IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)
V
//
.//
,'*'' c^
> 0J-,
$
C^',
:A
Ua
(/f,
^
1.0
I.I
1.25
'-IIIM HIM
- IIIM
'' m
1.4
M
12.0
1.6
V]
<r^
c>
%
m,
/a
V
M
Photographic
Sciences
Corporation
iV
^
•1>^
\\
^
^
4^
23 WEST MAIN STREET
WEBSTER, NY. 14580
(716) 872-4503
fi?
CIHM/ICMH
Microfiche
Series.
CIHM/ICMH
Collection de
microfiches.
Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques
1980
Technical and Bibliographic Notes/Notes techniques et bibliographiques
The Institute has attempted to obtain the best
original copy available for filming. Features of this
copy which may be bibliographically unique,
which may alter any of the images in the
reproduction, or which may significantly change
the usual method of filming, are checked below.
n
D
D
n
n
D
D
D
n
D
Coloured covers/
Couverture de couleur
Covers damaged/
Couverture endommag^e
Covers restored and/or laminated/
Couverture restaurde et/ou pelliculde
Cover title missing/
Le titre de couverture manque
Coloured maps/
Cartes gdographiques en couleur
Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/
Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire)
Coloured plates and/or illustrations/
Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur
Bound with other material/
Reli6 avec d'autres documents
Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion
along interior margin/
La reliure serr^e peut causer de I'ombre ou de la
distortion le long de la marge intdrieure
Blank leaves added during restoration may
appear within the text. Whenever possible, these
have been omitted from filming/
II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajout^es
lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte,
mais, lorsque cela 6tait possible, ces pages n'ont
pas 6t6 filmdes.
Additional comments:/
Commentaires suppl6mentaires;
L'Institut a microfilm^ le meilleur exemplaire
qu'il lui a 6t6 possible de se procurer. Les details
de cet exemplaire qui sont peut-dtre uniques du
point de vue bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier
une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une
modification dans la mdthode normale de filmage
sont indiquds ci-dessous.
n
n
n
d
n
D
r^^]]>^Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata
I I slips, tissues, etc., have been refilmed to
ensure the best possible image/
Les pages totalement ou partieilement
obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, une pelure,
etc., ont 6t6 filmdes d nouveau de fagon d
obtenir la meilleure image possible.
Coloured pages/
Pages de couleur
Pages damaged/
Pages endommag^es
Pages restored and/or laminated/
Pages restaurdes et/ou pelliculdes
Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/
Pages d6color6es, tachet^es ou piqudes
Pages detached/
Pages d^tachdes
Showthrough/
Transparence
Quality of print varies/
Quality in^gale de I'impression
Includes supplementary material/
Comprend du materiel supplementaire
Only edition available/
Seule Edition disponible
This item is filmed at thr, reduction ratio checked below/
Ce document est film6 au taux de reduction indiqu6 ci-dessous.
10X
14X
18X
22X
26X
30X
vy''
12X
16X
20X
24X
28X
32X
The copy filmed here has been reproduced thanks
to the generosity of:
National Library of Canada
L'exemplaire film6 fiit reproduit grSce d la
g6n4rosit6 de:
Bibliothdque nationale du Canada
The images appearing here are the best quality
possible considering the condition and legibility
of the original copy and in keeping with the
filming contract specifications.
Original copies in printed pap*>f covers are filmed
beginning wilh the front cover and ending on
the last page with a printed or illustrated impres-
sion, or the back cover when appropriate. All
other original copies are filmed beginning on the
first page with a printed or illustrated impres-
sion, and ending on the last page with a printed
or illustrated impressio .
The last recorded frame on each microfiche
shall contain the symbol -^^ (meaning "CON-
TINUED"), or the symbol V (meaning "END"),
whichever applies.
Les images suivantes ont 6t6 reproduites avec le
plus grand soin, compte tenu de la condition et
de la nettetd de l'exemplaire film^, et en
conformity avec les conditions du contrat de
filmage.
Les exemplaires originaux dont la couverture en
papier est imprimde sont filmds en commandant
par le premier plat et en terminant soit par la
dernidre page qui comporte une empreinte
d'impression ou d'illustration, soit par le second
plat, selon le cas. Tous les autres exemplaires
originaux sont film^s en commengant par la
premidre page qui comporte une empreinte
d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par
la dernidre pag? qui comporte une telle
empreinte.
Un des symboles suivants apparaitra sur la
dernidre image de cheque microfiche, selon le
cas: le symbole —^ signifie "A SUiVRE", le
symbole V signifie "FIN".
Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at
different reduction ratios. Those too large to be
entirely included in one exposure are filmed
beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to
right and top to bottom, as many frames as
required. The following diagrams illustrate the
method:
Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre
filmds d des taux de reduction diffdrents.
Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre
reproduit en un seul clich6, il est filmd A partir
de Tangle sup^rieur gauche, de gauche d droite,
et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre
d'images ndcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants
illustrent la mdthode.
1
2
3
1
2
3
4
5
6
K. C. Mll.r.ARI).
MRS. \V. K. CA.Ml'Hi;i,l..
RKV. C. C. CRUlil!
\V. K. CAMl'HKI.L.
/
~]
I
/
BEHOLD YOUR GODl
^K\K\ IKl-.N ADDKKSSKS \',\
RHV. G. C. GRUBB, M.A.
JKN r.lliLK KEAI)IN(i.S BY
MRS. W. K. CAMPIiKLL.
ADDKKSSKS TO CHILDKKN \\\
MR. !•:. C. MILLARD.
KG IKS OF THK I'KAVKK-M KKTI N(;s
CONDUCTKI) VA
MR. w. K. campiu<:ll,
L>1'k;n(; Thkir Mission in thk Cm oi Tokonto. Canada.
Fkp.ruarv 15TH TO March snd. 1896.
*
TORONTO:
REI'OkTKI) AND I'lHI.ISIIKD l;\-
Bku<k & Co., 54 Adelaidk. St
1896.
I.AST
..Mleml ,|^,.or<lin« ,o A,t of ,he l'«rli«,„en. o, Cana.l,, i„ „,e year on. ,h.,us.nd
Airriciiltiire.
at the l)i|piiiiiiii-Ml of
PRINTED BY
WILLIAM HRIG(iS
•M-Xi IticriMUNn SrnisKr
TnltiPXTO
rREFACH.
THK Ili'.v. (iKoiKiK Caui.kton Oiujhu was born in ISHfi at
(.'aliir AMtey, Cahir, County Tii>perary, Ireland ; his ances-
tors for many generations had belonged to the Society of Friends.
He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin ; entered tlu; ministry
of the Church of Ireland, 1H79. He was engaged in Parish work,
including constant work among soldiers, until IH8."». In tliat year he
received an invitation from the Church of Ireland Parochial Mission
Society to become their first special Mission Preacher throughout
Ireland, which post he accepted.
In 1H87 the Church Missionary Society asked him and Col.
Oldhara to visit their Missionary Stations in the Bombay Presidency,
and Ce'lon, during the winter of 1887 to 1888. From this time
recjueats began to reach him from many quarters of the globe to hold
Missions in various churches. During this first visit to Ceylon, Mr.
(Irubb became acquainted with Mr. Walter Keir Campbell, who was
then a tea planter in the island.
In response to an invitation from Archdeacon Grace of Mlenheim,
Mr. Grubb arranged for a mission tour to New Zealand and other
places in 1889 with his nephew, Mr. Oswald Richardson. At
Keswick, in July of this year, Mr. Bowker introduced Mr. Edward
Candish Millard to Mr. Grubb, and made arrangements for him and'
Mr. Campbell to join the party ; giving the four brethren a Letter of
sympathy and recommendation from the conveners of the Keswick
Convention. They visited Ceylon, southern India, and New Zealand,
touching Melbourne for a week of services on the way out : returning
to England the following summer in time for the Keswick Conven-
tion, where Mr. Grubb gave an account of what God had wrought
through their means.*
• See "What God ICath Wrontfht," liy E. C. Millard, an account of Mr. Grubb's tour in Ceylon,
India, Australia, .New Zealand and Ca|)e Colony, to he obtained at the Willard Traot beiKwitory,
Toronto.
»J\
imii:ka<'k.
From Aai,'U8t to DecPiiilM-'r, IS'.M), Mr. (iriihli atxl Mr Millard
\\>'n> «'nj;iii(»ul ill iiiisMion work in ( 'ti|H' 'I'owu .ind its vicinity, partly
;it the cxpeuHe of the Kt-swick MisHioii Kmid.
(Ml tlicir rt'tiirii Mr. Millard iiiarrit'd Miss Clara Uradsliaw,
J.iiumry '-'4, IS'.*!, unrl in t\ui spring tli« two afconipanifid Mr. <irul)l»
on his prolon<;od visit to Australasia ; hoin;,' joined on their way out
by Mr. Oamplx'll (who had r«turn»!d to (Vylon after three months'
Aork in India with llev. \V. Haslain), V. D. |)avid, a Tamil evan-
gelist, Mr. <«. K. .Iack.son and Mr. Si-ymour Horon ; not returning to
Kngland until .Fuly, 1H!)2.* After the Victorian Mission, which
lasted four niontlis, .Mr. Campbell returned to Kngland, having mar
ried Miss Adeline I'raithwaite in Melbourne, on October 2S, and did
not again Join Mr. (Srubb in his evangelistic toursuntil the (-anadian
Mission of lHi».") 9G of which this book is the outcome.
The year ISIHJ found Mr. (irubb preaching the (Jospel in the
Argentine llepublie, .Monte Video, and Ihazil ; having Mr. Millard,
.Mr. Herbert II. Ilidlake, and Mr. Kdvic Kobison as his companions. f
Mr. and Mrs. Millard spent seven months in Foochow in 1894,
•.isiting Ceylon and Shanghai on tlie way. In the early months of
l*^!*'), Mr. Cirubb held meetings in Kgvpt and Smyrna, being assisted
in Alexandria by C<j1. Oklhani.
For the last live years prayer has been oH'ered to Cod by some
of the Canadian Christians, that the Lord would send the Kev. (i. C.
(trubb to the Dominion for the purpose of conducting missions in
various cities and towns. Accounts of the work of (Jod through his
missions in other parts of the world continually reached this country,
with the result that repeated invitations were mailed, asking him
when he could come. The way was not open for a final decision till
July, 1895, when he cabled to Archdeacon Fortin, of Winnipeg, that
he would leave England for Canada in September.
Accompanied by Mr. and Mrs. Campbell and Mr. Millard, he
sailed from Liverpool, September 19, and commenced his evangelistic
work in Winnipeg on October 10, in the Rev. J. J. Roy's church ;
afterwards taking a mission of ten dfys in Trinity Church in the
aaine city. The next place visited was Chatham, at Rev. R. McCosh's
' See " Till' Same I.oril." hv K. C. Millard, .•iii aicouiit of Mr. (irubb'ssec'oiul tour in Au.straluHiii.
1 See " The Nefflei'led Coiitiiient," by E. C. Millard and Miss Lucy Guiniiesti. The story of
'Mr. Grubb'H visit to South America, and an able Appeal for missions to that dark land.
I'UKhA" F.
iii\ itutioii, foUfiwid liy nw »'(istsvaril jcurm^y for iiiinhioiiH in the
t'litlieilnil (.'Imrcliof LoikIoii, mid in St. Jiiinoa' Church, liigi>rsoll.
Thosf «'n<iii^(Mnerits tilhtl up tlie three mouths to ChriHtuius, u ftw
ihiys (juiet Itciti;,' t;ikt>u for corrjisporidiMice, etc., Itetween emh mission,
at n<'cch\vi)()»l fjirni. Ut'iicliN illi', hy the kiiuhirss of Mr. Alfi<'il Sh.irui.
who, in (lods pro\ idencf, liiid l)eci' introduced to Mr. <;rulili iit
Keswick, H few hours sifter the visit to Cunuda was decided on
In January, IS',t(», missions were hi'ld in the Chunh of the .\.^oen-
sion, Hamilton ; in St. John's, Port Hope ; and in Kev. I'\ \V, |)i»l(l>s
church, at Portsmouth. huring the month of Keltruary, l»ioik\ ill»'
was visited at the Hev. < ). |)ol)l)'s rofjuest ; and a few services lieM li
St. Johns L'hurcli, <)ttawa, hefore Mr. (!rul)l» opened his work in
Toronto, Keltruary lo to March "J, where he and his party were the
quests of lion. S. H. lilake. They hjf't Toronto, March •!, for mission
work in Montreal, March 8 to 1') ; intending to [troceed to J^uehee,.
.March L'l to 'M) ; to St. .lohn. New Brunswick, April 4 to 1.5 : and to.
hold some special meetings in Halifax, Nova Scotia : fmrn whenve
they hope to sail for Kngland on the 'JAth of April.
So many letters reached friends in Toronto froni relatives « ho
had received blessings through the nnssions cotiducterl in their towns,
urging them to he sure to attend these services, that an eager expecta-
tion awaited the announcements of the Toronto Mission. Kxpectation
ran so high that it was found necessary to alter the original plan of
holding three Parochial Missions at ( 1 ), the Church of the Kpiphany,
Parkdale (1*), St. Peters, Hleecker Street, and (."<), Church of the
Hedeemer, in response to invitations from Hev. H. Mryan, Arch-
deacon Poddy, and liural Dean Septimus Jones; the accommo(httion
in these churches not iieing considered adequate.
But the most sanguine were astonished at the attendances, fcr
before tlie first week was over the V. M. (.'. A. Hall (kindly lent to
Mr. Grubb for the meetings) was crowded out. Kven in the after-
noons the gatlierings »vere large, in the Y. W. C. (Juild Hall, which
had been generously granted for the Bible Readings. Towards the
end of the second week, the Massey Hall, seating al)out "t.OOO, proved
too small for the multitudt^s wh(» thronged to iiear the Word of (Jod.
The last three nights of the Mission, thousands were turned away
from the doors, which had to be locked half an hour before the tinm
announced for the service.
A general desire had been expressed tliat tlie sermons |ire.nlH(l
vi
l'UKKA( K.
hy Mr. (irubb, and the \\\\t\v lOxpositiotiH ^ivoii Ity Mrs. Ciiiiiplirll,
should lio ri-poitcd mid piil)liHli«>(|. A friftid in Toronto rciidily
r«>Kpond<>d to tliJH, and undtM'took tli« neocHHiiry llrrlln^('nll!ntH for
t■arryin^ out tlie Hug!{«stioii ; th«) r(>f)ult being tliu i^sui! of tlit;
prt'Bcnt volunii!.
TIhi pro^jruninic of tim workday iiuMitingH has usiiiilly run thus,
during the niissionH in (/*anada:
I. A half hour I'rayor Mct^ting, rithor oarly in the morning, or
at nuon, us is found most oonv(*ni«>nt, l<*d by Mr. Caniplioll.
'2. A ltil)l<! Kxposition at ■'( p.m. open to both men and women,
4)y Mrs. Campbell.
H. A Children's Meeting at 1.15 p.m., to catch the young people
after school is over, by Mr. Millard.
I. Kvangelistic Service at S p.m., by Mr. (Jrubb.
Tile " Union Mission ifymnal " has been used at all these services
in Canada, a copy being handed to each one who attends, as they
enter the building. The giving away of these hymn books at the
close of every ini.ssion has proved fruitful in ble.ssing to many.
.Mr. (irultb feels .strongly the need of literally obeying, in mission
work, tlu! command, " Freely ye have received, freely give ; " and in
accordance with this precept no collections are taken up at any of his
services. Having acted on this principle for several years, he has
proved that without ap[>eals, or reference to money, those who receive
spiritual blessing an^ constrained by the Spirit of ( Jod to give liberally
for the service of the Lord ; .some of their abundance, and many out
of their deep poverty. \lv can, therefore, testify that no debt has
ever been incurred in connection with his missions. (Phil. iv. 19.)
We believe that thousands throughout the Dominion will
appreciate the opportunity of reading, marking, and passing on to
their friends these messages from the Word of Cod ; and it is
earnestly hoptid that the readers of this Itook will follow Mr. Crubb
and his co-workers with constant and believing prayer,
Jfarch, ISUli
I
CON'I ENTS
AI)I)RHSSH-S BY S\\<. CiniBH.
I Tin: liKillT OK His CoUNTKNANt k ... })
(St. ri'tt'i'.s t'limvli, h'liiiiiiiy hi.)
II To Know the Lovi: ok Chuist . . . jj
(V.M.C.A. Hull, hVhiiuiiy U\.)
III. t'liiiisT Ai.i. ANh I\ AiJ, .... 28
(Y.M.('..\. Hull. Fi'l.nmiv 17.)
IV. (i(»|) (il.OKII'lEI) 87
(V.M.C.A. Hill). Fi'liniMiy is.)
V To-K.W I MU.ST AlSlDK IN TllV II(U SK - - 47
(V.M.C.A. Hull. Kt'l.iuiiiy 1!).)
VI. Thi; .Ii i>(iMi:NT Si:.\t of Ciihist - - - 57
(V.M.C.A. Hall. Ffl.ruiiiy -JO.)
VII. CnuisT OCR Pa.ssoveu 08
(V..M.C.A. Hull. I-Vl.iiiuiy •_•!.)
\III Mk C.vnnot Mi: .Mv Discii'Le - - - . 7!>
(Cliiiicli of tiif KiMk'L'iiicr, Ffiuiiury 'i.'J. )
IX Three Looks Toward Chri.st . . . ,s7
(Mus.scy Hull. Fcl.illuiy '2.1 )
X. AlUl/r Ki;(iENEHATION - - . . . ()y
(MusMi'y Hull. Ft'liiuuiy 21.)
XI. SiiK Lkit Hku Watkupot - - - - 110
(Mivs.sey Hall, Folnuury •_>.">.)
XII. Ai-L Tiiix(;s l^NDER Hi.s Feet - - - 120
(.Md.s.si-y Hull. Fcl.iiiury '2t>. )
XIII. Cornelius l;51
(Miissey Hull, Ft'lnuuiy 27.)
XIV. Where Is The La.mii^ - - - . - 140
(Massey Hall, February 28.)
XV. ITnsearchaiile Riches 150
(Church of the Kpiphaiiy. Farkdale, March 1.)
\ III
roNl'KN rs.
XVJ TlIK ClTIKS Ml- |{KII(iK -
(Masscy MmH. Maicli I.)
WII. Ill-: oi' (i()()i» CiiKEU
(Mmnmv Hall, Man!, •_'. )
i:),s
Ui.s.
HIHI.H Ri;.\I)IN(iS n\ WHS. C.AMinSHI.L.
I. CllEATloN AND IxKCKKATION' - - - .
iN'.W .('. Ciiilcl Mall. F.'l.iuaiA 17.)
II. TllKIK IvKKKK.MKK l.s SntoXc - - .
iV.W .(•. Ciiihl Hall. F.liniaiv IS.)
III. A Pkoi'i.k Nkau I'nto IIi.m -
(Y.NV.C. <;niM Mall, K.'l.nian l!».)
IV. In i'mk \Vii.I),:!!N'i:ss - - . . .
V.W.C. (inil.l Mail. Fi'l.iuarv •.'•»,)
V. In thk Land ---.-.
(V.W.C. Cuil.l Mall, Kflpiiiaiv 2\.)
VI. Hkhold Tmv KiNti
(N'.W.C. Cuild Mall, Fdnnaiy •_'».)
VII. Bkhoi.d Mv Skijvant
(V.W.C. Ciiil.l IImII, F.'l.iiiaiy •_'.-..
VIII. Hkhold imik Man -
(V.W.C. Ciiii.l Hull, Fcliniaiy •_'(!,)
IX. Bkuold thk La.mi! of (iOD - - - .
iV.W .C. Ciiil.l Hall, F.-l.iuaiy 'JT.)
X. FcM, OF Faith and of thk ll(»r,v (Imost
(N'.W.C. (iuii.l Mall. Fchniary -J.s.)
1 s:>
197
:>1()
2 '2:1
24«>
■2')S
2(i!>
2.SI
29 '2
ADDKHSSHoS |() CHILDRHN BY MR. MILI,AR1).
1. Thk Skiu'knt ------- 1^07
(Cliiiicli of till' K|>iiiliaiiy. I'aiUdaK', Fcliriiaiy 17.)
II. Faith :]\s
(Cliiiri'li of the iliMlcoiiicr, l'\'liniar\ -6.)
(JLEANIXCS FHO.M thk I'KAVKU-MKETINfi.S -
:V2:
'i
lllli LK.iri' C)I- IMS COINII^NANCI':.
1
" Tmii lis .iLCiiiii, (> (itxl, . 111(1 iMuso tliy ffuo to sliiiio, ami wo ahull l>e
K.ivi'il. " (Psalm Ixxx. .'i. )
"'I'mii us iiLCaiii, O < Jod, and raiiso thy faoo to shiiio, and wo shall ho
saved. " (rsaliii Ixxx. 7.)
"'ruin us airaiii. (» (Jod, and cause thy faee to shine, and we shall lie
saved. ' (I'salni Ixxx. !'.•.)
SO three times over. Asaph, the writer of this I'sahn, asked
(Jod to turn Mis people back ai,'ain to Him, and tliat He
vvouhl c((usc 7/i.s f\(ce to Khinc, or as it is translated in
other places, " Lift up the lij,d)t of Ivis countenance." " Lift ui>
the Ii<rht of thy countenance upon ua, and we shall be saved."
When Asaph wrote this Psalm the people of God were in a
miserable condition, both spiritually and circumstantially.
Their enemies were their concjuerors, and he (lescribes their
condition in these wonl.s : " O Lortl God of Hosts, how lon<,'
wilt thou be an«,n-y: thou feedest us with the bread of tears;
thou «rivest us tears to drink ; thou makest us a strife to our
nei<,'hbors; our enemies laufjrh amon<jf themselves; Oh, turn us
Ufiain. Lord (i(Hl,c<(usr thy face to shine, and we shallbe saved."
Had you looked at the people of (Jod in those days you would
have seen no marks about them that distinguished them from
the nations of the world; so Asajih prays that there may be a
revival amongst the people of God, that they may turn to (Jod
and that (»od may turn to them, that (Jod" would lift up the
light of His countenance and then they would become vic-
torious.
Brethren, the Ghurch of God is exactly analogous, in these
<lays, to the nation of Israel in those days'. (Jod'.s people have
*r%.
10
THE LUiMT OK MIS rOINTKNAXCE.
turneil away from Him. They name the name of God in their
])rayer.s. They read the Word of (Jod in their services ; but oh,
how little is known of the reality of God, how little heart
ct)rrespon<lence there is between the words of God and the
reality in our own souls I And wliat does the Church of God
need ' ( )nly one tiling — to be brouj^ht into the light of God's
countenance. That is the object of this mission which in the
name of ( iod we begin this day amongst you. The object of
tliis mission is merely to invite you, beloved brethren, to come
into the light of God's countenance and to let that light reveal
yourself and reveal Himself to you. Therefore, in the few
introductory words that I shall speak thi.s morning I ask you to
notice one oi two things al)OU the light of God's countenance.
VVh.vt will it i>(>i\' the Hk.vrt of the Max that Receives
It '. I shall turn to a few verses, and let God speak for himself
this moi'ning. In the ninetieth Psalm and at the eighth verse,
we read: " O God, thou hast set our iniquities before thee, and
our secret sins are in the light of thy countenance." The very
Hrst thing that the light of ( Jod's countenance does to a soul is
/o .s7/nH' a man his sins, and this is the reason why so few care
to come into the light of God's countenance. They do not want
to have their real state of soul revealed to them. This verse
tells me that my secret sins stand in the light of God's counte-
nance. The word "secret" has a double meaning there. First
of all it means all my sins that are hidden from me — the sins
that I know nothing about, things in which, perhaps, I think I
have never sinned — they stand on parade before the face of my
God ; the things I have never imagined I have done, they are
sins in the sight of (Jod. Oh, how we need to have things that
are hidden from us revealed to us ! For instance, during the
last fortnight, a lady came up to speak to me after one of the
sermons in a certain place, and .she said to me, " Sir, what do
you mean b}' the word ' conversion ' that you are always using,
and this word ' salvation ' ^ for I wish to tell you, Mr. Grubb, so
far as I know, I have never broken one of God's command-
ments. I have never committed any gross sin, and the only
thing I am conscious of is that I liave been sometimes careless
about keeping the Sabbath, but really, sir, I have never .broken
any of God's commandments." Now, that lady was utterly
ignorant of her real state before God. She actually thought
that she was worthy to step right into heaven because, so far as
she knew, she had never broken any of the commandments of
CJod except being a little carele-ss on Sunday ! Now, she needed
to have her secret sins revealed to her, and that is vv^hat you,
THE LKillT OK Ills COrXTEXAXCE.
11
my brother, need ; that is what I need ; that we should so stand
before God as to allow the light of God to shine into our inner
beini; and reveal our real nature to us. The word " secret "
also means things that are done secretly, hidden away from the
eyes of others. We read in one of the chapters in Chronicles
that the Lord sent His people, Israel, into captivity because —
oh, an awful because — because the children of Israel did secretly
— did secretly — things that were abominable in the sight of the
Lord ; therefore the Lord God brought upon them the king of
the Chaldeans, who had no mercy upon the old or young. So
the Church of God to-day is suttering from the ettect of secret
sins. Those who name the name of Jesus, those who have that
holy name upon their lips every Sunday, do secretly things
which are an abomination in the sight of God, and they think
that God forgets all about it. Therefore we are in captivity,
and therefore our churches are powerless, and we have numbers
of services and meetings, although the power of the Holy Ghost
has almost, almost, almiost left us ; because the power of God
always leaves a man, always leaves a church, when there are
secret sins unconfessed and uncleansed.
Therefore the very first thing is that we who profess to name
tlie name of Jesus, we who call ourselves disciples of Jesus
Christ, should have our secret sins revealed to ics by the light
of God's countenance. I pray that God may turn His search-
light upon our hearts.
We have all been struck, within the last two or three weeks,
by photographs in the newspapers of Professor Roentgen's
process of photography. We have wondered at the power of
tho.^e cathode rays that shine into the inner being of a man and
reveal your very bones and the progress of disea.se within.
How much more can the Profes.sor's God reveal man's inner
state to him ! Jesus says, " 1 am the lif/ht," and the " Crookes
tube," through which the light comes is the word of God. This
is the Crookes tube, the channel for the rays of light from the
person of the Lord Jesus. I take up the Word of God and
Hash it on your hearts, and say, " Allow the searching rays of
God to reach your soul." Do it, my brother, do it, and don't
fight against the lifjht of (Jod, Our secret sins, my God,
stand in the light of Thy countenance.
But I have much more for you than that, beloved. Don't
think lam going to leave you there. Listen: In the IGth
chapter of Proverbs and at the L5th verse, we read, "In the
light of the King's countenance is life ; and his favor is like a
cloud of the latter rain." "In the light of the King's counten-
12
THE I.ICHT OK MIS (oINrKN ANTE.
((nee." Solomon is there talkin^^ of any kin^,', and it" you are in
favor with the kinfj your life is sparotl, hut how much mor»j
have you life in the light of our Kinjjf's countenance! The Lord
Jesus (Jhri.st never reveals a man's sin, without at the same
moment revealing,' that he is the life, that he can put an abso-
lutely new life into you, a life far removed from disease, a life
far removed from corruption, a life which briiif^s love and joy
and peace with it. This is the sort of life that 8t. Paul de-
scribes in these words : " The t^od of this world has blinded the
minds of them which believe not, lest the lij^'ht of the i^lorious
gospel of Christ, who is the image of (Jod, should shine upon
them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord,
and ourselves your bond-servants for Jesus' sake. For God.
who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined
in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of
God in the face of Jesus Christ."
So if I wish to .see the light of my God, if I wish to have Hi.**
favor revealed to me like a cloud of the latter rain, if I wish to
have my whole soul refreshed by the dews of heaven — what
am I to do ? Merrh/ to look at the face of Jcsits, for Jesus says,
" He that hath seen me hath seen my Father also, and how
sayest thou then, show us the Father ? "
I ask this congrerjation and I ask those who sing in the
choir, Have i/ou ever seen the face of ■/entis? Have you ever
seen the light of the knowledge of the glory of ( }od in the face
of Jesus Christ J' For if you have not you are not yet a real Chris-
tian. A real C/iristia)i j.s' a man ivko has seen the light of the
knowledge of the glorg of God in the face of Jesas Christ. A
real Christian is a man upon whom God smiles, and so there are
just as many real Christians worshipping in St. Peter's church
thisniorning as there are those who have the smile of God in
their hearts. Lord, lift up, lift up the light of Thy counten-
ance upon us and we shall be saved.
Then you will find that .salvation is a very real thing. If
you ask me what .salvation is, I answer, " Salvation' is i.ivinc
EVERY DAY iNDEii THE SMILE OF GoD,' — that is what salva-
tion is.
Now I go further. I am only giving this morning a pano-
ramic view of the blessings I want you to get during the
mission. Look at the 44th P.salm and the 3rd verse: "They
got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did
their own arm save them, but thy right hand and thine arm
and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favor
unto them." Here we are told that the .secret of victorv over
4
4
THE M<ilir ol' Ills COrNTKNANf K.
13
vour enemies is lo wall: Iti ll"' li</lil of (ukVk eounti'iKi iicf, and
that Israel rroi possession of the land of Canaan, the land that
(lowed with nnlk and honey, the land promised to Ahraliam,
Isaac and Jacob— not because of any natural mifjht or strenji;th
that they possessed, but merely because they obeyed (Jod by
walkintf in the light of His countenance. The instant that
Israel sinned in secret they were defeated. They ha<l hatl a
glorious victory at -lericho. They followed the ark of the liord
around the city, they gave a shout of faith, and the walls fell
<iown Hat, and Israel went up and took the stronghold of
.lericlio; but a few days after that they went up to Ai, a little
town of twelve thou.sand inhabitants, and the army of Israel
was utterly defeated, and the nations of Canaan rejoiced.
Why was Israel defeated ? Because they had got out of the
light of God's countenance. Achan, the son of Carmi, the .son
of ZaV)di, the son of Zerah, had done secretly that which was
not right. He had taken a Babylonish garment, two hundred
shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold, and had hid them in his
tent. No eye saw him but the eye of Israel's (Jod, but God's
eyes are everywhere, beholding the evil and the good, and God
allowed the whole army of Israel to be defeated, an<l .shame to
come on the connnander-in-chief, Joshua, becau.se of the sin of
Private Achan. Private Achan's sin — his .secret sin — brought
defeat upon the comn>ander-in-chief, Joshua.
That is why we have so little victory in our churches, and
that is the reason why you don't .see the worldly men of Toronto,
the agnostics and the atheists humbling themselves before the
feet of the Lord Jesus Chri.st. Why? Because of your secret
sins and because of my secret sins. Oh, brethren and sisters,
it is we who are the authors of our own defeat, it is we who
are the authors of Christ's shame, shall I call it ? Our blessed
Jesus is blasphemed because of our sins ; but the instant that
Israel confessed their sin and executed judgment upon the sin
of Achan, then they were victorious once more. The Lord
enable every Christian here to execute judgment upon his sin,
and to put it away from him so that this mission may be a real
success, for, brethren, do not think that all the success of the
mission depends upon me or my fellow workers. Put that
thought away from )'ou at once. It depends upon the amount
of heart prayer, it depends upon the amount of heart union
that will rise up from you to the throne of God. It is you who
have to conduct this mi.s.sion and not I.
Oh, we shall get the land in possession, and our Je.sus .shall
once more be proclaimed a conqueror of sin, a conqueror of lust,
a conqueror of drink, a conqueror of sensuality, a conqueror of
u
THK LMillT or Ills CorXTKNANCK.
selHshness, if we Christians say, " Oh, Gotl, cleanse us froin
our secret sins."
Well, you say, how is this to he done :" One verse more.
Look at the 8!>th Rsalm, loth verse : " Blessed " or " happy " —
" Happy is the people that know tlie joyful sound, they shall
walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance, in thy name shall
they rejoice all the day." I am to <i;et victory and joy by walk-
ing in the light of God's countenance. I walk in the light of
God's countenance when I know the joyful sound. What does
that mean? The word there translated "joyful .sound" you
will .see in the Revised Version translated " the trumpet sound."
" Hles.sed is the people that know the trumpet sound, they shall
walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance." It refers to the
"Trumpet of the Jubilee." "Blessed is the people that know
the .sound of the jubilee trumpet." I wonder do you know
that. What is the spiritual meaning of that ? On the tenth
day of the seventh month was the day of atonement in Israel,
and the High Priest took blood in a basin, and with a censer
of incen.se in his hand he tremblingly drew aside the veil that
separated the holy place from the most holy place, and went in
before the Ark of the Covenant and sprinkled the precious
blood. He sprinkled the precious blood seven times on the
Ark and seven times before the Ark, and then he drew the
curtain once more and went out and put on his garments of
glory and beauty and lifted up liis hands and .said, "The Lord
bless thee and keep thee, the Lord make his face to shine
upon thee, the Lord lift up the light of his countenance upon
thee and give thee peace."
After the blood of the victim had been offered and accepted
by the God of Israel, then the High Priest clothed himself in
His resurrection garments of glory and beauty, and He came
forth from the immediate presence in the sanctuary and blessed
the people with everlasting peace. The instant, — but not before
that, — the instant that was done, the Jubilee trumpet was to
sound throughout the land — specially once in fifty years. The
Jubilee trumpet was to sound throughout the land to proclaim
fullne-ss of redemption to God's people. The joyful sound of
the Jubilee meant three things. First of all it meant that the
whole land was to rest ; in the year of Jubilee there was to be
no work done ; it was to be a Sabbatical year ; there was no
farming to be done ; all the farmers of the land of Israel were
to rest, and God, as it were, said : " I will become the farmer of
the land, I will cause thy land to bring forth plentifully. Thou
shalt do no manner of work during the year of Jubilee." Oh,
wouldn't it be splendid if I could only proclaim to the poor,
THK I.KMIT OF MIS corNTENAXOK.
u
weary, business men of the world and the business men of
Toronto tliat are toilin<( day after day, " My l»rotlier, in tlu;
name of God I offer you a whole year of holidays ; you need
not go to your ottice Monday morning, you niay just go and
enjoy yourself for a whole year and recoup your strength, and
just liave all the happiness and peace you need." Oh, how
careful God is about our health. He .says: "1 would like you
to liave a rest, to rest in Me, and if you will allow Me, dear
soul, I will rest in thee, and I will work in thee to will and to
do of my good pleasure, and thou shalt cease from thine own
works and I will be thine eternal Sabbath." Have you found
out what the rest of God is, dear brethren ! Poor toiling
brother, toiling sister, you to whom your religion is more a
weariness than anything else, do you know what the rest of
( iod is in your .soul f Learn to know the meaning of the
Jubilee trumpet of a full redemption, and perfect rest h)\II
come into i/our heart.
Then again, the Jubilee trumpet proclaimed release from all
slavery. Supposing an Israelite had grown poor and sold him-
self as a slave, the instant the Jubilee trumpet sounded the
man was free. There was to be no slavery in the land of
Israel during the Year of Jubilee. And so said Je.sus preaching
in Nazareth, "The Spirit of the Lord (»od is upon me, because
he hath anointed me to preach deliverance to the capt'ves and
the opening of the prison to them that arc bound, and to preach
the acceptable year " — meaning the Jubilee Year — " of the
Lord. Oh, praise be to God, there is no captive to sin in
Toronto that cannot be made perfectly free, if only he hears
the .sound of the Jubilee Trumpet of Redemption deep down in
his heart.
Lastly, the Jubilee trumpet proclaimed one thing more.
Suppose an Israelite had sold some of his po.sse.ssions to pay his
debts, he got back all his family possessions in the Year of
Jubilee ; he got back all that he had lost. Have you ever been
restored to your family possessions ? Have you ever come back
like the prodigal .son and been received by your father, and has
he put the ring of eternal union upon your finger, and the shoes
on your feet ? Have you been restored to your family, or are
you wandering away further and further from your God, your
heart miserable and j'our life in despair ? Well, I say, Come
back, my brother, come back this morning ; let the sound of the
Jubilee trumpet reach you, for it has a loud, piercing sound ;
the sound of jbhe Jubilee trumpet can carry very far — to the
uttermost parts of the earth; this Jubilee trumpet is to sound
and the weary sons of toil and the weary prodigal sons, tired of
k;
TIIK l.hiHT OK HIS red MKX \N. i;.
tlioinsL'lvos and tlu'ir soiisuality, may come and rost oncij nion?
in tlicir Kutlier's heart. Oh, hear ye tlie sound of tht; Jul)ileo
truni})et and thou shalt walk in the li'^ht of His countenance.
Onv little word of warninj; as I clo.se, for 1 tldnk I iiavo .said
unougij to you this niornin<^ as an introduction. I reujcinber
some years ai^o a lady came in to visit at a house where I had
hc(!n staving, and there was a little jfirl in the house, and this
hidy made her a present of a doll on a Saturday afternoon, and
the little girl was not a bit hii»<];er than that little girl down
there (pointing to a little girl in the audience about five or six
years old). I am talking to you little folks now — and when
Sunday came the little girl said to lier mir.se, " Now, nurse, I
want you to dress my doll to-day." " No, Miss Kvelyn, I can't
do it to-day because it is Sunday." " Oli, that doesn't matter,"
said the little girl, " I want you to dress my doll, I want to play
with her to-day." So the nurse didn't want to argue the point
with the little child and she .said, "Oh, Miss Kvelyn, I can't
<lre.ss your doll to-d ly because desus would see me." "Oh,
nurse," .said the little girl, " I will toll you what to do, pull down
the blind, and then Jesus won't see you." Well, when I heard
that, the words went right through my heart, and I said, " O
my Lord Jesus, how often have I done that silly act, how often
have I acted out what that little girl has said in word.s. I have
seen Tliy glorious light in the distance, but I have feared that it
would be a light of conviction, I have feared that Thy wonder-
ful light would make me miserable. And ,so Lord Jesus, I ran
to the window of my .soul and I pulled down the blind over my
heart and I prevented Thy holy, all-searching light from enter-
ing my nature." O Lord Jesus, this Sunday morning I pull
up the blinds, and I .say, "Come, thou light of glory; come, thou
light of God ; come, thou light of everlasting peace, and shine
upon me and .search me." "Search me, God, and know my
heart, try me and know my thoughts, and sea if there be any
wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."
" I heard the voice of Jesus say
I am this dark world's light,
Look unto Me, thy inoiii shall rise
And all thy days be brifjht.
" I looked to Jesus and I found — I found, I found—
In Him my star, my sun,
And in that light of life I'll walk
Till travelling days are done."
It is just twenty-three years ago now since I found the Lord
Jesus as the light of life, but I cannot tell you about that this
morning. Amen.
TO KNOW 11 Ii: L()\'H OF CHRIST.
"To l<ii"W tin- luvi'of ("lii'iHt wliii'h piiHsotli kii()wUHlj,'e, that yt- iiiitiht l>o
tilk'd with III! thi- fiihifss i>f CJutl." — Kplit'siims iii. l'.».
I WANT to speak to you to-nii,'ht about inillij hnowinu f/ie
lore of Clii'isf, and knowing it in such a way that all your
emptiness and all your dissatisfaction and all your doubts
pass away and you are filled with the fulness of Ctod ; for if
there over was a time when the Church of the livinfj God needed
to receive of Christ's fulness, it is to-day. Dear brethren, what
a wave of deep dissatisfaction ri.ses on all hands from all sections
of the Church of (Jod; we feel that there is something; very
wronij, and we do not know how to remedy it. Now, Cod's
remedv for every ill that atHicts His Church, the body of
Christ, is to know the love of Christ ; to have Christ's love
made real to your heart by the power of the Holy Ghost is
God's remedy for everything in tlie Church of to-day, and so
we want this mission to be a declaration of the love of God,
and we want you to receive this love of God so that you can
say to the Lord Jesus Christ, " Satisfy me." Oh, as I look up
.into heaven I can say in truth, Christ has satisfied. Now,
brethren, can you say that i You never will be able to say it
until you know the love of Christ experimentally. God has
given one command, and he has never blotted out this command
from the statute book of heaven, and this is God's unalterable
command, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy
heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy .strength and with all
thy mind, and thy neighbor as thyself." God means us to do
that, and God has provided in the redemption of the Lord
Jesus Christ the power by which we are to do it, and the Holy
Ghost can so take of the things of Jesus that He can shed
abroad the love of God in your heart so that you will love God
with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself. One thing
I would notice about this love, and it is this, that it is absolutely
indispensable for the human soul to possess; you may do
2
\H
"T«i KNOW rilK r.nvi; o|- r|||!|vr.
without a ^'rcut iimiiy thiiins in this woijtl, hut you cuiuiot lio
witliout thi' h)vi! to\vHi<l Clhi'ist il" you wouhl In- lu'cfpttd htt'ort-
(loil. Now. I |»roV(! that from ii verse in Ut ( 'oiiiithiaiis,
IGth chapter. St. I'uul iiiake.s this solemn statement, " It
any man iovo not the F.ord .lesus Christ, let him he Ana-
tliema Maran-atha." What is the meaning; of that ' The
wonl " Anathema " means " subject to the jud^Muent of (Jod."
" If any man h)ve not the Lonl .le.sus Christ, let him hecome
suhject to the ju<i;i[ment of (Jod.' and the word " Maranatha " is
the oM Syriac llehrew foi* "(Kir Lonl is cominj,' ; " hence, in
uiodern Kn<,dish it would rea«l in this wa}', " If any man love
not the Lord Jesus Clirist, let him become subject to the judg-
ment of (lod, for our Lord is condui,'," and when the Lo. ! .lesus
Christ comes again, the one thing that He will in(|uijt! into is
the state of V(Hir love toward Him, not the amount of theology
in your intellect, but how much did you love the Lord .lesus
Christ personally when you were on earth. The Lord .lesus
(y'hrist, after He went back to glory, sent a message to the
Church of Kphesus by His apostle .lohn, the Apostle of Love,
antl this was the message that .lesus .sent straight down from
Heaven : " To the angel of the Church of Kplie>us write : 1 have
this against thee, that thou hast left thy Mist love;" and it is a
most serious thing to do that ; that is the greatest fall that any-
one can have, to leave his first love toward .lesus, and all that
we do is worthless in the sight of (Jod till we get back our Hrst
love. That is the true title to Christianity, //<^' lore of Christ
in the heart. Don't you remember old .John Wesley's dream <'
John Wesley had been arguing with some people during the
daytime about sects, and his thoughts took this form at night :
he fancied that he found himself at the gate of heaven, and he
said to the angel, " Tell me, have you any Church of England
people in heaven ? " " Not one," said the angel. " Have you
any Roman Catholics in heaven ? " " Not one." " Have you
any members of the Greek Church in heaven ? " " Not one."
" Have you any Presbyterians in heaven ? " " Not a single one."
" Well, may I ask have you any Wesleyans in heaven '." " Not
a single one." " Who have you in heaven :" " said John Wesley.
" Only those who love God, that is the only name we have up
here, only tho.se who love (Jod." Then old .John Wesley fancied
himself at the gate of hell, and he .said, " Have you any Church
of li^ngland people in hell :* " " Many of them," was the answer.
" Have you anj' Presbyterians in hell ? " ' Many of them. "
Have you any Wesleyans in hell :' " " Many of them." Then
he asked, " Have you any who love God in hell i " " Not one,"
In KNuW INK l,(i\ i: uK i |||(|s|'.
11)
•iriff the
•I
I
was tli(> .'in><\V('r. So yon sf(>, /o/v /o dml is the (»nly cHscntial
ti'st III" true Christiimity arnl tnu> cliurclimaiislii|), The one
Holy ( 'atliolic ('liiircli is tlif CIuutIi ciniiposi!<l of tliost; who
liavi! rcct'ivtMl the love ol" (^lirist into their liearts. That is the
Miily (Munch that will staii'l in tlie day of iuiii^nnt'iit, and tliat
* 'huich is composed of nieinhers ;,'atliered out of nil dt-noinina-
tion-j. Oil, I play that one result of this mission in Toronto
may h(! to wrld more closely together the real memh(!rs of the
liody of Christ that are to ho found scattered throuj^hout all
denominations of Toronto, whether they he Chiirch of Kn^dantl,
Preshyteriaiis, Wosleyans, |]aptists, or Plymouth Brethren,
oh. that Ood may s»!nd a haptism of holy an<l tit-ry love upon
His people, for nothini,' hut the love of (iod will leap over the
ecclesiastical harriers that fraud and the ingenuity of man or
th( devil have raised V)etween the churches, nothing hut love
can con<|uer these thinL,'s. It is such an easy thing to find out
a mote in your brothers eye, wliilst there is a lieam in your
own. Oh, the Lord hapti/e His people with tht.' spirit of holy
love, so that we may shake hands together.
Well, this love is intUspensjihle . it is the one thing I must .see
that I ])ossess, else I shall he rejecte<l at the day of judgintjnt.
Niithing will pa.ss muster instead of love. " If any man love
tiot the Ijord .Fesiis Christ, let liim hecome suhject to the juilg-
iiieiK' of (lod, for our Lord cometh." (Maranatha.) Love is
the <*nly proof of possessing life in ('hrist. How ant I to know
that I am not deceiving myself :" How am I to know that I
am anythin;; more than a mere nominal Christian i The
apostle .John tells me how I am to know. The old man says,
" By this we know that we have passed from death unto life,
because we love the brethren." " He that loveth not his brother
nbideth in death." " My little children, let us not love in word
only, hut in deed and in truth, and hereby we know that we
are of the trutii, and we shall assure our hearts before him."
-May ( Jod grant assurance of heart to everyone that come-s to
these services. — A.ssurance of heart.
Now, brethren, let us go further, and let us examine this
wonderful love of which Paul prays, that we may know ohe
length and breadth and depth and height, so that we may be
filled with all the fulness of (Jod. What is the very first thing
that a man needs to know about the love of Christ ? How doe.s
the love of Christ reach the soul ? We have all heard the .story
of how Jesus so loved us, that he left his throne in heaven and
came down to give up his life that we might be saved. " Here-
in is love, not that we loved C}od, out that he loved us and sent
20
"To KNOW Tin: i,(i\ i: (H- ciikist.
Ills Son to lio tho litoiiiti;; sucrifici' for our Mins." " In this wnn
iniuiit't'stf(l tilt! lovi! of (to<l towiinls us, that (iod sent liis only
li»';^'()ttt'n Son into tlif svoild tlwit wi; niiijlit livf tliroui;li liim "
( Ml, you Miy, "I tcnoNV tlmt fts utII us you <Io. I Imvc lit-arl
that story from chililliooil, liut I tdt you tin; lioiit-st truth, it
has no I'ircct upon nic; it ilofs not affect my ht-art." Well,
now, how is this story to atl'fct a man's licart ' I low is
the love of Clirist to take up its alioiie in my soul'
Yon have neeil, my l»rother, to know the fori,'ivini; love
of the lionl .l"sus Christ; until you have settleil the
<|Uesti()n of for^'iveness, until you are absolutely certain that
vour sins luive htjen hlotteil out, Christ's love will l)e no reality
in your heart. I wt'll rememher tho joy that came to my own
soul some twenty-three or twenty-four years ai,'o, when first of
all I lielieved that Christ had lilotteil out my cataloj^'Ue of sins.
when first of all I took (Jod at liis wonl, from that verse,
.lohn iii. HI, "Cod so loved the world, that he yave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever Itelieveth in him shouM not|»erish.
hut have everlastin<,' life." Oh, how I thank Cod that I
trusted in the Mimpiicity of Christ'.s love that day as I was
seated under a tree near a Cernuin eolle<,'(! in Swit/eihuid.
I tlnink Cod tliat I believed in the love of Chri.st to my
soul that <lay ; that I trusted Him to <,,'ive nie everlasting'
life and overlastin<^ love, and I can tell you that that lift;
antl love are in my soul to-nij^dit as I speak to you. IJidess a
person trusts the Lord Jesus Christ for forgiveness, that person
can have no power in prayer, can have no peace in his
.soul. Therefore, in the name of Cod, I nmke a royal proclama-
tion in this hall to-ino;ht, I make the same proclanuilion that
St. Paul made when he was preachiufj; at Antiocli, and it is this.
" Be it known unto you" — not " Ke it /'// hy you," but " lie it
knoit'ii unto you" — "men and brethren, "said Paul, "that throu<,di
this man, desus Christ, is preached unto you the forj^iveness of
sins. And by him all that believe — uU tlmt hel'ievc — are justified
from all thinpfs from which yecouhl not be justified by the law
of Mose.s." A man is justified when he is pronounced t.'uiltless,
and .so (Jod pronounces us guiltless of every (jft'ence, and my
heart stands clear and my conscience justified before my Cod
when I believe on Jesus, my Saviour — wlien I commit my
•guilty soul into the safe-keeping of my Saviour. All that
believe are justified and forgiven all things. Be it known unto
you, there is no reason why everyone in this congregation
to-night .should not go home praising Clod with all their hearts,
and lie down to-night in perfect peace with God through
I il
TO KX«»W TUK l.nVK OF rimisT.
SI
the 1)1()«)<1 of .IfHiis. \V«« ar»' toM— ami I otliT it to you ns a
most fucItU* illiistrutioii we ar«' toM that in the n'l^u of <t>iu>i'n
Kli/iil»t'tli, thtTf wuH 11 Krftu'll lady who trifil to assassijiati;
tin- <,Mii'i'n, iiml this I'rcncli laiiy was lirou;,'lit Iti-t'orf the
• ^tiifj'ii, ami Mli/ilu'tli Nai«l to Iut, " What thiiikt'-'t tlioii tliat I
>lioulil ilo unto tlift' for Hiich a eriiiu! a.s tliis t" " Mailaiii," said
thf l''rt't\('h lady, "dost thou ask iiu; that «|UL'Htiou as a <|Ut'»'ii
oi- as a Jiidj^f '" " I ask you tiio »|U('stioii as a i|ueen," said
Klizalii'th. " Then, your Majfsty, as a •juih'h ^laiit iiif a frt-o
jiardoii. " " Mow «.'asy tliou askcst it," said Kli/alictli. " How
know I lait tilt' tii'xt inoiiuMit tiiou wilt plunu'f thy knife into
my hosoin if I ^nitit thee a fret' parilou :* " " Mailani," saiti th«
h'rt'iich lady. " I ask then for thy panlcnin;,' ;,'raco as a tjut'oii,
and >;ra('i' that is ft'ttt-nul l»y conditions is no ^rac at all, ' saiti
thf Kicnch latly. Klizalieth is reported to have saiil," Thou hast
my jtanlonin^ ;,M'ace," aiul she made that Kreneh latly one of
lu'r latlit's-in-waitirti,', antl she served her faithfully to the tlay
of her th'ath, and tlwrc you have a very feelile illustration of
( iod's partlonin^f ^race to a <;uilty sinner. We have atteinpttid
to murder the Son of (Jod, wo are ^uilt}' of nnirder in tlie sij^ht
of (ioil, and yet < lotl says, "Sinner, thi.s very ni^ht I oH'er tiiee
my pardoning <i;ract! unfettered by conditions ; the only con-
♦ lition is that thou shouUlst accept it " — for hdutrimj i.s
nothing,' more than acceptin<j that whicli ( Jod freely otl'ers to
you — that is what believing is. Oh, sinner, receive for<»iveneH.s
to-nii,dit through the pardoning grace of Jesus. Be it
known unto yoii that all who l)elieve are forgiven and
ju.stiHed in ('hrist through the pardoning love of .lesus. Hut
u man needs more than forgiveness; there are probably many
here to-night who ate perfectly certain that their sins are
forgiven, but all the same you are not .satisfied. Your
Christian experience, you say, is of a very up-and-down
sort. Now, what is the remedy for that '. The remedy for
that is to know more still of the love of .lesiis, not merely to
know His pardoning love, but to know His t runttforminfj love,
the love that makes all things new, for St. Paul savs, " If anv
man be in Christ, he is a new creature ; old things are passed
away: behold, all things are become new. And all things are of
God. ' ( lod wants to transform us. ( Jod never reforms any
man, although what the world does is to reform people. (Jod
knows nothing of reformation ; reformation leaves a man as bad
as he was before, but transformation gives a man a new character,
a new life, a new nature, and the Gospel is a gospel of trans-
formation, and not a gospel of reformation. The Gospel is a
00
TO KNOW Tin: I.OVK uF rilHlST.
gospel of re-creation and not re-forinalion. Oh, do you know
what it is to know a creatinj; Ciod in vour heart ^ J)o \'ou know
what it is to have the love of .lesus put within you by tlie
power of the Holy CJhost so that you can say. "The lord
•losus, j^lory be to Him ; the Lord Jesus is niakinij all things
new within me":' You do not know what the (lospel is when
you merely have to stru<,'<;le aLjainst the sin within yon and
try to supjuvss it and keep it down ; you do not know what the
Gospel is yet. Wiien Jesus sits down upon tlie throne He says,
" l»ehold, 1 make all things new." And when we come to the
point of allowing the Lord -lesus to he seated upon the throne
of our being within, He says, " I will take away from thee the
stony heart, and I will give thee a heart of tlesh and will
cleanse thee from all thine iiii(|uities whereby thou hast sinned
against me." ( )h, the transfoiining love of Clirist ! How it
changes a man, how it makes a man new all over ! At one of
the missions la.st J)ecember there was a young man ; the Spirit
of God had been striving with him, and three times in one day
he came up to the rectory drunk, and then we had prayer with
him, and he gave himself to the Lord Je.sus Christ ; and the
next day he came up to the house in order to get a Hible, and
one of the ladies who had seen him the day before came up to
me and said, " Mr. Grubb, are you quite sure that that is the
same man who was here yesterday :" " And I .said, " Yes, the
same man, only he is a new creature in Christ Jesu.s to-day."
Why, the Lord's love had so transformed that poor drunkard
in the space of twenty-four hours, that that lady scarcely
believed that it was the same man who had had tea
with us at the rectory just the day before. The Lord knows
how to transform a soul. I pray that great transformation
.scenes may take place in Toronto, and if you, dear people, will
only believe and trust the transforming love of Christ, you will
see signs and wonders done in the name of the holv child
Jesus. God grant it, God grant it. Lord Jesus Christ, thou art
still the .same, we do not doubt thee. Oh, let thy dear people
in Toronto know that thou art this very same Jesus that hath
transforming power for every heart.
Well, perhaps there are some here that need to know another
part of the love of Christ. I may be speaking to-night to some
backslider.s, and what you need to know is the rcstori)>(/ lorr
of Christ. I think the most sorrowful condition of soul in
the world is that of a backslider, for a backslider can be satis-
fied with nothing ; he cannot be .satisfied with the world : he
cannot be satisfied with sin ; and he is not satisfied with Jesus,
\l !
"TO KXnw THE I.oVK uF ('J^HIsT.
23
I'ithor ; he knows what Clirist was once to him ; lie knows that
at one tiuio of liis life he used to love to pray ; he knows that
at one time in his life the societ)' of -lesus was a reality to him ;
lie knows that at one time in his life the Word of God used to
speak to his heart; but all that has passed ; Christ is a misty
shadow to him now, if there bo such a person at all ; the Word
of God is cold: his Bible is a most uninterestin<:f book, and he
does not care to be in the society of out-and-out Christians, for
their conversation and their joy condemn him. Now, that is
the condition of a backslider, and if there is any backslidinor
heart here to-nis^ht, T say, " dearest brother, you need not stay
like that, the Lord Jesus Christ loves you with the same burn-
infj love that lie always had, and the devil has made you doubt
His love, but you just come back to-ni<i;ht and get your soul
restored tlnough the forgiving and restoring love of -lesus."
The Apostle Peter once became a wretched backslider through
cowardice. A servant girl sneered at him, and said, "Thou art
one of that man's disciples, thou hast a Galilean accent, thy
.speech betrayeth thee," and Peter said, " I know not this man
of whom thou speakest," and immediately the cock crew, and
Jesus turned and looked on Peter, and Peter remembered the
words of Jesus and went out and wept bitterly. And after
Jesus had riseti from the dead, and after the disciples had been
out fishing, they came and dined with the Lord Jesus Christ,
and after dinner we read, Jesus .said to Peter, " Simon, son of
Jonas, lovest thou me more than these I " " Yea, Lord, thou
knowest that I love thee." " Feed nu' sheep." " Simon, .sou
of Jonas, lovest thou me 1" "Yea. Lord, thou knowest that I
love thee." "Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?" "Yea,
Lord, thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I love thee."
"Feed my lambs, Peter, feed my lambs ; " and .so backsliding
Peter was restored, and became a feeder of sheep and lambs
once more. I would say to any backsliding soul, especially to
any backsliding Christian worker here, " Your work for the
Lord .lesus Christ is valueless, there is no power about it unless
j'our soul is constantly refreshed with the love of Christ."
Come back, oh, thou backsliding soul, to-night, and let Christ
restore you; let Him restore you fully, and your heart will
rejoice in (Jod your Saviour. Well, you say to me, " What sort
of people have a right to the love of God V Just four cld.Nscs
of -people, have a right to the love of God, and if you can class
yourself amongst these, you can lay claim to the love of God.
What are those four cla; ses ? First of all " The whole world."
" God .so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son."
24
"TO KNOW THE LOVE OF CHRIST.'
It* you are a member of the world, say to yourself God's love is
for me to-nijfht. Then, look at the three classes that the Spirit
of God mentions in the ath chapter of Romans and understand
what the Gospel is. Look at the (ith verse: "When we were
yet witiiout strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly."
Js there any man here to-night beginning to find out that he
is without strength ? Does that describe you ^ Are you say-
ing, " Oh, yes, I thought myself stronger than I am, but I have
begun to find out latterly that all my best resolutions are
broken, all my prayers come to nothing, and I am not advanc-
ing one bit " ? Well, dear brother, hear this, " When we were
yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly."
Oh, ungodly man, thou hast a claim to the love of Jesus to-
night. Are you an ungodly man ? The Lord Jesus Christ
loves you. Some time ago there was a layman reading a
chapter in a Church of England church ; it was the second
lesson for the day, and he read out boldly, without looking at
the words he was reading, " In due time Christ died for the
godly," and the minister in the reading desk said, " Stop, stop,
read that verse again, please I " He looked at the chapter, and
he saw, " In due time Christ died for the ungodly." That lay-
man said afterwards, " I never knew what the Gospel was until
I was stopped as I read that verse, but now I see that Jesus
died for me as ungodly."
What is the next thing ? In the 8th verse it says, "God com-
mendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for u.s." If there is a man here who is conscious of
his sin, you have a right to the everlasting love of Jesus to-
night. It is your very sin, my brother, that fits you for the
love of Christ ; it is the love of Christ that takes away sin, and
Christ oflTers you His love because you are a sinner. This love
goes even deeper down ; it says in the 10th verse, " If, when we
were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his
Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life,"
so that if there is an enemy of God who happens to have come
in here to-night out of curio.sity, I say to thee, Christ died for
thee, and Christ can slay all that enmity in thy heart, and put
His own everlasting love within thee. Now, dear soul, how are
you to lay hold of this love ? I am most anxious that you
should do so. The Apostle John says, " We have known and
believed the love that God hath toward us ; " it is not enough
to knoiv it, you must believe that this forgiving love, this trans-
forming love, this restoring love, is for you to-night, and thank
God, you can have it before you go home. Now, some time
TO KNOW THE LOVE OE ClIHIST.
Z.)
you
and
atijo, there were two gentlemen ridinpr tofjether one afternoon in
England ; one of these gentlemen happened to he an out-an<l-
out Christian, and the other was just an ordinary good sort of
a man, and this Christian gentleman said, "Do you ever read
3'our Bihle :" " " Well," said he, "sometimes, hut I do not get
any good from it." " Why don't you get any good out of it ! "'
" Because," said he, " I feel that I do not love ( Jod as I ought,
and so I can wt no good out of mv I3ihle." "Oh," said the
Christian gentienian, " I do not love God as I ought to, but oh,
I know, I know, that God loves me." As he .said those words
the other man believed in Clod's love, and in describing the con-
versation to a friend afterwards, he said, " I felt that I wa,s
lifted ott the saddle right into heaven." That is what the love
of (}od does for you; it lifts you in one second of time from
earth to heaven, right up to the throne of God. Jesus is stand-
ing before the throne of CJod as I speak, and Jesus is the
measure of (lod's love to me, an<l (Jod's love to you. I look on
Him only, and my heart Hnds rest. Let me tell you one little
stor}', and 1 close, for I do not want to keep you long to-night.
Some years ago — it is a good many years now — there was a
lady and a little girl travelling by coach in England from one
town to another, and there got into the coach a young man.
He was exceedingly clever ; in fact, he thought himself ?,o
clever that he might dispen.se with all belief in the Bible and in
God : an<l young as he was, he was the head of an infidel club
in a certain city, and he was going to attend their annual
dinner that night. He was to preside at the annual dinner.
Well, the coach rolled on, and the little girl became talkative,
and she climbed up on the young man's knee, and he showed
her his penknife, and she liked that, and .she began to talk. A
few minutes before the coach stopped, .she looked up in his face,
and in a loud, clear voice she said to him, and everyone in the
coach heard it, " Does 'oo love God t does 'oo '. " She was
only five years old. " Does 'oo love God T' He blushed very
deei)iy, and said nothing, an<l the little girl slipped down from
his knee and hid her face in her mother's arms. Then the
young man got out at the hotel door where the coach stopped,
and he sat down at the head of the table, and the dinner began.
But they noticed that he made no jokes that night, and one of
the men said, " I say, oKl chap, you are seedy, you haven't
made one single joke to-night, not one." " dh,"*^he said, " I
don'c feel very well, I .shall go to bed early;" and he went to
bed early, but you know it is one thing to go to bed, and quite
another thing to go to sleep. God had no intention that that
26
T(» KNOW TIIK l.nVE ( >F CIlltlsT.
E
yount^ man should go to sleep that night, and so he tossed from
side to side, and the pillows seemed to be moving up and down
with the words, " ])oes 'oo love (iod ? does 'oo love God '. " and
he tried to argue with himself, " 1 don't believe in God : I don't
believe there is a God," but, all tlie same, the pillows kept say-
ing, " Does 'oo love God ? does 'oo love God ? " The next night
he was engaged to go to a ball, and as he entered the ball-room
he saw his partner, with whom he was to dance, at the other
end of tile room ; so he went quickly up to her, and he sai<l.
" ^liss , do vou love God :' " >She started back in
amazement. " Oh, " said she, " ^Ir. , I didn't think you be •
lieved in God. I heard you had very curious notions about
religion. Why do you ask nie that (|uestion :* " " Well," said
he, " I was asked it in the coach j'esterday by a little girl, and
I cannot <xet the words out of mv nund," and so he left the liall-
room two or three hours earlier than usual, and he went home,
and he said, " Oh, I must put an end to this, I must Hnd out
the truth about this ; i.sn't this tlie voice of God within me, is
it not the voice of God ^ " And he searched for his Bible, that
he hadn't read for j-ears, and he said : " O God, if there be a
God ! O God, if there be a God, have mercy on me and teach
me to know thee ; and God, if there be a God, I want to know
thee, and I will follow thee and serve thee. God, have
mercy on me." And he read his Bible all through the hours of
that night — the head of the infidel club was on his knees before
his God, and reading the wonderful old Book, and as the morn-
ing light dawned, with it there dawned the light of everlasting
love in his soul, and he was saved. To make a long story short,
five j'ears after that, that young man was going through acity,
and he looked up in a drawing-room window, and saw a lady
standing at the window. He ran up the steps, and was shown
into tlie drawing-room, and he bowed, and said, " .Madam, yon
don't know me ^ " " No," she said, • out I seem to have seen
your face somewhere before." "Madam,'" said he, " don't you
remember travellino- in a coach to , and your little ijirl
asked me a question ' " " Oh, j'es. I. do remember, .said the lady,
and I remember how confused you were." "Oh, madam," he
.said, " allow me to thank your little girl, for I'm sure she will
be old enoujrh now to un<lerstand the change that has taken
place in me." He never noticed the lad}' was clothed in black
(we men are veiy obtuse about these things), and a tear stole
down her cheek, and she said, " Come with me, sir; come with
me." And she brought him upstairs into a little bedroom, and
there was a little bed, but there was nothinsr in the bed ; and
V
To KN'oW THK I.OV?: nF CHIilsT.
27
then there was a little cupboard with a little Bible and a little
hymn-book there, and a little doll, and she said, " Sir, that is
all that is left on earth of my precious little Nettie." " No,
madam." he said, " that is not all that is left on earth of your
little girl, for I stand here to-day a monument to that little j^irl,
and all that the learning and argument of the colleges could
not do, God did by those four words from these lipsi and now
we shall meet in glory. Forgive me, madam, for having
opened up that wound afresh, I really didn't mean to do it,"
and they parted. So I would ask that little dead girl to open
her lips in this hall to-night, and say to each of you Chris-
tians, whether nominal or real Christians, " ])o you love God ? "
Is God anything more than a name to you, have you the love of
the Lord Jesus Christ within you ?
Dear brethren, is the Lord Jesus Christ a divine reality to
you i Is His love pulsating through your heart :" Do you know
what it is to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge,
so that you are becoming filled with all the fulness of God ?
God grant that every soul here may believe in Him and receive
the love of Jesus to-night for His name's sake. Amen.
CHRIST ALL AND IX ALL.
From tho ;irtl chapter of the Ei)istlo to the Colossiiiiis iind part of the
11th verse : " Christ is all, ami in all."
; 'i
THAT is, in all true Christians, for St. Paul is here telling
us what he means by a true Christian, and I want you
to notice the context of these words before I proceed to
explain them further. It is a most important thinj^ to notice
the exact context of the words of Scripture. I believe that a
great many of the delusions that now attiict the Church of God
would have been swept away, had people noticed the exact
context of the words. What is the context f He .says, "Ye have
put otF the old man with his deeds ; And have put on the
new man, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision
nor uncircuracision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free, but
Christ is all, and in all." Now, I notice here that St. Paul
makes three declarations. He says that when Christ becomes
really all, three things follow :
First of all, he says, there is no national distinction in the
Lord Jesus Christ ; there is neither Greek nor Jew in Christ
Jesus ; all national distinction passes away when the Gospel is
preached, and Christ does not ask you, are you a Hottentot, a
Chinaman, or an Englishman. Nothing will bind the nations
together but the love of the Lord Jesus Christ, and war and
rumors of war must go on until the Lord Jesus Christ is acknow-
ledged as King, for there is no peace for this world while its
King is absent. Then he says that in Christ is neither circum-
cision nor uncircumcision, that is, that there is no sacramental
distinction in Chri.st. He is not a Jew which is one outwardly,
neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh, but
he is a Jew which is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of
the heart, in the .spirit, and not in the letter, whose praise is
not from man but from God ; therefore, I am not going to ask
you to-night were you baptized as an infant or as an adult, or
do you take the Lords Supper here, or there, or anywhere else.
cmUST ALL AND IN ALL.
29
ijirt i)f tho
•e telling
vant you
roceed to
to notice
ve that a
■h of God
he exact
"Ye have
t on the
umcision
free, but
St. Paul
becomes
n in the
n Christ
Gospel is
tentot, a
nations
war and
acknow-
vvhile its
circum-
amental
twardly,
esh, but
> that of
praise is
fj to ask
adult, or
lere else,
liut I am tjoini,' to ask you how much i.s Jesus Christ experi-
uu-ntally to you ' Then further, St. Paul says, that in Christ
Jesus tliere is neither Pjarbarian, Scythian, bond nor free, that is,
tlieie is no tioriiil distinction in the Lord Jesus Christ. When
Christ beconu's all to a great man, it humbles him down to the
dust; when Cinist becomes all to a man in a low position of
life, it makes a true gentleman of him, it lifts him up truly ; it
puts a s{)irit of n)eel<ness, furl)earance and long-sutieriug into
him, and that is the spirit of true gentility. Oh, what a grand
thing it would be for our churches, if Christ were to become all
to our church members; then the coldness and the clicpies that
separate us would pass away, and we would shake hands with
one another with real love in our hearts and real love in our
eyes. My one piayer for the churches of Toronto is this, that
Christ may become experimentally (ill to them and to us. O
Lord, hasten the time when a large band of thy children can
boldly testify to the world, "Christ is all, and in all to me."
Let us draw near and examine these wonderful words very
particnlarl}'.
First of all, Christ is all that a sinner needs, for the pardon
of liifi slvs. When a man attempts to draw near to CJod, he
finds that his sins begin to rise up like a mountain ; he attempts
to pray, but he cannot pray, for there is a weight on his heart,
something depressing him, something dragging him down, and
he feels that his prayers do not go above the ceiling. It is
impossible for the soul to pray while there is the smallest speck
of guilt remaining on the conscience. The conscience must be
cleansed from every stain of sin, before your soul can breathe
itself out in prayer to the Most High God, and if there is any
man or woman here to-niglit whose prayers are restrained
before Cod, one reason may be that you are not certain whether
your sins are forgiven. Are your sins pardoned, my brother ^
Can you look up with a clear eye into the face of Cod and say,
" Oh, my heavenly Father, my sins are forgiven by thee, and
they are buried forever in my Saviour's tomb" ?
" All have sinned and come short of the glory of Cod." Some
people think themselves only an inch short of the glory of God.
Other men know that the}* are a mile short, but whether you
are an inch or a mile, it is Christ and Christ only, that has the
pardoning of your sin. You ai'e to be justified freely by His
grace through the redemption that is in Clirist Jesus. Some
men say, " ( )h, the mud has only covered my shoes, but that
man there is up to his knees in mud, and that man over there
is up to his neck in mud." Put away all this foolish mud-
so
CHIUST Al.r, AND IN AfJ,.
inea.suiiiii; reli<,non to-ni;;ht, and recoifni/e that you aro saved
only, anil pardoned only, because ot" the unspeakable <j[race
stored in the person of the liOrd Jesus. Jesus Christ is my
only plea for pardon, and hereafter, when the terrors of
eternal judgment burst forth, I will just point to .lesus and say,
" Heavenly Father, Jesus only is my plea: there is nothing in
me, Father, there is nothing in me, but sin and corruption and
misery, but Jesus Christ and the worthiness of His blood are
my only plea before thee. I know no name but desus, my
Father." When my dear friend — I think I might call him my
old friend now, for I have known him for twenty-one years
past — mj' old friend, Mr. Moody, was taking his mi.ssion in
Lonilon, Kngland, a good many years ago, there wa.s a well-
known Christian doctor attending the services, and a young man
touched him on the shoulder after one of the meetings, and
said, " Doctor, I should like a few words with you." "Well,
my young brother, what do you want ^ " " Doctor, I want to
be .saved." " Oh, that is very simple,"' said the doctor, " that is
very simple ; Isaiah liii. G — go in at the Hrst ' All ' and come out
at the last ' All ; ' good-night, my young brother, good-night."
The young man was tempted to think that he was dismi.s.sed
very summarily. However, he took the doctor's advice, and
opened his Bible at Isaiah liii. 6, and he read, " All we like
sheep have gone astray ; we have turned every one to his own
way ; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all," and
so the young man said, " Well, I can very easily go in at the
first "All." ".1/^we like sheep have gone astray ; we have
turned every one to his own way." And he thought mournfully
of the time he had gone astray, but, he said, " The doctor said
go out at the last ' All,'" and he went on and read, " The Lord
hath laid ovi him " — Jesus — " the iniquity of us all." "
Lord Jestus I praise thee," he said, "that I can go out at that
' All ' and go out with all my iniquity laid on thee." Have
you gone in at the first " All " and confessed yourself a sinner ?
Have you come out at the second " All " and confessed that
Jesus is your Saviour ? Christ is all, I repeat, that a sinner
needs for pardon of his sins, and if you mix anything else up
with the worthiness of Jesus, you will have no solid peace or
comfort in your soul.
Again, Christ is all that a man needs for piirifij of heart
and life. Oh, how many Christians there are, yes. Christians,
who are the slaves of besetting sins, who groan and cry and
pray and long for purity of heart, and it seems ever to elude
them ! I wish to tell any groaning soul here to-night, any
i! fy
CIIIIIVI' AM. ANI» IN Af,I..
31
ire saved
)lo <jraco
st is my
errors of
luul say,
athing in
)tion and
1(1 ood are
esus, my
I him my
me years
iiission in
s a well-
)un2 man
;ings, and
' " Well.
[ want to
, " that is
come out
3d-nif:jht."
dismissed
Ivice, and
we like
3 his own
all." and
in at the
we have
ournfully
ictor said
The Lord
II." "
it at that
Have
a sinner ?
ssed that
a sinner
else up
peace or
of heart
hristians.
cry and
to elude
ght, anv
m
c-fiptive sfjul — 1 wish to tell you that the Lord .It'sus Christ
is (/,// that you need for purity of hcait. 'I'hc liord desus
I'hristcan ^ivo you the; iiR'stimalde lijessinif of a clean heart.
That is the very special Messint,' of this dispensation, foi-
.St. I'oter tells us that (ioil p\it no ditlerence l»etween Jews and
(lentiles, purifying' their hearts by faith. The Lord Jesus
Christ knows how to purify a sinnyr's heart, and to set him
free from all those thinijs that have detiled, debased and
de<,'raded him. The Lord .lesus Christ can create within you a
clean lieart. He can deliver you from the power of all these
sins. He can do it in one second of time. He can put His
.Spirit within you, and that Spirit can possess your inner being
so that He will tight for you and you will hold your peace.
( )h. struggling soul, cease from your struggling to-night and
cast yourself in the hel|)lessness of despair upon the Lord
Jesu>. Say to Him, " Create in me a clean heart, () God, and
renew n right spirit within me." I am sure that many of you
want that bles.sing: I am sure there are many here that are
struLTfrliniT at'ainst the power of sin, and do not know how to
get ileliverance. Oh. my dear Itrother, Jesus Christ revealed
to your soul by the Holy Spirit, is all that you need for purity
(tf heart and life.
Furtlier, the Lord Jesus Christ is all that a man needs
for pou'cr in this daily life. Oh, what neetl there is for divine
power amongst the Christians of to-day. Almost the last
words that Jesus said before He asceiuled to heaven were
these, "All power is given unto me in heaven and inearth."
Now, if all power in heaven and in earth has been given to
the Lord Jesus bv the Father, we have none of our.selves.
The Lord Jesus is the depository of all power, but how few
really believe that without Jesus Christ they can do nothing.
How many plans are taken in hand and schemes for the
bettering of the Church and the world that Jesus has nothing
to do with. The Lord Jesus Christ is not first of all consulted
as to whether they are His plans and His schemes, and there-
fore they all come to nothing. Je.sus added these words :
" Tarry ye, tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until ye be
clothed with power from on high ; don't attempt to go forth
and preach ; don't attempt to testify of me ; don't attempt to
mention my name until you, my apostles and disciples, are
clothed with the power that I will send upon you from heaven.
It is expedient for you that I go away, for if I go not away
the Holy Ghost will not come unto you, but if I depart I will
send Him unto you, and when He comes unto you He will
:i'2
I IIKIST ALL ANI> IN Al.l,
■I' I li-ii
-I
.fi
c<Mivict tlu' woi'M ol' sill uml ut' ii;;lit('<)Usn('H.s iiinl of jiKl^'iiu'iit."
So it is wIr'H tlx? Ili>ly <!lii)st, coiiies in povv.'r to liclicvfi's tliiit
tho wui'M iiroiiml yets convicted of its sin iukI ol' its inilitjjicf,
anil the icason tiit? world around ns is not niort' con-
victt'<l tlian it is of thu ])o\vi'r ol' .losiis, is iK^oausu \vi' C'hiistians
know .>o iittlt! of Christ as tlm power of our lioarts and as the
possessor of ouv liv(,'s. .Vjid so I plead with yoii to-niL,dit that
you should ifi't to U'liow the l^ord .Icsus Christ as the j)()Wt'r of
your souls. That was what happeneil on the day of I'entecost
— the Holy (fhost descended in |)owcr upon tlie men and U|)on
the women, that luul been piayinL,' in the uppei- room, and the
Holy Chost revealeil C!hrist to them. The Holy ( ihost made
Christ shine before them so that they could W)t keep in the
Joy and the peace that was tlowinj^ throuLjh their souls, and
those one hundred and twenty men and women hail to ^^o out
and hold an open-air meeting in the streets of Jerusalem, and
then the multitutle jrathered around, and as they saw the joy
that was on Peter's face, and the j^lory that was on John's
face, they said, "These men are full of new wine.' "No,"
said Peter, " we are not drunk, as ye suppose, but this is that
which was spoken by the prophet Joel, ' 1 will pour out my
spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your dauijhters shall
prophesy, your old men sliall see visions, ami your youni^ men
shall dream dreams, and the servants and hand-maidens — the
very hand-maidens — shall prophesy in m}' name.'"
Then the Church <Trew by leaps and bounds, three thousand
men cried out for mercy in the streets in one day, and they
were added to the Church, and shortly after that five thousand
more were brought in ! Why ( J^>ecause Christ was revealed
as the power to the hearts of those early believers, and the one
thin<^ that the Church neeils to-day is, not more ministers and
not more colleges — I think we have a great deal too many of
them — but we need Christ and Christ only, revealed to our
hearts by the power of the Holy Ghost, and when that takes
place you will see the souls brought in — .shall I say by shoals? —
to the feet of Jesus. Oh, that you may learn to know Jesus —
Jesus, as all that you need for power and testimony for Him in
your daily life. May the Lord endue every member of His
bodj' in Toronto with Christ as the power of his heait and life.
Why, if the Christians that are here to-night now, and listen
to what 1 say, knew Christ as the power of their lives, 1 believe
in my very heart that Toronto would not know itself to-
morrow. There would be such a commotion in Toronto if each
one of us Christians knew Christ as the almighty power of our
I ^-
I
.*■
rllltivr All, AND IN AM,.
83
■i-rt that
i\\u'lit't',
jistians
(I us the
iflil tluit
'i'nU'<!Ost
iHil vipini
, an<l the
ost made
ep in the
iouls, and
to <?o out
alem, and
w the joy
on John's
;' " No,"
l\is is that
ur out my
iters shall
:ovni<:! men
idens— tiie
3 thousand
r, and they
e thousand
ts revealed
nd the one
nisters and
3() many of
led to our
that takes
|y shoals^ —
j\v Jesus —
for Him in
iber of His
jt and life.
, and listen
',j4^ 1 \)elieve
r ' itself to-
^nto if each
ower of our
hearts and livi's-~-I say Toronto would not know itself with
the testiiiiniiy that would he ^'iveii to the all-foiKHlerilii,' J»'.sUs
to-morrow. Oh, may (»od hless all tlu' C'hi'i>tians here to-iiiLjht
and eiiulije them to know t'lirist as the powiT of their hearts —
real power, not sentimental power, rciil pmnr, nul ion Kitfc.
null IfHt'iinoni/. C'lirisfe is all -( 'hrist made real to your >oul
1»V the powi'r of the ll(jly ( Jho.st — Christ is nil that you lu-e 1
for power. Vour husiness and e\-ery other interest seems n>
iiotliiii"' to vou wiien the liord ilesus ( 'lirist lieeomes all to vou
in the power of the Holy Ghost.
C-iirisi is all that a Chi-istian man needs for the jirorisiim <>f'
his sjH rihiiil iind tciiifxjnil iiri'd. There is a j^florious vuise in
Roiiians viii. It says: "He that spared not liis own Son Ktit
delivereil him up for us all, how shall lie not with him also freely
i.'ivc tis all thiui^s :*" That vers(? tells nie that a.s my heavenly
Father has <riven His only Son for my salvation, tiiere is now
nothing' that Clod can withhold from me, if only, ("/' "/(///, I
want t ) havi! it with Jesus. For notice tho.se important words,
" How sliall he not with him — vit/i liim — freely fjive us all
thin<,'s ^" Many people want to (.jet thinj^s out of Ood apart
from C'hrist; they want to enjoy pleasure apart from the Lord
.Fesus ; they want to have their money apart from the fjord
desus to do what they like with it themselves ; they want to
have their .society apart from the Lord .lesus ; they want to
have their j^lory in this world apart from the Lord Jesus.
Now, (lod never promised to <;ive a man anything:; under those
conditions. }'•> has said, " How shall he not with him, >rif/,
him, WITH iiiM." ])o you want the Lord Jesus Christ to have
a part of it; do vou want Him to rule it ? H' you want Him
to he in all, then (lod will ijive you all thinj^s, He will not keep
anything,' hack from you. " Seek ye first the kin<i;dom of Clod and
his ri<^hteousness and all other thin<T[.s .shall be added unto you."
1 meet in these days nuiny real Christians who are bowed down
by business cares and family troubles, and they don't know
how to make both ends meet. I wish to tell you that the Lonl
Jesus Christ can deliver a bu.siness man from all worry, and he
can deliver a clergyman frorii all parish worry, so that you will
rejoice before (lod with exceedintj i^reat joy, but on this condi-
tion, that yota seek first His kingdom and righteousness, on this
condition — that you are supremely honest. " If thine eye be
single," saith the Lord Jesus, " then thy whole body .shall be
full of light."
Let me give you an illustration of what I mean by trusting
the Lord in temporal matters and having His joy and His
3«
rnUlsT M.I, AVI» IN AM,
li' ' If'r
l»k's>in;^' with you thoiiyli nil tiling's .shoiiM look <larl\. Whcii
my ^It'iir co-worker, .Mr Millaul, iiiiil I wcrt' coniluctin;,' ii
iiiH.sirm ill ('npc Town, in tln' ycur ls!»(), two of tin- cliicf ItuiikN
ill ('apt' Town t'liilfd, and a lari^'f nuiiilicr of |ifo))|i> to whom I
was |>i*eachini,' on Sunday wtTf lK';(i,'/ir.s on Nh>ndiiy, utid thf
very ^'fnth'man in whose hou.si' I hail ln'cn stayiii;^' lost hravil}'.
.Ill" was an I'arncst ( 'hristian man, and is well known in ( 'api'
Town. Some time after that he had lo pay a sum of t.iO of
trust money ; he was tni,stee for .some little property, and OH)
of tliis money was ilue, and he ha<l to send it to Knj^dand
on a certain day. Well, he hadn t the money to pay it with,
HO he went ofl' to (Jod in prayer: "Oh, my heavenly Father, it
is not tiiy will that any cliild of thine sluaild he in deht ;
thou hast declared in thy iioly Mook that dei)t is a sin ; now,
() Father, thou liast never yet allowed me to owe one peruiy in
my life, and I »lo not helieve thou wilt allow me either; now.
Father, I ask thee to send me t!<!() hefore such a day
conu's that 1 may send it to Kn<,'Uuid." The tlay came hut
no money had come. Then my friend told me how he praye<l to
(Jod in these wor<ls ; " Father, I am trustint; thee and tluni hast
said that whatsoever I shall ask in the name of Jesus shall he
done ; now, Father, thou art ahle to rain down tiie money from
heaven to me if necessary ; I believe that thou wilt send mo
that .ceo to-day, I do not know how." He went to his olHce,
and one o'clock came, and the mail was to go at two o'clock.
No money had come; he went out to his luncheon and he came
hack about lialf-past one o'clock, and he looked upon his desk,
and he saw a che(|ue lying there for £00 sterling, and he said
to his clerk, "Mr. , how did this cheque come here f
" Well, sir," .saitl he, " after you went off to luncheon, a gentle-
man came in and laid that cheque on the counter and went out
again." Mr. W looked at the signature, he didn't recognize
it, he turned up his books, and he found that some years ago
he had marked off this sum of money as a bad debt that would
never be paid. This gentleman lived a long way up the country,
and God had made that gentleman remember that old out-
standing debt of many years ago, and Ood had brought that
gentleman down to Cape Town, and made him walk straight
from the Cape Town station into Mr. W 's office and lay that
cheque of £60 upon his counter, and he went oiit of the ofhce,
knowing no more than you do of Mr. W 's need of the money.
That is only one out of ten thousand instances that I could
give in the lives of friends of mine — yes, and I am thankful
to say in my own life also — of what God will do for the man
rllllivr AF.I, ANh IN All,
35
loin I
.1 thf
iivily.
( 'iipt'
..iO ol'
.1 CtiO
, witli,
luT, it
debt ;
; now,
nny in
; now,
a day
lie l)ut
vyetl to
on hivht
ihiiU be
y t'ron\
end me
olHce,
o'clock.
\c came
is desk,
he said
here T'
ijentle-
ent out
[cogni/e
woul<l
|;ountry,
:)ld out-
Irht that
■straight
[lay that
le othce,
i money.
1 1 could
Ihankful
the man
liiut si'i'k> first Mis kingdom and righteousness, (iod wants \\h
to 111' niisfd aliove all tlu'sf worrii-s and trouldes; (iod wants
His ( Imrch to trust Ilim specially in the matter of money, for
there is scarcely anything in which the Church of (mhI so dis-
iionors her crucilied and lisen Lord a.s iti tlu' way of getting
mr>nty for church work. Oh, it is thes»' money luatters that
are disgracing all the churchesof (Joijand dragging them ilown
into dt'str\iction and jierdition. It is tlu' love of money whicli
is -^u ingraint'd within members of the Church of Christ, that
is becoming a root of all kinds of evil. The Lord deliver His
jieople from the love of mon<!y, and teach the workers in tlu'
Church of ( 'hri it to tiust the Lord .lesus alone for the supply
<if all their nerd. Christ is all that a Christian man needs for
the supply of his temporal or spiritual need. ( let right with
the Lord .lesus Christ, and then it will become an easy thing
for you to trust Him in temporal matters.
Lit me say one thing more : Christ is all that a man needs
ir/nn he in tihoiif to fii/rr the iri'i/ (jiites of I'di'iuHsf. When
your liody is racked with pain, and you are about to leave this
life, Christ is ail that you need at the moment of dissolution,
•lesus »'/(///, Jesus niirni/s, .lesus KVKK. Several years ago there
was one of our Irish saints, 1 think I may call her, dying—
I allude to the late Lady Power.scourt. This noble Christian
lady was <lying in her castle at I'owerscourt, anil a lady who
was on intimate terms with her came into her bedroom, and
she said : " Well, how are you to-day, Lady Powerscourt i "
" Very well," said she, "very well ; I will tell you what I have
been thinking of, my dear; I have been thinking that one
needs a great many texts to live by, but you only need one
text to die by." "And what is that, your ladyship V " The
only text tlmt a person needs to die by is this: 'The blood of
.lesus Christ, his Son, clcanseth us from all sin,' and that verse
never was sweeter to my soul than at this moment." Let me
give you another instance. There was a mi.ssionar}' in India
goiMg up to the Himalaya mountains to one of the sanitariums
there for a well-earned holiday, and one of his coolies suddenly
got ill, and the missionary bent over the man and .saw that he
was dying, and said to him, " Tell me, my brother, have you
ever heartl of the Lord Jesus Christ ? " " Oh, yes, sahib," said
the dying man with a smile. " Look at that, look at that," and
he pulled out a very dirty piece of paper ; it was only a half
sheet of the First Epistle of St. John, containing those words,
■'The blood of Je.su.s Christ cleanseth us from all sin." " How
did you get that ? " said the mis.sionary. " Well, sahib, my sins
tmf<t tf -
I
3G
(HHIST AM. AM) IN AM,.
)■
troubled me, iind 1 went to the Hrahmins ami .said, ' How can
I i,'et my sin.s waslied away, for the god.s are an<j;ry with me,'
and they said, ' (i.; and wash in the .saered river and your sins
will be cleansed away.' So I washed in the sacred river, but
my sins were as strontf as ever ; then they said to me, ' Put
hooks in your back, and swinif on the hooks, and the pain that
your body will sutler will cleanse your heart from sin,' and 1
put hooks in my back, and 1 swuni,' on the hooks, Init when it
was all over my sins remained as strong as ever ; and as 1 was
<:;oin(^ ah^iii; the road one day, 1 saw that piece of paper,
and 1 picked it up, and I read that the blood of Jesus, the
Christian's ( !od, cleanseth a man from all sin. I do not under-
stand nnich about your .le.-^us, but ever since I have read those
words, sahib, a peace from heaven lias been in my soul; I do
not understand much about your Jesus. Are you (juite sure
he died for Hindoos as well as luij'lishmen T' said he. ■He
died for the sins of the whole world,' said the missionary.
" Oh, if that is the case it is well with me,"' said the Hindoo, and
ho pillowed hi.s head upon that half sheet of dirty paper, and
he fell asleep in Jesus, the Christian's (Jod.
So you see, dear brethren, that Christ is all a countess needs,
and Christ is all a Hindoo needs in order to pass into the <,dories
of Paradise. Christ is all. Oh, I want you dear people to
revel in that to-ni<dit. I want vou to rest the whole weight of
your being, the whole weight of your sin, the whole weight of
your backsliding, the whole weight of your impurity, the whole
weight of your coldness of heart — rest it on .Fesus to-night,
cast it on Him and say, " .fesus, thou knowest my sinfulness,
thou knowest my misery, thou knowest my futile strugglings
against corruption, but thou art all that I need. Oh, set me
free in thyself to-night for thy gloiy's sake." Amen, Amen, Amen.
Let us pray.
(;01) GLORII-IIil).
whole
-nisrht,
I SUA Mi takt' two texts to-iiiglit ; the: first is in the 17th
cliaptcf of St. .lolin and part of tlie 4th verse : " .lesus said,
Father I have gloriliod thee on the oarth ;" and from the
.")th cliaptor of Daniel and part of the 2.Srd verse : " The Clod in
whi)-e hanvl thy hreath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast
tiion not i^lorified."
iSoth these sentences were spoi<en a few hours before deatli.
.lesus spoke the first sentence just before He went into the
({arden of Gethseniane — ;just before His bitter ag[ony and His
bloody sweat for us men and for our salvatioti. -lesus was able
to s'.im up His life in that one pregnant sentence, " U Father, I
have glorified thee on the earth, I have finished the work that
thou <'avest me to do." But how different is the other sentence
sjioken by Daniel the prophet to the heathen king Belshazzar,
n few hours before Belshazzar was slain. O Belshazzar, " the
God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways,
hast thou not glorified."
Let us consider to-night.
First of all : How is God not to be glorified ; and.
Secondly : How is God to be positively glorified in our lives.
I wish to take Daniel's words and apply them to the nominal
Christians of Toronto. Will you say, that is not very compli-
mentary to the nominal Christians oi Toronto, if you applj'
words addres.sed to a heathen king to Christians ;" Do you
mean to tell us that you are going to compare our lives with
the life of that heathen king Belshazzar ? Ves, that is what 1
am going to do ; I am going to compare the lives of the nominal
Christians of our churches to-day with the life of the heathen
king Belshazzar, for, brethren, what I desire to prove to-night,
because it is pressing upon my soul, is this, tliat a great deal of
our modern (Miristianity is only baptized heathenism — nothing
else but heathenism with holy water sprinkled on it. I want
to piove that to-night, and 1 want to prove it from the words
of -lesus, anil from the words of -lesus only; 1 want to com-
38
<1(>I) GLOiUFIKI).
11
III'
H !
pare our lives with wlmt Jesus means by Christianity — a life
that glorifies God the Father in heaven.
Let us notice the indictment which the prophet Daniel
brought ajjainst the heathen king IJelshazzar. On that niijht
Belshazzar commanded the holy vessels of the house of (iod in
Jerusalem to be brouffht into the bauiiuetinn; hall, and he and
his lords and his wives drank wine out of the holy vessels of
the house of God, and the hand came forth and the fingers of
a man's hand wrote upon the plaster of the wall over against
the sacred candlestick, and the king saw the part of the hand
that wrote. Daniel was brought in to interpret the mystic
words to Belshazzar, and this is what Daniel says to Del-
shazzar : " Belshazzar, thou son of Nebuchadnezzar, thou
hast not humbled thy heart, although thou knewest all that
the Most High God did to thy father Nebuchadnezzar." That
is the first indictment. Notice that Daniel held Belshazzar
responsible for the few rays of light that had come into his
heathen darkness. Belshazzar, thou knewest what the Most
High God did with thy father Nebuchadnezzar. Why didst thou
not repent / What was it that God had done to Nebuchad-
nezzar ^ Nebuchadnezzar had said of himself, " I am a king of
kings, I am a lord of lords. Is not this great Babylon that I
have built by the might of my power, by the glory of my
majesty ^ " and as the king spoke the words, a voice fell from
heaven saying, " Be it known unto thee, O King Nebuchad-
nezzar, that thy kingdom is departed from thee, and thy
dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field," and God took
away the king's reason, and for seven years King Nebuchad-
nezzar was a raving maniac, and for seven years he thought
himself a beast of the earth, and tried to eat grass like oxen,
and at the end of seven years, God gave the king his reason
back again, and then Nebuchadnezzar said, " Now, I praise and
extol the God of heaven, all whose works are truth and his
ways are righteous, and those who walk in pride he is able to
abase." Oh, indeed He is. God knows how to abase a proud
man. If there is a proud man here to-night, humble j'ourself,
I beseech you, before the Most High God, for pride and salva-
tion can never go together. So if Daniel, or rather God, held
Belshazzar responsible for the few rays of light that had come
into his heathen darkness, how much more does the God of
heaven hold the Christians of Toronto responsible for the light
that has reached them. There is scarcely a city in the world,
so far as I can learn, that has had so many religious services
and religious privileges as the evangelical city of Toronto, and
I
r!()D Ol.oRIFIKD.
3»
ie oxen,
reason
aise and
and his
able to
a proud
ourself,
d salva-
od, held
ad come
God of
the lio;ht
I },'re.itly fear in my lieart that there is a mountain of jud<,'ment
rising up aj,'ainst the Cliristians of this place. ( )h, it is a most
awful thing- for God to show the fulness of Hi.s light to Christians
and for them to lemain just as they were before ; just to say.
" Oh, I enjoyed those services immensely. Didn't he speak
nicely ( " In this day of services in theatres, services on the
corners of the streets, services everywhere, what a blaze of liglit
is upon us. You can buy the whole Bible for a few pence ; you
can buy the whole New Testament for one penny ; and some-
times we hold it onl}' worth a few cents, because we can get it
so cheaply, but remember, God holds you and me responsible
for the possession of a Bible ; God liolds you and me responsible
because our father prayed for us, our mother prayed for us. our
Sunday School teacher pleaded with us, our pastor w^arned us :
we have had a blaze of light around us from our childhood.
" Belshazzar, thou hast not humbled thyself though thou
knewest all this." God enable us to humble ourselves.
Then what is the next indictment? He says: 'Thou hast
brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou hast
drank wine out of them." First of all, what are the vessels of
God's house to us ? Where is God's house now i Is that cathedral
over there God's house i* Is that Presbyterian church God's
house ? Is that Methodist church God's house !* There is no
material building that is God's house now. Very few people
remember that. God in the Old Testament times had a material
fabric which was really His building, and in which His glory
was manifested, and that was the only right place to pray
towards and to offer sacrifice in, but since Jesus has come to
earth, that outward fabric has passed away, and now the only
house of God is the heart that is indwelt by the Holy Ghost-
In the New Testament, remember what I .say, nothing is ever
called the house of God except the bodies of those who are
indwelt by the Holy Ghost. Let me prove that. 1 Cor. vi.:
" Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ '
Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost
which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your
own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify Gotl
in your body;" and St. Peter says, "To whom coming as to a
living stone, ye also as living stones are built up a spiritual
house to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesu.s
Christ." I repeat again there is no holiness in bricks and mortar,
there is no holiness in a building, though it were con.secrated by
an archbishop fifty thousand times over ; there is no holiness
whatever in a house; one part of a church is not one atom
40
<i(H> (ii,(»Kii-'ii:i).
'Hi
I i
1\
lujlier than another; there is no more holiness in the com-
munion table than in the seat there; th<; holiness is in the
hearts of those who worship there, and if Ood the Holy Ghost
is not dwelling in the members that attend that church, there
is no holiness there. What are the vessels then of (jod's house ^
The vessels of God's liouse are my eyes, my ears, m}^ hands, my
feet, my heart, my brain. Those are the vessels of the house
of God now, and when do I drink wine out of them :■ What
does wine mean in New Testament language? Wine is often
the symbol of carnal delight, of sensuality, of mere excite-
ment, and I drink wine out of the ve.ssels of (Jod's house when
I take these vessels, and when I use them for my own carnal
jdeasure, excitement or sensuality, then I defile the house of
<Jod, and am committing exactly the .same sin under New
Testament light that Belsha/zar did under Old Testament
light. I am defiling and de.secrating the ve.ssels of the hou.se
of (iod, and drinking the wine of this world out of them. Oh,
how many here to-night are conscious that they have defiled
the ve.ssels of the house of (Jod, that their heart is impure, that
their life is unholy, and that they are the slaves of sin^
What else does Daniel say to Belshazzar ? "Thou hast wor-
shipped the gods of .silver and gold." And are there no wor-
shippers of the gods of silver and gold in our churches to-day ?
What does the apostle .say: "Covetousness is idolatry." How
many there are who worship seemingly devoutly every Sunday
morning in their churches, but even while they worship, their
hearts are far more really occupied with their stocks and shares
and lousiness than with the Almighty God. What a terrible
thing it is to worship God with our lips while our hearts are
far from Him. Worshippers of silver and gold! how many of
the Christians of Toronto could be described under those terms/
" Thou ha.st worshipped the gods of silver and gold." A man is
considei'ed important in the.se days in proportion to the amount
of the balance he has at his bank, and not in proportion to the
amount of God that is dwelling in his heart. May (iod deliver
His church from the worship of the gods of silver and gold,
*ind may we worship Jesus who made all things.
And thus it came to pass that God, in whose hands Bel-
shazzar's breath was, and whose were all His ways, was not
glorified, (iod was not glorified because Belshazzar refused to
recognize his responsibility for the light granted him ; God
was not glorified because Belshazzar was proud in heart, because
Belshazzar defiled the vessels of God's house, and because
Belshazzar worshipped the gods of silver and the gods of gold.
(i<)I> (il.oHIFIMI).
41
gold,
,f gold.
Well, let me tmn away from that sad picture to-night, and
let us take a glance at Jesus. .Fesus says, " Father, I have
glorified tliee on the eartii, I have finished the work that thou
gavest me to do." Let us see what are the essential elements
of a life that glorifies God in Christ.
Now, I have a few examination (|uestions for the Sunday
School teachers here to-night: Now, Sunday School teacher,
tell me what was the first occasion upon which the Lord .lesus
Christ said that He was glorified:' You will find it in the
12th chapter of St. -loiin. I like to give te.xts for every-
thing, and 1 wish you people would bring your l<iblcs with
you. In the I '2th chapter of St. dohn we read that certain
Greeks came up to the Apostle Philip, and they said : " Oh, sir,
we would see Jesus," and Philip told his friend Andrew, and
Andrew and l*hilip came and told Jesus, and when Jesus heard
it He said, "The hour i.s come that the Son of man should be
glorified." So the first thing that glorifies God in Christ is
this: the soul's desire to get a saving sight of Jesus. I
wonder how manv of vou have come to this hall to-nijjht with
that desire in your heart. My heart tells me that a large
number of you have come to .see Jesus to-night. I do believe
in my soul that that is why a great many of you are here
to-night ; your heart is hungering and thirsting for a deeper
knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, (Jod bless every-
one that lias come with the desire to see Jesus, for the life of
glorv to the Son of (Jod is about to be^in to-night for you.
" Oh, sir, we would see Jesus." " The hour is come that I should
be irloritied," said the Lord.
What is it to see Jesus ? To see Je.sus is to see that you
yourselves are a mass of corruption ; to see Jesus is to see that
you have no holiness of your own : to see Jesus is to see that
you have no strength of your own ; to .see Jesus is to see that
you have no hope from \'ourself, that all your own efforts are
worse than useless ; and then to see Jesus is to see forgiveness,
ho] mess, purity and everlasting peace in the person of Christ.
All I need is Jesus, and Je.sus gives himself to me. He .said :
" Sinner, take me to thine heart ; sinner, believe that I am
thine; sinner, here and now receive me as I offer myself to
thee.' It is a blessed thing to see Jesus. I wonder how many
here know in their hearts that they have seen Jesus. Twenty-
three and a half years ago I saw the Lord Je.sus Christ by
faith. I .see aged brethren here to-night ; I suppose there are
several here who saw the Lord Jesus fifty years ago. I see
many a young man to-night ; perhaps you only saw the Lord
two years ago, my young brother ; perhaps, six months ago.
42
(iol) (il.oHIh'IKI).
If
W! >
A man in ( )ttawa came up to me lust Sunday week, and lie
said, " Oh, Mr. Grubb, I am one day old to-day ; I saw tlie Lor<l
last nij^ht while you were preaching." " Sir, we wouM see
Jesus." Ijord .lesus, reveal thyself to thi.s <^reat multitude,
show thy matchless beauty to every heart here, and let them
\fo home praising thee.
What was the second occasion upon which the Lord Jesus
Christ said that He was glorified ( Vou will tind it in the 13th
chapter of St. John. It was at the Last Supper, and Jesu>. said,
" Verily, verily, I say unto you, one of you that eateth with me
shall betray me." And John whis|)ered to the Lord, " Master,
who is it { " Jesus said, " He it is to whom I shall give the sop
after I have dipped it," and He dipped the sop and gave it to
Judas Lscariot, and said unto him, "That thou doest do (juickh\"'
And Judas having received the sop went immediately out.
Notice this verse, "Therefore when Judas was gone out, Jesus
said, Now is the Son of man glorified and God is glorified in
him. If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in
himself, and shall immediately glorify him." Five times over
the Lord Jesus uses the word " glorify," as soon as the door had
closed on the dark form of the traitor. Now, why was that ^
The Holy Ghost adds significantly the word " therefore," —
" Therefore when Judas was gone out, Jesus said, Now I am
glorified." What is the connection ? The connection is this :
The Lord Jesus Christ never can be glorified so long as there
is a traitor spirit in the midst of His disciples. The Lord Jesus
can never be glorified while my heart is divided between the
love of the world and the love of my Saviour. Judas had a
divided heart — he was pulled both ways. The love of money
pulled him to the left, the love of Jesus pulled him to the right.
Judas had a divided heart, and the divided heart will sooner or
later betray Christ or the interests of Christ into the hands of
Christ's enemies, and so I ask you to-night, have you a divided
heart ? Has the traitor spirit been casfi out of you ? Are you
in the camp of the Lord Jesus nominally, but really in the
camp of Satan ^ Oh, I beseech you to search yourself to-night,
and say, " Lord Jesus, is my heart really possessed by thee !
Can I say that I have surrendered spirit, soul and body into
thy hands ? " For if you cannot, the time will surely come
when you will falter and fail and betray your Saviour. And
though you may go on at present very respectably, and even
your minister and the rest of the members of the church may
think you a very good Christian worker, the time will come
when Satan will so tempt you that you will take the devil's
(.rill (il.HHIIIF.H.
43
[UkI lie
10 Lonl
lid see
Ititmle,
t them
I Je-ius
he 13th
iUi said,
vith nie
Master.
the sop
ve it to
uiekly."
ely out.
it, Jesus
rified in
him in
les over
loor had
as that '.
it'ore," —
ws I am
is this :
as there
»rd Jesus
I'eeu the
IS had a
f ii\oney
,he right,
sooner or
lands of
divided
Are vou
y in the
to-night,
3y thee *.
ody into
ely come
ar. And
md even
reh may
^rill come
le devil's
hribe and sell your soul for thirty pieces of silver. Relieve me,
this will happen, for Satan sees the weak point in your harness.
Ik' knows it all, and he sees that you have not really jiarted
with the world — you are really still loving the world. Remem-
lier Lot's wife, who professed and actually <lid outwardly leave
Sodom, hut she left her heart behind in Sodom, and she was
turned into a pillar of salt. And so Judas also — his heart was
in his money, and he cared more for that than he did for the
glory of .lesus.
The Lord deliver His people in this place out of the camp of
the world, and make them whole-hearted for Jesus ! Oh, that
CJod may possess us b}' His Holy Spirit, and cast out the traitor
spirit from our inner beings ! Jesus is never really glorified till
the whole soul is surrendered to Him — never really.
I go further. Look at the 14th chapter of St. John, and
the L'3th and 14th verses: "Whatsoever ye shall ask in my
name, that will I do. that the Father may be glorified in the
Son. If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it." Here
the Lord Jesus tells us that the third thing that glorifies Him
is the prayer of faith. That man will glorify God who knows
how to pray the prayer of faith, who learns the secret of open-
inj; the treasures of heaven, who learns the secret of moving
heaven and earth. I wonder how many Christian men and
women in Toronto know what it is to pray the prayer of faith ;
tor the Lord Jesus has said, When I shall come again "shall I
find faith upon the earth :' " and the one thing that seems to
me to be decreasing every day is, those who can pray the prayer
of faith and lay hold of God in power ; and therefore I praj'
that the Christians here may be taught by the Holy Ghost to
ask in Christ's name, and have the treasury of heaven opened
to their hearts. It is a very solemn thing to deal with God, to
go down on your knees in your bedroom and let God speak to
you, and let God put the spirit of prayer within you, so that
you know what it is to pray with groanings that cannot be
uttered — so that you know what it is to get blessings for your
wife, blessings for your children and ble.ssings for those around
you, and so that you know what it is to receive the answer in
your heart— that is the prayer of faith — and you know then
that whatsoever you ask you receive of Him, because you trust
in Jesus like a little child. Let me give you one little instance
of what I mean by the prayer of faith, for I find that people
are so slow really to believe that God takes care of every little
thing in our lives. I was told this by a dear friend of mine in Scot-
land just a short time ago. There was a poor woman, and .she lived
44
(i()i> <.i
I).
1 1 I,
l\
\\ '\
\ I "I
in a little cottage, an<l she h id a larj^o anioimt of money
to a tradesman— a di.shonosi tradeMiiian — and this tradesman
liilled her a second time for thi' money, and the pour wuman
was certain that she iiad paid the money, htit she couhln't lind
the receipt anywhere;, and the tradesman said, " Unless 3'ou find
that receipt you will have to pay itaj^ain — I am sure you <lidn't
pay it; I will send the l)ailitl'and 1 will sell you out." What
<liil the poor woman do { She went strait^ht to (iod, and she
said, ' ( )li. my heavenly Father, thou knowest the distress I
auj in, and thou knowest that it will ruin nie if I am sold out
of my little cottajre an<l place: oh, my heavenly Father, under-
take for me, for I know I paid that man : and, my Father, liave
mercy on me and fin<l this bill for me."
She rose from her knees, and the .sun .shone out gloriously,
and in tlew a butterHy through the cottage door, and after the
l»utterHy came (juite a little child— a little bit of a child — ami
the child caught at the butterfly, but the butterfly Hew behind
a cupboard, and then the child .screamed and yelled, and tried
to get at the butterfly. The poor woman tried to quiet the
child, but the child would not be (juieted ; and then a neighbor
came in and said, " Oh, Mr.s. , what is the matter with
the chikW" "Well," said she, "a butterfly flew in and the
child wants to get the butterflj', and the butterHy is behind
that heavy cupboard there and I cannot move it. " " Oh," said
the woman, " let us move the cupboard ; " so the two women
moved the heavy press, and lo, and behold ! a bit of paper flut-
tered down on the ground as they moved the pre.ss. It was
between the press and the wall, and the old lady took up the
bit of paper, and, behold, the receipted bill ! I don't think that
tradesman gained much by that transaction. Now, I ask you,
have you a God like that ? The (iod I believe in is the God of
sunshine, and the God of the widow, and the (Jod of the
butterfly, and the God of the little child, even of the screaming
little child, and the God that guides everything. His eyes —
the eyes of my God — can see through au old press ; they can
see everything. The eyes of my God are in every place, be-
holding the evil and the good. And this is the God that hears
the prayer from the widow, and the prayer from the orphan, and
the pra5'er from the man that wants to turn from his sin, and
the prayer from the broken and contrite heart that has asked
in the name of Je.sus. He says, " Whatsoever " — and if I re-
member rightly, the word " whatsoever " is used about fifteen
times in the New Testament in connection with prayer —
" Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, that will I
ill
liul) (M.olilFlKD.
-i:>
do. that the Kiitlicr nifiy lie i,'loriHnl in the Son." " If yo sliull
iisk iuivthiii<;' in niy nainc. I will do it." Ask in communion
witli nic, in ol)e<li« nci- to my will, in cojnioction with my {)or.s(jn,
for tlmt i.s tlie inenninL,' of a.sUin<^ in the niunu of .lo.sii.s.
One tiling- more ami I clo.so. Fiftcentli chaptiT of John, and
the Nth verso: "Herein i.s my Father <,'lorilied, that ye hear
mucii fruit, so sliall ye he my disciples." So I am to bear much
fruit, not merely to have one dry <,'rapo here and there, l»ut we^
are to be covered witli luscious bunches of ^'rapes, and the
Master of the vineyard come.s by, and He plucks the <;;rapes,
and refreshes himself. It refreshes the heart of .lesus when
He sees His people bearing the fruit of the Holy (iliost. And
what is tlie fruit of the Spirit ! The fruit of the Spirit is love,
joy, peace, long-sutferinc, f:;entleness, meekness, goodne.ss, faith-
fulness, self-control. These are the nine-fold fruit of tlie Holy
Ghost produced Ijy the man that abides in Christ, and let.s
Christ's words abitle in him. Oh, dear soul, learn to abide in
Christ, and you will bear nmch fruit. " He that abidetii in me,
tlie .same brinijeth forth much fruit." But you .say, I do not
understand what you mean — what does abiding in Christ mean f
Let me tell you in one word, to abide is to stay where you are,
to abide is to make your home in a place. So you abide in
Christ when you are quite at home with Christ. Now, I ask
you, how many of you are at home with the Lord Jesus in your
heart ^ Is Christ at home in your heart, or is Christ a stranger
to you i* If Christ only comes to-day and leaves your heart
to-morrow, then you are not abiding in Him, and He is not
abiding in you. A great many Christians only know the Lonl
Jesus as a wayfaring man ; they do not know the Lord Jesus
Christ as one who dwells with them. It is a blessed thing to
have your heart at home with Christ : Christ no stranger there,
Christ speaking there, Christ living there, Christ dwelling
there. You know if that door over there was to open and Her
Most Gracious Majesty was to appear here, we would all rise
with a feeling of reverence, and we would stand perfectly still
and wait until the Queen spoke to us ; we wouldn't feel quite
at home in her presence, but the Lord Jesus .says, " Though 1
am the King of kings, yet you can be quite at home with me ;
you can have a ble.ssed feeling of perfect freedom in my com-
pany ; " and a soul never knows what perfect freedom is until
your heart is at home with Christ and Clu-ist at home with
your heart. Ask the Lord to teach you the .secret of abiding
in Christ, and then almost unconsciously you will bear much
fruit unto God.
I r~~
46
fin|» (;l.(i|Ulli;i».
Ir
All that T have .said to-iiiijht is made real to our hoarts by
tilt! j)Owor of tiie Holy (Jhost. ticsus says, " When he — the
Spirit of truth — shall come, He shall ^^dorit'y me" — that is, he
shall cause me to .shine out hefore you. The f^lory of (Joil is
the outshiuirii,' of (lod, the <,dory of the sun is the oiitshiiiii\|rr of
the ray.s of the sun, and when it is said that the Holy (iliost
j^lorities Jesus, it means that the Holy <«host makes Christ
shine in the human heart, makes Christ shine within you and
shine out from you, and causes you to show lij^ht wdierevcryou
i,'o. Oh, may God the Holy ({host take of the thinf^s of Jesus
to-nif^ht, and show them to every disciple's heart here for
Christ's name's sake. Remember brother, both my texts were
spoken a few hours before death. Helshazzar had only a few
liours to live when Daniel said to him, "The God in whose
hand thy breath is, hast thou not f^lorified." I may be speaking
to-nipfht to someone who is now hearing his last sermon. Little
did Mr. think when he was sitting in that seat there last
Sunday niglit — and whose murder the evening papers relate —
little did he think as he was listening to me on Sunday night,
that it was the last gospel sermon he would hear, and that
Tue.sday morning lie would be murdered, I thank God that
he heard the message of forgiving love on Sunday night, and
may the Lord comfort the torn hearts of the widow, and five
little children whose house is now mourning and desolation ;
and God have mercy upon the wretched, wretched man that
did the deed.
I may be speaking to those here to-night to whom God is
giving His last warning to turn to Jesus, and give your life to
Him — a life with the glory of God shining into your heart, and
then shining out from you, to the world round about you. Oh,
may God now write those words on your heart : " The God in
whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast
thou not glorified."
Let us pray.
T()-I)A\' I MIST AIMDI' IN
iiorsi'.'
T\\\
•■ And wlu'H .IcMiH vauw to the jiliu'c, liu luokod up. and hhw him, and
;<;ud unto him, Z.u'i'lu'iis, mivko haste, iiiid c<niu'dn\vii: fur to-day I must
ahido at tliy Iidusi'. And he made haste ami eame down, and received him
joyfully,"— Luke xix. '>, tl.
MV suI>ioct to-ni(,'lit is, " Christ coming to abide in the
liunmu heart," and I want to tell you about the wonder-
ful change that the Fjord .lesus makes when He comes
to abide in tlie heart, (jod created you, my brother, in order
that He mi<;ht dwell within you, and the j^reat evil that sin has
wrought in the world is this, that it has driven the Spirit of
(lod out of human hearts, and our hearts are restless, dark, and
dissatisfied, and our hearts have a tendency to despair within
them, because there is no God inside them. I want to tell you
how to i;et God back into your heart ; I want to tell you how
to receive Jesus joyfully to-night, for there is no such thin<( as
receiving Christ sorrowfully. The devil tries to persuade a
mun that you can receive .Jesus sorrowfully. The devil is a
liar from the beginning, and all that he tells you, he speaketh
of his own, he speaketh of the very essence of falsehood, and
the devil has persuaded humanity, that to receive God back
again into the heart is merely to have sorrow brought to you,
and sombreness, and darkness, but I testify before this audience
to-night, that Jesus is the light, and in Him is no darkness at
all.
(Jod chose the nation of Israel, in order that he might <lwell
among them. He says, "Let them make me a tabernacle, that
L may dwell among them." ln<hvelling is the very purpose,
the very final cause of God's creation, and what was only an
outward dwelling in the nation of Israel, can become a glorious
inwaid reality in the church dispensation, for the blessing of
this dispensation is this, "I will dwell in you. and walk in you,
and ye .shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord
t
48
"To-l»AV I Ml vr AIIIDK IN IIIV llnl sK.
H;
I
Almighty. " So I want t«» timl out to-iiiL,'lit, liow iiiiiny of y«)U
ciiii say by lilcsx'd fxpcrifiict', " I know tliiit tin- Spirit of .Icsus
( "lu•i^t is dwelling' within niu," Tor that is tlie only prooF of trut»
( 'liristiiinity ; fof St, ran! siiyM, "If any man have not tin;
Spirit of Christ, he is noiiu of his. " Theiv may In- much thoo
loLfV in his hi'ail, he may have his namt; inscrilx'il upon thr
church rolls of (-arth, hut his name is not written in the l/imh s
Hook of iiifc, until the Spirit of Christ is (Iwellini,' within him.
It liehooves me iiHil it hehooves you, to he very clear to-ni;,(ht
ahout Christ ahidin^' in the heart. Oh. that the L(»rtl .Itsus
him.self nniy e.vplain His own words to you, " T<j-day I must
ahido at thy house. "
Now, I want you to notice the steps that led up to tlu; sal-
\ ation of Zaccheus, the publican, and to the abidini; of Christ
with liim, for exactly the same steps take place in the .salvation
of nearly every sinner.
What was the Hrst step in the salvation of Zaccheu.s, tin;
publican i Perhaps you will be surprised wlien I mention it.
'I'he tir.st step in the .salvation of Zaccheus was curiosity —
notliiuL,' else than curiosity. We read that Zaccheus was
desirous to see Jesus, who Ke was. There is a holy curiosity
that brings the knowled<i;e of God to the heart, ami there
is an unholy curiosity that brin<^s a knowledj^e of sin. There
is a .saving curiosity, and let me ^,\y it, there is a (hinniin^"
curiosity. Let me jjive you an instance of damninj,' curiosity
before I pass on. We read later on in St. Luke that Kinf(
Hero<l was desirous for a lon<( time past to see Jesus ; almost
the same words are u.sed of lvin<; Herod as of Zaccheus. When
Herod saw Jesus he was exceedini; 'j\fn\ for he was desirous
to see Him for a lon<,' season, because he had heard many things
about Him, and he hoped to have seen some miracle done by
Jesus. " Then he (juestioned with him in many words, but
.le.sus answered him nothing," and Herod, with his men-of-war
set Je.sus at naught and mocked Him, and arrayed Him in a
gorgeous robe and sent Him again to Pilate, and the sanie da}'
Pilate and Herod were made friends together, for before that
they had been at enmity among themselves." King Herod
had curiosity to see .lesus too, but when Jesus came. King Herod
only amused himself with Christ. King Herod only wanted the
Lord Jesus to turn himself into a species of theatrical show
that King Herod and his men-of-war might have an afternoon's
amusement at the expense of the Saviour of the world. And
there are many men to-day who only have this sort of curiosity
about Jesus Christ ; they discu.ss points of doctrine, but they
i
T<i KAV I Ml ST AIUMK IN THY HorSE.
4!)
US, iIkj
ition it.
iosity —
us was
uriosity
d tlit'fe
There
amniivj;
riosity
it Kin^
almost
When
esirous
things
one bv
Is, but
of -war
in in a
line (lay
ore that
He rot I
; Heroil
ited the
1 show
ernoon's
And
uriosity
)ut they
havr no real desirf to know Christ as their Saviour, or Christ
as holiness of lit'f. To such a spirit as that the Lord .lt>sus
ri'nniins cti'mally silent; the Loril .lesus is always silent to the
spirit ot" carnal curiosity. Kin^j Herod i|Ue.stione<I .lesus ali()nt
niunv thin;,'s, but .lesus answ»'red him nothin;;. That is often
the reason why yt»u do not find out the trutii, l)ecause you are
not really in earnest about it. (Jod says, "\v .shall seek me
and ye MhaU lind me, when ye seek for nu; with your whole
heart." Oh, may Cod turn all in thisconi,Me^ation into earnest
seekers after salvation, and if you have found .salvation, into
earnest seekers after triie and divine sanctification. The Lord
make Us all holy men and holy women. That is tlie first step
in salvation or in .sanctiHcation either —a holy curiosity after
th« thin<,'s of (Jod.
What was the ne.xt step ^ We read that Zacclieus heard that
.lesus was coming to .lericho, so he put away all Ins business,
and he said, " I am tletermined to jjet a sight of this wonderful
man, .lesus of Nazareth;" and he went forth into the public
road, and he saw .lesus advancing .surrounded by u hugecrowtl,
and Zaccheus said, "Oh, this will never do, I will never get a
sight of Him after all, for I am such a little bit of a man ; " biit
where there is a will there is a way, and he said, " Oli, I see
there is a .sycamore tree overarching the road, and I will just
climl> up there, and hide in the branches and .lesus will know
nothing about it, and I shall get a good sight of .lesus, the
I'roplu't of Nazareth." Zaccheus set a trap for Inm.self ami the
liord .lesus caught him in his own trap, I trust that some of
you have set a trap for your souls by coming to this hall to-night.
Perhaps you have only come because someone tormented you
to come, and made you promise to come out of mere curiosity.
Well, I don't blame you for that. (Jod can save you, I re])eat,
though you have come out of curiosity.
Jesus drew near and looked up and saw Zaccheus, and said,
" Zacclieus, make haste and come down; to-dav I must abide
at thv house." Each word is golden. "Zaccheus" — he called
the publican by name. That very word "Zaccheus" let in a
tl()o<l of light upon the dark soul of the publican, foi- Zaccheus
said to himself, ' That man never saw me before, I never saw
Him before. How does He know my name? I have heanl it
said — and perhaps it may be true after all — I have heard it
said that Jesus of Nazareth claims to be a supernatural being :
that Jesus of Nazareth .sa3^s that He is the Son of God ; that
.Fesus of Nazareth says that He created the world ; that Jesus
of Nazareth says that He and the (Jod of the Jews are one;
4
50
"T()-1).\V 1 Ml ST AI'.IDK IN TIIV HoisE.
i I
He daros to .say, ' I am tlie way. 1 uin the truth, I >un tlie life.
No one coineth unto tlie Father except ly nie ' ; and 1 have
heard that the I'harisees actually took up .stones to stone Him
to death for blasphemy a few days ago because He said He
was tlie Son of (Jod : perhaps Me is ; perhaps He is ; anyway
He knows my name and He never saw \w before." I wish to
tell any man here to-ni((ht that the Lord Jesus Chri' t knows
all about vou : He knows all about xour secret stru^fflinjifs and
secret lon<;in<j;s after truth : how dis.atistied you are, and how
you lonfj to know God. It is (Jod that you need, my brother,
and \()ur heart will never be satisfied till you know God in
Christ — never. Je.sus always calls His own sheej) by name an<l
leadeth them out. The Lord does not deal with us as the
nineteenth century does. The nineteenth century deals with
men fn iiKinse, in glubo, so many "hands"— but Je.sus calls
you by name, deals with you personally, and pours His great
personal love into your personal heart. The Lord Jesus Christ
lovi'd ine and gave himself for me as if there was nobody el.se
in the world — loved me and gave himself for me. Zaccheus,
make haste, make haste. Why did the Lord Jesus Christ .say
' Make haste " to him ^ Because it was the man's last chance.
()ne week after that the Lord Jesus stretched forth His hands
upon the cro.ss of Calvary, and a soldier lifted his spear and
drove it into His heart, it was Zaccheus' last chance of seeing
Je.sus alive upon this earth. It was well for him that he took
that last chance of seeing Christ. " Make haste," the Lord
says to you, " Be in earnest and come down." Oh, that is the
difficulty. Here is where the .shoe pinches, if I may use that
expression — here is where the theological shoe pinches. " Come
down," said the Lord. Many a man would be saved but he is
unwilling to humble himself ; he is unwilling to come down,
and to confess that he needs Jesus ; and the very first step in
salvation is to come down and acknowledge your own sinful-
ness. The first words Je.sus uttered in the Sermon on the
Mount were these, " Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is
the kingdom of heaven." Come down from your conventional
religion, come down from mere respectable Christianity, mere
names of divine things without divine reality corresponding
thereto. Oh, that we may come down from all the traditions
of men, and come and sit in the school of Jesus, and be taught
by Him. Come down, oh, come down, from thy besetting sin.
The Lord Jesus .says, " It is better for us to enter into life halt
or maimed, it is better for thee
pluck
eye,
oif a riffht hand, rather than having two hands or two feet to
i
3
I
TO-I).VV I MlVl" .\1:1IJE IN THY IIdISE.
51
M
be cast into hell tiro" and if the Lonl Jesus says it is l»etter for
a man to do that, the L'M'd .lesus iviiows what the profit and loss
account for eternity is. Only the Lord Jesus can balance the
profit and loss account or a whole eternity. For He is the
eternal life, and only in and throui^h Christ can a man possess
eternal life and innuortality. Only in Christ, only in Christ. I
t,'o to Him and I stick to His words about those thin<^s, though
the whole Church even should be ajrainst me. Oh, stick to the
words of Jesus, stick to them, brother, for you will find He will
])rove them true in the end. It is better for thee to <;o down
and liumble thyself at the feet of Christ thou<;h the whole
Ciiurch or the whole world should cry out against thee ; and it
is astonishing liow they do cry out when a man draws near to
Jesus, for we have read that they all began to murmur instead
of being glad that Zaccheus was received by Jesus — they all
began to murmur, saying, " He is gone to be guest with a man
that is a sinner."'
Now, let us come to the point of my whole address. " To-day
I must abide at thy house." May Clod help me now as I try to
toll you, oh, you dear people, as I try to tell you something
of the glor\- that an abiding Saviour brings with Him when
He comes to live and dwell and walk in a surrendereil human
heart. The first blessing that an abiding Saviour brings is
salvation. This day, He says, this day is salvation come to
thy house. Salvation is not a creed, salvation is not a church,
salvation is not baptism, salvation is not the Lord's Supper,
salvation is not membership with any Church, salvation is a
I'KHSox. Remember that. Jesus says, " I have come to abide
in thy house, and I am thy salvation." " Behold, God is my
salvation, I will trust and not be afraid for the Lord Jehovah Is
my strength and my song, and He also is become my salvation,
therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of
salvation." "And received him joyfully." Dear soul, receive
Christ as He offers himself to you, receive Him as your
Saviour, and then you begin to enjoy salvation. " This day,
Zaccheus, salvation in my person has come to thv house to
abide."
But the Jjord Jesus has more for the soul than mere salva-
tion from the guilt of sin, precious, precious as that is. That
is only the beginning of the blessings that He pours upon the
soul ; the Lord Jesus by His indwelling then delivers the soul
from all lukewarmness in the things of God. What is the
Church of God sutiering from to-day i It is suffering from
lukewarmness. We find very few people who have the courage
1 1
}
1 1
52
"TO-DAY I MIST ABIDE IN THY HOISE."
!■ ,
fl!
Ill .i
Pi 5
of their convictions, wu timl very few men that have a back-
hone left in tlieiii. They are just like theological jelly-fishes.
You push them this way and they will come this way, and you
push them that way and they will ^o that way ; but few know
wliat it is to stand lirm upon the Word and everlasting trutii
of God ; they are carried about by every wind of doctrine, by
the sleight of men and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in
wait to deceive. Oh, for a ..-creation of backbones in the
members of the Church of God. Dear souls, what will make a
man strong to stam the current of unbelief and false teaching
that is blasting the Church of ( Jod ? Nothing but Christ living
within you, nothing but that will do it. Jesus says to the
Church of Laodicea, the final stage of the Church — he says,
" Thou art neither cold nor hot, thou are lukewarm. I would
thou wert either "old or hot, so because thou art lukewarm,
and neither cold noi iiot, I will spew thee out of my mouth."
" Behold " — a glorious behold — " I stand at the door and knock ;
if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to
him and will sup with him and he with me." Thus, you see,
the remedy for lukewarmness of heart is Christ coming to
abide in your soul by the power of the Holy Gho.st.
Jesus also says to the Church of Laodicea, " Because thou
sayest I am rich and increased with goods, and have need of
nothing ; and thou knowest not that thou art wretched and
miserable and poor and blind and naked," — " Behold, I stand
at the door and knock."' Christ coming to dwell in my heart
delivers me from all sense of .self-.satisfaction or .satisfaction
with my past experiences. Whenever a soul begins to get
satisfied with itself, that soul has already begun to back.slide
from God. The healthiest sign of the soul is to .say, "Lord, I
am nothing, thou art all ; that I am nothing, thou art all, I
would be daily taught."
"Lord Jesus Christ, grow thou in me, jind all things else recede.
My heart be daily nearer thee, from sin be daily freed."
When the Lord Jesus comes into a human soul in the power
of His spirit. He brings victory with Him, victory over every
sin. NoAV, there are many real Christians struggling helplessl}-
against the power of their inwai'd corruption; they do not know
how to get victory over their lusts, over their tempers, over their
« covetousne.ss, over their likes and dislikes, and they think they
must go on this way ^.o the end of their days. I wish to tell
you that the remedy for all inward sin or outward sin is the
T(>-I)AV r MIST ABIDE IN THV HoI'SE.
y.i
iinlwellini,' of the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ brings His holinoss
with Him when He comes within ; Christ sheds abroad the
iif^ht of everhisting love and gives victory within. Have you
noticed what we read in tlie twenty-fourth Psahn, " Lift up
your heads, ye gates ; and be j-e lift up, ye everlasting doors;
and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of
glory ? The Lord of hosts, mighty in battle, he is the King
of glorv." Brother, that battle is to be fought down here.
There will be no battles to be fought up there. We won't need
the Lord of hosts as the God of battles when we get up there,
but we need the Almighty God down here as the God to tight
our battles. " Stand still," He says, you do not need to tight
in this battle, but the Lord your God, He it is that tighteth for
you. And the secret of victory over sin is to have quiet in your
heart, to be still before God, and say, " O Lord God, I am help-
loss; () Lord (Jod, I am impure; O Lord God, thou alone
knowest the sea of corruption that surges at times within my
heart ; O Lord God, what am I to do ?" and the answer comes,
' Do nothing, do nothing." " Nothing, Lord ? " " Yes, nothing,
just open thy being to me and let me in, and I will do all the
tighting." " The Lord of hosts, mighty in battle, will fight for
thee and thou shalt hold thy peace." This is what Jesus does
when He abides in the soul. He brings His perfect peace with
Him, and He h'ghts for you, and you stand by and smile while
the Spirit of (iod tights for yon. "The tiesh lusteth against
the Spirit, and the Spirit against the tie.sh," but it is the Spirit
of ( iod that is to do the fighting in" you, and not your new
nature. The Almighty Holy Ghost, even He fights for you and
you hold your peace. I wonder how many of the Christians
in Toronto have found out the secret of victory over sin through
faith in the Son of God ? Notice how St. Paul describes his
life. He says, "I have been crucified with Christ, it is no
longer I that live but Christ is living in me, Christ is living in
me, and the life that I now live in the tlesh I live by the faith
of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me."
So Paul says that his life was owing to this fact only that
Jesus Christ was living in him in power. ' There is nothing in
me," says Paul. "Don't look at me as if I were a wonderful man ;
by the grace of God I am what I am, for Christ is living in
me." We need in these days a company of Christians who
know that Christ is living in them by the power of the Holy
(ihost, and then everything becomes new. May God teach the
dear Christians of Toronto the blessed secret of the indwelling
of Christ. Again, when Christ comes to dwell in your heart;
; I
:
' 1
1>i .1 1
!i'i
III
-:! 'i
I \
64
"ni-DAV I MIST ABIDK IN THY HOTSE.
for the first time you understand what the "true unity of the
Church ol' God is. What does it say in the seventeenth
chapter of St. John :" " I in thee and thou in me that they may
be made perfect in one, and that the world may beUeve that
thou hast sent me." The work of God is sadly hindered in
these days by our unhappy divisions, and Satan triumphs
because of these outward divisions. Now, .some people
think that if you were to join all the outward branches of the
Church together, the Church would move on to victory.
There never was a greater mistake. If to-morrow all the
Baptists, Presbyterians, Church of England, Plymouth Brethren,
the Greek Church and the Roman Catholics were all joined
into one Catholic Church, it would be the greatest calamity
that ever happened to Christendom, because God would not
believe in that unity ; it would be a satanic unity of worldli-
ness and unforgiven sin and uncleansed hearts. The onlj' unity
that God believes in is Christ dwelling in me and Christ
dwelling in you, and when we know that experimentally, then
we draw near to one another, then we love one another almost
unconsciously, and then we bear with one another's follies,
failures and mi.stakes, and love rules our inner being. That is
( Jod's way for uniting His people. " I in them and thou in
me that they may be made perfect in one." O God, bring
about unity through the indwelling of Christ in the hearts of
His people. This is what we need.
I wish to give you now a practical example of what I mean
by Christ dwelling in the heart. I have been putting theory
before you, but I wish to translate theory into practice. I have
told vou that when Jesus comes to dwell in the heart He brings
salvation with Him, casts out lukewarmness, takes away all
dissatisfaction, and becomes the strength, victory, and purity of
that human heart. He becomes all to that soul. Let me give
you an instance. There was a good clergyman in the north of
England, and he was an earnest worker in his parish, but he
had one sad failing, and that was he had a most ungovernable
temper ; and I need scarcely tell you that although he preached
well on Sundaj , his sermons hadn't much effect on Monday,
because he used to lose his temper with his parishioners repeat-
edly. Now, he was a real Christian man. Remember this. He
was a real Christian man, but he had never found out the secret
of victory over his tempei*. He used to come back to his study
and cast himself on his knees, and say, " O God, how I disgraced
myself to-day. O God, I lost my temper with that man, what is
the use of my ministry i I might just as well give up in des-
"T<)-1)AV I MIST ABIDE IN THY HOUSE.'
.)■>
pair." One day the poor man had a terrific outburst of temper,
and he was heartily ashamed of himself, and lie went back and
threw himself on his knees, on the study floor, and said, " O my
liod, O my God, must I always go on like this i" I have stru<>-
;,ded aj^ainst my temper, I have prayed against my temper, and
I am as bad as ever. my ( Jod, teach me the secret of victory
over sin." Ah. he had never prayed like that before, he used
to just ask God to forgive him, and than he would get up and
struggle again, and that is the way some of you have been
going on. But now he asked God with an honest heart, " O
God, teach me the secret of victory over sin," and (iod taught
him the secret that very night in rather a strange dream. He
thought he was in his study, and he looked upon the floor and
was surprised to see it all covered with dust and dirt, and then
he looked out of the study window, and saw the Lord Jesus
walking slowly up toward the rectory door, and he said, " Oh,
my Lord is coming and my house is filthy ; I must get my
house cleaned before the Lord Jesus comes." He took a
broom and began to sweep out his study, with the natural
re.sult that the dust rose in clouds, and nearly choked him.
Then he laid down the broom utterly exhausted, and a knock
came to the rectory door, and he heard the words, " Let
me in." No, he wouldn't do that ; he just took the broom
again and began to sweep with redoubled energy, and again he
laid down the broom utterly exhausted, and again the voice
said " Let me in," and he rose and went slowly toward the
rectory door, and he lifted the latch (the latch is your will, my
brother), he lifted the latch and flung open the door, and the
Lord looked him in the face and said, " Behold, I will sprinkle
clean water upon thee. From all thy filthiness and from all
thine idols I will cleanse thee," and with these words of the
thirty-sixth chapter of Ezekiel ringing in his ears the clergy-
man awoke, and behold it was a dream. He came down to
breakfast, and told his wife and his son the dream he had had.
The young man was just beginning to find out the difficulties of
manhood, and he said to himself, " Well, what is good for my
father will be good for me, and I will trust God to save me in
the same way," and at that breakfast table the clergyman's son
opened his whole being to the Lord Jesus Christ — saved at a
breakfast table. You see the mistake that that clergj-man had
made ; he was trying to sweep his own heart and you have
been trying to do that, you have been trying to sweep your own
heart clean — and the Lord Jesus says, " Stop all that, and let
me in and I will cleanse thee, I will .sprinkle clean water upon
1 1
Hi
(7
i
I
I «!
56
"TO-DAY I MUST AIUDE IN THY HOUSE.'
thee, and I will deliver thee from all thy sins." Oh, open to
Him to-ni<,'ht and let .lesus have His own way with you, and
you will find that every word I have said to-night is niatfniH-
cently true, that Jesus is ecjual to every occasion, that He is a
true and faithful witness, and knows how to cleanse a man's
inner being from all sin. Oh, praise be to the Lord Jesus who
otters him.self as our indwelling Saviour to-night, to Him who will
take control of my spirit, soul and body, and will preserve me
blameless until His coming again. " Faithful is he that calleth
you to thi.s blessing who also will do it.' Oh, may (Jod sanctify
you wholly, and I pray God that your whole spirit, and soul,
and body be preserved blameless until the coming of our Lord
Je.sus Christ — and between you and me I don't think that that
coming is very far off. Jesus, come now to the heart of
every man here, for that is the only real preparation for thy
glorious coming in the clouds of heaven to catch up thy waiting
people to thyself. The Lord ble.ss every one of }'ou, and may
He come to abide in thy house to-night for His name's sake.
Amen.
i
!i W:.
;1 t' 'I
nil-: jri)(;Mi':xr sp:at of ciirist
" We sli.ill all stand hufore tlie judi,'inont seat of Clirist." (Kmnaiis
XIV. 10.)
Ami tlie twelfth verse :
" So then every one of lis almll yive atcount i>f himself tu (tod."
MV .subject, therefore, to-night, is the believer in Christ
.standing before the judgment seat; and I wish to state
very particuhirly to-night in what respects I, as a true
believer, will be judged by my Lord and Saviour.
There is scarcely any subject that people are so misty upon
in the present day as the subject of judgment. Some people,
because they are so misty, avoid it altogether ; and some min-
isters never mention it, because they have no settled convictions
one way or the other ; but we dare not treat the Word of God
in that way. I desire to tind out how I, as a believer in the
Lord Jesus Christ, shall give account of myself hereafter to
Ciod. What will the Lord say to me, and what shall 1 say to
Him '. What are the principles by which the Lord will look
into my life \
Now, I want to clear this subject from misconception, first
of all. I want to make one plain statement before I go any
further, and it is this: When we, as believers in the Lord
Jesus Christ, stand before His judgment seat hereafter, we shall
stand there in glorified resurrection bodies ; for the trumpet
will have sounded, and the dead will have been raised, and we
shall have been caught up in the air to meet the Lord, and so
.shall we ever be with the Lord. Hence, I deduce this : When
a believer stands before the judgment seat, he will not .stand
there to find out whether he is to be saved or not — that is a
thing that must be settled down here on earth. But all the
same, you will be judged by the Lord Jesus Christ in .some very
important respects, which I will mention.
Now, first of all, let us notice that the believer is saved down
here on earth the instant he commits himself to the Lord Jesus
58
THE .11 IKi.MKXT M:AT n|' (UltlsT.
*, !;
■
1'
ii!
(
m >
^i
Cy'hrist. I want to j,nve you two or tluoe verses that prove iii-
contestibly tluit the believer in Christ pusses out of deatli into
life, and is in the present possession of salvation when ho
believes on Jesus down here. For example, John v. 24: " Verily,
verily, I say unto thee, he that heareth my word and believeth
on him that sent me, hath everlastinj; life, and shall not eomo
into condemnation, but is passed froni death unto life." Take,
a};[ain, the thirty-eij,'ht and thirty-ninth verses of the thirteenth
chapter of Acts : " lie it known unto you, therefore, men and
brethren, that throu^di this man — Christ Jesus — is ])reached
unto you the forgiveness of sins, and by him all that believe are
justified from all things, from which ye could not be justitieil
by the law of Closes." That verse tells me that when I connnit
my guilty soul into the safe-keeping' of the Lord Jesus Christ,
there and then He pronounces eternal absolution over me, and
I am justified from all things. Take a third verse ; look at the
eighth chapter of Romans and the first verse : " There is there-
fore now "' — it is a present reality — "There is therefore now no
condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus." Now, that
settles the point once for all, that when a guilty sinner commits
himself to Jesus down here on earth, Jesus there and then pro-
nounces him guiltless and absolves him from all and every sin.
I want you to be clear to-night, that 1 am only speaking of the
judgment of true believers : I am not speaking of the judgment
of unbelievers before the great white throne. Well, you say to
me, if 1 am already saved when I trust myself to Christ down
here, what is the use of a judgment ^ I was always taught,
you say, that no one could know they were ^ ved until they
stood at the judgment bar of God, and that
sum up all their good deeds on the one side ana
deeds on the other, and if one preponderated, tht
saved or lost accordingly. Oh, if you think that
know the smallest thing about the Gospel of the
Christ, you have not the smallest idea of
the grace of God really means.
You ask me in what respects then shall
won't be judged there, to find out whether
You will be judged in three respects.
First of all, all your works as a believer from the day you
believed in the Lord Jesus Christ to the moment you met Christ
in the air at the resurrection — will pass in review before the
eyes of the Lord Jesus Christ. I prove that from the 3rd chap-
ter of 1st Corinthians. Listen to this, " Every man shall
receive his own reward according to his own labor. According
God would
1 their bad
you were
you do not
Lord Jesus
what salvation by
I be judged, if I
I am saved or not.
. fi'
THE Jl DtiMENT SEAT < "F rllUlST.
O'J
to the <,'race of ( iod wliich is given unto ine, I have hiid the
foundation and another man huildeth thereon. Hut let each
man tal<e heed how he huiUleth thereon. For other foun-
dation can no man hiy than ti)at is hiid, which is tiesus Chri>t.
Now, if any man build upon this ft)undation i^^old, silver, precious
stones, wood, hay, stubble, each man's work shall l)e made nwmi-
fest for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by
tire, an<l the fire shall try each man's work (if what sort it is.
If any man's work abide, which he hath built thereupon, he
shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he
shall suffer lo.ss, but " — oh, a most important but — " but he
himself sliall be saved," — his personality shall l)e preserved, he
will not be de.stroyed — " he himself shall be saved yet so as
throuj^h lire." What does that expression " .so as throujjh tire '
mean i" Vou see it is a figurative expression " so av through
fire." Supposing you wei'e awaked in the middle of the night
with a cry of " Fire, fire," and you find your house is on fire
and you have just time to escape from your burning house
with your life, but you see your house and all your family valu-
ables burned to aslies : you yourself are saved, yet saved " so
as through fire." There will be many believers in the day of
Christ's judgment that will see the greater part of their Chris-
tian lives burned up as useless. Their souls will be saved, their
salvation will be left to them, because they trusted in Jesu>
but they will see large tracts of their Christian life burned up
as useless, and the Lord will .say, " ^ly child, I can give thee no
reward for that." Well now you say to me, " How shall I find
out that what I do every (lay is 'gold, silver, and precious
stones ' in the eyes of Jesus, or only ' wood, hay, stubble ' ^" It
is a most important thing for me to know that my service is
gold and silver and sparkling precious stones in the eyes of mv
Master, and that I am not building up a huge structure of
wood, hay, and stubble. What is it that turns a believer's
works into gold, and what is it that turns them into wood in
the eyes of God ? Your works will be judged in two respects :
first of all, as to their quality. Look at the 6th chapter of
Ephesians, and the 7th verse, and you will see what it is that
gives a good quality to 3'our works ; there we read, " Not with
eye-service as men pleasers, but as the servants of Christ doing
the will of God from the heart ; with goodwill, doing service as
to the Lord and not unto men ; knowing that whatsoever good
thing any man doeth the same .shall he receive from the Lord
whether he be bond or free." Look again at the 3rd of Colos-
sians and the 23rd verse, " Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily as
i
60
THE .It ii(;.mi:nt skat ok (JIIUIST.
, (
r
to tli(3 Loi'il, (itid not unto man, kiiowin;^' that from the Lord ye*
shiill i'('cu;i\H' tht! rewiinl of tin; inhoritanco; for yo servo tin'
liord Clirixt." That cxpreHsioji "as to the Ijonl," is what turns
all that I <lo into ;^n)l(l, silver atnl j>ri'cious stones, in the eyes
of my Lord and Saviour. Kvcrytiiin^' that I do with a single
oyt' toward the Lord .lesus — l/mf sparkles like jjold, silver and
[)recious stones in His eyes. Kvc^rythin^ that I do to hring
j;lory to myself, or glory to my particular denomination, or to
my parish, or to my family a// f/mf will hcs hurncd up as use-
less in the day of (Christ's searching judgment. ( )idy tluit
which brings glory to the pevson of the Lord .lesus will ahide
in those days. An<l the (juality of your work also depend.s
upon the power hy winch you do it. Suppose I go into a fac-
tory and 1 say, " What is the power that moves all these wheels
here r' The man replies "Stean)." Well, then, I take it for
granted that all those wheels are moved by the one power,
steam. Now, what is the (Miristian's power in work ^ St. Paul
tells us that Christ is the power of God. I wonder how much
of Christian work is done by the power of Christ ? Oh, if our
.so-called church and Christian work were really done by the
power of Christ, we would see far greater results than we do.
If Jesus were the power of our hearts, then there would be a
wonderful change in the effects that our lives would produce.
The Lord Jesus said, " I can of mine own self do nothing, but
the Father who dwelleth in me, he doeth my works," and
.lesus .said that it is only as He abides in us that we can do the
works of God. I pray that Jesus Christ may become known
to all the Christians here as the power of your work and the
wisdom of your plans. The Lord teach you how to work in
Christ, and that Christ is the power of your lives.
But your works will also be judged in another respect. We
Hnd in the nineteenth chapter of St. Luke, " It came to pass
that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then
he commanded those .servants to be brought unto him, to whom
he had given the money, that he might know how much every
inan had gained by trading " There you have the quantity of
your works judged. How many lazy Chriatians there are who
never put themselves out for the wovk of God, who never put
themselves to the smallest inconvenience. God will say, " You
were lazy, you didn't work with all your heart for me, I cannot
give you a reward." One of the most bitter curses in the whole
Bible is directed against the city of Meroz. What was Meroz ?
It was a city that overhung the plain of Esdrailon, and the
inhabitants of Meroz wouldn't join with Israel, nor would they
I-
THK .IIIKJMKNT sKAT OK rllHIST.
01
join with Isnid's eiiciiiit's ; they tried to lie ncutnil in Lho p;roat
liiittit) that went on hi'twucn iMniol urul Isniel's t'ocs, and after
Israel luid ,1,'ot the victory over .lahin, Kinjj of Caunan, (Jod
coniiiianded His servant to curse tlie Mero/ites. "(-'ursc yt>
.Mero/,," saiil the an<,'el of the liOi'd, "curse ye bitterly tim
iiihaliitants thereof ; hecausc tliey canu; not to the help of the
Lord a«;ainst the nii^dity." Mero/ was cursed for doin^j nothing,',
Mero/ was cursed for its inditlerence, and Mero/ was cursed for
its neutrality. There are many peoph; who say in these days,
" ( >h, I stand on neutral ''round with rciiard to reli<'ion ! " You
cannot stand on neutral <,'round. .Shall I tell you why ;' He-
cause there is not a foot of neutral ground to stand on. Vou
must be either all for ( Jod or all for the devil. (Jod won't allow
you to .stand on neutral ji^round, and you will find at the judg-
ment seat that that neutrality has a curse appended to it. The
greatest sin sometimes that a man can conmiit is not to act
when he ought to act. Oh, may the Lord bring you into sub-
servience of heart to the commands of tlie Lord .Jesus, for 1
know that His connnandment is life everlasting.
Further, when I stand before the judgment seat not only my
ivod's as a Christian shall be judged, but my words as a
Christian. The Fjord .lesus has .said, "Verily, verily, I say
unto you, every idle word that men shall speak, tliey shall
give account thereof in the day of judgment." Would it not
be well if that verse were written up in our stores, and offices,
and banks, and stock exchanges, and especially our churches,
for there is no place in the world where so many idle words are
spoken to God as in our churches. We think we may .say any-
thing to God, we think we may kneel down and repeat any
sort of prayers to God, we think we may sing any hymns to
(iod, and }Ie does not mind so long as the service is performed.
Oh, foolish people that we are ! The idle words that we speak
to God I The idle prayers that we pray to God I The Lord
deliver us from idle speaking to God and from idle singing to
God, for all that we shall meet at the judgment seat. Oh, that
a spirit of reality in prayer and praise may be ))Oured forth
upon us throughout all our churches, then your church services
would become the very gate of heaven to your soul. My idle
words will be judged there, every story 1 may have circulated
about another brother. I may have said a thino: even though. 1
may not have known it to be strictly true; and even if a thing
is true why should I circulate it. for love covereth all sins. Mow
am ] to get delivered from idle words ^ By my heart getting
tilled with the love of Christ. There is no other way. " Out
02
TIIK .11 IM.MIAT >K\T <iK r||l{|ST.
ii
i!)i
of tlu! ahuniliuicc dI" tlic ln-iirt tlm iiioutli xpt'iikcth. " A ;j;<)oil
iiiim out of tli(! ;,'ooil tiviisiirc of his liciirt lii'iii„'t'tli fortli ^ooil
tliiM<,'s. nil evil 11)1111 out of till' t'vil tn-iiHinv l»iin^'i'tli foitli I'vil
tliinf^s." nil, that tilt! Holy (Jhost iimy ^'iv»! us tonL;ut'S of iiiv
to It'll of till! ;j[lory of tho Lonl .Ii-suh,
Now, the tliii<l thiriL,'. Vou will fiml it in 1st CorinthianH
iv. T). 'I'lion.' we read, "Juilift' nothing' licfoif the time until
tho Lonl coint', who hoth will \mu'^ to li^'ht the hiiidcii thin;{s
of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the lu'artH,
an<l then shall evi!ry man have praise from (iod." So this
verse tells me that the very counsels of my heart -the inwanl
thou<^hts, my inward purposes and plans — -will be revoaleil to
me then. Tlu! liord will not allow me to wron;^ my fellow-
Christian even in thou<fht. Many of us are too politic to say
openly all that we think, and we wron<^' our Christian brother
in our hearts, though we are very polite to him with our
tongues. Hut (Jod says, " At the judgment seat I will reveal
your very thoughts to you, I won't allow you to wrong one of
my children even in the thought of your heart," The thoughts
of my heart are to be matle pure by the indwelling Holy (ihost,
and that is the only remedy. If 1 am bearing about the burden
of ail unclean heart, the I-iord .lesus Christ can come into my
nature, the Lord Jesus Christ can so possess ino that He will
open a fountain of purity of thought, a fountain of holy love
in this .soul of mine if I will allow Him; the Lord .lesus can
make the counsels of your heart right. Oh, be very careful
about your inward thought ; guard the Hrst springs of thought
and will, and ask God to Kll you with His Spirit that you may
be pure. Take care of the fountain-head and then the source
will be pure. The counsels of my heart — of my heart — will be
revealed in that day.
Well, you say to me this is a very solemn subject. Of course
it is. I do not think there is a more solemn subject in creation
than this — a man's personal responsibility to his God and
Saviour, a man giving account of himself to God.
What will the result of this be ! The first result will be that
all God's dealing.'? with His Church will be vindicated. Very
often we cannot understand now why Clod treats one man this
way and another man that way — why God leaves that man
there with his health, why Goil takes away that man's health,
or God leaves that Christian with $20,000 a year, and He takes
every penny away from that other man. Oh, what .strange
things happen in the providence of God ! Whenever you try to
tind out reasons for the orovidence of God, your soul surely gets
TiiK .11 iMiMKNT >y.\\' <>y iiinivr
m
into (liirktit'^N. Doii't !»' ri'ii^diuii'^ with (ioil uliout Hi- provi-
<li'iu!i's, liutjust Itow low lii't'uit' Mini mill say. () (iml, t<'ac!l»
iiic th*' luHsun thou hast for iiu' to lt>uni from what has hap-
piiit'ij to nil' ; let ini' have the heart ()f a little cliilil, for what I
im'h'r.staml not now I shall lunh-rstuml hiTcaftcr. I''ur Chri.st
has sai<l, " If I wash thco not, thou hast no part with uu\"
('hrist is washin;;; the ft'i't of His Church now \>\ Mis stranijo
mill wonderful providenci'^'.
r»ut I will tell you another etlt^ct. \nu will receivt; thf
rewnnl. Salvation is alto<f»'tlu'r l)y ^lace, lait 1 <;et a reward
lor my service. I am saved as a son of (Jod. and 1 am rt'warded
and '^vt my due place in etertiity as tlio servant of (Jod. .Wiw,
this reward is typified l»y the word "crown," and there ant
three special crowns mentioned in the New Testament for three
•special sorts of service. For example, in the tirst cha|)ter of
St. .lames we read, " IJlessed is the man that endureth lt'iii/>tn-
hdii. for after he has lieen tried he sliall receive the crown of
life which the l-ord hath promised to them that love him." If
there is any Christian man underL,'oini( special temptation as I
speak to-ni;,dit, I say, "clietir up, my hrother : don't allow the
<levil to knock you (lovvn, for CJoil ha.s, for the nmn that stands
firm amid.st temptation to evil, a special reward. Von will
receive a crown of life, namely, the very fulness of the life of
(lo<l will he revealed to your soul. Then we read in '1 Tim. iv.
^ : " 1 have fought a i^ood flight, I have finished my course,
henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of rifjiiteousness
which the Lord tlie righteous judge shall give me at that day,
and not to me only, hut unto all them also that love his
appearing."
So there is a .special crown of righteousness for those who
run till' nice strdiijlif to (im/.
I wonder how many here love the second advent of the Lord
•lesus. I womler how many here look forward with joy to the
time when our dark skies shall blaze with tiie second advent
glory of the Lord Jesus, and when we shall rise to meet Him
in the air. Do you love the appearing of your Saviour?
Would you like mo to announce that at twelve o'clock to-night
the dark skies of Toronto will be illuminated by the personal
glory of the Lord Jesus coming in the clouds of heaven to take
His people to himself, and to put an end to all earth's wars and
jars and sins ! Would it be good news to you. Christian brother,
or would you shrink back in trembling and say, " Oh, I have a
good many things to set right; first of all. there are things in my
business that are not quite straight ; things in my family life,
'ii|
ii
II r
i '
ii I
l! t
i :
... i »
r ! I
■'ii!
I V
G4
TI'E .iriXi.MKNT SEAT oK CHUlST.
thin<i;.s in my heart. I sliould not like the Lord Jesus to t'onie at
twelve o'clock to-iiiijht." The test of lovin<; the appeariny; of
the Lord Jesus is a very searcliinj; one. Do you love the
appearing' of the Lord Jesus ( Tlu're is a crown of righteous-
ness for those who love His appearin<^.
A word to the ministers and the Christian workers here.
St. Peter saj's in the Hfth chapter of liis first epistle, " When
the chief shepherd shall appear, ye ' — the under shej^herds- -
"shall receive a crown of ijflorv that fadeth not away." Jf we
have heen faithful to the char^'c that CJoil has j^iven us, if we
have fed the Hock of God and not fed ourselves, if we have
labored for the jjood of the sheep and not merely for ourselves,
Jesus says, " Oh, thou under shepherd, I will j^ive thee a crown
of glory that fadeth not away." Satan hates a faithful minister
of the Gospel ; if there is one person in the world against whom
Satan levels all his poisonous shafts, it is a faithful minister of
theCJospel. Satan will try and turn that manaside to philosophy,
or worldliness, or .sensuality, or even to nice organizations, that
have not the power of ( 'hrist in them, and it doe.s not matter
to him so long as you do not preach Jesus. V'ou may preacli
temperance or social schemes, or the abolition of war ; you may
preach a wh lot oi good things, but if you are not preaching
Christ cruci. J, and Christ risen, and Christ coming again,
Satan Inugiis at you, oh, thou minister of the Gospel, for he
knows that thy ministry will be an utter failure in the
end, an utter failure. It is only the preaching of the Lord
Jesus that stirs .souls to the very depths and brings them out
of the darkness of nature, into the light of the resurrection
life of Christ. The Lord bless every faithful minister of the
Gospel in Toronto, and keep him with his heart straight toward
God ; he .shall I'eceive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.
Let me say one woril about unfaithful ministers of the
Gospel. ( >h, this is only too .sadly true what I am about to tell
you. It happened twenty-tive years ago in a town in Hamp-
shire, in England. There was a clerg^'man there who was a
rector of a parish, and he went through his ordinary round of
services Sunthiy after Sunday, but there were no converts, nor
did they expect any, find this man came down to breakfast one
morning, and his wife noticed that his face was as pale as
death, and .she said, " My dear, you look very ill. What is the
matter with you ? I never saw you look like that before." " I
have reason to be ill,' he .said, "I had a most awful dreanj."^
" Oh, dreams «,re nothing," .she said, " dreams are nothing. Vou
are too sensible a man to miml dreams." "Well, I don't know,"
"11 ]■
THK .UnOMENT SKAT <>K CIIUIST.
i;.')
lio saiti, "tlicro is .somothiu<r in this dream." " Whiit is it'"
said she. "Oh," said he, "I dreaiiicd that I wa.s staiidinij hel'oro
the judj^iiu'iit seat of Christ, and t\\i\ Lord .le.sus looked uw in
the faei' and said, ' Where are the souls of the children that I
j^ave you !' and 1 -aid, ' I do not know, Lord, 1 do not know.
Lord : ' and He saiti, ' VVliere are tlie souls of the servants that
stayed in your house :'' and I said, 'I do not know. Lord, 1 never
spoke to any of them ; ' and Ke .said, ' Where are the souls of the
(•.)n<,n'egation that I appointed you to minister toi*' and I said,
' < ) liord, I do not know, I never spoke to any of them.' And as
1 said those words I seemed to sink into perdition, and I thou;;ht,
oh, I thoui^ht, ' tliat 1 was hunted tiiroujjh hell by the souls of
my own con<;re«^ation, and I awoke.'" And a.s the mini.ster .said
tliose words he shivered and fell over against his wife, deaii.
Oh, dear friends. I want to utter a note of warninjjj to the
Christian workers here, and the Christian niinistens here. It
is an \insi)eakably .solemn thing to say, "I have the care of
souls, I have been .set by God as a watchman in this city, I
have been ajipointed by Ood to warn people." "(Jive them
warninjjf from me," .saith the Lord, " but if thou wai'n not the
wicked man, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his
lilood I will retjuire at thy hand." Have we ministers time for
concerts, and tiiiie for amusements, and just try to please our
l)oople i' Remember this, that St. Paul says, "If I yet please
men 1 should not be the servant of Chi'ist." It is a very solemn
thinj; to be a servant of the Lord .lesus Christ, for then your
life lias to <i;o aijainst the current of the whole world.
Now, let me <jjive you an instance from the life of a layman.
This man of whom I am talking; now, was a C^hristian man
belon<j;inif to a certain congregation, but he was a very lazy
Christian man, and one night he had this dream, lie dreamed
that he found him.self in heaven, and his heart was ravished
with the glory. " Oh, I an in heaven at last," he said, and an
angel came to him and .said, "Sir, come with me and I will show
you the palace where the crowns are kept." And he found him-
si'lf in a glorious building, and all around the wads were tiers
dl' crowns, oh, tens of thousands of sparkling crowns. " That
crown there," said the angel, " is for Mr. ." " Mr. ,"'
he said; "why lie lives in the next house to me, but we think
him rather peculiar. He was converted about five years ago,
and lu! actually gives tracts away in the trains .sometimes, and
he s))eaks to people personally about their souls, and the rest
of the men avoid him, they think him cracked on religion." "I
wish to tell you," said the angel, "that the Lord thinks him tlio
li(i
THE .ll'DGMENT SEAT uE CHRIST.
i
i I
'. l
I'!
' It-
'-'>
• li-
most sensible man in your town, ami that crown is for him."
Then the gentleman said, "Who is that crown for :*" and tht^
an;i,'el passed it over and said nothing about it, and went on to
a third. " That .specially bright crown is for Mrs.- •." " Mrs.
," said the gentleman, " why she is a widow and she is the
mother of eleven children." " Ves," said the angel, " yes, she h u
widow and the mother of eleven children. And what did yon
do for her eleven children when her husband died and left her
with scarcely anything to support her ;" What did you do for
that widow :'" " Well, I — I — 1 meant to send her something. '
" Yes, but you never did it," said the angel. " No, I never did
it," he said. " Well, that crown is for Mrs. . because, owing
to their mother's consistent Cliristian life, those eleven boys
and girls are growing up Christians, every one of them. That
specially bright crown is for that Christian mother." " Please, "
•said the gentleman, " tell me for whom that crown is that you
passed over." " Yes," said the angel, " if you wish to know.
Sir, that crown was for you, but you have lost it through your
laziness," and with those words the gentleman awoke, and he
fell down on his knees in the early morning by his bedside, and
said, " O God, my Father, years ago I trusted in the Lord Jesus
to save me, but I have allowed the world, and its riches and
pleasures to come in, and thy Word has been choked in my
heart, and I have become unfruitful, and there is a great dis-
tance between my soul and thee ; O Lord, restore me once
more, and take the fragments of my life and do what thou
canst even with the fragments, for I remember, my blessed
Saviour, that once thou didst say, ' Gather up the fragments
that remain, that nothing be lost ;' Lord Jesus of thy mercy,
take the fragments of mj^ wasted life and do what thou canst
with them." And there and then the Lord Jesus accepted the
fragments of that man's life, and I wish to tell you for your
encouragement, that that man became a most earnest worker
for Christ, and a winner of souls to Him, and that man will
infallibly get his reward, for even if you give a cup of cold
water to a little child in the name of a disciple, you will in no
wise lose your reward.
Now, dear souls, how is it with you ? I understand that a
large number of real Christians are attending these mission
services ; I know it by the way you sing the hynuis ; I know
it by the look of a great many of 3'ou, for though you are
looking at my face, I am looking at your faces, too, and I see
and can tell by the look on the faces of many here that you
have peace in your heart, and that the Lord tfesus is precious
THE .iriMiMKXT SKAT <>F CHRIST.
(J7
41
to you ; V)ut oh, have 3'ou laid your lives at the feet of Jesus ^
Oh, <loes til}' heart bear witness, that spirit, soul and body are
irreversibly surrendered to the Lord desus Christ, that you
have handed yourself over to Him to do as He likes with you,
even to appoint you youi" service and to give you the power in
which to serve ? The Ijord lead everyone to this for His
name s sake.
But let me just clo.se by noticing one or two things ; I have
spoken for a long time to-night, but I cannot help that. Just
notice this. What did Paul say that the judgment seat did fur
him 1 Paul says that the judgment seat of Christ made him
<lo three things. First of all, he .says it made him please God
wherever he was. He says we are ambitious to be well
pleasing to Him. for we must all appear before the judgment
seat. It gave l^.uil a sinjjcle eve toward the Lord Jesus Christ.
Then he says in '2nd Corinthians, .5th chapter and llth verse,
that it made him plead earnestly with people to turn to God
and to be saved. " Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord
we persuade men." Oh, when the fear of judgment is in your
own soul, then j'^ou are able to plead with others, and people
believe that God is speaking through you. Vou know what
the terror of God is, and so you can speak to others. And
thirdly, he says that the judgment seat of Christ prevented
him judging anybody else. "Let us not, therefore, judge one
another any more, but judge this rather that no man put a
stumbling-block, or an occasion to fall, in his brother's way."
It made him very particular about his walk as a Christian, that
he should walk consistently before God, and he brought the
judgment seat of Christ down to his very dinner table. Paul
judged himself in eating and drinking, and in whatever he
allowed him^jelf to do. He said, " It is good neither to eat flesh
nor to drink wine, nor anything whereby thy brother r^tumbleth
or is en,snared or is made weak." The judgment seat of Christ
w\\\ make me very careful about my personal habits, as to
what I eat and what I drink, lest my personal habits should
liecome a stumbling-block to them that are weak. Dearest
brother, ask the Lord Jesus to give you grace to bring His
judgment seat down into every detail of your Christian life,
and then you will walk consistently before God, and you will
have this testimony in your heart that you please God, and
that was the testimony that Enoch had before he was caught
up to heaven to meet the Lord. God enable every Christian
liere to humble himself before God, and to allow the light of
the judgment seat to reach his .soul so that he may walk before
God with an honest heart, for Christ's sake. Amen.
I 1;
CHRIST OUR PASSOXHR.
hii
'* Purge out therefore the old leaven, thiit ye may be a new luniji, ;ih ye
are unleavened. P'or even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us : There-
fore let us kee|) the feast, not with old leaven, neitlier with the Icivon of
malice and wickedness ; but with the unleavened bread of sinceiit v and
truth."— 1 Corinthians v. 7. 8.
m
{;
\a
V:
'>'-i
A i.
CHRIST our passover is sacrificed for us : Therefore let us
keep the feast." So, in the name of God the Father, God
the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, I invite everyone in
this hall to-night to a feast. I have no commission from God to
invite you to a funeral, becau.se the Christ that I preach to you
is the resurrection and the life and the joy of God, and, there-
fore, Christ received in the heart brings His feast with Him.
I pray that God may reveal to every soul here to-night the
secret of a perpetual fea.st witli the Lord Jesus, for very few
Christians can describe their religion as a perpetual feast with
God ; and yet, if you are trusting Him with a simple child-like
faith, He will put such merrine.ss within your heart that you
will say with Solomon, " He that is of a mei'ry heart hatii a
continual feast." Now, the Lord brood over us and enable His
own word to come with mighty power to our hearts, for I do
not think there is anything so plain as the Word of God itself.
I often think that we make the Word of God misty when we
try to explain it. Let us study this twelfth chapter of Exodus,
which tells us about the Jewish passover, and let us .see in what
respects that passover is fulfilled by Christ for us and in us.
God conunanded the Jewish nation always to remember the
Feast of the Passover. " It is a night to be much observed unto
the Lord, and ye .shall keep it a feast by an ordinance forever."
What were the most prominent characteristics of the Feast
of the Passover ? First of (ill, God conunanded that the month
in wliich they kept the Feast of the Passover was to be the
bejrinninfj of months to them. It was to be the first month of
the year to them ; in reality it was the seventh month of the
CHUIST OCR I'ASSOVEH.
G!>
year, Imt God commanded tlmt hencet'ortl. for the Jewish
nation, the .seventli month of the year should i)e considered the
Hrst month, and the Jewish year bei;ins to tliis day with the
month of Xisan or Abil>, in which the passover is kept.
What is the spiritual significance of that to us ? What <loes
that expression, " The ben[innin<j; of months." mean to us Chris-
tians ' The spiritual meaning; of that is that Gdl only reckons
a man s life from the moment that the savinrj and cleansing
ftHcacy of the blood of Christ has been applied to him. Up to
that moment a man is dead in trespasses and sins; a man is
under the condemnation of God, and there is no light within
his soul ; but as soon as the man trusts in the Lord Jesus
Christ for forgiveness of sins, there and then he begins to live;
tiiere and then new life enters into his heart; there and then
he has a second birth. So I ask you to-night, my brother, how
old are you '. my sister, how old are you '. Have you had a
second birthday '. Have you yet really begun to live in the sight
of (Jod;' For only he that hath the Son hath life, and he that
hath not the Son of God hath not life. " He that hath not the
-Son of God hath not life." You may have respectability, you
may have church membership, you may be an earnest com-
municant, you may have the greatest reverence for the things
of Ciod, but you have no life unless you have Christ Jesus as
your own. " He that hath the Son of God hath life."
Now, )<<'coi}dlij: The passover night was the beginning of a
life of perfect freedom to the whole nation of Israel. For years
past they had been a nation of slaves, but once the blood was
sprinkled on the door posts they were transformed from a nation
of slaves to a nation of warriors ; they were God's free men.
A moment before they had been Pharaoh's slaves and the task-
masters whip had come down upon their naked shoulders, but
the instant the blood was applied to the house, they were as
free as God could make them ; and it is a glorious gospel to be
able to proclaim freedom to the captive and the opening of the
prison to them that are bound. The Lord Jesus says, "He that
€ommitteth sin is the servant of sin, but if I the Son of man
shall make you free, then ye shall be free indeed." I wonder
how many Christians here to-night can testify that the Lord
Jesus Christ has made them gloriously free from the power of
their sins. Oh, I delight to preach the Gospel of freedom to
the ilown-trodden slaves of sin. ]\Iy brother, you need not
remain one second longer under the power of any sin that has
hitherto enthralled you, for Jesus has died, and He can make
you free by His Spirit within you. We are told that when our
! I'
'' I
\ i
70
CHKIST oru I'ASSOVEK.
1^
il,!:-
1 1
il
1 1 ;
is'
iff''
Mi'
w
k
.f. < 1 ■
British Parliamont many years ago freed the slaves in the
West Indies, at a cost of"^ jE'iO.OOO.OOO sterling-, some of the
captains of tiie vessels that traded with the West Indies wore
so anxious that the down-trodden slaves sliould hear the news
of freedom as ijuickly as possible, that when they would lit' a
few hundred yards from the island they put a speakin<,' trumpet
to their mouth and shouted " Libert}-, liberty, liberty,"' and
Liberty rolled over the waves and Liberty was caught up liy
the natives on the shore, and they just went almost mad with
joy in their new-found liberty. The men danced and hugi,'fd
one another on shore, and the whole island laughed out at their
new-found liberty. Jesus can give you the same joy and the
same freedom, and the same holy intoxication of the soul. The
blessed Saviour whom I preach to-night, knows how to set a
slave free and to keep him free. Let every man here know
that there is freedom for him, that you need never sin again if
only you take God's remedy and keep in God's waj', which is
abiding in Christ, for " He that abideth in Him sinneth not.'"
Oh, the Lord show us the secret of freedom in Christ Jesus,
perfect freedom, perfect freedom.
Another mark of the pas.sover feast was this: There was to
be no leaven in the house all the days of the Feas*^ of the Pass-
over. They wei'e to keep a feast without leaven. God was
most particular about this. Over and over again it says in the
twelfth of Exodus, "There shall be no leaven in thine house all
the days of the feast of the passover." What is the spiritual
significance of leaven:' St. Paul tells us in the chapter from
which I have taken my text, "Purge out therefore the old
leaven, and let us keep the feast ; not with old leaven, neither
with the leaven of malice and wickedness: but with the
unleavened bread of .sincerity and truth. " So there the Holy
Ghost defines leaven as malice and wickedness. Now, let me
tell you the exact meaning of these words, malice and wicked-
ness. The word translated "malice," in the original really
means an evil habit that enthralls you or degrades you or knocks
you down. The word translated " wickedness," denotes the
evil principle, the evil mind, the evil desire inside you that pro-
duces the evil habit, I might .say the craving within you that
makes you long for sin. Oh, to-night I am preaching a Saviour
that knows how to save. I wish to tell the young men here to-
night that the Lord Jesus Christ can not only deliver you from
the evil habits that have knocked you down, but He can deliver
you from the inner craving and desire and the horrid lust that
luces the evil habit. He can set vou srloriou.s"
prodi
you
i.sly
CIIIUST oIU I'ASSOVKH.
"1
says, " Purj:fe out therefore the; okl leaven. " ^'ou iire not to
let it reniain within you. Can you persuade yourself that
when (lod tells you to pur^^e out a thin^', it nseans that it nln^t
stay in you until you die '. You say. " I was horn with a teiii})er,
and my father had a temper hefore me, and so had my grand-
mother, and the temper must remain with me until I die " : that
is what some people preach, that the Lord .Fesus cannot raise
you ahovc your natural characteristics. I wish to tell you that
the Lord Jesus is a supernatural Saviour, and He can he a super-
natural power within you. and He can raise you ahovc all
natural appetites, and can make you live a heavenly life whilst
down here. The law of the spirit of life in Christ .lesus can
make you <jfloriously free from the law of sin and death, th.it
operates in the natural man. Oh. hlessed lioly law of the spirit
of life ! Thou can.st make a man as free as the very air we
l)reathe; we cun have the very atmosphere of heaven within
our souls perpetually. That is what -lesus died for on the cross
of Calvary — to set His people free from the power of sin.
Purge out the old leaven of evil liabits and evil desires. Let
me give you a practical instance of what I mean, and may the
Lord bless it to any slave that may he here to-night. I was
preaching in the open air in a town in the north of England a
few years ago, and when I had done preaching, a gentleman
said, " Sir, would you kindly allow me to give a testimony to
the crowd ?" "All right, V)rother," I said, "stand up here and
speak to them." He said : " Mj' friends, I was one of the lead-
ing barristers of England ; I made several thousands of pounds
per year in my profession, but drink laid hold of me, and I lost
my clients, my business went from me, and ray wife went home
and lived with her father, and I became a perfect wreck and
slave to drink. I struggled against it and prayed against it,
and I .sought advice from vc\y friends, but 1 sank lower, and
lower, and lower. At last a friend came to me and said, 'Look
here, old man, there is a place up in the north of Scotland
where thej- cure people who have fallen into drink. Go into
that Drink Asylum for six months and you will be cured.' I
went into the Drink A.sylum and I .stayed there for six months,
and I came out, but I was drunk the very day I came out, for
the craving was as strong as ever in me. Then I went on
drinking again. A friend came to me and said, ' I have found
out a place in a Midland county in England, and Dr. s
.system takes altogether the craving out of you. Now, if you
go in there you will be cured.' ' I will do anything,' I said, ' I
\w\\\ do anything to get myself cured,' and I went in and stayed
'■'■•
72
CUIUS I «ii It I'AssovKii.
i. I-
I
I
i
I
I'
■ » I'i*
I !{■
I I
tliere for ton inoritli.s, and the doctors pronounced me cured.
On the very day I ciinie out of that iiistitution, as I was passiii'^
a puhlic-house, the craving' rose as stron<( as ever within nic,
and I was dra<,'<fed hy an irresistil)le force into the puhlicdiouse,
and I came out drunk a<,'ain, and as I was lenninj^ a<,'ainst a
hinip post (it was ni^ht), a Salvation Army othcer came up to mt*
and said, ' IJrother, the Lord .fesus Christ can save you from the
drink if you will let Him,' and I tuiiied rountl and knocked him
down. He picked himself up aj;ain, and said, ' iSrother, hrother,
the Lord Jesus Christ r«/( >ave you from the drink if you will let
Him. Come with me to the l^arracks;' ant" just as drunkards do, I
{^ot into a good humor quite suddenly witli the man, and I went ott
witli him arm in arm to the Salvation Army V)arracks, and there
1 listened to what they liad to say, and .lolin and Tom
testified how the Lord^liad save<l them and blessed them and
filled them with joy unspeakable, and full of glory, and they
testified how the Lord Jesus had taken the very craving out of
them. Well, I said, if Christ can do that I will give Him a
trial, and I went forward and knelt at the penitent form, and
I said, ' Lord Jesus Christ, save me ; oh. Lord Jesus, hear my
piteous cry, and if it be true what the.se people say, oh, take
the craving for drink out of me ; oh, set me free and restore
me to my God, and restore me to my wife and family, and let
peace come to my racked soul once more;' and Jesus heard my
prayer, and there and then 1 committed myself, spirit, ,soul and
body into the hands of my Saviour at the penitent form, and
He set me free, and I am free to-day, my friends." What the
doctors could not do by all their medicines, Jesus did in one
second of time. I wish to tell this congregation that the Lord
Jesus Christ is exactly the same now as He was in the days of
His Hesh ; it is only our faith in Him that has changed, and
our simple reliance on His word has changed, and therefore we
do not see the works of faith done because there is no real
reliance on Jesus on the part of His people — very little real
reliance. They only trust Him as far as they can trace Him and
see Him, but they do not trust in a Jesus who is far above all
human understanding and power and wisdom. " If any man
among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a
fool that he may become wise," and then Christ will reveal to
you the fulness of His saving power. So that is what I mean,
and that is what (tod means by purging out the old leaven of
evil habits and evil desires. What the Lord can do for one sin
He can do for any other sin. So dear brother, if there is some-
thing distressing you this night, trust the Lord Jesus with an
< IIIUVI' i»i;i! I'AssnVEU.
".]
lH»ne-it luiurt to set you free and you slmll lie free, as free as
( iiiil can make you.
They were not only to purge out the oM h}aven, hut they
wiTf to eat tilt! th'sh of the Lanih. Now. I want to say a little
aliout that. I helicve the otie thiu^f needful for tht! (..'hristians
ill Toronto is to learn how to eat thf flesh of tlws Lainli. First
of all, what is this tle.sh of the Laiidi that we art! to cat /
Don't .on reniendiei- how the Lord .lesus Christ talks in the
si\ih chapter of John of eatinijf His tlesh and drinkini,^ His
I'looil, and the Jews were astorushod at it and said, " How can
this man <j;ive us His tlesh to eat :"" And Jesus answered, " What,
and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where ho was
hefore ; it is the Spirit that (|uickeneth ; Th<! tlesh proHtetli
nothinj;, but the words, fli)' v'ords that I speak unto you, they
are spirit and they are life." So to eat tlie flesh of the Fjanih
is to receive Hi.s words into your heart liy the power of the
Holy Ghost. The Hihie, apart from the Holy (Jhost, is
absolutely powerless ; the Holy Spirit must take up the Word
and Use it. Now, the Word of God is constantly compared to
food. For example, the Lord Jesus said to Satan at the close
of the forty day.s' temptation, "Man shall not live by bread
only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of
Ciod." And the Prophet Jeren»iah says, "0 Lord, I found thy
words and I did eat them up, and thy wonl became to me the
joy and rejoicinn; of my heart." And Job says in the twenty-
third chapter, "I have esteemed thy words more than my
necessary food." And David says in the 119th P.salm and the
lOoid verse, " How sweet are thy words unto my taste ; yea,
sweeter than honey and the honeycomb.' Thus you eat the
Hesh of the Lamb when you receive the words of Jesus daily
into your heart by faith, and have that wonderful Book and
the thousands of promises therein made real, living?, powerful
and energetic to your heart by the power of the Holy Ghost.
How many of you Christians daily eat the Hesh of the Lamb :*
How many of you can say, " God fed my soul to-day by a
promise out of His holy Word. Hefore I came down to break-
fast this morning I rejoiced my heart with a breakfast in His
own presence out of His own Book, I have had true heart
connnunion with Jesus through His precious Word " :* 'I'hen
your Bible will become an inestimably precious Book. Every
word in that Book you will esteem and know to be more
precious than gold : yea, than much fine gold.
Now notice how the flesh of the Lamb is not to l)e eaten :
" Eat not of it raw." That is, vou are to have no carnal com-
■11
r
74
t Hit 1ST ol |{ I'AssuVKH.
rl
iiiunioii vvitli Christ; yi)U are to have no men' lilston'cal apprf-
eiation of ( 'hrist's character and life ami of th(! Hihlc. There
never was a «lay in wliich there was so niueh raw eating' of the
fU'sh of the hainli. I will tell you when a man eats the flesh of
the lianiltraw: when a man knows the rivers ami mountains of
the Hihie, ami the KiriLjsof Israel and .hidah.and textual criti-
cism. ( )ur collei^es in these days teach the students to eat the
tiesh of the Ijamh raw, and we j^et a lot of commentaries
to<^ether and take a little out of that, and a little out of
that, and a little out of that, and piece it all to<fether and write
it down and roll it out on Sunclay from tin' pulpit, and the
con<5re<^ati(m feels that the whole thin;,'' is raw, that there is no
Hre in it, tlmt it has not heen roast with the Hre of tlu' Holy
(Jhost, and it is only what we have p;ot out of other people's
brains, and not what ( Jod has |)ut into our hearts. Merely to
know all about the historv of the Hihie will leave your heart
bare and your conscience dark ; you will be able to discus-:,
every doctrine of theolofjfy, and yet your heart will be as cold
and as hard as the nether mill-stone. God deliver His children
from eatin<( the Word of God raw.
Ajrain, "Thou shalt not eat the tlesh of the Lamb sodden at
all with water."' What does that mean ^ It is not to be boiled
down to nothing ; you are not to V)oil the Word of God down
till you take all the force and livinj^ enerjijy out of it, and make-
it mean what it absolutely does not mean. You are to take
the words there as they stand, and, illuminated l)y the Holy
Ghost, they will bvinj^ light to your soul. Oh, for those who
do not boil down the Word of Ciod, but who allow the Lord
.le.sus to teach them, and who, with a humble heart, sit at the
feet of Jesus and learn His truth straight from himself. I
pray God that He may raise up a company of souls in this city
who know what it is to sit in the school of Jesus and to hear
His Word, who will choose the part that Mary chose — " that
good part which never shall be taken away " — for ]\[ary sat at
the feet of Je.sus and heard His Word.
Then again, we are to eat the head of the Lamb with the
legs of the Lamb. The head of the Lamb, that is, the thoughts
and the truths the Lord Jesus has uttered, is to be eaten with
the legs. The legs are a type of the walk of Christ, the conduct
of Christ, and you are not merely to know the truth in your
head, but you are to act it out in your daily walk. You are to
put into practice the truth that the Holy Ghost teaches you.
" Thou shalt also eat the inwards thereof " — the heart of the
Lamb. You are to have the heart of the Lord Jesus revealed
( IIUIST (»IK I'ASSOVKH.
75
to you, tlie love of Christ, the compassion of Christ, the infinite
tenderness of Christ — oh, the glory of the heiirt of Jesus is
mine, lie can reveal it to you, dear brother, ami make you
feel as if you were in heaven itself, that the love wherewith
the hither has loved Christ may bo in you and you in Him
That is eating the very inward parts of the Lamh. The Lonl
tcacli you what a wonderful hook this is that carries with it
the llesh and blood of .lesus, made real to your soul ijy the
Ib.ly Ohost.
The Lamb is to be enten roast with fire. We are told in
many passages that the fire of (Jod is the Holy Spirit, that He
baptizes us with the Holy (Jhost and with tire, and that the
fire will make all the raw flesh truly palatable to us, and cause
us to understand, " For .lesus l)reathed ujion them saying,
receive ye the Holy (ihost." "Then opened he their under-
standing that they might understand the Scriptures." Oh,
receive the Holy (Jhost into your heart, and your liible will
become a new book to you. Several people have .said to us
since we came to Toronto, " Well, I wish to tell you that I
really get nothing out of my Bible. I read my Bible because
I was always taught to do ,so, but it does not speak to my
heart, and I get nothing out of it ; I do not know what is the
matter with nio." Why, only this very day a lady said that.
So tliat what you need is to read your Bible under tlie teaching
of the Holy Spirit. " He .shall teach you all things, and bring
all things to your remembrance whatsoever 1 have said unto
you."
Now, how is all thi.s to be had ? Oh, so .simply, for all
God's ways of grace are simple. " Take you a lamb," said
Moses, " and thou shalt strike the blood upon the lintel ami
upon the two side posts." 'i'he lamb was to die, and then the
blood was to be sprinkled. It was not enough for the lamb to
die ; unless the blood was sprinkled with liy.ssop, the firstborn
son would be slain.
Now, some people ask this question, " Ti" Jesus died for the
sins of the whole world, won't the whole world be .saved sooner
or later ? Perhaps hell itself will become a species of purga-
tory ? " Now, what answer does this chapter give to that
question ? Was it enough for the Lamb to die ? No, unless
the father of the family went on to take his bunch of hy.saop
and to dip it in the blood that was in the basin, and to sprinkle
the blood there and there and there — unless he applied the
blood, the firstborn son would be slain by the angel of death
that night. The blood must be applied. He can only show
il
' ,1
j-
1^:;
111
I
.11
70
riiitivi I'l l: I'AssoVKU.
yoii mercy uii tlic ;,'ri)uri<l ol' tlif Mooil «/y(/>/<V'/ imt on tin*
groiiiul of till' Mooil jKliiiirt'iI. not on tin- ^'roiind of t\\o Mooil
rcasoiic'l tiltoiit or tall\f<l iilioiit, l)Ut on thu •^rouii'l of tliu blood
<il)lilnil to your^flf.
Now, lot ns Icuvi' tlu! AHsooiution Null to-nii;lit uinl come
with mo to tlm liind of KjiVpt liofore wo ufo homo. Let us soo
whiit took \)\nw there that nij,'ht. ( 'omo with nu; first of all to
tho land of (loshen where the children of Israi.-l are livin<;. I
SCO all the huts (jf the Israelites lyin<,' outsti'etched in the
nioonli;^'ht, and I come up to one hut, and I ^danco in, and oh,
what a happy sceno ! There the father of the family with his
face radiant witli joy is thanUini,' (iod, and In; says, " I thank
thoo, () (lod of Al)raham and Isaac an<l .lacob that it hath
ploasoil thoo to rodoem tliy people Israel out of K^ypt
i>y tiio blood of tho jjamb. Antl, oltodient to thy command, I
take my piltjrim staff and 1 follow thoo." And the first-
born son I His face, too, ha.s the very lij^ht of heaven upon
it, for ho knows that ho is save(| by the blood of thu Lamb.
Then [ go into another house, and hero all is confusion
and di.sorder. Tho father has a .scowl on his face and tho
mother is cryinf^, and tho firstl)orn .son is croucliin^ in a
corner over there ; and I say to the father of the family,
" Tell me, my man, are you not an Israelite i" " Oh, yes," says
he, " I am an Israelite.' ' Well, " I say, " why are you all
crying here — they are all rejoicing in the next house, and they
are feasting on the flesh of the lamb ; and why is your son
crouching in tho corner over there ' ' " Well, to tell you the
honest truth, sir, we don't feel saved in this hou.se, we don't
ft'd saved in this house." " Oh," I say, " my gooil man, Moses
never said a word about feeling saved ; Moses .said that if you
would sprinkle the blood thei'o and there and there, that your
firstborn son would be .saved. " " Yes, he did .say that," says
the man, " but all the .same we don't feel saved, and we are
afraid at any moment that the angel of death may strike my
son dead before our eyes." "Oh, you foolish man,'' I say, "oh,
you foolish man, you are making God and His servant Moses
liars." "No," says the man, "I wouldn't do that for anything."
" But that is what you are doing. God said by His servant
Moses that if only the blood were sprinkled outside on tho
house, all within the house would be saved, and God never said
a word about feeling saved ; but God told 3'ou that you might
know that you were .saved because the blood was shed and
applied to the house." "Oh, I never saw it before," says the
man, " I never thought it was as .simple as all that." " Well,
I MUIST Ml |{ I'AssuN lit.
i I
tlmt is what it is," I siiy to liiiii, " it is just as simple as all
that.' Now, in evciy sini^'ln platv Wf ;,'o to, }ttM)|»|(' .•say, " Oh.
sir. I wish I had tlu; liiii»|)y fi'flin;; within iiic that wonM tell
ini! that I was savcil ; 1 wish I hail the saiiii' happy t'celiii;;
that you have. " ami then tht-y -vrc i^ivatly aina/fd whni I tell
them that I dolt t IVt-l savcij ai, all 1 don't Jul savt-d at all ;
l)Ut I L-)i<>ir I am saved for the last twenty-thiee and a halt'
vears, and I shall tell vou why hecans*! I have rested mv
•guilty soul upon the hlood of .lesus, the r-verlastinj^ Mood, and
U[)on the Word of Jesus. The hlood of Jesus makes my soul
safe, and tho Word of Jesus makes my soul sure, and those
are the j^Tounds of my salvation the precious hlood that
eleanseth from all sin, and the precious Word that assures me
of tlie fact. It is hy faith that we are saved, not by feeling
happy or feelinj; miserahle either. Neitlier happy feelin<^s nor
ndserahle f(!elin«.'s hrin*,' you one inch nearer your salvation.
It is the hlood that makes the soul safe: it is the Word of
(»od that makes tlie soul sure. So if any man or woman
wants to liave assurance of salvation hefore thev uo home
to-nii,dit, you can have it so far as (lod is concerned. (Jod can
now speak to your soul, and He has spoken to your soul, and
He just asks you to receive salvation as a ^dft from Him.
< >h, take thy hunch of hys.sop, that is, put thy simple faith in
the Word and the blood of ilesus, untl say : " Lord Jesus, thou
art for me; Jesus, thy worthin»;ss is my worthiness, thy holi-
ness is my holiness, thy rij,diteousness is my ri^liteousness, thy
salvation is my salvation, and thus. Lord .lesus, 1 hide myself
in thee. '
" Notliin^' ill 111}' li.uul 1 l»riny,
Simply tn thy cross I cliii),'.
Niikod, coiiiu to tliou for dri^ss.
llol|>leHH, look to tlu'c for ijriice.
I'oiil, I to the fountain Hy,
Wa.sli 1110, Siiviour, or 1 liie. "
One thin<f more and I close. Ah, there is a .sad endini^ to
this story. It was not all as in the laiul of Goshen ; there
was Zoan where I'haraoh dwelt in his ma^Miiticent palace, hut
Pharaoh despised the Word of the Lord, and the an^'el of
<leath drew near, and there was no blood on Pharaoh's palace
]L,'ates, no blood there, and in one second more Piiaraoh's only
son was dead upon his bed.
Then upriseth a cry throughout the whole land c^" E^ypt,
for there was not a house where there was not one dead, for
there was no blood there. Wherever there is no blood there
78
CHRIST (»UH I'ASSOVKI!.
i ' '
: I ' ■
H I.F
*
*
is ■
IS
IS
i
\
ii
. : t
1
i
1
is death, for '" the waj,'e.s of sin is death," an<l only the deatli
of .iesiis can take away your death, and only the life of .lesus
can <,Mve yon life. Oh, dear soul, are you the one dead /
'I'hink of all the households that are represented by these
hundreds of people here to-ni;j;ht .' Father, are you the one
dead in your household '. Your wife is alive in Christ to-night,
you are dead, you are only a nominal Christian. My young
brother, are you dead and your sister alive ? My young sister,
are you dead while your brother is praying for your conver-
sion ? Oh, respectable man, professor in a college, you know
a great deal of theology in your head, but you are dead all the
same.
Remember, there was one place where the blood was not to
be put. On no account were they to sprinkle the blood upon
the threshold. Why .'' l>ecause the blood of the Lord Jesus
is not to be trampled on. Who is it that tramples on the blood
of Jesus i The man here to-night that rejects the message of
(lod to his own .soul, and hardens his heart and stiti'ens his
conscience against the light of (Jod. That man tramples upon
the blood of Jesus as he leaves the Association Hall. Oh, I
beseech you, man, cease to trample upon the blood; cease to
count the blood of the covenant an unholy thing, cease to do
despite to the Spirit of grace. Now let God have His own
way with you, now let the Spirit of God lead you to the cress
of Calvary. Now let the Spirit of God take of the wonders
of Je.sus' love and blood and reveal them to your hungry soul,
and you will go home satisfied with Christ and with the ever-
lasting love, peace, joy and salvation of Jesus within you.
May God bless us as we kneel l)efore Him, and trust the
precious blood, for His name's sake, Amen.
' . I!'
:\\
m I
lUl CANNO'l' HIi M\ I)ISCI1MJ{.
Luke xiv., jmrt nf tlio 2()t.li vorso ; "Me caiiiiot he luy disuijile ;" .iiul
jcvrt of the I'THi verse ; '* Me cuiiiuit l)e my ili.sciple, " .iiitl part of the '.i'.'iid
verse : " He cannot lie my disciple."
?'l
H()\V the Lord deprecated popularity! After He had fed
the 5,000 men, we read that they were desirous to come
by force and make Him a kino^, and Jesus went away by
liimself alone into the wilderness, and the crowd sou(.^ht Him
in vain. On another occasion when the wliole multitutle broke
forth with praise, " Ht)sanna to the Son of David, blessed is
He that cometh in the name of the Lord, Hosanna in the
hii;hest," the disciples looked to see how pleased Jesus was with
the praise Ke was cretting from the multitude, and behold, the}-
saw tears fiowing down His cheeks, and even as Hi« disciples
were praisinjjf Him and saying Hosanna, He beheld the city and
wept over it saying, " (J that thou hadst known at least in this
thy day the things that belong to thy peace, but now they fort
hid from thine eyes." When the Lord Jesti.s spoke these woi'ds
from which my text is taken, He was very popular. The verse
begins this way : Great multitudes followed Jesus, and He
turned and said to them, " H' any man come to me and hate
not his own father, and mother, and wife, and children, and
brothers and sisters, he cannot be my disciple, and whosoever
doth not bear his cross and come after me, he cannot be mv
disciple, and whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all
that he hath, he cannot be my disciple." Now, in these days
the religion of the Lord Jesus has acquired a certain amount of
popularity. According to the latest statistics there are now
-")00,000,000 of baptized people in the world, a little over
-200 000,000 Protestants, 11)8,000,000 Roman Catholics, and the
rest belon<' to the Greek Church and other minor churches —
")00,000,000 of people who profess to be followers of the Lord
Jesus Christ, and who would be offended if you were to tell
them that the}' were not Christians. So there is nothing more
important in theae days, beloved brethren, than that we should
i Jl
ill
iM
i iii
-.!i
80
HE ( ANNOT HE MY DISCII'I-i;
I''.
Mi!
>.' >
'I'
■f
i l.h
1, 1 ' .
>
1,
I
look over the cr> 'lentials of our discipleship, and tind out if we
have any real marks of bein<; disciples of Clirist about us.
What an awful thiui^ it is for a man to deceive liimself
and to make a mistake for eternity I Bunyan warns us about
that in his Pil<rriin's Profiress. lie tells us that Christian and
Hopeful were goino- alon^' the roail to the Celestial Cit\', and
they saw a man climbing- over the wall into the King s high-
way, and Christian went uj) to him and said, "Good friend,
what is thy name (" '" .My name is Ignorance,' said he, " luui I
am bound for the Celestial City." " indeed,"' said Chii.stian,
" but the King hath said that he that elimbeth up anotlier way
the same is a thief and a robber : good friend, hast thou entered
by the wicket gate:* "I have not entered by the wicket
gate," said Ignorance, " an<l I do not mean to enter by the
wicket gate ; I am in tiie King's highway as much as you
are, and if I am in the King's highway, it does not matter
how I got there as long as I am in it," and with that the}'
parted company ; "and I saw in my dream that Ignorance came
down to the bank of the Riv(?r of Death, and there met him a
ferryman named Vain Hope, and he ferried him over the river,
but there met him no shining ones on the other bank of the
river, and Ignorance went up and knocked at the gate of the
Celestial City, and there looked over the battlements two
shining ones, and they say unto him, ' Where is thy passport ? '
Then did he fumble in his bosom, but he found naught therein,
and they went in and reported the matter unto the King, and
the King said, ' Bind him hand and foot and take him away
and cast him into outer darkness ; there shall be weeping and
gnashing of teeth; So I saw that there is a way to hell even
from the very gates of heaven, and I awoke and behold it was
a dream." Those are the last words of Bunyan's Pilgrim's
Progress. He warns us against mere membership with any
professing Christian Church, against being in the King's high-
way and professing to be marching to the Holy City without
having our passport with us, without having credentials of true
discipleship about us. A true disciple is one who is taught by
the Lord Jesus Christ, one who knows what it is to sit at the
feet of Jesus and to hear His words, and the object of my
sermon this morning is to find out how many true disciples of
the Lord Jesus worship in the Church of the Iledeemer ; how
many of you can say, " I know of a truth that the Lord Jesus
Christ b}' His spirit teaches me, that He has made real in my
heart the things that I read of in that everla.sting Book. '
Now, in order to enter Christ's college you have to pass a
HE CAXNuT HE MV DISCII'LE.
81
If
A"
IS
y
a
matriculation examination, and I oH'er all the men ami women
here this morning three examination papers, and it' you pass
these 3'ou have matriculated into Christ's college, and He will
consent to teach you, but unless you pass these three examina-
tion papers you will he ignorant of the truth and fellowship
of (iodyour whole life long. The Lord has passed His word,
that unless we know these three things and do them, we can-
not, cannot, cannot be His disciples. Now, may the Spirit of
( fod help me as I try to explain what these examination papers
mean.
Look at the tirst : " If any man come to me, and hate not
his father, his mother, his wife, his children, his brothers and
his sisters, he cannot be my disciple." Well, you say, that m
a very hard and unfeeling examination paper. What does the
Lord Jesus mean by telling me to hate my father, my wife, my
mother, my brothers, my sisters — what can He mean by that r
" This is a hard saying : who can hear it ? " The Lord Jesu.s
Christ, in the parallel passages of St. Matthew, explains what
He means by this hatred. There He says, " Whosoever loveth
father, or mother, or wife, or children more than me is not
worthy of me." That pa.ssage shows me that the Lord is talk-
ing of a hatred by comparison with other things. He is not
talking of an actual hatred ; that is, if I desire to follow the
Lord Jesus Christ, and I allc\'' myself to be turned away from
that object by my father, my mother, my wife, my children,
my brother or my sister, I am not worthy of the Lord Jesus
Christ, and I never can be His di.sciple ; and that is where the
testing always begins, namely, at home. The first examination
paper of a Christian is with regard to his home life. How do
you behave yourself at home ^ It is a much more easy thing
to go off and preach the Gospel in China, or in India, or in
Darkest Africa, than to lead a consistent, Christian life at home.
It is a much more difficult thing to show piety and true ten-
derness and to keep your temper in home life than it is to go
and preach the Gospel to tens of thousands of heathen. To go
through the common, ordinary every-day life with the Spirit of
the Lord Jesus Chri.st in you and the love of Je-sus shining out
of you — that is God's true preparation for missionary work,
lentil I am a missionary at home, I won't be the smallest good
abroad. The command is, Let thein show piety at home and
requite their parents ; then let them go to the uttermost parts
of the ear^/h. How am I behaving at home ? Am I living a
(/hristian lifo before my wife, my father, my brothers and my
sisters? How does the Lord's own life explain our text :* How
6
fi
ii
i !r
iiH
82
UK CANNOT i'.K MV F)lS('Il'r,K.
It!
^if'i
|: ' i
Hi''
m-
I'M
If'.,.
\i
b'
i
(Joes the Lord Jesus show me how to hate my own father and
mother and rehitivcs ' ( )n ont; (jccasion we read tliat Christ
was stirring up the wrath of tlie I'liarisees and Seril»es, and
Christ's kinsmen, including His niotlier, heard it, and His kins-
men said, '' lict us go and hiy hold of him, for he is heside
liimsclf." We read of this in the third chapter of St. Mark,
and then we read that His mother and His brothers came to the
outskirts of the crowd that were listening to the Lord Jesus
preaching, and one of the crowd said to Jesus, " ^histei",
thy mother and thy brothers stand without desiring to
speak with thee," and Jesus said, " Who is my mother and
who are my brothers:'" and He stretched foilh His hands
towar<l His disciples, and said, " Whosoever shall do the will
of my father which is in heaven, the same is my mother,
my sister and my brother." So I ask this morning. Have you
begun to do the will of ( Jo<l ! What is the will of CJod ? This
is the will of Ood, that first of all you should see the Son
of (iod as your Saviour and believe on Him, and have ever-
lasting lite. "This is the will of (!od, even your sanctitication,
that you should keep yourself frcjiii all uncleanness ; rejoice
evermore, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks,
for this is the will of (^!od in Christ Jesus concerning you."
I wonder how many of us have begun to do the will of God,
to trust Jesus as our Saviour, to trust the Holy Spirit to subdue
and sanctify our hearts, and to rejoice for evermore in our
wonderful God. Oh, to do the will of (Jod ! The same makes
you the brother and the mother of Jesus. Lord, make all
Christians in this congregation Christians at home, we beseech
thee ! Oh, that we may honor God by kneeling before Him
morning and evening, by studjdng His Word, by letting the
Word of God rule our hearts and rule our tongues at home.
That is the first examination paper for being taught by God
and becoming His disciple in reality, and not sentimentality.
What is the second examination paper i " And whosoever
doth not bear hi.s cross and come after me, he cannot be my
disciple." What does "to bear your cross" mean ^ Some people
think that to bear a cross is merely to suffer loss of money, or
loss of friends, and to take it patiently and not to argue with
God about it, and not to fight with God about it, but to abide
in resignation of soul before the dictates of God, and sjy, "Thy
will be done in me." No, no, that is not bearing the cross. Let
me tell you exactly what "cross" means in the Scriptures. To
bear your cross in the Scriptures means this, to suffer shame
and reproach from the world for the sake of your testimony to
rJl
FIE CAWoT l!R MV DISCIPLE.
83
Jesus. It lias no other iuoanin<T in the Bible. The cross is the
s}-inbol of shame and suffer itiu," for Christ's sake : ami a man
hoars his cross when lie sutlers the loss of thin<,rs for the sake of
Ciirist — when he really sutlt'i's in his purse, in his health, or in
his reputation, for the sake; of tlie Lord .lesus. Suj^pose there
is souiethinij wroni^^ in your business, and you say, " For the
sake of the Lord .lesus 1 nuist set that rit^ht : that is not per-
fectly strai^-ht ; a Cliristian man ought not to do that thing,
and 1 ought not to take that advantage of my neighbor." And
you say, " I will put that out of my business," anil you lose
SIO.OOO a year because you do it; then you are bearing 3-our
cross for Christ, for you are suflering for Mis sake. Suppose
people who were once very friendly with you cut you and for-
sake you because you honor the Lord Jesus Christ, then you
are bearing your cross for the Lord Jesus Christ. Let me give
you a practical instance of what I mean by bearing your cross
after Him. A few years ago there were two young men in
England ; they were both earnest Christian young fellows, and
they took a first-class passage by a P. and (J. steamer from
Lngland to Australia, if 1 remend)er rightly ; and one said to
the other, " Now, we must confess Christ on board the boat, we
nuvst let the men know that we are Christians, or else we shall
l>e carried away by the drinking and gand)lingand other things
that 20 on on these steamers." " What shall we do :' ' said the
other. " I'll tell you," he said ; " I have some tracts here, and I
shall go around the tirst-class saloon, and orfer a tract to every
man in the saloon." " All right," said the other, " go ahead,
and T will sit down next that gentleman over there while you
do it." So the young man went around the first-class saloon
and asked the various gentlemen there to take a tract. Some
of them thanked him, and others cursed him. As he was
going from one to another, the young fellow who was sitting
by the other man, said, "Do you see that young fellow going
around there ? Isn't he making a fool of himself r' " Yes," said
the other gentleman, " he is making a fool of himself." " Do
you know why he is making a fool of himself !' ' " Xo, ' said
the other man, " I do not." " He is making a fool of himself
for Christ's sake,'' said the young man. " You are another of
them," said the gentleman, " you are another of them. ' "I am
another of thein," said he, " praise the Lord ; the Lord has
saved me too, and made me His for ever." Now, that is \ hat
the Lord Jesus means by bearing a cross. How many cro.ss-
bearers are there in this church ? How many of you can truly
say, " Lord Jesus, I have had to suffer shame and reproach at
\
■: \
■■'!■
I
I i '
N4
ML < ANNOT liK MY IH.SCII'LK.
il!„i
:i !•
1 1 ^| ,
i'ii'
^M'
'it
ill
times for thee. O Ii(»r(l, niv life is ajjainst the curroiit of tlu-
worltl ; 1 do not swim with the current '—for any tlead Hsii can
do that, it takes a living' tish to <,'o ai,'ainst the current. .lesus
^'ot His cross because He was hapti/ed by the Holy Spii-it of
<}od: lie was identified with the cause of (Joil, and He was
identitieti with the cause of the lost, and the sinful, and the
sutterin<f. He was numliered with the trans<^ressors from the
very bei,dnnin^ of His ministry to the end ; and at last He laid
down His life amidst spittinj^ and shame, and with His body
smeared with His own l)lood. And the priests and the scribes
the relif^ious tearliers of the day, stood at the foot of the cross,
and mocked the Saviour as lie hun«» there. P>ut God rai.sed
Him from the dead. To bear the cross, and to suffer shame,
and to have your name cast out as evil, because you are faithful
to the Word of God at all costs ; I can tell you that that means
somethin;^. Cross-bearinp; is not popular in the nineteenth
century, though a certain sort of sentimental Christianity is.
A Christ without a cross is a very popular subject of preaching
in these days — -a Chi-ist who carries no cross. " Whosoever
doth not bear his cross and come after me, he cannot be my
disciple."
I <jo further. " So likewise whosoever he be of you that
forsaketh not '" — or as the llevised Version has it, " renounceth
not " — " whosoever he be of you tlmt renounceth not all that
he hath, he cannot be my disciple." " Likewise " sliows a
parallelism here. What does " likewise " refer to ? The Lord
has just mentioned two little parables. One is taken from the
buildiui,' of a tower, and the other from war. '" Which of you
intending to build a tower sitteth not down first and counteth
the cost whether he have sufllicient to finish it i" Lest haplj',
after he liath laid the foundation and is not able to finish it, all
that behold it begin to mock bin), saying, This man began to
build but was not able to finish." '■ So likewise, whosoever he
be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, cannot be my
disciple." The Lord tells us that we are all masons, builders of
towers; that every man in this world is building a tower of
character, and that tower is to reach from earth to heaven.
The Lord says, Take care how you build it, take care from
what foundation you build, take care what material you put
into the fabric, for when the blast of eternity comes, and the
storm of judgment comes, it will shake your building to the
verj'^ foundation unless built upon me and my words. "But
he that buildeth upon me and keepeth my words, though the
storm come and the winds blow and beat upon that house, it
\M
HE CANNOT UK MY DISCI I'LE.
85
■will not fall, for it is foiiiKlctl upon a rock." What is the ^reat
sin of the ninetcontli century ' Now, what answer would you
ii'ive to that ' Is it luxurious living- ' No, it is not. The
<;ri'at sin of th(^ nineteenth century is th»^ attempt to huihi up a
■character without -Fesus, to be so respectable, and educated and
refined that you do not need .lesus, that you do not want
Christ to have anything,' to do with your life, just to ljo to your
■colle<^es and your schools, and to receive the wisdom of man
into your brains, and you really think you are <;ettin<f better,
while your heart is unchanged and your life is Just the same in
principle. The Lord Jesus says, ' Kxcept a man lie born aj^ain,
he cannot see the Kinnrdoni of (Jod,' but the nineteenth century
is content with its civilization, its education and its reh'nement,
but rejects .Jesus, the only teacher.
" I am the way, the truth and the life ; no one cometh unto
the Father except by me," and you will tind it so in the end,
vnd oh, what bitter disappointment awaits tlie civilization and
refinement of the nineteenth century in a very short time. The
l>ible says the close of this dispensation will be with wars and
commotions, and tliat the whole of the .social fabric will be
.'shaken to its foundation, for the stone will smite the image upon
the feet, and the whole image, silver, and gold, and brass, and
iron, and clay, will crumble together and be swept awa}' as the
■chaff of the summer threshing-floor, 'i'hat will be the end of
the nineteenth century's social fabric, and that is what the
liible declared two thousand years ago. A character with-
out ('hrist will be swept away when the day of ju<lgment
begins. And here is another illustration. " What king going
to make war against another king sitteth not down first and
consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand men to meet
him that cometh against him with twenty thousand men, or
else while the other is yet a great way oft' he sendeth an
amba,s.sage and desireth conditions of peace. So likewi.se,
whosoever he be of you that for.saketh not all that he hath
«annot be my disciple." That is, I am to cease to make war
against God with my own fancied strength ; we are too
weak to fight against God. Harden not thy heart. To-day if
thou art willing to hear the voice of Jesus, brother, harden not
thy heart, but allow the v,)ice of Jesus to teach thee, and let
it work the love of God within thee, and let Him .show thee
thine own awful sinfulness and His glorious righteousness.
Forsake your own fancied strength as well as your own
building materials, and allow tlie Holy Spirit to build you up
in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will become
living stones, you will be built up a spiritual house to offer
spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
l: I
I 1
Sd
UK fAN'NoT l!K MV I)1S( 1 I'M:.
1
I
I
, I:
^' l!
y-
'
lit
I wish you to notice, as I close, some of the most tonchinj;
words iti the whole; Uihle. Jmme(liiitely after Jesus said these
Wt)l'ds ahout the conditions of discipleship, we read, " Then drew
near all the jjuhlicans and sinners to hear liiiii, hut the Pharisees
and Scriltes niurnnu'ed, saying;-, This man I'eceiveth siimers ainl
eateth with tluiin." The very words that we thouudit wouM
havt' turned people away fi-om Christ. cause(l pulilicans ami
sinners t(j draw near to hear ilini.and caused the l'harisee< and
Scrihes to ijet an;jjry. These ])ultlicans and sinners had fi»und
out that they liail nothing' of their own, tliey had found out
that they had nothiui;- Imt sinfulness and wi'etchedness, im-
purity, and darkness of heart ; they wei-e williuif to foisake
all that they had, for all that they had was worthless in tln-ir
own eyes. JUlt not so with the I'harisees ; the Pharisees wei'e
satisfied with their spiritual condition ; they were satisfied with
their knowledjj^e of the letter of scripture ; they were satislied
with all the ceremonies of the .lewish Church : they were rich
and increased with ^oods, an<l hail need of nothinuf, hut the
puhlicans and siiniers knew that they neeiled a real Saviour
and a real God. Then they draw near to liear .lesus, and lie
received them. Oh, may each of us learn this morniui,' to
draw near as a puhlican, and as a sinner, to the fec^t of .lesus,
and to say, " Lonl -lesus, I am a mass of i<];norance, 1 am a mass
of inward corruption, thou alone knowest the surginys of evil
within my heart. O Lord .lesus, thou knowest the real state of
my inner heinf]f, I can hide nothiuf^ from thine eyes which ai'e
as a Hame of tire, and which shall yet read me through and
through in the day of judgment. O Lord Jesus, make me
honest toward thee, and let me draw near to thee as a sinner,
and let me say with the publican, ' Lord, he merciful to me a
sinner,' for tliou hast said. Lord, that if I do tl)at, I shall go
home justified, I shall go home received into thy family and
received as a humble scholar into thy school, antl there when I
am taught by thee I shall become meek and lowly in heart, and
I shall find rest unto my soul." May the Lord make every one
of you, beloved brethren, scholars in the school of Jesus, and
may evei'y young man here this morning learn to pass these
three examination papers, and say, " Lord Jesus, make me a
Christian at liome ; Lord Jesus, make me a Christian in my
daily business, and in my contact with the world, let me be
willing to bear my cross for thee ; Lord Jesu.s, make me
willing to renounce my own wisdom and my own fancied
strength, and may I take thy wisdom and know the strength
of thine arm." May the Lord Jesus lead you as a little child
to sit in His school for His name's sake. Amen.
TIIRi:!' Looks loWARI) CHRIST
'• Mill!' fyi's arc cs rr iMwanl tlic \,'n\ t'nr he shall pliick my fi'rt out '<(
the n 't. " -I'.saliii \\\ . l.'t,
I WISH to tell you to-ninht tlif Mi'sslmI secret of the ( 'hris-
tiaii life, liow to have your fycs ever toward the Lord
.It'sus, and tlius hii\ e your fi'ct plucked out of every jiossiMc
net that Sutan can lay l»eft)n; you. TIk; open .s(!cret of the
Ciu'i.stian life is, to have your e^yes ever to\var<l (Jod. Now,
tliat does not mean that I am tryini; to see tlie invisiltle (loil
with these natural eyes; I atii talking' of tiie invisil)le eyes of
the heart that see the invisible ( Jod. The eye of the lieart is
faith ; faith is the u'race which God has apjtointed by wliicli we
see tlie thini,'s of (Jod, and like Moses w(^ endui'e as seeint,' Hint
wiio is invisible, and [ wisli to tell you, dear friends, how
to liave the eye of faith ever toward the I^orij Jesus ( 'hrist,
and then a perpetual stream of peace and joy and power will
How through your heart. Oh, it is a sad thing that many
Christians know nothing of the constant ihjw of (iod's peace.
Their experience is always a sort of see-saw sort of
thing ; it is always intermittent ; thev do not know what
it is to have their eyes ever toward Jesus, and there is no
secret which the Holy Spirit delights more to reveal to the
heart tlian this, and when you have found out the secret of
looking to (Jod in everything, then vou liave found out the
solution of every ditHculty, and of every enigma that will meet
vou in your Christian life. " IMine eyes are ever toward the
Lord for he shall pluck my feet out of the net." Once or twice
in his life David took liis eyes oft' God, and oh, what terrible
falls he had, falls that brouglit sorrow nnd desolation into his
heart, and all the sin and sorrow tliat any man in this congre-
gation has had in his life is owing to this one fact, and to this
one fact only, that he has taken his eyes oft" God, so I want to
direct the eyes of this congregation toward Jesus to-night that
He may fill the horizon of your vision.
To have your eyes toward God, in the first place, means that
■\ !l
'IH
88
•IMKKK r.iMtKs ToWAIth < HIllSI',
-,IJ
III
1 1
ill
■ii
' 1
you must lose all coiitidcncc in yourst'lf. So loii^ us you art'
iTstiiiL; oil your own vvisdotn, or strt-ti^'tli, or rij;litooustiess, you
liavt' contiilt'iicc in tin* tifsli, you lm\c! no conticlfnco in ( ioil,
undOoil always waits till niun coiiifs to the point ol' si'lt'-
dcNpair. Tlu' ohject of tin; work oF tlio Holy (Jliost in tlio
liuniivn lit-art is to lirinj^ you to despair of yoursclt", and when
you Itcyin to despair of yourself you conu! to the li(';,din»in^' of
<i<)d. To look toward .Icsus means, also, that you lielievc; tliat
He is e(|ual to every (!mer^'eney. If you come up to mo and
say, " I owe >^10,()()0," and I say to you, " Look to me for the
paynudit of that deht," that would mean that I make myself
responsihie for the amount; every one of us understands that ;
hence, wlien ( Jod says, "Sinner, U't thine eyes be ever toward
me," (lod says, " I make myself responsible to pay the debt of
thy sins and to keep thee out of every ditlieulty, on one con-
• lition, that tliou wilt trust me, but if thou wilt not trust me,
and if thou wilt still insist on ''oini; on in thine own strenirth,
I will allow thee to fall ten thousand times over." One of the
saddest thin<i;s in the world is for people to be nominal Chris-
tians, and attend cliurch services everv Sundav, and vet never
to fret a .si<i;ht of tlie Lord Jesus. I learned a lesson about that
some years a<;o. I have a very dear friend, he was adjutant
of the 6th Inniskillintr Dragoons, and was converted at the
Curragh camp about the year 1878, and ever since that he
has led a noble Christian life. His re«j;imont was on review
at Aldershot, before Her Majesty some years a<.jo, and the com-
mand wa.s ofiven to march past the royal carriage, and they did
so in splendid style Afterwards my friend, Captain Dawson,
said to a youn<i; lieutenant, " Well, So-and-so, did you pfet a
jjfood view of Her Majesty to-day f" "I never saw her at all,"
said he. " Hut how was that, you couldn't avoid seein<j her
for you had to salute Her Majesty as you passed; how could
you avoid seeinjif the Queen :* " " VV^ell," said he, " the fact is,
J)awson, I wanted to see John IJrown (the Queen's servant that
sat next the coachman on the Vio.x), and I was determinetl to
ffet a fjood sight of .lohn Urown, and so when I saluted Her
Majesty, I only looked at John ih-own, and I never saw the
Queen ; that's how it was." When I heard that, I got a great
lesson in my heart, and I said, " I have often acted in that way " ;
we go to church and kneel, and pray, and sing, and the whole
-service goes on, and the benediction is pronounced, but we have
never had one sight of the King of kings and the Lord of
lords. We have only mai'ched past in our ecclesiastical formal-
ism ; we have marched past the King of kings, but our hearts
THHKK I.MfiKS TuWAIlI) CIIIIIMT.
80
liavt' lu'vor mi>cii .Fesus. Now, most of you liuvc Imd two or
thrci' church siTvict's t()-(lay, iinil I say to you, 1 1 mvc you scon
the t'lU'o of .Icsiis to-i|iiy ' have you iLfot ii ituI >.\'^\\t of thf
honl .h'sus, ivMil have you that pi'acc in your heart to-ni;^'ht
that tells you that you luive .scrn tlii' face of <ioil ' < >h, I pray
that I'vcry heart may lie opciietl to-tii;j[ht to si'c the face of
my liU'ssed Saviour. ()h, (h'ar soul, pray hefore I say another
word, pray as you sit in that seat, " Lord, show me tliyself
toiiii;ht; l.ord, let tills service in the Massey Hall to-iiii,dit l»e
ail everlasting^ lilessinnr to me hefor(! I ^'o home.' Now, Chris-
tians, pray that every word may he (Jod<,dven, and that every
heart may he opened to .see .lesu.s. May the ej'es of your
heart he enli^diti'iied to see the Lflory of (jod in the face of
.lesus Christ.
Now. with these words of prefac(! let us come and examine
our suhject n)oro closely. The whole Christian life consists in
three looks toward .lesus. < )ne look will ilo a ;;reat deal for
\oii, two looks will do more, hut tlwee looks will comph^te your
salvation. iVrliaps some of you thou^^ht that one look was
enon;:,h. Well, I am free to confess that "there is life for a
look at the Crucified One, tlu'n; is life at this moment for thee,"
liut a sinner needs far more tlian life. First of all, let us see
what this look is that l)rin;4s life, new life, eternal life. Cod's
life, the spirit of Jesus, to the luMirt. What is the first look that
ii sinner needs to take towards (Jod in (yhrist I It is the look
that is .so often described in the l>ible ; for example, in the 4.')th
chapter of Isaiah, " Look unto me and be ye saved, all the ends
of the earth. " It is the same look that we have in the book of
Numbers whei'e we reail that the children of Israel were j^oini;"
throu<,di the wilderness, and their soul was much discoura;;'ed
because of the way, and they murmured against God and
against Moses, sayin;^' " Our soul hjatheth this linht bread, this
manna tliat cometh down from heaven, njve us ilesh and leeks
and onions that we mav eat as we did in Euvpt," and God was
aniL^ry with the people and sent serpents amono- them, and the
serpents bit the people, and much people of Israel died, ami the
]ieo{)le in their distress came to Moses and saiil, " Oh, ])ray to
•lehovah that he take away the serpents from us." and Moses
prayed for the people, and God .said unto Moses, " Make thee a
tiery serpent and put it on a pole, and it shall come to pass that
if a .serpent have bitten any man, when he looketh upon the
serpent of brass, behold, he shall live:" and Moses made a
serpent of brass, and if a serpent had bitten any man, when he
beheld the serpent of brass, behold, lie lived. And .fesus .says,
,1
' I
IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)
1.0
I.I
!.25
IIM 1112.5
illU
2.2
2.0
IIIW
U III 1.6
V]
<^
/a
'^/y.
■c'l
^^i o^
/a
y
u
Photographic
Sciences
Corporation
23 WEST MAIN STREET
WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580
(716) 872-4503
iimk
%
w<
W
90
THREE LOOKS TOWARD (JURIST.
I. :|
ill
liii
" As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must
I the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in tnc
should not perish, but have everlasting' life." You ask me,
" Now, tell us plainly, sir, without theolo^jical circumlocution,
what sort of look will save a sinner's soul ;" I should like to
know that my soul is saved to-ni;,'ht: many people around me
say that they have been saved, but I cannot understand it. and
1 sometimes think it is only fanaticism ; but still there is a
chanfjo in their lives, and I wish in my secret heart of hearts
that 1 could say the same." Is that the way with you '. Then
let me tell you the look that saves a sinner's soul. It is this :
In the sentence, " When any man beheld the serpent of
brass he lived," that word '" beheld " means literally " when he
looked expectantly toward" tlie serpent of brass, behold, lu^
lived." And if any man here to-ni;;ht asks me this (|Uestion,
" What sort of a look will save my soul '. " I answer, " One ex-
f)ectant look toward the Lord Jesus Christ will brinn; everlasting
ife, pardon and fori^iveness to your heart to-night ; one look
toward Christ will do that." You never ask in faith, you never
pray in faith unless you expect God to do what you have asked
Him. The Lord Jesus Christ says : " When ye pray believe that
ye have received and ye shall have." I wonder how much real
faith is represented in our church prayers in tliis con;j;regation
to-night? Have you believed that what you asked God to ilo
on your knees in your church services, you will receive ^ As
you got up from your knees did you saj', " That is mine, that
is for me : I know God will do that for me, for I have asked in
accordance with His holy word and promise " ? I repeat again
that one expectant look toward the J^ord Jesus Christ will save
your soul. It is exactly the same word, and exactly the same
tense of the Hebrew verb that the Spirit of God uses in the
12th chapter of Zechariah, the tenth verse, where he says, " They
shall look expectantly upon me whom they have pierced, and
they shall mourn for me as one mourneth for his only son, and
in that daj' there shall be a fountain opened for sin and for
uncleanness." Oh, dear souls, you who want to begin the Chris-
tain life, you who want to know the forgiveness of your sins,
3'ou who want to know that eternr life has entered your
nature, without waiting to feel anything, take an expectant
look at Jesus to-night, and say, " Blessed Jesus, I am a sinner ;
oh, blessed Jesus, thou art my Saviour, here and now I trust
thee to blot out the long catalogue of ray sins ; I look to thee :
mine eyes are toward thee for salvation." Oh, look to Jesus
and thou shalt be saved.
f]-\
TIIKEE LOOKS TOWAllI) CHRIST.
01
a great
second
There is a second look that I am specially in earnest about
to-nij^lit, for I know that a large number here have taken the
first look of salvation ; but I am afraid there are
many real Christians that have never taken the
look. We find that look in tlie 12th chapter of Hebrews and
the first and second verses : " Let us lay aside every weight
and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with
patience the race that is set before us, looking unto desus, the
author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set
before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set
down at the right hand of the throne of God." This is the look
that enables me to lay aside e\ -ry sin and every weight that
drags me down, and enables me to endure the cross and
despise the shame for the sake of the name of Jesus. This is
the look oi sanetifieat ion, not the look of salvation. This is
the look that gives a man power over every temptation and
over everj^thing that besets him. Now, what does the Apostle
say here ^ He says, " Lay aside every sin and lay aside every
weight" by looking unto Jesus. Well, we are all agreed that
a Christian ought to lay aside sin. Oh, is it not a shame
that we Christians often continue in sin ? We name the name
of .Jesus, but often we do not depart from iniquity. God
forgive the Christian sinners here to-night, the sins of us
Christians, the sins of us ministers of the Gospel, the sins
of us Christian workers, the sins of us elders, the sins of us
deacons, the sins of us church ofKcers ! O God, forgive
to-night the sins of the real Christians that have brought
disgrace and shame upon the most holy name of Jesus ! How
am I to lay aside sin :* Since we have come to Toronto several
people have come to us and said, " Sir, I have been a Chris-
tian for two years : I 1 e been a Christian for twenty years ;
I have been a Christian for forty years, and yet I confess to
you, sir, that .some of the same sins that afflicted me before my
conversion are following me till to-day. What is the remedy
for that !* There is a perfect remedy for that in the Lord
Jesus CKri.st. The remedy is just as simple as the moment
when you trusted Jesus for salvation. Sanctification is just as
simple as salvation if you take God's way of sanctification ;
but u' you go in for your own sanctification, oh, you have a
weaiy time before you ; but if you let God dwell in your heart
and let Him sanctify you, then your life will be a perpetual
doy.ology. Oh, praise be to God for the simplicity of God's
way of sanctification. And what is it ? That sin which so
easily besets me, the sin which so easily knocks me down when
ill
92
THUKE LOOKS TOWARD CHRIST.
i
;
1
1 i . '
! '
i !
i
1
1 [■.
1 am tempted therewith — all 1 have to do is to say, " Lord, I
am helpless, thou art almifi^hty. Now is the time for thee,
Lord .lesus, to work, for lo ! mine enemy draweth nifjh and I
am powerless against him." The sheep has to fly to the shep-
herd when he hears the howling of the wolf. Oh, thou poor
defencele.ss sheep of Jesus, Hy thou to thy Shepherd, for the
wolf is howling behind thee. Lay aside every sin by looking
unto Jesus, and also lay aside every weight. What is the dif-
ference between a sin and a weight ^ A weight is that which
you cannot exactly call a sin. There are a great many things
in the Christian life that you cannot exactly call sins, but all
the sanr.e they may clog your onward progre.s.s, all the same
they may prevent you running the race that is set before you
and cause you to lose your crown. When a young man has to
run a race he begins to train himself. He does not eat two
pounds of plum-pudding every day, but keeps himself down,
and takes that which is good and strong and solid for his body,
and trains his mu.scles and keeps himself within bounds, and
takes his meals and exercise regularly, and puts himself under
athletic law ; and so, if you are to run the race you must put
yourself under the law^ of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.
You have to be obedient ; not merely to (idniire, but to be
obedient to the dictates of the Holy (Jhost within you. It is a
solemn thing to trifle with the voice of the Spirit of Cod within
3'our lieart. You are opening your heart to desperate sorrow
in the end if you are trifling with the pleading of the Spirit of
Cod. And so you ask me. What do you consider weights {
Let me mention two or three weights that I think it would be
well for all real Christians to lay aside. For example, take the
weight of strong drink. Now, no one in their .senses would say
that a man was committing a sin if he took a gla.ss of beer or
a glass of wine ; but oh, how easily these intoxicating drinks
may become weights to a man, and so weighty that they pass
the line of sin, and even drag a man down into destruction
and perdition ! How many a man, how many a minister
of the Co.spel would have had a .successful ministry if he
had laid aside the weight of strong drink. Just let me give
you one instance before I pass on. There was a company
of clergymen met at a clerical meeting to discuss the subject of
total abstinence, and a very clever paper was read by a very
clever clergyman, and he argued tooth and nail against the
fanaticism of teetotalers ; and his paper was so clever that
when he sat down all the rest of the clergymen applauded him.
There was silence, and an old clergyman that no one had
THREE LOOKS ToWAHD rilHlsT.
93
noticed, about eij^hty years oKl, who was sitting in a corner
of the room, rose up and said, " My reverend brethren, I am a
very old man, and I should like to say a few words to you. I
(tnce had a son. H j was a noble boy, and to the age of twenty-
one he never touched a drop of drink ; but one day he wa.s
invited to dinner by a friend, and this friend per.suaded my son
to give up his pledge, by saying that it was more mnnly to do
what everybody else did, and to know when one had taken
enough, and to know how to control one's .self; and my .son was
carried away by his friend's arguments, and began to take wine.
A few years after that my .son became a helpless drunkard: and
oh, my reverend brethren, I laid my son in a drunkard's grave,
and although I believe he truly turned to God a few months
before he died, yet his constitution was so wrecked with drink
hat it was really the cause of his death ; and my reverend
brethren " — and suddenly the old man drew himself up as
straight as possible, and tire flashed out of his eyes — "and, my
reverend brethren, the man that persuaded my son to break his
pledge is that clergyman who has just read that paper to you.
Oh, you murdered my .son, sir, you murdered my .son," and the
old man .sat down in tears. I can tell you that that clever
clergyman's paper hadn't much eft'ect at that clerical meeting
after that ! So I say to you, " Know your own weakness,
V)rother," and .say, " Oh, my God, thou knowest that I dare not
bring gunpowder near fire ; O God, I am weak, and even if I
am not weak, my brother is weak, and, O Lord, help me to .set
a consistent example, lest I become the cause even unwittingly
of my brother's fall and my brother's destruction," for " It is
good neither to eat tle.sh, nor to drink wine, nor to do anything
whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is ensnared, or is made
weak." I had a friend who was travelling in the valley of
Chamouni, Switzerland, some years ago, and he was going up
a very steep precipitous path near a glacier there ; and his little
boy, about six years old, was on the tour with him, and the
little fellow couldn't keep up >vith his father's long .steps, and
he was about a couple of hundred yards lower down, and
suddenly my friend heard his little boy .say, " Papa, papa. "
" What's the matter, my boy:*" " Oh, papa, mind where you
are going, for I am coming after you." .My friend said,
" Those words sank into my heart, and have remained there
ever .since." "Mind where you are going, father, for I am
coming after you." So I say to the parents here to night,
to Christian parents, for I am specially speaking to Christians,
oh, Christian parent, mind where you are going for you.' chil-
'\
'll
^li
!l
J' SI
■ I f
94
THKH; L(»(>KS TOWARD fllUIST.
.1 i
i
' I 1
!iii
,''.(1
i:'i! I
il j
<lren are cominjif after you, and th^y are watchirifj everytliinrj
that you do; all that you aUow yourself to do at home, at
your dinner table, at your breakfast table, your children notice,
and they take their cu«; accordin_Lfly. Ask God, also, ( -hristian
man, what He means you to do with your \n\)o or einjar.
Another wei;»ht that you miffht, as a Christian, lay aside, is,
perhaps, some of the books that yon read. T have been <^reatl}'
pained when fjoinc; into Christian drawinj^-rooms, to see many
of the popular maj,'azines and books and novels of the da}' spread
out there foi anyone that comes into the drawinuf-room — books
and mafji'zines and other thinf^s that blaspheme the name of
Jesus. If we were ri^ht with God we would ask God's permis-
sion about every book, or newspaper, or mafjazine we allow
into our houses, for Jesus says, "Take heed what ye hear," and
in these days we hear particularly by readin<( — take heed lio"'
you read, and take heed irkaf you read. Suppose a husband
or a wife <;ets a letter with insinuations aj^ainst the wife's
character, or against the husband's character, do yon think that
that husband, or that wife, will leave that letter lying open on
the drawing-room table for anyone to read, and what are we
to think of the liri<le of the Lamb, the Church of God, that
allows books and papers operdy upon her drawing-room table,
papers that blasplieme the character of her absent liusband ;
papers that take away all faith in Christ, papers that cast
aspersions on the everlasting Word of God :* I believe that if
you ask God about it. He would purge out of your library a
great many things that ought not to be in it. Oh, lay a.side
these weights, for they have brought ruin and despair to many
hearts, and many a man has bitterly regretted ever reading
such and such a thing, for the poison has followed him, it ma}'
be, for years, until his heart was cleansed by the indwelling
Spirit of Jesus.
There is a third look mentioned in the Bible, and compara-
tively few Christians take it ; it is a look toward Jesus that
you find in Philippians iii. 20 : " Our citizenship is in heaven,
from whence also we look ^or the Saviour, the Lord Jesus
Christ, who shall transform the body of our humiliation, that
it may become fashioned like unto the body of his glory,
according to the working whereby he is able to subdue all
things unto himself." This is looking (or the second advent of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Look to Jesus, and thou shalt be .saved :
look at Jesus at the right hand of God, and thou shalt be
sanctified ; look for Jesus coming in the .second advent glory,
and thou shalt be glorified, and so salvation reaches the spirit,
1 I
THHEE LOOKS TOWARD CHIMST.
9.5
and soul, and finally the hody of man. Von are not completely
siiVL'tl until your body is saved ; until your hody is made
like the ylorifiod hody of the Lord .lesus Christ in His resur-
rection life. Now, I tlnd a <i;ieat many people in these days
think that the study of prophecy ami lookinj^ for the second
ailvL-nt only helon,Lfs to a few fanatical enthusiasts and
pvophecy-m()nj,'ers, as they call tiiem, ami they say, " Are you
one of those people who tell us that the liord Jesus Christ will
tome on such a day and such a year '" No, I am not, hut \ tell
you this, that the Lord .lesus is surely coming, and that He is
comin;^ (|uickly, and that the signs around us point to the near
approach of the second advent of the Lord .lesus Christ. For
we see Cod dealing once more with the .lewish nation and their
nationality reviving, we see the spreading of spiritualism and
so-called Christian Science and theosophy, and all these rabid
delusions that are desolating the people's hearts in these days.
And we see once more apostasy reviving itself and people
rejecting the Word of Cod, and yet all the time thinking them-
sehes Christians, for remember the last state of the C/hurch is
iloscribeil in these words : "Men shall he lovers of their own
selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to
parents, incontinent, fierce, truce breakers, lovers of pleasure
more than lovers of ( Jod, yet having a form of godliness but
• lenying the power thereof." That is, we are told by the
Apostle Paul, speaking from the mouth cf the Holy Ghost,
that the last state of the Drofessing Church will he such,
that men will have a form of godliness, yd all the time loving
their plea.sures and imagining themselves Christians, and living
for their own lusts in reality, but living for CJod in .sentimen-
tality. Oh, this is an awful state of things, and we .see it all
around as'; every honest man sees that that is the real state of
our churches to-day, living for our own pleasures in reality,
living for Cod in .sentimentality, having a form of godliness in
onr churches, but denying the power thereof, which is the
ifoly Ghost in the heart. The power of the Holy Ghost is
the Holy Ghost making the Lord Jesus real and powerful
in your heart, and life and conscience. Now, a word more
about the second advent of the Lord .Tesus. If we are to
judge of the second advent by the number of times that it is
mentioned in the Bible, there is no subject in theology of more
importance. For example, how many times is the second advent
of the Lord Jesus mentioned in the New Testament alone ? If
vou read over the New Testament once vou will find that the
second advent is referred to 318 times. If you sum up all
n
96
TMIIKE I.noKS TdWAIlD ( IIUIST.
Si
the verses in thi! New 'rcstainont arithmetically, you will find
that one verso out of twenty-tive .s|K'aks of the secoml advent.
If you read the two epistles of St. I'aul to the Thes.salonians
you will find that one verse out of every four speaks of the
second advent, so let no one tell you tliat this is an unpractical
or unimportant thin^. I know of no suhject that will so
transform your inner beini,^ as when the daily lookinj^ for
Jesus to come in the clouds of heaven becomes a divine
reality to your soul. 1 know the chanj^e that took place in
my own life when I saw the truth of the coming of Christ ;
before that I used to join in various worldly thinj^s. I was not
wholly on the .side of God ; I used to be attracted into the
camp of the world one day, and into the camp of the Church
the next day ; but when 1 saw the truth that Je.sus might come
again at any moment, and that if I had this hope in me I
would piirify myself even as He is pure; once I saw that, I
received the inward power to separate myself from everything
in my outward life that would displease God. I know of
nothing more practical to the soul than really to look for
Christ, and to say " Lord Jesus, Lord Jesus, another day has
dawned ; perhaps Uefore the sun .sets, or even as he sets, thy
second advent glory may Hash acro,ss the sky, and thou may est
stand revealed in all the glorious wounds and .scars that we
gave thee — ^thou niayest stand revealed to the gaze of thy
people." What does St. Paul .say ;' " This we say unto you by
the word of the Lord that we who are alive and remain unto
the coming of the Lord shall not go before those who are
asleep, for the Lord himself shall descend from h.eaven with a
shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trump of
God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first ; then we who are
alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the
clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and .so shall we ever be with
the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with the.se words."'
He does not say, " Wherefore frighten one another with these
word.s." He does not say that ; he says, " Wherefore comfort one
another with these words," and if your heart is right with the
Lord Jesus Christ, there is no more comforting, inspiring and
strengthening motive than the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I know wliat I say, for I have proved it.
Dear Christians, aro you really looking for the second advent
of the Lord Jesus Christ ? Is it a practical reality to you, or
is it a far-off", dim, dim, shadowy thing in the very, very far
distance ? Oh, no, the coming of the Lord draweth nigh !
" Behold I come quickly. Hold that fast that thou hast that
TIIHKK LOOKS ToWAKD < HHIST.
97
i'
no man take thy crown." Take up your Bible with new /est,
and say, " Holy Spirit, teach nie tlio meaning of this Book ;
reveal to my heart some of the <flories that are hidden there ;
open thou mine eyes tliat 1 may behold wondrous thinj^s out of
thy law, for the darkness is increasinjj; and apostasy is ijaininj,'
j^round, but thou dost say to me, " Hold fast that thou hast
until 1 eome. " The Lord write this third look upon your hearts
and enable you to take it so that as you j^o home the cominjj
of the Fjord .Fesus may be a reality in your soul. Look to Jesus
for .salvation and fori^iveness. Oh, trust Him like a little child,
my brother, then look to Jesus to destroy the power of sin
within you, and to give you grace to yield up every weight to
Him that His Spirit makes your conscience uneasy about ; and
then look for the second advent of Christ, and say, "Lord Jesus
Christ, keep me walking and living in the light of thy glorious
appea ing." God bless you ; (Jod bless all the services in this
building, and may thousands of hearts rejoice in our Lord
Jesus here in Toronto before this mission closes. Amen.
.. Ill
.1
|vent
I, or
far
ligh !
that
1^
!l
f
Ml
Ai)ri;r Kiic.i^NiikAriox.
" Nii'iKluinuH Hiiitli iiiit<
»Itl '' - .luhn iii. 4.
Iiiiii, lliiw cm .i iiiiiii Ih- Imiiii \nIiuii Iio
r
IIA'i' is, how can an adult bojjin life all over aj^ain, how
can an a<lult receive a new nature so that all things
become new ^ That is a (juestion tiiat I propose to
answer to-night from the Word of (Jod, and from the Word
of (Jod only, and I am aware of the deep responsibility that
rests upon me to <;ive a ri«^ht answer to tliis question, for
Satan lias done all in his power to mystify and becloud the
subject of regeneration ; for he knows that if a man is misty
there, if a man goes wrong there, he goes wrong on every
doctrine of the Christian faith. I ask for (Jod's special grace
to-night that I may state the truth clearly before this congre-
gation, so that every one of you may go out of this hall
knowing in your hearts whether you are born again or not.
Vou see the Lord has settled the (juestion once for all, that if
ever I am to be with Him in glory, and if ever I am to have
any true fellowship with Him on earth, I must be born again.
Christ has pas.sed His word for it, and He has sealed it by a
double " Verily, verily, 1 say unto thee. Except a man be born
again, he cannot see the kingdom of God, and lie cannot enter
into the kingdom of God. Ye must be born again."
The Lord Jesu.s had been preaching in the streets of Jeru-
.lalem, and among His hearers was Nicodemus the Pharisee,
and Nicodemus' heart was stirred as he heard the words of the
wonderful prophet of Nazareth. The strange thing about the
preaching of Jesus was this, that He was always preaching
about himself. Now, if a human preacher is always saying
/, /, / did this, / saw that, and / went there, the congregation
say, " Oh, I wish that man would stop speaking about him.self."
But all Christ's sermons are about himself; He was always
.saying: "/ say unto thee, / say unto thee, / say unto thee ; all
that ever came before me were thieves and robbers ; / am the
AIMir llK(!KNKHATIoN.
00
jru-
isee,
the
the
lung
ang
Ltion
lelf."
mys
; all
the
■Nvay, / Hill tlie trutli, / niii tlio lit'c, / am tli«' n'.siirn.'ction, / am
tlie tioor of thi> hIic«-|), / am the living' Itn-ad that came tlowii
From heaven, hd'oif Aliraham was, / um ; / and my Father
:iri' one." lie was always pn'aehin;^ ahout liiiiiML'lt', and Nico-
• lemuM said to himself, "(Hi, I must <^o and have a private
conversation with this new teacher, for there is a stranj^e
mysterious power altout the man, ami there is the stamp of
truth upon His face, and anyway 1 cannot gainsay these
miracles; Ffe touches the blind ami they see. He touches the
lame and they walk, He touches the leper and he is cleansed ;
I shall <jo and have a private conversation with .lesus to-nij^ht,"
.ind so when ni^ht-tinie came, after some troulde, I suppose, he
found out the poor lod^dn;^ place where .lesus stayed for the
iiij^ht. and he went in and said, " Master, we know that thou
art a teacher come from ( Jod : for no man can do these miracles
that thou doest, except Ood he with him," and "Jesus answered
and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Kxcept a
man he horn aujain, he cannot see the kingdom of (iod." " How
<'an a man be horn when lie is old' can he enter the second time
into his mother's womb and be born ?" "O Nicoilemus, I am
not speaking of a birth according to the flesh, and according
to the laws of natural generation ; I am speaking of a new
birth, of a heavenly birth, a birth that brings eternity into
your spirit, soul and body ; I am speaking of a birth from
heaven ; Except a man be born from above — as the (Jreek word
literal I}' means — Kxcept a man be born from above he cannot
see the kingdom of Ood." I ask this so-calle<l Christian con-
gregation, "Oh, ye nominal Christians of all churches, do you
know what it is to be born from above, do you know what it
isi*" "Well," you say, "this subject has caused nie much
anxious thought ; tell me, sir, what do you think that that
expression means : ' Except a man be born of water and of the
Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God ?' for you say,
some people that I know teach that the word water there
refers only to Christian baptism, and that if I have been
baptized as an infant I received the Holy Ghost, and I have
been born again, and I only need to nourish my soul by
fretjuent attendance at the Lord's Supper, and I will get to
heaven some time or other." That doctrine is taught by manj"
throughout the world. The Church of Rome, for example,
founds her whole false system on the assumption that all who
have been baptized have received the Holy Ghost. They con-
found regeneration with baptism. What does this word tvater
refer to ? Has it any reference to baptism :* Yes, I think
II
1
M
1
100
All! 1,1 IIK(JKXKUATI<»N.
I,
tliiTo is sojiif n-ft-rencc. The Loril .Fcsuh, liy this word inalfir,
wa.s ret'crriii;^ to tin- Ixiptisnt ol" .luliii, wliich was tin- syiiilx)!
of ropcMtiincr. .\()]\x\ Hiiys : "I liaptizi; yo'i with wuttM* unto
rcpciitancf, liiit tlu-ry standetli one amouLj yon, the latc^het of
wlu)s(,' shoes I am not worthy to unloose ; hi^ sliiill i»ii|»ti/e you
witli the Holy ("host aixl with fire, and liere the Lord .Icsus
joins .lohn's Itaptisni with Mis own, and tells us that repentance
prepares tlie way for the l\in<,'<i()ni of (Jod ; that water is the
outward syniliol of the inward cleansin^jr of the; heart, for until
a man has truly repented and tiirne(l fr(;m his sin, he is not
yet prepared to receive the Holy (Jhost within him. llem(!m-
her. the liord .li'sus was speakinj^ to a Pharisee, and we are
distinctly told that the IMiarisees rejected the counsel of God
a<j;ainst tlieniselves, bein<; not baptized hy tlohn. The puhlicauH
and the soldiers went down in crowds to the lliver Jonhin, and
we read they confessed their sins and were baptized by John
in tlie Jordan, but the Pharisees stood proudly on the bank
and said, " Why should we be baptized by that wanderinjj
fanatical preacher, why should we accept baptism inito repent-
ance !* for we need no repentance, we are not vul^'ar sinners as
thev are. we do not need to no down unci confess our sins."
Thus they rejected the counsel of (Jod, they refused to repent,
althou^di tht.'re were thinj^s in tiieir livcis just as wroni; and
liateful to (iod as in the lives of those they despised. Hence,
I believe, on the sure teaching of the Word of (Jod, that the
word ii'dtcr is symbolical of repentance or the turning away of
the heart from sin; the man gets weary with himself and witli
his past life, and he says, " Oh, is there n(jtiung bettor for me
than this; is it possible that the life of lieaven can be lived on
earth ?" Yes, my brother, you can live the life of heaven on
earth if you take CJhrist's way of doing it. Turn from your
sin and say. "Lord, I am a siimer, there is nothing but sinful-
ness and corruption about me," and Jesus says, " I will put my
Spirit within you, and my Spirit will bring the very atmos-
phere and life of heaven within your being — you will be born
of God." Now, 1 want to make it very plain to-night what
the Spirit of God means by regeneration. I am not going to
di.scuss what Archbishop , or Canon , or any other
theologian .says that the word regeneration means; I want to
discuss what the Word of God saj's regeneration amounts to ;
1 want to find out what are the infallible marks of a man that
has been born again. I am not going to deceive myself for
eternity if I can help it; I am not going to allow you to
deceive yourselves either, if I can help it, so I want you to
"•^ I
ADII/r UEt.KNKIlATroN.
101
listen wliilu I turn to tliu Wor*i of Ciod and Htnl out from tiuit
infulHMu Hook thu marks of a soul that is truly rejirenuratc.
Wliiit is the first mark of a man that has passed out of death
into life '. Turn with me — you who have Hihles — to the First
Kpistlo of St. .fohii, the seeoiid chapter and the twenty-ninth
verso, the latter part of the verse. Here we read: " Kveryone
that doeth ri<d»teousne,ss is horn of (Jod." The Hrst nuirk of
reijeneration is din in/ ri;iliti'<nisin'fin ; ri^diteousness means
straightness ; rijrhteousne.ss means that which is rijjht. that
which is accordin<( to the everlasting will of ( Jod. I ^iri^hteous-
ness means crookedness, all that is contrary to ( Jod's will. The
very first mark of bein^ ' '>rn of CJod is this, that a man beconies
straight. Have you ever thought of that f — no sentimentality
about that. The first mark that the Holy (Jhost gives of being
a real Christian i.s that you become a straight man. Vou are
straight in your dealings toward (Jod first of all; you are
straight in your dealings towards yourself, and you are straight
in your dealings towards your neighbor in business. The very
first mark of regeneration, I repeat again, and with double
emphasis, is sfrnyfhtni'xs. Oh, for a revival of divine righteous-
ness in our business circles; oh, for a revival of divine righteous-
ness in our ecclesiastical dealings with money ; oh, for a revival
of divine righteousness in our family lives. The first mark that
<}od gives is not any inward ecstasy, is not any peculiarities of
feeling, is not the singing of hymns, and saying Hallelujah ; the
first mark of regeneration is that you are straight inside and
straight outside. " He that doeth righteousness, he that doeth
righteou.sne.ss, hath been born of God." Oh, how niany of our
church members will be convicted by that at the day of judg-
ment ! Jesus will not say to you, Did you sing that nice hymn :*
but He will say, Were you straight in your business i Oh,
Chri.stian business man, I beseech thee, in the name of God, do
nothing .shady in your bu.siness ; avoid the thousand and one
expedients that people make use of in these days in order to
put dollars in their pockets. Chri.stian man, .stand .straight ; be
firm, and say, " Lord Je.sus, though I should starve, I will not
deny thee in this matter." The man that .suffers hunger with
(yhrist will have greater peace in his soul than the man who is
enjoying the richest ban((uet that the riches of a Vanderbilt
could give him. Oh, dear sir, be willing to suffer the lo.ss of all
things for the .sake of straightne.ss.
What is the second mark of being born from above ! You
will find it in the third chapter of First John, and the ninth
verse : " Whosoever is born of God doth not connnit sin, for his
1 1
r
t i
102
.\I>I I.T HEfJKXKIlATK'N.
1 r
^i
ll
seed remaincth in liiin and he cannot sin Itecauso he hath been
born of (ioil.' Tins verse tells nie that the second mark of
ret^eneration is rirlnri/ orir si)). . I con(|Uer the sin that once
eon(]iienMl inc. " Wliosot-x cr is horn of (lod doth not j^'o on com-
mitting sin." The verb is in the present proi,'ri'ssive tense, and
means, " doth not tjoon eommittinj; sin." Oh, it is a dark sh^w
in a man when h s constantly yieldin<i; to some besettinj; sin.
Nou ouj^ht to In very suspicious of your ( 'hristianit}', my
brotlier, if you are constantly fallinj^ under the power of some
besettinjif sin, for this vers(> says : " Wliosoever is born of ( lod
doth not eonnnit sin ; ' und then it <^ives a reason, " For his
.seed ' — which is the Woi'd of (lod, for the seed of the divine
birth is the Word of ( iod — '" his seed abideth in him ;" that is,
he receives the Word of ( lod into his lieart l)y the power of the
Holy ({host, and by the words of thy lips I keej) myself from
the paths of the destroyer. The Word of Clod brings power and
purity into his soul. " Wherewith .hall a young man cleanse
his way T' asks David. " By taking heed thereto according to
thy word." I>ut you say, that verse makes a most extraordin-
ary statement : the verse sa3's that the man who is born of God
cannot sin: tell me, my dear sir, what do you mean by "cannot
.sin"? Now, the word "cannot" is used in two senses in all
languages. Tlie word "cannot' either denotes a moral im-
possibility, or an actual impossibility : here the wonl denotes a
moral impossibility. Let me explain further what I mean. It
is a cold day, the thermometer falls several degrees, and 1 go
into a store to buy a pair of gloves ; and I say to the young^
man, " Kindly show me .some gloves," and he lays several pairs
upon the counter ; and while I am there the temptation to steal
a pair of gloves comes over me, but as the temptation rises in
my heart I refuse to do it, and say, " Lord, thou art my keeper,
I dar'^ not di.sgrace thee in any way," and I con(|uer tlie temp-
tation. I rould steal a pair of gloves in Toronto to-morrow if i
liked, and 1 could not. I couhl get drunk before I go to bed
to-night, but I could not. There is a moral impossibility
against my getting drunk to-night. Shad I tell you why ^
First, because I am trusting God to keep me from strong drink;
secondly, because I have been a teetotaler for over twenty
years, and therefore there is a moral imposv-ibilitj' against my
committing the sin of drunkenness. Now, God, by His Holy
Spirit within you, can make it morally impossible for you co
commit any sin ; He can make your whole regenerate nature
rise up in instantaneous revolt against sin ; He can take away
the desire of sin from you and implant the love of holiness.
ll
^
ADI'I/r llKtiKNKKATloN.
103
The Spirit of (Jod.by His almighty power within the heart, can
in one second destroy a lit'e-lon<^ hal»it of sin, ami iinphmt a
life-loiij;; haltitof holiness. HtMiieinltfr that. The Holy Spirit of
( lod is divine and sovereiijfn in His operations in a human heart
that yields to Him, and the Spirit of (.lod can destroy the hanc-
fnl dominion of sin within yon in one second of time. O Holy
Spirit! oh, thou biooditit;' j^'t-ntle dove! th.it comes to dwell in
the Iniman heart, wilt tl'.)U not teach thy children in Toronto
tlie secret of perpetual victory over sin ' The secret is to let
the Word of CJod al)i<le in your heart by the power of the Holy
(Ihost. That is the secret: you cannot sin because He says
your seed abideth in you and keeps you in the atmosphere of
hciaven. (lod keeps the soul in tlie very atmosphere of heaven,
and when the atmosphere of heaven is aroun<l us and within
us, sin becomes absolutely hateful. If you were suddenly
translated to the throne of Jesus tonijjht, or if I were cau<jlit
up this second as I preach to you, and were put by the side of
the Lord .lesus in heaven, as there He stands by the Father s
right hand, how I would hate sin, how all the thinjjs tJiat the
world could oHer me would appear small and insignificant, and
not even to be thought of, if only I could find myself for one
minute at the side of .lesus in everlasting glory. Oh, liow
differently I would view the things of earth from the perspec
tivc '»f the throne of God !
Now, the third mark of regeneration. You find it in 1 .lohn
iv. 7 : " Beloved, let us love one another, for love jsofiJod,
and everyone that loveth hath been born of (Jod and knowetli
(Jod. He that loveth not, knowetli not (.Jod, for God is love."
The third mark of regeneration' is lore — love in your heart
St. Paul says, " Though I speak with the tongues of men and
of angels and have not love, I am become as sounding Vtrass and
as a tinkling C3'mbal ; and although I have all faith so that I
could remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing."
Love is the infallible mark of possessing eternal life in Christ.
" By this we know, ' says the Apostle John, " that we have
passed from death unto life because we love the brethren of the
Lord Jesus Christ." That is, those that do the will of Jesus,
you feel at home with them, and you learn to love them because
they have the same Father, the same Elder Brother as yourself.
Oh, may the Lord shed abroad His holy love in the members of
His body, and then we shall be delivered from bitterness and
bickerings and from the terrible di.ssensions that detile us.
Love is the only remedy for church dissensions, the oidy real
remedy.
i !
Im
' \-
111
Ki
U
1'' '■
I
>:<!
104
ADULT KEGENEUATIOX.
Look at the fourth mark. 1 John v. 4 : " Whatsoever is
born of God overcometh the world, and this is the victory
that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that
overcometh the world but he that believeth that Jesus is the
Son of God !*" The fourth mark of true regeneration is vidorif
over the world. I fear this mark is almost conspicuous by its
absence trom our church members to-day. The world and the
Church are so interlocked in unholy wedlock that it is scarcely
possible to say where the Church ends and where the world
begins. There was a time when the world and the Church were
widely separated, in the days when the early Christians carried
their cross for Jesus ; but now the world has become religious,
or, which amounts to the Scime thing, the Church has become
worldly and the power of God has almost left as. There came
a time when the world worshipped at the feet of the Church,
and said, " O thou bride of the Lamb, lay aside thy testimony
to Jesus and come down to me, and I will lay aside my open
profanity, my cursing and my swearing and my sensuality,
and receive me as a member of the Church." And the Church
received the world, and God has never been glorified since.
God does not approve of publishing the banns of marriage
between the Church and the world ; in the name of God the
Father I forbid those banns — the banns of marriage between
the Church and the world. What are we to say of those church
members who really think themselves Christians, but who are
found at all the world's theatres, the world's concerts, the world's
billiards, the world's cards and the world's parties of every sort
and description that the world arrogates to itself, and where
the name of Jesus would be the most unwelcome thing you
could mention :" What is to show me what the world is :* God
has given me a definition of what He means by the world. He
says, " Whatsoever is not of the Father is of the world." If
you want to find out whether a ball or a concert or a party is
of the world, just go to the door and say to the people, " Is this
of God the Father? Are you honoring God the Father :*"
Remember, no one honors God the Father unless he honors
God the Son. " He that honoreth not the Son honoreth not
the Father who hath sent him." The lust of the flesh, the lust
of the eyes and the pride of life is not of the Father, but is of
the world, and the world passeth away and the pleasure thereof,
but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever. There is no
use telling people to give up the world unless you give them a
pleasui-e and a joy that is infinitely superior to the world, and
so I never tell a person to leave the world until I tell that
ir
ADl'LT UE<iKNEUATI<>N.
10.')
man, first of all, to receive Jesus in all His beauty, Jesus in all
His satisfitction, Jesus in all the plenitude of His fort^iviiij;
j^race, and then you will Hnd it is an easy thing to give up the
world, for all your taste for it will have gone. One of the
darkest signs of to-dav is to see the Christian workers and
the clergy and ministers of the churches catering for the
amusement of their congregations, instead of going in for their
salvation. Oh, it is one of the darkest signs of the aposta.sy
spreading in our churches to-day, when the ministers take the
lead in the amu.sements of the churches, and not in giving them-
selves to the Word of God and prayer. I do not .say this in a
censorious or bitter spirit, but because ( Jod forces the words out
of me. " Whatsoever, whatsoever is born of God overcometh
the world," and any man that has an honest heart can find out
in five minutes what his world is.
Again: 1 John v. 1, " Who.soever believeth that Jesus is
the Christ is born of God." The fifth and last mark of a true
regeneration in fnit/i in tfw Lord Jesus L'hHst, as your Prophet,
ijo'itr Priest, and your King, for that is what the word " Christ"
implies ; the word " Christ ' points out God's anointed Prophet,
(jod's anointed Priest, God's anointed King. Jesus is our
Prophet because He tells us the truth ; Jesus is our Priet^t
because He takes away our sins by His blood upon the cross,
and Jesus is our King because by His Spirit He rules within us
and brings every thought into subjection to the obedience of
Christ. How many of you have believed on Jesus as the
Christ ' You .say, how do I do that i I will tell you. Oh,
now may God enable me to tell you very simply how to believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ, for I find many are perplexed about
that. They .say, " Sir, I have been hearing sermons since child-
hood on ' Believe, believe, believe,' and I am just as much in the
dark to-day about ' believing ' as I was years ago." What does
" to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ" really mean ;' Let me give
you a most simple illustration. Suppose that I wanted to go
down the shaft of a mine, and I come up to the shaft and there
it goes down for several hundred feet into the bowels of the
earth ; I see a rope reaching from the top to the bottom of the
shaft, and I .say to my.self, " Now, that seems a strong rope ; if I
were to hang on to that rope I ai.i (]uite sure I would be safe,
it would not break, it would support me." Now, that would
be believing a certain fact about that rope. So far, so good.
But reuieuiber the Scripture never says. " Whosoever believeth
about the Lord Jesus shall be saved." The devil believes every
word in this Book about the Lord Jesus Christ, though some
H
,1,
»■■
i :r
lot;
ADi i.T i:eoenekati<>n.
of the lii<,'her critics do not: tlu-y have not as nmcli faith as the
devil ; the devil believes every word, and trembles as he reads
of the iud'Muent coniinj; on him. No one will be saved bv
lielievin^f facts dhniil the Lord -lesus Christ: no one will be
saved by bolicvinj,' liist(;rical statements ahoaf the Lord .Jesus
('hrist: no one will l)e saved by brlievini; a creed alxttit the
Lord Jesus Christ. Hut suppo.se I put my two hands on the
rope, aid swiui,' myself off' the land, and there I am hangin<;j
lielplesslj- over the shaft of the mine ; then for the first time I
am believing on the rope — I am believini^ od the rope then ; J
was only heWay'mrr about the rope a monient ari;o : now I au)
han<^ing spirit, .soul and body ov the rope. The Lord Je.sus
('hri.st — I sa}' it with reverence — He is the everlastinf^ rope.
He is unbreakable. Jesu.s is eternal, and I believe on the Lord
Jesus when I definitely commit myself into His safe keepinj^ ;
and until I have committed myself to the Lord Jesus Christ, I
have never believed on Him ; I may have believed about Him,
but I have never believed on Him. So I ask you, oh, you dear,
dear people, j'ou wlio have been baptized, and hundreds of you
confirmed as well, you who have gone to the Lord's Table, have
you ever committed yourselves to the Lord Jesus Christ ' Have
you ever done that '. Paul gives us his definition of faith : " I
know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able
to keep that which I have committed unto him " — he says,
" that which I have comnutted unto him against that day."
May the Lord turn this congregation into a congregation of
committers of themselves into the safe keeping of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Oh, you will never repent it, my brother. How
glad I am that I committed myself to the Lord Jesus Christ
almost twenty-four years ago, when I was a young man study-
ing French and German and music in a German college in
Switzerland. Do you think I have ever regretted it i Every
year, I testify to the thousands here to-night, every year in the
company of the Lord Jesus Christ grows better and better and
better still. "The path of the just is as the shining light that
shineth more and more unto the perfect day."' Some people
tell you, " You know the first joy that you have at conversion
will all pa.ss away, and you must not expect to be happy a few
months after you are converted ; it will all pass away, and you
will become a nice respectable Christian with a long face, and
so you will remain until the day of your death." That is not
the doctrine of the Gospel. The (Jospel is that when you are
faithful to the Lord Jesus, the light in your heart will shine
more and more unto the perfect day of Christs appearing in
11
Ifll
ADILT nKdENEIlATIoN.
107
the clouds of Vieaven. Well, believe on tlie Lord Jesus Christ,
tlmt is, commit yourself wholly to Him, properly, and without
any nonsense, to-ni(:fht, and there and then you are saved, and
there and then the I^ord Jesus says, " My child, I will keep th.ee
to the end, don't be afraid." So many peo[)le deal half-heartedly
with Christ, so many people only play at committinj; them
selves to Jesus, they do not really do it. This half-hearteihiess
is the secret of all the backslidin<; in our Christian lives. Start
well and it is half the race.
One thin" more and I close. Let me translate all that I have
said into actual fact. Lot me tell you a true st^ry. It has
been published in the form of a tract. It happened in the
south of Ireland. Several years aj^o, a congregation was going
out of church ; they had just been listening to a very clever
sermon on the subject of regeneration, and there was a tall, well -
dressed, fashionable young man in the congregation. His heart
was deeply stirred by the sermon, and he wrote a note to the
clergyman who preached the sermon : " Dear sir, Kindly come
and dine with me to-night because I wish to speak to j'^ou about
something that has stirred my heart." The clergyman was
greatly surprised at receiving this note, and he said, " I wonder
what it is that has stirred that young man's heart ? I didn't
think he ever thought of anything but horses and dogs. " I
may as well tell you that this clever clergyman had his brains
stuffed with theology, but he knew nothing of the love of the
Lord Jesus in his heart. He had passed splendid examination.^,
he was a well-read man ; but oh, he had never passed an exam-
ination before the great Bishop of the Church, even Jesus.
The clergyman accepted the invitation, and the two men sat
down to dinner. The meal passed and the dessert was put on
the table and the servants left the dining-room, and the clergy-
man L>aid, " Well, Mr. , what was it that you wished to
speak to me about ? " " Well, I am glad you have mentioned
the subject," said the young man, " because really it is very
much on my mind, and I would scarcely have had the courage
to mention it to you myself. Tell me, sir, is that practical and
real ? Is it practical and real ? " " Might I ask you, sir, what
are you alluding to ? What do you mean ? " " Oh, I mean
what you said in your sermon yesterday morning, that a man
must be born again if he is to see the Kingdom of God. Tell
me, my dear sir, is that a reality ? " " Well," said the clergy-
man, feeling rather uncomfortable, " some have been inclined to
take that expression " being born again " merely as a bold
Orientalism, but I feel certain in my own heart that it denotes
|! ;,
! •
■' :i'
i 1|
|l .
H^
I
ION
ADir/r UECiENKKATH >x.
;:
I ;
a very radical change in the human heart." " Very pfood," said
the younj,' man ; " then how doe.s it come about :' " The clergy-
man got still more uncomfortable, and he said, " Well, my young
brother, divines are not exactly agreed as to the meaning of
the term regeneration." " Never mind divines," said the young
man. " it is all humbug to talk to a man about theories and
speculations when his soul is anxious. I want to know, Mr. ,
is this a real thing, or is it not :* In a word, have you — ?" The
clergyman's face grew as pale as the tablecloth, and he
answered not a word. The young man got up from the table
and went to the open window and leant against it. He remained
there silent for a few minutes, when he felt a hand laid upon
his shoulder, and the clergyman said to him, " My brother, let
us pray." " Yes," said the young man. " let us go to the
library, we shall be undisturbed there;" so the two went into
the library and knelt down there, and there we leave them
with God; but I .shall tell you the result of what passed in
that library. That young fashionable man went to bed with
his heart tilled with the love of God; he went to bed with
the love of the world taken out of him, and the love of the
everlasting Jesus in its place. He went to bed knowing that
he was born of God, and that he was an heir to the kingdom
of heaven. For the following Sunday and for several Sundays
after that strangers occupied the parish pulpit. At last, the
clergyman appeared again in his own pulpit. I do not know
what his text was, but oh, the effect that that sermon had on
the congregation 1 for there was an unction and a power and a
tire coming out of the man's heart, and he told his congrega-
tion how he had been preaching truths to them that he knew
nothing of in his own heart. God had .shown him that he
was a lost sinner, that he needed salvation from the hand of
Jesus, and by the grace of God had received it. And strong
men bowed down their heads that morning and silent tears
were shed in that Church of England congregation, and the
congregation felt as they went out that God had spoken to
them ; the living God was in the service, that it was a real and
divine service that Sunday morning. Oh, dear souls, can you
say that you have been born again ? That you have been
born from above ? I ask you the same »|uestion that that
young man asked the clergyman : " Oh, sir, is it a real thing,
have you been born again ^" I leave that question with you
now, and I ask God to make the truth real and practical to
every one of you. I ask you in the name of Go(l, ' Have you
been born a second time, have you believed on the Lord Jesus
ADULT KK(iKNEI«ATI<>N.
100
Christ," for thnt is liow the new birth comes? "Ah many an
rec-oivt'd Him, to them s;ave He power to become the .sons of
iJod.even to them that belii^ve on His name: which were born,
not of blood, nor of the will of the tiesh, nor of the will of
man, bnt of Clod.' " How can a man bu born again when he
i.s old r' Bv believin<' on the Lord Jesus Chri.st.
f I
i!
r
Pi,
siir: Li-i-r iii:r wati^rpoi."
i
i !
« *
" Tho Wdiimii then left lier wiiterpot, find went lier way into tlie city,
»n(l Haitli to the nien, Oonu!, seo ii man, wliich tolil inu all tliin&^s that over
I «li<l : in not this tho Christ i " .John iv. -JH, 2!>.
AND if you allow the Lord Jesus Christ, brethren, to search
your hearts to-night and to tell you all that ever you
did, you will have no more doubts about Jesus or His
word. Brethren, a wonderful chanf]fe takes place in a human
heart when you spend even one hour alone with the Lord
Jesus Christ ; I say it is a marvellous thing — tho transcendental
change that takes place in the condition of a human soul when
you spend time in the company of the Lord Jesus Christ. [
want to .show you to-night how that change came about in
the ca.se of the poor woman that came to Jacob's well. This
poor woman came to the well with all her sins upon her; her
life was defiled, her con.science was dark, her heart was the
seat of terrible impurity, and she went away from the well
after having a conversation with the Lord Jesus Christ, with
all her sins forgiven, the light of heaven in her soul, and the
im purity of her past life buried forever. She went away to
be the first female missionary ; the first female missionary was
a saved adulteress, the first female missionary was a poor
woman of bad character, whom Jesus took, I may say, out of
the gutter, and sent her forth to preach His Gospel, and her
female preaching was so successful that she brought the whole
city to the feet of Jesus. She went away and said to the
inhabitants of the city, " Oh, come and see this man, this
wonderful man at the well, for He told me all that ever I did : is
not this the Christ that should come to save us ?" I pray that
the Spirit of God may make this hour in which I speak to
you a time in the company of the Lord Je.sus Christ, that He
may speak to my heart, and to my con.science, and then I
think He will speak to your heart and to your conscience, for
" As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to
man," and when you have found a blessing in your own heart,
'ii
Iki;
'SMK LKKI' MKU W.VTKItl'OT.
Ill
oil, |i(iss it on to soiiiclioily I'lsc, for tlmt is true iiiissioimry
work. I ]n-iiy tlmt this iin't'tin^ to-iii^'ht inuy result in 'um-
<lr<;(ls and liinitlre«l.s of nnssioniiries livin'' in Toronto. A true
niisMioiuiry is a man or a woman
w
ho tt'stiJit's out of till
fulnuss of his soul what .Jesus has done for him; it is the
simplest thint^f in the world to he a mis.sionary -just to let
.lesiis search your heart an<l save you, ami till you with the
living; water, and then ^'(j forth to tell ,-.>;:iieh )dy elst; ; you
need not <^o to colU'i^e at all ; all that ycni need to do is to jjo
into Christ's collej^'e, and he tauj^dit hy Iliu), and then your
words will have everlastinj^ eH'ect.
Fiet us see how all this came uhout.
Jesus, wearied w
ith h
is
journey, sat thus on the well, and there conieth a woman of
Samaria to draw water ; .lesiis saith unto her, ( iivu me to drink."
This woman of Samaria, instead of ;^dvin^' Him some water, i,'ot
an<^ry with the Saviour for that simple request, and she said,
' How is it that thou, hein<; a Jew, askest drink of me which
am a woman of Samaria :*" Now, hefore I pass on let me ask
this coni're'ration one (luestion: Have you ever noticed how the
Spirit of ( Jod answers the (juestion " How," for there is no wonl
in the Eny;lish lan<^ua<^e that is so often used in theoloj^ical
matters as the word " how." ILnv do you explain that :* 7/o"-'
do you reconcile that discrepancy with this one :* i/oit) do you
think that (Jod will act :* Oh, that word "how"! What a
state of soul it often represents! every difficulty that a man
has he lets it out with the word " how." Well, now, how are
all difficulties to be answered in theolo<»ieal matters ? I wish
to tell this congregation and very specially the vast number of
men I see here to-night, how to solve every difficulty that meets
you in the thing.s of God. There is one glorious solution for
that (|uestion "how"; for example, Nicodemussaid to the Lord
Jesus, " Master, how can a man be born when he is old ? How
can these things be '. " Jesus answered, "(Jod so loved the world
that he gave his only begotten Son," and you will find that
every question that you can ask God is answered by the gift of
His Son ; if you are willing to take the low place, if you are
willing to become as a little child and accept a gift from the
hands of God your Father, your difficulties will be solved. An<l
again when the Lord Jesus said to the Jews, " Except a man
eat my tlesh and drink my blood, he hath no life in him," the
Jews answered and said, " How can this man give us his flesh
to eat ? " Jesus said, " My Father giveth you the true bread
that came down from heaven." God will give you the true
bread ; you need not understand about the composition of it, if
' !i
1
M :
112
•SHi; I.KKT HKU W.M'KUIU.T.
you will only I'lit it ami di^'cst It, yon will <,'i't ^rcai ^ooil from
It. Ai;iiiii, Wf r»'Uil ill Ist ( 'oririthiuiis xv. .'{.'): " IWit sonit' inaii
will siiy, How iiri' tlic dfiul niisril iij), mul with wliut liody do
tlicy Come f" "Thou Tool," answers the apostle, "( lod j^ivcth it a
body; ami to every seed its owfj iiody." The ;;it"tot' (iod is the
unswer to ever}' <lillieulty that can ever i,'o tliroUi,di my ht-art,
and it' I just learn what, is summed up and enclosed in the gift
of (Jod, all my fjitliculties will he solved. To-ni<,'lit I siiy thank.s
he unto < iod for His uuspcakaiile ^'ift. .lesus answercMl and said
to the woman, " H" thou knewest the i;ift of (Iod an<l who it is
that saith to thee, (Jive me to drink, thou wouldst have asked
of him and he would have given thee living water;" so if you
know two thin<'s vou will he saved ; vou are to know that tljo
(fifl of (Jod is elcriiiil lif'i', and you are to know the pernoa in
vvhon» the gift reside.s, for salvati(m is not knowing a " what; "
salvation is knowing a "who." "If thou knewest the I'ift of
(Jod and who it is that saith to thee, (Jive me to drink, thou
wouldst liave asked of him and he would have given thee tl>o
living water." May this congregation be turned into an asking
congregation to-night; oh, let us he askers who come with all
our need to (Jod and we slmll go away shouting the prai.se of
(jrod. for as sure as you ask he will give it to you. The woman
saitli unto him, " Thou hast nothing to draw with. Sir, and from
whence hast thou this liviu'' water '. " Jesus answered and
said unto her, " Whosoevi-r drinketh of this water shall thirst
again, hut whosoever drinketh of the water that 1 shall give
him, .shall never thirst, hut the water that I shall give him
shall he in him a well of water springing up into everlasting
life."
Now, 1 have another (juestion for this congregation ; tell me
how are you to find out where the true Church is in these
days '( The lloman Catholics say they are the true (Church ;
many in the Church of England call them.selves the "Church,"
the " Church," the " Church," and the Presbyterians, Method-
ists and Baptists are sects, and the Plymouth Brethren say they
are the only true Church and everybody else is in the wrong.
Well, then, where are you to find the true Church, because in
many points these bodies contradict one another, and they can-
not all be in the right. In the verse that I have read for you
to-night the Lord Jesus gives us an infallible recipe for tinding
the true Church. What is it ^ Jesus says, " The water that I
shall give you shall he in you a well of water springing up
into everlasting life." L"t me explain what I mean. Some
time ago a Roman Catholic priest came to a Church of
••8IIK LKFT II EU WATKUI'OT."
Ilii
can-
you
isome
Ktif^'Iatiil clor^'Vinim who was travel I iri;,' in tln» south of I'ranco,
Hinl this Ivoiiiaii Catliolic priest said to the Kii<;li>h ch-r;;yiiian,
" My ^'oo»l sir, I am fully coiivinci'd of tht> uttoi' falscjivss of the
Churt'h of Rome, ami I wish to U'mvc the Church of Home and
heconu' a I'rotistant. " 'I'he Church of Knj,dand clergyman
gave this wise answer, " My ^'ood sir, h't me tell you plainly
that heconun;;' a Protestant will not save you ; hefore you can
enter our relij^don, our n'liy;ion must enter you, and ourrelij;iou
is the Ijord Jesus revi-aled to the heart hy the ])ower of the
Holy (Ihost : you won't he saved, sir, hy hccomin<; a nominal
Protestant,
d
ot lost h
K(
n
o£
:'causo you are
Catliolic; you are only saved when you receive the Spirit of
Jesus within your heart not until then have you heeome a
niendier of the one true holy catholic Church, iiuly holy and
truly c.ithoHc. ' That is what I say to this eon;,'rej^ation to-
ni<,'ht. 1 am not askint; you, Are you a Catholic ' Are you a
Salvationist :* Are you a Preshyterian :• But I am askiiiiij you
this : Have you received the livinjjf water within your heart ; i.s
tliere a well of livinj^ water within you ? hecause that is the oidy
infallilile proof of church memhership in the sij^lit of (Jo(l.
" The water that I shall tjive you," said Jesus, "shall he in you
a well of water sprin<»in<,' up into everlastin<f life," for "if any
man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of His." How
many evangelicai Protestants cP thi.s city have the Spirit al
Christ (IwellinfT within them ? That is the only Church I care
to belonfj to ; that is the Church that is indwelt by the Holy
Ghost, the livinji; water which Jesus gives. Brethren, have you
received that living water ? Oh, this glorious living water !
Where does it come from :' It comes out from the throne of
Cod and of the Lamb. " Behold," says the Apostle John, " I
saw a river of water of life clear as crystal proceeding out of
the throne of God and of the Lamb ; " and that living water
flows down to earth and comes into human hearts by faith, and
never leaves you until it raises you again to the height of the
throne of God, for the first law of hyclrostatics, whether terres-
trial hydrostatics or .spiritual hydrostatics, is this, that water
rises to its own level. Oh, holy living water, come into our hearts
to-night, and raise us to the throne of Jesus, that we may have
fellowship with Him.
The poor woman did not understand what Jesus meant ; she
thought that the Lord Jesus was still talking of earthly water,
so she said to Him, " Oh, sir, give me this water, that I thirst not
neither come hither to draw." And oh, how gracious our Lord
is ! He had said to her, " If you will only ask rc-^ for the water^
8
\
m
iii
•'NlIK l.!:iT lli;it WATKItl'uT.'
I
I will ii'wo it to y<»j." VVt'il, nIjo «litl iisk ; she asked in licr
i;;iinniTict' ; mIm; aslxcij in her durkncss and sIk! j^'ot tlio water.
Notice the wonderful clianj^e tliiit eonii's ovt-r the convfisution.
Jesus answereil un<l said unto her, " Woman, ^'o, cull thy hus-
hand, " and tlie woman Idushcd and turned her eyes away from
tlie fac»t of .Irsus, and said, "Sir, I have no husliand," and .Icsus
looked her full in the face and said, " Woman, thou hast well
.said thou hast no husliand, for thou hast had live, and he whom
thon nt)w hast is not thy hushand." " In that saidst thou truly,
woman." As .lesus spoke thos'. words thc! Ii;,ditnin^ Hash of
conviction of sin wont throUjLjh the heart of that jtoor adulteress,
and she felt that she was standiiifif in the presence of Incarnate
Purity, a lost sinner untlone and defiled.
Oil, that li^ditnini; flash of conviction of sin ! How nuiny of
you have had it ' I reniemher when the liL,dit of Hod lit up
my soul with the li;^htnin^ thish of conviction of sin. I pray
that every one of you may have your hearts laid hare to your-
selves to-ni«;ijt; you do not need to liave them laid hare to
Jesus, they are bare already before Him ; but you need to have
them laid l)are to yourselves. What did the woman say then?
She had a difHculty, and she wanted C/hrist to solve this difli-
culty, and .she said, "Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet;
our fathers worshipped in this mountain, ami you say that in
Jerusalem is the place wheie men ou<fht to worship." " Jesus
saith unto her. Woman, believe me, the hour cometh when ye
sliall neither in this mountain nor yet at Jerusalem worship
tiie P'afcher. Ye worship ye know not what; we know what
we worship, for .salvation is of the Jews." Let me .say, in pas.s-
m<f, if there are any Jews in Toronto, will not you <;ood
Christian people see that .salvation comes to them from you ?
If you have j^ot salvation from the Jewish Saviour, see that
you ji;ive back salvation to the Jewish people.
" But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worship-
pers .shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the
Father seeketh such to worship him. (Jod is a spirit, and they
that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth."
That is the divine rubric concerning church worship : " They
that worship the Father must worship him in spirit and in
truth." Brethren, let me make a statement to-nijjht; it is one
that pains me deeply, but as I go round the world year after
year preaching the gospel of the grace of God, one thing .strikes
home to my soul, and it is this, that spiritual worship in all
our churches and in all our denominations is largely on the
decrease. The Spirit of God is almost ab.sent from our public
li^!
"Sm: I.KKT IIKIt UATKItl'uT.
115
()()(!
jon ?
that
iliip-
• the
they
uth."
They
111 in
,s one
after
brikes
lin all
In the
jublic
wor.Hhip. We hiivt^ wi'lI-peit'iiniUMl servicfs, wf liuvi' imistcul
i|Uiirt»'ttfs. tli(( oi'j^auist pliiys with all his nii^'lit, tin- choirs mIii;;
with till their iiiiijht, thr scrvicM' is fmiltlfssly priritriiUMl, iiikI
tht; ln'iMMlit'tioii is |ir(>ii»»micf(l ut the cml ; luit when' is ( Jod,
whiTt! is (loil ill the whoh- thin;; where is the JileseilCe of the
living (Jod' Have yoii ever noticed how St. I'liul desciihes
the worship ol" till' eiiily ( 'hurch in tlie lirst century :* Me say.s,
" 11' there sliould come into your iisseinhly an iinheliever, lie is
convinced hy all, he is jud;;ed liy all, and so fallini; down on
his I'aee, he will worNhip (iod and confess that ( iod is in you of
a truth." Hut if unhelievers come into our churches to-day,
they feel ipiite comfortaMe ; they are not allected hy the wor-
ship that uoes on, for thev do not .see (Iod in us; thev .'*ee
inconsistency in us, they see unholiness in us, hut they «lo not
.see (jod in us, and that is the rea.son that the work of (Jo(l ^oe.s
on so .slowly, hecause tliere is so little real spiritual worship in
our churches. If the congregations only worshipped (Jod in
spirit and in truth, your churches would become the very ^ate
of lu'aven to your hearts, and you would, as it were, see the
angels of (Jod ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.
" TM»'8t is till! Iiniir of Hiiloiiiii iiKirn
And lili'st till! iiiiur of tniiii|iiil ovu,
Whi'ii oil the NvinL{H of faith iip-horiio
'riio world 1 leiivo.
For then n dHyspriii^ hIuiiuh on ino
l{rii;hti'r tlmn morn's ctlii'ii'til irlow ;
And richer dows do.scend from thoo
Thun eiirtli oiiii know."
Worship in s])irit and in truth is worshipping in heaven while
you are down here on earth. It is entering by faith into tlie
holiest of all where Jesus dwells, and seeing (Jod face to face
by the power of the Holy Ghost ; your whole soul bathed in
the glory of tJod, whilst you pour out your heart before God,
and God draws near and speaks to your inmost soul. " They
that worship must worship in spirit and in truth." The poor
woman had never heard such truths as these (the Church of to-
day, the Church of the nineteenth century has not learned them
yet), and .she .said unto Jesus, " I know that the Messiah is
coming, and when He is come He will tell us all things." Jesus
saith to her, " 1 that speak unto thee am He." Now, I come to
the point of my address to-night ; I have all this time been
leading up to it. " Then the woman left her waterpot, and
went her way into the city, and saith to the men, Oh, come and
I
w
r.ll
I!' r
lie
"SIIK I, KIT HER WATEUI'd'l,
III
! 1 ■ :
f I
soo this Miiin that told ino nil that ever I did; is not this the
C'hrist :* Tlx^ wonmii lu^liovL'd on Jesus as her Saviour; slio
helieved that that poor, tired man sittini,' hy the well-side was
the jironiised Messiah of Israel. He luid searched her heart
and she was convinced that Jesus was true, and a new joy took
possession of her, and a new purity was in her heart, and a
new power, almost, came into lier lind)s, and she went her way
to hear testimony to Jesus; hut as she went, almost uncon-
sciously, she droj)ped her waterpot ; siie had come to the well to
draw water, hut now her heart was .so full of new-found joy
that unconsciously she dropped that old waterpot and ran
away into the city, and pive testimony concerning; the Christ
she had found. And that is what always happens. After a
person has received the livini;' v»ater into tlw /icurl, almost
unconsciously you drop all those old thintjjs that you used to
draw water with, and with which you tried to satisfy the thirst
of your soul. I want to ask this coui^re^ation, the real C'hiis-
tians here to-night, have you ever dropped your waterpot :'
Have you ever dropped that with which you u.sed to try and
satisfy yourself ' Have you really found he.trt-satisfuction in
Je.sus Chri.st :* Now, some people say, " I su{)pose you are one
of those preachers that takes away all the pleasure a man
has out of liis life, and (hat you say that a (Miristian ouji^ht not
to smoke, or drink, or play billiards, or cards, or attend pro-
gressive euchre parties, or go to the theatre, or attend concerts
— are you one of those Christians ? Do vou say, " ^ on must
give up that, and you nnist give up tiiat ! " That is not the
way I put it; I am not so foolish as that, hut I will tell you
what I .say. First of all, get .lesus to be your Saviour; first
of all, know that your heart is po.sse.ssed by the Spirit of
God ; tirst of all, get the atmosphere and purity of heaven
within your lieart ; tirst of all, be sure that your sins are
forgiven ; tirst of all, be sure that you are a member of
Christ; first of all. be sure that you have received the Spirit of
the Lord Jesus Christ within you, and then see what will
become of those thing.s. I wi.sh to tell this congregation that
I never had to give up anything my whole life long, althougli
I was very fond of what are called worldly things before my
conversion. But I will tell you what I did ; I received Jesus, and
then I found before 1 knew where I was that all those things
had given up me. That is what I found; all those things had
given up me, for I was a new man. I remember going to the
theatre once in Geneva after I was converted to ( Jod, and I am
glad I went to the theatre that night, and I will tell you why —
' i
I i
SIIK I.KFT lli:i{ WATKKI'or.
117
bocauso it sliowt'd me that I was a real (yliristiun. .lust shortly
hi't'orc that I had liad dt'alinifs with < lod.arid ( iod had rcci'ivod luo
us a sinner, and at the colU'Lje where 1 was all the fellows went
to the tlu'atro at Christmas time, and I said, " Well, I will <j;o,
too, 1 needn't make niyselt' peculiar;" and I went to the theatre
in (Jeneva, and sat down to listen to the Kieneh j)lay ; hut as I
sat there, oh, such a t'eelinj,' of aversion and detest arose in my
soul when the man be^an to make covert jokes and hidden
inuendoes as the l)lay went on. A few months before I would
have laujijhed at all those thiui^s, but since < !od had taken pos-
session of my soul my whole beiuijf revolted ai;'ainst them. I
knew as I sat in my stall in the theatre in (n-neva that 1 was a
new man in Christ Jesus. It is a dark s'v^n when ministers, or
cler<^y, or Christian workers, or ordinary Christians are found
enjoyinu; the things that the world arro<,'at(>s to itself. 1 fear
that their hearts are not satislied with the liord .lesus (.'hrist.
Oh, ji^et satislied with Kim first of all, and then see what will
become of all tho.se thinu;s. Somethiuij; more about that. I
happened to be iiavini^ a mission in a west vud church in
Jjondon, England, in February, LSS."), and I had been preaching
about the new birth, and three or four hundred people remained
in their seats afterwards for the after-meeting, and I sat down
by the side of a young nuin and he told me that he was a
barrister in the Temple in London, and that he was a son of
the IJi.shop of . "Sir," said he, " 1 shoidd like to ask j'ou
a (juestion, if you don't mind." "Yes," I said, "that is what I
am here for. What is it, my brother ? " " Well," he said, " do
you approve of the Shakespearean drama ? I am passionately
fond of the theatre, sir; I don't like low plays, nothing low or
oalre, hnt the Shakespearean drama, respectable plays like that.
Now, sir, if I become a Christian, may I go to the theatre J' "
So I said, " As I am an Irishman, I shall answer your (piestion
b^' asking another. Tell me, have you ever been l)orn again i* "
"I wouldn't like to say that," he said. " Let me put it another
way," I said. "'I'ell me, do you know that your sins are for-
given by ( Jod i* " " No, I catmot say that ; I wish I knew that ;
my heart is restless, mj' heart is uneasy, and oh, sir, I would
give anything to be able to say wdiat you said from the pulpit
to-night." "So you can, my brother, if you will t:ike Cod's
way about it ; let us pray." And the two of us knelt down in
the pew and he poured out his .soul to (Jod in a most touching
prayer, and asked (Jod to put His light within his heart, and to
make him a real Christian: and Cod answered his prayer, and
he shook hands with me and went home. The ne.\t night I
m
tl I
lis
"SHE LKFT HKU WATEIU'OT."
was surprised to see liini remain a secontl time to the ai'ter-
meetini^, and I said, " Well, my friend, 1 thou;;ht you saw the
truth last ni<i;ht a/id that you fjave yourself to the Lord." " So
I did," said he, " hut, .^ir, I iiave remained hehind to tell you
what has happened since; you rememhei, sir, that you told me
that if I were only honest with ( Jod He would very soon answer
my (juestion ahout the thtnitre, and every other question ; sir, I
went home and took my Hihle and read over the third chapter
of .John, and then I read over the fourth chapter of John, and
came to that place : ' Then the woman left her waterpot,' and
as I read that verse the thou<,dit flashed throuf^h my heart, If
you only pjet filled with the livinj,^ water, then all those thin<;.s
tfom which once you drank and thirsted again, will drop off.
Why, sir, you could have knocked me down with a feather
to-night when you got up into the pulpit and gave out as your
text, 'Then the woman left her waterpot.'" "Well, my
brother, didn't I tell you that God would answer you (juickly / "
" Yes," he said, " but I didn't think He would be as quick as
that." Oh, dear soul, if you are honest with (iod, (lod will
never keep your heart long waiting, never. If the soul is really
honest with (Jod, (Jod will very soon fill you to overflowing
with joy, and forgiveness, peace, and divine purity. Oh, may
the Christians here to-night know what it is to be so satisfied
with Jesus that they will drop the old waterpot that only
draws earthly water of which they drink and thirst more than
they did before. Drinking salt water can satisfy nobody.
Suppose I am out on the open ocean sailing, and there is no
fresh water in the beat, and the sun is beating down upon me,
and I put my hand over the boat and take up some water,
and sip it, and say to myself; "I am thirstier than I was before.
Let me drink more and I shall be satisfied ; " and I drink more
salt water. In a short time I would be mad with thirst; and so
there are people in these days that are dissatisfied with the
world, dissatisfied with its pleasures, and thoy go in only for
more and more, more and more maflly still they drink of the
cup of excitement, and their hearts are restless, and their sleep
is broken, and their lives are filled with darkness, and they
won't come to Jesus who alone can give the heart rest.
" I heiiril the voice! <if .losus say,
BuIidW 1 freely uivo
Tlio liviiiff water, thirsty one,
Stooj) down iiiitl drink and live.
" I Cfinie to .re.sus and I drank
( )f that life-yiving strei
iani
My tliirst was (|Uenched, my soul revived,
And
now
II
ive in
H
mi.
SHE LEFT IIKIl WATEHI'(n'.
119
Can you say that ;' The Lord teach e\ ory one of you to be
able to say, " My tliirst was quenelicd, my soul revived, and
now"— oh, let the whole world hear it — "and now I live in
hiu)." " Then the woman left her waterpot, and went her way,
and saith to the men ui' the city. Come, see this man that told
me all tliat ever I did : is not this the Christ ? Then they went
out of the city, and came unto Jesus." 1 feel 1 must add
something — give me five minutes more.
I want to tell you liow to take this living water. There was
a class of boys in Switzerland, and their Sunday School teacher
was teaching them that veise,"The wages of sin is death, but
the gift of Cod is eternal life through »iesus Christ our Lord,"
and a bright thought struck the teacher, and he said to the
boy at the top of the class, " Now, James, I give you that
watch." James bowed toward his teacher, for he understood
all about it, and that is all he did. Then he said, " Charlie, I
give you that watch," and Charlie smiled at his teacher, for he
understood all about it, and that is all he did. " Now, Johnny,
I give you that watch," and Johnny blushed and looked down
at his toes, and that is all that Johnny did ; and then the
teacher went down the class till he came to the last boy ; he
was a very little chap about six years old, and he said, " Now,
Georgie, my bo}', I give you that watch," and little George
opened his blue eyes and opened his hand and grabbed the
watch, antl the teacher allowed it to fall into his hand. Oh !
fancy little Cleorge's delight at having a real watch that would
go, when he was only six years old. Then the big boy at the
top of the class said, " Oh, sir, if I had only known you meant
it, I would have taken it at once." " Who told you that I
didn't mean it T' said the teacher. 'Tell me, who told you
that I didn't mean it i"' "Oh, sir," said the boy, "I didn't
believe that you meant it." " That is quite another thing,"
said the teacher. " Vou go without it, my boy, because of
your unbelief, and because of your unbelief only;" and he
said, " My dear boys, that is how God treats us ; God wants to
give you everlasting life and forgiveness and peace in your
soul, and you have only to put out the hand of faith and
believe that He means it for ijoa as though you were the only
person in the world, and take it yourself, and if you don't do
that, you go without it, because of your unbelief." " If thou
wouldst ask of me, I would give thee living water." " Whoso-
ever will, let him take of the water of life freely." God
enable you to take it this night, and to go home praising Him
with the joy of God in your heart.
i ■
ALL TIHNGS UXDLR HLS FLLT."
" That yi- niiiy know wliiit is tlio oxcciMliiig f,'rc;itness of liis power to
usward wlio boliovo, acconliiiij; to tlio vvorkiiiif of liis iiiiglity j)owi'i'. which
lio wrouglit in Ciirist whon lio niised liiin from tlio duail and sut liiiu at
liis own right liand in tho heavoniy phiccs, ami hatli put all things under
his feet. "—Eph. i. l<.t.
LET US see what God means by puttinf:^ all thini^s under
^ the feet of Jesus. I want to show you to-night how
three weak women experienced the exceeding great-
ness of Christ's power. The Church of Cod needs the risen
power of the Lord Jesus Christ to be manifested to her. Jesus
left the Father's throne and came down to earth, and clothed
himself with the garments of human flesh, and humbled him-
self, even to the death upon the cross, wherefore God hath
highly exalted Him and given Him a name which is above
every name, that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the
earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ
is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Now, let us draw near and see in what way all things are put
under the feet of Jesus. Let us glance at some incidents that
took place during His life on earth, and may God write the
deep eternal truths they contain upon every heart and con-
science here. The first thing that we need to know is some-
thing that you will find in Luke vii. .S7. We read, "Behold, a
woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that
Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster
box of ointment, and stood at his feet behind him weeping, and
began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the
hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with
the ointment." But when the Pharisee who had invited Jesus
to dinner saw it, he said within himself, " This man, if he were
a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman
this is that toucheth him : for she is a sinner."
The first thing that I notice is this, that the feet of Jesus is
^ii
ALL THINGS UNDER HIS I'KKT.
121
the place for all ,sl n tiers fo eome fo ; whetlier you area fifty-
pence sinner or a tive-lmndred-pence sinner, the feet of .lesus
is the place for you to come to. You never will know the
power of Christ's everlasting forgiveness until you have pros-
trated yourself in heart penitence at the feet of Jesus, and
confessed that j'ou are a lost and undone sinner. I wontler
how many of this congregation have found their right place,
their only place, at the feet of Jesus as sinnt'rs. Oh, that you
may know what it is to bow low at the feet of Jesus for for-
giveness. Do you ask, how can I know that God will forgive
me :' When once you have nothing to pay, when once you
have acknowledged that you are a bankrupt soul, Jesus will
save you. Jesus said to Simon, the Pharisee, " Simon, I have
somewhat to say unto thee ; there was a certain creditor who
had two debtors, one owed five hundred pence and the other
fifty, and when they had nothing to pay he frankly forgave
them both," and He turned to the woman and .said, "Simon,
seest thou this woman ; I entered into thy hou.se, but thou
gavest me no water to wa.sh my feet, but she has washed my
feet with tears and wiped them with the hairs of her head.
Thou gavest me no kiss, but this woman since the time I came
in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou
didst not anoint, but this woman hath anointed my feet with
ointment. Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are
many, are forgiven." And Jesus turned and said to the
woman, " Woman, thy sins are forgiven, thy faith hath saved
thee ; go in peace."
Have you got these three things, namely, forgivenei^s of all
your sins, the salvation of your soul, and peace in your heart ?
She got those three things the instant she knelt in penitence
at the feet of the Lord Jesus ; she never said a word ; her heart
was so burdened with grief for her sin that she was not able to
speak one word ; .she only spoke with her tears, but Jesus
understands the language of tears, the language of sorrow, the
language of a broken heart, that has no words wherewith to
express itself ; Jesus answered the cry of her heart with, " Thy
sins are forgiven thee." Bankrupt soul, if thou hast entered
God's spiritual court of bankruptcy, God pronounces forgive-
ness over thee to-night in the name of the Lord Jesus. If you
have a spiritual cent or a spiritual dollar of your own, God
will leave yoti until you forsake even that, and fall down in
bankruptcy of heart before Him ; then your sins which are
many»will be forgiven. The Lord enable every soul in this
congregation to say, "Jesus Christ, thou art the sinner's
■li
r J
122
•'ALL TlIINTiS rN'DER HIS FEET.'
I
I
r .
Saviour; take iiu; as tliine own forever, for bankrupt I am
without tliee, liut thou hast the unsearcluil)le riches of ever-
lastinf; forujiveness for me. "
I shall not dwell lon«,^er on this .scene, because I wish to speak
to the Christians here to-ni^ht; 1 see a larf];e number of Chris-
tians come to this place, people who profess to be real Christians,
prominent church workers of all the denominations, and 1 wish
to say some special words to them to nii-ht, so let us t,danco at
the 8th chapter of Luke. We read that the Lord .lesus was
walkin<,' alon<; the streets surrounded by a jjjreat multitude of
people, for it was noised that .lesus was in the place, and the
multitude came to<fether so that they thron<;ed llim. When-
ever Jesus comes into a citj^ the multitude come toj^ether to
hear the fjospel, for it is Jesus that is the attractive power, and
Jesus only. A woman in the crowd who had an issue of blood
for twelve years, and who had spent all her livini; upon doctors,
neither could be healed by an}-, came behind Jesus and touched
the border of His j^arment and immediately her issue of blood
staunched. Now, this woman had had a miserable life for twelve
years, her body had been a burden to her for twelve years ; she
had gone to all the doctors in the country round ; she had spent
all her money on physicians, and she was getting worse ; and
when everything else has failed, she thinks she will try Jesus.
Oh, how badly we treat the blessed Saviour ; when every other
support and every other help and every other remedy has failed,
then we say, "I think I will go to Jesus in prayer, and see
if He can help me;" but, oh, shame on us Christians, that
we only go to Jesus when wo have tried everything else, first
of all. I wish to tell this congregation that the Lord Jesus
Christ knows how to deliver a man from di.sease of body as
well as disease of soul. The blessed Jesus has in no wise
altered since the days of His tiesh, but the faith of His Church
has altered, and whenever your faith alters your experience
alters, too, for the unalteraUe law of the Kingdom of Heaven
is, " According to thy faith be it unto thee." Let me tell
you that the Lord Jesus can also cleanse your heart from
every sin that is there. The Lord Jesus wants not only to
give you forgiveness of sins, but also the healing of all your
diseases. " Rle.ss the Lord, oh, my soul," says David, " who for-
giveth all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases, who
crowneth thee with loving kindness and tender mercies." Oh,
what peace and joy would come to troubled hearts in the
Church of God to-day if only they would trust the Lord Jei^us
to take away the disease of their hearts. How many Chris-
ALL THINGS INDKl! HIS FEKT.
123
tians are followed nil the days of their lift; l)y a temper ! Ifow
iimiiy are foUoweil hy some dcLfnidini; lust! How iimny are
followed l»y the love of money I How many are followed by
the love of tiieir own reputation ! How many are tormented
hy constant cowardice I They would like to confess Christ but
their ton<;ue cleaves to the roof of their mouth so that they
cannot say a word whenever they find themselves in company
that opposes Jesus. What you need is the cleansin<j; of your
lieart by the indwelling spirit of God, and after the heart ha.s
been cleansed then the tongue is set free. It is impurity of
heart that keeps the tongue bound, but once your heart is made
pure by the indwelling of the Holy Ghost in pentecostal power,
then your tongue becomes a tongue of tire, and your life be-
comes a life of tire, and you burn everyone you meet. And
what the Chui'ch of God needs to-dav is a set of burning
Christians in whose hearts the words of the Lord Jesus are
burning in the power and tire of the Holy Ghost. We do not
want any more cleverness, we do not want any more organiza-
tions, we do not want any more social schemes, all we want is
a company' of Christians possessed of cleansed hearts and pure
consciences. Then the work of God will go forward. Oh, Jesus
is just the same, just the same. One instance of that : When I
was taking a mission in a town in the north of Ireland about
eight years ago, I had been preaching on this woman that had
an issue of blood for twelve years, and when the sermon wa.s
over, I saw a lady remain in the front pew of the church, and
she said, " Sir, might I say a few words to you." " Certainly,
madam," I said, " what is the matter with you ? " " Sir," said
she, "is that really true M'hat you said to-night T' "What
do you refer to, madam*'" I said. "Well, you said that the
Lord Jesus is just the same now as He was then. I wish to
tell you, sir, tliat it is exactly twelve years since I began to
drink laudanum, and now I drink as much laudanum every day
as would kill a strong man, ami I have gone to the best doctors
in the county and taken their prescriptions and everything has
failed." And there she sat, a terrible wreck of a woman ! I said,
"JVIadam, if you will be honest with the Lord Jesus He will
deliver you from that curse this very day and set you per-
fectly free." She asked the Lonl there and then to deliver her
from this curse and to take away the craving for that drug out
of her, and there and then she gave herself into the hands of
Jesus, and there and then the Lord broke her fettei's asunder,
and delivered her soul out of prison, and she has been free ever
since. Oh, come to the feet of Jesus, fall at His feet and touch
I
Ui
" AU. TMINliS I NDKll IMS I'KKT."
I
I
,'1
if L
\'
the lu'in of His <,'arinent, anil tlu'n ccmtV.ss what He hits »lone for
yon, for the Lonl Jesus -.lunle that woman confess before tho
whole nmltitinle for what cause sh(j had touched Hiin.and liow
she was healed immediately, and Jesus said unto her, " Wonum,
thy faith hatii saved thee, <^n in peace." He said the same
words to her who received the healiui; of her ilisease as to
her who received the forii;iveness of her sins. It is just the
same simple faith that is re(|uired in lioth cases.
Hut now I want to tell the ('hristians here t()-ni<;ht how
to believe and to receive the power of the Lord Jesus ; I
want to show you the dan<;er of limitin<f Christ's power, for
only when you allow the Lord ilesus to speak His words in
their plain natin-al meaninj^ to your heart, oidy then can j'ou
really enjoy His power. Let us learn some lessons to-night
from the three great mistakes that Martha and Mary made
in Bethany. We read in the eleventh of St. John that their
brother Lazarus was sick, and sliortly before his death the
sisters sent a message to Jesus, saying, " Master, he whom
thou lovcst is sick." And Jesus answered, "This sickness is
not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the 8on of
God should be glorified thereby." I suppo.se the messenger
returned and .said to the sisters, " Oh, it is all right. Your
brother La/.arus won't die, for Jesus said. This sickness is not
unto death." But when the evening came, Lazarus grew
worse, and Lazarus died, and Lazarus was laid in the grave.
For the first time in their lives the Lord Jesus seemed not
to have told the truth to the sisters. The one work of the
devil is to make a man doubt the absolute truthfulness of
the Word of God. Let us .see how the Lord Jesus proved
His own truthfulness in this chapter. The Lord Jesus came
to Bethany after Lazarus had been in the grave four days,
and Martha met Him, and said, " O Lord, if thou hadst been
here my bi'other would not have died." Now, what mistake
did Martlia make there ? First of all, Martha and Mary
limited the power of the Lord Jesus to His bodily presence ;
they said, " O Lord, if thou hadst only come when we told
thee to come, and if thou hadst been bodily pre.sent here,
then our brother Lazarus would not have died ; but thou
didst not come when we sent for thee, and hence all this
sorrow that has befallen us." They actually blamed the Lord
Jesus, as if they knew better than He. Let this congregation
here to-night learn not to blame the blessed Saviour. I have
met people in Canada in darkness of soul becau.se they have
tried to fathom the providential dealings of God, instead of
"AIJ, TMINCiS IXDEll HIS I'EET.
12;
bowinj^ low in humility of soul, and sayinrr, "() I.oril Jesus,
U'lich lUf what I ou<'ht to h'urn from thy striuim.' (It'iiliM'-s with
m»! or with my family." 1 boseech you, oh, yt> Christians, to
learn that it is expedient for us that the bodily presence of
Christ sliould not be with us; that now the Church of (lod
can enjoy ^'reater power and <i;reater privilej^es than wlien
Jusus was here in His botliiy form. Now that .bjsus is at
the Father's rii,dit hand, by faith we can do fjreater works
even than .lesus did, if the Church of (lod rises to her privi-
le^^es. "(Jreater works than I ilid shall he do that believeth
in me, " said Christ, " because I <,'o to my Father to send down
the Holy Ghost." Oh, how far the Church has fallen from her
first love, from her first faith, and from her first purity ! We
do not see the works of .lesus done. And those works will not
be done until the Church revives her apostolic faith and her
apostolic purity of heart, and then she will receive the apostolic
power of the Holy Ghost once more. Believe in the power of
the invisible Christ. Cluist can heal just as easily ten thousand
miles away as here. If you have a brother or a sister that you
are prayinjj for thousands of miles away, oh, believe in the
power of the Lord Jesus to reach liim there just as easily as
here.
Let me pjo further. Martha said unto Jesus, " But I know
that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give
it thee." Jesus said unto her, " Thy brother shall rise a<::;ain."
Martha says " Oh, yes, I know that lie shall rise — in the resur-
rection at the last day." Jesus said unto her, " I am the resur-
rection and the life ; he that believeth in me, thouj^h he were
dead, yet shall he live, and whosoever liveth and believeth in
me shall never die. Believest thou this ? " And Martha said,
" Yea, Lord, I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of the
living God." Martha's second mistake was this : .she limited
Christ's power to the indefinite future. Unbelief always puts
Christ's power and Chri.st's salvation far, far away in the dim
future, but faith always makes Jesus a pre.sent Saviour, faith
always lays hold of a present power, and a present forgiveness
and a present salvation. The Lord Jesus always offers himself
to faith in the present tense. Jesus says, " I (im the way, I rt?>i
the truth, I ant the life, I (im the door, I am the living Bread,
I am the Good Shepherd, I am the resurrection." " Martha,
dost thou believe that I am the resurrection? ])ost thou
believe that my power can raise that brother of thine from the
grave this very day ! " I ask, how many of you know the
present power of Christ in your life, or are you postponing
12(i
"AI,L TlllXfiS UNDEIl MIS FEKT."
r i
> I
I,
It
Christ's powtsr to tlic iliiii t'lituie :* You lio|)«> to Ito liotter
sonic tiny, you hope to lie licttcr lit-forc IMXJ closes! ilcsus can
iiuiUi! you whole to-ni;;ht it' you are only williu;,'. Tho Lord
.It'sus Clin j)Ut Mis risen power into your heart litsre it' you will
only let Hun. iJelievest thou this '. iJelievest tliou thiit Jesus
is the resurrection iin<l the life '. Jesus, i^Toiuiin*,' in himself at
the ti'ar.s »ui(l tlie trouhle aiul tiie sorrow that sin liad caused,
conieth to the ^nave. it was a cave, and a stone lay upon it,
and .1 "<us said, " Take ye away the stone." Martha, tlie sister
of hink that was d(;ad, saith unto Mini, " Lord, Ity this time ho
stinketh, for lu* hath heon dead four days." .lesus .saith unto
her, " Said I not unto thee that if tliou wouldest believe thou
shouldest see tl>e j;lory (f (iod?'" Now, wdiat was Martha's
tinrd mistake 'i Martha's third mistake was this, that she
limited Christ's power as to its extent. Martlia knew that
Jesus had raised .Jairus' daui^liter froui the dead just after the
breath liad left her body ; .NIartha also knew that Jesus liad
raised a youn<; man from the dead as he was heinj,' carried out
for burial. iSut then Martha be<;an to ar<fue, and to arnjue i.s
very dangerous work in matters of faith, when once the Lord
Jesus has given you a word to go on. Martha began to argue
to her.self like this : " My brother Lazarus' case is a much worse
case than these; he has been dead four days; he is already a
prey to corruption in the grave ; my brother Lazarus is too far
gone, too far gone to be raised up to life again." Oh, are there
not many of you Christians that have been saying that about
some of your friends or some of your relatives ? You have a
brother that is the slave of drink and you .say he is too far
gone ; there is a husband who has lost all affection for his wife,
whose children tremble as they hear their father's step on the
stairs, and they say, " Oh, our father is too far gone." There is
a drunken clergj'man. Who will raise liim up and bring him
back again to holiness an<l purity ? ^Vhat are we to do ?
They are too far gone, just .say nothing about it, let them lie on
in their graves, let them lie on in their own corruption,
but don't do anything to raise them ; and the unbelieving
Christians .say, " O Master, don't take away that .stone. O
iVlaster, I couldn't bear the sight of that dead body in the grave.
Let him lie on, O Master, in the tomb of his own corruption."
" Said I not unto thee that if thou wouldst believe thou shouldst
see the glory of God l " Christians, pray for the very worst
cases in this city, those who are furthest from God in cor-
ruption, in sensuality, in drink, in atheism, in infidelity ;
perhaps they have been made infidels by the inconsistencies
"ALL TiiiX(is iNi)i:i{ Ills ii;kt."
127
iii
of prol't'ssinj^ Cliristians iti Toronto. 1 ot'ti-n nictt witli iiiuii
who luivt! lost faith in God ami faith in everything,', ami in
nine cases out of ten I find that th(;se ni(;n have hecn iiia<lo
inhih'ls l>y the way they were treated liy some prominent pro-
fessin<; (Christian who refused to pay his dehts or soim.'thin'^'
else like that, and the man lost all faith in truth and all faith
intJod. I»ut .lesus can restore a man hy the power of Mis
resurrection to i)urity and holiness and everlastinif life. Oh,
take up the worst cases 1 oIHt that challen^'e to the ('hris-
tian (Church of Ton^nto to-ni<,d)t — what man of prayer and of
d h
faith will take up the most ahamloneci cases m the city and lay
them in jjrivate prayer hefore (iod, and see the j,dory of (Jod
manifested in their conversion and salvation. May 1 tell you
one tliinf^, hecause people often turn round on the preacher and
say, " Well, luive you ever acted out that yourself '. " May I
tell you one thinfj, and it stirs my heart as I tell it. lirethren,
I once liad a friend, a very dear friend ; we ^revv up to<jether,
we played togetiier, we lived to^'ether, and when this friend
came to man's estate he entered a crack re<i;iment in the
British army as a youn<^ lieutenant, and then he went in
for theatricals and balls and parties, and all tiie amu.se-
ments of the re^jiment, and in a short time, to my horror,
I heard that drink had laid hold of my former friend.
The next thinj^ 1 heard was that he had left his regiment;
he couhln't do his duty because of drink. Then lie went
to the colonies and got into .some good situations, but he
lost them through drink, and sunk lower, and lower. In
November, IH87, I hapj.^ led to be preaching in Bombay
Cathedral, in western India, and as I was going to bed one
night the thought came into my soul, " Pray for your friend ;
go down on your knees and pray for your friend." And
I said, " Oh, \\\y God, save this friend of mine ; oh, my (Jod,
have mercy upon him; Lord, he is so badly otf" now that
I fear he would be ashamed to be seen in any ordinary place of
worship, but. Lord, send him into some Salvation Army bar-
racks, and save him there, my God ; " for I thought tliat my
friend was ,so badly otf that he would be ashamed to be seen in
our respectable, well-furnished churches, but that he might not
perhaps be ashamed to go into some Salvation Army place
where poor people congregated, and I prayed definitely, "O Lord,
save my friend through the Salvation Army." And I iiot only
prayed, but sat down and wrote him a letter, and sent it off
the next day. Three months after that I had a letter from
Tasmania, and this letter began, " My Dear George, — Praise
12H
"Ar.l. TIIIN(JS I'NDKIl HIS FEKT."
(Joil for Mis i^M'iict" mill i-onilncHM" — oli, it is ii j,'ninil tliiii;; when
a IcttiT lK';,'iriH with " I'lni-f dotl" "on tlif very ni;^'lit on
wliifli you Huiil you pniytMl for nic, in your lu-ilrooiii in
I'loniliiiV, otj tliiit vtTv niuht I v\'iui<lcrt'il lioiiit'lcsH nn<l Ihim'TV
into H Siilv/ition Army hiirnicks in 'rastniiniu, iin<l wlirii tho
invitation was nrivm I rosi" and wmt forwanl to tlu; prnitt'iit
form ami jjavo myself to the Lonl .lesus Christ, ami Ho has
saved my soul and set me free.' I saw that friend a couple of
years after, and as I entei-cd the room where lu; was, jieard
him {^ivin;,' out this hynui :
** 'I'liore is lifi) for a look iit tlio crucifii'il One,
'I'lioru is lifo iit tliiM innint'iit for tliuo ;
'i'luMi look, siiiiu^r, look unto Him iiiul l)t> Niived,
I iito Mini wlio Wfis imiloil to the trou. "
.' ii
M:
Now, since we have been in Toronto an<l in other places in
Canada, a |^'r»'at many C'hristiaus have come to us in deep
distress about brothers, husbands, wives or children, and they
say, " Oh, sir, this bur<len ; this burden is breal<in<^ my heart."
And I say to you that the remedy for a broken heart and for all
sorrow is faith in the Lord .lesus Christ. He will raise thy
loved one from the death of sin luito tho life of righteousness.
As soon as Martha took away her unbelief, Jesus spoke tho
words of resurrection life, " Lazarus, come forth ; and he that
was dead came forth bound hand and foot with grave-clothes,
and .resus said, I^oose him and let him go."
Now, I must close ; I have been speaking for forty minutes
already, dust give me a few minutes more. One thing more
I want the Christians here to do. We read that Jesus, before
He was crucified, came to Bethany, and there they made Ilim
a supper, and Martha served, and Mary — what did she do :*
Mary, we read, brought an alabaster box of ointment and
anointed the feet of Jesus as He sat at meat, and the house
was filled with the odor of the ointment. Notice that the feet
of Jesus were anointed by a penitent sinner at the beginning of
His ministry, and they were anointed by a consecrated saint at
the end of His ministry. Mary there and then gave all that
she had to anoint the feet of Jesus. Mary wanted to show her
love to Jesus in one supreme act, and she took all the money
that she had saved and spent it all on this alabaster box of
very precious ointment, very costly, and she broke that over
the feet of Jesus and anointed Jesus for His burial ; for Mary
had more true theology in her than all the rest of the apostles
put together, because the rest of the apostles didn't believe that
I ,
AM, TIIINciS INDKU Ills KKKT.
12!)
Aites
lore
"ore
liin
ilo >.
and
ou.se
feet
itr of
t at
that
her
ney
X of
ver
ary
ties
that
.h'siis woiiM litenilly "lif iiiiil litrrully rise n;,Miii Troiii tht; dt'iul ,
but Miiry hml siit at the iVrt of .Ifsus, ami hail hfard ills words,
and I't'ccived them ill their natural nteanini; into hei' heart,
an*l i'lie knew that .Icsus was ahout to die on the cross as Ilo
hail sail'. And now sht- says, Oh, how can 1 .sh(tw my h)vo
to my Master in one supi'i-me act ' " She<,'ave all that .slie had
to Jesus in one act of dttvotion, and the house was tilled with
the odor of the ointment. <)h, I lov<> that alaha.ster hox for it
is spreadin;; fra^'ranee thr(»u;,di the whole Church of (lod (!ver
since. The otlor of that precious ointnuint floated out into the
streets of Jerusalem, ami floated down tlie first five centuries of
the Church, and the first ten centuries, and the first fifteen
centuries, and the first nineteen ci^nturies, and tlie odor of
tliat alahaster liox of ointment has floated into the Massey
Music Hall tonight. It has heen f!oatin<^ down the Church
of (Jod ever since, for Jesus said, "Wheresoever in this whole
world this gospt'l shall he preached there also that this woman
hath done shall he told as a memorial of her." So I ask you,
have you Christians over hroken your alahaster hex at the feet
of Jestis :• If not, that is the reason you <lo not <;et on ; that is
the reason that the iJiblo is a very ordinary book to you ; that is
tlie reason you have no power of the Spirit in your lives, be-
cause the alabaster bo.x is still unbroken. What is my alabaster
box i My alabaster box is that which costs me most — the most
costly thing that I possess, and Christ asks me for that to-night.
Jesus gave up Mis own costly blood for my soul, and for my
salvation ; Jesus gave up His own reputation as King of kings
and Lord of lords, and hung helpless on the cross of Calvary;
Jesus gave up all that lie had to save me, and Christ's words
to nie are, My child, wilt thou give thine alabaster box to
me '. Wilt thou break it over my crucified hands and feet <
I ask the Christians here, tlie real Christians here, are you con-
secrated Christians, that is, have you given your money over to
Jesus, have you given your business over to Jesus, have you
given your family over to Jesus — above all, have you given your
personal reputation over to the Lord Jesus Christ, for the Lord
God can do nothins: with a man that is determined to cleave to
his reputation.
Are you willing to become a fool for Christ's sake, and to
incur the displeasure even of your fellow-disciples, for all the
other disciples found fault with poor Mary for wasting her
money in that extravagant manner at the feet of Jesus ; and
-Judas, the great philanthropist, would have been delighted if
only the money had been given to the poor, but the money was
\ ill
I li!
I I,
t^
;
I
130
AM. TiiiX(is i;ni>i;r ms ri;i:T.
wasted by bein;^ spent upon tlie person of .lesus. The only
service that will count for eternity is the consecration of heart
and life to the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Yon may i^ive
much money to the Church, or to the ministers, or to hospitals,
and receive no praise from your Master ; but money that is
first of all given privately to .Jesus will l)e blessed publicly by
]Iim. One shillinj^ that is given privately to the Lord Jesus
Christ out of a loving heart will bring more blessing to the
Church of (jiod than £20,000 sterling given out of a sjiirit of
ostentation. Oh, for consecrated money ! Money that has first
of all been made honestly, money that has the image and super-
scription of Jesus upon it — that is the money that God will
blens in the work of His Church. All other money, even
though it is accepted for the Lord's work, brings a curse with
it. I ask the Christians here to-night, have you ever broken
your >\labaster box over the feet of Jesus f' Have you given
Him that which cost you something ? The Lord enable you
to give Him the most precious thing that you have, and then
you will begin to know " the exceeding greatness of his power
to usward who believe, according to the working of his mighty
power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him
from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the
heavenly places, and put all things under his feet." Now, Lord
Jesus Clirist, as we bow at thy feet in prayer, enable us to put
all that we have under thy feet and to crown thee Loi'd of all.
Some time ago there was a poor, old workingman dying. His
daughter was watching by his bed.side, and he opened his lips
and uttered the monosyllable, " Bring, bring." " What shall I
bring ? " said the daughter. He kept gazing up into heaven,
and .said, " Bring, bring." " Oh, father, if you will only tell me
what you want I will get it at once." Then he raised himself
on his elbow, and with his last remaining strength he shouted,
"Bring forth the royal diadem and crown him Lord of all,"
and fell back dead on his pillow. That was how that aged
workingman died. Do you wish to die triumphantly, then
live triumphantly ; and the way to live triumphantly is to put
all things under His feet. Lord, let thy love conquer us
to-night, for Christ's sake. Amen.
■^
f
CORNELIUS.
.■ (
" To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whoso-
ever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins."— Acts x. 4.'i.
THESE were tlio closiny; words of St. Peter's sermon to
Cornelius the centurion. I want you to notice the pro-
minent characteristics of this man very particular!}'. Let
me read the tirst and second verses of the chapter in order to
show j-uu the sort of man 1 am goinnj to preach about to-nis,'ht.
" There was a certain man in Ca'sarea called Cornelius, a
centurion of the band called the Italian band, a devout man,
and one that feared God with all his house, who gave much
alms to the people, and prayed to God alway." Now, the tirst
thing that I notice about Cornelius is, that he was a soldier.
He was placed in a very ditiieult position in which to serve God,
and Cornelius teaches me this lesson, that there is no position
in life too difficult in which to serve (iod, if only your heart
is honest towarJ God. There are some who tell us that no
real Christian man can be a soldier, that you could not serve
God as a soldier. H' this be so, it is strange that the Spirit of
God should have chosen a soldier as the first Gentile to receive
the Gospel. It is also remarkable that something good is
recorded of each of the four centurions mentioned in the New
Testament. The Lord Jesus Christ him.self marvelled at the
faith of a Roman centurion. " When Jesus heard that, he
turned himself about and said to his disciples, I hav^e not found
so great faith, no, not in Israel." I wish to bear witness before
this congregation to-night that some of the best lessons in
theology that I have ever learned — I mean in practical theology
— I learned from the life and words of Christian officers and
Christian privates in the British army. I praise God to-night
that there is many a noble .soul in the British army, living in
the power of the Spirit of (iod, and indeed it is a difficult place
in which to stand up for God ; I know of very few more diffi-
cult places in which to bear witness to the saving power of
I
■' \-
i
132
(•OHNKl.ns.
n!!i
I
J .
n
" -f
Jesus tlian an otHcers' moss ; I have known the Lord Jesus many
a time ifloriHed in an otHcers' mess or ante-room ; and if you
happen to be a Christian private in the British army, I can tell
you that it is no joke to kneel down at night and say your
prayers with a shower of liio;ldows at your head !
Now^ Cornelius was a soldier in the Roman army, and he
burst throui^h all ditHculties and found the knowledge of ( Jod.
It is remarkable that God's brightest characters have been
placed in positions of peculiar dilHciilty. For example, Joseph
at the court of Pharaoh ; he lived a perfectly pure life, and
resisted the temptation that a wicked woman put in his way,
and preserved his purity of heart and purity of body, and was
put in prison for his purity — and many of the people of the
nineteenth century would have said to him, " What a fool you
were." But the Lord -lesus Christ always honors those who
honor Him. First of all, you seem to go down and lose your
reputation, but if you are faithful to Jesus, He raises you and
sets you in the place of honor at His own right hand. " They
that honor me I will honor. ' Then you have Daniel at the
court of King Nebuchadnezzar, leading a perfectly pure, blame-
less, political life, though he was surrounded by a lot of place-
hunters ; but he led a blameless life and honored (Jod, and
continued faithful to the end. Cornelius, the centurion, will
rise in the judgment and condemn any man that says, " My
position in my business life, my government life, my home life
is too ditHcult to take up the cross and honor (Jod there. ' If a
man can make an excu.se for not serving God, he is .sure to
make it. I ewe much to a young Christian lieutenant that
laid his hand upon my shoulder when I was only twelve years
old. he had been dining in my father's house, and found me
alone for a few minutes, and made use of those few minutes to
speak to me about the Lord Jesus Christ, and although I did
not yield to God then — nor did I yield for about five years
afterwards — yet the remembrance of that touch and of those
loving words is in my soul to-night as I stand upon this
Ma.ssey Hall platform. He died several years ago, but I feel
that touch upon my .shoulder still. Well, be faithful. If I am
speaking to any soldiers to-night, or men in difficult po.sitions,
oh, learn how to be faithful to God, and God will honor your
testimony to the ends of the earth.
The next thing that I have to say about Cornelius is that he
was a devout man. A devout man is one that pours out his
heart to God, who prays with his whole soul, a man who is
determined to take no denial from God, a man who knows that
('((IJNKLirS.
133
a
to
I at
;ars
me
to
feel
am
lons,
jonr
t he
his
■lo is
that
wlien he asks it shall he given, when he seeks he shall find,
when he knocks it shall be opened unto him. If there is one
thinfj— oh, I grieve to sav it — that is getting more and more
absent from our churches, it is the spirit of true worship and
true devotion. How few there are in out church congre-
gations who know what it is on Sunday morning and Sunday
evening to pour out their souls to God ! I go into the dissecting
room of a medical school — for I have a great many friends
among medical students, and always had — and I see several
dead bodies lying on marble slabs, and I see the Professor of
Anatomy apply a galvanic wire to a dead body. The dead
man moves his foot, or his finger, or his arm ! Is life returning
to that cold form '! No, he is as dead as ever ; it is only a
movement inspired by galvanism. That is the sort of worship
that goes on in a great many of our respectable churches. The
Church is often composed of a number of galvanized corpses.
They pray when others pray, they kneel when others kneel,
thej^ sing when the others sing, but it is only the movements
of galvanized worship, it is not the work of the Holy Ghost
in the heart, they are only praying because they are taught to
pray, they are praying because it is a religious form, and not
because it is the power of the Holy Ghost forcing them to
pray and to pour out their hearts before God. " VVe are the
circumcision," says St. Paul, " who worship (iod in the Spirit
and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the
flef:h." One thing I ask for the people of God throughout the
world is a revival of true, holy, spiritual — let me sa5'^ — Holy
Ghost worship. Then those in the Church will know that God
is there of a truth. The only true way to gauge the spiritual
condition of the Church is by the prayer-meeting. The
number of communicants that go to the Lord's table is no real
test of the spirituality of the Church, for Judas can go to the
Lord's table, and Satan can incarnate himself in those who go
to the Lord's table, but Satan never can pray, that is the one
thing he cannot do : Satan can never pray in the Holy Ghost,
never. It is the prayer-meeting that is the test of the Church.
Are your prayer-meetings times of power f Are they times of
refreshment ? Where do you find most people, at the church
concert or at the church prayer-meeting / Which ^ We say
it with shame, that real prayer has scarcely any attraction for
the majority of our church members. This shows that the
heart is not right with God. Your head may be stuffed with
doctrine, but your heart is not right with God unless you
love to pray. It is prayer that is the real test ; the amount
II
';! ;
i !
« a* '
n^:
134
COHXELIUS.
ill
lii
11 1
i
that you pray in your bedroom, tlio amount tliat you
pray ovor the details of your l)Usine.ss. Jt is prayei- that
is the real test of your state before God, believe me, my
brother ; and at the end of your life, your Christian life will
only prove a blessin;,^ in proportion as you hp.ve learned to
pray. The disciples heard the J^ord Jesus prayinj,' on the
mountain side, and they were so astonished at Clirist's prayer,
that they said, " Lord, teach us to pray ; " for the heavens
were opened when Christ prayed, and tlie disciples felt their
prayers were miserable things, and the Lord .lesus taught them
to pray, and He told them that when the Holy (Jhost would
come upon them, then they would Jearn to pray indeed. Ask
the Lord Jesus Christ to take you into His school, and teach
you how to pray. The Lord never taught His disciples how to
preach. We get up colleges in order to teach our students how
to preach, and we give them lessons in elocution. Well, the
Lord never taught His disciples how to preach, He only taught
them how to pray ; and if your prayer is all riglit, then the
sermon will be all right. Cornelius was a devout man ; we
read that he prayed to God alwa3's.
Besides this, he feared ( Jod with all his house — that is, he
was determined that his religion should not stop in himself ; he
was determined that his family sliould fear God as well as
himself. He was determined that his soldiers should be devout
men, and he succeeded, for we read that he sent two devout
soldiers to the Apostle Peter. Now. here is another thing which
I fear is growing conspicuous by its absence in the Church of
God, namely, family religion and faniily prayer and family
devotion. We allow the worr}' and the bustle and tiie money
of the nineteentli century to crowd out our family prayers, so
that they are becoming a mere form, and in many Christian
homes they have ceased altogether.
It argues very badly for the future of the nominal Church
of God when family prayer is at a low ebb, when the children
and the servants are not gathered together, and when the
father of the family is too busy to lead the devotions of the
household, and to pour out his soul to (iod and ask Him to
keep the members of the family right before Him. A great
deal of family trouble would never have occurred had family
prayer been a reality. Cornelius feared Goil with all his house.
It is a solemn thing to have authority given you by God :
whether political authority, or family authority, or authority
over men in business. Hod means j'ou to use that authority
for Him. I learned a lesson in that a little over a year ago.
>ich
ot
lily
)ney
HO
turn
urch
dren
the
the
in to
:rreat
mily
ouse.
Ciod :
ority
ority
ago.
rouNELirs.
135
I was spoakinr; to Mr. Cadbury, in Aloxamh-ia, F]iJ3'pt, where I
was tal\in<^ a mission, a little over a year ago, in January, 1895.
I suppose you have often heard of Cadbury, the cocoa manu-
facturer— Cadbury 's cocoa — if you have never tried it buy
some of it after the service, lie is an earnest Christian man,
and ilesires to honor (Jod in his business, lie determined to
gather tlie men every morning before work began for a few
minutes, and he reads a chapter of the Bible and prays. Those
few minutes have l)een a ureat blessini; to the factory. Hearts
have been changed and homes transformed. If you are the
father of a family, use your authority for Cod; if you are
partner in a businijss, use your authority for ( Jotl, and see that
your business is conducted on the principles of everlasting
righteousness, and you won't regret it when you lay down your
head on your dying pillow.
One thing more about C'ornclius; we read ( Cornelius gave
much alms to the people. He gave his money away very
liberally, and he was determined to remember the poor that
were about him. He gave much alms away to the poor. It is
a remarkable thing that the New Testament never once
mentions money in connection with what we call " church
work." Perhaps that is an astonishing thing for you to learn
— never does the New Testament mention money in connection
with "church work." We are often reminded, however, to
give it to the poor. Now, in these days, it is thought that rich
men are absolutely necessary to the well-being of the Church
of CJod. The very best thing that could happen the Church of
God is that the fortunes of the Christians should be swept
away, and that the C'hurch of God shoidd revert to her poverty
— to her pristine poverty, for once we became really poor God
would become really rich to us, and we would cast ourselves on
Jesus and find out the unsearchable riches of Christ. But you
do not know what Jesus is, and who He is until you have to
put Him to the test in temporal matters as well as spiritual
matters. '^I'he wail of ecclesiastical debt rises up to God and
curses everything we do. It curses our chi^.rches, and how can
w^e pray in truth when there is a debt hanging over us ^ Thi.s
weight of debt is around the ecclesiastical neck, and is in danger
of drowning the outward Church in destruction and perdition.
])o you think that God can bless the woik of a church in debt ?
It is impossible, it is impossible, (Jod cannot do it, for we are
unrighteous and there is sin at the beorinning. " Hath not God
chosen the poor of this world, rich in faith and heirs of the
kingdom which He hath promised to them that love Him ? "
I
■ 4
1. 1
■■':■. I
'1
;'i i
•R
i
4
;;
■■,,
( , (
1 ■ 1
;.'*:
_-
1
■■^l
136
COllNEML'S.
1 1
' V
\ I!
'■I
I.
* 1;
i I
" Well now," you say to uie, " what a splendid character this
man Cornelius was. Of all the characters in the Bible there is
no doubt but this man was ready to slip rifjfht into heaven ;
could that man need anything else ? a s|)lendid character, a
devout soldier, one who prayed to God repeatedly, one who
gave his money away, and one who made his soMiers as
religious as himself — -what more did he want :' " 1 hope the
five thousand men and women here to-night will not say
that I have taken leave of my senses when I say my next
sentence. This man Cornelius, this noble soldier, this devout
man, this man who gave much alms to the people, with all hi,s
religion, with all his prayers, with all his alms-giving he was still
an un.saved man — he was still an unsaved man 1 ( )h, sir, we do not
agree with you at all, prove it. I will prove it; listen to me ; I
will prove it on threefold authority ; 1 will prove it by apostolic
authority, by angelic authority, and by inferential authority.
Where is my angelic authority i' We read in the tenth chapter
of Acts that Peter said to the ('hurch at Jerusalem, Cornelius
dhowed us how he had seen an angel, who said unto him,
" Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, anil send men to .Joppa and
call for Simon whose surname is Peter, and he shall tell thee
words whereby thou and all thy house .shall be saved."
" Whereby thou " — religious as he was — " whereby thou and all
thy house .shall be saved." So he was not a saved man already,
you see. The words that Peter preached to him were to be
the channel of salvation to his soul. So 1 have the Apostle
Peter, and the angel that came to Cornelius, on my side ; and
now here is my inferential authority : " And when the church
at Jeru.salem heard these things they held their peace and
glorified (Jod, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles
granted repentance unto life — granted repentance unto life."
So they looked upon Cornelius as a man that had truly repented
and turned and found .salvation in Christ. Oh, how does your
life compare with that of Cornelius ? Square yourself with
this man. Let me tell you what Cornelius was ; he was an
earnest, noble-hearted seeker after God, he was a seeker after
peace ; but suppose you had gone up to C'ornelius before he
met Peter and said, " Cornelius, are your sins forgiven ? " " Oh,
I couldn't say that : I am praying for the forgiveness of my
sins every day, but I haven't got it yet." " Cornelius, have you
peace in your heart ? " "I would give anything to have peace
in my heart ; I hope that God will have mercy on me .some day
and put His peace within my soul, and I am doing the very
best I can to get peace with God ; I give away my money, and
COUN'ELILS.
131
md
I pray and pray. Hut no, sir, I cannot say that I have peace
witli God." Now, i,s that not tlie case with a ^reat many here
to-nii,dit i Vou j^ood fathers, j^ood mothers, moral men and
moral women, you <i;o to your churches on Sunday, you pray,
you give your alms away, you are fairly devout, but all the
time you have no real peace in your heart, all the time you do
not know whether vour sins are forj^iven, all tlie time vou
cannot say, " By i^iace 1 am saved through faith."
Now, suppose that after Cy'ornelius had heard the Gospel from
Peter, Cornelius had turned around on Peter and said, " Well,
Peter, I do not see what I want with your .lesus Christ, I am
very good already, I'eter ; don't I pray, tlont 1 give money away,
don't I do all that I know { " With all his goodness and all his
devotion, and all his alms-giving, Cornelius would have found
a place of condemnation before the eyes of the most holy God.
Jesus is the only One that God can regard, and unless you have
.lesus, my respectable, religious, orthodox and evangelical
brother, unless you liave a real .lesus for you at the throne of
God, and in you by the Spirit of God, you will be condemned
at the day of judgment. \o\i must have .Fesus, nothing else
but Jesus will do — nothing else, for it is not a question of how
much you have sinned or how little you have sinned, but the
question is this, have you received desus as your Saviour?
Notice the blessed sentence with which St. Peter closes his
fjcrmon. "To him" — that is, to desus — " give all the prophets
witness that through His name who.soever believeth in Him
shall receive remission of sins." The testimony of all the Old
Testament prophets is to this one point, that .lesus will give
remission of sins to all who believe on Him. Now, I want to
have a testimony meeting here to-night, a testimonj' meeting
not from the living, but from the dead. I shall call the dead
prophets from their graves to-night, and ask the prophets of
Israel to bear living testimony to Jesus in the Mas.sey Hall.
The first prophet that I call upon is the prophet Isaiah.
Isaiah, what testimony canst thou give to .lesus and to forgive-
ness of sins through His name ( and the voice of Isaiah comes
down to us in the Massey Hall from 7.50 years before the birth
of Christ, " He was wounded for our transgressions, he was
bruised for our inicjuities, the chastisenient which procured our
peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed ; all
we " — We 5,000 here — " all we like sheep have gone astray, we
have turned every one to his own way, and the Lord hath laid
on him the iniquity of us all." O prophet Isaiah, I thank thee
for thy testimony. Now I see another prophet that wants to
I 1
I
1
i
! ■(
It
1:
! ■
! ;
I ' '
li:
138
COIINEMUM.
testify, that i.s the pr()))lK!t Kosea — Ho.sea v jd some 800
years before tlie liirtli of Clirist, and vvha ^s Hosea say?
" () Israel, return unto tin; Ijord, for thou hast fallen by thine
inicpiity ; take with you words ami say unto him, lleceivo ua
graciously. I will heal their l)aekslidin^', 1 will love them
freely, for mini! an;^er is tui'ued away from him. ' Then there
is the prophet Micah, who lived 710 years before the birth of
Jesus, lie says he wants to ijfive a testiujony in the Massey
Hall — h(jar it: " Who is a (Jod like unto thee, tiiat pardoneth
inicjuity and passeth by the transoression (jf the remnant of his
heritaye ; he will subdue our iniipiities, und thou wilt cast all
their sins into the depths of the sea," atid when Ood buries your
sins tliev will never have a resurrection. I i)raise (iod to-niufht
that He has buried all mv siiis in the ton\b of Ifis own JSon,
whom my sins crucified on Calvary, and my blessed Saviour
has risen from Joseph's tomit without speck or stain of sin; Ho
died under the curse of my sins, and lie rose as my riijfhteous-
ne.ss, and is sittinif at the rijxht hand of (Jod. Antl as Jesus is
to-ni;.,dit .so am I, as Jesus is to-niyht in a position before God,
so am I accepted tliroui«h the blood of the Lamb, and not
throu<^h any holiness in me. But there is one more prophet
thut says, "Don't leave me out, Mr. ( Jrubb; " it is the prophet
Zeciuiriah, and he lived .')20 years before the birth of Jesus.
And what does Zechariah say to this multitude to-niufht ? The
prophet Zechariah bears testimony in these words : " Thus
.saith the J^ord, I will pour upon the house of I.srael and the
inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of supplication,
and they shall look on me whom they have pierced and they
shall mourn for him as one mourneth for his only .son, and in
that day there shall be a fountain opened for sin and for un-
cleanness." Praise be to God, the fountain that was opened on
the day of Calvary when the soldier raised his spear and drove
it into the side of the dead Christ, and forthwith there came
out blood and water — the fountain that was opened on that
day for sin and for uncleanness has remained open ever since,
and no power in earth or in hell can ever close the fountam of
Ciirist's cleansing blood. Oh, you .5,000 souls, come and wash
and be clean, and be whiter than snow before you go to bed
to-night, with every stain of sin removed. Once more hear my
text: "To him" — that is, to Jesu.s — "give all the prophets
witness that through his name whosoever believeth in him
shall receive remission of sin.s." To Je.sus give all the prophets
witness ; to Je.sus, not to the Church ; to Jesus, not to the sacra-
ment ; to Jesus, not to the clergy ; to Jesus, not to the Church
COHXEUrS.
1.S9
of En<j;lanil ; to .lesiis, not to tlio Prcshytoriiins ; to .li'sU'^, not
to the I'lyniouth HrL'tlirtm ; to .lesus, n<»t to iinj* deiionuiwition ;
to Jesus, not to my respt'ctaltiKty ; to .losus, not to my repent-
ance ; to .lesus, not to my alms-oivini;' ; to .lesus, not to my
holiness; to .lesus, not to my cliurch membership; only to
Jesus do nil tile prophets ^'ive witness, and it' 1 am a real
lionest-heiirted ('hristian it is to .lesus f)nly that I am to hear
witness, and the Holy (Ihost will crown that testimony l)y fall-
in<f upon those to whom it is i^dven. 1 ask the Saviour Idmself
to j)oint to His own hands and feet and side and tliorn-crowned
bead, and say, " l>ehold me, sinner; I am He to whom all the
propliets hear witness, I am the centre-point of eternity, I am
the centre of heaven's worship, I am the Lamb slain, and now
standini' in the midst of the Father's throne forever," to me.
Jesus says, " All the prophets hear witness that whosoever
believeth like a little child on me shall there and then receive
renussion of sins." (lod teach this coufjrei'ation to commit
their f?i''''ty .souls into the .safe keeping' of the lovin<>" Saviour
to-ni<;ht, and to lie down to-nii^ht with a heart at perfect peace
with (jiod through the precious blood. Amen.
WIIliRH IS 1IIIL LAMB?
) ■ I
>, ! ; f
I i *
il!
! I
I', I
ti\
I simll tako four short ti-xts to-iii<i;ht. Tlio first is in tlio li2n{l cliapter
of (lomisiH: " Wheie is tiin lj;inil) f" TIic seioiid Ih from tho I'Jth ilmptor
of Kxodus : "Tuko you ii Laiiil)," 'I'lio tliini is from tlio Int cliii|iti'r of
St. •lohii : " Ik'liold the liUiiih ! " ami tiiu hi.st in in tho ntli chaptur of tliu
book of the l{evohition : " Worthy tlii^ Laiiil)."
w
HERE is the Lamb r' " Take you a Lamb." " Behold
the Lamb!" " Worthy the Lamb." ISo you see from
(Jenesis to llevehition the Bible is full of the Lamb
of CJod, and if you leave out the Lamb of (iod, the Bible and
(Jod himself are insolulde onij^mas. (lod will remain darkness
to your soul, and the Bible will I'omain darkness until you .see
and know the Lamb of (Jod. This 22nd chapter of Genesis
begins with these words : " It came to pass after these things
that God did tempt Abraham." " ( lod did tempt Abraham."
We never read that God tempted Lot. It is unfortunate that
that word " tempt " has ac()uired an altogether bad meaning
with us, but it really means nothing more than " try." (Tod
did try Abraham, and every trial that (lod gives His child
is a vote of confidence in you. We never read, I repeat,
that God did try Lot, for Lot was .sufficiently tried and
Lot was sufficiently tempted by the things that he had
around him in the plain of Sodom. Lot lifted up his eyes
and beheld all the plain of Sodom, that it was well watered
everywhere, and Lot chose to dwell in the plain of Sodom,
and lost all his testimony for ( Jod ; but Abraham chose to
dwell as a stranger, and as a nil grim, After you have con-
quered the temptations of the devil, and of the flesh, then God
himself tempts you or tries you to bring you to perfection, and
thus, the greatest blessing that can happen to any soul is
to be tried by God.
The man who had the most trial in this world was the Lord
Jesus Christ, the Father's only perfect Son, and, therefore,
Jesus said at the close of His ministry to His apostles, " Ye
are they that have continued with me in my temptations or
mmm
WIIKIIK IS TIIK f,AMH ^
HI
my trials, and I ap|)oint unto you a kin;L,'<loui. " Kveryoiio that
continues in tlu; trials tiuit (iod lias ;;'iven iiini and cominers in
the miilst of trial, is ap[)ointiM| a kin;^'doni hyCJod, I want
the ("iiristians lieru to-niuht to Inarn this, " That tlu; trial of
your faith, htnns,' much more precious than of ;,'(dd that per-
isheth, thou<,di it he tried l»y tire, shall Ix? found unto praise
and honor and <;lory at the appearinn; of .lesus Christ: whom
having not seen, ye love; in whom, thouf^fh now ye see him
not, yet helievinj,', ye rejoice with joy unspeakahle and full of
priory." Whenever you y^o throuj^h a trial with (iod, the result
of it is that you have joy and fulness of glory in your .soul.
The devil's ohject is to depress you and to knock you down,
and to make you down-liearted when trial comes ; when you
lose your money, when you lose your health, when there is
crape on the knocker; hut Ciod wants you to go through these
trials with Him and to come out victorious on the other side
with your faith strengthened, and with a new revelation of
(Jod in Christ to your soul. Oh, i< is a blessed thing to he
tried by Cod, and it i.s a bles.sed thing when ( }od .says to you,
" Take now thy son, thine only .son Isaac, whom thou lovest,
and go and olier him up as a sacriHce to me." When ( Jod tells
you to take your dearest and your best and the most costly
thing you have, and .says, " Soul, lay that down on my altar,"
if you will only do that, then " in thee and in thy seed .shall
all the nations of the earth be ble.s.sed, because thou hast
obeyed my voice." So if there is any Christian undergoing
trial here to-night. I .say, " Cheer up, my brother ; cheer up,
ray sister," for it is just a .splendid opportunity in which to
trust (Jod, and in which to praise God.
Very few letters in these days begin with the same words in
which the Apostle .lames begins his epistle : " My brethren,
count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations, knowing
that the trying of your faith worketh patience; but let patience
have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire,
wanting nothing." The Lord give us patience in the hour of
trial, that we may go through it with Jesus, and come out on
the resurrection side of the trial. First of all, there comes the
cross looming in the di.stance, the dark gloomy cro.ss, and after
the cross there comes the tomb ; but the third day there comes
the resurrection, and ye are raised in the resurrection in the
likeness of the everlasting glory of (Jod. That is how the
image of (Jod is reproduced in the soul. You who are in
trouble or trial or temptation to-night, go through the trial in
the company of the Son of (Jod, who gave up His soul unto
death for us men and for our salvation.
' i
i
.','1
l;t
J I
' I'll
1 ' I
,'i
l\
1 1!
'i
U-2
"wiiKui: IS t:ik lamu?'
ThiuiC littlf knfW the «lt'|)ths of his owtJ W'onlH vvluM) lio
saitl to liis 1)1(1 tatlicr Abniliuin, " My father, hchold tht^ liru,
ami tilt' wood, hut wIhtw in the huiih for a hurnt olli'rint,' T'
Th«! Spii'it of <Jo(| is iilways askiiij; the same (|Ut',stioM that
Isaac asjvfd. "Where is the laml» i*" < lod ciui lie siitistied
with iiotiiiiij,' liut His own Son in our worship, or our family,
or whatever we th). Oidy that in whieh the Son of (iod ha.s
part has any j;iory in the si^^dit of (Iod. for apart from th(»
Lord .lesiis Christ wt* are alisohitely nothing', and the sooner
we Hnd it out the hotter.
Ail our wortiiiuess must count from tiie person of Jesus, and
from Him oidy. " Helioli! tiie tire, l)elioid tiu^ wood, lait wliero
is tile lamli !*" We all know what tiie lamh means — tliat tlie
laml) is typical of .lesus; lait wiiat is " tire" typical of i* wiiat
is " wood " typical of? Now, fire all over Scripture is symliol-
icai of two tiiin<rs: it is symltolical of eitlier tiic iioliness of
(Iod or tlie judj^ment of ( Jod, and tliere is very little ditlerence
between the two, for a holy lieinLf must always act in jud^jment
towards .sin. As .soon as a iioly man comes into the jiresenco
of sin, he reltukes it l)y liis very presence. Sin cannot live in
the presence of iioliness, and so wiien tiie tire of iioliness comes
iuuo a human heart, it judj^es all sin in the iieart. It is ea.sy to
find verses wiiere the word " tire " is u.sed in tiiese senses. For
example, " He shall hapti/e you witii the Holy (Jhost and with
tire." There you have the tire of lioline.ss. Then He says,
" He will l»urn up the chatf with unquenchalile lire" — tiiere
you have the tire of Jud-^ment. Wliat does "wood" mean?
" Wood " denotes worthlessness in .several passages. For ex-
ample, in 1 Corinthians iii., we read, " J^eware lest any man
build upon the one foundation Jesus Christ, wood, iiay, or
stubble."
I ask, lirst of ail, Where is the Lamb in heaven ? Wiiere is
the Laml> in heaven / Oh, j^lory lie to (Jod, Jesus has got His
right place in heaven at ail events. St. John tells us where
the Lamb is in heaven. " I .saw a lamb as it had been slain
stand in the midst of the throne." Is there any tire in heaven ?
Yes, plenty, but it is the tire of holiness : " I saw seven lamps
of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits
of God, and there was a .sea of glass mingled with fire, and
there were thnnderings and lightnings proceeding out of the
throne of God." The fire in heaven is the fire of everlasting
holiness, and those in heaven are not afraid of that fire for
their natures are holy too ; and holiness is never afraid of holi-
ness. I come down to earth and I say. Where is the Lamb on
': i:
t
I
" UIIKKK IS TIIK I.AMIl f'
U:{
t'lirtli (• I read tlwy Icil .Icsus to Ciilviiry iiiiil tln-y fiiicilird
Him; on cither sir|i> unt> and .Irsiis in tlu> midst. In luavni
Jcmuh Im in till! midst of tlic tliroin' : on ciittli Jchus is in tliu midst
of tlu! tliittvos. I am |ii<'ucliinL,' to a coii^^'rcL'iition of tliicvcts
to-ni;,dit. Tilt' musi ri-siH'ctaldi! con;,M'»!;;ation in the world is
only u C()n;;n';,'ation of tIdtivcM in tho sight of (Jod; on ono
side tlu'H! are wavrd thiovos, and on tii(! otlirr sid^ tlicri' aii*
unsaved tliii'v«>s, and .Icsus is the dividing,' lint' in tln' nTnlst.
VV(! have all rohliftl (iod of His ^^lory, l>ut let us ht';,du
ttt-ni<4ht to allow forth the <,dory of the Lortl .lesus Christ. I
ask, Whert; is tlu> Lamli in hell ^ I .set; tire t' ere, ii tire of
eternal jiitlnnient, a tire that tiestroys utterly lioth soul antl
body, a tire that !>nrns up the proud and all tlint tlo wickedly,
so that it shall leave them neither root nor hrunch, a
fire that l)rin'.^rs eternal destruetion from the presence of the
Lord antl from the i,dory t)f His power. I see tire there and I
j^ee wt)od, worthless sinners, sinners who iudyeil thenistdves
unworthy of everlastintr life, sijuiers who would not allow the
sin to heconsunietl out of them on earth: they tlujmselves niust
he consumetl in hell, for ourdotl is a consunuiii;' lire, anil he
that rejects .lesus to the bitter end. the Word of (Jod says that
he siiall perish, that is, that he shall lose his life forever. Oh,
.st)ul, soul, tluM'e is wood there, antl thei'e is tire there, there is
(histruction there, for thert> is no Laud) there: an<l only in tlie
Lamb can you liave everlastinLT lift', and apart from the Land*
tiiere is tleath ami ileath only, for " the wa^^es of sin is tleath,
but tlu; free^dft of (lod is eternal life in desus Clirist our Lord."
Have you the tin; of ht)liness burniui; within you. or have you
not :* VV^hat position tloes the Land) occupy in your life ?
Heaven is lieaven because tlie l^and) has Ilis rijLjht position.
Kartli is in its present state Ijecause .lesus is tlenied His rij^dits,
and there will never be peace on earth and ^lory to (ioti, and
swords will never be beaten into ploughshares, and spears into
pruning hooks until .lesus is given His right position on
earth. May (Jod hasten the time when .lesus Idmself will
descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the arch-
angel, and with the trump of (lod, and when the kingdoms of
this world shall become tin; kingtlom of our Lortl, and of His
Christ and He shall reign for ever antl ever. Lortl .lesus, the
earth needs thee, the world needs thee, the jarring discords cry
out for thee, the poor wretched, foolish politics of earth need
thee. O Lord .Jesus, set us right, we beseech thee; take unto
thee thy great power and reign and hasten the downfall of
the throne of Satan. Yes, yes, dear friends, nothing but Jesus
.
• ,1
■n
■*n«MI
■■ i
I
ii
• 1
ti
I
' 1
s;M
I'M
'• t
i, Ii
144-
WJIKUE IS THK LAM II
in His rit,'ht place will set earth arijfht: and hell is jiell because
.lesus has no place there at all, and every man in whom there
is no Christ has an incipient hell in his heart. It' he is honest
he will confess it. Those eravinn- desires, those; terrible Hres
preyiiiij within ! Tut the Ijand) in His right place, and then
peace anil purity ami everlasting joy take their place in your
soul that same moment. There are three definitions of (Jod
given in the IHltle — "(Jod is love," "(iod is light," and "(iod is a
consuming tire." In the nineteenth century people are very fond
of hearing sermons on "(iod is love" and '(Jod is light," but
they get very impatient when we say with e(|ual trutii, "(Jod
is a consuming tire to those who reject his love and sin against
the light." I dare not water down these awful words. Well,
I must pass on from that.
" l>ehold the tire, antl the wood, but. my father, where is the
lamb for the burnt offering .' " And Abraham says, " IJehold
(Jod will provide himself a lamb," and (Jod did it. ■'"or (Jod
spared Abraham and would not allow him to plunge the knife
into his sons heart, but (Jod did not spare himself, and (Jod did
not spare His Son on the cross of Calvary, but (Jod, as it were,
lifted the knife of sacrifice, and slew His Son to save me. And
so Jesus poured out His .soul an offering to death, " for our trans-
gressions and the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and
with his stripes we are healed."
" Take you a ! .mb. ' (Jh, how glad I should be if I were sure
that all in this vast congreijation had taken the Lamb, ^'ou
have heard about the Lamb. You have read about the Lamb.
You have talked about the l^amb ; but have you taken the Lamb,
or have you not / How do you take the Lamb ! You take
( Jod's Lamb as you take all (Jod's gifts, by simple faith in Him,
by believing His word anil promise to you. Hut you say that
is what troubles me still ; I am constantly troubled about this
faith ; you explained it a few nights ago, .sir, but give us a
further e.xplanation to-night of what faith in the Son of (Jod
really means. Well, I shall give you a most simple illustration.
Let me speak to you like little children, dear souls. Perhaps
some of you have read this; Five years after President Lincoln
had proclaimed liberty to the slaves in the Southern States, an
English lady was travelling there, and she met an old negress,
and the poor old thing looked so sad. " What makes you ao
sad. Aunty ^ " said the English lady. " Because I am a slave,"
said the old negress. " Oh, nonsense," said the English lady,
" there are no slaves in the Southern States now. Have you
not heard that President Lincoln, five years ago, proclaimed.
W']
" WIIKKF, IS THK LAMU ?"
U5
lb.
1).
<e
lis
a
an
jss,
so
/ou
led-
liberty to the slaves ^ " " Ves,' 'aid the old negrcss, " I heard
tell of that, Vtut 1 diiln't believe it, aid my old master said, ' It
is a lie, and if you dare to leave my house, I will break every
bone in your old body,' and so I h ive been afraid to leave my
master's house, for he is a terrible man when he ^ets into a
temper." "()o and tell your master," said the English lady,
" that President liineoln has proclaimed liberty to all the slaves
in the Southern States, and the law of the land is at your back,
and let him touch a bone in your bodj' if he dare." So the old
negres.s seemed to grow six inches taller in a second — I admit
that that is pretty quick growth — and she went and faced her
old master, and said, " JMassa, ma.s.sa, the English lady says that
President Lincoln has proclaimed liberty to the slaves, and that
the law of the land is at my back, and you touch a bone injmy
body if you dar'." Well, all he could do was to grind his teeth
at her ; he dare not touch a bone in her body ; she was free, per-
fectly free, the moment she believed the gospel of freedom that
was brought her by the English lady. She had endured the
kicks and the blows and the curses of her old master for five
years longer than she need have, because she would not believe
that President Lincoln had set her free, and that is the way
with ever so many here to-night ; you have been, shall I say,
enduring the devil's kicks and reproaches and taunts and
temptadons when you might have been gloriously free, when
you might have rejoiced all the day long in God your Saviour.
Oh, who will believe the blessed (Jospel of freedom from sin,
and purity of heart, and of the fulne-ss of the Holy Ghost, that
I preach to you to-night ? In the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ, take you a lamb, accept your freedom and take it to
your heart by faith. Don't wait to feel happy, don't wait to
i'eel miserable, but here, and now as you sit in those seats say
" Hlessed l^amb of God, thou art mine forever, and I am thine
for evermore. " " He that believeth on me hath everlasting life,
and .shall not come into judgment, but is passed out of death
into life."
"Behold the Lamb." "Behold the Lamb." "Then came
Jesus forth wearing a purple robe and a crown of thorns " ; ai^d
they led Jesus to Calvary, and compelled one Simon, a Cyrenian
coming out of the country, to bear his cross, and he bare the
cross after Jesus, and when they came to the little hill of
Calvary there they cruciHed him. I was standing on that hill
in March, 1887. I did not stand on the hill of Calvary with
covered head. It is ju.st thivty-five feet high, and is in the
shape of a skull. That is one reason why it is called the Skull
10
Ill'
•Vt,
HI, :
'1 '
I
ill
\
I '
i ^^
: I
■;:;
'!
l-.f
Ui i
lii
U
a.
Iff
146
" WHERE IS THE LAMB ?'
Hill. You know Ctilvary means a skull. They led Jesus to
the Skull Hill, just a few hundred yards outside the gate of
Jerusalem, ami there they crucified Him, and as they drove
the nails into His hands and into His feet, then — oh, that blessed
"then" — then said .lesus, " Father, forL'ive them for they know
not what they do." I drew near the Cross, and let me tell you
the substance of .some thoughts that surged through my heart
as I stood in silence on that hill uf Calvary, i said to Him as
He hung upon the cross, " Lord .lesus, if thou art indeed the
Son of God, why is there a crov/n of thorns around thy brow ;
art thou a kin<r, then, mv Saviour :"" and He said tome, "Sinner,
1 am the one king, 1 am the only king, I am tht; king of ever-
lasting truth, righteousness and love and 1 am dying to reign
over thee, spirit, soul antl body. Wilt thou allow me <" I did
not answer all at once, for I knew to say yes to that meant a
great deal. Then I said, " IMessed oaviour, if thou art indeed
the Son of God, equal to the Father as touching thy ( lodhead,
why are thy hands pierced with nails ?" and He said to me,
" Sinner, thy hands are unclean, thy hands have been
occupied in work and business that brought no glory to me,
and 1 die that thy hands and all that thou dost might be clean
before me " ; and I .said, " Son of God, thy feet are also pierced
with the Roman nails ! " and He said, " Sinner, thy feet have
always walked in thine own ways, but my feet never swerved
an inch from the path of righteousness, so I said to my Father,
' Father, take my spotless feet and nail them to that cros.s
that that sinner may receive power to walk in thy ways : yea,
to run the path of thy commandments when thou dost set his
heart at liberty.' " And as I gazed at Jesus suddenly the death
pallor came over His face, and an awful cry rent the heavens
and the earth and the sky, " My (Jod, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me ? " This was the only question that Jesus ever
asked the Father to which the Father remained eternally silent.
The heavens were brass over the Son of God ; no one sym-
patliized with my Saviour ; the darkness seemed to be the
only thing that had a sense of shame about it, and darkness
came and wrapped His form for clothing, but the darkness
passed away, and as I looked at the face of Jesus, heavenly
peace came over Him and He said, " Behold, I thirst," and a
kindhearted soldier ran and filled a sponge with vinegar and
put it to His lips, and I was told afterwards that that was the
only thing that Jesus ever got from the world that He came
to save ; He got a drink of vinegar f I'om us, and that is what
He gets still — He gets a drink of vir.egar from us — and Jesus
mi
m^^
' I
"WHEUE IS THE LAM15 ^"
147
^ym-
"the
nesa
ness
enly
nd a
and
the
came
what
Jesus
havinjif received the vine<;,'ar cried, " It is finished, and he
l)Owe(l his head and gave up the (Jhost." And as I stood
watchinfj there a soldier came and lifted His spear and drove it
into the heart of the Son of (Jod, and forthwith came there
out blood and water, and he that saw it bare record and his
record is true, and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye
might believe. " They shall look on him whom they have
pierced."
(Jod liasten the time when the whole Jewish nation shall
look on Jesus whom they pierced. Then my heart said some-
thing to the dead form of Jesus. I said, " Jesus, if thou
art the Son of God, why should thy heart be pierced ? C^an
they not leave even thy dead body alone ^ What is there
about thee, Lord .lesus, that makes people so curious about
thee, so curious about thy life, so curious about thy death,
so curious about thy dead body, so curious about thy grave
they cannot leave thee alone for a second." These pale, dead
lips seemed to say to me, " Sinner, thy heart is foul, thy heart
is unclean, hell hath held its revelry within thee. Thou
knowest the thoughts of evil, of sensuality, of unkindness, of
impurity, of covetousness that have been in that one heart
that is on the platform to-night." " Lord Jesus, 1 confess
it all." " Listen, sinner, I died that thou mightest be clean,
that thy heart might be pure, that thy heart might be filled
with the Holy (Jhost, that thy heart might have heaven
reflected within. O CJod, give that poor sinner at my cross a
clean heart, give him a true heart, give him a heart filled to
overflowing with the Holy Spirit of (iod. sinner, my
heart broke for thee upon the cross."
" See from His head, His hfiiuls, His feet,
Sorrow and lovu How mingled down ;
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns coni[)ose so rich a crown t"
At last I said, "0 Lord, reign over me ; now. Lord, take me ;
now, Lord, all that I have from this moment onwards is thine
forever," and as I said that, the heavens were opened, and I
heard the far-away chant that they were singing up in heaven.
The chant came down to my heart, and this was the Hallelujah
Chorus that I heard : " Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to
receixe power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor
and glory and blessing," and for the first time I was able to
join with my whole heart in the singing of heaven. It is a
'I
'MM
iM
%'
If.
us
•' VVHEHE IS THE LAM 15?"
f I
I I
' I
:
i
;
Hi
jjrand thing when your heart is able to join in the liyrnns that
they sing up in heaven. They .sing a new song before the
throne in heaven, saying, " Thou wast slain and thou hast
redeemed us to Ood by thy blood out of every kindred and
tongue and people and nation, and worthy is the Lamb that was
slain," say they again, " to receive power and riches and wisdom
and strengtii and honor and glory and blessing." And I echoed
that worthiness ! Have you counted Jesus worthy to receive
power over you, worthy to receive your riches ^ Is He your
wisdom, or are you guiding yourself by your own counsels and
plans and wisdom ? Has Christ become the strength of the
Chri.stians of this congregation, or are you only struggling
against the power of indwelling sin by the strength of your
own resolutions !' A young man came to me a few nights ago,
and said, " Sir, I went to a mission, and confes.sed my sin.s, and
they told me to make a resolution to do better in the future,
and I signed the resolution, but, sir, I am no better, what am I
to do r' I said, " Brother, God never asked you to make a
resolution ; Jesus offers himself to you as your .strength, and
if you take Him to-night, Jesus will be your strength and He
will keep you from that .sin that has knocked you down." I
had a letter a few days ago from a young man, and he said,
" About a year ago, I fell into a grievous sin, and I have not
had one moment of peace ever since ; my heart is miserable ;
what am I to do ? I am only twenty-one." I can tell that
brother that Jesus can deliver him from that grievous sin, that
Jesus can set him perfectly free, that Jesus can restore to him
that lost purity, that Jesus can bring the light, and peace, and
joy of heaven through the windows of his soul once more, and
make the whole world musical for him, but only Jesus can do
it ; Jesus can restore unto him the years or days that the canker
worm hath eaten and the locust has spoiled, but only Jesus can
restore the lost years and wasted opportunities. If I am
speaking to a blighted life to-night, blighted by drink, or
blighted by sensuality, brother, perhaps I ought to say, sister,
Jesus can set you free, to-night. Oh, say Amen to it, Christians,
those of you who know that Jesus can set you free, perfectly
free, as free as God and His Spirit and His Word can make you.
It is true, thou slave of sin ; it is true, you enslaved woman
there; it is true that you are well dressed, but you have impurity
in your heart, sister ; and you, my brother, you are considered
to be a model young man by those around you, but your heart
is the slave of every degrading lust. O precious Jesus, thou
dost know how to clean the Augean stable of a human heart
m
WHERE IS THK LAMH ?"
149
i!'
by allowing the river of the Holy Ghost to flow through it. It
was for this that Jesus died on the cross of Calvary, that my
heart should be as pure and spotless as the courts of heaven.
That is what He died for. " For the blood of Jesus Christ, His
Son, cleanseth ua from a great deal of sin." Is tliat what you
read ? " Cleanseth us from all sin," and what the blood has
purchased, the Holy Ghost applies. Remember that the blood
and tlie Spirit of God run in parallel lines, and whatever the
blood has purchased on the cross, the Holy Ghost makes sub-
stantially real in the heart, for the Holy Ghost is the executive
of the Godliead. The Father has decreed it, the Son has
purchased it, but the Holy Ghost executes holiness in the heart
by His indwelling power. It was for this that Jesus died on
the cross of Calvary. Oh, " Worthy is the Lamb that was slain,
to receive all wisdom and power and strength, thanksgiving
and might for evermore." I think I have said enough. Now
let the Lord Jesus Christ have His own blessed way with you,
and you will never repent it. God grant it. Amen.
-^il
'iril
.) . \
l\
1 -i
UNSliARCIIABLli RICHES.
" I'lito me, who am loss than the loiist of all saints, is this grace given,
that I Khould preach among thoUentiles the unsearchalile riches of Christ."
— Kpheaians iii. H.
r I i
: I
THE object ol" my seniioii tliis uioniiii}^ is to find out how
mneii you are really wortli, lu'Ciuse ever .since sin came
into the world men have had a false estimate of riches,
and that which (lod considers inexpressibly valuable, man con-
siders worth uothin<]f. Now, the very first work of the Holy
Ghost in the human heart is to show man the riches oi' eternity
— God considers wealth worth nothing uidess it lasts forever.
How much of eternal riches do you possess this mornino;, or
have you only those riches that Solomon describes in these
words, " Kiches take unto themselves winos and fiee awa}',
they tlee away as an eaolc toward heaven." A man that has
only that sort of riches will find lumself very poor one of the.se
days. The Lord Jesus oives us a solenni warnino; in that respect:
He says, " There was a certain rich man who had nnich o^oods
laid up for many years and he said to his .soul, Soul, take thine
ease, eat, drink, and be meriy. But God said unto him, Thou
fool, this nitjht thy soul shall l)e retiuirecl of thee, then whose
shall those tliing.s be that thou hast laid npi" And the L<ird
Jesus adds this conmient, " So is everyone " — He draws a
universal conclusion from that particular instance — " So is
everyone that layeth lap treasure for himself and is not rich
toward God." I desire then to fin<l out how rich this cong^re-
gation is toward God.
When (Jod looks down into my heart and into your hearts
does He see any of the riches of eternity, of the un.searchable
riches of Chri.st aboiit us ^ The unscdrc/ialjle riches of Christ,
that is, unsearchable by the mere human mind unaided by the
Spirit of God. They are not unsearchable by the Spirit of
God, for the Spirit searcheth all things, 3^ea, the deep things of
Go<i. What man knoweth the things of a man but the spirit
of man that is in him ? Even so, knoweth no one the things
m
'I ■' I
I NSf^AltCIIAHLE 15UHES.
151
of (lod Imi tilt' Spirit of Ooil. Tlit'i-cforo, hy tlir aid atid
tt'iicliin;^^ of the cti'nial S|iii'it of God this iiioniiii<;", lot us st-airh
into tlu' uiiHcairhahli! rit-hcs of Christ. ^^ow, before 1 ^o any
further, h't nie make an iiii|tossihle su|t|)ositioii. It is this: 1
will suppose that 1 am preaehiiii,^ to a youn<;- man of ivmark-
ably weak intellect, Itut this youiii;' man of remarkably weak
intelleet is heir to an enormous fortune, an uidieard-of fortune,
let me eall it 8!>!)0,(S7(),.').'U. If is father dies and leaves him
this indieard-of foj-tune, and the voun<'' man mjeH to the old
family lawyei" in Toronto ami says, " 1 understand that my
father has left me four dollars T' " (^)uite true, ycnm^ fellow,
here are four dollars, take them." Well, four dollars do not
last very loiij^- in Toronto, and the y<tun<^^ man beoins to be iu
want, and a fi'iend comes up to him and .says, " Look liere, my
friend, yo\i were left a. ^ixxl deal more than four dollars, you
were left thirty-foui' dollars, I am (piite sure you were;" and
he ji'oes and he claims thirty-four dollars out of his fortune and
guts it. But even thirty- four dollars do not last very long iu
Toronto, and a friend comes to him and says, " My dear young
man, 1 would advise you to read over carefully the terms of
your father's will and find out exactly how much your father
left you and go in and claim it all. Y(air father, if I under-
stand rightly, has left you an enormous fortinie that by no
possibility can you ever s})end during the tei-m of your natural
life. Claim the whole fortune, every dollar of it, and live like
a prince and not as a pauper." And gradually it dawns upon
the poor weak intellect of that young man that his father ha.'*
left him S9!»9,0()0,00{). Now, the Lord Je.sus Christ blames His
own disciples for their very weak intellect. After the Lord
Jesus Christ arose as victor over sin and death an«l all the
powers of the devil, after He rose triumphant from the grave,
He met the disciples on Easter Sunday and said to them, "Oh,
ye fools '" — that is strong language — if the Lord calls you a
fool you may he certain He has a reason for it, and the Lord
Jesus is the only person who lias a right to call another a fool,
becau.se He is all w'i.sdom, and oidy the man who is all wisdom
has the right to call another a fool ; you must be infallible
before yt)U <lare to call another man a fool. So the infallible
Jesus said to His discipli's (ai that Easter Sunday, " Oh, ye
fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have
spoken ; " they believed a few things, but they wouldn't
believe all ; they would not believe that Christ was to be
crucified, and to suffer and rise again and receive all power in
heaven and in earth, and that all the grace and goodness of the
I I'.
I ' ! I
, 1
■ ■■
I ;
I: I
1 1
^!
i
1 ' I
' ti
ijfi
t
•T' •
152
I'NSKAItrHAIU.K HK'IIKS.
(lodlicjul nn- .j^lortMl in tlu' man Olirist Jc.sns, Tor in Mini
(iwcllctli all the fulness of tlu' (i(Mll)i-a<l liodily : an<lin Miin,
adds the apostles ya hit tillcij riill — it is tfanslatcd " coinjdcto,'
hilt " Hllt'd full " is tlic closer icndt'iin^'. IfaNc you Imtii fillotl
lull in Christ J»is»is ^ Have vou ltfi>un to liclicvc nil that the
proj)h(!tH have spoken conccniin;;" the riches ol* the Lord Jesus,
and are you receiving oF those i-iclies (hiily in youi- heart by
the operation of the Holy (Ihost '.
Now, h't us draw near and ;,dance at the particular items that
have h«!en left us. On the ni^fht of His hetiayal the Lord
Jesus made His will in our favor. He .said, "This is tlu; hlood
of^the Xew Testament, the new coxenant. the new will that I
make in your favoi"." Let me draw near then an<l .see liow
much the l)lood of C'hi'ist has pureha.sed for me, how much am
I really heir to, how much hav(! 1 a ri^dit to lay <*laim to, be-
cause of the precious blood. Wliat di<l the Lord Je.sus Christ
purchase for me when He liunj^ in dai'kne.ss on the cross, when
He set aside the old ci'eati<^n of the tlesh and brought in the
new creation of the Holy (jrhost / What hav«^ I a rij^ht to in
Christ ? Have you risen, oh, my brothers and si.sters, liave you
ever risen to your rights in Christ f. Kvery nuin in the world
lias a right to cei-tain blessings now because of the death
of the Lonl Jesus and Hin resin-rection ; it is only uid)eHef
that can keep you out, but unbelief irill keep you out, and you
•will live as a ])auper when you might live as a ])rince.
Now, what are the blessings, the un.searchable riches that the
Lord .lesu.s has given you t Let me give you a few verses —
look, for example, at 1 Peter i. JN: " Foi' as nuich as ye kno\
that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things" — that i
things that j)ass away, things that come to nothing — "with
corruptible thing.s, as silver and gold, from your vain conversa-
tion received l)y tradition from your fathers, but with the pre-
cious blood of Christ as of a Lamb without blemish and without
spot" — that ver.se tells me that 1 am I'edeemed from a vain
conversation. Now " vain conver.sation " is the old English for
an empty manner of life, so the very first thing that the Spirit
tells me is this, tliat by the death of (.hrist on the cross I am re-
deemed from an empty manner of life — that is the first thing that
a man needs to be redeemed from. Look at the lives of nominal
Christians, look at the lives of the five hundred millions of pro-
fessed followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, an<l oh, how empty
their lives are, how few know what it is to live and walk in the
fulness of God, how few are really satisfied with the Lord
Jesus Christ ! The little things of the world, some race or
• ; I*
l/NSEAHfllAIU-K UK'UKS.
I :>:i
iiiitUHt'inont urc fur inor*' to tlit'iii than tlir tliingM of (!o<l. Tlic
very Hrst tliinj^ tlu^rcforc tliiit a man ii Is is to have tlic cnijiti-
jicHs of liis own heart and thf cniptincss of his (»\vn life shown
him, so that hu may vahic the things of the woiM as (jod
xahu'H thrnj, and that he iiiay vahie the thinj^js (jf eteiMiity as
th(> Lord Jesus values them, — i'e<leemed from an empty manner
of life l»y the precious l)loo(l of .Jesus IJhrist. V'ou will ne\er
know what the emptiness of the woi'ld is, what the emptiness
of youi' own lieart is, until you set a rie-ht value tipoii the cross
of Jesus Christ and tht^ hlood of i-edemption, redeemed from an
empty numntu- of life i-eceived l»y tradition from your fathers.
You see all mere tradition leaves the soul empty, whether it is
lloman Catholic tradition, or ritualistic tradition, or even
(!\anj^elical Pi'otestant tradition: if you only know a truth
traditionally, your heart will remain empty : if you only believt*
in the Lor<l Jt^sus simply hecause your father and mother
tauj(ht you to do so when a child, and if you have r«'ceived no
power (jf the Spirit of (Jod within youi- heart, then your
religion is merely traditional, and any win<l or doctrine will
sweep it away. That is the reason why so nuiny people lose
faith in thtise days, because their relijj^ion is merely traditional,
they inherit it from their parents, hut they have not been
taught it by the teaching of (lod in their hearts, so they hoM
it lightly and i)art with it lightly. Hut when you come to
know tlie value of the cross of J(!sus, and what took place
there passes into reality, and Christ speaks to your heart, e\«'ry
word of this blessed Book become valuable : you begin to believe
all'that the prophets have spoken and you find you need all.
Brotliers and sisters, have you lieen re<leemed from eni})ti-
ness of life ( Has the full How of the life of Jestis come to your
soul ?
How is that life to come ^ Look at Romans v. 9. We read,
" Being now " — it is a present reality — " l»eing now justified by
his blood, v.'e shall be saved from wrath through him." So
h(»re is the second thing that has been purchased for me, that
is, complete justification before God. Now% very few people see
the extent of the blesse.d word "justification. " Justification
before God is far more than forgiveness ; for example, if one of
you were to steal a thousand dollars from me — it would be
very hard for you to do that, because I don't possess a thousand
dfjllars in the world — but suppose you di«l steal a thousand
dollars from me, by an act of grace I might forgive you the
theft of that thousand dollars, but I never could justify you.
God is such a wonderful God of grace that He not only forgives
' 1 1
■I
mill
I'M
f ii
i
If
I
I .
ill
[Hi
164
INSKAIUIIAHLK UICIIKS.
I)iif^ juHtitifs, tlmt is, lit' conritH yoii iis Ims iiiy; ii»'V»'i'Niiiiit'(l, \lo
j)rnii()iiiuM's'y»m iil)S(ihitcly ;;uiltli'.ss, mihI iutt only ^iiiltlfHs but
po.sitivt'ly rinlitfouH. Tlmt is justilicatiou. S(t that wlicii a pour
|H!iiitt'nt simuT, tiiol of liimsi'lt' aixl an cnipty lii't', caMtH liiiu-
selt' upon .Jcsiis who flicil ii|)()i) C.aKaiy, (Jod says, " SiiintT, I
not only ror;;ivt', hut I justil'y thcf liy tlif IiKmhI of my Son;
ht'iicffoi'th thou ai't rijjhtcous in niv sii>ht." Some tinif ajjt)
there was a ;;'oo(l minister ol" tin- (lospel visitin;;' an ohl lady;
she litnl Imm'U a ('hiistinn for many years; she was a very
poor old woman in the north of V>('otliind, and slu- was di-awint^
near her end, and lir wanted to test lie» , so Ik- said, " Betty,
suppose after all that yoin- soul will Ik- lost in the end I But
s\ip[)ose id'tei' all, Hetty, that the lior<l mi;;ht let you siid< into
hell !" " Is that all you know f " sai<l she. " Oh, sir," sai<l she,
"if my soul were lost God would lose more than poor B<!tty."
" How do you make that cait '" " Well, sir," said she, " il' pi^or
Hetty's soul is to lie lost, 1 would only lose my soul, hut God
would lose His ehaivieter, because I have put my trust in the
blood ol' Jesus, and that blood eleanseth me from all sin." Hest
upon the.soliil ro(;k of what Christ Jesus has done (»n tlie cross
of Calvary, " It is finished."
Jesus theivfore has made peace by the blood of the cro.ss. In
no sense can you make peace for youi'self. Let me tell you
a .story on that point. There was an earnest-minded gentleman
who jrot anxious about his .soul and bet-an to visit the poor, and
sat down by the bedside of a woi'kingman who hadn't many
hours to live, .so he said to him, " Well, my old friend, have
you made your peact; with God f" "I had no peace to make,
.sir," .said the old man. "Oh, I think you mi.sunderstan(l me,
my frienil ; remember you are an old siinier between seventy
and eighty years of age, and in a very short time you will be
dead and y(ju will have to appear before the V»ar of God. Now
tell me, my old friend, liave you made your peace with God !' "
" I tell you that I had no peace to make, sir," said tlie old man.
" The Lord Jesus Chri.st more than eighteen hundred years ago
made peac«f for me through the blood of His cross, and I
accepted that peace when I was a young man more than fifty
years ago, and that peace has been with me ever since. What
peace could I make with God except to receive the peace that
He has made perfect in His Son for every sinner that trusts
in the blood ot Jesus ? " " Well, you have more than I have "
said the gentleman : " I am trying to get peace for my soul, I
visit in the parish and go to the Lo)<l'd table and I have not
got peace yet." The old man said, " Y^ou will never get it that
UNHEAIirilAllLK ItlCHKS.
luo
way, air; hciii;; jiistilictl hy Inith wn liiivc pcMci- with Oixl
throui^'h our Lord Jesus Clirist. "
Look at th»! lOtli c'liMptci- of llfbrows ami tlic lOtli viTso :
" Having; tlien'l'ort', hrctlirt'ii, Ixildiifss to niti.-i' into the liolicst
hy tho IjIooiI of .Icsiis, let lis di-aw iiciir witli a ti'uc licai't, in
full assurance of faith." So that verse tells nie that 1 havu
pcrfoet holdiiess in drawing;' near U) the presence of (}od in
prayc!!' — boldness in pniyer. I can kneel d<»\vn and jionr out
my soul to (Jod in j)erfeet eontidence that He will heai' nie.
W^iy !' Is it hecause of any special ;;'ooilness in na^ :" No.
" Havine- tliei-efore boldness thi-oueh the blood of Jesus, let uh
draw near in full assurance of faith."' I wonder how many of
you men and women here know what it is to pray with l»old-
ncss; know what it is to lay youi- busine.ss and your family,
your troubles and your worries before Him.
II'
" Bt'ar not ti .siiij,'li) aire thyHelf ;
Onu is tdo iiiuuli for tlioo ;
Tlii^ work is iiiiiio aiitl iiiiiiu tilono,
Tliy woik is rest in nio."
God wautH your heart to bo as li<;lit as a feather, not to have
a single woi^'ht on it. Tho Lord says, " Come unto lue, all ye
tiiat are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, and ye shall tind rest
unto your houIh." Dear Christians, learn tho secret of easting
all your care upon Him, for He careth foi* yov. Learn to
s])eak to tho Almighty Father with the simplicity of a little
child. Cod teach you how to pray.
We read in the 13th of Hebrews, "Jesus, that ho might
sanctify the people with his own blood, .sutt'ered without the
gate." Tho nuiin idea in sanctification is the separation of
spirit, soul, and body, from all sin, and the dedication of
spirit, soul, and body, to Goil. After justitication comes sancti-
tication, that is, a man yields himself to be indwelt by the
Spirit of (Jod, to be ruled by the Spirit, to be led by the Spirit,
to be filled with the Spirit — sanctification is tlu^ filling of your
soul with God. When a man is not filled with the Si)irit of
God, sin very easily lias ])ower over him : his thoughts are led
in this direction and that direction ; but when a man is sancti-
fied wholly to God, then CJod rules that man's every purpose —
the very thoughts and reasonings of our hearts are brought
into captivity to the gtjntlo dominion of Christ. Brothei', that
is what you need, is it not ? It is no more possible for you
rjw!\
\
.
r J I I
!!'
I')0
r.VSKAUrllAltl.K UK'IIKS.
to sanctify y<>ni'silf tliaii jiistily yuiirNt'lf. Suhm' |M'u|»|r tliiiik
timt iil'tfr tlii-y lia\r rcrrivcil saKation tlu-y liavc tu >Htru;,'^li'
Dti i\H licsi tluty know liow, soini'tiiii<>N iip and soni)-tiiiii's down,
scf'-saw, s»>«'-Mu\v. 'I'liat '\h not Manctitication, that is only stru^-
;^Iin;4; in tin- powci' of youi" natnial rt'solution to (»\ ficonn' evil,
(iod wants to |)Ut an alini^litN' roi'ct- within \on. and it is liv
that jiowtT thiit yon ovrrfonic <'\il di'siiTs and |ii'o|»'nNiti»'s that
iiiaki' many a man's Jit'c tittfcly misfi-ahh-. (Ind pnts the lovo
of .Irsus within, laits Mis own lit'** within ytai, and then it
lirconifs easy to h\f <mt the lilV that is within yon. "(iod
woi'kt'th in yon lioth to will and to do of his ;;ood )»h'asnrt'."
Von try and make yom'scH' ri'li;;i«»ns and I'itI fcclfsiastical and
noIm-I' all ovt'i' — that is not sanctitiration : sanctitication is the
most natnral thin;;; in tlir world: sanctitication makes a man
tsMpi'iMiicly n'ltm'al, and all he ilo(>s is iwitnral. It hccomuM
nutunil to pi'aisc ( Sod, to pi-ay, to read yom- Hihic, natniui to
<ical witli other jM'ople's souls, natural to testily of Chi'ist in
tli(! store and ti'anicar : vou have not to force and ai-y-ue vonrself
into doin^ a lot of disa;4;i'eeal)le thin;;s. "Oh, I think I am
^ettin;; on a little hetter, sir." Ah. you don't know what this
snnctiticatit)!! is if >'ou talk in that wa\- it is a life within vou,
it is tluf |»t3a('(' of (iod |>ut within you l»y the o|ieration of tho
Holy (ihost, the Holy (Ihost revealing; Christ to yoin* soul, for
" He nhall take of the thines df Jesus and show them unto
yon."
Lastly: liev. xii. 11. "They o\ereame the devil." How:'
" \W the l)loo<1 of the Land* and l»y the woi-d of their testi-
mony ; and they lo\ed not theii- lives unto the death. Therefore,
rejoice, ye hea\'ens."' So the hea\ens on hie-li rejoice over a
HonI who overcomes the workings of Satan, over the man wlio
walks at liberty in the w<a'ld (h)wnliere: thoti^di surroundeci
l»y uncleanness and sin, he is a cause of joy in heaven. Tlie
blood of tlie Lamb and tlie woi'd of tcHtiniony overcome "the
accuser of tlie brethren." Have vou found out that s(!cret of
victory i The.se two niu.st o;o together, heart-trust ami mouth-
confession. Now, the one tiling that Siitan objects to to-day
is testimony by word of movith to the Loi'd Jesus. He does
not care al)out how many sermons I preach about C'hrist, if I
cannot say in the pulpit what the Lord .lesus has done for nie.
Have you ever notice(| Ijow very little testimony cler^'ymtni
and uiinisters ^ive in their sermons? If after preachinjf we
add th«' words, " He has done that f«jr tiif," those few words
may be worth more tlian all our preachinf,^
It is the woi'il of testimonv that knocks men over. Wlien
a
I'NNKAIti'llAKI.K ItK'IIKS.
I. -.7
ydilli;^' liifiii \\i\s lii'i'ii (•<iii\ I'lti'fl iiinl ;^(h.>, jntu tin- s\nrr tin- iif\t
liinriiiii;;'. mill siiys t(i tlif iiimii >«ittiii;,f liy liis siilc. ' \a»>U Ih'Ic,
the liiii'il .li'MiiM Olii'iMt siivnl my mmiI in tlir Mnsscy litill lust
Ili;;'llt. tllllt WMlllil lil'illilllily llM\r llinl't' rtrrct Oil tllllt lllllll
tllilll III! tilt' st'l'liinliN III' I'M'l' lit'iit'ij. It is trNtillloiiy tllllt iliM-H
till' wui'k ; it is nut iir;;iiin}^ iiliniit Jesus, it is not i'\rii triitli
iilHXit .IfsiiM, Imt it is tt'stiiimny In utlii'is in tln' |m\\i'i' nl' tin-
lluly ( lliust tllllt nidki's till' kin;^iliiMi ul' (iuil inh jincr mi fiirtli.
Tin- lust Wnl'ils t»r ( lirist til lis Mis ilisciidcs \M'|i' tllilt Wr slinulij
Itfiir tt'stiniony, lii'iir witiifSM to Mis cnnM'itiii;;' iinwi'i", to Mis
(•li'iinsin;^' |iii\vt'r. tu Mis ki'r|tin;^' pnwiT, to Mis siilislyin;^
poWtT, ti>iill till- wuilil, ainl ti'll tlii'iii wlial ii I'drtmu' wi- liiivi'
(•(line into. Vonr pn'iicliin;;' iis a iiiinisti'i', ymii' liviii;;' as a
Cliristian Nvorker i»i- as an nrilinary (Iliristian in tlir t'(tn;;'ni-
pitiiin, is sviirtli aliiiost imtliinu' unlfss ymi ti-stily to tlin
iiiisrarclialilt' riclirs of C'lirist, unh-ss yim slmw tin- |m'(i|iIi' Ity
ydiif lift' tliat tlif li(ir<l lias satistii'il you, that Me lias tilli'il
your soul, ami that Mi* lias i'i-t|i'ftm>il yoii rroni an empty
niaimrr ol" lilf. I lia\i' only Ihtii alilc to otltT yon, as it wni',
a it'w (joliars of the unscart'lialdi' ricliL's ol" Clirist! Hut claim
ev«'U those few (jollins. claim tlclivcrancc I'rom tin* cnijitincss of
life, claim pci-frct .Justilication hcforc (loil, (tiaim peace, eN'ej'-
lustin^' thnniy,li the Itlood, claim sanctification thi'ou;^'h tlit?
Spii'it, claim victory tlirou;;li the lilooil and couiai^e to testify
to the liOi'd .IcHus in weakness of soul an«l in humility of spirit,
and tlin Lord will hless your testimony. Now let vih close with
prayer.
r
I (
'! t.
w
1
; I '
f !
' . 1
♦i
tup: citii:s oi^ ri-:! r(;ii,
f !
I,
I ) I
nib
n':i
lit!
"Tlio liHitl .ilsd spuki' until .lo.sliiia, sayiiit^, Spunk tu tho children of
Israel, sayiiii;, A|ij)ciint out for you ritii's of riifui^i!, wliuroof I spake uiitd
you l>y the hand of Moses : that the slayei' that killeth any person unawares
and Muwittinnly may llee thither; and they shall lie your refuj^e from the
aveiv^er of hlood. And they appointi-d Kedesh in (Jalileo in mount
Na]ihtali, and Shechem in mount Kphraim, and Kirjath-arha, wliich is
Hebron, in the mountain of .ludah. And on the other side .lordan by
.lerieho east\var<l, they assigned Hezer in the wilderness upon the ])lain
out of tlie tribe of lleuben, and l{anioth in (iilead out of the tribe of (Jad,
and (idlan in Bashan tint of the tribe of Manasseh." — Joshua xx. 1,2, 3, 7,^.
S(^ my text to-iiioht is Kedcsli, Sliochcin, Hebron, Bozei",
Raniotli and (iolan
I think 1 hear one ot ^. .Ai saying to me, "Well, of all the
dry texts I ever lu-ard in my life that is one ; I wonder what
the man is g"oino- to make ont of tliose six names, those old
Hebrew names." Well, it matters \ery little what I make out
of it, but it matters a very <^reat deal that I shoidd find out the
depth and Idessin*,^ the Holy S{)irit has stored in those words
for every true-hearted man or woman here. A pieee of coal is
a very unintercstino- object, but once it beo-ins to burn, and is
interpenetrated by the heat, then it rj'diates light and heat and
joy into your very being, and that is just what the Bible does.
Apart from the teaching, fire, and light of the Holy Cliost, that
Book is an insoluble enigma, an<l it does you no good what-
ever ; but when you read your Bible under the teaching of
God, and when tin; tire of God go(>s through it, tlien that Book
ra<liates light ;intl heat and joy through your heart. I pray
from my very heart that one result o\' this mission in Toronto
may be, that you who profess and call yourselves Christians
may find that you have new Bibles at the close of this mission
— Bibles interpenetrateil by the light Jind heat and divine
teaching of the Holy Clhost, and then your hearts will begin to
burn within you.
I ask for the assistance of the blessed Spirit of God that wo
mmf^
Tin: CITIKS OF HKFIMiE.
ir)9
iiifiy set' ail iiiHiiitt'siinal part ol" the ;;'l<»iy of nrjicr that is
lii(l<l('ii ill tliosc six llchrcw words.
'riicsc are tlio iiaiiics of the six citit'S of refuse'. (Jod coiii-
iiiaiKJixl that any man who killed another unawares and iiated
him not aforetime, was at once to llee to one of these cities of
refu<;e and to ri'iiiain there until the death of the llii^'h Priest.
St. I'aul, I niiiy say, s|)irituali/,es that coniinand in the (ith of
Hehrews, wlu-re 1 read, " We liaNc lied for refuse to lay hohl
upon the hope set l)efore us: which ho]»e we ha\e as an anchor
of the soul, hoth sure and steadfast, and wliicli eiitereth into
that within the' xt^l : whither the forei'unner is for us eiitereil,
even Jesus, made an hi^^li priest for e\t'r after the order of
Melcliisedec." St. raiil tells us that the Lord Jesus Christ is
oil)' jfreat refuse and that Me is a Hiuh I'riest wlio never dies,
that He lias a ]»riesthood after tlie order of Melcliisedec, so tliat
once we taUe rtd'ii;4'e in Christ we take refno-e in Mini forever,
for we have an eternal refuirt\ and (Jod has sworn hy His
promise and hy His (^tli, two immutahle thiiij^s in whieli it is
inipossihle for ( Jod to lie, that \\v. "have a stron;;' consolation
who have tied for I'efuo'e to kiy hold u])oii the lioju^ set before
us." Brethn'ii, wliere ar«' you liviny ;■ In which of those cities
liave you taken up your a' nle, for, praise he to (iod, you may
dwell in them all at once if you like; for th(>se six cities are
six manifestations of Christ to the soul. 'Jliese cities were
appointed by (Jod for all tlu^ children »)f Israel and for any
sti'an^er that mioht hap))en to s(jjourn amongst them : so every
child of (Jod who is hert; to-ni<>ht has a rit^ht to dwell in these
cities, and if any straii«;'ers have come in to-ni<>^lit, anyone wiio
does not yet lielieve in the Lord Jesus, oli, you. dear stranjjer,
you also may take refunfe in these cities, and God will reveal
their inestimable worth to your heart.
Tlu'se citi(!s hav(^ been a ureat blessinj'' to my own soul, and
I think it is always wvW for a ])reacher to ])ass on to the cou-
U'reji'ation what has ivallv bles.sc^d himself.
The tirst city of refuo-e is Kedesh. Kcvlesh is tlie Hebrew
for a "sanctuary," a ))lace of safety. The murderer was to run
into the city, and there he was safe, that is, if lu^ had not hated
the man aforetime. On Friday ni^lit 1 told you that 1 was
preachino- to a con<;reoation of thieves: to-nioht T say every
coiiiTiviration in the worhl in (lods sioht is no more than a
con<xre<>'ation of murderers: for unwittinijlv we have murdered
the only beinj^f that God cares about: His only Son was mur-
dered by the sin of the human race. W'v are murderers
unwittin<;ly and we are guilty of the blood of the Son of (Jod.
!t
I
• <;
1'
I 1
t;
1
[ 1
1
1
1
r
PI '
1 (
E ;u.
?fr
160
THE CITIES OF REFUGE.
W'luMi Adfiiii iiiid Evi' siiiiinl in Kdcii, tlie Son <»!' ( iod wa»
potentially niuivlci't'd on Calvary then. It only nci'ded tinn»
und the d<'V('lo))ni»'nt oi" (lod's plans to brini;" about tlic murder
of the Son of (lod, and* I believe if tlu^ Lord .lesus were to
ap{)ear in Toi'onto to-day, and were to preaeh as He did in
tliost' days, it ini<;lit be tliat some of the most respectabh-
jmople in Toronto would desire to murder the Son of (lod oni'i?
more. The human heart has not clian(,fed in the smallest
de<«ree bv means (tf eivili/ation or education or ecelesiastieal
refinement. The natural enmity of the human heart at^ainst
the Lord Jesus is the .same as evei'. About sixty years lv^^)
thei'e were two ])reaehers in Edinbur<;h. One was a *;os])el
preacher, and the other was a very elo(iuent, clever man, who
preached morality: and this ;^reat moral preacher occupied a
certain j)ulpit one Sunday mornin^^ and he was pi'(nichin<^
about virtue, and he ended his sermon with this peroration,
"() Vii'tue, Virtue, Virtue, it' thou wert end»odied all men
would love thee." Tlu' j^ospel preacher occupied the pulpit in
the evening;', and he be^an his sermon this M'ay, " Brethren, my
reverend In'other observed this mornin^r that if Virtue were
embodied all men would love lier. Brethren, Virtue has been
embodied and did all men love her :" They spat upon her, they
crowne<l her with thorns, they le<l her to Calvary, and they
crucified hei" between two thieves."
Oh, truly, I am speakin*<' to a congregation of murderers
to-night. If our sin was allowed to have its full course we
would once more muivler the Son of God. Sin hates flesua.
You never can reconcile sin and Jesus Christ, and if you want
to be a friend of your sin, yon are therel)y constituted the
enemy of God. I say the first thing that the soul needs is to
know Jesus as " Kedesh," to know Him as He who has saved
you from the guilt of your .sin. When you tru.st the Lord
Jesus to forgive you Jind in penitence of soul 3'ou say, " O
Lord Jestis, look not upon my sin, look not upon my natural
corruption : O Saviour, look upon thine own worthine.ss, look
upon the power of thine own eternal .sacrifice;
" ' Nothing ill my hand I bring,
Simply to Thy cross I cling.' "
That is knowing the Lord Jesus as Kedesh, knowing Him as
He who suffered and delivers you from the guilt and enmity of
your sin toward God. Now, I want this night to speak very
speciall}' to the real Christians heiv. I want to show you some
THE CITIES OF HEEl'GE.
1(51
ers
we
sua.
uit
the
to
iOr<l
O
ural
[very
some
fiirthov maiiifostationa of Christ, ami if you j^ct to know Clirist
in these ways, your whok^ life M'ill be trausfijrured with the joy
of heaven ; you will understand the nioanin<^ of those words wo
liave been singing —
"A rest where all our souI'n desire
Is fixed on tilings above ;
Where sin, and grief, and shame ex})ire,
Cast out by perfect love. "
What is the next manifestation ? It is to
" Shechem." Sheeheni is the Hebrew for the
we read in the 9th chapter of Isaiah, " The
be upon his shoulder." The shoulder is the
know Christ as
" shoulder," and
jverniuent shall
type of govern-
ment. It was the place where all burdens were to be borne.
The Lord wants to take the responsibility of your life upon
His shoulders, the Lord wants to carry every burden for every
man and woman here to-night. Oh, what happy faces would
go home to-night if all burdens in the Massey Hall were left
behind. If that sorrowful-looking lady there would only leave
her sorrow behind and go home to her husband with a glad
face ; if that depressed-looking man over there that does not
know how to make both ends meet were to cast his care on
Jesus and say, " Lord, whatever it costs, I will get right with
thee," there would be a flood of peace in that soul. The
shoulder was the place where the shepherd put the sheep after
he had found it. " He goeth after that which is lost until he
find it, and when he hath found it he layeth it on his shoulders
rejoicing." And you remember that all the names of the chil-
dren of Israel were engraved on two onyx stones, and those
two onyx stones were to be upon the shoulders of Israel's
High Priest, and whenever the High Priest went into the
presence of God, in the Holy of holies, he bore the names of the
children of Israel on the two onyx stones on his shoulders —
the names of the children of Israel were always borne before
(Jod symbolically. Our High Priest wants not only to carry
me but to carry my burdens, too. Shall I let Him ? I learned
a lesson about that some time ago. There was a poor Irish-
man — I do not know whether you will consider him very
intelligent — but he was going along the road with a very
heavy sack of potatoes on his back which he was bringing into
market, and a kind-hearted farmer passed by and said, " Paddy,
come up into this cart and I will drive you and your sack of
potatoes into the market." So they drove on for about half a
jnile, and the farmer looked behind and saw that Paddy was
11
\ ,
III
i:.
H
i!fi
162
THE (MTIKS OF llEFUUE,
still carryin;^" the sack of potatoes on lii.s back, as lie sat in tlie
cart. " i'addy, my <f(JO(l man,'" sai<l he, " why doii't you put
tiovvn y(jur sack of pijtatoes ;' " " Well, yoiu' honor," said he,
"it was very kind of you to take me 'nto the cart and 1 didn't
like to put the extra \vei<jfht on the horse ! " You say, '• Foolish
man I " I wish to tell you that you are the Paddy. I wish to
tell you that you and I — I know I — many a time have acted
in that foolish, foolish way. The L(jrd Jesus (Christ has come
to me and said, " My child, I see you are cast down and lair-
dened. Would you not like to lay the weight of your burden
and your care upon me ? Does it do }'OU any ^ood to carry it
yourself ? Does it do you any j^ood to insist on manatjing the
affairs of your own life :' Are you not tindinfjf life an intoler-
able burden, my child f "Yes, dear Lord, I confess I am."
" Well, you poor foolish child, lay not only yourself upon me
for salvation, but lay your burdens upon ni}' shoulder, for I am
well able to carry both. You are putting- no extra weight on
my shoulder, for my .slioulder bears the government of the
universe upon it."
The poet Faber says:
" I wjis wfiiidering fuul weary,
Whon my Wavimir ciiue unto mo ;
For the ways of sin yrew dreary,
And the world liad eeased to woo me ;
And I tliouglit 1 heard Him say.
As He came along His way.
Oh, .silly soids, come near me ;
My sheep should never fear me ;
I am the Shepherd true I
" At tirst I would not hearken.
And put oti' till the morrow ;
But life began to darken.
And I was sick with sorrow ;
And I thought I heard Him say,
As He came along His way,
Oh, silly souls, come near me ;
My sheep should never fear me ;
I am the Shepherd true.
"At last I stopped to listen.
His voice co>dd ne'er deceive me !
I .saw His kind eye glisten.
So anxious to relieve me ;
And 1 thought I heard Him say.
As He came along His way,
Oh, silly souls, ct)me near me ;
My sheep should never fear me ;
I am the Shepherd true.
THE cniES of KEFUGK.
1G3
'* He ^"'/.■ nil' nil lli^ aliiiiililrr,
And tciidiTly Ho kissed mo ;
Ho Wudo luy love t^inw Ixildiu',
And sfiid liow Ho hud uiissod tiio ;
And I \V!is siirr I liojiid Him siiy,
As Ho wont !il(in<f His wfiy,
Oh, Hilly 8t)iil, CdUio noar nie,
My slioop slumkl nover four nio ;
I urn tlio Shopliord tnio.
" I thouj,'ht His liivo woidd woiikon,
As niDio and moro Ho know nio ;
lint it huinoth like a beacon,
And its liylib and heat go through me ;
And 1 always hear Him say.
As He g<tes along His way,
Oh, silly soul, come near me,
My shoftp slxtnld never fear me ;
[ am the Shepherd true."
The Lord teach yon to know the power of the shonMer of the
Lord Jesus, wliere He currios the man and liis l)urden, too. Oh,
Itnnknied soul, o;et to know Jesus as Shecheni, the city of
refu<^e wliere all l)urdens are left behind.
Tlie next manifestation of Jesus is to know Him as " Hebron."
Hebron is the Hebrew for " friendsliip." It is a ^rand thiufj
to jret to know the fririn/skip of thi; Lord Jesus. He says:
■'Ye are my friends if yt' do the thing's that I connnand you:
henceforth I call you not servants but I call you friends, for all
thinj^s that the Father hath made known unto me I have made
known luito you." So if you want to know the friendship of
Christ, keep His roinnuindvients. I fear there never was a day
when Christians played so fast and loose with the express com-
mandments of the Lord Jesus as to-day. I invite the Christians
here to do something after the mission is over ; read throuf^li
the gospels and the epistles with the express purpose of notic-
ing the commaiuhnents of Christ, and then ask yourself, " Am
I obeying them or am I not ? " Read througli your New Testa-
ment not for the purpose of criticising it, but for the purpose
of obeying it, then see what a searching book your Bible will
l)ecome to you. Oh, that Ciod may put the love of His com-
mandments into y<mr heart, for you will never know tlie
frie!idship of the Lord Jesus until you learn to keep His com-
mandments ; and He sums up all His commandments in one.
He says: "Tliis is my commandment that ye love one another
as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this that
a man lay down his life for his friends, and ye are my friends
II
1
M'
l<i4
THK CITIES OF UEFIMJK.
i M
I:
iitj
if yo do the tluii<;s which I coimiiand you." (let to know tiif
words ol" .IcHUH, not to u'ot thcni into vour head nicrrlv and to
discuss points ot" doctrine, l»ut ;,'('t to know the words (»!' Jesus
so as to oh(>y them. When the woman in the crowd was so
excitc^d hy Christ's sermon that she called out, " Hle.ssecj is tiir
womli that haiv thco and the paps which thou hast sucked,'"
He answered, " Yea, rather, l)les.sed ar(^ they that heai- the
Word of (Jod and keoji it." Fii-st U't the love of tlio Father and
of the Son he; rt'veah'<l to your heart, and then the command-
ments of (lod become the Joy of your soul. Oil, j^et to know
tiie friendship of the Lord .Jesus (/hrist.
The next manifestation of (Christ is Be/,ei'. Be/er is the
Hebrew for a "fortress." This is ijettintrto know the Lord Jesus
Christ as your fortress, as He who ti<jjhts all your battles for
you, as He who makes you continually victorious over sin.
Look how David descril)es that in tlie opening vei-se of tho
18th Psalm : "I will love thee, O Lonl, my strength. Tlu' Lord
is njy rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my (Jod, my
strength, in whom I will trust ; my buckh'r, and the horn of
my salvation, an<l my higli tower. I will call upon tiie Lord,
who is worthy to be j)raised ; so shall I be saved from mine
enemies." To know Cliri.st as Be/er is to hide in Him from
the power of sin. As you hid in Christ for salvation from tlie
guilt of sin, so you nuist abide in Christ foi' .salvation fiom the
power of sin, for only he who al)ideth in Him sinneth not.
There is not a sin on earth that a real Christian may not
connnit ; even after the most ecstatic experience and after the
greatest heavenly joy in his soul, the very next minute lie may
commit awful sin if he is not abiding in Christ — that is, if
your heart is not simply looking to Je.sus, if you are not
distrusting j'^our own strength. You must say to yourself,
" Lord Jesus, though I am saved and forgiven, I have no more
strength now than I had before my conversion. Lord Jesus
Christ, all my strength over sin and all my purity of heart
must come straiirht from thee, because mine eves are toward
thee, a,nd not toward mine own resolutions, or mine own
strength of will or purpose." Don't remain discouraged if you
happen to fall into a sin, but turn at once to the Lord Jesus :
don't bi'ood over it, but thei'e and then confess that you have
sinned. " If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to for-
give ns our sins, and to cleanse ns from all unrighteousness."
By faith go at once to the Lord Jesus in heaven : don't wait
until bedtime comes, but at once say, " Lord, I have sinned :
Lord, I should not have said that woi'd ; Lord, I should not
THE CITIES OF REKIGE.
Ki.')
led;
not
have iiulul^t'il tlijit tV'fliiiy in my lifiirt. CIi'iiiisc iiu' now, (>
Lni<l, by thy Spirit; tak*- poHscssion ol" my houI, and ci't'atc
thy I )< 'life within: cast out all that oii;:,ht not to he there, I )y
tity perfect Ionc' ( ict to know (Jhi'ist as ■ Hc/cr," I hcseeeh
thee.
I ;^o rurthti'. The Lonl tench me now liow to explain this.
The next maiiitestation of .lesus to the soul is that ol' Kamuth.
Ramoth is the llehrew I'oi- " hie-h places," or, as it is call(?d in the
Kpistle to the Kphesians, " the heuvenly places." St. Paul tells
us that all true l)elie\('rs are seated with Christ in the lujavenly
places whilst they are down here on earth. Ramoth is not thc^
same as hea\'en : hut it is ahiiost as yood as hiiavi'U. Oh, it is
a j^n-and thine- when the soul enters into tl»e city of Ramoth,
wluii you are lifted up hy faith ahove the doubts and mists
nnd storms an<l dissensions of earth, and when your soul abides
in the atmosphere of heavenly calm ! It liecomes as natiiral
for you to trust the Loi'd .lesus Christ when you live in
Rainoth as it was to doubt Him when you were not converted.
Clu'istian, have you ever entered the city of Ramoth ? Do you
kn(»w how Hunyan described that ;' Bunyan knew well what
it was to dwell in heavenly ])laces with Christ. Bunyan tells
us that Christian and Flopeful. after they had escaped h'oxn the
Castle of (liant Despaii-, aft<'r they liad escaped out of Doubt-
iuf; Castle by the key of I^romise, .soon after came to the land
of Beulah. In the lan<l of Beulah, says old Bunvan, tlie sun
doth always shine, the birds of Paradise do sweetly sin<^ there,
and the towers of ])oubtine- Castle are alto<,^ethei" out <jf .sijijht
— the towers of Doubting' Castle ai'e altogether out of sight
when you reach the land of Beulah. Y<ai would not dream of
doubting your |)i'ecious Saviom- or casting distrust upon one
syllable of His eternal Word : it becomes a most natural thing
to live a life of faith in the Son of (lod, who loved you and
gave himself for you.
T)vi\v brother, have you entered the land of Beulah i Many
years ago I was strongly inclined to shut myself up in the
towers of Doubting Castle. I was inclined to question every-
thing, an<l to try and prove it by my own intellect; but I
found that that di<ln't go veiy fai\ an<l I found out one day
that I was a fool : an<l that is the most blessed discovery that
any ministei' of the (Jospel can make. It is the most blessed
discovery that any minister or theologian can make, to find out
that he is a fool in the things of (lod, and to go down on his
knees and ask the Lord Jesus Christ to take him into His
;school and to teach him : and if any minister of the Gospel
I
:M»
t
• f
\(>H
THE CITIKS OK UKFIOK.
.\
ii
:.lt
ill Toronto Wiiiits to Imvr my old rooms tluit T used to have iir
J)onl)tiiin' ('astlc, those rooms arc "To Ijct, iiiid il' lie wiiiits my
(jld c'oUt'ijc rooms lie muy liavc tlii'iii tor iiotliiiiu" ! Dear IVifiKls,
I siiy to you this iii^ht, j^ct out oi' the (•••lis of Doulttiii;,^ Casth-,
and honor the \Vor<l of iloi], tlw Woril of (lodyi'llK Woiih of
(Joi), cvi-ry syllahh' of it, I'rom (Jciifsis to llcxchitioii. I lu'licve
in it with my whoh' soul ; and the Ijord teach you niinistfrs
and Christian workers and professin;;' Christians to '.jet into
Kamoth, where all doul»ts exjtire, where the towers of l)oul>tin;^
Castle are out of sieht, where the Spirit of .lesus teaches you
from monun;4' till ni^ht, and the birds of Paradise sin;j in yoiu'
heart. Oh, 1 know what I say is true. I wisji I had words to
tell you what it is to dwell in the city of Ramotli, to li\e in the
heavenly places of the Lord .Jesus Christ. Hut it is true, and
you must take my word for it — take (Jod's Word for it.
One tiling mon^. The last manifestation of tlu; Lord J(\sus
Christ to the heart i.s that of Colaii. Therc^ is a ditt'eronct' of
opinion as to what is the root nieaniii;;" of (iolan : l)utsome (h^rive
it from a I'oot meanin<>' Joy, and .so I shall take that meaninn'.
Golan is Christ rerenlcil to tlic soul <(t the last as your vxci'i'd-
ing joi/. Perfect peace, the joy of the second advent, the joy
when all the jars of earth have pas.sed away; " for there shall
be no more \Mun neither sorrow nor crying', l)ut the former
things liave pa.ssed away. And he that sat upon the throne
said, Write, these wor<ls ari' true ami faithful. I heard as it
were the voice of a ureat niultitu<le, and a.s the voice of main'
waters, and as the voice of mi;^dity thunderines, sayin<;', 'l"he
Lord God omni[)()tent reigneth. Let us Ite ohid and rejoice and
li'ive lionor unto him, for the marriao-e of the Land) is come,
and his wife hath ma<le herself rea<ly, ami to her was j^ranted
that she sliould be arrayed in tine linen, white and clean, for
the tine linen is the rij^'hteous acts of the saints " — righteous
acts of the saints, as yon read in the Revised Version. The
Lord clothe His Church not mi'relv with righteous inten-
tions, but with righteous acts that we may be a righteous
people prepared to meet our Lord in the air, and I believe that
the coming of the Lord draweth nigh : all things testify there-
of. Never was there such a consensus of the signs of the times
as in these days, when both good and evil give warning that
the Lord Je.sus Christ is near at hand, that the days of sin and
Satan .and sorrow ai"e numbered, that the morning of joy is
just rising on the eastern hori/on. Oh, yes, though woe en-
dureth for a night joy cometh in tlie morning, and you can see
the first glimpse of that roseate hue of joy l)eginning to dawn
Tin; ( ITIKS OF KEKlMiE.
107
lU',
■a
for
ten-
nis
lilt
■vv-
IIU'S
Jiat
antl
is
en-
set"
awn
ill the cast. ( Hi. "idnt It't all tlicsf tilings liappi'ii licl'nrc your
I'yt'H witliiiut noticiiin' tlifin. Noticf wlwit (ioil is iloin;^' in
'I'uikcy, notice wliat is ;^'oin^' on in I'lilestint' : notice the sinns
in tlic Cluu'cli or in tluit tliin;^' tlifit calls lici-scir llir CInn'cli of
CJoil ; notice all these thiief's and see the l)attle that is jidinij' on
lietween {^ood and e\il, and reniendx-i" the l^oi'd Jesus Clu'ist has
\vai'ne(l us that it will lie darkest liel'ore dawn. " The niii'ht is
I'ar spent, the day is at hand, let us therefore cast otl' the works
ol' darkness and let us put on the armor of li^ht; our citi/tMi-
ship is in lu'aveii, from whence also we look for the Savioui',
the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall chanj^e the hody of our hu-
miliation that it may become fashi»»ned like unto the hody of
His ^lory according" to the working wherehy he is ahli' even to
sulxlue all thin<^s unto himself." " I .saw a ^roat multitud(!
Iiefore tlie thi'one out of all kindreils and ton<.jues and pt'opU;
and nations, and I said to one of the elders, VVMio are these
and whence came tlu'y i* and he answered and said unto me,
These are they that came out of j^reat trihulation and thoy
have waslied their I'ohes and made them white in the blood of
the Land»: therefore aic they hid'ore the throne of (Jod : they
shall hunj^er no more, neither thirst any more, neither shall the
sun lij^ht on them nor any heat, but the Land) which is in the
midst of the thi'one shall feed them, and shall lead them unto
fountains of livin;^ water, and God .shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes." O Jesus, thou art our oxcei'din<r joy, thou
ai"t our (Jolan, thou art all we need in time, and thou art all
we need for I'teiMiity. Nothiny- but .lesus, Jesus oidy, Jesus
always, and Jesus evermon-. Oh, soul, ^a-t to know Jesus to-
ni;^dit, ^et to know Him as your Kedesh that saved you : j(et to
know Him as your Shechem that bears your burdens: >;'et to
know Him as your Hebron, youi" friend that reveals the secret
of Ciod to ytni; jj^et to know Him as your Bezer who tij^hts your
battles for you: ^et to know Him as your Ramoth who di'ives
away all doubt and despair out of your heart, and ^'et to know
Him as your Golan who tills youi' soul with joy unspeakable
and full of ^lory. The Lord bless everyone here to-ni<rht, and
<;ive you <;r!>oe to taste the blessedness of Christ's full salvation.
We have tied for refut^e to oui' Jesus and that hope we have as
an anchor of the soul both .sure and steadfast. " My anchor
holds within tlie veil," and no power of earth or devil .shall
ever cut that twofold cable of the promist^ and the oath of my
God that He will save me to the end. The Lt)rd bless everyone
that came here to-ni<'ht, for Christ's sake. Amen.
If
,.||,
i
, i
\
J
^1 : t
bb
;i
HI". OF cool) Cni'l'R.
HI-
i iillh
! li
" Then Nuhomiali said unt<» thorn, (Jo your way, ufit tho fnt, luul drink
the swout, niu\ sund portionH unto thuni for whom nothing io prupnrud ; for
tho joy of the Lord in your strength." — Neheniiah viii. 10.
THKSK words wore Hpokuu by NolaMiiiali, (Jovcriior of
Juilali, to over 42,000 Jcwh who hji«l returned I'roni the
Babylonish ca])tivity, an«l they had gathered theniselves
toj;ether in one of the .streets of .Jerusalem to hear the Word
ofCJoil. Neheniiah had read out of the Book of the Law to
them for six whole hours, and liad explained the iiieaninjj of
the Word of (lodtothem, and then he dismissed them with
these words, and we read that the people went their way to
eat, to <lrink, to send portions, and to make great mirth — to
make great mirth because they had understood the words that
wei'e declared unto them. I wonder how many in this congre-
gation have ever had great mirth in their hearts because tliey
hr /e understood tlu^ Word of (Jod ! The one thing Satan tries
is to keep a Christian out of the joy of the Lord ; he does not
mind how religious you are, he does not mind how solenui you
are, he does not mind how ecclesiastical you are, but there is
one thing he hates, he hates a joyful Christian ; for a mournful,
solenni-faced Christian is the best advertisement that the devil
has in the whole world ; a mournful, long-faced Chris-
tian, I repeat, is the very best advertisement that the devil
has, for the worldly man looks at him and says, " That man
professes to have joy unspeakable and full of glory, that man
professes to know God ; well, if he really knew God I expect
he wouhl be happier than he is;" and the worldly man sees
nothing to attract him. You must give a worldly man a
greater pleasure than he has, and a greater power than he has,
and a greater peace than he has ever had, in order to draw
him to the Lord Jesus Christ. I want to show to you to-night
what the joy of the Lord really is, for your life will have no
effect upon the kingdom of Satan unless you learn to rejoice in
God your Saviour, till you can say with the Vii'gin mothei".
ME OF (Jonl) CHEEH.
1G9
Ml
111
" .M\' soul dntli iim<rnit'v tin- Ijonl, uml iiiv si»iiit <lotli ifioicc in
(i(mI my Saviour. Now, no ( 'liristiaii /// rapHriftf n\u cvrr
liiivf the joy of the Lonl. ' Wv sat <lo\vn anil wrpt, ' said ilic
.lews, " wlicn wt' wt'Cf at Maliylon, and \vr liun;;- our liarps
on till) willow ti't'fs. i'or tlicic tlu'V that canicd us awiiv
captivi' i'i'(|uirt'<l of us a sony' sayin;;", Sin;^ us one of tin- sony^s
of Zion. Mow can \\r siny,- the Lonl's son<i' in a stran^ff
land ' ' When you ai'i' I'ai' away from tlic liomt' of your soul,
wlh-n you arc far away from .Icsus, tlicn youi- liarj) is luni;;' u|)
on a willow tree, and you have no sonn', hut when the Lord
turns aujiin the captivity of His |)eoji|e then wc liecome likt;
unto them that dream, then is our mouth tilled with sin^injj;
and our tonuiic with joy, then they say anton^" the nations
the Lonl has done <>;rcat thinus f<a- them, ^'ca, the L(>i'<l hath
done j,jivat thin;;s for us ali'cady in Toronto when-of we are
Ljlatl.
Dear Cliristian souls, I desire witli my whole heart that
you should find otit the hlessed Heeret of continual joy in
the Lord, so that you may radiate smishine wherever you
<;•(), sunshine in your home, sunshine in your sto)e, sun-
shine al(jn^' the sti'cet, that ])eo)»le can know, even as they
look at you, "Thei-e <^'oes a man that is rejoicing'" in (Jod,
his .Saviour." Well, deai- souls, no (•(irntit (Christian can
evei' have the joy of the Lortl. You must m-t delixcred from
caj'uality and sensuality, and dissensions and strifes, before you
know what the joy of tlu! Lord is, and no fomuil Christian can
ever have the joy of the Lord. If your relioion is only a I'ound
of theoloeical ol)ser\ ances, it' you are very reli<rious in Lent
and ver\' irreligious aftei- Lent, believe me, y(»u will never
know what the joy of the L(ji'd is, never. Yoiir reli<(ion must
be jiist as ^'ood out of Lent as in it, your relii^'ion must be a
thint; of life an<l not a thin<;- of form : it nnist be the outHovv
of the Spirit of (Uxl, and not .something taught you by tlie
])recepts and conunaudments of man. No foi'mal Christian, no
traditional Christian, no ecclesiastical Christian can ever know
what tlie joy of the Lord i.s. For the joy of the Lord is
natural, the joy of the Lord raises you above 3'cnu'self, the joy
of the Lord brings you into the jiresence of tlu- Lord Jesus
Christ. Let u.s draw near to the ])re,sence of the I.,ord Jesus,
and see what He has to teach us about rejoicing- in CJod always.
Let U.S take our seat in the school of the Man of Sorrows, and
see wluit Jesus, the Man of Sorrows, has to ti'ach us about joy.
No one has spoken so much about joy as the Lord Je.sus Christ.
He who fathomed all earthly sin and all earthly sorrow^ He
■Ml
It:
:t;
170
iiK or (;u(>n cilKKit.
t
i
i
I
(;)li
il'l!!
iiloiic cmi tfll yoii w liiit tilt' lifinlitN iA' ln'ii\<'iily joy arc lli-
liiiiiil)li'i| liitiiscir, jiinl lircaiiii' iilinlii'iit unto ilcatli, *>\*'ii tli<>
tlt'utli «»!' tilt' crttsM, w licit I'ori' (loij Imtli lii;;lily cxaltfil my
hjcssfil Sm\ iour, niitj st-t Him at His own iin;jit IuiikI in llif
lii'a\fiily |»la('f.s. Now, l.tir<l .It'siis, takf iis as littlf cliililri'ii
into tliy scliool, ami tcacli tliy cliiMii'ii Ihti' tlw st'cri-t ol' tlit>
joy of tlif iiOi'tl, tliat will lifctaiic tlicir stri'n;4tli in lln- lialtif of
lil'f. 'I'lit' joy t)t' till- l,t»rtl is yiaw st iin;^tli, tlififlort' yoii ih-n t-r
can know what it is tt) lit' a stron;;' ( 'lirist ian, ainl to ilflfat
Satan, iintl tt» ttvcrconw Ills wiles ami liis su;;;^t'stioiis nnlfss tlif
Joy of (Joil is rt'\t'rl)i'i'atin;,^ in yt)ur lifart.
Have you I'NtT noticfti tin- ticcasions ujioii wliicli tin- Ltu'il
flfsus tolil |»i'oj»lt' tti l)t' of u'tiud clit'tT. ( )n four tliUfit'iit occa-
hIohm till' lionl .It'sus sail! to jK'tn»lt'. " Clift'i' uj), hf ttf ut„M[
chci'i", rt'joict'l" anil you will timl tliat if you analy/f tlu'Sf foui*
occasions, tlu-N* •>i\(' \-ou tlit- foiintlatioii stones of tlic tcmplf <»f
cverlastine- Joy. I ilcsii-c to lay a tiiiii fouiKlutioii foi- |it'r|)i'tnal
joy, HO that yt)U iniiy ohcy the aposttilic commaiiil, " Kcjoice
in the Loi-t| ahvay, ami a;jain I .say, Hejoiee."
Now, that is just as much a ctimmaiitlment as " Tluai shall
not steal," Just as much, ant! (iotl means us to obey it. '' Ke-
Joice in the liord alway, anti aeain 1 say. Ilejoice."
What was the lirst oceasittn ujitai which the Lonl .lesus toM
people to cheer up ' ^'ou will linil it in the Uth chapter of
Matthew where we reail that they l>i't)ueiit to .lesus a man sick
of the |)al.sy, an<l when .lesus saw their faith He saiil unto the
sick of the nalsv, 'Son. he of MOdil cheer, tli\' sins are fori-iven
thee." The tirst element of the it)v of the i^ortl is a conscience
cleansetl from the ;juilt of sin. No t>iie can l)e hapi)y .so lon;j;
as the ct)ii.scienct' is not at jterfect rest. I say that a<;,ain : No
man or woman in this autlieiicecan have any happiness so lon^
as yoiH" con.science is naeeinu' jit vou. Man\' a man antI manv
a woman have lest their bodily health for no other rea.sou than
that their consciences were not at rest. They have done some-
thin*^ ami the inwanl voice .says, " ^'t)U are wron^, you kntjw
yon are w'ron<f," antl nntil that sin is confessed antl put away
you will have no peace. Many a man etu's to a iloctor ami the
doctor does not know what the matter with him is, antl ;;ives
him mtMlicine after metlicine. The nieilicine the man neeils is
to have his conscience cleansed by the blood of .Jesus. Once a
French nobleman came to a Christian jjliysician in Lontlon antl
said, "Sir, I don't know what the matter with me is, I am
subject to the mo.st terrible tiepres.sion, n»y life is a perfect
burden to me, and I cannot sleep at ni^ht."' The doctor
i\
IIK <)| (iodl) I ilKKK.
17F
i'\iiiiiiiii'<| Itiiii MMil t'uiiihl tlifi'i* was iiutliiii;,' wi'uiii,' witli \\'\x
nvif^nwH. Tlir hililf WHS lyiii;; on liis tnldr. mii<I Iw ii|mii('<I it ill
lilt' til'tv-tliii'il III Isiiiiili. iMi<l saiil to tlw Kiriifli iiiililciiuiti,
" 'riif only |ii"t'S('ii|itiuii tliat you lu'cd is this, " Siirt'ly lu' liatli
liitnic o\ii- ni'icl's Mini cMn-icil our sorrows. " r In* was woiiinlnl
lor oiir traiis;;rt'ssi(»ns. lie was liruist'tj for our iiii«|iiitics, tin*
(■liaslisf!iii-iit that |irocurrs our in'iici' was ii|ioii liiiii, aiiil with
his stfijtt'S Wf art' hi'iiit'il.' That is tli»' hcaliii;;; that you
11 1 sir. " " I tloii't lu'lii'Vf ill that, saiti tin' Kifiich iiolilfiiiaii,
•' 1 tloii't lii'licNi' ill the liihli'. '■ Vou will iifStr ;,'i't hi'iiliii;;
on earth until you know that hfaliii;;," sai<l tlif tjoctor. Thf
result was that in a short time al'ter that, the I'Veiich nolileiiian
was a hunilile hi'liever in His Loivl ami Sa\iour, .lesus Christ,
ami the jov of the Loitl was llowiii'r throiit'li his heart. Ami
I can tell you that a j^reat many peojih- who are in the hamls
of the doctors to-tlav wtaild iiet iierfecth' well if onlv tlie\'
hatjthejoy of salvation in tlieii' hearts. There is nothin;;; s(»
"food eithej' for soul or Itoilvasthe iov of the lionl. What is it
that lays the spectres of an accusin;^' conscience :" Listen : "If the
lilood of hulls and of ;j^'oats ami the ashes of a heifer s|irinl\liny,"
the unclean sanctitieth to the purifyin;^' of the Mesh, how much
moi'(( — l\ow much more — shall the lilooil of Christ who throu;j,h
the eternal Spirit otf'ereii himself witlnait spot to (iod, pur;,fe
youi' conscience from deatj worUs to si'r\t' the livin<^ (lotl."
Some years a^^o in the north of Kn;,dantl, there was a Clii'istian
tele<;ra])h clerk, ami he li\-ed in the town of Windermere in tiie
lake disti'ict, ami he had a sister who livetl in Warkworth. ami
this sister hecanie anxious about her soul and wrote to her
lirother : " My tlear lirother, 1 am lonyin;^" to know the Lord
as you know Him, for you have .somethin;^' that I know noth-
ing about." As it happeneil the tck'graph clerk that livetl in
the same town as that sister, hail Ikh'u attentlinn- a j^ospel
service, ami he was tieeply anxious to know (iod in truth : he
came in the next morning ami .sat down liefore his instrument,
and he spelletl out the following telegi'am — for the brother in
Windernu're did not wait to write to hi.s sister, but telegraphetl
this de.sjmtch ['nnw Windei'inere to the town of Warkwortii,
ami this was the telegram: " Beholtl the liiiml) of (Iod which
takoth away the sin of tlie world ; in him we have retlemption
througli his ])lood, even the forgiveness of our sins." ( Jod
made U8e of that telegi-am to bring salvation not only to the
sister wlio received i^j, but also to the heart of the telegraph
clei'k who deciphe'vil it. I wonder do many .salvation tele-
grams like that go about Canada ( I am a telegraph clerk
Mi
Ji
m
I m:
:'■
I i
■ .i
ill:
ti
M
Hi
< 1 1
\ !
\
172
HE ol' (lool) CUKKH.
to-m;;iit, uiid I iti'iuf^ ^-oii this (l(3.s))!itt'h iroiu the vciy coint of
<i<)»l, " Hcholil thi! LjiiiiIm)!' (loil, ill liim we hiivc I'cdciinjtion. '
It is not ill Him we hojx' lo liave redciiiption, or in lliniwc
iiiiiji hiivt' it, or in Him we sliall lui/re if five minutes hel'ori' we
die, hut " In him we havk'' — hear it, ye five or six thousand
peojilf, hear it. "In IIIM we' HAVE redemption through Ids
blood, even the ror<;'iveness ol" sins," wu lulfc it. 'J'hat is the
l'o\nidation stone ol' the tiMiiple of joy, the kiK)wledge of tiie'
forifiveiiess of sins, the eleansinn- of ycnir conseit'iiee from all
jLjuilt hy the saeriHeial ))lood of the Lord .lesus Christ on
Calvary.
What is the s(!cond element of Ciiristian joy :' You will find
it in tlie 14th c]iaj)ter of St. Matthew, 'i'ho Lord Jesus had
sent His disei[)les in a little boat over the Lake of ( Jennesaivt,
and in the fourth watch of tlu^ nii^ht He caiiu^ unto them walk-
iuf^ on the sea, and when the disciples saw Him walkin<; on the
sea, they wiire troubled, sayin*;", "It is a spirit, and they crieil
out with fear, but Jesus .strai<;'litway spake unto them, sayin<^\
Be of <;()od cheer, it is T,be not afraid." Then Peter answered
Jesus and saitl, " Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee upon
the w^ater." .lesus said "Come,' and when Peter was come
down out of the ship he walked on the water to ^'o to Jesus.
But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid, and
Iteginniny- to sink, he cried, " Lord, save me," and immediately
Jesus put forth His hand ami cau^^ht him, and said unto him,
*' Oh, thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt."
The .second element of Chri.stian joy is to learn how^ to walk
witli the Lord Jesus Christ over stormy water. In every
Christian life there come seasons of .storm and special teni})-
tation. You sometiiu^'S feel as if the Lord Jesus Clirist were a
spirit, far away, misty, shadowy, as if Christ had lost all sub-
stantiality. I belii've there are many here who have felt like
that: you have felt as if the Lortl Jesus had left you, as if
Clirist had forsaken you altogether, but the Lortl is only going
to reveal himself to you in a way you never knew before. He
draws near and says, " J^e of good cheer, it is I, be not afraid."
The Lord calls every Christian here to the walk of faith. The
walk of faith is the most wonderful thing in the work! ; the
walk of faith is casting yourself up(ju the word of the Lord
Jesus, and walking on tliat only. Jesus said to Peter, " Corner
to me up( '1 the water." Peter did not biggin to reason, Peter
did not begin to experiment with the Lord Jesus Christ. Let
me tell you what some of the Christians here would have doiu;
if the Lord had told them to come to Him on the water. I
iu
I5K OF (;(M)n CHKKIJ.
I •>
Ho
I raid.'
Tlu'
; the
Lord
ICoiut;
IPoter
Lot
(lout!
lor. I
laiicy \vi' should liaxc put out- loot out of tlio hoat first of all,
and wo shoidd havo IV'lt the wator to .see il' it wiTo solid, ami
not tinili <r the wator solid, we should havo drawn tho I'oot hack
into tho hoat and stavod where we wore. That is what ni;
us won
M
my
liav
done : wo woidd havo niadi; an ox|H>rnn(Mit
upon tho Loi'd .lesus (Mirist, )»ut wo would not havo oonnnitttMl
ourselves to the naked woi'd of , lesus. H' you want to walk
tho walk of I'aith, and to have victory in time of storm and
special temptation, you are not to walk on your foolintjs ; you
ai'o to walk upon tlio naked word of tho I.,ord .h'sus Clirist I
wish to toll you to-nie;ht that tho word of tho Lord .lesus is
stronger than any natural law. By tho law of <ifravitation.
Peter ou^ht to havo sunk in tho wator. Why did not Poter
sink in tho water ? Because tho word of Jesus is stronger tlian
the law of {gravitation. The word of Jesus can lift you above
all natural law ; tho word of Jesus is a 8Uj)ornatural law, and
tho Christian is to walk accordi)i<ij to the law of tho Spirit of
life in Christ Jesus. Oh, dear souls, do you know what it is
to walk in eahnnoss of soul, to walk in perfect ])oaco of heart,
thou<^h tho heaven is hiack !i])Ove you, thou<fh the liohtninfj is
ilashinf,' around you, though tho white-crested waves threaten
to onoulf you at every second, — to walk calmly upcai the word
of Jesus ^ But you .say, Pinter did not get on very well ! No,
he did not. Why :* Because Peter hogan to walk according to
siifht and not accordinij^ to faith. When I'etor saw that tho
wind and the waves wore boisterous, he began to be afraid, and
when he began to be afraid he began to sink, for yo\i always
ilo when you begin to be afraid, and he cried out, " l^ord, save
me, I perish." And Jesus answered and said "Oh, thou of
little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt," or hesitate. So if
there is any Christian here whom tho Lord Jesus Christ is call-
ing to a walk of faith, I say to you, oh. Christian, go on with
C'hrist, stop off upon the naked word of your God, don't wait
to got the ajiprobation of your fellow-disciples — for jiorhaps
the rest of the disciples did not approve of Peter's foolhardiness,
Peter's presumption. Probably they called it Peter's self-con-
ceit, Peter's desire to show himself off. " Why don't you stay
like a sensible man in the boat, and not make a fool of your-
self?" Peter's heart answered, "I want to be as close to the
p(>rson of Jesus as 1 can, and I cannot beai- that there should
ill' any distance between mo and my Lord, and besides, Jesus
has told me to come to Him upon the water, so I shall go." Go
forward, Christian, in the walk of faith, and Jesus will bless
your soul : thpugh all the rest of the disciples seem to disapprove
174
V.E OF GOOD ( HKEH.
h Hi
i 'i
Hi
\'M\
I
ilil ! ri
iil
1 ' ■■ ■
3 ^tf
a! if
of what you do — walk iijion tlir woid of Jesus, jiinl rvciytliiiii;-
will come ri;;ht in the niil.
Now, let us i^nvc you a sanipit' of what 1 mean hy wali-cin;^-
on the word of Josus in tlie time of storm : I shall avoid fi;^nn'e
and symbol and come to reality. Tliere was a frien<l of mine
in Lon<lon, and heha<la letter some time a^o: " Dear Sir, — I am
sorrv to inform vou that you have lost t'r)O,00()."" It was all
he had ; he thought he had invested his money safely, and as a
Christian man ou<;ht, but really in these <lays you can scairoly
tell that anythin<;' is saf". lie wi'ut to bed a comparatively
rich man, and he W(jke up a poor man. What did he do ! As
a real Christian n\an, who knew (»od, he just read the letter,
went u])staii's to his liedrcjom, kntdt down and said, '" Oh. my
lieavenly Father, I thaidc thee from my whole heart for havin^^
taken this money from me. Now, Father, tluni must supply
everythin<^ foi- us. Give us our daily bivail, and take care of
my wife and children.' Then he came down stairs and finished
his breakfast. He ilidn't put a pistol to his bi'ains as many
have done in similar circumstances. He has been rejoicinp' in
God evei" since: he has ])een liap])ier since he lost that £50,000
than he ever was in his life l)efoi'e. That was several years
ago and he is a poor man to this very day. Now, this is what 1
moan by walkin<;' with Christ over stormy water. The Lord
Jesus supports you, you walk on His Mord of pi'omise, 3'ou
walk on His character, and you know that Jesus will never let
you sink. '" (.)h, thou of little faith, wlierefore didst thou doubt :
be of (]food cheer, it is I, be not afraid."
What is the third element of Christian joy :* You will find
it in the 10th chapter of St. John and the :i3i'd verse : " In the
world ye shall have tribulation but be of o-ood cheer ; I have
ovei'come the world." The third (dement of Christian joy is
frilmuitiun. Well, you say that this is self-contradictory. No,
it is not. The third element of Christian joy is tribulation,
and if you are faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ, you will have
plenty of tribulation, I promise you — plenty of it, and plenty
of p(>rsecution — and you will never know what real joy is to
the full, until your name is cast out as evil by the nominal
Church around you, until men revile you and persecute yon an<l
say all maimer of evil a<fainst you falsely for Chi-ist's name
sake. "Rejoice ye in that day," saith the Lord, ' and leap for
joy." 1'hat would be very ecstatic religion. " Leap for joy," He
says, ■' Leap for joy, because yi'eat is your reward in heaven,
for so pei'secuted they the ])rophets wdiich were before you." T
wonder how many Christians leap for joy in their hearts in
HK OF fJOOl) (IIKKK.
Toroiitt), Im'C.'iusc tlu'V liiivc IukI to KutK-r tor Clirist. Paul
InuiJii
li an<l
p for
," He
laven,
I
I'ts in
ay I
I take i)l('asui'i' ill intiniiitics, in distrcssoH, in ixtho
'CU-
tioii I'oi' Christ's sake, for wlicii 1 am weiik tlicn i am strong",
i'or Ik; lias said unto me, my i;'race is sutHcicnt tor tla'c, lor my
strt'iif^th is made pcrt'cct in weakness." The I^onl teach the
eliildreii ol" (Jod here how to rejoice in triliulation ; so when
trial or j)ersecutit)ii ai'iseth lor the Wortl's sake, don't he
ofl'ended. The I^ord warns us that many people will he ott'ended
with Him when persecution and trial arises for the Word's
sake, hut they that know their (Jod shall l)e stronj; and do
»loitt-
.1 tl
I'Xploits, and tney will he ol o-o^ii ciieer t<
I ch
or
H.
has overcome
the world. Christian, if you are a worMly Christian, you will
never know what the joy of the Lord is. In pro[)ortion a.s you
Had your joy in money, and in the pleasures, society and
recreations of the world, in that e.\act [)roportion (!od hides
His face from you. and takes away the real joy of the Lord
from your heart. No worldly (*hristiaii can ever have the joy
of the Lor<l. rt is a sad thiny; when the Church o-oes into the
world to find her joy. I think that we Christians ou(;'ht to
have such respect for Jesus, and deli<;-ht in His oloiy, that we
oULl'ht to lie ashamed to o'o to the world to iiX't a little cup of
joy. We ouoht to he ashamed. 1 not only y;<j to Christ for my
.salvation, hut *;o to Christ for my recreation as well, and He
^ives me Ijoth. He will <jfive you more recreation and real joy
than you will know what to <lo with.
lliere is no amusement and no recreation and no joy ecjual t<j
that which the Lord pour.s into the heart of the man or woman
who seeks to serve Him tlirou^h tliick and thin. You will
rind tliat Jesus is a fountain of joy to the man who has lived
to honor Him in tlx; worhl. 'i'he world hates (iod, though (Jod
loves tlie world, ain' we have to show tlu; world the love of
(!od. Oh, let us .seek to save the world, and not merely to
make the world better by joinino- with the world. The world
will only drag you down. You know there ai'e some people
who say, " You ought to go to the theatre in order to improve
the theatre, and you ought to get up a church and stage guild,
and then, you know, you will make the theatre.' better and you
will make art better, and you will make everything better, and
thus you will reform the world." (lod never sent us Christians
into the world to re foil, it, never, (lod has sent us into the
world to bear witness to 't that its deeds are evil — that is why
He sends us. "Therefor.' tlu' world hateth me," .saith Christ,
"because I testify unto it that its deeds are evil." But wIkmi
wt.' try to minhnize the t vil of the world, and try to reform
\h
vtmwmuimmmmmu
«i
1»
17(5
JtE OK (iooi) CHEEK.
V
i
]%
I*
■
( i'
fl
Mf
M :iH
*- f.
i ) : Hi
it, instcfKl oF I't'-civiitinir it, tlu'ii we lose our tcstiinoitv I'oi-
(!o«l. ( J(t(l wants the woi'ld to lu' rc-crc'itcfl in tlif inia;;!' ot"
(.'lirist, ami not to he rcrornuMl. You must Ix' Imhh a^iain —
receivi' a new lil't' into you, clso you have not learncil the \ rry
lu'f^innin;;" ol" tlir ;4()s))('l of (lod. C(jni(', <l('ai" soul, lie assurt-fl oi'
this, that i I' you are f'aithi'ul to Ji'sus you will sutt'er trilnila-
tioii. Do yoti i'enienil)er that old story in the (ireek h.'sson
hooks, how a ijreat eaefle was tivinc; ovei' some ice vallevs, and
the ea<^le saw the carcase ol' a deer lyin;^' on the ice, and the
noble l)ird descended to I'eed upon the deer. I>ut the north
wind swej)t down the valley, and as tlie ea<^de fc<l upon tlie
carcase ol' the deer, her win<;s were I'rozcn to tlie ice, and when
slic wanted to rise affain she could not, and was found Ivino-
dead on the carcase of the deer. And I have often thou<;-lit
that is what hai)pens to the worldly Cliristian : the Christian
is nteant to he an eaj^le cuttin*; the lofty air strai<;ht to God.
We are meant to mount up with win<js as (>a<4'les into the very
purity and li<ifht of the presence of Go<l, hut we see the carca.se
of the world there, and we de.scend to feast upon what the dead
world can ofTei us, and the north wind of worldliness sweeps
d(nvii the valley, and oureaole wings get frozen to tlie ice, and
the life of God dies out of our heart. That is what always
happens to tin; worldly Christian. He loses the life of (iod
that was within him, and he is frozen, and is in imminent
danger of l)cing frozen t(^ death altogether. Come out from
everything that displeases your Lord and Master; come out
from everything with which God can have no fellow.ship, and
walk in singleness of heart toward the Lord Jesus Christ.
" Come out fi'om among them and he ye separate, saith the
Lord, and touch not anything unclean, and I will receive you,
and I will be a Father unto you, and ye shall bi' my sons and
daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. Having, therefore, these
promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse our.selves from all detile-
inent of the flesli and spirit, perfecting holiness in tlie fear of
God." The Lord make the Christians of this citv unworldly
Christians, who have tlieir hearts and their affections .set on
the things above, where Christ sitteth at the right hand of
God, and not set on the things of the earth. The Lord give us
lieavenly affections for Christ's sake.
Lastly, — I do not know how long this lastly will be. La'^tly .
the 23rd of Acts and the 11th verse, " The night following the
Lord stood by Paul and said unto him. Be of good cheer, Paul,
for as thou hast borne witness of nie in Jerusalem, thou must
also bear witness at Rome." The fourth element of Christian
HE OF OOOI) CHEER.
177
wavs
iUA
inent
from
le out
b, aiifl
hrist.
1 tho
you,
!ind
these
lefile-
ar of
rldly
on
id of
vo us
lastly.
lo- tlu'
Paul.
must
Hstian
joy is (■(niraijc m Icstimonn for Ihf Lord JcsiM Christ. \i
vou do not bear witness to tlu; Lord Jesus Christ who has
saved you, joy will die out of your heart. Tliere are many
Christians who never have any fulness of joy because they
bottle \x\) in their hearts all that ( Jod has tauf^ht them ; they
tell it to nobody else, and if CJod blessiiH my heart. He means me-
to pass it on, pass it on to my wife, to my children, to my friends
and relatives, to my minister if he doesn't know it, to the
Chri.stian workers around, to the man that is in the store
with me. (Jo<l means us to be always givinjif, always giving,
always <;ivinj^ to others, for (jIoiI is always ^ivinj^ to us. Ami.
you are never more like (Jod than when you are ;4ivin{r to
somebody else the grace that (Jod lias given to you. and that
is the way to increase your joy in tlie Lord. The day before
the Lord spoke these words, Paul had been nearly torn in
pieces by the Scribes and Pharisees in Jerusalem, and now he
was in his prison cell bruised and battered, but the Lord
did not forget His servant. '' The Lord stood by him and
said. Be of good cheer, Paul, for as thou hast borne witness of
me in Jerusalem, thou nnist also bear witness in Rome." The
Lord Jesus never forgets a man that has borne courageous
testimony for Him in any place, whether in public or in
private, and what we need to-day is a company, not of theo-
logians, but a company of witnesses to the saving, sanctifying,
and cleansing power of the Loi'd Jesus Chi'ist ; that is what is
needed. What were the last words that Jesus spoke before
He went up to heaven ( They were these, " Behold I send the
})romi8e of my Father upon you, and ye shall receive power
after that the Holy (Jhost is come upon you, and ye shall be
witnesses unto me, in Jerusalem and in Judea and in Samaria
and unto the uttermo.st parts of the earth, and when He liad
spoken the.se words a cloud received Him out of their sight."
So the last words that the blessed Jesus spoke to us were these;
that we are to be witnesses to Him wherever He has placed
us. Now^ a witness is a man who says what he has seen, and
\f\\o says what he knows. I am brought up before a Court of
Justice to bear witness, and the examining barrister .says to
me, " On your oath, Mr. Grubb, did you see that ' " " Yes."
" Were you there when that took place?" "Yes." " Do you
know that ? " " Yes," or " No, I don't " — -that is witnes.s — wdien
you state positively that you know or do not know. (Jod
wants us to be witnesses for Jesus, witnesses. When we are
asked, Do you know that J3«us has saved you ? (Jod wants you
to testify to the world. " Yes." " Do you know that He lias
12
mmmmm
!
t ( \
I
!
u
I
•it
j
M:(I
HI
' it'.
17.S
BE OF <i()(H) <'IIEEU.
cl(!iuis('(| you tVoiii the power ol' sin:'" ' I^ruisc In- todoii, I
d(t" — you ai'e to siiy tliiit if it is true. " lius tins Lord sat is-
t\o(\ your whole inner Ikmiij^ !' " " Pniise he to Clod, He has ; "
and you will see when 1 read a Few of the tfstinionies that
that is just what many people in this eon<;i'foation can say to-
night. Tiie Ijord wants us to be witnesses, f'oi- a witness is
h(^tter than all the ar^unients you can iiiakf use of. And
where is our witness to be ^ In Jerusalem, where everybody
knows everything about us; Jerusalem, the ajjostles were well
known there; they were no stranj^ers there. So tlit! first {)lace
to witness is at home, not in China, not amon<^' tin; Kstpiiniaux,
not in Ai'rica ; yovu- first place of witness is in Toionto where
(everybody knows everytliin^ about you, where the man who
sits next yon in the store knows you— where they know you
well, know what you do at home, at lireakfast, at luncheon,
at afternoon tea, at supper.
First of all, witness at home. That is (Jod's college for
jnissionaries. (Jod's missionary college is a consistent life in
youi' own liome, and in your own store. Dear brothei', witness
for (jod there, bo faithful to <iod at home, let youi' brothers ami
sisters see th(! beauty of the Lord Jesus upon you, let them see
by the way you keep your temi)er, by your perfect I'cctitudf
and straightness in all your business dealings, ht them sc^e that
Jesus has spoken to your heart, let them see hy the KjN'ing way
in which you talk of others, too, that (Jod is love, an<l that His
love is dwelling in your heart. L(it them see by your tender
e(mipassion for the faults and failings of others that you are
conscious of your own. Then you are to witness in Judea —
tliat is, the country round about. (Jod will widen your .sphere
■ of testimony. Then you are to witness in .Samaria. The
Samaritans had a good deal of the Bible, but they did not read
it. The Samaritans are ver^'^ like, shall I say, our Roman
Catholic friends to-day — that is, they have the Bible but they
do not read it, they do not care to read it, and they are toU
it is a dangerous book to read. Well, then, let us witness
lovingly to the Roman Catholic friends around us, and toll
them that Jesus, and not the Virgin, is the only mediator be-
tween Cod and man, and tell them that no man can absolve
you from your sins, that you nnistget absolution from the Lord
Je.sus Christ. And let us tell them that to eat the body and
drink the blond of Jesus is to do it .spiritually i)i the heart by
faith, and not carnally by the supposed transmutation of the
bread and wine. Let us be honest with them, and speak the
truth to them, and let us do it lovingly, let us not call them
I!K l)V cool) I IIEKH.
17!)
jad
iiJiiiKS. Ml' (|(M1(juiici' tlit'iii, hut let us H() to oui' lloluaii Ciitliolic
IViciids autl SUN'. '■ lirotlitT, I have tin; ix-aco lA' .Icsus in inv soul,
and I am lonyiii;;' for you to liavf it, too," and let us hIkjw tlicni
thf wciidfi's ot" tilt' Word ol' ( lod. I liave l»ei'U accustointMl to
dral lor wars with Kouiaii Catholics in Irehind and throu<diout
the world, and I pra'se ( Jotl tliat scoivh and scores ol' them have
recei\<(l the truth when thus presented to them from tlie Word
ot" (lod. Thciy !-i'V, " Well, anyway, sir, 1 cannot <;'et out ol' that :
that is the Word of (Jod and the Word ol" (Jod only that you
liave showe(| me." I^et tiiem see Chri.st in your lives; then
hear witness t(j the uttei-most parts ol' the earth. And I will
tell you one uttermost part ol" the earth that you Canadians
ou<,dit to hear witne.ss in, and that is South America. Now, in
the year ISO.'OIr. Millard and 1 were takinj;- a mi.ssion in South
America, and we hail a most hiessed time there, anil I think
that you who are leal Christians here in Canada ou^ht to turn
on your ]>rayers for South America, for if you wish to <;o to a
heathen country \'ou have onlv to sro to the Roman Catholic
repuhlics of South America. T have preached the (rospel
amon;ist many heathen nations, hut I liave never seen such
heathenism as in the Roman Cath(jlic repuhlics of South
America. Pray for the .'>7,()0(),00() in South America who are
sti'ep<<l in the ^'ros.sest darkness and the deepest and most
degradiiiii' sensuality. < )h, .send them the (Jospel. It rejoices
me to he told hy some of my ministerial hrethren that a society
has heeii formeil in Toronto to send the ( lospel to South
America, and 1 ask you to <;i\'e that society your cordial
support, for a special responsihility rests upon you to send
Christianity throughout the lenc^jth and hreadth of this vast
continent. Rememher South America is to you "the uttermost
])arts of the earth." Pi-ay for the Lord's work amonj^st His
ancient ])eople Israel, the Jew.s. Take the very deepest interest
in the salvation of (Jod's ancient people, for ren\ember that the
Lord .lesus has warned us that one oi the chief si^ns of His
ap{)roaching second advent is the huddinjjj of the Jewish fig-
tree. " When ye see the fi^-tree beginning to bud, know that
the time is at hand." Now, the vine is the symbol of the Church,
hut the fig-tree is the symbol of the Jewish nation. Within
the last hundi"e<I years, (Uxl has caused the Jewish nation to
bud as never before, ( Jod has once more brought that down-
trodden people into prominence, and now you know perfectly
well that politically and financially the Jews bid fair to rule the
world. God says that there is a remnant amongst them now ac-
cording to the election of grace, and He means that remnant to
) i I r
I ■
m
ISO
|!K <)|- (i(Mi|> CHEEK.
;
I
I
I
[
i'r
:
■■■'>
lie hrou^flit t(i thr Uiinwlciliic (if the Lortl .Icsus Christ lu'fom tlie-
Loi'd ii|)i)f)ii's ill His st'coiid ii(l\eiit /^jory. AI'ttT ( 'lii'ist comes
— hikI not imtii tlit'ii — will the \vliol<( iiiitioii ju'knowk'd^i; that
.IcsuH is the tnu; Messiah, mul they will turn in true ponitenec
to lliui, fUHJ they sIimII look on llini whom thry have j)i»!rc(^d,
and then in Ahrahain's seed shall all the nations c^f the vvoi'kl
be blessed. Read your Bibles and find out if we speak the'
truth, and i,'o in I'oi- (Jod's politics and not for the mean, dis-
;jrac(!l"ul polities of earth, ;^et to uinh-rstand (Jod's j)urpose and
plan with i-e^ard to His own Chureh, and with reifanl to the
nation of Isi-ael, for (lod has ni-eat purposes to woi'k out
throu<^h the .b'wish nation yet, and all the .selieiiiin<; ])olities of
the earth will never previ-nt it. Jesus is the only one who will
put an end to the eastern (|uestion. The Lord Jesus Christ is
the only penson living who is able to solve the eastern (jue.stion.
Jerusalem is Cod's (^co^rajdiieal eentre, and you will see tluit it
is before lon^r. Go and read your Bible with humility and'
take heed to the sure word of prophecy as unto a lifj^ht
that .sliineth in a <lark ])lace until tlu; day dawn an<i the
day-star arise. Let me close ])V tellin;^ you an old monkish
letjfend. A •'ood old monk had a dream, and he told it
around the monastery lire to the })rethren. And he said,
" Brethren, I had a stran<;e. dream last ni(j:;ht ; I saw a council
of devils held in hell, and they were met in oi-der to take
counsel how to defeat the work of Cod on eaitli, and one of
Satan's servants said to him, ' Mv Master, 1 saw a carmj of
missionaries ^oin*,^ to foreign lands to preach the (Jospel, and I
rai.sed a storm and sank the vessel.' ' Thou hast done nothing/
•said Satan, 'ten-fold more will rjo now: thou hast done nothing
to stay the work of (iod.' Then another servant of Satan
stood forth and said, ' My Master, I have caus(Kl books to be
written against God, and against all that is good and holy and
j>ure.' 'Well,' said Satan, 'that is better than what your
brother did, but they won't believe you ; I have been trying
to persuade them that there is no God, or heaven, or hell for
six thousand years past, and they believe in it almost as
much as ever.' ' What hast thou done ? ' said Satan to another
— one of a particularly diabolical countenance, and he said,
' Oh, my Satanic Master, let me tell you, let me tell you what
I have d me. There was a mission going on in a certain city,
and I attended every service of the mission, and I said to the
vast congregation, " E\'er}' word that that stranger says is
eternally true, God loves you, Jesus died for you, the Holy
Spirit pleads with you, you can get perfect peace in your soul,"
iti
UK Oh" (;(Mi|) rilKKU.
SI
but ut tlif cliisi' <»t" t'iicli st-rv ii'f us the ('()iinr,.oiitii)ri wiis ;^()ini;"
out, I used to whisper in their eurs. " Put it off till tn-iuorrow,
•(ioti't come to any <leei.sioii, put it otl' till to-morrow. " ' Hu ! Im !
thou hast my Sataiii(i hlessiii;^ ! ' said Satiiii, ' thou hast done
more than all the j-est to defeat the counsel and jiurpose of
God for their salvation.' " () men mid women here to-nij;ht,
to whom (Jod ha.s spoken dui'ine' this mission, and there are
thousands such, you know that (Jod has s[)oken to you, you
have felt the voice of .lesus withiii your heart, you liaso hcen
bowed down Ky the power of the sim[)le ti'uth and word of
Jesus to your soul. \ow, in the name of God, come to a
<lecision to-ni<;ht. come to a full decision, come to an t tornal
<lccision, and let the Holy Spirit of Gcjd have His own blessed
way within your heart.s. If I could say anything;' more to you
I would, but I feel I have sai<l all that I oUj^lit to say. There
is no use lieapin;;' ar<;'ument upon arninnent and illustration
upon illu.stration : you know what you oueht to do, you know
that you shoulil turn to Jesus now and recciive Him as your
Saviour: wherefore do it, in the name of ( lod do it, and say.
" Lord Jesus, fi-om this '2xxd of >birch onwards, tliou ait mine
•and I am thine for evermore.'' Amen ;ind Amen.
1 1.1
it! I
ii -1:
lUBLH RKADINGS
HV
MRS. W. K. CAMPBELL
:;! . I
li'r.
' ' I
IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)
7
^
/.
.//
:/.
<'
(/J
%
^
i.O
I.I
ill III 2 5
13^
• «U lim
1.8
1.25 1.4
1.6
^
6"
►
■ \
li
V]
<^
n.
c^l
'^1
<$>
ej
V
/y
y
/A
Photographic
Sciences
Corporation
«
^^
\\
^<fe
V
6^
a^
23 WEST MAIN STREET
WEBSTER, NY. 14S80
(716) 873-4503
\i
\
"
^9
CR1:ATI0N and Ri:-CRIiATI()X.
2 COUINTHIANS IV. 6.
HI
WHEN I went to my Master, the Lor.! Jesus Christ, for
my orders about these Bible Readin{»s, asking Him
from which passaj^e in His WortI He would speak to
us durino; this week, He pressed upon my heart that He would
speak to us all throu^di the I'entateuch — the five rolls of the
Book of Moses, called " The Law," taking the five days this
week to go through the special teachings in each of these five
books, Gv»nesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.
My spirit quailed at the thought of .such a study, but my Lord
is .sufficient to carry out His own purposes, and I am sure, after
waiting upon Him, that it is from those five books He is going
to speak to us this week.
There are many ways of studying this most wonderful, this
eternal Hook. Sometimes we take a text, or word, and examine
it and look up all the passages where that word or subject
occurs, to get what light we can upon it ; but there are many
other ways of studying the Book, and I am suj-e one very
profitable way is to take a broad and wide view of, say, one
division or book of this Book of books. It is all the difference
between my going for a walk in the country, and stooping to
pick a lovely flower, to look at its color and enjoy its sweet
fragrance and admire its wonderful construction, and to give
my God the glory who made it in its perfection of beauty ; or,
my walking along the road and climbing up a hill, and in a little
while getting, not the sight of one tiny blo.ssom, but of a broad
expanse of view, a lovely scene of lake and mountain, of river
and meadow and wood ; and I praise the same Lord who made
the little blossom and who is also the Creator of that broad and
beautiful landscape. Now, when we take a subject, a word, a
verse, is it not like culling the flower, rich in beauty and
fragrance, from the garden of this wonderful Book ; but when
we take a large portion, as, for instance, we are going to-day to
1
1
1
^1
f
■
1
iNi;
CHKATION AND UK-CUKATK »\.
rir
;»
n-- .
take the whole of the book of (leiiesis and see what Gods
thoufifhts are, revealed to us in that book, is it not like takin<r
the wider ranj^e of view over the fjlorious landscape spread out
Ity the hand of < Jod, made beautiful by the touch of His hand
and the li<:fht of His eye f
Now, let us turji, by the aid of the Holy Spirit, to the book
of Genesis, remembering^ that this whole book comes from God,
meetinj' uk in our utter i^jnorance. VV^e have rfcoived such an
amount of knowledjie throuffh the book of ( Jenesis with resfard
to the facts of nature and the history of man — we have received
it Just by tradition from our fathers — till we have for<ifotten
the source from which it really came. Now, this book is called
Genesis — the beginnint,', the Hrst production of all thin^js — and
in spite of the infidels and the hijjfher critics, and all the rest
of the people who think themselves wiser than the God of the
Bible, in spite of all that is said by scientific and literary men,
sooner or later, historians, astronomers, fjeoloj^ists and others
have to come back to this book to trace the first authentic records
about any of the subjects that they are studying, whether they
like it or not; and they do not like it, but they have to do it;
and they have to learn from time to time, as the ages march
on, that the marvellous discoveries of one century or another
have only proved the truth of some point in this book of
Genesis which the clever men of the ages before were throw-
ing stones at, or laughing at as ridiculous. Here in Genesis
we have the Ijejiinninjjs of all things, .so far as we need to know
them, in regard to God's relation to the earth, and the earth s
relation to God. We have the beginnings of the creation of
nature around us, the beginning of all our .social life, of the
marriage tie, of music, of science, of agriculture, of architecture,
of literature, traced for us here. So, if you want to start in
knowledge at the real fountain-head of true information, look
in this book of Genesis and you will find out about it. And
alas ! we have revealed to us here the beginning of sin and the
beginning of death working amongst us on account of sin.
Let us gather up some of the chief lines of thought that run
through this book, and I think the first that strikes us is this.
that throughout this book God is testing man on this earth, in
order to prove of what stuff he is made, what he really is, what
will be his choice of action, what will be his purpo.se and will
under such and such opportunities, such and such relationships,
and the result in every case is utter faiiiire and sin on man's
side. You remember the first circumstances under which God
tested man in the Garden of Eden, surrounded by everj'thing
< UEATION AND HK-< ItKATlON,
181
that wfts Itoautiful, tlmt made life eusy, happy, comfortable,
blessed, ah, more than mere enjoyment, made it hallowed by
the perpetual presence of, and communion with, the Lord God
Almi<,dity. And under those exceedin<:jly favorable circum-
stances God puts man to a very little test, and the smallness of
the te.^t shows up theheinousnessof thesin. For, as you know,
Adam and Eve diil not stand that little test of their confidence
in God's wisdom and love in connnandinsj; them not to eat of
the one tree : but sin entered into the world through their dis-
obedience, antl death by sin. Then we have Cain and Abel born
into the world, with all the terrible background of their
parents' experience. But it is with Cain as it was with Belshaz-
zar later on, who knew all the sad past history of his grand-
father Nebuchadnezzar, and the prophet Daniel says , " Though
thou knewest all this, yet hast thou not humbled thy heart ;
and the God in whose hand thy breath is, hast thou not glori-
fied." And when the test came, with all that terrible back-
ground of knowledge, of how God means what He says, and how
God will visit sin in death and judgment, we find envy pre-
vailing and C'ain becomes the murderer. Thus things went on
under Gods providential dealings, until we come to that terrible
summing up in Genesis vi. ;i : " God .saw that the wickedness of
man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the
thoughts of his heart was only evil continually, and it repented
the Lord that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved
Him at His heart.' And the result of all this wickedness and
disobedience on the earth was the pouring forth of the waters
of the flood, so that all but eight persons were drowned with
water. Then we find God bringing Noah and his little family
circle, and placing them, as it were, upon entirely fresh vantage
ground. Noah, having known what it was to walk with God,
to talk with God ; having known what it was to be the mes-
senger of the Lord, and a " preacher of righteousness ; " having
seen with his own eyes the awful judgtnent of God against all
manner of iniquity, transgression and sin — here he is put, as it
were, into a new world, that has arisen up from the awful
catastrophe of the deluge. Not only .so, but God meets him in
holy communion and happy fellow.ship at that altar which he
built, and sets over him the glorious rainbow of the promise,
and establishes with him the " everlasting covenant." Now
you say, under suf h circumstances as these man will surely not
fail again. Ah, yes. the lord of creation fails to govern himself,
and is found drunk by his son.
The next step is that God gives man ample space for spread-
11
J
» y
r
l.SN
rUEATION AM) KK-CHKATION.
ii
i
i!
in*,', and growing,', and niultiplyinj;, and liaving dominion, with
tnery pofssibility of development and growth in all that is noble
and <j;o()d, hut the pride of man's heart .steps in. In the eleventh
chapter, when the whole earth was of one lan<;uaj;e antl of one
speech, and all seemed favorable to intercourse and commerce,
and everythin<^ tliat we .say <;oes to make improvement intel-
Jectual and moral, they set their brains workin<^ to .see how
thev could make a buildint; who.se foundation is stroni; in the
earth, but who.se top will reacli unto heaven. A lot of people
nowadays are tryinji; to make their architectural plans, spiritu-
ftUy, that way — to have a Hrm foundation here on earth, to get
a good grip of everything worldly, and yet to manage somehow
that the top of their aspirations, the end of their life-building,
^hall reach unto heaven. And God came down displeased with
such a misunderstanding of His purposes. "Pride goeth before
destruction and an haughty spirit before a fall." And tiiis test-
ing of man fail«, and the building is stopped, confusion comes,
the tongues are divided, and the union which is used not
for the glory of (Jod. but for the strengthening of their founda-
tion upon the earth, and for the exaltation of their own name,
falls to the ground. Then God calls out from amongst the
people one man to walk with Him by faith: and He educates
that man in faith, tempting him on just as a mother trains her
little chihl to walk, getting a little way off and tempting the
little thing to come after her. That is the way God tempted
Abraham, not tempted him to unbelief, but drew him on to
further ventures of faith in the God who never failed him.
But even the n.. n of faith, when put to the test, cannot trust
God to feed him and his wife ; but must go down into Egypt in
Ids own .self will, and twice tells a lie in order to take care of
him.self, and to help (lod out of the difficulty of taking care of
him:
Well, we cannot go all through the book, but trace it for
yourself, how God puts man to the test and man puts forth his
best and .shows it to be what it is, sin-mixed, .sin-stained, utter
failure. Oh, dear friends, if we could only get this lesson that
meets us on the very threshold of the Word of God deeply into
our .souls, the work of the Mi.ssion would be more than half
done. If we would recognize the utter failure, the sinfulness,
the wretched initiuity that there is in us; how completely the
<li.sease of sin has undermined the constitution of the whole
race; if we would realize before God, and before the light which
His Word throws upon our hearts and consciences in this book
of Genesis, that we are lepers to the core; that, put us under
B?^
• KEATIOS ANI> l!i:-< |{E.VTI(»N.
l.S!»
whatever circumstances Ood will, we shall only fail and sin and
make a ruin of life, then we would be ready and willinf:^ to
receive the niessaffe.s of (Jod'.s grace and all the marvellous pur-
poses of His redemption for us in Christ desus. Hut, so Ion<»
as we liold on to any sort of conviction that we can patch our
selves up, or that we can hold on to anything; that is of our-
selves and find life, or power, or risrhteousness, or holiness, or
beauty, or stability in //, so long are we kept away from enter-
ing into the fulness of the blessing of the Gospel of Christ
God, in this very first book of the IHble, shows to us that man
can have no place in his own salvation ; that man is such an
utter failure since sin entered into the world, that, put him
under whatever circumstances, give him whatever advantages
you may, he will always misuse them, and always spoil God's
work where he has the opportunity. Does it not open to us,
indeed, the truth of the message which comes to us again and
again in the New Testament, " Ye hinst be born again 'V There
must come into us a new Iffe, we must be lifted up into a new
world spiritually, before we can ever walk and live so as to
please God. May God write upon us this les.son from the very
start of our Bible searchings together, " There is none righteous,
no, not one ; they are altogether become filthy," because, remem-
ber, what God writes to us in this book is not merely just a
history of tho.se old-time folk who lived before the Hood or a
little after — the words in this book are written down in order
to .show us two things, to open to us the depths, the horrible
depths of our own heart, which " is deceitful above all things
and desperately wicked," and to open to us in Jesus Christ tlie
great heart of God, which overflows with love, with grace,
with mercy, with power and blessing for anyone who will
receive them.
And notice particularly that this lesson lies at the very
foundation of all blessing from God, because it is not only to
those that are unsaved that I would speak to-day about our
utter depravity, this hopeless condition of human nature, and
of the human heart that is in us. Remember, it was not only
those antediluvian sinners against their own souls, who, when
tried, were found wanting; it was also Abraham the man of
faith, it was also Isaac in his quiet life of .son.ship, it was also
Jacob, the one who had come into living personal contact with
the God of Bethel. Every one of them, when put to the test,
showed the twistiness, the unrighteousnes.s, the deceit, the
unreality, the selfishness of the human heart. And remember,
in the New Testament we are not only told with regard to
\\4I
t i
i^
• i
l!)0
CUKATION AM) UK-(RKATh)N.
i'
ill
those who are unruj^onerdtc, " Yo iiiU'st he h<jni a;,niin, ' hut we
are also toM witli rej^anl to those who are in ( 'hrist, that they
have to learn this lesson deeper anil (hn'per down all the way,
" In Hie (tliat is, in my tlesh),dwt'lleth no «;ood thin;^'." And not
until we have ;,'ot to know ourselves, not until we have ceased
to have expectations from self, not until we have ceased
to have confidence in the Hesh, can we ever hecome possessed
of all the wealth of {jrace that there is hid for us in Jesus
Christ. Oh, let us each one as we are here before Ood cry to
Him to write upon us by His Holy Spirit this lesson, that in
me there is nothin<j to he found that can please (Jod or that
can carry out (Jod's purposes with power or with faithfulness
Now, you will see what that brings us to; it brings us to a
state of utter hopelessness as regards self, which is the stepping-
stone to fulness of blessing : for it is when we know that we
have not/iliuj, that we are on the threshold of the wealthy place
in which we j)ossi'ss ail thiiujs. (2 Cor. vi. 10.) It is when
we can .say. " Not that I am sufficient of ujyself to think
anything as of myself," that faith can spring forth with a
mighty venture upon Uod and .say, " But my sufficiency is of
God." (2 Cor. iii. o.) It is when we can say, " My Hesh and my
heart faileth," I cannot reckon on myself in any way, that we
can rest in the certainty, " Dut Gud is the strength of my
heart and my portion forever." (Psalm Ixxiii. 2G. Oh, may God
scorch and wither up all your self-coutidence, every bit of
trast or dependence or expectation that you have from your-
selve.s. I beseech you to put away from you that thought which
I find in so numy Christian hearts, that holiness is God making
we into something very beautiful. It is not anything of the kind,
it is God putting you to death because you are .so entirely in
His way whenever He wants to bless you and to do you good.
The only thing He can do with j^ou is to hang you up there on
the cross with Christ and teach you the blessed lesson, " I am
crucified with Christ," dead, buried and done with. Then when
you are put out of the way, because yon are the great hindrance,
God says, "I will come and dwell in them, I will walk in them,"
and Jesus becomes our holiness. It is the life also of Jesus
manifested in us.
Another thought that runs right through Genesis is, that we
hear but little with regard to nations and peoples like we
have almost through all the rest of the Bible, but in each of its
narratives it is a personal, living God coming into direct, per-
sonal, living touch with the in<lividual soul. Now, that is a
very solemn thing. There are so many of us who think we
KT.
cilEAIInN AND |{K-('l«KAIInN.
I!) I
c'liii <;i) to church and bo lost in the crowtl; that (io»l tloes not
come and really face us up lair and s<|Uare and direct; that do
not see it is Ood and nie standinj^ face to face to speak to each
other, and to answer each other; but we think. ' I can <^o and
l)elon<^ to that cla^js, and I hope 1 will be swallowed up in the
class or congregation — I don't want to conic into too close
contact with (Jod." Isn't that the thou<jht of raany a heart ?
Vou ^o to church, and you think the minister i> never preach-
inj^ for you, but that the lesson tits that old lady in the next
pew, and you hope f</n' is listening ! And you don't see that Ood
is coining into close, personal contact with you, trying you,
teaching i/on, educating if(m, and drawing i/ou on to a closer
knowledge of Himself. Dear t'riend.s, true religion is the indi-
vidual dealing of one .soul with God Hini.self.
So, right through (Jenesis, what we get is biographies — the
lives of men and women called by their own particular nauies,
not all ma.ssed together, or lo.st in a crowd. Adam and Kve
were not dealt with together, though they were man and wife
they were questioned separatel}', they were judged .separately.
.\nd (Jod goes after the one, God speaks to the other, but it
is always personal, straight dealing.
And notice in His dealintrs .such wonderful tenderness and
H'race — how He follows each soul in its special individual needs,
in its peculiar ditHculties and circumstances, just suiting His
<lealing.s to their kncnvledge or ignorance, to their privileges or
trials ; whether it is meeting with an Egyptian slave, Hagar, or
with the man of faith in the last blessed testing of his faith
when he offered up his son. It is God coming into an under-
standing, sympathizing contact with each soul. Oh, as you
'•ead through the book of G-'nesis and realize this, it will be
such a help to you in your own personal religion. Remember,
every time you kneel on your knees, every time you have this
book open, God is speaking to me, God is searching through
this room for me, God is coming into close contact with me,
God is flashing His .search-light upon my heart, God is listening
to hear the response from my heart. What .shall I answer when
He reproveth me ! Ves. it is an individual thing. But praise
be to God, we do not in this book only get the beginnings of
things that concern the earth and man — his sin, and failure,
and death ; but we have the revelation to us of the beginning
of God's work on this earth. And when tho.se two words come
in, " But God," it turns al! our chaos into glory and beauty, it
alters the whole face of everything.
Will you turn with me to 2 Cor. v. 17, 18. " Therefore if
!!■
• ' 1
I!«2
rilEATIoV AND UK-rUKATfoN.
r
any iiuiii be in ('hrist, lie is a lu-w creation" — or a "new creature "
— "olil tliin;^s art^ pa.sNed away ; l»eli()lil, all thin<^.s are Iteeoine
now. Atul all tilings are of (Soil, who hath reconeiled us t(»
Hiniselt' by .Icsus Christ, and hath j,'ivcn to us the ministry of
reconciliation." Surely what we have been .seoinj^ but dindy
in outline this afternoon has convinced us of the absolute
necessity of (^'erythinf,' beinj; tifW if we are ever to see (Jod, if
we are ever to please (Jod, if (Jod is ever to dwell in us and we
in God. And in the jrospel and j^race of the Lord Jesus ('hrist,
He brinjjs to us tlu; new birth, the new heart, the new spirit,
that we may walk in newness of life ; antl he tells us that this
re-creation comes to us, this new life and new birth and new-
ness of motive and power of action, by putting; on the new man
Christ .lesus. Look at Kphesians iv. 22 : "The truth as it is in
Jesus : that ye put oH' concerning; the former conversation the
old man." We have seen how Genesis opens up to us what
kind of a creature that old man is, " which is corrupt accordin<:f
to the lusts of deceit, and be renewed in the spirit of your
mind, and that ye put on the new man (Jesus Christ), which
after God is created in righteousness and holiness of truth."
And ai,'ain, in Colossians iii. !)-il : "Lie not one to another,
.seeing that ye have put oft' the old man with his deeds; And have
put on the new man, whicli is renewed in knowletlj,'e after the
in»a<]je of Hinj that created him. Where there is neither Greek
nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision,*Jiarbarian, Scythian,
bond nor free; but Christ is all, and in all." Now, in Genesis
we have not only the workings of man and his utter failure,
but we have the revelation of (iod's work in its perfection.
You know the opening words of the book : " In the beginning
God." Then, also, throughout CJenesis we tind the revelation
to us of Jesus Christ as He Hrst came to this world, not only
in promi.se and prophecy — for instance, where we have " The
seed of the woman shall brui.se the serpent's head " (chap. iii. 15),
and where we have, in the promise to Abraham, that " In thee
and in thy seed .shall all the families of the earth be bles.sed "
(chap. xiii. 3) — but we have Jesus Himself manifested to us in
His first visits to this earth " to seek and to save that which
was lost, " and to bring God's fulness of blessing to the children
of faith. We have Jesus revealed to us in that wonderful
personage called throughout the Word of God, both in the Old
and New Testaments, " The Angel of Jehovah," or " The Angel
of the Lord." You remember His first appearance, in the 16th
chapter of Genesis, where He went after the Egyptian slave,
Hagar. r mning away in ill-temper from her mistress, and the
^1
Pf
OKKATIiiN AND UK-< UKA I'InV.
193
An;,'i'l of .Iclioviili t'ouMil lifi- liy u I'ountnin of water u tho
wil<l»!!iu's.s, ami told lu-r to rt'turii to Iht mistress, promi.sinj^
licr l)lessiii;^r ami lu>l|). nml shi; cuIUmI tiif mimt' of tlir (jo<l timt
Hpakf unto Imt, " Thou (loil sta-st iiu'," for she said, " llav«! 1
also \wrv lookeil after liiiii that scoth me." Shu had run away
in ht'r petulance an<l an^er from her mistress and the cireum-
Htances in which (iod's providence had placed her, and she
found as she ^i/ed at the An;,'t!l of the Lord as He spoke to
her (Jods messa<,'o of repentance and Itlessin^', that sh' was
lookin<^ up for th«> first time at Him who had looked after lier,
and was searching,' her heart all the way alon^r (Compan; John
iv.) 1 do liei^ of you to look up tln-ouj{hout your IJihles all His
visits to this world, and trace in them the wonderful revelation.s
of ilesus, comparin^r thrm witli the incidents of His life on
earth in the Hesh.
And in (lenesis we find also the marvellous work of tho
Holy (Jhost. It ^'reets us at the very opening,' vi-rses of tho
book : " The earth was without form and void, and darkness
was upon the face of the deep, and the Sjiirif of (iml moved
upon the face of the waters. " We meet the Holy Spirit (f (Jod
working also in the one blameless life — blameless ,so far as it ia
portrayed in (Jenesi.s— the life of .losepli which wa.s lived in a
constant reliance upon the Word of the Lord, and which owed
its ex<|uisite beauty and purity to the power of the Spirit of
Ciod. Now, to prove those two points, see P.salni cv. 19 : " I'ntil
the time that his word came' — that is. .ro.seph'.s word to his
brethren and hi.s fellow-pri.soners — "the Word of the Lord tried
him,' i.e., put his faith to the test. The Word of the Lord had
come to .Joseph throujrh tho.se visions of power, and dominion
which he had in hi.s early days, but he found the pathway to
the inheritance of the promise.s was throuj,'h the puttin«( away
into darkness all that was of Joseph, all his own reputation, all
his own power, and just lettinjij God work and God be mani-
fe.sted. Then the heathen king, the moment he see.s Joseph
and hears the Word of God from his lips, exclaims (chapter xl.
38), " Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the
Spirit of God is i " ami exalts liim to rule the land.
This reminder of the power that worked in Joseph's life
brings us to what I believe is the point, the summing up of our
Reading together this afternoon, the power of the Word and the
power of the Holy Ghost Surely this book of Genesis has
convinced us of one thing, that man in his natural condition is
a chaos, a failure ; that although God made man upright, he
has .sought out so manj' twisted inventions through the pride
, I-
^i:;
I i
I i
104
CltKATION AND IlK-CIlKAT!uN.
m
:. ' >
( 1
1 I
an<l (h'Ci'it of liis hrart, that he is now an utter wreck, unless
some niij^lity powor from <Ioil can l)e j)ut forth to ehau'^'e tlie
chaos into j,'lory ami heauty. Now, if you tuvn to (Jeiie^is i.,
you will timl a ]»icture or type in the (.'reation, of the rt'-ereation
unto life and fruitfulness which (ioil works in the individual
Hoiil. "In the he^^'innint,' (Jod created the JKfaven and ti>o
earth," and we may he sure that, as ( lod created them, they
were rrri/ ;^ood. Ihit Ity some catastrophe, we do not know
what, the n(^\t tliin^j we art* told is that the; earth was in a
state of confusion and emptiness, as it is written, " the earth
was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of
tlie deep." Surely that is a wotiderful parahle of what the
wiiole hook has tau;^ht us with re^'ard to man. Created
orij^inally in God's inia»;e, coming' from the hand of (Jod l»eauti-
ful and rcr'j ^ood, now <letileil with sin, diseased luito ileath —
"confusion and eniptiness " would express exactly the condi-
tion of the human heart and of this world apart from (Jod.
Then comt* in tiiost; two mij^hty re-creatinj; [)0wers. the Word
and the Holy (Jhost. "The Spirit of Goil move<l upon tlie face
of the waters. .And (Jod sulil" (there is the Word) " Let there he
lil^ht: and there was li<^ht." In the work of this mission we
have no confidence in any other powers to help you or any of
the souls in Toronto, whatever their con<lition niay he, hut in
these, the Word of (Jod and the Holy Oliost. And I heseech
you to Iwive no confidence in any other power for yourselves;
hut expect hlessinji; from the mijj;hty workinjr of His Word in
your hearts, and from the illuminatin*^ power of His Holy
Spirit. It is onlj' throuj^h the.se that He has worked fn^m the
earliest a^es and that He works now in human .souls. It is the
Holy Ghost applying the Word to your hetirt as yon lujar it.
It is as you allow the Spirit *.o make that Word true and real
to you, to work out in you the exceedinrr great and precious
pronii.ses contained in this Book, that you will find the glorious
results of the re-creation unto newness of life and unto new-
ne.ss of spirit. I would remind you that right through the
Acts of the Apostles these are the only two powers put forth
by the apo.stles and disciples of those ages. And if we want
here in Toronto to have pentecostal times again, it will be
only by the power of the Word and of the Holy Gho.st. You
will see that in every sermon preached by the early disciples
after Pentecost, the Word is the basis of everything they say,
the Word is the witness which they call up on every occasion,
the Word is what they expect to lay hold upon the hearts they
speak to ; and that Word applied, not by the power of their
niEATInN AND UE-< HEaTK >V.
1!>5
ant
be
You
iples
rcasuiiiiii;, or tin- powtM* of tluir cxpositirjtj, Imt sitiiply hy tlus
power of the Holy ( lliost. W'r ur«' told that ' tln-y went
overywliert' pn'ucliiii;; the Won), tlmt tlu-y wen' " miijhty in
till.' Seriptun's. proviii;^ from tlic Scriptures tlmt .li-sus wn.s
tiie ('lirist" proviii;^ from the Sciipturi's tlmt the resurrt'ction
WHS the Lireat hope set liefore (mhI's |ieople in all a^es ; iin<l in
7\cts X. 44, Nve tiiid tlmt " while l\'ter spiike these worils, the
Holy (ihost fell on all them which heani the Word.' It is by
the Word atul the H<»ly (Jhost that we are horn a^aiii from
above. (John iii. .") ; I I'ett-r \. 'I'i-'li").) .Inst as the lie of tho
devil enteriii;,' into love's heart poisoned her life at its v«'ry
source, briiJLfin^ with it sin and d»'ath. so the love and the
truth of (jiod enterint,' by His Word into your lujart brings
into you newness of life, even the divine life; for it is by
takini; the exceediti;,' ^rcat and precious promises from Him
by faith that you become u partaker of the divine nature" and
"partaker of His holiness." If anyone here want.*: the <|uicken-
iiii; of the life of <lo<l it> their souls, if any dead souls here are
willinjjf to hav'e the life of (iod I'uter for tlu* first time into
them, it nuist hi; by yieldin'^ to the Word convictir.i^ their of
sin in tlus power of the Holy (Jhost. N'ield to the convicti<)n,
and do not try to turn the e(|ne of the Word, but, as we say
to you in the name of the i..ord, " Thus saith the Lord," yield
to what He says, and when He comes to you with His promises
of life, of peace, of panlon, of blessin<r, of victory over sin, of
power from on hiijh for sei vice and for witnessing,', take it on
the stren<^th and on the eternal truth of His Word, not »i|)on
any feelintjs that you may have, not upon anythinj,' but just
that Hi.s Word has spoken, and it shall be nmde true to you
because " He is faithful that promised. ' If you expect to bo
blessed throufih any other means than by tlie Word and the
Spirit you will be disappointed, but if your hearts are open,
and in the attitude of listenin^r, receivinj^, breathing' into you
the Spirit, then this will be such a mij^hty time of blessin<» to
us that it will be Howinj:; deeper, wider, fuller, tlirou<,'hout the
generations that are to come until the Lord Himself comes.
And it shall How, not only through Toronto, but out unto the
uttermo.st parts of the earth. The next time that you can be
(juiet to-day, look at what that mighty Word and that mighty
Spirit effected over the chaos that prevailed on this earth ; see
how first the light Hashed out, revealing the confusion and the
emptiness ; see, then, how ( lod divides and bounds, showing
what is really heavenly and what is only earthly; as He comes
to a soul, flashing in His light and showing you clearer and
.";Hi!
. j
jr
III
190
rllKATloN AND KK-CliK A Hon
> '
olcaroi' i'v»'iT iliiy what is inilly of tlic Lord from lu-iivon. ami
what is after all only earthly ainl of Iho llcsli ; then see how
that Word and that Spirit, workiiii; still n|t()ii tho t-arth.
hroui^ht forth fruilfuliu'ss and life until at last tluTc nunc the
glorious consunnnation of tlu' (.'rcation, the vi'i'v iniai^e of ( ioil
n'proiluood down here in the jx-i-son of man and woman.
Nothini; short of that is Ood's ideal for i-aeh one of us, that
in plaee of our chaos of lieart and experii'uee there may he,
hv the renew iny: of the Holy (ihost, fulness of life and power
to His j^lory where there had heen confusion and emptinesn
before; and lie will not leave us until we are satislied with
His likeness, initil His ima<re is restored i
n us, un
til
we wa
Ik
this earth numifestinjjf in these mortal luxlies the life of Jesus,
the likeness of our Father in heaven, even the heauty of
holiness. Do not trifle with these two niii,dity jMjwers fn)m on
hiijh : and remember that this written Word is inseparably
linked with .lesus Himself the livini; Word. We are told that
by Hint all thin*]js were created, so that when we hear the
Word of (lod speakinj; in that first chapter of (Ji'nesis, it is
not merely the utterance of a voice, it is the livinjj; person of
tiesus, wiu), with the Holy (Jhost, is puttin<i[ forth the creatinj^
power of Ciod upon the chaos. (John i. li: Cov. i. 1(1, 17.)
Now, shall we, wherever we may be in the spiritual life this
afternoon, just yield ourselves to (Jod for Him to brin^ to l)ear
upon us the power of this Word as Ho may see best to apply
it throu<j;h the workinjjf of the Ho'y (Jhost within us, that He
may carry out His beauti*'ul will in us ! We have scarcely
touched the frin<i;e of all the wonders of this book, but I trust
that J may have sujifgested some clues of th()U<j;ht and study
which you, dear friends, will follow up and search into to see
if these thinj^s are really so; and as you read, yield yourself
to its power, that it may work in you His good pleasure, for
His f^lory. Amen.
^T1
riii'ik Ki:i)r.i:Mi:k is stronc,
.li:i5KMIAII I.. ;U.
nr
IKT Israel hope in the Lord: for with tlio Lord thcro is
^ iiicrc'v, and with lliin is pK'utt'inis redemption. And
lie shall redeem Israel from all his iniijuitic . "Their
Redeemer is stronij ; the Lord ol' hosts is His name.' 'I'lmt
is onr sultject to-day-
Yesterday, in taking- a sketch of the main outline of (iod'.s
teaehini:^ throtijfh (ienesis, we saw man piittinij forth all /(/■•<
♦'llorts and /ns eneri^ies, ami tin* result was sin, failure, eonfu-
sion. d(>stru('tion. To-day we turn to the second hook of the
I'entateueh, nanie<l Mxodus. where we see (Sod puttin<; forth
y//,s' love, His power, Wis miL,dity working,', and we shall Hnd
sonu! of the results from His wonder-workin<:f hand.
The suliject of the hook of Exodus is the liedem{)tion of a
peo])le in Itonda^e. Vou rememher how the hook opens with
a j,'raphic' and terril)le description of the ccwidition to which
the children of Israel hat! heeii hroimht hv the tyranny of the
kini; of Kjxypt. In chapter i. l.S, we read: "And the K;jfyptian.s
made the chihiren of Israel to serve with rigour, and they
nuide their lives hitter with hard l»ontla<,'e, in mortar and in
brick, an<i in all manner of service in the liehl. All their
service wherein t he}* made tliem serve was with rii^our."
And not only was the hondajuje and service Ljritidin^ and hard,
but the waives of that tyrant kin*;, a type of the ))rince of thi.s
world, the devil, were denth nnd tlestruction ; for verses l(! and
22 tell us: "Pharaoh charn;ed all his people ,sayin*:f, Kvery
son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and ... if it
be a .son then ye shall kill him. " See also vi. 1) : " Moses
spake unto the children of Israel, but they hearkeneti not
unto him for an<;uish of spirit and cruel bondai^e." This
was the .state of atlairs anjonirst the children of Israel in
the land of KLjypt when Uoil came down to show what He
could tie. In (Jenesis we had ■)»,<'» n heart and its workings.
198
THEM! UKDKEMEU IS ?STU(>NG.
Flore iti Exo;ln.s we luivo Ginl's lu;art.s love, an<l what it
plans, and exucutus in alnii<j;lity powt-r for the (leliv(>rance
of those in bon(hi<jte. So the niessay[o tliis afternoon will he
to any soul who knows what it is to be a captive, held (h)wn
and hound hy a power which they cannot sliake otf. And I
would remind you of the fact that everyone who yields to sin
is a slave to that sin, for "of whom a man is overcome,
of the same is lie hroui^ht in hondajjfe," and the Lord .Jesus
says that anyone who sins is the bond-slave of that sin.
But we >*'ten Hatter ourselvifs that the " little sins " we allow
in ourselves (there is no sucli thin<:j as a little sin, but we
call them so), those sins of thouf^ht, and littU;, hard, (|uick,
bitter words in which we indult^e, we could, if we chose, break
off' easily. A little laziness and indolence in the morning, a
little ne<,dect of Scripture : we think that we could mend
these matters very quick)}', but not until we honestly start to
break the power of the chain of any evil habit that is over us
do we find how completely we are slaves to it, and how utterly
weak we are, and how stronfj it is. Nt)t until the messa''e of
the promised deliverance came to the children of hsrael and they
began to try to shake themselves, as it were, from the galling
slavery uncler which they were ground <h>wn, did they realize
that the matter was hopeless, and they came to Moses and said,
" Why, our condition Is worse than when 3'ou first spoke to us."
Ami why ? They were not then trusting in (Jod and watching
to see what He would do for them. They found out after-
wards how (Jod can deliver and set free, perfectly free, with the
glorious liberty of the children of God.
And this message comes to anyone wdio is bound and tied
in the world and by the world, for Egypt tliroughout the
Scriptures is a picture to us of the world with its power, its
riches, its fascinations, its temptations, its glamor, and its
intellect. Is there anyone here bound by that awful chain
of the fear of other people's opinions ^ This message is
for you of the perfect love that casteth out fear. There
are numbers of Christians who would tell you that they had
separated themselves from the world, aiid that the world
had no power over them; but, if you come a little nearer
home, you will fin<l that they are living enslaved to the fear of
what Mrs. So-and-so would thiidc of them. They say : " How
very odd it would look, you know, if I spoke to anyone in
a street car about their sonls." Is not that the spirit of the
world ^ Is not that being bound by custom and fashion ?
May (jiod show u.s this afternoon where the galling bondage
THEIU KEDKEMEU IS ST1U)NG.
199
of tlie spirit of tlie world is in us, and liovv far each one of ua
needs to be set free, not only from tiio kin^' and prince of this
world the devil, who worketh in the children of disohedience,
but from all the fascinations and powers and chains that
this world throws around its slaves.
And the message this afternoon is for tliose whose service,
or whose duty is ^frindinj^j bondage. Many here beloiij; to the
Church of Knj^land and are constantly sayinj; on Sunday that
Gods "service is perfect freedom," while you know in your
heart that it is just so much treadmill work. And there are
numbers of people who would resent the idea of beinjjj called
slaves, yet find their life-work, whatever it may be, to be i^allini^
bondage ; so the messaji^e of deliverance is for you.
Now, let us turn to Exodus ii. 2.'i, 24, ami iii. 7, -S, \0. " It
came to pass in process of time, tluit the kin;^ of Kirypt died,
and the children of Israel sii^hed by reason of tlus bondage,
and they cried, and their cry came up unto (lod by reason of the
bondaj^'e. And Go<l heard tiieir y;roanin<.', and (iod remembered
His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with .Jacob." "The
Lord said, 1 have sureiy seen the aHliction of My people
which are in Ei^ypt, and have heard their cry by reason of tiieir
taskmasters ; for I know their .sorrows ; And I am come down
to deliver them out of the hand of the E<^yptians, antl to bring
them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a
land flowing with milk and honey." "Come now therefore, and
I will .send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my
people out of Egypt." If you turn to the spiritual counterpart
of this glorious redemption in the New Testament, you will see
that wliat the Lord did for the chiMren of Israel in Egypt,
Jesus Christ has come down to do for us, in order to set us free
from the power of the devil, from the chains of sin and from
the rule of this world. In Luke i. 08, ()(», 71, 74., 75, we
have : " J>lessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He hath
visited and redeemed His people. And hath raised up an
horn of .salvation for us in the house of His servant David :
That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand
of all that hate us ; That lie would grant unto us, that we being
delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve Him
without fear, In holiness and righteousness before Him, all the
days of our life." An<l in Romans iii. 23, 24 : " All have
sinned, and come short of the glory of God ; Being justified
freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ
Jesus." And again, Ephesians i. o-7 : " Having predestinated us
unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, accord-
'»rli'
::i
1 ■ '^ 1
[i t :i
'■ 1
lis
w
1: \
1 ,!
Hi
200
THEIH KEDEKMEK is STKONG.
inj? to the i^ood plonsuro of His will, To the praise of the glory
of His 1,'race, wherein He hath made us accepted in the lieloved.
In whom we have redemption thr()U<j[h His blood, the f<)r<,'ive-
ness of sins, accordinjj to the riches of His y-race." And ai^ain,
in Colossians i. 14: ' His dear Son, in whom we have redemp-
tion throu'^h His hlood, even the forj^iveness of sins." And
au;aiu, in Titus ii. \'.i, 14: " Our Saviour .lesus Christ, who fjave
Himself for us that He might redeem us from all ini(|uity and
purify unto IHimself a peculiar people, zealous of good works."
These verses show us that tlie Lord Jesus Christ has done
for us, whether Jews or (lentiles, on the platform of our moral
and spiritual needs, exactly what He did historically for the
clnldren of Israel when they were in bondage in Egypt. He
has come down, down, down — oh, how low He has comedown — -
in order that He might hear our sigliing. in order that He
might understand and feel the weight of our bondage, in order
that He might be able to say, " I know their sorrows, and in
all their affliction I am afHictetl," aiid in order that He might
break the power the devil has over us; as we are told in 1st
John iii. S, " For this puipose the Son of (.Jod was manifested,
that He might destroy the works of the devil." The Lord Jesus
has come down, not only to get under the weight of our suffer-
ings and needs and difficulties, and to enter into just the very
way in which they pinch and grind us, .so as to understand
the need, but He has come down in the plenitude of His love
and of His power, to meet that need to the full. He has l)roken
the power of the enemy and set us gloriously free, so that we
may " walk in newne.ss of life " and " serve in newness of
spirit," just as the Israelites were set perfectly free as they
stood upon the further banks of the Red Sea and looked back
to see all their enemies swallowed up, as it is written in Psalm
cvi. 11, " There was not one of them left."
The Lord Jesus Christ has wrought out such a full and
perfect redemption, that in Isaiah, the gospel prophet, we have
that name given 13 times to Him, " the Redeemer, the Holy One
of Israel." We must not forget the meaning of Redemption. We
know in this world, as to our earthly belongings, what it is to
redeem a thing that has been pledged or loaned out to another —
it is to buy back that which is our own. It is my own, but by
stress of poverty or some evil occurring, it has passed out of
my possession for a time into hands that have no right to
it, and by redeeming it I buy it back for my own possession.
When God redeemed His people out of Egypt He bought
back to Himself a people that He had already chosen, that
TIIEIIt UKDKKMEK IS STKoNCS.
201
mil already known as His own : and wlion He semis
ncssaue to I'liaraoh, altliou^'h He was speakinj; of twri
He
the , .
millions of slaves — liisconrayed, hrowlicaten, downtrodden
slaves — He calls them "My ])eople, ' ' My firstliorn." " My son,"
— " Let My son <;o, . . . let My people ^'o." His heart is so larj^e
towards them, His love so tender to them, His yeatninj,' over
them as His own children is so i^reat, that He redeems them
back out of bondage to Himself attain. And that brin<,'s us to
the point an(' teachinfj of our IJible l\eadiiii,' to-day — the char-
acteristics and the results of this Redemption.
The tirst thinir that strikes us in this connection is the
reiteration more than forty-rive times in this one book of those
words, " Tp, out of Egy})t." And the force of that expres-
sion God never allows to be lost throuyh the history of the
chiUIren of Israel. Kii^ht on throui;;li the books of history and
prophecy, He is always pointing liack to and reminding them of
the fact that when He redeemed them to be a people for His
own possession, He called them and brought them " Ul', oUT
OF K(iVi"i'." In Deuteronomy, that expression occurs no less
than thirty-one times, and in this book — the book of redemp-
tion — it occurs more than forty-tive times. What a lesson
that is for us, that " ( )ur Lord Jesus Christ gave Himself
for our sins," as we have it in Galatians, i. '.i, 4, " That He
might deliver us from [out of] this present evil world accord-
ing to the will of God and our Father." There is no full and
plenteous redemption for us if we are going to keep in the
world, setting our att'ections upon the things below, making our
treasure and our store down here on the earth, seeking for
honor, approbation and the glory that comes from men. So
long as this world and its vanishing, passing pleasures are
the dainties that we feed upon, God says, " I'nder those
conditions I cannot save you ; I cannot give you the fuhiess
of the blessing of the Gospel of Christ unle.ss you are willing
to be like Christ, not of the world." If you are willing to
leave the things that perish, you shall know those things
that endure unto everlasting life. U you let go your grasp
of those things that glitter and shine, but that have wings
and Hy away; God will give you great treasures in Christ
Jesus. He says, " 1 will till their treasures." If you choose
that which is invisible and real instead of seeking after things
seen, which slip from your grasp and perish with the using,
then God will sati.sfv you, and lill you to overflowing.
Notice the V)eautiful antithesis in 1st John ii. 15, 16. The
tirst words .sound to some of us perhaps a little hard, especially
-I I
1 ;. \
m
\^m
'"T
I
I'
;:
L
202
TIIKIK HKDKEMKU IS STI{(»XG.
if our lu'iirts and aHtctioiis an- centred in and drawn towards
tin; world. I'lit-y are : " Love not tlie world "- and {lerliaps
your st'cret lieai't is wldsperinj,', " Ka.sier said than done" —
but wait a l)it ; (lod never commands a tliinj,' that Me does
not put side l»y side with the command, the ndjihty ener<,d/ini;
power and promise by which it can be done. " I.,ove not the
world, neither the thini^rs that are in the woild. If a ny man
love the world, the l(jve of the Father is not in him. ' The
Love of the Kather I- -ah ! that is it. if you drink of the love of
the Father in Jesus Christ, 1 can prondse that you will not
love tiie world. The love of the world and its pleasures that
are always chan^in<^', always slipping' through your lini^ers,
always dodj^dn^ you ; and when you think you are just arriv-
iv,^ at what will satisfy your andtition or your cravinj^, }ou
tind it has been a " \\'ill-o'-tiii'-wisp," and oH' you arc to .some-
thin',' else — that is the way of the world. Serving; the world
is a laborious and unrepayinjr thin^' — but the love of the
Father! " (Jod so loved the world, that He fjave }{is only
bcfrotten. Son that whosoever believeth in Him .should not
perish, but have everlastiiiiLj life; ' and " lie that spared not His
own Son, but delivered llim up for us all, how shall He not
also with llim freely j^ive us all things :' "' There is a {jflimpse
of the love of the Father ! but oh, the soundinj^ of the words
can never present to you what it is, liow satisfyinj,', liow
never-fjiilint,', how far-reaching, how mighty, how tender.
Dear friends, if you want to be set free from the power of
the world over your heart, go and drink of the river of (Jod's
pleasures, go and draw from the great heart of ^'our Father,
learn through Jesus, and the grace and the beauty that is in Him,
what your Ood is like, and I can promise you that out will go
tile love of the world. " For all that is in the world, the lust of
the flesh and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of
the Father but is of the world, and the world passeth away and
the desires thereof, but he that doeth the will of Clod abideth
forever."
Another striking feature of Redemption is this, that the
people were not redeemed merely to be got out of Egypt,
just to be saved and called the children of God, but they
were .set free from laboring for that which was not bread
and for that which satisfied them not, to enter upon a life of
service, and feasting with God. Now, let us all .say together
God's message to Pharaoh, " Let My people go that they may
serve Me." Have you realized, you who have known some-
thing of God's plenteous redemption, your glorious privilege of
m
Tl'
THKiK |{EI)i:i;mi:ii is stiionc.
203
serving,' .Icliovnh, the \\'u\<f oi (ilory:* Wm arc not sot free
to rest in idle sutisfactiDn over your (It'livciaucc, liMt you
\ver(5 set t'roc ^> scrir. St. I'aiil, when speaking o( the visit
of tliu An;4(^l ot" .lehovah to him on tlif .sliip, t-xclainu'il :
" Tliero stood liy nie . . . tlie An^(;l of (Jo<l, whose I
a>n and whom I serve." And when he wanted to ;^ive ids
hij^hest title in his ej)istU's to Ids converts, he writes : " I'aul
the ho?id-sIavt' of .lesiis Christ." He knew he had the hcst
of masters, and so lie iijioiied in tiie thon<;iit tliat he was the
bond-'-'^rvant of tliat Master.
Then we n list rememher the <:freat central type of Kxo'his i.s
that of tht lain himh, chapter xii., whose l)lood was sprinkled
on the two side |)osts of the door of each Israel it(!'s house,
and on the upper door pjst. The laml> was slain in order that
its life hlood, poured forth on hehalf of those inside the houses,
should shelter them almir from the down-comini^ wrath and
destruction which was waitinij; to break forth upon the whole
land of Egypt; and on rlthrr huIh to protect them from
all their enemies on every side. And if we turn to I Peter
i. 18 to 21, we read, " Ve know that ye were not redeemed
with corruptible thiii<j[s, as silver and, <;old from your empty
manner of life received by t "adition from your fathers. Hut
with the precious blootl of ('lirist" — the precious blood of
the Son of God, the precious blooil <jf the Prince ami Source of
life, — "as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. Who
verily was foi-eordained before the foundation of the world, but
was manifest in these last times for you, who by Him do believe
in CJod that raised Him up from the dead and gave Him
glory; that your faith and hope might be in God." The first
apprehension we have of (ioil bringing to us His plenteous
redemption through .lesus Christ is by .seeing that preciou.s
blood of His shed for us upon Calvar\', because the one thing
that wakes us up to a realization of our need of His redeeming
love and grace is the knowledge that the world in which we
live is ready to perish, that the wrath of God will come assur-
edly upon the children of (lisol)edience, that for those who
believe not in God and obey not the (Jospel of our Lord Jesus
Christ, upon them shall come everlasting destruction from the
presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power. Then
we hear the voice of God calling to us in our fear and in our
extremity, " Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin
of the world," and with the little bunch of hy.ssop (simple
faith) we take that precious blood shed on Calvary to cover
our own souls, our own need, and to shelter and shield us
it:
l|:
r^T^
204
TIIKIK UEDKKMKU IS STIUtNii.
! M
[' *
for ever from tlio (lostniction awaltini,' tho worM arouml iis.
'IMiat is how (ioil hriiii^'H us first to a kiiowlcil^'e of His rt'tloeiu-
in;^ lov(!.
Hut it was not t»n()U<;li, to know that they won' sat'o in
J'^'lfif/if from the awful iuil<,'nu'nt that was reiuly to hrcak forth
upon all those whose doors were not s|»rinkle<l with the hlooij.
(}()(! says, "Come, <,'et you u|) out of Ki^'ypt,' and the deliver-
ance was not complete until they were rii^ht thi'oii;^!! the Red
Sea and could look hack upon their enemies as destroyed for-
ever. So, the secontl lesson wi; learn from the cross of C'hrist
is that not only His precious hlood was shed to shelter us from
the judj^ment and wrath of (ioil apiinst sin, l)ut we see on that
cross the power ol' the devil broken, the power of sin over us
tlestroyed ; we see full deliverance; all our enemies are behind
oiu' hacks l»y the pcjwer of Christ's death ; we stand still and
see the salvation of (lod with us and then j^o forward throii<^h
death and resurrection with Him to the sonj^ of victory.
That hrin<,'s us to the next characteristic of Redemption- -the
1 ")th chapter of Kxodus— where the son<:; of praise breaks forth.
All throujfh (ienesis and up to this loth chapter of Kxodus
there is not a word of praise ; there is moaninjjt and siifhin<»,
there is an excecdin<]f bitter cry, but not until the Redeemer
has manifested Himself in His ^'reat redemption <loes the sonu;
of praise burst forth spontaneous!}' and naturally from the
glad iiearts. If we really knew the fulness of salvation through
Jesus our Reileemer, there is not one of us but would be in
heart, and with our lips and lives praising;; and glorifying our
God. Notice for yourselves tliat the songs of prai.se burst
fortli in the Scriptures, after some fresh revelation of the ful-
ness of God's salvation. See «^.^., Jud. v., Ex. xv., Is. xii., Lu. ii.,
i., " In that day tiiou shalt say, O Lord, I will praise thee.
Though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away,
and thou comfortedst me. Behold. God is my .salvation, 1 will
trust and not be afrai<l, for the Lord .lehovah is my strength
and my song: He also is l)ecomc my salvation. " And remem-
ber the words with which the psalmist wakes the song of prai.se
in the 107th Psalm, " Oh, give thanks unto the Lord for He is
good, for His mercy endureth forever. Let the redeemed of
the Lord .say so, whom He hath redeemed from the hand of the
enemy. " If, your singing has got into a minor key, or if it is
altogether silent; if when you want to speak to someone about
Jesus, you have to pump and squeeze it out of you, do not go
and talk to that soul, I beseech you, for they will see fast enough
that it is pumped and forced, and there \vi\\ be no power in it.
TIIKIU UKDKKMKIl IS S|l!oN(i
•20.-.
SO
'riifH' is no power in nnythinij oxcept the nviTtlow of the
heart: there is no power in Hnytl)in<{ thtit is t'orc<!t| in the
Cliristian life; j^'o to your h)vin<; Kuther anil tirink th-eper of
Mis U)\t! in ('hrist .Itjsiis; <'o to .lesiis who has for you all thu
fulress of (iod ; i,'o and drink, yea, drink aluinihintly, heh.ved :
drink from that fnhiess of resoui'ce until you are tilled to the
ful! '!! Hinj, and then when you arc runnin;;' over, <,'o and speak.
Let the son;^,' of praise; to < J(jd, and the telling out of His praises
to others he the spontaneous outlmrst of a heart that is satis-
lied, that is •^i.'lad, that is thankful, that is aina/ed, as tliesu
people were on the l»ortler of the Red Sea, at the j^'oodness, the
j^race and tlu; power of tluMr (Jod.
In the thirteenth ciiapter, which immediately follows the
keepinjj of the l*assover, the one thini; specially emphasi/etl is
that these })eople whom ( iod has redeented are " niliir," saith
the [..ord — they are my property, my possession, they are a
ransomed, purchased people, and to set a seal upon that pur-
chase, and to impre.ss upon them His complete ownership of
them, (Jod claims for Him.self "The Hrsthorn, . . . both
of man and beast," to dispose of as He sees best, and He <;ives
directions concerninj» them. See also Num. viii. 14-17. Don't
let us ever forjjet the blessed truth that come.s out of (fod's
purchase of us back from the power of the devil, back from
bondage of the world, and back from the gallinj; tyranny of
sin, that we are His absolutely, to be wholly at His dispcsal.
As we have it in 1 Cor. vi. 19, 20: " Ve are not your own,
for ye are bouj^ht with a price." There is wonderful rest in
knowing that you- belong to another who undertakes the
responsibility, who carries you, who bears you all the day long,
who rests in His love towards you, who is always watching
your need.s so as to bring the supply instantly to bear upon
the need. Vou know when a thing belongs to you, the care
you take of it : you might leave it lying in the du.st if you
hadn't any personal link with it, but if it belongs to you, how
carefully you put it away. Because your little child belongs
to you, what a difi'erence there is in the way in which you look
at all the little buttons on her clothes, or all her little wants,
whatever they may be, because she is yours, your oivn precious
darling — ^that is the sense in which God has bought us to be
His own. (Compare Exodus xix. 4-() ; Deuteronomy vii. G ; xiv.
2.) He anticipates all our little wants and all our great need.s,
and has an infinite, ample, divine supply for them all. " My
God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory
by Christ Jesus." And so you see at the very beginning of
If
11
^i
' ;f
.lull
2or,
TMEIH HKDHF.MKIt IS STHONO.
;
ii
.ct
1^1
their maicli, (Jixl t'orosuw tliut this undisi-ipliiu'il host of ilown-
troiltlfu shivi's wouM lu'cil from the tir>t ii (luitif hikI Dt-tViulcr.
" Mf lf<l thfiii forth 1-y thi- ri;;ht wiiy." liouk at chapter xiii.
17. 1^: " it ciililt' to puss, wIh'M I'hiiriioli liad let tiit' people ;;o,
tliat (ioil !('(! tliciii not tiiroui^h tlu' way of the liiiitl of thu
IMiilistiiu's, aithouj,'li tluit was near; for CJod .said, hi'st pt-nid-
vrnturt' the jx'oplc r('|)fiit win'ii tlwysce war and they rt'turn to
l^''\|it. " So dcnioiali/.t'd, so disor^fani/t'd, so ciushfij, so wantini;
in fouraj^i', as shiv»»s always must hi>, that I won't friyiitt-n tlium
>vith tin- possiltility of wai' at th«' outset. < >h. how (Joil tal\o.s
in all alioiit youi- rharafter and ail ahout, your past experienci'
and t'ircumstanccs, and all aliout what you used to lie, your
spt't'ial suflerinj^M and tciiiptations. (!od says, poradveiituro
tliey will fuel lik*' thi.s, pi-radventurc they will he discourn^ed
M'itli that, so I \\ ill not take them that way ; " Hut (iod led the
people aixtut, throu«fh tiie way of the wilderness «)f the Red
kSea." And in verses 21, '2'2. ■ Tlie Lord went hefure tliem hy
day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead tiiem the way ; and hy ni<,dit
in a pillar of liie, to j^ivt' them li^ht. to ^n) l)y day and niyiit.
lie t«)ok not away the pillar of thi' cloud l»y <hvy, nor tlie pillar
of lire hy nij^ht, from hefore the pi'ople." Is it not i,do.'iously
true for each one of uh, "when He putteth forth His own
sheep. He <^oeth hefore them." " I will instruct thee, and tiach
thee in the way which thou shalt nn. 1 will ;4uide thee with
ndne e\'e." " The Lord shall ''uide thee continually.' " As
many a.s are led hy the Spirit of (Jod, they are the sons of Got!."
He never leaves you .stranded, you never need he hewildered,
dear soul ; you need never have tiiose terrible worries which so
many Christians have with their hearts all in a flutter, and their
minds at work tryini,' to spin out little plans and schemes for
the futuie, tr3ini? to decide on which side the ri<;ht is, and,
as fast as they think the balance shouM <ro that way, they
remember .something: else that should be thrown into the con-
sideration. Oh, (Jod has made it .so simple — "I will instruct
thee, I will j^uide thee. " Dear luait, will you just hand over
the f^uidance, the ijoveriunent, the planning;, the arranjjinj^ of
your practical daily life — yes, in the kitchen ; yes, with the
children ; yes, in your en«:;agements, or your .service for the
Lord, anil just let Him go before you, and let the whole of your
life come after witli the beautiful simplicity that is in Christ.
" Follow thou Me " — three little words, or rather, two little
words and one mighty word to sum them up — " Me." That is
the whole of the Christian life, " follow," not argue ; " follow,"
not lag behind ; " follow," not look about this way and that
^^"
THFMII UKDKKMKH IS sTIlnNd.
207
way ; "I'ollovv," not try to push Mf cm. l.nt ' I'ollow thou Mo."
"Thou ' — lu'vcr iiiiinl whut Mr-*. .Soim'hinl}'-fIsi' .siiys, lu'vur
iniinl whi'i't' Mr, Sumi'liuily-flst; is ^'oitii;, it is just thcf mul
Mf, tht'c iitiil Ml*: ' Follow llmii Mf," uriil you hiivu ;;ot the
secret of a resttui lilt; lunl powerful si-rvico.
hut Hot only <lo thi'V uccil ^'uiijiuicc, liut piovisioii liy the
way. Vou I'ciiifiMlifr thf story of tln' tlowiiin from the rock
of the river of water, that stream which fulloweil them,
wimliiii,' its way iti tin* ilesert all aloiit: till they reached
the lanij of promise; auij you remeinhfr the rairiiuLj down
of the auijers food, tin- maniia fiom heaven. Two such
heautiful types of the fulness of the rlver of life that lh)WS
out of the throne of (iol ami of the l/imh for us, per-
petually foliowiiii,' us all the wiiy through the little wiud-
inifs of our daily li\es, for we should nt-vt-r lind ourselves
anywhere wiiere that fulness of the sufliciency which is
in (Jod is not at our disposul. And then the manna rained
down from heaven, as .lesus Himself explained it in the <>th
cha|>ter of St. .iolin's "gospel, the very " I tread froiu lleavt'U,"
which represents Himself as the nourishment, the foo<l, tii<!
life, that which will (piicken and invii^orate us. Oh, feed
upon .h'sus ' Oh, drink of the Holy (Jh(ist! Never to ^o
forth to any day's v.'ork, or any day's rest, or any day's
holiday without first eatini,' of that livin:,' IJread, Jesus,
fenstiiii; your h'-art upon Himself, and drinkini; to the satisfy-
ini; of your spirits need of the water of the Holy (Jhost. You
cannot <i;o throui;h this world with any vi^^or, with any life, or
with any of the heauty of the Lord Uj)on you except you j,'o in
the streufjth of that meat.
We must now pass on, and pass over many chapters, to the
crowninif climax of (}od's purpose in Redemption in Exodus
XXV. to XXX. and xxxv. to xl., takiny^ just a versi; or two out
of the !2')th. and the 4()th chapters. What was (Jod's lon<;in<,'
as He heard the siifhing and saw the atHiction of His people
in K<?ypt :* It was not merely to get them out from under
their burdens: no, it was the deep desire of all love to f]fet
very near to His own people. And in E:,'ypt — in that
malarious atmosi)hero — God would not dwell. In jrrinding
bondatje and fear, with Pharaoh the kin<; of K^ypt as their
lord; He would not manifest His i,'lory and presence: so He
broke their bondage, He set them free. He put the new song
in their mouth. He made ample provision for all their need
in order that He might bring them near to Himself; that
He Himself might come down and dwell among them; that
r
2()«
THKIU IIKI»I;KMI:II is sTlto\(i
l[i
Ml
! n
il(> iiiiiflit Im- SI) iit'iir tn till-Ill as to iili-iitit'y llinisult' com-
plftt'ly Nvilli ilis DWii |)*i)|)lc Ami lie uwuli' tlit; little cninp
wlicri' tiny <i\Vflt tlu' Vfiy li'»inf wlii-it' He rcstt'tl ' iluvi' y<»ti
fVt-r riotii-ol tliiit so Ioiijl; hs His propK; wiitiilt'rtMJ uliiiut iii
tftits, (itxl would not }iuv«> iiiiy plucf to tiwull in miil ri'st oit
liut a little iiioviiWIr tetit ' Not until lli>t own pi-opjt- w<-rt' in
possession of tlie liunl iin<l IiikI tor tlieniselves houses linn
an<l stroiit; wouM Me Iwive a lioiiso for Himselt' where to
manifest His ^,'lory. (Hi, my (io«l,is that Thy heart of lov»)
to me, that nothin;^ less will please 'I'l than that Thou
shouMst ilwell in me anil walk in me. that Thou shouMst
make the little tahernacle of this mortal hixly Thy tlwellin^
place!' N'es, "Knowve not that your hotly is the temple of
the Holydhost which is in you, which ye hiive of (iod. urn!
that ye are not your own'" "His j,dory shall he seen upon
tliee." Dear frii-nds, is that true of us ' Moses exclainieil,
" Whert'in shall it In* known that I ami Thy people havtf found
^race in 'I'hy .si<,dit ' Is it not in that Thou ^roest with us ^"
When you. dear sisters, j^o to your friends' <lrawin^-rooiiis ;
wlien yoii, dear Itrotliers, j^o to your stores and otiices, do tliose
who come in contact with you know that you have been witli
Jesus f Do they say of us amon^' themselves, (Jod is in tiiem
of a truth " ^ There is somethin;^' more tlian human, some-
thin;; supernatural about thnt man, " < lud is in him of a
truth '7 Let us just <,dance at the verses. Chapter xxv. H, 22:
" Let them make ine a sanctuary that I may dwell anioiij^
them." " And then- 1 will meet with thee, and I will commune
with thee from above the mercy-seat, frouj between the two
cherubims whicii are upon the ark of the testimony, of all
thin"[s which I will jfive thee in commandment unto the
ch'ldren of Israel. ' t'hapter xl. 'A'.\ :iiS : " Moses finished
the work. Then a cloud covered the tent of the con-
}]fregation, and the ^lory of the Lord tilled the tabernacle, and
Moses was not able tt) enter into the tent of the cony:re<;ation
because the cloud abode thereon, and the s'*"'y "^' ^^^^
Lord tilled the tabernacle." 'That ye might l)e tilled with
all the fulness of (iod," is God's purpose in redemption for us.
And not up tliere in heaven years hence, but down here now
to-day, "That ye might be tilled with all the fulness of God."
" That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith," that the Holy
(jhost may make your mortal body His temple, that the Father
and the Son in the power of the indwelling Holy Ghost may
say, " We will come unto him, and make our abode with him."
This Bible reading has only just begun ! Vou have a few
TJirin itKr>i-:KMKH is sthoxu.
2()f)
liiiit«< iiMil sii^,'|,'«'>ti()ns wliifli y<'H nrr j^nin^j to I'ollow mit for
yoiii'st'lvi's, (Mill nt' coiit'sc you will liiiij thiit this uiilirokni liiiu
of tiiDii^iit witicli We litivf tiiUfii tliis iifti-rnoiin is iiitcrniptrd
two i)r tlircf tiiiH's liy tin- pi-rviTsity miil sin of <io<Ls |i('t)|»l«^ ;
Imt I hiivtf tiikiai till' iiitlii'okfii line in onltT tlint you ini^'ht
NCI' wlint (ioil's tliou;;lit is aixi wliiit ilf is iilil*> to iiccoiiiplisli,
niiij 1 am now u'""*^' t/O n'liiiiiil yuu of only oiu' more tiling,
an<l tlifii we will «,'ft to prayer.
I'lij^lity tiiiifs oviT in tlif hook of Kxoilus we liavn all thtMO
won<lt'rful purposes in ri'ijcniption i-nipliasi/.t'il to iis l»y tliose
two words of lovf and powrr. " I will, 1 will." Wn will turn
ttack to the sixth chapter to show you what I mean. In tho
sixth verse, " N\ ln'refore mhv unto the children of Israel, I am
Jehovah, and I will linrii; yo»i out from under the lairdens of
tho K<.'yptians, and I will rid you out of their h()nda;;e, and [
will redeem you with a stretched-out arnj.and with ;,'reat judg-
ments : and I will take you to me for a people, and I will he to
vou a(iod, and ve shall know that I am the Lord vour Uod
which l)rini»eth you out from under tht; hurdens of tho
K<^'yptianH, and I will hrin^ you in unto the land concerning tlio
which I did swear to ^dve to Ahraham, to Lsaac and to Jacoh;
and I will jjive it to vou for an herita.'e ; I am .lehovah." You
see at hoth ends of this passa^^e as a .seal or pledge of the
promises, the Name which represents the honor, the character,
the per.son that is wrapped up in that Name, " I am •lehovah
and I will do it." Dear friends, do not p;o home with the idea
that you have to work out what we have hecn talking altout
this afternoon by your own power, strength or wisdom, but
cast yourselves in helplessness and in simple faith upon Him
who has pledged His uanie and honor to do it for you, in
you, and through you for His name's sake.
"^ hi
NJi'l
U
rli
■ ffiCT i TF i ^n
m :
'.■ I J,
p
:.
rm^
■■ i
A iM'OPLH n1':ar unto iiim.
J'SAl.M CXLVlll. 14; Hi:i5UK\VS \, '2'1.
ON Monday tlu> \A)rd showed us. in takin<; a glance tlirouijh
tlie lioolv of Cn'nosis, soiiiotliin^ of the workinjj; of niiin-'s
heart, tho iina<;inationsof wliicli aru " onlv evil continu-
ally." On Tuesday (yesterday), the Ijord showed us soiuethinj;
of the workin<;s of Ills heart towards those in honda^fe and in
need. And to-day our Hihle reailini.'f leads us to the third hook
of the Pentateuch, called Leviticus, because it is chieHy occupied
with laws concerninj^ Leviticjil persons, or the children of the
tribe of Levi.
A few months a<jo, I was travelling on a boat, and J noticed
a lady who evidently was an earnest Bible student, and she was
not ashamed of it either, for right out before the other people,
in the .saloon, she .selected a little table for herself, and brought
out a big Bible and a large note book, and she set .steadily to
work with her Bible study. I thought, "Oh, that lady and I will
have .some fellowship very .soon." So I drew near and had a few
moments conversation with her, when she told me how she had
become interested in Bible study through .some young nieces of
hers, and she explained the system on which she intended
studying ; adding, " Hnt, of course, tho.se curious things, like the
book of Leviticus, 1 don't intend to study that." I opened my
eyes, and then said to her, in substance, what I shall say to you
in a few moments about this book. But I wonder whether
there are any earnest Bible students here who love the Woi'd
of (lod, or believe thej' do, but wljose practice in studying the
Word of God is to pick and choose your pet chapter, or your
favorite book ? One of the reasons I put l)efore this latly for
reconsidering her determination about Leviticus was. Have you
ever thought that this book contains more of the direct utter-
ances of God himself than any other in the whole Bible of the
same bulk ? There are twenty-seven chapters in that book,
and out of those twenty-seven chapters there are only three
A PKOI'LE NKAK I M'O IIIM.
211
10
that are occupiiul in any way witli what may l>o callod incjdout
or history, and thii whole of thi; rest ari' the dini't utterances
of Clod to Mis peopU'. And if you turn to chapter i. I, you
will see the special solemnity ^iven to tliese utterances hy
the place and opportunity in which they wt>re spoken, indeeil,
the llelirew name for this hook is " And ll(^ Said" " And the
Lord called unto Moses and s|)ake unto him out of the tal»er-
nacle of the couijirej^'ation. " W'sterday we saw that the cou-
suunnation of (Jod's purposes in redemption was that Wo, mij;ht
come down and dwell amonnst His peo{)le, and uumifest Ilia
presence, His peace, His power and His j^lory, in the tabiMiuiclo
in their utidst. And now, licviticus opens with the voice of tho
liOrd speaking;' out ot the tahernacle of the congreij;atioii. So,
in enteriui; upon the study of tiiis book, let us remember that
every word of (lod is pure; that the Word of (lod liveth and
abideth forever ; and that not one jot or one tittle of the law
shall fail until all be fulfilled. We cannot skip over, or care-
lessly <rlrtnco at a book which opens with such solemn words.
Exodus has shown us (Jod cominji; down to enter into the
needs and atilictions of His people, to. deliver them completely
out of tho bonday;e and misery that they were in, antl to abide
in them and with them forever, licviticus opens up to us
the way by which nuiu may draw nij^h to ixod. .Man, sinful
man, needs to have the way made clear, cleared of all the
obstructions which his own natural uncleauness and unholi-
ness puts in the way of access and union. So we find that
this book tells us of the priesthood and the sacrifices, all of
which are types and pictures of the ofHce and work of the
Lord .Jesus Christ for us, by which we draw niijh unto God.
Ijet us look at one or two passa^fes in the New Testament
which set a seal for us upon this blessed thou!j;ht, that because
of the oflice of .lesus C'hrist as our jijreat Hijjfh Priest in the
Holy of Holies, standin<:f in the presence of (irod for us with
His precious blood to show before the throne of God on our
behalf; auil with the oil an«l power of the Holy Ghost which
He has shed forth upon us, we may draw niii;h to God. And
let us see how His ato!iiu;ijf work for us on Calvary is typitied
by all the sacrifices and burnt-otlerini^js in Leviticus ; and that
by Him we are made ni<j;h and kept ni<;h to (Jod.
Turn to Romans v. 1, 2: "Therefore being justifieil by faith,
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ ; by
whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we
stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of (Jod " Ephesians ii.
12-15, 17, IS : " At that time ye were without Christ" — outside
■il: \l '■:'
i\
Ii!
!iil;l
!l!
•i' I
Ml
1
n
•I
■
•ii'
ii
212
of Christ—'
A I'KOI'LE NEAU INTO HIM.
heint,'
aliens from the coimiionwealth of Israel,
and striin<,'ers from tlie covenants of promise, havini^ no hope,
and without (lotl in the world. Hut now in Christ Jesiis ye
who sometimes were far off are made ni<;h hy the blood of
Christ. For he is our peace who hath made both one and
hath broken down the nuddle wall of partition between us ,
havinj^ abolished in His Hesh the enmity, even the law of
commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in Himself
of twain one new man, so niakinj^ peace. And came and
preached peace to you which were afar ott', and to them that
were nigh. For through him we both ' — ^both dews and
Gentiles — " have access by one Spirit unto the Father." The
Epistle to the Hebrews is, speaking generally, the Holy Ghost's
connnentary upon the shadows and tigures that are set before
us in the book of Leviticiis. After showing how Jesus, in
ort'ering Himself to God without spot through the eternal Spirit,
Himself fulfilled all the types of the sacrifices and ofierings, and
explaining the glorious work of Jesus as the perfect High
Priest for us in glory, the one Mediator between God and man,
the writer sums up his teaching in chapter x. ll>, "Having
therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the
blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He hath
consecrated " — new made — " for us, through the veil, that is to
say. His flesh " — His fle.sh crucified on Calvary — " and having
an High Priest over the house of God ; let us draw near with
a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts
.sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with
pure water." The book of Leviticus is therefore a message of
peace and blessing to all that are afar ofi". We get many
pictures in this book of the different ways in which a man can
be afar oft" from God. There is the picture of the leper who,
in his di.seased and loathsome condition, was told to keep afar
ott' from the camp of the Lord out of fellowship with even
the people of God, and still more, shut out of all worship and
communion in the tabernacle of the Lord. And when Jesus was
upon the earth, we find the leper standing afar off until Jesus
put forth His healing power, filling him with His own eternal
life and saving health, bringing him back into nearness with
the people of God ; above all, into nearness with God Himself.
And we have the spiritual antitype of that in the publican who
recognized the impossibility of ever drawing near to God in his
own name and by his own right, but standing afar off" he smote
upon his breast and said, " God be merciful to me a sinner."
There may be some heart here this afternoon conscious of being^
A I'EfMM.E NEAK INT<» III.M.
2i:i
at an awful distance from God. God is only a name to yon,
Jesus is only a person in a Itook to you ; everythinir to do
with communion with God, with real heart relij^ion, with real
heart joy, is only a vague, visionary, ideal kind of thinj^,
that concerns sentimental peo])le, hut is not really true. I
have the n»essa<^e for you to-rlay, that by the mercy of God
that distance between you and Him i.s .spanned ; there is the
bridge for you, across which you may ilraw nigh unto God.
Jesus, blessed Jesus — Jesus, who by tiie sacrifice of Himself,
took away all that has made the distance between you and
Him — Jesus, who as your great High I'riest is perpetually in-
terceding for you, and bridging the distance, bringing you
me.ssages of love down from (iod, bringing you back by His
love, drawing you, drawing you up to God. Oh! consider
Him as the Apostle and High Priest, the one who comes as the
Apostle with messages from God to you, and the one who, as
High F*riest, goes from you back again to (iod as your Mediator
and Intercessor. But there are other ways of being at a dis-
tance from God. alas, alas, even amongst His children. Peter,
the earnest, zealous follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, knew
what it was under the stress of temptation to follow afar off.
Are any of you, dear Christians, following afar oft" for fear of a
sneer, for fear of what others may think of you, for fear of
the world, or to curry favor with tho.se around you ^ Are you
losing the sweet smile of Jesus upon you I Oh, if j'ou are afar
off, hasten to meet the risen Jesus who semis a me.ssage to you,
"Go tell my disciples an<( Peter, that I want to see them ; yes,
Peter who followed Me afar off. and whose following afar off
led to cursing and the denial of his Saviour; I want to meet
with Peter," said the risen Jesus ; and our great High Priest is
here this afternoon amongst us wanting to meet a Peter if there
is one here to-day, and wanting to .show how He has bridged
the distance between you and your God; how, through His
shed blood you may be cleansed whiter than .snow of all that
past cowardice, of all that language which was a disgrace to
you, and cast shame upon your I^ord. Yes, He wants not only
to sprinkle you with His blood, but to anoint you \v'u\ oil, the
oil of the Holy Ghost, that you may once more '-v- w nigh
unto God. There are many other such pictures, but we take
these in passing to remind ourselves of the truth that meets
us at the very beginning of L'^viticus, I.e., how we may draw
near to God. We .shall not fully enter into the point and
beauty of this book unless we take time carefully to look into
and understand the first seven chapters, which are taken up
i
; \
1
'1 '
1
1
'IK
M-^U, k
214
A i'f:<)PLE near cnto him.
with the sacrifices and otterinj»s which (Jotl commanded to be
made in th« ta^'ornacle of the cont^rei^'ation and afterwards in
the tenjple by His people the cliildren of Israel. At first sight,
if we rea 1 tliese seven chapters carelessly, we may think the
details dull and uninteresting', but if we ask for the illumina-
tion of the Holy Ghost, if we ask for Jesus to conie to us as
He did to those foolish, ij^norant, unbelieving disciples walking
to Kmmaus, if we as'v Him to come and open unto us in the
Scriptures the things concerning Himself, we shall find them to
contain beautiful pictures of the sacrifice and work of .Jesus
for us. Just to give you a very bare outline — for I want these
Bible readings to be merely clues for you to follow up after-
wards — I want to strike, as it were, a vein of ore in this rich
mine and say to you, " There is a big vein of silver here in this
mine on your estate, my friend ; yon have wealth hidden there;
work it, and you will make a fortune; seek and search for it
as for hidden treasure."
The Burnt Uttering meets us in the first chapter. Life was
what God from the beginning claimed as His due ; as that
which came from Him and which He demanded should bo
altogether at His disposal and under His control, and that is
why He fenced round the life of man with such care from the
tirst, saying, in Genesis ix. G, " He that sheddeth man's blood,
by man shall his bloo<3 be shed." (See also iv. 10.) The sacri-
fice of the burnt ottering is the rendering up to God of the whole
life, and it shows to us .lesus rendering up to (iod as a complete
sacrifice evervthinjx in His life, everv detail of its arrangement,
every moment of it; He never had a thought apart from His
Father; He ottered himself up wholly and willingly, and —
obedient unto death — this perfect burnt ottering of the life of
Jesus was sacrificed on the cross for the complete fulfilment of
the will of God. It is to the same surrender and obedience
that we are called in Romans xii. 1, 2, "I beseech you, there-
fore, by the mercies of (Jod, that ye present yotir bodies a
living sacrifice " — the .sacrifice of the whole life — " holy, accept-
able unto God." And then, as you do that, you will be able
to prove every moment, " what is that good and acceptable and
perfect will of God."
In the next chapter we get the Meat Offering, wherj there
was no .shedding of blood, no pouring out of a life, but the
things offered were all connected with the vegetable world,
that part '^f creation which God had distinctly handed over to
man for his nourishment and gratification. (Genesis i. 29.)
Here we see the offering up to God of a perfect life of obedience,
A PEOPLK NEAR VSTi) HIM.
21,
specially in its contact with our fellow-creatures ; not as in tlie
burnt ()frerin<,', that which beloncjed to Ciod only, to be utterly
and only and all for Him — that is, the first principle of all true
service and conftecration — but in the meat ottering, tijat which
represented our love, debt and iluty towards man. (Compare
Matthew xxii. Ii7, IJ9). Here we find the Lord Je.sus repre-
.sented in the l)eauty of His character and ministry ainon<jfst
men, as you go into the details of that offering. Vou cannot
think of anything that suggests more perfect evenness in its
satin softness than fine flour — bruised it is, bruise<l heavily,
but perfectly fine and smooth, no roughness or unevenness —
and in all the work and character of the Lord Jesus Christ
look at His gentleness, His meekness. His perfect calmness and
peace. His readiness to meet whatever interruptions or difii-
culties arose, His tender love always flowing forth, never ruffled
or jarred by the contradiction of sinners against Hiin.self, that
life offered up to the Blather, for man in its perfection.
Oil is the next ingredient in the meat offering, and our Lord
Jesus at the very outset of His ministry for man was anointed
with the oil of the Holy Ghost, when the heavens opened and
the Holy Spirit descended like a dove upon Him. Then He
had the sweetness of the frankincense, always ascending up to
God ; and He had the grace and pungent power of the salt
which preserves from corruption and gives flavor to our food.
But notice that in this meat offering there was to be no honey
and no leaven. There was to be sweetness, but it was to be
that of the frankincense, which could rise up as .savory before
God, and not what we call natural sweetness, the mere flavor of
human good nature. Dear friends, as you otter your life up to
God for the good of others, are you careful not to put any of
your own honey in i for honey, though exquisitely sweet, turns
corrupt very soon ; or are you trying to attract people to your-
self ? to draw out their affections and .sympathies to you
because of jfour sweetness and your courtesies i If so you are
taking honey and mixing it up with your meat ottering. Also,
there was to be " no leaven," nothing that could corrupt the
meat ottering, for leaven is, throughout Scripture, a type of
that which is evil.
The next offering in the third chapter is that of the Peace
Offering, where Jesus is brought before us as ottered up in
sacrifice to be the fe(M set before God and man. It is the only
ottering of which the offerer himself partook as well as the
priest, and God Himself consumed the rest, of course typically,
by the burning of it upon the altar where the fii'e of God had
f
B^SSSSB^
21i»
A I'KOI'l.E NKAK INln HIM.
II
*
I' '
i ^
I
r
tlescemied from jihovo. (Conij). licv. iii., vii. II, 2!l ; xxii. 21,
20, liO; xi\. ')-.S ; Deut. xii. G, 7, 17, IM.) Now the Lord Jesus
Christ i.s tlie very deli<rht of the Father's heart, juid you and I
enter into perfect reconciliation with (lod through Jesus Christ.
We find that tlie one thin*; upon which we can feast witli (lod,
the one nieetin<i;-place between (Jod and us. is the person and
work of Jesus; and the more I feed upon Jesus the more 1 Hnd
myself broutflit into perfect harmony and sympathy with my
Father's heart, for He looks down upon Jesus and says, "This
is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. ' " Heboid My
servant ami Mine elect in whom My soul deliijhteih, " and as I
delij^ht in what God delijjfhts in, I find He makes me to drink
of the river of His pleasures, and my soul is satisfied with what
satisfies the heart of (Jod ! Jf Jesus satisfies the heart of God,
the infinite God, is He not enou<^ii to satisfy your little heart,
your tiny, finite heart, with >11 its yearninjfs and all itsaj^onies^
Come, then, and feast upon Jesus who offered Himself to God
and offers Himself to us as that upon which we, God and I, can
feast together in holy communion and happy fellowship.
In the Sin Offering (chapter iv.), we see Jesus made sin for us
though He knew no sin. "^Phe animal is chosen without blemish
to suti'er as a substitute for the sin of the one by whom it was
oflered; as Chri.st was "made sin for us, who knew no sin, that
we might be made the very righteousness of God in Him,"
" Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree,
that we being dead to sins should live unto righteousness ; by
whose stripes ye were healed."
In the sin offering we see the animal offered up for the /»;r-
fion of the sinner, as he stood before God in his sin; but in the
Trespass Offering (chapters v. to vii.), we see Jesus offered
up as the propitiation for our sins, o»ir actual transgressions,
our disobedience and defiance of Goal's law; and by His stripes
"we are healed and forgiven. (See Isaiah liii.) These are
suggestions; search for other details, search into all the grades
of the offerings, which bring before us the different apprehen-
sions which we get at difi'erent stages of the spiritual life, of
the wonders of the work and sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
Now, as to the construction of the Book. You see, those first
seven chapters are taken up with the sacrifices. The next three
chapters, viii., ix., and x., tell us about the priesthood, and the
consecration, separation, and preparation of the sons of Aaron
for the work of their priestly otiico, the tenth chapter bring-
ing before us the awful picture of the condemnation of those
who do not enter obediently and reverently into the holy office
A PEOITE NKAK INTO III.M.
217
of
ng-
to which they are calleil as priests. After the consecration niitl
all its solemn details throui^h the 8th and !>th ciiajiters, ( ioil
came down and appeared in ^lory before the people, and sent
fire down from heaven to show His acceptance of their ort'erinjjs
upon the altar ; but we read in chap. x. I to '.i, "Nadab and
Abihu, . . . ottered stranjje lire before the i.ord, which Me com-
manded theui not. And there went out tire from the Lord, and
devoured them, and they dioil before the Lord. Then Moses said
unto Aaron, This is it that the Lord spake, .sjiyini,', I will be
sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people
I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace." God has \nm\e
us kings and priests unto Him tiirough .lesus Ciirist, and day
by day you and I, each one of us, have to exercise the holy
priestly office of ortering up to Him "the sacrifice of praise con-
tinually, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His
name," of offering to Him the incense of prayer and of offering
to Him the burnt offering and the meat offering of our lives
yielded to Him, and laid out for our fellow men. Yes, this is
what God has called each one of us to, Vtut let us beware.
Right on the threshold of all the privileges of the priesthood
and its glorious possibilities of bringing glory to God and bless-
ing to man comes this awful warning, that we can onl}' draw
near to God in His own way, for " without holiness no man shall
see the Lord." And if we seek to draw nigh to God or offer to
Him our service or work either for Him or for those around us
with the strange fire of our own impulses, and for the sake of
our own reputation, or with any strange fire of self-love and
ambition instead of the pure fire from heaven of the love of
God, we shall find that they will be dead works bringing forth
shame and destruction : the whole of such work shall be burned
up. May God teach us this lesson, as day by day we offer
before Him the priestly sacrifice of prayer, praise, consecration,
and obedience.
The remaining chapters are chiefly taken up with regulations
concerning the children of Israel : but the}' would not have
found a place in Leviticus if there was not blessed teaching in
them for u.s. They show us how God enters into every detail
of the life of each one of His children. There are laws which
concern personal cleanliness, bodily health, and family life ;
laws concerning social intercourse, and business transactions af
weights and measures ; regulations touching garuients, and
houses, and food ; beside instructions about worship, religious
feasts, and freewill offerings. This is a most solemn book in
which we see that there is no detail, from the moment of our
If
'i
u\V
iiii
/
218
A l'E()l'l-K NEAU UNTO HIM.
j^t'ttin<; out of lied in the iii()rinnf]f till th»( nioniont wo close our
eyi's at ni^ht, into which (luil docs not oiittsr witii His searchin<»
eye, His interest and tender lovinj,' synipatliy, and with His
wise and blessed re^fulations. He is every day witli you ut
your table, whether He is an honored or a dishonored <j;uest.
He knows why you cat, whether you eat for pleasure only, or
that your body may be strenjjfthciu'd and ijivi<;orated in your
service for Him. He knows how everything' is ordei'ed in your
housekeepin<i^ ; He knows how your ledj^er looks in the back
otlice ; He knows all about your liusiness, and jjfoes into every
little detail. And notice, rii,dit in the very eentre of all these
details comes that wonderful si.xteenth chapter where the <^reat
central type of the book, The I )ay of Atonement, is sjjiven to
us ; which represents the hoi'd .lesus (Jlirist as our Atonement
for all sin before the Lonl. This Day of Atonement was cele-
brated once every year to remind the children of Israel t'at
there must be a perpetual application of the shed blood lor
them; that in all these details into which God enters, if there
should be any tran.snression of FHs law, any coming short of
His standard, any inward workin<;' of antagonism against His
rule, it must be atoned for, and washed away, and blotted out.
The object of that annual Day of Atonement is given us in the
thirtieth verse : " On that day .shall the priest make an atone-
ment for you to cleanse you that ye may be clean from all your
sins before the liord." And planted there in the very midst of
all the details concerning their daily life, their social intercourse,
their family doings, is a reminder to us that we need the con-
stant sprinkling of the precious blood of Jesus Christ, not merely
seeing Him as we saw Him in those early chapters, as the sin
ottering and the trespass ottering for me, but as the perpetual
atonement, (at-one-ment) keeping at one the sinner and the
holy (Jod by the continual application of the cleansing blood.
" If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellow-
ship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son,
cleanseth " — is cleansing, always clean.se.s — "us from all .sin.'
And, praise be to Cod, the word is to " cleanse you that you
may be clean from all your sins he/ore the Lord." It is a com-
plete work, it is a divine work : it is the work of the precious
blood of the Son of Cod, and when He speaks " clean," there is
no half cleansing. When He says " clean, " He does not mean
dettled. When He says " as white as snow," He means that it is
so in His sight "before the Lord." Oh, let Jesus, your great High
Priest, continually appl)' to your conscience the precious cleans-
ing blood, that in every detail of your life, your heart, your
hands, your lips, your feet may be holy unto the Lord.
A I'KOI'LE NKAI! I' MO HIM.
211)
This UrintTs iis to tlie other chief point in the hook oi" Leviti-
cus. 'rh(^ first was (Irawini; niy;li, the way hy whieli the chosen
and redeemed |teoph' could lie hrou;,dit niijh and kept nii;h
to (lod. The other main tlioUL,dit throuujhout the hook is
"Holiness to the liord." 'I'urn to chapter xi. 44, 4'): "I
am the Lord vonr (Sod, ve shall therefore sanctify your-
selves, and ye shall he holy, for I am lioly. Neither
shall ye deHU; yourselves with any manner of creepinfj thinir
that creepeth upon the earth. For I am the Lord that hrin^^^eth
you up out of the land of lyLTypt, to he your God: ye shall
therefore he holy, for I am holy." C/hapter xi.\. 2: "Speak
unto all the coni;re(j;ation of tiie children of Israel " — ('so this
was not for the priesthood only, nor for those in power, nor for
the specially favored few ; this was for every man, woman and
child tlirou<,diout tiie conjjfrejfation) — " and say unto them, Ve
shall he holy: for I the Lord yourCJod am holy." Chapter xx.
7, <S, 2{) : " Sanctify yourselves therefore, and he ye holy : for 1
am the Lord your God. And ye shall keep my statutes, and do
them: I am the I^ord which sanctify you" [maketii you holy|.
"And ye shall he holy unto me : for 1 the Lord am holy, and
have severed you from other people, that ye should he Mine."
I think one reason why the enemy lias succeeded in persuad-
ing Christians that Leviticus is a dry and unintereatini; hook,
and that they had hetter not waste their time over it, ishecause
he knows that it is, out of all tlie Scriptures, the Manual of
Holines,s. Some years aj^o, I took my Hihle and marked every
passage that hore upon the suhject of holiness in red, and I was
astonislied to fitid that th<- book of the whole Hihle that was
most deeply scored with my red marks was Leviticus. On
almost every subject in this book the Lord brings in such
words as sanctify, holy, made holy, holiness, holiest, most holy,
showing how His ideal for His people is nothing short of full
sanctification — " holiness, without which no man shall see the
Lord."
Now let me say a few words which I believe may be a help
to you in studying for yourselves the subject of holiness. I
found in looking up the subject that, with regard to God,
everything is " holy." He is spoken of as holy without the
slightest attempt at explanation throughout the whole Scrip-
ture, and everything connected with Him is " holy," — " His
holy name," "His holy child Jesus," "His Holy Spirit," " His
holy arm," etc. ; for " Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts."
Holiness is an essential attribute of His being, and of His
nature. He is " The Holy One of Israel."
^
'2 '20
A I'Kul'I.K NKAH INTd IIIM.
I
Hut wlicn it comes to iipidyin^' tin- word to auytliitjjL,' tliat
has to <lo with the t'urth or man, (iod teacht's tis just like little
cliihh'eti ill a tirautit'ully simple A MC, ami He hcf^iiis (specially
in this hook of Leviticus) to open up to us, as hy a picture hook,
the suhject of holini^ss, tlnaiLjh it has already lieen referreil to
iti Kxodus. I fountl that there; were lifty-eiijjht thinj^s, or
times, or places, or people, connecteil with the earth nnd
num that were calleil ' holy. ' that could not in any sense
he saiil to he holy as to inherent (|ualitication or cliJ.racter:
lait tliey had been hrouiiht into relation with (Jod, tiu^y
had heen alto<,'ether yielded up to Him for His possession
or worship, or service : for instance, just to remind you of a
few — holy oil, Kxodus xxx. '2'i, .'U : hf)]y fruit oH' a tree,
licviticus xix. 24: holy vessels of hras.s and ;,'old, 2 Chron. v. '>,
Kxodus xl. J)-l+ ; holy ground, Acts vii. .'{.*{ ; holy day, Nehemiah
viii. 9-11. There was no inherent purity or holiness or "good-
ness in these, hut they had heen claimed hy (Jod for His
ahsolute use, or possession, or indwelling'. So the Hrst thin<:f I
learned at the tlireshold of this lesson was, that the steppinjj-
stone to real holiness was to yield myself to (Iod : and I noticed
that when once consecrated to (iod those thinjis could never
a^^ain he taken and used for any connuon purpose at the will
of man; they could only he usetl for the worship and service
of God. Is that the idea of your consecration to (Jod, that you
yield yourself irrevocably to Him as His purchase<l possession,
to be altojjether at rest in His will : for Him to take vou where
He pleases, for Him to do with you what He likes, for Him to
choose for you all the circumstances and ins and outs of your
life f ^
Well, that is the first step. But did you notice in those
verses that we read it said, "Sanctifv yourselves, for I am the
Lord your (Jod that doth sanctify you." So you see in this
matter, as in all others, there are two sides to the (juestion, and
numbers of souls that we meet with are completely stumbled
because they don't recoj^nize this fact. Hundreds are seeking
for " the hiofher Christian life," or for holiness, or " entire
sanctiticition," by whatever name they may call it ; and they
say "I have yielded myself to (Jod; I have given myself to
Him again and again: I am always yielding and always sur-
rendering, but nothing seems to come of it!" No wonder, for
their only idea of holiness is their side of the matter, which is
consecration. Now, dear friends, whatever is honestly and
willingly handed up to God, He at once takes possession of,
and begins to do His part ; so you have not to keep on yielding
A I'EnlM.K NKAU INTo IIIM
SSI
those
Liu the
this
n, and
iinhled
jeking
entire
i\ they
self to
'H sur-
er, for
lich is
y and
ion of,
ielding
an<l yioldiii',; yoursi'lf uj) to (lod, hut yitdd VDiusflf to (Sod,
trusi Hi in and you will N»'f wluit He iloi-s 'I'urn to l.t>v viii
10-12, .SO, and learn your m-xt lesson ftoni this picture Kook
for(iod's little children. "And Moses took the anointini; oil,
and iinointed the taheituiele and all that was therein, ami
.sanctitied them. And he sprinkled thereof upon the altar
seven times, and anointed the altar and all his vessels, hoth the
laver and his Foot, to .sanctil'y theui. Ami he poured of the
anointing; oil upon .\arous hend to anoint him, to sanctity him. "
or to make him holy. ' .\iid Mo^es took of the anointiiii,' oil,
and of the Mood which was upon the altar, and s|)ritd\led it
upon Aaron, and upon his i^arments, and upon his sons, und
upon his sons' pirments with him ; and sanctitied Aaron, and
his ;;arments, and his sons, and his sons' ijarments with him."
\o\\ see, there are things such as j^arments, and there are
{leople such as Aaron and his sons, hoth liy tiie very same
process made holy, or sanctitie(l foi' the service and worship of
(Jotl — l>v what ^ H\' the sprinklinix of thi' blood, and hv the
aiiointini,' of the oil. Now, if you t)irn to ttie N't;w Testament,
you will tind ( Hel). .\iii. 12 and ix. I."i, 14) "that.Iesus also, that
He niii^ht sanctify the people with Mis own l)|ood, sutl'ereil
without the j^ate.' And you will tind aj^'ain ( Acts xv. H, !) ;
2 Thess. ii. i.S; 1 Pet. i. 2) that hv the coininij of the Holy
Ghost upon those who are sprinkled and cleansed with the
precious hlooil, < Jod sanctitied and mad(! holy His di.sciples,
apostles, and teachers in the early days, so that they really
walked before (Jod in holiness of life, and served Hint to His
priory.
Do you see that when you have yielded yourself to God, you
have not to keep on worryinrj over wdiether you /W/ yielded, or
whether anything has come of it ; but wait before (Jod know-
ing that He has accepted your otl'ering, and that now He is
doing His part, and His part is this: tlie application of the pre-
cious blood of Christ to cleanst; away anything in your heart and
life that has been contrary to iioliness, making you " clean from
all your sins before the Lord;" then upon the place where the
blood has been applied to pour upon you the anointing oil of
the Holy Ghost. (Compare Lev. xiv. 14 to LS, and 2') to 29.)
And by that double divine act of aj)plying the blood of Jesus, anil
tilling us with all the fulness of (jod in the power of the Holy
Ghost, you and I are sanctitied, made holy, and meet for the
Master's use. Glory to His name ! Then again we tind a great
many Christians who think that the whole of holiness is cleans-
ing. Christians who are very self-willed and unconsecrated.
i
r " T-
! t
l! 1
h ■
ij li
li
»
00.)
A I'Kmi'm: \k.\k into him.
an<l wh()S(> only idru is tliat if th«'y aro clcansotl, or "j^ota
ciciin hi'urt," tlify will luivc lioliiu^ss; Imt tlmt is not wlint the
Hook siiys, tliat i.s only a part of sanctiHcation. Suppo.sin;^' a
poor man came to your «loor saying' lie wa.s very thirsty an<l
he w'f)uM j^ivt' anythin;^ for a <l'au;,'htof vvatt-r: you would not
(Iri'am of j^MvinLj even a poor man at yair door a dirty tuinhU'r
to (h'ink out of ; hut if you simply took the tumhlrr to tlu; tup
and washi'd it well out, and put it on the kitclu-n taltle, would
you thirdc the thin^' was done :* ('frtainly not; the eleansinj^
was only the preparation of tlie tnmltlt'r for tlnf Hlliui;, and the
Hlliny; was oidy the preparation for the little liit of ministry to
that thirsty man.
AL,'ain, many Christians are !<»n;,dn<,' and seeking for the power
of the Holy (Jhost to maki' their service more siirfrssful ; and
they expect some womlerful kind of ft!elinj,'s of power in them-
selves, in order to <,'() out and do work for < Jotl, and they think
t/idf is holiness. Hut they want (iod's power from on hijj;h to
come down upon them in order to j^o otJ" and carry out their
own ideas of C'liristian service witliout the surrender or the
cleansing', but that is not the way (Jod deals. We cannot
separate these three wliiclKJod has joined toj^ether— consecration,
cleansinj,', anointinjj; therefore yield yourself wholly to (Jod; let
Him cleanse you from all sin ; let Him till you to overflowing
with His Spirit, and, dear friends, you shall know what it is to
"be holy,' and day by day to "perfect holiness in tlie fear of
the Lord."
'I
IN Tin-: \\'[i.I)i:r\i:ss.
HkIIIIKWS III. 7. TO IV. 1 1.
is to
ar of
OUll stinly t()-<liiy is tlm fourth liook of Mosc.m, calk'd in
most lit'lircw liil)lo.s, " In the Wiltk-rnas.s : " calkul l»y us,
" Nuinlters," lifcauso of tlto nuinliurinj^s of the chililron
of Israel at thi^ lie^iniiint;' and towards tlu) end of tiie book.
We liavo stn^n in (icntisis, (iod oksctint; the nation of Israel, in
tile person of their ^reat ancestor Ahruhani. In Kxodiis, (Jod
redeeminj; Mis people; hrinj^in;; them up out of Kj,'ypt ; and
revealinjr to them j^lorious privile;;es and possibilities of guid-
ance, of provision, of joy, etc. In Leviticus, we foimd Ood
teachiiif^ this chosen and reck'emed people how to draw near to
Him throuj^h the sacrifices; which typified our means of access
in drawing nigh by the Blood of Jesus ; and the deep need of
holiness of heart and life ; lioliness which entered into every
detail of their personal affairs, of their family life, of their
social customs, of their business transactions, of their sanitary
arrangements; holiness which could only be known by the' full
surrender of all to (}od, and by the application of the cleansing
blood and the anointing oil. Now our fourth book opens with
this chosen, redeemed, holy })eople, called forth to bo warriors
in the name of the Lord, for in chapter i. 2, God says to Moses,
" Take ye the sum of all the congregation of the children of
Israel after their families, by the house of their fathers, with
the number of their names, every male by their polls ; from
twenty years old and upward, all that are able to go forth to
war in Israel : thou and Aaron shall number them by their
armies." This expression, " All that were able to go forth to
war," is found fourteen times in tlie first chapter. Alany Chris-
tians begin to fight before they know anything about either
access to God, or holiness of heart and life ; but notice the
position in which God puts the enrolling of His soldiers as an
army to go forth to victory against His enemies. It is after
they have learned how to draw near by the blood and through
ilM
%fc|
i i ■
224
IN 'JIIK WILDKUNKSS.
'isr
l>: M
till' ^rciit lii,i,'li prii'st : it. is after they have known what it is to
1)1' wholly siirrcndortMl to Mini, an<l to he taken jiossession of
and sanctitied hy Mini; I/ii'h (Jod calls them to bo I lis stTvants
and His soldiers. (Jod takes this hu^e nioh, you may almost
say, of (hMnoralized slaves, and turns ti»em by Mis transform-
11114 power and ^ract' into an army wlueh He calls "The liosts
of Jehovali." Is it not wonderful that He can take up creatures
like you and me: that He can take all the remnants and relics
of our slaver\' awav from us; makinir us " stroni; in the Lord
and in the ))ower of His mij^ht." to be His faitld'ul servant*
and soldiers to our lives' end !*
Those of you who are takin;,' notes, put down these passaijes
in the Word of (Jod, which ijive us an epitome of the book of
Nund)ers: Nehemiah i.\., Hebrews iii. and iv., Psalms Ixxviii.,
xcv. and cvi., I Corinthians x., and read them carefully, for
they brinj.; out its characteristic features, and its special teach -
inij. You will notice that the description is two-fold ; on the
one side there is a beautiful line of (Jod's faithfulness and
wisdom; (Jod's tenderness an() forixivinir love; (Jod ijuidin<r Hi»
peopl(>, and dealinj^ with them .so as to win them back to
obedience; and on the other side a crooked line of perversity
or waywanhiess, of discontent, of unbelief, of rebellion on the
part of the children of Israel. TiiEV " niurmured in their tents ;
they believed not his word," "They dealt proudly, and hartlened
their necks;' "they wore di.sobedient," "They forgat hi.s
works . . . they spake against (Uod. ' " Hi T Tiiou n^t a (Jod
ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of
great kindness, and forsookest them not ' — it is throughout, the
contrast between (Jod's grace and their perpetual starting aside
like a broken bow, in frowardness and disobedience. And in
Numl)ers, we find those two lines running all through, which
you may easily trace by the beginnings of each chapter. Jf a
chapter begins, " And the Lor' spake," you may be sure you
will come upon some bo.''utiful link with that straight line of
righteousness, love, tenderness and wisdom. And if a chapter
begins with the ominous words, "And the people," "And all the
congregation," ' And Israel, " you know that you have come
upon the twisted line of perversity, of murmuring, of unbelief
— '■ And the people con>plained, ' " All the children of Israel
murmured."
This terrible history the Holy Ghost, in His commentary
upon Numbers in the epistle to the Hebrews, calls " the provo-
cation, the day of temptation in the wilderness," and it occu-
pies the time between the two numberings of the people, in
IN TIIK WII.DKILNKSS.
22.'.
the
tMits ;
lenecl
his
(Jod
ui of
t, the
aside
ml in
liich
If a
you
ne of
aptor
ill the
come
belief
Israel
;ntary
)rovo-
occu-
ile, in
chapters i., iii. and xxvi. And the second nuiuherinjjf is a very
sail story. Not one of all tliat host of armed men, or of all tiiat
multitude of the servants of God, of the family of Levi, were to
be found on tlie second roll-call, with the exception of Caleb, the
son of .lephunneh, and Joshua, the son of Nun. In chapters
i. 40 and iii. 81), you will find that when they were numbered
the first time they were (503,550 soldiers, besides 22,000 Levites.
but in the second numbering (chapter xxvi. 51, G2 to (54) we
find that " amonj^ these there was not a man of them wliom
Moses and Aaron the priest numbered when they numbered the
children of Israel in tlie wilderness of Sinai ; for the Lord had
said of them, they shall surely die in the wilderness. And
there was not left a man of them save Caleb, the son of
Jephunneh, and Joshua, the son of Nun." And chapter xxxii.
l.S tells us, "The Lord's anoer was kindled a<;ainst Israel, and
he made them to wander in the wilderness forty years, until all
the generation that had done evil in the sight of the Lord was
consumed." This host which Ood had numbered and prepared
to go forth to the possession of the land of promise, which He
had given to their fathers: this armed host all perished because
of the choice which they maile to walk by sight instead of by
faith. Vou remember the story, how when they got to the
border of the land of Canaan, which God had given them to
possess, Moses sent out spies to search the land, and they came
back with a splendid report of its fertility, but they said (chap-
ter xiii. \U -38) : " We be not able to go up against the people for
they are stronger than we. And they brought up an evil
report of the land which they had searched, unto the children of
Israel, saying. The land, through which we have gone to .search
it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof ; and all
the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. And
there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the
giants ; and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so
we were in their sight." In the thirtieth verse : " And ( 'aleb
stilled the people before Moses, and said. Let us go up at once,
and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it." Those
two men, Caleb and Joshua, looked at Him who had promised,
and reckoned Him faithful that had promised, and believed
that " in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies
of Israel" thej- were well able to go up and possess it;
but the people chose to walk by sight instead of by faith,
and that turned the tide of their history for forty years.
In chapter xiv. 22 to 38, God pronounces His punish-
ment upon those who had made this awful choice : " Surely
ir.
I ■
\i I
m^
•22G
IN Tin; WILDKKNESS.
i i
t"i.
tliey shall not ^ee the land . . neither slmll any
of them that provoked me see it. . . . As for you, }our
carcases shall fall in this wilderness. And your children shall
wander in the wilderne.ss forty years, and hear yuur whoredi»ni.«,
until your carcases he wasted in the wilderness. After the
iinmber of day.s in which ye searched the land, even forty ilays,
-each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty
years, and ye shall know my breach of promise," or " altering
of my pur]K)se ; "' or, as it is in the French Bible, "Ye shall
know that I liave interrupted the course of my blessings." God
never changed His mind or His glorious purpo.se of blessing
Israel, His beloved and chosen people, blessing them to the
utmost of His promises; and by and by we shall see those
promises poured out upon them when they are gathered a<:ain
in their own land. (!od never changed the purpose of His
heart to bless them, but through their disobedience and unbelief
the current of His purpose was interrupted ; and insteail of
pouring out blessing without stint and without stay upon them,
He liad to stop for discipline and teaching, for searching and
restoring them to the path of obedience bei'ore the}' could be
fully blessed. Dear friends, is it so with any of you here i
Have von been following day by day in tiiese K-'adint's God's
wonderful purpo.ses in redemption, God's preparation for our
drawing nigh unto Him, and God's supply for holiness of heart
and life :* Have you been listening to all that God lias promised,
and then have you said in j'our heart, "It is a good land and a
large, and it would be well worth entering into, if — bnf"—"\ixii it
is not for me;" "but it is all .sodifficult," and you havecut yourself
off from blessing because you dare not go right forward in
faith. Faith is the victory that overconieth. It is by the
" precious faith " that we take all " the exceeding great, and
precious promises" by which we become "partakers of the
•divine nature." Oh, I beseech you, if you have turned aside
from entering into the land of promise because of unbelief,
stop and listen to to-day's les.son. God says that with the
froward man He shows Himself froward. " Froward " is com-
posed of two words, from and towards. It de.scribes a person
who is moving in such a way that you really don't know
whether they are coming to j'ou or not; going to keep with
you or not — they come towards you, and they go away ; from and
towards, to and fro, up and down, uncertain; and tliat is what
the.se people were, they "set not their heart aright, and their
spirit was not stedfast ^vith God," sometimes choosing their own
way, sometimes going God's way. Dear friends, you never can
, ii
IN Tin: WILDEKXKSS.
227
irt
d,
1 a
ut it
elf
in
the
at\d
tlie
ade
lief,
the
oin-
rson
now
with
and
•hat
iheir
«)\vn
can
untiir into pertVct peace, vi»u never can possess tlie exeeoilint;
yreat and precious promises tliat there are ftjr us in our
liind of promise, .lesus Clirist, if you are ^'oinj^ to walk hy
siirht; for as soon as von heoin to walk 1)V si<fht instead of hv
faith, vou will he driven ahout with overv wind, unstable as
water, you shall not excel, j'ou will he " like a wave of the sea,
<lriven with the wind and tossed," and "let not that man think
that he shall receive anythinj^ of the Lord " ; there can be
nothing for you but discipline, searching, reproof, uneasiness,
wiKlerne.ss wandering, defeat, which never was God's purpose
for any one of His children.
Our CJod is the God of order, so when the first numbering of
His army is complete, He divides the whole camp of the children
of Israel into beautiful marching order, setting four divisions
of the camp headed by the standards of dudah, of Reuben, of
Kphraim and of Dan, with their signs or crests of the lion, the
man, the ox and the eagle, at the four (juarters of the camp,
and in the centre the Tabernacle of the conoreuation with the
glory of the TiOril resting upon it, and His presence manifested
with them in their midst. " The Lord thy Ciod in the midst of
thee is mighty,"' and the beauty and order of this camp evidently
struck Balaam ver}' much as he looked from the heights upon
the whole host of the children of Israel in the vallej' beneath
(chapter xxiii. 9, 10; xxiv. 2, 5, etc), for he goes into a kind
of poetical ecstasy over " Israel abiding in his tents according
to tiieir tribes," and '' the number of the fourth part of Israel,"
no doubt referring to the four divisions into which the camp
was divided by the Lord their God.
But beside the army there were the Levites. God has His
soldiers and His servants ; so in chapters iii. and iv. we have
two things concerning the Levites .specially brought before us.
First, the order and burden of their service ; that is to say, the
work of it, what we should call the detail of it ; and on the other
hand the perpetual and abundant supply for that service, God
never separating the two. How often we run oft' on some
errand for the Lord without having taken in our proper supply
for that service I How often we run oft* to do something for
God before we have been nourished and strengthened by the
food for our souls provided b}' God ! The next thing we find
(chapter v.) is God commanding then\ to search carefully
through the camp, and watch against the introduction of dis-
ease or impurity, or anything which could disorganize or defile
and corrupt the host : " Keep yourselves from every unclean
thing." Then we have more with regard to God's service, and
H' ?i
22S
IN THE WILDEllNKSS.
f
|i' >
II
eighth
the preparation for His service, through the seventh and
chapters.
And now everything is ready for the victorious march
forward, and for the people to go up and take possession of
tlieir land, so in chapter ix. the Lord directed them to keep the
Feast of the Passover to remind them, before they start forth,
of His past glorious deliverance of them from the land of
Kgypt. And immediately after that (verses 15 to 2.*}) there is
the account of God coming down in the cloud upon the taber-
nacle to be their guide : " On the day that the tabernacle was
reared up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, namely, the tent of
the testimony : and at even there was upon the tabernacle as it
were the appearance of fire, until the morning. So it was al-
way : the cloud covered it by day and the appearance of Hre
by night. And when the cloud was taken up from the
tabernacle then after that the children of Israel journeyed : and
in the place where the cloud abode, there the children of Israel
pitched their tents. At the conunandment of the Lord the
children of Israel journeyed, and at the commandment of the
Lord they pitched : as long as the cloud abode upon the
tabernacle they rested in their tents. And wlien the cloud
tarried long upon the tabernacle many days, then the children
of Israel kept the charge of the Lord, and journeyed not. And
so it was, when the cloud was a few days upon the taber-
nacle, according to the commandment of the Lord they abode
in their tents, and according to the connnandment of the Lord
they journeyed. And so it was, when the cloud abode from
even unto the morning, and that the cloud was taken up in the
morning, then they journeyed : whether it was by day or by
night that the cloud was taken up, they journeyed. Or whether
it were two days, or a month, or a year, that the cloud tarried
upon the tabernacle, remaining thereon, the children of Israel
abode in their tents, and journeyed not ; but when it was taken
up, they journeyed. At the commandment of the Lord they
rested in the tents, and at the commandment of the Lord they
journeyed : they kept the charge of the Lord, at the command-
ment of the Lord by the hand of Moses."
In the 10th chapter we have gladness and progress spoken
of, for they " took their journey according to the command-
ment of the Lord by the hand of Moses," and thej' were
so full of joy under the leadership of Jehovah, that we
find Moses witnessing to this and to their glorious prospects
when he .said : " We are journeying unto the place of which
the Lord said I will give it you: come thou with us and wfr
IX THE WILDERNESS.
'2-29
id-
ire
I we
lets
lich
we
will do thee good ; for the Lord hath spoken good con-
cerning Israel. . . . And they departed from the Mount
of the Lord three days' journey; and the ark of the
covenant of the Lord went before them in the three day.s'
journey, to .search out a resting-place for them. And the cloud
of the Lord was upon them by day, when they went out of the
camp. And it came to pass wlien the ark .set forward, that
Moses said, Rise up, LouD, and let Thine enemies be .scattered ;
and let them that liate Thee flee before Thee. And when it
rested, he said, Return O Loud, unto the many thousands of
Israel."
You will say, what more can be wanted i" Surely every-
thing is going on prosperously. God has the whole of this
nation in hand, and under His government : He has organized
a standing army ; He has perfect order in the camp , there
are the people feasting and rejoicing in the .strength of the Lord,
and in His great salvation, they are obedient to His leading,
and confident in His future blessing. But the opening verse of
the next chapter, — the very next word to the prayer, " Ileturn, ()
Jehovah, unto the many thousands of Israel ' — has that ominous
beginning : " And when the people complained, it displeased
the Lord; and the Lord heard it and His anger was kindled;
ixnd the fire of the Lord burnt amongst them, and consumed
them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp." Again
and again you will find this story ; however God dealt with
them, they were always grumbling, and discontented, always
<luestioning whether God was doing the best thing for them,
always disputing as to what the next step .should be, instead of
planting their feet down in the obedience of faith, and giving
thanks for His guidance and provision. And do you notice not
only the murmurings against God's arrangements, but there is
also resentment against the authority of those whom God had
set over them. In the 12th chapter it is Miriam and Aaron,
who ought to have been examples to the whole congregation,
despising Moses' government and finding fault with Moses
instead of praying for him, yielding to him, recognizing him as
the one whom (lod had placed in office, seeing in him the
representative of God, and giving honor to whom honor is due —
there they are finding fault and picking to pieces the leader
whom God had set over them. Such an example is very catch-
ing, so in the l()th chapter, we find Korah, Dathan, Abiram,
and On, with 250 princes of the assembly, gathering themselves
against Moses and Aaron and complaining of their authority
and rule over Israel.
u
11
1 )
.1
f •"' ^
«
1
v!l
;■■ Vi
\
•2t]0
IN THE WILDKUNKSS.
At
m
iif
I
i f
il!
' !i;
IBB k
^'1
It is of the utmost ini|)oitance for us to notice these two
features in the iiuckslidin;;' of the children of Israel, beeauso
I believe we sliall find in them the chu; to all our own back-
slidint>s. No sooner had the children of Israel irot out of
Ej^ypt and on to the other shore of the Red Sea, than tht.'V
be<'an ijruniblinii over such matters as eatinj; and drinkin"-';
and as we uo throu}j[h Numbers we find them ''rumblinf; at
the taste of their food, and i-rumbliii^' at (Jod's arran<irinents
for them ; o[roaniii;;' and murmurin(<; (jver everythin;;'. Many
people have not the slightest idea of the awful sin of j;rainblin;;' ;
and therefore think it is a very little matter. They let it ^et
hold of them, and they do not see how they are bei^innini;-
to slide down hill, and that they will very soon land at tlu^
bottom. Some little time ago, I made a note in my IVible
of the ditierent sins mentioned in Numbers into which the
children of Israel fell, beginning with this sin of grumbling.
Here it is: follow it very carefully, for tiiis is what God says of
the way in which Israel slid, and slid, and backslid away from
Him : The people complained ; lusted (let their desires go out
after what was not ( lod's provision for them); wept; despised
the Loud ; spake against Moses and Aaron ; murmured : rebelled;
provoked ; doubted ; tempted God ; transgressed ; were pre-
sumptuous against the Lord ; strove with (Jod ; spake against
God ; became discouraged ; and at last fell into gross whoredom
and idolatry. I don't suppose there was one amongst all that
great host who, when they started grumbling, had any idea of
getting down to the abyss of whoredom and idolatry, so that
they could not be recognized as (lod's people from the wicked,
licentious heathen around them. They were .so mixed up with
the Moabites and their ways that God had to deal with them
in a terrible manner, God had to cut off every one of tho.se who
had sinned, in judgment, before He could lead forth His hosts
according to His promise into the land of Canaan. This is a
lesson of the deepest importance to us : in my own life, and as
I have watched the lives of others, I have seen again and again
this habit of grumbling or murmuring, as the thin end of the
devil's wedge or as the first tilt down the sliding scale that has
brought people into back.sliding, and into gross evil. Oh, dear
friends, I beseech of you to watch against it, for you don't
know what a hold it has upon you, this habit of grum-
bling, until you watch and pray against it, and seek for
yourselves the spirit of praise, which is the characteristic
of God's children. If every one of you here start this
very day and say, by the grace of God, I will never
IN THE WiLDEKNKSS.
'I'M
his
{,'rumlil(' a^'iiin, you will he astonisiieil before the day is over ((>•
tind how it has <f(jt j)Os.se,s.sion of you. The weather is had; your
tea is too sweet; the chops are half cold; the potatoes half
done ; the parlor maid is unpunctual ; the storeuiati did not
send up your parcel when he promised ; somethinn^ or other will
set you ijfruniblintf before the ni<^ht comes, unless God in 11 is
mercy, has really delivered you from this sin.
In I'hilippians ii. 14, I'), there is a very remarkable passaifi' :
" Do all thin<^s without murnuirinjrs and disjmtini^s, that ye
may be blameless and harndess, the sons of God, without rebuke
in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, amon;.^ whom ye
shine as li<;hts in the world. " Do you see f The road to
perfection is to f;et rid of this evil habit ! "J)o all thiufrs with-
out murmurintfs and disputin<^s flntt ijou ma// hf blameless and
harmless and without rebuke " — inside and out free from
every thintif which would dim the lijjfht of the <jflory of (!od by
desus Christ, and by the power of the Spirit shining through
you in this dark world. And, dear friends, if you Imve ever
lived as I have, with one who has been saved from this habit,
and tilled with the spirit of praise, you would know what a
marvellous light it is, what a marvellous power it is, what a
marvellous inspiration it is, and what a very .searching and
reproving thing it is as you catch yourself, in sad contrast to
their ble.s.sed example, grumbling at every turn. The l^ord tells
us in 1 Thessalonians v. 18 : "In everything give thanks, for
this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. ' But
you say, "My experiences are peculiarly trying."' In everything
— those peculiar circumstances of yours — give thanks, for this
is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning yon. You say,
" But the devil is always tempting me." Very well, you are
just the one who ought to be shouting the shout of praise,
because it is at the shout of triumph that Satan's host doth tlee.
You remember, it was by the shout of praise that dehoshaphat
and his little army got victory over those three mighty hosts in
2 Chronicles xx. 22, etc.: "And when they began to sing and
to praise " — when faith had risen up to praising pitch — not
saying, " I hope God will deliver me," but rejoicing in the cer-
tainty, " God w going to deliver me ; ' nay, more, " God has
undertaken the battle, God is at work for me ajjainst the
enemy." They poured forth the song of praise as they went
forth before the hosts of the Lord; and when they began to
praise, the Lord .set ambushments against the enemy, and such
a glorious victory was won that it took three days to gather
the spoil. So you who are specially tempted are the one to-
'I
! ■ ; p
Oi
* !
|i
1
i ■
1
1
1 :
i
1-'
•
• i
h«
l!
2:}2
IN INK WILDKKNKSS.
fill
ill
start pmisinrj now, lierc, just as you sit tliere in your seat.
But anc^tlior of you may say, " My health is such that I
^'ot very oasily depressed. " That is just what the cliildren of
Israel did, their heart was discouraj^ed because of tlie way.
What you want is to bo " strengthened with all iMi<,dit accord-
ing to his glorious power, unto all patience and long-.sufiering,
with joy fulness." " In everything give thanks," for you, of all
people in the world, want the tonic of a praising spirit if you
sutter from natural depression, and if you have weak nerves.
Ask the Lord to purge you from this beginning of all evil —
discontent. What was it that made Eve yield to the tempter
in Eden f A secret heart grumble — "I do not see why I should
not taste that tree as much as any of the others " — a secret
heart grund)le that God might have done rather better by them
than He had done. If we learn nothing else to-day, let us
learn that we can be, and must be saved from murmuring and
all that natural inward questioning, disputing and discontent ;
that the .spirit of praise may be put into us, and the new .song
into our mouths. In Numbers xxi. Ki-l.S, you find the people
called upon to sing when the well brought refreshing water to
them for the moment ; but you do not get one hearty song of
praise in Numbers like that in Exodus after redemption, when
Israel sang this song : " The Lord is Tuy strength and my salva-
tion ; the Lord saves with his glorious right hand ; the Lord
hath dashed in pieces the enemy."
A few words about that other form of grumbling which has got
into our religious life, complaining of our ministers and the
orticers in our congregations and churches, instead of speaking
of them with special love and reverence, because of the
difficulty of their position, and because of their great need of
our prayers and sympathy. This sin is terribly common, and
a great deal of the awful weakness in our churches is owing
to this spirit among.st us. Miriam and Aaron found fault with
Moses, and perhap.s Moses was to be blamed in that matter of
the Ethiopian woman, but it was not their business to point at
him and to throw stones at him ; and yoia find God smiting
Miriam, and turning her into a leper, and speaking to them in
stern reproof, and defending His servant because he stood
before the people as God's representative, and He says, With
my servant Moses, the meek man, the lowly one, I will speak
mouth to mouth. Do ask the Lord to show you if in this
matter you are at fault, for one can scarcely ever talk about
a church, or a society, or any religions work, but what you are
sure to hear something said in reproach against the leaders or
m ■:
IN TIIK WII.DKUNESS.
'2Xi
ing
dth
oi
at
this
30Ut
are
s or
cliief workers. This spirit is (k'tostalilo to Clod. And rcniombt'r
how in the second instanei; of tliis sin in Num. .\vi., we noticed
that the example had sprea<l as assuredly it will. It' you he<;in
finding' fault with your minister to someotje in your drawin<:f-
room, they will be sure to add a littlt! fuel. "'Oh, yes, I heard
another thinj^ a<^ainst him. What ih)y()U think lie did the other
tiay ^" and the flame will spread like wildfire. Hut what does
(jiod do :* He opens the earth's mouth and swallows them up,
for He saj's tliat such dealings conte from the pit, and down
into the pit they shall <fo. Oh, I heseech of you toletdod
search you on these two points. What are you iloino; in rej^ard
to those whom God in His providence has ])ut to l>e the head
of your congre<^ation f or of whatever special reli<jfious work
you are linked witli ^ that lady who manajres the Society ! that
secretary who spends all his time, ^oes to hed late at ni<j;ht, and
works liard to keep thin<fs <^M)inif in that Association^ Ho
you think you are ffoiiifj to put everythini;- rijrht by tindiny;
fault with them ? ()h, may (lod baptize us ' ith the spirit of
love when He has cleansed out of us all this talebearinnj and
bitterness and malice, and all evil speakin<:f, all evil speaking,
ALL evil speaking. May He baptize us with love, and with the
spirit of praise that rises up to Him in perpetual thanksgivino;,
and that tells out to others His jroodness with gladness. And
love that will make us shield our sisters and brothers, especially
if they are in a position of prominence, especially if they have
given to them work which means government, and organization,
and difficulties that you, from your point of view, know nothing
about.
And then, dear friends, notice particularly in Numbers that
it is not ( Jod dealing with the unconverted sinner, it is God
dealing with the sin of His own people. Now, sin in a believer
is far worse than sin in a heathen, and (!od will deal with it
most detinitely. Over and over again we are taught this, in
the most searching pas.sages of the Word, that judgment begins
at the house of God. And there, too, is a warning to those
who are outside of Christ, that if God is so minute and search-
ing in his dealings with sin in His own people, let them beware
when their day of reckoning comes, for He " will by no means
clear the guilty."
But with us as His people He will assuredly deal partic-
ularly with every sin. You cannot slur over any sin.
Not until this matter had been thoroughly dealt with
could God re-organize His people, as it were, into an army
that could go up to victory and po.ssess the land. But having
!'!
1 , I
1
i
i
■It-
' i-i '
' ' ' ■ f
w^mi
I
I
t'liii
If; |>i^
234
IN llli: WII.DKItNKSS.
|)ur<,'('(l tlif whole oaiiii) of tlic inunmu'crs, iitnl tin- milK^lievors
and the tnuisirrcssors, then we <fet the second nunilierin'' ot' the-
people in the twenty-sixth chapter for LTnini,' tip into tin; hiini
for rest and vietory. Notice, too, how (iod dealt with these
G2.'),r)4S souls -he di^sti'oyed them by lire, l)y the pla;^MU', by
defeat, when they wen; mowed (h)wn in battle, by tlie onlinary
process of sickness and death, by sendinj; tiery serpents amonn'
tliem, and by the earth opening,' and swailowin^j; tiiem up. N'es,
(iod shows us in this book of Numbers that sin in His own
people shall not be tolerated for a moment, and that unless they
are willing;' to yield it up and l)e saved from it, wilderness
wanderin;^ and utter loss will lie their portion, and the whole
of their life-work will l)e burn<'(| up. I)e willinj,', therefore, to
let the Lord deal with you about sins which you may have
thoujiht little sins, like 'fruml»iin<r, deal with xou about ever\-
sinijle sin that has come into vour life and driven the smile of
your (Iod from you.
In closing, let us turn to the verses in Hebrews, which we
read at the beginninu; -" let us fear lest a pronnse being left *'■<
of entering into rest" — ^ju.st as it was to tiiose children of
Israel — "any of i/oa should seem to come .short of it" — lest
any of i/ou should fall after the same example of unbelief.
Beware lest you miss all that God has for you in < 'hrist .lesus.
" Let us hasten, therefore, to enter into that rest." Oh, the
perfect peace I oh, the wealth of promise that God has for us ".
Beware lest you miss it all by only hearing with your ears, and
not accepting the message with faith as 30U hear it. '' For the
gospel was preached unto us as well as unto them, but the
word preached did not profit them, not l)eing mixed with faith
in them that heard it.'' Don't e\er listen to a promise fronj
(Jod of redemption, of provision, of guidance, of access, of
holiness, such as we have been having the.se last few days,
without mixing it up with faith, without saying, "Yes, Lord,
it is for me. I take it by faith from thee. I (to not under-
stand all it means, but make that true in me to-day for.Ie.sus'
sake.' Amen.
IX rill' LAM).
I)Kl TKltuNOMV VI. 1
Kl'IIEslANS I. :}. 4.
TlIK liook of Dt'utoronoiny is our sul)jt;ct for to-day. A
lon<; imme with a vt-ry simple meaning,' — Tliu Second
Law, or tiie Second Giving of tiie F^aw — because in
thi.s book we Hnd Mose.s i-ivini.; aixain to the children of Israel
the Law of Ood which we have liad elaborated in detail
throu<^h Kxodus ami Lfsviticus. It is here proclaimed to the
^'eneration who had sprurii,' up after the terrible di.scipline of
tho.se forty years in the wilderness, who were just about to ;^'0
up under the command of doshua into full possession of the
latul, and into victory over the enemies of tiie Lord. The
devil has a particular hatred for this book, and he has set a
jj[reat many sceptics and critics throwin;j; stones at it; so before
we start our study, we mi{j;ht look at a few of the reasons why
(Jod says we should specially pay attention to His words in
Deuteronomy. You may be sure if the enemy tries to draw
you ott' anythintf, it is because there is a special blessinn;
wrapped up in it; and whenever you hear anything; said
against thi.s blessed, this everlasting book, the Bible, 1
beseech you, dear friends, not to give your ear to the doubts
and the slanders : but to go to the book itself, make ac(|uaint-
ance with it, find out its character, open your heart to God's
revelation, and see if He does not make that temptation of
the enemy an occasion for fresh blessinfj. I found it to be so
with regard to this book of Deuteronomy, as I will now show
you. The Lord has given us several ren.sons for believing it to
be one of the most important in this precious volume.
The first thinj; to notice is this : Afjain and ajjain we have
the cry ringing out from the lips of Moses, " Hearken and
hear"; and he not only calls upon the people of Israel, but
upon the heaven above and the earth beneath to listen to the
words which in this book he is proclaiming from the mouth
of God himself. " Give ear, ye heavens, . . . and hear.
i- ! ii
-f. ,'
»■ (f
2-Mi
IN TIIK LAND
I 1»
:!i
() ciirtli. ' His chill U'U<,'i'.s to tlio peojilc you will si-f, fnr
instaMcc, in cliapttT iv. 1: "Now, thcrrt'ori', liiurkfii (»
Israel"; chapter v. I : " Moses callcil all Israel aiiil said unto
thfuj. Hear, () Israel, the stattites . . ." : chapter vi. 4:
" Near, () Israel: the Lord our (lot! is one j^onl,' »!tc. Now, a
repeated cry like that to hearken and hear shows there i«
something' in this hook which we nnist on no account nusH, or
we shall miss it to our »'terrial loss. Is it not like .lesus, the
livinif Word proclaiming', when He was on earth: 'He that
hath ears to hear, let liiui hear," and in tlu^ hook of Kevelation :
■' He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto
the churches." So there is a call to listen to the l''ather s
voice, to listen to the Son's voice, to listen to the Ht)ly Cih'ist,
and it is at our peril that we do not hearken and hear all the
words that are written iti this hook oi' the law /" ilo them.
Anotlier thin;;' to notice is, that as soon as it was writti'U
Mo.ses called the Levites and ^'ave them a special command
with regard to this roll of the law, naniely, that it was to he
put into the safest and most sacred place which could he found
in the camj) of Israel, (l)eut. .\.\xi. 24 to 2(j. ) ' And it came
to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of
this law in a hook, until they wen; finished, that Moses com-
manded the Levites which hare the ark of the covenant of the
Lord, sayin<f, Take this hook of the law and put it in the side
of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your (iod, that it may
he there for a witness ai^ainst thee." So this hook was safely
deposited in the place over which hovered the ^lory of the
awful presence of the Lord their God.
Again we find a command given (verses 11 to UJ), that at
the great annual gathering of the children of Israel every
seventh year, the whole of this hook was to he read aloud hefore
the congregation of men, women and children. That alone
gives it a signiticance which shows us that we cannot and must
not pass it over in our Bible studies. "When all Israel is
come to appear before the Lord thy God, in the ))lace which
He shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel in
their hearing, (lather the people together, men, and women,
and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that
they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the Lord
your God, and observe to do all the words of this law."
Again, the Lord appoints that when the kingdom shall be
established in Israel, the king He sets over the nation to rule
them, shall have special reganl to this book of the law, and in
chapter xvii. 18 to 20 we see what he is to do: "And it shall
IX TIIK I, AND.
•J:t7
lie w'lifti 1))' Hitti'tl) uputi till' tlirnno of his kitii^tloiii, tliiit he
shall write him u copy of this law in ii Ixiok. Very lahorious
you say. to write it all out, l>ut it would imprint it upon his
memory. " He shall write him a eopy of tliis law in a hook
nut of that wliich is hefon- the priests the litjvites; and it shall
lie with him, ami he shall read therein nil the days of his lift*,
tliat he mnv learn to fear the Lord ids («od, to ket'p all the
words of this law. and these statiites to do theni : tliat his
heart l)e not lifted up aliovi; his lirethreii, and that he turn not
aside from the commandment to tht.' ri^^ht hatnt or to the left;
to the end that lie may prolon;^' his days in Ids kin^'dom, he,
and his children, in the nddst of Israel. ' And you may rememht^r,
in the time of the youn;,' kin;,' ilosiah, when this hook was
found in the houst; of the Lord, that it was tiie foundation of
that <,'lorioUM reformation of true reli^^jion and of real spiritual
worship wldcli took place in ids rei^^n.
Hut we have a hi<,dier seal than that upon this hook of
Deuteronomy. When the; Lord .lesus met the devil in sin;.;le
comhat in the wilderness, and witli three (|Uotations from the
Scriptures con(|Uered tlie enemy with " It is written,'' He drew
each of those sword thrusts from tlu; book of Deuteronomy.
Now let us traci' in outline tlie scheme of tins hook, 'i'he
first four chapters, that is to sa}', up to the 4th chapter and
4()tii verse, is an Adthess <nven hv Aloses to the whole conirre-
gation of Israel in tlie jilains of Moab, just before they went
into the land of promise to possess it. In this address Mo.se.s
recapitulates their past history, an<l <:foes over those wonderful
dealint's of (ioil with them wldch we have been lookin'' into
durinj; the last four days.
He reminds them of the redemption by which God brought
them out of Egypt, and saved them from the power of Pharaoh;
he reminds them of how God drew them near to Him.self ; and of
all the provision that God made ft)r them to be a holy people
for His own pos.session ; he reminds them of the law which God
gave amid the fire and terrors of Sinai, and alas ! he ha.s also
to remind them of their own perversity and unbelief; their in-
gratitude and waywardness. Side by side with the beautiful
straight line of God's redeeming grace, he has to put that
twisted line of their disobedience and unbelief. And by a
beautiful logical sequence he proves how these two lines of their
past history should lead to two results. As to them.selves, they
were to " beware " and to " take heed " lest they fell ; since thej'
had proved their utter worthlessne.ss, their weakness and in-
stability. On the other hand He calls upon them again and
' ! '
:■ { ::
'.'•■ .: 'i
'; ii;
'-'1 1
■ I
■ r[
1
■ I '
r
J
t
V
, l..
■r
1
'fi
t
238
IN THE LAND.
V
iR
m
i
15
I' . 'C
•■jL
f 'I
ai^ain to "reinemV.er " tho Lord, ami all lie has done with and for
them. Notice that specially — ^how He makes them look hick
into the past ; hut not as a nnison foi- diseouraj;ement. J tind
that a fifreat many (Miristians look into their past experience,
and use it as an ar^^ument for beinj; cast down and depressed.
Not a bit of it, dear friends. When the awful sin of the past
is confes.sed, forj^iven, and cleansed, the memory of the past is
to be used by us only as a warnin<;, as an encoura<^enjent, and an
incentive to watchfulness; encoura<i;ement, because we remember
what a (}od we have to deal with, how patient He has been
with us, how faithful He is, how sjfracious, how tender in His
compassion ; and watchfulness, lest for one moment that evil
spirit of solf-contldence, and fortjetfulness should creep inafrain;
but never for discouraojement. Will you take it as an axiom
of your (Jhristian life that all doubts and all discouratrenients
come from the devi' and never come from (lod ? No, when the
Lord points you back to the pjist it is in order to strenijthen
your faith in what He is, and to loosen your confidence in what
you are. This means glorious possibilities for the future of
blessini^ and power.
The next thinjif we come to in this book is that which ijives
it its name, the proclamation of the Law, for the second time
as you will see by chapter iv. 44 to chapter xxviii. ; but in com-
parinf; it, as I trust j'^ou will do most carefully, with the same
law in Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers, 3'ou will be struck with
one thing, which is that although in practical detail and in
its moral code it is exactly the same law, for Ood's law can
never alter, yet it is delivered upon an entirely different plane ;
it is lifted up to an entirely different spiritual atmosphere, and
in Deuteronomy the law is given with one or two glorious
additions which w^e do not find in the other books, at least we
do not find them emphasized, though they may be hinted at.
The two I would mention to j^ou are the.se : first, " i.ovK " is
revealed in this book for the first time as the bnsis of all God's
dealings with His children ; love from the heart of (Jod pour-
ing forth over His creatures ; the law being only the fencings
of His love, put up in perfect wi.sdom to hedge His people
round from all that might injure or defile or destroy them.
And love is revealed as that l«y which alone they could fulfil,
or fill up to the full, the law V)v which God willed their lives to
be shaped. In chapter iv. 37, Moses says: "Because He loved
thy fathers, therefore He chose their .seed after them, and
brought thee out in His sight with His mighty power out of
Egypt." And again, chapter vii. 7 : " The Lord did not set His
IN rHK I.AM).
•2;i'.)
'K IS
GocVs
pour-
ll^coplo
them.
fulfil,
Ives to
loved
11, and
lout of
let His
love upon vou, nor choose vou, hocause ye were more in numher
than any people ; for ye were the fewest of all people ; hut
hecaus(( the Lord loved you and l)eeause He would kerp the
oath which lie liad .sworn to your fathers, hath the Lord hrought
you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you out of the house
<if bondmen from the hand of IMiaraoh, kin<; of Kuypt."
♦So Love here is shown to he the power by wliich (iod had con-
«|uered their hearts; and in vi. .'), .\. 12,19, xi. I, \'.\, 22, xxx. IG,
2().xiii. .'}, Love is shownto betlie oidv constrainin;Xi"d'jhtv, steam
ithin th
'hich
dd
II
hlessni*^
b in motion
according to the law of (Jod for His j^h)ry, and for
those around them. Tiie .second word 1 would call
your attention to is " KK.ioicK." We do not i^et the thouifht
that Ood's idea for His children is that they .should be always
liubblinjT over with joy and happiness in the books whicli we
have been lookini; at the last few days ; but we j^et it
sparklin*^ and <^distenin<j; throuj^liout this book ; for example,
in chapter xii. 7, 12, IS: 'There shall ye eat before the Lord
your (Jod, and ye shall rejoice in all that ye ])ut your
liand unto, ye and your households, wherein the Loi-d th}'
(lod hath bles.sed thee. . . . thou shalt rejoice before the
Lord thy CJlod in all that thou puttest thy hands unto." That
is the Lord's purpose for us, that is what love always desires
for the loved one. We parents long for our children to be
happy, joyous, free ; and not that they should be moping and
<luil, sombre and wretched, and that is the wish of our Father
for us. Again and again we get that sweet refrain, " Th.at it
may be well with thee," God saying that all His thoughts, and
all His laws, and all the details of His arrangements for His
people, are only that it may be well with them, that they may
rejoice with all their heart in Him and in His love. He
emphasizes this in a most marvellous way in chapter x.xviii. 45
to 47, warning them that curses would come upon His people,
and that they shouhi be as a sign and a wonder upon them and
upon their seed forever, " Because thou servedst not the Lord
thy God with joyfulness and gladness of heart for the aluind-
ance of all things." He even strengthens the command to
rejoice with a curse ! as it were, to drive them out into the sun-
shine of joy : like a mother who knows that her little girl is only
moping in the liou.se, liecause she has not had enough fresh air;
.so the mother drlrcs her out to play and skip, and in a few
minutes she is repaid for her seeming severity, by seeing the
haj)py little creature jumping and laughing in the garden.
Thus the Lord seeks to drive us with a curse into the fulness of
I' r
!«*
240
IN THE LAND.
niaking
us
joy ! Does not that show how God is bent on
happy ?
Another point to note in regard to the Law is the keep-
inj; of it " with ail the heart " and " with <dl the soul."
This expression you will find repeated at least seven times in
Deuteronomy. God knows that it' we only give half a heart
to anvthing, the thing will never get done, and we shall never
ilo it with any joy or gladness. You can't do a single thing — I
dont care what it is — with half a heart without bringing in a
large element of dulness or of disappointment. So this refrain
goes through it, with all the heart and with all the soul they
are to obey and to do. Then notice those two little words, " to
do," "TO DO." They come in the first chapter (verse 18), and
they come in almost the last chapter (xxxii. 4G), and between
those two verses you will Hnd, fifty times over, the same words
to impress upon them, that all that Moses is saying to
them, all the law that he is proclaiming to them is that they
should do it. Ah ! Moses looked back to the past sad forty
years, and he knew that all the misery and grumbling and
backsliding; all the havoc that had been made in the camp of
Israel from which ()25,.')4S souls had perished in the wilderness ;
all had come from not doing, when they heard what God would
have them to do.
After the Law we have in chapters xxix. and xxx. the
drawing up of a C-ovenant. First, Moses' Address to Israel, then
the Law, now the Covenant : " These are the words of the
Covenant which the Lord commanded Moses to make with
the children of Israel in the land of Moab, beside the cove-
nant which he made with them in Horeb" — which they
had broken. And we find in the thirty-first chapter
that this covenant was read aloud, and ratified on Moses"
birthday, when he came to be 120 years of age. " And Moses
went and spake these words unto all Israel : And he said unto
them, I am an hundred and twenty years old this day," etc.
The next feature of this book, the thirty-second chapter, we
might call the National Anthem of the children of Israel. It is
a song which God told Moses to write as a witness ajjainst His
people, and as a perpetual memorial to them of how He had
dealt with them and how faithfully He had led them, and saved
them, and taught them. He tells Moses also to teach this song
to the children of Israel ; and we read in the thirtieth verse of
the previous chapter : " Moses spake in the ears of all the con-
gregation of the children of Israel the words of this song, until
they were ended."
IN TIIK LAND.
24S
\r, we
It is
It His
had
saved
son»
fse of
con-
I until
The next chapter gives us the Prophetic Blessing whiclj
Moses, just bei'oi'e iiis death, pronounced over all the tribes of
the chiMren of Israel, gazing, hy the power of the Spirit of (Jod
within him, into the future, and drawing a figurative outline
of (Jod's purposes and future dealings with His people.
In the closing chapter, we get the circumstances of Moses"
death ; and that ends our sketch of this wonderful book.
As you search for the treasures in Deuteronomy you will, [
am sure, be struck with the fact that although Moses spoke the
words of this book on the other side Jordan eastward — that is,
in the country of Moab and on the borders of the wilderness
— he spoke them all with this idea, that Israel was by right
of inheritance, according to the oath and promise of (}od,
already in po)isesiiion of the land of Ganian. Every word of
this book is an utterance of faith. You will find Moses speak-
ing forty-eight times o^' their possession of the land as a thing
already to be counted on, as a thing not to be so much looked
forward to as a thing certain to them ; certain to them on the
divine side by God's oath and promise, certain to them on the
human side by the obedience of faith. He charges them again
and again to remember that all they have to do is simply to go
up and possess, to go in and inherit. Over and over, he re-
minds them that the land is theirs : " The land which the Lord
thy (Jod hath given thee." And he does not reckon that any
of the thincrs he tells them in this book can be true of their
national life until they are " in the land." And in the giving
the law to them he says he is only telling them what they are
to do when they ai'e " in the land." He takes it as a settled
purpose of God, and by faith as an accomplished fact in their
history, that they are brought into possession of the land of
promise. It will help you to realize this if in reading through
the book, you put a mark against the expression, " In the
land," as, for instance, in chapters iv. 14, xii. 1 and vi. 1-3 :
" The Lord commanded me at that time to teach you statutes
and judgments, that ye might do them in the land whither ye
go over to possess it." " These are the statutes and judgments
which ye shall observe to do in the land which the Lord God
of thy fathers giveth thee to possess it, all the days that ye live
upon the earth." " Now these are the commandments, the
statutes and the judgments which the Lord your God com-
manded to teach you that ye might do them in the land whither
ye go to possess it. . . . Hear, therefore, Israel, and observe
to do it, that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase
mightily, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee in
16
242
IN THl-: LAND.
, ( 111; ,
i
I!?
\m
m
i:
i .
■I
if 1
i/if land that Howeth with milk and honey." And airain, in
the twenty-sixth chapter and first verse where he is tellinfjf
them of the worship which tliey are to brinjr to Him, " It shall
be when tlioii art come in unto the land which the Lord tliy
Ciod <]fiveth thee for an inheritance and posses.se.st it, and dwell-
est therein," that then thou shalt do this or the other. And in
chapter xxvii. 1, 2, "And Mose!^, with the elders of Israel, com-
manded the people, sayinuf, Keep all the connnandments which
1 command you this day. And it shall be on the day when ye
shall pass over Jordon unto the land which the Lord thy God
giveth thee, that thou shalt set thee up <,'reat stones." So Mcses
recognizes the fact that until they are in, the place which the
Lord their God had chosen for them (in connection with which
He had linked the fulfilment of all His exceeding great and
precious promises), until they were there, obedience, love,
rejoicing, etc., could never be their portion. Dear ^'viends, we
noticed yesterday that there were j)rivileges and possibilities
befoie us into which we had not entered becau.se of our unbe-
lief ; that there was rest and possession for us which we had
not dared to take because we had started aside through fear,
di.scouragement, and .self-will, just as Israel started aside in dis-
obedience and unbelief on the borders of the land of Canaan.
To-day let us go up into the land which the Lord has promised
to give us. And what is our land of promise ? As we were
reminded this morning at the prayer-meeting, our Land of
promise is Jesus himself, and all the fulr^ess of blessing which
God has for us is treasured up in Jesus. For this turn to
2 Corinthians, i. 20, "All the promises of God in h'lni are yea,
and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us." And in that
marvellous New Testament parallel to the book of Deuteron-
omy — I refer, of course, to the Epistle to the Ephesians — you
will find almost the opening words are, " Blessed be the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with
all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ," all the ful-
ness of grace, all the fulne.ss of power through the Holy Ghost,
is treasured up for us by God in Jesus Christ ; and what He
invites you to do to-day is to go up and posse.ss by simple
faith, by simply taking and receiving the word of God's
promise, all that there is for you in Jesus Christ, for " He that
spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all,
how shall he not with hlni ' — not apart from Him, never apart
from Him — " how shall he not ivith him also freely give us all
things." Oh, dear Christians, you have not half entered into
your possessions. You are more than millionaires in grace, and
IN THE LAND.
•24:i
111
yea,
that
eron-
-you
God
with
ful-
host,
t He
imple
God's
that
s all,
apart
us all
1 into
le, and
yet some of you are livinj^ like poverty-stricken paupers. You
have not streni^th eiiouifli to say a word for Jesus, you have not
power over any of your besottint,' sins, you haven't any purpose
in prayer, your faith is liini), and wliy ' You have not entered
into the abundance of iifrace and goodness and glory that is
treasured up for you in desus. (}o up and possess, it is yours.
He has given Jesus to you, He has not picked out a little bit of
grace and said, " Here it is, my child, you must make that last
for some time." That is not the way the Lord treats us, but we
treat Him as if He did so. "It pleased the Father that
in Him (that is, in Jesus) should all fulness dwell." And in
another verse, " In him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead
bodily. And ye are tilled full (complete) in him." Let all
the past experience, all the dreary doubting and murmuring of
Numbers be a thing of the past; let the revelation of
Redemption, as we saw it in the book of Exodus, urge us on
to trust the Lord more and more, that we may " be filled with
all the fulness of God." That word we reatl in Corinthians,
" All the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen,
unto the glory of God by us," comes to me something in this
way : When the Lord Jesus Christ had laid down His life for us
and purchased for us eternal life, and all the wealth of God's
grace. He rose from the dead and ascended up to the Father,
and the Father said to Him, " My Son, for Thy sake, for the
sake of Thy shed blood, for Thy Name's sake, I give every promise
in that book with my solemn yea to all those who will come to
Thee, and trust in Thee, and receive of the abundance of grace
from Thee." That is God's yea. And now He asks you and me
to utter the simple Amen of our hearts' trust and confidence
that the glory of God through Jesus Christ may be manifested
in and by us. Therefore take each promise that God has set
his " yea " to, saying " yes, my child, that is for you in Jesus.
Yes, my child, that belongs to you because of Jesus," and say
your little "Amen" to it. "Amen, Father, so be it even to
me." And God will say the yea, and you will say the Amen,
both meeting in Jesus, and you shall be filled with all the
fulness of God
One more line of thought that has been helpful to me in read-
ing Deuteronomy, and with that we will close. Eighty-one times
over in this book we have God referred to as the Great Giver.
Everything which Israel was to possess, the land, the kings, the
cities, the seven mighty nations, their enemies, the spoil, rest,
sons and daughters, houses, wells, every good thing, the power
to get wealth, vineyards, each thing is spoken of separately as
I -
:' V.t
-'
t'fci
i': i
; !«
m ili
n
I
I M '' ''
i
fl
Hii
•J 44
IN THi; LAND.
(lod's <i;it't to them ; and they wore warned that notliinpf would
bring thcin any blessin;^ except as tliey receiveil it tVoni God an
Hi.s jTood gift. Tiiey were al.so warned not to attempt to pos-
sess " tiie land of the children of Ammon," or " Mount Seir,''
for God had given these to others, and nothing but misery
would come of trying to snatch at anything that was not God's
gift to them : coming down from the Father of mercies in His
bountiful supply for their need, and for their happiness.
The two central chapters (xv. and xvi.) show us what the
people were to give themselves in offerings to God and in
liberality to men. This thought comes in so beautifully, just
in the centre of all God's bounty flowing in upon them from
all sides. "That which the Lord thy God hath given thee."
Their surrender to Him, and their gifts to their fellow-creatures
were to be measured not by their own little grudging, nig-
gardly, mean hearts, not by their own calculating .selfishness,
but measured according to the bounty of Him who gave so
liberally to them. It is just what we get right through the
New Testament, " Freely ye have received, freely give " ; " As
every man hath received the gift, even .so minister the same one to
another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God." Turn
to those two central chapters, xv. 7 to 14, xvi. 10, 17, "Beware
that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart " against thy
poor brother that would make you mean and .selfish towards^
him, but " thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy
rtoek, and out of thy fioor, and out of thj^ wine press : of that
wherewith the Lord thy God hath blessed thee thou shalt give
unto him." Is that the measure of your liberality? Do you
turn over the coins in your pur.se and see what you can give
without missing anything ? Never forget that God does not
look so much at what we give as at what is left behind in our
pockets or banks. Let the measure of your love and liberality
to others be according to the measure of His bounty and love
to you, and as you give you .shall find it will be given unto
you, for the Christian life is just this, receiving and giving,
receiving and giving, receiving benefits from God and letting
the benetits ttow out to others. Now, see the measure of their
surrender to God Himself, " And thou .shalt keep the feast of
weeks unto the Lord thy God with a tribute of a freewill offer-
ing of thine hand, which thou shalt give unto the Lord thy
God according as the Lord thy God hath blessed thee. . . .
Every man .shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of
the Lord thy God which He hath given thee." Is that the
way you measure your surrender to God ? Or do you reckon
IN THE LAND.
'2*r>
[letting
their
least of
ll offer-
rd thy
nng
of
iiat the
Ireckon
it up in this sort of way, " Now liow much /(/ iiKt I j4;ivi' of myself
to Cio<l just to ;^et peace of conscience, becans(i I do not like
this constant na^irinu' of my conscience f" " Now if I do that for
<}od, or ^dve Him up this, will that ease niy conscience '" Is
that the way you work it out ^ Or is it "By the mercies of
< lod tliat ye present your bodies a living- sacritice, holy, accept-
able unto God, which is your reasonable service " ? l)o you go
and drink of His satisfying love, till that love enters into you
ns a constraining power, shetl abroad in your heart by the Holy
Ghost which is given unto you, until yon cannot help giving
yourself away, until your whole soul is taken up with "He
loved me and jjfave Himself for me 'V Then He is the One
'• Whose I atn and whom T serve ! " Is it the free flowing of
(iod's love down to you, and that love rising back again to its
proper source, God himself? Oh, dear friends, if the Lord
has been speaking to any one of you during these days about
consecration, about surrender to Him, I beseech of you go
to the right place to learn the lesson about surrender. The
right place is not the dungeon of your own heart ; the right
place is not sitting under the scourge of your own conscience.
The right place is under the bountiful source of the love
of God pouring down upon you through Jesus Christ in
the power of the Holy Ghost. Learn to know Iliiv better as
the great Giver, the mighty, liberal, bountiful, living Giver,
and then you will find that you simply cannot withhold
anything from Him. that all your longing is to get rid of
yourself that He may have full posse.ssion. And then, go
forward into the promised land, walking on two legs — if I may
use the figure — ^for I find a good many (-hristians limp about
on one ! One leg is yielding to God, and the other leg is
simple heart confidence in (Jod. and if you try to get along
upon the leg of surrender and consecration only, you will be
always tripping up and saying, " Oh, yes, I have given myself
to God ajjain and ajjain, but I get worse instead of better,"
and down you will go. But as soon as anything is given up
to God. put down the other foot of faith on His exceeding
great and precious promises, and you will tind, as the Israelites
found, that every spot of ground on which the sole of their
feet trod, became theirs in perpetual possession : that is, if you
<lo not let sin drive you out of the land again. Let us at once
go up, for we are well able to possess it, yielding and trusting,
yielding and trusting, yielding and trusting, and finding that
"' they who trust him wholly, find him wholly true."
i I
>
!^ir.vil
pr*
I
HI^IIOLI) rii\ KWC.
Zei'Hahiah IX. I) ; Matthew ii, '2.
if
I'.
,1-
I ^
>>!^
ii
I AST week the Lord so manifestly blessed our taking' u|j'
_^ tofjether each day the study of one whole hook of the
Bihie, the first five books of tlie Old Testament, that I
believe it is He who is directing' our attention this week to the
stud}' of the first four books of the New Testament, the Gospels,
that four-fold revelation to us of the ^lory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. Sceptics have tried to prove that because there
is a variation in the details of the narrative of our Lord's life,
death, and resurrection as f]fiven by the four evan<?elists, there-
fore they can find many discrepancies in the record : but as we
reverently approach the study of these four books, I am sure
we .shall see not only characteristic differences, but the divine
harmony of the four, and the absolute necessity of having
more than one witness, in order to liave a complete view of
the Man Christ J' is, the Son of God who came down
lory of His Father. When a thiiirr
r-sided, we know that it can stand
on its own basis, that i is firm, that it has a foundation
that cannot be shaken. The expression is almo.st a proverb
for what is stable and sure. The absurdity of this idea
of the sceptic, that havin*;' four records varyiuj^- in details
is a proof of the want of truthfulness and harmony, may
be illustrated thus : Supposin^j;' you and I are both artists,
and we go to sketch one of those beautiful old cathedrals
in England, and you choose to take a picture of the west
end of the cathedral, and I choose to paint the east end ..
when we compared our sketches they certainly would be very
different, but it would be extremely foolish if we started
quarrelling together, and saying, " Because your picture does
not exactly match mine, therefore we have not drawn the .same
cathedral." It is merely this : I have taken one view which
reveals some beauties of Gothic architecture, whereas you have
to manifest to us .
is " four-square " or
IPI
HEHoM) TIIV KIN'fi.
247
have-
taken another viow wliieh reveals sonie heauties of Normnu
architecture. So we can have a perfectly ditt'erent view of one
oltject, and represent it in a totally diHerent aspect to (;ther
people: and yet it is one and the same, althou<,d) .so varied in
its marvellous beauty. So, the Holy (jliost ha.s ^iven to us,
not one, hut four portraits of the Lord Jesus Chri.st.
The Gospel according' to St. Matthew, written for the
Hebrew Christians, at Jerusalem, in Syriac, by Mattliew the
ifew, the publican. (Jod's order not only in His dispensational
dealiniifH with the nations, but in the evan;^e!i/ation of the.
world is, "To the Jew first and al.so to tlie Gentile.'' Therefore,
as God is always consistent with His own principles, we shall
find the first of the Gospels is eujphatically a Jewish gospel, the
gospel which reveals Jesus to the Jew as his Me.ssiah, as his
King, as the One fulfdling all the promises and prophecies in
his Scriptures from Genesis to Malachi. The fact that it is the
Jewish gospel stares us in the face in the opening verse : " The
book of the generation of Jesus : " that is His name as a man
amongst men, '• Christ" the Greek form of the word Messiah, or
the Anointed One. " The book of the generation of Jesus, the
Messiah, the son of David, the .son of Abraham." And the first
chapter is largely taken up wit.h His royal pedigree, tracing His
genealogy from Al)raham. as the great patriarchal head of
the Jewish race, and from David, the great founder of the
Jewish monarch}-. Another thing that stamps it as specially
Jewish is that you find in this go.spel constant references to
the traditions and customs of the Jews, with which Jesus deals
in a mo.st searching manner, showing their hypocri.sy, showing
the way in which they have overlaid and obscured the written
Word of God, which was the irreat jjlorv of the children of
Israel, who had been made for all generations the keepers of
the oracles of God. Also, you will find in this gospel the
exposure of the errors which, at the time when Jesus came to
this earth, were entering into all the religious sects amongst the
Jewish people: as for instance, in the 3rd, l')th and 2.3rd
chapters of this go.spel.
Now we come to a very important point. No pious Jew
could recognize as his King and Messiah anyone the circum-
stances of whose life did not correspond with the prophecies
that had gone before about Him in the Scriptures ; so through-
out this book this phrase occurs, " That it might be fulfilled
which was spoken . . . " showing that the Lord expected
His people to be searching diligently, that when the Me.ssiah
came they might be able to recognize Him from the portrait
I. !
(
i-
I f
■il
I' i i
2+8
IIKII<»I,I» TUV KINO.
I :
\r\
iJCI
},'iv('M (jf liiin ill till' ( M(l Testiuneiit. Lt't us turn to one or
twn of tlioMi! rt'l'iTt'iicrs tlmt you limy set' wliiit I incim : ( 'liapter
i. 22. " Now (ill this was dutie, that it inij^ht he t'ultilleil whicli
was spoken of tlio Ijord l»y tho prophet, sayin^-, llchold, a
virj;in shall lie with ehihl, ami shall hrinj^ forth a son, and thoy
shall call His name l'lmiiianui!l, which l)i;inij iiiterprt'tt'd is, (Jod
with us." Ajijain, in chaj)ter ii. 17, '2'^, "Then was fultilled that
w hicli was sj)()ken by Jeremy the prophet, sayin<,'. In Rama
Mas then,' a voice heard, lamentation and weej)in<f and <j;reat
i,i()urnin«,', Ivachel W((epiiio- for her children and would not be
' And He came and dwelt in
comforted because they jire not.
a city called Nazaretli : that it ini<,dit be fultilled which was
spoken by the prophets, He shall bi- called a Na/arene.' And
in chapter viii. !(!, 17, after those marvellous miracles of healinj^
we rea<l, '' When the even was come they brouj»ht unto Hiui
that
ith
.1 H(
■it out tlu
re possessed
spirits with His word, and healed all that were sick ; That it
nii^ht be fultilled wliich was spoken by Esaias the prophet
sayin^f Himself took our intirmities and bare our sickness."
And not only does this expression occur many, I think it is
si.\te^n, times, completely identifying,' the Lord Jesus with the
Jewish scriptures, but we liave constant (juotations from, and
explanations of passages in the Old Testament. And Jesus
upholdinjT the written Word, and sayin<^ that His object in
coiuin*,' to the earth was not in any sense to set it aside, but in
order to fultil it, in order to fill with fresli life, power and
beauty, as for instance (v. 17, 18), "Think not that I am come
to destroy tlie law or the projihets : I am not come to destroy
but to fultil. For verily 1 say unto you, Till heaven and earth
pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till
all be fulfilled."' See how in the tirst oospel that brings to us
Gotl's record concerninL'" His Son, this lesson meets us at the
threshold of our study, that Jesus is in no way to be separated
from the written Word. He Himself is the living Word, the
Word made Hesh, the expression in pcrKoi) of the thoughts of
<lod's heart, wliile this P»ook is the expre.ssion in lauijiuigcoi
the thoughts of Uod's lieart, and the two are one. It is one
blessed revelation, though it seems to come to us, if I may say
so reverently, through a double incarnation. Our (iod wanting
to pour forth the love of His heart upon sinners, tirst clothes
His love in human language, in the very same commonplace
words with which you and I exchange our ideas one with
another, and then He pours forth His love to us through the
ji°rson of the Man Christ Jesus, the incarnate Son of God.
Hl'illol.l) \'U\ KIN(i.
24! >
!ome
[troy
till
us
the
iated
the
is of
!('■ of
one
say
[ting
lithes
jlace
nth
the
Hut the two are one. Ami hi-re at tlu; threshold of tiie gospel
we find .lesus identifyin)^ Himsi-lf a;;ain and a<;ain with the
Scriptures. And notice, it is not with what we call the
interestinj,' chapters only that lie identities ilinisc^lf, hut with
some of thoso dillicult. oltscure, and alas ! tliat some of us
should have called them, dry chapters of the Old Testament,
•lesus is to lie found on every pat,^e of this jixik. Vou remen»-
l)er as He was walUinj,' with those disciples from Kmmaus, He
said they were "fools and sKjw of heart," hecausi; they tiid not
hoVievti (ill that the prophets had spoken, yet lie chose them
for His compainons, He chose U> walk alon;^'side of fools in
order that they nd<,dit he made, throUi,di the Scriptures, wise
unto salvation. He cho.se to walk alon,L;side of those who were
" slow of heart to helieve," in order that lie mirjht set their
hearts hurninj^ as He opened to them the Scriptures, and stimu-
late and enerjifize their faith to believe all that was written in
this bles.sed P>ook concernin<j; Himself. Oli, that -lesus may
show to you His oneness with this blessed IJook. We cannot
understand the One without the other, and I beseech you, dear
friends, never to be satisfied with any Bible Ueadinjjs whether
alone in your own room or in puldic with others; never to be
satisfied with touchin<f that Bo(jk or drawing near to hear any
of the words written in it, unU-ss they reveal to you something
more than j'ou ever knew before about .Jesus Himself, for He
is the Spirit, the life, the very personality of the Scriptures,
and this Book is for the purpose of showing you Jesus.
" Search the .scriptures ; for in them ya think ye have eternal
life : and they are they wiiich testify of Me. "
The prophets, although they did not understand all they
were writing, " testified beforehand the sulierings of Christ
and the glory that should follow." The Law, the Psalms, and
the Prophets, the three divisions of the Old Testament, all point
to Jesus, all witness to Jesus. If you would recognize this as
the first principle of Bible stud}-, you would not l>e satisfied
with getting hold of little technicalities, or words that get a
kind of fanciful hold of your brain or imagination — you would
not be satisfied until you had had a heart contact with Jesus
every time you opened the Book ; you would not be .satisfied
until you had heard in the words of the l3ook the very voice
of your Beloved speaking to the innio.st recesses of your heart.
As you search this gospel of Matthew for all the links with the
Old Testament, say, " Blessed Jesus, Thou art the marrow, the
substance of the Scriptures, reveal Thyself to me more and
more in the Word and throuirh the Word." Then we should
! r
' .
If
li
11
i
r
^1'
i
l!
I Iff? i/,:! I
i
2:.o
HKMoi.l) THY KIN'«i.
not have coiiinliiiiits from so miuiy Christians tliat tlicy really
«1() not cari' altoiit the
ry pa^'o and nv(>r\
Milili', tli*-y tind it such a dull and unin-
torcstinj,' hook. Why, the liihlf would spiirUIr with liLdit and
hoauty wht'H we .see Jesus shininu out of evirv I
hook.
Now, look at the main feature of this ^^'ospel, which is, of
course, connected with the thou<,dits we have already had, it.n
Jewish aspect. It is the ^'ospel of the Kinfjdom, hecausc' it is
the },'ospel of titvsus as the KitiLj. You rememher the inf|uiry
nuide ahout Jesus in the sec'ond chapter : " Where is He that
is horn Kin'' of the Jews?" 'I'he lvin<' comes heforo uh even
as He lies there as a helpless hahe in the man;,'er. And the
royal de.scendinj,' jjfenealo^jy of chapter i. proves His natural
rij^ht, hy hirth, to th(! throne of His fathi-rs. " 1 will ^'ive unto
Him the kingdom of His father David. " A<(ain, mention is
con.stantly made of " the kin^'dom of heaven." " The kin<^doni
of heaven" was an expression in use amoni^st the Jews, who
flattered themselves that the kinfjdom was (joil's s])ecial hless-
innj to them as a nation and as a race, an<l that they had a kind
of monopoly in all the ;;ood treasures that cauK! down fron»
lieaven, because (5o<l had promised that if they walke<l in His
law and were obedient to His commandments, they should
have, as it were, the days of heaven upon earth. (Compare
and contrast with the expres.sion, " The kini,nlom of Cod," found
thoughout the gospel of St. Luke.) Hut Jesus, in opening it
up to the Jews, shows them it is not what they think, mere
outward prosperity or show, but that i^. is righteousnes.s and
joy and peace in the Holy (ihost. The ])arttbles also bear the
stamp of the kingdom. "The king<lom of heaven is like unto"
begins many a beautiful siudle from the lips of Jesus. " A
certain King which made a marriage for His Son," " A certain
King which would take account of His .servants," "Then shall
the King say unto tho.se on His right hand," etc., for the
thought of the kingdom runs right through this gospel as a
Sfolden thread.
Also, you will find that Jesus in this book exercises His pre-
rogative as a King and royal Law-giver, as, for instance, at the
beginning of His ministry, in what we call the Sermon on the
Mount. He puts forth the laws of the kingdom of heaven
with an ab.solute assertion of His power which none but a king
could do; and when He reminds them of what has been the
written or traditional law of the past. He says : " Ye have
heard that it hath been said by them of old time, . . . But I
say unto you" — none but a king could say that; none but a
I'.KIIOI.H TIIV KIN«.
2;-)1
uid
the
ito "
A
'tain
sliall
the
as a
pre-
i the
the
ven
kins
the
lave
nt I
tit a
kin;; could Iny usi<lu an oM law and hrin^ in an anit'iidhicnt, or
cstaltlish a new law, with authority like that. That Srrnion on
the Mount is all al)()Ut tht* kin^'doni ol' licnvcn: ' He opened
His mouth and tuu;;lit tli«>iii, sayin;^, lllcsscd nvr the poor in
spirit for tludrs is Ow kini^doin ol" ht'iivcn. " MiTt- in the onl>
way into the kintzdoni ; a very dilli'rt'nt yatc from tliat hy which
till! .lews Wen* t'Xpcctin;,' to cntfr. Tlu-y tliou;^dit they could
«'nt<'r Ill-cause of national privilcLjes and reli^^ious exeicistvs ; luit
.IcHUs at the heyiiniin^' of the le<,dslation for His kiii'^'doiu, says
tliat
none can enter vv
ho h
th
lave any connMence in thenisi'ivtM
th
nont! can enter who ))Ut forward any claim in their own namo,
or hy their own ri^^lit, hut only tiioso who are poor in spirit
Wo all know what poverty is; it is heinn without the neces-
saries of life, " Blessed are the poor in spirit," those who know
they are not worthy, that tluy have no entrance fei! wluirewith
to pay, that tlmy must just stand there at the portal as he^j;ars,
"Theirs is the Kin^'dom of Heaven. ' And from that portal He
leads them into the wealthy places of the kin^fdom, and opens
up to them its wcjiiderful resources and its laws.
Then, rememher in the Old 'I'estaiiK'nt Scriptures, where
the comin;^ '^'n^' •"• spoken of, there is one word, a ^dorious
word, that stantls as the hasjs and founilation of His kin^fdom,
and that word is ' rijjfhteousness.' Turn to Jeremiah .\xiii. .'>,•)■
" Behohl the days come, saith tht; Lord, that J will raise unto
David a ii<fhteous Ihanch, and a Kinj» shall reinn and prosper,
and shall execute judifinent and justice in the earth. In His
days Judali shall he saved and Israel shall dwell safely, and
this is the name wherohy He shall be called, The IjonlOur
llirjhteousness." ( )r to the seventy-second I'salm : 'fJivethr
kinf; Thy judj^ments, God, and Thy righteousness unto the
kinj^'s son. He shall judj^e Tiiy people with ri<,diteousness, and
Thy poor with judgment. Tiie mountains shall bring peace to
the people, and the little hills by righteousness." Or I.saiah xxxii.:
"Behold a king shall reign in righteousness;" and all through
that chapter we have the working out of His righteousness, till
we come to the .seventeenth verse, '• And the work of righteous-
ness shall be peace ; and the eflect of righteousness, (quietness
and assurance forever." Therefore, as Matthew is the gospel of
the kingdom, the revelation to us of .lesus as the King, you will
find the word " righteousness " is a key-word of the book
Just to give you one or two illustrations : When John thought
it was too great a humiliation for Him to go down among.stthe
common folk into the waters of baptism, " Jesus answering said
unto him, Sutler it to be so now : for thus it becometh us to
I 1
gg^g
■252
HEHOLD THY KINO.
; II ■ '
;f
it
i
II
1.'
i
! '
;
i-
'ji
jiiii
1
r
fulfil !ill righteousness" (iii. 14, 1')). In the sixth verse of the
tifth chapter : " Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst
after righteousness." Again He explains that He does not use the
word in the way in which the rahbis of that day were using it,
for '• I say unto you that except your righteousness shall exceed
the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no
wise enter into the kingdom of heaven " (v. 20). And in sum-
ming up the counsels of the sixth chapter, we find Him saying :
"Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and
all the.se things shall be added unto you " (vi. 33). St. Paul, in
opening up to us the gospel of the kingdom, which "is the
power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to
the Jew first and also to the Gentile," tells us in Romans
i. 17, 18, that "therein is the righteousness of God revealed
from faith to faith, as it is written, the just shall live by faith.
For the wrath of (iod is revealed from heaven against all un-
godliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in un-
righteousness ; " and after proving all men to be " guilty before
God " by the law of the kingdom, he says in chapter iii. 21, 22:
" Hut now the righteousness of God without the law is mani-
fested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets, even the
righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all
and upon all them that believe : for there is no difference."
Dear friends, not one of us has a chance of salvation, except it
be on the solid foundation of the righteousness which is of God.
We shall be judged by that righteousness, bj' that law which
is perfect, pure, transparent, true ; for righteousness is the
opposite of anything impure, crooked, shallow, unreal, double ;
and we shall be judged according to the righteousness of God,
which can neither swerve to the right hand nor to the left. Now,
judged by that measure, tested by that plumb-line, there is not
one of us but must confess " there is none righteous, no not
one," So we are brought to the absolute necessity of God
bringing in His righteousness. Here we are brought face to
face with the fact fihat if we are to enter into the kingdom of
God, if we are to know what it is to have Him reigning over
us, whose government brings peace, perfect peace, it must be
by submitting ourselves to the righteousness of God by faith in
.lesus Christ. It must be by the confession that there is no
righteou.sness in me, but that I accept as a gift by faith the
spotless righteousness of Him who comes to me and says, " If
you will take me as the Lord your righteousness, I will come to
be your King, I will come to control that unmanageable will and
life of yours; I will come to govern that undisciplined charac-
I'.KIIOLD THV K(NO.
•1-ui
od
to
of
ver
be
in
no
the
If
ft to
ter of yours ; I will come to rule and reign over everything
within and without, if you will but take Me for your righteous-
ness, and if you will crown ]Me Lord of all."
We shall notice, as we go forward, that each gospel gatliers
up its chief central thought in its closing words. So in Matt.
xxviii. 18, we read what is truly the proclamation of a king:
" Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given
unto Me in heaven and in earth." Surely that is the procla-
" King of kings and Lord of lord.v."
that, we may rejoice " for the Lord
rejoice, let the multitude of isles be
Jesus, our Righteousness, the Lord
mation of Him as the
Surely when we hear
reigneth, let the earth
glad thereof." When
SO
King wherever they
the end of the world
" These shall make war
overcome them ; for He
Almighty, the Son of God, is proclaimed King, our hearts do
rejoice ; and Hs says He will go in and out with them as their
" Lo, I am with you alway, even unto
If you turn to Revelation xvii. 14:
with the Lamb, and the Land) shall
is Lord of lords, and King of kings :
and they that are with Him are called, and chosen, and faith-
ful." There are many Bible students who could speak to us this
afternoon upon Jesus as the King of Israel : they could speak
to us about Jesus as the King of glor}'. As to the one they
look back into the past, and with regard to the other they look
onward into the future ; but do they recognize Him as King in
the one kingdom which He asks for, and claims noiv in the
days of His rejection, that is, the kingdom of our hearts and
lives to-day ;' We are fond of singing " All hail the power of
Jesus' Name," for the tune swings beautifully to the words,
and they are so familiar, but do we say it really and honestly
in our hearts as we sing " Crown Him, crown Him, crown Him
Lord of all " ? Which of us has really known the freedom of
a full and glad surrender to Him that He may be Lord of your
will, Lord of your affections, Lord of your desires, Lord of
your lips. Lord of your lives, Lord of your service ^ How
much have you really recognized Him as the King having full
dominion over you for ever and ever :* Oh, dear friends, you
are robbing Him every day of His rights, so long as you are
king or queen of your own little life. I beseech you to stop
this robbery, and to yield yourself to Him who has a light to
reign over us. He has bought us with His blood, He has
clothed us with His righteousness, He has undertaken, if you
will only let it go on to His strong shoulder, the government
of your whole life, in order that He may give you His perfect
peace. Only so far as the government of your life, and lips,
1
'1
,1
f
M
'2:. 4
JJEIIOM) TIIV KINO.
I
|>1
\m
m
I
ii'
1 ■■ '
t:,r ;'
\ i;i'
m
and heart is placed upon His shouliler, will His perfect peace
abide in your heart ; and " of the increase of His government
and peace there shall be no end."
Again, notice when Jesus is teaching His disciples what we
call "the Lord's Prayer," we have in this gospel what is omitted
in Luke, the doxology at the enu of the prayer : " For Thine
is tlie kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen."
<Chap. vi. 18.) We begin the prayer by ascending in heart
and thought to our Father in Heaven, " Our Father which
art in Heaven, hallowed bo Thy name," and then gradually
descend to the details of our daily need ; and then our hearts
turn back again to God, " For Thine is the kingdom, and the
power, and the glory, for ever. Amen," Have you ever noticed
the force of that word " for " :* It has often seemed to me the
very pivot on which the whole prayer turns. In the first
place, the granting of our petitions in that prayer can only be
if the powei', and kingdom, and glory are His. And it is
perfect mockery for us to cry " Hallowed be Thy Name," if we
refu.se to accept as King Him whom God has sent as His
chosen King to this world — if we are saying in our liearts
" We will not have this man to reign over us, we will manage
ourselves, we will have the control of our own lives," " our lips
are our own, who is Lord over us ^" "I am going to speak
when I like, and when it doesn't suit \i\e, or when I feel
nervous I shall be silent." Again, how can we cry " Thy
kingdom come," and let our imaginations float away to China,
or Africa, wanting the Gospel to spread among those poor
blacks, and benighted Chinese, while not giving Him His
rights, but questioning His authority, and seeking to have the
management of our own atiairs !* It is mockery, dear friends.
But when He is indeed Lord over us, and we have honestly
crowned Him King over all, then the petition rises up with a
conscious reliance upon the power of God for its fulfilment.
" Thy kingdom come," O Lord, assert Thy rights in me, and
in my heart and in my life, deeper and deeper and fuller every
day, and then through me, Lord, do what Thou wilt, where
Thou wilt, and how Thou wilt and when Thou wilt, and let
others learn the joy of Thy supremacy over them, " Thy
kingdom come " for Thine is the kingdom so far as I, by full
surrender and simple trust, can make it Thine, Then, is it not
liionstrou.s for us to cry to God " Thy will be done," if we are
going to take any of the glory to ourselves ? For God has
.said, " My glory will I not give to another," it shall all rest
upon Him who is worthy, even Jesus, whom He has anointed
i
1!EH(»LD THY KINO.
255
ire
et
hv
ull
King. If in your secret heart you are takinnj glory to yourself
because you are <lelivered from temptation, because the king-
dom of (Jod has spread a little in your class, or your parish,
or your favorite society, the prayer you send to Heaven will
come down again before it gets there. But when you really
yield yourself to Him, and crown Him Lord of all, then you
shall know what it is to liave power in prayer. Notice, too,
that David, who sang of Christ, both as the King of Israel and
the King of glory, was not satisfied without bowing his whole
being before God, and sa^'ing, " My King and my God." He
knew that unless it was a personal reality it was mere mockery
to worship Him at a distance as another person's sovereign, or
as a future King. And, dear friends, if you are not willing
vow to have His lordship over you, do you think it will be a
day of joy when Jesus comes in the clouds to take unto Him
His great power and reign ? No; you will be ashamed before
Him at His coming, and you will find the awful truth of those
words : " Those Mine enemies, which would not that I should
reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before Me."
In the history of David we find that he was three times
anointed king over Israel. First, in his own family circle,
when the Prophet Samuel visited Jesse and called for his
sons one after another to pass in review before him, and David
was chosen from amongst his brothers ; second, in Hebron,
only over a part of the nation ; and for a long time after that
crowning he was in rejection, he was misunderstood, he was
occupied with civil wars, and with all kinds of difficulties and
complications in his kingdom until there came a ].ay when it
is written, "All Israel gathered themselves to David to crown
him King in Hebron." Then the whole dominion, as God had
intended, was placed under his hand, and he went forth at the
head of the nation to that great seven-fold victory over the
kings and the nations around. Do you not see in that picture
a type of our blessed Lord Jesus ? When He came in humil-
ity, working as the carpenter of Nazareth, God anointed Him
with the Holy Ghost, and then and there He became God's
nominated king. And now in the hearts of those who are willing
He is crowned King in Hebron, that is," fellowship," " the fellow-
ship of His sufferings," for it is now the time of His rejection.
The world that hated Him of old is still His enemy, and if we
would be loyal to Him we must take our stand in the world,
but not of it, in allegiance to Him who has chosen us out of
the world that we may manifest forth His glory and bear much
fruit to His Father's honor. But there will come a crowning
i-l
2jG
HEHOLD THY KIN(;.
!
Pi
(lay hy and by when Jesus will be crowned and rec()i,'nized as
king — "the Ivint^, the Lord of hosts" — overall the kinirdoms
the
of the earth; when "The kingdoms of this world are become
the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ; and He shall
reign for ever and ever." Then He shall go forth concjuering
and to conquer ; then we shall share with Him, not rejection, as
we do here and now, but ev(>rlasting glory. But remember, it
is not those who think they can get for themselves all the
blessings of the Gospel, and who do not stand to the name of
Jesus, who are ashamed to own their link of fellowship with
Him, who shall reign with Him. Jt is if we suffer with Him,
if we let our heart's love and loyalty go out now to the King
in His rejection — now while the world hates and abuses Him ;
now while the sceptics are slandering Him ; now while the
devils are rampant ; now when everything in the religious
world seems turning against His kingship and His honor — " If
we suffer we shall also reign with Him " in glory.
I want to remind you of one thing more. In the first chapter
of Fi^zekiel, and the fourth chapter of Revelation, where we have
the description of the living creatures, we are told ; " The first
living creature was like a lion, and the second living creature
like a calf, and the third living creature had a face as a man, and
the fourth living creature was like afiying eagle." These living
creatures surely represent to us the perfection of God's creation.
Now, we shall find those four " likenesses," or characteristics in
the four Gospels of our Lord Jesus Christ, because He is the very
beginning of the creation of dlod ; He is the one who manifests
in His own person all the perfections of all parts of God's crea-
tion. The first we saw was like a lion; and if you turn to the next
chapter and the fifth verse, we find one of the elders saying,
" Weep not : behold the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root
of David, hath prevailed to open the Book, and to loose the
seven seals thereof." So to-day we have .seen in the gospel of
Matthew, Jesus as the Lion of the tribe of Judah. The lion is
the king of beasts, and we have seen the royal dignity of Jesus,
we have seen Him as the King of the Jews coming to His own,
though His own received Him not. The lion is also a represen-
tative of wrath, and the power to execute wrath, and so we
find that our King not only reveals His righteousness and
His love, not only gives us beautiful laws of His kingdom
at the beginning of His ministry, but at
ministr}', with equal authority, He utters
pression of His wrath asrainst all that
His
the end of
the awful ex-
is unrighteous.
unholy, hypocritical or double-hearted. In the twenty-third
BEHOLD THV KINO.
257
chapter of St. ^lu'ithew's gospel you will find those eight terrible
Woes which correspond in awful antithesis to the eight Beati-
tudes on the Mount.
Yes, we must remember that He who is our King, bring-
ing righteousness and peace, is also the King whom God
has appointed to execute wrath against the ungodly. In
J Tim. vi. 14-K), we read, " Keep this commamlment without
spot, unrebukeable until the appearing of our Lcid Jesu.s
Christ: which in His times He shall show, who is the blessed
and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords ; who
only hath innnortality, dwelling in the light which no man
can approach unto ; whom no man hath seen nor can see, to
whom be honor and power everlasting. Amen." And in
2 Thess. I. 7-10, we see what happens when the King comes
in glory to those who reject Him : " When the Lord Jesus shall
be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in tiaming fire
taking vengeance on them that know not Ood, and that obey
not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Chri.st : who shall be pun-
ished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the
Lord, and from the glory of His power ; when He shall come to
be glorified in His saints, and to be admired in all them that
believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that
day."
1 ■ ;
\
I t
: ■■
17
• I-
Kl I
BiniOLI) MY SHRX'ANT
TsAiAH XLH. 1, LH. 13; Mauk X. 4').
'^ii^f
" Y) l^^HOLl) my servant " ! that is wliat God is callinfr us to do
X3 tliis aftt'i'iioon as we open the <^ospel accordin<]f to 8t.
Mark. We saw Jesus throuijfhout the gospel of ]\Iat-
thew as tlie Kino^, tlie royal Law-ij;iver. To-day we have that
wonderful si<,dit, the Son of God, the King of glory, not
reckoning His oneness with God as a thing to be grasped at, but
making Himself of no reputation, and taking upon Himself
the form of a servant: and as Jehovah's faithful servant walk-
ing amongst men as our example that we should follow in His
steps. Truly we must all feel as we approach a subject like
this that we are on holy ground. We who are always seeking
to raise ourselves, to step up above our fellows, to be in com-
mand, to have the pre-eminence, .shall we not this afternoon fall
down and worship Him who came down, down, down from
the verv height of glory at the Father's right hand to be a
servant i* Vou remember at the end of our Bible Reading
yesterday we noticed the likeness of the four living crea-
tures, who represent the concentrated perfection of all created
being.s. They all had one likeness of a lion, an ox, a man and an
eagle. We saw the figure of the lion taken up by Matthew's
portrait of "The Lion of the Tribe of Judah." To-day we
have the ox brought before us, which is in the East the patient
laborer and burden-bearer for man. And it is as the servant
and the great burden-bearer that we meet Jesus in the gospel
of Mark.
Now, to turn to our Gospel. It was written bj' John Mark,
who himself was a minister and servant to the apostles and
brethren on their missionary tours, as wo find by referring to
several passages in the Acts, and, if you remember, St. Paul
says, in writing to Timothy, " Take Mark and bring him with
thee ; for he is profitable to me for the ministry." So God
takes a minister and servant, anoints him, and inspires him
" HF.IIOI,!) MV SKUVANT."
259
ul an
lew's
y ^'6
and
IT to
Paul
with
God
him
1
by tiio power of the Holy Ghost to portray for us the life
of the one ideal, the one perfect Servant. It is more than proh-
ahl(^ tlitit the details we net in this ^'ospd about the life of our
FiOrd were ^jatluM'ed from Mark's constant intercourse with, and
attention to tlu; pr('achin<,f of IVter. He i^ives us a number of
t(inder little touclies of sympathy and beauty, and brinies before
us many little details of circumstance and work which W(! f,'et
nowhere; else in the other t^ospels. dust to (juote a few : In
the days of the Lord's temptation in the wilderness, an account
of which we have in three <>(),spLds, it is oidy from St. Mark that
we learn (chapter i. l.'{) that He " was with the wild beasts."
Then ajfain, in the incidents on tlu' ship in the storm (iv. J56, H7)
there are several little details which we get nowhere else ; for
instance, " Wlu;n they had sent away the multitude they took
Him even as He was in the ship ; and there were there also with
them other little sliips, . . . and the waves beat into the
ship, so that it was now full." What a picture of utter weari-
ness, that they had to take Him '(.s- ![<• iivis, putting,' Him in
the hinder part of the boat to sleep on a pillow. Then, aijain,
this is where we hear that He was called " the carpenter," a
mechanic ! this is the Gospel that mentions when, in perfornnng
a miracle, " He sii^hed," or when i,'rieved at the hardness and
pride of the Pharisees, " He siirhed deeplj' in His spirit " (chapter
vii. 'i ; viii. 12) — tender touches which only one walkinj^ with
Him and watchintr Him, as the lovinLj, warmdiearted Peter did,
would notice.
Before turnino- again to the chief characteristic of this book,
the representation of Jesus as the Servant, I would stop for a
moment to remind you of the perfect harmony between the
four Kvanffelists. Yesteiday we spoke of their characteristic
ditPu'enri'-^, but the ditlerences are not discrepancies, still less
contradictions ; they rather manifest the beauty and the har-
nnrny of the whole ; for CJod does not repeat the same thing
over and over again, but He gives us the account of the same
glorious Person in four ditl'erent aspects. So you will find
that although the chief thought in Matthew was of His king-
ship, and power as the royal Law-giver ; the same thought comes
into all the gospels, only it is not the prominent feature of the
other narratives. Even in the Gospel of the Servant we have
the account of the King, in His triumphal entry into Jerusalem,
meek and lowly, sitting upon an ass's colt. So also this thought
of Jesus being the Servant is not peculiar to Mark's Gospel —
in the .sense that it is stated there, and nowhere else — no, it is
distinctly mentioned in the other three gospels ; but here it is
1 1
W
1
J
^
1
%
I-
,
i
1
i'>
'-hi
2»)0
" HEIlOI.l) MV SKUVANT.
I 'i
r i
}'■ ]
I
the chief lino of thou<i[ht runnin<,' i-i^jflit thnniHli. It is the
chanictoristic fi-iituro whic^h Marie ^ivcM, i>y th(! power of the
Holy (Jhost, of the life and deatii of .lesiis Christ. In Mattlicw
XX. 27, 2iS, we have Jesus as a Servant, in harniony with Mark's
(lescrij)ti()n : " Whosoever will l)e chief anionj,' yon, let hint he
your servant, even as the Son of Man came not to l)e ministered
unto, hut to minister and to <jive His life a ransom for many "
]^uke also, in chapter xxii. 27, ,i;ives us the wonls of Jesus : " 1
am auifJUii; you as he that serveth." \n John's (lospel the same
thoufifht comes out in that wonderful I'Mh chapter, where Jesus
the Son of the Father, .lesus the Word of ( iod, Jesus the Life
from Heaven, laid aside His oarinent and took a towel and
girded Himself, and did for His disciples the work of a slave —
took water and washed their feet.
But some have hesitated in callin<f this the (Jospel of the
Servant, because of its opening;' verse ; hut I believe tho.se
words emphasi/e stronijfly the subject of the book, and that in
them is involved an important principle with regard to all true
service for ( iod. The Gospel opens with the words, ' The
beofinnint; of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of ( iod." So
some have thought that this is specially the gospel which treats
of Jesus as the Son of (iod. Hut I think we shall see before
our Hible Readings are over that it is not so : and the principle
unfolded in these words in that (til true f^crriee fur (iod mud
he 'pvf ceded hj/ ,<toiiNhip. Until we are born again into the
family of (iod, until we have the eternal life of Ood in our
souls, we cannot do one bit of work or service acceptable to
( iod. The Lord speaks in many passages of the truth that it
is only His sons and daughters that He calls to be His servants.
Even in the Old Testament, the principle is recognized, as in
IMalachi iii. 17, where (iod says He will reckon us as His jewels
and "spare them as a man spareth his own .son that serveth lum."
And in our gospel of yesterday, Matt. xxi. 28 : " Son, go work
to-day in my vineyard." How often the sinner tries to set
his energies and good resolutions to work in order to serve
and please God; but (iod says you are dead in trespasses and
sins, and all the works you can perform until j'ou become my
child by the new birth — through the Word and the Holy Ghost
— all are dead works, and can never have anything to do
with true service for (iod and His glor}^ : for He who is the
living God will touch nothing that is dead, for it defileth.
Dear friends, where are you working from ? Are you working
out of your own energies and desires and will to get salvation,
or are you, as a ransomed soul, as one who has been brought
" IlKHOM) MV SKUVANT."
20 I
in
nhi
into livinj^ fellowship with (Jod as your Father, and with Jesus
( 'hrist, as your Saviour, are you workini; frooi Oalvury f" From
the Ooss with a heart overllowinij witii j^ratitude ' Is this
your story —
"1 Would iMt Work tn siivi' my soiil,
Fur tliiil my li<>nl lias (Imio :
Itiit I w'liulil \Mirk liku iiiiy hI.ivu
I'll!" liivo i>f His (loar Son."
If so, you know a little of what the holy happy service of God
is, which is perfect freedom.
The <j;ospel of Mark enters at once into the narrative of the
public work and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is
nothinj^ about His birth and His cradle; nothing about His
creatinj^ power, but the tirst chapter be<;ins with His bein<; tilled
with the Holy (Jhost. His being driven into the wilderness to
be tempted ; and then commences His life of ministr}', which
continues through the gospel, is one steady record of work
accomplished, of souls met ami blessed, of messages from (»od
in vvho.se name this perfect Servant had come to the earth.
Right on, the work never ceases, there seems to be no break as
the chapters end, no full stop, for the next begins, " And again
He entered," "And He i)egan again," etc. It is one steady,
unwearied, loving, tender nunistry from beginning to end, and
just as we found that the closing verses in Matthew were in
harmony with the whole tenor of the book, so we shall find
here if we turn to chapter xvi. 19, 20: "So then after the
Lord had spoken unto them. He was received up into heaven
and sat on the right hand of God. And they went forth and
preached everywhere, the Lonl working with them and con-
tinuing the Word with signs follow ng." "The Lord working
with them," .lesus up in gU>ry. the Servant still : working with,
and ministering to u.s. 1 do not think there is any subject that
so completely breaks tme's heart as the fact that He who was
crucified, risen and exalted to the right hand of Gcjd, loves to
serve me, that He loves U) serve ivifli me. that He never tells
me to go oti" alone upon any bit of ministry or work, but He
says, " Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the age."
Will you just for a moment get your heart still before (iod.and
take in this thought : Jesus the Servant, He who loves to serve
perpetually. He whose love for the Father's will was not only
manife.«t down here in the limitations and ditliculties of His
earthly life; but now in glory with the angels and archangels
at His beck and call. He still chooses to live the life of ministry,
1
liii '■
262
" l!i:il<»I,U MV SKUVANT."
II
i*'
ill
\m H
I
I'*
I J .;
I.
\4 '
u lit'o poiircil forth in hlfssiiiLC to otlwrs, and llo livos to serve
nu', to l)t! a workiT toj^ffthcr with nic I < Mi, docs not thiit
t'xalt every litth' detail ol' <hiiiy iil'e ' Does it not seem to casb
a hah) of ;,dory around it :* And does it not alto;fetiier chan^'u
tho asjiect of wliat yon call }dur Christian woi-k ' \'es, wluit-
ever the detail <»f life is, if it is just .serul)hin;; the floor, or
waiting;' on an invalid, or darninti; a stockiiiLf. «»r posting' up a
Icdj^er, to think that lie does not despise work, hut He works
toj^ether with us. And the same spirit of service, the same
spirit of altsoliite surrender to His Father's will, the same
desire to do always those things which please (Jod ; this is the
spirit which He wants to put into you in every detail of your
ordinary daily life, and every hit of your service for Him.
Then a<,'ain, notice in this ^'ospel of Mark that .)e>.us as the
Servant comes hefore us as one who has no time to Himself,
His time is not His own, it is at the disposal of everyoiKt and
anyone wlio wants Him. In r..uke we shall see .fesns havin;.;'
whole nij^hts of prayer, hut in Mark where His pray in;; is
mentioned, we find it interrupted, and He is call(>d even oti' His
knees to serve, serve, serve. I'x'hold this faithful Stsrvant in
whom (Jod (hdi^dits — how completely He holds Himself at
leisure, how completely He recoijnizes His life as not His own,
His time as not at His own disposal, but all yielded to (Jod for
ministry. " In the mornini; risin^^ up a ^'leat while before day"
— thougii He must have been tired after the work wt; read of
in the preceding verses — '■ He went out and departed into a
solitary place and there prayed, and Simon and they that W(Me
with him followed after Him. And when they hat! found Him
they said unto Him, All men seek for thee." There is no com-
plaint, there is no treating' of it as an interruption, but at once
He said unto them, "Let us ^o into the next towns that T may
preach there also: for therefore came 1 forth" (i. .S'j-.SS). So
again, iii. 20, 21: "The multitude cometh togetlier ai:;ain, so that
they could not so much as eat bread. And wdien His friends
heard of it they went out to lay hold on Him, for they said He
is beside Him.self." Here is another in vi. ."51 -84: "Come ye
yourselves apart into a desert place and rest awhile, for there
were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much
as to eat. And they departed unto a desert-jilace by ship
privately. And the people saw tliem departing and many
knew Him and ran afoot thither out of all cities, and out-went
them, and came together unto Him. And Jesus when He came
out saw much people and was moved with compassion toward
them because they were as sheep not having a shepherd ; and
He began to teach them many things."
" IlKIKtLl) MY SIlllVAN r."
263
into a
vvi'ie
1 Uim
( coin-
once
may
So
o that
riendi^
id He
ine ye
there
much
■ ship
nuiny
-went
^ came
owanl
\ ; and
Then n,<:(ain, pron)[)tnt'ss Is always a si<,'n of a yf)od s«'rvant.
And s(» in tlic i^ospt-l of Mark we tind " lutiifos" uccuis no less
than forty times. Tlie force of this word is rather lost from
the fact of its l)ein^' translated in live or six ditl'erent ways ;
for instance, innnediutely, straii^ditwa}', forthwith, anon, as socai
as. Hut you sue all those; wonls cspress promptness, quick
action, no delay, and yet on ihe otiier lumij, no lnu'ry. And
this is indeed one secnit of Ljood service, not Ia;;;;ini4' hehiinl,
n(!ver late, never answerinLf hack a^oiin, (piestionin;^' and
reasonin;jf as to why the master ;,'ives the coimiiand, luitas soon
as a command is },dven otl" they ;,'o to do it — that is a j,'ood
servant. Kor example : As soon as Ife caiinht si^ht of James
and .John, " strai^ditway lie called them,' and they left their
father ZeliiMlee. "And immediati^ly wiien Jusus peiceived in His
spirit that they ho reasoiKid within themselves, He said unto
them. Why reason ye these thin<,fs in your hearts." " Straight-
way He constrained His disciples to <,'et intt) tlie sjiip, and to
go to the other side hefore unto Bethsaida, while He sent away
the peoj)le." There is a promptness an<l readiness, there is a
sense of His hein^, as it were, at attention to perceive the mind
and will of His Father in order that He minht instantly oliey
and carry out the good works fHs Father had prepared for
Him to walk in.
(Jod grant that as we ga/e at Jesus, we may catch something
of His s{)irit, for we are told (.lohn xiii. 14, 1')) that He took
the attitude of a servant to give us an exam|»le, that we should
do as He had done to us, that we shouhl live His life; or,
rather, that we should he so yielded uj) to Him that hy the
indwelling Holy Ghost the life of Jesus might he manifested in
our mortal hodies. " If ye know these things, happy are ye if
ye do them."
In Philippians ii. .S-M, we have : " Let nothing he done
throuixh strife or vain glorv, but in lowliness of mind let each
esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on
his own things, but every man also on the tilings of others. I..et
this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being
in the form of (Jod, thought it not robl)ery to be equal with
God, but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him
the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men,
and being found in fasliion as a man, He hund)led Himself and
became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." " He
made Himself of no reputation " — may God search our hearts
and show us how far in our work, from morning till evening,
we are .seeking to be something, to make a name, to get credit,
, '1.
204
HKIH)M) MV SKUVANT.
-I
io liiivc a rt!))Ut»itioti ; or how I'ar Wf air, on tin* otlnT liimil,
serkin^' only to I'Xi-cl for tlu' Imildin^' iij) of tlic < 'hurcli, si'i'kiri;(
to j^o wliLM'o we shall ho Icjant thoui,'ht of, ht»t whero otliiTs will
1)0 uu)si hli'st : st'ckiiii^ to <lo only such things as plcusi' ( ioil. May
Ho search our lu^arts, ami show us wht'tlu-r wt! havo tlu; spirit of
the tiuf servant, as ilescrihoil in tlio fortieth I'sahn . " Theiisaitl
I, liO, I conu! : in tht> volume of the iSook it is written of Me, I
deli^'ht to do Thy will, O My (iod : yea, Thy law is within my
heart." If it is tin* will of ( iod that I deli^dit in, if your hi(,diust
anihition is to have His smile upon you, then, dear friends, there
would not h<! that feelinj^ even in the luisiest and most (jarnest
workers, that every little thin^r is uti interruption or a Imrden.
You notice with Jesus where\er He j^'oes, and whattsver llo
<h)es, there is perfect calmness ami stillness in Mis Knther'.s
f)reHence. just waiting,' to see what is th(> next thin.,' the Kathep
uiH for Him to do, and as soon as it couk's, whetlxM- it is dealinj;
with some wayward soul, or feeding' a hunj^ry multitude, or
beinj^ interrupted, as we shouM say, hy a wouum, as He j^oe.s
alonj; the hiyh road to attend to a case of life and death. He
(|uietly takes it up in lovinj,' oljedience, for " Wist ye not that I
must he ahout my Father's husine.ss :* " There is no puttinj;
forth of His own plans, His own will, hut there is a spirit of
attention, of cpiickness to perceive; where the Father is leadin<j
Him, and what the Father is pointing,' Him t(t do ; and so, every
little interruption only comes as another hlessed opportunity of
doinj^ the will of (Jod. Have you that spirit ^ even if it is to
attend to .sotne little thinj; that does not look as if it wore worth
the time, the pains, and the thought, can you say, I deli<;ht to
do the will of my (lod, y«!a His law (the exprtission of His will),
is within my heart ^ Oh, my ( lod, enable each one of us to <,dvo
Him heart service, and no lon<,'er mere limb and lip .service,
(lod grant that His love may be the incentive to all our service,
that it may be our heart's cry, " Truly, ( ) Lord, I am Thy
servant; I am Thv servant, and the son of Thine handmaid :
Thou hast loosed my bonds." Thy love, that has set me free
from the power of the enemy and from the donnnion of sin,
that love has so broken my heart and conquered my heart,
and got pos.session of my heart, and prompts my heart's desires,
that truly, O Lord, I am for ever bound with the willing fetters
of love to be Thy servant. "
" By love serve one another. " How much of our work
amongst our fellow men i.s not in any sen.se scrvin;/ others ? It
is in no sense ministering to their need ; it is in no sen.se getting
down below them, as the .servant does, to hand up to them a
•' MKIIOl.h MY SKUVANT."
i'(i:.
or
work
It
itting
VdosHlng ; Init ratlnr It i-t wo, stanilin;,' up jil.ovr tlwrn, »iiul
|)r»'iicluii;,' at tliciii — l»ut that is not Huiviet', athl timt is not
ministry. What wouhl any of you say if yonr st-rvatit took
tliat hoi^'hty-toii,'hty position in yonr liniise ! I ktutw you
vvciiid soon say, ' Tliat pfr^on lias no iili'u of wliat a servant is
ill all." A true stTVimt is on<? who ;,'('ts Jown h»'low the n«'L't|,
and thi'ti supplies it with humility, and l(>V(>, and patifiice, and
exactness, and pun(;tualit\'. I ht'st-i'di you to ask th»' Lord to
transform your survici' that it may be service after the example
(jf Jesus Christ.
There is ancjther thin;,' we noti(!e with re;^'ard to the servant,
in P.salm \l. (i : " Sucritice and rtflt-riri;,' thou <li«lst not <h'sire ;
mine twirs hast thou opened " -or diijyed, or pierced — nd'errin;;,
nodouht, to that custom of wliieh we rt^ad in the 1 5tii of Deuter-
onomy and the 21st of Kxoilus, of the servant who declared
publicly hi.s wisli to he for over en;,'ajjed in his master's service,
and who said, " 1 love my master, I will not ;;o out free, I
will serve him forever." And (iod said that the servant should
be taken to the threshold niui Ids ear bored throu^^'h with an
awl to the doorpost, and here we have it, " Mine ears hast thou
opened," and the aymi)ol su;,'i^ests this thought: You cannot
have a good servant if you have not got his "O*. If you cannot
get him to listen to you am) take orders from you, he is not
your servant at all. I had a st;rvant, a most willing an<l active
girl, always doing what she thought would please me, but I
never could got her ear. I never saw such a one for work, but
I couldn't give her //)// orders, so she was not my servant at all ;
she was the manager of her own life. She was a good, true-
hearted girl, ami many a thing has she done to please me, which
I would ratiier not have hail done. I do believe my Lord ha.s
a great many servants like that, bustling about with their socie-
ties and meetings ; but how many of us have really yielded our
ear to our Master, and saitl, " Here it is; takf it, nail it up to the
♦iooipost, for it is Thine for ever ; keep it open to Thy voice,"
Which of us is He able to waken morning by morning to hear f
Which of us enjoys that beatitude, " Blessed is the man that
heareth Me, watching daily at My gates, waiting at the posts
of My doors ' !* That is such a familiar illustration to anyone
who has travelled in the Kast, for t!io servants are hanging
about the open doors and verandahs, some half asleep, some
attentively watching to hear the master's voice, or to see the
wave of his hand. Oh, ble.ssed are they who take their position
at the gates of the Lord, listening to the Master'.s call and getting
their orders firsthand, straight from Him, and running to carry
\
I
266
" I5EII0LD MY SEllVAXT,"
ill
ill
I'; I'
I I '' I':
1 1;!
fl
P^
frf
V I
t
1
■ ri
ii ;
\Lm
them out in prompt and <^la<l obedionco. Ah, dear t'rien<l.s, if you
are in that position ot" beinn' nailed to the post of the Master's
door, it means that tiie Master has a rij^lit at any moment to
beckon and call you in for a little ([uiet communion with
Himself; and He has a riu^ht to send you unt on any little
errand of love to a soul that lie knows is in need ; but lias
He the ritjht to do thiit in your life ? or just when you are in
tlie middle of writini; a letter, and you hear the still small
voice, or youi' heart is conscious of a beckoning hand, " Como
in, my child ; now put that letter that is worryin;,' and harassing
your mind aside for a minute, and be quiet for a minute with
me," do you say, " I cannot stop ; I have to get this letter
finished by one o'clock " { He has not got your ear. Or perhaps
just befoie we go down to breakfast we are conscious that we
are all in a tluster, just in the very condition to get ruffled by
some of the letters waiting for us, rea<ly to be caught by the
enemy, and as we have our hand on the bedroom door, the
Lord says, " Stop ; do you know you have had no heart com-
munion with me ? You have only knelt down in or<ler to
satisfy your conscience that you have said your prayers ; "
but we turn the handle of the door and rush otf", and before
breakfast is over God seems at an awful distance from us ; we
have yielded to temptation; we are caught in the trap; whereas
if our eyes had been toward the Lord, He would have plucked
our feet out of the net, for He knew it was spread down there
for us at the breakfast table, and He would have sent us gladly
to give out His messages through the day ; but that loss of
temper in the morning closed our lips for the rest of the day.
You see the Master had not got our ear, and the consetjuence
is, that He had not got our service — we were not His servants
at all, but we were the servants of sin, and we were doing the
bidding of another master, the devil. Do you know that pic-
ture of a true servant which we get in the first chapter of St.
Luke's gospel ? It has been such a help to me. Tlie speaker
is Gabriel, and in describing his mission he says : " I am Gabriel,
that stantl in the presence of God, and am sent to speak unto
thee, anil to show thee the.se glad tiding.s." " I stand in the
presence of God," ready for my orders, listening to His voice,
standing at attention, waiting to be called in or to be sent
out ; " 1 stand in the presence of God and (fc»i sent unto you to
declare unto you these glad ti<lings." Oh, the mighty power
of that word "sent." If I send my servant to a shop for some-
thing, the servant goes with all the power of my name, and my
purse, ani my will at the back of the order. When we stand
nB;iM)i,i) M'' .;euva\t.
'HjI
before the Lord of the whole eartli, and Ife sends us forth
on His errands to speak some word troiu lli'ii, it is with tiie
whoU> power of the Ahnii,dity IukI at ou: hack ! It is not
that I run oti' on some servict? for myself here, or plan a nice
little errand for myself to run over there; but tiiat I stand in
the presence of ifim who puts His wcn'ds into my mouth, who
makes the opportunity for speak ini^ tiiem, who creates the
thoui^ht in the heart that I should 1^0 to the hunj^'ry and the
desolate, who walks alon^'side of me all tiie way as I jvo ; and
who, by the power of tiie Holy (Jhost, cuntirms the truth of
what is spoken in the hearts ami consciences of those who hear.
Oh, the mighty power of that word "sent!" "I stand in the
presence of i\o(\ and am sent unto you to declare these glad
tidings." May (ilod make us. His servants, to be like this.
It was prophesied of the Servant of Jehovah that He would
be the object of wonder and astonishment to many. Isaiah
Hi. 13: "Behold, my servant .shall deal prudently. He shall
be exalted and extolled and be very high. As many were
astonied at thee. His visage was .so mari'ed more than any
man, antl His form more than the sons of men." In the Gospel
of Mark we iind this fulfilled. Let us look at a few of the
verses: "They were astonished at His doctrine, for He taught
them as one that had authority and not as the scribes." " They
were all amazed, insomuch that they (juestioned among them-
selves, What new thing is this ? what new doctrine is this ? for
with authority commandeth Ko even the unclean s{)irits, and
they do obey Him." " And imuiediately he arose, took up the
bed and went forth before them all ; insomuch that they were
all amazed, and gloiitied God, saying. We never .saw it on this
fashion." "And straightway the damsel arose and walked; for
she was of the age of twelve years ; and they were astonished
with a great astonishment." Or again, in the sixth chapter a..d
second verse: "Many hearing Him were astonished, saying. From
whence hath this Man these thino-s ? And what wisdom is this
which is given unto Him that even such mighty works are
wrought by His hands '. Is not this the carpenter (" And in
the tiftj'-tirst verse, " And He went up unto them into the ship ;
and the wind ceased ; and they were sore amazed in them.selves
beyond measure, and wondered." Yes, when we go forth really
having no reputation of our own, no power in ourselves, no
schemes and plans of our own designing, no will of our own, no
confidence in ourselves ; when we go at the Master's bidding
in the Master's spirit, ami clothed with the Master's name, ener-
gized by the Master's power, to car.'y out the Master's plans, then
'• :;
M:
I
riiit
I ':^S
mm.
ifc_ '
k
it
268
"l.ElfoLD MV SERVANT.'
there will indeed be astonishment and amazement that shall brin<j
jjlory to our Master, and make people see that it is not a mere
natural work, but it is somethinfj supernatural, it is something
divine. It is something which certainly cannot be put down
to our creditor to our glory, but they will give the glory to God,
who has worked in us " to will and to tlo of His good pleasure."
Oh, may that be the result of our service. May He make us
like Himself. " Let this mind be in you which was al.so in Christ
tlesus." Let it come into you, will you ? By the coming of the
Holy Ghost we have the mind of Christ. Will you let Him
cleanse you from all the pride and independence and self-love,
and self-Hattery, and .self-contidence, aiul wilfulne.ss,and all that
has made vou such a wretched servant ; and will vou let Him
till you with His Spirit, with the Spirit of Jesus, who made
Himself of no reputation, with the Spirit of Him who was meek
and lowly in heart, that so He will be able to take you up and
use you, to call you in for sweet fellowship with Himself, or
that He ma}' be able to send you forth upon any errand, to any
manner of service, according as the Lord the King shall appoint ?
Amen.
HHIIOLD run MAN
Ze<;hauiah VI. 12, I.'>; Li'KK ix. 56, 5S.
'"nr^HERE shall come forth a Rod out of the stem of Jesse,
jL and a IJranch shall grow out of his roots." By that
name, the Branch, Jesus is several times spoken of in
the prophetic Scriptures. Turn to Jeremiah xxiii. "), 6 : " Be-
hold the days co iic, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto
David a ri<;hteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper,
and shall execute judc^ment and justice in the earth. In His
days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely ; and
this is His name whereby He shall be called, THE LORD OUR
RIGHTEOUSNESS." We have seen Jesus as the Branch, the
Kin 'j; of Righteousness, in the Gospel of Matthew. Now turn
to Zeehariah iii. 8: " Hear now, Joshua the high priest, thou
and thy fellows that sit before thee : for they are men won-
dered at : for behold I will bring forth My servant THE,
BRANCH." This Branch of God, the Servant, we saw
yesterday in Mark's Gospel ; the patient servant, the mighty
worker, the burden-bearer, the one who still is serving as a
worker together with us. If you turn to Isaiah iv. 2, you
will see, "In that day shall the Branch of the Lord" — or the
Branch of Jehovah—" l)e beautiful and glorious, and the fruit
of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are
escaped of Israel." That aspect of Christ's work and person
as the Divine One, manifesting the glory and beauty of Jeho-
vah, we shall, with the help of the Holy Spirit, gaze at to-
morrow in the Gospel of John. In Zechariah vi. 12, 13,
you will see Jesus, the Branch spoken of, under yet another
aspect. " Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying. Behold the
Man whose name is THE BRANCH ; and He shall grow up
out of His place, and He shall build the temple of the Lord,
lilven He shall build the temple of the Lord ; and He shall bear
the glory, and shall sit and rule upon His throne ; and He shall
be a priest upon His tiirone ; and the counsel of peace shall be
■I; i
270
liEIIOM) TIIK MAX.
'i'l
Hir
between tliein lioth. " " Behold the Man whose name is THE
BllAXC'H .' " It is this human aspect of the life and work of
Jesus Christ that we shall tinil throu^di St. I^uke's CJospel.
Luke's (iospel was written in Cireece in the purest (Jreek
of the three (!reek t^ospels, for the (ientile Christians, so it has
often been called th(! (Jentile (Iospel; but we mi<,'ht more
suitably call it the Cniversal (iospel. For instance, wheti the
proclamation of the l)irth of .b!sus Christ is made by the
anL;'elie hosts to the shepherds watchiuLj their Hocks by ni<j;ht,
in chapter ii. 10, 11, this is their messai,^e : " The ani^el said unto
them, Pear not; for behold, I bi'iny; you <,fOod tidings of great
joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this
day, in the city of David, a Saviour wliich is Christ the Lord."
Whereas St. Mattlujw specially draws our attention to those
occasions on which the L )rd -Jesus mentioned that His mission
was to Israel ; and, for the time beintj, to Lsrael only ; Luke
writes down for us those occasions on which the Lord, or those
connected with His life on earth, specially say that the ( Jospel is
for the Centiles and for all nations. You remember Matthew
notes that in sendinrr forth the twelve, .lesus says, "(Jo not into
the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter
ye not, but <>o rather to the lost sheepof the house of Israel." That
was the first connnission, " to the -lew first." l>ut Luke catches
up and chronicles for us all those sayin<j;s wherein the ( Jospel is
proclaimed to be not only to the dew, but, in God's wondrous
grace, to the (^entile also ; as, for instance, in chapter ii. Ji0-'}2 :
" Mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared
befoie the face of all people; alight to lighten the (Jentiles,
and the glory of thy people Israel." And in chapter iii. 6 we
get the end of that quotation which is not mentioned in Mat-
thew, that "all flesh shall see the salvation of God." And it is
in St. Luke'.s Gospel that we get the Lord's reference, in His
prophetic utterances in chapter xxi. at the end of His ministry,
to " the times of the Gentiles," and that not " until the times
of the (Jentiles be fulfilled" will (tod's dealings with the
nations be accomplished, and His final restoration of Israel
and His manifestation of Himself to them as indeed their FCing,
their Messiah and their Lord.
But the main featuvv^ of this Gospel of Luke is its human
aspect. Here we meet Jesus as a man amongst men. Here we
have the glorious mystery of the Incarnation opened up to us ;
here we have Jesus coming amongst us as bone of our bone,
and flesh of our flesh. Here we have Him feeling as we do, and
going in and out amongst men, not as the King and royal Law-
liKllOM) THE MAX.
271
the
[ael
lan
I we
us;
fne,
md
iw-
jjiver, nor specially under the aspect of the Servant and burden-
bearer ; but we have Him, as it were, walking aloni^^side of us as
He walked alonj^side of those two disciples goin<^ to JMiiiuaus;
as our ft'llow, as one with us, as understantliiiLj us, as talkinf'
witli us. Li;t us look at some of the features of this book as
brimming out .lesus the Man, tlu; human aspect of Christ's work
and person.
You rememl)er in Matthew we had the royal deseendin;;
fjenealoiify, which traced His lelationshii) with David the
Kin<^ of Israel. I>ut here we have the ascendint,' i;enealof^y
that traces Him up thus (chapter iii. JJS) : " Whieh was the son
th
f
ot I^jUos, whicli was the son of Seth, wliicli was tlie .son o
Adam, which was the son of (iod" — tracing him right up to
the very beginning of the liuman race in Adam; reminding us
that He is now the representative of the human race, the
second Adam, the I^ord from heaven. You remember in St.
Mark's Gospel we got no genealogy at all. because when we
engage a servant we <lo not inouire into their genealoffy, but
when we speak of a king and when a throne is in (piestion,
we iiave to know that the person on the throne has a right to
their throne by birth and blood ; but in c^ngaging a servant, the
chief considerations are how their work is done, and wliat their
personal character is, and surely we bowed low in worship
yesterday as we saw the character of that mighty Servant, of
that prompt and wonderful worker: yes. we saw His character
and we saw the manner of His service in the Gospel of Mark ;
but here tlie genealogy leads up to Adam, showing His link
with us as a Man.
Then, again, tlv^re is a title which .Testis always gives to
Himself throughout this gospel, never speaking of Himself by
any other name than " Tlie Son of Man,'" and that title He
gives to Himself four and twenty times at least ; for example,
turn to chapter ix. .')G, "iS, when? .lesus says : " The Son of man
is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. . . .
Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests ; but the Son
of man hath not where to lay His head." Or chapter xix. 10 :
*' For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which
was lost." And chapter xxii. 09 : " Hereafter shall ye see the
Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God."
Then again, you notice in this gospel many little touches of
sympath}', and reference to outward details of dailj' life, some-
thing like what we saw in Mark, but which bring out His
human instincts and feelings. Look this up for j'ourselves.
There is one very tender little touch which is only noticed in
[:
} II!
, li:
272
HKHOM) Tin: MAN.
rf'
|i , . :
!:r)
this <^ijs))el, ill speakiii<f of tho rolatioiishij) hotweeii the coii-
turion ami his servant in tht'se words, " who was dear unto
l)ini.'' And ill chapter viii. 40: "The people <,'ladly received
Him, for thoy were all waitin;; for Him.' Then in the 4'2nd
verse, sj)eal<inif of .lairus's danyhter, it is only in St. Luhe yon
lind that he had "one only daui^hter.' From any of the other
narratives we mi<rht suppose she was one of a fannly, hut in
Luke we Hud he had one oidy dauf^hter. Do you see the sym-
pathy, the tenderness; and the yrief that rent those parents'
hearts '> One only daij<fhter ! And so on, you will Hnd through-
out this <;ospel little side-1 lights, as it were, tlirovvn in, which
seem to hrini; desus so near, such a sense that He understands
and knows all about us, ami enters into our life.
Then we shall hnd that there is something: charact(;ristic
in the parables wliich are ipiite peculiar to this orospel. Vou
will notice that they are all stories or incidents drawn from
human life, drawn from our inttTcourse as man with mati, drawn
from our human relationships, our own individualities, not from
the great world of nature around us, not from the wonders
of God's working in agricultural processes, etc., as in the other
gospels ; just to name some of them, " The good Samaritan,"
where we have the outgoing of brotherly feeling from man to man
depicted ; then there is The llich man in his selfishness, leaving
out of his consideration the needs of those around. Then ajrain
all those parables in the 15th chapter, about the Lost Sheep ;
and the woman's anxiety over the lost piece of money dropped
from off her head-dress ; and that wonderful gospel story of
the Prodigal Son. Then again the story of the Unjust Judge :
the down-trodden widow, the helpless weak woman suffering
from the insolence of ottice and not able to get the justice
rendered to her which she needed until her importunity pre-
vailed. Then we have the parable, told at Simon's table, of the
Creditor and his debtors ; and again we have that picture of
the heart of man, the Pharisee and the Publican. Now, do you
see how all of those are just upon the one level of our human
life, and human relationships, and human needs, showing how
completely the Lord Jesus Christ understands to the very
depths the human heart ; how He has entered into all its needs
and knows exactly how to meet them.
Then we not only have -lesus as the one perfect man, but
we have lying alongside of this thread of thought, the awful
picture of what man is as descended from the first Adam with
the disease of sin working in him. Side by side with the Man
Christ Jesus, " holy, harmless, undetiled, separate from .sinners,"
I'.KHol.l) niK MAN.
27;{
of
^e:
■ing
Itice
>re-
the
of
ou
Inan
how
jery
jeds
I but
rii\\
^tan
I If
and yt't a triu- man in every detail of His life, we have tlie .story
of tlie crooki'dne.sH, the perversity, the ilouhleness, the deceit
and the unrit^hteousness of man, h)st man, oidy in the image
of tile first Adam. Here in .lesus we iiave the restored ima<;e
of (Jod in man, the beauty of holintjss manifested as walkinj;
amonj^st us in human form, a pledi^e to us tiiat (Jo<lcanan<l
will recreate in us. if we yield ourselves to His full salvation, the
perfect imaj^e which oriifinally He stamped ujion man, for Ho
made man in the imaj^^e of (Jod, after His likeness.
Then look up for yourselves when; we j^et jK'ep.s into private
and liousehold life in this gospel : as, for instance, in the lii.story
of -lesus Himself we have the circumstances of His birth, and
in Ijuke we get the oidy information we have of His youtii
and bringing up at Nazareth, wliere He dwelt with His parents
and was sui)ject unto them ; and it is only in Ijuke that we
get peeps behind the scenes into tlie domestic life of others on
many occasions.
I would remind you, my tlear sisters, that this gospel is
specially precious to us women, because it is the portion of the
Word of Goil wiiere you get more about women than in any
other of equal size throughout this ble.ssed Book. Yes, we have
the J^ord entering with such tenderness and understanding
sympathy into the life of us women ; into household arrange-
ments, into our personal nervousne.ss and suffering, into our
loneliness and weakness and helplessne.ss, you will find every
one of these referred to and dealt with in the utmost tender-
ness and grace, with power, and for blessing. You know that
we liave accounts of Elizabeth, and of Mary, and of Anna the
prophetess brought before us ; then in this gospel we get the
aching heart of the widow of Nain, as she followed lier only
son out to burial, when .lesus met her wi^ j resurrection life
and joy, and comforted her. We get fuller recounts than else-
■whei'e of the ministry of women to Jesus as in viii. 2, '], " And
certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and
infirmities, Mary called Magdelene, out of whom went seven
devils, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and
Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto Him of their
substance." And in this gospel we get Jesus turning round on
His way to the cro.ss to the daughters of Jerusalem to give
them a last word before they went through the awful scene of
seeing their best friend hung on the cross and dying for them :
" Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for Me ; " and here also we
have the accounts of the faithfulness of the women, not only in
their quiet home ministries to Jesus, and in giving Him of their
IS
1 1
W '
274
IlKIIOLU Tin; MAN.
I, i
(■
• I
,sul)stanc(^ ; liiit of liow He ('oiiM use tlieir lips to Itc iiit's.son!.f(>rs
for lliiii of rcsuiTctitioii life uii'l lilt'ssiiiif. It is this Ltosjx'l tlifit
chronicles for us tlit; faitlifuljH'ss of tlioscMlevotcil woninii roiitul
the cross (xxiii. 41), ■')')): "Ami nil His iici|naiiitimc<! mi<l the
woiiii'Ti tlmt followed Him from ( ialilcc, stood uf.r oil', licliold-
iiiLf tlicsi; things. . , . And tlic women also, which came
with Him from ( (.Uilei', followed after, ami heheld the; s(!|nilchre,
and how His hody was laid. ' Then a^ain on tht; resurrection
morn, the lirst tliint,^ we tind is the women spoken of in the
tenth verse of the next chapter, '' It was Mary .Mai^ilelene, ami
.Inanna, and Mjii-y the mother of .lames, and other women that
wtM'e with them, whicli told these thin^^s \uito the aj)ostles."
Missionaries and hei'alils of the resurrection ! " Vea, ami certain
women also of our company made us astonished, which were
early at the sepulchre ; and wdien they found not His body they
came, sayinn', that they had also seen a vision of ant^els, whicli
said that He was alive. And certain of them which were with
us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women
liad said : but Him they saw not." So, if there is one weak,
tempted, weary, lonely, nervous woman here this afternoon
wlio feels that six; is not understood ; and thaf perhaps is the
bitterness of her life: "no one understands me: even my
husband does not realize how weak I am : even my sister does
not know how 1 am tried and tempted: even my dearest friend
cannot see the depths of my heart." J)ear sister, here is Jesus,
•Fesus enters into all a woman's need, He knows a woman's
heart, He understands the limitations of her life, and He also
knows that He can use a weak woman to spread His glory and
to bring honor to His name. Do you remember that it is in
this gospel we get that wonderful picture of the poor woman
bowed to the ground with her deformity of body and depression
of spirit which had held her captive and downcast for eighteen
years ? .Tesus sets her free and says, " Woman, thou art loosed
from thine infirmity " ; and she, poor, discouraged, nervous soul,
who came into the synagogue that Sabbath Day, a victim to
the power and malice of the enemy- -she goes forth out of the
synagogue to glorify Go ', a trophy to everyone who looked at
her from that day forward, of the grace, the mercy, the power
and saving health of desus. Will you let Him bless you in
your weakness, perhaps in the utter deformity of your charac-
ter ? will you let Him so save you that He may send you forth
to be the one to spread the glory of His name and the good
tidings of His great salvation Z
Turn to another point in this gospel. It is remarkable that
lil'.lliiM) llli; MAN.
27.')
that
in liiiki! we liiive spocinlly clirnniclc"! lor lis tlin iiiaiiy soasons
that .It'sns ()(!pii|)i(i(l in praA'cr. And liow iM'antil'iilly in hiirinony
that is, iorwi' lunc lliin lure, lujt as the Kin^,' to nttcr His woi-il
ot" power Mini nutliority. Imt us a nniii, nccilinn' to Iuiac intcr-
coursi! witli (loil, lu't'iliiii;' to l<(n'p His luinian soul in pci't'cct
toncli witli, anil ilepciKicnci' on His Katiici', nt't'clim^r to Mt,t away
t'rum all tlic inllncncfs that would liavt; dra^u^d a huniim soul
down, into the .spiritual atniosnlifro ot" His l''ather's presence.
A.s the pattern man. He showed what the secret of a perfect life
wa.H, tlu' secret of ahidiuLj coinniunion with ( !od. So this is the
!4(jspel that points out .lesus to us in His lonely, (piiet, lengthened,
constant oj)j)oi'tunities for prayer. In the .'{rd chapter and "J 1st
verse, we liave these words: " Now when all the peo[)le were
l)a])ti/.(Ml, it came to pass that Jesus also heinn- hapti/ed and
praying" " — this is the ordy ;j;ospel that records that act at the
haptisMt — "the heaven was opened and the Holy Ghost tie-
scended in a hodil}' sha])e like adfjve u]H)n Him; and a voice came
from heaven, which said, Thtni art my htdoved Son, in Thee I
am well pleased." (.'hapter v. 10 says: "He withdrew Hiiuself
into the wilderness, and prayed"; the Gtli chapter and 12th
verse, " It came to pass in those days that He went up into a
mountain to jiray, and continued all ni<.(ht in prayer to Uod."
A very important work lay before Him on tlie morrow: He
was to choose, and name, and set forward on tlieir work twelve
apostles, and befori; doing this He spends the whole night,
not in resting after His arduous work, but "continued all night
in prayer to (jioil. ' Again, in ix. IH, "It came to pass as He
was alone praying, His disciples were with Him, and He asked
them saying. Whom say the people that 1 am." Do you know
what that is, by the power of the Spirit to be (duve praying
even when you are in the company of (luite a number of people?
Do you know what it is just before the Lord has a message for
you to give to some soul that is sitting in the drawing-room
with you, or that you are coining into contact with in a store,
do you know what it is just there in their presence to be alone
praying ! The other peopli; are there, but (Jod is so much more
real, so much nearer tt) you than they are, that you can pour
out your soul to Hiin, that you can draw the resources that you
need from Him, and then utter in the convincing power of the
Holy Ghost the words which you have to speak to them. Turn
on, in the same chapter, to the 28th verse, " And it came to
pass about an eight t lays after these sayings, He took Peter and
John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray. And
as He prayed, the fashion of His countenance was altered,
1
n
W:
ii'ji
IS .'I
-.4
■ ,t
i
1
i
t
i !
1
1 i
i U
1
In
^ ■%
i
k
pi |g
270
HKIIul.K I UK MAN,
imd His niiiiMMit wiis wliitf utni iflistt'i'in<_'', miil liflioM tlu'r*'
tulUt'il with Him two iin'ii wliioli were M()S('>i aiiil l^iiiis " In
cliajitor \i. I, 'Ami it ciiiiie to piias tliat as Mo was prayiii;,' in
a ciTtaiii plac*', when He ceased, one of His discipU's said unto
Mini. Lord, teach lis to pray.' Ah! as they watcheil Him tliey
wei'e conscious that tliere was somcthini;' ahoiit His praying;
that was very liill'erent to tlie way in which they said their
prayeis, and they come to Him as the ( iiie who alioM; all other.s
eouhl teach them to l)ray. hear t'rii'tuls, this nfli'rnoon as we
j^aze upon .Jesus, the perfect Man, in solit»id(.', and on the
mountain top, and in the wihh'rness prayin;,'; as wu see that He
did not attempt any work without prayer, tiiat He would not
<,'o into identilication with the siiuiers around Him liy hiiptiMu,
Hewouhl not nominate Histwelvt; apostles, He wouhl not mani-
fest His Father's j^lory at the transtinuration without prayer; shall
we not confess to Himthatwe know almost nothiuL; <)f this life of
prayer, and as we behold Hint pray in if, say, ' Lord.teacli me to
pray. O Lord, teach nie, for that was tlie reason why I failed in
the little testimony 1 gave the other day to a friend ; it was full
of self, it was full of self-consciousness and the thouylit of my
own nervousness and tlie words 1 was putting together, it was
not full of 'J'hee, it did not draw them to Thyself, it did not
really prick or cut them to tlie heart : Lord, teach me to |)ray
before 1 speak." Or that class or that meeting or whatever it
was the Lord sent you out to do, yo;i thought the great thing
in preparation was to get your head crammed full of nice
things to say, but, dear friends, have you ever noticed we are
not told that the Lord Jesus taught His disciples how to
'preach / He knew that if their hearts were full to overtlowing,
out would come the witness to Him ; but He did teach them how
to I >ra I/. .lust stop and think the last time you took a class, you
Sunday School teachers, the last time any of you went forth to
speak for the Lord and in His name. Was your chief prepara-
tion earnest, simple, believing, prevailing prayer ! Was it
prayer that brought you into sympathy with the purposes of
God for tho.se souls :' Was it jirayer that brought down the
power of God upon tliose .souls ? Or was it thi.s sort of petition :
" O Lord, enable my brain tt) get a grip of this subject, don't let
me be disgraced before that cla.ss, get my memory into a better
condition than it is now ; I feel .so nervou.s, please help me with
my nervousness," etc. i All that is calking about self, about my
brain and my acquitting myself nicely at the class or in the
sermon. May the Lord teach us that the secret of all true
service is, that we .should be men and women of prayer ; not
llF.Moll) I III: MAX.
277
n
nice
e arc
)\V to
iwins,
In how
fs, yon
•th to
'para-
'as it
Ises of
n the
,ition :
't let
Itetter
with
my
n the
ill true
not
but
just askin!,' lor what will makf us I't^el stroti-,' or possfssi'ij of
anytliiii.; in oiirsL'lvcs ; Imt prayer that will luini,' the min'lity
power of (loil anil the iiii;flity lovi' of (linl down upon the
neutis and upon the hearts of those to wliont you spi-uk ; that
is what the Lord wants to teach us in our work to pray, /"/>/'^//,
to pray. ( )li, ri'nd that seventeenth (!ha|>ter of St. John's ( Jospel,
seu what His heart was ycainini; for, althoui,di there stood as
the next step in front of Him (lethseinane, the .Judi,nnent halls,
the cross, and the irrave. Vou don't hear a petition for Himself,
hut it is nil that Ihi 1/ all may he diie, that //" // may ho kept,
that l/ifi/ may he sanetiti(Ml. ()h, ;^'o to desus, wateh Him pray-
in<^, and as He prays, say, " Lord, teach me to pray. Amen. "
Another thinif, which in this jjfospL!! is si;,(tuticant h(>causo
desus is hefore us here as "the Son of man," is His dependisnce
upon (lod and upon the power of the Holy (ihost. And of
course this is linked with our last point, khat of the need of
prayer for a holy life, and for etiicient service, ^'ou ronieml)er
the words we I'ead in coiniection with tiie haptisin of .lesus
and His prayer: "And the Holy (Jhost tlescended in a bodily
shape like a dove upon Him.' Now, turn to iv. I, 14, 'And
Jesus, l)eini,' full of the Holy (Jhost, returned from Jordan and
was led hy thtf Spirit into the wilderness . And .lesus
returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee:" and in the
iStli verse, wdiere He stands up in the syna^o<j[ue and reads
the words which He says "are this day fulfilled in your ears."
He hey;ins the tpiotation from the prophecy of Isaiah thus:
" The Spiiit of the liord (Jod is upon Me, hecause He hath
anointed Me to preach the «fOspel to the poor; He hath sent
Me to heal the hroken-hearted. to preach deliverance to the
captives, atid recovering.; of si<;ht to the hlind, to set at liberty
them that are hruised, to preach the acce|)tahle year of the
Lord. ' So W(; see broujfht out in this <,fospel the dependence
of Jesus, as the Son of man. upon the power of the Holy (ihost
for His life and work. And, my dear friends; if Jesus the God-
man, would not meet the power of the devil in the wilderness
until He had been baptized with the Holy Ghost: if Jesus the
God-man would not <;o forth into the towns and villages to
preach, or to do any of the service which (Jod had specially
appointed Him ; how much more is it true of you and nie that
apart from the power of the Holy (Jhost we can do nothing;
without the ])0wer of the Holy Ghost our testimony will fall
to the ground ; apart from the power of the Divine Spirit we
cannot do the good work.s which ( Jod has before prepared that
we .should walk in them. The Lord Je.sus told His disciples
=1
IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)
1.0
I.I
1.25
;; IIIIU |||||Z2
* 12.0
111=
U IIIIII.6
:|
V]
<^
//,
VI
9%
/y
y
/A
Photographic
Sciences
Corporation
33 WEST MAIN STREET
WEBSTER, NY. 1 4580
(716) 872-4503
^
\
iV
\\
%
V
rv
o^
,<.
&
i
27N
HF.IIOM) THE MAN.
I
i'>
(xxiv. 49) to tarry in the city of .lerusaleiu until they were
endued with power from on high. Althuu<j;h he had just told
tlieni plainly what they were to do, what the apticial point oi
their preacl'in<j was to be ; yet He telly them that tiiey wiae
powerless to go forth until they were fu.iy e(|uipped and ener-
gized by the indwelling power of the Holy (Jhost. He says:
" Wait for the promise of the h'ather."' Dear friends. I have to
remind you this afternoon, that if we being evil know how to
give good gifts unto our children, how much more will our
heavenly Fatlier give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him.
It is " Ask and receive, that your joy may be full. ' It is His
purpose, and nothing short of this, that you should be "tilled
with all the fulness of (Jod;" that in the power of the indwell-
ing Spirit working in you, living in you, the very life of Jesus
should be manifest in your mortal bodies ; that Ity the per-
petual in-Howing and the perpetual out-Howing of tlie power
of the Holy (Jhost through you, .lesus, precious Jesus, .)esus
always, and Jesus only, should be manifested to those to whom
we speak ; whether in our common, ])ractical, flail}- intercourse
one with another, or when we stand up s))ecially in His name
to deal with souls or classes, or congregations. ])o not, I
be.seech you. go forth in the name of the Lord e.xcept you go
forth in the power of the Spirit. You need never go without
the Spirit, for Jesus Himself as our Representative has a.scende(i
to the glory of the Father and received for us the promised
Holy Ghost, in order to shed Him forth abundantly upon us.
He did not receive the Holy Gho.st for Him.self, or in His name
as Son of God : but He received Him as the Son of man and in
our name, to shed Him fortli abundantly upon every man and
woman of the human race that wjuld receive Him, and vield
to the working of His mighty power within them. "For the
promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are
afar oft", even as many as the Lord our God shall call." There
is no limit, there is no .stint, there is no partiality in that great
gift. Oh, dear friends, I be.seech of you to learn from des'is,
the perfect Man, that you mui^t be, yes, and that you mtii be
filled to overflowing with the Holy Spirit of God.
You remember that I mentioned before how the cl )sing
words of ch gospel always corresponded with the substance
of the Gospel. At the end of the Gospel of the K'"ng, we
found the royal proclamation, "All power is given unto Me
in heaven and in earth." The closing words of the Gospel of
Mark, the gospel of service, were, " The Lord working with
them, and confirming the word with signs following." Now,
BEHOM) THE MAX.
27f)
I the
1 are
lere
IS'iS,
Ince
we
here we have a reinarkal)le conclusion to tlic ( lospel of St.
Luke,'" Behold, I send the promise of .My Father upon you:
but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until yo be endued
with power from on hi<fh. And lie led them out as far as to
Uethany, pnd He lifted up His hands and Messed them. And
it came to pass, while Me blessed them. He was parted from
them, and carried up into heaven. And they worshippetl Him
and returne<l to.Ierusalem with great joy, and were continually
in the temple praisin<^ and blessinj; God." Perhaps some have
wondered why we only read of the ascension of the Lord
Jesus to the right hand of God in Luke, and not in the gospels
whi^h represent Him as the King, or as the Son of CJod ; but
we have it here and in that other record written by Luke —
the Acts of the Apostles. Surely the reason is this : As the
Son of God He is the very centre of heaven, He has a right
to come and go, up there, just as He wills — it is His home, His
natural abode: but when He ascended up on high, He ascended
as the representative man, the Head of the human race. No
mdii liad a right to the glory above, no man had ever entered
heaven before ; but Jesus came to this earth and was identified
with us down here, and as the God-man was crucified for our
sins, and raised again for our justification, and ascended into
heaven, there to appear in the presence of God for uh.
In the Kpistle to the Hebrews we get that truth opened uj>
to U.S, that Jesus is in heaven as our great High Priest, as the
one Mediator between God and man, the Mun Christ .Jesus.
He is there in order to carry you and me up there representa-
tively in Himself (Eph. ii. 6; i. 3), and as a proof and pledge
to us now that heaven is our home and rightful dwelling-
place. This is a truth full of ble-ssing and full of teaching.
You remember it was the cry of the human heart from the
earliest ages that there should be a " daysman betwixt us "
— ic, the human race and the eternal God — " that might lay
his hand upon us both," one who could, as it were, touch God,
and yet come down and touch man in his need. And here in
Jesus we have the daysman, the Almighty Son of God, who
can lay His hand upon the divine throne, upon (lod Himself ;
the Son of Man, entering into our needs, touched with the feeling
of our infirmities, tempted in all points like as we are, who can
lay His hand of power in sympathy, tenderness and grace, upon
us in all our need and in our low estate. In Hosea it says,
" I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love." My
dear friends, it is not until you have seen what we gain in the
person of Jesus as the Man in the glory ; as our great High Priest
•:\}l
280
BEHOLD THE MAX.
i :i. >:
able to syinpnthize with us, able to " have compassion on tho
ii^norant and on them that are out of the way," tliat you can
enter into tlie glorious salvation there is for you in .lesus. It is
because He is the perfect Man, the crucified Man, the risen Man,
the ascended Man, that He can proclaim to us a full salvation.
" Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be
to all people, for unto you is born a Saviour." In the Kpistle
to the Hebrews we have the manhood of Jesus dwelt upon in
chapters ii. to viii. o in connection with His priesti}- ollice. His
sympathy and His intercession ; and in chapter vii. 24 the Holy
Ghost says, "This Man, because He continueth ever, hath an
unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore He is able also to save
them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He
ever liveth to make intercession for them. For such an hish
Priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undeHled, separate from
sinners and made higher than the heavens." Yes, it is the
perfect Saviour that we see in Luke's Gospel, exalted as our
Representative to the right hand of God to be our High Prie.st
and Mediator between God and man . to "la}' His hanii upon us
both," to make the covenant of peace between us both : and to
apply to us perpetually by the sprinkling of His Blood and by
the anointing of His Holy Spirit all the benefits which are ours
through His life, His death and His resurrection down here.
Oh, may the Lord teach us to make use (I use the word rever-
ently, and I use it urgently), to make use of our great High
Priest, to make use of Him who is there, understanding us ; not
lost and swallowed up in the glory, but " a Man upon the
throne." Do you remember in Ezekiel's glorious vision in
chapter i. 26 :" Above the firmament . . . was the likeness of
a throne, . . . and upon the likeness of the throne was the
likeness as the appearance of a Man above upon it." Aliove the
powers of nature that had been portrayed before Ezekiel there
was the appearance of a Man above upon the Throne. Yes,
there is Jesus, my representative ; Jesus, the " Priest upon His
throne " to hear all my prayers, to understanJ all my tempta-
tions, to present in His perfect intercession all my petitions,
and all my praises : to apply to me, if I will only draw near and
let Him do so, His cleansing Blood and His anointing Spirit ;
to apply to me His full .salvation to the very uttermost of my
need, which He .so well understand.s. Let us draw near to Him
now and put our case into His hands.
muunA) Tin: lamb ov cod.
(Jenesis XXII. iS; .Foiix I. 29. 36.
"/''^Ol), who at sundry times ami in clivers maimers spake
VJ in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in
these last days spoken unto us by His Son." ' Having
yet therefore one Son, His well-beloved, He sent Him also last
unto them, saying, They will reverence my Son." Jt is the
Son of God ; Jesus, Himself (Jod ; .lesus, " the only begotten of
the Father, full of grace and truth " whom we shall .see and
worship in the power of the Holy Ghost in opening the fourth
Ciospel, The Gospel according to St. John. It has been men-
tioned that some think the Gospel of Mark represents to us
Jesus as the divine Son, but we saw that although this truth
is brought out in many passages of that gospel, becau.se son-
ship must precede all true service, yet that its main character-
istic is the picture of Jesus as the faithful servant and mighty
worker. Let us now go into some of the reasons why we
believe that St. John brings before us Jesus as God, as the
only begotten Son of God.
The opening words leave us in no doubt of this, for instead
of finding the genealogy of human descent, as we had both in
Matthew's and in Luke's gospels, we hiive here Jesus spoken
of in His eternal existence before the world began. " In the
'beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the
Word was CJod, The same was in the beginning with God."
In the 14th verse, " And the Word was made flesh and dwelt
(tabernacled) amongst us, and we beheld His glory, the glory
as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."
In the 1 8th verse, " No man hath seen God at any time ; the
only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He
hath declared Him." Again in chapter xx. 30, 31, the Apo.stle
John gives us the reason ior the writing of this book : " Many
other signs truly did Jesis in the presence of His disciples,
which are not written in this book ; but these are written, that
■iv
■ !:!.
* 'lii
^1
282
• I1KII()M> TIIK LAMP. OK GOD.
^i
■
y«' mijrht Relieve that .Icsns is tho ('hrist, the 8on of God;
and tliat bclieviiii; ye miulit have life tlirou^jh Nis name."
Also we liiid wiuither in puiilic or in private, whether disputin<^
witli the dews or alon*; with His disciples, this was tlie sub-
stance of His teaching, thiit " I and My Father are one," and
chapter xvi. 2S, is a sort of epitome of the whole (iospel: "I
catne foith from the Father, and am come into the world :
aijain, 1 leav(^ the world, and <n) to the Father.' Anil because
this was the substance of His teaching, we tind it is the reason
<i;iven for the opposition of the enemy aj^ainst Him. If you
turn to chap. v. 17, '.lesus answered tliem, My Father worketh
hitherto, and I work. Therefore the Jews soni^dit the more to
kill Him, because He not oidy had broken tlie Sabbath, but
said al.so that (iod was His Father, makin<^ Him.self ecjual
with God. Then answered Jesus an<l said unto them, Verily,
verily, I say unto you, the Son can do nothin<^ of Him.self,
but what He .seetb the Father do : for what thinys .soever He
doeth, these also doeth the Son likewi.se. For the Father
loveth the Son, and showeth Him all things that Him.self
doeth : and }Ie will show Him greater works than these, that
ye may marvel." The 23rd verse, " That all men should honor
the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honoreth not
the Son, honoreth not the Father which hath sent Him." A<,'ain
in the 10th chapter, you will tind that " the Jews took up
stones again to stone Him " because of that mighty utterance
of His in the 30th verse : " I and My Father are one." And
in the 36th to the 39th verses, " Say ye of Him whom the
Father hath sanctified and .sent into the world, Thou blas-
phemest; because I saio i am the Son of God. . . The
Father is in Me, and I in Him. Therefore they .sought again
tj take Him." And this was the accusation made against Him
by the Jews : " We have a law, and by our law He ought to
die, because He made Himself the Son of God. When Pilate
therefore heard that saying he was the more afraid. " Indeed
.so continuously does this subject come into the book, or rather
I may say, .so completely is it the suhjrat of the book, that the
relationship of Jesus to < »od as a Son to the Father, is referred
to in no less than 138 verses of this gospel. 1 lay stress upon
this po.nt for three reasons, because if you have any contact
with God's chosen people, the Jews, this is one of the chief
point' of argument they will bring up against you. Not long
ago I was myself told by a Jewess, " I suppose you know, Mrs.
Campbell, that Jesus never once said of Himself that He was
the Son of God ; it was an idea started long after Ho died by
" IJEIloLh THK LAMI» <>F (J(»I).
28:i
Liiu
to
jate
leed
Iher
Ithe
tred
)on
bact
lief
)ng
[rs.
ras
by
some of His disciples, and they put it down in your I took
which you call the New Testament, hut He never claimed to
he God lliniselt." The I'nitarians also make shipwreck of
faith here; this is their strong point, or rather the (juicksand
upon wliich they have struck, that .Fesus is not, and never Him-
self pretentled to be, the Son of (jiod. Anil thirdly, as we shall
see presently, if He is not the Son of (Jod, He is not the perfect
and suflicient Saviour tiiat j'ou and I, as needy sinners, must
have. If you do not helieve in .lesus as the Son of God, if
your idea of Christ is of a j^reat man and a <,'reat teacher oidy,
you will hnil your creed is a limp, Hahhy, lifeless, purposeless
thing; and has no transforming power over your life, and no
transfiguring power upon your character. It is of the utmost
importance that we .should stand tirmiy rooted and grounded in
this truth.
So let us notice one other thing which proves that this (Jospel
gives the divine aspect of Christ's work and person. The Lonl
Jesus deals with one soul after another, and the Holy Ghost
come.s upon the witnesses to Jesus, for the purpose of drawing
from them the confession, or testimony to the fact that Jesus
is the Son of (Jod. John the Baptist, a num tilled with the
Holy Ghost, witnesses : " I knew Him not, but He that sent me
to baptize with water, the same said unto me. Upon whom
thou .shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, the
.same is He which baptizeth with the Holy Gho.st, an<l 1 saw and
bare record that this is the Son of God." Again, when Jesu.s is
beginning to educate in faith that guileless soul Nathaniel, see
how He draws him on till " Nathaniel answered and saith unto
Him, Rabbi," he had come only to hear a teacher, but that
Teacher had shown that He could look into the deepest recesses
of his soul, and could tell him just what his personal religious
exercises had been some hours before, and he .said, " Rabbi, Thou
art the Son of God, Thou art King of Israel." Or again, the
man born blind, who after his healing was separated from the
synagogue, because he had believed that Jesus was .sent of God;
the Lord knew that his faith was very ignorant and very weak.
So He meets him with the .same Ics.son (ix. 8o-38) : " Jesus
heard that they had cast him out ; and wlien He had found
him, He said unto him. Dost thou believe on the Son of God ^
He answered and .said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on
him ? And Je.sus said unto him, Thou hast both .seen Him and
it is He that talketh with thee. And he said, Lord, I believe,
and he worshipped Him." So you see it is not enough to have
your eyes opened, to tind that Jesus can meet you in the ex-
,T""
4.1
r 1'
1 €
nil
2S4
" IlKlluM) IIIK I. AMU OC «;o|v
i
treiiiity of your iu't'<l as we saw yextcnlay, Imt you noed
t'lirtluT teaching, you nci'd your faith stren«;tnijiu'»l and rooteil
and scttl«H| ill the fact, that Ifu whom you liavu mot, Mo who has
.saved and delivered y<ui, He who has opened your eyes, is none
othi^r than tlie (!od-Man, the Son of (iod. Or ayain, in the
I 1th chapter where the Lord .losus meets Martha in her distress,
which we may ahnost say vor<;»!d uj)on unhelief and rebellion:
" Why didn't th»! Master coiiu! when I sent for Him, wliy tlid He
let Ija/arus die !* ' When He met Martha in all that sur-,Mn<;
conHict of feeling within her, He draws from h-r just the same
confession, because notlnnj; but anchorin<; her soul in His
almighty power as the Son of (lod, could ever set at rest all
those (piestionini^s, those reasoninijs, those pu/zle.*^- and those
revolts. Vou rememl)er when .Jesus said to her in tlie 2.'ith
verse, "I am the resurrection and the life; h» that
bolieveth in Me though he were dead yet shall he live;
and whosoever livtith and believeth in NIe shall never die.
Pielievest thou this ! She saith unto Him, Yea, Lord, I believe
that Thou art the C-iirist, the Son of (lod that .should come into
the world." And the last we will turn to is the incident after
t}ie resurrection, when Jesus reveals Himself to Thomas, the
doubting disciple, who made up his mind that he wouKl go into
Juilea with Jesus just to die with Him, always looking rather
upon the shadowy side of things, and Thomas finds all his
doubts and gloom Hy. and he " answered and .said unto Him,
My Lord and njy ( U »1." But rea<l this gospel, read it alone l)y
yourself until the Lord draws forth from //onr heart, in blessed
certainty of conviction, the confession that Jesus is the Son of
God ; that Je.sus is none other than God Himself.
Now, since .Fesus is speaking as God, as the Word of God, you
find Hinj in this book constantly prefacing His utterances with
those emphatic words, " \ erily, verily, I say unto thee," as for
instance, in chapter iii. 3, 5 : " Verily, verily, I say unto thee.
Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of
God. . . . Verily, verily, I .say unto thee. Except a man be
born of water anci of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the
Kingdom of God." Or again, in the 5th chapter and '24th
verse : " Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My
word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life,
and shall not come into condemnation ; but is passed from
death unto life. . . . Verily, verily, I .say unto you, The
hour is coming, and now is. when the dead .shall hear the voice
of the Son of God : and they that hear .shall live."
Another thing you will notice in this gospel is the constant
" nElloI,!) TIIK LAMIt Ol' (;()I).
2.sr)
ri't'eieiices l>y tlu" Lonl .Icsiis llimst'lt" to the fact tliat the
Fatiier htid si>nt iiiiii forth from Himself, atnl in His name, un<l
ch)theil with His power, ami to speak His wonis. That worl
" sent' is (|aite a characteristic word of th" (Jospel. J'lrk it
for yourselves in your liiMcs.
Then ajL^ain, you will n'memher that when ' iod revealed
Himself to Israel as the deliverer, to reileem tliem fp'm the
gallinj,' honda^'e of K<,'ypt, w«' have in Kxodus iii. j.'l, I 'r, Moses
asking' (iod this (|Uestion : " When i come unto the children of
Israel, ami say unto them, The <iod of your fathers hath sent
me unto you; and they shall sa}' to me. What is His name ■'
what shall I say unto them ? And ( lod saiil unto Moses, I AM
THAT 1 AM : and He said, Thus shalt thou say unto the
children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. . . . This
is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all "gener-
ations." That awful name rennnded the Israelites of (Jod's
existence through all eternitj', by His own inherent life and
immortality; that He lived and was, just heciuse He is, and
was, and ever shall he, " He which is, and which was, and which
is to come;" — that name .lesus explained and opened out to us
in the fulness of its meaning for us .sinners. He tells us aj^ain
and a<jain in this gospel that He is none other than the great
"I AM," who was known to Israel of old as their Redeemer
and Saviour ; He is the one knowing their griefs, their sorrows
and their needs, who has come down to deliver them from the
power and dominion of sin, to deliver them from the weight of
their own slavery. " 1 AM " is the great revelation of this
gospel of .lohn. For in;stance, after the Jews had been scoffing
at Him and saying, " Thou art not yet fifty years old and hast
thou seeii Abraham :" Jesus said unto them. Verily, verily, I
say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am." (viii. ")7, oS.) And
in the 24th ver.se : " i said therefore unto yow. that ye shall die
in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am, ye shall die in
your sins." And in vi. 20, when He reveals Himself to His
disciples, as He drew nigh unto the ship, " And they were
afraid, but He saith unto them, It is I (or " I am "), be not
afraid. Then they willingly received Him into the ship, and
immediately the ship was at the land whither they went."
Hut not only does He reveal Him.self as the great " I AM,"
He also opens up to us in this gospel what is wrapped up of
possibility in that wondrous nanii for u.s. You know tho.so
two words form only part of a sentence, an unfinished .sen-
tence. " I am " — we feel as if there should surely be some
complement to the words, some finishing of the idea, some
I I
!■
i:'
•jNtJ
' IIKIlHl.l) nil: I.AMII nl (iol).
ci'Mwtiiiii^ of tlio tlioiiLjlit, soini'thini; <>n which wc can r»'»illy
rc^t our hi'iii t.s ; iiM<l \vi' tin<l it so in this ^ospi-l. \V(! tiinl .Ir.sus
stiiii<lii)<r liL't'ore tht' man horn lilin<l anil sayin;;, " I am thu
h<fht of the worhl." Art' tht-ri' any hiind oyi's hert', hlinih'il
hearts, lilinilcil with scllishnt'ss and sin, Idinilcil with woi'Mli-
noss ami fashion, hjindcd with thi> mists of unhclirf that aro in
tile air aroiiml us in this nirjetccnth century ;* " I am the li«rht
of the world; " draw near to .h-sus, dear heart, and the scales
•shall drop oH your eyes, and the very ,i,dory of (Jod shall shino
upon you in the face of .h-sus Christ. And Ho comes to those
huiiLjry souls in tlu; (Ith chapter, and says; "I am the livini;
IJread, which came down from heaven." Why are you famished,
poor souls ? Why aie you hininry and dissatished, why do
you lahor for that whicli is no^. hread and for that which satis-
tieth not :* lleai'ken dili<fently unto un-. and eat ye that which
is t^ooil, and hit your soul delii,'ht itself in fatness, for .lesus
says, " 1 am th.;it !>roa<l of jjife, tiiat Ureail of ( iod, which cometh
down from heaven, and ijivoth life unto the worlil." to satisfy
all the ynavvin<,'s of your heart's hunger, (yonie and eat. V'es,
in the old days Kve ate and died; now .lesus calls to us to eat
and live, to take of Himself as our heart's portion, as the
supply of all our need, as the love to satisfy us, and the life to
quicken us, and we shall be no more hun<^ry, for "he that
conmth to Me shall never hun<;er; and he that helieveth on
Me shall never thirst."
'I'hen He comes to those souls in the valley of the shadow of
death dwellinor amonj^ the tomhs, who, like poor Martha and
Mary, are crushed with recent bereavement, and He tips the
clouil of sorrow with this <;lorious lif;ht: "I am the Resurrec-
tion and the Life," and He comes to the dead, corrupt Lazarus
shut up in the <,'rave ami bound with j^rave-clothes, and proves
Hiins«!lf to be the Resurrection and the Life. Oh, bereaved
an<l darkened heart, look up, Jesus is near, the resurrection
<:flory will .soon dawn, for Jesus Himself will be manifested,
brinj^in^' joy and li<i;]it and life upon your darkness. Dead soul,
whei'ever you are in this meetin<^; you who are Ixmnd with the
grave-clothes of this world, you who are shut into a sepulchre
witli tlie ffreat stone of unbelief, I would call to you in the name
of Jesus, " Come forth," "arise from tlie dead, and Christ shall
give thee light," for Jesus has said, " I am the Life." Hut that
is not all. See how He comes to the wandering sheep, with the
assurance, " I am the Good Shepherd ;" how He comes to those
who are bewildered, becau.se of the way, seeking and needing
guidance but altogether puzzled how to get it, and He say.s, it
" lli;ilnr,i) THE I.A.MII oK i,n\).
•J.S7
).se
it
is Ht) simple, " I mil the Way -tlir only wuy to (Jixl, tlii' Way
of liil'f and IN-an' ull uldii;; tlic roiid Iroin mrtli tti lii-avcTi.
^'(m iiri' wiiiitiii^f iiif t<» <irii\v a map of your life, aji<l put a timI
line tliioiiLjli it, that you woiil-l know just wlu-ri' to >^n lu'twct'ii
this ciriMiiiiHtaiicf aii<l the other; liut that is not the way I
^ui<le; it is that I draw you to Myself a!i<l keep you ahiiliiii,;
in .Nh', for I am the Way, ami all I ask is, ' l*'oilow thou Mu."
1 am the Way, keep alii<lin'4 in Me Mtnl I will see to it that if
you shoiild, l»y mistake, turn to the ri^ht haiiij or to tho
left, " Thou shalt hear a voice hehind thee sayinn;/rhis is th(^
way, walk ye in it." Look up in this I'mok the many ways
in which the " I am of .lesus tin<ls iv fresh fullilmeiit.
If ill this ( iospel .lesus reveals ( loil to lis; Imir tUu-s lie reveal
Him ' \o\i will notice three wonls, l.ife, Liy;ht, Love, an<l in
tluit l>le:set| trinity of heauty ainl j;l<)ry, the ['.ranch of Jehovah
revt^als to us Ood. 'llw lii^dit shinini,' upon this dark world to
turn us " from darkness to li^^ht, and from the power of Satan
unto (lod." The Ijfe (Hiickeiiin^ our dead souls that we may
" walk in newness of life," and "serve in newness of spirit," and
liove revoalinj' the Father's lieart as flowin<; over with love to us.
"(lod so loved the world, that He f»ave His only bej^otten Son,
that whosoever lielieveth in Him sliouM not p<'risli, hut have
everlastini^ life." Turnini^ to one or two passai^es conceniin<^
the life, we see one of the reasons why it is an absolute neces-
sity, that you an<l I reco;,'ni/,e Jesus as the Son of God. Out-
side of ( }od, apart from Jesus there is no life. Hut "our Saviour
Jesus Christ hath brouijht life and immortalit}- to litflit throu<;h
the (lOspel;" so in John iii. IM't we read, " He that believeth on
the Son hath everlastinj; life: and he tliat believeth not the
Son shall not see life; but the wrath of Uod abideth on Him."
Turn for a corresponditi<( verse to the 1st Kpistle of St. John
(v: 10-12): "He that believeth on tlie Son of God hath the
witness in himself ; He that believeth not (Jod hath made him
a liar, because lie believeth not the record that (Jod ;,'ave of His
Son, an<l tliis is the record, that God liath ;.,nvon to us eternal
lif(!, an<l this life is in His Son, H(( that hath the Son hath life;
and he that hatli not the Son of God, hath not life." So if you
are c;oin<:f to content yourself with reeo^'ni/inj:; .lesus as a
teacher only, or even as the greatest of men, you have no life
abidinj? in j'ou; you must know Jesus not only as the Son of
Man, but you must come to .lesus as the Son of God, that you
may have life throu<;h His name, for outside of Him, apart from
Him, severed from Him, your soul is dead ; you are " dead in
trespasses and sins." In sending; Jesus the Father sent to us
2.^8
IIKIIOI.I) THE r.AMII o|- <10I).
ii
h'.t
His own t'tt'i'iml life, urn I as we rest our lu^art's cuiitiilt'iict! in
Hint as the Son of ( loil, ami in tliu reconi wliicli < ioil luitii ^^iven
to us of His St)n, at once the \Voi<l of the livin<^(io<l enters
into us as a living' ^'eriii, the power of the Holy (Jliost works in
us, (juickeiiin;,' our souls, utid our hearts awake in response to
the love of (lOil.
Now, let us see .lesus as the iiiauifestation of the love of
(iod. TurniuLf to this saiiu^ Kpistle (iv. !t. iii. 1<I), "In this
was manifested the love of (Joil toward us, because that(io(l
sent His only he^^otteii Son into thi' world, that we niij;ht live
through Him, Herein is love, not that we loved (Sod, hut that
He loved us, and sent His Son to Ih' the propitiation for our
SMis." In the fifteenth verse, " Whosoever shall confess that
Jesus is the Son of God, (Jod dwelleth in him, and he in <iod."
" Herehy know we love, liecause He laid down his life for us."
As you receive and welcome the <,'ooil news that (Jo<l sent His
well-beloved, His only hej^otten Son, to hrint; you life; l^ove,
the very nature of (Jod, rinds an entrance into your soul ; and,
by believin<,' these exceedin<; ;;reat and precious promises, you
become a partaker of the Divine nature. Love bej^ins to
transform your life ; love turns your heart's ati'ections roun<l
to the (Jod you have hitherti) thou<rht of as far ott", as hard, a.s
distant, because you did not know Him. Hut now, as you accept
the record of (iod concerninjj His Son, the jjospel of His grace
in Jesus, your Saviour from all sin, tlie love of God comes in with
Jesus, and your heart gives a trustful, loving response to God,
whose love is manifested to you. .lust here, in passing I would
say that as soon as you have read the Gospel of John, you
should read the Epistles of John. The Gospel gives us the
revelation of "God manifest in the Hesh " in the /n-i'soti of
Ji'«vin, and tlie Kpistle of John takes up the same subject, only
transferring it into the practical experience of our daily lives ;
and shows how (iod, who in the person of Jesus, manifeste«l
forth His glory here on eartli. is the same God who by tlie
niij^hty indwelling of the Holy Ghost, in our hearts, manifests
tliroaifh uy His life, His light and His love in this dark world ;
so that " as He is, so are we in this world." This is " the
mystery of godliness: CJod tnanifest in the Hash." First, in
and through .lesus; but also, as the Epistle of John shows,
through each one of us who are united to Jesus, and who,
having partaken of His fulness and grace, show this life, light
and love shining out through us, by the mighty indwelling of
the Holy Ghost, for " whosoever shall confess that .lesus is the
Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God." We find
" MEIInl.l) THK I.AMIi OK *iu|).
2M0
of
the
Ifind
that in Josuh w(> Imvn nil tliiti^'s tluit pertain unto lifo and (lod-
likonoss tlirou;;h tlio knowitdj^'o of iliiii who liatli cutletl us tu
glory and j^raw.
Do yon remenibj-r yostorday wlini looking at .lesus. "the
Son of Man . . . on the riyht hand of thu power of ( lod," wo
turnt>*l. in the Kpistle to the llehrewH, t<j the argument which
proved that lie could not hu the Hi^h I'riest ^suitable to our need,
if He had not lieen indeed very num, if He had not been par-
taker ok' our tiesh and Mood, " touched with the feeling of our
infirmities, ' and " in all points tempted like as wc are, yet
without sin." A true mediator, as Job foresaw in those early
days, must be one who could lay his hand upon both — upon
poor, weak, needy man, and upon the almighty, infinite (lod.
Now, the same Kpistle to the Hebrews, argues no less clearly
the point, that unless Jesus had indeed been ( Jod, the Son i t'
(tod. He could not be a perfect and suitable and faithful High
Priest for us, that tin; wondrous Incarnation was necessary in
order that desus might meet all our needs in coming from God
to Us, and bringing the fulnesii of (lod to us ; and, on the other
hand, going up from us to God in order to represent before
Him all our needs, all our weaknesses, and all our temptations.
Let us turn to the verses (Heb.iv. 14 ; v.5, 6 ; vii. 21 to viii. 1) :
" Seeing then that we have a great High Priest that has pas.sed
into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our
profession." " Christ glorified not Himself to be made an High
Priest ; but He that .''aid unto Him, Thou art my Son, to-day
have I begotten Thee, . . . .saith also in another place,
Thou art a Priest for ever after the order of Melchisedek."
"The Lord sware and will not repent. Thou art a priest for
ever after the order of Melchisedek : Hy .so much was Jesus
made a surety of a better testament. And they truly were
many priests, because they were not sufi'eretl to continue by
rea.son of death. But this Man, because he continueth ever,
hath an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore He is able
also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by
Him, seeing He ever liveth to make interce.ssion for them.
B^or such an High Priest became us, who is holy, harmless,
undefiled, .separate from sinners, and made higher than the
heavens ; who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer
up .sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's : for
this He did once, when He oft'ered up Himself. For the law
maketh men high priests which have infirmity ; but the word
of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is
consecrated for evermore. Now of the things which we have
19
290
HEHOLD THE LAMH OF GOD.
I,
V
I ;
» '¥■
c
ii.iK
If
spoken, this is the sum : We have such an Hi<^h Priest who i.s
set on the rij^lit hand of the throne of the Majesty in the
heavens." Therefore, if we wouUl k,t Him <lo for us all that
Ho is there in His high priestly ofHce to do as our Mediator,
as the One wlio sprinkles and a})plies the cleansinj^ blood, as
the One to anoint us with the oil of the Holy Ghost, we
must know Him not only in his tender sympathies, in His per-
fect manliooil, but we must know Him in His infinite resources,
and in His perfect orodhead. T beseech of you, feed your faith
upon this glorious fact that Jesus is none other than the very
Son of God.
Then, again, a great many Christians are troubled over the
cleansing of their sins by the blood of Christ. And 1 believe
their difficulty arises from their forgettinjj that He is the Son
of God. It is not only as mail that He died for us, but (irod
sent His only begotten Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
" We ".ere reconciled to God by the death of His Son." Now,
when you see that it is the blood of Jesus Christ, Gud's Son,
that cleanses you from all sin, you can believe in its efficacy
and power. But that text is so often quoted without those
two mighty words, "His Son" — "the blood of Jesus Christ
. . . clean.seth us from all sin." Almost unconsciously we
think of Him only as the dying man, and our faith is weak-
ened ; but remember, it is " The blood of Jesus Christ, IHs Son,
eleanseth us from all sin." Then " through faith we under-
stand " that it is His Divinity that gives to His blood shed on
Calvary its eternal efficacy, its almighty power, and its exceed-
ing preciousness. See also Gal. ii, 20; Heb. i. 1-3; x. 29 :
" Behold the Lamb of God," that " Lamb slain from the foun-
dation of the world," who, in the Book of the Revelation, we see
standing in the midst of the throne. " Behold the Lamb of
God, which taketfi away the sin of the world." Rest your
faith for salvation upon the poured-out life of Him who is
indeed the Prince of Life, God Himself. Yes, in the Acts of the
Apostles, we read, "The Church of God which He hath pur-
chased with His own blood." How often we have read those
words, but have we ever entered into their marvellous
meaning, the precious, precious blood of Christ ? ])o you
believe that the Son of God could have come down and been
crucified, and yet that His blood only half cleanses ? Numbers
of Christians say they take theii- sins to Jesus, but they do not
think they are fully cleansed ; they read that their sins that
be as scarlet, " shall be as white &y snow." But they think it
is a very muddy kind of snow, not like the pure, white glister-
ing snow that comes down from heaven.
"HEHOin THE F.AMIl ol' On|).
291
pur-
those
lUous
you
I been
^bers
not
ithat
ikit
Ister-
One more thought before wo close. Theio are only three
chapters in this (Jospel of John in which we do not find in
some form or another the word, " believe." Why is that?
Faith, that utterly simple thin<,^ that coinmonest of all things;
faith, which l)y our sophistries we have ma<le out to be such a
complicated and difficult thinj^ — faith is that faculty which
(jiod has put into every human heart by which thiujjfs which
are invisible, things which we call intangible, things wliich are
divine, things which are out of the reach of our senses, become
substantial and experimental realities to us. Faith is a faculty
of the heiirt, anil not of the hrad. You have not got to exercise
your reason or your imagination, or your mental powers ; but
to rest the confidence of your heart on the Word of God, if you
would have all these things made real to vou of which we have
been .speaking during these Readings. If Jesus is to b*^ a
reality to you, it must be, not by exercising your brain to think
over the difi'erent points about His work, or His character, or
His person ; but by your coming to Him, Him.self, and resting
your heart upon the record which God has given to us of His
Son in these four wonderful (iospels. And "as many as
received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of
God, even to them that believe on His name. . . . And of His
fulness have all we received, and grace for grace."
TILL OI' FAITH AND OI- Tlfli
IIOLV (;H()S'1\
'.>\
fii ;l
Acts vi. o; xi. 24; \v. 7-9.
STEPHEN, a man full of faitli an<l of the Holy (Jhost."
Banial)as " was a ^ood man, full of the Holy (Jhost and
of faith." Peter rose U[) and said: "(Jod made choice
amoni; \\s, that the (Jentiles hv mv mouth should hear the word
of the ^ospi'l, and believe. And ( Jod, which knoweth the hearts,
bare them witness, irivin*;' them the Holy (Jhost, evi'U as He
did unto us: and put no difference betwetni us and them, puri-
fying their hearts by faitli." "Now the (Jod of hope till you
with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in
hope, through the ]>ower of the Holy (Jhost." (Rom. xv. 13.)
This is our last Bible Reading, and the burden upon n)y
heart is this : What is going to be the practical result of the
blessed hours which we have spent here together, over ( Jod's
Word ^ Is it to be merely an increased interest in its won<lerf\d
conttaits, or a greater head knowledge (jf its teaching ^ I believe
it will be this: but most eanusstly do I trust that it will not be
oidv this, because if that is all, it mav serve to increases our
condenmation, and not in any way to increase our knowledge
of (Jod the Father, (Jod the Sou, and (Jod the Holy (Jhost. So
this afternoon, I want our talk over this precious Book to be
not so nuich a connected study such as we have had on other
days, but tt) be per.sonal and practical : a talk over these two sub-
jects, the Fulness of Faitli, and the Fulness of the Holy Ghost, so
absolutely necessary' to all true healthy Christian experience,
yet so sadly misunderstood by most professing Christians.
From first to last in the Christian life, the only way by
which we can obtain the gift and grace of God through our
Lord Jesus Christ is by faith. Faith is that faculty, as we
said yesterday, which (Jod has given us, by which thin'gs which
are invi.sible, things which are infinite and divine, become sub-
FULL OK FAITH AND uF THE HoLV (illOST.
2!)3
i(
in
13.)
my
the
mI's
rlul
iove
at be
i)ur
e(l«jce
So
,o
be
ther
sub-
at, HO
enee,
i>y
our
Is we
Ihich
sub-
stantially real an<l ex|K'riin»'ntally true to us. Wliou tirst we
bcj^au tf) breathe the l)n'ath of heaven, when first (lod's eternal
lit'e, thr()U(,'h His eternal lt)\e in Jesus, beyan to make newborn
creatiuvs of us, it was by faith we receix'eil it.
He that
bclieveth on the Son hath e\»'rlastin<r life : and he that believeth
not tile Son shall not .see life; but the wrath of (lod abideth on
Idm.'' And not only at the Hist breath of life that we drew
£rom (Jod, but rijjht tai thi'ou<;h the wlioh' of our eour.se, it is a
life of faith, a walk by faith : and walking' is jtnttiny one foot
in front of the otiu'r, takin<; one step at a time towards a ^oal,
and the whole Christian life from the be<,drniin^M)f »;raee to the
culminating ;;"l<>iy i^ taking' step by step, one step at a time, of
faith. May (Jod teaeh us .so to wait on Him that we may walk
thi.s bles,sed walk, and not faint: takinj; each steji with the
Himplieitv of little children bv faith. Is it vour needs that you
aiv brin<rin<r before Him in i)raver !' .le.sus sa\'.s.: "All thiuifs
whatsijever ye shall ask in prayer believin;;', y<' shall receive."
Is it tliat (Jod has revealed to us our .secret pollution and
iniquity, and our deep need of heart cleansin;j ' What do we
liear but that He pui'itie<l their liearts "/>// /WZ/A '/ Is it the
j^ood ti^ht that we have to maintain, when we are delivered
from our own cori'uptions, with the powers of evil, of death and
<la,rkne.ss f ti<i;hts for the scads arcanid us, H<fhts for the kint^dom
of our Lord ^ We are told it is "the j^ood fij^ht of faith." We
are "justified by faith,'" ".saved throuj^h faith,' "we liavt*
nece.ss by faith," "in Whom . . believiiiii'. yv rejoice with
joy unspeakable and full of ^lory," " by faith yv stand," "the
ju.st shall live by faith. " And so from first to last the only
way by which .spii'itual and divine thin^^s beconu' practical and
experimental realities to us, is that of simply tiu.stin^j every
day, trusting; Jesus, that is all.
But what is faith i 1 mentioned yest«'rday that this facidty
is centred in our lu-arts, and I want to emphasize that a^i^ain
to-day, for so many people think that faith is some power in
their Imiins, the exercise of their reasoning faculties or of their
ima^j^inations : and they try and think themseKcs into a kind
of ecstasy of Christian experience, and tell you, " 1 have been
tryinfj all day to feel like that, and I cannot." Xt), of course
they cainiot. That is settinu' the inuiirination to ])lay, that is
tryinj; to work yourself up into a visionaiy condition, in which
you feel wonderful and exalted cinisciousne.ss : but that is not
faith. Faith is the confidence of the heart. (io<l has put the.se
eyes of mine into my head to .see with, and oiven me these
hands to feel with, so has He put within my heart the power
I.M,
i
294
FULL OF FAIIIl AND Oh TMh IIOLV (illOST.
to hrlicvc. WiR'iiever thciv comes lu't'oiv y<in soint- ussnnince
of (Jod's love, soiiu' |>n'('i(»iis ])r(tiiiist' out of His Word, I li»'<;' of
you not to sot vour n'Msoiiiiiij ra(!ulti»'s to woik oxer it, luit to
see what is the fittitudc of your lioai't towanl tlif s|K'akrr, cvt'U
God: is it tlio uttitutlt- ol" li« 'art-rest, of sitii]»l(' conHflt'iicf, of
open rcceptiveut'ss :* It is written. "With the heart man
believeth unto ri^'hteousness : " and this h'sson is to he found
up and down all over the Word of (Jod, thou;,di so few under-
stand it. Turn to I'sahu xxviii. 7, " The Loi'd is my strenj^th
and njy shield : luy heart trusteth in Him, and I am heijM'd ;
therefore my heart ;,'re!itly rejoieeth ind with my son*; will I
praise Him." Aj^ain, in the 112th l*sahn, " He shall not be
afraid of evil tidinnrs : jiis heart is tixed" — steady, anchored
— "his Jieart is tixed, trustin;j in th<^ I^ord. His heart is
estahlished, \\^^ shall not he afraid, until he sec; his desire u})ou
his enemies." ■ It would be just as stupid of us to try and see
with our ears, or to try and hear with our eyes, as it is to try
and believe with our brains, for ( Jod has put this faculty of faith
in our hearts — this power of restin;;' on, of having- contidence
in, of }^oin<ij out in resj)onso to, of certainty as to the word of
another in our hearts, and you are exercisini;" this confidence
perpetually. Have any of you posted a letter t<j-day ^ If so, you
dropped it into a little slot, and went away ]ierfectly satisfied ;
indeed, so contident were you about that letter, so entij-ely
restful was your heart about the result of puttin;^" it inside that
red box, that your thou<;hts i-an on past all the postal otiicials,
past tbe cars and the train that it would travel in, ri}i'ht awa^'
into the home of that friend of yoiu's, or that Vaisine.ss client of
yours, where the letter was to land, and you beoan wond«'rin<;
how they would answer it. Hut you did not try to think it all
out to help that letter alonj;: you took foi- j^ranted all the
steps between; your h<'art was at rest; you had contidence in
the post-office, and you believe it is all rij»ht. This is trust.
Now, another thouj>"ht about trust: Faifh ix letting //o all
BUT OoD. You Avill find in the Woi-d of God innumeraV)le
illustrations of that, that faith loses sight of circumstances and
things that look impossible: it lets go all calculations, all past
failures and experience: it lets go all that you know of the
natural sequence of events, it is indeed letting go all but God.
We "were by nature children of wrath even as otlx'rs, l>ut God
who is rich in mercy, for His great love wlu'rewith He loved
us, even when we were dead in sins, hath (|uickened us together
with Christ." You see it was the bringing in of tliose two
wonderful words, " but God," that made all the difference in our
FULL (;F faith and OF THE HoLY (iHoST.
29^
.1:
Iv
lilt
Ills,
JIV
(".i"
■II 1^"
111!
tlio
in
all
tl.le
md
J)ast
[the
Jod.
liod
rod
del*
two
)ur
loHt comlitinn, and cliiin^t'd us from childivn ol" wi'ath into licirs
ol" t'\t'r!aHtin<;' jrlory, ^vlu■n we k't ;;o all hop*' in ourst-lvos, all
contidcnco in tlio ilcsli, all tliosc ivasoninj^s as to whetlirr we
wei't' wortliy or wlietlier we could work out our own salvation,
and we let (I()<l come in with His power in our utter hel|ileH8-
ness. A^iiin, in pHalm Ixxiii. 26, "My tlesh and my lieart
failetli, liut (Jod" — that ehaii;jeH the wholes as|)ect ol" the
believer's t xperience here — " l)ut < lod is the strcnjjth ol" my
heart and my portion forever." He let <;•<> all those feelin<^s,
those thin kind's, and heart sinkings and reste<l on Him ; then He
comes in, and manifests what He is ahle to do for the one who
trusts Him.
Kememher how the l^ml etlucuted His disciples in faith
in Luke V. .lesus comes to those hatiled and weary fisher-
men after the whole ni^ht of fishinj; and catching; nothinjj, and
says: " l.,aunch out into the deep, and let down your nets for
a drfnight." What I In the very water wheie they had jii.st
prove<l there were no fish to V)e caunlit, and in broad daylif(ht,
too, wdien under cover of nij^ht not a fish had come into the
nets ! If they had set their heatls to work, not one of them
would have moved. Hut they pushed out the boat in the
ol>edience of faith, ami they threw out the nets at the word of
Jesus, thoufjli everythinpf looked unlikely, and the command
seemed unreasonable; and they found what God could do I
And in the next chapter, the Lord Jesus commands the poor
man with the withered arm : " Stretch forth thine hand." Of
all impossilde things to «lo. that was the one useless, helpless,
hopeless bit of the man's whole beinjij. If the Lord had said,
"Lift up thy poor hand for ^le to touch," lie mij^ht have lifted
it with the other hand — that, he woidd have understood : but as
that poor hand huno- i)ractically dead, paralyzed and withered
at his side, the Lord says, "Stretch forth thy hand :" and in
the obedience of faith, at^ainst all past experience and present
feelint^s, he obeyed, and the hand was restored whole as the
other. Dear friends, it is not until you have ceased to have
expectations from yourself, and, indeed I would say, ceased to
have expectations from your faith, that you will really trust
God.
So many people, instead of trusting the Lord, are trusting to
their faith, and they say, " I have been trying to trust this
whole week past," but they have been watching their faith to
see what it feels like, to see whether it is a little stronger or
bigger than yesterday, and they are trusting their trust. What
a silly thing to do ! It is not until you have lost all confidence
lij
:
,1
'it
I
mi'
i\.
m
mi
290
HI,I. OK FAITH AM) OF TllK H<H,Y (JH^ST.
in 3'<)\irHt'lf, ami lost nil (•('iitidtjiict.' in your fjiith,fui»l your heart
is ri'Mtiu;^ upon (ioil Hiuisnll', ujum His word.aud pi-oniiscH, that
you will tiuil that "all thin<,rsarr possiblo to him that hflicvcth,
for with (Joil all thin;4's aro itossihlr." Tln'iv arc only two
iucidt.'uts nit'iitioni'il in th(^ life of the Fionl where He specially
notices the ///vi/Y fa'ilh, once of a man, and once of a woman - the
"great faith" of the centurion on hehalf of his servant, and the
" j^reat faith" of that poor motlufr who hroueht to Him the
lu^ed of her sick dau<'hter — and in both cases Matthew shows
how it is linked with the loss of all expectation fi*om themselves,
with the acknowlednrmeiit of their own utter nothin;^ness, aiul
with till' sense that if it were to de]»end in any measure upon
theins(dves and not wholly upon the love and ])()W«!r of .lesua,
thejv would he no chance whatever of help or lilessin;;. The
centurion says, " 1 am not woi'thy, hut speak the word only,"
there is nothine- in me, hut there is eNcrythin^ in one word
from Tliee. And the poor woman takes the position of a dog,
not deservin;^ any attention, saying in ettect: " Yes, Lord, I am
ailoj': it is not foi' mv sake 1 ask it, yet the iloy-s under the
table eat of the Master's crund)s — it will be just Thy goodnesH
throwing to me the crumbs, for 1 am only a dog, I have no
right to the blessing." That is the sort of soil out of which
great faith springs, lu^t out of feelings, and consciousness, and
tryings, an<l sti'Ugglings, but just letting go every fragment of
confidence in youiself,or in your faith; and trusting in J(^sus to
do it all.
And, deal" friends, if we are watching o\n* faith and looking
to our faith, we begin to think there is something very won-
(lerful in believing. Faith is nothing apart from the object to
which it is linked. It is not wonderful faith, it is simple,
child-like faith in a wonderful Saviour! That is the wonder
of it, that He is oiu* (jod who doeth wonders for us ; and as we
put Him to the proof, we shall find that He is indeed worthy
of His name, which is " Wonderful," ))ut it is not that my faith
is wonderful, or that there is anything for me to get proud
over, it is utterly simple, humble faith in a mighty, wonderful,
wonder- working'! fod and Saviour. But so many come up to us
and say, " 1 find it so difficult to trust," ' It is so hard to keep
on trusting." Now, just turn round on yourselves and ask
yourselves this question : " Who is it so difficult to believe ? "
" WJiom, do I find it is so hard to trust ? " Is it so hard to
trust Him who loved you and gave Himself for you ? Is it so
difficult to rest your heart's confidence in Him who so loved
you, that He gave His only begotten Sou to shame and spit-
mm^
FILL OK lAlTH ANI» oK JIIK MUl.V (JIIOST.
297
we
|thy
Kith
loud
}tul,
us
|eep
isk
?"
to
so
red
)it-
tin<;. t«» tin- cursr, to •Icatli mul tlit; j;ravc for you ? Oli, j^ct
your eyes, my .sistoi-s aii«l hi'otlicrs, oH' y(»iir tnist, and oH'all
till' (liiKcultics that youtliink liaii^- ui'ouikI the cxt'irisc of faith
in (io<l, and ^et youi- cyt's up to Him, an<l you will not Ik;
able to tloubt Him Let us know moiv of what it is to ho full
of faith. I know tht-iv arr many hearts here that know what
it is to he do»d)tful : that is, full of douhts. J)oyou not:" I
know thei'e are many heai'ts heri' wIk) know what it is to be
fearful : that is. full of fear. Whieh of us kn))ws what it is to
be fiill of faith and of the Holy (lliost ^ Ycai kii(»w what full
means; it niean.s fall so that tliere is notliinx) rise brnide in tht;
ves.se I
Oi
supi
)( )se
.sav a ji'lass is full <»f water, vou mean
thei'e is room for no more, becau.se it is ri^dit uj> to the brim.
Is your heart so brinuninjij over with contiilence in .lesus, with
heart-nst in (Jo<l who is ready to work in you, with you and
for y<ni all the day lon^', tliat there is no room for a mi.xture of
fear ^ Is it so full of faith that there is n(» room anywhere for
a doubt to jjet in f
And that reminds me of a mistake that some make, a.s
thoujrh the value of faith were in the «|uantity we posse.ssed,
ititv in that
or were conscious ol : hut it is not «|uan
is the exerci.se of what you have that brinf>s you this fulness
of faith. ])o you remember that j)rayer in the 17th of Luke,
when the disciples came to Jesus and .said, " Lord, increa.se our
faith" i" Perha])s you think that a beautiful prayer! and will
sav surely the Lord answered it, but He y-ave them a very
ditierent answer to what they i'X})ected. If we paraphrase
that answer it amounts to this : " Tse what faith you have <;ot,
and you will find it is sufficient for the ^iieate.st emer<i:encies,
and the most impossible difficulties.'" He turns to them and
says. " If ye had faith as a j^raiii of mustard .seed " — which is
no more than the least little ^rain, that you can scarcely feel
as you rub it between your tiny-ers — if >ou have that much,
and every human heart has that much, you can do wonders.
If you have that much faith, u.se it, exercise it, and by exercise
it will y;row. Go to a blacksmith and ask him how it is that
his arm seems as if it were all muscle, so different from the
flabby, fleshy arm of that idle younj; man in his easy-chair.
He would be a fool if he told you, " Well, that is how I came into
the world." No, he will say, " Why, man, it is use has made it
like that; it has hardened and strengthened by constant exer-
cise." And, <lear friends, the muscle of your Christian life is
faith, the faith by which you can do all things through Christ
whieh strengtheneth you, the faith l)y which you can know
II
li
m
m
2()h
\'[ lA. OF FAITH AM) OF Till; llol.Y (iHOST.
your («»mI, mill do fxploits. Vow fnitli ciiii oiil}' l)f stroii;^', and
you CMli only Ih' s|i(il<fii (»r hy tlir Holy (Jliost IIH liriiio- " lull of
f'liitli/'iis yuu i|('\c|()|i tliat Initli l»y coiistfiiit t'xcreisc,
And juiotlit'f tliin;;, you nnist iVcd and iiomimhIi tluit raitli —
Tor tlic Macksiiiitir.s niuHclr would ncNcr <,m-<»w to what it is,
that hoi'iiy, iron |»ow<'r, unless he U'i\ hiniHcIf on that whicli
crcatiMl inuscli'. This JSook, my IVii-nds, is the Toitd ol" faith.
How nuich do you use it in that way :" WIkmi you open this
Bijok, do you open your hrai't and say, " Now, I^ord, strt'Ujijthcu
my faith by fccdin;^' on Thinr exceed in;;,' ^jreat and precious
pronnses; now, Lord,! am ^fttin;;' a little limj)and ilal»l>y in my
work of faith ; I was a little bit fearful in that last temptation,
HO I come for a n»K»d meal, feed me out of Thy VV«)rd, "--because
faith will ^row by what it feeds on. Vou remember liow often
that is ]iut lyefore us: "Faith cometh by hearing;', and hearine;
by the Word of dod." In 1 Thess. i'i. I:}, we have: "For
this cmise, also, thank we ( Jod without ceasinj;, because wlien
ye received the Word of (Jod which ye heard of us, ye receiveci
it ijot as the word of men. but as it is in truth the Woi-<l of
God, winch effectually worketh also in you that believe." Do
you know what that is to liave the Word of (Jod etiectually
working- in you, ener^i/in^ yf>'i. <|uickenin<j .voib stimulating
your faith, sticngtiieninjif your heart's confidence, so that Christ
liecomoH day by day more and more a reality to you i Oh, do
not starve your faith, dear friends, nourish it with this blessed
food which (Jod has <;iven to you. ])o not j^otothe Word with
your heart's door shut, and only your ears, or your eyes, or
youi" head, or your mental powers open, just to see what ideas
or what special words, or what kind of subjects you can get out
of the Bible, but go to feast and ask (Jod to feed you, and eat
and drink abunchmtly until you are strong in faith giving glory
to (Jod, the (jiod of the Book.
Before tunnng to the second part of our subject, let me
remind you of two illustrations of these great princii)les con-
cerning faith with reference to the ";////< ^ of faith" and the
" tvork of faith." Many think it is all ver}' well to believe
where it is some sjiiritual nuittei", which of course caiuiot be
made real even to the mind without faith ; but when it comes
to fi<;htinij they sa^' it nmst be the flight of effort, and
of struggle. But the Holy Ghost says : " Fight the good
fight of faith," and if j'ou go carefully through the sixth
chapter of Ephesians you will find that faith is the one
thing indispensable for a good soldier of Jesus Christ. The
first thing we are told there is to " be strong in the Lord
Kl'LI. OK KAITII AMI l»l TIIK HOLY (iHoST.
299
me
ion-
Ithe
tit've
be
,nd
toofl
Ixth
one
rrue
)rd
iuhI ill tin- |t«»\vt'i' of Mis iiii;ilit." mill tlitTf is no way
of doiii;^' tliat liiit liy I'aitli : stttiii;^" y(»iir lu'iirt stoHU'iistly
upon Mini innl liy I'liitli iiiiclioriiiy; your wliolc liciii;; in Mini.
'J'lien iiLjiiin, liow Clin you '" tiik*- unto you tlic w liolc iii'nior
ol" (Jod ':* Mow can you put upon you tlic lircastplatf of
Mis li'-liti'oiisnrss :* only l)\' laitli : Mow can yini l)U('klr the
liclint't of saKation over your lica-l luit l»y I'aitli' Mow can
you tit on tJH' shoes of tlu' pn-pai'ation of the j^ospcl of peace,
out hy tal\in;j; Mini Who "is our Peace" Ity faith as the
peace- maker for us with (Jod ami with men. No. it is thej^ood
ti^jfht of faith from iH-^finnin;; to end. And we are told,
'■alio\e all" — Ol' oNcr all, to cover eveiy jtoint of attack —
"takine- tiie shield of faith." What is'thi^ shield of faith?
Does it mean to put little faith hetween nic and the enemy ?
No, no: faith is the handle of the shield hy which we ]»ut (iod
bet
ween us ami our enemies : ami so are ' ahle to' (|Uench all
the tiery darts of the wickeil.'' That is not my idea; we tind
( !od liecomine' tlu' Shield of those who heliove iti Him men-
tioned in many verses throUjU'lioiit this iJook. " Me is a shield
unto them that put theii- trust in Mini." " O Israel, trust thou in
the Lord : Me is their help and their sliieM. O house of Aaron,
trust in the Lord : He is their help and their shield. Ye tlint
fear the Loi-d, trust in the Loi'd : Hv \h their help and their
shield." "The Lord is my stren;;tli and my shield; my
lioart trusted in Him and 1 am helped." Ij<M)k nt that j^reut
tight of faith in 1 Sam. xvii. Goliath started ott" to tlie fieht
of sijiiit. and sense, and reason: with his splendid armor and
shield: his spear and his swoi'd : his immense heieht, and his
muscular stren<;th : vvh}'' everybody would have said, of course
Goliatli is the oidy one who has a chance : but David started
forth " in the Name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies
of Israel." Which won ? The youth whose heart's confidence
was in the (Jod of battles. Probably there was not one man in
the army of Israel who would not have said, if he had been
asked, " God voidd use nie to slay Goliath," but there was only
that one boy who was a strono- and very courageous boy believ-
ing that (lod would use him. So there is another point about
faith : it always puts God in the present tense. Faith does not say
God will or God could or God iaif//d,ov God may help and save ;
faith says God has undertaken, (lod is working, I avi helped,
the thing is done — that is faith. A word about the "work of
faith," which is wonderfully seen in the record of that great
niissionaiy's life, St. Paul. Again and again, in referring to his
labors on one shore after another, he tells us they were not his
I
1 1
»00
HI, I. OK I Aim AND OK T||K FKM.Y f.llOST.
work, l>ut tin- iiii;;hty woilxinji; ol' tlii-dod in wlmin In- tnisti'd,
iiiitl (o wliDiM lie IiikI t'lttiri'ly yii'l<li-<l liiiiisflt' " I IhImhi-iI iiiun>
ultuiidaiitly tliiiM tlit-y till: yi-t not I, Imt tlir ^eym-i- of (tml
wliicli was w illi nil'." " I nl.so liilior, stri\ inyf nccof»lin;f to \\\h
\voi'l\in;f \\liicli workctli in nic nii;;,litily." (Sec mImo (Jul. ii.20, H;
Pliil.ii. i;{: Koiii. x\. IN, |!>.)
lift ns turn to the second |iiut of onr siiltjccf. Ilnndrt'ds of
(/liristinMs aro canirHtly jilradiii^' for (tod to ti^acli tlifin how to
olit-y the {'omiiiand, " Hr tillfd witli tlif Spirit." 'I'licy arc
IniiniiiH- to know tlic liaiitisni of tlif Holy (Jlio.st, or tin' power
of tlie Holy ( diost : tlieir lieart.s' eiy is, " Lord, for Pentecost
n<;aiii: lionl, for tlie power of the Holy(ihost upon us: Ijord,
for the leal experimental knowleili^e of the ahidin;,', indwellin;;
Spirit, that we may lie tilleil with all the fulness of (Jod," and
jiraise the Lord that it is so. liut so many are looking; for the
fulnc.s.s of the Holy ( diost as some won<lei'ful «'X|ierien<'e, hy
which they will jrvt exalted aspirations and di'li;;htful feel-
inn;s— that is .soniethin^ for scJf. do yon see:' Others, anain.
are set upon roceiviii^ from (lod the power from on hi<^di in
order that thev mav lie successful workers, that tliev maN' he
able to carry out their own plans and .schemes in what they
helieve to he (ilod'b servic*' and fur His uiorv. Hut thev do not
;;vt the tilliii;^' of tlie Spirit, In all those promises in the Ht!»,
ir)tli and l()th chaptei-s of St. .lolin's (Josp. I, concerninf; the
Coniiii<' of the Holv (diost, one tiling is made clear and re-
peated in various ways, that when the Holy (Jhost comes in
jiower upon any Chri.stiaii it is for this: To manifest Je.sns, to
elorifv Jesus, to till us with tiie life of Jesu.s, and to make us
witiH'.sses to .h'sus, to remind us of the words of Jesus: hut it
is .li'sus, Jesus only, all the way. We mieht sum up all of
them in tho.se word.s, " llv shall ji;lorify me : for He shall receive
of mine, and shall shew it unto yim." And, dear friends, this
cannot he too clearlv ri'coirnized hv us, hecaii.se our failure to
receive the Spirit in His fulness from God may he lar^'ely
owiii;j to this : that He sees our desires are not pure — they
need pur^iii^'' l)efore He can answer our ))niyers : He .sees that
if He eave the jiower from on liij,di, we should u.si^ it for (Mir
own purpo.ses, ami for our own work, and for our own plan.s,
and that He will never do. " My e-lory will I not ;;ive to an-
other."
Whatever we read concerning' the work of the Holy Gho.st
in the human heart, is connected witli tlu^ manifestation
of Jesus, and tlu^ j^loritication of Jesus. When He comes
to convict the siniu'r of sin, how does He do it < " When He
Kl I.I. i»f lAIIH \NI) ••!• Illi: llol.V i;ll<isT
:{<)l
is cull If He will |i|il(»\ r I 111- W iiljil (if sill,
Im'CIIUm
tli.'N
Ih'I
icNf nut uii Ml
) not
1+th,
the
le-
s in
IH, tt)
(' US
lut it
11 of
five
this
V to
tlu'V
thjit
our
lans,
un-
jliost
lition
huR'S
li He
Tilt! Iluly Spirit mIiuws .Itsus to the soul
in MIh ;;rnci', in His yearn in;;' love, until tin- siniirr lulls iluwii
lict'urc Mini, uwnin;;' tin- sin n\' icjcctiii;; siicli luvc, anii ul" tnin-
in;^ away liiiiii sncli y,iiit'i', iiinl srcs tliiit lln- cruwiiin;^' sin ul'
all sins liiis I n tlmt it liu.s sli;;litfi| .Icsiis tlic Suviuur ul" sin-
ners. Or if He cullies tu Itrili;^ Mllviitimi iind life, wlmt ilues
He flu hut liuinirest .lesijs fOP US, (is !|e reveals tu tile heart the
truth uT thuse w (Hiilei Till wurds: " He luvcil me, aiit|;;ii\e Hiiii-
seir I'ur iiie," " Wliu eii\(. Hiniseir I'lir us that He liii;^lll re<leelil
us I'rutii all iiiii|nity, " ami ilraws tin' suiil s eye utl" sell', ami ufl'
its awful sill tu .lesiis the Sa\ iuur from sin. An<l us we ;;u on
in unr ('hristian experience the Holy (Jliust makes .lesus a
;;loriuns reality in us as uiir life —" Christ in yuii the hupe uf
elury," Therefure St. I'aiil prays that His ilisci|iles may Im
" Htreiiy,t helled with mi;4;lit l)y His Spirit in the inner man, that
Christ niav <lwell in vunr hearts 1>\- faith. ' " F li\e, \et nut I,
hut Christ lixetli in nie. '
Then He manifests .lesiis through us. Me tills us in urder
that fruit ma\- aliuund: the untlnirstine' uf that fulness uf
life witliin us, the fruit of the Spirit, the manifestation of
the life of .Fesiis in these mortal hudies, Yuii rememher that
passa;4e in ( ialatians, " The fruit of the S[iirit is luve, joy, pcaei',
lon;;-sutterine' . . ." and if we put that cluster of fruit
into one word it would read thus: "Tin; fruit of the Spirit is
the character of .Fesiis,' tlu' heauty of ,Fesiis, "the iieauty of
holine.ss." That is wiiut the Holydhost coiiics for, to reveal
Jesus tu us, and for us, and in us, and then to make .Fesus shine
out in FFis power tlirou;;h us.
And not only so, hut us He e-ues on tilline' us mure and niuro'
to ovt'i'llowine-, it is that .Fi'sus Christ may he manifestod by us
in open witness and testimony. " Ye siiall receive jiower, afttn*
that the HolyChost is come upon you : and ye sliall he wit-
nesses unto .NFc," sa\'s th*^ Master. So that hv lit) a.s well as
life we may speak of Jesus, an<l [»oint to .Fcisus, and draw
others to Jesus. Is that vour i<lea. of hein;; tilled with the
Holy (Jhost i
And then, dear friends, last of all, He promi.ses to come and
witiu'ss to Jesus with US- As He pours forth tliroueh the
ahundancc! of our hearts a true witness to the livin<; Christ, H<!
j^oos with you and witne.s.ses with you; while you are speak-
in;; to them the word of Jesus, He witnes.ses in their hearts and
consciences with demonstration of tlie Spirit and with power,
makin;jf tlieni helieve the Word that is spoken, and drawing
.102
KIM, UK KAII'll AND nl Till: IIOI.V (illOST.
(;*
>
V
l!,t'
tliciii to till' |ifi'Miii of Mini III w liuiii Volt spi'iik. "Ilf sliiill
trNlil'v III' Mr, fiml v<' iiIhu sliiill Ix-nr witiii's.H." " NVr iiro wit-
lU'HSi'M III' tlli'Sf tllili;,^^, Uiiil M» i^ uImu tlir I Inly ( lliost." Js it
• w 1 1 IS .Jcsiis i\
II tl
If \VI
ly
Hut j'lniinlis ' |)it \nil Hot see li
ilcsllM Hilly '■
AhIx tli(( liunl to cli'iiiisi- till' lliou/^lits of yuiir Inart, ii^k lliiii
to |)ur;^ij you from any ilfMirc i'or tiic |io\vfr ol' tin- Holy (Jiiost
Tor your own ri'i'liM;;s of sntisfnctioii, in onliT tliiit you may
iiiakf It ;;rMiiil worker, oc tlmt you may In- siicci'ssful, or that
yoit may have a ri'|iutatioM as a .sprakri' or a prcaclifi', or that
you may triuin|ili oxer thf many souls you liase h'll to tin-
Lonl. Kail at tin- ffi-t of .lesus, ami say, ' Loril, hri-athr u|ion
me thf Holy ( Ihost, that self may In- a thin;; i-ntircly o\i the past,
and that licsusouly may Im> sfrii liy me, that .Irsu.s only may
1)1' manifi'stfil to me, and for mr, ami in ini>, ami tlirou;;'h mi':
that •ItisiiH only may hi- thf ouf ki-yiiotf, the sum ami suhstaiict;
of all my testimony, ainl all my witiifss in this worlil." If
that is yotir heart's desire Me will hear it and ^rant it for His
name's sake.
Look at two pictures of Spii-it-tilled men. First, that of
Peter, .solf-eoidideut, self-justifyine;, self-absorhed Poter, always
havini; a <jood word for himself: " 'I'houj^h all iikmi shall hu
offended hec.auHO of Thee, yet will 1 never lie otiended. . . .
Though I should die with Thee, yet will I not deny 'rhcc. "
" Fjo, wc liav(! left all, and ha\(j followeil Thee." Peter, with all
liis loyalty and love and zeal for his Master, was scry, very full
of self. Hut look at that sana; Peter aftei' Pentecost, and you
will see that the only tiling he eould talk about i.s Jesus. .Jesus
tills his heart. Tht; name of .lesus rises ever «>n his lips, for
out of th(,' ahundanee of tht; heart his mouth s[)eak.s. You
renu'niher on the day of Pentecost tlus Lord puts him to the
test, a very seven' test, in which his natural charaeteri.stie.s
would (!ertainly have cotne out if another overmastering
power had not taken ])os.s(!ssi()n of him, the power of the Holy
(jihost. The moll called out, " Tliese men are full of new
wine." Peter's only thought is to justify the Lord and Ids
companions, hut not himself. He says, " Thcuf mv not drunken,
as ye supjxxse," and he justifies them, and he justifies the
Lord's dealings with them, by rennnding them of the [)rophecy
of .loel, and then as (piickly as he can he gets to the point, he
Ix'gins to preach Jesus: "Jesus of Nazareth, a man approve<l
of ( lod among you by nuracles and wonders and signs which
God did by Him . . . ; " and ends his sei'nion with these
words, " Therefore, being at the right hand of (Jod exalted, and
r$
f
Vn.t. UK KAITH AND oK |||K (|u|.v (iHOST.
:i()3
lUH'.
I all
lull
you
t'SUH
Ibr
You
the
i sties
•rin^'
Holy
UL'W
II his
liken,
the
Ihecy
k he
loved
]l\ich
ihese
and
havin;; iTcpivcd i>r the l-'atht-r tin- proiiilst- of tli<' Holy (Jhost,
III- liatli HJifd forth this which ye now sft> ainl hear,
'rht'rt'rni'c, jt't, nil thf li'tusf of IsiMfj kilow iiMsiiri-dly tiialdud
hath iiiuilr thuL huiim- .h-sus, whom ye have cnifiliftl, hoth
Lord ami Christ." In tlie iit'.Kt chapter, under vi>ry <litrereiit
cir('iMii->tanct>s, where he is mdw the iilticct of admiration and
popiilnrity, and tin- whole inol) nrc nisliin^' to^i'llirr to hi-ap
jtraisf and honor npoii his niinic lifcniiM' In' and John had
fii;alud a lame man iit th*> ISrMUtilnl (iiitf of thr tcmpit', l'«'ti>r
will not, take ont> atom of ci-cdit or of ;^lory to himself. It.
.seems as if hiswholi- Immu^' shrank from it: as if his wh(»h'
.soul erird out, ' Not intto u^. O l/'cd, not inito ns, hnt untt>
Thy name ;^ive the ;;lory I ' .\iid \ m i'fnn'nd»er his pa.ssionate
appeal: "Why look ye so i-arnestly on ns, as though Ity our
own powei' or holint'ss wi- ha<i madf this man to walk ' (lod
. . . hath ;;lorilii'd His Son Jesus, whom ye delivered up, and
denied Him in the presenci; of I'ilate, when he was determined
to let [inn j'o.' nrinu'ini; them face to face with his Mast«a",
" Hntoyou first (loil having; raisi^l up His Son .lesus. sent Him
to Mess you, in turnin;^' away every one of you from his
iniipiities. ' The ne.\t chapter shows us I'eter lu't'ore tht!
ecclesiastical coinicil of his counti'y, the Sanhe(lrim, and they
are callinL>- him to aiu'ount for the miracle which ha<[ heen
W'rou;^ht and for his .sei'mon to the people. Now, here is the
chance for Peter to justify him.self 1 Surely, t<»o, there woidd
he a <foi)d excuse for Justifyin;^' himself. I»ut no; his ono
thou;;'ht is .Jesus, and the only thin},' he can speak of is his
liord : "Then Petei', tilleil with the Holy ( Jhost, sai<l unto them,
Ye rulers of the people and (ildei-s of Israel, if we this day be
i'xamined of the ;;ood deed done to the impotent man, hy what
means he is made whole: l)e it known luito you all, and to all
the peoph; of Israel, that hy the namt; of .Testis (Mirist of
^sazaretll, whom y(> cruciHed, whom (lod rai.sed from the dead,
even by Hiiu doth this man stand here hefon^ vou whole."
Then look at Stephen, the man " Full of faith and of the;
Holy (Jhost." He is so like .lesus that we mi^ht almost mistake
his last words ftti' the woi'ds of .Jesns. He has cau<^ht the sj)irit
of Jesus .so com|)lett!ly that as the wild howlin<; moh stands
around him throwing" stones, he seems con.scious of nothin*^ hut
.Te.sus, for w^e read: "Hut he, hein;:; full of the Holy (Ihcwt,
looked up steadfastly into heaven, and .saw the j,dt)ry of (Jod,
and Jesus standiu},; on the ri;;ht hand of (Jod." He does not
hear the hootin<;, cursiui,' moh round him, he does not s<;em
even to feel the blows of tlie stones because of the .siirht that tilled
80+
Fi;i,L ol' FAITH AND <)l" THk MOLV (illoST.
uiul absorbed liis wliolc bciii^, the si^dit of Ji'siis. 'I'lint is wliut
the Holy (iliOHt (looH for us. He makes Jesus who, to some of
us, lias lu'eu so dim. aud tlistaut, and shadt»\vy, like a phantom
or a dream : He makes Him the one ovennasterin}^, <;loi'ious
reality to our hearts. "Ami they stoneil Stephen, calling' upon
( lod, and sayiiiif. Lord Jesus, receive my spirit ! And he kneeled
down, and ei'ie i with a loud voice, J^ord, lay not this sin to
their charge." Oh, how the Spirit of Jesus is, as it were,
bursting forth from within him I " Fathei*, forgive them for
they know not what tliey do, " cried Jesus in His a<;'ony on
Calvary : Jind Stephen, filled with the Holy ( Jhost, cries : " Lord,
lav not this sin to their char;;e, and when he had .sai<l this ho
fell asleep." *
Let us now i/ield ouiMelves to (lod to be saved from our-
selves, that w'c may be wholly at His disposal for any manner
of service. Let us receive here and now, by faith, the purifyinjr
of our hearts, by the cleansing blood of Jesus, and the gift of
the Holy Ghost, through His word of promi.se; that in all
things Christ may be magnified in our bodies, whethei* it be by
life, or by death ; for His name's sake. Amen.j
ADDRESSES TO CHILDREN
BY
E. C. MILLARD
fl
11
i
20
ijj
TMH SERPENT.
»o,ae of you are too s.nall to Thh k oi i t M ^^ ."'"^ '*
tatlior says, "Jack, vvh.at «,..s tho tex '» ,"v "T ,'/'"' ^°"
Now, most of us are foii.l of a " uet " „ ' J.-:;* ■'^' . »«'-p™t."
orcauary.but I dou't thiuk ln}o( us wS L^';^■'"PP^■
simke tor a pet, because some o^f tl em Z d .aT '".''"■™''
"to"; i^iLii/r "™^: *■",■" *"- - VJ-iwr "^ ""'""''"■
Ev;tLug 1.i"?„SV'' hL'","', f '"","!* «''■'««< I^S-iW
the fl.-st book u the Se ( V .ll'- " ''?"', ^^^^ "» '"'■» *"
verse one. X«w then'^tus t^ it^^^^^ *.».P^ t^ree,
boyreadit: "NowtheseinAntt GenemsuLl. .Some
of the field whichTi.e L" S r^lTl ""'",'' V','"' ""J"*^'
the woman. Yea hath G«l J; ,1 V. 1 '^"'^ '"^ '"'''^ ""to
the garden'r And the woman said u to",, '^' "'' ""'T '""' "^
eat of the fruit of the trees o? ft' ^ ""T ■'*''P<""' "'« '"''y
the tree which is i the midst n^ f)?e" ?'''.f *''^ f™'' "f
Ye shall not cat of it, ■ 'eTth^tM y ' touTi "Lf ^e r""' f^A
%:;^.^: bTii'vr ^wH^tir -''?- -'y^.' ""
nice, and he spoke sH^ t , ,ot f "", T"",""*'''"'-^'"™
and listened t'o what iri.aTto ° r''"^'^ '° ''"^ """>""^ "toPP--^
Wet yrseTth:t:::t'was';"t '"■'■fl,"f "« "»"^ --""- ?
yery beautiful ami hStaZer llke^ ?"' ^^ ™^ P'-°''^"y
'>i».:orySndlL'^;t^,t'lSSti^";^crr^^^^^
:{0.s
"THE SKKPENT."
art ciirfii'tl . . . : upon tliy belly simit tliou o(», mikI iliist
slialt tlion «'at nil the days of thy lift'."
'I'lif tii'st iiiistakf Kv»' inatlc was to llsfni to tin' voice of tin*
Ht'r])t'iit, tiit'ii lie Hiiceeedcd in <;ettinjL( lier to staml close to the
tree and tool,' at the fruit. That was Kves second mistake —
we know this lu'cau.se inverse 6 it savs, ' When the woman san^
that the tree was "(mmJ foi- tood , and a ti'ee to he
desired to make one nnse." V*'hy, of course: liecause its name
was the tree of knowle(l<;(' : then she fottlr and then she */if, and
then f^'ave some to her hushand, and he did eat. '" < >h, you've
dont' it now 1 ' Ves, thev luul eaten ol" the tree of the know-
led;;,'e of o-ood and evil, of which ( Jod had said that if thtsy attj
of it they should " surely die." Yes, they had sinned, an<l (Jod
says, " The soul that sinneth, it shall die." (Kzek. x\iii. 4.)
Oh, how easy the serpent made it for them to sin. (1 ; She
listenetl to the serpent, (2) looked at the tree, {'i) saw the
l;)eauty of the fruit, (4) tcaiched it. (o) took It, (<))at«f it, (7)
gave it to her hushand — seven thing's all in a minute! Oh.
you say, how easy it is to sin ! Yes, if we listen to Satan and
look at the tilings we are told not to touch, we shall find that
before we know where we are, we have sinned.
Just like the little e;irl who was told not to take the rasp-
berries, and after a little while she came into the kitcheit
whei'e her motlu-r was makinj^ a pie, and haneine; down her
head with shame she began to cry. " What is the matter,
child ^" said her mother. " I took a raspberry, mother !" "O
my darling child, how ever did you manage to do that;'"
" Satan tempted me, mother!" "Yes, but then don't you remem-
ber what I have so often told you, that when you are tempttMl
you should turn awa}^ and say, ' (iet thee behind me, Satan ;'"'
" Yes, mother, so I did w/// that, and he ])ushed nu\ into the
bush !" But you see the mistake she made was to keep looking
at the raspberries. The Lord says (Ezek. xiv. 6). " Turn away
your faces from your abomination": and again, "Turn ye,
turn ve, for why will ve die :*" (Ezek. x.xxiii. 11.;
Now, of course, all of you know how to spell snake ! What
is the first letter :• S. A Snake is a Serpent, " the Serpent m
Satan " (Rev. xii. 9), the Sting is Sin, Sin brings Sorrow, and
when we are nearly broken-hearted with sorrow, we find that
we need a Saviour! I know one thing alxnit everybody in
this place to-day, although I have never seen some of you
before. Every one of us here to-day have been stung by the
serpent. How do I know that ? Turn to Romans iii. 23, " All
have singled," and the sting of the serpent is sin, so we have
"THE SLHI'KNr.
309
V ■
»»Mn-
)ttMl
i\w
king
Vhat
»t is
and
that
y "»
you
the
All
have
all siiiiunl : aiul (Jud says that wc shall " .suruly die" uiiU-hs
we can i^ct curccl of tlif poison.
When Mr. (Iiulth and 1 wot' in Capt; Colony in I.SOO. w*-
heard that early one morning a man left hi.s iiorse and cart
Htaixlin^- in the road, while he went into a field to dii^ jxttatoes
und cahhap's tor the market. There was a wo»»d one side of
the road o))|»ositi' tlie Held, ami a small snako of ahcjiit eij^hteen
inches long crept out of the wood ami crawle(l across the dusty
road to go into the tiel<l. 'I'his snake ])as.s(Ml just l)y one of
the horse's fet-t, and unfoi'tunately the jmjoi' horse lifted his
fo(jt and troil on the tail of the snake. Immediately the snake
tu»'n«!<l around and struck the horse in the leg, and stung him ;
the poison spreail <juickly thi'ough his hlocxl. and in Hfteen
minutes the horse fell dead.
TheiH' was a Chinaman who came to the hoH])ital in Foocliow
in ISJSO, who had been hittt'U in the haiul hy a snake tliree
weeks hefore, and to prevent the jjoison from getting to his
heait. he tied a piece of .strong cord around his arm : hut, of
<iourse. he lost his arm. Now. sin is just like poison, and
unless we get curecl of the poison we shall die — .some t|uicker
than othei-s, hut in the eml tlie poison will reach a vital part,
i:nd death comes. There was a man not long ago in England
who scratched his finger with a poisoned knife, and although
he thought nothing of it at tlie time, in a day or two his arm
swellecl. and in two weeks he was dead. So vou see sin has
the most awful consecpiences, although we may be apt to think
little of it at the time. Some of you will he .saying, " It is so
i'asv t(» sin." " Satan makes it so lyn/ easv to do wron<j." Yes,
that is trut'. hut now I want to show you that the Saviour has
made it just as easy foi- us to get cured. He has provided a
.simple remedy for having all the poison of the .serpent taken
out of our souls.
Hefoi'e we can go on to the simple remedy for getting cured,
we nnist see what happenetl in the case of Adam and Eve
inniiediately aftei- they ha<l eaten the forlndden fruit. They
tried to /ililt' their .sin. an<l directlv they hoard the voice of the
L<»ril (iod walking in the garden in the cool of the day, they
hid themselves from the presence of the Lord (Jod amongst the
trees of the gai'den. Now, as a rule, the}' would have heen
delighted at the soun<l of the Lords voice, just as a boy listens
for his fathers step as he returns home in the evening and the
boy runs out to meet him, and shouts to his brothers and sisters,
" Father's come I " But if the hov has <lone somethinsf that his
father told him not to, he is not so eager to greet his father
310
'• THE SEUl'KNT."
w.
l)ecauHc ]\^• tliinks \u> may j^t'i a liekin<;, so lir crawls down to
toa al'ttM' all tlic otlicrs have taken their scats. He known he
has (loiio wrouj^, and that is enou;;'!! to sj)oil tlie ploasiin; of
Huuin^ his fathia- coniino-. Adam and Kv»! havin;LJ eaton of tlie
tret! ok" knowled<;e, thi^y /.'//'wr they liad done wron^'.
Then the Lord called unto Adam, " WheiH^ art tiiou r' "I
heard Thy voice in the yardeu and I was afiaid I " Why was
lie afraid :" Because lie kni'ir he had done wron;,^ Then tlx;
Lord asl<e<l Jdm a (|Uestion, " Hast thou eaten of tht; tree
wlioreof I commandt-'d thee that thou shouldest not eat {" Had
lie { Yes ! Then lu; ouyht to have owned up to it like a man,
and to have blami;d nohody hut himself: he find eaten, and he
ought to have acknowledged it out straight, " Ves, I have eaten
of it." " Only <er7i'/<(»((;/^(/(/« thine ini((uity." (Ji'r. iii. I'A.) Hut
sin makes cowartls of us all, and he l»e<,oin to make somethint;-
that everybcjdy is goo<l at makinj; — what was it ! He be<«an
to make an excuse ! — " The woman that Thou gavest to he with
me" (he half made out, y<m see, that it was partly God's fault
for puttinj^ Kve with him) "site j^'ave me of the tree" (I didn't
pick it) " and I di<l eat !" You see, he had to make an excuse
on each side of hitu — CJod one side, and E\e the otlier — to
try and make out that althouji'h he "did eat," it was not his
fault. Like we are ourselves when something" uoes wrone- at
school, and the master says, " Wluj did that :" " " Please, sir,
'twusu't me, it was the other boy." Now all that is mean and
cowardly ; why not own up at once, and ask for forgiveness,
in.stead of making excuses, for the Lor<l says. "If we confess
our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness.'" (1 John i. 9.)
We will 8Ui»pose now that there are two children — we will
call them Edward and Florence— playing togeth'sr in a room,
and suddenly, smash goes a window. "Oh! i say, what
shall we do i " says Edward. " You did it," sayH Florence.
" No, I didn't ! " " Yes, you did 1 " Tlie door opens, and in
comes their mother. " Children, how did that window get
broken ? " No answer. " Did a boy throw a stone from
outside and break it ;* '" "No, mother!" "Now Edward,
did you break it T' "No, mother!" "Oh, you story, you
did!'' says Florence: "I didn't!" "You did!" " I didn't !"
" Yon did !" " Now, children, this is all nonsense : now tell me
how it happened." " Well, mother, it was like this. I didn't
break the window, — I was standing here, and I had this stick
in my hand, and Florence pushed me, and the Avindow broke ! "
That was trying to get out of it, and we, like Adam, make
"THE SEKI'ENT."
311
will
oom,
,vliat
ncc.
d ill
rret
From
ard,
you
t!"
1 me
dn't
tick
e!"
lake
excuses. Tlit'ii tlie liord said, " Woman, wluit is this that thou
hast (lone '" And the woman said, "The serju^nt bej^uiled me,
and J dul cat ! " " And ( iod cursed the serpent."
Now a story comes to my mind that (lerhaps the very little
on»'H will he able to understand, and you hi{;j^er b(\y8 and {jjirls
must not mind il' I tell it specially I'or thos«i under five years of
a;;e, who may not he able to understand what I liave heen
Hayiiif;'. It is called "Tommy and the Mouse," and it runs
sonH'thino' like this :
'riierc was a hoy called Tommy, who lived with his mother
alone, his latluir having; died. One day his mother bejjan
talking- to him about prayiii};' to Jesus to make him a good boy.
He did lujt seem to like that, and said, "I ttat a fjood boy,
mother." Hut she said, " Im afraid you are not, Tommy."
But he still stuck to it — "I «m a good boy, mother; you try
me." " Shall I try you. Tommy :' " " Yes, mother, you try me
—I am a good boy."
" Very well,' said his mother, with a smile, " I'll try you one
of these days, and then perhaj)s you will see that yoii need to
be 'made (food \\\i^i like every other boy."
Well, one night wlien Tommy went to bed, he knelt down at
his mother's knee and began to say his prayers —
"Gentle .Jesus, meek aiul mild,
L(i()k u|M)n 11 little child ;
Pity my simplicity,
Sutler me to come to Thee." — Amen.
Then he jumped into bed, and his mother tucked him up, gave
him a kiss, blew out the light, and went down stairs and into
the kitchen, (joing over to the <lresser, where all the plates
and cups were kept, she took down a mouse-trap. Now it was
not one of those mouse-traps that kill the mouse, but a trap
like a little box, with a wire hook inside to put a piece of
clieese on. So she took a piece of cheese, burnt a little corner
of it in the candle, to make it smell strong — (and I expect all
the little mice underneath the lioards of the floor began to
snitf, iind wonder what sort of a supper they were going to
have after all the lights were out and everybody gone to bed).
Then she put the piece of cheese on the wire hook inside the
trap, set it, and put it down on the floor just by a hole, near
the fireplace. Then she went upstairs, and left it all dark.
The next morning, very early, before Tommy was awake —
before he gave his usual stretch and said, " I s'pose I've got to
get up," — before he did that, his mother was up and dressed,
^
:U2
"THE HEKI'ENT."
I,
I
m
iitui went ilowii to tlu; kitclujii to Hot; what was in tin' tnip.
Tlu! truj) was .sliut down, ami inside— a little mouse — alive!
Then she took tin; trap, and taking an empty sn^jar howl and
the white tahlecloth on her arm she went upstairs to thu
breakfast I'oom, spread the white cloth on the tahle, and tht.'ii
taking' the su^ar l)owl and turning,- it upsi(h'down with lnr lel't
lumd and tin* trap in her ri^dit, she said to herself, " \ow. I
wonder if I can mana^^'e to catch this little mouse u;ider tho
l)owl / " Putting her tin;,^er on the sprin;^ of the trap, she
opened it very slowly, and the mouse seeinj^ a way o»it widen-
injTf before him ))ut his nose out, then a little furtlu-r, then he,
made a dash, and he was out of tlie trap, but alas, under tho
Ixjwl. The mother then put a little match tnid(*r the ed^e of
the bowl so as to let in )i little aii'.
Then Mary, the maid, began to get the breakfast i-eady, and
presently the bell rings, and down comes Tonnny, rtishes uj) to
liis mother, gives her a kiss, and then tiicking his napkin into
his neck he said "grace," uiul began to smear the sugai" over his
porridge with his spoon, wIkmi sud<lenly he caught sight of tho
sugar bowl upside down in the middle of the table. " Mother,
what's that sugar bowl upside iU)wn in the miildle of the table
for i " " Oh, never you mind, I ]>ut that there, you get on with
your breakfast." Hut presently, aftei' a few spoons of poi-ridge,
"Mother, I wish you'd tell me what that — ' "Tommy,"
said his mother, " don't ask anything al)Out that again ; get on
with your breakfast." But again he said. "Mother, you might — "
"Tommy," said his mother, holding up her finger; and Tommy
wished in silence.
Breakfast was finished and the mother said, " Now, Tonuny,
come along," and they left the room and she shut the door.
Putting on lier bonnet and jacket she said, " Now, Tommy, dont
JO into the brea/x fast-room, but get your whip and top, and go
out into the garden. I am going to the shops to Imy some things,
and if yon are a good boy, when I come back I will give you
some sugar candy." Tommy went upstairs to get his toys, and
Mary came up from the kitcht-n to clear away the breakfast
things, and the mother said, " Now, iVfary, cleai* everything
away except that sugar bowl and the white clotli, and shut the
■door after you." " Yes, mum."
The mother then went out to do her shopping. Tommy had
found the toys he wanted, and was coming down stairs just as
Mary was carrying the tray of things out of the l)reakfast-room.
Only having two hands, she could not shut the door, except
with her foot, and this she tried to do, Itut the door (lid not (piite
p.
THK SKIM'KNT.
',u:\
.slain, ami sIh- wmt «lo\vii t«» tin' kitclicii. Now a tt'iin»tiitinn
a\v'ait<'<l |Mnn- 'rnmiiiy: lie tlii»u;4;lit. '" I woihIci" why iiKttln'i' sni<l,
don't ;;•(» into the Itrfukfnst-rooiii :" " .Inst tlu-n liu uasst-il tin-
• loor, and Hrcini; it a littlf opt-n, In- tlitMi;;lit he woultl jnst j)fr|i
in, and tliciT he saw tliat i-vcfvtliin;,' had hccn clcart'd away
hut that su;;;ar howl uiisidc down in tlx- iniddlf ol' tlu> tahlf.
Hu took a lon^' look, and as lit- was lookin;;- his shoulder caniu
aj^ainst the dooi- and it c>]M'n»'d widt'C. He was so curious to
know what was under the howl that he ne\fr heai'd Mary coniu
u]) to shut the door. Then he ^ot Up on a chair, hecause ho
c(aild not reads the howl, and leaniiie; omt the tahle he jiist
touched the howl, and oil, he heard a sipieak : oh, what was it!*
He I'oro'ot all ahout what his mother had said, and puttin;^; his
tinecr under the howl ho lifted it uj) and (Mit lan the mouse,
across the tahle, down the cloth, under the fender, and in a
moment it was out of si<fht. Oh, how fritrhtened Toiinnv felt I
What had he ilou«' :* and puttine- his Hne^ci- in his mouth, he
mutttired something. What do you think it was f " I — wish
— 1 — could — catch — another — mouse." Ah, there, listen to fhaf.
What does he want to do f He wishes he craild catch another
mouse HO that he could di'i'i'lre his own tnothei' hy puttin;.; it
und<'r the howl hefcav she came hack: and then he would havo
pretended that la^ had never touched it: hut mice ai'e not , so
easily cauj^ht, and turninjjj around he jumped down from the
chair, walked away and went into the ^'arden.
Not lon<; after there was a knock at the front door, and
Tonnnv's niother came hack. "Is Master Tonunv here :" " said
his niothei". "I think he is in the jfardeii, iiMun," said Mary,
M'ho Iwul come to open the door.
Now, as a rule, Tommy w<nild have watched for his mother's
retuiMi, and rushed to the door and asked f(jr his sue-ar candy,
hut he was afrai<l now, and lu' was not anxious to see his
mother, hecause .she mi^ht ask him a (juestion that he did not
want to answer. So he .stayed in the <;arden. His mother
then went to the hack door and calle<l U) liim. "Tonnny I "' No
answer. " Tonnny, do you hear mothei- call ^ ' Still no answer.
*' Tonnny, is that you there in tlu^ shrubbery : I think I ,see
your white stockinj^ ? Tonnny ! " " What ;' " said a cross voice
from behind the liushes. " Now, don't say 'What:' say 'What,
mother?'" "What, mother?" said Tonnny, very reluctantly.
" Tonnny, how do you .spell mouse ? " "I don't know, mother,"
and a vohnne of bitter sobs showed only too well that that
word mouse was altogether too convincinjr. Did he need to he
')itade a good boy, or was he, as he .seemed to think, a good boy
naturally ?
'
314
THE MKHI'KNT,
H
i
111
iK-,
I tliiiik \\f will all ii^iTiM- Mlxnit tlint, tuni uckiiowlnj^'c tliat
not only < lid tint M<'i|M'iit luniiili! Kvc ami 'rtniiiiiy, l»ut " tim
N»'r])('iit Ims Htuny; inv," uikI tliut I iiiiist coiiIVms "/ Imvc siiiin'(|,"
also.
But iinw yuii will lit' siiyiii;^, VVlmt is this siiiiplc rciiicijy
tliiit will ciiic iiic of my .st'r|H'iii liitt- :*
" All olu'diciit Ido/,:" Now li't iiif ('Xpliiin that u littlr. I
told yon ill the lifHimiiii;^' that VAt' listfiu-d to i\u' voice ol' the
N(>r|M'nt and iooki'd at tlir loi-hidden IVuit, which look irsnltcd
in her .sin ; and now. if wc turn to what (Jod says in the hook
ol' Nuiiilicrs, wr shall sec that il' wc listen to the voice of the
JSuvionr, and look when- He tells us, this look will result in
our HiUvution. IT you take a disohedient look you have siuntMJ,
il" you take an ol)edient look yon are saved.
Let iiie tell yt»u part of one ol' tli(! Hiltle stories ahout this.
We read in the Ixtok of Nunihers, chapter x.\i., thiit the children
ol' Israel, when they were in the wilderness, he^au to tfvitiiilde
at t/icir /(>()(/, and thiy spake aeainst (Jod and a^'ain.st Moses,
and they said, " Mo.ses, why did you hrin^ us n\> (ait ol' K^ypt
to die in the vvildeniesH; there's no liread, and no meat, and we
lu'i' tired of this manna, we ar<' sick of this an^fl's food." Did
you j;ruml»le at your breakfast this morniiiH', 1 woniler f There
are littli^ hoys and eirls in Kn(;laiid who would he ordy too
f;lad to eat u]) what you leave on your plates. You say,
"Mother, I don't liktr fat,' "I can't t^at that ))iece of brown,"
and you put a frin;;,'e of leavin;;s all round the I'iiii of your
plate, an<l then o-nimble because, when tlu* puddin;;- comes, it's
only ■J'ice, and you wanteil plum pie. Many of the boys and eirls
who are now in ])r. Harnardo's homes in London, England, have
been known to ^o for three or four days without anythine- but a
dirty crust of bread picked up out of tlie gutter, or a |»i»!ee of
orange jieel. So don't grumble at your splendid Canadian
meals. Well, the children of Israel grundjied, and "the Lord
sent fiery ser])ents among tiie people, and they bit the people,
and many of them died. All over the camp of I.srael up came
these fiery serpents, here, theiv, everywhere, and they bit the
people, and the poison spread thi'ough their \'eins, and they fell
down and died. Then they came to .Nbxsi-s and ci"ied out to
liim, Oh, Moses, ^b)ses, we have sinned; we luive sjioken
against the Lord and against tlu'c, () "pray to the LORD." So
Moses prayed to the Lord, and then waited to liear what the
LORD would say. Wluit did the LORD say ^ Listen:
" Moses, inaki! thee a fiery serjient, and set it upon a ]iole, and
it sliall come to. pass that everyone that is bitten, when he
"TIIK HEIM'KNT.
81ft
r
's
H
vc
III
(I
*',
lie
'11
1
>o
le
n :
1(1
le
Looki'th ii|»«)ii it.slmll I'lVi'." So Miisi'Htdok sitiiu' Iu'mns iiihI niiiilo
a hni/ni .s<'i'|M'iit just liki' those tliiit liiul Mtti'ii tlif |M'n|i|i>. nnil
Hit it ii|)()n H |inle, "Mini it canii' to piixs tliiit, if ii sci|M>iit liiid
litti'ii iiiiy iimii, w'lit'ii III' lookt'il at (Im'Ih-IiI) tin' srr|M'!it ol'
liniMs, Ih'IioM III! I'intl. (N'tTsi! !), )
Vt's, iliiTctly (}o<l saw tliosi' liittcr mcii uinl vvoiiii>ii tiiku
that olit'illf'iit li>i>l\ M»! hcalt'd thfiii in a si-coihl.
lint \vt> will ,sn|»|tosi' that M<isfs lu-ars a man <jfroaninj; away
as he lies oil the ^^roninl. ami Ik- says, " U'liat arc you ^roaninjf
away like that for''' Ami the man ;^('ts an;;iy and says,
" Can't you sit I'm (lyin;^' of this awful Kile ' " " lint, my ooutl
man. duel said it' you would l<tok at that la-ass st'rjM'ut ilo
W(aild heal you. Don't you hflicvc it;"" " No, I don't. Do
you think I'm yoinn- to net healed all of a sudden hy lookinj^j
at a liras,s serpent :* Can that serpent lieaJ me :* Nonsensi' ; 1
<lon't lielieve it." " Of couist! the hrass serpent can't Iwal yon,
man ; hutlJod says, if you will helieve in II im, and show your
belief by takin<; that look at the .serpent, //c will cure you!"
"T don't believe it,'' says the man," ami. with a nr(,nn, he turiiH
over and breathes his la.st. and dies. Now, wlio.se fault would
that be that the man <lied :" God's fault :* No. Moses' fault *.
No. The mans nirn fault.
Now, y<ai will bo sayin;;',
serpent :' " •' No. " " "NVhen
in the British Museum :" " "
"If y<ai read 2 Kind's wiii. 4, you will see that when j^ood
Kino; He/ekiah ben-Mii to reiyn over.ludah he noticed that thu
peopli! were wor.sliippiiij;' the brass serpent as an idol, and that
they burnt incense to it, ho he ' brake in pieces the bra/en
sei'pent that Moses had imule,' and called it Nehushtan, I.e.,
' only a piece of bra.ss.' '' " Hut wlicre am 1 to /-ooA','' you say,
" to^'et cured of my siuH T' " Look to Jesus on the cross, for
we read in dohn iii. 14, ' A.s Mcses lifted u]> fhe s^-rpcnt in the
wilderness, even .so must the Son of imiii be lifted up, that
whosoever belie veth in Him should not ])erish (/.f'., should not
die of the bite of the .serpent) but IIAVK eternal lilFKl For
(Jod so loved the world, that He ^^ave His Only be<f()tten Son,
that whosoever believeth in Him sluadd not Perish, but have
Everlastinif Life.' "
" God so 1ov(m1 the world, that He ^ave His
Only l)e<^otten
Son, that whosiovcr believeth in Him shouM not
Peinsh, but have
Everlasting'
Life." —John iii. IG.
Ha\e We H()t to look at the bra.ss
Is the brass .ser])ent now ^ Is it
No." " Well, what becaiiH! of it :" "
81(1
"THK MKIll'KNT."
k
I! .!
il^'^
"Ami M<'iiiii ill Isiiiiili \l\'. 22 tin- L<)i'<l Mll\^s. ' /.mi/,' unto Me
ami Im' ye Niivfil! ^^•.s, siiNfil Ky " /o«/,' / liiiiii«-i|iatrly ! hid
yiMi Miiy, ' Oh, tliiit is too easy u way ' T/mf wiistlic \uic<' n\'
Satan ; I ni suit- ul' it. Ami that i.s rxaclly what wc aif //«/ to
»(f>/. liistcn to tin- trxt a;;ain, 2 ('or. \i. 'A: I'aul says, \ fiur !'
(yiai st'f Im- lM';^ins l»y .sayin;i' that In- is nlVaitl you may Ixi
(•iu-atcil out of a ;;'<»oi| thiny; l»y a litth- mistaki'), ' I I'l-ar, Irst hy
any nit'ims, an tin- .s('i|M'nt lM';^Miilc»| Kve tln'ou^^'h his suhtilty,
MO yttwr niinilN nIiouM Im- <'oiiu|»tt'tl Triiin the SlMI'LlCylTN' that
is in ChriHt,' "
Satan madf it I'asy I'or you ami ni<- to sin, ami (loil has niaili;
it i-asv lor us to In* sa\f(| from sin, hut Satan wants to licuuilu
you iVom the simph' way hy tt'lliiij,' you that sihi|ily to look to
.IfsuM is too i-asy. I)(»n't listt-n to him, hut ItflicNc ami ohry the
Noict' ol' ilt'sus, ami tloitnow : ilont wait a moment, the poiNon
is hourly ^'I'ttin;^' a hold u|)on you and the lon;;t'r you leave it
tht^ worse it ;;('ts and the less you will care, for drowsim's.s
comes over those who are poisoned, and like a poor ( 'hinamun
(whom I laice saw at the point of death throu;;li ha\in;r taken
opium) who when the doctor ti'ied to cure him, said an;^fi'ily,
" Leave me alone, let me sleep. " Oh, hoys and ;^ii'ls, now while
yim know the danger, look away to .Jesus and He will save
Now let me close hy telling" you a little. |)arahle. Let us
)»icturc a hoy standing; at the door of one of the tents of the
<'hildren of Israel— he has joined in witli the vest of the
j;rund)lei's who nuu'unireil a;^'ainst < lod and apiinst Moses, and
a serp«>nt comes up hehind him and ;;iN'es him a Itite on his
foot. His mother sees it, and calls out, " ('hai'lie, vou'nc heen
hitten : h)ok at the hrass .serjient or yo»> will die." Htit ho
turns away, an<l ;;ivin^^ his foot a rub, he says, "' It's only a little
Hcratch " -(Only the tii-st sin ! What :* " 1 only told one Wv I"
"I only copied ort" the ne.xt hoy's slate o/«<r." "I only took
onr oi'an;j;e." " Only one ela.stic haml.' " I otdy took one cent)
— and awav he <f<jes : and his mothei' calls, "('luirlic, come
hack, " but he says, " What do I care : its only mothei- calling."
Only mother I What does God .say:" " Honor thy father and
thy mother that thy days may he lon;^ in the land which the
1-.ORI) thy God <(ivt^th thta\" Only mothei" I and puttinjf his
fin<;ers in his ears he won't hear ami rushes madly on : and
Satan says, " That's it, Charlie: don't you b«- 'tied up to your
mother's apron .string's.' " But his mother follows him, prays
for him. " Shall I overtake him :*" says .she, as almo.st out of
breath she hurries on in hot pursuit. Slu- sees liiin ahea<l, ho
"TMK SKHI'KNT.
817
IIIC
ir.
ho
lis
111)1
)ur
mIih'Ixi'Iim liis |iniM>. Iif «<to|is, fulls ilowii. (Mi, my Imy," mIic frifs,
lUxl in II liioiiifiit mIic is liy iiis si<li> mii<I liniis liilii ;;i'<ulll. (Mi,
(^'liarlii', iiiv Im>\', wIi\- ilid v<»u iiin nwav '" niil pirkiii'' liiin up
••II • I r^ I
iiikI ri'tniciiiy; lirr MtfpH, slu* trifs to t'lirry liiin Imck witliiii
si;i;lit i»r tin- ii|ilirtt'<| Snviuiir. Sin- lunks /it Iht hoys I'licf •
lu' is iiliiiosi uDiic : Itiit tlii'iT. slif is w itliin siylit nl' tin- fainp
oF iMriH'l. " Now , ( 'luirlic, liHik." " ( Mi, inutlifr, Ift mm- slt'cit."
" N<», IIIN' Ik)v,.\'oii will ilit> if I ilo. Now wiikf up. llfiiifiiilMT
wliiit (iihI s)ii«l. ' Ft hIiiiII citiiii' to puss tliiit t'M'ryoiic tliut ix
liittcii, /''//(//( /'.r. lit till' \ t-ry iimiiifiit I '"'A* /» In- limkt'tli ii|m»ii it
sliiill LINK.' I )n yon liclicM' it, ( ■Imrlic .' " " Vt-s, inotlicr. "
" 'I'ln'ii /»<(>/,• now ; o|M>n your cyt's nml Inol.." lie (ijh-iis liis
• •yes iiiitl looks, iiikI iiii iiici/idff'l 1/ ]\r is Ih'iiIciI. lint only just
in tiiiic. Now. Itoys uimI ;;irls, let us not loiNf it iiiiy lon;;fi'.
Look NOW to .Ifsus. jlfcrisf Mini ns your Sun iour nn<l fricnfl,
iiml III' will ,sii\r \ou now. iiinl \'on simll Iim\<' fM'rlMstini; lifo
« •- ^^
aixl iH'Vcr |M'i'isli, for no one is nlilc to pluck you <»iit of tlio
Saviour's Imml. Lt-t us pruy. (Mi, hlf.s.st-d Lord .Icsus, tlioti
who wiist liftt'il up upon the cj-oss that wr nii;;ht Im- .saNcil,
hflp «'acli on*' of tln'Sf hoys and tdrls now to hear tin* voicn
.saving; unto them, " Look unto iih- and he ye saved," an<l ludp
tlu'Mi, () Lord, to olicy that voIcm- and look unto tht'c and sr*'
thy precious hlood shed for them, that Mood which "('leanseth
\'i'tm\ (ill sin." () Lord, save them now and keep t4iem unto
the end. For thv name'.s sake we ask it. Amen.
" Tlii'iv is i.iKK for a i.hok at tlio cnioitii-il One,
Tliunr is I.IKK at tlii.s iiiDiiioiit fur tlier ;
TIr'II liiuk, .siiiiioi', look unto Him aiitl \w saved,
I'lito Mini wlio waN nailed to the truu ;
Look : look ! look ! and mvk ! "
lu)
«<
FAITH.
Ifi
u
" Josus siiith unto him, Thomas, 1)oc;iuse thou hiist seen me, thou luist
l)eliuvod ; blossed aio they that huvu n<it sini, and yet liave bolluxed." —
John XX. 25).
OUR lesson for to-day is " Fuith," i.e., l)eliovin<i^ tlie word of
a person, whether it he the woi'd of a man or the Word
of (Jod. Faith is the most important thiiig possible,
bectiuse we read, " Without faith it is impossible to please God "
(Heb. xi. 6) : and one of Christ's strono'est connnands was, 'Have
faith in God " (Mark xi. 22): and there is another verse in the
Gospel of John iii. 30, which says, " He that believeth on the
Son hath everlastiiif;- life; and he that believeth not the Son
tihall not see life : hut the wrath of God abidetli on him."
One day when Jesus was walkino- along the road to Cjesarea
Philippi he aske<l His disciples a question, " Whom do men say
that I am ? And they said, Some say John the Baptist, some
Elijah, others Jeremiah or one of the other prophets." Then
He asked them another (juestion, " Whom say ye that I am i
Peter said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Then Jesus told them that before very long four things wtre
going to happen. (See Matt. xvi. 21.)
1. He was going to Jerusalem.
2. He was going to suffer many things of the elders, chief
priests and scriljes.
3. He was going to be killed.
4. He was going to rise again on t!ie tiiird day after he had
been killed.
But somehow or other they did not seem to understand, and
Peter actual!}- told the Lord, " This shall not be," but the words
of Jesus came true after all.
The time of the feast of the passover was at hand, an<l Jesus
said He nuist go to Jerusalem, so He went and His disciples
went with Him, and there they had their last supper together,
and on that night Judas betrayed Him, and the soldiers seized
" FAITH."
319
oM otHnn an.l took Hun away to tl... hiol, pnost's house,
where thoy inocked Hiin, and spat upon Hin. and shouted,
Away with Hini ! Crucify Him:" And after that He was
scourjrod.and a cross put on His shoulder, and He was led away
to be crucihe. with two thieves. Wliile He was on the cross
some ()t the chi.d priests and the scribes, when they saw Him'
lum^^m^ tliere with the nails throu^di His han.ls and His feet
mocked Him and shoutcl at Him, "Come down from the
cross. Let Christ, the Kino- of Israel, descend now from the
cross tliat we may see and beliexe ' ' " (Mark xv. 80-.'J.3 ) Was
tfiat faith ? No they said as oo,.d as this, " Unless we see you
come down oft that cross we're not ^roin^ to believe ' If we see
such a wonderful thino- as that, then we mi^ht. perhaps, believe."
Hut just before Jesus died one of the thieves repented, and
calling- out to Jesus, he said, " Lord, remember me when thou
fT^M ; Lh'":^t"- ' " r/..,-. was/ai^/,/ The penitent
thief believe.1 that Chnst was the Kincr of Israel, and wanted
to have a share m the kingdom, and the Lord said, " Verily
verily, I say unto thee, To-day thou shalt be with me in
paradise.
Now, did the penitent thief see his sins drop out of his heart
like so many pieces of stone or brick ? No, but he believed, and
so rejoiced to see.
" The dying thief rejoiced to see
That fountain in his day ;
And there have I, thougli' vile as he,
Washed all my sins away.
" I do l)elieve, I will helieve
That Jesus died for nie ;
That on the cross He shed His blood
From sin to set me free."
Soon after that Jesus cried with a loud voice, and Lnive up
the ghost: and when the centurion who was in charge of the
so diers smy that He so cried out and gave ui) the -host he
said. " Truly, this was the Son of Cod." Then tlie wonPen began
to cry and to inoui-n and weep, they were so discouraged, too.
They had thou!,/d that He vvas the Son of (iod : but He was
dead now, and all their hopes were gone. But they might have
rejoiced; and would have rejoiced if they had believed the
words that Jesus had said,— He had said,
1st. He would go to Jerusalem. And He went,-so that
came true. He had said—
I ' >!
.S2()
" FAITFI,
■■1
I
\%
!',i.,
m
■1 U-'
I! '.'.
|g m
II
2iitl. That Ht' wouM sntttT many tilings of the t'ldt-rs, chief
priests, an<l scriltes, and Ht; had certainly Hutt'eriMl. Yes, that
was trne also, tie had said —
.Srd. That He wouM he kiMed — and ahis,that was only too true.
Yes, He was (h'ad. without douht. His words ha<l come true in
air three cases. Then why did thev not helieve that His other
woi'd was comint,"' true, too, for He had also said —
4. That He wcaiM rise n^a\u tht^ thij-d day I
Why did they not Ijelieve His word.' Becau.se they' coid*!.
not see hoir it was »;()in<; to happen, and so they mourned and
Wept when they mi<;'ht ha\'e encouraged each other hy sayin<;,
" Never mind, we have only lost Him for a day or two : lu'cause,
don't you know He said, 'I will rise w fain the third day I'"
But they doubted, and mourned, and wept, instead of helieving,
rejoicintj, and sin<iiny,".
But what are the soldiers >i;oinjj to do now ! A man 1
I as
S^!*-
come from Pilate to tell the centurion that the soldiei-s are to
lu'eak the le<;'s of the thret^ who ha<l been crucified, because the
Jews said that the next day was "an high day" with them, and
they did not want any bodies hanging on a cross on that <lay,
and to break their legs would l)e sure to put an end to them,
an<l then they could take their bodies down from the cross.
Then came the soldiers and break the legs of the tiivst thief,
and with a yell of agony he gave out his last breath and died.
Then they came to the other thief, and if they had looked in
Ins face they wouM liave seen him rejoicing in the jnidst of the
pain, because he believed the word of Jesus, and knew that he
would be with Him in Paraili.se. Then the soldiers smashed at
the legs of the penitent thief, and with a shout of joy, he ])asse(i
away to go into the presence of (Jod.
But last of all the soldiers came to the ci'oss of Jesus, and I
fancy I see the great Roman .soldier raise his heavv .si)ear, and
is just about to smash His legs also, when as if some unseen
hand has laid hold of his arm, the spear head is lowered slowly
to the groiuid, for he saw by His face that He was (U-ad ali'eady,
" So thev brake not his legs." For if you remember, (Jod had
said, " A bone of him shall not be broken." (Ex. xii. 46.) So
that was anothei" pi'oof that He was the Saviour that was to
come to die for us. But a soldier with a spear pierced His
side, and when he drew out the spear again, forthwith there
came out blood and water.
,1
m
Thfie i.s the fountaiii tilled with blood,
Druwn from Iniiiiaiiuer.s veins,
And sinners plunged heneath that tlood
Lose all their guilty stains."
FAITH.
:i2I
Aii<; tliat soldit'i' little thoiiiilit he
was trivin^' anotlici'
proof
.1
id
5o
bo
lis
ro
tliat Jesus was tiie ilcssiali, tor the prophet ha<l said, " They
shall look oil him whom they have pierced.'' (Zech. xii. 10.)
.TuHt then a rich man came alono- and .said that Pilate liad
liiveii 1dm perndssion to take away the l)ody of Jesus and bury
it in his own sepulchre. His name was Joseph., an<l he was the
oidy counsellor that wouM not consent to Jesus beiny cruei-
tied. So he and Nicodemus came and took Him down from the
ci'oss, woutid Him in linen clothes, and carried Him to the
sepulchi'e, and rolled a j^a-eat stone to tlie dooi* of the .sepulchre,
and departed. Then tlie Cliief Priests and Pharisees sealed
the stione and set men to watch.
The women went liome and began to prepare spices and oint-
ments to embalm His body, b\it the next day being the Sab-
bath they rested according to the connnandment : but on the
first day of the week, while it was yet dark, tliese women took
their spices and started off to the sepulchre.
You see they did not believe he was going " to ri.se again the
third day," or they never would have .spent all their money to
l>uy ointment and spices, because people don't part with their
money so easily as that. And as they^ went along they won-
<lered who would roll away the heavy stone for them, when
suddenly they come up to the sepulchre and " Mary seeth the
stoiU' taken away from the .sepulchre.' Then she ran off to
Peter and John and called out, " They have taken away the
Lord out of the sepulchre."
Sci they jumped up and raced along as hard as they could,
but John was a better runner than Peter, and got to the
sep\dchre first, and stooping down he looked in and saw the
linen clothes, but the bodv of Jesus was not there. Then came
Peter out of breath with trying to keep uj) with John, and went
right into the sepulchre, and he smv and believed. Then Petei'
and John went home again but Mary stood outside crying, and
she .saw Jesus standing there, but she did not notice that it
was Jesus. Then Jesus said to her, '■ Woman, why weepest
thou ^ Whom seekest thou ? " She .supposing Him to be the
gardener saith unto Him, " Sir, if you have borne Him hence
tell me where thou hast laid Him, and I will take Him away."
♦She still thought that He was dead, and that someone had
stolen His dead body. Jesus said to her, " Mary," and hearing
Him call her by her nanje she looked up and saw Him standing
there and .said, Mciftter !
Tlien .she went off and said to the disciples, " I have seen the
Lord, " but thev didn't believe her, and said that it was " an
322
FAITH.
idle tak'.'" On tlu' .Siiiiif uveiiiii;;,' soiih' oI" tlic <lisci)>k'.s met in ii
loom and shut all tiic doors, ht-cause they were afraid oT the
.lews, when suddenly Jesus eanie an<l stood in the midst of
them and said, "Peace be unto you," but they were terrified
and supposed they had .seen a spirit; but He said, "Why are
ye troubled :" Look at my hands and my feet that it is I
myself, and handle me and sec; for a si)irit hath not ilesh and
bones as ye see me have." But they wondered still, an<l
" believed not for joy." They thou<;ht it was too<jfood to be true,
so He wanted to help their weakness and want of faith, and
said, " Have \'e here any meat f' and they said, " Yes, liere is some
honeycomb and broiled tish," and He took it and ate it, and then
they believed, and we read, " Then were the disciples <;lad >rlteii
they saw the Lord." (John x.x. 20.) Not very great faith, was
it, to believe when thev saw for themselves I Anybodv can
believe when they see, but it tak(5s faith to believe when you
don't see !
But there were two disciples absent on that occasion. Who
were they ? Judas \vas not there, for we read, after Judas
had betrayed Jesus, when he saw that Jesus was really g'oino-
to be crucified, he broufrht the mt)ney back to the Chief Priests
and Elders saying, " I have betrayed the innocent blood, " and
lie cast down the thirty piece's of silver in the temple and went
out and hanged himself. So Judas was not there, and Thomas
was not there either. So the other disciples when they met
Thomas, said, " Oh, Thomas, we have seen the Lord : if you had
only come to the meeting you would have seen Him. " Oh, I
don't believe it," says Thomas. "But, Thomas, He showed us His
hands and His side, and we saw the holes where the nails were."
But Thomas said, " Except / sliall see in His hands the })rint of
the nails, and thrust my hand into His side, / ivill not believe .'"
And after eight days the disciples had another meeting, and
this time Thomas thought he had better come, so he went in
with the others, and after the doors were shut Jesus came
again and stood in the midst and said, " Peace be unto you,"
and then He went straight to Thomas, " Thomas, reach hither
thy finger, and behold my hands ; and reach hither thy hand
and thrust it into my side, and l>e not fait/dess, but believing !"
Then Thomas cried out, " My Lord and my God." But Jesus
said unto him, " Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast
believed ; but blessed are they that have not xeen and yet have
believed."
So if you want to get a bigger blessing than Thomas, helwve
first and then you shall see. When you come to ask Jesus to
FAITH.
:\-l:\
.-■ent
mas
met
ha<l
H
IS
'Ve.
of
and
i\t in
loamo
Ivou,"
itlior
I ban* I
i>9 ■
iJesus
hast
have
i\lS to
l'oi'i^i\(' \(»n \oui' sins, (»r to take a\va\' \()ur tfiiiiR'i', and m\\'
\(>u iiatu'ncc HI \()ur trials. JirHerc and ( Jod will allow \-()u to
sre aftt.'1'wards Like wlifii .Icsws hud I'aiscd La/ai'iis Ht^
tururd to Martha and said, " S>id 1 n(jt unto thco that it* thou
woidflfst ht'liire t]uni slioiddest .s't the ol()i-\- of (Jod:''" (Jojui
\i. 40).
]jvI nif u'ixc you an illustration that niay lirlj) y<»u to under-
stand what faith is.
Now I take in my tinni-r and thundi a one-cent piece, an<l I
hold it u]) —
<.>.
I)
A. ■' \
() you see it
OS.
(}. Do vou helieve it '
A. Ves":
Now I put that one-cent piece hack in my pocket, and takiny
out mv hand and closiui; inv tist I make this statement ;
" ]>oys and eii-ls, I liave a one-cent piece in the palm of my
liand shut up under my finders,"
(}. Do vou N'v that one-cent piece in mv hand .'
A. No!
(,>. J^o vou lichen' there is a oue-ceut niece in mv hand !
A. Yes.
<,>. ^Vh^• iU) vou helieve it
A. 1
lecause y(ai say so
Thai (s faith in ini/ irord! But then- was a l)oy at the
back there, who said " No." That boy has no faith in rail
word, he thoue-ht I was a bar.
Now if y(Ui can believe my woi'd you can believe the woi'd
of Jesus, and He .says if you will believe 3'ou shall ■■^ce.
(.). So I hold up my hst and open my tinevrs, an<l what do
you see ?
A. A one-cent piece.
Q. Now that boy who said " No." Do vou believe now :*
A. -Yes."
i). Wliy does he believe f
A. Because he sees.
\K Is that faith ;
A. No.
Q. What is it ?
A. Sig^ht.
Ei^li. ii. cS. " By grace are we saved throueh FAITH."
L' Cor. V. 7. " We walk by FAITH, not by sijrht "
When trials come we are so often tempted to l»e " weary " and
" give up," and say " it's no use," but David says, '• / had fainted
.M24
" KAITII. "
';■*
uiilc'HS 1 liiul hi'/tered to see. the j^ocmImcss of tlif LoUh in tlif
land of the liviii<;'." (Psii. xxvii. I'-i.) So let lis tiikf coufa;^!'
and Hv will strt-niithcn our lu'arts if \\v will onlv In-litnt' ir.
His ^roat^'ocxhu'ss to us.
His goodiicsM leads us to rc|H'ntanc(' in tlic tii'st |tlacf, i\,r we
road, "Till' oimmIucss of (lod IcafU'tli tlici' to ri'iu-ntanec." (Rom.
ii. 4'.) And now He won't stop ht'iiin- u-ood to usaftci' \\r liaxc
conic to Him. will He :* No. Let us then hrllcve that H.- is
j;oin<; to lie <;'ood to lis all the way. ami we shall si'v, 'Surely
goodness and mercy s/t(dl follow me all the days of ni} life."
(Psa. xxiii. (i.)
Has Jesus promised to sa\f those who ltelie\e '. Ye>. Has
He promised to keep those who helieve ! Ves. Will He Kreak
His prcMuise f No. Then let us helieve His promi.se. and wo
shall see His ecHxhiess.
Hymn 71, I'liion Mission Hymnal —
*' My f.-iitli looks up to Tliue,
Thou LiiMil) of ("alviiiy.
Saviour tliviuc !
NOW liiifir niu while I [nviy,
Take all my siii.s away ;
Oh, lut me from this day
Be wholly Thine : "
'" May Thy rieh .i;iin.'e iuipa t
Strength to my fainting heart,
My zeal insjiiri' !
As Thou hast died for me,
Oh, may my Io\e ti Thee
Pure, w.arm, and chani:;eless l)e,
A liviiiif fire.'
Aliii'ii.
(;li:A\i\(;s from iiii' pra\f.r-
MHiniX(;s.
CctN'DrcTEi) HY W. K. Campbell.
Saturdai/. Fehraari/ Jo, St. Peter's Schoolroom, 8 p.m. —
Isaiah ix. 6, 7 : " Of the increase of His government and [)eac'e
there shall be no end." In proportion as we cast the respon.si-
l>ility of our lives upon Him, so far will peace be established
in our hearts. Unless the whole responsibility of this mi.ssion
is now cast on the shoulder of Jesus, we shall be fearful and
anxious about the results, and so unable to rest in the Lord, and
to believe for the souls around us.
Mond'tij, F('}>riiary 17, Y. M. C. A. Hall.— Hebrews xi. i)'
" He that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He
is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." It is of no
use coming to God in prayer unless we are prepared to seek
Him diligently until He answers. Prayer is asking and
receiving. See Mark xi. 24 : " When ye pray believe that ye
receive, and ye shall have." Remember that as soon as you
pray in faitJi the powers of heaven are set in motion to carry
out your request.
On Tuesday, February IS, we were reminded that it was
only through Jesus as our great High Priest that we can
come holdly to the throne of grace to " obtain mercy and find
grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews iv. 14-16.) " Mercy,"
that draws and welcomes us ; " grace " that is treasured up for us
abundantly in Jesus Christ. Be sure to " obtain " for the souls
we are pleading for in Toronto, not only God's mercy and for-
giveness, but also the " abundance of grace " for their every time
of need.
Wednesday, Fehruary 19. — Hebrews x. 19-22. Every time
we seek to " draw near," let us remember that it can only be
" by the Blood of Jesus " — sprinkled upon us afresh, removing
i
II
m
I
:i2v>
(il.K.A
KUOM THE I'KAYEU-.MKI;TIN(;.s.
all liiiidranco anu .ill dcfileinent — the same precious lilood by
whicli at the tirst we were "made nij^h." (Kphesians ii. i:}.)
T/iHi-sdaij, FrhriKir;/ .VA— Hebrews vi. l.S-2(). Hope, confident
and rejoicinuf hope (iv. (i, 14), is a necessary element of prayer.
Hope that inspires us to continue perseverin<f in prayer,
anchored within the veil ; ant! that keeps us patiently waiting;
for the answer till it comes. The conHtlence of our hope is in
our i,'reat Hii,'h Priest — in His person, and in His intercession —
for He is Himself the pled<,'e oi the answer beinr^ <;iven us.
Fridtii/. FehriKirf/ JI. — Foslnia xiv. 7-14, witli Numbers
xiii. iJO, xiv. (i-lO. The promises of (Jod are ' e.\ceedin<j great
and precious,'' and they lie before u.s wnitlng to he posseawd in
our Land of Promise, which is Jesus (Jhrist. From the above
verses we find the only spirit in which they can be ohtaini'd.
We must have Caleb's spirit of whole-hearted surrender, and
Joshua's spirit of absoUite trust in our ( Jod, if we would <^o in
and possess the Land. Let us do so now on our kne^ :; this
mornino;.
Monday, Fehritar>/ .'.'/. — Matthew v. 2li compared with Mark
xi. 25. When approachinij God in prayer, if you remember
" that th}' brother hath ought against thee" — do not imagine it
is of no importance because you have no resentment against
him ; go and put tlie matter right, for it is a stumbling-block
to him, and will hinder the answer to your prayer. If, on the
other hand, " ye have ought against any "' your prayer cannot
1)6 heard in heaven till the bitterness or ill-feeling has been
cleansed out of your own heart.
Tiiesday, Febnuiri/ :.'■'>. — Psalm xxxvii. 1-7. There is no
obstacle so great to successful prayer as the habit of fretting
over the evil around us ; yet we sometimes think that this is
pleasing to God, as we bewail the coldness and indifference and
sin of the Church, and in the world around us. Instead of this,
we are told to bring the matter trustfully to God, and get the
full assurance in our heart that He has heard us, and so rise to
" delight " ourselves in the Lord, and to " wait patiently " and
praisingly for the answer He promises us in verse 4. Then
we are free to "commit" fresh difficulties, as they arise, to
Him ; and to " rest in the Lord." This is how to obey the
thrice repeated command in these verses, " Fret not thy.self."
Wednesday, February :26. — Luke xviii. 1-14. Another
obstacle to successful prayer is faint-heartedness. But this
parable is a strong argument against discouragement in our
pleadings before God. If the widow felt she had a claim on
(iLKANINCiS FIlo.M IHi: I'MA VKK-.M Dl/I I M iS.
•>.>"
to
mcl
to
the
such a man as the unjust judj^e, and urj^od it, in spite of ins
cimracter and indiHerence, how her action puts us ( hristians
to shame when we are puttin<^ the claim of our needs before
the just and faitliful God, who has ple.l<fed Himself to hear us,
and who will, with His Son, "freely i^iveus all thin<:fs." From
the second paraV)Ie we see the liindrance to praytsr of l)ein«^
indeHnite in our petitions. Tlie Pharisee asked for nothing, he
only talketi about hiniself and to himself, so he ;fuf nothi in/.
Tliarudd//, Februari/ .J7. — Matthew viii. 5-10, with Mark
vi. 2-(J. "Jesus marvelled and said, ... I have not found so
threat faith . . ," " He marvelled becau.se of their unbelief. '
j'he Lord Jesus is in our midst to-day, and as He listens to
<jur prayers and searches our hearts He will be takinjf notice of
one of these thinfjs concernin<; each one of us here — our faith
or our unbelief. In proportion as we look on the Lord Jesus
(like the centurion) as having "all power in heaven and in
earth," our faith will increase ; whereas, if we only look on
Him as the Son of JVIan — "the carpenter" — we diall expect
nothing from Him, and He will be unable to manifest His
power to us.
Friday, Fehruary '28. — Psalm xxviii. 0, 7, with xli. 8 and
xxxvii. 4. If we are really trusting the Lord about any matter
we have brought to Him in prayer, we can add, " I am helped,"
and the burden of it is gone from our own hearts. Then our
hearts, freed from all weight and care, rise to joy and delight in
Cxod Himself, and the song of praise bursts from our lips while
as yet we see nothhuf of the answer. Our heart is so glad, and
at rest, that we enter into the meaning of " count it all joy
when ye fall into divers temptations" — testings or trials — and
in God's good time we prove that He answers " exceeding
abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the
power that worketh in as. Unto Him be glory . . . world
without end. Amen."
our
on
Vl\\i\i^Rl>
DE?OS\TORN
PUBLISHERS
IMPBRTERS
BOOKSELLERS
BY REV. G. C. GRUBB.
Christ's Pull Salvation. Crown 8vo, fancy covers, i2tli
thousand 35c.
Covenanted Blessings. Crown 8vo, fancy covers - 35c.
The Promise of My Father. (Suitable for distribution) . 3c.
BOOKS BY E. C. MILLARD.
What God Hath Wrought. 382 pages, illustrated, clotii
boards, etc. $1 25
". . . All Chriatians will find iiiHplrntloii and stimulus from these paifes."— O/iriwtinu.
The Same Lord, 400 pages, illustrated, cloth boards ■ - 1 25
" It may be called 'The Roiiiaiu'e of Faith,'" etc. — /wVcrrtri/ Wtnlil.
Pound Out ! .Small Booklet in pretty paper cover - - - 3c.
H M In French morocco 20c.
" It is a hright and useful address to boys arul i{irls. "— C/(riV<»'a/i.
P. T.O. A striking miniature tract - 3c.
E. O. MILLARD and MISS LUCY GUINNESS.
5outh America: The Neglected Continent.
Fully illustrated, cloth boards 75c.
Special Cheap Edition, striking p;iper wrapper 50c.
WiLLARD Tract Depository,
Cor. YONGE and TEMPERANCE STREETS.
...TORONTO.
:rs
RS
,LERS
36c.
35c.
3c.
- $1 25
rhtinn
■ 1 25
3c.
- 20c.
3c.
IS.
75c.
50c.
)NTO.
> -\