{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_37274/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_37274","id":"gutenberg_37274","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/37274","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Essays, Letters & Speeches","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Theology"],"text":"</pre>\n\n\n\nProduced by Mark Young, Julio Reis, Moises S. Gomes and\nthe Online Distributed Proofreading Team at\nhttp://www.pgdp.net\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe Assembly of God\n\n_Miscellaneous Writings of_ C. H. MACKINTOSH\n\n_Volume III_\n\nLOIZEAUX BROTHERS _New York_\n\nFIRST EDITION 1898 TENTH PRINTING 1960\n\nLOIZEAUX BROTHERS, INC., PUBLISHERS\n\n_A Nonprofit Organization, Devoted to the Lord's Work and to the Spread\nof His Truth_\n\n19 WEST 21ST STREET, NEW YORK 10, N. Y.\n\nPRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA\n\n\n                                        CONTENTS\n\n\n                                                                   Pages\n\n  THE MAN OF GOD                                                    3-39\n\n  DECISION FOR CHRIST                                               1-28\n\n  PRAYER IN ITS PROPER PLACE                                        1-8\n\n  \"GILGAL\"                                                          1-48\n\n  THOUGHTS ON CONFIRMATION VOWS                                     1-16\n\n  THOUGHTS ON THE LORD'S SUPPER                                     1-46\n\n  THE ASSEMBLY OF GOD                                               1-47\n\n  THE CHRISTIAN: HIS POSITION AND HIS WORK                          1-32\n\n  THE CHRISTIAN PRIESTHOOD                                          1-13\n\n  FATHER! THY SOVEREIGN LOVE--_Poem_\n\n  PAPERS ON EVANGELIZATION                                          1-86\n\n  THE LIVING GOD AND A LIVING FAITH                                 1-28\n\n  A SCRIPTURAL INQUIRY AS TO THE SABBATH,\n  THE LAW, AND CHRISTIAN MINISTRY                                   2-28\n\n  THE MINISTRY OF CHRIST; PAST, PRESENT,\n  AND FUTURE                                                        3-30\n\n  PRAYER AND THE PRAYER MEETING                                     3-23\n\n_The original numbering of these writings has been retained, Many of the\nabove may be had separately in pamphlet form._\n\n\n\n\"THE MAN OF GOD\"\n\n\nThe sentence which we have just penned occurs in Paul's second Epistle\nto his beloved son Timothy--an epistle marked, as we know, by intense\nindividuality. All thoughtful students of Scripture have noticed the\nstriking contrast between the two Epistles of Paul to Timothy. In the\nfirst, the Church is presented in its order, and Timothy is instructed\nas to how he is to behave himself therein. In the second, on the\ncontrary, the Church is presented in its ruin. The house of God has\nbecome the great house, in the which there are vessels to dishonor as\nwell as vessels to honor; and where, moreover, errors and evils\nabound--heretical teachers and false professors, on every hand.\n\nIt is in this epistle of individuality, then, that the expression, \"The\nman of God\" is used with such obvious force and meaning. It is in times\nof general declension, of ruin and confusion that the faithfulness,\ndevotedness, and decision of the individual man of God are specially\ncalled for. And it is a signal mercy for such an one to know that, spite\nof the hopeless failure of the Church as a responsible witness for\nChrist, it is the privilege of the individual to tread as holy a path,\nto taste as deep communion, and to enjoy as rich blessings, as could be\nknown in the Church's brightest days.\n\nThis is a most encouraging and consolatory fact--a fact established by\nmany infallible proofs, and set forth in the very passage from which our\nheading is taken. We shall here quote at length this passage of\nsingular weight and power:\n\n\"But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been\nassured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; and that from a\nchild thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee\nwise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All\nScripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for\ndoctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,\nthat the man of God may be _perfect_, throughly _furnished unto all good\nworks_\"[I.] (2 Tim. iii. 14-17).\n\nHere we have \"the man of God,\" in the midst of all the ruin and\nconfusion, the heresies and moral pravities of the last days, standing\nforth in his own distinct individuality, \"perfect, thoroughly furnished\nunto all good works.\" And, may we not ask, what more could be said in\nthe Church's brightest days? If we go back to the day of Pentecost\nitself, with all its display of power and glory, have we anything\nhigher, or better, or more solid than that which is set forth in the\nwords \"perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works?\"\n\nAnd is it not a signal mercy for anyone who desires to stand for God, in\na dark and evil day, to be told that, spite of all the darkness, the\nevil, the error and confusion, he possesses that which can make a child\n_wise_ unto salvation, and make a man _perfect_ and thoroughly furnished\nunto all good works? Assuredly it is; and we have to praise our God for\nit, with full and overflowing hearts. To have access, in days like\nthese, to the eternal fountain of inspiration, where the child and the\nman can meet and drink and be satisfied--that fountain so clear that the\nhonest, simple soul can understand; and so deep that you cannot reach\nthe bottom--that peerless, priceless volume which meets the child at his\nmother's knee, and makes him wise unto salvation; and meets the man in\nthe most advanced stage of his practical career and makes him perfect\nand fully furnished for the exigence of every hour.\n\nHowever, we shall have occasion, ere we close this paper, to look more\nparticularly at \"the man of God,\" and to consider what is the special\nforce and meaning of this term. That there is very much more involved in\nit than is ordinarily understood, we are most fully persuaded.\n\nThere are three aspects in which man is presented in Scripture: in the\nfirst place, we have _man in nature_; secondly, _a man in Christ_; and,\nthirdly, we have, _the man of God_. It might perhaps be thought that the\nsecond and third are synonymous; but we shall find a very material\ndifference between them. True, I must be a man in Christ before I can be\na man of God; but they are by no means interchangeable terms.\n\nLet us then, in the first place, consider\n\n\nMAN IN NATURE.\n\nThis is a very comprehensive term indeed. Under this title, we shall\nfind every possible shade of character, temperament, and disposition.\nMan, on the platform of nature, graduates between two extremes. You may\nview him at the very highest point of cultivation, or at the very lowest\npoint of degradation. You may see him surrounded with all the\nadvantages, the refinements and the so-called dignities of civilized\nlife; or you may find him sunk in all the shameless and barbarous\ncustoms of savage existence. You may view him in the almost numberless\ngrades, ranks, classes, and _castes_ into which the human family has\ndistributed itself.\n\nThen again, in the self-same class, or caste, you will find the most\nvivid contrasts, in the way of character, temper, and disposition.\nThere, for example, is a man of such an atrocious temper that he is the\nvery horror of every one who knows him. He is the plague of his family\ncircle, and a perfect nuisance to society. He can be compared to a\nporcupine with all his quills perpetually up; and if you meet him once\nyou will not wish to meet him again. There, on the other hand, is a man\nof the sweetest disposition and most amiable temper. He is just as\nattractive as the other is repulsive. He is a tender, loving, faithful\nhusband; a kind, affectionate, considerate father; a thoughtful,\nliberal master; a kindly, genial neighbor; a generous friend, beloved by\nall, and justly so: the more you know him the more you must like him,\nand if you meet him once you are sure to wish to meet him again.\n\nFurther, you may meet on the platform of nature, a man who is false and\ndeceitful to the very heart's core. He delights in lying, cheating, and\ndeception. He is mean and contemptible in his thoughts, words and ways;\na man to whom all who know him would like to give as wide a berth as\npossible. And, on the other hand, you may meet a man of high principle,\nfrank, honorable, generous, upright; one who would scorn to tell a lie,\nor do a mean act; whose reputation is unblemished, his character\nunexceptionable. His word would be taken for any amount; he is one with\nwhom all who know him would be glad to have dealings; an almost perfect\nnatural character; a man of whom it might be said, he lacks but one\nthing.\n\nFinally, as you pass to and fro on nature's platform, you may meet the\natheist who affects to deny the existence of God; the infidel who denies\nGod's revelation; the skeptic and the rationalist who disbelieves\neverything. And, on the other hand, you will meet the superstitious\ndevotee who spends his time in prayers and fastings, ordinances, and\nceremonies; and who feels sure he is earning a place in heaven by a\nwearisome round of religious observances that actually _un_fit him for\nthe proper functions and responsibilities of domestic and social life.\nYou may meet men of every imaginable shade of religious opinion, high\nchurch, low church, broad church, and no church; men who, without a\nspark of divine life in their souls, are contending for the powerless\nforms of a traditionary religion.\n\nNow, there is one grand and awfully solemn fact common to all these\nvarious classes, castes, grades, shades, and conditions of men who\noccupy the platform of nature, and that is there is not so much as a\nsingle link between them and heaven--there is no link with the Man who\nsits at the right hand of God--no link with the new creation. They are\nunconverted, and without Christ. As regards God, and Christ, and eternal\nlife, and heaven, they all--however they may differ morally, socially,\nand religiously--stand on one common ground; they are far from God--they\nare out of Christ--they are in their sins--they are in the flesh--they\nare of the world--they are on their way to hell.\n\nThere is really no getting over this, if we are to listen to the voice\nof Holy Scripture. False teachers may deny it. Infidels may pretend to\nsmile contemptuously at the idea; but Scripture is plain as can be. It\nspeaks in manifold places of a fire that NEVER shall be quenched, and of\na worm that shall never die.\n\nIt is the very height of folly for anyone to seek to set aside the plain\ntestimony of the word of God on this most solemn and weighty subject.\nBetter far to let that testimony fall, with all its weight and\nauthority, upon the heart and conscience--infinitely better to flee\nfrom the wrath to come than to attempt to deny that it is coming, and\nthat, when it does come, it will abide forever--yes, forever, and\nforever, and forever! Tremendous thought!--over-whelming consideration!\nMay it speak with living power to the soul of the unconverted reader,\nleading him to cry out in all sincerity, \"What is to be done?\"\n\nYes, here is the question, \"What must I do to be saved?\" The divine\nanswer is wrapped up in the following words which dropped from the lips\nof two of Christ's very highest and most gifted ambassadors. \"Repent and\nbe converted,\" said Peter to the Jew. \"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,\nand thou shalt be saved and thy house,\" said Paul to the Gentile. And\nagain, the latter of these two blessed messengers, in summing up his own\nministry, thus defines the whole matter, \"Testifying both to the Jews,\nand also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord\nJesus Christ.\"\n\nHow simple! But how real! How deep! How thoroughly practical! It is not\na nominal, national head belief. It is not saying, in mere flippant\nprofession, \"I believe.\" Ah! no; it is something far deeper and more\nserious than this. It is much to be feared that a large amount of the\nprofessed faith of this our day is deplorably superficial, and that many\nwho throng our preaching rooms and lecture halls are, after all, but\nwayside and stony ground hearers. The plough of conviction and\nrepentance has not passed over them. The fallow ground has never been\nbroken up. The arrow of conviction has never pierced them through and\nthrough. They have never been broken down, turned inside out--thoroughly\nrevolutionized. The preaching of the gospel to all such is just like\nscattering precious seed on the hard pavement or the beaten highway. It\ndoes not penetrate. It does not enter into the depths of the soul; the\nconscience is not reached; the heart is not affected. The seed lies on\nthe surface, it has not taken root, and is soon carried away.\n\nNor is this all. It is also much to be feared that many of the preachers\nof the present day, in their efforts to make the gospel simple, lose\nsight of the abiding necessity of repentance, and the essential\nnecessity of the action of the Holy Ghost, without which so-called faith\nis a mere human exercise and passes away like the vapors of the morning,\nleaving the soul still in the region of nature, satisfied with itself,\ndaubed with the untempered mortar of a merely human gospel that cries\npeace, peace, where there is no peace, but the most imminent danger.\n\nAll this is very serious, and should lead the soul into profound\nexercise. We want the reader to give it his grave and immediate\nconsideration. We would put this pointed question to him, which we\nentreat him to answer, now, \"_Have you got eternal life_?\" Say, dear\nfriend, _have you_? \"He that believeth on the Son of God hath eternal\nlife.\" Grand reality! If you have not got this, you have nothing.\n\nYou are still on that platform of nature of which we have spoken so\nmuch. Yes, you are still there; no matter though you were the very\nfairest specimen to be found there--amiable, polished, affable, frank,\ngenerous, truthful, upright, honorable, attractive, beloved, learned,\ncultivated, and even pious after a merely human fashion. You may be all\nthis, and yet not have a single pulsation of eternal life in your soul.\n\nThis may sound harsh and severe. But it is true; and you will find out\nits truth sooner or later. We want you to find it out _now_. We want you\nto see that you are a thorough bankrupt, in the fullest sense of that\nword. A deed of bankruptcy has been filed against you in the high court\nof heaven. Here are its terms, \"_They that are in the flesh cannot\nplease God_.\" Have you ever pondered these words? Have you ever seen\ntheir application to yourself? So long as you are unrepentant,\nunconverted, unbelieving, you cannot do a single thing to please\nGod--not one. \"In the flesh\" and \"on the platform of nature\" mean one\nand the same thing; and so long as you are there, you cannot please God.\n\"You must be born again\"--must be renewed in the very deepest springs of\nyour being: unrenewed nature is wholly unable to see, and unfit to\nenter, the kingdom of God. You must be born of water and of the\nSpirit--that is by the living word of God, and of the Holy Ghost. There\nis no other way by which to enter the kingdom. It is not by\nself-improvement, but by new birth we reach the blessed kingdom of God.\n\"That which is born of the flesh is flesh;\" and \"the flesh profiteth\nnothing,\" for \"they that are in the flesh cannot please God.\"\n\nHow distinct is all this! How pointed! How personal! How earnestly we\ndesire that the unawakened or undecided reader should, just now, take it\nhome to himself, as though he were the only individual upon the face of\nthe earth. It will not do to generalize--to rest satisfied with saying,\n\"We are all sinners.\" No; it is an intensely individual matter. \"You\n_must_ be born again.\" If you again ask, \"How?\" hear the divine response\nfrom the lips of the Master Himself, \"As Moses lifted up the serpent in\nthe wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up; that whosoever\nbelieveth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.\"\n\nHere is the sovereign remedy, for every poor broken-hearted,\nconscience-smitten, hell-deserving sinner--for every one who owns\nhimself lost--who confesses his sins, and judges himself--for every\nweary, heavy-laden, sin-burdened soul--here is God's own blessed\npromise: Jesus died, that you might live. He was condemned, that you\nmight be justified. He drank the cup of wrath, that you might drink the\ncup of salvation. Behold Him hanging on yonder cross for thee. See what\nHe did for thee. Believe that He satisfied, on your behalf, _all_ the\nclaims of justice before the throne of God. See all your sins laid on\nHim--your guilt imputed to Him--your entire condition represented and\ndisposed of by Him. See His atoning death answering perfectly for all\nthat was or ever could be brought against you. See Him rising from the\ndead, having accomplished all. See Him ascending into the heavens,\nbearing in His divine Person the marks of His finished atonement. See\nHim seated on the throne of God, in the very highest place of power. See\nHim crowned with glory and honor. Believe in Him, and you will receive\nremission of sins, the gift of eternal life, the seal of the Holy Ghost.\nYou will pass off the platform of nature--you will be \"_A man in\nChrist_.\"\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[I.] The reader should be informed that the word which is rendered\n\"perfect,\" in the above passage, occurs but this once in the entire New\nTestament. It is [Greek: artios] (artios) and signifies, ready,\ncomplete, well fitted; as an instrument with all its strings, a machine\nwith all its parts, a body with all its limbs, joints, muscles, and\nsinews. The usual word for \"perfect\" is [Greek: teleios] (teleios) which\nsignifies the reaching of the moral _end_, in any particular thing.\n\n\nPART II.\n\nTo all whose eyes have been opened to see their true condition by\nnature, who have been brought under the convicting power of the Holy\nGhost, who know something of the real meaning of a broken heart and a\ncontrite spirit--to all such it must be of the deepest possible interest\nto know the divine secret of rest and peace. If it be true--and it is\ntrue, because God says it--that \"they that are _in the flesh_ cannot\nplease God,\" then how is any one to get _out of the flesh_? How can he\npass off the platform of nature? How can he reach the blessed position\nof those to whom the Holy Ghost declares, \"Ye are not in the flesh but\nin the Spirit\"?\n\nThese are momentous questions, surely. For, be it thoroughly known and\never remembered, that no improvement of our old nature is of any value\nwhatsoever as to our standing before God. It may be all very well, so\nfar as this life is concerned, for a man to improve himself by every\nmeans within his reach, to cultivate his mind, furnish his memory,\nelevate his moral tone, advance his social position. All this is quite\ntrue, so true as not to need a moment's argument.\n\nBut, admitting in the fullest manner the truth of all this, it leaves\nwholly untouched the solemn and sweeping statement of the inspired\napostle that, \"they that are in the flesh cannot please God.\" There\n_must_ be a new standing altogether, and this new standing cannot be\nreached by any change in the old nature--by any doings or formalities,\nfeelings, ordinances of religion, prayers, alms or sacraments. Do what\nyou will with nature and it is nature still. \"That which is born of the\nflesh is flesh;\" and do what you will with flesh you cannot make it\nspirit. There must be a new life--a life flowing from the new man, the\nlast Adam, who has become, in resurrection, the Head of a new race.\n\nHow is this most precious life to be had? Hear the memorable\nanswer--hear it, anxious reader, hear it and live. \"Verily, verily, I\nsay unto you, he that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent\nMe, _hath_ everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment; but _is\npassed_ from death unto life\" (John v. 24).\n\nHere we have a total change of standing; a passing from death to life;\nfrom a position in which there is not so much as a single link with\nheaven, with the new creation, with the risen Man in glory, into a\nposition in which there is not a single link with the first man, with\nthe old creation, and this present evil world. And all this is through\nbelieving on the Son of God--not _saying_ we believe, but really, truly,\nheartily, believing on the Son of God; not by a mere intellectual faith,\nbut believing with the heart.\n\nThus only does any one become\n\n\nA MAN IN CHRIST.\n\nEvery true believer is a man in Christ. Whether it be the convert of\nyesterday or the hoary headed saint of fifty or sixty years' standing as\na Christian, each stands in precisely the same blessed position--he is\nin Christ. There can be no difference here. The practical _state_ may\ndiffer immensely; but the positive standing is one and the same. As on\nthe platform of nature, you may meet with every imaginable shade, class,\ngrade, and condition (though all having one common standing) so on the\nnew, the divine, the heavenly platform, you may meet with every possible\nvariety of practical condition: the greatest possible difference in\nintelligence, experience, and spiritual power, while all possessing the\nsame standing before God, all being in Christ. There can be no degrees\nas to standing, whatever there may be as to state. The convert of\nyesterday, and the hoary headed father in Christ are both alike as to\nstanding. Each is a man in Christ, and there can be no advance upon\nthis. We sometimes hear of, \"The higher Christian life:\" but, strictly\nspeaking, there is no such thing as a higher or a lower Christian life,\ninasmuch as Christ is the life of every believer. It may be that those\nwho use the term mean a right thing. They probably refer to the higher\nstages of the Christian life--greater nearness to God, greater likeness\nto Christ, greater power in the Spirit, more devotedness, more\nseparation from the world, more entire consecration of heart to Christ.\nBut all these things belong to the question of our _state_, not to our\nstanding. This latter is absolute, settled, unchangeable. It is in\nChrist--nothing less, nothing more, nothing different. If we are not in\nChrist, we are in our sins; but if we are in Christ, we cannot possibly\nbe higher, as to standing.\n\nIf the reader will turn with us, for a few moments, to I Cor. xv. 45-48,\nhe will find some powerful teaching on this great foundation truth. The\napostle speaks here of two men, \"The first and the second.\" And let it\nbe carefully noted that the Second Man is by no means federally\nconnected with the first, but stands in contrast with him--a new,\nindependent, divine, heavenly source of life in Himself. The first man\nhas been entirely set aside, as a ruined, guilty, outcast creature. We\nspeak of Adam federally, as the head of a race. Personally, Adam was\nsaved by grace; but if we look at him from a federal standpoint, we see\nhim a hopeless wreck.\n\nThe first man is an irremediable ruin. This is proved by the fact of a\n_second_ Man; for truly we may say of the men as of the covenants, \"If\nthe first had been found faultless, then should no place have been\nsought for the Second.\" But the very fact of a second Man being\nintroduced demonstrates the hopeless ruin of the first. Why a second, if\naught could be made of the first? If our old Adam nature was, in any\nwise, capable of being improved, there was no need of something new. But\n\"they that are in the flesh cannot please God.\" \"For in Christ Jesus\nneither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new\ncreation\" (Rom. viii.: Gal. vi.).\n\nThere is immense moral power in all this line of teaching. It sets forth\nChristianity in vivid and striking contrast with every form of\nreligiousness under the sun. Take Judaism or any other _ism_ that ever\nwas known or that now exists in this world, and what do you find it to\nbe? Is it not invariably something designed for the testing, or\nexperimenting for the improvement, or advancement of the first man?\nUnquestionably.\n\nBut what is Christianity? It is something entirely new--heavenly,\nspiritual, divine. It is based upon the cross of Christ, in the which\nthe first man came to his end, where sin was put away, judgment borne,\nthe old man crucified and put out of God's sight forever, so far as all\nbelievers are concerned. The cross closes, for faith, the history of the\nfirst man. \"I am crucified with Christ,\" says the apostle. And again,\n\"They that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its affections and\nlusts.\"\n\nAre these mere figures of speech, or do they set forth, in the mighty\nwords of the Holy Ghost, the grand fact of the entire setting aside of\nthe first man, as utterly worthless and condemned? The latter, most\nassuredly. Christianity starts, as it were, from the open grave of the\nSecond Man, to pursue its bright career onward to eternal glory. It is,\nemphatically, a new creation in which there is not so much as a single\nshred of the old thing--for in this \"all things are of God.\" And if\n\"_all things_\" are of God, there can be nothing of man.\n\nWhat rest! What comfort! What strength! What moral elevation! What sweet\nrelief for the poor burdened soul that has been vainly seeking, for\nyears perhaps, to find peace in self-improvement! What deliverance from\nthe wretched thralldom of legality, in all its phases, to find out the\nprecious secret that my guilty, ruined, bankrupt self--the very thing\nthat I have been trying by every means in my power to improve, has been\ncompletely and forever set aside--that God is not looking for any\namendment in it--that He has condemned it and put it to death in the\ncross of His Son! What an answer is here to the monk, the ascetic, and\nthe ritualist! Oh, that it were understood in all its emancipating\npower! This heavenly, this divine, this spiritual Christianity. Surely\nwere it only known in its living power and reality, it would deliver the\nsoul from the thousand and one forms of corrupt religion whereby the\narch-enemy and deceiver is ruining the souls of untold millions. We may\ntruly say that Satan's most successful effort against the truth of the\ngospel, against the Christianity of the New Testament, is seen in the\nfact of his leading unconverted people to take and apply to themselves\nordinances of the Christian religion, and to profess many of its\ndoctrines. In this way he blinds their eyes to their own true condition,\nas utterly ruined, guilty, and undone; and strikes a deadly blow at the\npure gospel of Christ. The best piece that was ever put upon the \"old\ngarment\" of man's ruined nature is the profession of Christianity; and,\nthe better the piece, the worse the rent. See Mark ii. 21.\n\nLet us bend an attentive ear to the following weighty words of the\ngreatest teacher and best exponent of true Christianity the world ever\nsaw. \"For _I_ through the law _am dead_ to the law, that I might live to\nGod. _I am crucified_ with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet _not I_, but\nChrist liveth in me.\" Mark this, \"I--not I--but Christ.\" The old\n\"I\"--\"crucified.\" The new \"I\"--Christ. \"And the life which I now live in\nthe flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave\nHimself for me\" (Gal. ii. 19, 20).[II.]\n\nThis, and nothing else, is Christianity. It is not \"the old man,\" the\nfirst man, becoming religious, even though the religion be the\nprofession of the doctrines, and the adopting of the ordinances of\nChristianity. No; it is the death and burial of the old man--the old\nI--and becoming a new man in Christ. Every true believer is a new man in\nChrist. He has passed clean out of the old creation-standing--the old\nestate of sin and death, guilt and condemnation; and he has passed into\na new creation-standing--a new estate of life and righteousness in a\nrisen and glorified Christ, the Head of the new creation, the last Adam.\n\nSuch is the position and unalterable standing of the feeblest believer\nin Christ. There is absolutely no other standing for any Christian. I\nmust either be in the first man or in the Second. There is no _third_\nman, for the Second Man is the last Adam. There is no middle ground. I\nam either _in Christ_, or I am _in my sins_. But if I am in Christ, I am\nas He is before God. \"As _He is so are we_, in this world.\" He does not\nsay, \"As He _was_\" but \"as He _is_.\" That is, the Christian is viewed by\nGod as one with Christ--the Second Man, in whom He delights. We do not\nspeak of His Deity, of course, which is incommunicable. That blessed One\nstood in the believer's stead--bore his sins, died his death, paid his\npenalty, represented him in every respect; took all his guilt, all his\nliabilities, all that pertained to him as a man in nature, stood as his\nsubstitute, in all the verity and reality of that word, and having\ndivinely met his case, and borne his judgment, He rose from the dead,\nand is now the Head, the Representative, and the only true definition\nof the believer before God.\n\nTo this most glorious and enfranchising truth, Scripture bears the\namplest testimony. The passage which we have just quoted from Galatians\nis a most vivid, powerful, and condensed statement of it. And if the\nreader will turn to Rom. vi. he will find further evidence. We shall\nquote some of the weighty sentences.\n\n\"What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may\nabound? Far be the thought. How shall _we that are dead_ to sin, live\nany longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized to\nJesus Christ were baptized to His death? Therefore we are buried with\nHim by baptism unto death; that _like as Christ_ was raised up from the\ndead by the glory of the Father, _even so we also_ should walk in\nnewness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of\nHis death, we shall be also of resurrection. Knowing this that _our old\nman is crucified with Him_, that the body of sin might be destroyed,\nthat henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed\nfrom sin. Now if we _be dead with Christ_, we believe that we shall also\nlive with Him. Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead, dieth no\nmore; death hath no more dominion over Him. For in that He died, He died\nunto sin once; but in that He liveth He liveth unto God. Likewise reckon\nye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God,\nthrough Jesus Christ our Lord\" (Rom. vi. I-11).\n\nReader, mark especially these words in the foregoing quotation--\"We that\n_are dead_\"--\"We are buried with Him\"--\"_Like as Christ_ was raised ...\n_even so_ we also\"--\"Our old man is crucified with Him\"--\"Dead with\nChrist\"--\"Dead indeed unto sin.\" Do we really understand such\nutterances? Have we entered into their real force and meaning? Do we, in\nvery deed, perceive their application to ourselves? These are searching\nquestions for the heart, and needful. The real doctrine of Rom. vi. is\nbut little apprehended. There are thousands who profess to believe in\nthe atoning virtue of the death of Christ, but who do not see aught\ntherein beyond the forgiveness of their _sins_. They do not see the\ncrucifixion, death, and burial of the old man--the destruction of the\nbody of sin--the condemnation of sin--the entire setting aside of the\nold system of things belonging to their first Adam condition--in a word\ntheir perfect identification with a dead and risen Christ. Hence it is\nthat we press this grand and all-important line of truth upon the\nattention of the reader. It lies at the very base of all true\nChristianity, and forms an integral part of the truth of the gospel.\n\nLet us hearken to further evidence on the point. Hear what the apostle\nsaid to the Colossians: \"Wherefore, if ye be _dead with Christ_ from the\nrudiments of the world, why, _as though living in the world_, are ye\nsubject to ordinances, after the commandments and doctrines of men,\n[such as] touch not, taste not, handle not\"?--thus it is that human\nordinances speak to us, telling us not to touch this, not to taste that,\nnot to handle the other, as if there could possibly be any divine\nprinciple involved in such things--\"which all are to perish with the\nusing;\" and \"which, have indeed a show of wisdom in will worship, and\nhumility, and neglecting of the body--not in any honor--to the\nsatisfying of the flesh. If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those\nthings which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.\nSet your mind on things that are above, not on things on the earth. For\n_ye have died_ and your life is hid with Christ in God\" (Col. ii., iii.\n2).\n\nHere, again, let us inquire how far we enter into the true force,\nmeaning, and application of such words as these--\"Why as though _living\nin the world_,\" etc.? Are we living in the world or living in\nheaven--which? The true Christian is one who has died out of this\npresent evil world. He has no more to do with it than Christ. \"Like as\nChrist ... even so we.\" He is dead to the law--dead to sin: alive in\nChrist--alive to God--alive in the new creation. He belongs to heaven.\nHe is enrolled as a citizen of heaven. His religion, his politics, his\nmorals are all heavenly. He is a heavenly man walking on the earth, and\nfulfilling all the duties which belong to the varied relationships in\nwhich the hand of God has placed him, and in which the word of God most\nfully recognizes him, and amply guides him, such as husband, father,\nmaster, child, servant, and such like. The Christian is not a monk, an\nascetic, or a hermit. He is, we repeat, a heavenly, spiritual man, _in_\nthe world, but not _of_ it. He is like a foreigner, so far as his\nresidence here is concerned. He is in the body, as to the fact of his\ncondition; but not in the flesh as to the principle of his standing. He\nis _a man in Christ_.\n\nEre closing this article, we should like to call the reader's attention\nto 2 Cor. xii. In it he will find, at once, the _positive standing_ and\nthe _possible state_ of the believer. The standing is fixed and\nunalterable, as set forth in that one comprehensive sentence--\"A man in\nChrist.\" The state may graduate between the two extremes presented in\nthe opening and closing verses of this chapter. A Christian may be in\nthe third heaven, amid the seraphic visions of that blessed and holy\nplace; or he may, if not watchful, sink down into all the gross and evil\nthings named in vers. 20, 21.\n\nIt may be asked, \"Is it possible that a true child of God could ever be\nfound in such a low moral condition?\" Alas! alas! reader, it is indeed\npossible. There is no depth of sin and folly into which a Christian is\nnot capable of plunging, if not kept by the grace of God. Even the\nblessed apostle himself, when he came down from the third heaven, needed\n\"a thorn in the flesh\" to keep him from being \"exalted above measure.\"\nWe might suppose that a man who had been up in that bright and blessed\nregion could never again feel the stirrings of pride. But the plain fact\nis that even the third heavens cannot cure the flesh. It is utterly\nincorrigible and must be judged and kept under, day by day, hour by\nhour, moment by moment, else it will cut out plenty of sorrowful work\nfor us.\n\nStill, the believer's standing is in Christ, forever justified,\naccepted, perfect in Him. And, moreover, he must ever judge his state by\nhis standing, never his standing by his state. To attempt to reach the\nstanding by my state is _legalism_; to refuse to judge my state by the\nstanding is _antinomianism_. Both--though so diverse one from the\nother--are alike false, alike opposed to the truth of God, alike\noffensive to the Holy Ghost, alike removed from the divine idea of \"A\nman in Christ.\"\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[II.] The reader will distinguish between the expression \"in the flesh\"\nas used in Gal. ii. 20, and in Rom. viii. 8, 9. In the former, it simply\nrefers to our condition as in the body. In the latter, it sets forth the\nprinciple or ground of our standing. The believer is in the body, as to\nthe fact of his condition; but he is not in the flesh as to the\nprinciple of his standing.\n\n\nPART III.\n\nHaving considered the deeply interesting questions of \"a man in nature\"\nand \"a man in Christ,\" it remains for us now to consider, in this third\nand last Part, the deeply practical subject of the title of this paper,\nnamely,\n\n\nTHE MAN OF GOD.\n\nIt would be a great mistake to suppose that every Christian is a man of\nGod. Even in Paul's day--in the days of Timothy, there were many who\nbore the Christian name who were very far indeed from acquitting\nthemselves as men of God, that is, as those who were really God's men,\nin the midst of the failure and error which, even then, had begun to\ncreep in.\n\nIt is the perception of this fact that renders the second Epistle to\nTimothy so profoundly interesting. In it we have what we may call ample\nprovision for the man of God, in the day in which he is called to\nlive--a dark, evil, and perilous day, most surely, in which all who will\nlive godly must keep the eye steadily fixed on Christ Himself--His\nname--His person--His Word, if they would make any headway against the\ntide.\n\nIt is hardly possible to read second Timothy without being struck with\nits intensely individual character. The very opening address is\nstrikingly characteristic. \"I thank God, whom I serve from my\nforefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have\nremembrance of thee in my prayers night and day.\"\n\nWhat glowing words are these! How affecting to harken thus to one man of\nGod pouring the deep and tender feelings of his great, large, loving\nheart into the heart of another man of God! The dear apostle was\nbeginning to feel the chilling influence that was fast creeping over the\nprofessing Church. He was tasting the bitterness of disappointed hopes.\nHe found himself deserted by many who had once professed to be his\nfriends and associates in that glorious work to which he had consecrated\nall the energies of his great soul. Many were becoming \"ashamed of the\ntestimony of our Lord, and of His prisoner.\" It was not that they\naltogether ceased to be Christians, or abandoned the Christian\nprofession; but they turned their backs upon Paul, and left him alone in\nthe day of trial.\n\nNow, it is under such circumstances that the heart turns, with peculiar\ntenderness, to individual faithfulness and affection. If one is\nsurrounded, on all hands, by true-hearted confessors--by a great cloud\nof witnesses--a large army of good soldiers of Jesus Christ--if the tide\nof devotedness is flowing around one and bearing him on its bosom, he is\nnot so dependent upon individual sympathy and fellowship.\n\nBut, on the other hand, when the general condition of things is low,\nwhen the majority prove faithless, when old associates are dropping off,\nit is then that personal grace and true affection are specially valued.\nThe dark background of general declension throws individual devotedness\ninto beauteous relief.\n\nThus it is in this exquisite Epistle which now lies open before us. It\ndoes the heart good to harken to the breathings of the aged prisoner of\nJesus Christ, who can speak of serving God from his forefathers with\npure conscience, and of unceasing remembrance of his beloved son and\ntrue yoke-fellow.\n\nIt is specially interesting to notice that, both in reference to his own\nhistory and that of his beloved friend, Paul goes back to facts of very\nearly date--facts in their own individual paths, facts prior to their\nmeeting one another, and prior to what we may call their church\nassociations--important and interesting as these things surely are in\ntheir place. Paul had served God, from his forefathers, with pure\nconscience, before he had known a fellow-Christian. This he could\ncontinue to do though deserted by all his Christian companions. So also,\nin the case of his faithful friend, he says, \"I call to remembrance the\nunfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt in thy grandmother Lois,\nand thy mother Eunice: and I am persuaded that is in thee also.\"\n\nThis is very touching and very beautiful. We cannot but be struck with\nsuch references to the previous history of those beloved men of God. The\n\"pure conscience\" of the one, and \"the unfeigned faith\" of the other,\nindicate two grand moral qualities which all must possess if they would\nprove true men of God in a dark and evil day. The former has its\nimmediate reference, in all things, to the one living and true God; the\nlatter draws all its springs from Him. That, leads us to walk _before_\nGod; this, enables us to walk _with_ Him. Both together are\nindispensable in forming the character of the true man of God.\n\nIt is utterly impossible to over-estimate the importance of keeping a\npure conscience before God, in all our ways. It is positively\ninvaluable. It leads us to refer everything to God. It keeps us from\nbeing tossed hither and thither by every wave and current of human\nopinion. It imparts stability and consistency to the entire course and\ncharacter.\n\nWe are all in imminent danger of falling under human influence--of\nshaping our way according to the thoughts of our fellow-man, adopting\nhis cue, or mounting his hobby.\n\nAll this is destructive of the character of the man of God. If you take\nyour tone from your fellow, if you suffer yourself to be formed in a\nmerely human mould, if your faith stands in the wisdom of man, if your\nobject is to please men, then instead of being a man of God, you will\nbecome a member of a party or clique. You will lose that lovely\nfreshness and originality so essential to the individual servant of\nChrist, and become marked by the peculiar and dominant features of a\nsect.\n\nLet us carefully guard against this. It has ruined many a valuable\nservant. Many who might have proved really useful workmen in the\nvineyard, have failed completely through not maintaining the integrity\nof their individual character and path. They began with God. They\nstarted on their course in the exercise of a pure conscience, and in the\npursuit of that path which a divine hand had marked out for them. There\nwas a bloom, a freshness, and a verdure about them, most refreshing to\nall who came in contact with them. They were taught of God. They drew\nnear to the eternal fountain of Holy Scripture and drank for themselves.\nPerhaps they did not know much; but what they did know was real because\nthey received it from God, and it turned to good account for \"there is\nmuch food in the tillage of the poor.\"\n\nBut, instead of going on with God, they allowed themselves to get under\nhuman influence; they got truth secondhand, and became the vendors of\nother men's thoughts; instead of drinking at the fountain head, they\ndrank at the streams of human opinion; they lost originality,\nsimplicity, freshness, and power, and became mere copyists, if not\nmiserable caricatures. Instead of giving forth those \"rivers of living\nwater\" which flow from the true believer in Jesus, they dropped into the\nbarren technicalities and cut and dry common-places of mere systematized\nreligion.\n\nBeloved Christian reader, all this must be sedulously guarded against.\nWe must watch against it, pray against it, believe against it, and live\nagainst it. Let us seek to serve God, with a pure conscience. Let us\nlive in His own immediate presence, in the light of His blessed\ncountenance, in the holy intimacy of personal communion with Him,\nthrough the power of the Holy Ghost. This, we may rest assured, is the\ntrue secret of power for the man of God, at all times, and under all\ncircumstances. We must walk with God, in the deep and cherished sense of\nour own personal responsibility to Him. This is what we understand by \"a\npure conscience.\"\n\nBut will this tend, in the smallest degree, to lessen our sense of the\nvalue of true fellowship, of holy communion with all those who are true\nto Christ? By no means; indeed it is the very thing which will impart\npower, energy, and depth of tone to the fellowship. If every \"man in\nChrist\" were only acquitting himself thoroughly as \"a man of God,\" what\nblessed fellowship there would be! what heart work! what glow and\nunmistakable power! How different from the dull formalism of a merely\nnominal assent to certain accredited dogmas of a party, on the one hand,\nand from the mere _esprit de corps_ of cliquism, on the other.\n\nThere are few terms in such common use and so little understood as\n\"fellowship.\" In numberless cases, it merely indicates the fact of a\nnominal membership in some religious denomination--a fact which\nfurnishes no guarantee whatsoever of living communion with Christ, or\npersonal devotedness to His cause. If all who are nominally \"in fellow\nship\" were acquitting themselves thoroughly as men of God, what a very\ndifferent condition of things we should be privileged to witness!\n\nBut what is fellowship? It is, in its very highest expression, having\none common object with God, and taking part in the same portion; and\nthat object, that portion, is Christ--Christ known and enjoyed through\nthe Holy Ghost. This is fellowship with God. What a privilege! What a\ndignity! What unspeakable blessedness! To be allowed to have a common\nobject and a common portion with God Himself! To delight in the One in\nwhom He delights! There can be nothing higher, nothing better, nothing\nmore precious than this. Not even in heaven itself shall we know aught\nbeyond this. Our own condition will, thank God, be vastly different.\n\nWe shall be done with a body of sin and death, and be clothed with a\nbody of glory. We shall be done with a sinful, sorrowful, distracting\nworld, where all is directly opposed to God and to us, and we shall\nbreathe the pure, invigorating atmosphere of that bright and blessed\nworld above.\n\nFor, in so far as our fellowship is real, it is now as it shall be then,\n\"with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ\"--\"in the light,\" and by\nthe power of the Holy Ghost.\n\nThus much as to our fellowship with God. And, as regards our fellowship\none with another, it is simply as we walk in the light; as we read, \"If\nwe walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with\nanother, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all\nsin\" (I John i. 7). We can only have fellowship one with another as we\nwalk in the immediate presence of God. There may be a vast amount of\nmere intercourse without one particle of divine fellowship. Alas! alas!\na great deal of what passes for Christian fellowship is nothing more\nthan the merest religious gossip--the vapid, worthless, soul-withering\nchit-chat of the religious world, than which nothing can be more\nmiserably unprofitable. True Christian fellowship can only be enjoyed in\nthe light. It is when we are individually walking with God, in the power\nof personal communion, that we really have fellowship one with another,\nand this fellowship consists in real heart enjoyment of Christ as our\none object, our common portion. It is not heartless traffic in certain\nfavorite doctrines which we receive to hold in common. It is not morbid\nsympathy with those who think, and see, and feel with us in some\nfavorite theory or dogma. It is something quite different from all this.\nIt is delighting in Christ, in common with all those who are walking in\nthe light. It is attachment to Him, to His person, His name, His Word,\nHis cause, His people. It is joint consecration of heart and soul to\nthat blessed One who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own\nblood, and brought us into the light of God's presence, there to walk\nwith Him and with one another. This, and nothing less, is Christian\nfellowship; and where this is really understood it will lead us to pause\nand consider what we say when we declare, in any given case, \"such an\none is in fellowship.\"\n\nBut we must proceed with our Epistle, and there see what full provision\nthere is for the man of God, however dark the day may be in which his\nlot is cast.\n\nWe have seen something of the importance--yea, rather, we should say the\nindispensable necessity of \"a pure conscience,\" and \"unfeigned faith,\"\nin the moral equipment of God's man. These qualities lie at the very\nbase of the entire edifice of practical godliness which must ever\ncharacterize the genuine man of God.\n\nBut there is more than this. The edifice must be erected as well as the\nfoundation laid. The man of God has to work on amid all sorts of\ndifficulties, trials, sorrows, disappointments, obstacles, questions\nand controversies. He has his niche to fill, his path to tread, his work\nto do. Come what may, he must serve. The enemy may oppose; the world may\nfrown; the Church may be in ruins around him; false brethren may thwart,\nhinder, and desert; strife, controversy, and division may arise and\ndarken the atmosphere; still the man of God must move on, regardless of\nall these things, working, serving, testifying, according to the sphere\nin which the hand of God has placed him, and according to the gift\nbestowed upon him. How is this to be done? Not only by keeping a pure\nconscience and the exercise of an unfeigned faith--priceless,\nindispensable qualities! but, further, he has to harken to the following\nweighty word of exhortation--\"Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that\nthou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my\nhands.\"\n\nThe gift must be stirred up, else it may become useless if allowed to\nlie dormant. There is great danger of letting the gift drop into disuse\nthrough the discouraging influence of surrounding circumstances. A gift\nunused will soon become useless; whereas, a gift stirred up and\ndiligently used grows and expands. It is not enough to possess a gift,\nwe must wait upon the gift, cultivate it, and exercise it. This is the\nway to improve it.\n\nAnd observe the special force of the expression, \"the gift of God.\" In\nEph. iv. we read of \"the gift of Christ,\" and there, too, we find all\nthe gifts, from the highest to the lowest range, flowing down from\nChrist the risen and glorified Head of His body, the Church. But in\nsecond Timothy, we have it defined as \"the gift of God.\" True it\nis--blessed be His holy name!--our Lord Christ is God over all, blessed\nforever, so that the gift of Christ is the gift of God. But we may rest\nassured there is never any distinction in Scripture without a\ndifference; and hence there is some good reason for the expression \"gift\nof God.\" We doubt not it is in full harmony with the nature and object\nof the Epistle in which it occurs. It is \"the gift of God\" communicated\nto \"the man of God\" to be used by him notwithstanding the hopeless ruin\nof the professing Church, and spite of all the difficulty, darkness, and\ndiscouragement of the day in which his lot is cast.\n\nThe man of God must not allow himself to be hindered in the diligent\ncultivation and exercise of his gift, though everything seems to look\ndark and forbidding, for \"God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but\nof power and of love, and of a sound mind.\" Here we have \"God\" again\nintroduced to our thoughts, and that, too, in a most gracious manner, as\nfurnishing His man with the very thing he needs to meet the special\nexigence of his day--\"The spirit of power, and of love, and of a sound\nmind.\"\n\nMarvelous combination! Truly, an exquisite compound after the art of the\napothecary! Power, love, and wisdom! How perfect! Not a single\ningredient too much. Not one too little. If it were merely a spirit of\npower, it might lead one to carry things with a high hand. Were it\nmerely a spirit of love, it might lead one to sacrifice truth for peace'\nsake; or indolently to tolerate error and evil rather than give offence.\nBut the power is softened by the love; and the love is strengthened by\nthe power; and, moreover, the spirit of wisdom comes in to adjust both\nthe power and the love. In a word, it is a divinely perfect and\nbeautiful provision for the man of God--the very thing he needs for \"the\nlast days\" so perilous, so difficult, so full of all sorts of perplexing\nquestions and apparent contradictions. If one were to be asked what he\nwould consider most necessary for such days as these? surely he should,\nat once, say, \"power, love, and soundness of mind.\" Well, blessed be\nGod, these are the very things which He has graciously given to form the\ncharacter, shape the way, and govern the conduct of the man of God,\nright on to the end.\n\nBut there is further provision and further exhortation for the man of\nGod. \"Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of\nme His prisoner; but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel\naccording to the power of God.\" In pentecostal days, when the rich and\nmighty tide of divine grace was flowing in, and bearing thousands of\nransomed souls upon its bosom; when all were of one heart and one mind;\nwhen those outside were overawed by the extraordinary manifestations of\ndivine power, it was rather a question of partaking of the _triumphs_ of\nthe gospel, than its afflictions. But in the days contemplated in second\nTimothy, all is changed. The beloved apostle is a lonely prisoner at\nRome; all in Asia had forsaken him; Hymeneus and Philetus are denying\nthe resurrection; all sorts of heresies, errors, and evils are creeping\nin; the landmarks are in danger of being swept away by the tide of\napostasy and corruption.\n\nIn the face of all this, the man of God has to brace himself up for the\noccasion. He has to endure hardness; to hold fast the form of sound\nwords; he has to keep the good thing committed to him; to be strong in\nthe grace that is in Christ Jesus; to keep himself _disentangled_\n--however he may be _engaged_; he must keep himself free as a soldier;\nhe must cling to God's sure foundation; he must purge himself from the\ndishonorable vessels in the great house; he must _flee_ youthful lusts,\nand _follow_ righteousness, faith, love, peace, with them that call on\nthe Lord out of a pure heart. He must avoid foolish and unlearned\nquestions. He must turn away from formal and heartless professors. He\nmust be thoroughly furnished for all good works, perfectly equipped\nthrough a knowledge of the Holy Scriptures. He must preach the Word; be\ninstant in season and out of season. He must watch in all things; endure\nafflictions; and do the work of an evangelist.\n\nWhat a category for the man of God! Who is sufficient for these things?\nWhere is the spiritual power to be had for such works? It is to be had\nat the mercy-seat. It is to be found in earnest, patient, believing,\nwaiting upon the living God, and in no other way. All our springs are\nin Him. We have only to draw upon Him. He is sufficient for the darkest\nday. Difficulties are nothing to Him, and they are bread for faith. Yes,\nbeloved reader, difficulties of the most formidable nature are simply\nbread for faith, and the man of faith will develop and grow strong\nthereby. Unbelief says, \"There is a lion in the way;\" but faith slays\nthe lion that roars along the path of the nazarite of God. It is the\nprivilege of the true believer to rise above all the hostile influences\nwhich surround him, no matter what they are, or from whence they spring;\nand, in the calmness and brightness of the divine presence, enjoy as\nhigh communion, and taste as rich and rare privileges as ever were known\nin the Church's brightest days.\n\nLet us remember this--every man of God needs to remember it: there is no\ncomfort, no peace, no strength, no moral power, no true elevation to be\nderived from looking at the ruins. We must look up out of the ruins to\nthe place where our Lord Christ has taken His seat, at the right hand of\nthe Majesty in the heavens. Or rather, to speak more according to our\ntrue position, we should look down from our place in the heavens upon\nall the ruins of earth. To realize our place in Christ, and to be\noccupied in heart and soul with Him, is the true secret of power to\ncarry ourselves as men of God. To have Christ ever before us--His work\nfor the conscience, His person for the heart, His Word for the path, is\nthe one grand, sovereign, divine remedy for a ruined self, a ruined\nworld, a ruined Church.\n\nBut we close. Very gladly would we linger, in company with the reader,\nover the contents of this most precious second Timothy. Truly refreshing\nwould it be to dwell upon all its touching allusions, its earnest\nappeals, its weighty exhortations. But this would demand a volume, and\nhence we must leave the Christian reader to study the Epistle for\nhimself, praying that the eternal Spirit who indited it may unfold and\napply it in living power to his soul, so that he may be enabled to\nacquit himself as an earnest, faithful, whole-hearted man of God and\nservant of Christ, in the midst of a scene of hollow profession, and\nheartless worldly religiousness.\n\nMay the good Lord stir us all up to a more thorough consecration of\nourselves, in spirit, soul, and body--all we are and all we have--to His\nservice! We think we can really say we long for this--long for it, in\nthe deep sense of our lack of it--long for it, more intensely, as we\ngrow increasingly sick of the unreal condition of things within and\naround us.\n\nO beloved Christian, let us earnestly, believingly, and perseveringly\ncry to our own ever gracious God to make us more real, more\nwhole-hearted, more thoroughly devoted to our Lord Jesus Christ in all\nthings.\n\n             IN THE FATHER'S HOUSE\n\n        \"The wanderer no more will roam,\n          The lost one to the fold hath come,\n        The prodigal is welcomed home,\n              O Lamb of God, through Thee!\n\n        \"Though clothed in rags, by sin defiled,\n        The Father did embrace His child;\n        And I am pardoned, reconciled,\n              O Lamb of God, through Thee!\n\n        \"It is the Father's joy to bless;\n        His love has found for me a dress,\n        A robe of spotless righteousness,\n              O Lamb of God, in Thee!\n\n        \"And now my famished soul is fed,\n        A feast of love for me is spread,\n        I feed upon the children's bread,\n              O Lamb of God, in Thee!\n\n        \"Yea, in the fulness of His grace,\n        God put me in the children's place,\n        Where I may gaze upon His face,\n              O Lamb of God, in Thee!\n\n        \"Not half His Love can I express,\n        Yet, Lord, with joy my lips confess,\n        This blessed portion I possess,\n              O Lamb of God, in Thee!\n\n        \"Thy precious name it is I bear,\n        In Thee I am to God brought near,\n        And all the Father's love I share,\n              O Lamb of God, in Thee!\"\n\n\n\n\nDECISION FOR CHRIST\n\n\nIn approaching the subject of \"Decision for Christ,\" there are two or\nthree obstacles which lie in our way--two or three difficulties which\nhang around the question, which we would fain remove, if possible, in\norder that the reader may be able to view the matter on its own proper\nground, and in its own proper bearings.\n\nIn the first place, we encounter a serious difficulty in the fact that\nvery few of us, comparatively, are in a condition of soul to appreciate\nthe subject, or to suffer a word of exhortation thereon. We are, for the\nmost part, so occupied with the question of our soul's salvation,--so\ntaken up with matters affecting ourselves, our peace, our liberty, our\ncomfort, our deliverance from the wrath to come, our interest in\nChrist,--that we have but little heart for aught that purely concerns\nChrist Himself--His name, His person, His cause, His glory.\n\nThere are, we may say, two things which lie at the foundation of all\ntrue decision for Christ, namely, a conscience purged by the blood of\nJesus, and a heart that bows with reverent submission to the authority\nof His Word in all things. Now we do not mean to dwell upon these things\nin this paper; first, because we are anxious to get at once to our\nimmediate theme; and secondly, because we have so often dwelt on the\nsubject of establishing the conscience in the peace of the gospel, and\non setting before the heart the paramount claims of the word of God. We\nmerely refer to them here for the purpose of reminding the reader that\nthey are absolutely essential materials in forming the basis of decision\nfor Christ. If my conscience is ill at ease, if I am in doubt as to my\nsalvation, if I am filled with \"anxious thought\" as to whether I am a\nchild of God or not, decision for Christ is out of the question. I must\nknow that Christ died for me before I can intelligently and happily live\nfor Him.\n\nSo, also, if there be any reserve in the heart as to my entire\nsubjection to the authority of Christ as my Lord and Master; if I am\nkeeping some chamber of my heart, be it ever so remote, ever so small,\nclosed against the light of His Word, it must of necessity hinder my\nwhole-hearted decision for Him in this world. In a word, I must know\nthat _Christ is mine_ and _I am His_ ere my course down here can be one\nof unswerving, uncompromising decision for Him. If the reader hesitates\nas to this, if he is still in doubt and darkness, let him pause and turn\ndirectly to the cross of the Son of God and hearken to what the Holy\nSpirit declares as to all those who simply put their trust therein. Let\nhim drink into his inmost soul these words: \"Be it known unto you,\ntherefore, that through this Man is preached unto you the forgiveness of\nsins; and by Him _all_ that _believe are_ justified from _all_ things\nfrom which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.\" Yes, reader,\nthese are the glad tidings for you. \"_All_, from _all_,\" by faith in a\ncrucified and risen Lord.\n\nBut we see another difficulty in the way of our subject. We greatly fear\nthat while we speak of decision for Christ, some of our readers may\nsuppose that we are contending for some notion or set of notions of our\nown; that we are pressing some peculiar views or principles to which we\nvainly and foolishly venture to apply the imposing title of \"Decision\nfor Christ.\" All this we do most solemnly disclaim. The words which\nstand at the head of this paper are the simple expression of our thesis.\nWe do not contend for attachment to sect, party, or denomination; for\nadherence to the doctrines or commandments of men. We write in the\nimmediate presence of Him who searcheth the hearts and trieth the reins\nof the children of men, and we distinctly avow that our one object is to\nurge upon the Christian reader the necessity of decision for Christ. We\nwould not, if we know ourselves, pen a single line to swell the ranks of\na party, or draw over adherents to any particular doctrinal creed or any\nspecial form of church polity. We are impressed with the conviction that\nwhere Christ has His right place in the heart, all will be right; and\nthat where He has not, there will be nothing right. And further, we\nbelieve that nothing but plain decision for Christ can effectually\npreserve the soul from the fatal influences that are at work around us\nin the professing Church. Mere orthodoxy cannot preserve us. Attachment\nto religious forms will not avail in the present fearful struggle. It\nis, we feel persuaded, a simple question of Christ as our _life_, and\nChrist as our _object_. May the Spirit of God now enable us to ponder\naright the subject of \"Decision for Christ\"!\n\nIt is well to bear in mind that there are certain great truths--certain\nimmutable principles--which underlie all the dispensations of God from\nage to age and which remain untouched by all the failure, the folly and\nthe sin of man. It is on these great moral truths, these foundation\nprinciples, that faith lays hold, and in them finds its strength and\nsustenance. Dispensations change and pass away, men prove unfaithful in\ntheir varied positions of stewardship and responsibility, but the word\nof the Lord endureth forever. It never fails. \"Forever, O Lord, Thy word\nis settled in heaven.\" And again, \"Thou hast magnified Thy word above\nall Thy name.\"[III.] Nothing can touch the eternal truth of God, and\ntherefore what we want at all times is to give that truth its proper\nplace in our hearts; to let it act on our conscience, form our\ncharacter, and shape our way. \"Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I\nmight not sin against Thee.\" \"Man shall not live by bread alone, but by\nevery word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord.\" This is true\nsecurity. Here lies the real secret of decision for Christ. What God\nhas spoken must govern us in the most absolute manner ere our path can\nbe said to be one of plain decision. There may be tenacious adherence to\nour own notions, obstinate attachment to the prejudices of the age, a\nblind devotion to certain doctrines and practices resting on a\ntraditionary foundation, certain opinions which we have received to hold\nwithout ever inquiring as to whether or not there be any authority\nwhatever for such opinions in Holy Scripture. There may be all this and\nmuch more, and yet not one atom of genuine decision for Christ.\n\nNow we feel we cannot do better than furnish our readers with an example\nor two drawn from the page of inspired history, which will do more to\nillustrate and enforce our theme than aught that we could possibly\nadvance. And first, then, let us turn to the book of Esther, and there\ncontemplate for a few moments the instructive history of\n\n\n\"MORDECAI THE JEW.\"\n\nThis very remarkable man lived at a time in which the Jewish economy had\nfailed through the unfaithfulness and disobedience of the Jewish people.\nThe Gentile was in power. The relationship between Jehovah and Israel\ncould no longer be publicly acknowledged. The faithful Jew had but to\nhang his harp on the willows and sigh over the faded light of other\ndays. The chosen seed was in exile; the city and temple where their\nfathers worshiped were in ruins, and the vessels of the Lord's house\nwere in a strange land. Such was the outward condition of things in the\nday in which Mordecai's lot was cast. But in addition to this there was\na man very near the throne occupying only the second place in the\nempire, sitting beside the very fountain-head of authority, possessing\nprincely wealth, and wielding almost boundless influence. To this great\nman, strange to say, the poor exiled Jew sternly refuses to bow. Nothing\nwill induce him to yield a single mark of respect to the second man in\nthe kingdom. He will save the life of Ahasuerus, but he will not bow to\nHaman.\n\nReader, why was this? Was this blind obstinacy, or bold decision--which?\nIn order to determine this we must inquire as to the real root or\nprinciple of Mordecai's acting. If, indeed, there was no authority for\nhis conduct in the law of God, then must we at once pronounce it to have\nbeen blind obstinacy, foolish pride, or, it may have been, envy of a man\nin power. But if, on the other hand, there be within the covers of the\nfive inspired books of Moses a plain authority for Mordecai's deportment\nin this matter, then must we, without hesitation, pronounce his conduct\nto have been the rare and exquisite fruit of attachment to the law of\nhis God, and uncompromising decision for Him and His holy authority.\n\nThis makes all the difference. If it be merely a matter of private\nopinion,--a question concerning which each one may lawfully adopt his\nown view,--then, verily, might such a line of conduct be justly termed\nthe most narrow-minded bigotry. We hear a great deal now-a-days about\nnarrow-mindedness on the one hand, and large-heartedness on the other.\nBut as a Roman orator, over two thousand years ago, exclaimed in the\nsenate-house of Rome, \"Conscript fathers: long since, indeed, we have\nlost the true names of things,\" so may we, in the bosom of the\nprofessing Church, at the close of the nineteenth century, repeat, with\nfar greater force, \"Long since we have lost the true names of things.\"\nFor what do men now call bigotry and narrow-mindedness? A faithful\nclinging to and carrying out of \"Thus saith the Lord.\" And what do they\ndesignate large-heartedness? A readiness to sacrifice truth on the altar\nof politeness and civility.\n\nReader, be thou fully assured that thus it is at this solemn moment. We\ndo not want to be sour or cynical, morose or gloomy; but we must speak\nthe truth if we are to speak at all. We desire that the tongue may be\nhushed in silence, and the pen may drop from the hand, if we could\nbasely cushion the plain, bold, unvarnished truth through fear of\nscattering our readers, or to avoid the sneer of the infidel. We cannot\nshut our eyes to the solemn fact that God's truth is being trampled in\nthe dust--that the name of Jesus is despised and rejected. We have only\nto pass from city to city, and from town to town, of highly-favored\nEngland, and read upon the walls the melancholy proofs of the truth of\nour assertions. Truth is flung aside, in cold contempt. The name of\nJesus is little set by. On the other hand, man is exalted, his reason\ndeified, his will indulged. Where must all this end? \"In the blackness\nof darkness forever.\"\n\nHow refreshing, in the face of all this, to ponder the history of\nMordecai the Jew! It is very plain that he knew little and cared less\nabout the thoughts of men on the question of narrow-mindedness. He\nobeyed the word of the Lord; and this we must be allowed to call real\nbreadth of mind, true largeness of heart. For what, after all, is a\nnarrow mind? A narrow mind we hold to be a mind which refuses to open\nitself to admit the truth of God. And what, on the contrary, is a large\nand liberal heart? A heart expanded by the truth and grace of God. Let\nus not be scared away from decision in the path of obedience by the\nscornful epithets which men have bestowed upon that path. It is a path\nof peace and purity, a path where the light of an approving conscience\nis enjoyed, and upon which the beams of divine favor ever pour\nthemselves in undimmed lustre.\n\nBut why did Mordecai refuse to bow to Haman? Was there any great\nprinciple at stake? Was it merely a whim of his own? Had he a \"Thus\nsaith the Lord\" for his warrant in refusing a single nod of the head to\nthe proud Amalekite? Yes. Let us turn to the seventeenth chapter of the\nbook of Exodus, and there we read, \"And the Lord said unto Moses, Write\nthis for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua:\nfor I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.\nAnd Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah-nissi; for\nhe said, Because the Lord hath sworn that the Lord will have war with\nAmalek from generation to generation.\"[IV.]\n\nHere, then, was Mordecai's authority for not bowing to Haman the\nAgagite. A faithful Jew could not do reverence to one with whom Jehovah\nwas at war. The heart might plead a thousand excuses and urge a thousand\nreasons. It might seek an easy path for itself on the plea that the\nJewish system was in ruins and the Amalekite in power, and that\ntherefore it was worse than useless, yea, it was positively absurd, to\nmaintain such lofty ground when the glory of Israel was gone and the\nAmalekite was in the place of authority. \"Of what use,\" it might be\nargued, \"can it be to uphold the standard when all is gone to pieces?\nYou are only making your degradation more remarkable by the pertinacious\nrefusal to bow your head. Would it not be better to give just one nod?\nThat will settle the matter. Haman will be satisfied, and you and your\npeople will be safe. Do not be obstinate. Show a tendency to be\ncourteous. Do not stand up in that dogged way for a thing so manifestly\nnon-essential. Besides, you should remember that the command in Exodus\nxvii. was only to be rehearsed in the ears of Joshua, and only had its\ntrue application in his bright and palmy days. It was never meant for\nthe ears of an exile, never intended to apply in the days of Israel's\ndesolation.\"\n\nAll this, and much beside, might have been urged on Mordecai; but ah,\nthe answer was simple: \"God hath spoken. This is enough for me. True, we\nare a scattered people; but the word of the Lord is not scattered. He\nhas not reversed His word about Amalek, nor entered into a treaty of\npeace with him. Jehovah and Amalek are still at war, and Amalek stands\nbefore me in the person of this haughty Agagite. How can I bow to one\nwith whom Jehovah is at war? How can I do homage to a man whom the\nfaithful Samuel would hew in pieces before the Lord?\" \"Well, then,\" it\nmight be further urged upon this devoted Jew, \"you will all be\ndestroyed. You must either bow or perish.\" The answer is still most\nsimple: \"I have nothing to do with consequences. They are in the hand of\nGod. Obedience is my path, the results are with Him. It is better to die\nwith a good conscience than live with a bad one. It is better to go to\nheaven with an uncondemning heart than remain upon earth with a heart\nthat would make me a coward. God has spoken. I can do no otherwise. May\nthe Lord help me! Amen.\"\n\nOh, how well we can understand the mode in which this faithful Jew would\nbe assaulted by the enemy. Nothing but the grace of God can ever enable\nany one to maintain a deportment of unflinching decision at a moment in\nwhich everything within and around is against us. True it is, we know\nthat it is better to suffer anything than deny our Lord or fly in the\nface of His commandments; but yet how little are some of us prepared to\nendure a single sneer, a single scornful look, a single contemptuous\nexpression, for Christ's sake. And perhaps there are few things harder,\nfor some of us at least, to bear than to be reproached on the ground of\nnarrow-mindedness and bigotry. We naturally like to be thought\nlarge-hearted and liberal. We like to be accounted men of enlightened\nmind, sound judgment, and comprehensive grasp. But we must remember that\nwe have no right to be liberal at our Master's expense. We have simply\nto obey.\n\nThus it was with Mordecai. He stood like a rock, and allowed the whole\ntide of difficulty and opposition to roll over him. He would not bow to\nthe Amalekite, let the consequence be what it might. Obedience was his\npath. The results were with God. And look at the result! In one moment\nthe tide was turned. The proud Amalekite fell from his lofty eminence,\nand the exiled Jew was lifted from his sackcloth and ashes and placed\nnext the throne. Haman exchanged his wealth and dignities for a gallows;\nMordecai exchanged his sackcloth for a royal robe.\n\nNow it may not always happen that the reward of simple obedience will be\nas speedy and as signal as in Mordecai's case. And moreover, we may say\nthat we are not Mordecais, nor are we placed in his position. But the\nprinciple holds good, whoever and wherever we are. There is not one of\nus, however obscure or insignificant, that has not a sphere within which\nour influence is felt for good or for evil. And besides, independent\naltogether of our circumstances and the apparent results of our conduct,\nwe are called upon to obey implicitly the word of the Lord--to have His\nword hidden in our hearts--to refuse with unswerving decision, to do or\nsay aught that the word of the living God condemns. \"How can I do this\ngreat wickedness, and sin against God?\" This should be the language,\nwhether it be the question of a child tempted to steal a lump of sugar,\nor the most momentous step in evil that one can be tempted to take. The\nstrength and moral security of Mordecai's position lay in this fact,\nthat he had the word of God for his authority. Had it not been so, his\nconduct would have been senseless in the extreme. To have refused the\nusual expression of respect to one in high authority, without some\nweighty reason, could only be regarded as the most unmeaning obstinacy.\nBut the moment you introduce a \"Thus saith the Lord,\" the matter is\nentirely changed. The word of the Lord endureth forever. The divine\ntestimonies do not fade away or change with the times and seasons.\nHeaven and earth shall pass away, but one jot or tittle of what our God\nhath spoken shall never pass away. Hence, what had been rehearsed in the\nears of Joshua, as he rested in triumph under the banner of Jehovah, was\ndesigned to govern the conduct of Mordecai, though clothed in sackcloth\nas an exile, in the city of Shushan. Ages and generations had passed\naway; the days of the Judges and the days of the Kings had run their\ncourse; but the commandment of the Lord with respect to Amalek had\nlost--could lose--none of its force. \"The Lord _hath sworn_ that the\nLord will have war with Amalek,\" not merely in the days of Joshua, nor\nin the days of the Judges, nor in the days of the Kings, but \"from\ngeneration to generation.\" Such was the record--the imperishable and\nimmutable record of God; and such was the plain, solid and\nunquestionable foundation of Mordecai's conduct.\n\nAnd here let us say a few words as to the immense importance of entire\nsubmission to the word of God. We live in a day which is plainly marked\nby strong self-will. Man's reason, man's will and man's interest are\nworking together, with appalling success, to ignore the authority of\nHoly Scripture. So long as the statements of the word of God chime in\nwith man's reason, so long as they do not run counter to his will, and\nare not subversive of his interests, so long will he tolerate them; or,\nit may be, he will quote them with a measure of respect, or at least\nwith self-complacency; but the moment it becomes a question of Scripture\n_versus_ reason, will or interest, the former is either silently ignored\nor contemptuously rejected. This is a very marked and solemn feature of\nthe days that are now passing over our heads. It behooves Christians to\nbe aware of it, and to be on their watch-tower. We fear that very few,\ncomparatively, are truly alive to the real state of the moral atmosphere\nwhich enwraps the religious world. We do not refer here so much to the\nbold attacks of infidel writers. To these we have alluded elsewhere.\nWhat we have now before us is rather the cool indifference on the part\nof professing Christians as to Scripture; the little power which pure\ntruth wields over the conscience; the way in which the edge of Scripture\nis blunted or turned aside. You quote passage after passage from the\ninspired volume, but it seems like the pattering of rain upon the\nwindow: the _reason_ is at work, the _will_ is dominant, _interest_ is\nat stake, human opinions bear sway, God's truth is practically, if not\nin so many words, set aside.\n\nAll this is deeply solemn. We know of few things more dangerous than\nintellectual familiarity with the letter of Scripture where the spirit\nof it does not govern the conscience, form the character, and shape the\nway. We want to tremble at the word of God, to bow down in reverential\nsubmission to its holy authority in all things. A single line of\nScripture ought to be sufficient for our souls on any point, even\nthough, in carrying it out, we should have to move athwart the opinions\nof the highest and best of men. May the Lord raise up many faithful and\ntrue-hearted witnesses in these last days,--men like the faithful\nMordecai,--who would rather ascend a gallows than bow to an Amalekite!\n\nFor the further illustration of our theme, we shall ask the reader to\nturn to the sixth chapter of the book of Daniel. There is a special\ncharm and interest in the history of these living examples presented to\nus in the Holy Scriptures. They tell us how the truth of God was acted\nupon, in other days, by men of like passions with ourselves; they prove\nto us that in every age there have been men who so prized the truth, so\nreverenced the word of the living God, that they would rather face\ndeath, in its most appalling forms, than to depart one hair's breadth\nfrom the narrow line laid down by the authoritative voice of their Lord\nand Master. It is healthful to be brought into contact with such\nmen--healthful at all times, but peculiarly so in days like the present,\nwhen there is so much laxity and easy-going profession--so much of mere\ntheory--when every one is allowed to go his own way, and hold his own\nopinion, provided always that he does not interfere with the opinions of\nhis neighbor--when the commandments of God seem to have so little\nweight, so little power over the heart and conscience. Tradition will\nget a hearing; public opinion will be respected; anything and\neverything, in short, but the plain and positive statements of the word\nof God, will get a place in the thoughts and opinions of men. At such a\ntime, it is, we repeat, at once healthful and edifying to muse over the\nhistory of men like Mordecai the Jew, and Daniel the prophet, and scores\nof others, in whose estimation a single line of Holy Scripture rose far\nabove all the thoughts of men, the decrees of governors, and the\nstatutes of kings, and who declared plainly that they had nothing\nwhatever to do with consequences where the word of the Lord was\nconcerned. Absolute submission to the divine command is that which alone\nbecomes the creature.\n\nIt is not, be it observed and well remembered, that any man or any\nnumber of men have any right to demand subjection to their decisions or\ndecrees. No man has any right to enforce his opinions upon his fellow.\nThis is plain enough, and we have to bless God for the inestimable\nprivilege of civil and religious liberty, as enjoyed under this\ngovernment. But what we urge upon our readers, just now, is plain\ndecision for Christ, and implicit subjection to His authority,\nirrespective of everything, and regardless of consequences. This is what\nwe do most earnestly desire for ourselves and for all the people of God\nin these last days. We long for that condition of soul, that attitude of\nheart, that quality of conscience, which shall lead us to bow down in\nimplicit subjection to the commandments of our Lord and Saviour Jesus\nChrist. No doubt there are difficulties, stumbling blocks, and hostile\ninfluences to be encountered. It may be said, for instance, that \"It is\nvery difficult for one, now-a-days, to know what is really true and\nright. There are so many opinions and so many ways, and good men differ\nso in judgment about the simplest and plainest matters, and yet they all\nprofess to own the Bible as the only standard of appeal; and, moreover,\nthey all declare that their one desire is to do what is right, and to\nserve the Lord, in their day and generation. How, then, is one to know\nwhat is true or what is false, seeing that you will find the very best\nof men ranged on opposite sides of the same question?\"\n\nThe answer to all this is very simple. \"If thine eye be single thy whole\nbody shall be full of light.\" But, most assuredly, my eye is not single\nif I am looking at men, and reasoning on what I see in them. A single\neye rests simply on the Lord and His Word. Men differ, no doubt--they\nhave differed, and they ever will differ, but I am to harken to the\nvoice of my Lord and do His will. His Word is to be my light and my\nauthority, the girdle of my loins in action, the strength of my heart in\nservice, my only warrant for moving hither and thither, the stable\nfoundation of all my ways. If I were to attempt to shape my way\naccording to the thoughts of men, where should I be? How uncertain and\nunsatisfactory would my course be! If I really want to be guided aright,\nmy God will surely guide me; but if I am looking to men, if I am\ngoverned by mixed motives, if I am seeking my own ends and interests, if\nI am seeking to please my fellows, then, undoubtedly, my body shall be\nfull of darkness, heavy clouds shall settle down upon my pathway, and\nuncertainty mark all my goings.\n\nChristian reader, think of these things. Think deeply of them. Depend\nupon it they have a just claim upon your attention. Do you earnestly\ndesire to follow your Lord? Do you really aim at something beyond mere\nempty profession, cold orthodoxy, or mechanical religiousness? Do you\nsigh for reality, depth, energy, fervor, and whole-heartedness? Then\nmake Christ your one object, His Word your rule, His glory your aim. May\nthe blessed Spirit be pleased to use for the furtherance of these ends\nour meditation on the interesting narrative of\n\n\n\"DANIEL THE PROPHET.\"\n\n\"It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom a hundred and twenty princes,\nwhich should be over the whole kingdom; and over these, three\npresidents, of whom Daniel was first; that the princes might give\naccounts unto them, and the king should have no damage. Then this Daniel\nwas preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent\nspirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm.\nThen the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel\nconcerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion or fault;\nforasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found\nin him\" (Dan. vi. I-4).\n\nWhat a testimony! How truly refreshing to the heart! \"No error or\nfault!\" Even his most bitter enemies could not put their finger upon a\nsingle blemish in his character, or a flaw in his practical career.\nTruly this was a rare and admirable character--a bright witness for the\nGod of Israel, even in the dark days of the Babylonish captivity--an\nunanswerable proof of the fact that no matter where we are situated, or\nhow we are circumstanced, no matter how unfavorable our position, or how\ndark the day in which our lot is cast, it is our happy privilege so to\ncarry ourselves, in all the details of daily life, as to give no\noccasion to the enemy to speak reproachfully.\n\nHow sad when it is otherwise! How humiliating when those who make a high\nprofession are found constantly breaking down in the most commonplace\naffairs of domestic and commercial life! There are few things which more\ntend to discourage the heart than that.\n\nNo doubt worldly people are only too ready to find occasion against\nthose who profess the name of Jesus; and, further, we have to remember\nthat there are two sides to every question, and that, very frequently, a\nbroad margin must be left for exaggeration, high coloring, and false\nimpressions. But still, it is the Christian's plain duty so to walk in\nevery position and relationship of life, as that \"no error or fault\" may\nbe found in him. We should not make any excuses for ourselves. The\nduties of our situation, whatever it may happen to be, should be\nscrupulously performed. A careless manner, a slovenly habit, an\nunprincipled mode of acting, on the part of the Christian, is a serious\ndamage to the cause of Christ, and a dishonor to His holy name. And, on\nthe other hand, diligence, earnestness, punctuality, and fidelity, bring\nglory to that name. And this should ever be the Christian's object. He\nshould not aim at his own interest, his own reputation, or his own\nadvancement, in seeking to carry himself aright in his family and in his\ncalling in life. True, it will promote his interest, establish his\nreputation, and further his progress, to be upright and diligent in all\nhis ways; but none of these things should ever be his motive. He is to\nbe ever and only governed by the one thing, namely, to please and honor\nhis Lord and Master. The standard which the Holy Ghost has set before\nus, as to all these things, is furnished in the words of the apostle to\nthe Philippians, \"That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God\nwithout rebuke in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom\nye shine as lights in the world.\" We should not be satisfied with\nanything less than this. \"They could find none occasion nor fault,\nforasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found\nin him.\" Noble testimony! Would that it were more called forth, in this\nour day, by the deportment, the habits, the temper, and ways of all\nthose who call themselves Christians.\n\nBut there was one point in which Daniel's enemies felt they could lay\nhold of him. \"Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion\nagainst this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning _the law\nof his God_.\" Here was a something in the which occasion might be found\nto ruin this beloved and honored servant of God. It appears that Daniel\nhad been in the habit of praying three times a day with his windows open\ntoward Jerusalem.\n\nThis fact was well known, and was speedily laid hold of, and turned to\naccount. \"Then these presidents and princes assembled together to the\nking, and said thus unto him, King Darius, live for ever. All the\npresidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the\ncounsellors, and the captains, have consulted together to establish a\nroyal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a\npetition of any god or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he\nshall be cast into the den of lions. Now, O king, establish the decree,\nand sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of\nthe Medes and Persians, which altereth not. Wherefore king Darius signed\nthe writing and the decree.\"\n\nHere, then, was a deep plot, a subtle snare, laid for the blameless and\nharmless Daniel. How would he act in the face of all this? Would he not\nfeel it right to lower the standard? Well, if the standard was something\nof his own, he might surely lower it, and perhaps he ought. But if it\nwere something divine--if his conduct was based upon the truth of God,\nthen clearly it was his place to hold it up as high as ever, regardless\nof statutes, decrees, and writings established, signed, and\ncountersigned. The whole question hinged upon this. Just as in the case\nof Mordecai the Jew, the question hinged upon the one point of whether\nhe had any divine warrant for refusing to bow to Haman; so, in the case\nof Daniel the prophet, the question was, had he any divine authority for\npraying toward Jerusalem. It certainly seemed strange and odd. Many\nmight have felt disposed to say to him, \"Why persist in this practice?\nWhat need is there for opening your windows and praying toward\nJerusalem, in such a public manner? Can you not wait until night has\ndrawn her sable curtain around you, and your closet door has shut you\nin, and then pour out your heart to your God? This would be prudent,\njudicious, and expedient. And, surely, your God does not exact this of\nyou. He does not regard time, place, or attitude. All times and places\nare alike to Him. Are you wise--are you right, in persisting in such a\nline of action under such circumstances? It was all well enough before\nthis decree was signed, when you could pray when and as you thought\nright; but now it does seem like the most culpable fatuity and blind\nobstinacy to persevere; it is as though you really courted martyrdom.\"\n\nAll this, and much more, we may easily conceive, might be suggested to\nthe mind of the faithful Jew; but still the grand question remained,\n\"What saith the Scripture?\" Was there any divine reason for Daniel's\npraying toward Jerusalem? Assuredly there was! In the first place,\nJehovah had said to Solomon, in reference to the temple at Jerusalem,\n\"Mine eyes and My heart shall be there perpetually.\" Jerusalem was God's\nearthly centre. It was, it is, and ever shall be. True, it was in\nruins--the temple was in ruins; but God's word was not in ruins; and\nhere is faith's simple but solid warrant. King Solomon had said, at the\ndedication of the temple, hundreds of years before Daniel's time, \"If\nThy people sin against Thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,) and\nThou be angry with them, and deliver them over before their enemies, and\nthey carry them away captive unto a land far off or near. Yet if they\nbethink themselves in the land whither they are carried captive, and\nturn and pray unto Thee, in the land of their captivity, saying, We have\nsinned, we have done amiss, and have dealt wickedly; if they return to\nThee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their\ncaptivity, whither they have carried them captive, and pray toward their\nland, which Thou gavest unto their fathers, and toward the city which\nThou hast chosen, and toward the house which I have built for Thy name:\nthen hear Thou from the heavens, even from Thy dwelling-place, their\nprayer and their supplications, and maintain their cause, and forgive\nThy people which have sinned against Thee\" (2 Chron. vi. 36-39).\n\nNow this was precisely what Daniel was doing--this was the ground he\ntook. He was a captive exile, but his heart was at Jerusalem, and his\neyes followed his heart. If he could not sing the songs of Zion, he\ncould at least breathe his prayers toward Zion's hill. If his harp was\non the willows at Babylon, his fond affections turned toward the city of\nGod, now a heap of ruins, but ere long to be an eternal excellency, \"the\njoy of the whole earth.\" It mattered not to him that a decree had been\nsigned by earth's greatest monarch, forbidding him to pray toward the\ncity of his fathers and to his father's God. It mattered not to him\nthat the lion's den was yawning to receive him, and the lion's jaws\nready to devour him. Like his brother Mordecai, he had nothing to do\nwith consequences. Mordecai would rather mount the gallows than bow to\nHaman, and Daniel would rather descend to the lion's den than cease to\npray to Jehovah. These, surely, were the worthies. They were men whose\nhearts and consciences were governed absolutely by the word of God. The\nworld may dub them bigots and fools; but, oh! how the heart does long\nfor such bigots and fools, in these days of false liberality and wisdom!\n\nIt might have been said to Mordecai and Daniel that they were contending\nfor mere trifles--for things wholly indifferent and non-essential. This\nis an argument often used; but, oh! it has no weight with an honest and\ndevoted heart. Indeed, there is nothing more contemptible, in the\njudgment of every true lover of Jesus, than the principle that regulates\nthe standard as to essentials and non-essentials. For, what is it?\nSimply this, \"All that concerns my salvation is essential; all that\nmerely affects the glory of Christ is non-essential.\" How terrible is\nthis! Reader, dost thou not utterly abhor it? What! shall we accept\nsalvation as the fruit of our Lord's death, and deem aught that concerns\nHim non-essential? God forbid. Yea; rather let us entirely reverse the\nmatter, and regard all that concerns the honor and glory of the name of\nJesus, the truth of His Word, and the integrity of His cause, as vital,\nessential, and fundamental; and all that merely concerns ourselves as\nnon-essential and indifferent. May God grant us this mind! May nothing\nbe deemed trivial by us which has for its foundation the word of the\nliving God!\n\nThus it was with those devoted men whose history we have been glancing\nat. Mordecai would not bow his head, and Daniel would not close his\nwindow. Blessed men! The Lord be praised for such, and for the inspired\nrecord of their actings. Mordecai would rather surrender life than\ndiverge from the truth of God, and Daniel would rather do the same than\nturn away from God's centre. Jehovah had said that He would have war\nwith Amalek from generation to generation, and therefore Mordecai would\nnot bow. Jehovah had said of Jerusalem, \"Mine eyes and My heart shall be\nthere perpetually;\" therefore Daniel would not cease to pray toward that\nblessed centre. The word of the Lord endureth forever, and faith takes\nits stand on that imperishable foundation. There is an eternal freshness\nabout every word that has come forth from the Lord. His truth holds good\nthroughout all generations; its bloom can never be brushed away, its\nlight can never fade, its edge can never be blunted. All praise be to\nHis holy name!\n\nBut let us look for a moment at the result of Daniel's faithfulness. The\nking was plunged into the deepest grief when he discovered his mistake.\n\"He was sore displeased with himself.\" So well he might. He had fallen\ninto a snare; but Daniel was in good keeping. It was all right with\nhim. \"The name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous runneth into\nit, and is safe.\" It matters not whether it be a lion's den at Babylon\nor a prison at Philippi; faith and a good conscience can make a man\nhappy in either. We question if Daniel ever spent a happier night on\nthis earth, than the night he spent in the lion's den. He was there for\nGod, and God was there with him. He was there with an approving\nconscience and an uncondemning heart. He could look up from the very\nbottom of that den straight into heaven: yea, that den was heaven upon\nearth to his happy spirit. Who would not rather be Daniel in the den\nthan Darius in the palace? The one happy in God; the other \"sore\ndispleased with himself.\" Darius would have every one pray to him;\nDaniel would pray to none but God. Darius was bound by his own rash\ndecree; Daniel was bound only by the word of the living God. What a\ncontrast!\n\nAnd then see in the end what signal honor was put upon Daniel. He stood\npublicly identified with the one living and true God. \"O Daniel,\" cried\nthe king, \"servant of the living God.\" Truly he had earned this title\nfor himself. He was, unquestionably, a faithful servant of God. He had\nseen his three brethren cast into a furnace because they would worship\n_only_ the true God, and he had been cast into the lion's den because he\nwould pray _only_ to Him; but the Lord had appeared for them and him,\nand given them a glorious triumph. He had allowed them to realize that\nprecious promise made of old to their fathers, that they should be the\nhead and their enemies the tail; that they should be above and their\nenemies below. Nothing could be more marked--nothing could more forcibly\nillustrate the value which God puts upon plain decision and true-hearted\ndevotedness, no matter where, when, or by whom exhibited.\n\nOh! for an earnest heart in this day of lukewarmness! O Lord, revive Thy\nwork!\n\n    How gentle God's commands!\n      How kind His precepts are!\n    We'll cast our burdens on the Lord,\n      And trust His constant care.\n\n    Beneath His watchful eye\n      His saints securely dwell:\n    The hand that bears all nature up,\n      Will guard His children well.\n\n    Why should an anxious load\n      Press down our weary mind?\n    We haste, O Father, to Thy throne,\n      And sweet refreshment find.\n\n    Thy goodness stands approved--\n      Unchanged from day to day:\n    We drop our burdens at Thy feet,\n      To bear a song away!\n\n    ---_Philip Doddrige._\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[III.] [\"Thou hast magnified Thy word (or saying) according to all Thy\nName,\" seems more exactly to give the meaning of the passage. ED.]\n\n[IV.] It is deeply interesting to note that neither the Jews' best\nFriend nor their worst enemy is once formally named in the book of\nEsther; but faith could recognize both the one and the other.\n\n\n\n\nPRAYER,\n\nIN ITS PROPER PLACE\n\n\nThere is a strong tendency in the human mind to take a one-sided view of\nthings. This should be carefully guarded against. It would ever be our\nwisdom to view things as God presents them to us, in His holy Word. We\nshould put things where He puts them, and leave them there. Were this\nmore faithfully attended to, the truth would be much more clearly\nunderstood, and souls much better instructed. There is a divinely\nappointed place for everything, and we should avoid putting right things\nin wrong places, just as carefully as we would avoid setting them aside\naltogether. The one may do as much damage as the other. Let any divine\ninstitution be taken out of its divinely-appointed place, and it must\nnecessarily fail of its divinely-appointed end. This, I imagine, will\nhardly be questioned by any enlightened or well-regulated mind. It will\nbe admitted, on all hands, to be wrong to put things in any place but\njust where God intended them to be.\n\nAnd in proportion to the importance of a right thing is the importance\nof having it in its right place. This remark holds good, in a special\nmanner, with respect to the hallowed and most precious exercise of\nprayer. It is hard to imagine how any one, with the word of God in his\nhand, could presume to detract from the value of prayer. It is one of\nthe very highest functions, and most important privileges of the\nChristian life. No sooner has the new nature been communicated by the\nHoly Ghost, through faith in Christ, than it expresses itself in the\nsweet accents of prayer. Prayer is the earnest breathing of the new man,\ndrawn forth by the operation of the Holy Ghost, who dwells in all true\nbelievers. Hence, to find any one praying is to find him manifesting\ndivine life in one of its most touching and beauteous characteristics,\nnamely, dependence. There may be a vast amount of ignorance displayed in\nthe prayer, both in its character and object; but the _spirit_ of prayer\nis, unquestionably, divine. A child may ask for a great many foolish\nthings; but, clearly, he could not ask for any thing if he had not life.\nThe ability and desire to ask are the infallible proofs of life. No\nsooner had Saul of Tarsus passed from death unto life, than the Lord\nsays of him, \"_Behold he prayeth_!\" (Acts ix.) Doubtless he had, as \"a\nPharisee of the Pharisees,\" said many \"long prayers;\" but not until he\n\"saw that Just One, and heard the voice of His mouth,\" could it be said\nof him, \"behold, _he prayeth_.\"\n\nSaying prayers and praying, are two totally different things. A\nself-righteous Pharisee may excel in the former; none but a converted\nsoul can enjoy the latter. The spirit of prayer is the spirit of the new\nman; the language of prayer is the distinct utterance of the new life.\nThe moment a spiritual babe is born into the new creation, it sends up\nits cry of dependence and of trust toward the Source of its birth. Who\nwould dare to hush or hinder that cry? Let the babe be gently satisfied\nand encouraged, not ignorantly hindered or rudely silenced. The very cry\nwhich ignorance would seek to stifle, falls like sweetest music on the\nparent's ear. It is the proof of life. It evidences the existence of a\nnew object around which the affections of a parent's heart may entwine\nthemselves.\n\nAll this is plain enough. It commends itself to every renewed mind. The\nman who could think of hushing the accents of prayer must be wholly\nignorant of the precious and beautiful mysteries of the new creation.\nThe understanding of the praying one may need to be instructed; but oh!\nlet not the spirit of prayer be quenched. Let the beams of divine\nrevelation, in all their emancipating power, shine in upon the\nstruggling conscience, but let not the breathings of the new life be\ninterrupted. The newly-converted soul may be in great darkness. The\nchilling mists of legalism may enwrap his spirit. He may not, as yet, be\nable to rest fully in Christ and His accomplished work. His awakened\nconscience may not, as yet, have found its peace-giving answer in the\nprecious blood of Jesus. Doubts and fears may sorely beset him. He may\nnot know about the important doctrine of the two natures, and the\ncontinual conflict between them. He is bowed down beneath the\nhumiliating sense of indwelling sin, and sees not, as yet, the ample\nprovision which redeeming love has made for that very thing, in the\nsacrifice and priesthood--the blood and advocacy of the Lord Jesus\nChrist. The joyous emotions which attended upon the first moments of his\nconversion may have passed away. The beams of the Sun of Righteousness\nmay be hidden by the heavy clouds which arise from within and around\nhim. It is not with him as in days past. He marvels at the sad change\nwhich has come over him, and well nigh doubts if he were ever converted\nat all.\n\nNeed we wonder that such an one should cry mightily to God? Yea, the\nwonder would be if he could do aught else. How, then, should we treat\nhim? Should we teach him not to pray? God forbid. This would be to do\nthe work of Satan, who, assuredly, hates prayer most cordially. To drop\na syllable which could even be understood as making little of an\nexercise so entirely divine, would be to fly in the face of the entire\nbook of God, to deny the very example of Christ, and hinder the\nutterance of the Holy Ghost in the new-born soul. The Old and New\nTestament Scriptures literally teem with exhortations and encouragements\nto pray. To quote the passages would fill a volume. The blessed Master\nHimself has left His people an example as to the unceasing exercise of a\nspirit of prayer. He both prayed Himself and taught His disciples to\npray. The same is true of the Holy Ghost in the apostles. (See the\nfollowing passages; Luke iii. 21; vi. 12; ix. 28, 29; xi. I-13; xviii.\nI-8; Acts i. 14; iv. 31; Rom. xii. 12; xv. 30; Eph. vi. 18; Phil. iv. 6;\nCol. iv. 2-4; I Thess. v. 17; 2 Thess. iii. I, 2; I Tim. ii. I-3; Heb.\nxiii. 18; James v. 14, 15.)\n\nIf my reader will look out and ponder the foregoing passages, he will\nhave a just view of the place which prayer occupies in the Christian\neconomy. He will see that disciples are exhorted to pray; and that it is\nonly disciples who are so exhorted. He will see that prayer is a grand\nprominent exercise of the household of God, and that he must be of that\nhousehold to engage in it. He will see that prayer is the undoubted\nutterance of the new life; and that the life therefore must be there to\nutter itself. He will see that prayer is an important part of the\nChristian's privilege; and that it enters in no wise in the foundation\nof the Christian's peace.\n\nThus, he will be able to put prayer in its proper place; and how\nimportant it is that it should be so put! How important it is that the\nanxious inquirer should see that the deep and solid foundations of his\npresent and everlasting peace were laid in the work of the Cross,\nnineteen centuries ago! How important that the blood of Jesus should\nstand out before the soul in clear and bold relief, in its solitary\ngrandeur, as the alone foundation of the sinner's rest! A soul may be\nearnestly seeking and crying for salvation, and all the while be\nignorant of the great fact that it is ready to his hand--that he is\nactually commanded to accept a free, full, present, personal, and\neternal salvation--that Christ has done all--that a brimming cup of\nsalvation is set before him, which faith has only to take and drink for\nits everlasting satisfaction. The gospel of God's free grace points to\nthe rent vail--the empty tomb--the occupied throne above. (Matt. xxviii;\nHeb. i. and x.) What do these things declare? What do they utter in the\nanxious sinner's ear? Salvation! salvation! The rent vail, the empty\ntomb, the occupied throne, all cry out, salvation!\n\nReader, do you really want salvation? Then why not take it, as God's\nfree gift? Are you looking to your own heart or to Christ's finished\nwork for salvation? Is it needful, think you, to wait that God should do\nsomething more for your salvation? If so, then Christ's work were not\nfinished; the ransom were not paid. But Christ said \"_It is finished_,\"\nand God says, \"I have found a ransom\" (Job xxxiii. John xix.). And if\n_you_ have to do, say, or think aught, to complete the work of\nsalvation, then Christ would not be a whole, a perfect Saviour. And,\nfurther, it would be a plain denial of Rom. iv. 5, which says, \"To him\nthat _worketh not_, but believeth on Him that _justifieth the ungodly_,\nhis faith is counted for righteousness.\" Take heed that you are not\nmixing up your poor prayers with the glorious work of redemption,\ncompleted by the Lamb of God on the cross. Prayer is most precious; but,\nremember, \"without faith it is impossible to please God\" (Heb. xi. 6);\nand if you have faith, you have Christ; and having Christ, you have ALL.\nIf you say you are crying for mercy, the word of God points you to\nmercy's copious stream flowing from the finished sacrifice. You have all\nyour anxious heart can want in Jesus, and He is God's free gift to you\njust as you are, where you are, _now_. If you had _to be_ aught else but\nwhat you are, or _to go_ anywhere else from where you are, then\nsalvation would not be \"by grace, through faith\" (Eph. ii. 8). If you\nare anxious to get salvation, and God desires you should have it, why\nneed you be another moment without it? It is all ready. Christ died and\nrose again. The Holy Ghost testifies. The word is plain. \"_Only\nbelieve._\"\n\nOh, may the Spirit of God lead any anxious soul to find settled repose\nin Jesus. May He lead you to look away from all besides, straight to an\nall-sufficient atonement. May He give clearness of apprehension, and\nsimplicity of faith to all; and may He especially endow all who stand up\nto teach and preach with the ability \"rightly to divide the word of\ntruth,\" so that they may not apply to the unregenerate sinner, or the\nanxious inquirer, such passages of Scripture as refer only to the\nestablished believer. Very serious damage is done both to the truth of\nGod, and to the souls of men, by an unskilful division and application\nof the Word. There must be spiritual life, before there can be spiritual\naction; and the _only_ way to get spiritual life is by _believing_ on\nthe name of the Son of God[V.] (John i. 12, 13; iii. 14-16, 36; v. 24; xx.\n31). If, therefore, the precepts of God's word be applied to persons who\nhave not the spiritual life to act in them, confusion must be the result.\nThe precious privileges of the Christian are turned into a heavy yoke for\nthe unconverted. A strange system of half-law half-gospel is propounded,\nwhereby true Christianity is robbed of its characteristic glory, and the\nsouls of men are plunged in mist and perplexity. There is urgent need\nfor clearness in setting forth the true ground of a sinner's peace. When\nsouls are convicted of sin, and have life, but not liberty, they want a\nfull, clear, unclouded gospel. The claims of a divinely-awakened\nconscience can only be answered by the blood of the Cross. If anything,\nno matter what, be added to the finished work of Christ, the soul must\nbe filled with doubt and darkness.\n\nMay God grant us to know more fully the true place and value of simple\nfaith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and of earnest prayer in the Holy Ghost.\n\nC. H. M.\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[V.] When the jailer at Philippi inquired of Paul and Silas, \"What must\nI do to be saved?\" they simply replied, \"_Believe_ on the Lord Jesus\nChrist and thou shalt be saved, and thy house\" (Acts xvi. 30, 31). It\nwould, surely, be well if this method of dealing with an anxious\ninquirer were more faithfully adopted.\n\n\n\n\n\"GILGAL\"\n\nJOSHUA V.\n\n\n\"Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning,\nthat we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope\"\n(Rom. xv. 4). These few words furnish a title, distinct and\nunquestionable, for the Christian to range through the wide and\nmagnificent field of Old Testament Scripture, and gather therein\ninstruction and comfort, according to the measure of his capacity and\nthe character or depth of his spiritual need. And were any further\nwarrant needed, we have it with equal clearness in the words of another\ninspired epistle: \"Now all these things happened unto them (Israel) for\nensamples; and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends\nof the world are come\" (I Cor. x. 11).\n\nNo doubt, in reading the Old Testament, as in reading the New, there is\nconstant need of watchfulness--need of self-emptiness, of dependence\nupon the direct teaching of the Holy Spirit, by whom all Scripture has\nbeen indited. The imagination must be checked, lest it lead us into\ncrude notions and fanciful interpretations, which tend to no profit,\nbut rather to the weakening of the power of Scripture over the soul,\nand hindering our growth in the divine life.\n\nStill, we must never lose sight of the divine charter made out for us in\nRom. xv. 4--never forget for a single moment that \"whatsoever things\nwere written aforetime were written for our learning.\" It is in the\nstrength of these words that we invite the reader to accompany us back\nto the opening of the book of Joshua, that we may together contemplate\nthe striking and instructive scenes presented there, and seek to gather\nup some of the precious \"learning\" there unfolded. If we mistake not, we\nshall learn some fine lessons on the banks of the Jordan, and find the\nair of Gilgal most healthful and bracing for the spiritual constitution.\n\nWe have all been accustomed to look at Jordan as the figure of\ndeath--the death of the believer--his leaving this world and going to\nheaven. Doubtless the believer has often read and heard these lines:\n\n    \"Could we but stand where Moses stood,\n      And view the landscape o'er,\n    Not Jordan's stream nor death's cold flood\n      Could fright us from the shore.\"\n\nBut all this line of thought, feeling and experience is very far below\nthe mark of true Christianity. A moment's reflection in the true light\nwhich Scripture pours upon our souls would be sufficient to show how\nutterly deficient is the popular religious thought as to Jordan. For\ninstance, when a believer dies and goes to heaven, is he called to\nfight? Surely not. All is rest and peace up yonder--ineffable, eternal\npeace. Not a ripple on that ocean. No sound of alarm throughout that\npure and holy region. No conflict there. No need of armor. We shall want\nno girdle, because our garments may flow loosely around us. We shall not\nneed a breast-plate of righteousness, for divine righteousness has there\nits eternal abode. We shall have no need of sandals, for there will be\nno rough or thorny places in that fair and blissful region. No shield\ncalled for there, inasmuch as there will be no fiery darts flying. No\nhelmet of salvation, for the divine and eternal results of God's\nsalvation shall then be reached. No sword, inasmuch as there will be\nneither enemy nor evil occurrent throughout all that blissful, sunny\nregion.\n\nHence, therefore, Jordan cannot mean the death of the believer and his\ngoing to heaven, for the simplest of all reasons, that it was when\nIsrael crossed the Jordan that their fighting, properly speaking, began.\nTrue they had fought with Amalek in the wilderness; but it was in Canaan\nthat their real war commenced. The careful reader of the Scriptures will\nreadily see this.\n\nBut does not Jordan represent death? Most surely it does. And must not\nthe believer cross it? Yes; but he finds it dry, because the Prince of\nLife has gone down into its deepest depths, and opened up a pathway for\nHis people, by the which they pass over into their heavenly\ninheritance.\n\nMoses, from Pisgah's top, gazed upon the promised land. _Personally_,\nunder the governmental dealings of God, he was prevented from going over\nJordan. But looking at him _officially_, we know that the law could not\npossibly bring the people into Canaan; so Moses' course must end there,\nfor he represents the law.\n\nBut Christ, the true Joshua, has crossed the Jordan, and not only\ncrossed it, but turned it into a pathway by which the ransomed host can\npass over dry-shod into the heavenly Canaan. The Christian is not called\nto stand shivering on the brink of the river of death, as one in doubt\nas to how it may go with him. That river is dried up for faith. Its\npower is gone. Our adorable Lord \"has abolished death, and brought life\nand incorruptibility to light by the gospel.\" Faith can now, therefore,\nsing triumphantly, \"O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy\nvictory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law;\nbut thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus\nChrist\" (I Cor. xv. 55-57).\n\nGlorious, enfranchising fact! Let us praise Him for it. Let all our\nransomed powers adore Him. Let our whole moral being be stirred up to\nchant the praises of Him who has taken the sting from death, and\ndestroyed him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and\nconducted us into a sphere which is pervaded throughout with life,\nlight, incorruptibility, and glory. May our entire practical career be\nto His glory!\n\nWe shall now proceed to examine more particularly the teaching of\nScripture on this great subject, and may the Holy Spirit Himself be our\nimmediate instructor!\n\n\"And Joshua rose early in the morning; and they removed from Shittim,\nand came to Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there\nbefore they passed over. And it came to pass after three days, that the\nofficers went through the host; and they commanded the people, saying,\nWhen ye see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the\npriests, the Levites, bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place,\nand go after it. _Yet there shall be a space between you and it_, about\ntwo thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, _that ye may know\nthe way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way\nheretofore_\" (Josh. iii. I-4).\n\nThere are three deeply important points in Israel's history which the\nreader would do well to ponder. There is, first, the blood-stained\nlintel, in the land of Egypt; secondly, the Red Sea; thirdly, the river\nJordan.\n\nNow in each of these we have a type of the death of Christ, in some one\nor other of its grand aspects--for, as we know, that precious death has\nmany and various aspects, and nothing can be more profitable for the\nChristian, and nothing, surely, ought to be more attractive, than the\nstudy of the profound mystery of the death of Christ. There are depths\nand heights in that mystery which eternity alone will unfold; and it\nshould be our delight now, under the powerful ministry of the Holy\nGhost, through the perfect light of Holy Scripture, to search into these\nthings for the strength, comfort and refreshment of the inward man.\n\nLooking, then, at the death of Christ, as typified by the blood of the\npaschal lamb, we see in it that which screens us from the judgment of\nGod. \"I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite\nall the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against\nall the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment; I am the Lord. And the\nblood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are; and when\nI see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon\nyou to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt\" (Ex. xii.).\n\nNow, we need hardly say, it is of the deepest moment for the exercised,\nconsciously guilty soul, to know that God has provided a shelter from\nwrath and judgment to come. No right-minded person would think for a\nmoment of undervaluing this aspect of the death of Christ. \"When I see\nthe blood, I will pass over you.\" Israel's safety rested upon God's\nestimate of the blood. He does not say, \"When _you_ see the blood.\" The\nJudge saw the blood, knew its value, and passed over the house. Israel\nwas screened by the blood of the lamb--by God's estimate of that blood,\nnot by their own. Precious fact!\n\nHow prone we are to be occupied with our thoughts about the blood of\nChrist, instead of with God's thoughts! We feel we do not value that\nprecious blood as we ought--who ever did, or ever could? and then we\nbegin to question if we are safe, seeing we so sadly fail in our\nestimate of Christ's work and in our love to His person.\n\nNow if our _safety_ depends in the smallest degree upon our estimate of\nChrist's work, or our love to His person, we are in more imminent danger\nthan if it depended upon our keeping the law. True it is,--most\ntrue--who could think of denying it?--we ought to value Christ's work,\nand we ought to love Himself. But if all this be put upon the footing of\na righteous claim, and if our safety rests upon our answering to that\nclaim, then are we in greater danger and more justly condemned than if\nwe stood on the ground of a broken law. For just in proportion as the\nclaims of Christ are higher than the claims of Moses, and in proportion\nas Christianity is higher than the legal system, so are we worse off, in\ngreater danger, farther from peace, if our safety depends upon our\nresponse to those higher claims.\n\nMark, it is not that we ought not to answer to such claims; we most\ncertainly ought. But who among us does? and hence, so far as we are\nconcerned, our ruin and guilt are only made more manifest, and our\ncondemnation more righteous, if we stand upon the claims of Christ,\nbecause we have not answered to them. If we are to be saved by our\nestimate of Christ, by our response to His claims, by our appreciation\nof His love, we are worse off by far than if we were placed under the\nclaims of the law of Moses.\n\nBut, blessed be God, it is not so. We are saved by grace,--free,\nsovereign, divine and eternal grace,--not by our sense of grace. We are\nsheltered by the blood, not by our estimate of the blood. Jehovah did\nnot say, on that awful night, \"When _you_ see the blood, and estimate it\nas you ought, I will pass over you.\" Nothing of the kind. This is not\nthe way of our God. He wanted to shelter His people, and to let them\nknow that they were sheltered,--perfectly, because divinely\nsheltered,--and therefore He places the matter wholly upon a divine\nbasis; He takes it entirely out of their hands, by assuring them that\ntheir safety rested simply and entirely upon the blood, and upon His\nestimate thereof. He gives them to understand that they had nothing\nwhatever to do with providing the shelter. It was His to _provide_. It\nwas theirs to _enjoy_.\n\nThus it stood between Jehovah and His Israel in that memorable night;\nand thus it stands between Him and the soul that simply trusts in Jesus\nnow. We are not saved by _our_ love, or _our_ estimate, or _our_\nanything. We are saved by the blood behind which faith has fled for\nrefuge, and by God's estimate of it, which faith apprehends. And just as\nIsrael, within that blood-stained lintel screened from judgment,--safe\nfrom the sword of the destroyer,--could feed upon the roasted lamb, so\nmay the believer, perfectly sheltered from the wrath to come,--sweetly\nsecure from all danger, screened from judgment,--feed upon Christ in all\nthe preciousness of what He is.\n\nBut more of this by and by.\n\nWe are specially anxious that the reader should weigh the point on which\nwe have been dwelling, if he be one who has not yet found peace, even as\nto the question of safety from judgment to come, which, as we shall see\n(if God permit) ere we close this paper, is but a part, though an\nineffably precious part, of what the death of Christ has procured for\nus.\n\nWe have very little idea indeed of how much of the leaven of\nself-righteousness cleaves to us, even after our conversion, and how\nimmensely it interferes with our peace, our enjoyment of grace, and our\nconsequent progress in the divine life. It may be we fancy we have done\nwith self-righteousness when we have given up all thought of being saved\nby our works; but alas, it is not so, for the evil takes new forms; and\nof all these, none is more subtle than the feeling that we do not value\nthe blood as we ought, and the doubting our safety on that ground. All\nthis is the fruit of self-righteousness. We have not done with _self_.\nTrue, we are not, it may be, making a saviour of our _doings_, but we\nare of our _feelings_. We are seeking, unknown to ourselves perhaps, to\nfind some sort of title in our love to God or our appreciation of\nChrist.\n\nNow all this must be given up. We must rest simply on the blood of\nChrist, and upon God's testimony to that blood. He sees the blood. He\nvalues it as it deserves. He is satisfied. This ought to satisfy us. He\ndid not say to Israel, When I see how you behave yourselves; when I see\nthe unleavened bread, the bitter herbs, the girded loins, the shod feet,\nI will pass over you.\n\nNo doubt all these things had their proper place; but that proper place\nwas not as the ground of safety, but as the secret of communion. They\nwere called to behave themselves--called to keep the feast; but it was\nas _being_, not _in order to be_, a sheltered people. This made all the\ndifference. It was because they were divinely screened from judgment\nthat they could keep the feast. They had the authority of the word of\nGod to assure them that there was no judgment for them; and if they\nbelieved that word, they could celebrate the feast in peace and safety.\n\"Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest\nHe that destroyed the firstborn should touch them\" (Heb. xi. 28).\n\nHere lies the deep and precious secret of the whole matter. It was by\nfaith he kept the passover. God had said, \"When I see the blood, I will\npass over you,\" and He could not deny Himself. It would have been a\ndenial of His very nature and character, and an ignoring of His own\nblessed remedy, had a single hair of an Israelite's head been touched on\nthat deeply solemn night. It was not, we repeat, in anywise a question\nof Israel's state or Israel's deservings. It was simply and entirely a\nquestion of the value of the blood _in God's sight_, and of the truth\nand authority of His own word.\n\nWhat stability is here!--what peace and rest! What a solid ground of\nconfidence! The blood of Christ! the word of God! True, divinely\ntrue--let it never be forgotten or lost sight of--it is only by the\ngrace of the Holy Spirit that the word of God can be received, or the\nblood of Christ relied upon. Still, it is the word of God and the blood\nof Christ, and nothing else, which give peace to the heart as regards\nall question of coming judgment. There can be no judgment for the\nbeliever. And why? Because the blood is on the mercy-seat, as the\nperfect proof that judgment has been already executed.\n\n    \"He bore on the tree the sentence for me,\n    And now both the Surety and sinner are free.\"\n\nYet, all praise to His name, thus it stands as to every soul that simply\ntakes God at His word, and rests in the precious blood of Christ. It is\nas impossible that such an one can come into judgment, as that Christ\nHimself can. All who are sheltered by the blood are as safe as the word\nof God is sure--as safe as Christ Himself. It seems perfectly wonderful\nfor any poor sinful mortal to be able to pen such words; but the blessed\nfact is, it is either this or nothing. If there is any question as to\nthe believer's safety, then the blood of Christ is not on the\nmercy-seat, or it is of no account in the judgment of God. If it be a\nquestion of the believer's state, of his worthiness, of his feelings,\nof his experience, of his walk, of his love, of his devotedness, of his\nappreciation of Christ, then would there be no force, no value, no truth\nin that glorious sentence, \"When I see the blood, I will pass over;\" for\nin that case the form of speech should be entirely changed, and a dark\nand chilling shade be cast over its heavenly lustre. It should then be,\n\"When I see the blood, and----\"\n\nBut no, beloved, anxious reader, it is not, and it never can be, thus.\nNothing must ever be added--not the weight of a feather, to that\nprecious blood which has perfectly satisfied God as a Judge, and which\nperfectly shelters every soul that has fled for safety behind it. If the\nrighteous Judge has declared Himself satisfied, surely the guilty\nculprit may well be satisfied also. God is satisfied with the blood of\nJesus; and when the soul is satisfied likewise, all is settled, and\nthere is peace as regards the question of judgment. \"There is no\ncondemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus.\" How can there be, seeing\nHe has borne the condemnation in their stead? To doubt the believer's\nexemption from judgment is to make God a liar, and to make the blood of\nChrist of none effect.\n\nThe reader will note that thus far we have been occupied only with the\nquestion of deliverance from judgment--a most weighty question surely.\nBut, as we shall see in the course of this series of papers, there is\nfar more secured for us by the death of Christ than freedom from\njudgment and wrath, blessed as that is. That peerless sacrifice does a\ngreat deal more for us than keep God out as a Judge.\n\nBut for the present we pause, and shall close this paper with a solemn\nand earnest question to the reader, _Art thou sheltered by the blood of\nJesus_? Do not rest, beloved, until you can answer with a clear and\nunhesitating \"Yes.\" Remember, you are either sheltered by the blood, or\nexposed to the horrors of eternal judgment.\n\n\nPART II.\n\nIn our last paper we had before us Israel under the shelter of the\nblood. A grand reality, most surely: who could duly estimate it? What\nhuman language could suitably unfold the deep blessedness of being\nscreened from the judgment of God by the blood of the Lamb--of being\nwithin that hallowed circle where wrath and judgment can never come? Who\ncan speak aright of the privilege of feeding in perfect safety on the\nLamb whose precious blood has forever averted from us the wrath of a\nsin-hating God?\n\nBut blessed as all this is, there is much more than this. There is far\nmore comprehended in the salvation of God than deliverance from judgment\nand wrath. We may have the fullest assurance that our sins are forgiven,\nthat God will never enter into judgment with us on account of our sins,\nand yet be very far indeed from the enjoyment of the true Christian\nposition. We may be filled with all manner of fears about\nourselves--fears occasioned by the consciousness of indwelling sin, the\npower of Satan, the influence of the world. All these things may crop up\nbefore us, and fill us with the gravest apprehensions.\n\nThus, for example, when we turn to Ex. xiv., we find Israel in the\ndeepest distress, and almost overwhelmed with fear. It would seem as if\nthey had for the moment lost sight of the fact that they had been under\nthe cover of the blood.\n\nLet us look at the passage.\n\n\"And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of\nIsrael, that they turn and encamp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and\nthe sea, over against Baal-zephon: before it shall ye encamp by the sea.\nFor Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in\nthe land, the wilderness hath shut them in. And I will harden Pharaoh's\nheart, that he shall follow after them: and I will be honored upon\nPharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am\nthe Lord. And they did so. And it was told the king of Egypt that the\npeople fled: and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned\nagainst the people, and they said, Why have we done this, _that we have\nlet Israel go from serving us_?\"--mark these words:--\"And he made ready\nhis chariot, and took his people with him. And he took six hundred\nchosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every\none of them. And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt,\nand he pursued after the children of Israel: and the children of Israel\nwent out with a high hand. But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the\nhorses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and\novertook them, encamping by the sea, beside Pi-hahiroth, before\nBaal-zephon. And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted\nup their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they\nwere _sore afraid_: and the children of Israel _cried out_ unto the\nLord.\"\n\nNow, we may feel disposed to ask, Are these the people whom we have seen\nso recently feeding, in perfect safety, under the cover of the blood?\nThe very same. Whence, then, these fears, this intense alarm, this\nagonizing cry? Did they really think that Jehovah was going to judge and\ndestroy them, after all? Not exactly. Of what, then, were they afraid?\nOf perishing in the wilderness after all. \"And they said unto Moses,\nBecause there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in\nthe wilderness? Wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us\nforth out of Egypt? Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt,\nsaying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians! For it had been\nbetter for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the\nwilderness.\"\n\nAll this was most gloomy and depressing. Their poor hearts seem to\nfluctuate between \"graves in Egypt\" and death in the wilderness. There\nis no sense of deliverance; no adequate knowledge either of God's\npurposes or of God's salvation. All seems utter darkness, almost\nbordering upon hopeless despair. They are thoroughly hemmed in and \"shut\nup.\" They seem in a worse plight than ever. They heartily wish\nthemselves back again amid the brick-kilns and stubble fields of Egypt.\nDeserts sands on either side of them; the sea in front; Pharaoh and all\nhis terrific hosts behind!\n\nThe case seemed perfectly hopeless; and hopeless it was, so far as they\nwere concerned. They were utterly powerless, and they were being made to\nrealize it, and this is a very painful process to go through; but very\nwholesome and valuable, yea, most necessary for all. We must all, in one\nway or another, learn the force, meaning, and depth of that phrase,\n\"without strength.\" It is exactly in proportion as we find out what it\nis to be without strength, that we are prepared to appreciate God's \"due\ntime.\"\n\nBut, we may here inquire, \"Is there aught in the history of God's people\nnow answering to Israel's experience at the Red Sea?\" Doubtless there\nis; for we are told that the things which happened unto Israel are our\nensamples, or types. And, most surely, the scene at the Red Sea is full\nof instruction for us. How often do we find the children of God plunged\nin the very depths of distress and darkness as to their state and\nprospects! It is not that they question the love of God, or the efficacy\nof the blood of Jesus, nor yet that God will reckon their sins to them,\nor enter into judgment with them. But still, they have no sense of full\ndeliverance. They do not see the application of the death of Christ to\ntheir _evil nature_. They do not realize the glorious truth that by that\ndeath they are completely delivered from this present evil world, from\nthe dominion of sin, and from the power of Satan. They see that the\nblood of Jesus screens them from the judgment of God; but they do not\nsee that _they_ are \"dead to sin;\" that their \"old man is crucified\nwith Christ;\" that not only have their sins been put upon Christ at the\ncross, but _they themselves_, as sinful children of Adam, have been, by\nthe act of God, identified with Christ in His death; that God pronounces\nthem _dead and risen with Christ_. (See Col. iii. I-4 and the sixth\nchapter of Romans.) But if this precious truth is not apprehended, by\nfaith, there is no bright, happy, emancipating sense of full and\neverlasting salvation. They are, to speak according to our type, at\nEgypt's side of the Red Sea, and in danger of falling into the hands of\nthe prince of this world. They do not see \"_all_ their enemies dead on\nthe sea-shore.\" They cannot sing the song of redemption. No one can sing\nit, until he stands by faith on the wilderness side of the Red Sea, or,\nin other words, until he sees his complete deliverance from sin, the\nworld, and Satan--the great foes of every child of God.\n\nThus, in contemplating the facts of Israel's history, as recorded in the\nfirst fifteen chapters of Exodus, we observe that they did not raise a\nsingle note of praise until they had passed through the Red Sea. We hear\nthe cry of sore distress under the cruel lash of Pharaoh's task-masters,\nand amid the grievous toil of Egypt's brick-kilns. And we hear the cry\nof terror when they stood \"between Migdol and the sea.\" All this we\nhear; but not one note of praise, not a single accent of triumph, until\nthe waters of the Red Sea rolled between them and the land of bondage\nand of death, and they saw all the power of the enemy broken and gone.\n\"Thus the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians;\nand Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea-shore. And _Israel saw\nthat great work which the Lord did_ upon the Egyptians: and the people\nfeared the Lord and His servant Moses. _Then sang_ Moses and the\nchildren of Israel.\"\n\nNow, what is the simple application of all this to us as Christians?\nWhat grand lesson are we to learn from the scenes on the shores of the\nRed Sea? In a word, of what is the Red Sea a type? And what is the\ndifference between the blood-stained lintel and the divided sea?\n\nThe Red Sea is the type of the death of Christ, in its application to\nall our spiritual enemies, sin, the world, and Satan. By the death of\nChrist the believer is completely and forever delivered from the _power_\nof sin. He is, alas! conscious of the _presence_ of sin; but its power\nis gone. He has died to sin, in the death of Christ; and what power has\nsin over a dead man? It is the privilege of the Christian to reckon\nhimself as much delivered from the dominion of sin as a man lying dead\non the floor. What power has sin over such an one? None whatever. No\nmore has it over the Christian. Sin _dwells_ in the believer, and will\ndo so to the end of the chapter; but its _rule_ is gone. Christ has\nwrested the sceptre from the grasp of our old master, and shivered it to\natoms. It is not merely that His blood has purged our _sins_; but His\ndeath has broken the power of _sin_.\n\nIt is one thing to know that our sins are forgiven, and another thing\naltogether to know that \"the body of sin is destroyed\"--its rule\nended--its dominion gone. Many will tell you that they do not question\nthe forgiveness of their past sins, but they do not know what to say as\nto indwelling sin. They fear lest, after all, that may come against\nthem, and bring them into judgment. Such persons are, to use the figure,\n\"between Migdol and the sea.\" They have not learnt the doctrine of Rom.\nvi. They have not as yet, in their spiritual intelligence and\napprehension, reached the resurrection side of the Red Sea. They do not\nknow what it is to be dead unto sin, and alive unto God through Jesus\nChrist our Lord.\n\nAnd let the reader particularly note the force of the apostle's word,\n\"_reckon_.\" How very different it is, in every way, from our word,\n\"_realize_!\" This latter word may do very well where natural or human\nthings are concerned. We can realize physical or material facts; but\nwhere a spiritual truth is involved, it is not a question of realizing,\nbut of reckoning. How can I realize that I am dead to sin? All my own\nexperience, my own feelings, my inward self-consciousness seems to offer\na flat contradiction to the truth. I cannot realize that I am dead; but\nGod tells me I am. He assures me that He counts me to have died to sin\nwhen Christ died. I believe it; not because I feel it, but because God\nsays it. I reckon myself to be what God tells me I am. If I were\nsinless, if I had no sin in me, I should never be told to reckon myself\ndead to sin; neither should I ever be called to listen to such words as,\n\"Let not sin, therefore, _reign_ in your mortal body.\" But it is just\nbecause I have sin dwelling in me, and in order to give me full\npractical deliverance from its reigning power, that I am taught the\ngrand enfranchising truth, that the dominion of sin is broken by the\ndeath of Christ in which I also died.\n\nHow do I know this? Is it because I feel it? Certainly not. How could I\nfeel it? How could I realize it? How could I ever have the\nself-consciousness of it, while in the body? Impossible. But God tells\nme I have died in the death of Christ. I believe it. I do not reason\nabout it. I do not stagger at it because I cannot find any evidence of\nits truth in myself. I take God at His word. I reckon myself to be what\nHe tells me I am. I do not endeavor to struggle, and strive, and work\nmyself into a sinless state which is impossible. Neither do I imagine\nmyself to be in it, which were a deceit and a delusion; but by a simple,\nchildlike faith, I take the blessed ground which faith assigns me, in\nassociation with a dead Christ. I look at Christ there, and see in Him,\naccording to God's word, the true expression of where I am, in the\nDivine Presence. I do not reason from myself upwards, but I reason from\nGod downwards. This makes all the difference. It is just the difference\nbetween unbelief and faith,--between law and grace--between human\nreligion and divine Christianity. If I reason from self, how can I have\nany right thought of what is in the heart of God?--all my conclusions\nmust be utterly false. But if, on the other hand, I listen to God and\nbelieve His Word, my conclusions are divinely sound. Abraham did not\nlook at himself and the improbability, nay, the impossibility of having\na son in his old age; but he believed God and gave glory to Him. And it\nwas counted to Him for righteousness.\n\nIt is an unspeakable mercy to get done with self, in all its phases and\nin all its workings, and to be brought to rest, in all simplicity, on\nthe written Word, and on the Christ which that written Word presents to\nour souls. Self-occupation is a deathblow to fellowship, and a great\nbarrier to the soul's rest and progress. It is impossible for any one to\nenjoy settled peace so long as he is occupied with himself. He must\ncease from self, and harken to God's Word, and rest, without a single\nquestion, on its pure, precious, and everlasting record. God's Word\nnever changes. I change; my frames, my feelings, my experience, my\ncircumstances, change continually; but God's Word is the same yesterday,\nand to-day, and forever.\n\nFurthermore, it is a grand and essential point for the soul to apprehend\nthat Christ is the only definition of the believer's place before God.\nThis gives immense power, liberty, and blessing. \"As He is, so are we,\nin this world\" (I John iv. 17). This is something perfectly wonderful!\nLet us ponder it: let us think of a poor, wretched, guilty slave of\nsin, a bondslave of Satan, a votary of the world, exposed to an eternal\nhell--such an one taken up by sovereign grace, delivered completely from\nthe grasp of Satan, the dominion of sin, the power of this present evil\nworld--pardoned, washed, justified, brought nigh to God, accepted in\nChrist, and perfectly and forever identified with Him, so that the Holy\nGhost can say, as Christ is, so is he in this world!\n\nAll this seems too good to be true; and, most assuredly, it is too good\nfor us to get; but, blessed be the God of all grace, and blessed be the\nChrist of God! it is not too good for Him to give. God gives like\nHimself. He will be God, spite of our unworthiness and Satan's\nopposition. He will act in a way worthy of Himself, and worthy of the\nSon of His love. Were it a question of our deservings, we could only\nthink of the deepest and darkest pit of hell. But seeing it is a\nquestion of what is worthy of God to give, and that He gives according\nto His estimate of the worthiness of Christ, then, verily, we can think\nof the very highest place in heaven. The glory of God, and the\nworthiness of His Son, are involved in His dealings with us; and hence\neverything that could possibly stand in the way of our eternal\nblessedness, has been disposed of in such a manner as to secure the\ndivine glory, and furnish a triumphant answer to every plea of the\nenemy. Is it a question of trespass? \"He has forgiven us all\ntrespasses.\" Is it a question of sin? He has condemned sin at the cross,\nand thus put it away. Is it a question of guilt? It is canceled by the\nblood of the cross. Is it a question of death? He has taken away its\nsting, and actually made it part of our property. Is it a question of\nSatan? He has destroyed him, by annulling all his power. Is it a\nquestion of the world? He has delivered us from it, and snapped every\nlink which connected us with it.\n\nThus, beloved Christian reader, it stands with us if we are to be taught\nby Scripture, if we are to take God at His word, if we are to believe\nwhat He says. And we may add, if it be not thus, we are in our sins;\nunder the power of sin; in the grasp of Satan; obnoxious to death; part\nand parcel of an evil, Christless, Godless world, and exposed to the\nunmitigated wrath of God--the vengeance of eternal fire.\n\nOh that the blessed Spirit may open the eyes of God's people, and give\nthem to see their proper place, their full and eternal deliverance in\nassociation with Christ who died for them, and _in whom they have died_,\nand _thus_ passed out of the power of all their enemies!\n\n\nPART III.\n\nHaving glanced at two of the leading points in our subject, namely,\nIsrael freed from guilt under the shelter of the blood, and Israel freed\nfrom all their enemies in the passage of the Red Sea, we have now to\ncontemplate for a few moments Israel crossing the Jordan, and\ncelebrating the paschal feast at Gilgal, in which they represent the\nrisen position of Christians now.\n\nThe Christian is one who is not only sheltered from judgment by the\nblood of the Lamb, not only delivered from the power of all his enemies\nby the death of Christ, but is also associated with Him where He now is,\nat the right hand of God; he is, with Christ, passed out of death, in\nresurrection, and is blessed with all spiritual blessings, in the\nheavenlies, in Christ. He is thus a heavenly man, and, as such, is\ncalled to walk in this world in all the varied relationships and\nresponsibilities in which the good hand of God has placed him. He is not\na monk, or an ascetic, or a man living in the clouds, fit neither for\nearth or heaven. He is not one who lives in a dreamy, misty, unpractical\nregion; but, on the contrary, one whose happy privilege it is, from day\nto day, to reflect, amid the scenes and circumstances of earth, the\ngraces and virtues of Christ, with whom, through infinite grace, and on\nthe solid ground of accomplished redemption, he is linked in the power\nof the Holy Ghost.\n\nSuch is the Christian, according to the teaching of the New Testament.\nLet the reader see that he understands it. It is very real, very\ndefinite, very positive, very practical. A child may know it, and\nrealize it, and exhibit it. A Christian is one whose sins are forgiven,\nwho possesses eternal life, and knows it; in whom the Holy Ghost dwells;\nhe is accepted in and associated with a risen and glorified Christ; he\nhas broken with the world, is dead to sin and the law, and finds his\nobject and his delight, and his spiritual sustenance, in the Christ who\nloved him and gave Himself for him, and for whose coming he waits every\nday of his life.\n\nThis, we repeat, is the New Testament description of a Christian. How\nimmensely it differs from the ordinary type of Christian profession\naround us we need not say. But let the reader measure himself by the\ndivine standard, and see wherein he comes short; for of this he may rest\nassured, that there is no reason whatsoever, so far as the love of God,\nor the work of Christ, or the testimony of the Holy Ghost, is concerned,\nwhy he should not be in the full enjoyment of all the rich and rare\nspiritual blessings which appertain to the true Christian position. Dark\nunbelief, fed by legality, bad teaching, and spurious religiousness, rob\nmany of God's dear children of their proper place and portion. And not\nonly so, but, from want of a thorough break with the world, many are\nsadly hindered from the clear perception and full realization of their\nposition and privileges as heavenly men.\n\nBut we are rather anticipating the instruction unfolded to us in the\ntypical history of Israel, in Josh. iii.-v., to which we shall now turn.\n\"And Joshua rose early in the morning; and they removed from Shittim,\nand came to Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there\nbefore they passed over. And it came to pass, after three days, that the\nofficers went through the host. And they commanded the people, saying,\nWhen ye see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the\npriests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place,\nand go after it. _Yet there shall be a space between you and it_, about\ntwo thousand cubits by measure: _come not near unto it, that ye may know\nthe way by which ye must go; for ye have not passed this way\nheretofore_\" (Josh. iii. I-4).\n\nIt is most desirable that the reader should, with all simplicity and\nclearness, seize the true spiritual import of the river Jordan. It\ntypifies the death of Christ in one of its grand aspects, just as the\nRed Sea typifies it in another. When the children of Israel stood on the\nwilderness side of the Red Sea, they sang the song of redemption. They\nwere a delivered people--delivered from Egypt and the power of Pharaoh.\nThey saw all their enemies dead on the sea-shore. They could even\nanticipate, in glowing accents, their triumphal entrance into the\npromised land. \"Thou in Thy mercy hast led forth the people which Thou\nhast redeemed; Thou hast guided them in Thy strength unto Thy holy\nhabitation. The people shall hear, and be afraid: sorrow shall take hold\non the inhabitants of Palestina. Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed;\nthe mighty men of Moab, trembling shall take hold upon them: all the\ninhabitants of Canaan shall melt away. Fear and dread shall fall upon\nthem: by the greatness of Thine arm they shall be still as a stone; till\nThy people pass over, O Lord, till the people pass over which Thou hast\npurchased. Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of\nThine inheritance, in the place, O Lord, which Thou hast made for Thee\nto dwell in; in the sanctuary, O Lord, which Thy hands have established.\nThe Lord shall reign for ever and ever.\"\n\nAll this was perfectly magnificent, and divinely true. But they were not\nyet in Canaan. Jordan--of which, most surely, there is no mention in\ntheir glorious song of victory--lay between them and the promised land.\nTrue, in the purpose of God and in the judgment of faith, the land was\ntheirs; but they had to traverse the wilderness, cross the Jordan, and\ntake possession.\n\nHow constantly we see all this exemplified in the history of souls! When\nfirst converted, there is nothing but joy and victory and praise. They\nknow their sins forgiven; they are filled with wonder, love, and praise.\nBeing justified by faith, they have peace with God, and they can rejoice\nin hope of His glory, yea, and joy in Himself through Jesus Christ our\nLord. They are in Rom. v. I-11; and, in one sense, there can be nothing\nhigher. Even in heaven itself we shall have nothing higher or better\nthan \"joy in God.\" Persons sometimes speak of Rom. viii. being higher\nthan Rom. v.: but what can be higher than \"joy in God\"? If we are\nbrought to God, we have reached the most exalted point to which any soul\ncan come. To know Him as our portion, our rest, our stay, our object,\nour all; to have all our springs in Him, and know Him as a perfect\ncovering for our eyes, at all times, and in all places, and under all\ncircumstances--this is heaven itself to the believer.\n\nBut there is this difference between Rom. v. and viii., that vi. and\nvii. lie between; and when the soul has traveled practically through\nthese latter, and learns how to apply their profound and precious\nteaching to the great questions of indwelling sin and the law, then it\nis in a better state, though, most assuredly, not in a higher standing.\n\nWe repeat, and with emphasis, the words \"_traveled practically_.\" For it\nmust be even so, if we would really enter into these holy mysteries\naccording to God. It is easy to talk about being \"dead to sin\" and \"dead\nto the law\"--easy to see these things written in Rom. vi. and vii.--easy\nto grasp, in the intellect, the mere theory of these things. But the\nquestion is, have we made them our own--have they been applied\npractically to our souls by the power of the Holy Ghost? Are they\nlivingly exhibited in our ways to the glory of Him who, at such a cost\nto Himself, has brought us into such a marvelous place of blessing and\nprivilege?\n\nIt is much to be feared that there is a vast amount of merely\nintellectual traffic in these deep and precious mysteries of our most\nholy faith, which, if only laid hold of in spiritual power, would\nproduce wonderful results in practice.\n\nBut we must return to our theme; and in doing so, we would ask the\nreader if he really understands the true spiritual import of the river\nJordan? What does it really mean? We have said that it typifies the\ndeath of Christ. But in what aspect? for that precious death, as we are\nnow considering, has many and various aspects. We believe the Jordan\nsets forth the death of our Lord Jesus Christ as that by which we are\nintroduced into the inheritance He has obtained for us. The Red Sea\n_delivered Israel from_ Egypt and the power of Pharaoh. Jordan _brought\nthem into_ the land of Canaan.\n\nWe find both in the death of Christ. He, blessed be His name, has, by\nHis death on the cross--His death for us--delivered us from our sins,\nfrom their guilt and condemnation, from Satan's power, and from this\npresent evil world.\n\nBut more than this: He has, by the same infinitely precious work,\nbrought us _now_ into an entirely new position, in resurrection and in\nliving union and association with Himself, where He is at God's right\nhand. Such is the distinct teaching of Eph. ii. \"But God, who is rich in\nmercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead\nin sins, _hath quickened us together with Christ_, (by grace ye are\nsaved;) and _hath raised us up together_, and made us _sit together in\nthe heavenlies_ in Christ Jesus\" (vers. 4-6).\n\nNote the little word \"_hath_.\" He is not speaking of what God _will_ do,\nbut of what He _hath_ done--done for us, and with us, in Christ Jesus.\nThe believer has not to wait till he passes out of this life to enjoy\nhis inheritance in heaven. In the person of his living and glorified\nHead, through faith, by the Spirit, he belongs there now, and is free to\nall that God has given to all His own.[VI.]\n\nIs all this real and true? Yes! As real and true as that Christ hung on\nthe cross and lay in the grave; as real and true as that we were dead in\ntrespasses and sins; as real and true as the truth of God can make it;\nas real and true as the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the body of\nevery true believer.\n\nMark, reader, we are not now speaking of the practical working-out of\nall this glorious truth in the life of Christians from day to day. This\nis another thing altogether. Alas, alas! if our only idea of true\nChristian position were to be drawn from the practical career of\nprofessing Christians, we might give up Christianity as a myth or a\nsham.\n\nBut, thank God, it is not so. We must learn what true Christianity is\nfrom the pages of the New Testament, and, having learnt it there, judge\nourselves, our ways, our surroundings, by its heavenly light. In this\nway, while we shall ever have to confess and mourn our shortcomings, our\nhearts shall ever, more and more, be filled with praise to Him whose\ninfinite grace has brought us into such a glorious position, in union\nand fellowship with His own Son--a position, blessed be God, in nowise\ndependent upon our personal state, but which, if really apprehended,\nmust exert a powerful influence upon our entire course, conduct, and\ncharacter.\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[VI.] [There are three very distinct aspects of the death of Christ\nwhich, to apprehend clearly, is of unspeakable value to the soul.\n\n1st. That which is typified in the blood of the paschal lamb on Israel's\ndoors in Egypt. This is the judgment of God against the sinner in the\nperson of the Substitute provided for him. Rom. iii. 23-27 applies to\nthis.\n\nIt brings peace to the soul who believes, for his judgment is passed.\nChrist has borne it in our stead.\n\n2nd. As revealed at the passage of the Red Sea. There it is fully\nmanifested that God is _for_ His people; He has completely overcome\ntheir enemy and freed them from his power forever. The prince and his\nhosts, who ruled over them unto death, are drowned in the sea. God's\npeople have passed out of his dominions, and can now go on with God in\nperfect freedom. No condemnation remains. Henceforth, to faith, Satan is\na vanquished foe. God's people are delivered; they can now, in settled\npeace, worship, praise, and serve their God. Blessed, holy deliverance\nand service! Rom. vi.-vii. gives the full teaching of this aspect of the\ndeath of Christ.\n\n3rd. As seen in the passage of Jordan. There is no judgment to escape\nthere; no foe pressing behind. It is a question of entering the good\nland which is just across. It is the death of Christ here as _the ending\nof His people's history_ _as children of Adam_; that, by resurrection,\nHe may now introduce them, as having died and risen with Him, into the\nplace of glory where He has gone. By this it can be said, \"As He is, so\nare we in this world\" (I John iv. 17)\n\nCol. ii. 10-iii. 4, is the New Testament doctrine of this precious\ntruth. ED.]\n\n\nPART IV.\n\nThe more deeply we ponder the typical instruction presented in the river\nJordan, the more clearly we must see that the whole Christian position\nis involved in the standpoint from which we view it. Jordan means death,\nbut, for the believer, a death that is _past_--the death we have gone\nthrough as identified with Christ, and which, through resurrection, has\nbrought us on the other side--the Canaan side--where He is now. He,\ntypified by the ark, has passed over before us into Jordan, to stem its\ntorrent for us, and make it a dry path for our feet, so that we might\npass clean over into our heavenly inheritance. The Prince of life has\ndestroyed, on our behalf, him that had the power of death. He has taken\nthe sting from death; yea, He has made death itself the very means by\nwhich we reach, even now, in spirit and by faith, the true heavenly\nCanaan.\n\nLet us see how all this is unfolded in our type. Mark particularly the\ncommandment given by the officers of the host. \"When ye see the ark of\nthe covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests the Levites bearing\nit, then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it.\" The ark must\ngo first. They dared not to move one inch along that mysterious way,\nuntil the symbol of the divine Presence had gone before.\n\n\"Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand\ncubits by measure: _come not near unto it that ye may know the way by\nwhich ye must go_; for ye have _not passed this way heretofore_.\" It was\nan awful flood ahead of them. No mortal could tread it with impunity.\nDeath and destruction are linked together. \"It is appointed unto men\nonce to die; but after this the judgment\" (Heb. ix.) Who can stand\nbefore the king of terrors? Who can face that grim and terrible foe? Who\ncan encounter the swellings of Jordan? Who, except the Ark go first, can\nface death and judgment? Poor Peter thought he could; but he was sadly\nmistaken. He said unto Jesus, \"Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered\nhim, Whither I go, _thou canst not follow Me now_; but thou shalt follow\nMe afterwards.\"\n\nHow fully these words explain the import of that mystic \"space\" between\nIsrael and the ark. Peter did not understand that space. He had not\nstudied aright Josh. iii. 4. He knew nothing of that terrible pathway\nwhich his blessed Master was about to enter upon. \"Peter said unto Him,\nLord, why cannot I follow Thee now? I will lay down my life for Thy\nsake.\"\n\nPoor dear Peter! How little he knew of himself, or of that which he\nwas--sincerely, no doubt, though ignorantly--undertaking to do! How\nlittle did he imagine that the very sound of death's dark river, heard\neven in the distance, would be sufficient so to terrify him, as to make\nhim curse and swear that he did not know his Master! \"Jesus answered\nhim, Wilt thou lay down thy life for My sake? Verily, verily, I say unto\nthee, the cock shall not crow till thou hast denied Me thrice.\"\n\n\"Yet there shall be a space between you and it.\" How needful! How\nabsolutely essential! Truly there was a space between Peter and his\nLord. Jesus had to go before. He had to meet death in its most terrific\nform. He had to tread that rough path in profound solitude--for who\ncould accompany Him? \"There shall be a space between you and it: come\nnot near to it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go; for ye\nhave not passed this way heretofore.\"\n\n\"Thou canst not follow Me _now_: but thou shalt follow me _afterwards_.\"\nBlessed Master! He would not suffer His poor feeble servant to enter\nupon that terrible path, until He Himself had gone before, and so\nentirely changed its character, that the pathway of death should be\nlighted up with the beams of life and the light of God's face. Our Jesus\nhas \"abolished death, and brought life and incorruptibility to light by\nthe gospel.\"\n\nThus death is no longer death to the believer. It was death to Jesus, in\nall its intensity, in all its horrors, in all its reality. He met it as\nthe power which Satan wields over the soul of man. He met it as the\npenalty due to sin. He met it as the just judgment of God against\nsin--against us. There was not a single feature, not a single\ningredient, not a single circumstance, which could possibly render\ndeath formidable which did not enter into the death of Christ. He met\nall; and, blessed be God, _we are accounted as having gone through all\nin and by Him_. We died in Him, so that death has no further claim upon\nus, or power over us. Its claims are disposed of, its power broken and\ngone for all believers. The whole scene is cleared completely of death,\nand filled with life and incorruptibility.\n\nAnd hence, in Peter's case, we find our Lord, in the last chapter of\nJohn, most graciously meeting the desire of His servant's heart--a\ndesire in which he was perfectly sincere--the desire to follow his\nbeloved Lord. \"Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young,\nthou girdest thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest; but when thou\nshalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird\nthee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. This spake He signifying\nby what death he should glorify God.\" Thus death, instead of being the\njudgment of God to overwhelm Peter, was turned into a means by which\nPeter could glorify God.\n\nWhat a glorious change! What a stupendous mystery! How it magnifies the\ncross, or rather the One who hung thereon! What a mighty revolution,\nwhen a poor sinful man can, by death, glorify God! So completely has\ndeath been robbed of its sting, so thoroughly has its character been\nchanged that, instead of shrinking from it with terror, we can meet it,\nif it does come, and go through it with song of victory; and instead of\nits being to us the wages of sin, it is a means by which we can glorify\nGod. All praise to Him who has so wrought for us! to Him who has gone\ndown into Jordan's deepest depths for us, and made there a highway by\nwhich His ransomed people can pass over into their heavenly inheritance!\nMay our hearts adore Him! May all our powers be stirred up to magnify\nHis holy name! May our whole life be devoted to His praise! May we\nappreciate the grace and lay hold of the inheritance.\n\nBut we must proceed with our type.\n\n\"And Joshua spake unto the priests, saying, Take up the ark of the\ncovenant, and pass over before the people. And they took up the ark of\nthe covenant, and went before the people. And the Lord said unto Joshua,\nThis day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that\nthey may know that as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee.\" Joshua\nstands before us as a type of the risen Christ, leading His people, in\nthe power of the Holy Ghost, into their heavenly inheritance. The\npriests bearing the ark into the midst of Jordan typify Christ going\ndown into death for us, and destroying completely its power. \"He passed\nthrough death's dark raging flood, to make our rest secure;\" and not\nonly to make it secure, but to lead us into it, in association with\nHimself, now, in spirit and by faith; by-and-by, in actual fact.\n\n\"And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, Come hither, and hear the\nwords of the Lord your God. And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that\nthe _living_ God is among you, and that He will without fail drive out\nfrom before you the Canaanites.... Behold, the ark of the covenant of\nthe Lord of all the earth passeth over before you into Jordan.\"\n\nThe passage of the ark into Jordan proved two things, namely, the\npresence of the living God in the midst of His people; and that He would\nmost surely drive out all their enemies from before them. The death of\nChrist is the basis and the guarantee of everything to faith. Grant us\nbut this, that Christ has gone down into death for us, and we argue,\nwith all possible confidence, that, in this one great fact, all is\nsecured. God is with us, and God is for us. \"He that spared not His own\nSon, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also\nfreely give us all things?\" The difficulty of unbelief is, \"How shall\nHe?\" The difficulty of faith is, \"How shall He _not_?\"\n\nIsrael might wonder how all the hosts of Canaan could ever be expelled\nfrom before them: let them gaze on the ark in the midst of Jordan, and\ncease to wonder, cease to doubt. The less is included in the greater.\nAnd hence we can say, What may we not expect, seeing that Christ has\ndied for us? There is nothing too good, nothing too great, nothing too\nglorious, for God to do for us, and in us, and with us, seeing He has\nnot spared His only-begotten Son, but delivered Him up for us all.\nEverything is secured for us by the precious death of Christ. It has\nopened up the everlasting flood-gates of the love of God, so that the\nrich streams thereof might flow down into the very depths of our souls.\nIt fills us with the sweetest assurance that the One who could bruise\nHis only-begotten Son, on the cursed tree, for us, will meet our every\nneed, carry us through all our difficulties, and lead us into the full\npossession and enjoyment of all that His eternal purpose of grace has in\nstore for us. Having given us such a proof of His love, even when we\nwere yet sinners, what may we not expect at His hands now that He views\nus in association with that blessed One who glorified Him in death--the\ndeath that He died for us? When Israel saw the ark in the midst of\nJordan, they were entitled to consider that all was secured. As our Lord\nalso said to His disciples before leaving them, \"Be of good cheer, I\nhave overcome the world;\" and, in view of His cross, He could say, \"Now\nis the prince of this world cast out.\" True, Israel had, as we know, to\ntake possession: they had to plant their feet upon the inheritance; but\nthe power that could stem death's dark waters, could also drive out\nevery foe from before them, and put them in peaceful possession of all\nthat God had promised.\n\n\nPART V.\n\nIn closing this series of brief papers on Gilgal, we must turn our\nthoughts to the practical application of that which has been engaging\nour attention. If it be true--and it is true--that Jesus died for us, it\nis equally true that we have died in Him; as one of our own poets has\nsweetly put it:\n\n    \"For me, Lord Jesus, Thou hast died\n      And I have died in Thee:\n    Thou'rt risen--my bands are all untied,\n      And now Thou livest in me.\n    The Father's face of radiant grace\n      Shines now in light on me.\"\n\nNow this is a great practical truth--none more so. It lies at the very\nfoundation of all true Christianity. If Christ has died for us, then, in\nvery deed, He has taken us completely out of our old condition, with all\nthat appertained to it, and placed us upon an entirely new footing. We\ncan look back from resurrection-ground on which we now stand, into the\ndark river of death, and see there, in its deepest depths, the memorial\nof the victory gained for us by the Prince of Life. We do not look\nforward to death; we look back at it. We can truly say, \"The bitterness\nof death is past.\"\n\nJesus met death for us in its most terrible form. Just as the river of\nJordan was divided when it presented its most formidable\nappearance--\"for Jordan overfloweth all its banks all the time of\nharvest\"--so our Jesus encountered our last great enemy, vanquished him\nin his most fearful form, and left behind, in the very centre of death's\ndark domain, the imperishable record of His glorious victory. All\npraise, homage, and adoration to His peerless name! It is our privilege,\nby faith and in spirit, to stand on Canaan's side of Jordan, and erect\nour memorial of what the Saviour, the true Joshua, has done for us.\n\n\"And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan,\nthat the Lord spake unto Joshua, saying, Take you twelve men out of the\npeople, _out of every tribe a man_. And command ye them, saying, Take\nyou hence out of the midst of Jordan, _out of the place where the\npriests' feet stood firm_, twelve stones; and ye shall carry them over\nwith you, and leave them in the lodging-place where ye shall lodge this\nnight. Then Joshua called the twelve men whom he had prepared of the\nchildren of Israel, _out of every tribe a man_. And Joshua said unto\nthem, Pass over before the ark of the Lord your God, into the midst of\nJordan, and take you up _every man of you_ a stone upon his shoulder,\naccording unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel: that\nthis may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers\nin time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones? then ye shall\nanswer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of\nthe covenant of the Lord; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of\nJordan were cut off: and these stones shall be _for a memorial_ unto the\nchildren of Israel for ever\" (Josh. iv: I-7).\n\nThe great fact was to be seized, and practically carried out by the\nwhole assembly, \"of every tribe a man\"--\"every man of you a stone upon\nhis shoulder,\" a stone taken from the very spot where the priests' feet\nstood firm. All were to be brought into living personal contact with the\ngreat mysterious fact that the waters of Jordan were cut off. All were\nto engage in erecting such a memorial of this fact as should elicit\ninquiry from their children as to what it meant. It was never to be\nforgotten.\n\nWhat a lesson is here for us! Are we erecting our memorial? Are we\ngiving evidence--such evidence as may strike even the mind of a\nchild--of the fact that our Jesus has vanquished the power of death for\nus? Are we affording any practical proof in daily life that Christ has\ndied for us, and that we have died in Him? Is there aught in our actual\nhistory, from day to day, answering to the figure set forth in the\npassage just quoted--\"every man of you a stone upon his shoulder\"? Are\nwe declaring plainly that we have passed clean over Jordan--that we\nbelong to heaven--that we are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit? Do\nour children see aught in our habits and ways, in our spirit and\ndeportment, in our whole character and manner of life, leading them to\ninquire, \"What mean ye by these things?\" Are we living as those who are\ndead with Christ--dead to sin--dead to the world?\n\nAre we practically freed from the world--letting go our hold of present\nthings, in the power of communion with a risen Christ?\n\nThese are searching questions for the soul, beloved Christian reader.\nLet us seek to meet them honestly, as in the divine presence. We profess\nthese things, we hold them in theory. We say we believe that Jesus died\nfor us, and that we died in Him. Where is the proof--where the abiding\nmemorial--where the stone on the shoulder? Let us judge ourselves\nhonestly before God. Let us no longer rest satisfied with anything short\nof the thorough, practical, habitual carrying out of the great truth\nthat \"we are dead, and our life is hid with Christ in God.\" Mere\nprofession is worthless. We want the living power--the true result--the\nproper fruit.\n\n\"And the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first\nmonth, and encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho. And _those\ntwelve stones which they took out of Jordan_\"--stones of peculiar\nimport--no other stones could tell such a tale, teach such a lesson, or\nsymbolize such a stupendous fact--no other stones like them--\"those\ntwelve stones did Joshua pitch in Gilgal. And he spake unto the children\nof Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to\ncome, saying, What mean these stones? then ye shall let your children\nknow, saying, _Israel came over this Jordan on dry land_. For the Lord\nyour God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were\npassed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which He dried up\nfrom before us, until we were gone over: that all the people of the\nearth might know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty: that ye might\nfear the Lord your God forever.\"\n\nHere, then, we see Israel at Gilgal. \"Everything was finished that the\nLord commanded Joshua to speak unto the people, according to all that\nMoses commanded Joshua.\" Every member of the host had passed clean over\nJordan--not one had been suffered to feel the slightest touch of the\nriver of death. Grace had brought them all safely over into the\ninheritance promised to their fathers. They were not only separated from\nEgypt by the Red Sea, but actually brought into Canaan across the dry\nbed of the Jordan, and encamped in Gilgal, in the plains of Jericho.\n\nAnd now mark what follows. \"And it came to pass, when all the kings of\nthe Amorites which were on the side of Jordan westward, and all the\nkings of the Canaanites which were by the sea, heard that the Lord had\ndried up the waters of Jordan from before the children of Israel, until\nwe were passed over, that their heart melted, neither was there spirit\nin them any more, because of the children of Israel. _At that\ntime_\"--note the words!--when all the nations were paralyzed with terror\nat the very thought of this people--\"at that time the Lord said unto\nJoshua, Make thee _sharp knives_, and circumcise again the children of\nIsrael the second time.\"\n\nHow deeply significant is this: How suggestive are these \"sharp knives\"!\nHow needful! If Israel are about to bring the sword upon the Canaanites,\nIsrael must have the sharp knife applied to themselves. They had never\nbeen circumcised in the wilderness. The reproach of Egypt had never been\nrolled away from them. And ere they could celebrate the passover, and\neat of the old corn of the land of Canaan, they must have the sentence\nof death written upon them. No doubt this was aught but agreeable to\nnature; but it must be done. How could they take possession of Canaan\nwith the reproach of Egypt resting upon them? How could uncircumcised\npeople dispossess the Canaanites? Impossible! The sharp knives had to do\ntheir work throughout the camp of Israel ere they could eat of Canaan's\nfood or prosecute the warfare which of necessity belongs to it.\n\n\"And Joshua made him sharp knives, and circumcised the children of\nIsrael at the hill of the foreskins. And this is the cause why Joshua\ndid circumcise. All the people that came out of Egypt that were males,\neven all the men of war, died in the wilderness by the way, after they\ncame out of Egypt.... And their children, whom he raised up in their\nstead, them Joshua circumcised: for they were uncircumcised, because\nthey had not circumcised them by the way.... And the Lord said unto\nJoshua, This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you.\nWherefore the name of the place is called Gilgal (\"rolling\") unto this\nday. And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the\npassover on the fourteenth day of the month, at even, in the plains of\nJericho. And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow\nafter the passover, unleavened cakes and parched corn, in the self-same\nday. And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old\ncorn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more; but\nthey did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.\"\n\nHere, then, we have a type of the full Christian position. The Christian\nis a heavenly man, dead to the world, crucified with Christ, associated\nwith Him where He now is, and, while waiting for His appearing, occupied\nin heart with Him, feeding by faith upon Him as the proper nourishment\nof the new man.\n\nSuch is the Christian's position--such his portion. But in order to\nenter fully into the enjoyment thereof, there must be the application of\nthe \"sharp knife\" to all that belongs to mere nature. There must be the\nsentence of death written upon that which Scripture designates as \"the\nold man.\"\n\nAll this must be really and practically entered into if we would\nmaintain our position or enjoy our proper portion as heavenly men. If we\nare indulging nature; if we are living in a low, worldly atmosphere; if\nwe are going in for this world's pursuits, its pleasures, its politics,\nits riches, its honors, its fashions, and its distinctions--then,\nverily, it is impossible that we can be enjoying fellowship with our\nrisen Head and Lord.[VII.] Christ is in heaven, and to enjoy Him we must\nbe living, in spirit and by faith, where He is. He is not of this world;\nand if we are of it, we cannot be enjoying fellowship with Him. \"If we\nsay that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and\ndo not the truth\" (I John i. 6).\n\nThis is most solemn. If I am living in and of the world, I am walking in\ndarkness, and I can have no fellowship with a heavenly Christ.\n\"Wherefore,\" says the blessed apostle, \"if ye be dead with Christ from\nthe rudiments of the world, why, _as though living in the world_, are ye\nsubject to ordinances?\" Do we really understand these words? Have we\nweighed the full force of the expression, \"living in the world\"? Is the\nChristian not to be as one living in the world? Clearly not. He is to\nlive, in spirit, where Christ is. As to fact, he is obviously on this\nearth, moving up and down, and in and out, in the varied relations of\nlife, and in the varied spheres of action in which the hand of God has\nset him. But his home is in heaven. His life is there. His object, his\nrest, his proper _all_, is in heaven. He does not belong to earth. His\ncitizenship is in heaven; and in order to make this good in practice\nfrom day to day, there must be the denial of self, the mortification of\nour members.\n\nAll this comes vividly out in Col. iii. Indeed, it would be impossible\nto give a more striking exposition of the entire subject of \"Gilgal\"\nthan that presented in the following lines: \"If ye then be risen with\nChrist, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the\nright hand of God. Set your affections on things above, not on things on\nthe earth. For ye have died, and your life is hid with Christ in God.\nWhen Christ our life shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in\nglory.\" And now comes the true spiritual import and application of\n\"Gilgal\" and its \"sharp knives\"--\"Mortify, therefore, your members which\nare upon the earth.\"\n\nMay the Holy Spirit lead us into a deeper and fuller understanding of\nour place, portion and practice as Christians. Would to God that we\nbetter knew what it is to feed upon the old corn of the land, at the\ntrue spiritual Gilgal, that thus we might be better fitted for the\nconflict and service to which we are called!\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[VII.] The reader may here remark that \"the old corn of the land of\nCanaan\" is a type of Christ risen and glorified. The manna is a type of\nChrist in His humiliation. The remembrance of Him in the latter is\nineffably precious to the soul. It is sweet to look back and trace His\nway as the lowly, humble, self-emptied man. This is to feed upon the\nhidden manna--\"Christ, once humbled here.\" Nevertheless, a risen,\nascended and glorified Christ is the true object for the heart of the\nChristian; but to enjoy Him there, the reproach of this present evil\nworld--all conformity to it--must be rolled away from us by the\nspiritual application of the circumcision of Christ. He was not\nconformed to this world, and we must be prepared to identify ourselves\nwith Him in this.\n\n\n\n\nTHOUGHTS\n\nON\n\nTHE CONFIRMATION VOWS\n\n\n\"All that the Lord hath spoken we will do.\" Such were the memorable\nwords with which the people of Israel virtually abandoned the ground on\nwhich the blessed God had just been setting them, and on which, too, He\nhad dealt with them in bringing them up out of the land of Egypt. \"Ye\nhave seen,\" said He, \"what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you\non eagles' wings, and brought you unto Myself.\" All this was\ngrace--pure, perfect, divine grace. He heard the groans and beheld the\nsorrows of the people amid the darkness and degradation of Egyptian\nbondage, and in His unmingled mercy He came down to deliver them. He\nsought not their aid, He looked not for aught from them. \"His own arm\nbrought salvation.\" He acted _for_ them, _with_ them, and _in_ them; and\nthat, too, in the solitariness and sovereignty of His own unfailing\ngrace. He said to Moses at the opening of the book of Exodus, \"_I am\ncome down to deliver them_.\" This was absolute and unqualified grace.\nThere was no \"if,\" no \"but,\" no condition, no vow, no resolve. It was\nFREE GRACE, founded upon God's eternal counsels, and righteously\ndisplayed in immediate connection with \"the blood of the Lamb.\" Hence,\nfrom first to last, the word to Israel was, \"_stand still, and see the\nsalvation of Jehovah_.\" They were not called to \"resolve,\" or to \"vow,\"\nor to \"do.\" God was acting for them--He was doing ALL: He placed Himself\nbetween them and every enemy, and every evil. He spread forth the shield\nof His salvation that they might hide themselves behind its impenetrable\ndefences, and abide there in peace.\n\nBut, alas, Israel made a vow--a strange, a singular vow indeed. Not\nsatisfied with God's doings, they would fain talk of their own. They\nwould be doing, as if God's salvation were incomplete; and in lamentable\nignorance of their own weakness and nothingness, they said, \"All that\nthe Lord hath spoken we will do.\" This was taking a bold stand, a high\nground. For a poor worm to make such a vow proved how little grace was\nreally understood, or nature's true condition apprehended.\n\nHowever, Israel having undertaken to \"_do_,\" they were put to the test,\nand the most cursory view of Ex. xix. will be sufficient to show what a\nmarked change took place the moment they had uttered the words \"we will\ndo.\" The Lord had just reminded them of how He \"bare them on eagles'\nwings, and brought them unto Himself;\" but now He says, \"Set bounds unto\nthe people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not\nup into the mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever toucheth the\nmount shall be surely put to death.\" This was a very different aspect of\nthings. And let my reader remember, it was the simple result of man's\nhaving said, \"I will do.\" There is far more involved in those words than\nmany might imagine. If we take our eyes off from God's actings, and fix\nthem on our own, the consequences must be disastrous in the extreme. But\nwe shall see this more fully ere we close this paper. Let us now inquire\nhow the house of Israel fulfilled their singular vow. We shall see that\nit ended like human vows in every age.[VIII.]\n\nDid they do \"_all_\" that the Lord commanded? Did they \"continue in all\nthings which are written in the book of the law, to do them?\" Alas, no.\nOn the contrary, we find that ere the tables of testimony were given,\nthey had broken the very first commandment in the Decalogue, by making a\ngolden calf, and bowing down thereto. This was the earliest fruit of\ntheir broken vow; and then, onward they went, from stage to stage,\ndishonoring the name of the Lord--breaking His laws, despising His\njudgments, trampling under foot His sacred institutions. Then followed\nthe stoning of His messengers whom, in patient grace and long-suffering,\nHe sent unto them. Finally, when the only-begotten Son came forth from\nthe bosom of the Father, they with wicked hearts rejected and with\nwicked hands crucified Him. Thus we pass from Sinai to Calvary: at the\nformer we hear man undertaking to do all the Lord's commandments, and at\nthe latter see him crucifying the Lord Himself. So much for man's vows,\nso much for man's \"_I will do_.\" The fragments of the tables of\ntestimony scattered beneath the fiery mount told the first melancholy\ntale of the failure of man's audacious resolution: nor was there any\nreal break in the narrative, which has its closing scene around the\ncross of Calvary. All was failure--gross, unmitigated failure. Thus it\nmust ever be when man presumes to vow or resolve in the presence of God.\n\nNow there is a very striking resemblance between Israel's vow at the\nfoot of mount Sinai and the Confirmation Vow of the Establishment. We\nhave rapidly glanced at the former; let us now refer to the latter.\n\nIn \"the ministration of public baptism of infants,\" after various\nprayers and the reading of the Gospel, the minister addresses the\ngodfathers and godmothers on this wise: \"Dearly beloved, ye have brought\nthis child here to be baptized; ye have prayed that our Lord Jesus\nChrist would vouchsafe to receive him, to release him of his sins, to\nsanctify him with the Holy Ghost, to give him the kingdom of heaven and\neverlasting life. Ye have heard also that our Lord Jesus Christ hath\npromised in His gospel to grant all these things that ye have prayed\nfor: which promise He, for His part, will most surely keep and perform.\nWherefore, after this promise made by Christ, this infant must also\nfaithfully, for his part, promise by you that are his sureties (until he\ncome of age to take it upon himself), that _he will renounce_ the devil\nand all his works, and constantly believe God's holy word and\n_obediently keep His commandments_. I demand, therefore, Dost thou, in\nthe name of this child, renounce the devil and all his works, the vain\npomp and glory of the world, with all covetous desires of the same, and\nthe carnal desires of the flesh, so that thou wilt not follow nor be led\nby them? _Answer_: I RENOUNCE THEM ALL.\" Again: \"Wilt thou obediently\nkeep God's holy will and commandments, and walk in the same all the days\nof thy life? _Answer_: I WILL.\"\n\nBoth the above vows the children, when come to years of discretion,\ndeliberately and solemnly take upon themselves, as may be seen by\nreference to \"The Order of Confirmation.\" Thus we have, in the first\nplace, people vowing and resolving, on behalf of unconscious infants, to\n\"renounce the world, the flesh, and the devil,\" and to keep all God's\ncommandments, all the days of their life; and, in the second place, we\nfind those children, in due time, placing themselves under the weight of\nthose awful vows; and all this, moreover, as a necessary condition to\nthe fulfilment of Christ's promise. That is to say, if they allow aught\nof the world, the flesh or the devil to adhere to them; or if they fail\nin the faithful keeping of _all_ God's commandments, then they cannot be\nsaved, but must, so far as they are concerned, inevitably be condemned.\nIn short, salvation is here made to depend on a covenant to which man\nmakes himself a party. Christ is represented as willing to do His part,\nprovided always that man accomplishes his; but not otherwise. In other\nwords, there is an \"_if_\" in the matter, and, as a consequence, there\nnever is, and never can be, the certainty of salvation; yea, there can\nonly be the constant terror of eternal condemnation hanging over the\nsoul; that is, if there is any thought about the matter at all.\n\nIf the heart is not perfectly assured of the fact that Christ has in\nvery deed done all; that He has put away our sin; that He has forever\ncanceled our debt; that He has settled, by His perfect sacrifice, every\nquestion that could possibly arise, whether it be the charges of\nconscience, the accusings of Satan, or the claims of divine justice;\nthat He has not left a cloud on the prospect; that all is perfectly\ndone--in a word, that we stand before God in the power of divine\nrighteousness, and in the same favor with His own Son; if, I say, there\nbe any doubt in the soul as to the eternal truth of all these\nthings--then there cannot be settled peace. And that there is not this\nsettled peace in the case of those who have taken on themselves the\nabove tremendous vows is but too evident from the clouds and darkness\nwhich hang around their spirits as they tread the next stage of their\necclesiastical journey.\n\nWe could hardly expect that persons who boldly vow to renounce all evil,\nand perfectly to fulfil all good, could approach the Lord's table with\nany other acknowledgment than the following, namely: \"The burden of our\nsins is intolerable.\" It would need an obtuse conscience to be able to\nshake off the conviction that those vows have been unfulfilled; and\nthen, assuredly, the burden must be intolerable. If I have taken vows\nupon me, they will, without doubt, prove in the sequel to be dishonored\nvows; and thus the whole matter of my salvation comes to the ground, and\nI find myself, according to the terms of my own self-chosen covenant,\nrighteously exposed to the curses of a broken law. I have undertaken to\ndo everything; and yet I have in reality done nothing. Hence I am\n\"cursed;\" for the word is, \"Cursed is every one that continueth not in\nall things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.\"\n\nNor will it at all alter the matter to say that those extraordinary vows\nare entered into in dependence upon divine grace; for there cannot be\nsuch a thing as dependence upon _grace_ when people are placing\nthemselves directly under the _law_. No two things can be more opposite\nthan law and grace. They are put in direct contrast in Paul's epistles\nto the Romans and Galatians. \"Whosoever of you are justified by the law\n([Greek: en nomo]),[IX.] ye are fallen from grace\" (Gal. v. 4). Hence, to\nthink of depending upon grace when putting myself under law is precisely\nthe same as if I were to look to God for grace to enable me to subvert\nthe entire gospel of His Son Jesus Christ. \"As many as are of works of\nlaw ([Greek: ergon nomou])[IX.] are under the curse.\" Could I depend\nupon God's grace to enable me to abide under the curse? The thought is\npreposterous in the extreme. And be it observed that the apostle, in the\nlast-quoted passage, does not merely say, \"As many as fail to keep the\nlaw are under the curse.\" This he distinctly teaches, no doubt; but the\nspecial point is, that as many as attempt to stand before God on the\nground of \"works of law,\" are of necessity under the curse, for the\nsimplest of all reasons, that they are not able to satisfy His claims.\nIn order for man to satisfy God's claims, he must bewhat in himself he\ncannot be; that is, without sin. The law demands, as its right, perfect\nobedience; and those who take upon them the Confirmation Vows promise\nperfect obedience. They promise to renounce all evil, and to fulfil all\ngood, in the most absolute manner; and moreover, they make their\nsalvation to depend upon their fulfilment of those vows; else why make\nthem at all?\n\nThis, when looked at in the light of the apostolic teaching in Romans\nand Galatians, is the most complete denial of all the fundamental truths\nof the gospel. In the first place, it is a denial of man's total ruin,\nof his condition as one \"dead in trespasses and sins,\" \"alienated from\nthe life of God,\" \"without strength,\" \"ungodly,\" \"enmity against God.\"\nIf I can undertake to renounce all evil, and to do all God's\ncommandments, then, assuredly, I do not know myself to be a lost,\nruined, helpless creature; and, as a consequence, I do not need a\nSaviour. If I can boldly undertake to \"_renounce_\" and to \"_do_,\" to\n\"keep\" and to \"walk,\" I am manifestly not lost, and hence I do not want\nsalvation; I am not dead, and hence I do not want life; I am not\n\"without strength,\" and hence I do not want the energy of that new, that\ndivine life which is imparted by the Holy Ghost to all who, by His\ngrace, believe in the Son of God. If I am capable of doing for myself, I\ndo not want another, even the Lord Jesus Christ, to do all for me.\n\nAgain, as flowing out of what has already been stated, those vows do\nentirely set aside the essential glories, divine dignities and sacred\nvirtues of the cross of Christ. If I can get a godfather and godmother\nto take vows on them on my behalf until I am capable of taking them on\nmyself, then it is evident I cannot possibly know the deep blessedness\nof having all my vows, all my responsibilities and liabilities as a lost\nsinner, all my sins and shortcomings,--everything, in short,--fully and\neternally answered in the Cross. If there is anything in my case which\nhas not been perfectly settled in the Cross, then I must inevitably\nperish. I may make vows and resolutions, but they are as the morning\ncloud that passeth away. I may get a sponsor to renounce the devil on my\nbehalf, and I may in due time talk of renouncing him for myself; but\nwhat if the devil all the while has fast hold of both my sponsor and\nmyself? He will not renounce me, unless the chain by which he binds me\nhas been snapped asunder by the Cross.\n\nAgain, I may get a sponsor to undertake to keep all God's commandments\nfor me, and, in due time, I may undertake to keep them for myself; but\nwhat if neither my sponsor nor I really understand the true nature or\nspirituality, the majesty or stringency, of that law? Yea, more. What if\nboth he and I are, by our very vows, made debtors to do the whole law,\nand thus shut up under its terrible curse? What then becomes of all our\nvows and resolutions? Is it not plain that I am throwing overboard the\ncross? Truly so. That cross must either be everything or nothing to me.\nIf it is anything it must be everything; and if it is not everything it\nis nothing. Thus it stands, my beloved reader. The gospel of the grace\nof God sets forth Christ as the great Sponsor and Surety of His people.\nThe Confirmation Service sets one sinner to stand sponsor for another,\nor for himself. The gospel sets forth One, who is possessed of\n\"unsearchable riches,\" as the security for His people; the Confirmation\nService sets one bankrupt to stand security for another or for himself.\nWhat avails such security? Who would accept of it? It is perfectly\nvalueless to God and man. If I am a bankrupt, I cannot promise to pay\nanything, and if I could promise, no one would accept of it--yea, it\nwould be justly regarded in the light of an empty formality. The\npromissory note of a bankrupt is little worth; and truly the vows and\nresolutions of a poor ruined sinner are not merely an empty formality,\nbut a solemn mockery, in the presence of Almighty God. No one who knows\nhimself would presume to vow, or resolve, to keep all God's\ncommandments--such an one would have the full conviction that he could\nnever do anything of the kind.\n\nBut, as a further reply to the statement that those Confirmation Vows\nare made in entire dependence upon the grace of God, I would observe\nthat grace can only be known or trusted by those who are His. \"They that\nknow Thy name will put their trust in Thee,\" and none else. Now, the\nword of God connects eternal life with the knowledge of Him. \"This is\nlife eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus\nChrist, whom Thou hast sent\" (John xvii. 3). If, therefore, I have\neternal life, I need not make vows to get it. If I am eternally saved, I\nneed not make vows to get salvation. If my sins are all canceled by the\nprecious blood of the Lamb, I need not make vows to get them canceled.\nNeither baptismal vows, confirmation vows, sacramental vows, nor any\nother vows are necessary for one who has found life, righteousness,\nwisdom, sanctification, redemption--yea, all things in Christ.\n\nThe comfort and peace of the feeblest believer are based upon the fact\nthat Christ took all his vows, all his liabilities, all his sins, all\nhis iniquities entirely upon Himself, and, by His death upon the cross,\ngloriously discharged them all. This sets him entirely free. Hence, it\nfollows that if I am not a child of God, I cannot keep vows; and if I\nam, I need not make them. In either case, I deny man's fallen condition,\nand set aside the true glories of the Cross. It may be in ignorance--it\nmay be with the most sincere intention--no doubt; but the most profound\nignorance and the purest sincerity cannot alter the real principle which\nlies at the root of all manner of vows, promises, and resolutions. There\nis, beyond all question, involved therein a plain denial of the great\nfoundation-truths of the Christian religion. A vow assumes the\ncompetency to fulfil. Well, then, if I vow to keep all God's\ncommandments perfectly, all the days of my life, I am not lost or\nwithout strength. I must have strength, else I could not undertake such\na ponderous responsibility.\n\nAnd, my reader, remark further the strange anomaly involved in this\nsystem of vows; that while it denies my lost estate, it robs me of\neverything approaching to a certainty of ever being saved. If I resolve\nto keep God's commandments as a necessary condition of my salvation, I\nnever can be sure of being saved until I have fulfilled the condition;\nbut inasmuch as I never can fulfil it, I, therefore, never can be sure\nof my salvation; and thus I travel on, from stage to stage, from baptism\nto confirmation, from confirmation to communion, and from communion to\nthe death-bed, in a state of miserable doubt and torturing uncertainty.\nThis is not the gospel. It is \"a different gospel which is not another.\"\nThe immediate effect of the work of Christ, when laid hold of by faith,\nis to give settled peace to the conscience; the effect of the system of\nvows, is to keep the heart in constant doubt and heaviness. How many\nhave approached the ordinance of confirmation with trembling hearts, at\nthe thought of having to take upon their own shoulders the solemn vows\nwhich, from the period of their baptism, had rested on their godfathers\nand godmothers. How could it be otherwise with an honest mind? If I am\nreally sincere, the thought of having to take on myself those solemn\nbaptismal vows, must fill me with horror. Some, alas! go through these\nthings with thoughtless hearts and frivolous minds; but it is evident\nthe confirmation service was never framed for such. It was designed for\nthoughtful, serious, earnest spirits; and all such must, assuredly,\nretire from the ceremony, with troubled hearts and burdened consciences.\n\nWith what different feelings we gaze upon the cross of the Son of God!\nThere, in good truth, Satan was renounced, and his works destroyed.\nThere the law of God was magnified and made honorable, vindicated, and\nestablished. There the justice of God was fully answered. There Satan\nwas vanquished; there conscience gets its full answer; there the cup of\nGod's unmingled wrath against sin was drained to the dregs by His\nblessed Son. Where is the proof of all this? Not in the unaccomplished,\ndishonored vows of poor frail mortals; but in a risen, ascended,\nglorified Christ, seated at the right hand of the Majesty in the\nheavens.\n\nWho that knows aught of the pure and most excellent grace of God, or\nthat has tasted aught of the true blessedness of divinely-accomplished\nredemption, could tolerate such language as, \"CHRIST FOR HIS PART\" and\n\"THIS INFANT FOR HIS PART?\" Who that has listened, by faith, to those\nwords, \"It is finished,\" issuing, as they do, from amid the solemn\nscenes of Calvary, could endure a sinful mortal's \"_I do_,\" or \"_I\nwill_?\" What a total setting aside of grace! What a tarnishing of the\nbrightness of God's salvation! What an insult to the righteousness of\nGod, which is by faith, and without works! What a manifest return to a\nreligion of ordinances and the poor works of man! Christ and an infant,\nor the infant's sureties, are placed on the same platform to work out\nsalvation. Is it not so? If not, what mean the words, \"Christ for His\npart, and this infant for his part?\" Is it not plain that salvation is\nmade to depend upon something or some one besides Christ?\nUnquestionably. The vows must be fulfilled, or there is no salvation!\nMiserable condition! Christ's accomplished work abandoned for a sinner's\nunaccomplishable vows and resolutions! Man's \"I do\" substituted for\nChrist's \"I have finished!\"\n\nMy reader, can you own such a fearful surrender of the truth of God? Are\nyou content with such a sandy foundation? Whither, think you, will such\na system lead you? To heaven, or to Rome? Which? Be honest. Take the New\nTestament, search it from cover to cover, and see if you can find such a\nthing as infants making vows by proxy, to renounce the world, the flesh,\nand the devil, and to keep all God's commandments, in order to\nsalvation. There is not so much as a shadow of a foundation for such an\nidea. \"By works of law shall no flesh living be justified.\" \"But now the\nrighteousness of God, without law, is manifested, being witnessed by the\nlaw and the prophets.\" \"To him that worketh not, but believeth on Him\nthat justified the ungodly, his faith is counted to him for\nrighteousness.\" \"For by grace are ye saved, through faith; and that not\nof yourselves it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should\nboast.\" \"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but\naccording to His mercy He saved us.\" (See Rom. iii. 20-28; iv. 4, 5;\nEph. ii. 8, 9; Titus iii. 5-7.)\n\nThese are but a very few of the numerous passages which might be adduced\nin proof of the fact that the Confirmation Vows are diametrically\nopposed to the truth of God--totally subversive of the grace of God. If\nmy vows mean anything I must be miserable, because I am in imminent\ndanger of being lost forever, inasmuch as I have _not_ kept them, and\nnever could keep them.\n\nOh! what sweet relief for the wearied heart and sin-burdened conscience\nin the atoning blood of Jesus! What full deliverance from my worthless\nand worse than worthless vows! _Christ has done all._ He has put away\nsin--made peace--brought in everlasting righteousness--brought life and\nimmortality to light. In Him may you, my beloved reader, find abiding\npeace, unfading joy, and everlasting glory. To Him and His perfect work\nI now most affectionately commend you, body, soul, and spirit, fully\nassuring you my object in this paper is not to attack the prejudices, or\nwound the feelings of any, but simply to take occasion to show how the\nperfect work of the Lord Jesus Christ is thrown into full and blessed\nrelief by being looked at in contrast with the \"Confirmation Vows.\"\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[VIII.] There is a passage in the book of Deuteronomy which, as it may\npresent a difficulty to some minds, should be noticed here. \"And the\nLord heard the voice of your words, when ye spake unto me; and the Lord\nsaid unto me, I have heard the voice of the words of this people which\nthey have spoken unto thee: _they have well said all that they have\nspoken_\" (Deut. v. 28). From this passage, it might seem as though the\nLord approved of their making a vow; but if my reader will take the\ntrouble of reading the entire context, from verse 24 to 27, he will see\nthat it has nothing whatever to say to the vow, but that it contains the\nexpression of their terror at the consequences of their vow. They were\nnot able to endure that which was commanded. \"If,\" said they \"we hear\nthe voice of the Lord our God any more, then we shall die. For who is\nthere of all flesh that hath heard the voice of the living God speaking\nout of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived? Go thou near, and\nhear all that the Lord our God shall say; and speak thou unto us all\nthat the Lord our God shall speak unto thee; and we will hear it and do\nit.\" It was the confession of their own inability to encounter Jehovah\nin that awful aspect which their proud legality had led Him to assume.\nIt is impossible that the Lord could ever commend an abandonment of free\nand changeless grace for a sandy foundation of works of law. (See \"Notes\non the book of Exodus,\" page 253. Same publishers.)\n\n[IX.] [That is, as many as are on that principle--of \"law,\" \"works of\nlaw.\" ED.]\n\n\n\n\nTHOUGHTS\n\nON\n\nTHE LORD'S SUPPER;\n\nDESIGNED FOR THE HELP OF CHRISTIANS IN THIS DAY OF DIFFICULTY.\n\n_NEW EDITION, REVISED._\n\n\nPREFACE\n\nThe institution of the Lord's Supper must be regarded, by every\nspiritual mind, as a peculiarly touching proof of the Lord's gracious\ncare and considerate love for His Church. From the time of its\nappointment until the present hour, it has been a steady, though silent,\nwitness to a truth which the enemy, by every means in his power, has\nsought to corrupt and set aside, namely, that redemption is an\naccomplished fact to be enjoyed by the weakest believer in Jesus.\nEighteen centuries have rolled away since the Lord Jesus appointed \"the\nbread and the cup\" in the Eucharist as the significant symbols of His\nbroken body and His blood shed for us; and notwithstanding all the\nheresy, all the schism, all the controversy and strife, the war of\nprinciples and prejudices which the blotted page of ecclesiastical\nhistory records, this most expressive institution has been observed by\nthe saints of God in every age. True, the enemy has succeeded,\nthroughout a vast section of the professing Church, in wrapping it up in\na shroud of dark superstition; in presenting it in such a way as\nactually to hide from the view of the communicant the grand and eternal\nreality of which it is the memorial; in displacing Christ and His\naccomplished sacrifice by a powerless ordinance--an ordinance, moreover,\nwhich by the very mode of its administration proves its utter\nworthlessness and opposition to the truth. (See note to page 29.) Yet,\nnotwithstanding Rome's deadly error in reference to the ordinance of the\nLord's Supper, it still speaks to every circumcised ear and every\nspiritual mind the same deep and precious truth--it \"shows the Lord's\ndeath till He come.\" The body has been broken, the blood has been shed\nONCE, no more to be repeated; and the breaking of bread is but the\nmemorial of this emancipating truth.\n\nWith what profound interest and thankfulness, therefore, should the\nbeliever contemplate \"the bread and the cup\"! Without a word spoken,\nthere is the setting forth of truths at once the most precious and\nglorious: grace reigning--redemption finished--sin put away--everlasting\nrighteousness brought in--the sting of death gone--eternal glory\nsecured--\"grace and glory\" revealed as the free gift of God and the\nLamb--the unity of the \"one body,\" as baptized by \"one Spirit.\" What a\nfeast! It carries the soul back, in the twinkling of an eye, over a\nlapse of eighteen hundred years, and shows us the Master Himself, \"in\nthe same night in which He was betrayed,\" sitting at the supper table,\nand there instituting a feast which, from that solemn moment, that\nmemorable night, until the dawn of the morning, should lead every\nbelieving heart at once backward to the cross and forward to the glory.\n\nThis feast has ever since, by the very simplicity of its character, and\nyet the deep significance of its elements, rebuked the superstition that\nwould deify and worship it, the profanity that would desecrate it, and\nthe infidelity that would set it aside altogether: and furthermore,\nwhile it has rebuked all these, it has strengthened, comforted and\nrefreshed the hearts of millions of God's beloved saints. It is sweet to\nthink of this--sweet to bear in mind, as we assemble on the first day of\nthe week round the supper of the Lord, that apostles, martyrs and saints\nhave gathered round that feast, and found therein, according to their\nmeasure, refreshment and blessing. Schools of theology have arisen,\nflourished, and disappeared; doctors and fathers have accumulated\nponderous tomes of divinity; deadly heresies have darkened the\natmosphere, and rent the professing Church from one end to the other;\nsuperstition and fanaticism have put forth their baseless theories and\nextravagant notions; professing Christians have split into sects\ninnumerable--all these things have taken place; but the Lord's Supper\nhas continued, amid the darkness and confusion, to tell out its simple\nyet comprehensive tale. \"As oft as ye eat this bread, and drink this\ncup, ye do show[X.] the Lord's death till He come\" (I Cor. xi. 26).\nPrecious feast! Thank God for the great privilege of celebrating it! And\nyet is it but a sign, the elements of which must, in nature's view, be\nmean and contemptible. Bread broken, wine poured out--how simple! Faith\nalone can read, in the sign, the thing signified; and therefore it\nneeds not the adventitious circumstances which false religion has\nintroduced in order to add dignity, solemnity and awe to that which\nderives all its value, its power and its impressiveness from its being a\nmemorial of an eternal fact which false religion denies.\n\nMay you and I, beloved reader, enter with more freshness and\nintelligence into the meaning of the Lord's Supper, and with deeper\nexperience into the blessedness of breaking that bread which is \"the\ncommunion of the body of Christ,\" and drinking of that cup which is \"the\ncommunion of the blood of Christ.\"\n\nIn closing these few prefatory lines, I commend this treatise to the\nLord's gracious care, praying Him to make it useful to the souls of His\npeople.\n\nC. H. M.\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[X.] [The Greek word translated \"show\" is more exactly rendered\n\"announce\" or \"proclaim\"--same word as in I Cor. ix. 14. ED.]\n\n\nTHOUGHTS\n\nON\n\nTHE LORD'S SUPPER\n\n    \"For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered\n    unto you, That the Lord Jesus, the same night in which He was\n    betrayed, took bread: and when He had given thanks, He brake\n    it, and said, Take, eat; this is My body, which is broken for\n    you: this do in remembrance of Me. After the same manner also\n    He took the cup, when He had supped, saying, This cup is the\n    new testament in My blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it,\n    in remembrance of Me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and\n    drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till He come.\"--I\n    Cor. xi. 23-26.\n\nI desire to offer a few brief remarks on the subject of the Lord's\nSupper, for the purpose of stirring up the minds of all who love the\nname and institutions of Christ to a more fervent and affectionate\ninterest in this most important and refreshing ordinance.\n\nWe should bless the Lord for His gracious consideration of our need in\nhaving established such a memorial of His dying love, and also in having\nspread a table at which _all_ His members might present themselves\nwithout any other condition than the indispensable one of personal\nconnection with and obedience to Him. The blessed Master knew well the\ntendency of our hearts to slip away from Him, and from each other, and\nto meet this tendency was _one_, at least, of His objects in the\ninstitution of the Supper. He would gather His people around His own\nblessed person; He would spread a table for them where, in view of His\nbroken body and shed blood, they might remember Him, and the intensity\nof His love for them, and from whence, also, they might look forward\ninto the future, and contemplate the glory of which the Cross is the\neverlasting foundation. There, if anywhere, they would learn to forget\ntheir differences, and to love one another; there they might see around\nthem those whom THE LOVE OF GOD had invited to the feast, and whom THE\nBLOOD OF CHRIST had made fit to be there.\n\nHowever, in order that I may the more easily and briefly convey to the\nmind of my reader what I have to say on this subject, I shall confine\nmyself to the four following points, viz.:\n\n1st. The nature of the ordinance of the Lord's Supper.\n\n2d. The circumstances under which it was instituted.\n\n3d. The persons for whom it was designed.\n\n4th. The time and manner of its observance.\n\n\nI. And first, as to the nature of the ordinance of the Lord's Supper.\nThis is a cardinal point. If we understand not the nature of the\nordinance, we shall be astray in all our thoughts about it. The Supper,\nthen, is purely and distinctly a feast of thanksgiving--thanksgiving for\ngrace already received.\n\nThe Lord Himself, at the institution of it, marks its character by\ngiving thanks. \"He took bread: ... when He had given thanks,\" etc.\nPraise, and not prayer, is the suited utterance of those who sit at the\ntable of the Lord.\n\nTrue, we have much to pray for, much to confess, much to mourn over; but\nthe table is not the place for mourners: its language is, \"Give strong\ndrink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of\nheavy hearts. Let him drink and forget his poverty, and remember his\nmisery no more.\" Ours is \"a cup of blessing,\" a cup of thanksgiving, the\ndivinely appointed symbol of that precious blood which has procured our\nransom. \"The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body\nof Christ?\" How, then, could we break it with sad hearts or sorrowful\ncountenances? Could a family circle, after the toils of the day, sit\ndown to supper with sighs and gloomy looks? Surely not. The supper was\nthe great family meal, the only one that was sure to bring _all the\nfamily together_. Faces that might not have been seen during the day\nwere sure to be seen at the supper table, and no doubt they would be\nhappy there. Just so it should be at the Lord's Supper: the family\nshould assemble there; and when assembled, they should be happy,\nunfeignedly happy, in the love that brings them together. True, each\nheart may have its own peculiar history--its secret sorrows, trials,\nfailures, and temptations, unknown to all around; but these are not the\nobjects to be contemplated at the supper: to bring them into view is to\ndishonor the Lord of the feast, and make the cup of blessing a cup of\nsorrow. The Lord has invited us to the feast, and commanded us,\nnotwithstanding all our shortcomings, to place the fulness of His love\nand the cleansing efficacy of His blood between our souls and\neverything; and when the eye of faith is filled with Christ, there is no\nroom for aught beside. If my sin be the object which fills my eye and\nengages my thoughts, of course I must be miserable, because I am looking\nright away from what God commands me to contemplate; I am remembering my\nmisery and poverty, the very things which God commands me to forget.\nHence the true character of the ordinance is lost, and, instead of being\na feast of joy and gladness, it becomes a season of gloom and spiritual\ndepression; and the preparation for it, and the thoughts which are\nentertained about it are more what might be expected in reference to\nmount Sinai than to a happy family feast.\n\nIf ever a feeling of sadness could have prevailed at the celebration of\nthis ordinance, surely it would have been on the occasion of its first\ninstitution, when, as we shall see when we come to consider the second\npoint in our subject, there was everything that could possibly produce\ndeep sadness and desolation of spirit; yet the Lord Jesus could \"give\nthanks;\" the tide of joy that flowed through His soul was far too deep\nto be ruffled by surrounding circumstances; He had a joy even in the\nbreaking and bruising of His body and in the pouring forth of His blood\nwhich lay far beyond the reach of human thought and feeling. And if He\ncould rejoice in spirit, and give thanks in breaking that bread which\nwas to be to all future generations of the faithful the memorial of His\nbroken body, should not we rejoice therein, we who stand in the blessed\nresults of all His toil and passion? Yes; it becomes us to rejoice.\n\nBut it may be asked, Is there no preparation necessary? are we to sit\ndown at the table of the Lord with as much indifference as if we were\nsitting down to an ordinary supper table? Surely not--we need to be\nright in our souls, and the first step toward this is peace with\nGod--that sweet assurance of our eternal salvation which most certainly\nis not the result of human sighs or penitential tears, but the simple\nresult of the finished work of the Lamb of God, attested by the Spirit\nof God. Apprehending this by faith, we apprehend that which makes us\nperfectly fit for God. Many imagine that they are putting honor upon the\nLord's table when they approach it with their souls bowed down into the\nvery dust, under a sense of the intolerable burden of their sins. This\nthought can only flow from the legalism of the human heart, that\never-fruitful source of thoughts at once dishonoring to God, dishonoring\nto the Cross of Christ, grievous to the Holy Ghost, and completely\nsubversive of our own peace. We may feel quite satisfied that the honor\nand purity of the Lord's table are more fully maintained when THE BLOOD\nOF CHRIST is made the only title than if human sorrow and human\npenitence were superadded.[XI.]\n\nHowever, the question of preparedness will come more fully before us as\nwe proceed with our subject; I shall therefore state another principle\nconnected with the nature of the Lord's Supper, viz., that there is\ninvolved in it an intelligent recognition of the oneness of the body of\nChrist. \"The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body\nof Christ? For we, being many, are one bread, and one body; for we are\nall partakers of that one bread.\" Now there was sad failure and sad\nconfusion in reference to this point at Corinth: indeed, the great\nprinciple of the Church's oneness would seem to have been totally lost\nsight of there. Hence the apostle observes that \"when ye come together\ninto one place, this is not to eat the Lord's Supper, for every one\ntaketh before other _his own_ supper\" (I Cor. xi. 20, 21). Here, it was\nisolation, and not unity; an individual, and not a corporate question:\n\"_his own supper_\" is strikingly contrasted with \"_the Lord's Supper_.\"\nThe _Lord's_ Supper demands that the body be fully recognized: if the\none body be not recognized, it is but sectarianism: the Lord Himself has\nlost His place. If the table be spread upon any narrower principle than\nthat which would embrace the whole body of Christ, it is become a\nsectarian table, and has lost its claim upon the hearts of the faithful.\nOn the contrary, where a table is spread upon this divine principle,\nwhich embraces _all_ the members of the body _simply as such_, every one\nwho refuses to present himself at it is chargeable with schism, and\nthat, too, upon the plain principles of I Cor. xi. \"There must,\" says\nthe apostle, \"be heresies among you, that they which are approved may be\nmade manifest among you.\"\n\nWhen the great Church principle is lost sight of by any portion of the\nbody, there must be heresies, in order that the approved ones may be\nmade manifest! and under such circumstances it becomes the business of\neach one to approve himself, and so to eat. The \"approved\" ones stand in\ncontrast with the heretics, or those who were doing their own\nwill.[XII.]\n\nBut it may be asked, Do not the numerous denominations at present\nexisting in the professing Church altogether preclude the idea of ever\nbeing able to gather the whole body together? and, under such\ncircumstances, is it not better for each denomination to have their own\ntable? If there be any force in this question, it merely goes to prove\nthat the people of God are no longer able to act upon God's principles,\nbut that they are left to the miserable alternative of acting on human\nexpediency. Thank God, such is not the case. The truth of the Lord\nendureth forever, and what the Holy Ghost teaches in I Cor. xi. is\nbinding upon every member of the Church of God. There were divisions,\nand heresies, and unholiness, existing in the assembly at Corinth, just\nas there are divisions, and heresies, and unholiness, existing in the\nprofessing Church now; but the apostle did not tell them to set up\nseparate tables on the one hand, nor yet to cease from breaking bread on\nthe other. No; he presses upon them the principles and the holiness\nconnected with \"the Church of God,\" and tells those who could approve\nthemselves accordingly to eat. The expression is, \"_So let him eat_.\" We\nare to eat, therefore: our care must be to eat \"_so_,\" as the Holy Ghost\nteaches us; and that is in the true recognition of the holiness and\noneness of the Church of God.[XIII.] When the Church is despised, the\nSpirit Be-must be grieved and dishonored, and the certain end will be\nspiritual barrenness and freezing formalism: and although men may\nsubstitute intellectual for spiritual power, and human talents and\nattainments for the gifts of the Holy Ghost, yet will the end be \"like\nthe heath in the desert.\" The true way to make progress in the divine\nlife is to live for the Church, and not for ourselves. The man who lives\nfor the Church is in full harmony with the mind of the Spirit, and must\nnecessarily grow. On the contrary, the man who is living for himself,\nhaving his thoughts revolving round, and his energies concentrated upon,\nhimself, must soon become cramped and formal, and, in all probability,\nopenly worldly. Yes; he will become worldly, in some sense of that\nextensive term; for the world and the Church stand in direct opposition,\nthe one to the other; nor is there any aspect of the world in which this\nopposition is more fully seen than in its religious aspect. What is\ncommonly called the _religious world_ will be found, when examined in\nthe light of the presence of God, to be more thoroughly hostile to the\ntrue interests of the Church of God than almost anything.\n\nBut I must hasten on to other branches of our subject, only stating\nanother simple principle connected with the Lord's Supper, to which I\ndesire to call the special attention of the Christian reader; it is\nthis: the celebration of the ordinance of the Lord's Supper should be\nthe distinct expression of the unity of ALL believers, and not merely of\nthe unity of a certain number gathered on certain principles, which\ndistinguish them from others. If there be any term of communion\nproposed, save the all-important one of faith in the atonement of\nChrist, and a walk consistent with that faith, the table becomes the\ntable of a sect, and possesses no claims upon the hearts of the\nfaithful.\n\nFurthermore, if by sitting at the table I must identify myself with any\none thing, whether it be principle or practice, not enjoined in\nScripture, as a term of communion, there also the table becomes the\ntable of a sect. It is not a question of whether there may be Christians\nthere or not; it would be hard indeed to find a table amongst the\nreformed communities of which some Christians are not partakers. The\napostle did not say, \"there must be heresies among you, that they which\nare _Christians_ may be made manifest among you.\" No; but \"that they\nwhich are _approved_.\" Nor did he say, \"Let a man prove himself a\nChristian, and so let him eat.\" No; but \"let a man approve himself,\" i.\ne., let him shew himself to be one of those who are not only upright in\ntheir consciences as to their individual act in the matter, but who are\nalso confessing the oneness of the body of Christ. When men set up terms\nof communion of their own, there you find the principle of heresy;\nthere, too, there must be schism. On the contrary, where a table is\nspread in such a manner and upon such principles as that a Christian,\nsubject to God, can take his place at it, then it becomes schism not to\nbe there; for, by being there, and by walking consistently with our\nposition and profession there, we, so far as in us lies, confess the\noneness of the Church of God--that grand object for which the Holy Ghost\nwas sent from heaven to earth. The Lord Jesus, having been raised from\nthe dead, and having taken His seat at the right hand of God, sent down\nthe Holy Ghost to earth for the purpose of forming one body. Mark, to\nform _one body_--not many bodies. He has no sympathy with the many\nbodies, as such; though He has blessed sympathy with many members in\nthose bodies, because they, though being members of sects or schisms,\nare nevertheless, members of the one body; but He does not form the many\nbodies, but the one body, for \"by one Spirit are we all baptized into\none body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free;\nand have all been made to drink into one Spirit\" (I Cor. xii. 13).\n\nI desire that there may be no misunderstanding on this point. I say the\nHoly Ghost cannot approve the schisms in the professing Church, for He\nHimself has said of such, \"I praise you not.\" He is grieved by them--He\nwould counteract them; He baptizes all believers into the unity of the\none body, so that it cannot be thought, by any intelligent mind, that\nthe Holy Ghost could sustain schisms, which are a grief and a dishonor\nto Him.\n\nWe must however, distinguish between the Spirit's dwelling in the\nChurch, and His dwelling in individuals. He dwells in the body of\nChrist, which is the Church (see I Cor. iii. 17; Eph. ii. 22); He dwells\nalso in the body of the believer, as we read, \"your body is the temple\nof the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which ye have of God\" (I Cor. vi.\n19). The only body or community, therefore, in which the Spirit can\ndwell, is _the whole Church of God_; and the only person in which He can\ndwell is the believer. But, as has already been observed, the table of\nthe Lord, in any given locality, should be the exhibition of the unity\nof the whole Church. This leads us to another principle connected with\nthe nature of the Lord's Supper, viz., this, It is an act whereby we not\nonly shew the death of the Lord until He come, but whereby we also give\nexpression to a fundamental truth, which cannot be too strongly or too\nfrequently pressed upon the minds of Christians, at the present day,\nviz., that_ all believers are_ \"_one loaf--one body_.\" It is a very\ncommon error to view this ordinance merely as a channel through which\ngrace flows to the soul of the individual, and not as an act bearing\nupon the whole body, and bearing also upon the glory of the Head of the\nChurch. That it is a channel through which grace flows to the soul of\nthe individual communicant there can be no doubt, for there is blessing\nin every act of obedience. But that individual blessing is but a very\nsmall part of it, can be seen by the attentive reader of I Cor. xi. It\nis the Lord's death and the Lord's coming, that are brought prominently\nbefore our souls in the Lord's Supper; and where any one of these\nelements is excluded there must be something wrong. If there be anything\nto hinder the complete showing forth of the Lord's death, or the\nexhibition of the unity of the body, or the clear perception of the\nLord's coming, then there must be something radically wrong in the\nprinciple on which the table is spread, and we only need a single eye,\nand a mind entirely subject to the Word and Spirit of Christ, in order\nto detect the wrong.\n\nLet the Christian reader, now, prayerfully examine the table at which\nhe periodically takes his place and see if it will bear the threefold\ntest of I Cor. xi., and if not, let him, in the name of the Lord, and\nfor the sake of the Church, abandon it. There are heresies, and schisms\nflowing from heresies, in the professing Church, but \"let a man approve\nhimself, and so let him eat\" the Lord's Supper; and if, once for all, it\nbe asked, What means the term \"approved?\" it may be answered, It is in\nthe first place, to be personally true to the Lord in the act of\nbreaking bread; and in the next place, to shake off all schism, and take\nour stand, firmly and decidedly, upon the broad principle which will\nembrace all the members of the flock of Christ. We are not only to be\ncareful that we ourselves are walking in purity of heart and life before\nthe Lord; but also, that the table of which we partake has nothing\nconnected with it that could at all act as a barrier to the unity of the\nChurch. It is not merely a personal question. Nothing more fully proves\nthe low ebb of Christianity at the present day, or the fearful extent to\nwhich the Holy Ghost is grieved, than the miserable selfishness which\ntinges, yea, pollutes, the thoughts of professing Christians. Everything\nis made to hinge upon the mere question of self. It is _my_\nforgiveness--_my_ safety--_my_ peace--_my_ happy frames and feelings, and\nnot the glory of Christ, or the welfare of His beloved Church. Well,\ntherefore, may the words of the prophet be applied to us, \"Thus saith\nthe Lord, Consider your ways. Go up to the mountain and bring wood, and\nBUILD THE HOUSE; and I will take pleasure in _it_ and I WILL BE\nGLORIFIED. Ye looked for much, and lo, it came to little; and when ye\nbrought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the Lord of hosts.\nBecause of _My house_ that is waste, and ye run every man to _his own_\nhouse\" (Hag. i. 7-9). Here is the root of the matter. Self stands in\ncontrast with the house of God; and, if self be made the object, no\nmarvel that there should be a sad lack of spiritual joy, energy, and\npower. To have these, we must be in fellowship with the Spirit's\nthoughts. He thinks of the body of Christ; and, if we are thinking of\nself, we must be at issue with Him; and the consequences are but too\napparent.\n\n\nII. Having now treated of what I conceive to be by far the most\nimportant point in our subject, I shall proceed to consider, in the\nsecond place, the circumstances under which the Lord's Supper was\ninstituted. These were particularly solemn and touching. The Lord was\nabout to enter into dreadful conflict with all the powers of\ndarkness--to meet all the deadly enmity of man; and to drain to the\ndregs the cup of Jehovah's righteous wrath against sin. He had a\nterrible morrow before Him--the most terrible that had ever been\nencountered by man or angel; yet, notwithstanding all this, we read that\n\"on _the same night_ in which He was betrayed, He took bread.\" What\nunselfish love is here! \"The same night\"--the night of profound\nsorrow--the night of His agony and bloody sweat---the night of His\nbetrayal by one, and His denial by another, and His desertion by all of\nHis disciples--on that very night, the loving heart of Jesus was full of\nthoughts about His Church--on that very night He instituted the\nordinance of the Lord's Supper. He appointed the bread to be the emblem\nof His body broken, and the wine to be the emblem of His blood shed; and\nsuch they are to us now, as often as we partake of them, for the Word\nassures us that \"as often as ye eat _this bread_ and drink _this cup_,\nye do show _the Lord's death_, till He come.\"\n\nNow, all this, we may say, attaches peculiar importance and sacred\nsolemnity to the Supper of the Lord; and, moreover, gives us some idea\nof the consequences of eating and drinking unworthily.[XIV.]\n\nThe voice which the ordinance utters in the circumcised ear is ever the\nsame. The bread and the wine are deeply significant symbols; the bruised\ncorn and the pressed grape being both combined to minister strength and\ngladness to the heart: and not only are they significant in themselves,\nbut they are also to be used in the Lord's Supper, as being the very\nemblems which the blessed Master Himself ordained on the night previous\nto His crucifixion; so that faith can behold the Lord Jesus presiding at\n_His own table_--can see Him take the bread and the wine, and hear Him\nsay, \"Take, eat; this is My body;\" and again, of the cup, \"Drink ye\n_all_ of it. For this is My blood of the New Testament which is shed for\nmany for the remission of sins.\" In a word, the ordinance leads the soul\nback to the eventful night already referred to--brings before us all the\nreality of the cross and passion of the Lamb of God, in which our whole\nsouls can rest and rejoice; it reminds us, in the most impressive\nmanner, of the unselfish love and pure devotedness of Him, who, when\nCalvary was casting its dark shadow across His path, and the cup of\nJehovah's righteous wrath against sin, of which He was about to be the\nbearer, was being filled for Him, could, nevertheless, busy Himself\nabout us, and institute a feast which was to be both the expression of\nour connection with Him, and with all the members of His body.\n\nAnd may we not infer, that the Holy Ghost made use of the expression\n\"_the same night_,\" for the purpose of remedying the disorders that had\narisen in the church at Corinth? Was there not a severe rebuke\nadministered to the selfishness of those who were taking \"_their own\nsupper_,\" in the Spirit's reference to the same night in which the Lord\nof the feast was betrayed? Doubtless there was. Can selfishness live in\nthe view of the cross? Can thoughts about our own interests, or our own\ngratification, be indulged in the presence of Him who sacrificed Himself\nfor us? Surely not. Could we heartlessly and wilfully despise the Church\nof God--could we offend or exclude beloved members of the flock of\nChrist, while gazing on that cross on which the Shepherd of the flock,\nand the Head of the body, was crucified?[XV.] Ah, no; let believers\nonly keep near the cross--let them remember \"the same night\"--let them\nkeep in mind the broken body and shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ,\nand there will soon be an end to heresy, schism, and selfishness. If we\ncould only bear in mind that the Lord Himself presides at the table, to\ndispense the bread and wine; if we could hear Him say, \"Take this, and\ndivide it among yourselves,\" we should be better able to meet _all_ our\nbrethren on the _only_ Christian ground of fellowship which God can own.\nIn a word, the person of Christ is God's centre of union. \"I,\" said\nChrist, \"if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto _Me_.\"\nEach believer can hear his blessed Master speaking from the cross, and\nsaying of his fellow believers, \"_Behold thy brethren_;\" and, truly, if\nwe could distinctly hear this, we should act, in a measure, as the\nbeloved disciple acted towards the mother of Jesus; our hearts and our\nhomes would be open to all who have been thus commended to our care. The\nword is, \"_Receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the\nglory of God_.\"\n\nThere is another point worthy of notice, in connection with the\ncircumstances under which the Lord's Supper was instituted, namely, its\nconnection with the Jewish Passover. \"Then came the day of unleavened\nbread, when the Passover must be killed. And He sent Peter and John,\nsaying, Go and prepare us the Passover, that we may eat.... And _when\nthe hour was come_, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him. And\nHe said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with\nyou before I suffer; for I say unto you, I will not any more eat\nthereof, until it be fulfilled in the Kingdom of God. And He took the\ncup [i. e., the cup of the Passover], and gave thanks, and said, Take\nthis and divide it among yourselves; for I say unto you, I will not\ndrink of the fruit of the vine until the Kingdom of God shall come\"\n(Luke xxii. 7-18). The Passover was, as we know, the great feast of\nIsrael, first observed on the memorable night of their happy deliverance\nfrom the thralldom of Egypt. As to its connection with the Lord's\nSupper, it consists in its being the marked _type_ of that of which the\nSupper is the _memorial_. The Passover pointed _forward_ to the cross;\nthe Supper points _back_ to it. But Israel was no longer in a fit moral\ncondition to keep the Passover, according to the divine thoughts about\nit; and the Lord Jesus, on the occasion above referred to, was leading\nHis apostles away altogether from the Jewish element to a new order of\nthings. It was no longer to be a lamb sacrificed, but bread broken and\nwine drunk in commemoration of a sacrifice ONCE offered, the efficacy of\nwhich was to be eternal. Those whose minds are bowed down to Jewish\nordinances, may still look, in some way or another, for the periodical\nrepetition, either of a sacrifice, or of something which is to bring\nthem into a place of greater nearness to God.[XVI.]\n\nSome there are who think that in the Lord's Supper the soul makes, or\nrenews, a covenant with God, not knowing that if we were to enter into\ncovenant with God, we should inevitably be ruined; as the only possible\nissue of a covenant between God and man is the failure of one of the\nparties (i. e., man), and consequent judgment. Thank God, there is no\nsuch thing as a covenant with us. The bread and wine, in the Supper,\nspeak a deep and wondrous truth; they tell of the broken body and shed\nblood of the Lamb of God--the Lamb of God's own providing. Here the soul\ncan rest with perfect complacency; it is THE NEW TESTAMENT IN THE BLOOD\nOF CHRIST, and not a covenant between God and man. Man's covenant had\nsignally failed, and the Lord Jesus had to allow the cup of the fruit of\nthe vine (the emblem of joy in the earth) to pass Him by. Earth had no\njoy for Him--Israel had become \"the degenerate plant of a strange\nvine;\" wherefore, He had only to say, \"I will not drink of the fruit of\nthe vine, until the Kingdom of God shall come.\" A long and dreary season\nwas to pass over Israel, ere her King could take any joy in her moral\ncondition: but, during that time, \"the Church of God\" was to \"keep the\nfeast\" of unleavened bread, in all its moral power and significance, by\nputting away the \"old leaven of malice and wickedness,\" as the fruit of\nfellowship with Him whose blood cleanseth from all sin.\n\nHowever, the fact of the Lord's Supper having been instituted\nimmediately after the Passover, teaches us a very valuable principle of\ntruth, viz., this: the destinies of the Church and of Israel are\ninseparably linked with the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. True, the\nChurch has a higher place, even identification with her risen and\nglorified Head; yet all rests upon the Cross. Yes; it was on the cross\nthat the pure sheaf of corn was bruised and the juices of the living\nvine pressed forth by the hand of Jehovah Himself, to yield strength and\ngladness to the hearts of His heavenly and earthly people forever. The\nPrince of Life took from Jehovah's righteous hand the cup of wrath, the\ncup of trembling, and drained it to the dregs in order that He might put\ninto the hands of His people the cup of salvation, the cup of God's\nineffable love, that they might drink and forget their poverty, and\nremember their misery no more. The Lord's Supper expresses all this.\nThere the Lord presides; there the redeemed should meet in holy\nfellowship and brotherly love, to eat and drink before the Lord; and\nwhile they do so, they can look back at their Master's _night_ of deep\nsorrow, and forward to His day of glory--that \"morning without clouds,\"\nwhen \"He shall come to be glorified in His saints, and to be admired in\nall them that believe.\"\n\n\nIII. We shall now consider, in the third place, the persons for whom,\nand for whom _alone_, the Lord's Supper was instituted.\n\nThe Lord's Supper, then, was instituted for the Church of God--the\nfamily of the redeemed. All the members of that family should be there;\nfor none can be absent without incurring the guilt of disobedience to\nthe plain command of Christ and His inspired apostle; and the\nconsequence of this disobedience will be positive spiritual decline and\na complete failure in testimony for Christ. Such consequences, however,\nare the result only of wilful absence from the Lord's table. There are\ncircumstances which, in certain cases, may present an insurmountable\nbarrier, though there might be the most earnest desire to be present at\nthe celebration of the ordinance, as there ever will be where the mind\nis spiritual; but we may lay it down as a fixed principle of truth that\nno one can make progress in the divine life who wilfully absents himself\nfrom the Lord's table. \"ALL the congregation of Israel\" were commanded\nto keep the passover (Ex. xii.).\n\nNo member of the congregation could with impunity be absent. \"The man\nthat is clean, and is not in a journey, and forbeareth to keep the\npassover, even the same soul shall be cut off from among his people:\nbecause he brought not the offering of the Lord in his appointed season,\nthat man shall bear his sin\" (Num. ix. 13).\n\nI feel that it would be rendering really valuable service to the cause\nof truth, and a furtherance of the interests of the Church of God, if an\ninterest could be awakened on this important subject. There is too much\nlightness and indifference in the minds of Christians as to the matter\nof their attendance at the table of the Lord; and where there is not\nthis indifference, there is an unwillingness arising from imperfect\nviews of justification. Now both these hindrances, though so different\nin their character, spring from one and the same source, viz.,\nselfishness. He who is indifferent about the matter will selfishly allow\ntrifling circumstances to interfere with his attendance: he will be\nhindered by family arrangements, love of personal ease, unfavorable\nweather, trifling or, as it frequently happens, imaginary bodily\nailments--things which are lost sight of or counted as nothing when some\nworldly object is to be gained. How often does it happen that men who\nhave not spiritual energy to leave their houses on the Lord's day have\nabundant natural energy to carry them some miles to gain some worldly\nobject on Monday. Alas that it should be so! How sad to think that\nworldly gain could exert a more powerful influence on the heart of the\nChristian than the glory of Christ and the furtherance of the Church's\nbenefit! for this is the way in which we must view the question of the\nLord's Supper. What would be our feelings, amid the glory of the coming\nkingdom, if we could remember that, while on earth, a fair or a market,\nor some such worldly object, had commanded our time and energies, while\nthe assembly of the Lord's people around His table was neglected?\n\nBeloved Christian reader, if you are in the habit of absenting yourself\nfrom the assembly of Christians, I pray you to ponder the matter before\nthe Lord ere you absent yourself again. Reflect upon the pernicious\neffect of your absence in every way. You are failing in your testimony\nfor Christ; you are injuring the souls of your brethren, and you are\nhindering the progress of your own soul in grace and knowledge. Do not\nsuppose that your actings are without their influence on the whole\nChurch of God: you are at this moment either helping or hindering every\nmember of that body on earth. \"If _one_ member suffer, all the members\nsuffer with it.\" This principle has not ceased to be true, though\nprofessing Christians have split into so many different divisions. Nay,\nit is so divinely true, that there is not a single believer on earth who\nis not acting either as a helper to, or a drain upon, the whole body of\nChrist; and if there be any truth in the principle already laid down\n(viz., that the assembly of Christians and the breaking of bread in any\ngiven locality is, or ought to be, the expression of the unity of the\nwhole body), you cannot fail to see that if you absent yourself from\nthat assembly, or refuse to join in giving expression to that unity, you\nare doing serious damage to all your brethren as well as to your own\nsoul. I would lay these considerations on your heart and conscience, in\nthe name of the Lord, looking to Him to make them influential.[XVII.]\n\nBut not only does this culpable and pernicious indifference of spirit\nact as a hindrance to many, in presenting themselves at the Lord's\ntable; imperfect views of justification produce the same unhappy result.\nIf the conscience be not perfectly purged, if there be not perfect rest\nin God's testimony about the finished work of Christ, there will either\nbe a shrinking from the Supper of the Lord, or an unintelligent\ncelebration of it. Those only can show the Lord's death who know,\nthrough the teaching of the Holy Spirit, the value of the Lord's death.\nIf I regard the ordinance as a means whereby I am to be brought into a\nplace of greater nearness to God, or whereby I am to obtain a clearer\nsense of my acceptance, it is impossible that I can rightly observe it.\nI must believe, as the gospel commands me to believe, that ALL my sins\nare FOREVER put away ere I can take my place with any measure of\nspiritual intelligence at the Lord's table. If the matter be not viewed\nin this light, the Lord's Supper can only be regarded as a kind of step\nto the altar of God, and we are told in the law that we are not to go up\nby steps to God's altar, lest our nakedness be discovered (Ex. xx. 26).\nThe meaning of which is, that all human efforts to approach God must\nissue in the discovery of human nakedness.\n\nThus we see that if it be indifference that prevents the Christian from\nbeing at the breaking of bread, it is most culpable in the sight of God,\nand most injurious to his brethren and himself; and if it be an\nimperfect sense of justification that prevents, it is not only\nunwarrantable, but most dishonoring to the love of the Father, the work\nof the Son, and the clear and unequivocal testimony of the Holy Ghost.\n\nBut it is not unfrequently said, and that, too, by those who profess\nspirituality and intelligence, \"I derive no spiritual benefit by going\nto the assembly: I am as happy in my own room, reading my Bible.\" I\nwould affectionately ask such, Are we to have no higher object before us\nin our actings than our own happiness? Is not obedience to the command\nof our blessed Master--a command delivered on \"the same night in which\nHe was betrayed\"--a far higher and nobler object to set before us than\nanything connected with self? If He desires that His people should\nassemble in His name, for the express object of showing forth His death\ntill He come, shall we refuse because we feel happier in our own rooms?\nHe tells us to be there: we reply, \"We feel happier at home.\" Our\nhappiness, therefore, must be based on disobedience; and, as such, it is\nan unholy happiness. It is much better, if it should be so, to be\nunhappy in the path of obedience than happy in the path of disobedience.\nBut I verily believe, the thought of being happier at home is a mere\ndelusion, and the end of those deluded by it will prove it such. Thomas\nmight have deemed it indifferent whether he was present with the other\ndisciples, but he had to do without the Lord's presence, and to wait for\neight days, until the disciples came together on the first day of the\nweek; for there and then the Lord was pleased to reveal Himself to his\nsoul. And just so will it be with those who say, \"We feel happier at\nhome than in the assembly of believers.\" They will surely be behindhand\nin knowledge and experience; yea, it will be well if they come not under\nthe terrible woe denounced by the prophet: \"Woe to the idol shepherd\nthat _leaveth the flock_! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his\nright eye; his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be\nutterly darkened\" (Zech. xi. 17). And again, \"Not forsaking the\nassembling of ourselves together, _as the manner of some is_; but\nexhorting one another, and so much the more as ye see the day\napproaching. For if we sin wilfully, after that we have received the\nknowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but\na certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which\nshall devour the adversaries\" (Heb. x. 25-27).\n\nAs to the objection upon the grounds of the barrenness and\nunprofitableness of Christian assemblies, it will generally be remarked\nthat the greatest spiritual barrenness will always be found in\nconnection with a captious and complaining spirit; and I doubt not that\nif those who complain of the unprofitableness of meetings, and draw from\nthence an argument in favor of their remaining at home, were to spend\nmore time in secret waiting on the Lord for His blessing on the\nmeetings, they would have a very different experience.\n\nAnd now, having shown from Scripture who ought to be at the breaking of\nbread, we shall proceed to consider who ought _not_. On this point\nScripture is equally explicit: in a word, then, none should be there who\nare not members of the true Church of God. The same law which commanded\n_all_ the congregation of Israel to eat the passover, commanded all\nuncircumcised strangers _not_ to eat; and now that Christ our Passover\nhas been sacrificed for us, none can keep the feast, (which is to extend\nthroughout this entire dispensation,) nor break the bread nor drink the\nwine in true remembrance of Him, save those who know the cleansing and\nhealing virtues of His precious blood. To eat and drink without this\nknowledge, is to eat and drink unworthily--to eat and drink judgment;\nlike the woman in Num. v. who drank the water of jealousy, to make the\ncondemnation more manifest and awfully solemn.\n\nNow it is in this that Christendom's guilt is specially manifest. In\ntaking the Lord's Supper, the professing Church has, like Judas, put her\nhand on the table with Christ and betrayed Him; she has eaten with Him,\nand at the same time lifted up her heel against Him. What will be her\nend? Just like the end of Judas. \"He, then, having received the sop,\n_went immediately out_: and\"--the Holy Ghost adds, in awful\nsolemnity--\"IT WAS NIGHT.\" Terrible night! The strongest expression of\ndivine love only elicited the strongest expression of human hatred. So\nwill it be with the false professing Church collectively, and each false\nprofessor individually; and all those who, though baptized in the name\nof Christ, and sitting down at the table of Christ, have nevertheless\nbeen His betrayers, will find themselves at last thrust out into outer\ndarkness--involved in a night which shall never see the beams of the\nmorning--plunged in a gulf of endless and ineffable woe; and though they\nmay be able to say to the Lord, \"We have eaten and drunk in Thy\npresence, and Thou hast taught in our streets,\" yet His solemn,\nheartrending reply will be, while He shuts the door against them,\n\"Depart from Me! I never knew you.\" O reader, think of this, I pray you;\nand if you be yet in your sins, defile not the Lord's table by your\npresence; but instead of going thither as a hypocrite, repair to Calvary\nas a poor ruined and guilty sinner, and there receive pardon and\ncleansing from Him who died to save just such as you are.\n\n\nIV. Having now considered, through the Lord's mercy, the nature of the\nLord's Supper; the circumstances under which it was instituted; and the\npersons for whom it was designed; I would only add a word as to what\nScripture teaches us about the time and manner of its celebration.\n\nAlthough the Lord's Supper was not _first_ instituted on the first day\nof the week, yet the twenty-fourth of Luke and the twentieth of Acts are\nquite sufficient to prove, to a mind subject to the Word, that that is\nthe day on which the ordinance should specially be observed. The Lord\nbroke bread with His disciples on \"the first day of the week\" (Luke\nxxiv. 30); and \"on the first day of the week the disciples came together\nto break bread\" (Acts xx. 7). These scriptures are quite sufficient to\nprove that it is not once a month, nor once in three months, nor once in\nsix months, that disciples should come together to break bread, but once\na week at least, and that upon the first day of the week. Nor can we\nhave any difficulty in seeing that there is a moral fitness in the first\nday of the week for the celebration of the Lord's Supper: it is the\nresurrection day--the Church's day, in contrast with the seventh, which\nwas Israel's day; and as, in the institution of the ordinance, the Lord\nled His disciples away from Jewish things altogether, (by refusing to\ndrink of the fruit of the vine--the passover cup,--and then instituting\nanother ordinance) so, in the day on which that ordinance was to be\ncelebrated, we observe the same contrast between heavenly and earthly\nthings. It is in the power of resurrection that we can rightly show the\nLord's death. When the conflict was over, Melchizedek brought forth\nbread and wine, and blessed Abram, in the name of the Lord. Thus, too,\nour Melchizedek, when all the conflict was over and the victory gained,\ncame forth in resurrection with bread and wine, to strengthen and cheer\nthe hearts of His people, and to breathe upon them that peace which He\nhad so dearly purchased.\n\nIf, then, the first day of the week be the day on which Scripture\nteaches the disciples to break bread, it is clear that man has no\nauthority to alter the period to once a month, or once in six months.\nAnd I doubt not, when the affections are lively and fervent toward the\nperson of the Lord Himself, the Christian will desire to show the Lord's\ndeath as frequently as possible: indeed, it would seem, from the opening\nof Acts, that the disciples broke bread daily. This we may infer from\nthe expression \"breaking bread from house to house\" (or \"at home\").\nHowever, we are not left to depend upon mere inference as to the\nquestion of the first day of the week being the day on which the\ndisciples came together to break bread: we are distinctly taught this,\nand we see its moral fitness and beauty.\n\nThus much as to the _time_. And now one word about the _manner_. It\nshould be the special aim of Christians to show that the breaking of\nbread is their grand and primary object in coming together on the first\nday of the week. They should show that it is not for preaching or\nteaching that they assemble, though teaching may be a happy adjunct, but\nthat the breaking of bread is the leading object before their minds. It\nis the work of Christ which we show forth in the Supper, wherefore it\nshould have the first place; and when it has been duly set forth, there\nshould be a full and unqualified opening left for the work of the Holy\nGhost in ministry. The office of the Spirit is to set forth and exalt\nthe name, the person and the work of Christ; and if He be allowed to\norder and govern the assembly of Christians, as He undoubtedly should,\nHe will ever give the work of Christ the primary place.\n\nI cannot close this paper without expressing my deep sense of the\nfeebleness and shallowness of all that I have advanced, on a subject of\nreally commanding interest. I do feel before the Lord, in whose presence\nI desire to write and speak, that I have so failed to bring out the full\ntruth about this matter, that I almost shrink from letting these pages\nsee the light. It is not that I have a shadow of doubt as to the truth\nof what I have endeavored to state; no: but I feel that, in writing upon\nsuch a subject as the breaking of bread, at the time when there is such\nsad confusion among professing Christians, there is a demand for\npointed, clear, and lucid statements, to which I am little able to\nrespond.\n\nWe have but little conception of how entirely the question of the\nbreaking of bread is connected with the Church's position and testimony\non earth; and we have as little conception of how thoroughly the\nquestion has been misunderstood by the professing Church. The breaking\nof bread ought to be the distinct enunciation of the fact that all\nbelievers are _one body_; but the professing Church, by splitting into\nsects, and by setting up a table for each sect, has practically denied\nthat fact.\n\nIn truth, the breaking of bread has been cast into the background. The\ntable, at which the Lord should preside, is almost lost sight of, by\nbeing placed in the shade of the pulpit, in which man presides: the\npulpit, which, alas! is too often the instrument of creating and\nperpetuating disunion, is, to many minds, the commanding object; while\nthe table, which if properly understood would perpetuate love and unity,\nis made quite a secondary thing. And even in the most laudable effort to\nrecover from such a lamentable condition of things, what complete\nfailure have we seen. What has the Evangelical Alliance effected? It has\neffected this, at least, it has developed a need existing among\nprofessing Christians, which they are confessedly unable to meet. They\nwant union, and are unable to attain it. Why? Because they will not give\nup everything which has been _added_ to the truth to meet together\naccording to the truth, to break bread as disciples. I say, _as\ndisciples_, and not as Church-men, Independents, Baptists, etc. It is\nnot that all such may not have much valuable truth, I mean those of them\nwho love our Lord Jesus Christ: they certainly may; but they have no\n_truth_ that should prevent them from meeting _together_ to break bread.\nHow could truth ever hinder Christians from giving expression to the\nunity of the Church? Impossible! A sectarian spirit in those who hold\ntruth may do this, but truth never can. But how is it now in the\nprofessing Church? Christians, of various communities, can meet for the\npurpose of reading, praying, and singing together during the week, but\nwhen the first day of the week arrives, they have not the least idea of\ngiving the only real and effectual expression of their unity, which the\nHoly Ghost can recognize, which is the breaking of bread. \"We being many\nare one bread and one body; for we are _all_ partakers of that _one_\nbread.\"\n\nThe sin at Corinth was their not tarrying one for another. This appears\nfrom the exhortation with which the apostle sums up the whole question\n(I Cor. xi.), \"Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat,\ntarry one for another.\" Why were they to tarry one for another? Surely,\nin order that they might the more clearly express their unity. But what\nwould the apostle have said, if, instead of coming together, into one\nplace, they had gone to different places, according to their different\nviews of truth? He might then say with, if possible, greater force, \"Ye\ncannot eat the Lord's Supper.\" (See _margin_.)\n\nIt may, however, be asked, \"How could all the believers in London meet\nin one place?\" I reply, if they could not meet in one place, they could,\nat least, meet on one principle. But how did the believers at Jerusalem\nmeet together? The answer is, they were \"_of one accord_.\" This being\nso, they had little difficulty about the question of a meeting-room.\n\"Solomon's porch,\" or anywhere else, would suit their purpose. They gave\nexpression to their unity, and that, too, in a way not to be mistaken.\nNeither various localities, nor various measures of knowledge and\nattainment, could, in the least, interfere with their unity. There was\n\"one body and one Spirit.\"\n\nFinally, I would say, the Lord will assuredly honor those who have faith\nto believe and confess the unity of the Church on earth; and the greater\nthe difficulty in the way of doing so, the greater will be the honor.\nThe Lord grant to all His people a single eye, and a humble and honest\nspirit.\n\n    Thy broken body, gracious Lord,\n      Is shadowed by this broken bread;\n    The wine which in this cup is poured\n      Points to the blood which Thou hast shed.\n\n    And while we meet together thus,\n    We show that we are one in Thee;\n    Thy precious blood was shed for us--\n      Thy death, O Lord, has set us free.\n\n    Brethren in Thee, in union sweet--\n      Forever be Thy grace adored--\n    'Tis in Thy name, that now we meet,\n      And know Thou'rt with us, gracious Lord.\n\n    We have one hope--that Thou wilt come;\n      Thee in the air we wait to see,\n    When Thou wilt take Thy people home,\n      And we shall ever reign with Thee.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[XI.] It is needful to bear in mind that, while the blood of Christ is\nthat alone which introduces the believer, in holy boldness, into the\npresence of God, yet it is nowhere set forth as our centre, or bond of\nunion. Truly precious is it for every blood-washed soul to remember, in\nthe secret of the divine presence, that the atoning blood of Jesus has\nrolled away for ever his heavy burden of sin. Yet the Holy Ghost can\nonly gather us to the person of a risen and glorified Christ, who,\nhaving shed the blood of the everlasting covenant, is gone up into\nheaven in the power of an endless life, to which divine righteousness\ninseparably attaches. A living Christ, therefore, is our centre and bond\nof union. The blood having answered for us to God, we gather round our\nrisen and exalted Head in the heavens. \"I, if I be lifted up from the\nearth, will draw all men unto _Me_.\" We behold in the cup in the Lord's\nSupper the symbol of shed blood; but we are neither gathered round the\ncup nor the blood, but round Him who shed it. The blood of the Lamb has\nput away every obstacle to our fellowship with God; and in proof of this\nthe Holy Ghost has come down to baptize believers into one body, and\ngather them round the risen and glorified Head. The wine is _the\nmemorial_ of a life shed out for sin: the bread is _the memorial_ of a\nbody broken for sin: but we are not gathered round a life poured out,\nnor round a body broken, but round a living Christ, who dieth no more,\nwho cannot have His body broken any more, or His blood shed any more.\nThis makes a serious difference; and when looked at in connection with\nthe discipline of the house of God, the difference is immensely\nimportant. Very many are apt to imagine that when any one is put away\nfrom or refused communion, the question is raised as to there being a\nlink between his soul and Christ. A moment's consideration of this point\nin the light of Scripture will be sufficient to prove that no such\nquestion is raised. If we look at the case of the \"wicked person\" in I\nCor. v., we see one put away from the communion of the Church on earth\nwho was nevertheless a Christian, as people say. He was not, therefore,\nput away because he was not a Christian: such a question was never\nraised; nor should it be in any case. How can we tell whether a man is\neternally linked with Christ or not? Have we the custody of the Lamb's\nbook of life? Is the discipline of the Church of God founded upon what\nwe can know, or upon what we _cannot_? Was the man in I Cor. v. linked\neternally with Christ, or not? Was the Church told to inquire? Even\nsuppose we could see a man's name written in the book of life, that\nwould not be the ground of receiving him into the assembly on earth, or\nretaining him there. That which the Church is held responsible for, is\nto keep herself pure in doctrine, pure in practice, and pure in\nassociation, and all this on the ground of being God's house. \"Thy\ntestimonies are very sure; holiness becometh Thy house, O Lord, for\never.\" When any one was separated, or \"cut off,\" from the congregation\nof Israel, was it because of not being an Israelite? By no means; but\nbecause of some moral or ceremonial defilement which could not be\ntolerated in God's Assembly. In Achan's case (Josh. vii.), although\nthere were six hundred thousand souls ignorant of his sin, yet God says,\n\"_Israel hath sinned_.\" Why? Because they were looked at as God's\nAssembly, and there was defilement there which, if not judged, all would\nhave been broken up.\n\n[XII.] Those who are competent to do so can look at the original of this\nimportant chapter, where they will see that the word translated\n\"approved\" (ver. 19) comes from the same root as that translated\n\"examine himself\" (ver. 28). Thus we see that the man who approves\nhimself takes his place amongst the approved, and is the very opposite\nof those who were amongst the heretics. Now the meaning of a heretic is\nnot merely one who holds false doctrine, though one may be a heretic in\nso doing, but one who persists in the exercise of _his own will_. The\napostle knew that there must be heresies at Corinth, seeing that there\nwere sects: those who were doing their own will were acting in\nopposition to God's will, and thus producing division; for God's will\nhad reference to the whole body. Those who were acting heretically were\ndespising the Church of God.\n\n[XIII.] It may be well to add a word here for the guidance of any\nsimple-hearted Christian who may find himself placed in circumstances in\nwhich he is called upon to decide between the claims of different tables\nwhich might seem to be spread upon the same principle. To confirm and\nencourage such an one in a truthful course of action, I should regard as\na most valuable service.\n\nSuppose, then, I find myself in a place where two or more tables have\nbeen spread; what am I to do? I believe I am to inquire into the\n_origin_ of these various tables, to see how it became needful to have\nmore than one table. If, for example, a number of Christians meeting\ntogether have admitted and retained amongst them any unsound principles,\naffecting the person of the Son of God, or subversive of the unity of\nthe Church of God on earth; if, I say, such principles be admitted and\nretained in the assembly, or if persons who hold and teach them be\nreceived and acknowledged by the assembly; under such painful and\nhumiliating circumstances the faithful can no longer be there. Why?\nBecause I cannot take my place at it without identifying myself with\nmanifestly unchristian principles. The same remark, of course, applies\nif the case be that of corrupt conduct unjudged by the assembly.\n\nNow, if a number of Christians should find themselves placed in the\ncircumstances above described, they would be called upon to maintain THE\nPURITY OF THE TRUTH OF GOD while acknowledging as ever the oneness of\nthe body. We have not only to maintain the grace of the Lord's table,\nbut the _holiness_ of it also. Truth is not to be sacrificed in order to\nmaintain unity, nor will _true_ unity ever be interfered with by the\nstrict maintenance of truth.\n\nIt is not to be imagined that the unity of the body of Christ is\ninterfered with when a community based upon unsound principles, or\ncountenancing unsound doctrine or practice, is separated from. The\nChurch of Rome charged the Reformers with schism because they separated\nfrom her; but we know that the Church of Rome lay, and still lies, under\nthe charge of schism because she imposes false doctrine upon her\nmembers. Let it only be ascertained that the truth of God is called in\nquestion by any community, and that, to be a member of that community, I\nmust identify myself with unsound doctrine or corrupt practice, and then\nit cannot be schism to separate from such a community; nay, I am bound\nto separate.\n\n[XIV.] It is usual to apply the term \"unworthily,\" in this passage, to\n_persons_ doing the act, whereas it really refers to the _manner_ of\ndoing it. The apostle never thought of calling in question the\nChristianity of the Corinthians; nay, in the opening address of his\nepistle, he looks at them as \"the Church of God which is at Corinth,\nsanctified in Christ Jesus, called saints\" (or saints by calling). How\ncould he use this language in the first chapter, and in the eleventh\ncall in question the worthiness of these saints to take their seat at\nthe Lord's Supper? Impossible. He looked upon them as saints, and as\nsuch he exhorted them to celebrate the Lord's Supper in a worthy manner.\nThe question of any but true Christians being there, is never raised; so\nthat it is utterly impossible that the word \"unworthily\" could apply to\n_persons_. Its application is entirely to the _manner_. The persons were\nworthy, but their manner was not; and they were called, as saints, to\njudge themselves as to their _ways_, else the Lord might judge them in\ntheir _persons_ as was already the case. In a word, it was as true\nChristians they were called to judge themselves. If they were in doubt\nas to that, they were utterly unable to judge anything. I never think of\nsetting my child to judge as to whether he is my child or not; but I\nexpect him to judge himself as to his habits, else, if he do not, I may\nhave to do, by chastening, what he ought to do by self-judgment. It is\nbecause I look upon him as my child, that I will not allow him to sit at\nmy table with soiled garments and disorderly manners.\n\n[XV.] The reader will bear in mind that the text does not touch the\nquestion of Scriptural discipline. There may be many members of the\nflock of Christ who could not be received into the Assembly on earth,\ninasmuch as they may possibly be leavened by false doctrine, or wrong\npractice. But, though we might not be able to receive them, we do not,\nby any means, raise the question as to their being in the Lamb's book of\nlife. This is not the province nor the prerogative of the Church of God.\n\"_The Lord_ knoweth them that are His; and let every one that nameth the\nname of Christ depart from iniquity\" (2 Tim. ii. 19).\n\n[XVI.] The church of Rome has so entirely departed from the truth set\nforth in the Lord's Supper, that she professes to offer, in the mass,\n\"an unbloody sacrifice for the sins of the living and the dead.\" Now, we\nare taught, in Heb. ix. 22, that \"without shedding of blood is no\nremission;\" consequently, the church of Rome has no remission of sins\nfor her members. She robs them of this precious reality, and instead\nthereof, gives them an anomalous and utterly unscriptural thing, called\n\"an unbloody sacrifice, or mass.\" This, which, according to her own\npractice and the testimony of Heb. ix. 22, can never take away sin, she\noffers day by day, week by week, and year by year. A sacrifice without\nblood must, if Scripture be true, be a sacrifice without remission.\nHence, therefore, the sacrifice of the mass is a positive blind raised\nby the devil, through the agency of Rome, to hide from the sinner's view\nthe glorious sacrifice of Christ, \"_once offered_,\" and never to be\nrepeated. \"Christ, being raised from the dead, dieth no more; death hath\nno more dominion over Him\" (Rom. vi. 9). Every fresh sacrifice of the\nmass only declares the inefficiency of all the previous sacrifices, so\nthat Rome is only mocking the sinner with an empty shadow. But she is\nconsistent in her wickedness, for she withholds the cup from the laity,\nand teaches her members that they have body and blood and all in the\nwafer. But, if the blood be still in the body, it is manifestly not\nshed, and then we get back to the same gloomy point, namely, \"no\nremission.\" \"Without shedding of blood is no remission.\"\n\nHow totally different is the precious and most refreshing institution of\nthe Lord's Supper, as set before us in the New Testament. There we find\nthe bread broken, and the wine poured out--the significant symbols of a\nbody broken, and of blood shed. The wine is not in the bread, because\nthe blood is not in the body, for, if it were, there would be \"no\nremission.\" In a word, the Lord's Supper is the distinct memorial of an\neternally accomplished sacrifice; and none can communicate thereat, with\nintelligence or blessing, save those who know the full remission of\nsins. It is not that we would, by any means, make knowledge a term of\ncommunion, for very many of the children of God, through bad teaching,\nand various other causes, do not know the perfect remission of sins, and\nwere they to be excluded on that ground, it would be making _knowledge_\na term of communion, instead of _life_ and _obedience_. Still, if I do\nnot know, experimentally, that redemption is an accomplished fact, I\nshall see but little meaning in the symbols of bread and wine; and,\nmoreover, I shall be in great danger of attaching a species of efficacy\nto the memorials, which belongs only to the great reality to which they\npoint.\n\n[XVII.] I can only feel myself responsible to present myself in the\nassembly when it is gathered on proper Church ground, i. e., the ground\nlaid down in the New Testament. People may assemble, and call themselves\nthe Church of God, in any given locality, but if they do not exhibit the\ncharacteristic features and principles of the Church of God as set forth\nin Holy Scripture, I cannot own them. If they refuse, or lack spiritual\npower, to judge worldliness, carnality, or false doctrine, they are\nevidently not on proper Church ground: they are merely a religious\nfraternity, which, in its collective character, I am in no wise\nresponsible before God to own. Hence the child of God needs much\nspiritual power, and subjection to the Word, to be able to carry himself\nthrough all the windings of the professing Church in this peculiarly\nevil and difficult day.\n\n\n\n\nTHE ASSEMBLY OF GOD\n\nOR, THE\n\nALL-SUFFICIENCY OF THE NAME OF JESUS\n\n\nIn a day like the present, when almost every new idea becomes the centre\nor gathering-point of some new association, we cannot but feel the value\nof having divinely formed convictions as to what the assembly of God\nreally is. We live in a time of unusual mental activity, and hence there\nis the more urgent need of calm and prayerful study of the word of God.\nThat Word, blessed be its Author, is like a rock amid the ocean of human\nthought. There it stands unmoved, notwithstanding the raging of the\nstorm and the ceaseless lashing of the waves. And not only does it thus\nstand unmoved itself, but it imparts its own stability to all who simply\ntake their stand upon it. What a mercy to make one's escape from the\nheavings and tossings of the stormy ocean, and find a calm resting place\non that everlasting Rock.\n\nThis, truly, is a mercy. Were it not that we have \"the law and the\ntestimony,\" where should we be? Whither should we go? What should we do?\nWhat darkness! What confusion! What perplexity!\n\nA thousand jarring voices fall, at times, upon the ear, and each voice\nseems to speak with such authority, that if one is not well taught and\ngrounded in the Word, there is great danger of being drawn away, or, at\nleast, sadly unhinged. One man will tell you that _this_ is right;\nanother will tell you _that_ is right; a third will tell you that\n_everything_ is right; and a fourth will tell you that _nothing_ is\nright. With reference to the question of church position, you will meet\nwith some who go _here_; some who go _there_; some who go _everywhere_;\nand some who go _nowhere_.\n\nNow, under such circumstances, what is one to do? All cannot possibly be\nright. And yet, surely, there is something right. It cannot be that we\nare _compelled_ to live in error, in darkness, or uncertainty. \"_There\nis a path_,\" blessed be God, though \"no fowl knoweth it, and the\nvulture's eye hath not seen it. The lion's whelps have not trodden it,\nnor the fierce lion passed by it.\" Where is this safe and blessed path?\nHear the divine reply: \"Behold, _the fear of the Lord_, that is wisdom:\nand _to depart from evil_ is understanding\" (Job xxviii.).\n\nLet us, therefore, in the fear of the Lord, in the light of His\ninfallible truth, and in humble dependence upon the teaching of the Holy\nSpirit, proceed to the examination of the subject which stands at the\nhead of this paper; and may we have grace to abandon all confidence in\nour own thoughts, and the thoughts of others, so that we may heartily\nand honestly yield ourselves up to be taught only of God.\n\nNow, in order to get fairly into the grand and all-important subject of\nthe assembly of God, we have first to state _a fact_; and, secondly, to\nask _a question_. The fact is this, _There is an assembly of God on the\nearth_. The question is, _What is that assembly_?\n\nI. And, first then, as to our _fact_. There is such a thing as the\nassembly of God on the earth. This is a most important fact, surely. God\nhas an assembly on the earth. I do not refer to any merely human\norganization, such as the Greek Church; the Church of Rome; the Church\nof England; the Church of Scotland; or to any of the various systems\nwhich have sprung from these, framed and fashioned by man's hand, and\ncarried on by man's resources. I refer simply to that assembly which is\ngathered by God the Holy Ghost, round the person of God the Son, to\nworship and hold fellowship with God the Father.\n\nIf we set forth upon our search for the assembly of God, or for any\nexpression thereof, with our minds full of prejudice, preconceived\nthoughts, and personal predilections; or if, in our searchings, we seek\nthe aid of the flickering light of the dogmas, opinions, and traditions\nof men, nothing is more certain than that we shall fail to reach the\ntruth. To recognize God's assembly, we must be exclusively taught by\nGod's Word, and led by God's Spirit; for, of God's assembly, as well as\nof the sons of God, it may be said, \"the world knoweth it not.\"\n\nHence, then, if we are, in any wise, governed by the spirit of the\nworld; if we desire to exalt man; if we seek to commend ourselves to the\nthoughts of men; if our object be to gain the attractive ends of a\nplausible and soul-ensnaring expediency, we may as well, forthwith,\nabandon our search for any true expression of the assembly of God, and\ntake refuge in that form of human organization which most fully commends\nitself to our thinkings or our conscientious convictions.\n\nFurther, if our object be to find a religious community in which the\nword of God is read, or in which the people of God are found, we may\nspeedily satisfy ourselves, for it would be hard indeed to find a\nsection of the professing Christian body in which one or both of these\nobjects might not be realized.\n\nFinally, if we merely aim at doing all the good we can, without any\nquestion as to how we do it; if _Per fas aut nefas_, \"right or wrong,\"\nbe our motto in whatever we undertake; if we are prepared to reverse\nthose weighty words of Samuel, and say that, \"To sacrifice is better\nthan to obey, and the fat of rams better than to harken,\" then is it\nworse than vain for us to pursue our search for the assembly of God,\ninasmuch as that assembly can only be discovered and approved by one who\nhas been taught to flee from the thousand flowery pathways of human\nexpediency, and to submit his conscience, his heart, his understanding,\nhis whole moral being to the supreme authority of \"Thus saith the\nLord.\"\n\nIn one word, then, the obedient disciple knows that there is such a\nthing as God's assembly: and he it is, too, that will be enabled,\nthrough grace, to understand what is a true expression of it. The\nsincere student of Scripture knows, full well, the difference between\nthat which is founded, formed, and governed by the wisdom and the will\nof man, and that which is gathered round, and governed by Christ the\nLord. How vast is the difference! It is just the difference between God\nand man.\n\nBut we may here be asked for the Scripture proofs of our fact that there\nis such a thing on the earth as _the_ assembly of God, and we shall, at\nonce, proceed to furnish these; for we may be permitted to say that,\nwithout the authority of the Word, all statements are utterly valueless.\nWhat, therefore, saith the Scripture?\n\nOur first proof shall be that famous passage, in Matthew xvi., \"When\nJesus came into the coast of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples,\nsaying Whom do men say that I, the Son of man, am? And they said, Some\nsay that Thou art John the Baptist; some, Elias; and others, Jeremias,\nor one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?\nAnd Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the\nliving God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou,\nSimon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but\nMy Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, that thou art\nPeter; and upon this rock I will build My assembly[XVIII.] ([Greek:\nekklesian]); and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it\" (vers.\n13-18).\n\nHere our blessed Lord intimates His purpose to build an assembly, and\nsets forth the true foundation of that assembly, namely, \"Christ, the\nSon of the living God.\" This is an all-important point in our subject.\nThe building is founded on the Rock, and that Rock is not the poor\nfailing, stumbling, erring Peter, but CHRIST, the eternal Son of the\nliving God; and every stone in that building partakes of the Rock-life\nwhich, as being victorious over all the power of the enemy, is\nindestructible.[XIX.]\n\nAgain, passing over a section of Matthew's Gospel, we come to an equally\nfamiliar passage: \"Moreover, if thy brother shall trespass against thee,\ngo and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear\nthee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then\ntake with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three\nwitnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to\nhear them, tell it unto the assembly, but if he neglect to hear the\nassembly, let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican. Verily I\nsay unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in\nheaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth, shall be loosed in\nheaven. Again, I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth\nas touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of\nMy Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are _gathered_\ntogether _in My name_, there am I in the midst of them\" (chap. xviii.\n15-20).\n\nWe shall have occasion to refer to this passage again, under the second\ndivision of our subject. It is here introduced merely as a link in the\nchain of Scripture evidence of the fact that there is such a thing as\nthe assembly of God on the earth. This assembly is not a name, a form, a\npretence, an assumption. It is a divine reality--an institution of God,\npossessing His seal and sanction. It is a something to be appealed to in\nall cases of personal trespass and dispute which cannot be settled by\nthe parties involved. This assembly may consist of only \"two or three\"\nin any particular place--the smallest plurality, if you please; but\nthere it is, owned of God, and its decisions ratified in heaven.\n\nNow, we are not to be scared away from the truth on this subject, by the\nfact that the church of Rome has attempted to base her monstrous\npretensions on the two passages which we have just quoted. That church\nis not God's assembly, built on the Rock Christ, and gathered in the\nname of Jesus; but a human apostasy, founded on a failing mortal, and\ngoverned by the traditions and doctrines of men. We must not, therefore,\nsuffer ourselves to be deprived of God's reality by reason of Satan's\ncounterfeit. God has His assembly on the earth, and we are responsible\nto confess the truth of it, and to be a practical expression of it. This\nmay be difficult, in a day of confusion like the present. It will demand\na single eye--a subject will--a mortified mind. But let the reader be\nassured of this, that it is his privilege to possess as divine certainty\nas to what is a true expression of the assembly of God, as surely as the\ntruth concerning his own salvation through the blood of the Lamb; nor\nshould he be satisfied without this. I should not be content to go on\nfor an hour without the assurance that I am, in spirit and principle,\nassociated with those whose ground of gathering is purely their common\nmembership in the assembly of God--that assembly which includes all\nsaints. I say, in spirit and principle, because I may happen to be in a\nplace where there is no such local expression of the assembly; in which\ncase I must be satisfied to hold fellowship, in spirit, with all those\nwho are thus gathered.\n\nThis simplifies the matter amazingly. If I cannot have a true expression\nof God's assembly, I shall have nothing. It will not do to point me to a\nreligious community, with some Christians therein, the gospel preached,\nand the ordinances administered.\n\nI must be convinced that in very truth, they are gathered on that ground\nwhich, in my heart and conscience, frees them from the charge of\nsectarianism. I can own the children of God individually anywhere; but\nsectarianism I cannot own or sanction.\n\nNo doubt this will give offence. It will be called bigotry,\nnarrow-mindedness, intolerance, and the like. But this need not\ndiscourage us. All we have to do is to ascertain the truth as to God's\nassembly, and cleave to it, heartily and energetically, at all cost. If\nGod has an assembly--and Scripture says He has--then let me be with\nthose who maintain its principles, and nowhere else. It must be in this\nas in all other matters, truth or nothing. If there be a local\nexpression of that assembly, well; be there in person. If not, be\ncontent to hold spiritual communion with all who humbly and faithfully\nown and occupy that holy ground. It may sound and seem like liberality\nto be ready to sanction and go with everything and everybody. It may\nappear very easy and very pleasant to be in a place \"where everybody's\nwill is indulged, and nobody's conscience is exercised\"--where we may\nhold what we like, and say what we like, and do what we like, and go\nwhere we like. All this may seem very delightful--very plausible--very\npopular--very attractive; but oh! it will be barrenness and bitterness\nin the end; and, in the day of the Lord, it will assuredly be burnt up\nas so much wood, hay, and stubble, that cannot stand the action of His\njudgment.\n\nBut let us proceed with our Scripture proofs. In the Acts of the\nApostles, or rather, the Acts of the Holy Ghost, we find the assembly\nformally set up. A passage or two will suffice: \"And they, continuing\ndaily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to\nhouse, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,\npraising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added\nto the assembly, daily, such as should be saved\" (Acts ii. 46, 47). Such\nwas the original, simple apostolic order. When a person was converted,\nhe thereby belonged to the assembly and took his place in it: there was\nno difficulty in the matter, there were no sects or parties, each\nclaiming to be considered _a_ church, a cause, or an interest. There was\njust the one thing, and that was the assembly of God, where He dwelt,\nacted, and ruled. It was not a system formed according to the will, the\njudgment, or even the conscience of man. Man had not, as yet, entered\nupon the business of church-making. This was God's work. It was just as\nexclusively God's province and prerogative to baptize the saved into one\nbody by one Spirit, as to save the scattered.[XX.]\n\nWhy, we may justly inquire, should it be different now? Why should the\nregenerated seek to belong to something else than that to which they\nalready belong--the assembly of God? Is not that sufficient? Assuredly.\nShould they seek aught else? Assuredly not. We repeat, with emphasis,\n\"_Either that or nothing_.\"\n\nTrue it is, alas! that failure, and ruin, and apostasy have come in.\nMan's wisdom, and his will; or, if you please, his reason, his judgment,\nand his misguided conscience have wrought, in matters ecclesiastical,\nand the result appears before us in the almost numberless and nameless\nsects and parties of the present moment. Still, we are bold to say, that\nthe ground of assembling as at the beginning, simply as being members of\nthe assembly of God, remains the same, spite of all the failure, the\nerror, and the confusion, which have come in. The difficulty in\nreaching it practically may be great, but its reality, when reached, is\nunaltered, and unalterable. In apostolic times the assembly stood out,\nin bold relief, from the dark background of Judaism on the one hand, and\nPaganism on the other. It was impossible to mistake it; there it stood,\na grand reality! a company of living men, gathered, indwelt, ruled and\nregulated by God the Holy Ghost, so that the unlearned or unbelieving\ncoming in, were convinced of all, and constrained to acknowledge that\nGod was there. (See carefully, I Cor. xii., xiv. throughout.)\n\nThus, in this Gospel, our blessed Lord intimates His purpose of building\nan assembly. This assembly is historically presented to us in the Acts\nof the Apostles. Then, when we turn to the Epistles of Paul, we find him\naddressing the assembly in seven distinct places, namely, Rome, Corinth,\nGalatia, Ephesus, Philippi, Colosse, and Thessalonica; and finally, in\nthe opening of the book of Revelation, we have addresses to seven\ndistinct assemblies. Now, in all these places, the assembly of God was a\nplain, palpable, real thing, established and maintained by God Himself.\nIt was not a human organization, but a divine institution--a\ntestimony--a light bearer for God, in each place.\n\nThus much as to our Scripture proofs of the fact that God has an\nassembly on the earth, gathered, indwelt, and governed by the Holy Ghost\nwho is the true and only Vicar of Christ upon earth. The Gospel\nprophetically intimates the assembly; the Acts historically presents the\nassembly; and the Epistles formally address the assembly. All this is\nplain. And if it be broken into fragments now, it is for us to be\ngathered on the ground of the _one_ assembly of God, and to be a true\nexpression of it.\n\nAnd let it be carefully noted that we will listen to nothing on this\nsubject but the voice of Holy Scripture. Let not reason speak, for we\nown it not. Let not tradition lift her voice, for we wholly disregard\nher. Let not expediency thrust itself upon us, for we shall give it no\nplace whatever. We believe in the all-sufficiency of Holy\nScripture--that it is sufficient to furnish the man of God\nthoroughly--to equip him perfectly for all good works (2 Tim. iii. 16,\n17). The word of God is either sufficient or it is not. We believe it to\nbe amply sufficient for every exigency of God's assembly. It could not\nbe otherwise if God be its author. We must either deny the divinity or\nadmit the sufficiency of the Bible. There is not a single hair's breadth\nof middle ground. It is impossible that God could have written an\nimperfect, an insufficient book.\n\nThis is a very grave principle in connection with our subject. Many of\nour protestant writers have, in assailing popery, maintained the\nsufficiency and authority of the Bible; but it does seem very plain to\nus that they are always at fault when their opponents turn sharp round\nupon them and demand proof from Scripture for many things sanctioned and\nadopted by protestant communities.\n\nThere are many things adopted and practised in the National\nEstablishment and other protestant communities, which have no sanction\nin the Word; and when the shrewd and intelligent defenders of popery\nhave called attention to these things, and demanded authority for them,\nthe weakness of mere protestantism has been strikingly apparent. If we\nadmit, for a moment, that, in some things, we must have recourse to\ntradition and expediency, then who will undertake to fix the boundary\nline? If it be allowable to depart from Scripture at all, how far are we\nto go? If the authority of tradition be admitted at all, who is to fix\nits domain? If we leave the narrow and well-defined pathway of divine\nrevelation, and enter upon the wide and bewildering field of human\ntradition, has not one man as much right as another to make a choice?\nThe gates of hell shall assuredly prevail against every human\nsystem--against all those corporations and associations which men have\nset on foot. And in no case has that triumph been, even already, made\nmore awfully manifest than in that of the church of Rome itself,\nalthough it has arrogantly laid claim to this very declaration of our\nLord as the bulwark of its strength. Nothing can withstand the power of\nthe gates of hell but the assembly of the living God, for that is built\nupon \"the living Stone.\" Now the local expression of that assembly may\nbe but \"two or three gathered in the name of Jesus,\" a poor, feeble,\ndespised handful.\n\nIt is well to be clear and decided as to this.\n\nChrist's promise can never fail. He has, blessed be His name, come down\nto the lowest possible point by which the assembly can be represented,\neven \"_two_.\" How gracious! How tender! How considerate! How like\nHimself! He attaches all the dignity--all the value--all the efficacy of\nHis own divine and deathless name to an obscure handful gathered round\nHimself. It must be very evident to the spiritual mind that the Lord\nJesus, in speaking of the \"two or three\" thought not of those vast\nsystems which have sprung up in ancient, mediaeval, and modern times,\nthroughout the eastern and western world, numbering their adherents and\nvotaries, not by \"twos or threes,\" but by kingdoms, provinces, and\nparishes. It is very plain that a baptized kingdom, and \"two or three\"\nliving souls gathered in the name of Jesus, do not and cannot mean the\nsame thing. Baptized Christendom is one thing, and the assembly of God\nis another. What this latter is, we have yet to unfold; we are here\nasserting that they are not, and cannot be, the same thing. They are\nconstantly confounded, though no two things can be more distinct.[XXI.]\n\nIf we would know under what figure Christ presents the baptized world,\nwe have only to look at the \"leaven\" and the \"mustard tree\" of Matt.\nxiii.\n\nThe former gives us the internal, and the latter the external character\nof \"the kingdom of heaven\"--of that which was originally set up in truth\nand simplicity--a real thing, though small, but which, through Satan's\ncrafty working, has become inwardly a corrupt mass, though outwardly a\nfar-spreading, showy, popular thing in the earth, gathering all sorts\nbeneath the shadow of its patronage. Such is the lesson--the simple but\ndeeply solemn lesson to be learnt by the spiritual mind from the\n\"leaven\" and the \"mustard-tree\" of Matt. xiii. And we may add, one\nresult of learning this lesson would be an ability to distinguish\nbetween \"the kingdom of heaven\" and \"the assembly of God.\" The former\nmay be compared to a wide morass, the latter to a running stream passing\nthrough it, and in constant danger of losing its distinctive character,\nas well as its proper direction, by intermingling with the surrounding\nwaters. To confound the two things is to deal a deathblow to all godly\ndiscipline and consequent purity in the assembly of God. If the kingdom\nand the assembly mean one and the same thing, then how should we act in\nthe case of \"that wicked person\" in I Cor. v.? The apostle tells us \"to\nput him away.\" Where are we to put him? Our Lord Himself tells us\ndistinctly that \"the field is _the world_;\" and again, in John xvii., He\nsays that His people are not of the world. This makes all plain enough.\nBut men tell us, in the very face of our Lord's statement, that the\nfield is the assembly, and the tares and wheat, ungodly and godly, are\nto grow together, that they are on no account to be separated. Thus the\nplain and positive teaching of the Holy Ghost in I Cor. v. is set in\nopen opposition to the equally plain and positive teaching of our Lord\nin Matt. xiii.; and all this flows from the effort to confound two\ndistinct things, namely, \"the kingdom of heaven\" and \"the assembly of\nGod.\"\n\nIt would not by any means comport with the object of this paper to enter\nfurther upon the interesting subject of \"the kingdom.\" Enough has been\nsaid, if the reader has thereby been convinced of the immense importance\nof duly distinguishing that kingdom from the assembly. What this latter\nis we shall now proceed to inquire; and may God the Holy Ghost be our\nteacher!\n\nII. In handling our question as to the assembly of God, it will give\nclearness and precision to our thoughts to consider the four following\npoints, namely:--\n\nFirst, what is the _material_ of which the assembly is composed?\n\nSecondly, what is the _centre_ round which the assembly is gathered?\n\nThirdly, what is the _power_ by which the assembly is gathered?\n\nFourthly, what is the _authority_ on which the assembly is gathered?\n\nI. And, first, then, as to the material of which God's assembly is\ncomposed; it is, in one word, those possessing salvation, or eternal\nlife. We do not enter the assembly in order to be saved, but as those\nwho are saved. The word is, \"_On_ this rock I will build My Church.\" He\ndoes not say, \"On My Church I will build the salvation of souls.\" One of\nRome's boasted dogmas is this--\"There is no salvation out of the true\nChurch.\" Yes, but we can go deeper still, and say, \"Off the true Rock\nthere is no Church.\" Take away the Rock, and you have nothing but a\nbaseless fabric of error and corruption. What a miserable delusion, to\nthink of being saved by that! Thank God, it is not so. We do not get to\nChrist through the Church, but to the Church through Christ. To reverse\nthis order is to displace Christ altogether, and thus have neither Rock,\nnor Church, nor salvation. We meet Christ as a life-giving Saviour,\nbefore we have anything to say to the assembly at all; and hence we\ncould possess eternal life, and enjoy full salvation, though there were\nno such thing as the assembly of God on the earth.[XXII.]\n\nWe cannot be too simple in grasping this truth, at a time like the\npresent, when ecclesiastical pretention is rising to such a height. The\nchurch, falsely so called, is opening her bosom with delusive\ntenderness, and inviting poor sin-burdened, world-sick, and heavy-laden\nsouls to take refuge therein. She, with crafty liberality, throws open\nher treasury door, and places her resources at the disposal of needy,\ncraving, yearning souls. And truly those resources have powerful\nattractions for those who are not on \"The Rock.\" There is an ordained\npriesthood, professing to stand in an unbroken line with the\napostles.--Alas! how different the two ends of the line!--There is a\ncontinual sacrifice. Alas! a bloodless one, and therefore a worthless\none. (Heb. ix. 22.)--There is a splendid ritual. Alas! it seeks its\norigin amid the shadows of a by-gone age--shadows which have been for\never displaced by the Person, the work, and the offices of the eternal\nSon of God. For ever be His peerless name adored!\n\nThe believer has a very conclusive answer to all the pretensions and\npromises of the Romish system. He can say he has found his _all_ in a\ncrucified and risen Saviour. What does he want with the sacrifice of the\nmass? He is washed in the blood of Christ. What does he want with a\npoor, sinful, dying priest, who cannot save himself? He has the Son of\nGod as his priest. What does he want with a pompous ritual, with all its\nimposing adjuncts? He worships in spirit and in truth, within the\nholiest of all, whither he enters with boldness, through the blood of\nJesus.\n\nNor is it merely with Roman Catholicism we have to do in the\nestablishment of our first point. We fear there are thousands besides\nRoman Catholics who, in heart, look to the church, if not for salvation,\nat least to be a stepping-stone thereto. Hence the importance of seeing\nclearly that the materials of which God's assembly is composed are those\npossessing salvation, in whom is eternal life; so that whatever be the\nobject of that assembly, it most certainly is not to provide salvation\nfor its members, seeing that all its members are saved ere they enter it\nat all. God's assembly is a houseful of saved ones from one end to the\nother. Blessed fact! It is not an institution set on foot for the\npurpose of providing salvation for sinners, nor yet for providing for\ntheir religious wants. It is a saved, living body, formed and gathered\nby the Holy Ghost, to make known to \"Principalities and powers in the\nheavenlies, the manifold wisdom of God,\" and to declare to the whole\nuniverse the all-sufficiency of the name of Jesus.\n\nNow, the great enemy of Christ and the Church is well aware of what a\npowerful testimony the assembly of God is called and designed to yield\non the earth; and therefore he has put forth all his hellish energy to\nquash that testimony in every possible way. He hates the name of Jesus,\nand everything tending to glorify that name. Hence his intense\nopposition to the assembly as a whole, and to each local expression\nthereof, wherever it may happen to exist. He has no objection to a mere\nreligious establishment set on foot for the purpose of providing for\nman's religious wants, whether maintained by government or by voluntary\neffort. You may set up what you please. You may join what you please.\nYou may be what you please; anything and everything for Satan but the\nassembly of God, and the practical expression of it in any given place.\nThat he hates most cordially, and will seek to blacken and blast by\nevery means in his power. But those consolatory accents of the Lord\nChrist fall with divine power on the ear of faith: \"On this rock I will\nbuild My assembly, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.\"\n\n2. This conducts us naturally to our second point, namely, What is the\ncentre round which God's assembly is gathered? The centre is Christ--the\nliving Stone, as we read in the Epistle of Peter, \"To whom coming as\nunto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and\nprecious, ye also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house, a\nholy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by\nJesus Christ\" (chap. ii. 4, 5).\n\nIt is around the person of a living Christ then, that God's assembly is\ngathered. It is not round a doctrine, however true; nor round an\nordinance, however important; but round a living, divine Person. This is\na great cardinal and vital point which must be distinctly seized,\ntenaciously held, and faithfully and constantly avowed and carried out.\n\"To whom coming.\" It is not said \"_To which_ coming.\" We do not come to\na thing, but to a Person. \"Let us go forth therefore unto _Him_\" (Heb.\nxiii.). The Holy Ghost leads us _only_ to Jesus. Nothing short of this\nwill avail. We may speak of joining _a_ church, becoming a member of a\ncongregation, attaching ourselves to a party, a cause, or an interest.\nAll these expressions tend to darken and confuse the mind, and hide from\nour view the divine idea of the assembly of God. It is not our business\nto join anything. When God converted us, He joined us by His Spirit to\nChrist and to all the members of Christ, and that should be enough for\nus. Christ is the only centre of God's assembly.\n\nAnd, we may ask, is not He sufficient? Is it not quite enough for us to\nbe \"joined to the Lord?\" Why add aught thereto? \"Where two or three are\ngathered together _in My name_, there am I in the midst of them\" (Matt.\nxviii. 20). What more can we need? If Jesus is in our midst, why should\nwe think of setting up a human president? Why not unanimously and\nheartily allow Him to take the president's seat, and bow to Him in all\nthings? Why set up human authority, in any shape or form, in the house\nof God? But this is done, and it is well to speak plainly about it. Man\nis set up in that which professes to be an assembly of God. We see human\nauthority exercised in that sphere in which divine authority alone\nshould be acknowledged. It matters not, so far as the foundation\nprinciple is concerned, whether it be pope, parson, priest, or\npresident. It is man set up in Christ's place. It may be the pope\nappointing a cardinal, a legate, or a bishop to his sphere of work; or\nit may be a president appointing a man to exhort or to pray for ten\nminutes. The principle is one and the same. It is human authority acting\nin that sphere where only God's authority should be owned. If Christ be\nin our midst, we can count on Him for everything.\n\nNow, in saying this, we anticipate a very probable objection. It may be\nsaid by the advocates of human authority, \"How could an assembly ever\nget on without some human presidency? Would it not lead to all sorts of\nconfusion? Would it not open the door for everyone to intrude himself\nupon the assembly, quite irrespective of gift or qualification?\"\n\nOur answer is a very simple one. Jesus is all-sufficient. We can trust\nHim to keep order in His house. We feel ourselves far safer in His\ngracious and powerful hand than in the hands of the most attractive\nhuman president. We have all spiritual gifts treasured up in Jesus. He\nis the fountain-head of all ministerial authority. \"He hath the seven\nstars.\" Let us only confide in Him, and the order of our assembly will\nbe as perfectly provided for as the salvation of our souls. This is just\nthe reason of our connecting, in the title of this pamphlet, \"The\nall-sufficiency of the name of Jesus\" with the \"Assembly of God.\" We\nbelieve that the name of Jesus is, in very truth, all-sufficient, not\nonly for personal salvation, but for all the exigencies of the\nassembly--for worship, communion, ministry, discipline, government,\neverything. Having Him, we have all and abound.\n\nThis is the real marrow and substance of our subject. Our one aim and\nobject is to exalt the name of Jesus; and we believe He has been\ndishonored in that which calls itself His house. He has been dethroned,\nand man's authority has been set up. In vain does He bestow a\nministerial gift; the possessor of that gift is not free to exercise it\nwithout the seal, the sanction, and the authority of man. And not only\nis this so, but if man thinks proper to give his seal, his sanction and\nauthority, to one possessing not a particle of spiritual gift--yea, it\nmay be, not a particle of spiritual life--he is nevertheless a\nrecognized minister. In short, man's authority without Christ's gift\nmakes a man a minister; whereas Christ's gift without man's authority\ndoes not. If this be not a dishonor done to the Lord Christ, what is?\n\nChristian reader, pause here, and deeply ponder this principle of human\nauthority. We confess we are anxious you should get to the root of it,\nand judge it thoroughly, in the light of Holy Scripture, and the\npresence of God. It is, be assured of it, the grand point of distinction\nbetween the principles of the assembly of God and every human system of\nreligion under the sun. If you look at all those systems, from Romanism\ndown to the most refined form of religious association, you will find\nman's authority recognized and demanded. With that you may minister;\nwithout it you must not. On the contrary, in the assembly of God,\nChrist's gift _alone_ makes man a minister, apart from all human\nauthority. \"Not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the\nFather, who raised Him from the dead.\" (Gal. i. I). This is the grand\nprinciple of ministry in the assembly of God.\n\nNow, in classing Romanism with all the other religious systems of the\nday, let it, once for all, be distinctly understood that it is _only_ in\nreference to the principle of ministerial authority. God forbid that we\nshould think of comparing a system which shuts out the word of God, and\nteaches idolatry, the worship of saints and angels, and a whole mass of\ngross, abominable error and superstition, with those systems where the\nword of God is held up, and more or less of scriptural truth\npromulgated. Nothing can be further from our thoughts. We believe popery\nto be Satan's master-piece, in the way of a religious system, although\nmany of the people of God have been, and may yet be, involved therein.\n\nFurther, let us at this stage plainly aver that we believe the saints of\nGod are to be found in every Protestant community, both as ministers and\nmembers; and that the Lord uses them in many ways--blesses their work,\nservice, and personal testimony.\n\nAnd, finally, we feel it right to declare that we would not move a\nfinger to touch any one of those systems. It is not with the systems we\nhave to do; the Lord will deal with them. Our business is with the\nsaints in those systems, to seek by every spiritual and scriptural\nagency to get them to own and act upon the divine principles of the\nassembly of God.\n\nHaving said thus much, in order to prevent misunderstanding, we return\nwith increased power to our point, namely, that the thread of human\nauthority runs through every religious system in Christendom, and that,\nin good truth, there is not a hair's breadth of consistent standing\nground between the church of Rome and a true expression of the assembly\nof God. We believe that an honest seeker after truth, setting out from\namid the dark shadows of popery, cannot possibly halt until he finds\nhimself in the clear and blessed light of that which is a true\nexpression of God's assembly. He may take years to travel over the\nintervening space. His steps may be slow and measured; but if only he\nfollows the light, in simplicity and godly sincerity, he will find no\nrest between those two extremes. The ground of the assembly of God is\nthe true position for all the children of God. Alas! they are not all\nthere; but this is only their loss and their Lord's dishonor. They\nshould be there because not only is God there, but He is allowed to act\nand _rule_ there.\n\nThis latter is of all-importance, inasmuch as it may be truly said, Is\nnot God everywhere? And does He not act in various places? True, He is\neverywhere, and He works in the midst of palpable error and evil. But He\nis not allowed to _rule_ in the systems of men, seeing that man's\nauthority is really supreme, as we have already shown. And in addition\nto this, if the fact of God's converting and blessing souls in a system\nbe a reason why we should be there, then we ought to be in the church of\nRome, for how many have been converted and blessed in that awful system?\nEven in the recent revival we have heard of persons being stricken in\nRoman Catholic chapels. What proves too much proves nothing at all, and\nhence no argument can be based on the fact of God's working in a place.\nHe is sovereign, and may work where He pleases. We are to be subject to\nHis authority, and work where we are commanded, My Master may go where\nHe pleases, but I must go where I am told.\n\nBut some may ask, \"Is there no danger of incompetent men intruding their\nministry upon an assembly of God? And in the event of this, where is the\ndifference between that assembly and the systems of men?\" We reply,\nassuredly there is very great danger. But then such a thing would be\n_despite_, not in virtue of, the principle. This makes all the\ndifference. Yes, indeed, we have seen mistakes and failures which are\nmost humiliating.\n\nLet no one imagine that, while we contend for the truth concerning the\nassembly of God, we are at all ignorant or forgetful of the dangers and\ntrials to which any carrying out its principles are exposed. Far from\nit. No one could be for twenty-eight years on that ground without being\npainfully conscious of the difficulty of maintaining it. But then the\nvery trials, dangers, and difficulties only prove to be so many\nproofs--painful if you please, but proofs of the truth of the position;\nand were there no remedy but an appeal to human authority--a setting up\nof man in Christ's place--a return to worldly systems, we should without\nhesitation pronounce the remedy to be far worse than the disease. For\nwere we to adopt the remedy, we should have the very worst symptoms of\nthe disease, not to be mourned over as disease, but gloried in as the\nfruits of so-called order.\n\nBut blessed be God, there is a remedy. What is it? \"_There am I_ in the\nmidst.\" This is enough. It is not, \"There is a pope, a priest, a parson,\nor a president in their midst, at their head, in the chair, or in the\npulpit.\" No thought of such a thing, from cover to cover of the New\nTestament. Even in the assembly of God at Corinth, where there was most\ngrievous confusion and disorder, the inspired apostle never hints at\nsuch a thing as a human president, under any name whatsoever. \"_God is\nthe author_ of peace in all the assemblies of the saints\" (I Cor. xiv.\n33). God was there to keep order. They were to look to Him, not to a\nman, under any name. To set up man to keep order in God's assembly is\nsheer unbelief, and an open insult to the Divine Presence.\n\nNow, we have been often asked to adduce Scripture in proof of the idea\nof divine presidency in an assembly. We at once reply, \"There am I;\" and\n\"God is the Author.\" On these two pillars, even had we no more, we can\ntriumphantly build the glorious truth of divine presidency--a truth\nwhich _must_ deliver all, who receive and hold it from God, from every\nsystem of man, call it by what name you please. It is, in our judgment,\nimpossible to recognize Christ as the centre and sovereign ruler in the\nassembly, and continue to sanction the setting up of man. When once we\nhave tasted the sweetness of being under Christ, we can never again\nsubmit to the servile bondage of being under man. This is not\ninsubordination or impatience of control. It is only the utter refusal\nto bow to a false authority--to sanction a sinful usurpation. The moment\nwe see man usurping authority in that which calls itself the church, we\nsimply ask, \"Who are you?\" and retire to a sphere where God alone is\nacknowledged.\n\n\"But, then, there are errors, evils, and abuses even in this very\nsphere.\" Doubtless; but if there are, we have the word of God to correct\nthem. And hence, if an assembly should be troubled by the intrusion of\nignorant and foolish men--men who have never yet measured themselves in\nthe presence of God--men who boldly overleap the wide domain over which\ncommon sense, good taste, and moral propriety preside, and then vainly\ntalk of being led by the Holy Spirit--restless men, who _will_ be at\nsomething, and who keep the assembly in a continual state of nervous\napprehension, not knowing what is to come next--should any assembly be\nthus grievously afflicted, what should they do? Abandon the ground in\nimpatience, chagrin, and disappointment? give all up as a myth, a fable,\nan idle chimera? go back to that from which they once came out? Alas!\nthis is what some have done, thus proving that they never understood\nwhat they had been doing; or if they had understood it, that they had\nnot faith to pursue it. May the Lord have mercy upon such, and open\ntheir eyes that they may see from whence they have fallen, and get a\ntrue view of the assembly of God, in contrast with the most attractive\nof the systems of men.\n\nBut what is an assembly to do when abuses creep in? Correct them by the\nword of God. This is God's authoritative voice.\n\nWe are fully aware of the difficulties and trials connected with any\nexpression of the assembly of God. We believe its difficulties and\ntrials are perfectly characteristic. There is nothing under the canopy\nof heaven that the devil hates as he hates that. He will leave no stone\nunturned to oppose it. We have seen this exemplified again and again. An\nevangelist may go to a place and preach the all-sufficiency of the name\nof Jesus for the salvation of the soul, and he will have thousands\nhanging on his lips. Let the same man return, and, while he preaches the\nsame gospel, take another step and proclaim the all-sufficiency of that\nsame Jesus for all the exigencies of an assembly of believers, and he\nwill find himself opposed on all hands. Why is this? Because the devil\nhates the very feeblest expression of the assembly of God. You may see a\ntown left for ages and generations to its dark and dull routine of\nreligious formalism--a dead people gathering once a week to hear a dead\nman go through a dead service, and all the rest of the week living in\nsin and folly. There is not a breath of life, not a leaf stirring. The\ndevil likes it well. But let some one come and unfurl the standard of\nthe name of Jesus--Jesus for the soul and Jesus for the assembly--and\nyou will soon see a mighty change. The rage of hell is excited, and the\ndark and dreadful tide of opposition rises.\n\nThis, we most fully believe, is the true secret of many of the bitter\nattacks that have been recently made on those who maintain the\nprinciples of the assembly of God. No doubt we have to mourn over many\nmistakes, errors, and failures. We have given much occasion to the\nadversary in various ways. We have been a poor blotted epistle, a faint\nand feeble witness, a flickering light. For all this we have to be\ndeeply humbled before our God. Nothing could be more unbecoming in us\nthan pretention or assumption, or the putting forth of high-sounding\necclesiastical claims. The dust is our place. Yes, beloved brethren, the\nplace of confession and self-judgment becomes us, in the presence of our\nGod.\n\nStill, we are not to let slip the glorious principles of the assembly of\nGod because we have so shamefully failed in carrying them out: we are\nnot to judge the truth by our exhibition of it, but to judge our\nexhibition by the truth. It is one thing to occupy divine ground, and\nanother thing to carry ourselves properly thereon; and while it is\nperfectly right to judge our practice by our principles, yet truth is\ntruth for all that, and we may rest assured that the devil hates the\ntruth which characterizes the assembly. A mere handful of poor people,\ngathered in the name of Jesus, as members of His body, to break bread in\nremembrance of Him, is a thorn in the side of the devil. True it is that\nsuch an assembly evokes the wrath of men, inasmuch as it throws their\noffice and authority overboard, and they cannot bear that. Yet we\nbelieve the root of the whole matter will be found in Satan's hatred of\nthe special testimony which such an assembly bears to the\nall-sufficiency of the name of Jesus for every possible need of the\nsaints of God.\n\nThis is a truly noble testimony, and we earnestly long to see it more\nfaithfully carried out. We may fully count upon intense opposition. It\nwill be with us as it was with the returned captives in the days of Ezra\nand Nehemiah. We may expect to encounter many a Rehum and many a\nSanballat. Nehemiah might have gone and built any other wall in the\nwhole world but the wall of Jerusalem, and Sanballat would never have\nmolested him. But to build the wall of Jerusalem was an unpardonable\noffence. And why? Just because Jerusalem was God's earthly centre, round\nwhich He will yet gather the restored tribes of Israel. This was the\nsecret of the enemy's opposition. And mark the affected contempt. \"If a\nfox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall.\" And yet Sanballat\nand his allies were not able to break it down. They might cause it to\ncease because of the Jews' lack of faith and energy; but they could not\nbreak it down when God would have it up. How like is this to the present\nmoment! Surely there is nothing new under the sun. There is affected\ncontempt, but real alarm. And, oh! if those who are gathered in the name\nof Jesus were only more true in heart to their blessed Centre, what\ntestimony there would be! What power! What victory! How it would tell on\nall around. \"Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there\nam I.\" There is nothing like this under the sun, be it ever so feeble\nand contemptible. The Lord be praised for raising up such a witness for\nHimself in these last days. May He greatly increase its effectiveness,\nby the power of the Holy Ghost!\n\n3. We must now very briefly glance at our third point, namely, what is\nthe power by which the assembly is gathered. Here again man and his\ndoings are set aside. It is not man's will choosing; nor man's reason\ndiscovering; nor man's judgment dictating; nor man's conscience\ndemanding; it is the Holy Ghost gathering souls to Jesus. As Jesus is\nthe only centre, so the Holy Ghost is the only gathering power. The one\nis as independent of man as the other. It is \"where two or three are\n_gathered_.\" It does not say \"where two or three are _met_.\" Persons may\nmeet together round any centre, on any ground, by any influence, and\nmerely form a society, an association, a community. But the Holy Ghost\ngathers saved souls only to Christ.\n\nAn assembly may not embrace all the saints of God in a locality. In such\na case they cannot be called the assembly of God in that place. But if\nthey are assembled as members of the body of Christ, they occupy the\nground of the assembly of God.\n\nThis is a very simple truth. A soul led by the Holy Ghost will gather\nonly to the name of the Lord; and if we gather to aught else, be it a\npoint of truth, or some ordinance or another, we are not in that matter\nled by the Holy Ghost. It is not a question of life or salvation.\nThousands are saved by Christ that do not own Him as their centre. They\nare gathered to some form of church government, some favorite doctrine,\nsome special ordinance, some gifted man. The Holy Ghost will never\ngather to any one of these. He gathers only to a risen Christ. This is\ntrue of the whole Church of God upon earth; and each local assembly,\nwherever convened, is the expression of the whole.\n\nNow, the _power_ in an assembly will very much depend upon the measure\nin which each member thereof is gathered in integrity of heart to the\nname of Jesus. If I am gathered to a party holding peculiar opinions--if\nI am attracted by the people, or by the teaching--if, in a word, it be\nnot the power of the Holy Ghost, leading me to the true Centre of God's\nassembly, I shall only prove a hindrance, a weight, a cause of weakness.\nI shall be to an assembly what a waster is to a candle; and instead of\nadding to the general light and usefulness, I shall do the very reverse.\n\nAll this is deeply practical. It should lead to much exercise of heart\nand self-judgment as to what has drawn me to an assembly, and as to my\nways therein. We are fully persuaded that the tone and testimony of an\nassembly have been greatly weakened by the presence of persons not\nunderstanding their position. Some present themselves there because they\nget teaching and blessing there which they cannot get anywhere else.\nSome come because they like the simplicity of the worship. Others come\nlooking for love. None of these things are up to the mark. We should be\nin an assembly simply because the name of Jesus is the only standard set\nup there, and the Holy Spirit has \"gathered\" us thereto.\n\nNo doubt ministry is most precious, and we shall have it, in more or\nless power, where all is ordered aright. So also as to simplicity of\nworship: we are sure to be simple, and real, and true, when the divine\npresence is realized, and the sovereignty of the Holy Ghost fully owned\nand submitted to. And as to love, if we go _looking for it_ we shall\nsurely be thoroughly disappointed: but if we are enabled to _cultivate_\nand _manifest it_, we shall be sure to get a great deal more than we\nexpect or deserve. It will generally be found that those persons who are\nperpetually complaining of want of love in others are utterly failing in\nlove themselves; and, on the other hand, those who are really walking in\nlove will tell you that they receive a thousand times more than they\ndeserve. Let us remember that the best way to get water out of a dry\npump is to pour a little water in. You may work at the handle until you\nare tired, and then go away in fretfulness and impatience, complaining\nof that horrible pump; whereas, if you would just pour in a little\nwater, you would get in return a gushing stream to satisfy your utmost\ndesire.\n\nWe have but little conception of what an assembly would be were each one\ndistinctly led by the Holy Ghost, and gathered _only_ to Jesus. We\nshould not then have to complain of dull, heavy, unprofitable, trying\nmeetings. We should have no fear of an unhallowed intrusion of mere\nnature and its restless doings--no _making_ of prayer--no talking for\ntalking's sake--no hymn-book seized to fill a gap. Each one would know\nhis place in the Lord's immediate presence--each gifted vessel would be\nfilled, fitted, and used by the Master's hand--each eye would be\ndirected to Jesus--each heart occupied with Him. If a chapter were read,\nit would be the very voice of God. If a word were spoken, it would tell\nwith power upon the heart. If prayer were offered, it would lead the\nsoul into the very presence of God. If a hymn were sung, it would lift\nthe spirit up to God, and be like sweeping the strings of the heavenly\nharp. We should have no ready-made sermons--no teaching or preaching\nprayers, as though we would explain doctrines to God, or tell Him a\nwhole host of things about ourselves--no praying _at_ our neighbors, or\nasking for all manner of graces for them, in which we ourselves are\nlamentably deficient--no singing for music's sake, or being disturbed if\nharmony be interfered with. All these evils should be avoided. We should\nfeel ourselves in the very sanctuary of God, and enjoy a foretaste of\nthat time when we shall worship in the courts above, and go no more out.\n\nWe may be asked, \"Where will you find all this down here?\" Ah! this is\nthe question. It is one thing to present a _beau ideal_ on paper, and\nanother thing to realize it in the midst of error, failure, and\ninfirmity. Through mercy, some of us have tasted, at times, a little of\nthis blessedness. We have occasionally enjoyed moments of heaven upon\nearth. Oh, for more of it! May the Lord, in His great mercy, raise the\ntone of the assemblies everywhere! May He greatly enlarge our capacity\nfor more profound communion and spiritual worship! May He enable us so\nto walk, in private life, from day to day so as to judge ourselves and\nour ways in His holy presence, that at least we may not prove a lump of\nlead or a waster to any of God's assemblies.\n\nAnd then, even though we may not be able to reach in experience the true\nexpression of the assembly, yet let us never be satisfied with anything\nless. Let us honestly aim at the loftiest standard, and earnestly pray\nto be lifted up thereto. As to the _ground_ of God's assembly, we should\nhold it with jealous tenacity, and never consent for an hour to occupy\nany other. As to the tone and character of an assembly, they may and\nwill vary immensely, and will depend upon the faith and spirituality of\nthose gathered. Where the tone of things is felt to be low,--when\nmeetings are felt to be unprofitable--where things are said and done\nrepeatedly which are felt by the spiritual to be wholly out of place,\nlet all who feel it wait on God--wait continually--wait believingly--and\nHe will assuredly hear and answer. In this way the very trials and\nexercises which are peculiar to an assembly will have the happy effect\nof casting us more immediately upon Him, and thus the eater will yield\nmeat, and the strong sweetness. We must count upon trials and\ndifficulties in any expression of the assembly, just because it is _the_\nright and divine way for God's people on earth. The devil will put forth\nevery effort to drive us from that true and holy ground. He will try the\npatience, try the temper, hurt the feelings, cause offence in nameless\nand numberless ways--anything and everything to make us forsake the true\nground of the assembly.\n\nIt is well to remember this. We can only hold the divine ground by\nfaith. This marks the assembly of God, and distinguishes it from every\nhuman system. You cannot get on there save by faith. And, further, if\nyou want to be somebody, if you are seeking a place, if you want to\nexalt _self_, you need not think of any true expression of the assembly.\nYou will soon find your level there, if it be in any measure what it\nshould be. Fleshly or worldly greatness, in any shape, will be of no\naccount in such an assembly. The Divine Presence withers up everything\nof that kind, and levels all human pretension. Finally, you cannot get\non in the assembly if you are living in secret sin. The Divine Presence\nwill not suit you. Have we not often experienced in the assembly a\nfeeling of uneasiness, caused by the recollection of many things which\nhad escaped our notice during the week? Wrong thoughts--foolish\nwords--unspiritual ways--all these things crowd in upon the mind, and\nexercise the conscience, in the assembly! How is this? Because the\natmosphere of the assembly is more searching than that which we have\nbeen breathing during the week. We have not been in the presence of God\nin our private walk. We have not been judging ourselves; and hence, when\nwe take our place in a spiritual assembly, our hearts are detected--our\nways are exposed in the light; and that exercise which ought to have\ngone on in private--even the needed exercise of self-judgment, must go\non at the table of the Lord. This is poor, miserable work for us, but it\nproves the power of the presence of God in the assembly. Things must be\nin a miserably low state in any assembly when hearts are not thus\ndetected and exposed. It is a fine evidence of the power of the Holy\nSpirit in an assembly when careless, carnal, worldly, self-exalting,\nmoney-loving, unprincipled persons are compelled to judge themselves in\nGod's presence, or, failing this, are driven away by the spirituality of\nthe atmosphere. Such an assembly is no place for these. They can breathe\nmore freely outside.\n\nNow, we cannot but judge that numbers that have departed from the ground\nof the assembly have done so because their practical ways did not\ncomport with the purity of the place. No doubt it is easy, in all such\ncases, to find an excuse in the conduct of those who are left behind.\nBut if the _roots_ of things were in every case laid bare, we should\nfind that many leave an assembly because of inability or reluctance to\nbear its searching light. \"Thy testimonies are very sure; holiness\nbecometh Thy house, O Lord, forever.\" Evil _must_ be judged, for God\ncannot sanction it. If an assembly does not it is not practically God's\nassembly at all, though composed of Christians, as we say. To pretend to\nbe an assembly of God, and not judge false doctrine and evil ways, would\ninvolve the blasphemy of saying that God and wickedness can dwell\ntogether. The assembly of God must keep itself pure, because it is His\ndwelling-place. Men may sanction evil, and call it liberality and\nlarge-heartedness so to do; but the house of God must keep itself pure.\nLet this great practical truth sink down into our hearts, and produce\nits sanctifying influence upon our course and character.\n\n4. A very few words will suffice to set forth, in the last place, \"the\n_authority_\" on which the assembly is gathered. It is the word of God\nalone. The charter of the assembly is the eternal Word of the living and\ntrue God. It is not the traditions, the doctrines, nor the commandments\nof men. A passage of Scripture, to which we have more than once referred\nin the progress of this paper, contains at once the standard round which\nthe assembly is gathered, the power by which it is gathered, and the\nauthority by which it is gathered--\"the name of Jesus\"--\"the Holy\nGhost\"--\"the word of God.\"\n\nNow these are the same all over the world. Whether I go to New Zealand,\nto Australia, to Canada, to London, to Paris, to Edinburg, or Dublin,\nthe Centre, the gathering Power, and the authority are one and the same.\nWe can own no other centre but Christ; no gathering energy but the Holy\nGhost; no authority but the word of God; no characteristic but holiness\nof life and soundness in doctrine.\n\nSuch is a true expression of the assembly of God, and we cannot\nacknowledge aught else. Saints of God we can acknowledge, love, and\nhonor as such, wherever we find them; but human systems we look upon as\ndishonoring to Christ, and hostile to the true interest of the saints of\nGod. We long to see all Christians on the true ground of the assembly.\nWe believe it to be the place of real blessing and effective testimony.\nWe believe there is a character of testimony yielded by carrying out the\nprinciples of the assembly which cannot be yielded otherwise, even were\neach member a Whitefield in evangelistic power. We say this not to lower\nevangelistic work. God forbid. We would that all were Whitefields. But\nthen we cannot shut our eyes to the fact that many affect to despise the\nassembly, under the plea of going out as evangelists; and when we trace\ntheir path, and examine the results of their work, we find that they\nhave no provision for the souls that have been converted by their means.\nThey seem not to know what to do with them. They quarry the stones, but\ndo not build them together. The consequence is that souls are scattered\nhither and thither, some persuing a desultory course, others living in\nisolation, all at fault as to true Church ground.\n\nNow, we believe that all these should be gathered on the ground of the\nassembly of God, to have \"fellowship in the breaking of bread and in\nprayer.\" They should \"come together on the first day of the week, to\nbreak bread,\" looking to the Lord Christ to edify them by the mouth of\nwhom He will. This is the simple path--the normal, the divine idea,\nneeding, it may be, more faith to realize it, because of the clashing\nand conflicting elements of the present day, but none the less simple\nand true on that account.\n\nWe are aware, of course, that all this will be pronounced proselytizing,\nand party spirit, by those who seem to regard it as the very _beau\nideal_ of Christian liberality and large-heartedness to be able to say,\n\"I belong to nothing.\" Strange, anomalous position! It just resolves\nitself in this: it is _somebody_ professing _nothingism_ in order to get\nrid of all responsibility, and go with all and everything. This is a\nvery easy path for nature, and amiable nature, but we shall see what\nwill come of it in the day of the Lord. Even now we regard it as\npositive unfaithfulness to Christ, from which may the good Lord deliver\nHis people.\n\nBut let none imagine that we want to place the evangelist and the\nassembly in opposition. Nothing is further from our thoughts. The\nevangelist should go forth from the bosom of the assembly, in full\nfellowship therewith; he should work not only to gather souls to Christ,\nbut also bring them to an assembly, where divinely-gifted pastors might\nwatch over them, and divinely-gifted teachers instruct them. We do not\nwant to clip the evangelist's wings, but only to guide his movements.\nWe are unwilling to see real spiritual energy expended in desultory\nservice. No doubt it is a grand result to bring souls to Christ. Every\nsoul linked to Jesus is a work done forever. But ought not the lambs and\nsheep to be gathered and cared for? Would anyone be satisfied to\npurchase sheep, and then leave them to wander whithersoever they list?\nSurely not. But whither should Christ's sheep be gathered? Is it into\nthe folds of man's erection, or into an assembly gathered on divine\nground? Into the latter unquestionably; for that, we may rest assured,\nhowever feeble, however despised, however blackened and maligned, is the\nplace for all the lambs and sheep of the flock of Christ.\n\nHere, however, there will be responsibility, care, anxiety, labor, a\nconstant demand for watchfulness and prayer; all of which flesh and\nblood would like to avoid, if possible. There is much that is agreeable\nand attractive in the idea of going through the world as an evangelist,\nhaving thousands hanging on one's lips, and hundreds of souls as the\nseals of one's ministry: but what is to be done with these souls? By all\nmeans show them their true place with those gathered on the ground of\nthe assembly of God, where, notwithstanding the ruin and apostasy of the\nprofessing body, they can enjoy spiritual communion, worship, and\nministry. This will involve much trial and painful excise. It was so in\napostolic times. Those who really cared for the flock of Christ had to\nshed many a tear, send up many an agonizing prayer, spend many a\nsleepless night. But, then, in all these things, they tasted the\nsweetness of fellowship with the chief Shepherd; and when He appears,\ntheir tears, their prayers, their sleepless nights will be remembered\nand rewarded; while those who are building up human systems will find\nthem all come to an end, to be heard of no more forever; and the false\nshepherds, who ruthlessly seize the pastoral staff only to use it as an\ninstrument of filthy gain to themselves, shall have their faces covered\nwith everlasting confusion.\n\nBut, we may be asked, \"Is it not worse than useless to seek to carry out\nthe principles of the assembly of God, seeing that the professing Church\nis in such complete ruin?\" We reply by asking, \"Are we to be disobedient\nbecause the Church is in ruin? Are we to continue in error because the\ndispensation has failed?\" Surely not. We own the ruin, mourn over it,\nconfess it, take our share in it, and in its sad consequences, seek to\nwalk softly and humbly in the midst of it, confessing ourselves to be\nmost unfaithful and unworthy. But though we have failed, Christ has not\nfailed. He abideth faithful; He cannot deny Himself. He has promised to\nbe with His people to the end of the age. Matt. xviii. 20 holds as good\nto-day as it did 1800 years ago. \"Let God be true and every man a liar.\"\nWe utterly repudiate the idea of men setting about church-making, or\npretending to ordain ministers. We look upon it as a pure assumption,\nwithout a single shadow of Scripture authority. It is God's work to\ngather His Church and raise up ministers. We have no business to form\nourselves into a church, or to ordain office-bearers. No doubt the Lord\nis very gracious, tender, and pitiful. He bears with our weakness, and\noverrules our mistakes, and where the heart is true to Him, even though\nin ignorance, He will assuredly lead on into higher light.\n\nBut we must not use God's grace as a plea for unscriptural acting, any\nmore than we should use the Church's ruin as a plea for sanctioning\nerror. We have to confess the ruin, count on the grace, and act in\nsimple obedience to the word of the Lord. Such is the path of blessing\nat all times. The remnant, in the days of Ezra, did not pretend to the\npower and splendor of Solomon's days, but they obeyed the word of\nSolomon's Lord, and they were abundantly blessed in their deed. They did\nnot say, \"Things are in ruin, and therefore we had better remain in\nBabylon, and do nothing.\" No; they simply confessed their own and their\npeople's sin, and counted on God. This is precisely what we are to do.\nWe are to own the ruin, and count on God.\n\nFinally, if we be asked, \"Where is the true expression of this assembly\nof God now?\" We reply, \"Where Christ is truly the Centre of gathering;\nthe one body the ground; the Holy Spirit the Leader; the Holy Scriptures\nthe sole authority; and holiness the practice.\"\n\nReader, are you assembled on this divine ground? If so, cling to it with\nyour whole soul. Are you in this path? If so, press on with all the\nenergies of your moral being. Never be content with anything short of\nHis dwelling in you, and your conscious nearness to Him. Let not Satan\nrob you of your proper portion by leading you to rest in a mere name.\nLet him not tempt you to mistake your ostensible _position_ for your\nreal _condition_. Cultivate secret communion--secret prayer--constant\nself-judgment. Be especially on your guard against every form of\nspiritual pride. Cultivate lowliness, meekness, and brokenness of\nspirit, tenderness of conscience, in your own private walk. Seek to\ncombine the sweetest grace towards others with the boldness of a lion\nwhere truth is concerned. Then will you be a blessing in the assembly of\nGod, and an effective witness of the all-sufficiency of the name of\nJesus.\n\n    The veil is rent:--our souls draw near\n      Unto a throne of grace;\n    The merits of the Lord appear,\n      They fill the holy place.\n\n    His precious blood has spoken there,\n      Before and on the throne:\n    And His own wounds in heaven declare,\n      Th' atoning work is done.\n\n    'Tis finished!--here our souls have rest,\n      His work can never fail:\n    By Him, our Sacrifice and Priest,\n      We pass within the veil.\n\n    Within the holiest of all,\n      Cleansed by His precious blood,\n    Before the throne we prostrate fall,\n      And worship Thee, O God!\n\n    Boldly the heart and voice we raise,\n      His blood, His name, our plea:\n    Assured our prayers and songs of praise\n      Ascend, by Christ, to Thee.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[XVIII.] The same Greek word, _ecclesia_, has been rendered both\n\"church\" and \"assembly\" in our English translation--\"assembly\" gives the\ntrue meaning.\n\n[XIX.] It is of the utmost importance to distinguish between what Christ\nbuilds, and what man builds. \"The gates of hell\" shall assuredly prevail\nagainst all that is merely of man; and hence it would be a fatal mistake\nto apply to man's building words which only apply to Christ's. Man may\nbuild with \"wood, hay, stubble,\" alas! he does; but all that our Lord\nChrist builds shall stand forever. The stamp of eternity is upon every\nwork of His hand. All praise to His glorious name!\n\n[XX.] There is no such thing in Scripture as being a member of _a_\nchurch. Every true believer is a member of _the_ Church of God--the body\nof Christ, and can therefore no more be, properly, a member of anything\nelse, than my arm can be a member of any other body.\n\nThe only true ground on which believers can gather is set forth in that\ngrand statement, \"There is one body, and one Spirit.\" And again, \"We\nbeing many are one loaf, and one body\" (Eph. iv. 4; I Cor. x. 17). If\nGod declares that there is but \"one body,\" it must be contrary to His\nmind to own more than that one.\n\nNow, while it is quite true that no given number of believers in any\ngiven place can be called \"the body of Christ,\" or \"the assembly of\nGod;\" yet they should be gathered on the ground of that body and that\nassembly, and on no other ground. We call the reader's special attention\nto this principle. It holds good at all times, in all places, and under\nall circumstances. The fact of the ruin of the professing Church does\nnot touch it. It has been true since the day of Pentecost; is true at\nthis moment; and shall be true until the Church is taken to meet her\nHead and Lord in the clouds, that \"_there is one body_.\" All believers\nbelong to that body; and they should meet on that ground, and on no\nother.\n\n[XXI.] The reader will need to ponder the distinction between the Church\nviewed as \"the body of Christ,\" and as \"the house of God.\" He may study\nEph. i. 22; I Cor. xii. for the former. Eph. ii. 21; I Cor. iii.; I Tim.\niii. for the latter. The distinction is as interesting as it is\nimportant.\n\n[XXII.] The reader will do well to note the fact that, in Matt. xvi., we\nhave the very earliest allusion to the Church, and there our Lord speaks\nof it as a future thing. He says, \"On this rock I _will_ build My\nChurch.\" He does not say, \"I _have_ been, or I _am_ building.\" In short\nthe Church had no existence until our Lord Christ was raised from the\ndead and glorified at the right hand of God. Then, but not until then,\nthe Holy Ghost was sent down to baptize believers, whether Jews or\nGentiles, into one body, and unite them to the risen and glorified Head\nin heaven. This body has been on the earth since the descent of the Holy\nGhost; is here still, and shall be until Christ comes to fetch it to\nHimself. It is a perfectly unique thing. It is not to be found in Old\nTestament Scripture. Paul expressly tells us it was not revealed in\nother ages; it was hid in God, and never made known until it was\ncommitted to him. (See, carefully, Rom. xvi. 25, 26; Eph. iii. 3-11;\nCol. i. 24-27.) True it is--most blessedly true--that God had a people\nin Old Testament times. Not merely the nation of Israel, but a\nquickened, saved, spiritual people, who lived by faith, went to heaven,\nand are there \"the spirits of just men made perfect.\" But the Church is\nnever spoken of until Matt. xvi., and there only as a future thing. As\nto the expression used by Stephen, \"The Church in the wilderness\" (Acts\nvii. 38), it is pretty generally known that it simply refers to the\ncongregation of Israel. The _termini_ of the Church's earthly history\nare Pentecost (Acts ii.), and the rapture (I Thess. iv. 16, 17).\n\n\n\n\nTHE CHRISTIAN\n\nHIS POSITION AND HIS WORK.\n\n\nPART I.\n\nWhat is the true position of a Christian? and what has he got to do? are\nquestions of the very deepest practical importance. It is assumed, of\ncourse, that he has eternal life: without this, one cannot be a\nChristian at all. \"He that believeth on the Son of God hath everlasting\nlife.\" This is the common portion of all believers. It is not a matter\nof attainment, a matter of progress, a thing which some Christians have\nand others have not. It belongs to the very feeblest babe in the family\nof God, as well as to the most matured and experienced servant of\nChrist. All are possessed of eternal life, and can never by any\npossibility lose it.\n\nBut our present theme is not life, but position and work; and in\nconsidering it, we shall ask the reader to turn for a moment to a\npassage in Heb. xiii. Perhaps we cannot do better than quote it for him.\nThere is nothing like the plain and solid word of Holy Scripture.\n\n\"Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines; for it is a\ngood thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats,\nwhich have not profited them that have been occupied therein. We have an\naltar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle. For\nthe bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by\nthe high priest for sin are burned without the camp. Wherefore Jesus\nalso, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered\nwithout the gate. Let us go forth therefore unto Him without the camp,\nbearing His reproach. For here have we no continuing city, but we seek\none to come\" (vers. 9-14).\n\nHere, then, we have one grand aspect of the Christian's position. It is\ndefined by the position of his Lord. This makes it divinely simple; and,\nwe may add, divinely settled. The Christian is identified with Christ.\nAmazing fact! \"As He is so _are_ we in this world.\" It is not said, \"As\nHe is, so _shall_ we be in the world to come.\" No; this would not come\nup to the divine idea. It is, \"so are we _in this world_.\" The position\nof Christ defines the position of the Christian.\n\nBut this glorious fact tells in a double way; it tells upon the\nChristian's place before God; and it tells on his place as regards this\npresent world. It is upon the latter that Heb. xiii. instructs us so\nblessedly, and it is that which is now more especially before us.\n\nJesus suffered without the gate. This fact is the basis on which the\napostle grounds his exhortation to the Hebrew believers to go forth\nwithout the camp. The cross of Christ closed his connection with the\ncamp of Judaism; and all who desire to follow Him must go outside to\nwhere He is. The final breach with Israel is presented, morally, in the\ndeath of Christ; doctrinally, in the Epistle to the Hebrews;\nhistorically, in the destruction of Jerusalem. In the judgment of faith,\nJerusalem was as thoroughly rejected when the Messiah was nailed to the\ncross, as it was when the army of Titus left it a smouldering ruin. The\ninstincts of the divine nature, and the inspired teachings of Scripture,\ngo before the actual facts of history.\n\n\"Jesus suffered without the gate.\" For what end? \"That He might sanctify\n(or set apart to God) the people with His own blood.\" What follows? What\nis the necessary practical result? \"Let us go forth therefore unto Him\nwithout the camp, bearing His reproach.\"\n\nBut what is \"the camp?\" Primarily, Judaism; but, most unquestionably, it\nhas a moral application to every organized system of religion under the\nsun. If that system of ordinances and ceremonies which God Himself had\nset up--if Judaism, with its imposing ritual, its splendid temple, its\npriesthood and its sacrifices, has been found fault with, condemned, and\nset aside, what shall be said of any or all of those organizations which\nhave rebuilt it? If our Lord Christ is outside of that, how much more\nout of these!\n\nYes, Christian reader, we may rest assured that the outside place, the\nplace of rejection and reproach is that to which we are called, if we\nwould know aught of true fellowship with our Lord Jesus Christ. Mark the\nwords! \"Let us go forth.\" Will any Christian say, \"No; I cannot go\nforth. My place is inside the camp. I must work there?\" If so, then,\nthere must be moral distance between you and Jesus, for He is as surely\noutside the camp as He is on the throne of God. If your sphere of work\nlies inside the camp, when your Master tells you to go forth, what shall\nwe say for your work? Can it be \"gold, silver, precious stones?\" Can it\nhave your Lord's approving smile? It may exhibit His overruling hand,\nand illustrate His sovereign goodness; but can it possibly have His\nunqualified approval while carried on in a sphere from which He commands\nyou to go forth?\n\nThe all-important thing for every true servant is to be found exactly\nwhere his Master would have him. The question is not, \"Am I doing a\ngreat deal of work? but am I pleasing my Master? I may seem to be doing\nwonders in the way of work; my name may be heralded to the ends of the\nearth as a most laborious, devoted, and successful workman; and, all the\nwhile, I may be in an utterly false position, indulging my own unbroken\nwill, pleasing myself, and seeking some personal end or object.\"\n\nAll this is very solemn indeed, and demands the consideration of all who\nreally desire to be found in the current of God's thoughts. We live in\na day of much wilfulness. The commandments of Christ do not govern all.\nWe think for ourselves, in place of submitting ourselves absolutely to\nthe authority of the Word. When our Lord tells us to go forth without\nthe camp, we, instead of yielding a ready obedience, begin to reason as\nto the results which we can reach by remaining within. Scripture seems\nto have little or no power over our souls. We do not aim at simply\npleasing Christ. Provided we can make great show of work, we think all\nis right. We are more occupied with results which, after all, may only\ntend to magnify ourselves, than with the earnest purpose to do what is\nagreeable to the mind of Christ.\n\nBut are we to be idle? Is there nothing for us to do in the outside\nplace to which we are called? Is Christian life to be made up of a\nseries of negations? Is there nothing positive? Let Heb. xiii. furnish\nthe clear and forcible answer to all these inquiries. We shall find it\nquite as distinct in reference to our _work_ as it is in reference to\nour _position_.\n\nWhat, then, have we got to do? Two things; and these two in their\ncomprehensive range take in the whole of a Christian's life in its two\ngrand aspects. They give us the inner and the outer life of the true\nbeliever. In the first place, we read, \"By Him therefore let us offer\nthe sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our\nlips, giving thanks to His name.\"\n\nIs not this something? Have we not here a very elevated character of\nwork? Yes, verily, the most elevated that can possibly engage the\nenergies of our renewed being. It is our privilege to be occupied,\nmorning, noon, eventide, and midnight, in presenting the sacrifice of\npraise to God--a sacrifice which, He assures us, is ever most acceptable\nto Him. \"Whoso offereth praise,\" He says, \"glorifieth Me.\"\n\nLet us carefully note this. Praise is to be the primary and continual\noccupation of the believer. We, in our fancied wisdom, would put work in\nthe first place. We are disposed to attach chief importance to bustling\nactivity. We have such an overweening sense of the value of _doing_,\nthat we lose sight of the place which worship occupies in the thoughts\nof God.\n\nAgain, there are some who vainly imagine that they can please God by\npunishing their bodies. They think that He delights in their vigils,\nfastings, floggings, and flagellations. Miserable, soul-destroying,\nGod-dishonoring delusion! Will not those who harbor it and act upon it\nbend their ears and their hearts to those gracious words which we have\njust penned, \"Whoso offereth praise glorifieth Me?\" True, it is, that\nthose words are immediately followed by that grand practical statement,\n\"And to him that ordereth his conversation aright, will I show the\nsalvation of God.\" But still, here, as everywhere, the highest place is\nassigned to praise, not to work. And, most assuredly, no man can be\nsaid to be ordering his conversation aright who abuses his body and\nrenders it unfit to be the vessel or instrument by which he can serve\nGod.\n\nNo, reader, if we really desire to please God, to gratify His heart and\nto glorify His name, we shall give our heart's attention to Heb. xiii.\n15, and seek to offer the sacrifice of praise _continually_. Yes,\n\"continually.\" Not merely now and then, when all goes on smoothly and\npleasantly. Come what may, it is our high and holy privilege to offer\nthe sacrifice of praise to God. It does so glorify God when His people\nlive in an atmosphere of praise. It imparts a heavenly tone to their\ncharacter, and speaks more powerfully to the hearts of those around them\nthan if they were preaching to them from morning till night. A Christian\nshould \"rejoice in the Lord alway,\" always reflecting back upon this\ndark world the blessed beams of his Father's countenance.\n\nThus it should ever be. Nothing is so unworthy of a Christian as a\nfretful spirit, a gloomy temper, a sour, morose-looking face. And not\nonly is it unworthy of a Christian, but it is dishonoring to God, and it\ncauses the enemies of truth to speak reproachfully. No doubt, tempers\nand dispositions vary; and allowance must be made in cases of weak\nbodily health, and of circumstances of sorrow. It is not easy to look\npleasant when the body is in suffering; and, further, we should be very\nfar indeed from the commending anything like levity or the everlasting\nsmile of mere unsubdued nature.\n\nBut Scripture is clear and explicit. It tells us to \"offer the sacrifice\nof praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving\nthanks to His name.\" How simple! \"_The fruit of our lips._\" This is what\nour God delights in. It is His joy to be surrounded with the praises of\nhearts filled to overflowing with His abounding goodness. Thus it will\nbe throughout eternity, in that bright home of love and glory to which\nwe are so rapidly hastening.\n\nAnd let the reader specially note the words, \"_By Him_.\" We are to offer\nour sacrifice of praise by the hand of our Great High Priest, who is\never in the presence of God for us. This is most consolatory and\nassuring to our hearts. Jesus presents our sacrifice of praise to God.\nIt must therefore be ever acceptable, coming thus by the priestly hand\nof the Great Minister of the sanctuary. It goes up to God, not as it\nproceeds from us, but as it is presented by Him. Divested of all the\nimperfection and failure attaching to us, it ascends to God in all the\nfragrance and acceptancy belonging to Him. The feeblest note of praise,\nthe simple \"Thank God!\" is perfumed with the incense of Christ's\ninfinite preciousness. This is unspeakably precious: and it should\ngreatly encourage us to cultivate a spirit of praise. We should be\n\"continually\" praising and blessing God. A murmuring or fretful word\nshould never cross the lips of one who has Christ for his portion, and\nwho stands identified with that blessed One in His position and His\ndestiny.\n\nBut we must draw this paper to a close by a rapid glance at the other\nside of the Christian's work. If it is our privilege to be continually\npraising and blessing God, it is also our privilege to be doing good to\nman. \"But to do good and to communicate forget not; for with such\nsacrifices God is well pleased.\" We are passing through a world of\nmisery, of sin and death and sorrow. We are surrounded by broken hearts\nand crushed spirits, if we would only look them out.\n\nYes; this is the point; _if we would only look them out_. It is easy for\nus to close our eyes to such things, to turn away from them, to forget\nthat there are such things always within reach of us. We can sit in our\neasy chair, and speculate about truth, doctrines, and the letter of\nScripture; we can discuss the theories of Christianity, and split hairs\nabout prophecy and dispensational truth, and, all the while, be\nshamefully failing in the discharge of our grand responsibility as\nChristians. We are in imminent danger of forgetting that Christianity is\na living reality. It is not a set of dogmas, a number of principles\nstrung together on a thread of systematized divinity, which unconverted\npeople can have at their fingers' ends. Neither is it a set of\nordinances to be gone through, in dreary formality, by lifeless,\nheartless professors. No; it is life--life eternal--life implanted by\nthe Holy Ghost, and expressing itself in those two lovely forms on which\nwe have been dwelling, namely, praise to God and doing good to man. Such\nwas the life of Jesus when He trod this earth of ours. He lived in the\natmosphere of praise; and He went about doing good.\n\nAnd He is our life, and He is our model on which the life is to be\nformed. The Christian should be the living expression of Christ, by the\npower of the Holy Ghost. It is not a mere question of leading what is\ncalled a religious life, which very often resolves itself into a\ntiresome round of duties which neither yield \"praise\" to God nor one\natom of \"good\" to man. There must be _life_, or it is all perfectly\nworthless. \"The kingdom of God is not meat or drink; but righteousness\nand peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. For he that in these things serveth\nChrist is acceptable to God, and approved of men\" (Rom. xiv. 17, 18).\n\nBeloved Christian reader, let us earnestly apply our hearts to the\nconsideration of these great practical truths. Let us seek to be\nChristians not merely in name but in reality. Let us not be\ndistinguished as the mere vendors of peculiar \"_views_.\" Oh! how\nworthless are views! How utterly profitless is discussion! How wearisome\nare theological hair-splittings! Let us have life, light, and love.\nThese are heavenly, eternal, divine. All else is vanity. How we do long\nfor reality in this world of sham--for deep thinkers and earnest workers\nin this day of shallow talkers!\n\nNOTE.--The reader will find it profitable to compare Heb. xiii. 13-16\nwith I Peter ii. 4-9. \"Let us go forth therefore unto Him,\" says Paul.\n\"To whom coming,\" says Peter. Then we have \"The holy priesthood\"\noffering up spiritual sacrifices of praise. And \"the royal priesthood\"\ndoing good and communicating--\"showing forth the virtues of Him who hath\ncalled us out of darkness into His marvelous light.\" The two scriptures\ngive us a magnificent view of fundamental, devotional and practical\nChristianity.\n\n\nPART II.\n\nWe must ask the reader to open his Bible and read Heb. x. 7-24. In it he\nwill find a very deep and marvelous view of the Christian's position and\nhis work. The inspired writer gives us, as it were, three solid pillars\non which the grand edifice of Christianity rests. These are, first, _the\nwill of God_; secondly, _the work of Christ;_ and, thirdly, _the witness\nof the Holy Ghost_, in Scripture. If these grand realities be laid hold\nof in simple faith, the soul _must_ have settled peace. We may assert,\nwith all possible confidence, that no power of earth or hell, men or\ndevils, can ever disturb the peace which is founded upon Heb. x. 7-17.\n\nLet us then, in the first place, dwell, for a few moments, on the manner\nin which the apostle unfolds, in this magnificent passage,\n\n\nTHE WILL OF GOD.\n\nIn the opening of the chapter, we are instructed as to the utter\ninadequacy of the sacrifices under the law. They could never make the\nconscience perfect--they could never accomplish the will of God--never\nfulfil the gracious desire and purpose of His heart. \"The law, having a\nshadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can\nnever with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually\nmake the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased\nto be offered? because _the worshipers once purged_ should have had _no\nmore conscience of sins_.\"\n\nLet the reader carefully note this. \"The worshipers once purged should\nhave had no more conscience of sins.\" He does not say--\"No more\n_consciousness of sins_.\" There is an immense difference between these\ntwo things; and yet, it is to be feared, they are often confounded. The\nChristian has, alas, the consciousness of _sin in him_, but he ought to\nhave no conscience of _sins on him_, inasmuch as he is purged once and\nforever, by the precious blood of Christ.\n\nSome of the Lord's people have a habit of speaking of their continual\nneed of applying to the blood of Christ, which, to say the least of it,\nis by no means intelligent, or in accordance with the accurate teaching\nof Holy Scripture. It seems like humility; but, we may rest assured,\ntrue humility can only be found in connection with the full, clear,\nsettled apprehension of the truth of God, and as to His gracious will\nconcerning us. If it be His will that we should have \"no more conscience\nof sins,\" it cannot be true humility, on our part, to go on from day to\nday, and year to year, with the burden of sins upon us. And, further, if\nit be true that Christ has borne our sins and put them away forever--if\nHe has offered one perfect sacrifice for sins, ought we not assuredly to\nknow that we are perfectly pardoned and perfectly purged? Is it--can it\nbe, true humility to reduce the blood of Christ to the level of the\nblood of bulls and of goats? But this is what is virtually done,\nthough, no doubt, unwittingly, by all who speak of applying continually\nto the blood of Christ. One reason why God found fault with the\nsacrifices under the law was, as the apostle tells us, \"In those\nsacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year.\" This,\nblessed be His name, was not according to His mind. He desired that\nevery trace of guilt and every remembrance of it should be blotted out,\nonce and forever; and hence it cannot be His will that His people should\nbe continually bowed down under the terrible burden of unforgiven sin.\nIt is _contrary_ to His will; it is subversive of their peace, and\nderogatory to the glory of Christ and the efficacy of His one sacrifice.\n\nOne grand point of the inspired argument, in Hebrews x., is to show that\nthe continual remembrance of sins and the continual repetition of the\nsacrifice go together; and therefore, if Christians now are to have the\nburden of sins constantly on the heart and conscience, it follows that\nChrist should be offered again and again--which were a blasphemy. His\nwork is done, and hence our burden is gone--gone forever. \"It is not\npossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sin.\nWherefore, when He cometh into the world, He saith, Sacrifice and\noffering Thou wouldest not, but a body hast Thou prepared Me. In\nburnt-offerings and sacrifices for sin Thou hast had no pleasure. Then\nsaid I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of Me) to do\nThy will, O God. Above, when He said, Sacrifice and offering and\nburnt-offerings and offerings for sin Thou wouldest not, neither hadst\npleasure therein (which are offered by the law) then said He, Lo, I come\nto do Thy will, O God. He taketh away the first that He may establish\nthe second. By the which will we are sanctified (or set apart) by the\noffering of the body of Jesus Christ _once_.\"\n\nHere we are conducted, in the most distinct and forcible manner, to the\neternal source of the whole matter, namely, the will of God--the purpose\nand counsel formed in the divine mind, before the foundation of the\nworld, before any creature was formed, before sin or Satan existed. It\nwas the will of God, from all eternity, that the Son should, in due\ntime, come forth and do a work which was to be the foundation of the\ndivine glory and of all the counsels and purposes of the Trinity.\n\nIt would be a very grave error indeed to suppose that redemption was an\nafterthought with God. He had not, blessed be His holy name, to sit down\nand plan what He would do, when sin entered. It was all settled\nbeforehand. The enemy, no doubt, imagined that he was gaining a\nwonderful victory when he meddled with man in the garden of Eden. In\npoint of fact, he was only giving occasion for the display of God's\neternal counsels in connection with the work of the Son. There was no\nbasis for those counsels, no sphere for their display in the fields of\ncreation. It was the meddling of Satan--the entrance of sin--the ruin of\nman, that opened a platform on which a Saviour-God might display the\nriches of His grace, the glories of His salvation, the attributes of His\nnature, to all created intelligences.\n\nThere is great depth and power in those words of the eternal Son, \"In\nthe volume of the book it is written of Me.\" To what \"volume\" does He\nhere refer? Is it to Old Testament scripture merely? Surely not; the\napostle quotes from the Old Testament, but it is nothing less than the\nroll of God's eternal counsels in which the \"vast plan\" was laid,\naccording to which, in the appointed time, the eternal Son was to come\nforth and appear on the scene, in order to accomplish the divine will,\nvindicate the divine glory, confound the enemy utterly, put away sin,\nand save ruined man in a manner which yields a richer harvest of glory\nto God than ever He could have reaped in the fields of an unfallen\ncreation.\n\nAll this gives immense stability to the soul of the believer. Indeed it\nis utterly impossible for human language to set forth the preciousness\nand blessedness of this line of truth. It is such rich consolation to\nevery pious soul to know that One has appeared in this world to do the\nwill of God--whatever that will might be. \"Lo, I come to do Thy will O\nGod.\" Such was the one undivided purpose and object of that perfect\nhuman heart. He never did His own will in anything. He says, \"I came\ndown from heaven, not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent\nMe.\" It mattered not to Him what that will might involve to Himself\npersonally. The decree was written down in the eternal volume that He\nshould come and do the divine will; and, all homage to His peerless\nname! He came and did it perfectly. He could say, \"A body hast Thou\nprepared Me.\" \"Mine ears hast Thou opened.\" \"I clothe the heavens with\nblackness, and I make sackcloth their covering. The Lord God hath given\nMe the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in\nseason to him that is weary: He wakeneth morning by morning, He wakeneth\nMine ear to hear as the learned. The Lord God hath opened Mine ear, and\nI was not rebellious, neither turned away back. I gave My back to the\nsmiters, and My cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not My\nface from shame and spitting\" (Isa. l. 3-6).\n\nBut this leads us, in the second place, to contemplate\n\n\nTHE WORK OF CHRIST.\n\nIt was ever the delight of the heart of Jesus to do His Father's will\nand finish His work. From the manger at Bethlehem to the cross of\nCalvary, the one grand object that swayed His devoted heart was the\naccomplishment of the will of God. He perfectly glorified God, in all\nthings. This, blessed be God, perfectly secures our full and everlasting\nsalvation, as the apostle in this passage, so distinctly states. \"By the\nwhich will we are sanctified, through the offering of the body of Jesus\nChrist once.\"\n\nHere our souls may rest, beloved reader, in sweetest peace and unclouded\ncertainty. It was the will of God that we should be set apart to\nHimself, according to all the love of His heart, and all the claims of\nHis throne; and our Lord Christ, in due time, in pursuance of the\neverlasting purpose as set forth \"in the volume of the book,\" came forth\nfrom the glory which He had with the Father, before all worlds, to do\nthe work which forms the imperishable basis of all the divine counsels\nand of our eternal salvation.\n\nAnd--forever be His name adored!--He has finished His work. He has\nperfectly glorified God in the midst of the scene in which He has been\nso dishonored. At all cost He has vindicated Him and made good His every\nclaim. He magnified the law and made it honorable. He vanquished every\nfoe, removed every obstacle, swept away every barrier, bore the judgment\nand wrath of a sin-hating God; destroyed death and him that had the\npower of it, extracted its sting, and spoiled the grave of its victory.\nIn a word, He gloriously accomplished all that was written in the volume\nof the book concerning Him; and now we see Him crowned with glory and\nhonor, at the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens. He travelled\nfrom the throne to the dust of death, in order to accomplish the will of\nGod, and having done so, He has gone back to the throne, in a new\ncharacter and on a new footing. His pathway from the throne to the cross\nwas marked by the footprints of divine and everlasting love; and His\npathway from the cross back to the throne is sprinkled by His atoning\nblood. He came from heaven to earth to do the will of God, and, having\ndone it, He returned to heaven again, thus opening up for us \"a new and\nliving way\" by which we draw nigh to God, in holy boldness and liberty,\nas purged worshipers.\n\nAll is done. Every question is settled. Every barrier is removed. The\nvail is rent. That mysterious curtain which, for ages and generations,\nhad shut God in from man, and shut man out from God, was rent in twain,\nfrom top to bottom, by the precious death of Christ; and now we can look\nright up into the opened heavens and see on the throne the Man who bore\nour sins in His own body on the tree. A seated Christ tells out, in the\near of faith, the sweet emancipating tale that all that had to be done\nis done--done forever--done for God--done for us. Yes; all is settled\nnow, and God can, in perfect righteousness, indulge the love of His\nheart, in blotting out all our sins and bringing us nigh unto Himself in\nall the acceptance of the One who sits beside Him on the throne.\n\nAnd let the reader carefully note the striking and beautiful way in\nwhich the apostle contrasts _a seated Christ in heaven with the standing\npriest on earth_. \"Every priest standeth daily ministering, and offering\noftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this\nMan, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins, forever ([Greek: eis\nto dienekes]--in perpetuity) sat down on the right hand of God; from\nhenceforth expecting till His enemies be made His footstool. For by one\noffering He hath perfected forever (in perpetuity) them that are\nsanctified.\"\n\nThis is exceedingly blessed. The priest, under the Levitical economy,\ncould never sit down, for the obvious reason that his work was never\ndone. There was no seat provided in the temple or in the tabernacle.\nThere is remarkable force and significance in the manner in which the\ninspired writer puts this. \"_Every priest_\"--\"standeth _daily_\"--\"offering\n _oftentimes_\"--\"_the same sacrifices_\"--\"which can _never take\naway sins_.\" No human language could possibly set forth, more\ngraphically, the utter inefficacy of the Levitical ceremonial. How\nstrange that, in the face of such a passage of Holy Scripture, Christendom\nshould have set up a human priesthood, with its daily sacrifice!--a\npriesthood moreover, not belonging to the tribe of Levi, not\nspringing from the house of Aaron, and therefore having no\nsort of divine title or sanction. And, then as to the sacrifice, it is,\naccording to their own admission, a sacrifice without blood, and\ntherefore a sacrifice without remission, for, \"Without the shedding of\nblood there is no remission\" (Heb. ix. 22).\n\nHence, this self-made priesthood is a daring usurpation, and her\nsacrifices a worthless vanity--a positive lie--a mischievous delusion.\nThe priests of whom the apostle speaks in Heb. x. were priests of the\ntribe of Levi and of the house of Aaron--the only house, the only tribe\never recognised of God as having any title to assume the office and the\nwork of an earthly priest. And, further, the sacrifices which the\nAaronic priests offered were appointed by God, for the time being, to\nserve as _figures_ of Him that was to come; but they never gave Him any\npleasure, inasmuch as they could never take away sins; and the true\nPriest having come, the true sacrifice having been offered, the figures\nhave been forever abolished.\n\nNow, in view of all this, what shall we say of Christendom's priests and\nChristendom's sacrifices? What will a righteous Judge say to them? We\ncannot attempt to dwell upon such an awful theme. We can merely say,\nalas! alas! for the poor souls that are deluded and ruined by such\nantichristian absurdities. May God in His mercy deliver them and lead\nthem to rest in the one offering of Jesus Christ--that precious blood\nthat cleanses from all sin. May many be led to see that a repeated\nsacrifice and a seated Christ are in positive antagonism. If the\nsacrifice must be repeated, Christ has no right to His seat and to His\ncrown--God pardon the very penning of the words! If Christ has a divine\nright to His seat and to His crown, then to repeat a sacrifice is simply\na blasphemy against His cross, His name, His glory. To repeat in any\nway, or under any form whatsoever, the sacrifice, is to deny the\nefficacy of Christ's one offering, and to rob the soul of anything like\nan approach to the knowledge of remission of sins. A repeated sacrifice\nand perfect remission are an absolute contradiction in terms.\n\nBut we must turn, for a moment, to the third grand point in our subject,\nnamely,\n\n\nTHE WITNESS OF THE HOLY GHOST.\n\nThis is of the deepest possible moment for the reader to understand. It\ngives great completeness to the subject. How are we to know that Christ\nhas, by His work on the cross, absolutely and divinely accomplished the\nwill of God? Simply by the witness of the Holy Ghost in Scripture. This\nis the third pillar on which the Christian's position rests, and it is\nas thoroughly divine and, therefore, as thoroughly independent of man as\nthe other two. It is very evident that man had nothing to do with the\neternal counsels of the Trinity--nothing to do with the glorious work\naccomplished on the cross. All this is clear; and it is equally clear\nthat man has nothing to do with the authority on which our souls receive\nthe joyful news as to the _will of God_, and _the work of Christ_,\ninasmuch as it is nothing less than _the witness of the Holy Ghost_.\n\nWe cannot be too simple as to this. It is not, by any means, a question\nof our feelings, our frames, our evidences, or our experiences--things\ninteresting in their right place. We must receive the truth solely and\nsimply on the authority of that august Witness who speaks to us in Holy\nScripture. Thus we read, \"Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to\nus; for after that He had said before, This is the covenant that I will\nmake with them after those days, saith the Lord; I will put My laws\ninto their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; and their sins\nand iniquities will I remember no more.\"\n\nHere, then, we have fully before us the solid foundation of the\nChristian's position and the Christian's peace. It is all of God, from\nfirst to last. The _will_, the _work_, and the _witness_ are all divine.\nThe Lord be praised for this glorious fact! What should we do, what\nwould become of us, were it otherwise? In this day of confusion, when\nsouls are tossed about by every wind of doctrine--when the beloved sheep\nof Christ are driven hither and thither, in bewilderment and\nperplexity--when ritualism with its ignorant absurdities, and\nrationalism with its impudent blasphemies, and spiritualism with its\nhorrible traffic with demons, are threatening the very foundations of\nour faith, how important it is for Christians to know what those\nfoundations really are, and that they should be consciously resting\nthereon!\n\n\nPART III.\n\nWe would recall for a moment to the reader's attention the third point\nin our subject, namely, \"The witness of the Holy Ghost in Scripture.\" We\nfeel it to be of too much importance to be dismissed with such a cursory\nglance as we were able to give it at the close of our last paper.\n\nIt is absolutely essential to the enjoyment of settled peace that the\nheart should rest _solely_ on the authority of Holy Scripture. Nothing\nelse will stand. Inward evidences, spiritual experiences, comfortable\nframes, happy feelings, are all very good, very valuable, and very\ndesirable; indeed we cannot prize them too highly in their right place.\nBut, most assuredly, their right place is not at the foundation of the\nChristian position. If we look to such things as the ground of our\npeace, we shall very soon become clouded, uncertain, and miserable.\n\nThe reader cannot be too simple in his apprehension of this point. He\nmust rest like a little child upon the testimony of the Holy Ghost in\nthe Word. It is blessedly true that \"He that believeth hath the witness\nin himself.\" And again, \"The Spirit itself beareth witness with our\nspirit that we are the children of God.\" All this is essential to\nChristianity; but it must, in no wise, be confounded with the witness\nof the Holy Ghost, as given to us in Holy Scripture. The Spirit of God\nnever leads any one to build upon His work as the ground of peace, but\nonly upon the finished work of Christ, and the unchangeable word of God;\nand we may rest assured that the more simply we rest on these the more\nsettled our peace will be, and the clearer our evidences, the brighter\nour frames, the happier our feelings, the richer our experiences. In\nshort, the more we look away from self and all its belongings, and rest\nin Christ, on the clear authority of Scripture, the more spiritually\nminded we shall be; and the inspired apostle tells us that \"to be\nspiritually minded (or, the minding of the Spirit) is life and peace.\"\nThe best evidence of a spiritual mind is childlike repose in Christ and\nHis Word. The clearest proof of an unspiritual mind is self-occupation.\nIt is a poor affair to be trafficking in _our_ evidences, or _our_\nanything. It looks like piety, but it leads away from Christ--away from\nScripture--away from God; and this is not piety, or faith, or\nChristianity.\n\nWe are intensely anxious that the reader should seize, with great\ndistinctness, the importance of committing his whole moral being to the\ndivine authority of the word of God. It will never fail him. All else\nmay go, but \"the word of our God shall stand forever.\" Heart and flesh\nmay fail. Internal evidences may become clouded; frames, feelings, and\nexperiences may all prove unsatisfactory; but the word of the Lord, the\ntestimony of the Holy Ghost, the clear voice of Holy Scripture, must\never remain unshaken. \"And this is the Word which by the gospel is\npreached unto us.\"\n\nThus much, then, as to the divine and everlasting basis of the\nChristian's position, as set forth in the tenth chapter of the Epistle\nto the Hebrews. Let us, now, see what this same scripture tells us of\nthe Christian's work, and of the sphere in which that work is to be\ncarried on.\n\nThe Christian is brought into the immediate presence of God, inside the\nveil, into the holiest of all. This is his proper place, if indeed we\nare to listen to the voice of Scripture. \"Having therefore, brethren,\nboldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a _new_ and\n_living_ way which He hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is\nto say, His flesh; and having a high-priest over the house of God; _let\nus draw near_ with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, having our\nhearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with\npure water.\"\n\nOur God, blessed be His holy name, would have us near unto Himself. He\nhas made out for us a title clear and indisputable in \"_the blood of\nJesus_.\" Nothing more is needed. That precious blood stands out before\nthe eye of faith in all its infinite value. In it alone we read our\ntitle. It is not the blood _and_ something else--be that something what\nit may. The blood constitutes our exclusive title. We come before God in\nall the perfect efficacy of that blood which rent the veil, glorified\nGod as to the question of sin, canceled our guilt according to all the\ndemands of infinite holiness, silenced, forever, every accuser, every\nfoe. We enter by a new and living way--a way which can never become old\nor dead. We enter by the direct invitation, yea, by the distinct command\nof God. It is positive disobedience not to come. We enter to receive the\nloving welcome of our Father's heart, it is an insult to that love not\nto come. He tells us to \"come boldly\"--to \"draw near\" with full,\nunclouded confidence--a boldness and confidence commensurate with the\nlove that invites us; the word that commands us, and the blood that fits\nand entitles us. It is offering dishonor to the eternal Trinity not to\ndraw near.\n\nReader, is all this, think you, understood and taught in Christendom?\nSay, do Christendom's creeds, confessions, and liturgical services\nharmonize with apostolic teaching in Heb. x.? Alas! alas! they do not.\nNay, they are in direct antagonism; and the state of souls, accordingly,\nis the very reverse of what it ought to be. In place of \"draw near\" it\nis keep off. In place of liberty and boldness, it is legality and\nbondage. In place of a heart sprinkled from an evil conscience, it is a\nheart bowed down beneath the intolerable burden of unforgiven sin. In\nplace of a great High Priest seated on the throne of God, in virtue of\naccomplished redemption, we have poor mortal--not to say sinful--priests\nstanding from week to week, all the year round in wearisome routine,\nactually contradicting, in their barren formularies, the very\nfoundation truths of Christianity.\n\nHow truly deplorable is all this! And then the sad condition of the\nLord's dear people, the lambs and sheep of that precious flock for which\nHe died! It is this that so deeply affects us. It is of little use\nattacking Christendom. We quite admit this; but we yearn over the souls\nof God's people. We long to see them fully delivered from false\nteaching, from Judaism, legalism, and every other _ism_ that robs them\nof a full salvation and a precious Saviour. We long to reach them with\nthe clear and soul-satisfying teachings of Holy Scripture, so that they\nmay know and enjoy the things that are freely given to them of God. We\ncan truly say there is nothing which gives us such painful concern as\nthe state of the Lord's dear people, scattered upon the dark mountains\nand desolate moors: and one special object for which we desire to live\nis to be the instrument of leading them into those green pastures and\nbeside those still waters where the true Shepherd and Bishop of their\nsouls longs to feed them, according to all the deep and tender love of\nHis heart. He would have them near Himself, reposing in the light of His\nblessed countenance. It is not according to His mind or His loving heart\nthat His people should be kept at a dim cold distance from His presence,\nin doubt and darkness. Ah, no; reader, His word tells us to draw\nnear--to come boldly--to appropriate freely--to make our very own all\nthe precious privileges to which a Father's love invites us, and a\nSaviour's blood entitles us.\n\n\"_Let us draw near._\" This is the voice of God to us. Christ has opened\nup the way. The veil is rent, our place is in the holiest of all, the\nconscience sprinkled, the body washed, the soul entering intelligently\ninto the atoning value of the blood, and the cleansing, sanctifying\npower of the Word--its action upon our habits, our ways, our\nassociations, our entire course and character.\n\nAll this is of the very utmost practical value to every true lover of\nholiness--and every true Christian is a lover of holiness. \"The body\nwashed with pure water\" is a perfectly delightful thought. It sets forth\nthe purifying action of the word of God on the Christian's entire course\nand character. We must not be content with having the heart sprinkled by\nthe blood; we must also have the body washed with pure water.\n\nAnd what then? \"_Let us hold fast_ the profession of our hope ([Greek:\nelpidos]) without wavering (for He is faithful that promised).\" Blessed\nparenthesis! We may well hold fast, seeing He is faithful. Our hope can\nnever make ashamed. It rests, in holy calmness, upon the infallible\nfaithfulness of Him who cannot lie, whose word is settled for ever in\nheaven, far above all the changes and chances of this mortal life, above\nthe din of controversy, the strife of tongues, the impudent assaults of\ninfidelity, the ignorant ravings of superstition--far away above all\nthese things, eternally settled in heaven is that Word which forms the\nground of our \"hope.\"\n\nIt well becomes us, therefore, to hold fast. We should not have a single\nwavering thought--a single question--a single misgiving. For a Christian\nto doubt is to cast dishonor upon the word of a faithful God. Let\nsceptics, and rationalists, and infidels doubt, for they have nothing to\nbelieve, nothing to rest upon, no certainty. But for a child of God to\ndoubt, is to call in question the faithfulness of the divine Promiser.\nWe owe it to His glory, to say nothing of our own peace, to \"hold fast\nthe confession of our hope without wavering.\" Thus may it be with every\nbeloved member of the household of faith, until that longed-for moment\n\"when faith and hope shall cease, and love abide alone.\"\n\nBut there is one more interesting branch of Christian work at which we\nmust glance ere closing this paper. \"_Let us consider one another_, to\nprovoke unto love and to good works.\"\n\nThis is in lovely moral keeping with all that has gone before. The grace\nof God has so richly met all our personal need--setting before us such\nan array of precious privileges--an opened heaven--a rent veil--a\ncrowned and seated Saviour--a great High Priest--a perfectly purged\nconscience--boldness to enter--a hearty welcome--a faithful Promiser--a\nsure and certain hope: having all these marvelous blessings in full\npossession, what have we got to do? To consider ourselves? Nay verily;\nthis were superfluous and sinfully selfish. We could not possibly do so\nwell for ourselves as God has done for us. He has left nothing unsaid,\nnothing undone, nothing to be desired. Our cup is full and running over.\nWhat remains? Simply to \"consider one another;\" to go out in the\nactivities of holy love, and serve our brethren in every possible way;\nto be on the lookout for opportunities of doing good; to be ready for\nevery good work; to seek in a thousand little ways to make hearts glad;\nto seek to shed a ray of light on the moral gloom around us; to be a\nstream of refreshing in this sterile and thirsty wilderness.\n\nThese are some of the things that make up a Christian's work. May we\nattend to them! May we be found provoking one another, not to envy and\njealousy, but to love and good works; exhorting one another daily;\ndiligently availing ourselves of the public assembly, and so much the\nmore, as we see the day approaching.\n\nMay the Holy Spirit engrave upon the heart of both writer and reader\nthese most precious exhortations so thoroughly characteristic of our\nglorious Christianity--\"_Let us draw near_\"--\"_Let us hold fast_\"--\"_Let\nus consider one another!_\"\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n    The veil is rent:--our souls draw near\n      Unto a throne of grace;\n    The merits of the Lord appear,\n      They fill the holy place.\n\nHis precious blood has spoken there. Before and on the throne:\n\nAnd His own wounds in heaven declare, The atoning work is done.\n\n'Tis finished!--here our souls have rest, His work can never fail: By\nHim, our Sacrifice and Priest, We pass within the veil.\n\nWithin the holiest of all, Cleansed by His precious blood, Before the\nthrone we prostrate fall And worship Thee, O God! */\n\n\n\n\nTHE CHRISTIAN PRIESTHOOD\n\n\nWe want the reader to open his Bible and read I Pet. ii. I-9. In this\nlovely scripture he will find three words on which we will ask him to\ndwell with us for a little. They are words of weight and power--words\nwhich indicate three great branches of practical Christian truth--words\nconveying to our hearts a fact which we cannot too deeply ponder,\nnamely, that Christianity is a living and divine reality. It is not a\nset of doctrines, however true; a system of ordinances, however\nimposing; a number of rules and regulations, however important.\nChristianity is far more than any or all of these things. It is a\nliving, breathing, speaking, active, powerful reality--something to be\nseen in the every day life--something to be felt in the scenes of\npersonal, domestic history, from hour to hour--something formative and\ninfluential--a divine and heavenly power introduced into the scenes and\ncircumstances through which we have to move, as men, women, and\nchildren, from Sunday morning to Saturday night. It does not consist in\nholding certain views, opinions, and principles, or in going to this\nplace of worship or that.\n\nChristianity is the life of Christ communicated to the\nbeliever--dwelling _in_ him--and flowing out _from_ him, in the ten\nthousand little details which go to make up our daily practical life. It\nhas nothing ascetic, or sanctimonious about it. It is genial, pure,\nelevated, holy, divine. Such is Christianity. It is Christ dwelling in\nthe believer, and reproduced, by the power of the Holy Ghost, in the\nbeliever's daily practical career.\n\nBut let us turn to our three words; and may the Eternal Spirit expound\ntheir deep and holy meaning to our souls!\n\nAnd first, then, we have the word \"living.\" \"To whom coming, as unto a\nliving Stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious,\nye also, as living stones, are built up.\"\n\nHere we have what we may call the foundation of Christian priesthood.\nThere is evidently an allusion here to that profoundly interesting scene\nin Matt. xvi. to which we must ask the reader to turn for a moment.\n\n\"When Jesus was come into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His\ndisciples, saying, Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?[XXIII.]\nAnd they said, 'Some say Thou art John the Baptist; some, Elias; and\nothers, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.'\"\n\nThere was endless speculation, simply because there was no real\nheart-work respecting the blessed One. Some said this, some said that;\nand, in result, no one cared who or what He was; and hence He turns away\nfrom all this heartless speculation, and puts the pointed question to\nHis own, \"But whom say ye that I am?\" He desired to know what they\nthought about Him--what estimate their hearts had formed of Him. \"And\nSimon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the\n_living_ God.\"\n\nHere we have the true confession. Here lies the solid foundation of the\nwhole edifice of the Church of God and all true practical\nChristianity--\"Christ the Son of the _living_ God.\" No more dim\nshadows--no more powerless forms--no more lifeless ordinances--all must\nbe permeated by this new, this divine, this heavenly life which has come\ninto this world, and is communicated to all who believe in the name of\nthe Son of God.\n\n\"And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona;\nfor flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but My Father which\nis in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter; and upon\nthis rock I _will build_ My Church; and the gates of hell shall not\nprevail against it.\"\n\nNow, it is evidently to this magnificent passage that the apostle Peter\nrefers in the second chapter of his first epistle, when he says, \"To\nwhom coming, as unto a _living_ stone, disallowed indeed of men, but\nchosen of God, and precious, ye also, as _living_ stones (the same\nwords), are built up,\" etc. All who believe in Jesus are partakers of\nHis risen, victorious, _rock_ life. The life of Christ, the Son of the\nliving God, flows through all His members, and through each in\nparticular. Thus we have the _living_ God, the _living_ Stone, the\n_living_ stones. It is all life together--life flowing down from a\nliving source, through a living channel, and imparting itself to all\nbelievers, thus making them living stones.\n\nNow, this life having been tried and tested, in every possible way, and\nhaving come forth victorious, can never again be called to pass through\nany process of trial, testing, or judgment whatsoever. It has passed\nthrough death and judgment. It has gone down under all the waves and\nbillows of divine wrath, and come forth at the other side in\nresurrection, in divine glory and power--a life victorious, heavenly,\nand divine, beyond the reach of all the powers of darkness. There is no\npower of earth or hell, men or devils, that can possibly touch the life\nwhich is possessed by the very smallest and most insignificant stone in\nChrist's assembly. All believers are built upon the living Stone,\nChrist; and are thus constituted living stones. He makes them like\nHimself in every respect, save of course, in His incommunicable deity.\nIs He a living Stone? They are living stones. Is He a precious Stone?\nThey are precious stones. Is He a rejected Stone? They are rejected\nstones--rejected, disallowed of men. They are, in every respect,\nidentified with Him. Ineffable privilege!\n\nHere, then, we repeat, is the solid foundation of the Christian\npriesthood--the priesthood of all believers. Before any one can offer up\na spiritual sacrifice, he must come to Christ, in simple faith, and be\nbuilt on Him as the foundation of the whole spiritual building.\n\"Wherefore also it is contained in the Scripture (Isa. xxviii. 16),\nBehold, I lay in Sion a chief corner-stone, elect, precious; and he that\nbelieveth in Him shall not be confounded.\"\n\nHow precious are these words! God Himself has laid the foundation, and\nthat foundation is Christ; and all who simply believe in Christ--all who\ngive Him the confidence of their hearts--all who rest satisfied with\nHim, are made partakers of His resurrection-life, and thus made living\nstones.\n\nHow blessedly simple is this! We are not asked to assist in laying the\nfoundation. We are not called upon to add the weight of a feather to it.\nGod has laid the foundation, and all we have to do is to believe and\nrest thereon; and He pledges His faithful word that we shall never be\nconfounded. The very feeblest believer in Jesus has God's own gracious\nassurance that he shall never be confounded--never be ashamed--never\ncome into judgment. He is as free from all charge of guilt and every\nbreath of condemnation as that living Rock on whom he is built.\n\nBeloved reader, are you on this foundation? Are you built on Christ?\nHave you come to Him as God's living Stone, and given Him the full\nconfidence of your heart? Are you thoroughly satisfied with God's\nfoundation? or are you seeking to add something of your own--your own\nworks, your prayers, your ordinances, your vows and resolutions, your\nreligious duties? If so, if you are seeking to add the smallest jot to\nGod's foundation, you may rest assured, you will be confounded. God will\nnot suffer such dishonor to be offered to His tried, elect, precious,\nchief corner Stone. Think you that He could allow aught, no matter what,\nto be placed beside His beloved Son, in order to form, with Him, the\nfoundation of His spiritual edifice? The bare thought were an impious\nblasphemy. No; it must be Christ alone. He is enough for God, and He may\nwell be enough for us; and nothing is more certain than that all who\nreject, or neglect, turn away from, or add to, God's foundation, shall\nbe covered with everlasting confusion.\n\nBut, having glanced at the foundation, let us look at the\nsuperstructure. This will lead us to the second of our three weighty\nwords. \"To whom coming as unto a _living_ Stone ... ye also, as living\nstones, are built up a spiritual house, a _holy_ priesthood, to offer\nup spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.\"\n\nAll true believers are holy priests. They are made this by spiritual\nbirth, just as Aaron's sons were priests in virtue of their natural\nbirth. The apostle does not say, Ye _ought to be_ living stones, and, Ye\nought to be holy priests. He says ye _are_ such. No doubt, being such,\nwe are called upon to act accordingly; but we must be in a position\nbefore we can discharge the duties belonging to it. We must be in a\nrelationship before we can know the affections which flow out of it. We\ndo not become priests by offering priestly sacrifices. But being,\nthrough grace, made priests, we are called upon to present the\nsacrifice. If we were to live a thousand years twice told, and spend all\nthat time working, we could not work ourselves into the position of holy\npriests; but the moment we believe in Jesus--the moment we come to Him\nin simple faith--the moment we give Him the full confidence of our\nhearts, we are born anew into the position of holy priests, and are then\nprivileged to draw nigh and offer the priestly sacrifice. How could any\none, of old, have constituted himself a son of Aaron? Impossible. But\nbeing born of Aaron, he was thereby made a member of the priestly house.\nWe speak not now of capacity, but simply of the position. This latter\nwas reached not by effort, but by birth.\n\nAnd now, let us enquire as to the nature of the sacrifice which, as holy\npriests, we are privileged to offer. We are \"to offer up spiritual\nsacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.\" So also in Heb. xiii.\n15, we read, \"By Him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to\nGod continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His\nname.\"\n\nHere, then, we have the true nature and character of that sacrifice\nwhich, as holy priests, we are to offer. It is praise--\"praise to God\ncontinually.\" Blessed occupation! Hallowed exercise! Heavenly\nemployment! And this is not to be an occasional thing. It is not merely\nat some peculiarly favored moment, when all looks bright and smiling\naround us. It is not to be merely amid the glow and fervor of some\nspecially powerful public meeting, when the current of worship flows\ndeep, wide, and rapid. No; the word is, \"praise _continually_.\" There is\nno room, no time for complaining or murmuring, fretfulness and\ndiscontent, impatience and irritability, lamenting about our\nsurroundings, whatever these may be, complaining about the weather,\nfinding fault with those who are associated with us, whether in public\nor in private, whether in the congregation, in the business, or in the\nfamily circle.\n\nHoly priests should have no time for any of these things. They are\nbrought nigh to God, in holy liberty, peace, and blessing. They breathe\nthe atmosphere and walk in the sunlight of the divine presence, in the\nnew creation, where there are no materials for a sour and discontented\nmind to feed upon. We may set it down as a fixed principle--an\naxiom--that whenever we hear anyone pouring out a string of complaints\nabout circumstances, his neighbors etc., such an one is not realizing\nthe place of holy priesthood, and, as a consequence, not exhibiting its\npractical fruits. A holy priest should \"rejoice in the Lord\nalways\"--ever ready to praise God. True, he may be tried in a thousand\nways; but he brings his trials to God in communion, not to his\nfellow-man in complaining. \"Hallelujah\" is the proper utterance of the\nvery feeblest member of the Christian priesthood.\n\nBut we must now look, for a moment, at the third and last branch of our\npresent theme. This is presented in that highly expressive word \"royal.\"\nThe apostle goes on to say, \"But ye are a chosen generation, a _royal_\npriesthood ... that ye should show forth the virtues (see margin) of Him\nwho hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.\"\n\nThis completes the lovely picture of the Christian priesthood.[XXIV.] As\n_holy_ priests, we draw nigh to God, and present the sacrifice of\npraise. As royal priests we go forth among our fellow-men, in all the\ndetails of practical daily life, to show forth the virtues--the\ngraces--the lovely moral features of Christ. Every movement of a royal\npriest should emit the fragrance of the grace of Christ.\n\nMark again, the apostle does not say, _Ye ought to be_ royal priests. He\nsays ye _are_; and as such we are to show forth the virtues of Christ.\nNothing else becomes a member of the royal priesthood. To be occupied\nwith myself, to be taking counsel for my own ease, my own interest, my\nown enjoyment, to be seeking my own ends, and caring about my own\nthings, is not the act of a royal priest at all. Christ never did so;\nand I am told to show forth His virtues. He, blessed be His name, grants\nto His people, in this the time of His absence, to anticipate the day\nwhen He shall come forth as a Royal Priest, and sit upon His throne, and\nsend forth the benign influence of His dominion to the ends of the\nearth. We are called to be the present expression of the kingdom of\nChrist--the expression of Himself.\n\nAnd let none suppose that the actings of a royal priest are to be\nconfined to the matter of _giving_. This would be a grave mistake. No\ndoubt, a royal priest will give, and give liberally if he has it; but to\nlimit him to the mere matter of communicating would be to rob him of\nsome of the most precious functions of his position. The very man who\npenned the words on which we are dwelling said on one occasion--and said\nit without shame, \"Silver and gold have I none;\" and yet at that very\nmoment, he was acting as a royal priest, by bringing the precious\nvirtue of the name of Jesus to bear on the impotent man (Acts. iii.).\nThe blessed Master Himself, we know, possessed no money; but He went\nabout doing good; and so should we: nor do we need money to do it.\nIndeed it very often happens that we do mischief instead of good with\nour silver and gold. We may take people off the ground on which God has\nplaced them, namely, the ground of honest industry, and make them\ndependent upon human alms. Moreover, we may often make hypocrites and\nsycophants of people by our injudicious use of money.\n\nHence, therefore, let no one imagine that he cannot act as a royal\npriest without earthly riches. What riches are required to speak a\nkindly word--to drop the tear of sympathy--to give the soothing, genial\nlook? None whatever save the riches of God's grace--the unsearchable\nriches of Christ, all of which are laid open to the most obscure member\nof the Christian priesthood. I may be poorly clad, without a penny in\nthe world, and yet carry myself truly as a royal priest, by diffusing\naround me the fragrance of the grace of Christ.\n\nBut, perhaps, we cannot more suitably close these few remarks on the\nChristian priesthood, than by giving a very vivid illustration drawn\nfrom the inspired page--the narrative of two beloved servants of Christ\nwho were enabled, under the most distressing circumstances, to acquit\nthemselves as holy and royal priests.\n\nTurn to Acts xvi. 19-34. Here we have Paul and Silas thrust into the\ninnermost part of the prison at Philippi, their backs covered with\nstripes, and their feet fast in the stocks, in the darkness of the\nmidnight hour. What were they doing? murmuring and complaining? Ah, no!\nThey had something better and brighter to do. Here were two really\n\"living stones,\" and nothing that earth or hell could do could hinder\nthe life that was in them expressing itself in its proper accents.\n\nBut what, we repeat, were these living stones doing? these partakers of\nthe rock-life--the victorious, resurrection-life of Christ--how did they\nemploy themselves? Well, then, in the first place, as _holy_ priests\nthey offered the sacrifice of praise to God. Yes, \"at midnight, Paul and\nSilas prayed and sang praises to God.\" How precious is this! How morally\nglorious! How truly refreshing! What are stripes, or stocks, or prison\nwalls, or gloomy nights, to living stones and holy priests? Nothing more\nthan a dark background to throw out into bright and beauteous relief the\nliving grace that is in them. Talk of circumstances! Ah, it is little\nany of us know of trying circumstances. Poor things that we are, the\npetty annoyances of daily life are often more than enough to cause us to\nlose our mental balance. Paul and Silas were really in trying\ncircumstances; but they were there as living stones and holy priests.\n\nYes, reader, and they were there as royal priests, likewise. How does\nthis appear? Certainly not by scattering silver and gold. It is not\nlikely the dear men had much of these to scatter. But oh, they had what\nwas better, even \"the virtues of Him who had called them out of darkness\ninto His marvelous light.\" And where do these virtues shine out? In\nthose touching words addressed to the jailer, \"_Do thyself no harm_.\"\nThese were the accents of a _royal_ priest, just as the song of praise\nwas the voice of a _holy_ priest. Thank God for both! The voices of the\nholy priests went directly up to the throne of God and did their work\nthere; and the words of the royal priests went directly to the jailer's\nhard heart and did their work there. God was glorified and the jailer\nsaved by two men rightly discharging the functions of \"_the Christian\npriesthood_.\"\n\n\n\n\n    Father! Thy sovereign love has sought\n    Captives to sin, gone far from Thee:\n    The work that Thine own Son hath wrought,\n    Has brought us back, in peace, and free!\n\n    And now, as sons before Thy Face,\n    With joyful steps the path we tread,\n    Which leads us on to that blest place\n    Prepared for us, by Christ our Head.\n\n    Thou gav'st us, in eternal love,\n    To Him, to bring us home to Thee;\n    Suited to Thine own thoughts above\n    As sons, like Him, with Him to be.\n\n    Oh, boundless grace! What fills with joy\n    Unmingled all that enter there;\n    God's Nature, Love without alloy,\n    Our hearts are given e'en now to share!\n\n    Oh, keep us, Love Divine, near Thee!\n    That we our nothingness may know;\n    And ever to Thy glory be,\n    Walking in faith while here below.\n\n    J. N. D.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[XXIII.] Let the reader note this title, \"_Son of Man_.\" It is\ninfinitely precious. It is a title indicating our Lord's rejection as\nthe Messiah, and leading out into that wide, that universal sphere over\nwhich He is destined in the counsels of God, to rule. It is far wider\nthan Son of David, or Son of Abraham, and has peculiar charms for us,\ninasmuch as it places Him before our hearts as the lonely, outcast\nStranger, and yet as the One who links Himself in perfect grace with us\nin all our need--One whose footprints we can trace all across this\ndreary desert. \"The Son of Man hath not where to lay His head.\" And yet\nit is as Son of Man that He shall, by-and-by, exercise that universal\ndominion reserved for Him according to the eternal counsels of God. See\nDaniel vii.\n\n[XXIV.] The intelligent reader does not need to be told that all\nbelievers are priests; and, further, that there is no such thing as a\npriest upon earth, save in the sense in which all true Christians are\npriests. The idea of a certain set of men, calling themselves priests in\ncontrast with the people--a certain caste distinguished by title and\ndress from the body of Christians, is not Christianity at all, but\nJudaism or intelligently worse. All who read the Bible and bow to its\nauthority will be perfectly clear as to these things.\n\n\n\n\n\nPAPERS ON EVANGELIZATION\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\nA WORD TO THE EVANGELIST.\n\n\nWe trust it may not be deemed out of place if we venture to offer a word\nof counsel and encouragement to all who have been and are engaged in the\nblessed work of preaching _the gospel of the grace of God_. We are, in\nsome measure, aware of the difficulties and discouragements which attend\nupon the path of every evangelist, whatever may be his sphere of labor\nor measure of gift; and it is our heart's desire to hold up the hands\nand cheer the hearts of all who may be in danger of falling under the\ndepressing power of these things. We increasingly feel the immense\nimportance of an earnest, fervent gospel testimony everywhere; and we\ndread exceedingly any falling off therein. We are imperatively called to\n\"do the work of an evangelist,\" and not to be moved from that work by\nany arguments or considerations whatsoever.\n\nLet none imagine that, in writing thus, we mean to detract, in the\nsmallest degree, from the value of teaching, lecturing, or exhortation.\nNothing is further from our thoughts. \"These things ought ye to have\ndone, and not to leave the other undone.\" We mean not to compare the\nwork of the evangelist with that of the teacher, or to exalt the former\nat the expense of the latter. Each has its own proper place, its own\ndistinctive interest and importance.\n\nBut is there not a danger, on the other hand, of the evangelist\nabandoning his own precious work in order to give himself to the work of\nteaching and lecturing? Is there not a danger of the evangelist becoming\nmerged in the teacher? We fear there is; and it is under the influence\nof this very fear that we pen these few lines. We observe, with deep\nconcern, some who were once known amongst us as earnest and eminently\nsuccessful evangelists, now almost wholly abandoning their work and\nbecoming teachers and lecturers.\n\nThis is most deplorable. _We really want evangelists._ A true evangelist\nis almost as great a rarity as a true pastor. Alas! alas! how rare are\nboth! The two are closely connected. The evangelist gathers the sheep;\nthe pastor feeds and cares for them. The work of each lies very near the\nheart of Christ--the Divine Evangelist and Pastor; but it is with the\nformer we have now more immediately to do--to encourage him in his work,\nand to warn him against the temptation to turn aside from it. We cannot\nafford to lose a single ambassador just now, or to have a single\npreacher silent. We are perfectly aware of the fact that there is in\nsome quarters a strong tendency to throw cold water upon the work of\nevangelization. There is a sad lack of sympathy with the preacher of the\ngospel; and, as a necessary consequence, of active co-operation with\nhim in his work. Further, there is a mode of speaking of gospel\npreaching which argues but little sympathy with the heart of Him who\nwept over impenitent sinners, and who could say, at the very opening of\nHis blessed ministry, \"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He\nhath anointed Me _to preach the gospel to the poor_\" (Isa. lxi.; Luke\niv.). And again, \"Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there\nalso: for therefore came I forth\" (Mark i. 38).\n\nOur blessed Lord was an indefatigable preacher of the gospel, and all\nwho are filled with His mind and spirit will take a lively interest in\nthe work of all those who are seeking in their feeble measure to do the\nsame. This interest will be evinced, not only by earnest prayer for the\ndivine blessing upon the work, but also by diligent and persevering\nefforts to get immortal souls under the sound of the gospel.\n\nThis is the way to help the evangelist, and this way lies open to every\nmember of the Church of God--man, woman, or child. All can thus help\nforward the glorious work of evangelization. If each member of the\nassembly were to work diligently and prayerfully in this way, how\ndifferent would it be with the Lord's dear servants who are seeking to\nmake known the unsearchable riches of Christ.\n\nBut, alas! how often is it otherwise. How often do we hear even those\nwho are of some repute for intelligence and spirituality, when referring\nto meetings for gospel testimony, say, \"Oh, I am not going there; it is\n_only_ the gospel.\" Think of that! \"_Only the gospel._\" If they would\nput the idea into other words, they might say, \"It is _only_ the heart\nof God--_only_ the precious blood of Christ--_only_ the glorious record\nof the Holy Ghost.\"\n\nThis would be putting the thing plainly. Nothing is more sad than to\nhear professing Christians speak in this way. It proves too clearly that\ntheir souls are very far away from the heart of Jesus. We have\ninvariably found that those who think and speak slightingly of the work\nof the evangelist are persons of very little spirituality; and on the\nother hand, the most devoted, the most true hearted, the best taught\nsaints of God, are always sure to take a profound interest in that work.\nHow could it be otherwise? Does not the voice of Holy Scripture bear the\nclearest testimony to the fact of the interest of the Trinity in the\nwork of the gospel? Most assuredly it does. Who first preached the\ngospel? Who was the first herald of salvation? Who first announced the\ngood news of the bruised Seed of the woman? The Lord God Himself, in the\ngarden of Eden. This is a telling fact in connection with our theme. And\nfurther, let us ask, who was the most earnest, laborious, and faithful\npreacher that ever trod this earth? The Son of God. And who has been\npreaching the gospel for the last eighteen centuries? The Holy Ghost\nsent down from heaven.\n\nThus then we have the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost all actually\nengaged in the work of evangelization; and if this be so, who are we to\ndare to speak slightingly of such a work? Nay, rather may our whole\nmoral being be stirred by the power of the Spirit of God so that we may\nbe able to add our fervent and deep Amen to those precious words of\ninspiration, \"How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel\nof peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!\" (Isa. lii. 7; Rom. x.\n15.)\n\nBut it may be that these lines shall be scanned by some one who has been\nengaged in the work of preaching the gospel, and is beginning to feel\nrather discouraged. It may be that he has been called to preach in the\nsame place for years, and he feels burdened by the thought of having to\naddress the same audience, on the same subject, week after week, month\nafter month, year after year. He may feel at a loss for something new,\nsomething fresh, some variety. He may sigh for some new sphere, where\nthe subjects which are familiar to him will be new to the people. Or, if\nthis cannot be, he may feel led to substitute lectures and expositions\nfor the fervid, pointed, earnest preaching of the gospel.\n\nIf we have in any measure set forth the reader's feelings on this\nsubject, we think it will greatly help him in his work to bear in mind\nthat the one grand theme of the true evangelist is Christ. The power to\nhandle that theme is the Holy Ghost. The one to whom that theme is to be\nunfolded is the poor lost sinner. Now, Christ is ever new; the power of\nthe Holy Ghost is ever fresh; the soul's condition and destiny ever\nintensely interesting. Furthermore, it is well for the evangelist to\nbear in mind, on every fresh occasion of rising to preach, that his\nunconverted hearers are totally ignorant of the gospel, and hence he\nshould preach as though it were the first time they had ever heard the\nmessage, and the first time he had ever delivered it. For, be it\nremembered, the preaching of the gospel, in the divine acceptation of\nthe phrase, is not a mere barren statement of evangelical doctrine--a\ncertain form of words enunciated over and over again in wearisome\nroutine. Far, very far from it. The gospel is really the large loving\nheart of God welling up and flowing forth toward the poor lost sinner in\nstreams of life and salvation. It is the presentation of the atoning\ndeath and glorious resurrection of the Son of God; and all this in the\npresent energy, glow, and freshness of the Holy Ghost, from the\nexhaustless mine of Holy Scripture. Moreover, _the_ one absorbing object\nof the preacher is to win souls for Christ, to the glory of God. For\nthis he labors and pleads; for this he prays, weeps, and agonizes; for\nthis he thunders, appeals, and grapples with the heart and conscience of\nhis hearer. His object is not to teach doctrines, though doctrines may\nbe taught; his object is not to expound Scripture, though Scripture may\nbe expounded. These things lie within the range of the teacher or\nlecturer; but let it never be forgotten, the preacher's object is to\nbring the Saviour and the sinner together--to win souls to Christ. May\nGod by His Spirit keep these things ever before our hearts, so that we\nmay have a deeper interest in the glorious work of evangelization!\n\nWe would, in conclusion, merely add a word of exhortation in reference\nto the Lord's Day evening. We would, in all affection, say to our\nbeloved and honored fellow-laborers, Seek to give that one hour to the\ngreat business of the soul's salvation. There are 168 hours in the week,\nand, surely, it is the least we may devote _one_ of these to this\nmomentous work. It so happens that during that interesting hour we can\nget the ear of our fellow-sinner. Oh, let us use it to pour in the sweet\nstory of God's free love and of Christ's full salvation.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\nA MOTTO FOR THE EVANGELIST.\n\n(2 Cor. x. 16.)\n\n\n\"To _preach the gospel in the regions beyond you_.\" These words, while\nthey set forth the large-heartedness of the self-denying and devoted\napostle, do also furnish a fine model for the evangelist, in every age.\nThe gospel is a traveler; and the preacher of the gospel must be a\ntraveler likewise. The divinely-qualified and divinely-sent evangelist\nwill fix his eye upon \"_the world_.\" He will embrace, in his benevolent\ndesign, the human family. From house to house; from street to street;\nfrom city to city; from province to province; from kingdom to kingdom;\nfrom continent to continent; from pole to pole. Such is the range of the\n\"good news\" and the publisher thereof. \"The regions beyond\" must ever be\nthe grand gospel motto. No sooner has the gospel lamp cast its cheering\nbeams over a district, than the bearer of that lamp must think of the\nregions beyond. Thus the work goes on. Thus the mighty tide of grace\nrolls, in enlightening and saving power, over a dark world which lies in\n\"the region of the shadow of death.\"\n\n    \"Waft, waft, ye winds, the story,\n      And you, ye waters, roll,\n    Till, like the sea of glory,\n      It spreads from pole to pole.\"\n\nChristian reader, are you thinking of \"the regions beyond you?\" This\nexpression may, in your case, mean the next house, the next street, the\nnext village, the next city, the next kingdom, or the next continent.\nThe application is for your own heart to ponder: but say, are you\nthinking of \"the regions beyond you?\" I do not want you to abandon your\npresent post at all; or, at least, not until you are fully persuaded\nthat your work, at the post, is done. But, remember, the gospel plough\nshould never stand still. \"_Onward_\" is the motto of every true\nevangelist. Let the shepherds abide by the flocks; but let the\nevangelists betake themselves hither and thither, to gather the sheep.\nLet them sound the gospel trump, far and wide, o'er the dark mountains\nof this world, to gather together the elect of God. This is the design\nof the gospel. This should be the object of the evangelist, as he sighs\nafter \"the regions beyond.\" When Caesar beheld, from the coast of Gaul,\nthe white cliffs of Britain, he earnestly longed to carry his arms\nthither. The evangelist, on the other hand, whose heart beats in unison\nwith the heart of Jesus, as he casts his eye over the map of the world,\nlongs to carry the gospel of peace into regions which have heretofore\nbeen wrapped in midnight gloom, covered with the dark mantle of\nsuperstition, or blasted beneath the withering influences of \"a form of\ngodliness without the power.\"\n\nIt would, I believe, be a profitable question for many of us to put to\nourselves, how far are we discharging our holy responsibilities to \"the\nregions beyond.\" I believe the Christian who is not cultivating and\nmanifesting an evangelistic spirit, is in a truly deplorable condition.\nI believe, too, that the assembly which is not cultivating and\nmanifesting an evangelistic spirit is in a dead state. One of the truest\nmarks of spiritual growth and prosperity, whether in an individual or in\nan assembly, is earnest anxiety after the conversion of souls. This\nanxiety will swell the bosom with most generous emotions; yea, it will\nbreak forth in copious streams of benevolent exertion, ever flowing\ntoward \"the regions beyond.\" It is hard to believe that \"the word of\nChrist\" is \"dwelling richly\" in any one who is not making some effort to\nimpart that word to his fellow-sinners. It matters not what may be the\namount of the effort; it may be to drop a few words in the ear of a\nfriend, to give a tract, to pen a note, to breathe a prayer. But one\nthing is certain, namely, that a healthy, vigorous Christian will be an\nevangelistic Christian--a teller of good news--one whose sympathies,\ndesires, and energies, are ever going forth toward \"the regions beyond.\"\n\"I must preach the gospel to other cities also, for therefore am I\nsent.\" Such was the language of the true Evangelist.\n\nIt is very doubtful whether many of the servants of Christ have not\nerred in allowing themselves, through one influence or another, to\nbecome too much localized--too much tied in one place. They have dropped\ninto routine work--into a round of stated preaching in the same place,\nand, in many cases, have paralyzed themselves and paralyzed their\nhearers also. I speak not, now, of the labors of the pastor, the elder,\nor the teacher, which must, of course, be carried on in the midst of\nthose who are the proper subjects of such labors. I refer more\nparticularly to the evangelist. Such an one should never suffer himself\nto be localized. The world is his sphere--\"the regions beyond,\" his\nmotto--to gather out God's elect, his object--the current of the Spirit,\nhis line of direction. If the reader should be one whom God has called\nand fitted to be an evangelist, let him remember these four things--the\nsphere, the motto, the object, and the line of direction, which all must\nadopt if they would prove fruitful laborers in the gospel field.\n\nFinally, whether the reader be an evangelist or not, I would earnestly\nintreat him to examine how far he is seeking to further the gospel of\nChrist. We must not stand idle. Time is short! Eternity is rapidly\nposting on! The Master is most worthy! Souls are most precious! The\nseason for work will soon close! Let us, then, in the name of the Lord,\nbe up and doing. And when we have done what we can, in the regions\naround, let us carry the precious seed into \"THE REGIONS BEYOND.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\nTHE WORK OF AN EVANGELIST.\n\n(Acts xvi. 8-31.)\n\n\nWe ventured to offer a word to the evangelist, which we now follow up\nwith a paper on the evangelist's work; and we cannot do better than\nselect, as the basis of our remarks, a page from the missionary record\nof one of the greatest evangelists that ever lived. The passage of\nScripture that stands at the head of this article furnishes specimens of\nthree distinct classes of hearers, and also the method in which they\nwere met by the great apostle of the Gentiles, guided, most surely, by\nthe Holy Ghost. We have, first, _the earnest seeker_; secondly, _the\nfalse professor_; and thirdly, _the hardened sinner_. These three\nclasses are to be met everywhere, and at all times, by the Lord's\nworkman; and hence we may be thankful for an inspired account of the\nright mode of dealing with such. It is most desirable that those who go\nforth with the gospel should have skill in dealing with the various\nconditions of soul that come before them, from day to day; and there can\nbe no more effectual way of attaining this skill than the careful study\nof the models given us by God the Holy Ghost.\n\nLet us then, in the first place, look at the narrative of\n\n\nTHE EARNEST SEEKER.\n\nThe laborious apostle, in the course of his missionary journeyings,\ncame to Troas, and there a vision appeared to him in the night, \"There\nstood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into\nMacedonia and help us. And after he had seen the vision, immediately we\nendeavored to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had\ncalled us for to preach the gospel unto them. Therefore loosing from\nTroas, we came with a straight course to Samothracia, and the next day\nto Neapolis; and from thence to Philippi, which is the chief city of\nthat part of Macedonia, and a colony: and we were in that city abiding\ncertain days. And on the Sabbath we went out of the city by a river\nside, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto\nthe women which resorted thither. And a certain woman named Lydia, a\nseller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshiped God, heard\nus; whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things that\nwere spoken of Paul. And when she was baptized, and her household, she\nbesought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord,\ncome into my house and abide there. And she constrained us\" (Acts xvi.\n8-15).\n\nHere, then, we have a touching picture--something well worth gazing at\nand pondering. It is a picture of one who, having through grace gotten a\nmeasure of light, was living up to it, and was earnestly seeking for\nmore. Lydia, the seller of purple, belonged to the same interesting\ngeneration as the eunuch of Ethiopia, and the centurion of Caesarea. All\nthree appear on the page of inspiration as quickened souls not\nemancipated--not at rest--not satisfied. The eunuch had gone from\nEthiopia to Jerusalem in search of something on which to rest his\nanxious soul. He had left that city still unsatisfied, and was devoutly\nand earnestly hanging over the precious page of inspiration. The eye of\nGod was upon him, and He sent His servant Philip with the very message\nthat was needed to solve his difficulties, answer his questions, and set\nhis soul at rest. God knows how to bring the Philips and the eunuchs\ntogether. He knows how to prepare the heart for the message and the\nmessage for the heart. The eunuch was a worshiper of God; but Philip is\nsent to teach him how to see God in the face of Jesus Christ. This was\nprecisely what he wanted. It was a flood of fresh light breaking in upon\nhis earnest spirit, setting his heart and conscience at rest, and\nsending him on his way rejoicing. He had honestly followed the light as\nit broke in upon his soul, and God sent him more.\n\nThus it is ever. \"To him that hath shall more be given.\" There never was\na soul who sincerely acted up to his light that did not get more light.\nThis is most consolatory and encouraging to all anxious enquirers. If\nthe reader belongs to this class, let him take courage. If he is one of\nthose with whom God has begun to work, then let him rest assured of\nthis, that He who hath begun a good work will perform the same until the\nday of Jesus Christ. He will, most surely, perfect that which\nconcerneth His people.\n\nBut let no one fold his arms, settle upon his oars, and coolly say, \"I\nmust wait God's time for more light. I can do nothing--my efforts are\nuseless. When God's time comes I shall be all right; till then, I must\nremain as I am.\" These were not the thoughts or feelings of the\nEthiopian eunuch. He was one of the earnest seekers; and all earnest\nseekers are sure to be happy finders. It must be so, for \"God is a\nrewarder of them that diligently seek Him\" (Heb. xi. 6).\n\nSo also with the centurion of Caesarea. He was a man of the same stamp.\nHe lived up to his light. He fasted, he prayed, and gave alms. We are\nnot told whether he had read the sermon on the mount: but it is\nremarkable that he exercised himself in the three grand branches of\npractical righteousness set forth by our Lord in the sixth chapter of\nMatthew.[XXV.] He was moulding his conduct and shaping his way according\nto the standard which God had set before him. His righteousness exceeded\nthe righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, and therefore he entered\nthe kingdom. He was, through grace, a real man, earnestly following the\nlight as it streamed in upon his soul, and he was led into the full\nblaze of the gospel of the grace of God. God sent a Peter to Cornelius,\nas he had sent a Philip to the eunuch. The prayers and alms had gone up\nas a memorial before God, and Peter was sent with a message of full\nsalvation through a crucified and risen Saviour.\n\nNow it is quite possible that there are persons who, having been rocked\nin the cradle of easy-going evangelical profession, and trained up in\nthe flippant formalism of a self-indulgent, heaven-made-easy religion,\nare ready to condemn the pious conduct of Cornelius, and pronounce it\nthe fruit of ignorance and legality. Such persons have never known what\nit was to deny themselves a single meal, or to spend an hour in real,\nearnest prayer, or to open their hand, in true benevolence, to meet the\nwants of the poor. They have heard and learnt, perchance, that salvation\nis not to be gained by such means--that we are justified by faith\nwithout works--that it is to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him\nthat justifieth the ungodly.\n\nAll this is most true; but what right have we to imagine that Cornelius\nwas praying, fasting, and giving alms in order to earn salvation? None\nwhatever--at least if we are to be governed by the inspired narrative,\nand we have no other means of knowing aught about this truly excellent\nand interesting character. He was informed by the angel that his prayers\nand his alms had gone up as a memorial before God. Is not this a clear\nproof that these prayers and alms were not the trappings of\nself-righteousness, but the fruits of a righteousness based on the\nknowledge which he had of God? Surely the fruits of self-righteousness\nand legality could never have ascended as a memorial to the throne of\nGod; nor could Peter ever have said concerning a mere legalist that he\nwas one who feared God and worked righteousness.\n\nAh, no, reader; Cornelius was a man thoroughly in earnest. He lived up\nto what he knew, and he would have been quite wrong to go further. To\nhim the salvation of his immortal soul, the service of God, and\neternity, were grand and all-absorbing realities. He was none of your\neasy-going professors, full of flippant, vapid, worthless talk, but\n_doing_ nothing. He belonged to another generation altogether. He\nbelonged to the _working_, not the _talking_ class. He was one on whom\nthe eye of God rested with complacency, and in whom the mind of heaven\nwas profoundly interested.\n\nAnd so was our friend of Thyatira, Lydia, the seller of purple. She\nbelonged to the same school--she occupied the same platform as the\ncenturion and the eunuch. It is truly delightful to contemplate these\nthree precious souls--to think of one in Ethiopia; another at Caesarea;\nand a third at Thyatira or Philippi. It is particularly refreshing to\ncontrast such downright thorough-going, earnest souls, with many in this\nour day of boasted light and knowledge, who have got the plan of\nsalvation, as it is termed, in their heads, the doctrines of grace on\nthe tongue, but the world in the heart; whose absorbing object is self,\nself, self,--miserable object!\n\nWe shall have occasion to refer more fully to these latter under our\nsecond head; but, for the present, we shall think of the earnest Lydia;\nand we must confess it is a far more grateful exercise. It is very plain\nthat Lydia, like Cornelius and the eunuch, was a quickened soul; she was\na worshiper of God; she was one who was right glad to lay aside her\npurple-selling, and betake herself to a prayer-meeting, or to any such\nlike place where spiritual profit was to be had, and where there were\ngood things going. \"Birds of a feather flock together,\" and so Lydia\nsoon found out where a few pious souls, a few kindred spirits, were in\nthe habit of meeting to wait on God in prayer.\n\nAll this is lovely. It does the heart good to be brought in contact with\nthis deep-toned earnestness. Surely the Holy Ghost has penned this\nnarrative, like all Holy Scripture, for our learning. It is a specimen\ncase, and we do well to ponder it. Lydia was found diligently availing\nherself of any and every opportunity; indeed she exhibited the real\nfruits of divine life, the genuine instincts of the new nature. She\nfound out where saints met for prayer, and took her place among them.\nShe did not fold her arms and settle down on her lees, to wait, in\nantinomian indolence and culpable idleness, for some extraordinary\nundefinable thing to come upon her, or some mysterious change to come\nover her. No; she went to a prayer-meeting--the place of expressed\nneed--the place of expected blessing: and there God met her, as He is\nsure to meet all who frequent such scenes in Lydia's spirit. God never\nfails an expectant heart. He has said, \"They shall not be ashamed that\nwait for Me;\" and, like a bright and blessed sunbeam on the page of\ninspiration, shines that pregnant, weighty, soul-stirring sentence, \"God\nis a rewarder of them that DILIGENTLY seek Him.\" He sent a Philip to the\neunuch in the desert of Gaza. He sent a Peter to the centurion, in the\ntown of Caesarea. He sent a Paul to a seller of purple, in the suburbs of\nPhilippi; and He will send a message to the reader of these lines, if he\nbe a really earnest seeker after God's salvation.\n\nIt is ever a moment of deepest interest when a prepared soul is brought\nin contact with the full gospel of the grace of God. It may be that that\nsoul has been under deep and painful exercise for many a long day,\nseeking rest but finding none. The Lord has been working by His Spirit,\nand preparing the ground for the good seed. He has been making deep the\nfurrows so that the precious seed of His Word may take permanent root,\nand bring forth fruit to His praise. The Holy Ghost is never in haste.\nHis work is deep, sure and solid. His plants are not like Jonah's gourd,\nspringing up in a night and perishing in a night. All that He does will\nstand, blessed be His name. \"I know that whatsoever God doeth, it shall\nbe forever.\" When He convicts, converts, and liberates a soul, the stamp\nof His own eternal hand is upon the work, in all its stages.\n\nNow, it must have been a moment of intense interest when one in Lydia's\nstate of soul was brought in contact with that most glorious gospel\nwhich Paul carried (Acts xvi. 14). She was thoroughly prepared for his\nmessage; and surely his message was thoroughly prepared for her. He\ncarried with him truth which she had never heard and never thought of.\nAs we have already remarked, she had been living up to her light; she\nwas a worshiper of God; but we are bold to assert that she had no idea\nof the glorious truth which was lodged in the heart of that stranger who\nsat beside her at the prayer-meeting. She had come thither--devout and\nearnest woman that she was--to pray and to worship, to get some little\nrefreshment for her spirit, after the toils of the week. How little did\nshe imagine that at that meeting she should hear the greatest preacher\nthat ever lived, save One, and that she should hear the very highest\norder of truth that had ever fallen upon mortal ears.\n\nYet thus it was. And, oh, how important it was for Lydia to have been at\nthat memorable prayer meeting! How well it was she had not acted as so\nmany, now-a-days, act, who after a week of toil in the shop, the\nwarehouse, the factory, or the field, take the opportunity of lying in\nbed on Sunday!\n\nHow many there are whom you will see at their post from Monday morning\ntill Saturday night, working away with all diligence at their calling,\nbut for whom you will look in vain at the meeting on the Lord's day. How\nis this? They will tell you, perhaps, that they are so worn out on\nSaturday night that they have no energy to rise on Sunday, and therefore\nthey spend this day in sloth, lounging, and self-indulgence. They have\nno care for their souls, no care for eternity, no care for Christ. They\ncare for themselves, for their families, for the world, for\nmoney-making; and hence you will find them up with the dawn of Monday\nand off to their work.\n\nLydia did not belong to this class at all. No doubt she attended to her\nbusiness, as every right-minded person will. We dare say--indeed, we are\nsure--she kept very excellent purple, and was a fair, honest trader, in\nevery sense of the word. But she did not spend her Sabbath in bed, or\nlounging about her house, or nursing herself up, and making a great fuss\nabout all she had to do during the week. Neither do we believe that\nLydia was one of those self-occupied folk whom a shower of rain is\nsufficient to keep away from a meeting. No; Lydia was of a different\nstamp altogether. She was an earnest woman, who felt she had a soul to\nsave, and an eternity before her, and a living God to serve and worship.\n\nWould to God we had more Lydias in this our day! It would give a charm,\nand an interest, and a freshness to the work of an evangelist, for\nwhich many of the Lord's workmen have to sigh in vain. We seem to live\nin a day of terrible unreality as to divine and eternal things. Men,\nwomen, and children are real enough at their money-making, their\npursuits, and their pleasures; but oh, when the things of God, the\nthings of the soul, the things of eternity, are in question, the aspect\nof people is that of a yawning indifference. But the moment is rapidly\napproaching--every beat of the pulse, every tick of the watch, brings us\nnearer to it--when the yawning indifference shall be exchanged for\n\"weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth.\" If this were more deeply\nfelt, we should have many more Lydias, prepared to lend an attentive ear\nto Paul's gospel.\n\nWhat force and beauty in those words, \"Whose heart the Lord opened, that\n_she attended_ unto the things that were spoken of Paul.\" Lydia was not\none of those who go to meetings to think of anything and everything but\nthe things that are spoken by the Lord's messengers. She was not\nthinking of her purple, or of the prices, or the probable gains or\nlosses. How many of those who fill our preaching rooms and lecture halls\nfollow the example of Lydia? Alas! we fear but very few indeed. The\nbusiness, the state of the markets, the state of the funds, money,\npleasure, dress, folly--a thousand and one things are thought of, and\ndwelt upon, and attended to, so that the poor vagrant, volatile heart is\nat the ends of the earth instead of \"_attending_\" to the things that are\nspoken.\n\nAll this is very solemn, and very awful. It really ought to be looked\ninto and thought of. People seem to forget the responsibility involved\nin hearing the gospel preached. They do not seem to be in the smallest\ndegree impressed with the weighty fact that the gospel never leaves any\nunconverted person where it finds him. He is either saved by receiving,\nor rendered more guilty by rejecting it. Hence it becomes a serious\nmatter to hear the gospel. People may attend gospel meetings as a matter\nof custom, as a religious service, or because they have nothing else to\ndo, and the time would hang heavy upon their hands; or they may go\nbecause they think that the mere act of going has a sort of merit\nattached to it. Thus thousands attend preachings at which Christ's\nservants, though not Pauls in gift, power, or intelligence, unfold the\nprecious grace of God in sending His only begotten Son into the world to\nsave us from everlasting torment and misery. The virtue and efficacy of\nthe atoning death of the divine Saviour--the Lamb of God--the dread\nrealities of eternity--the awful horrors of hell, and the unspeakable\njoys of heaven--all these weighty matters are handled, according to the\nmeasure of grace bestowed upon the Lord's messengers, and yet how little\nimpression is produced! They \"reason of righteousness, temperance, and\njudgment to come,\" and yet how few are made even to \"tremble!\"\n\nAnd why? Will anyone presume to excuse himself for rejecting the gospel\nmessage on the ground of his inability to believe it? Will he appeal to\nthe very case before us, and say, \"The Lord opened her heart; and if He\nwould only do the same for me, I, too, should attend; but until He does,\nI can do nothing\"? We reply, and with deep seriousness, Such an argument\nwill not avail thee in the day of judgment. Indeed we are most\nthoroughly convinced that thou wilt not dare to use it then. Thou art\nmaking a false use of Lydia's charming history. True it is, blessedly\ntrue, the Lord opened her heart; and He is ready to open thine also, if\nthere were in thee but the hundredth part of Lydia's earnestness.\n\nAnd dost thou not know full well, reader, that there are two sides to\nthis great question, as there are to every question? It is all very\nwell, and sounds very forcibly, for thee to say, \"I can do nothing.\" But\nwho told thee this? Where hast thou learnt it? We solemnly challenge\nthee, in the presence of God, Canst thou look up to Him and say, \"I can\ndo nothing--I am not responsible?\" Say, is the salvation of thy\nnever-dying soul just _the_ one thing in which thou canst do nothing?\nThou canst do a lot of things in the service of the world, of self, and\nof Satan; but when it becomes a question of God, the soul, and eternity,\nyou coolly say, \"I can do nothing--I am not responsible.\"\n\nAh! it will never do. All this style of argument is the fruit of a\none-sided theology. It is the result of the most pernicious reasoning of\nthe human mind upon certain truths in Scripture which are turned the\nwrong way and sadly misapplied. But it will not stand. This is what we\nurge upon the reader. It is of no possible use arguing in this way. The\nsinner is responsible; and all the theology, and all the reasoning, and\nall the fallacious though plausible objections that can be scraped\ntogether, can never do away with this weighty and most serious fact.\n\nHence, therefore, we call upon the reader to be, like Lydia, in earnest\nabout his soul's salvation--to let every other question, every other\npoint, every other subject, sink into utter insignificance in comparison\nwith this one momentous question--the salvation of his precious soul.\nThen, he may depend upon it, the One who sent Philip to the eunuch, and\nsent Peter to the centurion, and sent Paul to Lydia, will send some\nmessenger and some message to him, and will also open his heart to\nattend. Of this there cannot possibly be a doubt, inasmuch as Scripture\ndeclares that \"God is not willing that any should perish, but that all\nshould come to repentance.\" All who perish, after having heard the\nmessage of salvation--the sweet story of God's free love, of a Saviour's\ndeath and resurrection--shall perish without a shadow of an excuse,\nshall descend into hell with their blood upon their guilty heads. Their\neyes shall then be open to see through all the flimsy arguments by which\nthey have sought to prop themselves up in a false position, and lull\nthemselves to sleep in sin and worldliness.\n\nBut let us dwell for a moment on \"the things that were spoken of Paul.\"\nThe Spirit of God hath not thought proper to give us even a brief\noutline of Paul's address at the prayer-meeting. We are therefore left\nto other passages of Holy Scripture to form an idea of what Lydia heard\nfrom his lips on that interesting occasion. Let us take, for example,\nthat famous passage in which he reminds the Corinthians of the gospel\nwhich he had preached to them. \"Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you\nthe gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and\nwherein ye stand; by which also ye are saved if ye keep in memory what I\npreached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto\nyou first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for\nour sins according to the Scriptures; and that He was buried, and that\nHe rose again the third day according to the Scriptures\" (I Cor. xv.\nI-4).\n\nNow we may safely conclude that the foregoing passage of Scripture\ncontains a compendium of the things that were spoken of Paul at the\nprayer-meeting at Philippi. The grand theme of Paul's preaching was\nChrist--Christ for the sinner--Christ for the saint--Christ for the\nconscience--Christ for the heart. He never allowed himself to wander\nfrom this great centre, but made all his preachings and all his\nteachings circulate round it with admirable consistency. If he called on\nmen, both Jews and Gentiles, to repent, the lever with which he worked\nwas Christ. If he urged them to believe, the object which he held up\nfor faith was Christ, on the authority of Holy Scripture. If he reasoned\nof righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, the One that gave\ncogency and moral power to his reasoning was Christ. In short, Christ\nwas the very gist and marrow, the sum and substance, the foundation and\ntop stone of Paul's preaching and teaching.\n\nBut, for our present purpose, there are three grand subjects, found in\nPaul's preaching, to which we desire to call the reader's attention.\nThese are, first, the grace of God; secondly, the Person and work of\nChrist; and thirdly, the testimony of the Holy Ghost as given in the\nHoly Scriptures.\n\nWe do not attempt to go into these vast subjects here; we merely name\nthem, and entreat the reader to ponder them, to muse over them, and seek\nto make them his own.\n\n(I) The grace of God--His free, sovereign favor--is the source from\nwhence salvation flows--salvation in all the length, breadth, height,\nand depth of that most precious word--salvation which stretches, like a\ngolden chain, from the bosom of God, down to the very deepest depths of\nthe sinner's guilty and ruined condition, and back again to the throne\nof God--meets all the sinner's necessities, overlaps the whole of the\nsaint's history, and glorifies God in the highest possible manner.\n\n(2) Then, in the second place, the Person of Christ and His finished\nwork are the _only_ channel through which salvation can possibly flow to\nthe lost and guilty sinner. It is not the Church and her sacraments,\nreligion and its rites and ceremonies--man or his doings in any shape or\nform. It is the death and resurrection of Christ. \"He died for our sins,\nwas buried, and rose again the third day.\" This was the gospel which\nPaul preached, by which the Corinthians were saved, and the apostle\ndeclares, with solemn emphasis, \"If any man preach any other gospel, let\nhim be accursed.\" Tremendous words for this our day!\n\n(3) But, thirdly, the authority on which we receive the salvation is the\ntestimony of the Holy Ghost in Scripture. It is \"according to the\nScriptures.\" This is a most solid and comforting truth. It is not a\nquestion of feelings, or experiences, or evidences; it is a simple\nquestion of faith in God's word wrought in the heart by God's Spirit.\n\nIt is a serious reflection for the evangelist, that wherever God's\nSpirit is at work, there Satan is sure to be busy. We must remember and\never be prepared for this. The enemy of Christ and the enemy of souls is\nalways on the watch, always hovering about to see what he can do, either\nto hinder or corrupt the work of the gospel. This need not terrify or\neven discourage the workman; but it is well to bear it in mind and be\nwatchful. Satan will leave no stone unturned to mar or hinder the\nblessed work of God's Spirit. He has proved himself the ceaseless,\nvigilant enemy of that work, from the days of Eden down to the present\nmoment.\n\nNow, in tracing the history of Satan, we find him acting in two\ncharacters, namely, as a serpent, or as a lion--using craft or violence.\nHe will try to deceive; and, if he cannot succeed, then he will use\nviolence. Thus it is in this sixteenth chapter of the Acts. The\napostle's heart had been cheered and refreshed by what we moderns should\npronounce, \"a beautiful case of conversion.\" Lydia's was a very real and\ndecided case, in every respect. It was direct, positive, and\nunmistakable. She received Christ into her heart, and forthwith took\nChristian ground by submitting to the deeply significant ordinance of\nbaptism. Nor was this all. She immediately opened her house to the\nLord's messengers. Hers was no mere lip profession. It was not merely\n_saying_ she believed. She proved her faith in Christ, not only by going\ndown under the water of baptism, but also by identifying herself and her\nhousehold with the name and cause of that blessed One whom she had\nreceived into her heart by faith.\n\nAll this was clear and satisfactory. But we must now look at something\nquite different. The serpent appears upon the scene in the person of\n\n\nTHE DECEIVER.\n\n\"It came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with\na spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by\nsoothsaying. The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men\nare the servants of the most high God, which show unto us the way of\nsalvation. And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned\nand said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to\ncome out of her. And he came out the same hour\" (vers. 16-18).\n\nHere, then, was a case eminently calculated to test the spirituality and\nintegrity of the evangelist. Most men would have hailed such words from\nthe lips of this damsel as an encouraging testimony to the work. Why\nthen was Paul grieved? Why did he not allow her to continue to bear\nwitness to the object of his mission? Was she not saying the truth? Were\nthey not the servants of the most high God? And were they not showing\nthe way of salvation? Why be grieved with--why silence such a witness?\nBecause it was of Satan; and, most assuredly, the apostle was not going\nto receive testimony from him. He could not allow Satan to help him in\nhis work. True, he might have walked about the streets of Philippi owned\nand honored as a servant of God, if only he had consented to let the\ndevil have a hand in the work. But Paul could never consent to this. He\ncould never suffer the enemy to mix himself up with the work of the\nLord. Had he done so, it would have given the deathblow to the testimony\nat Philippi. To have permitted Satan to put his hand to the work, would\nhave involved the total shipwreck of the mission to Macedonia.\n\nIt is deeply important for the Lord's workman to weigh this matter. We\nmay rest assured that this narrative of the damsel has been written for\nour instruction.\n\nIt is not only a statement of what has occurred, but a sample of what\nmay and indeed what does occur every day.[XXVI.]\n\nBesides Christendom is full of false profession. There are multitudes of\nfalse professors at this moment, throughout the wide domain of Christian\nprofession. It is sad to have to say it, but so it is, and we must press\nthe fact upon the attention of the reader. We are surrounded, on all\nsides, by those who give a merely nominal assent to the truths of the\nChristian religion. They go on, from week to week, and from year to\nyear, professing to believe certain things which they do not in reality\nbelieve at all. There are thousands who, every Lord's Day, profess to\nbelieve in the forgiveness of sins, and yet, were such persons to be\nexamined, it would be found that they either do not think about the\nmatter at all, or, if they do think, they deem it the very height of\npresumption for any one to be sure that his sins are forgiven.\n\nThis is very serious. Only think of a person standing up in the presence\nof God and saying, \"I believe in the forgiveness of sins,\" and all the\nwhile he does not believe any such thing! Can anything be more\nhardening to the heart, or more deadening to the conscience than this?\nIt is our firm persuasion that the forms and the formularies of\nprofessing Christianity are doing more to ruin precious souls than all\nthe forms of moral pravity put together. It is perfectly appalling to\ncontemplate the countless multitudes that are at this moment rushing\nalong the well-trodden highway of religious profession, down to the\neternal flames of hell. We feel bound to raise a warning note. We want\nthe reader most solemnly to take heed as to this matter.\n\nWe have only instanced one special formulary, because it refers to a\nsubject of very general interest and importance. How few, comparatively,\nare clear and settled as to the question of forgiveness of sins! How few\nare able, calmly, decidedly, and intelligently, to say, \"_I know_ that\nmy sins are forgiven!\" How few are in the real enjoyment of full\nforgiveness of sins, through faith in that precious blood that cleanseth\nfrom all sin! How solemn, therefore, to hear people giving utterance to\nsuch words as these, \"I believe in the forgiveness of sins,\" while, in\nfact, they do not believe their own very utterance! Is the reader in the\nhabit of using such a form of words? Does he believe it? Say, dear\nfriend, are thy sins forgiven? Art thou washed in the precious atoning\nblood of Christ? If not, why not? The way is open. There is no\nhindrance. Thou art perfectly welcome, this moment, to the free benefits\nof the atoning work of Christ. Though thy sins be as scarlet; though\nthey be black as midnight, black as hell; though they rise like a\ndreadful mountain before the vision of thy troubled soul, and threaten\nto sink thee into eternal perdition; yet do these words shine with\ndivine and heavenly lustre on the page of inspiration, \"_The blood of\nJesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from_ ALL _sin_\" (I John i. 7).\n\nBut mark, friend, do not go on, week after week, mocking God, hardening\nthine own heart, and carrying out the schemes of the great enemy of\nChrist, by a false profession. This marks the damsel possessed by a\nspirit of divination, and here her history links itself with the present\nawful condition of Christendom. What was the burden of her song, during\nthose \"many days\" in the which the apostle narrowly considered her case?\n\"These men are the servants of the most high God, which _show unto us_\nthe way of salvation.\" But she was not saved--she was not delivered--she\nwas, all the while, under Satan's power herself.\n\nThus it is with Christendom--thus it is with each false professor\nthroughout the length and breadth of the professing Church. We know of\nnothing, even in the deepest depths of moral evil, or in the darkest\nshades of heathenism, more truly awful than the state of careless,\nhardened, self-satisfied, fallow-ground professors, who on each\nsuccessive Lord's Day give utterance, either in their prayers or their\nsinging, to words which, so far as they are concerned, are wholly\nfalse.\n\nThe thought of this is, at times, almost over-whelming. We cannot dwell\nupon it. It is really too sorrowful. We shall therefore pass on, having\nonce more solemnly warned the reader against every shade and degree of\nfalse profession. Let him not say or sing aught that he does not\nheartily believe. The devil is at the bottom of all false profession,\nand by means thereof he seeks to bring discredit on the work of the\nLord.\n\nBut how truly refreshing to contemplate the actings of the faithful\napostle in the case of the damsel. Had he been seeking his own ends, or\nhad he been merely a minister of religion, he might have welcomed her\nwords as a tributary stream to swell the tide of his popularity, or\npromote the interest of his cause. But Paul was not a mere minister of\nreligion; he was a minister of Christ--a totally different thing. And we\nmay notice that the damsel does not say a word about Christ. She\nbreathes not the precious, peerless name of Jesus. There is total\nsilence as to Him. This stamps the whole thing as of Satan. \"No man can\ncall Jesus Lord but by the Holy Ghost.\" People may speak of God, and of\nreligion; but Christ has no place in their hearts. The Pharisees, in the\nninth of John, could say to the poor man, \"Give God the praise;\" but in\nspeaking of Jesus, they could say, \"This man is a sinner.\"\n\nThus it is ever in the case of corrupt religion, or false profession.\nThus it was with the damsel in Acts xvi. There was not a syllable about\nChrist.\n\nThere was no truth, no life, no reality. It was hollow and false. It was\nof Satan; and hence Paul would not and could not own it; he was grieved\nwith it and utterly rejected it.\n\nWould that all were like him! Would that there were the singleness of\neye to detect, and the integrity of heart to reject the work of Satan in\nmuch that is going on around us! Such an eye Paul, through grace,\npossessed. He was not to be deceived. He saw that the whole affair was\nan effort of Satan to mix himself up with the work, that thus he might\nspoil it altogether. \"But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the\nspirit, I command thee, in the name of Jesus Christ, to come out of her.\nAnd he came out the same hour.\"\n\nThis was true spiritual action. Paul was not in any haste to come into\ncollision with the evil one, or even to pronounce upon the case at all;\nhe waited many days; but the very moment that the enemy was detected he\nis resisted and repulsed with uncompromising decision. A less spiritual\nworkman might have allowed the thing to pass, under the idea that it\nmight turn to account and help forward the work. Paul thought\ndifferently; and he was right. He would take no help from Satan. He was\nnot going to work by such an agency; and hence, in the name of Jesus\nChrist--that name which the enemy so sedulously excluded--he puts Satan\nto flight.\n\nBut no sooner was Satan repulsed as the serpent, than he assumed the\ncharacter of a lion. Craft having failed, he tried violence. \"And when\nher masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul\nand Silas and drew them into the market-place unto the rulers, and\nbrought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do\nexceedingly trouble our city, and teach customs which are not lawful for\nus to receive, neither to observe, being Romans. And the multitude rose\nup together against them; and the magistrates rent off their clothes,\nand commanded to beat them. And when they had laid many stripes upon\nthem, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them\nsafely\" (vers. 19-23).\n\nThus the enemy seemed to triumph; but be it remembered that Christ's\nwarriors gain their most splendid victories by apparent defeat. The\ndevil made a great mistake when he cast the apostle into prison. Indeed\nit is consolatory to reflect that he has never done anything else but\nmake mistakes, from the moment that he left his first estate down to the\npresent moment. His entire history, from beginning to end, is one tissue\nof errors.\n\nAnd thus, as has been already remarked, the devil made a great mistake\nwhen he cast Paul into prison at Philippi. To nature's view it might\nhave seemed otherwise; but in the judgment of faith, the servant of\nChrist was much more in his right place in prison for the truth's sake,\nthan outside at his Master's expense. True, Paul might have saved\nhimself. He might have been an honored man, owned and acknowledged as \"a\nservant of the most high God,\" if he had only accepted the damsel's\ntestimony, and suffered the devil to help him in his work. But he could\nnot do this, and hence he had to suffer. \"And the multitude (ever fickle\nand easily swayed) rose up together against them: and the magistrates\nrent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. And when they had\nlaid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the\njailor to keep them safely. Who, having received such a charge, _thrust_\nthem into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks\"\n(vers. 22-24).\n\nHere, then, some might have said, was an end to the work of the\nevangelist in the city of Philippi. Here was an effectual stop to the\npreaching. Not so; the prison was the very place, at the moment, for the\nevangelist. His work was there. He was to find a congregation within the\nprison walls which he could not have found outside. But this leads us,\nin the third and last place, to the case of\n\n\nTHE HARDENED SINNER.\n\nIt was very unlikely that the jailor would ever have found his way to\nthe prayer-meeting at the river side. He had little care for such\nthings. He was neither an earnest seeker, nor a deceiver. He was a\nhardened sinner, pursuing a very hardening occupation. Jailors, from the\noccupation of their office, are, generally speaking, hard and stern men.\nNo doubt there are exceptions. There are some tender-hearted men to be\nfound in such situations; but, as a rule, jailors are not tender. It\nwould hardly suit them to be so. They have to do with the very worst\nclass of society. Much of the crime of the whole country comes under\ntheir notice; and many of the criminals come under their charge.\nAccustomed to the rough and the coarse, they are apt to become rough and\ncoarse themselves.\n\nNow, judging from the inspired narrative before us, we may well question\nif the Philippian jailor was an exception to the general rule with\nrespect to men of his class. Certainly he does not seem to have shown\nmuch tenderness to Paul and Silas. \"He _thrust_ them into the _inner_\nprison, and made their feet _fast_ in the stocks.\" He seems to have gone\nto the utmost extreme in making them uncomfortable.\n\nBut God had rich mercy in store for that poor, hardened, cruel jailor;\nand, as it was not at all likely that he would go to hear the gospel,\nthe Lord sent the gospel to him; and, moreover, He made the devil the\ninstrument of sending it. Little did the jailor know whom he was\nthrusting into the inner prison--little did he anticipate what was to\nhappen ere another sun should rise. And we may add, little did the devil\nthink of what he was doing when he sent the preachers of the gospel into\njail, there to be the means of the jailor's conversion. But the Lord\nJesus Christ knew what He was about to do, in the case of a poor\nhardened sinner. He can make the wrath of man to praise Him and restrain\nthe remainder.\n\n    \"He everywhere hath sway,\n      And all things serve His might,\n    His ev'ry act pure blessing is,\n      His path unsullied light.\n\n    \"When He makes bare His arm,\n      Who shall His work withstand?\n    When He His people's cause defends,\n      Who then shall stay His hand?\"\n\nIt was His purpose to save the jailor; and so far from Satan's being\nable to frustrate that purpose, he was actually made the instrument of\naccomplishing it. \"God's purpose shall stand; and He will do all His\npleasure.\" And where He sets His love upon a poor, wretched, guilty\nsinner, He will have him in heaven, spite of all the malice and rage of\nhell.\n\nAs to Paul and Silas, it is very evident that they were in their right\nplace in the prison. They were there _for the truth's sake_, and\ntherefore _the Lord was with them_. Hence they were perfectly happy.\nWhat, though they were confined within the gloomy walls of the prison,\nwith their feet made fast in the stocks, prison walls could not confine\ntheir spirits. Nothing can hinder the joy of one who has the Lord with\nhim. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, were happy in the fiery furnace.\nDaniel was happy in the lions' den; and Paul and Silas were happy in the\ndungeon of Philippi: \"And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang\npraises to God: and the prisoners heard them.\"\n\nWhat sounds to issue from the inner prison! We may safely say that no\nsuch sounds had ever issued thence before. Curses and execrations and\nblasphemous words might have been heard; sighs, cries, and groans come\nforth from those walls. But to hear the accents of prayer and praise,\nascending at the midnight hour, must have seemed strange indeed. Faith\ncan sing as sweetly in a dungeon as at a prayer-meeting. It matters not\nwhere we are, provided always that we have God with us. His presence\nlights up the darkest cell, and turns a dungeon into the very gate of\nheaven. He can make His servants happy anywhere, and give them victory\nover the most adverse circumstances, and cause them to shout for joy in\nscenes where nature would be overwhelmed with sorrow.\n\nBut the Lord had His eye upon the jailor. He had written his name in the\nLamb's book of life before the foundation of the world, and He was now\nabout to lead him into the full joy of His salvation. \"And suddenly\nthere was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were\nshaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands\nwere loosed\" (ver. 26).\n\nNow if Paul had not been in full communion with the mind and heart of\nChrist, he would assuredly have turned to Silas and said, \"Now is the\nmoment for us to make our escape. God has most manifestly appeared for\nus, and set before us an open door. If ever there was an opening of\ndivine Providence surely this is one.\" But no; Paul knew better. He was\nin the full current of His blessed Master's thoughts, and in full\nsympathy with his Master's heart. Hence he made no attempt to escape.\nThe claims of _truth_ had brought him into prison; the activities of\n_grace_ kept him there. Providence opened the door; but faith refused to\nwalk out. People talk of being guided by Providence; but if Paul had\nbeen so guided, the jailor would never have been a jewel in his crown.\n\n\"And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep and seeing the\nprison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself,\nsupposing that the prisoners had been fled\" (ver. 27). This proves, very\nplainly, that the earthquake, with all its attendant circumstances, had\nnot touched the heart of the jailor. He naturally supposed, when he saw\nthe doors open, that the prisoners were all gone. He could not imagine a\nnumber of prisoners sitting quietly in jail when the doors lay open and\ntheir chains were loosed. And then what was to become of him if the\nprisoners were gone? How could he face the authorities? Impossible.\nAnything but that. Death, even by his own hand, was preferable to that.\n\nThus the devil had conducted this hardened sinner to the very brink of\nthe precipice, and he was about to give him the final and fatal push\nover the edge, and down to the eternal flames of hell; when lo, a voice\nof love sounded in his ear. It was the voice of Jesus through the lips\nof His servant--a voice of tender and deep compassion--\"_Do thyself no\nharm_.\"\n\nThis was irresistible. A hardened sinner could meet an earthquake; he\ncould meet death itself; but he could not withstand the mighty melting\npower of love. The hardest heart must yield to the moral influence of\nlove. \"Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came _trembling_,\nand fell down before Paul and Silas, and brought them out, and said,\nSirs, what must I do to be saved?\" Love can break the hardest heart. And\nsurely there was love in those words, \"Do thyself no harm,\" coming from\nthe lips of one to whom he had done so much harm a few hours before.\n\nAnd, be it noted, there was not a single syllable of reproach, or even\nof reflection, uttered by Paul to the jailor. This was Christ-like. It\nwas the way of divine grace. If we look through the Gospels, we never\nfind the Lord casting reproach upon the sinner. He has tears of sorrow;\nHe has touching words of grace and tenderness; but no reproaches--no\nreflections--no reproach to the poor distressed sinner. We cannot\nattempt to furnish the many illustrations and proofs of this assertion;\nbut the reader has only to turn to the gospel story to see its truth.\nLook at the prodigal: look at the thief. Not one reproving word to\neither.\n\nThus it is in every case; and thus it was with God's Spirit in Paul. Not\na word about the harsh treatment--the thrusting into the inner\nprison--not a word about the stocks. \"Do thyself no harm.\" And then,\n\"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy\nhouse.\"\n\nSuch is the rich and precious grace of God. It shines, in this scene,\nwith uncommon lustre. It delights in taking up hardened sinners, melting\nand subduing their hard hearts, and leading them into the sunlight of a\nfull salvation; and all this in a style peculiar to itself. Yes, God has\nHis style of doing things, blessed be His name; and when He saves a\nwretched sinner, He does it after such a fashion as fully proves that\nHis whole heart is in the work. It is His joy to save a sinner--even the\nvery chief--and He does it in a way worthy of Himself.\n\nAnd now, let us look at the fruit of all this. The jailor's conversion\nwas most unmistakable. Saved from the very brink of hell, he was brought\ninto the very atmosphere of heaven. Preserved from self-destruction, he\nwas brought into the circle of God's salvation; and the evidences of\nthis were as clear as could be desired. \"And they spake unto him the\nword of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them\nthe same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized,\nhe and all his straightway. And when he had brought them into his house,\nhe set meat before them, and rejoiced, _believing in God, with all his\nhouse_.\"\n\nWhat a marvelous change! The ruthless jailor has become the generous\nhost! \"If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are\npassed away: behold, all things are become new.\" How clearly we can now\nsee that Paul was right in not being guided by _providences_! How much\nbetter and higher to be led by the \"eye\" of God! What an eternal loss\nit would have proved to him had he walked out at the open door! How much\nbetter to be conducted out by the very hand that had thrust him in--a\nhand once the instrument of cruelty and sin, now the instrument of\nrighteousness and love! What a magnificent triumph! What a scene,\naltogether! How little had the devil anticipated such a result from the\nimprisonment of the Lord's servants! He was thoroughly outwitted. The\ntables were completely turned upon him. He thought to hinder the gospel,\nand, behold! he was made to help it on. He had hoped to get rid of two\nof Christ's servants, and, lo! he lost one of his own. Christ is\nstronger than Satan; and all who put their trust in Him and move in the\ncurrent of His thoughts shall most assuredly share in the triumphs of\nHis grace now, and shine in the brightness of His glory forever.\n\nThus much, then, as to \"the work of an evangelist.\" Such are the scenes\nthrough which he may have to pass--such the cases with which he may have\nto come in contact. We have seen the earnest seeker satisfied; the\ndeceiver silenced; the hardened sinner saved. May all who go forth with\nthe gospel of the grace of God know how to deal with the various types\nof character that may cross their path! May many be raised up to do the\nwork of an evangelist!\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[XXV.] The reader will notice that in Matthew vi. I, the marginal\nreading is the correct one: \"Take heed that ye do not your\n_righteousness_ before men, to be seen of them.\" Then we have the three\ndepartments of this righteousness, namely, alms-giving (ver. 2); prayer\n(ver. 3); fasting (ver. 16). These were the very things Cornelius was\ndoing. In short, he feared God, and was working righteousness, according\nto his measure of light.\n\n[XXVI.] [An evangelist will not travel far in our day to find persons\nwho will take him warmly by the hand, and profess lively interest in his\nwork. A moment's intercourse with them, however, will disclose them to\nbe agents of \"Christian Science,\" of \"Millennial Dawn\" of \"Seventh Day\nAdventism\" or of some one or other of like systems--messengers of Satan,\nall professing Christianity, though in reality destroyers of it; pluming\nthemselves with its name, only to get inside and work destruction the\nmore easily. ED.]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\nLETTERS TO AN EVANGELIST.\n\n\nDEAREST A----,\n\nI have been much interested, and I trust profited, of late, by tracing,\nthrough the Gospels and the Acts, the various notices of the work of\nevangelization; and it has occured to me that it may not be amiss to\npresent to you, as one much occupied in the blessed work, a few of the\nthoughts that have suggested themselves to my mind. I shall feel myself\nmuch more free in this way, than if I were writing a formal treatise.\n\nAnd, first of all, I have been greatly struck with the simplicity with\nwhich the work of evangelizing was carried on in primitive times; so\nvery unlike a great deal of what obtains among us. It seems to me that\nwe moderns are quite too much hampered by conventional rules--too much\nfettered by the habits of Christendom. We are sadly deficient in what I\nmay call spiritual elasticity. We are apt to think that in order to\nevangelize there must be a special gift; and even where there is this\nspecial gift, there must be a great deal of machinery and human\narrangement. When we speak of doing the work of an evangelist, we, for\nthe most part, have before our minds great public halls, and crowded\naudiences, for which there is a demand for considerable gift and power\nfor speaking.\n\nNow you and I thoroughly believe, that in order to preach the gospel\npublicly, there must be a special gift from the Head of the Church; and,\nmoreover, we believe according to Eph. iv. 11, that Christ has given,\nand does still give, \"evangelists.\" This is clear, if we are to be\nguided by Scripture. But I find in the Gospels, and in the Acts of the\nApostles, that a quantity of most blessed evangelistic work was done by\npersons who were not specially gifted at all, but who had an earnest\nlove for souls, and a deep sense of the preciousness of Christ and His\nsalvation. And, what is more, I find in those who were specially gifted,\ncalled, and appointed by Christ to preach the gospel, a simplicity,\nfreedom, and naturalness in their mode of working, which I greatly covet\nfor myself and for all my brethren.\n\nLet us look a little into Scripture. Take that lovely scene in John i.\n36-45. John pours out his heart in testimony to Jesus: \"Behold the Lamb\nof God!\" His soul was absorbed with the glorious Object. What was the\nresult? \"Two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.\" What\nthen? \"One of the two which heard John speak, and followed Him, was\nAndrew, Simon Peter's brother.\" And what does he do? \"_He first findeth\nhis own brother_ Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias,\nwhich is, being interpreted, the Christ. And he brought him to Jesus.\"\nAgain, \"The day following, Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and\nfindeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow Me.... _Philip findeth\nNathanael_, and saith unto him, We have found Him, of whom Moses in the\nlaw, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of\nJoseph.... _Come and see._\"\n\nHere then, dearest A., is the style of thing for which I earnestly long:\nthis individual work, this laying hold of the first man that comes in\nour way, this finding one's own brother, and bringing him to Jesus. I do\nfeel we are deficient in this. It is all right enough to gather\ncongregations, and address them, as God gives ability and opportunity.\nNeither you nor I would pen a single word to detract from the value of\nsuch a line of work. By all means hire rooms, halls, and theatres; put\nout bills inviting people to come; leave no lawful means untried to\nspread the gospel. Seek to get at souls as best you can. Far be it from\nme to cast a damp upon any who are seeking to carry on the work in this\npublic way.\n\nBut does it not strike you that we want more of the individual work?\nmore of the private, earnest, personal dealing with souls? Do you not\nthink that if we had more \"Philips\" we should have more \"Nathanaels?\" If\nwe had more \"Andrews,\" we should have more \"Simons?\" I cannot but\nbelieve it. There is amazing power in an earnest personal appeal. Do you\nnot often find that it is after the more formal public preaching is\nfinished, and the close personal work begins, that souls are reached?\nHow is it then that there is so little of this latter? Does it not often\nhappen at our public preachings, that when the formal address is\ndelivered, a hymn sung, and a word of prayer offered, all disperse\nwithout any attempt at individual work? I speak not now, mark you, of\nthe preacher--who cannot possibly reach every case, but of the scores of\nChristians who have been listening to him. They have seen strangers\nenter the room, they have sat beside them; they have, it may be, noticed\ntheir interest, seen the tear stealing down the cheek; and yet they have\nlet them pass away without a single loving effort to reach them, or to\nfollow up the good work.\n\nNo doubt it may be said, \"It is much better to allow the Spirit of God\nto follow up His own work. We may do more harm than good. And besides,\npeople do not like to be spoken to: they will look upon it as an\nimpertinent intrusion, and they will be driven away from the place\naltogether.\" There is considerable weight in all this. I fully\nappreciate it; and I am sure you do likewise, dearest A. I fear great\nblunders are committed by injudicious persons intruding upon the sacred\nprivacy of the soul's deep and holy exercises. It needs tact and\njudgment; in short, it needs direct spiritual guidance to be able to\ndeal with souls; to know whom to speak to, and what to say.\n\nBut allowing all this, as we do in the fullest possible manner, I think\nyou will agree with me that there is, as a rule, something lacking in\nconnection with our public preachings. Is there not a want of that deep,\npersonal, loving interest in souls which will express itself in a\nthousand ways that act powerfully on the heart? I confess that I have\noften been pained by what has come under my own notice in our\npreaching-rooms. Strangers come in and are left to find a seat wherever\nthey can. No one seems to think of them. Christians are there, and they\nwill hardly move to make room for them. No one offers them a Bible or\nhymn-book. And when the preaching is over, they are allowed to go as\nthey came; not a loving word of inquiry as to whether they enjoyed the\ntruth preached; not even a kindly look which might win confidence and\ninvite conversation. On the contrary, there is a chilling reserve,\namounting almost to repulsiveness.\n\nAll this is very sorrowful; and perhaps you will tell me that I am\ndrawing too highly colored a picture. Alas! the picture is only too\ntrue. And what makes it all the more deplorable is, that one knows as a\nfact that many persons frequent our preaching-rooms and lecture-halls in\nthe deepest exercise, and they are only longing to open their hearts to\nsome one who could offer them a little spiritual counsel; but through\ntimidity, reserve, or nervousness, they shrink from making any advance,\nand have but to retire to their homes and to their bedchambers, lonely\nand sad, there to weep in solitude because no man cares for their\nprecious souls. Now I feel persuaded that much of this might be remedied\nif those Christians who attend the gospel preachings were more _on the\nlook out_ for souls: if they would attend, not so much for their own\nprofit, as in order to be co-workers with God, in seeking to bring souls\nto Jesus. No doubt it is very refreshing to Christians to hear the\ngospel fully and faithfully preached. But it would not be the less\nrefreshing because they were intensely interested in the conversion of\nsouls, and in earnest prayer to God in the matter. And, besides, it\ncould in no wise interfere with their personal enjoyment and profit to\ncultivate and manifest a lively and loving interest in those who\nsurround them, and to seek at the close of the meeting to help any who\nmay need and desire to be helped. It has a surprising effect upon the\npreacher, upon the preaching, upon the whole meeting, when the\nChristians who attend are really entering into, and discharging, their\nhigh and holy responsibilities to Christ and to souls. It imparts a\ncertain tone and creates a certain atmosphere which must be felt in\norder to be understood; but when once felt it cannot easily be dispensed\nwith.\n\nBut, alas, how often is it otherwise! How cold, how dull, how\ndispiriting is it at times to see the whole congregation clear out the\nmoment the preaching is over! No loving, lingering groups gathering\nround young converts or anxious inquirers. Old experienced Christians\nhave been present; but, instead of pausing with the fond hope that God\nwould graciously use them to speak a word in season to him that is\nweary, they hasten away as though it were a matter of life and death\nthat they should be home at a certain hour.\n\nDo not suppose, dearest A., that I wish to lay down rules for my\nbrethren. Far be the thought.\n\nI am merely, in the freest possible manner, pouring out the thoughts of\nmy heart to one with whom I have been linked in the work of the gospel\nfor many years. I feel convinced there is a something lacking. It is my\nfirm persuasion that no Christian is in a right condition, if he is not\nseeking in some way to bring souls to Christ. And, on the same\nprinciple, no assembly of Christians is in a right condition if it be\nnot a thoroughly evangelistic assembly. We should all be on the lookout\nfor souls; and then we may rest assured we should see soul-stirring\nresults. But if we are satisfied to go on from week to week, month to\nmonth, and year to year, without a single leaf stirring, without a\nsingle conversion, our state must be truly lamentable.\n\nBut I think I hear you saying, \"Where is all the Scripture we were to\nhave had? where the many quotations from the Gospels and the Acts?\"\nWell, I have gone on jotting down the thoughts which have for some\nconsiderable time occupied my mind; and now, space forbids my going\nfurther at present. But if you so desire, I shall write you a second\nletter on the subject. Meanwhile, may the Lord, by His Spirit, make us\nmore earnest in seeking the salvation of immortal souls, by every\nlegitimate agency. May our hearts be filled with genuine love for\nprecious souls, and then we shall be sure to find ways and means of\ngetting at them!\n\nEver, believe me, dearest A., Your deeply affectionate yoke-fellow, * * *\n\n\nLETTER II.\n\nThere is one point in connection with our subject which has much\noccupied my mind; and that is, the immense importance of cultivating an\nearnest faith in the presence and action of the Holy Ghost. We want to\nremember, at all times, that we can do nothing, and that God the Holy\nGhost can do all. It holds good in the great work of evangelization, as\nin all beside, that it is \"not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit,\nsaith the Lord of hosts.\" The abiding sense of this would keep us\nhumble, and yet full of joyful confidence. Humble, because we can do\nnothing; full of joyful confidence, because God can do all. Moreover, it\nwould have the effect of keeping us very sober and quiet in our\nwork--not cold and indifferent, but calm and serious, which is a great\nmatter just now. I was much struck with a remark lately made by an aged\nworkman, in a letter to one who had just entered the field.\n\"Excitement,\" says this writer, \"is not power, but weakness. Earnestness\nand energy are of God.\"\n\nThis is most true and most valuable. But I like the two sentences taken\ntogether. If we were to take either apart, I think you and I would\nprefer the latter; and for this reason: there are many, I fear, who\nwould regard as \"excitement\" what you and I might really consider to be\n\"earnestness and energy.\" Now I do confess, I love a deep-toned\nearnestness in the work. I do not see how a man can be otherwise than\ndeeply and thoroughly in earnest, who realizes in any measure the\nawfulness of eternity, and the state of all those who die in their sins.\nHow is it possible for any one to think of an immortal soul standing on\nthe very brink of hell, and in danger at any moment of being dashed\nover, and not be serious and earnest?\n\nBut this is not excitement. What I understand by excitement is the\nworking up of mere nature, and the putting forth of such efforts of\nnature as are designed to work on the natural feelings--all high\npressure--all that is merely sensational. This is all worthless. It is\nevanescent. And not only so, but it superinduces weakness. We never find\naught of this in the ministry of our blessed Lord or His apostles: and\nyet what earnestness! what untiring energy! what tenderness! We see an\nearnestness which wore the appearance of being beside oneself; an energy\nwhich hardly afforded a moment for rest or refreshment; and a tenderness\nwhich could weep over impenitent sinners. All this we see; but no\nexcitement. In a word, all was the fruit of the Eternal Spirit; and all\nwas to the glory of God. Moreover, there was ever that calmness and\nsolemnity which becomes the presence of God, and yet that deep\nearnestness which proved that man's serious condition was fully\nrealized.\n\nNow, dear brother, this is precisely what we want, and what we ought\ndiligently to cultivate. It is a signal mercy to be kept from all\nmerely natural excitement; and, at the same time, to be duly impressed\nwith the magnitude and solemnity of the work. Thus the mind will be kept\nproperly balanced, and we shall be preserved from the tendency to be\noccupied with _our_ work merely because it is ours. We shall rejoice\nthat Christ is magnified, and souls are saved, whoever be the instrument\nused.\n\nI have been thinking a good deal lately of that memorable time, now\nexactly ten years ago, when the Spirit of God wrought so marvelously in\nthe province of Ulster. I think I gathered up some valuable instruction\nfrom what then came under my notice. That was a time never to be\nforgotten by those who were privileged to be eyewitnesses of the\nmagnificent wave of blessing which rolled over the land. But I now refer\nto it in connection with the subject of the Spirit's action. I have no\ndoubt whatever that the Holy Ghost was grieved and hindered in the year\n1859, by man's interference. You remember how that work began. You\nremember the little school-house by the road side, where two or three\nmen met, week after week, to pour out their hearts in prayer to God,\nthat He would be pleased to break in upon the death and darkness which\nreigned around: and that He would revive His work, and send out His\nlight and His truth in converting power. You know how these prayers were\nheard and answered. You and I were privileged to move through these\nsoul-stirring scenes in the province of Ulster; and I doubt not the\nmemory of them is fresh with you, as it is with me, this day.\n\nWell, what was the special character of that work in its earlier stages?\nWas it not most manifestly a work of God's Spirit? Did not He take up\nand use instruments the most unfit and unfurnished, according to human\nthinking, for the accomplishment of His gracious purpose? Do we not\nremember the style and character of the agents who were chiefly used in\nthe conversion of souls? Were they not for the most part \"unlearned and\nignorant men?\" And further, can we not distinctly recall the fact that\nthere was a most decided setting aside of all human arrangement and\nofficial routine? Working men came from the field, the factory, and the\nworkshop, to address crowded audiences; and we have seen hundreds\nhanging in breathless interest upon the lips of men who could not speak\nfive words of good grammar. In short, the mighty tide of spiritual life\nand power rolled in upon us, and swept away for the time being a\nquantity of human machinery, and ignored all question of man's authority\nin the things of God and the service of Christ.\n\nNow we can well remember, that just in so far as the Holy Ghost was\nowned and honored, did the glorious work progress; and, on the other\nhand, in proportion as man intruded himself, in bustling\nself-importance, upon the domain of the Eternal Spirit, was the work\nhindered and quashed. I saw the truth of this illustrated in numberless\ncases. There was a vigorous effort made to cause the living water to\nflow in official and denominational channels, and this the Holy Ghost\nwould not sanction. Moreover, there was a strong desire manifested, in\nmany quarters, to make sectarian capital out of the blessed movement;\nand this the Holy Ghost resented.\n\nNor was this all. The work and the workman were _lionized_ in all\ndirections. Cases of conversion which were judged to be \"striking\" were\nblazed abroad and paraded in the public prints. Travellers and tourists\nfrom all parts visited these persons, took notes of their words and\nways, and wafted the report of them to the ends of the earth. Many poor\ncreatures, who had up to that time lived in obscurity, unknown and\nunnoticed, found themselves, all of a sudden, objects of interest to the\nwealthy, the noble, and the public at large. The pulpit and the press\nproclaimed their sayings and doings; and, as might be expected, they\ncompletely lost their balance. Knaves and hypocrites abounded on all\nhands. It became a grand point to have some strange and extravagant\nexperience to tell; some remarkable dream or vision to relate. And even\nwhere this ill-advised line of action did not issue in producing knavery\nand hypocrisy, the young converts became heady and high-minded, and\nlooked with a measure of contempt upon old established Christians, or\nthose who did not happen to be converted after their peculiar\nfashion--\"stricken,\" as it was termed.\n\nIn addition to this, some very remarkable characters--men of desperate\nnotoriety, who seemed to be converted, were conveyed from place to\nplace, and placarded about the various streets, and crowds gathered to\nsee them and hear them recount their history; which history was very\nfrequently a disgusting detail of immoralities and excesses which ought\nnever to have been named. Several of these remarkable men afterwards\nbroke down, and returned with increased ardor to their former practices.\n\nThese things, dearest A., I witnessed in various places. I believe the\nHoly Ghost was grieved and hindered, and the work marred thereby. I am\nthoroughly convinced of this: and hence it is that I think we should\nearnestly seek to honor the blessed Spirit; to lean upon Him in all our\nwork; to follow where He leads, not run before Him. His work will stand:\n\"Whatsoever God doeth it shall be forever.\" \"The works that are done\nupon the earth, He is the doer of them.\" The remembrance of this will\never keep the mind well balanced. There is great danger of young workmen\ngetting so excited about _their_ work, _their_ preaching, _their_ gifts,\nas to lose sight of the blessed Master Himself. Moreover, they are apt\nto make preaching the _end_ instead of the _means_. This works badly in\nevery way. It injures themselves, and it mars their work. The moment I\nmake preaching my end, I am out of the current of the mind of God, whose\nend is to glorify Christ; and I am out of the current of the heart of\nChrist, whose end is the salvation of souls and the full blessing of His\nChurch. But where the Holy Ghost gets His proper place, where He is duly\nowned and trusted, there all will be right. There will be no exaltation\nof man; no bustling self-importance; no parading of the fruits of our\nwork; no excitement. All will be calm, quiet, real, and unpretending.\nThere will be the simple, earnest, believing, patient waiting upon God.\nSelf will be in the shade; Christ will be exalted.\n\nI often recall a sentence of yours. I remember your once saying to me,\n\"Heaven will be the best and safest place to hear the results of our\nwork.\" This is a wholesome word for all workmen. I shudder when I see\nthe names of Christ's servants paraded in the public journals, with\nflattering allusion to their work and its fruits. Surely those who pen\nsuch articles ought to reflect upon what they are doing: they should\nconsider that they may be ministering to the very thing which they ought\nto desire to see mortified and subdued. I am most fully persuaded that\nthe quiet, shady, retired path is the best and safest for the Christian\nworkman. It will not make him less earnest but the contrary. It will not\ncramp his energy, but increase and intensify it. God forbid that you or\nI should pen a line or utter a sentence which might in the most remote\nway tend to discourage or hinder a single worker in all the vineyard of\nChrist. No, no, this is not the moment for aught of this kind. We want\nto see the Lord's laborers thoroughly in earnest; but we believe, most\nassuredly, that true earnestness will ever result from the most absolute\ndependence upon God the Holy Ghost.\n\nBut only see how I have run on! And yet I have not referred to those\npassages of Scripture of which I spoke in my last. Well, dearly beloved\nin the Lord, I am addressing one who is happily familiar with the\nGospels and Acts, and who therefore knows that the great Workman\nHimself, and all those who sought to tread in His blessed footsteps,\nowned and honored the Eternal Spirit as the One by whom all their works\nwere to be wrought.\n\nI must now close for the present, my much loved brother and\nfellow-laborer; and I do so with a full heart, commending you, in spirit\nand soul and body, to Him who has loved us, and washed us from our sins\nin His own blood, and called us to the honored post of workers in His\ngospel field. May He bless you and yours, most abundantly, and increase\nyour usefulness a thousandfold!\n\nAs ever, and for ever, Your deeply affectionate work-fellow, * * *\n\n\nLETTER III.\n\nThere is another point which stands intimately connected with the\nsubject of my last letter, and that is, the place the word of God\noccupies in the work of evangelization. In my last letter, as you will\nremember, I referred to the work of the Holy Ghost, and the immense\nimportance of giving Him His proper place. How clearly the precious word\nof God is connected with the action of the Holy Spirit, I need not say.\nBoth are inseparably linked in those memorable words of our Lord to\nNicodemus--words so little understood--so sadly misapplied: \"Except a\nman be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom\nof God\" (John iii).\n\nNow, you and I, dearest A., fully believe that in the above passage the\nWord is presented under the figure of \"water.\" Thank God, we are not\ndisposed to give any credit to the ritualistic absurdity of baptismal\nregeneration. We are, I believe, most thoroughly convinced that no one\never did, ever will, or ever could, get life by water baptism. That all\nwho believe in Christ ought to be baptized we fully admit; but this is a\ntotally different thing from the fatal error that substitutes an\nordinance for the atoning death of Christ, the regenerating power of the\nHoly Ghost, and the life-giving virtues of the word of God. I shall not\nwaste your time or my own in combating this error, but at once assume\nthat you agree with me in thinking that when our Lord speaks of being\n\"born of water and of the Spirit,\" He refers to the Word and the Holy\nGhost.\n\nThus, then, the Word is the grand instrument to be used in the work of\nevangelization. Many passages of holy Scripture establish this point\nwith such clearness and decision as to leave no room whatever for\ndispute. In the first chapter of James, ver. 18, we read, \"Of His own\nwill begat He us _with the word of truth_.\" Again, in I Pet. i. 23, we\nread, \"Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible,\n_by the word of God_, which liveth and abideth forever.\" I must quote\nthe whole passage because of its immense importance in connection with\nour subject: \"For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the\nflower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth\naway; but the word of the Lord endureth forever. _And this is the word\nwhich by the gospel is preached unto you._\"\n\nThis last clause is of unspeakable value to the evangelist. It binds\nhim, in the most distinct manner, to the word of God as the\ninstrument--the only instrument--the all-sufficient instrument, to be\nused in his glorious work. He is to give the Word to the people; and the\nmore simply he gives it the better. The pure water should be allowed to\nflow from the heart of God to the heart of the sinner, without receiving\na tinge from the channel through which it flows. The evangelist is to\npreach the Word; and he is to preach it in simple dependence upon the\npower of the Holy Ghost. This is the true secret of success in\npreaching.\n\nBut while I urge this great cardinal point in the work of preaching--and\nI believe it cannot be too strongly urged--I am very far indeed from\nthinking that the evangelist should give his hearers a quantity of\ntruth. So far from this, I consider it a very great mistake. He ought to\nleave this to the teacher, lecturer, or pastor. I often fear that very\nmuch of our preaching shoots over the heads of the people, owing to the\nfact of our seeking rather to unfold truth than to reach souls. We rest\nsatisfied, it may be, with having delivered a very clear and forcible\nlecture, a very interesting and instructive exposition of Scripture,\nsomething very valuable for the people of God; but the unconverted\nhearer has sat unmoved, unreached, unimpressed. There has been nothing\nfor him. The lecturer has been more occupied with his lecture than with\nthe sinner--more taken up with his subject than with the soul.\n\nNow I am thoroughly convinced that this is a serious mistake, and one\ninto which we all--at least I am--very apt to fall. I deplore it deeply,\nand I earnestly desire to correct it. I question if this very mistake\nmay not be viewed as the true secret of our lack of success. But,\ndearest A., I should not perhaps say \"_our_ lack\" but _my_ lack. I do\nnot think--so far as I know aught of your ministry--that you are exactly\nchargeable with the defect to which I am now just referring. Of this,\nhowever, you will be the best judge yourself; but of one thing I am\ncertain, namely, that the most successful evangelist is the one who\nkeeps his eye fixed on the sinner, who has his heart bent on the\nsalvation of souls, yea, the one with whom the love for precious souls\namounts almost to a passion. It is not the man who unfolds the most\ntruth, but the man who longs most after souls, that will have the most\nseals to his ministry.\n\nI assert all this, mark you, in the full and clear recognition of the\nfact with which I commenced this letter, namely, that the Word is the\ngrand instrument in the work of conversion. This fact must never be lost\nsight of, never weakened. It matters not what agency may be used to make\nthe furrow, or in what form the Word may clothe itself, or by what\nvehicle it may be conveyed; it is only by \"the Word of truth\" that souls\nare begotten.\n\nAll this is divinely true, and we would ever bear it in mind. But do we\nnot often find that persons who undertake to preach the gospel\n(particularly if they continue long in one place) are very apt to leave\nthe domain of the evangelist--most blessed domain!--and travel into that\nof the teacher and lecturer? This is what I deprecate and deeply\ndeplore. I know I have erred in this way myself, and I mourn over the\nerror. I write in all loving freedom to you--the Lord has of late\ndeepened immensely in my soul the sense of the vast importance of\nearnest gospel preaching. I do not--God forbid that I should--think the\nless of the work of a teacher or pastor. I believe that wherever there\nis a heart that loves Christ, it will delight to feed and tend the\nprecious lambs and sheep of the flock of Christ, that flock which He\npurchased with His own blood.\n\nBut the sheep must be gathered before they can be fed; and how are they\nto be gathered but by the earnest preaching of the gospel? It is the\ngrand business of the evangelist to go forth upon the dark mountains of\nsin and error, to sound the gospel trumpet and gather the sheep; and I\nfeel convinced that he will best accomplish this work, not by elaborate\nexposition of truth; not by lectures however clear, valuable, and\ninstructive; not by lovely unfoldings of prophetic, dispensational, or\ndoctrinal truth--most precious and important in the right place--but by\nfervid, pointed, earnest dealing with immortal souls; the warning voice,\nthe solemn appeal, the faithful reasoning of righteousness, temperance,\nand judgment to come--the awakening presentation of death and judgment,\nthe dread realities of eternity, the lake of fire and the worm that\nnever dies.\n\nIn short, beloved, it strikes me we want awakening preachers. I fully\nadmit that there is such a thing as _teaching_ the gospel, as well as\n_preaching_ it. For example, I find Paul teaching the gospel in Rom.\ni.-viii. just as I find him preaching the gospel in Acts xiii. or xvii.\nThis is of the very last importance at all times, inasmuch as there are\nalmost sure to be a number of what we call \"exercised souls\" at our\npublic preachings, and these need an emancipating gospel--the full,\nclear, elevated, resurrection gospel.\n\nBut admitting all this, I still believe that what is needed for\nsuccessful evangelization is, not so much a great quantity of truth as\nan intense love for souls. Look at that eminent evangelist George\nWhitefield. What think you was the secret of his success? No doubt you\nhave looked into his printed sermons. Have you found any great breadth\nof truth in them? I question it. Indeed I must say I have been struck\nwith the contrary. But oh! there was that in Whitefield which you and I\nmay well covet and long to cultivate. There was a burning love for\nsouls--a thirst for their salvation--a mighty grappling with the\nconscience--a bold, earnest, face-to-face dealing with men about their\npast ways, their present state, their future destiny. These were the\nthings that God owned and blessed; and He will own and bless them still.\nI am persuaded--I write as under the very eye of God--that if our hearts\nare bent upon the salvation of souls, God will use us in that divine and\nglorious work. But on the other hand, if we abandon ourselves to the\nwithering influences of a cold, heartless, godless fatalism; if we\ncontent ourselves with a formal and official statement of the gospel--a\nvery cheerless sort of thing; if, to use a vulgar phrase, our preaching\nis on the principle of \"take it or leave it,\" need we wonder if we do\nnot see conversions? The wonder would be if there were any to see.\n\nNo, no; I believe we want to look seriously into this great practical\nsubject. It demands the solemn and dispassionate consideration of all\nwho are engaged in the work. There are dangers on all sides. There are\nconflicting opinions on all sides. But I cannot conceive how any\nChristian man can be satisfied to shirk the responsibility of looking\nafter souls. A man may say, \"I am not an evangelist; that is not my\nline; I am more of a teacher, or a pastor.\" Well, I understand this; but\nwill any one tell me that a teacher or pastor may not go forth in\nearnest longing after souls? I cannot admit it for a moment. Nay more;\nit does not matter in the least what a man's gift is, or even though he\nshould not possess any prominent gift at all, he can and ought,\nnevertheless, to cultivate a longing desire for the salvation of souls.\nWould it be right to pass a house on fire, without giving warning, even\nthough one were not a member of the Fire Brigade? Should we not seek to\nsave a drowning man, even though we could not command the use of a\npatent life-boat? Who in his senses would maintain aught so monstrous?\nSo, in reference to souls, it is not so much a gift or knowledge of\ntruth that is needed, as a deep and earnest longing for souls--a keen\nsense of their danger, and a desire for their rescue.\n\nEver, dearest A., Your deeply affectionate yoke-fellow, * * *\n\n\nLETTER IV.\n\nWhen I took up my pen to address you in my first letter, I had no idea\nthat I should have occasion to extend the series to a fourth. However,\nthe subject is one of intense interest to me; and there are just two or\nthree points further on which I desire very briefly to touch.\n\nAnd in the first place I deeply feel our lack of a prayerful spirit in\ncarrying on the work of evangelization. I have referred to the subject\nof the Spirit's work; and also to the place which God's word ought ever\nto get; but it strikes me we are very deficient in reference to the\nmatter of earnest, persevering, believing prayer. This is the true\nsecret of power. \"We,\" say the apostles, \"will give ourselves\ncontinually to prayer and to the ministry of the Word.\"\n\nHere is the order: \"Prayer, and the ministry of the Word.\" Prayer brings\nin the power of God; and this is what we want. It is not the power of\neloquence, but the power of God; and this can only be had by waiting\nupon Him. \"He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might\nHe increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and\nthe young men shall utterly fall: but they that wait upon the Lord shall\nrenew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they\nshall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint\" (Isa.\nxl. 29-31).\n\nIt seems to me, dearest A., that we are far too mechanical, if I may so\nexpress myself, in the work. There is too much of what I may call going\nthrough a service. I greatly fear that some of us are more on our legs\nthan on our knees; more in the railway carriage than in the closet; more\non the road than in the sanctuary; more before men than before God. This\nwill never do. It is impossible that our preaching can be marked by\npower and crowned with results, if we fail in waiting upon God. Look at\nthe blessed Master Himself--that great Workman. See how often He was\nfound in prayer. At His baptism; at His transfiguration; previous to the\nappointment and mission of the twelve. In short, again and again we find\nthat blessed One in the attitude of prayer. At one time He rises up a\ngreat while before day, in order to give Himself to prayer. At another\ntime He spends the whole night in prayer, because the day was given up\nto work.\n\nWhat an example for us! May we follow it! May we know a little better\nwhat it is to agonize in prayer. How little we know of this!--I speak\nfor myself. It sometimes appears to me as if we were so much taken up\nwith preaching engagements that we have no time for prayer--no time for\ncloset work--no time to be alone with God. We get into a sort of whirl\nof public work; we rush from place to place, from meeting to meeting, in\na prayerless, barren condition of soul. Need we wonder at the little\nresult? How could it be otherwise when we so fail in waiting upon God?\n_We_ cannot convert souls--God alone can do this; and if we go on\nwithout waiting on Him, if we allow public preaching to displace private\nprayer, we may rest assured our preaching will prove barren and\nworthless. We really must \"give ourselves to prayer\" if we would succeed\nin the \"ministry of the Word.\"\n\nNor is this all. It is not merely that we are lacking in the holy and\nblessed practice of private prayer. This is, alas! too true, as I have\nsaid. But there is more than this. We fail in our public meetings for\nprayer. The great work of evangelization is not sufficiently remembered\nin our prayer-meetings. It is not definitely, earnestly, and constantly\nkept before God in our public reunions. It may occasionally be\nintroduced in a cursory, formal manner, and then dismissed. Indeed, I\nfeel there is a great lack of earnestness and perseverance in our\nprayer-meetings generally, not merely as to the work of the gospel, but\nas to other things as well. There is frequently great formality and\nfeebleness. We do not seem like men in earnest. We lack the spirit of\nthe widow in Luke xviii., who overcame the unjust judge by the bare\nforce of her importunity. We seem to forget that God will be inquired\nof; and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.\n\nIt is of no use for any one to say, \"God can work without our earnest\npleading; He will accomplish His purposes; He will gather out His own.\"\nWe know all this; but we know also that He who has appointed the end\nhas appointed the means; and if we fail in waiting on Him, He will get\nothers to do His work. The work will be done, no doubt, but we shall\nlose the dignity, the privilege, and the reward of working. Is this\nnothing? Is it nothing to be deprived of the sweet privilege of being\nco-workers with God, of having fellowship with Him in the blessed work\nwhich He is carrying on? Alas! alas! that we prize it so little. Still\nwe do prize it; and perhaps there are few things in which we can more\nfully taste this privilege than in united earnest prayer. Here every\nsaint can join. Here all can add their cordial Amen. All may not be\npreachers; but all can pray--all join in prayer; all can have\nfellowship.\n\nAnd do you not find, beloved brother, that there is always a stream of\ndeep and real blessing where _the assembly_ is drawn out in earnest\nprayer for the gospel, and for the salvation of souls? I have invariably\nseen it, and hence it is always a source of unspeakable comfort, joy,\nand encouragement to my heart when I see the assembly stirred up to\npray, for then I am sure God is going to give copious showers of\nblessing.\n\nMoreover, when this is the case, when this most excellent spirit\npervades the whole assembly, you may be sure there will be no trouble as\nto what is called \"The responsibility of the preaching.\" It will be all\nthe same who does the work, provided it is done as well as it can be. If\nthe assembly is waiting upon God, in earnest intercession for the\nprogress of the work, it will not be a question as to the one who is to\ntake the preaching, provided Christ is preached and souls are blessed.\n\nThen there is another thing which has of late occupied my mind a good\ndeal; and that is our method of dealing with young converts. Most surely\nthere is immense need of care and caution, lest we be found accrediting\nwhat is not the genuine work of God's Spirit at all. There is very great\ndanger here. The enemy is ever seeking to introduce spurious materials\ninto the assembly, in order that he may mar the testimony and bring\ndiscredit upon the truth of God.\n\nAll this is most true, and demands our serious consideration. But does\nit not seem to you, beloved, that we often err on the other side? Do we\nnot often, by a stiff and peculiar style, cast a chill upon young\nconverts? Is there not frequently something repulsive in our spirit and\ndeportment? We expect young Christians to come up to a standard of\nintelligence which has taken us years to attain. Nor this only. We\nsometimes put them through a process of examination which only tends to\nharass and perplex.\n\nNow assuredly this is not right. The Spirit of God would never puzzle,\nperplex, or repulse a dear anxious inquirer--never, no never. It could\nnever be according to the mind or heart of Christ to chill the spirit of\nthe very feeblest lamb in all His blood-bought flock. He would have us\nseeking to lead them on gently and tenderly--to soothe, nourish, and\ncherish them, according to all the deep love of His heart. It is a great\nthing to lay ourselves out, and hold ourselves open to discern and\nappreciate the work of God in souls, and not to mar it by placing our\nown miserable crotchets as stumbling-blocks in their pathway. We need\ndivine guidance and help in this as much as in any other department of\nour work. But, blessed be God, He is sufficient for this as for all\nbeside. Let us only wait on Him: let us cling to Him, and draw upon His\nexhaustless treasury for each case as it arises, for exigence of every\nhour. He will never fail a trusting, expectant, dependent heart.\n\nI must now close this series of letters. I think I have touched most, if\nnot all, of the points which I had in my mind. You will, I trust, bear\nin mind, beloved in the Lord, that I have, in all these letters, simply\njotted down my thoughts in the utmost possible freedom, and in all the\nintimacy of true brotherly friendship. I have not been writing a formal\ntreatise, but pouring out my heart to a beloved friend and yoke-fellow.\nThis must be borne in mind by all who may read these letters.\n\nMay God bless and keep you, dearest A. May He crown your labours with\nHis richest and best blessing! May He keep you from every evil work, and\npreserve you unto His own everlasting kingdom!\n\nEver believe me, My dearest A., Your deeply affectionate * * *\n\n\nLETTER V.\n\nIt seems as though I must once more take up my pen to address you on\ncertain matters connected with the work of evangelization, which have\nforced themselves upon my attention for some time past. There are three\ndistinct branches of the work which I long to see occupying a far more\ndefinite and prominent place among us; and these are, the Tract depot,\nthe Gospel preaching, and the Sunday-school.\n\nIt strikes me that the Lord is awakening attention to the importance of\nthe Tract depot as a valuable agency in the work of evangelization; but\nI question if we, on this side of the Atlantic, are thoroughly in\nearnest on the subject. How is this? Have books and tracts lost their\ninterest and value in our eyes? Or does the fault lie in the mode of\nconducting our Tract depots? To my mind there seems to be something\nlacking in reference to this matter.\n\nI would fain see a well-conducted depot in every important town; by\n\"well-conducted\" I mean one taken up and carried on as a direct service\nto the Lord, in true love for souls, deep interest in the spread of the\ntruth, and at the same time in a sound business way. I have known\nseveral depots fall to the ground through lack of business habits on the\npart of the conductors. They seemed very earnest, sincere persons, but\nquite unfit to conduct a business. In short, they were persons in whose\nhands any business would have fallen through. Then in many places there\nis the most deplorable failure as to the valuable and interesting work\nof conducting a depot.\n\nAnd how can we best reach the people, for whom the tracts and books are\nprepared? I believe by having the books and tracts exposed for sale in a\nshop window, where that is possible, so that people may see them as they\npass, and step in and purchase what they want. Many a soul has been laid\nhold of in this way. Many, I doubt not, have been saved and blessed by\nmeans of tracts, seen for the first time in a shop window or arranged on\na counter. But where there is no such opportunity, the assembly's\nmeeting-room is the Tract depot's natural home.\n\nThere is, manifestly, a real want of a Tract depot in every large town,\nconducted by some one of intelligence and sound business habits, who\nwould be able to speak to persons about the tracts, and to recommend\nsuch as might prove helpful to anxious inquirers after truth. In this\nway, I feel persuaded, much good might be done. The Christians in the\ntown would know where to go for tracts, not only for their own personal\nreading, but also for general distribution. Surely if a thing is worth\ndoing at all, it is worth doing well; and if the Tract depot be not\nworth attending to, we know not what is.\n\nThe Tract depot must be taken up in direct service to Christ. And I feel\nassured that where it is so taken up and so carried on, in energy,\nzeal, and integrity, the Lord will own it and He will make it a\nblessing. Is there no one who will take up this valuable work for\nChrist's sake and not for the sake of remuneration? Is there no one who\nwill enter upon it in simple faith, looking to the living God?\n\nHere lies the root of the matter, dearest A. For this branch of the\nwork, as for every other branch, we need those who trust God and deny\nthemselves. It seems to me that a grand point would be gained if the\nTract depot were placed on its proper footing, and viewed as an integral\npart of the evangelistic work, to be taken up in responsibility to the\nLord, and carried on in the energy of faith in the living God. Every\nbranch of gospel work--the Depot, the Preaching, the Sunday-school--must\nbe carried on in this way. It is all well and most valuable to have\nfellowship--full cordial fellowship, in all our service; but if we wait\nfor fellowship and co-operation in the starting of work which comes\nwithin the range of personal, as well as collective, responsibility, we\nshall find ourselves very much behind--or the work may not be done at\nall.\n\nI shall have occasion to refer more particularly to this point, when I\ncome to treat of the Preaching and the Sunday-school. All I want now, is\nto establish the fact that the Tract depot is a branch, and a most\nimportant and efficient branch, of evangelistic work. If this be\nthoroughly grasped by our friends, a great point is gained. I must\nconfess to you, dearest A., that my moral sense has often been\ngrievously offended by the cold, commercial style in which the\npublishing and sale of books and tracts are spoken of--a style befitting\nperhaps a mere commercial business, but most offensive when adopted in\nreference to the precious work of God. I admit in the fullest way--nay,\nI actually contend for it--that the proper management of the depot\ndemands good sound business habits, and upright business principles. But\nat the same time I am persuaded that the Tract depot will never occupy\nits true ground--never realize the true idea, never reach the desired\nend--until it is firmly fixed on its holy basis, and viewed as an\nintegral part of that most glorious work to which we are called--even\nthe work of active, earnest, persevering evangelization.\n\nAnd this work must be taken up in the sense of responsibility to Christ,\nand in the energy of faith in the living God. It will not do for an\nassembly of Christians, or some wealthy individual, to take up an\ninefficient protege, and commit to such an one the management of the\naffair in order to afford a means of living. It is most blessed for all\nto have fellowship in the work; but I am thoroughly convinced that the\nwork must be taken up in direct service to Christ, to be carried on in\nlove for souls, and real interest in the spread of the truth.\n\nI hope to address you again on the other two branches of my theme.\n\nMeanwhile, I remain, dearest A., Your deeply affectionate yoke-fellow, *\n* *\n\n\nLETTER VI.\n\nI have, in some of the earlier letters of this series, dwelt upon the\nunspeakable importance of keeping up with zeal and constancy, a faithful\npreaching of the gospel--a distinct work of evangelization, carried on\nin the energy of love to precious souls, and with direct reference to\nthe glory of Christ--a work bearing entirely upon the unconverted, and\ntherefore quite distinct from the work of teaching, lecturing, or\nexhorting, in the bosom of the assembly; which latter is, I need not\nsay, of equal importance in the mind of our Lord Christ.\n\nMy object in referring again to this subject is to call your attention\nto a point in connection with it, respecting which, it seems to me,\nthere is a great want of clearness amongst some of our friends. I\nquestion if we are, as a rule, thoroughly clear as to the question of\nindividual responsibility in the work of the gospel. I admit, of course,\nthat the teacher or lecturer is called to exercise his gift, to a very\ngreat extent, on the same principle as the evangelist; that is, on his\nown personal responsibility to Christ; and that the assembly is not\nresponsible for his individual services; unless indeed he teach unsound\ndoctrine, in which case the assembly is bound to take it up.\n\nBut my business is with the work of the evangelist; and he is to carry\non his work outside of the assembly. His sphere of action is the wide,\nwide world. \"Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every\ncreature.\" Here is the sphere and here the object of the\nevangelist--\"_All_ the world\"--\"_Every_ creature.\" He may go forth from\nthe bosom of the assembly, and return thither again laden with his\ngolden sheaves; nevertheless he goes forth in the energy of personal\nfaith in the living God, and on the ground of personal responsibility to\nChrist; nor is the assembly responsible for the peculiar _mode_ in which\nhe may carry on his work. No doubt the assembly is called into action\nwhen the evangelist introduces the _fruit_ of his work in the shape of\nsouls professing to be converted, and desiring to be received into\nfellowship at the Lord's table. But this is another thing altogether,\nand must be kept distinct. The evangelist must be left free: this is\nwhat I contend for. He must not be tied down to certain rules or\nregulations, nor cramped by special conventionalities. There are many\nthings which a large-hearted evangelist will feel perfectly free to do\nwhich might not commend themselves to the spiritual judgment and\nfeelings of some in the assembly; but, provided he does not traverse any\nvital or fundamental principle, such persons have no right to interfere\nwith him.\n\nAnd be it remembered, dearest A., that when I use the expression,\n\"spiritual judgment and feelings,\" I am taking the very highest possible\nview of the case, and treating the objector with the highest respect. I\nfeel this is but right and proper. Every true man has a right to have\nhis feelings and judgment--not to speak of conscience--treated with all\ndue respect. There are, alas! everywhere, men of narrow mind, who object\nto everything that does not square with their own notions--men who would\nfain tie the evangelist down to the exact line of things and mode of\nacting which according to their thinking would suit the assembly of\nGod's people when gathered for worship at the table of the Lord.\n\nAll this is a thorough mistake. The evangelist should pursue the even\ntenor of his way, regardless of all such narrowness and meddling. Take,\nfor example, the matter of singing hymns. The evangelist may feel\nperfectly free to use a class of hymns or gospel songs which would be\nwholly unsuitable for the assembly. The fact is, he _sings_ the gospel\nfor the same object that he _preaches_ it, namely, to reach the sinner's\nheart. He is just as ready to sing \"Come\" as to preach it.\n\nSuch, dearest A., is the judgment which I have had on this subject for\nmany years, though I am not quite sure if it will fully commend itself\nto your spiritual mind. It strikes me we are in danger of slipping into\nChristendom's false notion of \"establishing a cause,\" and \"organizing a\nbody.\" Hence it is that the four walls in which the assembly meets are\nregarded by many as a \"chapel,\" and the evangelist who happens to preach\nthere is looked upon as \"the minister of the chapel.\"\n\nAll this has to be carefully guarded against: but my object in referring\nto it now is to clear up the point with respect to the gospel preaching.\nThe true evangelist is not the minister of any chapel; or the organ of\nany congregation; or the representative of a body; or the paid agent of\nany society. No; he is the ambassador of Christ--the messenger of a God\nof love--the herald of glad tidings. His heart is filled with love to\nsouls; his lips anointed by the Holy Ghost; his words clothed with\nheavenly power. Let him alone! Fetter him not by your rules and\nregulations! Leave him to his work and to his Master! And further, bear\nin mind that the Church of God can afford a platform broad enough for\nall sorts of workmen and every possible style of work, _provided only_\nthat foundation truth be not disturbed. It is a fatal mistake to seek to\nreduce every one and every thing to a dead level. Christianity is a\nliving, a divine reality. Christ's servants are sent by Him, and to Him\nthey are responsible. \"Who art thou that judgest another man's servant?\nTo his own master he standeth or falleth\" (Rom. xiv.).\n\nWe may depend upon it, dearest A., these things demand our serious\nconsideration, if we do not want to have the blessed work of\nevangelization marred in our hands.\n\nI have just one other point that I would refer to before closing my\nletter, as it has been rather a vexed question in certain places--I\nallude to what has been termed \"the responsibility of the preaching.\"\n\nHow many of our friends have been and are harassed about this question!\nAnd why? I am persuaded that it is from not understanding the true\nnature, character, and sphere of the work of evangelization. Hence we\nhave had some persons contending for it that the Sunday evening\npreaching should be left open. \"Open to what?\" That is the question. In\ntoo many cases it has proved to be \"open\" to a character of speaking\naltogether unsuited to many who had come there, or who had been brought\nby friends, expecting to hear a full, clear, earnest gospel. On such\noccasions our friends have been disappointed, and the unconverted\nperfectly unable to understand the meaning of the service. Surely such\nthings ought not to be; nor would they be if men would only discern the\nsimplest thing possible, namely, the distinction between all meetings in\nwhich Christ's servants exercise their ministry on their own personal\nresponsibility, and all meetings which are purely reunions of the\nassembly, whether for the Lord's Supper, for prayer, or for any other\npurpose whatsoever.\n\nYour deeply affectionate, * * *\n\n\nLETTER VII.\n\nThrough want of space I was obliged to close my last letter without even\ntouching upon the subject of the Sunday-school: I must, however, devote\na page or two to a branch of work which has occupied a very large place\nin my heart for thirty years. I should deem my series incomplete were\nthis subject left untouched.\n\nSome may question how far the Sunday-school can be viewed as an integral\npart of the work of evangelization. I can only say it is mainly in this\nlight I regard it. I look upon it as one great and most interesting\nbranch of gospel work. The superintendent of the Sunday-school and the\nteacher of the Sunday-school class are workers in the wide gospel field,\njust as distinctly as the evangelist or preacher of the gospel.\n\nI am fully aware that a Sunday-school differs materially from an\nordinary gospel preaching. It is not convened in the same way, or\nconducted in the same manner. There is, if I may so express myself, a\nunion of the parent, the teacher, and the evangelist, in the person of\nthe Sunday-school worker. For the time being he takes the place of the\nparent: he seeks to do the duty of a teacher; but he aims at the object\nof the evangelist--that priceless object, the salvation of the souls of\nthe precious little ones committed to his charge. As to the mode in\nwhich he gains his end--as to the details of his work--as to the varied\nagencies which he may bring to bear, he alone is responsible.\n\nI am aware that exception is taken to the Sunday-school on the ground\nthat its tendency is to interfere with parental or domestic training.\nNow I must confess, dearest A., that I cannot see any force whatever in\nthis objection. The true object of the Sunday-school is, not to\nsupersede parental training, but to help it where it exists, or to\nsupply its lack where it does not exist. There are, as you and I well\nknow, hundreds of thousands of dear children who have no parental\ntraining at all. Thousands have no parents, and thousands more have\nparents who are far worse than none. Look at the multitudes that throng\nthe lanes, alleys, and courtyards of our large cities and towns, who\nseem hardly a degree above mere animal existence--yea, many of them like\nlittle incarnate demons.\n\nWho can think upon all these precious souls without wishing a hearty\nGod-speed to all _true_ Sunday-school workers, and earnestly longing for\nmore thorough earnestness and energy in that most blessed work?\n\nI say \"_true_\" Sunday-school workers, because I fear that many engage in\nthe work who are not true, not real, not fit. Many, I fear, take it up\nas a little bit of fashionable religious work, suited to the younger\nmembers of religious communities. Many, too, view it as a kind of\nset-off to a week of self-indulgence, folly, and worldliness. All such\npersons are an actual hindrance rather than a help to this sacred\nservice.\n\nThen again, there are many who sincerely love Christ, and long to serve\nHim in the Sunday-school, but who are not really fitted for the work.\nThey are deficient in tact, energy, order, and rule. They lack that\npower to adapt themselves to the children, and to engage their young\nhearts, which is so essential to the Sunday-school worker. It is a great\nmistake to suppose that every one who stands idle in the market-place is\nfit to turn into this particular branch of Christian labor. On the\ncontrary, it needs a person thoroughly fitted of God for it; and if it\nbe asked, \"How are we ever to be supplied with suited agents for this\nbranch of evangelistic service?\" I reply, Just in the same way as you\nare to be supplied in any other department--by earnest, persevering,\nbelieving prayer. I am most thoroughly persuaded that if Christians were\nmore stirred up by God's Spirit to feel the importance of the\nSunday-school--if they could only seize the idea that it is, like the\nTract depot and the preaching, part and parcel of that most glorious\nwork to which we are called in these closing days of Christendom's\nhistory--if they were more permeated by the idea of the evangelistic\nnature and object of Sunday-school work, they would be more instant and\nearnest in prayer, both in the closet and in the public assembly, that\nthe Lord would raise up in our midst a band of earnest, devoted,\nwhole-hearted Sunday-school workers.\n\nThis is the lack, dearest A.; and may God, in His abounding mercy,\nsupply it! He is able, and surely He is willing. But then He will be\nwaited on and inquired of; and \"He is the rewarder of them that\n_diligently_ seek Him.\" I think we have much cause for thankfulness and\npraise for what has been done in the way of Sunday-schools during the\nlast few years. I well remember the time when many of our friends seemed\nto overlook this branch of work altogether. Even now many treat it with\nindifference, thus weakening the hand and discouraging the hearts of\nthose engaged in it.\n\nBut I shall not dwell upon this, inasmuch as my theme is the\nSunday-school, and not those who neglect or oppose it. I bless God for\nwhat I see in the way of encouragement. I have often been exceedingly\nrefreshed and delighted by seeing some of our very oldest friends rising\nfrom the table of their Lord, and proceeding to arrange the benches on\nwhich the dear little ones were soon to be ranged to hear the sweet\nstory of a Saviour's love. And what could be more lovely, more touching,\nor more morally suited, than for those who had just been remembering the\nSaviour's dying love to seek, even by the arrangement of the benches, to\ncarry out His living words, \"Suffer the little children to come unto\nMe?\"\n\nThere is very much I should like to add as to the mode of working the\nSunday-school; but perhaps it is just as well that each worker should be\nwholly cast upon the living God for counsel and help as to details. We\nmust ever remember that the Sunday-school, like the Tract depot and the\npreaching, is entirely a work of individual responsibility. This is a\ngrand point; and where it is fully understood, and where there is real\nearnestness of heart and singleness of eye, I believe there will be no\ngreat difficulty as to the particular mode of working. A large heart,\nand a fixed purpose to carry on the great work and fulfil the glorious\nmission committed to us, will effectually deliver us from the withering\ninfluence of crotchets and prejudices--those miserable obstructions to\nall that is lovely and of good report.\n\nMay God pour out His blessing on all Sunday-schools, upon the pupils,\nthe teachers, and the superintendents! May He also bless all who are\nengaged, in any way, in the instruction of the young! May He cheer and\nrefresh their spirits by giving them to reap many golden sheaves in\ntheir special corner of the one great and glorious gospel field!\n\nEver believe me, dearest A., Your deeply affectionate * * *\n\n\n\n\nTHE LIVING GOD AND A LIVING FAITH\n\n\nThere is one great substantial fact standing prominently forth on every\npage of the volume of God, and illustrated in every stage of the history\nof God's people--a fact of immense weight and moral power at all times,\nbut specially in seasons of darkness, difficulty, and discouragement,\noccasioned by the low condition of things among those who profess to be\non the Lord's side. The fact is this, _That faith can always count on\nGod, and God will always answer faith_.\n\nSuch is our fact, such our thesis; and if the reader will turn with us,\nfor a few moments, to 2 Chron xx., he will find a very beautiful and\nvery striking illustration.\n\nThis chapter shows us the good king Jehoshaphat under very heavy\npressure indeed--it records a dark moment in his history. \"It came to\npass after this also, that the children of Moab, and the children of\nAmmon, and with them other besides the Ammonites, came against\nJehoshaphat to battle. Then\" (for people are ever quick to run with evil\ntidings) \"there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a\ngreat multitude against thee from beyond the sea, on this side Syria.\"\nHere was a difficulty of no ordinary nature. This invading host was made\nup of the descendants of Lot and of Esau; and this fact might give rise\nto a thousand conflicting thoughts and distracting questions in the mind\nof Jehoshaphat. They were not Egyptians or Assyrians, concerning whom\nthere could be no question whatever; but both Esau and Lot stood in\ncertain relations to Israel, and a question might suggest itself as to\nhow far such relations were to be recognized.\n\nNot this only. The practical state of the entire nation of Israel--the\nactual condition of God's people, was such as to give rise to the most\nserious misgivings. Israel no longer presented an unbroken front to the\ninvading foe. Their visible unity was gone. A grievous breach had been\nmade in their battlements. The ten tribes and the two were rent asunder,\nthe one from the other. The condition of the former was terrible, and\nthat of the latter, shaky enough.\n\nThus the circumstances of king Jehoshaphat were dark and discouraging in\nthe extreme; and, even as regards himself and his practical course, he\nwas but just emerging from the consequences of a very humiliating fall,\nso that his reminiscences would be quite as cheerless as his\nsurroundings.\n\nBut it is just here that our grand substantial fact presents itself to\nthe vision of faith, and flings a mantle of light over the whole scene.\nThings looked gloomy, no doubt; but God was to be counted upon by faith,\nand faith could count upon Him. God is a never failing resource--a great\nreality, at all times, and under all circumstances.\n\n\"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.\nTherefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the\nmountains be carried into the midst of the sea. Though the waters\nthereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the\nswelling thereof. There is a river, the stream whereof shall make glad\nthe city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High. God\nis in the midst of her, she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and\nthat right early. The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: He uttered\nHis voice, the earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of\nJacob is our refuge\" (Psa. xlvi. I-7).\n\nHere, then, was Jehoshaphat's resource in the day of his trouble; and to\nit he at once betook himself, in that earnest faith which never fails to\ndraw down power and blessing from the living and true God, to meet every\nexigency of the way. \"And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek\nthe Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. And Judah gathered\nthemselves together, to ask help of the Lord; even out of all the cities\nof Judah they came to seek the Lord. And Jehoshaphat stood in the\ncongregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before\nthe new court, and said, O Lord God of our fathers, art not Thou God in\nheaven? and rulest not Thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in\nThy hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand\nThee? Art not Thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this\nland before Thy people Israel, and gavest it to _the seed of Abraham Thy\nfriend for ever_?\"\n\nThese are the breathings of faith--faith that enables the soul to take\nthe very highest possible ground. It mattered not what unsettled\nquestions there might be between Esau and Jacob; there were none between\nAbraham and the Almighty God. Now, God had given the land to Abraham,\nHis friend. For how long? _For ever._ This was enough. \"The gifts and\ncalling of God are without repentance.\" God will never cancel His call,\nor take back a gift. This is a fixed foundation principle; and on this\nfaith always takes its stand with firm decision. The enemy might throw\nin a thousand suggestions; and the poor heart might throw up a thousand\nreasonings. It might seem like presumption and empty conceit, on the\npart of Jehoshaphat, to plant his foot on such lofty ground. It was all\nwell enough in the days of David, or of Solomon, or of Joshua, when the\nunity of the nation was unbroken, and the banner of Jehovah floated in\ntriumph over the twelve tribes of Israel. But things were sadly changed;\nand it ill became one in Jehoshaphat's circumstances to use such lofty\nlanguage or assume to occupy such a high position.\n\nWhat is faith's reply to all this? A very simple, but a very powerful\none--God never changes. He is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever.\nHad He not made Abraham a present of the land of Canaan? Had He not\nbestowed it upon his seed forever? Had He not ratified the gift by His\nword and His oath--these two immutable things in which it was impossible\nfor Him to lie? Unquestionably. But then what of the law? Did not that\nmake some difference? None whatever, as regards God's gift and promise.\nFour centuries previous to the giving of the law, was the great\ntransaction settled and stablished between the Almighty God and Abraham\nHis friend--and settled and stablished forever. Hence nothing can\npossibly touch this. There were no legal conditions proposed to Abraham.\nAll was pure and absolute grace. God gave the land to Abraham by\npromise, and not by law, in any shape or form.\n\nNow, it was on this original ground that Jehoshaphat took his stand; and\nhe was right. It was the only thing for him to do. He had not one hair's\nbreadth of solid standing ground, short of these golden words, \"Thou\ngavest it to the seed of Abraham Thy friend forever.\" It was either this\nor nothing. _A living faith always lays hold on the living God._ It\ncannot stop short of Him. It looks not at men or their circumstances. It\ntakes no account of the changes and chances of this mortal life. It\nlives and moves and has its being in the presence of the living God; it\nrejoices in the cloudless sunlight of His blessed countenance. It\ncarries on all its artless reasonings in the sanctuary, and draws all\nits happy conclusions from the facts discovered there. It does not lower\nthe standard according to the condition of things around, but boldly\nand decidedly takes up its position on the very highest ground.\n\nNow, these actings of faith are always most grateful to the heart of\nGod. The living God delights in a living faith. We may be quite sure\nthat the bolder the grasp of faith, the more welcome it is to God. We\nneed never suppose that the blessed One is either gratified or glorified\nby the workings of a legal mind. No, no; He delights to be trusted\nwithout a shadow of reserve or misgiving. He delights to be fully\ncounted upon and largely used; and the deeper the need, and the darker\nthe surrounding gloom, the more is He glorified by the faith that draws\nupon Him.\n\nHence, we may assert with perfect confidence, that the attitude and the\nutterances of Jehoshaphat, in the scene before us, were in full\naccordance with the mind of God. There is something perfectly beautiful\nto see him, as it were, opening the original lease, and laying his\nfinger on that clause in virtue of which Israel held as tenants forever\nunder God. Nothing could cancel that clause or break that lease. No flaw\nthere. All was ordered and sure. \"Thou _gavest_ it to the seed of\nAbraham Thy friend _forever_.\"\n\nThis was solid ground--the ground of God--the ground of faith, which no\npower of the enemy can ever shake. True, the enemy might remind\nJehoshaphat of sin and folly, failure and unfaithfulness. Nay, he might\nsuggest to him that the very fact of the threatened invasion proved\nthat Israel had fallen, for had they not done so, there would be neither\nenemy nor evil.\n\nBut for this, too, grace had provided an answer--an answer which faith\nknew well how to appropriate. Jehoshaphat reminds Jehovah of the house\nwhich Solomon had built to His name. \"They have built Thee a sanctuary\ntherein for Thy name, saying, If, when evil cometh upon us, as a sword,\njudgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and in\nThy presence (for Thy name is in this house), and cry unto Thee in our\naffliction, then Thou will hear and help. And now, behold, the children\nof Ammon, and Moab, and Mount Seir, whom Thou wouldest not let Israel\ninvade, when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from\nthem, and distroyed them not. Behold, I say, how they reward us, to come\nto cast us out of _Thy possession, which Thou hast given us to inherit_.\nO our God, wilt Thou not judge them? for we have no might against this\ngreat company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do, but\n_our eyes are upon Thee_\" (vers. 8-12).\n\nHere, truly, is a living faith dealing with the living God. It is no\nmere empty profession--no lifeless creed--no cold uninfluential theory.\nIt is not a man \"saying he has faith.\" Such things will never stand in\nthe day of battle. They may do well enough when all is calm, smooth, and\nbright; but when difficulties have to be grappled with--when the enemy\nhas to be met face to face, all merely nominal faith, all mere lip\nprofession, will prove like autumn leaves before the blast. Nothing will\nstand the test of actual conflict but a living personal faith in a\nliving personal Saviour-God. This is what is needed. It is this which\nalone can sustain the heart, come what may. Faith brings God into the\nscene, and all is strength, victory, and perfect peace.\n\nThus it was with the king of Judah, in the days of 2 Chron. xx. \"We have\nno might; neither know we what to do; but our eyes are upon Thee.\" This\nis the way to occupy God's ground, even with the eyes fixed on God\nHimself. This is the true secret of stability and peace. The devil will\nleave no stone unturned to drive us off the true ground which, as\nChristians, we ought to occupy in these last days; and we, in ourselves,\nhave no might whatever against him. Our only resource is in the living\nGod. If our eyes are upon Him, nothing can harm us. \"Thou wilt keep him\nin perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in\nThee.\"\n\nReader, art thou on God's ground? Canst thou give a \"Thus saith the\nLord\" for the position which thou occupiest, at this moment? Art thou\nconsciously standing on the solid ground of holy Scripture? Is there\nanything questionable in thy surroundings and associations? We beseech\nthee to weigh these questions solemnly as in the divine presence. Be\nassured they are of moment just now. We are passing through critical\nmoments.\n\nMen are taking sides; principles are working and coming to a head. Never\nwas it more needful to be thoroughly and unmistakably on the Lord's\nside. Jehoshaphat never could have met the Ammonites, Moabites, and\nEdomites, had he not been persuaded that his feet were on the very\nground which God had given to Abraham. If the enemy could have shaken\nhis confidence as to this, he would have had an easy victory. But\nJehoshaphat knew where he was; he knew his ground. He understood his\nbearings; and therefore he could fix his eyes with confidence upon the\nliving God. He had no misgivings as to his position. He did not say, as\nmany do, now-a-days, \"I am not quite sure. I hope I am; but sometimes\nclouds come over my soul, and make me hesitate as to whether I am really\non divine ground.\" Ah! no, reader, the king of Judah would not have\nunderstood such language at all. All was clear to him. His eye rested on\nthe original grant. He felt sure he was on the true ground of the Israel\nof God; and albeit all Israel were not there with him, yet God was with\nhim, and that was enough. His was a living faith in the living God--the\nonly thing that will stand in the day of trial.\n\nThere is something in the attitude and utterance of the king of Judah,\non that memorable occasion, well worthy of the reader's profound\nattention. His feet were firmly fixed on God's ground, and his eyes as\nfirmly fixed on God Himself; and in addition to this, there was the deep\nsense of his own thorough nothingness. He had not so much as a shadow\nof a doubt as to the fact of his being in possession of the very\ninheritance which God had given him. He knew that he was in his right\nplace. He did not _hope_ it; still less did he doubt it; no, he knew it.\nHe could say, \"I believe and am sure.\"\n\nThis is all-important. It is impossible to stand against the enemy, if\nthere is anything equivocal in our position. If there be any secret\nmisgiving as to our being in our right place--if we cannot give a \"Thus\nsaith the Lord\" for the position which we occupy, the path we tread, the\nassociations in which we stand, the work in which we are engaged, there\nwill, most assuredly, be weakness in the hour of conflict. Satan is sure\nto avail himself of the smallest misgiving in the soul. All must be\nsettled as to our positive standing, if we would make any headway\nagainst the enemy. There must be an unclouded confidence as to our real\nposition before God, else the foe will have an easy victory.\n\nNow, it is precisely here that there is so much weakness apparent among\nthe children of God. Very few, comparatively, are clear, sound, and\nsettled as to their foundation--very few are able, without any reserve,\nto take the blessed ground of being washed in the blood of Jesus, and\nsealed with the Holy Spirit. At times they hope it. When things go well\nwith them; when they have had a good time in the closet; when they have\nenjoyed nearness to God in prayer, or over the Word; while they are\nsitting under a clear, fervent, forcible ministry--at such moments,\nperhaps, they can venture to speak hopefully about themselves. But, very\nsoon, dark clouds gather; they feel the workings of indwelling sin; they\nare afflicted with wandering thoughts; or it may be, they have been\nbetrayed into some levity of spirit, or irritability of temper; then\nthey begin to _reason_ about themselves, and to question whether they\nare, in reality, the children of God. And from reasonings and\nquestionings, they very speedily slip into positive unbelief, and then\nplunge into the thick gloom of a despondency bordering on despair.\n\nAll this is most sad. It is, at once, dishonoring to God, and\ndestructive to the soul's peace; and as to progress, in such a\ncondition, it is wholly out of the question. How can any one run a race,\nif he has not cleared the starting post? How can he erect a building, if\nhe has not laid the foundation? And, on the same principle, how can a\nsoul grow in the divine life, if he is always liable to doubt whether he\nhas that life or not?\n\nBut it may be that some of our readers are disposed to put such a\nquestion as the following, \"How can I be sure that I am on God's\nground?--that I am washed in the blood of Jesus and sealed with the Holy\nSpirit?\" We reply, How do you know that you are a lost sinner? Is it\nbecause you feel it? Is mere feeling the ground of your faith? If so, it\nis not a divine faith at all. True faith rests _only_ on the testimony\nof holy Scripture. No doubt, it is by the gracious energy of the Holy\nGhost that any one can exercise this living faith; but we are speaking\nnow of the true ground of faith--the authority--the basis on which it\nrests, and that is simply the holy Scriptures which, as the inspired\napostle tells us, are able to make us wise unto salvation, and which\neven a child could know, without the church, the clergy, the fathers,\nthe doctors, the councils, the colleges, or any other human intervention\nwhatsoever.\n\n\"Abraham believed God.\" Here was divine faith. It was not a question of\nfeeling. Indeed, if Abraham had been influenced by his feelings, he\nwould have been a doubter instead of a believer. For what had he to\nbuild upon in himself? \"His own body now dead.\" A poor ground surely on\nwhich to build his faith in the promise of an innumerable seed. But, we\nare told, \"He considered not his own body now dead\" (Rom. iv.). What,\nthen, did he consider? He considered the word of the living God, and on\nthat he rested. Now this is faith. And mark what the apostle says: \"He\nstaggered not at the promise of God through unbelief\" (for unbelief is\nalways a staggerer), \"but was strong in faith, giving glory to God: and\nbeing fully persuaded that what He had promised, He was able also to\nperform. And _therefore_ it was imputed to him for righteousness.\"\n\n\"Ah! but,\" the anxious reader may say, \"what has all this to say to my\ncase? I am not an Abraham--I cannot expect a special revelation from\nGod. How am I to know that God has spoken to me? How can I possess this\nprecious faith?\" Well, dear friend, mark the apostle's further\nstatement. \"Now,\" he adds, \"it was not written for his (Abraham's) sake\nalone, that it was imputed to him; but for us also, to whom it shall be\nimputed, if\"--if what?--if we feel, realize, or experience aught in\nourselves? Nay, but \"if we believe on Him that raised up Jesus our Lord\nfrom the dead; who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again\nfor our justification.\"\n\nAll this is full of solid comfort and richest consolation. It assures\nthe anxious inquirer that he has the self-same ground and authority to\nrest upon that Abraham had, with an immensely higher measure of light\nthrown on that ground, inasmuch as Abraham was called to believe in a\npromise, whereas we are privileged to believe in an accomplished fact.\nHe was called to look forward to something which was to be done; we look\nback at something that is done, even an accomplished redemption,\nattested by the fact of a risen and glorified Saviour, at the right hand\nof the Majesty in the heavens.\n\nBut as to the ground or authority on which we are called to rest our\nsouls, it is the same in our case as in Abraham's and all true\nbelievers' in all ages--it is the word of God--the holy Scriptures.\nThere is no other foundation of faith but this; and the faith that rests\non any other is not true faith at all. A faith resting on human\ntradition--on the authority of the Church--on the authority of so-called\ngeneral councils--on the clergy--or on learned men, is not divine\nfaith, but mere superstition; it is a faith which \"stands in the wisdom\nof men,\" and \"not in the power of God\" (I Cor. ii. 5).\n\nNow, it is utterly impossible for any human pen or mortal tongue to\noverstate the value or importance of this grand principle--this\nprinciple of a living faith. Its value at the present moment is\npositively unspeakable. We believe it to be the divine antidote against\nmost, if not all, the leading errors, evils, and hostile influences of\nthe day in which our lot is cast. There is a tremendous shaking going on\naround us. Minds are agitated. Disturbing forces are abroad. There is a\nloosening of the foundations. Old institutions, to which the human mind\nclings, as the ivy to the oak, are tottering on every side; and many are\nactually fallen: and thousands of souls that have been finding shelter\nin them are dislodged and scared, and know not whither to turn. Some are\nsaying, \"The bricks are thrown down, but we will build with hewn stone.\"\nMany are at their wit's end, and most are ill at ease.\n\nNor is this all; there is a numerous class, for the most part, of those\nwho are not so much concerned about the condition and destiny of\nreligious institutions and ecclesiastical systems, as about the\ncondition and destiny of their own precious souls--of those who are not\nso much agitated by questions about \"Broad Church,\" \"High Church,\" \"Low\nChurch,\" \"State Church,\" or \"Free Church,\" as about this one great\nquestion, \"What must I do to be saved?\" What have we to say to these\nlatter? What is the real want of their souls? Simply this, \"A living\nfaith in the living God.\" This is what is needed for all who are\ndisturbed by what they see without, or feel within. Our unfailing\nresource is in the living God and in His Son Jesus Christ, as revealed\nby the Holy Spirit in the holy Scriptures.\n\nHere is the true resting-place of faith, and to this we do, most\nearnestly, most urgently and solemnly, invite the anxious reader. In one\nword, we entreat him to stay his whole soul on the word of God--the holy\nScriptures. Here we have authority for all that we need to know, to\nbelieve, or to do.\n\nIs it a question of anxiety about my eternal salvation? Hear the\nfollowing words, \"Therefore, thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in\nZion _for a foundation_, a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner\nstone, _a sure foundation_: he that believeth shall not make haste\"\n(Isa. xxviii. 16). These precious words, so pregnant with tranquilizing\npower, are quoted by the inspired apostle in the New Testament\nScriptures: \"Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I\nlay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and _he that\nbelieveth on Him shall not be confounded_\" (I Peter ii. 6).\n\nWhat solid comfort--what deep and settled repose for the anxious soul is\nhere! God has laid the foundation, and that foundation is nothing less\nthan His own eternal and co-equal Son, the Son who had dwelt from all\neternity in His bosom.\n\nThis foundation is, in every respect, adequate to sustain the whole\nweight of the counsels and purposes of the eternal THREE IN ONE--to meet\nall the claims of the nature, the character, and the throne of God.\n\nBeing all this, it must needs be fully adequate to meet all the need of\nthe anxious soul, of what kind soever that need may be. If Christ is\nenough for God He must of necessity be enough for man--for any man--for\nthe reader; and that He is enough is proved by the very passage just\nquoted. He is God's own foundation, laid by His own hand, the foundation\nand centre of that glorious system of royal and victorious grace set\nforth in the word \"Zion.\" (See Heb. xii. 22-24.) He is God's own\nprecious, tried, chief corner stone--that blessed One who went down into\ndeath's dark waters--bore the heavy judgment and wrath of God against\nsin--robbed death of its sting, and the grave of its victory--destroyed\nhim that had the power of death--wrested from the enemy's grasp that\nterrible weapon with which sin had armed him, and made it the very\ninstrument of his eternal defeat and confusion. Having done all this, He\nwas received up into glory, and seated at the right hand of the Majesty\nin the heavens.\n\nSuch is God's foundation, to which He graciously calls the attention of\nevery one who really feels the need of something divinely solid on which\nto build, in view of the hollow and shadowy scenes of this world, and in\nprospect of the stern realities of eternity.\n\nDear reader, you are now invited to build upon this foundation. Be\nassured it is for you as positively and distinctly as though you heard a\nvoice from heaven speaking to your own very self. The word of the living\nGod is addressed \"to every creature under heaven\"--\"Whosoever will\" is\ninvited to come. The inspired volume has been placed in your hand and\nlaid open before your eyes; and for what think you? Is it to mock or to\ntantalize you by presenting before you what was never intended for you?\nAh! no, reader; such is not God's way. Does He send His sunlight and\nshowers to mock and to tantalize, or to gladden and refresh? Do you ever\nthink of calling in question your own very personal welcome to study the\nbook of Creation? Never; and yet there might be some show of foundation\nof such a question, inasmuch as, since that wondrous volume was thrown\nopen, sin has entered and thrown its dark blots over the pages thereof.\nBut, spite of sin and all its forms and all its consequences, spite of\nSatan's power and malice, God has spoken. He has caused His voice to be\nheard in this dark and sinful world. And what has He said? \"Behold, I\nlay in Zion a foundation.\" This is something entirely new. It is as\nthough our blessed, loving, and ever gracious God had said to us, \"Here,\nI have begun on the new. I have laid a foundation, on the ground of\nredemption, which nothing can ever touch, neither sin, or Satan, or\naught else. I _lay_ the foundation, and pledge My word that whosoever\nbelieves--whosoever commits himself, in childlike, unquestioning\nconfidence, to My foundation--whosoever rests in My Christ--whosoever is\nsatisfied with My precious, tried, chief corner stone, shall never--no,\nnever--no, never be confounded--never be put to shame--never be\ndisappointed--shall never perish, world without end.\"\n\nBeloved reader, dost thou still hesitate? We solemnly avow we cannot see\neven the shadow of a foundation of a reason why thou shouldest. If there\nwere any question raised, or any condition proposed, or any barrier\nerected, reason would that thou mightest hesitate. If there were so much\nas a single preliminary to be settled by thee--if it were made a\nquestion of feeling or of experience, or of aught else that thou couldst\ndo, or feel, or be, then verily thou mightest justly pause. But there is\nabsolutely nothing of the sort. There is the Christ of God and the word\nof God, and--what then? \"He that believeth shall not be confounded.\" In\nshort it is simply \"A living faith in the living God.\" It is taking God\nat His word. It is believing what He says because He says it. It is\ncommitting your soul to the word of Him who cannot lie. It is doing what\nAbraham did when he believed God and was counted righteous. It is doing\nwhat Jehoshaphat did when he planted his foot firmly on those immortal\nwords, \"Thou gavest it to the seed of Abraham Thy friend, forever.\" It\nis doing what the patriarchs, the prophets, the apostles, the saints in\nall ages have done, when they rested their souls for time and eternity\nupon that Word which \"is settled forever in heaven,\" and thus lived in\npeace and died in hope of a glorious resurrection. It is resting calmly\nand sweetly on the immovable rock of holy Scripture, and thus proving\nthe divine and sustaining virtue of that which has never failed any who\nwho trusted it, and never will, and never can.\n\nOh! the unspeakable blessedness of having such a foundation in a world\nlike this where death, decay, and change are stamped upon all; where\nfriendship's fondest links are snapped in the twinkling of an eye by\ndeath's rude hand; where all that seems, to nature's view, most stable,\nis liable to be swept away in a moment by the rushing tide of popular\nrevolution; where there is absolutely nothing on which the heart can\nlean, and say, \"I have now found permanent repose.\" What a mercy, in\nsuch a scene, to have \"A living faith in the living God.\"\n\n\"They shall not be ashamed that wait for Me.\" Such is the veritable\nrecord of the living God--a record made good in the experience of all\nthose who have been enabled, through grace, to exercise a living faith.\nBut then we must remember how much is involved in those three words,\n\"_wait for Me_.\" The waiting must be a real thing. It will not do to\n_say_ we are waiting on God, when, in reality, our eye is askance upon\nsome human prop or creature confidence. We must be absolutely \"shut up\"\nto God. We must be brought to the end of self, and to the bottom of\ncircumstances, in order fully to prove what the life of faith is, and\nwhat God's resources are. God and the creature can never occupy the\nsame platform. It must be God alone. \"My soul, wait thou _only_ upon\nGod; for my expectation is from Him. He _only_ is my rock and my\nsalvation\" (Psa. lxii. 5, 6).\n\nThus it was with Jehoshaphat, in that scene recorded in 2 Chron. xx. He\nwas wholly cast upon God. It was either God or nothing. \"We have no\nmight.\" But what then? \"Our eyes are upon Thee.\" This was enough. It was\nwell for Jehoshaphat not to have so much as a single atom of might--a\nsingle ray of knowledge. He was in the very best possible attitude and\ncondition to prove what God was. It would have been an incalculable loss\nto him to have been possessed of the very smallest particle of creature\nstrength or creature wisdom, inasmuch as it could only have proved a\nhindrance to him in leaning exclusively upon the arm and the counsel of\nthe Almighty God. If the eye of faith rests upon the living God--if He\nfills the entire range of the soul's vision, then what do we want with\nmight or knowledge of our own? Who would think of resting in that which\nis human when he can have that which is divine? Who would lean on an arm\nof flesh, when he can lean on the arm of the living God?\n\nReader, art thou, at this moment in any pressure, in any trial, need, or\ndifficulty? If so, let us entreat thee to look simply and solely to the\nliving God. Turn away thine eyes completely from the creature: \"Cease\nfrom man, whose breath is in his nostrils.\"\n\nLet thy faith take hold now on the strength of God Himself. Put thy\nwhole case into His omnipotent hand. Cast thy burden, whatever it is,\nupon Him. Let there be no reserve. He is as willing as He is able, and\nas able as He is willing, to bear all. Only trust Him fully. He loves to\nbe trusted--loves to be used. It is His joy, blessed be His name, to\nyield a ready and a full response to the appeal of faith. It is worth\nhaving a burden, to know the blessedness of rolling it over upon Him. So\nthe king of Judah found it in the day of his trial, and so shall the\nreader find it now. God never fails a trusting heart. \"They shall not be\nashamed that wait for Me.\" Precious words! Let us mark how they are\nillustrated in the narrative before us.\n\nNo sooner had Jehoshaphat cast himself completely upon the Lord, than\nthe divine response fell, with clearness and power, upon his ear.\n\"Harken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king\nJehoshaphat; thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid or dismayed by\nreason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but\nGod's ... ye shall not need to fight in this battle. Set yourselves,\nstand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and\nJerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to-morrow go out against them; for\nthe Lord will be with you.\"\n\nWhat an answer! \"The battle is not yours, but God's.\" Only think of\nGod's having a battle with people! Assuredly there could be little\nquestion as to the issue of such a battle. Jehoshaphat had put the\nwhole matter into God's hands, and God took it up and made it entirely\nHis own. It is always thus. Faith puts the difficulty, the trial, and\nthe burden into God's hands, and leaves Him to act. This is enough. God\nnever refuses to respond to the appeal of faith; nay, it is His delight\nto answer it. Jehoshaphat had made it a question between God and the\nenemy. He had said, \"They have come to cast us out of _Thy_ possession,\nwhich Thou hast given us to inherit.\" Nothing could be simpler. God had\ngiven Israel the land, and He could keep them in it, spite of ten\nthousand foes. Thus faith would reason. The self-same Hand that had\nplaced them in the land could keep them there. It was simply a question\nof divine power. \"O our God, wilt Thou not judge them? for we have no\nmight against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we\nwhat to do; but our eyes are upon Thee.\"\n\nIt is a wonderful point in the history of any soul, to be brought to\nsay, \"I have no might.\" It is the sure precursor of divine deliverance.\nThe moment a man is brought to the discovery of his utter powerlessness,\nthe divine word is, \"Stand still, and see the salvation of God.\" One\ndoes not want \"might\" to \"stand still.\" It needs no effort to \"see the\nsalvation of God.\" This holds good in reference to the sinner in coming\nto Christ, at the first; and it holds equally good in reference to the\nChristian in his whole career from first to last. The great difficulty\nis to get to the end of our own strength.\n\nOnce there, the whole thing is settled. There may be a vast amount of\nstruggle and exercise ere we are brought to say \"without strength!\" But,\nthe moment we take that ground, the word is, \"Stand still, and see the\nsalvation of God.\" Human effort, in every shape and form, can but raise\na barrier between our souls and God's salvation. If God has undertaken\nfor us, we may well be still. And has He not? Yes, blessed be His holy\nname, He has charged Himself with all that concerns us, for time and\neternity; and hence we have only to let Him act for us, in all things.\nIt is our happy privilege to let Him go before us, while we follow on\n\"in wonder, love, and praise.\"\n\nThus it was in that interesting and instructive scene on which we have\nbeen dwelling. \"Jehoshaphat bowed his head, with his face to the ground:\nand all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the Lord,\nworshiping the Lord. And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites,\nand of the children of the Korhites, stood up to praise the Lord God of\nIsrael with a loud voice on high.\"\n\nHere we have the true attitude and the proper occupation of the\nbeliever. Jehoshaphat withdrew his eyes from \"that great company that\nhad come against him,\" and fixed them upon the living God. Jehovah had\ncome right in and placed Himself between His people and the enemy, just\nas He had done in the day of the exodus, at the Red Sea, so that instead\nof looking at the difficulties, they might look at Him.\n\nThis, beloved reader, is the secret of victory at all times, and under\nall circumstances. This it is which fills the heart with praise and\nthanksgiving, and bows the head in wondering worship. There is something\nperfectly beautiful in the entire bearing of Jehoshaphat and the\ncongregation, on the occasion before us. They were evidently impressed\nwith the thought that they had nothing to do but to praise God. And they\nwere right. Had He not said to them, \"Ye shall not need to fight\"? What\nthen had they to do? What remained for them? Nothing but praise. Jehovah\nwas going out before them to fight; and they had but to follow after Him\nin adoring worship.\n\n\"And they rose early in the morning, and went forth in the wilderness of\nTekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O\nJudah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; believe in the Lord your God, so\nshall ye be established; believe His prophets, so shall ye prosper\" (2\nChron. xx. 20).\n\nIt is of the very last importance that God's word should ever have its\nown supreme place in the heart of the Christian. God has spoken. He has\ngiven us His Word; and it is for us to lean unshaken thereon. We want\nnothing more. The divine Word is amply sufficient to give confidence,\npeace, and stability to the soul. We do not need evidences from man to\nprove the truth of God's word. That Word carries its own powerful\nevidences with it. To suppose that we require human testimony to prove\nthat God's word is true, is to imply that man's word is more valid, more\ntrustworthy, more authoritative, than the word of God. If we need a\nhuman voice to interpret, to ratify, to make God's revelation available,\nthen we are virtually deprived of that revelation altogether.\n\nWe call the special attention of the reader to this point. It concerns\nthe integrity of Holy Scripture. The grand question is this, Is God's\nword sufficient or not? Do we really want man's authority to make us\nsure that God has spoken? Far be the thought! This would be placing\nman's word above God's word, and thus depriving us of the _only_ solid\nground on which our souls can lean. This is precisely what the devil has\nbeen aiming at from the very beginning, and it is what he is aiming at\nnow. He wants to remove from beneath our feet the solid rock of divine\nrevelation, and to give us instead the sandy foundation of human\nauthority. Hence it is that we do so earnestly press upon our readers\nthe urgent need of keeping close to God's word, in simple unquestioning\nfaith. It is really the true secret of stability and peace. If God's\nword be not enough for us, without man's interference, we are positively\nleft without any sure basis of our soul's confidence; yea, we are cast\nadrift on the wild watery waste of skepticism, we are plunged in doubt\nand dark uncertainty: we are most miserable.\n\nBut, thanks and praise be to God, it is not so. \"_Believe in the Lord\nyour God, so shall ye be established: believe His prophets, so shall ye\nprosper._\"\n\nHere is the resting-place of faith in all ages. God's eternal Word,\nwhich is settled forever in heaven, which He has magnified according to\nall His name, and which stands forth in its own divine dignity and\nsufficiency before the eye of faith. We must utterly reject the idea\nthat aught in the way of human authority, human evidences, or human\nfeelings, is needful to make the testimony of God full weight in the\nbalances of the soul. Grant us but this, that God has spoken, and we\nargue with bold decision that nothing more is needed as a foundation for\ngenuine faith. In a word, if we want to be established and to prosper,\nwe have simply to \"Believe in the Lord our God.\" It was this that\nenabled Jehoshaphat to bow his head in holy worship. It was this that\nenabled him to praise God for victory ere a single blow was struck. It\nwas this that conducted him into \"the valley of Berachah\" (_blessing_)\nand surrounded him with spoil more than he could carry away.\n\nAnd now we have the soul-stirring record: \"And when he had consulted\nwith the people, he appointed _singers unto the Lord_, and that should\npraise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to\nsay, Praise the Lord: for His mercy endureth forever.\" What a strange\nadvance guard for an army! A company of singers! Such is faith's way of\nordering the battle.\n\n\"And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments\nagainst the children of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, which were come\nagainst Judah, and they were smitten.\" Only think of the Lord setting\nambushments! Think of His engaging in the business of military tactics!\nHow wonderful! God will do any thing that His people need, if only His\npeople will confide in Him, and leave themselves and their affairs\nabsolutely in His hand.\n\n\"And when Judah came toward the watch-tower in the wilderness, they\nlooked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to\nthe earth, and none escaped.\" Such was the end of \"that great\ncompany\"--that formidable host--that terrible foe. All vanished away\nbefore the presence of the God of Israel. Yes, and had they been a\nmillion times more numerous, and more formidable, the issue would have\nbeen the same, for circumstances are nothing to the living God, and\nnothing to a living faith. When God fills the vision of the soul,\ndifficulties fade away, and songs of praise break forth from joyful\nlips.\n\n\"And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil of\nthem\" (for that was all they had to do) \"they found among them in\nabundance both riches with the dead bodies, and precious jewels, which\nthey stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away; and\nthey were three days in gathering of the spoil, it was so much. And on\nthe fourth day, they assembled themselves in the valley of Berachah; for\nthere they blessed the Lord.\"\n\nSuch, beloved reader, must ever be the result of a living faith in the\nliving God. More than two thousand five hundred years have rolled away\nsince the occurrence of the event on which we have been dwelling; but\nthe record is as fresh as ever. No change has come over the living God,\nor over the living faith which ever takes hold of His strength, and\ncounts on His faithfulness. It is as true to-day as it was in the day of\nJehoshaphat, that those who believe in the Lord our God shall be\nestablished, and shall prosper. They shall be endowed with strength,\ncrowned with victory, clothed with spoils, and filled with songs of\npraise. May we, then through the gracious energy of the Holy Spirit,\never be enabled to exercise \"A LIVING FAITH IN THE LIVING GOD!\"\n\n\n\n\nA SCRIPTURAL INQUIRY\n\nAS TO THE TRUE NATURE OF\n\nTHE SABBATH, THE LAW, AND CHRISTIAN MINISTRY\n\n\nTHE SABBATH.\n\nIf it were merely a question of the observance or non-observance of a\nday, it might be easily disposed of, inasmuch as the apostle teaches us\nin Rom. xiv. 5, 6, and also in Col. ii. 16, that such things are not to\nbe made a ground of judgment. But seeing there is a great principle\ninvolved in the Sabbath question, we deem it to be of the very last\nimportance to place it upon a clear and Scriptural basis. We shall quote\nthe Fourth Commandment at full length: \"Remember the sabbath day, to\nkeep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; but the\nseventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do\nany work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy\nmaidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:\nfor in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in\nthem is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the\nsabbath day, and hallowed it\" (Ex. xx. 8-11). This same law is repeated\nin Exodus xxxi. 12-17. And in pursuance thereof we find in Numbers xv. a\nman stoned for gathering sticks on the sabbath day. All this is plain\nand absolute enough. Man has no right to alter God's law in reference to\nthe sabbath; no more than he has to alter it in reference to murder,\nadultery, or theft. This, we presume, will not be called in question.\nThe entire body of old Testament Scripture fixes the seventh day as the\nsabbath; and the Fourth Commandment lays down the mode in which that\nsabbath was to be observed. Now where, we ask, is this precedent\nfollowed? Where is this command obeyed? Is it not plain that the\nprofessing Church neither keeps the right day as the sabbath, nor does\nshe keep it after the Scripture mode? The commandments of God are made\nof none effect by human traditions, and the glorious truths which hang\naround \"the Lord's day\" are lost sight of. The Jew is robbed of his\ndistinctive day and all the privileges therewith connected, which are\nonly suspended for the present, while judicial blindness hangs over that\nloved and interesting, though now judged and scattered, people. And\nfurthermore, the Church is robbed of her distinctive day and all the\nglories therewith connected, which if really understood would have the\neffect of lifting her above earthly things into the sphere which\nproperly belongs to her, as linked by faith to her glorified Head in\nheaven. In result, we have neither pure Judaism nor pure Christianity,\nbut an anomalous system arising out of an utterly unscriptural\ncombination of the two.\n\nHowever, we desire to refrain from all attempt at developing the deeply\nspiritual doctrine involved in this great question, and confine\nourselves to the plain teaching of Scripture on the subject; and in so\ndoing we maintain that if the professing Church quotes the Fourth\nCommandment and parallel scriptures in defense of keeping the sabbath,\nthen it is evident that in almost every case the law is entirely set\naside. Observe, the word is, \"Thou shalt not do any work.\" This ought to\nbe perfectly binding on all who take the Jewish ground. There is no room\nhere for introducing what we deem to be \"works of necessity.\" We may\nthink it necessary to kindle fires, to make servants harness our horses\nand drive us hither and thither. But the law is stern and absolute,\nsevere and unbending. It will not, it can not, lower its standard to\nsuit our convenience or accommodate itself to our thoughts. The mandate\nis, \"Thou shalt not do _any_ work,\" and that, moreover, on \"the seventh\nday,\" which answers to our Saturday. We ask for a single passage of\nScripture in which the day is changed, or in which the strict observance\nof the day is in the smallest degree relaxed.\n\nWe request the reader of these lines to pause and search out this matter\nthoroughly in the light of Scripture. Let him not be scared as by some\nterrible bugbear, but let him, in true Berean nobility of spirit,\n\"search the Scriptures.\" By so doing he will find that from the second\nchapter of Genesis down to the very last passage in which the sabbath is\nnamed, it means the _seventh_ day and none other; and further, that\nthere is not so much as a shadow of divine authority for altering the\nmode of observing that day. Law is law, and if we are under the law we\nare bound to keep it or else be cursed; for \"it is written, Cursed is\nevery one that continueth not in all things which are written in the\nbook of the law to do them\" (Deut. xxvii. 26; Gal. iii. 10).\n\nBut it will be said, \"We are not under the Mosaic law; we are the\nsubjects of the Christian economy.\" Granted; most fully, freely and\nthankfully granted. All true Christians are, according to the teaching\nof Romans vii. and viii. and Galatians iii. and iv., the happy and\nprivileged subjects of the Christian dispensation. But if so, what is\nthe day which specially characterizes that dispensation? Not \"the\nseventh day,\" but \"the first day of the week\"--\"THE LORD'S DAY.\" This is\npre-eminently the Christian's day. Let him observe this day with all the\nsanctity, the sacred reverence, the hallowed retirement, the elevated\ntone, of which his new nature is capable. We believe the Christian's\nretirement from all secular things cannot possibly be too profound on\nthe Lord's day. The idea of any one, calling himself a Christian, making\nthe Lord's day a season of what is popularly called recreation,\nunnecessary traveling, personal convenience, or profit in temporal\nthings, is perfectly shocking. We are of opinion that such acting could\nnot be too severely censured. We can safely assert that we never yet\ncame in contact with a godly, intelligent, right-minded Christian person\nwho did not love and reverence the Lord's day; nor could we have any\nsympathy with any one who could deliberately desecrate that holy and\nhappy day.\n\nWe are aware, alas, that some persons have through ignorance or\nmisguided feelings said things in reference to the Lord's day which we\nutterly repudiate, and that they have done things on the Lord's day of\nwhich we wholly disapprove. We believe that there is a body of New\nTestament teaching on the important subject of the Lord's day quite\nsufficient to give that day its proper place in every well-regulated\nmind. The Lord Jesus rose from the dead on that day (Matt, xxviii. I-6;\nMark xvi. I, 2; Luke xxiv. I; John xx. I). He met His disciples once and\nagain on that day (John xx. 19, 26). The early disciples met to break\nbread on that day (Acts xx. 7). The apostle, by the Holy Ghost, directs\nthe Corinthians to lay by their contributions for the poor on that day\n(I Cor. xvi. 2). And finally, the exiled apostle was in the Spirit and\nreceived visions of the future on that day (Rev. i. 10). The above\nscriptures are conclusive. They prove that the Lord's day occupies a\nplace quite unique, quite heavenly, quite divine. But they as fully\nprove the entire distinctness of the Jewish sabbath and the Lord's day.\nThe two days are spoken of throughout the New Testament with fully as\nmuch distinctness as we speak of Saturday and Sunday. The only\ndifference is that the latter are heathen titles, and the former divine.\n(Comp. Matt. xxviii. I; Acts xiii. 14, xvii. 2, xx. 7; Col. ii. 16).\n\nHaving said thus much as to the question of the Jewish sabbath and the\nLord's day, we shall suggest the following questions to the reader,\nnamely: Where in the word of God is the sabbath said to be changed to\nthe first day of the week? Where is there any repeal of the law as to\nthe sabbath? Where is the authority for altering the day or the mode of\nobserving it? Where in Scripture have we such an expression as \"the\nChristian sabbath\"? Where is the Lord's day ever called the\nsabbath?[XXVII.]\n\nWe would not yield to any of our dear brethren in the various\ndenominations around us in the pious observance of the Lord's day. We\nlove and honor it with all our hearts; and were it not that the gracious\nprovidence of God has so ordered it in these realms that we can enjoy\nthe rest and retirement of the Lord's day without pecuniary loss, we\nshould feel called upon to abstain from business, and give ourselves\nwholly up to the worship and service of God on that day--not as a matter\nof cold legality, but as a holy and happy privilege.\n\nIt would be the deepest sorrow to our hearts to think that a true\nChristian should be found taking common ground with the ungodly, the\nprofane, the thoughtless, and the pleasure-hunting multitude, in\ndesecrating the Lord's day. It would be sad indeed if the children of\nthe kingdom and the children of this world were to meet in an excursion\ntrain on the Lord's day. We feel persuaded that any who in any wise\nprofane or treat with lightness the Lord's day act in direct opposition\nto the Word and Spirit of God.\n\n\nTHE LAW.\n\nAs regards the law, it is looked at in two ways; first, as a ground of\njustification; and secondly, as a rule of life. A passage or two of\nScripture will suffice to settle both the one and the other: \"Therefore\nby the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight:\nfor by the law is the knowledge of sin\" (Rom. iii. 20). \"Therefore we\nconclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law\"\n(ver. 28). Again: \"Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of\nthe law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in\nJesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not\nby the works of the law; for by the works of the law shall no flesh be\njustified\" (Gal. ii. 16).\n\nThen, as to its being a rule of life, we read, \"Wherefore, my brethren,\nye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should\nbe married to another, even to Him that is raised from the dead, that we\nshould bring forth fruit unto God\" (Rom. vii. 4). \"But now are we\ndelivered from the law, being dead to that (see margin) wherein we were\nheld: that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness\nof the letter\" (ver. 6). Observe in this last-quoted passage two\nthings: first, \"we are delivered from the law;\" second, not that we may\ndo nature's pleasure, but \"that we should _serve_ in newness of spirit.\"\nBeing delivered from bondage, it is our privilege to \"serve\" in liberty.\nAgain we read, further on in the chapter, \"And the commandment which was\nordained to life, I found to be _unto death_\" (ver. 10). It evidently\ndid not prove as a rule of _life_ to him. \"I was _alive without the law_\nonce; but _when the commandment came_, sin revived, and _I died_\" (ver.\n9). Whoever \"I\" represents in this chapter was alive until the law came,\nand then he died. Hence, therefore, the law could not have been a rule\nof life to him; yea, it was the very opposite, even a rule of death.\n\nIn a word, then, it is evident that a sinner cannot be justified by the\nworks of the law; and it is equally evident that the law is not the rule\nof the believer's life. \"For as many as are of the works of the law are\nunder the curse\" (Gal. iii. 10). The law knows no such thing as a\ndistinction between a regenerated and an unregenerated man: it curses\nall who attempt to stand before it. It rules and curses a man so long as\nhe lives; nor is there any one who will so fully acknowledge that he\ncannot keep it as the true believer, and hence no one would be more\nthoroughly under the curse.\n\nWhat, therefore, is the ground of our justification? and what is our\nrule of life? The word of God answers, \"We are justified by the faith of\nChrist,\" and Christ is our rule of life. He bore all our sins in His\nown body on the tree; He was made a curse for us; He drained on our\nbehalf the cup of God's righteous wrath; He deprived death of its sting,\nand the grave of its victory; He gave up His life for us; He went down\ninto death, where we lay, in order that He might bring us up in eternal\nassociation with Himself in life, righteousness, favor and glory, before\nour God and His God, our Father and His Father. (See carefully the\nfollowing scriptures: John xx. 17; Rom. iv. 25; v. I-10; vi. I-11; vii.\n_passim_, viii. I-4; I Cor. i. 30, 31; vi. 11; xv. 55-57; 2 Cor. v.\n17-21; Gal. iii. 13, 25-29; iv. 31; Eph. i. 19-23; ii. I-6; Col. ii.\n10-15; Heb. ii. 14, 15; I Peter i. 23.) If the reader will prayerfully\nponder all these passages of Scripture he will see clearly that we are\nnot justified by the works of the law; and not only so, but he will see\nhow we are justified. He will see the deep and solid foundations of the\nChristian's life, righteousness and peace planned in God's eternal\ncounsels, laid in the finished atonement of Christ, developed by God the\nHoly Ghost in the Word, and made good in the happy experience of all\ntrue believers.\n\nThen, as to the believer's rule of life, the apostle does not say, To me\nto live is the law; but, \"To me to live is Christ\" (Phil. i. 21). Christ\nis our rule, our model, our touchstone, our all. The continual inquiry\nof the Christian should be, not is this or that according to law? but is\nit like Christ? The law never could teach me to love, bless and pray for\nmy enemies; but this is exactly what the gospel teaches me to do, and\nwhat the divine nature leads me to do. \"Love is the fulfilling of the\nlaw;\" and yet, were I to seek justification by the law, I should be\nlost; and were I to make the law my standard of action, I should fall\nfar short of my proper mark. We are predestinated to be conformed, not\nto the law, but to the image of God's Son. We are to be like Him. (See\nMatt. v. 21-48; Rom. viii. 29; I Cor. xiii. 4-8; Rom. xiii. 8-10; Gal.\nv. 14-26; Eph. i. 3-5; Phil. iii. 20, 21; ii. 5; iv. 8; Col. iii. I-17.)\n\nIt may seem a paradox to some to be told that \"the righteousness of the\nlaw is fulfilled in us\" (Rom. viii. 4), and yet that we cannot be\njustified by the law, nor make the law our rule of life. Nevertheless,\nthus it is if we are to form our convictions by the word of God. Nor is\nthere any difficulty to the renewed mind in understanding this blessed\ndoctrine. We are by nature \"dead in trespasses and sins,\" and what can a\ndead man do? How can a man get life by keeping that which requires life\nto keep it--a life which he has not? And how do we get life? Christ is\nour life. We live in Him who died for us; we are blessed in Him who\nbecame a curse for us by hanging on a tree; we are righteous in Him who\nwas made sin for us; we are brought nigh in Him who was cast out for us\n(Rom. v. 6-15; Eph. ii. 4-6; Gal. iii. 13). Having thus life and\nrighteousness in Christ, we are called to walk as He walked, and not\nmerely to walk as a Jew. We are called to purify ourselves even as He\nis pure; to walk in His footsteps; to show forth His virtues; to\nmanifest His spirit (John xiii. 14, 15; xvii. 14-19; I Peter ii. 21; I\nJohn ii. 6, 29; iii. 3).\n\nWe shall close our remarks on this head by suggesting two questions to\nthe reader, namely, Would the Ten Commandments without the New Testament\nbe a sufficient rule of life for the believer? Is not the New Testament\na sufficient rule without the Ten Commandments? Surely that which is\ninsufficient cannot be our rule of life.\n\nWe receive the Ten Commandments as part of the canon of inspiration; and\nmoreover, we believe that the law remains in full force to rule and\ncurse a man as long as he liveth. Let a sinner only try to get life by\nit, and see where it will put him; and let a believer only shape his way\naccording to it, and see what it will make of him. We are fully\nconvinced that if a man is walking according to the spirit of the\ngospel, he will not commit murder nor steal; but we are also convinced\nthat a man, confining himself to the standard of the law of Moses would\nfall very far short of the spirit of the gospel.\n\nThe subject of \"the law\" would demand much more elaborate exposition,\nbut the limits of this paper do not admit of it, and we therefore\nentreat of the reader to look out the various passages of Scripture\nreferred to and ponder them carefully. In this way we feel assured he\nwill arrive at a sound conclusion, and be independent of all human\nteaching and influence. He will see how that a man is justified freely\nby the grace of God through faith in a crucified and risen Christ; that\nhe is made a partaker of divine life, and introduced into a condition of\ndivine and everlasting righteousness, and consequent exemption from all\ncondemnation; that in this holy and elevated position Christ is his\nobject, his theme, his model, his rule, his hope, his joy, his strength,\nhis all; that the hope which is set before him is to be with Jesus where\nHe is, and to be like Him forever. And he will also see that if as a\nlost sinner he has found pardon and peace at the foot of the cross, he\nis not, as an accepted and adopted son, sent back to the foot of Mount\nSinai, there to be terrified and repulsed by the terrible anathemas of a\nbroken law. The Father could not think of ruling with an iron law the\nprodigal whom He had received to His bosom in purest, deepest, richest\ngrace. Oh no! \"Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through\nour Lord Jesus Christ; by whom also we have access by faith into this\ngrace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God\" (Rom.\nv. I, 2). The believer is justified not by works, but by _faith_; he\nstands not in law, but in _grace_; and he waits not for judgment, but\nfor _glory_.\n\nWe come now, in the third place, to treat of the subject of\n\n\nTHE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY;\n\nin reference to which we have only to say, that we hold it to be a\ndivine institution: its source, its power, its characteristics, are all\ndivine and heavenly. We believe that the great Head of the Church\nreceived in resurrection gifts for His body. He, and not the Church, or\nany section of the Church, is the reservoir of the gifts. They are\nvested in Him, and not in the Church. He imparts them as, and to whom,\nHe will. No man, nor body of men, can impart gifts. This is Christ's\nprerogative, and His alone; and we believe that when He imparts a gift,\nthe man who receives that gift is responsible to exercise the same,\nwhether as an evangelist, a pastor or a teacher, quite independently of\nall human authority.\n\nWe do not by any means believe that all are endowed with the above\ngifts, though all have some ministry to fulfil. All are not evangelists,\npastors, and teachers. Such precious gifts are only administered\naccording to the sovereign will of the divine Head of the Church. Man\nhas no right to interfere with them. Wherever they really exist, it is\nthe place of the assembly to recognize them with devout thankfulness.\nChristians are exhorted to remember them that are over them in the Lord,\nto know them that guide them, and those who addict themselves to the\nministry of the saints, and those who have spoken to them the word of\nlife. Were they to refuse to do so, they would only be forsaking and\nrejecting their own mercies, for all things are theirs. (See Rom. xii.\n3-8; I Cor. iii. 21-23; xii., xiv., xvi. 15; Gal. i. 11-17; Eph. iv.\n7-16; I Thess. v. 12, 13; Heb. xiii. 7, 17; I Peter iv. 10, 11.)\n\nAll this is simple enough. We can easily see where a man is divinely\nqualified for any department of ministry. It is not if a man _say_ he\nhas a gift, but if he in reality has it. A man may say he has a gift on\nthe same principle as he may say he has faith (James ii. 14), and it may\nonly be, after all, an empty conceit of his own ill-adjusted mind, which\na spiritual assembly could not recognize for a moment. God deals in\nrealities. A divinely-gifted evangelist is a reality; a teacher is a\nreality; a pastor is a reality; and such will be duly recognized,\nthankfully received, and counted worthy of all esteem and honor for\ntheir work's sake.\n\nNow we hold that unless a man has a _bona fide_ gift imparted to him by\nthe Head of the Church, all the instruction, all the education, and all\nthe training that men could impart to him would not constitute him a\nChristian minister. If a man has a gift, he is responsible to exercise,\nto cultivate, and to wait upon his gift.\n\nBut unless a man has a direct gift from Christ, though he had all the\nlearning of a Newton, all the philosophy of a Bacon, all the eloquence\nof a Demosthenes, he is not a Christian minister. He may be a very\ngifted and efficient minister of religion, so called; but a minister of\nreligion and a minister of Christ are two different things. And further,\nwe believe that where the Lord Christ has bestowed a gift, that gift\nmakes the possessor thereof a Christian minister, whom all true\nChristians are bound to own and receive, quite apart from all human\nappointment: whereas, though a man had all the human qualifications,\nhuman titles and human authority which it is possible to possess, and\nyet lacked that one grand reality, namely, Christ's gift, he is not a\nminister of Christ.\n\nWe thank God for Christian ministry; and we feel assured that there are\nmany truly gifted servants of Christ in the various denominations around\nus; but they are ministers of Christ on the ground of possessing His\ngift, and not, by any means, on the ground of man's ordination. Man\ncannot add aught to a heaven-bestowed gift. As well might he attempt to\nadd a shade to the rainbow, a tint to the violet, motion to the waves,\nheight to the snow-capped mountains, or daub with a painter's brush the\npeacock's plumage, as attempt to render more efficient by his puny\nauthority the gift which has come down from the risen and glorified Head\nof the Church. Ah no! the vine, the olive and the fig-tree, in Jotham's\nparable (Judges ix.) needed not the appointment of the other trees. God\nhad implanted in each its specific virtue. It was only the worthless\nbramble which hailed with delight an appointment that raised it from the\nposition of _a real nothing_ to be _an official something_. Thus it is\nwith a divinely-gifted man. He has what God has given him: he wants, he\nasks no more. He rises above the narrow enclosure which man's authority\nwould erect around him, and plants his foot upon that elevated ground\nwhere prophets and apostles have stood. He feels that it lies not within\nthe range of the schools and colleges of this world to open to him his\nproper sphere of action. It appertains not to them to provide a setting\nfor the precious gem which sovereign grace has imparted. The hand which\nhas bestowed the gem can alone provide the proper setting. The grace\nwhich has implanted the gift can alone throw open a proper sphere for\nits exercise. What! can it be possible that those gifts which emanate\nfrom the Church's triumphant and glorious Lord are not available for her\nedification until they are dragged through the mire of a heathen\nmythology? Alas for the heart that can think so! As well might we say\nthat the fatness of the olive and the pure blood of the grape must be\nmingled with the contents of a quagmire to render them available for\nhuman use.\n\nBut it will be asked, \"Were there not elders and deacons in the early\nChurch, and ought we not to have such likewise?\" Unquestionably there\nwere elders and deacons in the early Church. They were appointed by the\napostles, or those whom the apostles deputed: that is to say, they were\nappointed by the Holy Ghost--the only One who could then, or can now,\nappoint them. We believe that none but God can make or appoint an elder,\nand therefore for man to set about such work is but a powerless form, an\nempty name. Men may, and do, point us to the shadows of their own\ncreation, and call upon us to recognize in those shadows divine\nrealities; but alas! when we examine them in the light of Holy\nScripture, we cannot even trace the outline, to say nothing of the\nliving, speaking features of the divine original. We see\ndivinely-appointed elders in the New Testament, and we see\nhumanly-appointed elders in the professing Church; but we can by no\nmeans accept the latter as a substitute for the former. We cannot accept\na mere shadow in lieu of the substance. Neither do we believe that men\nhave any divine authority for their act when they set about making and\nappointing elders. We believe that when Paul, or Timothy, or Titus,\nordained elders, they did so as acting by the power and under the direct\nauthority of the Holy Ghost; but we deny that any man, or body of men,\ncan so act now. We believe it was the Holy Ghost then, and it must be\nthe Holy Ghost now. Human assumption is perfectly contemptible. If God\nraises up an elder or a pastor we thankfully own him. He both can and\ndoes raise up such. He does raise up men fitted by His Spirit to take\nthe oversight of His flock, and to feed His lambs and sheep. His hand is\nnot shortened that He cannot provide those blessings for His Church even\namid its humiliating ruins. The reservoir of spiritual gift in Christ\nthe Head is not so exhausted that He cannot shed forth upon His body all\nthat is needed for the edification thereof. We are of opinion that were\nit not for our impatient attempts to provide for ourselves by making\npastors and elders of our own, we should be far more richly endowed with\npastors and teachers after God's own heart. We need not marvel that He\nleaves us to our own resources when by our unbelief we limit Him in\nHis.\n\nInstead of \"proving\" Him, we \"limit\" Him, and therefore we are shorn of\nour strength and left in barrenness and desolation; or, what is worse,\nwe betake ourselves to the miserable provisions of human expediency.\nHowever, we believe it is far better, if we have not God's reality, to\nremain in the position of real, felt, confessed weakness than to put\nforth the hollow assumption of strength; we believe it is better to be\nreal in our poverty than to put on the appearance of wealth. It is\ninfinitely better to wait on God for whatever He may be pleased to\nbestow, than to limit His grace by our unbelief, or hinder His provision\nfor us by making provision for ourselves.\n\nWe ask, where is the Church's warrant for calling, making or appointing\npastors? Where have we an instance in the New Testament of a Church\nelecting its own pastor? Acts i. 23-26 has been adduced in proof. But\nthe very wording of the passage is sufficient to prove that it furnishes\nno warrant whatever. Even the eleven apostles could not elect a brother\napostle, but had to commit it to higher authority. Their words are,\n\"THOU, LORD, _which knowest the hearts of all_, show whether of these\ntwo _Thou hast chosen_.\" This is very plain. They did not attempt to\nchoose. God knew the heart. He had formed the vessel. He had put the\ntreasure therein, and He alone could appoint it to its proper place.\n\nIt is very evident, therefore, that the case of the eleven apostles\ncalling upon the Lord to choose a man to fill up their number affords\nno precedent whatever for a congregation electing a pastor: it is\nentirely against any such practice. God alone can make or appoint an\napostle or an elder, an evangelist or a pastor. This is our firm belief,\nand we ask for Scripture proof of its unsoundness. Human opinion will\nnot avail; tradition will not avail; expediency will not avail. Are we\ntaught from the word of God that the early Church ever elected its own\npastors or teachers? We positively affirm that there is not so much as a\nsingle line of Scripture in proof of any such custom. If we could only\nfind direction in the word of God to make and appoint pastors, we should\nat once seek to carry such direction into effect; but in the absence of\nany divine warrant we could only regard it as a mimicry on our part to\nattempt any such a thing. Why was not the church at Ephesus, or why were\nnot the churches at Crete, directed to elect or appoint elders? Why was\nthe direction given to Timothy and Titus without the slightest reference\nto the Church, or to any part of the Church? Because, as we believe,\nTimothy and Titus acted by the direct power and under the direct\nauthority of God the Holy Ghost, and hence their appointment was to be\nregarded by the Church as divine.[XXVIII.]\n\nBut where have we anything like this now? Where is the Timothy or the\nTitus now? Where is there the least intimation in the New Testament that\nthere should be a succession of men invested with the power to ordain\nelders or pastors? True, the apostle Paul, in his second epistle to\nTimothy, says, \"The things which thou hast heard of me among many\nwitnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to\nteach others also\" (2 Tim. ii. 2). But there is not a word here about a\nsuccession of men having power to ordain elders and pastors. Assuredly\nteaching is not ordination; still less is it imparting the power to\nordain. If the inspired apostle had meant to convey to the mind of\nTimothy that he was to commit to others authority to ordain, and that\nsuch authority was to descend by a regular chain of succession, he could\nand would have done so; and in that case the passage would have run\nthus: \"The power which has been vested in you, the same do thou vest in\nfaithful men, that they may be able also to ordain others.\" Such,\nhowever, is not the case; and we deny that there is any man or body of\nmen now upon earth possessing power to ordain elders, nor was that power\nor authority ever committed to the Church. We hold it to be absolutely\ndivine; and therefore, when God sends an elder or a pastor, an\nevangelist or a teacher, we thankfully hail the heaven-bestowed\ngift;[XXIX.] but we desire to be delivered from all empty pretension. We\nwill have God's reality or nothing. We will have heaven's genuine coin,\nnot earth's counterfeit. Like the Tirshatha of old, who said \"that they\nshould not eat of the most holy things till there stood up a priest\nwith Urim and Thummim\" (Ezra ii.63), so would we say, let us rather, if\nit must be so, remain without office-bearers than substitute for God's\nrealities the shadows of our own creation. Ezra could not accept the\npretensions of men. Men might _say_ they were priests; but if they could\nnot produce the divine warrant and the divine qualifications, they were\nutterly rejected. In order for a man to be entitled to approach the\naltar of the God of Israel, he should not only be descended from Aaron,\nbut also be free from every bodily blemish. (See Lev. xxi. 16-23.) So\nnow, in order for any man to minister in the Church of God, he must be a\nregenerated man, and he must have the necessary spiritual\nqualifications. Even St. Paul, in his powerful appeal to the conscience\nand judgment of the church at Corinth, refers to his spiritual gifts and\nthe fruits of his labor as the indisputable evidences of his\napostleship. (See 2 Cor. x., xii.)\n\nBefore dismissing the subject of the Christian Ministry, we would offer\na remark upon the practise of laying on of hands, which is presented in\nthe New Testament in two ways. First, we find it connected with the\ncommunication of a positive gift. \"Neglect not the gift that is in thee,\nwhich was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the\npresbytery\" (I Tim. iv. 14). This is again referred to in the second\nepistle: \"Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift\nof God which is in thee by the putting on of my hands\" (2 Tim. i. 6).\nThis latter passage fixes the import of the expression \"presbytery,\" as\nused in the first epistle. Both passages prove that the act of laying on\nof hands in Timothy's case was connected with the imparting of a gift.\nBut secondly, we find the laying on of hands adopted simply for the\npurpose of expressing full fellowship and identification, as in Acts\nxiii. 3. It could not possibly mean ordination in this passage, inasmuch\nas Paul and Barnabas had been in the ministry long before. It simply\ngave beautiful expression to the full identification of their brethren\nin that work unto which the Holy Ghost had called them, and to which He\nalone could send them forth.\n\nNow we believe that the laying on of hands as expressing ordination, if\nthere be not the power to impart a gift, is worth nothing, if indeed it\nbe not mere assumption; but if it be merely adopted as the expression of\nfull fellowship in any special work or mission, we should quite rejoice\nin it. For example, if two or three brethren felt themselves called of\nGod to go on an evangelistic mission to some foreign land, and that\nthose with whom they were in communion perceived in them the needed gift\nand grace for such a work, we should deem it exceedingly happy were they\nto set forth their unqualified approval and their brotherly fellowship\nby the act of laying on of hands. Beyond this we can see no value\nwhatever in that act.\n\nHaving thus, so far as our limits would permit, treated of the questions\nof the Sabbath, the Law, and the Christian Ministry; having shown that\nwe honor and observe the Lord's day, that we give the Law its divinely\nappointed place, and finally, that we hold the sacred and precious\ninstitution of the Christian Ministry, we might close this paper, did we\nnot feel called upon to present a few other points. In our general\nteaching and preaching we seek to set forth the fundamental truths of\nthe gospel, such as the doctrine of the Trinity; the eternal Sonship;\nthe personality of the Holy Ghost; the plenary inspiration of Holy\nScripture; the eternal counsels of God in reference to His elect; the\nfullest and freest presentation of His love to a lost world; the solemn\nresponsibility of every one who hears the glad tidings of salvation to\naccept the same; man's total ruin by nature and by practice; his\ninability to help himself in thought, word, or deed; the utter\ncorruption of his will; Christ's incarnation, death, and resurrection;\nHis absolute deity and perfect humanity in one person; the perfect\nefficacy of His blood to cleanse from all sin; perfect justification and\nsanctification by faith in Christ, through the operation of God the Holy\nGhost; the eternal security of all true believers; the entire separation\nof the Church in calling, standing and hope from this present world.\n\nThen, again, we hold, in common with many of our brethren in the\ndenominations, that the hope of the believer is set forth in these words\nof Christ: \"I will come again and receive you unto myself; that where I\nam, there ye may be also\" (John xiv.3). We believe that the early\nChristians were converted to \"that blessed hope\"--that it was the common\nhope of Christians in apostolic times. To adduce proofs would swell this\npaper into a volume.\n\nFurthermore, we believe that all disciples should meet on the first day\nof the week to break bread (Acts xx. 7); and when so met, they should\nlook to the Head of the Church to furnish the needed gifts, and to the\nHoly Ghost to guide in the due administration of these gifts.\n\nAs to the Scriptural ordinance of baptism, we look upon it as a\nbeautiful exhibition of the truth of the believer's identification with\nChrist in death. (See Matt. xxviii. 19; Mark xvi. 16; Acts ii. 38, 41;\nviii. 38; x. 47, 48; xvi. 33; Rom. vi. 3, 4.)\n\nAs regards the precious institution of the Lord's Supper, we believe\nthat Christians should celebrate it on every Lord's day, and that in so\ndoing they commemorate the Lord's death until He come. We believe that\nas baptism sets forth our death with Christ, so the Lord's Supper sets\nforth Christ's death for us. We do not see any authority in the word of\nGod for regarding the Lord's Supper as \"a sacrifice,\" \"a sacrament,\" or\n\"a covenant.\" The word is, \"This do in remembrance of Me.\" (See Matt.\nxxvi. 26-28; Mark xiv. 22-24; Luke xxii. 19, 20; I Cor. xi. 23-26.)\n\nThe above is a very brief but explicit statement of what we hold, and\npreach and practise. We meet in public: our worship meetings, our prayer\nmeetings, our reading meetings, our lectures, our gospel preachings,\nare all open to the public.\n\nBut we have done. We would in this closing line entreat the reader to\n\"search the Scriptures.\" Let him try everything by that standard. Let\nhim see to it that he has plain Scripture for everything with which he\nstands connected. \"To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not\naccording to this word, it is because there is no light in them\" (Isa.\nviii. 20.).\n\nWe can honestly say we love with all our hearts all those who love our\nLord Jesus Christ in sincerity; and wherever there is one who preaches a\nfull, free and an everlasting salvation to perishing sinners, through\nthe blood of the Lamb, we wish him godspeed in the name of the Lord.\n\nWe now commend the reader to the blessing of the Father, and of the Son,\nand of the Holy Ghost. If he be a true believer, we pray that in his\ncourse down here he may be a bright and faithful witness for his absent\nLord. But if he be one who has not yet found peace in Jesus, we would\nsay to him, with solemn emphasis and earnest affection, \"BEHOLD THE LAMB\nOF GOD, WHICH TAKETH AWAY THE SIN OF THE WORLD!\" (John i. 29).\n\nC. H. M.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[XXVII.] For a fuller exposition of the doctrine of the sabbath, see\n\"Notes on Genesis\" (chap. ii.); also, \"Notes on Exodus\" (chaps. xvi. and\nxxxi.).\n\n[XXVIII.] We would here offer a remark in reference to the appointment\nof deacons in Acts vi. This case has been adduced in proof of the\nrightness of a congregation electing its own pastor; but the proof fails\nin every particular. In the first place, the business of those deacons\nwas \"to serve tables.\" Their functions as deacons were temporal, not\nspiritual. They might possess spiritual gift independently altogether of\ntheir deaconship. Stephen did possess such.\n\nBut more than this. Although the disciples were called upon to look out\nfor men competent to take charge of their temporal affairs, yet the\napostles alone could appoint them. Their words are, \"Whom _we_ may\nappoint over this business.\" In other words, although there is a vast\ndifference between a deacon and a pastor, between taking charge of money\nand taking the oversight of souls, yet even in the matter of a deacon\nthe appointment in Acts vi. was entirely divine; and hence it affords no\nwarrant for a church electing its own pastor.\n\nWe might further add that _office_ and _gift_ are clearly distinguished\nin the word of God. There might be, and were, many elders and deacons in\nany given church, and yet the fullest and freest exercise of gift when\nthe whole church came together into one place. Elders and deacons might\nor might not have the gift of teaching or exhortation. Such gift was\nquite independent of their special office. In I Cor. xiv., where it is\nsaid, \"Ye may all prophesy one by one,\" and where we have a full view of\nthe public assembly, there is not a word about an elder or a president\nof any kind whatever.\n\n[XXIX.] Let the reader carefully note that _gifts_, as evangelists,\npastors, teachers, prophets, being given directly by the Head of the\nChurch for the edification of His people on earth (see Eph. iv. 8-13)\nwere never appointed or \"licensed\" by apostolic hands or any others.\nElders and deacons were to act as guides and to serve in the assemblies\nin which they had their place. To this position or _office_ they were\nappointed by an apostle, or one sent by him. [ED.]\n\n\n\n\nTHE MINISTRY OF CHRIST\n\nPAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE\n\n(Scriptures read before lecture, Exodus xxi. I-6; John xiii. I-10; Luke\nxii. 37.)\n\n\"For even the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to\nminister, and to give His life a ransom for many.\" (Mark x. 45.)\n\n\nIt is very necessary, beloved friends, to retire from all thoughts about\nour service to the Lord, and our work for Him, and to have our hearts\noccupied with His service toward us. And when I say this, you will not\nsuppose for a moment that it is my desire or thought to weaken in any\nheart in this assembly, in the smallest degree, the desire to work for\nChrist, whatever sphere He may open for you, or according to whatever\ngift He may have bestowed upon you. Quite the reverse; indeed, I would\nseek in every way to strengthen and intensify that desire. But then one\nknows, both from experience and observation, that we may be so occupied\nwith _our_ work and _our_ services that our hearts may lose the sense of\nwhat Christ is toward us in His marvelous character as a servant.\n\nAnd here let me say that my immediate thesis to-night is the Lord Jesus\nas the servant of His people's necessities. That is the field into which\nwe are introduced by those scriptures which have been read in your\nhearing. The Lord Jesus is the servant of the soul's necessities in\nevery stage of its history, from first to last,--from the depths of your\nruin and degradation as sinners, in all your weakness and failure as\nsaints from day to day, until He plants you in the joys of His own\nkingdom. And His services will not end there; for, as we read in Luke\nxii. 37, He will gird Himself, and serve us in the glory. Thus His work\nas a servant overlaps the whole of the soul's history, past, present,\nand future. He has served us in the past, He is serving us now, and He\nwill serve us forever.\n\nAnd here allow me to say that the line of truth which I have to bring\nbefore you to-night is of a directly individual character. We were\nspeaking, on this night week, of the truth with respect to our corporate\ncondition and character, and therefore I feel all the more free on this\noccasion to enter upon what is more directly personal--to speak of truth\nwhich bears directly on the soul's individual condition and wants. And I\nwould ask you, my beloved hearers, to place yourselves, so far as\nthrough grace you can, in all simplicity and reality, straight in view\nof this theme--Christ the servant of our necessities.\n\nIt is possible there may be souls in this room who want to begin at the\nvery beginning with this most precious theme. They want to know Christ\nas the One who came into this world to serve them in all their deep and\nvaried need as lost, self-destroyed, guilty, hell-deserving sinners. If\nthere be any such present to-night, I would ask them to ponder deeply\nthat verse which I have read, \"The Son of Man is come to serve and to\ngive.\"\n\nThis is a divine reality. Jesus came into this world to meet our need,\nto serve us in all that in which we need His precious service, and to\ngive His life a ransom for many; to serve us by bearing our sins in His\nown body on the tree, and working out a full and an eternal salvation.\nHe did not come to get--He did not come to take--He did not come to be\nministered to--He did not come to be gazed at--He came to be used; and\ntherefore, while the soul that is exercised may be raising this\nharassing question, \"What can I do for the Lord?\" the answer is, \"You\nmust pause and see and believe what the Lord has done for you. You must\nstand still and see the salvation of God.\" Remember those words of\ndivine and evangelistic sweetness, \"To him that _worketh not_, but\nbelieveth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for\nrighteousness.\" (Rom. iv. 5.) You can never intelligently or properly\nserve Christ until you know and believe how He has served you. You must\ncease your restless doings, and rest in a divinely accomplished work.\nThen, but not until then, will you be able to start on a career of\nChristian service. It is most necessary for all anxious souls to\nunderstand that all true Christian service begins with the possession of\neternal life, and is rendered in the power of the Holy Ghost, the\nindwelling Spirit, in the light and on the authority of holy Scripture.\nThis is the divine idea of Christian work and service.\n\nNow, though the primary object of this meeting, brethren, is for those\nwho are saints of God, who have set out on their course, still I do not\nthink it would be according to the heart and sympathies of Christ to\noverlook the fact that there may be some soul in this congregation that\nwants, as I said, just to begin at the very beginning with this precious\nmystery--Christ the servant. I say, there may be some here to-night that\nhave never taken the attitude of simple repose in Christ's finished\nwork. They have, it may be, begun to think of their soul's salvation, to\nthink about eternity; but they are occupied with the thought that the\nLord is claiming something from them: \"I must do this, I must do that,\nand I must do the other.\" Now, my beloved friends, if such be here, I\nrepeat, with deepest earnestness, you must cease altogether from your\nown doings, cease from your own reasonings, cease from your own\nfeelings; because, be assured of it, it is neither feeling nor thinking\nnor reasoning nor doing at all, but it is pausing and gazing. It is\nhearing and believing. It is looking off from yourselves and your\nservice to Christ and His service. It is ceasing from your restless and\nworthless doings, and reposing in full, unquestioning confidence in the\none offering of Jesus Christ, which has perfectly satisfied and\nperfectly glorified God as to the great question of your sin and guilt.\nHere lies the divine secret of peace--peace in Jesus--peace with\nGod--eternal peace. Nothing will ever be right till you get on this\nground. If you are occupied with your doings for Christ, you will never\nget peace; but if you will only take God at His word, and rest in His\nChrist, you shall possess a peace which no power of earth or hell can\never disturb.\n\nNow, my beloved hearers, I ask you, before I proceed, this question, Is\nthere a heart in this congregation that has not yet rested here? Is\nthere a heart here to-night that will say, I am not satisfied with\nChrist's service: I cannot rest in His work? What! The Son of God has\nstooped to serve you. The One who made you, the One who gave you life\nand breath and all things, the One to whom all are responsible, He has\nstooped to become your servant. It is not a question of asking you to do\nany thing, or asking you to give any thing, because--mark those\nwords--they are words which sweep all through the history of the Son of\nMan--they are words which, in all their length and breadth and fullness,\nyou can take up and use as if you were the only object of this service\nin the world--\"The Son of Man is come to serve and to give.\" He is not\ncome to get; He is not come to ask. The legal mind leads you to think\nthat God is an exactor--that He is making demands upon you--that He\nwants your services in one way or another. But oh remember, I pray you,\nthat your first great business, your primary and all-important work, is\nto believe in Jesus--to rest sweetly in Him, and in what He has done for\nyou on the cross, and in what He is doing for you on the throne. \"This\nis the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent.\" You\nremember the interesting question of the Psalmist--a question asked when\nhis eye rested on the magnitude and multitude of Jehovah's\nbenefits--\"What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits?\" What\nis the reply? \"I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name\nof the Lord.\"\n\nIs this the way to \"render unto the Lord\"? Yes, this is just the way\nthat gratifies and glorifies Him. If you really want to _render_, you\nmust _take_. Take what? \"The cup of salvation\"--a full and brimming cup,\nmost surely; and as you drink of that cup, as the glories of God's\nsalvation shine in the vision of your soul, then will streams of living\npraise flow from your grateful heart. And you know He says, \"Whoso\noffereth praise, glorifieth Me.\"\n\nIn a word, then, you must, first of all, allow your soul to dwell upon\nthe marvelous mystery of Christ's service toward you in all the depth of\nyour need; and the more you dwell upon that, the more will you be in the\ntrue attitude to serve Him.\n\nTake another striking illustration. When David, as you remember, in that\nremarkable passage in the second book of Samuel (chap. vii.), sat in his\nhouse of cedar, and looked around at all that God had done for him, he\nsaid, \"I must rise and build a house.\" Immediately the prophet was\ndespatched to David to correct him on this point: \"You shall not build\nMe a house, but I will build you a house.\" You must reverse the matter.\nGod wants you to sit down and gaze yet more fully and intently upon His\nactings on your behalf. He wants you to look, not only at the past and\nthe present, but to look on into the bright future; to see your entire\nhistory overlapped by His own magnificent grace.\n\nAnd what, let me ask, was the effect of all this upon the heart of\nDavid? We have the answer in that one pithy statement: \"Then went King\nDavid in, and sat before the Lord, and said, 'Who am I?'\" Mark the\nattitude, and ponder the question. They are full of deep meaning. \"_He\nsat._\" This is rest and sweet repose. He wanted to go to work too soon.\nNo, says God, you must sit down and look at my work, and trace my\nactings on your behalf in the past, the present, and the future.\n\nAnd then the question, \"_Who am I?_\" In this we see the blessed fact\nthat self was for the moment lost sight of. It was flung into the shade\nby the lustre of divine revelation. Self and its poor little actings\nwere set aside by the glory of God and the rich magnificence of His\nactings on behalf of His servant.\n\nNow, some might have thought that David was an active, useful man when\nhe was rising to take the trowel to build the house; and they might have\nthought him a good-for-nothing man to be sitting still when there was\nwork to be done. But, brethren, let us remember that God's thoughts are\nnot as our thoughts. He prizes our worship much more highly than our\nwork. Indeed, it is only the true and intelligent worshiper that can be\na true and intelligent workman. No doubt God most graciously accepts our\npoor services, even stamped as they so often are with mistakes of all\nsorts. But when it becomes a question of the comparative value of\nservice and worship, the former must give place to the latter; and we\nknow that when our brief span of working time shall have expired, our\neternity of worship shall begin. Sweet thought!\n\nAnd let me further remark, ere leaving this part of our subject, that no\none need fear in the least that the practical effect of what I have been\nsaying will be to cripple your service, or lead you to fold your arms in\nculpable idleness or cold indifference. The very reverse is the case, as\nyou may see in the history of David himself. Study at your leisure, I\nChronicles xxviii, xxix. There you have a splendid presentation of\nservice--a most triumphant answer to all who would place work before\nworship. There you see, as it were, King David rising from the attitude\nof a worshiper into that of a workman, and making ample provision for\nthe building of that very house of which he was not allowed to set one\nstone upon another. And not only does he make provision according to the\nclaims of holiness, but, as he says, \"Because I have set my affection to\nthe house of my God, I have of mine own proper good, of gold and silver,\nwhich I have given to the house of my God, _over and above all_ that I\nhave prepared for the holy house, even three thousand talents of gold,\nof the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to\noverlay the walls of the house.\" In other words, as we should express\nit, out of his own private purse, he gave the princely sum of over\nsixteen millions as a free gift toward the house which was to be reared\nby the hand of another. This, as he informs us, was \"over and above what\nhe had prepared for the holy house,\" which latter greatly exceeded the\namount of England's national debt.\n\nThus we see that it is the true worshiper that makes the effective\nservant. It is when we have sat and gazed on the actings of Christ for\nus that we are enabled in any small degree to act for Him. And then,\ntoo, we shall be able to say with David, as he surveyed the untold\nwealth prepared for the house of God, \"It is all Thine, and of Thine own\nhave we given Thee.\"\n\nI. But we must now turn for a few moments to the opening paragraph of\nExodus xxi--\"If thou buy a Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve; and\nin the seventh, he shall go out free for nothing. If he came in by\nhimself, he shall go out by himself: if he were married, then his wife\nshall go out with him. If his master have given him a wife, and she\nhave borne him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be\nher master's, and he shall go out by himself. And if the servant shall\nplainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go\nout free: then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also\nbring him to the door, or unto the door-post; and his master shall bore\nhis ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him forever.\"\n\nHere, then, we have one of the shadows of good things to come--a shadow\nor figure of the True Servant, the Lord Jesus Christ, that blessed One\nwho loved the Church and gave Himself for it. The Hebrew servant, having\nserved the legal time, was perfectly free to go out; but he loved his\nwife and his children, and that, too, with such a love as led him to\nsurrender his own personal liberty for their sakes. He proved his love\nfor them by sacrificing himself. He might have gone forth and enjoyed\nhis freedom, but what of them? How could he leave them behind?\nImpossible. He loved them too well for that; and hence he deliberately\nwalked to the door-post, and there, in the presence of the judges, had\nhis ear bored in token of perpetual service.\n\nThis was love indeed. There was no mistake about it. The wife and each\nchild, as they gazed ever after on that bored ear, could read the\ntouching and powerful proof of the love of that servant's heart.\n\nHere, beloved, is something for the heart to dwell upon--yea, something\nover which the heart may well break itself. We see in this Old-Testament\ntype the everlasting Lover of our souls--Jesus, the true servant. You\nremember that remarkable occasion in our Lord's life when He was setting\nbefore His disciples the solemn fact of His approaching cross and\npassion. You will find it in the eighth chapter of the gospel of Mark:\n\"And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things,\nand be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes,\nand be killed, and after three days rise again. And He spake that saying\nopenly. And Peter took Him, and began to rebuke Him.\" Peter would fain,\nthough he knew it not, have interrupted the True Servant in His movement\nto the door-post. He would have Him pity Himself, and maintain His own\npersonal freedom. But oh, brethren, hearken to the withering rebuke\nadministered to the very man who just before had made such a fine\nconfession of Christ! \"But when He had turned about and looked on His\ndisciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, 'Get thee behind Me, Satan; for\nthou savorest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of\nmen.'\"\n\nMark the action. \"He turned and looked on His disciples,\" as though He\nwould say, If I hearken to your counsel, Peter--if I pity Myself--if I\nretreat from that cross which lies before Me, then what is to become of\nthese? It is the Hebrew servant saying, \"I love my wife, I love my\nchildren, I will not go out free.\"\n\nIt is of the very last possible importance for us to see that there was\nno necessity whatever laid upon the Lord Jesus Christ to walk to the\ncross; there was no necessity whatever laid upon Him to leave the glory\nwhich He had with the Father from all eternity and come down here; and\nwhen He had come down into this world, and taken perfect humanity upon\nHim, there was no necessity laid upon Him that He should have gone to\nthe cross; for at any moment during the whole of His blessed history,\nfrom the manger of Bethlehem to the cross of Calvary, He might have gone\nback to where He came from. Death had no claim upon Him. The prince of\nthis world came and had nothing in Him. He could say, speaking of His\nlife, \"No man taketh it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself.\" (John x.\n18.) And on His way from the garden to the cross we hear Him saying,\n\"Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He shall\npresently give Me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then shall\nthe Scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?\" And may we not say\nthere was much more truth than the utterers were aware of in these\naccents of mockery which fell on the blessed Saviour's ear as He hung on\nthe cross--\"He saved others; Himself He cannot save\"? But they might\nhave said, Himself He will not save.\n\nAh, no! blessed forever be His name! He did not pity or spare Himself,\nbut He pitied us. He beheld us in our hopeless ruin, guilt, misery, and\ndanger. He saw that there was no eye to pity, no arm to save; and--all\npraise to His matchless name!--He laid aside His glory, came down into\nthis wretched world, became a man, that as a man He might, by the\nsacrifice of Himself, deliver us from the lake of fire, and associate us\nwith Himself on the new and eternal ground of accomplished redemption,\nin the power of resurrection-life, according to the eternal counsels of\nGod, and to the praise of His glory.\n\nNow, we cannot possibly overestimate the importance of dwelling upon the\nfact that there was no necessity whatever laid upon our blessed Lord\nJesus Christ to die on the cross, and to endure the wrath of God.\nNeither in His person, in His nature, nor in His relations was He\nobnoxious to death. He was God over all, blessed forever. He was the\nEternal Son of God. And in His human nature He was pure, spotless,\nsinless, perfect. He knew no sin. He did always and only the things that\npleased God. He glorified Him, and finished His work; and He has saved\nus in such a way as to glorify God in the most wonderful manner. He was,\nto use the language of our type, free to go out by Himself; but ah,\nbeloved, had He done so, your place and mine must inevitably have been\nthe lake of fire forever.\n\nTo all this the Holy Ghost delights to bear testimony, as one of our own\npoets has sweetly sung--\n\n    \"And, Lord, Thy perfect fitness\n      To do a Saviour's part,\n    The Holy Ghost doth witness\n      To each believer's heart.\"\n\nMost true; and we might with equal truth say, \"His fitness to do a\nservant's part,\" because it was the very height of His glory, the very\ndignity of His person; it was the glory whence He had descended, that\nenabled Him to stoop down to the very depths of His people's\nnecessities. There is not a necessity--no, not one--in the deepest range\nof His people's history, or in the lowest depths of their condition,\nthat He has not reached in His marvelous character and His divine\nministry as the servant of His people's necessities.\n\nBrethren, let us never forget this. Nay, rather let us constantly\ncherish in our hearts the most grateful remembrance of it. The more we\ndwell upon the height of Christ's personal glory, the more fully we\nshall see the depths of His humiliation. The more profoundly we meditate\nupon the glory of what He _was_, the more we must be arrested by the\ngrace of what He _became_. \"Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,\nthat, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye\nthrough His poverty might be rich.\"\n\nWho can measure the heights and the depths of those two words, \"rich\"\nand \"poor,\" in their application to our adorable Lord and Saviour? No\ncreated intelligence can fathom them; but most assuredly we should\ncultivate the habit of dwelling upon the love that shines all along the\npathway of the divine Servant as He walked to the cross for us. It is as\nwe dwell upon His love to us that our hearts shall be drawn out by the\nHoly Ghost in the power of responsive love to Him. \"The love of Christ\nconstraineth us; because we thus judge, that if One died for all, then\nwere all dead; and that He died for all, that they which live should not\nhenceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them, and\nrose again.\" (2 Cor. v. 14, 15.)\n\nII. Having thus glanced at our Lord's service toward us in the past, let\nus look for a few moments at His present service--at what He is now\ndoing for us continually in the presence of God. This we have most\nblessedly presented to us in that part of John xiii. which I have read\nfor you this evening. The same precious grace shines in this as in all\nthat on which we have been dwelling. If we look back at the past, we\nbehold the Perfect Servant nailed to the cross for us; if we look up to\nthe throne now, we behold Him girded for us, not only according to our\npresent need, but according to the perfect love of His heart--His love\nto the Father, His love to the Church, His love to each individual\nbeliever from the beginning to the end of time.\n\n\"Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that His hour was\ncome that He should depart out of this world unto the Father, having\nloved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end. And\nduring supper [see Greek], the devil having now put into the heart of\nJudas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray Him; Jesus knowing that the\nFather had given all things into His hands, and that He was come from\nGod, and went to God; He riseth from supper, and laid aside His\ngarments; and took a towel, and girded Himself. After that He poureth\nwater into a basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe\nthem with the towel wherewith He was girded.\"\n\nHere, then, we have a most marvelous presentation of Christ's present\nservice toward \"His own which are in the world.\" There is something\npeculiarly precious in the expression, \"_His own_.\" It brings us so very\nnear to the heart of Christ. It is so sweet to think that He can look at\nsuch poor, feeble, failing creatures as we are, and say, They are Mine.\nIt matters not what others may think about them; they belong to Me, and\nI must have them in a condition worthy of the place whence I came, and\nwhither I am going.\n\nThis, brethren, is ineffably precious and edifying for our souls. It was\nin the sense of His personal glory, in the consciousness that He had\ncome from God and was going to God, that He could stoop down and wash\nHis people's feet. There was nothing, could be nothing, higher than the\nplace whence Jesus had come; there was nothing, could be nothing, lower\nthan the defiled feet of His disciples: but, blessed and praised forever\nbe His name! He fills up in His own divine person and marvelous service\nevery point between those two extremes. He can lay one hand on the\nthrone of God, and the other on our feet, and be Himself the divine and\neternal link between.\n\nNow, there are three things in this scripture which I am anxious to put\nclearly before you this evening. In the first place, we have the special\naction of our Lord toward His own in the world; secondly, the spring of\nthat action; and thirdly, the measure of the action:--the action, its\nspring, and its measure.\n\n(I.) And first, the action itself. You will bear in mind, beloved in the\nLord, that what we have presented here is not \"the washing of\nregeneration.\" That pertains to the first stage of our Lord's service on\nour behalf. \"His own which are in the world\"--all who belong to that\nhighly privileged class (and that is simply all who believe in His name)\nhave passed through that great washing, in virtue of which Christ can\npronounce them \"clean every whit.\"\n\nThere is not a spot or a stain upon the very feeblest of that blessed\nnumber whom He calls \"His own.\" \"He that is washed needeth not save to\nwash his feet, but _is clean every whit_: and _ye are clean_, but not\nall.\" If a single spot could be detected on one of Christ's own, it\nwould be a dishonor cast upon Him, inasmuch as He has washed us from all\nour guilt according to the perfection of His work as the Servant of our\nneed, and, far above all, the Servant of the eternal counsels, purposes,\nand glory of God. He found us clean never a whit, and He has made us\n\"clean every whit.\"\n\nThis is the washing of regeneration, which is never repeated. We have a\nfigure of this in the case of the priests of the Mosaic economy. On the\ngreat day of their inauguration they were washed in water. This action\nwas never repeated. But after this, from day to day, in order to fit\nthem for the daily discharge of their priestly functions, they had to\nwash their hands and their feet in the brazen laver in the tabernacle,\nor the brazen sea in the temple. This daily washing is the figure of the\naction in John xiii. The two washings, being distinct, must never be\nconfounded; and being intimately connected, must never be separated. The\nwashing of regeneration is divinely and eternally complete: the washing\nof sanctification is being divinely and continually carried on. The\nformer is never repeated; the latter is never interrupted. That gives us\na part _in_ Christ, of which nothing can rob us; and this gives us a\npart _with_ Christ, of which any thing may deprive us. The one is the\nbasis of our eternal life; the other is the ground of our daily\ncommunion.\n\nBeloved brethren, see that you understand the meaning of having your\nfeet washed, moment by moment, by the hands of that blessed One who is\ngirded as the divine Servant of your present need. It is utterly\nimpossible for any one to overestimate the importance of this work; but\nwe may at least gather something of its value from our Lord's words to\nPeter; for Peter, like ourselves, alas! was very far from seizing the\nfull significance of what his Lord was doing. \"Then cometh He to Simon\nPeter; and Peter saith unto Him, 'Lord, dost Thou wash my feet?' Jesus\nanswered and said unto him, 'What I do thou knowest not now; but thou\nshalt know hereafter. Peter saith unto Him, 'Thou shalt never wash my\nfeet.' Jesus answered him, 'If I wash thee not, thou hast no part _with_\nMe.'\"\n\nHere is the grand point--\"part with Me.\" The washing of regeneration\ngives us a part _in_ Christ: the daily washing of sanctification gives\nus a part _with_ Christ. In order to full, intelligent, happy communion,\nwe must have a clean conscience, and clean feet. The blood of atonement\nsecures the former; the water of purification maintains the other. But\nboth the blood and the water flowed from a crucified Christ. The death\nof Christ is the necessary basis of every thing. He died to make us\nclean; He lives to keep us clean. We are made as clean as His death can\nmake us; we are kept as clean as His life can keep us.\n\nAnd, be it remembered, this marvelous ministry of Christ on our behalf\nnever ceases. He ever liveth to act _for_ us on high, and to act _on_ us\nand _in_ us by His Word and Spirit. He speaks to God for us, and He\nspeaks to us for God. He came from God, and traveled down to the\nprofoundest depths of our need. He has gone back to God, to bear us ever\non His heart, to meet our daily need, and to maintain us in the\nintegrity of the position and relationship into which He has introduced\nus.\n\nThis is replete with solid comfort for the soul. We are passing through\na defiling world, where we are constantly liable to contract evils of\none kind or another which, though they cannot touch our eternal life,\ncan very seriously affect our communion. It is impossible for us to\ntread the sanctuary of the divine presence with soiled feet; and hence\nthe deep and unspeakable blessedness of having One ever in the presence\nof God for us--One who, having been in this scene, knows its true\ncharacter; and One who, having come from God, and gone back to Him,\nknows the full extent of His claims, and all that is needful to fit us\nfor fellowship with Him. The provision is divinely perfect. Sin or\nuncleanness can never be found in the presence of God. If we can make\nlight of either the one or the other, God cannot and will not. The\nholiness that shines in the demand for purity is as bright as the grace\nthat provides it. Grace has made the provision, but holiness demands the\napplication thereof. The goodness of God provided a laver for the\npriests of old, but the holiness of God demanded that the priests should\nuse that laver. The great washing of inauguration introduced them to the\noffice of the priesthood; the washing in the laver fitted them for the\nduties of that office. How could acceptable priestly service be\ndischarged with unclean hands? Impossible. And we may say it is as\nimpossible that we can walk in the pathway of holiness if our feet are\nnot washed and wiped by that blessed One who has girded Himself to serve\nus in this matter perpetually.\n\nAll this is divinely simple. There are two links in Christianity;\nnamely, the link of eternal life, which can never be snapped by any\nthing; and the link of personal communion, which can be snapped in a\nmoment by the weight of a feather. Now, it is as our ways are cleansed\nby the holy action of the Word, through the Holy Ghost, that our\ncommunion is maintained in its unbroken integrity. But if I am afraid to\nface the Word of God, or if I am willfully refusing its action, how can\nI enjoy communion with God?\n\nI am not speaking now of ignorance of the Word of God. The Lord bears\nwith a wonderful amount of ignorance in us--far more than we could bear\nwith in one another. I do not now refer to the question of ignorance.\nBut suppose a case. A young person entered these walls a few weeks ago,\nand took her seat on one of these benches. She was dressed out in all\nthe fashion of this world--her head adorned with feathers and flowers,\nand her fingers with jewels. Her heart full of vanity and folly. Here\nthe grace of God met her in all its fullness and freeness. The arrow of\ndivine conviction entered her soul. She was broken down under the mighty\npower of the Word, in the hands of the Holy Ghost. She was brought to\nrepentance toward God, and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. She was\nsaved, there and then, and left the place rejoicing in a full salvation.\nThis joy continued for many days. She was engrossed with her newly found\ntreasure. She never thought about her feathers, her flowers, or her\njewels. True, she continued to wear them, simply because she as yet saw\nnothing wrong in so doing. She knew not as yet that there was so much as\na single sentence in the Word of God bearing upon such things.\n\nBrethren, let me just remind you that we should be prepared for such a\ncase as this, and be prepared to meet it. Some of us, I fear, have but\nlittle wisdom or patience to deal with cases of this type. We are in\nundue haste to enter upon what I may call the stripping process. This is\na mistake. We must allow time for the hidden virtues of the kingdom of\nGod to develop themselves. We must not attempt to reduce the Christian\nassembly into a place in which a certain livery is adopted. This will\nnever do. We really cannot reduce all to a dead level. We must allow the\nWord of God to act on the life which the Spirit of God has implanted. I\ndo nothing but mischief to people if I get them to adopt a certain style\nof dress merely at my suggestion. The grand thing is to allow the\nkingdom of God to assert its holy sway over the entire character. This\nis to His glory and the soul's genuine progress.\n\nLet us pursue our case. Our young friend, in the course of her reading,\nis arrested by the following pointed passage: \"In like manner also, that\nwomen adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and\nsobriety; not with broidered hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;\nbut (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.\" (I\nTim. ii. 9, 10.) And again, \"Whose adorning let it not be that outward\nadorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on\nof apparel; but let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is\nnot corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is\nin the sight of God of great price.\" (I Pet. iii. 3, 4.)\n\nNow, here, brethren, we have illustrated for us the present ministry of\nChrist--the action of the Word upon the soul--the application of the\nbasin to the feet--the washing of water by the Word. It is Jesus\nstooping down to wash the feet of this young disciple. The question is,\nHow will she receive the action? Will she resist it, or yield to it?\nWill she push away the basin? Will she refuse the gracious ministry? \"If\nI wash thee not, thou hast no part _with_ Me.\"\n\nThis is very solemn, and it demands our most serious attention. Next in\nmoral importance to having the conscience purged by the blood of Christ\nstands this cleansing of our ways by the action of the Word, through the\npower of the Holy Ghost. The former gives us a part _in_ Christ; the\nlatter, a part _with_ Christ. That is never repeated; this must never be\ninterrupted. If we really desire fellowship with Christ, we must allow\nHim to wash our feet moment by moment. We cannot tread the pure\nprecincts of the sanctuary of God with defiled feet any more than we can\nenter them with a defiled conscience.\n\nHence, therefore, dearly beloved in the Lord, let us look well to it\nthat we have our ways continually submitted to the purifying action of\nthe precious Word of God. Let us put away every thing which that Word\ncondemns; let us abandon every position and every association and every\npractice which that Word condemns, that so our holy fellowship with\nChrist may be maintained in its freshness and integrity. Nothing is more\ndangerous than to trifle with evil in any shape or form. Ignorance God\ncan and does most graciously bear with, but the willful resistance of\nHis Word in any one point is sure to lead to disastrous results. The\nheart becomes hardened, the conscience seared, the moral sense blunted,\nand the whole moral being gets into a most deplorable condition. We get\naway from the Lord, and make shipwreck of faith and a good conscience.\nMay the Lord keep us near to Himself, walking with Him in tenderness of\nconscience and uprightness of heart. May His Word ever tell in living\nformative power upon our souls, that so our way be cleansed according to\nthe claims of the sanctuary of God.\n\n(2.) But let us now inquire for a moment into the spring of this action\non which we have been dwelling. This is presented with touching\nsweetness and power in the first verse of John xiii.--\"Having loved His\nown which were in the world, He loved them unto the end.\"\n\nHere, then, brethren, we have the mighty spring of Christ's present\nministry. It is the changeless love of His heart--a love that was\nstronger than death, and which many waters could not quench. \"Christ\nloved the Church, and gave Himself for it; that He might sanctify and\ncleanse it with the washing of water by the Word.\" (Eph. v. 25, 26.)\nThis is the blessed basis and the motive-spring of that marvelous\nministry which our Lord Jesus Christ is now carrying on for us and\ntoward us. He knew what He was undertaking when He uttered those words\nin the fortieth Psalm, \"Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God.\" He knew what\nit would cost Him when He took up our case. But His love was and is\ndivinely equal to all. We need not be afraid of exhausting that love\nwhich triumphed over all the unutterable horrors of Calvary, and went\ndown under the deep and dark waters of death and judgment. We may at\ntimes feel ashamed to have so often to bring our defiled feet to that\nblessed One to cleanse them; but His love is equal to all, and that love\nis the spring of His precious and indispensable ministry.\n\nIt is a common saying that love is blind, but I look upon it as a libel\nupon love. Most certainly it does not and could not apply to the love of\nChrist. He knew all that was in us, and He knows now all our ways and\nall our weakness and all our follies; but He loves us notwithstanding\nall, and in the power of that love He acts toward us in order to deliver\nus from all that He sees in us and about us which would hinder our holy\nfellowship with the Father and with His Son.\n\nBrethren, of what use, may I ask you, would a blind love be to you or to\nme? Surely, none whatever. How could we ever repose in a love which only\nacted toward us in ignorance of our blots and blemishes! Impossible.\nWhat we want is a love superior to all our imperfections, and a love\nthat can deliver us from them. This love we have in Christ, blessed be\nHis name! It is a love that, however it may expose us to ourselves, will\nnever expose us to another. It is a love that comes to us with the basin\nand towel, and stoops down in infinite tenderness and lowly, matchless\ngrace to wash away every soil, and give us the comfortable sense of\nbeing \"clean every whit.\" This, brethren, is the love which you and I\nneed, and this is the love which we have found in divine fullness and\npower in the heart of that perfect Servant who is girded for us ever\nbefore the throne. \"Having loved _His own_ which were in the world, He\nloved them\"--how long? As long as they behaved themselves, and walked\nwith unsoiled feet? Ah, no! this would never do for such as we. \"He\nloved them _unto the end_.\" Precious, perfect, divine, everlasting love!\na love that overlaps and underlies and outlives all our blots and\nblemishes, our failings and falterings, our wants and weaknesses, our\nwanderings and waywardness; a love that has come to us armed with all\nthat our condition could possibly demand; a love that will never cease\nto act for us and toward us and in us, until it presents us in\nunblemished perfectness before the throne of God.\n\n(3.) And now one word as to the measure of Christ's present action for\nus and toward us. This is a point of unspeakable value and importance.\nIt is essential for us to know that, whether it be a question of\nChrist's service for us in the past or His present service, the measure\nof both the one and the other is and can be nothing less than the claims\nof the sanctuary, the throne, and the nature of God. We might suppose\nthat the measure would be our necessities, but this would never do. If\nwe think of Christ's atoning work, we know, and rejoice to know, that\nprecious work has done very much more than meet the deepest measure of\nour necessities as sinners. Blessed be God! the work of the cross has\ndivinely met all the claims of God. It could never give solid peace to\nour souls merely to know that the very highest claims of human\nconscience had been met by the atoning death of Christ. We must be\nassured on divine authority that the highest claims of the government,\nthe character, the nature, and the glory of God have all been perfectly\nmet by the precious work of Christ.\n\nThus it is through infinite grace, and here every divinely exercised\nsoul can find settled and eternal peace. Nor is it otherwise in respect\nto Christ's present work for us. It could never satisfy our souls,\nbrethren, to be told that that work is measured by our very deepest\nneed. That need is met, no doubt; but it is because Christ's present\nministry goes far beyond that need, and reaches to, and satisfies the\nclaims of, the sanctuary of God.\n\nUnspeakable mercy! Here we may rest in perfect tranquillity. We have One\non high undertaking for us, ever living in the presence of God for us;\nOne who not only knows our necessities, but knows also the claims of\nGod. He knows what this scene is through which we are passing, and He\nknows what that scene is into which He has entered; and, all praise to\nHis name! He meets in His own perfect ministry both the one and the\nother. He must needs meet all our claims since He meets all God's\nclaims, for the less must ever be included in the greater.\n\nWhat solid comfort is here! What unruffled repose! We have One in the\npresence of God for us, in whose hands all our affairs are perfectly,\nbecause divinely, safe. They can never fall through, never go wrong. We\nmay say that ere ever the very weakest of those whom Christ calls \"His\nown in the world\" can fail, Christ Himself must fail, and that can be\n_never_. His own are as safe as Himself.\n\nWhat a grand reality! With what perfect confidence may we refer every\nobjector, every accuser, every opposer, to this blessed manager! And\nwhat folly, on our part, to attempt to answer such ourselves! Oh,\nbeloved brethren, may we learn to lean more confidently on that blessed\nOne who thus presents Himself before our souls as the girded servant of\nour deep and manifold necessities. May we prize His precious ministry\nmore and more--His ministry for us, His ministry to us. May we repose\nmore sweetly in the assurance that He is speaking to the Father for us,\nin all our failures, in all our shortcomings, in all our sins. May we\nremember, for our exceeding comfort, that even before we slip, He has\nbeen pleading for us, as He pleaded for Peter. \"I have prayed for thee,\"\nsaid the loving One, \"that thy faith fail not.\" Oh, the matchless grace\nof these words! He did not pray that Peter might not fall, but that,\nhaving fallen, his confidence might not give way, his faith might not\nfail. Thus, too, He pleads for us, and thus we are sustained, and thus\nwe are restored when we fall, else we should very speedily go from bad\nto worse, and make shipwreck altogether. \"He ever liveth to make\nintercession for us.\" We are sustained by His precious and powerful\nministry every moment. We could not stand for a single hour without Him.\nThings are continually turning up which would prove destructive of our\nfellowship, if we had not that blessed One acting for us, whose\nintervention on our behalf never ceases. He knows not only our need, but\nHe knows what the sanctuary demands; and not only does He know it, but\nHe provides for it, according to His own infinite perfectness and\nacceptance before God, meeting His people's necessities.\n\nNow, there are some people--I do not know whether there are any here\nto-night--but there are some people who have got such a one-sided notion\nof the standing of the believer, that they throw the Lord's priestly\nministry overboard altogether. I say it is one-sided, and there is\nnothing more dangerous than one-sided truth--nothing. I would far rather\nsee a man going through the length and breadth of London publishing\npalpable error, such as the simplest mind could detect. I would have far\nless apprehension of the mischievous result of his ministry than of the\nteaching of a man who takes up one side of a truth, and presses it in\nsuch a way as to interfere with some other truth.\n\nNow, there is an adjusting power in the truth of God--an adjusting power\nin Scripture that constitutes one of its brightest moral glories; and\nhence we find that while the Word of God most fully and blessedly\nestablishes the truth that the believer stands complete in Christ,\njustified from all things, accepted in the Beloved, \"clean every whit,\"\nit, at the same time, with equal clearness and fullness, sets forth the\nfact that the believer is, in himself, a poor feeble creature, exposed\nto manifold snares, temptations, and hostile influences; liable at any\nmoment to fall into error and evil; utterly unable to keep himself, or\nto grapple with the difficulties and dangers which surround him; liable\nat any moment to contract defilement, which would unfit him for the holy\nfellowship and worship of the sanctuary.\n\nHow, then, are all those things to be met? How is the Christian to be\nkept in the face of such things? Having an evil nature, a crafty foe,\nand a hostile world to cope with, how is he to get on? How is he to be\nkept? How is he to be restored if he wanders? How is he to be lifted up\nif he falls? The answer to all these questions is found in that\never-precious sentence of inspiration, \"He ever liveth to make\nintercession for us;\" and again, \"He is able to save to the uttermost;\"\nand again, \"We shall be saved by His life;\" and again, \"Because I live,\nye shall live also;\" and again, \"We have an advocate with the Father.\"\n\nBrethren, how the heart delights to give forth and to ponder over such\nutterances as these! They are marrow and fatness to the soul. How can\nany one, in the face of such passages--to say nothing of his own\nnecessary experiences as to himself and his surroundings--think of\ncalling in question the grand foundation-truth of the priesthood of\nChrist, in its application to believers now? I can only say, I know not.\nBut alas! alas! there is no accounting for the depths of error into\nwhich we may fall, if we allow our minds to work, and get away from the\ndirect authority of holy Scripture. And we may truly say that a most\npalpable proof of our need of the intercession of Christ is to be found\nin the sad fact that any of His servants should be found to deny it.\n\nI shall add no more on this point, save to warn all the Lord's dear\npeople against the terrible error of denying our continual need of the\npriestly ministry, the precious intercession and all-prevailing\nadvocacy of our Lord Jesus Christ--an error second only to the denial of\nHis atoning work. For most surely our need of His priesthood is second\nonly to our need of His atoning blood.\n\nIII. Having then briefly, and, alas! imperfectly, glanced at our Lord's\nministry in the past and in the present, we cannot close without a\nreference to His ministry in the future. Some may feel disposed to say,\nI do not understand how our Lord can ever be found serving us in the\nfuture. I can understand His serving us now on the throne, but how He is\nto serve us in the kingdom is, I confess, beyond me.\n\nNo doubt it is most marvelous, and had we not His own veritable words\nfor it, we might well hesitate in our statement of the fact that our\nLord Christ shall serve His people in the very brightness of the glory.\nBut let us hear what He Himself saith to us. Turn for a moment to Luke\nxii. 35: \"Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; and\nye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will\nreturn from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open\nunto him immediately. Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he\ncometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that _he shall gird\nhimself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and\nserve them_.\"\n\nThis is distinct and unmistakable. Most marvelous, no doubt, but as\nplain as it is marvelous. Christ will serve us in the kingdom. He will\nserve us forever. His ministry overlaps our entire history. It reaches\ndown to the very deepest depths of our need as sinners, and up to the\nvery loftiest heights of the glory. It goes back to the past, it covers\nthe present, and it stretches away into the boundless future. Blessed be\nHis name! He loves to serve us, and He gives us the assurance that the\nvery moment, as it were, that He enters upon the glory of name! has\ngiven us a whole heart, and nothing can satisfy Him in return but a\nwhole heart from us. His entire service--past, present, and future--is\nthe fruit of His perfect love; and nothing can meet His desire, with\nrespect to us, save a heart responsive in its affections to Him. And\nwhere there is this, it will express itself in an anxious, earnest\nlonging for His coming. \"Blessed are those servants, whom their lord\nwhen he cometh shall find watching.\"\n\nMay the eternal Spirit fill our hearts with genuine love to the Person\nof our own adorable Lord and Saviour; that so our one grand and\nundivided purpose may be to live for Him in this scene from which He has\nbeen cast out, and to wait for that moment when we shall see Him as He\nis, and be like Him and with Him forever.\n\n_C. H. M._\n\n\n\n\nPRAYER AND THE PRAYER-MEETING\n\n\nIn considering the deeply important subject of prayer, two things claim\nour attention; first, the moral basis of prayer; secondly, its moral\nconditions.\n\nI. The basis of prayer is set forth in such words as the following: \"_If\nye abide in Me, and My words abide in you_, ye shall ask what ye will,\nand it shall be done unto you.\" (John xv. 7.) Again, \"Beloved, _if our\nheart condemn us not_, then have we confidence toward God. And\nwhatsoever we ask, we receive of Him, _because we keep His\ncommandments_, and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.\" (I\nJohn iii. 21, 22.) So also, when the blessed apostle seeks an interest\nin the prayers of the saints, he sets forth the moral basis of his\nappeal--\"Pray for us; _for we trust we have a good conscience_, in all\nthings willing to live honestly.\" (Heb. xiii. 18.)\n\nFrom these passages, and many more of like import, we learn that, in\norder to effectual prayer, there must be an obedient heart, an upright\nmind, a good conscience. If the soul be not in communion with God--if it\nbe not abiding in Christ--if it be not ruled by His holy\ncommandments--if the eye be not single, how could we possibly look for\nanswers to our prayers? We should, as the apostle James says, be \"asking\namiss, that we may consume it upon our lusts.\" How could God, as a holy\nFather, grant such petitions? Impossible.\n\nHow very needful, therefore, it is to give earnest heed to the moral\nbasis on which our prayers are presented. How could the apostle have\nasked the brethren to pray for him, if he had not a good conscience, a\nsingle eye, an upright mind--the moral persuasion that in all things he\nreally wished to live honestly? We may safely assert, he could do no\nsuch thing.\n\nBut may we not often detect ourselves in the habit of lightly and\nformally asking others to pray for us? It is a very common formulary\namongst us--\"Remember me in your prayers,\" and most surely nothing can\nbe more blessed or precious than to be borne upon the hearts of God's\ndear people in their approaches to the mercy-seat; but do we\nsufficiently attend to the moral basis? When we say, \"Brethren pray for\nus,\" can we add, as in the presence of the Searcher of hearts, \"For we\ntrust we have a good conscience, in all things willing to live\nhonestly\"? and when we ourselves bow before the throne of grace, is it\nwith an uncondemning heart--an upright mind--a single eye--a soul really\nabiding in Christ, and keeping His commandments?\n\nThese, beloved reader, are searching questions. They go right to the\nvery centre of the heart--down to the very roots and moral springs of\nour being. But it is well to be thoroughly searched--searched in\nreference to every thing, but especially in reference to prayer. There\nis a terrible amount of unreality in our prayers--a sad lack of the\nmoral basis--a vast amount of \"asking amiss.\"\n\nHence, the want of power and efficacy in our prayers--hence, the\nformality--the routine--yea, the positive hypocrisy. The Psalmist says,\n\"If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.\" How\nsolemn this is! Our God will have reality; He desireth truth in the\ninward parts. He, blessed be His name, is real with us, and He will have\nus real with Him. He will have us coming before Him as we really are,\nand with what we really want.\n\nHow often, alas! it is otherwise, both in private and in public! How\noften are our prayers more like orations than petitions--more like\nstatements of doctrine than utterances of need! It seems, at times, as\nthough we meant to explain principles to God, and give Him a large\namount of information.\n\nThese are the things which cast a withering influence over our\nprayer-meetings, robbing them of their freshness, their interest, and\ntheir value. Those who really know what prayer is--who feel its value,\nand are conscious of their need of it, attend the prayer-meeting in\norder to pray, not to hear orations, lectures, and expositions from men\non their knees. If they want lectures, they can attend at the\nlecture-hall or the preaching-room; but when they go to the\nprayer-meeting, it is to pray. To them, the prayer-meeting is the place\nof expressed need and expected blessing--the place of expressed weakness\nand expected power. Such is their idea of \"the place where prayer is\nwont to be made;\" and therefore when they flock thither, they are not\ndisposed or prepared to listen to long preaching prayers, which would be\ndeemed barely tolerable if delivered from the desk, but which are\nabsolutely insufferable in the shape of prayer.\n\nWe write plainly, because we feel the need of great plainness of speech.\nWe deeply feel our want of reality, sincerity, and truth in our prayers\nand prayer-meetings. Not unfrequently it happens that what we call\nprayer is not prayer at all, but the fluent utterance of certain known\nand acknowledged truths and principles, to which one has listened so\noften that the reiteration becomes tiresome in the extreme. What can be\nmore painful than to hear a man on his knees explaining principles and\nunfolding doctrines? The question forces itself upon us, \"Is the man\nspeaking to God, or to us?\" If to God, surely nothing can be more\nirreverent or profane than to attempt to explain things to Him; but if\nto us, then it is not prayer at all, and the sooner we rise from the\nattitude of prayer the better, inasmuch as the speaker will do better on\nhis legs and we in our seats.\n\nAnd, having referred to the subject of attitude, we would very lovingly\ncall attention to a matter which, in our judgment, demands a little\nserious consideration; we allude to the habit of sitting during the holy\nand solemn exercise of prayer. We are fully aware, of course, that the\ngrand question in prayer is, to have the _heart_ in a right attitude.\nAnd further, we know, and would ever bear in mind, that many who attend\nour prayer-meetings are aged, infirm, and delicate people, who could not\npossibly kneel for any length of time--perhaps not at all. Then again,\nit often happens that, even where there is not physical weakness, and\nwhere there would be real desire to kneel down, as feeling it to be the\nproper attitude, yet, from actual want of space, it is impossible to\nchange one's position.\n\nAll these things must be taken into account; but, allowing as broad a\nmargin as possible in which to insert these modifying clauses, we must\nstill hold to it that there is a very deplorable lack of reverence in\nmany of our public reunions for prayer. We frequently observe young men,\nwho can neither plead physical weakness nor want of space, sitting\nthrough an entire prayer-meeting. This, we confess, is offensive, and we\ncannot but believe it grieves the Spirit of the Lord. We ought to kneel\ndown when we can; it expresses reverence and prostration. The blessed\nMaster \"kneeled down and prayed.\" (Luke xxii. 41.) His apostle did the\nsame, as we read in Acts xx. 36, \"When he had thus spoken, he kneeled\ndown and prayed with them all.\"\n\nAnd is it not comely and right so to do? Assuredly it is. And can aught\nbe more unseemly than to see a number of people sitting, lolling,\nlounging, and gaping about while prayer is being offered? We consider it\nperfectly shocking, and we do here most earnestly beseech all the Lord's\npeople to give this matter their solemn consideration, and to endeavor,\nin every possible way, both by precept and example, to promote the godly\nhabit of kneeling at our prayer-meetings. No doubt those who take part\nin the meeting would greatly aid in this matter by short and fervent\nprayers; but of this, more hereafter.\n\n\nPART II.\n\nWe shall now proceed to consider, in the light of holy Scripture, the\nmoral conditions or attributes of prayer. There is nothing like having\nthe authority of the divine Word for every thing in the entire range of\nour practical Christian life. Scripture must be our one grand and\nconclusive referee in all our questions. Let us never forget this.\n\nWhat, then, saith the Scripture as to the necessary moral conditions of\nprayer? Turn to Matthew xviii. 19--\"Again I say unto you, that _if two\nof you shall agree_ on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask,\nit shall be done for them of My Father which is in heaven.\"\n\nHere we learn that one necessary condition of our prayers is,\n_unanimity_--cordial agreement--thorough oneness of mind. The true force\nof the words is, \"If two of you shall symphonize\"--shall make one common\nsound. There must be no jarring note, no discordant element.\n\nIf, for example, we come together to pray about the progress of the\ngospel--the conversion of souls, we must be of one mind in the\nmatter--we must make one common sound before our God. It will not do for\neach to have some special thought of his own to carry out. We must come\nbefore the throne of grace in holy harmony of mind and spirit, else we\ncannot claim an answer, on the ground of Matthew xviii. 19.\n\nNow, this is a point of immense moral weight. Its importance, as bearing\nupon the tone and character of our prayer-meetings, cannot possibly be\noverestimated. It is very questionable indeed whether any of us have\ngiven sufficient attention to it. Have we not to deplore the objectless\ncharacter of our prayer-meetings? Ought we not to come together more\nwith some definite object on our hearts, as to which we are going to\nwait together upon God? We read in the first chapter of Acts, in\nreference to the early disciples, \"These all continued _with one accord_\nin prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of\nJesus, and with His brethren.\"[XXX.] And again, in the second chapter,\nwe read, \"When the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were _all with\none accord in one place_.\"\n\nThey were waiting, according to our Lord's instructions, for the promise\nof the Father--the gift of the Holy Ghost. They had the sure word of\npromise. The Comforter was, without fail, to come; but this, so far from\ndispensing with prayer, was the very ground of its blessed exercise.\nThey prayed; they prayed in one place; they prayed with one accord. They\nwere thoroughly agreed. They all, without exception, had one definite\nobject before their hearts. They were waiting for the promised Spirit;\nthey continued to wait; and they waited with one accord, until He came.\nMen and women, absorbed with one object, waited in holy concord, in\nhappy symphony--waited on, day after day, earnestly, fervently,\nharmoniously waited until they were indued with the promised power from\non high.\n\nShould not we go and do likewise? Is there not a sad lack of this \"one\naccord,\" \"one place\" principle in our midst? True it is, blessed be God,\nwe have not to ask for the Holy Ghost to come,--He has come; we have not\nto ask for the outpouring of the Spirit,--He has been poured out: but we\nhave to ask for the display of His blessed power in our midst. Supposing\nour lot is cast in a place where spiritual death and darkness reign.\nThere is not so much as a single breath of life--not a leaf stirring.\nThe heaven above seems like brass; the earth beneath, iron. Such a thing\nas a conversion is never heard of. A withering formalism seems to have\nsettled down upon the entire place. Powerless profession, dead routine,\nstupefying mechanical religiousness, are the order of the day. What is\nto be done? Are we to allow ourselves to fall under the fatal influence\nof the surrounding malaria? are we to yield to the paralyzing power of\nthe atmosphere that inwraps the place? Assuredly not.\n\nIf not, what then? Let us, even if there be but two who really feel the\ncondition of things, get together, with one accord, and pour out our\nhearts to God. Let us wait on Him, in holy concord, with united, firm\npurpose, until He send a copious shower of blessing upon the barren\nspot. Let us not fold our arms and vainly say, \"The time is not come.\"\nLet us not yield to that pernicious offshoot of a one-sided theology,\nwhich is rightly called fatalism, and say, \"God is sovereign, and He\nworks according to His own will. We must wait His time. Human effort is\nin vain. We cannot get up a revival. We must beware of mere\nexcitement.\"\n\nAll this seems very plausible; and the more so because there is a\nmeasure of truth in it; indeed it is all true, so far as it goes: but it\nis only one side of the truth. It is truth, and nothing but the truth;\nbut it is not _the whole truth_. Hence its mischievous tendency. There\nis nothing more to be dreaded than one-sided truth; it is far more\ndangerous than positive, palpable error. Many an earnest soul has been\nstumbled and turned completely out of the way by one-sided or misapplied\ntruth. Many a true-hearted and useful workman has been chilled,\nrepulsed, and driven out of the harvest-field by the injudicious\nenforcement of certain doctrines having a measure of truth, but not\n_the_ full truth of God.\n\nNothing, however, can touch the truth, or weaken the force of Matthew\nxviii. 19. It stands in all its blessed fullness, freeness, and\npreciousness before the eye of faith; its terms are clear and\nunmistakable. \"If two of you shall agree upon earth, as touching _any\nthing_ that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of My Father which\nis in heaven.\" Here is our warrant for coming together to pray for any\nthing that may be laid on our hearts. Do we mourn over the coldness,\nbarrenness, and death around us? Are we discouraged by the little\napparent fruit from the preaching of the gospel--the lack of power in\nthe preaching itself, and the total absence of practical result? Are our\nsouls cast down by the barrenness, dullness, heaviness, and low tone of\nall our reunions, whether at the table of our Lord, before the\nmercy-seat, or around the fountain of holy Scripture?\n\nWhat are we to do? Fold our arms in cold indifference? give up in\ndespair? or give vent to complaining, murmuring, fretfulness, or\nirritation? God forbid! What then? Come together, \"with one accord in\none place;\" get down on our faces before our God, and pour out our\nhearts, as the heart of one man, pleading Matthew xviii. 19.\n\nThis, we may rest assured, is the grand remedy--the unfailing resource.\nIt is perfectly true that \"God is sovereign,\" and this is the very\nreason why we should wait on Him; perfectly true that \"human effort is\nin vain,\" and that is the very reason for seeking divine power;\nperfectly true that \"we cannot get up a revival,\" and that is the very\nreason for seeking to get it _down_; perfectly true that \"we must beware\nof mere excitement;\" equally true that we must beware of coldness,\ndeadness, and selfish indifference.\n\nThe simple fact is, there is no excuse whatever--so long as Christ is at\nthe right hand of God--so long as God the Holy Ghost is in our midst and\nin our hearts--so long as we have the Word of God in our hands--so long\nas Matthew xviii. 19 shines before our eyes--there is, we repeat, no\nexcuse whatever for barrenness, deadness, coldness, and indifference--no\nexcuse for heavy and unprofitable meetings--no excuse whatever for lack\nof freshness in our reunions or of fruitfulness in our service. Let us\nwait on God, in holy concord, and the blessing is sure to come.\n\n\nPART III.\n\nIf we turn to Matthew xxi. 22, we shall find another of the essential\nconditions of effectual prayer. \"And all things whatsoever ye shall ask\nin prayer, _believing_, ye shall receive.\" This is a truly marvelous\nstatement. It opens the very treasury of heaven to faith. There is\nabsolutely no limit. Our blessed Lord assures us that we shall receive\nwhatsoever we ask in simple faith.\n\nThe apostle James, under the inspiration of the\n\nHoly Ghost, gives us a similar assurance in reference to the matter of\nasking for wisdom. \"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that\n_giveth to all liberally_, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given\nhim. But\"--here is the moral condition--\"let him ask _in faith, nothing\nwavering_. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea, driven with\nthe wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall obtain any\nthing of the Lord.\"\n\nFrom both these passages we learn that if our prayers are to have an\nanswer, they must be prayers of faith. It is one thing to utter words in\nthe form of prayer, and another thing altogether to pray in simple\nfaith, in the full, clear, and settled assurance that we shall have what\nwe are asking for. It is greatly to be feared that many of our so-called\nprayers never go beyond the ceiling of the room. In order to reach the\nthrone of God, they must be borne on the wings of faith, and proceed\nfrom hearts united and minds agreed, in holy purpose, to wait on our God\nfor the things which we really require.\n\nNow, the question is, are not our prayers and prayer-meetings sadly\ndeficient on this point? Is not the deficiency manifest from the fact\nthat we see so little result from our prayers? Ought we not to examine\nourselves as to how far we really understand these two conditions of\nprayer, namely, unanimity and confidence? If it be true--and it is true,\nfor Christ has said it--that two persons agreed to ask in faith can have\nwhatsoever they ask, why do we not see more abundant answers to our\nprayers? Must not the fault be in us?--are we not deficient in concord\nand confidence?\n\nOur Lord, in Matthew xviii. 19, comes down, as we say, to the very\nsmallest plurality--the smallest congregation--even to \"two;\" but of\ncourse the promise applies to dozens, scores, or hundreds. The grand\npoint is, to be thoroughly agreed and fully persuaded that we shall get\nwhat we are asking for. This would give a different tone and character\naltogether to our reunions for prayer. It would make them very much more\nreal than our ordinary prayer-meeting, which, alas! alas! is often poor,\ncold, dead, objectless, and desultory, exhibiting any thing but cordial\nagreement and unwavering faith.\n\nHow vastly different it would be if our prayer-meetings were the result\nof a cordial agreement on the part of two or more believing souls, to\ncome together and wait upon God for a certain thing, and to persevere in\nprayer until they receive an answer! How little we see of this! We\nattend the prayer-meeting from week to week--and very right we\nshould--but ought we not to be exercised before God as to how far we are\nagreed in reference to the object or objects which are to be laid before\nthe throne? The answer to this question links itself on to another of\nthe moral conditions of prayer.\n\nLet us turn to Luke xi. \"And He said unto them, 'Which of you shall have\na friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend,\nlend me three loaves; for a friend of mine in his journey is come to me,\nand I have nothing to set before him? And he from within shall answer\nand say, Trouble me not; the door is now shut, and my children are with\nme in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. I say unto you, though he will\nnot rise and give him because he is his friend, yet because of his\n_importunity_ he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. And I say\nunto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find;\nknock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh\nreceiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it\nshall be opened.'\" (Ver. 5-10.)\n\nThese words are of the very highest possible importance, inasmuch as\nthey contain part of our Lord's reply to the request of His disciples,\n\"Lord, teach us to pray.\" Let no one imagine for a moment that we would\ndare to take it upon ourselves to teach people how to pray. God forbid!\nNothing is further from our thoughts. We are merely seeking to bring the\nsouls of our readers into direct contact with the Word of God--the\nveritable sayings of our blessed Lord and Master--so that, in the light\nof those sayings, they may judge for themselves as to how far our\nprayers and our prayer-meetings come up to the divine standard.\n\nWhat, then, do we learn from Luke xi? what are the moral conditions\nwhich it sets before us? In the first place, it teaches us to be\n_definite_ in our prayers. \"Friend, lend me three loaves.\" There is a\npositive need felt and expressed; there is the one thing before the mind\nand on the heart, and to this one thing he confines himself. It is not a\nlong, rambling, desultory statement about all sorts of things: it is\ndistinct, direct, and pointed,--I want three loaves, I cannot do without\nthem, I must have them, I am shut up, the case is urgent, the time of\nnight--all the circumstances give definiteness and earnestness to the\nappeal. He cannot wander from the one point, \"Friend, lend me three\nloaves.\"\n\nNo doubt it seems a very untoward time to come--\"midnight.\" Every thing\nlooks discouraging. The friend has retired for the night, the door is\nshut, his children are with him in bed, he cannot rise. All this is very\ndepressing; but still the definite need is pressed: he must have the\nthree loaves.\n\nNow, we cannot but judge that there is a great practical lesson here\nwhich may be applied, with immense profit, to our prayers and our\nprayer-meetings. Must we not admit that our reunions for prayer suffer\nsadly from long, rambling, desultory prayers? Do we not frequently give\nutterance to a whole host of things of which we do not really feel the\nneed, and which we have no notion of waiting for at all? Should we not\nsometimes be taken very much aback were the Lord to appear to us at the\nclose of our prayer-meeting and ask us, What do you really want Me to\ngive or to do?\n\nWe feel most thoroughly persuaded that all this demands our serious\nconsideration. We believe it would impart great earnestness, freshness,\nglow, depth, reality, and power to our prayer-meetings were we to attend\nwith something definite on our hearts, as to which we could invite the\nfellowship of our brethren. Some of us seem to think it necessary to\nmake one long prayer about all sorts of things--many of them very right\nand very good, no doubt--but the mind gets bewildered by the\nmultiplicity of subjects. How much better to bring some one object\nbefore the throne, earnestly urge it, and pause, so that the Holy Spirit\nmay lead out others, in like manner, either for the same thing or\nsomething else equally definite.\n\nLong prayers are often wearisome; indeed, in many cases, they are a\npositive infliction. It will perhaps be said that we must not prescribe\nany time to the Holy Spirit. True indeed;--away from us be the thought!\nWho would venture upon such a piece of daring blasphemy? We are simply\ncomparing what we find in Scripture (where their brief pointedness is\ncharacteristic--see Matt. vi, John xvii., Acts iv. 24-30, Eph. i, iii,\netc.) with what we too often--not always, thank God!--find in our\nprayer-meetings.\n\nLet it, then, be distinctly borne in mind that \"long prayers\" are not\nthe rule in Scripture. They are referred to in Mark xii. 40, etc., in\nterms of withering disapproval. Brief, fervent, pointed prayers impart\ngreat freshness and interest to the prayer-meeting; but on the other\nhand, as a general rule, long and desultory prayers exert a most\ndepressing influence upon all.\n\nBut there is another very important moral condition set forth in our\nLord's teaching in Luke xi, and that is, \"_importunity_.\" He tells us\nthat the man succeeds in gaining his object simply by his importunate\nearnestness. He is not to be put off; he must get the three loaves.\nImportunity prevails even where the claims of friendship prove\ninoperative. The man is bent on his object; he has no alternative. There\nis a demand, and he has nothing to meet it--\"I have nothing to set\nbefore my traveling friend.\" In short, he will not take a refusal.\n\nNow, the question is, how far do we understand this great lesson? It is\nnot, blessed be God, that He will ever answer us \"from within.\" He will\nnever say to us, \"Trouble me not\"--\"I cannot rise and give thee.\" He is\never our true and ready \"Friend\"--\"a cheerful, liberal, and unupbraiding\nGiver.\" All praise to His holy name! Still, He encourages importunity,\nand we need to ponder His teaching. There is a sad lack of it in our\nprayer-meetings. Indeed, it will be found that in proportion to the lack\nof definiteness is the lack of importunity. The two go very much\ntogether. Where the thing sought is as definite as the \"three loaves,\"\nthere will generally be the importunate asking for it, and the firm\npurpose to get it.\n\nThe simple fact is, we are too vague and, as a consequence, too\nindifferent in our prayers and prayer-meetings. We do not seem like\npeople _asking for what they want, and waiting for what they ask_. This\nis what destroys our prayer-meetings, rendering them pithless,\npointless, powerless; turning them into teaching or talking-meetings,\nrather than deep-toned, earnest prayer-meetings. We feel convinced that\nthe whole Church of God needs to be thoroughly aroused in reference to\nthis great question; and this conviction it is which compels us to offer\nthese hints and suggestions, with which we are not yet done.\n\n\nPART IV.\n\nThe more deeply we ponder the subject which has been for some time\nengaging our attention, and the more we consider the state of the entire\nChurch of God, the more convinced we are of the urgent need of a\nthorough awakening every where in reference to the question of prayer.\nWe cannot--nor do we desire to--shut our eyes to the fact that deadness,\ncoldness, and barrenness seem, as a rule, to characterize our\nprayer-meetings. No doubt we may find here and there a pleasing\nexception, but speaking generally, we do not believe that any sober,\nspiritual person will call in question the truth of what we state,\nnamely, that the tone of our prayer-meetings is fearfully low, and that\nit is absolutely imperative upon us to inquire seriously as to the\ncause.\n\nIn the papers already put forth on this great, all-important, and deeply\npractical subject, we have ventured to offer to our readers a few hints\nand suggestions. We have briefly glanced at our lack of confidence, our\nfailure in cordial unanimity, the absence of definiteness and\nimportunity. We have referred in plain terms--and we must speak plainly\nif we are to speak at all--to many things which are felt by all the\ntruly spiritual amongst us to be not only trying and painful, but\nthoroughly subversive of the real power and blessing of our reunions for\nprayer. We have spoken of the long, tiresome, desultory, preaching\nprayers which, in some cases, have become so perfectly intolerable, that\nthe Lord's dear people are scared away from the prayer-meetings\naltogether. They feel that they are only wearied, grieved, and\nirritated, instead of being refreshed, comforted, and strengthened; and\nhence they deem it better to stay away. They judge it to be more\nprofitable, if they have an hour to spare, to spend it in the privacy of\ntheir closet, where they can pour out their hearts to God in earnest\nprayer and supplication, than to attend a so-called prayer-meeting,\nwhere they are absolutely wearied out with incessant, powerless,\nhymn-singing, or long preaching prayers.\n\nNow, we more than question the rightness of such a course. We seriously\ndoubt if this be at all the way to remedy the evils of which we\ncomplain. Indeed, we are thoroughly persuaded it is not. If it be right\nto come together for prayer and supplication--and who will question the\nrightness?--then surely it is not right for any one to stay away merely\nbecause of the feebleness, failure, or even the folly of some who may\ntake part in the meeting. If all the really spiritual members were to\nstay away on such a ground, what would become of the prayer-meeting? We\nhave very little idea of how much is involved in the elements which\ncompose a meeting. Even though we may not take part audibly in the\naction, yet if we are there in a right spirit--there really to wait upon\nGod, we marvelously help the tone of a meeting.\n\nBesides, we must remember that we have something more to do in attending\na meeting than to think of our own comfort, profit, and blessing. We\nmust think of the Lord's glory; we must seek to do His blessed will, and\ntry to promote the good of others in every possible way; and neither of\nthese ends, we may rest assured, can be attained by our deliberately\nabsenting ourselves from the place where prayer is wont to be made.\n\nWe repeat, and with emphasis, the words, \"_deliberately_ absenting\nourselves\"--staying away because we are not profited by what takes place\nthere. Many things may crop up to hinder our being present--ill-health,\ndomestic duties, lawful claims upon our time if we are in the employment\nof others,--all these things have to be taken into account; but we may\nset it down as a fixed principle that _the one who can designedly absent\nhimself from the prayer-meeting is in a bad state of soul_. The healthy,\nhappy, earnest, diligent soul will be sure to be found at the\nprayer-meeting.\n\nBut all this conducts us, naturally and simply, to another of those\nmoral conditions at which we have been glancing in this series of\npapers. Let us turn for a moment to the opening lines of Luke xviii.\n\"And He spake a parable unto them to this end, _that men ought always to\npray, and not to faint_: saying, 'There was in a city a judge, which\nfeared not God, neither regarded man. And there was a widow in that\ncity, and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he\nwould not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, Though I\nfear not God, nor regard man, yet, because this widow troubleth me, I\nwill avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.' And the\nLord said, 'Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge\nHis own elect, which cry day and night unto Him, though He bear long\nwith them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily.'\" (Ver. I-8.)\n\nHere, then, we have pressed upon our attention the important moral\ncondition of _perseverance_. \"Men ought _always_ to pray, and _not to\nfaint_.\" This is intimately connected with the definiteness and\nimportunity to which we have already referred. We want a certain thing;\nwe cannot do without it. We importunately, unitedly, believingly, and\nperseveringly wait on our God until He graciously send an answer, as He\nmost assuredly will, if the moral basis and the moral conditions be duly\nmaintained.\n\n_But we must persevere._ We must not faint, and give up, though the\nanswer does not come as speedily as we might expect. It may please God\nto exercise our souls by keeping us waiting on Him for days, months, or\nperhaps years. The exercise is good. It is morally healthful; it tends\nto make us real; it brings us down to the roots of things. Look, for\nexample, at Daniel. He was kept for \"three full weeks\" waiting on God,\nin profound exercise of soul. \"In those days I Daniel was mourning three\nfull weeks. I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my\nmouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three full weeks were\nfulfilled.\"\n\nAll this was good for Daniel. There was deep blessing in the spiritual\nexercises through which this beloved and honored servant of God was\ncalled to pass during those three weeks. And what is specially worthy of\nnote is, that the answer to Daniel's cry had been despatched from the\nthrone of God at the very beginning of his exercise, as we read at verse\n12, \"Then said he unto me, 'Fear not Daniel; for _from the first day\nthat thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself\nbefore thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words_.\nBut\"--how marvelous and mysterious is this!--\"the prince of the kingdom\nof Persia withstood me one and twenty days; but, lo, Michael, one of the\nchief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of\nPersia. Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy\npeople in the latter days.\"\n\nAll this is full of interest. Here was the beloved servant of God\nmourning, chastening himself, and waiting upon God. The angelic\nmessenger was on his way with the answer. The enemy was permitted to\nhinder; but Daniel continued to wait: he prayed, and fainted not; and in\ndue time the answer came.\n\nIs there no lesson here for us? Most assuredly there is. We, too, may\nhave to wait long in the holy attitude of expectancy, and in the spirit\nof prayer; but we shall find the time of waiting most profitable for\nour souls. Very often our God, in His wise and faithful dealing with us,\nsees fit to withhold the answer, simply to prove us as to the reality of\nour prayers. The grand point for us is, to have an object laid upon our\nhearts by the Holy Ghost--an object as to which we can lay the finger of\nfaith upon some distinct promise in the Word, and to persevere in prayer\nuntil we get what we want. \"Praying _always_ with all prayer and\nsupplication in the Spirit, and _watching_ thereunto _with all\nperseverance_ and supplication for all saints.\" (Eph. vi. 18.)\n\nAll this demands our serious consideration. We are as sadly deficient in\nperseverance as we are in definiteness and importunity. Hence the\nfeebleness of our prayers and the coldness of our prayer-meetings. We do\nnot come together with a definite object, and hence we are not\nimportunate, and we do not persevere. In short, our prayer-meetings are\noften nothing but a dull routine--a cold, mechanical service--something\nto be gone through--a wearisome alternation of hymn and prayer, hymn and\nprayer, causing the spirit to groan beneath the heavy burden of mere\nprofitless bodily exercise.\n\nWe speak plainly and strongly: we speak as we feel. We must be permitted\nto speak without reserve. We call upon the whole Church of God, far and\nwide, to look this great question straight in the face--to look to God\nabout it--to judge themselves about it. Do we not feel the lack of power\nin all our public reunions? Why those barren seasons at the Lord's\ntable? Why the dullness and feebleness in the celebration of that\nprecious feast which ought to stir the very deepest depths of our\nrenewed being? Why the lack of unction, power, and edification in our\npublic readings--the foolish speculations and the silly questions which\nhave been advanced and answered for the last forty years? Why those\nvaried evils on which we have been dwelling, and which are being mourned\nover almost every where by the truly spiritual? Why the barrenness of\nour gospel services? Why are souls not smitten down under the Word? Why\nis there so little gathering-power?\n\nBrethren, beloved in the Lord, let us rouse ourselves to the solemn\nconsideration of these weighty matters. Let us not be satisfied to go on\nwith the present condition of things. We call upon all those who admit\nthe truth of what we have been putting forth in these pages on \"Prayer\nand the Prayer-Meeting,\" to unite in cordial, earnest, united prayer and\nsupplication. Let us seek to get together according to God; to come as\none man and prostrate ourselves before the mercy-seat, and perseveringly\nwait upon our God for the revival of His work, the progress of His\ngospel, the ingathering and upbuilding of His beloved people. Let our\nprayer-meetings be really prayer-meetings, and not occasions for giving\nout our favorite hymns, and starting our fancy tunes. The prayer-meeting\nought to be the place of expressed heed and expected blessing--the place\nof expressed weakness and expected power--the place where God's people\nassemble with one accord, to take hold of the very throne of God, to get\ninto the very treasury of heaven, and draw thence all we want for\nourselves, for our households, for the Whole Church of God, and for the\nvineyard of Christ.\n\nSuch is the true idea of a prayer-meeting, if we are to be taught by\nScripture. May it be more fully realized amongst the Lord's people every\nwhere. May the Holy Spirit stir us all up, and press upon our souls the\nvalue, importance, and urgent necessity of unanimity, confidence,\ndefiniteness, importunity, and perseverance in all our prayers and\nprayer-meetings.\n\n    Yes, there's a power which man can wield,\n      When mortal aid is vain;\n    That eye, that arm, that love to reach,\n      That list'ning ear to gain.\n\n    That power is prayer, which soars on high,\n      Through Jesus, to the throne,\n    And moves the hand which moves the world\n      To bring deliverance down.\n\n_C. H. M._\n\nNOTE.--It may perhaps be useful to notice that in the foregoing most\nneedful pages, the beloved author has been speaking of the\n_prayer-meeting_, and the moral basis and conditions of prayer in\ngeneral, not of personal, secret prayer. The importance of it can hardly\nbe overestimated. The lack or neglect of this soon tells in the\nspiritual life of the Christian. Is not the lack of this the explanation\nof much leanness of soul, from which knowledge alone is not able to lift\nus up? It is, as it were, the spiritual gauge of our soul's condition.\nThere, in the secret of the closet, the godly soul ever loves to pour\nout in its Father's ear its trials, its fears, its desires, its wants,\nits thanksgivings, in all their details. And what comfort, what joy,\nwhat godly strength and purpose, the soul carries from thence! what\npreparation to go through the daily toil, and testings of the day!\nBeloved of the Lord, let us wait on God, that we may know more of this\nsecret power, gotten in our closet with Him.\n\n[Ed.]\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[XXX.] How interesting to find \"Mary the mother of Jesus\" named here, as\nbeing at the prayer-meeting! What would she have said if any one had\ntold her that millions of professing Christians would yet be praying to\nher?\n\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nTranscriber Notes:\n\nCommon puctuation errors repaired obvious typos repaired\n\nPage 3-07-03 an \"a\" added\" I shall only prove a hindrance, \"a\" weight,\na cause of weakness.\n\nPage 3-01-012 heavy laden changed to heavy-laden\n\nPage 3-01-018 \"thradom\" misspelled \"thralldom\"\n\nPage 3-03-004 \"diciples\" misspelled \"disciples\" page 3-01-027 true\nhearted changed to true-hearted page 3-01-001 well regulated changed to\nwell-regulated\n\nPage 3-04-004 \"O death, where is thy sing\" changed to \"O death, where is\nthy sting.\n\nPage 3-06-043 \"The breaking of break\" changed to \"The breaking\nof bread\".\n\nPage 3-05-004 \"decalogue\" should be a proper noun (Ten\nCommandments), changed to \"Decalogue\".\n\nPage 3-05-012 \"compentency\" misspelled \"competency\".\n\nPage 3-06-003 \"eucharist\" is a proper noun, changed to \"Eucharist\".\n\nPage 3-10-011 \"paraylzed\" misspelled, changed to \"paralyzed\".\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<pre id=\"pg-footer\">","title":"The Assembly of God. Miscellaneous Writings of C. H. Mackintosh, vol. III","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":125545}