A Promise and a Providence
(No. 3528)
A SERMON PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 1916.
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.
"I will feed My flock, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord."
Ezekiel 34:15.
BEFORE this can be done there are certain preliminaries. A flock cannot
be fed until it is in existence. It cannot be fed, as a flock, until
all the scattered sheep shall have been brought together. Hence, in the
context, other promises supply this deficiency! We find, for example,
the Lord declaring that He will search out His sheep and seek them.
They have gone far astray. Some of them seem to have so exhausted their
patience in wandering that they have invented new forms of sin and new
methods of transgression. Yet the Lord will seek them till His eyes of
mercy shall rest upon them and His hands of power shall grasp them. If
the Lord has an elect soul in the center of Africa, He will find him
out. Or should there be one for whom Jesus died who frequents the house
that is infamous and has plunged into the most detestable sin, yet the
Lord will not lose him! Having set His heart upon him, He will seek him
till He finds him and follow him up till He reclaims him. You remember
one of the Lord's sheep–a woman who had forsaken the paths of virtue.
She had had five husbands and was then living with one who was not her
husband. Yet He must go through Samaria to meet with her! He must–such
was the Divine necessity that this sheep, which had wandered as far as
it well could, should be brought back!
Cheer up! Be of good courage, preacher of the Word. You may not find
the sheep, but your Master will! Take heart, you that wait upon the
Lord in prayer–you may see some of your agencies fail and success may
not wait upon all your efforts, but God's purposes must stand–He will
do all His pleasure and at the last it shall be seen that not a single
sheep was left for want of being sought out. Nor is it enough to seek
the sheep and to find them–they must be delivered from the dangers
into which they have fallen. There is a promise to this effect. They
had been scattered in a cloudy and dark day. Some of them had slipped
from the crag and fallen into crevices, from which it seemed as if no
hand could reach them. Others, skipping from rock to rock, had reached
some lofty pinnacle where it seemed certain that the next move would
dash them down the dizzy depth to ruin. But the Lord has said it, "I
will bring them out from all places where they have been scattered."
High up there in pride, in blasphemy, in persecution, or low down there
in shameful degradation and infamy, they shall be brought, every one of
them, from all the perils of evil within and evil without, and be
gathered safely into the fold! But when, one by one, they have been
delivered, they are not a flock till they are gathered by the Shepherd.
They must, therefore, not only be brought out of the danger, but
brought into the flock, safely housed, and collected into one fold. So
the promise runs, "I will gather them altogether into one place."
Beloved, this great work of gathering is going on today! By this man
and by that, by this agency and by the other, the Lord is separating
His chosen people from among the ruins of the Fall–fetching His Israel
out of Egypt and His captives out of Babylon and Chal-dea–so that the
whole company of the faithful may be a people separated unto the Lord!
Let us entertain no fears as to the Lord having a Church in the world!
With Omnipotent Power, directed by Infallible Wisdom and moved by
Immutable Love, those whom God has chosen to be His sheep shall be
sought out, rescued from their danger and numbered with the living
people of the living God! Do I not now address a section of this great
flock? Are there not many in this dense crowd who belong to that Seed
which the Lord has blessed? Can there fail to be a rich vein of comfort
to such in this promise, "I will feed My flock, and I will make them
lie down, says the Lord"?
Our text has in it a double blessing. By way of division, we will
emphasize each word and endeavor to draw out the fullness of its
meaning. To take the last word, first, "My flock" is–
I. A NOTE OF DESCRIPTION.
It describes God's people distinctively, separating them from all other
people. They are not ravenous like lions. They are not crafty like
foxes. They are not swift like the hare. They are not foul like the
swine. They love not carrion like the
raven. They are timid, trembling, weak, but they are clean and they
love clean feeding. They are gentle. They have no guile. When Sovereign
Grace has renewed and changed them, you may easily distinguish the
Lord's sheep from the world's goats. Naturally, these sheep of the Lord
have the infirmities of sheep–prone to go astray they are fearful,
weak and liable to disease. It is said that man, a horse and a sheep
are liable to more diseases than any other creatures. Certainly sheep
have many contingencies. They are prone to infect others with their
ailments. As to going astray they are so gregarious that if but one
sheep leaps the wall, the whole flock must go after him! The Lord's
people, in a state of nature, are very much like sheep as to their
infirmities and, when converted, they are like sheep for their meekness
and gentleness. Then they can suffer without repining–they can follow
the Shepherd, for they know His voice, and a stranger will they not
follow, for they know not the voice of strangers. This word is thus
distinctive–it sets out a people who are no more to be mistaken for
any other people than sheep are to be mistaken for wolves or lions!
Question yourself, my Hearer, whether you are one of the Lord's sheep.
Have you given yourself up to His care? Do you follow at His bidding?
Do you desire to be washed in His sheep-washing? Are you desirous that
He should make you to feed and to lie down in His green pastures?
Nor is the word merely distinctive–it is likewise collective. It is
not said, "I will feed My sheep one by one," but, "I will feed My
flock." The Lord has only one flock, and so in this world He has only
one Church. "Well," says one "we see 20 denominations." Thank God for
it! I am not one of those who would deplore the fact that different
Brothers are set for the defense of different parts of the Truth of
God. Can you doubt that when Christ prayed that His people might be
one, He was heard? It were almost blasphemy to think that His petition
was denied! Very well, then, they are one. If the intercession of
Christ prevailed, then today the Church is one! I do not believe for a
moment that the oneness which Christ intended was ever a oneness of
opinion, or a oneness of form of worship any more than a oneness of
association, congregating them together in the same building! It was a
mystical, secret, vital unity which exists in the Church of God at this
very day! Brothers and Sisters, all Believers are really and truly one!
When their souls are in a glow with Divine Love, and their hearts speak
out of the fullness of their emotion, the unity of the one flock
becomes perceptible! The little divisions in the Church of God that
challenge your notice are like little cracks upon the surface of the
earth–the rock is not cracked. The divisions that we have in the
churches are only little skin wounds–the body is not divided. "Not a
bone of Him shall be broken." The great body of Christ still remains
indissolubly one! And here tonight, be we Independent, or Baptist,
Presbyterian, Episcopalian, or Methodist–if we are one with Christ, we
must be one with one another! After all, the Catholic is right in the
expression, while he is wrong in the meaning he attaches to it, when he
says there is no salvation out of the pale of the church. Referred to
any worldly policy, it is a lie, but in sober truth, outside of the one
indivisible Church of Christ lightly defined, there can be no
salvation! But, thanks be unto Christ, every soul that knows the voice
of God, the Good Shepherd, and follows at His beck and call, belongs to
the one flock, soon to be gathered into the one fold. Note, then, the
distinctive and the aggregate description–they are sheep individually
and they are, collectively, a flock. But here is–
II. A WORD OF DISCRIMINATION, as well as a word of description–"I will
feed My flock"–"My flock." Oh, that sweet word, "My"! "I will feed My
flock," not the devil's flock–let those goats browse where they will!
Not the world's flock–let them wander on their own mountains of
vanity! But, "I will feed My flock." Beloved, if we are the Lord's
people by faith, remember we are His by Eternal Election. He chose us
before earth's foundations were laid! He took us unto Himself to be the
jewels of His crown and the delight of His soul. Before the channels of
the sea were dug, or the sockets of the mountains were formed–long
before the sun had scattered the thick darkness–our names were written
upon the hands of Jesus! We are His, too, by purchase. Think of the
price He paid for us! I am dwelling upon this to make you see how true
it is that He will feed us. Did He choose us? Did He buy us–and will
He not feed us?–
"Count the purple drops and say, 'Thus my sins were washed away.'"
Thus I, a captive, was set free! Thus I, impounded by the Law of God,
saw the gate of the pound opened and I, the sheep of Christ, came out
to lie down in His pastures. You are His by ties of blood, as well as
His by purchase–and you are also His by power. He won you, fought for
you and made you His lawful captives. You held out as long as you
could, but at last you cried, "I yield! Almighty Love, You have
overcome me! Now I bow myself to Your silver scepter, willingly Your
subject." Oh, how hard it was for Christ to get some of us! Like
wandering sheep, we strayed here, there and everywhere! And when the
Shepherd came and began to grasp us, we struggled to get free,
struggled for that awful liberty
which would have been our ruin! But, glory be to God, He would have us!
He took us upon His shoulders, He carried us home rejoicing and this
day we acknowledge it was the victorious love of Christ which made us
His! Yes, and we are His by our own free consent. Would you be
another's if you could? Oh, if there could be a divorce court held
between your soul and Christ, would you sue for a division? Say, my
Soul, if the branch could be cut off from the Vine, would you wish to
be severed from Him now? For His sake can you suffer shame, spitting,
rebuke and poverty? Say, for His sake can you count the world's
treasures to be as dross–and all its pomp and glory but as sounding
brass and as a tinkling cymbal? I know you! You say, "Truly, by His
Grace, I can, for He is mine and I cannot let Him go! He holds me so
fast and He has proved unto me a love which many waters cannot quench,
neither can the floods drown it." Thus you see, Beloved, that that word
of discrimination, "My," has a good and grateful tone about it. "I will
feed Myflock." Go, you who do not belong to God, and find such food as
you can gather, but you who are the Lord's own peculiar ones, take this
for your consolation, "I will feed Myflock." The next word, going
backwards, is–
III. A WORD FULL OF CONSOLATION–"I will fedMy flock." Yes, He will
supply your temporal needs. You may run short, but you shall never
want. When the garment has got to be threadbare, then He will find you
another. I recollect one instance of Providence of which I was the
almost passive agent. It was the case of a Brother Christian and
minister. I was staying in a country town and it was requisite to
borrow an edifice for the preaching. One Chapel could not be had, for
the preacher was not high enough in Doctrine. And another Chapel could
not be had for the whim of some of the deacons. But there was one
little Chapel which the minister very willingly lent, for he said, "Oh,
yes. To a fellow servant of my Lord and Master, I will cheerfully open
the doors." The preacher of that night noticed that the minister of
that little Chapel wore a threadbare coat and he observed that in his
house there were signs of poverty. Twelve shillings a week was the good
man's income–all that his flock could afford to give him. After the
preacher had done his sermon, he said, "Perhaps the minister here will
pardon me if I say that his clothes are getting much too shabby, and I
think it would be a good thing for us all to contribute and buy him a
new suit of clothes." 'Twas done and when I said to the minister, "I
hope you will pardon me for such an impertinent remark?" "Pardon you?"
he said, "why the Lord always finds me fresh clothes when my things
wear out, and it is always some such manner as I never dreamed of." The
good man is in Heaven, now. I believe that suit just lasted him till he
put on the white garment before the Eternal Throne. Depend upon it,
that as it was with him, so, if you believe in your Master, it shall be
with you! He will give you food and raiment–that is all He has
promised you–and if you get that, He will be as good as His bargain,
so you must not murmur at your fare.
"I will feedMy flock." The sense, however, is mainly spiritual. It does
not say the Shepherd shall feed them, but, "I will feed them, says the
Lord," and He says that He will feed them with good pasture. Good
Doctrines, comfortable promises, sweet encouragements, tender words of
exhortation, gentle notes of warning–these shall be their daily food!
And, mark it, He says He will feed them on the high mountains. Some of
His sheep do not like to go up such lofty heights. Dear me! How many
faithful souls are frightened at the very mention of High Doctrine!
Election is one of those mountains where grass grows of the very
sweetest kind, but there are some of the flock who do not like to go
there to feed. But the best food is on these high mountains. If your
feet shall know how to stand on the craggy heights of Immutable and
Eternal Love, if you shall know how to climb up yonder into the great
Decrees of God, if you can take hold of His Covenant, if you can
contemplate the Divine Purpose which is sure to all the Seed, you will
find those to be the very sweetest and most satisfying spiritual food
that is to be found on this side the Jordan! "I will feed My flock."
Ah, sometimes God's people are placed where they have a very
innutritious ministry, and then He feeds them in some other way. Their
own private readings become a consolation to them. When, at times, some
of the Lord's people are sick, laid on their beds, unable to go up to
the House of Prayer, this promise, "I will feed My flock," proves quite
as true to them at home in their seclusion as it is here in our joyous
gatherings! If you neglect the means of Grace, in vain can you expect a
blessing! But if you are lawfully detained from them, plead the promise
and expect its fulfillment–"I will feed My flock."
Are you just going to New Zealand, or are you just about to take a
voyage to Australia, my beloved Sister, my dear Brother? God will feed
you there. I know not how. You may be up in the back settlements, or in
the bush, and have but little opportunity of meeting with the people of
God, but still remember, "I will feed My flock." You are going on a
long sea voyage, are you, and there are but few on board to encourage
you? Well, take the promise to your God, "I will feed My flock." Or are
you moving away from this Church, which has been like a hothouse to
you, and going into some country village where there is no Gospel
preaching? Never mind, Brothers and Sisters–if God sends you there,
lay hold on
Him by faith with these words, "I will feed My flock"–and He willfeed
you, and you shall have enough and to spare! In the time of famine you
shall be filled, and in the day of scarcity you shall be satisfied. "I
will feed My flock." Again, going backwards, let us take the next–
IV. A WORD WHICH IS FULL OF ASSURANCE.
"I wllfeed My flock." "I will. I will. I will." See how positively He
speaks. Not, "I think I will." Not, "I may," but "I will." Beloved,
these "shalls" and "wills" are the very marrow of the Gospel! They make
the strength of it. Take the "shalls" and "wills" out of the Bible and
put in conditional "ifs" and "buts" and "perhaps," in their place–what
a desolate appearance it would present! These "shalls" and "wills"
stand like Jachin and Boaz, the great pillars of the Temple, right at
the entrance, and we must see to it that we never give up these potent
"shalls" and "wills," but hold fast and firmly to them! "I will feed My
flock." "But," says one, "are not some of the flock lost?" Read the
verse! He says, "I will seek them and I will feed them." "They may be
lost, but if they have backslidden I will bring them back. If, like
Peter, they have denied Me to My face, I will forgive them. If they
have played the harlot, like Israel of old, and gone astray from Me,
yet I will bring them back, for I will feed My flock." He cannot feed
them unless He brings them back! But, "I will feed My flock. I will
bring back all the wanderers who have been bought with My blood. I
will." The adversary says they shall not be brought! "I will. I will,"
says the Lord. "No, but," says proud flesh, "I will not be brought." "I
will," says the Lord–and God's, "I will," is infinitely mightier than
all the hosts of darkness and powers of corruption! But, Lord, there
are some of them who have been driven away–legal preachers have driven
them from Christ–their doubts and fears, their sins and trespasses
have driven them away. "But I will feed My flock, every one of them,
for I will bring them back–they shall have all their old comforts
back, their joys and hopes shall be restored to them–I will feed My
flock." But, Lord, some of them are broken! Some cruel blow has broken
a leg, or some other limb of some of Your sheep. "But I will feed My
flock. I will bring them back and heal them." You may be broken in
heart and your faith may be weak, and your Graces spoiled, but this
stands good, "I will, I will feed My flock." But, Lord, they are
infected with disease–so runs the passage, "they are weak"–they have
got some disease common to Your sheep. "I will heal them," says the
Lord, "for I will feed My sheep."
My dear Friends, it is not possible for an heir of Heaven ever to get
into such a state that God cannot save him! And should he be allowed in
Sovereign forbearance to wander to the utmost excess of sin–if he were
even in the very jaws of the destroyer, yet our Savior, like another
David, would pluck the lamb out of the jaw of the lion and tear it away
from the paw of the bear! As long as you are out of Hell, Sinner, have
hope! And, Believer, if you should sink in deep waters and be swallowed
up of the Devourer, still, like Jonah, you shall be able to say, "Out
of the belly of Hell I cried, and You heard me." "I will feed My
flock." Oh, that you who are doubting and fearing would lay hold on
this, "I will. I will. I will." Your flesh and carnal reason will
doubtless say, "Well, I hope and trust." Away with your hoping and
trusting! Do not halt and hesitate, but believe! If God says He will,
who are you that you should entertain a suspicion? You shall be
fed–God's Word cannot fail you! "I will feed My flock." Moreover, this
is–
V. A WORD OF DIVINITY.
"Twill feed My flock." Who is this that says, "I will"? When a man
says, "I will," it is often braggart impudence, but when God says, "I
will," and, "you shall," such words are expressive alike of Sovereign
determination and Irresistible Power! Christian, see who it is that
makes the promise and mark who it is that will fulfill it! "I will feed
My flock." Do you complain that you cannot feed under such-and-such a
minister? The Lord promises, "I will feed My flock." Here you have
Divine Infinity to be your supply! Here you have Divine Immutability to
be your guarantee! Here you have Divine Omnipotence to be your aid and
Divine Wisdom to be the measure of the supply which shall be afforded
to you! Trust in the Lord and do good. When Jehovah says, "I will,"
banish every doubt and fear and now, for time and for eternity, cast
yourself upon your God. He says, "I will feed My flock"–let us reply,
"The Lord is my Shepherd."
Passing on to the second clause of the verse, "And I will make them lie
down, says the lord, "you will please observe that this further
blessing is intended to make amends for the harshness of the false
shepherds. They would never let them lie down quietly. Their custom was
always to drive, drive, drive, or else to seize, fleece and slay. But
the Lord says, "I will make them lie down," and so redress their
wrongs. For all the weariness they have suffered in the past, they
shall have calm repose in the future. You know how apt the legal
preacher is to whip his hearers with–"Do this!" And, "Do that." You
know how certain Calvinists whip their hearers with, "If you have felt
this," and, "If you have experienced that,"
you may be saved. But the Lord Himself always makes His people, when
they come fully to confide in Him, to lie down in a good fold and to
feed in a fat pasture!
When the Lord reveals to you that He has loved you with an everlasting
love, is not that a good place to lie down in? When He tells you that
having so loved you, He will never cast you away, is not that a good
place to lie down in? When He tells you that your warfare is
accomplished and that your sin is pardoned, is not that a good place to
lie down in? Or supposing the message to be that Christ has brought in
an everlasting righteousness and that you are accepted in the Beloved,
is not that a place to lie down in? Let Him say to you, "You are My
sons and My daughters, and I will be a Father to you"–is not that a
good place to lie down in? Well, He does say all this to every one of
you who has been brought to trust under the shadow of the wings of the
Lord God Almighty! Your faith in Jesus is the evidence that He loved
you before the world was and He will love you when the world shall
cease to be! His righteousness is imputed to you and you are saved,
completely saved, and Heaven is as surely yours as though you now wore
the crown of gold! Is not this a good place to lie down in? Still more,
He not only gives you a place to lie down in, but He also causes you to
lie down! You know, dear Friends, it is one thing to have a promise,
and quite another thing to live on it. Why, I am such a fool,
sometimes, that though I know the sweetness of the Covenant, I cannot
partake of it! Though I understand the sense and the preciousness of
the promises, yet I cannot get a grip upon them! I remember when once
talking to a captain on board his vessel, and telling him of the
promises, he said to me, "Ah, Sir, the promises of God are very much
like those posts by the riverside, strong posts driven in by the
corporation of a country town! You see, if I could once get my cable
right round them, it would hold my ship–but then thatis the job–to
get the cable round them." So it is, but then the promise supplies this
need–"I will makethem lie down. I will shed abroad the love of Christ
in their hearts. I will make their peace like a river. I will come to
them with such fullness of mercy, such overflowing of My communion,
that their souls shall not dare to be afraid! They shall be sweetly
hushed as a child is dandled to sleep upon its mother's knee. I will
not allow a fear to vex them! I will send them such balmy breath from
My own loving lips that their fears shall all fly away. I will make
them lie down."
Ah, and thanks be to God, some of us know what this means, for we have
had to lie down. My soul has fed for a whole year on one promise. I
know not why it was given to me, but I had it, "His soul shall dwell at
ease," and my soul did dwell at ease! What had I else but to be at
ease? My sins forgiven. My Heaven secure. Christ mine! God mine! This
world mine! Worlds to come mine! Why should not I dwell at ease? And,
Beloved, many of you, too–some of you at least–know what it is to
enjoy the same peace! You can walk up and down the world and look into
the grave and not be afraid of it. You can stand by a sickbed and long
for evening to undress, that you may rest with God. You have such pure
calm that business does not fret you–you can leave it with your Lord,
casting all your care on Him, for He cares for you! Yes, you have such
unspeakable joy that sometimes you could even shout for joy, for the
love, the sweet love, the precious love, the unspeakable love, the
everlasting love which Jesus has manifested to you!
But there is another flock. Hear it and tremble! There is another
flock. They never get fed at all, or, if they do, it is only on empty
husks! It is the devil's flock! Sinner, you are of his flock and he
only feeds you upon mere shams, pretences, delusions, lies! He never
causes you to lie down–you know you can never lie down. Your sins
never give you any quiet. Who has woes? Who has redness of the eyes?
They that tarry long at the wine! Who has uneasiness? Who has pangs of
heart? The midnight sinner! Who is he that quivers at the fall of a
leaf? Who is he whose cheek turns pale in a storm? Who is he that
quivers when but a little sickness gets hold upon him, and flies to the
physician? Who is he that dares not think on death? Who is he that goes
to the theater or to the ballroom to quiet his terror and to keep his
conscience from being heard? Who is he whose end is destruction, whose
god is his belly, who glories in his shame? He is here! He is here
listening to my voice! Oh, Sinner, it is time that you should change
your master!
I remember an old salt, after listening to a certain sermon, coming
with tears in his eyes into the vestry and saying, "Sir, I have served
under the black flag for 60 years–and I think it is time I ran it down
and had a new one." I think it is time you did the same, Sinner. The
wages of sin is death! Fly from this tyrant master! Immanuel, the
bright Prince of Glory, is willing to enlist you into His army! Though
there are no conditions, I will tell you the terms. The terms are
these, "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved." To
believe is simply to trust, to believe Him to be true. Trust your soul
on Him! When you can do that, you are a saved man or woman! Whatever
your sins may have been, or now are, the moment you believe in Jesus,
you are a partaker of this precious promise, "I will feed My flock, I
will make them lie down, says the Lord." God grant it to every one of
you! Amen.
EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: DEUTERONOMY 33.
Verse 1. And this is the blessing with which Moses, the man of God,
blessed the children of Israel before his death A very beautiful
thought, that he should conclude his life with a blessing. Though they
had greatly grieved and provoked his spirit, he was always meek and
tender. And he had very much to bear from them, but this is the end of
it all, that he will dismiss them with his blessing.
2, 3. And he said, The LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto
them; He shined forth from Mount Pa-ran, andHe came with ten thousands
of saints: from His right hand went a fiery Law for them. Yes, He loved
the people; all His saints are in Your hand: and they sat down at Your
feet: everyone shall receive of Your words. "Yes, He loved the people."
God's appearance on Sinai was a token of His love to them, even though
it amazed them and distressed many of them. Yet still it was a great
thing that God should come so near to these people and should reveal
His will to them. Dear Friends, if God should come to you with His
fiery Law. If He should humble you, and make you "exceedingly fear and
quake," it would be a token of love! The ungodly are left to go in
their sin, but as for you, if you are one whom He loves, He will rebuke
you and He will bring His Law to do its work upon your heart and
conscience. It seems strange to you, but so it is. "From His right hand
went a fiery Law for them. Yes, He loved the people." Oh, it is so,
because He loves them, He reveals to them His fiery Law! "All His
saints are in Your hand." A place of safety, a place of privilege,
where they learn how precious they are to Him, for He holds them so
dear that He keeps them always in His hand. "All His saints are in Your
hand, and they sat down at Your feet." Another place for saints–they
are always learning–they are disciples. They sit with meek humility at
their Master's feet and drink in His words, "Everyone shall receive of
Your words." Those who know not God's love, trifle with God's words and
reject them. Those whom He loves receive His words and feed upon them!
4-6. Moses commanded us a Law, even the inheritance of the congregation
of Jacob. And he was king in Jeshurun, when the heads of the people and
the tribes of Israel were gathered together Let Reuben live, and not
die: and let not his men be few. Here is his blessing, "Let Reuben
live." Reuben's great sin had lost him his birthright, yet Moses gives
him as much of his blessing as he can. If we are not allowed to draw
the largest blessing, let us go as far as we can!
7-9. And this is the blessing of Judah: and he said, Hear, LORD, the
voice of Judah, and bring him unto his people: let his hands be
sufficient for him; and be You a help to him from his enemies. And of
Levi he said, Let Your Thummim and Your Urim be with Your holy one,
whom You didprove at Massah, and with whom You didstrive at the waters
of Meribah; Who said unto his father and to his mother, I have not seen
him; neither did he acknowledge his brethren, nor knew his own
children: for they have observed Your word, and kept Your Covenant
Judah was the royal tribe–had to do much with warfare. Lord give him
power in prayer! This is the peculiar benediction of those who have to
lead the way in the battles of God. In the service of God, Levi was
impartial–he did not wink at sin in his dearest relatives. You
remember how they took the sword and went through the camp and slew
their own brothers when they found them guilty of idolatry. And because
of this faithfulness we read, "They shall teach Jacob Your judgments,
and Israel Your Law." Above all things, a teacher of the Truth of God
must be fearless and impartial in the delivery of God's Word! Then God
will bless him, and it shall be said of such, "They shall teach Jacob,"
etc.
10. They shall teach Jacob Your judgments, and Israel Your Law: they
shall put incense before You, and whole burnt sacrifices upon Your
altar.True hearts, alone, can be God's priests–He will not accept
sacrifices from those who will dally with His Truth and trifle with His
Word.
11, 12. Bless, LORD, his substance, and accept the work of his hands:
smite through the loins of them that rise against him, and of them that
hate him, that they rise not again. And of Benjamin he said, The
beloved of the LORD shall dwell in safety by Him; and the LORD shall
cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between His shoulders.
They that have God near them are safe, indeed! There is no protection
in such a world as this like constant communion with God. We have to go
out into a world full of all manner of evil. Go not out into the world
without your God! Let Him dwell with you and cover you all the day
long, and so shall you be safe.
13. And of Joseph he said, Blessed of the LORD be his land, for the
precious things of Heaven. Oh, in a spiritual sense, what a rich
blessing this is! And remember it came upon that tribe whose father was
the most afflicted of all Jacob's sons. If you are an afflicted Joseph,
rejoice, for one of these days you shall have the capacity for
receiving great blessings!
13. For the dew–The Lord send us that dew tonight to rest upon our
branch.
13. And for the deep that couches beneath These deep eternal springs
out of which we drink the Divine Water!
14. And for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, and for the
precious things put forth by the moon. They shall have blessings both
ways–in the day and in the night. Those whom God blesses, the sun does
not smite by day, nor the moon by night, but, on the contrary, they are
blessed both in the one and in the other!
15. 16. And for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for
theprecious things of the lasting hills. And for the precious things of
the earth and fullness thereof, and for the good will of Him that dwelt
in the bush. Oh, that we may always enjoy the good will of God, who
wills good to us, who in all His dealings with us has a good will
towards us. Oh, that we may have the good will of Him that dwelt in the
bush!
16-18. Let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top
of the head of him that was separated from his brethren. His glory is
like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of
unicorns: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of
the earth and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the
thousands of Manasseh. And of Zebulun he said, Rejoice, Zebulun, in
your going out; and Issachar, in your tents. You that go much abroad in
the world, God give you to rejoice in your opportunities of doing good.
You that never go abroad, but live at home in the kitchen and the
parlor, learn to rejoice in your tents, for there, too, you have a
sphere of holy service!
19-22. They shall call the people unto the mountain; there they shall
offer sacrifices of righteousness: for they shall suck of the abundance
of the seas and of treasures hid in the sand. And of Gad, he said,
Blessed is He that enlarges Gad: he dwells as a lion, and tears the arm
with the crown of the head. And he provided the first part for himself,
because there is a portion for the lawgiver; and he came with the heads
of the people, he executed the justice of the LORD and His judgments
with Israel And of Dan he said, Dan is a lion's whelp: he shall leap
from Bashan. "And of Gad, he said, Blessed be He that enlarges Gad."
God knows how to enlarge His people, give them more Grace, more gifts,
more opportunities of usefulness. Which He did. His tribes enlarged
their boundaries by a sudden leap. God gives His people sometimes their
leaping times–they leap from Bashan–some great purpose is
accomplished, some great feat is done.
23. And of Naphtali he said, O Naphtali, satisfied with favor, and full
with the blessing of the LORD: possess you the west and the south What
a condition of heart to be in! "Satisfied with favor; full of the
blessing of the Lord." Beloved, may you enjoy that tonight!
24. And of Asher he said, Let Asher be blessed with children; let him
be acceptable to his brethren, and let him dip his foot in oil.Then
will he leave a mark wherever he goes of holy unction. He possesses it
himself, and he will impart it to others.
25. Your shoes shall be iron and brass, and as your days, so shall your
strength be. Will not some Believer grip that promise tonight and find
it true?
26-28. There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rides upon the
Heaven to your help, andin His excellence in the sky. The eternal God
is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and He shall
thrust out the enemy from before you; and shall say, Destroy them.
Israel then shall dwell in safety alone: the fountain of Jacob shall be
upon a land of corn and wine; also His heavens shall drop down dew.
"Israel then shall dwell in safety alone." There is no place for God's
people like a separated place–they must get outside the camp–they
must not be numbered among the people. Notice, there is none like unto
the God of Israel, and there is none like to Israel.
29. Happy are you, O Israel: who is like unto you, Opeople saved by the
LORD, the shield of your help, and who is the sword of your excellence
And your enemies shall submit to you; and you shall tread upon their
high places. As God is by Himself, so all His people are favored beyond
all others