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“For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” Isaiah 57:15
O what a mystery that God should have two dwelling-places! The “heaven of heavens” that “cannot contain him;” and the humble, broken, and contrite heart! But in order that the Lord of heaven might have a place in which he could live and lodge, God gives to his people gifts and graces; for he cannot come and dwell in the carnal mind, in our rebellious nature, in a heart full of enmity and wickedness; he therefore makes a lodging-place for himself, a pavilion in which the King of glory dwells, the curtains of which are like the curtains of Solomon. His abode is that holy, divine nature which is communicated at regeneration–“the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” Thus Christ dwells in the heart by faith; and is “in his people, the hope of glory.” And this made Paul say, “I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
This is the object of God’s dealings–that the Lord God might dwell in his people; that there might be a union between the Church and her covenant Head–“I in them, and they in me, that they might be perfect in one.” This is the unfolding of the grand enigma, the solution of the incomprehensible mystery, “God manifest in the flesh,”–that the Lord God might dwell in his people; “I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people;” and thus glorify himself by filling their hearts with his grace and glory, as Solomon’s temple was of old, and that they might enjoy him, and be with him when time shall be no more. This is the grand key to all the Lord’s dealings with the soul, and all his mysterious leadings in providence–that the Lord God might dwell in the hearts of his people here, and be eternally glorified in them in a brighter and a better world.
J.C.Philpot
September 30, 1768
My dear friend,
This has been a sort of busy week; but seldom have I felt more unfit to teach
others, or more unfit to preach to my own heart. Oh, these outside services are
wearisome things, when the Lord leaves us to feel our own hardness and
emptiness! But I should learn to glory in my infirmities, that the power of
Christ may rest upon me. As to myself, though cause enough to be humbled,
I have no cause to be cast down, since my righteousness is in heaven. And as to
my ministry, I ought to desire that it may appear, that the excellency of the
power is of God, and that there is nothing in me but weakness.
Dust and ashes is my name,
My all is sin and misery!
So we say, so we believe—and yet we would gladly go forth as if we were wise and good. The Lord help us to discover SELF in all its various windings, to resist it by the sword of the Spirit, as we would the devil, for surely—self is his great engine of evil. It would be a fine thing to have the united knowledge of Paul and the eloquence of Apollos—so that we might be the tip-top characters in the foolish dispute among professors, “Who is the best preacher?” But I can tell you a finer thing, and more within our reach, because it is what the Lord invites even the lowest of the flock to seek for; I mean, the character to which the promise is made, “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.”Isaiah 57:15. Let the discourses of others be admired for ingenuity, learning, or pathos—but may we be ambitious that ours may savour of a broken and contrite spirit; then shall we be best able to commend a precious Saviour, and then we may warrantably hope the Lord will not allow us to speak in vain.
I am affectionately yours in the best bonds.
John Newton
God’s People Are a Broken People
Psa. 34:18 The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
A broken heart, a contrite spirit and a subdued will are rare things. In this day of human rights, everyone extols the imaginary dignity of man, and every man does that which is right in his own eyes. Self-esteem, self-worth, and self-promotion are the cry of the day. All men demand what they call “their rights”. All men by nature are exceedingly proud and selfish. Preachers today, knowing man’s natural pride, have capitalised upon it. They have developed a flesh pleasing theology of pride. Our forefathers exalted the dignity, majesty, and supremacy of the eternal God. But the smooth-tongued prophets of deceit in our day exalt the dignity, majesty, and supremacy of man. The religious world around us is dedicated, not to the honour of God, but to the honour of man. It’s purpose is to-make man feel good about himself. Therefore we hear little about brokenness of heart, contrition of the soul, and the subduing of man’s will.
Must be Broken
Of this one thing you may be sure — “The sacrifices of God are (still) a broken spirit: a broken and contrite heart, 0 God, thou wilt not despise”(Psalm 51: 17). The Lord God declares, “To this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my Word” (Isaiah 66:2). God will have broken material with which to build his kingdom. He accepts and uses nothing he has not broken. Until the Lord God brings us to nothingness before his presence, we will never experience his salvation. God’s people, all of them, are a broken people. No one has experienced the grace of God in salvation, until his heart is thoroughly broken before the Holy Lord God as he is revealed in the Lord Jesus Christ. If ever a sinner finds out who he is, who God is, who the Lord Jesus Christ is, and what he has done for sinners, — if a man ever really learns these things, he will be broken.
God’s Servant Job
When God’s servant Job saw himself, in the presence of his three miserable friends, he vindicated himself, and even cursed his day. He said, “Why did I not perish from the womb? Why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly?” But when he stood in the presence of God, he was a broken man; and he spoke as a broken man. He saw himself, in all the hideousness of his sin; and he saw God in all the holiness of his majesty. Then he said, “Behold I am vile! I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 40:4; 42:5-6). There is no pride and egotism here, no haughtiness, no self-vindication. Once Job had seen the Lord, he was broken. He loathed himself and blamed himself. Once he had seen the Lord, he honoured God and vindicated him. The truly broken heart will always vindicate God.
A Work of Grace
Such brokenness is a work of grace. It can be produced in us only by a saving revelation of Christ in our hearts. Brokenness is found only at the cross. The Lord God declares that when he pours upon the hearts of his elect the Spirit of grace, “they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn” (Zechariah 12:10). Have you been to the cross? Has the crucified Christ been revealed in your heart? Is your heart broken before him? O Lord God, our Savior, evermore break our hearts before Thee!
Don Fortner
“My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy
word.” Psalm 119:25
Ah! how many whose eye scans this page may take up and breathe David’s words.
You feel a deadness, a dullness, and an earthliness in spiritual enjoyments,
and duties, and privileges, in which your whole soul should be all life, all
fervour, all love. You are low where you ought to be elevated; you grovel where
you ought to soar; you cleave to the earth where you ought to be embracing the
heavens. Your thoughts are low; your affections are low; your feelings are low;
your spirits are low; and you seem almost ready to question the existence of
the life of God in your soul.
But even in this sad and depressed state may there not be something cheering,
encouraging, hopeful? There was evidently in David’s–”My soul cleaves unto
the dust: quicken me.” This was the cheering, encouraging, hopeful feature
in the Psalmists’s case–his breathing after the requickening of the Divine life
of his soul. Here was that which marked him a man of God. It was a living man
complaining of his deadness, and breathing after more life. It was a
heaven-born soul lamenting its earthliness, and panting after more of heaven.
It was a spiritual man mourning over his carnality, and praying for more
spirituality. It is not the prayer of one conscious of the low state of His
soul, and yet satisfied with that state.
“I lie in the dust, completely discouraged; revive me by your word.”
Perhaps no expression is more familiar to the ear, and no acknowledgment is more
frequently on the lips of religious professors, than this. And yet where is the
accompanying effort to rise above it? Where is the putting on of the armour?
Where is the conflict? Where is the effort to emerge from the dust, to break
away from the enthralment, and soar into a higher and purer region? Alas! many
from whose lips smoothly glides the humiliating confession still embrace the
dust, and seem to love the dust, and never stretch their pinions to rise above
it. But let us study closely this lesson of David’s experience, that while deep
lamentation filled his heart, and an honest confession breathed from his lips,
there was also a breathing, a panting of soul, after a higher and a better
state. He seemed to say–”Lord, I am prostrate, but I long to rise; I am
fettered, but I struggle to be free; my soul cleaves to the dust, but quicken
me!” Similar to this was the state of the Church, so graphically depicted
by Solomon in his Song–”I sleep, but my heart wakes.”
Octavius Winslow
“But my God shall
supply all your needs, according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:19
For all the exigencies of the Christian journey God has amply provided. The
Lord Jesus being the believer’s “way,” all nourishment for the
pilgrimage of the saints is laid up in Him. All supply of wisdom for the
perplexing way, of strength for the wearisome way, of grace for the perilous
way, of sympathy for the trying way, is in Jesus. In Him has the Father laid up
the provision for the wilderness journey. And what storehouses of
nourishment–both testifying of Jesus–are the word of God and the covenant of
grace! How full, how rich and ample the supply! All the soul-establishing
doctrines, all the sanctifying precepts, and all the precious, comforting
promises go to make up the nourishment for the wilderness journey. Sometimes
the Lord brings us into the very heart of the wilderness, just to prove to us
how easily and how readily He can provide a table for us even there. And when
all other resources are exhausted, and all supply is cut off, and every spring
of water is dried up, lo! He opens the eye of our faith to see what His heart
of love has prepared.
Are you, dear reader, sitting down to weep like Hagar, or to die like Elijah,
in the wilderness–desolate, weary, and exhausted? Oh, see what appropriate and
ample nourishment your God and Father has provided for you. The Angel of the
covenant touches you with the right hand of His love, and bids you rise and eat
and drink, yes, to “drink abundantly.” In the glorious gospel are
“all manner of pleasant fruits, new and old,” which the Lord has laid
up for His people. “Go your way, eat your bread with joy, and drink your
wine with a merry heart,” for all this storehouse of nourishment, this
table of provision, is for you. All the love that is in God’s heart, all the
grace that is in the Savior’s nature, all the comfort that is in the Spirit’s
tenderness, all the sanctifying truths, free invitations, and precious promises
which cluster in the Gospel of Christ, all are yours–the sacred nourishment
provided for the your journey to the mount of God. Listen to the voice of
Jesus, saying to you, as of old, “Come and dine.”
Octavius Winslow
GOD’S METHOD OF GRACE
Zechariah 3:3-5
We must be careful not to suggest that sinners must meet certain qualifications, pass through the same feelings, emotions, and experiences, or possess great knowledge before they can be saved. It is the task of gospel preachers not to place obstacles in the sinner’s way, but to remove every obstacle that might hinder sinners fleeing to Christ for refuge. Salvation is as simple and profound as this – “BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, AND THOU SHALT BE SAVED!” Yet, in the Scriptures we are given many pictures of salvation which reveal God’s method of grace. One of those pictures is found in Zechariah 3:3-5. (Read the text carefully.) Here is Joshua the High Priest of Israel. Though he was of the priestly line, he was a sinner in need of grace. And what he experienced is a picture of God’s grace. This is what happens when God saves a sinner by his grace.
1. YOU MUST TAKE YOUR PLACE AS A GUILTY SINNER BEFORE THE LORD JESUS CHRIST (v. 3). Take the ground God gives you. If you take your place as a sinner before God, he will lift you up by his grace (I John 1:9).
2. YOUR SIN MUST BE TAKEN AWAY (v. 4). Christ took our sins away judicially when he died upon the cross (Heb. 9:27). He sends his servants to proclaim the free pardon and forgiveness of sin (Isa. 40:1-2). And in the day of grace,by faith in his blood, he causes the guilt of sin to be removed from your conscience (Heb. 9:14).
3. THEN THE LORD JESUS WILL CLOTHE YOU WITH CHANGE OF RAIMENT, THE GARMENTS OF SALVATION (v. 4). This change of raiment is the righteousness of Christ, imputed to us in justification and imparted to us in regeneration. Like a garment, it covers us, protects us, warms us, and adorns us.
4. AT LAST, THE SINNER WHOM GOD SAVES IS GIVEN THE MITRE OF ASSURED ACCEPTANCE (v. 5). The mitre of the High Priest had a golden plate upon the front of it with these words inscribed upon it – “HOLINESS TO THE LORD” (Ex. 28:36-38). The sinner, with his sins washed away and Christ’s righteousness imputed to him, is assured of acceptance with God by faith in Christ. With his spotless garments on, all who believe are as holy as God’s own Son!
Don Fortner