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19 APRIL (PREACHED OLNEY FAIR DAY, 17 APRIL 1775)

The bride says, Come

‘And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.’ Revelation 22:17
SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: Revelation 14:1–7

The bride, that is, the church (Ephesians 5:25): the ‘church triumphant’ and the ‘church militant’—a double family. Both echo to the Spirit’s call and say, Come.
The church triumphant are nearer us perhaps than we are aware. Those who have escaped from this tempestuous world and are safe before the throne, have a regard for their brethren below, and most probably a knowledge of what passes here. We are told there is joy in heaven over a sinner that repenteth. They say, ‘Come, do not cleave to that poor earth, but raise your thoughts and prepare to follow us upwards. O could you see and know where we are and how we live, surely you would come. Come, be not afraid of the King, we have found him merciful. Distrust not his promises, we have found them all fulfilled. We were once as you are, sinful, distressed and almost despairing, but we overcame by the blood of the Lamb, and so shall you. Therefore, Come.’

John Newton to William Wilberforce, 30 March 1797:
Yes Sir! I trust you and I shall soon join in their songs, and share in their joys without abatement, interruption or end! And may we not believe that it will be some addition to our happiness, to meet with those whom we loved, with whom we took sweet counsel, and went to the house of God in company? Surely I shall not see my late, dear and honoured friend Mr Thornton without peculiar emotions of gratitude and joy! Shall I not be glad to thank your kind aunt, for all the kindness she showed me when she was below? There too I hope to meet my dear Mary and Eliza, and many more. Perhaps this paper could not contain the names of all who were once dear to me upon earth, and are now happy in heaven!

FOR MEDITATION: Oh, for more faith, to break through the veil, and obtain a clearer and more affecting realizing view of the glories of the unseen world! To behold the Lamb upon the throne, to hearken to the songs of the harpers, to contemplate the immense multitude who are already made more than conquerors through him who loved them!

SERMON: REVELATION 22:17 [3/6] [EASTER MONDAY EVENING]

April 18th

Readiness

God called unto him … and he said, Here am I. Exodus 3:4.

When God speaks, many of us are like men in a fog, we give no answer. Moses’ reply revealed that he was somewhere. Readiness means a right relationship to God and a knowledge of where we are at present. We are so busy telling God where we would like to go. The man or woman who is ready for God and His work is the one who carries off the prize when the summons comes. We wait with the idea of some great opportunity, something sensational, and when it comes we are quick to cry—“Here am I.” Whenever Jesus Christ is in the ascendant, we are there; but we are not ready for an obscure duty.
Readiness for God means that we are ready to do the tiniest little thing or the great big thing, it makes no difference. We have no choice in what we want to do; whatever God’s programme may be we are there, ready. When any duty presents itself we hear God’s voice as Our Lord heard His Father’s voice, and we are ready for it with all the alertness of our love for Him. Jesus Christ expects to do with us as His Father did with Him. He can put us where He likes, in pleasant duties or in mean duties, because the union is that of the Father and Himself. “That they may be one, even as We are one.”
Be ready for the sudden surprise visits of God. A ready person never needs to get ready. Think of the time we waste trying to get ready when God has called! The burning bush is a symbol of everything that surrounds the ready soul, it is ablaze with the presence of God.

April 18

“And he shall bring it to pass.” (Psa. 37:5)

I ONCE thought that after I prayed that it was my duty to do everything that I could do to bring the answer to pass. He taught me a better way, and showed that my self-effort always hindered His working and that when I prayed and definitely believed Him for anything, He wanted me to wait in the spirit of praise, and only do what He bade me. It seems so unsafe to just sit still, and do nothing but trust the Lord; and the temptation to take the battle into our own hands is often tremendous.

We all know how impossible it is to rescue a drowning man who tries to help his rescuer, and it is equally impossible for the Lord to fight our battles for us when we insist upon trying to fight them ourselves. It is not that He will not, but He cannot. Our interference hinders His working.—C. H. P.
Spiritual forces cannot work while earthly forces are active.

It takes God time to answer prayer. We often fail to give God a chance in this respect. It takes time for God to paint a rose. It takes time for God to grow an oak. It takes time for God to make bread from wheat fields. He takes the earth. He pulverizes. He softens. He enriches. He wets with showers and dews. He warms with life. He gives the blade, the stock, the amber grain, and then at last the bread for the hungry.

All this takes time. Therefore we sow, and till, and wait, and trust, until all God’s purpose has been wrought out. We give God a chance in this matter of time. We need to learn this same lesson in our prayer life. It takes God time to answer prayer.—J. H. M.

18 APRIL (PREACHED OLNEY FAIR DAY, 17 APRIL 1775)

The Spirit says, Come

‘And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.’ Revelation 22:17
SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: Romans 8:5–27

I shall take the words in the order they lie. Here is a joint invitation: the Spirit and the bride say, Come.
The Spirit: the Holy Spirit that searcheth the deep things of God and reveals his mind to men—the Spirit whose office it is to glorify Jesus. Here then is a sufficient warrant for poor sinners. Why are you poring upon yourselves, doubting whether such as you have any ground of hope, when the Spirit himself says, Come? Do you think he speaks to mock you? Indeed if you know nothing of God but by the law, you might expect and fear he would rather say, Depart, but now it is Come. For:
(i) Christ has died. Justice is satisfied.
(ii) Christ is pleading—he presents his own blood and is accepted. Therefore the Spirit assures us that God is reconciled and bids us, Come.

FOR MEDITATION: The Spirit is our prompter, that stirs up our hearts to lay hold of the golden opportunity. Our hearts are dull and backward to pray but when the Spirit shows us a glimpse of the things of Christ, of the glories of heaven, of the peace, honour and happiness of the Lord’s people, this quickens us. How forgetful are we, but the promise is fulfilled. We often approach the throne of grace, dumb, and are unwilling to go because we think we have nothing to say—rather dragged by conscience than drawn by love. Yet when at length we try to begin, how sweetly is one want, promise, blessing, after another, brought to our minds so that at last we are as loath to leave off as we were at first to begin.
Sermon on Romans 8:26, The Searcher of Hearts

SERMON: REVELATION 22:17 [2/6] [EASTER MONDAY EVENING]

April 17th

Neck or nothing

Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher’s coat unto him …, and did cast himself into the sea. John 21:7.

Have you ever had a crisis in which you deliberately and emphatically and recklessly abandoned everything? It is a crisis of will. You may come up to it many times externally, but it amounts to nothing. The real deep crisis of abandonment is reached internally, not externally. The giving up of external things may be an indication of being in total bondage.
Have you deliberately committed your will to Jesus Christ? It is a transaction of will, not of emotion; the emotion is simply the gilt-edge of the transaction. If you allow emotion first, you will never make the transaction. Do not ask God what the transaction is to be, but make it in regard to the thing you do see, either in the shallow or the profound place.
If you have heard Jesus Christ’s voice on the billows, let your convictions go to the winds, let your consistency go to the winds, but maintain your relationship to Him.