WE see from the title of this psalm that the occasion on which it was penned was “when Joab returned and smote of Edom in the Valley of Salt twelve thousand.” In it David refers to manifestations of the Divine displeasure which indicate how sore pressed the nation had been at the time, but with faith in the loving-kindness and mercy of God, he turns to the very One of whom he says, “thou hast cast us off, thou hast scattered us, thou hast been displeased.” In doing so his mind goes back to what God did for His people in times past, and says, “Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee, that it may be displayed because of the truth.” In looking at these words for a short while I would seek, as enabled, to draw your attention I. To those spoken of in our text; II. That which is given them; and III. The reason why a banner is given them.
I. Those spoken of in our text.
They are referred to as “them that fear thee.” In the Word of God we have the word “fear” used in more than one sense. It is used of slavish fear such as manifested itself in Adam after the Fall. “And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” This slavish fear Adam has left as a legacy to his whole posterity, so that when there are manifestations of the power of God or of His wrath, it will cause the ungodly to tremble. The other sense in which “fear” is used is in reference to that which rules in the hearts of all who are in Christ, the second Adam. It is known as filial fear, and is the ruling principle of their lives. It manifests itself especially in two ways.
(1) They love everything by which He makes Himself known.
(a) He has made Himself known in His Word, and whatever hope they may have for eternity it is founded on what is written in the Scriptures. To them the Bible from Genesis to Revelation is the infallible and inspired Word of the Living God. It reveals to them God’s purpose to save lost and ruined man, and the working out of that purpose in the Second Person of the glorious and ever-adorable Trinity coming into this world in human nature, and suffering “the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God.” Further, it reveals to them the manner in which the efficacy of Christ’s sufferings and death is to be applied, for Christ Himself says of the Holy Spirit, “He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.” The Bible, as the only rule which God has given us to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy Him, sets before sinners a complete salvation which leaves nothing for man to do, but which puts all the glory on God Himself, therefore, those who fear Him are enabled to say, “How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth.”
(b) They love His day. To them the Sabbath is not a day to be spent in idleness and worldly pleasure. It is the “queen of days” and is to be spent wholly in “the public and private exercises of God’s worship. It is a memorial of the Saviour’s resurrection, and many a time, when buried during the whole week by a flood of worldliness, they had on that day foretastes of what the resurrection will be like when, through experiencing fellowship with God in Christ, they had been raised above the world and the things of the world. Again it is to them an earnest of that Sabbath which will never be followed by a Monday, and whose unbroken spiritual rest and peace they shall possess for ever and ever. Such “call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable.”
(c) As they love His day they love His worship, which, though they do not confine it to the Sabbath, yet they look forward to that day as the period of time more particularly associated with the worship of God. Their desire is to be “in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day.” In our own day when a cold lifeless profession of religion prevails, preparation for the Sabbath services is usually associated with the minister, but when religion flourished in Scotland and elsewhere, those who feared the Lord were very careful to seek a right frame of heart for the Sabbath as it drew nigh. Their care was not merely for their bodies but for their souls also, and their concern was not to appear in a manner which would attract the attention of their fellow-creatures, but to appear in a manner which would be pleasing to God. Nor did these forget their minister’s need of preparation for the Sabbath. He was tenderly remembered and fervently prayed for at a Throne of Grace, and in that way they constituted themselves into what Spurgeon called people similarly engaged in his own congregation, his “heating apparatus.” There are many reasons to fear that even in the Free Presbyterian Church, a great many professing people to-day have so little thought of their ministers at a Throne of Grace, that of them it could be said, that instead of being a heating apparatus, the fire had gone out on their altar. Those who love God’s worship do not confine their worship to appearances in God’s house. On Sabbath and week-day, in secret and in their families they are careful to observe God’s worship, and in that worship they are seeking to get something which will sustain and strengthen their souls.
(2) The second way in which the fear of God manifests itself in His people is, that they are afraid of sin.
One sees a beautiful example of this in the case of godly Joseph when tempted by the vile adulteress, Potiphar’s wife. His reply was, “How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” These know what it is to have sinned against God, and it is only those who fear Him who can in any measure understand the pain which drew from the depths of the soul of David the heart-rending cry, “Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight.”
(a) They are afraid of sin because by sinning they are doing that which is contrary to the mind and will of God, and their whole aim in the world is to be conformed to the will of God. That new principle which the Holy Ghost put into their souls aims at glorifying God, and it is by that new principle that their lives are governed. In looking on their lives they see times when they went contrary to that principle of holiness and gave place to sin, and it is out of that bitter experience that they can say with the Psalmist, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” To them God’s silence is worse than a thousand deaths, and His approbation better than the smiles of the whole world.
(b) Again sin is a cause of fear to them because of how it militates against the Cause of Christ in the world. They know very well that professing people are the Bible which the ungodly have, and that if professing people will go one step out of the way the ungodly will not only rejoice at the hurt done to the Cause of Christ, but they will take it as a licence for themselves to run further into sin. Thus through fear of doing harm to others their cry often will be, “Hold up my goings in thy paths that my footsteps slip not.” Sin, they feel, is too strong for them, and, therefore, they have to commit themselves and their concerns to God.
(3) These are a people who are continually kept on the watch-tower.
They have to watch with a jealous eye over the enemy within. They have a heart that is “deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked,” which requires to be constantly watched. Their business is to watch for the motions towards sin in that heart, and to apply to God for the sake of Christ to give grace to overcome these motions. The experience of each of them on this point is that they are fully employed, and it is only by grace that it can be done.
Those who fear God have also to watch over the enemy without. This causes them to be justly suspicious of all innovations in connection with the Church of Christ. Others may look upon these things as things which are indifferent, but not so the man or woman who truly fears God, and has the good of His Cause at heart. When any innovation in doctrine, mode of worship, or practice, is brought to their notice they at once go to the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament, that Word of God “which is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy Him,” and if they find no ground there for that innovation they immediately reject it as something which God has not, and will not countenance.
(4) Another characteristic of those who fear God is that they draw near each other.
They have much in common which will draw them together in private. Their outlook on the things of the world and on time and eternity, the afflictions which are the common lot of almost every one of them, together with the oneness of their aims going through this life are important factors in drawing them together, but the most important factor of all, and in the light of which everything else goes out of sight is their union in Christ, their glorious Head. “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.”
Publicly, they also draw near each other, which, in the light of what is happening this very evening, may seem a contradiction. To-day in Scotland the Supreme Courts of several Churches are meeting in different places, showing that there are divisions among us, but this is quite consistent with what has already been said, that those who fear the Lord are justly suspicious of all innovations in connection with the Church of Christ. This is why the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland has to take up a separate position, and its Synod this very evening meets as the Supreme Court of a Church separate from the other denominations in Scotland. Who is to blame for this separation? In the catastrophe which has overtaken Europe at the present time, France and Britain hold that they did not want war, but that it had been forced upon them. We may truly say as a Church that we did not want separation. It has been forced upon us. The continuance of the separation is not of our seeking, for our Synod has, time and time again declared, that we are ready to unite with any church in Scotland, which faithfully holds the Standards which are based on the infallible Word of God. Several times some who profess to adhere to these same Standards took preliminary steps to bring about union with our Church, but when their adherence was weighed in the balances and found wanting, and we would have nothing to do with them, they began a tirade of abuse. As often as this abuse was taken notice of, the end was that they were forced from the arena of debate, crestfallen and beaten. On the last occasion on which we were approached with a view to union, our Church was accused of doing its utmost, by remaining outside the proposed union, to “quench the last spark of evangelical religion in Scotland,” but by the time the negotiations broke down with the other denominations embraced in the projected union, the one who made the charge had to confess that the rock upon which the union ship split was a mere name. It must have been very humiliating for him to reflect that his own denomination was the chief culprit. Those who fear the Lord do, in the strength of grace, endeavour to keep a watchful eye on such efforts to draw them from faithfulness to His Cause.
II. I now come to notice something concerning that which is given to those who fear God, and our text tells us that it is “a banner.”
In olden days when soldiers went out to battle, a banner, or standard, was considered so essential that when one standard-bearer fell, another immediately rushed in to take his place and carry forward the banner. The banner which is given to those who fear God and which it is absolutely essential for them to have is the gospel. Where God has given the gospel banner one can find there a declaration of the whole counsel of God to perishing sinners; a crucified, risen and exalted Saviour is set forth as the only remedy to meet with the lost and ruined condition of man. This is what makes a distinction between them and many who profess to have the gospel but whose banner clearly proves that they are not those who fear God.
A banner is used to gather an army, and wherever Christ is raised up in the preaching of the gospel there the people will gather, and when the Holy Spirit comes with power soldiers will be enlisted in the army of Christ and clothed with the uniform of His glorious righteousness, and put in possession of a life which will never end. As He Himself says, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life.” It is this banner which gathers men and women from north, south, east and west, and brings them at last in among the ransomed throng on Mount Zion above, to possess in its fullness the glorious rest which remains for the people of God, and to sing eternally the praises of redeeming love.
A banner is also used to lead an army, and those who fear God find in the gospel all that is necessary to lead them through this world straight to Heaven. They many times come to places in life’s journey where they cannot see the way and would certainly wander; but when enabled to get a glimpse of the banner, its language to them is, “This is the way, walk ye in it,” and then they are safe. It is this banner that led the saints of the Old Testament to Heaven; The Apostles and Evangelists of the New Testament Church unfurled it in every place to which they came, and marched a countless number out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light, and in spite of all the ungodliness to be found in the world to-day, blessed be God, it is still with us to do the work for which it was given, and to strengthen and cheer the heart of those who in the strength of grace “contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.”
A banner, therefore, is for encouragement. A besieged city, surrounded by enemies, cut off from all sources of supply, conscious of its own weakness and the great strength of the enemy is in a deplorable condition. The sight of the dead and dying helps to swell the flood of hopelessness which is rising in every bosom. What is it that keeps them from sinking into despair? It is that the national flag is still flying, and while it occupies its honoured place there is a proof that the enemy has not yet conquered them. Similarly, God’s people may be buffeted by the world, tempted by Satan, and harassed by their own lusts, so that they may have to say with Paul, “We were pressed out of measure, above strength, inasmuch that we despaired even of life.” God is silent to them as if He had forsaken and forgotten them, and their conscience testifies that He is just in thus dealing with them, for they had sinned. The only ray of hope they have is that the gospel banner is still with them proclaiming loudly in the language of Paul, “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.”
Further, a banner is used for protection. One recalls having read somewhere of some British subjects who were taken prisoners in a foreign land, and condemned to die. When all efforts to save them proved of no avail and they were taken out to be shot, someone drew a Union Jack round them and said to the firing party, “Fire through the Union Jack if you dare.” This was more than they would dare to do, as it would be an insult to Britain, and they would have to reckon with the whole power of the British Empire. The gospel sets forth the protection God gives to those who fear Him, for in it He pledges Himself to protect them and keep them from all evil. “For thus saith the Lord of Hosts, After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you; for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.”
This banner may be said to be dipped in blood, but not in ordinary blood. It is the blood of the God-man. We read that He “poured out his soul unto death; and he was numbered with the transgressors,” and the direct fruit of that is that He has given a banner to them that fear Him. Were it not for the death of Christ there would be no gospel of forgiveness to proclaim, for “without shedding of blood there is no remission.” The fact that it is the direct fruit of the shedding of Christ’s blood manifests the wonderful love of God towards perishing men. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” As it manifests the love of God it also manifests the wonderful blessing which man is put in possession of. In Christ we have God’s greatest gift, and all other gifts are in Him, and given freely to men because purchased by Him with His blood. “He that spared not His own Son, but delivered him for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things.?”
This banner is given by God Himself and, therefore, it must be good and perfect, “For every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” It is good because of the two-fold end in view, that is, the glory of God, and the everlasting good of souls. It is perfect because given by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, with whom there is no imperfection, and therefore, there will be no need of any other revelation in this world.
III. I come now in the third place to notice the reason why a banner is given them. It is “that it may be displayed because of the truth.”
This banner is displayed by preaching a full-orbed gospel to perishing sinners. This preaching must emphasise man’s Fall in Adam and his lost and ruined condition as a result, and as has been noticed already a crucified, risen, and exalted Redeemer must be held forth as God’s only remedy to meet with that lost and ruined condition. Further, it must be declared with no uncertain sound that it is the Holy Spirit alone who can apply this remedy to lost man. In doing this the salvation that is proclaimed to sinners is a God-glorifying, Christ-exalting, and man-abasing salvation.
The displaying of the banner in this way must have no regard for the consequences to the one who displays it. He lives in a world which is hostile to true religion, and he can expect to experience what Christ warns His disciples of: “If ye were of the world the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.” To declare the whole counsel of God is unpalatable to the world, because the actions of the world are thereby condemned, the religion of the world is proved to be false, and the hope of the world is cut down. On such a religion the world will frown and those in high places will say of it what King James VI. of Scotland said of Presbyterianism, that “it is no religion for a gentleman,” inferring that only those in humble circumstances would trouble about it. In displaying the banner one has to remember that these frowns and taunts are as old as the time when true religion first appeared in this world. Godly Abel endured his brother’s frowns and continued displaying the banner even unto a martyr’s death. The Pharisees taunted their own officers who were sent to apprehend Christ, by saying, “Are ye also deceived? Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed on him? But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed.” When Christ’s standard-bearers hear this they ought to encourage themselves in the saying of their Captain, “I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight.”
As the standard-bearer must disregard the frowns of the world he must be equally on his guard against the world’s smiles. A generation in which the world seems to approve of the gospel of Christ is a very dangerous time for the Church of God, for it is a time when those who fear the Lord are apt to be lulled to sleep. In such an age those who faithfully display the banner are looked upon as alarmists and disturbers of the peace. The world accompanies its smiles by its gifts so that the Church becomes wealthy, and is like the Church of Laodicea, “increased with goods, and have need of nothing,” but alas! it is then that it hears from “the faithful and true Witness” the awful threatening, “So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.” In such an age there is a very great reason why the banner which God gave to those who fear Him should be displayed.
This banner is displayed when a testimony is raised against error, and that is the reason why we meet here to-night as a separate body. As a fruit of the world’s smiles, and the riches which as a result flowed into the coffers of the once glorious Free Church of Scotland, that Church began to forget her God, so that God began to withdraw His favour and permitted her to open wide her doors to Rationalism, and every member of its cursed offspring, each bearing the detestable hall-mark, “made in Germany.” I am not going to take up time by way of pointing out how that culminated in the passing of the Declaratory Act, and the consequent and necessary separation of some from the Church which adopted it. By this separation the banner was displayed in defence of the truth and against error, and no matter how insignificant those who displayed it were in the eyes of the world, their work was owned, and is still being owned of God. These are matters of history and every Free Presbyterian should be thoroughly conversant with them. In passing, however, I cannot omit to notice that, to me at least, it is more than a mere coincidence that twice in a quarter of a century the cream of our manhood has been called upon to defend our homes and hearths from the very people whose soul-ruining and hell-filling heresies we drank in like water. This was the way in which God dealt with the Jews of old. They went to idolatory and God punished them by idolators. In looking at matters from that point of view let the people of Scotland remember with sorrow and shame how, as a result of their apostacy from God, their hands are imbued in their own children’s blood.
When a nation or a community backslides away from God and returns like the dog to its vomit again, and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire, it is time to display this banner. There is plenty of evidence that this is the case among ourselves as a nation. We are going back to an alarming extent to Popery, though we retain the name of Protestant, and in that way show how little we value what was so dear to our forefathers that they shed their blood for it. In this way we are turning our backs on the Gospel and embracing things which the Gospel was the means of banishing from this land many years ago. One evidence of this is to be seen in the practice of many of the citizens of Inverness, and others, of going out to what is called “The Wishing Well” at Culloden, dropping a coin into the well and wishing a wish. This is one of the rotten rags of Popery, which the Papists in turn borrowed from the heathen. We talk about twentieth-century civilization but this is a case of putting the clock back to the time of the “Dark Ages.” The money gathered on these occasions is given to the Inverness Royal Infirmary, but if the Directors had any respect for the Institution which they represent or the Christian charity which has supported it for many a year they would not accept a penny of such money.
When admitting to the Sacraments, or to office in the Church this banner should be faithfully displayed. Many take up the attitude in connection with the Sacrament of Baptism that they are as good as their neighbour, and that “if he gets baptism I have a right to get baptism too.” Again, the same attitude is taken up in connection with seeking admission to the Lord’s Table. In this there are reasons for faithful dealing, even in the case of churches which profess to be orthodox, and whose church courts still examine candidates for membership. It is the experience of ministers and elders that the ones whom they believe it to be their duty to make a public profession are the very ones who hold back, while of those who come forward there are many that one would rather that they would not come. Many can answer correctly all the questions that a kirk-session might reasonably be expected to ask them, not, however, out of their own experience, but out of the Young Communicants’ Catechism, by Rev. John Willison of Dundee, or out of some other similar guide. While we would be very sorry to hurt any person, old or young, who truly fear the Lord and who have right and Scriptural motives for making a public profession, our firm conviction is that many to-day, especially among young women, take up a profession of religion, from other motives than the love of witnessing on the side of the Lord Jesus Christ. Some of these come forward to the Lord’s Table dressed in such a way that they are a source of grief to the Lord’s true people, because going contrary to the Scripture exhortation, “that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broidered hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; but (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.” It is only the Great Day that will reveal the harm that is done to the cause of Christ in the world by not displaying the banner faithfully in kirk-sessions, for the men who are to-day received into membership are the men who may be elected to office to-morrow, and all the members, male and female, have the power to elect them.
It is “because of the truth” that the banner is to be displayed. When the revelation which God has given of His own mind and will is attacked, the duty of all who fear God is to display the banner which He has given. By doing this they are revealing that they are on the side of Christ and not on the side of the devil. As lovers of the Lord Jesus they must put forth every effort to conserve the truth, and they must carry the banner in the face of the world’s opposition, the deadness and back-sliding condition of the professing church, and all the power of the kingdom of darkness. They must carry it in the strength of Divinely-given grace to the end of life’s journey without yielding an inch, whatever that may cost them. They must display it because God’s truth demands it, and none can disobey the truth and not suffer for it. We read of one instance in the life of Peter when he dropped this banner, and denied that he knew his Lord, but who can tell the bitter anguish of heart that was behind the tears which Peter shed after the Saviour looked upon him. David dropped the banner, and for a time pursued a course which was most dishonourable in a standard-bearer, but the fifty-first psalm amply shows how he smarted for it. These are faithfully set down in God’s Word like light-houses on dangerous rocks in order to show us the necessity of displaying the banner faithfully at all times.
It ought to be displayed because God in His truth requires it, and promises to support those who display it. In sending out His disciples with the everlasting Gospel, Christ says to them, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” Who is the One who is speaking? He is their King, and, therefore, they must obey Him, or else be guilty of rebellion. As their King He leads them, rules them, and defends them, for, being the Almighty God He has power over all their enemies, and, therefore, they are sure to succeed in spite of all opposition.
He will make good His promise, “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord; and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.”
In view of such great and precious promises ought we not, who profess to be the servants of God, to be willing to display our God-given banner. In the history of our beloved land we find that others displayed the banner until they lost their lives in doing so. In our own day things are looking dark indeed. Our statesmen, and all in authority, are now speaking frankly of “the gravity of the situation.” Whatever can be said of our back-sliding condition as a nation, and much could be said on that matter, it is true that we are engaged in a life and death struggle with paganism in its worst forms, supported by the latest discoveries of modern science, and although this war against our country is not ostensibly supported by the Man of Sin, yet the well-known abilities of the present Pope as a diplomat and a schemer, brings it well within the range of possibility, that he is visualising a rich harvest for his Church should Britain be defeated. However, there is one who is greater than Hitler, or the Pope of Rome, and that is the Lord who “sitteth upon the flood.” If we are to display His banner we can say, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble,” for He will take care of that which He has committed to us, and of us if we be faithful to our trust, for, does He not say, “Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life”? May He add His blessing to anything said in accordance with His Word.