REV. LAMAIN - GRAND RAPIDS

February 21, 1947

February 21,1977

Part V

In our congregation in Grand Rapids there was once an elder, who began his prayer with these words: “Lord, what the condition of another is, I do not know, but my condition is most lamentable.” That man did not say it in mockery, nor in hypocrisy, but it came from a man whose soul by God’s grace had been made upright. That man had passed away before I came to Grand Rapids, but I heard about him from God’s people, and also from other people how much love and respect there was for what God had wrought in his soul: knowledge of God, of self, and of Christ.

And if something of these matters may be in our heart, and not only in our confession, but in the actual practice of the soul, then there shall not be much need for an external observance of this or that, but rather to put his mouth in the dust, and call upon the Name of the Lord that He would protect him lest he stray from the ways of the Lord, either to the left or to the right. Then a man becomes afraid of himself, then he says, “Lord, grant that by reason of Thy highness I may be afraid to sin, but may walk before Thee in humility all the days of my life.” The Lord is so worthy that we should serve, honor, and praise Him. And when the Bible says, “Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord”, that includes me. May the dear Spirit of God give me that privilege. “Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy Name give glory, for Thy mercy, and for Thy truth’s sake.”

And now we wish to make a few remarks about the ministry. We have this treasure in an earthen vessel, and on our side we have more reason to sigh than to glory. The older we become, the more impossible and the more difficult the work becomes. I never thought of that when I was twenty years old. Ministers who were old then spoke of it, and because of the respect and love I had for them, I never contradicted them, but it was hard for me to accept it. People sometimes say, “Experience is the best teacher.” The Lord only knows how I sometimes spend my Saturdays in my study, and how much I must wrestle, and how severe the conflict sometimes is. One of those ministers, now deceased, once said to me as the tears streamed down his face, “I believe the devil never had a better customer than I am, for he can make me believe anything.” Indeed, who is sufficient for these things? Does the Lord put us to shame? No, indeed! He is the Rock, His work is perfect, and He has promised, “Thou shalt not be put to shame.”

To give an example, I have taken in hand a commentary of Calvin, or one of Dr. Gill, at another time one of Matthew Poole or of Dachsel. Of the text or portion of which I was seeking an explanation they said nothing. Ashamed, I go back to my chair, and finally down on my knees, asking the Lord for light, that I may perceive the mind of the Spirit in that text. In Thy light we see light.

Searching the Word of God is not wrong. No, indeed, we cannot study it enough. We cannot acknowledge the Lord enough for what He has given us in so many old writers. Alas, we do not have today men who are as enlightened as they were. My trouble is that I make a wrong use of them. The old writers are but helps. The Source and Fountain is God Himself. Then I think of what the Rev. Bernardus Smytegelt wrote in the latter part of his sermons on “The Bruised Reed.” He says, “Such sermons are prepared by praying and wrestling at the gates of heaven.” There, yes, there is where we must ultimately arrive. For in Mark 6:37 Christ said to His disciples, as He saw the large multitude gathered there, “Give ye them to eat.” In order to give the multitude food, Christ first had to look up to heaven, bless the bread and the fish, break the bread, and give the pieces with the fish to the disciples to set before the about five thousand people. God’s called servants are to be good stewards of the manifold grace of God. What an excellent, but also solemn and responsible work!

O God, may I always be deeply, deeply impressed of that fact. May I always feel my total dependence upon the Holy Spirit for His information, enlightenment, and explanation. That would include the fact that Paul has planted, and Apollos watered, but it is God Who gives the increase. I Cor. 1:6. We are responsible for the work, but not for the fruit. Yet we may not think lightly of it. Of the sower we read in Psalm 126:5,6: “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.”

When I first thought of writing something in connection with the thirty years we have been in Grand Rapids, and our labors in the congregations, both in the States and Canada, I thought I would also write about disappointments I experienced with several members that left the congregations, and various other matters that occur in church life. But I decided not to do that. Dr. H. F. Kohlbrugge who had much self-knowledge once wrote: “When we are speaking of someone else, we have gone too far.” That was also the case with the Pharisee in Luke 18. He saw the publican, but the publican-did not see the Pharisee. Christ wept before the gates of Jerusalem. Luke 13:34. Jeremiah wished that his head were waters and his eyes a fountain of tears. Jer. 9:1. With Habakkuk rottenness entered into his bones, and he trembled in himself. Hab. 3:16. In Phil. 3:18 Paul speaks of many who walk otherwise of whom he had spoken before, and about whom he was now weeping as he said that they were enemies of the cross of Christ. In 2 Cor. 5:14 Paul says, “The love of Christ constraineth us.”

I could quote many more texts to show how negligent and guilty we are before the Lord and also before the congregation. The Apostle Paul could say by grace, “I am pure from the blood of all men.” Every one of us shall give account of himself to God, that we know. Therefore it is not right for us to judge or suspect others. As for myself, I have never dared to use such big words. Knowing my own shortcomings, I sometimes could say, “As far as I am aware, I have never deceived or misled you as I proclaimed to you the way of salvation, the necessity of regeneration, and the renewing by God the Holy Spirit, and Jesus Christ Whom He hath sent, and that this is life eternal.

Do we in all the things we do in the church of God, in preaching, in teaching, and in all the pastoral labors, seek the honor of God and the true welfare of Zion? Does the love of Christ always constrain us? What is our life in our inner chamber before the Lord? How often do we sprinkle our sermons and catechism lessons with our tears? Oh, no, friends, I do not mean that emotionalism that proceeds from our own bowels, in which more than 90% is self, seeking to be admired by men. That has nothing of the true fear of God, and feels nothing of his responsibility towards souls created for eternity, nor is there any crying after the sheep urging them to seek the Lord while He is to be found, and to call upon Him while He is near, to acknowledge their iniquities, and the separation that there is between God and their souls, to be reconciled and at peace with God, while it is still called today.

Perhaps someone will ask, “Has nothing of these matters ever been seen in your ministry? Has it always been cold and hard? Has there never been a fire burning within? Has it never happened that the Lord bound the needs of the souls upon your heart, so that before you went to church you had to go on your knees and wrestle before the throne of God that He might give a testimony to the Word of His grace?

My answer to this is: “Let another praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.” (Prov. 27:2) But, oh, it happens so rarely. Sometimes I am troubled, but alas, then there usually is more concern for myself than for the honor of God. Oh, if for our personal, but also for our pastoral life there were not the blood, the blood of the Son of God, we would sink away eternally. There is so much complaining, and we do it, too, that our work is often but a plowing on the rocks, and a sowing among the thorns, that the Lord hides Himself so much, and has departed with His Spirit so far from the public ordinances, and there is no answer of God (Micah 3:7). All the work seems so unfruitful, there is so little impression, so little concern, so little respect, such a hardness, etc., etc., etc. We would be privileged if we did not try to seek the faults elsewhere. We know the breaches are deeper than the sea, and we cannot write or express in words how utterly wretched the conditions are.

(to be continued)

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