Jubilee Joy–or, Believers Joyful In Their King
A SERMON DELIVERED ON LORD'S-DAY MORNING, JUNE 19, 1887,
BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.
"Let the children of Zion bejoyful in their King." Psalm 149:2
YOUR streets will ring with joyous acclamations when the Queen and
court pass through them to the Abbey–and well they may! The jubilee of
a good and great Queen is an event to be celebrated with enthusiasm.
Our hearts are fully in accord with those who bless and praise God for
His goodness to this country in giving us 50 years of the peaceful
reign of Victoria.
God save the Queen! None pronounce these words with a more emphatic
meaning and fervor than we do this day. We not only do not grudge our
fellow countrymen all the joy they have in their Queen, but we share
with them to the fullest their loyalty and gratitude. Had we known what
some countries have known of tyranny, war, or anarchy, we would have a
much more vivid sense of the benefits bestowed upon us through the long
and happy reign of our well-beloved Sovereign. Let us take care to
blend a holy gratitude to God with our fervent patriotism. Be it ours
to praise and bless the God who has sent us these favors! Wishing
boundless blessings upon our earthly Queen, we ascribe all her
prosperity and ours to that higher King from whom all blessings flow.
Religion must always sanctify loyalty. It would be idolatrous to think
of the human and forget the Divine. "Why should the heathen say, Where
is now their God?"
But, Brothers and Sisters, let us learn from the citizens of an earthly
kingdom to rejoice in our heavenly King. Let us elevate our fervor into
the higher sphere. There is another King, one Jesus and, as believers
in Him, we are more truly citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem than of
any city or country upon earth. Our Divine Lord has called out
Believers from among the sons of men to make them a peculiar people, a
nation set apart unto Himself. The text, under the term, "children of
Zion," indicates all who fear God, put their trust in Him and yield
joyful service to His crown. Are we "children of Zion?" Do we glory in
the one living and true God? Are we loyal to His Anointed, whom He has
set as King upon His holy hill of Zion? This is the question for each
man's heart and conscience. We must be "born again" before we can be
the happy subjects of the King of Kings, for He is King of a spiritual
nation and by nature men are not spiritual. The carnal mind is enmity
against God and to become His friends, we must receive new hearts and
right spirits. We must be born into His kingdom by a heavenly birth, by
the work of the Holy Spirit upon us! And the token of this new birth is
a childlike faith in the Lord Jesus. Let us ask ourselves whether we
have kissed the scepter of Jesus, the Anointed Son of God. Do we
believe and trust in Him who is Prophet, Priest and King to His people?
Is He our bosom's Lord, sole monarch of our hearts? If so, we are
called upon by the words of the text to be joyful in our King!
There have been kings in whom nobody could be joyful. They have been
tyrannical, cruel, selfish–and their rule has oppressed their people.
England has no such burden to bear. Under God, our forefathers
delivered us from despotism and our Queen has faithfully observed those
covenants which harmonize monarchy with liberty. For this may God be
praised! Looking, however, to the higher sphere, we are joyful that
Zion's King is of such a sort that His government is an un-mingled
blessing. There are many gods whom the nations have set up over
themselves, but in none of them can their votaries rejoice. The worship
of these false deities is one of dread and terror–and their adoration
is more fitly paid in dirges than in songs. Our God is known as, "the
blessed God." He would have His people happy and, by His Grace, He
makes them so! We rejoice in our King because our King makes us
rejoice! He bids us "come before Him with thanksgiving and show
ourselves glad in Him with Psalms." And we willingly do so because He
is "our exceeding joy." Blessed religion, in which happiness has become
a duty! Such is the Character of our God and King, that–
"His Nature and His works unite
To make His praises our delight." I pray that the Holy Spirit may shed
abroad the perfume of the "oil ofjoy" this morning. May the beauties
and glories of our King charm us into delightful praise! Away with care
and sorrow! Away with doubt and despondency! Let us praise the Lord
upon the loud cymbals! Let us praise Him upon the high-sounding
cymbals! I pray the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, to produce in us the
fragrant spikenard of holy joy–and may that holy joy, like the
precious ointment of the woman who loved much–be all poured upon the
Person of our Lord and King!
I. In order that we may carry out the exhortation of the text, LET US
BEGIN BY FEELING THAT THE LORD JESUS IS OUR KING. Alas, many who should
be of a better mind are forgetful of this Truth of God–they are not
joyful in their King for they have not yet learned His sovereignty.
Brothers and Sisters, Jesus must have the pre-eminence among men, since
He is in Person and Character pre-eminent. Who among the sons of the
mighty can be compared unto the Lord? When the princes of the earth are
gathered in their glory, who among them can be named in the same day
with the Prince of Peace? Jesus is the best, therefore is He the
Chief–His Person and Character wear about them a superlative
majesty–let every hand present a crown to Him. "He is the standard
bearer among ten thousand and the altogether lovely." Since the Lord
Jesus has no equal nor even rival, He is a born King–and were not men
most blind and foolish, they would all salute Him with loyal homage.
From every corner of the globe, if men were unfallen, there would arise
the cry–
"Bring forth the royal diadem And crown Him Lord of All."
Our King not merely has the power, but the right to reign–He is, in
Himself, royal. As Saul, the first King of Israel, was head and
shoulders above all other Israelites, so is our Lord and King higher
than all others in an infinitely nobler sense, for in dignity of Nature
and glory of Character He surpasses all! Let us distinctly recognize
that Christ is infinitely above all others even of the saintliest,
wisest and noblest. He is not one among many great teachers–He is,
Himself, the Truth of God. He is not one star in a constellation, but
the one Light from which all lights are kindled! As the sun, at his
appearing, causes the stars to hide themselves for very shame, so does
all excellence and honor veil before the superior brightness of our
Lord Jesus! He alone can claim universal sovereignty by right of
indisputable pre-eminence.
When we have remembered that He is thus the best and noblest, let us
remember that to each Believer He is a King to be obeyed. He said, "You
call Me, Master and Lord, and you say well, for so I am." It is easy to
think of Christ as a Savior and yet to forget that He is Lord–but the
thought is as evil as it is easy. The doctrine of Justification by
Faith alone is a most important Truth of God–it is the vital essence
of the Gospel–but it must never be dissociated from the fact that He
who saves us must reign over us! When His blood cleanses us, His love
rules us. He saves us from our sins, thus recovering us from our
rebellions and revolts into a happy loyalty which finds its delight in
obedience to the Divine will. Those who would have Jesus for their
Redeemer must–
"Know, nor of the terms complain, Where Jesus comes, He comes to reign!
To reign and with no partial sway, Lusts must be slain that disobey."
Do any of you accept the promises of our Lord and neglect His precepts?
This is to sin against Him in a grievous manner! You proclaim
yourselves rebels and yet wish to share in the pardon which He brings?
Is not this to act the part of hypocrites? Is His Cross precious to
you? How can it be if you turn your back on His crown? For once I will
reverse a time-honored motto and say, "No crown, no Cross." Jesus will
not be your Savior if you refuse to let Him be your Sovereign! You
cannot have half of your Lord. He must be to you Christ–the Anointed
King–or He will not be Jesus the gracious Savior. Do not attempt to
divide your Lord's offices! The robe of Christ is without seam and if
even the rough soldiers cried, "Let us not tear it," we earnestly beg
you not to tear it. Let us accept sanctification as well as
justification, righteousness as well as peace, the cleansing water as
well as the pardoning blood!
If we have a special joy in Jesus in any one capacity more than
another, let us be joyful in Him as our King. It should be bliss to us
to be subject to His holy rule! If there seems anything hard about His
claim of absolute sovereignty over heart, lips and life, why, then, at
the very outset we are disqualified from rejoicing in our King! Let us
entreat His Spirit to bring us under the rule of Grace until we yield
our members instruments of righteousness and every thought is
brought into captivity to Jesus' love. O my Brothers and Sisters, it
will be Heaven to us when Jesus reigns over our entire nature as Lord
of All!
Further, let us follow this thought into a region where it is much
needed. Jesus is King in the midst of His Church. How often is this
Truth of God overlooked! There are disputes about what ought to be
believed and practiced in the Church of England and those disputes are
settled by a court of law, or by reference to the Book of Common
Prayer. No, Sirs, this is not according to the Kingdom of Heaven–we
fear it reveals a sad disloyalty to King Jesus! Secular courts have no
authority in the Kingdom of Jesus! In His realm, He is, Himself, the
supreme Head and the Bible, alone, is the one law-book. Certain
Christians are fond of deciding questions by the practice of the early
Church, but we know no authority in the practice of any church when it
quits the faith once and for all delivered to the saints! The acts of
the Lord Jesus and His Apostles are precedents enough for us!
Certain churches refer to the minutes of deceased leaders, or to the
decisions of councils, or to the theological systems of eminent
reformers–but all this is forgetfulness of the one supreme Authority.
We have no king in the Church but Christ. The crown rights of Jesus
must not so much as be questioned, or all loyal hearts are wounded. I
wish that with sound of trumpet we could today, again, proclaim our
King. There is but one Head of the Church and that Head is Jesus
Christ! There is but one law-book in the Church and that is the Holy
Scripture, inspired of the Spirit of God. There is but one supreme
center of unity in the Church and that is the living God, of whom and
by whom and through whom are all things! The divisions and schisms of
this day are mainly due to those secondary authorities within the
Church which have, to a sad degree, obscured the supreme authority of
our Lord. Would to God we could come back once more to "one Lord," for
then we should also come back to "one faith and one Baptism!" There can
be no unity in the Church except in Jesus and in obedience to His
undivided rule. It is only under the Lord's own King that the promise
shall be fulfilled– "And I will make them one nation in the land upon
the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and
they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into
two kingdoms any more at all."
The sovereignty of our Lord must be observed not only by the Church as
a whole, but by each individual member of the Church. We must not go
beyond our Lord's commands. We are not legislators, but subjects.
Officers of the Church are administrators of Christ's Law under Him,
but they must not be makers of laws, nor creators of doctrines, nor
inventors of ceremonies. We may not amend His statutes–no, we may not
cross a "t" nor dot an "i" apart from Him! Let this be sounded
everywhere as with a trumpet–Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church,
and sole King in the midst of His people! Distinctly recognize this, or
you cannot rejoice in your King.
Another Truth of God is also too much overlooked, namely, that Jesus
Christ is Head over all things for His Church. His Kingdom rules over
all. All power is given unto Him in Heaven and in earth. In truth, He
is the blessed and only Potentate. The kings of the earth wear their
crowns and sway their scepters by license from His Throne. Propose what
they may, they shall only fulfill His secret purpose and will. Fear not
because of the great ones of the earth, for you have as your Friend,
One who is greater than all! You look at cabinets and you are
distracted. You think of emperors and princes and you are bewildered as
you observe the windings of their diplomatic devices. Be comforted!
There is One whose counsel governs councils and whose Kingdom rules
over kings! All things are committed unto Him by His Father and without
Him shall not a dog move his tongue! The Father has given Him power
over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as He has
given Him. He has put all things under His feet. Clothed with honor and
majesty, He waits till His enemies shall be made His footstool. To this
thought I call your minds once again, that you may be encouraged amid
the conflicts of the hour–"Fear not, little flock; for it is your
Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom," even as this day He
gives it to His Son.
Jesus will be seen to be King in the day of His Second Advent. If you
will listen and your ears have been opened, you may hear this day the
trumpet which announces His speedy arrival. "Behold the Bridegroom
comes; go you out to meet Him," is the voice of these latter days to a
Church that slumbers! Both wise and foolish virgins sleep. The midnight
starts at this clarion note–"He comes! He comes!" "He shall reign in
Mount Zion before His ancients gloriously." Behold He comes as King to
judge the earth in righteousness and His people with equity. "Then
shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their
Father." We are to look for this and to pray for this, saying every day
in our prayers, "Your kingdom come. Your will be done in earth, as it
is in Heaven; for Yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
forever and ever."
O you saints, at this hour set your Lord on His throne! You have seen
Him in His crimson vesture, bowing in the garden of His agony. You have
seen Him "despised and rejected of men." You have seen Him on the tree
of doom. Dry your eyes. He is no more the "Man of Sorrows," nor the
"acquaintance of grief–Heaven adores Him, He has gone up to His Throne
again amid the hosannas of the angels and the hallelujahs of the
redeemed! Let us praise and adore Him this day. We sang, "Crown Him,
crown Him," but we thought not of any visible pageantry–we can make no
gallant show for Him! What if we could? What honor could our pomp
confer on Him? He, in Himself, far transcends all the splendor that
ever was devised of the intellect, or pictured by the imagination! But
you can crown Him in your hearts today as King. Salute Him with the
intense devotion of your souls. Render Him those deep-throated praises
of which we read in this Psalm, if we note the margin–"Let the high
praises of God be in their throats." My soul adores the Lord Jesus and
blesses Him with all her strength in fullness of delight! Let the
children of Zion fully recognize their King, that they may be joyful in
Him!
II. Secondly, LET US GO ON TO STUDY HIS ROYAL CHARACTER, that we may be
helped to be joyful in Him. Was there ever such a Prince as our
Emmanuel, if we think of His Person, His pedigree, His descent, His
Nature? This King of ours is not only the flower and crown of manhood,
but He is also very God of very God! He is God over all, blessed
forever–the Son of the Highest! What a wondrous Nature is that of
Jesus, our Lord! Perfect Manhood is, in itself, wonderful–we have
never seen it and never shall see it till we are taken up to behold Him
as He is. Perfect Humanity, as seen in the glorified Jesus, is the
wonder of the skies! In the Character of Jesus there is neither
deficiency nor redundancy–He is without spot and without lack. In Him
is perfect humanity steeped in love! His life is love. He is Love! He
lives as the Head of the New Covenant, as the Second Adam, the Father
of the new-born race. Think of Him in that light and then link His
humanity in your minds with His Godhead, without confusion of idea. In
Jesus we do not see humanized Godhead, nor deified manhood, but He is
distinctly God and distinctly Man, yet both of these are in one Person
and must neither be confounded nor severed.
Was there ever such a King? Among the shining ones, the brightest
cannot be His comrade. "To which of the angels said He at any time, You
are My Son; this day have I begotten You?" Though He is reckoned among
men and is thus said to be "anointed with the oil of gladness above His
fellows," yet to whom else but He could it have been said, "Your
throne, O God, is forever and ever"? "When Jehovah brings in the
First-Begotten unto the world, He says, Let all the angels of God
worship Him." Think of your king in His Person and rejoice in Him! My
words fail to express my inward joy in that Divine Lord who is not
ashamed to call us brethren! I sit down at His dear pierced feet, now
covered with eternal light, and I feel a sweet content, yes, an
overflowing joy! I see a world of wonders meeting in my Lord–Heaven
come down to earth and earth raised up to Heaven–and I am joyful in my
King!
We further follow our Lord joyfully as we think of His deeds of love to
us. Well may we be joyful in our King, since His loving kindness to us
has exceeded all bounds! The true splendor of kings lies not in what
their people do for them, but in what they do for their people–and
herein our Lord excels all the princes that ever lived! He took our
nature and was born a Babe in Bethlehem. He did more than that, He
lived among us and bore the brunt of poverty, hunger, home-lessness,
contempt and treachery. He died for us! Having given up for us His last
garment, for they stripped Him at the Cross, He then gave up Himself!
With tenderness we can each say, "He loved me and gave Himself for me."
How royal was His love when the Cross was its throne! What a crown was
that which was made of thorns! What a scepter was that which was held
in His pierced hand! I call this real kingship. All else is mere
stage-play.
O Sovereign Love! Incarnate in Jesus, you are imperial! Behold your
King! Not only does He bleed beneath the lash of man, but He also bows
beneath the bruises of His Father's justice and cries, "My God, My God,
why have You forsaken Me?" I beseech you, O loyal hearts, by the
bitterness of your King's agony, be joyful in Him! It He loved you so,
can you refuse to rejoice in Him? He has poured out His heart for His
people that He might redeem them unto Himself– shall we not be glad in
Him? Our acclamations shall all be given to Him who has proved His
greatness and His goodness, not by a largess of gold, but by the gift
of Himself!
When He had given this supreme proof of love, He was not yet satisfied.
Having slept in the grave a while, He awoke and left His sepulcher. But
He did not leave His love–He arose to meet His followers and nerve
them for future service. After a while, when He had manifested Himself
to them in most familiar ways, He rose to Heaven, a cloud receiving Him
out of their sight! Then He changed His place, but He did not change
His love. Ah, no! He went into Heaven bearing the
pledges of His affection in His hands, feet and side. He entered Glory
to carry on His intercession within the veil. His royal life is now
spent in pleading for transgressors! All His thoughts are of His
people–all His power is for His people, all His glory is in His
people! I pray you, think not of my Lord and King according to the
measure of my faltering speech, but joy in Him according to that love
of His which passes knowledge–
"Love which will not let Him rest
Till His people all are blest!
Till they all for whom He died
Live rejoicing at His side."
Let us think a moment further of the glorious achievements of our King,
that we may the more fully be joyful in Him. This King of ours has
fought for us and won great victories on our account. Our King met the
battalions of our sins in conflict. He encountered Satan, that
tremendous foe. He fought hand to hand with Death itself! The shock of
battle was terrible. The sun was darkened, the earth shook, even the
dead arose from their sepulchers to behold the war. Our hero stood
alone–"of the people there was none with Him"–yet He trampled down
all our enemies as the treader of grapes crushes the clusters in the
winepress. Thus He made an end of sin, broke the head of the old dragon
and put Death, itself, to death and led our captivity captive! Behold
He comes from Edom with dyed garments from Bozrah, traveling in the
greatness of His strength, mighty to save! Shall we not salute Him with
hosannas? Will we not be joyful in Him? Daughters of Jerusalem, will
you not go forth to meet Him, even as the maidens of old went forth to
meet young David when he returned with Goliath's head? Will you not,
also, sing, "Saul has slain his thousands and David his ten thousands"?
Remember how Miriam and the virgins sounded their timbrels at the Red
Sea and spoke saying, "Sing unto the Lord, for He has triumphed
gloriously!"? In like joyous manner sing unto the Lord, your King, and
magnify His name!
It should stir you to enthusiasm to think of the principles of His
government, for they are fountains of peace and purity. Jesus founded
His empire upon love and His own Self-Sacrifice is the corner stone of
that Imperial fabric. His action is always love and His teaching is
always love. As He loved us and gave Himself for us, so His golden rule
is that we do to others as we would that they should do to us. This is
sadly forgotten, even by some who call themselves Christians, but if
this principle once took possession of men's minds, we should have no
schemes of the poor to rob the rich and no greed on the part of the
rich by which they grind down the poor! If our King were obeyed, man
would no longer be man's worst enemy, but the bands of brotherhood
would unite mankind in a league of mutual sympathy! If we heard our
Lord say, "A new commandment I give unto you, That you love one
another," and if we practiced that commandment, what a Kingdom of
Heaven should we see upon the face of the earth! Let us trust and hope
and pray that it may yet be so. Oh for the time when the Shepherd King
shall judge the poor and needy and break in pieces the oppressor! "He
shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water
the earth." His blessed principles of truth and love should make His
people joyful in Him.
I think I might appeal to every Christian here and say, you have
personal reasons for being joyful in your King. You love Him because He
has first loved you. He has been wondrously condescending to all His
saints and to us among them. Many a time has He appeared unto us and
said, "I have loved you with an everlasting love." He has brought us
into His banqueting house and His banner over us has been love. We
ought to be joyful in Him for His love to others. But if not, we would
be worse than brute beasts if we did not rejoice in Him for His love to
ourselves. O my Brothers and Sisters, be joyful in Him! What do you
know about any other king compared with what you know of King Jesus? On
His bosom you have leaned and His secret is with you. He has kissed you
with the kisses of His lips and His love is better than wine to you. He
is your Husband. You are married unto Him and He calls you His
Hephzibah and says, "My delight is in her." "The Lord takes pleasure in
them that fear Him, in them that hope in His mercy." Therefore in such
a condescending King, Brothers and Sisters, let the children of Zion
rejoice!
III. I shall not detain you long while I touch upon a third point–LET
US MARK THE BENEFITS OF HIS
REIGN which entitle Him to our highest regard this day.
For, first, remember that the nation over which He reigns He has
created. "Let Israel rejoice in Him that made him." There was no Israel
till God made Israel, Israel–and there was no Church over which Christ
could reign till He made His own Church. He is the Father of the age in
which He is King, the Creator of His own empire! Most kings inherit
what other swords have won, but Jesus, Himself, with His own blood, has
purchased a Kingdom to Himself! Each one of us
must acknowledge for himself–and all of us together unitedly–that He
has made us and not we, ourselves. By His Sovereign Grace He has
chosen, redeemed, called and sanctified us! Therefore will we be joyful
in Him.
Brethren, while our King has created His own Kingdom, He has also
sanctified and sustained that Kingdom. That there is a Church in the
world at all is due to Jesus. We had gone back to chaos and old night
if it had not been that His light is never dim. He whose Sovereign Word
said, "Let there be light," still bids the light abide in the Church to
lighten those who come into the world. Yes, we each of us live through
Him if we live unto God. He says, "Because I live, you shall live
also." The Church as a corporate body would cease to be were He not its
continual Life and Strength. Let the streams rejoice in the fountain,
let the walls of the temple be joyful in the foundation! We ought to
rejoice today in our King because it is He that has saved us and given
us peace. In the days of Solomon, Israel had such peace that every man
sat under his own vine and fig tree. But oh the peace our greater
Solomon has given us! I was as restless, once, as those ever-flying
birds which hover over the waters of the Golden Horn at Constantinople.
They are never seen to rest and hence men call them, "lost souls." Such
was I! I found no place for the soles of my feet till I knew the Lord
Jesus. My soul was a dread battlefield of conflicting thoughts, a very
Esdraelon trodden by innumerable hosts of doubts and fears! But when my
King came, then the enemy fled and I found rest and joy! He is our
peace. Jesus has given us the true Sabbath. Crown Him, then, as Prince
of Peace, you once weary spirits who now joyfully abide in Him!
But, Beloved, time fails me to speak of all the benefits our King has
brought us. Is there anything that is necessary which He has not given?
Is there anything that is good that He has withheld? Have we any
virtue? Have we any praise? Then not unto us, not unto us, but unto His
name be the glory! Nor is it alone in the past and in the present that
we are debtors–we look forward to a future of obligations. He will
keep us from all the power of the enemy. He will secure His Zion from
invaders and fill her with the finest of wheat. Forever and ever will
He preserve us and be our Guide even unto death. Again we say
hallelujah, as we think how He loves unto the end!
In due time He will remove our Zion and all its inhabitants to the land
of cloudless day and unwithering flowers. A little while and we shall
be translated to the place where there is no more death, neither sorrow
nor sighing! Our King has great things in store for His Church. His
best will be last and His last will be best. Glory dwells in Emmanuel's
land! In Him we possess earth and Heaven, time and eternity. All things
are ours in our King. All Heaven lies at our feet. O you chosen, lift
up your eyes to the east and to the west, to the north and to the
south–all this land is yours in Him who is your Lord and King! Know no
boundary to your expectation, for such a King to a people so beloved
will give a heritage which shall be forever–and the bliss thereof
shall know no limit!
IV. Very briefly, in the next place, LET US BE JOYFUL IN THE
CONTINUANCE OF OUR REDEEMER'S
REIGN. Fifty years is a long time for Her Majesty to have reigned. May
her days yet be many! Fifty years, as we measure life, is a long space,
but 50 years in the measurement of human history is far less–and 50
years as compared with eternity is nothing! King Jesus has a Kingdom of
which there shall be no end! This is our joy, that the ages past have
not taken away from the length of His reign. So much the less has any
king to reign as he has already reigned, but it is not so with Him, for
still is the voice heard, even the same voice that made the Red Sea
resound–"The Lord shall reign forever and ever, hallelujah!" Let us,
this day, be right glad concerning our King, since He, only, has
immortality and, therefore, He will live forever. He communicates that
immortality to all His people and thus He is the undying King of an
undying Kingdom! True, we shall pass through that river which is named
Death, but it is a misnomer! Like the Jordan when Israel passed into
Canaan, the Lord has rebuked it and it is dried up. We shall pass
through the Valley of the Shadow of Death and that is all–and thus we
shall reach a higher stage of being in which we shall be "forever with
the Lord." Shall not those whom the King has made to live, be joyful
that their King lives and reigns world without end?
Brethren, the age of our King has not enfeebled Him. John, in vision,
saw Him with His head and His hair "white like wool, as white as snow,"
but to His well-beloved spouse, He is not gray with age, for she sings
of Him, "His locks are bushy and black as a raven." He is as youthful
and vigorous as ever! His age is eternity and eternity has not the
fretting tooth of time. He is still the same Christ–as mighty in power
as when He routed the hosts of Hell! Let us be joyful in our
King.
As to His kingdom, there is no fear of its failing. The gates of Hell
shall not prevail against it. His kingdom is one and indivisible. And
His Throne shall never be shaken. There is no dynasty to follow His
dynasty; no successor to take up the crown of our Melchisedec! My
immortal spirit rejoices in the hope of rendering endless homage to the
eternal King. He
lives and reigns and we shall find it the bliss of our endless life to
serve Him day and night in His Temple! In prospect of such bliss, let
us bestir ourselves to rejoice in our King with joy unspeakable and
full of glory.
V. Once more, being joyful in our King, LET US OBEY HIM WITH DELIGHT.
Let us weave delights into our duties. When Moses' mother made the ark
in which she placed her darling boy, she worked it in this holy
fashion–she took a bulrush and a prayer and plaited them
together–every bulrush had a fervent prayer twisted with it. And so
the ark was made of the prayers of a mother and the rushes of the Nile.
How could the child be otherwise than safe? Let us take into our hands
a duty and a thanksgiving, a precept and a praise! Let us make up our
whole life of the intertwisting of duty and delight. Let us be holy and
happy! Let us turn obedience into gladness. That which otherwise were
drudgery, we will exalt to a priestly sacrificing as we serve the Lord
with gladness and rejoice before Him.
What a joy it would be to me if this midsummer morning some of you who
have never trusted in this King should begin to do so! This is a high
day and a day of glad tidings–the trumpets of jubilee load the air
with music. Our King will forgive your former rebellions if now you
turn to Him. He proclaims, today, a general amnesty to all rebels! This
day He grants a jail delivery to all prisoners of hope. You who have
revolted may come back again–He will receive you graciously and love
you freely. He sits upon His holy hill in Zion and He cries to you, "If
you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land."
"Kiss the Son, lest He be angry and you perish from the way, when His
wrath is kindled but a little; blessed are all they that put their
trust in Him."
It would be a joy to me, on this the day of my birth [Brother Spurgeon
was born June 19, 1834] if it might also be the birthday of many a
precious soul among those who hear me. Why should it not be so? The
King is among us–come and adore Him! You never had such a Master as He
will be to you! He will make you happy in His love! Trust Him and live
forever! Oh, that some young friends would listen to this call!
Some of you have known Jesus many years and have been professors for a
long time. Perhaps you are getting into rather a dull state of mind.
All elder brothers have not a pleasing character–do not become like he
in the parable who envied the returning prodigal. What a wretched
temper he showed! He said, "Lo, these many years do I serve you,
neither transgressed I at any time your commandment: and yet you never
gave me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends." "Oh," you say,
"we are not in that state of mind." I am glad to hear it, but lest you
should, in the future, fall into that state, I would advise you to
often make merry with your friends. If that elder brother had, every
now and then, held a grand merry-making with his friends, he would
never have been able to make such a wretched speech! He was such a
steady old plodder that he always kept to his work and never had a
thought about rejoicing in his home and his father! Work without joy is
not good for us. What the old proverb says concerning "all work and no
play," is true of all service and no joy. I want the children of God to
hold high festival at this time! Why should not we have our Jubilee as
well as others? "Praise the Lord. Sing unto the Lord a new song and His
praise in the congregation of the saints."
You have heard machinery at times complaining wretchedly–it has gone
on with horrible grating and creaking. It has set your teeth on edge!
Fetch the oil can! We must cure this jarring. Every now and then we
need a few drops of the oil of gladness to make the wheels of our work
move pleasantly. Men of the world teach us the value of joyous song.
How readily the anchor rises when the sailors unite in cheery cries!
Soldiers, when weary on the march, find their spirits revived when the
band strikes up a stirring tune. Let it be so today. I would have you
praise God with the sound of the trumpet. Let the children of Zion be
joyful in their King!
"Ah, dear minister," you say, "you do not know what state of mind we
are in! You do not know all our troubles, worries, frets and
weaknesses." Do I not know? I have been in that same oven! I know the
secrets of your prison house. Dear Brothers and Sisters, let us not rob
our King of His revenue because all things are not quite to our mind.
Are we going to blame our Lord for the chastisement which our own sins
require? We are never right with God unless we feel at peace with Him,
no, happy in Him! The right state of mind for a child is to be happy in
his Father's love. It was well with Israel when "whatever the King did,
pleased all the people." It is well with us when we love Jesus so that
He may even do whatever He pleases with us and we will still exult in
Him! May you come to this delightful state! The streams of our misery
flow from the fountains of unhumbled self. When Jesus is so loved that
His will is our will, then life on earth becomes like life in Heaven.
Reign, O Lord, reign absolutely, for so we see our murmuring and
complaining slain and these are the worst adversaries of our peace.
It is time to finish and, therefore, I would invite all that love my
Lord to proclaim a Jubilee for their Lord and King. Keep it after the
best fashion. Endeavor to enlighten the world! Put candles in your
windows. Illuminate all your streets. Let no sinner die in the dark.
Publish the love of God to men. Light up your houses, all of you, with
a holy cheerfulness and a clear confession of Christ. Hang out your
flags of joy! You have them lying by and the moths are eating them.
Bring them out! Give the streamers of your mirth to the breeze! Tell
all around you what God has done for you. Do not be ashamed to
acknowledge your indebtedness to the love of God in Christ Jesus. You
very retiring people, may I invite you to come out of your shells? You
that have been slothful and cold of late, I pray you shake yourselves
from the dust. At this time, when the pulse of the world beats fast,
let yours be quickened. Begin this day something new for Jesus. I wish
the Church of God would think that Christ's Jubilee was, indeed, come,
and so would kindle beacons upon every hill till all the nations beheld
the great Light of God. Let the flame be seen across the sea! Let the
whole earth be filled with His glory! "Arise, shine; for your light is
come." May the Divine Spirit come upon all His people at this hour and
move them to show their joy in their King by special deeds of love!
Lastly, if our king were here and I were to say to Him, "How shall I
close this sermon?" He would answer, "Tell them to honor Me by showing
their love to the poor and needy." Our King is glorious in His gifts to
men. I told you just now that the true splendor of a king lies in what
he does for his people. I trust our Queen's Jubilee will be memorable
for some illustrious deed of generosity. A great-hearted action is more
worthy of acclamation than all the glitter of state! Some special gift
to the poor and needy of this crowded city. Some truly royal
mindfulness of the sick poor would be seasonable and commendable. I
trust there will be no failure on this point, or some of us will feel
that the pageant of the 21st is a vain show.
It will be the best of Jubilees if the poor are largely thought of. Let
them be thought of by all of us today! Let us give largely to the
hospitals for Christ's sake! David, when he kept a high day, gave to
every man a good piece of flesh and a flagon of wine–and thus sent
them all home full and happy. If this cannot be done for all the poor,
let it be abundantly done for the sick by our collection for the
hospitals. Beds are empty from lack of funds–shall they remain so? The
sick poor are languishing–will you withhold your bounty? Children of
Zion, honor your King by your generous gifts at this hour!