Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit · Sermon No. 3066
“Has your Counselor perished?” Micah 4:9.
THIS question is addressed to the Church of God, for in the context it is written, “And you, O tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, unto you shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem. Now why do you cry out aloud? Is there no king in you? Has your Counselor perished? For pangs have taken you as a woman in travail.” The poor Church of God had lost its way—it was doubting with regard to its direction. It knew not where to turn—to the right hand or to the left. In an agony of deep distraction, it bowed its head in fell dismay and thought that its King had disappeared and its Counselor perished. Forth comes the Prophet Micah, full of the Spirit, and addresses this question to the tried children of God, “Has your Counselor perished?”
We have before us a question implying three things. First, aDoctrine, namely, that our Counselor has not perished. Secondly, a reproof, for we sometimes act as if our Counselor had perished. And, thirdly, an encouragement for, however we may be situated and whatever may have perished—our Counselor has not perished.
I. First, then, here is A QUESTION IMPLYING A DOCTRINE, namely, the Doctrine that the Church of God has a Counselor and that that Counselor has not perished.
In olden times, the Lord’s people, whenever they were in a difficulty, could always find direction. Any man who doubted whether he should build his house, or whether he should go to war, or whether in any matter of his business he should do this or that, could at once receive instruction and advice by referring to the high priest who wore the ephod. And, being moved by the Spirit, the high priest spoke with his hand on the Urim and Thummim and gave an authoritative answer. Thus David told Abiathar to bring the ephod, and when he asked the Lord, “Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul?” the Lord said, “They will deliver you up.” So in other critical periods of the history of the saints, you will find it recorded that they were constantly in the habit of going to the priest and seeking for direction. Some of us may bewail the loss of such priests. We may be thinking, “I know not which way to go. I have no direction, I have no means of obtaining guidance.” O Christian! Has your Counselor perished? Ah, no! The Doctrine is assuredly taught us in Scripture that the Church of God still has an Infallible Guide!
There are some things, Beloved, in which we do not need a guide. Concerning morality, for instance, we need no other guide than that of the Sacred volume wherever our course has two phases to it and the one is morally wrong and the other morally right, we have no need of a counselor. We only need, by the help of God’s Spirit, to come to the Bible and we can always see which road to take. Whenever a thing is a sin, we need not appeal to Christ to know whether we shall commit it, for we are taught to avoid even the appearance of evil! If we consider that a thing is wrong, we have no right to do it, even though it might tend to our advantage in worldly affairs. We must not do evil that good may come, for if we were to do so, then indeed our damnation would be just! We have no occasion to ask whether we should go the road of sin or the road of righteousness. Is there not a sign clearly pointing, “This is the way”? When we see that it is the path which Christ has marked out, in which the holy Prophets have gone and that wherein Apostles followed, we know we ought to walk in it!
But the difficulty is when two things may be both right and we do not know which to choose—when there are two courses which seem to us to be indifferent as to moral propriety—when there is no Law against either and we can do as seems best to us without staining our profession as Christians, or forgetting to honor God in all our ways. We are in a great difficulty then. We know not what to do. We are resolved we will not commit a willful sin. Through Divine Grace
we are determined that we will not sin to rid ourselves of our embarrassments, but we are in such a strait we do not know what to do. How are we to tell? Is there any means left in the Church of God whereby a distressed and entangled traveler on the road to Heaven may ascertain his way in the dubious paths of Providence, when it is left to his own choice?
We answer—Yes, there is. The Counselor has not perished. There are still appointed means whereby the members of the Church of Christ, individually, have found guidance. These means are not what some take them to be. For instance, they are not by casting lots. Mr. John Wesley very frequently cast lots to know what he should do. Now, I care not who it was that did so, it is all the same to me—it is tempting God. For a man to twist a piece of paper and say, “Black, I go. White, I stay,” is tempting God’s Providence. I remember a case that happened in the country when 12 jurymen were almost equally divided as to the guilt of a certain prisoner—and they had the impudence to appeal to God in the matter—and to toss up, “heads or tails,” whether the person was innocent or guilty! They were Christians, too, and they thought they were appealing to God for they said that the lot was the end of contention. It is true that lots have been sanctioned in olden times. God has acknowledged lots and has blessed them, but we know of nothing to countenance lots now. We have no right to think we can appeal to God in such a manner! God by his Providence can direct it and no doubt He does. “The lot is cast into the lap, but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord.” Still, God will take care that the direction will be such a painful one that we shall be chastised for our presumption in daring thus to appeal to Him. We do not believe in such things—“we have a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto you do well that you take heed, as unto a light that shines in a dark place.”