“I was dumb, I opened not my mouth; because thou didst it” (Psalm 39:9). When David composed this psalm, he was evidently labouring under some heavy affliction. What that was, we are not informed. But whatever it may have been, it seems to have borne hard upon his spirit; for he says respecting it, “I am consumed by the blow of thine hand.” Nevertheless, he did not murmur or complain under the pressure of his distress. He thought of the character, and the providence, and the purposes of that great Being, to whose appointment he traced it, and under whose government he suffered. And influenced by the considerations which these suggested, as well as upheld by the grace for which he earnestly prayed, he repressed every mutinous feeling, and cherished the sentiments, and uttered the language, of a becoming resignation. He looked up to God and said “I was dumb, I opened not my mouth; because thou didst it.”
This Psalm of the royal installation of our Jesus, and of His proclamation to all men, forms a most appropriate sequel to the warnings and promises which had preceded. The ground alike of the world’s doom and the safety of the church is that Christ has been anointed King forever. Their folly must become manifest, and His grace must be established, for He reigneth.
There is much contemporary confusion about the proper attitude of subjects to lawful authorities. The Apostle says (Rom. 13:1-2), “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers, for there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.” Some have interpreted this apostolic command to imply unconditional obedience to magistrates. Others note that subjects may lawfully resist the exercise of tyrannical power, and that the Biblical doctrine of resistance to tyranny has a long pedigree.
But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption (1 Cor. 1:30). The apostle had been, a few verses before this, observing the sovereign and wise manner in which God had dispensed his grace, with regard to the calling of sinful men, as verse 26, “Not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called,” or are made the instruments of the calling of grace, “but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise.” The wise purpose and design is, as in verse 29, “that no flesh should glory in his presence,” as if his own endowments or the advantages of his condition had entitled him to divine grace. In the next following words, which are those of my text, the apostle shows what is the true matter of glorying to a Christian: “But of him are ye in Christ Jesus.”
The history of Free Church of Scotland Missions in India redounds to the credit and splendour of the Christian work done in Calcutta and elsewhere in that country. In 1830, Dr. Duff (1806-1878) established the General Assembly’s Institution, now known as the Scottish Church College, with the expressed goal to train non-Christian young Indian men in the English language, literature, science, etc. At the forefront of his mind, Dr. Duff nurtured the hope that many of these young men would be converted to Christ and serve as missionaries to their enslaved countrymen shackled to the pagan darkness of Hinduism, Islam, and Parsiism.
One of the greatest preachers of modern times is a Chinese man named John Sung. It is thought that, in China today, there are at least one hundred million Christians. This wonderful fact is, under God, owing a great extent to the remarkable preaching of John Sung, who, after a very powerful ministry which swept thousands into the kingdom of God, passed away in 1944. His labors and influence deserve to be known more widely in the English speaking world.
Communion with God is an expression often in my mouth, but which sinks no further; I know the word, but neither its blessed import, nor glorious extent. My prayers and practice jar; for while I beg it with my lips, I study not to attain it in my life. Ah! what a stranger am I to that which I would fain have flattered myself that I am acquainted with!
For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s. (Phil. 2:21) We cannot suppose that the apostle intended by these words to characterize all his fellow Christians—the whole multitude of believers—many of whom were conspicuous for a spirit and temper the very reverse of that which the apostle here condemns. He speaks in the context of Timothy as one who, “as a son with a father,” served with him in the gospel (Phil. 2:22). And a little after, of Epaphroditus, his “brother and companion in labour,” who, “for the work of Christ, was nigh unto death, not regarding his life to supply their lack of service” towards him (Phil. 2:25, 30). And in the foregoing chapter, he tells us that “many of the brethren, waxing confident” by his bonds, “were much more bold to speak the word without fear” (Phil. 1:14).
There are very few people who would not agree with the apostle when he says that Christ is precious to believers. All who have been educated in a Christian land, however incorrect their views, and however dead their hearts, have a notion, at least, that but for Christ they could never get to heaven, and few or none would therefore contradict the assertion that he is a Saviour to be valued. But when one comes a little closer and asks professing people why he is precious to them, and in what degree, the answers to this question are indefinite and vague.
The Christian may desire that there were no more sin to confess. There is great grief of mind and soul when our corruption is brought to our mind. One thought that the Christian cherishes is that one day he will have no more sin. Presently, however, all know by experience the truth of James’s statement, “For in many things we offend all” (James 3:2). The one who denies his sins in this life is considered a liar, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). Each day gives new cause for confessing our sins, for each day witnesses our own transgressions of God’s law.
