Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones was a preacher for most of the 20th century, with most of his time at the Westminster Chapel in London. Many of his sermons have been transcribed into books, including an outstanding series on Romans, which should be in every pastor’s library.
Recently, I’ve been reading his book on Psalm 73, entitled Faith On Trial: Studies in Psalm 73. Here are some quotes from chapter 3 of this book, in which he discusses verses 16 and 17:
16 But when I thought how to understand this,
it seemed to me a wearisome task,
17 until I went into the sanctuary of God;
then I discerned their end.
“The whole trouble with the Psalmist up till now was that he had been approaching his problem solely in terms of his own thoughts and his own understanding. That, he tells us, was a complete failure.” p 43
“Now the trouble with so many of us, as it was with this Psalmist of old, is that although we have come into the Christian life, and have started on a spiritual level, we have then dropped back to the rational with regard to particular problems. Instead of thinking of them spiritually we go back and think of them as though we were merely natural men and women.” p 47
“Let me give you a very obvious illustration. I have often known Christian people revert completely from spiritual to rational thinking when talking about politics. On this subject they do not seem to be talking as spiritual people any longer. All the prejudices of the natural man enter in, all the class distinctions, and all the worldly arguments. You would not imagine from their conversation that they were Christian people at all. Talk to them about salvation and there is no doubt about them; but talk about these earthly, worldly things and they are guilty of all the prejudices of the natural man, the pride of life and the worldly way of looking at everything. As Christians we need to be told not to love the world with its ‘lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life’. Our lives must be consistent. They must be spiritual at all points; there must be no divergences anywhere. The Christian must view everything from a spiritual standpoint.” p 48-49
“We have seen that when he was on the point of saying what should never be said, he thought of his fellow-believers. That pulled him up and steadied him, and held him. But fortunately he did not stop at that. ‘I have to consider my fellow-believers,’ he said. ‘But who are they? Where do I meet them? I always meet them in the sanctuary.’ So he hastened there.” p 50
“People who neglect attendance at the house of God are not only being unscriptural – let me put it bluntly – they are fools. My experience in the ministry has taught me that those who are least regular in their attendance are the ones who are most troubled by problems and perplexities. There is something in the atmosphere in God’s house. It is ordained that we should come to God’s house to meet His people.” p 52
Dr. Lloyd-Jones put together this three-part plan to break out of the mold of rational thinking and into the realm of spiritual thinking.
- Go into the house of the Lord, with His people
- Read God’s Word
- Put yourself in an attitude and position to pray
If you’d like your own copy of this great book, you can get it here. It’s a good investment.
