The False Pen of the Scribe
Jeremiah 8:8
“How can you say, ‘We are wise,
And the law of the Lord is with us’?
Lo, the false pen of the scribe certainly worketh deceit.”

Exposition.
Here in the eighth chapter of Jeremiah, the prophet, commanded by the Lord to be a thundering witness against His people, blames the children of Israel for much idolatry, covetousness, lewdness, and many other sins which defile a nation and bring God’s wrath upon a people. Not only were charges brought against the common people for their looseness in religion, but also the kings, princes, priests and scribes for their lightness therein. The people had backslidden from the Lord, had followed idolatry, made gods for themselves, worshiped the works of their own hands, and the priests who handled the law approved of them. And so the Lord roars from heaven against His people who had so treacherously departed from the right way, saying, “Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? they hold fast to deceit, they refuse to return. I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright: no man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? every one turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into the battle. Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtledove and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the Lord. How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us? Lo, the false pen of the scribe certainly worketh deceit. The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of the Lord; so what wisdom is in them?”
Here we see that the controversy that the Lord has with His people is that after all they had done to provoke Him to anger, and after all the fierce judgments He had afflicted upon them, they refused to repent, and neglected to be ashamed for their wickedness, but professing rather to be righteous, and a wise people they turned their faces from God their glory. When He spoke to them in great thunderclaps from heaven by the mouth of the prophets, they refused to listen, and spurned His commandments and therefore when they spoke to the Lord hoping to receive consolation, He turned His face from them, saying that their prayers, being not purified by faith were as a stinking odor to Him. Therefore He mocks them saying, “the beasts who are much duller and dumber than you are by nature know what they ought to know. The stork knows her time, and the turtledove and swallow know theirs. But Israel, you miserable people who were created for communion with God and to serve Him in righteousness and truth have not known, neither do you consider in your heart that it is an evil and bitter thing that you have departed from the living God, and My fear is not in you.” Therefore the people hasten to their iniquity, having their sins not forgiven, and their evil not purged from them. “Every one turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into the battle.” As Solomon also witnesses saying, “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.” The princes, the priests and the scribes were culpable in that they did not warn the people of their wickedness. The princes did not uphold the laws in restraining sin, the scribes did not interpret the law rightly, the prophets preached peace to the people, and the priests accepted polluted sacrifices, even sacrifices to idols. The prophet Malachi also speaks against these compromisers saying, “Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the Lord is contemptible. And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the Lord of hosts.” And again, “For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the Lord of hosts. Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye have not kept my ways, but have been partial in the law.” And so, because the leaders of the people would not restrain them by the right use of the law, the people’s hearts which were wholly set to do evil proceeded to act with both their hands, and charge toward their sin as the horse rushes in the day of battle, saying to all fear, ha ha! “He mocketh at fear,” saith the LORD to Job “and is not affrighted; neither turneth he back from the sword.”
Therefore the prophet makes a bitter complaint at their apostasy and rebellion, saying, “How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us? Lo, the false pen of the scribe certainly worketh deceit” Wherein we learn first by his inquisition that these two statements are antithetical, and cannot be reconciled. The prophet speaking on behalf of the Lord saith to the false scribes, “How can you say that you are wise and the law of the Lord is with you?” This in itself is a stinging rebuke aimed at the heart of the people. Jeremiah being a true minister of God is not interested so much at chopping off dead branches, but seeks to chop at the root, that not only their sins, but their hypocrisy also might be exposed, and laid in the light. Jeremiah is here saying, “How can you at one and the same time say that you are wise, if the law of the Lord is truly with you?” The use of the law is to humble you, you stubborn and wicked people! How can you be wise in your own sight when the law of the Lord is meant to declare to you that He alone is wise? How can you say you are wise, when the Almighty has lifted up His voice against you for your sins!? As Solomon says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.” And Job also says, “Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.” So how can you say you are wise, when men wiser than you have called themselves fools in the sight of God? These things are not in agreement. Either you must humble yourself before God and repent of this your wickedness, imagining yourself to be something when you are nothing, or you cease from claiming to have the law of God on your side. “And the law of the Lord is with us.” Jeremiah here protests that they cannot be true ministers of the law, who do not use the law properly, that is to humble and convince sinners of their misery, and utter wickedness in the sight of a holy God, who demands perfect righteousness; As the Lord says concerning the false prophets of Israel, “If they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.” And again, “But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth?”
Therefore they cannot have the law of the Lord if they do not turn from their evil ways, and seek the will of God. But these were they in Israel who handled the law. The prophets were to declare the mind of the Lord, the priests were to handle the ordinances and the scribes were to interpret for the people the laws of their king. But all these had utterly turned from the Lord and shunned His counsel. And so Jeremiah here declares that although they be held in high esteem by the people, the law of God is not with them because they are wise in their own eyes. And so he continues, and says, “Lo, the false pen of the scribe certainly worketh deceit.” With the intent of leading the people back to the Lord, he hopes to cut them off from feeding off the source of lies and deceit declaring to them that nothing good can come out of an evil thing; as he says in another place saying, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” and as our Lord testifies saying, “Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.” Therefore, O Israel, it is doubly wicked for you to imagine within yourself that you are wise, and that you are righteous seeing that out of your heart proceeds only that which is evil! And therefore the final verdict against these lying priests and false prophets is that they have rejected the word of the Lord, and therefore there is no wisdom in them. Again, the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah mocks them saying, “The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of the Lord; so what wisdom is in them?”  Far from being wise, the Lord calls them fools, and pronounces by the prophet their great sin in rejecting the word of the Lord. As the prophet Isaiah also says, “And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead? To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Here the prophets declare that it is the word of God that is to be the rule of life, and therefore those who reject it have no wisdom. It is common among men to flatter and to boast in knowledge, calling those who are esteemed in the world wise, and great scholars. Today atheists are regarded as smart men, even in the church! What a horrible blasphemy this is against God who declares all men who reject His counsel to be without wisdom, even to the scribe, even to the priest, even to the prophet! So how can they say, ‘we are wise?’ They declare herein that they do not believe that wisdom is of God alone, and so they ascribe it to themselves and to others. This is a great wickedness, and a chief reason for the apostasy of the people. For if we truly believe that wisdom cometh from God, as James saith, “every good gift is from the Father of lights” then we will know assuredly that it cometh only by His word, and we will seek to know His mind in the matter. And so the prophet with God beside him as a Mighty and Awesome One declares with authority that the people of Israel, though they were called out of Egypt and saw great signs and wonders with their eyes were a wicked and rebellious people, that the priests had corrupted themselves, and burned incense to idols, and the scribes had not been faithful in the law. And so he declares concerning them, “they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not know me, saith the Lord.” (So much for the exposition of the passage. Now to the doctrine.)

Doctrine.
We ought also to observe what this passage teaches us, that we might learn in our days to avoid the false teaching of the scribes, and turn to the Lord with the whole heart, as the prophet exhorts.
1. This passage teaches us that the false pen of the scribe is a chief reason and cause for apostasy in a nation and people. We must observe closely that this sermon was directed to the people of God. Israel was chosen by the Lord to be a peculiar treasure to Him, and they revolted from Him. We must remember that those who are called and sanctified in the church to be separate from the world are not always effectually called by the power of the Spirit. “Many are called, but few are chosen.” And so many times in scripture, those who are looked to by the people of God as the princes, scribes and priests were just as polluted and rebellious as the people. This shows the great apostasy of the people when those who are most wicked are looked to for counsel and wisdom! “Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in low place. I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth.” The prophet says ‘The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: but what will ye do in the end?” The root of sin and rebellion in a people is ignorance, pride, and unbelief. And how shall they repent and mend their ways if they hold fast to deceit? “They hold fast deceit, they refuse to return.”
As the apostle says, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”
Therefore we ought to see that when the rulers and guides of the people be perverse and wicked, twisting the word of God, and imagining themselves to be wise, the state of the nation and church is a state backsliding, apostasy and rebellion, and the judgment of God is at the door. How can the people of God return to the Lord if they are constantly hearing lying fables, false reports of peace, commendations of praise, a twisted representation of the law, a compromised doctrine of sin, and a false gospel? The truth cannot come from a lying source, and therefore apostasy can only breed more apostasy! This lying people who will not hear the law of God must be rebuked, and brought to their senses, that they might know that the Lord is a jealous God, who will not tolerate their rebellion and looseness in His ways, He will certainly avenge Himself upon them as well as on the heathen, and He will destroy all who forsake Him. If this nation and people who are called by the name of the Lord will see His grace and mercy, they must needs humble themselves before God, confessing their faults and sins, and they must put away from themselves these evil teachers who despise God. This passage then teaches us that what passes for Reformed preaching today is not even godly preaching, and these men who claim to be true ministers of the sanctuary, calling themselves Calvinist are not men of God, but the evidence and cause of apostasy, and the fuel which feeds the vengeance of God upon this people. And wherefore? Because they are partial in the law, and do not proclaim to the people their sins. They will not lift up their voice like a trumpet and declare that this is a wicked and rebellious people who depart from the Lord, but they say, “No! The heart of man is not so wicked! He is not so depraved as you say he is, but is only affected by sin.” And therefore plaster the wound with grievous poison, infecting the disease further. The prophet Ezekiel proclaims against them saying, “Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and there was no peace; and one built up a wall, and, lo, others daubed it with untempered morter: Say unto them which daub it with untempered morter, that it shall fall: there shall be an overflowing shower; and ye, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall rend it.” These prophets have seduced you! They will not declare sin to be what God says it is, and therefore the curse of God abides on them, and the judgment of God looms over them! They are not godly who say, “Sin is not so bad a thing!” They are not righteous who say, “We are wise, and the law of God is with us!” They are not Christian who say, “fallen man is not as bad as he can be!” Lo, the false pen of the scribe certainly worketh falsehood, vanity, deceit, and error, and the false tongue of the prophet certainly worketh mischief. Therefore until this people awake from their delusions and put away from themselves these lying words, there will be no reformation, but they will sink further into apostasy and rebellion.
2. This passage then also teaches us that those things which proceed from an evil heart can only be evil. So why do you say they speak the truth on some matters of religion? Just because a man says he believes in justification by faith alone doesn’t mean he truly believes it. What is a true statement is only true so far as it is from God’s word, and those that explain it ought to explain it as God truly intends it. For example, one of the most well known and highest respected Reformed theologians who says he believes in justification by faith alone, and swore to uphold the Westminster standards (being a preacher in a major Reformed denomination for many years) has said that you can believe the doctrine of justification of faith alone and still not be saved, and also that those who deny it may be saved, because it is not doctrine that saves. Here we must see that although there is truth in the statement that we are justified by faith alone, not all who profess this truly believe it, for they twist and malign the doctrine to fit their compromised theology. Therefore we are not against Reformed doctrine but against modern Reformed theologians because they don’t believe it! They cannot speak rightly if they do not believe the gospel, and they show that they cannot believe the gospel because they affirm that one can be saved by denying it. Their treachery and apostasy is manifest when they say, “Total depravity doesn’t mean what you think it means. It doesn’t mean total.”, or, “There is a sense in which God loves all men.” Or, “God desires all men to be saved.” These blatantly vile, blasphemous and contradictory statements are enough in themselves to witness against them that they are not of God. Out of the heart of man proceeds only evil. The first book of the law says as much, declaring, “God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Notice here that essential to the doctrine of man’s depravity is God’s omniscience. It does not only say that man was wicked, but that God saw that man was wicked, and only wicked, and that continually. As the prophet says, “From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.” (Isa. 1:6)
and the Psalmist also testifies, saying, “They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” Therefore when God gives us eyes to see through His light, (that is through the law) He is showing us what He sees concerning man, and the first thing He shows us is man’s wickedness. And so that law says, “God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth.” So how can these men speak the truth concerning God if they do not even speak the truth concerning man? We learn here from the words of the prophet that the false pen of the scribe certainly worketh falsehood. It is not a question which may be asked, “Can a liar speak truth?” But it is certainly declared that all men are liars and no man speaks the truth. If truth is of God, and all men are wholly estranged from God, it is an impossibility for him to speak the truth. The devil is the father of lies, and they being children of the devil do the will of their father as Jesus says in John 8. Therefore we see again the necessity of confession of sin. We must see ourselves as God sees us if we are to know His will. We cannot cover our nakedness with leaves in the sight of God who sees all. He knows our sin. He knows what He will do to punish it, if we do not confess it and humble ourselves before Him. What will you do when He says to you, “O wicked man, thou shalt surely die!?” Will you plead for your own goodness? Will you pretend that your works have not been wholly polluted in His sight? That which proceeds from your heart is evil, and only evil continually! Even your righteousness so called is filthiness in his eyes! That which you imagine to be a good work is an evil work before His purity, and so how will you plead? Verily every man who imagines himself to be wise will be shown on the last day to be the greatest of fools. This leads us momentously into the next point.
3. This passage also teaches us that those who are highly esteemed in the church and in the nation are often those who are most abominable and wicked in the sight of God.
Jesus says, “Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.” (Luke 16:15) The false pen of the scribe worketh deceit in two ways. First, he lies about God, saying that He is loving and merciful to those who oppose Him and do not hear His prophets. Second, he lies by saying that he speaks for God, and so deceives the people into hearing him rather than faithful preachers. He speaks lies concerning God, and so turns the hearts of the people from God, into vanity, deceit and all iniquity. The unbeliever desires to please men, rather than God, and so although he may make a stance against some sins, yet certainly not all. He will claim to speak for the Most High, and when it is popular and accepted he will speak against some corruptions in the world and in the church, but being himself deceived by Satan, he cannot see the root of the problem, which is unbelief, and so he will never strike at the withered and dead root, but only the branches, being concerned about what he can see, rather than that which God sees which lies invisible in the heart and motive of every man. He will not declare self-righteousness to be the monster sin, but only that which defiles outwardly, abortion, theft, adultery, and murder, and therefore not for God’s sake, but for man’s. Then he is praised in the church, and esteemed among men. They call him “teacher”, “reverend”, “doctor” and the like, all while he refuses to declare to them their iniquity, and the reason for their guilt. How did these men gain so much prestige? How did they become scribes, theologians, doctors of the law, scholars, and even pastors and teachers since they do not know the law or the mind of the Lord? They are praised by men but despised by God. “Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.” For they say they are wise! They sit in the seat of those who handle the law. They are not weak, and unknowing, but strong in their opinions against God, and would declare to all men that which is against His word!
Martin Luther wisely said, “But this sin, this opinion of man’s own righteousness refuses to be classified as sin. It wants to be esteemed as high-class religion. Hence, it constitutes the mighty influence of the devil over the entire world.” Therefore we see that the higher one’s own opinion is of himself, so much the worse he is in the eyes of a holy God. The more knowledge he has of the ways of God (which is not a saving knowledge), and the clearer the truth is shown to him, so much the more culpable he is for rejecting it. These men have read Luther, Calvin, and the great Westminster Confession of Faith which reads plainly! You can see the truth of the gospel shining forth with large letters in the writings of those blessed men! Declaring men’s sin it says, “From this original corruption, whereby we are utterly indisposed, disabled, and made opposite to all good, and wholly inclined to all evil, do proceed all actual transgressions.” But they say, “Man is not as bad as he can be.” Declaring justifying faith it says, “Justifying faith is a saving grace, wrought in the heart of a sinner by the Spirit and Word of God, whereby he, being convinced of his sin and misery, and of the disability in himself and all other creatures to recover him out of his lost condition, not only assenteth to the truth of the promise of the gospel, but receiveth and resteth upon Christ and his righteousness, therein held forth, for pardon of sin, and for the accepting and accounting of his person righteous in the sight of God for salvation.” But they say, “No! But you must lay down your whole life in the cause of God or your faith is worth nothing!” Is that not why Christ died? To fulfill the law? To put to death the deeds of the flesh, and make us free to serve God in holiness? But they like men pleasers and deceitful workers willingly accept into communion those who deny the articles of the faith saying, “those who believe in free will are saved by inconsistency” when the scripture declares, “Salvation is of the LORD”, “it is not of him that wills” and our confession very plainly states, “a sinner must be convinced of his sin and misery, and the disability in himself…” And what sin must he be convinced of? Even what we have stated before, that man is only evil continually, and that he is opposite to all good and wholly inclined to all evil. Until you are convinced of your sinfulness, and flee to Christ for refuge, you are a filthy abomination in the sight of God. And so these men with the loudest cries, raise their voices against God, and with the pen work that which is deceitful. “Lo, the false pen of the scribe certainly worketh deceit.” And so we see that although these men be loudly praised in the church as great scholars, they are vile in God’s eyes, and the worst of all men for the judgment that is coming upon them.

Application.
And now to hammer in the nails of application, consider your duty as a saint.
1. We ought to avoid false teachers.
For what cause does Jeremiah bring this accusation against the men of Israel except to bring them to repentance, and turn their minds away from those who work deceit in the land? The apostle says, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears.” Here we must see that sound doctrine and an obedient people are linked together, inasmuch as sinful lusts and departing from sound doctrine to hear false teachers are. If it is of a surety that those who do not preach rightly concerning sin are not of God, nor can be considered faithful ministers, and that a heart of unbelief can only work that which is evil in God’s eyes, though it be ever so sly, subtle, and deceitful, then surely we should not listen to them, nor believe what they say. Truly when Christ came to earth, he said, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.” Here Christ says that inasmuch as they are teachers of the law, observe that which is taught concerning the law. If they bid you to do good works, inasmuch as it is according to the law, so do, and so observe. But do not do after their manner. Do not believe what they believe, nor take upon yourself their character, for they bid you to obey, and they do not obey. They are not out to declare to men their duty as sanctified individuals, but to add works to justification. And so inasmuch as it is the sign of a justified person to be sanctified and to do good works out of love for God and the brethren, so it is a sign of unbelief to add any works to justification. These men say that faith is not enough because they say that the devils believe the gospel. One very esteemed in the Reformed community said that the devil believes the doctrine of justification by faith alone. This is very absurd because Christ never died for devils, nor was the law sent to convince and convict devils, therefore they cannot believe. Therefore flee from them, and do not hear them. They are out to spoil you, and to confuse you with lies. We would do well to heed the beloved apostle Peter’s warning. “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.” And again Paul also warns of these same men saying, “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.”
2. We ought also to be on our guard against the wiles of the devil;
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood” as the apostle says, “but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age.”
And again Peter writes in exhortation saying, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” Therefore if Satan be a prowling, the saints ought to be a praying! We that are so weak like lambs, and so easily led astray like sheep ought to be diligent to listen for the voice of the Shepherd speaking in His word. Let us therefore be diligent to read the words of God, and the words of His faithful ministers. Let us be zealous to read the Westminster confession and catechisms, let us read the Puritans, Calvin, Luther and those that spoke truly concerning God, His law, sin, Christ, hell, and heresy. Let us be on our guard and test the spirits, whether they are of God, for many anti-Christs are gone out to deceive the world, and will deceive until it pleases God to destroy them. But we are not of them who are deceived unto perdition, but of them that believe to the saving of the soul. Let us therefore labor to show ourselves approved, inasmuch as the apostle says this is the reason why the Lord permits heresy to leak into the church, saying, “For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.” Therefore if we would be approved in the sight of God, let us put on the armor of light, exposing the works of darkness and avoiding those who resist our words. We have no quarrel with believers. All saints are in need of rebuke and exhortation, but we do not draw our sword against them. Do you not know, brethren, that the scripture says that, “Christ’s sheep hear His voice” and that the scribes did not believe His words because they were not of God? Therefore we do not contend against the saints who are weak in knowledge, but against those who deny the faith, against Arminians, Amyraldians, Antinomians, against Socinians, and anabapstists, against free willers, and universal atonement, against common grace and the free offer, against the devil and his emissaries who are out to deceive the world. We draw our sword against the enemy, and we encourage the saints to do the same, taking up the shield of faith, and laboring in the word and in doctrine that we might lay hold on the hope of eternal life. Therefore, my brethren in the faith, turn your ears away from those who are not of us, and beware of the errors of the enemy. Be cautious. Be on your guard, for not all men have faith, and it is certain that many pastors and leaders in the Reformed world are not of God. You will know them by their fruits.
3. We ought to be humble with the knowledge God is please to give us.
Seeing that we know of God only what is revealed to us by Him, and we ourselves were also once ignorant, how can we be proud? How can we say with the wicked, “we are wise?” But of a surety we know ourselves to be fools, as the apostle says in another place, “And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know.” And again, “Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.” For not many wise are called, and not many noble. We who are entrusted with God’s words to deliver and proclaim the truth of God to you do not use deceitful words of man’s wisdom, but by simple reasoning, and godly exhortation we speak in the sight of God, and by the power of the Spirit of God. God who is the possessor of all wisdom, who dwells in unapproachable light does not take it lightly when men claim to themselves wisdom, thinking themselves so clever when they find things in His word, but declares by the prophet that even their light will become darkness, if they do not humble themselves before Him and confess that they are nothing. Therefore He declares by the mouth of the prophet, “Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud: for the Lord hath spoken. Give glory to the Lord your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness.” Let us not walk in darkness, but turn to the Lord in faith and sincerity of heart, knowing that He will give wisdom liberally to those who ask Him, and He will certainly resist the proud in heart. Those who are wise in their own eyes do not know God. Let us therefore come boldly to Him, asking Him for mercy, beseeching Him for Christ’s sake to be merciful to us, for we know nothing as we ought to know, we are poor, blind, and miserable apart from Jesus Christ, and therefore must fetch wisdom from Him. Let us cast ourselves at His mercy, confessing our sins, and asking that He be pleased to make us more sensible of them, that we might feel our want, know what we lack, and rely on Him for our supply of grace. For truly we have a great High priest who is passed into heaven before us, we have an eternal treasure in the heavens, an inheritance that does not fade away, and He our Priest will surely supply all our needs, if we only humble ourselves before Him and ask for grace, which is the work of grace itself. Seeing that all good things come from God let us be humble and seek wisdom from Him.
4. For those of you who are ministers of the word whether pastors or teachers, this exhortation is for you. Be reverent in your handling of the law of God; For surely to put your own opinions into the scriptures is a damnable crime. As God will not take it lightly to take His name in vain, so He will avenge Himself speedily on those who preach His word in vain. “They stumble at the word being disobedient, to which also they were appointed.” O, this is a fearful word. Surely those who twist God’s word are not of His spirit, therefore do not wonder in your heart, saying, “such and such a false doctrine is not such a crime”. But know assuredly that those who do not minister the gospel minister death, and those that handle the law with partiality do so unto their own destruction. The apostle does not say that those who do not understand Paul are weak Christians, he says those who do not understand him do not understand the other scriptures either, are unlearned, and wrest the scripture to their damnation. The doctrine of the gospel is the chief article of the faith. We are not defenders of Reformed theology per se, but defenders of the doctrine of Jesus Christ. TULIP is not Calvinism but the gospel. Those therefore who deny it are enemies of Christ. Let us therefore that are the hearers of the word listen with simplicity of heart, and receive the word of God with faith, knowing that “as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God.” We ought to know assuredly that those and those only who receive the word of God with faith are the sons of God. For eternal life comes not by the works of the law, but the hearing of faith, and inasmuch as Christ is called the Word of God, so those who receive His word in faith are truly of His Spirit. Let us be submissive to that word and obey His voice speaking by the mouth of the preacher, for those who resist His ministers resist Him, and he that resists Christ resists God, and God will require it of him on the last day. Let us therefore kneel before the Lord our Maker, ascribing to Him greatness, majesty, honor and all glory, and let us forsake all lying vanities, clinging to His word in faith and hope, awaiting the day He comes to judge the world and cast the wicked into hell, both the heathen that doth not know Him, the king which will not heed the law, the prophet who ministers false peace, and the scribe which worketh deceit with the pen. And may the Lord preserve His people from all evil, and come quickly to deliver us from this wicked generation. Amen.