Delivered by
C. H. SPURGEON,
At the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington
"Thou art beautiful, O my love as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem, terrible
as an army with banners."–Song of Solomon 6:4.
THERE are various estimates of the Christian church. Some think
everything of her; some think nothing of her; and probably neither
opinion is worth the breath which utters it. Neither Ritualists, who
idolise their church, nor sceptics, who vilify all churches, have any
such knowledge of the true spiritual church of Jesus Christ as to be
entitled to give an opinion. The king's daughter is all glorious
within, with a beauty which they are quite unable to appreciate. What
is usually the most correct character which is obtainable of a woman?
Shall we be guided by the praises of those neighbors who are on good
terms with her, or by the scandal of those who make her the subject of
ill-natured gossip? No; the most accurate judgment we are likely to get
is that of her husband. Solomon saith in the Proverbs concerning the
virtuous woman, "Her husband also riseth up, and he praiseth her." Of
that fairest among women, the church of Christ, the same observation
may be made. It is to her of small consequence to be judged of man's
judgment, but it is her honor and joy to stand well in the love and
esteem of her royal spouse, the Prince Emmanuel. Though the words
before us are allegorical, and the whole song is crowded with metaphor
and parable, yet the teaching is plain enough in this instance; it is
evident that the Divine Bridegroom gives his bride a high place in his
heart, and to him, whatever she may be to others, she is fair, lovely,
comely, beautiful, and in the eyes of his love without a spot.
Moreover, even to him there is not only a beauty of a soft and gentle
kind in her, but a majesty, a dignity in her holiness, in her
earnestness, in her consecration, which makes even him say of her that
she is "terrible as an army with banners," "awful as a bannered army."
She is every inch a queen: her aspect in the sight of her beloved is
majestic. Take, then, the words of our text as an encomium upon
Christ's church, pronounced by him who knows her best, and is best able
to judge concerning her, and you learn that to his discerning eye she
is not weak, dishonorable, and despicable, but bears herself as one of
highest rank, consciously, joyously strong in her Lord's strength.
On this occasion let us note, first of all, WHY IT IS THAT THE CHURCH
OF GOD IS SAID TO BE AN ARMY WITH BANNERS. That she is an army is true
enough, for the church is one, but many; and consists of men who march
in order under a common leader, with one design in view and that design
a conflict and a victory. She is the church militant here below, and
both in suffering and in service she is made to prove that she is in an
enemy's country. She is contending for the truth against error, for the
light against darkness: till the day break and the shadows flee away,
she must maintain her sentinels and kindle her watch fires; for all
around her there is cause to guard against the enemy, and to descend
the royal treasure of gospel truth against its deadly foes. But why an
army with banners? Is not this, first of all, for distinction? How
shall we know to which king an army belongs unless we can see the royal
standard? In times of war the nationality of troops is often declared
by their distinguishing regimentals. The grey coats of the Russians
were well known in the Crimea; the white livery of the Austrians was a
constant eyesore in bygone days to the natives of Lombardy. No one
mistook the Black Brunswickers for French Guards, or our own Hussars
for Garibaldians. Quite as effectively armies have been distinguished
by the banners which they carried. As the old knights of old were
recognised by their plume and helmet, and escutcheon, so an army is
known by its standard and the national colors. The tricolor of the
French readily marked their troops as they fled before the terrible
black and white of the German army. The church of Christ displays its
banners for distinction's sake. It desires not to be associated with
other armies, or to be mistaken for them, for it is not of this world,
and its weapons and its warfare are far other than those of the
nations. God forbid that followers of Jesus should be mistaken for
political partisans or ambitious adventurers. The church unfurls her
ensign to the breeze that all may know whose she is and whom she
serves. This is of the utmost importance at this present, when crafty
men are endeavoring to palm off their inventions. Every Christian
church should know what it believes, and publicly avow what it
maintains. It is our duty to make a clear and distinct declaration of
our principles, that our members may know to what intent they have come
together, and that the world also may know what we mean. Far be it from
us to join with the Broad Church cry, and furl the banners upon which
our distinctive colors are displaced. We hear on all sides great
outcries against creeds. Are these clamours justifiable? It seems to me
that when properly analysed most of the protests are not against
creeds, but against truth, for every man who believes anything must
have a creed, whether he write it down and print it or no; or if there
be a man who believes nothing, or anything, or everything by turns, he
is not a fit man to be set up as a model. Attacks are often made
against creeds because they are a short, handy form by which the
Christian mind gives expression to its belief, and those who hate
creeds do so because they find them to be weapons as inconvenient, as
bayonets in the hands of British soldiers have been to our enemies.
They are weapons so destructive to theology that it protests against
them. For this reason let us be slow to part with them. Let us day hold
of God's truth with iron grip, and never let it go. After all, there is
a Protestantism still worth contending for; there is a Calvinism still
worth proclaiming, and a gospel worth dying for. There is a
Christianity distinctive and distinguished from Ritualism, Rationalism,
and Legalism, and let us make it known that we believe in it. Up with
your banners, soldiers of the cross! This is not the time to be
frightened by the cries against conscientious convictions, which are
nowadays nicknamed sectarianism and bigotry. Believe in your hearts
what you profess to believe; proclaim openly and zealously what you
know to be the truth. Be not ashamed to say such-and-such things are
true, and let men draw the inference that the opposite is false.
Whatever the doctrines of the gospel may be to the rest of mankind, let
them be your glory and boast. Display your banners, and let those
banners be such as the church of old carried. Unfurl the old primitive
standard, the all-victorious standard of the cross of Christ. In very
deed and truth–in hoc signo vinces–the atonement is the conquering
truth. Let others believe as they may, or deny as they will, for you
the truth as it is in Jesus is the one thing that has won your heart
and made you a soldier of the cross.
Banners were carried, not merely for distinctiveness, but also to serve
the purposes of discipline. Hence an army with banners had one banner
as a central standard, and then each regiment or battalion displayed
its own particular flag. The hosts of God, which so gloriously marched
through the wilderness, had their central standard. I suppose it was
the very pole upon which Moses lifted up the brazen serpent (at any
rate, our brazen serpent is the central ensign of the church); and
then, besides that, each tribe of the twelve had its own particular
banners, and with these uplifted in the front, the tribes marched in
order, so that there was no confusion on the march, and in time of
battle there was no difficulty in marshalling the armed men. It was
believed by the later Jews that "the standard of the camp of Judah
represented a lion; that of Reuben, a man; that of Joseph, an ox; and
that of Dan, an eagle. The Targumists, however, believe that the
banners were distinguished by their colors, the color for each tribe
being analogous to that of the precious stone for that tribe, in the
breastplate of the high priest; and that the great standard of each of
the four camps combined the three colors of the tribes which composed
it." So, brethren, in the church of God there must be discipline–the
discipline not only of admission and of dismission in receiving the
converts and rejecting the hypocrites, but the discipline of
marshalling the troops to the service of Christ in the holy war in
which we are engaged. Every soldier should have his orders, every
officer his troop, every troop its fixed place in the army, and the
whole army a regularity such as is prescribed in the rule, "Let all
things be done decently and in order." As in the ranks each man has his
place, and each rank has its particular phase in the battalion, so in
every rightly constituted church each may, each woman, will have, for
himself or herself, his or her own particular form of service, and each
form of service will link in with every other, and the whole combined
will constitute a force which cannot be broken. A church is not a load
of bricks, remember: it is a house builded together. A church is not a
bundle of cuttings in the gardener's hand: it is a vine, of which we
are the branches. The true church is an organised whole; and life, true
spiritual life, wherever it is paramount in the church, without rules
and rubrics, is quite sure to create order and arrangement. Order
without life reminds us of the rows of graves in a cemetery, all
numbered and entered in the register: order with life reminds us of the
long lines of fruit trees in Italy, festooned with fruitful vines.
Sunday-school teachers, bear ye the banner of the folded lamb; sick
visitors, follow the ensign of the open hand; preachers, rally to the
token of the uplifted brazen serpent; and all of you, according to your
sacred calling, gather to the name of Jesus, armed for the war.
An army with banners may be also taken to represent activity. When an
army holds up its colors the fight is over. Little is being done in
military, circles when the banners are put away; the troops are on
furlough, or are resting in barracks. An army with banners is
exercising, or marching, or fighting; probably it is in the middle of a
campaign, it is marshalled for offense and defense, and there will be
rough work before long. It is to be feared that some churches have hung
up their flags to rot in state, or have encased them in dull propriety.
They do not fool; to do great things, or to see great things. They do
not expect many conversions; if many did happen, they would be alarmed
and suspicious. They do not expect their pastor's ministry to be with
power; and if it were attended with manifest effect they would be
greatly disturbed, and perhaps would complain that he created too much
excitement. The worst of it is, that do-nothing churches are usually
very jealous lest any should encroach on their domain. Our churches
sometime ago appeared to imagine that a whole district of this teeming
city belonged to them to cultivate or neglect, as their monopolising
decree might be. If anybody attempted to raise a new interest, or even
to build a preaching station, within half a mile of them, they resented
it as a most pernicious poachings upon their manor. They did nothing
themselves, and were very much afraid lest anybody should supplant
them. Like the lawyers of old, who took away the key of knowledge, they
entered not in themselves, and them that were entering in they
hindered. That day, it is to be hoped, has gone once for all; yet too
much of the old spirit lingers in certain quarters. It is high time
that each church should feel that if it does not work, the sole reason
for its existence is gone. The reason for a church being a church dies
its mutual edification and in the conversion of sinners; and if these
two ends are not really answered by a church, it is a mere name, a
hindrance, an evil, a nuisance; like the salt which has lost its savor,
it is neither fit for the land nor yet for the dunghill. May we all in
our church fellowship be active in the energy of the Spirit of God. May
none of us be dead members of the living body, mere impediments to the
royal host, baggage to be dragged rather than warriors pushing on the
war. May we, every one of us, be soldiers filled with vigor to the
fullness of our manhood, by the eternal power of the Holy Spirit; and
may we be resolved that any portion of the church which does not uplift
its banner of service shall not long number us among its adherents. Be
it ours to determine that whether others will or will not serve God and
extend the kingdom of his dear Son, we will, in his name and strength,
contend even to the death. Unsheath our swords, ye soldiers of the
cross; arise from your slumbers, ye careless ones, gird on your swords
and prepare for the war. The Lord has redeemed you by his blood, not
that you might sleep, but that you might fight for the glory of his
name.
Does not the description, "an army with banners," imply a degree of
confidence? It is not an army retiring from the foe, and willing enough
to hide its colors to complete its escape. An army that is afraid to
venture out into the open, keeps its banners out of the gleam of the
sun. Banners uplifted are the sign of a fearlessness which rather
courts than declines the conflict. Ho! warriors of the cross, unfurl
the gospel's ancient standard to the breeze; we will teach the foeman
what strength there is in hands and hearts that rally to the Christ of
God. Up with the standard, ye brave men at arms; let all eyes see it;
and it the foemen glare like lions on it, we "will call upon the Lion
of the tribe of Judah to lead the van, and we will follow with his word
like a two-edged sword in our hands:–
"Stand up! stand up for Jesus!
Ye soldiers of the cross!
Lift high hits royal banner;
It must not suffer loss:
From victory unto victory
His army shall he lead
Till every foe is vanquished
And Christ is Lord indeed."
We cannot place too much reliance in the gospel; our weakness is that
we are so diffident and so apt to look somewhere else for strength. We
do not believe in the gospel as to its power over the sons of men as we
should believe in it. Too often we preach it with a coward's voice.
Have I not heard sermons commencing with abject apologies for the
preacher's daring to open his mouth; apologies for his youth, for his
assertions, for his venturing to intrude upon men's consciences, and I
know not what else? Can God own ambassadors of this cowardly cringing
breed, who mistake fear of men for humility! Will our Captain honor
such carpet-knights, who apologise for bearing arms? I have heard that
of old the ambassadors of Holland, and some other states, when
introduced to his celestial majesty, the brother of the son and cousin
of the moon, the Emperor of China, were expected to come crawling on
their hands and knees up to the throne; but when our ambassadors went
to that flowery land, they declined to pay such humiliating homage to
his impertinent majesty, and informed him that they would stand upright
in his presence, as free men should do, or else they would decline all
dealings with him, and in all probability his majesty would hear from a
cannon's mouth far less gentle notes than he would care for. Even thus,
though we may well humble ourselves as men, yet as ambassadors of God
we cannot crouch to the sons of men, to ask them what message would
suite them best. It must not, shall not, be that we shall smoothe our
tongues and tone our doctrines to the taste of the age. The gospel that
we preach, although the worldly wise man despises it, in God's gospel
for all that. "Ah," says he, "there is nothing in it: science has
overthrown it." "And," says another, "this gospel is but so much
platitude; we have heard it over and over again." Ah, sir, and though
it be platitude to you, and you decree it to be contemptible, you shall
hear it or nothing else from us; "for it is the power of God, and the
wisdom of God." In its simplicity lies its majesty and its power. "We
are not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. "God forbid that we should
glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." We will proclaim it
again with confidence; We will bring forth once more the selfsame truth
as of old; and as the barley loaf smote the tent of Midian, so that it
lay along, so shall the gospel overturn its adversaries. The broken
pitcher, and the flaming torches, and the old war cry, "The sword of
the Lord, and of Gideon" shall yet fill the foeman with dismay. Let us
but be bold for Jesus, and we shall see what his arm can do. The gospel
is the voice of the eternal God, and has in it the same power as that
which brought the world out of nothing, and which shall raise the dead
from their graves at the coming of the Son of Man. The gospel, the word
of God, can no more return to him void than can the snow go back to
heaven, or the rain-drops climb again the path by which they descended
from the clouds. Have faith in God's word, faith in the presence of the
Holy Ghost, faith in the reigning Savior, faith in the fulfillment of
the everlasting purposes, and you will be full of confidence, and like
an army with banners.
Once more, an army with banners may signify the constancy and
perseverance in holding the truth. We see before us not an army that
has lost its banners, that has suffered its colors to be rent away from
it, but an army which bears aloft its ancient standard and swears by it
still. Let us be very earnest to maintain the faith once delivered to
the saints. Let us not give up this doctrine or that, at the dictates
of policy or fashion; but whatsoever Jesus saith unto us, let us
receive it as the word of life. Great injury may be done to a church
ere it knows it, if it shall tolerate error here and there; for false
doctrine, like the little leaven, soon leavens the whole lump. If the
church be taught of the Spirit to know the voice of the Good Shepherd,
a stranger it will not follow; for it knows not the voice of strangers.
This is part of the education which Christ gives to his people: "All
thy people shall be taught of the Lord." They shall know the truth, and
the truth shall make them free. May we, as a church, hold fast the
things which we have learned and have been taught of God; and may we be
preserved from the philosophies and refinings of these last days. If we
give up the things which are verily believed among us we shall lose our
pourer, and the enemy alone will be pleased; but if we maintain them,
the maintenance of the old faith, by the Spirit of God, shall make us
strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Wrap the colors round
you, ye standard bearers, in the day of danger, and die sooner than
give them up. Life is little compared with God's lovingkindness, and
that is the sure heritage of the brave defender of the faith. Thus
resolute for truth, the church becomes an army with banners.
II. Secondly, the church is said to be TERRIBLE. To whom is she
terrible? She should be amiable, and she is. May God grant that our
church may never be terrible to young converts by moroseness and
uncharitableness. Whenever I hear of candidates being alarmed at coming
before our elders, or seeing the pastor, or making confession of faith
before the church, I wish I could say to them: "Dismiss your fears,
beloved ones; we shall be glad to see you, and you will find your
intercourse with us a pleasure rather than a trial." So far from
wishing to repel you, if you really do love the Savior, we shall be
glad enough to welcome you. If we cannot see in you the evidence of a
great change, we shall kindly point out to you our fears, and shall be
thrice happy to point you to the Savior; but be sure of this, if you
have really believed in Jesus, you shall not find the church terrible
to you. Harsh judgments are contrary to the spirit of Christ and the
nature of the gospel; where they are the rule, the church is despicable
rather than terrible. Bigotry and uncharitableness are indications of
weakness, not of strength.
To what and to whom is the church terrible? I answer, first, in a
certain sense she is terrible to all ungodly men. A true church in her
holiness and testimony is very terrible to sinners. The ungodly care
not a rush about a mock church, nor about sham Christians; but a really
earnest Christian makes the ungodly abashed. We have known some who
could not use the foul language which they were accustomed to when they
were in the presence of godly men and women, though these persons had
no authority or position or rank. Even in the most ribald company, when
a Christian of known consistency of character has wisely spoken the
word of reproof, a solemn abashment comes over the majority of those
present; their consciences have borne witness against them, and they
have felt how awful goodness is. Not that we are ever to try and
impress others with any dread of us; such an attempt would be
ridiculed, and end in deserved failure; but the influence which we
would describe flows naturally out of a godly light. Majesty of
character never lies in affectation of demeanor, but in solidity of
virtue. If there be real goodness in us–if we really, fervently,
zealously love the right, and hate the evil–the outflow of our life
almost without a word will judge the ungodly–and condemn them in their
heart of hearts. Holy living is the weightiest condemnation of sin. We
have heard of an ungodly son who could not bear to dive in the house
where his departed father had in his lifetime so devoutly prayed; every
room, and every piece of furniture reproved him for forsaking his
father's God. We have read of others who were wont to dread the sight
of certain godly men whose holy lives held them more in check than the
laws of the land. The bad part of this is that the terror of the
ungodly suggests to them an unhallowed retort upon their reprovers, and
becomes the root out of which springs persecution. Those whom the
ungodly fear because they condemn them by their character, they try to
put out of the world if they can, or to bespatter them with slander if
they cannot smite them with the hand of cruelty. The martyrdom of
saints is the result of the darkness hating the light, because the
light makes manifest its evil deeds. There will be always in proportion
to the real holiness, earnestness, and Christ likeness of a church
something terrible in it to the perverse generation in which it is
placed; it will dread it as it does the all-revealing day of judgment.
So is there something terrible in a living church to all errorists.
Just now two armies have encamped against the host of God, opposed to
each other, but confederates against the church of God. Ritualism, with
its superstition, its priestcraft, its sacramental efficacy, its hatred
of the doctrines of grace; and on the other side Rationalism, with its
sneering unbelief and absurd speculations. These, like Herod and
Pilate, agree in nothing but in opposition to Christ; they have one
common dread, although they may not confess it. They do not dread those
platform speeches in which they are so furiously denounced at public
meetings, nor those philosophical discussions in which they are
overthrown by argument; but they hate, but they fear, and therefore
abuse and pretend to despise, the prayerful, zealous, plain simple
preaching of the truth as it is in Jesus. This is a weapon against
which they cannot stand–the weapon of the odd gospel. In the days of
Luther it did marvels; it wrought wonders in the days of Whitfield and
Wesley: it has often restored the ark of the Lord to our land, and it
will again. It has lost none of its ancient power, and therefore is it
the terror of the adversaries of Christ.
"Thine aspect's awful majesty
Doth strike thy foes with fear;
As armies do when banners fly,
And martial flags appear.
How does thine armor, glitt'ring bright,
Their frighted spirits quell!
The weapons of thy warlike might
Defy the gates of hell."
Even to Satan himself the church of God is terrible. He might, he
thinks, deal with individuals, but when these individuals strengthen
each other by mutual converse and prayer, when they are bound to each
other in holy love, and make a temple in which Christ dwells, then is
Satan hard put to it. O brethren and sisters, it is not every church
that is terrible thus, tent it is a church of God in which there is the
life of God, and the love of God; a church in which there is the
uplifted banner, the banner of the cross, high-held amid those various
banners of truthful doctrine and spiritual grace, of which I have just
now spoken.
III. We will take a third point; and that is, WHY IS THE CHURCH OF
CHRIST TERRIBLE AS AN ARMY WITH BANNERS? Why is it terrible because of
its banners? The whole passage seems to say that the church is terrible
as an army, but that to the fullest degree she owes her terribleness to
her banners. "Terrible as an army with banners." I believe the great
banner of the Christian church to be the uplifted Savior. "I, if I be
lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." Around him then
we gather. "Unto him shall the gathering of the people be." As the
brazen serpent in the midst of the camp in the wilderness, so is the
Savior lifted high, our banner. The atoning, sacrifice of Christ is the
great central standard of all really regenerate men, and this is the
main source of dismay to Israel's foes.
But we shall take the thoughts in order. The church herself is
terrible, and then terrible because of her banners. Brethren, the army
itself is terrible. Why? First, because it consists of elect people.
Remember how Haman's wife enquired concerning Mordecai whether he
belonged to the seed of the Jews; for if he did, then she foretold that
her husband's scheme would prove a failure. "If Mordecai be of the Seed
of the Jews, before whom thou hast begun to fall, thou shalt not
prevail against him, but shalt surely fall before him." Now, the church
of God as made up of men and women is nothing more than any other
organisation. Look at its exterior, and you see in it few persons of
great education and a great many of no education; here and there a
wealthy and powerful person, but hundreds who are poor and despised. It
does not possess in itself, naturally, the elements of strength,
according to ordinary reckoning. Indeed, its own confession is that in
itself it is perfect weakness, a flock of sheep among wolves; but here
lies its strength, that each of the true members of the church are of
the seed royal; they are God's chosen ones, the seed of the woman
ordained of old to break the head of Satan and all his serpent seed.
They are the weakness of God, but they are stronger than men; he has
determined with the things that are not to bring to nought the things
that are. As the Canaanites feared the chosen race of Israel because
the rumor of them had gone forth among the people, and the terror of
Jehovah was upon them; so is it with the hosts of evil. They have
dreamed their dreams, as the Midianite did, and valiant men like Gideon
can hear them telling it; the barley cake shall fall upon the royal
tent of Gideon and smite it till it lies along; the sword of the Lord,
and of Gideon, shall rout the foe. The elect shall overcome through the
blood of the Lamb, and none shall say them nay. Ye are a royal
priesthood, a peculiar people, a chosen generation; and in you the
living God will gloriously declare his sovereign grace.
The church, again, consists of a praying people. Now prayer is that
which links weakness with infinite strength. A people who can pray can
never be overcome, because their reserve forces can never be exhausted.
Go into battle, my brother; and if you be vanquished with the strength
you have, prayer shall call up another legion. Yea, twenty legions of
angels, and the foe shall marvel to see undefeated adversaries still
holding the field. If ten thousand saints were burned to-morrow, their
dying prayers would make the church rise like a phoenix from her ashes.
Who, therefore, can stand against a people whose prayers enlist God in
their quarrel? "The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our
refuge." We cry unto the Lord, and he heareth us; he breaketh through
the ranks of the foe; he giveth us triumph in the day of battle:
therefore, terrible as an army with banners are those who wield the
weapon of all-prayer.
Again, a true church is based upon eternal truth. I need not quote to
you the old Latin proverb which says that truth is mighty and must
prevail. Truth is, and truth shall be. It alone is substance, and must
outlast the lapse of ages. Falsehoods are soon swollen to their
perfection of development, like the bubbles with rainbow hues which
children blow, but they are dispersed as easily as they are fashioned;
they are children of the hour, while truth is the offspring and heir of
eternity. Falsehood dies, pierced through the heart by the arrows of
time, but truth, in her impenetrable mail bids defiance to all foes.
Men who love the truth are building gold and silver, and precious
stones; and though their architecture may progress but slowly, it is
built for eternity. Ramparts of truth may often be assailed, but they
will never be carried by the foe. Establish a power among men of the
most ostentatious and apparently stable kind, but rest assured that if
untruth be at the root of it, it must perish, sooner or later; only
truth is invincible, eternal, supreme. The fear of the true church and
the dread thereof falls upon the enemy, because they have wit enough
left to know that truth has an abiding and indestructible power. I was
very much amused, the other day, to read a criticism by an eminent
infidel, whose name would be well known if I were to mention it, in
which he speaks very highly of the exceeding great skill and wisdom,
and common sense, always exhibited in the arrangements of the Roman
Catholic Church in opposition to Infidelity, and of the imbecility and
childishness manifested by Christian ministers in assailing Rationalism
with their dogmatism, etc. I was very glad to receive information so
valuable, and I thought: "I see, my friend, what kind of warfare you
like best. You admire the Roman Catholic kind of fighting, but you do
not admire that which evangelical ministers have adopted. It is no aim
of ours to please our enemies in our mode of warfare, but the reverse;
and if we have discovered a weapon which galls you, we will use that
same arm more freely than ever." There is a story of an officer who was
rather awkward in his manners, and, upon some great occasion, almost
fell over his sword in his haste. His majesty remarked, "Your sword
seems to be very much in the way." "So your majesty's enemies have very
often felt," was the reply. So, when the enemies of the truth are
finding fault with our procedure, we accept their verdict when we have
turned it the other way upwards. If they do not admire our mode of
warfare, we think; it is in all probability about the best method we
could adopt. We would still, God granting us help, continue preaching
the "foolishness" of the gospel, and deliver again and again the old
truth, that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not
imputing their trespasses unto them. Instead of lifting up a new banner
(which would better please our adversaries) it shall be the old banner
still–"None but Christ." "By grace are ye saved through faith; and
that out of yourselves: it is the gift of God." Salvation is by free
favor, through the expiatory sacrifice of Jesus Christ our Lord.
We are now to observe, that the chief glory and majesty of the church
lies mainly in the banner which she carries. What cause for terror is
there in the banner? We reply, the enemies of Christ dread the cross,
because they know what the cross has done. Wherever the crucified Jesus
has been preached, false systems have tottered to their fall. Dagou has
always fallen before the ark of the Lord. Rage the most violent is
excited by the doctrine of the atonement, a rage in which the first
cause for wrath is fear.
The terribleness of the church lies in her banners, because those
banners put strength into her. Drawing near to the standard of the
cross the weakest soldier becomes strong: he who might have played the
coward becomes a hero when the precious blood of Jesus is felt with
power in his soul. Martyrs are born and nurtured at the cross. It is
the blood of Jesus which is the life-blood of self-denial; we can die
because our Savior died. The presence of Alexander made the Greeks more
than giants: the presence of our Redeemer makes believers swifter than
eagles, and stronger than lions.
Moreover, the powers of evil tremble at the old standard, because they
have a presentiment of its future complete triumph. It is decreed of
God, and fixed by his predestinating purpose, that all flesh shall see
the salvation of God. Jesus must reign; the crucified One must conquer.
The hands nailed to the wood must sway the scepter of all kingdoms.
Like potters' vessels dashed to pieces, must all the might and majesty
of men be, that shall oppose the crown and scepter of Christ's kingdom.
In Christ preached lies the battle-axe and weapons of war, with which
the Lord will work out his everlasting decrees. The church with the
name of Immanuel emblazoned on her banner, which it is her duty to keep
well displayed, and lifted high, is sure to be terrible to all the
powers of darkness.
We will close with one or two reflections. Will each one here say to
himself: "An army, a company of warriors, am I one of them? Am I a
soldier? I have entered the church; I make a profession; but am I
really a soldier? Do I fight? Do I endure hardness? Am I a mere
carpet-knight, a mere lie-a-bed soldier, one of those who are pleased
to put on regimentals in order to adorn myself with a profession
without ever going to the war?"
"Am I a soldier of the cross–a follower of the Lamb?"
Pass the question round, my dear brethren and sisters: Are you soldiers
who engage in actual fighting for Jesus, under his banner? Do you rally
round it? Do you know the standard? Do you love it? Could you die in
defense of it? Is the person of Jesus dearest of all things to you? Do
you value the doctrine of the atoning substitution? Do you feel your
own energy and power awakened in the defense of that, and for the love
of that? Let not one go away without making the searching question.
And then "terrible." Am I in any way terrible through being Christian?
Is there any power in my life that would condemn a sinner? my holiness
about me that would make a wicked man feel ill at ease in my company?
Is there enough of Christ about my life to make me like a light in the
midst of the darkness? or is it very likely that if I were to live in a
house the inhabitants would never see any difference between me and the
ungodly? Oh, how many Christians there are who need to wear a label
round their necks: you would never know that they were Christians
without it! They make long prayers and great pretences, but they are
Christians in nothing but the name. May your life and mine never be
thus despicable, but may we convince gainsayers that there is a power
in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and make them confess, that they, not
having it, are losing a great blessing.
One other thought. If I am not a soldier, if I am not a servant of
Christ in very truth, and yet I come to the place of worship where
Christians meet, and where Christ is preached, the day will be when the
church of God will be very terrible to me. I will suppose that there is
a person listening to this sermon who has been hearing the preaching of
the word in this place now for many years. Imagine that the last day is
come. You are brought before the great judgment-seat, and this is the
question:–"Did this sinner hear the gospel faithfully preached? He is
ungodly, he has rejected Christ: does he deserve to be cast away? Did
he really bear the gospel, and did he reject it?" If I am asked to give
my witness, I must say, "To the best of my ability, I tried to tell him
the gospel of Jesus Christ." "Was this sinner prayed for by the
church?" There are many of the members of this church who would feel
bound to declare "Yes, Lord, we did pray for him." Yes, and all of us
should say, "If we did not pray for him by name, we included him in the
general company of those who attended upon the means of grace, for whom
we made a constant intercession." Is there any member of the church who
would be able to make an apology for the rejector of Christ? He has
willfully rejected the Savior, he knowingly continued in sin. Will
anybody be an advocate for him? Not one tongue would be able to excuse
you at the judgment, or to argue against the righteous sentence of God.
When the great Judge condemns the sinner to be taken away to execution,
the whole church with whom that sinner has worshipped, and in whose
presence that sinner has rejected Christ, will become "terrible as an
army with banners;" for all its voices will say, "Amen, Amen, Amen!
Thou art righteous, O Lord."
This is no picture drawn from fancy. Know ye not that the saints shall
judge the world? They shall sit as co-assessors with the Son of God at
the last great assize, and shall say, "Amen!" to every verdict which
proceedeth from his mouth. O that the thought of this might be blessed
of God's Spirit, so as to lead many of you to be reconciled to God.
Jesus is still the loving Mediator, and a full surrender of yourselves
to him will assuredly save you. Whosoever believeth on him is not
condemned; and this is to believe on him–that ye trust in him, and
know that God hath given unto us eternal life–and this life is in his
Son who suffered in the stead of sinners, that whosoever believeth in
him might not perish, but have everlasting life. The Lord bless you,
for the Lord Jesus' sake. Amen.
MR. SPURGEON has been laid aside by sickness for two Sabbaths, but is
now recovering and hopes to be again in the pulpit next Lord's-day. He
earnestly beg the prayers of loving friends that his frequent
infirmities may be sanctified to the glory of God and the profit of the
church; and then, if it were the Lord's will, eventually removed.