"Our honor and the honor of the church are small matters, but the glory of God
is the jewel of the universe, of which all else is but a setting, and we may come
to the Lord and plead His jealousy for His name, being well assured that He
will not suffer that Name to be dishonored."
-Charles Haddon Spurgeon
PSALM 115
Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Your name give glory, for Your mercy
and loving-kindness and for the sake of Your truth and faithfulness!
Why should the nations say, "Where now is their God?"
But our God is in heaven: He does whatever He pleases.
The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of men's hands.
They have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they, but they see not;
They have ears, but they hear not; noses have they, but they smell not;
They have hands, but they handle not; feet have they, but they walk not;
neither can they make a sound with their throats.
They who make idols are like them, so are all who trust and lean on them.
O Israel, trust and take refuge in the Lord!
He is their Help and their Shield.
O house of Aaron, the priesthood, trust in and lean on the Lord!
He is their Help and their Shield.
You who reverently fear the Lord, trust in and lean on the Lord!
He is their Help and their Shield.
The Lord has been mindful of us, He will bless us,
He will bless the house of Israel, He will bless the house of Aaron.
He will bless those who reverently and worshipfully fear the Lord, both great and small.
May the Lord give you increase more and more, you and your children.
May you be blessed of the Lord, Who made heaven and earth!
The heavens are the Lord's heavens, but the earth He has given to the children of men.
The dead praise not the Lord, neither any who go down into silence.
But we will bless and gratefully praise the Lord from this time forth and forever.
Praise the Lord! Hallelujah!
IN THIS TIME OF NATIONAL STRIFE...
"Wherefore should the heathen say, "Where is now their God?" Or more literally,
"Where, pray, is their God?" Why should the nations be allowed with a sneer
of contempt to question the existence, and mercy, and faithfulness of Jehovah?
They are always ready to blaspheme; we may well pray that they may not
derive a reason for so doing from the course of providence
or the decline of the church.
When they see the godly down-trodden while they themselves live at ease,
and act the part of persecutors, they are very apt to speak as if they had triumphed
over God Himself, or as if He had altogether left the field of action and deserted
His saints. When the prayers and tears of the godly seem to be unregarded,
and their miseries are rather increased than assuaged, then do the wicked
multiply their taunts and jeers, and even argue that their own wretched
irreligion is better than the faith of Christians, because for the present
their condition is so much preferable to that of the afflicted saints.
And truly, this is the very sting of the trials of God's chosen when they see
the veracity of the Lord questioned, and the name of God profaned because
of their sufferings. If they could hope that some good result would come out
of all this they would endure it with patience, but they are unable to perceive
any desirable result consequent thereon; they enquire with holy anxiety,
"Wherefore should the heathen be permitted to speak thus?"
It is a question to which it would be hard to reply, and yet no doubt,
there is an answer. Sometimes the nations are permitted to blaspheme,
in order that they may fill up the measure of their iniquity, and in order
that their subsequent interposition of God may be rendered the more
illustrious in contrast with their profane boasting.
Do they say, "Where is now their God?" They shall know, by and by, for
it is written: "Ah, I will ease Me of Mine adversaries"; they shall know it when
the righteous shall "shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father."
Do they say, "Where is the promise of His coming?"
That coming shall be speedy and terrible to them.
In our own case, by our own lukewarmness and the neglect of faithful
gospel preaching, we have permitted the uprise and spread of modern doubt,
and we are bound to confess it with deep sorrow of soul, yet, we may not
therefore lose heart, but may still plead with God to save His own truth
and grace from the contempt of men of the world.
Our honor and the honor of the church are small matters, but the glory of God
is the jewel of the universe, of which all else is but a setting, and we may come
to the Lord and plead His jealousy for His name, being well assured that He
will not suffer that Name to be dishonored.
Wherefore should the pretended wise men of the period be permitted to say
that they doubt the personality of God? Wherefore should they say that answers
to prayer are pious delusions, and that the resurrection and the deity of our
Lord Jesus are moot points? Wherefore, should they be permitted to speak
disparagingly of atonement by blood and by price, and reject utterly the
doctrine of the wrath of God against sin, even that wrath
which burneth forever and ever?
They speak exceeding proudly, and only God can stop their blusterings;
let us by extraordinary intercession prevail upon Him to interpose, by
giving His gospel such a triumphant vindication as shall utterly silence
the perverse opposition of ungodly men."
A PRAYER OF INTERCESSION...
"As we entreat Thy favor and aid, that Thou wouldst work gloriously
on our behalf, to bring us out of our present straits and extremities;
so we do not desire this out of vain-glorious humor, as usually men
do in such cases; that we may get renown by the conquest of our
proud and mighty enemies, but that Thy honor may be vindicated
from all their contempt and blasphemies, and if Thou wilt deliver
us, we will not arrogate the praise and glory of it to our own
worth or valor, but only to Thy mercy and truth."
In Jesus Christ our Lord we pray.
Amen.
Treasury of David Commentary & Prayer
Charles Haddon Spurgeon
(1834-1892)
English Reformed Baptist preacher
Known by many Christians as
"The Prince of Preachers"
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