Patience, Comfort and Hope From the Scriptures
(No. 2753)
A SERMON INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD'S-DAY, NOVEMBER 17, 1901.
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON LORD'S-DAY EVENING, JULY
20, 1879.
"For whatever things were written before were written for our learning,
that we Through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have
hope." Romans 15:4.
THE Apostle Paul was an Inspired man when he wrote this Epistle, so
there was no necessity on the part of the Holy Spirit, when guiding his
mind and pen, to employ words which had been used before in the
Scriptures, for His language is unlimited. Yet Paul, Inspired as he
was, frequently quoted from the Old Testament and in the verse
preceding our text he quotes from the Psalms–"As it is written, The
reproaches of them that reproached You fell on Me." One special reason
for quoting from the Old Testament was, doubtless, to put honor upon
it, for the Holy Spirit foresaw that there would be some in these later
days who would speak of it disparagingly. Not so did our Lord Jesus
Christ! Not so did His Apostles! Not so did any by whom the Holy Spirit
spoke! The Old Testament is not to be regarded with one jot less of
reverence and love than is the New Testament–they must remain bound
together, for they are the one Revelation of the mind and will of
God–and woe be to the man who shall attempt to rend asunder that
seamless garment of Holy Scripture!
There are some who speak of the Old Testament as if it were worn out,
but, indeed, it has about it all the freshness, the force and the dew
of it's youth and, in the additional light that the New Testament
throws upon its histories, its prophecies and its promises, it has
gathered force rather than lost any, so that we, probably, can
appreciate the Old Testament Scripture far more highly, now that we
also have the New Testament, than we could have done if we had not
received both the early and the later Revelations.
Some have supposed that the light of the New Testament is so bright
that it quite eclipses the light of the Old Testament, as the rising of
the sun makes us forget the moon, but it is not so. The Old Testament
now shines with a brighter light than ever to those whose faith is
fixed on Jesus Christ and whose eyes behold Him in the pages of the New
Testament. I confess that, sometimes, a type or an emblem which would
have been dark or obscure but for the light that has been shed upon it
by the New Testament, has seemed to me, if possible, to be clearer even
than the New Testament itself. I have seemed to see the brightness of
the glory of the Revelation concentrated and focused about some of the
darker passages of the Old Testament so manifestly that, instead of the
Old seeming to be outdone by the New, I have almost thought it to be
the other way around–if such a thought might be tolerated for a
moment. There is no need, however, to compare them, for they are both a
part of all that Scripture which is God-breathed.
Nor has the authority of the Old Testament ceased. Of course the legal
ceremonies of the Mosaic dispensation are done away with, for we are
not under the Law, but under Grace–yet even in their passing away,
they answer an important purpose. They often afford us instruction
where they are not needed for direction. Still is it true, my Brothers
and Sisters, concerning the entire Book, that it was "written for our
learning." And he is a learned man who knows much of Scripture. But he
is unlearned and unstable in the things of God who knows a thousand
other things, but does not know "what things were written before," and
who does not bend his soul, his heart, his intellect to the believing
and the understanding of that which God has spoken of old times by His
Prophets and Apostles.
Believing this most truly, as I am sure we do, let us think, for a
little while, about Holy Scripture and that which grows out of it. The
text says, "that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures
might have hope."
I shall take the liberty of reading the text not exactly as it is in
our version, but putting in the articles which our translators have
left out. I never like to leave out the article where it is inserted by
the original writer. So the passage runs thus, "That we through the
patience and the comfort of the Scriptures might have the hope." That
rendering conveys to us another shade of meaning and I am convinced
that it is the true one. Grammatical construction requires that the
meaning should be thus brought out by the use of the articles.
So, first, we will consider the patience of the Scriptures. Secondly,
the comfort of the Scriptures. And then, thirdly, though that may not
be precisely according to the letter of the text, yet, I think
perfectly consistent with the Truth of God–the hope of the Scriptures.
I. First, then, let us think of THE PATIENCE OF THE SCRIPTURES.
You, know, Beloved, that we are saved by faith and that by faith we
find complete and immediate salvation in our Lord Jesus Christ. But you
must never forget that as soon as we are saved, we come under the
discipline of Christ and a part of that discipline lies in the exercise
of patience–patience in many senses–"the patience of the Scriptures."
First, there is the patience inculcated in the Scriptures of which I
should say, first, that it signifies resignation to the Divine will. In
the olden times, the Scriptures enjoined submission to the will of the
Most High, whatever that submission might involve. Solomon wrote, "My
son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of His
correction: for whom the Lord loves He corrects; even as a father, the
son in whom he delights." The Lord Himself said, by the mouth of His
servant, the Psalmist, "Be still and know that I am God." And the Holy
Spirit said through the lips of the weeping Prophet, Jeremiah, "Why
does a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins?" The
Old Testament, like the New, bids us be patient under the hand of God.
So we must be, my Brothers and Sisters. Submit yourselves unto God for
this is an essential part of the life of faith. The man who will not
yield himself up to the Divine will and meekly bear it, whatever it may
be, is evidently rebellious against his God. How, then, can he be said
to be trusting in the Lord? He has at 1east some unbelief still
clinging to him, for, were he fully a Believer, he would resign himself
to the Lord's will and humble himself under the mighty hand of God that
he might exalt Him in due time.
This patience also includes a continuance in the good work and walk,
though we may have to face human or even Satanic opposition. The
patience inculcated in the Scriptures is a patient perseverance in
well-doing–it is the walking in the path of the just which "shines
more and more unto the perfect day." It is the constant abiding in the
fear of the Lord. Nowhere does either the Old or the New Testament
speak of our being saved by a kind of temporary faith or a spasm of
love–but herein is seen the patience of the saints–that although they
are opposed by the seed of the serpent and by the old serpent, himself,
they still hold on their way despite all opposition and persecution,
even to the end, and so they are saved.
This patience of the saints also includes the bearing of our brother's
burdens. It is in that connection that our text appears–"We, then,
that are strong, ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to
please ourselves." And this is part of the patience inculcated in the
Scriptures. The old Law taught men to love their neighbors as
themselves. Now, we quickly make excuses for our own infirmities and
it, therefore, behooves us to endure the infirmities of others–to put
a kind construction on what might have been harshly condemned–to bear
with the misconceptions of our conduct made by others in their mistake,
or even misrepresentations made in their anger–to be gentle and tender
as a nurse is with a child–never to be hard, harsh, or severe, for
this is contrary to the Second Table of the Law which can be summed up
in the brief expression, love to men. Oh, I would to God that we had
more of this spirit in all our churches! Our Savior said to His
disciples, "A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one
another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another." But how
often is that new commandment forgotten in the impatient way in which
we show our petulance towards weak and, perhaps, provoking saints? God
grant that in the future we may have more patience in this respect!
Patience in the Old Testament is often set forth in waiting for the
fulfillment of the promises and the prophecies. The Patriarchs had to
wait. Israel had to wait. We, also, are exhorted to wait on the Lord
and to be of good courage, for He shall strengthen our heart. "Though
the vision tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not
tarry." So you see that the patience of the Scriptures, that is to say,
the patience which the Scriptures inculcate, is that which we all need
to exercise.
But it is also the patience which the Scriptures exhibit, for, when you
turn to the grand old Book, you find that it gives us, in actual life,
the exemplification of the precepts which were written upon the tablets
of stone, or upon the ancient rolls of Scripture. "You have heard of
the patience of Job," says the Apostle James. You may not have to sit
among the ashes as he did, or to endure such trials as fell upon him,
but, between here and Heaven, you may expect to have losses, crosses,
bereavements and harsh words from those who ought to be your
comforters! O Beloved, may you have, at such times, the patience of the
Scriptures and be able to say with Job, "The Lord gave, and the Lord
has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." Job is one of the
earthly patterns of patience, though he was not perfect in it. May our
patience at least come up to his standard!
We need, too, the patience of David. He held on his way though opposed
by wicked men, and especially by Saul who hunted him like a partridge
upon the mountains. Yet David behaved himself with discretion and would
not lift up his hand to smite the Lord's anointed, even though the
crown of Israel seemed again and again to be within his reach. You know
how patiently he persevered, notwithstanding all the opposition which
came to thrust him out of his course.
Then with regard to bearing the infirmities of our brethren, you know
the patience of the Scriptures as set forth in the case of Joseph. How
tender and kind he was to his brothers even when he seemed to be most
severe to them! With what a generous heart did he forgive their cruelty
to him! You remember how he framed excuses for them as he said, "So now
it was not you that sent me here, but God," though he knew right well
that in their jealousy and malice they had sold him for a slave.
If I speak of the patience that waits for the fulfillment of promises,
I may remind you that the Old Testament sets before you notable
examples of this kind of waiting in Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They
waited long in the land of which they owned not so much as a single
foot, except the field that contained Abraham's place of burial in the
cave of Mach-pelah. Dwelling in tents, they waited, sojourners with God
and strangers in the land, until the time when the promise should be
fulfilled. This is just how you, also, have to live, Believer. This
world is not a place of rest for you, for it is pol-luted–so you are
to live the separated life of a pilgrim and a stranger until the Lord
shall bring you into the Heavenly Canaan and give you the "inheritance,
incorruptible and undefiled, and that fades not away," which is
"reserved in Heaven for you."
This patience is, however, most clearly set forth in the Scriptures in
the life of our dear Lord and Master. You will find in Him patience in
its highest perfection. He is the model of patient perseverance in the
work His Father gave Him to do. He is the pattern of patient silence
under the reproaches and sarcasms of wicked men, the image of patient
suffering as He bowed His head unto death, even the death of the Cross.
He it is, "who for the joy that was set before Him endured the Cross,
despising the shame." This is part of the patience of the Scriptures
and such patience as this we have, each one of us, to seek.
But, in addition to its being the patience inculcated and the patience
exhibited, it is the patience produced by the Scriptures. Beloved, if
you read the Scriptures diligently and meditate much upon them–if you
drink in of their spirit, it will be with you as it is with certain
insects which, when they feed upon a peculiar kind of flower, their
silk is colored like that upon which they feed. You shall find that
feeding upon the patience of the Scriptures in meditation and prayer,
you will find reproduced in you the patience of the Scriptures! If you
want to kill impatience turn to the Word of God, look up an appropriate
text, ask to have it applied to your heart by the Holy Spirit and see
whether the Grace of patience is not thus implanted within you! Have
you become weary in well-doing? Then stay yourselves upon a precious
promise and your weariness will speedily depart! Do you seem as if you
could not bear the continued opposition of ungodly men? Turn to the
promises of your gracious Lord and Master and you shall learn to
rejoice and be exceedingly glad, even when they persecute you and say
all manner of evil against you falsely for His name's sake! The saints
of God have long proved that the Scriptures produce patience.
There is no literature in the world that is comparable to the many
Books that are put here into one library called the Bible. There are no
philosophical maxims under Heaven that can produce such patience as the
Word of God produces when the Spirit of God comes riding in His own
chariot of the Word into the soul of man. It is not the patience of a
brute beast that cannot complain, or the patience of the stoic who
refuses to feel–it is the patience of a child who believes in his
father's love, the patience of a soldier who does not expect to conquer
the enemy without stern fighting, the patience
of a pilgrim who pushes on because he believes in the inheritance which
he will ultimately reach. This is the patience of the Scriptures! May
God, in His great mercy, work it in each one of us!
II. Then, in addition to the patience of the Scriptures, we are
exhorted to seek to possess THE COMFORT OF THE
SCRIPTURES.
It is not right for us to be patient, yet miserable. I think I have
seen some who professed to be Christians give themselves up to a mode
of life which was not at all what it should be. They did not actually
complain, but one could see that they were not happy. This is not the
point to which the Spirit of God would bring us–He would have us get
the comfort of the Scriptures. Well, now, what is the comfort of the
Scriptures?
To go over the same heads again, I should say that it is, first, the
comfort which the Scriptures inculcate. You know how the Word of God
abounds in injunctions and promises concerning comfort and consolation.
"Comfort you, comfort you My people, says your God. Speak comfortably
to Jerusalem." There are many passages in the Old Testament in which we
are plainly exhorted to be glad. And when you come to the New
Testament, you have such messages as this. "Let not your heart be
troubled: you believe in God, believe also in Me." Or this, "Rejoice in
the Lord always and again I say, Rejoice." The Scripture bids us not
merely to submit to tribulation, but to rejoice in it–not simply to be
patient, but to glory in infirmities, to glory in trials, to glory in
tribulations because then the Grace of God rests upon us all the more
manifestly.
Then, Brothers and Sisters, we should have the comfort which the
Scriptures exhibit What a charming picture of a comfortable, happy
frame of mind is that of Enoch, who walked with God for centuries
together! "Enoch walked with God, after he begat Methuselah, three
hundred years." How beautifully do we see the spirit of consolation
exhibited in the character of Abraham, who, with all his troubles as a
stranger in a strange land, walks among men as a king! Have you never
envied that quiet dignity with which, believing in God, he seemed also
to master all around him without any sign of agitation of mind? Oh,
that you had such comfort as he had when he took his son, his only son,
whom he loved, to offer him up for a sacrifice! You never have had such
a test as that and, probably, you never will–but in all that time of
testing, what solid comfort he had! There were no written Scriptures
then, yet how grand is the consolation which the Scripture describes
him as having! "By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac:
and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,
of whom it was said, that in Isaac shall your seed be called:
accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from
hence also he received Him in a figure." Therefore he staggered not at
the promise through unbelief.
Admire, too, the comfort that you often see in the case of David. His
was a troubled life, but he stayed himself upon his God. As one
remarkable instance of this, think of the time when he came back from
the Philistines and found Ziklag burned. All who were left in it were
carried away captive and "the people"–his own followers–"spoke of
stoning him–but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God." All
through the Psalms you get beautiful pictures of the comfort that David
enjoyed even in his times of trouble. "Why are you cast down, O my
Soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope you in God, for I
shall yet praise Him, who is the health of my countenance and my God."
Thus he talked to himself and admonished himself–and even when he sank
in deep waters, he still cried unto the Lord and still hoped in His
mercy. What a sweet song of hope he sings in the 23rd Psalm! "Yea,
though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no
evil: for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me."
So, be patient, Brothers and Sisters, but be comfortable, too! Submit
to the will of God, but do not do it like slaves who submit because
they must, but like children who learn to rejoice in their father's
will and who, though they cannot understand it, yet believe it to be
good and right. If you want to exhibit the comfort of the Scriptures,
do as Hezekiah did when Rabshakeh came with Sennacherib's letter full
of filthiness and blasphemy. "Hezekiah went up into the House of the
Lord and spread it before the Lord." This is the comfort of the
Scriptures, that we may go to the Lord in the worst time of trouble and
spread the whole case before the eyes of Infinite Love, expecting and
being sure that God will, in some way, work deliverance for us.
And, as I said about the patience of the Scriptures, so is it with the
comfort. I have spoken of the comfort which the Scriptures inculcate
and exhibit. Now I want to speak of the comfort which the Scriptures
produce. Oh, how sweetly do the Scriptures console and cheer the heart!
I am only saying what many of you, dear Brothers and Sisters, know as
well as I do, and I know it in my very heart. There have been times in
my life when all the words of men, however kindly they
may have been spoken, have altogether failed to comfort me. But a
promise–yes, I was about to say, halfa promise– from God has lifted
my soul out of the depths of despair and made it rise like a lark,
singing as it soared in the clear sunlight of Jehovah's Countenance!
When the Spirit of God applies even the briefest portion of Scripture
to our spirit, it is a balm for every care and the end of every
difficulty. We are glad, then, in the worst of weathers, to take up our
cross and go on our way rejoicing when the consolations of the Holy
Scriptures are applied to us by the Holy Spirit! For, Brothers and
Sisters, the Scriptures always exactly fit our case, whatever it may
be.
Was there ever a book that was so much written for you as this Book is?
I claim that it was written for me, yet I grant that it was also
written for you–I mean, not merely for you all, as a whole
congregation, but for each child of God. There are passages in the
Bible which sometimes come to my heart with such force that it seems as
if the Holy Spirit must have written them the very day I read them! He
must have known all about my case, for He has put a little word into
that verse which just exactly suits me! I know that it was written
thousands of years ago, but what a marvelous prescience must have been
there to foresee the peculiarity and specialty of my trouble! Have not
you found it so, Beloved? Has not the comfort of the Scriptures been so
suitable, so tender, so condescending, that you have enjoyed it and
been made glad
by it?
There is also this further comfort, that the Scriptures are so certain.
When we have trusted in a praise of God, we have not relied upon a
cunningly devised fable. When we rely upon a Covenant declaration, it
is not a bruised reed which will break beneath our weight, but it is a
strong, substantial column which will bear all the load that we can
possibly put upon it, so that we may have the fullest consolation and
good hope through Grace by this comfort of the Scriptures.
Let us just think of a few Old Testament passages and see if they do
not give us great comfort. "I know their sorrows." That is a very old
statement of God concerning the children of Israel in Egypt, but, it is
just as true concerning all oursorrows–they are all known to God. "The
eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms."
That is part of the last message of Moses to the children of Israel.
Does not that comfort of the Scriptures cheer you? Here is another
precious passage: "Fear not, you worm Jacob, and you men of Israel; I
will help you, says the Lord, and your Redeemer, the Holy One of
Israel." "The mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but My
kindness shall not depart from you, neither shall the Covenant of My
peace be removed, says the Lord that has mercy on you." "I have loved
you with an everlasting love: therefore with loving kindness have I
drawn you." "Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not
have compassion on the son of her womb? Yes, they may forget, yet will
I not forget you."
"Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning." "Cast
your burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain you: He shall never
suffer the righteous to be moved." "No good thing will He withhold from
them that walk uprightly." "Trust in the Lord, and do good: so shall
you dwell in the land, and verily you shall be fed." "As your days, so
shall your strength be." Do you want me to keep on quoting such
precious promises as these? I might do so all night long, for these
charming notes of the comfort of the Scriptures are practically without
end! Oh, may the Divine Spirit lay some of them home to your troubled
hearts, so that, beloved Brothers and Sisters, you may not only have
patience and comfort, but that you may have the patience and the
comfort of the Scriptures!
III. Now I have to speak briefly on the last part of our subject, which
is–THE HOPE OF THE SCRIPTURES– "that we through the patience and the
comfort of the Scriptures might have the hope."
You have noticed, I daresay, that the matters which concern our
salvation are always spoken of as the objects of faith. A man does not
obtain the pardon of his sins by hoping for it–he is not regenerated
because he hopes to be born-again. Justification is not given to him
because he hopes for it. All these things are matters of faith, not of
hope. We are justified by faith. It is by faith that we receive the
forgiveness of our sins. Faith has to do with the past–with what
Christ has accomplished. But hope looks forward to the future. Hope is
for those who are saved and hope comes to us and is strengthened in us
by the patience and the comfort of the Scriptures.
Well now, Brothers and Sisters, what is the hope which we get as God
enables us to have the patience and the comfort of the Scriptures?
Well–to go over the same three points again–it is such a hope as the
Scriptures hold forth. For instance, they hold forth this hope–"The
righteous shall hold on his way, and he that has clean hands shall be
stronger and stronger." So, if you have the patience and the comfort of
the Scriptures, you will be sure about that great and glorious Doctrine
of the Perseverance of the Saints. Your hope will be very bright about
that matter because you will feel sure that we shall be preserved,
upheld, comforted and rendered triumphant even over the last enemy,
which is death, for
He has said, "I will never leave you, nor forsake you." That is one
hope which the Scripture sets forth to us. Than there is the hope that
after death will come the Resurrection and eternal life and Glory, for
that is also part of the hope set forth in the Scriptures, as Job said,
"I know that my Redeemer lives and that He shall stand at the latter
day upon the earth: and though after my skin, worms destroy this body,
yet in my flesh shall I see God." And David said, "As for me, I will
behold Your face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake,
with Your likeness." And Isaiah said, "Your dead men shall live,
together with my dead body shall they arise." Albeit that the Old
Testament in itself has not the brightness of hope that there is in the
New Testament, yet there is enough, even there, to make us very hopeful
for the future. And if you read the whole of the Scriptures through,
you will see that the man who, by the patience of the Scriptures is
holding on his way, and by the comfort of the Scriptures is cheered–in
so doing has the good hope of final perseverance and of eternal glory!
Then, also, this hope is such as the Scriptures exhibit We have a very
beautiful picture of hope in the 11th Chapter of Hebrews where the
Apostle describes all those heroes of the faith and then says, "These
all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen
them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them." They all
died looking for what they had not seen, but of which they were so sure
that they already embraced it! Over their mausoleum we may inscribe the
words, "the children of the morning." They had not seen the full light
of the day, but they were persuaded of its coming–they watched for it,
spoke of it and lived and died in expectation of it! You are to have
the same kind of hope that Abraham had, of whom our Lord said to the
Jews, "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day: and he saw it and
was glad." You are to have the same sort of hope that all the
Patriarchs had when they remained far off from the country from which
they had gone out because, like Abraham, they "looked for a city who
has foundations, whose Builder and Maker is God." You are to have a
hope like that of Joseph, who died in Egypt, yet gave commandment
concerning his bones, that they were not to be left there, for he still
claimed his portion, not with Pharaoh, but with his forefathers in the
land of promise.
I have not time to go through the list of the hopeful spirits of the
Old Testament, but I would just remind you that they never hoped to
have the inheritance without patiently waiting on God's time for them
to receive it, and they only hoped to have it through the comfort of
the Scriptures which had promised it to them. It must be the same with
us. Through believing in Christ Jesus our Lord, and relying upon the
promises of our faithful, Covenant-keeping God, we also, through the
patience of the Scriptures, and the comfort of the Scriptures, shall
inherit the hope which is set forth and exhibited in the Scriptures.
Lastly, this is a hope such as the Scriptures always produce in those
who believe them, obey them and follow them. O Brothers and Sisters, if
you are patiently fighting the battles of the Lord, determined that
nothing shall turn you aside from following the great Captain of your
salvation–if you are resting in the precious blood of Jesus and the
Holy Spirit has worked in you this determination that come what may,
you will never turn aside from the King's highway of holiness–then I
know that you will delight in and seek after all the comforts that are
stored up for you in the Inspired Word of God! You will prize your
Lord's promises, you will observe your Lord's ordinances and, above
all, you will esteem and love your blessed Lord, Himself, who is "the
Consolation of Israel." You will honor the Divine Spirit, who is the
Comforter, who brings the comfort of which our text speaks. And when
you have thus realized the patience and the comfort of the Scriptures,
oh, what a hope you will have! You will share the hopes of all the
saints, the hopes which stirred their spirits when they died, some of
them in anguish at the stake or on the rack, or dragged at the heels of
wild horses, or stoned, or sawn in two, or slain with the sword. You
will have the hope with which your godly mother died. The hope with
which all those who were in Christ have died. You will have the hope
that when the Master comes, He will find you ready to welcome Him–the
hope that when His Throne is set and His courtiers are gathered around
it in the Great Day of Account, you will be there–and the hope that,
forever, you will be with Him where He is, to behold His Glory, the
Glory which the Father has given Him!
I could not, if I had the tongues of men and of angels, explain and
expound all that is included in the hope of patient souls that are
comforted by the Inspired Word of God! It is a hope full of immortality
and of it the Apostle Paul says, when writing to the Hebrews, "which
hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and
which enters into that within the veil; where the Forerunner is for us
entered, even Jesus, made an High Priest forever after the order of
Melchisedec." This hope we would not part with for ten thousand worlds
if we had them–do you not say so, Beloved?
Oh, let your eyes sparkle at the very thought of this hope! Let your
hearts dance even at the mere mention of it! Let your whole soul be
invigorated and kept in tune by this hope–that when Jesus comes in His
Glory, you shall be with Him and shall reign with Him forever and ever!
Now I must send you away with this mournful reflection–that there are
some of you who have no hope. Sometimes, we use the word, "hope," very
incorrectly. A man dies without any faith in Christ and someone says,
"Well, I hope it is all right with him." I dare not say that! I dare
say, "I wish it had been all right with him. I desire that it might
have been." But hope needs solid ground to rest upon if it is to be a
good hope. An idle, vain hope is for idle and vain men. A foolish hope
is only fit for fools. Sirs, what right have some of you to hope that
you will ever get to Heaven? If, when you go out of this Tabernacle,
you were to turn to the left and go towards London Bridge, it would be
very absurd for you to say that you hoped that, in that way, you would
get to Clapham. And when you turn your faces towards the world, towards
self, towards sin, it is idle for you to say, "I hope we shall all meet
in Heaven." I am sure I wish, with all my heart, that we may–and that
means that I hope the Lord will turn your faces heavenward!
May the Holy Spirit bring you to repent of sin, to believe in Jesus, to
cast yourselves wholly upon Him–may He, by His Grace, cut the links
which now bind you to the world and enable you to give yourselves up
wholly to Christ, that He may save you! May the Lord do this in His
infinite mercy, for Christ's sake! Amen.
EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: ROMANS 15:1-16.
Verse 1. We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the
weak, and not to please ourselves. When we are free from scruples upon
any point and feel that there are things that we may do because we are
strong, yet let us not do them if, thereby, we should grieve others who
are weak. Let us think of their infirmities and, whatever liberty we
may feel entitled to claim for ourselves, let us look at the matter
from the standpoint of other people as well as from our own, that we
may bear the infirmities of the weak and not seek to please ourselves.
2. 3. Let everyone of us please his neighbor for his good to
edification. For even Christ Our Master, and Lord, and great
Exemplar–"For even Christ"–
3. Pleased not Himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them
that reproached You fell on Me. He took the most trying place in the
whole field of battle. He stood where the fray was hottest. He did not
seek to be among His disciples as a king is in the midst of his troops,
guarded and protected in the time of strife, but He exposed Himself to
the fiercest part of the conflict. What Jesus did, that should we who
are His followers do–no one of us considering himself and his own
interests–but all of us considering our brethren and the cause of
Christ in general.
4. For whatever things were written before were written for our
learning. This is as if somebody had said, "Why, Paul, it was David who
said what you just quoted." "Yes," he replies, "I know that I quoted
David, but he spoke in his own person concerning his Lord, 'for
whatever things were written before were written for our learning.'"
4, 5. That we, through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might
have hope. Now the God of patience and consolation. ' 'Comfort" is
really the word he used, turning into prayer the thought which had been
suggested by his use of the words, "patience and comfort." "Now the God
of patience and comfort"–
5, Grant you to be like-minded, one toward another, according to Christ
Jesus. "Make you to be unanimous, not concerning that which is evil,
but that you may be of one mind in your likeness to Christ Jesus." What
a blessed harmony it would be if not only all in any one church, but
all in the whole of the churches were like-minded, one toward another,
according to Christ Jesus! It will be so when He gathers those who are
now scattered. But may we never hope to have it so here on earth? I
cannot tell, but, at any rate, let us all strive after it. Let us all
endeavor to pitch our tune according to Christ's keynote and the nearer
we get to that, the less discord there will be in the Psalmody of the
Church. We shall be like-minded with one another when we become
like-minded with Christ, but not till then.
6, 7. That you may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Therefore receive you one another, as
Christ also received us to the glory of God. Christ did not receive us
because we were perfect, because He could see no fault in us, or
because He hoped to gain something at our hands. Ah, no! But, in loving
conde-
scension covering our faults and seeking our good, He welcomed us to
His heart. So, in the same way, and with the same purpose, let us
receive one another.
8. Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for
the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers. It was
to Abraham and his descendants that the promise was made that in him
and in his seed, all the nations of the earth should be blessed. So our
Lord came, as a Jew, to be "a minister of the circumcision." Let us
never forget that He came to those whom we are apt to forget and,
perhaps, even to despise, "to confirm the promises made unto the
fathers.'"
9-12. And that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy; as it is
written: For this cause I will confess You among the Gentiles, and sing
unto Your name. And again he said, Rejoice, you Gentiles, with His
people. And again, Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles; and laud Him, all
you people. And again, Isaiah said, There shall be a root of Jesse, and
He that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in Him shall the
Gentiles trust. There were plain indications, in the Old Testament,
that the blessing was meant for the Gentiles as well as for the Jews.
But still, it was made known to the Jews first, and we must never
forget that.
13. Now the God of hope. Turn back to the fourth verse and note the
expression, "that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures
might have hope." Then read in the fifth verse, "The God of patience
and comfort" and see how Paul here goes back to that last word in the
fourth verse, "Now the God of hope"–
13-16. Fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may
abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Spirit. And I myself also
ampersuaded ofyou, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness,
filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another
Nevertheless, brethren, Ihave written the more boldly unto you in some
sort, asput-ting you in mind, because of the Grace that is given to me
of God. That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles,
ministering the Gospel of God that the offering up of the Gentiles
might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Now would
have been the time for Paul to say that he had been made a minister "to
offer the unbloody sacrifice of the mass," if such a thing had been
right! To offer up the daily sacrifice, as the so-called "priests" say
that they now do! But he says nothing of the sort and even when he
represents the Gentiles as being offered up, he does not speak of any
sacrifice going therewith, but says that it "might be acceptable, being
sanctified by the Holy Spirit."