No. 7. "Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for WHOM HAVING NOT SEEN YE LOVE. ... "Whom Page. 61 73 "That ye may approve things that are excellent."-PHILIPPIANS i. 10 97 No. 10. ALL YE ARE BRETHREN. "And all ye are No. 12. BLESSED OF THE LORD. "And he said, Come ... 133 PREFACE. This Volume of twelve Sermons, which is the Fourth Series preached in London, contains doctrinal and experimental expositions of portions of GOD'S MOST HOLY WORD. They are intended to glorify the TRINITY in the Spiritual instruction and edification of the Church of Christ. Many have been the pleasing and thankful testimonies which I have received for their publication during the year. I pray the Divine Spirit to bless these Sermons to every Reader of them. And God, even our own God shall have all the praise and glory through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen! October, 1879. J. B. "THE SECRET OF THE LORD." A SERMON PREACHED BY THE REV. J. BATTERSBY (Vicar of St. Simon's, Sheffield), AT VERULAM DISTRICT CHURCH, LAMBETH, LONDON, In the 25th Psalm, and at the 14th verse, you will read these words :— "THE SECRET OF THE LORD IS WITH THEM THAT FEAR HIM; AND HE WILL SHOW THEM HIS COVENANT." THE heading of this Psalm is "A Psalm of David," and, being a Psalm of his, we may expect to find in it, his thoughts, his feelings, and his experiences. It has been divided into three parts, thus: "David's confidence in prayer;" "he prayeth for remission of sins ;" and "for help in affliction." This threefold division of the Psalm may be fairly justified by what we find recorded in the Psalm itself. He expresses his confidence in God in the first two verses thus: "Unto Thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul, O my God, I trust in Thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me." Prayer thus based upon confidence in God, you have to the end of the 6th verse. He had been taught by the Spirit not to trust in an arm of flesh, nor in man, nor in the will of man, nor in any creature; but in the Lord His God. The Lord alone is the confidence of His people, and He will help them in all times of need. In the second part of the Psalm, he prayeth for remission of sins; as in the 7th verse: "Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to Thy mercy remember Thou me for Thy goodness' sake, O Lord." And in the 11th verse: "For Thy Name's sake, O Lord, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great." David felt himself to be a sinner, and a great sinner; and this he confesses to his God. He needed a great Saviour, and great forgiveness. He knew that God only could put away his sins, and that too for His own Name's sake. He prays for help and strength from God in all times of his needs and afflictions: as in the 15th and following verses. "Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord :" here again the Lord is his confidence, he is looking unto Him. "For He shall pluck my feet out of the net. Turn 66 'hee unto me, and have mercy upon me; for I am desolate and afflicted. The troubles of my heart are enlarged: O bring Thou me out of my distresses. Look upon mine affliction and my pain; and forgive all my sins. Consider mine enemies; for they are many; and they hate me with cruel hatred." Poor David! Was he not in trouble and affliction, for he had his enemies within and his enemies without? keep my soul, and deliver me: let me not be ashamed; for I put my trust in Thee. Let integrity and uprightness preserve me; for I wait on Thee." There is also this prayer of enlargement: "Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles." This is just what Israel desires, and what Israel needs, -to be delivered out of all his troubles, and afflictions, and sorrows, and to be brought safely to the haven of peace and glory. I shall ask you now, to look at our text, and to examine it in the following order. First, the Character: "Them that fear Him." Secondly, the Secret: "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him." And thirdly, the Promise: "He will shew them His covenant." Let us look at the first point,—that is, the Character: "Them that fear Him." On a former occasion, I dwelt a little upon the character of those that fear the Lord. Some of you may remember the sermon. It was that which bears the title: "The Banner Displayed." I shall therefore, not dwell very largely upon character this evening, but simply touch upon a few things to give you some idea of the persons described in the text: "Them that fear Him." As regards the object of fear we are told again and again that God is the object. "Fear God" is the language of St. Peter. "Sanctify the Lord of hosts Himself; and let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread" (Isaiah viii. 13). "Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and thou shalt serve Him" (Deuteronomy vi. 13). It is not the fear of a man that is set before a person, nor the fear of death, nor the fear of the world, nor the fear of Satan. And yet we are often in fear of these. But you must bear in mind that our text speaks not of such fear, but of that fear which has God for its object. When I speak to you of God being the object of fear, I do not mean simply one Person in the Trinity, but I mean the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. When we consider the majesty, the power, and the greatness of God, we may well fear and tremble at His glorious presence. Read the 1st chapter of Nabum: "The mountains quake at Him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at His presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein. Who can stand before His indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of His anger? His fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by Him" (verses 5 and 6). How terrible is God in His presence, and majesty, and power, and greatness, and glory! Well might Moses say: "I exceedingly fear and quake." And well might all Israel fear and tremble at His presence. When Jacob awoke out of his sleep, he said, "Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not. And he was afraid, and said, how dreadful is this place; this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven " (Genesis xxviii. 16-17). What was it that made this place so dreadful to Jacob? Why does he proclaim his ignorance? And why does he say, |