George Smeaton

George Smeaton (1814-89) was one of Scotland's leading theologians of the nineteenth century. When he died the General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland adopted the following statement about Smeaton: "A man of massive intellect and unwearied diligence, of profound erudition and exact scholarship, he consecrated his talents, his time, and the wealth of his learning to the service of God, and the interpretation of his holy word." Smeaton held the chair of Exegetical Theology at New College Edinburgh. He taught there with William Cunningham (1805-61) and John "Rabbi" Duncan (1796-1870). Smeaton was a Calvinist, and orthodox as light defines the day.

New College since those days, of course, has drifted from how Smeaton (and others there) understood the faith. Anectodely, Smeaton's portrait was given to New College by his wife after his death (1892). It hung in the Common Hall of the college for many decades. His portrait looked "down on generations of students who, sadly, would take a very different line from Smeaton himself in the understanding of the faith" (biography by J. W. Keddie). In the 1990's the college sold his portrait to an American bookseller from Pennsylvania for less than $1000.

Models of Ministry

J. Gresham Machen, the founder of Westminster Theological Seminary, told a graduating class of the seminary what he thought was the purpose of these young men as ministers of the gospel. He said, "You, as ministers of Christ, are called to deal with unseen things. You are the stewards of the mysteries of God. You alone can lead men, by the proclamation of God's word, out of the crash and jazz and noise and rattle of this weary age into green pastures and beside the still waters; you alone as ministers of reconciliation, can give what the world with all its boasting and pride can never give -- the infinite sweetness of the redeemed soul with the living God." (Taken from D.G. Hart)

Modern models of ministry look nothing like what Machen said. Many say that "Machen's older conception of the ministry now looks tired, irrelevant, and even a bit selfish" (Hart). But is it really? I would ask you to read Machen's statement again, and then ask yourself, is Machen not right?

The Especial Mercy of God

George Muller, as is well known, was a man of prayer. The orphanages that he began were in daily need of necessities and provisions: Muller's answer was to pray. And God answered his prayers daily, and often in the most unexpected ways. Following is what Muller had to say about a particularly difficult period in 1841:

“Indeed, so sharp were the trials of our faith for more than six months after [September, 1841]; so long the seasons when, day after day, only daily supplies were granted to us, and when even from meal to meal we had to look up to the Lord; so long had we to continue in prayer, and yet help seemed to fail; that it can be only ascribed to the especial mercy of God, that the faith of those who were engaged in this work did not altogether fail, and that they did not entirely grow weary of this way of carrying on the Lord’s work, and go, in despair of help from God, back again to the habits and maxims of this evil world…In the midst of the trial I was fully assured that the Lord would lighten His hand in His own good time, and that, whilst it lasted, it was only in order that in a small measure, for the benefit of the Church of Christ generally, that word might be fulfilled in us – ‘Whether we be afflicted it is for you consolation.’”

Submitted by JD

Aged Preachers

John Newton was born in 1725 in London. He was pastor at Olney for 16 years, and then, in 1779, he became minister of St. Mary Woolnoth. He preached there in London until almost the end of his life in 1807. In 1806, Richard Cecil counseled Newton to cease preaching, Newton gave the memorable reply, "I cannot stop. What, shall the old African blasphemer stop while he can speak?" When preaching in his old age, Newton would sometimes get lost and drift in his sermon. He knew it when it happened, and he was known to have said, "I may not know where I am, but I know two things for certain: that I am a great sinner and that Jesus is a great Savior." And that is preaching the gospel to the point!

The Allergic Shoe-Maker

I am currently reading a new biography of William Carey. It is by John Appleby, and it is called I Can Plod: William Carey and the Early Years of the First Baptist Missionary Society (London: Grace Publications, 2007). Two facts of Carey's early life are intriguing to me. First, I was unaware that he was allergic to sunshine. Second, and I did know this, that before he went on the mission field he was a shoe-maker (leather worker) and a part-time pastor. What is interesting about those two facts is, "is it not surprising that someone allergic to sunshine and being a leather worker as well should have been sent by Providence to spend a lifetime in India where the former is constant ant the latter is a trade of the despised lower caste?" God does not do things in the manner of men; we would consider Carey, in our day of assessing "gifts", as perhaps one who would be unfit for such misssionary service. God knows better, and, indeed, by using Carey that way he did only brings more glory and honor to His own name.

Renovation not Innovation

In 1890, reviewing his 20 years' pastorate, Dr. Gordon remarked: "We believe we have learned much, through divine teaching, as to the true method of conducting the affairs of God's church; have proved by experience the practicability of what we have learned; and have largely united the church in the practice thereof. Innovations have from the beginning been strongly urged. 'Innovations'? No! that word implies newness, and God is our witness that in theology, in worship, and in church administration it is not the new to which we have been inclined, but the old. Renovation, rather, is what we have sought. With a deep feeling that many of the usages which have been fastenend upon our church by long tradition [he's talking about buying pews and formal choirs, etc..] constitute a serious barrier to spiritual success, it has been my steady aim to remove these. In general, we may say, it is our strong conviction that true success in the church of Christ is to be attained by spiritual, not by secular, methods by a worship which promotes self-denial in God's people, and not by that which ministers to self-gratification; by a cultivation of the heart through diligent use of the Word and of prayer, and not by a cultivation of art through music and architecture and ritual. And with the most deliberate emphasis we can say that every step in our return to simpler and more scriptural methods of church service has proved an onward step toward spiritual efficiency and success." His whole ministry, then, faced backward - away from the pitiable modern devices and schemes and substitutes to "that higher, holier, earlier, purer church," from which we are ever departing, and to which we must ever return if we are to live.

- all from Adoniram Judson Gordon, A Biography

submitted by Jennifer Dixon

Scripture

John Willison, an 18th century pastor from Scotland, spoke of the importance of the Bible for the believer, as follows: "We should look upon it as a golden epistle, indited by the Spirit of God; we should receive it as a love-letter from heaven, opening up God's designs of love to our souls; we should go to it as for our daily food and substitence, and daily enquire in it for the will of God, and hereby consult with God about our duty in all cases . . . We should read with faith, reverence, and application to ourselves, as if we were particularly named in the precepts, reproofs, threatenings, and consolations of it . . . and in reading every part, we should still keep Christ in our eye, as the end, scope, and substance of the whole scriptures."

This reflects the Testimony of the Seceders (1736) that states, "the Word of God contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments is not only a sufficient rule, or a principal rule, but it is the only rule to direct us how we ought to glorify God and enjoy him."

The Sufficiency of Christ

Hudson Taylor was invited to preach the opening sermon at the General Missionary Conference in Shanghai in 1890. His theme was "The Heart of Jesus and His Sufficiency". In it he dealt with Jesus' feeding of the four thousand in Matthew 15:29-39. He said, "I am so glad it was a great multitude, so great that the disciples thought it simply impossible to feed them. Yet the multitude were in real need, and the need too was immediate. It must either be met at once or not at all . . . Let us notice that in these circumstances the presence of the disciples alone would not have sufficed. They might perhaps have said, "Poor things!" They might have regretted that they had not more bread with them; but they would have left the multitude hungry. But Jesus was there; and His presence secured the carrying out of His compassionate purpose. All were fed, all were filled, all went away satisfied and strengthened; and the disciples were not only reproved and instructed, but were enriched also."

Sent to me by Jennifer Dixon from Roger Steer's biography of Hudson Taylor.

Matthew Henry

The commentaries of Matthew Henry have had a great influence on the reformed church throughout its history. One nineteenth century minister in Scotland tells of the influence of the Puritan writer upon his own flock. He tells of a farmer in his congregation who was a humble peasant, had low wages, and many mouths to feed. But his knowledge of the Scriptures was wonderful and deep; the minister commented that the farmer got this by reading the Bible and the commentary of Matthew Henry. The farmer had inherited the commentaries from his grandfather and they were his prized possession and "the feeder of his soul". The farmer once remarked, "I would not give one chapter of comment of Matthew Henry for all the new books put together." He read his Bible thoroughly and he had, up to that point, read Matthew Henry's commentaries ten times!

No matter how much preparation I put into a sermon, I always consult Matthew Henry. He may not have all the deep exegetical insights that we want to put in our sermons, but he, better than most, gets at the heart of the meaning of the text. I encourage you, my congregation, to pick up these commentaries and feed your soul.

A Better Pastor

There is a story of a pastor who faithfully preached for several years at a small church and intimately knew the entire congregation. One Sunday morning as he left his study and walked towards the sanctuary to preach, he noticed something new on the bulletin board – in large, bold letters it read “Do you want a better pastor?” and below he saw many signatures… he recognized many of the signatures as his closest and dearest friends in the church. It seemed like the entire church had signed this! He was shocked and gripped with both sadness and anger… he left to go preach nonetheless and fulfill his duty, but found that he just couldn’t do so as he looked down upon his congregation from the pulpit. He stepped down, walked out of the sanctuary, and took one last look at this announcement before leaving the church forever. Just below the letters saying, “Do you want a better pastor?” were words he didn’t see the first time… they read, “Then start praying for the one that you already have!” This was not a rally cry to oust him, but a commitment from a loving church body to better support the ministry of their pastor through prayer.

Posted by RE Matt Spear

Pride in the Pulpit

I have taught in seminary now for fifteen years. This was the first year that I was asked to help teach preaching at the seminary; most of my work has been in OT. In any event, one of the lessons that I try to get across to my students is to be careful in drawing attention to yourself in the pulpit. Indeed, many illustrations that one hears today are about the pastor and his experiences. One needs to be careful: Spurgeon told his students to help their congregants to look up to Jesus . . . with both eyes! Let us draw our people's eyes to the Word and to Christ, and not to ourselves.

Once after Spurgeon had given a particularly powerful sermon, he was standing at the door of the church greeting people. A man came up to him, gushing and saying, "That was the greatest sermon I have ever heard! And you are the greatest preacher alive!" Spurgeon looked at the man and said, "Yes, the devil told me that ten minutes ago!" Whether the story is true or not (some Spurgeon stories are questionable), the point is well made. We need to be careful of pride in the pulpit, and we need to be good witnesses to our people of lack of pride. Look to Jesus, and look with both eyes!

Mysterious Providence III

Daniel Webster Whittle was a major in the Union army during the American Civil War during the 1860’s. He later became a well known preacher of the gospel, and he often related how he became a Christian during the bloody conflict between the States. He said, ‘When the Civil War broke out, I left my home in New England and came to Virginia as lieutenant of a company in a Massachusetts regiment. My dear mother was a devout Christian, and parted from me with many a tear, and followed me with many a prayer. She had placed a New Testament in a pocket of the haversack that she arranged for me. We had many engagements, and I saw many sad sights, and in one of the battles I was knocked out, and that night my arm was amputated above the elbow. As I grew better, having a desire for something to read, I felt my haversack, which I had been allowed to keep, and found the little Testament my mother had placed there. I read right through the book – Matthew, Mark, Luke, to Revelation. Every part was interesting to me; and I found to my surprise that I could understand it in a way that I never had before. When I had finished Revelation, I began at Matthew, and read it through again. And so for days I continued reading, and with continued interest; and still with no thought of becoming a Christian, I saw clearly from what I read the way of salvation through Christ.’
And then a most amazing event happened in this prison hospital. Whittle continues with his description: ‘While in this state of mind, yet still with no purpose or plan to repent and accept the Savior, I was awakened one midnight by the nurse, who said: “There is a boy in the other end of the ward, one of your men, who is dying. He has been begging me for the past hour to pray for him, or to get someone to pray for him, and I can’t stand it. I am a wicked man, and can’t pray, and I have come to get you.” “Why,” I said, “I can’t pray. I never prayed in my life. I am just as wicked as you are.” “Can’t pray!” said the nurse; “why, I thought sure from seeing you read the Testament that you were a praying man. And you are the only man in the ward that I have not heard curse. What shall I do? There is no one else for me to go to. I can’t go back there alone. Won’t you get up and come and see him at any rate?”
‘Moved by his appeal, I arose from my cot, and went with him to the far corner of the room. A fair-haired boy of seventeen or eighteen lay there dying. There was a look of intense agony upon his face, as he fastened his eyes upon me and said: “Oh, pray for me! Pray for me! I am dying. I was a good boy at home in Maine. My mother and father are members of the Church, and I went to Sunday School and tried to be a good boy. But since I became a soldier I have learned to be wicked. I drank, and swore, and gambled, and went with bad men. And now I am dying, and I am not fit to die! Oh, ask God to forgive me! Pray for me. Ask Christ to save me!”’ Whittle got on his knees and prayed earnestly for the boy, and the boy pressed his hand as he pleaded the promises. When he got up from his knees, the boy was dead; yet Whittle believed the boy had his attention fixed on Christ when he died and that he had trusted in the Savior. And right there at that very hour, Whittle himself got down on his knees and came to saving faith in Jesus Christ. Over the years, Whittle the preacher was overheard saying, ‘I was the second person that I led to Christ.’

Mysterious Providence II

The Metropolitan Tabernacle in London, where Charles Spurgeon pastored, was at one time undergoing massive renovation. So, during the week, there were many workman in the church. Spurgeon had the habit of going into his pulpit during the week to practice his sermon for the coming Sunday. One day he went out to practice his sermon, and he was paying no attention to all the labors and banging of the workmen -- he went ahead and gave his sermon. At the close of the practice message, a number of workmen came down from the scaffolding having been converted by hearing the word of God preached.

The mysterious providence of God in the salvation of sinners!

Mysterious Providence

D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones tells the story of an extraordinary event in the early days of his ministry at his first church in Aberavon. One Sunday morning as the Doctor was about to preach he noticed that the inside of the church had gotton unbearably hot. So he stood up and asked the elders to open the windows of the church to let in some cool air. He then began to preach -- just at that time, the most notorious drunk and bully in the town, a most ruthless man, was walking by the church to go down to the pub in order to tank up. As he walked by the church, he heard Jones preaching through the open windows, and there and then fell on his knees in repentance.

Isn't that encouraging? When, as Christians, we think of our own family members, neighbors, co-workers, and others who are not saved, we need to realize that no person is beyond God's reach if God so wills to bring one to saving faith. It is his power; it is his providence; it is his grace; and it is his will that is at work in salvation! Ah, the mysterious providence of God in salvation!

Waiting on the Lord

How frequently the Scriptures tell us to "wait on the Lord." That is difficult in a world that is so fast paced, and desires instant success and gratification. But the Lord does not act according to our time tables. I was reminded of that reality when A. J. Gordon, in his book The Holy Spirit in Missions, tells believers to persevere and wait on Jesus:

"It was seven years before Carey baptized his first convert in India. It was seven years before Judson won his first disciple in Burma. Morrison toiled seven years before the first Chinese were brought to Christ. Moffat declared that he waited seven years to see the first evident moving of the Holy Spirit upon his Bechuanas of Africa. Henry Richards labored seven years on the Congo before the first convert was gained at Banza Manteka."

We ought to ask ourselves, have we ever waited seven years for anything?

Worship

One Sunday morning the congregation of the English preacher John Flavel was waiting for him to come from his study in the church in order to lead the morning worship service. They waited five minutes and then ten minutes; finally, after fifteen minutes, one of the elders went back to Flavel's study to get him for worship. As the elder neared the study door he overheard Flavel talking and pleading with someone. And as he listened at the door, he heard Flavel say, "I am not going into the pulpit without you"; and he heard Flavel say it over and over again, "I am not going into the pulpit without you." When Flavel emerged from the study, he came out alone. But did he really come out alone?

This is an example of how we all ought to come to worship. We come to seek God and his presence. Let us have Immanuel (= "God is with us") worship!

Lex Rex

Samuel Davies was one of the greatest preachers that America has ever produced. Just prior to the Revolutionary War, he preached in London at Westminster Abbey, and the King of England was in attendance. Right in the middle of Davies' sermon, the King began talking with one of his attendants and he was being quite disruptive to the worship service. The American preacher paused, looked squarely at the King, and said, "When King Jesus speaks the rulers of the earth will be silent!" The King of England responded by bowing his head in shame.
Davies' point was clear, wasn't it? The truth is that even the King of England is not autonomous; he is not totally free to do whatever he will. Even the King of England is under the law of God and under the authority of the true King, Christ Jesus!

Hearing the Preached Word

In the Reformed tradition, the preaching of the Word of God is of central importance in the worship service. How are we to prepare to hear preaching and to reflect on what we have heard? The Westminster Larger Catechism provides a helpful overview of our duties in regard to the preached word:
Question: What is required of those who hear the Word preached?
Answer: It is required of those who hear the Word preached, that they attend upon it with diligence, preparation, and prayer; examine what they hear by the Scriptures, receive the truth with faith, meekness, and readiness of mind, as the Word of God; meditate, and confer of it; hide it in their hearts, and bring forth the fruit of it in their lives.

I want to ask a series of questions that may help us in defining ways of properly hearing and responding to the preached Word of God (thanks to William Shishko for some of these insights).
1. How do you prepare your heart to hear preaching? We have recently been putting our church bulletin on our church's website early in the week so that people can look at the text that will be preached, meditate on it, and pray over it.
2. Do you pray for your pastor in his preparation and preaching of the Word?
3. Do you come in anticipation of learning from the Word?
4. How do you meditate on what has been preached?
5. Do you have a forum for discussing what has been preached? In the family? In the church?
6. Do you remember what was preached this past Sunday?
7. Do you attempt to apply concretely the lessons you have learned from the sermon? For what are you praising God when you leave the service after hearing the Word preached?

Losing Heart

It is easy to lose heart in this life as we consider our own sin and the brokenness of the world. I was recently reading of the life of the Marquis of Argyle. He was highly placed in the English government; in fact, it was he who placed the crown on the head of Charles II at his coronation in 1651. However, the Marquis was later arrested by the forces of Charles II because he had been converted, and had sympathies to the covenanter groups. He was beheaded at the cross of Edinburgh in 1661. But even at the impending time of his martyrdom, the Marquis did not lose heart; he said, "I had the honor to set the crown on the king's head, and now the king hastens me to a better crown than his own." This is a good example of what Paul means in 2 Corinthians 4:16-17, that "we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison . . . " So, dear Christian, do not lose heart!

Mourning Into Dancing

Charles Calder was called to pastor a church in Ferintosh, a village of Scotland north of Inverness. Early in the first year of his ministry his wife died. Her death was on the eve of Calder's first communion service. The elders urged him to delay the service and to focus on a period of mourning for his wife. Calder responded negatively to the delay saying that even death must not interfere with the celebration of her Savior's death. Ten thousand people came to hear him preach at that communion service, and a revival broke out called the Pentecost of Ferintosh! It is simply amazing how God so often turns our 'mourning into joy' and gives us 'gladness for sorrow' (Jer. 31:13). Jesus encouraged his disciples by telling them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you . . . your sorrow will turn into joy' (John 16:20).

Quoted from soon to be published commentary on Habakkuk by John Currid (in the Welwyn Commentary series for Evangelical Press; due out spring, 2009).

Is There A Church In Your House?

Is There A Church In Your House?

Have you ever thought of your family as “a little church?” It is an idea that many Puritans and other believers embraced. Like a church, the family exists to worship, serve and glorify God. It also exists to promote the welfare of mankind and to labor for the advancement of God’s kingdom, especially with regard to the members of the family. As Isaac Ambrose is quoted as saying, a “husband and wife have the task of ‘erecting and establishing Christ’s glorious kingdom in their house.’” (Leland Ryken in Worldly Saints: The Puritans As They Really Were.) What a marvelous, yet sobering thought.

Not surprisingly, then, family worship/devotions is central to this notion of the family as “a little church.” Surely it is within the context of family devotions that members of the household corporately bow in worship and praise before the Creator, in thanksgiving for God’s abundant blessings, in confession of sin, and supplication for forgiveness and daily grace.

However, another compelling reason for family worship is that God frequently uses it for the saving of souls. In a pamphlet entitled “The Church In the House,” Rev. James Hamilton of London wrote (in 1842) the following:

"Children have often heard there [in family devotions] truths, which, when the Spirit brought them to remembrance in after days – perhaps, in days of profligacy, and when far from their father’s house – have sent home the prodigal…In your house, there have been, perhaps, several immortal spirits born into the world. Have there been any born again?"

Elsewhere in the same piece, Rev. Hamilton said this:

"Were you like Abraham, entertaining an angel unawares, what would be the report he would take back to heaven? Would he find you commanding your children and your household, and teaching them the way of the Lord? Would he find an altar in your dwelling? Do you worship God with your children? Is there a Church in your house?"

Posted by Nancy Currid

Lasting Prayers

Elisabeth Elliot, in her book A Lamp For My Feet, makes the following point regarding how to pray for those we love:

"Because I am 'of the earth, earthy,' I find that my prayers for the people I love are mostly bound by very earthy concerns--Lord, help P. to find a good wife, show G. which college to attend, provide money for W.'s house and E.'s car, help T. with his book, give X. a better job. It is meet and proper to pray for such things, but not to pray only for such things. There are prayers of far more lasting import which we must also learn to pray. We can find words for those in the prayer of Jesus for the people He loved:
that they may be one;
that they may find his joy completed in themselves;
that they may be kept from evil;
that they may be made holy by the truth;
that they may live in Christ;
that they may grow complete into one;
that they may be with him;
that the love which God has for Christ may be in their hearts.
If we learn to pray that kind of prayer, it will perhaps amend the "lesser" prayers.
Lord, teach me to pray. Open my eyes to see beyond the earthly to the heavenly. Let my primary concerns be heavenly ones, that your kingdom may come on earth, your will be done in me and in those I love. Teach me to pray with Jesus, for his sake. Amen."

Posted by Meg Spear