Complete dependence upon the
Lord for all needed help this evening. Wish to direct your
very prayerful attention once again to Psalm 132. And continuing from where we
were this morning, in the morning hour, we considered verses 13
and 14. and as enabled this evening,
we'll consider verses 15 and 16. But I'll read from verse
13. For the Lord hath chosen Zion,
he hath desired it for his habitation. This is my rest forever. Here will I dwell, for I have
desired it, I will abundantly bless her provision. I will satisfy her poor with
bread. I will also clothe her priests
with salvation and her saints shall shout aloud for joy. I
will abundantly bless her provision. I will satisfy her poor with
bread I will also clothe her priests with salvation and her
saints shall shout aloud for joy." The name Solomon means
peaceable and as we have considered here
many times a person's name was significant because it often
said either something about a person's character or about their ministry
or about their life in general and thus we have a glorious fulfilling
of prophecy in respect of the consecration of the temple We
observed for the benefit of those who were not here this morning
that Psalm 132 was written in and around the time of approaching the consecration of the temple.
The days of the ark and its physical movements were coming to an end
and thus the temple was to be fixed in one place And here we find Solomon offering up this prayer in chapter
6 of 2 Chronicles. But it was more than just a building
of the temple, wasn't it? For the children of Zion. It was more than that. It was
a fulfillment of that which was promised. Sadly, many people
are only interested in prophecy, as they call it, if it involves
some strange aberration of a future event. But we have to remember
that prophecy is more than foretelling, though more than foretelling,
for the most part it's actually foretelling. It's speaking actually
of what the Lord has done. And thus David was promised that
there would be a temple of worship for the children of Israel. What does Solomon say in verse
15? Thou which hast kept with thy
servant David my father that which thou hast promised him,
and spakest with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine
hand, as it is this day." The Lord had brought everything to
pass exactly as He said He would. And again, no human scholar or
academic can explain that. But it's a fact. It's a fact. But we say more than that here,
don't we? It's worth noting that as we read this chapter, it's
very striking. In verse 32, and this is a word
to any that might think that, well, this chapter of the consecration
of the Temple has nothing to do with you. It's all to do with
the Jews. He says here, moreover concerning
the stranger, the stranger, the stranger, Gentile people, people
like you and me, non-Jews, a glorious prophecy, moreover concerning
the stranger, which is not of thy people Israel, but it's come
from a far country for thy great name's sake and thy mighty hand
and thy stretched out arm if they come and pray in this house
then hear thou from the heavens notice that though notice that if they come and pray in this
house In other words, if people come in, we apply this spiritually
to the church, which as we mentioned this morning, we must always
do in respect of Zion. Then people come in and they
adopt the ways of Zion. It's not the other way around.
That's the difference. That's the difference. the old Puritan saying about
the church being in the world, and the world being in the church
has never been a truer day than today in that respect. But here we can see, coming to the words of our text, I will abundantly bless her provision. Now, just a word in respect to
the previous verse that we omitted this morning, and perhaps we
were negligent in that, in respect to the rest. Because this is
in direct connection with the provision of Zion. The Lord has given us, He has
granted us, the first day of the week. The rest. This is the day in which we find
ourselves. A Gospel rest. And we find a
prophecy. There'll be many of those who
ask you, why did the day of rest change from the seventh to the
first day? Well, we have a prophecy of this,
don't we, in respect to the Lord Jesus Christ in Psalm 118. When
we read, "...the stone which the builders refused has become
the head of the corner." This is the Lord's doing. It is marvelous
in our eyes. This is the day which the Lord
hath made. we will rejoice and be glad in
it." And the saints, upon the resurrection of the Lord Jesus
Christ, met together on the first day of the week. It was a gospel
day. It wasn't the Jewish Sabbath.
Remember, if we were to observe the Jewish Sabbath, we would
be washing, we would be scrubbing, we would be carrying out all
manner. It was a day that was primarily are hedged in with
duties and tasks. This is a Gospel day. The observance
of one day set apart from all others for the worship of God.
That's the principle. That's the principle. Thus we have here a glorious
rest. It's part of the provision of
Zion. It's the provision of Zion. Now, We would also observe, historically,
in respect of Israel. There were, of course, the feast
days, and we think particularly of the Passover, when they were
brought out of Egyptian bondage. During the time of Egyptian bondage,
the feasts of Israel had ceased. But upon deliverance, upon freedom
from captivity, upon the Lord going before them in power, there
was a resurrection of these feasts. And thus, do we not find that
the principle in respect to the provision of Zion is the worship
of God publicly. set about in conventicles, non-conformist
preaching boxes, like this, accompanied with the ordinances
of his house. The ordinance of prayer, the
ordinance of preaching, baptism, and of course the Lord's
Supper. Now, we have here the words and
we would take heed to this. I will abundantly bless her provision. Now that word abundantly quite
rightly in the pulpit Bible here has that word surely attached
to it. Let's get the Cambridge references
here in the pulpit Bible. I will abundantly bless her provision.
I will surely bless her provision. Again, not just a direct reference
to the consecration of the temple that was promised, but of the
ordinances of his house and the establishment of gospel works. Now I preach in chapels where
there are no members. I preach in chapels where there's
no officers. I preach in chapels where there's
no interest. I don't think sometimes in either, sadly. I have to be
blunt about it. And there is, it has to be said,
an indifference to these things, as though they don't matter.
Well, dear soul, does it not make us weep? Zion is to be accompanied by
the ordinances of his house. And to neglect these things or
to consider them to be indifferent is a solemn thing indeed. In
what, in fact, do we read with the Apostle? As you know, I'm
not really one for jumping about the Bible, but sometimes it's
necessary to turn to a proof text that we might understand
what we are speaking of and qualify these things. But Paul, speaking
to the Philippians, says in the opening chapter, in the opening
verses, Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ to all
the saints in Christ Jesus, which are at Philippi, notice this,
with the bishops and deacons. Really, that should say pastors
and deacons. Sadly, it has to be observed
that King James insisted that the word Bishop went in here
to suit his ecclesiastical prejudices, much as the same as the word
Easter. It really should be Passover. But nevertheless, we don't like
to criticise the authorised version, but we have to observe that that
was a political misjudgement. But we see the principle here.
Pastors and deacons. And we would re-establish these
things because some of us were somewhat brainwashed with the
modern Reformed Baptist idea of an elder. But of course we
can see that in the New Testament the word elder was a general
term for the offices plural. In activity there are but two
offices. There is the pastor and there
is the deacons. The pastor, you might also say,
was the shepherd. Now, you only have one shepherd.
You don't have several shepherds. So the plurality of elders here
is not something that we can hold with. There should, however,
be a plurality of deacons depending on the physical demands of the
church. But we would mention these things
because they are part of Zion's provision. These are the things
that the Lord sets before his people. Now if we read Ephesians
and chapter 4, we can see the very various parts of the church
working together. Some of you are aware, Mr. J.K. Popham made the statement, and
I have some sympathy with this. that a church has to have 12
members in order to function in the New Testament sense. He's
not saying that a church ceases to be valid if there's less than
that. But if we are to have the hands, the feet, the body, and
all its parts, there is a necessity for 12 members, and thus the
scriptural leadership. Some of us have seen the disastrous
consequences where that is not the case. This is a cause that
has generally had a pastor. But I could point you to chapels
that haven't had one in a century. Such is the state of things today. The Lord hath chosen Zion. He's desired it for his habitation.
This is his rest. This is where he said he would
dwell. And thus He will surely bless her provision. Now, we live, relatively speaking, in quite reasonable economic
times when you compare this to our forefathers. Now, consider this as a thought.
The chapel debt here was paid off years ago, but the people
that built these chapels, they were poor, and they took upon
themselves, in the natural sense, a huge burden when they covenanted
to pay for them. I wonder if we'd get the same
commitment today. I wonder. I wonder. You can read about them. Those
of you that enjoy reading historical chapel accounts, it's quite amazing
to see how the Lord undertook. Often in gross opposition, you
can remember Strigbaptists were never popular. We were always
hated by the established church and often we were hated by the
Armenian denominations around us and nothing there has changed.
Nothing there has changed. But just as Zion here, who were
a poor and an afflicted people, the Lord's poor have always been
provided for. And indeed what do we see? The
sovereign act of God in bringing about these places as it were
out of nothing. Who can bring a clean thing out
of an unclean thing? Surely only the Lord can move
men's hearts in this way. Surely bless her provision. So he blesses her provision with
the gospel offices. And remember, these are ordinary
people. Ordinary people. who are taken
out of the world and put into Zion. They're not part and parcel
of it. You see, we don't believe in
what the Church of England believes in, in respect to the territorial
church. In other words, they view the
whole country as a Christian country. They divide it into
parishes. There's no scriptural precedent
for that. No. These are individuals who come
and confess what the Lord has done for their souls unto the
people of God. And when the Lord says, through
the Apostle, that He would have all men to be saved, He's speaking
of the New Testament Church. He's speaking of all kinds of
men. Not speaking of all men indiscriminately. From all stations
of life, from all places, from all generations. of whom He brings together in
Zion. Abundantly bless her provision. I must hasten on. I will satisfy
her poor with bread. Now, this is a two-fold meaning,
genuinely has a two-fold meaning. In one immediate sense, remember
we're speaking of the days before the welfare state, where the
poorer of the children of Israel would be taken care of, in respect
of those around them. And thus, you can read a book,
I would recommend it to you, by Dr Ian Shaw, High Calvinists
in Action, and it covers the social action of chapels like
Mr Gadsby's at Manchester, and the Surrey Tabernacle and Grove
Chapel, Camberwell, answering the claim. And he does so very
objectively. He's not a strict Baptist, but he speaks very fairly. Of the charge that was laid against
us, as it often is, we're unconcerned, we're not interested in people,
and so on and so forth. And he sets forth the relief
of the poor, not just of Zion's poor, but in the immediate area
of the chapels in which those ministers were found. And thus
here there is a precedent. And even today, within our own
denomination, we have such a provision for that. But really, this has a further
meaning. which is of course a spiritual
meaning, to satisfy her poor with bread. Blessed are they that mourn,
for they shall be comforted. This is speaking of a poor and
an afflicted people, spiritually. to be made spiritually poor now
this goes against the whole tenor of modern society which tells
us that we have to be thinking well of ourselves and upright
and this sort of thing doesn't seem to do people any good does
it? but we would observe that this is how we're all brought
if the Lord has dealt with us before the Lord. We have to look at ourselves
in the mirror and be honest and we have to say, Sinner! Poor! Bankrupt! Nothing to offer the
Lord with! And thus we can see that this
is how the Lord deals with his people. There's a satisfaction with bread. Bread. What does that mean? That means
that the Lord will feed his people with a ministry that is suitable
for their souls. as we alluded to this morning. There's something wrong with
us if we can sit under a ministry that doesn't feed us. There's
something wrong with us, certainly, if we can sit under lies and
error. That goes without saying. But
you see, here is the dividing point. Has this not always been
the dividing point? with strict Baptists. It's not
enough just to have the letter of the truth, but we must have
it preached experientially. We must have everything of man
stripped from us. Nothing to offer the Lord with,
nothing to come to Him with. No creature power, no ability
to believe in self. Then we fight. that the Lord
takes up our case. Then we find that the Lord reaches
with the everlasting arms. Then we find when we've come to nothing that there is a place called
Calvary of which under the weight of
a broken law we find relief. But we must have a ministry that
feeds in that way. I will satisfy her poor with
bread. Satisfaction. Satisfaction. I love the illustrations that
the Psalmist gives. because there's always a natural
and a spiritual correlation is there not? there's few better
things in life naturally speaking maybe I'm betraying my own prejudices
I don't know but there's hardly anything better naturally speaking
than a good meal There is no greater good the
wise man says that a man may eat and drink and enjoy the good
of all his labor. Nothing wrong with that. Nothing
wrong with that. There's something refreshing. It strengthens the body. It strengthens the body. Keeps
us In good health. That's why I've never been a
fan of dieting. It's faddy. We don't need those
things. We need good things. Feed on
good things that do us good. And thus we have a spiritual
correlation here. We have to feed on that which
is good. That which feeds our souls. That
which strengthens us for the day. Naturally speaking, we eat on
something that's deficient. We find ourselves wanting. Lack of concentration, sometimes
lack of ability hardly to go about the day. And thus, the spiritual enemies
that we find, they're spelt out there spiritually in Solomon's
temple. The locusts, the caterpillars,
those things that we read of. do they not take us over and
would we not be taken over if it wasn't for an experimental
ministry and thus we see here satisfaction with bread not the meat which
perisheth but it is to feed experientially upon Christ. It is to feed upon Christ and
thus, Zion is the means of which these
things are met. I will clothe her priests with
salvation and her saints shall shout aloud
for joy. I will clothe the priests with
salvation." That doesn't simply mean that the Lord's servants
have to be regenerate men. That goes without saying. Indeed,
it was one of the reasons why Mr. Philpot felt the need to
resign his living from the Church of England was because so many
men had simply got there because they had a degree and could convince
the bishop that they were a gentleman. He couldn't live with that. In
the end he had to go. But it's more than that. It's preaching salvation, isn't
it? We are here to preach the Gospel. Not to preach politics. Not to
preach ideology. Not to preach Now Watson fancies,
and certainly not to entertain people, but it is a preaching
that is Christ-centric. Clothing her priests with salvation,
and what's more, that there may be the effect of these things
in the souls of men. I read last year in the Gospel
Standard Library, from the Earthen Vessel Magazine, there was a
man, I think he was in Bethnal Green or Bow, in East London,
and he'd resigned his pastorate because he'd only seen something
like 10 baptisings that year, and he felt his ministry was
drying up. my certainly made me consider
made me consider you see here we can see there
is a hope and an expectation that the Lord would move I think perhaps we've lost that I think perhaps we've lost that.
I'm not saying that we revert to the activities the evangelicals
do but does it exercise us? Does
it give us food for thought? Does it make us consider the
state that we're in? It's very easy to come and go,
we see the same people and so on, "...but to clothe
her priests with salvation, souls for their hire, and her saints shall shout aloud
for joy." Now here we have a statement
that clearly speaks something of profession As the Psalmist says elsewhere,
O come and hear, all ye that fear the Lord, and hear what
he hath done for my soul. That's the language of the Psalmist. And thus, if the Lord has done
something for us, it is only right that we should declare
it. we think of that hymn as it comes
to mind what struck me in 427 Mr Griggs hymn he was only about
11 when he wrote this hymn when he says ashamed of Jesus
yes I may When I've no guilt to wash away, no tear to wipe,
no good to crave, no fears to quell, no soul to save, till
then nor is my boasting vain, till then I boast assaviously.
And oh, may this my glory be, that Christ is not ashamed of
me. And thus, we can see here, the
principle of gospel liberty. Gospel liberty. Her saints shall shout aloud
for joy. There is something to be said
that is absolutely and totally unique about the gospel. Why? Because here we have a lasting
satisfaction. That's what he's speaking of.
A lasting satisfaction. And the Lord honours walking in the ordinances of
his house. Now I don't throw anybody into
the baptismal pool, I don't even raise the matter with them. Unless
they raise it with me first. The pulpit ministry should be
sufficient. What I'm saying tonight, here, at Portsmouth Chapel, is
this. If the Lord has done something
for our souls, we must walk in obedience, in respect of the
ordinances of His house because it is His ordered way, it's His
ordered way and thus we can see here, here in Zion there is that speaking, there
is that saying of what the Lord has done for us. I could take
you to the spot in Leeds city centre where the Lord met with
me and friends we were convinced
that we had to walk in obedience to his word. Here we can see
for the Lord hath chosen Zion He hath desired it for his habitation. This is my rest for ever. Here
will I dwell, for I have desired it. I will abundantly bless her
provision. I will satisfy her poor with
bread. I will also clothe her priests
with salvation, and her saints shall shout aloud for joy. Amen.