The Presence of God
Promised to His Church
Preached at the opening of Free St
John’s, Edinburgh, 18th April 1845
" In all places where I record my name, I wIll come unto
thee, and I wilt bless thee" - Ezek, xx. 24.
This promise - this very
precious and very gracious promise - was in the first instance given to Moses,
and through him to the children of Israel; as we have it in the 21st and 22d
verses of this same chapter; "And the people stood afar off. And Moses drew
near unto the thick darkness where God was. And the Lord said unto Moses, Thus
thou shalt say unto the children of Israel"
And the question with you
and me this day is, Can we serve ourselves heirs to Moses and
Israel - heirs of this blessed promise, in the house where we are now for the
first time assembled? Above the door of the tabernacle, and on the lintels of
the temple in Shiloh, and on Zion,, they might have engraved that sentence; and
the question is, Might we chisel them above the doors of this church, as
one of these places of which the Lord has said, "In all pieces where I record
my name, I will come unto thee and bless thee?"
It is very true that that
promise was first given to Moses, and to the Mosaic economy, and that there
were peculiarities in that economy which have now passed away. The fact is, the
Church was then in a state of childhood it went through the discipline of
childhood, and was attired in the dress of childhood, and it learned by types
and figures, as a child does in painted pictures, the lessons of gospel truth;
and now to restore to the Church of the living God, to force on the Church of
Christ at this day the peculiarities of a bygone system, were (to say no worse
of it) as absurd a thing as to dress out a full grown man in the habiliments of
his boyish years. And so Christianity, now no child, having put away what
belonged to childhood, her forms few and her worship spiritual, says with Paul,
"When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as
a child; but when I became a man I put away childish things." And so,to go no
farther for an illustration than the verse which contains my text - it speaks
of an altar and sacrifices. There is no altar now. Where is the altar? Where is
the priest, and the fragrant incense, and the smoking sacrifice? They are put
away. There is no stone altar - there is no earthern altar - and there is no
priest at all in this house, hut the chosen of God. And why? There is no altar,
because no sacrifice - and no sacrifice, because Jesus, the only Priest, the
High Priest of Heaven, and the only Priest of earth - Jesus the victim, Jesus
the altar, Jesus the temple, and Jesus the priest, "hath appeared to put away
sin by the sacrifice of himself."
You will observe, then, brethren, that
the altar is away - the burnt offerings are away - the peace-offerings are away
- the sheep are away - the oxen are away - but is the promise of my text away
with them? No! - and the reason is, because there is no necessary connection
between the promise of the verse and what precedes it. They have perished, but
it shall endure; and this promise, like a beauteous aud fertilising stream, has
flowed through the Church down through all succeeding ages. It was not the
property of Moses. They talk of church property ! This is the church property,
the best property a church can have - property Parliament cannot give, nor
violence take away - it is a property we have within this church; for what says
the Saviour? God said to Moses, "In all places where I record my name, I
will come unto thee, and I will bless thee." And the ascending Saviour
said, "Lo, I am with you alway," even in point of space,as well as time;
even to the end of the world! Jesus has repeated the glorious and blessed
promise given to Moses, of this house - a house we consecrate to his name - a
house we dedicate to his honour. He says, " Where two or three are gathered
together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." And without farther
introduction, having shown that the promise of my text is one the Church still
possesses, there are two or three things connected with that promise to which I
shall now proceed to turu your attention.
1. To the extent of the
promise.
2. To the blessing of the promise. " In all places where I record
my name" - that is its extent. " I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee"
- that is its blessing. Observe,
I. The extent of the promise. - Now
the text does not say simply, "in all places," but "in all places where I
record my name I will come unto thee and bless thee." The dew of heaven’s
blessing, like that wrung from the fleece of Gideon, is only to fall on some
places - it is to be wet in this place, and desert dry in that. And, brethren,
the question we have to do with is this, What does God mean by the expression,
"Where I record my name ?" Where, and what are the places where God records His
name? Now the verse, of which my text forms a part, answers the question. God
here instructs Moses what kind of altar to raise - what kind of offerings to
bring - what sacrifices to offer; and having done so - having told him of the
altar, and sacrifices, and offerings, he then follows it up by saying,
manifestly referring to what has been already said, "In all places where I
record my name, I will come unto thee and I will bless thee." And it is plain
to the humblest capacity that the place where Jehovah recorded his name was
just the place where His altar stood - the place where the lamb bled - the
place where God was worshipped according to his own appointment.
Now, to go
back for one moment to the days of ceremonial ordinances, we find that of all
the countries of the world there was but one, and of all the places in that
country there were but two, where God recorded his name. God now records his
name in every church, that is, in every gospel church. God records his name in
as many places as he has churches where Christ is preached; bnt there was a
time when there was but one country, and but two places, where God recorded His
name. That country was the land of Canaan, and the two places in that country
were, 1st, Shiloh, where, to use David’s figure, the ark dwelt in
curtains. 2d, Jerusalem, where the sacrifice continued to be offered till
Christ himself came to do away sacrifices, and, breaking down the barriers, to
let the full flood of the knowledge of saving mercy and saving grace spread
over the wide world. Where does he record it now? God records his name now
wherever, and among whomsoever, of every nation - nay, we rejoice not only of
every nation, hut every denomination, where He, of whom that smoking altar, and
you bleeding, groaning, suffering lamb was but the type and sign - I mean to
say, in every place where Jesus Christ and him crucified are preached. God once
recorded His name where the altar was seen.
Now, where the cross is seen -
not the cross in painted colours, not the cross in stained glass windows, not a
cross in senseless stone, but the living cross, the gospel cross, the sermon
cross, the saving cross, the cross of gospel sacrifices - where, in fact, the
eyes of sinners are turned, not to the robe he wore on the cross, and which
blinded men pretend now to possess, but to the veritable robe of His own
righteousness. Not, I say, to the robes Christ wore on his way to the cross,
but the robe that he wore on the cross - the robe of his own righteousness -
arrayed in which all-guilty and hell-deserving man stands innocent in the eyes
of a Holy God! Shew me the place where Christ is preached as God’s only
Son and man’s only Saviour - where the minister points to the only
sacrifice which taketh away the sin of the world - that is the place where God
records his name. The promise of God is in fact given to a gospel church, and
it is no gospel church unless Christ crucified is preached in it - it is no
gospel sermon unless Christ is its sun and centre; and I do not care whether a
man be ordained by the hands of a bishop or a Presbytery - I care not whether
he be chosen by the people or otherwise - I care not whether he be arrayed in
black gown or white - I say that man is no gospel minister who does not resolve
with the apostle Paul, "1 am determined to know nothing among you, save Jesus
Christ and him crucified."
Brethren, give me a church where Christ is
preached as God’s only Son and man’s only Saviour, where the living
finger of the minister, true as needle to the pole, points to Christ, and,
irrespective of all external circumstances, wherever and in what place soever
they meet - whether on the barren heath or on a marble floor - beneath a gilded
ceiling or the canopy of heaven - in dungeon dark or mountain high - whether it
be a band of peers or a band of peasants, driven by the iron band of oppression
back on the throne of their God - brethren, give me that, and I say there God
will fulfil his promisc, "In all places where I record my name, I will come
unto thee and I will bless thee."
What do we come here for? "What dost thou
here, Elijah?" Why left you you place and came to this? Because we believed the
promise. In faith in that promise, we crossed that street, and have now pitched
our tent within these walls. We have not shifted our ground much, and our
principles not at all. This is not a new church. We are but an old church in a
new building. We have left our goods, but not our God. Lose what we may, we
have not lost this promise - so long as by the grace of God - so long as we
have Jesus Christ and him crucified - and I will take leave to say, not only
Jesus crucified, but Jesus crowned as well as crucified - I say, brethren, as
long as that doctrine is preached - and may these walls perish before any other
doctrine is preached within them - so long, I say, will heaven send down the
blessing of that promise, " In all places where I record my name, I will come
unto thee, and I will bless thee."
II. I would now turn your attention, in
the second place, to the blessing of the promise. We have seen its
extent - we would now see its blessing; and there are two things which, with
all possible brevity, I would touch upon. 1st, God’s presence - " I will
come unto thee ;" 2dly. God’s blessing - " and I will bless thee."
Now, there is a very wide difference between God’s essential presence
and his gracious presence. As the creator, and governor, and judge of all
things, God is everywhere present. God is present in heaven and present in
hell. " If I ascend up into heaven thou art there; if I make my bed in hell,
behold thou art there; if I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the
uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right
hand shall hold me." Now, it is not of that essential presence that my text
speaks, but his gracious presence - I mean of God present to call, to
constrain, to convert - I mean God present to wash in the blood of his Son, and
to sanctify in the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost; and
as you have seen, in the workshop of the lapidary, a jewel cut and polished on
the wheel, so the spirit of God is polishing and preparing souls in this house
to shine like diamonds in the crown of Jesus. We sometimes hear of the
consecration of churches; but the best consecration I know is a present Spirit.
The presence of Christ only consecrates and constitutes a church. There cannot
be a living body without a living head, A man dies if you deprive him of his
head. Deprive a church of its head, and it is dead. There cannot be a court
without a king, and there cannot be a church without Christ in it. It is not
the marble floor ahd gilded ceilings - it is not the gorgeous furniture of a
palace that make its proprietor a king. These not a sovereign but a slave may
possess. It is the presence of a sovereign that makes a palace, and a. king is
a king however plain his dress or mean his dwelling place. And, in the same
way, a church does not depend on externals. I have seen a church in a place as
mean as the stable where the child was born. The babe was in the stable - the
king was in the Church; and wise men were they who left Herod’s palace -
turned their back on the temple, and followed yon star of heaven, and sought
their King under a stable-door; and these are wise men still who, following the
star of conscience, will seek the gospel in a stable and honour true religion
when, like her Lord, she is driven to stable, sea shore, and mountain. There
was no room for Christ in the inn, and therefore his mother went to a stable;
and sometimes when there is no room for Christ in gorgeous palaces and in the
society of the great, you will find him in the meanest places and in the lowest
company.
Now, brethren, it is this presence which we desire and value. We
have no objection to the presence of the great - we quarrel not with that - we
are glad to see the great, the good, and religion adorning and gilding with
celestial light the very pinnacles of society; but the presence we value - the
presence we pray for, and are here alone to care for, is the presence promised
in my tcxt. I have missed some who in days of old worshipped with us; and God
forbid that I should say that in none of them our Free Church misses a valued
man ; but God knows we shall miss none if Christ is with us, and if Christ is
not with us, it matters not who is with us. There will be no sinner saved - no
soul sanctified - no prodigal reclaimed - no good done without Christ? The
prophet’s servant stood in the chamber of the dead, and he laid his
master’s staff on the dead face, and death sat on the pillow at the dead
boy’s head, and laughed these ministers to scorn. And so Satan would laugh
to scorn all the ministers of the gospel. Talk of the minister’s zeal
Where will you find zeal or eloquence like Satan’s? Where will you find
persuasion like the Tempter’s? Who is such a master ofthe human passions
and human heart? Satan will sit in this assembly, though Paul with all his
eloquence, and John with all his love, and Peter with all his ardour were here
- Satan would sit in this house and laugh them all to scorn. Save Christ, there
is none can break the spell of sin, or save a soul within these walls! Then,
brethren, what a blessed promise, "I will come unto thee, and I will bless
thee" I know many who would not come into a Free Church - who would not sit
down at a communion table in a Free Church. Blessed Lord, if thou wilt come, we
shall not miss them. When man meets me, and looks defiance in my face, thy
kindness is better than theirs. Blessed Lord, thou wilt come - then come Lord
Jesus, come to save - come every Sabbath into our assembly. Lift up your heads,
0 ye gates - be ye lift up ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall
come in. There may be some soul here who will never hear the gospel again. I
will ask you for your gold and silver this day, but I protest before God in
heaven, I would rather ask you for your soul - I had rather one soul were
saved, than thousands were poured into the treasury. Come then, Lord Jesus -
come, to save that soul, and fulfil thy promise, "In all places where I record
my name, I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee."
I will now, with
all possible brevity, turn your attention, in the last place, to the blessing
of this promise. God not only says, "I will come unto thee," but "I will bless
thee," Now, brethren, it cannot be too deeply impressed upon all our minds, the
mind either of preacher or people - I say, I cannot feel it too much, and you
cannot feel it too much, that all the blessings, all the benefits of publie
ordinances, turn not on who is in the pulpit - that is a very small matter -
but it does matter a great deal if God is in the church; and I must say there
is too little heed given to that. People ask who is to preach? as if the
preacher were everything, when he is nothing. God says, "Them that honour me I
will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed." Nor do I know
anything more damaging to a minister’s usefulness than when people put the
servant in the master’s room. God is everything, and man nothing, but in
His hands the meanest instruments are mighty, the most foolish things are wise.
He has scattered His enemies with the breath of a trumpet. God breaks the rock
with the feeblest rod and from the mouth of many a babe - a man in the pulpit,
yet a babe in Christ - hath He ordained strength. And it is our comfort,
brethren, when we know and feel that we have most miserably preached the
gospel, that we have done vast injustice to the cause of Christ - I say it is a
minister’s comfort to know, when he comes with a sermon no better than the
barley bread and few small fishes of the mountain fare - that if Christ bless
the sermon, Christ’s blessing will make little go far, and with poorer
fare will feed aud feast the hungry soul.
I pray you then, brethren, give
all heed to that blessed promise, "I will come unto thee, and I will bless
thee."’ Ah! unless God bless the house, unless "God build the house, they
labour in vain that build it." I may preach to my dying day, but unless God
bless you, dear brethren, the blessing of man will go for nothing. I might as
well address the dead as the liviing now around me. May God give that blessing
" which maketh rich, and addeth no sorrow."
Brethren, there is a promise
here, you know what is joined to a promise? You know what takes hold of a
promise? The promise must be turned into a prayer. Prayer sucks the life of a
promise. Prayer takes the promise, and draws it into the man that prays. Prayer
draws water from salvation’s deepest wells. Prayer takes the promise, and
presents it at the throne of God, and what God has said to us in promise we are
to carry back to God in prayer. Prayer rises empty on the wings of promise - it
soars above the skies, and when the believer comes back again to earth, returns
loaded with heavenly blessings. And, first and foremost of all things, this is
what I would ask you to do for this house. I would ask you to pray with me - to
pray now, to pray afterwards, that the promise of that text may be fulfilled in
this house. God has made this house a house of promise, do you make it a house
of many prayers. Ah! remember it when you go before the king - when you go to
Court, not an earthly court, I don’t mean that - we have nothing to do
with an earthly court now - I neither ask nor desire high earthly countenance
for our Zion, but I ask you to go to the court of Heaven, and when you are
before the throne of the king, remember this house - remember the man that
preaches in it - remember the many precious souls that assemble here every
Sabbath-day. Many of them have much need to be prayed for - many need to be
pitied - some of them fainting for hunger - some of them dying in their sins -
and some of them, it may be, hearing the gospel for the very last time. Oh!
that man is well worth praying for who is standing on the very brink of
eternity and sees not the hell into which he is to drop. Christ offers him a
crown, but he repels and refuses it. Brethren, I beseech you. to pray that God
may meet with us here. When I think of how many children dead born and never
brought to life - dead fathers and mothers - how many dead souls, dead in
trespasses and sins - when I think of how many there are dying in their sins,
and not only going the way of all the living, but going the way of all the lost
- who have been prayed for in vain, and who have been preached to in vain -
when I look up to heaven and see the crown they refuse - and when I look down
to hell and see that dreadful place where the gospel is never preached and
mercy never offered - I beseech you, dear brethren - sinners - saints - I
beseech you by every consideration of Christian kindness, for the sake of the
men perishing at your side - I beseech you, for the sake of such, to pray that
God would be with us to bless us here. May this house be the birthplace of many
a soul - the field of many a victory - the scene of many a conversion - the
threshold of glory - the gate of heaven. May it ever be a stronghold of the
truth - may it ever be a watch-tower on the walls of Zion -may the flag of
freedom ever wave over it. And when the tongue that now speaks is silent in the
lonely grave, and the place that now knows you shall know you no more for ever,
brethren, may the voice of truth ever sound from this pulpit, and ever echo
within these walls, till (which God in mercy long avert) till these walls
perish in the wreck of all things. This house shall perish if no other fire
burn it. The fire that burns the waters, and dissolves the earth and elements
with fervent heat, shall burn it; but God be thanked we have a better life, and
a better house - a house in heaven of surpassing celestial beauty. Human skill
never planned it - human hands never built it. And my heart’s desire for
you all, brethren, is that we may meet above the skies; and that within that
house there may be none missing of all the company that are here this day. May
God bless his truth, and to his name be the praise.
(From "Free Church Pulpit" Volume Two)