In April of this year, when Eileen and I were vacationing on St. Maarten, we were enjoying a swimming pool with a vanishing edge. On the horizon, we saw a rugged and mountainous and lovely land mass. Here’s the weird part. We’d been in the pool several times over several days, and there’d been no land in sight. To us, this thing of beauty made an overnight appearance, and we thought we were losing it – officially. But, as we soon discovered, we were seeing the island of Saba for the first time. A small band of clouds had blocked our view – over and over and over again – as the cloudiness had been just enough to rob us of something majestic.
I was just reading a little Richard Baxter. Baxter, who died in 1691, was known as “the chief of English Protestant Schoolmen,” and was quite wise as a theologian and Nonconformist. You may remember that the Nonconformists spoke out boldly against any official state church. This did not make for an easy life, as you might imagine. The Nonconformists faced official opposition from the government, and more than their fair share of antagonism from society at large. Others among the Nonconformists, with whom you might be more familiar, were the Bible scholar Matthew Henry and the hymnwriter Isaac Watts.
As I was reading, a certain prayer caught my eye. Baxter wrote: “Lord Jesus, scatter all these mists! O Thou Sun of righteousness, make Thy way into this benighted mind! O send Thy Advocate to silence every temptation against Thy truth and Thee, to prosecute Thy cause against Thy enemies and mine, and to witness my sonship and salvation!” My friends, I’m not sure that I’ve ever read a lovelier or more pertinent prayer for all of us, as we watch 2024 slink over the horizon.
What does it mean to admit to God that we have a “benighted” mind? For starters, it means that we’re coming clean about all of the ways in which we’ve chosen darkness over light. We’re acknowledging that we’ve let this world get the best of us at times, and that we’ve succumbed to the allures of its values and its gods. And it means that we’re finally being honest about our palpable inability to rescue ourselves from the spiritual blind spots which plague us day in and day out. In large measure, we’re stating the obvious: that we don’t even know where and how we most need God’s help. But we’re acknowledging that He does!
And here’s the amazing thing. God has promised to do something about this very predicament. The Bible promises: “We have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16). You and I do not have to keep stumbling around in the darkness, but we can find in Christ the truth that we need to make sense of our present circumstances. His Word and His Spirit will meet us where we are and move us from confusion to understanding.
I’m not promising you that – if you will seek the Lord – every detail of your life will make sense. We must leave room for the mystery of God … and the often-perplexing timing of God … and the various and sundry difficulties that God allows us to face by faith. But I’m saying that we can trust the Lord to bring us the light that we need. And I don’t have to tell you how desperately we need Christ’s light right now. “Scatter all these mists!”
Take another glance at Baxter’s prayer. “Send Thy Advocate!” We find this word “Advocate” in John 14:16-17, 26; 15:26; and 16:7. It’s the Greek “Paraclete,” and it literally means someone who comes alongside us. Your English translation may use the word “Helper.” You and I must keep in mind that the one who accuses us day and night never relents. That’s why we need the Holy Spirit – the Spirit of truth. He is always there to defend us. Always there to teach and guide us. Always there to counsel us. Our Advocate prays for us, and prays through us, when we have absolutely no idea how to pray (Romans 8:26-27). When we are tempted to sin, He faithfully delivers us from evil.
Out of nothing but love, our Advocate convicts us and redirects us. He gives us a heart for repentance. He reminds us of the enduring promises of God, and He does it when you and I most need to remember those words. Instead of rebuking us in our weakness, He comes close to strengthen us in our weakness. He reminds us that we are forgiven and clean in the Lord Jesus Christ. He shows us how we need to change, and He empowers us to change. The Spirit can change us when we can’t change ourselves! Miraculously, He gives us the gift of faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). The knowledge that God’s Spirit is working in our lives – in all of these marvelous ways – should be a great comfort to us when the clouds roll in and the fog hangs low – and when everything about the path forward feels ominously obscure. Especially then, He is the Comforter par excellence.
Richard Baxter prayed what you and I need to pray: that God would fight our battles for us! “Send Thy Advocate … to prosecute Thy cause against Thy enemies and mine.” When we pray like this, we’re acknowledging that Christ is King! We’re consciously bringing ourselves under the authority of His Word. We’re announcing to the powers of spiritual darkness that they’re going down. We’re preaching and delighting in Christ’s gospel! “For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at His coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For He must reign until he has put all His enemies under His feet” (1 Corinthians 15:21-25). “THY KINGDOM COME, THY WILL BE DONE, ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.”
“Send Thy Advocate … to witness my sonship and salvation!” This part of the prayer I find absolutely mind-blowing. When you and I pray for the Lord to give us assurance that we are His – and who among us doesn’t need that assurance? – we’re simply asking God to do what He’s already told us He’s willing to do: “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs – heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him (Romans 8:16-17). Friends, our Advocate is anything other than cold and impersonal. He is warm and relational. He is ours. He is here! In a way that defies description by human language, He can speak to our hearts and minds … and bring us peace like no other.
Yes, suffering will be part of our journey. From here to glory can be a bit of a rocky road. But here’s the thing: What our enemy means for evil, our God will use for good. As we walk closely with Christ during the trials and struggles of this life, the Holy Spirit – our personal Advocate – will bear fruit in us, and we will take on characteristics that could come to us no other way. Gentleness, for example. And patience with God and others. These are important marks of a person whose walk with Jesus is genuine. You and I should not be surprised that God turns the evil plans of Satan on their head. That’s what He does! Only our God can turn the dark evil of the cross into the bright victory of the empty tomb.
Lord, scatter these mists! The fogginess of this world seeks to rob us of what we know to be true, and we need You to restore our right mind. As You do, we know that You will set our sights above the craziness of Earth, and set our affections on the perfection that’s coming soon.
Pastor Charles
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