giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be." See! 66 David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken away." Ah, is it not that we are ofttimes carried away by the workings of the flesh, the cares of this world, and the temptations of the devil? Yet, if God be for us, who can be against us? "Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world." "He sitteth upon the waterflood, yea, the Lord sitteth King for ever: " and as assuredly as He has found thee, fed thee, and given to thee the assurance of His love, though many things, yea, everything may appear lost to thee, He will recover all. Yes, blessed be God, our David shall recover all. He has declared, and it must be true," All that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me; and him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out" (John vi. 37). Jesus will have His own: not a lamb shall be wanting in the flock, not a child missing from the family, not a member from the body, not a hoof shall be left behind. Ay, our David shall recover all. When the grand and glorious finale is brought about, when the separation is complete between elect sheep and reprobate goats, then the King shall say unto His own on His right hand :-"Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was an hungred, and ye gave Me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave Me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took Me in: naked, and ye clothed Me: I was sick, and ye visited Me: I was in prison, and ye came unto Me." Do any of you know a captive Zionite? Do not try to bind his chains faster to him, goad him not with vain reproaches, but speak to him of the great and glorious Deliverer who proclaims liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound. But, listen! God's own elect and redeemed ones shall answer, Lord, when saw we Thee an hungred," &c. Then shall the heart of the King be fully opened to the adoring gaze of His glorified people, His smile of love shall brighten the heart of all that glorious throng, as He pronounces these sweet words of loving sympathy:-" Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me." JEHOVAH-JESUS will recover all. All? Ay, all His people, and all the glory; nought shall be lacking. He will acknowledge every gracious intention, longing, look, or cry, and the cup of cold water from salvation's wells, which can only be drawn from the depths by God-wrought faith and presented to thirsting souls by love unfeigned, shall not be forgotten in the day of the Lord. 66 "And David took all the flocks and the herds, and said, This is David's spoil" O how glorious to see our David a glorious Conqueror, and all His people more than conquerors through Him who loved them! Though some may demur at the glorious truth, yet it is gloriously true:-" As his part is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by the stuff; they shall part alike." See how blessedly this is set before us in that resurrection and ascension Psalm the sixtyeighth-"The Lord gave the word; great was the army of those that published it. Kings of armies did flee apace and she that tarried at home divided the spoil." The weak and weary followers who are left behind for a little while are privileged to pick up the sick, the afflicted, and ready-to-perish ones, and when the King returns they shall be one with Him in His glory. May it prove to be God's purpose and pleasure this morning to find, feed, and favour many of His lost, hungering, and fearing children, and bless them with a sweet foretaste of their share in the victories, triumphs, and glories of Zion's blessed and only Potentate, Christ Jesus, the KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. HYMN. ALL fulness dwells in Thee, Lord, All fulness of affection Thou hast so sweetly shown, For sovereign, free election Before the world's foundation In Thee we firmly stood; Through Thy most precious blood. Thy Spirit, Lord, hath taught us In our predestined station We praise and bless Thy name, Thou God of our salvation, Thou glorious, great I AM. Jesus, Thou King of glory, We soon shall dwell with Thee, And sing the wondrous story Fulness of grace from Thee, Lord, And draws our heart to see, Lord, BRADBURY. GROVE CHAPEL PULPIT. "THE GOD OF ALL GRACE." A Sermon PREACHED IN GROVE CHAPEL, CAMBERWELL, ON SUNDAY MORNING, JULY 7TH, 1878, BY THOMAS BRADBURY. "But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. To Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”—1 Peter v. 10, 11. THE apostle Peter in the chapter before us is concerned about those whom the Lord Jesus Christ, as the great and glorious Head of the Church, had set apart for the ruling, teaching, and feeding of His living flock. At the commencement of the chapter he identifies himself with them in the glorious heights to which they had been raised, and also in the mournful depths into which they are ofttimes cast. He says, "The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ." A man who is not a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and destitute of the fellowship of His sufferings, will cut a sorry figure in the pulpit in the estimation of the tried and tempted children of the living God. Peter was not only a witness of the sufferings of Christ, but also "a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed." Not simply a partaker of a "hope of the coming_glory," but "a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed." "Feed the flock of God which is among you "—that is, Feed the flock with food convenient and suitable for it. O for wisdom and guidance to feed the people of God aright. Some will have savoury food. Clean beasts will have clean provender. Babes are satisfied with milk, but it must be from the breasts of Divine consolation. Those who are of full age delight in deep draughts of the good old generous wine of the covenant. "Feed the flock, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind." God's own sent ministers, whom He teaches rather to No. 85,-PRICE ONE PENNY, suffer affliction with His people than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, will disdain to seek the favour of the great, the influential, and the rich; but, with a ready mind, love to wait upon the poor and the needy, the sick and the sorrowful, the tried and the tempted, wherever these may be, in the halls of the great, or in the huts of the lowly. The messenger of mercy loves to be wherever a poor broken-hearted elect vessel of mercy is to be found, to blend his joys and sorrows with those of a suffering member of the body of Christ. It was my lot on Friday last, after dinner, to try to get a nap. Just as I was dozing off I heard a step. I was not very well pleased. My wife came to the door and informed me that a man, who lived at a distance and whose time was precious, wished to see me. I went and sat down by the man. We conversed with each other and he opened up his heart to me. I was thoroughly ashamed of myself as I experienced a little softening inside, such softening as I like. He told me that twelve months ago he was brought to this place when the truths of God from these faltering lips and from this exercised heart were made life and power to his soul. I felt there was no mistake in what he said. If a man comes to me ready to burst with matter, I am careful of that man; but if one comes diffident and retiring, with true humility, half afraid to speak, I am inclined to receive him at once to my heart. But why should there be any diffidence in speaking to ministers upon spiritual and eternal things? I know something of that state of mind. It arises from knowing so little of the man out of the pulpit, and from the solemnity of the subjects pressing upon the mind. I know what it is to look with profound veneration upon the very steps of the man from whose lips God's glorious truth has been spoken with life and power to my heart. After conversing with my visitor I felt a fluttering within which I cannot express, and a trembling of the lips so that I could not say the things that I would. As he narrated his state and condition, and the preciousness of the Lord Jesus Christ to his soul, I felt my heart united to him. He said, "I retire from the Grove after service on Sundays without the annoyance of criticism or controversy, but melted with a sweet sense of loving oneness with a suffering Saviour. I am a poor man, but I wish you to accept £5 toward the Repairing Fund, with the hope of doing more. This is what I love to see. It was an evidence that JEHOVAH'S testimony from my lips is made life and power to the waiting hearts of His people as they are brought to the footstool of sovereign mercy, to the feet of a precious Christ, their chains knocked off, stripped of their filthy rags, clothed in the pure white robe of Jesus' righteousness, and kept by His almighty power. "Not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; neither as being lords over God's heritage "-that is, over GOD'S CLERGY. His people are His clergy. The ministers of the Gospel are the 66 servants of the clergy. You may rest assured, if God's clergy, God's heritage, God's lot, God's inheritance, or God's people are manifested to the heart of a God-sent minister, he cannot lord it over them. There will be seasons when he must act with decision and determination, and when there is a necessity for him to rule and not be ruled over. It is for a minister of Christ to deal out to the waiting and wanting flock of slaughter those comforts and consolations which are only known and felt in experimental oneness with a once-suffering Christ, and also, by the authority committed unto him by the great King-Priest, to maintain his rule and power in the Church over which he is placed. “Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another." Hard work that, when self is uppermost; but when the Lord Jesus Christ appears in the sovereignty of grace and love, it is no work at all. And be clothed with humility." Peter does not say, Be of a humble mind; but, "Be clothed with humility." Our clothing is outside and uppermost, where it is seen and judged. So the humility of God's giving is not merely for the closet, the prayer-meeting, or the chapel, but in the general walk and conversation. "For God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God." Mark that. "Under the mighty hand of God." If you are not there, you may try all your lifetime, but you will not be able to humble yourselves. "That He may exalt you in due time." Spiritual and gracious exaltation does not take place according to our expectations, but in due time, which is always God's time. "Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you." I like that. Peter writes not to those who could boast of their having cast their care upon Him, but to the care worn and weary. See how blessedly he writes of the Bearer of the cares of His people. "He careth for you." I love these present-tense blessings. He careth for you?" When? From the very moment of our appearance in this world, through all our experiences of toil, trial, and tribulation, in every difficulty we encounter, in every danger we fear, in every darkness we dread, the truth stands true, "He careth for you." Many times we have words of this class set before us. "The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin" (1 John i. 7). "Perfect love "-that is, the love of the covenant Three-" casteth out fear." These are continually true of God's own children in living union with the Lord Jesus Christ. 66 "Be sober." To whom is he writing? To elect ones, to redeemed ones, to regenerate ones, to those in possession of an heavenly inheritance, and blessed with the rich and magnanimous grace of JEHOVAH. "Be sober." What does it mean? |