Heavenly Gifts to Victorious Saints 2
Back to J. C. Philpot Sermons
There was no manna, and never will be, while guilt remains upon the conscience, while sin has dominion, while we are entangled in and cast down by Satan's snares, while we are overcome with the lusts of the flesh, while pride and covetousness and every evil bear the sway.
But when the Lord leads us into this path--to sink down into weakness, and in weakness to find his strength made perfect; to fall down all guilt, and then to feel the application of atoning blood; to tremble under the weight of doubts and fears, and then to have the precious word of his testimony dropped into the heart--this is manna. The children of Israel had to endure hunger in the wilderness before manna fell; and thus the Lord's people learn the value of the hidden manna, the sweet communications from above, by hungering and thirsting in a waste howling wilderness.
But there is something more implied by the word "manna" than this. The Lord Jesus Christ himself tells us that he is "the true bread that came from heaven;" and that the manna represented his flesh which he gave for the life of the (elect) world. Now, when we are in bondage to sin, when our lusts and passions get the victory over us, when guilt lies hard and heavy upon the conscience, when little is experienced but darkness and confusion--then there is no feeding upon the flesh of Jesus, no tasting how sweet and precious he is, no embracing him in the arms of faith, no enjoying glimpses and glances of his surpassing beauty.
But, on the other hand, when the Lord is pleased to give power to the soul to overcome by "the blood of the Lamb and the word of his testimony," then his flesh and blood become sweet to him who thus overcomes. When do I value a discovery to my heart of redemption by the Lord Jesus Christ? When I am strong? When I am wise? When I am holy? When I am righteous? These things set me far from Jesus. But when I am bowed down with guilt, cut up by temptations, tried and exercised with a whole company of doubts and fears--then if the Lord be pleased to draw me to his footstool; then if he opens up what he has done and suffered upon the cross; then if he raises up faith in my soul to look to him, believe in his name, and receive him as the crucified Son of God--then there is a feeding upon the manna; his flesh becomes food indeed, and his blood becomes drink indeed. But this is hidden from all eyes except those that are anointed by the Spirit to see it, and hidden from all hearts except those that are prepared to receive and feed upon it.
2. The next promise is, "And I will give him a white stone." In ancient times, they used to decide cases by white and black stones. The judges (for they were rather judges than jury) did not give their verdict upon the prisoner by oral testimony, "Guilty," or "Not Guilty," as in our country, but by dropping into a urn a white stone to express their opinion that the prisoner was innocent, or a black stone to declare their judgment that the prisoner was guilty. The Lord has made use of this figure. He says, "To him who overcomes I will give a white stone;" that is--I will give into his conscience a sentence of acquittal. As the white stone was dropped into the urn, so peace and pardon are dropped into the sinner's bosom; and just as the judge, when he deposited the white stone in the urn, declared thereby the prisoner's innocence; so when the Lord is pleased to speak peace to the soul, he drops into the heart a white stone, to proclaim him discharged from the law's accusations, and interested in his love and blood.
But how is this figure applicable? Why, he that overcomes treads the same path whereby the poor guilty criminal came to receive the white stone. The promise is made to him who overcomes. Should not we think that this is setting a TASK before him which he is to perform? that he has to fast, to pray, to attend sacraments, to offer up so many prayers, and thus by degrees overcome sin and gain the prize? Would not that be fallen human nature's interpretation? But it is not grace's interpretation. This is grace's blessed interpretation, consistent with the experience of the saints and with divine teaching in their souls--that he overcomes by being overcome, for this opens a way for the Lord to bring a sense of his blood into the conscience, and speak a word of testimony to his heart. Then he receives "a white stone," deposited by the Lord himself in his bosom, whereby he declares that all his sins are forgiven--peace is sealed upon his conscience, and he goes free, walking in that liberty which the gospel proclaims to those that are in the prison-house.
But we may say, that every testimony from the Lord is "a white stone." Every token that the Lord ever bestowed upon you that you are a child of his, every promise that has ever come into your heart, every answer to prayer that you have ever received from his lips, every deliverance that you have ever experienced from his hand, is "a white stone."
Every application of truth with divine savor and unction to your soul, every reviving or refreshing season, every sweet manifestation, every breaking down or softening of heart, every melting of spirit at the Redeemer's footstool, is "a white stone." Every time that you felt Jesus precious to your heart--every time that you washed his feet with your tears, and wiped them with the hairs of your head--every time that you embraced him in the arms of faith and affection, and could say, "Dear Lord, how precious you are to my soul!"--was "a white stone." The Lord has given you "a white stone" with every visit of his gracious presence, with every communication of his eternal and never-ceasing love. And what a mercy it is for the child of God to have even one white stone!
Suppose to revert to the custom from which the figure is borrowed, there was any doubt as to whether a prisoner had been acquitted, could he not point to the white stones that were in the urn? And if he could produce them in his hand, and say to the judges, "Here are the white stones that you have put into the urn; you yourselves have acquitted me;" would not the production of them declare him vindicated from the charges brought against him? And what a mercy it is for a child of God to have a white stone that he can present before a throne of mercy! to have some testimony, some token for good, some promise brought into his heart with power, some sweet visit from the Lord! to have realized his presence, to have had faith in his blood, to have known his love! so that when doubts and fears, difficulties and perplexities beset him, he can, as the Lord the Spirit enables, look back to those times when "a white stone" was given as a proof on the Lord's part of his soul's entire acquittal from law charges, and a sure testimony that his name is in the book of life.
And how many doubts and fears, dark seasons, distressing moments, what sharp convictions, heavy burdens, hard bondage the soul must labor under from the lack of "a white stone!" To be accused, accused, accused, and not to find one "white stone!"--does not this try you sometimes? Perhaps some illness seizes you; or you feel some symptoms of disease; you are afraid that fever or cholera will lay hold of you, or that you are going into a decline, and your tabernacle is about to be taken down. You have been a professor some years; but doubts and fears now arise in your mind, convictions of guilt seize you, and you begin to quake and tremble--to fear that you never had pardon proclaimed or peace manifested, never had a visit from the Lord, never had an answer to prayer, never had a manifestation of God's presence, never felt his dying love, never had his word applied with power to your heart. If you have a tender conscience, made alive in God's fear, it must bring bondage and distress into your soul to have all these doubts and fears working in your mind, and not have one "white stone" to produce, not one testimony, not one clear evidence that the Lord has visited your soul, and begotten you unto eternal life. But does that prove you are not a quickened soul? No, no--it is a proof that you are a quickened soul. If you were a 'rotten professor', you would not desire "a white stone;" but it is because you are a poor guilty, trembling sinner that you feel you need "a white stone."
Suppose we were in some ancient court, where cases were decided by these black and white stones dropped into the urn. Would the bystanders want them? No; only one would want them--the guilty criminal trembling at the bar. He would anxiously watch the hands of the judges, to see whether they dropped the white or the black stones into the urn. So you, who doubt and fear, who are distressed in your minds, cut up in your feelings, and harassed by convictions--all for the lack of a sweet manifestation, all for the lack of a clear testimony, all for the lack of pardon and peace being sealed upon your heart; these very exercises, these very trials of mind, all prove that you have the life of God in your soul--for having the life of God, you are anxious after manifestations from the Lord; and nothing else can satisfy you. Now you are upon the high road to victory. Your doubts and fears, your cutting convictions, your sharp exercises, your numerous temptations, your many perplexities--what is their effect? To beat you down, to defeat, to overcome you, to prove stronger than all your attempts to master them.
But these things are to bring you to the foot of the cross. They are to cut up 'creature righteousness' root and branch; they are to strip you of every rag of fleshly holiness, and bring you to that safe spot where you will one day "overcome by the blood of the Lamb, and the word of his testimony"--the blood of the Lamb applied to your conscience, and the word of God's testimony spoken with sweet delivering power to your heart.
But only the Lord's family want these white stones. They want the Lord to give something to them, and to do something in them--to speak something to them and in them. It is not what this man may say, or the other man may say, that satisfies a conscience made tender in God's fear. It is what the Lord does in, and speaks to him. This, and this alone, can satisfy one that has the life of God ebbing and flowing in his heart.
3. "And on the stone a new name written, which no man knows but he who receives it." Here is another custom alluded to. In ancient times it was customary to write upon a stone the name of the candidate for whom they intended to vote. If there were two, three, four, or ten candidates for an office, when a person would express his opinion that such a candidate should be chosen; in other words, when he would give a vote for a particular candidate, he wrote the name of the candidate upon a stone, and put that stone into a urn; and he whose name appeared most frequent was considered chosen by the majority of the people. The Lord alludes to this in the text, where he says, "On the stone a new name written, which no man knows but he that receives it."
What is this new name? Is it not a new heart, a new nature--Christ in the soul the hope of glory? This is the "new name which no man knows but he that receives it." New affections flowing towards the precious Lord, new breathings of a heart made tender in his fear, new enjoyments of his manifested presence, new sensations from the work of the Spirit upon the soul; in other words, a new heart, a new nature, made new by him who sits upon the throne. When the Lord's people are exercised with doubts and fears, and cast down by many temptations, what are their two greatest trials? The workings of the old man of sin, and the few communications that they have of power from the Lord. Does not this sometimes trouble your mind? There is a sad darkness in your soul. You go to a throne of grace; you plead with the Lord; you ask him to give you a word. But there is no answer, no manifestation, no sweet whisper, no discovery of Jesus to your soul. You go away worse than you came. Or, you are tempted with some sin; some snare is spread for your feet; some besetment holds you fast--you are cut up with guilt, and distressed in your mind. "O wretched man that I am!" is your constant cry. But you cannot break the snare, cannot deliver your own soul, cannot overcome the besetment that works so powerfully in your carnal mind. Under these feelings you have no communication from God, no sweet testimony, no answer to prayer, no divine light nor liberty, nothing to strengthen, nothing to comfort, nothing to encourage your soul; darkness, guilt, bondage, lay hold of you, and press you down into the deep and dark dungeon.
Now, at this time there is no new name. When you pray, it is with sighs and groans; if you read, you can find nothing but what condemns you; if you hear, your conscience fastens upon everything that describes hypocrites in a profession, but can take nothing that seems to strengthen the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. At this time there is the old man of sin, an accusing guilty conscience, a troubled mind, a tempting devil, but alas! no "white stone," no "new name."
But after a time, when the Lord brings you a weeping sinner to the cross, a poor guilty criminal to his feet, and then begins to open up in your soul salvation through the blood of the Lamb, and to apply the word of his testimony with power in your heart, then no sooner is the "white stone" given, than the "new name" is given with it, "which no man knows except he that receives it." There are new sensations, new feelings, new affections, new thoughts, new desires, and everything is made new in a man's soul.
But "no man knows this, except he that receives it." New thoughts of Jesus; new openings up of Scripture, new meltings of heart, new softenings of spirit, everything made new by Him who renews us "in the renewing of our mind"--no man knows these things except he who receives them. It is all between the Lord and the soul--it is all between a pardoning God and a pardoned sinner; it is all mercy, all grace, all love, from first to last. Grace began, grace carries on, and grace finishes it; grace must have all the glory, and grace must crown the work with eternal victory.
But what says the Lord in the context? "He that has an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." Have you an ear? Do you hear these things? I do not mean with the outward ear; we all have that. But do you hear with the ear of the heart? with the ears of a conscience that falls under the power of truth? with an ear that receives God's truth into it, "mixed with faith in those who hear it"?--sometimes trembling, sometimes hoping, sometimes sinking, sometimes rising. You cannot put away these things, and say, 'It is all lies.' There is that inward voice, that living witness in your conscience that knows it is the solemn truth of God. You have ears to hear. The Lord has unstopped the deaf ears; he has given you a conscience to feel, and has raised up faith in your heart, which mixes with the word which comes from his own mouth to hear what the Spirit says to the churches, to hear what the Spirit says to those who fear his name, to hear the promises that drop from his gracious lips--these have ears to hear.
The Lord fulfill these things in your experience. Did you ever eat of the hidden manna? Was Christ ever precious to your soul? Have you ever had "a white stone" given you that you could look upon, and believe the Lord had dropped a testimony into your heart? With that "white stone" was there given you "a new name," a new heart, a new nature, new affections, new feelings, new desires; in a word, all things new? 'Yes,' says one, 'I have through mercy experienced all this.' Well, to whom is the promise made? "To him who overcomes."
Are you that character? And if you are, how did you overcome? Was it according to the Scripture description, by "the blood of the Lamb, and the word of his testimony"? There is no other way. It is not because you have embraced certain tenets, or are a sound Calvinist, or 'approve of these things' when you hear them with the ear. A man may do all that, and yet know nothing feelingly of the work of grace upon the conscience. But this is the question, whether you have overcome, or are in the way to overcome? If you have never overcome, nor are striving to do so, all your knowledge of these things is but in the brain; it is not vital, it is not spiritual, it is not experimentally wrought in your heart by the power of God.
But perhaps there are some here whose conscience bears a secret testimony--"I know I have never eaten of the hidden manna, never had a white stone, never had a new name." Well, where are you? "O," say they, "if I could tell you my heart, I would say, it was full of doubts and fears whether I ever should get to heaven; I would tell you, it was full of carnality, wickedness, and sin; overcome by Satan, easily mastered by temptation, weak and worthless, poor and needy, filthy and polluted--such is a faint description of my heart!"
But what is the effect of all these feelings that are passing in the chambers within? Are they emptying you of creature strength? Are they stripping you of creature righteousness? In a word, are they bringing you to the footstool of mercy, to the cross of Jesus, to the throne of grace, as a poor guilty sinner, that there you may receive the sweet communications of his love and blood to your soul?
Mercy is in store for you. The Lord is leading you to overcome. You are learning a great lesson by doubts and fears. You are getting very salutary instructions by knowing the corruptions of your heart, and the snares of the flesh, the world, and the devil. Your guilty conscience, often plunged in seas of guilt, is thus being prepared for the sweet reception of the blood of sprinkling, which speaks better things than the blood of Abel. The voice of conscience in your bosom, continually crying, 'Guilty, guilty!' is but the prelude and harbinger of another voice that will one day speak to your inward heart, and be as marrow and oil to your bones--"Son, or daughter, your sins are forgiven; go in peace." Then you will know something of the "hidden manna," of the "white stone," and of the "new name" written in the white stone, "which no man knows except he that receives it."
These are solemn realities. This is a religion which no man can get for himself, and which no man can communicate to another. This is a religion wholly dependent upon the power of the Holy Spirit--and no other religion is worth a straw. All other teachings but God's teachings will leave our souls needy, naked, and undone. All other coverings but the covering of God's Spirit will leave the soul under the wrath of an avenging Jehovah. All other knowledge, except spiritual experimental knowledge, wrought in our heart by the power of the Holy Spirit, will leave us in the hands of Him who "is a consuming fire." I would not drop a word to cast down any of God's poor family, to disquiet the troubled, to burden the sinking, to add weights to those whose feet are in the stocks, or stumbling in the mire. But I would not hold out any encouragement to those who think to gain the victory by their own strength, wisdom, or righteousness. I know that such are not under the teachings of the Spirit, such are not in the high road to victory.
But you that are really the people of God, you that doubt and fear, you that are exercised in your souls, and that sharply and strongly--grace and truth are yours. These trials and temptations are to empty you, strip you, and lay you low. They are meant to bring you to the footstool of mercy, there to overcome by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of his testimony; there to have hidden manna dropped into your heart; there to have a white stone lodged in your conscience; there to experience the sweetness and blessedness of the new name, "which no man knows except he who receives it."
Do you approve of this religion? Are you sure in your souls it will stand the trying hour? And is this the feeling of your heart?--"Lord, let me have your grace, mercy, and truth experienced in my soul!" Depend upon it, those whom the Lord thus leads, he will enable to overcome in his strength; and He who has given the promise will fulfill it in their hearts and consciences, to his own glory and their unspeakable joy.
Back to J. C. Philpot Sermons