LivePrayerSermon 3345. Sunlight for Cloudy Days
(No. 3345)
A SERMON PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, MARCH 13, 1913.
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT MENTONE.
"But I am poor and needy, yet the Lord thinks upon me." Psalm 40:17.
IT is not everybody who would like to apply to himself the first part of the text. Perhaps we, most of us, accept it becauseit happens to be Scriptural language-and yet we might not spontaneously say of ourselves, "I am poor and needy." Some wouldeven wish us to believe the very opposite, for if I read their hearts aright, they say, "I am not poor, nor needy." They haveenough of this world's goods and as for spiritual matters, they are strong and self-reliant. All this comes of vainglory and,in the long run will end in vanity and vexation of spirit-for if a man can do without God, it is certain that God can do withouthim-and the day will come when God willdo without him, according to His Word, "I will ease Me of My adversaries." He who hastried throughout life to do without God will inherit remorse forever and ever. It is well to begin, continue and end in thislife with God's favor, that we may enjoy it world without end! I therefore trust that none among you would wish to say, "Iam rich and increased in goods and have need of nothing," for that would be tantamount to a proud resolve to do without God-andit will end in your eternal ruin!
There are some who cry, "I am poor and needy, woe is me that I should be so! But the Lord does not think of me. I have lookedup to Heaven, but no eye of pity looks down upon me in the depth of my misery." Many a wretched mind, many a bereaved spirit,many a downcast heart has cried, "The Lord has forgotten me! He counts the number of the stars and calls them by their names,but as for me, I am too little, too insignificant, too obscure-I cannot believe that God thinks upon me." Dear Friend, I hopeyou will be converted from this unbelief! I pray that you may not only be able to join in one half of my text by saying, "Iam poor and needy," but that you may humbly unite in the second declaration, "Yet the Lord thinks upon me." Despite your insignificanceand unworthiness, you may yet learn that the Lord has thoughts of love towards you and is causing all things to work togetherfor your external, internal and eternal good!
Do not let it surprise you that one of old should say, "I am poor and needy, yet the Lord thinks upon me," for God has oftenthought of poor and needy persons. Look at Joseph when he was in prison and the iron entered into his soul- his reputationwas gone, he was reproached and even punished unjustly-yet we read that the Lord was with Joseph and, in due time He broughthim out and set him on the throne of Egypt! Ruth, the Moabitess, came penniless to Israel's land and she went to glean amongthe sheaves as a poor and needy peasant woman. But the Lord was thinking upon her and so provided for her that she rose toan honorable estate and her name is written among the progenitors of our Lord Jesus! To give you a more modern instance-theApostles were poor fishermen with their little boats and well-worn nets, upon the Lake of Galilee-yet the Lord looked uponthem-unlearned and ignorant men as they were, and made them to be the pioneers of His Kingdom! Never mind how poor and needyyou are, you may yet be heirs of God, joint-heirs with Jesus Christ!
"Alas," you say, "my trouble is not a poverty of gold and silver, but I am poor as to anything like goodness in the sightof God. I feel so guilty and so far from being what I ought to be." Yet the Lord has oftentimes thought of such people asyou! Look at the blessed Master sitting on the well at Sychar, talking with that wanton woman who had had five husbands andhe whom she then had was not her husband-she was a woman whom none would honor-but the blessed Savior thought upon her! Remember,too, the thief dying upon the cross next to the Redeemer-with all his sins red upon him, for he had been a robber and probablya murderer, too-his prayer, "Lord, remember me," touched the heart of Jesus and, "Today you shall be with Me in Paradise"was the gracious response! The Lord thought on him and yet there was never one more poor and needy than he! There, too, wasSaul of Tarsus, the persecutor, breathing out
threats and slaughter against the Church of God! But the Merciful One in Heaven, who saw his sin, thought on him with loveand said, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?" Poverty of all merit and need of all Grace do not prevent the Lord from thinkingupon men! Is not this fact as clear as the sun in the heavens? However spiritually poor you may be, you may yet partake ofthe riches of His Grace and so become rich in faith-indeed, none but consciously needy ones ever obtain the privilege of saying,"Yet the Lord thinks upon me."
I was troubled, when I was asking the Lord, with the notion that I was so utterly insignificant that the Lord would nevernotice me. There is no reason for such fear, since the Lord has thought upon very obscure people. Think of the Sy-ro-Phoenicianwoman's daughter. What was her name? Do you know what sort of a girl she was? Can you tell her after-history? She is quiteunknown to fame, yet the Lord thought upon her and healed her. That little daughter of Jairus, a child of 12 years of age,what could she do? Did she become a distinguished woman? What lifework did she perform? She makes no figure in history, yetthe Lord thought upon her and even restored her from the dead! The widow's son, who was being carried out of the city of Nain,what did he achieve? What post of honor did he occupy? What lofty path did he pursue? We know nothing of him except that theLord thought upon him! The most of the persons whom the Lord Jesus thought upon in the days of His flesh were unknown to fameand, for my part, I judge that the happiest persons are those who pass through life unknown of men, but known of God! Duringthe French Revolution, a man of great influence escaped the guillotine and when asked how it was, he replied, "I made myselfof no reputation and kept silent." Those who are content to follow the cool sequestered vale of life are often happier thanthose who climb the high places of the earth. Do not, therefore, think that your being in the background is any hindranceto the Lord's thinking upon you! He cares nothing about the blare of trumpets, or the blaze of fame-the Lord looks upon themeek and lowly and finds out the men that are of a broken heart and of a contrite spirit, and that tremble at His Word-andwith these He deigns to dwell. May we be found among them!
At this time my desire is to do four things upon each of which I would speak briefly. By the words of the text I desire, first,to help your faith to remember that if you are poor and needy, yet the Lord thinks upon you. Then I long to enlarge your hope.Thirdly, to inflame your love and fourthly, to direct your life. May God the Holy Spirit perform all these things for us!First, let me-
I. HELP YOUR FAITH. You say to yourself, "I cannot understand why God should think of me." Why not? "Because I am so little."Let me ask you if there is anything in the world which is not little to God? You say, "There is the world, itself," and Ianswer that the earth which we think so large, is no more to God than a single grain of dust! The solar system and all theother systems that make up the Creation of God are as nothing to the Infinite Jehovah! So great is the universe that the mostelevated conception of the most enlarged mind has never compassed more than a fragment of it-yet God is infinitely beyondthe inconceivable whole of created existence! A man must always be really greater than his own works and certainly God mustbe infinitely greater than all that He has ever made. Now, if you think it difficult that God should think upon the little,what else should God think upon? You reply that you expect Him to think of the great ones of the earth. Alas, the most ofthem think very little of Him-the Lord has had the least worthy treatment from those who are ranked as rich and honorable.When we reach Heaven, we shall find few kings and princes, few of the learned and lauded-"God has chosen the poor of thisworld, rich in faith"-so says the Inspired Apostle.
Again, if it should seem difficult to you for God to think upon the poor and needy, I invite you to answer the question, "Whoneed God's thoughts most?" On the field of battle, after the fight, if a surgeon should be there to attend to the wounded,where will he go first? Of course he will go to those whose gaping wounds have almost opened the gates of death for them!And the slightly wounded he will leave till he has more time. The Lord will not look upon us according to what we deserve,for if He did, He would destroy us all! He will look upon us in proportion to our needs. Our urgent needs move His mercy andHe will go first to those who require Him most. Do you need His Grace more than anyone else? Then He will hasten at once toyou! If I see a physician's carriage hurrying down the street, I feel morally certain that he is not driving to my door, forI am not dangerously ill. But if I know of one who has fallen in a fit, or has been badly injured by an accident, I concludethat he is going to him. When the Angel of Mercy is made to fly very swiftly, you can be sure that he is speeding to one whois in urgent need of Divine Grace.
Remember, too, that God has always dealt with men from that point of view. When God made His election of men before the earthwas, He chose them as fallen and undeserving, that He might lift them up to the praise of the glory of His
Grace. His choice of men was never guided by anything good that He saw in them! As says the Apostle Paul, "For the childrenbeing not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not ofworks, but of Him that calls." The decree still stands, "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassionupon whom I will have compassion." The Lord of Grace asks in His Sovereignty, "Shall I not do as I will with My own?" Godviews all men as guilty and, finding them guilty, He yet chooses unto Himself a people in whom His Grace shall be resplendent!Therefore do not conclude that He will pass you by because you are poor and needy.
Moreover, the redemption of Christ obviously views us as fallen and guilty. Did He lay down His life to redeem those who werenot captives? Did He pour out His blood to cleanse those who were already clean? If we had not needed a great salvation, wouldthe Darling of Heaven have stooped to the death of the Cross that we might be saved? They who think that sinners cannot besaved, or that men can be saved by any other means than by true faith in Jesus, make a superfluity of the death of Christ-andthis is a blasphemy atrocious to the last degree! "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for the ungodly." "This is a faithfulsaying and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save"- the righteous?-oh no, but, "to savesinners, even the chief." Stagger not at the Grace of God to your own hurt but say, "Though I am spiritually poor and needy,yet the Lord thinks upon me."
Furthermore, the gift of God the Holy Spirit proves that God regards us as poor and needy. If we were strong and full of allspiritual forces, we would not have needed the Spirit of God to quicken and regenerate us! And we would not have needed thatSpirit to abide in us as our Teacher and Helper. Why, Brothers and Sisters, you cannot even pray without the Spirit of God!The Spirit is given to help your infirmity in prayer because that infirmity most surely exists. The gift of the Spirit ofGod to men is a proof that God looks upon them as being poor and needy in spiritual things. Now, if you feel that you cannotpray, that you cannot repent, that you cannot believe, that you cannot do anything that is good in your own strength, fretnot about it, but fly to the Strong for strength! Say, "I am poor and needy, but the gift of the Holy Spirit is an evidencethat the Lord thinks upon me."
Let me further say, to help your faith, that though you say you are very poor and spiritually needy, you are not alone inthis, for so are all God's saints-and the brighter the saints the more they feel their own poverty and need! Certain boasterstalk "exceedingly proud" about their religious attainments. But the more they glory, the more vain is their glory. True saintsare humble. In a company where certain people were displaying their spiritual attainments, it was noticed that one devoutperson remained silent. Finally a talkative man turned to him and asked, "Have you no sanctifica-tion?" He replied, "I neverhad any to boast of, and I hope I never shall have." The more high in Grace, the more low in self-esteem! Ask the man whohas the most holiness what he thinks of himself and he will be the first to lament that he has not yet reached the point whichhe desires. We are like those old-fashioned wine glasses which had no foot to them, so that they could not stand upon thetable, but must be held in the hand. When Jesus has us in His hand, we can be filled with the Water of Life-but out of Hishand we cannot hold a drop, nor even stand! We are nothing at all without our All-in-All! "I can do all things through Christwhich strengthens me," said one. "Without Me you can do nothing," is the true word of Christ to every branch of the livingVine. Now, if all God's saints say that they are nobodies, do not despair because you are a nobody! If they all confess thatthey can do nothing without Christ, do not despond because you, also, can do nothing without Him!
Do you reply, "I wish I had a greater sense of spiritual riches"? If you had more faith in Christ, it would be well, but tohave any confidence in your own experience would do you mischief!
Let me here relate a story which may cheer those who feel themselves to be so guilty that the Lord will not think upon them.The Lord looks upon those who feel their guilt. A Savior is on the lookout for sinners quite as much as sinners are on thelookout for a Savior. I have heard that a great English prince on one occasion went to visit a famous king of Spain. The princewas taken down to the galleys, to see the men who were chained to the oars and doomed to be slaves for life. The king of Spainpromised, in honor of the prince's visit, that he would set free any one of these men that the prince might choose. So theprince went to one prisoner and said, "My poor fellow, I am sorry to see you in this plight, how came you here?" "Ah, Sire,"he answered, "false witnesses gave evidence against me. I am suffering wrongfully." "Indeed!" said the prince, and passedon to the next man. "My poor fellow, I am sorry to see you here, how did it happen?" "Sire, I certainly did wrong, but notto any great extent. I ought not to be here." "Indeed!" said the prince, and he went on to others who told him similar tales.At last he came to one prisoner who said, "Sire, I am often thankful that I am here, for I am sorry to admit that if I hadreceived my due, I would have been executed. I am certainly guilty of all that was laid to my charge-and my severest punishmentis just." The prince replied wittily to him, "It is a pity that such a guilty wretch as you are should be chained among theseinnocent men and, therefore, I will set you free." You smile, and well you may. How you will smile if Jesus does the samefor you! Assuredly this is the manner of Him-He passes by those who think highly of themselves and looks upon those who areself-condemned and plead guilty before God. He came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance! When we have nothingto pay, He frankly forgives the debt! He thinks upon the poor and needy.
I ask you to look at the text again, by way of-
II. ENLARGEMENT OF YOUR HOPE. "I am poor and needy, yet the Lord thinks upon me." It is a great thing that God should thinkupon us. Is it true that the great heart of God is thinking upon me, an inconsiderable atom of existence? What then? It isenough to make the bells of our hearts ring for joy! Let us listen again to the silver note of the text, "The Lord thinksupon me." The Lord thinks as much of one of His people as if there were nobody else for Him to think upon! Poor needy one,the Lord thinks upon you as intensely as if you were the only being now existing! The Lord is able to concentrate His wholemind upon any one point without dividing that mind-He has such an infinite capacity that each one of us may be the centerof God's thoughts-and yet He will not be forgetting any other beloved one! God is a Being whose center is everywhere, butHis circumference is nowhere! "The Lord thinks upon me." Is it not beautiful to notice how God thought of the first man whomHe placed on this earth? He did not make man till He had prepared everything for his happiness! The Lord would not rest untilHe had finished His work, until He had lighted up the heavens and created all manner of comforts and conveniences for Hischild. Not till He had even prepared the birds to sing to him and the flowers to breathe their perfume upon him, did God createman. Why did God rest on the seventh day? Because He had thought of all that man needed and had made all things good for Him.Our Lord Jesus never rested till He had finished the work that His Father gave Him to do, which work was all for us-and thegreat Providence of God will never rest till all the chosen of God are brought safely home to Heaven! Thus you see how Godthinks upon us.
Remember, also, that God's thoughts are not dumb thoughts. They break out into words and this precious Bible contains theexpression of those thoughts of love. This priceless Book is a love letter from our Father who is in Heaven. Read each lineas if it were freshly written and it will make you say, "I am poor and needy, yet the Lord thinks upon me, and here are Histhoughts."
Nor does the Lord rest in words. I have heard of a waiter who said to a guest, "I hope you will remember me, Sir." "Yes,"replied the other, "I shall never forget your bad behavior." It would be well for us if our fellow men would not think ofus when we have done them wrong, but God's thoughts of us are always kind and forgiving. His thoughts are practical and producedeeds of kindness. He thinks to give and forgive, to save and succor, to cheer and cherish. The Lord is thinking what He willgive you, what He will make of you and what mansion in Heaven He will appoint for you! If He has thought upon you, He alwayswill think upon you, for the Lord never changes! Our God, in whom we trust, is not fickle. He is not thoughtful of us todayand forgetful of us tomorrow. If you should live to be as old as Methuselah, the promises of God will never wear out-and ifall the troubles that ever fell upon humanity should pounce upon you- God's strength will be put forth to sustain you andto bear you to a triumphant close!
Oh, the joy of knowing that God thinks upon us! It is better to have God thinking upon us than to have all the kings of earthand all the angels of Heaven thinking upon us. Thirdly, and very briefly-
III. LET THIS INFLAME YOUR LOVE. "I am poor and needy, yet the Lord thinks upon me." Dear Friends, think much of God sinceHe thinks much of you. Let your hearts go out towards Him on whose heart your name is written. It ought to be impossible fora Christian to wander among these olive groves without saying, "Beneath such trees as these my Savior sweat great drops ofblood." We ought not to sit on the beach without thinking, "The Lord has cast my sins into the depths of the sea." As thepalm tree lifts itself to Heaven, without an earthward branch, so send all your thoughts upward! As the vine, though sharplypruned, yields its cluster, so bear fruit unto your Lord. Upon yonder sea the Apostle of the Gentiles was tossed and wreckedfor love of Jesus-yield to that same Lord, your whole hearts as you think upon His thoughts of you! Everything about thisplace should make us think of our Lord, for in many respects it is the counterpart of "Your land, O Immanuel!" This day Godis thinking upon you! This day think upon God! Christ in
Heaven is preparing Heaven for us-let us be preparing a place on earth for Him. I have often wondered what is meant by ourLord's preparing a place for us, since Heaven is prepared for us from before the foundation of the world. I suppose Heavenwas not fully fit for us till Jesus went there and the very going there of our Well-Beloved has prepared Heaven for redeemedmen and women to live in it in His own sweet society! Jesus is watching in Heaven for the time when we shall come Home andHe is praying for that Homecoming-"Father, I will that they, also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am."
Do you not receive frequent tokens that the Lord Jesus is thinking upon you? Special mercies in answer to prayer, sweet visitsof love-do not these cheer your heart? Our sacred joys, which come from Jesus, are like those boxes of flowers that we sendto our friends who are freezing in the cold at this time in England. They know that we remember them as they look upon everyrosebud, violet and anemone that comes to them through the post. Our heavenly Father sends us many such tokens of His lovingremembrance while we are hearing the Gospel, or enjoying the Lord's Supper, or occupied in our private prayers and meditations."How precious, also, are Your thoughts unto me, O God, how great is the sum of them!" To close, let me use this text to-
IV. DIRECT YOUR CONDUCT. "I am poor and needy, yet the Lord thinks upon me." The whole of what I say shall go into this onethought-if God thinks upon you, leave off all anxious and carking care about yourself! I do not suppose there is any placein the world that has more care and anxiety in it than this little town which nestles beneath the mountains and suns itselfby the sea.
Many of you come here with dear ones who are pining away before your eyes, or you are alarmed about your own health. Do notunduly trouble yourselves, for if you do so, you cannot remove sickness, thereby, but you may even increase it. If I coulddo any good by worrying, I would worry away to my heart's content! But as it is useless, I find it best to let it alone. Theytell me that if a man were to fall into the sea, he would float if he would remain quiet, but because he struggles, he sinks.I am sure it is so when we are in affliction. Fretfulness results in weakening us, in hiding from us wise methods of reliefand, in general, in doubling our pains. It is folly to kick against the pricks! It is wisdom to kiss the rod. Trust more andfear lees. If you have trusted your soul with Christ, can you not trust Him with everything else? Can you not trust Him withyour sick child, or your sick husband? With your wealth, with your business, with your life? "Oh," says one, "I hardly liketo do that. It is almost presumption to take our minor cares to the great Lord." But in so doing you will prove the truthfulnessof your faith! I heard of a man who was walking along the high road with a pack on his back. He was growing weary and was,therefore, glad when a gentleman came along in a chaise and asked him to take a seat with him. The gentleman noticed thathe kept his pack strapped to his shoulders, and so he said, "Why do you not put your pack down?" "Why, Sir," said the traveler,"I did not venture to impose. It was very kind of you to take me up, and I could not expect you to carry my pack as well.""Why," said his friend, "do you not see that whether your pack is on your back, or off your back, I have to carry it?"
My Hearer, it is so with your trouble. Whether you care, or do not care, it is the Lord who must care for you! "But my dailytrouble seems too mean a thing to bring before the Lord in prayer." Then I fear you forgot my text, or fail to see the spiritwhich dictated it-God thinks upon the poor and needy-and all the concerns of the poor and needy are, like themselves, pooraffairs. Why do you weary yourself with care when God cares for you? If I were afraid of burglars and kept a watchman to guardmy house at night, I certainly would not sit up all night, myself! The Lord is your Keeper, why are you fearful? It is infinitelybetter that you should be able to say, "The Lord thinks upon me," than that you should have all power, wisdom and wealth inyour own hands! I charge you, then, to rest in the Lord and fret no longer!
First, trust your Lord with your souls, and then trust Him with everything else! First, surrender yourself to His love, tobe saved by His infinite compassion-and then bring all your burdens, cares and troubles-and lay them down at His dear feetand go and live a happy, joyful life, saying, as I will say, and close-
"All that remains for me, Is but to love and sing! And wait until the angels come, To bear me to my King."
EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: ROMANS 8:1-31.
Verse 1. There is, therefore, now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but afterthe Spirit.To my mind one of the sweetest words of that verse is that little word now. "There is, therefore, now no condemnation-atthis very moment! Walking under the power of the Spirit of God in Christ Jesus, there is, therefore, now no condemnation toBelievers! It is a logical conclusion, too, from something that went before. You and I are not absolved from sin apart fromthe Truth of God, but there is a great truth at the back of it which necessitates it. "There is, therefore, now no condemnationto them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
2. For the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the Law of sin and death Sin and death cannot governme-cannot condemn me-cannot destroy me. Another Law has come in. The Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has brought me into anotherkingdom wherein I cannot be affected, so as to condemn me, by the Law of sin and death.
3, 4. For what the Law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinfulflesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not afterthe flesh, but after the Spirit The Law of God was a good Law, a just and holy Law. It was weak, not in itself, for, verily,if righteousness could have been by any Law, it would have been by the Law of God! But it was weak through our flesh. We couldnot keep it. We could not fulfill the conditions of life laid down under it. Therefore, what the Law could not do, God hasnow done for us! He has found a way of making us righteous through the righteousness of His own dear Son, whom He has sentin the likeness of sinful flesh. He has found out a way of condemning sin, without condemning us! He condemned sin in theflesh, but we escaped. And He has found a way of making us practically righteous, too, through the abundance of His Grace,enabling us to walk no longer after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Blessed be God for this, for when we had broken His Law,He might justly have left us to take the consequences, but He has stepped aside-He has gone beyond all that might have beenexpected of Him-and brought in a Law by which a remedy is applied to all our ills. Glory be to His name!
5. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh. They live to eat and drink. They live for self-aggrandizement.They live for the world and its pleasures. It is according to their nature. Everything acts according to its nature. The wolfdevours-the sheep patiently feeds. They that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh.
5. But they that are after the Spirit, the things of the Spirit God has given us, then, the Spirit to dwell in us and nowI trust we can say that we desire holiness, righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, for these things are the thingsof the Spirit!
6, 7. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmityagainst God: for it is not subject to the Law of God, neither indeed can be. It is so deeply vitiated, so thoroughly depraved,that so long as the fleshly mind exists, it will be in rebellion against God. "You must be born-again," for that which isborn of the flesh is flesh-and only that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Unless we are renewed, then, by the Spiritof God, we never shall be subject to the Law of God-neither, indeed, can we be.
8, 9. So then, they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if, indeed,the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if any man has not the Spirit of Christ, he is none ofHis. Christ does not acknowledgeany that are not indwelt by His Spirit. They may wear the Christian name. They may perform some acts which look like Christianacts-but all this means nothing. You must have the Spirit of God within you, or else you are none of His! And what a thingit is to be "none of His." "Verily," says Christ, "I never knew you." "But, Lord, we ate and drank with You! You preachedin our streets." But He says, "I never knew you." They are none of His. Oh, dear Friends, the highest point to which humannature can reach of itself falls short of being in Christ! There must be the Spirit of God dwelling in us or else we are noneof His!
10. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin. Therefore, it suffers disease and pain, for the soul is regenerated,but not the body. If I may so speak, the Regeneration of the body happens at the Resurrection. It is then that it will receiveits full share of the blessed work of Christ! "The body is dead because of sin."
10, 11. But the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwellsin you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwells in
you.So there is a complete deliverance provided for body, soul and spirit! As Moses said to Pharaoh when he agreed to letthe people of Israel go, but said that they must leave behind their flocks, "Not a hoof shall be left behind," so no particleof our real manhood shall be left under the thralldom of sin and death! The soul is already emancipated and the body shallbe-by the Spirit which dwells in you!
12. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For we owe the flesh nothing by way ofgratitude or service. The flesh has dragged us down. The flesh has ruined us. We owe it nothing except mastery of it. We arenot debtors to it, to live after it.
13. For if you live after the flesh, you shall die. It will die and so will you who make it your master!
13. But if you, through the Spirit, do mortify the deeds of the body, you shall live. "Mortify," kill, put to death.
14. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. There may be a great many weaknesses and infirmitiesabout them, but if they follow the Divine Leadership of the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God!
15. For you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but you have received the Spirit of Adoption, whereby wecry Abba, Father Is this true of you? "You have received the Spirit of Adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." Dear Friends,hearing these words, can you respond to them? Are they true of you?
16. The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God. Many of you make a profession of beingthe children of God. Can your own spirit say that it is true? And is there, in addition to this, the witness of the Spiritwithin you that it is true? If not, unless there is a witness to our testimony, it avails nothing. Our Lord Jesus Christ said,"If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true." And if He chooses to put Himself on a level, as it were, with the restof humanity in that respect, we cannot expect that our witness will stand for anything if it stands alone! No, there mustbe the Spirit, Himself, bearing witness with our spirit that we are the children of God!
17. And if children, then heirs: heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ Oh that if-"ifchildren." There are some that getover all that. They believe in a universal fatherhood-which is not worth the words in which they describe it. This is a differentfatherhood altogether!
17. If indeed we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together. Oh, this blessed co-partnership-this fellowship!Joint-heirs with Christ! Taking part in the whole heritage-as well the heritage of suffering as the heritage of glory. "Itshall bruise Your heel, but You shall bruise his head." There is to be the heel-bruising for the Christ, as well as for us,but there is to be the head-crushing of sin and Satan for Him and for us, too!
18. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealedin us. Glory in us? Only think of that! You know the Revelation that is in the Book-but how grand will be the revelation thatis in the man! "The glory which shall be revealed in us." We shall be full of glory! And a part of God's Glory, which otherwisemust have lain concealed, will be revealed in His people to His own praise forever and ever-but also to our own eternal joy.
19. For the earnest expectation of the creation waits for the manifestation of the sons of God. There is something that thewhole creation is waiting for and it cannot come till God's children are manifested-till the glory is revealed in them!
20. 22. For the creation was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of Him who has subjected the same in hope.Because the creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the childrenof God. For we know that the whole creation groans and travails in pain together until now. "The whole creation." It is thesame word all through-so I have used the same word. The whole world is in its pangs and birth throes, and there can nevercome its complete deliverance into the new heavens and the new earth, except there shall also be the manifestation of thechildren of God and their deliverance from all that now hampers and hinders the Divine Life that is within them!
23. And not only they, but ourselves, also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves,waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. This is what we are looking for! Our manhood is not all soul-itis body, too! And here, as yet, this poor body seems to lie outside the gate, like Lazarus, while the soul rejoices in God.But its time of glorifying is coming! The trumpet of the archangel shall proclaim it!
24. For we are saved by hope. As yet we are saved by hope.
24-26. But hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man sees, why does he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not,then do we with patience wait for it. Likewise the Spirit also helps our infirmities. That is a grand thing! We have got thefirst fruits of the Spirit to be the pledge of all the glorious harvest. The very fact that the Spirit dwells in us is theconclusive proof that our bodies shall be raised from the dead! Meanwhile, the Spirit of God is helping us, as we groan andlabor, towards the complete perfection. "The Spirit helps our infirmities."
27. And He that searches the hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because He makes intercession for the saints accordingto the will of God.Nor is it only the Holy Spirit who is thus helping us onward towards the grand finale!
28, 29. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the calledac-cording toHis purpose. For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might bethe first-born among many brethren. And you know that He is the First-Born in this sense-not only as the greatest, but thatas the First-Begotten from among the dead, He has risen from the dead! He has risen from the dead and in this He leads theway for us all. "That he might be the first-born among many brethren."
30. Moreover whom He did predestinate, them He also called: and whom He called, them He also justified: and whom He justified,them He also glorified.No slips, no gaps or chasms by the way. The foreknown are predestinated. The predestinated are thecalled. The called are justified. The justified are glorified!
31. What shall we say, then, to these things.?Shall we succumb under the sufferings of the body? Shall we yield to doubt becauseof all our heavy feelings and the dullness that comes of the flesh? By no means!
31. If God is for us, who can be against us?We can get through all these difficulties if God is with us!