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  • "It is a dark night on the church, the depth of winter ..." ~ John Elias

        In the latter years of Elias’s life, there was a noticeable withdrawal of the powerful operations of the Spirit from the land in general. Writing in 1837, he says, "The light, power, and authority, formerly experienced under the preaching of the word, are not known in these days! The ministry neither alarms, terrifies, nor disturbs the thousands of ungodly persons who sit under it . . . No experimental, thoughtful Christian, can deny but that God has withdrawn Himself from us, as to the particular operations of His Spirit, and its especial manifestations of His Sovereign grace." The explanation Elias gives of this declension illustrates his doctrinal position, and his consciousness that the preservation of the favour of God depended upon their maintenance of the Word in its purity. He believed that nothing so ruined churches or dishonoured God as erroneous teaching:  "It is an awful thing to misrepresent God and His mind in His holy word!" "The Lord," he wrote, "hath favoured us, poor Methodists, with the glorious truths of the gospel in their perfection. Alas! Errors surround us, and Satan, changing himself into an angel of light, sets these pernicious evils before us, as great truths!" These evils, as the following quotation from his diary shows, were the appearance of Arminian errors in Wales in the nineteenth century. "The connexion" (that is, the church, which arose in Wales in the eighteenth century awakening) "was not called Calvinistic Methodists at first, as there was not a body of the Arminian Methodists in the country." But when the Wesleyans came amongst us, it was necessary to add the word Calvinistic, to show the difference. There were, before this, union and concord, in the great things of the gospel, amongst the different denominations of Christians in Wales. The Independents agreed fully with the Methodists in the doctrines of grace. They used to acknowledge the Westminster Catechism, as containing the substance of their doctrine.... All from the least to the greatest, preached very clearly and plainly. The chief subjects of their discourses were these: the fall and total corruption of man; his miserable state under the curse, and the just indignation of God; his total inability to deliver and save himself; free salvation, by the sovereign grace and love of God...." It was a departure from these truths that caused his deep concern. "The great depth of the fall, and the total depravity of man, and his awful misery, are not exhibited in many sermons in scriptural language; it is not plainly declared that all the human race are by nature, 'the children of wrath,'-that none can save himself––that no one deserves to be rescued, and that none will come to Christ to have life. There are but few ministers that fully show that salvation springs entirely out of the sovereign grace of God."

        The Arminian teaching was that Christ has purchased redemption for all, but that the effectual application of that redemption is limited and determined by the will of man. To Elias such teaching involved a denial of the completeness of Christ’s work and offices, it led to an underestimation of the effects of the fall upon man, and therefore to correspondingly low views of the necessity of the Spirit’s Almighty work in conversion. "I do not know," he writes, "how those that deny the total corruption of the human nature, and that salvation as to its plan, its performance, its application, is of grace only, can be considered as faithful ministers... Unsound and slight thoughts of the work of the Holy Spirit are entertained by many in these days, and he is grieved thereby. Is there not a want of perceiving the corruption, obstinacy, and spiritual deadness of man, and the consequent necessity of the Almighty Spirit to enlighten and overcome him? He opens the eyes of the blind; subduing the disobedient, making them willing in the day of His power; yea, He even raises up the spiritually dead! It is entirely the work of the Holy Ghost to apply to us the free and gracious salvation, planned by the Father in eternity, and executed by the Son in time. Nothing of ours is wanted to complete it... Man, under the fall, is as incapable to apply salvation to himself, as to plan and to accomplish it."

         No one saw the dangers which threatened the visible church from these errors more clearly than Elias. Towards the end of his life he writes, "It is a dark night on the church, the depth of winter, when she is sleepy and ready to die.

    It is still more awful, if while they are asleep they should think themselves awake, and imagine that they see the sun at midnight!... The watchmen are not very alert and observant. The multitude of enemies that surround the castle walls, bear deceitful colours; not many of the watchmen know them! They are for opening the gates to many a hostile regiment! Oh let it never be said of the Welsh Calvinistic Methodists, 'Their watchmen are blind.'" He knew of no remedy for such a situation save a restoration of the truth in its purity. "If people are anxious for the favor of God’s presence, as the early fathers in the connexion were blessed with, let them take care that they be of the same principles, under the guidance of the same Spirit.... When the Spirit is more fully poured on people, those precious pillars of truth will be raised up out of their dusty holes; then the things of God shall be spoken in 'words taught by the Holy Ghost,' and the corrupt reasonings of men will be silenced by the strong light of divine truth. May the Lord restore a pure lip to the ministers, and may the old paths be sought, where the road is good, and may we walk in it; there is no danger there."

    ~ Source:  Iain H. Murray's "John Elias (1774-1841)," included as a Biographical Introduction to "The Experimental Knowledge of Christ and Additional Sermons of John Elias (1774-1841)," ed. by Joel R. Beeke; trans. by Owen Milton (Grand Rapids: Reformation Heritage Books, 2006), 10-12. Murray's article was original published in The Banner of Truth, no. 5 (1955), 5-14, and can be found on The Banner of Truth Trust website here: http://www.banneroftruth.org/pages/articles/article_detail.php?940. (Italics original, boldface mine.)

    * * *


    I Samuel 2:6  The LORD killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up. 7  The LORD maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up. 8  He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD'S, and he hath set the world upon them. 9  He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail. 10  The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the LORD shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed.

    Deuteronomy 32:39  See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.


    See also...


    For more on Welsh Calvinistic Methodism, please visit:  http://www.misterrichardson.com/calvinistic.html

    Related posts:

    Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.

    Photo credits:

    Work found at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kauriinpuisto.JPG  / CC BY-SA 3.0 / author Ximonic, Simo Räsänen
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  • fall down, worship Him, open our treasures, present gifts to Him ~ Psalm 72:14-15

    When we think of Christmas time and giving to Jesus, we often think of the wise men, who traveled to worship the expected long-expected Messiah, the King of the Jews...

    Matthew 2:11 "And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh."

    In the midst of the overflowing appeals for charity stuffing our mailboxes (both real & virtual) this season, we are often led to question ourselves... Am I giving what I ought? Am I giving out of a right heart? Are my motives pure, or am I giving to be seen of men? Am I a cheerful giver? etc., etc.

    In Psalm 72, we find a wonderful verse tucked away which describes some of the gifts that the redeemed of the Lord ought to be presenting to Him. ... But before we get there, I'd like to set the stage...

    Though Psalm 72 is not considered by all a to be a Messianic Psalm (don't ask me why), this royal Psalm finds its ultimate fulfillment in the everlasting, universal reign of the Lord Jesus Christ: the One greater than Solomon –– the King of kings and the Lord of lords Whose reign has been from everlasting to everlasting and Whose dominion will be from sea to sea, all the way to the ends of the earth; a Kingdom in which every knee in heaven and under earth will bow to Him and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God His Father, and all His enemies will lick the dust (~ see Isaiah 45:23; Romans 14:11; Philippians 2:9-11; Psalm 2).

    Eternal redemption was purchased and secured through the shedding of Christ's precious blood:

    Hebrews 9:11  But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. 12  Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.

    And eternal redemption is received by grace through faith in Christ's precious blood:

    Romans 3:21  But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God which is through faith in Jesus Christ to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; 23  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,  24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God set forth to be a propitiation by His blood through faith to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, 26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

    Before I go on to talk about our giving gifts to Jesus, you need to examine your own soul. Have you received God's free gift of eternal redemption, eternal life? That's the first and vital thing because apart from believing on Christ, Jesus Himself tells us that our default state is this: "condemned already" (John 3:18). In Romans 6:23, the apostle Paul tells us "the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." If you have more questions about this, please read through the first several chapters of Romans and/or leave a comment below and/or message me. (You may also find it helpful to check out the linked posts on salvation at the end of this post.)

    Only after that's settled can you begin to consider your own giving. Your eternal soul is at stake. There will be a day of judgment when Christ comes again, and Jesus warns us: we will either be raised to everlasting punishment or eternal life (Matthew 25:46 - BTW:  the Greek word there for "everlasting" is the same as the word "eternal." In other words, for those of you who have read Rob Bell and believe him –– you are sadly mistaken and deceived into thinking there is no eternity in hell. My friends, if you die apart from Christ, you will be cast into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, where your worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched (Matthew 25:30, Mark 9:48 ~ and yes, those are quotations from the Gospels –– they are the words spoken by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, the one who is coming again to judge the living and the dead). Today is the day of salvation; harden not your hearts. May God give you ears to hear Him and come to Christ and flee the wrath to come!

    Apart from having Christ's perfect righteousness credited to us through faith, God considers all our best attempts at trying to justify ourselves in the eyes of God to be as "filthy rags." And, in fact, the thrice holy God looks upon us in our fallen state and considers each and every one of us as "an unclean thing" (see Psalm 64:6; Romans 3:9-20). In other words, no matter how good you may look on the outside, no matter how many good deeds you may have performed, no matter whether you've been relatively successful at keeping your own nose clean, no matter if you've been baptized, no matter how many church services you've attended, no matter if you're a church member, no matter how much you've given to the poor, etc., etc.  –– none of that matters in the eyes of God in terms of your standing before Him. After those verses I quoted above from Romans 3, the apostle Paul writes this in verse 27: "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law."

    And in the verses following, Paul explains the way of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ is for all peoples, for both the Jews and the Gentiles. We've all been born into Adam, we are all credited/imputed with his sin (original sin), and we all are in need of salvation. In other words, no matter who you are, no matter where you live, no matter your nationality, no matter your family upbringing –– your own works can never justify you, they can never give you a right standing before God. A holy God cannot look upon sin or abide even a speck of sin in His presence. All of our best works can never atone for our sin. Malachi 3:2 “But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears?" Only through the shedding of Christ's blood is there forgiveness of sins. Each one of us needs to come to Christ to have the slate wiped clean through the blood of Jesus Christ, which cleanses us from the guilt of all our sin (past, present, and future), and to have the pure and perfect righteousness of Christ imputed/credited to us, so we might be able to stand before God blameless and unashamed in the day of judgment. Romans 5:18  Therefore, as through one man’s [Adam] offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s [Christ's] righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. 19 For as by one man’s [Adam's] disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s [Christ's] obedience many will be made righteous.

    Now, back to Psalm 72...

    The Psalmist is looking forward to Christ's Kingdom and Christ's eternal redemption of the poor and needy...

    For He will deliver the needy when he cries,
    The poor also, and him who has no helper.
    He will spare the poor and needy,
    And will save the souls of the needy.
    He will redeem their life from oppression and violence;
    And precious shall be their blood in His sight.
    (v. 12-14)

    (That's a whole other matter, that we must humble ourselves and become like little children to receive/enter into the Kingdom of God (e.g. - Matthew 11:25-30; 19:13-14; Mark 10:13-16; Luke 10:21-24), that God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble (Prov. 3:34: I Peter 5:5), but that's not my focus here today in this post.)

    After this, the Psalmist describes the fitting and appropriate response of all those Christians who have known their utter destitution: their poverty, their neediness, and their helplessness. As the Holy Spirit works to make us acutely aware of the extent of our own poverty, neediness, and helplessness, it is only then that we begin to value as we ought the richness, the sufficiency, and the help that comes through the Lord Jesus Christ, or more accurately, to treasure the Lord Jesus Christ as we ought! ... being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross... For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. ~ Philippians 2:6-8; II Cor. 5:21; Romans 5:6. There was no other who could deliver lost and fallen sinners from the power of sin, the flesh, Satan, and death –– but the God-man, Christ Jesus.

    Near the end of his life, John Newton said, "My memory is nearly gone; but I remember two things; That I am a great sinner, and that Christ is a great Saviour." Like Newton, when we begin to know (really know) that our salvation is all of grace and none of us, as we begin to appreciate that our salvation is all due to the sovereign free grace of God, and own that we are indeed are great sinners and that Christ is a great Savior, that we are wholly unworthy and undeserving, when we realize that we have been truly blessed and privileged to be granted to receive such a great salvation and to know such a great Savior –– as that great sense of the love of God begins to constrain us, as it did the apostle Paul (II Cor. 5:14), how can we not be compelled by that love of God to pour out offerings to our Savior, such as the Psalmist describes...

    And He shall live,
    And the gold of Sheba will be given to Him;
    Prayer also will be made for Him continually,
    And daily He shall be praised.
    (v. 15)
    I'd like to close with two commentaries on this verse:  the first by J.A. Alexander, and the second by Matthew Henry. As you prayerfully read and contemplate the Scripture (and I'd encourage you to read through the entire Psalm, not just those two verses) along with these words below, I pray God might show you in greater measure how wondrous, great His salvation is for you and what a wondrous, great Savior you have, so you might live your life as an offering unto Him in a manner that is worthy of such a great salvation and such a great Savior (~ Romans 12:1-2; Psalm 116)

    Luke 7:44 Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman?
    I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet,
    but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head.
    45 You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in.
    46 You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil.
    47 Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much.
    But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”

    Who are we but dust and ashes, and yet! –– while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us! As we gain a spiritual sight of our Savior as the all-surpassing treasure, we cannot help but freely offer all our treasures to Him, to break our alabaster flasks in extravagant, overflowing, lavish worship, just as the sinful woman did with her alabaster flask (Luke 7, Mark 14, Matthew 26)...  just as our Father did when He gave His only begotten Son to die in our place; just as the Lamb of God did when He willingly laid down His life for His sheep; just as our God, who was rich in mercy, did when He bestowed His gift of salvation upon poor, needy, and helpless sinners like us; just as our God does, as He freely pours out the gift of His Holy Spirit on all those who ask Him. Freely we have received from Him, let us freely give to Him, for He alone is worthy! Worthy is the Lamb who was slain! Worthy of all we have and worthy of all we are! Like the wise men who saw the young Child, may the Holy Spirit bless us with a spiritual sight of the glories of the Savior and of His gift of salvation, so we might be constrained by the love of Christ to fall down and worship Him, and open our treasures and present gifts to Him!
    J.A. Alexander on Psalm 72:15 (from "The Psalms Translated & Explained, Volume II, 1850, New York, Charles Scribner")
    And he, the poor man thus delivered, shall live, shall be preserved alive, and, in token of his gratitude and willing subjection to such a sovereign, he shall give to him, as tribute, of the gold of Sheba, one of the regions mentioned in v. 10 and famous for its gold; and he, meaning still the grateful tributary, shall pray for him continually, i. e. for the progress and extension of Messiah's kingdom; all the day (long) shall he bless him, i.e. praise him, as well for what he is in himself, as for the gifts which he bestows.

    From Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary:

    That he shall be honoured and beloved by all his subjects (15): He shall live; his subjects shall desire his life (O king! live for ever) and with good reason; for he has said, Because I live, you shall live also; and of him it is witnessed that he liveth, ever liveth, making intercession, Heb. vii. 8, 25. He shall live, and live prosperously; and, 1. Presents shall be made to him. Though he shall be able to live without them, for he needs neither the gifts nor the services of any, yet to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba--gold, the best of metals, gold of Sheba, which probably was the finest gold; for he that is best must be served with the best. Those that have abundance of the wealth of this world, that have gold at command, must give it to Christ, must serve him with it, do good with it. Honour the Lord with thy substance. 2. Prayers shall be made for him, and that continually. The people prayed for Solomon, and that helped to make him and his reign so great a blessing to them. It is the duty of subjects to make prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, for kings and all in authority, not in compliment to them, as is too often done, but in concern for the public welfare. But how is this applied to Christ? He needs not our prayers, nor can have any benefit by them. But the Old-Testament saints prayed for his coming, prayed continually for it; for they called him, He that should come. And now that he has come we must pray for the success of his gospel and the advancement of his kingdom, which he calls praying for him (Hosanna to the Son of David, prosperity to his reign), and we must pray for his second coming. It may be read, Prayer shall be made through him, or for his sake; whatsoever we ask of the Father shall be in his name and in dependence upon his intercession. 3. Praises shall be made of him, and high encomiums given of his wisdom, justice, and goodness: Daily shall he be praised. By praying daily in his name we give him honour. Subjects ought to speak well of the government that is a blessing to them; and much more ought all Christians to praise Jesus Christ, daily to praise him; for they owe their all to him, and to him they lie under the highest obligations.

    Please see my follow-up posts...

    Other related posts:

    More on salvation:

    More on giving:


    Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

    Photo credits:

    Work found at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Gift-1.jpg by Brynn / CC BY-SA 3.0
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  • Advent # 8: WHY HAS JESUS COME? "so that [we] might be WITH HIM" ~ Mark 3:14

    I Peter 3:18
    For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God...

    Mark 3:13-15
    And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him.
    And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be WITH HIM
    and he might send them out to preach and have authority to cast out demons...

    In the midst of myriad preparations
    Have you missed the blessèd consummation?

    Cookie baking, choir practices
    Bellies stuffed, but hearts are restless

    Trimmed the tree, hung the greens
    But have you glimpsed the Savior's sheen?

    Aromas swirling, rising, lifting, fireplace crackling
    Have you heard the voice of the newborn King?

    Christmas parties, ladies' teas
    Have you felt the Spirit's breeze?

    Advent programs, pageants, nativity scenes
    Your calendars bloated, your souls are lean

    Lists were made, the presents all bought
    But was The Unspeakable Gift sought?

    Gift exchanges, shopping madness
    Is that heaven's joy and gladness?

    Hear your Bridegroom's sweet plea and lamentation:
    "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten

    "Open to Me, take My yoke, find My rest,
    Lay your weary head upon My breast.

    "Precious blood for thee I freely shed
    To bring My bride to My Marriage Bed

    "Deliver you from the power of darkness
    Carry you safely across the great gulf fixed

    "To lavish upon you ev'ry spiritual pleasure
    O! sister, made alive, seated with Me together

    "In the heavenlies:  Satisfaction! Full Delight!
    Behold your Bridegroom! Love's Pure Light!

    "My fair one! Rise up! Open to me!
    Flame of Jehovah burns ardently!

    "Awake, My love, forfeit not the consummation:
    For I have desired thee before world's foundation!"

    I Peter 1:14-21
    As obedient children,
    do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance,
    but as he who called you is holy,
    you also be holy in all your conduct,
    since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

    And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds,
    conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile,
    knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers,
    not with perishable things such as silver or gold,
    but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

    He was foreknown before the foundation of the world
    but was made manifest in the last times for your sake,
    who through him are believers in God,
    who raised him from the dead and gave him glory,
    so that your faith and hope are in God.

    James 4:4-10
    You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?
    Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
    Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says,
    “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”?

    But he gives more grace.
    Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

    Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
    Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.
    Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
    Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.
    Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

    Deuteronomy 10:15-16
    Yet the LORD set his heart in love
    on your fathers
    and chose their offspring after them,
    you above all peoples,
    as you are this day.
    Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart,
    and be no longer stubborn.

    His bride's rightful response:

    Isaiah 63:15-19
    Look down from heaven and see,
    from your holy and beautiful habitation.
    Where are your zeal and your might?
    The stirring of your inner parts and your compassion
    are held back from me.
    For you are our Father,
    though Abraham does not know us,
    and Israel does not acknowledge us;
    you, O LORD, are our Father,
    our Redeemer from of old is your name.
    O LORD, why do you make us wander from your ways
    and harden our heart, so that we fear you not?
    Return for the sake of your servants,
    the tribes of your heritage.
    Your holy people held possession for a little while;
    our adversaries have trampled down your sanctuary.
    We have become like those over whom you have never ruled,
    like those who are not called by your name.

    Song of Solomon 8:6-7
    Set me as a seal upon your heart,
    as a seal upon your arm,
    for love is strong as death,
    jealousy is fierce as the grave.
    Its flashes are flashes of fire,
    the very flame of the LORD.
    Many waters cannot quench love,
    neither can floods drown it.
    If a man offered for love
    all the wealth of his house,
    he would be utterly despised.

    the Bridegroom's strong assurance:

    Zechariah 1:13-14
    And the LORD answered gracious and comforting words to the angel who talked with me.
    So the angel who talked with me said to me,
    ‘Cry out, Thus says the LORD of hosts:
    I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion.’

    From Dafydd Morris' second address to the 2007 Reformation and Revival Fellowship Conference, "Why Should Jesus Send His Spirit? Part 2 - Song of Solomon 4:12-5:1 ~ starting at around the 16:00 point (emphasis mine):
       And so, from the stress placed on fellowship in Scripture and communion, we gather that there must be something in that for the Lord Jesus Christ. Because look how keen the Bridegroom is for fellowship. He comes courting, doesn't He? And He's so ardent in His courting. Courting that lukewarm Church at Laodicea. We're amazed at that, aren't we? The way that He still desired strongly to come in and to sup and to have communion. There's so much that was unattractive about that Church –– not seeing its own need at all:  awful, awful self-sufficiency and complacency. Yet the Bridegroom comes knocking [*knocking on podium*], and His voice is heard and calls, and He desires to come in, to sup and to dine!

       And we've got that of course, in the Song. We have Solomon as a type of Christ, saying to the Shulamite, a type of believer – the Church, "Let Me see thy countenance," He says. "Let Me hear thy voice!" Now, that's ardent courtship isn't it? Warm love. Passion. That's what it is.

       And, the Lord Jesus Christ in the days of His flesh chose His disciples for His fellowship, His communion, for His friendship, that they would be WITH HIM. That's why He chose them. Something very basic. Mark 3 and verse 14:  "So that they would be WITH HIM.
     
       And our Lord seems to relish that companionship. We find it very difficult to believe. We know what the disciples were, they were slow and unbelieving, at times not catching on to what He was speaking about, misunderstanding Him, and all of that. And then we find it difficult to believe that the Lord Jesus Christ should ardently want their company, don't we? And we find the same with ourselves, don't we? We have a glimpse – we know what we are, in part, anyway, and we have difficulty taking on board that the Lord Jesus Christ  should ardently desire to be with us. But He did desire the company of those disciples: "Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place," He said. "Come on and rest awhile. I want to be with you. I want to speak to you." And it was a sorrow to Him to contemplate losing that fellowship:  "Will ye also go away?"

       So, if we come back to the central thesis in these addresses, that it is in the Lord's own interest to pour out of His Spirit, how is the Lord Jesus Christ going to get the company He wants, the companionship, the fellowship of His bride, if He does not pour out the Holy Spirit so that there is the matchmaking?

    * * *

    Psalm 85:4-6 (KJV)
    Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine anger toward us to cease.
    Wilt thou be angry with us for ever? wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations?
    Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?


    O! Lord Jesus, pour out of Your Spirit!     Make Your face to shine upon us again, as in the ancient days, that Your people might ardently desire to be WITH YOU. Teach us to savor, relish and treasure our companionship and fellowship WITH YOU, that we might rejoice in You!

    "Alleluia! And for his marriage feast prepare, for ye must go and meet him there."

    ~ from "Wake, Awake, for Night Is Flying" by Philipp Nicolai, 1599, tr. by Catherine Winkworth, 1858, 1863, emphasis mine

    HT for the reference to Mark 3:13 from Dafydd Morris' message "Why Should Jesus Send His Spirit? Part 2," available at http://www.reformationandrevival.org/pastconferenceaddresses.html

    Related posts...

    my other Advent posts on "Why Has Jesus Come?" ...

    other related posts:

    Scripture quotations unless otherwise indicated are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Emphasis mine.

    Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.

    Work found at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hunt,_William_Homan_-_The_Light_of_the_World_-_1853-54.jpg / {{PD-Art|PD-old-100}}

naphtali_deer

About me...

Christian hedonist in training. Pressing on to know more and more of the joy of the LORD. Pleading with God to rend the heavens and revive and refresh my own soul, as well as His Church, to His praise, honor and glory.

Thank God. He can make men and women in middle life sing again with a joy that has been chastened by a memory of their past failures. ~ Alan Redpath

My other websites

tent of meeting: Prayer for reformation & revival

(See also Zechariah821. Zechariah821 is a mirror site of tent of meeting, found on WordPress)

deerlifetrumpet: Encouragement for those seeking reformation & revival in the Church

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