A 1953 Torrey Memorial Conference Message
PURPOSE GLORIFIED By S. Franklin Logsdon, D.D. Pastor of Immanuel Church. Holland, Michigan
crucible of crucifixion. Then, the finger of Inspiration penned His immortal epi taph: “ He humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” He was solitary in a world of impo tence because of His power. All through His earthly ministry, our blessed Lord manifested His power. He unlocked the ears of the deaf and unloosed the tongues of the mute. He healed the infirm and helped the afflicted. He stilled the waves and calmed the troubled breasts. He blessed the living and raised the dead. He dispelled demons and transformed men. He amazed the multitudes immeas urably. It was also a sacred place. Whatever the Lord Jesus touched is said to be sacred. The word itself is not a Bible word and sentiment sometimes forces it beyond the point of soundness. We are not disposed to believe that He trans mitted virtue to the wood of the cross nor to the linen of His grave clothes, nor yet to the sands on which He trod nor to the sod on which He sat. But the place to which He repaired so early in the long ago was hallowed by His pres ence. The environs of the location other wise may have been dull and dreary, but they were then engraced by the presence of the Lord of glory. If Jesus could transform places, how much more can He transform persons. The Preciousness ol Prayer Prayer is precious because He who is our Preciousness elevated it to an imper ishable eminence in that solitary but sacred spot long centuries ago. It must be observed that prayer had a place of prominence in our Lord’s earthly min istry. It was an early prayer. The text states that He arose early and went out for the express purpose of praying. Few people underwrite their evaluation of prayer with such pronounced action. Few will corroborate their claim to its importance by such inconvenience and effort. “ Ere you left your room this morning, did you think to pray?” “ A moment in the morning, ere the cares of the day begin, Ere the heart’s wide door is open for the world to enter in, Ah! there alone with Jesus, in the quiet of the morn, In heavenly sweet communion, let your duty day be bom. ‘Mid a quietude of blessing with a prel ude of repose,
until God tabernacled among men to wit ness the personification of perfectness. The Lord Jesus is perfect in His will, perfect in His Word, perfect in His way, and perfect in His work. He is unique in His person, universal in His provi sions, and unrivalled in His perfections. He is the perfect One! He was solitary in a world of rebellion because of His obedience. God was forced to say of His creatures whom He had
“ Therefore came 1 forth” (Mark 1:38)
“ Rising up a great while before day, he went out and there prayed” (Mk. 1:35). This is an eloquent introduction to an ennobling example. Of course, faith must see in Christ more than an example, but one’s experience will suffer irrepara bly if one does not hear Him say, “ Go thou and do likewise.” The immediate context, supporting the foregoing Scripture, furnishes us with several impressive points of practical appeal. They are, the prominence of a place, the preciousness of prayer, and the pointedness of purpose. These are all the more impressive when we find the Sav iour associated with each. The Prominence of a Place “He departed into a solitary place.” The place localizes the incident. Experi ences are invariably associated with places. In the earthly ministry of our Lord we have reference to the desert place, the holy place, yonder place, the place called Gethsemane, the place called Golgotha and the place called Calvary. In the glory there is a place of prepara tion. It was a solitary place (Mark 1:35). Think of it, a sovereign in solitude! Or, more accurately, we should say, THE Sovereign in solitude, for how unlike all other sovereigns is the Son of God. As a rule, a sovereign lives in luxury and comparative leisure, but the Master labored in love. As a rule, a sovereign has servants to serve him, but the Saviour served others to save them. As a rule, a sovereign has attendants to prepare his bed, but the Son of Man had not where to lay His head. As a rule, a sovereign has companions and counsellors, but Jesus was all alone—in solitude. Yet He was none the less the Sovereign. Because He was alone, we need never be lonely. He was solitary in a world of sin be cause of His perfections. The Urim and the Thummin (lights and perfections) were wrought into the breastplate which was put “upon Aaron’s heart.” But these were mere symbols of what is in actu ality the very substance of our Great High Priest, even the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the embodiment of perfection in demeanor, declaration and deed. Of none other can this be said. The perfection accredited to Noah and Asa was derived and not inherent. It was vouchsafed to them by Jehovah even as believers are perfect in Christ. The world had to wait
The historic Church of the Open Door and the Bible Institute in downtown Los Angeles where the Torrey Memorial Con ference is held annually. created for His glory, “ There is no judgment in their goings; they have made them crooked paths.” But from the moment the Son of God stepped into human flesh upon the footstool of His own making, until the time the heavens received Him in glory, His course was one of absolute flawless conformity to the holy will of God the Father. Jesus submitted to the wilderness test ing but wavered not an iota. He listened to the offer of the kingdoms of the world as made by the arch-usurper but cast not a desiring glance. He trekked the trail of His earthly ministry amid seductive S a tanic snares but stumbled never. He sweat drops of blood as He pursued the via dolorosa but faltered not at all. He went bent beneath the weight of the cross but bowed not to diabolical dissua sion. When He was reviled, He reviled not again. When He was flayed, fiercely, He forgave freely. At the climax of ignominy, in spite of stubborn demo niacal resistance, the victory note of hope was transmitted from His blessed lips—“ It is finished!” It came from the
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