May it please God to bless us
together this evening as we meditate in his holy word. Let's turn
to the Gospel of Luke, chapter 18, and we'll read together verse
14. The Gospel of Luke, chapter 18,
and reading together verse 14. I tell you, this man went down
to his house justified rather than the other. For every one
that exhorteth himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth
himself shall be exalted. Well I hope tonight that all
of us have a right and a good desire to be amongst those who
are justified. are not left to those who are
not justified. And this parable that Jesus gives
describes the difference between those who are justified and those
who are not justified. It is therefore a very important
and very relevant, it may be familiar, but nonetheless we
need always to ponder the great truths of the Word of God, and
to realise how important they are. And so here we have this
statement here, in this verse, I tell you, this of course the
Lord is speaking, I tell you, this man, who's he speaking about? Who's the man? Well there were
two men in this parable, one was a Pharisee and one was a
publican. It's interesting the Lord should
select An example like that. Because naturally the Pharisee
was a religious man. Somebody who was looked up to
by the majority of the Jewish nation. And the other was a public
or a tax collector. Somebody who for the most part
was despised and said it not because of the way they usually
operated in business. And so the Lord speaks about
these two men and he tells us the difference. And it's a vast difference really. And yet the difference is that
which is to the whole human race. We either come in one camp or
the other. We are either like the Pharisee
or we are like the publican. There are no grey areas in God's
word. And so may we ponder the words
that we may have the evidence that we are amongst those who
are indeed justified. That means made just. And that's not because of what
you and I do. because of what the Lord Jesus Christ has done
on our behalf, causing us to do those things which are in
accordance with his will, and for his honour, and for his glory.
Well, these two men then, the one a Pharisee, and the Lord
describes what he was like. And again, we need to just ponder
these words carefully. As I say, they're pretty familiar,
I guess, to most of us. We possibly almost know it off
by heart. And yet the relevance is that here was this Pharisee.
What did he do? He stood and he prayed with us
with himself. He didn't pray to God. He prayed with himself. That's
a very thoughtful and testing word for us to think today. When we pray, how do we pray? Do we pray truthfully, in faith
to our God? Or do we mock Him in our prayers? This Pharisee, he was a religious
man. He knew what prayer was. He was
probably very familiar with most of the Old Testament. And yet,
we're told here, he prayed with himself, thus with himself.
It's a very searching consideration as we pray. And of course we
should never belittle prayer. We should value prayer. But prayer
has to be godly prayer, prayer aided by the Holy Spirit and
not praying like this Pharisee. You see, what did he do in effect? He wasn't praying to God. He
was just praying with himself. And if we just think about that,
how many prayers have we prayed and there have been no answers? I know there are those occasions,
of course, when it's not the Lord's will to answer our prayer,
perhaps in that particular way or in that particular time. But
how many prayers have fallen to the ground? How many prayers
have not been in faith? And thus have we prayed with
ourself? So easy, isn't it, to fall into
a habit Now I'm not belittling regular prayer times at all.
They are good and necessary. But we need to beware that we
don't fall into a habit of just asking for things because it's
what we do. And yet, there is no true prayer. We're praying with ourself. That's
a very solemn thought, isn't it? What we're really doing is
this. We are mocking God, that great eternal God. We're standing
or sitting or lying, wherever it is, before that great holy
God. And we are not truly praying
to Him. We're praying to ourselves. And so this man, this Pharisee,
this, as we would think, man of God, but of course he was
not. prayed thus with himself, God
I thank thee that I'm not as other men are. Then he gives
a little list, extortioners, unjust, adulterers or even as
this publican, I fast twice in a week, I give tithes to of all
that I possess. What was he doing? He was boasting
of his good works. He was relying upon what he had
done. There was no mention of seeking
thankfulness to God for what he'd done. No, he was only exhorting
himself. I thank God, I thank Thee. It
would seem perhaps just a very brief look, but he was praying
rightly, he was praying to God. I thank Thee that I am not as
other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers or even as
a republican. The problem was he didn't know
anything about his true self. All he knew was about what he
wanted to do and what he wanted to be thought well of. He didn't
understand really what his heart was truthfully like. And again it's a A wonderful
blessing of the Holy Spirit comes and shows us what we're really
like. And that may not be very easy
to discern. It may take us a long time to
discern. There was indeed a man of God
that perhaps we're familiar with, a man called Job. And Job spent
a long time justifying himself, a long time
trying to answer the arguments of his three friends that had
come to him in his time of need, and then also further on we read that The other man, nameless to lose
me, Eliza, came to him and spoke a lot of strong words and good
words, but it didn't really have the effect. And at last, God
came. And God spoke to Job, and that
changed him. And that changed him. And he
answered Job. He answered God rather. In the
40th of Job, we read what he answered. And moreover, the Lord
answered Job and said, Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty
instruct him? He that reproves God, let him
answer it. Then Job answered the Lord and
said, Behold, I am vile. That wasn't what the Pharisee
said, was it? He was praising himself. He was
Job. Have you heard God speak to him? And what a difference that is
when God speaks to us, because when God speaks, he reveals to
us something of what we are. Never really what we totally
are, but something of what we are. Here he was, Job then, a
very different creature. not trying to justify himself
at all. He says, Behold, I am vile. What shall I answer thee? I will
lay my hand upon my mouth. Once have I spoken, but I will
not answer, yea, twice, but I will proceed no further. There he was in the very presence
of God. And there he was really trembling,
realising what he was like. The Lord then continued to speak
to Job. And they were words of strength
and they were words of comfort. And then when we come down to
the end of the book of Job in the 42nd chapter, when the Lord
had finished speaking to him, and this was the effect, that
it had upon Job. He said, I know that thou canst
do everything, and that no thought can be withholden from thee.
That's a great statement, isn't it? To think that no thought
that you and I have is not known by God. God knows our very thoughts. We wouldn't then be a proud Pharisee,
vaunting ourselves before God, when this is shown to us, like
it was to Job, Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? Therefore I have uttered that
I understood not, things too wonderful for me which I knew
not. That was a good and humble confession. Confession to God of his ignorance. Not of the greatness of how wonderful
he was, but of his ignorance. And then he tells us, I have
heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye
seeth thee. The eye of faith here, the eye
of faith seeth thee. He tells us, wherefore I abhor
myself and repent in dust and ashes. the gracious, blessed
work of the Holy Spirit to bring Job down. It took a long time,
but he came down. It may be in our lives, it may
take a long time to bring us down, so that we in and of ourselves
are nothing, that Christ may be all and in all. That's the
whole object of the blessed work of the Spirit. It's to make us
view ourselves as less than the least of all saints, so that
the Lord Jesus Christ might be lifted up and honoured and glorified. And such a condition and such
a state will influence us in our prayers, in our prayer life. And so as we think of these words
that this Pharisee came telling God what he did and said, I thank
thee that I am not as other men are. The true child of God doesn't
point the finger. They don't say I'm not as bad
as other people. Because if they do, perhaps,
they have to come to that position like David did in his life, when
he thought he'd hidden his sin, the sin of adultery and murder.
And he thought it was forgotten. God hadn't forgotten. Don't think
God doesn't see. Don't think God doesn't know.
But God demanded from David contrition. And God demanded that he would
come and acknowledge his sin. And so he did. But in an unexpected
way. God's ways are higher than our
ways. And he sent Nathan the prophet to expound a parable
of a rich man who came and took a poor man's little ewe lamb,
the only thing he had. And David was very angry. But
Nathan said, Thou art the man. Oh David, the Lord's striking
you. Don't look anywhere else. Thou
art the man. What a good thing when the Holy
Spirit then convicts us. We may think perhaps We've hidden
some sins. We may think that no one knows
about them. God knows. Sometimes God brings
it to the light in order to show His amazing love and mercy and
forgiveness. And we see the result of that
when the Psalmist wrote the 51st Psalm. We see there a Psalm of
utter confession and desiring that God would indeed cleanse
him, that God would indeed purify him, and that God would give
him that new heart of submission to Almighty God, condemned by
the righteous law of God. That's good, you see, when the
righteous law of God brings us into that place of condemnation. And so he says, I thank thee
that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers,
or even as this publican." He was happy to point the finger
at the publican who was praying afar off, not like this Pharisee
in the temple, showing off that everybody would see what a great
man he was and what wonderful prayers he was putting up. And
therefore he despised the publican, the man of God. He tells us,
I fast twice in a week, I give tithes of all that I possess. What was he doing? Trying to
impress God. My friends, we will never impress
God with the things that we have done. We'll only be amongst those
who fall down and worship the ever-living God for his wonderful
grace, for his long suffering, his mercy, for his wonderful
love to such an unworthy sinner. And then we see the opposite. The publican, the tax collector,
the despised man, standing afar off. He was under the influence
of the work of the Holy Spirit. And it's wonderful to see the
work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of true Christians. He didn't want to be spoken well
of. He didn't come and want people
to say, that was a wonderful prayer, you prayed. No, he stood
afar off. Before God, he was a sinner. And before God, he needed mercy. And so we're told, standing afar
off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but
smote upon his breast, saying, God, be merciful to me a sinner."
Now I'm sure that prayer of the publican is a very suitable prayer
for the Church of God. It's a prayer that the people
of God Do pray, have prayed and will pray. Because we're never
free from sin this side of the grave. Although we trust we are
forgiven, yet you see sin is in us. We have a body of sin
and death. And therefore when we think things,
let's not go any further than that. When we think wrong things,
we think evil things, Do we have to cry out, oh God, be merciful
to me a sinner. I've failed again. I've fallen
into Satan's trap. I've been taken off guard. And
I've thought of things which were not good. David in the 119th,
he tells us this, 119th Psalm, he says this, I hate vain thoughts. but thy law do I love. I wonder
if that is a testimony of us tonight. You see, our old nature
really is quite happy to have vain thoughts. They're really
thoughts of vanity. We kind of build castles in the
air, just to kind of amuse ourselves. perhaps to satisfy our own lustful
flesh. But you see, the Lord sees, the
Lord knows. What a blessing, therefore, if
we are given that spirit that David was when he said, I hate
vain thoughts. But it wasn't a vacuum. There
was something to fill it. Thy Lord do I love. We love the
law of God. There's plenty of room for meditation
there. There's plenty of room for good thought there. We don't
have to give way to sinful thoughts. And although they do flood in,
may we cry unto God Most High, just like this publican, God
be merciful to me a sinner. So we see there, the two descriptions,
the two prayers. the two people. And all of us
here this evening fall into one category or the other. The Pharisee prayed from his
head. The publican prayed from his
heart. What a good thing then it is
if we have the evidence of this blessed work of the Holy Spirit
within us. Because we do need to be able
to differentiate between that which is a false prayer, just
praying to ourselves, or that which is indicted by the Holy
Spirit of God. We don't want to be left with
false prayers. We want to be granted true prayer. And so here we have this very
simple prayer, very important prayer. God be merciful to me,
a sinner. And therefore, what were the
comments of the Lord Jesus Christ with regard to these two prayers?
He says, I tell you, this man, the publican, went down to his
house justified rather than the other. Everyone that exalteth
himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall
be exalted. That's a good word of instruction
for us, so that we're not left to exalt ourselves. You must remember that when the
Lord tells us, first of all, we brought nothing into this
world and it's certain we should carry nothing out. And then to
think also that Almighty God has given us our health and our
strength, has given us our minds, has given us our brains. We cannot
claim to be cleverer than others because of our own ability. It's
only what God has given us. He's given us the ability we
have And it is very humbling to think then, the Lord does
give ability to one over another, not to glory in, but to glory
in the Creator for what He's done, for His great and glorious
gift. And as the Lord may give ability,
we are to use that ability. We're not to bury it, like that
parable of the talents. we are to use the ability that
God gives us for His honour and glory. And so may we recognise
the wonderful privilege, if the Lord has given us some ability,
some understanding, and never despise those who are perhaps
not so favoured, never look down at them, but realise what God
has done is all in accordance with His sovereign will and purpose. But it does give much cause for
you and me to come and to exalt our God and more than that to
think that he has shown us his grace and caused us to pray in
a right way. Today we live in an age of Pharisees. It's wonderful therefore by the
grace of God we find ourselves as a despised publican, and yet
one who prays that prayer which is accepted in the beloved, that
prayer which God has given us, indicted by his Holy Spirit,
so that we come very simply, just like this publican. God
be merciful, me a sinner.' And what a wonderful favour to know
that we are then just, justified, just with God. Again, not claiming
any virtue, not claiming any ability, but thanking God for
His great and glorious gift, for His wonderful favour in looking
upon us and granting us that desire to pray rightly, to come
rightly, to seek for right things, and to be shown how to pray. The disciples, you remember,
asked that simple question, Lord, teach us to pray. And the Lord
does teach us to pray. And we should desire the Lord
will teach us to pray, so that we come acceptably before him. And let us remember that you
and I can only come to our Father in Heaven through the merits
of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. You may say, well, tell
me why that is? Well, God is holy. God is just. God is righteous. And we, by
nature, are unholy. And we are sinful. And we know
that God cannot look upon sin. but he has provided a mediator. He's provided an advocate, a
glorious high priest to take our prayers and to present them
to his Father. So when we come to our Father
in Heaven, it is the Saviour that is seen as he presents our
prayers as our most glorious high priest. I suppose, very
often, we don't really understand the wonder of it. But we need
to think, back in the Old Testament times, of the ceremony, or ceremonies
in the plural, which had to be carried out in order to come
to God. How many sacrifices had to be
performed? And of course, essential vital
ingredient was the shedding of blood. As the Apostle tells us,
without shedding of blood there is no remission, there's no way
of access unless we come through the merits of the Lord Jesus
Christ. He's described as the new and
living way. And as we therefore come in prayer,
to never forget we can only come through the Lord Jesus Christ. What a blessing then it is to
come with our prayers and say, in conclusion, for Jesus Christ's
sake, so that we are accepted through him. What a mercy to
think today that we here as unworthy people, sinners of the earth,
can approach unto the great God Let us never have small views
of God. Oh, let us have high views of God, as that one who
sits in glory, like Isaiah did when he said, I saw the Lord
high and lifted up. Never have small views of the
greatness of God. And as you and I may have high
views of God, it'll make us more and more amazed and humbled to
think sinners of the earth can approach under the majesty on
high through the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ. But in these
prayers let us not think therefore that this was accomplished without
a great cost. We were justified through what
Christ did on our behalf. as God gave us the blessing of
faith, to believe in that sin atoning death, in deeds to cast
all our care upon Him, look into Jesus, the great and glorious
Saviour, the only one who could redeem our soul. What a blessing
it is today to have that revelation to our souls, because then it
is We don't come in just a formal way, we don't come in an irreverent
way, but we come with humble boldness under this great and
glorious God for the merits of our great and glorious Saviour. Oh, to come then humbly like
this publican did, yes, smiting upon his breast, Realising how
unworthy he was, and yet, you see, he came in that right way. He that humbleth himself shall
be exalted. Well, it's a favour of God as
we come humbly before our God, realising that we don't have
any right to approach unto the great God, but humble to think
that we do have a way The Lord has granted a way so that we
can approach unto that throne of grace, the mercy seat. You know the pictures in the
Old Testament are very wonderful and very beautiful. Don't pass
over it. Ponder the great picture we have
in the tabernacle and in the temple and all those wonderful
sacrifices which were offered. to think that Jesus stands between
in garments dyed in blood. And realise therefore that the
blood of Christ, as the Apostle Peter tells us, redeemed with
the precious blood of Christ. As the God of heaven gives us
this blessed access of the throne of grace, it will make the precious
blood of Christ precious to us. because we will know there's
no other way of entry into the holiest of all but through the
blood of the Saviour. And so then it is that we are
humbled. He that humbleth himself shall
be exalted. And we should desire to exalt
the name of our Saviour. I'm sure this must be the result
of a born-again sinner to exalt the name of the Saviour, to bow
down and acknowledge the great cost of our salvation, and to
fall down before him in praise and adoration. We don't praise God enough, do
we? And yet, he is worthy of all praise. He is worthy of all
Exhortation may be our real concern then, to do just that and therefore
not to be found in the other condition, in the other situation,
exhorting ourselves. The truth is you and I rather
exhort ourselves or we exhort the Saviour. You may say that's
a bit harsh, but it's true. And what a blessing it is if
the Holy Spirit moves in our heart so that our one concern
is the Saviour may be exalted. He may be lifted up in our hearts'
estimation and that we desire to truly praise Him. How do you
view the Saviour today? How do you pray to God today? Are we a Pharisee or are we a
publican? Are we one of those who desire
to exalt ourselves? Are we one of those who desire
to be humbled so that his name may be exalted? The day and age
in which we live is a sad day. but thankfully we have a God
who hasn't changed. The God who dispenses mercy and
love and grace and also gives us living faith to believe in
this blessed Saviour and to believe in the glorious plan of salvation
and to come to that wonderful God and to believe But not because
of anything that we've done, but we are justified because
of that faith which he gives. Faith, oh my friends, it's a
wonderful gift. Without it, we can't please God. It's the gift of God, so important,
so necessary, the time when we come rightly to our God. Let us never trifle with God,
never come into the presence of God in a light-hearted way,
always come realising the greatness and the holiness of God and yet
realising that because of his compassion we're able to come. He looks upon us, he remembers
that we are dust. Oh friends, what a God we have. Indeed we don't have to say,
what a saviour. So then, what's the result? We bow down before our God and
we desire that he may be lifted up and glorified in our hearts'
estimation and before many others so that there may be many who
are drawn to the great blessed Saviour and that may bow the
knee. My friends, all of us here will
bow the knee. We will either bow it while we're
on the earth or we'll bow it on that great day of judgement.
And my friends, may we be found truly amongst those who bow down
before our Saviour, acknowledging that he is our Lord and our God,
and be able to say, my Lord and my God, for the honour and glory
of his holy name. Amen.