The Best War Cry

The Best War Cry

(No. 1709)

DELIVERED ON LORD'S-DAY MORNING, MARCH 4, 1883,

BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.

"The Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them."
Numbers 23:21.

IT was a singular spectacle to see the king of Moab and his lords
climbing to the tops of the craggy rocks, accompanied by that strange
being, the Eastern prophet Balaam. They are seeking to look upon Israel
with the evil eye and flash down curses upon her tents in the plain
beneath. You see them gazing down from the mountains upon the
encampment in the wilderness below, even as vultures from aloft spy out
their prey. They watch with keen and cruel eyes. Cunning and malice are
in their countenances. How Balak longs to crush the nation which he
fears! They are secretly endeavoring, by spell and enchantment, to
bring evil upon the people whom Jehovah has chosen and led into the
wilderness. You see them offering their seven bullocks and their seven
rams upon the seven altars which they have set up upon Pisgah's rocks.

Balaam retires to wait until the impulse shall come upon him and he
shall be able to prophesy. In all probability Moses knew nothing about
this at the time and certainly the people below knew nothing of the
foul conspiracy. There lay the tribes in the valley, unaware that
mischief was brewing, and quite unable to meet the dark design even if
they had been aware of it. What a mercy it was for them that they were
guarded by a Watcher–a Holy One whose eyes can never slumber. How true
it is–"I the Lord do keep it; I will water it every moment: lest any
hurt it, I will keep it night and day." The Lord's eyes are fixed upon
Balaam the hireling, and Balak the son of Zippor–in vain do they weave
the enchantment and work the divination–they shall be utterly ashamed
and confounded.

They were baffled in their machinations and utterly defeated in their
schemes, and that for one single reason–it is written, "JEHOVAH
SHAMMAH–the Lord Is There. God's Presence in the midst of His people
is as a wall of fire round about them and a Glory in their midst. The
Lord is their light and their salvation, whom shall they fear? At this
present time God has a people, a remnant according to the election of
Grace, who still dwell like sheep in the midst of wolves. When, as a
part of the Lord's Church, we look at our surroundings, we see much
that might cause us alarm, for never, either day or night, is Satan
quiet. Like a roaring lion, he goes about, seeking whom he may devour!
He plots in secret his crafty devices–if it were possible he would
deceive the very elect!

This Prince of Darkness has on earth many most diligent servants,
compassing sea and land to make proselytes, laying out all their
strength and using all their craft and cunning if, by any means, they
may destroy the Kingdom of God and blot out the Truth of God from under
Heaven. It is saddest of all to see certain men who know the Truth in
some degree, as Balaam did, entering into league with the adversary
against the true Israel. These combine their arts and use all possible
means that the Gospel of the Grace of God, and the Church that holds
it, may utterly be destroyed. If the Church is not destroyed, it will
be no thanks to her enemies, for they would swallow her up quickly!

When we look upon the signs of the times, our heart grows heavy, for
iniquity abounds, the love of many waxes cold, many false spirits have
gone abroad in the earth and some whom we looked upon as helpers are
proving themselves to be of another order. What then? Are we dismayed?
By no means, for that same God who was in the midst of the Church in
the wilderness is in the Church of these last days! Again shall her
adversaries be defeated. Still will He defend her, for the Lord has
built His Church upon a rock and the gates of Hell shall not prevail
against her. The reason of her safety is this–

"God in the midst of her does dwell; Nothing shall her remove;

The Lord to her a Helper shall, And that right early, pro ve."

Our text declares the grand safeguard of the Church of God, ensuring
her against every peril known and unknown, earthly or Satanic–"Jehovah
his God is with him, and the shout of a King is among them." May the
Holy Spirit help me while I try to speak, first, upon God's Presence
with His people. Secondly, upon the results of that Presence. And
thirdly, upon how, by the Grace of God, that Presence may be preserved
continually among us.

I. First, let me speak a little upon GOD'S PRESENCE AMONG HIS PEOPLE.
It is an extraordinary Presence, for God's ordinary and usual Presence
is everywhere. Where shall we flee from His Presence? He is in the
highest Heaven and in the lowest Hell! The hand of the Lord is upon the
high hills and His power is in all deep places. This knowledge is too
high and wonderful for us! God is everywhere, for in Him we live and
move and have our being. Still there is a peculiar Presence, for God
was among His people in the wilderness as He was not among the Moabites
and the Edomites, their foes. And God is in His Church as He is not in
the world. It is a peculiar promise of the Covenant that God will dwell
with His people and walk among them.

By the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Lord is with us and in us at this
hour. He says of His Church, "Here will I dwell, for I have desired
it." This is much more than God's being about us–it includes the favor
of God towards us, His consideration of us, His working with us. An
active nearness to bless is the Presence of which we speak. Here we may
say with great reverence that God is with His people in the entireness
of His Nature. The Father is with us, for the Father, Himself, loves
us. Like as a father pities his children, so the Lord pities them that
fear Him. He is near to us, supplying our needs, guiding our steps,
helping us in time and tutoring us for eternity. God is where His
children are, hearing every groan of their sorrow, marking every tear
of their distress. The Father is in the midst of His family, acting a
father's part towards them. "Lord, you have been our dwelling place in
all generations." He is never far from any into whose breasts He has
put the spirit of adoption whereby we cry, "Abba, Father!" Come, you
children of God, rejoice in this–your heavenly Father has come unto
you and abides with you!

We also have the Presence of the Divine Son of God. Said He not to His
Apostles, "Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world"?
Have we not this for our joy whenever we come together, that we meet in
His name, and that He still says, "Peace be unto you," and manifests
Himself unto us as He does not unto the world? Many of you know most
delightfully what it is to have fellowship with God, for "truly our
fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ"–and this
fellowship were not ours if we were not made near by His precious
blood. Very near are we to the heart of Christ–He dwells with us–yes,
He is one with us!

Peculiarly this presence relates to the Holy Spirit. It is He who
represents the Lord Jesus who has gone from us. We have a double
portion of Christ's Spirit because we see Him, now that He is taken up,
even as Elisha had a double portion of Elijah's spirit, according to
the Prophet's saying, "If you see me when I am taken from you, it shall
be so unto you." That is, a double portion of my spirit shall rest upon
you. It was expedient that our Lord and Master should go, that the
Spirit might be given! That Spirit, once poured out at Pentecost, has
never been withdrawn! He is still in the midst of this dispensation,
working, guiding, quickening, comforting, exercising all the blessed
office of the Paraclete and, being for us and in us, God's Advocate,
pleading for the Truth of God and for us.

Yes, dear Friends, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are in the
midst of the true Church of God when that Church is in a right and
healthy state. And if the Triune God is gone away from the Church, then
her banners must trail in the dust, for her warriors have lost their
strength. This is the Glory of the Church of God–to have the Grace of
the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father and the communion of
the Holy Spirit to be her never-failing benediction! What a glory to
have Father, Son and Holy Spirit manifesting the Godhead in the midst
of our assemblies and blessing each one of us! For God to dwell with
us–what a condescending Presence this is! And will God, in very truth,
dwell among men? If the Heaven of heavens cannot contain Him, will He
abide among His people? He will! He will! Glory be to His name! "Know
you not that your bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit?" God
dwells in us! Wonderful word!

Who can fathom the depth of this Grace? The mystery of the Incarnation
is equaled by the mystery of the indwelling! That God, the Holy Spirit,
should dwell in our bodies is as extraordinary as that God, the Son,
should inhabit that body which was born of the blessed virgin! Strange,
strange is this, that the Creator should dwell in His creatures, that
the Infinite should tabernacle in finite beings! Yet so it is, for He
has said, "Certainly I will be with you." What an awe this imparts to
every true Church of God! You may go in and out of certain assemblies
and you may say, "Here we have beauty! Here we have adornment, musical,
ecclesiastical, architectural, oratorical and the like!"

But to my mind there is no worship like that which proceeds from a man
when he feels the Lord is present! What a hush comes over the soul!
Here is the place for the bated breath, the unsandalled foot and the
prostrate spirit! Now are we on holy ground. When the Lord descends in
the majesty of His infinite love to deal with the hearts of men, then
it is with us as it was in Solomon's temple when the priests could not
stand to minister by reason of the Glory that filled the place. Man is
set aside, for God is there! In such a case the most fluent think it
better to be silent, for there is, at times, more expressiveness in
absolute silence than in the fittest words. "How dreadful is this
place! This is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of
Heaven." Why? Because Jacob had said, "Surely the Lord is in this
place."

We regard the lowliest assemblies of the most illiterate people with
solemn reverence if God is there–we regard the largest assemblies of
the wealthiest and most renowned with utter indifference if God is not
there. This is the one necessity of the Church–the Lord God must be in
the midst of her or she is nothing! If God is there, peace will be
within her walls and prosperity within her palaces–but if the Lord is
not there, woe unto the men that speak in His name, for they shall cry
in bitterness, "Who has believed our report?" Woe unto the waiting
people, for they shall go away empty! Woe unto the sinners in a
forsaken Zion, for no salvation comes to them! The Presence of God
makes the Church to be a joyful, happy, solemn place! This brings glory
to His name and peace to His people. But without it, all faces are
pale, all hearts are heavy.

Brothers and Sisters, this Presence of God is clearly discerned by the
gracious, though others may not know it. Yet I think even the
ungracious, in a measure, perceive it–coming into the assembly they
are struck with a secret some-thing–they know not what. And if they do
not immediately join in the worship of the present God, yet a deep
impression is made upon them beyond any that could be caused by the
sound of human speech, or by the grandeur of outward show. They feel
awed and retire abashed. Certainly the devil knows where God is–none
better than he. He hates the camp of which Jehovah is the leader
against it. He doubles his enmity, multiplies his plots and exercises
all his power. He knows where his kingdom finds its bravest assailants
and he, therefore, attacks their headquarters, even as Balaam and Balak
did of old.

Let us look at Balaam for a moment. May we never run in the way of
Balaam for a reward, but let us stand in his way for a moment that he
may be our beacon. This man had sold himself for gold and, though he
knew God and spoke under Inspiration, yet he knew Him not in his heart,
but was willing to curse God's people for money. He was thwarted in his
design because God was there. It is worth our while to see what kind of
a God Jehovah is in Balaam's estimation. He describes our God in verse
19–"God is not a man, that He should lie; neither the son of man, that
He should repent: has He said, and shall He not do it? Or has He spoken
and shall He not make it good?" Balaam perceived that the God who was
in the midst of His people is not a changeable god, not a false god,
not one who promises and forgets, or promises and eats his words, or
promises what he cannot and will not perform.

The God of Israel is faithful and true, immutable, unchanging! Every
one of His promises shall be fulfilled! None of His Words shall fall to
the ground. "Has He said, and shall He not do it? Has He spoken and
shall it not come to pass?" What a joy it is to have such a God as this
among us–a promise-making and a promise-keeping God–a God at work for
His people as He has declared He would be! We have a God comforting and
cheering His people–and fulfilling in their experience that which His
Word has led them to expect. This God is our God forever and ever! He
shall be our Guide even unto death! My dear Friends, we sometimes hear
men talk of the failure of the Church. We are afraid that some churches
do fail. Wherever failure occurs, the bottom of it is the absence of
the Lord of Hosts, for He cannot fail.

I heard one, speaking of the district in which he lives, say, "We are a
religions people. Almost all the people attend a place of worship,
but," he added, "I am bound to add that of spiritual life we have few
traces. One Church has given up its Prayer Meetings; another feels that
its entertainments are more important than its worship and another is
notorious for worldliness." This is a testimony as terrible as it is
common! The worst thing that can be said of any Christian community is
this–"You have a name to live and are dead." "You are neither cold nor
hot." Our Lord Jesus says, "I would you were cold or hot. So, then,
because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue you out
of My mouth."

A Church without life and zeal makes Christ sick! He cannot bear it. He
can put up with downright godlessness sooner than with a profession of
religion out of which the life and the power are gone, since it has
cooled down into lukewarmness. This, then, we should pray for
continually–the Presence of God in the midst of His people–

"Great Shepherd of Your Israel

Who did, between the cherubs dwell, And led the tribes, Your chosen
sheep, Safe through the desert and the deep, Your Church is in the
desert now! Shine from on high, and guide us through. Turn us to You,
Your love restore We shall be saved, and sigh no more."

II. To whet your desire for this, let me pass on to the second head of
my subject, which is briefly to describe THE RESULTS OF THIS DIVINE
PRESENCE. Some of these results are mentioned in the context. One of
the first is leading–"God brought them out of Egypt" (v. 22). The best
critics give us another rendering–"God is bringing them out of Egypt."
When God is in the midst of His people, He is leading them, so that we
may cheerfully sing that song, "He leads me, He leads me," and go on
with David to say, "He leads me beside the still waters." We need no
other Leader in the Church when we have God, for His eyes and arms will
guide His people.

I am always afraid of having human rules in a Church and equally
fearful of being governed by human precedents. I am afraid of power
being vested in one, or two, or 20 men–the power must be in the Lord,
Himself. That Church which has God in the midst of it, rules itself,
and goes right without any other guidance but that which comes of the
Holy Spirit's working. Such a Church keeps together without aiming at
uniformity and goes on to victory even though it makes no noise. That
movement is right which is led by God–and that is sure to be all wrong
which is led in the best possible way if God is absent. Organization is
all very well, but I sometimes feel inclined to join with Zwingli in
the battle when he said, "In the name of the Holy Trinity let all
loose," for when everybody is free, if God is present, everybody is
bound to do the right thing. When each man moves according to the
Divine instinct in him, there will be little need of regulations–all
is order where God rules! Just as the atoms of matter obey the present
power of God, so do separate Believers obey the one great impelling
influence.

Oh, if God is in the Church to lead it, it shall be rightly guided! Do
not fall in love with this particular system, or that, my Brothers and
Sisters–do not cry up this scheme of working or that! Get the Spirit
of God and almost any shape that spiritual life takes will be a form of
energy suitable for the particular emergency! God never leads His
people wrongly! It is for them to follow the fiery, cloudy pillar.
Though it leads them through the sea, they shall traverse it dry-shod!
Though it leads them through a desert, they shall be fed! Though it
brings them into a thirsty land, they shall drink to the full of water
from the Rock! We must have the Lord with us to guide us into our
promised rest.

The next blessing is strength. "He has, as it were, the strength of an
unicorn" (v. 22). It is generally agreed that the creature here meant
is an extinct species of urns or ox, most nearly represented by the
buffalo of the present period. This gives us the sentence–"He has, as
it were, the strength of a buffalo." When God is in a Church, what
rugged strength, what massive force, what irresistible energy is sure
to be there! And how untamable is the living force! You cannot yoke
this buffalo to everybody's plow–it has its own free way of living and
it acts after its own style. When the Lord is with a Church, her power
is not in numbers, though very speedily she will increase. Her power is
not wealth, though God will take care that the money comes when it is
needed. Her power lies in God–and that power becomes irresistible,
untamable, unconquerable! Force and energy are with the Lord.

I fear that what many bodies of Christian people need is this force.
Examine yonder religious body–it is huge, but it lacks muscle–it is a
fine-looking organization, but soul, sinew, backbone are lacking. Where
God is, there is sure to be life-force. When the Spirit of God
descended upon the first saints, they began to speak with wondrous
power! And though they were persecuted, they were not subdued. No bit
could be put into their mouths to hold them in, for they went
everywhere preaching the Word of God! Of the true Israel it shall be
said–"His strength is as the strength of the buffalo: it cannot be
controlled or conquered."

The next result is safety. "Surely there is no enchantment against
Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel." The Presence of
God quietly baffles all the attempts of the Evil One. I have noticed,
dear Brothers and Sisters, in this Church where we have had God's
Presence in a great measure, that all around us people have gone off to
this opinion and to the other fancy, yet, our members, as a rule, have
stood firm. Persons say to me, "Do you not sometimes answer the
skepticisms of the day?" I answer, No. They do not come in my way. "Do
not modern opinions trouble your

Church?" They have not done so. Why? Because God is there and spiritual
life, in vigorous exercise, does not fall a victim to disease! A
gracious atmosphere does not agree with modern doubt.

When people fall into that evil, they go where the thing is indulged,
or at least where it is combated–where in some way or other they can
develop their love of novelty and foster the notion of their own
wisdom. Infidelity, Socinianism, and modern thought can make no headway
where the Spirit is at work! Enchantment does not lie against Israel
and divination does not touch Jacob. If a Church will keep to the Truth
of God, keep to God, and do its own work, it can live like a lamb in
the midst of wolves without being torn in pieces. Have God with you and
not only the evil of doctrinal error but every other error shall be
kept far from you. But still, there was, when Christ was in the Church,
a Judas in the midst of it–and even in the Apostles' days there were
some that went out from them because they were not of them, for if they
had been of them, doubtless they would have continued with
them–therefore we may not expect to be without false brethren.

But the true safety of the Church is not a creed, not an enactment for
expelling those who violate the creed–only the Presence of God can
protect His people against the cunning assaults of their foes. Upon
these words, "there is no enchantment against Jacob, no divination
against Israel," suffer a few sentences. There are still a few foolish
people in the world who believe in witchcraft and spells, but you,
Beloved, if you love the Lord, throw such nonsense to the winds! Do you
not hear people talk about this being lucky and that unlucky? This
notion is heathenish and unchristian! Never utter such nonsense! But
even if there were such things as witchcraft and divination, if this
house were full of devils and the air swarmed with invisible spirits of
an evil sort, yet if we are the people of God, surely there is no
enchantment against us. Divination cannot touch a child of God–the
Evil One is chained!

Therefore be of good courage–if God is for us, who can be against us?
Further than that, God gives to His people the next blessing, that is,
of His so working among them as to make them a wonder and cause
outsiders to raise enquiries about them. "According to this time it
shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What has God worked?" Is not that
a singular thing? Here is Balaam with his seven altars, seven bullocks
and seven rams. And here is Balak. And they are all going to compass
some dreadful evil against Israel! The prophet is a man of great skill
in the occult arts–but what does God say? In effect, He says–"From
this hour in which you try to curse them, I will bless them more than
ever until I will make them say, and their enemies say, "What has God
worked?"

Brethren, there is another question, "What has Israel worked?" I am
glad that Israel's work is not my subject just now, because I should
make a very wretched sermon out of it! We have better music in the
words, "What has God worked?" Let me tell not what I have done, but
what God has done! Not what human nature is, but what God's Nature is
and what the Grace of God will work in the midst of His people. If God
is within us, we shall be signs and wonders until those around us shall
say, "What is this that God is doing?" Yes, in you, poor Jacob,
wrestling, halting on your thigh, men shall see marvels and cry, "What
has God worked?" Much more shall it be so with you, my brother, Israel,
you who have prevailed and won the blessing–you are as a prince with
God and you shall make men enquire, "What has God worked?"

When God is with His people, He will give them power of a destructive
kind. Do not be frightened! Here is the text for it–"Behold, the
people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young
lion"–that is, as a lion in the fullness of his vigor–"He shall not
lie down until he eats of the prey and drinks the blood of the slain."
God has put into His Church, when He is in it, a most wonderful,
destructive power against spiritual wickedness! A healthy Church kills
error, and tears evil in pieces! Not so very long ago our nation
tolerated slavery in our colonies. Philanthropists endeavored to
destroy slavery, but when was it utterly abolished? It was when
Wilberforce roused the Church of God, and when the Church of God
addressed herself to the conflict–then she tore the evil thing to
pieces!

I have been amused with what Wilberforce said the day after they passed
the Act of Emancipation. He merrily said to a friend when it was all
done, "Is there not something else we can abolish?" That was said
playfully, but it shows the spirit of the Church of God! She lives in
conflict and victory–her mission is to destroy everything that is bad
in the land! See the fierce devil of intemperance, how it devours men!
Earnest friends have been laboring against it and they have done
something for which we are grateful. But if ever intemperance is put
down, it will be when the entire Church of God shall arouse herself to
protest against it! When the strong lion rises up, the giant of
drunkenness shall fall before him. "He shall not lie down until he eats
of the prey and drinks the blood of the slain."

I predict for the world the best results from a fully awakened Church!
If God is in her, there is no evil which she cannot overcome! This
crowded London of ours sometimes appalls me–the iniquity which reigns
and rages in the lower districts, the general indifference and the
growing atheism of the people–these are something terrible, but let
not the people of God be dismayed. If the Lord is in the midst of us,
we shall do with this as our forefathers have done with other evils–we
shall rise up in strength and not lie down till the evil is destroyed!
For the destructions, mark you, of God's people, are not the
destructions of men and women–they consist in the overthrow of
sin–the tearing in pieces of systems of iniquity. This it is which God
shall help His Church to do, He being in the midst of her.

Once more–the results of God's Presence are to be seen, not only in
the context, but in other matters which we have personally experienced
and hope to experience more fully. Note them. When God is in a Church,
there is a holy awe upon the hearts of His people. There is also a
childlike trustfulness, hopefulness and consequent courage and joy.
When the Lord is in the midst of His people, the ordinances of His
house are exceedingly sweet. Baptism and the Lord's Supper become
divinely painted pictures of our burial in Christ and of our life
through Him. The preaching of the Word drops as dew and distils as the
rain. The meetings for prayer are fresh and fervent–we desire to stay
in them hour after hour–we feel it such a happy thing to be there! The
very house in which we meet grows beautiful to us. We love the place
where our Lord is accustomed to meet with us.

Then work for Christ is easy, no, delightful! God's people never need
urging, they are eager for the fray when the Lord is with them. Then,
too, suffering for Christ becomes pleasant, yes, any kind of suffering
is easily borne–

"I can do all things, or can bear All sufferings, if my Lord is there!
Sweet pleasures mingle with the pains,

While His left hand my head sustains."

Then prayer grows abundant all over the Church, both in private and in
public. Then life is made vigorous, the feeblest becomes as David, and
David like the Angel of the Lord. Then love is fervent; unity is
unbroken; the Truth of God is esteemed and the living of truth in the
life is sought after by all the people of God! Then effort is
successful; the Church enlarges the bounds of her tent, for she breaks
forth on the right hand and on the left. Then her seed inherits the
Gentiles and the desolate places are inhabited. Then God gives unto her
the holy energy with which she vanquishes nations. When God is with her
she becomes like a sheaf of fire in the midst of the stubble and
consumes her adversaries round about. "Fair as the moon, clear as the
sun and terrible as an army with banners," is a Church which has God in
her midst!

But now notice one thing in my text, and with that I close this
description. Where God is, we are told, "The shout of a king is among
them." What is the shout of a king? When great commanders are known to
have come into a camp, what a thrill of joy it causes among their
trusty warriors! When the soldiers have been much dejected, it has been
whispered in their tents–

"The king has come to marshal us, All in his armor dressed,"

and from that moment every man is cheered up. At the sight of the king,
as he comes riding into the camp, the host raises a great shout. What
does it mean? It is a shout of loyal love–they are glad to welcome
their leader. So is it with us when we sing–"The King Himself comes
near"–we are all as glad as glad can be! Those who cannot come out to
see their prince, because they are lying on their sick beds in
hospitals, clap their hands, while even the little children in their
mothers' arms join in the general joy. "The king is come," they say,
and his presence kindles their enthusiasm till they make the hills ring
again!

You know how the stern Ironsides felt when Cromwell came along. Every
man was a hero when he led the way. They were ready for any adventure,
no matter how difficult, as long as their great chief was there. That
enthusiasm which was inspired by Alexander, by Napoleon and by other
great commanders, is the earthly image of the spiritual fervor felt by
the Church when the Lord Jesus is in her midst! What next? When the
king comes and they have received him with enthusiasm, he cries, "Now
is the hour of battle" and at once a shout goes up from his warriors
who are eager for the fight. When a clan of Highlanders was led to the
battle by their chief, he had only to show them the enemy and with one
tremendous shout they leaped upon them like lions!

It is so with the people of God. When God is with us, we are strong,
resolute, determined. The charge of the servants of God is as the rush
of a hurricane against a bowing wall and a tottering fence. In God is
our confidence of victory. With

God present, no man's heart fails him; no doubt enters the host. "Be
strong, and quit yourselves like men," is the word that is passed
round, for our King's eyes make us brave and the Presence of His
Majesty secures our triumph. My Brothers and Sisters, let us cry to
God, entreating Him to be among us! This it is that you need in your
Sunday schools, in your mission halls, in your street preaching, in
your tract distributing–it is this that I need beyond everything when
I have to speak to you in this vast house.

If I could hear the sound of my Master's feet behind me, I would speak
though I were lying upon the borders of the grave! But if God is gone,
I am bereft of power. What is the use of words without the Spirit? We
might as well mutter to the whistling winds as preach to men without
the Lord! O God, if You are with us, then the shout of a King is among
us, but without You, we pine away!

III. Thirdly, let us look at a very important point and a very
practical one, too–What can be done for THE SECURING AND PRESERVING OF
THE PRESENCE OF GOD WITHIN THE CHURCH? This is a matter that would

require several sermons to discuss fully, but I notice that there is
something, even, in the conformation of a Church to secure this. God is
very tolerant and He bears with many mistakes in His servants and yet
blesses them. But depend upon it, unless a Church is formed at the very
outset upon Scriptural principles and in God's own way, sooner or later
all the mistakes of her constitution will turn out to be sources of
weakness! Christ loves to dwell in a house which is built according to
His own plans and not according to the whims and fancies of men.

The Church ought not to set up as her authority the decrees of men,
either living or dead–her Ruler is Christ! Associations formed
otherwise than according to Scripture must fail in the long run. I wish
Christians would believe this. Chillingworth said, "The Bible and only
the Bible, is the religion of Protestants." That was not true. Certain
Protestants have tacked many other things to the Bible–and they are
suffering as the result of their folly–for they cannot keep their
Church from becoming Popish. Of course they cannot! They have admitted
a little leaven of Popery and it will leaven the whole lump. The dry
rot in one part of the house will spread throughout the whole fabric,
sooner or later. Let us be careful to build on the foundation of
Christ–and then let every man take heed how he builds thereon, for
even if the foundation is good, yet if he builds with hay and stubble,
the fire will cause him grievous loss.

But next, God will only dwell with a Church which is full of life. The
living God will not inhabit a dead church! Hence the necessity of
having really regenerated people as members of the Church. We cannot
secure this in every case with all our watching–tares will grow among
the wheat. But if the admission of unregenerate men is usual and there
are no restrictions, then the Lord will be grieved and leave us. God
dwells not in temples made with hands–He has nothing to do with bricks
and mortar–He dwells in living souls! Remember that text–"God is not
the God of the dead, but of the living," and it bears this sense among
others, that He is not the God of a church made up of unconverted
people. Oh, that we may all live unto God, and may that life be past
all question.

That being supposed, we next notice that to have God among us we must
be full of faith. Unbelief gives forth such a noxious vapor that Jesus,
Himself, could not stay where it was. His strength was paralyzed–"He
could not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief." Faith
creates an atmosphere in which the Spirit of God can work! Meanwhile,
the Spirit of God, Himself, creates that faith, so that it is all of
His own working from first to last! Brothers and Sisters, do you
believe your God? Do you believe up to the hilt? Alas, too many only
believe a little! But do you believe His every Word? Do you believe His
grandest promises? Is He a real God to you, making His Words into
facts, every day of your lives? If so, then the Lord is among us as in
the Holy Place!

Faith builds a pavilion in which her King delights to sit enthroned.
With that, must come prayer. Prayer is the breath of faith. I do not
believe God will ever be long with a Church that does not pray–and I
feel certain that when meetings for prayer, when family prayer, when
private prayer, when any form of prayer comes to be at a discount–the
Lord will leave the people to learn their weakness! Lack of prayer cuts
the sinews of the Church for practical working. She is lame, feeble,
impotent, if prayer is gone. If anything is the matter with the lungs,
we fear consumption–Prayer Meetings are the lungs of the Church and
anything the matter there means consumption to the Church, or at best a
gradual decline, attended with general debility.

Oh, my Brothers, if we want to have God with us, pass the watchword
round, "Let us pray!" Let us pray after the fashion of the widow who
was importunate and would not be repulsed! Remember, it is written,
"Men ought always to pray and not to faint." Where prayer is fervent,
God is present. Supposing there is this faith and prayer, we shall also

need holiness of life. You know what Balaam did when he found he could
not curse the people? Satanic was his advice. He bade the king of Moab
seduce the men of Israel by the women of Moab that were fair to look
upon–these were to fascinate them by their beauty and then to invite
them to their idolatrous rites–which rites were orgies of lust. He
hoped that the lewdness of the people would grieve the Lord and cause
Him to leave them and then Moab could smite them.

He sadly succeeded. If it had not been for Phinehas, who, in holy
wrath, drove his javelin right through a man and woman in the very act
of sin, sparing none in the vehemence of his zeal, Israel had been
quite undone. So in a Church. The devil will work hard to lead one into
licentiousness, another into drunkenness, a third into dishonesty and
others into worldliness. If he can only get the goodly Babylonian
garment and the wedge of gold buried in an Achan's tent, then Israel
will be chased before her adversaries! God cannot dwell in an unclean
Church!

A holy God abhors the very garments spotted by the flesh. Be you holy
as Christ is holy! Do not take up with this German silver electrotype
holiness, which is so much boasted of nowadays. Do not be deluded into
self-righteousness, but seek after real holiness–and if you find it,
you will never boast about it–your life will speak, but your lips will
never dare to say, "See how holy I am." Real holiness dwells with
humility and makes men aspire after that which yet lies beyond them. Be
holy, upright, just, straight, true, pure, chaste, devout. God send us
this behavior and then we shall keep Him among us as long as we live!

Lastly, when we have reached that, let us have practical consecration.
God will not dwell in a house which does not belong to Him. No, the
first thing with any one of us is to answer this question–Do you give
yourself up to Christ– body, soul and spirit–to live for Him and to
die for Him? Will you give Him all that you have of talent and ability,
and substance, time and life, itself? Where there is a Church made up
of consecrated people, there God will remain and there He will make a
Heaven below! And there the shout of a King shall be heard! And there
His strength shall be revealed! And there His glory shall be seen, even
as it is beheld on high! The Lord send us this, for Jesus' sake. Amen
and Amen!