I will not fear the myriads set against me on every side. Sermons
We have heard of the vox regis, and in these last days we are threatened with the equally dangerous and delusive vox populi. Let us consider - I. NUMBERS DO NOT DETERMINE THE QUESTION OF RIGHT. There is a tendency with many to shirk responsibility. They look to others. Surely what the many say must be right. But this is folly. God has given us reason and freedom. We must judge for ourselves. Only what we know to be true can be truth to us; only what we feel in our consciences to be right can be binding upon us as duty. Besides, we see how often in the past the few have been in the right, not the many. Noah by his faith condemned the world. Elijah stood alone against the priests of Baal. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego dared the fiery furnace rather than bow with the multitude before the golden idol. Only when the people are all righteous can they be all right. II. NUMBERS DO NOT DETERMINE THE QUESTION OF SUCCESS. No doubt there are times when numbers prevail. The few are crushed by the mere weight and force of the multitude. It has been said that "God is on the side of the biggest battalions;" but this is true in only a limited sense. Suppose the battalions are undisciplined or badly commanded, defeat may come instead of victory. But in the nobler fields - in the strife of truth and falsehood - how often has the victory been with the few, instead of the many! Besides, the question, in the deepest sense, is not - What wilt succeed? but - What is right? "He is a slave, who will not be
In the right, with two or three." Further, we must not measure success by the poor standards of this world. What seems failure to us may be victory in the sight of the holy angels and of God. III. NUMBERS DO NOT DETERMINE THE QUESTION OF HAPPINESS. It is hard to stand alone. It costs a struggle to dare to be singularly good. But better far have peace within than sacrifice conscience to convenience, and freedom to popularity. St. Peter was happier shut up in prison than when, in fear of men, he denied his Lord. St. Paul was infinitely more calm and joyous when he stood before Nero than when, with all the authority of the Sanhedrin, he set out on his fierce crusade against the Christians. Better be true than false; better be free than the slave of opinion; better, with St. Stephen and the martyrs, press heavenwards through "peril, toil, and pain," than follow a multitude to do evil. - W.F. I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the Lord sustained me. The reason why we sleep in peace and rise up in safety is, "the Lord sustained me." This is one of those truths, long familiar and unrealised, which later on m our spiritual life may become to us fresh discoveries. Underneath the beating of every heart, and underneath the whole order of human things, and underneath the world and all worlds, there is forever a present active sustaining power from one generation to another, and that power is the power of God. The same truth is equally true if stated more widely. Whether we take as our measure the short time of the earth turning on itself, or the longer time of the earth travelling round; whether we speak of the day or of the sum of all the year, with its multitude of thoughts, its complexity of circumstances, its frequent risks and incessant occurrence of events; — still there is always abiding over us the same Divine protection, never tired, never slackening. Some people are so situated in life that they have but very little pressure and very few cares. All along the path of life seems smooth to them. That is but a tame life, and unless we have the nerve to make ourselves useful in some way, time so passed is a yoke which soon sits uneasy on the shoulder. Days wasted are a bad investment of life, and a dark account to be laying up. But the many are blessed with the pressure of responsibilities, and obliged to take up the happy burden of usefulness. All Christian burden bearers have laid them down to sleep, and risen again feeling that a benefit has been conferred on them, a sustaining hand has been bearing them up, and their good God has been giving to the human trial the promise He speaks of, "As thy days, so shall thy strength be." The Hebrew word translated "sustained" means to place the open hand under a thing to support it. The Sept. renders by a word meaning "to take hold of one another by the hand, the weaker being so supported." How does the kindness of God support the weakness of all Christians? He tells His own secret in Colossians1. It is done by His Christ and our Christ. There He says how He has qualified us to partake of the portion of the saints in light; how He has rescued us from the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love. It is in Him, He says, we have redemption through His blood, even the remission of sins. Let us count up, discover, and consider these many mercies until our heart warms into some honourable and loving recognition of this care, which is never tired of us and never leaves us. We may feel confident from the past that God will take care of us in the future. () One of the mysteries of life of which men hardly think at all is the mystery of sleep. "Death's twin sister," it has been called. Into its secrets the cleverest man cannot pierce, though all men share its blessings. See the tired man worn out after a heavy day's work, or burdened with care. He flings himself on his bed, his day's work or his day's trouble, his foremost, ever-present thought. Kind sleep touches his eyes. His fatigue is forgotten, his cares are gone. What thought strikes us most forcibly as we look on the picture of the sleeper? Surely the thought of helplessness. The strongest man asleep cannot defend himself or help himself. And yet the millions of mankind daily lie down to sleep, and daily rise again, safely and in peace. Why? We know why, though we so often carelessly forget it. Because God is with us always, never leaving us for an instant to ourselves; about our path and about our bed; the Almighty Father, with more than a mother's love and tenderness. Ought we not to have, at least, David's faith? I say "at least" because we know so much more of God's truth than he did, have so much more light upon our path than he had. We know our weakness and helplessness, but we know our Helper. If we will only love and serve God in Christ, and consecrate our lives to Him, we are safe. () () And rose up again. Plain Sermons by Contributors to, Tracts for the Times. The whole world is full of Divine tokens. Everything should put us in mind, more or less directly, of Jesus Christ our Saviour. The sun rising in the east is nature's token, to remind us of Christmas Day; and here in the text we find a no less clear token of the mysteries of Easter, our Lord dying and rising again. It is not anything new to have such a verse applied to the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord. The old fathers and bishops so explained it from the very beginning of the Church. We do well to connect thin mystery with our own lying down and rising up as often as night and morning return. Sleep is an image of death. To a Christian it is an image of the death of Christ. Our daily lying down and rising up is given us for a sacramental sign and pledge of Christ's death and resurrection, and of our own. Our falling asleep is a mystery, a thing which takes place we know not how, a thing out of our power, as much so as death itself. What becomes of us during our sleep? That longer sleep which we call death may come on us we know not how, and leave our bodies without power or thought for awhile, our souls in the meantime departing we know not where, and employed we know not how. There is a still higher and more awful depth of mystery in the Psalmist's words, spoken as they are in His person, who is both God and man. It is as if we heard Christ Himself, risen from the tomb, and saying, "I laid Me down and slept, and rose up again, for the Lord sustained Me." The Lord, the most high and glorious Godhead, still in our Saviour's Person, inseparably joined to His human soul and body, even while the one was in the grave and the other in Paradise, or elsewhere in the regions of the dead, — He still continued the same Christ, very God and very man, and by virtue of that Eternal Spirit He raised Himself from the dead when His time was come. Notice what gracious help is afforded to those who are willing so to lift up their hearts, by Christ's making so common a matter as our daily sleep and awakening a token and sign of this most awful mystery. Christ, even now abiding in His people, makes them already in this world partakers of a heavenly and Divine life. He sustains them, sleeping and waking, in life and in death, in their beds and in their graves; for in both conditions they are alike members of Him. But all this depends upon our keeping our baptismal vows. One or two rules of recovery and perseverance —1. Since it is Christ only who sustains us, when in our lying down, or sleeping, or rising up, how dare any of us lie down or rise up without solemnly committing himself to Christ on his knees in devout prayer? Private devotion must be one great help towards saving and recovering the heavenly life which our Lord offers to sustain in us. 2. The Holy Communion of the Body and the Blood. This is the sacrament of perseverance and growth in grace, as baptism is of repentance and regeneration. The heavenly life which Christ has. begun in us can be sustained in no other way besides that which He has appointed. Prayer, then, and Holy Communion, are necessary to all. ( " ") I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me. It is said that the Romans were accustomed only to inquire where the enemies were. and not after their numbers Faith revived and invigorated by prayer and fixed on God alone is a stranger to fear in the worst of times.()
People Absalom, David, PsalmistPlaces JerusalemTopics Afraid, Drawn, Fear, Myriads, Putting, Round, Sides, Ten, Tens, Themselves, Though, Thousand, ThousandsOutline 1. The security of God's protection
Dictionary of Bible Themes Psalm 3:6 8107 assurance, and life of faith
8754 fear Psalm 3:1-8 5087 David, reign of
8618 prayerfulness Psalm 3:3-6 8215 confidence, results Psalm 3:5-6 5511 safety Library Table of the Books of Holy Scripture According to Date.
HISTORICAL BOOKS. PROPHETIC AND POETICAL BOOKS. B.C. 4004 1689 Genesis 1529 Job Psalm lxxxviii. by Heman, the Ezrahite, (See 1 Chron. ii. 6) 1491 Exodus 1491 Leviticus 1451 Numbers Psalm xc. and (perhaps) xci 1450 Deuteronomy 1451 1427 Joshua 1312 Ruth 1120 Judges 1171 1056 1 Samuel Psalms, certainly vii, xi, xvi, xvii, xxii, xxxi, xxxiv, lvi, liv, lii, cix, xxxv, lvii, lviii, cxliii, cxl, cxli, and many more 1056 1 Chronicles Psalms, certainly ii, vi, ix, xx, 1023 Psalms …
Charlotte Mary Yonge—The Chosen PeopleThe History of the Psalter
[Sidenote: Nature of the Psalter] Corresponding to the book of Proverbs, itself a select library containing Israel's best gnomic literature, is the Psalter, the compendium of the nation's lyrical songs and hymns and prayers. It is the record of the soul experiences of the race. Its language is that of the heart, and its thoughts of common interest to worshipful humanity. It reflects almost every phase of religious feeling: penitence, doubt, remorse, confession, fear, faith, hope, adoration, and …
Charles Foster Kent—The Origin & Permanent Value of the Old Testament Rules to be Observed in Singing of Psalms.
1. Beware of singing divine psalms for an ordinary recreation, as do men of impure spirits, who sing holy psalms intermingled with profane ballads: They are God's word: take them not in thy mouth in vain. 2. Remember to sing David's psalms with David's spirit (Matt. xxii. 43.) 3. Practise St. Paul's rule--"I will sing with the spirit, but I will sing with the understanding also." (1 Cor. xiv. 15.) 4. As you sing uncover your heads (1 Cor. xi. 4), and behave yourselves in comely reverence as in the …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety The Godly are in Some Sense Already Blessed
I proceed now to the second aphorism or conclusion, that the godly are in some sense already blessed. The saints are blessed not only when they are apprehended by God, but while they are travellers to glory. They are blessed before they are crowned. This seems a paradox to flesh and blood. What, reproached and maligned, yet blessed! A man that looks upon the children of God with a carnal eye and sees how they are afflicted, and like the ship in the gospel which was covered with waves' (Matthew 8:24), …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12 Of the Necessity of Divine Influences to Produce Regeneration in the Soul.
Titus iii. 5, 6. Titus iii. 5, 6. Not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which he shed on us abundantly, through Jesus Christ our Saviour. IF my business were to explain and illustrate this scripture at large, it would yield an ample field for accurate criticism and useful discourse, and more especially would lead us into a variety of practical remarks, on which it would be pleasant …
Philip Doddridge—Practical Discourses on Regeneration Christ's Kingly Office
Q-26: HOW DOES CHRIST EXECUTE THE OFFICE OF A KING? A: In subduing us to himself, in ruling and defending us, and in restraining and conquering all his and our enemies. Let us consider now Christ's regal office. And he has on his vesture, and on his thigh, a name written, "King of kings, and Lord of lords", Rev 19:16. Jesus Christ is of mighty renown, he is a king; (1.) he has a kingly title. High and Lofty.' Isa 57:15. (2.) He has his insignia regalia, his ensigns of royalty; corona est insigne …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity The Consolation
Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received at the LORD 's hand double for all her sins. T he particulars of the great "mystery of godliness," as enumerated by the Apostle Paul, constitute the grand and inexhaustible theme of the Gospel ministry, "God manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1 Psalms
The piety of the Old Testament Church is reflected with more clearness and variety in the Psalter than in any other book of the Old Testament. It constitutes the response of the Church to the divine demands of prophecy, and, in a less degree, of law; or, rather, it expresses those emotions and aspirations of the universal heart which lie deeper than any formal demand. It is the speech of the soul face to face with God. Its words are as simple and unaffected as human words can be, for it is the genius …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Psalm 3:6 NIV
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