=========================================================== Scripture Studies: Vol. VI, No. 8 - October 1999 ================================================= In this issue: Old Testament Study - Haggai 2:10-23 A Classic Study - Navigation Spiritualized, pt. 18, by John Flavel New Testament Study - Matthew 7:21-29 A Topical Study - Loving God vs. Loving the World, pt. 2 A Study of Wisdom - Ecclesiastes 5:1-7 Masthead -------- "Scripture Studies" is edited by Scott Sperling and published ten times a year by Scripture Studies, Inc., a non-profit organization. It is distributed all over the world by postal mail and via the internet, free of charge. If you would like to financially support the publication and distribution of "Scripture Studies", send contributions to: Scripture Studies Inc. 20 Pastora Foothill Ranch, CA 92610 USA Contributions are tax deductible in the United States. 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Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers =========================================================== Old Testament Study - Haggai 2:10-23 ==================================== Hardships and Blessings ----------------------- 10On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Haggai: 11"This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Ask the priests what the law says: 12If a person carries consecrated meat in the fold of his garment, and that fold touches some bread or stew, some wine, oil or other food, does it become consecrated?'" The priests answered, "No." 13Then Haggai said, "If a person defiled by contact with a dead body touches one of these things, does it become defiled?" "Yes," the priests replied, "it becomes defiled." 14Then Haggai said, "'So it is with this people and this nation in my sight,' declares the LORD. 'Whatever they do and whatever they offer there is defiled. 15"'Now give careful thought to this from this day on-consider how things were before one stone was laid on another in the LORD'S temple. 16When anyone came to a heap of twenty measures, there were only ten. When anyone went to a wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were only twenty. 17I struck all the work of your hands with blight, mildew and hail, yet you did not turn to me,' declares the LORD. 18'From this day on, from this twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, give careful thought to the day when the foundation of the LORD'S temple was laid. Give careful thought: 19Is there yet any seed left in the barn? Until now, the vine and the fig-tree, the pomegranate and the olive tree have not borne fruit. "'From this day on I will bless you.'" About two months after the previous message (given in Haggai 2:1- 9), and exactly three months after the remnant resumed building the Temple, the Lord spoke to Haggai again: "On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Haggai." (vs. 10). In this message, as a teaching device, the Lord asks the priests (since they had the responsibility of answering questions concerning the Law of God) some questions concerning the Law: "'This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Ask the priests what the law says: If a person carries consecrated meat in the fold of his garment, and that fold touches some bread or stew, some wine, oil or other food, does it become consecrated?"' The priests answered, 'No.' Then Haggai said, 'If a person defiled by contact with a dead body touches one of these things, does it become defiled?' 'Yes,' the priests replied, 'it becomes defiled.' Then Haggai said, '"So it is with this people and this nation in my sight," declares the LORD. "Whatever they do and whatever they offer there is defiled."'" (vss. 10-14). The Lord reminds them of the properties of clean and unclean things. If something is consecrated, and touches something that is unclean, the unclean thing does not become consecrated. However, if something is defiled and touches something that is consecrated, the consecrated thing does become defiled. This law of defilement is a fact of science, and logic, as well as a moral fact. We see it in life around us. If we have clean hands, and we pick up a dog that has been wallowing in the mud, our hands get dirty, the dog does not become clean. Likewise, an eyedrop full of filth contaminates a barrel of pure water, so that none of the water is fit to drink. We also see this rule at work in the medical world. A healthy man cannot through contact heal a hospital full of sick people, but a sick man can make a gym full of healthy people sick. In the same way, in the spiritual world, which the Lord is specifically addressing, that which is defiled cannot become consecrated through mere contact with that which is consecrated. The nation of Israel had become defiled, and so, as the Lord told them: "Whatever they do and whatever they offer there is defiled" (vs. 14). Thus, none of their good works could make them holy. They were working on the Temple of God, by His command. Perhaps the people were thinking, "Well, this work that I am doing for the Lord is cleansing me from my sin." The Lord is telling them, "No, your consecrated works cannot cleanse you from your defilement." We must realize the same thing. Our good works do not cleanse us from sin. Obedience to the law is a minimum requirement, not an added bonus. We do not get "brownie" points in heaven for obeying the Lord: obedience is expected. The Lord alone can cleanse us from defilement, and He has prescribed the way that we may be purified from our sin. To the Israelites, the Lord required sacrificial rituals and ceremonial washing to cleanse them from sin. These rituals pointed to the ultimate method by which we may be purified: through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who is "the atoning sacrifice for our sins" (I John 2:2). We have the revelation of Jesus Christ, and so, we are cleansed, not through good works of our own, but through acceptance of His atoning sacrifice. So, the Lord wanted the Israelites to know that their holy work of building the Temple would not cleanse them from sin. He also wanted them to know that the previous hardships that they experienced were not due to their defiled state. The Lord sent the hardships to get their attention: "Now give careful thought to this from this day on--consider how things were before one stone was laid on another in the Lord's Temple. When anyone came to a heap of twenty measures, there were only ten. When anyone went to a wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were only twenty. I struck all the work of your hands with blight, mildew and hail, yet you did not turn to me" (vss. 15--17). God sends hardships on His people to get their attention. If His people are not walking according to His will, He will use hardships as a tool to get them on the right track. In the case of the Israelites, the hardships were sent upon them not because they were a defiled nation, but because God wanted to use them despite their defilement. Their hardships were a temporary result of their disobedience, not a permanent result of their defilement. The Lord challenged them to discover these things for themselves. He said to them: "Now give careful thought to this from this day on--consider how things were before one stone was laid on another in the Lord's Temple" (vs. 15). Things were rough before work on the Temple began, but things would get better because they began to be obedient to what the Lord wanted them to do: "From this day on, from this twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, give careful thought to the day when the foundation of the Lord's temple was laid. Give careful thought: Is there yet any seed left in the barn? Until now, the vine and the fig-tree, the pomegranate and the olive tree have not borne fruit. From this day on I will bless you" (vs. 18-19). The Lord told the Israelites ahead of time that He would bless them. They weren't prospering yet. No seed was "left in the barn", and the "vine and fig-tree, the pomegranate and the olive tree have not borne fruit." Yet, the Lord assured them: "From this day on I will bless you." By telling them ahead of time that they would be blessed, despite their previous hardships, God would strengthen their faith. They would realize that God is faithful to His promises. As a result, they would be strengthened in their work for Him. They would see that, despite all the time they were putting in to serve Him, they were still being blessed with prosperity. And this is a challenge also to you. Look at your life. "Give careful thought" to your life. Is God trying to get your attention the same way He was trying to get the attention of the Israelites? Are you facing trials? Is life toilsome, an uphill battle? Are you expecting a "heap of twenty measures", but finding only ten? It could very well be, then, that God is trying to get your attention, trying to get you to turn to Him. You need to rearrange your priorities. You need to put God and His work first. Test Him in this. Resolve to put God's work at the top of your priority list, and then "give careful thought to this from this day on." Note the difference of how things were before and after you put Him first. I am sure you will find, in many ways, the results of God saying to you: "From this day on I will bless you." On That Day ----------- 20The word of the LORD came to Haggai a second time on the twenty-fourth day of the month: 21"Tell Zerubbabel governor of Judah that I will shake the heavens and the earth. 22I will overturn royal thrones and shatter the power of the foreign kingdoms. I will overthrow chariots and their drivers; horses and their riders will fall, each by the sword of his brother. 23"'On that day,' declares the LORD Almighty, 'I will take you, my servant Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel,' declares the LORD, 'and I will make you like my signet ring, for I have chosen you,' declares the LORD Almighty." When the Lord promised the Israelites, "From this day on I will bless you" (vs. 19), He was speaking, not only to the Israelites who were there individually, but also to Israel as a nation in posterity. To confirm this, the Lord gave a final message to Haggai concerning what would happen in the future. First, He told of what would happen to the nations around Israel: "Tell Zerubbabel governor of Judah that I will shake the heavens and the earth. I will overturn royal thrones and shatter the power of the foreign kingdoms. I will overthrow chariots and their drivers; horses and their riders will fall, each by the sword of his brother" (vss. 21-22). The world will pass away. Even the greatest of nations will be shaken by the Lord. Nothing in the world is truly lasting. We should take this to heart and put our trust in Him who is everlasting. For Zerubbabel, the governor of Israel, the Lord had a special promise: "'On that day' declares the Lord Almighty, 'I will take you, my servant Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel,' declares the Lord, 'and I will make you like my signet ring, for I have chosen you,' declares the Lord Almighty" (vs. 23). This promise is prophetic of a descendant of Zerubbabel. The promise clearly did not apply to Zerubbabel himself, because it spoke of the time ("on that day") when the Lord would "shake the heavens and the earth" (vs. 21). No, the Lord was speaking prophetically of an offspring of Zerubbabel and a successor in the office he held as "governor of Judah" (vs. 21). Zerubbabel was a direct descendant of David, on the royal line. This is probably why he was chosen to be governor of Judah. At that time, though, the royal line of Judah was under the judgment of God. The last king of Israel, Zerubabbel's ancestor Jehoiachin (also known as Coniah) was the evil king who broke the camel's back (so to speak). The Lord told him: "As surely as I live... even if you Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet ring on my right hand, I would still pull you off. I will hand you over to those who seek your life, those you fear--to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and to the Babylonians" (Jer. 22:24-25). This of course happened, when the nation was taken into exile to Babylon. Note that in both prophecies--the one made to Jehoiachin and the one made to Zerubbabel--the symbol of the "signet ring" is used. A "signet ring" was a ring with a seal on it, which was the legal stamp and signature of its owner. It was used to sign letters and legal documents. It was a prized possession of its owner, especially those in positions of power and honor. The royal line of David was supposed to be the signet ring of the Lord, His representative on earth, but they failed miserably, and so, after Jehoiachin, the Lord no longer saw them as His signet ring. However, in His message to Haggai, the Lord promised that honor would once again be restored to the royal line: "I will make you like my signet ring, for I have chosen you." The judgment upon Jehoiachin would be reversed. The honor of the royal line would be restored in the person of Jesus Christ, who was a direct descendant of Zerubbabel (see Matt. 1:13; Luke 3:27). In His kingdom, there will be no end (see Luke 1:33). May the Lord be praised! =========================================================== A Classic Study - Navigation Spiritualized, pt. 18, by John Flavel ================================================================== A Classic Study by John Flavel (1628-1691) ------------------------------------------ [Here, we continue our reprint of excerpts from John Flavel's book Navigation Spiritualized. John Flavel was a 17th century minister in the seaside town of Dartmouth, England. A good many of his parishioners made their living on the sea, and so Mr. Flavel wrote Navigation Spiritualized, a book which draws parallels between things of the sea and spiritual things.]-Ed. The Tempest of a Troubled Conscience Christ, with a word, can surging waves appease: His voice a troubled soul can quickly ease. ------------------------------------------- OBSERVATION. ------------ When the sea works, and is tempestuous, it is not in the power of any creature to appease it. When the Egyptians would by their hieroglyphics express an impossibility, they did it by the picture of a man treading upon the waves. It is storied of Canute, an ancient Danish king, that when a mighty storm of flattery arose upon him, he appeased it by showing that he could not appease the sea: But one of his courtiers told him as he rode near the sea-side, 'That he was Lord of the sea as well as land.' 'Well, (said the king) we shall see that by and by;' and so went to the water-side, and with a loud voice cried, 'O ye seas and waves, come no further, touch not my feet.' But the sea came up notwithstanding that charge, and confuted the flattery. But now Jesus Christ hath command of the sea indeed: It is said of him, "That He rebuked them" (Matt. 8:20). And He quiets them with a word, "Peace be still" (Mark 4:38), as one would hush a child, and the sea obeyed Him. APPLICATION. ------------ Conscience, when awakened by the terrors of the Lord, is like a raging tempestuous sea: so it works, so it roars. And it is not in the power of all creatures to hush or quiet it. Spiritual terrors, as well as spiritual consolations are not known till felt. O when the arrows of the Almighty are shot into the spirit, and the terrors of God set themselves in array against the soul; when the venom of those arrows drink up the spirits, and those armies of terrors charge violently and successively upon it, as Job 6:4. What creature then is able to stand before them? Even God's own dear children have felt such terrors as have distracted them (see Ps. 81:15). Conscience is the seat of guilt: it is like a burning glass, so it contracts the beams of the threatenings, twists them together, and reflects them on the soul, until it smoke, scorch, and flame. If the wrath of the king be like the roaring of a lion, then what is the Almighty's wrath: a burning wrath (see Job 19:11), tearing wrath (Ps. 50:22), surprising wrath (Job 20:23), and abiding wrath (Job 3:36)? In this case no creature can relieve: all are physicians of no value. Some under these terrors have thought hell more tolerable, and by a violent hand have thrust themselves out of the world into it to avoid these gnawings. Yet Jesus Christ can quickly calm these mystical waves also, and hush them with a word; yea, He is the physician, and no other. It is the sprinkling of His blood, which, like a cooling fomentation, allays those heats within. That blood of sprinkling speaks peace, when all others have practiced upon the soul to no purpose; and the reason is, because He is a Person in whom God and man, justice and mercy meet and kiss each other (see Eph. 2:14). Thus, He brings peace to the soul (see Rom. 5:1). REFLECTION. ----------- Can none appease a troubled conscience but Christ? Then learn, O my soul, to understand, and daily more and more to savor that glorious name, even Jesus, that delivers not only from the wrath to come, but that which is felt here also. O, if the foretaste of hell be so intolerable, if a few drops let fall on the conscience in this life be so scalding and insufferable, what is it to have all the vials poured out to eternity, when there shall be nothing to divert, mitigate, or allay it? Here men have somewhat to abate those terrors, some hopes of mercy, at least a possibility: but there, there is none. O my soul! How art thou loaded with guilt! And what a Magormissabib wouldst thou be, should God rouse that sleepy lion in thy bosom! My condition is not at all the better because my conscience is quiet. Ah! The day is coming when it must awake, and will lighten and thunder terribly within me, if I get not into Christ the sooner. O Lord, who knows the power of thy wrath? O let me not carry this guilt out of the world with me, to maintain those everlasting flames. Let me give no sleep to mine eyes, nor slumber to mine eyelids, till I feel the comfort of that blood of sprinkling, which alone speaketh peace. =========================================================== New Testament Study - Matthew 7:21-29 ===================================== False Disciples --------------- 21"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23Then I will till them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'" In the previous section, Jesus warned His disciples against heeding false prophets. In this section, Jesus speaks about false disciples: "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven" (vs. 21). Just as false prophets are recognized "by their fruit" (see Matt. 7:15-16), so also, those who do not do the will of the Father are not true disciples of Jesus. Our words are not sufficient to make us disciples of Christ. Though we say, "Lord, Lord", repeating the word "Lord" to demonstrate our fervency, yet such a profession does not, in itself, make us a disciple of Christ. The life of a true disciple of Christ will reflect that Christ is truly his "Lord", not merely by calling Him "Lord", but also by doing the will of God in his life. Jesus goes on to say: "Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'" (vss. 22-23). The false disciples in this example try to convince Jesus that they are true disciples. They boast of ways that they think they have done the will of the Father: "prophesy... drive out demons... perform many miracles..." Many of us, seeing these things, would be deceived by these false disciples. They would probably be made leaders in the church, after people see them boldly "prophesying" in the name of Jesus, "driving out demons" in the name of Jesus, "performing many miracles" in the name of Jesus. We would think that these things are the fruit of a valid profession of belief in Christ. In this case, we would be mistaken. Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, teaches His disciples how they should live, and not once does He state that His disciples must "prophesy" in His name, "drive out demons" in His name, or "perform many miracles" in His name. Men consider these things great; not so Jesus. Men are awed when a person "performs many miracles"; not so Jesus. Rather than concentrating on "prophesying", "driving out demons", and "many miracles", the false professors should have strived to truly act as a disciple of Christ is taught to act in the Sermon on the Mount: being a light of the world (Matt. 5:14), keeping the commandments in the Word of God (Matt. 5:19), not being angry with others (Matt. 5:22), reconciling with others who are angry with them (Matt. 5:25), not looking lustfully upon women (Matt. 5:28), not divorcing (Matt. 5:32), speaking truthfully (Matt. 5:37), turning the other cheek (Matt. 5:39), loving and praying for their enemies (Matt. 5:44), not doing acts of righteousness to be seen by others (Matt. 6:1), forgiving others (Matt. 6:15), storing up treasures in heaven (Matt. 6:20), trusting in God's providence (Matt. 6:25ff), not having a judgmental attitude (Matt. 7:1ff), seeking the Lord (Matt. 7:7), doing to others as they would have others do to them (Matt. 7:12). These are the things they should have been proud of when speaking to Christ "on that day". Instead, these false disciples boasted about the more flamboyant, more showy aspects of religion, as if to impress, as if wanting people to look at them and say: "Ooh, aah... look at them... they prophesy, they drive out demons, they perform miracles." The false disciples erred in concentrating on these showy aspects of religion, to the exclusion of truly doing "the will of the Father." "We may be baptized in the name of Christ, and boast confidently of our ecclesiastical privileges; we may possess head knowledge, and be quite satisfied with our own state; we may even be preachers, and teachers of others, and do 'many wonderful works' in connection with our Church: but all this time are we practically doing the will of our Father in heaven? Do we truly repent, truly believe on Christ, and live holy and humble lives? If not, in spite of all our privileges and profession, we shall miss heaven at last, and be forever cast away. We shall hear those awful words, 'I never knew you: depart from me'" [Ryle, 70]. "While most persons within the pale of the Christian Church are ready to admit that, not professed, but proved subjection to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ--not lip, but life service--will avail 'in that day,' it is not so readily admitted and felt that services such as 'prophesying in Christ's name, and in His name casting out devils, and in His doing many miracles'--or, what in later ages correspond to these, [such as], eloquent and successful preaching (even to the deliverance of souls from the thraldom of sin and Satan); learned contributions to theological literature; great exertions for the diffusion of Christianity and the vindication of religious liberty; and princely donations for either or both of these--may all be rendered in honour of Christ, while the heart is not subjected to Him, and the life is a contradiction to His precepts" [JFB, 50]. The false disciples, who cried "Lord, Lord", thought that their flamboyant works for Christ were enough. They thought that, since Christ was working through them (for they did their flamboyant works "in [His] Name"), that that was enough to be a true disciple of Christ. They were self-deceived. They felt that they didn't need to dedicate their life to Christ, to truly act as though Christ were their "Lord". They felt they didn't need a pure heart that seeks God's will. Yet in the end, Jesus tore off their mask of false discipleship, and said, "I never knew you" (vs. 23). And take note, dear reader, if He "never knew" these who prophesied, drove out demons, and performed many miracles, how much less does He know those who give even less evidence of being His disciple! Look at your own life. Examine yourselves. Seek first to do the will of the Father. Don't look for religion to bring you something: to bring you fame through doing flamboyant works for God, or to bring you accolades as others see how 'holy' you are. Rather, seek first to know and to carry out the true will of the Father. Get on your knees. Turn your life over to Him. Make the decision that Jesus is your Lord and Master, and live your life so as to reflect His true Lordship in your life. There is one more thing that we must note concerning this section. Jesus speaks here with great boldness. This passage is a claim by Jesus Himself that He is the Messiah, and more. This passage is a claim by Jesus Himself that the destiny of men after death ("on that day") is in His hands: their entrance into the "kingdom of heaven" is based upon whether Jesus Himself acknowledges knowing them. There are some who would claim that Jesus was a great moral teacher, but nothing more than that. Jesus Himself in this passage makes the claim that He is much more than a great moral teacher: He is the One who holds the destiny of men in His hands. A Sure Foundation ----------------- 24"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." To sum up, Jesus gives an illustration of the advantages of putting into practice His teachings: "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash" (vss. 24-27). To "hear" the words of Christ, and to "put them into practice" is to build one's life upon a firm foundation. There are many who "hear" the teachings of Christ--they make sure they never miss church on Sunday morning, they sit near the front, they heed each word that is said by the preacher, they read their Bibles every morning--and yet, they do not "put into practice" what they hear. Why waste your time "hearing" if you are not going to "put into practice" what you hear? James tells us: "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says" (James 1:22). Note that in Jesus' illustration concerning these two houses, the difference between the houses is discovered when affliction comes. Both houses looked fine when the sun was shining. The flaw in the foundation of the house built on sand was discovered during the storm. So also, one sure way to tell the difference between the foundation of true discipleship of Christ--subjection to Him and obedience to His Word--versus the loose foundation of empty profession, is through the reaction to affliction. The false believer flounders in times of trouble, because his religion is all outward adornment. He has not gained the strength and faith that results from obedience to God's Word. On the other hand, the true believer will not be demolished by trials, but he will cling to his faithful God, knowing from his consistent walk with God that the Lord is working all out for good. "In the time of trial his religion does not fail him; the floods of sickness, sorrow, poverty, disappointments, bereavements beat upon him in vain. His soul stands unmoved; his faith does not give way; his comforts do not utterly forsake him. His religion may have cost him trouble in time past; his foundation may have been obtained with much labour and many tears; to discover his own interest in Christ may have required many a day of earnest seeking, and many an hour of wrestling in prayer. But his labour has not been thrown away; he now reaps a rich reward. The religion that can stand trial is the true religion" [Ryle, 71]. The Reaction of the Crowd ------------------------- 28When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at His teaching, 29because He taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law. So ends the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus' listeners were appropriately in awe. Oh to have been there! To have heard the words of the Master in person! Throughout this sermon, Jesus speaks, not as a mere teacher of the Law, but as the fulfillment of the Law (5:17), who, as such, is the right and final interpreter of the Law of God. He also presents Himself as the One who has the power over our destiny after death. Separation from Him--for Him, on judgment day, to say to us "Away from me" (7:23)--is to be barred from entrance into the kingdom of heaven. "If the Speaker were a mere creature, no language can express the mingled absurdity and profanity of such assumptions; but if He was the Word, who at the beginning was with God and was God,... then all that He says here is worthy of Himself, and shines in its own lustre" [JFB, 51]. =========================================================== A Topical Study - Loving God vs. Loving the World, pt. 2 ======================================================== [With this study, we continue our series that has the goal of increasing our love for God and the things of God, while decreasing our love for the world and the things of the world. This series will consist of three classic sermons by noted godly men of the past. In the first sermon, Thomas Chalmers teaches that our love for the world cannot be expelled unless we replace it with love for a greater object: the love for God. This is the second part of that sermon. The first part established that men, by nature, do not give up love for something unless a greater love replaces it.]-Ed. The Expulsive Power of a New Affection, by Thomas Chalmers (1780-1847) ------------------------------ 15"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." (I John 2:15). This is the grasping tendency of the human heart, that it must have a something to lay hold of-and which, if wrested away without the substitution of another something in its place, would leave a void and a vacancy as painful to the mind, as hunger is to the natural system. It may be dispossessed of one object, or of any, but it cannot be desolated of all. Let there be a breathing and a sensitive heart, but without a liking and without affinity to any of the things that are around it, and, in a state of cheerless abandonment, it would be alive to nothing but the burden of its own consciousness, and feel it to be intolerable. It would make no difference to its owner, whether he dwelt in the midst of a gay and goodly world, or, placed afar beyond the outskirts of creation, he dwelt a solitary unit in dark and unpeopled nothingness. The heart must have something to cling to-and never, by its own voluntary consent, will it so denude itself of all its attachments, that there shall not be one remaining object that can draw or solicit it. The misery of a heart thus bereft of all relish for that which wont to minister enjoyment is strikingly exemplified in those who, satiated with indulgence, have been so belaboured, as it were, with the variety and the poignancy of the pleasurable sensations they have experienced, that they are at length fatigued out of all capacity for sensation whatever. The disease of ennui is more frequent in the French metropolis where amusement is more exclusively the occupation of the higher classes, than it is in the British metropolis, where the longings of the heart are more diversified by the resources of business and politics. There are the votaries of fashion, who, in this way, have at length become the victims of fashionable excess-in whom the very multitude of their enjoyments has at last extinguished their power of enjoyment-who, with the gratifications of art and nature at command, now look upon all that is around them with an eye of tastelessness-who, plied with the delights of sense and of splendour even to weariness, and incapable of higher delights, have come to the end of all their perfection, and like Solomon of old, found it to be vanity and vexation. The man whose heart has thus been turned into a desert can vouch for the insupportable languor which must ensue when one affection is thus plucked away from the bosom, without another to replace it. It is not necessary that a man receive pain from any thing order to become miserable. It is barely enough that he looks with distaste to everything-and in that asylum which is the repository of minds out of joint, and where the organ of feeling as well as the organ of intellect has been impaired, it is not in the cell of loud and frantic outcries where we shall meet with the acme of mental suffering. But that is the individual who outpeers in wretchedness all his fellows, who, throughout the whole expanse of nature and society, meets not an object that has at all the power to detain or to interest him; who, neither in earth beneath nor in heaven above, knows of a single charm to which his heart can send forth one desirous or responding movement; to whom the world, in his eye a vast and empty desolation, has left him nothing but his own consciousness to feed upon-dead to all that is without him, and alive to nothing but to the load of his own torpid and useless existence. It will now be seen, perhaps, why it is that the heart keeps by its present affections with so much tenacity-when the attempt is to do them away by a mere process of extirpation. It will not consent to be so desolated. The strong man, whose dwelling-place is there, may be compelled to give way to another occupier-but unless another stronger than he has power to dispossess and to succeed him, he will keep his present lodgment unviolable. The heart would revolt against its own emptiness. It could not bear to be so left in a state of waste and cheerless insipidity. The moralist who tries such a process of dispossession as this upon the heart, is thwarted at every step by the recoil of its own mechanism. You have all heard that Nature abhors a vacuum. Such at least is the nature of the heart, that though the room which is in it may change one inmate for another, it cannot be left void without the pain of most intolerable suffering. It is not enough then to argue the folly of an existing affection. It is not enough, in the terms of a forcible or an affecting demonstration, to make good the evanescence of its object. It may not even be enough to associate the threats and the terrors of some coming vengeance with the indulgence of it. The heart may still resist the every application, by obediance to which, it would finally be conducted to a state so much at war with all its appetites as that of downright inanition. So to tear away an affection from the heart as to leave it bare of all its regards and of all its preferences, were a hard and hopeless undertaking-and it would appear, as if the alone powerful engine of dispossession were to bring the mastery of another affection to bear upon it. We know not a more sweeping interdict upon the affections of Nature than that which is delivered by the Apostle John in the verse cited above (I John 2:15). To bid a man into whom there has not yet entered the great ascendant influence of the principle of regeneration, to bid him withdraw his love from all the things that are in the world, is to bid him give up all the affections that are in his heart. The world is the all of a natural man. He has not a taste nor a desire that points not to a something placed within the confines of its visible horizon. He loves nothing above it, and he cares for nothing beyond it; and to bid him love not the world is to pass a sentence of expulsion on all the inmates of his bosom. To estimate the magnitude and the difficulty of such a surrender, let us only think that it were just as arduous to prevail on him not to love wealth, which is but one of the things in the world, as to prevail on him to set willful fire to his own property. This he might do with sore and painful reluctance, if he saw that the salvation of his life hung upon it. But this he would do willingly, if he saw that a new property of tenfold value was instantly to emerge from the wreck of the old one. In this case there is something more than the mere displacement of an affection. There is the overbearing of one affection by another. But to desolate his heart of all love for the things of the world, without the substitution of any love in its place, were to him a process of as unnatural violence, as to destroy all the things that he has in the world, and give him nothing in their room. So that, if to love not the world be indispensable to one's Christianity, then the crucifixion of the old man is not too strong a term to mark that transition in his history, when all old things are done away and all things become new. We hope that by this time, you understand the impotency of a mere demonstration of this world's insignificance. Its sole practical effect, if it had any, would be to leave the heart in a state which to every heart is insupportable, and that is a mere state of nakedness and negation. You may remember the fond and unbroken tenacity with which your heart has often recurred to pursuits, over the utter frivolity of which it sighed and wept but yesterday. The arithmetic of your short-lived days may on Sabbath make the clearest impression upon your understanding-and from his fancied bed of death, may the preacher cause a voice to descend in rebuke and mockery on all the pursuits of earthliness-and as he pictures before you the fleeting generations of men, with the absorbing grave, whither all the joys and interests of the world hasten to their sure and speedy oblivion, may you, touched and solemnized by his argument, feel for a moment as if on the eve of a practical and permanent emancipation from a scene of so much vanity. But the morrow comes, and the business of the world, and the objects of the world, and the moving forces of the world come along with it-and the machinery of the heart, in virtue of which it must have something to grasp, or something to adhere to, brings it under a kind of moral necessity to be actuated just as before-and in utter repulsion towards a state so unkindly as that of being frozen out both of delight and of desire, does it feel all the warmth and the urgency of its wonted solicitations-nor in the habit and history of the whole man, can we detect so much as one symptom of the new creature-so that the church, instead of being to him a school of obedience, has been a mere sauntering place for the luxury of a passing and theatrical emotion; and the preaching which is mighty to compel the attendance of multitudes, which is mighty to still and to solemnize the hearers into a kind of tragic sensibility, which is mighty in the play of variety and vigour that it can keep up around the imagination, is not mighty to the pulling down of strong holds. The love of the world cannot be expunged by a mere demonstration of the world's worthlessness. But may it not be supplanted by the love of that which is more worthy than itself? The heart cannot be prevailed upon to part with the world by a simple act of resignation. But may not the heart be prevailed upon to admit into its preference another, who shall subordinate the world and bring it down from its wonted ascendancy? If the throne which is placed there must have all occupier, and the tyrant that now reigns has occupied it wrongfully, he may not leave a bosom which would rather detain him than be left in desolation. But may he not give way to the lawful sovereign, appearing with every charm that can secure His willing admittance, and taking unto himself His great power to subdue the moral nature of man, and to reign over it? In a word, if the way to disengage the heart from the positive love of one great and ascendant object is to fasten it in positive love to another, then it is not by exposing the worthlessness of the former, but by addressing to the mental eye the worth and excellence of the latter, that all old things are to be done away and all things are to become new. [We will continue (D.V.) this sermon in the next issue.] =========================================================== A Study of Wisdom - Ecclesiastes 5:1-7 ====================================== Reverence for God ----------------- 1Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong. 2Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few. 3As a dream comes when there are many cares, so the speech of a fool when there are many words. 4When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow. 5It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it. 6Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest to the temple messenger, "My vow was a mistake." Why should God be angry at what you say and destroy the work of your hands? 7Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore stand in awe of God. Solomon ended the previous chapter with a story about the fickleness of men in their allegiance to their kings. In this section, Solomon warns against such fickleness regarding our relationship with God, as he speaks on the reverence due God. Solomon starts with a warning against meaningless worship: "Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong" (vs. 1). Solomon, of course, supervised the construction of the house of God. He also apparently watched and noted the behavior of those who went there to worship. He found that some were robbing God of the reverence and honor that He deserves. Their hearts and/or minds were not taking part in their worship: their bodies were merely going through the motions. This was "the sacrifice of fools". They did not even understand that they were "doing wrong". They thought that bodily going through the motions of worship was enough. They felt they deserved a pat on the back for their "sacrifice of fools". Solomon advises to "Guard your steps when you go to the house of God." Do not go frivolously; make sure your heart is prepared. Make sure you understand properly what the worship of God means: "Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools." An accurate understanding of the things of God is crucial for effectual worship. Many remain unaffected at worship services because they do not truly understand the things of God and thus, are unable to contemplate who God is and are unable to appreciate all that God has done for them. "Go near to listen", so that you may hear of the righteousness and holiness of God. "Go near to listen", so that you may hear of the power and majesty of God. "Go near to listen", so that you may know and understand the love of God. He has given His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins, so that we may dwell with Him in paradise. Oh, the love of God! Meditate upon His love, and your worship of Him will thrive. Secondly, Solomon warns against carelessness while praying: "Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few. As a dream comes when there are many cares, so the speech of a fool when there are many words" (vss. 2-3). When we pray, we must remember who we are praying to--the Lord of the Universe--and show Him the reverence He deserves. As Jesus taught: "When you pray, do not keep babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words" (Matt. 6:7). Some would think that they are being holy if they repeat the Lord's prayer over and over and over, but to do so is to "babble like pagans". To do so is also to insult the intelligence of God, for what intelligent being would delight in the endless repetition of a rote prayer. An abundance of words does not make up for a lack of devotion. Also, our prayers should not be impromptu utterances of just anything that comes into our heads. Instead, they should be heart-felt, well chosen words. It is right and proper to pause and meditate during prayer, and to listen to the Holy Spirit as He speaks to our hearts what we ought to pray (see Rom. 8:26-27). "Do not be quick with your mouth" to utter foolish prayers for worldly desires, but listen to what the Spirit would have you pray. Hastily uttered prayers are, at best, a waste of time, and at worst, they can lead to a lack of faith that God answers our prayers. James teaches us that unanswered prayers are our own fault: "You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with the wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures" (James 4:2-3). "How much of our own spirit mingles with our intercourse with God!... Whence all thy waverings in prayer--thy discomfort after prayer--conscious of having dealt with God, yet not prevailed? Is it not this? The mind has thought and lips have moved--without the Spirit. Better be silent altogether, than run [through the] motions" [Bridges, 101-102]. We must remember, as Solomon reminds us, that "God is in heaven and [we] are on earth" (vs. 2). He can see through our frivolousness. We must carefully weigh our words when we, frail "earth"ly creatures that we are, approach our Father in heaven. Lastly, Solomon warns against rash vows: "When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow. It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it. Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest to the temple messenger, 'My vow was a mistake.' Why should God be angry at what you say and destroy the work of your hands? Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore stand in awe of God" (vss. 4-7). God, in His Law, does not require His people to make vows. God has, however, provided His people with rules concerning vows in order to give them the opportunity to express their devotion to Him through vows, if they feel led to do so: "If you make a vow to the LORD your God, do not be slow to pay it, for the LORD your God will certainly demand it of you and you will be guilty of sin. But if you refrain from making a vow, you will not be guilty. Whatever your lips utter you must be sure to do, because you made your vow freely to the LORD your God with your own mouth" (Deut. 23:21-23). Many people make vows when they are in dire straits, or undergoing extreme trials. They pray to God, "Oh Lord, if you get me out of this, I will do such and such..." This is an improper use of vows. By making a vow in such a situation, they are implying that God needs to be paid in order to answer prayers. Thus, they are misunderstanding and misrepresenting the love of God, and the care that He has for His people. Vows are to be made to God under no sense of duress, so that they may be made "freely to the LORD your God with your own mouth." Under no circumstances should you make a vow to God that you cannot or will not carry out. Unfulfilled vows are detrimental to one's spiritual growth, as well as being unlawful. Through unfulfilled vows, "the soul is rather ensnared than helped, and the enemy gains an advantage even in the very posture of resistance" [Bridges, 106]. So, vows to God should be very rarely made. "We have burdens and infirmities enough pressing upon us. Let us be careful that we do not rashly or needlessly multiply them... For are we not bound by direct, sacred, and constraining obligation to consecrate to the Lord all that we are--all that we have--all that we can do--independent of an extra bond?" [Bridges, 106]. Solomon teaches: "When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it" (vs. 4). The dedication to a vow usually diminishes with time. It is best to fulfill a vow without delay. Delaying will not help the situation: the vow will not go away. To make a vow that you do not fulfill is foolish and, in Solomon's words: "[God] has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow" (vs. 4). Of course, "it is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it" (vs. 5). Often, an unfulfilled vow is yet another instance of our loose lips getting us into trouble. Solomon warns: "Do not let your mouth lead you into sin" (vs. 6). Then, he says that making excuses will not get us out of our vow: "And do not protest to the temple messenger, 'My vow was a mistake'" (vs. 6). Many do a similar thing today. They make a rash vow to God, and later regret it. Then, they visit their pastor and want him to find some loophole in God's law to get them out of fulfilling their vow. They themselves do not want to bear the responsibility of not fulfilling their vow; they want their pastor to tell them they do not have to fulfill it. This is wrong. Fulfill your vow. In conclusion, Solomon gives a remedy to making the aforementioned mistakes concerning our relationship to God. The remedy to these things is a living faith: "Therefore stand in awe of God" (vs. 7). Forget not that God is the Supreme Lord of the Universe, the Creator of the Universe, who is all-wise, all-knowing, all-righteous, and all-holy. He alone is worthy of our praise. Needless to say, He deserves the utmost respect and reverence. To be aware of these things is the first step in practicing the right and proper worship of God.