exlim/blb
2
0
Fork 0
Code Issues Pull Requests Actions Packages Projects Releases Wiki Activity
blb/Comm/charles_spurgeon/sermons/1793.html

761 lines
42 KiB
HTML
Raw Blame History

<html>
<head>
<title>Blue Letter Bible: Text Commentaries</title>
<script src="../../../js/basepath.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="./js/nav.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="./js/MainHeader.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script>
PriorSectionURL = './Comm/charles_spurgeon/sermons/1792.html';
PriorSection = '';
NextSectionURL = './Comm/charles_spurgeon/sermons/1794.html';
NextSection = '';
Title = 'The Glory in the Rear';
commTitle = 'Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit';
</script>
<script src="./js/Comms/CHS.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<h4 style="text-align: center">
A Sermon<br>
(No. 1793)<br>
Delivered on Lord's-Day Morning, August 3rd, 1884, by<br>
C.&nbsp;H. SPURGEON,<br>
At the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington<br>
</h4>
<p class="scripture">
"And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel,
removed and went behind them, and the pillar of the cloud went
from before their face, and stood behind them: and it came
between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel, and
it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night
to these: so that the one came not near the other all the
night."—<a onClick="return mV('Exd', 14, '19-20');">Exodus 14:19-20</a>.
</p>
<p class="indent">
"The glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward."—Isaiah
57:8.
</p>
<p class="indent">
"For the Lord will go before you; and the God of Israel will be
your rereward."—<a onClick="return mV('Isa', 3, 12);">Isaiah 3:12</a>.
</p>
<p class="indent">
WHEN THE ISRAELITES left the place of their bondage and came to
the edge of the wilderness, a visible token of the Lord's
presence and leadership was granted to them. They saw high in
the air a pillar, which by day might be compared to rising
smoke, but at night became a flame of fire. Such displays on a
small scale were usual in the march of armies, but this was of
supernatural origin. Where it moved the people were to follow;
it was to be their companion, that they might not be alone,
their conductor, that they might not go astray. We have become
familiar, by accounts of our own soldiery in Egypt, with the
extreme danger of the oriental sun when men are marching over
the fiery sand: this cloud would act as a vast umbrella tent,
covering the whole of the great congregation, so that they
could march without being faint with the heat. By night their
canvas city was lighted up by this grand illumination. They
could march as well by night as by day, for we are told at the
close of the previous chapter that by night the Lord went
before them "in a pillar of fire, to give them light; <i>to go
by day and night."</i> Might they not have said, "The Lord God
is a sun and shield"? Did they not realize the fulfillment of
the promise not yet spoken in words, "The sun shall not smite
thee by day, nor the moon by night"? This sacred symbol of the
divine presence must have been a very great solace to them in
those early days, when their pilgrim life was novel to them,
and their newly-found liberty was darkened by a terrible fear
of recapture.
</p>
<p class="indent">
The particular sign which the Lord vouchsafed them was very
practical; it was not only <i>glorious,</i> but <i>useful;</i>
it served them both for shade and light, and was both their
guide and guard. It was exceedingly <i>conspicuous,</i> so that
they could all see it. Any man of the millions who came out of
Egypt could stand at his tent door and see this flaming signal
high in heaven, floating over all as the banner and oriflamme
of the Great King. It appears to have been <i>continual;</i> an
abiding token, and not an intermittent brightness. Even thus
has Moses written:—"He took not away the pillar of the
cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the
people."
</p>
<p class="indent">
Beloved friends, God is always with those who are with him. If
we trust him, he hath said, "I will never leave thee, nor
forsake thee." There is a special and familiar presence of God
with those who walk uprightly, both in the night of their
sorrow, and in the day of their joy. Yet we do not always in
the same way perceive that presence so as to enjoy it. God
never leaves us, but we sometimes think he has done so. The sun
shines on, but we do not always bask in his beams; we sometimes
mourn an absent God—it is the bitterest of all our
mourning. As he is the sum total of our joy, so his departure
is the essence of our misery. If God do not smile upon us, who
can cheer us? If he be not with us, then the strong helpers
fail, and the mighty men are put to rout. It is concerning the
presence of God that I am going to speak this morning. You and
I know how joyous it is. May we never be made to know its
infinite value experimentally by the loss of it. If we see no
cloud or flame, yet may we know that God is with us, and his
power is around us. In that sense we will pray,
</p>
<p style="text-align: center">
"Cover us with thy cloudy shrine,<br>
And in thy fiery column shine."
</p>
<p>
Or in more familiar words we will sing,
</p>
<p style="text-align: center">
"Let the fiery cloudy pillar<br>
Lead me all my journey through."
</p>
<br>
<br>
<p class="indent">
I. In considering the subject of the Lord's abiding with his
people, I shall first call attention to THE DIVINE PRESENCE
MYSTERIOUSLY REMOVED. According to our text, "The angel of God,
which went before the camp of Israel, removed." The chosen of
the Lord may lose the manifested presence of God; and, indeed,
often they may miss it in the particular form in which they
have been accustomed to enjoy it.
</p>
<p class="indent">
The symbol of God's presence removed <i>from where it had
usually been.</i> From the day when they entered upon the
desert, they had seen the fiery, cloudy pillar well to the
front; but now suddenly it wheeled about, and left the van
comparatively dim, because the glory had departed. Those who
looked forward saw it no more. So has it been with us at times:
we have walked day after day in the light of God's countenance,
we have enjoyed sweet fellowship with Jesus Christ our Lord,
and on a sudden we have missed his glorious manifestation. Like
the spouse, we cried, "I sought him, but I found him not."
Aforetime everything had seemed bright, and we expected to go
from strength to strength, from victory to victory, till we
came unto the mount of God, to dwell for ever in his rest; but
now before us on a sudden things look dark; we do not feel so
sure of heaven as we were, nor so certain of perpetual growth
and progress. The prospect is darkened, the clouds return after
the rain, and our soul out of the darkness cries, "Oh that I
knew where I might find him!"
</p>
<p class="indent">
Moreover, they missed the light <i>from where they hoped it
would always be.</i> They had been given to understand, I do
not doubt, that the Lord would be always with them; and yet
now, as they looked forward, the bright light was gone from its
place of leadership. They looked for it as their guide, and,
behold, that guidance was gone! The pillar might be behind
them, but it was not before them; they could see nothing ahead
to lead them into the land flowing with milk and honey, which
the Lord had promised them. Sometimes you also may imagine that
God's promise is failing you; even the word of God which you
had laid hold upon may appear to you to be contradicted by your
circumstances. Then your heart sinks to the depths, for "if the
foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?" If ever
the word of God becomes a subject of doubt, where can any
certainty remain? Where any hope for the insure? We have said,
"This God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide
even unto death": but what if he refuse to guide us? Then are
we in an evil case. Can it be so? "Is his mercy clean gone for
ever? Doth his promise fail for evermore?"
</p>
<p class="indent">
The pillar of fire also removed <i>from where it seemed more
than ever to be needed.</i> Now they were in a cleft stick; how
could they possibly escape? Pharaoh was behind them, with all
the horsemen of Egypt. They could hear the noise of the
chariots, and the neighing of the horses, and the shouts of the
armies, eager for the prey. Before them rolled the Red Sea in
its might. How could there be a way in the mighty waters? Now,
if ever in their lives, they must have looked anxiously for the
symbol of the Divine presence. What could they do if Jehovah
did not lead their van? Yet the token of his presence was not
there. Even thus is it with you, dear friend, who once walked
in the light of God's countenance: you perhaps have fallen into
temporal trouble, and at the same moment the heavenly light has
departed from your soul. Now, it is bad to be in the dark on
the king's highway; but it is worse to be in the dark when you
are out on the open common, and do not know your road. It is
well to have a guide when the road is easy; but you must have
one when you are coming upon precipitous and dangerous places.
Is it so with any child of God here, that he sees no light to
shine before him, no star to guide him on his road? On the
contrary, does his future become more and more clouded? Is the
track quite gone? Does the sea seem shut in with an ironbound
coast without a harbor? Does he
</p>
<p style="text-align: center">
"See every day new straits attend,<br>
And wonder where the scene will end"?
</p>
<p>
Then let him trust; but he will need all the faith of which he
can be master. Oh, my Lord, if ever thou dost leave me, forsake
me not in the day of trouble. Yet what have I said? It is a day
of trouble when thou art gone, whatever my condition may be.
Yet, brethren, our Lord said, "Pray ye that your flight be not
in the winter." Pray that if you must for a while bewail the
Lord's absence from you, it may not be in a time of dire and
dark necessity.
</p>
<p class="indent">
Thus it did seem a mysterious thing that the Covenant Angel
should no longer direct the marchings of the host of God, and I
dare say that some of them began to account for it <i>by a
reason which their fears would suggest.</i> Naturally, there
was only one way of accounting for this removal of the guide,
and that way was a wrong one, but one to which the Lord's
people often refer their trials. I should not wonder that, if
they had been asked why the blazing pillar was no longer in the
van, they would have replied, "Because of our murmurings
against the Lord and his servant Moses. God will not go before
us because of our sins." Now, it is true, and does happen, that
the Lord often hides his face behind the clouds of dust that
his own children make by their sins; but this is not always the
case. When the consolations of God are small with you, you may
generally conclude that there is some secret sin with you: and
then it is your duty to cry, "Show me wherefore thou contendest
with me." But in this case God was not punishing them for their
sins, as he did on after occasions. He seems to have been very
patient with their early murmurings, because they were such
feeble folk, so unused to pilgrimage, and so unfit for anything
heroic. Every trial was severe to the raw, undisciplined
spirits of the tribes, and therefore the Lord winked at their
follies. There was not a touch of the rod about this
withdrawing of his presence from the van, not even a trace of
anger; it was all done in loving-kindness and tender mercy, and
no sort of chastisement was intended by it. So, dear child of
God, you must not always conclude that trouble is sent because
of wrath, and that the loss of conscious joy is necessarily a
punishment for sin. Such thoughts will be a case of knives
cutting your heart in pieces. Do not make for yourself a
needless pain. All trouble is not chastisement; it may be a way
of love for your enriching and ennobling. Upon the black horse
of trouble the Lord sends his messengers of love. It is a good
thing for us to be afflicted; for thus we learn patience, and
attain to assurance. Shall the champion who is bidden to go to
the front of the battle think that he is punished thereby? No,
verily, my brethren: whom the Lord loveth he sets in the heat
of the conflict, that they may earn the rarest honors. Great
suffering and heavy labor are often rewards of faithfulness.
Know ye not how the poet puts it,—
</p>
<p style="text-align: center">
"If I find him, if I follow,<br>
What his guerdon here?<br>
'Many a labor, many a sorrow,<br>
Many a tear'"?
</p>
<br>
<br>
<p class="indent">
Darkness of soul is not always the fruit of divine anger,
though it is often so. Sometimes there is no trace of wrath in
it: it is sent for a test of faith, for the excitement of
desire, and for the increase of our sympathy with others who
walk in darkness. When the cloud of the divine glory is no
longer seen in front it has gone behind, because it is more
wanted there, and it is no loss after all, as we shall have to
show. When the Lord hides his face for a moment, it is to make
us value his face the more, to quicken our diligence in
following after him, to try our faith, and to test our graces.
There are a thousand precious uses in this adversity. Yet it is
a mysterious thing when the light of the future fades, and we
seem to be without a guide.
</p>
<p class="indent">
II. Now, secondly, all this while THE DIVINE PRESENCE WAS
GRACIOUSLY NEAR. The angel of the Lord had removed, but it is
added, he "removed and <i>went behind them,"</i> and he was
just as close to them when he was in the rear, as when he led
the van. He might not seem to be their guide, but he had all
the more evidently become their guard. He might not for the
moment be their Sun before, but then he had become their Shield
behind. "The glory of the Lord was their reward." The Lord may
be very close to thee, dear child, when thou canst not see him,
perhaps closer than ever he was when thou couldst see him. The
presence of God is not to be measured by thy realization of it.
When thou canst not tell that he is with thee at all, and thou
art singing and crying after him, those very sighs and cries
after him are the holy fruit of his secret presence. It may be,
the day shall come when thou shalt think that he was more near
thee when thine eyes were filled with weeping after him, than
when thou didst take thine ease, and speak confidently. Much of
the creature, much of human excitement will mix with our most
spiritual joy, our groanings and our sorrows, when we are
pining after the Lord, are often more purely spiritual than our
own delights, and therefore they are all the surer proofs of
the work of the Lord in our souls. Oh, soul, the Lord may be
very near thee, and yet he may be behind thee, so that thine
outlook for the future may not be filled with the vision of his
glory.
</p>
<p class="indent">
Note in the text that it is said the pillar went, and <i>"stood
behind them."</i> I like that, for it is a settled, permanent
matter. The Lord had removed, but he was not removing still. He
would stay as long as was needful where he then was. That
glorious angel, shrouded in the clouds, stood with his drawn
sword in the rear of Israel, saying to Pharaoh, "Thou darest
not come further, thou canst not break in upon my chosen." He
lifted up his vast shield of darkness, and held it up before
the tyrant king, so that he could not strike, nay, could not
see. All that night his horses champed their bits, but could
not pursue the flying host. "They were as still as a stone till
thy people passed over, O Lord, till thy people passed over
whom thou hadst purchased." It is glorious to think that the
Lord stood there, and the furious enemy was compelled to halt.
Even thus the Lord remaineth with the dear child of God. Thou
canst not see anything before thee to make thee glad, but the
living God stands behind thee to ward off the adversary. He
cannot forsake thee. He saith to thee out of the pillar of
cloud, "Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should
not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may
forget, yet will I not forget thee." He standeth fast as thy
rock, steadfast as thy safeguard, sleepless as thy watcher,
valiant as thy champion.
</p>
<p style="text-align: center">
"God is near thee, therefore cheer thee,<br>
Sad mind!<br>
He'll defend thee, all around thee,<br>
And behind."
</p>
<br>
<br>
<p class="indent">
What is more, these people had God so near that <i>they could
see him if they did but look back.</i> Earnestly I desire you
to think of this. If you cannot see the Lord bright before you,
and you are very dull and heavy, then, I pray you, look back
and see how the Lord has helped you hitherto. Sit not down with
your eyes shut! but look back! Steadily observe the past! What
see you there? Loving-kindness and tender mercy, and nothing
else. As I look back upon my own past life—and I think I
am not one by myself—I cannot discover, even with the
quick eye of selfishness, anything of which I can complain of
my God. "Truly God is good to Israel." "His mercy endureth for
ever." Not one good thing hath failed; he has never left me,
nor forsaken me. I have received blessings through my joys, and
even greater blessings through my sorrows. The Lord's way has
been all goodness, undiluted goodness, all the while. I look
back, and see the light of his presence shining like the sun at
noon; it is as a morning without clouds, I am overwhelmed with
the boundless bounty of my God. I am unable to conceive of
anything more kind than the heart of God towards his unworthy
child. Well, then, God is not far away, if we look backward he
is there. He has been mindful of us, he will bless us. He gave
us mercies yesterday; and he is the same today and for ever.
The blessings of last night we have not forgotten; the
blessings of this morning, are they not still with us? The
fountain will not fail: it has flowed too long for us to raise
the question. If there be no light breaking in the east,
behold, it is lighting up the western sky. The Lord is
evidently still behind us, and it is enough; for we can sing,
"The Lord liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my
salvation be exalted." "He is my rock, and there is no
unrighteousness in him."
</p>
<p class="indent">
A thoughtful person would conclude the Lord to be <i>all the
more evidently near because of the change of his position.</i>
When a symbol of mercy comes to be usual and fixed, we may be
tempted to think that it remains as a matter of routine. If the
rainbow were always visible it might not be so assuring a token
of the covenant. Hence the Lord often changes his hand, and
blesses his people in another way, to let them see that he is
thinking of them. If he always did the same by us, every day
and every night, we should get to attribute his dealings to
some fixed law operating apart from God, just as our modern
philosophers dethrone the Lord to set up the calves of nature.
But now, when our God is sometimes before us, and sometimes
behind us, and makes those apparent changes because of deep and
urgent reasons, we are compelled to feel that we are the
objects of his constant solicitude. "I am poor and needy; yet
the Lord thinketh upon me." He deals with us in all wisdom and
prudence. His modes change, but the changes are all from the
same motive, and with the same reason, all to make us sick of
self and fond of him. Blessed be his name, the change of his
operations makes us feel the unchangeableness of his design;
and the different ways in which he visits us only makes us
value each visit, the more.
</p>
<p class="indent">
III. Thirdly, let us see THE DIVINE PRESENCE WISELY REVEALED.
That the symbol of God's presence should be withdrawn from the
front and become visible behind, was a wise thing.
</p>
<p class="indent">
Observe, there was no fiery pillar of cloud before them, and
that was wise; for <i>the going down into the Red Sea was
intended to be an act of lofty faith.</i> The more of the
visible the less is faith visible. The more you have of
conscious enjoyment the less room there is for simple trust.
Faith performs her greatest feats in the darkest places. These
Israelites were to do what after all was a grandly glorious
thing for them to do,—to march right down into the heart
of the sea. What people ever did this before? Modern haters of
miracle may say that they passed over the sands at an unusual
tide, and that an extraordinarily strong wind drove back the
water and left a passage, but that is not the notion of the
Holy Spirit. He says by his servant Moses, "The floods stood
upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart
of the sea." It is also written, "But the children of Israel
walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea; and the waters
were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left."
The tribes went down into the dread valley which remained when
the waters dried up, and they crossed over between two frowning
walls of water. You and I would have needed great faith to have
gone down into such an abyss as that, but they descended
without fear. Moses lifting up his rod and the waters rolling
apart to make them a passage-way, with no fiery cloudy pillar
in front of them, they calmly marched into the heart of the
sea. That was a grand act of faith. This would not have been so
clearly of faith had the way been made easier by miracle and
token. I know some of you who are Christian people want to be
always coddled and cuddled, like weakly babies. You pine for
love-visits and delights, and promises sealed home to your
heart. You would live on sweetmeats and be wheeled in a
spiritual perambulator all the way to heaven, but your heavenly
Father is not going to do anything of the sort. He will be with
you, but he will try your manhood, and so develop it. I have
seen children cosseted into the grave by their fond mother; and
I suppose that a great many more will follow in the same way;
but God never spoils his children. He educates them for nobler
ends. He takes visible guides away from them that they may
exercise faith in him. Why, Job would have been nobody if he
had not lost everything. Who would have heard of the patriarch
of Uz? What glory would he have brought to God with his camels
and his oxen and his children? These were all taken away, and
then Job became famous. See how he sits on the dunghill and is
much more noteworthy there than Solomon in all his glory. Where
the word of king Solomon was there was power, but nothing to
equal the power of Job's word when he blessed the God who
taketh away. Solomon spake many proverbs, and wrote many songs;
but none of them attained unto the glory of that
saying,—"Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him." Here
was a triumph of faith! Beloved, you and I lose the enjoyments
of religion and the comforts of hope in order that we may walk
by faith and not by sight, and may the more greatly glorify
God.
</p>
<p class="indent">
Moreover, let us mark that the cloudy pillar was taken away
from the front because <i>the Lord meant them simply to accept
his word as their best guidance.</i> The Lord said to Moses,
"Speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward." That
word was sufficient guide. Suppose they had said, "Lord, we
will go forward if the fiery pillar leads us forward, but not
else." What then? Why, they would have been rebels. We are to
obey God's word as God's word. I heard a brother say some time
ago that he should be baptized when it was laid home to him. I
thought of what a father would say to his boy if he said,
"Father, I shall obey you if it is laid home to me." In all
probability the child would have it laid home to him more
feelingly than he desired. There are some disobedient children
in the Lord's family who, if they do not mind, will have
scriptures laid home to them in a way they do not quite reckon
upon. What have you and I to guide us but the word of the Lord?
"Well," says one, "I guide myself by outward providences." Do
you? You will get into a terrible maze one of these days. Jonah
wanted to flee from the presence of the Lord, and therefore he
went down to the seaside, and lo, he found a ship going to
Tarshish. Might he not have said, "I must be in the way of duty
in going to Tarshish, for no sooner did I go down to the wharf
than I found a ship starting immediately, and a cabin vacant
for a passenger. I paid my fare, and walked on board at once. I
had not to go off to the shipping-agent's, and wait for the
next liner, but all was prepared for me. Was not that a
providence!" Yes, but if you get following providence, and
turning aside from the word, you may soon find yourself in the
sea, and no whale prepared for you. Our way is clearly set
before us in the word of God, and that most sure word of
testimony should be followed. I have known a brother wanting to
go abroad to preach the gospel to the heathen, but a great many
difficulties have been thrown in his way, and therefore he has
said, "I can see that I am not called to go." Why not? Is no
man called unless his way is easy? I should think myself all
the more called to a service if I found obstacles in my way.
The course of true service never did run smooth. I should say,
"The devil is trying to hinder me, but I will do it in spite of
all the devils in hell." Will you always be wanting to have
your bread buttered for you on both sides? Must your road be
gravelled, and smoothed with a garden roller? Are you a carpet
knight, for whom there is to be no fighting? You are not worthy
to be a soldier of Jesus Christ at all if you look for ease. Go
home! I dare say, after all, it is the best thing you can do.
True believers expect difficulties. It is ours to do what we
are bidden to do, not to act according to fancied indications
of providence. When the Lord said "Forward!" forward Israel
must go, without a fiery cloudy pillar to cheer the way. Has
not the Lord spoken? Who shall ask for plainer guidance?
</p>
<p class="indent">
Moreover, God was teaching them another lesson, namely, that
<i>he may be near his people when he does not give them the
usual tokens of his presence.</i> Who shall say that God was
not in the van of Israel when they went down into the sea? They
could not see the ensign of his presence, but he could see
their obedience to his bidding. How else did the sea in fright
draw back? Was it not because the Lord rebuked the sea? The
strong east wind did not of itself divide the sea; for a wind
naturally strong enough for that would have blown all the
people into the air. The wind was used of God to move the
waters, but its chief object was to dry up the damp from the
floor of the sea, and to make marching the more easy for the
vast host of Israel. Truly the Lord was there, triumphing
gloriously. No cloudy pillar was seen across the waters as
Israel looked forward to the shore; but yet the Lord was there
majestically; and you may have but little comfort of the Lord's
presence at this time, and yet God may be with you wondrously.
Do not so much set your heart upon comfort, but rejoice in the
fact which gladdened Hagar in the wilderness: "Thou God seest
me." It does not matter to the fire whether the logs are cast
upon it from the front, or the oil poured upon it secretly from
behind the wall, so long as it finds its fuel. To you the daily
supply of grace is more important than the supply of comfort,
and this shall never fail you so long as you live.
</p>
<p class="indent">
Let me whisper to you one word more. After all, <i>the host of
Israel did not require any guide in front when they came to the
sea.</i> "How is that?" say you. Why, beloved, there were no
two ways to choose from: they could not miss the way, for they
must needs march through the sea. No room for wandering
remained: their road was walled up and they could not miss it.
So when men come into deep trouble, and cannot get out of it,
they scarcely need a guide, for their own plain path is
submission and patience. Tried child of God, you have to bear
your trouble, and when that is quite clear your way is no
longer doubtful. Cast all your care on him who careth for you,
and in patience possess your soul. "Oh, but I thought I was
going to find a way of escape made for me. "Listen!" God is
faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye
are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to
escape, <i>that ye may be able to bear it."</i> You have to
bear it, you see. Your great want for this present is faith in
God, who has said—"I will bring again from Bashan, I will
bring my people again from the depths of the sea." Thus, you
see, the light for guidance was not needed just then.
</p>
<p class="indent">
What they did want was the pillar of cloud behind them, and
that is where they had it. What was that cloud behind them for?
Well, it was there for several reasons: the first was to shut
out the sight of their enemies from them. We read that Israel
lifted up their eyes and saw the Egyptians, and then they began
to tremble, and cry out: and so God drew the blinds down that
his poor children could not see their frightful taskmasters. It
is a great mercy when God does not let us see everything. What
the eye does not see, perhaps the heart will not rue. May I ask
you just to try and use your eyes a little now? There are your
sins; will you look back on them for a minute? Look steadily.
They are quite as dreadful as the Egyptian horsemen and
chariots. I have looked intently, and I cannot see a sin
remaining. "What, have you lived such a life that you have
never sinned?" Ah, no, beloved, I have to mourn over many
offenses, but I cannot see one of them now, for my sin is
covered. I believe this text, "The blood of Jesus Christ his
Son cleanseth us from all sin." If I am cleansed, why should I
see spots, or speak as if I did? The Lord stands between his
people and their sins. Jesus, who veiled his glory in the cloud
of our humanity, interposes between us and our transgressions.
Is it not written, "The iniquity of Israel shall be sought for,
and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall
not be found; for I will pardon them whom I reserve"? If God
declares that our sins cannot be found, then I am sure we need
not look for them; and if he says that Christ has made an end
of sin, then there is an end of it. The Egyptians shall not
come near us all the night of this life; and when the morning
breaketh, we shall see them dead upon the shore. Then shall we
sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously, and our
transgressions and iniquities hath he cast into the depths of
the sea.
</p>
<p class="indent">
"Ah," saith one, "I know that my sins are forgiven, but I am
troubled about my circumstances." Will you now look back with
all your eyes? How about the circumstances you have passed
through? Do you see anything wrong about them now? Oh, no, say
you, they were all right. As you look back you can only see the
glory of God: the Lord hath led you by a right way. Very well:
learn to look at your circumstances through the light God hath
set between Israel and the Egyptians. Who is he that can harm
us? What is there to distress us? See your circumstances
through the medium of the love of Jesus, and you perceive all
things working for your good. Hitherto the Lord hath been our
shield and our exceeding great reward. We see now no evil
occurrent; he hath turned for us the curse into a blessing. The
Lord has caused us to be far from fear, and has put terror far
away.
</p>
<p class="indent">
The cloudy pillar went behind for another reason, namely,
<i>that the Egyptians might not see them.</i> Their enemies
were made to stumble, and were compelled to come to a dead
stand. "The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will
divide the spoil, my lust shall be satisfied upon them." Why
does he halt? Why does the lion pause when about to spring? He
is blindfolded. He shivers in the dense blackness, bethinking
him of that former day when all the land of Mizraim quailed
beneath a darkness that might be felt. Be calm, O child of God;
for the Covenant Angel is dealing with your adversaries, and
his time is generally the night. You will hear by-and-by of
what he has done. Meanwhile, remember what he did to Pharaoh
and Sennacherib. The Lord may not be before you, shedding
delight upon your face, but he is behind you, holding back the
foe. He looks forth from the cloud and discomforts your foes.
"No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every
tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt
condemn." Wherefore, stand still, and see the salvation of God!
</p>
<p class="indent">
IV. Now, beloved, I must draw towards a conclusion by
observing, that THE DIVINE PRESENCE WILL ONE DAY BE MORE
GLORIOUSLY REVEALED. I have been speaking about the Lord being
the rereward of his people, and so explaining my second text:
but I must now refer you to my last text, in the fifty-second
of Isaiah—"The Lord will go before you, and the God of
Israel will be your rereward." This is the condition into which
the Lord brings his people when they depart from Babylon, and
are no more conformed to this present evil world. I trust he
has brought many of us into this all-surrounding light at this
good hour. The Lord is behind us, we know: our sins and
iniquities are covered, our past mistakes are all erased, we
are accepted in the Beloved. But we have not to look forward
and say, "The angel of God has removed." Oh, no. We can see the
bright light before us still. Our ways are ordered of the Lord,
and none of our steps shall slide. We glory in tribulations
also, believing that we shall glorify God in them. We look
forward to the time of old age, believing that to hoar hairs he
is the same, and that in our days of decline he will carry us.
We look forward to the advent of our Lord with delight; or, if
that may not be in our day, we look to falling asleep upon the
bosom of our Savior. Before us we see the resurrection morning
and all its splendor: we anticipate the risen body, that
glorified fabric in which our pure and perfect spirits shall
dwell for ever: we hear the voice of harpers harping with their
harps, saluting the reign of Christ and the glorification of
his people with him. Below there is nothing before us now but
that which is inexpressibly delightful: the day has long dawned
with us, whose morning clouds have passed away; a day which
grows warmer and brighter, and is nearing to the perfect day. A
few more months, a few more years, and we shall be in the land
of the unclouded sky. What will it be to be there! What will it
be to be there for ever!
</p>
<p style="text-align: center">
"Far from a world of grief and sin,<br>
With God eternally shut in."
</p>
<p>
How willingly would I fly away and be at rest. I feel my wings;
they are not strong enough, as yet, to bear my soul away; but
they will be. God is making his children ready to depart, and
he will only have to beckon them, and they will cry, "Here am
I," and then they shall be with him for ever. Yes, the glory of
the Lord is above us and beneath us, on the right hand and on
the left, without us and within us. We depart not from it,
though it is behind us: we are going ever into the glorious
light, for it is before us, too. The Lord shall be a wall of
fire around about us, and the glory in the midst. If you have
come there, dear brother, stop there. If you have entered
there, dear sister, never quit that charmed circle, but abide
in full communion with the Lord your God.
</p>
<p class="indent">
V. But now I have a sorrowful word to say, and with that I have
done. THIS DIVINE PRESENCE HAS A TWOFOLD ASPECT: that same
glory which lit up the canvas city, and made it bright as the
day, darkened all the camps of Egypt. They could see nothing,
for the dark side of <i>God</i> was turned to them. I am afraid
it is so with some of you. Oh, dear friends, is it not a
dreadful thing that to some men the most terrible thing in the
world would be God? If you could get away from God, how happy,
how merry, how jolly you would be! You want to depart from him;
you are departing from him. One of these days Jesus will tell
you to depart. "Keep on as you were," says he, "you were always
departing from God; keep on departing. Depart from me, ye
cursed!" That will be the consummation of your life. To some of
us the thought of God is joy, but to the ungodly nothing would
be such good news as to hear that there was no God, indeed,
they find a dreadful comfort in endeavoring to be sceptical and
unbelieving. God has a dark side to sinners; his justice and
his righteousness, which are the comfort of his people, are the
despair of the wicked.
</p>
<p class="indent">
Word of God has a dark side to sinners. I will tell you what
they say: they say, "We do not understand this Book, it is so
full of mystery. We find it full of dark sayings, and hard
things, and things difficult to be believed. It is all knots
and snarls." Just so; you are an Egyptian, it is dark to you.
Let me call up the smallest babe in grace, and say, "Dear
child, is that what the Bible is to you?" "Oh, no," he says,
"it is my joy and my delight. I may not understand it all, but
I love it all, and I feed on it all." Oh, it is a good thing
when you cannot understand a revealed truth to feed on it, and
when you find it to be good for your soul, you will not
complain of its mystery. The Bible is dark to the Egyptians,
but it is light to Israel.
</p>
<p class="indent">
Now look at <i>the gospel</i> itself. Why, there are many that
sit and hear the gospel, and they say, "I do not understand
this believing, this atonement, and so on." No, I know you do
not; you are an Egyptian, it is dark to you. It is a savor of
death unto death to you. I am afraid you will go on quarrelling
with it until God ends the quarrel in your destruction. But if
you are one of his, you will quarrel no longer, you will say,
"Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. The blessed way of
salvation by atoning blood I do accept with avidity, and
rejoice in it." That will prove you to be an Israelite; it will
be a savor of life unto life to you.
</p>
<p class="indent">
Why, even the blessed <i>Lord Jesus Christ</i> has a dark side
for sinners. If he were to come here this morning, oh, how
gladly would I stand back to let him come forward and show his
surpassing beauty. Why, some of you would think it heaven if
you could but see him here and look into his pierced hands and
side, and mark that blessed, marred, unutterably lovely visage.
Yes, but it could not bring any joy to you who do not love him.
You do not trust him; and if the news were given out, "Christ
has come," why, you would swoon with fear in your pews, for you
would say, "He has come to judgment, and I am unprepared. He
that is not my Savior will be my judge, and sentence me to
everlasting woe." There is a dark side in the Mediator to the
Egyptians while there is a bright side to Israel.
</p>
<p class="indent">
Oh that ye would believe in Jesus Christ! Oh that ye would
"kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way,
when his wrath is kindled but a little," for "Blessed are all
they that put their trust in him." You can come and be numbered
with Israel, for the door into Israel is Christ himself. If you
come to Christ you have come to his people, you have come to
safety, and henceforth "the Lord will go before you; and the
God of Israel will be your rereward." Amen.
</p>
<br align="center">
<br>
<hr>
<p>
PORTIONS OF SCRIPTURE READ BEFORE SERMON—<a onClick="return mV('Exd', 13, '20-22');">Exodus 13:20-22</a>;
14:1-20; <a onClick="return mV('Isa', 53, 'all');">Isaiah 53</a>.
</p>
<p>
</p>
<hr>
<p>
HYMNS FROM "OUR OWN HYMN BOOK"—145 (PART II.),212, 230.
</p>
<br>
<br>
</div></div>
<div class="return"><a href="#top">Return to Top</a></div>
<script src="./js/MainFooter.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
Reference in New Issue View Git Blame Copy Permalink