Spurgeon on Psalm 137

The mother of all Imprecatory Psalms, 137, is a real challenge especially verse 9 which calls for the infaticide of the children of Babylon in violent language:  How blessed will be the one who seizes and dashes your little ones Against the rock. The apparent barbarism of this verse is immediately apparent and how do we reconcile a verse like this (and others could be used here) with the message of Scripture of grace, forgiveness, and mercy?

Well, the Prince of Preachers, Charles H. Spurgeon, warned us of viewing this in the wrong light.  He writes:

Let those find fault with it who have never seen their temple burned, their city ruined, their wives ravished, and after children slain; they might not, perhaps, be quite so velvet mouthed if they had suffered after this fashion. It is one thing to talk of the bitter feeling which moved captive Israelites in Babylon, and quite another thing to be captives ourselves under a savage and remorseless power, which knew not how to show mercy, but delighted in barbarities to the defenceless. -Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Psalm 137.

Spurgeon, as always, is right.  It is easy for us to judge the Psalmist for his strong language, but just listen to the voice of the mother who pleads for the death penalty against the man who murdered her child. Is it barbarism or a cry for justice and vengeance?  This Psalm is echoed in the voice of the angry father who’s daughter was raped. This Psalm is echoed in the voice of the child who watches his parents destroy each other in anger and abuse.  This Psalm is echoed in the voice of a nation who at the rubble of two buildings scream, “Go get them George!” Who then replies, “I hear you, the whole world hears you, and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon!”

Before we speak in outrage over this text, let us realize that we have uttered similar things and it is right to beg God to defend the righteous and to judge the wicked.


For more:
Sermon - October 16, 2011 | Psalm 23 - The Lord is My Shepherd: Peace in the Shepherd's Arms
Sermon - October 23, 2011 | Psalm 99 - The Lord is My King
Sermon - October 30, 2011 | Psalm 8 - The Lord is My Lord
Sermon - November 6, 2011 | Psalm 1: The Lord is My Delight
Sermon - November 13, 2011 | Psalm 51:  The Lord is My Salvation
Sermon - November 20, 2011 | Psalm 136: The Lord is My God

Spurgeon as Pastor on Assurance

I came across the following quote taken from the autobiography of Charles Spurgeon, the Prince of Preachers, regarding how he counseled a woman in his congregation on the question of assurance.  He called her Mrs. Much-Afraid.  I think its great advice to take to heart.


One day, when I was talking with her, she told me that she had not any hope at all, she had no faith; she believed that she was a hypocrite.

I said, “Then don’t come to the chapel any more; we don’t want hypocrites there. Why do you come?”

She answered, “I come because I can’t stop away. I love the people of God; I love the house of God; and I love to worship God.”

“Well,” I said, “you are an odd sort of hypocrite; you are a queer kind of unconverted woman.”

“Ah!” she sighed, “you may say what you please, but I have not any hope of being saved.”

So I said to her, “Well, next Sunday, I will let you go into the pulpit, that you may tell the people that Jesus Christ is a liar, and that you cannot trust Him.”

“Oh!” she cried, “I would be torn in pieces before I would say such a thing as that. Why, He cannot lie! Every word He says is true.”

“Then,” I asked, “why do you not believe it?”
  
She replied, “I do believe it; but, somehow, I do not believe it for myself; I am afraid whether it is for me.”

“Have you not any hope at all?” I asked.

“No,” she answered; so I pulled out my purse, and I said to her, “Now, I have got £5 here, it is all the money I have; but I will give you that £5 for your hope if you will sell it.”

She looked at me, wondering what I meant. “Why!” she exclaimed, “I would not sell it for a thousand worlds.” She had just told me that she had not any hope of salvation, yet she would not sell it for a thousand worlds!

I fully expect to see that good old soul when I get to Heaven, and I am certain she will say to me, “Oh, dear sir, how foolish I was when I lived down there at Waterbeach! I went groaning all the way to glory when I might just as well have gone there singing. I was always troubled and afraid; but my dear Lord kept me by His grace, and brought me safely here .”


HT:  Pyromaniacs  


For more:
Blogizomai - A Minister's Melancholy: Spurgeon on the Downcast Preacher - Entire Series
GBC - Morning and Evening:  January 15 
GBC - "Nothing But Hypocrites":  A Response From the Prince of Preachers
Blogizomai - Theology Thursday | Spurgeon on Uniformity vs. Unity
Blogizomai - Shai Linne:  Spurgeon    

Morning & Evening: January 15

This mornings devotion from the great pastor, known as the Prince of Preachers, Charles H. Spurgeon, spoke to me this morning and I wanted to pass it along to ya.  I recommend everyone reading each morning's and evenings short devotional daily from Spurgeon.  You will be blessed.

2 Samuel 7:25 - Do as thou hast said.

God's promises were never meant to be thrown aside as waste paper; He intended that they should be used. God's gold is not miser's money, but is minted to be traded with. Nothing pleases our Lord better than to see His promises put in circulation; He loves to see His children bring them up to Him, and say, "Lord, do as Thou hast said." We glorify God when we plead His promises. Do you think that God will be any the poorer for giving you the riches He has promised? Do you dream that He will be any the less holy for giving holiness to you? Do you imagine He will be any the less pure for washing you from your sins? He has said "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." Faith lays hold upon the promise of pardon, and it does not delay, saying, "This is a precious promise, I wonder if it be true?" but it goes straight to the throne with it, and pleads, "Lord, here is the promise, 'Do as Thou hast said.'" Our Lord replies, "Be it unto thee even as thou wilt." When a Christian grasps a promise, if he do not take it to God, he dishonours Him; but when he hastens to the throne of grace, and cries, "Lord, I have nothing to recommend me but this, 'Thou hast said it;'" then his desire shall be granted. Our heavenly Banker delights to cash His own notes. Never let the promise rust. Draw the word of promise out of its scabbard, and use it with holy violence. Think not that God will be troubled by your importunately reminding Him of His promises. He loves to hear the loud outcries of needy souls. It is His delight to bestow favours. He is more ready to hear than you are to ask. The sun is not weary of shining, nor the fountain of flowing. It is God's nature to keep His promises; therefore go at once to the throne with "Do as Thou hast said."

"Nothing But Hypocrits": A Response from the Prince of Preachers

I am sitting in my office preparing for Sunday mourning's sermon. This week, as we continue to march through the final week of Jesus' life and ministry, we will be looking at Jesus' command to Love God and Love Others as the greatest and foremost commandments. And as I always do, I read and study as much as I can on the text, on Jesus, on His words, it's meaning, all of the background, plus any applications I can.

And thus I came across one of my favorite pastors/preachers of all time, the Prince of Preachers Charles Spurgeon. In his sermon, he brought up the response of those who refused to go to church because it is made up of hypocrites. Spurgeon puts it:

But I hear one of these gentlemen reply, "Well, sir, I make no pretensions to religion, but still I believe I am quite as good as those that do; I am quite as upright, quite as moral and benevolent. True, I do not often darken the door of a church or chapel, I do not think it necessary, but I am a right good sort; there are many, many hypocrites in the church, and therefore I shall not think of being religious."

Sound familiar? I find this to be one of the most common excuses given by people who refuse to come to church. Spurgeon exhorts us to respond thus:

When your Maker speaks to you, he appeals to you personally; and if you should tell him, "My Lord, I will not love thee, because there are hypocrites," would not your own conscience convince you of the absurdity of your reasoning? Ought not your better judgment to whisper "Inasmuch, then, as so many are hypocrites, take heed that thou art not; and if there be so many pretenders who injure the Lord's cause by their lying pretensions, so much the more reason why thou shouldst have the real thing and help to make the church sound and honest."

I find this to be a profound response. I calls on everyone to be the solution rather than complain about the problem. The church is made up of hypocrites: redeemed hypocrites. Even though we have been wiped clean by our Savior, we continue to return to the pig slop of our sin. This should be a reminder of our responsibility to be obedient and perfect as Christ is perfect. Therefore, all of our bickering, complaining, and hypocritical lives must come to an end.

Perhaps we should conclude with Spurgeon:

...the great fault of our time is the fault of indifference; people do not care whether the thing is right or not. What is it to them? They never take the trouble to search between the different professors of religion to see where the truth dies; they do not think to pay their reverence to God with all their hearts. Oh, no; they forget what God demands, and so rob him of his due. To you, to you, great masses of the population, this law doth speak with iron tongue—"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

Amen!