Evidences of spiritual life (Quality: Average, Incomplete)

[0:00] Let us, in the name of God and by the Holy Spirit, direct you to the book of Psalms, Psalm 119, and we read verse 175.

[0:22] Psalm 119, verse 175. Let thy soul live, and it shall praise thee, and let thy judgments help me.

[0:47] We feel no uncertainty in our spirit concerning the subject matter of the text.

[1:02] Let thy soul live, and it shall praise thee, that it is the quintessence of all holy desire in every gracious heart, and undoubtedly will perfectly assess and reflect the intensity of holy longing in every one of your souls here this morning who have the rich treasure of divine grace.

[1:50] This morning we shall seek to dwell, therefore, on this first clause of the verse.

[2:01] Let thy soul live, and it shall praise thee. The outstanding part of the subject is life.

[2:18] And it is inferred here by the psalmist that those who cry thus to the Lord have already, in their souls this divine light communicated to them, that there is an intensity of longing to be brought into a deeper and richer experience of living to the glory of God and in nearness to him, and not be left always, and I quote from the hymnal, to live at a poor dying right.

[3:17] I want to suggest to you this morning as we open, and this will include myself, would you be perfectly satisfied to go on from this morning to the end of your spiritual life here below, living in that poor dying right?

[3:43] Are you content to feel a measure of lukewarmness and lethargy, and to follow him perhaps afar off, and to have very little clarity of knowledge or understanding, or is there this intensity of desire, let my soul live?

[4:12] There is a potential here, that it may praise thee. Well, I need grace initially to bring before you this amazing subject of life.

[4:29] And life here obviously is spiritual or designed everlasting light.

[4:43] Something that we are entirely destitute of in our first birth because of the Adamic fall and how amazing therefore it is to consider the subject of design life.

[5:11] I think we may perhaps put a question, are there any evidences that we possess design life, the life of God in our souls.

[5:30] In any case, it will be desirable to seek, to design what life really is.

[5:43] Now take first natural life. It is impossible to analyse it. You can never put life into a test cube and come forward with an analysis of what life is.

[6:01] You can only know life by that which expresses it and manifests it by all the faculties and functions of life.

[6:14] Breathing, hearing, seeing, feeling, and the wonderful constant motion of the heart and all those functions and faculties of life express it.

[6:39] You have hunger and thirst. You're breathing. Your heart is beating. the blood is flowing. It is warm through your arteries.

[6:53] You can see what is before you. You have the functions of life. And if you go back to the book of Genesis, you will see how that in the creation of man there were two parts.

[7:11] God forming his tabernacle from the dust and then breathing into his nostrils the breath of life.

[7:25] And he was alive. So, I want this morning as the Lord shall assist me to endeavor to speak of this amazing subject of spiritual life.

[7:48] It is quite evident that man is in the state of death by birth. Think of this vast city over nine millions of people in greater London and yet how few there are who have any concern relative to eternity the worship of God who have any knowledge of God or of themselves because of death.

[8:22] What a solemn thing death is. Death means then a state of death to God. No awareness of God or of ourselves or of our need of mercy and the most solemn proof of death to have no knowledge of the Son of God no union with him no desire for him and no knowledge of his cleansing blood and justifying righteousness.

[9:02] But to speak of how the Lord imparts life there are several scriptures that refer to this and several that have particular reference to the early period following the gift of the life of God to the soul.

[9:27] For instance, the Lord speaks of the wind blowing where it listed. Thou hearest the sound thereof that canst not tell whence it cometh or whether it goeth.

[9:42] so is everyone that is born of the Spirit. Something that's invisible but powerful, effectual, something is accomplished to the glory of God.

[10:01] Life is known in the soul. Now, let me immediately name the case of our own apostle. this man who was so full of self-righteousness and the spirit of malice and guile against the Church of Christ and the name of the Lord and had such a tremendous ton of knowledge and his own righteousness stood before him as something that was like a bulwark to rest upon.

[10:39] And then on the Damascus road the Lord met with him and quickened his soul into life, breathed into his soul the breath of eternal life.

[10:59] Now what I'm thinking of is this, man, this man that he had heard of, this great persecutor, that the Lord should be sending him to this man, this enemy.

[11:29] And the Lord said this to him, behold, he prayeth, he prayeth, there's life in his soul.

[11:41] that man, that notorious arch persecutor that you are so concerned about, let this be the divine evidence and warrant for your visit to him, the evidence of what I have done.

[12:08] behold, he prayeth, he's praying, there's life, what about it?

[12:19] It is like, really very much like a person, the lungs, the respiration of the lungs, there's this movement, you inspire, you respire, respiration, there it is, your soul is breathing as life, you see, you're praying.

[12:44] Oh, what a joy, what an unparalleled joy it would be for many who fear God, if they had that satisfaction concerning their dear children.

[13:02] Behold, he prayeth, he's breathing, as life. And, have we that sacred evidence? I know that there are times when you may feel very prayerless, and wonder if you have any life at all.

[13:24] But look at the season that the Lord has brought us to people in the creation. After the moribund state, in winter, the sack going down, and in many cases no signs of life, the trees bare, everything looking bare and bleak, from now, the wonderful body, the signs of the resurgence of the whole creation.

[14:05] And, perhaps, first thing in the morning, when you are semi-conscious, you can hear a bird on that twig, singing in melody, praise to the Creator, was life, a bursting forth.

[14:31] And so, what an evidence of life that was concerning Saul. Behold, he prayeth. Now, life, because I want to go through several points in this service, life is very evident in the soul of a quickened sinner, when brought under the quickening, convincing power of the Spirit of God under the law, when deeply convinced of sin.

[15:10] Oh, how obvious it is that that sinner has life, although they may not understand it in that way. Take the poor, poor publican, poor dear man, the poor dear man who must have felt really almost in a hopeless condition, smiting on his breast.

[15:38] Why on his breast? breast because there the root of the malady rests, and crying, God, be merciful to me, a sinner.

[15:51] What life! My mind has gone back, and often does, to days in London, many years ago, and I can remember occasions like that in this city.

[16:09] What life in the soul when under conviction you felt the terrible weight of your sin and cried for divine mercy.

[16:24] So, what evidence there is of life by the quickening and convincing power of the spirit. Now, there's something else, and that is this.

[16:40] Take, for instance, under condemnation, and coming to the place where you felt you had no hope, you would not have been able to accept that these spiritual experiences had any relationship to the gift of life to your soul.

[17:08] You would have said, I'm condemned, I'm guilty, I'm lost, I fear that I shall go to the pit.

[17:19] Tell me this is life, it's the evidence of life, my friends. But I want to come now to what is so precious and rich and wonderful.

[17:35] And it is this, to the first real understanding and knowledge of life in your soul, that is to have the sweet, blessed, assurance, and comfortable understanding that the Lord has given you life.

[18:00] And what is it? It is when the eternal spirit of God for the first time reveals the dear Lamb of God.

[18:15] I endeavour to ask the Lord in prayer that we might behold his glory here to die. now when he first reveals the glory of Christ, that sweet thirst, and he looks with divine compassion and mighty love upon your soul, and in a moment gives you the grace of faith to believe in him to the saving of your soul, that inflowing of love, and you realise life has been graciously bestowed upon your soul.

[19:03] Now, go back, dear friends, to that season. Life is manifested then by a relationship, a oneness, and by the sweet blessed understanding that he has bestowed upon you eternal life, which is to know him.

[19:31] You may have been very concerned about relatives, dear ones, some of them, as well as your own case, some of them you have no doubt about, there is such abundant proof that they are the Lord's.

[19:54] Some you may have felt extremely anxious about, but in the long run, and in the ultimate, this is the one thing that matters, and this is the proof.

[20:08] What is it? Do they know him, Christ? Do they know him? if they know him, they have life eternal.

[20:21] Now do you know him? You may know him in his precious name, that dear woman with the issue of blood. She had no knowledge of him, while spending all her living on those many physicians and getting worse.

[20:41] others. But one day, there was a moment in time, there was a die, one die, she heard of him.

[20:55] Now immediately she heard of him, she knew him, in measure. She was no longer destitute. The Spirit of God conveyed that knowledge to her of this weak person, who he was or is, and what he would do, if only she could touch him.

[21:25] Now she knew him from that moment, from that day, life, that you possess that. I want to come just as low as that.

[21:38] Some may speak with familiar freedom and use luscious names, they may presume.

[21:50] I want to come right down to this poor abject case, where they hear of him, she heard.

[22:02] After all, this is just what the preaching of the gospel is all about. For sick, needy souls, according to the power of the Spirit, the time comes when they hear him.

[22:19] You may have been in and out of Gareth Street, some of you going back, possibly for years, and of course you heard, with your external ears, the name of Jesus thousands of times.

[22:36] Never heard of him internally, spiritually, and then one day in deep need about your sinnership, about your soul in view of eternity, you heard of him.

[22:52] And there's life, my friends. She knew him. Now, I cannot believe that if one is favoured to hear of him, that they will die without having the same experience measurably as that emaciated woman.

[23:18] She believed, she knew, there was something so positive and vital about it, there was no uncertainty, no ambiguity.

[23:34] She knew, she had the full assurance, here is the one, she knew him. Now, if only I can touch.

[23:47] and the Lord favoured her to do that, and I believe he will favour every soul that hears of him to do that, that is to say, to receive healing virtue from him.

[24:06] He didn't let her die, she must have been on the very verge of death, but he didn't let her die. here was this sweet person, and the same obtains today, my friends.

[24:23] Here is this beloved Saviour, the sweet person of Christ, full of compassion, full of virtue, that there must be this touch, this contact, and this inflowing of healing virtue to the soul that she knew him.

[24:51] What I was endeavouring to underline there was this, she had life. Now does this take any of you in? Life.

[25:04] Now what evidence was there of life? look at the positive, tremendous evidence of life.

[25:17] The perseverance, the pressure of faith, pressing through all those crowds, are naturally touching it.

[25:32] What life! Let us spell it out. She knew where to go, who to go to. She knew the identity of that glorious person.

[25:48] When she saw him, she knew this was Christ, the Son of God. There was no uncertainty about it. She didn't say, well now, is this the one?

[26:00] No, she knew identification of that person. she knew him. And this life in her soul, although her own mortal life was ebbing out, look at the vigor of spiritual life in her soul, the vigor although so weak and languid and dying, pressing through everything, touching.

[26:34] and immediately virtue flowed from Christ into her person. Now, there's life.

[26:46] There's the abundant truth of it. Life. She was whole in a moment. Soul, body, life.

[26:59] here is life. So, I would give you this head to really know positively that you have life. It is to receive the virtue.

[27:12] Virtue is life. Virtue. It is something which is communicated. Virtue flowed from Christ into her person.

[27:24] Now, there it is. There's life. I well remember. I cannot fix the year or the day, but I know well when this thirst transpired in my soul.

[27:42] When I was undone and perishing as I thought and going to hell with no hope, another amazing revelation revelation of the glory of the person of Christ to my soul that seemed to penetrate the walls of the house and shine right into my soul.

[28:07] And I looked up and saw him on the cross. And as I looked, he looked on me. And he looked with divine compassion an everlasting love upon my soul.

[28:24] And immediately virtue flowed into my spirit. Why, I was a new creature.

[28:36] I could go forth in the dances of those that make merry. I had a living hope, a sweet blessed hope, that I should be with him in eternal glory.

[28:50] The amazing thing was that he loved me. Oh, life. This is the positive evidence of it. So, this morning in this sacred sanctuary, do you feel that the virtue was flowed from Christ into your soul?

[29:14] That you have life. And if I said to you, give some proof of it, to catechise you, you would say, yes, I'm healed.

[29:26] My sins are forgiven. The Lord has cleansed me. He has healed me of all my sicknesses. How wonderful to have life.

[29:37] and you can see the blessed issue. Such are in union with him.

[29:48] Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee, in whose heart are the ways of them. You're in union, and consequently in communion with him.

[30:01] That is to say, there is from day to day some communication from the Lord to your soul.

[30:13] You have, and I have often been impressed by this, and you have seen this, no doubt, even in the city, in some places, by a spring, a spring.

[30:27] you take in the country, or for instance, take this great river Thames. Some of you may have been to where the Thames rises.

[30:44] Now, what is it? These springs. And it's living water. There it is, it keeps bubbling up out of the earth.

[30:56] It's a beautiful concept of life, that is. Life, living water. It's not cistern water, it's not death, there's no stagnation, it's life, it's something that keeps bubbling up.

[31:12] Well, now that's life in the soul. But the point is, your springs are all in him, and this keeps flowing from a divine source into your soul.

[31:26] life. All the fresh springs of hope and faith and love and patience and everything you need, they keep bubbling up in your soul, because the fountain head is in heaven.

[31:44] What life! I mean, after all, you could have, I don't know of you, but you could have come to Shaftesbury Avenue this morning wondering if you had any life at all, feeling dead, hardly sure can they be worse to have never heard his name.

[32:05] You may get as low as that sometimes, sit in the sanctuary, and not a moment, and then presently, there's this bubbling up of life in your soul this spring.

[32:22] holy desire going forth, a heavenly aspiration, a melting of your heart.

[32:33] Christ is precious, and you feel your affection set on things above. Oh, how wonderful life is.

[32:44] So, have we these evidences of life? I suppose the greatest evidence of all is, and I quote from the canticles and from our own apostle, is this, to come to the place where you're able to say, my beloved is mine and I am his.

[33:10] We are one. There's life there surely. Christ is your life. Christ, and then to be so indulged that with our apostle you can say, for me to live is Christ and to die is gain.

[33:28] And, as in another place, where he takes a retrospective view, I knew a man in Christ, whether in the body or out of the body, I cannot tell.

[33:43] you see, he was so blessed that he didn't even know whether he was in the body or out of it. Have you know what it is to live?

[33:55] To live in union, communion, live with a little of heaven in your soul? This is living. So, how blessed is the subject of life.

[34:10] Let my soul live. But, I suppose, before we come to the close this morning, I should take another view. The language of desire here seems to suggest declension.

[34:31] And, also, it expresses, I believe, or infers, that there are so many things that militate against this life of God in the soul, and that are capable of bringing you into a deathly condition before him.

[34:51] And so, you're saying, let my soul live, dear Lord. I don't want to be brought into bondage, or deathiness, by idolatry, or pride, or carnality, or anything that is inimical to thee and thy character and thy gospel.

[35:15] Let my soul live. I make reference to our lesson, King Hezekiah coming into that terrible affliction as a young man, and having three things to distress him.

[35:38] First, his soul, and then, of course, his sorely afflicted body, and thirdly, the invasion of Judah and the royal city in that besieged condition.

[35:57] So, there are three things, but the matter of priority, obviously, being his soul. There he was. In those depths, the eloquent word that expresses it is a monumental word for the family of God.

[36:18] Oh, Lord, I am oppressed. Undertake for me. This is the only word possible. undertake for me, dear Lord.

[36:30] But, this is a remarkable thing. Everything that he came into seemed to spell out death to him, didn't it? He was in deep trouble about his soul, and his body was dying, and it looked as if Jerusalem would be overrun, and so on.

[36:50] it all seemed to spell out death. Now, when the Lord appeared, we have his testimony, and in his testimony he says, Oh, Lord, by these things men live.

[37:07] Just the opposite. That is to say, the Lord had sanctified all that he came into, so that his soul was in a lively state.

[37:20] By these things men live. And it could well be the same with you. You may come into various things that seem to spell out death to you at the outset, and the Lord sanctifies it, and your soul is brought into this lively state.

[37:45] Now then, let me name to you, as I close the issue with Hezekiah. He had three blessings.

[37:59] He had a healed or pardoned soul. Is that living? If the Lord should convey to you that sweet sentence, Son, thy sins are all forgiven, is that living?

[38:16] He had a forgiven or healed soul. So what does it mean for it to be healed? It means the plague is removed.

[38:28] It means that the blood of Christ is applied. It means that you're ready for heaven. He had a healed soul, a healed body.

[38:39] body. Sometimes the body is brought very low. The Lord knows how to heal the body and also a delivered setting. let my soul live and it shall praise thee.