Where Is The Wonder?

“Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.” Psalm 119:18

                If the people here tonight are anything like me, then this verse will be something that is needful and powerful for our lives. For the past several months there has not been another verse that has more deeply weighed upon my heart than this verse here. How often it is that I come to the word of God and step away without an ounce of my soul being affected in the slightest way. I am sure that we have all done the same. At times we read the scripture and it seems that each word or even syllable grabs holds of all our affections bringing us to our knees in praise of God. Other times we read the Word and there just seems to be nothing there and we wonder why we even waster our time.

                Do we want a change tonight? Often times I hear Christians speak quite low of the God that I dearly adore. Have you ever heard someone say “I believe there is a God, that’s good enough for me”? I am sure that most of us have heard something of his manner spoken once or twice. I hope this is not the situation of the Church members here. Hopefully we all want more of God’s word. Are we satisfied with our perception of God’s word or do we want to see wonders in it? I believe that Christians should never be satisfied when they come to the word of God and leave it empty. Well, hopefully throughout this sermon we will learn a few ways to allow us to see more wonders in God’s word. Not only for us to behold more wonders, but to behold more wonders more often. Before we get into it, it must be noted that there is no surety for seeing wonders. There is no fool proof plan for tricking God into showing us wonders in His word. But, I do believe some of the topics mentioned tonight will allow us to see and behold them more often.

                The first thing we should recognize is where David asks to see wonders. Too often today I hear people talk about how they want a direct revelation from God. They see the Word as insufficient, and think that they need to be given a completely new word from God Himself. I do not mean to disassociate the Word of God from prayer. As do many in the age we live in. They say that it is meaningless to read the Word of God. If you want meaning in your life, or to have your emotions moved then you need to simply pray, or listen to music even. But for what does David ask for here? Does he simply say “open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things?” Does he stop there? No, he says exactly where he wants to behold these wonders. “Out of thy law!” he says.

                Whenever a topic like this arises there is one instance in scripture that comes to mind. This would be of the time when Moses asked the Lord to show him His glory. There was no mention of scripture or seeing God in writings. But there was an exclamation of desire to see the glory of God physically. Often we think “if only God would reveal Himself to me in such a manner than I would surely act just as Moses did”. To be perfectly honest I have said this very same sentence before. That if God would simply do for me what He did for Moses all those years ago then I would gladly serve Him just as Moses did. Sure it’s easy to have such amazing faith when God reveals Himself to you right? If only we could all be so lucky right? But therein does lay the real question. Why does David not ask for such a vision? If we need such a vision why does David not desire it. I find it interesting that David probably only had the first few books of the Bible. I mean how many do you think he had? He had at least the first five, and maybe Job and a few others. But he sees this as enough to not ask for anymore.  Well, I find that quite amazing that as soon as the first words of God were penned man changed his desire from “show me your glory” to “open my eyes to your law”.

                Does this accomplish the same goal though? What was it exactly that Moses desired? He says “show me your glory”. Turn with me please to the book of II Corinthians. In chapter 3 verses  13 through 18 there is an interesting idea. Paul tells us that when the books of the Old Testament are read people cannot understand because “the vail is upon their heart”. But “when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.” Then he tells us something very interesting in verse 18 “we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” “with open face” means without a vail over our sight. But what does “Beholding as in a glass” mean? What was the context? He was just talking about the reading of scripture. Clearly the reading of scripture is like beholding a glass. What he means is that it is a reflection like in a mirror. A reflection of what is the big question though. Well he tells us “beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord”. Wait! Isn’t that exactly what Moses asked for? To see God’s glory? What happened to Moses when he saw God, his face shown with light and what happens to us when we see God in scripture, we “are changed into the same image from glory to glory”. We constantly shine brighter and brighter. Do you see it? We have EXACTLY what Moses was pleading for. We have His glory before us, right here, in a book. What a glorious thought this is. How could we ever say that we need more! We have in a book, his glory displayed for us, to read and behold whenever we please!

                Well, hopefully at this point two ideas have come into your mind. First, that we truly have a treasure before us in this book. Second, what was the vail that was just mentioned, and how exactly do we remove it. That is the issue at hand. After all, the first statement in our opening verse was “open my eyes”. There is actually a very good description of the position of the natural man in Ephesians 4:17-18 “…walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart” Their hearts are blind and they cannot even see the things of God. Would a blind man ever say to the sun “you know sun, perhaps if you shown brighter I could see you”. Of course not, the problem is not the sun the problem is the man. The way we naturally are keeps us from seeing anything at all in a religious manner that concerns God. This is what I would like discuss for the remainder of our time together. I believe there are two major things that keep us from beholding glorious wonders in God’s word. First we do not enter Gods word correctly, and second we do not exit Gods word correctly. When we take this into consideration I believe that it will aid us tremendously when reading the word of God.

                The very first thing that is an absolute must before we can come to the word and understand it is that we must be believers. If we are not believers then this Word will come to us empty time and time again. We might read it daily time and again, even memorize word for word, but if we are not Christians then it will be meaningless to us. The question I would ask is why? Well, what is it that makes this book different from any other book? First let us look into a couple passages of scripture. Turn with me if you will to II Peter 1:21 “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” Also turn to II Timothy 3:16 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness”. What these scriptures are saying is that book that we hold was not simply written by man. They were penned by the hand of man but they were authored by a Divine mind. Does this hinder our understanding of it? Let us look at I Corinthians 2:14 “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” We must understand that the this book was Divinely inspired and therefore must be Divinely interpreted. Can we expect to read a language we don’t understand without someone to explain it to us. I can’t expect to just book up written in Japanese and read it word for word knowing the exact meaning. Can we ever expect someone who doesn’t have the Spirit to read and understand those things which were written by the Spirit? So there very first thing that must be accomplished before we can read God’s word and behold wondrous things is to have the Holy Spirit in us.

                Now here is the problem we have. We are believers yet there are still times we come to the word and leave it without those wonders upon our hearts. I believe that this verse here we are looking at is help for us and not for unbelievers. David was a believer and had the Holy Spirit living within him. But he came to the word and could not find those wonders he searched for. From what I have read it seems that the words “open mine eyes” does not refer to someone who is blind but has objects blocking his vision. Some commentaries compare it to when Paul had his vision restored. It says that “immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales.” There is something that hinders our vision that must be removed before we can come to the word of God and behold these glorious wonders. What are these “scales” and how can we remove them?

                The first scale that must be removed before we can enter the Word of God correctly is Pride. We must realize that we cannot undertake such a task on our own and accomplish it. We must solely rely on the Spirit to teach us or these Words will leave us empty. As Augustine spoke of it, he said that he never found anything in the Word until he knelt low enough to make it through the door. Our pride must be broken before we can allow the Spirit to teach us. Once it is broken we will gladly desire to have the Spirit lead our hearts. Have u ever read something and wished “if only the author were here to tell me what he meant”. There are times when I read things and I just feel like I have to know what the author was trying to say. I read a lot of Charles Wesley hymns. Sometimes when I read his hymns I wish he were here so I could ask him “how in the world can anyone write that and not believe in the doctrines of grace??” If you get to reading him you will know exactly what I mean. I remember when I went to Colorado a few weeks ago. I told everyone that I had one request, I wanted to do absolutely nothing the whole time I was there. Well, I knew that wouldn’t work I know my dad a little better than that. Well dad wanted to climb a mountain, so I reluctantly agreed. BJ had us convinced that there was a trail all the way to the top. Some words of advice, don’t listen to BJ about trails. Had me and dad went on our own I seriously doubt we would have made it to the top. But we need someone to lead the way and show us how to get there. On that occasion BJ had been there before so he knew the way, but imagine had BJ been an expert on the mountain, and could not only take us to the top but show us wonders all along the way and exactly what was wonderful about it. If you were to ask a painter what was so great about his painting he would not simply give you the big picture that made it great but the details of, parts of it that he himself thought was wonderful. BJ could make it the top, but imagine how great that trip would have been had BJ created the mountain. That’s what we have here in this book. Not simply a tour guide, but a guide that wrote it. One who knows the details that makes it gloriously wonderful. We have the expert and the author in our hearts to display to us God’s glory in these words. Let us trust him completely to take us where he desires.

                The second scale which we must remove from our eyes is the world. When the world is in our vision then we cannot view the Word of God clearly. Turn with me if you please to the book of Genesis chapter 24 and verse 63. It says “And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide”. It is important to take note of not that he went to meditate, although that is important, but where he went to meditate. It says that he went “in the field”. Why would he leave where he was to go out into a field and meditate? The purpose is that he does not want anything to distract him. So that nothing would draw his attention away from that which he wants to focus on. But my purpose in this sermon is not external hindrances but internal. What can we learn from this for our internal restrictions for studying the Word of God? There are two ways the world can hinder us. First, which is more closely related to the situation with Isaac, when we allow ourselves to think about everything that’s happening in our lives than we cannot focus on the Word. Our minds begin to wander here and there instead of keeping a straight path. As Thomas Manton put it “to a distracted mind no place is solitude; the very closet is a market place”.  He is saying that just because you are off by yourself does not mean your thoughts have come with you. The second way in which the world keeps us from seeing the wonders in God’s word is a love for the world. If we want to see these wonders we must desire them more than we desire the world. This idea makes me think about us upon the Earth. Think about the world in which we live during the night time. Have we ever considered why we go from day to night? What is it exactly that happens that causes this darkness to come upon us? The answer is very simple, when the world comes between us and the sun. When the earth rotates so that the sun goes behind the earth then the earth literally stands between where we are and where the sun is. To see God’s glory we must not allow the world to stand between. Put it behind us and then we can see His wonders shine like the sun above.

                The third scale I would like to mention is our sins. The Word of God is quite a mysterious thing. Scripture talks of God’s word in two different manners. First it talks of it as glorious and delightful to our souls and it also describes as something that is terrible, as fire or a two edged sword. We all know the verses that say His Word is “More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.” (Psalm 19:10 ESV). Yes, sometimes we come to His word and we find it to be as such. But, scripture also tells us that God’s word is not only a fire but a “hammer that breaks the rocks into pieces” (Jeremiah 23:29). The difference is because of the sin in our hearts. The Word of God can be an awful and terrible thing. God’s word will convict us of sin in our lives. If we continually come to it with a sinful heart it will continue hit us like a hammer. If we want to behold the glorious wonders that are within His Word we must do it with a righteous life. The less sin we have in our lives the less the Word has to break us and we can get straight to enjoying God’s greatness.

                The fourth and last scale that hinders us from coming to the Word of God correctly is our slothfulness. We must admit to ourselves that we are a very lazy people. But there is something that we all must remember, and that is that seeing the Wonders in the Word is not easy. In II Timothy 2:7 Paul tells Timothy “Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things.” He does not tell him that he should quickly pass over them and the Lord will reveal it to him. No, he is to reflect upon the words, think over them again and again, take deep consideration on them and the Lord will give him understanding. The Lord will give understanding but don’t expect it to be easy. Whenever I think of deep intense study of the Word I am reminded of Martin Luther. He speaks of his studying as one that beat upon the Word until it revealed its truths. He once said of Ecclesiastes “Solomon the preacher is giving me a hard time, as though he begrudged anyone lecturing on him. But he must yield his answers”.  Luther would not leave the Word until he saw the glorious truths that are hidden within no matter how much effort it took. One last thing to consider is not to be satisfied. When it comes to God’s Word desire more and more and never feel that you have seen enough. I think of such amazing verse like John 3:16. We read it and see glories quite easily. It’s mines have been dug so often that when you come to the mouth of it you can readily find scraps of gold strung about without even entering the mine. If only we would enter the mine and dig with all your might we might find glories that laid hidden from most the world. Do not be satisfied with the scraps when there is an abundance of treasure that lies beneath the surface!

                Now quickly I would like to deal with a couple reasons that we do not find the glories because we exit the Word incorrectly. I find that there are reasons that God will slow down his revealing of wonders when we do not leave His word in the appropriate manner. The first manner in which we exit his Word incorrectly is found in Psalm 119:27 “Make me to understand the way of thy precepts: so shall I talk of thy wondrous works.” David asks for an understanding of God’s Word and promises something in return. He says that if this understanding is granted then he will speak of God’s wondrous works. I am sure that the parents in here who gracious give in abundance to their children without them earning it or deserving it. If you were to learn that your children had seen others in need and they selfishly kept what they been given what would your response to them be? I think perhaps you would not so readily give to them in the near future. But what if they had given to another who was in need? What if they had given as much help as they could? Would not you happily give to them again? I feel that those of us who have taught before have found that the scripture seems more open to us when we are readily sharing those wonders we have been given with others.

                The second way that we leave the Word of God incorrectly we find in Psalm 119:7 “I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments.” Once again David gives a promise of what he will do after he has been granted knowledge of God’s word. That which he has promised here is to be our first reaction whenever we learn some new wonder about God. Our hearts should turn to Him with shouts of praise. Praise Him for the glorious wonder that He is. Whenever I think about verses like this I stand in amazement. He tells God that knowledge of Gods Word will inevitably turn his heart to praise. Let us consider this for just a moment. David says that knowledge the scriptures turn his heart to praise. But what scriptures is he referring to? He speaks of only the first few books of the Bible. He perhaps had a few of the Psalms which he had written himself. But rest assured, he did not have the Gospels. If David thought that knowledge of the Word demanded praise how much more does our knowledge! We have the full redemption story. How much praise we should readily render to our blessed Lord and Savior! Think of it as a child and father relationship again. If the father is giving to the child but the child is ungrateful and does not even appreciate it then the Father might feel less generous to his child. More knowledge of our Father in Heaven means that we should praise Him all the more!

                At a time like this when the year is coming to a close everyone has ideas in the mind of bettering themselves. I’m sure most people in here tonight have thought about a New Year’s resolution already to try for the next year. Often people desire to lose more weight or to manage their budget better. I know most Christians have made resolutions to read more of the Bible in the following year. I have no doubt that there are people sitting here tonight who have made this resolution. But can I make another suggestion for us? We must remember that there is a reading without actually reading. Recall that often Christ said to the Pharisees “have ye not read?”  Don’t doubt people that these Pharisees had read these scriptures. I would dare to say that they had those portions of scripture memorized by heart. But they had not understood those words, and the words had not affected their heart. Let us not be as John Piper put it “a games man with the Bible”. No, let us desire more than a brief reading, but a heart truly affected by the glorious wonders we read within. Let us be like Charles Simeon who’s friends said that at times he has found him “so absorbed in the contemplation of the Son of God, and so overpowered with a display of His mercy to his soul, that he was incapable of pronouncing a single word," till at length, he exclaimed, "Glory, glory." Let this be us! Do not be games man put readers of the word that desire to be speechless and the abundance wonders that are here! Read his word in such a manner that we come from it and shaken knees and affected heart declare “Glory, glory”. Do not be satisfied with a simple understanding of his word but let us stand amazed and speechless at it. Tonight I finish with a question I have asked myself often. Turn with me to Proverbs 1:22. Let Solomon speak to us tonight just as he did all those years ago. “How long!” he says. Now ask yourselves. “How long world!” “How long Christians!” “How long all of us!” “How long myself!” “How long, How Long! Ye simple minded, will you love simplicity!”

The Unmindful Pilgrim

Hebrews 11:13-16

¹³These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
 ¹⁴For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.
 ¹⁵And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.
 ¹⁶But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.

                Before we begin an exposition of the verses we must have a good understanding of the context. We will start with a couple of simple questions that will help with this. First, why was the book of Hebrews written?  What was happening was some of the believers were being pressured by orthodox Jews to come back under the law. The author intends to give his readers a reason to not turn from the faith or be persuaded to succumb to the persecution that they were surely to face. If you know anything about the book of Hebrews then you know that the whole book is about the superiority of Christ. But that leaves us in a bit of an odd situation. Why does he spend his time only telling them about the greatness of Christ? It seems as if he really expects them to endure through any type of persecution then there has to be something other than simply a more sufficient knowledge of Christ he can tell them. But the author views knowledge of the superiority of Christ as more than enough.

I believe the theme of the book can be found in chapter 10 verse 34 “For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance.” The author had been placed in prison and the other believers of the day had a few choices. They could either not act like they knew him, or simply just pray for him, or go to him and help him. But they knew helping him would surely result in those who had placed him in prison in turn persecuting them for helping. But the author writes that not only did the men choose to help him but they “took joyfully the spoiling of your goods”. It seems that the whole purpose of this book is to give believers enough reason to go under any persecution and hold on to their faith joyfully. And the way that the author goes about it is he shows clearly that Christ is superior to every single aspect of the law that they had known. Whether it be prophets, priests, angels, whatever it could be Christ is better. It seems that he expects that their response to the superiority of Christ would be to endure any type of persecution. 

                Another question I would like to ask is why was Hebrews 11 written? I believe the natural reaction to what the author had just said in verse 10:34 of the men joyfully give up all their good is “that’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard, what would be in a man to make him behave that way”. I mean why in the world would a person just gladly give up everything he has in order to help someone in prison? The author tells us the reason is because they knew they “have in heaven a better and an enduring substance”. But what would give a person so much certainty in the world after death that they would do such a thing. The author tells us that “the just shall live by faith” in verse 38. So the author expects that Christians would be able to act just the way that those in verse 34 acted if they had within themselves true faith. Our natural reaction to this statement is that there has to be more to our assurance then just faith. With this in mind he writes Hebrews 11. Not only did the men of verse 10:34 act this way simply in faith but this is how all believers of the past lived.

                He starts Hebrews 11 by giving an explanation of what faith is before he shows to them that men of the past have always lived this way. I believe that this chapter is written with a dual purpose. First to show that faith is the only way that believers have lived, also to give those reading inspirations and examples to base their life on. And as we have been taught even recently he ends this section with Christ himself, that Christ is the perfect example of pure faith. But the author starts first with Abel who was the first person to have been persecuted for his faith. Then he talks about Enoch who we all know never experienced death and “walked with God”. I just love the working of the Holy Spirit at times. He starts with Abel which shows us that we should not doubt that the righteous will be persecuted, and moves directly to Enoch which shows that we also shall be victorious. And the author pauses, I believe to make sure we keep ourselves connected with these individuals and he tells us that “without faith it is impossible to please God”.  The tendency is to not associate ourselves with these great people of the past. Yet, the author makes sure that we know that it is only by faith, just as our faith, that these individuals lived. Then he begins to talk about Noah and then Abraham and his descendants. And the author pauses again with this section from verse 13-16 I believe to again reconnect us with these people. “These all died in faith, not having received the promises”. He seems to be referring to Noah, Abraham, and Sarah. But does this not refer to us all? Do we not truly receive the culmination of all of our promises from God after death? They had not received their promises, just as we have not received ours.

                I would like to begin an explanation of this text by starting with “…confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.” These saints of the past had confessed that they were pilgrims here. They showed the world that the belonged somewhere else. Their heart and desire was elsewhere. But how did they confess this? What was it that they had said that the author says would “declare plainly” that they sought another country. I believe the answer is very plain. I don’t think he means literal words but actions. I do believe that we should always be talking of Christ and the blessings he has bestowed upon us and awaits us. But I think what he is referring to here are the actions these men had done that show the world that their hopes and desires were not of this world. The point the author is trying to make is that believers will act in a way that makes absolutely no sense to the world. What had Noah done? He built a boat and everyone must have thought he was crazy. What did Abraham do? He left everything he had without knowing where he was going because he had faith in the word of God. And even more amazing, after he got there what did he do? The normal reaction for any of us would be to settle down there, build a city. Build a place to give your sons, a place that was permanent and reliable. But it says that after Abraham made it to the land of promise he lived in tents. Why would he live in tents? The author tells us that “he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” There was one thing Abraham knew, he wanted to be with God. Let God give him all the blessings of this Earth if God so desired but even still his desire and longing would be towards God Himself.

                It makes us wonder if we are living with anywhere near the same faith that these men of old did. These men made it obvious that this world was not their home. We must ponder the situation and ask ourselves, “Are we living in a way that the world says to us, ‘they have a hope elsewhere’ ”. I don’t even mean our entire lives, but is there even one aspect of anything we ever do that makes someone in the world say to us “what’s wrong with you, why aren’t you like everyone else” I believe a great example of a person who lived for God is John the Baptist. He lived in a way that almost seems bizarre to us. He lived as an outcast and made no sense to the world. But do you think the world took notice? And what was the record given of him? “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.” Talk about a wonderful description to have! He not only made it obvious to the world that his hope was elsewhere, but it was so obvious that he did not belong here it was as if God Himself had planted him here. Oh how it is my prayer that when I am dead and gone that some might say of me “there was a man sent from God, whose name was Rickie”. Should this not be the prayer of all of us? It was because he lived in a way that proved to the world that he had no desires for the world. Or as he says in on words in reference to Christ “He must increase, but I must decrease.” I am reminded of a quote by Thomas Manton, a quote that has convicted my heart more than any other. He says of men of old who had such a passion for the glory of God that we are left with only two options. “Either these histories are not true, or our hearts are much unlike theirs”. I know that all of us here believe that these histories are faithful and accurate or we wouldn’t be here. So we are left with only one alternative, our “hearts are much unlike theirs”. I ask you to turn to a well known portion of scripture. In I Peter 3:15 we read something that for a long time I don’t believe I fully grasped. Peter tells them “..be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you..” For a long time my response to this verse was “ok, I am ready, I study and study and study, and I may not know everything but I know enough to be ready”. But there is something implied here that I believe I have missed. Someone should be asking us about the hope that is in us! There should be at least one thing in our lives that says to the world “my hope is not here!” Then in turn someone in the world should see it and realize that there is absolutely no earthly explanation for what they have seen and they would ask “what’s the reason for this hope inside of you?” I just ask us tonight, is anyone asking?

                Now I believe that there is one ultimate way of showing the world that your hope and desire is not here. As the author said in the beginning of verse 13 “these all died in faith”. We all know that last words are often remembered. When death comes and if we have time to consider all the events at hand then it becomes blatantly obvious what is important to us. So what does it mean to die in faith? I believe to understand this we simply need to ask ourselves one simple question. Are we cheated in death? That question may seem a bit odd but I think it is a simple way of understanding this concept. We need to ask ourselves honestly “are we cheated in death”. It is easy to say that someone in their 90’s who has lived a full life is ready to die in faith. What else have they to live for here, but what about someone younger? We must ask ourselves not only at this point in our lives, but at every single point, would death have cheated us out of life? It is easier to say yes than it is to truly mean it I believe. What about someone in their 30’s? or 20’s? or even their teenage years? What about someone who has just been engaged or just found out they are going to have a baby. Now I know someone in these situations fear that you would be leaving a child without a father or mother, which is natural for a parent to feel. But I would also ask you to believe that the God who calls you home is the same God that holds the world in His hand. But what I want to know is if I work for years and finally receive my doctorate in something and I walk on the stage and I suddenly die of a heart attack have I been cheated? Or perhaps I am in love and while I stand before my bride on our wedding day death strikes immediately. Have I been cheated? 

                Let me ask it the same way Paul phrases it “is death gain?” That is the simplest way to understand dying in faith. Do we truly believe that death is gain? If we could honest believe that statement with our whole heart then there would never be a time when we would feel cheated. No matter the blessings that have been raining down upon us we know one thing “Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever.” God is our portion. Let the earth give us a wonderful life or let it trample upon us every day. It does not matter because it can never take away our portion and treasure.  Another way to test this is, are we always praying for the Lords return? Is there ever a time when we would rather stay here then have Christ take us home? If there is then we are certainly not ready to die in faith. No matter our situation we must always say to ourselves as John does at the end of the book of revelation “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” When we finally say “I do”, when we finally get that diploma, when finally hear the cry of a new born child, whatsoever that finally maybe for you we must always have in our hearts “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” We should await and long for His arrival more than anything else. If he came would we say in our hearts “oh just a couple more minutes let me finish this real quick” or would we shout with the voice of the woman as she finally hears the voice of her beloved “Listen! My beloved! Behold, he is coming, climbing on the mountains, leaping on the hills!” You can hear the excitement in her heart! Oh that no matter our situation one that day comes and our Lord returns we can stop immediately and shout with joy in our hearts “Listen! My beloved! Behold, he is coming!” 

                I believe there are several observations that can be made here regarding this. But one I would like to emphasis is that those who have gone before us we should allow them to die in faith. If death is truly gain then we should not continual lament over the passing of a loved one. I know the natural reaction to loss is sadness. But as it is written “ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.” I often times think about my grandmother. I spent the weekend with my cousin Josh and his wife Emilie and while I was holding their new born baby Grayson I thought “I wish grandma were here she would love this little guy”. But honestly if I were able to ask my grandma today if she wishes she could come back. And I particularly mention my grandmother because she was someone who thoroughly enjoyed her life. She adored her kids, her grandkids and she absolutely loved her church. Every chance she had she asked me what was new at church and how everyone was. But I know that if I could ask her if she would come back I think she would look at God and with almost a laugh she respond to my question as if it were a joke and answer just as the disciples did to Christ when all others had left and he asked if they would leave too. She would laughingly say “Where else would I go?” Because she was finally experiencing the fullness of joy and the fullness of what she was made to do. Enjoying and glorify God for all of eternity. Oh may this always be a comfort to us all who have lost loved ones. Our stay on this earth is but a vapor in comparison to what awaits us. Any joy, any sweetness, any delight is but a shadow of the day that lies before when we shall dwell in the presence of our Lord and Savior. I know many of us miss my cousin Adam. For someone to die so young naturally seems to have been cheated out of life. I know there are moments always when I say to myself “I wish Adam were here.” But, I know, that if I could tell Adam this very moment “I wish you were here” he would without need of consideration simply look at the beauty of the glory of God and say to me “I don’t wish I was there, but I do wish that you were here”. May we always find comfort in the knowledge that those who have gone before are finally experiencing the culmination of an ever increasing joy in the wonder and ravishing glory of our marvelous Lord.

                But now what I would like to focus on for just a few minutes is why it is that we can have so much confidence. I believe that part of verse 13 is just another way of saying verse 1. The author tells us that of the promises they had “seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them”. In correlation with verse one that which is afar off is what we hope for and is not seen, and we are persuaded of them because they have evidence and we embrace them because it is full of substance. First we must realize that nearly all promises in a Christian’s life are far off. Now this could mean more than just distance, I believe it means time. But we all know that most of what happens to us in our lives is not truly seen. We know that God is always working in our lives but do we seem Him? We never see his hand visibly working on the hands of our friends who comfort us. We never see Him convicting and working in the heart of an unbeliever who is brought to salvation. We must as believers know that most of what happens to us is not seen. But also the blessings that await us are yet to come. We have not received the culmination of the promises of God. But we are told that these promises are enough to endanger our lives for. But why is it that something that we believe that might happen off in the future is enough to base everything we do on? The point is that we don’t believe it “might happen” we believe it will happen. There is no doubt. In verse 1 it says “hoped for”. Now I know that we all know that the word hoped for does not mean what it does today. It is not a wishing that something would happen but a confident expectation of something we know will come about. That is why he says that they not only believe it but they are persuaded of it.

                Why would a person believe that something they have not seen is real? The reason is given to us in verse 1 again. We have seen the evidence. God has opened our eyes and we have seen the truth that lies in scripture. That’s why in verse 3 he says “through faith we understand”. We are not taking a blind guess and hoping for the best that we are right. We have a confident expectation of it because we have seen it. When God opens our eyes to who we truly are and who he truly is there is no denying it anymore. We know one thing, there is a God and He is gloriously wonderful. I will steal an idea that John Piper used in a sermon regarding this that I think explained it well. He used the idea of the 3D magic eye books. If you cross your eyes you can see an image on the paper in 3D. You can look at that picture as hard as you want but you will never see it until your eyes are fixed the correct way. Now what if you’re the only person who sees it? Is it there? Of course it is! I don’t care if one person sees it or 5 million see it, it is there! If God decides to open the eyes of one person to the truths of salvation, I don’t care if I’m the only person in the world that believes you will never be able to convince me that it isn’t real. Why? Because I have seen the evidence, I have seen the truth.  It must be real because my eyes are open. 

                But not only did they believe that it is true. But they embraced it. They embraced that which they had not received. This can only mean one thing. That which they embraced had substance to be embraced. As verse 1 says “faith is the substance of things hoped for”. That may seem odd, but have you ever enjoyed something before its reality? Have you ever been so looking forward to a vacation that while you were at work the idea of that vacation brought peace and enjoyment to you? I know that we have all done this. I’m sure the longer you work the worse it gets, unless you are one of those people who actually enjoy your jobs. We have all taken enjoyment by embracing the substance of something that awaits us. What does the Bible say about Abraham and Christ? It says “Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.” John 8:56. He rejoiced to see that day and he was glad for it. We have something much more of substance than what the enjoyments of the idea of a vacation can give us. I will call them first fruits. We have the beginnings of Heaven now. 

                This might seem like a strange idea but we all know that it is true. Why can I rejoice in the idea of Heaven and base my life on the fact that it awaits me, because I have already begun Heaven.  Ask yourself what really is Heaven? When it comes straight to the point of what Heaven actually is, what is it? The answer is very simple. I will quote Thomas Manton for this. “What is Heaven but the eternal enjoyment of God in Christ?” Let me ask this, have we not begun an eternal enjoyment of God in Christ? Surely we can all, who are believers, say that even now we enjoy God in Christ. We might not do it to our fullest capabilities but we do it nonetheless. I believe that when we are in Heaven we will still worship God through the Spirit, and God will still bless us in the Spirit. And do we not have that now? Are we not already experience the great blessing of the spirit working on our hearts? As Manton puts it “As the odours and sweet smells of Arabia are carried by the winds and air into the neighbouring provinces, so that before travellers come thither they have the scent of that aromatic country; so the joys of he aven are by the sweet breathings and gales of the Holy Ghost blown into the hearts of believers, and the sweet smells of the upper paradise are conveyed into the gardens of the churches; those joys which are stirred up in us by the Spirit before we get to heaven are a pledge of what we may expect hereafter. God would not weary our lippes by expecting too much, therefore he hath not only given us his word, but he gives a taste and earnest here as part of the sum which shall be paid us in heaven; by these sweet refreshments of the Spirit we may conceive of the glory of the ever-lasting state. Look, as before the sun ariseth, there are some forerun-ning beams and streaks of light that usher it in; so the joys of the Holy Ghost are but the morning glances of the daylight of glory, and of the sun of happiness that shall arise upon us in another world.” Just as the beams of light coming in the early dawn, the spirit breathes glimpses of the glories of Heaven on our hearts. Oh the enjoyments that I know we shall in time receive!

                It is for this fact that these great men of faith were able to be unmindful of that land which the left. Why were they so unmindful? Because they had found what the world could never offer them. That is the reason why they lived in a way that shouted to the world “we are strangers and pilgrims on the earth!” Why, because they sought another country. They had tasted the goodness of God and realized that only God could satisfy them. They were not unmindful because they through strict discipline refused to think about where they came from. They were unmindful because they found a delight in God that made this world seem strange to them. We will never part with our love for the world until we realize that there is a greater delight out there. As Thomas Watson put it, “the more we enjoy God, the more we are ravished with delight”. Why in the world would Abraham go to the land of promise and when he finally gets there put up a tent instead of a city? Because he was not only unmindful of the land he left but of the world itself. His mind was fixed solely on his greatest delight, God Himself. When we see God for who He is we realize two things. This world can offer us nothing, and I want to see God again more and more. 

                And what is said of us when we desire God more than the world? “God is not ashamed to be called their God” Oh what a wonderful sound is this! Do we realize what he says here? God is not ashamed is a negative expression. You can put it positively and it would be the same thing. “God is proud to be their God!” Why is he proud, because they were perfect? No, we clearly read in scripture of the sins of all the great men of the past. But He is proud to be called their God when they desire God more than they desire the world! What a joy this is to us. We don’t have to be successful, we don’t have to be rich, there is no performance that we could ever do. But when I see God, in all of His glory and all of His splendor and say to myself “my God, my God altogether lovely, my beloved, let us go forth into the field; let us lodge in the villages. Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine flourish. Let us go anywhere just let me go with you for you are my joy and greatest delight, my Lord, my friend, you have ravished my heart” If we can say that then God will say to us “I am not ashamed to be called your God”. I would simply like to end today’s lesson with a quote from Jonathan Edwards. Of everything that I have read in all my life I don’t believe that any other paragraph has meant as much to me as this paragraph. I will simply read it with no comments and close us in prayer.

                “God is the highest good of the reasonable creature, and the enjoyment of him is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied. — To go to heaven fully to enjoy God, is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here. Fathers and mothers, husbands, wives, children, or the company of earthly friends, are but shadows. But the enjoyment of God is the substance. These are but scattered beams, but God is the sun. These are but streams, but God is the fountain. These are but drops, but God is the ocean. — Therefore it becomes us to spend this life only as a journey towards heaven, as it becomes us to make the seeking of our highest end and proper good, the whole work of our lives, to which we should subordinate all other concerns of life. Why should we labor for, or set our hearts on anything else, but that which is our proper end, and true happiness?”

Can We Speak Of Drops?

Psalm 119: 136

“Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because they keep not thy law.”

If you would, please open your Bibles to the book of Psalm and the 119^th chapter. Today we will be looking at verses 129-136. Before we get started I would like to take a minute and talk about why I chose this particular passage to speak on tonight. There were 2 lessons that I had in mind, one I was going to bring in Sunday school and one tonight. But since I worked all weekend and was unable to bring that lesson I considered bringing it tonight. Yet I think I will just stick with the original lesson I had intended for tonight. Both lessons were from Psalm 119. About 2 months ago I ordered a set of books by Thomas Manton. If you haven’t heard that name, it’s quite alright, I hadn’t until just about 2 months ago. But I wanted to buy a good set of books and his looked pretty good. Hollis Walters also highly recommend them, and when it comes to books, he is pretty much my go to guy.

                Now, one thing Thomas Manton is well known for is a series of lessons he brought from Psalm 119. He decided to bring a series of lessons on the chapter, and 190 sermons later he finished. Yes, that averages more than one sermon per verse. Knowing that he preached such a lengthy amount of time on this certain passage I decided I wanted to read through them. I started reading the chapter everyday after I ordered the books. It’s now nearly two months later and I have continued to read through the chapter at least once a day. In that time it has become a chapter dearly beloved to me. This is one of the most beautiful portions of scripture in all the Bible. The author of the Psalm is unknown, although some ascribe it to David, but I do not deem it to be of any necessity to have a certain knowledge of who it was. It is an acrostic Psalm, which means that each section starts with a certain letter which allows for easier memorization. It is broken up into 22 stanzas, all 8 verses in length, each stanza begins with a different Hebrew letter until all the alphabet has been completed.

                The text we will be focusing on are verses 129-136, and our lesson will be brought from verse 136 “Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because they keep not thy law.” I have titled the lesson tonight “Can we speak of drops?” Before we get into an exposition of the text I feel it important to get into our minds the context of the entire psalm. This Psalm is about the Word of God, in fact it has been said that 174 of the 176 verses in some way mention the Word. When you read through the chapter it is easily seen the love and delight the psalmist had in the Word of God. If you will, just stroll with me through the chapter so we can see the way he describes the greatness of the Word, and the importance it had in his life.

                “With my whole heart I have sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments” v10. “I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches.” V14. “Thy testimonies also are my delights and my counselors” V24. “It is good for me that I have been afflicted: that I might learn thy statues. The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver.” V 71-72 “how sweet are thy words unto my taste! Yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth” V103. “Thy testimonies are wonderful: therefore doth my soul keep them. The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple. I opened my mouth, and panted: for l longed for thy commandments” V129-131 “My heart standeth in awe of thy word. I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great spoil” V161-162. The Psalmist declares is love for the Word of God, and ask continually time and again for ways to understand it better. That he might have his eyes open, that he might live by the word, that he might have his heart inclined to it, everything he cared about was learning and living the Word. Then, in the midst of all this joy, and yearning for the Word comes verse 136. In contrast to almost the entire of the rest of the Psalm

                Hopefully in the next few minutes we will have a better understanding of what this verse means, and how it applies to us. The verse is easily broken into two sections. First there is the statement of the psalmist’s condition, and then the reason for why he is in such a condition. We have the effect, which is the rivers of waters that pour from his eyes and the cause of which is that they keep not the law. But what I would like to look at first is to ask ourselves if this is the duty of all believers. Is this simply a one time occasion of grief, or can we find in other portions of scripture that this is to be the normal condition of Christians? The first place I would like to look is the book of Jeremiah. We will look at chapter 13 and verses 15-17. “Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud: for the LORD hath spoken. Give glory to the LORD your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness. But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride; and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because the LORD's flock is carried away captive.” We will not discuss in depth the reasons for his tears but just simply note that this is an indication of one shedding tears for another’s sins. We will look at one other place before we begin an exposition of the text. Turn with me to the Gospel of Mark chapter 3 and verse 5. “And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.” I will not attempt in any measure to explain the factors which are involved in this situation. I believe it is beyond my ability to explain, or even our ability to comprehend it fully. What I would like for us to do is just simply read it, and be marveled at the fact that the Lord of creation, is a state of grief due to the people not obeying the word of God. Certainly we can never fully have the same amount of emotions over this that our Lord had, but that doesn’t mean we should remain hardened in our hearts towards others.

                First let’s look at the “rivers of water run down mine eyes.” The first thing that we should take notice of how he describes the tears. He says they are rivers of waters. Not simply drops, but rivers. One thing about rivers is that they are continual. Sometimes they are high, sometimes they are low, but they are almost always flowing. His tears were not simply once at that moment, but ever flowing from him. One thing that must be considered is if we must shed actual tears fulfill our duty in this. Must we have the same amount of physical expression as the psalmist had? I do not feel this to be the case. God has not made us all the same. We all have different levels of emotions, and respond to certain situations accordingly. It is not the amount of tears that fall from our eyes, but the amount of grief that fills our heart that allows us to follow this command. The amount of tears that we cry for sin, is to be proportional to the amount we would shed otherwise.

                Now what I think we should look into is the second half of this verse. “They keep not thy law.” The question which should first come to mind is “who are they?” It does not appear in the context that we can know for absolute certainty who he is referring to in this verse. Some have said he is referring to his eyes, since the eyes are the inlet of sin, then they should be the outlet of sorrow. But I do not feel that to be the case. I even read in another place one who claimed he had reference to Adam and Eve. Not that I do not believe he would shed tears for them because he must remain in his own sins and had they not sinned then perhaps he could fully enjoy God now. But I am not sure there is any place in the chapter for which can validate this opinion. If our choice of interpretation is limited to the chapter alone, then I think it is fairly obvious whom he is referring to directly. We need only look into a couple other verses to see who he shed tears for in this chapter. “My zeal hath consumed me, because mine enemies have forgotten thy words” v139 and “Many are my persecutors and mine enemies; yet do I not decline from thy testimonies. I beheld the transgressors, and was grieved; because they kept not thy word.” V157-158. It seems apparent the psalmist is referring to his enemies or those oppressing him. The question I have is this the only people we are to shed tears for? Or can we see in other places of scripture that we are to shed tears for others as well. I would like for us to look through other passages to see three examples of people we are to shed tears for.

                First let us turn in our Bibles to II Peter 2. We have here given a warning against following false teachers. Peter is warning the people that the followers of deceitful ways always end in destruction. Perhaps it might not be in this life, but their punishment surely awaits them. Then he gives examples of punishments of past times. He tells of the fallen angels who are awaiting judgment, then of the flood in Noah’s day. Then he gives them one other warning, that being the story of Sodom and Gomorrha. But what applies to our topic is the description given to one who lived there. Here we have Lot living amongst the sinners of these two cities. How is he described? Peter tells us that Lot was “vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked”. He was not walking the streets in an effected manner. This was not a one occasion. It says that he “vexed his righteous soul day to day with their unlawful deeds”.  What he was “seeing and hearing” weighed upon his heart. His soul was tormented at the way the people were living. Now, perhaps as we read this text, which I have before admittedly, and simply said to ourselves “yes, but that’s Sodom and Gomorrah”. How can we expected to act in such a manner as Lot when he lived in what was most likely the most evil cities to ever exist. If we were as bad as them then the Lord would have acted by now. But what does Peter tell us? He says that this is an “ensample unto those that after should live ungodly.” The ungodly will be punished, and they have warnings to remind them. Just because we are not being punished now, does not mean we are not an ungodly nation. Look around, turn on the television or the radio. If you want reasons to have a vexed soul because of sin, it will not take long if we simply look. Everywhere around us are people living in gross sins. Certainly this should vex our souls just as it did Lot’s.

                We have seen in the example of Lot that we as believers are to mourn the sins of the unbelievers who surround us. Now, are there places where we can find that we are to mourn the sins of different people. Turn with me, if you will, to I Corinthians chapter 5. What we have here is Paul reprimanding the Corinthians for a certain sinner who is among there assembly. The person is living in a gross public sin that the Church obviously knows about. What is the first complaint that Paul has to the Corinthians in this matter. He says “ye are puffed up, when you should have rather mourned”. He doesn’t at first attach them for the sinner still being among them. He complains about their attitude toward the situation. Here is this man, living in open sin, and how does this affect them? It brings them to have a rising in their pride. They saw that mans sins, and this brought them to a higher thinking of themselves. There should have been a deep sorrowful mourning in their souls for the situation. There was nothing for them to be proud over. This sin should the unbelievers that they were no different, it brought shame to the body of Christ. Was this not something that should bring tears to the eyes of the converted? How can the worship God together in unity when they aren’t even in unity with God because of such blatant sin among them. They should have confronted this person about their sin, and if there was nothing done to change then he should have been excommunicated. If one would rather live in sin the love the Lord our God then he does not belong in the assembly. But, my question is “how should he to be cut off from the Church”, what are our affections when one is “delivered unto Satan”?  We do not do it with a puffed up pride, joyfully removing him from the assembly. We are to do it with tears in our eyes and a sorrow in our heart.

                Here we have seen that we are to mourn for the sins of unbelievers, and the sins of professing believers. There is one person other person that I do believe the scripture tells that we should mourn the sins of. Let’s turn in our Bibles to the Gospel of Luke chapter 22. We have here recorded for us the story of Peter’s denial. How does it describe the emotion of Peter after he realized the sins that he just committed against the God he loved? It says that he “went out, and wept bitterly” it was not simple going out and saying “well, Lord, I’m sorry. Amen.”  No, those sins had a tremendous affect on him. Perhaps one might say “yes, but he denied that he even knew the Lord, that is quite a sin, I am sure most people would mourn over that.” That is true, but what is sin? Is not sin in it’s simplest form a denial of God. Maybe not a denial of his existence, but certainly a denial of His place in our lives. If there is anything that should bring us to tear it should be when we tell God that He is not the highest priority in our lives.

                We have shown three different types of sins we should shed tears over, the sins of unbelievers, professing believers and ourselves. What I would like to discuss now is why. Why is it that we should have such expressions of emotion when we see these sins. And then I would like to discuss for a moment why I believe that we are not as compassionate as we should be. First, why should we shed tears for sin? Let us just think about the people we are to shed tears for. What about the unbelievers? What was the warning? Coming Judgment, Lot knew the end that was awaiting those people. How can we see an unbeliever knowing that their soul is just waiting an eternal torment in Hell and not be effected. We pass people every day, work with them, go to school with them, who are simply awaiting their judgment. Their sins should be a reminder to us that God’s judgment is coming, and this should bring us to shed rivers of tears. There is also the case of the Corinthians not mourning the sins of a fellow member of the church. Several reasons come to mind for why we should be moved to grieving over the sins of a fellow professing believer. It breaks the unity of the members of the church. We should always want harmony amongst one another in the house of the Lord. If we loved one another like we ought to do, then when we see sin in each others life then we should be moved to tears over that sin. Those people can not enjoy God to the fullest extent when sin is in the way. There is also the reason of our sins are dishonoring to God. I mean, in the end, what is sin? It is simply telling God he is not worthy of our full devotion. John Bunyan puts it like this “Sin sets itself so much against the nature of God that if it could it would annihilate God and turn Him into nothing, it being so intrinsically point blank against Him.” How can we be unmoved when the God we love is treated so disrespectfully. If one was to say something bad about someone we knew and loved we would not stand for it, but day after day we hear people use Gods name in vain, and treat His word as nothing. Too often we let it pass by without the slightest bit of attention, or even worse, a puffed up ego. Now besides these points, I do believe there is one other reason that we should shed tears for sin. It encompasses all three types of people we mourn for, for ourselves, believers and unbelievers. What is the point of this whole Psalm? Basically it is this, “The Word of God is my upmost delight.” There is no other place where he can find the joy that he finds in God’s word. Therefore when he doesn’t follow by those words, he realizes he is keeping himself from his greatest happiness. We should do all that we can to rid our souls from sin, if we do that not only will we be a better witness for Christ and give Him more glory, but our joy will be continual increasing as well. What does Romans 8:1 say about this “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.” This is the verse from which John Owen based his book the mortification of sin. He talks about the necessity of killing sin in our lives. If we allow sin to continue we are allowing our spirit to be killed slowly. Our thoughts on the matter should be as Owens when he says “Do you mortify; do you make it your daily work; be always at it whilst you live; cease not a day from this work; be killing sin or it will be killing you” Is that not what this text says? If we mortify the bodily deeds, then we live. What happens when we don’t? Clearly we should prefer life to death. I believe what the Psalmist is tearful over in this instance is that those who are in their sins are unable to see how wonderful God and His word really are. They are his enemies, but he still knows if they could but see God for who he is then they would love Him as dearly as he does. With a grieving in his heart he cries “oh that they could but know the joy of my heart in God.” Should this not be our cry? Do we not want people to enjoy the wonderful Savior as much as we do? We should want people to enjoy God so much that we are brought to tears when we see their delight in any thing apart from him. People will never find happiness at the bottom of a beer bottle, the end of joint is not pure joy. If only they would like to Christ they could see the one whom the woman says of in song of Solomon 1:4 “thy love is better than wine.”

                The question is this, “do we follow after this command like we should, and if not, then why?” I think in all honesty we must admit to failure in this topic. There is not one here tonight that can say they mourn just as Christ mourned. Why do we not? I believe the answer lies in our concept of the greatness and glory of God. When God is brought lower, then sin is thought of a little less evil. But when we consider God to be of infinite greatness and infinite worthiness of all our praise, then sin becomes so much more awful. The problem is, we as Christians today, never see God as we should. When we do, then sin will be much grieving to us. I would like to steal a illustration I heard from John Piper concerning the Puritans for a moment. He said our idea of God is like a mountain peak. We see the peak way in the sky and think “yes, that God is pretty big.” Then we just leave it at that. But occasionally there are those who see that peak and say “I’m climbing it, I am going to understand God.” But what do they find when they get at the top? They see the unfathomable number of infinitely high peaks behind it that we never even knew where there. When you see God like that, sin becomes so much different. That’s why when Jonathan Edwards spoke of his sin he said “My wickedness, as I am in myself, has long appeared to me perfectly ineffable, and swallowing up all thought and imagination; like an infinite deluge, or mountain over my head. I know not how to express better what my sins appear to me to be, than by heaping infinite upon infinite, and multiplying infinite by infinite. Very often, for these many years, these expressions are in my mind, and in my mouth, 'Infinite upon infinite ... Infinite upon infinite!' When I look into my heart, and take a view of my wickedness, it looks like an abyss infinitely deeper than hell.” Its this same type of idea that was in the thought of David brainerd when he says “Scarce ever felt myself so unfit to exist, as now: I saw I was not worthy of a place among the Indians, where I am going ... None knows, but those that feel it, what the soul endures that is sensibly shut out from the presence of God: Alas, 'tis more bitter than death.” These ideas almost seem unknown to us today. But why? Because they have climbed that first peak and seen the greatness we never knew of God. And where are we? We are still in Kansas and can barely even see what looks like tiny mountains off in the distance. These men shed tears for their sin, and the sin of others. But what about us, do we shed tears as well? I would like to close with a quote by Thomas Manton, he says “If David can speak of floods, certainly we should at least be able to speak of drops.” I ask you tonight, can we speak of drops?