NO. 3091<\/b><\/p>\n
A SERMON PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, MAY 7TH, 1908,<\/b><\/p>\n
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,<\/i><\/p>\n
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON<\/b><\/p>\n
\u201cAre they Israelites? so am I.\u201d \u2014 2 Corinthians 11:22.<\/i><\/p>\n
PAUL was proud of his extraction as a Jew. Taking this expression in its literal sense, I feel that he had much to be proud of. Judah\u2019s banner must not rank second among the nations. The nation of Israel is most ancient and most honorable. When as yet Greece and Rome were not known, God had brought forth his people out of Egypt \u201cwith a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm,\u201d and had cast out Amorite and Perizzite, to make room for the vine which he had brought out of Egypt. Poets, statesmen, philosophers, divines, had all come to ripeness and the fullness of strength in Judah\u2019s land, while as yet the other nations were sunken in barbarism. When our little island of the sea was just a mass of forests, with here and there perhaps a naked savage wandering through it, David was praising God on a ten-stringed instrument. We talk of Norman blood, but what is it compared with Jewish blood? We speak of the dignity of peers and nobles of our infant monarchy; but this ancient nation stretches far back its parents of nobility, right up to the days of \u201cthe friend of God,\u201d when he stood under the oak at Mamre.<\/p>\n
The people of Israel were famous because of God\u2019s election. As a nation they deserve honor, but as the elect of God they must stand high in our esteem. One little stream of pure love and truth went wandering amidst the arid wastes of human depravity. The election of grace fell mainly, I might almost say entirely, within the twelve tribes that sprang from the loin of Jacob in those early days. They were the conservators of the lamp of truth. Theirs were the oracles, and grandest and best of all, of them, \u201cas concerning the flesh, Christ came.\u201d Never despise the Jew when you remember that, while our Savior was a man, yet he was a man of that peculiar type. Let us think of the Jew, Jehovah-Tsidkenu, the Son of Mary, and feel a sympathy for ever with his flesh and blood.<\/p>\n
Besides, the Jewish race has a history yet to come, marvellous and strange-a history whose lines intertwist with all the threads of the history of other nations. I am not about to amuse you by any prophesyings. This is not the place to desecrate the Sabbath-day with whimsical interpretations of Daniel, Ezekiel, and the Revelation; but, still, it is plain, upon the very surface of Scripture, that Israel shall yet be restored to grandeur as a nation, that the King of the Jews shall reign and that, in all the splendours of the millennial age, the Jew, ingathered with the fullness of the Gentile, shall have his full share. This much we know, and in this much even we, the Gentiles, do unfeignedly rejoice. For the Son of David is he who hath made both one, and broken down the middle wall of separation between us, and henceforth there is neither Jew nor Gentile, bond nor free, but we are all one in Christ Jesus. However, were I here to-night as a convert to the Christian faith with Jewish blood within my veins, I would speak with no bated breath concerning it, nor wish to hide my pedigree, but count it the highest of all honors which could come to me after the flesh, that I sprang from the loins of Abraham, \u201cthe friend of God.\u201d I do not marvel that Paul was so jealous of it, or that he says, \u201cAre they Israelites? so am I.\u201d He was no bigot; remember, he was the apostle of the Gentiles; it was he who constantly disclaimed all confidence in circumcision; it was he who withstood Peter to the faae because he was to be blamed in this matter; it was he who, as with a battle-axe, was continually breaking down the barriers which divided Jew and Gentile. But yet, for all that, as a man, he was not ashamed to say, \u201cAre they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I.\u201d<\/p>\n
I propose now, however, to take the text in another light. In a spiritual sense, all the Lord\u2019s people are Israelites. \u201cThey are not all Israel, which are of Israel\u201d after a carnal lineage; but all God\u2019s people are the true Israel, the spiritual seed, in whom the promises made to Abraham are this day fulfilled. I hope we can say, some of us, with a loud and emphatic utterance, and others with a humble whisper, \u201cAre they Israelites? so am I,\u201d thus putting in our claim to the privileges which belong to the people of God.<\/p>\n
Let us accordingly spend a few minutes, first, in describing a peculiar people:<\/i> Israelites; and then, secondly, in asserting a personal claim,<\/i> saying, \u201cSo am I.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
I. <\/b>This Peculiar People, called Israelites, I will describe in two ways. The Israelites of God are like their father,<\/i> like Israel; and they are like their ancestors,<\/i> like Israel.<\/p>\n
First of all, they are like their father.<\/i> All the Israel of God are in some respects like Jacob, who was surnamed Israel. Mr. Spurgeon preached many Sermons upon Jacob, among them being the following:-The New Park Street Pulpit, No. 239, \u201cJacob and Esau;\u201d and No. 401, \u201cJacob\u2019s Waking Exclamation;\u201d and Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, No. 1,401, \u201cJacob Worshipping on his Staff;\u201d No. 1544, \u201cMahanaim; or, Hosts of Angels;\u201d No. 2,116 \u201cThe Unchanging God Cheering: Jacob in his Change of Dwelling-place;\u201d No. 2,817 \u201cJacob\u2019s Fear and Faith;\u201d and No. 3,010, \u201cJacob\u2019s Model Prayer.\u201d<\/p>\n
They are so, for one reason, because of their election.<\/i>. What saith the Scripture? \u201cJacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.\u201d \u201cThe children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand,\u201d it was said, \u201cThe elder shall serve the younger.\u201d Jacob was God\u2019s chosen one; he had set his love upon him, and, ere he was born, he had distinguished him as his elect one. Now that is a great deep, and there are many who cavil at and question it; I am not here to answer them. The Book says so; let them cavil with the Book, not with me. That doctrine, I know, is often used to discourage seeking souls, and the great truth of predestination is set in contrast with the other truth of free agony, as though the one contradicted the other. But, believe me, it is only our ignorance that makes us think the two things contradictory. \u201cHim, that cometh to me I will in no wise caste out\u201d is just as true as Christ\u2019s later declaration, \u201cNo man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him.\u201d It still stands true that \u201cwho soever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved,\u201d though it is written, \u201cI will have compassion on whom I will have compassion,\u201d and \u201cIt is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy.\u201d Let this be recognized as a truth, then, by every true Israelite, that he is so by reason of the choice of God. We cannot say it was our choice; we dare not attribute our separation from the rest of mankind to anything in us by nature. We must lay our crown at the feet of divine sovereignty, and bless that distinguishing, discriminating grace which has made us differ from the rest of mankind. We are Israelites by election.<\/p>\n
And you will observe that, very early in Jacob\u2019s life, he, too, made an election.<\/i> \u201cChosen of God, ere time began,\u201d he chose his God\u2019s inheritance in return. There stood the mess of pottage, and there, unseen, was the birthright, the inheritance according to promise. Esau, hungry and profane, said, \u201cI shall die of hunger, and than what good will this birthright do unto me?\u201d and for a mess of pottage, which he chose, he rejects the heavenly heritage. Not so Jacob; what Esau sold, Jacob bought. He bought at a dearer price, however. Think, oh, think of that greater inheritance than a mere mess of lentils! At, any rate, you have now before you a picture of what every true Israelite becomes by the work of God\u2019s grace in the heart. If thou choosest this world, and neglectest the world to come, thou art Esau. Thou mayest be a child according to the flesh, but thou art not a child according to promise. But if thou from thy heart canst say, \u201cI count the reproach of Christ greater riches than all the treasures of Egypt and for the love I bear his name, what was my gain I count my LOSS;\u201d then, dear friend, this election, which thou makest, is a proof that God has made an election of thee, and that thou art of the seed of Israel whom God hath blessed. They turn from the pottage to take the portion; they leave earth to seek heaven.<\/p>\n
Then comes one feature in Jacob\u2019s history which is common to all true Israelites. No sooner had Esau got his pottage, and Jacob the blessing, than Esau sought to slay Jacob. There must be a hatred between the child of the flesh and the child of the Spirit.<\/i> They slept together in the same womb, but they could not live together on the same earth without animosity against each other. Jacob must flee; he must leave his fattier\u2019s house; he must go without the camp. And this is your lot if you are an Israelite. The world will soon find you out, anud you will be a speckled bird, and the birds round about you will be against you. If any man suffer as a Christian, let him rejoice; and if you are a Christian, you will have to suffer as a Christian for Christ\u2019s sake. You must bear reproach; and in obeying your Master\u2019s laws, you will come into conflict with the world\u2019s customs, and consequently will lose the world\u2019s favor. So there are Israelites, and you are among them; and for the truth\u2019s sake you become an alien to your mother\u2019s brethren.<\/p>\n
Jacob, in leaving his father\u2019s house, however, received a great blessing, in which he is typical of all Israelites,-namely, the manifested covenant made with himself personally.<\/i> He slept with a stone for his pillow, the hedges for his curtains, the heavens for his canopy; and as he slept, he dreamed that he saw a ladder, the foot thereof stood on the earth, but the top reached to heaven; and at the top of it was the God of the covenant, who made a covenant with his servant which he established and made fast for ever. Beloved, if you are of God\u2019s Israel, you have had some insight into the covenant of grace; you have seen it in the person of Jesus Christ, whose humanity, like the ladder\u2019s foot, stands here on earth, but whose Deity, like the ladder\u2019s top, is lost amidst the blaze of God. You have seen, by the eye of faith, the God who makes and keeps the promise, in the person of Jesus Christ, speaking to you, and saying, \u201cCertainly I will be with thee, and I will bless thee.\u201d You must have had some such revelation of God in Christ Jesus, or else I should have to question whether you are one of the Israelites at all; for they who know the Lord, know him as their covenant God, and know him as David did when he said, \u201cAlthough my house be not so with God; yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
To complete our little outline of Jacob\u2019s history, in which all the Israelites must follow him, I introduce you to Jacob at the brook of Jabbok. It was there that Jacob became Israel; the supplanter became a prevailing prince. Oh, it was a noble sight, which the stars alone saw, when Jacob grasped the angel! Bold hand that of mortal that can grasp the angel of God! And oh, it was nobler still when, having grasped him, he was not content with using hands alone in that blessed struggle, but came to use foot and knees, and every bone, and nerve, and muscle. It was a matchless wrestling then, when the angel would have thrown the man, but the man would fain throw the angel. He played the man indeed then, when he said unto God, \u201cI will not let thee go, except thou bless me.\u201d \u201cI will not.\u201d O God, can thy creature thus address thee? Yes, when thou hast given us faith enough to utter such a word as that, thou hast given us full permission to speak even as we will unto thee, and each one of us to say, \u201cI will not let thee go, except thou bless me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now, if we are Israelites, we know something of wrestling and prevailing prayer.<\/i> You are no Christian if you do not pray. A prayerless soul is a Christless soul. You have no inheritance among the people of God if you have never struggled with that covenant angel, and come off the conqueror. Prayer is the indispensable mark of the true child of God. I know what you will tell me; you will tell me that you are so weak and feeble. Ah, brother, in this thou art like Jacob, who went from Peniel, halting on his thigh. It is not given to mortals to be altogether strong. You must feel your weakness. You may be mighty with God, and yet he may make you weak with men. You may be too strong for the angel, and yet one touch of this angel\u2019s finger may cause your sinew to shrink, so that you go halting to your grave. Ah, some of us have not merely had one sinew shrunk, but very many; and whenever we try to run the heavenly race, we feel these shrunken sinews much injure our running; but still, though halt, we are pursuing, and though lame, we shall yet take the prey.<\/p>\n
So, you see, in election, in the choosing of the inheritance rather than the pottage, in being hated by his brother, in being separated from his father\u2019s house, in entering into covenant with God, in wrestling, and even in weakness, Israel becomes the type of the true Israelite. And I hope, as I have been going over the history, some of you have said, \u201cAre there any such persons in the world that are Israelites? Even so am I.\u201d I hope you have seen your own portrait here, and have said, \u201cThe preacher has photographed my history: so am I.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now we are going to give you another portrait of the Israelite, this time not taking the single main Israel, but taking the race Israel in their early history.<\/i> When Israel ceases to be a family and becomes a nation, we find it in the house of bondage, in what is very significantly called \u201cthe iron furnace\u201d \u2014 iron for strength, and a furnace for heat. So is it with every Israelite. Every child of God is originally found in the bondage of sin. It gives us no effort to remember when we were the slaves of Satan. The scars of his whip are scarcely healed yet. When we see others sinning, we are fain to say, \u201cSuch were some of us, but we are washed. Oh, how lately did these arms wear the fetters, and were these feet hampered with the chain! We are free now, but once we were slaves!\u201d<\/p>\n
Israel in due time was delivered,-delivered in two ways, \u2014 delivered by blood<\/i> and by power.<\/i> So is it with every child of God, \u2014 delivered by blood.<\/i> The blood of the lamb was sprinkled on the lintel and on the side posts, and while the destroying angel, swift to slay, went through the whole of Egypt, and slew the first born, he spared the firstborn of Israel, not one of them fell dead. Oh, yes; and we, too, through the precious blood of Jesus, which hath been sprinkled upon us, we too are saved! Our Passover Lamb is slain for us; the sprinkling of his blood has made us safe; it speaketh better things than the blood of Abel, for it speaks peace to us, and gives us safety and deliverance. And, my brethren, we have been brought out with power<\/i> too; power as great as that which wrought plagues on the fields of Egypt, and made Pharaoh\u2019s haughty heart to yield. The might of the Holy Spirit, which has set us free, is as great as that which divided the Red Sea, and made its waters stand \u201cupright as an heap.\u201d Let Moses sing, but we will sing too. Let Miriam dash her joyous fingers against the timbrel, and we will emulate her. We will sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, \u201cfor he hath triumphed gloriously in our cause; he hath set us free, and brought us up out of the house of bondage, breaking the iron yoke from our necks.\u201d Thus we are like Israel.<\/p>\n
Israel went into the wilderness,<\/i> and I suppose we have all been there, at least all of us who are God\u2019s people find this world to be a wilderness to us. In the wilderness they were all covered by the pillar of cloud by day, and they were enlightened by the pillar of fire by night; and divine providence is our daily protection and our constant comfort. They went out daily to gather manna. Brethren, I suppose you find that you have need of daily grace, and that you cannot live upon bread alone, but you must have the Word which proceedeth out of the mouth of God. You have learned to eat angles\u2019 food. The meat that drops from the skies is necessary to your life. The corn that groweth in the furrow cannot feed your soul. Your body leaneth on that staff of life, but your soul wanteth more spiritual food, such as Jesus Christ alone can give. Beloved, the children of Israel in the wilderness all looked to the same tabernacle, and there they saw one ministering priest offering incense and sacrifice by blood. And we stand to-night all looking to the same Savior, hoping-nay, knowing \u2014 that we are all washed in the same precious blood; and as we see the smoke of his sacrifice going up to God, we, as one undivided Israel, praise and bless his name.<\/p>\n
You remember, too, that all Israel under Joshua crossed the Jordan to the land of Canaan, and won their heritage.<\/i> Each tribe had its portion, and every one was settled in his proper place. We are, so it were, standing upon Jordan\u2019s brink. Since last we met some of our beloved ones have crossed the stream, \u201cand we are to the margin come.\u201d Nor does it trouble us, for Jordan is dry. The ark of the covenant stands in the middle of that river, and makes it so dry that every child of God shall go through it dryshod. The trumpet sounds, which bids us march to victory. The and that floweth with milk and honey is before us; we have a portion fair in that blessed land. Let us go to Pisgah\u2019s top to-night if we cannot cross the Jordan just yet, and with Moses \u201cview the landscape o\u2019er.\u201d There are the glittering fanes of the habitations of the blessed; there are the groves of immortality where they wander; there are the rivers of joy at which they sit, and the oceans of glory in which they bathe. Hark to their songs! Catch ye not the strains that come from the celestial harps? Know ye nothing of the harmonies? Have ye never perceived their gracious melodies? Here is your portion, beloved. All Israel came to the promised land, and so shall we; and we shall then for ever reign with Jesus, our blessed Jesus, who leads us in to possess the land.<\/p>\n
So much, then, concerning Israel from the second picture. I trust some of us have been saying, while we have seen, the picture and heard the history of Israel described, \u201c\u2019Are they Israelites? so am I.\u201d I too was in Egypt; I too have had the blood sprinkled on me; I too have eaten of the Paschal Lamb; with loins girt about I have passed into the wilderness of separation, wandering my forty years up and down these arid plains of earth; I am looking for my heritage; I look to my great Leader, and I follow him to victory and to peace!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
II. <\/b>Having thus described the peculiar people, we stop a moment, and then notice A Personal Claim: \u201cSo am I.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
This is a claim that needs proof.<\/i> The apostle knew that his claim was indisputable, but there are a great many persons who say, \u201cSo am I,\u201d when they have no right, to say it. When others come to the Lord\u2019s table, they come there; when believers in Christ are baptized, they are baptized too; and they virtually say, \u201cWhatever saints may be, such are we.\u201d Ah! it is one thing to pretend to be a noble in Christ\u2019s court, and another thing really to be a peer in heaven\u2019s realm. Your patent of spiritual nobility will serve your turn here among poor men, who cannot investigate it; but remember! remember! you wish all be tried before you will be permitted to enter heaven. See you not those scales in mysterious vision? I see them before my eyes,-massive scales,-and the weights of the sanctuary are put into one scale, and each one of us must, ere long, take our place in the other scale. Will it turn with us? Shall we be found good weight, or shall we leap into the air while the voice shall say, \u201cMene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin,-thou art weighest in the balances, and art found wanting; thy claims are disproved and thy hopes destroyed for ever\u201d?<\/p>\n
Beloved, let us not claim to be Christians if we are not. I do conjure any of you who make a profession of religion, especially if you are members of this church, if your hearts are not right with God, shake off your profession as Paul shook off the viper from his hands. Nothing can be more detrimental to you, at the last, than to have had a name to live while ye have been dead. Better far honestly to confess yourself a stranger from the commonwealth of Israel than to be an interloper among the saints of God, partaking of the children\u2019s bread while you are not a child, and entering into the sanctuary of God where you have no right to stand. If we do dare to say, \u201cSo am I,\u201d let us only say it after having searched ourselves as in the presence of the great God, and having said to him, \u201cSearch me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.\u201d<\/p>\n
Supposing that we have given good proof, I can only say that the claim in the text is one which will yield us great joy.<\/i> When Gods people are rejoicing most, what a satisfaction it is to me if I can say, \u201cSo am I!\u201d Here stands one of the Lord\u2019s people, and he cries, \u201cMy sins are forgiven through his precious blood, I am a pardoned sinner.\u201d \u201cSo am I.\u201d \u201cI am covered with Christ\u2019s righteousness, a garment all divine bedecks me, and I am accepted in the Beloved.\u201d \u201cSo am I.\u201d \u201cHe has taken me into union with himself, and made me a member of his body. I am a member of Christ\u2019s mystical body.\u201d Oh, can you say, \u201cSo am I\u201d? Surely these three words will be enough to make heaven begin below if, when the saints rejoice most in their standing and position before the Lord, you can say, \u201cSo am I.\u201d And you can certainly do so, dear friend, in all the fullness of joy, if you can say with me, \u2014 <\/p>\n
A debtor to mercy alone,
Of covenant mercy I sing;
Nor fear with Christ\u2019s righteousness on,
My person and offering to bring.
The terrors of law, and of God,
With me can have nothing to do;
My Savior\u2019s obedience and blood
Hide all my transgressions from view;-<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
\u201cthis is the reason I trust him wholly, trust him only, trust him simply, trust him now, and trust him ever.\u201d Oh, if you can say, \u201cSo do I,\u201d then all the position which the saints of God hold belongs to you; all their enjoyments are your possessions; you may say, \u201cSuch am I.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now I want to introduce you to a few little scenes, one after the other. I will suppose that we are all talking together about the happiness of God\u2019s people.<\/i> One quotes the text, \u201cHappy art thou, O Israel, who is like unto thee, O people saved by the Lord?\u201d and he expatiates thus, \u201cGod\u2019s people are a happy people, they find that godliness hath the blessing of this life and of that which is to come. We can praise God all day, and even in the night he is still with us, and we make the night watches vocal with his praise. We are a happy people.\u201d I hear a voice up in the corner of the room where we are sitting; someone says faintly, \u201cAnd so am I.\u201d Let us go and look. Why, here is a poor old woman who has been bed-ridden. \u201cHow long, sister?\u201d \u201cThirteen years.\u201d \u201cHave you much to comfort you?\u201d \u201cOh, very much! I have my Savior\u2019s presence.\u201d \u201cHave you had a good nurse and kind attendants, with plenty of temporal comforts?\u201d \u201cNo, I have had none of these things; I am a poor pensioner on the parish. I have sometimes scarcely enough bread to eat.\u201d \u201cHave you many pains?\u201d \u201cYes, I am full of disease, racked from head to foot with sickness.\u201d \u201cI thought you said just now, \u2019So am I! I am happy.\u2019\u201d \u201cOh, yes! I did say that, and I will say it again, for, notwithstanding all my tribulations, my consolations abound through Jesus Christ, and I can say, \u2014 <\/p>\n
\u201c\u2019Sweet affliction, sweet affliction
For it brings my Savior near;\u2019-<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
\u201cnotwithstanding all my sufferings and my pains, and my having tossed to and fro till my bones have come through my skin, yet, if you say you are happy, \u2019So am I.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
We are talking together again about the riches of God\u2019s people.<\/i> I have been giving out a hymn in the little parlour, and we have been singing, \u2014 <\/p>\n
\u201cHow vast the treasure we possess!
How rich thy bounty, King of grace!
This world is ours, and worlds to come:
Earth is our lodge, and heaven our home.
I would not change my blest estate
For all that earth calls good or great;
And while my faith can keep her hold,
I envy not the sinner\u2019s gold;\u201d \u2014 <\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
and I say, \u201cWe are rich and increased in goods, we have all we want, and we are thankful for it,\u201d and I hear a voice say, \u201cSo am I.\u201d Come here, and show yourself! \u201cI don\u2019t like to show myself in such respectable company as this.\u201d \u201cNever mind, come here.\u201d \u201cNo,\u201d he says, \u201cmy clothes are too much out of repair for me to come before this present company. I have toiled and wrought very hard, but now in my old age I cannot work much, and the garb of poverty is the only one that I can wear. I eat my bread with my own tears and with much of the sweat of my brow, and I have nothing in the world I can call my own, and I never expect to own anything except that spot of ground in which my ashes shall be buried by charity. But if you say God\u2019s people are rich, so am I. I have got it here the title-deeds of a mansion fair, and of a heritage so rich that I would not barter it for the throne of the Caesar\u2019s or all the kingdoms of the earth.\u201d<\/p>\n
While we are thus communing with one another, we turn from the happiness and the riches of God\u2019s people to speak about their safety.<\/i> \u201cAll those who trust in Jesus Christ are saved; their sins are all forgiven. They can never be condemned. Their feet are upon the rock. They shall be with Christ in glory,-they are saved.\u201d And I hear a voice come from somewhere up there, \u201cSo am I.\u201d Now, whose voice is it? I think I remember hearing it before. It sounds like the voice of a dying man, like the voice of a man in pain; a rough voice too, as if it belonged to some very uncouth body; who is it? It is the dying thief, and he says, \u201cYou were singing about me just now, \u2014 <\/p>\n
\u201c\u2019The dying thief rejoiced to see
That fountain in his day
And there have I, though vile as he,
Washed all my sins away.\u2019<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
\u201cI am a dying thief, but I am saved. It is only a few minutes ago since I believed in Jesus, but I am saved. He who has served the Lord for seventy years cannot say more than that; he can say, after seventy years of service, \u2019I am a saved man,\u2019 and I and say, though Jesus only now turned his eye upon me, and said that he would remember me, I am a saved man too.\u201d So, you see, there are some things in which the very youngest believer is placed on an equality with the very oldest; they are alike saved if they can each say, \u201cSo am I.\u201d<\/p>\n
There may be somebody in this chapel, perhaps, who cannot read. Such people are getting scarce in London; and if we use a long Latinized word in the sermon, that poor body says, \u201cI cannot make out whatever he is talking about.\u201d But if I begin to talk about Jesus Christ, and say, \u201cAll thy children shall be taught of the Lord;\u201d if I begin to speak about experimental vital godliness within the heart, and about union to Jesus Christ; if I say that all the Lord\u2019s people know something about his love, they are all taught in his grace, I know you, my friend, would say, \u201cSo am I; so am I. If there be any man here who says that he is a debtor to God\u2019s grace, so am I. If there is any man who says that he owes more than others, so do I. If there is anyone here who claims to have had much sin forgiven, and therefore to be much in debt to God\u2019s grace, so am I. And if there is any man here who vows, when he gets to heaven, that he will sing the Lord\u2019s praises with all his might, for he feels himself to be a debtor to God very deeply, so am I. Dear friend, I am not inclined to yield to you when it comes to the question of claiming the privilege of God\u2019s Israel, the privilege of nearness to his heart, of access with boldness in Christ Jesus, the privilege of prayer, the privilege of suffering, the privilege of service. If you say, \u2019I am entitled to these things,\u2019 I will put, in my claim, and say, \u2019So am I.\u2019\u201d And I do hope there are some poor trembling saints here, who will be so tenacious of their privileges that-though they are the very least in Israel, \u201cless than the least of all saints,\u201d yet, since the mercies of God belong to the saints, as saints, and not as full-grown saints, or advanced saints, or well-taught saints, they will put in their plea, and each one say, \u201cSo am I; so am I.\u201d<\/p>\n
I was thinking, as I came here to-night, whether I would not even defy the very angels of God about this matter. There are spirits before the throne of God,-bright spirits that walk in white, and sing his praises,-and they are very happy, and they are full of joy; so am I! They wear white robes, they are clad in pure white linen; so am I! They stand secure in Jesus\u2019 love; and so am I! They sing of their election by his grace; and so will I! They are there, and they see his face, and sing his praise; and so will I! They know themselves to be loved by him; so do I! And they drink of the river of his pleasures as they think of him; so will I! Beloved Christian, in some respects you are on a par with the glorified spirit. You are as much pardoned as they are; you are as much justified as they are; you are as much one with Christ as they are; you are as much chosen of God as they are; and you are, in one respect, as safe as they are,-nay, in some things you have the advantage! There are works which perfect saints above all holy angels cannot do, so let no one stop you of your glorying in Christ Jesus; but when they speak the must, say of yourselves through grace, \u201cSo am I.\u201d<\/p>\n
Oh, what a different tale we might have told to-night! Think of what a different story the preacher might have had to tell to-night. Oh, think-think \u2014 think,-dear hearer! There might have been heard the wailing of lost souls, gnashing their teeth, and crying, \u201cWe are lost-lost-lost for ever,\u201d and you and I might have been saying, \u201cAnd so am I.\u201d There might have come up a dolorous cry from the depths of perdition, \u201cWe are banished from God\u2019s presence! The light of his love shines not on us! We are in the blackness of darkness for ever!\u201d You and I might have said, \u201cSo am I.\u201d But instead of that he from the miry pit hath plucked us, and set our feet upon a rock, and made us sing his praise to-night, and with the brightest spirits say, \u201cSo am I.\u201d Oh, how we ought to love him! Now, tomorrow, if you go out into the world, and you see a Christian badly beated, and hear men jeeringly say \u201cThere is a Christian,\u201d step forward, and say, \u201cSo am I.\u201d To-morrow the devil will be tempting some of the Lord\u2019s people, and you may, if you like, turn tail, and run away; but come boldly forward and say, \u201cSo am I.\u201d Take your share with them. Some of us are workers for Christ. I wish you could each one say, \u201cSo am I.\u201d There are some who give their talent, their time, their substance, their whole heart to Jesus. I wish we could each one say, \u201cSo do I.\u201d Standing here, we have sometimes said that if Jesus Christ would tread on us, if he could make himself one inch more lofty, we would be glad to be trodden as the mire in the street, for we have given ourselves unto him as a burnt-offering, living and dying. May every Christian here feel, \u201cSo am I.\u201d Oh, prove your gratitude by your devotion, and live as those who, having claimed privilege, are willing to take the responsibility connected with it!<\/p>\n
If there a lost and ruined sinner here? \u201cAy,\u201d says one, \u201cI am.\u201d Jesus Christ came to save sinners; I am hanging on him, and trusting to him. I would that each one of you could say, \u201cSo am I.\u201d Sinner, thou hast no hope but in Jesus. Trusting him, his saints are safe. Wilt thou trust him? God help thee to trust him at this very moment! Cast thyself where millions have cast themselves before, upon the covenanted mercy of God in Christ, and as they leap up and cry, \u201cWe are saved,\u201d you too may stand up and say, \u201cSo am I.\u201d May the Lord bless us! May we be numbered with his Israel in the day when he comes to make up his jewels, for his name\u2019s sake! Amen.<\/p>\n
EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON.<\/p>\n
PSALM 81.<\/b><\/p>\n
Verse 1. Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob<\/i><\/p>\n
In these days, the Psalm would have to be altered if they are to suit the dogmas of modern thought, for \u201cthe God of Jacob\u201d is altogether rejected by those wondrous thinkers who think they know so much. The God of the New Testament, they say, is a very different Being from the God of the Old Testament. According to them, the Old Testament God is too stern; but the New Testament God is far softer, quite effeminate, indeed, if they rightly describe him. But we do not hesitate to say, over and over again that the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob,-the immutable and unchangeable One,-the God of Sinai, is as much our God as the God of Calvary, so we delight \u201cto make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob.\u201d<\/p>\n
2-6. Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery. Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day. For this was a statute for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob. This he ordained in Joseph for a testimony, when he went out through the land of Egypt: where I heard a language that I understood not. I removed his shoulder from the burden: his hands were delivered from the pots.<\/i><\/p>\n
Child of God, have you forgotten the time of your deliverance? God has not; and here he reminds his people Israel of their deliverance out of Egypt. So he says concerning you, \u201cI removed his shoulder from the burden: his hands were delivered from the pots.\u201d Do you not remember the joy of that glad moment when the burden of sin was taken away from you, and the pots of your own self-salvation lay broken at your feet? Glory be to him who brought us out from that terrible house of bondage!<\/p>\n
7. Thou calledst in trouble, and I delivered thee; I answered thee in the secret place of thunder: I proved thee at the waters of Meribah. Selah.<\/i><\/p>\n
But how sadly did they stand the test! You and I, too, have not only received much mercy at the hand of God, but we also have had our testing-times. We can look back to the waters of strife with deep regret that there we failed so sadly.<\/p>\n
8-10. Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee: O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me; there shall no strange god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god. I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.<\/i><\/p>\n
What a wondering verse this is! We have been so accustomed to hear the expression, \u201cI am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt,\u201d followed by the law; but here it is followed by a gracious encouragement to us to pray: \u201cOpen thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.\u201d Whatever force the law derived from that preface, this exhortation derives the came force, and no child of God ought to forget that. He who delivered you from the burden of sin bids you open your mouth wide, and he will fill it; and after your deliverance from guilt, do you not feel that you may well ask great things of such a gracious God?<\/p>\n
11-15. But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me. So I gave them up unto their own heart lust: and they walked in their own counsels. Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways! I should soon have subdued the enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries. The haters of the LORD should have submitted themselves unto him: but the time should have endured for ever.<\/i><\/p>\n
Alas, poor Israel! Through what sufferings and captivities didst thou go because thou wouldst not trust in the Lord, and how often some of God\u2019s children have had to go through years of sorrow and spiritual captivity because of their lack of close walking with their God, and complete obedience to him! May we learn from the sins of others, and be helped to walk closely with our Master!<\/p>\n
16. He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I say satisfied thee.<\/i><\/p>\n
If the Word of God does not seem to feed us as once it did, it will surely be because we have not hearkened to our Lord, or walked in his ways. May he give us grace to render complete obedience to his holy will!<\/p>\n
\u201cSo shall thy choicest gifts, O Lord,
Thy faithful people bless,
For them shall earth its stores afford
and heaven in happiness.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NO. 3091 A SERMON PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, MAY 7TH, 1908, DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON, AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON \u201cAre they Israelites? so am I.\u201d \u2014 2 Corinthians 11:22. PAUL was proud of his extraction as a Jew. Taking this expression in its literal sense, I feel that he had much to be proud … Continue reading “PEDIGREE.”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4418","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4418"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4418\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}