THE glory of the Kingdom of Christ is the main theme of this psalm. The words of our text express the earnest desire of every pious person since the world began. The fulfilment of them is the end toward which all Christian effort is directed. But the earth is not yet filled with the glory of Christ. There can be no rest for the Church of God in the world until the prayer of our text is fully accomplished. This is specially true of the ministry of the gospel.
The commission of Christ is, “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature,” the promise of God the Father is, “Ask of me and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession,” the prayer of the Holy Spirit in the bosom of the Church is, “Let the whole earth be filled with His glory,” and the earnest response of every gracious heart is, “Amen, so let it be.”
Questions may be raised regarding the time when, and the manner in which this prayer will be fulfilled. As to the actual fulfilment itself there can be no doubt. The Word of God is clear and emphatic on this point. “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world,” “If God be for us who can be against us?,” “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, for ever and ever.” Taking our stand on such truths and viewing the religious outlook in all its darkness let us give Him no rest till He establish, and till He make Jerusalem a praise in the earth, and the whole earth become filled with the glory of Christ. Less cannot satisfy, more cannot be asked.
To the seriously thinking person can there be anything so appalling as the discrepancy between the religious condition of the present day world and the conditions asked for in our text—the whole earth filled with the glory of Christ? The point I wish particularly to stress is: The great weight of responsibility which this prayer requires from every pious person until it is fulfilled.
In considering these words, as the Lord may enable me I wish to notice:—
I. The church’s responsibility in reference to this prayer.
Our responsibility is evidently world-wide. Let the whole earth be filled with His glory. The main purpose for the existence of the true Church of Christ in the world is the accomplishment of this desire. To enable us to arrive at a sense of our responsibility it will, therefore, be necessary to refer to present day conditions as they obtain throughout the world. This reference, of course, can only be of the very briefest nature.
(a.) The godless condition of Russia with its 160 millions of people is common knowledge.
The leaders of the German people, in proud defiance of the Almighty have enshrined “Germany” in their temple of worship, and all who will not bow the knee to the national idol are persecuted. Add to these nations the millions of human souls under the yoke of Romish idolatry in France, Italy, Spain and South America; and to these again unnumbered multitudes held in the curse of superstition in India, China and Africa, “without God and without hope in the world.” How appalling to think that out of these vast numbers of people hell must reap an annual harvest which is utterly incalculable! Let us remind ourselves that this is our day, the day of our opportunity for service; and these are our brothers and sisters, passing into the great eternity; and is not the soul of a Chinaman as precious to him as my soul is to me and yours to you? Is not the eternal destiny of an Indian as important to him as yours is to you and mine to me? Are we as a Church realising our responsibility and carrying the burden of a Christless world as we ought to?
(b.) But let us leave for the time being the more remote parts of this world and let us consider the state of matters nearer home.
Not long ago I read a book, recently published, written by a London journalist who is evidently a seriously thinking person. From a reliable source, which he had taken pains to verify, he estimates that ninety-five per cent of the population of London never enter a place of worship. Last year, in the June issue of our Church Magazine, the editor has a leader which he significantly heads “Scotland’s Churchless Million.” The very informative article which follows makes sad reading, 1,100,000 is evidently a conservative estimate of the numbers who have no church connection of any kind. How unmistakably evident is the fact that the great mass of the British people is under the influence of a spirit of utter indifference to the things of God.
That the lack of early religious instruction is one of the roots of this spirit of indifference needs no proof. When boys and girls going to school at the most impressionable age of their lives, come under the care of teachers who have themselves been swept off their feet by higher critical views of the Bible, what can we expect but indifference among their scholars? All honour to those few teachers who, in circumstances of increasing difficulty, stand firm on the Rock of God’s Eternal Truth. That this latter type of teacher is becoming the exception is only too palpable. For instance, one who signed himself “B.Sc.” wrote in a religious weekly a short time ago: “I have been teaching for more than 20 years in secondary schools, and have only on rare occasions found Scripture lessons being taught by a teacher who believed in what was being read. In a staff of over 30 there are only 2 of us who believe that Jesus was anything but a man.” Little wonder if the boys and girls under such teaching leave school with all religious belief shattered. This solemn fact follows: in a few years many of these young people have become fathers and mothers of families. Does not this largely account for the present-day neglect of family worship and Bible teaching in the home? When the families of Britain are to a great extent filled with a spirit of indifference how can we expect the whole earth to become filled with the glory of Christ? Are we as a Church doing all we can to counteract the evil effect of such teaching amongst children of school age?
Another factor which largely contributes to the present-day absence of piety is the prevalence of sinful forms of pleasure placed within easy reach of the youth of the nation. The printing-presses of the country are almost wholly devoted to the service of the devil. The country is flooded with cheap, trashy books of fiction; the effect of which is to stupify the conscience and to excite the baser passions of all who read them; and their name is legion.
Again, while the churches are almost empty, the cinemas, dancing hall, and wireless programme, each catering to the carnal appetites of fallen humanity, never lack for support. The general tendency is to produce a state of mind which is utterly destructive of all seriousness. That anti-religious state of mind is all but nation-wide. And this, my beloved friends, is our day and these conditions exist at our very doors and concern the youth of our own congregations.
It is impossible to pass from this subject without some reference to the evils of Sabbath desecration—a menace to the Kingdom of Christ, which steadily increases. Every Sabbath-breaker, by the very act, rejects the Eternal God as his Lord, rebels against the laws of Heaven, and openly declares himself to be a child of hell. He stifles his own religious convictions, he is an influence for evil over all coming under his control, he becomes one of the greatest barriers in the way of Christian progress: and there are tens of thousands of them in Scotland. This is a feature of Satanic activity which demands attention. It is the Church’s duty to conserve the sanctity of the Sabbath itself, within her own borders. It is also the duty of the Church to be untiring in her efforts to produce that great change which must come on the conduct of these thousands of Sabbath-breakers ere Christ reigns supremely on the earth. Whilst hating the sin of these people let us with compassionate tenderness seek the good of their souls. When the time shall come in which the glory of Christ shall cover the whole earth I am convinced that the Lord’s Day shall be duly remembered and sanctified to holy uses, and that the day itself shall be largely instrumental in producing that desirable end.
(c.) Let us now briefly consider the text in reference to the subject of conversion.
It is certain that the glory of Christ can never fill the ‘earth unless’ sinners are converted unto Him. The conversion of sinners is the principal aim of the gospel ministry. Here we are immediately faced with the harmful effects of that soul-destroying blight of modern religious opinion—the Doctrine of the Universal Fatherhood of God. When a church’s concept of God is false, everything built on that foundation is wrong—creed, doctrine and practice. I have no hesitation in asserting that this is the fundamental error of the larger Churches in Scotland to-day. God is represented as a Being shorn of all the sterner features of His character—righteousness, holiness, justice and truth—a being who is the Father of all men indiscriminately; of Cain as well as of Abel, of Esau as well as of Jacob, of Judas as well as of John. By this idol of the church’s creation, the man of deep religious feeling alone, is regarded as an intolerant and insufferable bigot, born long after his time.
Under such a conception of God, where is the need for conversion or repentance? Men may live as they list, and go to heaven at last; there is no hell! Lulled to sleep in the lap of such a ministry multitudes pass on, out of our very midst, to the Judgment Seat, not only unregenerated, but utterly unaware that regeneration is an imperative necessity for all who would see the face of God in peace.
But in connection with this matter of conversion let us search our own hearts. What contribution are we as a Church making to the fulfilment of our text? How very rarely do we hear of conversions in our congregations, how lamentably few and far between! We, at anyrate, cannot but acknowledge that the gospel is preached from our pulpits, yet at Communion seasons, how often are ministers saddened by the conspicuous lack of response to their appeals? After labouring, in some cases for six months, in others for a whole year, it frequently happens that not one person seeks admission to the membership of the church —“ Who hath believed our report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?” There is no doubt an aspect of the gospel which glorifies God because it condemns the unbelieving world. The faithful preacher of righteousness is a sweet savour unto God as well in them that perish as in them that are saved. But our prayer is that the whole earth would be filled with the glory of Christ, and a mere negative condemnation of the unbelieving world can never accomplish that; there must be positive fruit; souls must be saved; they must be converted in vast numbers before the earth will be filled with the glory of Christ. That a mighty change must come over the response of our congregations to the gospel is too sadly evident. Oh, for the tears of Jeremiah that we might weep night and day over congregations to an alarming extent gospel-hardened, cold and unresponsive. Men and women passing on from under the very shadow of the gospel pulpit, to meet the curse of rejected Saviour, and instead of being filled with His glory, filled with the torments of the damned. Surely our hearts are hearts of stone if the consideration of these things does not move us to a deep sense of concern. Woe unto us if the concern which ought to burden us does not realize itself in mighty and untiring effort to produce that vast world-wide transformation which must take place ere the Kingdom of Christ come on earth.
II. By what means are we as a Church to discharge our responsibility.
(a.) In considering this subject one fact stands out in prominent relief: we cannot discharge our responsibility in any strength of our own.
The assertion of Gamaliel:— “ If this work be of man it will come to nought,” is not only a reliable argument but history has repeatedly illustrated the truth of it. Witness the evil effects of unions based on human policy; the utter failure of unscriptural devices brought into the service of the church of modern times—methods in which the devil not only has a chief hand but in which he takes great delight. The work must be of God, only then will it stand. The Church which will be used to fill the earth with the glory of Christ must first be filled herself with the Holy Spirit. This requirement is fundamental. It means that without God—the actual living presence of the Almighty—we can do nothing.
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth—eternal and infallible. The Church which is filled with the Holy Ghost will under His supervision possess a spiritual discernment which effectually prevents the entrance of any error, however subtle. The inspired Word of God is cherished, defended and asserted as the only instrument at the disposal of the ministry of the gospel for the subjection of the Kingdom of Darkness and the setting up of the Kingdom of light; knowledge, wisdom, and zeal are all subject to the supreme authority of an infallible Bible. The measure of their fruitfulness depends upon their harmony with the Scriptures. That harmony is the direct result of the Holy Spirit, “Eye hath not seen . . . the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea the deep things of God.”
Another effect produced by the presence of the Holy Spirit in the church is the unity and concord existing amongst its various members—”They were all with one accord in one place.” In an army defeat is invited the moment its ranks are torn by internal strife and dissension. Is not the Church the Army of Christ? Perish the day when jealousy, envy, bitterness, and suspicion sit on the throne which ought to be sacred to the Holy Spirit! Let it be our earnest desire and effort, as a necessary preliminary to the filling of the whole earth with the glory of Christ, that each member, office-bearer, and church would endeavour to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Let me mention just one other fruit of the Spirit’s presence—one we miss much in these days—the Spirit of earnest importunate prayer. The spirit which thinks it no loss to wrestle in prayer throughout the night until it triumphs at break of day; weakness prevails over strength, and Jacob, the worm, becomes Israel, the prince. Who can read of the prayerful earnestness of Augustine’s mother without being moved to admiration! Watering her prayers with tears when her son, instead of showing signs of repentance, plunged deeper and deeper into the filth of sin. At last she finds comfort in this—”A son of so many tears can never be lost.” The subsequent conversion of Augustine shows that her comfort was not ill founded, nor her tears in vain. There are many who admire the patient earnestness of Monica, how few emulate her in practice! Yet, there can be no doubt that the spirit which moved in the deeps of Monica’s heart is but an isolated instance of what must become a general feature of the church as a whole before we can expect the earth to be filled with the glory of Christ. “Oh, that thou wouldst rend the heavens, that thou wouldst come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence.”
(b.) Again: The true minister of the gospel is one upon whom the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ has shone.
He has been called to testify to what he himself has seen, heard and known. The ministry of such men in the church will doubtless be largely used by the Holy Spirit in filling the earth with the glory of Christ. But first of all must they themselves not be filled with His glory? Emptied of self, worldliness, indolence and formality; filled with a spirit which brings every power of body and mind into a service consecrated to the Redeemer. In order to produce and maintain such service a deep sense of personal obligation is first necessary. What is the minister of the gospel himself but a poor helpless guilty wretch redeemed by the precious blood of Christ? In order to preserve this sense of personal obligation Dr. Goodwin, one of the greatest of the Puritans tells us, “I do not think I ever went up the pulpit stair that I did not stop a moment at the foot and take a turn up and down among the sins of my past years. That always broke my hard heart and made me close with the gospel for my own soul before I began to preach to others.” John Newton was constantly kept in mind of what he owed to Christ by two texts which he hung up on the wall of his study: “Since thou wast precious in my sight thou has been honourable.”—But, “Thou shall remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt, and the Lord thy God redeemed thee.” In this connection one is reminded also of the very suggestive words used by W. C. Burns on the eve of his departure for the mission field—”To be Christ’s wholly, and Christ’s only.” “The love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead, and that He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them, and rose again.”
But the true minister of the gospel has also been appointed to his work by a divine call. In virtue of that call the church releases him from worldly anxiety by providing for his needs and comfort out of the free-will offerings of her people. In consequence he is left free to devote his time, talents, body and soul to his Master’s service. At his ordination he answers in the affirmative the solemn and searching question, “Are not zeal for the honour of God, love to Jesus Christ and desire for saving souls, your great motives and chief inducements to enter into the function of the holy ministry and not worldly designs and interests?” How can such a man discharge his duty and give a satisfactory account of his stewardship unless he is himself filled with the glory of Christ? “God forbid,” says the Apostle Paul, that prince of gospel ministers, “that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” May the Lord Himself fill with the same spirit every minister called to occupy a pulpit in the Free Presbyterian Church.
(c.) Again: The value of a holy life and walk in the case of all who profess Christianity cannot be over estimated.
In these days of wide-spread Modernism the distinctive witness of membership has to a large extent been swept aside. The Church and the world are inseparable. The lax conduct on the part of church members goes hand in hand with lax discipline on the part of the Church courts responsible. In these circumstances we cannot lay too much stress on the need for a holy consistency in those who are members in the communion of the Free Presbyterian Church. No church can ever hope to discharge her responsibility with regard to our text whose members fail to live consistently with their profession. The kiss of a Judas is more destructive than a legion of Roman soldiers “Now they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its affections and lusts.” Every believer true to his profession, “While in the world he is not of it.” In heart and by conduct he has separated himself from it. That separation is not only expedient, it is an absolute necessity. Redemption demands it, “Ye are bought with a price, ye are not your own, therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit which are God’s.” Regeneration requires it: “If any man be in Christ he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” The sanctifying presence of the Holy Spirit makes it imperative, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” But that separation is not isolation; leave that to the self-righteous Pharisee, “Come not near me, I am holier than thou.” No, it is separation with a purpose—a purpose of consecrated every-day usefulness. Christ constantly taught this truth, “Ye are the salt of the earth, ye are the light of the world.” Salt ceases to be of any use the moment it loses its savour. The candle put under a bushel goes out. Rather, “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” How solemn the responsibility! Every Christian is to shine so that others lost wandering in the trackless wilderness of this dark world may take notice and be guided safely into the heavenly fold. A missionary in China was one day attracted by the intent manner in which a stranger listened to the sermon. After the service he asked him, “Have you ever heard the gospel of Christ before?” “No,” he replied, “I have not heard it, but I have seen it.” It then appeared that a neighbour of his had been converted and had become a living epistle of the gospel to all who knew him. How convincing the testimony which shines from a consistent life!
On the other hand nothing weakens the witness of a church and brings the name of religion into so much contempt as the unbecoming conduct of the professors of it. John Bunyan describes a class of men, whom Christian fell in with, who never strive against wind and tide, and are always most zealous when religion walks in its silver slippers. Religion clad in rags and bound in irons they do not own. As is usual in the Pilgrims’ Progress the names of these men are highly suggestive, Mr. By-Ends, Mr. Facing-Both-Ways, and Mr. Any-Thing and some others of the same brotherhood. When men of this type predominate on the membership rolls of a church, then that church is in a fair way to becoming the scorn of the godless and the despair of the godly. May the Lord in infinite mercy preserve us as a Church from having too much acquaintance with such men. Let the public testimony to the truth of the gospel from the pulpits of the Free Presbyterian Church be supported by the holy consistency of her members in public and private life, then may we indeed expect to be blessed and honoured in doing our part to fill the whole earth with the glory of Christ. A life of devout and practical godliness preaches a powerful sermon which puts to silence the ignorance of foolish men, strengthens the hearts and hands of all who wish well to Zion, and obtains a good report of those that are without.
(d.) Finally: This prayer is the prayer of a true missionary.
Let the whole earth be filled with His glory. It is impossible to express this desire honestly without being at heart a true missionary. David Brainerd could ask for no more. Henry Martyn could not improve on it. A missionary outlook is, therefore, indispensably necessary to the realisation of our text. But we cannot all be missionaries. Not foreign missionaries, perhaps, but certainly missionaries. Does not our prayer include Scotland, and the district, town or village where we live? Surely! Is that particular place so filled with the glory of Christ as to leave no room for any more? Suppose this prayer—that the glory of Christ would fill the earth—is the real desire of your heart, then you are at heart a missionary. Why not give practical expression to your heart’s desire by beginning at home among your relations, friends, and acquaintances? If nothing else offers why not seek to fill up the empty pews in your church that others may have the opportunity of hearing the gospel. They might refuse; well, should you not at least give them the opportunity of refusing? Let us follow the example of the little maid taken captive by the Syrians and serving in the house of Naaman the leper. “Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy.” The following touching story needs no comment. A black girl was converted under the gospel. She was free born of poor parents. The missionary saw her one day put a handful of silver into the mission box. It was a large sum for a native girl to have and his suspicions were naturally aroused. After the service he took the girl aside and asked her how she had come by so much money. “Oh, sir,” she said, “when Jesus did so much for me, I love Him so, that I wished to do something for Him. But I had nothing but myself to give, so I went and sold myself as a slave and the money I put into the mission box was the price I got for myself.”
Certainly my beloved friends, the day is coming when “The knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.” When Russia, Germany, Africa, and Britain, shall each exist in order to show forth the glory of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. In connection with the coming of that glorious day there will be those who shall enter into the joy of their Lord with the approbation of their Royal Master ringing in their ears: “Well done good and faithful servant!” “Blessed be His glorious name for ever. Let the whole earth be filled with His glory! Amen and Amen!”