Preached by REV. JAMES MACLEOD, Greenock, in November, 1950.
“Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.”—Psalm lxxx, 3.
(Continued from page 238.)
The Second petition: “Cause thy face to shine.”
It is a sign for good when sinners realise themselves to be in darkness, and in need of divine light and guidance. It is a sure sign of ignorance, when sinners walking in darkness have no need of divine guidance. When the face of God is hid that is a sign of His wrath, and holy displeasure. That is true about ourselves to-day; we grope in darkness because we have departed from the Word of God. This whole nation is floundering about and—”We see not our signs: there is no more any prophet: neither is there among us any that knoweth how long?” (Ps. lxxiv). It is to the Bible we must turn before we need expect that God will in His mercy shine upon us to enlighten our minds in His own divine knowledge. How can Churches that departed from His Word expect His blessing and the light of His Spirit? He caused His light to shine forth at the Reformation on prince and peasant. Millions of people were brought out of the darkness of popery, enlightened by His Word and Spirit in that holy, saving knowledge of the blessed Redeemer. We do not say that millions
were actually saved—that must be left to the great day; but we are assured that many were saved from eternal death through the knowledge of the Saviour. The dark cloud of popery had passed away and the light began to shine upon benighted sinners all over Europe, and Scotland got a large share of great blessing. The Reformers released the Book of God to the people. They did not begin by casting doubts, lies, “and assured results of the destructive Higher Critics” into the minds of the people. That was not their work. Their aim was that the light would enter into the hearts of the people—that Christ in His obedience, humiliation, suffering, death, resurrection, ascension, intercession within the veil, righteousness, merits, and the infinite efficacy of His blood should be made known to the people in the plainest manner possible—to the humble peasant, and to the chief men of the realm. The Fakirs of our day have scores of “gospels,” messages, interpretations, and they are at their best when traducing the Reformers, Apostles, Prophets, the Bible, and with the wicked sneer of the persecutor would silence any who seek by faith to follow the Lamb of God, His Word, and people.
The Reformers declared like the Apostles: “This then is the message we have heard of Him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all” (John i, 5). We read in another part of the Word: “O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me to thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles” (Ps. xliii). When God shines on men in order to reveal to them what is in the heart, the prayer is, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me” (Ps. li, 10). When His light penetrates into the soul, and the truth of revelation finds an entrance, the ruination through the fall of Adam, and actual transgression, the guilt, and misery of sin, the wrath, and the curse due unto sin is unfolded in all its terrors; death, hell, and the wrath to come become a reality, which the poor sinner dare not resist, or deny. German Rationalism, the lies of the “Higher Critics,” atheism, and hypocrisy appears like the dead bodies of the Egyptians on the shore of the Red Sea! The night is past, the true light now shines on the dunghill that sin, lusts, and death wrought in the soul. What now? The Lord Jesus came to save sinners. Here is the sinner, lost, ruined, lame, dumb, useless, hopeless, till the blessed Holy Spirit will say to him, “Live.” When Christ is revealed to this poor sinner his whole state is changed. It is His face that shines, and He who acts, moves, quickens, draws, pours the oil and wine of eternal love into the wounds of the soul. God is in Christ, reconciling to Himself the sinner: the blessed Holy Spirit, purging, healing, feeding, nursing, helping, and by many precious promises encouraging them to go on to know the Lord. “He will take of mine and shew it unto you.” He will not speak of Himself. The dear Lord Jesus is made sweet to their souls—their bread, life, hope, and surety. They love to think of Him born in the stable—a babe, born without sin. They hear Him in His Word, they see Him by faith in all the Bible. He is their life. The “Modern fakir” died in them, when brought face to face with the death of their Saviour. None but an infinite Saviour could take away their guilt; as their sin was against God. Those who can do with a creature saviour will be as sure in hell as the devil. That is if they shall not repent in mercy. The Modernist will be with Judas in the place of woe. What has he to do with Christ, His gospel, truth,
ordinances and people, at any rate? He is not a Christian! You may see the Fakirs in Psalm xxii, “They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.” They live on the name of Christianity, and wickedly deny Christ Himself. How like Judas they are! What this nation must pass through before we turn to the blessed gospel! “Cause thy face to shine.” His face is revealed in Christ. When the gospel is hid from men His face cannot shine on the souls of sinners. We are under a most awful cloud for a long time; few are “born again,” and we seem to be so satisfied with death, forms, and an outward shew of religion. We are not concerned whether Christ is present or not if we can pour forth words, that hardens the hearers to insensibility. No application, as if the conduct of the people was bordering on perfection. It is a matter of form, and “the style of many is, ‘take it or leave it,’ I have done my duty.” That sort of preaching is deadly, and causing the righteous to be sad, hungry, and listless. They come and go to the Church like one dreaming, for what they heard dies out before they are at the door of the place of worship! The light does not shine with the Word. Hardness of heart, and general indifference is the common result. What is the remedy? Prayer. If the preacher is not a praying man before, and after preaching his sermon, pleading, crying; (and looking to heaven for the blessing) vain is all preaching. He must depend on the Lord Jesus for help, for if he depends on his own knowledge of theology, order, fine sentences, and phrases, it may sound very nice in the carnal ears of men, but God’s people will starve under such exercises of mere human wisdom! Secret prayer is not known as it should be, and the want of it causes the public prayers to be too long, wordy, and often incoherent. “Their words were good, but their hearts were not right with God.” If we turn to the Lord with our whole hearts then we can pray: “Cause thy face to shine.”
Third: If God should grant their petitions, they were sure of salvation—”and we shall be saved.”
Christ came to redeem His people from death. The gospel is the means used in the hand of the Holy Spirit to save sinners from death, and the wrath to come. He paid the price of their redemption in His own blood. They are united to Him by faith, which means that they are saved in Him. His death, their death; His righteousness (imputed), their righteousness. He lives, they live in Him. The guilt of their sins has been removed from their persons for ever through His blood. The living hope of the believer is under the efficacy of His blood to remove corruption from them, and sanctify them for ever to the glory of His free and sovereign grace.
There is another class of professed Christian who are “sure” of their own salvation, and of “going home” when they leave this world without any experience of the “New Birth,” of ever being convinced of their sins, guilt, misery, and never felt their need of Christ, His blood, or righteousness! They believe that they are the “children of God,” without regeneration, repentance towards God, or faith in the death of Christ. They never had any experience of the curse of sin, the wrath of God against sin, and no wonder the doctrines of law and gospel are to them intolerable—a burden which they could not endure. They must have a minister who will tell them “how good they are, honest, and honourable, and if they live morally, attend the Church, that they have nothing to fear.” Where are such Christians? According to the Word of God on the broad way
which (with the foolish virgins), leadeth to a lost eternity. They will be sure in hell with the devil, if not “born again” according to the Scriptures. They call the Most High, “Our Heavenly Father,” without any conscious need of the Mediator, or even any reference to His Mediatorial office within the veil before God! Their religion is like the religion of Cain—a sacrifice without blood. God rejected Cain’s sacrifice, so He will reject their bold, carnal, wicked religion as well as Cain’s. The poor child of God (saved in Christ), needs the blood in sanctification as well as in the day of justification. “For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul” (Lev. xvii, 11). This was a clear type of the blood of the Lamb of God, which was the centre of worship in the Church in the wilderness: the Priest, altar, and the blood of the innocent animal. If they should depart from that their hope perished. That is the same now; Christ, His blood, and sacrifice is the centre. “Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever” (Heb. xiii, 8).
Conclusion: Our need of applying ourselves to the Word of God, and seeking grace to practice it in our daily life toward our fellow man.
It is the bad example of professing Christians that caused the people in general to live so carelessly and immoral. It is the walk, life, and conversation of the Christian that the unregenerate look to, and when they observe that that life is not what it should be they conclude that religion is like any other profession—for worldly gain, and worldly advantages! The people who attend the worship of God should pray much before and after attending the place of worship. “Turn us again” to worship in a solemn frame of mind. Is the glory of God our chief aim and end in going to Church and waiting upon Him in public? We should guard against self-publicity in anything we do about the cause of the Lord! The “man-my-self” is a dangerous enemy to the Lord Jesus, His people, and cause. Grace alone can crucify that robber of the glory of the Redeemer, and murderer of the soul.
The family worship should be conducted with the same reverence, care, and solemnity as people worship God in public: “Likewise greet the Church that is in their house.” There is no doubt that that was the godly family in that house. The eye of God is on families in all parts, and in all places. Lastly: we are confronted with the most serious situation in the history of the world from the days of the flood. Our miserable horizon is black, getting blacker, and let us lay to heart our need of grace, preparation, and readiness when the flood begins to overflow its banks. The only place of refuge is the blessed Lord Jesus. “And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain” (Isa. iv, 6).
None can come to Christ, except they hear a good report of Him. How shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? Those who come aright to Christ, must have noble, high, long, deep, and broad thoughts of Jesus, and know the Gospel. Now what is the Gospel? Nothing but a good report of Christ. You must hear a Gospel report of Christ, ere you come to Him.—Rutherford.