THE BIBLE TRIED AND PROVED – Charles Spurgeon
The Bible Tried and Proved
“The Words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.” Psalm 12:6.
Introduction
In this Psalm, our text stands in contrast with the evil of the age. The Psalmist complains that the “godly man ceases. The faithful fail from among the children of men.” It was a great grief to him, and he found no consolation except in the Words of the Lord. What if men fail—the Word of the Lord abides! What a comfort it is to quit the arena of controversy for the green pastures of Revelation! One feels like Noah, when shut within the ark—he saw no longer the death and desolation which reigned outside. Live in communion with the Word of God and even in the absence of Christian friends, you will not lack for company.
Furthermore, the verse stands in fuller contrast still with the words of the ungodly when they rebel against God and oppress His people. They said, “With our tongue will we prevail. Our lips are our own: who is Lord over us?” They boasted, they domineered, they threatened. The Psalmist turned away from the voice of the boaster to the Words of the Lord. He saw the promise, the precept, and the doctrine of pure Truth, and these consoled him while others spoke every man vanity with his neighbor. He had not so many of the Words of the Lord as we have—but what he had made his own by meditation, he prized above the finest gold. In the good company of those who had spoken under Divine direction, he was able to bear the threats of those who surrounded him.
So, dear Friends, if at any time your lot is cast where the Truths you love so well are despised, get back to the Prophets and Apostles and hear through them what God the Lord will speak. The voices of earth are full of falsehood, but the Word from Heaven is very pure. There is a good practical lesson in the position of the text—learn it well. Make the Word of God your daily companion and then whatever may grieve you in the false doctrine of the hour, you will not be too much cast down. For the Words of the Lord will sustain your spirit.
I. The Quality of the Words of God
“The Words of the Lord are pure words.” From this statement, I gather, first, the uniformity of their character. No exception is made to any of the Words of God but they are all described as “pure words.” They are not all of the same character. Some are for teaching, others for comfort, and others for rebuke. But they are so far of a uniform character that they are all “pure words.” I conceive it to be an evil habit to make preferences in Holy Scripture. We must preserve this volume as a whole. Those sin against Scripture who delight in doctrinal texts but omit the consideration of practical passages.
If we preach doctrine, they cry, “How sweet!” They will hear of eternal love, Free Grace, and the Divine purpose. And I am glad they will. To such I say—Eat the fat and drink the sweet, and rejoice that there are fat things full of marrow in this Book. But remember that men of God in old times took great delight in the Commands of the Lord. They had respect unto Jehovah’s precepts and they loved His Law. If any turn on their heel and refuse to hear of duties and ordinances I fear that they do not love God’s Word at all. He that does not love it all loves it not at all.
On the other hand, they are equally mistaken who delight in the preaching of duties but care not for the Doctrines of Grace. They say, “That sermon was worth hearing, for it has to do with daily life.” I am very glad that they are of this mind. But if at the same time they refuse other teaching of the Lord, they are greatly at fault. Jesus said, “He that is of God hears God’s Words.” I fear you are not of God if you account a portion of the Lord’s Words to be unworthy of your consideration.
Beloved, we prize the whole range of the Words of the Lord. We do not set aside the histories any more than the promises—“I’ll read the histories of Your love, and keep Your Laws in sight, While through the Promises I love with ever fresh delight.”
Above all, do not drop into the semi-blasphemy of some who think the New Testament vastly superior to the Old. I would not err by saying that in the Old Testament you have more of the bullion of Truth than in the New—for therein I should be falling into the evil which I condemn. But this I will say—they are of equal authority—and that they cast such light upon each other that we could not spare either of them. “What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder.” In the whole Book, from Genesis to Revelation, the Words of Jehovah are found and they are always pure words.
Neither is it right for any to say, “Thus spoke Christ Himself. But such-and-such a teaching is Pauline.” No! It is not Pauline. If it is recorded here, it is of the Holy Spirit. Whether the Holy Spirit speaks by Isaiah, or Jeremiah, or John, or James, or Paul, the authority is still the same. Even concerning Jesus Christ our Lord this is true. For He says of Himself, “The word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s which sent Me.” In this matter, He puts Himself upon the level of others who were as the mouth of God. He says again, “For I have not spoken of Myself. But the Father which sent Me, He gave Me a commandment, what I should say and what I should speak.”
We accept the words of the Apostles as the Words of the Lord, remembering what John said—“We are of God: he that knows God hears us. He that is not of God hears us not. Hereby know we the spirit of truth and the spirit of error” (1 John 4:6). A solemn judgment is thus pronounced upon those who would set the Spirit of Jesus against the Spirit which dwelt in the Apostles. The Words of the Lord are not affected in their value by the medium through which they came. The revealed Truth is all of the same quality even when the portions of it are not of the same weight of metal.
Abiding by the text, we observe next the purity of the Words of the Lord—“The Words of the Lord are pure words.” In commerce, there is silver and silver, as you all know—silver with alloy and silver free from baser metal. The Word of God is the silver without the dross. It is as silver which has been purified seven times in a crucible of earth in the furnace till every worthless particle has been removed—it is absolutely pure.
David said truly, “Your word is Truth.” It is Truth in the form of goodness, without mixture of evil. The Commandments of the Lord are just and right. We have occasionally heard opponents carp at certain coarse expressions used in our translation of the Old Testament. But the coarseness of translators is not to be set to the account of the Holy Spirit, but to the fact that the force of the English language has changed and modes of expression which were current at one period become too gross for another. But I will assert this—I have never yet met with a single person to whom the Words of God have of themselves suggested any evil thing. I have heard a great many horrible things said, but I have never met with a case in which any man has been led into sin by a passage of Scripture. Perversions are possible and probable—but the Book itself is absolutely pure. Details are given of very gross acts of criminality, but they leave no injurious impression upon the mind. The saddest story of Holy Scripture is a beacon and never a lure. This is the cleanest, clearest, purest Book extant among men.
No, it is not to be mentioned in the same hour with the fabulous records which pass for holy books. It comes from God and every Word is pure. It is also a book pure in the sense of truth, being without mixture of error. I do not hesitate to say that I believe that there is no mistake whatever in the original Holy Scriptures from beginning to end. There may be, and there are mistakes of translation. For translators are not inspired—but even the historical facts are correct. Doubt has been cast upon them here and there and at times with great show of reason—doubt which it has been impossible to meet for a season. But only give space enough and search enough and the stones buried in the earth cry out to confirm each letter of Scripture!
II. The Trials of the Words of God
The Words of God have been tested by blasphemy, by ridicule, by persecution, by criticism, and by candid observation. I shall not attempt an oratorical flight while describing the historical tests of the precious metal of Divine Revelation—but I shall mention trials of a commonplace order which have come under my own notice and probably under yours also. This may be more homely but it will be more edifying. The Lord help us!
In dealing with the sinner’s obstinacy we have tested the Words of the Lord. There are men who cannot be convinced or persuaded. They doubt everything and with closed teeth they resolve not to believe though a man declare it to them. They are encased in the armor of prejudice and they cannot be wounded with the sharpest arrows of argument though they profess great openness to conviction. What is to be done with the numerous people who are related to Mr. Obstinate? You might as well argue with an express-train as with Mr. Obstinate—he runs on and will not stop though a thousand should stand in his way.
Will the Words of God convince him? There are some in this place today of whom I should have said—if I had known them before their conversion—that it was a vain task to preach the Gospel to them. They so much loved sin and so utterly despised the things of God. Strangely enough, they were among the first to receive the Word of God when they came under the sound of it. It came to them in its native majesty, in the power of the Holy Spirit. It spoke with a commanding tone to their inmost heart. It threw open the doors that had long been shut up and rusted on their hinges and Jesus entered to save and reign! These who had defiantly brandished their weapons threw them down and surrendered unconditionally to almighty Love, willing Believers in the Lord Jesus.
Brethren, we have only to have faith in God’s Word and speak it out straight and we shall see proud rebels yielding. No mind is so desperately set on mischief or so resolutely opposed to Christ that it cannot be made to bow before the power of the Words of God. Oh, that we used more the naked sword of the Spirit! I am afraid we keep this two-edged sword in a scabbard and somewhat pride ourselves that the sheath is so elaborately adorned. What is the use of the sheath? The sword must be made bare and we must fight with it without attempting to garnish it.
Tell forth the Words of God. Omit neither the terrors of Sinai nor the love notes of Calvary. Proclaim the Word with all fidelity as you know it and cry for the power of the Highest and the most obstinate sinner out of Hell can be laid low by its means. The Holy Spirit uses the Word of God—this is His one battering ram with which He casts down the strongholds of sin and self in those human hearts with which He effectually deals. The Word of God will bear the tests furnished by the hardness of the natural heart and it will, by its operations, prove its Divine origin.
III. The Claims of the Words of God
The claims of these words are many. First, they deserve to be studied. Beloved, may I urge upon you the constant searching of Inspired Scripture? Here is the latest new novel! What shall I do with it? Cast it to the ground. Here is another piece of fiction which has been very popular! What shall I do with it? Throw it on one side, or thrust it between the bars of the grate. This Sacred Volume is the freshest of novels. It would be, to some of you, an entirely new book. We have a society for providing the Bible for readers but we greatly need readers of the Bible.
I grieve that even to some who bear the Christian name, Holy Scripture is the least read book in their library. One said of a preacher, the other day, “How does he keep up the congregation? Does he always give the people something new?” “Yes,” said the other, “he gives them the Gospel. And in these days that is the newest thing out.” It is truly so. The old, old Gospel is always new. The modern doctrine is only new in name. It is, after all, nothing but a hash of stale heresies and moldy speculations.
If God has spoken, listen! If the Lord has recorded His Words in a Book, search its pages with a believing heart. If you do not accept it as God’s Inspired Word, I cannot invite you to pay any particular attention to it. But if you regard it as the Book of God, I charge you, as I shall meet you at the Judgment Seat of Christ—study the Bible daily. Treat not the Eternal God with disrespect but delight in His Word. Do you read it? Then believe it. Oh, for an intense belief of every Word that God has spoken! Do not hold it as a dead creed but let it hold you as with an almighty hand. Have no controversy with any of the Lord’s Words. Believe without a doubt.
The brother of the famous Unitarian, Dr. Priestly, was permitted to preach for his brother in his Chapel in Birmingham. But he was charged to take no controversial subject. He was obedient to the letter of his instructions but very rebellious against their spirit—seeing he took for his text—“Without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh.” Assuredly there is no controversy among spiritual men upon the glorious Truth of the incarnation of our Lord Jesus! So also, all the Words of the Lord are out of the region of debate—they are to us absolute certainties. Until a doctrine becomes an absolute certainty to a man, he will never know its sweetness.
The Truth of God has little influence upon the soul till it is fully believed. Brothers and Sisters, obey the Book! Do it freely, do it heartily, do it constantly. Err not from the Commandment of God. May the Lord make you perfect in every good work, to do His will! “Whatsoever He says unto you, do it.” You that are unconverted, may you obey that Gospel Word—“He that believes and is baptized shall be saved.” Repentance and faith are at once the commands and the gifts of God—neglect them not.
Furthermore, these Words of God are to be preserved. Give up no line of God’s Revelation. You may not know the particular importance of the text assailed, but it is not for you to assess the proportionate value of God’s Words—if the Lord has spoken, be prepared to die for what He has said. I have often wondered whether, according to the notions of some people, there is any truth for which it would be worth while for a man to go to the stake. I should say not. For we are not sure of anything, according to the modern notion. Would it be worth while dying for a doctrine which may not be true next week? Fresh discoveries may show that we have been the victims of an antiquated opinion—had we not better wait and see what will turn up? It will be a pity to be burned too soon, or to lie in prison for a dogma which will, in a few years, be superseded.
Brethren, we cannot endure this shifty theology! May God send us a race of men who have backbones! Men who believe something and would die for what they believe. This Book deserves the sacrifice of our all for the maintenance of every line of it. Believing and defending the Word of God, let us proclaim it. Go out this afternoon on this first Sunday of summer and speak in the street the Words of this Book. Go to a cottage meeting, or to a workhouse, or to a lodging house and declare the Divine Words. “Truth is mighty and will prevail,” they say—it will not prevail if it is not made known. The Bible itself works no wonders until its Truths are published abroad. Tell it among the heathen that the Lord reigns from the Tree. Tell it among the multitude that the Son of God has come to save the lost and that whosoever believes in Him shall have eternal life! Make all men know that “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” This thing was not done in a corner—keep it not a secret. Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. And may God bless you! Amen.
Charles Spurgeon