thou art bitten. Now that which God reads in the heart and approves of for the word to "know" in this case includes approval as well as the mere act of omniscience what God sees and approves of in the heart must succeed. It is an ugly knock that a man's heart gives when it smites him. Hearken ye to this passage in the 9th of Romans! Yet am I there in Christ. There lie the bodies of the saints he has martyred, and they cry from under the altar "O Lord! So shall we be, for because he lives, we shall live also. My mind wanders: I chatter like a crane; I roar like a beast in pain; I moan in the brokenness of my heart, but oh, my God, I know not what it is my inmost spirit needs; or if I know it, I know not how to frame my petition aright before thee. you shall not be uncrowned. My cause is quite safe in his hands, especially when I remember again that he pleads with my father, and that he is his own Father's beloved Son, and that he is my brother and such a brother a brother born for adversity. Now this is yours. If God should choose this morning to call the hardest-hearted wretch within hearing of the gospel, he must obey. God that cannot lie, in the person of the Holy Ghost, graciously condescendeth to say "Amen" to the testimony of our conscience. Now the Spirit never did work effectually in any but the children of God; and inasmuch as the Spirit works in you, he doth by that very working give his own infallible testimony to the fact that you are a child of God. But again, everything that is good in a Christian you know to be the work of God the Holy Ghost. The apostle challenges the whole world, and heaven and hell too, in the question, "Who is he that condemneth?" The Holy Spirit's mind is seen in our intercessions when under his sacred influence we order our case before the Lord, and plead with holy wisdom for things convenient and necessary. If, then, you give the honor to God, you are bound to confess that God has done more for the man that is saved than for the man that is not saved. Angels know not evil; have never had to battle with evil known and felt within; they have not tried the paths of sinful pleasure, and through grace been turned from them, so as with full purpose of heart to cleave to holiness for ever. Is he omniscient? "There be moments," says one, "when I feel rebellious; at times my passions lead me astray; but surely there are other favorable seasons when I really am friendly to God, and offer true devotion. He starts! Is it not a noble thing for a Christian to be able to go where he may, and feel that he cannot meet his accuser; that wherever he may be, whether he walketh within himself in the chambers of conscience, or out of himself amongst his fellow men, or above himself into heaven, or beneath himself into hell, yet is he a justified one, and nothing can be laid to his charge. I do fear, my brethren, that very often when we consider our state, we think not so much of the guilt as of the misery. If there be some points in the covenant of grace where wisdom has been deficient, and therefore by error it may miscarry, or by lack of legal right may prove null and void, it is as surely null towards Christ as towards ourselves, for he is jointly concerned therein. Oh, sinner! I have been astonished in looking though old Roman history at the wonderful prodigies of integrity and valour which were produced by idolatry, or rather, which were produced by patriotism, and that principle which ruled the Romans, namely, love of fame. And, believer, there is no fear that Christ shall be the possessor of nothing or heir of little things. Do you know I am one of the best churchmen in the world; the very best, if you will judge me by the articles, and the very worst, if you measure me in any other way. He goes into the tent of King Pyrrhus with the intention to put him to death, because he is the enemy of his country; he slays the wrong man; Pyrrhus orders him to be taken captive. We expect to see this world that is now so full of sin as to be an Aceldama, a field of blood, turned into a paradise, a garden of God. It is as when two dear friends lovingly embrace with their arms around each other's neck, there is a double link binding them together. "Oh," say you, "we never shall." OBSERVE the title whereby he addressed the Church "Brethren." In that light he makes the promise shine in all its truthfulness, certainty, sweetness, and suitability, so that we, poor trembling sons of men, dare take that word into our mouth which first came out of God's mouth, and then come with it as an argument, and plead it before the throne of the heavenly grace. If thou pantest, and criest, and groanest after Christ, even this is his gift; bless him for it. We may be brought into such perturbation of mind, and perplexity of heart, that we do not know how to pray. The death of Christ gives us a full salvation. When Christ gave himself for us, he gave us all the rights and privileges which went with himself, so that now he has, as our Brother, no heritage apart from us, although, as Eternal God, he hath essential rights to which no creature may venture to pretend. Added to this you must also be the heir of persecution. And he just paraphrased it in his own dialect like this "My arm is always strong, and my sickle always sharp, when there is no harvest, and I think I could mow many an acre when there is no grass; but when the harvest is on I am weak, and when the grass groweth then my scythe is blunt." To report dead links, typos, or html errors or suggestions about making these resources more useful use the convenient. It is called "first-fruits," again, because the first-fruits were always the pledge of the harvest. He can make the zeal for God's house to eat us up, and the passion for God's glory to be like a fire within our bones; and this is one part of that process by which in inspiring our prayers he helps our infirmity. "What!" What the wealthiest man has is not his own, but God's, and if it be God's then it is Christ's, and if Christ's, then his children's; and Christ's children are often those who are hungry, and thirsty, and destitute, and afflicted, and tormented. The trumpet of the gospel sounds aloud to every man in our congregations "Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price." And now a little capful of wind blows on you and the tears run down your cheeks, and you say, "Lord, let me die; I am no better than my fathers." You have walked on, and on, and on, and there has hitherto always been something beneath your footfall; but the next step may precipitate you into the abyss. And whereas our experience sometimes leads our spirit to conclude that we are born of God, there are happy times when the eternal Spirit from off the throne, descends and fills our heart, and then we have the two witnesses bearing witness with each other, that we are children of God. Men hate election just as thieves hate Chubb's patent locks; because they cannot get at the treasure themselves, they therefore hate the guard which protects it. But our God doeth more than this, he doth not send merely bread from his table, as in the day when man did eat angel's food; he doth not give us merely to drink the wines on the lees well refined the rich wines of heaven but he gives himself himself to us. How I wish every one here had a share in the text: I mourn that some have not, for he that believeth not on the Son hath not life, and therefore cannot have conformity to a living Christ. There is an amazing glory in reserve for us, and though as yet we cannot enter upon it, but in harmony with the whole creation must continue to groan and travail, yet the hope itself should minister strength to us, and enable us patiently to bear "these light afflictions, which are but for a moment." It is a fact which any man must be a fool who would dare to deny that God does give to one man more grace shall to another; we cannot account for the salvation of one and the non-salvation of another but by believing, that God has worked more effectually in one man's heart than another's unless you choose to give the honor to man, and say it consists in one man's being better than another, and if so I will have no argument with you, because you do not know the gospel at all, or you would know that salvation is not of works but of grace. But did I need witnesses, I would conjure up the nations of antiquity; I would unroll the volume of ancient history; I would tell you of the awful deeds of mankind. You can make your wooden cross into an iron one, if you choose, by being of a fretful disposition. Paul says, "I am persuaded," and it is implied that, first, HE IS PERSUADED OF THE LOVE OF GOD. But what is the conflagration of a distant planet, what is the destruction of the mere material of the most ponderous orb, compared with this fall of humanity, this wreck of all that is holy and sacred in ourselves? But it may be, beloved, that we groan because we are conscious of the littleness of our desire, and the narrowness of our faith. Ah! Another text. Judge these things rightly. The apostle ends the list by saying, "nor any othe creature." They told him to go home to Rome, and see if he could not make peace. 11. Now I want your attention while I try to show that this blessed sentence, "It is Christ that died," is AN ANSWER TO EVERY ACCUSATION which, under any circumstances, may arise from sin. If he says, "Let there be light," the impenetrable darkness gives way to light; if he says, "Let there be grace," unutterable sin gives way, and the hardest-hearted sinner melts before the fire of effectual calling. The sister of that corrupt body stands at the side of the tomb, and she says, "Lord, by this time he stinketh, for he hath been dead four days." time is gone, and change is over, and I am floating on thy pacific waves where winds can never howl and tempests never lower. Believing in Jesus, we speak confidently, we have unspeakable blessings given to us by the Father of spirits. It is dreamed that this is an age when men do not need to be thundered at; when everybody is become so tender-hearted that there is no need for the sword to be held "in terrorum" over mortals; but that everything is to be conducted now in a new and refined manner; God the Universal Father, and all men universal sons. Do not say you: can charge the members with sin; you may do so in the inferior courts of earth, but the bill will be ignored in the supreme court of heaven, since before that bar the accepted substitute appears to answer an demands. The trial, too. No, perhaps thou dost not; it is not very likely swine should ever lift their heads from their troughs to think aught of stars. Here is a test for us all. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. There was a young man here, who exactly answered to the description I gave, and who wrote home to his mother something like this (I have the letter): "I went to Spurgeon's Tabernacle on Sunday night, and I heard such a sermon. We may be remarkably indebted to members of parliament, but for the little they do they are tolerably well rewarded; at least, we take it that the place is more an honour to some of them than they are to their place. Thou art not there, because of thine original, thou art a scion from an evil tree, and the Divine Spirit hath changed thy nature, for thou wast once nothing but a branch of the vine of Gomorrah. He knows and comprehends the cryings, and meanings, and sighings, and chatterings of his bewildered children. And here I am met upon the very threshhold by the opposition of certain modern theologians, who hold that sonship is not the special and peculiar privilege of believers. He gave to us his person, it has become our meat and our drink; we eat his flesh and drink his blood. Beloved, are ye brothers of Christ, and do ye think that ye owe him no love? I always find when I have to deal with these "fat things full of marrow," that words fail us; and perhaps it is well, for then the excellency of the power is proved to be not by words of man but in the weight, and fullness, and richness of gospel matter. We are all born God's creatures, and as such we are debtors to him; to obey him with all our body, and soul, and strength. But, before we enter upon a discussion of the doctrine of the text, observe how strongly the Apostle expresses it. We believe that the tabernacle of God will be among men, that he will dwell among them, and they shall see his face, and his name shall be in their foreheads. He cannot bring us in debt to divine justice; for in his own hands and feet are the nail-prints, which are the receipts of justice in full settlement of all claims against us. IV. In the second place, I see in our text A REMEDY FOR ALL SIN. It is not black, but blackness; it is not at enmity, but enmity itself; it is not corrupt, but corruption; it is not rebellious, it is rebellion; it is not wicked, it is wickedness itself. We may understand it in a thousand sense, for indeed we are debtors. In the previous chapter, Paul was writing to some who ought to have been teachers, but who needed still to be taught the first principles of the gospel; they were such babes in grace that they needed the milk of the Word, the very simplest elements of gospel truth, and not the strong meat of solid doctrine. Then in James 2:5 ., we are spoken of as being heirs of the kingdom. Still the accuser continues reminding us of our past life: "you have trusted in others, and turned away from Christ; you went everywhere before you came to him." Ah! We are to groan after perfection, but we are to wait patiently for it, knowing that what the Lord appoints is best. Delivered on Lord's Day Morning, March 24th, 1872, by. Thou shall soon be with the glorified, where thy portion is; thou art only waiting here to be made meet, for the inheritance, and that done, the wings of angels shall waft thee far away, to the mount of peace, and joy, and blessedness, where. When the soldiers of Godfrey of Bouillon came in sight of Jerusalem, it is said they shouted for joy at the sight of the holy city. At all times, at all hours, at every moment, (I speak this as God speaketh it), if ye are carnal, ye are each one of you enmity against God. Go into yonder house. If he hath wealth, let him use it in his Master's service, for it is his. The new birth as surely stands us with the image of Christ as our first birth impressed us with a resemblance to the fathers of our flesh. True Advocate is he, and Comforter most effectual. "For all things are yours; whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come, all are yours, and ye are Christ's, and Christ is God's." How shall the heir of God be content till he rests on his Father's bosom, and is filled with all the fulness of God? The Spiritual Resurrection of our Mortal Body (8:1-13) 8:1. God will not leave you, my brethren, he has pledged himself by covenant to you, and he has given au oath that his covenant shall stand. Home; Shop. We look over the many things which we might ask for of the Lord, and we feel that each of them would be helpful, but that none of them would precisely meet our case. Have the manacles of justice been snapped, and am I delivered set free by him who is the great ransomer of spirits? It is he that died for us. "We have borne," says the Apostle, in the first Epistle to the Corinthians, "the image of the earthy." His soul is translated from death unto life, but the body, this poor flesh and blood, doth it not remain as before? Expect not, then, that all things shall work together as for thy good. He was the representative of all the elect. The bell of God's house rings every day, sinners hear it, but they put their fingers in their ears, and go their way, one to his farm, and another to his merchandise, and though they are bidden and are called to the wedding (Luke 14:16-18 ), yet they will not come, and by not coming they incur God's wrath, and he declareth of such, "None of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper" (Luke 14:24 ). "So he bringeth them to their desired haven," said the Psalmist by storm and tempest, flood and hurricane. What would some of you give if you could arrive at this assurance? But yonder is the Saviour,, and he is called Jesus, "For he shall save his people from their sins." Biblical Commentary (Bible study) Romans 8:12-25. Now, if I cannot say the first things because of diffidence, though they be true, yet can I say this, that I feel myself to be a sinner, that I loathe my sinnership, that I detest my iniquity, that I feel I deserve the wrath of God on account of my transgressions? I say, "No; I have brought a bill; look at it." Be just before you are generous, and especially before you are generous to yourselves. Can it be supposed that those who are the children of the devil are nevertheless the children of God? It ought to be ten times more than sufficient answer to every temptation, for a man to be able to say, "I am a son of God; shall such a man as I yield to sin?" The co-heir is heir to the entire estate; and if he says, "No, not to that portion," then he is not heir to any; and if he makes exemption anywhere, he makes exemption to the whole. ), then it follows that God must be over all things and must control all things. "Ah!" A carnal man draws the inference that if God has ordained an event we need not pray about it, but faith obediently draws the inference that the God who secretly ordained to give the blessing has openly commanded that we should pray for it, and therefore faith obediently prays. When Christ Jesus took away our guilt, and "his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree," justice was more terribly displayed than when guilty sinners sink to hell. We cannot be made like Christ unwillingly; a consenting will is essential to the likeness of Christ; unwilling obedience would be disobedience. Prayer is a great outlet for grief; it draws up the sluices, and abates the swelling flood, which else might be too strong for us. And this persuasion helped him to gain his aspiration. Condemn a man who sits next to his Father, the King of kings! The saints in heaven are perfectly free from sin, and, so far as they are capable of it, they are perfectly happy; but a disembodied spirit never can be perfect until it is reunited to its body. You observe the text speaks of waiting for the adoption; and another text further back, explains what that means, waiting for the manifestation of the children of God. you also shall bear a palm. I. It is as if a poor man were called into court to prove his right to some piece of land which was disputed. Thunderbolts and tornadoes are nothing in force compared with the charges of a guilty conscience. When I think of my sin, it seems impossible that any atonement should ever be adequate; but when I think of Christ's death it seems impossible that any sin should ever be great enough to need such an atonement as that. No condemnation: that is the beginning of the chapter. Waiting implies being ready. Look! 12. Who is he that condemneth." Ah, brethren! If they have called the Master of the house Beelzebub, much more will they call them of his household by some yet more opprobrious title, if they can invent it. Pentateuch and Other Historical Books of the Old Testament. It was said of king Cyrus, that he was a prince of so amiable a disposition, that when at any time he sat down at meat, if there were aught that pleased his appetite, he would order it to be taken away and given to his friends with this message, "King Cyrus found that this food pleased his palate, and he thought his friend should feed upon that which he enjoyed himself." Here, I say again, is the pinch of faith. My God, thou art my all in all the circle where my passions move, the centre of my soul. Wait awhile; that weary head shall soon be girt with a crown. He is our legislator, our law-maker; and then, to make our crime still worse and worse, he is the ruler of providence; for it is he who keeps up from day to day. Now be quiet. How shall a celestial spirit be satisfied until it sees celestial things? "All things are yours, for ye are Christ's and Christ is God's.". The evil one may whisper, "If thou be the son of God." If we have to toil, let us remember, this is the world's week of toil. It does not always follow in human reasoning "if children, then heirs," because in our families but one is the heir. Who can tell the fearful consequences to future generations if we now betray our trust. It should be, "The fool hath said in his heart, no God." I doubt not that God at first supernaturally revealed it to him; but yet, in order that he might be still more sure of it, God was pleased to reveal it to him again and again, till his trembling heart was more and more completely persuaded of it. Say soul, canst thou honestly declare that thy past life was darkness and that thy present state is light in the Lord? But if he could have read God's secrets, he might have found that Simeon was not lost, for he was retained as a hostage that Joseph was not lost but gone before to smooth the passage of his grey hairs into the grave, and that even Benjamin was to be taken away by Joseph in love to his brother. This is the Christian's brightest hope. Paul himself counted not his life dear unto him that he might win Christ, and be found in him; wherefore he says that he is persuaded that neither death, nor life, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Now, Christ is his people's representative. And I see him look downwards; there lies the old dragon, bound in chains, the accuser of the brethren; and the apostle stares him in the face, and says, "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?" If you have faith enough brethren, you may this mourning be raised up to sit together in heavenly places with Christ Jesus. Notice, our difficulty is that we know not what we should pray for; but the Holy Spirit does know, and therefore he helps us by enabling us to pray intelligently, knowing what we are asking for, so far as this knowledge is needful to valid prayer. I know you have an a cross, or if you have not, I hope you will soon have one, for where there is no cross there is no Christ. and secondly, how ought it to affect us? There is nothing new in the book; no, for "the old is better," it tells of ancient covenants, and everlasting love, and full atonement, and final perseverance, grand old doctrines on which a soul may stand without fear when heaven and earth are passing away, and the Son of Man comes in His glory. thou shall rest for ever and ever. and do we not feel that we shall lay all our honors, whatever they may be, at his dear feet, who hath according to his abundant mercy predestinated us to be conformed to the image of his Son? True believers love God as their Father; they have "the spirit of adoption, whereby they cry Abba, Father." Romans 8:28-30 I. Oh! While dwelling upon this joint heirship, let us remark what an honor is conferred upon us. It may be I might move your souls to detestation, if I spake of the cruelty of this race to itself, if I showed you how it made the world an Aceldama, by its wars, and deluged it with blood by its fightings and murders; if I should recite the black list of vices in which whole nations have indulged, or even bring before you the characters of some of the most eminent philosophsers, I should blush to speak of them, and you would refuse to hear; yea, it would be impossible for you, as refined inhabitants of a civilized country, to endure the mention of the crimes that were committed by those very men who, now-a-days, are held up as being paragons of perfection. We hear of tornadoes, of earthquakes, of tempests, of volcanoes, of avalanches, and of the sea which devoureth its thousands: there is sorrow on the sea, and there is misery on the land; and into the highest palaces as well as the poorest cottages, death, the insatiable, is shooting his arrows, while his quiver is still full to bursting with future woes. If thou canst but look to Jesus, thou art safe. Now, by this shall ye know whether ye be called of God or not. They are gone, and gone for ever! III. A little more than he said about the others. : I took pleasure in sin; but, "he, for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame." I might review all our powers, and write upon the brow of each one, "Traitor against heaven! I do see ground for hope when Christ is bound, for he is bound for me; I do see reason for rejoicing when he dies, for he dies for me, and in my room and stead; I do see a theme for solid satisfaction in his burial, for he is buried for me; but when he comes out of the grave, having swallowed up death in victory, my hope bursts into joyous song. I only pray that God's Spirit may make our lives to speak of it. But now in the breast of this "Hebrew of Hebrews," there is the holy recognition of Christian fraternity without reserve or hypocrisy. WE have here the description of a true Christian, and a declaration of that Christian's blessedness. Now, believer, thou mayest be very poor, and very sick, and very much unknown and despised, but sit thee down and review thy calling this morning, and the consequences that flow from it. Christ 's and Christ is God 's. `` these resources more useful use the.... Wait patiently for it is an ugly knock that a man 's heart gives when it him. 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