Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, vols. 13–63

Psalm 80:1-3. Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, You that lead Joseph like a flock; You that dwell between the cherubims, shine forth. Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh stir up Your strength and come and save us. Turn us again, O God, and cause Your face to shine; and we shall be saved. To whom could Israel go, in times of distress, but unto her God? It was well that her Psalmists should teach her thus to pray. Notice the form of this prayer—"Come and save us. Turn us again, O God." We cannot be saved except by being turned from the ways of sin into the path of holiness. But who shall turn us? What power can reverse the current of the human soul? As well might Niagara begin to ascend of its own accord as for man to turn to God except as God turns him!

4-7. O LORD God ofHosts, how long will You be angry against the prayer of Your people? You feed them with the bread of tears, and give them tears to drink in great measure. You make us a strife unto our neighbors and our enemies laugh among themselves. Turn us again, O God ofHosts, and cause Your face to shine; and we shall be saved. Israel was evidently in very deep distress, yet still God's own. It is no evidence of our having ceased to be God's people that we are made to drink deep draughts of tears. We are not to imagine that God has cast us off because He chastens us. No, rather are we to argue the other way, "for whom the Lord loves, He chastens."

8-15. You have brought a vine out of Egypt: You have cast out the heathen, and planted it. You prepared room before it, and did cause it to take deep root, and it filled the land. The hills were covered with the shadow of it, and the boughs thereof were like the goodly cedars. She sent out her boughs unto the sea, and her branches unto the river. Why have You then broken down her hedges, so that all they which pass by the way do pluck her? The boar out of the wood does waste it, and the wild beast of the field does devour it. Return, we beseech You, O God ofHosts: look down from Heaven, and behold, and visit this vine; and the vineyard which Your right hand has planted, and the branch that You made strong for Yourself'Notice how a soul, in deep distress, usually gets to God. Under some aspect or other, by some way or another, the heart gropes its way till it finds Him out. If poor Israel is as a vineyard given up to the wild boar of the woods, there is still hope through that "righteous Branch" of whom the Lord said to Jeremiah, "In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely."

16, 17. It is burned with fire, it is cut down: they perish at the rebuke of Your Countenance. Let Your hands be upon the Man of Your right hand, upon the Son of Man whom You made strong for Yourself "If You will not hear us, yet hear Him. If You will put no honor upon us, we will ask You to put the highest honors upon Him. Save us for His sake. Deliver Your vineyard from the wild boar and restore the hedges that have been broken down, for is not this the vineyard of red wine which all belongs to Him?"

18, 19. So will not we go back from You: quicken us, and we will call upon Your name. Turn us again, O LORD God ofHosts, cause Your face to shine; and we shall be saved.

Matthew 9:36. But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. The sight that Christ saw, deeply affected His heart—"He was moved with compassion for them." The expression is a very strong one indicating that His whole being was stirred with an emotion which put every faculty into forceful movement.

37, 38. Then said He unto His disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few; pray you therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth laborers into His harvest. Pretenders were many, but real "laborers" were few. God only can thrust out or "send forth laborers." Man-made ministers are useless, yet they abound all around us—but where are the instructive soul-winning ministries? Let us plead with the Lord of the harvest to care for His own harvest and to thrust out His own harvestmen.

Matthew 10:1. And when He had called unto Him His twelve disciples, He gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. They were first Christ's disciples and then He sent them forth as His Apostles, clothed with power and authority very similar to His own.

2-4. Now the names of the twelve Apostles are these. The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus, Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. The 12 Apostles linked the spiritual Israel with the 12 tribes of the literal Israel which had typified it. They are mentioned in pairs, but this last couple is not a pair, for Simon the Zealot had little in common with the cool, cunning, calculating Judas Iscariot. There were only 12 Apostles, yet one of them was a traitor! Among the leaders of the nominal Christian Church today, is it possible that there is one traitor in every twelve?

5, 6. These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter you not: but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. This was "a mission to the Jews" only—meant for the general awakening of the chosen nation. It was a mission from Israel to Israel—not to the Gentiles, and not even to the people who were most like the Jews—"Into any city of the Samaritans enter you not." After our Lord's Resurrection, He gave the wider commission, "Go you into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature."

7, 8. And as you go, preach, saying, The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely you have received, freely give. They were to be medical missionaries—preaching the Gospel and healing the sick—and it was all to be done "freely."

9, 10. Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses, nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat.The people at that time were favorably disposed to our Lord and thus His Apostles might expect treatment of a more generous kind than can be looked for in these times. Certain of these regulations were altered on a subsequent mission, when the people were less favorably disposed.

11-15. And into whatever city or town you shall enter, enquire who in it is worthy, and there abide till you go thence. And when you come into an house, salute it. And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. And whoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when you depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. Verily I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city.Disclaim all fellowship with those who will not have fellowship with your Lord. Let them know that you leave them because they refuse to receive your Master's message. If they continue to reject the Savior, their doom will be even more terrible than that of Sodom and Gomorrah.

16. Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. "Behold, I send you forth." What power there is in the word of the King of kings! "'I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves.' You are like sheep, helpless and defenseless; yet 'I send you forth,' and therefore it is right for you to go even into 'the midst of wolves.'" We might have imagined that the wolves would have devoured the sheep, yet, at the present time, there are a great many more sheep in the world than there are wolves. Sheep have always been weak and helpless, yet they have multiplied! Wolves have always been strong and savage, yet they have diminished until there is not one of them left in this land. And in many other countries the same thing has happened. So, the weak, the helpless who come under the care of "our Lord Jesus, that Great

Shepherd of the sheep," shall be preserved from all the wolves that would devour them, and even from the devil, who, "as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour."

16. Be you therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves."Be you harmless because you are like sheep, but be you wise as serpents because you have to dwell with wolves." You, too, Beloved, ought to be very wise because of the wisdom which has been imparted to you by the Master who has sent you forth. And you ought to use your best wits in His service, yet never use that wisdom with any ill intent, for the Christ who sends you does no harm to men, but only good.

17, 18. But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; and you shall be brought before governors and kings for My sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. "Do not try to live on popular applause, 'but beware of men.' Expect ill treatment from them. If they can persecute you with the scourge, they will do so, but if that is out of their power, they will persecute you with their tongues. You will be misunderstood, misrepresented, maligned—expect such treatment for I, your Lord and Master, have had it before you."

19, 20. But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what you shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what you shall speak. For it is not you that speaks, but the Spirit of your Father which speaks in you. It is very remarkable what wise answers many of the martyrs often gave. Illiterate men, when confronted by the learned ones of the earth, completely baffled them! And weak women nonplused their assailants and judges. A notable instance of that is recorded in the history of the brave Anne Askew. After they had tortured her upon the rack and her poor body was full of pain, she sat upon the cold slab of her prison and put such questions to the popish bishops and inquisitors as utterly confounded them! And Christ, still by His Holy Spirit, enables His faithful followers to triumph over all the craft and malice of men.

21, 22. And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents and cause them to be put to death. And you shall be hated of all men for My name's sake: but he that endures to the end shall be saved.When we give ourselves to Christ, we must do it without any reserve and be prepared to follow Him even to the bitter end if necessary. If all men should forsake us—if death should be our portion because of our allegiance to Christ—we dare not draw back! To do that would lead to our destruction—but to endure unto the end—this is eternal salvation!

23. But when they persecute you in this city, flee you into another: for verily I say unto you, you shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of Man has come.I suppose Christ here alludes to that wondrous coming of His in the destruction of Jerusalem. They had but a short time in which to evangelize that land, so they had to be quick in gathering out the Lord's elect before He came in that terrible judgment. This same Truth of God ought to quicken the action of every servant of Christ today. Be quick about your work, for your Master is on the road and will soon be here. You may almost hear the rattling of His chariot wheels, for long ago He said, "Surely I come quickly." The trumpets are beginning to sound and you will scarcely have gone over all the cities of the world before the Son of Man shall come unless you hasten with the great task which He has entrusted to you.

24, 25. The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. It is enough for the disciple that he is as his master, and the servant as his lord. They that have called the master of the house, Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?I do not know what worse names they might give to us than they gave to our Master, but, no doubt, they might do so, for as the servants are worse and less than their master, the world might, if it acted upon the rule of proportion, apply much worse names to us than it has ever done to our blessed Lord and Master. Are we to be esteemed and reverenced in a world that persecuted and crucified Christ, our Lord and Savior? Be not so foolish as to think so! And when you receive scorn and contumely, accept it as being the lot of a follower of Christ.

26. Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed; and hid that shall not be known. When men slander you, they cannot take away your good name before God. There will be a resurrection of reputations as well as a resurrection of bodies. And good men, though their good names lie deeply buried, will certainly have a resurrection. There is Wycliffe—how little, comparatively, has ever been said about probably the greatest man singe the time of the Apostle Paul! But his name and fame will yet arise and all history will ring with the praise of it. Depend upon it, no man who has faithfully served his Savior, shall miss the honor which he has truly deserved. "Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the Kingdom of their Father"—so be content to wait.

27. What I tell you in darkness, that speak you in light: and what you hear in the ear, that preach you upon the housetops.There must first be that quiet lonely hearing—that calm sitting at the Master's feet to learn the lesson. And then afterwards must come the brave telling of it out—speaking out though kings should hear and never being silenced because of sinful shame.

28-31. And fear not those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in Hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father's will But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear you not, therefore, you are of more value than many sparrows. Do you not see the force of this argument? These little creatures that are of so little account among men are watched over by your Heavenly Father! They cannot die—no, they cannot even light upon the ground without your Father noting it! Can He then forget you who are worth so much more than many sparrows? Will He not deal very gently, and tenderly, and considerately with you?

32, 33. Whoever, therefore, shall confess Me before men, him will I confess also before My Father who is in Heaven. But whoever shall deny Me before men, him will I also deny before My Father who is in Heaven. You acknowledge Christ here and Christ will acknowledge you there. Dare to bear reproach for Him and you shall be glorified together with Him, by-and-by. But if the tenor of your life is that you do not claim Christ—if you practically live as if there were no Savior, ignoring Him, depriving Him of the trust which He deserves and the honor which He has earned—then, when He comes in the Glory of the Father, He will say, "you never knew Me, and I never knew you. Depart!"

34. Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. That is to say, the first consequence of Christ's coming will not be that we shall lead easy and comfortable lives, but, on the contrary, He comes to enlist us in His army and to make soldiers of us—and soldiers have to endure many hardships.

35, 36. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. Many of the children of God have found this to be true, greatly to their sorrow. No foes can wound us so sorely as those of our own household. They get at our hearts and cut us to the very quick, while others can only give us flesh wounds. Well, it must be so. Wherever light comes, darkness will be opposed to it. Truth will always find error ready to devour it if it can. Expect this, and half the bitterness of it will be gone when it comes because you expected it. "To be forewarned" here "is to be forearmed."

37-42. He that loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy ofMe: and he that loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he that takes not his cross and follows after Me, is not worthy of Me. He that finds his life shall lose it; and he that loses his life for My sake shall find it. He that receives you receives Me, and he that receives Me receives Him that sent Me. He that receives a Prophet in the name of a Prophet shall receive a Prophet's reward, and he that receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. And whoever shall give unto one of these little ones, a cup of cold water to drink in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.God's great reward for little service are given, not of debt, but of Grace, "according to His riches in Glory by Christ Jesus."