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Mn. .\ p^ctaa, charts, ate., may ba fllmad at 0«n .ant """.v. 1*1 1 ( ] ij ,' tl f. r tt^ .f ■ 1» ;j :! f r ' ti CHRIST OUR GOVERNOR; *•■ * OK, A MESSAGE OF PEACE UNTO ALL MEN WHOSOEVER THEY MAY BE. Jottings taken down whii.p: on a Trii> to Scotland and England, during the Month of March, 1896. *'Jov toho iaifobsabc ourgJorD; octohoie a rock eabe our (Sob." BY DONALD McLENNAN, Amberley, Ontario. LONDON, ONT. : AOVEKTISKR PRINTING ANI) PUnLISHING COMPANY. 1896. Entered according to Act of Parliament in the year one thousand eight hundred and ninety-six, by Do.WALU McLenn \n, in the Office of the Minister of Ag/icuhure. or ani hi{ anl TO THE PUBLIC. Eight years and a half ago the writer of the following pages fell on his knees imploring the mercy of Almighty God upon himself, and for three and a half years sought peace and reconciliation with his Creator through Jesus Christ, the only mediator between God and man. At the end of that time I made application to the Presbyterian Church of Canada (Ashfield congregation) for admittance to member ship in the church, and of the body of Christ. My application was favorably considered, and I was taken in without a single question being asked me, plainly showing that there was not a member of the session who had any fault to find with me. The Moderator of the session at the time (we had no settled minister) taking me by the hand and using these words as far as I remember, " I take you into the membership of the church, the past is forgiven see that you do not bring disgrace on the holy fellowship into which you are taken." The present (June, 1896) incumbent of the parish was sitting in the pulpit at the time, and can bear witness to the truth of this state- ment, if he is so minded. As time went on I came to understand that the friendliness of the minister was gradually waning, until at last, as far as I could learn, it entirely vanished. I took upon myself the boldness to write him and expostulate with him in my own defence ; the letter was some- what lengchy, containing some twenty or more pages of common note paper. At the time, I thought that the letter worked me no ill, and I lived in hopes that the gathering clouds would ultimately pass av/ay ; but instead of that it kindled his ire and roused his haughtiness so much that he became incontinent in his denunciations. This condition of things went on until the communion season in June, 1894, when the whole matter came to a climax by my being turned adrift and becoming an outcast from society ; at least that is all I could understand by the actions of the people with whom I mingled. I was never told what peculiar operation they put me through, or what they really had against me. I was astonished on being told that neither minister or elders had anything agamst me ; the expression used was, " I have nothing against you." I say I was astonished at such a remark, the reason being that I had perfect knowledge that the majority of those present had and did have some- thing against me ; their every day actions told me so. But what does the expression mean? in truth and verity it means, I have NOT HIM against you ; or, I have against you NOT CHRIST : I have against you but Christ and you reconciled. This is the true interpretation of the language used. II. To the Public. From that day up to the present I suffered the utmost persecu- tions by the church that any man ever suffered. I have been dogged from place to place, from city to city; from Ashfield Township, Ontario, to Manitoba and the Northwest Territories ; thence back again to Ashfield ; and again from Ashfield across the Atlantic Ocean, through England and Scotland, and back again to Ashfield. On my arriving home from Great Britain, in April, 1896, I was on a basis, as far as I could learn, with the Heavenly Ruler of all things, of peace and reconcilation, that very few could comprehend or have a right to look for more tokens of God's favor, But as I arrived with- in the precincts of the Ashfield congregation, I was subjected to the same brutish persecution that I endured before leaving, and while on the journey to and from Great Britain, and which has continued to the present writing. (This book was written under many difficulties while on that journey.) The persecution is of a peculiar nature ; the people hide them- selves behind a spiritual covering, or they employ spirits to do their dirty work. These spirits may be their own or evil spirits, the spirits of devils, and of late I treat them as such by pouring on them, with the utmost severity of language that I can employ, the denun- ciation that they deserve. Does it not show the baseness of the human nature hiding their maliciousness behind such a covering, be- hind spirits, and those of devils, for such I must call them (holy spirits do not torment), in such a way that a man cannot defend him- self or meet his adversary on equal terms. The law of God says, " Cursed be he that smites his neighbor secretly. And all the people shall say. Amen." Here we have an instance of this secret smiting toleratea in a Christian church in the nineteenth century. Tolerated did I say, aye, preached and directed from the pulpits. Where have all the truths of scripture flown to when an individual is subjected to such treatment by the church ? I read nowhere in the bible that man is not to deal with man as man to man, using plainness of speech in dealing one with another. " I had rather speak five words with the understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue," saith Paul, and this is the Bible teaching from beginning to end. If we have a fault with anyone let it be told him in plain language and everything put right ; in no case are we to hide our enmity behind a smiling face and strike in secret, if we do we come under the precept of the law stated above. But what have I been subjected to ? deliberate lying and falsifying, men and women shielding themselves behind deliber- ate falsehood and the spirits of devils, for the purpose of keeping me in the dark and reeking their hatred on me behind my back. Do they not come under the statute stated above ? For the last two years I have not received a straight answer, at least not without some twist in it, and yet they call themselves Christian men and women. That this could be said about any Chribtian community sounds like a tale that is told, nevertheless it is a fact, and the worst is not written ■ ) \ , I i To the Public. in. I down here, but for the present I must cut the story short, hoping that at no distant day 1 may with great freedom deal with this matter Let me ask who is responsible for all this ? Who is responsible for these persecuting spirits? I say their employer, and that for every action every sin that they have committed, or that they were the means of making me the subject of, their employer is guilty. Let the Presbyterian Church of Canada charge me with having been guilty of what they please, and I defy them to bring me before the magistracy of our land and prove one solitary thing against me by human witnesses. I will go further, and say the church had never the smallest right to subject me to the treatment I received from them. I was loaded down with sin enough before this trial and tribulation with the church, and if I was to shoulder the sins, sins did I say, aye, far worse crimes that have been committed by these spirits, it would be enough to drown all the inhabitants of this fair province of Ontario in perdition. I wash my hands from it all, and say, the spirit causing this dire affliction is the guilty person. I pleaded, I prayed not to be made the victim of so much sensuality, but all in vain ; I do not believe to-day there is a clean soul m Ashfield, but they all have their hands defiled. They seek to save themselves by signs, poor souls ; we cannot get pardon from heaven by signs, neither can they clean their hands of the filthiness they have caused ; and never will they get the pardon by signs or otherwise of the writer of this. Their consciences must be terribly easy to relieve if they are satisfied with the signs they work out for themselves. Freedom from sin is easily obtained at that rate. Let the Presbyterian Church of Canada charge me with having been guilty of what they please before 1892, since then I defy them to show me wherein I brought disgrace upon the church ; and I would rather to-day stand in my own shoes than in theirs which are loaded down with the sins committed by them since 1894, in persecuting the writer of these pages. I said already that there was enough done to send to hell the whole population of Ontario. I throw it all back upon themselves, and freely I can do so, for I never consented unto their wickedness. They try to pile all this on my shoulders, but I am as free of it as he who never laid his eyes on me or that never committed iniquity, for I never consented to their doings, neither had I any pleasure in their works of pollution, Polluting my body was their main object. Shall I call it by its true name of fornication — adultery ? man with man doing that which is unseemly. This is a fact. They could not pollute me without polluting themselves. This was all do e by the people of Ashfield in spirit. If they can show that these spirits were devils they are still guilty, inasmuch as they employed them. It is like hiring one man to murder another ; both the doer of ihe deed and his employer are equally guilty : the victim of their mal practice is innocent. The philopr> genitive desire must be terribly abnormal in the women of Ashfield when they endeavor to propagate iv.. V To the Public. the race in spirit. This is not all the sin that was committed, the list is too long to name here, but let me say that this work from beginning to end was sin, sin, sin, and nothing but sin. Did I deserve to be punished ? if so it should be done without sin. There is no sin in punishing another if it is lawfully and rightfully executed, but these are not governed by any law or order. Punishment must be executed without sin, if not it would be better not to punish. And why was all this done? In endeavoring to have me ex- communicated, or to prove their action in June, 1894, to be correct ; and for over two years this has been going on, and as far as I know they have not succeeded yet. Is it not terrible that people calling themselves by the name of Christ should heap sin upon sin and that upon themselves? taking advantages that even the devil cannot take, for he cannot make a man sin without the man consenting to the deed being done. This was their mode of warfare. Is it any wonder that I would throw it all back upon themselves and say they are themselves worse sinners than I ever was ? I reiterate the statement that I am clean fiom it all. I pleaded with them, I prayed them to desist and to stop their dirty work, but to uw avtiil, hence I am free from it all. All this in a law abiding country ; I pleaded time and again for an explanation, but up to the present time I received none ; any advance I made was always treated with silent contempt, or even worse by hiding behind smiling faces and lying lips the bitterness that lay behind, so I have given it up and send forth this appeal to the people of Canada and the other Christian (Protestant) denomi nations for justice and the rule of equity. I may state here that sho tly after the eventful day in Ashfield that I have mentioned, 1 offered myself as a missionary in the cause of Christ in a foreign land, and from the Presbyterian Church I re- ceived nothing but persecution and malicious hatred. Perhaps all of it is not to be laid on their shoulders, I may be mistaken to some extent, others may have had a hand in the perse- cution that I endured. In the spiritual demonstration that sur- rounded me mention was frequently made of the Roman Catholic . Church, ai.d that I was to join it. I may have suffered from them, I ihink I did, I cannot say for truth ; I hold my own opinion. But for me to become a Roman Catholic is beyond my comprehension, for I will never be brought under the government of the Church of Rome. I insert here two letters I received from Presbyterian ministers, showing the guile, the hypocrisy, with which I was treated ; I had more but these two are the only ones I have retained. Deer Park, Saturday, June 20th, 1894. My Dear Friend, — I had your very hopeful letter this morning, I hasten to make answer. You wonder, perhaps, why I say hopeful ; well, simply because you are in earnest about your salvation. You To tlu Public. V. know that God loves sincerity of h^art more than any other sacrifice we can make. Read Psalm li. 17. Are you not in this very stale? You are in heaviness through manifold temptations. Be sure of this, my dear friend, that if, as you are afraid, God would reject you you never would have been troubled with such thoughts as you have at present. The very fact of the existence of these is proof that you are His own child. Remember, too, when God's anger is spoken of in scripture it is always of those who remain hardened in sin, and who persistently and stubbornly reject and despise the Saviour. This is not the case with you ; very far from it ; you are in real earnest, longing for God, seeking Him, praying for Him. Oh ! how wrong it is for you to harbor such unkind thoughts about God. Read John iii. 16. God's purpose in sending Christ was to redeem the world, not to condemn it ; to save it, not to destroy it. See Hebrews ii. 10. My friend, you ask a very strange question, you say, Tell me, what am I to ^o if I am caught in God's snare ? Now nowhere do 1 read in the Bible of God setting a snare to catch men ; but always I read that God breaks the snare, sets the soul free. Put your trust in God, and read Isaiah 1. 10 I hope you will call upon me again, and let me know how you get along. Yours faithfully, J. H. White. Do I call this letter a delusion, a snare ? not altogether, I be- lieve the reverend gentleman mtant, to some extent, just what he said; but the action of the congiegation told a different tale, and that in heart he lent himself to the enemy. The Manse, Kintail P.O., Ont., December 28th, 1895. My Dear Friend, — I have received your letter of a recent date, a week or two ago, and read it over very carefully. Ail I can say is that I sympathise very much with you in your trouble, and anything 1 can do tor you 1 would be more than pleased to do it. 1 have no feelings toward you but feeUngs of good will, and I do not know of anyone else who has any other feelings toward you ; and as you said that you gave yourself up to me a month or two ago, I understand by that that >ou are willing to take my advice, therefore I wish you to throw these foolish and fanciful nptions to the winds and act the part of a sensible man j come to church and other means of grace as you used to do ; and may God bless you and keep you. ,^ Your sincere friend, " John Rose. What can I make of such a letter, but to reverse it, and it will show if not Mr. Rose's feelings the feelings of his congregation. I do not believe that he meant one word of it. About a year ago (I dare not allude to the sentencing of Christ by Pilate, if I did I would be pounced upon and subjected to all manner of abuse. And ■ ■ vi. To the Public. why ? because of the Rev. John Rose passitig sentence upon me. Pilate, in passing sentence on the Lord Jesus, sentenced an innocent man to death), Mr. Rose, in passing sentence on me, passed sentence on an innocent man. Both Pilate and Mr. Rose may think they can wash their hands with water and pronounce themselves guiltless, but such in reality they cannot do. Has the church in Ashfield any gross things to lay to my charge ? The law is administered in the town of Goderich, not over twenty miles away, all whom fault is found against should be brought there for a proper settlement of any contentions that exist. In my opinion, the church has nothing to do with passing judgment upon men; this is the business of those appointed for that purpose by the state. The church and state are separate in this respect, and have been since the time of Moses. The law by the church is to be spiritually understood, and sin spiritually understood; therefore the sinner coming to them in repentance is discharged from all his past sms, let them be what they may : they have no further right to find fault or lay anything to the charge of any such ; the state takes the law as it is written and summarily deals with offenders ot whatever class or type. I do not believe they have even the shadow of a fault to find. Would it be too much to warn them that it may possibly hap- pen to them as in the case of the Egyptian while holding the children of Israel in bondage, ** And Moses said, Thus saith the Lord, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt : and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill ; and all the fi'stborn of beasts." The people of Ashfield and of the Presbyterian Church of Canada, are keeping me in bondage under the power of sin and the power of the law, let them be afraid lest the consequence may be their own downfall. Am I so exalted that I could make use of such language? not at all ; I am a miserable worm of the earth ; but I know this that the God who sent His ministering Spirit to sustain and uphold me through all this tribulation, did not do so in vain, and that yet He will work out my freedom, let the result be to my oppressors what it may. For the present I ieave it for your consideration ; I could write a couple of hundred pages on this subject, and hope I may be able to do so at sqme future date. This little book is sent forth unto the people from a desire to do something for the Lord and Saviour, hoping that it may be the means of awakening some, one here and there, to consider over the well being of their never dying souls ; thereby snatching them from the jaws of death and the torments that await all who will be lost. I remain, yours faithfully, DONALD Mclennan. k PREFACE. In writing this little book, my main object was to bring before the reader some of the thoughts that were rvnning to and fro through my head, hoping that it might be the means of bringing someone to consider over those things that are so important to the salvation of souls. This being my first attempt in bringing before the public any- thing of this kind, the writing and style may lack the elegance of that of an educated man, the writer not being educated beyond the rudiments of a common school ; I beg that the reader will save him- self the trouble of trying to correct the grammatical construction of the phrases and sentences employed, as I fear he would have a never-ending task, and consider only the subjects therein discussed, and not the peculiar form of the sentences. You will find the points brought forward worthy of your earnest consideration j therefore do not condemn them, or the author, without first proving the same wrong according to the teaching of ficripture and the doctrine contained in the Holy Bible. Donald McLennan. ^B •• V K.f CHRIST. .::. OUR GOVERNOR. "■ He pul all things in subjection under Him.'''' " Father I will that they which Thou hast given Me shall be with Me." DESIRE to write more especially of the first quotation of scripture. The epistle to the Hebrews is not credited by a great many commentators to the Apostle Paul, They make out, by their researches, that ApoUos is the writer to the Hebrews, and some credit Barnabas with being the author. Let that be as it may, we find that the epistle to the Hebrews contiains the truths of the Gospel of Christ. The apostle here speaks of the power with which our Lord and ■Saviour has been entrusted, both in heaven and on earth, for He saith, " All things." We can easily understand that there is no exception made. "All power is given unto Me, " are Christ's own words, and we are to understand by the quotation of scripture that has been given Him by (}od, that Gud the Father gives all power unto the Son, and that power was given Him for the government of His own peculiar people, and also for the subduing ot His enemies. All the nations of the earth are His subjects, one way or the other ; they are either His friends or they are His enemies, and must either become Hislo)al subjects in the kingdom that He has purchased with His own blood, or else be His subjects still, and in consequence of their disloyalty be separated from Him and have their portion in the fiery lake that has been prepared as the place of torment of lost souls, "Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quencht d." That all things are put under Him ; it is evident that He is Lord over al things, both spiritual and temporal. The fallen angels are obedient to His commands. Satan, the adversary of souls, the adversary of all that is good, with all his pomp and display, had to take to his heels and leave Him at a word of His command. God has put all these under Him, and they are and must be obedient to the commands that He may, in His good pleasure, lay upon them. I take it that His mode of government is to be seen most clearly in His three fold office of prophet, priest, and king. These are the / 6 Christ Our Governor. offices He fills, not only as our mediator between us and God, but also as our ruler in temporal as well as spiritual affairs. We will address ourselves first to a few thoughts as to how He ful- fils the office of a prophet. As a prophet He rules over them by teach- ing them, by means of the Holy Spirit, more perfectly the way in which they ought to go. Hear His words, *' The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor ; He hath sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised." This we find, I think, to be what we are to understand His office of a prophet to be ; or the office of a teacher through the effectual working of the Holy Spirit. He is the great teacher of the believers, awakening within their breast a pure desire for those things that are from above. The believers' desire should be towards Him not only a desire, but a heart- felt desire towards Him. Skin deep love for the Lord and Saviour don't amount to a great deal ; it must be given Him from the heart, it being the duty of every believer to forsake things earthly, and to have their minds and hearts set with all the energy that they can command on heavenly things. " Set your affection on things above, and not on things of the earth," was the injunction that Paul gave his converts at Colosse, and it is worth giving heed to. If the affection is set on earthly things, the pleasure of this present life, or the gain of earthly riches, there is danger, not danger only, but it is certain to bring discredit to all those that may be given to love these earthly allurements. These earthly desires are to be avoided by all those who desiie to live the true Christian life. He teaches them by stirring up within their hearts a desire for more righteousness day by day. The true Christian should be always striving for more holiness, to be more like Jesus in his walk through this life, to be able more and more to walk in His footsteps, to be able to follow Him more fully in the example which He has left us to follow — His great example of humility and of doing good to others — to patiently search the scriptures that they may be instructed and receive knowledge according to His written word that they may be edified and grow thereby. There is no other way like the diligent study of the scriptures, guided by the Holy Spirit, like unto the searching and reading of the Holy Bible, for edifying a man and bringing him to a true knowledge of the plan of salvation, ** Sear'^h the scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and they are they which testify of Me." And the testimony they bear in regard tr ",ord Jesus is true and to be depended on. They are not old ^ • i fables, but God's own words, given by inspiration of the Holy Spirit. " All scripture is given by inspiration." There is not a syllable to be refused. It is the record that God gave of His Son. We find Jesus in that record from beginning to end, for He was from the beginning. " Before Abraham was I am." FkwachetS may preach, but without the help of the Great Teacher they preach t i^ ■n Christ Our Governor. f to little purpose; they may put for^^h all the ingenuity that they may be capable of exercising ; eloquent speakers, and deliver eloquent and learned sermons, that may be very pleasing to the hearer ; but without the help of the spirit of Christ, the Great Teacher, we cannot expect much fruit from their labor. Preachers we must have to edify and instruct the flock that God has placed under their care ; they are indispensable, but still we cannot give them the honor of putting them above, or let them occupy a position in our hearts that the bible should occupy. I venture to assert that many a man will praise God to all eternity for the privilege of being able to read the bible. The preacher has his duty to perform in going in and out amongst the people and in instructing them ; but we are not to bow down to them ; or, as I might put it, have them in adoration, or have a place in our hearts that we should have for our Saviour. I would not for a moment attempt to take from them the honor that is their due. " Esteem them very highly for their work's sake." I was talking of the esteem in which we should hold the scriptures in our estimation. I consider that on the part of some people they are led to look upon the ministers too highly in attempting to worship God through them, so to speak, and such a thing should not be. He opens the understanding of those that are living true to Him to understand what they read or hear. He asked His disciples on one occasion, " Have ye understood all those things," and they answered, " Yea, Lord." Without understanding what we read or hear, we read and hear to small profit; but through the working of Christ in us by His Holy Spirit this difficulty is done away with to a greater or less extent — " for as many as come unto Him in spirit and in truth." " If any man come unto Me, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living waters ;" and again, " He opened their understanding to understand the scriptures." The intellectual faculties are quickened, the desire after that which is good awakened, or stirred up to seek after that which is good. They are made willing to press forward in battling for the Lord, that they may not be found wanting in that day when He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. He makes them a " willing people," willing to be His, willing to leave all things else and chng to Him as their only hope of salvation, willing to fight for and to seek the incor- ruptible crown which the righteous Judge shall give them at that day if they shall abide faithful to the cause they have espoused. He teaches them to love Him. They must be a loving people. The true disciple of Christ should love Him with the whole heart. If they do not, there is danger, in my opinion, that there is something wanting. The cold formalist does not belong to the true disciples of Christ. They may live in the sight of men and be highly esteemed, but without love they are as dead. We read of Him questioning Peter in regard to this point. Peter's answer is worthy of consideration : " Yea, Lord, Thou knowest that I love Thee." A remarkable expression. How many can use the language that he s Christ Our Governor. did. To be able to say with Peter, " Yea, Lord, Thou kncwest that I love Thee," is to be desired more, yea, than much fine gold. The riches of this world are all very well in their own place, but we must not give it the place in our hearts or affections that we should give to God. It is heartfelt love toward God and Christ that counts ; works availeth not. Works without love I would count as dead. *' By grace ye are saved ; and not that of yourselves, it is the gift of God." It being the gift of God to be saved, there should be a response in the heart of thankfulness and love unto Him for bestow- ing upon us such an unspeakable gift, the gift of giving unto us a Saviour whereby He opened out a road that sinners might be reconciled unto Him. He teaches them to follow Him more fully and to obey Him, it being incumbent on the believer to follow Him as much as lieth in him so to do. We must not be halfhearted in following the Lord Jesus Christ. It will not do to take one step after Him and two back toward the world after the manner of some They think that if they go to church of a Sabbath day, or put on the cloak of a saint on the Lord's holy day, that they may fold it up and put it by in the closet all the rest of the week They gave one day in the week to serve God, and six to serve the world. This, I think, should not be the mode in which the Christian should follow Christ, but that he should follow every day in the week — every day a Sabbath unto the Lord. I do not say that any person should leave his daily avocation and go around with his hands in his pockets, but that he take Christ with him wherever he goes ; to have him in all his thoughts, words and actions ; to follow Kim fully. " For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sc;a, carried about and tossed." There is only one conclusion to be derived at — in or out of Christ. There are only the two roads, one to life and the other to destruction. He teaches to do good and eschew evil. This is a rule that should never be forgotten by the believing Christian. But men do forget. I remember of reading about President Garfield on the field of battle during the American rebellion ofTering up this prayer, " Lord, we are, through the confusion that may surround us to day, liable to forget Thee, but forget not Thou us." We are apt to forget, but such should not be as the forgetting to do good and eschew evil. Going about doing good was the example the Lord Jesus gave unto us to follow, and it is well to follow in His footsteps in this respect. He never refused to do good unto them that came to Him in sincerity, and I think that is a gift that all should cultivate Doing good and almsgiving are something to be admired in any person, but especially among those that lay claim to be the children of the Highest. " God loveth a cheerful giver : " and, as much as we are able, let us do good unto all men ; especially unto them that are of the household of faith." These two quotations are worthy of being remembered. In striving for this world's goods we are apt to forget the line laid down for the Christian. There is a dividing line *i 4 >,4 Christ Our Governor. 9 'laid down that distinguishes between the children of God and the children of the world. The one is continually waging a war against the world and the wickedness that may surround them ; the other goes on from day to day, careless and indifferent to the well-being of their soul, without ever thinking what shall their end be, or where shall they spend eternity. The one is ever on the watch that he may avoid sinning and that he may be delivered from all appearance of evil, praying the Lord that He may make him able to overcome the worldly temptations that may every day assail him : the other class goes on careless about these things, living without hope and without God in the world. They that would be the true followers ot the Lord Jesus must be ever on the watch to avoid falling into the ways of the world — they should hate evil and avoid it in all their words, thoughts, and actions. They are diligent in making their calling and election sure, and being mindful of these things they shall never fall. They that would be on the Lord's side must not again be entangled with the affairs of this world, that is, they are not to seek after the things of this world with an evil covetousness. The desire of the heart must not be entirely given to accumulating earthly riches ; the desire of the heart must be for the Lord, that we oiay worship as our Lord and have no other Gods but Him. This cannot be said about him that has his heart and mind upon laying up earthly riches, or that makes his god of what he may gain here upon earth. The Christian is ever on the alert for fear that he may again be brought into bondage of sin by lending himself too much to the affairs of this present life, and seeking after perishable riches. Thi j is not the case with the moral man ; he may think that as long as he does not openly offend, that all is well, but he does not abhor that which is evil — he does not abhor the little sins, the prevarications or little falsehoods that may yet turn out to be mountains in his path, and that will be a barrier, perhaps, between himself and his God to all eternity. The carnal mind is there without the change necessary that takes place in all them that are the true disciples of Christ. The desire of the heart of the true Christian is to avoid all manner of evil, to eschew evil and all that pertains to the kingdom of dark- ness ; whereas the half-hearted on Christ's side are entangled with the affairs of this world. They do not follow in the footsteps of the Lord Jesus in doing good and hating evil. The Lord Jesus, by the working of the Holy Spirit and by the grace which he bestows on all them who diligently seek Him, enables His followers to discern between good and evil, that they may avoid ihe one path, and walk within the other. Reader, which side are you on ? He teaches to deny self, to seek humiUty and humbleness of heart. Humility and humbleness are two phases that are com- mendable in a Christian man's life. Humility in the sight of God, and also in the '^ight of men. It is the law of Christ ; see His example, " He was led as a lamb to the slaughter; and, as a sheep before her shearer, was dumb." I said that humility was the law of i / lO Christ Our Governor. Christ. This was the example which He laid down for the Christian to follow : not to be contentious or returning railing for railing ; nor as it is common among the majority of men, to return evil for evil. That is not the way that Christ would have us to go, but on the con- trary, His followers were to return good for evil ; to deny themselves in th'is manner. Human nature desires to retaliate, and Christ by the working of the Holy Spirit, changes Ine nature of man by bestowing upon him the grace necessary to do away with the desires of the human nature, and bringing it more like unto His own nature, enabling the Christian man to exercise the spirit of humility and meekness *' If thine enemy hunger, feed him ; if he thirst, give him drink," is the injunction of scripture : but the natural man say-i, vengeance upon all enemies, if you do me an injury I will return you the injury that you have done, I will return hatred for hatred. Christ, by his working in us by the Holy Spirit, changes all this, enabling the human mind to return good for evil, to return words of peace and quietness for angry words. This is one way of denying ourself. The grace of God i? made to abound towards the man who is a diligent seeker after righteousness, and to be on the Lord's side. There are many other ways that the Christian man is taught to deny himself, such as the denying of worldly pleasures and allure- ments ; the covetousness of seeking the riches of this world to a man's own heart ; the gratifying; of fleshly lusts, hatred, variance, backbiting, emulation, wrath, strife, and such like, that are contrary to the well-being of a Christian. We must avoid these things if we would live the true Christian life ; they are contrary to the true Christian spirit, and those that live in them cannot say that they have taken up the cross of Christ. What are we to understand by the taking up of the cross of Christ? Is it not to follow in His footsteps, m the way of humility ? See how He suffered, and bled, and died, yet He opened not His mouth, as you see in the text that I quoted above. He returned not evil for good, neither was there guile found in His mouth. He was always the same sympathetic, loving, and forgiving Saviour. How often did he receive abuse from the Jews, but He always returned a loving answer. To their mock- ing of Him, He returned unto them an offer of free pardon in be- lieving upon Him and accepting of Him as their Saviour. His fol- lowers He will teach to follow in His footsteps in this respect ; He will make His grace to abound towards them, that they may abound in every good work. But they must strive against the natural incli- nations of the mind themselves, before they can expect to be taught of heaven. It is to the willing that the promise of help is offered. He teaches them to obey His commandments. We become Christ's friends through obeying and observing His commandments. " Ye are My friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you." We see by this that to be His friends it becomes necessary to become His obedient servants ; obedient to His command. If we obey not, we are not His friends in the true sense ot the word. To fully obey the # Christ Ouf Governor. ii law and ordinances is beyond the power of mortal man, as they are contained in scripture ; but the desire of the heart should be fully to obey ; daily and hourly to obey. And see the commandment which He gave, " That ye love one another as I loved you." That ye love one another ; and who is able to do this ? What manner of love wherewith Christ loved His disciples ? Who is able to com- prehend it ? He tells us Himself, in a few words, " Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." Just think a moment over the kind of love we are here commanded to exhibit towards one another. I heard that Dr. Talmage remarked, on more than one occasion, that he never knew of but one man who could forgive with his whole heart, and that one his own father. It is quite possible he meant his father according to the flesh, but L think that he may have referred to his heavenly Father, the Lord Jesus. It is not to many that it is given to forgive with the heart ; and if we cannot forgive heartily, how can we love heartily. The forgiving heart and the loving heart is bound together with unsepar- able ties. We cannot love if we cannot forgive, and this is the kind of love we are commanded to have towards one another. I quote from great thoughts : " If you would increase your happiness and prolong your life, forget your neighbor's faults. Forget all the slanders you have ever heard ; forget the temptations ; forget the fault-finding, and give a little thought to the cause that provoked it ;. forget the peculiarities of your friends, and only remember the good points that make you fond of them ; forget all personal quarrels or histories you may have heard by accident, and which, if repeated, would seem a thousand times worse than they are. Blot out, as far as possible, the disagreeableness of life ; they will come but they will only grow larger when you remember them, and the constant thoughts of the acts of meanness, or worse still, malice, will only tend to make you more familiar with them. Obliterate everything disagreeable from yesterday. Start out with a clean sheet for to-day, - and write upon it, for sweet memory's sake, only those things that are lovely and lovable." This I consider should be the aim of every Christian man or woman, and it is only what any man may do if he is so minded. A willing heart can sui mount many an obstacle, but we find so many glued to the carnal mind that they cannot see their way clear in exercising the grace of forgetting and forgiving ; and instead of so much forgetting and forgiving, they harbor in their heart until they find an opportunity of retaliating. This last, I make bold to say, is too often the case among Christian people; and I will go further and say that some are only too glad to get a chance to backbite and devour. Such as this should not be known among, professors of religion. They cannot have in remembrance the com- mandment, " Love ye one another ; " instead they come far short of it. Just see what Christ did ; the very opposite ; through the love He entertained for His own people, He laid down His life for them. Who can fathom the depth of such love as He showed ? Again, we <«■ ^ 12 Christ Our Governor. find that the greatest commandment of all is " To love our neighbor as ourselves." Who is sufficient for this ? Self has got to die ; all of self has to vanish away before any person can love another as well as ourself. VVho is able in every-day life to obey this command, to love another as ourself ? none but the Christian man, by God's grace. The grace of God will do it, if we obey and follow in the footsteps of Jesus, and by self denial. " Let a man deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me." Again I find that the whole law is contained in that one short sentence, " That ye love one another." Where such love exists as the command implies, there is no further need of law ; ihe law is fulfilled in all its branches. I might put it this way, if we love one another we will never do each other any harm ; instead of doing each other harm, shall we not be making all the provision we can for each others' comfort, and shield- ing each other from all the harm we may see threatening them ; pro- tecting them from, and warning them of all the danger that we may see approaching. I said that the law was fulfilled through love ; " He that loveth another hath fulfilled the law : " and again, ** Love worketh no ill to his neighbor ; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law." It was through His love for perishing and never-dying souls that Jesus suffered and died in fulfilling the law in their behalf. He gave His life for His friends. He " came not to destroy the law, but to ful fil it " /or His people ; and as many as shall come to Him trustingl) , lovingly, relying upon Him and accepting Him as their Saviour, He has fulfilled the law in their behalf. The law has no further claim on any that come to Jesus in simple faith. The wraih of God is fully satisfied in the case of them that believe on His Son. He said it, and He will also do it, for all them that come to Him, accepting of Him as their Saviour and their Redeemer. "And he that cometh to Me I will in nowise cast out." I read only once in the Bible where He ever turned His back upon a suppliant, and that was only for a moment, to try her faith and because she was of a different nation from the Jews, for the Jews had no dealings with tHe Gentiles in the way of religion. The time did not come that the gospel was to be offered to the Gentile. " He came not but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel." But it was only for a moment, even then, that He turned away from the woman, for immediately upon receiving her answer, full of faith, He granted her wish and her daughter was healed that same hour. He will in no wise cast out a repentant sinner. Repentance is necessary to salvation. It would be well to be careful in this matter, that we mistake not worldly sorrow for true repentance. The one brings the soul lo life, the other to death. He teaches them full confidence in Himself, not only toward Himself but toward God also. This He does by showing them that He is the only way that we can be reconciled to God. He is the only mediator between God and man. There is *' None other name given among men whereby we can be saved but the name of Jesus only." The whole Bible bears testimony to this fact. We find the I ^\ % Christ Our Governor. 13 Lord Jesus from beginning to end of the Bible. It is through the name of Jesus we have access to God the Father. God cannot so much as look upon a smner only covered with Christ's righteous- ness. Clothed with the righteousness of Jesus all is well, let a poor mortal be what he may ; let him be as black as the blackest, if he gets this covering all is well. And why should he not get it, for the promise is, unto all that believe, " For there is no difference." He teaches us to love one another. By imparting the grace necessary, we are enabled to exercise this sjiirit of loving one another. This same is necc^ssary lor the well-being of God's people. A spirit of loving-kindness should have a hold on all professors and followers of Christ ; if it does not there cannot be the harmony between them that should be. '* He that loveth not his brother abideth in death." What I said about obeying Christ's commands covers this point to some extent. He teaches not only to love and have confidence in Himself as our Saviour, but to love God also— they are equal — and our part is to extol Them both. There being no difference between Them, our adoration should be equal to both Father and Son. " If we love not the Father, neither do we love the Son;" and, " He that loveth not the Son hath not the love of God in him ; I and the Father are one." They are one in substance, being, and holiness ; there is no distinc- tion between Them ; the same glory and honor and majesty must be ascribed to both ; and why leave out the Holy Ghost, the third person of the Trinity ? He is too often left without the honor that should be ascribed to Him, for by the Holy Spirit all things were created. '* And the Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters."^ What manner of love should be given to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, for all They have done foi the salvation of sinful worms of the earth ? We find that They have done all, and it remains for us to lay hold of the salvation as They have freely- offered it. But I was writing in regard to the love which we should have towards God the Father, and that Christ teaches us to do so by the working of the Holy Spirit within our hearts. It is absolutely necessary that there should be warmth of feeling towards the Father of our Lord and Saviour. *' God is love." And they that would be His must be a loving people. If we have not love in our hearts tow£.rds God there is danger that we are outside the gate j and it is quite evident, too, that if we love God we love our fellow men also. " He that loveth God loves his brother also." Oh, that we might love God with all our hearts, with all our souls, with all our strength of mind and body. And thii the Lord Jesus will do for all them that come to Him in sincerity of heart ; '* And the Lord God will circumcise your hearts, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live." We find no promise given to the half-hearted or the cold formalist who may, possib'y, and for no other reason, make pre- tension of religion for the mere sake of being exalted in the eyes of 14 Christ Our Governor. men : these are not to look for anything at the hands of the Lord but condemnation. They are HIce unto the Laodiceans, neither cold or hot, and labor under the condemnation of God. *' I will spue thee out of My mouth " is the warning that was given them if they should remain in that condition. It won't do, as I said already, to males pretensions of lieing on the Lord's side one day and the side of the world the next day. '* 1 counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich," is the advice which He gave the lukewarni Laodiceans ; and it is very applicable to a great many people in our day. And why be casting the hint at any other person; am I not in the same category myself? I am afraid it may be so. But look you, what the loving Jehovah and the God of all mercies did for the reconciliation of fallen humanity unto Himself. He "circumcises their hearts to love Him." He sent His only begotten Son into the world for this very purpose; He sent Him to die the agonizing deuh of the cross for the reconciliation of His own people : and the Lord Jesus, of His own free will, came forth fiom the bosom of the Father, left the glory and happiness which He enjoyed in heaven, for the purpose of reconciling a sinful world unto God the Father. Is He not worthy of all the love that our hearts can bestow ; is He not worthy of all our faculties of mind and all the strength of our bodies should be engaged in His behalf. I do not think any man ever did enough for Jesus Who did so much. And again, see what we read : " And the Lord appeared unto me of old, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love, and with loving-kindness have I drawn thee." This is the love wherewith He loved His own, an everlasting love — a love without beginning and without end : He lovtd them before the foundations of the world were laid ; He loved them while living in rebellion ; while sinning and gratifying the fleshly lusts of the heart ; while breaking His law by committing many grievous offences ; while traducing our neigh- bors and vilifying all that which is good ; while trampling, as it v.ere, under foot His iion Jesus, Whom He gave to be a mediator between Himself and sinful man ; while living in open defiance to the law, He loved them through it all. His own people He will surely recover from the power of sin. " Is Ephraim my dear son ? is he a pltasant child? for since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still : therefore my bowels are troubled for him, I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord." I am a f^rm believer in the doctrine of election, and that God chose all those that shall be heirs of salvation, before the foundations of the world were laid. Others may think different, but I am convinced in my own mind that He did so ; and those whom He has chosen to be a peculiar people unto Himself may have sinned, and that grievously, against Him; but it is my opinion that they all shall be saved. The two quotations quoted above show this, and also show how he He grieves over the fall of any who He may have elected to eternal life. " My bowels are troubled for him ; " and again, "All that th^ Father giveth Me Christ Our Governor. '5 shall come to Me." Should it nut awaken or stir up within our hearts a desire to love Him in return for all He has done for us. And see again, He draws them to Himself ; and see His manner of drawing them, •' With loving-kindness have I drawn thee." It is by His gracious act of loving kindness that any person receives pardon at His hands. I would not like any person to misunder- stand what I have written above— it's for His mercy's sake He for- gives iniquity, and that for His chosen people, not for any good that may be in us, or that we may have done I have no doubt but Paul was elected, and see what he says, •' I received pardon because I did it ignorantly and in unbelief." And it is because of this very same reason that God's elect receives the forgiveness of sins. The sin against light and knowledge, I think I may go as far as to say, is unpardonable ; that is, wilfully committing grevious wrong against the law. Although through the all ruling providence of God these same may be forgiven, as in the case of David. We hear people saying the Lord God is merciful, ever plenteous in pardoning the sins that may be committed from day to day. The wilful sinner may be running a risk that he may rue to all eternity. " Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God ; " and the wilful sinner is doing nothing more or less than a wilful tempting of the Lord by committing fresh transgressions against the law of the Lord. " For if we sin wilfully, after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there reraaineth no more a sacrifice for sin." I do not consider that there is much danger of a true believer falling into this condemnation, for the Lord Jesus, by His Holy Spirit, teaches them to avoitl such things as would lead into this terrible condition. ' They shall be all taught of God." " For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord : I will put My laws into their minds, and write them in their hearts ; and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to Me a people." I have been trying to bring forward a few points as to how the Lord Jesus as a prophet teaches His own people. The half has not been told, and I wish to go back a little and add a thought or two in regard to the love which Christian men should bear to one another. I tried to show that it was an absolute feature to the Christian career to love heartily his fellow professing Christians. I find that it is also a part of their duty to love those who are outside. We find it too often the case that the unconverted are left without the attention that should be given them in this way. I have heard whole sermons preached without as much as an exhortation to the unconverted ; and it is not only the duty of the Christian to love the unconverted in their neighborhood, but also their enemies. There is a test here which would put to a trial many a stout heart in the cause of Christ. We see that there is so much stress laid on the spirit of forgiveness that very few can undergo, but it must needs be if we would live the true Christian life ; to " Love your neighbor as yourself" And we read that this is the greatest commandment of all. I say that it is i6 Christ Our Governor. \ " 1 it very few that can say I fully observe this command. I mentioned" already that this is the way to fulfil the law ; the law can never be fulfilled by bearing malice or animosity to our fellow-beings, even for wrong doing. It may be necessary on certain occasions to correct individuals for wrong doing ; but it should be done in love, to bear the necessary fruit. If we correct in hatred, or in malice, instead of drawing such an one into closer relation with the church, we drive him away ; whereas, by fulfilling the law by exercising our love towards him, we might be the means of saving him for eternity. Hear what Paul says : " For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this, thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself." i^ "d this holds good whether they be personal friends or personal enemies. To love our friends and relations may be an easy matter for a great many, and it is a commendable feature within the family circle, but it must not be done overmuch, or take the place of the love we should have to our God. Brothers and sisters, not only of the family circle, hut of the whole household of God, should dwell in unity. But to love our enemies is a difierent matter. I am of opinion that the grace of God abounds, in a marked degree, towards anyone who is capable of showing a hearty love towards his enemies — but by God's grace a man is enabled to do so. The human nature is not capable, of itself, to fulfil this command : " But I say unto you, love your enemies ; bless them that curse you ; pray for- them that despitefully use you ; do good to them that hate you. For if ye love them that love you what reward have you ; do not even the publicat s the same?" It's a sfrall ma ter, indeed, to return love for love Love begets love — t-nd it is just as true that hatred begets hatred — in the bosoms of the majority of the human race. I venture the assertion that this is not so with the true Christian ; if it is, he does not live altogether up to his profession, and if he does not live up to his profession in this matter I would say that he comes short, in a marked degree, of one of the tokens of a true Christian. Hear what Paul says again : " But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another." And it is only the natural consequence, that if we do not live in harmony with one another that we shall devour one another. And here we have a grand maxim to follow : " With all lowliness and meekness, with long suffering, forbearing one another in love." Another thing that is worthy of consideration, in connection with this grace of loving, is that the strangers are to be considered worthy of it. It is not a common thing to esteem a stranger as highly as one of the class of people we may belong to ourselves. In some cases we may discern even bitterness existing between persons of different nationalities, and this we may sometimes find to be the case among professors of religion. They forget that they are one family in Chrisr. The laws governing strangers in olden times were very strict in some respects ; but they were to be treated as neighbors. We read, " Also thou shall not oppress a stranger, for ye know the heart of a stranger,, Christ Our Governor. 17 seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt." But, alas, we too often forget that we were strangers ourselves. It would be con- sidered an insult, I dare say, to tell them that they were once strangers in the land of Egypt ; in the land of sin and iniquity ; in the land of carnal desires ; in the land of being the enemies of God and His Christ ; in the land of careless indifference ; in the land of self-security ; having not the fear of God before their eyes ; living without God and without hope in the world. This is the condition of everyone in an unconverted siate ; and should we not exercise some of the loving-kindness which was shown us toward them in trying to bring them in. All were once strangers to the covenant of promises Every professing Christian should be engaged in working for the conversion of all them who are without, that they may become members of the family of God. "Compel them to come in." What a grand thing it is to be engaged in this labor of love In our day there should not be the difference existing that does exist between one nationality and another, between one Christian denomination and another Christian denomination. There should be equality. Half the bigotry of our day should be done away with. All the Christian denominations have their own peculiar work to do for the Lord Jesus. Instead of taking any knowledge of a nature like unto the observation I made above, do we not too often treat them as strangers. They all teach, to a great extent, the same doctrine, and they all preach the same doctrine — that Christ Jesus died for the sin of His own people, and that there is no salvation but through and by the name of Jesus only. Jesus said, " Other sheep have I which are not of this fold." The Lord Jesus has sheep in all the Christian denominations. I think that it would be very hard-hearted to think otherwise : to think that all other Christian denominations and societies are in the v/rong because they do not worship God or have to the letter the same kind of doctrine that we ourselves believe to be the doctrine of truth and verity. I think liberality of opinion in this matter would be very commendable in this very thing. They are all working for the Lord, and as such workers we ought to love them as brethren. '• If any man love not his brother, whom he hath sten ; how can he love God, Whom he hath not seen ;" or, "if any man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a har." And again, " Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another." The Lord Jesus teaches the willing mind to love the brethren ; not alone those that go up to worship with us frono Sabbath to Sabbath, but also the children of God and the stranger that may yet be without the gate. Let there be unity among the people ; let them be of whatsoever nation, tongue or color ; let them belong to any religious denomina- tion they may : they all belong to the same family if they belong to Christ. I would not say take up their notions, or their ideas, but love them, for the sake of Him Who died the just for the unjust, for the cause they have espoused. And let us not be forgetful to entertain I i8 Christ Our Governor. Ill f ' I"! Strangers, for in times past some have entertained angels unawares. Oh, that we might be enabled to exercise this grace of loving our fellow men I read a story of a king, of olden times, who, while lying asleep upon his bed, dreamed a dream similar to this : " He beheld a man come into the room, and, sittting down, opened a book which he had and engaged himself busily in writing down the names of all those in the city, who, on the recommendation of the king, were worthy or entitled to the kingdom of heaven. All went well until the question was asked of the king, ' What have you done for the Lord Jesus Christ ? ' The king had to answer that he never did anything for Him, and had to admit that he had always denied the Lord Jesus. Whereupon the young man closed the book which he had and was about to retire, when the king, in great agitation, after asking that his name might be put down, which was refused, at last exclaimed, write down that I love my fellow men ! The young man departed, but in a short time returned with the glad message, showing him his name written in the book. It appears that the king was a doer of good works and given to almsgiving, although denying the Lord Jesus Christ in His office of mediator between God and man." Let us love our fellow men, then There is one thing sure, that we will never lose anything by so doing ; and let us love God also. " He that loveth not, knoweth not God : lor God is love." Oh, that the hard heart of the writer would be softened and be enabled to love God as it becometh him so to do ; that the hard and stony heart would be taken away, and the heart of flesh given, that he might be enabled, in a small measure, to render unto the Lord the praise that is due Him for His bountiful mercies that He has bestowed upon him ; that he might praise Him, for He is ihe ever-praisable Jehovah ; that he might love the loving God ; that he might thank God with a full heart for His protection of him in times past, for he can never thank God enough for what He has done for him. " Oh that men would praise the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men." Come to Jesus, then, and be taught of Him, for He is the Great Teacher, and He is both able and willing to teach all them that come to Him. '• It is written in the prophets, and they shall be all taught of God." " For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ." In this way I have tried to bring to your attention some truths in regard to Christ in His office of a prophet as a teacher. I am not able to bring it before you as I would like. The half has not been told in regard to what Jesus does in teaching them that fear Him and put their trust under the shadow of His wing by the Holy Spirit which He has given them. The Holy Spirit keeps them in the way that they should go. The Holy Spirit strives, in a measure with all men ; if it were not so what a bedlam this world of ours would be. It is by the Holy Spirit that men are kept within bounds. And why should men and women hold back Christ Our Governor. 19 irom coming to Him that He might bestow upon them more abundantly the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is " to and unto all them that believe." The great majority of men in our day are believers to some extent, or, like the church of the Laodiceans, they believe, but they are neither cold or hot, and as such they need not expect anything of the Lord. They must forsake the world, "ith its allurement, and cling to Jesus as their all in all The intellectual belief of a great many is to be condemned. It is to those that believe with the heart, the promise of salvation is given, and the promise of being taught by Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Hear what Paul says : *' That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved" The cold, the lukewarm, the formalist, has no part or lot in the society of God's children j and there is danger that a great many, in the worship of God, are content with mere form and ceremony. Such should not be the case : " For they that would worship Me must worship Me in spirit and in truth." The intellectual believer, or the worldly-wise man, has no place in the kingdom of God and of Christ. Let us go to Him, then, with humble and contrite hearts, for an humble and contrite heart He will not refuse ; for it is more pleasing to Him than all burnt offering and fat of rams ; and He will become the teacher and guide of all who come in this way, and He will guide them with His eye. " Be not afraid, thou worm Jacob, for I, the Lord thy God, will take thee by the right hand and lead thee," But the • haughty, the self righteous, and I think I might add the over- righteous, — " Be not righteous overmuch " — has no promise given them but of wrath and fiery indignation that shall devour all adversaries. Awaken, then, thou that sleepest, and come to Jesus, simply trusting in Him as thy Saviour and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart. " Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive, what God ihath prepared for them that love Him." Let us love the Lord, then, with sincerity of heart, for He is worthy of all the love we can bestow. There are many other things that Jesus does in fulfilling the office of a prophet. And I might mention that He foretells His chosen people events that may come to pass. '* The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto Him to show unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass." In reading the history of the forefather of Rosshire, Scotland, we come across instances where the servants of the Lord have told of events that did come to pass, and I don't need to go to Scotland for instances of this kind, for I might be able to pick up some in my own native land of Ontario. Why should any man doubt it. " The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him, and He v/ill show them His covenant." This is plain language. The last clause of the quotation may refer to His making known to them His laws, and statute, and plan of salvation, nevertheless we may understand by it that He may in His good 90 Christ Our Governor. pleasure, show unto them things that may come to pass in the near future. He guides them in the way, and by guiding them it becomes necessary in a measure to be foretold of what may come to pass, in regard to themselves, and in regard to others. I have no doubt in my own mind but what He does ; all the prophets bear witness to this fact. Living His true servants they had communion with Him, and were enabled by His Holy Spirit, to warn the people of the danger that they saw approaching. We read, " So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word of my mouth, and warn them from me." Is it too much to say that our ministers occupy this position in our day. I think I may say that they occupy the position of watchmen over their respective congregations. They watch for your souls as them that have to give account. The " secret of the Lord " shoub be theirs, and if they are what they represent themselves to be, the "secret of the Lord " abides with them. They hold a position onerous in itself, and they are to be esteemed highly for their work's sake. Are they all what they represent themselves to be in this respect ? It is to be feared they are not, and I for one will not give unto all our ministers the honor of having the " secret of the Lord " with them, to the extent here referred to ; but they may be able to tell their flocks of what may be of interest and of benefit to them. I do not deny " the secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him." Their business being to instruct the people under their charge in mysterious things, concerning their well-being \ and it is self-evident that they are in a particular manner informed of things that come to pass in regard to the well-being of their hearers I do not say, as I mentioned already, that they are prophets like unto the prophets of old. I have been trying this way to bring before you some of the things that the Lord Jesus teaches in His office of a pro- phet , but many other things He does in fulfilling that office that I cannot describe at present, and why not come to this great Teacher and Prophet, for He will "make wise the simple," and make well-informed people of the ignorant, if they come to Him in simple faith. Why not come to Jesus, Whom m this meagre way I have tried to bring before the reader, and be taught of Him, and by His Holy Spirit, the Comforter, Whom He will send to all who put their trust under the shadow of His wing. Teach you He will, and guide you in the way that you should go, and lead you to pastures green and quiet waters by ; for the promises of God and Christ are sure to all that come to Him, for '* He will in no wise cast out." Come to Jesus then and be taught of Him, doubting not but what all things will work together for good for all them that love Him, and are called according to His purpose. ** For Him that com- menced the good work in you. He will also do it." I do not believe altogether in people waiting with folded hands, waiting until the Lord will be pleased to look in mercy upon them, as the manner of some is ; saying, I cannot get good or converted unless the Lord will make me good or convert me. The Lord's time is now — at the present ii Christ Our Governor. 21 time — there is no time like the present ; waiting is dangerous ; the day of grace may pass, " for now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation." It is a person's duty to be prepared and ready, so that when the call comes they may be found ready ; "for we know not the day or the hour that the Son of Man comeih." Be ready to accept His call when He calleth thee to come in and be a member of His body; when He calleth thee to come and leave the world, and the things of the world, and espouse the cause for which He Himself did so much. '* For to-day, if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts " It is well to be ready when He calls, that we may answer : ready to meet Him half-way : willing to accept Him as our teacher, our lawgiver, our Saviour, our all and in all. It is well to be ready, for fear that when He comes He miy pass by and leave us to our own ways a while longer, and we become one ol those who perish from the way when " His ire is kindled but a little," or He may then use a rod of iron to bring His own into subjection. And why refuse Him, or delay in making our peace with God through Him. He is ever ready, ever willing, to accept of a returning sinner, and God is ever ready to be reconciled to the returning sinner, through Jesus Christ His only begotten Son, whom He did give " to be a propitiation through His blood for all the sins that are past." And again, " for He made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin ; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." The offer is freely given unto all people, let them be of what color they may, black or white, sinners or moralists, " For there is no differ- ence. Come to Him and be taught of Him the perfect way of sal- vation ; for there is neither Jew nor Greek ; there is neither male nor female ; there is neither bond nor free ; " they are all welcome to come to Jesus and be saved. Come and be taught of Him, kind reader, who in the providence of God may read these pages, for He will teach you, and, oh, what a grand thing to have such a teacher as Jesus will become to all who truly love Him and obey Him. For He doeth all things well, that He lays His hands to do. He was faithful unto death Himself, afid what have the most of us done for Him? Waiting with folded hands for conversion, and to enter Heaven at last, and still nothing done for the Lord Jesus. Such should not be the case, but we ought to be up and doing ; working faithfully in bringing souls into the kingdom of Christ and God. I have mentioned the call that Jesus gives to the people to bring them in that they may be His ; and, kind reader, have you obeyed that call ? Have you enjoyed the feast of pardon, peace and holiness, which He brings with Him when He comes into and teaches the soul and the natural man to forsake the things of the world, and cling to and love Himself above all other things. If so, let your prayer be : " Abide with me from morn till eve. For without Thee I cannot live ; Abide with me when night is nigh, ' For without Thee I dare not die." B^ 22 Christ Our Governor. Or do you still refuse to admit Him ? Is the door of your heart still barred against Him ? If so, He asks to be admitted ; He waits your invitation ; He uses means to persuade, but He never forces Himself into the heart. Oh, give Him your consent now ; say, Jesus come in, and whether you are young or old, rich or poor, learned or unlearned, He will enter and bring with Him pardon, peace and joy. Delay no longer, for we know not what a day or hour may bring forth. Delay no longer in coming to be taught by Him Who is the best teacher man ever had or will ever have. " And they shall be all taught of God ; " all who shall come to Him in sincerity of heart and who love him truly and well. For the present I leave the reader to ponder over what I have written in connection with the office of Cllhrist Jesus as our prophet. The thoughts I have brought forward are, I think, worthy of con- sideration. Consideration is a great thing to the well-being of Christian men ; without considering there cannot be much progress made. Lack of considering over this matter of religion is the cause of the downfall of a good many people. " My people did not consider." Hi! Now I will try and write something in regard to His fulfilling the office of priest. The line I would wish to follow more particu- larly is the offering up of Himself a sacrifice for the sins of His people. It is evident from the reading of scripture that a sacrifice of some kind was necessary for the reconciliation to God of fallen man. All mankind, having fallen in Adam's first transgression, lost their first estate of innocency. That all mankind fell in Adam's first sin is evident from the teaching of scripture. Paul says, '* For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners ; " and again, •* For if by one man's offence death reigned by one, for judgment was by one to condemnation." We see plamly by these quotations that all mankind were partakers of Adam's sin, and by this one sin of Adam's we, his descendants, fell with and came under the wrath and condemnation of God, which we cc nmonly call original sin ; thus the conclusion is easily arrived at, that we, his descendants, are, without any actual transgression, found sinners in the sight of God, and, as such, have the sentence of death passed upon us. And *ve find that it became necessary that some kind of an offering shouid b'^ made for both the original as well as the actual sin of the people We find moral people in our land that we would insult by charging them to be sinners. How often the expression may be heard, * J never did anything wrong ; " or, " I am all right, I never did sin openly." It would be well to remember that all men in their natural state in which they were born are under the sentence of con- demnation. There is no exception to this rule. All are sinners in the sight of God before conversion. Some may think different in their own estimation, but let them hear what the Bible says on this I Christ Our Governor. 23 vf. point : *• There is no difference, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." This is the conclusion that Paul arrives at, after describing the character of every unconverted man or woman, in the first three chapters of Romans — and who will say different, it being the teaching of the Bible — " But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe." Having showed that all, without exception^ are under the wrath of God and under sentence of death, it became necessary, as I said already, that an offering should be made for sin for the satisfying of the justice of God. " For He can by no means clear the guilty." This was done in the old Jewish dispensation by offering up of animal sacrifices in the room and stead of the person that sinned, and these sacrifices were offered up daily for the sins of particular individuals, and yearly for the sins of the whole congregation of the children of Israel, showing us plainly that the oft repeated offering of these sacrifices could never cleanse perfectly those for whom they were offered up. The cleans- ing away of sin by them was only for the time being, therefore it became necessary that they should be offered up daily and yearly. We read, " Which vras a figure, for the time then present, in which were offered up both gifts and sacrifices that could not make him that did the service perfect as pertaining to the conscience ; which stood only in meats and drinks and divers washings and carnal ordinances; which never could make the comers thereto perfect." We see by this that the law, although good in itself, could not fully make the necessary atonement or fully satisfy the justice of God. By the deeds of the law no flesh shall be saved. If the law could have given life there would have been no necessity for Christ dying to fully satisfy the law ; for Paul says, " Verily, if the law could have given life then salvation would have been of the law." So we see, as I have tried to show, that the law, and the ordinances of the law, and the sacrifices which were to be offered up for the purify- ing of those that came thereto, according to the rules laid down by Moses in the book of law, could not perfectly justify those for whom they were offered up. It became necessary that a more perfect offering should be made for satisfying divine justice, and this the Lord Jesus did when He offered up Himself bodily on Calvary's cross, thereby making peace for all them that come unto Him believing that He has done so for them. That the sacrifice which Jesus offered up on the cross on the hill Golgotha was a peace offering which He offered up for a sinful world, no person will dispute who ever paid any attention to the reading of God's word. We find abundant proof of this in scripture. " The Lord hath sworn and will not repent, Thou art a priest (or ever after the order of Melchisedec." The priests were the parties under the Jewish dispensation that were the, if I may use the language, makers of peace between the people and God. They were the means employed 94 Christ Our Governor. Ill "But He things it in reconciling and cleansing away the sins of the people, so making peace and, for the time being, fully reconciling the sinner to God. Their efforts in making peace were only fi»5urative of the better priesthood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Their offering was only symbolical of the better sacrifice which was to come in due time, in Jesus offering up Himself for the sins of the whole world, so effectually making peace between an angry God and sinful man. '• To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all ; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of Peace." By the quotation just quoted we also see that even Abraham had to offer up gifts to God for himself and his household. And we may understand by this that we cannot obtain peace without an offering of some kind, and this Jesus fully obtained by the offering up of Himself bodily, once for all, for them that believe in His name. To do this it became necessary for Him to take upon Himself our nature, to become to all appearance a human being. "For verily He took not on Himself the nature of angels," which he might have done. He might have gone to redeem the fallen angels, which fell from the estate wherem they were created. It was just as easy for Him to go and reclaim those lost angels as it was for Him to come into the world to save fallen man ; but He chose to save man. took on Him the seed of Abraham.*' " Wherefore in all behooved Him to be made like unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God to make reconciliation for the sins of the people." Let us think awhile of what Jesus did ; think of the love wherewith He loved His own. " Greater love than this hath no man, that a man lay down his life for his friends." And this is what Jesus did ; this is the love He showed for fallen humanity, in making and reconciling us poor worms of the earth to God. I am not trying to enter into an exposition of the matter I here have been writing about, only simply trying to get the reader to consider for himself of what Jesus did that he might have peace with God. He worked out a way whereby the believer might for ever obtain effectual, eternal peace with God the Father through the efficacy of His blood shed on Calvary's cross ; for, " Having loved His own He loved them to the end." Hear His agonizing cry upon the cross, " My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken Me ? " Should it not pierce a heart of marble ; should it not, think you, cause some anxiety in the heart of any man — let him be who he may, let him be as hard as a rock of adamant — if he would only pause a moment and consider what Jesus did that he might live ; died for you that you might have peace with God ; and He obtained peace for you, that passeth all understanding, if you will only accept Him as your Saviour by believing in His name, by calling upon Him to redeem you from your fallen condition. " For whosoever calleth upon the name of Christ Our Governor. 25 the Lord shall be saved." The offer is freely given to come to Him and live. Think of it, giving Himself up to die the agonizing death of the cross, and forsaken of God, and that of His own free will ; it was not compulsory for Him to do what He did. Think of an earthly father forsaking a son and giving him up to die for any purpose, or even forsaking a son and leaving him in destitute circumstances : where can we find an earthly father who would do so ? We may find one here and there who, to gratify their evil natures, will forsake sons and daughters : but where will we find one who through love for another will forsake son or daughter. I never knew of any ; but I find here the God of heaven and of earth forsook His Son, His only Son, Who was with Him before the world was, that sons of men might be redeemed from the just wrath of the God Whom they transgressed against. And what is it to be forsaken — it is a terrible thing to be forsaken, given up to die. God left Him in the hands of His enemies for a few moments, kept back from Him the helping hand that supported Him. Not only forsaken of God, but, if I might say so, of Himself, for He did so of His own free will. He was able, if He so chose, even at the last hour, to save Himself from His enemies, the Jews. Does He not tell us that even at the last hour He might have obtained a legion of angels if He had asked tor them. And He was forsaken by His fellowmen. None of His followers stood by Him in the hour of trial, " They all forsook Him and fled." Forsak^^n by God, by Himself, and by His fellowmen. O, what a dreadful thing ! And all this He did that you and I might be at peace with God. Is it not worth a moment's consideration ? I think that it should bring any man to a halt and to consider what Jesus did that he might have peace with God. He is our peace ; He obtained it in behalf of all them that truly believe in Him. " For He is our peace. Who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us ; having abolished in His flesh the enmity, even the law of command- ments contained in ordinances ; for to make in Himself of twain one new man, so making peace." And why not put forth an effort to be reconciled to God, and obtain this peace for ourselves, by coming to Him and submitting and accepting of Him as our Saviour and Redeemer. The fault is all on our side. The Lord Jesus did all that was necessary ; He made peace with God in our behalf, why not come to Him. He knew the consequence of you and I being lost ; and as a priest He officiates still in behalf of sinful men in making peace between them and God. His priest- hood in this respect never ends ; for we read that He became a priest, and that for ever, after the order of Melchisedec. *' Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec." And that being so He. still intercedes for His followers who follow Him fully. They are not to continue in performing or gratifying the lusts of the flesh, but avoid to the utmost of their ability all manner of sin. No man can live entirely a spotless life, or obey to the letter " the law of ■up 26 Christ Our Governor. m commandments contained in ordinances ; " therefore He still remains a priest to intercede for His people. ** Seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them." Come to Jesus, then, and this peace may be yours if you come to Him and lay hold of Him as your Saviour and Redeemer. Again, I find that the sacrifice which He offered up in His office of a priest was a perfect sacrifice, in that it was His own body which he offered up, and through it being perfect it obtained eternal redemption for all who come unto Him ; perfect reconciliation was effected between God and the believer : this could not be obtained by the offerings which were offered up according to the old Levitical law, but instead a remembrance was made anew upon each occasion of their being offered up. But He in the one offering which He offered up in behalf of smful men, opened out a way whereby they who come to Him may obtain eternal reconciliation with God the Father. " By the which will we are sanctified through the offer- ing of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." This shows that it was a perfect offering which he made ; perfect in all its phases, for He obtained eternal redemption for all who beheve in His name. It removes for ever the sentence of condemnation which was passed on all men without exception. All men have sinned and have broken the commandments of the Lord God. The moralist is under the sentence of death as well as the sinner. If we were to examine into the hearts of a good many of our moral people nowadays we might possibly find that they have broken God's law to a greater extent than a great many who are charged with open sins. The moralist may be compared with good looks in some ways, that is, only skin deep. The heart of man is as a deep pit, filled in its natural state with all manner of evil, that only wants an opportunity to break out ; and may I not say that men have lost their souls through evil thoughts alone. It is " Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh ; " and again, " The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked ; who can know it ? " It would be well for all people to think of the text quoted and search the heart that is within them, and in mortifying and rooting out the sins that may be lurking there, instead of gossiping and finding fault with their neighbors and fellow-members of Christ's body. I say, let us search our own hearts, and I think that many a man may find enough there to keep him busy and occupy the time without becoming " busy- bodies in other peoples' matters." But I was writing that sentence was passed on all men, and that Jesus Christ obtained a perfect reconciliation for His own people. " Neither by the blood of goats and of calves, but by His own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal re- demption for us." And why not, kind reader, will you not become a partaker of this perfect reconciliation which he bought so dearly ? Why hold back ? It may be yours if you lay hold of it ; by forsak- ing the world and the things of the world ; by " setting your affection Christ Our Governor. 27 on things above ; " and " he that cometh to Me, I will in no wise cast out." It was a perfect offering which He made, in that the sin- ner coming to Him receives a full pardon for all the sins that are past present, and future. Scripture has it everywhere, that the trans- gressor, upon returning to his God in repentance, will receive a full pardon through Jesus the only mediator between God and man, for all his past transgressions. '* Whom God hath set forth to be a pro- pitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of the sins that are past, through the forbearance of God." I have no doubt in my own mind on this point, when I read of the pardoning power which God showed unto the children of Israel ; for as often as they returned to Him, in sincerity of heart, thev received pardon from the ever-loving Jehovah, against Whom they offended. (See the Book of Judges.) Not only for- giving their sins and idolatry, but rewarding them by giving them freedom from their enemies ; raising up for them a conqueror, and by Him subduing all their enemies. In the prophecy of Ezekiel we read, ** As for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness." We find some- times men teaching different from the sentiment here expressed, in desiring the chastisement of some poor soul that may have wantonly, may be, transgressed against the law, and the bitter judgment of society; but we find that with God the same mercy is shown unto all, and upon all who return. Let them be what they may, upon their returning to their Maker, He will abundantly pardon all their offences that are past, through Him who obtained by the offering which He offered up perfect reconciliation with God. We read again, " The children of Thy people say. The way of the Lord is not equal : but as for them, their way is not equal. When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall even die thereby. But if the wicked turn from his wickedness, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby." This is plain enough. We may hear once in a while, Oh, he cannot be saved, he is too gross a sinner ; he has gone too far astray to return to the Lord ^or, they come to the conclusion that there is no redemption for such a one. This is only the conclusion of the over-moral, or the over-righteous man. It is not scriptural, neither is it logical. It is the natural man with the vindictiveness of the human nature, or I was going to say the animal nature, that comes to such a conclusion as that in regard to any person. The animal nature seeks revenge. The divine nature seeks forgiveness, and is of a forgiving spirit. It is divine to forgive, and it is only the divine nature, endued with a special portion of the grace of God, that is capable of heartily forgiving a person who may have done an injury to society. Scripture says, forgive your brother, friend or neighbor ; the animal nature that is in man says, I must have re- venge. It would be well I think to follow the teachings of the Bible more in this respect, and exercise the spirit of forgiving one another, and that more of mutual friendship should exist between professing 38 Christ Our Governor. Christians. 1 was trying to show that with God it makes no differ- ence what a man may be, or what sins he may have committed, that it is as easy for Him to forgive a great sinner as a moral man the sins that are past, upon them relv^rning unto Him with humble and con- trite hearts. Remember what the Lord Jesus said to His disciples ; " to go and preach the Gospel to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem." To preach salvation in His name to the very people that crucified Him, to the very people that murdered Him. Does it not show that the very blackest of sinners may return unto Him and live. 1 look at it in that light, that any man, let him be who he may, if he comes to Jesus, there is plenteous reconciliation obtained for him by the perfect offering which Jesus Christ offered up in his behalf. Let no person say I am too great a sinner to be saved, for ** There is no difference," come and welcome to Jesus Christ, and be able to say with Paul, if you have sinned grossly, " But I obtained pardon be- cause I did it ignorantly and in unbelief." " And for this cause He is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testa- ment, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal in- heritance." It was a perfect offering which He offered up, because He there by obtained eternal reconciliation with God in behalf of all those who obey Him and keep His commandments. Having received pardon for the sins that are past— I do not mean that I should be understood as saying that the reader who may be reading these pages has received pardon for the sins that are past — I have only reference up to the day of conversion ; on that day the party converted re- ceives the remission of the sins that are past, let them be what they may. What about the present sins, or sins committed since the day of conversion up to the present hour, and the sins that a person may commit while in this world. These I maintain are pardoned also on the day of conversion. 1 have no doubt but that when the Lord ascended on the tree on Golgotha Hill, but what He took the sins of His own people up with Him; that when He descended into the grave He took them down with Him, and for ever left them there. That they were in the grave with Him I have no doubt, and that when He arose from the grave He left them there, no more to be remem- bered against the parties who have a portion of the perfect sacrifice which he offered up in their behalf. " None of the sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him, he hath done that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live." In this way we see that sins that may be committed before conversion are actually forgiven on the day that a man is converted. But does this give license to sin, or freedom to live as we choose, and say my sins were forgiven, past, present and future, when I was converted, and there is no fear of me now. Alas that any person would even for a moment think in that way, or take for one moment an unrighteous liberty of the doctrine .that I have been trying to present. It is not after conversion the Christ Our Governor. 29 words of Paul hold good ; *' Be not deceived, God is not mocked, for whatsoever a man soweth that he shall also reap," and, '• They that sow to the flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption." To con- tinue to live in sin is to bring contempt and disgrace on ^he holy fellowship into which they have been taken, and trampling under foot the Son of God, whom before men they openly confess, but in secret they deny by many flagrant acts, by which they crucify to themselves afresh the Lord Jesus And they need not look tor but •'fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries." God's children must live up to their profession. If they do not there is danger that they may ** perish from the way when His ire is kindled but a little. " Is it not a deplorable thing that those who should be an ensample unto others in living righteous lives, as much as lieth in them so to do, be found leading the weak by their example the wrong way? For instance, they say there is no harm in taking a glass of liquor ; and in my opinion there is very little harm in a glass of mtoxicating liquor of itself, if a person needs it let him take it. We find, I say, professors of Christ going up to the bar and treating and drinking, the same as csreless and indifferent persons who never give one thought to religion. Are they sinning? They are, both by deed and example. They have no business there unless necessity forces them, and they show an example unto others that is shameful on the part of any professing Christian. They forget Paul's injunction that '' if meat should offend, I shall not eat meat while the world standest." The weakly may say there is a good Christian man drink- ing, and why may not I ? And what is true about drinking is true about any other sin or bad habit a man may be addicted to. " Ex- ample teaches more than precept " The professing Christian should be a model of good example to all that he may come in contact with. I quote "Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock." Let us not cast this at our ministers, but let every Christian man or woman take it to heart, and by their good example show the way for others, that they may follow them in- to the paths of righteousness. " Now these things were our example to the intent that we should not lust after evil things." The idea is intolerable, that any man should take advantage of the pardoning power of Christ Jesus, when He, at the conversion of any person, pardons the past, present and future sins of the converted. We must live up to our profession of faith, for "He that wavereth is like a wave of the sea, carried about and tossed ; " and we read again, that a man in this condition of being back and forward " need not think that he shall receive anything of the Lord." But I must rtturn to Christ's offering. Again I find that it was perfect in that He did it freely of His own will, and in obedience to the will of God. It was a free-will offering on the part of our Lord, inasmuch as He did offer Himself bodily, of His own will. It was not forced upon Him, or He forced ^m^ JO Christ Our Governor to do sc, and it was for the sake of fallen humanity that He did so. He offered Himself up to God that you and I might be saved from the consequences of our fallen state, owing to the fact of our being at enmity with God, by reason of our sins, whether original or actual. I have shown already that all men, in an unconverted state, are under sentence of condemnation, and that sentence, which was passed upon all mankind, had to be removed in some way, and this our Lord and Saviour did when He made an offering of Himself, and that freely, it being His own choice that He should do so ; for we read, " no man taketh it from me, but I lay it down myself: I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again." And this shows, I think, that what He did makes it perfect in behalf of the partakers of the benefits which ensue. The offerings that were offered up according to the law, could never accomplish this ; they were only symbols of the perfect offering which was to follow after. "And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes (the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins : but this man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God." We see by this, without much controversy, that it was perfect in itself, by reason of it being freely made. A man doing anything against his own will, it very often happens that the work he undertakes to do is not only imperfectly executed, but that he has no pleasure in performing what he has undertaken. But Jesus, freely doing so that you and I might have full redemption .from tde sentence of death which was passed upon us, owing to our condition as natural men and women ; and what He did in our behalf was all that was necessary for the reconciliation of all persons, whoever they may be, if they come to Him and submit themselves to Him. We read, " By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus, once for all." No further sacrifice became necessary, by reason of what He did. And why not give a moment's consideration to the subject I tried here to bring forward ? Think of the loving-kindness he exhibited towards a sin- ful world. " Greater love than this " cannot be found. Where will you find, in our day, any man that would for a moment think of lay- ing down to die for even a friend, and this is the greatest love that •one man can show for another. We do read of some that will put their lives in peril in rescuing others from death, but on all such occasions there is hope of escape, a road whereby they may see their way out of the danger which threatens, and make all the provision possible for their own safety. But here we find no way that He might escape ; no door open for Him to go through, with the exception of His refusal to suffer. He might have refused to suffer, but then the door of salvation would be shut, and for one moment He never flinched from drinking the cup of God's wrath in your behalf. Kind reader, will you only come to Him just as you are with- out one plea, but that His blood was shed for you ? delay not one hour longer. He did so freely of His own will. Christ Our Governor. 31 Again we find that it was God the Father's will He came to do. They both joined together in executing this act of reconciliation. Although He came of His own free will, He came to do the Father's will. The Lord Jehovah had no pleasure in the offering of burnt offering of fat of rams The offering that He had the most pleasure in was the sacrifice of a broken heart, " for a broken and contrite heart Thou wilt not refuse." The Jews fell short in this matter. Their daily and yearly sacrifice became a form : a mere ceremony. They withheld that which they should have given. It became a form because they depended solely upon it for reconciliation with God. In making the offering they deemed that they did all that was neces- sary, and for this reason it was rejected by God in their behalf. They became mere formalists in their worship, and instead of it being a pleasure unto God to accept it in their behalf, it became a nuisance, and of no effect. Their offering was refused, and God would not accept of them. " To what purpose is the multitude of your sacri- fices unto Me ? saith the Lord : I am full of the burnt ofiferings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts ; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me ; the new moons and Sab- bath, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with ; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your new moons and your appointed feasts My soul hateth : I have no pleasure in you saith the Lord of! "sts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand." All this becaut. j they relied wholly upon these sacrifices for sanctification for their transgressions. Or I might say that they went about con- tinually sinning against their God, thinking that they might commit almost any ofience against the well being of their neighbors, and that these sacrifices, which they were in the habit of offering up, would make full atonement for the transgression they committed. They lived in sin ; hence the offerings which they made were rejected in their behalf, as we see by the quotations quoted above. When God saw how these sacrifices became of none effect, and were rejected by Him, He prepared a more perfect way whereby atonement might be made in behalf of His people ; and this He did by sending His own Son in the likeness of smful flesh, to meet the requirements of the law in behalf of fallen mankind. God sent His own Son, His only Son, for this purpose. " This commandment have I received of my Father." The commandment that He should lay down His life for His sheep. " Therefore doth the Father love me because 1 lay down my life, that I might take it again." It was necessary that some offering should be made for sin, and when Jesus saw that God re- jected the offerings that were made a^^cording to law, " He saith, Sacrifice and offering Thou wouldest not, but a body hast Thou pre- pared me : in burnt ofiferings and sacrifices for sin Thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me) to do thy will, O God." There was a perfect agreement between Father and Son in this respect. 32 Christ Our Governor. ill i Will I go so far as to say that this agreement was entered into before the foundation of the world was laid. The Lord Jehovah knew before the creation of the world all things that should come to pass, and that He knew beforehand that His Son Jesus would be the means employed to bring the world into full reconciliation with Himself ; or, rather, I should say. His own people which are in the world. I have no doubt of this. God knew that man would fall by the enticing words of the adversary, who fell from the high posi- tion he occupied by rebelling against God. And by His eternal de- crees He decreed that by sending His Son He would redeem the world unto Himself " Him being delivered by the determinate counsel and fore- knowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain." This shows that it was determined befoiehand of God that Christ should suffer ; and it shows also that the offering which Christ offered up was perfect, inasmuch as it was in fulfilling the agreement which they entered into. Perfect because it was the will of the Father; and perfect in it being the will of the Son. See, friend, what God did that you and I might have life. I read a story some time ago of a large vessel crossing the At- lantic ocean that was caught in a severe storm, and becoming un- manageable, was cast upon the rocks, and was gradually sinking, bearing down with it the crew and passengers. The captain called for volunteers for the purpose of putting a signal light on the top of the mast, in hopes that it might be seen from shore, that possibly a rescuing party might launch forth upon the stormy waters, through whose means they might be saved. He called for some person brave enough to climb the mast for that purpose; but no one answered ; amongst all on board the vessel there was no one who would dare make the attempt. The captain began to despair of pro- curing the means he so much desired for warning the people on shore. All hope was gone, when his son, a youth in his teens, came to him, saying, " I will go, father." The captain consented that he, his son, should go and put the signal light on the top of the mast. He started on his perilous journey up the mpe ladder, until he came to the mainmast head ; then he looked down, saying to his father, " I am afraid to go further." He heard his father's call, " Look aloft, my son ; " he started to climb the mast, and went to where he found another foothold ; when, shivering with fear, he sent down the same words as before, " I am afraid to go any further." " Look aloft, my son, look aloft." Again he went, benumbed with cold, his limbs stiffening with the over exertion, quaking with fear upon thinking of the vortex below that was only too ready to swallow him up, until he landed at the topmast head, and with quivering limbs and fingers benumbed, he tied the signal light to the mast head, and started on his return down to the deck. But see the consequence of his bravery : in a few moments the guns on shore sounded, and by con- tinuous efforts a life-line was at last safely landed on the vessel's deck. The sailors gladly then went to work to haul on board a Christ Our Governor. 33 9.^»i. larger rope, whereby, after an interval of anxiety and suspense, they wtre all landed safely on shore, amidst the rejoicing of father and son, of sailors and passengers and shoremen. Let us now, for a moment, think of what both father and son did in this case. Let us try and imagine the anxiety of the father in beholding his son (and, by the way, his only son) in such peril of losing his life. His well beloved son risking his life for the saving of the lives of those who were with him on the sinking ship. Can we draw enough on our imaginati *n to comprehend the situation in which the father of this child was placed ? I think not : it is un- fathomable. x\nd yet this is what God did for us. Think of the son coming forward of his own free will and undertaking the perilous task of tying to the topmast head the signal light that was the means of saving all on board. Was there no love in his breast for those on board with him ? Was it not love for those on board with him that kindled the spark that gave him the courage and bravery to make the attempt ? and we must not forget the ever encouraging voice of Lis father : the voice of an earthly father is very encouraging to a frightened child. And this is what Jesus did for us ; not only put His life in peril, but laid it down for His brethren, according to the scriptures. God the Father and God the Son in the likeness of sinful flesh offering up a perfect offering for the perfect reconciling of a sinful world. Oh see, and think over, what They have done that you and I may not perish ; that we may not have our portion in that place which He has prepared for the punishment of all who will not accept a share in that perfect reconciliation which They have pro- vided for all who come unto Them . All who reject the proffered oifer o( mercy through Jesus Christ will be punished, along with .'Satan and his angels, in that lake that burneth with fire and brimstone for ever : which is the second death : " Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." " Awake, thou that sleepest," and think over these things ere it be too late. We have not a moment to lose, for " time is short : " the longest lite that a man may attain to is short wherein to make preparation for eternity. " We know not what a day or hour may bring forth." Death of the body may take place at any moment ; it is well to be ready. There is plenteous redemption for any who will come and lay hold of it, as it is freely offered in the gospel. " By the which will we are sanctified, through the offering of the body of Jesus once for all." This " once for all " means, in my opinion, that the comers unto Him are freely pardoned for good and for ever : that the sins they may have committed will never be men- tioned to them. " Once for all " time to come, if they abide faith- ful. It was a perfect offermg because it was the will of God the Father that He should do so. That it was all that was necessary for the perfect reconciling of a sinful soul is evident from the fact that it for ever cleansed the comer thereunto in the sight of God ; the soul once in Christ Jesus is for ever saved from the condemna- rtfi 34 Christ Our Governor. tion which shall overtake all who will not obey the truth. " There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who v/alk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." It would be well to pay attention to the word " now " that we find in the text. There being such a thing as a believer falling again into condemnation if He does not live up to his profession. The word *' now," I take, means the present time or moment, when you may be scanning these pages. We live in the present forgetting the past as well as we may, and working for the future, that we may obtain an inheritance in that place that He has gone to prepare for them that love Him, and are called according to His purpose. The law could never obtain an inheritance for us m Christ's kingdom ; if that was possible Christ would not have suffered. " By the deeds of the law no flesh shall be saved," hence God sending His Son to re- claim the world opened out a way whereby perfect peace and recon- ciliation could be had with Himself. " For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh : that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." The Lord Jesus perfectly fulfilled the law in regard to all them that have forsaken the world with its deeds, and set their affection on Him, and on things above. '' The carnal mind is enmity against God," and for such as are so minded, they need not look for any portion in that which He has done for them. Why not have a share in the kingdom that He has bought so dearly for you. The fault is all your own. You re- fuse the proffered offer of mercy which He extends to you, if you are still outside the sheepfold ; if you are still without the true shepherd of the flock. If you are outside, the fault lies at your own door. He did all that was necessary for your salvation, and why reject the offered promise of mercy which He now makes unto you, whoever you may be; pardon, peace, and the enjoyment of the hope of eternal happiness may be yours, in a moment of time, if you come to Him and ask Him to receive you, and become your Saviour. "For He is able to to save unto the uttermost all that come unto God by Him." And besides all this there is no other way that we can be saved. There is no other door open by which the soul can escape from the wrath to come. The wrath of an angry God will be visited upon this earth, and where will you be in an unsaved state. Through the name of Jesus only can you escape. Jesus alone can save you. *' There is none other name given among men whereby we can be saved." The promise of salvation is unto you, reader, if you call up- on Him in verity and in truth, " For whosoever calleth on the name of the Lord shall be saved." Believe it, the Bible is not a con- coction of " old wives' fables." In this way I tried to show that it was a perfect offering, which Jesus offered up to God in behalf of fallen mankind. Again I find that the sacrifice which Jesus Christ offered up to Christ Our Governor. 35 God in behalf of His own elect, was substitutionary in its nature, for I find that He did so in the room and stead of those that beheve in His name. *■ For the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and give His life a ransom instead of many." He gave " His life a ransom " for His own people, who became rebels to the kingdom of Christ, through the tall, and by reason of the natural enmity that is in man by nature against God — man in his natural state is the enemy of God. And I find that He gave His " life a ransom instead " of those people, that they might be at peace with God. The natural man, as I have said, is living in enmity against God. There are not two sides to this point. If we are not at peace with God, we are the enemies of God, " because the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." Some in their vain imagination may think that this is not altogether so, and say I am not God's enemy. I would like to be on God's side, marching along with the army of the God and Christ. But we find that such a condition is impossible to occupy. For out of Christ we have no part or lot to be numbered amongst God's people. We must be inside or outside the sheep- fold. " He that loveth me not, keepeth not my sayings." Love to Christ is the greatest token that any person can have, that he is on the Lord's side in truth and verity. It even happens with some very sincere Christians that a feeling of this love may be wanting. I read nowhere in my Bible that it is demanded of us that we should have a feeling that we are saved, or that we love Him. Let the desire of the heart be towards Him continually. Let our thoughts, words and actions, bespeak in the Lord's behalf. Where these are wanting, I have no doubt but what the carnal mind will exhibit itself on occasions when we least want it to show itself, and when we would like to be clothed in sheep's clothing. It will break out occasionally if love to God and Christ is not rooted firmly in the heart of the believer, I think I may go as far as to say that minis- ters of the gospel, who are serving the Lord with all their heart, may lack a feeling of this love towards God. It is not a feeling of these things that is wanted, but a believing in Christ and accepting of Him as our Saviour, and in believmg the record that God gave of His Son. If we do these things, we "shall never fall." The carnal mind being enmity towards God, it became necessary that the carnality of the human mind should be done away with ; this, I think, in some measure, is the work of the individual who may have come to Christ. In this flesh, or while we are in the flesh, full sanctifi- cation is impossible. The convert goes on, from day to day, seeking more and mora to be sanctified by the help of the Holy Spirit. I believe that the true convert is gradually becoming more sanctified and nearer to Christ every day ; if not, there is a mistake somewhere, it being the duty of a converted person to seek the Lord daily, to seek the Lord's face from day to day, and seek Him earnestly in their own behalf, and in the behalf of others — " Pray without ceas- m^ 36 Christ Our Governor. 11 m ing " and " Pray for us," was Paul's injunction to the converts whom he was the means of bringing to Christ. I have come across people who said they had no further need of praying for themselves, that they were fully sanctified upon conversion : I think this a mistake, and that this side the grave no man is so holy and so free from blemish in the sight of God that he has no further need 9{ praying for himself ; but that the true motto for the Christian man ought to be, " Pray without ceasing," not only in his own behalf, but in behalf of others : ** For thi fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." Another way i also find that the convert is to seek more holi ness and sanctification ; tha; is, by fighting against the desires of the flesh and mind. " For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die ; but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live." We may inquire, for a moment, how this is to be done. Fasting was a common modj of keeping down the body, among the Jews, under the old dispensation. \"d also in new testament times ; and when a fast is updertakc.i in a proper spirit, with a proper object in view, we can find 00 f.iult with it. Fasting, that we may obtain more holiness and be s?ncti*^^d moro fully, is tolerated by the teachings of both the Old and New Testaments ; ^nd we read of parties under- going a season of fasting, being d .ly rewarded by receiving the blessing sought for from the Lord. The fast of hypocrisy is to be avoided ; we have an instance of the unprofitableness of the hypo crite's fast in the case of the Pharisee and the publican. The Pharisee boastingly sounded his good deeds in the ears of all the people : "I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess, and I am not as this publican." See the mark of a hypocrite ! Exaltation before men. Such, by fasting or by any other means they may employ, " Need not think that they will receive anything of the Lord." It became a failing of the Jews to be like unto this Pharisee in their worship of God ; their fasting became a mere form ; the desire of the heart was wanting ; the worshiping of God "in spirit and in truth " was a thing of the past ; and the Lord Jehovah refused to accept of their outward form of worshiping Him. The case of the publican was far different : he came heartily unto the Lord to worship Him, smiting upon his breast, and crying, " Lord be merciful unto me a sinner." Such are those who will receive the blessing of the Lord. We read that " He went down to his house justified, rather than the other." If we depend on mere forms, and ceremonies, and church governments for salvation, we shall be found wanting in that day when we hope the second coming of Christ will be for our good ; but if the heart's desire is in worshipping God, let it be in what form it may, we may then look for His coming with joy, for then ''we shall know him as He is, and we shall be made like Him." Away, then, with all manner of form, and the worship- ing of God in formality, thinking that by these things we will win for ourselves an inheritance in the kingdom of God and of Christ. There is no promise of salvation to the formalist. ^f Christ Our Governor. 37 Another thing the convert has to do in subduing the carnal mind, and that is striving to bring the mind in conformity with the law of Christ. He taught everywhere humility of spirit, and this the carnal mind is not capable of exercising : the nature of man in its natural state is prone to haughtiness, to pride, and vain-glory ; to which may be added self righteousness. And I find that the duty of man is to fight these down ; to keep up a continual warfare against these things. If we do not they are sure to gain tiie ascendancy and bring us into new co. demnation ; not only with the Lord, but also before our fellowmen as far as living a Christian life is concerned. To get perfectly free of sm I have shown already to be beyond the power of man ; but still we must strive to overcome and fight down wh:it sin we may still find lurking or abiding in our hearts. We find Paul having a warfare of (his nature. Although he could not entirely free himself from the failing of the flesh, he came to this conclusion, '* So then I with the mind serve the law of (}od, but with the flesh the law of sin." This should be the aim of every Christian man or woman : to serve God with the mind, with the heart, and with the spirit. No man can do this if he allows the mind to carry him away alter those things that are contrary to law and good order. I find some people saying they cannot do anything in such matters as these. They can try, and strive for victory, and they will get help. The Lord Jesus will surely help those who fight manfully against sin and the rulership of Satan. Let every Christian man and woman strive to be able to say with Paul, " I have fought the good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith." We will not be able to say this if we do not fight down the carnal mind with the lusts thereof, and mortify it in all branches of coveteousness, boasting, pride, haughtiness, deceit, guile, hypocrisy, vain-glory, self-righteousness, and such like ; the list is too numerous to mention. This is the wariare that every Christian man should fight in overcoming the carnal mind, in bringing it into subjection to the law of Christ. '' For he that soweth to the flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption ; but he that soweth to the Spirit, shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting ; " and, " Let us not be weary in well- doing, for in due season we shall reap if we faint not " Here we have it, the whole matter in a few words : if we do not fight against the world and sin, we are sowing to the flesh ; if we fight against the world and sin, we sow to the Spirit : and the promise is that " we shall reap if * we faint not ; ' " that is, fight on until we gain the vic- tory over the carnal mind with its "enmity against God." A man must become willing to be Christ's disciple before he can fight the good fight of faith. It is too often the case, as I formeily mentioned, that the majority of people wait with folded hands until the Lord will " compel them to come in." I for one do not believe in that doctrine, but in the very opposite. It is quite true that, if the Lord will not have mercy and commence the good work in the soul, we labor in vain. But hear what He says ; " Behold, I stand at the 38 Christ Our Governor. ■I' 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." The door will never be opened if we wait with folded arms for something to turn up. Christ Jesus is always ready to enter into the heart willing to receive Him. Let us then be willing, whether converted or not. to fight for the Lord. Let the unconverted pray for conver- sion ; pray for a new heart, that the " hard and stony heart be taken away and a heart of flesh given ; " pray that they may become will- ing to fight down the carnal mind ; and that they may be taken in and counted among the sons of God ; pray that they may be willing and ready, when Jesus knocks at the door of the heart, to open it and let Him in ; pray that they may be willing to undertake to fight the good fight of faith, that they may be willing in the day of the Lord's power. On the other hand, let the converted man be willing to fight on and not be ha' ^-hearted in the cause which he has es- poused. Half-hearted people will not succeed very well in fighting the fight of faith which is set before every Christian man and woman ; they are very apt to faint by the way, and come short of reaping the laurels that are laid up for them who overcome the world and the lust thereof. " For henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the righteous Judge shall give me at that day : and not to me only, but to all them that love His appearing." Another thing I might mention in connection with this is that when the Lord Jesus finds any man putting forth his best effort in this warfare. He won't be long in coming to the rescue. There is an old saying, '* That heaven helps them that help themselves." This is true. God will help them that seek Him. He will rescue the perishing and heal the " broken-hearted " "I said not unto the house of Israel, Seek ye Me in vain." The Bible is full of promises of help to those striving against sin. Christ says, " Him that cometh unto Me I will in no wise cast out." We see by this that it is left for man to come to Christ ; I do not wish to be misunderstood ; Christ, by the working of the Holy Ghost, is actually the author of conversion. My contention is that a man must be willing to be converted before Christ becomes the author of conversion. I believe the Holy Spirit strives with all men in a measure ; if not, what a babel our earth would be. But I must return to the substitutionary offering which Christ made in the room, and instead, of sinful worms of the earth. Some may take exception in this our day to such terms as to be compared to mere worms of the earth. What are the best of us — from the high- est lord or baron in the land, to the poverty stricken man that merely has his livelihood, fearful that something may happen at any moment that may deprive him of the necessaries of life — but mere worms of the earth in the sight of God. Ah, friend, think of the difference that exists between us and a Holy God, who cannot so much as look upon a human creature except covered with the cloak of Christ's righteousness ; can we hold any higher estimation of ourselves Christ Our Governor, 39 than mere worms of the earth. I heard or read of a lady in England, who occupied a high position in society, who was in the habit of going around with her coach and four, who when told she would have to be saved by the poor man's Saviour, refused the offer of mercy that was extended to her, saying, *' I will never be saved by the same God as my footman." Poor woman, she did not under- stand that possibly in the estimation of God and Christ, she was lower than her footman. " Not many rich, not many noble, are chosen." The poor in this world's goods are very often in advance of the rich and the learned in the true riches that shall not be taken away from them. " How hardly shall they that have riches enter the kingdom of heaven. For it is easier for a camel," etc. Christ came to preach the gospel to the poor. '* The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor," etc. But it is with the substitutionary work of Jesus I have principally to deal, but I continually wander away from it. The offering which He offered up to God was in the behalf of all classes of people, with- out exception, unless they be reprobates. It was an offering instead of you and I, or any other person that will believe on His name. For the sinner that has actually transgressed, as well as for the moral- ist ; for the Gentile as well as for the Jew. Let them be what they may, there is plenteous redemption offered up in their room and stead, if they only submit themselves unto Jesus, and be governed by the law He has laid down, which is to obey His commandments. " If any man come unto Me out of his belly will flow rivers of living water." Christ while on earth made no distinction between one man and another. I find the same invitation given to all. He never turned His back on any that applied to Him, with the exception of the Syro- phencecian woman, and that was only for a moment, and I think that there were two reasons for this ; the first one was, that He wished to try her faith, or to find out whether she believed truly that He had power to grant her wish. There were many half-hearted as you will find in our own day, that are mere formalists. That He answered the requests of many such while on earth I have no doubt ; but still His working of miracles was lacking to all that did not truly believe in Him, and that He had the power to do for them what they asked Him. This is what the Syro-phenoecian woman required, perfect belief in His power to heal her daughter. We see that only for a moment He turned His back upon her, for upon receiving her answer of faith He immediately granted her request, " And her daughter was made whole that same hour." And the other reason I find for Him acting so, was that the gospel was as yet withheld from the Gentiles. There being many of His mighty works withheld even from the Jews, by His commandment. It was Peter who opened the door for the Gentiles to come in, hence the door not yet being opened for the Gentiles, He held back from granting the woman's request. He must have known that the woman asked in faith. 40 Christ Our Governor. -ill , ■ Si' ^fi *' For He knew what was in man," and His reason must have been that the time f(ir the calling in of the ('.entiles had not come, and He knew the Jews would refuse the proffer of mercy through His name. I was saying that Jesus never refuses or turns His back on any sup- pliant that applies to Him, and that He gave Himself a substitute in their behalf. There is no distinction made, " For there is neither Jew nor (ireek ; there is neither bond nor free ; there is neither mile nor female ; they arc all one in Christ Jesus our Lord." It was substitu- tionary, in that He made the offering to satisfy the justice of God, and the vengeance that was our due, because of the natural enmity that is in our hearts towards God,as wellas for any actual transgressions we may have done. He bore the wrath of God for us : the wrath that would be visited upon us if He had not died in our room and stead. He endured the agonizing death of the cross ; the most cruel means of death that was ever invented by man, or one of the most cruel. To think of it ought to awaken some feeling of awe in the bosom of the hardest heart. The Lord Jesus Christ, who is very God, and at the time that He died as your substitute and mine was very man, laying down His life that we might live — dying such a death in our room and stead. I remember reading a story of a young Frenchman, who emi- grated to Quebec about the time it was first settled. He happened to belong, through lineage and relationship, to one of the highest barons in France ; but owing to some difficulty which he had to con- tend with, he was expelled from his native land. As far as I remem ber, it was owing to an uncle striving to get possession of his property, which was one of the largest estates in France. While in the city cf Montreal, then a small settlement of French people, surrounded by forests, with the companionship of the neighboring forest rovers, the Indians. This young lord, who was sickly and of weakly disposition, made the acquaintance of the son of one of the Indian chiefs, and by and by they became bosom friends. The young Frenchman was very sorry for the Indian boy because of his idolatrous worship, and from time to time would try admonishing him to change his views in re- gard to his religion, until he persuaded him to attend chapel. The Indian boy, the first time he attended meeting at the chapel, saw an article used by the priest in saying mass, that he coveted very much, so much that he could not rest satisfied until he got possession of it. ' The article was soon missed by the priest, who raised an uproar about the missing holy vessel. Search being made, the culprit was found out, and arrested. In those days the Roman Catholics dealt very summarily with those that disturbed their quietitude by smaller offences than that of committing sacrilege. The punishment that was to be inflicted, according to the ruling of the priest, was that he should be chastised by the lash, so many strokes, to be inflicted by the ablest man to be found in the settlement, the chastisement to take place on two different occasions. Now there arose between the French and Indians a dispute about the Indian boy being punished. i Christ Our Governor, 41 •n ■ ' If the boy was punished, the tribe of Indians to whom he bel< need, threatened to massacre the white men. The priest on the other hand must have the loy punished, or his dignity would suffer a severe shock. The priest gained his point, and the day of chastisement ar- rived. The boy was brought out stripped of his upper clothing, tbe man appointed to use the whip stood beside him, waiting f r the word to begin ; when all at once upon looking about, the French saw the edging of the bush lined with Indian warriors, with bows and arrows. They sent word to those surrounding the prisoner, that upon the first stroke ot the whip on the back of the Indian boy, they would start shooting. Who was to gain the day now ? The priest or the friends of the prisoner ? If the priest's orders were carried out, there was in all probability a danger that the whole white population on Isle Royal would be massacred. What was to be done ? Would anyone take the Indian boy's place, and stand his substitute ? Word went around the encampment to see if any person would be willing to suffer in place of the guilty party. No one could be found until the young French nobleman, although at the time deprived of his rights, stepped out and said he would. The substitute was found. One suffered in the room and stead of another. This is a true story. What was the consequence ? The Indian boy was saved from the anger of the priest, and from punishment, and the offence that he committed could never again be brought up against him. I find that this is exactly what our Saviour did for us. He bore the punishment which would inevitably have fallen upon us had He not suffered as our substitute to appease the wrath of an angry God. The story went on to say that the young Frenchman was restored to his inheritance shortly after the episode just narrated. See even here the likeness. Jesus received back His life. He overcame the power of death, for it was impossible that He should be holden of it. The young Frenchman stood as the substi- tute of his Indian friend : suffered lor him. Jesus Christ was the substitute of not only His friends, but His enemies as well. Having done so He obtained eternal redemption for them that come to God by Him, and He Himself was raised up unto the highest honors in heaven. He paid the penalty to the last farthing. There is no more demand made upon the soul that has a pa'-fr in this substitute. Ah, friend, what a substitute ! The Son of God laying down His life for us. The true Shepherd of Israel. What are all other shepherds, ministers or clergymen, in comparison with this one. Which of them would lay down his life for any one of the flock under his charge. The danger is that too many of them are simply looking for their own gain, and how they can please men, by producing grandiloquent discourses and oratorical harangues, lacking the spirit and simplicity of the gospel of Christ. The churches in our days are doctrinated to death. But the true shepherd giveth his life for his sheep. " I am the good shepherd, the good shepherd « . t i 42 Christ Our Governor. giveth His life for His sheep." I have shown already that it was in consequence of the agreement between Father and Son that this offering was made. Oh, what an exhibition of loving-kindness on the part of a justly offended Ciod. God the Father giving the Son up to die, the substitute of rebellious humanity ; and God the Son surrendering Himself entirely to appease the wrath of God : the wrath that would be visited on our heads if He had not suffered as our substitute. I might bring before you some instances amongst our people in our days, who are gradually giving up their lives for others ; they may not be conscious of doing so. Take, for instance, a business man in difficult circumstances, laboring night and day to support his family ; trying to make both ends meet ; worried about many things, forgetting that there is only " one thing needful." Such a man is gradually dying a substitute for those whom he is trying to furnish with the necessaries of this present life. Would it not be better for him to get the " one thing needful," and then he would find that the cares and worries of this world would be easier to bear. Let such a one come to Jesus, and he will find that the coveteousness of the present life will be partially if not altogether overcome. " I have been young, and now I am old ; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor His seed begging bread." Let such a one come to Christ, and have a part in the substitutionary work which He did in his behalf, remembering the promise that He has given, to *' Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you." These promises are sure. The word of God does not lie. I never found it to be a lie. But beware of making religion a cloak for getting rich in this world's goods. If any person puts on religion for the mere sake of receiving the applause of men, or the advantage that may be gained thereby, he will come to a sorry end in this present life ; and in that which is to come, to everlasting condemnation and contempt. They shall have no portion in the substitutionary offering which Christ made for those who truly love Him and obey His command. I don't care what the reputation of a person may be ; let him be a black sinner or a white one ; let him belong to what nationality he may ; let a man be down ever so far in the degradation of sin and misery, there is plenteous redemption in the substitutionary work of Jesus. There is plentious pardon and forgiveness purchased by Christ with His own blood, which He shed on Calvary's cross, for the covering up of the foulest sins. Oh that He might become to you a covering in the time of the Lord's anger, a " covert from the tempest " that will over- take all who will live the life of the ungodly, and continue to lire wickedly Let us flee those things by warring against the flesh with the deeds thereof, and submit ourselves to the teachings of Christ and His written word, as contained in the Bible, '* Sanctify their hearts through Thy word. Thy word is truth." What more need I say? " Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed on us, that we might be called the sons of God." It passeth all under Christ Our Governor. 43' standing to conceive the love of God to perishing souls. To think of the Omnipotent Jehovah giving up His Son to die in our room and stead ; the Holy God, who cannot so much as look upon a sinner only when covered with the righteousness which Jesus ob- tained for us, doing so much for the reconciliation of the world to Himself. They did all that was necessary for the salvation of sinners. In this one sacrifice, which Jesus oflFered up to God the Father, of all mercy and love, everything necessary on Their part for the sal- vation of souls was done. The substitute suffered. What do we find the majority of people doing but refusing the proffered offer of mercy, turning a deaf ear to all entreaties. This makes their own damnation just. They cannot offer any excuse when at that great day the Lord Jesus shall sit in judgment and shall give unto each according to their deeds, whether it be good or bad. Those that have done good by accepting Jesus as their Saviour, and having a share in the substitutionary work of Jesus, thereby having obtained peace with God, shall be rewarded for the good they have done by receiving an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. They shall also receive each one a crown of righteousness : and I might add here, that souls saved through their means will become sparkling jewels in the crown that He shall give ; I have no doubt of it. And the rest shall be condemned to eternal torments in that fiery lake which has been preparefi for the devil and his angels. *' Depart from Me, ye cursed, into cverlastii.g fire prepared for the devil and his angels : for I was an hungred, and ye gave Me no meat : I was thirsty, and ye gave Me no drink : I was a stranger, and ye took Me not in : naked, and ye clothed Me not : sick, and in prison, and ye visited Me not." Hear their excuse, or a pretended excuse, for in reality we cannot have the shadow of an excuse. All unto whom these words shall be spoken have rejected the Saviour ; have refused, while in the world, to come unto Him ; they preferred the world, with the things of the world, and the satisfying the lusts of the flesh, to the proffered offer of mercy as it is freely offered in the gospel. " When saw we Thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto Thee." I think this will be the moralists' or self-righteous men's excuse : they are ever on the defence ; we must not lay anything to their charge ; they never did anything wrong. They are like the rich young man, who, when asked if he observed the law, proudly replied, " All these have I kept from my youth up." There is something more than the literal observing of the law *^ be done. A conviction of sin must take place : we must be convinced that we are sinners in the sight of God, after performing all that the law requires. The law cannot give life : if we could be saved by an observance of the statutes, precepts, and commandments, it was a vain thing for Christ to have suffered — " By the deeds of the law no flesh shall be saved." We must be convicted that we are sinners ; that sentence of death has been passed upon us, by reason of our Ill I I 44 Christ Our Governor. ■:^ m natural depravity, and the carnal enmity we have towards God in our natural state. We are born sinners ; born the enemies of God ; born under sentence orf" condemnation. The self-righteous man never gets this conviction of sin ; never examines into his own heart, but is perfectly contented with the condition that he is in. I re- member reading of a high-born lady in England ; the minister hap- pened to be visiting at her house ; the conversation turned upon matters relating to the condition of her soul ; when asked if she was saved, she gave the answer that she was too bad to be saved. Why, what had she done ? Had she observed the first commandment, to *• Have no other gods before Me ? " yes, she did ; she never had any idol : did she obey the second, " Have no graven images ? " yes ; she never bowed in idolatrous worship : she never took God's name in vain : she zealously observed the Sabbath day, to keep it holy : and so upon the question being asked, she had diligently observed them all ; showing in reality that in her own estimation she was no -nner at all. This is self righteousness ; and all who may be given to entertaining such an opinion concerning themselves must come to look upon themselves in a different light — must be convicted of sin before they can have any share in the substitutionary work of Christ. It is a mistaken idea at best to have such an opinion of oneself, and the sooner it is done away with the better : no man can truthfully say that he has observed the law in its entirety ; it is impossible for any person in the state of nature to fully obey the law — " If we break one of the least of these commandments, we are guilty of all." And who has not broken one of the " least of these command- ments ? " Who, for instance, has not told a lie ? may be for a paltry gain ; or as a shield wherewith to screen oneself from a just scolding ; and in everyday life, doing even worse for the accumulation of this world's goods.'. All who do so are breakers of the law. I don't care how moral a life a man may have lived, he has broken the law of God in every- lay life This applies to the converted, as well as to those yet outside the fold. We sin continually : no man can live a perfectly holy life upon this earth. We must be taken hence and becom.j like Him Who gave Himself for us, before the living of perfectly holy lives can take place. It was for this that Christ suf- fered ; satisfying the justice of God in behalf of all men, except they be reprobates. What a substitute for sins and sinners ! What a substitute offered up in the place of fallen humanity. Take a moment and consider over it before you pass it by, whoever you may be. " He gave His Hie a ransom for many." I find again that it was an intercessory sacrifice which He offered up in fulfilling the office of a priest, because He for ever effected a reconciliation between God and the believer. The inter- cession which was obtained by the offerings which were made according to law, wab only for the time being ; there was no lasting benefit to be obtained from them. The power contained in the law of ordinances, in interceding for the comer thereunto, ended as soon Christ Our Governor. 45 as offered up; there was no further efficacy to he derived. This is not so with the offering which Jesus offered up : for He did so, " once for all." The intercession which He made on the cross is just as good to-day as then ; He still live to intercede for those who come unto Him. By the old Jewish law sacrifices had to be offered up monthly and yearly, and the comer thereunto could not be perfectly cleansed from the consequences of their sins. But Christ, having offered Himself bodily, interceding with God in behalf of His own people, for ever obtained what He sought for them who live according to His word and commandments. Oh, what an intercessory sacrifice the man Christ Jesus made on the cross for the remission of sins, in interceding with God in our behalf. Can we not, by submitting unto Him, and by coming unto Him, have our portion in that place He has gone to prepare for them that love Him ? Truly we may. The obstacles are all taken away on the part of God and of Christ ; the trouble lies all on our own side in not surrendering ourselves to Him who interceded with God by giving Himself up bodily as an atoning tacrifice for all who are comers thereunto. They aie for ever cleansed from their sins ; full intercession has been made in their behalf And you that have no part in this offering, or that have no intercessor with God the Father, why will you delay ? Why will you not have the Saviour to intercede for you ? Delay is dangerous ; you may be in eternity within an hour's time ; you may never have another opportunity to read or hear a message inviting you to come in and join yourself to the people of God. Think of what Jesus has done for you in this intercessory sacrifice. When He offered Himself up He obtained by His intercession an effectual reconciliation for all who believe. It is not like unto the Jewish law of offerings and sacrifices, good for the time being only — to-day is, and to-morrow is not But what Jesus did was very different, for what He did was complete in all its essentials ; complete for time and eternity for those who are His, and that shall lay hold of life eternal, which is "To know Thee, the only living and true God, and Jesus Christ Whom he hath sent." And may I not add that the prayer of all people should be, " That I iwight know myself." If the Lord would reveal our own hearts to us, there would be less selt righteous people in the wc rid ; there would be less fault-finding with others, for our own hearts would keep us busy contendmg against the depravity we would find there. How easily do we see the rfiote in our brother's eyes, but never can behold the beam that is in our own eyes ; how apt we are to judge another without thinking that we are passing the same sentence on ourselves. Let there be more self-examination, and the more we examine ourselves, the less we shall see in another that is not accord- ing to good law and order. The reason is simple \ in searching our- seives we get an insight into our own depravity, and some under- standing of how far we have wandered away from God and the paths of righteousness. It creates humility of spirit and humbleness of -4^ Christ Our Governor heart, and instead of seeing the errors of others, and being ** busy bodies in other peoples' matters," we will come to think that all others are better than ourselves. This, I think, is the true character of a Christian ; looking upon himself with true humbleness of heart ; looking upon himself a wretched sinner, but a saved sinner ; saved by the efficacious cleansing away of sin by the blood of the crucihtd ■ one slain on Calvary's cross for the remission of the sins of those who believe to the salvation of their souls. But to go back a step. I said that the intercession which Jesus offered up to God was complete in all its essentials as far as making an intercessory atonement was concerned ; but I find that there is more than this in it, for He still lives to intercede for His own people here on earth. Having died on the cross He descended into the grave that could not by any means hold Him, for it was impossible that the powers of darkness could keep Him in their power. He ascended up into Heaven ; there He sitteth on the right hand of God, and is ever ready, ever willing to intercede for them that come to Him and own Him for their Saviour and their "all in all." " Wherefore He is able to save unto the uttermost all that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them." Christ is alive to day, willing to plead for you, whoever you may be. Oh what confidence this thought might awaken within our bosoms ! to think that Christ is still alive, and willing to intercede for us. Why not take courage you that may be cast down, and m^ay be suf- fering from many trials and temptations which assail many that are striving to folio «v in the footsteps of the Lamb of God. Your tempta- tions may be many, for the adversary of souls is ever ready to put stumbling blocks and occasions to fall in the way of the disheartened believer. The more discouraged he may find a believer, the more subtle and numerous are the temptations that he places in their way. There is a hymn which reads : " Yield not to temptation, for yielding is sin, Each victory will help you some other to win ; Fight manfully onward, dark passion subdue. Look ever to Jesus, He will carry you through," Sometimes a believer, through " manifold temptations," may be in jeopardy of losing ground or falling, and it is well to remember that the Lord Jesus will not allow any person to be " tempted more than they are able to bear, for with the temptation He maketh a way to escape." Let no man be discouraged, Jesus s*ill lives and He will not allow His own to suffer more than they are " able to bear." He still lives to plead for us who believe He is our advocate in Heaven, ever ready to plead for them that call upon His name. " For we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." And .again I read, *' Who is he that condemneth ? It is Christ that died, yea, rather that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, 'who also maketh intercession for us." Again, 'For there is one God, ^nd one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus." Christ Our Governor, 47 Why should any hold back or be discouraged when we have such a meditator between us and God. He stands between us and God, warding us from the wrath of a justly angry Jehovah, praying the Father to have compassion on them that have come to Him and ac- cepted Him as their Saviour and their Redeemer. " I pray for them ; I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given Me, for they are Thine." "I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil." Oh, what a mediator ! what an advocate believers have ! what an inter- cessor ! Take courage, you who may be cast down ; He does not mediate. He does not intercede. He does not advocate our cause in vain. His petitions in our behalf will be heard, will be granted, for all them that are called " according to His purpose," This is only reasonable to suppose, for the work which He did was done by the agreement of both Father and Son. It is reasonable to suppose that when He prays in our behalf, that what He prays for shall be done in behalf of His people, when the offering that He offered up was accoroiiig to the will of God the Father. It was a mutual agreement betv^een Father and Son. Ah, friend, He will be heard and His petitions granted, to the benefit of them that are His ; the Father will not say Him nay. " We have an advocate with the Father." How does He advocate our cause? By pleading in behalf of His own ; in interceding for them. By beseeching God that He may pardon the errors arjd sins they may have committed. By making good their cause when the enemy would accuse them to the Father of all mercy. " For there is one that accuses you, even Moses in whom you trust." We find that sometimes we have a worse accuser than even Moses — the adversary of the soul — " Whogoeth about seeking whom He may devour." He is always busy bringing false accusations against God's elect; he is ever on the alert to find fault ; he is ready at all times to bring what evidence he may find, whether true or false, against the chosen people of God. Even satan who fell from being the archangel of the living Gc . by rebelling against the authority of God, thinking that he might, by craft and the power he had, overthrow and usurp the kingdom of God, and reign in God's stead, and become the reigning king of kings himself. This was his object in rebelling against G( d. Himself and the angels that fell with him entered into a conspiracy for this purpose. They did not succeed, and shall never succeed in overthrowing the kingdom of the God of the whole universe. May I not say here that he is still busy seeking recruits to his army, with the same object in view, bringing accusations against God's chosen people, as we find Him doing in the case of Joshua, the high priest, " And he showed me Joshua, the high priest, standing before the angel of the Lord, and satan standing at his right hand to resist him." His purpose must be not only the destroying of that soul, but also that he may add a recruit to the army that he may be gathering for the final conflict that will take place at the battle of Armageddon. Which side shall 4^ Christ Our Governor, U m II you be on when that battle shall be fought ? Will you be on the side of Christ and of God ? If so you must become a soldier in this present life ; it will not do to delay until you die, " For after death the judgment." If you wish to be on satan's side, and be found fighting for him on that day, all you have to do is live as you are, live the care- less life of the ungodly, gratifying the passions of the flesh — the covet- ous craving of the natural man. As the advocate of those who are chosen to be God's own soldiers, Jesus defends them against all the accusations that may be laid to their charge, or against them, making their cause good, before God. To use the words of the prophet, saying, " Is not this a brand plucked from the burning." I don't think that tongue or pen of man could fully describe how Jesus intercedes for them that love Hrn. He pleads for us far better than an earthly advocate ever pleaded for a client. And see to what extent an earthly advocate will go in defending the client that puts his case into his hands, and trusts his cause with him. How he will plead for him ; how he will examine witnesses by cross examining them to find whether their witness is to be credited or not. and bring forward witnesses to prove that the accusation, wherewith his client is charged is false. He will work to the utmost of his ability to bring the one who trusted in him out civ«ar. But Jesus pleads better than them all. His pleading in behalf of a sinner, who has fled to Him for refuge, is effectual. His pleading' will be heard. He laid down His life that they might have life. The earthly advocate may work faithfully for one that trusts him with his cause ; but I may say that his main object will be for his own profit, that he may fill his pockets with silver and gold, and become rich in this world's goods. Christ advocates our cause for our good, that we may obtain riches that shall not be taken from us — the riches of joy and peace with God. These are the true riches. The riches of the world are not to be compared with what God shall bestow on all that come to Him by Christ ; and instead < f ac- cumulating wealth for Himself, as our lawyer advocates do. He be- came poor. " For, for our sakes He became poor, that we through His poverty might become rich." What an expression, *' He became poor." " The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man had not where to lay His head." He became poor that rebellious rebels might be rich : rich in the enjoyment of God ; rich in the kingdom that He has gone to prepare for them that love Him ; rich in the glory that hereafter shall be revealed ; rich in the peace that His own enjoy here up^n earth ; and rich in possessing the necessaries of this present life. Think of the advo- cate you are refusing by not coming to Jesus and accepting Him as your Saviour. Our earthly advocate, or lawyer, may work faithfully in our behalf, but he will have another object in view besides the clearing of his client, that of obtaining honor and glory in the sight of men. Jesus pleads for us, who believe that we may receive honor and glory in the heavens, and become possessers of the Christ Our Governor. 49 | uncorruptible crown, eternal in the heavens, that shall not be taken away from those whose cause He has espoused : for He never lost a i case that He undertook to plead and advocate. His plea holds \ good and He will bring His client out clear, without as much as a spot upon his name. Advancement and exaltation before men is the general aim of all seeking after those things that perish, for we can take nothing hence. All that we gain in this world, by pos- sessing wealth, we shall leave behind us ; " Naked as from the earth we came, naked we shall return thither." It is a foolish idea to be always and at all times seeking after the worla, with the things of the world, and not making preparation for eternity. There are a great many who do believe in a future state ; who do believe in an ever- lasting life after this mortal body shall be laid in the cold grave : still they go on in the same careless way, engrossed with the cares of this life, forgttful of God and that the life everlasting must be of weal or woe : weal to those who do good and accept Jesus as their saviour ; woe to all who continue to live the careless, indifferent life of peril, or carnal insecurity, not thinking that they must be " born again " before they can enter the kingdom of heaven. Jesus pleads our cause that we may become His subjects in the kingdom which He bought with His own blood ; that we might become the " sons of God," joint heirs with Himself in that place He has gone to prepare for those who love Him. He has gone to prepare an inheritance, a kingdom, and a place for His people. " I go to prepare a place for you." Oh, the pleading ot Jesus ! His blood, shed on the cross, pleads for us. Oh, what an intercessor ! What an advocate we have with the Father, when Christ Jesus is there to make our cause good. There is no fear but He will succeed in establishing peace between those who believe in His name and God. What a blessing to have Him there, that He still lives, for by his ascension He left " His peace " behind Him. What joy in believing in His name ; the peace of the true believer passeth all understanding. If He had nol ascended we would be minus the Comforter which He sends : *1 For it is expedient that I go away, for if I go not away the Comforter will not come to you ; " this is the blessing that He sent His disciples, " the Comforter " that sustained them in all the trials, and afflictions, and persecutions which they endured. No man, could hold so bravely to the faith without the strengthening they received from above ; not only in the time of the apostles, but in later days, in the time of the persecution of the Scottish Cove- nanters, and of the faithful all over Europe, it was this same thing that helped them : the peace that Jesus left behind when He ascended into glory ; the Comforter, which kept them m good cheer so that they were able to withstand all the " fiery darts " of the ad- versary. Left to themselves, as natural men, they would be apt to give up the struggle and join hands with those who were persecuting them for the sake of preserving their lives a little longer, as too I I V- 50 Christ Our Governor. many of them did. But their faith was upheld by the grace that was given them ; their sufficiency was of God. Ah ! friend, we in our day do not know what it is to battle for the cause of .Christ. With a great many it is smooth sailing, nothing of any moment to try the faith which may be in us ; such trials as the Fathers of Protestantism endured is not in our day ; would the Christian of to-day stand the way they did ? I believe that the majority would, and that the great majority of the true followers of Jesus would, if called upon to defend their faith, lay down their lives for the cause of Christ, and Christianity. Why not come and have Jesus your advocate with the Father, pleading and interceding in your behalf? As I have said already, the Father will not say Him nay ; instead, He willreadily grant His request, because He and God are one. The three persons of the Godhead are agreed upon this : that is, the forgiving of a repentant sinner. " I and the Father are one." The same in being, substance, holiness, goodness, and truth. There is no obstacle in the way on Their part. Christ finished the work that was given Him to do whei He cried on the cross, " It is finished." The law was then fulfilled in behalf of them that come to Jesus ; the law has no further claim on any person, it does not matter who he may be ; the law and justice of God has been satisfied. Let your sins be as black as the blackest, here is full redemption for you. Only accept Jesus as your Saviour and all will be well with your soul. Why not come to Him then, when He is so ready to receive you and to plead your cause ? Are you weary and dejected ? Hear His invitation, '* Come unto Me, all ye that labor, and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." What more do you require ? Do not wait to become better ; if you do you will never come. Waiting to become better shows, in my opinion, a spirit of haughtiness ; it is not the spirit of the humble man. Waiting to get better is the excuse of many a man to keep away from the means and ordinances, and therefore away from Christ. I read nowhere in the Bible that such a transfor- mation as that of getting better is promised out of Christ. The promise of salvation is to them that come to Him : and come just as they are, without one plea ; without an excuse for past misbe- haviour ; no excuse for any sin that may have been committed — but the opposite, sorrow and contrition of heart for sin committed, and for keeping away from Him so long. And here let me mention that we must be on our guard and discern that we have sorrowed the true sorrow — " The sorrow ot the world worketh death." I gave an example of this in the case of the open law breakers who receive punishment at the hands of man. They are as a rule made sorry for the deeds they have committed. This is what I would call worldly sorrow : there is no spiritual benefit derived therefrom ; the culprit is not taken one step nearer to God than he was before ; the tendency is rather to drive him further away. Man's vengeance is gratified, but have they made the man better? I trow not. I once » • Christ Our Governor. SI I heard an esteemed minister say in his sermon, that " they would go to parliament and legislative assemblies and enact laws and statutes to make men better citizens — but after all they could do men would be as far away from God as when they commenced It is only too true we cannot make men better, but we can lead them and show them the way of salvation. A minister cannot make a Christian or convert a sinner, but he can by example and teaching and watching entice sinners to repentance and to the Saviour : the minister is only the means employed for this purpose. But let us not cast all this burden on our ministers ; let the elders and the church members bear a share of it, by helping their ministers to bring souls to Christ. True repentance and sorrow, I think, con- sist of hearty sorrow for what we may have done, and meek and humble contrition for offending an Holy God, and seeking mercy at His hands ; or, to use a scriptural phrase, " sitting down in sack- cloth and ashes;" or, like Job, "Though I wash myself with snow water, and make my hands never so clean ; mine own clothes shall abhor me. If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me : if I say I am perfect, it shall also prove me perverse Though I were perfect, yet would I not know my soul : I would despise my life." This, I think, is the nature of true sorrow — it is the sorrow of our own free will ; not that of compulsion, as mentioned above, but searching the heart and trying the reins ; the more we search our hearts, the more we are likely to find there to cause sorrow. It shows great humility to be able to say with Job the words quoted above. But this is the kind of sorrow that will be rewarded. I do not say that a man should despise himself — there are extremes to everything — to despise ourself would be one of these extremes. It is not ourself we are to despise, but the deeds of the flesh, and the deeds committed contrary to good law and order. I would not be misunderstood — we are in a measure to look upon ourseiv'es as being away down in the scale, and with disgust ; but to despise ourself is a different thing ; we are to despise ourselves in comparison with those who have ascended into glory, for in the presence of Almighty s for so he considered the people of Jerusalem at the time of Christ's crucifixion And I am of the same opinion. The scripture having to be fulfilled in regard to Christ's suffering, does not in any respect take away the Christ Our Governor. 57 guilt of those who crucified Him. They had the opportunity of be- lieving upon and accepting Him as their Saviour and King, and need not have denied Him : they fulfilled the scriptures in rejecting Him, thereby becoming guilty of shedding innocent blood. Take again Pilate washing his hands, and saying, ** I am free from the blood of this innocent man." Was he free ? Not by any means ; on the con- trary he was doubly guilty of shedding innocent blood by sentencing to death an innocent man. This was the way with the Jews in cruci fying Christ : He was innocent in the eyes of the law ; He lived in conformity to the Jewish law, in a word He was without sin — but the Jews, in fulfilling the scriptures, became guilty, like unto Pilate doubly guilty, of murder in slaying an innocent man. They were sinners indeed, sinners of the blackest dye, and we find a great many saved as I have noticed already ; three thousand in one day, should not this give courage to the despairing ; should it not strengthen the feeble knees — not only sending His message of love to those people, but also saving them. What manner of love is this, but " Having loved His own, He loved them to the end." Oh, why not come to Him then, whoever you may be ; saying you are too great a sinner is only a barrier raised by yourself. It is not on Christ's side. The greater the sinner you are the more need you have to come. The greater will be your condemnation if you will not come. The Lord will not turn you back, He will be only too glad to have you come to Him for salvation. " He will in no wise cast out." He will not turn His back on you. I have been trying to show what an inter- cessor we have with the Father. The half has not been told. I cannot as I would wish write about these things, but one thing I do know, " Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing; He ever liveth to make inter- cession for them ; " and, " By the which will we are sanctified by the offering of the body of Christ once for all." Again, I find that the offering which Tesus made as the high priest of them who believe upon Him obtamed eternal redemption for all them that truly believe and obey His commandments. The offerings which were offered up according to law were of no benefit to futurity : they were good only for the time being. But the offer- ing of Jesus is not only good for time but for eternity. Those for whom this offering was made retain the benefits thereof during the remaining ages of eternity, Eternal redemption has been purchased for M who shall remain faithful. There is no gainsaying this fact ' For by one offering He hath perfected for ever them that ictified." Here we have the whole matter in a few words : rtected for ever ! " What a saying ! It would be a great bless- ideed to be freed from sin for the moment according to the Je^ sh law ; or perfected for a day, or a week, or a year : but here we find the believer " perfected for ever " — made secure for eternity. Eternal redemption, ** Whereof the Holy Ghost is also a witness to us : for after that He had said before, This is the covenant that I are .ti ing 58 Christ Our Governor. \\\ .ill will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them ; and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more." This is plain enough ; what need we to doubt but that He obtained eternal redemption for all who believe. The scriptures are agreed in this point, hear what He saith, *' And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of My hand. My Father which gave them to Me is greater than all, and none is able to pluck them out ot My Father's hand." Yoii need not fear or despair, whoever you may be, there is eternal life pur- chased for you by Christ. There is many a doubting person, and many fear they may come short, but once in Christ this is impossi- ble : they would have to sin against light and knowledge, or pre- sumptuously transgress against the law of the Lord, before they would fall away from the estate of being the children of God ; before the Saviour would turn his back on them and cast them away from Him. I am not one of those who believe that once saved we have nothing more to do and may lay down our arms in fighting against the depravity of our own hearts, and against all the enemies of that which is good, as too many do ; that would be giving the enemy an advantage over us that in time might turn out to be to our sorrow. " Watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation." " Watch " is the word that should be our motto. Those who will not watch for the well being of their souls and the souls of others may not be surprised to be found wanting when the Lord will come to judge in righteous- ness. And such 1 may say were never the true followers of the v^aviour ; His true disciples will *' never perish : " and those who are His true disciples are to seek more and more to be like" Jesus, to seek righteousness, to seek peace, and to seek God's face every day. " Make your calling and election sure." To such is the promise of eternal life given, and not to those who say, •' I am saved anyway, and I need not care now but to live as other people ; if I commit sin the Lord has pardoned my sin." I heard of a woman who was laboring under this view, and who went so far as to say, if she should commit murder and die immediately after, that heaven would be her home and she would be sure of ascending into glory. What a mistake ! What a false view of the doctrines of scripture. It is more like the teaching of Mahomet and his licentious paradise ; instead of following the teaching of the Bible it gives an opportunity to sin ; teaches, as it were, to sin : instead of obeying the Lord's command, to " Watch and pray,'' they go on careless and indifferent to the true life of the Christian. But I was writing of Christ obtaining eternal redemption for all who believe in His name The class of people mentioned above are not true believers, and I think I may say they are no believers at all in the true sense of the word. They believe in a way, but not to the salvation of their souls. The true believer, for whom Christ Our Governor. S<> Christ did so much, has an opposite view regarding this matter. He continually strives against sin ; continually keeps up a warfare against the flesh, the world, and satan, whenever assailed by them. And those that do so need not fear that they shall be thrust aside, or that they will come short of the mark for which they are working. Eternal life is their sure portion, for none is able to pluck them out of God's or Christ's hands. Rut the Pharisee mentioned above will have no portion in the bliss that Jesus prepared for them that love Him, And this bliss may be yours by your coming to the Saviour, and livmg according to His written word. I have repeated often in this writing that it does not matter what your sins may be, there is eternal life purchased by Christ for you if you come to Him as you should ; that is by leaving the Pharisee behind you when you come to Him for salvation, In the first three chapters of Paul's epistle to the Romans we find described the character of every unconverted person. The Romans were a very wicked people at the time the gospel was first preached amongst them ; they were given over to all manner of idolatrous worship, and the committing of many acts of uncleanness, that should not be known among Christians, as we find in the sixth and first chapters. After enumerating and Tjaming a great many of the sins they were in the habit of toler- ating and committing, of which he warns ihem, such as " being, filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, coveteousness, maliciousness ; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity ; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God," etc. " Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them." This is the character we find Paul gives to the Romans. And it is a sorry thing to learn that some of his own converts are among those whom he charges with being guilty of committing these sins : and I have not mentioned the worst ; he goes on in these three chapters to describe the condition of the unconverted, and those who bev'^ame pharisaical in their belief, and that became " over righteous " in their own estimation, or like unto the woman I previously mentioned. And He came to the conclusion that " there is no dif- ference " between one person and another in the sight of God. " For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." This is the condition of all people. Let us consider ourselves as blameless as may be, we are guilty sinners in the sight of God if we are out of Christ. On the other hand, by coming to Christ all this is done away with ; the past sins are forgiven ; the old man is dead and new life given. By Paul's preaching many were turned to Christ from the grossest sin and idolatry. He labored among those who- were sinners of the blackest dye, and by his labors among them many were saved, and turned from darkness into the glorious liberty of the sons of God. We find the same to be the case with the Corinthians, and with all to whom he preached the gospel. He went among the worst class of sinners ; sinners of every kind : men '^O Christ Our Governor. and women guilty of every kind of sin, and some of them were saved — indeed a great many. He encourages the Corinthians in these words, '* But ye are washed, ye are sanctified, ye are cleansed and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." This will take place in the «ase of all persons who will be guided by Him, and submit themselves unto Him, by obeying His command- ments which are not grievous. Simply trust Him with your soul, and all will be well. There is no fear. He will see that you have your portion with them that shall be heirs of salvation. Simply rely on the finished work of Christ ; He finished the work that was given Him to do : come to Him and rely implicitly upon His finished work, believing that He has done so for you. You must make it your own, believing with the heart that the work He did in offering Himself up a sacrifice on the cross on the hill of Golgotha was done for you and not for any person else. Believing that He did so for others will be of no benefit to you. The great majority of people believe that Jesus died in the room and stead of fallen mankind, but they do not personally apply it to themselves. We must make a per- sonal application of it for it to be a benefit to us, as I have shown in regard to the class of people whom Paul so faithfully preached the gospel to. The same thing holds good at the present day ; all are welcome to come and be saved. It is only reasonable to suppose that the greater the sinner the more need of a Saviour ; the greater the sinner the further he has wandered away from the paths of righteousness, and from God ; the greater the sinner the more need of a Saviour, the more need that a way should be opened out for his reclamation ; the greater the sinner the more glory God has in pardoning, and in being reconciled to the returning wanderer, for it shows forth His power over the works of darkness, and that He is a God who will have mercy on the outcasts i society. He calls the outcasts in. The despised of men may be the chosen ones of God, and it is often the case that the very ones who we would least expect, are converted, and taken into and become members of the body of Christ. God's glory is far more abundant in the coming in of such, than in the conversion of the moralist, who never did anyone any wrong in his own estimation. What is the reclaiming of a black sinner ? It is bringmg back to life, to immortal life ; it is like unto the raising of the dead, and verily what else is it? Raising them out of the deep pit of sin and iniquity. Such are dead in trespasses and sin. *' And you hath He quickened, who were once dead in tres- passes and sin." Has not God and Christ glory in the rescuing of such as that who have wandered far away from the fold. It shows His power over satan, and them that work for satan. I do not say that it is incumbent upon God to pardon a sinner, it is because of His loving kindness that He pardons anyone, and for His mercy's sake. I was speaking of the reclaiming of sinners, indeed it would be shortening the hand of God to say that He is incapable of saving a sinner of the blackest dye. "My hand is not shortened that it Christ Our Governor. 6t. cannot save." Save, yes the Lord can save, He has saved others just as wicked as you have been, and He is both able and wiUing to save you if you come to Him. It is ungenerous to hold such an opinion of the Lord as to say that He will not save you. Cast such a thought away from you, God is not only willing to save, but He is anxious to do so. The fault is all on your own side. "Ye will not come to Me that ye might have life," were the Lord's words unto the Jews, and cannot it be said about a great many at the present day. By the way I heard of a man sayings "that he was afraid of going to evangelistic meetings, for fear that he might be converted." Such is the case with the majority of people at the present day ; they do not want to be saved ; they do not want a Saviour ; they do not see any need to prepare for an eternity. They are quite happy as they are; they are afraid that by becoming Christians they will loose the enjoyment of this present life, not knowing that there is no joy like the joy of a Christian' in believing to the salvation of his soul. I said that God is both able and willing to save to the uttermost them that come to Him through Jesus, let them be moralists or sinful by reason of actual transgressions. "O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself, but in Me is thine help." These words were said to the children of Judah and Jerusalem, in the time of the prophet Hosea. The children of Israel at this time had wandered away from God, and were worshiping idols ; a very common thing among the Jews. It was a failing of theirs to leave and forsake God to worship idols, though He had forbidden them to do so, thereby> rendering unto graven images the glory that was due unto His name. This I count to be the worst sin that any person can commit, to have other gods in place of the one living and true God. This alone was not the only thing in which they had corrupted themselves, they were guilty of other gross sin. It is only reasonable to sup- pose that in becoming worshipers of idols they would fall in with the heathen ways of Hving. But we find that their end at this time was peace ; the cry of Ephraim was, " What have I any more to do with idols." "But in Me is thine help:" such will be the en- couraging words of the Lord to them that return unto Him. Do not doubt, friend, this promise is unto you if you will only lay down your armor of self-righteousness, and forsake your sins, and return unto the Lord : He will help, guide, and give you grace to withstand all trials and temptations. "My grace is sufficient for you." He will help you onward towards the celestial gates \ to the heavenly Jerusa- lem ; to a crown of glory that shall not be taken away from you. What shall I say, then, to convince you that Christ did all this for you ? that on the cross He obtained eternal redemption for you if you only accept Him as your Saviour. Accept Him and have a share in His mediatorial work which He has executed in your behalf, remembering that He still lives to intercede for you. If God and Christ did so much for the reconciling of the world unto Them- selves, the fault must be all on your own side if you are lost : you. m '■ 62 Christ Our Governor. ': i " will not come to Him that you might live. What are you waiting for ? He has done so much ; what are you doing but " neglecting so great salvation." Neglect the well-being of your soul no longer or it may be too late ; the door ot grace may be closed ; the door may be closed that was open to give you life — although there is hope while you are here upon earth Oh, that you might be awakened to look after the welfare of your soul ! to think and consider over these things that I have tried to call ycur attention to. The soul is precious, the price thereof cannot be counted or weighed with gold that perisheth. Did not Jesus think so when He laid down His life ; when He endured the cruel death of the cross ? He did ; He knew and understood the consequence of being lost, of being cast into that lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death : and will you not take a moment's thought to your own undone condition without Jesus as your Saviour, without Him as your great high priest to intercede for you — He is the only priest high or low who can intercede for you. There are priests at the present day who pretend to relieve you of your sins ; who take upon themselves the power of pardoning sins : they can certainly do so as far as they are concerned themselves, and pardon as one man pardons another ; further they cannot go. They cannot pardon you in place of Christ, -^r reconcile you to God in the way of pardonmg sin. God ami Christ alone can pardon or forgive sins to the salva- tion of your soul. Christ is the only high priest that can take away sin and fully reconcile you to God by offering Himself and inter- ceding in your behalf. Seek Him then with your whole heart. Seek Him early, before the years come wherein you may have to say that you have no pleasure in those things that pertain to eternal happiness. The promise is unto them that seek Him early, that they may find Him. The day may dome that it may be said con- cerning us, that " They all seek their own, and not things that be of God." The striving after this world's goods, the cares of the world, and the lusts thereof will carry the mind away from those things which pertain to eternal life. I am of opinion that the older a ^person ge^s the less likelihood there is of him returning unto God, and the harder his conversion will be. The days of youth are the days wherein we should turn unto the Lord, an - then we can be counted as belonging and on the Lord's side from our youth up. There is an old saying, ** That the young may die, but the old are sure to die;" reverse it and say, The old may be saved, but the youth or ihe young who seek Him early will find Him. It is hard to see a gray head out of Christ. ''There are gray hairs here and there upon him, and he knew it not." There is many a sin com- mitted that never would have been if while young the person had come to Christ ; many a license taken to sin and to transgress that never would have been taken if the doer had been converted in youth. The older a man gets the more hardened he becomes to .«in, and it takes, so to speak, more of God's grace to convert such Christ Our Governor. 63 an one. But they need not be discouraged, the Holy Spirit can awaken them to flee from the wrath to come. But why wait for old age to be converted ? Why not give the best days of our life to the cause of Christ, and not wait until the decrepitude of old age to come to Christ ? It is an uncomely thing to wait until we are laid aside from our usual daily avocation by reason of old age before we think of preparing for eternity. When a man can do nothing else then he will seek the Saviour, Whom he should be serving all the days of his hfe. Is it not a shame, that not until we are laid aside by the infirmities of old age do we think of serving God, Who has been good to us all the days of our lives in providing for us the necessaries of life, and possibly loading us with benefits and riches besides? that we then only think of what Jesus has done, and think of getting the benefit of the true riches and an inheritance in the kingdom of God and of Christ ? Is it not selfish ? Does it not show selfishness from beginning to end ? Such a thing should not be known in Israel Our true motto should be, from our youth up to diligently serve the Lord and glorify Him, this bejng the end for which we were created. Men will fight and strive for the riches of this world, not thinking that the wealth they accumulate belongs to the Lord ; the money they strive so much for is God's money : His it is, and He lends it to them to be used for their own welfare and the advancement of His kingdom. •' The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof." We find men striving for God's property and never even thinking of returning thanks unto Him from Whom they receive the bounty, until old age comes. This should not be so. It is well to come to the Lord in our young days, that we may enjoy Him as our God and Redeemer, and have the light of His counte- nance accompany us on our journey through the wilderness of this life : not only enjoy Him as our God, but that we may work for Him, and if possible bring along with us when we go hence a soul here and there to be bright gems in the Saviour's crown. I have been showing the danger of waiting until old age for conversion, and it cannot be loo minutely expressed, or be brought to remembrance too often, for the days may come that the old man or woman may be compelled to admit that, *' They shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way^ and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail : because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets : or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden ■bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was : and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it." This may be the case of the man who waits for old age before being converted. The chance is that he never will be converted. Another thing, the young may not get old ; the years of the majority are few, the great majority die before the age of thirty. Not to many is it given to reach the allotted age of three score and ten years. Why i i ! ;*■' Is H 1 Ml ! 64 Christ Our Governor. will you run the risk by keeping away from the Lord Jesus. Waiting is dangerous ; for in the latter days He may turn a deaf ear to our entreaties. He may not listen to our prayers and supplications until such time as we have fully repented for not commg to Him sooner. Our trials may continue longer than they otherwise would if we had come to Him while young. Oh, that ye >oung might come to the Lord! What a pleasure it is to see a young min or woman sitting at the Lord's table and " Doing this in remembrance of Him " Who did so much for them, and see them growing up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. It is well to see the old there, but they are not half so conspicuous as the young. The door is open for even children to come in and be counted on the Lord's side. It is a noble thing to see a young person from infancy advocating the cause of Christ : growing up to God and to Christ ; growing up as calves of the stall ; the Sun of Righteousness shining in upon their souls from day to day, enabling them to go on from grace to grace. These are they that shall be greatly blessed in their deeds, and that, are well pleasing unto the Lord: for He will not hold any good thing from them who truly love Him. To be in Christ while young is something to be desired more than gold that perisheth, yea, than much fine gold : these earthly riches will vanish away, but the riches which Jesus bestows shall never be taken awajr from them that love Him. How much more shall He reward them that give Him the days of their youth to serve Him. Yes, He will reward them not only while I ere upon earth with all the good things- of the earth, and will give them all the wealth of money that will be for their good : but they shall have riches in heaven that shall not be taken from them, and that are beyond all human conception. •' Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive what God hath prepared for them that love Him." The riches that shall be the portion of them who shall become heirs of salvation are inconceivable ; and yet we find men and women who are getting old, striving for the riches of this world, never giving a moment's thought to the riches they are losing by " neglecting so great salvation." I was writing a little while ago about God turning a deaf ear to those who wait until they are old to get good or converted. 1 find nothing in scripture to countenance neglecting the means of salvation. God comes near with salvation, and those who are ready to accept Him when He draws near shall be saved ; those who call upon. Him when He draws near shall receive an answer; but those who neg- lect Him shall be passed by. Oh, to be found ready and willing when He calls to answer. " Seek ye the Lord while He may be found ;. call on Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his ways, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him ; and to our God for He will abundantly pardon." This promise should be sufficient to induce any man to call upon the Lord. I have heard people saying Christ Our Governor. 65 that it was no use for an unconverted persdh to pray or to call upon the name of the Lord, that the Lord wiil not hear any such. He who does not pray, or call upon God, will be passed by when God draws near that the sinner might be saved ; you will find a case of this kind in the Song of Solomon : '* I sleep, but my heart waketh : \i is the voice of my Beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to Me, My sister, My love, My dove. My undefildd : for My head is filled with dew, and My locks with the drops of the night." This is the call of the Saviour when He draws near seeking whom He may find ready and calling upon Him. Now see what happened to the unwary in this case. The party knew the voice that was calling, that it was the voice of the Beloved One. It refers principally to those who are seeking the Saviour, but still are not as watchful as they should be ; in this case it was a little slothfulness or laziness. " I have put off my coat ; how shall I put it on ? I have washed my feet ; how shall I defile them ? " Still He is not willing to leave, He is anxious to come in. " My Beloved put in His hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for Him. I rose up to open to my Beloved ; and my hands dropped with myrrh, and my fingers with sweet smelliiig myrrh, upon the handles of the lock. I opened to my Beloved ; but my Beloved had withdrawn Himself, and was gone : my soul failed when He spoke : I sought Him, but I could not find Him; I called Him, but He gave me no answer." See what a little procrastination will do even in the case of an anxious sinner. Christ came to the door ; brought his righteousness near ; but by a little slothfulness in obeying to rise to let Him in that opportunity was lost. In this case, as I mentioned already, the party knew it was the Saviour standing at the door waiting to be admitted : notice the dejection, the sorrow, the despair, on discovering the error. This being the case with an earnest seeker after Christ, what will the consequence be to those who do not seek Him at all, or never bow a knee in prayer ? They will neither hear the voice that calls, or know Who it is that asks to be admitted. Oh, for praying souls ! praying that when the call comes we might be found ready to let Jesus in, and not allow Him to pass by. There is no time like the present ; we live in the present, not in the past or future. Get to your knees, you who never pray or bow your knees to your Maker, and humbly beseech Him to have mercy upon you, and that He may come into your heart, and that when He calls you may be ready to answer and to open the door that He may come in. " For now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation : " the present time, when your eye is on this page ; don't put it oflF till to-morrow,, for you may never see to morrow, or another hour. Do not delay one moment longer in resisting the dictates of the Bible and the preached word ; but pray and that without ceasing until the Lord will come and bless you, and until He becomes your great high priest and intercessor, and your advocate with the Father. " For S* -J a. .1 i,.j^.^.i^,j.jy ■»,^ii -t: ■ ■?; ■ 66 Christ Our Governor. we have an advocate witTi the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous ; " and, " For He ever liveth to make intercession for us." I find again that the offering that Jesus offered up in His office of priest, was satisfactory to God. It was well pleasing unto Him, that Jesus should have done so. I have written some on this point already, and here I will not write much. It was satisfactory inasmuch as there is no further demand made on them for whom it was offered up. This satisfying of the justicfe of God could not be obtained in any other way, but by the offering of Jesus. Laws or carnal ordin- ances could never satisfy the justice of God, because there was a something lacking in them all ; the forms and laws and ordinances could never do this, for the simple reason that the laws and ordinances only satisfied the demands of man. The law itself was only given for the government of the people while here on earth ; it had no value in reconciling a sinner to God : and, as I have shown already, the form of ordinances in offering sacrifices for the purpose of obtaining reconciliation with God was of no effect after the offer- ing was made I might give an instance here. When any person comes to Christ and is converted he receives pardon and remission of the sins that are past ; there is no more remembrance to be made of them. It was the same way with the sacrifices of the Jews ; they were offered for the sins that were past, or that were committed up to the time that they were offered. There is this difference be- tween them and the offering which Jesus offered, in that they were of no benefit for the future, the offering which Jesus made re- mains good and is of benefit while time stands, because He still lives. The offering which Jesus made fully satisfied the justice of God ; and for ever perfected the comers thereto. I mean by "for ever perfected" that God is satisfied, and that peace has been established between God and man : not that we are perfectly Holy, or that we are per- fectly free from sin ; such cannot be this side the grave, or while we are in the flesh. See what Paul says, " For He is our peace, who hath made both one, and broken down the middle wall of partition between us ; having abolished in His flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinance ; for to make in Himself of twain one new man so making peace." This text is sufficient in itself to show that God is satisfied, and that through His Son Jesus by the offering which He offered up unto God, peace has been fully established between God and the believer. Some people say that there is no enmity between them and God, that they are at peace with God in an unconverted state. Most certainly they do not feel the case to be so in regard to themselves, having never been con- victed of sin, and not understanding the state of all men by nature. They are actually the enemies of God, waging a continual war against God and Christ, by living in sin and remaining outside the fold of God's people. No man need say, I am God's friend, and continue to live the life of the ungodly ; for the best of men in the natural state are rebels ; rebellion is the word that applies ; properly speaking, it is Christ Our Governor. 67 the term with which we should name the state of the ungodly : they are guilty of high treason every one of them who refuse to come in but remain contented and happy outside the sheepfold. They must come to Christ, and become members of His body, before they can be reconciled to God. The sentence that has been passed upon them by reason of their treasonable designs against their God and Creator will be removed upon their accepting of Jesus as their Saviour ; and by their becoming partakers of the benefit that flows from the sacrifice of Jesus, when He ofTered Himself bodily unto God, rendering Himself unto God and making full atonement for the sins of His own people, thereby establishing peace. It was only a satisfactory sacrifice that could obtain this for them ; the Jews could never get this kind of peace with God ; but, by making Jesus and what He has done for us our own, we can have this peace, which passeth all understanding. We cannot conceive of what it is to have peace established between us and God. Take for instance an earthly king, with the majority of his subjects in open rebellion against him, and those that are in rebellion knowing that he must have them sub- mit unto him ; knowing that at last he must come out the conqueror and that they must be punished ; knowing also that their punish- iment must enduie until the last farthing is paid, and that their punishment may endure during time and eternity. Knowing all this to be so, would they not be glad if peace could be established be- tween them and the king whom they rebelled against. Yea. venly they would be glad and happy for a way whereby they might obtain the king's pardon and be reconciled unto him through some way that the king pointed out to them ; a way that he established himself by furnishing a substitute to suffer in their stead, fully satisfying the justicft of the king in respect to all them that would make that sub- stitute their own. Would they not Ije glad and happy to lay hold of the substitute furnished by the:r king ? I think they would, knowing the consequence of their not being reconciled unto him, and of not accepting the satisfactory offering which he made for the express pur- pose of establishing peace between himself and his rebellious subjects. This is the way with the majority of people at the present day : they know that God is angry with them, and that without obtaining this peace through Jesus, Whom He furnished to be a substitute, suffer- • ig in their room and stead, that an eternity of misery awaits them ; they know and understand to a great extent the plan of salvation, and yet they will not come in that they might have life ; they will not accept of Jesus as their Saviour, their substitute who satisfied to the last mite the justice of God in their behalf ; they know that Jesus ,paid the price that they would have to pay if He had not suffered for them, and yet they will not come to Him that they might have peace with God through Him ; they know that out of Christ they will have to be punished, and that to all eternity, for being rebels and for re- belling against Him here upon earth ; they know that without having a share in the propitiatory work of Christ that they will endure to all 68 Christ Our Governor. I % tl \ eternity the anger and wrath of the Almighty God. They know all this and much more than I have enumerated, and yet they will not come to Jesus that they might be saved and become free from the just indignation of Almighty (iod. Why will you not, dear reader, consider over this matter, you who have not yet given a moment's consideration to your eternal welfare, and to that which is of the most vital importance to you ? Hear what God says, " My people did not consider." They neg- lected the welfare of their souls. For lack of consideration, you may be lost to all eternity. " Make your calling and election sure." There is no promise of salvation to them that will not give a moment's thought to their eternal happiness while here upon earth. The promise is unto those that watch and work and pray. Watching for the Lord's coming that they may be found ready to open the doors of their heart and let Him in when He knocks, and not be lik^ unto the one just quoi*^d, that was not ready, or through procrastina- tion could not get out of bed to let the Lord in Working for the good of others, giving alms, giving and making provisions for the poor, remembering that we a'e '* not to let the lett hand know what the right doeth ; " not doing this for the sake of being counted among men to be generous, or for the sake of the applause of men ; neither doing it expecting to receive double from the Lord for our liberality. If we shall do so expecting the Lord to return it to us we may find ourselves badly mistaken. " Let your alms be in secret." Charity is one of the greatest gifts we read of in scripture, but we must do our charity in the proper spirit. *' The Lord loveth a cheerful giver ; " but He does not love him that bestows his charity grudg- ingly. Working for the cause we have espoused, for Jesus who did so much for us, seeking the salvation of others that souls may be daily added unto the church — " Go out irito the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in." Praying continually that we may serve the Lord with newness of heart every day, and that we may be able to withstand all trials and temptations which may assail us. Those that will live godly lives will find many an obstacle to over- come, many a sin ; little sins which will drown men in the perdition of the ungodly will have to be avoided and shunned, which would only be a pleasure to commit by those who are still unconverted. " Pray without ceasing." I have no faith in those that do not pray for themselves and for others. I wrote already in. regard to those who believe they do not need to pray for themselves. This is an erroneous idea. I don't care how good a man may be, or how holy a I'fe he may lead, he needs to pray ; ejaculatory prayer should ascend every hour of the day. The idea that a good man does not need to pray for himself has no foundation in scripture. The angels pray ; the spirits of just men made perfect pray ; they pray for themselves and for the good of others ; and has mortal man no need to pray ? Aye, he has, and with all the fervency that he can command. But I must return to the satisfactory offering which Jesus offered Christ Our Governor. 69 lup in behalf of sinners. What He did fully reconciled you to God if you will only come to Him and make His sacrifice your own ; He for ever sanctifies the believing sinner that returns to Him : doubt no longer, He for ever cleanses the sinner that comes to Him from the consequence of his sins. •* How much more shall the blood of Jesus, Who offered Himself to God, cleanse away sin, and make an everlasting atonement for all them that come to God by Him. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprink- ling the unclean, sanctified to the purifying of the flesh : how much more shall the blood of Christ, Who through the eternal Spirit •offered Himself without spot to God, purge your consciences from dead works to serve the living God ? " What more need we say about it perfectly satisfying the justice of God ? The text quoted tells plainly enough you have only to believe it, and believe that He •did so for you personally : there is no use in believing that He did so for others ; personal belief is required. Believing that He did so for others, and that He is the Saviour of others will never do you and I any good ; we must believe that He is our Saviour and then all will be well with our souls. The sacrifice that Christ offered up on Calvary's cross was satisfactory to God and fully satisfied the justice of God in behalf of all them that believe upon Him and that accept of Him as their Saviour and their all and in all. Believe and live. I have tried to the best of my ability to bring before you what Jesus did for us as our great high priest in the offering of Himself bodily up unto God on the cross. I have not succeeded as well as I could wish, nevertheless, what I have written is worthy of your earnest consideration. In that one offering for sin, which was a peace offering, a perfect offering, a substitutionary offering, an in- tercessory offering, and satis'actory offering. He offered up unto God all that was necessary for the reconciliation of the world to Himself; no man need doubt there is not enough done that he might live and enjoy the blessedness of that estate which is prepared for them that love Him, and that are the called according to His purpose. I have often mentioned in this writing that it makes no difference what your sins may have been, and that although you were one of the blackest, you who may be reading this page, Jesus did enough to enable you to live to all eternity. You may .not be so hard to redeem and save as the moral man, who in his ^wn imagination never did anything wrong : you, who may have sinned grossly against society, I repeat it, may not be so hard to save as the moralist. The gross sinner will sooner or later, unless he be a reprobate, come to repentance ; this is only reasonable : no person knowingly commits any of the worst sins, such as murder, adultery, and such like, except those who have fallen into the hands of satan so far that he becomes their supreme ruler ; and even then is it not in ignorance they do it ? if they knew the consequence of .their works they would not be so apt to be obedient to the dictates 70 Christ Our Governor. !f '.ill I! i m of an evil conscience. Of course, we must admit that there are some who do knowingly and wilfully transgress the law, and that chastisement by man will not put a stop to their evil ways ; these are they that make a business of doing that which is not right, such as robbers, whoremongers, etc. There is hope of salvation for even such, and I believe that the great majority of such characters will be brought to repentance before they die, whether to the salvation of their souls remains to be seen I read a tract the other day about a young woman who led a very wicked life, who was taken down with illness to her bed, which proved to be her deathbed. She was brought to see the error of her ways in a remarkable manner, until at last she began crying to her attendant to take the devils that were torturing her out of the room. The parish minister went to see her and made every effort in his power to bring her to the Saviour, but all in vain. She died in that condition, without obtaining the peace that is the portion of God's children, and which gives their friends whom they leave behind so much joy in the hope of their eternal happiness. " We are not to weep as those who weep to whom no hope is given." Many a man got an awakening on his deathbed ; and, as I have said already, I believe the great majority will be brought to know their lost condition before they die ; but it is not the thing to leave off repentance until the last moment, until the eleventh hour. I read of a man in Scotland who when asked about the salvation of his soul laughingly replied that in five minutes he could make his peace with God. What was the end ? He did not get the five minutes he counted on to make his peace with God, for while eating his midday meal shortly afterwards he dropped dead. Something of the same took place in the case of Queen Elizabeth, of England, who, while on her deathbed, was crying out for one hour .T[iore in which to make ready to meet her God : if I remember rightly history brings down to us that this was her case. But I was speaking more immediately of the gross sins a person may commit in ignorance against the well-being of society, and that their hope of salvation was equal to that of the moral man, if not better ; the reason being that sooner or later they will repent of the evil done, to the salvation of their souls, upon their becoming acquainted with their errors, and upon their knowing to what extent they have trans- gressed. Many a man sins not knowing the nature or the vileness of the sin he commits, who will, upon learning it, be brought to repentance, sitting down in " sackcloth and ashes ; " while the moral man will go on from day to day perfectly satisfied with himself. I don't think anyone will dispute the assertion here made I have read that an unconvertei professor is the hardest man to convert on the face of the earth, and I believe it, for such will go on contented and happy just as they are never thinking anything is amiss : they feel all right, they think they have been converted and that Jesus is their Saviour, getting more convinced in this opinion every day, still without the change that is necessary. Take again a deacon, or pew Christ Our Governor, 71 attendant, who is busy in providing seats for those who come to worship ; this is another class of people who are hard to reach with the word of (jod, providing they take that position before conversion ; instead of listening to the words spoken and attending to the worship of God their attention is called away from this while attending to their avocation : I think I can safely say such are hardly if ever converted. I have been writing this for the purpose of showing that by reason of actual sin no person need keep away from Christ, or think that He is not able or willing to save. It is not Christ's fault that any man will suffer the torments of the lost, and no person need dis- pute this assertion ; and no man will dispute it who will take into consideration what Christ Jesus has done for the salvation of sinners. " This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into ihe world to save sinners, of whom I am chief." These are Paul's words concerning himself; he considered himself the chief of sinners ; and before his conversion he was none of the best of men, although he strictly observed the law and lived a Pharisee of the Pharisees, having been brought up in the strictest school of the Pharisees. But after that his eyes had been opened he saw his fault, and his testimony in regard to himself was, " who before was a blas- phemer, a persecutr^r, and injurious." But he tells us that it was for such that (Christ Jesus came into the world to save, for the chief of sinners. Some people make out that Paul here meant that in his own estimation, in his own eyes as a Christian, he considered himself the worst of sinners, this I think is a true meaning of the text, and that the true Christian should hold a similiar view concerning himself. Such to a certain extent is quite true, but I think that Paul meant just what he said, that he was a "chief of sinners" before his conversion; and that it was for such Christ came that He might save and redeem them and reconcile them to God the Father, by the offering which He offered up in His office of high priest. " Who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time." Remember these words, " for all ; " they signify that there is no exception made between one man and another, between one sinner or another ; all are welcome to come to Jesus and be saved. Why not come to Him, dear friend, the door is wide open for you to come in. I might say here that Christ never forces Himself into the heart, but He is ever ready to come in if we are ready to receive Him. All are welcome to come to Him, and if any come to Him there is no danger that He will cast them out : on the contrary. He will save them, " And I gave unto them eternal life ; and they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of My hand." So far I have been trying to show our own duty as men in com- ing to the Saviour, not believing, as the manner of some is, in wait- ing until the Lord will convert them ; saying, if the Lord won't have mercy on me I can do nothing. Such should never be said. It is true that no man can convert himself, my object being in the foregoing > "^iT* 7 '^ 7a Christ Our Governor. ill \* ■ 1 pages to draw the attention of the reader to his own duty, and especially the unconverted, that they might seek the Saviour. It being true that no man can convert himself ; it is just as true that God will never convert any peison that does not seek Him. God with the aid of the Holy Spirit, will help those that seek after Him until they find Him. There is an old saying, and it is true, " that heaven helps those who help themselves, " '' It if. the Spirit that quickens," and that brings the soul to such a condition that peace is established between the soul and God. No man of himself can obtain this for himself, it is thi work of the Holy Spirit. There is far ';oo little said and preached about the work of the Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost. It was by the Holy Ghost that all things were created that are created. He is the instrument, if I may use the word, where by the earth and sea, and all that is on the earth and in the sea w:is created. '* And the Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters " This is the third person of the Trinity. Of course the three persons of the Godhead are agreed, there is in reality no distinction between them ; they are the same in substance, being, holiness, goodness, and truth. But each, we find, have their distinct offices. God the Father rules over all, He is Lord of lords, and King of kings : God the Son is co equal with the Father in all respects, but His office is more that of an intercessor and Saviour : God the Holy Ghost is co- equal with God the Father and God the Son, and by Him all things are created, and by Him the soul is quickened from the state of being dead in trespasses and sins to serve the living God. " Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord ; or, being His counsellor, hath taught Him." I said that these three are agreed in one, so that what the one do«^s the other does also, So that in speaking or writing it is not necessary to make a distinction between them when in reality there is none. God and Christ, by the working of the Holy Spirit, awaken sinners to seek after those things that shall be to their eternal happiness it is the work of God the work of Chri'st, and the work of the Holy Spirit, to bring to perfection in the soul of the believer the desire of those things that shall lead him to perfect bliss and happiness. But 1 maintain that the prayerless soul will never get the help of the Holy Spirit. You will find i: ta'ight all through sc.pture tiiat it is God who sai^es through Christ the Saviour, by .he power of the Holy Ghos: ; and you will find on the other hand it is taught that the sinner must return to God ; thus the two must come together, must meet upon a certain common basi'^ or foundation. We must be willing, when God brings His righteousness near, lo ac cept of Him and His righteou;>ness, ariJ to be clothed with the righteousness that cometh from above. This can never take place Tvith those tha.' 11 /e careless lives, or do not seek the face of the Lord Jesus. The Lord never told us to seek His face in vain. Instead of it being vain to seek the Lord's face, He will abundantly reward all ♦^^hose that diligently seek after H'ti and His ' ghteousness. It would be well to be careful and never to be satisfied with our own V r^ Christ Our Governor. 73 righteousness. Our own righteousness is of no benefit to us, it is no better than filthy rags, and this is the term Paul applies to it. God calls the sinner to Himself that he might be clothed with Christ's righteousness, which is the •■ fine linen of the Saints," that they might be sanctified and cleansed from all their filthineso, that they might be justified in the " name of the Lord Jesus." It is a great thing to be justified in the sight of God. This takes place the moment any person believes and accepts of Jesus as their Saviour. In a moment of time a man is justified in the sight of God. It does not take a day or a year to get this justification. The moment a soul is con- verted he is justified from all things that ever he did. This is differ- ent from sanctification. Sanctification may and will go on while we have being in this world ; and it is a good token of the believer to be seeking after more sanctification every day. I do not believe with them that say that here upon earth they are capable of living perfectly holy lives. Paul's message to the church was, " pray for us ; " Paul sought after more holiness and sanctification every day of his life : and such should be the rule of life for each one of us. His message to " pray without ceasing," is to be understood as signifying that we are in need of prayer to God for mercy every day, and that we are in need of more sanctification every day. The man who says he has no more need of praying or of moie sanctifica- tion is yet, I am afraid, without the true knowledge of the plan of salvation and the teachings contained in scripture. To be prepared to meet God should be the watchword of every Christian man or woman, that when Recalls we may be ready to answer; that when He brings His righteousness near, we shall be found ready to be clothed with Christ's righteousness ; ready to receive at God's hands, ready to accept God's gift when He offers it to us, and to say, " Thanks be unto God tor His unspeakable gift." Those who do not pray thus do not seek Him ; who do not resist sin in all its forms, the world, the flesh, and the devil, need not look for any of these blessings which shall be the portion of t'pose found watching. In a word, don't expect to be saved if you do not wish to be saved. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to convert a sinner, and it is the duty of the sinner to seek conversion, and not to wait with folded hands for the Holy Spirit to convert. Some will say that they cannot do an\ - thing until the Holy Spirit will stir them up and awaken a uesire in them for salvation. The Holy Spirit strives with all men all the days of their lives, and is ever ready to help those that call upon Him for help, if this was not so what kind of a world would we have ? I write now a short story. It was night. Many a family had retired to rest with the consciousness of safety under the shadow of the Almighty. But with others it was not so. There was one house in which the wife indeed had gone to rest with these words on her lips, " If the Lord comes to-night, I am ready." It was otherwise with the husband. He meant to be ready, he did not intend to be lost ; and to her last words that night, '* Are you ready, Jack ? " he ''n.". 74 Christ Our Governor. gave the usual reply, " I hope I shall be soon." For a while they slept, but at midnight a tremendous crash of thunder awoke them, and their room was filled with the lucid glare of incessant lightning ;. " Jack, Jack, the Lord be acome ! " shouted the wife in triumph, " The Lord be acome ! I be ready ; I be ready; blessed Jesus have washed away all my sins : I be ready, blessed Jesus, come." But what about the husband ? There he lay with his head covered up. " Light a candle ; fetch the Bible " Springing up in bed with* trembling fingers he sought in vain for the word he wanted to find. Again the thunder rolled through the heavens. " O Lord, have mercy ! O Lord, have mercy upon me. Do'ee wait. Lord, a bit, till I be saved. O Lord, don't come , I shall be lost," and tears and. sobs choked his utterance As the storm passed off, the wife said, " Jack, don't thee never git caught like this again." And then upon their knees they both pleaded for pardon, and not in vain, for both' are now waiting without fear the coming of the Lord. The above scene is described in their own words. The above is often the case with the unconverted \ they will be found cowards in the time of trial, in the day of danger, and in meeting the Lord Jesus when He comes to judge in righteousness. Such is not the case with those who believe in Jesus, " For there are no bands in their death." Death is not a desirable thing for any to face, but there is a distinction between a Christian man dying and an unconverted man dying. The Christian man, although loath tO' die, looks for a better life hereafter, a life of endless bliss ; he may be afraid of coming short and missing the mark, but at the s.Mne time he lives and dies in hope. No Christian man should be afraid of dying. I remember a minister who was taking a cruise on the upper Canadian lakes, seeing another steamboat approaching and which to all appearance was making directly towards them, and it seemed as though they were in danger of colliding, the thought struck the minister, in case there happened to be a collision what would be the consequence to himself if he should get drowned ; " Why," says he to himself, " I may as well go to Christ from here as from any other place ; go to Him I must, and it does not make any difference what manner of death I die. It is quite natural for me to desire to live a little longer, but to be with Christ is far better." " Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from hence- forth : yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors ; and their works do follow them" Very different was the case with the crew and passengers of a boat sailing across one of the forths of Scotland some time ago. A severe tempest arose which threatened to overwhelm them every moment ; fear took hold of all on board, and they gave themselves over to weeping and wailing and to pray- ing C}od to have mercy on them. There happened to be one man on board who kept apart from all the rest, and by his bearing appeared to be unconscious of the danger they were in, but rather seemed to enjoy the uproar created by his fellow passengers. Some Christ Our Governor. 75"- one came to hijn and commenced to upbraid him for being so care- less about their lives that he would not even bow the knee in prayer like unto the rest of them : mark his answer, " I pity those who never prayed till now ; " and he was right. These stories show to what extent the unconverted will be afraid in the hour of danger ; they have no hope of salvation, or of entet ing into rest like unto the Christian believer ; they know that '* after death the judgment," and that they are not prepared to meet their God. There is no wonder that they should be afraid, having spent their lives carelessly and without making preparation for the future. Are you ready, dear friend, to meet your God ? if not be up and doing, " For in such an hour as ye thmk not, the Son of Man cometh." In the foregoing pages I have been urging the reader to be ready that when Christ calls he may be found ready to answer ; now how are you to make ready ? By Coming to Christ in prayer and supplication that He may have mercy upon you. " Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest," Notice here that it is the heavy laden who receive the invitation ; the comer must know that he is a sinner laden with sin, must know that he has offended against the Almighty Jehovah ; if you come to Him in this way you will obtain rest : " He will in no wise cast out." None need apply who do not hold like views concerning themselves. Hire the moralist makes the mistake, he does not get the proper views concerning himself in the sight of God, not esteeming himself to be a sinner,, not examining or searching for the depravity of his own heart ; the consequence will be that he shall be excluded from becoming a par- taker in this rest that Christ gives to His own people. By Believing on Him. And what is it to believe on Jesus ? I have mentioned already that the great majority of the individuals of the civilized world believe on Jesus, but they have only what we may call intellectual belief : they know that God sent His Son to redeem the world from sin, they know that He came from the bosom of the Father for that very purpose ; they know how He lived while here upon earth, died, and was buried ; that He rose from the grave and ascended up into glory, where He sitteth on the right hand of God, from whence He shall come at the last day to judge the quick and the dead. They know and believe all this, and yet they are outside the fold of God's sheep. All this knowledge, if they remain in that condition, will be turned against them at that day when they shall be judged for the deeds done in the body. Ah ! what a reckoning there will be in that day for those that knew the Lord's will and did it not ; it would have been better for them if they had not known. They are very near related to those who trample under foot the Son of ( iod and that count it an unholy thing. It is sacrilege. '* And that servant which knew his master's will and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes." It would be far better for them to be 76 Christ Our Governor. 1 \ i t in ignorance of these things ; the sin of ignorance is far more easily overlooked than that which is against light and knowledge. This is what they are guilty of that know and believe as written above ; they are trampling under foot the Son of God. This is unwittingly done, they do not mean to do any harm by not submitting them- selves to the Saviour, still they knew the Master's will but did it not. The party ignorant of all this will be beaten with fewer stripes ; the sin of ignorance does not count against a man like the sins he knowingly commits : " But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes." You who know the Master's will, are you ready to meet your God? Dear friend, you who know all this to be so, do not delay any longer, but go to your knees in prayer and supplication; the hour may be near in which you may have to appear before God. I brought to your notice one class of believers who are not ready to answer the call of the Lord, or when He knocks at the door to let Him in, they are intellectual believers ; but the question is. What is it to believe on /esusf This belief is heart belief; it goes deeper than intellectual belief can go. " That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.^' Here we have Paul's words in regard to believing in Jesus to the salvation of the soul. Supposing you gave another person a piece of money ; you handed it to him. After he had received the piece of money he knew he had it ; he believed that piece of money was in his possession ; and you could not make him disbelieve it : use all the arguments possible, you could not make him believe that he had it not, he would not believe you. This is believing with the heart. You cannot make the believer in Christ deny his Master, or give up the faith that is in him. In coming to Christ this is the kind of belief that will be accepted by Him. With the intellectual believer this is different; it is quite possible to persuade and to lead him away from the belief that he has because it has not the right foundation. He that believes with the heart has the foundation in himself and cannot be moved ; he is like unto the man that builded his house upon the rock, and when the winds blew and the storms came the house withstood theni all, because it had its foundation on the rock. This is believing on the Lord Jesus Christ — believing with the heart. This is the kind of belief the martyrs for the cause of Christ had, and the Covenanters of Scotland had, and sustained and helped by the grace of God and the Holy Spirit they were enabled to withstand all their adversaries. This is the kind of belief we must have to be ready to meet our God. Another thing that makes us ready to meet God is the coming to Christ by repentance. I spoke already in regard to repentance, «o here will say little. There is no use in coming to Christ without 1 , Christ Our Governor. IT repenting of our past life. Let our lives be as pure as the purest,, without repentance we cannot have peace with God. " Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins ; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." See yourself in the true light of the gospel ; search your own heart, and repent of the evil you will find there. Another thing that makes us ready to meet our God in coming to Christ is by looking to Him, and in hungering and thirsting after more righteousness; looking to Jesus from Whom all goodness flows ; looking to Jesus Who is the '* author and finisher of our faith," and, " There is none other name given among men whereby we can be saved ; " looking to Jesus believing the record God gives- of His Son : this record is contained in the holy scriptures. Be- lieving the testimony that God gave us. Depending on Jesus alone for salvation is the only way that we can be saved. There is no use in our trusting in ourselves or depending on our good deeds, if we do we shall come short, this would be self-righteousness ; we must wholly and fully depend upon Jesus to carry us through to that state of blessedness that shall be theirs that love Him, and that are the called according to his purpose : relying upon Him that He may redeem us from our sins ; if we rely upon ourselves we shall never be saved — this is the error of the moralist, he relys upon him - self in thinking that he is good enough : relying upon Him with a trusting love, loving Him for what He has done for us. No man can have peace with God only by Him. Hungering and thirsting after more righteousness ; what is this ? Longing to be more like Jesus every day and to follow Him more fully. See what an example He left us ; the humbleness of heart He exhibited wherever He went, not returning railing for railing, but leaving a blessing behind Him ; persecuted by the Jews but never returning unto them in their own coin. I do not say that He never rebuked them for their evil doings and for the treatment He received at their hands. His whole life while upon earth was a rebuke of their Pharisaical mode of living. Going about doing good to others was His daily avocation. This is the example He left us to folbw, and the Christian's desire should be to follow in the footsteps wnich He trod ; hungering and thirsting to be more like Jesus, to livf; in closer fellowship with Him, and to obey Him in all things. " Y; are My friends if ye do what- soever I command you." These are some of the things which make us ready to meet our God. Are you ready, dear friend, to meet your God? If not, do not delay to make your peace with God by accepting Christ as your Saviour : we know not what a day or an hour may bring forth. I don't think even the angels of God know what a day may bring forth, and is it for mortal man to know? You may say that this is not so, and bring up to prove the assertion wrong the prophets and seers of old, and what I have said in a former page ; these have been told of tuture events, and the angels- I •78 Chris ' Our Governor. fH are told of future events, i nd they lay down laws that must be obeyed unless they disannul the law they have laid down : their word " is stedfast," unless in their good pleasure they may see fit tc change or disannul it. What they say or do may and will be sus tained by God, for it is in obedience to His command they speak. This is not the case with you who are not ready to meet your God, you are perfectly in the dark in regard to what may take place an hour hence. Come to Jesus Christ and be saved, and be ready when the call comes to go hence and meet your God ; " For in such an hour as ye think not the Son of Man cometh." The uncon- verted man thinks that he is quite safe and has no fear of immediate death : think a moment of the number of sudden deaths that occur every day ; some meeting their death through unforeseen accidents ; and how often do we read of strong and hearty men and women dropping dead without a moment's warning. Who knows but what it may be your turn next ? it is well to be prepared, that when God brings His righteousness near you are ready to meet Him half way, so that He will not pass you by. You will distinguish between the two calls that I have written about : one is the call of Christ when He knocks at the door of our hearts to be let in, that He may " sup with us and we with Him ; " and the other call is the call of death, that which puts our mortal bodies into their narrow dwelling place ; and our souls take their flight to Him Who gave them, to be judged for the things done in the body whether they be good or bad. If we have done that which it becometh us to do m coming to the Saviour that we may be justified in the sight of God. we shall reap the life everlasting ; but he that does not come to Him for justification his portion shall be in that place which He has prepared for the devil and his angels, the place of torment, " Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." " Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth : yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors ; and their works do follow them." If the works of the righteous follow them, it is only reasonable to suppose that the works of the wicked will do so also. The works of the righteous here referred to are those done after conversion ; they have no works before conversion that will be to their credit. I understand from the text that their good works shall be the means of adding more lustre to their crown of rejoicing. Their deeds of charity and their efforts in winning souls for Christ shall be bright jewels in their crown. What, dear friend, will be the consequence to you who are not ready to meet your (iod ? whose sina are not washed away and who have never surrendered yourself to Jesus ? Shall not your evil deeds follow you ? Aye, that they will ; ihey shall be swift witnesses against all who have not sought the Saviour that they might receive the forgiveness of their sins ; looking to Jesus Who is the only way that sinners might have free access to the Father of all mercies. ' Time is short,' as I have said already, the longest life is Christ Our Governor. 79 •none too long to prepare for eternity. Don't say that you are too ;great a sinner to be saved ; the greater the sinner you are in your own estimation the better, for He will surely have mercy on such as consider themselves sinners in the true light of the gospel : they that have the true repentance in themselves shall not be turned away without receiving a blessing and the pardon of all things what- soever they did, and when they go hence their evil deeds shall be left behind; "They shall not be mentioned unto them," for the Tighteousness of Jesus shall cover up all their sins ; clothed with the righteousness of Jesus all shall be well. Make ready, dear friend, without delay to meet your God. Remember the words of Paul : "Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this Man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins ; and by Him all that believe are justified from all things from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses ; " and, " Men and brethren, child- ren of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you that feareth "God, to you is the word of this salvation sent." Why will you doubt it ? doubt the record contained in the holy scriptures that God gave concerning His Son? Turn to your Bible and search it, praying Cod by His Holy Spirit to bless it to the edification of your soul. You will never repent the diligent searching of the holy scriptures, for by them we come to the knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus ; they are the inspired word of God— " All scripture is given by in- spiration of God." They are given for our instruction, and he that will diligently search with the proper object in view will before long deem it the book of books, the rule of life for him who believes «pon Jesus to the salvation of his soul. The whole Bible in my estima- tion is the law of God ; from the first of Genesis to the last of Reve- lation it is a law for the governing of those who are His chosen people. Would it not be well for you and I to be well versed in the law of the Lord, and not given over to church laws and doctrines and the ordinances of man ; looking to such for salvation is a great mistake, they are all carnal, and they that depend on them for salva- tion will come short of obtaining it. I do not say that salvation can alone be obtained by searching the holy scriptures — we must look to Jesus alone for salvation — the Bible itself can by no means save a soul, it is the record God gave of His Son ; the means employed 'by the help of the Holy Spirit to bring a sinner into closer relation- ship with his Maker. It is a woeful mistake to cast the Bible aside as many do and subject themselves to the ordinances of man, de- pending upon them alone for salvation. No man can reconcile another unto God or give a ransom to God for his brother ; neither <;an any man by any deeds of righteousness that he may do satisfy the justice of God. Our good deeds are of no account if we depend on them alone for salvation, neither can we obtain salvation by anything that we ourselves may offer up to make atonement for those misdeeds we have done in the body, as some do by the self infliction of punishment. Faith in Jesus as our Saviour alone can do this, and ■If 8o Christ Our Governor, by accepting the atonement which He made in our behalf. See what happened to Simon for thinking that he could buy the gift of the Holy Ghost with money. Such a thing is impossible : we cannot buy it, for it is without price. Repentance alone can obtain this for us : coming to Jesus, accepting Him as the free gift of God ; it is freely given to all them that come to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. There i'< no use in waiting until we are justified in our own eyes ; this is the worst thing that could happen us, that in our own estimation we are juslified, that is, justified in sucn a manner that we do not see our need of being justified in the sight of God : or,, to think we are justified in the eyes of the law ; being justified in the sight of God by the deeds of the law can never take place ; the law can be satisfied in regard to any person who may take the law for the grounds of his justification, but it cannot go any further than that ; and when the law has been satisfied in a man's own estimation and he looks to it for justification he is just as far from being justi- fied in the sight of God as he was when he commenced. This would be self-righteousness, a Pharisaical justification that can never please God. Instead of all this we must know we have sinned and become convicted of sin before we can be justified m the name of the Lord Jesus. After we have observed the law to the last iota we are as far away from God as ever. Men have committed things that would even prevent them being ju tified in the eyes of the law ; but Jesus fully satisfied the demands of the law in the case of believers. *' They are justified from all things from which they could not be justified by the law of Moses." Consider this, you who may have grossly sinned against law and order, if you come to Jesus and believe on his name you shall become justified from all things that ever you did. Come to Jesus then and be saved, for He is both able and willing to save you, and will abundantly pardon your iniquities and transgressions, and make you ready to meet your God whenever He may call you hence. Again I might bring to your notice that He is your God, who- ever you may be that may be leading this page ; don't think for a moment that He is only the God of them that shall inherit eternal life ; He is not only the God of the chosen ones but also of the unconverted. " Unto Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear," Remember this, whatever side you may be on when Christ comes in judgment, that on your knees you will have to acknow ledge Him as the God of the whole earth, and swear to Him that He is God, and that there is no other God beside Him. In that day when He shall separate the sheep from the goats, what an awful thing it will be if you are found standing on His left hanJ and hear Him pronounce the sentence of condemnation, " Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels." What an awful sight it will be that day to see all the nations of the earth pass before Him for judgment, and at a word from His mouth separating them perhaps from friends, relatives, brothers and sisters*^ Christ Our Governor. 81 fathers and mothers, husbands and wives ; separating them, I say, and that to all eternity (unless there may be such a thing possible as the reclamation of lost souls). Is it not an awful thought ? Will you not consider over these things ? you who may never have given a thought to these matters all your lifetime. What will the riches of this world, that you are striving so much lor now, be to you at that moment ? In that day when the harvest of the world shall be garnered in, will you be counted among the sheaves of wheat that shall be carefully stored in the barns of the Lord of the harvest, saying unto you, " Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord ? " or will you be counted among those who will be the tares that grew with the wheat — the barren professor, the moralist, the self-righteous — that shall be gathered into bundles to be burnt in everlasting fires ? or among tht se who never while on earth submitted so much as to bow the knee in prayer — the infidel and the atheist — and the grievous sinners that never repented of their sins, or possibly never got an opportunity to repent, to share the same fate as the moral man and the unbelieving professor mentioned above ? I say, what an awful sight it will be to see the Lord sittinj] there in judgment, and seeing two streams of living souls separating before Him and marching past Him, the one stream to everlasting joy and happiness,^ and the other to everlasting torment. What will the self righteous think in that day when they find themselves counted among mur- derers, whoremongers, and adulterers ? Is it not an awful thought that such will be their case ! and I do not fear that I shall be con- tradicted when I make the assertion that in that day no distinction shall be made between them, for if they do not repent '• they shall all likewise perish " On the other hand, what will the moral man think to see those great sinners marching along to the music of the celestial throng to eternal happiness, and they themselves marching with the vast crowd weeping and wailing their lost and undone con- dition, deploring their careless obstinacy and the lack of considering, over these matters which might have brought them eternal happiness, to that place '* Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." Ah ! you that in your own estimation never committed any sin, be warned in time and flee from the wrath to come ; you have not a moment to lose. O friend, be warned in time ! read what God saith, that " Unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear." There will be bowing of knees that day, for all shall do homage to the God of gods and Lord of lords ; and it will not be grudgingly done, for then we shall gladly bow down at His feet im- ploring His mercy, that we would not think of losing the time for while nere upon earth, by making the provision necessary by coming to Jesus for salvation. It is too often the case that men and women, knowing those thmgs I have written about are so, and some who have been taught from their infancy the precious truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ, both by reading their Bibles and by the preaching of the word, will go on from day to day neglecting the 6 82 Christ Our Governor. salvation of their souls until they are laid on their deathbeds, and then it rmy be too late to mend ; and the sick bed is very often the place where the mind is occupied in contending against the fatal disease that is going to lay them low in the narrow house ; and, " After death the judgment." What will the reckoning be without Christ as your Saviour ? There may be divers opinions in regard to the punishment, whether it shall be eternal or not. I read that " They shall not come out of that place, until they shall pay the last farthing." I would like to believe, if possible, that their punishment does not last to all futurity, God can do what seemeth good to Him, but the teaching of the Bible is strong against enter- taining such an opinion. But why risk it, dear friend ? you may avoid it if you will by accepting Jesus as your Saviour. Consider yourself a sinner in the sight of God by throwing away all self- righteousness : all our own righteousness which we count on for getting on good terms with our God is only so much " filthy rags." Remember that '* none doeth good, no not one." There are none doing good as they should ; '* They all seek their own, and not things of the L'rd." Take the view of yourself, in the sight of God, as contained in the hymn on Matthew xviii. 3j, " O depth of Mercy, can there be Mercy still in store for me." Astonishment at the goodness of God in having mercy on such a worm as I : this is the opinion that a true lover of the Lord Jesus has regarding himself. In his own G^">inion he is no better in God's sight than a mere worm of the earth. Those who come to Jesus holding such opinions concerning themselves need not be afraid but that He will have mercy on them, and that God will accept of them graciously in the Beloved. Kind reader, take the matter of your soul's salvation into your earnest consideration, if you have not done so already ; make no further delay. What is it to be lost to all eternity ? I cannot pic- ture it to you as I would like. Ask yourself the question. What is it to be lost? In the foregoing pages I have tried to bring some thoughts before you for your consideration, and I pray you do not hastily pass over the theme I have written upon. Eternity is long, and before giving you a few thoughts in regard to Christ as our king I ask you the question. Where will you spend eternity ? the never- ending eternity that shall go on during everlasting ages, which if we were to count trillions upon trillions of years, eternity would only be commencing. Where will you spend eternity ? Oh ! where ? I come now to write as well as I may in regard to Christ fulfilling the office of king. The shorter catechism has it that as king He fulfils the office by bringing His people into subjection unto Himself, and in subduing all His and their enemies. I wrote awhile of the working of the Holy Spirit in bringing the people to think and to Christ Our Governor, 83 awaken them to seek after Christ, to be saved from the wrath to come. This more immediately is the work of the Holy Spirit, but the two are so joined together that there is no difference between them, so that in speaking of the work of the one we speak of the work of the other. We read of Christ being the creator of all things, and we read that all things were created by the Holy Spirit, and again, God the Father is the creator of all things. These three per- sons of the Godhead are one, and in speaking of the kingship of the Lord Jesus and of God the Father of all mercies and love in putting all things in subjection to His Son, I must write what I may have to say as God putting all things in subjection to His Son ; and in so doing He made Him king over all things and gave Him authority over all things that are, whether on earth, or in heaven, or hell ; He made Him supreme ruler over all things that are and is and shall be. He put ALL things in subjection, there is nothing left that He has not put under Him. " All things," we can easily see by this that He has given Him full power to do that which seemeth good unto Him. In this we may learn that He has power over the lost souls of fallen humanity, and that the devil, the arch fiend of all that is evil, with the fallen angels are under His authority and ihat He can do with them whatsoever seemeth good unto Him. Is this not a grand thing that He has authority over the hidden things of darkness ? Over satan the malicious foe of all that is good ; that at the word of com- mand from Jesus he must desist and let his victim go ; that he must stay his hand from tempting the returning sinner who has laid his hand to the plow in coming to Christ to be saved, and does not look back. Is it not great encouragement that Jesus says, '• This far thou mayest come, but no further ? " " All things are put under Him." By the teaching of scripture we are to learn that all tempta- tions are works of the arch fiend of all that is evil. '* Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God ; for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither temptcth He any man " In my opinion we too often say that we are afflicted of God, He may allow us to be afflicted but He does not willingly afflict ; He may allow us to be tempted and tried, but with the temptation makes a way of escape. We are tempted when " we are led away by our own lust and enticed." This is the great failing of mankind, led away by the lusts of their own flesh and the evil that is in man by nature. The carnal mind is always seeking after the things of this world and not the things that be of God, and it is this very thing that gives satan the advantage over us ; of himself he can do nothing, unless the power is given him to afflict and to tempt. That he has power I do not deny, but he cannot tempt the Christian beyond what he is able to bear. This far he may come, but no further ; at the word of command from the Lord Jesus, he must hold back from afflicting or tempting a person. Another thing in this connection I may call the reader's attention to, that is, true Christian men are partakers of this power which the Lord Jesus h^s, if they do not give satan the opportunity by fresh outbreaks 'II ^, ^'^ .0^/*.^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I Jk 115 US ■^ lii 12.2 2.0 lis u I m 1 1.25 ||U III 1.6 < 6" ^ V] ^ ol^ 7^ >^ tSS, r /a ">> y /^ PhotDgraphic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 145*0 (716) 872-4503 ' \. Is 84 Christ Our Governor. If I. I S'i! I'! ' ■ mi' hi"' ■ piii m •u-Mi ■;■»-;,: :;l|il i ,.^ i of sin. Satan is obedient to their commands, he must obey them and keep his distance. The same takes place with all other evil or seducing spirits that may afflict Christian-. No evil spirit can over- come a just man unless he is enticed away from the paths of righte- ousness ; Jesus Christ is king over them, and rules over them in righteousness, and if they hold steadfast to their profession and belief in Jesus as their Saviour they can never be moved ; this becomes the stronghold of the believer : " All things are your's ; and ye are Christ's ; and Christ is God's. Christ, bv the working of the Holy Spirit, has power conferred upon Him to keep all these in subjection to Him ; and the rebellious He will bring to subjection and obedi- ence unto Him, whether as His loyal and true followers, that are called according to His purpose that they may inherit the paradise that He has purchased for them, or those that istill hold out ancl live in a state of rebellion, and have not subjected themselves by coming to Him that they might be freed from the sentence of condemnation which has been passed upon them as rebellious subjects. The latter live in enmity towards Him and shall have their portion with them thai are lost, and suffer His just chastisement until they shall pay the last farthing. They are His subjects, and just as an earthly king deals with those that are his subjects so does Christ ; those who do that which is lawful and right and that live in peace and that are His loyal subjects, shall have praise of the same ; but those who are re- bellious shall suffer the anger and just chastisement that is their due for their evil deeciii, unless they submit themselves to Him and to His governing of them and receive pardon for what they have done. Christ Jesus is king over all and is all powerful, " All power is given unto Me." What power He showed while here upon earth ! He raised the dead, healed the sick, opened the eyes of them that were born blind, until the Jews in astonishment cried, saying, " Behold He doeth all things well." We read of the evil spirits being obedient to His word of command, and casting out of devils ; how the man possessed of the legion of devils was healed and became of a sound mind, and went and preached the glad tidings of the gospel to others, beginning at his father's house : need we doubt the power of Jesus in bringing all things in subjection to Himself. That He is king over all is quite evident from the fact that He is the Son of God. God is king over all things, and it is only reasonable to suppose that as Gcd is, so is the Son. The relationship between them as Father and Son show that they are one in thought, word, and deed ; they live in loving relationship, " This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased " He was and is the well beloved Son of God ; and being the well beloved Son of God the Father we have no difficulty in believing that He is co-equal with the Father, and that He is king over all the earth. This is an encouraging thought, that Christ our Saviour is king over all, and as king is our protector and law giver, subduing all His and our enemies Why should we fear if we have Christ as our king, for He is able to defend to the uttermost them Christ Our Governor. 85 Ihat come to Him for protection from the fiery darts of that wicked one. See the relationship that exists between Father and Son, there is no distinguishing feature between them, ** I and the Father are one ; " when God is king, Christ is king ; who would not become subjects in the kingdom of Christ and of God ? We find earthly fathers disinheriting their sons, we find fathers and sons living in enmity towards one another, some even going so far as to bring disgrace on themselves, and on the neighborhood in which they live, by the unholy relationship in which they live; in some households the unloving relationship in which they live is de- plorable, and on the surface or before men they are living the life of peace and amity, and to all appearances living mc del Christian lives : this is white -washing or painting the surface of the inward maii, or saints abroad and heathens at home. How often this may be said about professing Christians. The saying of the Lord Jesus should be given more attention than it usually gets, that we are not to judge our fellow men ; but if we do judge let us judge righteous judgment. It would in my opinion be better not to judge at all, for we cannot tell what is in the heart of another man, but the Lord Jesus knows, for " He knew what was in man ; " and let us leave to Him to judge our neighbors for fear that in passing judgment upon our neighbors r i are passing upon ourselves the same sentence. I think I may say the true Christian never passes judgment upon his neighbor, he leaves all judgment in the hands of Christ. It is very often those who desire to make a good show before men who are the parties that will be found finding fault with others. Who made such a show of his religion as the Pharisee of old ? Who standing in the market place and by long prayers tried to make out in the eyes of men what holy lives they lived ; how easily they would find fault with the poor man, who sought the Lord in spirit and in truth ; how apt they would be to censure the publican, who may have in a good many ways lived far better lives than they did themselves : these were generally usurers, tax gatherers, and customs officers. The Pharisee would not be found in company of any such ; they were despised by Pharisees and Sadducees, who were always passing judgment upon their fellow men and finding fault with them. The humble Christian does not so but he strives to obey the Lord's commandment to " Love your neighbor as yourself." This is the great commandment cf all, and who obeys it to the letter ? Let us strive to obey it with our hearts. If this commandment was more fully obeyed, what peace there would be among the dwellers upon earth. Do the self-righteous ever .attempt to fulfil this commandment? I trow not \ He is more apt to boast of his own goodness and to exalt himself before m.en, not by any works or good deeds that he has done himself, these are lack- ing to a great extent, but by entertaining vain thoughts in regard to himself and passing judgment and finding fault with those that may not have the same advantages that he has himself ; in a word exalt- ing himself by laying accusations against a person who may have 1 86 Christ Our Governor. li h. £# m ♦ i unwittingly committed somethmg against good law and order, saying, I never did commit such a thing in all my life, how debased he is for doing it ; he, or she, as the case may be, merits such and such chastisement : and at the same time the self righteous Pharisee may be and is guilty of ten times worse offences, possibly by actual tranSi- gression against the law of the Lord Jesus ; and what shall I term the self righteousness and Pharisaical belief he has" in regard to him- self? Let his neighbor be what he may, in having this view of him- self he is committing the great transgression of all, that will as surely end in his eternal destruction as he who may have grossly sinned ahd brought upon himself the just condemnation of his fellow men ; " If they do not repent they shall all likewisie perish." ^' ^*': 'i ■ But I was writing of the relationship that exists between God the Father and God the Son. There is none of the enmity I have referred to existing between Them ; there is eternal felicity existing between Them ; thereby showing us that Christ as our king has all the authority necessary for the government of the kingdom that God the Father has given into His hands. This kingdom comprises all the kingdoms of the earth, and, as I have said already, He has authority over satan and the angels that fell from the estate wherein they were created, and all those that have departed this life and fallen into the clutches of the devil and that are now subjects in the kingdom of satan. God, I say, has given Christ full authority over all those, to govern and rule them as seemeth good unto Him. " And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve Him : His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdon that which shall not be destroyed." Mark the words •• dominion and glory," The word " dominion " shows that what I have written above is so, that He has all authority. Dominion means power, rulership, that which cannot be overcome. If a man has dominion over another, he has power over him that he cannot shake off. Her Gracious Majesty Queen Victoria has dominion over the whole British Empire, and we are subject to her authority and her ruling. So it is with Christ, He has dominion over all things ; there is not anything that is created, or was, and is, or shall be, but what is under the dominion that has been given Him of the Father. This dominion was given Him ere the foundation of the world was laid ; it was His from the beginning. On the spur of the moment, some might think that when He suffered on the cross this power and dominion was given Him ; this is not so. He obtained and had it from the beginning. On the cross He suffered for the people who transgressed and rebelled against Him in the kingdom that was given Him by God the Father ; He came to save them, the " lost sheep of the House of Israel." The " House of Israel " here referred to are God's chosen people on earth ; He came to save and to suffer for them that they might become heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ Our Governor. 87 •< -r Christ in the kingdom that God has given Him. What earthly king ever did such for any of his subjects ? I read a story sometime ago of a good king who governed his kingdom and the subjects of his realm by giving unto them good laws, and doing all that he possibly could for the well-being of the people under his care. There was one man in his kingdom not contented with the governing of this good king, and who raised a rebellion against him who was ruling them for their own good. After a few battles had been fought the rebels were subdued and peace re- stored in the kingdom ; but sentence of death was passed upon all that took up arms against the king, and the ringleader was taken and executed, with a great many others. After awhile, when peace and good order had been obtained for all the loyal subjects, the king, out of the goodness of his heart and through the love he had for his rebellious subjects, in loving kindness, it not being in any way in- cumbent on him to do so, sent forth a proclamation offering peace and pardon to all who would come to him before a certain date ; but after the date fixed on there would be no use in coming, for then it would be too late. The invitation was extended to all who had taken up arms in re> ellion to come to him and submit themselves to him and become obedient unto his laws and obey his commands. There was one man who was hunted for by the king before this proclama- tion was issued, who was chased from one hiding place to another, hiding in caves and dens of the mountains until footsore, without clothing ; famished by hunger he one dark night ventured from his hiding place, which happened to be a cave in the mountains far away from the dwellings of men j he left the cave and started to walk to- wards the plains and the habitable parts of the kingdom in quest of food. The journey was long and wtarisome ; he walked on and on until at last he came out on the main road, footsore and weary, his clothing all in rags torn by the briars and thorns ; and he was bleed- ing from many a wound that he met with by the way. Having reached the main road that led to the city in which the king lived he sat down to rest himself, and feeling drowsy he laid down and slept. By and by he was awakened by the rumbling of chariot wheels ; start- ing up he made for some hiding place, but the postillions chased him and caught him, and brought him before their master to see what he was afraid of them for and to see what could be done for him, for he was in a sorry plight. The master of the chariot commenced asking him questions, but could get no satisfactory answers at first, but by the kindly manner that he exhibited towards the woe begone culprit that stood belore him, he gained his point in getting him to tell something of what was the reason of him being in the plight he was in. He told the master c f the chariot that he was one of those who rebelled against the king and that a price was laid on his head. He was advised to go to the king and ask his pardon for the evil that he bad done in rebelling against his just authority, and for the killing of the king's subjects ; and that the king had m .n P, h Christ Our Governor. issued a proclamation of pardon for all them that would submit themselves to him and obey his just commands. He took the advice which was given him and the master of the chariot took him up with him into the chariot and made him sit along side of him. They drove on until they came to the palace of the king, and what was his astonishment on learning that it was the king himself who was the good friend that brought him the glad tidings of a free pardon. He fell on his knees and thanked him with a full heart for his goodness. The king's goodness did not end in his pardoning his rebellious sub- ject, but he clothed and fed him and made him one of his honored subjects. In this story we have the goodness of an earthly king in pardoning a rebellious subject, and he had the power to do so, as king over the people over whom he reigned. And cannot Christ Jesus pardon all them that come to Him in obedience to the free offer of pardon tnat is contained in the gospel ? Aye, He can, and He will abundantly forgive all their iniquities. Can you doubt His authority, or the power that He \a& received from the Father ? Dear reader. I cannot write an exposition of this subject as I could wish. I only wish you to believe that if you come to Him, confessing that you have rebelled against Him, and have been living in enmity towards Him and His authority, that He will abundantly pardon you all things that you ever did. Don't doubt ^t. He has the power to forgive you ; it has been given Him of God, God gave Him power to rule over the sons of men ; He is their king and law- giver, and He has sent forth a proclamation offering pardon and peace to all who submit to His just authority and become loyal subjects in the kingdom that He has purchased for Himself and that He received from the Father. His dominion is from sea to sea ; there remains no part of the earth that He does not reign over. His authority extends from pole to pole. There is no nation or tongue or peoples excluded from His dominion. It is certain that the majority of the nations that are on the face of the globe are living in open re- bellion to His just authority, nevertheless they are living in this king- dom upon earth. They are living in open defiance to His laws, are simply rebellious subjects, who if they remain so shall suffer the just chastisement which He may mete out to them. He has dominion from sea to sea ; His Icingdom is an everlasting kingdom, which shall have no end ; the kingdom of Christ shall have no end. He reigned before the foundations of the world were laid, and He shall reign while the world stands, and down the ages of eternity. " I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last." Will it not be a good thing for us if we are found loyal subjects in the kingdom of Christ, worthy to enjoy Him as our king during the ages of eternity. Those who will not have this privilege of enjoying Him as their king during the ages of eternity will during that time suffer the just wrath of their lawful kmg whom they rebelled against while living in the kingdom of Christ upon earth. He is called the Prince of the kings of the earth. There is no king like unto the King of the Christian Christ Our Governor, 89 ■man, the true believer. Although there be kings many and lords many, there is none like unto Christ. Earthly kings and earthly lords seek after their own things and to see how much they can please themselves, but Christ seeks our good not His own. He gave Him- self for them that believe in His name ; laid down His life for them that they might have life. He is the Prince of Peace ; Emanuel, God with us. He is one with His own people ; willing to bestow upon them all the benefit that may be for their good during the time that they are in this world, and afterwards the life everlasting. Reader, do you belong to this class ? Why not come to Him who is the Prmce of Peace. " Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you : not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." This is what our Saviour gives unto us if we come unto Him and accept Him as our Saviour, our king, and our law-giver. Come unto Him then and submit to Him, confessing yourself as a poor rebel that transgressed against Him by rebelling against just authority, and yours shall be this peace that cannot be over estimated. What benefit can you derive by living as you do in open rebellion ? You know the consequence, and that it will be to your eternal damnation to hold out much longer, for death may overtake you at any moment ; and what shall the end be with out Christ and without God in the world ; without your being recon- ciled to God through Jesus, the only mediator between God and man ; " For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." I find no obstacles in the way by anything I have read in scripture, but all are of man's own building. He is the Prince of Peace. He is Lord of lords. In the heavens there is none higher than He, except the God of gods, Who put all things in subjection under His feet ; and God the Father, as I have said already, will grant unto the Son whatsoever He desires in the governing of the kingdom He has given Him, * If I ask anything of the Father, He will give it Me." Ah ! friend, Jesus is Lord over all things ; and let us not be forgetful of this, that as He is Lord over all things it well becometh •us to be mindful of becoming obedient unto Him in time, before it is too late. As He leaves His peace behind Him, He also has all judg- tnent committed unto Him, and those who will not submit themselves to Him in this life, when He comes to judge the world in righteous- ness He will not spare. For He will come again, and all flesh shall be brought before Him for judgment, when they that are in the graves shall hear His voice and they shall rise ; them that have done good to the resurrection of the just ; and them that have done evil, and have not repented of the evil done, shall speedily receive their sentence anew and shall be cast away into eternal punishment — it shall have no epding. This shall take place at the last day, when the heaven and earth shall pass away and there shall be time no more, when the heavens shall be gathered together as a scroll and all things shall become new. This, I think, will be the second death, 90 Christ Our Governor, Pf i iHii: I I'r I' '*-/.: from which there is no waking. The first judgment takes place im- mediately after the natural death of the body, for •' After death the judgment." Woe's the day that any person should die the second death, for their portion shall be in that fiery burning lake, that burneth with '* fire and brimstone, which is the second death." This shall be the portion of all them that while in the land of the living have despised the proffered offer of mercy and neglected the salva- tion of the soul. The unbelieving pharisee shall find himself beside the most wicked persons who have not repented of the evil done. Be warned in time, dear friend, and take into consideration the well being of your eternal welfare. There is a common saying among the people that it is never too late to mend, and there is hope while we are in this world. It is true to some extent, but why si.ould any one delay, "For now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation." Now, when you are reading this, is the time for you to take these things into consideration ; you have no promise for the future ; neither do we know what may take place within an hour. Now, *' make your calling and election sure," by coming into subjec- tion to the Lord who is over all things ; He is Lord over all things in another respect, in that He is the Son of God. This makes Him equal with the Father ; alt' ough the Son is never greater than the Father (there are many sons of earthly parents that are in many re- spects greater than their fathe/s) He may be His equal. This is the case with our Lord ; They are of the same mind and opinion ; and we are to learn that as God is ruler over all things, so is the Son, God the Father is Supreme Ruler over all, king over all things ; and in that He put all things in subjection under His Son Jesus, I come to the conclusion that He made Him king over all things to His people which I have shown you already. I read, " And from Jesus Christ, Who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the Prince of the kings of the earth. Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood. To Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen." He it is that subdues us to Himself. God before the foundations of the world were laid had chosen some to eternal life ; those may have wandered far away from the paths of righteousness, and they must be brought back to Christ by the working of the Holy Spirit bringing these into subjection and bringing them to an understanding of their state and condition, so that they will forsake their sins and take up their cross and follow Him, His yoke is easy, and the burden He puts on the shoulders of those that return unto Him in sincerity and in truth is not heavy or grievous to be borne ; that is, to obey His commandments. The joy of the carnally minded is not to be compared with the joys that are the portion of them that shall come under His yoke. There are some that do not give much credence to the doctrine of predestina- tion, nevertheless by the careful reading and searching of scripture I don't think any person will be long in coming to the understanding that such is the case. We read " make your calling and election ; I" Christ Our Governor. 9*" sure ; " and, " and 1 will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah ati inheritor of My mountains : and Mine elect shall inherit it, and My servants shall dwell there ; " and again, " My Father, which gave them Me, is greater than all ; and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father's hand." I do not doubt tor a moment but what God knew and did choose, before the foundations of the world were laid in His all over-ruling providence, some to eternal life and the rest were blinded. "If our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost ; " they do not lay hold of Christ as He is freely offered in the gospel ; they go on from day to day without giving a thought to the great question of the eternal welfare of their souls j " What then ? Israel hath not obtained that which He seeketh for ; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded." And why not seek after these things ? Why not try to •' make your call- ing and election sure?" It will be a sure sign that you have been elected to be found seeking the Saviour and your being numbered among God's people It is just as well to leave it with the Lord whether you are elected or not, and say as I heard an honored min- ister of the gospel saying, " If I must be lost. I must be lost from bended knees and from the throne of grace." I mentioned already^ that there may be hope while we have being, " For him that is joined to all the living, there is hope ; for a living dog is better than a dead lion." But why delay " making your calling and election sure ; " for the living know that they shall die, but the dead know not anything ; neither have they any more a reward, for the memory of them is forgotten." But I must go back to the kingship of Christy and write something about how He subdues the people unto Himself. From the time that all mankind fell in Adam's first transgression up to the present day there is a continual war carried on between God and Christ as our king and the powers of darkness ; and it goes on every day without ceasing, and Christ Jesus our king goes forth sub- duing and conquering all that'are His enemies and that are yet serv- ing satan and that are living in darkness in regard to the well being of their souls. First of all He approaches them in loving kindness by sending them ministers, preachers, and teachers and ambassadors. When one nation is at war with another nation, and after the one has conquered the other, the conquered nation sends an ambassador suing for peace at the hands of their conquerors ; which is usually given them, and upon terms in accordance with the willof their con- querors. Generally the way of establishing peace between the nations that are at war is that the conquered people shall pay an indemnity, or pay the expense of carrying on the war. What do we find the Lord Jesus doing ? The very opposite. He is king over all the earth, it is His own people who are the rebels and that He subdues to Himself : they are living in enmity towards Him who is their law- ful king and governor ; Christ our king cannot be conquered, He is all powerful ; and instead of doing like unto the conquered nation, He sends forth ambassadors seeking and inviting the rebels to come •9a Christ Our Governor. i; f ^ a: lii^. Ins- in that they may live in peace with Him, that they may come to Him and receive pardon for their acts of rebeUion ; there is no exception made between one man and another, between one class of people and another, the invitation is extended to all. This is one way that the Lord Jesus takes in subduing the people to Himself, by sending them ambassadors with a message of love, pleading with the people to be reconciled to God by Him. An ambassador is one of those who seeks peace for another. The ambassador of a nation is sent seeking peace, and to obtain for his people the best terms that he can ; it is the same with the ambassadors of the Lord Jesus, they beseech you to be reconciled to God, and in prayerful watching over their flocks and by prayer and supplication in your behalf be- •seech that God might be reconciled to you to whom He was sent to proclaim the message of love. Ah ! how they do beseech you to be reconciled to God ! how some plead with them that are under their charge. They labor as those that have to give an account. ^' Now then we are ambassadors for Christ; as though God did be- seech you by us : we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God." Here we have the ambassador's mode of seeking Christ's re- bellious subjects to be reconciled unto Him and to accept Him as their lawful king. Can we ever esteem them too highly for their work's sake, not alone for their work's sake, but also because of the love they bear to their king, and the love they show to perishing humanity. Instead of this do they not receive many a rebuff from those for whom they are doing their utmost to bring to Jesus to be saved that they might become heirs of salvation. We the laity do not know the anxiety for the safety of His flock that is in the bosom of the true minister of Christ — the prayerful watching that he under- takes. Let us therefore love and esteem such as are the true minis- ters of Christ, separated from the mere hireling whom we are not only to reject but to despise. I have in the above given you a short description of how Christ subdues the people unto Himself by sending His ambassadors unto them. Let me here again ask the reader why does he reject the message which they bring ? Their message is gladsome, it is a mes- sage of joy to them that shall accept it, for to you is born this day in the city of David one who is Christ a king. Their message is the same as that of the angels to the shepherds on the hills of Bethelem while watching their flocks at night, " Fear not : for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." This is the ambassador's message unto his people. I do not care so much for those who are never done preaching church doctrine, this is all very well in its own place, but let it never take the place of the gospel of Christ Jesus and free salvation to all people. The ambassador's message is a glad mes- sage, full of good news to all willing to receive it. They are like unto Paul, * For I determined to know nothing among you, save Christ Our Governor. 9S Jesus Christ and Him crucified." This, I say, is the message tbe ambassadors bring unto all people they come in contact with in preaching the gospel of Christ. Again, notice from Whom the terms come that the ambassador brings with him when he is preach- ing the gospel of peace and reconciliation. The terms come from God, and are simply to believe on His Son, '* Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved : " and hear the words of Christ, " He that believeth on Me hath life ; " and, " This is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesua Christ Whom Thou hast sent." These are the terms of reconcilia- tion. Notice again that the ambassador never makes any inquiries of the people to whom he is sent concerning their past lives : this is the mode of procedure among the nations of the earth ; there is no question asked as to the evil done, only seeking out the best way of establishing reconciliation, or the settlement of the indemnity that is to be paid. This indemnity Christ paid for all them that will accept the message of peace which His ambassadors bring ; there are no further demands made on the believer on his becoming a loyal sub- ject in the kingdom of Christ. I said that the ambassador never makes enquiries concerning the past lives of any he brings his mes- sage to : I read nowhere in scripture that any of the apostles did ^o, with the exception of the case of Peter and Ananias ; this was lying to the Holy Ghost and received speedy punishment. I read nowhere that Paul did so, he always preached free salvation unto all, making no distinction between one man and another, and all who accepted his message were received into the fellowship of God's people. This was the example Christ left in this respect, we have no record of Him making any enquiries of any person, except in re- gard to their faith in His power to do for them what they asked. Even in the case of the woman taken m adultery and brought before Him for judgment, we find that He makes no enquiries nor questions her in any way ; but the rather, He clears her to the confusion of her enemies : " Let him who is without sin among you cast the first stone." Stoning was the manner of punishment for this sin among the Jews. It would be well for us when we feel tempted to accuse another, or when we become fault finders, to remember Christ's manner of dealing with this case, and take into consideration whether we are sinless ourselves or not. The ambassador never searches the past, he always speaks in the present, pleading and persuading men and women to forsake the evil of their doings. •* Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts : and let him return unto the Lord, for He will abundantly pardon." I am sure of one thing, that if a minister or ambassador searches after or into the past they will be kept busy, and not only do themselves harm but harm the cause of Christ. They would be, as it were, putting themselves into a condition rendering them unfit for the calling in which they labor. Let a man examine his own heart, and repent of any lurking sins he may find there, and not the 94 Christ Our Governor, hearts of others ; let none of you be " busy bodies in other men's matters ; " it does not become an ambassador to be one of these. Again, I find that the commandment they received was, " Go ye and preach the gospel to every creature." Free salvation is offered by them to all mankind, and as many as receive their message shall become heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ. Is this not joyful news which they bring, inviting the rebellious children to become the heirs of God and the loyal subjects of Christ in the kingdom which He received of the Father I Will you not receive their mes- sage and accept Christ as your Saviour, your king, and your all in all ? If not you must labor under the stigma of being the enemy of all that is good, and of God and Christ, and shall at the last day have your inheritance with them that are lost. The scriptures are very explicit on this point. I fird again that it is the ambassador's business to teach those to whom he is sent, teaching them by the Holy Spult more perfectly the way of salvation ; breaking unto them 1 the bread of life ; opening and interpreting the scriptures that they may understand them when they read them. " Have ye understood all these things ? " should be the question that every Christ^ian man should ask himself. If we do not understand what we read, we read to small profit The ambassador, in bringing to subjection and in keeping in subjection the people of Christ over whom he has charge, explains to them the mysteries contained in the word of ' God. How few can say they understand the Bible ! I believe my self that it is literally true, every word of it, but a great deal of it can only be understood by the interpretation of the Holy Spirit ; the Holy Spirit s the great interpreter of all. The ambassador's duty consists in opening out to the understanding of the people those things that are hard to be understood, thereby quickening the desires after those things that are from above, making them learned in those matters which pertain to the well being of their souls. How they watch over their flock warning them of any dangers that may be threatening them ; they are the watchmen of Israel, and they watch over souls as them that have to give an account : '* Son ot man, I have set thee a watchman over the house of Israel ; there- fore hear thou the words of My mouth, and give lliem warning." Ah ! friend, how many a warning do you hear from the pulpit and that you let go by unheeded ! By giving you warning the watchman or ambassador has freed himself from all responsibility in your case, and if you do not be warned your blood shall be on your own head This is the case w^ith careless and indifferent church goers who never even think or ask themselves the question what they are attending the means of grace for. I think that every man and woman should ask themselves, What am I going to the house of prayer for ? is it to worship and to seek the Lord ? If that is the object, all is well. If they go without having the object in view of worshiping and seek ing the Lord, and that their worship of Him may be accepted by ^im, they might as well stay at home. Is it not a fact that a great ■ :'f: -■ Christ Our Governor. 95 tnany go because it is a habit, and that the majority do go to the house of prayer once a week ; others go that they may have a talk •with thfeir neighbors, and this concerning everyday business ; others to see who they may see, and to hear it there is any strange news going the rounds, instead of seeking the Lord with earnestness of heart. When we go to the house of prayer let our heart's desire be that we may worship God with our hearts and minds hoping that we may receive a blessing at His hands. By all means let all attend the means of grace ^nd wait patiently the Lord's time to bless and pity us, for they that wait patiently on the Lord will surely receive the tokens of His good will ; He will in no wise cast out any that patiently seek Him that they may become members of His body and loyal subjects in the kmp dom of Christ and of God. The ambassa- dor is a watchman who warns the people, thftt they may be able to contend against the evil that may be threatening them, so that they may be prepared to resist manfully. Satan is never idle, he con- tinually puts temptation and stumbling blocks in the paths of men ; in the paths of those who desire to live righteous lives, as well as of those who never laid their shoulder to the wheel of the cause of Christ. " He goeth about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour ; " his temptations are more manifest in the case of the righteous than of the wicked ; he may be and is to some extent always on the alert to find occasion whereby he may cause the fall of the Christian. There are times when, if he gain the advantage over a Christian, it may be to the jeopardy of his eternal welfare ; the reason being that for a righteous man to sin is a far greater transgression than that of him who never acknowledged that he came to know and understand the vileness of sinning. To the one it is sinning against light and knowledge ; to the other it may be termed the sin of ignorance. To him that sins against light and knowledge it may be counted the sin that is unto death ; to the other who may have sinned, but not understanding the consequence of the sin he may have committed, may be forgiven because it is the sin of ignorance. The first of these may be crucifying to themselves anew the Son of God, and trampling under their feet the finished work of the Lord Jesus, and bringing disgrace on the holy fellowship into which they have been taken ; the sin of the latter will be counted with the sins that are past, upon their accepting of Jesus as their Saviour. The ambassadors of Christ are to a great extent warned ot the dangers that may threaten the people whom God has put in their charge ; they get timely warning of those things that may be to their disadvantage, and on every Sabbath give timely advice to their hearers. Ttiey resemble to a great extent Mr. Greatheart, of John Bunyan, we read of in Pilgrim's Progress, who was all that was desired to lead and guide the followers of the Lord Jesus to the heavenly Jerusalem ; the comforter of the weak, speaking unto them comforting words when they would be cast down or discouraged, or fearful of obtaining the rest they are looking for, or of reaching their !"• !• •' mf''. IP I •. lit**' i m 96 Christ Our Governor. journey's end without being overcome hy the temptations and stumbling blocks which the adversary puts in their way. Why not then receive the message of peace which they bring to every -one ot their hearers ; they make no difference between one man and another in delivering their message, the gospel message is unto all, ** Whosoever will may come " and be saved. " And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take ihe water of life freely." Here we have again the ambassador's message in seeking rebellious subjects to be reconciled to God through the mediatorial work of the Lord Jesus. I do not say that they are always to use smooth words, they may have to rebuke those that do not live according to the teachings of scripture, and do not obey the Lord's commandments ; these must be rebuked and brought to know the error of their ways. What I have written in regard to the watchmen, to some extent explain this point j I for one do not believe in the too oily tongue of the flatterer, for instead of doing good they do harm ; many a man might possibly be brought to a true understanding of his condition by a few candid words spoken to him in loving kindness ; whereas, if he was subjected to flattery he would consider that he was all right and would be well content to remain as he was and eventually be counted among the number that are lost " If ihy enemy hunger, feed him ; if he thirst, give him drink : for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head." I read a book, written by Mr. Patterson, on the shorter catechism, in which he made out that those guilty of flattery were also guilty of bearing false witness ; this is true, because of the fact that they are continually leading astray, blinding the eyes and understanding of those they encounter. It is deceit, and we all know that a person guilty of practising deceit is doing that which is against good law and order. *' Let every one speak the truth to his neighbor." It is bearing false witness to circulate scandalous reports about our neighbors ; especially is this true concerning those who are endeavoring to live Christian lives. It shows a spirit of animosity or variance which shouid never be tolerated among professors of Christianity. They are actually circulating that which is not true ^ a Christian man may have his faults, and who has not ? but it shows more the Christian spirit to cover up or hide them from the outside world, for outside are many who may be only too anxious to get oc casion to speak reproachfully concerning the chosen people of Christ Jesus, thereby bringing discredit upon the cause they have espoused. Hiding the faults of our fellow believers is more becoming to a Christian. " Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness ; consider- ing thyself, lest thou also be tempted." Even if the reports were true, I venture the assertion that such scandalous reports are bearing false witness ; my reason for thinking so are that it gives the enemy of souls an opportunity to assail such a one and to tempt him further. ^ Christ Our Governor. 97 Again, these things should be judiciously settled and the fault laid where it belongs, even to the telling of a lie ; " Let all things be done decently and in order," and not circulated from mouth to mouth ; if such take place there is always an adding thereto until at last it may become mountains m the way of him who may be desirous of walk- ing the narrow way. Again, I would say that it gives occasion to sin by giving satan an opportunity not alone to tempt the man who may^ or may not be guilty, about whom slanderous reports are circulated, but also those who may be weak and easily led astray. The weak may say,, such a one did so, and I may do so also. Here again we have the evil of bad example I mentioned above, even to telling a lie. A great many people do not think much of telling a lie, but they da not take into consideration what the consequence may be either ta themselves or to others ; it may in seme cases turn out serious to all parties concerned. " Behold what a big fire a small spark kindleth." The liar is to be contemned and despised. I find by reading of scripture that they are classed among the worst of sinners, '* For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolators, and whosoever loveth or maketh a lie ' And see what occasion such practice gives to the unconverted to live on in careless lives, to find a professing Christian given to such things as I have mentioned above Such things should never be known or tolerated among Christians who have accepted the Lord Jesus as their Saviour and their king ; but the contrary, the sustaining of one another's char- acter or reputation. There is no society on God's earth that should bind men and women so firmly together as the society of God's people. Think of it, men and women, sitting down at the Lord's table partaking of the emblems of the body and blood of Christ, doing it in remembrance of Him who laid down His life for them, passing the bread and wine from hand to hand ; should it not bind them into a close union as brothers and sisters, are they not actually vowing that they are one in Christ before all the people, as well as commemorating the death of the Saviour : this is the view that I take of it, and I say hide the fault you may hear or see in a brother or sister instead of circulating it ; try to shield them from all harm, and from the temptations of the devil. I heard a minister say, that when any one member of the church suffers that all the others suffer with him ; I believe it to be so with all those that are the true followers of Christ. There are many who are too ready to find fault without being the means of circulating scandalous reports. They do not abide ty the teaching of Paul when he says, "Speak not evil one of another ; " arid the language of the apostle James becomes true in their case, "The tongue no man can tame, it is an unruly member full of deadly poison." This is said in regard to the slanderer and back- biter ; it should never be said in regard to the followers of Jesus. " The wise man knoweth how to refrain his lips, but a fool's tongue is always babbling." It becomes us to be wise in those things. If the tongue is " an unruly member," by contending 98 Christ Our Governor. ■ ,<■ ^ }■': M h'* |;4v ■) 'i ' against it we will in course of time bring it into subjection. Culti- vating this grace is to be recommended, for we are apt to let slip many a time things that may afterwards cause a great deal of sorrow. By striving against the failings of the tongue and seeking after knowledge and wisdom this difficulty may be overcome. It is the height of ignorance that makes a man speak evil of a brother or sister in Christ. And is it not bearing false witness ? When any person receives pardon or forgiveness of sin from God, that person no longer labors under the ban of anything that he may have done, He is perfectly free from the consequence, and no person has any right to repeat or bring up against him anything of those matters that have been in the past ; God says, " None of the sins he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him ; " is it not a daring matter for man to do so ? This as well has reference to any future sins which a pers^^n may inadvertently commit while in this life. It is a good maxim to hide as much as possible the failings of our brothers and sisters in Christ : " He that covereth a sin seeketh love, but he that scattereth it separateth very friends." The ambassadors of the Lord Jesus teach the people to whom they have been sent in regard to all these matters in bringing to and keeping them in subjection in the kingdom of Christ. Are you a loyal subject in this kingdom, kind reader ? if not, why are you not ? Why do you not receive the loving message that they bring you ? " Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." " Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the watei-s, and he that hath no money ; come ye, buy, and eat ; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price." " Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save ; neither His ear heavy, that it cannot hear." I have tried to bring to your attention in regard to our Lord and Saviour sending His ambassadors to bring mankind into subjection to Himself, and that all who receive their message of peace and accept Jesus as their Saviour will become His loyal and true subjects, and shall inherit eternal life and a crown of rejoicing in that place He has gone to pre- pare for all them who love Him. Now there is another thing I would like to call your attention to, that is, after that the ambassadors have failed and their message of peace and reconciliation has been rejected, that He may use a rod to chastise the unruly among His chosen people and to bring those into subjection who have not yet submitted themselves and are still living in rebellion ; that they may become true and loyal subjects in the kingdom He has received of the Father, and all who will not yet come unto Him He will for ever chastise in that place of torment that has been prepared for satan and all who live and work the works of darkness or iniquity. First, then, I will endeavor to bring before you a few thoughts in regard to His chastising His own people. I have written already to Christ Our Governor, 99 sdme extent on this point, and that God's people must be always on the watch lest they fall by the temptation that may beset their path ; if any fall, it must be through their own carelessness in desiring to fulfill the lusts of the flesh, or deliberately transgressing the law of commandments ; and those who do, need not think they will escape, as they are bringing upon themselves the just anger of their God and Saviour. Therefore He will bring forth the rod of iron and chastise them into subjection. '* Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God ; " these are actually tempting the Lord God, they say the Lord is merciful and will pardon this transgression I am about to commit. Mark you, He may pardon, but He will also chastise. I read nowhere in scripture that the Lord has promised to look over the sin of a converted person who deliberately transgressed against the law of commandments. In my opinion they need not look for anything but the chastening rod, and by the use of the rod of correc- tion they will be cleansed from the consequence of their sin, " They shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." Some may be sceptical on this point. The apostle Peter says, ^* Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure : for if ye do these things ye shall never fall ; " but if they do them not, but live gratifying the natural inclinations of the natural man, what need they expect but the chastisement at the hands of the loving Saviour, who gave Himself for them and left such a good example to follow. " Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron ; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. Be wise now, therefore, O ye kings : be instructed, ye judges of the earth." The first part of this quotation has reference to those that are lost, duct for them to follow ; laying down the precepts of the Christian faith. We find many among them transgressing against the teaching and the form of doctrine which he adhered to and taught wherever he went ; to those he oflFers no quarter, for we read, " And lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and that I shall bewail many which have sinned already, and have not repented of the un- ■cleanness and fornication and lasciviousness which they have com- mitted." This is mournful to behold, to find a professing Christian living and tolerating these unchristian things in regard to himself, and not rebuking them in others. Let the rebuke be given in the ;5 to if pfc- loo Christ Our Governor. spirit of meekness and love, not wantonly accusing or believing an ill report about our neighbors : " In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established. I told you before, and foretell you, as if I were present, the second time ; and being absent now I write to them which heretofore have sinned, and to all others, that, if I come again, I will not spare " This we find the view that Paul entertained in respect to those who wantonly transgressed against the dictates of a good conscience ; and why should we doubt but that the Lord Jesus, their lawful king, whom they are transgressing against by bringing into disrepute the cause they outwardly espouse, will come with a rod of iron to bring them into subjection The apostle Paul was well aware of how such should be treated. It is a woeful thing that any person who got a taste that the Lord was gra- cious and tnat came to even a slight knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus should be found living in those things that are contrary to His will. We read again that, " If we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacri- fice for sins, but a certain fearful looking lor of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries." These are they wha may expect the rod of iron to subdue and bring them to see the evil- ness of their doings. They are not only sinning but bringing the cause of Christ to shame and contempt before the world : there are many who will take such an opportunity to ridicule all that is good. I read a sermon of Mr. Spurgeon's sometime ago on the text, " Kiss ye the Son, lest in His ire ye perish from the way," in which he taught that such as himself and those that were in high standing as church members the text was applied too. I quote it again, " Kiss ye the Son, lest in His ire ye perish from the way when His wrath is kindled but a little." This is really true, and it is only reasonable to think so; instead of transgressing themselves, whether openly or in secret, they should be models of example unto others. Ah ! how such should walk before men, keeping within the narrow path, lest they should give occasion to any to speak reproachfully. Again, there is more expected of them ; they are expected to live Godly lives and to follow in the footsteps of the Lamb that was slain for the re- mission of their sins : they are given much, if they have been truly converted, and "To whom much is given, much is required." Let us then avoid all things that are to our disadvantage and that may cause us to fall again into the power of sin and of satan, '' For sin shall not have dominion over you, for ye are not under law but under grace " ^'f we do not we will come again to the place where we start , :k to the day from which we dated our conversion, and be- come ab if we had never received the forgiveness of our sins. A backslider remains in the same condition he was in before he made profession that he espoused the cause of Christ and that he had Christ for his Saviour. " For it had been better for them not to- have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have Lnown it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But \ « > Christ Our Governor. loi it has happened unto them ? .cording to the true proverb. The dog is turned to his own vomit again ; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire." What a terrible fate ! and there is abundance of proof that such a fate will befall us if we do not strive against the lusts of the flesh, and against the wily darts of the adver- sary of all that is good. To strive effectually we must put on the whole armor of God ; " Wherefore take unto you the whole armw of God. that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness ; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace ; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit which is the word of God : praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watchmg there- unto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spirit- ual wickedness in high places." This is the way in which we can only hope to succeed in making our calling and election sure. Let us then submit to the Lord Jesus and put on the armor that He shall give unto all them that love His appearing. Submission He must have ; why, then, labor for that which perisheth, as we to often do ? He will not allow treason within His kingdom that He received for them from the Lord God. Self love is the cause of many a man sinning : love for worldly advanc ement and selfish gain, the applause of men, pride, haughtiness ; and last, but far the worst, coveteous- ness, which is idolatry, leads many a man to ruin who would other- wise stand in the day of trial, and which tempts men and women, who in all other respects and in the eyes of men are living Christian lives, away from the paths of righteousness to sin against the light of the gospel : outwardly they live circumspectly, but their inward lives are not according to the truths contained in scripture. Those small sins are dangerous because when they are committed they will most likely be allowed to pass without any further notice being taken of them. Small sins did I say ; they are small in the estimation of a gieat many, but at last they may turn out to be great barriers be- tween us and our eternal happiness ; they are apt to be over looked and never repented of, and without repentance there cannot be much hope of seeing the Lord's face in peace. These small sins eat as doth a canker, until the Lord comes with a rod and smites to the awakening of the soul so that they may look at things in their proper light. If they have the true light of the gospel, and commit those thing , there is a terrible reckoning in store for them ; for the Lord will come and will not tarry and will ctiastise ; for such as are His own must be brought into full subjection and submission to His will and to full odedience to His commandments, and become loyal and true subjects in His kingdon. We have these small sins that many wii f if! if ft" ■ .?,■■■ 1 02 Christ Our Governor. do not think there is a great deal of harm in, providing they keep' from the grosser sins that Paul had to contend against and that I quoted, and I dare say if we were to examine the heart of many a man we would find many things contrary to the law of command- ments. But it is no{t our business, as I have shown already, to search the hearts of others, we must search our own hearts, and I have no doubt we Khali find there enough to fully occupy our attention. " Examine yourselves ; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves ? " is the precept of scripture and I do not know of a better maxim for any one to lay down for himself. If we will not ex- amine ourselves, we will in due time find One who will, and will say unto you, as Paul wrote unto the Corinthians, **When I come again, I will not spare." When the Lord Jesus comes with the rod of chastisement there will be no way of escape but by submitting unto Him and being saved from the condemnation which hangs over all men unless they repent of their sins ; and to such as will come and submit themselves unto Him He will become a loving Saviour, ready to forgive them all their iniquity. Ah, it is not the Lord's will that any should perish ! " As I live, saith the Lord God, 1 have no pleasure in the death of the wicked ; but that the wicked turn from his way and live." Return then, O wanderer, unto thy God, that He may have mercy on you ; for He is ever ready to be reconciled unto them that return unto Him in the spirit of truth and repentance 'y that return unto Him in sincerity of heart. " Come, and let us re- turn unto the Lord : for He hath torn, and He will heal us ; He hath smitten, and He will bind us up." Again, '* O Israel, return unto the Lord thy God ; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity. Take with you words, and turn to the Lord : say unto Him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously : so will we render the calves of our lips." And all that will come unto Him according to these texts, and in contrition of heart will not be sent away empty. As the kmg of His own people the Lord Jesus becomes their protector, He takes them under the shadow of His wings ; once there they need not be afraid, for He is able to overcome all His and their enemies. What a covering ! to have the wings of the Lord Jesus shading us from the heat of the adversary's fiery darts, and to be able to say, *' His left hand is under my head, and His right hand doth embrace me." If such is the case with you, what need you fear ? To have the All Powerful as your king and protector is to be desired above all earthly treasures, above all the wealth of nations and gold that pcrisheth. All they that have taken hold of the paths of righteousness and that live therein have the protection of God and of Christ, and the gates of hell cannot prevail against them. The soul once in Jesus becomes His, one with Him in all respects ; and they that fight against one of these souls that are the Lord's, are fighting against the Lord ; and by traducing one of these little ones^ that believe in Christ, they traduce and slander Him that bought, them. Shall He not protect them and save them from all their f , mmmm Chris/ Our Governor. 105 adversaries ? Aye, that He will, and keep them from falling ; " For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor princi- palities, nor powers, nor things present, nor thin'^s to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." In this warfare I find that He bestows upon them spiritual blessings according to their need, that they may be able to stand in the hour of trial. A man of himself is weak, and if left to himself is apt to fall away. We read in Paul's epistle to the Ephesians, " Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ." Having this, what more do we need but to remain faithful ? What consolation, what joy should it give to the believer, to know tha«^ he has a portion and a share in the spiritual blessing here referred to. "Who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good ? " Many may try to harm the Lord's chosen people, and may succeed to some extent in hurtmg them as far as this world is con- cerned, but cannot hurt them in regard to the well being of their souls' eternal welfare ; and the Lord's people should be watchful and avoid giving occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully. It sometimes happens, as mentioned already, that even some of His own peculiar people may su£fer tribulation, and that in the providence of God they may suffer persecution, and be tempted and tried ; but I find that on all such occasions it turns out to their advantage, and that they will be more than conquerors through Him that loved them and gave Himself for them. We find an example of this in the case of Job, " Tempted and tried, but the Lord will provide." They are under His guiding eye, guided by His Holy Spfrit *' Fear not, thou worm Jacob, for I the Lord thy God will take thee by thy right hand, and will lead thee." The great majority of people are so taken up with this world and the things pertaining to it that they forget the eternal welfare of their souls ; they become so absorbed in the accumulation of wealth and perishing riches that they never think of what Jesus did that they might become loyal subjects in His kingdom ; they forget that if they belong to the kingdom of Christ that they shall also become partakers of the plenteousness of this earthly kingdom, in as far as it is for their good : " Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." The promises of God are sure ; there is no danger but what He will fulfil ; the Lord's hand is not shortened but what He can fulfil : " I have said, and shall it not come to pass ? " Why then not seek Him early ? why not seek Him ear- nestly ? Those who fully trust Him shall lack no good thing. We may be poor as far as the riches of this world are concerned, but He giveth riches that shall not be taken away : we may be in apparent poverty, but is r*-e poverty that we may endure in this present life to be compared with the riches that shall be hereafter ; compared with the crown of righteousness that the Righteous Judge shall give unto I? 104 Chrtsi Our Governor. n.vi all them that love His appearing ; compared with the joy that shall be the portion of those that shall enter into the saints' rest. The greatest blessing that any man can have in this world is to be a Christian believer, contented with his lot, " Contentment with godli- ness is great gain." It is not comely, in my opinion, for the children of the Lord to be found coveteously seeking after the perishable wealth of this world ; I think they should follow more the example of Agur the son of Jakeh : *• Two things have I required of Thee ; deny me them not before I die : remove far from me vanity and lies : give me neither poverty nor riches ; feed me with food convenient for me : lest I be full, and deny Thee, and say. Who is the Lord ? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain."' And again, '* They that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition." O that we might be rich towards God! rich in good- ness ; rich in being the doers of good deeds ; rich in having hearts full of praise and thankfulness ; rich in rendering unto God the glory due unto His name ; rich in magnifying and extolling the name of the Lord God ; rich in following in the footsteps of the Lord Jesus, and in being enabled day by day to follow Him more fully in the paths of humility and of good deeds which He gave as an example ; rich in believing in His name to the salvation of our souls These are the true riches that cometh from above. " Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high minded, nor trust in un- certain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy." He subdues all His and our enemies. What I have written already covers to some extent this head. The adversary of souls is satan, " who goeth about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour," and who lays many a snare for the Christian to tempt him from the paths of righteousness : his mode of attack is very subtle, so much so that the careless may be dangerously swerved if left to themselves, and may fall into grievous sins, by reason of the tempta- tions set before them and the stumbling blocks whereby he besets their paths. The Lord Jesus is our protector against all such by furnishing us with the grace sufficient to withstano all the tempta- tions by which we may be assailed, and putting to flight satan with all his subtilty, and gaining a fresh victory for the Lord Jesus (Him- self) and saving us from the power of satan. Without the grace of God in our hearts we would soon fall an easy prey to the guileful tongue of the deceiver. It is by grace we are enabled to stand in our hours of trial : " My grace is sufficient for thee." I remember reading a story containing a remark of the eminent divine John Bradford on seeing some criminal led to execution at Tyburn, Eng- land. It seems there were a large number led to execution, when he was heard to remark, " There goes John Bradford only for the grace of God." " By grace ye are saved, and that not of yourselves, ' Christ Our Governor. ' 105 it is the gift of God." Having this gift bestowed upon us we are •enabled to withstand and keep the adversary at a distance. Christ rules as king also by governing His people. He is the head cf the church; the church of God does not recognize any other as its head but Jesus Christ only : to recognize any other as head would be depriving Him of the glory due unto Him, and main- taining and worshiping other gods. His glory He will not give unto another It is idolatry to do so ; and idolatry is one of the worst sins, because it deprives God of the glory and honor that is due unto His name. This was the prevailing sin of the children of Israel — leaving off the worship of God, as their god, and turning to the worshiping of idols. This may be said of any hurtful lust that any person may be addicted to. It becomes idolatry to covet anything. Idolatry should be avoided in all its phases. In my opinion, it is the worst sin we can be guilty of, and the most dishonoring to God, that we should have other gods before Him. Ephraim's cry when he was awakened and brought back from his sinful condition, and reconciliation effected between him and God, was, " What have I to do any more with idols ? " and such should be the cry of all true Christians. The idols that are in man's heart are many ; they may lie dormant there without his knowledge, hence the necessity of self- examination, that we may be able to root them out : the mind and heart should be all for Christ, and not given to coveteousness, which is idolatry : " He that loveth father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me : and he that loveth son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me." This being true in regard to our earthly rela- tives, how much more is it true in regard to the seeking of worldly riches. I believe He rules also in secular affairs : that He rules as king through and by our earthly kings, judges, magistrates, and law* givers. " There is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God." I think that Paul wrote this principally to the administrators of the law. Further on we read, ." they are not a terror to good works, but to the evil." So I come to the conclusion that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, as our king, rules by means of those authorities for the correction of those that transgress openly against good law and order : or, it is one of the means which He employs in bringing His own into subjection. Some may deny this assertion, but it is nevertheless true, for by the careful reading of scripture I have no hesitation in forming this opinion. We find it so in the history of the Jews, from the time they left the land oF Egypt to the crowning of king Saul, that God directly ruled the people ; with the exception of when they were carried away by sin and idolatry, which happened time and again, when He left them for the time being to their own ways, and by chastisement brought them to a knowledge of their evil doings ; and on returning unto Him He graciously forgave them and became again their ruler and •God. After having a crowned king as . their chief magistrate, we r I !• A !1.i '»*?** Ill Ri [■•.'■it f- l'» ■ ■. l< ■ - [i: If ' tell.' ' ■' vir 1 06 Chrt'si Our Governor. still find that the Lord was their supreme ruler and lawgiver, as long; as they were obedient and lived the life of the children of the Most High ; ruling and governing through their anointed king and by His prophets, and (giving them the victory over all their enemies. I think the same takes place in our own day ; that the Lord Jesus is our supreme ruler in secular as well as in religious matters ; for of old the law was established for the just settlement of difficulties which may occur between neighbors, and lor the judicial correction of any who may transgress against society. He is ruler over all things. I think that from this I can confidently say that our Lord and Saviour still rules our land through these means as long as they are obedient, as I said before, and govern according to the com- mands and statutes that He has laid down in the holy scriptures. The statutes and laws contained in the Bible is sufficient for the government of any nation without adding thereto : " The law of the Lord is perfect." But as soon as they neglect to govern in righteous- ness He leaves them to their own ways, as He did the Jews of old. That He is to be found in some of our courts of justice I have no- hesitation in saying, they are ordained of God ; and we read that, " by Me kings reign and princes decree justice. By Me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth." These words are explicit. And again we read, "And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve Him : His dominion is an everlasting do- minion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which- shall not be destroyed." Again, we read, " All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth " This is sufficient evidence that He is our supreme ruler, ruling all the kingdoms of the earth. Our governors and judges and magistrates may depart from the true and jiist way of dispensing the law of the land, and in so doing may lose me countenance of the Lord Jesus ; but still they are His institu- tions, established for the maintenance of peace and the adjustment of difficulties betyveen contending parties. In the case of His own people He fulfilled the law for them, fulfilled it in their room and stead ; but they must abide faithful to be partakers of the benefits which flow therefrom, and live according to the precepts and statutes that He has laid down and that are con- tained in the holy scriptures. It is only reasonable to suppose that those who continue to live in sin, and contrary to the law of com- mandments, will bring upon themselves the just chastisement con tained in the law of ordinances, and that the Lord will let the law take its due course. The wrath of God is visited upon all them that do evil : on the Jew first and also on the Gentile. On the Jew first,, or those who have been converted, and still live as if they had never known Christ, living the careless lives of the unbeliever ; those need not think they shall escape the chastising rod of their offended Saviour ; they are sinning against light and knowledge, therefore the greater the punishment that will be meted out to them, unless they mw Christ Our Governor, tof return to the Lord who is ever gracious and ready to forgive The professing Christian, by continuing to live the careless life ot the un- godly, are as it were crucifying unto themselves afresh the Lord Jesus ; they also sin against the law of commandments and bring disgrace on the holy fellowship into which they have been taken. Is it not a fact that it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than to be found in this condition ? I believe myself that when the Lord Jesus Christ descended into the grave that the sins of His own people, past, present, and to come, was buried with Him ; nevertheless no person should make this an opportunity to sin, or to live careless lives ; His subjects must be obedient to Him. Nor will He allow any treasonable plots within His kingdom : take, for instance, the case of satan, who once was one of the archangels, who for treason and rebellion was cast down into hell. Adam was created perfectly holy, but by sinning against God he lost his state of perfect innocence, and was cast out of the garden of Eden. How much more shall we not escape if we con- tinue to sin against Him ? instead of that we must •• Put oflf the old man with his deeds; and put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him." " That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts ; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind ; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." The conclusion that Jude came to after warning them against those things that are con- trary to the true life of the Christian, was " That He is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy," providing they would strive against the flesh with the lusts thereof: but, on the other hand, if they continued to live in those things that are contrary to good law and order, then their belief in the Saviour would be vain and of no effect. Too true it does not become the followers of the Lord to be found coveteous after worldly good, or given to the gratification of the lusts of the flesh ; these things are to be shunned and avoided if we would please the Lord : if we would be loyal subjects in His kingdom we must be obedient to the law of commandments. The professing follower that is given to the pleasures of this life need not be surprised if the Lord bring him to chastisement, "As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me and every tongue shall confess to God." Ah, yes, every knee shall bow to the Lord God, whether to receive praise and honor, or to receive sentence of death, which shall separate the evil doers from the love of God, and cast them out of the rest that He has prepared for them that love Him. I have tried to bring before you some of my ideas in regard to the power that God has given to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in His three- fold office of prophet, priest, and king. I may have brought upon myself he censure of some because of the views that I have taken ; there may be diversities of opinion, but I have laid' 1 U'^ .1 fo8 Christ Our Governor. them down according to the light that I obtained upon this subject ; and I believe them to be according to the true light of the gospel. Some may say that in these offices all things are not yet put und^r Him. It is true that the great majority are not yet His true followers : these must also be brought into full subjection, or as many of them as possible, and become loyal subjects in the kingdom that He bought at such a price. Again, we .must remember that " all things " are put under Him already, and there is not anything that is not put under Him, except God ihe Father. I said the great majority are not yet His true followers, but are living at enmity and in rebellion : these He subdues and brmgs into subjection to Himself. Although He is king of thp whole earth, being called the Prince of the kings of the earth, and Lord of lords, there is only a portion that He has prepared a heavenly kingdom for • those who have laid hold of Him as their Saviour, their king, and their all in all ; that laid hold of Him as their only hope of salvation : these only can lay claim to the heavenly kingdom. The rest, who never sought Him, who never bowed the knee to Him, who never laid hold of Him that He might save them from the wrath to come ; shall be separated from the rest and led away to their own place which He has prepared for them who will not listen while they may to the gospel tidings of peace through Him that loved them and gave Himself for them. The gospel message is unto all people, " I came not to destroy men's lives but lo save them." He is king of the whole earth, but all are not His loyal subjects, neither shall they enter into that rest which He has gone to prepare for them that truly love Him. He is king of the whole earth, and those who will not come to Him and accept Him as their Saviour in this present life shall be greeted with the words, " Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire prepared for the devi) and his angels. And these shall go away into everlast- ing punishment, but the righteous into life eternal." There is another phase that comes up now, that I would like to draw your attention to The Lord Jesus received the heavenly kingdom from God the Father ; having received the kingdom from the Father, it is only reasonable to suppose that the time will come when He will restore the kingdom unto God the Father, for " It is manifest that He is excepted, which did put all things under Him. ' God is God over all things ; king over all things. It is evident enough that God the Father is supreme and above all. Although He put all things under the Son. He still remains God of gods and L >rd of lords. It is quite evident that at the last day the Lord Jesus shall deliver up the kingdom that He has won unto God : '* And when all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son also be subject unto Him that put all things under Him, that God may be all in all." This is plain enough. What can the reason be? The Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour, co equal with the Father, .the second person of the Trinity, who was from eternity with God, *the ever blessed Son of God our Saviour, becoming subject to God ^^HJ^WI^^Ir Christ Our Govtrnor. 10^- but to show that the Father must be all in all. (lod must be our Ood, and we must not render unto any other the praise and glory that is due unto His name ; we must worship the Father as our God through and by Jesus Christ. I quote from Andrew Murry : " It is this that Christ has been working for ; it is this that He is working for to-day in us ; it is this that He thought it worth while to give His blood for ; it is this that His heart is l<^nging for in each of us : this is the very essence and glory of Christianity ' that God may be all in all.' And now if this is what fills the heart of Christ, then I want the spirit of Christ in me, the motto of my life must be, Everything made subject to and swallowed up in Him. ' That God may be all in all' What a triumph it would be if the churches were really fight- ing with that banner floating over them ! What a life ours could be if that were really our banner ! To serve God fully, wholly, only to have Him ' all in all.' How it would enable and enlarge and stimu- late our whole being. I am working, I am fighting, that God may be ' all in all,' and that the day of glory may be hastened." What a grand thought, to be found fighting the good hght of faith for the glory of God ! Is it not a grand thing to contemplate and to strive for : that all we do, all we speak, and all our actions may have the same object in view, the glory of God. We should not be slack in this respect, our motto should be, " Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do ic with thy might." O that the heart would be filled with a new desire to become the true subject of Christ, that by so doing God might become all in all. '* For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." That the hard and stony heart would be taken away, and a heart of flesh given, a heart full of love and of joy towards God, a heart full of thanksgiving unto God ; this would be a token that God has become all in all. May we not be roused up and quickened to call upon the name of the Lord, that we may be found subjects of the Lord Jesus at that day when He shall render up the kingdom unto the Father that God may be all in all. We cannot strive too manfully, we cannot do too much " For Him that loved us, and gave Himself for us." Let us come to Jesus with humble and contrite hearts, and there is no fear of being rejected ; " For a humble and a contrite heart He will not refuse : " and " Him that cometh unto Me, I will in no wise cast out " What a loving Saviour I have been writing about ! He is waiting to be gracious unto any that will come unto Him and trust Him with the well being of their souls. He will not cast away any that come to Him, but will show mercy unto all, and upon all, that come lo Him in spirit and in iruth. All are welcome ; all are invited to become partakers of the plenteous redemption which He purchased for them, and be among His loyal subjects that He shall render up unto God, that God may be all in all. He is the loving king, and His people have no reason to fear Him as long as they live the life of the godly, as long as they continue in His love Instead of living in fear of Him they love Him, for He is the loving Saviour. Is He not worthy. If, . ■ 1^. ■« iiio Christ Our Governor. ■ of all honor, all majesty, all the love that the heart can bestow upon Him, who did so much that God might become all in all ? Just think of what He has done ! Consider a moment over what Jesus did that you and I might live, and become the sons of God ; that the glory of God might be rendered unto Him in full. Can the tongue or pen fathom the immensity of the love of Christ for never- .dying souls ? I trow not ; it is unfathomable, We have here a meagre sketch of what He did ; to write about , it is one thing, to understand it is another ; to lay hold of it and apply it to ourselves should be the desire of our hearts, for if we cannot make application of it to ourselves it will L^ of no benefit to us, but rather be to our condemnation. He gave the commandment or invitation to " Lay hold of eternal life ; which is to know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ Whom Thou hast sent." And should it not be our prayer to know ourselves by the searching of our own hearts. It will not do to come to Christ for salvation and leave lurking in our hearts and minds sins that should not be .tolerated, but which should be rooted out and banished from our hearts. The little sins of the professing man or woman may in time become such great mountains that they may find it difficult to climb over, and which may in time become great barriers between them .and their loving Saviour; and instead of their desires being that God might become all in all in giving place to these little sins, they are not on Christ's side at »11, but live in danger of bringing disgrace upon the profession they have espoused. They become barren fig trees ; the tares in the wheat The conversion of such as these is hardly to be looked for because they are perfectly satisfied with their present position ; they cannot be stirred up anew or awakened to a consideration of their lost and undone condition while harboring within their hearts those things that are contrary to the true spirit of the Christian. Will I venture the assertion that ministers and elders should look well into this matter and keep back all who have not the tokens necessary for their admission into full membership, and by brotherly admonitions and affectionately showing them wherein they come short, bring them to a knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus. The ministers may be mistaken in discerning between the true and false applicant, they are not supposed to search the hearts of others or to pass judgment upon those who may apply to them for advice ; but it is their duty to warn all who may be doing them- ■elves an injury in becoming members of the church, and hold them back from full communion. I would lOt like to put on the ministers' shoulders any burden that would be irksome to them ; the true minister of the Lord Jesus has care enough on his hands in feeding the flock under his charge, in breaking unto them the bread of life. But still they are doing injury to the class of people I have just referred to by V tting them remain contented in such a condition. It is a man's own duty to search his own heart and to see whether {he be in the faith or not. " Examine yourselves : know you not Christ Our Governor. Ill •your own selves ? " Search into your own hearts, see whether you ivill find anything there contrary to the will of God. If you search, I am quite sure you will find there something to fight against and to keep down and root out. "The heart of man is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked : who can know it ? " I think it would be a true token of a true believer to be found fighting against his own self, searching his own heart and striving to get the mastery over the corruption that he may find there, and seeking pardon for it, saying, Lord, pardon this sin also. I think a state of feeling like this would show a contrition of heart, and the Lord an humble and •contrite heart will not refuse : *' The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit : a broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise." If we would only consider the importance of the salvation of our souls we would not long remain careless formalists ; we would not remain indififerent without seeking after the Lord Jesus that He might become our Saviour ; if we would consider what God did, and what Jesus did, that we might live and not die- the death of the workers of iniquity. Consider the love both Father and Son has shown, that a sinful world might be reconciled unto God, that He might be all in all, and that we might become loyal subjects while here in the kingdom of the Son. I say we would not long remain without striving to make our^ calling and election sure, without en- deavoring to be found on the Lord's side, without seeking the eter- nal welfare of our louls. O let us come then to a consideration of where we shall spend eternity. '* Time is short," we know not what a day or an hour may bring forth. The longest life is short to pre- pare for eternity : the best of men cannot be too well prepared. That being so, where will the ungodly and the sinner appear ? We know not what a month or a week or a day may bring to our doors ; our lives hang by a silken thread, which may be broken at any time, and we must appear before Him Who gave us life, to be judged for the deeds done in the body, for -after death the judgment. It is well to be prepared to meet the death call whenever it may knock at the door of our hearts ; when the mortal body shall descend into the grave and the spirit shall return unto Him Who gave it *' For we know not the day or the hour when the Son of Man cometh." Come to the Lord Jesus then, friend, whoever you may be ; come with your loins girt about with truth ; come denying yourself by denying the pleasures of this life as far as they are contrary to the true spirit of a Christian, denying and warring against the lusts of the flesh; and you will find there is no danger but what you ¥rill be rewarded and accepted by Him. ** If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins ; and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." What can we say then but that all the obstacles are on our own side. Anything that I have read in scrip- ture confirms me in that opinion, and I must say with John Bunyan, "Come, and welcome, to Jesus Christ." Why not come to Jesus that you might be saved and that you might have life ? You can be , !l 112 Chrtst Our Governor, ' saved in a moment of time. All that is to be done on your part is to come unto Him, surrendering yourself unto Him, and by doing so He will not turn you away empty ; there is no use going hilf way to Him, but we must surrender jp unto Him body and soul, become His loyal sjubjects in the kingdom that He bought for Himself. On the side of the Lord all things have been done already ; He finished the work that was given Him to do. On the cross, when He uttered the words, "It is finished," He fully coijipleted the work and pur chased salvation for all who believe on His name ; He for ever per- fected salvation for all who come unto Him. I say again that all the obstacles are on our own side by indifference, carelessness, ignorance, or what" might be called more properly presumption, in thinking that all may be well at last ; . or, like the man who thought that in five minutes he could make his peace with God and prepare for eternity, but he did not get the five minutes he bargained for. This may be the case with a great many who put off from day ta day the eternal welfare of their souls, when death comes they are not ready. There is no promise made for the future in coming ta Christ, we live in the present, " Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation ; " " To-day, if ye will hear His voice, harden not you hearts " From our youth up do we not strive for worldly gain and advantage, that we may in old age enjoy the comforts of our industry. Should we not on the same basis make all the preparation we can for eternity ? by coming to Jesus for satiation and by seek- ing after righteousness, and by so doing escape the fires of hell. The time may come when Christ may say unto us, as He said unta the Jews of old, *' And ye will not come unto Me that ye might have life : " or, I might put it this way, '* Ye would not come to Me while I was ready to receive you ; ye thought more of gaining unto your- selves worldly riches than ye thought of Me ; of gratifying fleshly lusts than ye thought of Me," etc. Oh ! to be the loyal subjects of Jtsus ! O come to Him while you may, for the time may come when you may be forced to say, '' I have no pleasure in Him." Look ai the promises He has given in His word, of the peace, of the happiness, of the joy, that He has gone to prepare for them that love Him ; no earthly king has ever done for His subjects anything in comparison to what the Lord Jesus has shown He has done for them that truly love Him and obey Him, and that live according to the rules and laws He has laid down in His written word, and who live His loyal subjects in His kingdom upon earth. Are you His loyal subject, or are you still to be counted as a rebel ? you must be one or the other. To be His loyal subject is to be desired more than all the wealth of nations ; all this shall vanish away ; but to be Christ's, and to be in Christ, is something that shall not vanish away. This is the true riches that shall not be taken away, but remain for those that are Christ's, eternal in the heavens. We will take nothing earthly with us when we go hence, but the riches that cometh from above will go with us beyond the grave. There is no wm Christ Our Governor. 113 promise of happiness assured by the accumulation of earthly riches, but great joy and happiness by securing the heavenly riches which shall not be taken away. I don't know but I might say that the millionaire with his millions is more miserable than the poor man who goes about scarcely able to make both ends meet. I am satisfied that it is so. There is no happiness in earthly riches ; but he that has the riches that cometh from above has all things to enjoy that is necessary for his eternal welfare ; with the promise that while in this world he shall lack nothing that shall be for his good. The rich men in this world's goods are bothered about many things ; trials and temptations beset them round about ; suffering, anxiety of mind, striving to add riches to riches ; continually taken up with the affairs oi this life, so that there is danger that it may be said of them. They had their good things in this life. I am sure, for my own part, I would rather follow the example of Agur the son of Jakeh. Very few of the rich men or millionaires gain their riches honestly, they become rich at the expense of the poor man, the farmer, the laborer, and the mechanic, so that it will be turned against them when they shall be called to give an account. But they who are rich toward God have received it honestly, it has been freely given them ; it is the gift of God unto all that love Him and that are His loyal subjects. Earthly kings may receive men into favor and advance and exalt them above their fellows, but all this will only endure for a time, it vanishes entirely away when the grave opens its mouth to receive the body of clay. But Jesus has riches and honor to bestow that has no ending, eternal in the heavens, that He gives unto all who become His loyal subjects in His kingdom ; and His kingdom has no end : and when He shall deliver up the kingdom to His Father His subjects that have been true to Him shall receive each one of them a crown of righteousness which the Righteous Judge shall give them at that day, and they shall become heirs and joint-heirs with Him in the kingdom of God eternal in the heavens. The kingdom of God shall be the portion of all who come unto Christ now while in this life. We must become Christ's before we can become joint-heirs with Him in the kingdom of God. This, I think, is the meaning of the word joint heirs : that when He shall give up the kingdom unto God we shall be found to be His, and shall reign with Him for ever and eve; down the ages of eternity, for the kingdom is an everlasting kingdom that knows no end. These are the true riches that we all should be working for and not for the perishable riches of this world. " Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive what God hath prepared for them that love Him." Ah ! friend, when Christ gives up the kingdom unto God that God may be all in all, are you to be found to be His, His joint- heir, that ycu may inherit with Him the blessedness of that estate that is prepared for all them that love His appearing ? We are not, in my opinion, to seek all this good for ourselves alone, that we may enjoy it ourselves 114 Christ Our Governor. alone; this would be selfish, it would not be*denyin(/ ourselves; I consider that the true Christian desires to be on Christ's side that he may render unto God the glory that is due unto His name, and that God may be all in all ; that he may be found working for the cause of the Lord Jesus, and striving to bring those that are outside to become subjects in the kingdom of Christ and members of His body, by kindly admonition given in brotherly love warning them of their danger in living without Christ and without God in the world, by getting them to consider their lost and undone condition if they go on living the careless life of the ungodly ; compelling them, as it were to come in that they may obtain a share in that blessedness of estate that Christ has for all who love Him, and become subjects in the kingdom of the Lord Jesus. This is the true Christian spirit. There never was a man who did enough for Christ, He deserves all the energies of our minds and bodies, of our hearts and souls, to be exercised in His behalf Oh, to be Thine ! should sound from the lips of all. Oh, that they were Christ's ! should be the cry of every Christian unto those that are yet outside the sheepfold. This last to my fancy would be tar more comely than to be always selfishly seeking our own good, when we see the multitude of men and women who are travelling the broad way to destruction. O that they were thine, O Lord ! O that they might become bright and shining lights in Thy behalf, that they might become Thy true and loyal subjects, and that they might turn from the error of their ways to serve Thee instead of serving the adversary of their souls ! If such was the cry of every church member could we not hope that more souls would be saved and added unto ihe church daily. If you are not the subject of Jesus in His kingdom, you are the subject of the adversary of your soul and all that is good. There are only the two to serve, we must be on one side or the other ; we must be on Christ's side, or on the side of His adversary who is satan the archfiend of all that is evil. " Choose you this day whom ye will serve : but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Which side are you on, dear friend ? in whose kingdom do you serve ? to whose kingship do you owe allegiance ? To Jesus Christ Who loves you and gave Himself for you, or to salan who is your adversary in all that is good, and desires your service only that he may at last bring you to eternal destruction and to the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. " Choose you this day whom ye will serve ; " do not let another day pass over you with out coming to a decision, for '* Now is it high time to awake out of sleep." But I must go back a step and write a little yet about our duty in working for the Lord. I do not believe that any man ever did enough in this respect. Doing our duty is well enough, and it is commendable, but we ought to strive and do more than our duty ; strive to go beyond our duty, and have something in hand to bring with us when we are called upon to present ourselves before Him to ■ r Christ Our Governor. "5 give an account of ourselves, and be able to say, by Thine help, O Lord, I bring these along with me ; accept of me and them. There is a hymn which reads : " Must I go, and empty handed, Must I meet my Saviour so ; Not one soul with which to greet Him ; Must I empty handed go." I think the true sentiment of every Christian is that they might be able to bring along with them a jewel here and there for the Saviour's crown. To be found, in, that day when He comes to take up His jewels, not only one himself but bringing along precious, jewels reaped from the harvest of the world. " The harvest truly is plenteous but the laborers are few." Are you working for Jesus dear soul? if not you are not even doing your duty. L)o not leave all the work for the ministers; they have their own work to do ; but strive your- self for the conversion of souls, speak a word in season here and there as the case may be, and who knows but that you may be likened unto them who may cast their bread upon the waters and after many days reap to the satisfying of their souls. I have been trying to show that the true Christim does not simply try to get to heaven for the sake of getting there himself, but for the glory of God, that he may render unto God the glory that is due unto His name ; and that he might work the works of righteousness in bringing souls unto the kingdom of heaven. There is another motive that should stir up the Christian man, which I have mentioned already, that is the rendering unto God the glory that is due unto His name. This should be ihe principal motive in desiring to become loyal sub jects in the kingdom of Christ. All things should be done to the glory of God ; God's glory should be the supreme thought in man's heart. "Let all things be done for the glory of God," was the injunc- tion of St. Paul, and should be the motto of every Christian man. The main object of a man's desire to inherit the kingdom of heaven should be that He might glorify God, not the selfish motive of getting there that he may enjoy the happiness of the saints at rest This is the portion of all those that while here upon earth have made choice of the Lord Jesui and accepted Him as their Saviour. For my own part I must admit that I have no estimation of what it is to glorify God, or what the word glory means, only that it is written, that '* Whosoever offereth praise glorifieth Me." The imagination fails in comprehending the true meaning of the word glory, but I know that our object in life should be that all things should be done for God's glory. It was for this that Jesus came into the world ; it was for this that He suffered, bled, and died ; it was for the glory of God that He came to seek and to save that which was lost j it is for this purpose that He is working in us by His Holy Spirit ; and for the giory of God, and that God might be all in all. Some may think that in saying that Christ surrenders up the kingdom unto God the Father, that I am depriving Him of some of the honor that is I ii6 Christ Our Governor, due unto Him. This is not the case, it is a lack of understanding the proposition. Christ's kingdom extends from sea to sea, and His dominion is an everlasting dominion, it knows no end. We can never render unto Jesus our Saviour and our King the glory, the honor, the majesty, and the love that is due unto Him ; we can never do enough for Him, who did so much for us that we might live and become His true subjects in His kingdom, that when He delivers up the kingdom unto the Father we may become joint-heirs with Him and reign with Him Oown the ages of etern*ty. I will quote here a few sentences from Matthew Henry : " This is the scope of the argu- ment, but the apostles drop several hints in the course of it that will be properly noticed ; as, first, That our Saviour, as man and mediator between God and man, has a delegated royalty, a kingdom given. As a man all His authority must be delegated. And though His delegation supposes His divine nature, yet as mediator He does not so explicitly sustain the character of God ; but a middle person be- tween God and maa partaking of both natures, human and divine, as He was to reconcile both parties, God and man, and receiving commission and authority from God the Father to act in this office. The Father appears in this whole dispensation in the majority and with the authority of God ; the Son made man appear as the minister of the Father, though He is God as well as the Father. Nor is this passage to be understood of the eternal dominion over all His creatures which belong to Him as God, but of a kingdom committed to Him as mediator and God man, and chiefly after His resurrection when having overcome He sat down with the Father on His throne. This is meant by the phrase so frequent in the writings of the New Testament, of sitting on the right hand of God ; on the right hand of power ; on the right hand of the Majesty on high ; on the right hand of the throne of God. Sitting down in this seat is taking upon Him the exercise of His mediatorial pcvirer and royalty, which was done upon His ascension into heaven. And it is spoken of in scripture as a recompense made Him for His deep humiliation and self abase- ment and in becoming man and dying for man the accursed death of the cross. Upon His ascension He was head over all things to the church ; had power given Him to govern and protect it against all its enemies, and in the end destroy them and complete the salvation of all them that believe in Him. This is not a power appertaining to ihe Godhead as such, it is not original or unlimited power, but power given and limited to special purposes. And though He Who has ii is God yet (inasmuch as He is somewhat else besides God, and in tiiis vhole dispensation acts not as God but as mediator, not as the offeided Majesty, but as one interposing in favor of His offending creatures, and by this virtue of His consent and commission who acts and appears in that character,") He may be properly said to have this power given Him : He may reign as God with power unlimited ; and yet may reign as mediator with power delegated and limited to these particular purposes. Second, That this delegated royalty must an Christ Our Gcvemor. 117 sometime be delivered up unto the Father from Whom it was re- ceived ; for it is a power received for particular ends and purposes, a power to govern and to protect His church till all the members of it are gathered in and the enemies of it for ever subdued and destroyed, and when these ends shall be obtained there is no need that the power and authority should be continued The Redeemer must reign until all His enemies are destroyed and the salvation of His church and people is accomplished, and when this end is attained then will He deliver up the power which He had only for this purpose, though He may continue to reign over His glorified church and body in heaven, and in this sense it may notwithstanding be said that He shall reign for ever and ever. * That He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of His kingdom there shall be no end.' Luke i. 33. Third, The Redeemer shall certainly reign till the very last enemy of His people shall be destroyed, till death itself shall be abolished, till His saints revive and recover perfect life never to be in fear or danger of dying any more; He shall have all power in heaven and earth till then. 'He who loved us, and gave Himself for us, and washed us from our sin in His own blood ; ' He who is so nearly related to us and so much concerned for us What sup- port this should be to His saints in every hour of distress and temp- tation. I^e IS alive, who was dead, and liveth for ever; and doth reign and will continue to reign till the redemption of His people is ccMnpleted and the utter ruin of their enemies eflfected. Fourth, When this is done, ' And things put under His feet, then shall the Son become subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.' The meaning of which I take to be that then the man Christ Jesus, who has appeared in so much majesty during the administration of this kingdom, shall appear upon giving it up to be the subject of the Father. Things are in scripture many times said to be delivered up when they are manifested and made to appear ; and this delivering up of the kingdom will make it manifest that Be Who appeared in the majesty of the sovereign king was during this administration a subject of God : the glorified humanity ot the Lord Jesus Christ, with all the dignity of power conferred on it, was no more than a glorious creature. This will appear when the kingdom shall be delivered up, and it will appear to the divine glory that God may be all in all, that is, that the accomplishment of our salvation may appear all over divine and God alone may have the honor of it. Note — Though the human nature must be employed in the work of our redemption, yet God was all in all. It was the Lord's doings, and should be marvellous in our eyes." Now I have given you Matthew Henry's opinion, and it concurs with my own, that God must be "all in all." What now is your opinion in regard to these matters, kind reader ? Has what I have written brought you to a moment's con- sideration over the weighty matters that I have tried to bring to your attention. You might have found it more elegantly put down, but ii8 Christ Our Governor. elegance of style is not much in my way, and I ask you what think you of these things? "What think you of Christ?" I have given you my opinion based upon scripture, anJ I have written nothing that I would like to withdraw. It remains now for you to form an opinion of Christ. Delay for you may be dangerous. What think you of Christ ? Is He altogether lovely in your estimation ; the Prince of princes, and the Prince of Peace ; King of kings, and Lord of lords. This is the true opinion that we should have in re- gard to Him ; and pray don't throw this book to one side without first making up your mind as to what you think of Him, and whether He is your Saviour or not. If He is not you Saviour now, is it not high time that you put your considering cap on and consider if you ever had a better opportunity of deciding on which side you are on ; whether on the side of Christ, or on the side of the world and anti- christ. The time is short in which you may have to answer this question in presence of the Most High ; in the presence of Christ and of His holy angels ; for unto Him is committed all judgment : and would it not be well for you to answer this question now before you lay this book to one side ? for answer it you must. Decide now, without any further delay, whether you are prepared for the judgment seat of Christ or not. I leave the question with you, what think you of Christ? Are you prepared to meet Him? Are you prepared for eternity ? Eternity, where will you spend it ? A FEW INFERENCES. ■■ As A Prophet. — I h ive shown that Christ is the Great Teacher by the working of the Holy Spirit Whom He received from the Father and Whom He gave unto His followers. That He is their Guide and Leader, the Shepherd that leads His sheep into better pastures every day. He leads them in and out into new fields and far better than those they have left behind. Getting nearer unto Himself each day, more like Him in meekness, holiness, goodness, and truth. Getting more sanctified each day if they do not yield to temptation. The promise is unto those that manfully fight against the temptations that beset their path in their journey through the wilderness of this world. The Lord's sheep shall ever go on from strength to strength, from one pasture to fields of greater richness in feeding upon the word of God and the true riches that cometh from above. We must believe that Jesus Christ is the Prophet of prophets, that Prophet like unto Moses ; Moses was typical of Christ in a great many ways. He was their law giver The law of the Led is written within the hearts of His own people and sustains them that they shall not depart from it. H e was their leader. As Moses came out of the land of Midian and went into the land of Egypt, and brought up out of the land of Egypt the chosen people of the Lord God, and led them through the wilderness till he brought them into the promised land ; so does Christ; He comes to the unsaved sinner and brings him to think K Christ Our Governor. 119 of his lost and undone condition in living as he does, living in the land of Egypt, for all unconverted people may be said to dwell in Egypt, and once Christ takes hold of a man or woman that they may inherit eternal life He never lets go until He brings them intO the promised land ; He never lost any that He laid His hands on to save, but the son of perdition who betrayed Him into the hands of sinful men. As Moses was the builder of the typical tabernacle, so is Christ the builder of the true tabernacle, the house of God not made by hands, the church visible and invisible. Moses was mur- mured against by the children of Israel, defied by Pharoah, yet God owned him and advanced him greatly above his fellows so that there was none like him in all the earth. God crowned him with glory and honor. So He did Christ. He was despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; He was rejected by His own people the Jews, and suflfered at their hands the accursed death of the cross, but God gave Him a name above all names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, and exalted Him to be a Prince and a Saviour unto His own people, exalted Him unto the highest seat in the heavens, " He sitteth upon the right hand of God." Moses was known for his meekness and patience, there was none like unto him who could bear with the stiff neckedness of the children of Israel ; how they murmured and rebelled against his authority, but he was all meekness and pal jnce and pleading in their behalf and beseeching a just and angry God to be appeased and to have mercy upon His people. So is Christ. Meekness and patience were His strongest points, when He was reviled He reviled not again, when He was scourged and crucified lie does not denounce His persecu- tors and murderers, but He pleads in their behalf, saying, " Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." And after His resur- rection He sends His disciples unto these very people with the message of love, before they would go unto the outside world. And He still pleads for His own people. *' There was no prophet like unto Moses," who did all the Lord's will, who was obedient to the Lord in all things, but a greater than Moses is here : Jesus Christ Who was the only begotten of the Father, and Who to the last iota fulfilled the Father's will. He was God as well as man ; Emanuel, God with us. He is our Prophet, and as many as shall hear Him and shall be guided by Him shall not be put to shame. The church in olden times had many prophets sent unto them, and upon occa- sions schools of prophets were to be found scattered over the Jewish nation ; and like unto the parable of the husbandmen many of them were abused and slain, Jerusalem being noted for its persecution of the prophets of the Lord. God at last sent them His own Son, Him also they rejected, and by wicked hands slew upon the tree, and by doing so the door was opened for the Gentiles to come in. Will you refuse this Prophet ? God's own Son Whom He sent into the world to save His own people. His own you are if you accept Him as He is freely offered to you in the gospel ; if you refuse there is danger mA i f 1 20 Christ Our Governor. that you may be passed over and the offer of mercy be extended to some one else. It was necessary that the gospel should be first preached unto the Jews, that the offer of mercy should be first ex- tended to them, but seeing they refused Him and the gospel message the door was opened for the Gentile to come in. The same may be the case in our day if we harden our hearts against the calls of the gospel. He is our Prophet. As A Priest. — " Wherefore in all things it behoved Him to be made like unto Mis brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself hath suffered being tempted, He is able to succor them that are tempted." As a priest He is our Mediator standing between us and our God ; for this purpose He became man, suffered the temptations that are liable to assail the natural man. Such being the case He knows our state, thereby He becomes able to succor them that are tempted. In how fervent and affectionate a manner the apostle exhorts Christians to have this their High Priest much in their thoughts. We can never over estimate what Jesus did and what He does as our priest, sitting upon the right hand of God, where He ever pleads the cause of His own orfending people. We can never make Him too close an object of our serious consideration, and surely no one in earth or heaven deserves our consideration more than He Who did so much for us; for without Him we would all perish; without His media- torial work we would be without God and without hope in the world ; without Jesus as our Saviour we would be all lost, and He could not become our Saviour without suffering in our room and stead ; without the offering which He offered up on the cross as our priest we could have no hope of salvation. Oh ! to think of the suffering of Jesus in making reconciliation for us who believe in Him when He came into the world to seek an 1 to save that which was lost. How He suffered and bled and died for His people, offering up Himself a living sacrifice unto God, upon the cross and in His walk through life, for the sins of His own people. Should it not awaken us to follow after that which is good. This He did as our priest, He submitted to the powers of heaven. The scriptures nowhere have it that He underwent the wrath of God, but they do say that the Lord bruised Him, not only permitted men to bruise Him but awakened His own sword against Him. Did not the Jews think that He was smittei? of God for some great sin of His own. No\y it was true that He was smitten of God, but not for any sin of liis own, nor for any disobedience that He was guilty of, for He was without sin ; conceived without sin, He was a perfect man and per- fectly holy ; it was for our sins that He was smitten and that the Lord bruised Him, for He did not spare Him but delivered Him up for us all. He substituted Himself in the room of sinners as a sacrifice, " He made His soul an offering for sin " You will find Christ Our Gemof. 121 ndcd to be first first ex- message may be B of the Him to :iful and iciliation i suffered [." As a God; for are liable our state, In how ■istians to can never ;st, sitting cause of 3 close an 1 earth or so much is media- he world ; He could nd stead; our priest e suffering Sim when 1 was lost, iffering up 1 His walk lot awaken our priest, :s nowhere do say that ; Him but Jews think n. No\y it sin of liis [or He was m and per- id that the red Him up sinners as a 3U will find Him explaining this in Matthew xx, 28, that " He came to give -His life a ransom for many." We could not make Christ an offering for our sins, this was His own doings, it was a voluntary offering in our behalf, His own act in giving Himself for us, saying, "Father, into Thine hand I commit My spirit." I give into Thy hands as the life of a sacrifice, as the price of pardon. Thus He bore the sins of all those that come unto Him for justification and that accept Him as their Saviour. He subjected Himself to that which to us is the wages of sin — He poured out His soul unto death. So little account did He make of it, so little consideration did He make of it, when it was the appointed means of our redemption and salvation ; He loved not His life, but gave it for us all. " For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be the righteous- ness of God in Him." He suffered Himself to be classed among the worst of sinners, but still He is the intercessor of sinners. " He was numbered with transgressors." Even this scripture was fulfilled in the way that He met death ; He was crucified with two malefac- tors, Himself in the midst or between them, and by this wc might learn that the Jews esteemed Him the greater sinner. They es teemed Him worse than the murderer Barabbas : the One they crucified and the other they would have released. They crucified the Lord of Glory, Who gave Himself for them that they might be reconciled to God by His offering up of Himself in their room and stead, and desired Barabbas to be released from the sentence that was passed upon him for sedition and murder. This is some of what He suffered as our high priest offering up Himself to God to make atonement for the sins of the people. This is some of what He suffered in His state of humiliation ; but now He is exalted above all principalities and powers. '* Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high ; being made so much better than the angels, as He hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they." This you will find to be some of the work of Christ as our high priest. He did all that was necessary that any man might be reconciled through Him, and it becomes us to meditate and consider over these things, and lay hold of Him and the work that He has done for our reconciliation to God. Our hearing and reading will be of no benefit to us unless we lay it to heart, and seek righteousness, and seek peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. As Our King. — But unto the Son He saith, "Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever : the sceptre of Thy kingdom is a right sceptre. Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness : there- fore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows " Here we have God's testimony about the Son and our king : we have here God calling Him God ; He is very God It-- i,ii' 123 Chris/ Our Gm'ernor, as well as very man, and His throne is for ever and ever ; He shall reign sitting upon His throne down the ages of eternity. This is our King who governs us and su jdues all His and our enemies. We find many places in scripture where He is given the highest honors that can be bestowed. He is King of Righteousness : " Thou lovest righteousness ; " and He governs His people in righteousness. We find that while in the world, both by example and deed, He was a lover of all that is good ; so much so that God gave Him a name above all names, and exalted Him above all others ; " For to which of the angels said He at any time, sit thou on my right hand, until I make thy enemies thy footstool." This is the work that has been com- mitted unto Him as our king. The conquest of all His enemies. His enemies are the enemies of the church, these must all be sub- dued and brought into subjection, before the kingdom shall be de- livered up unto the Father. This warfare shall continue to go on between Christ as king and head of the church until the very last enemy shall be subdued and the kingdom of satan, or as Christ calls him the prince of this world, shall be overthrown, and he with all that shall be found serving him cast into the fiery burning lake which has been prepared for him before the foundations of the world were laid. Christ in His own person overcame satan with all the power that he could bring to bear upon Him in glorious resurrection. It was not possible that all the works of darkness could hold Him, how much more shall He gain the victoiy for all them that trust Him with the well being of their souls. Having alone, while forsaken of God, fought out and gained such a glorious victory over satan and over the world, how much more shall He, after being exalted into the highest heavens, and sitting upon the right hand of God, and re- ceiving full authority from God the Father, go on with the good work of recovering and rescuing the world for God, and casting back into his own place satan and all that oppose Him and the well being of His people here upon earth. Shall He not gain the victory? Aye, that He will. " He did all things well," and He will gain a glorious victory for His church. His own chosen pe:ple; He chose them out of'the world, and He will lead them safely into the haven of rest, where their joy shall never terminate ; they shall sorrow no more ; they shall become like unto the angels of the most high God, per- fectly holy in all their ways, and shall for ever smg praises unto the Lamb that was slain, their Saviour and King, and unto God who is over all. I would not be misunderstood in what I have written in regard to Christ as our king, and that He as king has dominion over all the nations of the earth, and over hell with its legions. This is rightly His dominion and kingdom, but there is an opposing force, satan with his minions lays claim to the inhabitants of the earth, hence the war that is carried on between light and darkness, between Christ and satan, between good and evil, this same warfare has been carried on since satan beguiled Eve in the garden of Eden up to the present day^ and will continue until the kingdom ofsatan is abolished w\ ' Christ Our Governor. 123 and victory crowns the banner of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Who do you serve, dear reader ? Whose subject are you ? Under which of these kings do you owe allegiance ? The one shall be totally abolished and destroyed, the other shall go on gaining fresh victories each day, until the whole world shall become His true and loyal subjects. Whose side are you on ? " Choose ye this day whom ye will serve ; as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." I now leave you to meditate upon these things, hoping that at no distant day I may again be able to address you another paper on the subject of the eternal welfare of never-dying souls In laying down my pen for the present, I pray and hope that the Lord may bless abundantly my poor efforts in brinf^ing before you such weighty matters as I have here tried to write down. I cannot tell how precious The Saviour is to me. Since I have Him accepted. And He hath made Er»e free. I cannot tell His goodness Enough to satisfy ; And if you'll only take Him, You will see the reason why. . I cannot do for Jesus ' As much as I should like, But I will e'er endeavor To work with all my might ; For was not my dear Saviour For sinners crucified ; For me then surely Jesus Hung on the cross to die. I cannot tell how precious The saviour is to me ; I only can entreat you, To come and taste and see. ■