The Great Dearth - the death of a land

Amos 8:11-13

"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it. In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst."

O Almighty God, Creator of heaven and earth, everlasting God, Prince of peace, King of kings, and Lord of Lords, our Sovereign Redeemer, have mercy upon this land, for there is a great dearth of hearing the Word of the Lord and great apostasy has overshadowed us. Surely our pastors have become brutish and have not sought Thy great Name, O Lord; they do not prosper and their flocks have scattered. Your people have gone a whoring after other gods, which are not gods. We have become a people of unclean lips, a people who are fat with the abundance of goods, and yet gaining the world, we are losing our souls and the souls of our children. Our shepherds say no more, "Where is the Lord?" and they that handle Your Word know You not. Our wise men are dismayed; they have rejected the Word of the Lord and there is no wisdom in them.

O Lord, mine heart within me is broken because of the prophets; all my bones shake. For the land is full of adulterers; for because of swearing the land mourneth; the pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up, and their course is evil, and their force is not right. For both prophet and priest are profane; yea, and in the house of God is their wickedness found. Our watchmen have become blind; they are ignorant, men of slumber who know not the way of the Lord, shepherds who cannot understand. They feed themselves, and not Thy sheep; the diseased have they not strengthened, and they have not sought that which was lost.

We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes: we stumble at noonday as in the night; we are in desolate places as dead men. We roar all like bears, and mourn sore like doves: we look for judgment, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far off from us. For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions are with us; and as for our iniquities, we know them; in transgressing and lying against the LORD, and departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood. And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter. Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey. We are poor, and we are foolish for we have not know the way of our God, and those who do have burst the bands and thrown off thy yoke.

When I saw all this, my heart trembled within me, for Thy great wrath is being poured out upon us for our iniquities which are great before you. But, though the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: yet I will rejoice in Thee O Lord; I will joy in the God of my Salvation. Thou O Lord are my strength, and you shall make my feet as the hinds feet, you shall cause me to walk on my high places for the glory of Your holy Name. Therefore will I not fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof, for you O Lord are my refuge and strength, a very present help in the time of trouble.

Surely, there is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High. You are in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: You shall help her, and that right early.

O people of the living God, be still and know that He is God. He will be exalted among the heathen, He will be exalted in the earth. Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and for evermore. From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the LORD'S name is to be praised. The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens. Who is like unto the LORD our God, who dwelleth on high, Who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth! For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory and dominion, both now and for ever, world without end.

Amen.

JOHN SUTCLIFF, "THE PRAYER CALL OF 1784"

Upon a motion being made to the ministers and messengers of the associate Baptist churches assembled at Nottingham, respecting meetings for prayer, to bewail the low estate of religion, and earnestly implore a revival of our churches, and of the general cause of our Redeemer, and for that end to wrestle with God for the effusion of his Holy Spirit, which alone can produce the blessed effect, it was unanimously RESOLVED, to recommend to all our churches and congregations, the spending of one hour in this important exercise, on the first Monday in every calendar month.

We hereby solemnly exhort all the churches in our connection, to engage heartily and perseveringly in the prosecution of this plan. And as it may be well to endeavour to keep the same hour, as a token of our unity herein, it is supposed the following scheme may suit many congregations, viz. to meet on the first Monday evening in May, June, and July, from 8 to 9. In Aug. from 7 to 8. Sept. and Oct. from 6 to 7. Nov. Dec. Jan. and Feb. from 5 to 6. March, from 6 to 7; and April, from 7 to 8. Nevertheless if this hour, or even the particular evening, should not suit in particular places, we wish our brethren to fix on one more convenient to themselves.

We hope also, that as many of our brethren who live at a distance from our places of worship may not be able to attend there, that as many as are conveniently situated in a village or neighbourhood, will unite in small societies at the same time. And if any single individual should be so situated as not to be able to attend to this duty in society with others, let him retire at the appointed hour, to unite the breath of prayer in private with those who are thus engaged in a more public manner.

The grand object of prayer is to be that the Holy Spirit may be poured down on our ministers and churches, that sinners may be converted, the saints edified, the interest of religion revived, and the name of God glorified. At the same time, remember, we trust you will not confine your requests to your own societies [i.e. churches]; or to your own immediate connection [i.e. denomination]; let the whole interest of the Redeemer be affectionately remembered, and the spread of the gospel to the most distant parts of the habitable globe be the object of your most fervent requests. We shall rejoice if any other Christian societies of our own or other denominations will unite with us, and do now invite them most cordially to join heart and hand in the attempt.

Who can tell what the consequences of such an united effort in prayer may be! Let us plead with God the many gracious promises of His Word, which relate to the future success of His gospel. He has said, “I will yet for this be enquired of by the House of Israel to do it for them, I will increase them with men like a flock.” Ezek. xxxvi.37. Surely we have love enough for Zion to set apart one hour at a time, twelve times in a year, to seek her welfare.

Attached to John Ryland, Jr., The Nature, Evidences, and Advantages, of Humility (Circular Letter of the Northamptonshire Association, 1784), 12.

Man Abased and God Exalted

We want nothing but to behold the glory of God and to see Him exalted by all, and everywhere, to be happy. When I read the descriptions of the heavenly world, I see nothing so prominent as these two great truths: Man abased and God exalted….Behold! ‘what hath God wrought?’ – Gardiner Spring, quoted by Iain Murray, Revival and Revivalism: The Making and Marring of American Evangelicalism 1750-1858, p. 345

Biblical Revival - A Vision for a Life Lived to the Glory of God

Revival - we must all agree that we cannot cause it. Revivals are not things we schedule for a week in the spring. Nor for Saturday night. I think of Gardiner Spring who said,

“Revivals are always spurious when they are got up by man’s device, and not brought down by the Spirit of God.”

They start with a genuine, Spirit produced hearing of the Word of God. At the same time, an awakening within the people of God, while the work of the Spirit, can be the result of obedience to the Word. We recognize that the Spirit must prepare our hearts, but we should leave that to God, trust that He will prepare our hearts, and then obey the Word.

Obedience must come in many areas. God calls us to humility, prayer, an open heart to the Word of God, genuine faith, and then obedience.

The Lord says,

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

This evening, the Lord brought to mind a passage which I believe would bring revival to the church if the church actually grasped the depth and meaning of this passage and the ramifications it has on everything we are about, everything we think, everything we do, everything we say, everywhere we go. The passage would first promote humility as we realize how we have sought after that which is worthless and maybe sinful more than the true riches of God. It would humble us as we consider just how little we live life for Christ and His glory alone. It would promote prayer as we seek the Lord's forgiveness and as we praise Him for His greatness, giving glory to His name. It would cause us to seek God as we beheld His infinite value. And it would cause us to turn from our wicked ways as we came to an understanding of our purpose for existence and the greatness of the knowledge of God.

That passage is Romans 11:33-36:

O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

How often do we seek after that which is not the true riches? How often do we value the world more than the treasure hid in the field, which when the man found he sold all that he had to buy the field? Do we love the world's wisdom more than the wisdom and knowledge of God? Do we delight more to learn some new thing the world has to say than to dwell upon the Words of the great shepherd?

Further, do we really view all things - including ourselves, our families, our churches, our jobs, our properties, our conversations, our thoughts - as for Christ? How might that change our life? If we realized - not just in word, but in real understanding - that all of life is for the glory of God and God alone, would that not change the way we live our lives? If our thoughts were constantly on whether we are glorifying Christ, we would redeem the time. That thing which is unprofitable, it would become worthless in our sight because our vision is filled with the true riches. That conversation with our neighbor would become an opportunity to glorify our King and to tell of the riches of knowing Christ. Wrong treatment would now be an opportunity to glorify Christ. All of life would be changed if we just grasped that we are here because of, through, and for Christ and that that means everything is to be for His praise and His glory, no matter what.

Oh Lord, send revival to your people. Let us humble ourselves under your mighty hand and let us develop a God glorifying vision in which your glory is our highest goal and your knowledge and wisdom the greatest riches.