O Happy Day.

The Northampton Mercury in 1751 recorded the death of a much loved dissenter that "his Piety was without Disguise, his Love without Jealousy, his Benevolence without Bounds. He had no Equal."

Phillip Doddridge, was born in London in 1702, the son of a merchant, and his mother the orphan daughter of the Rev. John Bauman, a Lutheran clergyman who had fled from Prague to escape religious persecution. Before he could read, his mother taught him the history of the Old and New Testament from some blue Dutch chimney-tiles. By 1719 he was a student in Kibworth Harcourt, a small village in my home county of Leicestershire. He set himself high standards, beginning his day at five in the morning and studying for over ten hours a day. Much has been written about this man whose writing had influenced many including William Wilberforce but I would think that he is best remembered these days for his hymns.

After his death a friend collected many of his hymns and had them published. Several still appear in today's hymnals, including "Grace! Tis a Charming Sound" and "O Happy Day". The latter is probably Doddridge's most famous hymn, based upon 2 Chronicles 15:15. The hymn expressed the joy of a personal relationship with the LORD. Doddridge himself titled the hymn "Rejoicing in our Covenant Engagement to God". Eighteenth century England produced many excellent hymnwriters whose hymns are still sung today e.g. Isaac Watts, Charles Wesley; and Philip Doddridge is numbered amongst these greats.

For more infromation about Doddridge and the Protestant Dissenters check out:-

http://www.ccel.org/cceh/archives/eee/doddridg.htm
and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Dissenters

There are some very interesting facts about Kibworth Harcourt Chapel written by Isobel Cullum in 1995:-
http://homepages.which.net/~stephen.poyzer/oct9501.htm

Also Notes from "Popular Hymns and their Writers by Norman Mable:-
http://www.stempublishing.com/hymns/biographies/doddridge.html

1. O happy day, that fixed my choice
on thee, my Saviour and my God!
Well may this glowing heart rejoice,
and tell its raptures all abroad.

Refrain: (from the Wesleyan Sacred Harp)
Happy day, happy day,
when Jesus washed my sins away!
He taught me how to watch and pray,
and live rejoicing every day.
Happy day, happy day, when Jesus
washed my sins away!

2. O happy bond, that seals my vows to him
who merits all my love!
Let cheerful anthems fill his house,
while to that sacred shrine I move.

3. 'Tis done: the great transaction's done!
I am the Lord's and he is mine;
he drew me and I followed on,
charmed to confess the voice divine.

4. Now rest, my long-divided heart,
fixed on this blissful center, rest.
Here have I found a nobler part;
here heavenly pleasures fill my breast.

5. High heaven, that heard the solemn vow,
that vow renewed shall daily hear,
till in life's latest hour I bow
and bless in death a bond so dear.

Doddridge was a prolific writer. His The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul was translated into seven languages. Besides a New Testament commentary and other theological works, Doddridge also wrote over 400 hymns. Most of the hymns were written as summaries of his sermons and were to help the congregation express their response to the truths they were being taught. None of these hymns were published in Philip's own lifetime, although they circulated in manuscript copies. At forty-eight, at the height of his ministry, Doddridge was dying of tuberculosis. Friends collected money to send him to Portugal where it was hoped warm air and sunshine might cure him; but it was too late. Philip Doddridge died on this day, October 26, 1751 and is buried in the English cemetery in Lisbon.

A man who changed history.

Entitled "Portrait of a Gentleman" in a Royal Acadamy oil painting by an unknown artist this painting shows William Wilberforce aged 29.

He was described as a man who changed history and he did it against great opposition.

William Wilberforce was born 24 August 1759 in Hull, England. In the summer of 1784 he was journeying on the continent with Isaac Milner who unbeknown to him had become an Evangelical. Seeing Milner reading Philip Doddridge’s “Rise and progress of religion”, he enquired about this book, to which he received the reply “It is one of the best books ever written”. Once challenged he searched the Greek testament to see if these things were true and under conviction of sin sought help from John Newton who advised him to serve God in politics rather than enter the church.

The story that eventually brought about the abolition of slavery in England is being told in the film “Amazing Grace” which has just been released in the USA to a mixed reception. Again this man’s life is going to be under the spot light of opposition – but that is the nature of Christianity!

Check out the film resources on http://www.amazinggracemovie.com/index/php
and http://www.amazinggracethemovie.co.uk

Read such books as John Piper’s “Amazing Grace in the life of William Wilberforce” Published by Crossway Books ISBN: 1581348754

365 Days With Wilberforce: A collection of Daily Readings from the writings of William Wilberforce by William Wilberforce, compiled by Kevin Belmonte. Published by Day One ISBN: 1846250587

Wilberforce’s classic work, “A Practical View of Christianity”, was concerned with convincing those who call themselves Christians to pursue “the real nature and principles of the religion which they profess.” Christianity is not a mere morality, to be held in private. Christianity is revelation from God, bringing new rights and correspondent duties. It is an entire way of life that requires diligence and study and that should affect every aspect of the Christian’s public and private life.

For this man following Christ meant “action”, he said, ”surely the principles as well as the practice of Christianity are simple and lead not to meditation only, but to action”.

Wilberforce had a world view which led him to involve himself in more than the issue of slavery. He sold his home and dismissed his servants to have more money to give to the needy. He fought prison reform. He founded or participated in sixty charities, championing the founding of the British and Foreign Bible Society.

What is needed today from those who follow Christ is such passion for Christ that every part of our being is given over to serving and making Him known to those still held in “slavery to satan” and his devices.

The dwelling place of God.

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust." Psalm 91:1-2.

In seeking to find this dwelling place of God we must look into the Old Testament.

Deuteronomy 12:5 & 11 state . . you shall seek the place where the LORD your God chooses, out of all your tribes, to put His name for His dwelling place; and there you shall go. . . . . then there will be the place where the LORD your God chooses to make His name abide.

The name of this place is Mount Zion as Psalm 132:13-14 declares “For the LORD has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His dwelling place: "This is My resting place forever; Here I will dwell, for I have desired it. . . .””

But be in no doubt Zion and Jerusalem are one and the same place.
2 Chronicles 5:2 Then Solomon summoned to Jerusalem the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes and the chiefs of the Israelite families, to bring up the ark of the LORD'S covenant from Zion, the City of David.

Isaiah 52:1 Awake, awake, O Zion, clothe yourself with strength. Put on your garments of splendour, O Jerusalem, the holy city.

Take notice of the Lord’s passion for Jerusalem.

Zechariah 1:14 Then the angel who was speaking to me said, "Proclaim this word: This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'I am very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion.

Zechariah 8:2 This is what the LORD Almighty says: "I am very jealous for Zion; I am burning with jealousy for her.

Psalms 78:68 But he chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which he loved.

Psalms 87:2 The LORD loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.

In 2 Kings 21 verse 4, the LORD said that it was “In Jerusalem I will put My name”

As we come into the New Testament we see that it is Jerusalem where the Lord Jesus Christ came in order to give His life upon the Cross of Calvary. Before His death He taught His disciples (His learner followers) that after His death they would experience the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

In the New Testament there are several terms to describe the relationship between the believer and the Holy Spirit. Jesus Himself explained it differently on different occasions.

To the apostles, Jesus said, "Receive the Holy Spirit" (John 20:22).

To the multitude who gathered with Him just before the Ascension, He said, "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you" (Acts 1:8, ) Scripture refers to the Holy Spirit as being given to the believer (see 1 John 3:24; see also 1 Thessalonians 4:8).

Peter talks about the Holy Spirit being in believers. (1 Peter 1:11) Paul says, "God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts" (Galatians 4:6); in another place he speaks of the believer as the temple of the Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 3:16-17)

All of these terms lead us to the same conclusion that the Holy Spirit resides in the believer. The verb used most often to describe this unique relationship comes from the Greek word oikeo. In the New King James Version it is translated "dwell." Oikeo actually comes from the Greek word for house—oikos. It means "to live in," "reside," or "dwell." Oikeo is used four times to describe the believer's relationship with the Holy Spirit (see Romans 8:9, 11; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 2 Timothy 1:14).

The most descriptive of the four is found in Paul's first letter to the church in Corinth: "Do you not know that you are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?"

Clearly, to Paul, to be indwelt by the Holy Spirit is to be inhabited by God. By equating the phrase 'God's temple' with the phrase 'a temple of the Holy Spirit,' Paul is clear: The Holy Spirit is God.

The significance of the term oikeo is that it speaks of permanency. The idea is that the Holy Spirit takes up residency in believers—forever. He doesn't just pass through. He makes us His home. He comes to stay. Paul's reference to believers as temples underscores this point. Having grown up a devout Jew, Paul had a great deal of respect for the temple. To the nation of Israel, it represented the presence of God among His people. When Christ was crucified, there was no longer any need for the temple. God no longer needed a building. He was free to take up residency in the heart of man. The barrier of sin had been removed. Man's relationship with God had been restored. To symbolize the change, God tore the veil of the temple from top to bottom (see Mark 15:38). (That thick drapery separating the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple.) The fact that it was ripped from top to bottom signified that God, not man, had initiated the change.

By referring to believers as temples, Paul was announcing that God had changed His residency for good. He had left the temple in Jerusalem and, through the person of the Holy Spirit, had moved into the hearts of His people.

The Bible clearly teaches the Spirit dwells within Christians.

No Bible-believer should ever deny this truth.

But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. Romans 8:9

But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. Romans 8:11

Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 1 Corinthians 3:16

That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. 2 Timothy 1:14

Among Bible-believers, there is much disagreement on how the Spirit dwells in us. Does He dwell in us directly? Indirectly? Through the Word?

We must understand the indwelling of the Spirit is not just some impersonal force within us that helps us be better Christians. The Spirit is a personal being and is part of the Godhead just as much as the Father and Son. This becomes obvious when we consider that when Ananias lied to the Spirit, he lied to God.

Read about this in Acts 5:1-4 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.”

When the Bible says the Spirit indwells Christians, it is not referring to a physical location (is He in your heart, stomach or liver?). The indwelling of the Spirit is not talking about a physical location but a working relationship the Spirit has with all Christians.

Jesus said that if we abide in Him, He will abide in us. It would be well at this point to read the opening seventeen verses of chapter 15 of John’s Gospel. Jesus uses this word “abide” many times - abide in His Word, abide in His love and abide in HIM.

Charles B.J. Root’s lovely old hymn says it all.

Abiding, oh so wondrous sweet!
I'm resting at the Saviour's feet;
I trust in Him; I'm satisfied,
I'm resting in the Crucified!

Abiding, abiding,
Oh how wondrous sweet!
I'm resting, resting,
At the Saviour's feet.

He speaks, and by His word is given
His peace, a rich foretaste of heaven;
Not as the world, He peace doth give:
'Tis through this hope my soul shall live.

I live but through His grace alone;
By whom the mighty work is done;
Dead to myself, alive to Him,
I count all loss His rest to win.

Now rest, my heart, the work is done,
I'm saved by faith through Christ the Son!
Let every power my soul employ,
To tell the world my peace and joy.

How these hymn-writing saints of old knew the reality of the indwelling Christ.
Grace Clement writes:

Dwelling in the secret place
Overshadowed by His grace,
Looking up into his face,
Seeing only Jesus..

Dwelling there, how truly blest!
Leaving all, how sweet to rest
Head upon my Saviour’s breast,
Seeing only Jesus

Resting there, no more to roam,
Drawing near to heaven and home,
Waiting there until He come,
Seeing only Jesus.

We await Christ’s final coming to the earth with power and great glory.

Yes, He is coming to Jerusalem to dwell amongst His people, both Jews and Gentiles.

The final chapters of the Bible in the Book of the Revelation state that He will come to dwell in Jerusalem to rule and to reign as Lord over all the earth. Then the final dwelling place of God will be with those who belong to Him and will hear the cry go up “the dwelling place (tabernacle) of God is with men” Revelation 21:3.

Well might we cry "Even so come Lord Jesus".