eChurch Blog

This is great, really cheered me up this morning:-

“Thou God seest me.” Genesis 16:13

THERE are more eyes fixed on man then he wots of: he sees not as he is
seen. He thinks himself obscure and unobserved, but let him remember that
a cloud on witnesses hold him in full survey. Wherever he is, at every
instant, there are beings whose attention is riveted by his doings, and
whose gaze is constantly fixed by his actions. Within this Hall, I doubt not,
there are myriads of spirits unseen to us — spirits good and spirits evil;
upon us to-night the eyes of angels rest: attentively those perfect spirits
regard our order; they hear our songs; they observe our prayers; it may be
they fly to heaven to convey to their companions news of any sinners who
are born of God, for there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over
one sinner that repenteth. Millions of spiritual creatures walk this earth,
both when we wake and when we sleep, midnight is peopled with shadows
unseen, and daylight hath its spirits too. The prince of the power of the air,
attended by his squadron of evil spirits, flits through the ether oft; evil
spirits watch our halting every instant, while good spirits, battling for the
salvation of God’s elect, keep us in all our ways and watch over our feet,
lest at any time we dash them against a stone. Hosts of invisible beings
attend on every one of us at different periods of our lives. We must
remember, also, that not only do the spirits of angels, elect or fallen, look
on us, but “the spirits of the just made perfect” continually observe our
conversation. We are taught by the Apostle that the noble army of martyrs,
and the glorious company of confessors, are “witnesses” of our race to
heaven, for he says, “seeing, then, that we are compassed about with so
great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which
doth so easily beset us.” From yon blue heaven the eyes of the glorified
look down on us; there the children of God are sitting on their starry
thrones, observing whether we manfully uphold the banner around which
they fought; they behold our velour, or they detect our cowardice; and they
are intent to witness our valiant deeds of noble daring, or our ignominious
retreat in the day of battle.

Remember that, ye sons of men, ye are not unregarded; ye do not pass
through this world in unseen obscurity. In darkest shades of night eyes
glare on you through the gloom. In the brightness of the day angels are
spectators of your labors. From heaven there look down upon you spirits
who see all that finite beings are capable of beholding. But if we think that
thought worth treasuring up, there is one which sums up that and drowns
it, even as a drop is lost in the ocean; it is the thought, “Thou God seest
me.” It is nought that angels see me, it is nought that devils watch me, it is
nought that the glorified spirits observe me, compared with the
overwhelming truth, that thou God at all times seest me. Let us dwell on
that now, and may God the Spirit make use of it to our spiritual profit!
In the first place, I shall notice the general doctrine, that God observes all
men. In the second place. I shall notice the particular doctrine, “Thou God
seest me.” And in the third place I shall draw from it some practical and
comforting inferences to different orders of persons now assembled, each
of whom may learn something from this short sentence.

I. In the first place, THE GENERAL DOCTRINE, that God sees us.

1. This may be easily proved, even from the nature of God. It were hard to
suppose a God who could not see his own creatures; it were difficult in the
extreme to imagine a divinity who could not behold the actions of the
works of his hands. The word which the Greeks applied to God implied
that he was a God who could see. They called him theos (Theos); and they
derived that word, it I read rightly, from the root Theisthai (Theisthai), to
see, because they regarded God as being the all-seeing one, whose eye
took in the whole universe at a glance, and whose knowledge extended far
beyond that of mortals. God Almighty, from his very essence and nature,
must be an Omniscient God. Strike out the thought that he sees me, and
you extinguish Deity by a single stroke. There were no God if that God had
no eyes, for a blind God were no God at all. We could not conceive such
an one. Stupid as idolators maybe, it were very herd to think that even they
had fashioned a blind god: even they have given eyes to their gods, though
they see not. Juggernaut hath eyes stained with blood, and the gods of the
ancient Romans had eyes, and some of them were called far-seeing gods.
Even the heathen can scarce conceive of a god that hath no eyes to see,
and certainly we are not so mad as to imagine for a single second that there
can be a Diety without the knowledge of everything that is done by man
beneath the sun. I say it were as impossible to conceive of a God who did
not observe everything, as to conceive of a round square. When we say,
“Thou God,” we do, in fact, comprise in the word “God” the idea of a God
who sees everything, “Thou God seest me.”

2. Yet, further, we are sure that God must see us, for we are taught in the
Scriptures that God is everywhere, and if God be everywhere, what doth
hinder him from seeing all that is done in every part of his universe? God is
here: I do not simply live near him, but “in him I live, and move, and have
my being.” There is not a particle of this mighty space which is not filled
with God: go forth into the pure air, and there is not a particle of it where
God is not. In every portion of this earth whereon I tread, and the spot
whereon I move, there is God.

“Within thy circling power I stand;
On every side I find thy hand:
Awake, asleep, at home, abroad,
I am surrounded still with God.”

Take the wings of the morning and fly beyond the most distant star, but
God is there. God is not a being confined to one place, but he is
everywhere; he is there, and there, and there; in the deepest mine man ever
bored, in the unfathomable caverns of the ocean; in the heights, towering
and lofty; in the gulfs that are deep, which fathom can never reach. God is
everywhere. I know from his own words that he is a God who filleth
immensity; the heavens are not wide enough for him; he graspeth the sun
with one hand and the moon with the other; he stretcheth himself through
the unnavigated ether, where the wing of seraph hath never been flapped,
there is God, and where the solemnity of silence has never been broken by
the song of Cherub, there is God. God is everywhere. Conceive space, and
God and space are equal. Well, then, if God be everywhere, how can I
refrain from believing that God sees me wherever I am? He doth not look
upon me from a distance: if he did, I might screen myself beneath the
shades of night; but he is here, close by my side, and not by me only, but in
me; within this heart; where these lungs beat; or where my blood gushes
through my veins; or where this pulse is beating, like a muffled drum, my
march to death; God is there: within this mouth; in this tongue, in these
eyes; in each of you God dwells: he is within you, and around you; he is
beside you, and behind, and before. Is not such knowledge too wonderful
for you? Is it not high, and you cannot attain unto it? I say, how can you
resist the doctrine, which comes upon you like a flash of lightning, that if
God be everywhere he must see everything, and that therefore it is a truth,
“Thou God seest me.”

3. But, lest any should suppose that God may be in a place, and yet
slumbering, let me remind him that in every spot to which he can travel,
there is, not simply God, but also God’s activity. Wherever I go I shall
find, not a slumbering God, but a God busy about the affairs of this world.
Take me to the green sward, and pleasant pasture — why, every little blade
of grass there has God’s hand in it, making it grow, and every tiny daisy,
which a child likes to pluck, looks up with its little eye, and says “God is in
me, circulating my sap, and opening my little flower.” Go where you will
through this London, where vegetation is scarcely to be found, look up
yonder and see those rolling stars; God is active there: it is his hand that
wheels along the stars, and moves the moon in her nightly course. Bat if
there be neither stars nor moon, there are those clouds, heavy with
darkness, like the ears of night, who steers them across the sea of azure?
Doth not the breath of God blowing upon them drive them along the
heavens? God is everywhere, not as a slumbering God, but as an active
God. I am upon the sea, and there I see God making the everlasting pulse
of nature beat in constant ebbs and flows. I am in the pathless desert, but
above me screams the nature, and I see God winging the wild bird’s flight.
I am shut up in a hermitage; but an insect drops from its leaf, and I see in
that insect, life which God preserves and sustains, yea, shut me out from
the animate creation and put me on the barren rock, where moss itself
cannot find a footing; and I shall there discern my God bearing up the
pillars of the universe, and sustaining that bare rock as a part of the
colossal foundation whereon he hath built the world.

“Where’er we turn our gazing eyes, :
Thy radiant footsteps shine.
Ten thousand pleasing wonders rise,
And speak their source divine.
The living tribes of countless forms,
In earth, and sea, and air,
The meanest flies, the smallest worms,
Almighty power declare.”

Ye shall see God everywhere: if ye see him not around you, look within
you and is he not there? Is not your blood now flowing through every
portion of your body, to and fro your heart? And is not God there active?
Do you not know that every pulse you beat needs a volition of Deity as its
permit, and yet more, needs an exertion of Divine power as its cause? Do
you not know that every breath you breathe needs Deity for its inspiration
and expiration, and that you must die if God withdraw that power? If we
could look within us, there are mighty works going on in this mortal fabric
— the garment of the soul — which would astonish you, and make you
see, indeed, that God is not asleep, but that he is active and busy. There is
a working God everywhere, a God with his eyes open everywhere, a God
with his hands at work everywhere; a God doing something, not a God
slumbering, but a God laboring. Oh! sirs, does not the conviction flash
upon your mind with a brightness, against which you cannot shut your eyes
that since God is everywhere, and everywhere active, it follows, as a
necessary and unavoidable consequence, that he must see us, and know all
our actions and our deeds?

4. I have one more proof to offer which I think to be conclusive. God, we
may be sure, sees us, when we remember that He can see a thing before it
happens. If he beholds an event before it transpires, surely reason dictates,
he must see a thing that is happening now. Read those ancient prophecies,
read what God said should be the end of Babylon and of Nineveh, just turn
to the chapter where you read of Edom’s doom, or where you are told that
Tyre shall be desolate, then walk through the lands of the East, and see
Nineveh and Babylon cast to the ground, the cities ruined; and then reply
to this question — “Is not God a God of foreknowledge? Can he not see
the things that are to come?” Ay, there is not a thing which shall transpire
in the next cycle of a thousand years which is not already past to the
infinite mind of God; there is not a deed which shall be transacted tomorrow,
or the next day, or the next, through eternity, if days can be
eternal, but God knoweth it altogether. And if he knows the future, does he
not know the present. If his eyes look through the dim haze which veils us
from the things of futurity, can he not see that which is standing in the
brightness of the present? If he can see a great distance, can he not see near
at hand! Surely that Divine Being who discerneth the end from the
beginning, must know the things which occur now; and it must be true that
“Thou God seest us,” even the whole of us, the entire race of man. So
much for the general and universally acknowledged doctrine.

II. Now, I come, in the second place, to the SPECIAL DOCTRINE : “Thou
God seest me.”

Come now, there is a disadvantage in having so many hearers, as there is
always in speaking to more than one at a time, because persons are apt to
think, “He does not speak to me.” Jesus Christ preached a very successful
sermon once when he had but one hearer, because he had the woman
sitting on the well, and she could not say that Christ was preaching to her
neighbor. He said to her, “Go, call thy husband, and come hither.” There
was something there which smote her heart; she could not evade the
confession of her guilt. But in regard to our congregations, the old orator
might soon see his prayer answered, “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend
me your ears,” for when the gospel is preached, we lend our ears to
everybody; we are accustomed to hear for our neighbors, and not for
ourselves. Now, I have no objection to your lending anything else you like,
but I have a strong objection to you lending your ears; I shall be glad if you
will keep them at home for a minute or two, for I want to make you hear
for yourselves this truth “Thou God seest me.”

Mark, God sees you — selecting any one out of this congregation — he
sees you, he sees you as much as if there were nobody else in the world for
him to look at. If I have as many people as there are here to look at, of
course my attention must be divided; but the infinite mind of God is able to
grasp a million objects at once, and yet to set itself as much upon one, as if
there were nothing else but that one; so that you, to-night, are looked at by
God as much as if throughout space there were not another creature but
yourself. Can you conceive that? Suppose the stars blotted out in darkness,
suppose the angels dead; imagine the glorified spirits above are all gone,
and you are left alone, the last man, and there is God looking at you. What
an idea it would be for you to think of — that there was only you to be
looked at! how steadily he could observe you I how well he would discern
you! But mark you, God does really look at you this night as much, as
entirely, as absolutely without division of sight, as if you were the only
being his hands had ever made. Can you grasp that? God sees you with all
his eyes, with the whole of his sight — you — you — you — you are the
particular object of his attention at this very moment. God’s eyes are
looking down upon you; remember that!

In the next place God sees you entirely. He does not merely note your
actions; he does not simply notice what is the appearance of your
countenance; he does not merely take into his eyesight what your posture
may be; but remember, God sees what you are thinking of; he looks within.
God has a window in every man’s heart, through which he looks; he does
not want you to tell him what you are thinking about — he can see that, he
can read right through you. Do you not know that God can read what is
written on the rocks at the bottom of the ocean, even though ten thousand
fathoms of dark water roll above? And I tell you he can read every word
that is in your breasts; he knows every thought, every imagination, every
conception, yea every unformed imagination, the thought scarce shot from
the bow, reserved in the quiver of the mind; he sees it all, every particle,
every atom of it.

“My thoughts, scarce struggling into birth,
Great God! are known to thee:
Abroad, at home, still I’m enclosed
With thine immensity.
“Behind I glance, and thou art there:
Before me, shines thy name;
And ‘tis thy strong almighty hand
Sustains my tender frame.”

Can you appropriate that thought? From the crown of your head to the
sole of your foot, God is examining you now; his scalpel is in your heart,
his lancet in your breast, he is searching your heart and trying your reins;
he knows you behind and before. “Thou God seest me ;” thou seest me
entirely.

Mote again, God sees you constantly. You are sometimes watched by man,
and then your conversation is tolerably correct; at other times you seek
retirement, and you indulge yourselves in things which you would not dare
to do before the gaze of your fellow creatures. But recollect, wherever you
are, God sees you; you may lay yourselves down by the side of the hidden
brook where the willows shelter you, where all is still, without a sound —
God is there looking at you! You may retire to your chamber, and draw the
curtains of your couch, and throw yourself down for repose in midnight’s
gloomiest shade — God sees you there! I remember going into a castle
sometime ago, down many a winding stair, round and round, and round,
and round, where light never penetrated; at last I came to a space, very
narrow, about the length of a man. “There,” said the keeper, “such-andsuch-
a-one was shut up for so many years, a ray of light never having
penetrated: sometimes they tortured him, but his shrieks never reached
through the thickness of these walls, and never ascended that winding
staircase: here he died, and there, sir, he was buried,” pointing to the
ground. But though that man had none on earth to see him, God saw him.
Yea, you may shut me up for ever, where ear shall never hear my prayer,
where eye shall never see my misery; but one eye shall look upon me, and
one countenance smile on me, if I suffer for righteousness’ sake. If for
Christ’s sake I am in prison, one hand shall be upon me, and one voice
shall say, “Fear not; I will help thee” — at all times, in all places, in all your
thoughts, in all your acts, in all your privacy, in all your public doings, at
every season, this is true, “Thou God seest me.”

Yet once more, “Thou God seest me” supremely. I can see myself, but not
as well as either my friends or foes. Men can see me better than I can see
myself, but man cannot see me as God sees me. A man skilled in the human
heart might interpret my deeds and translate their motives, but he could not
read my heart as God can read it. None can tell another as God can tell us
all: we do not know ourselves as God knows us: within your self
knowledge, with all you have been told by others, God knows you more
fully than you know yourself: no eye can see you as God sees you — you
may act in daylight; you may not be ashamed of your actions? you may
stand up before men and say, “I am a public man, I wish to be observed
and noticed :” you may have all your deeds chronicled, and all men may
hear of them, but I wot men will never know you as God will know you;
and if you could be chained, as Paul was, with a soldier at your arm; if he
were with you night and day, sleeping with you, rising with you; if he could
hear all your thoughts, he could not know you as God knows you, for God
sees you superlatively and supremely.

Let me now apply that to you: “Thou God seest me.” This is true of each
of you; try and think of it for a moment. Even as my eye rests on you, so,
in a far, far greater sense does God’s eye rest on you; standing, sitting,
wherever you are, this is true, “Thou God seest me.” It is said that when
you heard Rowland Hill, if you were stuck in a window, or farther away at
the door, you always had the conviction that he was preaching at you. Oh!
I wish I could preach like that; if I could make you feel that I was
preaching at you in particular; that I singled you out, and shot every word
at you, then I should hope for some effect. Try and think, then, “Thou God
seest me.”

III. Now I come to DIFFERENT INFERENCES for different persons, to serve
different purposes.

First, to the prayerful. Prayerful man, prayerful woman, here is a
consolation — God sees you: and if he can see you, surely he can hear
you. Why, we can often hear people, when we cannot see them. If God is
so near to us, and if his voice is like the thunder, sure his ears are as good
as his eyes, and he will be sure to answer us. Perhaps you cannot say a
word when you pray. Never mind; God does not want to hear; he can tell
what you mean even by seeing you. “There,” says the Lord, “is a child of
mine in prayer. He says not a word; but do you see that tear rolling down
his cheek? do you hear that sigh?” Oh! mighty God, thou canst see both
tear and sigh; thou canst read desire when desire hath not clothed itself in
words. The naked wish God can interpret; he needs us not to light the
candle of our desires with language; he can see the candle ere it is lit.

“He knows the words we mean to speak,
When from our lips they cannot break,”

by reason of the anguish of our spirit. He knows the desire, when words
stagger under the weight of it; he knows the wish when language fails to
express it. “Thou God seest me.” Ah, God, when I cannot pray with
words, I will throw myself flat on my face, and I will groan my prayer; and
if I cannot groan it I will sigh it; and if I cannot sigh it I will wish it: and
when these eye-strings break, and when death has sealed these lips, I will
enter heaven with a prayer, which thou wilt not hear but which thou wilt
see — the prayer of my inmost spirit, when my heart and my flesh fail me,
that God may be the strength of my life and portion for ever. There is
comfort for you, you praying ones, that God sees you. That is enough; if
you cannot speak he can see you.

I have given a word for the prayerful; now a word for the careful, Some
here are very full of care, and doubts, and anxieties, and fears. “Oh! sir,”
you say, “if you could come to my poor house, you would not wonder that
I should feel anxious. I have had to part with much of my little furniture to
provide myself with living; I am brought very low; I have not a friend in
London; I am alone, alone in the wide world.” Stop, stop, sir! you are not
alone in the world; there is at least one eye regarding you; there is one
hand that is ready to relieve you. Don’t give up in despair. If your case be
ever so bad, God can see your care, your troubles, and your anxieties, To a
good man it is enough to see destitution to relieve it; and for God it is
enough to see the distresses of his family at once to supply their wants. If
you were lying wounded on the battle-field, if you could not speak, you
know right well your comrades who are coming by with an ambulance will
pick you up, if they do but see you; and that is enough for you. So if you
are lying on the battle-field of life, God sees you; let that cheer you: he will
relieve you; for he only needs to look at the woe of his children at once to
relieve them. Go on then; hope yet; in night’s darkest hour, hope for a
brighter morrow. God sees thee, whatever thou art doing;

“He knows thy cares, thy tears,
thy sighs; He shall lift up thy head.”

And now a word to the slandered. There are some of us who come in or a
very large share of slander. It is very seldom that the slander market is
much below par; it usually runs up at a very mighty rate; and there are
persons who will take shares to any amount. If men could dispose of
railway stock as they can of slander, those who happen to have any scrip
here would be rich enough by to-morrow at twelve o’clock. There are
some who have a superabundance of that matter; they are continually
hearing rumors of this, that, and the other; and there is one fool or another
who has not brains enough to write sense, nor honesty sufficient to keep
him to the truth, who, therefore, writes the most infamous libels upon some
of God’s servants, compared with whom he himself is nothing, and whom
for very envy he chooses to depreciate. Well, what matters it? Suppose you
are slandered; here is a comfort: “Thou God seest me.” They say that suchand-
such is your motive, but you need not answer them; you can say, “God
knows that matter.” You are charged with such-and such a thing of which
you are innocent; your heart is right concerning the deed, you have never
done it: well, you have no need to battle for your reputation; you need only
point your finger to the sky, and say, “there is a witness there who will
right me at last — there is a Judge of all the earth, whose decision I am
content to wait; his answer will be a complete exoneration of me, and I
shall come out of the furnace, like gold seven times purified.” Young men,
are you striving to do good, and do others impute wrong motives to you?
Do not be particular about answering them, just go straight on, and your
life will be the best refutation of the calumny. David’s brethren said that in
his pride and the naughtiness of his heart he had come to see the battle.
“Ah!” thought David, “I will answer you by-and-bye.” Off he went across
the plain to fight Goliah; he cut off his head, and then came back to his
brethren with a glorious answer in his conquering hand. If any man desires
to reply to the false assertions of his enemies, let him go and do good, and
he needs not say a word — that will be his answer. I am the subject of
detraction, but I can point to hundreds of souls that have been saved on
earth by my feeble instrumentality, and my reply to all my enemies is this,
“You may say what you like; but seeing these lame men are healed, can
you say anything against them? You may find fault with the style or
manner, but God saves souls, and we will hold up that fact, like giant
Goliah’s head, to show you that although it was nothing but a sling or
stone, so much the better, for God has gotten the victory.” Go straight on
and you will live down your slanderers; and remember when you are most
distressed, “Thou God seest me.”

Now, a sentence or two to some of you who are ungodly and know not
Christ. What shall I say to you but this, — how heinous are your sins when
they are put in the light of this doctrine! Remember, sinner, whenever thou
sinnest, thou sinnest in the teeth of God. It is bad enough to steal in
darkness, but he is a very thief who steals in daylight. It is vile, it is
fearfully vile to commit a sin which I desire to cover, but to do my sin
when man is looking at me shows much hardiness of heart. Oh! sinner,
remember, thou sinnest with God’s eyes looking on thee. How black must
be thy heart! how awful thy sin! for thou sinnest in the very face of justice
when God’s eye is fixed on thee. I was looking the other day at a glass
bee-hive, and it was very singular to observe the motions of the creatures
inside. Well, now, this world is nothing but a huge glass bee-hive. God
looks down on you, and he sees you all. You go into your little cells in the
streets of this huge city; you go to your business, your pleasure, your
devotions, and your sins; but remember, wherever you go, you are like the
bees under a great glass shade, you can never get away from God’s
observation. When children disobey before the eyes of their parents it
shows that they are hardened. If they do it behind their parents’ back, it
proves that there is some shame left. But you, sirs, sin when God is present
with you; you sin while God’s eyes are searching you through and through.
Even now you are thinking hard thoughts of God while God is hearing all
those silent utterances of your evil hearts. Does not that render your sin
extremely heinous? Therefore, I beseech you, think of it, and repent of
your wickedness, that your sins may be blotted out through Jesus Christ.
And one more thought. If God sees thee, O sinner, how easy it will be to
condemn thee. In the late horrible case of Palmer, witnesses were required,
and a jury was empanelled to try the accused. But if the judge could have
mounted the bench and have said, “I saw the man, myself, mix the poison; I
stood by and saw him administer it. I read his thoughts. I knew for what
purpose he did it, I read his heart. I was with him when he first conceived
the black design, and I have tracked him in all his evasions, in all those acts
by which he soughs to blindfold justice; and I can read in his heart that he
knows himself to be guilty now;” the case then would have been over; the
trial would have been little more than a form. What wilt thou think, O
sinner, when thou art brought before God, and God shall say, “Thou didst
so-and-so,” and will mention what you did in the darkness of the night
when no eye was there? You will start back amazed, and say, “Oh,
heavens! how shall God know? is there knowledge in the Most High?” He
will say, “Stop, sinner; I have more to startle thee yet;” and he will begin to
unfold the records of the past: leaf after leaf he will read of the diary he has
kept of your existence. Oh! I can see you as he reads page after page, your
knees are knocking together, your hair is standing on end, you blood is
frozen in your veins, congealed for fright, and you stand like a second
Niobe, a rock bedewed with tears. You are thunder struck to find your
thoughts read out before the sun, while men and angels hear. You are
amazed beyond degree to hear your imaginations read, to see your deeds
photographed on the great white throne, and to hear a voice saying,
“Rebellion at such a time; uncleanness at such a time; evil thoughts at such
an hour. Sabbath breaking on such a day, blasphemy at such a time, theft at
such an hour; hard thoughts of God at such a period; rejection of his grace
on such a day; stiflings of conscience at another time;” and so on to the end
of the chapter, and then the awful final doom. “Sinner, depart accursed! I
saw thee sin, it needs no witnesses; I heard thy oath; I heard thy
blasphemy; I saw thy theft I read thy thought. Depart! depart! I am clear
when I judge thee; I am justified when I condemn thee: for thou hast done
this evil in my sight.”

Lastly, you ask me what you must do to be saved; and I will never let a
congregation go, I hope, till I have told them that. Hear, then, in a few
words, the way of salvation. It is this. Christ said to the Apostles, “Preach
the gospel to every creature: he that believeth and his baptized shall be
saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned.” Or, to give you Paul’s
version, when he spoke to the jailor, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and
thou shalt be saved.” Thou askest what thou art to believe. Why, this: that
Christ died and rose again; that by his death he did bear the punishment of
all believers; and that by his resurrection he did wipe out the faults of all his
children. And if God give thee faith, thou wilt believe that Christ died for
thee; and wilt be washed in his blood, and thou wilt trust his mercy and his
love to be thine everlasting redemption when the world shall end.

You can always rely on Albert Mohler to get straight to the heart of the matter…thankfully!

Meeting barely a month after the Episcopal Church voted to end its ban on the consecration of openly homosexual bishops and the blessing of same-sex unions, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America [ELCA] has taken similar steps. Meeting last week in Minneapolis, the Lutherans voted first to adopt a comprehensive statement on human sexuality that at least allows for the recognition and blessing of same-sex relationships in the church. Beyond this, it establishes a platform for the eventual acceptance and affirmation of same-sex marriage ceremonies.

Then, acting just as the week came to an end, the denomination voted to eliminate barriers that had prevented non-celibate homosexual ministers from serving in ELCA churches. The vote to affirm the new statement on human sexuality was close — receiving the exact number of positive votes necessary for passage — but, taken together, the two actions signal a massive seismic shift, not only in the ELCA, but also in the larger denominational world. For advocates of the normalization of homosexuality, the votes in Minneapolis represent a clean sweep of votes their way.

The churches and denominations of mainline Protestantism are being torn asunder over the issue of homosexuality. Denomination after denomination becomes the focus of national attention as it meets for crucial votes and decides its future. Observers of the ELCA had seen this process extended through years of study and controversy. In the view of many, the process mostly served to postpone the inevitable. The inevitable happened in Minneapolis.

The inevitability of the votes to allow the affirmation of homosexual unions and the calling of homosexual ministers is rooted in decisions made prior to those crucial votes. The actions in Minneapolis would be inconceivable but for the fact that the denomination has for decades allowed increasing theological pluralism to mark its membership and its leadership. But plainly, this pluralism allows for radically different theologies to reside within one denomination and for fundamentally divergent understandings of Scripture and biblical authority to coexist. All parties now recognize that this coexistence will be very hard to maintain. For those who believe that the votes in Minneapolis represent the church’s endorsement of sin, heartbreaking decisions now cannot be avoided.

The social statement adopted in Minneapolis, “Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust,” is itself a parable of the mainline Protestant predicament. More than anything else, the document represents an attempt to present two irreconcilable understandings side-by-side. The document simply cannot avoid acknowledging that some within the ELCA believe that all homosexual acts and behaviors are explicitly condemned as sin in Scripture, while others believe that the biblical text can be reinterpreted to allow for the total acceptance of homosexual relationships on par with heterosexual marriage.

On the crucial issue of blessing same-sex unions, the ELCA now recognizes no less than four understandings. The first represents those who “are convinced that same-gender sexual behavior is sinful, contrary to the Bible teaching and their understanding of natural law.” These Lutherans believe that same-sex acts represent “the grave danger of unrepentant sin.” Therefore, these Lutherans would call those struggling with same-gender attraction to a celibate lifestyle.

A second group of Lutherans believes “that homosexuality and even lifelong, monogamous, homosexual relationships reflect a broken world in which some relationships do not pattern themselves after the creation God intended.” Thus, these Lutherans do not accept the public recognition of same-sex unions.

The third group of Lutherans goes so far as to believe “that the scriptural witness does not address the context of sexual orientation and lifelong loving and committed relationships that we experience today.” This group is ready to bless same-sex unions, but not to grant of these unions the status of marriage.

Finally, the report indicates that the fourth group of Lutherans is ready to affirm same-sex marriage as equal in legitimacy to heterosexual marriage. “They believe same-gender couples should avail themselves of social and legal support for themselves, their children and other dependents, and to seek the highest legal accountability available for their relationships.”

All this was pretty much to be expected. What makes the Lutheran action distinctive and especially troubling is the effort to claim that a church can remain united even as it is strained by such divergent understandings of human sexuality and biblical morality. In anticipation of the meeting in Minneapolis, some Lutherans were already claiming that the issue of homosexuality simply is not a matter of fundamental importance. This argument is easy to make, but very difficult to defend.

This becomes clear at two crucial points — the authority of Scripture and the significance of sin. A crucial footnote in the new social statement reads: “The difference between interpreters should not be understood as a conflict between those who seek to be ‘true to Scripture’ and those who seek to ‘twist the Bible’ to their own liking.” In other words, the document seeks to affirm that two contradictory statements concerning what the Bible teaches about homosexuality are equally valid. The statement cited in the footnote comes from a study prepared by two Lutheran New Testament scholars who reviewed the crucial biblical texts concerning homosexual behavior and came to the conclusion that there can be no authoritative interpretation.

The tragedy of all this is accentuated by the fact that Martin Luther, the great Reformer who gave birth to the Lutheran tradition, staked his life and the Gospel he preached upon the principle of Sola Scriptura –  the final and exclusive authority of the Scripture within the church. Luther also affirmed the essential clarity of Scripture, affirming that its clarity is a function of its divine authorship. “Let miserable men, therefore, cease to impute, with blasphemous perverseness, the darkness and the obscurity of their own hearts to the brilliantly clear Scriptures of God,” insisted Luther.

A revealing statement on the Lutheran decisions came from Barbara Wheeler, who serves as an advocate for the acceptance of homosexual ministers in the Presbyterian Church (USA). “What you’re seeing is two things: the society is in the process of changing its collective mind about the moral status of same-sex relationships, and there’s a parallel theological movement.” She is exactly right, for the theological movement to normalize homosexual relationships is working hard to accommodate the Scriptures and the church’s historic teaching so that it matches the changing mind of the larger society.

The claim that these two contradictory understandings of the Bible’s teachings on human sexuality can coexist and be recognized as being equally faithful to the Scriptures is nonsense. Those pressing for the normalization of homosexuality must put the Scriptures through hoop after hoop of theological acrobatics. The claim that a church can both condemn and bless homosexual relationships with equal faithfulness falls false on its face. Worst of all, it sows a disastrously deadly confusion about the nature of sin — a confusion that subverts the Gospel and brings eternal consequences.  Should homosexuals repent of their sin, or come to the church for the blessing of their homosexual unions?  There can be no multiple-choice answer to that question. The actions in Minneapolis will reverberate far into the future. Woe unto those who cloak such decisions with the disguise of faithfulness.

Wow, this is the freakiest news yet to come out from the Obama administration. Talk about scary control freaks.

How about this for a revolutionary thought on preventing the spread of AIDS…heterosexual monogamous sex within the context of the marital bed only!

I know, it is radical thought in this day and age, but maybe, just maybe, God’s ways work

Fox News

In an effort to reduce the spread of HIV, public health officials are considering the promotion of “universal circumcision” for all baby boys born in the United States.

The move comes after officials analyzed the results of several studies that show in African countries hit hard by HIV, men who were circumcised reduced their infection risk by half, the New York Times reported. However, those studies focused on heterosexual men who are at risk of getting HIV from infected female partners. The main issue in the U.S. is men who have sex with men.

In 2008, the CDC estimated that more than 56,000 people were newly infected with HIV in 2006 (the most recent year that data are available). Over half of those new infections occurred in gay and bisexual men.

Click here for more facts on circumcision from the CDC.

Meanwhile, critics of the recommendation said it subjects newborn boys to “medically unnecessary” surgery without their consent.

But Dr. Peter Kilmarx, chief of epidemiology for the division of HIV/AIDS prevention at the CDC, told the Times that any step that could stop the spread of HIV must be given “serious consideration.”

“We have a significant HIV epidemic in this country, and we really need to look carefully at any potential intervention that could be another tool in the toolbox we use to address the epidemic,” Kilmarx told the newspaper. “What we’ve heard from our consultants is that there would be a benefit for infants from infant circumcision, and that the benefits outweigh the risks.”

An official draft of the proposed recommendations by the CDC is due out by the end of the year. In the meantime, the CDC is hosting its National HIV Prevention Conference in Atlanta this week.

Click here to read more from the New York Times.

The Christian Institute

Bosses urged to put away biscuits during Ramadan

Oh this is just classic, I can’t resist this one:-

1,000 cameras ‘solve one crime’

Only one crime was solved by each 1,000 CCTV cameras in London last year, a report into the city’s surveillance network has claimed.

The internal police report found the million-plus cameras in London rarely help catch criminals.

In one month CCTV helped capture just eight out of 269 suspected robbers.

David Davis MP, the former shadow home secretary, said: “It should provoke a long overdue rethink on where the crime prevention budget is being spent.”

He added: “CCTV leads to massive expense and minimum effectiveness.

“It creates a huge intrusion on privacy, yet provides little or no improvement in security.

“The Metropolitan Police has been extraordinarily slow to act to deal with the ineffectiveness of CCTV.”

Nationwide, the government has spent £500m on CCTV cameras.

But Det Sup Michael Michael McNally, who commissioned the report, conceded more needed to be done to make the most of the investment.

He said: “CCTV, we recognise, is a really important part of investigation and prevention of crime, so how we retrieve that from the individual CCTV pods is really quite important.

“There are some concerns, and that’s why we have a number of projects on-going at the moment.”

Among those projects is a pilot scheme by the Met to improve the way CCTV images are used.

Officers from 11 boroughs have formed a new unit which collects and labels footage centrally before distributing them across the force and media.

It has led to more than 1,000 identifications out of 5,260 images processed so far.

Christian Today – Anne Thomas

Care for the Family to merge with Positive Parenting

Care for the Family has announced plans to merge with fellow family charity Positive Parenting in January 2010.

The charities, which share a similar pro-family ethos, believe the merger will enable them to support even more families by opening up access to each other’s resources and delivery models.

The merger proposal has been approved by the trustees of both charities and the legal and due diligence processes are now well underway.

Care for the Family said the two charities would be more effective in reaching families by working together rather than alone.

Mark Molden, Chief Executive of Care for the Family, said: “We are delighted that this merger is taking place. Positive Parenting brings with it a wealth of experience, quality resources and a training programme which will benefit parents across the UK.

“Our mutual desire is to see families strengthened and parents equipped in their vital role. This strategic merger will enable us both to see this develop over the years to come.”

Around 8,000 parents attend parenting courses run by Positive Parenting, with its Time Out series currently being used by local authorities, schools, churches and children’s centres.

More than 300,000 people have attended family-building events and training courses run by Care for the Family.

Ken Shorey, CEO of Positive Parenting, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for both charities to expand their work.

“We are excited about the potential of this merger and the impact it will have in the long term for parents and families.

“Care for the Family is one of the key family charities today and we are delighted to be able to increase our capacity by drawing on their expertise and resources.”

Care for the Family was founded in 1988 by best selling author and international speaker Rob Parsons. It aims to strengthen family life across the UK and help those facing family difficulties. It has over 100 staff with regional offices in Northern Ireland, Scotland, Isle of Man and Greater Manchester.

Positive Parenting was founded 35 years ago in Portsmouth. It has developed into one of the country’s leading parenting charities, producing resources and providing training for parents and those who work with them. It has a staff of 14 with its head office in Birmingham and regional offices in Croydon, Birmingham, Rotherham and Scotland.

MINNEAPOLIS — Leaders of Lutheran CORE (Coalition for Reform) expressed both great distress and firm resolve over the decision Friday, Aug. 21, by the Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to endorse gay marriage and to change its standards to allow pastors and other rostered leaders to be in committed same-sex relationships.

Lutheran CORE leaders are calling on faithful Lutherans to meet in Indianapolis in September to begin an expanded ministry that draws faithful ELCA congregations and members together. They are also encouraging ELCA members and congregations to direct finances away from the ELCA churchwide organization to faithful ministries within and outside of the ELCA.

“Lutheran CORE is continuing in the Christian faith as it has been passed down to us by generations of Christians. The ELCA is the one that has departed from the teaching of the Bible as understood by Christians for 2,000 years,” said the Rev. Paull Spring of State College, Pa., chair of Lutheran CORE. “I am saddened that a Lutheran Church that was founded on a firm commitment to the Bible has come to the point that the ELCA would vote to reject the Bible’s teaching on marriage and homosexual behavior. It
breaks my heart.”

“The assembly has voted to remove the ELCA from the universal Christian consensus on marriage and homosexual behavior. Lutheran CORE intends to remain faithful to the clear teaching of Scripture and the consistent teaching of the Christian Church worldwide and throughout time,” said Ryan Schwarz of Washington, D.C., a member of the Lutheran CORE Steering Committee, who was a finalist in Friday’s election for ELCA Vice President.

“The ELCA Confession of Faith says that Scripture is ‘source and norm’ of the church’s faith and life, but this assembly has shown that the ELCA is willing to violate what it officially says it believes about the Bible,” Schwarz said. “It is appalling that ELCA leaders brought these proposals to a vote. The church should not be voting on whether or not to follow the teaching of the Bible.”

“Luther’s stand was on the Word of God and sound reason. He was not convinced then, and we are not convinced now. We just voted out the Word of God, sound reason and the good orders of creation,” said Jaynan Clark of Spokane, Wash., president of the WordAlone Network. The WordAlone Network is one of the renewal organizations that make up Lutheran CORE.

“When God said, ‘I Am Who I Am,’ He meant it. It’s not I am who you want me to be or who you remake me to be. God and His Word are the authority over all of faith and life. It’s not up for a vote,” she added. “And He always gets the last word.”

ELCA has broken faith with its members and Lutherans worldwide

“We are confident that most ELCA Lutherans uphold biblical standards for marriage and sexuality in spite of decisions made by this assembly,” said the Rev. Mark Chavez of Landisville, Pa., director of Lutheran CORE.

“These decisions have damaged the ELCA’s relationship with our partner churches in the Lutheran World Federation. The Anglican Communion is in the process of splitting apart because of the actions of The Episcopal Church. The ELCA seems unconcerned about a similar effect on the LWF,” Chavez said.

“These decisions have also hurt the ELCA’s ecumenical relationships with Roman Catholics, Orthodox, and most Protestant Churches.”

Faithful Lutherans to gather in Indianapolis Sept. 25-26

Lutheran CORE leaders are hosting a gathering for Lutherans who uphold the authority of the Bible for the church’s faith and life Sept. 25-26 in Indianapolis. “Lutheran CORE intends to help those in the ELCA who uphold the authority of Scripture to find a way to remain faithful Lutherans by maintaining basic Christian teaching as revealed in the Bible,” Chavez said.

“We are encouraging individuals and congregations to join us in Indianapolis to discuss what the future for faithful Lutherans in the ELCA might look like and how faithful congregations and individuals can work together ,” Bishop Spring said. “It is crucial that those ELCA Lutherans who uphold the authority of Scripture work together. We need each other. We urge people to come to Indianapolis.” “We intend to gather the largest possible body of faithful Lutherans so that we might collectively plan a united common future. For that reason it is important that congregations and individuals not make hasty decisions about their future in the ELCA,” Spring added. “We want to work together to do what will be best for all of us and for the continuation of faithful Christian teaching.”

Lutheran CORE renounces official recognition by ELCA

Lutheran CORE leaders also said that they are renouncing their recognition by the ELCA as an Independent Lutheran Organization that officially relates to the ELCA. “We can no longer in good conscience participate in this relationship with the offices in Chicago,” Spring said. Congregations and members are encouraged to direct financial support away from ELCA Lutheran CORE leaders are inviting faithful Lutheran congregations and individuals to direct funding away from the national church body because of the decisions made this week by the Churchwide Assembly. Lutheran CORE will participate in and support faithful ELCA ministries, but, cannot support ELCA ministries that reject the authority of God’s Word.

“It is important that congregations and individuals continue to provide financial support beyond their congregations, but the actions of this assembly will make many of our members question whether they can support the ELCA churchwide organization,” said the Rev. Erma Wolf of Brandon, S.D., vice chair of the Lutheran CORE Steering Committee.

“As Martin Luther said, our consciences are captive to the Word of God. We cannot support this departure from God’s Word,” said Chavez. “Congregations and individuals should continue to support local synods and synodical ministries where those institutions remain faithful to biblical teaching,” said Chavez. “Congregations and individuals should directly support our companion churches worldwide. This could be done through synod companion church programs. Congregations and individuals should support ministries like ELCA Disaster Response, Lutheran World Relief, Global Health Ministries and other faithful ministries.”

Lutheran CORE is a coalition of pastors, lay people, congregations and reforming groups that seeks to uphold the authority of God’s Word in the ELCA. Lutheran CORE seeks to be a voice for the solid, faithful core that is the majority of ELCA members, pastors, and congregations. More information is available at www.lutherancore.org.

mmm looks like President Obama has some big plans for Israel, no major surprse there, after all he is such a man of peace…..

Israel National News by Gil Ronan

The Middle East peace plan that United States President Barack Obama will unveil soon involves the creation of a Palestinian Authority state by 2011 and the transfer of Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem [presumably including the Temple Mount – ed to Arab-Muslim sovereignty, Saudi newspaper Al-Ukaz has learned.

According to the report published Sunday in Al-Ukaz, the Obama plan also includes the following elements:Some parts of eastern Jerusalem [presumably Neveh Yaakov, Pisgat Ze’ev and the like – ed would be transferred to Israeli control. There would be an international presence in the Jordan Valley and other parts of Judea and Samaria. The Palestinian Authority terror organizations would be disbanded and turn into political parties. The large settlement blocs in Judea and Samaria would not be dismantled. The fate of smaller Jewish settlement areas would be decided in a three-month-long negotiation period.

A reporter for the Saudi newspaper received the information from Hassan Harisha, the Second Deputy Speaker of the Palestinian Authority Parliament. Harisha told him that the U.S. has handed over a draft of the peace proposal to the PA and other Arabs for their perusal.

The plan also calls for Judea and Samaria to be demilitarized and for its airspace to remain under Israel control. Israeli-Palestinian Authority security coordination would be strengthened, and the Palestinian Authority state would not be allowed to strike military treaties with other countries in the region.

An “agreed number” of Arab refugees would be absorbed in the Jordan Valley area and in other parts of Judea and Samaria – especially in the area between Ramallah and Shechem.

An international fund would support the refugees and Israel would release Palestinian Authority prisoners three years after a diplomatic accord is signed.

Will he lay out a blueprint?

The Saudi report notwithstanding, the Washington Post’s Jackson Diehl estimated Sunday that Obama will not go so far as to present a blueprint for a peace settlement, despite being urged to do so by several Arab governments.

“As the U.N. General Assembly meets in late September, Obama aims to announce the opening of a new negotiating process between Israelis and Palestinians, along with ‘confidence-building’ steps by Israel, the Palestinian Authority and a number of Arab governments,” the columnist wrote. Obama “will probably lay out at least a partial vision of the two-state settlement that all sides now say they support, and the course that negotiations should take. More significantly, he intends to set an ambitious timetable for completing the peace deal — something that will please Arabs but may irritate Israel.”

Telegraph – Ed West