We'd like to give you a welcome
in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to our service this evening.
Let us come before the Lord our God in prayer. Our Father and our God, we do
indeed thank thee that on this midweek evening we are able to
approach before thy throne. That, Lord, we can humble ourselves
before thee, that we can set ourselves low before thee in
thy presence. And, Lord, we may come to worship
thee Father, we pray that our worship may be acceptable to
thee as we seek to approach thee in Jesus Christ our Lord. He
is our only hope. He is our only confidence. And
for his sake, we plead that thou wouldst forgive us our latest
sins. Thou wouldst cleanse us of all
our iniquity. And Lord, thou wouldst receive
us graciously in this hour. Draw near, we pray. May thy presence
be known and felt in our midst. And Lord, that thy spirit might
move in our midst. that we might know truly that
our God has been amongst us tonight. So, Lord, draw near to bless,
we pray, and help us each, for we ask for Christ's sake. Amen. Hymn 582. Tune Praise My Soul 682 We turn to read from the scriptures
this evening, from the second epistle of Paul to Timothy. Chapter
two, can be found on page 1,106. The second epistle of Paul to Timothy,
chapter two. We read from the first verse.
Let us hear the word of the Lord. Thou therefore, my son, be strong
in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. and the things that thou
hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful
men, who shall be able to teach others also. Thou therefore endure
hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that woreth
entangleth himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please
him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. And if a man also
strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive
lawfully. The husbandman that laboureth
must be first partaker of the fruits. Consider what I say,
and the Lord give thee understanding in all things. Remember that
Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead
according to my gospel. wherein I suffer trouble as an
evildoer, even unto bonds, but the word of God is not bound. Therefore I endure all things
for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation
which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. It is a faithful
saying, for if we be dead with him, we shall also live with
him. If we suffer, we shall also reign
with him. If we deny him, he also will
deny us. If we believe not, yet he abideth
faithful, he cannot deny himself. Of these things put them in remembrance,
charging them before the Lord, that they strive not about words
to no profit, but to the subverting of hearers. Study, to show thyself
approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and vain
babblings, for they will increase unto more ungodliness, and their
word will eat as doth a canker, of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus,
who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection
is past already, and overthrow the faith of some. Nevertheless,
the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, the Lord
knoweth them that are his, and that every one that nameth the
name of Christ depart from iniquity. But in a great house there are
not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and
of earth, and some to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man
therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto
honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared
unto every good work. Flee also youthful lusts, but
follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that
call on the Lord out of a pure heart. But foolish and unlearned
questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes. And the
servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle unto all
men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that
oppose themselves, if God peradventure will give them repentance to
the acknowledging of the truth, and that they may recover themselves
out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him.
at his will. Amen. May the Lord bless the
reading of his word this evening. Let us now come before the Lord
and bow our heads once again in prayer. Our God and our Father, we do
indeed thank thee that we may come before thee. We may come
before thee even as those who may be received of thee. Lord,
we come before thee as the great and triune God, the great Jehovah,
who reigns over all things, before whom no man can stand of his
own merit, and yet, Lord, before whom we hope of good acceptance,
of a good reception, through Jesus Christ, thine own beloved
Son. Lord, we thank thee for the great
approach and access that we have through him, that by his blood
now this new and living way is opened up, whereby we may commune
with thee, that this way may be opened which was once closed
by Adam's first sin. And Lord, we pray that even as
we come tonight, our hearts may be stilled, that we might be
in the right frame, that we might have, Lord, even a sense of holiness
and reverence, that we may not forget thy glory, thy honor,
and thy great and glorious person before whom we now approach.
Lord, thou knowest how easy it is sometimes for us to come in
a somewhat casual frame, Lord, without due preparation of our
hearts, without careful consideration, Lord, we pray, forgive us for
this. Forgive us for occasions of approach
to Thee when we have not done so aright. And yet, Lord, we
thank Thee that Thou art a merciful God, that though we sin yet,
we may come before Thee and plead Jesus Christ. O Lord, we pray
that we might be increased with love towards Thee that we might
be strengthened in our souls and given greater resolve in
the great war against sin, that we might not offend thee. Lord,
it is a grief of minds to us when we sin against thee, when
we do that which is contrary to thy commands. And yet, Lord,
it seems sometimes as though sin has the upper hand. Prove,
Lord, we pray, in every one of us, that grace yet reigns. Prove
to us that thy hand is yet powerful that thou art yet able to subdue
our souls, able to subdue our lusts, able to subdue the corruption
that remains within us. And Lord, though thou leave it,
as thou didst the Canaanites in the land, to be a trial to
us, to see what will come of us for having this, to see whether
we will turn to thee or whether we will pursue after these things.
Yet Lord, give us strength, give us the ability to fight a good
fight of faith, to go on in this great and holy warfare, looking
unto Jesus continually, and continually seeking his face, that we may
be cleansed, that we may be daily washed of our guilt. Lord, thou
knowest all things. Thou knowest all that we have
done contrary to thee. Lord, thou knowest all the outright
sins that we have committed, and thou knowest all the things
that we have done and in which we have sinned in our thoughts
or in our motives, Lord, or in our speech or in our mind. Father,
we pray, forgive us these things. Whatsoever thou seest to be amiss
in us, we pray that thou wouldst cleanse it, that thou wouldst
grant that it may be brought to our sight. Lord, show us,
search us, and try us. See if there be any evil way
in us. And Lord, we pray that if there
be, as we fear there must be, for our nature is so corrupted.
Yet, Lord, bring it to our sight. Cause us to see sin for what
it really is. Cause us to see something of
our depravity, O Lord, and give us a sight of Christ also. Lord,
thou knowest, we should be dead men if we are left merely to
a sight of the dreadful reality of our souls. We should be lost
in hopelessness and helplessness. Helpless we are, O Lord, we own
it well. We do not feel it as much as
we ought, and thou knowest that we sometimes and oftentimes take
on too much. And yet, Lord, we pray that as
Thou showest to us ourselves, as Thou dost reveal to us the
sin that is in us, yet give to us also a glimpse of Christ,
that we may be kept from despair, that we may be kept hoping in
Him, kept dependent more and more daily upon Him, that we
may go on from strength to strength. O Lord, help us, we pray Thee.
We feel ourselves to be so weak, so feeble, Lord, even as we come
before Thee this service of divine worship tonight. Lord, we feel
ourselves to be so incapable. We feel ourselves to fall so
far short of that which is required of us. Lord, thou knowest our
weakness. Thou dost pity us. Father, can
we thank thee? Can we praise thee aright for
all thy mercies, all thy goodness which thou hast shown to us?
Lord, we may think back over this past day, over this past
week, and we might think of many things for which we may give
thanks unto thee, for which we might praise thy most holy name.
Lord, we hear even of this Dutch friend, Lord, who has been so
wonderfully helped in her body, and Lord, who has had such good
news. Lord, we thank thee for thy hand upon her. We thank thee
for what thou hast done in her, and Lord, in every other case
that we know of. We thank thee for the healing
and that which thou hast done in pastures, and thou wouldst
indeed grant that these things may remain, that thou wouldst
grant to each one of us a measure of health and strength in accordance
with thy will, that we may continue to serve thee. Lord, truly, great
is thy faithfulness. Thy mercies are new every morning,
and we are such thankless creatures. We so seldom think to thank thee
for all thy mercies towards us, for, Lord, thou daily extendest
to us. mercies which are bountiful, full, and free. And yet, Lord,
so many pass by us without even a notice. Make us to be truly
thankful, O Lord. Make us to be those who daily
come before Thee with praise upon our lips, thankfulness in
our hearts, and deep gratitude accompanying us all the way.
For, Lord, Thou art good. Thy mercy is everlasting. And,
Lord, we can but praise Thee. undeserving as we are, deserving
of nothing but wrath, and yet receiving such from thy hand.
O Lord, we pray that we might indeed cherish these things of
this world that we have, such as our health and our strength,
that we may use them wisely and well for thee. Lord, that we
may be good stewards of that which thou dost give to us. Lord,
we pray that thou wouldst bless us, that thou wouldst help us,
that thou wouldst give us wisdom in all the way that we must go.
We have not passed this way before, and yet thou hast gone on before
us in the way. Lord, keep us following after
thee. Let us not wander out of the pathway, but continue following
hard after thee, hard in the way that Christ has gone on before,
hard on the way to glory. Lord, we pray that thou wouldst
help us, that we may discern the way, that we may be taught
in the way. And Lord, we may be indeed given
all needed wisdom and understanding. all-needed grace and patience
and prudence, Lord, that we may do that which is right in thy
sight. Father, we pray that we may be kept. Thou knowest how
that there are so many, and, Lord, we have read even that
there should be such in this portion of Scripture, who depart
from the faith, who err from the faith, who teach false doctrine,
and, Lord, who lead others astray. O, that we might not be such
as these. O, that we might be kept, O Lord, not that we are
anything better, but that we may serve Thee aright. Lord,
keep us when we cannot keep ourselves. Yet keep us, we pray, in the
way that Thou wouldst have us to walk. Cause us to know the
right way, and in Thy great tenderness, Lord, do not leave us to continue
in sin. Do not leave us long to continue
on the wrong path, but teach us the way. Show us, Lord, even
though it be painful, what is the right way. Grant to us that
we may do that which is right in thy sight. And Lord, we pray
that thou wouldst indeed bless us richly. We pray, if thou would
not go with us, lead us not up hence. We pray that as we go
forth from day to day, as we continue tonight, as we go forth
from this place after the service, Lord, go with us, we pray thee.
If we have thee, we all possess, Lord, Thou art truly all our
happiness. Thou art all our joy. All our
springs are in Thee. O Lord, leave us not, we pray
Thee. Even come into our midst tonight and remain with us after
this evening service. And Lord, continue to bless us
richly. Continue to grant us a felt sense
of Thy presence and grant that we may truly be blessed with
all spiritual blessings from Thee. Lord, we would have those
which are divine We do not want mere enthusiasm or fanaticism,
but, Lord, we would have fire from heaven. So grant it to us,
we pray thee. Grant that we may be fired with
love to thee, we may be strengthened in the same, and that we may
be equipped and taught as we go on. So, Father, draw near,
we pray. Bless us richly, bless even this
poor land of ours. Lord, we pray for it in its present
state. We pray that thou wouldst even
Look down upon it with great pity, though it is greatly wicked,
though so many are turned aside out of any kind of form of religion,
any form of morality, and have turned even to wickedness. Yet,
O Lord, we would pray thee that thou wouldst have mercy upon
it, that thou wouldst see it now, Lord, with the weakness
of the church, to be ripe for a time of reviving. O Lord, if
it pleases thee, pour out thy spirit again, Grant that glory
may be brought to thy name, that the mouths of those who blaspheme
thy name on every street corner might be stopped, and that thy
name might be revered, that it might be honoured, that it might
be adored, and that Christ might be set on high. So, Lord, we
pray, thy will be done. Glory be to thy most holy name. And we pray that thou wouldst
bless us tonight, for we ask all these mercies for Christ's
sake. Amen. Hymn 141, Tune St. Saviour 228 I'd like to direct your attention
this evening to the words which we find In the 19th verse of
the second chapter of Paul's second epistle to Timothy. Second
Timothy chapter two and the 19th verse. Nevertheless, the foundation
of God standeth sure. Having this seal, the Lord knoweth
them that are his, and let every one that nameth the name of Christ
depart from iniquity. The Apostle Paul is here writing
to the young minister, Timothy, to encourage him, to strengthen
him at a time when there was much apostasy in the church,
when many were turning astray from the truth, when many were
causing, as it were, there to be much weakness in the church.
Through all manner of heresies and strivings over this and that
within the church, And so amidst great contention, as we have
read of even here in this chapter, and the rest of the epistle speaks
to this also, we find the apostle endeavoring to strengthen Timothy,
to encourage him. And so we find him turning his
eyes away, as it were, from what he sees around him in the world,
turning his eyes away from the situations in the church, turning
his eyes away even from the instability of man, turning his eyes heavenwards,
causing him to look above, causing him to look beyond things of
this world, things which are passing, things which are temporal,
things which will not remain or endure long, and causing him
to look upwards, to look to those things which are eternal, things
which shall endure, things which shall never pass away. And so
we find so often in scriptures, when the people of God are discouraged,
when they are looking about them and perhaps seeing all manner
of turbulence and tribulation in the world. So many times we
find the people of God, they turn their eyes heavenwards,
they look up to their God, and they are greatly encouraged thereby,
they are greatly strengthened, they are greatly helped, because
in looking to heaven, they see one who is unchangeably the same,
one who will never change, though all the world should pass away,
Though all things should happen in the world, yet God will never
be affected. God will never be changed. His
purpose will still stand, and His will shall yet be done. And
this is the believer's confidence, that he has an interest in such
a God as this. Such a God as this looks down
upon him with such pity, with such tender mercies, and looks
upon him with such care and such grace, that he may be strengthened
thereby with a look to heaven. There are many things which he
is here exhorting Timothy concerning. In this chapter particularly,
he commences by exhorting Timothy to be strong in the grace in
Christ Jesus, to pass on that which he had been taught to others
that they might also learn that there might be a future generation
raised up of those who would minister the word of God. He
is exhorted concerning the hardness that he will doubtless endure
in the Christian life He is to be a good soldier of Jesus Christ,
as is every believer, not only those who minister the word.
He continues speaking of the man that woreth, entangleth himself
not with the affairs of this world. Again, as I was saying,
looking up towards heaven, looking unto Jesus as he runs the race,
not to the difficulties of the track, so to speak. And he goes
on speaking of this endurance and this trouble that must be
endured. And if we suffer, we shall reign with him. It speaks
also of the temptation which is felt perhaps sometimes in
persecution, especially to deny Christ, warning that if we deny
him, he also will deny us. And yet there is a word of encouragement
following this. If we believe not, yet he abideth
faithful, not as a commendation to our unbelief, but rather this,
that though we may sometimes be unbelieving, though we may
sometimes have many doubts in our mind, though we may sometimes
be tossed and turned by the tempest, yet God remains faithful, for
he is not dependent upon any man being faithful to him. Our faith in God himself is not
dependent upon our being so faithful as that. Elsewise, we should
have no salvation at all, and there should be no God. And he
exhorts Timothy to put the people in remembrance of these things,
charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words
to no prophet. And he exhorts Timothy to study
that which is to great prophet, that is the word that he might
rightly divide it. But then he comes to the case
of those who are profane and vain babblers, those who are
in the church who talk a lot, and yet who talk not things which
are of God, those who have great and many swelling words, which
perhaps seem to be words of worldly wisdom, and yet which are to
no profit, having no grounding, no basis, no heart, no principle
of godliness in them. And we find here that there are
some, Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have erred, saying that the
resurrection being past already. not, of course, the resurrection
of Christ, which was passed already, but the last great resurrection,
the resurrection of the people of God and all the world to stand
before judgment, that great and final resurrection, which they
supposed to have been passed already, and having done so,
the faith of many had been overthrown, many perhaps who were weaker
in the faith, who were not so well taught in the things of
God, perhaps being led astray by these characters, perhaps
they were very vocal, men in the church, they spoke much of
these things, and so by this means they were led astray. Those
who are most vocal, those who have the most to say, are not
always those who are most godly. Often the godliest men are those
who say the least, who remain in silence and meekness. But
with this picture being set before him, With this, as it were, this
suggestion that is now cast into the mind as you read this portion. These who have strayed, these
who teach this false doctrine, they have caused some to have
their faith to be overthrown. The fear may arise in our hearts.
Can it be that my faith can be overthrown? Can it be, shall
it be, that my faith will ever be overthrown? There is a word
of doubt here because it appears evident that it has been the
case with some. Some have begun promisingly,
some have begun to walk the way and all has been very hopeful
and bright before them. It has seemed as it were as though
they are fresh green buds, so promising, so hopeful, so much
potential. They seem to be growing in grace,
growing in the way of godliness, going on. And yet some, It is
as though they are buds which open too early in the spring,
and having opened so early, they are caught by some late frost,
which nips them and causes them to die. So it is with some who
profess the faith. So it is even with some believers,
those who are truly believers, are brought back. But here is
a word of solemn warning to us. It is possible that our faith
may be for a while overthrown. It has been so with men who have
been used of God in the past. An eminent minister in Wales,
he fell for a while into a great heresy. I'm speaking of Christmas
Evans. For a while when he was ministering
in North Wales, he fell into a period of great heresy. He
fell into a state of apostasy. The spirit of God departed from
him. His ministry was not so blessed as it had once been.
and yet he was brought back. So our faith may be overthrown,
but this is a warning to us. We must watch and pray. This
is Christ's exhortation to the disciples. It is the exhortation
of scripture many times over. It is a vital necessity of the
Christian life. We must watch and pray. We must
watch against these things. We must seek to guard our own
hearts. We must continue instant in prayer. This is the way. Our eyes must be fixed upon one
place, fixed upon Christ, fixed upon his word, fixed upon the
truth that is in him. Then we shall be safe. This is how we may be continue
in the way. And this is the assurance that
he gives to Timothy. Though the faith of some has
been overthrown, though it seems perhaps to a believing person,
if we change the scene as it were slightly, to a believing
person looking on and seeing those who had turned away to
apostasy, those who had turned away, perhaps, as we see in the
present day, to great compromise, to turn away from the truth,
who abandon the principles of holiness and godliness, what
is to be said? Even though all this is happening
around us, even though we see so many turning away from the
truth of the word of God, who would profess themselves to be
Christian people. Nonetheless, our faith is not
changed. Our God is not changed. Our hope
is not changed. But all these things continue
as they always have done, because God cannot be changed. He is the immutable God. Again,
if we were to consider a further circumstance, observe this. We might look about us in the
world, and we might see all manner of tribulation. We might see
natural disasters, great hurricanes and the like, which come upon
lands. There are great troubles which
befall the peoples of the world by these natural causes. There
is, of course, a very high-profile case at the present in America,
but there are others across the whole world from time to time
which we hear about occasionally. We see these things. And for
those places where these such as hurricanes come, there is
awful destruction. There is devastation beyond imagination. People's lives are overturned.
It is as though things change for them, as it were, overnight.
They lose all that they have. We may see this. We may see and
hear of wars and rumors of wars. We may have fears and concerns
for what may come of them, the powers of the world, warring
with one another. and what destructive weapons
they might invent against one another, which might cause great
loss of life. We might see all this in the
world, all this tribulation, all this turbulence, all this
change, all this constant, as it were, reason for fear and
distress, which is apparent in many of those of the world. But in the midst of all this,
in the midst of everything that is happening in all the world
that we might think of, which would naturally discourage us,
which would cause us to be downcast, which would cause us even to
fear. This word comes tonight. Nevertheless, the foundation
of God standeth sure, having this seal, the Lord knoweth them
that are his, and let every one that nameth the name of Christ
depart from iniquity. Here is a word of assurance.
Here is a word of quiet and humble confidence. All the things of
this world, they are here for the present for a little while,
but then they are gone. Rulers and dictators are raised
up and they are set down by the Lord. Heresies come in the church. All manner of divisions may come
and seek and threaten the church's ruin. but notwithstanding all
this, the work goes on. Almighty God continues to reign
in heaven. The Lord reigneth and none shall
ever affect his reign. Well, let us come to the words
of the text before us. Nevertheless, the foundation
of God standeth sure. Well, the first thing that we
ought properly to ask is this, What is this foundation that
is spoken of here? What is the foundation of God
which standeth sure? We might suppose in the first
case that this is a plain reference to Christ himself. This is the
foundation which hath been laid, and no other foundation can any
man lay than that which is laid, that is, Jesus Christ. This is
the glorious foundation for the believer. This is his hope. This
is his basis of his life. He is dead to this world. All
this world's things have passed away from him. He will have no
more of them. So far as they cause him to compromise
anything for Christ, these are not his interests. Let worldly
minds the world pursue. They have no charms for me, says
the Christian. They have no interest, no delight
for me. They carry no charm of any kind.
Christ is all, Christ is my all, and so it shall be, that even
though a Christian may lose everything in this world, yet his foundation
is sure, if it is Christ. Christ, being the very Son of
God, cannot change. Jesus Christ, the same yesterday,
today, and forever. We hear it perhaps very often,
we may come to pass over it so easily. And yet what glorious
truth there is in those words. A foundation which standeth sure. Jesus Christ himself. It is so
plainly, it is upon Christ that we depend for our salvation.
All our hope is in him. If we had not Christ, if the
Son of God had not condescended to lowest state, if he had not
come down from heaven, to dwell upon the earth, to live a life
of perfect obedience on this earth, and then to go willingly
to Calvary, to die there upon the cross for the sins of his
people, if Christ had not done this, there would have been no
hope for mankind. There would have been nothing
to give mankind any hope whatsoever. All through the Old Testament,
the people of God looked forwards to this. This was their hope,
this was their confidence. The men of God in the Old Testament
were saved because they viewed the promise of Christ. They saw
Christ crucified by faith and they believed in Him. Even in
those Old Testament times, even when there was much darkness
about the dispensation, they could not see so much as we do
now, or so clearly. They had glorious prophecies,
and yet, without the antitype of those types and shadows of
things to come, they could not well see so plainly what it was
that was revealed, except as the Spirit of God opened their
eyes to these things. But this was all their hope,
and now it is all our hope. We do not look forwards, we do
not believe in a promise, but now we look backwards. We look
back, and we see. all that has come to pass. We
see now very clearly and plainly with much greater sight all that
came to pass. We see now and understand perhaps
something of the greatness of what was done, of that magnitude
of that work on Calvary. Surely it is this that is the
foundation for the believer. If it were not for Christ coming,
if Christ had not come If Christ had not died upon the cross for
his people's sins, if full atonement had not been attained there,
we should, of all men, be most miserable. There would be no
happiness, there would be no joy, because man himself would
be left merely to continue in this world for a little while.
He would have all the fears and troubles of it aplenty, and yet
he would have worse to come. for he would have all of eternity
to spend in hell, and nothing to save him from it. He would
be on a mad career, plunging towards it, perhaps having some
kind of intimation of the ruin that was befalling him, the ruin
that was awaiting him, having some kind of knowledge of it,
but unable entirely to check himself in the way, and having
no help, and no hope of help at all. And yet in Christ we
have been delivered from this. What emptiness there is to a
life without Christ. What vanity there is to a life
where there is no Christ. What is man's purpose in life?
He has none if he has not Christ. Man's purpose was to glorify
God. He cannot do that if he has not
Christ. With Christ he may endeavour
about it. and he may be received graciously by the Almighty God.
And yet one without Christ cannot begin about this great work.
Every action that he takes, every step he makes in this world,
it is a step of rebellion against God. And so his whole life, it
is to no purpose but destruction. But for the believer, surely
this should make us to feel so much how that Christ Being our
life, having saved us from death, is now everything. He is fundamental
to our life. He is fundamental to everything
that we do. Everywhere that we go, Christ
is with us. We are ambassadors of his. We
are servants of his. We are followers of his. And
therefore all our way is directed by him. This is what it is. to have such
a foundation as this. What a glory it is that we may
ever have such interest, that we may possess something of this,
that we may know this in our hearts, who deserve to have no
hope, and yet may stand now tonight as those who have great hope,
great assurance in Christ Jesus. We not those who stand upon ground
which is unsteady, ground which might give way at a moment's
notice. We are not those who stand, as it were, in a mire,
sinking down slowly into the mire, and unable to save ourselves,
as it is so often in cases when men get lost in marshes, cannot
find their way out, and are left slowly to sink in helplessness
until they drown. My friends, it is not so with
us, because a rock has been placed under our feet, once we were
in that mire, once we were sinking deep into it. But Christ came,
and by grace He drew us out of the mire. He set us upon a rock,
and He caused our feet to stand firm thereupon. And that rock
was Christ. And so now, in Him, we have this
firm foundation. Consider also upon this the foundation
of God, how that this refers also has reference also, I should
say, to the growth and the continuance of the church of Christ. Christ
himself is the rock. The church is that building which
grows up on that foundation, so to speak, which is Christ. And so we see here, the foundation
standeth sure, and if the foundation stands sure, then surely the
house that is built upon that foundation will stand firm. And
so there is an encouragement here in the light of the context
of the error and the heresy and the troubles and divisions and
strifes that were in the church. In this context, we see here
also something of the church being referenced here. The church
as it stands in Christ, as it stands upon the foundation of
Christ, as it is the true church, so to speak. Not those who merely
profess the faith, the true church of God. This standeth sure also,
as long as it is in Christ, because this cannot fail. The word of
Christ means it cannot fail. The word of Christ means that
its building must go on. It cannot be stopped. It cannot
be hindered. Though the gates of hell resist
it, though they stand firmly barred shut against the advance
of the gospel, yet these shall be swept away. These shall be
carried with them, bolts and bars and locks and all. The whole
shall be carried before the onslaught of the gospel of Christ. And
even Satan's greatest efforts, the greatest divisions, the greatest
hindrances that he puts in the way cannot stop the advance of
the church. It cannot stop this building
from being erected, this glorious building, which is built up of
living stones, the members of the church of Christ. We see
this here also for our encouragement. It seems to us so often it is
a day of small things. We see so little growth in many
places. We see so few who attend a place
of worship, so few who are in membership, so few who are faithful
to the Lord in this respect. Once chapels had been full, now
so many are almost empty. But observe this. The foundation
of God standeth sure. The principle matter, the root
of the matter, upon which this church and every other true church
stands, speaking of the local church particularly, it will
go on. The work must go on and it will
advance. The gospel must go forth and
it must conquer. It may seem to us at the present
as though the work is slow. But we shall not despise the
day of small things, but it is our duty to press on through
them with this assurance. Troubles may come, and yet the
word of God will not change, and therefore we must continue
in this way. Continue serving the Lord, though
it seem as though there is little fruit. Observe in the second place,
The foundation of God standeth sure. The sure and certain standing
of this foundation. Even as Christ is a son of God,
even as God cannot be changed or affected in any way, so this
foundation shall stand sure. God cannot lie. God, he cannot
deny himself, as we even read in verse 13. He abideth faithful. even when man is not faithful,
when man turns against him, when man sets himself up to hinder
everything. Yet this standeth sure. There
are those who are used and employed of Satan to undermine the work
of the church, those heretics who are sent in amongst the people
of God with a morsel of the truth, and yet the whole drenched in
poison. And yet, despite all of Satan's
wiles, all his efforts, all of his wily means to deceive, to
lead astray, to undermine this foundation, yet none shall succeed. None have ever been able to move
this rock. It is an eternal rock. It is
an immovable rock, an unchangeable rock, a rock which will never
be shifted out of its place, but a rock which stands forever. It cannot be anything but sure. It cannot be anything but certain,
established, fixed, forever. There is nothing. It's easy for
us to think of nothing and just to pass over it. It is so easy
for us sometimes to begin to feel fear in our hearts when
we see things happening in the world, things happening in the
church, And yet nothing. Oh, that we
had faith to believe it. Oh, that we had faith that we
might be able to stand upon this rock, assured that we might be
able to hold a position in there, that place, by the grace of God,
where we might stand firm upon that rock, as immovable as the
rock itself. Man is so changeable. We know
this ourselves. We may be turned upon a whim,
sometimes, It is so easy for us to be caused to do things
which we might have thought unthinkable just a little while before. We
see it with David, do we not? We find him, his heart persuades
him and causes him to fear so much that he even goes and flees
into the land of the Philistines, the land of his enemies, and
abides there. What a changeable thing is man.
having just resolved himself, having just praised the Lord
for deliverance from Saul, and then he goes and gives himself
over to the Philistines. Our hearts may cause us to be
gone astray. Our hearts are so changeable,
and we are so changeable in nature. And yet we must be assured of
this. We may change, but if Christ is our foundation, that will
be unchanging. Even though we should fall into
a period of unbelief, though we should fall to doubt the Lord
somewhat, God grant that we may be spared from it. But even were
it to be so, yet he abideth faithful. He cannot deny himself. There is no changing, no altering
to the standing of this foundation, but it must needs stand sure. To ratify this, we observe in
the third place, how that it has, not only is it a foundation
that stands sure, but further, it has a divine seal. And here
we have something to ratify the whole. As if no more was needed,
this is given further as evidence on the matter. There is a foundation,
it stands sure, but it is further sealed. It cannot be altered. The Almighty God has given his
word upon the matter, and God cannot lie. He cannot deny himself. He cannot change his mind. He
has no obligation to man, nothing which binds him to do man any
good whatsoever. It is all of grace, all of his
mercy, but out of that He makes a promise which is secured to
his people. It is a seal which is ratified
and made sure in the blood of Jesus Christ. And that makes
it certain. Here is a seal. It is divine
then. It is heavenly. It cannot be
altered. Such was the manner in time past
that kings would set their seal upon something to give it a stamping
of their approval. a mark that they approved of
that which was contained. It was oftentimes a seal that
was placed upon a document or an envelope of some kind, and
it would have the king's royal signature stamped into it, so
that it was plain that this was from the king. This was an authoritative
word. This was a word that carried
great weight behind it, because it carried this seal. If it was
so for earthly kings, how much more is it so for the king of
kings? When he gives to us a promise, which comes to us as it were,
with this seal upon it, and especially with the words which we find,
which are inscribed upon this seal. We see firstly the first part
of that which is written upon this seal, the Lord knoweth them
that are his. And then, again it is written,
let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. Here we see two things in that
writing upon this seal that is set upon the foundation of God. The first is a great and glorious
comfort for the people of God. The second is an exhortation
These are given together. Surely, it is plain to us, a
man that is assured, a man who is confident, a man who is comfortable
and settled in his mind, is a man who will be able to do the best
service. Surely it is so. It is so in natural things. When
we are distracted and perhaps when we are somewhat distressed
over a certain situation, We cannot work so well as we might
in other circumstances. We cannot be so attentive to
the work, so careful about it, so diligent about it, if our
minds are taken up with concerns and fears and doubts that may
be in our hearts. And especially, especially so,
if they are doubts concerning our eternity, matters of the
very greatest weight, doubts concerning our future, doubts
concerning what will become of us, doubts concerning what will
happen. These surely are the most crippling doubts. And so
the first part of the writing upon the seal sets a counter
to this. The Lord knoweth them that are
his. And the second, now, as it were,
working upon this basis, with this established, with this settled
in our minds, now, let every one that nameth the name of Christ
depart from iniquity. Let every man Follow after godliness,
after righteousness, after holiness. Let him forsake the unclean things
of darkness. Let him put them aside. Let him
abstain from every appearance of evil and let him follow after
Christ. This is a principle of the exhortation. If we look for a moment at the
first of these, the Lord knoweth them that are his. What a comfort
is this to us. every believer, even as he has
been chosen from before the foundation of the world, individually, this
person, you or I, as believers, was chosen from before the world
began, that we should be inheritors of the kingdom of light, that
we should come into the glorious adoption to be the children of
God. that we should be set as those
delivered from sin and from Satan, those delivered from hell by
the blood of Jesus Christ. Even then we were known. From before the world began,
we are known to the present day and we shall be known always
into the future. It is a comfort to us as we read
in John Christ speaks of himself as the Good Shepherd. He knows
his sheep by name. Is not this a comfort to us that
the Lord knoweth them that are his? What does he know about
them? He knows more than we know about
ourselves. He knows about us even from our very first conception. He knows all things that have
come to pass. for he had them planned from
eternity past. From eternity past he knew all
things that should happen to us in our lives. We might sometimes
wonder at what befalls us, things that happen to us which are so
unexpected, things which we did not see coming, things which
were the last thing that we might have thought of perhaps. And
yet the Lord knew of them. And so it is also for the future.
God is not limited only to what we know. or what we have done,
or what is past with us, but he knows all things that are
to come in the future, all things that we are yet to do. He knows
the way that we take. He knows every step of it. It
is set out before us, before God. He knows our weakness. He knows
our deepest fears. He knows our deepest concerns
that we wouldn't share with another. He knows the thoughts and secret
intents of our hearts. There is nothing hidden before
the Almighty God. All things are naked, unexposed,
revealed to the sight of Him with whom we have to do. It may
be a challenge to us. The Lord sees all things that
we do. And yet it is to our shame that we can say that we are not
always doing that which is pleasing to Him. Yet what a mercy, he
continues with us. His mercy and grace is yet extended
to us in Jesus Christ, though we go on in such a way. Though
we go on in such a way of sin sometimes. Though we sin daily
against him, yet his grace is daily extended to us. Grace to
cover all our sin. He knows our sins, and yet he
sees us also in our great weakness. He knows our frame. He knows
that we are but of the dust of the ground. He knows that we
are fallen in Adam. He knows that we are yet under,
striving against a corrupt nature which remains in us, though grace
has the upper hand in the heart. And with this, he is pitiful
upon us. He shows to us such great tenderness
in his dealings with us, and he deals with us very graciously. He knows us, all our past, our
present, our future. He knows all the way that we
must take. And surely if he knows us so well, he shall be with
us. His presence will go forth with
us as we seek to follow after him, as we seek to walk in the
right way, Well, may it be our desire that he does continue
with us. May we seek, and indeed, if we
lose the sense of his presence for a while, if he is pleased
to take it from us, let us be earnestly seeking it. The Lord
knows us. He sees us from heaven. In whatever
distress we may pass through, whatever our concerns may be,
whatever our doubts may be, whatever our sins may be, whatever sins
we struggle against in our hearts, Yet the Lord knows them, and
so he looks upon us, he sees us. And what does this mean for
the believer? As the Lord looks upon him, he
may be assured that the Lord will give help and strength for
time of need. We are called upon to apply to
the throne of grace for this, and so we must. We must apply
it daily for help. And yet do we not have that glorious
assurance also? that he knoweth our need, even
before we ask, he knows what we need. For he knows, and oftentimes
he does know what we need, even when we do not know. Sometimes
we feel as though we can scarce put our condition into words.
We do not know how we feel. We cannot tell it to any other.
We could not put it into words. And yet we cry to the Lord, we
plead for help. He knows what we need. And so
often we may testify that he sends to us that which is needed,
not always what we wanted, not always what we expected, not
always what we thought we needed, and yet what we truly needed. And that by this means the Lord
keeps us in the way, walking before him. Is it not wonderful
that we may call upon heaven for help? That we may look to
heaven for help? We look not to man, We look not
to ourselves, we look not to our own abilities or the abilities
of others, but we look to one who is almighty, one who is all-glorious,
one who knows all things in this world, and especially concerning
us individually. The Lord knows all things on
a grand scale. He knows all things in this world,
which is knowledge which is too vast for us, it is too great
for us, it is Too incomprehensible for us. Our minds cannot grasp
it. It is wonderful to think of that.
And yet it is even more wonderful that the Lord knows every one
of us individually. He knows us personally. And in
so knowing us, we may be assured. We may be strengthened. The Lord
is not ignorant of our case. And as children of the Most High
God, surely He has a special concern for us. He has a special
care for us. we might say a special eye upon
us, that we should not stumble or fall in the way. And so we
have this great comfort. The Lord knoweth them that are
his. But if we consider for a moment,
what is the second part of this? Having established that comfort,
that basis, we have also this, that everyone that nameth the
name of Christ depart from iniquity. It is the believer's duty to
name the name of Christ. It may seem strange to phrase
it as a duty. It is a duty which is inspired
by love in the heart, not by any kind of formalism. He is
not a Christian because he is born a Christian, not a Christian
because he is culturally a Christian, not a Christian for any other
reason apart from this, that he knows Christ in his heart.
And so it is inevitable, it is natural that he will speak of
Christ often. It is natural. His heart will
be full of Christ and overflowing with Christ. And so Christ will
be his favorite theme. Christ will be all his speech.
Christ will be, as it were, in everything. And so the believer
will most certainly be one. that nameth the name of Christ.
And therefore, as he will be such, as he will be one who can
own an interest in the Son of God, being such, he has a responsibility. If he will stand, call himself
a Christian man, well, the apostle exhorts the brethren to walk
worthy of the gospel of Christ. And this is the principle of
the matter that every one that nameth the name of Christ depart
from iniquity. There may be certain sins which
seem to be harmless and yet which are devilish. There may be certain
things which seem externally, and we might even say culturally
in the present day, which seem to be so acceptable, so commonplace
in the world, Things which are practised by almost everyone
on every side. Things which nobody would think
twice about doing in the world and which we may fall into the
snare of having the same attitude towards. But it is our duty to
depart from iniquity. How may we know what iniquity
is? Well, we have a standard before us in the scriptures.
They set to us out plainly what is our duty towards God. What
is the way of holiness? What is the way of righteousness?
And as they are the inspired word of God, they are sufficient
for every case. Sometimes we may feel ourselves
to be baffled. Sometimes we may feel ourselves
to question the matter. To say, does the scriptures really
speak to my case? Does the scripture have direction
concerning my situation? There will be something. There
will be sufficient. to guide in the right way, to
keep you from evil. We must pray that the Spirit
would open our eyes to see glorious things out of the law of God,
that we might be taught of it, what is our duty towards God,
what we ought to do in the way, how we must conduct ourselves
before Him. To depart from iniquity is no
easy matter. We might speak of it, it is well,
to exhort one another to it. But in departing from it, there
may be much difficulty. Satan will be continually tempting
us to it. Always there will be some snare
set in the way. Continually, the allurements
of the world, the natural desires of a man will cause him to want
to do that which is wrong. What do we find, though? My grace
is sufficient for thee. Help sufficient. may be found
from on high, it is to our grief that we must
confess we are too slow to pray. If we would depart from iniquity,
it is no good us setting ourselves up, making resolutions, I'm not
speaking against making resolutions generally, but it is no good
for us merely to make up a list of resolutions to determine that
we are going to live in this particular way, to order our
lives very carefully. and deliberately and to set out
exactly what we will do and how we shall keep ourselves from
sin, to try to preempt sins and identify them beforehand and
keep ourselves from them. We may do these things and what
will we find? If we just do these things and
we do nothing else, we will just really end up giving ourselves
more proof of how desperately we need Christ. Because we will find ourselves
to be utter failures. We will find ourselves to be
entirely incapable of the resolutions that we have. We may seem very
keen on them at the first, but very quickly we lose the sense
of them. And so quickly we may fall away
from them. And so quickly we may lose even the desire to follow
them. And they cease. What will it
be then? Shall we be lost? Shall we be
ruined? Have we forgotten that there
is a God in heaven? Have we forgotten that we may
approach to him through Jesus Christ? It may seem hard sometimes. We may be cold in spirit, slow
to pray, slow of tongue. But what mercy may we expect
if we approach the mercy seat? We come there to that place where
Jesus answers prayer. We fall humbly before his feet.
What may we expect? Surely we shall have mercy who
seek it in that way, and the Lord will help. We must do this,
not depend upon ourselves. And this, of course, is the great
principle which sums this whole text, this whole encouragement
which the apostle gives. Dependence upon Christ must be
all that we have. Christ must be all our hope. or we are ruined. And yet, such
a hope in Christ as this is one which will never be made ashamed,
one which will never be caused to lose face. But here is such
a hope, which is as an anchor to the soul, which will see a
man even to glory at the last. Oh, we give thanks to God that
he has granted to us such words in the Scriptures, for our encouragement
and our strengthening, and especially so in these days. And may the
Lord grant to us each that we may go on in the strength of
these things. We may go on with this hope and
with this comfort, even in all that is commanded us in the scriptures,
in all the way of life that the Lord has set before us. And may
the Lord draw near to each soul, for Christ's sake. Amen. Hymn 329, Tune St. Denio 915 Now may the grace of the Lord
Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the
Holy Ghost be with you all. Amen.