources?

In answer, Solomon tried out five paths ? leaving each, discarding each in turn, until he cried over the grave of all disappointed hopes, as his life's fair morning died in dark sunset, "Vanity of vanities; all is vanity!" And these five paths, which he tried out and traveled over and found paths of disappointment, do men try out and travel over today.

And these five paths are the only paths which men try. These five paths…compass all the experiences and all the imaginations of men.

Let us be content to give these five paths telescopic observation, for we shall not have time to give them microscopic scrutiny. May the instruction thereof be received. May the warning therein be heeded.

I. THE PATH OF WISDOM

"I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly."
(Ecclesiastes 1:17). Solomon knew everything as nearly as mortal man could know everything. His was no capsule brain capable of tidbits only. He was a scientist. He was a philosopher. He was a moralist and a historian. He was a publicist and a poet. He had a mind trained to observe…to meditate.

He had an imagination by which he interpreted the facts of history and built upon the premise of these facts the deductions of science. He walked familiarly through the fields of botany. "He spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall" (I Kings 4:33). He brought forth the treasures of the mine. He knew nature's choir made up of the voices of birds, the wind in the boughs, the sea on the shore. He interpreted the messages of the heavenly bodies. He sailed the seas. He knew the birds. He wrote parables from the fields and the forests. He gathered great wealth of gold and precious stones. He wrote and published books. He wrote thousands of imperishable proverbs. He interpreted human experience. He philosophized about divine revelation.

But with all this, he missed the one essential and found no rest for his heart. It is he, this great Solomon with all his glory, who, after roaming through all the realms of thought and imagination, of human wisdom and human knowledge, cried "Vanity of vanities; all is vanity !"

"And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly; I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit (Ecclesiastes 1:17).

Once, a man traveled a long way ? a journey of many miles ? to interview a distinguished scholar. The butler ushered him in, upon the presentation of his card, into the study of the great scholar. He was cordially greeted. Before seating himself he asked this question of the noted scholar:

"Doctor, I have come a long way to ask you just one question. I observe that the walls of your room are filled with books. This room is literally lined with them from ceiling to floor. I suppose you have read them all. I know you have written many books. You have traveled the world over; you have held intimate converse with the world's wisest men ? its leaders of thought, its creators of opinion. Tell me, if you will, after the years you have spent in study, out of the things you have learned, what is the one thing best worth knowing? "

The great scholar's face flushed with emotion. He placed, with clumsy gentleness, both hands over the hands of his caller. And he said:

"My dear sir, out of all the things I have learned there are only two lessons best worth knowing. The first is, I am a great sinner. The second is, Jesus Christ is a great Saviour. In the knowledge of these two facts as applied in my own personal experience lies all my happiness and all my hopes ! "

Thus we learn in that man's answer, in many ways, that men may know some things and not the best things-the things best worth knowing. Thus we see that men may treasure rags and throw away treasures.
Yes, though many may not see it, a man may know all about the rocks, and his heart be as hard as they.
A man may know all about the winds and his life be swept by passions fiercer than they.
A man may know all about the tides and the seas, and his life resemble their troubled waters that rest not and know no peace.
A man may know all about lights-the light of showers of meteors, the light of phosphorus, the light of millions of stars, the light of the moon when it hangs like a sickle, candle light, lamp light, electric light, the light of the aurora borealis-and not know Jesus who said "I am the light of the world."
A man may know all about roads in the country, roads in the jungle, roads through burning deserts, and not know Jesus who said, "I am the way."

All of which brings us to say ? to ask ? what shall it profit a man IF …

What shall it profit a man if he be a great artist and know not Jesus, the one altogether lovely?
What shall it profit a man if he be a great architect and know not Jesus, the Chief Corner Stone?
What shall it profit a man if he be a great baker and know not Jesus, the Living Bread?
What shall it profit a man if he be a great banker and know not Jesus, the Priceless Possession?
What shall it profit a man if he be a great biologist and know not Jesus, the Life?
What shall it profit a man if he be a great builder and know not Jesus, the Sure Foundation?
What shall it profit a man if he be a great carpenter and know not Jesus, the Door?
What shall it profit a man if be be a great doctor and know not Jesus, the Great Physician?
What shall it profit a man if he be a great educator and know not Jesus, the Teacher?
What shall it profit a man if he be a great engineer and know not Jesus, the New and Living Way?
What shall it profit a man if he be a great farmer and know not Jesus, the Sower and Lord of Harvests?
What shall it profit a man if he be a great florist and know not Jesus, the Rose of Sharon?
What shall it profit a man if he be a great geologist and know not Jesus, the Rock of Ages?
What shall it profit a man if he be a great astronomer and know not Jesus, the Star of Bethlehem?
What shall it profat a man if he be a great horticulturist and know not Jesus, the True Vine?
What shall it profit a man if he be a great judge and know not Jesus, the Righteous judge?
What shall it profit a man if he be a great jurist and know not Jesus, the True Witness?
What shall it profit a man if he be a great jeweler and know not Jesus, the Pearl of Great Price?
What shall it profit a man if he be a great lawyer and know not Jesus, the Sinner's Advocate?
What shall it profit a man if he be a great philanthropist and know not Jesus, the Unspeakable Gift?
What shall it profit a man if he be a great philosopher and know not Jesus, the Wisdom of God?
What shall it profit a man if he be a great sculptor and know not Jesus, the Living Stone?
What shall it profit a man if he be a great student and know not Jesus, the Incarnate Truth?
What shall it profit a man if he be a great sinner and know not Jesus, the Lamb of God?

Mere human wisdom never satisfies. Even if we knew all things, there are many things we never would and never could know. Millions of things we do not know. Write down all we know ? it will be a small volume. Write down all we do not know of things in the heavens and things in the earth and things under the earth, it would be a large library of many shelves and many large volumes.

But even if we knew all that there is to know in the realm of human knowledge, it would be a path of disappointment if, in knowing so much, we did not learn the two things most worth knowing.

Man, in the course of his life, lays down one world after another. First, the infant's world of toys is abandoned. Second, the boy's world of games, amusements. So also the youth's world of schemes, enterprises, the dreams of progress and wealth. The path of disappointment is the path of human wisdom that excludes the things best worth knowing and most worth knowing.

Solomon sought experience and found disappointment in

II. THE PATH OF WINE

"I sought in mine heart, to give myself unto wine, yet acquainting mine heart with wisdom; . . . till I might see what was that good for the sons of men, which they should do under the heaven all the days of their life" (Ecclesiastes 2:3).

Having tried the path of earthly knowledge and wisdom and failing to find and get guest room in the house of happiness, Solomon next turns to wine. "Wine maketh glad the heart" (Psalm 104:15). And so we hear him saying, "Come, now, I will prove thee with mirth, therefore enjoy thou pleasure" ?that is, the pleasures wine is supposed to give. So Solomon "descends to the realm of the purely physical to cheer his flesh with wine."

I don't think he "descended to the low plain of sordid drunkenness," for he said, " I … give myself to wine, yet acquainting my heart with wisdom." Doubtless Solomon was not in the gutter. Doubtless he never did some of the fool things men do when they get under the influence of wine.

But it was he who wrote:

" Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things. Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of the mast. They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick-they have beaten me, and I felt it not; when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again." (Proverbs 23:29-35)

He discovered for himself and transmitted to future generations the bitterness of that experience and observation which finds in the dregs of the sparkling cup, the sting of the adder, the poison of the serpent !

Solomon, while doubtless never a debased drunkard, "learned the ropes" of the wine realm. And the warnings he has put out against the bottle are vivid and true warnings.

Now the follies of the wine realm are still with us. The bitter fruit of the wine press is with us. The sins of the wine cup are rampant. There is the wine domination of certain social circles. There is the wine domination of certain customs.

"There is the wine iniquity of certain political institutions, parties, and governments. Perhaps no factor in American life has dealt with a more arrogant hand. Perhaps no factor in our American life has carried a mightier weight of influence in social, commercial, political life than the wine business-the iniquitous whiskey business, the business without a conscience, the business without a care for the welfare of others."

But I am not to speak much of the drink business as a national curse, but as an individual curse, blight, and enormous sin. With many, what is the high mark of sociability today?
The offer and the acceptance of the invitation to " have a drink !"

I have never understood why a man should be understood as having a thought for my welfare to offer me that which would dim my eyes, dull my senses, tie up my tongue, addle my brain, blight my life. And I have never understood why a man should not invite me ? or why he should take offense if I should invite him ? to have with me a social drink of castor oil or milk of magnesia. This does not taste much worse than liquor, and it would have a far more remedial effect. But it is just not done in society.

To "have a drink," whether it is at the club-house, or in the business office, or in the hotel room, or at the college hop or on the joy ride is to drink liquor ? some form of alcoholic beverage. And every drop is loaded with disappointment when it comes to bringing lasting joy.

Jack and Jill
Went up the hill
To get some bootleg liquor;
Jack went blind
And lost his mind,
And Jill is even sicker !

Five drunk men, after the midnight hour had passed, leaned up against a telephone post in front of Mrs. Smith's home, knowing not whence they came nor whither they went. They shouted and whooped…The lady of the house, angry beyond words, threw open the window…she angrily shouted,
"Hello! "
One of the drunks, with a wave of his hand and a bob of his head, said belchingly, "Hello, there ? be you Mrs. Smith? "
"Yes," came the sharp, snapping answer.
"What do you want? "
" Please, ma'am…you…Lady…won't you…lady…come out and pick out Mr. Smith so the rest of us fellows can go home? "

More foolish and far more tragic things than that have men done under the influence of strong drink. Some, under its demoniac spell, have gone home at night not knowing a buzz saw from a silver dollar, thinking the keyhole the entrance to Mammoth Cave, and thinking the clothes wire a railroad track. And some, mastered by the demon of drink, have gone their way with murder in their eyes and hands.

A huge bottle would be an appropriate tombstone over many graves. Certainly a bottle in reality, whether visible or not, is the tombstone that stands above ruined hopes, broken families, disappointments, bitterness, and all misery. The bottle, the cup, the weak will, the blasted career-then the grave with a bottle as a tombstone.

But all who have walked the wine path, whether they be old, or whether they be young have found that "wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging, and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise" (Proverbs 20:1).

This is not only the truth of God, but it is the verdict of the ages.

Let us consider that verdict ?
[1] On an early Egyptian tomb are these words:
"His earthly tenement was shattered by beer and wine, and his spirit departed before it was called for."

[2] In 550 B.C. Buddha gave a statement that flashed out in that day as lightning-
"Drink not liquors that intoxicate and disturb the reason."

[3] And Xenophon, 300 years before heaven put out its brightest star to mark the birthplace of the incarnate Christ in Bethlehem, said:
"Temperance means first, moderation in healthful indulgence and, secondly, abstinence from things dangerous, as the use of intoxicating wines."

[4] And Pliny, the Elder, speaking words without the least semblance of foolishness, in 79 A.D., said;
"There is nothing about which we put ourselves to more trouble than wine "

[5] And Chaucer chastised the winebibber in 1340 with this statement:
"Character and shame depart when wine comes in."

[6] And Shakespeare, from whose pen words of wisdom dropped like golden pollen from the stems of shaken lilies, thrust the wine-drinking curse through with these words:
"O thou invisible spirit of wine, if thou hast no name to be known by, let us call thee devil "

[7] And Abraham Lincoln, in whose heart was no room for the memory of a wrong, in 1842, said:
"Liquor might have defenders, but no defense. Whether or not the world would be vastly benefited by a total and final banishment from it, of all intoxicating drinks, seems to me not an open question."

[8] And Gladstone, who being dead yet speaketh in the parliaments of men, in 1898 said:
"The ravages of drink are greater than those of war, pestilence and famine combined. "

[9] And Georges Clemenceau, put forth words of wisdom that cannot be weighed in scales when, in 1920, he declared:
"It is definitely settled that alcohol is a poison; a poison destructive of human energy and, for this reason, of society as a whole."

[10] And Sir Wilfred Grenfell, whose name has been on the tongues of multitudes of English-speaking peoples, said:
"Alcohol has wrecked more lives, starved more children and murdered more women than any other single factor."

[11] And Thomas Edison, did not hesitate to declare:
"I still feel that prohibition is the greatest experiment yet made to benefit man."

But in the face of this verdict of the ages, and in the face of Bible truth, and in the presence of multitudinous iniquities caused by strong drink, many clamour with more noise than sense in their words for personal liberty.

Personal liberty!

But liberty without love is a dangerous thing indeed. On all sides men must surrender personal liberties for the public welfare.

There can be no peace in the home without consideration of others.
There can be no profit in business without consideration of the welfare of others. There can be no justice in government and no safety in society without consideration for the welfare of others.
There can be no happiness, no culture, no security anywhere without sincere consideration of others ? their comforts, their health, their prosperity…their rights.

Every city has fire limits [codes]. In certain districts only fire-proof construction can be used. Specifications that have to do with the minutest details must be complied with before even the foundation can be laid. Floors must be of concrete, roofs of slate. Why? Are not frame houses attractive? Certainly, but they could not be built in the crowded districts without endangering the entire community. They would be tinder boxes.

Your present liberty ? your right to build a frame house is thoroughly good of itself, and in its place ? is entirely removed in the interest of public safety.

You cannot drive where you will. One must obey the traffic laws. One poorly managed automobile often congests a crowded avenue for several minutes. One wild driver kills and maims.

You cannot eat what you will. The future builds upon the present. Today sanatoriums are crowded with dyspeptics who were the gormandisers of yesterday.

You cannot walk the streets of the city ? if you have smallpox.
Personal liberty ends.

Drink destroys the liberty of the drinker. See him stagger and fall. He cannot direct his steps or rule his limbs. Hear him shout and curse. He does not know what he is saying, and has lost command of his thoughts and tongue. His eyes are dulled, his baser passions unleashed, his moral sense blunted, his better self chained. The drunkard, pitiable slave in body, mind and soul, is a refutation of the personal liberty plea.

Drink destroys the liberty of the drinker's wife and of his children.
Is the woman in ragged garments and with a bruised face, lacking the necessities of life, free ?
Is the lad forced to wear the shame of the drunkard's child, free?
Is the broken-hearted parent who mourns the death of a dissolute son in a saloon brawl or on the public highway or in the bootlegger's den, free?

Shall we continue to respect the "personal liberty" of those who would destroy themselves and us?
Shall we continue to respect the "personal liberty" of those who coin into money the tears of women and children and the cries of unfortunates possessed of a fiendish thirst they cannot master so long as the thing that arouses it survives because the laws of the nation are violated ?

"They are overcome with wine " (Isaiah 28:1). Men say they swallow strong drink. But strong drink swallows them. Strong drink eats up their substance. It eats up their health. It swallows up their happiness. It swallows many precious talents.

Strong drink does our schools and colleges no good. It does our secret orders no good. It does our merchants no good. It does our manufacturers no good. It does our railroads no good. It does our churches no good. It does no man any good. I do not claim that all I have written above is strictly original. But I do claim that all I have written is to give emphasis to all anybody says against strong drink and to make declaration that if I had one hair in my head that was in favor of strong drink " in any shape, form, or fashion " I would pull it out. And I take my stand with Guy Mark, who said-.

"I am dry, bone dry because I have known unborn babes to be cursed through booze;
little children to starve because of booze-,
young people to be stunted for life through booze;
gifted women to become imbeciles through booze;
leaders in industry to become beggars in the street because of booze;
wedding rings to be sold for booze;
every article of furniture to be pawned for booze;
fortunes to be squandered for booze;
girls to become prostitutes through booze;
boys to become criminals through booze;
women to be hanged because of booze;
and men to go to the electric chair because of booze.
Because I have never known booze to contribute to the happiness of a single child, or to the mental ability of a single young person, or to the moral uplift of a single middle-aged person, or to the comfort and blessedness of a single old person."

Think of the disappointments that come in the path of wine. And remember what the Book hath said, namely:

"Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging; and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise." (Proverbs 20:1)…."Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way. Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh; For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty; and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags." (Proverbs 23:19-21)…. "Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunk also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness (Habbakuk 2:15)…. "It is not for kings, 0 Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink. Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted. Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts." (Proverbs 31:4-6)

But Solomon traveled another path of disappointment, finding not the joy and peace his heart craved. It was

III. THE PATH OF WEALTH

"Moreover the profit of the earth is for all: the king himself is served by the field. He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase; this is also vanity. When goods increase, they are increased that eat them; and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes?
The sleep of the labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.
There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely: riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt. But those riches perish by evil travail; and he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand." (Ecclesiastes 5:9-15)

In these striking words we see that he found the path of riches a disappointing path also. Finding bitterness in the path of wine, finding no peace in human wisdom alone, he turned to the path of riches, hoping therein to find the joy and the peace the human heart needs.

See how rich he was.
"And they came to Ophir, and fetched from thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon." (I Kings 9:28)
"And the navy also of Hiram, that brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir great plenty of almug trees, and precious stones. " (I Kings 10:11)
"Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold." (I Kings 10:14)
"And king,Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold, six hundred shekels of gold went to one target. And he made three hundred shields, of beaten gold; three pounds of gold went to one shield; and the, king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon." (I Kings 10:16,17)
"Besides that he had of the merchantmen and of the traffic of spice merchants, and of all the kings of Arabia, and of the governors of the country." (I Kings 10:15)
"For the king had at sea a navy of Tarshish with the navy of Hiram: once every three years came the navy of Tarshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks." (I Kings 10:22)
"And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he to be as the sycomore trees that are in the vale, for abundance." (I Kings 10:27)
"And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen; and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he bestowed in the cities for chariots, and with the king at Jerusalem." (I Kings 10:26)

"So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom." (I Kings 10:23)

Yes, gifts poured into his coffers in a continuous stream so that he was able to hire men singers and women singers ? able to build himself and his wives gorgeous palaces ? able to enjoy all that money could provide. He was able at any time to pay a king's ransom for a day of pleasure. He had riches till the end of his life. He never knew the pinch of poverty ? never knew any anxiety about his daily bread. Yet, even in the security of his nest of wealth, he fully realized the futility of their values. "Vanity of vanities ! "

No man can buy a contented heart.

Money is powerless to furnish this. No man can purchase with riches a soul at peace with God. No man can pay in money the price of the hope of immortality and of a meeting in the Great Beyond. No man can find in riches the purchase price of God's favour or the realization of eternal salvation.

Not even in this day does money guarantee health, or hold friends, or bring contentment!

"They that will be rich fall into a temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition " (I Timothy 6:9)
"Go to, now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth eaten. Your gold and silver is cankered, and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire " (James 5:1-3)
"Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom. Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not ? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven." (Proverbs 23:4,5)

Disappointed in these three paths, Solomon turned to

IV. THE PATH OF WORKS

Wisdom, the many things he knew, brought him not to the house of abiding happiness…brought him not that joy which is ever rich and abiding. Wine turned out to be a mocker, as it always does-mocking him with the shadow instead of the substance of good things, mocking him with the desert where it promised an oasis.

And wealth had no power to satisfy. Amid all his abundance there was a lack ? something that rested not and was not still, something that hungered and was not fed, something that was thirsty and found no satisfaction.. Solomon built palaces. Solomon established great public works. Solomon increased the size and magnificence of his city. Solomon transported forests.

He did mighty things in the matter of building cities and other great public works. He accomplished such things as multitudes have expected to provide satisfaction for life's labors. But when he had finished all his great works he looked out upon them and cried, "Vanity of vanities ! "
"And Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all men…and his fame was in all nations round about." (I Kings 4:30,31)
"But Solomon was building…He built also the house of the forest of Lebanon…And he made …Then he made…Solomon made…" (I Kings 7:1-f )
"And Solomon built Gezer, and Beth-horon the nether, and Baalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the land, And all the cities of store that Solomon had, and cities for his chariots, and cities for his horsemen, and that which Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion." (I Kings 9:17-19)

Which, moreover, brings us the willingness to obey the exhortation given in I Cor. 15:58, namely:
" Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord."

But another disappointment Solomon trod. It was, we may term it,

V. THE PATH OF WOMEN

When Solomon found disappointment in the path of wisdom, in the path of wine, in the path of wealth, in the path of great works of construction, he turned to seek happiness with women. With much wisdom given him, he played the fool with women. With much opportunity to do good, he delighted himself in indulgence with women. With the power to command and to persuade, with the whole world from which to choose, with wealth that was enticing, he strove to delight his heart with women.

"But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites; Of the nations concerning which the Lord said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart…" (I Kings 11:1-8)

Solomon knew what he was talking about when he said, "Give not thy strength unto women" (Proverbs 31:3). Solomon was speaking from the depths of bitter experience, teaching that the reproofs of instruction are the way of life, when he said:
"For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and the reproofs of instruction are the way of life; To keep thee from the evil women, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman. Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids. For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread; and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life. Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned ? " (Proverbs 6).

Solomon had found out that in the path of women there is that experience that is as vinegar to the teeth and as smoke to the eyes. That is why he wrote:
"A foolish woman is clamorous; she is simple and knoweth nothing. For she sitteth at the door of her house, on a seat in the high places of the city. To call passengers who go right on their ways; Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: and as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him, Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant. But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell." (Proverbs 9:13-18)

It was Solomon who had seven hundred wives, who said
"A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones." (Proverbs 12:4)
"It is better to dwell in the corner of the house top, than with a brawling woman in a wide house " (Proverbs 21:9)
"It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and angry woman." (Proverbs 21:19)

It was Solomon who said many lovely things about women, lovely things which were true altogether, such as,
"Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing and obtaineth favour of the Lord " (Proverbs 18:22);
"A prudent wife is from the Lord " (Proverbs 19:14);
"Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies " (Proverbs31:10)

And this, moreover, this truth he uttered in language descriptive of ancient day indulgence and descriptive also of this jazz-day indulgence:

" Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman; That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words. For at the window of my house I looked through my casement, and beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding, Passing through the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house, In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night; And, behold there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart. (She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house: Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner).So she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face said unto him, I have peace offerings with me; this day have I payed my vows, Therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee. I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works, with fine linen of Egypt. I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes and cinnamon. Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning: let us solace ourselves with loves. For the good man is not at home, he is gone a long journey: He hath taken a bag of money with him, and will come at the day appointed. With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him. He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks; Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life…Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death." ( Proverbs 7:4-f )

What has not woman meant to man ? She is the synonym of all that is holy in relation-synonym of all that is encouraging, stimulating, and soothing in life's stress and sorrows. Woman-God's loveliest gift to man. God pity the man who, in the dark hour of his dissolution, has no woman's hand to wipe away the death damp from his brow, or to smooth his pillow, and no woman's voice to whisper sweet words of cheer and comfort into his fast dulling ear.

Woman-synonym of home and love, of wifehood, of motherhood, of sisterhood, of daughterhood.

Woman-synonym of all gentleness, of charm, of winsomeness, of heart's ease, of sacrificial service.

Woman-the uncomplaining bearer of burdens, the partner of pain and pleasure alike, the keeper of the mysteries of life, the fount of joy, the confidante of weakness and of sorrow, the sharer of tears and laughter.

Woman-she means to the race all that men's hearts have yearned for, in rest from labor, in refuge from defeat, in comfort from sorrow, in understanding and encouragement, in reproach, in cheer and encouragement in struggle.

Many times Solomon doubtless proved all this, for he was a married man. And yet, because he left God out and, reckoned not with his laws in relation to women, he found the path of women a path of great disappointments.

"Having tried all the avenues of legitimate love; he tried the other way. And so great was the disappointment and bitterness, he was constrained to cry, 'Vanity of vanities' Having tried all the delights of legitimate love, he then indulged himself in all the fancied pleasure of illegitimate love, and excitation of unholy desire and indulgence of animal appetite-the pursuance of purely fleshly pleasure. Here, too, for his joy he reaped ashes. Here, too, he found his honey turned to the bitterness of gall. Here, too, in these wide avenues of all illegitimate dealings with women, his delight faded into distaste and disgust !

Here, too, desire became despair.

And again his soul was wrung with the cry that has saddened the centuries-
'Vanity of vanities!' "

Which brings us to speak of

VI. OUR ONE HOPE

"The world by wisdom knew not God." (I Corinthians 1:21)
Poor rich Solomon.
Poor fool ? wise-man Solomon.
Poor wine-tasting Solomon.
Type of all our wisdom ? in the slough of despond.
Type of all our indulgence ? in dark, abysmal despair.
Type of all man's wrong indulgence with women-surfeited with disgust.

For man's effort to find peace and happiness by the paths of wisdom and wine and wealth and works and women is written in the lives of men. The coarseness, the sensuousness, the un-spirituality seen about us is tragic.

But God is ever the God of the second chance. It is ever the providence of his mercy, if we will turn from our wicked ways, to reverse the curse of sin.

Then ? do this. Through Jesus who died for you ? do this. With faith in the Christ who bore our sins in his own body on the tree (I Peter 2:24), and died the just for the unjust that he might bring us to God (I Peter 3:18) ? embrace the cross now.

Then the cry of your despair will be turned into joy.
Then the consciousness of your lost estate will be changed into the sweet and blessed realization of eternal salvation.
There shall be no disappointment with you concerning him. There will be no disappointment with him concerning you.

# posted by Groseys messages @ 9:40 PM

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