Well this evening I would read
another sermon of the late Mr Matronola. It's a sermon entitled
He shall not strive or cry. It was a sermon preached on the
Lord's Day morning, 6th of September, 1992. The text is Matthew 12
and verses 18 to 21. Matthew chapter 12, verses 18
to 21. Behold my servant whom I have
chosen, my beloved in whom my soul is well pleased. I will
put my spirit upon him, And he shall show judgment to the Gentiles.
He shall not strive nor cry, neither shall any man hear his
voice in the streets. A bruised reed shall he not break,
and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment
unto victory. And in his name shall the Gentiles
trust. The immediate context of these
verses is the opposition of the Pharisees to the Saviour. So much so that we are told,
the Pharisees went out and held a council against him, how they
might destroy him. But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew
himself from thence, and great multitudes followed him, and
he healed them all, and charged them that they should not make
him known. Their opposition to him on this
occasion was because of his seeming indifference to the Mosaic law. Seeming indifference because
he had come to fulfill the law. He fulfilled it, he magnified
it, and made it honorable. He did not, however, do it according
to the Pharisees' legalism. There is a difference between
the law and legalism. Legalism adds to the law. It
looks to the manner of the keeping of certain things rather than
to the things which God has appointed. It was part of the great era
of Judaism, in the day of Christ, that they were more concerned
with the manner of so-called law-keeping than with the law
itself and with the desire to be pleasing and obedient to God. It was because the Saviour seemed
to take such a different view to them, particularly of the
Sabbath, that the Pharisees were so greatly outraged against him.
In the beginning of this chapter, they found offence with him because
he allowed his disciples to pluck the ears of corn and eat on the
Sabbath day. The Pharisees regarded this to
be work. There was also on the Sabbath
day a man who had his hand withered. They asked the Lord, is it lawful
to heal on the Sabbath days that they might accuse him? These
two incidents were followed by Christ's great arguments, largely
from the word of God itself, which shattered their legalistic
views and sought to bring them back to the very character of
the law and to the intent of the lawgiver. In the first place he meets the
argument that they were working, in that they were eating on the
Sabbath because they were hungry, by the events which are recorded
in 1 Samuel chapter 21. When in the days of Ahimelech
the high priest, David and his young men being unhungered, asked
for, and were given, the showbread, which was not in the appointment
of God for ordinary use. However, where there was hunger
and a genuine need, it was right that they should have even that
which normally belonged only to the priests. Jesus' second
argument regards the worship which is attended to on the Sabbath
day, and which necessitates a group of people attending to the duties
of God's house according to God's appointments in the temple, but
who are not in breach of the Sabbath day. Can he therefore
who is greater than the temple in the work in which he is engaged
be regarded as setting aside the law of the Sabbath? Jesus
quotes from the Old Testament, For I desired mercy, and not
sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
Hosea 6, verse 6, to show that God is not looking so much for
the ceremonial observance as for the obedience of the heart,
the awareness of mercy, and the expression of godly fear. If
the Pharisees had only understood that, they would not have been
so petty and so censorious against Him and His disciples. Next,
he brings in the argument of his very lordship. For he says,
the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath. We must remember
that. We must remember that. When people
claim in this Gospel day that there is no longer any obligation
to keep the Sabbath, we must remember that there is such a
thing as the Lord's Day. The Lord's Day is the day over
which he exerts a special lordship. He is, of course, the Lord over
every day, but over that one day in seven he is especially
Lord. He has the authority and right
over it, even as he calls the day to be changed from the seventh
day to the first day of the week. He is the Lord of the Sabbath,
and we are to keep the Christian Sabbath, the Lord's Day. What
he does, therefore, in accordance with divine will, can be no breach
of the Sabbath day. Jesus then shows the Pharisees
how far short they come in mercy and charity. They're concerned
for a sheep. which they would willingly raise
from a pit on the Sabbath day, and yet they are so indifferent
to those who are in need of mercy and healing, such as this man
which had his hand withered. Surely healing is a righteous
thing, whether it's performed on the Sabbath or on any other
day. In these ways Christ confounds
the Pharisees. He utterly shatters their false
view of the law and their misapprehensions concerning the Sabbath and his
use of it. Yet, when he might have pursued
this and taken advantage of the way in which he had addressed
them and the arguments which he had used to explode their
beliefs, he withdrew. He doesn't capitalize, as we
might say, on his advantage. The people must have perceived
that he spoke with insight and authority, and not as the scribes
and the teachers of the law. But he doesn't take it further
at this stage. Why does he withdraw himself?
This is explained by a quotation from the Old Testament scripture,
in which you see the character of the Lord's Messiah delineated. Behold my servant whom I uphold,
mine elect in whom my soul delighteth. I have put my spirit upon him.
He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not
cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break,
and the smoking flax shall he not quench. He shall bring forth
judgment unto truth, he shall not fail nor be discouraged till
he have set judgment in the earth, and the isles shall wait for
his law. Isaiah 42, verses 1 to 4. The
prophet Isaiah was given to see the character of the Messiah
when he should come. These words speak clearly of
Christ. Christ is the elect one, the
chosen of the Lord, the servant of Jehovah. He is one that shall
not cry nor lift up nor cause his voice to be heard in the
streets. He will not be as the popular
heroes who come with all their pomp and circumstance. nor was there even the cry of
anger heard proceeding from his mouth, for when he was reviled
he reviled not again. It belonged to him that he should
not cry or lift up his voice so that it should be heard in
the street. There would also be no employment
of violence in his advancement of his purposes, for a bruised
reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench.
His methods were not to be those of the conquerors of nations.
His kingdom would not be advanced with violence, with might or
force of arms, but rather His kingdom would be advanced, Isaiah
declares, in that He shall bring forth judgment unto truth. He
shall bring by means of truth judgment to be formed. He shall
set forth judgment in the earth by means of the truth. The Lord's
method is the display of truth, the force of truth in the hearts
of men. Yet for all that he does not
strive or cry or seek his own glory. And for all that he eschews
violence and will not employ the methods of men in the work
of his kingdom. There is the invincible triumph
of the Messiah. He shall not fail, nor be discouraged,
till he hath set judgment in the earth, and the isles, the
remote places, shall wait for his law. This is a universal
gospel, a gospel which is to be preached to the ends of the
earth, to every nation out of which the Lord will bring forth
a people. His loved nation is not exclusively
of the Jews, but Jew and Gentile, of every tongue and kindred of
the peoples. Christ shows here in our text
that he is the Messiah and that this is his way and this is his
message, this is his method. Although these words are not
an exact reproduction of the words in our Messiah's prophecy,
they are inspired interpretation. The Lord is showing How we are
to understand the verses in Isaiah chapter 42, lest there be any
doubt concerning the role of the Messiah, especially in the
places where we are told that he will not advance his own interest. A bruised wreath shall he not
break, and a smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth
judgment unto victory, and in his name shall the Gentiles trust. All they shall be brought to
trust in his name. We want, with the Lord's help,
to learn the lessons of the Saviour's ministry. There are certain lessons
brought out in these verses before us. Let us begin by stressing
at the outset that the Lord is the Servant, the Anointed One
of God, the One who fulfils all of the Father's pleasure. Paul,
in his epistle to the Philippians, speaking concerning the humiliation
of Christ, which he voluntarily assumed, clearly states that
he made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form, the
likeness, the character of a servant. Although he was and never ceased
to be God, yet when he assumed our humanity, he assumed the
likeness of a servant. It was a condescension that he
assumed our humanity, but it was needful in order that he
might redeem and deliver us. In Adam, men were disobedient. There had therefore to be the
obedience of one who would redeem and deliver them. For as by one
man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience
of one shall many be made righteous. that there might be the manifestation
of the obedience of the one that God had chosen, his elect, he
came in the character of a servant. He did not only take just our
humanity, but he took our humanity in such a fashion that he was
plainly as a servant in a place of insignificance. He was not born, as we might
say, with a silver spoon in his mouth. He was not found in the
palaces of the great ones. Rather, he was born at Bethlehem,
and because there was no room in the inn, he was brought into
this world in a stable and laid in a manger. He grew up in comparative
obscurity in Nazareth, and there he submitted himself to those
who were his guardians, to his mother and to the one who was
thought to be his father, Joseph. So much so that he became known
as the carpenter's son. The carpenter's son. To them,
he rendered a perfect obedience. When he began his public ministry,
there was still the same humility. There was no self-assertiveness,
arrogance or self-esteem in the Lord. He knew who he was and
what he had come to do. He did not speak of himself.
He did not draw attention to himself. Indeed, the very opposite
is the case. When, after he had fed the 5,000,
they came to make him a king by force, but he removed himself
from them. He shunned mere popularity. He
shunned spectacular approaches. The devil tempted him that if
he were to cast himself down from the pinnacle of the temple,
He would be born in the arms of the angels, and would that
not turn many towards him? What a miracle that would have
been! What a sign that he was truly the Messiah! And yet he
rebuked the devil. He would not advance the work
that he was to do in any other way than that which the Father
had appointed. He rendered always a perfect
obedience to the Father and to the holy law of God. It was thus
that he lived among men and thus he ministered. There was no use
of force in his public ministry. Instead there was the persuasion
by the word of truth. In his public ministry there
was no desire that men should follow him because of what they
saw in him which was different from other men. At the commencement
of his public ministry we are told in Luke chapter 3 that it
was when the crowd had been baptized and had gone that he came forth
and sought that John should baptize him. Suffer it to be so now for
thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. He did not seek the attention
of men. This is seen in his ministry itself. He began his ministry
in the days of general favour in in more obscure places. The time which he spent in Judea
was considerably less than the time which he spent in remote
places such as Galilee, which is why he was referred to as
the Galilean. He did not attempt either to make an impression
upon the great ones of the earth. He ministered to ordinary people. The common people heard him gladly. His healing of people was of
the same order. As you see in this very chapter, He healed
them all and charged them that they should not make Him known.
If you consider the truth of that statement that He healed
all of the multitude which went out to Him of all their sicknesses,
that is something which most men would shout from the rooftops. Yet He charged them that they
should not make it known. This then leads into this statement,
that this was not his method. He had come as the servant of
the Lord. He had come not to cry, not to
strive, not to raise his voice in the street, not to come by
violent means. A bruised reed shall he not break,
and smoking flax shall he not quench. Even the disciples were
added, one here and another there, and they were never numerous.
They were never numerous. They were not formed into a private
army. Neither did he engage in marches or rouse the people to
demonstrations against authority. His was an entirely different
ministry, and yet it results in victory. For in his name shall
the Gentiles trust. Let us now draw some observations
from these things. So often we too want visible
things, clear manifestations and evidences of divine power.
I'm sure that even in our midst where we see these issues relatively
clearly, there are moments when we entertain something of a desire
within our hearts that we might see the visible intervention
of God. as we look at the nation in its
sorry state from the highest to the lowest, that it's increasingly
ungodly and sets aside the law of God. We long for God to intervene. On one occasion, when a Samaritan
village would not give hospitality to their master, James and John,
the sons of Zebedee, wanted to call fire from heaven to consume
it. At times, have we not felt somewhat
like them? When we've longed that God would
intervene in such an evil and wicked day as this. Why should
the ungodly men get away with these things? Why should such
things be allowed? Oh, that there might be a thunderbolt
from heaven which would come and consume them. But this is
not God's way. It's not the gospel way. It's
not Christ's way. We need to be brought back to
that when we want to take matters in our own hands. Vengeance is
mine. I will repay, saith the Lord. If our enemy hunger, we are to
feed him. If he thirsts, we are to give him to drink. We are
not to be those who leave, we are to be those who leave the
matter of judgment with God. A bruised reed shall he not break,
and smoking flats shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment
unto victory. God will intervene, God will
intervene, although In the day of the gospel he will not intervene
in ultimate judgment because that is reserved for the future,
at Christ's second coming. It's also true of the making
known of the gospel and there are those subtle pressures upon
us. There are those subtle pressures
upon us. The world's way of communication is very sophisticated. We have
become those who are experts in communication. when a message
is to be got across, experts are called in who can persuade
people. There is also the tendency in evangelicalism today to feel
that it would be good if this approach were applied to the
gospel. Consultants are therefore brought in who would give the
leaders of the local church expertise in communication and result in
their being more successful. But this is the way of men. And
in the mercy of God, we realize that these things are not to
be followed. It is not by the might or the
ingenuity of man that the work of the gospel is to be done.
That is not how Christ came. He did not come relying on a
certain technique or a team of key figures who would be associated
with him. It is rather by the truth preached
and by the Spirit of God working upon that preaching. And yet,
although we believe that, so often there is the subtle temptation
that we feel we ought to be doing something more. And we get to
the point that unless we do, at least in some measure what
others are doing, we're failures. We've got to learn from the Lord.
The Lord's way is the quiet way of truth that is preached and
truth that is adorned by godly living and confidence in the
power of the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God was upon him
in his preaching. He knew whence he had come, and
he knew where he would go. He knew the victory would be
his. There is no striving, no crying. Neither shall any man hear his
voice in the streets. A bruised reed shall he not break,
and smoking flats shall he not quench in the obtaining of that
victory. He was certainly not only concerned
with the key persons, What an abhorrent thing it is in modern
evangelism to go for key persons, to aim to get some sporting personality
converted, and make all you can of that person as if that matters.
If they are truly converted, in nearly every case they would
come out from these things, for there is no compatibility with
the world of entertainment and the Christian. There is to be
rather a separation from these things. They are foreign to the
gospel. The Lord did not go for such
people. He did not go for the great ones. The poor, as I have
already said, heard Him gladly. Paul says, ye see your calling
brethren. However, not many wise men after
the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called. So often the Lord takes those
things which are poor and despised in the eyes of the world and
these are the ones that he blesses. His ways are not our ways. Learn
then from the Lord. Let us think a little more of
this method. We are to follow Christ and the apostles rather
than men in our communication of the gospel. How did the Lord
advance his cause? We are to learn from his example. There was no violence, literally
so, for when Peter drew a sword and cut off the ear of Malchus,
the servant of the high priest, the Lord rebuked Peter and restored
the ear to Malchus. And he told Peter that his kingdom
was not of this world. There is no place for the sword
and aggression as men judge it. how different is Islam, which
has always been a militant system, and which is becoming increasingly
militant in our land. It advances itself by the jihad,
or the holy war. The servant of the Prophet Muhammad
said he would convert the world to Islam by the point of a scimitar. When those who are Christian
attempt to do the work of the gospel by the sword, it is a
disaster because it is utterly contrary to Christ's way. For
example, the Crusades in the Middle Ages, when Christianity
was used as an argument against the false system of Islam, was
a disaster in gospel terms for it was a false religion which
did no good. When the Roman Catholic Inquisition
put the rack and the thumbscrew to use in order to make their
converts in the 15th and 16th centuries, it was not because
of the gospel, it was against the gospel. When we attempt to
do the Lord's work by unholy, external and violent methods,
it can never be right. I do not like the expression
which is current even in reformed circles of aggressive evangelism. Aggressive evangelism! We're
not to be aggressive. We're to be zealous. We're to
be concerned. We're to be diligent. Aggression
speaks of the violence of men and it is very different from
the example of Christ and the apostles. The method we are to
use is the old method of the Word of God advanced and the
Word of God preached. It is by the official preachers
of the Word of God preaching the message which God has given
them, the message which has come down from heaven that Jesus Christ
is the only Saviour, neither is there salvation in any other.
It is also by the unofficial preaching of the Word. as when
after the death of Stephen and the beginnings of persecution
under Saul of Tarsus, before he was wonderfully saved on the
road to Damascus, there was that evangelizing. Therefore they
that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word. I recently read in an old banner
of truth concerning the times in Scotland at the end of the
1700s and the early 1800s when there was a remarkable work of grace done in the highlands
and in the islands. An analysis was made on it by
Ian Murray in which he said that there were three great reasons
for the blessing of these days. Firstly, the church was what
it was meant to be. The place in which God appointed
worship was engaged in and nothing was allowed to encroach upon
it. Secondly, Christians were what they should be. They sought
to live as Christians, living epistles, known and read of all
men. Thirdly, there was the following of faithful biblical preaching
in the pulpits. This is still the way which God
is pleased to use in the furtherance of the gospel. It is not by the
world's methods, by organizations, or by gifts of communication.
It is by a trust in the message itself and a desire that there
might be the following of the example of Christ and his apostles
in making it known. Even when we desire revival,
we must be careful that we do not desire it for the sake of
our own glory. I wonder sometimes if God were
pleased to give the revival which some are seeking, if they could
cope with it, or if it would not utterly corrupt them. Because
they conceive of it so much in terms of what is now small, will
then be great. We want a revival which is of
the truth preached in the power of the Spirit of God upon the
word that is declared. We do not want that which will
merely result in great numbers being added to the churches.
Jonathan Edwards preached in New England and experienced revival.
The Great Awakening, as it came to be known. When the revival
came, the church was filled with hearers. But as he acknowledges
himself, these same hearers were the ones who drove him out from
the pulpit before many years had passed. There were only seven
of the number in that church who remained on the side of the
pastor, that faithful man of God. Those who had come in proved
in many cases not to be born of the Spirit of God. Edwards
himself said, we were far too ready to accept those that came
in in the days of the revival, in the days of the awakening,
merely believing that because they came in such numbers, it
was God that brought them. But it was not that in every
case God had brought them. We desire in all matters that
there should not be the looking merely to the outward, but rather
there should be regard to what is spiritual. We want the way
of Christ to be followed. He shall not strive nor cry,
neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. That will be success, for that
is the way of the Lord. When Christ was brought before
the Roman governor, Pilate asked him of his message. Art thou
the king of the Jews? Jesus answered him, Sayest thou
this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me? Pilate
answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief
priests have delivered thee unto me. What hast thou done? Jesus
answered, My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were
of this world, then would my servants fight that I should
not be delivered to the Jews. But now is my kingdom not from
hence. Pilate therefore said unto him,
Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that
I am a king. To this end was I born, and for
this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto
the truth. Everyone that is of the truth
heareth my voice. This is the literal fulfilment
of Isaiah's prophecy. He shall bring forth judgement
unto truth. And it is the force of truth,
the truth preached and the truth lived out that we are to be concerned
with in our day and not to be made to deviate from it for any
reason. The truth is sufficient. The
Lord's work done the Lord's way will never lack the Lord's resources
or the Lord's blessing upon it. In his name shall the Gentiles
trust. He shall not fail nor be discouraged
till he have said judgment in the earth and the isles shall
wait for his law. He shall see of the travail of
his soul and shall be satisfied. The methods which the Messiah
followed were successful. They achieved all that he set
out to secure. They fully vindicated the purpose
of God and the method which God had appointed for his servant
to employ. Though he was not self-seeking
and though he did not seek to use the force of men to extend
his kingdom in the hearts of men and women, the work was done. Gentile sinners were brought
to trust through the preaching of the apostles, preached unto
the Gentiles, believed on in the world. Men, however, would maintain
that such methods cannot bring success. When the rich young ruler, who
seemed to have had so much to offer, went away sorrowing, the
Lord never went after him. Today people would say that it
was a great mistake. Every effort should have been
made to try to get such a man onto the Lord's side. The Lord never went after him.
And yet the Lord's work is a successful work, true success. When as an
old man exiled to St Helena, the Emperor Napoleon surveyed
the past, his campaigns, and his defeats. He said, my empire
built on force has passed away, but the empire of Jesus will
last forever because it was built on love. I'm not sure that he
understood what the empire of Jesus was, for it was not just
that it was built on love, as though a sentimental use of love
has a force of its own. It certainly is true, however,
that it was not by the might of men, but by the work of the
Spirit through the truth in the hearts of men that the kingdom
of God is advanced. In his name shall the Gentiles
trust. The Lord who knew the humiliation
of the servant is now the one who is exalted at the right hand
of the majesty on high. He commands repentance. He is
the one who will send forth preachers. He will see to it that until
the very end of the gospel day there is no want of power in
the performance of the gospel and the drawing of sinners to
himself. The success of Christ is the success of those who are
His true people, those who look to Him, who trust in His Word
and who seek not to do their own will or the will of men,
but to be faithful to the will of their Savior. His work will
advance and prosper. We are not to be ashamed of the
Gospel. I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. for it is the
power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth, to
the Jew first, and also to the Greek. Paul was unashamed of
Christ and Him crucified, and conscious that he preached not
in his own strength, but in the strength of the Spirit. If the
Spirit did not bring light, darkness would obtain. But his belief
was that God willed that there would be the light of truth and
the understanding of these things, the success of Christ. Finally,
I want to just mention the judgment of the Saviour. The Lord's ministry
is as the servant of the Lord, yet He is the one who achieves
this glorious success. He will send forth judgments
unto victory, and in his name shall the Gentiles trust. The
Saviour's judgment is in the sense of the confirming and establishing
of true religion. It is used by Isaiah in that
sense. He shall bring forth judgments unto truth, or he shall by the
truth bring forth judgments. He will make manifest the Lord's
ways. This is the sense in which His
truth shall be established in the hearts of His people. That
is the sense of the word judgment, just as the word law in Isaiah
42 verse 4 is used in the sense of revelation. The isles shall
wait for His law. or they shall wait until there
is the revelation from heaven of the gospel. That is the sense
in which we are to understand these words, law and judgment. It is the disclosure of saving
intent. It is the performance of those
things needful by Christ that there might be a gospel to preach. And we, having seen that the
work has been done by the Redeemer, preach his name without fear
or favour amongst men. It is in that gospel sense that
he will establish judgment, and he shall make his law known to
the remote places by the preaching of his word. There is also, however,
the more familiar sense of judgment. There is a judgment to come.
There is a day when the Messiah, He who presently occupies the
throne, will come again, the second time, without sin, unto
salvation. The scoffers say that there will
never be an intervention of Christ. Where is the promise of His coming?
For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were
from the beginning of the creation. Christ will never come. Things
will never change. Ah, but they will change. They
will change. Things have not gone on from
the creation without change. The flood, for example, in the
day of Noah was a great change, which initiated a completely
new order of things in the natural world. It will certainly be true
that Christ will come again. And just as the flood caught
so many unawares, and multitudes were destroyed, and but eight
souls were spared, what will it be when the Son of Man comes?
As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days
of the Son of Man. They did eat, they drank, they
married wives, they were given in marriage. In the midst of
all this, Suddenly, the Lord will come to judgment. And there will be that distinction
made between the Lord's people and the multitudes who are not
his people, who will be brought to judgment. Then there will
be that judgment in the usual sense of the word, the manifestation
of God's righteous indignation upon the wicked deeds of men
and women. The Lamb, as it had been slain
for sinners, will then be manifested as the Lion of the tribe of Judah. In the old Israel, the tribe
of Judah had the rule and the authority. The Lion of the tribe
of Judah is the branch which comes forth from Judah, the one
who has authority to rule and who has power to execute judgment. The Father has commanded all
judgment, or committed all judgment unto the Son. In the day of judgment it will
not be the case that a bruised reed shall he not break, and
the smoking flax shall he not quench. It will be completely
different, for thou shalt break them with a rod of iron, thou
shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. Some say they cannot believe
that a loving God would ever do that. They like to hear a
bruised reed shall he not break and smoking flats shall he not
quench, but that will not be the case in the day of judgment
when the gospel age ends and when the consummation of all
things is begun. It begins with colossal judgment. There will be the dealing with
sinful men, and he will declare, Depart from me, ye cursed into
everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. Then
there will be the manifestation of Christ as the righteous judge,
before whom wicked men have no excuse. And there will be no
place to hide from the wrath of the Lamb that is in the midst
of the throne. They will hear the final sentence,
and they will find that sentence carried out upon them. Today
is the gospel day. And if it is the gospel day,
it is a word to you. Are you one that has heeded the
word of the truth of the gospel? We do not know when the Lord
will come again. We do not know if even now the
last grains of sand are shimmering in God's hourglass. When he comes, then cometh the
end. He comes to judgment. He comes
to be admired in his saints. He comes to take his people to
glory. He comes to initiate judgment upon the ungodly. This is a word
of warning. He will not always be the God
of grace that he is now. He will not always wait to be
gracious. We are to take heed. Seek ye
the Lord while he may be found. Call ye upon him while he is
near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous
man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord. And he
will have mercy upon him and to our God, for he will abundantly
pardon. We are to be those who turn to
the Lord, seeking mercy and forgiveness. How will you fare in the day
when you stand before Christ? Will you see him then as the
Saviour that you rejoice to know and long to praise to all eternity? Or will you find you are standing
before one who says, I never knew you. It will be the most solemn and
awful day that you have ever experienced. It will be the day
which ushers in an eternal night. It is a solemn word. This verse
contains a solemn gospel warning. A bruised reed shall he not break
and smoking flecks shall he not quench till. Someone may take issue with this
and say, I always thought that this verse applied to the Christian
and showed that, come what may, the Lord is always mindful of
us and that he is always concerned to bless us. Is that not how many have preached
from it? Of course it is, and they have a right to do so. That
is a perfectly valid interpretation, but it is a secondary use of
it. I have set forth the primary
use of it. In its context, it is used in the sense that the
Lord will not press his advantage against the Pharisees. He could
have overcome them by his words. He could have roused the people.
He could have made himself their ruler and he would seemingly
have achieved his purpose. But that was not God's way. He
therefore withdraws himself. The reason for the withdrawing
of himself is given in these verses, which set forth the messianic
method, that this is not his way, and which then showed that
victory is assured, the victory of truth and the power of the
Spirit in the lives of those to whom the gospel comes. But if there is this sparing
until judgment, and if he will not advance his cause by violent
means until judgment, you see that in the secondary sense it
does apply to the Christian who so often feels himself to be
as a bruised reed. Richard Sibbes has a wonderful
work on the bruised reed. There are many uses of this for
the encouragement of the Christian, as in the hymn by Isaac Watts,
he'll never quench the smoking flax, but raise it to a flame,
the bruised reed he never breaks, nor scorns the meanest name.
But nonetheless, the primary use of it is the judgmental sense. When the gospel day ends, there
will be the breaking of the reed, for judgment in its final and
fullest sense will be displayed. May we then take heed. May we
be those who search our own hearts and prove our own souls, whether
we be in the faith or not. One cannot assume in any company
of people that all are in grace, for that would be in many cases
a false assumption to make. Are we in grace in this little
company or are we not? Are we those who have been brought
to trust in His name by the power of truth? It is Christ's truth,
by His Spirit in the heart that we must seek. For if any man
have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His. May these
things be blessed to us. May we have true grace and a
true appreciation of the way of grace in the manifestation
and communication of the gospel in our needy day. May there be
that looking for God to do the work, he shall not fail or be
overcome by the opposition to it. How are we to face the future?
We're not pessimists. However pessimistic we might
be about the society around us, we are rather optimistic in the
best sense of the word for the best and most precious reasons. We are those who are trusting
in the Lord who shall not fail, who shall not be overcome, and
who will achieve the victory. Whatever we might yet experience,
However, we might yet see a breakdown even in some of the values which
still remain to us. And even if there is a persecution
of true churches in this land in days to come, it will not
make any difference to the invincibility of grace. In his name shall the
Gentiles trust. God bless his word to us, for
his name's sake. Amen.