A MINISTER WHO HAD THE SAME CUSTOM AS THE JEWS

We read in Gen. 17:1 that the Lord appeared unto Abram when he was ninety-nine years old and said unto him, “I am the Almighty God, walk before Me and be thou perfect.” And of Job, the Lord, Who searches the heart and tries the reins said, that the same man was perfect and upright and eschewed evil.

In the fall of Adam, man has lost God’s image which consisted in knowledge, righteousness and holiness. In a narrower sense, nothing is left of the image of God. Because of our deep fall, our understanding is darkened and we are alienated from the life of God. Instead of righteous, we are unrighteous, perverting the right ways of the Lord. Instead of holy, we are unholy and sinful, “incapable of doing any spiritual good and inclined to all evil”. “Entirely wrong, O Lord, are our ways!” said the ancient poet. If God does not restrain us and hold us fast, we are capable of doing all evil. The Lord must hold us fast from moment to moment, and it is a benefit when the highness of God is bound upon our heart. When that takes place, we fear to sin.

One of our ancients has remarked that with the creative act of God, the judicial act takes place. That implies that God withholds His image from us, and therefore we read that after the fall, Adam begot a son in his own likeness, after his image. According to the declaration of Christ, we are of our father the devil, who was a liar and murderer from the beginning; we are manslayers, liars and murderers, destroyers of self and also of our neighbor.

In regeneration, the image of God is initially restored in the hearts of the elect. And that does not commence with joy, but with sorrow. For godly sorrow worketh repentance unto salvation, not to be repented of. 2 Cor. 7:10.

And when God begins, when the saving work of the Spirit commences, only then it begins. Our eyes which have always been closed, are opened; they are opened to see and become aware how miserable, poor and wretched, blind and naked we are. God’s Spirit convinces that quickened sinner of sin, righteousness and judgment. In a certain sense, regeneration is a deliverance out of the power of Satan and of sin, but the person who may share therein is brought into bonds. We see it in Psalm 116:3: “The sorrows of death compassed me and the pains of hell got hold upon me. I found trouble and sorrow.” God converts His people to show them how unconverted they are. If we shall ever be granted any knowledge of Christ, then we must first become acquainted with Adam, and become Adam before God, know our fall and accept responsibility for our fall.

God does not waste His grace, and room must be made in our heart for all benefits by the Spirit of God. Intellectual contemplation is not enough; that shall not bring us into true humiliation, nor bring us into the real want and need. It must be undergone and experienced. And when that takes place in our life, that through the saving enlightenment of God’s Spirit we are brought back to Paradise to see what we once were and what we have now become through our own fault, then we would wish that our eyes would never become dry again, but drop with tears as long as we live. Then we experience, “The crown is fallen from our head; woe unto us that we have sinned.” And those people shall never find a lasting rest until their soul and life finds solution in the way of righteousness and justice. God’s people perish justly, but are also saved justly. The Second Adam, the Lord Jesus Christ, has satisfied God’s justice perfectly and obtained that which we have lost in the first Adam. And the fruit becomes manifest in their life.

God makes His people sincere, but also, He makes them concerned about their insincerity.

That is why David sighed in Ps. 25:21, 22: “Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for Thee. Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles.”

Here they remain imperfect, sinful creatures in themselves, but by virtue of the principle of the new life, they hate and flee from sin and follow after righteousness.

All those people pray in their hearts, “Lord, Thou hast commanded us to Keep Thy precepts diligently. O, that my ways were directed to keep Thy statutes.” Ps. 119:4, 5.

And that does not flow from a legal principle nor to merit something, but the love of God has been shed abroad in their heart by the Holy Spirit, out of the Gospel liberty into which they have been placed, out of the filial fear of God.

And their life is, “I have not sat with vain persons, neither will I go in with dissembers. I have hated the congregation of evildoers and will not sit with the wicked.” Ps. 26:4, 5.

When our life is contrary to our profession, and our heart is different than our mouth, and our mouth differs with our heart, then we have the attribute of a hypocrite.

Huntington wrote, that those souls are happy who, after the least transgression, have the police sent to them, and can go no further until an immediate propitiation for their sins takes place, and they may again obtain a free access unto God.

I wrote above this, “A Minister Who Had the Same Custom as the Jews”. The Jews always begin to read from the end. We always begin to read from the beginning, but it is well known that the Jews do exactly the reverse. That minister did not do that with the Bible or other edifying books, but whenever he received a letter, he first looked at the signature. If there was no name under the letter, then he either tore it up or burned it. According to the declaration he once gave, it was his custom not to read one word of it.

That minister is for years already in a blessed eternity, and hence I can no more ask him if formerly he had ever done it. Perhaps he had, because, O what is man. We are often driven by vain curiosity, and urged on by that spirit from the pit in us to read such letters and then … to fight for ourselves.

By nature, we are so conceited, so ambitious and such seekers of self. We are so flattered when we are honored, but beware if something is mentioned which we do not like. Yea, if only a finger is pointed at us and tries to attack our “Majesty” then everything is set ablaze. Then it becomes manifest what we know of “self-denial”. An aged minister, long since departed, once said (and at that time he was already past 80), “I must still commence with it.”

It is easier to believe that someone else has something of it than we ourselves. Ah, that perfect example for the Church, that Blessed Lord Jesus Christ, of which we read that He was not effected by being idolized nor by being scorned. Being without original and active sin, He could not be influenced by neither the one nor the other. Of Him we read, “Who when He was reviled, He reviled not again, and when He suffered, He threatened not, but committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously.” Ah, it is a great mercy if we may exercise a speck of it in conformity with Christ. It shall be no fruit of our own field. The fruits which our own nature bring forth are always sour and bitter. Self-condemnation and self-abhorrence shall ever remain with us. Yea, we may be jealous of the poet of Psalm 38:

“But as one deaf, that heareth not,
I suffered all to pass.”

Paul had died, and he died daily. No doubt, during his life he shall also have been plagued with anonymous letters. But what a privilege for himself that he has never sent out an anonymous letter.

As soon as we commence to read, then we know immediately by whom those letters were written. If we love darkness, then we are enemies of the light. Uprightness is not afraid of light. Arrows that are shot in the darkness betray the work of the devil. When we are destitute of the fear of God and of that faith that one day we must render an account before an All-knowing and Righteous Judge, then we dare to do everything. If there is still an awareness that there is a book of rememberance before God, then we shall be on our guard against such wicked paths and abhor all works of the devil.

It has happened that the names of other people were used in the signature, or a name that was unknown, or they wrote on the letter an address of someone who, investigation showed, knew nothing of the matter. Sometimes such letters are typed or written in manuscript, or in a changed handwriting, so that it would be difficult to determine who was the writer.

Let everyone bear in mind that Jacob and Peter have never changed their voices. It is also the work of a hypocrite to do so. Every person should fear and tremble to commit such practices, but ah, the depth of our fall becomes manifest therein.

We read in God’s Word, James 2:19: “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe and tremble.” But many people are worse than the devil since they have cast out all fear of God, and do not concern themselves with the fact that God beholds and knows everything.

How terrible it is when such things are done by people that sit under the truth. But then the hardening of heart must be so great that the Truth has not the least power or influence upon their conscience.

We may have very great compassion with such people who are used as instruments in the hand of the devil to oppress and torment others in such a covered manner.

It is a clear proof that they think themselves to be a righteous man or woman. Although they see the mote in their brother’s eye, yet they do not see the beam in their own eye. If there was any self-knowledge, then they would not busy themselves so much about others. No, such people are not to be envied in their secret attacks, but rather to be pitied, because:

“On earth the God of justice reigns.”

Whether a person believes that or does not believe it, that is true. And what shall it be one day when those secret sins shall be brought to light and shall be placed before God’s countenance. Only the fear of God preserves us from sin.

Ah, would that from day to day and each moment we were filled with that fear, also against sin in any form. Yea, that we might shun all sins like the pestilence.

We are all full of shortcomings. The Bible itself tells us, “For in many things we offend all.”

God, Himself, has pointed out in His Word in Matt. 18, and very many other places, the right way to deal with each other. And when our actions are prompted by the honor of God and the welfare of our neighbor, then we shall also walk in the right way … not in self-exaltation, but in humility and love. May the Lord grant us to walk prudently and cautiously, and that it may constantly be bound upon our soul that that Great Day is at hand, and that we shall then have to give an account of all our deeds, of our actions, of our speaking, of ourselves and also of our writing.

And finally, whereas God knows also our heart and our thoughts, yea the least desire and thought against God’s commands, places us guilty before a Holy and Righteous God; and may we seek reconciliation in that blood that cleanses from all sin.

Ah, even though we have never written an anonymous or false letter that has been mailed, oh, who shall go out free? We all are very, very guilty before the countenance of the Lord. The depth of the heart, the depth of sin and the depth of Satan, can never be fathomed.

Happily there is still mercy for killers and murderers.

Christ was innocently condenmed to death in order that He could bestow mercy upon those that are guilty of death, and even close hell for murderers. Yea, what a privilege it is that:

“He freely pardons all thy sins
And He is strong to save;
He heals thy sickness, soothes thy pain
And ransoms from the grave.”

Psalter No. 277:2

May the Lord bless and sanctify these lines to destroyers of self and of others in order that it may never be fulfilled upon you, “Woe to thee that spoilest and thou wast not spoiled; and dealest treacherously and they did not deal treacherously with thee. When thou shalt cease to spoil, thou shalt be spoiled.”

Deze tekst is geautomatiseerd gemaakt en kan nog fouten bevatten. Digibron werkt voortdurend aan correctie. Klik voor het origineel door naar de pdf. Voor opmerkingen, vragen, informatie: contact.

Op Digibron -en alle daarin opgenomen content- is het databankrecht van toepassing. Gebruiksvoorwaarden. Data protection law applies to Digibron and the content of this database. Terms of use.

Printen