Railings
(No. 2999)
A SERMON PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 1906.
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.
"When you build a new house, then you shall make a railing for your
roof that you bring not guilt of bloodshed on your household, if any
man fall from it." Deuteronomy 22:8.
[This sermon was originally entitled BATTLEMENTS.]
THIS interesting law which, in its letter, was binding on the Jewish
people, in its spirit furnishes an admirable rule for us upon whom the
ends of the world are come.
It is not necessary to inform this audience that the roofs of Eastern
dwellings were flat and that the inhabitants were accustomed to spend
much of their time upon the tops of their houses, not only conversing
there during the day, but sleeping there at night. If the roofs were
without any fencing or protection around their edge, it might often
happen that little children might fall over–and not infrequently
grown-ups might inadvertently take a false step and suffer serious
injury, if not death itself. Where there were no railings or low walls
around the roof, accidents frequently occurred. But God commanded His
people, while they were yet in the wilderness, that when they came into
the promised land and proceeded to build houses, they should take care
in every case to build a sufficient railing that life might not be lost
through preventable casualty.
This careful command clearly shows us that God holds life to be very
valuable and that as He would not permit us to kill by malice, so He
would not allow us to kill by negligence, but would have us most tender
of human lives. Such rules as the one before us are precedents for
sanitary laws and give the weight of Divine sanction to every wise
sanitary arrangement. No man has a right to be filthy in his person, or
his house, or his trade, for even if he, himself, may flourish amid
unhealthy accumulations of dirt, he has no right, by his unclean
habits, to foster a deadly typhus, or afford a nest for cholera. Those
whose houses are foul, whose rooms are unventilated, whose persons are
disgusting, cannot be said to love their neighbor–and those who create
nuisances in our crowded cities are guilty of wholesale murder. No man
has a right to do anything which must inevitably lead to the death or
to the injury of those by whom he is surrounded–he is bound to do all
in his power to prevent any harm coming to his fellow men. That seems
to be the moral teaching of this ordinance of making railings around
the housetops–teaching, mark you, that which I would like all
housewives, workingmen, manufacturers and vestrymen to take practical
note of.
But, if ordinary life is precious, much more is the life of the soul
and, therefore, it is our Christian duty never to do that which
imperils either our own or other men's souls. To us there is an
imperative call from the great Master that we care for the eternal
interests of others and that we, as far as we can, prevent their
exposure to temptations which might lead to their fatal falling into
sin.
We shall now lead you to a few meditations which have, in our mind,
gathered around the text.
I. First, GOD HAS RAILINGS ON HIS OWN HOUSE. Let this serve as a great
Truth with which to begin our contemplations. God takes care that all
His children are safe. There are high places in His House and He does
not deny His children the enjoyment of these high places, but He makes
sure that they shall not be in danger there. He sets railings around
them lest they should suffer harm when in a state of exaltation.
God, in His House, has given us many high and sublime doctrines. Timid
minds are afraid of these, but the highest doctrine in Scripture is
safe enough because God has railed it–and as no man in the East need
be afraid to walk on the roof of his house when the railing is there,
so no man need hesitate to believe the Doctrine of Election, the
Doctrine of
Eternal and Immutable Love, or any of the Divine teachings which circle
around the Covenant of Grace–if he will at the same time see that God
has guarded those Truths so that none may fall from them to their own
destruction.
Take, for instance, the Doctrine of Election. What a high and glorious
Truth of God this is, that God has, from the beginning, chosen His
people unto salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and the
belief of the Truth! Yet that Doctrine has turned many simpletons dizzy
through looking at it apart from kindred teachings. Some, I do not
doubt, have willfully leaped over the railing which God has set about
this Doctrine and have turned it into Antinomianism, degrading it into
an excuse for evil living and reaping just damnation for their willful
perversion! But God has been pleased to set around that Doctrine other
Truths of God which shield it from misuse. It is true He has a chosen
people, but "by their fruits you shall know them." Without holiness no
man shall see the Lord! Though He has chosen His people, yet He has
chosen them unto holiness–He has ordained them to be zealous for good
works. His intention is not that they should be saved in their sins,
but saved from their sins! Not that they should be carried to Heaven as
they are, but that they should be cleansed and purged from all
iniquities and so made meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the
saints in light!
Then there is the sublime brush of the Final Perseverance of the
Saints. What a noble height is that! A housetop Doctrine, indeed! What
a Pisgah view is to be had from the summit of it–"The Lord will keep
the feet of His saints." "The righteous also shall hold on his way and
he that has clean hands shall be stronger and stronger." It will be a
great loss to us if we are unable to enjoy the comfort of this Truth.
There is no reason for fearing presumption through a firm conviction of
the true Believer's safety. Mark well the railings which God has built
around the edge of this Truth! He has declared that if these shall fall
away, it is impossible "to renew them again unto repentance; seeing
they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh and put Him to an open
shame." If those who are true saints should altogether lose the life of
God that is within their souls, there would remain no other salvation!
If the first salvation could have spent itself unavailingly, there
would be no alternative but "a certain looking for ofjudgment and fiery
indignation." When we read warnings such as, "Let him that thinks he
stands take heed lest he fall," and others of that kind, we see how God
has made a railing around this tower-like Truth of God so that saints
may ascend to its very summit and look abroad upon the land that flows
with milk and honey–and yet their brains need not whirl, nor shall
they fall into presumption and perish!
That wonderful Doctrine of Justification by Faith which we all hold to
be a vital Truth of God, not only of Protestantism but of Christianity,
itself, is quite as dangerous by itself as the Doctrine of Election, or
the Doctrine of the Final Perseverance of the Saints–in fact, if a man
means to sin, he can break down every bulwark and turn any doctrine
into an apology for transgression! Even the doctrine that God is
merciful, simple as that is, may be made into an excuse for sin. To
return to the doctrine that we are justified by faith and not by the
works of the Law, Luther put it very grandly, very boldly and, for him,
very properly. But there are some who use his phrase, not in Luther's
way, and without Luther's reasons for unguarded speaking–and such
persons have sometimes done serious damage to men's souls by not
mentioning another Truth which is meant to be the railing to the
Doctrine of Faith, namely, the necessity of sanctification. Where faith
is genuine, through the Holy Spirit's power, it works a cleansing from
sin, a hatred of evil, an anxious desire after holiness and it leads
the soul to aspire after the image of God. Faith and holiness are
inseparable. "If any man is in Christ, he is a new creature." Good
works are to be insisted on, for they have their necessary uses. James
never contradicts Paul–it is because we do not understand him that we
fancy he does so. Both the doctrinal Paul and the practical James spoke
as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. Paul builds the tower and James
puts the railing around it–Paul conducts us to the summit of God's
House and bids us rejoice in what we see there. And then James points
us to the railing that is built up to keep us from leaping over the
Truth of God to our own destruction. Thus is each doctrine balanced,
bulwarked and guarded, but time would fail us to enter into detail–let
it suffice for us to know that the Palace of the Truth of God is railed
with wisdom and prudence!
Take another view of the same thought. The Lord has guarded the
position of His saints if endowed with wealth. Some of God's servants
are, in His Providence, called to very prosperous conditions in
life–and prosperity is filled with dangers. It is hard to carry a full
cup without a spill. A man may travel on the ground well enough, and
yet find it hard work to walk on a high rope. A man may be an excellent
servant who would make a bad master–and one may be a good tradesman in
a small way who would make a terrible failure of it as a merchant. Yet
be well assured that if God shall call
any of you to be prosperous and give you much of this world's goods,
and place you in an eminent position, He will see to it that His Grace
is given suitable for your station and affliction necessary for your
elevation!
The Lord will put railings around you, and it is most probable that
these will not commend themselves to your carnal nature. You are going
on right joyously, everything is "merry as a marriage bell," but, all
of a sudden you are brought to a dead still. You kick against this
hindering disappointment, but it will not move out of your way. You are
vexed with it, but there it is. Oh, how anxious you are to go a step
farther and then you think you will be supremely happy–but it is just
that perfect happiness so nearly within reach that God will not permit
you to attain, for then you would receive your portion in this life,
forget your God and despise the better land! That bodily infirmity,
that lack of favor with the great, that sick child, that suffering
wife, that embarrassing partnership–any of these may be the railing
which God has built around your success, lest you should be lifted up
with pride and your soul should not be upright in you! Does not this
remark cast a light upon the mystery of many a painful dispensation?
"Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now have I kept Your Word."
That experience may be read another way and you may confess, "Had I not
been afflicted, I would have gone far astray. But now I have kept Your
Word."
The same prudence is manifested by our Lord towards those whom He has
seen fit to place in positions of eminent service. Those who express
great concern for prominent ministers, because of their temptations, do
well, but they will be even more in the path of duty if they have as
much solicitude about themselves. I remember one whose pride was
visible in his very manner. He was a person unknown, of little service
in the church, but as proud of his little badly plowed, weedy half acre
as ever a man could be! He informed me very pompously, on more than one
occasion, that he trembled lest I should be unduly exalted and puffed
up with pride! Now, from his lips, it sounded like comedy and reminded
me of Satan reproving sin. God never honors His servants with success
without effectually preventing their grasping the honor of their work.
If we are tempted to boast, He soon lays us low. He always whips behind
the door at home those whom He most honors in public. You may rest
assured that if God honors you by enabling you to win many souls, you
will have many stripes to bear–and stripes you would not like to tell
another of, they will be so sharp and humbling. If the Lord loves you,
He will never let you be lifted up in His service. We have to feel that
we are but just the pen in the Master's hand so that if holiness is
written on men's hearts, the credit will not be ours, but the Holy
Spirit must have all the praise–and this our Heavenly Father has
effectual means of securing! Do not, therefore, start back from
qualifying yourself for the most eminent position, or from occupying it
when duty calls. Do not let Satan deprive God's great cause of your
best service through your unholy bashfulness and cowardly retirement.
The Lord will give His angels charge over you to keep you in all your
ways. If God sets you on the housetop, He will place a railing around
you. If He makes you to stand on the high places, He will make your
feet like hind's feet, so that you shall not fall. If God commands you
to dash against the enemy single-handed, still, "as your days, so shall
your strength be." He will uphold you and on the pinnacle you are as
secure as in the valley, if Jehovah set you there!
It is the same with regard to the high places of spiritual enjoyment.
Paul was caught up to the third heavens and he heard words unlawful for
a man to utter. This was a very, very high place for Paul's mind,
mighty brain and heart as he had–but then, there was the
railing–"Lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance
of the Revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the
messenger of Satan to buffet me." Paul was not in love with this
drawback. He besought the Lord to remove it three times, but still the
thorn could not be taken away, for it was necessary as a railing around
the eminent Revelations with which God had favored His Apostle! The
temptation, if we are at all happy in the Lord, is to grow secure–"My
mountain stands firm," we say, "I shall never be moved."
Even much communion with Christ, though in itself sanctifying, may be
perverted through the folly of our flesh, into a cause of
self-security. We may even dream that we are brought so near to Christ
that common temptations are not likely to assail us–and by these very
temptations we may fall. Hence it is that as sure as ever we have high
seasons of enjoyment, we shall sooner or later endure periods of deep
depression. Scarcely ever is there a profound calm on the soul's sea,
but a storm is brewing! The sweet day so calm, so bright, shall have
its fall and the dew of the succeeding night shall weep over its
departure. The high hill must have its following valley and the
flood-tide must retreat at ebb. Lest the soul should be beguiled to
live upon itself and feed on its frames and feelings–and by neglect of
watchfulness fall into presumptuous sins–railings are set around all
hallowed joys, for which in eternity we shall bless the name of the
Lord.
Too many of the Lord's servants feel as if they were always on the
housetop–always afraid, always full of doubts and fears. They are
fearful lest they shall, after all, perish, and of a thousand things
besides. Satan sets up scarecrows to keep these timid birds from
feeding upon the wheat which the great Husbandman grows on purpose for
them! They scarcely ever reach the assurance of faith. They are stung
by "ifs and "buts," like Israel by the fiery serpents, and they can
scarcely get beyond torturing fear which is as an adder biting their
heel. To such we say, Beloved, you shall find, when your faith is
weakest, when you are just about to fall, that there is a glorious
railing all around you–a gracious promise, a gentle Word of the Holy
Spirit shall be brought home to your soul so that you shall not utterly
despair. Have you not felt, sometimes, that if it had not been for a
choice love-word heard in the past, your faith would have given up the
ghost? Or if it had not been for that encouraging sermon which came
with such power to your soul, your feet had almost gone, your steps had
well-near slipped? Now, the Infinite Love of God, dear child of God,
values you far too much to allow you to fall into despair–
"Mid all your fear, and care, and woe, His Spirit will not let you go."
Railed by eternal Grace shall this roof of the house be–and when you
are tremblingly pacing it, you shall have no cause for alarm!
II. From the fact of the Lord's carefulness over His people, we
proceed, by an easy step, to the consideration that as imitators of
God, we should exercise the same tenderness. In a word, WE OUGHT TO
HAVE OUR HOUSES RAILED.
A man who had no railing to his house might himself fall from the roof
in an unguarded moment. He might be startled in his sleep and in the
dark mistake his way to the stairs, or, while day-dreaming, his steps
might slip. Those who profess to be the children of God should, for
their own sakes, see that every care is used to guard themselves
against the perils of this tempted life. They should see to it that
their house is carefully railed. If any ask, "How shall we do it?" we
reply–
Every man ought to examine himself carefully, whether he is in the
faith, lest professing too much, taking too much for granted, he should
fall and perish. At times, we should close our spiritual warehouse and
take stock. A tradesman who does not like to do that is generally in a
bad way. A man who does not think it wise to sometimes sit down and
give half a day, or such time as he can spare, to a solemn stocktaking
of his soul, may be afraid that things are not going right with him.
Lest we should be, after all, hypocrites, or self-deceivers! Lest,
after all, we should not be born-again, but should be children of
Nature, neatly dressed, but not the living children of God, we must
prove ourselves whether we are in the faith. Let us protect our souls'
interests with frequent self-examinations!
Better still, and safer by far, go often to the Cross as you think you
went at first. Go every day to the Cross–still with empty hands and
with a bleeding heart, go and receive everything from Christ and seek
to have your wounds bound up with the healing ointment of His atoning
Sacrifice. These are the best railings I can recommend
you–self-examination on the one side of the house, and a simple faith
in Jesus on the other.
Rail your soul about well with prayer. Go not out into the world to
look upon the face of man till you have seen the face of God. Never
rush down from your chamber with such unseemly haste that you have not
time to buckle on your helmet and gird on your breastplate and your
coat of mail.
Be sure and rail yourself about with much watchfulness and, especially,
watch most the temptation peculiar to your position and disposition.
You may not be inclined to be slothful. You may not be fascinated by
the silver of Demas into covetousness and yet you may be beguiled by
pleasure. Watch, if you have a hasty temper, lest that should overthrow
you. Or if yours is a high and haughty spirit, set a double watch to
bring that demon down! If you are inclined to indolence, or, on the
other hand, if hot passions and evil desires are most likely to attack
you, cry to the Strong for strength! And as he who guards well sets a
double guard where the wall is weakest, so do you the same.
There are some respects in which every man should rail his house by
denying himself those indulgences which might be lawful to others, but
which would prove fatal to himself. The individual who knows his
weakness to be an appetite for drink should resolve to totally abstain.
Every man, I believe, has a particular sin which is a sin to him, but
may not be a sin to another. No man's conscience is to be a judge for
another, but let no man violate his conscience. If you cannot perform a
certain act in faith, you must not do it at all. I mean if you do not
honestly and calmly believe it to be right, even if it is right in
itself, it becomes wrong to you. Watch, therefore, watch at all points.
Guard yourselves in company,
lest you are carried away by the force of numbers. Guard yourselves in
solitude, lest selfishness and pride creep in. Watch yourselves in
poverty, lest you fall into envy of others. And in wealth, lest you
become lofty in mind. Oh, that we may all keep our houses well-railed,
lest we fall and grieve the Spirit of God and bring dishonor on
Christ's name!
III. As each man ought to rail his house, in a spiritual sense, with
regard to himself, SO OUGHT EACH MAN TO CARRY OUT THE RULE WITH REGARD
TO HIS FAMILY.
Family religion was the strength of Protestantism at first. It was the
glory of Puritanism and Non-Conformity. In the days of Cromwell it is
said that you might have walked down Cheapside, at a certain hour in
the morning, and you would have heard the morning hymns going up from
every house and along the street. And at night, if you had glanced
inside each home, you would have seen the whole household gathered, the
big Bible opened and family devotion offered. There is no fear of this
land ever becoming Popish if family prayer is maintained. But if family
prayer is swept away, farewell to the strength of the Church! A man
should rail his house for his children's sake, for his servants' sake,
for his own sake, by maintaining the ordinance of family prayer. I may
not dictate to you whether you should sing, or read, or pray–or
whether you should do this every morning or evening, or how many times
a day. I shall leave this to the free spirit that is in you, but do
maintain family prayer and never let the fire on the altar of God burn
low in your habitation.
So in the matter of discipline. If the child shall do everything it
chooses to do. If it shall do wrong and there is no admonition. If
there is no chastisement, if the reins are loosely held, if the father
altogether neglects to be a priest and a king in his house–how can he
wonder that his children grow up to break his heart? David had never
chastised Absalom, nor Adonijah–and remember what they became. And
Eli's sons who never had more than a soft word or two from their
father–how were his ears made to tingle with the news of God's
judgments upon them! Rail your houses by godly discipline. See that
obedience is maintained and that sin is not tolerated–and so shall
your house be holiness unto the Lord–and peace shall dwell therein!
We ought to strictly rail our houses as to many things which in this
day are tolerated. I am sometimes asked, "May not a Christian subscribe
to a lottery? May not a Christian indulge in a game of cards? May not a
Christian dance, or attend the opera?" Now, I shall not come down to
debate upon the absolute right or wrong of debatable amusements and
customs. The fact is that if professors do not stop till they are
certainly in the wrong, they will stop nowhere! It is of little use to
go on till you are over the edge of the roof and then cry, "STOP!" It
would be a poor affair for a house to be without a railing, but to have
a net to stop the falling person half-way down–you must stop before
you get off the solid standing! There is need to draw the line
somewhere and the line had better be drawn too soon than too late. And
whereas the habit of gambling is the very curse of this land–ah,
during the last Derby week, what blood it shed! How it has brought
souls to Hell and men to an unripe grave!–as the habit of speculating
seems to run through the land, and was doubtless the true cause of the
great panic which shook our nation a few years ago–there is the more
need that we should not tolerate anything that looks like it.
For another reason, we should carefully discern between places of
public amusement. Some that are perfectly harmless, recreative and
instructive–to deny these to our young people would be foolish. But
certain amusements stand on the border between the openly profane and
the really harmless. We say do not go to these–never darken the doors
of such places. Why? Because it may be the edge of the house and though
you may not break your neck if you walk along the railing, yet you are
best on this side of the railing! You are least likely to fall into sin
by staying away–and you cannot afford to run risks. We have all heard
the old story of the good woman who required a coachman. Two or three
young fellows came to seek for the situation. Each of them she saw and
questioned alone. The first one had this question put to him, "How near
could you drive to danger?" And he said, "I do not doubt but that I
could drive within a yard of danger." "Well, well," the lady said, "you
will not do for me." When the second came in, the good woman questioned
him in like manner, "How near could you drive to danger?" "Within a
hair's breath, Madam," he said. "Oh," she said, "that will not suit me
at all." A third was asked the same question and he prudently replied,
"If you please, Madam, that is one of the things I have never tried. I
have always tried to drive as far from danger as I can." "You are the
coachman for me," she said, and surely that is the kind of manager we
all should have in our households! Oh, let us not so train up our
children that in all probability they will run into sin! Let us, on the
contrary, exhibit such an example in all things that they may safely
follow us. Let us so walk that they may go step by step where we go and
not be cast out of the Church of God as a reproach, nor be cast away
from the Presence of God. Rail your houses, then! Do not be afraid of
being too strict and too Puritan! There is no fear of that in these
days–there is a great deal more danger of bringing solemn judgments on
our families through neglecting the worship of God in our households!
IV. THE PREACHER WOULD NOW REMIND HIMSELF THAT THIS CHURCH IS, AS IT
WERE, HIS OWN
HOUSE AND THAT HE IS BOUND TO RAIL IT.
Many come here, Sabbath after Sabbath, to hear the Gospel. The immense
number and the constancy of it surprise me. I do not know why the
multitudes come and crowd these aisles. When I preached yesterday in
Worcestershire and saw the thronging crowds in every road, I could not
help wondering to see them–and the more so because they listened as
though I had some novel discovery to make–they listened with all their
ears, eyes and mouths! I could but marvel and thank God. Ah, but it is
a dreadful thing to remember that so many people hear the Gospel and
yet perish under the sound of it! Alas, the Gospel becomes to them a
savor of death unto death–and there is no lot so terrible as perishing
under a pulpit from which the Gospel is preached!
Now, what shall I say to prevent any of my Hearers falling from this
blessed Gospel? Falling from the house of mercy–dashing themselves
from the roof of the temple to their ruin? What shall I say to you? I
beseech you, do not be hearers only! Do not think that when you come
here Sundays, Mondays and Thursdays it is all done! No, it is only
begun then! Praying is the end of preaching and to be born-again is the
great matter. It is very little to occupy your seat, unless you listen
diligently, with willing hearts–looked upon as an end, sitting at
services is a wretched waste of time! Dear Hearers, be dissatisfied
with yourselves unless you are DOERS of the Word! Let your cry go up to
God that you may be born-again. Rest not till you rest in Jesus!
Remember, and I hope this will be another railing, that if you hear the
Gospel and it is not blessed to you, still it has a power. If the Sun
of Grace does not soften you as it does wax, it will harden you as the
sun does clay! If it is not a savor of life unto life, to repeat the
text I quoted just now, it will be a savor of death unto death! Oh, do
not be blind in the sunlight! Do not perish with hunger in the
banqueting house! Do not die of thirst when the Water of Life is before
you!
Let me remind you of what the result of putting away the Gospel will
be. You will soon die. You cannot live forever. In the world to come,
what awaits you? What did our Lord say, "These shall go away into
everlasting punishment." The righteous enter into life eternal, but the
ungodly suffer everlasting punishment! I will not dwell upon the
terrors of the world to come, but let me remind you that they are yours
unless Christ is yours! Death is yours, judgment is yours and Hell will
be yours–and all that dreadful wrath which God means when He says,
"Beware, you that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be
none to deliver you." Oh, run not on in sin, lest you fall into Hell! I
would gladly set up this railing to keep you from a dreadful and fatal
fall.
Once more, remember the love of God in Christ Jesus. I heard, the other
day, of a bad boy whom his father had often rebuked and chastened, but
the lad grew worse. One day he had been stealing and his father felt
deeply humiliated. He talked to the boy, but his warning made no
impression. And when he saw his child, so callous, the good man sat
down in his chair and burst out crying as if his heart would break. The
boy stood very indifferent for a time, but, at last, as he saw the
tears falling on the floor and heard his father sobbing, he cried,
"Father, don't! Father, don't do that! What do you cry for, Father?"
"Ah, my Boy," he said, "I cannot help thinking what will become of you,
growing up as you are. You will be a lost man and the thought of it
breaks my heart." "O Father!" he said, "pray don't cry. I will be
better. Only don't cry and I will not vex you again." Under God, that
was the means of breaking down the boy's love of evil–and I hope it
led to his salvation. Just like that is Christ to you. He cannot bear
to see you die and He weeps over you, saying, "How often would I have
blessed you, but you would not!" Oh, by the tears of Jesus, wept over
you in effect when He wept over Jerusalem, turn to Him! Let that be a
railing to keep you from ruin!
God bless you, and help you to trust in Jesus, and His shall be the
praise! Amen.
EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: JOHN 6:1-14; 30-45.
Verses 1-6. After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee,
which is the sea of Tiberias. And a great multitude followed Him,
because they saw His miracles which He did on them that were diseased.
And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there He sat with His disciples.
And the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near. When Jesus then lifted
up
His eyes and saw a great company come unto Him, He said unto Philip,
Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat? And this He said to test
him: for He Himself knew what He would do. That verse is worth thinking
over. How often does Christ seem to ask us riddles and place us in
difficulties, so that we begin to say, "What will come of this? How
shall we escape from this temptation, or how shall we stand under this
trial?" He Himself knows what He will do and it is a very blessed thing
when our faith, being tried, shows itself to be strong enough to leave
the burden with Him who can bear it, and to leave the difficulty with
Him who can meet it! "He Himself knew what He would do."
7. Philip answered Him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not
sufficient for them, that everyone of them may take a little. That is
our way. When our faith is little, we begin calculating the pennyworths
that are needed, and we make them out to be so much more than we
possess or can possibly scrape together. That is not faith, it is
reason–poor, dim, shallow reason which forgets the Infinite and begins
to calculate its own limited and insufficient forces!
8-10. One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said unto
Him, there is a lad here who has five barley loaves, and two small
fishes: but what are they among so many? And Jesus said, Make the men
sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down,
in number about five thousand. When Christ bids men sit down, He has a
dainty carpet for them to sit upon. "There was much grass in the
place." One might have thought that some of those people would have
refused to sit down, for it is not everybody who will sit at a table
that has nothing on it–but God knows how to move the hearts of men, so
these people, if they had not strong faith, yet had faith enough to do
as they were told–I wish that we all had as much faith as that!
11. And Jesus took the loaves; and when He had given thanks, He
distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set
down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. "As much as
they would." Note those words, for they are the rule at Christ's
feasts. Of earthly things, He gives us as much as we need–and of
heavenly things, as much as we would! "Open your mouth wide, and I will
fill it." "According to your faith be it unto you."
12, 13. When they were filled, He said unto His disciples, gather up
the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. Therefore they
gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of
the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that
had eaten. "Waste not, want not." Heavenly economy is to be practiced
in the things of God. Christ is not stingy, but He is no waster.
14. Then those men, when they hadseen the miracle which Jesus did,
said, This is of a truth that Prophet that should come into the world.
They were convinced through their stomachs! They came to this
conviction merely through eating and drinking–and that faith which
comes by the senses is no faith at all, or it is a sensual faith which
cannot save the soul! These people who came to this belief through
eating, were very poor followers of Christ, as He said to them, "You
seek Me not because you saw the miracles, but because you did eat of
the loaves, and were filled."
30-32. They said therefore unto Him, What sign show You then, that we
may see, and believe You? What do You work? Our fathers did eat manna
in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from Heaven to eat.
Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave
you not that bread from Heaven; but My Father gives you the true bread
from Heaven. Jesus did not say to them, "I gave that bread to your
fathers in the wilderness," as He might truly have said. It was not
Moses who fed their fathers in the wilderness, it was God who had fed
them and if they would but think, they would clearly see that it was
so. But the Master took them on to another tack and led their thoughts
to a higher topic.
33, 34. For the Bread of God is He which comes down from Heaven, and
gives life unto the world. Then said they unto Him, Lord, evermore give
us this bread. Not knowing the meaning of their own request.
35-39. And Jesus said unto them, I am the Bread of Life: He that comes
to Me shall never hunger, and He that believes on Me shall never thirst
But I said unto you, That you also have seen Me, and believe not All
that the Father gives Me shall come to Me, andhim that comes to Me, I
willin no wise cast out For Icame down from Heaven, not to do My own
will, but the will of Him that sent Me. And this is the Father's will
Many want to pry between the closed leaves of God's secret purposes to
see what His will is. Now this is it–"This is the Father's will."
39-44. Which has sent Me, that of all which He has given Me, I should
lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is
the will of Him that sent Me, that everyone which sees the Son, and
believes on Him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise Him up at
the last day. The Jews then murmured at Him, because He said, I am the
Bread which came down from Heaven. And they said, Is not this Jesus,
the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know?
How is it then that He says, I came down from Heaven; Jesus therefore
answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves. No man can
come to Me, except the Father which has sent Me draw him. Note how that
Doctrine of Sovereign Grace is used by Christ. He seems to wave it,
like a lighted torch, in the faces of His adversaries, as if He said to
them, "I did not expect you to understand Me. I did not expect you to
receive Me. Do not think that you surprise Me by your action. Imagine
not that you frustrate My eternal purposes by rejecting Me. I knew that
you would not receive Me and that, as you are, you could not come to
Me, for 'no man can come to Me, except the Father which has sent Me
draw him.'"
44, 45. And I will raise Him up at the last day. It is written in the
Prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that
has heard, and has learned of the Father, comes unto Me. May we so hear
and so learn of the Father that we may come to Jesus Christ!