By J.C. Philpot
Preached at Eden Street Chapel, Hampstead Road, London, on Lord's Day Evening, July 29, 1849
"For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." Isaiah 55:10, 11
I wish three things this evening. First, that this chapel was larger so as to accommodate the people who have come to hear. Secondly, that the Lord would fill my soul with life, light, liberty, and love, and enable me to preach the gospel with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven. And thirdly, that he would accompany the word with a divine power to your heart, and seal it with his own living witness on your conscience. My first wish is clearly impossible to be granted, and, therefore, you must put up with a little crowding; but if we have the two last fulfilled, we shall not have met altogether in vain; and if the Lord do not grant them, I shall speak and you will hear to little real purpose. May we then be enabled to lift up our hearts to the Lord, that he would be with us, to bless us indeed, so that good may be done in the name of the Lord Jesus.
God has spoken great things in the scripture concerning his word. We read, that he has "magnified it above all his name;" that is, he has exalted his truth and faithfulness in revealing and keeping his word above all his other manifested perfections. Upon this word all things depend in nature and in grace. By it came creation itself. "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God; so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear" (Heb. 11:3). By the same word comes preservation, as Peter tells us, "But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men" (2 Peter 3:7). By the same word is the supernatural creation also effected in the regeneration of the soul, and the creating of it anew in Christ Jesus. "Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth" (James 1:18). By the same "word," wounding comes; for "the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart" (Heb. 4:12). By the "word," too, comes healing. "He sent his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions."
In our text, we find the Lord still speaking very highly of his word, and illustrating it by a very sweet and blessed figure. This figure, I need hardly remind you, is that of the rain and snow from heaven, with their fertilizing effects on the earth. In endeavouring, then, as the Lord may give me strength and ability to open up the mind and meaning of the Spirit in the words before us, I shall not adopt any formal division of my subject, but shall make as it were a running commentary upon the text, explaining the natural figure, and shewing its accomplishment in the word of his grace.
The figure that the Lord here makes use of is very simple, obvious to the meanest capacity, exceedingly suitable, and, when spiritually realized, above measure sweet and blessed.
He compares his word, whether as revealed in the scriptures, or as spoken by the mouth of his servants, to the rain and snow that fall from heaven; and the effects which the rain and the snow produce on the earth, he compares to the effects and fruits that are produced by his word applied to the soul.
I.--The first leading idea of the natural figure is the descent of the rain--"it cometh down from heaven."
