GOOD CAUSE FOR GREAT ZEAL – Charles Spurgeon
Good Cause for Great Zeal
“Now because we have maintenance from the king’s palace, and it was not proper for us to see the king dishonored, therefore have we sent and informed the king.” – Ezra 4:14.
The Facts of the Case
The facts of the case were these. Under Zerubbabel, the Jews, who had returned from Babylon, began the rebuilding of Jerusalem. There were, in the land, certain half-and-half persons, somewhat like the Samaritans, who were neither Jews nor Gentiles. These people initially asked if they could join in the building of Jerusalem. This request was refused, as the Jews decided to keep themselves pure from any association with the heathen or semi-heathen.
In response, these people grew indignant and wrote to King Artaxerxes, claiming that the king was unaware of what was happening in Judea. They stated that the Jews had always been a troublesome people, and now, as they began rebuilding the city, there was a strong likelihood that they would revolt against King Artaxerxes, causing trouble, just as their forefathers had done to kings before him. In writing this letter, these individuals were clever in their generation, attempting to use gratitude as a cover for their true intentions. They claimed that they were sustained by the king’s palace and therefore could not bear to see the king dishonored, which was why they wrote to inform him of the rebuilding efforts.
Though this was a false claim, it is often the case that hypocrites employ the best words and use the most reasonable arguments to disguise their deceit.
Applying the Words to Ourselves
Let me now take the words of these deceitful individuals and apply them to a more truthful cause—our relationship with the King of Kings. We can truly say, “Now because we have maintenance from the king’s palace, and it was not proper for us to see the king dishonored, therefore have we sent and informed the king.” This text allows me to speak on three points:
- A fact acknowledged—“We have maintenance from the king’s palace.”
- A duty recognized—“It was not proper for us to see the king dishonored.”
- A course of action prescribed—“Therefore have we sent and informed the king.”
I. We Have Maintenance from the King’s Palace
The words of our text may be used to acknowledge a very gracious fact—We have maintenance from the king’s palace. This is true of all God’s people, and in all respects, you can abundantly attest to it. Both the upper and nether springs from which we drink are fed by the eternal bounty of the great King.
Thus far, we have been supplied with food and raiment. At times, we may have been reduced to a pinch, and questions like, “What shall we eat? What shall we drink? And with what shall we be clothed?” may have arisen. However, we have dwelt in the land, and we have been fed. Many of us can look back and say, “My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy have followed me all the days of my life.” Even though we do not drink water from the rock or find manna at our doorstep each morning, the providence of God produces the same results—we have been fed and satisfied.
However, it is in spiritual matters that God’s continual bounty has been most notable. We have a new life, which brings with it new needs, hunger, and thirst—and God has maintained us out of His own palace as we walk this new life. Many times we have had great hunger for heavenly things, and He has satisfied our mouths with good things. Our youth has been renewed like the eagles.
At times, we have faced great needs, bottomless depths of need, but the treasures of His grace have been deeper than our helplessness and as boundless as our sins. Even when we were drawn aside from our steadfastness, and needed grace to set us on our feet again, God has supplied us with the strength to stand firm. Our shoes have been iron and brass, and as our days have been, so our strength has been. As we look back, we can sing of God’s faithfulness throughout the journey—He has sustained us out of the king’s palace.
This applies to both temporal and spiritual matters. It is a great mercy that we have been maintained by God, for where else could we have been sustained? As the king of Israel once said, “If the Lord does not help you, how can I help you?
The Cost of Our Maintenance
Our maintenance from the king’s palace has not come cheaply. It cost the King dearly—His own dear Son. If He had spared His Son, we would not have even begun to live. The choicest treasure in heaven—the Koh-i-noor of God’s regalia—was spent for our sake. And ever since, we have been nourished on Jesus Christ Himself. There is no food more adequate for our needs than Christ. His flesh is meat indeed, and His blood is drink indeed. This is the most royal food for the soul, and yet we have partaken of it all these years. Let us bless and magnify our bounteous God, who has so generously supplied us.
II. A Duty Recognized
Now, secondly, let us consider the duty recognized—“It was not proper for us to see the king dishonored.” The reasoning is clear: if we are sustained from the king’s palace, it is not right for us to stand by and watch the king dishonored. This applies to us as believers as well. If God has so richly blessed us, we are bound to protect His honor.
We should begin with ourselves. Are we doing anything that dishonors God? Are we acting, speaking, or living in a way that brings dishonor to our King? Are there any actions in our homes, workplaces, or daily lives that tarnish His name? If we are fed from the king’s table, it is not fitting for us to cause the king dishonor.
As believers, we are bought with a price, and it would be unthinkable for us to trample upon the blood of Christ or crucify Him afresh by living in a way that dishonors Him. Consider the great privilege we have in being sustained by the King of Kings—why then, should we bring dishonor to Him?
III. Course of Action Prescribed
If we are to be faithful in our duty, we must actively take steps to ensure that we do not dishonor the King. This responsibility extends to how we govern our homes. Parents and masters must see to it that nothing in their households brings dishonor to God. As the story of Eli’s sons teaches us, failing to restrain those under our care can lead to dire consequences.
If we are maintained from the king’s palace, we must not tolerate any dishonor toward the King in our lives or the lives of those around us. Let us not be complacent, but actively ensure that we bring honor to God in all we do.
Conclusion
In conclusion, let us acknowledge the great mercy of being maintained by God from the King’s palace, both in temporal and spiritual matters. As we recognize this great gift, let us also recognize the duty we have to honor the King in every area of our lives. And may we actively take the necessary steps to ensure that His honor is upheld by our actions.
Let the Same Holy Jealousy Animate Us
Let the same holy jealousy animate us among those with whom we have influence—such as those who wish to be united with us in church fellowship. It is the duty of every church to guard, as far as it can, the honor and dignity of King Jesus against unworthy persons who would intrude themselves into the congregation of the saints—those who are called, chosen, and faithful. We are deceived, and always will be, for the church was never infallible. Still, let no negligence in our practice supplement the infirmity of our judgment. Because ungodly men will creep in unawares, we are not to cooperate in their entrance.
To allow persons to come to the communion table who do not even profess to be born again is a clear act of treason against the King of Kings. To receive into our membership persons of unhallowed lives—unchaste, unrighteous, licentious, or those who hold lax doctrine, and know not the truth as it is in Jesus—would be to betray the trust Christ has invested in us. That must not be. Every church member is bound to do his best to guard the church against that which would render her unclean in the sight of God. If you are maintained from the king’s table, it is not proper that you should see the King dishonored.
We are under sacred obligations to maintain the statutes and testimonies of the Lord. And oh, how the King is dishonored by the mutilation and misrepresentation of His Word! Therefore, dear brethren, we are always bound to bear our protest against false doctrine. I am sometimes accused of saying sharp things. The charge does not come home to my conscience with great power. If anyone said I spoke smooth things, I think it would oppress me far more. As long as there are evils in this world, God’s ministers are bound to protest against them. That man who, as he goes through the world, can say, “Hail, fellow, well met!” with everybody, and extol the modern Diana of charity—universal charity, false charity, charity towards the false—when he comes to stand before his Maker, will find it hard to give his account. In these days, when nobody believes anything, when everyone has subscribed to the belief that black is white, and white is black, and colors are nothing but imaginary distinctions, it is time that somebody should believe something. A little sharpness of speech might not only be excused, but commended if we had but men who spoke what they did know and testified honestly to the truth they had received.
Everyone here, who is maintained from the king’s palace, is bound to fight against every doctrine which insults the King. When I see a man pretending to be a priest, and assuming he has power to forgive sins, and to dispense pardons and indulgences, I do my best to unmask the deceiver and to speak against his imposition, lest I be accounted accessory to his crime, chargeable with his guilt, and made partaker of his condemnation. Therefore, let every Englishman, let every Protestant, and above all, let every Christian denounce priestcraft of every sort, and in every church, whether among Romanists, Anglicans, or Dissenters. Down with it! There is only one Priest, and He is in heaven. None of us have any power to offer any sacrifice for sin, or any power to absolve our fellow men.
Whether you accuse us of being censorious or not, the profanity appalls us, the duplicity that is taken in by it amazes us, and the sincerity with which we love the gospel inflames us to make our protest heard. If we do not speak out about this crying perversion of the truth, we ought to be ashamed of ourselves!
The Denial of the Divinity of Christ
There are some in these days who deny the divinity of Christ, and there can be no terms of peace between us and them. I remember a remark of a Unitarian doctor, which I thought eminently correct; he said of a certain Calvinist, who was accused of speaking sharply against Unitarians, “Quite right, and so he ought, because if the Calvinist is right, the Unitarian is not a Christian at all; but if the Unitarian is right, the Calvinist is an idolater, because he worships one who is a man, and is not the Son of God.”
If what we hold is true, it is not possible for the man who denies the deity of Christ to be a Christian, nor can there be any hope of salvation for him. He deliberately refuses the only way of escape from the wrath to come. I can understand a man getting to heaven as a Roman Catholic, notwithstanding all his errors, because he believes in the divinity of Christ and relies on the expiatory sacrifice of His death, with whatever superstitions his creed may be overlaid.
But I cannot understand, nor do I believe, that any man will ever enter those pearly gates who, in doubting or discrediting the deity of our blessed Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, renounces the sheet-anchor of our most holy faith and dares to face his Maker without a Counselor, without an Advocate, without a plea for mercy! It is time we said so, and spoke out plainly. This is no theme for trifling. Courtesies are thrown away upon antagonists whose cause is treason. Nor are we the men who should practice reserve, for if we are maintained from the king’s palace, we are cowards if we do not stand up for our King.
The Doctrine of Substitution
There have been attacks made in modern times upon the doctrine of substitution. If the doctrine of substitution is not true, I am a lost man—therefore, tooth and nail, will I fight for it. No other hope beneath the skies have I, except in the expiatory substitution of the Lord Jesus Christ. If He did not suffer in my place, the just for the unjust, then flames of hell must be my portion. Therefore, I can never give up that truth, for it is giving up my own salvation. But it has been revealed, and I cling to it with the most implicit credit.
Do you tell me that “modern thought” assails it? How, and with what weapons, I ask? Is it with argument, with proof, or with any counter-suggestion? Oh, no, it is merely met with vague questions, idle quibbles, and impertinent sneers—a style of answer that affects much, though it affirms nothing. I pray you, brethren, wherever you are, defend this fundamental doctrine of our most holy faith—that the Lord Jesus Christ has laid down His life to make atonement for the sins of His people.
Or should we be confronted with any other form of false doctrine, or should we be haunted with any kind of skepticism—(skepticism! An anomalous thing, which is without form and void)—are we to stand with mealy mouths, and say, “Yes, brethren, you are of that opinion, and I am of the other”? No, for opinion is light as a bubble when judgment is pronounced by the supreme court from which there is no appeal. What do you think? Is there no fact? Is there no truth? Is the word of God, “Yes,” and, “No”? Has it come to this, that it is to be shuffled like a pack of cards, or shaped like a nose of wax as every man may please? Oh, no! By the ever-living God, there is truth somewhere, and that truth we will find out if we can, and, having found it, we will hold it fast.
Let us, in the day of battle, use our standard—and if our arm is torn off, we hope the standard will not fall, but that others will be found to hold it up as there were in the brave days of yore—when our fathers burned at the stake for these things, or went to the galleys, or perished amidst the Alps sooner than the truth of God’s own Word should be without witnesses among the sons of men! Bear none of these things in your hearts with tolerance, but hold fast to the things which you have been taught, and hold them fast in faith and love to Christ Jesus.
Observing the Lord’s Ordinances
Those who have their maintenance from the king’s palace ought not to allow the Lord to be dishonored by a neglect of His ordinances. Brethren, I remind you who are believers: the Lord Jesus has given you only two symbolic ordinances. Take care that you use them well. Follow Him in what He did when He said, “Thus it becomes us to fulfill all righteousness.” Be baptized in His name. Follow Him to the communion table. He said, “This do you, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” Be obedient, I pray you, to His gracious word, and allow not the king’s precept to be trifled with.
The Decline of the Church
Again, if we are indeed His courtiers, let us take care that He is not dishonored by a general decline of His church. When churches go to sleep; when the work of God is done deceitfully—for to do it formally is to do it deceitfully; when there is no life in the prayer meeting; when there are no holy enterprises afloat for the spread of the Redeemer’s kingdom—then the world says, “That is your church! What a sleepy set these saints are!” O, let not the King be thus dishonored. Brethren, bestir yourselves! May this church never settle upon its lees, or fall into slumber as it grows older. May God grant that it may grow more earnest! May there always be here regiments of stalwart men who shall fight for King Jesus and not be ashamed, and may the church be full of life and vigor till Christ Himself shall come. When we sleep with our fathers, may there be others found better than we are to maintain the cause and crown rights of King Jesus.
Weeping for the Lost
And oh, dear friends! How can we tolerate it that so many should dishonor Christ by rejecting His gospel? We cannot prevent their doing so, but we can weep for them. We can pray for them. We can plead for them. We can make it uncomfortable for them to reflect that believers love them, and yet they do not love the Savior. If you are fed from the king’s palace, it is not right that you see, with dry eyes, the King dishonored. If you hear a man swearing in the streets, mourn and lament it. If you see the Sunday desecrated, grieve over it. If you behold drunkenness, do not laugh at it. If you hear lascivious songs, do not smile at them. Everything that is evil should be painful to a believer, and it ought to be an incessant sorrow to us that souls are perishing.
—“Did Christ over sinners weep,
And shall our cheeks be dry?”
Privileged as you are, beloved, you ought to love your Master so that the slightest word against Him should provoke your spirit to holy jealousy.
A Course of Action Pursued
Our last point is this—A Course of Action Pursued—“Therefore,” says the text, “have we sent and informed the king.” How shall we do that? Doubtless we act as it well becomes us when we go and tell the Lord all about it. “Inform the king!” But does He not know? Are not all things open to Him from whom no secrets are hid? Ah, yes, but when Hezekiah received Rabshakeh’s blasphemous letter, he took it and spread it before the Lord. It is a holy exercise of the saints to report to the Lord the sins and sorrows they observe among the people—the griefs they feel, and the grievances they complain of—to spread before Him the blasphemies they have heard, and appeal to Him concerning the menaces with which they are threatened.
Yes, you may report to the Lord the false doctrine that is preached and the foul sophistry that is printed in these days. Such plain statements might become mighty pleas with God that He should arise, assert His cause, and do His own work. Lord, You know that this day the deity of Your Son has been insulted; the inspiration of Your word has been denied; the power of Your Holy Spirit has been ridiculed; Your eternal love has been denied; Your infinitely blessed sovereignty has been scoffed at. The atoning blood has been made a subject of contempt. Arise, O God; plead Your own cause!
This ought to be the constant pleading of the church—“Shall not God avenge His own elect, which cry day and night unto Him?” O, it ought to be. Day and night cry about all this. The sin of this city; oh, if we felt it, it would weigh us down—the drunkenness, the lust, the oppression, the wickedness of every shape that reeks from this great city. O God, will You always bear it? Will You not rise and change all this? Will You not give power to Your gospel, that a gracious reformation may be made?
The Role of Prayer and Action
Tell the Lord about it! Inform the king! After those people had informed the king, they took care to plead with him. As I have already told you, they made him aware that the city of Jerusalem was a very troublesome city and therefore ought not to be rebuilt. Plead with God! Plead with God! Plead with God! That praying is poor shift that is not made up of pleading. “Bring forth your reasons,” says the Lord. Bring forth your strong arguments. O, what prayers were those of John Knox when he seemed to say to God, “Save Scotland for this reason—for that reason—for another reason”—the number of his motives multiplying with the fervor of his heart! So did he labor with God as though he pleaded for his life, and would not let Him go until he had gained his suit for Scotland.
Why, Scotland’s knowledge of the truth is due, beyond everything else, to John Knox’s prayers, which even now are ringing in heaven. He, “being dead, yet speaks.” O, for men of that caliber and that mind in this country, thus to plead for London! O, what a gem would London be in Christ’s crown! If Christ had but London, surely out of this great city, which is the very heart of the world in many respects, there would go streaming forth rivers of health, life, and blessing to the utmost ends of the earth.
Spread London’s case before God and plead with the Most High.
Prayer and Action Together
When you have done it, do not go away and make your prayers into a lie by contrary actions or by refraining from any action at all. He who prays hard must work hard, for no man prays sincerely who is not prepared to use every effort to obtain that which he asks of God. We must put our shoulder to the wheel while we pray for strength to put it in motion. All success depends upon God; yet He uses instruments, but He will not use instruments that are useless and unfitted to the work.
“And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward; not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God, who has made us able ministers”—therefore let us be up and be stirring, for if we are maintained from the king’s palace, it is not proper that we see the King dishonored, but it is due to Him that we should seek His glory.
Now, I would that every one of you knew what it was to be maintained from the king’s palace, but alas! There are some here who have never eaten the king’s bread and will be banished from the king’s presence if they die as they are. But, O, remember, the King is always ready to receive His rebel subjects, and He is a God ready to pardon. “Kiss the Son lest He be angry, and you perish from the way when His wrath is kindled but a little.” “Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him.”
That is the way of reconciliation—to put your trust in Him; and if you do put your trust in His dear Son, you are reconciled to Him. You shall be maintained out of His palace, and then, I trust, you will live to His glory. Amen and amen.
Portion of Scripture Read Before Sermon: Psalm 119:49-64.