“O Lord, revive your work.” [Habakkuk 3:2]
All true religion is preeminently the work of God. If he should select out of his works that which he esteems most of all, he would select true religion. He regards the works of grace as being even more glorious than the works of nature; and he is therefore especially careful that this fact will always be known, so that, if anyone dares to deny it, they will do so in the face of repeated testimonies that God is indeed the Author of salvation in the world and in the hearts of men and women, and that religion is the effect of grace, and is the work of God.
I believe the Eternal might sooner forgive the sin of ascribing the creation of the heavens and the earth to an idol, than that of ascribing the works of grace to the efforts of the flesh, or to anyone but himself. It is a sin of the greatest magnitude to suppose that there is something in the heart which can be acceptable to God, except that which he himself has first created there. When I deny God’s work in creating the sun, I deny one truth; but when I deny that he works grace in the heart, I deny a hundred truths at one time; for, in the denial of that one truth, that God is the Author of good in the souls of men, I have denied all the doctrines which make up the great articles of faith, and I have run in direct opposition to the whole testimony of Sacred Scripture.
I trust, beloved, that many of us have been taught, taught that, if there is anything in our souls which can carry us to heaven, it is God’s work, and, moreover, that if there is anything that is good and excellent found in his Church, it is entirely God’s work from first to last. We firmly believe that it is God who revives the soul which was dead, positively “dead in trespasses and sins;” that it is God, and God alone who maintains the life of that soul, and God who consummates and perfects that life in the home of the blessed, in heaven above. We ascribe nothing to man, but everything to God. We dare not for a moment think that the conversion of the soul is effected either by its own efforts or by the efforts of others; we know that there are means and agencies employed by God, but we also believe most firmly that the work is, from its beginning to its end, entirely the Lord’s. We believe, therefore, that we are right in applying our text to the work of divine grace, both in the heart of man and in the Church at large; and we think that we can have no subject more appropriate for our consideration than the prayer of the text: “O Lord, revive your work.”
Trusting that the Spirit of God will help me, I will endeavor to apply the text, first, to our own souls personally, and, then, to the state of the Church at large, for it greatly needs that the Lord would revive his work in its midst.
I. First, then, I will apply the text TO OUR OWN SOULS PERSONALLY.
In this matter, we should begin at home. All too often we flog the Church, when the whip should be laid on our own shoulders. We drag the Church, like a gigantic culprit, to the altar; we tie her hands together, and try to immediately execute her; or, at least, we find fault with her where there is none, and magnify her little errors, while we too often forget our own imperfections. Let us, therefore, begin with ourselves, remembering that we are a part of the Church, and that our own need of revival is in some measure the cause of that need in the Church at large. I directly blame the great majority of professing Christians in these days-and I also accept the blame myself-acknowledging the need of a revival of holiness. I will clearly and boldly lay the blame, because I think I have abundant grounds to prove it. I believe that the majority of so-called Christians in this age need a revival; and my reasons are these.
In the first place, look at the conduct of many who profess to be the children of God.
It is unbecoming to any man who occupies the pulpit to flatter his listeners, and I will not attempt to do so. The evil lies with those who unite themselves with Christian churches, and then virtually protest against their own profession. It has become very common, nowadays, to join a church; go where you may, you find professing Christians who sit down at the Lord’s table; but are there fewer cheats than there used to be? Are there less frauds committed? Do we find morality more prevalent? Do we find vice entirely wiped out? No, we do not. The age is as immoral as any that preceded it; there is still as much sin, although it is more masked and hidden. The outside of the grave may be whiter; but within, the bones are just as rotten as before, society is not one bit improved. Those men who, in our popular magazines, give us a true picture of the state of London life, are to be believed and credited, for they do not stretch the truth-they have no motive for doing so and the picture which they give of the immorality of this great city is positively appalling. It is a huge criminal, full of sin; and I fearlessly assert that, if all the profession of Christianity in London were true profession, it would not be nearly such a wicked place as it is; it couldn’t be, by any manner of means.
“This article originally appeared here at Bible Bulletin Board.”
