Covenanter Witness Vol. 53 - Rparchives.org

you". .thyevil"stumble."prosper."PRAYER MEETING TOPICDecember 22, 1954GREAT PROMISES IN ISAIAH:The Church as a Watered Garden,Isaiah 58:10-11.Comments by Rev. James D. CarsonPsalms:1:1-4, page 122:10-12, page 5196:3, 4, page 232102: 7-10, page 241References:Jeremiah 17:7, 8; Numbers 24:5, 6;Jeremiah 31:12; Proverbs 11:28."If a person, a family, a people, bethus disposed to every thing that isgood let them know for their comfortthat they shall find God their bountifulrewarder and what they layout inworks of charity shall be abundantlymade up to them." (Matthew Henry)We shall always be the winners for putting God first in every thought and activity. "But seek ye first the kingdomof God and his righteousness, and allthese things shall be added unto(Matthew 6:33).It would be to state only half of thetruth if we were to neglect stating thebasis on which this promise is made.The advocates of the social gospel wouldhave us believe that these promisesare for them to claim, since they minister in the name of the church. Butwhen we turn to see the conditionsunder which these promises are given,we must revise our thinking, and wemust limit the number of those whoreceive these promiseshave fulfilled these conditions.to those whoThe prophet Isaiah was sent to tellthese people of the fact that God wasnot being fooled by all of their outwardform of religion. God searcheth andtrieth the hearts of men,and eventhough we may seemingly fool ourselvesfor a time, God knows our hearts. Inthe first verse he states the commissionwhich he had received to tell thesepeople of their true condition beforeGod.Their problem seemed to be that theyseparated religion from every day living.They were one-day-a-week people, obeying the commands of God outwardly inregard to fast days, keeping up theirdevotional life because it was expectedof them, but their hearts were not inthe service. They were doing it becauseof the pleasant associations connectedwith these things. And because of that,their sacrifice was not wanted by theLord.Herein we find a warningfor allChristian people. What is the purposeof our worship? Are we doing it for348the sake of Him who died for us androse again? If we attend to Christianduties for reasons other than this, weare missing the mark. The prophet continues his condemnation by pointing out.specific ways in which they were transgressing the law of God. Then he givesthe true definition of the fast days.They were to apply their religion totheir business activity. While on theone hand they were piously seeking forgiveness from God, they were exacting all they could from their businessassociates.One is reminded of the prayer we alltoo often repeat instead of pray: "Forgive us our debts as we forgive ourdebtors."What a horrible condition wewould be in if God answered our prayer,and we were forgiven only to the measure that we forgive others! This wasthe sin of the Jews, showingon theoutside the acts of a religious life, butinwardly lacking the real heart relationship. Claims are made that churchattendance and membership are at anall time high, but judging from dailynews, we wonder what effect thatchurch membershipmakes in the livesof many. Is it only social? Is it an attempt to buy salvation by good works?Whatever the reason, God knows thehearts of those who worship sincerely.And the prophet gives this wonderful promise to those who follow thesecommands, and who, having ears, hearthe message of Jehovah to them. "Thenshall thy light break forth as the morn.ing righteousness shall ero beforethee; the glory of the Lord shall bethy rereward . . . and the Lord shall guidethee continually. . . and thou shalt belike a watered garden, and like a springnot."of water, whose waters failFirst of all, the promise of light ina dark world. "But the path of the justis as the shining light, that shineth moreand more unto the perfect day. The wayof the wicked is as darkness: they knownot at what they(Proverbs4:18-19) Darkness is the way of wickedness, and "men loved darkness ratherthan light, because their deeds were(John 3:19). Men are afraid oflight, because theydirt and filth which the light will makeare afraid of themanifest. But the Christian is one whoby the grace of God is willing to havethat dirt, which is sin, uncovered, andforgiven by the shed blood of JesusChrist. No individual, no church, willever prosper by covering sin, but onlyby confessing and forsaking it. "He thatcovereth his sins shall not prosper: butwhoso confesseth and forsaketh themshall havemercy"(Proverbs 28:13).Secondly, the promise of protection.Whatever direction we shall look, thereis God's protection over us. The children of Israelexperienced this typeof thing when they left Egypt. Behindthem were the armies of the Pharaoh,and before them the sea, and if theyhad had eyes to see, they would haveseenthe righteousness and glory ofGod protecting them before and behind.But instead theycomplained. The individual and the church too often lookat the physical forces around themwithout consideringthe spiritual protection. "When a man's ways please theLord, he maketh even his enemies to beat peace with him" (Proverbs 16:7).Thirdly, there is the promise of guidance. How essential that is to the happiness of the individual and of the church.It is only when we seek our own sinfulways that we find sorrow and trouble."There is a waywhich seemeth rightunto a man, but the end thereof arethe ways of death" (Proverbs 14:12).But when we are guided by the Lord,the end result will be happiness andpeace. The Lord will guide us in thoseways which will result in our benefitAnd fourthly, there is the promise ofeverlastingpeace. A garden is a placeof peace. A garden with a spring isespecially nice, for there is the assurance of continued growth in the garden. It is the promise of nourishment.We are reminded of the 1st Psalm:"But his delight is in the law of theLord, and in his law doth he meditateday and night. And he shall be as atree, planted by the rivers of water,that bringeth forth his fruit in hisseason; his leaf also shall not wither;and whatsoever he doeth shallThis lesson concludes our study in theseries of Great Promises in Isaiah.Perhaps the most important lesson ofall is that we must be quick to recognize and admit of the sin of our heartsand turn to the Lord. "God resisteth theproud, and giveth grace to the humble"(I Peter 5:5).PRAYER SUGGESTIONS1. That God may make real to thehearts of people the world over themessage of the cominginto the world.of the Saviour2. That the Spirit of God may use the"ThanksgivingtoChristmas"readings to convict men of sin.Bible3. That our church may be willing toadmit of sinfulness, and that we willturn to God.If all our misfortunes were laid in onecommon heap, whence everyone musttake an equal portion, most people wouldbe content to take their own and depart.Solon.COVENANTER WITNESS