Ezra’s New Year’s Day

Posted on December 29, 2023 by The Editor

Ezra 7:6,9,10

Ezra went up from Babylon; and he was a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which the LORD God of Israel had given: and the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the LORD his God upon him…Upon the first day of the first month began he to go up from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month came he to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him. For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.

ROBERT HAWKER (1753-1827): We ought to pause over this account, short as it is, of Ezra’s character.

THOMAS GOODWIN (1600-1679): “He was a ready scribe in the law of Moses.” “Ready.”—Some read it diligent, as that which had made him ready; so you have it in Proverbs 22:29, “a man diligent in his business.”

MATTHEW HENRY (1662-1714): He was a man of great learning. The Jews say that he collected and collated all the copies of the law he could find, and published an accurate edition of it, with all the prophetical books, historical and poetical, that were given by divine inspiration, and so made up the canon of the Old Testament, with the addition of the prophecies and histories of his own time. If he was raised up of God, and qualified and inclined to do this, all generations have reason to bless God for him.

ROBERT HAWKER: As Ezra had dedicated himself particularly to this service, no doubt the thing was of the Lord. For as the Holy Ghost hath caused his writings to be so faithfully preserved and handed down to us, and as from their great importance in this part of the church’s history, they form so interesting a portion of God’s sacred Word, we cannot be at a loss to discover the work of the blessed Spirit accompanying all his labours with success.

ADAM CLARKE (1760-1832): “A ready scribe.” The Hebrew expression does not merely signify an excellent penman, but one who was eminently skillful in expounding the law.

JOHN GILL (1697-1771):  The meaning is not that he had a quick hand in writing out copies, but was well versed in the knowledge of it; had studied it thoroughly, was well instructed in it, and abundantly qualified to teach it others.

G. CAMPBELL MORGAN (1863-1945): “Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach.” This verse should not be passed without noticing its suggestiveness for all such as are called, or feel they are called to teach. The order is, “to seek—to do—to teach.”

MATTHEW POOLE (1624-1679): Ezra had “prepared his heart;” he had set his mind and affections upon it, and made it his chief design and business, to search and find out the true sense and meaning, and thence to learn what sins or errors were to be reformed, and what duties were to be performed. First, he endeavours to understand God’s law and word, not for curiosity or ostentation, but in order to practice; Next, he conscientiously practices what he did understand, which made his doctrine much more effectual; then he earnestly desires and labours to instruct and edify others, that they also might know and do it.

H. A. IRONSIDE (1876-1951): Notice the order in Acts 1:1, “Of all that Jesus began both to do, and teach.” Doing should always come before teaching. If there is anything that we as servants of Christ need to keep in mind it is this: there will be no more power in our messages than there is power in our lives. It is as we live for God that we are fitted to speak for God. We are called to do, before we teach.

MATTHEW HENRY: Ezra was a man of great piety and holy zeal.

THE EDITOR: He was also a man of prayer. Read Ezra’s zealous prayer in Chapter 9, confessing the sins of the people of Jerusalem; and in Chapter 10, see the effectualness of Ezra’s prayer as demonstrated by the people’s actions, and Ezra’s further instructions to them.

MATTHEW HENRY: Thus his example confirmed his doctrine. He “prepared his heart” to do all this, or he fixed his heart. He took pains in his studies, and thoroughly furnished himself for what he designed, and then put on resolution to proceed and persevere in them.

W. J. HOCKING (1864-1953): Did he possess the faculty of perception—of discernment?

H. A. IRONSIDE: Ezra speaks of “the hand of God,” in Ezra 8:18,22,31. He was a man who seemed never to look at mere human instrumentality, but, behind the hand of man, he saw the guiding, or controlling hand of the Lord.

THE EDITOR: Ezra saw God’s glory in the “good hand of the Lord upon him,” in departing Babylon, and in the great provision that king Artaxerxes had given for his journey, and the high authority the king had bestowed upon him to fulfil God’s purposes in Jerusalem, Ezra 7:11-26. “Blessed be the LORD God of our fathers, which hath put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to beautify the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem: And hath extended mercy unto me before the king, and his counsellors, and before all the king’s mighty princes. And I was strengthened as the hand of the LORD my God was upon me, and I gathered together out of Israel chief men to go up with me,” Ezra 7:27,28.

WILLIAM GURNALL (1617-1679): He “was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help against the enemy in way, because we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek Him and His wrath is against all them that forsake Him,” Ezra 8:22.  He hath gloried so much of that God they served, that he is ashamed the king should think now that now he was not willing to cast himself upon God’s protection. Ezra goes to fasting and prayer, Ezra 8:21. Then they take their march, and find the way all along cleared before them, Ezra 8:31.

H. A. IRONSIDE: To the man of faith, instructed in the mind of the Lord, difficulties are never insurmountable; but he will be able in holy confidence to say with Paul, “None of these things move me,” Acts 20:24. Of such a spirit was Ezra the scribe, and of such must be all who would count for God in a day of ruin.

ADAM CLARKE: Ezra and his company set off from Babylon on the first day of the first month.

JOHN GILL: The month Nisan, answering to part of our March and April; this was New Year’s day.

THE EDITOR: The first day of a New Year is surely a good time to begin any new endeavour. Especially if it be to discern what needs to be reformed, or what has been neglected, and to correct it, or to do something we have not attempted before—and to set our hearts firmly to do it. Whatever our state or condition in this past year may have been—in the New Year, let us all, like Ezra, depart from Babylonian worldliness for a more spiritual Jerusalem. In our own strength? No. Remember Ezra’s confident dependence on the strength of the Lord.

ROBERT HAWKER: Dear Lord! grant me grace to be unceasingly enquiring after Thee in the Word of Thy truth.

C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892): Be as Ezra was, when having once made a resolve, he resolved to abide by it at all hazard. Pluck up courage and say within yourselves: Now will I prove that promise true, “He shall cover thee with His feathers and under His wings shall thou trust; his truth shall be thy shield and buckler,” Psalm 91:4.

 

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An Angelic Song of Grace & Glory, Peace & Goodwill

Posted on December 22, 2023 by The Editor

Luke 2:8-14

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

CHARLES SIMEON (1759-1836): The term, “behold,” always marks the importance of that to which it is prefixed. But here the precise view in which the tidings claim our attention is distinctly specified: They are a matter of exceeding joy—and universal joy.

A. W. PINK (1886-1952): Christ was sent to manifest the Father, and with a message of grace to this sinful world.

MATTHEW POOLE (1624-1679): The nativity of our Saviour was published first by one angel, but it must be celebrated by a multitude of angels, who appear praising God.

C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892): The angels sang something which men could understand—something which men ought to understand—something which will make men much better if they will understand it. The angels were singing about Jesus who was born in the manger. We must look upon their song as being built upon this foundation. They sang of Christ and the salvation which He came into this world to work out. And what they said of this salvation was this—they said first, that it gave glory to God.

J. C. RYLE (1816-1900): Now is come the highest degree of glory to God, by the appearing of His Son Jesus Christ in the world. He, by His life and death on the cross, will glorify God’s attributes—justice, holiness, mercy, and wisdom—as they never were glorified before. Creation glorified God, but not so much as redemption.

C. H. SPURGEON: If salvation glorifies God, glorifies Him in the highest degree and makes the highest creatures praise Him, this may be added—that doctrine which glorifies man in salvation cannot be the Gospel. For salvation glorifies God. The angels were no Arminians—they sang, “Glory to God in the highest.” They believe in no doctrine which uncrowns Christ and puts the crown upon the head of mortals. They believe in no system of faith which makes salvation dependent upon the creature and which really gives the creature the praise. For what is it less than for a man to save himself, if the whole dependence of salvation rests upon his own free will? No, my Brethren—the glad tidings that made the angels sing are those that put God first, God last, God in the midst, and God without end in the salvation of His creatures—it puts the crown wholly alone upon the head of Him that saves without a helper.

MATTHEW HENRY (1662-1714): Let God have the honour of this work: “Glory to God in the highest—Whose kindness and love designed this favour, and Whose wisdom contrived it in such a way as that one divine attribute should not be glorified at the expense of another.

ROBERT HAWKER (1753-1827): Yes! the whole glory is God’s; because it is all founded in God; carried on in God; completed in God; and man is but the receiver of the mercies. Oh! that this was well understood by men!

CHARLES SIMEON: Who is there that does not need the merit of His atonement and the efficacy of His grace? And who is there to whom they are not freely offered? There is not one on earth who can be saved without them; nor is there one, however abandoned, who may not, by a believing application to the Saviour, be interested in them. Well therefore may they be called good tidings “to all people;” since they are so to all of every age, and of every description: and well may the prophet call on the whole creation to shout for joy—“Sing, O ye heavens; for the LORD hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel,” Isaiah 44:23.

C. H. SPURGEON: Secondly, it gave peace to man.

J. C. RYLE: Now is come to earth the peace of God which passeth all understanding—the perfect peace between a holy God and sinful man, which Christ was to purchase with His own blood—the peace which is offered freely to all mankind—the peace which, once admitted into the heart, makes men live at peace one with another, and will one day overspread the whole world.

H. A. IRONSIDE (1876-1951): It seems strange, doesn’t it?—to hear those words ringing down through the ages, when you think of the awful condition which prevails in the earth today. Look where you will, there is no peace. Look at the lands abroad; there is war. Look over our own land; there is strife between Capital and Labour, and between different groups. There is misery and wretchedness everywhere—unrest on every hand. Yet the angel said, “Peace, goodwill toward men.”

C. H. SPURGEON: I do not see God honoured. I see heathen bowing down before their idols. I mark the Romanist casting himself before his relics and the ugly figures of his images. I look about me and I see tyranny lording it over the bodies and souls of men. I see God forgotten. I see a worldly race pursuing mammon…I see ambition riding like Nimrod over the land, God forgotten, His name dishonoured. I hear the cannon’s horrid roar—not yet have they turned the sword into a plowshare and the spear into a pruning hook! War still reigns. Is this all that the angels sang about? And while I see wars to the ends of the earth, am I to believe that this was all the angels expected? Ah, no, Brethren. The angels’ song is big with prophecy—Christ the Lord will come again, and when He comes, He shall cast the idols from their thrones. He shall dash down every heresy and every shape of idolatry. He shall reign from pole to pole with illimitable sway. He shall reign, when like a scroll, yonder blue heavens have passed away.

CHARLES SIMEON: And “all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”

JOHN CALVIN (1509-1564):  This was done to confirm our faith as truly as that of the shepherds. Among men, the testimony of “two or three witnesses,” is sufficient to remove all doubt. But here is a heavenly host, with one consent and one voice bearing testimony to the Son of God. What then would be our obstinacy, if we refused to join with the choir of angels, in singing the praises of our salvation, which is in Christ?

ALEXANDER MacLAREN (1826-1910): It was fitting that angel voices should attend such an event, whether men gave heed to them or not; because, recorded, their song has helped a world to understand the nature and meaning of that birth. The glory died off the hillside quickly, and the music of the song scarcely lingered longer in the ears of its first hearers; but its notes echo still in all lands, and every generation turns to them with wonder and hope.

C. H. SPURGEON: When the angels sang this there was an echo through the long aisles of a glorious future. That echo was—“Hallelujah! Christ the Lord God Omnipotent shall reign.” I will say no more, except to wish everyone of you, the happiest Christmas you ever had.

CHARLES SIMEON: Make it a season of holy joy; a very anticipation of heaven itself.

 

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The Star of Christ, and His Stars, in Prophecy

Posted on December 15, 2023 by The Editor

Matthew 2:1-9

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.

When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, and thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.

MATTHEW HENRY (1662-1714): Observe here how Jews and Gentiles compare notes about Jesus Christ. The Gentiles know the time of his birth by a star; the Jews know the place of it by the scriptures, Micah 5:2; and so they are capable of informing one another. Note: It would contribute much to the increase of knowledge if we did thus mutually communicate what we know. Men grow rich by bartering and exchanging; so if we have knowledge to communicate to others, they will be ready to communicate to us; thus many shall discourse, shall “run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased,” Daniel 12:4.

ADAM CLARKE (1760-1832): As to what is here called a star, some make it a meteor, others a luminous appearance like an Aurora Borealis; others a comet! There is no doubt, the appearance was very striking.

C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892): It was probably not a star in the sense in which we use the word: that is a planet, or a fixed star; but a meteoric brightness, which moved in the sky, and so guided the wise men.

THE EDITOR: Why think it implausible for God to create a new star to mark the incarnate birth of His Son, the most unique birth in history—and then move it about according to His own purpose? Nothing is too hard for the Creator of the universe; in Genesis 1:26, the creation of all the stars is worded almost as if it was a minor afterthought: “And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.”

JOHN GILL (1697-1771): It seems to be properly a star—a new and an unusual one, such as had never been seen, nor observed before; and is called His star, the star of the king born, because it appeared on His account, and was the sign of His birth, Who is “the root and offspring of David, and the bright and morning star,” Revelation 22:16. This they saw when they were in the east, in their own country; and according to the best observations they were able to make, it was in that part of the heavens right over the land of Judea; from whence they concluded that the king of the Jews was born; but the question is, how they should hereby know and be assured that such a person was born?

MATTHEW HENRY: Some think that this star put them in mind of Balaam’s prophecy. Balaam came from “the mountains of the east,” Numbers 23:7; and was one of their “wise men.”

ROBERT HAWKER (1753-1827): Some have thought these were men who practiced magic, like Balaam. It is remarkable this man prophesied of a star that should come out of Jacob.

JOHN GILL: There is a prophecy of Balaam’s which is thus expressed, “there shall come a star out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel,” Numbers 24:17, which is owned by some Jewish writers to be a prophecy of the Messiah; though the star there mentioned is considered by them as one of the Messiah’s titles.

CHARLES SIMEON (1759-1836): Whether they had heard of Balaam’s prophecy, we do not know. An expectation of a ruler to spring out of Israel was certainly far extended in the world.

MATTHEW HENRY: The general expectation entertained at that time in those eastern parts was of some great prince to appear. Tacitus, in his history takes notice of it; Suetonius also, in the life of Vespasian, speaks of it; so that this extraordinary phenomenon was construed as pointing to that king. These wise men had seen an extraordinary star, which they took to be an indication of an extraordinary person born in the land of Judea, over which land this star was seen to hover—this differed so much from anything that was common, that they concluded it to signify something uncommon.

MATTHEW POOLE (1624-1679): Although an extraordinary star appeared, which might let them know that God had produced, or was producing so extraordinary a work of providence in the world; yet without a supernatural interpreter they could not have made so true and particular interpretation of it, as upon the sight of it to have come with such confidence to Jerusalem, affirming that there was a King of the Jews born, and that this was His star, a light which God had put forth to direct that part of the world to the true Messiah. All guesses at the nature of this star, and the means how the wise men came to know that the King of the Jews was born upon the sight of it, and its motion, are great uncertainties; God undoubtedly revealed the thing unto them, and caused this extraordinary star, as at first to appear to confirm what He told them.

C. H. SPURGEON: They do not appear to have seen its light after they set out on their journey; it directed them to the region of Judaea so they came to the capital city, Jerusalem. God may sometimes send us stars, bright lights of joy, to guide us on our way; He may also take them away again, and then we must walk by faith.

CHARLES SIMEON: As soon as they went forth from Herod, the star, which had at first appeared to them in the East, became visible to them again, and went and “stood over the very house where the young child was,” Matthew 2:9. God withheld the miraculous appearance of the star when it was not necessary; and renewed it only when it was wanted to confirm the faith of the wise men—which the indifference of the Jews might have caused to waver.

THE EDITOR: Can I venture a further observation? When Jesus appears again in His glory, “we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is,” 1 John 3:2; as believers belonging to Christ, we are Abraham’s seed, Galatians 3:29; therefore, we are part of that innumerable multitude, as God promised Abraham, “Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be,” Genesis 15:5. Until that day, like those eminent wise men, we also have things to do by faith in His Word.

Hear Christ’s admonition: “that which ye have already hold fast till I come. And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. And I will give him the morning star,” Revelation 2:25-28—He will give us of Himself, and we “also shall reign with Him,” 2 Timothy 2:12. Thus we have “a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto ye do well that ye take heed—until the day dawn, and the day star arises in our hearts,” 2 Peter 1:19. Remember also the angel’s promise to Daniel, “they that be wise, shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness, as the stars for ever and ever,” Daniel 12:3.

 

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The Right Kind of Singing

Posted on December 8, 2023 by The Editor

Colossians 3:16

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892): A learned divine, a little while ago, discovered that no hymn ought to be sung unless it was distinctly directed and addressed to God, and was intended to be full of praise throughout. Well, we do have some remarkably wise men nowadays—at least, in their own estimation—but it appears that the Apostle Paul thought that “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” were to be used for instruction and admonition as well as for the praises of God!—Several of these psalms have little or no praise in them, and were not addressed directly to the Most High, and yet were to be sung in public worship.

THE EDITOR: In my last post, I did say that “Songs of worship should be directed primarily to God, not to man’s attention.” But remember that I was speaking about the worship services of many contemporary churches, where an excessive instrumentality, certain unsuitable musical genres, and inappropriate lyrics are used which are not conducive to godly edification, or to a reverent spirit of worship. I don’t deny that psalms, hymns and spiritual songs can teach doctrine and Christian experience. But notice how Paul frames his instruction: on one hand, he says, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom,” which shows us how our musical lyrics ought to be tempered; and on the other hand, he says that our singing, with grace in our hearts, is to be directed primarily “to the Lord.”

A. W. PINK (1886-1952): “Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the Lord, and spoke, saying, I will sing unto the Lord,” Exodus 15:1. And what did they sing about? Their song was entirely about Jehovah. They not only sang unto the Lord, but they sang about Him! It was all concerning Himself, and nothing about themselves. The word “Lord” occurs no less than twelve times within eighteen verses! The pronouns “He,” “Him,” “Thy,” “Thou,” and “Thee” are found thirty-three times!

C. H. SPURGEON: This is the very first of those sacred songs preserved in Scripture and, in some respects, it is first in merit as well as in time…The first verse of this song, Exodus 15:2, was quoted by David. I think you will find it in almost the same words three times in the Psalms, but especially in in Psalm 118:14, you have the exact words, “The Lord is my strength and song, and is become my salvation.” As if the Holy Spirit, when He furnished David with his noblest minstrelsy, could not excel the earlier strains of Moses. Isaiah himself, in Chapter 12, has the same words—“Jehovah is my strength and my song; He also is become my salvation.” It is evident that this patriotic song was interwoven with the life of Israel and that when good and gracious men would express themselves in praise at their very best, they fell back upon this Song of Moses and they sang unto the Lord who had triumphed gloriously!

A. W. PINK: How significant and how searching is this! How entirely different from modern hymnology! Many hymns of the past fifty years—if “hymns” they deserve to be called, are full of maudlin sentimentality, instead of Divine adoration. They announce our love to God instead of His for us. They recount our experiences, instead of His mercies. They tell more of human attainments, instead of Christ’s Atonement—a sad index of our low state of spirituality in the churches; while the jingling tunes to which they are set, and the irreverent speed at which they are sung, witness only too plainly unto the low state of present-day religion. Christian singing has been carnalized both in its conception and its execution.

C. H. SPURGEON: The world is very pleased with singing of a certain sort. Tuneful airs are tacked on to trashy words. What foolishness we hear in the popular songs of the day! I have been quite unable to understand the sense when the sound has jingled in my ears.

J. C. RYLE (1816-1900): Really good hymn writers are exceedingly rare.

ROBERT HAWKER (1753-1827): I think it important to remark on what the Apostle says, concerning psalms, and hymns, and spiritual Songs, that he evidently means, all such, as are in the Word of God. It is not to be supposed, that the Holy Ghost prohibits the use of all others. But it is to be supposed, that the Spirit draws a strong line of distinction between the psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs of the inspired writings of Holy Scripture; and the uninspired songs, or hymns, of the most godly men whatever. We may speak to ourselves, and to one another in words, which tend to godly edification. But when we speak to the Lord, we cannot be too careful to use the Lord’s own words. By the Psalms, are meant those which go under the general name of David’s Psalms, though some of them were written by other persons. By Hymns, are meant such as are also scriptural. Jesus sung an hymn, it is said, before He went to the garden. And we have many spiritual songs in the word of God. The Song of Moses, Deborah, Hannah, etc. are of this kind.

MATTHEW HENRY (1662-1714): By “hymns” may be meant such others as were confined to matter of praise, as those of Zacharias, Simeon, etc. “Spiritual songs” may contain a greater variety of matter—doctrinal, prophetical, historical, etc. Observe here, the singing of psalms and hymns is a gospel ordinance: it is an ordinance of God, and appointed for His glory.

J. C. RYLE: Good hymns are an immense blessing to the Church of Christ. They suit all, both rich and poor. There is an elevating, stirring, soothing, spiritualizing effect about a thoroughly good hymn, which nothing else can produce. It sticks in men’s memories.

C. H. SPURGEON: To my mind, there is no teaching that is likely to be more useful than that which is accompanied by the right kind of singing! When I am preaching, I often find a verse of a hymn the very best thing I can quote, and I have not the shadow of a doubt that, frequently, a verse of sacred poetry has struck a man who has been altogether missed by the rest of the sermon. Think how compactly the truth of God can be taught by means of “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,” and how likely it is to be remembered when the very measure, and rhyme, and rhythm help the memory to treasure up the message! I shall never forget what repentance is while I can say—“Repentance is to leave,

The sins I loved before,

And show that I in earnest grieve,

By doing so no more.”

C. H. MACKINTOSH (1820-1896): Are not “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” divinely recognized? And, if so, for what are they designed? Is it not as a vehicle for the worship of Christians?

C. H. SPURGEON: Do you think, dear Friends, we sing enough? I do not think we do.

JOHN TRAPP (1601-1699): In our deepest miseries let us sing cheerfully, as Paul and Silas in the dungeon―as did many martyrs in the flames, and as Luther did in a great conflict with the devil.

 

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Worship Music

Posted on December 1, 2023 by The Editor

Psalm 104:1; Psalm 103:1-5

Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty.

Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; Who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; Who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

A. W. PINK (1886-1952): What is worship? Praise? Yea, more; it is adoration flowing forth from a heart which is fully assured of the excellency of Him before whom it bows, expressing its profoundest gratitude for His unspeakable Gift.

WILLIAM KELLY (1821-1906): What is worship but thanksgiving and praise? Thanksgiving for what God has done in Christ and gives freely to us who believe; praise for what we know by His Word and Spirit He is, not only to us, but in Himself—His majesty, holiness, truth, goodness, mercy, love, and delight in us, the eternal self-existing One, now revealed as Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892): Some say God is best praised in silence—others that He is best honored with flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and I know not what kinds of music!

C. H. MACKINTOSH (1820-1896): The subject to which you call attention to is deeply important—the great use that Satan is making of music in this day. It is indeed quite common to hear the statement, “It was music that led her into the world.” And this of the young, who once professed to belong to Christ.

THE EDITOR: This has proven true for many young people during the last century, especially during the 1960’s. Many famous singers of that era’s so-called “soul” music came out of black Gospel churches—Aretha Franklin, Sam Cooke, and Marvin Gaye were singers whose fathers were Christian pastors; Otis Redding was the son of a deacon; and the musical talents and tastes of many others, both then and now, have lured them openly into the world, or into a worldly religiosity where they pursue worldly ambitions inside a church.

H. A. IRONSIDE (1876-1951): There was a young lady with great musical ability preparing to go on the concert stage when the Lord saved her. She said, “You know I have made an amazing discovery. My love for music is coming between my soul and Christ.” That young woman, for eight years, would not touch a musical instrument for fear she would become so absorbed that she would not enjoy the things of God. But the time came when she said, “Although I can’t enjoy music for its own sake, I can use it as a vehicle to bless the souls of people.” She gave her talent to Christ, and He used it in attracting people to hear the gospel.

THE EDITOR: Music and singing used to attract sinners to hear the Gospel preaching of the Word that they might be saved, is a different thing than singing in worship to God during a church service. Songs of worship should be directed primarily to God, not to man’s attention.

STEPHEN CHARNOCK (1628-1680): This is God’s music—“Singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,” Ephesians 5:19. Singing and all other acts of worship are outward, but the spiritual melody is “by grace in the heart,” Colossians 3:16—this renders it a spiritual worship; for it is an effect of the fullness of the spirit in the soul, as “filled with the Spirit,” Ephesians 5:18. The overflowing of the Spirit in the heart, setting the soul of a believer thus to make a spiritual melody to God, shows that something higher is put in tune in the heart.

H. A. IRONSIDE: We cannot all make melody on an instrument, but every believer’s heart is like a harp. As the Spirit of God breathes over the heartstrings, real melody goes up to the ear of God.

C. H. MACKINTOSH: What then, is the Christian’s path as to music?

MARTYN LLOYD-JONES (1899-1981): Music in its various forms raises the problem of an element of entertainment insinuating itself…I have even taken part myself in a religious conference, where at the commencement of every service, there was forty minutes of Xylophone solos, organ solos, people singing.

C. H. SPURGEON: It is overwhelming to my spirit to see the growing worldliness of the church.

THE EDITOR: The concept of a “worship team” reflects that worldly spirit. Its phraseology sounds like a football special team taking the field for the opening kick-off; and isn’t that a “worship” team’s function in a church? The eyes focus on those on stage, not God. It often resembles a rock and roll concert with a band of drums, electric guitars, keyboards, and singers—all of them making as much amplified noise as possible.

C. H. MACKINTOSH: And is not true spiritual worship lost, whether in the strains of the organ, or the noise of the drum and horn?

THE EDITOR: The sole appropriate function of musical instrumentality is keep a congregation in tune. It is always wrong when the music overwhelms the voices of the congregation, or becomes the focus of attention. Does the singer’s musical expression, instead of the words of the lyrics, draw one’s attention towards God, or towards the singer? Is it really worshipping God, or is it more often only a form of self-expression and religious entertainment?

H. A. IRONSIDE: One reason the spirituality of the church is at a low ebb today is because people are so careless about the music that occupies their minds. They are so ready to drop from the high and holy state that should characterize those that are filled with the Spirit of God.

C. H. SPURGEON: Is it so difficult, then, to know what kind of worship God will accept? Here is a test for you to tell whether a thing is true or not: Does it glorify God?

THE EDITOR: That test also applies to the musical genres used in worship. Some are totally inappropriate. “Rock and roll,” by its nature and cadence, excites a spirit of fleshy sensuality and sentimental emotion, sometimes as if one was singing to a boyfriend—it demonstrates no filial fear of God in true reverence and praise. So also, the salient spirit of “rap” music is gangster criminality, angry rebellion, and nihilistic anarchy, as opposed to a spirit of worship in thanksgiving and praise. The spirit of modern worldly ‘worship’ savours of primitive fleshy paganism, with a “worship team” pounding drums, and people wailing repetitive choruses, while they sway to an incessant backbeat around a flaming bonfire of emotional fervour.

A. W. PINK: The music which they produce is earthly not heavenly, human not Divine, fleshly not spiritual, temporal not eternal.

D. L. MOODY (1837-1899): The trouble is, we have let down the standard.

R. BEACON (circa 1886): There is no true worship apart from holiness, reverence and godly fear.

JOHN NEWTON (1725-1807): Do the professed lovers of sacred music, in this enlightened age, generally live as if they really believed that “the Lord God omnipotent reigneth?” Rather, do not most of them live as they might do, if they were sure of the contrary?

A. W. PINK: The more spiritual our worship, the less attractive to the flesh will it be. How far astray we have gone! Modern “worship” is chiefly designed to render it pleasing to the flesh: a ‘bright and attractive service,’ with beautiful surroundings, sensuous music, and entertaining talks. O that we all would heed that pointed word in Psalm 89:7, “God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about Him”—how different things would be.

 

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The Gospel of Jesus Christ in Three Prophetic Signs – Part 3

Posted on November 24, 2023 by The Editor

Exodus 4:8,9; Exodus 4:29-31

And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign. And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land.

And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel: And Aaron spake all the words which the LORD had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people. And the people believed: and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped.

MATTHEW POOLE (1624-1679): God’s works have a voice to speak to us, which we must diligently observe.

C. H. MACKINTOSH (1820-1896): Moses had said, “the people will not believe me.” But the question was not, as to whether they would believe him, but whether they would believe God.

A. W. PINK (1886-1952): The “elders” are always to be viewed as the representatives of the people—unto them Aaron recited all that Jehovah had said unto Moses, and Moses performed the two signs. The result was precisely as God had fore-announced in Exodus 3:18; the Lord had declared they would, and so it came to pass. They believed Moses was sent of God, and that he would be their deliverer. Believing this, they bowed their heads and worshipped, adoring the goodness of God, and expressing their thankfulness for His notice of them in their distress.

THE EDITOR: But wait. It appears to me that Aaron not only acted as Moses’ spokesman to the elders according God’s appointment, Exodus 4:14-16—but that it was also Aaron who did those first two signs before them.

JOHN GILL (1697-1771): Not Aaron, but Moses “did the signs.”

THE EDITOR: I disagree. The direct sense of verse 30 is quite plain: “And Aaron spake all the words which the LORD had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people.”

MATTHEW POOLE: Aaron did the signs as Moses’ minister, or by the command and direction of Moses.

THE EDITOR: Yes. And under Moses’ direction, it was also Aaron who performed this sign unto Pharaoh: “The LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,  When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Shew a miracle for you: then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent,” Exodus 7:8,9.

And when Pharaoh didn’t believe that first sign, God hardened Pharaoh’s heart in righteous judgment, verse 13. God’s voice in the sign accomplished the purpose for which He had sent it, in accordance with how people believe or reject the Gospel of Jesus Christ: “to the one it is the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life,” 2 Corinthians 2:16.

Notice that Pharaoh never saw the second sign, concerning the leprosy; surely that’s instructive—when a man rejects Christ’s death and resurrection, he cannot see his own natural heart as it really is, nor does he have a new heart born in the Spirit. Judgment now took hold on Pharaoh; at God’s command, Moses directed Aaron “to stretch out the rod of God over the waters, and turn them to blood,” Exodus 7:15-21.

C. H. MACKINTOSH: This was a solemn and most expressive figure of the consequence of refusing to bow to the divine testimony.

THOMAS COKE (1747-1814): There is great beauty in the expression, “the voice of the sign”—Words and signs had been hitherto unavailing with Pharaoh: Moses therefore is now commanded to stretch the awful rod of punishment over him; and to threaten him with such severe plagues, as should cause him to acknowledge Jehovah—of Whom Pharaoh had said so tauntingly, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice?” Exodus 5:2.

MATTHEW HENRY (1662-1714): The Egyptians had stained the river with the blood of the Hebrew’s children, and now God made that river all bloody. Thus He “gave them blood to drink, for they were worthy,” Revelation 16:6…The very sight of such vast rolling streams of blood—pure blood no doubt, florid and high-coloured—could not but strike a horror upon people.

THE EDITOR: The Lord had said unto Moses, “See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet,” Exodus 7:1. Now, note the exact wording of what was to be said to Pharaoh: “Thus saith the LORD, In this thou shalt know that I am the LORD: behold, I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand upon the waters which are in the river and they shall be turned to blood,” Exodus 7:17. Here God takes ownership of the “rod of God;” yet this judgment is to be displayed by Aaron’s prophetic hand, the same man God that later appointed as the high priest to enter the holy place on the Day of Atonement, Exodus 30:10; Leviticus 16. So also, on the final Day of Judgment, Jesus will judge those who reject His atonement for sin. Listen to Christ’s warning, that the Father “hath committed all judgment unto the Son,” John 5:22. And God “hath commandeth all men everywhere to repent, because He hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead,” Acts 17:30,31.

A. W. PINK: The water turned into blood speaks of life giving place to death. It anticipates “the second death,” that eternal death—“the lake of fire,” which awaits every Christ rejecter.

THE EDITOR: In that day, the entire unbelieving world will realize that Jesus Christ is not only God’s appointed Priest and Prophet, but the King Who will stretch out the “rod of God” upon them in judgment—“He shall rule them with a rod of iron,” Revelation 19:15. “Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel,” Psalm 2:9.

H. A. IRONSIDE (1876-1951): In Revelation 16:4, we read, “the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.” Thus the very sources of life are destroyed, as in Egypt when the river itself became blood.

THOMAS COKE: It is to be remembered, that none of these plagues affected the Israelites.

C. H. MACKINTOSH: It was, first, to be a sign to Israel, and afterwards a plague upon Egypt.

A. W. PINK: It therefore tells of the consequences of refusing to believe what the other signs so plainly bore witness to. If man rejects the testimony of God’s Word that he is under the dominion of Satan and is depraved by nature, and refuses the One Who alone can deliver from the one, and cleanse from the other, nothing but Divine judgment awaits him.

JOHN TRAPP (1601-1699): God’s signs have a voice, and words. They speak not only to our eyes, but to our ears.

MATTHEW POOLE: “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear,” is an “epiphonema,” or a conclusion of a speech, by which Christ often shuts up grave and weighty discourses. “Hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it,” Micah 6:9.

A. W. PINK: Be warned, unsaved reader. Flee to Christ for refuge, ere the storm of Divine wrath overtakes thee.

C. H. MACKINTOSH: Still, the door is open; still, in boundless grace, the forgiveness of sins is preached to thee. But, oh, beware—in righteousness, and no longer mercy, God may then harden thy heart, as He in righteousness hardened the defiant Pharaoh. Is it nothing that thou perish forever in everlasting fire?

THE EDITOR: “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him,” Psalm 2:12.

 

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The Gospel of Jesus Christ in Three Prophetic Signs – Part 2

Posted on November 17, 2023 by The Editor

Exodus 4:6,7

And the LORD said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow. And he said, Put thine hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh.

MATTHEW HENRY (1662-1714): Moses’ hand itself is next made the subject of a miracle. This signified that Moses, by the power of God, should bring sore diseases upon Egypt, and that, at his prayer, they should be removed; that whereas the Israelites in Egypt had become leprous, polluted by sin—by being taken into the bosom of Moses they should be cleansed and cured; and that Moses was not to work miracles by his own power, nor for his own praise, but by the power of God and for His glory.

JOHN GILL (1697-1771): This was an astonishing miracle, that he should be at once smote with a leprosy; that this should be only in his hand, and not in any other part of his body; and that it should be cured immediately, without the use of any means. By this miracle Moses and the Israelites might be instructed and confirmed in the power of God, that He was able to deliver them out of captivity, which was as death.

MATTHEW HENRY: A leper is “as one dead,” Numbers 12:10-12.

ADAM CLARKE (1760-1832): Hence, when the king of Syria sent his general Naaman to the king of Israel to cure him of his leprosy, he rent his clothes, saying, “Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy?” 2 Kings 5:7. This appears to be the reason why God chose this sign, as the instantaneous infliction and removal of this disease were demonstrations which all would allow of the sovereign power of God. We need, therefore, seek for no other reasons for this miracle: the sole reason is sufficiently obvious.

ROBERT HAWKER (1753-1827): I confess the subject appears to have a much higher and more spiritual meaning.

THE EDITOR: Those explanations fail to address the most obvious salient detail of this miracle—the one thing most necessary to rightly understand its full spiritual significance.

ADAM CLARKE: And what is that?

C. H. MACKINTOSH (1820-1896): Leprosy is the well-known type of sin…In both instances of this particular miracle, the Lord tells Moses to put his hand “in his bosom,”—and then take it out again.

THE EDITOR: That’s the key to understanding its spiritual significance. Moses’ first sign was about what Christ has done for us. The second sign is about our spiritual condition, and what we must do—and what God will do.

A. W. PINK (1886-1952): The principal effect this sign was calculated to have on Moses himself was a humbling one. Lest he become puffed up by the power of the rod, he is forcibly reminded of that sink of iniquity, the corrupt heart within him.

THE EDITOR: God showed Moses the true spiritual condition of his own human heart by nature. Moses hand was leprous, because his heart was leprous. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:9. God knows our hearts, “for the LORD seeth not as man seeth—the LORD looketh on the heart,” 1 Samuel 16:7. Most men will admit they are sinners in some general way, but they will never be convinced that they are nothing but sin, until God shows them what their true spiritual condition is in His eyes.

JOHN WESLEY (1703-1791): It is true, the natural man discerns it not…So long as men remain in their natural blindness of understanding, they are not sensible of their spiritual wants, and of this in particular. But as soon as God opens the eyes of their understanding, they see the state they were in before; they are then deeply convinced, that “every man living”―themselves especially, are by nature “altogether vanity”―that is, folly and ignorance, sin and wickedness.

JOHN TRAPP (1601-1699): Let us but lay our hands upon our hearts, thrust them into our bosoms to look there, and we shall be sure to take them out leprous.

THE EDITOR: Secondly, “who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one,” Job 14:4. As leprosy is incurable, so is sin. It’s impossible for a man to cleanse his own heart of its wickedness, by the works of his own hands, because anything his leprous hand touches becomes unclean, Leviticus 22:3-6.

C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892): The Gospel regards the unconverted man as “dead in trespasses and sins.” It tells him that, first of all, he must be quickened by a new life—he must be born-again, or else he is not capable of those actions which would be acceptable with God.

ROBERT HAWKER: Our best things, which from sinners by nature “dead in trespasses and sin,” can be no otherwise than dead.

C. H. SPURGEON: Such is human nature. It can by no means help towards its own restoration—Man, think not to save yourself by your works.

A. W. PINK: Cleansing must begin with the heart—here signified by the leprous hand being thrust into the bosom before the loathsome disease was removed.

THE EDITOR: Precisely. When Moses removed his hand from bosom the second time, his hand was healed because his heart was healed. God had spiritually circumcised his heart, Romans 2:28,29. But consider this: if Moses hadn’t obeyed God’s command to put his hand in his bosom again, both his heart and hand would have remained leprous! Later, Moses admonished the Jews “to circumcise the foreskin of your hearts, and be no more stiff-necked,” Deuteronomy 10:16. But how can dead sinners circumcise their own hearts? So asked the Philippian jailor, “What must I do to be saved?” Paul answered, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved,” Acts 16:30,31. Now God “has commanded all men everywhere to repent,” Acts 17:30; therefore, turn away from stiff-necked unbelief, and do what Christ has commanded—“Repent, and believe the Gospel,” Mark 1:15. By your own power? No. “The gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth,” Romans 1:16.

JOHN GILL: The Gospel, and the truths of it, which are the wholesome words of our Lord Jesus Christ, are the means of conveying the Spirit of God as a spirit of illumination and sanctification into the hearts of men, and of quickening sinners dead in trespasses and sins.

THE EDITOR: Jesus said, “It is the Spirit that quickeneth—the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life,” John 6:63. The power of God’s Spirit is in the effectual voice of His Word. In Deuteronomy 30:6, Moses gave God’s promise of what He would do for all who obey that voice—“the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart…to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.” Think also of this promise of God: “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them,” Ezekiel 36:26,27. “Wherefore, as the Holy Ghost saith, Today if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts,” Hebrews 3:7,8.

 

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The Gospel of Jesus Christ in Three Prophetic Signs – Part 1

Posted on November 10, 2023 by The Editor

Exodus 4:1-9

And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee.

And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it. And the LORD said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand: That they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee.

And the LORD said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow. And he said, Put thine hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh.

And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign. And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land.

MATTHEW HENRY (1662-1714): This passage continues God’s discourse with Moses at the burning bush concerning bringing Israel out of Egypt. Moses objects to the people’s unbelief, and God answers that objection by giving him a power to work miracles—to turn his rod into a serpent, and then into a rod again—to make his hand leprous, and then whole again—and to turn the water into blood.

C. H. MACKINTOSH (1820-1896): Man’s unbelief and God’s boundless grace are here made manifest in a striking way. We might suppose that Moses had seen and heard enough to set his fears entirely aside. The consuming fire in the unconsumed bush, the condescending grace, the precious comprehensive titles, the divine commission, the assurance of the divine presence—all these things might have quelled every anxious thought, and imparted a settled assurance to the heart. Still, however, Moses raises questions, and still God answers them, and each successive question brings out fresh grace.

A. W. PINK (1886-1952): There is a deep meaning to these three signs. They were designed to teach important lessons to Moses, to Israel, and to us—that these three signs are the first recorded in Scripture denotes that they are of prime importance and worthy of our most careful study. The first of these signs was the turning of the rod into a serpent, and then back again into a rod.

C. H. MACKINTOSH: This is a deeply significant sign. The rod became a serpent, so that Moses fled from it; but, being commissioned by Jehovah, he took the serpent by the tail, and it became a rod.

ADAM CLARKE (1760-1832): What are we to make of this?

THOMAS COKE (1747-1814): “The Lord said unto him, What is that in thine hand?” This is a proof that questions are frequently asked in the Scripture, not merely for the purpose of information—the Lord could not be ignorant of what Moses had in his hand. This remark may be useful for rightly understanding many texts of Scripture.

THE EDITOR: God is drawing attention to this rod’s significance. What should we understand by it?

ADAM CLARKE: As it was made the instrument of working many miracles, it was afterwards called “the rod of God,” Exodus 4:20.

C. H. MACKINTOSH: The whole land of Egypt was made to tremble beneath the successive strokes of “the rod of God,”—and in Exodus 17:5,6, we have a type of Christ smitten for us, by the hand of God in judgment: “The Lord said onto Moses, go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand and go. Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink.” Note: “Thy rod wherewith thou smotest the river,” Why should this particular stroke of the rod be referred to? Exodus 7:20 furnishes the reply: Moses “lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood.” It was the same rod which turned the water into blood that was to smite “that Rock which was Christ,” that streams of life might flow for us, 1 Corinthians 10:4.

THE EDITOR: God’s judgment, and His grace, is definitely connected to this rod. And the Bible also depicts a “rod” as a figure of Christ Himself: in Numbers 17:1-10, God caused a “rod” with Aaron’s name written upon it, to become a living branch with leaves, buds, and fruit, which demonstrated God’s choice of Aaron as Israel’s priest; it was an allegory of Christ’s resurrection, which demonstrated Jesus as God’s chosen Priest. “Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH…and he shall build the temple of the LORD, ” Zechariah 6:12.

A. W. PINK: In Psalm 110:2, the Lord Jesus is also called the “Rod of God:” “The Lord shall send the Rod of Thy strength out of Zion: rule Thou in the midst of Thine enemies.” The reference is to the second advent of Christ when His governmental authority and power shall be fully displayed. But when He was on earth the first time, it was in weakness and humiliation, and to this Moses casting down the “rod” on the ground points. But it will be objected, surely there is no possible sense in which the Rod became a “serpent!”

THE EDITOR: Isn’t a serpent a figure of the devil, who was cursed in the Garden of Eden, Genesis 3:1,14? And again, in Revelation 20:2. Is there any other Old Testament usage of a serpent as a figure of Christ?

A. W. PINK: Yes, there is, and none other than the Lord Jesus is our authority for such a statement. The “serpent” is inseparably connected with the curse, and on the cross, Christ was “made a curse” for His people, Galatians 3:10-13. Said He to Nicodemus, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,” John 3:14.

THE EDITOR: The Israelites were dying, bitten by fiery serpents that God had sent among them because of their sin. Moses raised up a brass serpent on a pole, saying that if they looked at the serpent, they would live, Numbers 20:6-8. What they saw, was their sin being judged! In a figure, they saw Christ on the cross, bearing the sin of His people upon His own body—so God has laid all our iniquity on Jesus, “for he hath made Him to be sin for us, Who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him,” 2 Corinthians 5:21. Those who believed Moses, looked at the serpent and lived; but those who didn’t believe, didn’t look—and thus they died in their sin.

C. H. MACKINTOSH: Now, we may rest assured these facts are full of spiritual meaning.

THE EDITOR: When Moses cast his rod to the ground, it became a serpent—see Christ in a similar figure, “being made sin for us,” cast down into the grave in His death for us. Moses fled from the serpent, just as God hid His face while His wrath against sin was poured out upon Jesus, Who cried out in agony, “My God, My God, why has Thou forsaken me?” Then Moses returned, picked up the serpent, and it became a rod again; just as God raised Jesus from the dead. This sign was a figure demonstrating Christ’s death and resurrection, by which God declared Jesus to be the Son of God, Romans 1:4. Later, when Aaron cast down this same rod before Pharaoh, it became a serpent again; and when Pharaoh’s magicians did the same thing, Aaron’s serpent swallowed up all their serpents, Exodus 7:10-12.

MATTHEW POOLE (1624-1679): What did that signify?

THE EDITOR: That there is no other atonement for sin. “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved,” Acts 4:12; As Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no man cometh unto the Father, but by me,” John 14:6.

 

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The Counterfeit Gift of Tongues

Posted on November 3, 2023 by The Editor

Acts 2:4,7,8; Acts 2:11; 1 Corinthians 14:13-15,28

They were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance…And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?

We do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.

Let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret. For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful. What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also…But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.

H. A. IRONSIDE (1876-1951): Some time ago, when I officiated at a funeral, I was told that the dear lady who had passed away had a number of friends given to the use of a gift they called “speaking in tongues,” though it certainly was not that which the Bible refers to as the gift of tongues. They had a habit of going into a semi-trance condition and uttering strange sounds.

C. H. MACKINTOSH (1820-1896): On the Day of Pentecost, the disciples “began to speak with other tongues,” Acts 2:4―not in the absurd and unintelligible jargon of cunning impostors or deluded fanatics.

H. A. IRONSIDE: The gift of “divers kinds of tongues” was the ability bestowed on some to preach the gospel in languages they had never learned—a person with this gift was able to stand up and preach in the power of the Spirit in a foreign tongue, Acts 2:7-11. God gave those gifts in the beginning, but I have not heard evidence of their being in the world today.

JOHN OWEN (1616-1683): That dispensation of the Spirit has long since ceased, and where it is pretended unto by any, it may justly be suspected as enthusiastic delusion.

THE EDITOR: The spiritual gift of tongues is not babbling incomprehensible gibberish, but a miraculous ability to speak an actual foreign language. Some claim their gibberish is an ancient dead language, or an “unknown” tongue of “angels,” citing individual words from 1 Corinthians 13:1 and Chapter 14. But “angels” can also be translated properly as “messengers;” and the word “unknown” is not in the original Greek. I believe that the true spiritual gift of tongues has not been seen in the church since the Canon of Scripture was completed; everything that God has to say to men is now in His written Word.

A. W. PINK (1886-1952): Edward Irving, founder of the “Catholic Apostolic Church” in 1831, propounded the theory that the supernatural gifts which existed in the early Church had been lost through the unbelief and carnality of its members, and that if there was a return to primitive order and purity, they would again be available. Accordingly, he appointed “apostles,” and “prophets” and “evangelists.” They claimed to speak in tongues, prophesy, interpret, and work miracles. There is little doubt in our mind that this movement was inspired by Satan, and probably a certain amount of abnormal phenomena attended it, though much of it was explainable as issuing from a state of high nervous tension and hysteria. Irving’s theory, with some modifications, and some additions, has been popularized and promulgated by the more recent so-called “Pentecostal movement,” where a species of unintelligible jabbering and auto-suggestion is styled “speaking in tongues.”

A. W. TOZER (1897-1963): The Pentecostal tongues movement has magnified one single gift above all others and that one gift, as Paul said, was the least. Now, that does not cause me to have great confidence in the movement that would do that. Then there is an unscriptural exhibition of that gift, which, incidentally, began in the United States about 1904.

PHILIP MAURO (1859-1952): Regarding the strange modern idea that speaking in tongues is the “Bible-sign” of having received the Holy Spirit, we would point out that faith does not seek after a sign, but rests upon the simple Word of God…Appeal is frequently made to the words of Mark 16:17,18, as if they contained the promise that all that believe should be endowed with the gift of tongues. They declare that certain signs, of which speaking with new tongues was one, should follow them that believe. But the Lord no more promised that all believers should speak with tongues than He promised that all should cast out devils, take up serpents, and drink poison without hurt.

MARTYN LLOYD-JONES (1899-1981): The gift of tongues is not meant for all. The Apostle asks, “Do all speak with tongues?” And the answer is, “No, all do not speak in tongues, all do not have the gifts of healing, all do not interpret,” and so on, 1 Corinthians 12:30.

PHILIP MAURO: Indeed the questions are asked for the very purpose of enforcing the argument that, as in the human body there are many members, each with its own special function, to be exercised for the benefit of all, so in the church—there are different gifts assigned to the several members, 1 Corinthians Chapter 12.

THE EDITOR: The “gift of tongues” was only intended to be used publicly in the church to the edification of all, and only when an interpreter was present; otherwise, there was no edification, 1 Corinthians 14.

MARTYN LLOYD-JONES: Paul is at great pains to say that everything must be done “decently and in order,” for God is not the author of confusion, 1 Corinthians 14:27-33,40. So if you meet people who say they speak in tongues, or if you have been at a meeting where this is claimed, and if there was disorder and confusion, then you are entitled to say, in terms of the scriptural teaching, that whatever else it may have been, it was not the gift of tongues as described in the church at Corinth.

THE EDITOR: Furthermore, when anyone is alone, and praying to God, there is not a shred of Biblical precedent to support praying in any “tongue” but their own language. How could speaking in a strange “tongue” which they do not understand, possibly make their prayer more “spiritual,” or more acceptable to God?

C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892): We need not judge those who pray unintelligible prayers in a “foreign” tongue which they do not understand. We know that the prayer which is not understood cannot be a prayer in the Spirit, for even the man’s own spirit does not enter into it—how then can the Spirit of God be there?

JOHN CALVIN (1509-1564): There seems something monstrous in this determination to hold converse with God in sounds which fall without meaning from the tongue. Even if God did not declare His displeasure, nature herself, without a monitor, rejects it. Besides, it is easy to infer from the whole tenor of Scripture how deeply God abominates such an invention. As to the public prayers of the church, the words of Paul are clear―the unlearned cannot say Amen if the benediction is pronounced in an “unknown” tongue, 1 Corinthians 14:16. And this makes it the more strange, that those who first introduced this perverse practice ultimately had the effrontery to maintain that the very thing which Paul regards as ineffably absurd was conducive to the majesty of prayer.

THE EDITOR: Truly, there is nothing new under the sun.

PHILIP MAURO: We believe the modern error regarding tongues, as made prominent by those who call themselves “Pentecostals,” is one of the most dangerous of these last days. Many true, earnest, and zealous children of God have been deluded by it. The appeal it makes is very attractive to saints who groan and sigh for something different from the dead formalities of religious Christendom. Its phenomena—ecstasies, transports, prostrations, yielding to “the power,” displaced personality—are the very same that we have seen with hypnotism, spiritism, and other psychic and occult phenomena. We know by personal observation some of the terrible havoc—moral and spiritual—it has wrought. Most earnestly, therefore, do we warn the beloved people of God against it.

 

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Lengthy Public Prayers

Posted on October 27, 2023 by The Editor

Ecclesiastes 5:2

Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.

A. W. PINK (1886-1952): What a contrast is this from the long drawn out and wearisome prayers in many pulpits today! Such a verse as this appears to have no weight with the majority of ministers…If any of our readers be distressed because of this, we would ask them to make a study of the prayers recorded in Holy Writ—in Old and New Testaments alike—and they will find that almost all of them are exceedingly short ones.

ROBERT C. CHAPMAN (1803-1902): The prayers recorded in Scripture say much in few words.

C. H. MACKINTOSH (1820-1896): As to the prayer which our Lord taught His disciples, it can be uttered in less than a minute. Indeed, we may say, without exaggeration, that if all the prayers recorded in the New Testament were read consecutively, they would not occupy nearly so much time as we have frequently known to be occupied by a single prayer in some of our so-called prayer meetings.

D. L. MOODY (1837-1899): The prayer our Lord taught His disciples is commonly called the Lord’s Prayer. I think that the Lord’s prayer, more properly, is that in the seventeenth of John. That is the longest prayer on record that Jesus made. You can read it slowly and carefully in about four or five minutes. I think we may learn a lesson here. Our Master’s prayers were short when offered in public; when He was alone with God that was a different thing, and He could spend the whole night in communion with His Father.

THOMAS MANTON (1620-1677): Prayer doth not consist in a multitude and clatter of words, but in the getting up of the heart to God, that we may behave ourselves as if we were alone with God, in the midst of glorious saints and angels…The Pharisees, that they might be counted great devotionaries, would make long prayers.

H. A. IRONSIDE (1876-1951): Jesus condemned them for making long prayers in public just in order that they might be seen of men.

JOHN GILL (1697-1771): Not that all lengthy prayers are to be condemned, or all repetitions in them; our Lord was all night in prayer Himself; and Nehemiah, Daniel, and others, have used repetitions in prayer, which may be done with fresh affection, zeal, and fervency; but such are forbidden as are done for the sake of being heard for much speaking, as the heathens, who thought they were not understood unless they said a thing a hundred times over; or when done to gain a character of being more holy and religious than others.

MATTHEW POOLE (1624-1679): Long prayers are not to be condemned, but the affectation of them is.

THOMAS MANTON: What is the reason men have such a barren, dry, and sapless spirit in their prayers?

D. L. MOODY: Long prayers are too often not prayers at all, and they weary the people.

C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892): Some people seem to think that in prayer they must go through the Westminster Assembly’s Confession of Faith, or some similar compendium of Doctrine—but that is not real praying.

C. H. MACKINTOSH: What can be more painful than to hear a man in prayer explaining and unfolding doctrines? The question forces itself upon us: “Is the man speaking to God, or to us?” If to God, then surely nothing can be more irreverent or profane than to attempt to explain things to Him; but if to us, then it is not prayer at all…How often are our prayers more like orations than petitions—it seems, at times, as though we meant to explain principles to God, and give Him a large amount of information.

WILLIAM S. PLUMER (1802-1880): Some seem to feel the impropriety of such speech, and to save themselves they say, “Thou knowest.”—Nor should prayers be tedious.

C. H. SPURGEON: I have heard a Brother pray a wearisome while; and I believe he was long because he had nothing to say. A horse can run many miles if he has nothing to carry. Long prayers often mean wind and emptiness.

C. H. MACKINTOSH: Some seem to think it necessary to make one long prayer about all sorts of things—many of them very right and very good, no doubt—but the mind gets bewildered by the multiplicity of subjects.

A. W. PINK: How many prayers have we heard that were so incoherent and aimless, so lacking in point and unity, that when the amen was reached we could scarcely remember one thing for which thanks had been given, or request had been made, only a blurred impression remaining on the mind?

JOHN NEWTON (1725-1807): This is frequently owing to an unnecessary enlargement upon every circumstance, as well as to the repetition of the same things. And here I would just notice an impropriety we sometimes meet with, when a person gives expectation that he is just going to conclude his prayer, and something occurring that instant to his mind, leads him to begin again. But, unless it is a matter of singular importance, it would be better omitted. The tone of the voice is likewise to be regarded. Some have a tone in prayer so very different from their usual way of speaking, that their nearest friends could hardly know them by their voice.

D. L. MOODY: My experience is that those who pray most in their closets generally make short prayers in public.

C. H. SPURGEON: God does not measure our pleadings by the yard. Prayer must be estimated by weight, not by length. It is necessary to draw near unto God, but it is not required to prolong your speech till everyone is longing to hear the word “Amen.”

C. H. MACKINTOSH: It will, perhaps, be said that we must not prescribe any time to the Holy Spirit. Far away be the monstrous thought! Are we presuming to dictate to the Holy Ghost?

JOHN NEWTON: Not that I think we should pray by the clock, and limit ourselves precisely to a certain number of minutes—but it is better of the two, that the hearers should wish the prayer had been longer, than spend a considerable part of the time wishing it was over. There are, doubtless, seasons when the Lord is pleased to favour those who pray with a peculiar liberty; they speak because they feel; they have a wrestling spirit, and hardly know how to leave off. When this is the case, they who join with them are seldom wearied, though the prayer should be protracted beyond the usual limits.

A. W. PINK (1886-1952): We would not overlook the fact that when the Spirit’s unction is enjoyed, the servant of Christ may be granted much liberty to pour out his heart at length—yet this is the exception rather than the rule, as God’s Word clearly proves.

C. H. MACKINTOSH: During very many years of close observation, we have invariably noticed that the prayers of our most spiritual, devoted, intelligent, and experienced brethren have been characterized by brevity, definiteness, and simplicity. It is according to scripture, and it tends to edification, comfort, and blessing. Brief, fervent, pointed prayers impart great freshness and interest―but long and desultory prayers exert a most depressing influence upon all. Long prayers are terribly wearisome; indeed, in many cases, they are a positive infliction.

 

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