The Psalmist speaks of the earth being removed, the mountains being carried into the midst of the sea, the waters of the sea roaring and being troubled, and the mountains shaking with the swelling of the waters. All these are descriptive of the mighty forces which are opposed to and ever assault the Church of God. Not only is the Church of God collectively faced with such mighty forces, creating such awful upheavals, but each one of the people of God is exposed to the assaults of the forces of the kingdom of darkness. It is in the light of such upheavals and assaults that the Psalmist goes on to say: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear.” His trust is in the Lord and the Lord will be his Deliverer, therefore he will not fear. So it must be with all the Lord’s people and so it must be with the Church of God. Vain is the help of man, but in the Lord Jehovah, the Rock of Ages, is everlasting strength.
The forces of evil and darkness appear in many forms, yet whatever form these forces take the aim is the same, that is, opposition to Christ and His Cause in the world and the attempt to destroy that Cause. The world itself is a mighty force when it appears in all its powerful attractiveness to ensnare the souls of men, and to entangle them in the mesh of its own net. There is that in the world which is attractive to the carnal heart of man, and to the remnants of the old nature left in the people of God. How easy it is to give place to the things of this world and elevate them to a place they do not deserve! How easy it is for us to be drawn aside from those things which are of lasting value to those things which perish in the using! How easy it is to be affected by the maxims of this world and a place given to these which they do not deserve, while the truths of God’s Word are neglected and passed over! How often has the world insinuated its way not only into the thoughts and practices of the people of God, but even into the Church itself! The world when it enters the
Church of God brings its own thoughts and ways with it. How many once-faithful Churches have been destroyed by it. The world, whether attacking the Church of God from outside, or by worming its way into it and attacking it from within, is a mighty foe and how dangerous it would be to regard it otherwise. Yet there is One who is mightier —
“But yet the Lord, that is on high,
is more of might by far
Than noise of many waters is,
or great sea-billows are.”
The false system of Antichrist, and all forms of false religion, and all false sects, are mighty foes against the Church of God. How many of the children of God has the Church of Rome slain in her opposition to Christ and His Cause! How many of the Lord’s servants and followers has Mohammedanism slaughtered! How many have all forms of false religion persecuted and slain! The enmity of these evil systems to the people of God indicates the enmity they have to Christ Himself. What countless millions has Communism slain of the true children of God in the attempt to establish atheism in the earth! Blind to the glory of Christ and His Cause, these systems as mighty forces have pitted themselves against the true Church of God in the world. Do they succeed? Only for a little time, and then the Lord by His Almighty power overthrows those that are set against Him, for all His enemies shall be made His footstool.
In this dark day what powerful forces are arrayed against Christ and His Cause. In such a time the Church of God must look to the One who is her refuge and strength and who is a very present help in trouble. He will be with His Church still, for He dwells with her and in her. Therefore let us not be dismayed.
“God in the midst of her doth dwell;
nothing shall her remove:
The Lord to her an helper will,
and that right early prove.”
Let us hold fast in these times of blasphemy and rebuke, looking to the Lord for deliverance from all the forces that are at work threatening to overthrow Protestantism in our land and the Protestant constitution on which our civil and religious liberties rest. To the outward eye it may seem a lost cause as the enemies of Zion appear to triumph and boast of their success but it is not so. The Cause is the Lord’s and He will vindicate it and deliver it. He will not suffer it to be destroyed. The enemy says of Zion: “Let her be defiled, and let our eye look upon Zion.” But the prophets answers these enemies of the God of Israel: “They know
not the thoughts of the Lord, neither understand they his counsel: for He shall gather them as the sheaves into the floor.” And the Psalmist homologates this when he says: “Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.” Then he goes on to say: “The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.”
Sermon
by Rev. J. A. Macdonald
“Behold, I come quickly; hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.”
Rev. 3: 11.
There are three things in this portion of God’s word which we shall consider on this occasion.
- The warning — “Behold I come quickly.”
- The exhortation — “hold that fast which thou hast.”
- The reason for doing so — “that no man take thy crown.”
1. The warning — “Behold I come quickly.”
Christ says to Himself, Behold I come quickly.” Neither saint or angel know the time of His coming. It is, as it were, a secret in the heart of God the Father until that solemn hour arrives when He shall come to judge the world in righteousness, “justice to give each one.” Ps. 9: 8. It is written in Matthew chapter 25 at verse 31: “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory; and before him shall be gathered all nations.”
Before his death Christ comforted his people in a wonderful way. He said to them: “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” John 14: 2, 3. It is good and profitable for us, both for time and eternity, to ponder over the assurance given in Romans 5: 6, that “in due time Christ died for the ungodly.” The poor leper when he was in distress understood this. He addressed the Saviour with these words: “Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.” Then came the gracious reply, “I will; be thou clean.” Matt. 8: 2. We hear from the Saviour’s lips what he had to suffer in order to set the prisoners free. In His humiliation He had to say: “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath no where to lay his head.” Matt. 8: 20.
Scripture reveals that “the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think
not.” How necessary it is, therefore, to be prepared for that time, with our lamps burning, ready and waiting for the coming of the bridegroom, lest coming suddenly he find us sleeping, or, like the foolish virgins, who had no oil in their vessels, we hear the awful words, “Verily I say unto you, I know you not.” “Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.”
2. The exhortation — “hold that fast which thou hast.”
Hold fast is a divine command which must not be neglected, come what may. The exhortation to “stand still” and see the salvation of the Lord, was first given by Moses, when he led the children of Israel at the Red Sea. What a marvellous salvation it was. The children of Israel crossed through the sea on dry land while the enemies sank in the sea like lead.
Ruth is one who held fast. She is to be admired for she cleaved to Naomi and was enabled to “hold fast” when her sister Orpah returned to the gods of Moab. Turning back to false gods and godless companions is characteristic of graceless sinners. Ruth will ever be remembered too, for her noble words: “Intreat me not to leave thee; or to return from following after thee; for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God; where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried . . .” Ruth 1: 16, 17. She was not looking for a special place of burial with an ornate grave and splendid ceremony. She said “there will I be buried” — with her godly mother-in-law — wherever that would be in the providence of God. She knew that the Lord had prepared a place for her, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
Satan will assail you when you endeavour to “hold fast.” When he comes with his fiery darts, tell him that you have entered into a covenant with the Lord to follow Him through good and evil report in the world and, as a result that you are under the shelter of the precious blood. When he hears mention of the blood of the covenant he will flee from you.
O cleave to the truth of God and to His ten commandments and God shall be your reward when the heavens and the earth are no more. People who have been carried away with the streams of popery, modernism, etc, have little regard for the commandments of God. They will tell you that it is no longer fashionable to keep the Sabbath Day holy, and that it will shortly be a thing of the past. We feel sure that while the witness of the Free Presbyterian Church is maintained under the canopy of heaven the keeping of the Sabbath will never cease.
The Lord’s people are often burdened with sorrows and distresses which
are too heavy for them. We often reflect on what the servant of the Lord, Rev. Malcolm Gillies, used to say when speaking of Simon who was “compelled to carry the cross.” Nothing is revealed of the conversation between Jesus and Simon on that journey, but Mr Gillies said, “I think I hear the Friend of sinners say — ‘if that end of the cross is too heavy for you — let its whole weight down on Me’.”
“Cast thou thy burden on the Lord,
and he shall thee sustain;
Yea, he shall cause the righteous man
unmoved to remain.”
Ps. 55: 22.
Job the servant of the Lord met with many sorrows in this world; however he kept his head in the stream, so to speak. God and angels heard him saying: “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.” Job 13: 15. This was an example indeed of close cleaving to the Lord, as was that of the psalmist when he said: “O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee.” Ps. 63: 1.
One of the divines speaks of Christ in a beautiful way. He said that when the whole church was much cast down and in need of a good tonic, as it were, to strengthen her, Christ gave her just that from his own lips: “I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.” Song of Solomon 2: 1. He points out that the rose of Sharon is one which has no thorn, and this indicates to the church that they can cast themselves upon the bosom of love and mercy at any time on their way to the celestial city — to the land flowing with milk and honey. O friend, seek grace to persevere to the end, and all shall be well. When Christ shall come to the vindication of His people, it is no wonder that the church can then say: “For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone.” Song of Sol. 2: 11.
The apostle Paul sheds further light on our supreme duty of holding fast when he says: “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.” 1 Cor. 15: 58. Jacob, too, was also a shining jewel in the hand of the Lord, therefore in the face of many afflictions he did “hold fast” in much love to the God who shewed him such favour and kindness. While wrestling with the Lord one night, seeking the continuance of grace and love to his own soul, and the souls of many whom he loved in the world, the Lord said to him: “Let me go, for the day breaketh.” But Jacob answered: “I will not let thee go except thou bless me.” Gen. 32: 26. The day came when Jacob finished his course in this world and God took him home to enjoy peace and felicity at God’s right hand for evermore, there to be with the redeemed family of God.
Habakkuk was also one of the Lord’s jewels in a dark and cloudy day — he served the Lord well and faithfully during his sojourn here. Let us hear what he had to say in the face of all his disappointments. We see how his faith stood the test when he could say: “Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.” Hab. 3: 17, 18.
3. The reason for holding fast — “that no man take thy crown.”
A crown is a symbol of royalty — for kings and queens. The Lord Jesus Christ had a crown of glory upon His head from all eternity. This affords his people both pleasure and joy. Before He came to tabernacle among men He had of necessity to lay aside His crown together with His glory which He had with the Father before the world was. Of course he could not associate himself with fallen men and women in such glorious garments — therefore he took upon Himself our human nature. We read of Him nailed to the cross with the crown of thorns upon His head which caused Him much pain and suffering. Nevertheless, we do not hear even one complaint.
We hear the instruction given: “Go forth O ye daughters of Zion, and behold king Solomon with the crown with which his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals and in the day of the gladness of his heart.” Song of Sol. 3: 11. Let nothing in this world hold you back from witnessing for Christ in this hostile world.
It is good for us ever to bear in mind that “it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Heb. 10: 31. We are encouraged by the word of God to study its pages where we will find many sweet tokens that the Lord is “waiting to be gracious” and is “ready to forgive.” Let me remind you in love to your soul what Christ says: “Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out.” John 6: 37. Yes, in NO WISE.
“The Lord our God is merciful,
and he is gracious,
Long suffering, and slow to wrath,
in mercy plentious. Ps. 103: 8.
We cannot imagine how altogether glorious and beautiful Christ and His bride shall appear in the presence of God for ever and ever. The late Rev. J. P. MacQueen, London, while preaching with a good measure of liberty would often quote the words of Augustine’s prayer: “O Lord thou has made us for Thyself, and we are restless until we find rest in Thee.”
It is then and then only that we will be able to get a view, and that throughout eternity, of His immeasurable holiness, together with His divine justice. God said to His beloved church in his love and kindness, “I will betroth thee unto me forever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment and in lovingkindness, and in mercies.” Hos. 2: 19. O what a lovely Saviour Christ is to His people who will follow the Lord Jesus wheresover he leads them, come what may.
It is obvious from God’s word that a crown of purest gold awaits all His children upon their arrival at the celestial city. O how unworthy we are of the least of His kindnesses and His love. We often have to call ourselves “unprofitable servants” but yet he will give us a “crown of life” and will make us kings and queens and joint-heirs with Himself. That servant of the Lord, Robert Murray McCheyne, wrote in a beautiful poem on the death of a gracious child:
“Yes, parents, smile through all your tears;
A crown of life your darling wears;
The grave a shady porch appears
To where we’ll meet again.”
How transcendently beautiful Christ and his bride, the church, shall appear on the resurrection morning when Christ loudly declares: “Behold I and the children whom thou hast given me.” Isaiah 8: 18. He never lost either a sheep or a lamb, so “fear not little flock, it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Luke 12: 32.