Notes of a Sermon preached in Gaelic by the late
Rev. D. N. Macleod, Ullapool
Philippians C. 4, v. 19: “But my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
Philippi was the first place in Europe where the faith of Christ was set on foot, as this Epistle sets forth. This Epistle shows the wonderful love between the Apostle Paul and this church. He praises her, as she did more for him than any other church. He would not do so unless it were true, as He was not given to flattery.
1st. The people we have brought before us here.
2nd. What God will do for them, and in what measure this will be accomplished.
We may see that this does not refer to all the inhabitants of Philippi, but only to such as made up the true church there —
that is, to the people of God.
They proved they were the true people of God, but they were a poor people. This was always true of God’s people and the visible church of God. It was always so, as James says: “God has chosen the poor of this world rich in faith”; and we read of Christ speaking to the disciples concerning John the Baptist when he sent to Jesus to ask if He were the “One who was to come or do we look for another”.
It was the joy of John’s heart that the Gospel was preached to the poor, and it cannot be otherwise as this was joy to Christ Himself, and down through the ages. But He did not exclude the rich any more than the poor for He chose Abraham, Jacob and others, and so it is still.
But more especially God did choose the poor, and the few God has yet in the earth are of the poor. It is not Kings and Queens and the rich, but common people, and of them He writes here “God shall supply all your needs”. It makes plain to the world that it is not left to the church to support itself in the world, but it is God Himself who maintains it. It is plain that the burden is on Christ Himself, as it is written “Thou saidst I help upon a strong one laid, out of the folk I raised a chosen one”. Ps. 89, v. 19.
This people are not only poor in the world in Providence, but also Spiritually — no spiritually rich among them, as Christ said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven”, and their poverty is so great that there is nothing left with them but an empty purse — not a penny left.
Their souls were empty of every good they had or possessed, and they are thus to old age, as it is true here of Paul when he says, “In my flesh dwelleth no good thing”. Romans c. 7, v. 18. They are not empty of grace for all that, but emptied of everything belonging to the flesh. They are made poor. He took away their “good” heart and good intentions — nothing left to cover them. They were as naked as Adam and Eve when they lost their righteousness. He gave them a bruised spirit as Isaiah says, “The bruised reed He shall not break, nor the smoking flax He shall not quench”. He gave them a broken heart as in Psalm 51, “A broken spirit is to God a pleasing sacrifice”. The bruised spirit and broken heart shall not be taken away from them.
If they were rich men they would not require help from anyone. They are quite able to do all for themselves — quite independent, but when they are poor they cannot be anything else but needful. Christ Himself knew what it was to be needful in providence, and the Apostle also knew, as we find in the 12th verse of the chapter, “In all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need”. He knew what it was to have his needs supplied. He knew of godly sorrow as well. He had
repented of the sinful work he had been doing in crucifying the Son of God, “I obtained mercy”, he said, “because I did it ignorantly in unbelief”. 1st Tim. c. 1, v. 13.
The Apostle Paul was indeed one of those poor ones now — he knew poverty in the two ways mentioned, but now he knew how his poverty could be met. Spiritually, he knew it in this way — he was lifted up to the third Heaven, and heard things which cannot be uttered, but God gave him a thorn in the flesh. He himself might say, “Oh if I were delivered from this thorn how much more good I would be able to do”. This, however, was not the mind of Christ in giving him the thorn but lest he should be exalted above measure. It was for Paul’s good. He confessed afterwards how beneficial it was. Christ says, “I will not take the thorn away, but I will make My Grace sufficient for you, and my strength perfect in your weakness”. “Very good”, says Paul, “most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me. I will do more good by having this thorn in my flesh”. He gave Timothy this counsel, “that they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate”. 1st Tim., c. 6, v. 18; and here He promises to supply all their needs. He has knowledge of them all. He sees all that is in the whole creation from the heavens high. He knows all their temporal and spiritual needs, and friends, see that you keep this in mind that your needs in soul and spirit are not the same every day — each day has its own needs, and so the promise is given, “Strength according to the day, and a back according to the burden”. What you had yesterday will not do you for today. Remember He is the God of Providence, as it is said in the Lord’s Prayer, “Give us our daily bread”, so let God’s people remember that the daily needs of the soul are as sure to them as their daily bread. If God cares for the body He will care more for the soul.
Let us take notice of the little word “all” mentioned here — all our needs. It teaches us that He can supply every need for the soul. We are not to think He may supply some of them and not them all. The Apostle Paul is in no doubt about it. He is certain that God is not going to leave them with their daily bread only, but that He will supply all their needs in body and soul.
Unbelief is the greatest handle of the devil. Satan will blow upon unbelief in the soul, so that great dishonour will be done to God. God makes provision for every need. A person might have a provision which was suitable, but very small in measure. He might say, “I would wish to give more, but I am not able as I have no more to give away”. But none can put bounds on what God can give. When Moses was in the wilderness and the people lusted for flesh, God said He would provide them with flesh even
in the wilderness. Moses limited what God could do. He said, “Must all the flocks be slain to give these people flesh?”. God’s arm cannot be shortened, nor His ear become heavy.
Providence belongs to God. “To me belongs the earth, and all that it contains” — Spiritual blessings as well as the riches of His Grace. Preached among the Gentiles, Eph. c. 3, v. 7 and 8 — riches in Grace; and friend, how little will be missed out of the riches of Christ after a poor soul receives the fulness of his soul out of these riches. Riches in Glory — Grace is Glory, or the beginning of Glory. Glory fills the whole creation, “Let the earth be filled with His Glory” Ps. 72. “Father I will that they may behold My Glory” John c. 17, v. 24. That this people might know His riches in Glory to be theirs, they must wait until they get possession of them before they can speak of them. We are so ignorant of the least of these riches as yet in the world. You and I cannot reach unto the least part of them, but through Jesus Christ. Christ is so poor in the eyes of sinners in our day, but yet the least part of these riches cannot be ours except we be enabled to lay hold on them through faith in Christ Jesus.
THOUGHTS ON THE PSALMS
by Rev. Alex. McPherson
Psalm One Hundred and Two
Verse 9. “For I have eaten ashes like bread, and mingled my drink with weeping.”
From these sad words we may gauge to what extent this poor man had mourned. Following the custom of his age, he had repeatedly thrown ashes so that they fell upon his head, and from thence they dropped onto the food which he strove to eat as a matter of duty. Verse four, you may remember states that he had no real appetite. Relieving his thirst gave him no more enjoyment than eating did, for what he drank was made brackish by the copiousness of his tears.
Verse 10. “Because of thine indignation and thy wrath: for thou hast lifted me up, and cast me down.”
Here he tells of the source of his sorrow, and we can see that it springs from a view of the plight of his sinful nation more than anything else. The whole nation has suffered for its apostasy; godly and ungodly alike. The psalmist completely associates himself with his people and regards his personal condition and prospects as a type of theirs. Caught in a gale of divine wrath, he and they have been tossed up and down.
Verse 11. “My days are like a shadow that declineth; and I am withered like grass.”
Regarding himself, he had no hope of survival. He knew his end to be fast approaching; his sun had gone down so far that it scarcely cast any shadow. He was like withered, dying grass.
Surely this is a sad complaint, a man summing up his own condition of body as quite hopeless! Yet, in what follows we see that his prayer was given a large answer in that the Spirit of God directed his mind away altogether from the hopeless appearance of things on earth to Himself in heaven.
Verse 12. “But thou, O Lord, shalt endure for ever; and thy remembrance unto all generations.”
How often do we find the saints of God making mention of his eternity in their addresses to Him! Yet, simply to consider that God is eternal in contrast to man’s mortality and few years would scarcely serve to revive drooping spirits and build new hope. It is when his eternity is linked with his covenant faithfulness, as it is in his name Jehovah, that a believing soul can rise above the depression of spirits consequent upon great affliction. The name “Lord” in this verse means “Jehovah” — “I am that I am”, and it is this view of the divine character that leads the psalmist on to his next words which strike a different note from all that has gone before.
Verse 13. “Thou shalt arise and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favour her is come, yea, the set time, is come.”
The city of Zion was brought to a very low state when Nebuchadnezzar destroyed it, and thus it remained for seventy years. What was needed to restore it was divine mercy, for divine judgment had laid it low. As her people were captives in a distant land, Zion could not be rebuilt unless they were released and brought back, and given a mind to rebuild city and temple. Who could do that but God? The psalmist, knowing the character of Israel’s God, and moved also by the Spirit of prophecy, forecasts that He will indeed have mercy.
The judgment had been disciplinary, not destructive. Through Jeremiah (Jer. 25, v. 11, 12) the Lord had set a limit to Israel’s bondage. From the second verse of the ninth chapter of Daniel we see that that godly man clearly recognised this fact. Years and decades had dragged past, but this poor, dying exile knows that the set time for deliverance is at hand, therefore mercy would be shown to Zion.
Now it is no worse with the New Testament Church than it was with that of the Old. The Church is to last as long as the world because its King must reign until He hath put all enemies under his feet. While on earth He declared that His Church would be like a grain of mustard seed which would grow into a mighty tree. “Upon this rock will I build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” It is a kingdom which cannot be
moved.
Yet the Church can decline through unfaithfulness and other sins as it has done throughout the past century. Has it not come to a condition so ruinous as to deserve comparison with the Zion of the Psalm? But can we, like the psalmist, aver that the set time for rebuilding has come, by referring to prophecies in the Word of God? Some think that the time has almost come; others believe that no-one can be certain, yet hope that the time may be near. What is certain is that God will revive his work, and when the set time known to Him does come, the building up of Zion will not be prevented by any power on earth or in hell.
Verse 14. “For thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and favour the dust thereof.”
This was another sign by which the psalmist knew that the Lord would soon show mercy. It is still a favourable sign. When God’s people become very concerned about the low state of the Church universal and bear its concerns often and urgently to the throne of grace, this may well be a precursor of revival. How dear the Church of God ought to be to its members! It is the company of the called and saved with whom alone they can have true fellowship on earth. It is the agency by which the blessings of redemption will come to others. It is the light of the world, the preserving salt of the earth. It is the dwelling place of God on earth, and even when in a depleted and weak condition, it is dear to all the people of God. When this delight becomes very evident in prayers and longings and strivings for the building of the spiritual Zion, it is a good sign. Have we pleasure in the stones and dust of the Zion of our time?
Verse 15. “So the heathen shall fear the name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth thy glory.”
It was a great wonder to the nations when God recalled Zion’s bondage. Nations and their rulers will never fail to be impressed when the Lord revives his Church. Notable effects will follow. The Scriptures will again be received as God’s revealed will, fully inspired and inerrant. The Church will regain influence and again become a power for good in the world. God will be glorified. “God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him.”