UPON THE NEW YEAR

(continued)

May God graciously fill the needs of this temporal life, as we are so utterly dependent upon Him in this respect. All good and perfect gifts descend from the Father of lights, and God is also the God of temporal things. It is more than fitting and it wholly behooves us by virtue of the excellence of God daily to present our needs to Him. There is no merit or worthiness on our part, but the Lord says in His Word: “Acknowledge me in all thy ways, and I shall direct thy paths.” But, above all, may the Lord Himself drive home the need of our souls. Martin Luther once prayed: “Lord, do not send me away with only temporal blessings. Both belly and food perish. The needs and necessities of this life come to an end. But our souls are immortal.” That is why Christ in Matthew 6:33 urges, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” So what is the most essential thing in life? That God by His Spirit quicken us and open our eyes on the one hand for our great sin and guilt, both inherited and committed, and on the other for the things we lack. For we are without God in the world and without hope for eternity. And worst of all, we do not realize that we are “wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked” (Rev. 3:17). We need nothing more desperately than that God’s Spirit, who works irresistibly and powerfully, convinces us of sin, righteousness, and judgment.

Then we shall receive thoughts that are different than before; then we shall no longer say with the rich young ruler, “All these things have I kept from my youth.” Instead, we shall lament:

Heavy is my tribulation,

Sore my punishment has been;

Broken by Thy indignation,

I am troubled by my sin.

Then, too, by the operation of the Holy Spirit it will be learned and experienced that “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth” (Rom. 10:4). Let us never forget, beloved, what we read about the Lord Jesus when He instructed the disciples on the way to Emmaus: “And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself’ (Luke 24:27). Christ, too, began with Moses. “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (John 1:17). Moses, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, described the mother promise in Genesis 3:15, but he also knew personally, again by divine revelation, the glory of both Christ’s humiliation and exaltation, and by faith embraced Him unto eternal salvation.

“We spend our years as a tale that is told,” and everything in the world is subject to change; but truth remains the same. God is unchangeable and consequently the Word of truth as it is revealed by God from the beginning is unchangeable also. People are explaining the Truth differently than before and are presenting it in different terms and forms, but in essence this is nothing but a wrenching of the Truth to their own eternal destruction. Today we must still be visited, rescued, and carried up by God as were Adam and Eve. In other words, we must be converted to God as God converted Adam, and as the very last elect will be converted to God. We must be cut off from Adam and incorporated in Christ. We must know of a sorrow after God and of a joy in. God. That is a divine wonder of grace that must be wrought in the heart by the Holy Spirit.

Lack of room forbids me to go deeper into these matters, but, my friends, I want you to realize how serious this matter is. All religion that places man in the foreground and pushes God aside originates from the father of lies. It seems so pleasant and so attractive when “nothing but the gospel” is preached, and when Christ is offered at once, from the beginning; but no matter how beautiful this sounds, it is not in accordance with the Word of God, and it will see no dawn, for it is misleading. On the basis of God’s infallible and unchangeable testimony, our forefathers have taught that three steps must be known, and taught — not only in a historical sense but experientially as the fruit of the teaching of the Holy Spirit, and these steps are: misery, deliverance, and gratitude.

The dangers, which not only threaten but which are already present, are many. “Thus saith the Lord, stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls” (Jer. 6:16); but the last part of this text says, “But they said, We will not walk therein.” By nature, man wants to be deceived, and thus he reveals his bitter enmity against the doctrine of free grace.

O that this year we may learn by grace what is so indispensably necessary to live in comfort and to die in peace. In John 17:3 the Lord Jesus taught us clearly what this implies: “And this is life eternal: that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”

We are blind as far as Heaven’s ways are concerned, and as long as we do not know them we cannot love them. We must be made receptive for them and be conquered by them, so that we may know nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified (I Cor. 2:2). We cannot be saved by a stolen Christ or an accepted Christ, but by a Christ who is revealed unto us from Heaven when we become truly lost and undone. Always remember that when there is no experiential knowledge of the first Adam, there can be no revelation of the second Adam, namely, the Lord Jesus Christ. God does not waste His grace.

When Joseph and Mary arrived in Bethlehem, where the promised Messiah was to be born, there was no place for them in the inn. For all other people room was made, but not for them. It is still the same today — there is no room for Christ in the world and with the world: indeed, there is no room for Him even in the hearts of God’s people. And because there is no room for Him with us, the Holy Spirit Himself must first make room for Him in our hearts. That is why this Spirit is called the Spirit of judgment and the Spirit of burning in Isaiah 4:4. Hence we read in Psalm 102:17, “He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer.” God’s way is perfect and just. Indeed, the Lord is good and just, therefore He will Instruct sinners.

By nature we are all hypocrites; but it is sinners who are instructed; and it is a mystery to become and to be made sinners — and to remain such. It is so easily said and professed that we are sinners, but to be so in truth and reality is something else. We become truly sinners only by the operation and conviction of the Holy Spirit. Let us take this to heart: from ourselves we shall never become sinners before God. Everything in us is bitter enmity against God and His ways. Besides, we may go to any length to make ourselves feel that we are sinners, but with all our legalistic activity we remain far removed from our goal, further than the north is removed from the south and the east from the west. From beginning to end this is the one-sided work of God, which we cannot touch.

Sinners are saved and enemies are reconciled with God. It is for sinners that Christ came into the world (I Tim. 1:15), and it is sinners who are called to repentance (Matt. 9:13). The publican cried, “God, be merciful to me a sinner!” and he went down to his house justified (Luke 18:13,14). And in the way of sanctification he later became a poor sinner, who had to pray to the end: “Forgive us our debts.”

It is through the eternal wisdom of God that in justification the guilt of sin is removed but the pollution of sin cleaves unto us until the last breath we draw. We must remain lowly and humble in the valley of humility. Christ and His blood must remain indispensable till the end, for His blood remains necessary unto purification and sanctification. We must continually die unto sin and live unto righteousness, and longingly look forward to the hour when we shall be delivered from all unrighteousness, in order to behold His face in righteousness and give Him all the honor (Ps. 17:15).

And finally we must become naked sinners, totally disrobed from self, but robed with the righteousness of Christ, in order to enter the gates of heaven:

Now open at my salutation
The gates of truth and righteousness,

And I will enter with elation,
There to proclaim my thankfulness.

There, “in thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted” (Ps. 89:16).

I shall not enlarge on this, but, beloved, that at the beginning of the new year the seriousness of things eternal might be impressed upon our hearts by the God of all grace! Then we shall not be idle or unfruitful. It is true, we cannot merit anything or take hold of anything. But our eyes should drip day and night and our knees should be bent all the time, and we should cry to God that it might please Him for His own sake to look down upon us in mercy. Doing this we can lose nothing but we could gain everything. May God bind us and our children to Himself, to beseech Him to show mercy to guilty ones while it is still the day of grace.

Often it seems as though it is a hopeless matter, when we look at ourselves. Often we find that We are so devoid of true desire, of true interest, of true concern, when we feel our need so little. And when we look upon our children, how little impression do we notice of death and eternity! But then, if things were different with ourselves, they might be different with our children also. We had better not point an accusing finger at others, but become the cause of all misery ourselves.

May the precious Spirit of God uncover our destitute state and teach us to need Him in truth and uprightness! With the Lord there is deliverance even from death. Nothing is too wonderful for Him. The Lord is great of compassion toward all that call upon Him.

May God extend the borders of His Church and put to shame the power of hell! May many be plucked as firebrands from the fires of hell! May Zion once again be overtaken by labor pains to bring forth sons and daughters!

The promise the Father made to His Son in the eternal counsel of peace will be fulfilled even if it means blood and tears, darkness and strife. He shall receive the heathen for an inheritance and the ends of the earth for a possession. Christ shall never be without subjects. At times things may look so dark that all courage fails us, but the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear Him, and His righteousness unto children’s children (Ps. 103:17). May the divine promises strengthen our souls and may we behold the fulfillment of His promises!

There would be joy, even among the angels in heaven, over the extension of God’s Kingdom, but there would also be true joy among God’s elect if they were privileged to behold God’s mighty acts in enlarging the flock that will be saved. But the most important thing would be that God would be glorified on account of it, and that Christ would be exalted and the Holy Spirit praised. But this is also true with regard to the confirmation of Zion in the liberation of those who now languish in prison.

It makes such a great difference whether we get ourselves into prison or whether we are being imprisoned. Mannaseh had gotten himself into prison on account of his sinful, wicked life, but by the sovereign grace of God he was converted to God while in jail. Samson, who was a Nazarite unto God, got into prison, too, through his own fault, for he had left the straight paths of the Lord and given in to the corrupt desires of his inner being. It is our sins that make a separation between the Lord and our souls. God hides His face from us because we often grieve His Holy Spirit.

Often it seems as though God no longer works, and that there are no signs of His favor any more; that He prevents His Spirit from operating, and that so little is seen of the penetrating and consummating grace in the hearts of those whom He nevertheless drew out of the world, out of sin and self-righteousness. May we once again behold the super-abounding operation and powerful manifestation of God’s Spirit as in former days! Indeed, may the quickened and delivered Church become once again a salting salt and an illuminating light in the midst of a world that lies in darkness and in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation! May Zion once again shine gloriously and be as a city on a mountaintop and a light upon a candlestick. May the Church, which by faith is united with Christ, have its life in Christ and walk in His footsteps and magnify and glorify His Name, so that many might be stirred to envy and say: “We shall join thee, for we have seen that the Lord is with thee!” Then, too, there will be true repentance of sin and a hating and fleeing of sin. Then there will be a genuine return to the Lord and His ways. Then the precious blood of Christ will wash our guilty and polluted souls from all impurities of the flesh and spirit, completing the sanctification in the fear of God. Then the fear of God will adorn our lives, and we shall bear fruits of righteousness.

Finally, the world is getting old and speeds towards its end. The end of all things draws near. What Christ has foretold, and what the apostles have written down concerning this, is nearing its fulfillment. The hardening of hearts is on the increase, and the man of sin reveals himself more and more in the forsaking and despising of the Word of God, the service of God, and the laws and statutes of God. It is noticeable that the devil has but a little time left, and that he exerts himself to the fullest extent to destroy and corrupt. We are living in a sinking world, which soon will disappear into eternal destruction. Antichrist is already here, and his power increases more and more and his realm becomes bigger and bigger, until at last he will manifest himself in his full destructive nature. Things will get so bad that the Lord says in His Word that if these days would not be shortened, no flesh would be saved. But Christ rules supreme and will retain full sovereignty.

God’s Chruch travels through the world’s fearful woes toward its glory, there to be with its blessed Head Jesus Christ. For the world there is no future, and the nominal professors shall perish. But there is a glorious future for the true Church. Christ emerged as the Victor from the battle and was placed above the battle. That will be the portion of all who are comprehended in Him.

People of God, let this be your comfort in all your sorrow and your strength in all your weakness. Not the prince of darkness but the glorified and exalted Christ, the King of Zion, will have the last word, for He must reign as King until He has put all His enemies under His feet (I Cor. 15:25).

May it be given to you and me, out of free grace and for Christ’s sake, to say, with humility and childlike faith and liberty, with the composers of our Confession of Faith: “Therefore we expect that great day with a most ardent desire to the end that we may fully enjoy the promises of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.”

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