THE ESSENTIAL CONDITION OF MISSIONARY SUCCESS
Isaiah 32:13-15. Upon the land of my people, &c.
This chapter commences with a prophecy of the appearance and the kingdom of Christ. But instead of finishing the painting of that beautiful scene, with what might be anticipated as the effect of this appearance, Isaiah proceeds, in our text, to paint a scene of great desolation and barrenness. So, when our Saviour came, the effect of His appearance was by no means such as might have been expected; after gathering a few out of the Jewish nation, and thus planting the first Christian Church, He retired from the nation, on account of its impenitence and unbelief; and the land is still abandoned to desolation and barrenness. That barrenness, and the spiritual barrenness and blindness of that despised people, will continue until the arrival of the important event predicted in the last verse.
Though the immediate bearing of these words is upon the state and prospects of the Jewish people, yet they may be considered as assigning the reason why the nations of the earth continue in so wretched a state, with respect to things spiritual and divine, as they now exhibit; and as directing our expectations, and regulating our confidence, respecting the final termination of this state of things. The momentous truth taught in this passage is, that the ultimate success of missions depends upon the communication of the Spirit.
That the Spirit of God is afforded at present to the Church is evident from its existence; for, since the Church is entirely a spiritual structure, raised and preserved by that Divine Spirit, if it had been utterly withdrawn the Church would have been annihilated. But the especial time here announced has not yet arrived; the Spirit is not “poured from on high” in that plenitude and variety of gifts which may reasonably be expected.
I. That the success of missions depends upon the outpouring of the Spirit of God, appears to be manifest,
1. from the Scriptures (text: chap. Isaiah 41:19-20; Zechariah 4:6; Zechariah 12:10; Joel 2:28-32, with Acts 2:16-18; Ezekiel 39:29.)
2. From the record concerning the Great Captain of our salvation, He did not enter upon His work until He was anointed by the Spirit of God (Luke 4:18-19).
3. From the experience of the apostles. Until the effusion of the Spirit from on high, on the day of Pentecost, they were not qualified for their work in the nations to which they were sent.
4. From the testimony of the apostles. All their successes they attributed to a Divine agency (Acts 11:21; Acts 14:27; Acts 16:14; 1 Corinthians 3:5-7, &c.)
5. From the testimony of those who have had the greatest success in preaching the Gospel in heathen as well as in Christian lands [1195]
6. From the records of their most eminent successes [1198]
7. From the nature of the work to be accomplished. Considering the state of man, it is impossible to suppose that anything less than a divine power can change the heart [1201]
[1195] Brainerd, Schwartz, and Eliot, and those who in every age have had the most success in turning men to righteousness, have been the first to declare that they were nothing. They, of all men, most ardently implored, and most entirely depended upon, the agency we are now contemplating; and their success appears to have been more in proportion to their earnest solicitude in seeking this blessing, than to any other cause.—Hall.
[1198] Look at the history of those who have been the most successful missionaries to the heathen, and see whether you cannot trace certain results for which you cannot account on any other hypothesis than that most momentous one of a divine influence, at certain periods, accompanying their labours. In the history of Brainerd and Eliot, and others, you perceive that for a considerable time there seem to have been the same efforts employed, the same doctrines taught, the same earnest and zealous prayers, and the same watchfulness over their own hearts, and yet no saving effect produced on others: all still remained barren; no desirable movement of the heart was excited; and this continued for a long period. Such was the state of things when Brainerd first undertook, the mission to the Indians; but, after a considerable time, while he was propounding only the same doctrines, and using only the same means, the Spirit of God put forth its energy, and divine communication was imparted at one season “like a rushing, mighty wind,” at others “like the dew and the rain from heaven,” softening and thus opening the heart which had resisted the entrance of sacred truth, and causing the tear of genuine penitence to steal down the cheek. Nobody could doubt that there was some one greater than a missionary there;—that the Spirit of God had changed the barren soil to sacred ground, and bad wetted it, “like Gideon’s fleece, with the dews of heaven.” And so it is, my brethren, that every person who has had any long acquaintance with the Christian ministry, is aware that there are certain periods of barrenness and certain periods for bearing fruit. The same talents, whether great or small, may be brought into action; but there shall be some seasons in which efforts, in no way special, shall be crowned with extraordinary success.—Hall.
[1201] Were it the design of God merely to build a foundation already laid, or to repair a dilapidated edifice, one might talk of the efficacy of human suasion; but when that which is to be done is to create a new principle, to pour new life into the soul, to give “a new heart,” to plant new seeds in a soil where all has been barrenness and desolation, to turn waters into new channels, to effect a total change of heart and character,—what can accomplish all this but an almighty power? Human suasion can operate only on principles which already exist. When Demosthenes, with his powerful eloquence, excited the Athenians to combat, he only called into action, by a skilful grouping of motives, and an appropriate exercise of his genius, principles already existing, but which had lain dormant. He created nothing new; he transformed them not into new creatures, but only roused and stimulated those principles which had animated the bosoms of nations in resisting tyranny in every age. But when the apostles went forth to preach faith in Christ, they proposed to make a change in the mind and heart of man to which there was no natural tendency; they required a creature “dead in trespasses and sins” to awake to Christ; they proposed to convert him into a devoted servant, a subject most loyal, affectionate, and ardent; and how was it possible that mere human art or force could accomplish such changes as these?
The Gospel is the instrument of God, and wonderfully fitted by Him for His work; but even it is nothing more than an instrument; and when it is successful and baffles every human effort exerted against it, it is because it is wielded by an omnipotent arm.—Hall.
H.E.I., 1400–1405, 3432–3442, 4106–4113.
II. There are two reasons why we are in danger of forgetting our dependence on the Spirit of God.
1. We cannot arrange the time and manner in which the divine agency will be exerted; and we are called upon to exert ourselves in much the same way as though there were no such doctrine existing in our creed, and no such expectation existing in our minds. Consequently, even while strenuously attending to our duty, we are very apt to lose sight of that mysterious divine agency on which the success of all our efforts must depend, and to direct our attention exclusively to the apparatus we are setting in motion.
2. This is an invisible power, and is manifest to us only in its effects; whereas our own actions and plans are objects of distinct observation. It is one thing to believe that there is an agency of the Spirit, and quite another thing to have a deep and practical persuasion of it, and to regulate all our actions and expectations in dependence on it.
III. Some practical results which should follow from our belief that the success of missions depends on the agency of the Divine Spirit.
1. In attempting the work of the evangelisation of the heathen, we ought to renounce all expectations of success founded on our own strength or resources.
2. In connection with every attempt for the conversion of the heathen, there should be earnest prayer. In every period of the world, a spirit of prayer for this great object has been the precursor of real success.
3. In the manner in which we prosecute this work, we should be exceedingly careful not to grieve the Spirit of God. There must be nothing in our conduct or temper opposed to the simplicity and purity of the Christian dispensation. Our mission must not be made the instrument of ostentation and gratification, or of amusing the public by a display of gaudy eloquence. All rivalry between different societies that has not for its end the knowledge and service of God, is offensive in His sight. Let us guard against the least disposition to depreciate or hide in silence the success of others; which shall lead us to look coolly on the most splendid acts of missionary labour, unless they emanate from ourselves, or bring honour to our party.
4. Our dependence for the men and the means wherewith to carry on this great work, must rest absolutely and exclusively on God. Whensoever He puts forth the influence of His Spirit, some of His servants will devote themselves to the work, and others of them will gladly contribute to it of their wealth (Isaiah 60:5-7).
5. The doctrine of the text teaches us to regulate our confidence with respect to the success of every particular mission, at the same time that it animates that confidence in regard to the final success of the success itself.
6. If success in any field of effort does not reward our toil, instead of charging God with any arbitrarily withholding of the help of His Spirit, let us examine the instruments wherewith we are endeavouring to effect so great and important a charge, and see if there be not in them something unworthy of the enterprise, and keeps back the needed blessing.
7. However success may seem to delay, let us acquiesce, without repining, in the dispensations of God; and let us point our views forward to a future period, that will certainly come, when the Spirit will be poured from on high, and when the Redeemer will take to Him His great power, and reign universally in the hearts of men.—Robert Hall: Works, vol. vi. pp. 158–180.
As regards the final and universal triumphs of the Gospel, believers cannot entertain a doubt. Glorious things are spoken of Zion, &c. We are explicitly assured that the kingdoms of this world shall one day become the kingdoms of Christ.
But what is to secure this? Our hope hangs upon one thing—the promise of the Spirit. Every past conquest has been the effect of union and communion with the Comforter; and our own ability for the enterprises of the future must be derived from the same source. The chapter begins with a cheering account of the approach of a brighter day following a season of gloom and depression, which is to be terminated finally and only by the pouring out of the Spirit from on high. So always. Large as are our resources, we were never more dependent on help from heaven than now. Without special Divine aid we can do nothing.
I. The Spirit of God must be with us, or we shall not use the right means for converting the world. Our work is a vast one, but we are not left in uncertainty as to the way in which it is to be accomplished. The Gospel made for man. Sending the knowledge of Christ abroad through the nations is the appointed method of saving men. (a) More faith is needed in God’s instrumentality. The cause may seem unequal to the effect, but a Divine unseen agency accompanies it, and difficulties must pass away. (b) No part of our business to make experiments for the relief of human woe or guilt; or dig channels for our compassion other than those in which the Saviour’s flowed. Calvary our sole expedient, &c. (c) We need to keep to the means by which all this is accomplished without deviation or faltering. A downward tendency in the best of men, even when engaged in the holiest of work, which nothing but a constantly exerted influence from God can effectually counteract. Charters, subscriptions, pledges will not do it. (d) Must not lay our strength out on extraneous matter. Our true service only performed when relying on Divine aid.
II. Unless the Holy Spirit be with us, we shall never prosecute our work with proper energy. An enterprise like ours cannot be expected to flourish unless it takes fast hold on the hearts and sympathies of its friends. It is a cause of too much import to be carried on lukewarmly. One of the main purposes of the Church, her own self-extension. How shall we get up to this state of feeling, this standard of action? Never! until we have more of the Spirit of God.
Again, half our strength has to be expended in trying to keep our enterprise up to lines already reached. We seem at times to be merely stationary, and this side by side often with great secular prosperity. Why this falling off? And that as contrasting with the success of primitive believers? They seem to have carried with them a never-failing assurance, that where they planted and watered, God would give the increase. The Church can never come up to this standard until the Spirit is more copiously poured upon us from on high. We are shut up to this single resource.
III. That the Spirit must be given us, or we shall never see our efforts crowned with success. Something in a simple dependence on Divine help which imparts to our labours a character so earnest and decided as betokens a favourable result. We work best ourselves when we feel that God is working in us and by us. Nothing so nerves the arm and strengthens the heart as confidence in Him. So Luther, Whitfield, Paul wrought. Nothing else will keep zeal alive in the Church.
Hence arises (a) Our encouragement. Faith in the efficacy of the Gospel preached under the influence of the Holy Ghost is to be the mainspring of all our efforts. The Spirit is to take of the things of Christ and show them to men. We can only be straitened on that side. (b) Our duty. All converging to a single point—prayer.—David Magie, D.D.: National Preacher, vol. xxi. p. 221.
Let it be supposed that the invader and the conqueror have been in our land. Cultivation has disappeared, impoverishment and neglect reign over its once fertile and well-cared-for fields. The city, formerly the centre of life and activity, depopulated and desolated. Its factories dilapidated, its exchange a ruin, its streets overgrown with grass. Such was the ruin the prophet saw about to befall his country. How long would it continue? Until God should pour His Spirit upon the people, so as to turn them from their iniquities. When the moral scene changed, the material scene would also. Prosperity would return. The city would again be populated; the country resume its beauty and fertility; the wilderness would be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest.
It is a picture of the world’s moral desolation without the Gospel; of the time when the power of the Gospel shall be displayed; and of the happy state of the world in that day of its power. Three topics are presented in the text; the necessity, the certainty, and the condition of the world’s salvation.
I. ITS NECESSITY. It is a fallen world. Scepticism at present criticises the Christian representation of the moral state of human nature as too low, while its standard is too high. Whatever may be said of the latter part of the indictment, the former part must be denied. The alienation of the human heart from God; its aversion to His holiness; the depth of its pollution, as evinced in the crimes and vices which disfigure the face of society, and are too patent to be refined away. With all the restraining influences around us, we have enough at our hand to justify the representation that man is morally fallen and desolated. Add to this the idolatry, with its attendant cruelty and impurity, prevalent over so large a proportion of the human family. And to this the extreme and manifold wickedness of men in history. The Christian representation of the state of human nature is fully justified. There is universal sin. There is need of mercy, change, conversion. Not merely the adoption, by large masses of men, for various reasons, of new religious names and forms. It is a personal conversion. Men need the change one by one.
II. ITS CERTAINTY. We should despair of the world’s conversion if our vision were limited to its existing state. We should pronounce it as hopeless as the attempt to tear up the everlasting mountains from their roots, or to drive the ocean from its bed. But we are not thus limited. We are not at liberty thus to limit our vision. In the Word of God we find it declared that the redeeming dominion of Christ shall be co-extensive with the globe. Plain statements sometimes, gorgeous imagery at other times, utterly inexplicable except in this way. Including these in our vision, we have nothing to do with the difficulties, but only with the great duty of their destruction.
Include in the vision the words of Christ. His declarations and commands before leaving the world contemplate the universal diffusion of His salvation. And we must include His work. The expenditure will bear some relation to the result. It cost the death of the incarnate Son of God. That the event is long delayed proves nothing when we remember how long the world had to wait for His coming.
III. ITS CONDITION. The moral desolation will continue until the Spirit be poured upon us from on high. The Gospel only saves as the Spirit makes it efficacious. The human heart and will are opposed to the entrance of the truth. Not only evidence but influence is required. It is essentially a spiritual work, and only the Holy Spirit is equal to it. It is a work in hearts opposed to God, and His power can alone produce the willingness which is the very essence of the saving change. Every time we pray for the conversion of sinners and for the coming of God’s kingdom, we practically acknowledge the necessity of the Spirit’s work. The universal necessity is the necessity of the individual case. The world’s conversion is pictured out in the conversion of every sinner. The power of the Spirit is the security for the fulfilment of the word (Joel 2:28-32; Acts 2:17-21; Ezekiel 37:1-14; John 3:6-8; 1 Corinthians 2:4-5; 1 Corinthians 3:6-7).
From the text, then, we may learn two or three lessons relative to the work of Christ’s Church in the world.
1. That all such work should be conducted in humble dependence on the Holy Spirit. Such dependence does not supersede labour, any more than the consciousness that the sun and the air and other mysterious influences of nature are necessary, supersedes the husbandman’s labour.
2. That it should be conducted in a spirit of prayer for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Whatever God promises to His Church, it is warranted to ask in prayer. Prayer is the condition, on the Church’s part, on which the promise is suspended. In that wonderful passage of Ezekiel where the Spirit is promised in His cleansing and renewing power, the condition is expressly named (Ezekiel 36:37). While the hundred and twenty disciples were gathered together praying, the Holy Ghost fell upon them. How often does the great missionary apostle ask those who have been brought to Christ to pray for him in his continued work among those who have not.
3. That all Christian effort should be conducted, therefore, in expectation of the outpouring of the Spirit. Do we not dishonour Him when we fail to believe in the Spirit’s work as a living reality—when we do not expect prayerful work for Christ to be followed by proportionate success! “Until the Spirit be poured upon us from on high,” all is desolation; when the Spirit shall be poured upon us from on high, all shall be beauty.—John Rawlinson.
THE MORAL WILDERNESS TRANSFORMED
Isaiah 32:15. Until the Spirit be poured upon us, &c.
This chapter contains three distinct and important topics: the great and inestimable blessings resulting from the reign of Christ; a denunciation of the divine judgments on an ungrateful and rebellious people, and especially on the supine and careless women of Judea; and an assurance of more auspicious days.
I. The mind of man resembles a moral wilderness. This was not the case originally. In paradise all was moral attraction and glory. But, in consequence of man’s apostasy from God, his powers have been withered, and his divine beauty has been defaced. The mind of man is a moral wilderness—
1. As it is a seat of sterility and desolation.
2. As, till it is transformed, it is of little use, because its best powers are not consecrated to God.
3. As it is the soil where noxious and destructive plants exist and flourish.
II. The means appointed for the cultivation of the mind of man are to be diligently employed, because,
1. These means are unfolded to us in the Gospel.
2. God requires us to employ them.
3. The divine sanction and encouragement have been given to those who have diligently used them (H. E. I., 3424–3465).
III. The best and most powerful means will be unavailing without the agency and influences of the Spirit.
IV. But with the influence of the Holy Spirit, a great moral transformation will be effected.
1. There will be a scene of cultivation; the wilderness will be converted into a fruitful field; enclosed, cleansed, irrigated, carefully tilled; presenting a beautiful appearance to the eye, and refreshed with the dews and rains of heaven.
2. There will be a scene of fertility; as a field, it will be rich in the variety and luxuriance of its produce; all the graces of the Holy Spirit will be fully and beautifully exemplified.
3. There will be a scene of grandeur. The fruitful field will be counted for a forest. A fine forest is a majestic and striking feature in a landscape. There is dignity, magnitude, elevation; all these moral characteristics are found in the mind on which the Spirit has been poured out. The saints will grow in grace, and increase with all the increase of God.
V. Learn from this subject,
1. The importance of honouring the Spirit by reverence, worship, obedience, confidence.
2. The necessity of waiting for the Spirit. Though He tarry, yet we are perseveringly to wait.
3. The duty of praying for the Spirit, and of expressing unfeigned gratitude for every communication of His grace.—G. Clayton: The Pulpit, vol. xvii. p. 190.