A Psalm For The New Year

A Psalm For The New Year
A SERMON DELIVERED ON SUNDAY MORNING, JANUARY 5, 1862, BY REV. C. H.
SPURGEON, AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.
"But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever. Amen." 2 Peter 3:18.
BEHOLD, Beloved, our perpetual dangers. Where can we go to escape from
peril? Where shall we fly to avoid temptation? If we venture into
business, worldliness is there. If we retire to our homes, trials are
there. One would have imagined that in the green pastures of the Word
of God there would have been perfect security for God's sheep. Surely
no lion shall be there and no ravenous beast shall go up from there!
Alas, it is not so. For even while we are reading the Bible we are
still exposed to peril. Not that the Truth of God is dangerous, but
that our corrupt hearts can find poison in the very flowers of
Paradise.
Mark what our Apostle says of the writings of St. Paul, "Wherein are
some things which are hard to be understood." And mark the danger to
which we are exposed, lest we, being unlearned and unstable, should
wrest even the Word of God itself to our own destruction. With the
Bible before our eyes, we may still commit sin–pondering over the
hallowed Words of Inspiration we may receive a deadly wound from "the
error of the wicked." Even at the horns of the altar we need that God
should still cover us with the shadow of His wings. It is a very
pleasing reflection that our gracious Father has provided a shield by
which we may be sheltered from every ill and in our text the evil of
heterodoxy finds a suitable preventative.
We are in danger, lest misinterpreting Scripture we should make God say
what He does not–and lest by departing from the teaching of the Holy
Spirit we should wrest the letter of the Word and lose its spirit–and
lest from the letter draw a meaning which may be for our soul's ruin.
How shall we escape this? Peter, speaking by the Holy Spirit, has in
the words before us, pointed out our safeguard. While we search the
Scriptures and grow in acquaintance with them, see to it that we grow
in Divine Grace. And while we desire to know the doctrine, long above
all to grow in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ–and
let our study of Scripture and our growth in Divine Grace and in the
knowledge of Christ still be subservient to that higher object–that we
may live to bring glory both now and forever to Him who has loved us
and bought us with His blood.
Let your hearts say evermore, "Amen" to the doxology of praise, so
shall you be kept from all pestilent errors and you shall not fall from
your own steadfastness. It appears, then, that our text is adapted to
be a heavenly remedy for certain diseases to which even students of
Scripture are exposed. I am persuaded it may serve also as a most
blessed directory to us through the whole of the coming year.
I might divide my text, this morning, as good old Adams does. He says
there are here two trumpets. One is blown from Heaven to earth–"Grow
in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." The
other sounds from earth to Heaven–"To Him be glory both now and
forever." Or I might quote him again. He says here is first a point of
theology, "Grow in grace." Secondly, a point of doxology, "To Him be
glory both now and forever."
We will take the text in the same natural divisions with other headings
and notice, first, that we have here a Divine injunction, with a
special direction. And secondly, a grateful doxology, with a suggestive
conclusion.
I. To begin, then, at the beginning, we have here first of all, A
DIVINE INJUNCTION WITH A SPECIAL DIREC-TION–"Grow in grace and in the
knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."
"Grow in grace." What is this? It must be, in the outset, implied that
we have been quickened by Divine Grace, otherwise this text cannot
apply to us at all. Dead things cannot grow. Only those who are alive
unto God by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead have in them
any power or capability of growth. The great Quickener must first
implant the seeds of life, then afterwards those seeds can germinate
and grow. To you, therefore, who are dead in trespasses and sins, this
text has no application. You cannot grow in Divine Grace, because as
yet you are under the curse of the Law and the wrath of God abides on
you. Tremble, repent, believe–and may God have mercy on you!
But being alive from the dead and quickened by the Spirit of God which
is in you, Beloved Brethren, you who are born again are bid to grow,
for growth shall prove your life. A post planted in the earth grows
not–but a tree, rooted there, increases from a sapling to a forest
king. Drop a pebble into the richest soil and it will be a pebble still
of the same size, but put in there the grain or the seed, and it will
spring up and produce its stalk and its flower. You who are alive unto
God, see to it that you grow in all the Divine Graces.
Grow in that root-grace, faith. Seek to believe the promises better
than you have done. Go from that trembling faith which says, "Lord, I
believe: help You my unbelief," upward to that which staggers not at
the promise, but which, like Abraham, believes that He who has promised
is able also to perform. Let your faith increase in extent, believing
more, the Truths of God–let it increase in firmness, getting a tighter
grip of every Truth. Let it increase in constancy, not being feeble or
wavering, nor always tossed about with every wind. Let your faith daily
increase in simplicity, resting more fully and more entirely and more
completely upon the finished work of your Lord Jesus Christ.
See to it that your love, also grows. If you have loved with a spark,
pray that the spark may become an all-consuming flame. If you have
brought little to Christ, pray that you may bring your all, and may
offer that all in such a fashion, that like Mary's broken alabaster
box, the King, Himself, may be satisfied with the perfume. Ask that
your love may become more extended–that you may have love unto all the
saints. And even more practical, that it may move your every thought,
your every word and deed–make them more intense–that you may become
as burning and shining lights whose flame is love to God and man.
Pray that you may grow in hope, that "the eyes of your understanding
being enlightened, you may know what is the hope of His calling and
what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints." Pray
that you may be looking for that blessed hope, the glorious appearing
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That the hope not seen as yet may
enable you with patience to wait for it. Pray that you may, by hope,
enter into the joys of Heaven while you are on earth. Pray that hope
may give you immortality while you are yet mortal–may give you
resurrection before you die–may give you to see God, while as yet the
glass darkly parts you from Him.
Ask that you may grow in humility till you can say, "I am less than the
least of all the saints." That you may grow in consecration till you
can cry, "For me to live is Christ: to die is gain." Pray that you may
grow in contentment till you can feel, "In whatever state I am, I have
learned to be content." Pray to advance in likeness to the Lord Jesus,
that your very enemies may take knowledge of you, that you have been
with Jesus and have learned of Him. Finally, if there is any virtue, if
there is any praise, if there is anything that is lovely and of good
repute, if there is anything that can increase your usefulness, that
can add to your happiness, that can make you more serviceable to man
and more glorious towards God–pray to grow in it–for you have not yet
attained, neither are you yet already perfect.
Following up an illustration furnished by the Holy Scriptures, let me
remind you all, you faithful Believers in Christ, that you are compared
to trees–trees of the Lord's right hand planting. Seek to grow as the
tree grows. Pray that this year you may grow downward. That you may
know more of your own vileness, more of your own nothing-ness–and so
be rooted in humility. Pray that your roots may penetrate below the
mere topsoil of the Truth of God, into the great rocks which underlie
the uppermost stratum. Pray that you may get a good hold of the
doctrines of eternal love, of immutable faithfulness, of complete
satisfaction, of union to Christ, of the eternal purpose of God, which
He purposed in Christ Jesus before the world was.
These deep things of God will yield a rich and abundant sap and your
roots shall drink from the hidden fountains of "the depth which lies
under." This will be a growth which will not add to your fame, which
will not minister to your vanity–but it will be invaluable in the hour
of storm, a growth the value of which no heart can conceive when the
hurricane is tearing up the hypocrite and hurling into the sea of
destruction the "trees whose fruit withers, without fruit, twice dead,
plucked up by the roots."
As you root downward, seek to grow upward. Send out the top shoot of
your love towards Heaven. As the trees send out their spring shoots and
their midsummer shoots, and as you see upon the top of the fir that new
green child of spring–the fresh shoot which lifts its hand towards the
sun–so pant to have more love and greater desires after God.
Seek a nearer approach towards Him in prayer, a sweeter spirit of
adoption, a more intense and intimate fellowship with the Father and
with His son Jesus Christ. This mounting upwards will add to your
beauty and to your delight.
Then pray to grow on either side. Stretch out your branches. Let the
shadow of your holy influence extend as far as God has given you
opportunities. But see to it, also, that you grow in fruitfulness, for
to increase the bough without adding to the fruit is to diminish the
beauty of the tree. Labor this year, by God's Grace, to bring forth
more fruit unto Him than you have ever done. Lord, give to this
congregation more of the fruits of penitence for sin, of faith in the
great sacrifice, of love to Jesus, of zeal for the conversion of souls.
We would not be as the gleanings of the vintage when there is only here
and there a cluster upon the uppermost bough, we would be as the valley
of Eshcol, whose presses burst with new wine. This is to grow in Divine
Grace–to root downward, to shoot upward, to extend your influences
like far-reaching branches–and to bring forth fruit unto the Lord's
glory.
But we will borrow another figure from Scripture. Brothers and Sisters
in Jesus Christ, we are not only compared to trees but to children. Let
us grow as babes do, nourished by unadulterated milk–steadily,
slowly–but surely and certainly. Little each day but much in years. Oh
that we may grow as a child does in strength, till the little tottering
limbs of our faith shall be firm muscular legs with which the young man
may run without weariness, and feet upon which the strong man may walk
without fainting. As yet our wings are immature and we can hardly leave
the nest.
Lord, bid our growth proceed till we can mount as with the wings of
eagles towards Yourself, surmounting clouds and storms and dwelling in
the serene Presence of the Most High. Let us grow in the development of
all our powers. Let us ask that we may be no more little infants of a
span long but that many cubits may be added to our stature till we
ripen to perfect men in Christ Jesus. And let us specially pray that we
may grow as healthy children, uniformly.
Brothers and Sisters, it is an ill sign if a child's head enlarges but
not the rest of his body, or if its arm or foot should be swollen to an
ill proportion. Beauty consists in the proportion of every part. A
vigorous judgment should not be yoked with a cold heart, nor a clear
eye with a withered hand. A giant's head rides ill on a dwarf's
shoulders. A virtue nourished at the expense of others is a fattened
cannibal fed upon the flesh and blood of its murdered kinsmen. And it
ill becomes a Christian to harbor such a monster. Let us pray that
faith and love and every Divine Grace may be developed–that not one
power of the man may be left unnurtured or ungrown–for only thus can
we truly grow in Divine Grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ.
But do you inquire why we should thus grow in Divine Grace? Let us say,
Brethren, that if we do not advance in Divine Grace it is a sorrowful
sign. It is a mark of sickness. It is an unhealthy child that grows
not, a cankered tree that sends forth no fresh shoots. More–it may not
only be a sign of unhealthiness but of deformity. If a man's shoulders
have come to a certain breadth and his lower limbs refuse to lift him
aloft, we call him a dwarf, and we look upon him with some degree of
pity. He is ill-formed. O Lord, let us grow, for we would not be
abortions, we would not be deformities. We would be children like unto
God our Father–we would be comely ones, everyone of us like the sons
of a king.
Not to grow may be, moreover, the sign of death. It may say to us,
Inasmuch as you grow not, you live not. Inasmuch as you do not increase
in faith and love and Divine Grace–and inasmuch as you do not ripen
towards the harvest–fear and tremble lest you should only have a name
to live and be destitute of life. Fear, lest you should be the painted
counter-feit–a lovely picture drawn by the painter's skillful hand,
but without reality, without the life-power which should make it bud
and germinate and blossom and bring forth fruit.
Advance in Divine Grace, because not to progress foretells many evil
things and may result in that worst of all things–the want of
spiritual life. Grow in Grace, because, Beloved, to increase in Grace
is the only pathway to enduring nobility. Oh, do you not wish to stand
with that noble host who have served their Master well and have entered
into their eternal rest? Who among you does not wish to have his name
written with the missionaries of modern times–with Judson and with
Carey, with Williams and with Moffat? Who among us is there who has no
ambition to find his name written among those servants of
God–Whitfield, Grimshaw, Newton, Romaine, Toplady and others who
preached the Word with power?
Are there any of us who wish to go back to the vile dust from where we
sprung, "unwept, unhonored, and unsung?" Then let us be as we are. Let
us cease our march. Meanness lies at your door–be stunted and be
ignoble. But if we would be princes in God's Israel, if we would be
mighty warriors for the Cross of Christ, let us pray this prayer,
"Lord, bid us grow in Your Grace, that we may be faithful servants and
receive Your commendation at the last."
But, my Brothers and Sisters, to grow is not only to be noble, it is to
be happy. That man who stops growing, refuses to be blessed. With most
men in business, if they do not win, they lose. With the warrior, if he
gains not in the battle, his enemy is getting an advantage. That wise
man who gets no wiser, grows more foolish. That Christian who does not
know more of his Lord and become more like He, knows less of his Lord
and becomes less like He. Our armor, if unused, will tarnish, and our
arms, if not strengthened by effort, will be weakened by indolence. Our
happiness declines as our spirituality fades.
To be happy, I say, we must go forward. Forward is the sunlight!
Forward is victory! Forward is Heaven! Forward is Christ! But here, to
stand still is danger–no, it is death. O Lord, for our happiness' sake
bid us advance, and for our usefulness' sake let us ascend. Oh, if we
as a congregation and as a Church grew more in Grace–if we were
stronger in faith, mightier in prayer, more fervent in heart, more holy
in life–who can tell how much we might effect our age? Men who walk
but lightly, leave but faint steps. But men who tread with the tramp of
Roman soldiers stamp their footprints on the sands of time, never to be
erased. So let us live that in our day, and in after days the world may
be the better and Christ's Church the more prosperous for our having
lived. For this reason, if for no other, let us grow in Divine Grace.
Oh, could I fire you with some hallowed ambition today I would be but
too happy! Could I snatch from some ancient altar a live coal such as
that which fell upon the lip of Isaiah, I would say unto you, Lo, this
has touched your lip–go forth in the Spirit and power of God, even the
Most High–and live as they lived who counted not their lives dear unto
them that they might serve their Master and be found in Him. I point
you to the spirits who have entered within the veil and who rest upon
the couches of eternal glory, and I say, they won the victory by Divine
Grace–and growth in Divine Grace was the means of their triumph.
Emulate them! Press forward as they did and through Grace you shall
inherit their rest and their triumph and sit down with them forever.
But do you inquire how you shall grow in Divine Grace? The answer is
simple. He who gave you Grace must give you more of it. Where you first
received your Grace, there you must receive the increase of that Divine
Grace. He who made the cattle and who created man, was the same who
afterwards said, "Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth." So
He that has given you Grace must speak with the fiat of His omnipotence
in your heart and say to that Grace, "Be fruitful and multiply and
replenish the soul till its native emptiness shall be filled, and the
natural wilderness shall rejoice and blossom like a rose."
But at the same time we would have you use the means. And those means
are much prayer, a more diligent search of the sacred Scriptures, a
more constant fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ–greater activity
in His cause, an earnest attendance upon the means of Grace–a devout
reception of all revealed Truths of God, and so forth. If you do these
things you shall never be stunted or dwarfed, for He that has given you
life will thus enable you to fulfill the word which He spoke to you by
His Apostle, "Grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ."
I have thus explained the Divine exhortation. But you perceive it
contains a special injunction, upon which we must pause a moment. "And
in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."
My Beloved Brethren in the Lord Jesus, we must see to it that we ripen
in the knowledge of Him. Oh, that this year we may know more of Him in
His Divine nature and in His human relationship to us in His finished
work, in His death, in His resurrection, in His present glorious
intercession and in His future royal advent! To know more of Christ in
His work is, I think, a blessed means of enabling us to work more for
Christ.
We must study to know more of Christ also in His Character–in that
Divine compound of every perfection, faith, zeal and deference to His
Father's will–in His courage, meekness, and love. He was the lion of
the tribe of Judah and yet the Man upon whom the Dove descended in the
waters of Baptism. Let us thirst to know Him of whom even His enemies
said, "Never man spoke like this Man," and His unrighteous judge said,
"I find no fault in Him."
Above all, let us long to know Christ in His Person. This year endeavor
to make a better acquaintance with the Crucified One. Study His hands
and His feet. Abide hard by the Cross and let the sponge, the vinegar
and the nails be subjects of your devout attention. This year seek to
penetrate into His very heart and to search those deep far-reaching
caverns of His unknown love–that love which can never find a rival and
can never know a parallel. If you can add to this a knowledge of His
sufferings, you will do well.
Oh, if you can grow in the knowledge of fellowship–if you shall this
year drink of His cup and be baptized with His Baptism–if you shall
this year abide in Him and He in you–blessed shall you be! This is the
only growth in Divine Grace which is true growth. And all other growth
which leads us not to increase in the knowledge of Christ is but the
puffing up of the flesh–not the building up of the Spirit. Grow in the
knowledge of Christ, then, my Brothers and Sisters.
And do you ask me why? Oh, if you have ever known Him you will not ask
that question. He that longs not to know more of Christ, knows nothing
of Him yet. He that ever sipped this wine will thirst for more, for
although Christ does satisfy, yet it is such a satisfaction, that we
want to taste more and more and more and more. Oh, if you know the love
of Jesus, I am sure as the hart pants for the water brooks, so will you
pant after Him. If you say you do not desire to know Him better, then I
tell you, you love Him not, for love always cries, "Nearer, nearer,
nearer."
Absence from Christ is Hell. But presence with Christ is Heaven. And,
as we get nearer to Him, our Heaven becomes more heavenly and we enjoy
it more and feel more that it is of God. Oh, may you, this year, come
to the very well of Bethlehem and not merely receive a vessel from it,
as David did, at the risk of the lives of three mighty men–but may you
come to the well and drink–drink from the well itself, from that
bottomless well-spring of eternal love. Oh, this year may the secret of
the Lord be with you and may you be in the secret place of the Most
High!
My Master, should You permit me to ask You one thing as a special
favor, it should be this–that I may "know Him and the power of His
resurrection, being made conformable to His death!" Nearer to You,
blessed Lord, nearer to You–this is all our cry shall be. The Lord
grant that our cry may be heard, that we may grow in the knowledge of
Christ! We wish to know Christ this year as our Lord–Lord of every
thought and every desire, of every word and every act. And as our
Savior, too–our Savior from every indwelling sin, our Savior from
every evil past, from every trial to come.
All hail, Jesus! We salute You as Lord. Teach us to feel Your Kingship
over us and to feel it every hour. All hail You, crucified One! We
acknowledge You as Savior. Help us to rejoice in Your salvation and to
feel the plenitude of that salvation in all and every part of spirit,
soul and body, being wholly saved by You.
I have thus, Brothers and Sisters, sought to expound the point of
theology. I lift up my heart in prayer for you all that you may grow in
Divine Grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
II. In the second place, we have A GRATEFUL THANKSGIVING WITH A MOST
SUGGESTIVE TERMINA-
TION–"To Him be glory both now and forever. Amen."
The Apostles, we must remark, very frequently suspended their writing
in order to lift up their hearts in praise. Praise is never out of
season and it is no interruption to interrupt any engagement in order
to laud and magnify our God. "To Him be glory." Brethren, do not let me
preach now but let me interpret your emotions. Let it be not so much my
utterance, as your utterance by my lips. Let every heart joyously feel
this doxology, To Him, the God that made the heavens and the earth,
without whom was not anything made. To Him who in His infinite
compassion became the Surety of the Covenant–to Him who became a babe
of a span long.
To Him who was despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and
acquainted with grief–to Him who on the bloody tree poured out His
heart's life that He might redeem His people–to HIM who said, "I
thirst," and, "It is finished!"–to Him whose lifeless body slumbered
in the grave–to Him be glory! To him that burst the bonds of death–
to Him who ascended on high and led captivity captive–to Him who sits
at the right hand of the Father and who shall soon come to be our
Judge–"to Him be glory."
Yes, to Him, you atheists, who deny Him–to Him, you Socinians, who
doubt His Deity–to Him, you kings, who vaunt your splendor and will
not have this Man to reign over you–to Him, you people, who against
Him stand up, and you rulers who against Him take counsel–to Him, the
King whom God has set upon His holy hill of Zion–to Him be glory! To
Him be glory as the Lord–King of kings and lords. "Wonderful,
Counselors, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of
Peace." And yet again Hosanna in the highest–Hallelujah, King of kings
and Lord of lords! To Him be glory as LORD! To Him be glory as SAVIOR!
He alone has redeemed us unto God by His blood. He alone has "trod the
winepress," and "comes from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah,
glorious in His apparel, traveling in the greatness of His strength."
"To Him be glory." Hear it, you angels–"To Him be glory." Clap your
wings. Cry "Hallelujah, to Him be glory." Hear it you spirits of the
just made perfect–sweep the strings of your celestial harps and say,
"Hallelujah, glory to Him who has redeemed us unto God by His own
blood." "To HIM be glory." Church of God respond! Let every pious heart
say "To HIM be glory." Yes, unto Him be glory, you Fiends of Hell, as
you tremble at His Presence and see the key of your prison swinging at
His girdle. Let Heaven and earth and Hell–let things that are, and
were, and shall be, cry, "To Him be glory."
But the Apostle adds, "now"–"to Him be glory, now." O Brethren,
postpone not the day of His triumph! Put not off the hour of His
coronation. Now, NOW–
"Bring forth the royal diadem, And crown Him Lord of all."
Now, now. For now, today, "He has raised us up together and made us sit
in heavenly places with Christ Jesus." Beloved, now are we the sons of
God–"now are our sins forgiven. Now are we robed in His righteousness!
Now are our feet upon a Rock and our goings are established. Who is
there among you that would defer the time of your hosannas? "To Him be
glory now." O cherubim above, "To Him be glory now!" For you
"continually do cry, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Hosts." Adore Him
yet again, for, "To Him be glory now."
"And forever." Never shall we cease our praise. Time! You shall grow
old and die. Eternity! Your unnumbered years shall speed their
everlasting course. But forever, forever, forever, "to Him be glory."
Is He not a "Priest forever, after the order of Melchisedek"? "To Him
be glory." Is He not king forever?–King of kings and Lord of lords,
the everlasting Father? "To Him be glory forever." Never shall His
praises cease. That which was bought with blood deserves to last while
immortality endures. The glory of the Cross must never be eclipsed. The
luster of the grave and of the resurrection must never be dimmed.
Oh, my beloved Brothers and Sisters, my spirit begins to feel the ardor
of the immortals. I would anticipate the songs of Heaven. My tongue,
had it but celestial liberty, would begin even now to join those
thrice-melodious sonnets sung by flaming tongues above. O Jesus! You
shall be praised forever! As long as immortal spirits live–as long as
the Father's Throne endures–forever, forever, forever, unto You shall
be glory!
But now, there is a conclusion to this of the most suggestive kind,
"Amen." Brethren, I want to work this amen out–not as a matter of
doctrine, but as a matter of blessed transport. Come, give me your
hearts again. "To Him be glory both now and forever, Amen." What does
this Amen mean? Amen has four meanings in Scripture. By the way, the
Puritan's remark–it is a very remarkable thing–that under the old
Law, there was no amen to the blessings. The only amen was to the
curses. When they pronounced the curses, "All the people said Amen."
Under the Law there never was an amen to the blessing. Now, it is an
equally remarkable and more blessed thing, that under the Gospel, there
is no amen to the curses, the only amen is to the blessings. "May the
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God our Father and the
communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all, Amen." "If any man loves
not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha." No amen.
There is no amen to the curse under the Gospel. But "all the promises
of God are yes and amen, in Christ Jesus."
Now, the "Amen"–and here I am greatly indebted to good old Thomas
Adams–means four things. First, it is the desire of the heart,
"Behold, I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus." We say amen
at the end of the prayer, to signify, "Lord, let it be so"–it is our
heart's desire. Now, Brethren, give me your hearts, then–for it is all
a heart-matter here. "To Him be glory both now and forever, Amen." Is
that your heart's desire? If not, you cannot say amen to it. Does your
heart long, pant, thirst, groan and cry out after Christ, so that you
can say, every time you bend your knee, "Your kingdom come, Your will
be done on earth as it is in Heaven, for Yours is the kingdom, the
power and the glory, forever and ever, Amen"?
Can you say, "Amen, Lord, let Your kingdom come"? Brethren, if you can
say it in this sense, if it is your heart's desire that Christ's glory
should be extended and His kingdom should come, say "Amen," aloud this
morning. Now join with me, for my heart glows with it. I can say
it–and the Judge of All knows how my heart longs to see Jesus
magnified. Join with me then, you who can do it honestly, while I
repeat the doxology–"To Him be glory both now and forever. Amen." [The
congregation very heartily, aloud, said, "Amen."]
So be it Lord. You hear Your Church as it cries "Amen!" Verily, it is
our heart's desire–
"Amen, with joy Divine, let earth's Unnumbered myriads cry; Amen, with
joy Divine, let Heaven's
Unnumbered choirs reply."
But it signifies more than this. It means the affirmation of our faith.
We only say amen to that which we really believe to be true. We add our
affidavit, as it were, to God's promise, that we believe Him to be
faithful and true.
Have you any doubts but that Jesus Christ is glorious now and forever?
Do you doubt His being glorified of angels, cherubim and seraphim,
today? And do you not believe, my Brethren, that they that dwell in the
wilderness shall bow before Him and that His enemies shall lick the
dust? If you so believe, if you have faith today amid the world's
obstinacy and the sinner's pride, amid abounding superstition and
dominant evil–if you have faith still to believe that Christ shall be
glorious forever and ever, then join with me and again say Amen. "To
Him be glory both now and forever, Amen." [The congregation again said
"Amen."]
Lord, You hear it, though it is a feebler cry than aforetime, for there
are more who can desire it than there are who believe it. Nevertheless,
You abide faithful–
"This little seed from Hea ven
Shall soon become a tree;
This ever-blessed lea ven
Diffused abroad must be–
Till God the Son shall come again,
It must go on. Amen! Amen."
But there is yet a third meaning to this amen. It often expresses the
joy of the heart. When of old they brought forth a Jewish king, the
high priest took a horn of oil and poured it on his head. Then came
forward a herald, and the moment he had sounded the trumpet, one with a
loud voice said, "God save the king! God save the king!" and all the
people said, "Amen." And one shout went up to Heaven, while with joy of
heart they saluted the king in whom they hoped to see a prosperous
ruler through whom God would bless them and make them victorious.
Now, what do you say? As you see King Jesus sitting upon Mount Zion
with death and Hell beneath His feet. As today you anticipate the glory
of His Advent. As today you are expecting the time when you shall reign
with Him forever and ever, does not your heart say, "Amen"? I can
remember, in a season of the greatest darkness of mind and weakness of
body, there was one text which used to cheer me beyond all measure.
There was nothing in the text about myself. It was no promise to me but
it was something about Him. It was this–"Him has God highly exalted
and given Him a name which is above every name, that at the name of
Jesus every knee should bow, of things in Heaven and things in earth
and things under the earth."
Oh, it seemed so joyous that He was exalted. What did it matter what
became of me? What did it signify what should become of all of us? King
David is worth ten thousand of us. Let our names perish but let His
name last forever. Brothers and Sisters, this morning I bring forth the
King to you. I bring Him before the eyes of your faith today. I
proclaim Him king, again, and do you, if you desire Him to be king, and
if you rejoice in His reign, say "Amen"? Here, here He stands in vision
before your eyes. Crown Him! Crown Him! Lo, He is today crowned afresh.
"To Him be glory both now and forever." Joyous hearts lift up your
voices and with one accord say "Amen." [The congregation again said
"Amen."] Amen, Lord, be You King in the midst of us all–
"Yes, amen, let all adore You,
High on Your exalted Throne!
Savior, take Your power and glory;
Claim the kingdoms for Your own–
O come quickly! Hallelujah, Come, Lord, come." But, lastly and this is
a very solemn point. Amen is sometimes used in Scripture as an amen of
resolution. It means, "I, in the name of God, solemnly pledge myself
that in His strength I will seek to make it so. To Him be glory both
now and forever." Now I shall not want you to say, "Amen" to this
aloud, but I shall pause to let you say it silently in your own souls
by-and-by.
I walked last week through the long galleries which vanity has
dedicated to all the glories of France. You pass through room after
room where especially you see the triumphs of Napoleon in writhing
bodies and in the blood and vapor and smoke. Surely as you walk through
the pages of Scripture, you walk through a much more marvelous picture
gallery, in which you see the glories of Christ. This Book contains the
memorials of His honors. In another place in Paris there stands a
column made with the cannons taken by the Emperor in battle. A mighty
trophy, certainly. O Jesus! You have a better than this–a trophy made
of forgiven souls–of eyes which wept but whose tears have been wiped
away– of broken hearts that have been healed and of saved souls that
forever more rejoice!
What trophies Christ has to make Him glorious, both now and
forever–trophies of living hearts that love Him– trophies of immortal
spirits who find their Heaven in gazing upon His beauties! What must
the glories of Christ be forever when you and I and all the ten
thousand millions He has bought with His blood shall be in Heaven. Oh,
when we have been there many a thousand years we shall feel as fresh a
rapture as when we came there! And if our spirits should be sent on any
errand from our Master, and we should have to leave His Presence for a
moment, oh, with what wings of a dove we will fly back to behold His
face again!
When we shall all surround that Throne, what songs will I, the chief of
sinners, saved by blood, give Him! What hymns will you give Him, you
who have had your iniquities cleansed and are today saved? What praise
will all those multitudes give Him who have all been partakers of His
Grace? But this has more to do with "forever." Now, what do you say
about our glorifying Him now? Oh, Brothers and Sisters, make it your
prayer this morning, "Lord, help me to glorify You. I am poor, help me
to glorify You by contentment. I am sick, help me to give You honor by
patience. I have talents, help me to extol You by spending them for
You. I have time, Lord, help me to redeem it, that I may serve You.
"I have a heart to feel, Lord, let that heart feel no love but Yours
and glow with no flame, but affection for You. I have a head to think,
Lord help me to think of You and for You. You have put me in this world
for something, Lord, show me what that is, and help me to work out my
life-purpose. For I do desire to say amen. I cannot do much–my amen is
but a feeble one–but as the widow put in her two mites, which made a
farthing, which was all her living, so, Lord, I put my time and
eternity, too, into Your treasury. It is all yours, take it, and thus I
say, 'Amen' to Peter's doxol- ogy."
And now, throughout this year will you go forth, my Brothers and
Sisters, and say amen to this? I pray you do so. You who do not love
Christ cannot say amen. Remember you are under the Law. There is an
amen to all the curses for you. There is none to the blessings while
you are under the Law. O poor Sinner under the Law, may this be the day
when your slavery to the Law shall come to an end! "How can it be?" you
say. By faith in Christ, I answer. "He that believes on Him is not
condemned." Oh that you may believe on Him, and then your joyful heart
will say amen!
Then will you say, "Loudest of all the saints in Heaven, I will shout
amen, when I see the royal crown brought forth and Jesus is
acknowledged Lord of all." May God grant that this year may be the best
year this Church has ever had. This year concludes eight years of my
ministry among you and seven years of Printed Sermons are now before
the public. How much of blessedness God has caused to pass through our
mind and how much He has been pleased to own His Word, we cannot fully
measure. But we know that He has been with us in deed and in truth.
Now that we begin this year, may the Lord make it so that all the past
shall seem to be as nothing compared with that which is to come. I
bless you my Brothers and Sisters in the name of the Lord, and
commencing this year, I beg again for renewed tokens of your affection
by a renewal of your prayers. And on my part, I only trust that it may
be mine through this year and as long as I live, to be giving my amen
to that doxology–"To Him be glory both now and forever. Amen."