"Shall Not prosper"

Driving home: Therefore, this text can rightly be called God's Law of Conferring Mercy because it makes a statement, concerning the manner in which and the people upon which God confers mercy in such a way that it is never violated.

Compares God's dealings with men to universal, constantly applicable laws of gravity and economics, emphasizing their fixed and unviolable nature to underscore the certainty of Proverbs 28:13 as a 'law'.

Universally prevalent and constantly applicable laws of gravity or forces of gravity can be called the laws of gravity. As there are certain laws of economics, so there are laws of God's dealings with men, fixed principles which can never be violated. Therefore, this text can rightly be called God's Law of Conferring Mercy because it makes a statement, concerning the manner in which and the people upon which God confers mercy in such a way that it is never violated.

1:04 - 1:44 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Explores the meaning of 'shall not prosper,' defining 'prosper' as flourishing success, but arguing from immediate and larger biblical contexts that it refers to spiritual, not…

Uses Joseph in Genesis 39 as an example of the word 'prosper' meaning flourishing success, where 'the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand'.

Look at several examples of the word in its common usage. We find in Genesis chapter 39, this use of the word. Genesis 39, speaking of Joseph, And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand. That is, everything that Joseph put his hand to had the stamp of success upon it.

5:52 - 6:19 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Explores the meaning of 'shall not prosper,' defining 'prosper' as flourishing success, but arguing from immediate and larger biblical contexts that it refers to spiritual, not…

Describes Joseph's prosperity with the metaphor 'He had the king Midas touch. Everything he touched turned to gold,' to vividly convey his success.

He had the king Midas touch. Everything he touched turned to gold. The same word is used as a synonym. Along with the word success in Joshua 1 and in verse 8.

6:19 - 6:34 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Therefore, as we ask the question, what do the words mean? We shall not prosper. We must exclude from our minds all materialistic interpretations of these words.

References Psalm 37:7 and Psalm 73 to illustrate the common biblical observation that the wicked often prosper materially, which can distress the righteous, reinforcing that 'not prosper' is spiritual.

It is such a common occurrence to see the wicked prospering and flourishing materially while the righteous languish that the psalmist writes, Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him. Fret not thyself because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. Here the righteous are so distressed at the evident display of the prosperity of the wicked, they accomplish their designs and they prosper in their wicked course of life that he says, Don't become fretful. Indicating that this was a common experience observed by the people of God.

11:20 - 12:04 Read in full sermon

The point: Ask yourself if 2 Corinthians 5:17 (being a new creation) is an accurate and valid description of you.

Describes conscience as 'that blessed vice-regent of God, that echo of the voice of God within our own bosoms,' to explain its inherent function and our natural aversion to it.

For they hear not the hearers of the law or just before God, but the doers of the law. For when the Gentiles that have not the law do by nature the things of the law, these not having the law are the law unto themselves in that they show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness therewith, and their thoughts one with another accusing or excusing them. My friend, every one of us by nature wishes he had the power to obliterate conscience from his human constitution. None of us ever welcomed conscience, none of us ever created conscience, and none of us by natu...

19:22 - 20:06 Read in full sermon

Driving home: My friend, every one of us by nature wishes he had the power to obliterate conscience from his human constitution. None of us ever welcomed conscience, none of us ever created conscience, and none of us by nature loves c…

Uses the metaphor of weaving coverings for sins (like lies or shifting responsibility) and tearing off pieces to 'stuff it into conscience's mouth' to silence it, illustrating the futility of trying to muffle its accusations.

that we have our consciences purged by the blood of Christ. You see, conscience which is the voice of God condemning us for our transgressions will never be silent when we seek to muffle Him with these clothes by which we cover sin. For when we weave a covering for our sins, say, of lies, we take that material and try to cover the lie and we tear off a piece and we try to stuff it into conscience's mouth. But conscience still speaks though we've tried to stuff the rag of a lie in his mouth.

20:41 - 21:21 Read in full sermon

Driving home: he that covers his sin shall not prosper there will be no pacified conscience no restful anticipation of the life to come no communion with the living God for no one ever came into communion with him except he came throu…

Recounts an imaginary scenario from a Christian periodical where a modern evangelist accosts the rich young ruler after his encounter with Jesus, illustrating the fallacy of seeking Christ without honest dealing with sin.

and your sin Mr. Rich Young Ruler is your idolatry your love of riches your attachment to riches deal with your sins smash your idol he said no I don't want eternal life if it's got to be in that arena on those terms and I read a most searching and tragic editorial in a Christian periodical today in which someone using his imagination in a very sanctified way pictures how someone would have dealt with the rich young ruler twenty minutes after Jesus finished with him and he went away sorrowful and they accosted him just as he was entering the gates to his wealthy house

29:25 - 30:09 Read in full sermon

The point: Examine if your lack of enjoyment of God's presence in daily life is due to covering some sin.

Quotes a hymn ('How tedious and tasteless the hours when Jesus no longer I see...') to express the profound misery and loss of joy a Christian experiences when they lose the enjoyment of God's presence.

for the child of God my friend if you don't know that by experience it's simply because you're not a Christian it's simply because you're not a Christian the loss of the enjoyment of God how tedious and tasteless the hours when Jesus no longer I see sweet prospects, sweet birds and sweet flowers have all lost their sweetness for me the midsummer sun shines in vain the field strides in vain to look gay but when I am happy in him December is as pleasant as May

38:49 - 39:32 Read in full sermon

The point: Examine if your lack of enjoyment of God's presence in daily life is due to covering some sin.

Uses the analogy that 'time has no power to cleanse sin' to counter the idea that suffering or the passage of time can atone for covered sin, emphasizing the need for Christ's blood and confession.

perhaps David had begun to think that if he just suffered enough from the loss of the enjoyment of God his suffering would be penance to bring back the presence of God but no God sent a prophet to dig the sin up and it had to be dug up from a mountain of covering rationalizing, silence, duplicity, deceit the prophet of God was the instrument to bring it to the surface and set it before the eyes of the man of God until he said time has no power to cleanse sin away and some of you have become accustomed to living without the enjoyment of the presence of God he that covers his sin

42:00 - 42:44 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not try to suck sweetness from God's promises or the doctrine of preservation while covering sin, as this is turning grace into lasciviousness.

Compares a Christian whose assurance is shaken to Bunyan's Pilgrim losing his roll, illustrating the grief and earnest search for its recovery.

where is the line between merely falling and being under bondage to a sin you see when there is a sin committed and it has been covered for any period of time you have reason to begin to question well is that merely the fall of a man in grace or is that the revelation that there is no grace and a man's assurance will be shaken and when a child of God who has known true assurance has that assurance shaken he is like Bunyan's pilgrim when he lost his rose and when a child of God who has known true assurance he was filled with grief and sought it with tears until he found it again

45:37 - 46:21 Read in full sermon

The point: When affliction comes, ask yourself if it is because you have failed to judge yourself or are covering sin.

Compares God's rod of chastisement to a father's spankings, emphasizing that God's discipline is severe enough to deter repeat offenses, unlike ineffective human parenting.

child of God do you have a healthy dread of God's rod? I do I fear my father's rod because I know his spankings are not like some of the spankings I've seen some of you give your children my father spanks me with sufficient severity to make it worthwhile for me not to go back to the same father some of you say spanking my kids don't work no it doesn't because you don't do it with sufficient severity to convince them it's not worth their while to do the same thing again

49:56 - 50:35 Read in full sermon

The point: If you cannot honestly say that your posture toward all known sin is full and open confession and turning away, then you have no joyful anticipation of Christ's return.

Shares a personal anecdote about waiting for his dad to come home: eager when tasks were done, but dreading it when responsibilities were neglected, illustrating the lack of joyful anticipation for Christ's return when sin is covered.

she's gonna discover that he was playing around with a cookie jar and broke it is anxious for mummy to come home I can remember those days when as a kid and my dad had given me certain responsibilities and they were all done I couldn't wait for dad to come home and I used to go out in the front yard and I'd look around that bend and Soundview Avenue in Stanford, Connecticut when I'd see my dad coming and he had a peculiar walk which they say as a kid I used to try to imitate he used to throw his leg, his right leg kind of funny way I'd run out to meet my dad oh how anxious I was to meet my dad...

53:31 - 54:14 Read in full sermon