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Contents:
The Church, the Pillar and
Ground of the Truth (3)
The Eternal Covenant With Levi (1)
Christs Will to
Gather Jerusalems Children (3)
The Church, the Pillar and Ground of
the Truth (3)
What means does God use to hold up his truth in the
world? Is it angels? No. Angels appeared to men on earth only occasionally even in
biblical times, and now not at all until Christs return. Are individual
Christians the pillar and ground of the truth? No, though individual believers do have
an important role to play in witnessing of Christ. What about Christian families?
They are the building blocks of the church, but they are not the pillar and ground of the
truth. What about the civil government? Its calling is to punish evil-doers and
reward well-doers (I Peter 2:14), but it is not the pillar and ground of the truth. What
of the false church? It is the pillar and ground of the lie, holding up before the
world the false gospel as if it were the true gospel.
"The church of the living God"not
Billy Graham crusades, not mission halls, not lay preachersis "the pillar and
ground of the truth" (I Tim. 3:15). God is in the church for it is "the house of
God" in which He dwells by His Spirit (14). Jesus Christ speaks through faithful
teaching and catechising by true ministers of His Word. Thus the churchand the
church aloneis the pillar and ground of the truth.
From all of this we learn, first, the dignity of
the church. No other body on earth is the pillar and ground of the truth. Without faithful
churches the truth of God in the world would fall to the ground. Let us esteem true
churches highly! Second, here we have a test for churches. Does a particular congregation
or denomination function as the pillar and ground of the truth? Does it hold up all of the
truth or most of the truth or some of the truth? Does it hold up lies as if they were the
truth? Some churches do so little teaching that it is as if they are pillars which hold up
nothing at all! This test, whether or not a church holds up Gods truth faithfully,
enables us to determine the purity of a church. Try the spirits, including the churches,
by Gods Word (I John 4:1). Believers must discern a truth-upholding church in order
to remain members of it or join it. Third, this teaches us the solemn calling of a
minister. He must know how he ought to "behave" in a true church which is
nothing less than a "pillar and ground of the truth" (I Tim. 3:14-15). His
behaviour or conduct here especially includes his preaching. He must preach knowing that
there is only one truth and not two. The truth must be preached with certainty and without
fear of man. The minister must "speak as the oracles of God" (I Peter 4:11). He
must be careful not to mix wood, hay and stubble with the pure truth of Gods Word (I
Cor. 3:10-15). Fourth, the calling of elders in a church (which is to be "the pillar
and ground of the truth") includes ensuring that the truth and the truth alone is
held up. Thus they must correct the minister if he preaches error and defend him if he is
attacked for preaching the truth. Rev. Stewart
The Eternal Covenant With Levi (1)
For thus saith the Lord; David shall never want a man
to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel; Neither shall the priests the Levites want
a man before me to offer burnt offerings, and to kindle meat offerings, and to do
sacrifice continually. And the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah, saying, Thus saith the
Lord; If ye can break my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the night, and that there
should not be day and night in their season; then may also my covenant be broken with
David my servant, that he should not have a son to reign upon his throne; and with the
Levites the priests, my ministers (Jer. 33:17-21).
The question that was submitted with this text is, "How has the promise regarding the Levites been fulfilled?"
Jeremiah prophesied during very dark days in Judah. Because of the terrible apostasy of the nation, manifested especially in idolatry, God had sent the Babylonian armies against Judah. These Babylonian armies would soon break into the city, destroy the temple and fortress of Zion, and lead the people of Judah into captivity far from the promised land. Gods anger would be poured out upon His people who had forsaken his law and committed all the sins of the heathen.
It must be remembered that within the nation of Judah was a remnant according to the election of grace. Although the nation had become apostate, nevertheless, God preserved unto Himself a small number. Isaiah calls this remnant, a hut in a garden of cucumbers, a very small remnant, and a besieged city (1:8-9).
When Judah was taken into captivity, the whole nation went, both elect and reprobate. All went because the nation could only be purged and the elect saved through the judgment of the captivity: "Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness" (Isa. 1:27). The elect remnant, while in captivity, penned the words of Psalm 137: "By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps upon the willows ..."
The captivity was an unparalleled tragedy, not simply because the glorious nation of Israel now existed no longer, but also because Israel was the nation from whom Christ would come, a coming impossible when the nation was destroyed. That is why, in Psalm 137, Judah could not sing the songs of Zion in a strange land, for all the songs of Zion spoke of Christ.
With the captivity, the two pillars on which the nation had been built were broken down. These two pillars were the monarchy of David and his descendants and the Levitical priesthood. Israel was a theocracy. It was a nation whose God was the Lord. That theocracy was established on the pillar of the throne of David and the worship of God in the temple. A son of David on the throne and continual sacrifices in the temple were essential. Without those two institutions, the nation could not exist as Gods people. Hence the despair of the captives.
But now, during the dreadful time of the siege of Jerusalem, when defeat was inevitable, Jeremiah must bring a word of comfort to Gods people within that apostate nation. That word of comfort is found in the text.
As is true of many prophecies in the Old Testament, this prophecy also has a twofold fulfillment: the first is the historical fulfillment in Israel itself, and the second is a future fulfillment in the new dispensation. For example, the prophecy of Hosea 1:10 had a fulfillment for Israel in the history of the nation when, from that nation, God saved a remnant according to His eternal election. But Paul, in Romans 9:25-26 calls attention to the fact that Hoseas prophecy is fulfilled in the gathering of the Gentiles into the church of Christ: "Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved. And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God."
This prophecy of Jeremiah 33:17-21 was historically fulfilled when the nation of Judah was brought back from captivity. As Jeremiah spoke the Word of God to Judah that Gods wrath was to destroy the nation by bringing the nation under the yoke of Babylon, so he was also given the word of the gospel to the remnant according to Gods election. That word was that God would not forget His promises made to their fathers, but would restore the nation. Isaiah was so explicit as to name the king who would give the command for Judah to return (Isa. 45:1-4). Jeremiah even prophesied the exact number of years that Judah would be in captivity (Jer. 29:10).
God would, in fulfillment of Jeremiahs prophecy, restore the throne of David and the worship of the nation in the temple. What a comfort that was to the remnant of Gods people who, apart from that promise, saw only black despair. And, as the Scriptures tell us, this was also done.
However, it is obvious that this was not the complete fulfillment of the prophecy. It is obvious for the simple reason that the nation of Judah, though the line of David was preserved, never did have a king on Davids throne again. Except for a short time under the Maccabees, Judah was ruled by foreign nations, and the sons in the line of David, though rulers in Judah, ruled only under foreign kings.
The complete fulfillment had to wait.
Prof. Hanko
Christs Will to Gather
Jerusalems Children (3)
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that
killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have
gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and
ye would not!" (Matt. 23:37).
Many reckon that Christ uttered these words with love and tender pity, but the context reveals that He is denouncing the scribes and Pharisees. Seven times He curses them, "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!" (13, 14, 15, 23, 25, 27, 29). He calls them "blind" "fools" (16, 17, 19, 24, 26). He asks, "Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?" (33). He designates them murderers (34, 35, 37). Our text is a "warning" (Thomas Manton) and an "upbraiding" (Augustine) uttered in "indignation" (Calvin) against the wicked religious guides. The emphatic repetition, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem" (37), was uttered in righteous displeasure against the corrupt leaders who had perverted the law (2-30) and were ripe for judgment (31-39). Thus He adds, immediately after our text, "Behold, your house is left unto you desolate" (38).
Some teach that Christs words, "how often would I have gathered thy children ... and ye would not," imply that Christs will to gather Jerusalems children was frustrated. However, "how often" simply tells us that the religious leaders ("Jerusalem") opposed Christs gathering His elect ("Jerusalems children") many times. They did this for several years, right through His public ministry. They opposed Him in his miracles (attributing them to Beelzebub); they opposed Him in His teaching. They opposed Him with the tradition of the elders; they opposed Him with their erroneous interpretation of Moses. They opposed Him in the countryside; they opposed Him in Jerusalem; they opposed Him in the temple precincts; they opposed Him at His trial. They opposed Him by hiring Judas to betray Him; by whipping up the crowd to cry out, "Crucify him;" and by putting pressure on Pilate to have Him executed. How often they opposed Him, and yet He gathered blind Bartimaeus, Zacchaeus and all the rest!
The wicked leaders so strongly opposed Christs gathering His people that they had Him executed on trumped-up charges as a criminal. Yet the cross was the very means God ordained to save His elect! O Jehovah, even the wrath of man shall praise thee! Psalm 2 is similar. The kings and rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against His Christ (1-3). They nail Him to the tree. But God laughs at them (4), for this is the very way in which He brings His Son to His universal dominion: "Yet have I set my king upon my holy mount of Zion" (6).
Thus Matthew 23:37, instead of teaching the well-meant offer (a frustrated desire of God to save the reprobate), is Christs indignant upbraiding of wicked religious leaders who tried to stop him from saving His people. How this Word needs to be heard! Liberal ministers and Roman priests try to prevent their church members from hearing the true gospel. They slander the Reformed faith. Many unbelieving husbands, wives and family members oppose believers attending church services. Yet Christ the king gathers all Jerusalems children by his irresistible grace! Rev. Angus Stewart