(The final study)
The cry of the believer in a day of distress.
“Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the LORD hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger,” Lamentations 1:12.
This is a verse which has often been used by preachers to illustrate the attitude of the world toward the Saviour on the cross. He was a spectacle of woe and many passed by showing little sympathy but rather mocking and deriding Him.
Such an application is very acceptable and proper. Paul the apostle used the command of God with regards the muzzling of an ox as it trampled on corn as a means of threshing it — “Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn,” Deuteronomy 25:4 — to illustrate the duty of the believer to help in the supply of a gospel minister’s needs, 1 Corinthians 9:9 and 1 Timothy 5:18.
But the primary application of this verse is of that to which it firstly is referring to – the lamentation of the city of Jerusalem in grief over its fate.
I. THE SUFFERINGS OF THE PEOPLE OF GOD ARE OF NO CONCERN TO THE WORLD
“Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by?” The expression is that of a person occupied by the business they are engaged in, so occupied as to have neither interest nor time to consider the vision of woe they are passing.
1. The world has a spirit of enmity toward the people of God. “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be,” Romans 8:7. The sight of the people of God in adversity provokes no sorrow or sympathy but rather gladness. That is seen in the attitude that the Lord condemned in the men of Edom at the destruction of Jerusalem mentioned in our text.
“In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou wast as one of them. But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger; neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress. Thou shouldest not have entered into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; yea, thou shouldest not have looked on their affliction in the day of their calamity, nor have laid hands on their substance in the day of their calamity; Neither shouldest thou have stood in the crossway, to cut off those of his that did escape; neither shouldest thou have delivered up those of his that did remain in the day of distress. For the day of the LORD is near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head,” Obadiah 1:11-15.
2. The Saviour has told us that we can but expect to be treated as He was by the world. “The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?” Matthew 10:24-25.
As already stated, this verse we are considering does indeed provide us with a picture of the world’s attitude toward Christ as, on the cross, He was judged for the sins of His people.
“He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all,” Isaiah 53:3-6. What the city of Jerusalem and its people suffered, most deservedly, the Saviour suffered, to a far greater decree. The wrath of God fell on Jerusalem for its wickedness and the wrath of God fell, to a far greater degree upon the Saviour as He bore the sins of His elect.
In both cases the world was pleased with what it witnessed and showed no compassion or care whatsoever toward the sufferers!
3. Let not the Christian think by pleasing words or deeds they can invoke the world’s pity. That has ever been the vain hope of some who would wish to gain the world’s tolerance. It is hoped by such that they can neutralise the world’s animosity and have the ‘reproach of Christ’ lifted from off them, thus making life in this world easier.
Such is a vain hope!
Paul said: “For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God,” Corinthians 1:17-18. Paul resisted the temptation to tone down the ‘words’ of the gospel and refused to preach it using words pleasing to men. Later he told Timothy: “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables,” 2 Timothy 4:3-4.
‘Ear-tickling’ is common today in many pulpits and amongst many professing believers. They are making an effort to ‘enhance’ the gospel in the eyes of the world by presenting a ‘fable’ instead of the plain and pure Word of God. As Dr John Gill says of Paul’s refusal to preach in a manner acceptable to the world, 1 Corinthians 1:17: ‘So the true use, end, and design of the doctrine of a crucified Christ be defeated; or lest the success of the ministry should be attributed to the force of enticing words, and the strength and persuasion of oratory, and not to the energy of divine power attending the doctrine of the cross.’
The powerlessness of the pulpit today is because of a toning down taking place, both in the plainness of speech used and the coverage of matters that might cause offence if condemned as the Lord would have them condemned.
No favour was ever gained from the world by acting so! That is what Bishop Cranmer learned when he compromised and renounced his Protestantism in order to avoid martyrdom, only to discover that Rome was going to burn him anyway! Mercifully, the Lord gave him grace to repent of his folly and cast over his recantation and suffer the fate of a faithful martyr of Christ.
II. SIN CARRIES A HEAVY PENALTY.
“See if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me.” There is much sorrow in this world.
1. It stems from sin. Following the temptation of Eve by the devil, and Adam’s fall as a consequence, the Lord pronounced their fate. “Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam he said, because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life,” Genesis 3:16-17.
David’s tears were many. “I am weary with my groaning; all the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears. Mine eye is consumed because of grief; it waxeth old because of all mine enemies,” Psalm 6:6-7.
Job graphically sets forth the picture of life in this sin-cursed world. “Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble. He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not,” Job 14:1-2.
Joshua warned Israel, before the attack upon Jericho, to avoid sinning by disobeying God’s command. “And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it. But all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are consecrated unto the LORD: they shall come into the treasury of the LORD,” Joshua 6:18-19.
Sin most certainly brings trouble to those who engage in it.
2. For the Christian, the only means of avoiding this trouble and experiencing the joy of God, is obedience. “Blessed (or happy) is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night,” Psalm 1:1-2. The ‘happy’ man or woman or child, is the one who constantly meditates with delight in the Law of God in order to discover the ‘path of obedience’ that they might diligently walk in it!
We do sin despite our very best efforts. When that happens, then the means of deliverance is readily at hand.
“If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world,” 1 John 1:6-2:2.
There is a procedure by which we are delivered from sin and the terrible trouble that surely will follow. Sincere confession of our sin before the Lord our Advocate, our Mediator, will bring forgiveness and cleansing. As David put it in that great manifestation of true penitence:
“Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice,” Psalm 51:1-8.
3. Be it known, that the troubles of this life which spring from sin, are but a very mild foretaste of the full measure of trouble that awaits the rejector of Christ. There are many things that lie in the future about which the Bible gives but a small measure of information. But one matter is very vividly set forth — that of the eternal fate of the unconverted sinner.
“When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. . . . “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.”Matthew 25:31-33, 41-46
The fate of the wicked is set forth in many places. Here are but two.
The Harvest
“Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; the field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; the enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear,” Matthew 13:36-43.
The Great White Throne
“And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death,” Revelation 20:11-14.
Let none think that if they have managed to cope so far with the difficulties of this life, with some measure of ease, that they shall be able to likewise cope with that which awaits them in eternity.
What a mistake that is!
The Euthanasia Business
Today a business is beginning to flourish by which those weary with life can legally bring their life to an end. The ‘product’ is sold as a wonderful ending of suffering and an entrance to an existence without the ills of this life.
It is the devil’s lie made into a profit-making industry, as many of his lies have been so developed.
The Bible teaches that: “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment,” Hebrews 9:27. That is not part of the slick advertising campaign of legalised suicide!
The judgment for the sinner is terrible beyond measure. It is a judgment resulting in “a furnace of fire” producing “wailing and gnashing of teeth”!
Unconverted sinner, please “flee from the wrath to come”.
III. WHEN JUDGMENT FALLS UPON THE PEOPLE OF GOD, AN EXPLANATION SHOULD BE OFFERED BY WAY OF A WARNING TO THE SINNER.
Times of judgment do come upon the people of God. Our text refers to just such a time. “The LORD hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger.”
God’s people, sadly and most regrettably, have incurred the wrath of God because of their oft follies and disobediences!
Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, was a good man, a true believer in the Messiah, yet he acted foolishly in forming an alliance with the evil king of Israel, Ahab. He thus brought the wrath of God upon himself.
“And Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned to his house in peace to Jerusalem. And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to king Jehoshaphat, Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the LORD? therefore is wrath upon thee from before the LORD. Nevertheless there are good things found in thee, in that thou hast taken away the groves out of the land, and hast prepared thine heart to seek God,” 2 Chronicles 19:1-3.
The dreadful word ‘wrath’ appears many, many times in connection with God’s people as a result of their defiance of Him.
1. This is a day when I believe that God’s manifested blessing upon His people has been replaced by His judgment! I would imagine many would demand proof of this statement. I could call many witnesses to support me when I say that some 50 to 60 years ago, there was a true spirit of revival at work in Ulster. I saw and witnessed and rejoiced in it, as did many still alive today who would likewise testify.
That spirit of revival is no longer at work amongst us. Oh, there are ‘charismatic’ delusions and deceptions aplenty, but they are not true revival despite the unwarranted claims of those caught up in the deception.
No, the spirit of revival has departed. That being so, I can only suggest that we lie under judgment.
Peter spoke of just such a time. “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God,” 1 Peter 4:17-19.
Why does such a time come upon the people of God? I quote the Saviour:
“Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent,” Revelation 2:1-5. The Saviour’s threat is most obvious. The removal of the candlestick would signal the cessation, the end of that witness in Ephesus.
One old commentator, Matthew Poole, says of these words: ‘And will remove thy candlestick out of his place; and unchurch thee, and say unto thee, Lo-ammi, You are not my people. Which threatening is long since made good; for where is now the famous church of Ephesus?’
2. There are very few believers ready to acknowledge that this is the state we are in. Why is that? Simply because we do not like acknowledging we are backslidden, disobedient and not where we ought to be.
I can look back to services, prayer meetings, where truly the Lord’s presence was mightily manifested. I recall one such time. It was my first experience of ‘a day of prayer and fasting’. It was in Ravenhill Free Presbyterian Church in 1964. Because the church was used for Sabbath School in the afternoon, the prayer meeting was moved to a nearby hall in My Lady’s Road, owned by a group of Christians, who allowed the use of it for the prayer time.
During that most memorable season of prayer, one dear saint of God who went home to glory many years ago, Mrs Bamber, quietly began to sing a hymn. I will quote its words.
Oh, spread the tidings ’round, wherever man is found,
Wherever human hearts and human woes abound;
Let every Christian tongue proclaim the joyful sound:
The Comforter has come!
The Comforter has come,
The Comforter has come!
The Holy Ghost from heav’n,
The Lord’s dear promise giv’n;
Oh, spread the tidings ’round,
Wherever man is found—
The Comforter has come!
The long, long night is past, the morning breaks at last;
And hushed the dreadful wail and fury of the blast,
As o’er the golden hills the day advances fast!
The Comforter has come!
Lo, the great King of kings, with healing in His wings,
To every captive soul a full deliv’rance brings;
And through the vacant cells the song of triumph rings:
The Comforter has come!
O boundless love divine! how shall this tongue of mine
To wond’ring mortals tell the matchless grace divine—
That I, a child of hell, should in His image shine!
The Comforter has come!
To this day, I can still sense the wonder of that time of singing. The presence of the Lord was so real and powerful. I was but a short time converted and very limited in my experience of God and His power. I was full of a sense of joy I could not then and cannot now describe. The presence of the Lord was so real, I was fearful of opening my eyes, lest I by so doing offend the Lord!
Sadly, that is but a memory. Oh, yes there were other times of such blessed experiences, but I repeat, they are but memories! That spirit is not amongst us today as it was 60 years ago!
That is because we are under judgment.
3. What is it that has cost us the blessing of the ’60s and ’70s? I have long ago ceased to care who I offend by saying this, but we as a church have backslidden. I know this has caused offence for church doors have been closed against me these many years. It started particularly when I opposed the decision by Dr Paisley to enter power-sharing with Sinn Fein/IRA. That was wrong and the next twelve months or so indicated that the Lord was against Dr Paisley’s decision for he was out of the moderatorship, out of the position of First Minister and then out of the leadership of the Democratic Unionist Party!
That power-sharing deal took Dr Paisley and his party into a political enterprise which involved the administering of government funding to sodomite organisations. This was denied at first when I made the allegation but finally acknowledged by Dr Paisley’s successor, Mr Peter Robinson.
Many in the leadership of the Free Presbyterian Church supported Dr Paisley’s decision. Some Free Presbyterians in the DUP were involved in the funding of sodomites and those who stayed in the party compromised on the issue and continued in support of the DUP. Thankfully there were those Free Presbyterians who recognised this to be wrong and said so and bore the reproach of such a witness.
Attempts
Many attempts were made within Presbytery to highlight the sin of Free Presbyterians remaining in support of sodomite funding, or at best remaining quiet while it went on. Today, the policies of the DUP include the endorsing of support for ‘lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer’ – LGBTQ – organisations and the endorsement of sodomite candidates standing for election.
The path downward is slippy and once embarked upon standing still is impossible!
The power-sharing decision opened a door. I wrote at the time that it would encourage those who wished to see a more ‘modern and liberal’ stance taken by the Free Presbyterian Church, to initiate moves in that direction. If long-held views by Dr Paisley and his supporters could be cast aside overnight and not involve themselves in sin because of it, then other changes could also take place without offence to God.
Thus, among many notions once utterly rejected by us as unbiblical, we have the like of Danny Roberts and his ‘new-evangelical’ views being embraced by many and supported by Free Presbyterian ministers and any who dares to oppose this departure from the ‘old paths’ is pilloried as a liar!
As I have stated before, let any answer what I say and show that my analysis of our present spiritual state is wrong.
4. There is recovery from the day of the Lord’s fierce anger. Thankfully, the word ‘day’ which could be easily translated as ‘time’, indicates that it need not necessarily continue. It may have an end.
In Psalm 80, a psalm which records just such a dark season as we are passing through, has the petition that should be upon the lips of every one who loves the Lord within the Free Presbyterian Church. The words of the petition should be heralded forth from every pulpit as the God-revealed way out of our present state of darkness and death.
The potion is repeated three times in the psalm, each time it grows a little stronger.
“Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved,” verse 3.
“Turn us again, O God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved,” verse 7.
“Turn us again, O LORD God of hosts, cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved,” verse 19.
Please note the increasingly stronger and more glorious titles given to the Lord. As the Psalmist prays, he becomes ever more clear as to Whom he is speaking. The glory and majesty of the Lord is breaking through upon his soul. What a wonderful cry he offers and ends his psalm with!
“Turn us again, O LORD God of hosts, cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.”
Dear Free Presbyterian, that prayer, when we take it up will be answered and we will be brought back to the days of the ‘shining of God’s face’ upon us.
Rev Ivan Foster (Rtd)
28th September 2024