THE PREACHER:
William R. Mackay is Chaplain to the Inverness Group of Hospitals in Northern Scotland. Graduating in Science at Aberdeen University in 1934, he then studied Divinity at the Free Church of Scotland College in Edinburgh, and was ordained in 1937. In the course of the Second World War he served as chaplain in North Africa, Italy and the Middle East, and then returned to parish work in Scotland as minister in Edinburgh and in Inverness-shire before taking up his present post in 1961.
THE TEXT
2 Chronicles 7:14
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
THE SERIES:
This is the tenth sermon in our 1962 series in which CHRISTIANITY TODAY presents messages from notable preachers of God’s Word in Britain and the continent of Europe. Future issues will include sermons from Vice-Principal J. A. Motyer of Clifton Theological College, Bristol, and the Rev. James Philip of Holyrood Abbey Church, Edinburgh, bringing the series to its termination.
This chapter forms part of an account of a memorable day in the history of the children of Israel, namely, the day on which Solomon’s temple was dedicated. It was a day which would not be forgotten readily by those who were privileged to be present, for God seemed to be very near, and in token of his presence and his approval he gave a manifestation of his glory. The enthusiasm of the people as they offered their sacrifices appeared to know no bounds; but God knew the fickleness of the human heart, and so on this day of national rejoicing when the people with unrestrained fervor proclaimed their allegiance to him, he foresaw a time when there would be spiritual declension which would bring his judgment on the land.
This promise was made in the first instance to those whom God describes as “my people,” that is, Israel as a nation. Israel had been chosen by God to be a nation which would be distinct from all other nations and, as such, was the heir of many promises. The Apostle Paul reminds us at a later date that “they are not all Israel who are of Israel,” and yet I take it that the promise in our text embraced the nation as a whole. In like manner in these days in which we live God has his Church as distinct from the world, but not all those who profess to be members of the Church have been regenerated by his Holy Spirit. Yet here is a promise which embraces the whole of the visible Church; God still calls us, through his inspired Word, to return to him, the King and Head of his own Church.
The Need For Humility
Four steps are outlined for those who would set their faces towards the road which leads back to God and the first of these is humility: “if my people shall humble themselves.” Pride is one of the most common of human failings and yet it is a deadly sin. I heard a psychiatrist say recently that nowadays the seven deadly sins are minimized, and that pride, for example, is often described as “confidence in one’s own ability.” But call it by whatever name we will, pride is still that ugly thing which causes puny man to shake his fist in the face of Almighty God, and say, “I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul.” When a soul is humbled in the presence of God, however, this blustering attitude retreats into the background and the soul will be prepared to make acknowledgment of certain things. To begin with, there will be an acknowledgment of sin. Sin will be seen in its true colors as a “want of conformity unto, and transgression of, the law of God.” It will no longer be explained away in such terms as “an error of judgment,” or “a mistake,” but will be recognized as an act of rebellion. Moreover, the wrong which is done through sin will be regarded as a wrong not merely against one’s fellow, but against God. In the spirit of true humility the penitent soul will say, as the Psalmist did, “Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight …” (Ps. 51:4).
Coupled with this acknowledgment of sin there will be an acknowledgment of failure. It is characteristic of the man whose religion is a mere formality that he is generally well satisfied with his own attainments. The standard which he adopts is man-made, and by this standard he compares very favorably with his fellows. “I’m as good as other men and a good deal better than most of them,” he is heard to say, as he seeks to boost his morale. On the contrary the man who stands humbled in the presence of God is stripped of his self-assurance and readily admits that he has been “weighed in the balances and found wanting.” “Man’s chief end,” he remembers, “is to glorify God,” and as he contemplates his own weak efforts he realizes how little he has achieved towards the fulfillment of this end. A saintly man said to me recently, “I shall not be afraid to meet my Maker for I am resting on the finished work of Christ, but when I think of how little I have done for him I shall be ashamed to look him in the face.” And these are the sentiments of all who have learned the secret of true humility.
Arising out of this sense of sin and failure there will also be an acknowledgment of need. When the eyes of men are opened by the grace of God they are conscious not only of a sense of sin but also of their need of divine help, and they are ready to say with Augustus Toplady:
Not the labors of my hands
Can fulfill Thy law’s demands;
Could my zeal no respite know,
Could my tears for ever flow,
All for sin could not atone:
Thou must save, and Thou alone.
The Need For Prayer
Humbled in the presence of God by a sense of his own unworthiness, the subject of grace will moreover recognize his need of divine help as he faces the trials and temptations of life. If his own efforts are futile to effect his justification, they are equally futile to promote sanctification; and so, with an enlightened mind, he implores the aid of the Divine Helper. Thus by humility the mind is conditioned for the exercise of prayer, which is the next essential on the road to spiritual recovery.
When Saul of Tarsus was brought to the house of Ananias following his conflict with the risen Christ on the road to Damascus it was recorded of him, “Behold, he prayeth.” This was no new occupation for Saul, for as a Pharisee he was well accustomed to the regular routine of prayer. But now his prayers were no longer a mere formality but a tremendous reality. They were the utterances of a man who had been humbled into saying, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” Surely there is a worthwhile lesson for us here. The Church of God needs to be shaken out of her formality and to recapture the spirit of true prayer. That noted preacher of a past century, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, used to describe the weekly prayer meeting as “the heating apparatus of the Church.” Yet in how many churches today the heating apparatus is never turned on! It is little wonder then that we find such a low spiritual temperature in our midst. The embers of the fire of our spiritual life are burning so low that they fail to bring comfort and cheer to people who seek these, and perplexed and disillusioned men and women are turning their back upon the Church because it has nothing to offer to them. Wherein then lies the remedy for the apathy and apostasy of this present age? “If my people,” says God, “… shall … pray … then will I … heal their land.”
The Need For Earnestness
A further essential requirement on the part of those who seek the way back to God is earnestness. They must “seek my face,” says God. It is surprising how many people who are intensely earnest and persevering in their attitude to problems concerning their material welfare are casual almost to an equal degree in regard to spiritual matters. During the last world war when many commodities were in short supply in Britain, the only way to procure certain articles was to take one’s place in the line, and it became a common sight to see long lines in our streets. Consequently many people developed a “line complex,” and some were even known to take their place without knowing what they were waiting for. The obvious reason was that they were afraid they would miss something. What a tremendous difference it would make to the life of the Church if its members showed the same concern in regard to spiritual things! There would always be crowded congregations because men and women would be afraid to remain away from services less they miss a blessing. Thomas was not present on that first occasion when the risen Christ revealed himself to his disciples in the Upper Room, and as a result we can believe that for a time, at least, his witness was impaired because his mind was clouded by doubts and fears. And who can deny that many today find themselves in “Doubting Castle,” and are not contributing as they should to the life and witness of the Church because they are not frequently enough in the company of Jesus.
Another practice to which those who lived in wartime Britain grew accustomed was that of granting priority. Certain projects were regarded as more important than others, and there was little prospect of any work’s being undertaken unless it appeared on a priority list. What we are all too inclined to forget, however, is that the Lord has provided a priority list, and right at the head of that list is the very thing which our text counsels us to do. “Seek ye first,” says Christ, “the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matt. 6:33). Yet many professing Christians are so deeply concerned with things which should be of secondary importance that they have little or no time left in which to “seek the Lord”; as a consequence their spiritual growth becomes stunted. Is it not time then for all of us to check up on our priorities and to ensure that the Lord is given his rightful place in our hearts and lives? And remembering that this is an urgent matter, let us do it now. In days of old the prophet Hosea sent forth a clarion call to backsliding Israel, and surely his words are apposite to the times in which we live: “Sow to yourselves in righteousness,” he says, “reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you” (Hosea 10:12).
The Need For Renouncing Evil
The remaining condition which was required of Israel as a harbinger of blessing was a renunciation of evil: they were to “turn from their wicked ways.” It is surprising that a people who had been chosen by God should be so ready to turn their backs upon him. Yet the Israelites were all too prone to follow the heathen nations round about them and to engage in, among other things, the practice of idolatry. From their history we learn that time and time again they forsook the living God and worshiped the gods of the heathen, and we are confronted with such sorry spectacles as that which greeted Moses when he came down from the mount and found the people, for whom God had effected a great deliverance, bowing down and worshiping a golden calf. Unfortunately the practice of idolatry has not ceased with the passing of the years, and while it is true that we may no longer worship golden calves, as Israel did, yet there are many idols to which men do homage and, as a result, Christ is dethroned. How many there are, for example, who, like the rich young ruler, are making wealth their God. In this material age in which everything is measured in terms of pounds or dollars, we may sometimes even be found guilty of assessing spiritual progress by the offerings of the people. It is true of course that where there is real spiritual life there will be sacrificial giving, but it is all too possible for a church to glory in her financial achievements rather than in her Lord. Like the church in Laodicea she may be “rich and increased with goods” and think that she has “need of nothing,” not knowing she is “wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.”
Another idol of which we must ever beware is popularity or the approval of men. We tend to become so afraid lest we may be thought odd or different from our fellows, and, as a consequence, the voice of the Church is not raised as often as it should be against moral evil. When situations arise as they so often do when professing Christians are called upon to take a stand for righteousness and truth, or to denounce that which is wrong, the voice of Christian witness is often silenced because the approval of men counts more than the approval of God. And so by our very silence we become partakers of their wicked ways. One of the dangers of this ecumenical age is that ecumenicity itself may become an idol, and that the Church, in order to win the approval of men and to maintain the spirit of unity among those whose views may be widely divergent, is tempted to compromise those great truths of which she has been made custodian. Is it any wonder then that the man of the world becomes perplexed and bewildered as he seeks to ascertain what the Church believes and what benefits she has to offer him which he does not already possess? And the sad outcome is that all too often with a shrug of his shoulder he dismisses the Christian faith as something which is not relevant to the world of today. Undoubtedly there is need for Christian unity, but it must be a unity which has as its foundation an uncompromising belief in the Incarnation and finished work of the Divine Saviour who said, “I, if I be lifted up …, will draw all men unto me.”
Blessings Assured
Two blessings are promised to those who fulfill God’s requirements. The first of these is a personal blessing and consists of pardon—“I will forgive their sin.” How gracious God is, both to the sinner and to the backsliding Christian. For the sinner who forsakes his ways and turns unto the Lord there is abundant pardon, and for the backslider who confesses his sins there is forgiveness and cleansing.
But notice that there is also a promise of national blessing—“I will heal their land.” God had warned Israel that one of the consequences of sin would be drought. It may be necessary, he said, “to shut up heaven that there be no rain.” Israel’s very existence depended on “the former and latter rains,” for without them there would be famine in the land. During the reign of Ahab the land experienced a sore famine, and only after the prayers of Elijah was the famine brought to an end, and the land healed.
Is there not much to remind us that the same healing power is needed in our land today? We live in times of spiritual drought and barrenness and urgently need those refreshing showers which alone can revive the parched ground. The world is in a state of tension and men’s hearts are failing them for fear. But let us not forget that God has promised blessing when men turn to him in penitence and faith.
Do you wish then to make a contribution to the national effort which can have far-reaching consequences? Do you wish to see that “righteousness which exalteth a nation” established in the land? Do you wish to see the “windows of heaven” opened and the blessing poured out? Here then are the conditions! “If my people, which are called by name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” If we by his grace are willing and able to fulfill the conditions, God will surely honor his promise.
END
