{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_41571/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_41571","id":"gutenberg_41571","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/41571","summary":null,"tags":["Bible. Deuteronomy -- Commentaries","Category: Religion/Spirituality"],"text":"NOTES\n\n  _on the book of_\n\n  DEUTERONOMY\n\n  _Volume I_\n\n  C. H. MACKINTOSH\n\n  \"_Forever, O Lord, Thy Word is settled in heaven._\"\n\n  \"_Thy Word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin\n  against Thee._\"\n\n  LOIZEAUX BROTHERS\n\n  _Neptune, New Jersey_\n\n\n\n\n  FIRST EDITION 1880\n  TWENTY-SEVENTH PRINTING 1965\n\n  LOIZEAUX BROTHERS, INC., PUBLISHERS\n\n  _A Nonprofit Organization, Devoted to the Lord's Work\n  and to the Spread of His Truth_\n\n  NEPTUNE, NEW JERSEY\n\n\n  PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA\n\n\n\n\nPREFATORY NOTE\n\nTO THE AMERICAN EDITION\n\n\nAs several persons in America have, without any authority whatever\nfrom me, undertaken to publish my four[1] volumes of \"Notes,\" I deem\nit my duty to inform the reader that I have given full permission to\nMessrs. LOIZEAUX BROTHERS to publish an edition of those books in such\nform as they shall consider most suitable.\n\n  C. H. MACKINTOSH.\n\n  _6 West Park Terrace, Scarborough,\n  May 1st, 1879._\n\n  [1] Now six.\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE\n\n\nThe value and importance of the Word of God cannot be over-estimated\nat the present moment. Its integrity and authority are being assailed\nfrom almost every quarter and in every form of attack. \"If the\nfoundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?\" (Ps. xi. 3.)\n\nInfidel thoughts and principles are not limited to a few literary and\nspeculative minds, as they were fifty years ago, but are now asserted\nby many who ought to be the true guardians of Christianity and the\ndefenders of the Bible as a revelation from God.\n\nIn this way the multitude of the simple and unsuspecting are deceived.\nIf the style of address be pleasing, few care to compare what they\nhave been hearing with the holy Scriptures. The conscience not being\naroused, they take no further trouble.\n\nBut what of the state of immortal souls, under such a ministry, in\nview of eternity? On whom does the weight of responsibility rest?\nFine-spun theories will never awaken a soul asleep in sin: the lost\nsinner must be brought face to face with the plain Word of God and the\nsolemn realities of eternity. His voice must be heard. All is\nabsolute, positive, and definite here, whatever infidelity may say.\n\"The Word of the Lord endureth forever.\"\n\nThe burden of the following pages, I am thankful to find, is well\ncalculated to meet and counteract the looseness and indefiniteness of\nthe prevailing teaching of the present day.\n\nAnd this, I may also say, is the burden of the book of Deuteronomy.\nThe Jewish lawgiver presses with great earnestness the Word of Jehovah\non the heart of Israel. It is not a book of ceremonials, but the\nreminding of the people of their obligation to keep the commandments,\nthe statutes, and the judgments of the Lord.\n\nThis is the first moral duty of man in every age--implicit obedience\nand submission to the revealed will of God. Moses speaks to the\nchildren of Israel as a father, and appeals to them in the most tender\nand loving way. \"Hearken, O Israel,\" he says, \"unto the statutes and\nunto the judgments which I teach you ... ye shall not add unto the\nword which I command you, neither shall ye diminish aught from it,\nthat ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command\nyou.\" And again, he says, \"Thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine\nhand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou\nshalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.\"\n\nThe welfare of the people individually and nationally depended on\ntheir faithfully observing these oft-repeated laws. To neglect them\nwas to bring upon themselves the displeasure and chastening of the God\nof Israel.\n\nBut more need not be said here on these subjects. The reader will find\nin the following pages the most ample unfolding and practical\napplication of these divine exhortations and warnings. But the writer\nhas not confined himself to what Deuteronomy teaches, but has enlarged\non what it suggests. In this way we have brought before us the grand\ncardinal truths of Christianity: a wide circle of truth is embraced,\nand much that applies to the individual Christian, the family, the\nhousehold, and the Church of God will be found in the accompanying\nbook.\n\nIt now goes forth with the earnest desire that the Lord may be\ngraciously pleased to use it for the glory of His own name, the help\nof His people, and the eternal blessing of many precious souls.\n\n  _A. M._\n\n  _London, November, 1880._\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\n                  _Page._\n\n  INTRODUCTION,         1\n\n  CHAPTER I,           22\n\n     \"    II,         107\n\n     \"    III,        132\n\n     \"    IV,         162\n\n     \"    V,          284\n\n     \"    VI,         377\n\n\n\n\nNOTES\n\nON\n\nTHE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY\n\nINTRODUCTION\n\n\nThe character of the book on which we now enter is quite as distinct\nas that of any of the four preceding sections of the Pentateuch. Were\nwe to judge from the title of the book, we might suppose that it is a\nmere repetition of what we find in previous books. This would be a\nvery grave mistake. There is no such thing as mere repetition in the\nWord of God. Indeed, God never repeats Himself, either in His Word or\nin His works. Wherever we trace our God, whether on the page of holy\nScripture or in the vast fields of creation, we see divine fullness,\ninfinite variety, marked design; and just in proportion to our\nspirituality of mind will be our ability to discern and appreciate\nthese things. Here, as in all beside, we need the eye anointed with\nheavenly eye-salve. What a poor idea must the man entertain of\ninspiration who could imagine for a moment that the fifth book of\nMoses is a barren repetition of what is to be found in Exodus,\nLeviticus, and Numbers! Why, even in human composition we should not\nexpect to find such a flagrant imperfection, much less in the perfect\nrevelation which God has so graciously given us in His holy Word. The\nfact is, there is not, from cover to cover of the inspired volume, a\nsingle superfluous sentence, not one redundant clause, not one\nstatement without its own distinct meaning--its own direct\napplication. If we do not see this, we have yet to learn the depth,\nforce, and meaning of the words, \"All scripture is given by\ninspiration of God.\"\n\nPrecious words! Would they were more thoroughly understood in this our\nday! It is of the utmost possible importance that the Lord's people\nshould be rooted, grounded, and settled in the grand truth of the\nplenary inspiration of holy Scripture. It is to be feared that laxity\nas to this most weighty subject is spreading in the professing church\nto an appalling extent. In many quarters it has become fashionable to\npour contempt upon the idea of plenary inspiration. It is looked upon\nas the veriest childishness and ignorance. It is regarded by many as a\ngreat proof of profound scholarship, breadth of mind, and original\nthinking to be able, by free criticism, to find out flaws in the\nprecious volume of God. Men presume to sit in judgment upon the Bible\nas though it were a mere human composition. They undertake to\npronounce upon what is and what is not worthy of God. In fact, they do\nvirtually sit in judgment upon God Himself. The present result is, as\nmight be expected, utter darkness and confusion, both for those\nlearned doctors themselves and for all who are so foolish as to listen\nto them. And as for the future, who can conceive the eternal destiny\nof all those who shall have to answer before the judgment-seat of\nChrist for the sin of blaspheming the Word of God, and leading\nhundreds astray by their infidel teaching?\n\nWe shall not, however, occupy time in dwelling upon the sinful folly\nof infidels and skeptics (even though called Christians), or their\npuny efforts to cast dishonor upon that peerless volume which our\ngracious God has caused to be written for our learning. They will some\nday or other find out their fatal mistake. God grant it may not be too\nlate! And as for us, let it be our deep joy and consolation to\nmeditate upon the Word of God, that so we may ever be discovering some\nfresh treasure in that exhaustless mine--some new moral glories in\nthat heavenly revelation!\n\nThe book of Deuteronomy holds a very distinct place in the inspired\ncanon. Its opening lines are sufficient to prove this.--\"These be the\nwords which Moses spake unto all Israel on this side Jordan in the\nwilderness, in the plain over against the Red Sea, between Paran, and\nTophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, and Dizahab.\"\n\nThus much as to the place in which the lawgiver delivered the contents\nof this marvelous book. The people had come up to the eastern bank of\nthe Jordan, and were about to enter upon the land of promise. Their\ndesert wanderings were nearly ended, as we learn from the third verse,\nin which the point of time is as distinctly marked as is the\ngeographical position in verse 1.--\"It came to pass in the fortieth\nyear, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses\nspake unto the children of Israel, according unto all that the Lord\nhad given him in commandment unto them.\"\n\nThus, not only have we both time and place set forth with divine\nprecision and minuteness, but we also learn, from the words just\nquoted, that the communications made to the people in the plains of\nMoab were very far indeed from being a repetition of what has come\nbefore us in our studies on the books of Exodus, Leviticus, and\nNumbers. Of this we have further and very distinct proof in a passage\nin chapter xxix. of the book on which we are now entering.--\"These are\nthe words of the covenant which the Lord commanded Moses to make with\nthe children of Israel in the land of Moab, _beside the covenant which\nHe made with them in Horeb_.\"\n\nLet the reader note particularly these words. They speak of two\ncovenants--one at Horeb and one in Moab; and the latter, so far from\nbeing a mere repetition of the former, is as distinct from it as any\ntwo things can be. Of this we shall have the fullest and clearest\nevidence in our study of the profound book which now lies open before\nus.\n\nTrue, the Greek title of the book, signifying the law a second time,\nmight seem to give rise to the idea of its being a mere recapitulation\nof what has gone before; but we may rest assured it is not so.\nIndeed, it would be a very grave error to think so. The book has its\nown specific place. Its scope and object are as distinct as possible.\nThe grand lesson which it inculcates, from first to last, is\n_obedience_; and that, too, not in the mere letter, but in the spirit\nof love and fear--an obedience grounded upon a known and enjoyed\nrelationship--an obedience quickened by the sense of moral obligations\nof the weightiest and most influential character.\n\nThe aged lawgiver--the faithful, beloved, and honored servant of the\nLord was about to take leave of the congregation. He was going to\nheaven and they were about to cross the Jordan, and hence his closing\ndiscourses are solemn and affecting in the very highest degree. He\nreviews the whole of their wilderness history, and that, too, in a\nmanner most touching and impressive. He recounts the scenes and\ncircumstances of their forty eventful years of desert life, in a style\neminently calculated to touch the deepest moral springs of the heart.\nWe hang over these most precious discourses with wonder and delight.\nThey possess an incomparable charm, arising from the circumstances\nunder which they were delivered, as well as from their own divinely\npowerful contents. They speak to us no less effectively than to those\nfor whom they were specially intended. Many of the appeals and\nexhortations come home to us with a power of application as if they\nhad been uttered but yesterday.\n\nAnd is it not thus with all Scripture? Are we not continually struck\nwith its marvelous power of adaptation to our own very state, and to\nthe day in which our lot is cast? It speaks to us with a point and\nfreshness as if it were written expressly for us--written this very\nday. There is nothing like Scripture. Take any human writing of the\nsame date as the book of Deuteronomy; if you could lay your hand on\nsome volume written three thousand years ago, what would you find? A\ncurious relic of antiquity--something to be placed in the British\nMuseum, side by side with an Egyptian mummy, having no application\nwhatever to us or to our time--a musty document--a piece of obsolete\nwriting, practically useless to us, referring only to a state of\nsociety and to a condition of things long since passed away and buried\nin oblivion.\n\nThe Bible, on the contrary, is the book for to-day. It is God's own\nbook--His perfect revelation. It is His own very voice speaking to\neach one of us. It is a book for every age, for every clime, for every\nclass, for every condition--high and low, rich and poor, learned and\nignorant, old and young. It speaks in a language so simple that a\nchild can understand it, and yet so profound that the most gigantic\nintellect cannot exhaust it. Moreover, it speaks right home to the\nheart; it touches the deepest springs of our moral being; it goes down\nto the hidden roots of thought and feeling in the soul; it judges us\nthoroughly. In a word, it is, as the inspired apostle tells us, \"quick\nand powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to\nthe dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow,\nand is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.\" (Heb.\niv. 12.)\n\nAnd then mark the marvelous comprehensiveness of its range. It deals\nas accurately and as forcibly with the habits and customs, the manners\nand maxims of the nineteenth century of the Christian era as with\nthose of the very earliest ages of human existence. It displays a\nperfect acquaintance with man in every stage of his history. The\nLondon of to-day and the Tyre of three thousand years ago are\nmirrored, with like precision and faithfulness, on the sacred page.\nHuman life, in every stage of its development, is portrayed by a\nmaster-hand in that wonderful volume which our God has graciously\npenned for our learning.\n\nWhat a privilege to possess such a book!--to have in our hands a\ndivine revelation!--to have access to a book, every line of which is\ngiven by inspiration of God!--to have a divinely given history of the\npast, the present, and the future! Who can estimate aright such a\nprivilege as this?\n\nBut then, this book judges man--judges his ways--judges his heart. It\ntells him the truth about himself. Hence man does not like God's book.\nAn unconverted man would vastly prefer a newspaper or a sensational\nnovel to the Bible. He would rather read the report of a trial in one\nof our criminal courts than a chapter in the New Testament.\n\nHence, too, the constant effort to pick holes in God's blessed book.\nInfidels in every age and of every class have labored hard to find\nout flaws and contradictions in holy Scripture. The determined enemies\nof the Word of God are to be found, not only in the ranks of the\nvulgar, the coarse, and the demoralized, but amongst the educated, the\nrefined, and the cultivated. Just as it was in the days of the\napostles, \"certain lewd fellows of the baser sort,\" and \"devout and\nhonorable women\"--two classes so far removed from each other socially\nand morally--found one point in which they could heartily agree,\nnamely, the utter rejection of the Word of God and of those who\nfaithfully preached it. (Comp. Acts xiii. 50 with xvii. 5.) So we ever\nfind that men who differ in almost every thing else, agree in their\ndetermined opposition to the Bible. Other books are let alone. Men\ncare not to point out defects in Virgil, in Horace, in Homer, or\nHerodotus; but the Bible they cannot endure, because it exposes them\nand tells them the truth about themselves and the world to which they\nbelong.\n\nAnd was it not exactly the same with the living Word--the Son of\nGod--the Lord Jesus Christ when He was here among men? Men hated Him\nbecause He told them the truth. His ministry, His words, His ways--His\nwhole life was a standing testimony against the world; hence their\nbitter and persistent opposition. Other men were allowed to pass on,\nbut He was watched and waylaid at every turn of His path. The great\nleaders and guides of the people \"sought to entangle Him in His talk,\"\nto find occasion against Him, in order that they might deliver Him to\nthe power and authority of the governor. Thus it was during His\nmarvelous life; and at the close, when the blessed One was nailed to\nthe cross between two malefactors, these latter were let alone; there\nwere no insults heaped upon them--the chief priests and elders did not\nwag their heads at them. No; all the insults, all the mockery, all the\ncoarse and heartless vulgarity--all was heaped upon the divine\nOccupant of the centre cross.\n\nNow, it is well we should thoroughly understand the real source of all\nthe opposition to the Word of God--whether it be the living Word or\nthe written Word. It will enable us to estimate it at its real worth.\nThe devil hates the Word of God--hates it with a perfect hatred; and\nhence he employs learned infidels to write books to prove that the\nBible is not the Word of God, that it cannot be, inasmuch as there are\nmistakes and discrepancies in it; and not only so, but in the Old\nTestament we find laws and institutions, habits and practices,\nunworthy of a gracious and benevolent Being.\n\nTo all this style of argument we have one brief and pointed reply. Of\nall these learned infidels we simply say, They know nothing whatever\nabout the matter. They may be very learned, very clever, very deep and\noriginal thinkers, well made up in general literature, very competent\nto give an opinion on any subject within the domain of natural and\nmoral philosophy, very able to discuss any scientific question;\nmoreover, they may be very amiable in private life--truly estimable\ncharacters--kind, benevolent, philanthropic, beloved in private and\nrespected in public,--all this they may be, but being unconverted, and\nnot having the Spirit of God, they are wholly unfit to form, much less\nto give, a judgment on the subject of holy Scripture. If any one\nwholly ignorant of astronomy were to presume to sit in judgment on the\nprinciples of the Copernican system, these very men of whom we speak\nwould at once pronounce him utterly incompetent to speak, and unworthy\nto be heard on such a subject. In short, no one has any right whatever\nto offer an opinion on a matter with which he is unacquainted. This is\nan admitted principle on all hands; and therefore its application in\nthe case now before us cannot justly be called in question.\n\nNow, the inspired apostle tells us, in his first epistle to the\nCorinthians, that \"the natural man receiveth not the things of the\nSpirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him; _neither can he know\nthem_, because they are spiritually discerned.\" This is conclusive. He\nspeaks of man in his natural state, be he ever so learned, ever so\ncultivated. He is not speaking of any special class of men, but simply\nof man in his unconverted state--man destitute of the Spirit of God.\nSome may imagine that the apostle refers to man in a state of\nbarbarism, or savage ignorance. By no means; it is simply man in\nnature, be he a learned philosopher or an ignorant clown. \"He cannot\nknow the things of the Spirit of God.\" How, then, can he form or give\na judgment as to the Word of God? How can he take it upon him to say\nwhat is or what is not worthy of God to write? And if he is audacious\nenough to do so (as, alas! he is), who will be foolish enough to\nlisten to him? His arguments are baseless, his theories worthless, his\nbooks only fit for the wastepaper basket; and all this, be it\nobserved, on the universally admitted principle above stated, that no\none has any title to be heard on a subject of which he is wholly\nignorant.\n\nIn this way we dispose of the whole tribe of infidel writers. Who\nwould think of listening to a blind man on the subject of light and\nshade? And yet such a man has much more claim to be heard than an\nunconverted man on the subject of inspiration. Human learning, however\nextensive and varied--human wisdom, however profound, cannot qualify a\nman to form a judgment upon the Word of God. No doubt a scholar may\nexamine and collate MSS. simply as a matter of criticism; he may be\nable to form a judgment as to the question of authority for any\nparticular reading of a passage; but this is a different matter\naltogether from an infidel writer undertaking to pronounce judgment\nupon the revelation which God has, in His infinite goodness, given to\nus. We maintain that no man can do this. It is only by the Spirit, who\nHimself inspired the holy Scriptures, that those Scriptures can be\nunderstood and appreciated. The Word of God must be received upon its\nown authority. If man can judge it or reason upon it, it is not the\nWord of God at all. Has God given us a revelation, or has He not? If\nHe has, it must be absolutely perfect in every respect; and being\nsuch, it must be entirely beyond the range of human judgment. Man is\nno more competent to judge Scripture than he is to judge God. The\nScriptures judge man; not man the Scriptures.\n\nThis makes all the difference. Nothing can be more miserably\ncontemptible than the books which infidels write against the Bible.\nEvery page, every paragraph, every sentence, only goes to illustrate\nthe truth of the apostle's statement, that \"the natural man receiveth\nnot the things of the Spirit of God; ... _neither can he know them_,\nbecause they are spiritually discerned.\" Their gross ignorance of the\nsubject with which they undertake to deal is only equaled by their\nself-confidence. Of their irreverence we say nothing; for who would\nthink of looking for reverence in the writings of infidels? We might\nperhaps look for a little modesty were it not that we are fully aware\nof the bitter _animus_ which lies at the root of all such writings,\nand renders them utterly unworthy of a moment's consideration. Other\nbooks may have a dispassionate examination; but the precious book of\nGod is approached with the foregone conclusion that it is not a divine\nrevelation, because, forsooth, infidels tell us that God could not\ngive us a written revelation of His mind.\n\nHow strange! Men can give us a revelation of their thoughts (and\ninfidels have done so pretty plainly), but God cannot! What folly!\nWhat presumption! Why, we may lawfully inquire, could not God reveal\nHis mind to His creatures? Why should it be thought a thing\nincredible? For no reason whatever, but because infidels would have it\nso. The wish is, in this case assuredly, father to the thought. The\nquestion raised by the old serpent in the garden of Eden nearly six\nthousand years ago, has been passed on from age to age by all sorts of\nskeptics, rationalists, and infidels, namely, \"Hath God said?\" We\nreply, with intense delight, Yes; blessed be His holy name, He has\nspoken--spoken to us. He has revealed His mind; He has given us the\nholy Scriptures. \"_All scripture is given by inspiration of God_, and\nis profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for\ninstruction in righteousness; that the man of God may be perfect\n[\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03bf\u03b9\u03c2], thoroughly furnished unto all good works.\" And\nagain, \"Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our\nlearning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might\nhave hope.\" (2 Tim. iii. 16, 17; Rom. xv. 4.)\n\nThe Lord be praised for such words! They assure us that all Scripture\nis given of God, and that all Scripture is given to us. Precious link\nbetween the soul and God! What tongue can tell the value of such a\nlink? God has spoken--spoken to us. His Word is a rock against which\nall the waves of infidel thought dash themselves in contemptible\nimpotency, leaving it in its own divine strength and eternal\nstability. Nothing can touch the Word of God. Not all the powers of\nearth and hell, men and devils combined can ever move the Word of\nGod. There it stands, in its own moral glory, spite of all the\nassaults of the enemy, from age to age. \"Forever, O Lord, Thy Word is\nsettled in heaven.\" \"Thou hast magnified Thy Word above all Thy name.\"\nWhat remains for us? Just this: \"Thy Word have I hid in my heart, that\nI might not sin against Thee.\" Here lies the deep secret of peace. The\nheart is linked to the throne--yea, to the very heart of God by means\nof His most precious Word, and is thus put in possession of a peace\nwhich the world can neither give nor take away. What can all the\ntheories, the reasonings, and the arguments of infidels effect? Just\nnothing. They are esteemed as the dust of the summer threshing-floor.\nTo one who has really learnt, through grace, to confide in the Word of\nGod--to rest on the authority of holy Scripture, all the infidel books\nthat ever were written are utterly worthless, pointless, powerless;\nthey display the ignorance and terrible presumption of the writers;\nbut as to Scripture, they leave it just where it ever has been and\never will be--\"settled in heaven,\" as immovable as the throne of\nGod.[2] The assaults of infidels cannot touch the throne of God,\nneither can they touch His Word; and, blessed be His name, neither can\nthey touch the peace that flows through the heart that rests on that\nimperishable foundation. \"Great peace have they that love Thy law, and\nnothing shall offend them.\" \"The Word of our God shall stand forever.\"\n\"All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of\ngrass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away; but\nthe Word of the Lord endureth forever. And this is the Word which by\nthe gospel is preached unto you.\" (1 Pet. i. 24, 25.)\n\n  [2] In referring to infidel writers, we should bear in mind that by\n  far the most dangerous of such are those calling themselves\n  Christians. In our young days, whenever we heard the word \"infidel,\"\n  we at once thought of a Tom Paine or a Voltaire; now, alas! we have to\n  think of so-called bishops and doctors of the professing church.\n  Tremendous fact!\n\nHere we have the same precious golden link again. The Word which has\nreached us in the form of glad tidings is the Word of the Lord which\nendureth forever; and hence our salvation and our peace are as stable\nas the Word on which they are founded. If _all_ flesh is as grass, and\n_all_ the glory of man as the flower of grass, then what are the\narguments of infidels worth? They are as worthless as withered grass\nor a faded flower; and the men who put them forth and those who are\nmoved by them will find them to be so, sooner or later. Oh, the sinful\nfolly of arguing against the Word of God--arguing against the only\nthing in all this world that can give rest and consolation to the\npoor, weary human heart--arguing against that which brings the glad\ntidings of salvation to poor lost sinners--brings them fresh from the\nheart of God!\n\nBut we may perhaps here be met by the question so often raised, and\nwhich has troubled many and led them to fly for refuge to what is\ncalled \"the authority of the church.\" The question is this: \"How are\nwe to know that the book which we call the Bible is the Word of God?\"\nOur answer to this question is a very simple one--it is this: The One\nwho has graciously given us the blessed book can give us also the\ncertainty that the book is from Him. The same Spirit who inspired the\nvarious writers of the holy Scriptures can make us know that those\nScriptures are the very voice of God speaking to us. It is only by the\nSpirit that any one can discern this. As we have already seen, \"the\nnatural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; ... neither\ncan he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.\" If the Holy\nSpirit does not make us know, and give us the certainty that the Bible\nis the Word of God, no man or body of men can possibly do it; and on\nthe other hand, if He does give us the blessed certainty, we do not\nneed the testimony of man.\n\nWe freely admit that on this great question a shadow of uncertainty\nwould be positive torture and misery; but who can give us certainty?\nGod alone. If all the men upon earth were to agree in their testimony\nto the authority of holy Scripture--if all the councils that ever sat,\nall the doctors that ever taught, all the fathers that ever wrote,\nwere in favor of the dogma of plenary inspiration--if the universal\nchurch, if every denomination in christendom were to assent to the\ntruth that the Bible is, in very deed, the Word of God--in a word, if\nwe had all the human authority that could possibly be had in reference\nto the integrity of the Word of God, it would be utterly insufficient\nas a ground of certainty; and if our faith were founded on that\nauthority, it would be perfectly worthless. God alone can give us the\ncertainty that He has spoken in His Word; and blessed be His name,\nwhen He gives it, all the arguments, all the cavilings, all the\nquibblings, all the questionings of infidels, ancient and modern, are\nas the foam on the water, the smoke from the chimney-top, or the dust\non the floor. The true believer rejects them as so much worthless\nrubbish, and rests in holy tranquillity in that peerless revelation\nwhich our God has graciously given us.\n\nIt is of the very last possible importance for the reader to be\nthoroughly clear and settled as to this grave question, if he would be\nraised above the influence of infidelity on the one hand and\nsuperstition on the other. Infidelity undertakes to tell us that God\nhas not given us a book-revelation of His mind--could not give it:\nSuperstition undertakes to tell us that even though God has given us a\nrevelation, yet we cannot be assured of it without man's authority,\nnor understand it without man's interpretation. Now it is well to see\nthat by both alike we are deprived of the precious boon of holy\nScripture. And this is precisely what the devil aims at. He wants to\nrob us of the Word of God; and he can do this quite as effectually by\nthe apparent self-distrust that humbly and reverently looks to wise\nand learned men for authority, as by an audacious infidelity that\nboldly rejects all authority, human or divine.\n\nTake a case. A father writes a letter to his son at Canton--a letter\nfull of the affection and tenderness of a father's heart. He tells him\nof his plans and arrangements, tells him of every thing that he thinks\nwould interest the heart of a son--every thing that the love of a\nfather's heart could suggest. The son calls at the post-office in\nCanton to inquire if there is a letter from his father. He is told by\none official that there is no letter, that his father has not written\nand could not write--could not communicate his mind by such a medium\nat all, that it is only folly to think of such a thing. Another\nofficial comes forward, and says, Yes; there is a letter here for you,\nbut you cannot possibly understand it; it is quite useless to you,\nindeed it can only do you positive mischief inasmuch as you are quite\nunable to read it aright. You must leave the letter in our hands, and\nwe will explain to you such portions of it as we consider suitable for\nyou. The former of these two officials represents Infidelity; the\nlatter, Superstition. By both alike would the son be deprived of the\nlonged-for letter--the precious communication from his father's heart.\nBut what, we may inquire, would be his answer to these unworthy\nofficials? A very brief and pointed one we may rest assured. He would\nsay to the first, I know my father can communicate his mind to me by\nletter, and that he has done so. He would say to the second, I know my\nfather can make me understand his mind far better than you can. He\nwould say to both, and that, too, with bold and firm decision. Give me\nup at once my father's letter; it is addressed to me, and no man has\nany right to withhold it from me.\n\nThus, too, should the simple-hearted Christian meet the _insolence_ of\nInfidelity and the _ignorance_ of Superstition--the two special\nagencies of the devil, in this our day, in setting aside the precious\nWord of God. \"My Father has communicated His mind, and He can make me\nunderstand the communication.\"--\"All Scripture is given _by\ninspiration of God_;\" and, \"Whatsoever things were written aforetime\nwere written _for our learning_.\" Magnificent answer to every enemy of\nGod's precious and peerless revelation, be he rationalist or\nritualist!\n\nWe do not attempt to offer any apology to the reader for this\nlengthened introduction to the book of Deuteronomy. Indeed we are only\ntoo thankful for an opportunity of bearing our feeble testimony to the\ngrand truth of the divine inspiration of the holy Scriptures. We feel\nit to be our sacred duty, as most surely it is our high privilege, to\npress upon all to whom we have access, the immense importance--yea,\nthe absolute necessity of the most uncompromising decision on this\npoint. We must faithfully maintain, at all cost, the divine authority,\nand therefore the absolute supremacy and all-sufficiency, of the Word\nof God at all times, in all places, for all purposes. We must hold to\nit that the Scriptures, having been given of God, are complete, in the\nvery highest and fullest sense of the word; that they do not need any\nhuman authority to accredit them, or any human voice to make them\navailable: they speak for themselves, and carry their own credentials\nwith them. All we have to do is to believe and obey, not to reason or\ndiscuss. God has spoken it: it is ours to hearken, and yield an\nunreserved and reverent obedience.\n\nThis is one grand leading point throughout the book of Deuteronomy, as\nwe shall see in the progress of our meditations; and never was there a\nmoment, in the history of the Church of God, in which it was more\nneedful to urge home on the human conscience the necessity of implicit\nobedience to the Word of God. It is, alas! but little felt. Professing\nChristians, for the most part, seem to consider that they have a right\nto think for themselves--to follow their own reason, their own\njudgment, or their own conscience. They do not believe that the Bible\nis a divine and universal guide-book. They think there are very many\nthings in which we are left to choose for ourselves; hence the almost\nnumberless sects, parties, creeds, and schools of thought. If human\nopinion be allowed at all, then, as a matter of course, one man has as\ngood a right to think as another; and thus it has come to pass that\nthe professing church has become a proverb and a by-word for division.\n\nAnd what is the sovereign remedy for this widespread disease? Here it\nis: _Absolute and complete subjection to the authority of holy\nScripture_. It is not men going to Scripture to get _their_ opinions\nand _their_ views confirmed; but going to Scripture to get the mind of\nGod as to every thing, and bowing down their whole moral being to\ndivine authority. This is the one pressing need of the day in which\nour lot is cast--reverent subjection, in all things, to the supreme\nauthority of the Word of God. No doubt, there will be variety in our\nmeasure of intelligence, in our apprehension and appreciation of\nScripture; but what we specially urge upon all Christians is that\ncondition of soul, that attitude of heart expressed in those precious\nwords of the psalmist, \"Thy Word have I hid in mine heart, that I\nmight not sin against Thee.\" This, we may rest assured, is grateful to\nthe heart of God. \"To this man will I look, even to him that is poor\nand of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My Word.\"\n\nHere lies the true secret of moral security. Our knowledge of\nScripture may be very limited; but if our reverence for it be\nprofound, we shall be preserved from a thousand errors--a thousand\nsnares. And then there will be steady growth. We shall grow in the\nknowledge of God, of Christ, and of the written Word; we shall delight\nto draw from those living and exhaustless depths of holy Scripture,\nand to range through those green pastures which infinite grace has so\nfreely thrown open to the flock of Christ. Thus shall the divine life\nbe nourished and strengthened; the Word of God will become more and\nmore precious to our souls, and we shall be lead, by the powerful\nministry of the Holy Ghost, into the depth, fullness, majesty, and\nmoral glory of holy Scripture. We shall be delivered completely from\nthe withering influences of all mere systems of theology, high, low,\nor moderate--a most blessed deliverance! We shall be able to tell the\nadvocates of all the schools of divinity under the sun that whatever\nelements of truth they may have in their systems we have in divine\nperfectness in the Word of God; not twisted and tortured to make them\nfit into a system, but in their right place in the wide circle of\ndivine revelation which has its eternal centre in the blessed Person\nof our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\n\n\"These be the words which Moses spake unto all Israel on this side\nJordan in the wilderness, in the plain over against the Red Sea,\nbetween Paran, and Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, and Dizahab.\n(There are eleven days' journey from Horeb, by the way of Mount Seir,\nunto Kadesh-barnea.)\"\n\nThe inspired writer is careful to give us, in the most precise manner,\nall the bearings of the place in which the words of this book were\nspoken in the ears of the people. Israel had not yet crossed the\nJordan; they were just beside it, and over against the Red Sea where\nthe mighty power of God had been so gloriously displayed nearly forty\nyears before. The whole position is described with a minuteness which\nshows how thoroughly God entered into every thing that concerned His\npeople. He was interested in all their movements and in all their\nways. He kept a faithful record of all their encampments. Their was\nnot a single circumstance connected with them, however trifling,\nbeneath His gracious notice. He attended to every thing. His eye\nrested continually on that assembly as a whole, and on each member in\nparticular. By day and by night He watched over them. Every stage of\ntheir journey was under His immediate and most gracious\nsuperintendence. There was nothing, however small, beneath His notice;\nnothing, however great, beyond His power.\n\nThus it was with Israel in the wilderness of old, and thus it is with\nthe Church now--the Church as a whole, and each member in particular.\nA Father's eye rests upon us continually, His everlasting arms are\naround and underneath us day and night. \"He withdraweth not His eyes\nfrom the righteous.\" He counts the hairs of our heads, and enters,\nwith infinite goodness, into every thing that concerns us. He has\ncharged Himself with all our wants and all our cares. He would have us\nto cast our every care on Him, in the sweet assurance that He careth\nfor us. He most graciously invites us to roll our every burden over on\nHim, be it great or small.\n\nAll this is truly wonderful. It is full of deepest consolation. It is\neminently calculated to tranquilize the heart, come what may. The\nquestion is, Do we believe it? are our hearts governed by the faith of\nit? Do we really believe that the almighty Creator and Upholder of all\nthings, who bears up the pillars of the universe, has graciously\nundertaken to do for us all the journey through? Do we thoroughly\nbelieve that \"the Possessor of heaven and earth\" is our Father? and\nthat He has charged Himself with all our wants from first to last? Is\nour whole moral being under the commanding power of those words of the\ninspired apostle, \"He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him\nup for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all\nthings?\" Alas! it is to be feared that we know but little of the power\nof these grand yet simple truths. We talk about them, we discuss them,\nwe profess them, we give a nominal assent to them; but with all this,\nwe prove, in our daily life--in the actual details of our personal\nhistory, how feebly we enter into them. If we truly believed that our\nGod has charged Himself with all our necessities--if we were finding\nall our springs in Him--if He were a perfect covering for our eyes and\na resting-place for our hearts, could we possibly be looking to poor\ncreature-streams, which so speedily dry up and disappoint our hearts?\nWe do not and cannot believe it. It is one thing to hold the theory of\nthe life of faith, and another thing altogether to live that life. We\nconstantly deceive ourselves with the notion that we are living by\nfaith, when in reality we are leaning on some human prop, which sooner\nor later is sure to give way.\n\nReader, is it not so? Are we not constantly prone to forsake the\nFountain of living waters, and hew out for ourselves broken cisterns,\nwhich can hold no water? And yet we speak of living by faith! We\nprofess to be looking only to the living God for the supply of our\nneed, whatever that need may be, when, in point of fact, we are\nsitting beside some creature-stream and looking for something there.\nNeed we wonder if we are disappointed? How could it possibly be\notherwise? Our God will not have us dependent upon aught or any one\nbut Himself. He has, in manifold places in His Word, given us His\njudgment as to the true character and sure result of all\ncreature-confidence. Take the following most solemn passage from the\nprophet Jeremiah: \"Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh\nflesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. For he shall\nbe like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh;\nbut shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land\nand not inhabited.\" And then mark the contrast--\"Blessed is the man\nthat trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is: for he shall be\nas a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by\nthe river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be\ngreen; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall\ncease from yielding fruit.\" (Jer. xvii. 5-8.)\n\nHere we have, in language divinely forcible, clear, and beautiful, both\nsides of this most weighty subject put before us. Creature-confidence\nbrings a certain curse; it can only issue in barrenness and\ndesolation. God, in very faithfulness, will cause every human stream\nto dry up--every human prop to give way, in order that we may learn\nthe utter folly of turning away from Him. What figure could be more\nstriking or impressive than those used in the above passage?--\"A heath\nin the desert,\" \"parched places in the wilderness,\" \"a salt land not\ninhabited.\" Such are the figures used by the Holy Ghost to illustrate\nall mere human dependence--all confidence in man.\n\nBut on the other hand, what can be more lovely or more refreshing than\nthe figures used to set forth the deep blessedness of simple trust in\nthe Lord?--\"A tree planted by the waters,\" \"spreading out her roots by\nthe rivers,\" the leaf ever green, the fruit never ceasing. Perfectly\nbeautiful! Thus it is with the man who trusteth in the Lord, and whose\nhope the Lord is. He is nourished by those eternal springs that flow\nfrom the heart of God. He drinks at the Fountain, life-giving and\nfree. He finds all his resources in the living God. There may be\n\"heat,\" but he does not see it; \"the year of drought\" may come, but he\nis not careful. Ten thousand creature-streams may dry up, but he does\nnot perceive it, because he is not dependent upon them; he abides hard\nby the ever-gushing Fountain. He can never want any good thing. He\nlives by faith.\n\nAnd here, while speaking of the life of faith--that most blessed life,\nlet us clearly understand what it is, and carefully see that we are\nliving it. We sometimes hear this life spoken of in a way by no means\nintelligent. It is not unfrequently applied to the mere matter of\ntrusting God for food and raiment. Certain persons who happen to have\nno visible source of temporal supplies--no settled income--no property\nof any kind, are singled out and spoken of as \"living by faith,\" as if\nthat marvelous and glorious life had no higher sphere or wider range\nthan temporal things--the mere supply of our bodily wants.\n\nNow, we cannot too strongly protest against this most unworthy view of\nthe life of faith. It limits its sphere and lowers its range in a\nmanner perfectly intolerable to any one who understands aught of its\nmost holy and precious mysteries. Can we for a moment admit that a\nChristian who happens to have a settled income of any kind is to be\ndeprived of the privilege of living by faith? Or, further, can we\npermit that life to be limited and lowered to the mere matter of\ntrusting God for the supply of our bodily wants? Does it soar no\nhigher than food and raiment? Does it give no more elevated thought of\nGod than that He will not let us starve or go naked?\n\nFar away, and away forever, be the unworthy thought! The life of faith\nmust not be so treated. We cannot allow such a gross dishonor to be\noffered to it, or such a grievous wrong done to those who are called\nto live it. What, we would ask, is the meaning of those few but\nweighty words, \"The just shall live by faith\"? They occur, first of\nall, in Habakkuk ii. They are quoted by the apostle in Romans i, where\nhe is, with a master-hand, laying the solid foundations of\nChristianity. He quotes them again in Galatians iii, where he is, with\nintense anxiety, recalling those bewitched assemblies to those solid\nfoundations which they, in their folly, were abandoning. Finally, he\nquotes them again in chapter x. of his epistle to the Hebrews, where\nhe is warning his brethren against the danger of casting away their\nconfidence and giving up the race.\n\nFrom all this we may assuredly gather the immense importance and\npractical value of the brief but far-reaching sentence, \"The just\nshall live by faith.\" But to whom does it apply? Is it only for a few\nof the Lord's servants, here and there, who happen to have no settled\nincome? We utterly reject the thought. It applies to every one of the\nLord's people. It is the high and happy privilege of all who come\nunder the title--that blessed title, \"The just.\" We consider it a very\ngrave error to limit it in any way. The moral effect of such\nlimitation is most injurious. It gives undue prominence to one\ndepartment of the life of faith which, if any distinction be\nallowable, we should judge to be the very lowest. But in reality,\nthere should be no distinction: the life of faith is one. Faith is the\ngrand principle of the divine life from first to last. By faith we are\njustified, and by faith we live; by faith we stand, and by faith we\nwalk. From the starting-post to the goal of the Christian course it is\nall by faith.\n\nHence, therefore, it is a serious mistake to single out certain\npersons who trust the Lord for temporal supplies, and speak of them as\nliving by faith, as if they alone did so. And not only so, but such\npersons are held up to the gaze of the Church of God as something\nwonderful; and the great mass of Christians are led to think that the\nprivilege of living by faith lies entirely beyond their range. In\nshort, they are led into a complete mistake as to the real character\nand sphere of the life of faith, and thus they suffer materially in\nthe inner life.\n\nLet the Christian reader, then, distinctly understand that it is his\nhappy privilege, whoever he be or whatever be his position, to live a\nlife of faith, in all the depth and fullness of that word. He may,\naccording to his measure, take up the language of the blessed apostle,\nand say, \"The life that I live in the flesh, I live by the faith of\nthe Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.\" Let nothing\nrob him of this high and holy privilege which belongs to every member\nof the household of faith. Alas! we fail. Our faith is weak, when it\nought to be strong, bold, and vigorous. Our God delights in a bold\nfaith. If we study the gospels, we shall see that nothing so refreshed\nand delighted the heart of Christ as a fine bold faith--a faith that\nunderstood Him and drew largely upon Him. Look, for example, at the\nSyrophenician in Mark vii, and the centurion in Luke vii.\n\nTrue, He could meet a weak faith--the very weakest. He could meet an\n\"If Thou _wilt_\" with a gracious \"I will\"--an \"If Thou _canst_\" with\n\"If thou canst believe, all things are possible.\" The faintest look,\nthe feeblest touch, was sure to meet with a gracious response; but the\nSaviour's heart was gratified and His spirit refreshed when He could\nsay, \"O woman, great is thy faith; be it unto thee even as thou wilt;\"\nand again, \"I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.\"\n\nLet us remember this. We may rest assured it is the very same to-day\nas when our blessed Lord was here amongst men. He loves to be trusted,\nto be used, to be drawn upon. We can never go too far in counting on\nthe love of His heart or the strength of His hand. There is nothing\ntoo small, nothing too great for Him; He has all power in heaven and\non earth; He is head over all things to His Church; He holds the\nuniverse together; He upholds all things by the word of His power.\nPhilosophers talk of the forces and laws of nature: the Christian\nthinks with delight of Christ, His hand, His Word, His mighty power.\nBy Him all things were created, and by Him all things consist.\n\nAnd then His love! What rest, what comfort, what joy, to know and\nremember that the almighty Creator and Upholder of the universe is the\neverlasting Lover of our souls! that He loves us perfectly; that His\neye is ever upon us, His heart ever toward us; that He has charged\nHimself with all our wants, whatever these wants may be--whether\nphysical, mental, or spiritual! There is not a single thing within the\nentire range of our necessities that is not treasured up for us in\nChrist. He is Heaven's treasury--God's storehouse, and all this for\nus.\n\nWhy, then, should we ever turn to another? Why should we ever,\ndirectly or indirectly, make known our wants to a poor fellow-mortal?\nWhy not go straight to Jesus? Do we want sympathy? Who can sympathize\nwith us like our most merciful High-Priest, who is touched with the\nfeeling of our infirmities? Do we want help of any kind? Who can help\nus like our almighty Friend, the Possessor of unsearchable riches? Do\nwe want counsel or guidance? Who can give it like the blessed One who\nis the very wisdom of God, and who is made of God unto us wisdom? Oh,\nlet us not wound His loving heart, and dishonor His glorious name by\nturning away from Him. Let us jealously watch against the tendency so\nnatural to us to cherish human hopes, creature-confidences, and\nearthly expectations. Let us abide hard by the Fountain, and we shall\nnever have to complain of the streams. In a word, let us seek to live\nby faith, and thus glorify God in our day and generation.\n\nWe shall now proceed with our chapter; and in so doing, we would call\nthe reader's attention to verse 2. It is certainly a very remarkable\nparenthesis. \"(There are eleven days' journey from Horeb, by the way\nof Mount Seir, unto Kadesh-barnea.)\" Eleven days! and yet it took them\nforty years! How was this? Alas! we need not travel far for the\nanswer. It is only too like ourselves. How slowly we get over the\nground! What windings and turnings! How often we have to go back and\ntravel over the same ground again and again! We are slow travelers,\nbecause we are slow learners. It may be we feel disposed to marvel how\nIsrael could have taken forty years to accomplish a journey of eleven\ndays; but we may, with much greater reason, marvel at ourselves. We,\nlike them, are kept back by our unbelief and slowness of heart; but\nthere is far less excuse for us than for them, inasmuch as our\nprivileges are so very much higher.\n\nSome of us have much reason to be ashamed of the time we spend over\nour lessons. The words of the blessed apostle do but too forcibly\napply to us--\"For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have\nneed that one teach you again which be the first principles of the\noracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of\nstrong meat.\" Our God is a faithful and wise as well as a gracious and\npatient Teacher. He will not permit us to pass cursorily over our\nlessons. Sometimes, perhaps, we think we have mastered a lesson, and\nwe attempt to move on to another; but our wise Teacher knows better,\nand He sees the need of deeper ploughing. He will not have us mere\ntheorists or smatterers: He will keep us, if need be, year after year\nat our scales until we learn to sing.\n\nNow, while it is very humbling to us to be so slow in learning, it is\nvery gracious of Him to take such pains with us, in order to make us\nsure. We have to bless Him for His mode of teaching as for all\nbeside--for the wonderful patience with which He sits down with us\nover the same lesson again and again, in order that we may learn it\nthoroughly.[3]\n\n  [3] The journey of Israel from Horeb to Kadesh-barnea illustrates but\n  too forcibly the history of many souls in the matter of finding peace.\n  Many of the Lord's beloved people go on for years, doubting and\n  fearing, never knowing the blessedness of the liberty wherewith Christ\n  makes His people free. It is most distressing, to any one who really\n  cares for souls, to see the sad condition in which some are kept all\n  their days, through legality, bad teaching, false manuals of devotion,\n  and such like. It is a rare thing now-a-days to find in christendom a\n  soul fully established in the peace of the gospel. It is considered a\n  good thing--a sign of humility--to be always doubting. Confidence is\n  looked upon as presumption. In short, things are turned completely\n  upside down. The gospel is not known: souls are under law instead of\n  under grace,--they are kept at a distance instead of being taught to\n  draw nigh. Much of the religion of the day is a deplorable mixture of\n  Christ and self, law and grace, faith and works. Souls are kept in a\n  perfect muddle all their days.\n\n  Surely these things demand the grave consideration of all who occupy\n  the responsible place of teachers and preachers in the professing\n  church. There is a solemn day approaching, when all such will be\n  called to render an account of their ministry.\n\n\"And it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on\nthe first day of the month, that Moses spake unto the children of\nIsrael, according unto all that the Lord had given him in commandment\nunto them.\" (Ver. 3.) These few words contain a volume of weighty\ninstruction for every servant of God--for all who are called to\nminister in the Word and doctrine. Moses gave the people just what he\nhimself had received from God--nothing more, nothing less. He brought\nthem into direct contact with the living Word of Jehovah. This is the\ngrand principle of ministry at all times. Nothing else is of any real\nvalue. The Word of God is the only thing that will stand. There is\ndivine power and authority in it. All mere human teaching, however\ninteresting--however attractive at the time, will pass away and leave\nthe soul without any foundation to rest upon.\n\nHence it should be the earnest, jealous care of all who minister in\nthe assembly of God, to preach the Word in all its purity, in all its\nsimplicity; to give it to the people as they get it from God; to bring\nthem face to face with the veritable language of holy Scripture. Thus\nwill their ministry tell, with living power, on the hearts and\nconsciences of their hearers. It will link the soul with God Himself,\nby means of the Word, and impart a depth and solidity which no human\nteaching can ever produce.\n\nLook at the blessed apostle Paul. Hear him express himself on this\nweighty subject.--\"And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with\nexcellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of\nGod. For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus\nChrist, and Him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in\nfear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not\nwith enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the\nSpirit and of power.\" What was the object of all this fear and\ntrembling? \"That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but\nin the power of God.\" (1 Cor. ii. 1-5.)\n\nThis true-hearted faithful servant of Christ sought only to bring the\nsouls of his hearers into direct personal contact with God Himself. He\nsought not to link them with Paul. \"Who then is Paul, and who is\nApollos, but ministers _by whom ye believed_?\" All false ministry has\nfor its object the attaching of souls to itself. Thus the minister is\nexalted, God is shut out, and the soul left without any divine\nfoundation to rest upon. True ministry, on the contrary, as seen in\nPaul and Moses, has for its blessed object the attaching of the soul\nto God. Thus the minister gets his true place--simply an instrument,\nGod is exalted, and the soul established on a sure foundation which\ncan never be moved.\n\nBut let us hear a little more from our apostle on this most weighty\nsubject. \"Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I\npreached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;\nby which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto\nyou, unless ye have believed in vain. _For I delivered unto you first\nof all that which I also received_\"--nothing more, nothing less,\nnothing different--\"how that Christ died for our sins _according to\nthe Scriptures_; and that He was buried, and that He rose again the\nthird day _according to the Scriptures_.\"\n\nThis is uncommonly fine. It demands the serious consideration of all\nwho would be true and effective ministers of Christ. The apostle was\ncareful to allow the pure stream to flow down from its living\nsource--the heart of God, into the souls of the Corinthians. He felt\nthat nothing else was of any value. If he had sought to link them on\nto himself, he would have sadly dishonored his Master, done them a\ngrievous wrong, and he himself would most assuredly suffer loss in the\nday of Christ.\n\nBut no; Paul knew better. He would not, for worlds, lead any to build\nupon himself. Hear what he says to his much-loved Thessalonians.--\"For\nthis cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when _ye\nreceived the Word of God_ which ye heard of us, ye received it _not as\nthe word of men_, but _as it is in truth, the Word of God_, which\neffectually worketh also in you that believe.\" (1 Thess. ii. 13.)\n\nWe feel solemnly responsible to commend this grave and important point\nto the serious consideration of the Church of God. If all the\nprofessed ministers of Christ were to follow the example of Moses and\nPaul, in reference to the matter now before us, we should witness a\nvery different condition of things in the professing church. But the\nplain and serious fact is, that the Church of God, like Israel of old,\nhas wholly departed from the authority of His Word. Go where you will,\nand you find things done and taught which have no foundation in\nScripture. Things are not only tolerated but sanctioned and stoutly\ndefended which are in direct opposition to the mind of Christ. If you\nask for the divine authority for this, that, and the other institution\nor practice, you will be told that Christ has not given us directions\nas to matters of church government; that in all questions of\necclesiastical polity, clerical orders, and liturgical services, He\nhas left us free to act according to our consciences, judgment, or\nreligious feelings; that it is simply absurd to demand a \"Thus saith\nthe Lord\" for all the details connected with our religious\ninstitutions: there is a broad margin left to be filled up according\nto our national customs and our peculiar habits of thought. It is\nconsidered that professing Christians are left perfectly free to form\nthemselves into so-called churches, to choose their own form of\ngovernment, to make their own arrangements, and to appoint their own\noffice-bearers.\n\nNow the question which the Christian reader has to consider is, \"Are\nthese things so?\" Can it be that our Lord Christ has left His Church\nwithout guidance as to matters so interesting and momentous? Can it be\npossible that the Church of God is worse off, in the matter of\ninstruction and authority, than Israel? In our studies on the books of\nExodus, Leviticus, and Numbers, we have seen (for who could help\nseeing?) the marvelous pains which Jehovah took to instruct His people\nas to the most minute particulars connected with their public worship\nand private life. As to the tabernacle, the temple, the priesthood,\nthe ritual, the various feasts and sacrifices, the periodical\nsolemnities, the months, the days, the very hours, all was ordered and\nsettled with divine precision. Nothing was left to mere human\narrangement. Man's wisdom, his judgment, his reason, his conscience,\nhad nothing whatever to do in the matter. Had it been left to man, how\nshould we ever have had that admirable, profound, and far-reaching\ntypical system which the inspired pen of Moses has set before us? If\nIsrael had been allowed to do what (as some would fain persuade us)\nthe Church is allowed, what confusion, what strife, what division,\nwhat endless sects and parties, would have been the inevitable result!\n\nBut it was not so. The Word of God settled every thing. \"As the Lord\ncommanded Moses.\" This grand and influential sentence was appended to\nevery thing that Israel had to do, and to every thing they were not to\ndo. Their national institutions and their domestic habits--their\npublic and their private life, all came under the commanding authority\nof \"Thus saith the Lord.\" There was no occasion for any member of the\ncongregation to say, I cannot see this, or, I cannot go with that, or,\nI cannot agree with the other. Such language could only be regarded as\nthe fruit of self-will. He might just as well say, I cannot agree with\nJehovah. And why? Simply because the Word of God had spoken as to\nevery thing, and that, too, with a clearness and simplicity which left\nno room whatever for human discussion. Throughout the whole of the\nMosaic economy there was not the breadth of a hair of margin left in\nwhich to insert the opinion or the judgment of man. It pertained not\nto man to add the weight of a feather to that vast system of types and\nshadows which had been planned by the divine mind, and set forth in\nlanguage so plain and pointed, that all Israel had to do was to\n_obey_--not to argue, not to reason, not to discuss, but to obey.\n\nAlas! alas! they failed, as we know. They did their own will; they\ntook their own way; they did \"every man that which was right in his\nown eyes.\" They departed from the Word of God, and followed the\nimaginations and devices of their own evil heart, and brought upon\nthemselves the wrath and indignation of offended Deity, under which\nthey suffer till this day, and shall yet suffer unexampled\ntribulation.\n\nBut all this leaves untouched the point on which we are just now\ndwelling. Israel had the oracles of God, and these oracles were\ndivinely sufficient for their guidance in every thing. There was no\nroom left for the commandments and doctrines of men. The Word of the\nLord provided for every possible exigence, and that Word was so plain\nas to render human comment needless.\n\nIs the Church of God worse off, as regards guidance and authority,\nthan Israel of old? Are Christians left to think and arrange for\nthemselves in the worship and service of God? Are there any questions\nleft open for human discussion? Is the Word of God sufficient, or is\nit not? Has it left any thing unprovided for? Let us hearken\ndiligently to the following powerful testimony: \"All Scripture is\ngiven by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for\nreproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; that the\nman of God may be _perfect_ [\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03bf\u03b9\u03c2] _throughly furnished\nunto all good works_.\" (2 Tim. iii.)\n\nThis is perfectly conclusive. Holy Scripture contains all that the man\nof God can possibly require to make him perfect, to equip him\nthoroughly for every thing that can be called a \"good work.\" And if\nthis be true as to the man of God individually, it is equally true as\nto the Church of God collectively. Scripture is all-sufficient--for\neach, for all. Thank God that it is so! What a signal mercy to have a\ndivine guide-book! Were it not so, what should we do? whither should\nwe turn? what would become of us? If we were left to human tradition\nand human arrangement in the things of God, what hopeless confusion!\nwhat clashing of opinions! what conflicting judgments! And all this of\nnecessity, inasmuch as one man would have quite as good a right as\nanother to put forth his opinion and to suggest his plan.\n\nWe shall perhaps be told that, notwithstanding our possession of the\nholy Scripture, we have, nevertheless, sects, parties, creeds, and\nschools of thought almost innumerable. But why is this? Simply because\nwe refuse to submit our whole moral being to the authority of holy\nScripture. This is the real secret of the matter--the true source of\nall those sects and parties which are the shame and sorrow of the\nChurch of God.\n\nIt is vain for men to tell us that these things are good in\nthemselves--that they are the legitimate fruit of that free exercise\nof thought and private judgment which form the very boast and glory of\nProtestant Christianity. We do not and cannot believe for a moment\nthat such a plea will stand before the judgment-seat of Christ. We\nbelieve, on the contrary, that this very boasted freedom of thought\nand independence of judgment are in direct opposition to that spirit\nof profound and reverent obedience which is due to our adorable Lord\nand Master. What right has a servant to exercise his private judgment\nin the face of his master's plainly expressed will? None whatever. The\nduty of a servant is simply to obey--not to reason or to question, but\nto do what he is told. He fails, as a servant, just in so far as he\nexercises his own private judgment. The most lovely moral trait in a\nservant's character is implicit, unquestioning, and unqualified\nobedience. The one grand business of a servant is to do his master's\nwill.\n\nAll this will be fully admitted in human affairs; but in the things of\nGod, men think themselves entitled to exercise their private judgment.\nIt is a fatal mistake. God has given us His Word; and that Word is so\nplain, that wayfaring men, though fools, need not err therein. Hence,\ntherefore, if we were all guided by that Word,--if we were all to bow\ndown in a spirit of unquestioning obedience to its divine authority,\nthere could not be conflicting opinions and opposing sects. It is\nquite impossible that the voice of holy Scripture can teach opposing\ndoctrines. It cannot possibly teach one man Episcopacy; another,\nPresbyterianism; and another, Independency. It cannot possibly furnish\na foundation for opposing schools of thought. It would be a positive\ninsult offered to the divine volume to attempt to attribute to it all\nthe sad confusion of the professing church. Every pious mind must\nrecoil, with just horror, from such an impious thought. Scripture\ncannot contradict itself; and therefore if two men or ten thousand men\nare exclusively taught by Scripture, they will think alike.\n\nHear what the blessed apostle says to the church at Corinth--says to\nus, \"Now I beseech you, brethren, _by the name of our Lord Jesus\nChrist_\" (mark the mighty moral force of this appeal) \"that ye all\n_speak the same thing_, and that there be no divisions among you; but\nthat ye be perfectly joined together in _the same mind_, and in _the\nsame judgment_.\"\n\nNow the question is, how was this most blessed result to be reached?\nWas it by each one exercising the right of private judgment? Alas! it\nwas this very thing that gave birth to all the division and contention\nin the assembly at Corinth, and drew forth the sharp rebuke of the\nHoly Ghost. Those poor Corinthians thought they had a right to think\nand judge and choose for themselves, and what was the result? \"It hath\nbeen declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the\nhouse of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. Now this I say,\nthat _every one of you saith_, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I\nof Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided?\"\n\nHere we have private judgment and its sad fruit--its necessary fruit.\nOne man has quite as good a right to think for himself as another; and\nno man has any right whatsoever to force his opinion upon his fellow.\nWhere, then, lies the remedy? In flinging to the winds our private\njudgments, and reverently submitting ourselves to the supreme and\nabsolute authority of holy Scripture. If it be not thus, how could\nthe apostle beseech the Corinthians to \"speak the same thing, and to\nbe perfectly joined together in the same mind, and in the same\njudgment\"? Who was to prescribe the \"thing\" that all were to \"speak\"?\nIn whose \"mind\" or whose \"judgment\" were all to be \"perfectly joined\ntogether\"? Had any one member of the assembly, however gifted or\nintelligent, the slightest shadow of a right to set forth what his\nbrethren were to speak, to think, or to judge? Most certainly not.\nThere was one absolute, because divine, authority to which all were\nbound, or rather privileged, to submit themselves. Human opinions,\nman's private judgment, his conscience, his reason--all these things\nmust go for what they are worth; and most assuredly they are perfectly\nworthless as authority. The Word of God is the _only_ authority; and\nif we are all governed by that, we shall \"all speak the same thing,\"\nand \"there will be no divisions among us;\" but we shall \"be perfectly\njoined together in the same mind, and in the same judgment.\"\n\nLovely condition! But, alas! it is not the present condition of the\nChurch of God; and therefore it is perfectly evident that we are not\nall governed by the one supreme, absolute, and all-sufficient\nauthority--the voice of holy Scripture--that most blessed voice that\ncan never utter one discordant note--a voice ever divinely harmonious\nto the circumcised ear.\n\nHere lies the root of the whole matter. The Church has departed from\nthe authority of Christ, as set forth in His Word. Until this is\nseen, it is only lost time to discuss the claims of conflicting\nsystems, ecclesiastical or theological. If a man does not see that it\nis his sacred duty to test every ecclesiastical system, every\nliturgical service, and every theological creed by the Word of God,\ndiscussion is perfectly useless. If it be allowable to settle things\naccording to expediency--according to man's judgment, his conscience,\nor his reason, then verily we may as well at once give up the case as\nhopeless. If we have no divinely settled authority--no perfect\nstandard--no infallible guide, we cannot see how it is possible for\nany one to possess the certainty that he is treading in the true path.\nIf indeed it be true that we are left to choose for ourselves, amid\nthe almost countless paths which lie around us, then farewell to all\ncertainty--farewell to peace of mind and rest of heart--farewell to\nall holy stability of purpose and fixedness of aim. If we cannot say\nof the ground we occupy, of the path we pursue, and of the work in\nwhich we are engaged, \"This is the thing which the Lord hath\ncommanded,\" we may rest assured we are in a wrong position, and the\nsooner we abandon it the better.\n\nThank God, there is no necessity whatever for His child or His servant\nto continue for one hour in connection with what is wrong. \"Let every\none that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.\" But how are\nwe to know what is iniquity? By the Word of God. Whatever is contrary\nto Scripture, whether in morals or in doctrines, is iniquity, and I\nmust depart from it, cost what it may. It is an individual\nmatter.--\"_Let every one._\"--\"_He_ that hath ears.\"--\"_He_ that\novercometh.\"--\"If _any_ man hear My voice.\"\n\nHere is the point. Let us mark it well. It is _Christ's_ voice. It is\nnot the voice of this good man or that good man; it is not the voice\nof the church, the voice of the fathers, the voice of general\ncouncils, but the voice of our own beloved Lord and Master. It is the\nindividual conscience in direct, living contact with the voice of\nChrist--the living, eternal Word of God--the holy Scriptures. Were it\nmerely a question of human conscience or judgment or authority, we are\nat once plunged in hopeless uncertainty, inasmuch as what one man\nmight judge to be iniquity, another might consider to be perfectly\nright. There must be some fixed standard to go by--some supreme\nauthority from which there can be no appeal; and, blessed be God,\nthere is. God has spoken; He has given us His Word; and it is at once\nour bounden duty, our high privilege, our moral security, our true\nenjoyment, to obey that Word.\n\nNot man's interpretation of the Word, but the Word itself. This is\nall-important. We must have nothing--absolutely nothing between the\nhuman conscience and divine revelation. Men talk to us about the\nauthority of the church. Where are we to find it? Suppose a really\nanxious, earnest, honest soul, longing to know the true way. He is\ntold to listen to the voice of the church. He asks, Which church? Is\nit the Greek, Latin, Anglican, or Scotch church? Not two of them\nagree. Nay, more; there are conflicting parties, contending sects,\nopposing schools of thought, in one and the self-same body. Councils\nhave differed, fathers have disagreed, popes have anathematized one\nanother. In the Anglican Establishment, we have high-church,\nlow-church, and broad-church, each differing from the rest. In the\nScotch or Presbyterian church, we have the Established church, the\nUnited Presbyterian, and the Free church. And then if the anxious\ninquirer turns away in hopeless perplexity from those great bodies, in\norder to seek guidance amid the ranks of Protestant dissenters, is he\nlikely to fare any better?\n\nAh! reader, it is perfectly hopeless. The whole professing church has\nrevolted from the authority of Christ, and cannot possibly be a guide\nor an authority for any one. In the second and third chapters of the\nbook of Revelation, the church is seen under judgment, and the appeal,\nseven times repeated, is, \"He that hath an ear, let him hear\"--what?\nThe voice of the church? Impossible! The Lord could never direct us to\nhear the voice of that which is itself under judgment. Hear what,\nthen? \"Let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.\"\n\nAnd where is this voice to be heard? _Only_ in the holy Scriptures,\ngiven of God, in His infinite goodness, to guide our souls in the way\nof peace and truth, notwithstanding the hopeless ruin of the church,\nand the thick darkness and wild confusion of baptized christendom. It\nlies not within the compass of human language to set forth the value\nand importance of having a divine and therefore an infallible and\nall-sufficient guide and authority for our individual path.\n\nBut be it remembered, we are solemnly responsible to bow to that\nauthority, and follow that guide. It is utterly vain, indeed morally\ndangerous, to profess to have a divine guide and authority unless we\nare thoroughly subject thereto. This it was that characterized the\nJews in the days of our Lord. They had the Scriptures, but they did\nnot obey them. And one of the saddest features in the present\ncondition of christendom is its boasted possession of the Bible, while\nthe authority of that Bible is boldly set aside.\n\nWe deeply feel the solemnity of this, and would earnestly press it\nupon the conscience of the Christian reader. The Word of God is\nvirtually ignored amongst us. Things are practiced and sanctioned, on\nall hands, which not only have no foundation in Scripture, but are\ndiametrically opposed to it. We are not exclusively taught and\nabsolutely governed by Scripture.\n\nAll this is most serious, and demands the attention of all the Lord's\npeople in every place. We feel compelled to raise a warning note in\nthe ears of all Christians in reference to this most weighty subject.\nIndeed, it is the sense of its gravity and vast moral importance that\nhas led us to enter upon the service of writing these \"Notes on the\nbook of Deuteronomy.\" It is our earnest prayer that the Holy Ghost\nmay use these pages to recall the hearts of the Lord's dear people to\ntheir true and proper place--even the place of reverent allegiance to\nHis blessed Word. We feel persuaded that what will characterize all\nthose who will walk devotedly in the closing hours of the Church's\nearthly history will be profound reverence for the Word of God, and\ngenuine attachment to the Person of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.\nThe two things are inseparably bound together by a sacred and\nimperishable link.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\"The Lord our God spake unto us in Horeb, saying, 'Ye have dwelt long\nenough in this mount: turn you, and take your journey, and go to the\nmount of the Amorites, and unto all the places nigh thereunto, in the\nplain, in the hills, and in the vale, and in the south, and by the\nsea-side, to the land of the Canaanites, and unto Lebanon, unto the\ngreat river, the river Euphrates.'\" (Ver. 6, 7.)\n\nWe shall find, throughout the whole of the book of Deuteronomy, the\nLord dealing much more directly and simply with the people than in any\nof the three preceding books; so far is it from being true that\nDeuteronomy is a mere repetition of what has passed before us in\nprevious sections. For instance, in the passage just quoted there is\nno mention of the movement of the cloud--no reference to the sound of\nthe trumpet. \"The Lord our God spake unto us.\" We know, from the book\nof Numbers, that the movements of the camp were governed by the\nmovements of the cloud, as communicated by the sound of the trumpet.\nBut neither the trumpet nor the cloud is alluded to in this book. It\nis much more simple and familiar. \"The Lord our God spake unto us in\nHoreb, saying, 'Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount.'\"\n\nThis is very beautiful. It reminds us somewhat of the lovely\nsimplicity of patriarchal times, when the Lord spake unto the fathers\nas a man speaketh to his friend. It was not by the sound of a trumpet,\nor by the movement of a cloud, that the Lord communicated His mind to\nAbraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He was so very near to them that there was\nno need, no room for an agency characterized by ceremony and distance.\nHe visited them, sat with them, partook of their hospitality, in all\nthe intimacy of personal friendship.\n\nSuch is the lovely simplicity of the order of things in patriarchal\ntimes; and this it is which imparts a peculiar charm to the narratives\nof the book of Genesis.\n\nBut in Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers we have something quite\ndifferent. There, we have set before us a vast system of types and\nshadows, rites, ordinances, and ceremonies, imposed on the people for\nthe time being, the import of which is unfolded to us in the epistle\nto the Hebrews.--\"The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into\nthe holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first\ntabernacle was yet standing; which was a figure for the time then\npresent, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could\nnot make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the\nconscience; which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings,\nand carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.\"\n(Heb. ix. 8-10.)\n\nUnder this system, the people were at a distance from God. It was not\nwith them as it had been with their fathers in the book of Genesis.\nGod was shut in from them, and they were shut out from Him. The\nleading features of the Levitical ceremonial, so far as the people\nwere concerned, were bondage, darkness, distance; but on the other\nhand, its types and shadows pointed forward to that one great\nSacrifice which is the foundation of all God's marvelous counsels and\npurposes, and by which He can, in perfect righteousness, and according\nto all the love of His heart, have a people near unto Himself, to the\npraise of the glory of His grace, throughout the golden ages of\neternity.\n\nNow, it has been already remarked, we shall find in Deuteronomy\ncomparatively little of rites and ceremonies. The Lord is seen more in\ndirect communication with the people; and even the priests, in their\nofficial capacity, come rarely before us; and if they are referred to,\nit is very much more in a moral than in a ceremonial way. Of this we\nshall have ample proof as we pass along; it is a marked feature of\nthis beautiful book.\n\n\"The Lord our God spake unto us in Horeb, saying, 'Ye have dwelt long\nenough in this mount: turn you, and take your journey, and go to the\nmount of the Amorites.'\" What a rare privilege for any people to have\nthe Lord so near to them, and so interested in all their movements and\nin all their concerns, great and small! He knew how long they ought to\nremain in any one place, and whither they should next bend their\nsteps. They had no need to harass themselves about their journeyings,\nor about any thing else. They were under the eye and in the hands of\nOne whose wisdom was unerring, whose power was omnipotent, whose\nresources were inexhaustible, whose love was infinite, who had charged\nHimself with the care of them, who knew all their need, and was\nprepared to meet it, according to all the love of His heart and the\nstrength of His holy arm.\n\nWhat, then, we may ask, remained for them to do? What was their plain\nand simple duty? Just to obey. It was their high and holy privilege to\nrest in the love and obey the commandments of Jehovah, their covenant\nGod. Here lay the blessed secret of their peace, their happiness, and\ntheir moral security. They had no need whatever to trouble themselves\nabout their movements, no need of planning or arranging. Their\njourneyings were all ordered for them by One who knew every step of\nthe way from Horeb to Kadesh-barnea, and they had just to live by the\nday, in happy dependence upon Him.\n\nHappy position! Privileged path! Blessed portion! But it demanded a\nbroken will, an obedient mind, a subject heart. If when Jehovah had\nsaid, \"Ye have compassed this mountain long enough,\" they, on the\ncontrary, were to form the plan of compassing it a little longer, they\nwould have had to compass it without Him. His companionship, His\ncounsel, and His aid could only be counted upon in the path of\nobedience.\n\nThus it was with Israel in their desert wanderings, and thus it is\nwith us. It is our most precious privilege to leave all our matters in\nthe hands, not merely of a covenant God, but of a loving Father. He\narranges our movements for us; He fixes the bounds of our habitation;\nHe tells us how long to stay in a place, and where to go next. He has\ncharged Himself with all our concerns, all our movements, all our\nwants. His gracious word to us is, \"Be careful for nothing; but in\nevery thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your\nrequests be made known unto God.\" And what then? \"The peace of God,\nwhich passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds\nthrough Christ Jesus.\"\n\nBut it may be the reader feels disposed to ask, How does God guide His\npeople now? We cannot expect to hear His voice telling us when to move\nor where to go. To this we reply, at once, It cannot surely be that\nthe members of the Church of God--the body of Christ--are worse off in\nthe matter of divine guidance than Israel in the wilderness. Cannot\nGod guide His children--cannot Christ guide His servants--in all their\nmovements and in all their service? Who would think, for a moment, of\ncalling in question a truth so plain and so precious? True, we do not\nexpect to hear a voice, or see the movement of a cloud; but we have\nwhat is very much better, very much higher, very much more intimate.\nWe may rest assured our God has made ample provision for us in this,\nas in all beside, according to all the love of His heart.\n\nNow, there are three ways in which we are guided: we are guided by the\nWord, we are guided by the Holy Ghost, and we are guided by the\ninstincts of the divine nature; and we have to bear in mind that the\ninstincts of the divine nature, the leadings of the Holy Ghost, and\nthe teaching of holy Scripture will always harmonize. This is of the\nutmost importance to keep before us. A person might fancy himself to\nbe led by the instincts of the divine nature, or by the Holy Spirit,\nto pursue a certain line of action involving consequences at issue\nwith the Word of God. Thus his mistake would be made apparent. It is a\nvery serious thing for any one to act on mere impulse or impression.\nBy so doing, he may fall into a snare of the devil, and do very\nserious damage to the cause of Christ. We must calmly weigh our\nimpressions in the balances of the sanctuary, and faithfully test them\nby the standard of the divine Word. In this way we shall be preserved\nfrom error and delusion. It is a most dangerous thing to trust\nimpressions or act on impulse. We have seen the most disastrous\nconsequences produced by so doing. Facts _may be_ reliable. Divine\nauthority is absolutely infallible. Our own impressions may prove as\ndelusive as a will-o'-the-wisp, or a mirage of the desert: human\nfeelings are most untrustworthy. We must ever submit them to the most\nsevere scrutiny, lest they betray us into some fatally false line of\naction. We can trust Scripture without a shadow of misgiving; and we\nshall find, without exception, that the man who is led by the Holy\nGhost, or guided by the instincts of the divine nature, will never act\nin opposition to the Word of God. This is what we may call an axiom in\nthe divine life--an established rule in practical Christianity. Would\nthat it had been more attended to in all ages of the Church's history!\nWould that it were more pondered in our own day!\n\nBut there is another point in this question of divine guidance which\ndemands our serious attention. We not unfrequently hear people speak\nof \"the finger of divine Providence\" as something to be relied upon\nfor guidance. This may be only another mode of expressing the idea of\nbeing guided by circumstances, which, we do not hesitate to say, is\nvery far indeed from being the proper kind of guidance for a\nChristian.\n\nNo doubt, our Lord may and does, at times, intimate His mind and\nindicate our path by His providence; but we must be sufficiently near\nto Him to be able to interpret the providence aright, else we may find\nthat what is called \"an opening of Providence\" may actually prove an\nopening by which we slip off the holy path of obedience. Surrounding\ncircumstances, just like our inward impressions, must be weighed in\nthe presence of God, and judged by the light of His Word, else they\nmay lead us into the most terrible mistakes. Jonah might have\nconsidered it a remarkable providence to find a ship going to\nTarshish; but had he been in communion with God, he would not have\nneeded a ship. In short, the Word of God is the one grand test and\nperfect touchstone for every thing--for outward circumstances and\ninward impressions--for feelings, imaginations, and tendencies--all\nmust be placed under the searching light of holy Scripture and there\ncalmly and seriously judged. This is the true path of safety, peace,\nand blessedness for every child of God.\n\nIt may, however, be said, in reply to all this, that we cannot expect\nto find a text of Scripture to guide us in the matter of our\nmovements, or in the thousand little details of daily life. Perhaps\nnot; but there are certain great principles laid down in Scripture,\nwhich, if properly applied, will afford divine guidance even where we\nmight not be able to find a particular text. And not only so, but we\nhave the fullest assurance that our God can and does guide His\nchildren in all things. \"The steps of a good man are ordered of the\nLord.\"--\"The meek will He guide in judgment; and the meek will He\nteach His way.\"--\"I will guide thee with Mine eye.\" He can signify His\nmind to us as to this or that particular act or movement. If not,\nwhere are we? How are we to get on? How are we to regulate our\nmovements? Are we to be drifted hither and thither by the tide of\ncircumstances? Are we left to blind chance, or to the mere impulse of\nour own will?\n\nThank God, it is not so. He can, in His own perfect way, give us the\ncertainty of His mind in any given case; and without that certainty we\nshould never move. Our Lord Christ (all homage to His peerless name!)\ncan intimate His mind to His servant as to where He would have him to\ngo and what He would have him to do; and no true servant will ever\nthink of moving or acting without such intimation. We should never act\nor move in uncertainty. If we are not sure, let us be quiet and wait.\nVery often it happens that we harass and fret ourselves about\nmovements that God would not have us make at all. A person once said\nto a friend, \"I am quite at a loss to know which way to turn.\" \"Then,\ndon't turn at all,\" was the friend's wise reply.\n\nBut here an all-important moral point comes in, and that is, our whole\ncondition of soul. This, we may rest assured, has very much to do with\nthe matter of guidance. It is \"the meek He will guide in judgment, and\nteach His way.\" We must never forget this. If only we are humble and\nself-distrusting--if we wait on our God, in simplicity of heart,\nuprightness of mind, and honesty of purpose, He will most assuredly\nguide us. But it will never do to go and ask counsel of God in a\nmatter about which our mind is made up, or our will is at work.\n\nThis is a fatal delusion. Look at the case of Jehoshaphat, in 1 Kings\nxxii.--\"It came to pass in the third year, that Jehoshaphat the king\nof Judah came down to the king of Israel\"--a sad mistake, to begin\nwith.--\"And the king of Israel said unto his servants, 'Know ye that\nRamoth in Gilead is ours, and we be still, and take it not out of the\nhand of the king of Syria?' And he said unto Jehoshaphat, 'Wilt thou\ngo with me to battle to Ramoth-gilead?' And Jehoshaphat said to the\nking of Israel, 'I am as thou art, my people as thy people, my horses\nas thy horses; and, (as we have it in 2 Chronicles xviii. 3,) we will\nbe with thee in the war.'\"\n\nHere we see that his mind was made up before ever he thought of asking\ncounsel of God in the matter. He was in a false position and a wrong\natmosphere altogether. He had fallen into the snare of the enemy,\nthrough lack of singleness of eye, and hence he was not in a fit state\nto receive or profit by divine guidance. He was bent on his own will,\nand the Lord left him to reap the fruits of it; and but for infinite\nand sovereign mercy, he would have fallen by the sword of the Syrians,\nand been borne a corpse from the battle-field.\n\nTrue, he did say to the king of Israel, \"Inquire, I pray thee, at the\nword of the Lord to-day.\" But where was the use of this, when he had\nalready pledged himself to a certain line of action? What folly for\nany one to make up his mind and then go and ask for counsel! Had he\nbeen in a right state of soul, he never would have sought counsel in\nsuch a case at all; but his state of soul was bad, his position false,\nand his purpose in direct opposition to the mind and will of God.\nHence, although he heard, from the lips of Jehovah's messenger, His\nsolemn judgment on the entire expedition, yet he took his own way, and\nwell-nigh lost his life in consequence.\n\nWe see the same thing in the forty-second chapter of Jeremiah. The\npeople applied to the prophet to ask counsel as to their going down\ninto Egypt; but they had already made up their minds as to their\ncourse--they were bent on their own will. Miserable condition! Had\nthey been meek and humble, they would not have needed to ask counsel\nin the matter; but they said unto Jeremiah the prophet, \"'Let, we\nbeseech thee, our supplication be accepted before thee, and pray for\nus unto the Lord _thy_ God [Why not say, The Lord _our_ God?] even for\nall this remnant; (for we are left but a few of many, as thine eyes do\nbehold us:) that the Lord _thy_ God may show us the way wherein we may\nwalk, and the thing that we may do.' Then Jeremiah the prophet said\nunto them, 'I have heard you; behold, I will pray unto the Lord _your_\nGod according to your words; and it shall come to pass, that\nwhatsoever thing the Lord shall answer you, I will declare it unto\nyou; I will keep nothing back from you.' Then they said to Jeremiah,\n'The Lord be a true and faithful witness between us, if we do not even\naccording to all things for the which the Lord _thy_ God shall send\nthee to us. Whether it be good, or whether it be evil [How could the\nwill of God be aught but good?], we will obey the voice of the Lord\nour God, to whom we send thee; that it may be well with us, when we\nobey the voice of the Lord our God.'\"\n\nNow, all this seemed very pious and very promising; but mark the\nsequel. When they found that the judgment and counsel of God did not\ntally with their will, \"then spake ... _all the proud men_, saving\nunto Jeremiah, 'Thou speakest falsely: the Lord our God hath not sent\nthee to say, Go not into Egypt to sojourn there.'\"\n\nHere, the real state of the case comes clearly out. Pride and\nself-will were at work; their vows and promises were false. \"Ye\ndissembled in your hearts,\" says Jeremiah, \"when ye sent me unto the\nLord your God, saying, 'Pray for us unto the Lord our God; and\naccording unto all that the Lord our God shall say, so declare unto\nus, and we will do it.'\" It would have been all very well had the\ndivine response fallen in with their will in the matter; but inasmuch\nas it ran counter, they rejected it altogether.\n\nHow often is this the case! The Word of God does not suit man's\nthoughts; it judges them, it stands in direct opposition to his will,\nit interferes with his plans, and hence he rejects it. The human will\nand human reason are ever in direct antagonism to the Word of God, and\nthe Christian must refuse both the one and the other if he really\ndesires to be divinely guided. An unbroken will and blind reason, if\nwe listen to them, can only lead us into darkness, misery, and\ndesolation. Jonah _would_ go to Tarshish, when he ought to have gone\nto Nineveh; and the consequence was that he found himself \"in the\nbelly of hell,\" with \"the weeds wrapped about his head.\" Jehoshaphat\n_would_ go to Ramoth-gilead, when he ought to have been at Jerusalem;\nand the consequence was that he found himself surrounded by the swords\nof the Syrians. The remnant, in the days of Jeremiah, _would_ go into\nEgypt, when they ought to have remained at Jerusalem; and the\nconsequence was that they died by the sword, by the famine, and by the\npestilence in the land of Egypt, \"whither they _desired_ to go and to\nsojourn.\"\n\nThus it must ever be. The path of self-will is sure to be a path of\ndarkness and misery; it cannot be otherwise: the path of obedience, on\nthe contrary, is a path of peace, a path of light, a path of blessing,\na path on which the beams of divine favor are ever poured in living\nlustre. It may, to the human eye, seem narrow, rough, and lonely; but\nthe obedient soul finds it to be the path of life, peace, and moral\nsecurity. \"The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth\nmore and more unto the perfect day.\" Blessed path! May the writer and\nthe reader ever be found treading it, with a steady step and earnest\npurpose.\n\nBefore turning from this great practical subject of divine guidance\nand human obedience, we must ask the reader to refer, for a few\nmoments, to a very beautiful passage in the eleventh chapter of Luke.\nHe will find it full of the most valuable instruction.\n\n\"The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is\nsingle, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is\nevil, thy body also is full of darkness. Take heed, therefore, that\nthe light which is in thee be not darkness. If thy whole body\ntherefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be\nfull of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee\nlight.\" (Ver. 34-36.)\n\nNothing can exceed the moral force and beauty of this passage. First\nof all, we have the \"single eye.\" This is essential to the enjoyment\nof divine guidance. It indicates a broken will--a heart honestly fixed\nupon doing the will of God. There is no under-current, no mixed\nmotive, no personal end in view. There is the one simple desire and\nearnest purpose to do the will of God, whatever that will may be.\n\nNow, when the soul is in this attitude, divine light comes streaming\nin and fills the whole body. Hence it follows that if the body is not\nfull of light, the eye is not single; there is some mixed motive;\nself-will or self-interest is at work; we are not upright before God.\nIn this case, any light which we profess to have is darkness; and\nthere is no darkness so gross or so terrible as that judicial darkness\nwhich settles down upon the heart governed by self-will while\nprofessing to have light from God. This will be seen in all its\nhorrors by and by in christendom, when \"that Wicked shall be revealed,\nwhom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth, and shall\ndestroy with the brightness of His coming; even him, whose coming is\nafter the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,\nand with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish;\nbecause _they received not the love of the truth_, that they might be\nsaved. And _for this cause_ God shall send them strong delusion, that\nthey should believe a lie; that they all might be damned who believed\nnot the truth, but _had pleasure in unrighteousness_.\" (2 Thess. ii.\n8-12.)\n\nHow awful is this! How solemnly it speaks to the whole professing\nchurch! How solemnly it addresses the conscience of both the writer\nand the reader of these lines! Light not acted upon becomes\ndarkness.--\"If the light which is in thee be darkness, how great is\nthat darkness!\" But on the other hand, a little light honestly acted\nupon is sure to increase; for \"to him that hath shall more be given,\"\nand \"the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more\nand more unto the perfect day.\"\n\nThis moral progress is beautifully and forcibly set forth in Luke xi.\n36.--\"If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having _no part\ndark_\"--no chamber kept closed against the heavenly rays--no dishonest\nreserve--the whole moral being laid open, in genuine simplicity, to\nthe action of divine light; then \"the whole shall be full of light, as\nwhen the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light.\" In a word,\nthe obedient soul has not only light for his own path, but the light\nshines out, so that others see it, like the bright shining of a\ncandle. \"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your\ngood works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.\"\n\nWe have a very vivid contrast to all this in the thirteenth chapter of\nJeremiah.--\"Give glory to the Lord your God, _before He cause\ndarkness_, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and\nwhile ye look for light, He turn it into the shadow of death, and make\nit gross darkness.\" The way to give glory to the Lord our God is to\nobey His Word. The path of duty is a bright and blessed path; and the\none who, through grace, treads that path will never stumble on the\ndark mountains. The truly humble, the lowly, the self-distrusting,\nwill keep far away from those dark mountains, and walk in that blessed\npath which is ever illuminated by the bright and cheering beams of\nGod's approving countenance.\n\nThis is the path of the just, the path of heavenly wisdom, the path of\nperfect peace. May we ever be found treading it, beloved reader; and\nlet us never, for one moment, forget that it is our high privilege to\nbe divinely guided in the most minute details of our daily life. Alas!\nfor the one who is not so guided. He will have many a stumble, many a\nfall, many a sorrowful experience. If we are not guided by our\nFather's eye, we shall be like the horse or the mule, which have no\nunderstanding, whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle,--like\nthe horse, impetuously rushing where he ought not, or the mule,\nobstinately refusing to go where he ought. How sad for a Christian to\nbe like these! How blessed to move, from day to day, in the path\nmarked out for us by our Father's eye!--a path which the vulture's eye\nhath not seen, or the lion's whelp trodden; the path of holy\nobedience; the path in which the meek and lowly will ever be found, to\ntheir deep joy, and the praise and glory of Him who has opened it for\nthem and given them grace to tread it.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nIn the remainder of our chapter, Moses rehearses in the ears of the\npeople, in language of touching simplicity, the facts connected with\nthe appointment of the judges, and the mission of the spies. The\nappointment of the judges, Moses here attributes to his own\nsuggestion: the mission of the spies was the suggestion of the people.\nThat dear and most honored servant of God felt the burden of the\ncongregation too heavy for him; and assuredly it was very heavy;\nthough we know well that the grace of God was amply sufficient for the\ndemand, and, moreover, that that grace could act as well by one man as\nby seventy.\n\nStill, we can well understand the difficulty felt by \"the meekest man\nin all the earth\" in reference to the responsibility of so grave and\nimportant a charge; and truly the language in which he states his\ndifficulty is affecting in the highest degree. We feel as though we\nmust quote it for the reader.\n\n\"And I spake unto you at that time, saying, 'I am not able to bear you\nmyself alone [Surely not; what mere mortal could? But God was there\nto be counted upon for exigence of every hour.]: the Lord your God\nhath multiplied you, and, behold, ye are this day as the stars of\nheaven for multitude.' (The Lord God of your fathers make you a\nthousand times so many more as ye are, and bless you, as He hath\npromised you.)\" Lovely parenthesis! Exquisite breathing of a large and\nlowly heart! \"How can I myself alone bear your cumbrance, and your\nburden, and _your strife_?\"\n\nAlas! here lay the secret of much of the \"cumbrance\" and the \"burden.\"\nThey could not agree among themselves,--there were controversies,\ncontentions, and questions; and who was sufficient for these things?\nwhat human shoulder could sustain such a burden? How different it\nmight have been with them! Had they walked lovingly together, there\nwould have been no cases to decide, and therefore no need of judges to\ndecide them. If each member of the congregation had sought the\nprosperity, the interest, and the happiness of his brethren, there\nwould have been no \"strife,\" no \"cumbrance,\" no \"burden.\" If each had\ndone all that in him lay to promote the common good, how lovely would\nhave been the result!\n\nBut, ah! it was not so with Israel in the desert; and, what is still\nmore humbling, it is not so in the Church of God, although our\nprivileges are so much higher. Hardly had the assembly been formed by\nthe presence of the Holy Ghost ere the accents of murmuring and\ndiscontent were heard. And about what? About \"neglect,\" whether\nfancied or real. Whatever way it was, _self_ was at work. If the\nneglect was merely imaginary, the Grecians were to blame; and if it\nwas real, the Hebrews were to blame. It generally happens, in such\ncases, that there are faults on both sides; but the true way to avoid\nall strife, contention, and murmuring is to put self in the dust and\nearnestly seek the good of others. Had this excellent way been\nunderstood and adopted, from the outset, what a different task the\necclesiastical historian would have had to perform! But, alas! it has\nnot been adopted; and hence the history of the professing church, from\nthe very beginning, has been a deplorable and humiliating record of\ncontroversy, division, and strife. In the very presence of the Lord\nHimself, whose whole life was one of complete self-surrender, the\napostles disputed about who should be greatest. Such a dispute could\nnever have arisen had each known the exquisite secret of putting self\nin the dust and seeking the good of others. No one who knows aught of\nthe true moral elevation of self-emptiness could possibly seek a good\nor a great place for himself. Nearness to Christ so satisfies the\nlowly heart, that honors, distinctions, and rewards are little\naccounted of; but where self is at work, there you will have envy and\njealousy, strife and contention, confusion and every evil work.\n\nWitness the scene between the two sons of Zebedee and their ten\nbrethren, in the tenth chapter of Mark. What was at the bottom of it?\nSelf. The two were thinking of a good place for themselves in the\nkingdom, and the ten were angry with the two for thinking of any such\nthing. Had each set self aside, and sought the good of others, such a\nscene would never have been enacted,--the two would not have been\nthinking about themselves, and hence there would have been no ground\nfor the \"indignation\" of the ten.\n\nBut it is needless to multiply examples. Every age of the church's\nhistory illustrates and proves the truth of our statement that self\nand its odious workings are the producing cause of strife, contention,\nand division, always. Turn where you will--from the days of the\napostles down to the days in which our lot is cast, and you will find\nunmortified self to be the fruitful source of strife and schism; and\non the other hand, you will find that to sink self and its interests\nis the true secret of peace, harmony, and brotherly love. If only we\nlearn to set self aside, and seek earnestly the glory of Christ and\nthe prosperity of His beloved people, we shall not have many \"cases\"\nto settle.\n\nWe must now return to our chapter.\n\n\"How can I myself alone bear your cumbrance, and your burden, and your\nstrife? Take you wise men, and understanding, and known among your\ntribes, and I will make them rulers over you. And ye answered me, and\nsaid, 'The thing which thou hast spoken is good for us to do.' So I\ntook the chief of your tribes, _wise_ men, and _known_\"--men fitted of\nGod, and possessing, because entitled to, the confidence of the\ncongregation--\"and made them heads over you, captains over thousands,\nand captains over hundreds, and captains over fifties, and captains\nover tens, and officers among your tribes.\"\n\nAdmirable arrangement! If indeed it had to be made, nothing could be\nbetter adapted to the maintenance of order than the graduated scale of\nauthority, varying from the captain of ten to the captain of a\nthousand; the lawgiver himself at the head of all, and he in immediate\ncommunication with the Lord God of Israel.\n\nWe have no allusion here to the fact recorded in Exodus xviii, namely,\nthat the appointment of those rulers was at the suggestion of Jethro,\nMoses' father-in-law; neither have we any reference to the scene in\nNumbers xi. We call the reader's attention to this as one of the many\nproofs which lie scattered along the pages of Deuteronomy that it is\nvery far indeed from being a mere repetition of the preceding sections\nof the Pentateuch. In short, this delightful book has a marked\ncharacter of its own, and the mode in which facts are presented is in\nperfect keeping with that character. It is very evident that the\nobject of the venerable lawgiver, or rather of the Holy Ghost in him,\nwas to bring every thing to bear, in a moral way, upon the hearts of\nthe people, in order to produce that one grand result which is the\nspecial object of the book from beginning to end, namely, a loving\nobedience to all the statutes and judgments of the Lord their God.\n\nWe must bear this in mind if we would study aright the book which lies\nopen before us. Infidels, skeptics, and rationalists may impiously\nsuggest to us the thought of discrepancies in the various records\ngiven in the different books; but the pious reader will reject, with a\nholy indignation, every such suggestion, knowing that it emanates\ndirectly from the father of lies, the determined and persistent enemy\nof the precious revelation of God. This, we feel persuaded, is the\ntrue way in which to deal with all infidel assaults upon the Bible.\nArgument is useless, inasmuch as infidels are not in a position to\nunderstand or appreciate its force; they are profoundly ignorant of\nthe matter. Nor is it merely a question of profound ignorance, but of\ndetermined hostility; so that, in every way, the judgment of all\ninfidel writers on the subject of divine inspiration is utterly\nworthless and perfectly contemptible. We would pity and pray for the\nmen, while we thoroughly despise and indignantly reject their\nopinions. The Word of God is entirely above and beyond them. It is as\nperfect as its Author, and as imperishable as His throne; but its\nmoral glories, its living depths, and its infinite perfections are\nonly unfolded to faith and need. \"I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of\nheaven and earth, because Thou hast hid these things from the wise and\nprudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.\"\n\nIf we are only content to be as simple as a babe, we shall enjoy the\nprecious revelation of a Father's love, as given by His Spirit in the\nholy Scriptures; but on the other hand, those who fancy themselves\nwise and prudent--who build upon their learning, their philosophy, and\ntheir reason--who think themselves competent to sit in judgment on the\nWord of God, and hence on God Himself, are given over to judicial\ndarkness, blindness, and hardness of heart. Thus it comes to pass that\nthe most egregious folly and the most contemptible ignorance that man\ncan display will be found in the pages of those learned writers who\nhave dared to write against the Bible. \"Where is the wise? where is\nthe scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made\nfoolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God\nthe world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of\npreaching to save them that believe.\" (1 Cor. i. 20, 21.)\n\n\"If any man will be wise, let him become a fool.\" Here lies the grand\nmoral secret of the matter. Man must get to the end of his own wisdom,\nas well as of his own righteousness. He must be brought to confess\nhimself a fool ere he can taste the sweetness of divine wisdom. It is\nnot within the range of the most gigantic human intellect, aided by\nall the appliances of human learning and philosophy, to grasp the very\nsimplest elements of divine revelation; and therefore, when\nunconverted men, whatever may be the force of their genius or the\nextent of their learning, undertake to handle spiritual subjects, and\nmore especially the subject of the divine inspiration of holy\nScripture, they are sure to exhibit their profound ignorance, and\nutter incompetency to deal with the question before them. Indeed,\nwhenever we look into an infidel book, we are struck with the\nfeebleness of their most forcible arguments; and not only so, but in\nevery instance in which they attempt to find a discrepancy in the\nBible, we see only divine wisdom, beauty, and perfectness.\n\nWe have been led into the foregoing line of thought in connection with\nthe subject of the appointment of the elders, which is given to us in\neach book according to the wisdom of the Holy Ghost, and in perfect\nkeeping with the scope and object of the book. We shall now proceed\nwith our quotation.\n\n\"And I charged your judges at that time, saying, 'Hear the causes\nbetween your brethren, and _judge righteously_ between every man and\nhis brother, and _the stranger_ that is with him. _Ye shall not\nrespect persons_ in judgment; but _ye shall hear the small as well as\nthe great_; _ye shall not be afraid of the face of man_; for the\njudgment is God's; and the cause that is too hard for you, bring it\nunto me, and I will hear it.'\"\n\nWhat heavenly wisdom is here! what even-handed justice! what holy\nimpartiality! In every case of difference, all the facts on both sides\nwere to be fully heard and patiently weighed. The mind was not to be\nwarped by prejudice, predilection, or personal feeling of any kind.\nThe judgment was to be formed, not by impressions, but by\nfacts--clearly established, undeniable facts. Personal influence was\nto have no weight whatever. The position and circumstances of either\nparty in the cause were not to be considered. The case must be\ndecided entirely upon its own merits. \"Ye shall hear the small as well\nas the great.\" The poor man was to have the same even-handed justice\nmeted out to him as the rich; the stranger as one born in the land. No\ndifference was to be allowed.\n\nHow important is all this! how worthy of our attentive consideration!\nhow full of deep and valuable instruction for us all! True, we are not\nall called to be judges or elders or leaders; but the great moral\nprinciples laid down in the above quotation are of the very utmost\nvalue to every one of us, inasmuch as cases are continually occurring\nwhich call for their direct application. Wherever our lot may be cast,\nwhatever our line of life or sphere of action, we are liable, alas! to\nmeet with cases of difficulty and misunderstanding between our\nbrethren,--cases of wrong, whether real or imaginary; and hence it is\nmost needful to be divinely instructed as to how we ought to carry\nourselves in respect to such.\n\nNow, in all such cases, we cannot be too strongly impressed with the\nnecessity of having our judgment based on facts--all the facts on both\nsides. We must not allow ourselves to be guided by our own\nimpressions, for we all know that mere impressions are most\nuntrustworthy. They may be correct, and they may be utterly false.\nNothing is more easily received and conveyed than a false impression,\nand therefore any judgment based on mere impressions is worthless. We\nmust have solid, clearly established facts--facts established by two\nor three witnesses, as Scripture so distinctly enforces. (Deut. xvii.\n6; Matt. xviii. 16; 2 Cor. xiii. 1; 1 Tim. v. 19.)\n\nBut further, we must never be guided in judgment by an _ex parte_\nstatement. Every one is liable, even with the best intentions, to give\na color to his statement of a case. It is not that he would\nintentionally make a false statement, or tell a deliberate lie; but\nthrough inaccuracy of memory, or one cause or another, he may not\npresent the case as it really is. Some fact may be omitted, and that\none fact may so affect all the other facts as to alter their bearing\ncompletely. \"_Audi alteram partem_\" (\"Hear the other side\") is a\nwholesome motto. And not only hear the other side, but hear all the\nfacts on both sides, and thus you will be able to form a sound and\nrighteous judgment. We may set it down as a standing rule, that any\njudgment formed without an accurate knowledge of all the facts is\nperfectly worthless. \"Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge\nrighteously between every man and his brother, and the stranger that\nis with him.\" Seasonable, needed words, most surely, at all times, in\nall places, and under all circumstances. May we apply our hearts to\nthem.\n\nAnd how important the admonition in verse 17! \"Ye shall not respect\npersons in judgment; but ye shall hear the small as well as the great;\nye shall not be afraid of the face of man.\" How these words discover\nthe poor human heart! How prone we are to respect persons--to be\nswayed by personal influence--to attach importance to position and\nwealth--to be afraid of the face of man!\n\nWhat is the divine antidote against all these evils? Just this: the\nfear of God. If we set the Lord before us, at all times, it will\neffectually deliver us from the pernicious influence of partiality,\nprejudice, and the fear of men. It will lead us to wait humbly and\npatiently on the Lord for guidance and counsel in all that may come\nbefore us, and thus we shall be preserved from forming hasty and\none-sided judgments of men and things--that fruitful source of\nmischief amongst the Lord's people in all ages.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nWe shall now dwell for a few moments on the very affecting manner in\nwhich Moses brings before the congregation all the circumstances\nconnected with the mission of the spies, which, like the appointment\nof the judges, is in perfect keeping with the scope and object of the\nbook. This is only what we might expect. There is not, there could not\nbe, a single sentence of useless repetition in the divine volume;\nstill less could there be a single flaw, a single discrepancy, a\nsingle contradictory statement. The Word of God is absolutely\nperfect--perfect as a whole, perfect in all its parts. We must firmly\nhold and faithfully confess this in the face of this infidel age.\n\nWe speak not of human translations of the Word of God, in which there\nmust be more or less of imperfection; though even here, we cannot but\nbe \"filled with wonder, love, and praise\" when we mark the way in\nwhich our God so manifestly presided over our excellent English\ntranslation, so that the poor man at the back of a mountain may be\nassured of possessing, in his common English Bible, the revelation of\nGod to his soul. And most surely we are warranted in saying that this\nis just what we might look for at the hands of our God. It is but\nreasonable to infer that the One who inspired the writers of the Bible\nwould also watch over the translation of it; for inasmuch as He gave\nit originally, in His grace, to those who could read Hebrew and Greek,\nso would He not, in the same grace, give it in every language under\nheaven? Blessed forever be His holy name, it is His gracious desire to\nspeak to every man in the very tongue in which he was born,--to tell\nus the sweet tale of His grace--the glad tidings of salvation in the\nvery accents in which our mothers whispered into our infant ears those\nwords of love that went right home to our very hearts. (See Acts ii.\n5-8.)\n\nOh that men were more impressed and affected with the truth and power\nof all this, and then we should not be troubled with so many foolish\nand unlearned questions about the Bible.\n\nLet us now hearken to the account given by Moses of the mission of the\nspies--its origin and its result. We shall find it full of most\nweighty instruction, if only the ear be open to hear and the heart\nduly prepared to ponder.\n\n\"And I commanded you at that time all the things which ye should do.\"\nThe path of simple obedience was plainly set before them. They had\nbut to tread it with an obedient heart and firm step. They had not to\nreason about consequences, or weigh the results; all these they had\njust to leave in the hands of God, and move on with steady purpose in\nthe blessed path of obedience.\n\n\"And when we departed from Horeb, we went through all that _great and\nterrible wilderness_, which ye saw by the way of the mountain of the\nAmorites, as the Lord our God commanded us; and we came to\nKadesh-barnea. And I said unto you, 'Ye are come unto the mountain of\nthe Amorites, which the Lord our God doth give unto us. Behold, the\nLord thy God hath set the land before thee: go up and possess it, as\nthe Lord God of thy fathers hath said unto thee; fear not, neither be\ndiscouraged.'\"\n\nHere was their warrant for entering upon immediate possession. The\nLord their God had given them the land and set it before them. It was\ntheirs by His free gift--the gift of His sovereign grace, in pursuance\nof the covenant made with their fathers. It was His eternal purpose to\npossess the land of Canaan through the seed of Abraham His friend.\nThis ought to have been enough to set their hearts perfectly at rest,\nnot only as to the character of the land, but also as to their\nentrance upon it. There was no need of spies. Faith never wants to spy\nwhat God has given. It argues that what He has given must be worth\nhaving, and that He is able to put us in full possession of all that\nHis grace has bestowed. Israel might have concluded that the same\nhand that had conducted them \"through all that great and terrible\nwilderness\" could bring them in and plant them in their destined\ninheritance.\n\nSo Faith would have reasoned; for it always reasons from God down to\ncircumstances, never from circumstances up to God. \"If God be for us,\nwho can be against us?\" This is Faith's argument, grand in its\nsimplicity and simple in its moral grandeur. When God fills the whole\nrange of the soul's vision, difficulties are little accounted of. They\nare either not seen, or, if seen, they are viewed as occasions for the\ndisplay of divine power. Faith exults in seeing God triumphing over\ndifficulties.\n\nBut, alas! the people were not governed by faith on the occasion now\nbefore us, and therefore they had recourse to spies. Of this Moses\nreminds them, and that, too, in language at once most tender and\nfaithful.--\"And ye came near unto me, _every one of you_, and said,\n'We will send men before us, and they shall search us out the land,\nand bring us word again, by what way we must go up, and into what\ncities we shall come.'\"\n\nSurely, they might well have trusted God for all this. The One who had\nbrought them up out of Egypt, made a way for them through the sea,\nguided them through the trackless desert, was fully able to bring them\ninto the land. But no; they would send spies, simply because their\nhearts had not simple confidence in the true, the living, the almighty\nGod.\n\nHere lay the moral root of the matter; and it is well that the reader\nshould thoroughly seize this point. True it is that, in the history\ngiven in Numbers, the Lord told Moses to send the spies; but why?\nBecause of the moral condition of the people. And here we see the\ncharacteristic difference and yet the lovely harmony of the two books.\nNumbers gives us the public history, Deuteronomy the secret source of\nthe mission of the spies; and as it is in perfect keeping with Numbers\nto give us the former, so it is in perfect keeping with Deuteronomy to\ngive us the latter. The one is the complement of the other. We could\nnot fully understand the subject had we only the history given in\nNumbers. It is the touching commentary given in Deuteronomy which\ncompletes the picture. How perfect is Scripture! All we need is the\neye anointed to see and the heart prepared to appreciate its moral\nglories.\n\nIt may be, however, that the reader still feels some difficulty in\nreference to the question of the spies. He may feel disposed to ask\nhow it could be wrong to send them when the Lord told them to do so.\nThe answer is, The wrong was not in the act of sending them when they\nwere told, but in the wish to send them at all. The wish was the fruit\nof unbelief, and the command to send them was because of that\nunbelief.\n\nWe may see something of the same in the matter of divorce in Matthew\nxix.--\"The Pharisees also came unto Him, tempting Him, and saying unto\nHim, 'Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?'\nAnd He answered and said unto them, 'Have ye not read, that He which\nmade them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, For\nthis cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to\nhis wife; and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no\nmore twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together,\nlet not man put asunder.' They say unto Him, 'Why did Moses, then,\ncommand to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away? He\nsaith unto them, 'Moses _because of the hardness of your hearts_\nsuffered you to put away your wives; but from the beginning it was not\nso.'\"\n\nIt was not in keeping with God's original institution, or according to\nHis heart, that a man should put away his wife; but, in consequence of\nthe hardness of the human heart, divorce was permitted by the\nlawgiver. Is there any difficulty in this? Surely not; unless the\nheart is bent on making one. Neither is there any difficulty in the\nmatter of the spies. Israel ought not to have needed them: simple\nfaith would never have thought of them. But the Lord saw the real\ncondition of things and issued a command accordingly; just as, in\nafter ages, He saw the heart of the people bent on having a king, and\nHe commanded Samuel to give them one.--\"And the Lord said unto Samuel,\n'Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee;\nfor they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected Me, that I\nshould not reign over them. According to all the works which they have\ndone since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this\nday, wherewith they have forsaken Me, and served other gods, so do\nthey also unto thee. Now therefore hearken unto their voice: _howbeit\nyet protest solemnly_ unto them, and shew them the manner of the king\nthat shall reign over them.'\" (1 Sam. viii. 7-9.)\n\nThus we see that the mere granting of a desire is no proof whatever\nthat such desire is according to the mind of God. Israel ought not to\nhave asked for a king. Was not Jehovah sufficient? was not He their\nKing? could not He, as He had ever done, lead them forth to battle and\nfight for them? Why seek an arm of flesh? why turn away from the\nliving, the true, the almighty God to lean on a poor fellow-worm? What\npower was there in a king but that which God might see fit to bestow\nupon him? None whatever. All the power, all the wisdom, all real good,\nwas in the Lord their God; and it was there for them--there at all\ntimes, to meet their every need. They had but to lean upon His\nalmighty arm--to draw upon His exhaustless resources, to find all\ntheir springs in Him.\n\nWhen they did get a king, according to their hearts' desire, what did\nhe do for them? \"All the people followed him trembling.\" The more\nclosely we study the melancholy history of Saul's reign, the more we\nsee that he was, almost from the very outset, a positive hindrance\nrather than a help. We have but to read his history, from first to\nlast, in order to see the truth of this. His whole reign was a\nlamentable failure, aptly and forcibly set forth in two glowing\nsentences of the prophet Hosea,--\"I gave thee a king in Mine anger,\nand took him away in My wrath.\" In a word, he was the answer to the\nunbelief and self-will of the people, and therefore all their\nbrilliant hopes and expectations respecting him were most lamentably\ndisappointed. He failed to answer the mind of God, and, as a necessary\nconsequence, he failed to meet the people's need. He proved himself\nwholly unworthy of the crown and sceptre, and his ignominious fall on\nMount Gilboa was in melancholy keeping with his whole career.\n\nNow, when we come to consider the mission of the spies, we find it\ntoo, like the appointment of a king, ending in complete failure and\ndisappointment. It could not be otherwise, inasmuch as it was the\nfruit of unbelief. True, God gave them spies, and Moses, with touching\ngrace, says, \"The saying pleased me well; and I took twelve men of\nyou, one of a tribe,\"--it was Grace coming down to the condition of\nthe people and consenting to a plan which was suited to that\ncondition; but this by no means proves that either the plan or the\ncondition was according to the mind of God. Blessed be His name, He\ncan meet us in our unbelief though He is grieved and dishonored by it.\nHe delights in a bold, artless faith; it is the only thing in all this\nworld that gives Him His proper place. Hence, when Moses said to the\npeople, \"Behold, the Lord thy God hath set the land before thee: go up\nand possess it, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath said unto thee;\nfear not, neither be discouraged,\" what would have been the proper\nresponse from them? Here we are: lead on, almighty Lord--lead on to\nvictory. Thou art enough. With Thee as our leader, we move on with\njoyful confidence. Difficulties are nothing to Thee, and therefore\nthey are nothing to us. Thy word and Thy presence are all we want. In\nthese we find at once our authority and power. It matters not in the\nleast to us who or what may be before us: mighty giants, towering\nwalls, frowning bulwarks--what are they all in the presence of the\nLord God of Israel, but as withered leaves before the whirlwind? Lead\non, O Lord.\n\nThis would have been the language of Faith; but, alas! it was not the\nlanguage of Israel on the occasion before us. God was not sufficient\nfor them. They were not prepared to go up, leaning on His arm alone:\nthey were not satisfied with His report of the land; they would send\nspies. Any thing for the poor human heart but simple dependence upon\nthe one living and true God. The natural man cannot trust God, simply\nbecause he does not know Him. \"They that know Thy name will put their\ntrust in Thee.\"\n\nGod must be known, in order to be trusted; and the more fully He is\ntrusted, the better He becomes known. There is nothing in all this\nworld so truly blessed as a life of simple faith; but it must be a\nreality and not a mere profession. It is utterly vain to talk of\nliving by faith, while the heart is secretly resting on some\ncreature-prop. The true believer has to do exclusively with God. He\nfinds in Him all his resources. It is not that he undervalues the\ninstruments or the channels which God is pleased to use; quite the\nreverse. He values them exceedingly; and cannot but value them, as the\nmeans which God uses for his help and blessing; but he does not allow\nthem to displace God. The language of his heart is, \"My soul, wait\nthou only upon God; for my expectation is from Him. He _only_ is my\nrock.\"\n\nThere is peculiar force in the word \"only.\" It searches the heart\nthoroughly. To look to the creature, directly or indirectly, for the\nsupply of any need, is, in principle, to depart from the life of\nfaith; and, oh! it is miserable work, this looking, in any way, to\ncreature-streams. It is just as morally degrading as the life of faith\nis morally elevating. And not only is it degrading, but disappointing.\nCreature-props give way, and creature-streams run dry; but they that\ntrust in the Lord shall never be confounded, and never want any good\nthing. Had Israel trusted the Lord instead of sending spies, they\nwould have had a very different tale to tell; but spies they would\nsend, and the whole affair proved a most humiliating failure.\n\n\"And they turned, and went up into the mountain, and came unto the\nvalley of Eschol, and searched it out. And they took of the fruit of\nthe land in their hands, and brought it down unto us, and brought us\nword again, and said, 'It is a good land which the Lord our God doth\ngive us.'\" How could it possibly be otherwise when God was giving it?\nDid they want spies to tell them that the gift of God was good?\nAssuredly, they ought not. An artless faith would have argued thus:\nWhatever God gives must be worthy of Himself; we want no spies to\nassure us of this. But, ah! this artless faith is an uncommonly rare\ngem in this world; and even those who possess it know but little of\nits value or how to use it. It is one thing to talk of the life of\nfaith, and another thing altogether to live it,--the theory is one\nthing, the living reality quite another. But let us never forget that\nit is the privilege of every child of God to live by faith, and,\nfurther, that the life of faith takes in every thing that the believer\ncan possibly need, from the starting-post to the goal of his earthly\ncareer. We have already touched upon this important point; it cannot\nbe too earnestly or constantly insisted upon.\n\nWith regard to the mission of the spies, the reader will note with\ninterest the way in which Moses refers to it. He confines himself to\nthat portion of their testimony which was according to truth; he says\nnothing about the ten infidel spies. This is in perfect keeping with\nthe scope and object of the book. Every thing is brought to bear, in a\nmoral way, on the conscience of the congregation. He reminds them that\nthey themselves had proposed to send the spies; and yet, although the\nspies had placed before them the fruit of the land, and borne\ntestimony to its goodness, they would not go up.--\"Notwithstanding ye\nwould not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your\nGod.\" There was no excuse whatever. It was evident that their hearts\nwere in a state of positive unbelief and rebellion, and the mission of\nthe spies, from first to last, only made this fully manifest.\n\n\"And ye murmured in your tents, and said, 'Because the Lord hated\nus'--a terrible lie on the very face of it!--'He hath brought us forth\nout of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites,\nto destroy us.'\" What a strange proof of hatred! How utterly absurd\nare the arguments of unbelief! Surely, had He hated them, nothing was\neasier than to leave them to die amid the brick-kilns of Egypt,\nbeneath the cruel lash of Pharaoh's taskmasters. Why take so much\ntrouble about them? Why those ten plagues sent upon the land of their\noppressors? Why, if He hated them, did He not allow the waters of the\nRed Sea to overwhelm them as they had overwhelmed their enemies? Why\nhad He delivered them from the sword of Amalek? In a word, why all\nthese marvelous triumphs of grace on their behalf if He hated them?\nAh! if they had not been governed by a spirit of dark and senseless\nunbelief, such a brilliant array of evidence would have led them to a\nconclusion the direct opposite of that to which they gave utterance.\nThere is nothing beneath the canopy of heaven so stupidly irrational\nas unbelief; and, on the other hand, there is nothing so sound, clear,\nand logical as the simple argument of a childlike faith. May the\nreader ever be enabled to prove the truth of this.\n\n\"And ye murmured in your tents.\" Unbelief is not only a blind and\nsenseless reasoner, but a dark and gloomy murmurer. It neither gets\nto the right side of things nor the bright side of things. It is\nalways in the dark--always in the wrong, simply because it shuts out\nGod, and looks only at circumstances. They said, \"Whither shall we go\nup? our brethren have discouraged our hearts, saying, 'The people is\ngreater and taller than we'--but they were not greater than\nJehovah--'and the cities are great and _walled up to heaven_'--the\ngross exaggeration of unbelief--'and moreover we have seen the sons of\nthe Anakims there.'\"\n\nNow, Faith would say, Well, what though the cities be walled up to\nheaven, our God is above them, for He is _in_ heaven. What are great\ncities or lofty walls to Him who formed the universe, and sustains it\nby the Word of His power? What are Anakims in the presence of the\nalmighty God? If the land were covered with walled cities from Dan to\nBeersheba, and if the giants were as numerous as the leaves of the\nforest, they would be as the chaff of the threshing-floor before the\nOne who has promised to give the land of Canaan to the seed of\nAbraham, His friend, for an everlasting possession.\n\nBut Israel had not faith, as the inspired apostle tells us in the\nthird chapter of Hebrews, \"They could not enter in because of\nunbelief.\" Here lay the great difficulty. The walled cities and the\nterrible Anakims would soon have been disposed of had Israel only\ntrusted God. He would have made very short work of all these; but, ah!\nthat deplorable unbelief! it ever stands in the way of our blessing.\nIt hinders the outshining of the glory of God; it casts a dark shadow\nover our souls, and robs us of the privilege of proving the\nall-sufficiency of our God to meet our every need and remove our every\ndifficulty.\n\nBlessed be His name, He never fails a trusting heart. It is His\ndelight to honor the very largest drafts that Faith hands in at His\nexhaustless treasury. His assuring word to us ever is, \"Be not afraid;\nonly believe.\" And again, \"According to your faith be it unto you.\"\nPrecious soul-stirring words! may we all realize more fully their\nliving power and sweetness. We may rest assured of this, we can never\ngo too far in counting on God; it would be a simple impossibility. Our\ngrand mistake is that we do not draw more largely upon His infinite\nresources. \"Said I not unto thee that if thou wouldest believe, thou\nshouldest see the glory of God?\"\n\nThus we can see why it was that Israel failed to see the glory of God\non the occasion before us,--they did not believe. The mission of the\nspies proved a complete failure. As it began, so it ended--in the most\ndeplorable unbelief. God was shut out: difficulties filled their\nvision.\n\n\"They could not enter in.\" They could not see the glory of God.\nHearken to the deeply affecting words of Moses. It does the heart good\nto read them. They touch the very deepest springs of our renewed\nbeing.--\"Then I said unto you, 'Dread not, neither be afraid of them.\nThe Lord your God which goeth before you, He shall fight for\nyou'--only think of God fighting for people! think of Jehovah as a Man\nof war!--'He shall fight for you, according to all that He did for you\nin Egypt before your eyes; and in the wilderness, where thou hast seen\nhow that _the Lord thy God bare thee, as a man doth bear his son_, in\nall the way that ye went, until ye came into this place.' Yet in this\nthing _ye did not believe the Lord your God_, who went in the way\nbefore you, to search you out a place to pitch your tents in, in fire\nby night, to show you by what way ye should go, and in a cloud by\nday.\"\n\nWhat moral force, what touching sweetness in this appeal! How clearly\nwe can see here, as indeed on every page of the book, that Deuteronomy\nis not a barren repetition of facts, but a most powerful commentary on\nthose facts. It is well that the reader should be thoroughly clear as\nto this. If in the book of Exodus or Numbers the inspired lawgiver\nrecords the actual facts of Israel's wilderness-life, in the book of\nDeuteronomy he comments on those facts with a pathos that quite melts\nthe heart. And here it is that the exquisite style of Jehovah's acts\nis pointed out and dwelt upon with such inimitable skill and delicacy.\nWho could consent to give up the lovely figure set forth in the words,\n\"As a man doth bear his son\"? Here we have the style of the action.\nCould we do without this? Assuredly not. It is the style of an action\nthat touches the heart, because it is the style that so peculiarly\nexpresses the heart. If the power of the _hand_ or the wisdom of the\n_mind_ is seen in the _substance_ of an action, the love of the\n_heart_ comes out in the _style_. Even a little child can understand\nthis, though he might not be able to explain it.\n\nBut, alas! Israel could not trust God to bring them into the land.\nNotwithstanding the marvelous display of His power, His faithfulness,\nHis goodness, and loving-kindness, from the brick-kilns of Egypt to\nthe very borders of the land of Canaan, yet they did not believe. With\nan array of evidence which ought to have satisfied any heart, they\nstill doubted. \"And the Lord heard the voice of your words, and was\nwroth, and sware, saying, 'Surely there shall not one of these men of\nthis evil generation see that good land, which I sware to give unto\nyour fathers, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it; and to\nhim will I give the land that he hath trodden upon, and to his\nchildren, because he hath wholly followed the Lord.'\"\n\n\"Said I not unto thee that if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest\nsee the glory of God?\" Such is the divine order. Men will tell you\nthat seeing is believing, but in the kingdom of God, believing is\nseeing. Why was it that not a man of that evil generation was allowed\nto see the good land? Simply because they did not believe in the Lord\ntheir God. On the other hand, why was Caleb allowed to see and take\npossession? Simply because he believed. Unbelief is ever the great\nhindrance in the way of our seeing the glory of God.--\"He did not many\nmighty works there because of their unbelief.\" If Israel had only\nbelieved, only trusted the Lord their God, only confided in the love\nof His heart and in the power of His arm, He would have brought them\nin and planted them in the mountain of His inheritance.\n\nAnd just so is it with the Lord's people now. There is no limit to the\nblessings which we might enjoy, could we only count more fully upon\nGod. \"All things are possible to him that believeth.\" Our God will\nnever say, You have drawn too largely; you expect too much.\nImpossible. It is the joy of His loving heart to answer the very\nlargest expectations of Faith.\n\nLet us, then, draw largely. \"Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.\"\nThe exhaustless treasury of heaven is thrown open to Faith. \"_All\nthings_ whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall\nreceive.\" \"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth\nto all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.\nBut let him ask in faith, _nothing wavering_.\" Faith is the divine\nsecret of the whole matter--the main-spring of Christian life from\nfirst to last. Faith wavers not, staggers not: Unbelief is ever a\nwaverer and a staggerer, and hence it never sees the glory of God,\nnever sees His power. It is deaf to His voice and blind to His\nactings; it depresses the heart and weakens the hands; it darkens the\npath and hinders all progress. It kept Israel out of the land of\nCanaan for forty years; and we have no conception of the amount of\nblessing, privilege, power and usefulness which we are constantly\nmissing through its terrible influence. If faith were in more lively\nexercise in our hearts, what a different condition of things we should\nwitness in our midst. What is the secret of the deplorable deadness\nand barrenness throughout the wide field of Christian profession? How\nare we to account for our impoverished condition, our low tone, our\nstunted growth? Why is it that we see such poor results in every\ndepartment of Christian work? Why are there so few genuine\nconversions? Why are our evangelists so frequently cast down by reason\nof the paucity of their sheaves? How are we to answer all these\nquestions? what is the cause? Will any one attempt to say it is not\nour unbelief?\n\nNo doubt, our divisions have much to do with it; our worldliness, our\ncarnality, our self-indulgence, our love of ease. But what is the\nremedy for all these evils? How are our hearts to be drawn out in\ngenuine love to all our brethren? By faith, that precious principle\n\"that worketh by love.\" Thus the blessed apostle says to the dear\nyoung converts at Thessalonica, \"Your faith groweth exceedingly.\" And\nwhat then? \"The love of every one of you all toward each other\naboundeth.\" Thus it must ever be. Faith puts us into direct contact\nwith the eternal spring of love in God Himself, and the necessary\nconsequence is that our hearts are drawn out in love to all who belong\nto Him--all in whom we can, in the very feeblest way, trace His\nblessed image. We cannot possibly be near the Lord and not love all\nwho in every place call upon His name out of a pure heart. The nearer\nwe are to Christ, the more intensely we must be knit, in true\nbrotherly love, to every member of His body.\n\nThen as to worldliness, in all its varied forms, how is it to be\novercome? Hear the reply of another inspired apostle.--\"For whatsoever\nis born of God overcometh the world; and this is the victory that\novercometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the\nworld, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?\" The new\nman, walking in the power of faith, lives above the world, above its\nmotives, above its objects, its principles, its habits, its fashions;\nhe has nothing in common with it. Though in it, he is not of it; he\nmoves right athwart its current; he draws all his springs from heaven;\nhis life, his hope, his all is there, and he ardently longs to be\nthere himself when his work on earth is done.\n\nThus we see what a mighty principle faith is. It purifies the heart,\nit works by love, and it overcomes the world. In short, it links the\nheart in living power with God Himself, and this is the secret of true\nelevation, holy benevolence, and divine purity. No marvel, therefore,\nthat Peter calls it \"precious faith,\" for truly it is precious beyond\nall human thought.\n\nSee how this mighty principle acted in Caleb, and the blessed fruit it\nproduced. He was permitted to realize the truth of those words,\nuttered hundreds of years afterwards, \"According to your faith be it\nunto you.\" He believed that God was able to bring them into the land,\nand that all the difficulties and hindrances were simply bread for\nfaith. And God, as He ever does, answered his faith. \"Then the\nchildren of Judah came unto Joshua in Gilgal; and Caleb the son of\nJephunneh the Kenezite said unto him, 'Thou knowest the thing that the\nLord said unto Moses the man of God concerning me and thee in\nKadesh-barnea. Forty years old was I when Moses the servant of the\nLord sent me from Kadesh-barnea to espy out the land; and I brought\nhim word again as it was in my heart'--the simple testimony of a\nbright and lovely faith.--'Nevertheless my brethren that went up with\nme made the heart of the people melt; but I wholly followed the Lord\nmy God. And Moses sware on that day, saying, Surely the land whereon\nthy feet have trodden shall be thine inheritance, and thy children's\nforever, because thou hast wholly followed the Lord my God. And now,\nbehold, the Lord hath kept me alive, _as He said_, these forty and\nfive years, ever since the Lord spake this word unto Moses, while the\nchildren of Israel wandered in the wilderness; and now, lo, I am this\nday fourscore and five years old. As yet I am as strong this day as I\nwas in the day that Moses sent me; as my strength was then, even so is\nmy strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in. Now\ntherefore give me this mountain, whereof the Lord spake in that day;\nfor thou heardest in that day how the Anakims were there, and that the\ncities were great and fenced: if so be the Lord will be with me, then\nI shall be able to drive them out, as the Lord said.'\"\n\nHow refreshing are the utterances of an artless faith! How edifying!\nhow truly encouraging! How vividly they contrast with the gloomy,\ndepressing, withering accents of dark, God-dishonoring unbelief! \"And\nJoshua blessed him, and gave unto Caleb the son of Jephunneh Hebron\nfor an inheritance. Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb\nthe son of Jephunneh the Kenezite unto this day, because that he\nwholly followed the Lord God of Israel.\" (Joshua xiv.) Caleb, like his\nfather Abraham, was strong in faith, giving glory to God; and we may\nsay, with all possible confidence, that inasmuch as faith ever honors\nGod, He ever delights to honor faith; and we feel persuaded that if\nonly the Lord's people could more fully confide in God, if they would\nbut draw more largely upon His infinite resources, we should witness a\ntotally different condition of things from what we see around us.\n\"Said I not unto thee that if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest\nsee the glory of God?\" Oh for a more lively faith in God--a bolder\ngrasp of His faithfulness, His goodness, and His power! Then we might\nlook for more glorious results in the gospel-field; more zeal, more\nenergy, more intense devotedness in the Church of God; and more of the\nfragrant fruits of righteousness in the life of believers\nindividually.\n\nWe shall now, for a moment, look at the closing verses of our\nchapter, in which we shall find some very weighty instruction. And,\nfirst of all, we see the actings of divine government displayed in a\nmost solemn and impressive manner. Moses refers, in a very touching\nway, to the fact of his exclusion from the promised land.--\"Also the\nLord was angry with me _for your sakes_, saying, 'Thou also shalt not\ngo in thither.'\"\n\nMark the words, \"for your sakes.\" It was very needful to remind the\ncongregation that it was on their account that Moses, that beloved and\nhonored servant of the Lord, was prevented from crossing the Jordan,\nand setting his foot upon the land of Canaan. True, \"he spake\nunadvisedly with his lips,\" but \"they provoked his spirit\" to do so.\nThis ought to have touched them to the quick. They not only failed,\nthrough unbelief, to enter in themselves, but they were the cause of\nhis exclusion, much as he longed to see \"that goodly mountain and\nLebanon.\" (See Ps. cvi. 32.)\n\nBut the government of God is a grand and awful reality. Let us never\nfor one moment forget this. The human mind may marvel why a few\nill-advised words, a few hasty sentences, should be the cause of\nkeeping such a beloved and honored servant of God from that which he\nso ardently desired; but it is our place to bow the head in humble\nadoration and holy reverence, not to reason or judge. \"Shall not the\nJudge of all the earth do right?\" Most surely. He can make no mistake.\n\"Great and marvelous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true\nare Thy ways, Thou King of nations.\" \"God is greatly to be feared in\nthe assembly of the saints; and to be had in reverence of all them\nthat are about Him.\" \"Our God is a consuming fire;\" and \"it is a\nfearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.\"\n\nDoes it in any wise interfere with the action and range of the divine\ngovernment that we, as Christians, are under the reign of grace? By no\nmeans. It is as true to-day as ever it was that \"whatsoever _a man_\nsoweth, that shall he also reap.\" Hence, therefore, it would be a\nserious mistake for any one to draw a plea from the freedom of divine\ngrace to trifle with the enactments of divine government. The two\nthings are perfectly distinct, and should never be confounded. Grace\ncan pardon--freely, fully, eternally; but the wheels of Jehovah's\ngovernmental chariot roll on, in crushing power and appalling\nsolemnity. Grace pardoned Adam's sin; but Government drove him out of\nEden, to earn a living by the sweat of his brow, amid the thorns and\nthistles of a cursed earth: Grace pardoned David's sin, but the sword\nof Government hung over his house to the end,--Bathsheba was the\nmother of Solomon, but Absalom rose in rebellion.\n\nSo with Moses; Grace brought him to the top of Pisgah and showed him\nthe land, but Government sternly and absolutely forbad his entrance\nthither. Nor does it in the least touch this weighty principle to be\ntold that Moses, in his official capacity as the representative of the\nlegal system, could not bring the people into the land. This is quite\ntrue; but it leaves wholly untouched the solemn truth now before us.\nNeither in the twentieth chapter of Numbers nor in the first chapter\nof Deuteronomy have we any thing about Moses in his official capacity.\nIt is himself personally we have before us, and he is forbidden to\nenter the land because of having spoken unadvisedly with his lips.\n\nIt will be well for us all to ponder deeply, as in the immediate\npresence of God, this great practical truth. We may rest assured that\nthe more truly we enter into the knowledge of grace, the more we shall\nfeel the solemnity of government, and entirely justify its enactments.\nOf this we are most fully persuaded. But there is imminent danger of\ntaking up, in a light and careless manner, the doctrines of grace\nwhile the heart and the life are not brought under the sanctifying\ninfluence of those doctrines. This has to be watched against with holy\njealousy. There is nothing in all this world more awful than mere\nfleshly familiarity with the theory of salvation by grace. It opens\nthe door for every form of licentiousness. Hence it is that we feel\nthe necessity of pressing upon the conscience of the reader the\npractical truth of the government of God. It is most salutary at all\ntimes, but particularly so in this our day, when there is such a\nfearful tendency to turn the grace of our God into lasciviousness. We\nshall invariably find that those who most fully enter into the deep\nblessedness of being under the reign of grace, do also most\nthoroughly justify the actings of divine government.\n\nBut we learn, from the closing lines of our chapter, that the people\nwere by no means prepared to submit themselves under the governmental\nhand of God; in short, they would neither have grace nor government.\nWhen invited to go up at once and take possession of the land, with\nthe fullest assurances of the divine presence and power with them,\nthey hesitated and refused to go. They gave themselves up completely\nto a spirit of dark unbelief. In vain did Joshua and Caleb sound in\ntheir ears the most encouraging words, in vain did they set before\ntheir eyes the rich fruit of the goodly land, in vain did Moses seek\nto move them by the most soul-stirring words; they would not go up\nwhen they were told to go. And what then? They were taken at their\nword. According to their unbelief, so was it unto them. \"Moreover,\nyour little ones, which ye said should be a prey, and your children,\nwhich in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall\ngo in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess\nit. But as for you, turn you, and take your journey into the\nwilderness, by the way of the Red Sea.\"\n\nHow sad! and yet how else could it be? If they would not, in simple\nfaith, go up into the land, there remained nothing for them but\nturning back into the wilderness. But to this they would not submit.\nThey would neither avail themselves of the provisions of grace nor bow\nto the sentence of judgment.--\"Then ye answered and said unto me, 'We\nhave sinned against the Lord; we will go up and fight, according to\nall that the Lord our God commanded us.' And when ye had girded on\nevery man his weapon of war, ye were ready to go up into the hill.\"\n\nThis looked like contrition and self-judgment; but it was hollow and\nfalse. It is a very easy thing to _say_, \"We have sinned.\" Saul said\nit in his day; but he said it without heart, without any genuine sense\nof what he was saying. We may easily gather the force and value of the\nwords \"I have sinned\" from the fact that they were immediately\nfollowed by \"_Honor me_ now, I pray thee, before the elders of my\npeople.\" What a strange contradiction!--\"I have sinned,\" yet \"Honor\nme.\" If he had really felt his sin, how different his language would\nhave been! how different his spirit, style, and deportment! but it was\nall a solemn mockery. Only conceive a man full of himself, making use\nof a form of words, without one atom of true heart-feeling; and then,\nin order to get honor for himself, going through the empty formality\nof worshiping God. What a picture! Can any thing be more sorrowful?\nHow terribly offensive to Him who desires truth in the inward parts,\nand who seeks those to worship Him who worship Him in spirit and in\ntruth! The feeblest breathings of a broken and contrite heart are\nprecious to God; but, oh, how offensive to Him are the hollow\nformalities of a mere religiousness, the object of which is to exalt\nman in his own eyes and in the eyes of his fellows! How perfectly\nworthless is the mere lip-confession of sin where the heart does not\nfeel it! As a recent writer has well remarked, \"it is an easy thing to\nsay, 'We have sinned,' but how often we have to learn that it is not\nthe quick, abrupt confession of sin which affords evidence that sin is\nfelt! It is rather a proof of hardness of heart. The conscience feels\nthat a certain act of confessing the sin is necessary, but perhaps\nthere is hardly any thing which more hardens the heart than the habit\nof confessing sin without feeling it. This, I believe, is one of the\ngreat snares of christendom from of old and now, that is, the\nstereotyped acknowledgment of sin--the mere habit of hurrying through\na formula of confession to God. I dare say we have almost all done so,\nwithout referring to any particular mode; for, alas! there is\nformality enough; and without having written forms, the heart may\nframe forms of its own, as we may have observed, if not known it, in\nour own experience, without finding fault with other people.\"[4]\n\n  [4] \"Lectures Introductory to the Pentateuch,\" by W. Kelly.\n\nThus it was with Israel at Kadesh. Their confession of sin was utterly\nworthless; there was no truth in it. Had they felt what they were\nsaying, they would have bowed to the judgment of God, and meekly\naccepted the consequence of their sin. There is no finer proof of true\ncontrition than quiet submission to the governmental dealings of God.\nLook at the case of Moses. See how he bowed his head to the divine\ndiscipline. \"The Lord,\" he says, \"was angry with me for your sakes,\nsaying, 'Thou also shalt not go in thither. But Joshua the son of Nun,\nwhich standeth before thee, he shall go in thither: encourage him; for\nhe shall cause Israel to inherit it.'\"\n\nHere, Moses shows them that they were the cause of his exclusion from\nthe land; and yet he utters not a single murmuring word, but meekly\nbows to the divine judgment, not only content to be superseded by\nanother, but ready to appoint and encourage his successor. There is no\ntrace of jealousy or envy here. It was enough for that beloved and\nhonored servant if God was glorified and the need of the congregation\nmet. He was not occupied with himself or his own interests, but with\nthe glory of God and the blessing of His people.\n\nBut the people manifested a very different spirit. \"We will go up and\nfight.\" How vain! How foolish! When commanded by God and encouraged by\nHis true-hearted servants to go up and possess the land, they replied,\n\"Whither shall we go up?\" and when commanded to turn back into the\nwilderness, they replied, \"We will go up and fight.\"\n\n\"And the Lord said unto me, 'Say unto them, Go not up, neither fight;\nfor I am not among you; lest ye be smitten before your enemies.' So I\nspake unto you; and ye would not hear, but rebelled against the\ncommandment of the Lord, and went presumptuously up into the hill. And\nthe Amorites, which dwelt in that mountain, came out against you, and\nchased you, as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir, even unto Hormah.\"\n\nIt was quite impossible for Jehovah to accompany them along the path\nof self-will and rebellion; and, most assuredly, Israel, without the\ndivine presence, could be no match for the Amorites. If God be for us\nand with us, all must be victory; but we cannot count on God if we are\nnot treading the path of obedience. It is simply the height of folly\nto imagine that we can have God with us if our ways are not right.\n\"The name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous runneth into it\nand is safe.\" But if we are not walking in practical righteousness, it\nis wicked presumption to talk of having the Lord as our strong tower.\n\nBlessed be His name, He can meet us in the very depths of our weakness\nand failure, provided there be the genuine and hearty confession of\nour true condition; but to assume that we have the Lord with us while\nwe are doing our own will and walking in palpable unrighteousness, is\nnothing but wickedness and hardness of heart. \"Trust in the Lord, and\ndo good\"--this is the divine order; but to talk of trusting in the\nLord while doing evil, is to turn the grace of our God into\nlasciviousness, and place ourselves completely in the hands of the\ndevil, who only seeks our moral ruin. \"The eyes of the Lord run to and\nfro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong in the behalf\nof them whose heart is perfect toward Him.\" When we have a good\nconscience, we can lift up the head and move on through all sorts of\ndifficulties; but to attempt to tread the path of faith with a bad\nconscience, is the most dangerous thing in this world. We can only\nhold up the shield of faith when our loins are girt with truth, and\nthe breast covered with the breastplate of righteousness.\n\nIt is of the utmost importance that Christians should seek to maintain\npractical righteousness, in all its branches. There is immense moral\nweight and value in these words of the blessed apostle Paul, \"Herein\ndo I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offense\ntoward God and men.\" He ever sought to wear the breastplate, and to be\nclothed in that white linen which is the righteousness of saints. And\nso should we. It is our holy privilege to tread, day by day, with firm\nstep, the path of duty, the path of obedience, the path on which the\nlight of God's approving countenance ever shines; then, assuredly, we\ncan count on God, lean upon Him, draw from Him, find all our springs\nin Him, wrap ourselves up in His faithfulness, and thus move on, in\npeaceful communion and holy worship, toward our heavenly home.\n\nIt is not, we repeat, that we cannot look to God in our weakness, our\nfailure, and even when we have erred and sinned. Blessed be His name,\nwe can; and His ear is ever open to our cry. \"If we confess our sins,\nHe is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from\nall unrighteousness.\" (1 John i.) \"Out of the depths have I cried unto\nthee, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice: let Thine ears be attentive to the\nvoice of my supplications. If Thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O\nLord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with Thee, that Thou\nmayest be feared.\" (Ps. cxxx.) There is absolutely no limit to divine\nforgiveness, inasmuch as there is no limit to the extent of the\natonement, no limit to the virtue and efficacy of the blood of Jesus\nChrist, God's Son, which cleanseth from all sin; no limit to the\nprevalency of the intercession of our adorable Advocate, our great\nHigh-Priest, who is able to save to the uttermost--right through and\nthrough to the end--them that come unto God by Him.\n\nAll this is most blessedly true; it is largely taught and variously\nillustrated throughout the volume of inspiration; but the confession\nof sin, and the pardon thereof, must not be confounded with practical\nrighteousness. There are two distinct conditions in which we may call\nupon God: we may call upon Him in deep contrition and be heard, or we\nmay call upon Him with a good conscience and an uncondemning heart and\nbe heard. But the two things are very distinct; and not only are they\ndistinct in themselves, but they both stand in marked contrast with\nthat indifference and hardness of heart which would presume to count\non God in the face of positive disobedience and practical\nunrighteousness. It is this which is so dreadful in the sight of the\nLord, and which must bring down His heavy judgment. Practical\nrighteousness He owns and approves; confessed sin He can freely and\nfully pardon; but to imagine that we can put our trust in God while\nour feet are treading the path of iniquity, is nothing short of the\nmost shocking impiety. \"Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The\ntemple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord,\nare these. For if ye throughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye\nthroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbor; if ye\noppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not\ninnocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your\nhurt: then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I\ngave to your fathers, forever and ever. Behold, ye trust in lying\nwords, that cannot profit. Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery,\nand swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other\ngods whom ye know not; and come and stand before Me in this house,\nwhich is called by My name, and say, 'We are delivered to do all these\nabominations?'\" (Jeremiah vii.)\n\nGod deals in moral realities. He desires truth in the inward parts;\nand if men will presume to hold the truth in unrighteousness, they\nmust look out for His righteous judgment. It is the thought of all\nthis that makes us feel the awful condition of the professing church.\nThe solemn passage which we have just culled from the prophet\nJeremiah, though bearing primarily upon the men of Judah and the\ninhabitants of Jerusalem, has a very pointed application to\nchristendom. We find, in the third chapter of 2 Timothy, that all the\nabominations of heathenism, as detailed in the close of Romans i, are\nreproduced in the last days under the garb of the Christian\nprofession, and in immediate connection with \"a form of godliness.\"\nWhat must be the end of such a condition of things? Unmitigated wrath.\nThe very heaviest judgments of God are reserved for that vast mass of\nbaptized profession which we call christendom. The moment is rapidly\napproaching when all the beloved and blood-bought people of God shall\nbe called away out of this dark and sinful, though so-called\n\"Christian world,\" to be forever with the Lord, in that sweet home of\nlove prepared in the Father's house. Then the \"strong delusion\" shall\nbe sent upon christendom--upon those very countries where the light of\na full-orbed Christianity has shone, where a full and free gospel has\nbeen preached, where the Bible has been circulated by millions, and\nwhere all, in some way or another, profess the name of Christ and call\nthemselves Christians.\n\nAnd what then?--what is to follow this \"strong delusion\"? Any fresh\ntestimony? any further overtures of mercy? any further effort of\nlong-suffering grace? Not for christendom! not for the rejecters of\nthe gospel of God! not for Christless, Godless professors of the\nhollow and worthless forms of Christianity! The heathen shall hear\n\"the everlasting gospel\"--\"the gospel of the kingdom;\" but as for that\nterrible thing, that most frightful anomaly called christendom--\"the\nvine of the earth,\" nothing remains but the wine-press of the wrath\nof Almighty God, the blackness and darkness forever, the lake that\nburneth with fire and brimstone.\n\nReader, these are the true sayings of God. Nothing would be easier\nthan to place before your eyes an array of Scripture proof perfectly\nunanswerable: this would be foreign to our present object. The New\nTestament, from cover to cover, sets forth the solemn truth above\nenunciated; and every system of theology under the sun that teaches\ndifferently will be found, on this point at least, to be totally\nfalse.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\n\nThe closing lines of chapter i. show us the people weeping before the\nLord.--\"And ye returned and wept before the Lord; but the Lord would\nnot hearken to your voice, nor give ear unto you. So ye abode in\nKadesh many days, according unto the days that ye abode there.\"\n\nThere was no more reality in their tears than in their words,--their\nweeping was no more to be trusted than their confession. It is\npossible for people to confess and shed tears without any true sense\nof sin in the presence of God. This is very solemn. It is really\nmocking God. We know, blessed forever be His name, that a truly\ncontrite heart is His delight. He makes His abode with such. \"The\nsacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart,\nO God, Thou wilt not despise.\" The tears that flow from a penitent\nheart are more precious, by far, to God than the cattle upon a\nthousand hills, because they prove that there is room in that heart\nfor Him; and this is what He seeks, in His infinite grace. He wants to\ndwell in our hearts, and fill us with the deep, unspeakable joy of His\nown most blessed presence.\n\nBut Israel's confession and tears at Kadesh were not real, and hence\nthe Lord could not accept them. The feeblest cry of a broken heart\nascends directly to the throne of God, and is immediately answered by\nthe soothing, healing balm of His pardoning love; but when tears and\nconfession stand connected with self-will and rebellion, they are not\nonly utterly worthless, but a positive insult to the divine Majesty.\n\nThus, then, the people had to turn back into the wilderness, and\nwander there for forty years. There was nothing else for it. They\nwould not go up into the land, in simple faith, with God, and He would\nnot go up with them in their self-will and self-confidence; they had,\ntherefore, simply to accept the consequence of their disobedience. If\nthey would not enter the land, they must fall in the wilderness.\n\nHow solemn is all this! and how solemn is the Spirit's commentary upon\nit in the third chapter of Hebrews! and how pointed and forcible the\napplication to us! We must quote the passage for the benefit of the\nreader.--\"Wherefore, as the Holy Ghost saith, 'To-day if ye will hear\nHis voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day\nof temptation in the wilderness; when your fathers tempted Me, proved\nMe, and saw My works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that\ngeneration, and said, They do alway err _in heart_; and they have not\nknown My ways. So I sware in My wrath, They shall not enter into My\nrest.' Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart\nof unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another\ndaily, while it is called 'To-day;' lest any of you be hardened\nthrough the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ,\nif we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end;\nwhile it is said, 'To-day if ye will hear His voice, harden not your\nhearts, as in the provocation. For some, when they had heard, did\nprovoke; howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. But with\nwhom was He grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned,\nwhose carcases fell in the wilderness? And to whom sware He that they\nshould not enter into His rest, but to them that believed not? So we\nsee that they could not enter in because of unbelief. Let us therefore\nfear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into His rest, any of\nyou should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel\npreached, as well as unto them; but the word preached did not profit\nthem, not being mixed with faith in them that heard.\"\n\nHere, as in every page of the inspired volume, we learn that unbelief\nis _the_ thing that grieves the heart and dishonors the name of God;\nand not only so, but it robs us of the blessings, the dignities, and\nthe privileges which infinite grace bestows. We have very little idea\nof how much we lose, in every way, through the unbelief of our hearts.\nJust as in Israel's case the land was before them, in all its\nfruitfulness and beauty, and they were commanded to go and take\npossession, but \"they could not enter in because of unbelief;\" so with\nus--we fail to possess ourselves of the fullness of blessing which\nsovereign grace has put within our reach. The very treasury of heaven\nis thrown open to us, but we fail to appropriate. We are poor, feeble,\nempty, and barren when we might be rich, vigorous, full, and fruitful.\nWe are blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in\nChrist, but how shallow is our apprehension! how feeble our grasp! how\npoor our thoughts!\n\nThen, again, who can calculate how much we lose, through our unbelief,\nin the matter of the Lord's work in our midst? We read in the gospel\nof a certain place in which our blessed Lord could not do many mighty\nworks, because of their unbelief. Has this no voice for us? Do we too\nhinder Him by unbelief? We shall perhaps be told by some that the Lord\nwill carry on His work irrespective of us or our faith; He will gather\nout His own and accomplish the number of His elect spite of our\nunbelief. Not all the power of earth and hell--men and devils combined\ncan hinder the carrying out of His counsels and purposes; and as to\nHis work, It is not by might nor by power, but by His Spirit. Human\nefforts are in vain; and the Lord's cause can never be furthered by\nNature's excitement.\n\nNow, all this is perfectly true; but it leaves wholly untouched the\ninspired statement quoted above. \"He could there do not many mighty\nworks, because of their unbelief.\" Did not those people lose blessing\nthrough their unbelief? did they not hinder much good being done? We\nmust beware how we surrender our minds to the withering influence of a\npernicious fatalism, which, with a certain semblance of truth, is\nutterly false, inasmuch as it denies all human responsibility and\nparalizes all godly energy in the cause of Christ. We have to bear in\nmind that the same One who, in His eternal counsels, has decreed the\nend, has also designed the means; and if we, in the sinful unbelief of\nour hearts and under the influence of one-sided truth, fold our arms\nand neglect the means, He will set us aside and carry on His work by\nother hands. He will work, blessed be His holy name, but we shall lose\nthe dignity, the privilege, and the blessing of being His instruments.\n\nLook at that striking scene in the second of Mark. It most forcibly\nillustrates the great principle which we desire to press upon all who\nmay read these lines. It proves the power of faith, in connection with\nthe carrying on of the Lord's work. If the four men whose conduct is\nhere set forth had suffered themselves to be influenced by a\nmischievous fatalism, they would have argued that it was no use doing\nany thing--if the palsied man was to be cured he would be cured,\nwithout human effort. Why should they busy themselves in climbing up\non the house, uncovering the roof, and letting down the sick man into\nthe midst before Jesus? Ah, it was well for the palsied man and well\nfor themselves that they did not act on such miserable reasoning as\nthis. See how their lovely faith wrought. It refreshed the heart of\nthe Lord Jesus; it brought the sick man into the place of healing,\npardon, and blessing; and it gave occasion for the display of divine\npower, which arrested the attention of all present and gave testimony\nto the great truth that God was on earth, in the Person of Jesus of\nNazareth, healing diseases and forgiving sins.\n\nMany other examples might be adduced, but there in no need. All\nScripture establishes the fact that unbelief hinders our blessing,\nhinders our usefulness, robs us of the rare privilege of being God's\nhonored instruments in the carrying on of His glorious work, and of\nseeing the operations of His hand and His Spirit in our midst; and, on\nthe other hand, that faith draws down power and blessing, not only for\nourselves, but for others,--that it both glorifies and gratifies God,\nby clearing the platform of the creature and making room for the\ndisplay of divine power. In short, there is no limit to the blessing\nwhich we might enjoy at the hand of our God if our hearts were more\ngoverned by that simple faith which ever counts on Him, and which He\never delights to honor. \"According to your faith, be it unto you.\"\nPrecious soul-stirring words! May they encourage us to draw more\nlargely upon those exhaustless resources which we have in God. He\ndelights to be used, blessed forever be His holy name. His word to us\nis, \"Open thy mouth _wide_, and I will fill it.\" We can never expect\ntoo much from the God of all grace, who has given us His only begotten\nSon, and will with Him freely give us all things.\n\nBut Israel could not trust God to bring them into the land; they\npresumed to go in their own strength, and, as a consequence, were put\nto flight before their enemies. Thus it must ever be. Presumption and\nfaith are two totally different things: the former can only issue in\ndefeat and disaster; the latter, in sure and certain victory.\n\n\"Then we turned and took our journey into the wilderness, by the way\nof the Red Sea, as the Lord spake unto me; and we compassed Mount Seir\nmany days.\" There is great moral beauty in the little word \"_we_.\"\nMoses links himself thoroughly with the people. He and Joshua and\nCaleb had all to turn back into the wilderness, in company with the\nunbelieving congregation. This might, in the judgment of nature, seem\nhard; but we may rest assured it was good and profitable. There is\nalways deep blessing in bowing to the will of God, even though we may\nnot always be able to see the why and the wherefore of things. We do\nnot read of a single murmuring word from these honored servants of God\nat having to turn back into the wilderness for forty years, although\nthey were quite ready to go up into the land. No; they simply turned\nback. And well they might, when Jehovah turned back also. How could\nthey think of complaining, when they beheld the traveling-chariot of\nthe God of Israel facing round to the wilderness? Surely the patient\ngrace and long-suffering mercy of God might well teach them to accept,\nwith a willing mind, a protracted sojourn in the wilderness, and to\nwait for the blessed moment of entrance upon the promised land.\n\nIt is a great thing always to submit ourselves meekly under the hand\nof God. We are sure to reap a rich harvest of blessing from the\nexercise. It is really taking the yoke of Christ upon us, which, as He\nHimself assures us, is the true secret of rest. \"Come unto Me, all ye\nthat labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke\nupon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye\nshall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is\nlight.\"\n\nWhat was this yoke? It was absolute and complete subjection to the\nFather's will. This we see in perfection in our adorable Lord and\nSaviour Jesus Christ. He could say, \"Even so, Father; for so it seemed\ngood in Thy sight.\" Here was the point with Him--\"good in Thy sight.\"\nThis settled every thing. Was His testimony rejected? did He seem to\nlabor in vain, and spend His strength for naught and in vain? What\nthen? \"I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth.\" It was all\nright. Whatever pleased the Father, pleased Him. He never had a\nthought or wish that was not in perfect consonance with the will of\nGod. Hence He, as a man, ever enjoyed perfect rest. He rested in the\ndivine counsels and purposes. The current of His peace was unruffled,\nfrom first to last.\n\nThis was the yoke of Christ; and this is what He, in His infinite\ngrace, invites us to take upon us, in order that we too may find rest\nunto our souls. Let us mark and seek to understand the words, \"ye\nshall _find_ rest.\" We must not confound the \"rest\" which _He gives_\nwith the \"rest\" which we find. When the weary, burdened, heavy-laden\nsoul comes to Jesus in simple faith, He gives rest--settled rest--the\nrest which flows from the full assurance that all is done,--sins\nforever put away; perfect righteousness accomplished, revealed, and\npossessed; every question divinely and eternally settled; God\nglorified; Satan silenced; conscience tranquillized.\n\nSuch is the rest which Jesus gives when we come to Him. But then we\nhave to move through the scenes and circumstances of our daily life.\nThere are trials, difficulties, exercises, buffetings, disappointments,\nand reverses of all sorts. None of these can, in the smallest degree,\ntouch the rest which Jesus gives; but they may very seriously\ninterfere with the rest which we are to find. They do not trouble the\nconscience, but they may greatly trouble the heart; they may make us\nvery restless, very fretful, very impatient. For instance, I want to\npreach at Glasgow; I am announced to do so; but lo! I am shut up in a\nsick-room in London. This does not trouble my conscience, but it may\ngreatly trouble my heart; I may be in a perfect fever of restlessness,\nready to exclaim, How tiresome! How terribly disappointing! Whatever\nam I to do? It is most untoward!\n\nAnd how is this state of things to be met? How is the troubled heart\nto be tranquillized, and the restless mind to be calmed down? What do\nI want? I want to find rest; how am I to find it? By stooping down and\ntaking Christ's precious yoke upon me--the very yoke which He Himself\never wore, in the days of His flesh--the yoke of complete subjection\nto the will of God. I want to be able to say, without one atom of\nreserve--to say from the very depths of my heart, \"Thy will, O Lord,\nbe done.\" I want such a profound sense of His perfect love to me, and\nof His infinite wisdom in all His dealings with me, that I would not\nhave it otherwise if I could--yea, that I would not move a finger to\nalter my position or circumstances, feeling assured that it is very\nmuch better for me to be suffering on a sick-bed in London than\nspeaking on a platform in Glasgow.\n\nHere lies the deep and precious secret of rest of heart, as opposed to\nrestlessness. It is the simple ability to thank God for every thing,\nbe it ever so contrary to our own will and utterly subversive of our\nown plans. It is not a mere assent to the truth that \"all things work\ntogether for good to them that love God, to them who are the called\naccording to His purpose;\" it is the positive sense--the actual\nrealization of the divine fact that the thing which God appoints is\nthe very best thing for us; it is perfect repose in the love, wisdom,\npower, and faithfulness of the One who has graciously undertaken for\nus in every thing, and charged Himself with all that concerns us for\ntime and eternity. We know that love will always do its very best for\nits object. What must it be to have God doing His very best for us?\nWhere is the heart that would not be satisfied with God's best if only\nit knows aught of Him?\n\nBut He must be known ere the heart can be satisfied with His will.\nEve, in the garden of Eden, beguiled by the serpent, became\ndissatisfied with the will of God. She _wished_ for something which He\nhad forbidden, and this something the devil undertook to supply. She\nthought the devil could do better for her than God. She thought to\nbetter her circumstances by taking herself out of the hands of God and\nplacing herself in the hands of Satan. Hence it is that no unrenewed\nheart can ever, by any possibility, rest in the will of God. If we\nsearch the human heart to the bottom, if we submit it to a faithful\nanalysis, we shall not find so much as a single thought in unison with\nthe will of God--no, not one. And even in the case of the true\nChristian--the child of God, it is only as he is enabled, by the grace\nof God, to mortify his own will, to reckon himself dead, and to walk\nin the Spirit, that he can delight in the will of God, and give thanks\nin every thing. It is one of the very finest evidences of the new\nbirth to be able, without a single shade of reserve, to say, in\nrespect to every dealing of the hand of God, \"Thy will be done.\" \"Even\nso, Father; for so it seemed good in Thy sight.\" When the heart is in\nthis attitude, Satan can make nothing of it. It is a grand point to be\nable to tell the devil and to tell the world--tell them, not in word\nand in tongue, but in deed and in truth; not merely with the lips, but\nin the heart and the life--_I am perfectly satisfied with the will of\nGod_.\n\nThis is the way to find rest. Let us see that we understand it. It is\nthe divine remedy for that unrest, that spirit of discontent, that\ndissatisfaction with our appointed lot and sphere, so sadly prevalent\non all hands. It is a perfect cure for that restless ambition so\nutterly opposed to the mind and spirit of Christ, but so entirely\ncharacteristic of the men of this world.\n\nMay we, beloved reader, cultivate, with holy diligence, that meek and\nlowly spirit which is, in the sight of God, of great price, which bows\nto His blessed will in all things, and vindicates His dealings, come\nwhat may. Thus shall our peace flow as a river, and the name of our\nLord Jesus Christ shall be magnified in our course, character, and\nconduct.\n\nEre turning from the deeply interesting and practical subject which\nhas been engaging our attention, we would observe that there are three\ndistinct attitudes in which the soul may be found in reference to the\ndealings of God, namely, subjection, acquiescence, and rejoicing. When\nthe will is broken, there is subjection; when the understanding is\nenlightened as to the divine object, there is acquiescence; and when\nthe affections are engaged with God Himself, there is positive\nrejoicing. Hence we read, in the tenth chapter of Luke, \"In that hour\nJesus _rejoiced_ in spirit, and said, '_I thank Thee_, O Father, Lord\nof heaven and earth, that Thou hast hid these things from the wise and\nprudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it\nseemed good in Thy sight.'\" That blessed One found His perfect delight\nin all the will of God. It was His meat and drink to carry out that\nwill, at all cost. In service or in suffering, in life or in death, He\nnever had any motive but the Father's will. He could say, \"I do always\nthe things that please Him.\" Eternal and universal homage to His\npeerless name!\n\nWe shall now proceed with our chapter.\n\n\"And the Lord spake unto me, saying, 'Ye have compassed this mountain\nlong enough; turn you northward.'\"\n\nThe word of the Lord determined every thing. It fixed how long the\npeople were to remain in any given place, and it indicated with equal\ndistinctness whither they were next to bend their steps. There was no\nneed whatever for them to plan or arrange their movements: it was the\nprovince and prerogative of Jehovah to settle all for them; it was\ntheirs to obey. There is no mention here of the cloud and the\ntrumpet; it is simply God's word and Israel's obedience.\n\nNothing can be more precious to a child of God, if only the heart be\nin a right condition, than to be guided, in all his movements, by the\ndivine command. It saves a world of anxiety and perplexity. In\nIsrael's case, called as they were to journey through a great and\nterrible wilderness, where there was no way, it was an unspeakable\nmercy to have their every movement, their every step, their every\nhalting-place, ordered by on infallible Guide. There was no need\nwhatever for them to trouble themselves about their movements, no need\nto inquire how long they were to stay in any given place, or where\nthey were to go next; Jehovah settled all for them. It was for them\nsimply to wait on Him for guidance, and to do what they were told.\n\nYes, reader, here was the grand point--a waiting and an obedient\nspirit. If this were lacking, they were liable to all sorts of\nquestionings, reasonings, and rebellious activities. When God said,\n\"Ye have compassed this mountain long enough,\" had Israel replied, No;\nwe want to compass it a little longer: we are very comfortable here,\nand we do not wish to make any change; or, again, if when God said,\n\"Turn you northward\" they had replied, No; we vastly prefer going\neastward; what would have been the result? Why, they would have\nforfeited the divine presence with them, and who could guide or help\nor feed them then? They could only count on the divine presence with\nthem while they trod the path indicated by the divine command. If\nthey chose to take their own way, there was nothing for them but\nfamine, desolation, and darkness. The stream from the smitten rock,\nand the heavenly manna, were only to be found in the path of\nobedience.\n\nNow, we Christians have to learn our lesson in all this--a wholesome,\nneeded, valuable lesson. It is our sweet privilege to have our path\nmarked out for us, day by day, by divine authority. Of this we are to\nbe most deeply and thoroughly persuaded. We are not to allow ourselves\nto be robbed of this rich blessing by the plausible reasonings of\nunbelief. God has promised to guide us, and His promise is yea and\nAmen. It is for us to make our own the promise, in the artless\nsimplicity of faith. It is as solid and as real and as true as God can\nmake it. We cannot admit for a moment that Israel in the desert were\nbetter off in the matter of guidance than God's heavenly people in\ntheir passage through this world. How did Israel know the length of\nthe haltings or the line of their march? By the word of God. Are we\nworse off? Far be the thought. Yea, we are better off by far than\nthey. We have the Word and Spirit of God to guide us. To us pertains\nthe high and holy privilege of walking in the footsteps of the Son of\nGod.\n\nIs not this perfect guidance? Yes, thank God, it is. Hear what our\nadorable Lord Jesus Christ saith to us,--\"I am the light of the world;\nhe that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the\nlight of life.\" Let us mark these words, \"he that _followeth Me_.\" He\nhas left us \"an example, that we should follow His steps.\" This is\nliving guidance. How did Jesus walk? Always and only by the\ncommandment of His Father. By that He acted; by that He moved; without\nit He never acted, moved, or spoke.\n\nNow, we are called to follow Him; and in so doing, we have the\nassurance of His own word that we shall not walk in darkness, but\nshall have the light of life. Precious words!--\"_the light of life_.\"\nWho can sound their living depths? who can duly estimate their worth?\n\"The darkness is past, and the true light now shineth,\" and it is for\nus to walk in the full blaze of the light that shines along the\npathway of the Son of God. Is there any uncertainty, any perplexity,\nany ground for hesitation here? Clearly not. How could there be if we\nare following Him? It is utterly impossible to combine the two ideas.\n\nAnd be it remarked here that it is not by any means a question of\nhaving a literal text of Scripture for every movement or every act.\nFor example, I cannot expect to get a text of Scripture, or a voice\nfrom heaven, to tell me to go to London or to Edinburgh; or how long I\nam to stay when I go. How, then, it may be asked, am I to know where I\nought to go, or how long I am to stay? The answer is, Wait on God, in\nsingleness of eye and sincerity of heart, and He will make your path\nas plain as a sunbeam. This was what Jesus did; and if we follow Him,\nwe shall not walk in darkness. \"I will guide thee with Mine eye\" is a\nmost precious promise; but in order to profit by it, we must be near\nenough to Him to catch the movement of His eye, and intimate enough\nwith Him to understand its meaning.\n\nThus it is, in all the details of our daily life. It would answer a\nthousand questions, and solve a thousand difficulties, if we did but\nwait for divine guidance, and never attempt to move without it. If I\nhave not gotten light to move, it is my plain duty to be still. We\nshould never move in uncertainty. It often happens that we harass\nourselves about moving or acting, when God would have us to be still\nand do nothing. We go and ask God about it, but get no answer; we\nbetake ourselves to friends for advice and counsel, but they cannot\nhelp us, for it is entirely a question between our own souls and the\nLord. Thus we are plunged in doubt and anxiety. And why? Simply\nbecause the eye is not single; we are not following Jesus, \"the light\nof the world.\" We may set it down as a fixed principle, a precious\naxiom in the divine life, that if we are following Jesus, we shall\nhave the light of life. He has said it, and that is enough for faith.\n\nHence, then, we deem ourselves perfectly warranted in concluding that\nthe One who guided His earthly people in all their desert wanderings,\ncan and will guide His heavenly people now in all their movements and\nin all their ways. But, on the other hand, let us see to it that we\nare not bent on doing our own will, having our own way, and carrying\nout our own plans. \"Be ye not as the horse or as the mule, which have\nno understanding, whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle,\nlest they come near unto thee.\" Be it our one grand aim to walk in the\nfootsteps of that blessed One who pleased not Himself, but ever moved\nin the current of the divine will, never acted without divine\nauthority; who, though Himself God over all, blessed forever, yet,\nhaving taken His place as a man, on the earth, surrendered completely\nHis own will, and found His meat and His drink in doing the will of\nHis Father. Thus shall our hearts and minds be kept in perfect peace;\nand we shall be enabled to move on, from day to day, with firm and\ndecided step, along the path indicated for us by our divine and\never-present Guide, who not only knows, as God, every step of the way,\nbut who, as man, has trodden it before us, and left us an example that\nwe should follow His steps. May we follow Him more faithfully in all\nthings, through the gracious ministry of the Holy Ghost, who dwelleth\nin us.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nWe have now to invite the reader's attention to a subject of very deep\ninterest, and one which occupies a large place in Old-Testament\nscripture, and is forcibly illustrated in the chapter which lies open\nbefore us, namely, God's government of the world, and His wonderful\nordering of the nations of the earth. It is a grand and all-important\nfact to keep ever before the mind that the One whom we know as \"the\nGod and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,\" and our God and Father,\ntakes a real, lively, personal interest in the affairs of\nnations--that He takes cognizance of their movements and of their\ndealings one with another.\n\nTrue, all this is in immediate connection with Israel and the land of\nPalestine, as we read in the thirty-second chapter of our book, and\neighth verse--a passage of singular interest and of great suggestive\npower.--\"When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance,\nwhen He separated the sons of Adam, He set the bounds of the people\naccording to the number of the children of Israel.\" Israel was and\nshall yet be God's earthly centre; and it is a fact of the deepest\ninterest that, from the very outset, as we see in Genesis x, the\nCreator and Governor of the world formed the nations and fixed their\nbounds according to His own sovereign will, and with direct reference\nto the seed of Abraham, and that narrow strip of land which they are\nto possess, in virtue of the everlasting covenant made with their\nfathers.\n\nBut in the second chapter of Deuteronomy, we find Jehovah, in His\nfaithfulness and righteousness, interfering to protect three distinct\nnations in the enjoyment of their national rights, and that, too,\nagainst the encroachments of His own chosen people. He says to Moses,\n\"Command thou the people, saying, 'Ye are to pass through the coast of\nyour brethren the children of Esau, which dwell in Seir; and they\nshall be afraid of you: take ye good heed unto yourselves therefore:\nmeddle not with them; for I will not give you of their land, no, not\nso much as a foot-breadth, because I have given Mount Seir unto Esau\nfor a possession. Ye shall buy meat of them for money, that ye may\neat; and ye shall also buy water of them for money, that ye may\ndrink.'\"\n\nIsrael might imagine that they had nothing to do but seize upon the\nlands of the Edomite; but they had to learn something very\ndifferent,--they had to be taught that the Most High is the Governor\namongst the nations--that the whole earth belongs to Him, and He\nportions it out to one or another according to His good pleasure.\n\nThis is a very magnificent fact to keep before the mind. The great\nmajority of men think but little of it. Emperors, kings, princes,\ngovernors, statesmen, take little account of it. They forget that God\ninterests Himself in the affairs of nations--that He bestows kingdoms,\nprovinces, and lands as He sees fit. They act, at times, as if it were\nonly a question of military conquest, and as if God had nothing to do\nwith the question of national boundaries and territorial possessions.\nThis is their great mistake. They do not understand the meaning and\nforce of this simple sentence, \"_I have given_ Mount Seir unto Esau\nfor a possession.\" God will never surrender His rights in this\nrespect. He would not allow Israel to touch a single atom of Esau's\nproperty. They were, to use a modern phrase, to pay ready cash for\nwhatever they needed, and go quietly on their way. Indiscriminate\nslaughter and plunder were not to be thought of by the people of God.\n\nAnd mark the lovely reason for all this. \"For the Lord thy God hath\nblessed thee in all the works of thy hand; He knoweth thy walking\nthrough this great wilderness; these forty years the Lord thy God hath\nbeen with thee, thou hast lacked nothing.\" They could well afford,\ntherefore, to let Esau alone, and leave his possessions untouched.\nThey were the favored objects of Jehovah's tender care. He took\nknowledge of every step of their weary journey through the desert. He\nhad, in His infinite goodness, charged Himself with all their\nnecessities. He was going to give them the land of Canaan, according\nto His promise to Abraham; but the self-same hand which was giving\nthem Canaan had given Mount Seir to Esau.\n\nWe see the same thing exactly in reference to Moab and Ammon.--\"The\nLord said unto me, 'Distress not the Moabites, neither contend with\nthem in battle; for I will not give thee of their land for a\npossession, because I have given Ar unto the children of Lot for a\npossession.'\" And again, \"And when thou comest nigh over against the\nchildren of Ammon, distress them not, nor meddle with them; for I will\nnot give thee of the land of the children of Ammon any possession,\nbecause I have given it onto the children of Lot for a possession.\"\n\nThe possessions here alluded to had been, of old time, in the hands of\ngiants; but it was God's purpose to give up their territories to the\nchildren of Esau and Lot, and therefore He destroyed these giants;\nfor who or what can stand in the way of the divine counsels? \"That\nalso was accounted a land of giants: giants dwelt therein in old time;\n... a people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims; but the Lord\ndestroyed them before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in\ntheir stead: as He did to the children of Esau which dwelt in Seir,\nwhen He destroyed the Horims from before them; and they succeeded\nthem, and dwelt in their stead even unto this day.\" (Ver. 20-23.)\n\nHence, then, Israel were not permitted to meddle with the possessions\nof any of these three nations--the Edomites, Ammonites, and Moabites;\nbut in the very next sentence, we see another thing altogether in the\ncase of the Amorites.--\"Rise ye up, take your journey, and pass over\nthe river Arnon: behold, I have given into thine hand Sihon the\nAmorite, king of Heshbon, and his land: begin to possess it, and\ncontend with him in battle.\"\n\nThe great principle, in all these varied instructions to Israel, is\nthat God's word must settle every thing for His people. It was not for\nIsrael to inquire why they were to leave the possessions of Esau and\nLot untouched, and to seize upon those of Sihon. They were simply to\ndo what they were told. God can do as He pleases. He has His eye upon\nthe whole scene: He scans it all. Men may think He has forsaken the\nearth, but He has not, blessed be His name. He is, as the apostle\ntells us in his discourse at Athens, \"Lord of heaven and earth;\" and\n\"He hath made of one blood all nations of men, for to dwell on all\nthe face of the earth; and hath determined the times before appointed,\nand the bounds of their habitations.\" And, further, \"He hath appointed\na day, in the which He will judge the habitable earth [\u03bf\u1f30\u03ba\u03bf\u03c5\u03bc\u03ad\u03bd\u03b7\u03bd]\nin righteousness, by that Man whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath\ngiven assurance [given proof] unto all, in that He hath raised Him\nfrom the dead.\"\n\nHere we have a most solemn and weighty truth, to which men of all\nranks and conditions would do well to take heed. God is the Sovereign\nRuler of the world. He giveth no account of any of His matters. He\nputs down one and sets up another. Kingdoms, thrones, governments, are\nall at His disposal. He acts according to His own will in the ordering\nand arrangement of human affairs. But, at the same time, He holds men\nresponsible for their actings in the various positions in which His\nprovidence has placed them. The ruler and the ruled, the king, the\ngovernor, the magistrate, the judge--all classes and grades of men\nwill have, sooner or later, to give account to God. Each one, as if he\nwere the only one, will have to stand before the judgment-seat of\nChrist, and there review his whole course, from first to last. Every\nact, every word, every secret thought, will there come out with awful\ndistinctness. There will be no escaping in a crowd. The Word declares\nthat they shall be judged \"_every man_ according to his works.\" It\nwill be intensely individual, and unmistakably discriminating. In a\nword, it will be a divine judgment, and therefore absolutely perfect.\nNothing will be passed over. \"Every idle word that men shall speak,\nthey shall give account thereof at the day of judgment.\" Kings,\ngovernors, and magistrates will have to account for the way in which\nthey have used the power with which they were intrusted, and the\nwealth which passed through their hands. The noble and the wealthy who\nhave spent their fortune and their time in folly, vanity, luxury, and\nself-indulgence will have to answer for it all before the throne of\nthe Son of Man, whose eyes are as a flame of fire, to read men through\nand through; and His feet as fine brass, to crush, in unsparing\njudgment, all that is contrary to God.\n\nInfidelity may sneeringly inquire, _How_ can these things be? _How_\ncould the untold millions of the human race find room before the\njudgment-seat of Christ? and _how_ could there be time to enter so\nminutely into the details of each personal history? Faith replies, God\nsays it shall be so, and this is conclusive; and as to the \"How?\" the\nanswer is, God! Infinity! Eternity! Bring God in, and all questions\nare hushed and all difficulties disposed of in a moment. In fact, the\none grand, triumphant answer to all the objections of the infidel, the\nskeptic, the rationalist, and the materialist, is just that one\nmajestic word, \"GOD!\"\n\nWe press this upon the reader; not, indeed, to enable him to reply to\ninfidels, but for the rest and comfort of his own heart. As to\ninfidels, we are increasingly persuaded that our highest wisdom is to\nact on our Lord's words in Matthew xv.--\"Let them alone.\" It is\nperfectly useless to argue with men who despise the Word of God, and\nhave no other foundation to build upon than their own carnal\nreasonings. But, on the other hand, we deem it to be of the very last\npossible importance that the heart should ever repose, in all the\nartless simplicity of a child, in the truth of God's Word. \"Hath He\nsaid, and shall He not do it? or hath He spoken, and shall He not make\nit good?\"\n\nHere is the sweet and hallowed resting-place of faith, the calm haven\nwhere the soul can find refuge from all the conflicting currents of\nhuman thought and feeling. \"The Word of the Lord endureth forever; and\nthis is the Word which by the gospel is preached unto you.\" Nothing\ncan touch the Word of our God. It is settled forever in heaven; and\nall we want is to have it hidden in our hearts, as our own very\npossession--the treasure which we have received from God--the living\nfountain where we may ever drink for the refreshment and comfort of\nour souls. Then shall our peace flow as a river, and our path shall be\nas the shining light, which shineth more and more unto the perfect\nday.\n\nThus may it be, O Lord, with all Thy beloved people, in these days of\ngrowing infidelity. May Thy holy Word be increasingly precious to our\nhearts. May our consciences feel its power. May its heavenly doctrines\nform our character and govern our conduct in all the relationships of\nlife, that Thy name may be glorified in all things.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\n\n\"Then we turned, and went up the way to Bashan; and Og the king of\nBashan came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei.\nAnd the Lord said unto me, 'Fear him not: for I will deliver him, and\nall his people, and his land, into thy hand; and thou shalt do unto\nhim as thou didst unto Sihon king of the Amorites, which dwelt at\nHeshbon.' So the Lord our God delivered into our hands Og also, the\nking of Bashan, and all his people; and we smote him until none was\nleft to him remaining. And we took all his cities at that time, there\nwas not a city which we took not from them, threescore cities, all the\nregion of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan. All these cities were\nfenced with high walls, gates, and bars; beside unwalled towns a great\nmany. And we utterly destroyed them, as we did unto Sihon king of\nHeshbon, utterly destroying the men, women, and children of every\ncity. But all the cattle, and the spoil of the cities, we took for a\nprey to ourselves.\" (Ver. 1-7.)\n\nThe divine instructions as to Og, king of Bashan, were precisely\nsimilar to those given, in the preceding chapter, with respect to\nSihon the Amorite; and in order to understand both, we must look at\nthem purely in the light of the government of God--a subject but\nlittle understood, though one of very deep interest and practical\nimportance. We must accurately distinguish between grace and\ngovernment. When we contemplate God in government, we see Him\ndisplaying His power in the way of righteousness--punishing\nevil-doers, pouring out vengeance upon His enemies, overthrowing\nempires, upturning thrones, destroying cities, sweeping away nations,\ntribes, and peoples. We find Him commanding His people to slay men,\nwomen, and little children with the edge of the sword; to set fire to\ntheir houses, and turn their cities into desolate heaps.\n\nAgain, we hear Him addressing the prophet Ezekiel in the following\nremarkable words: \"Son of man, Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon caused\nhis army to serve a great service against Tyrus: every head was made\nbald, and every shoulder was peeled; yet had he no wages, nor his\narmy, for Tyrus, for the service that he had served against it.\nTherefore, thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will give the land of\nEgypt unto Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall take her\nmultitude, and take her spoil, and take her prey; and it shall be the\nwages for his army. I have given him the land of Egypt for his labor\nwherewith he served against it, because they wrought for Me, saith the\nLord God.\" (Ezek. xxix. 18-20.)\n\nThis is a very wonderful passage of Scripture; setting before us a\nsubject which runs through the entire volume of Old-Testament\nscripture--a subject demanding our profound and reverent attention.\nWhether we turn to the five books of Moses, to the historical books,\nto the Psalms, or to the prophets, we find the inspiring Spirit giving\nus the most minute details of God's actings in government. We have the\ndeluge in the days of Noah, when the whole earth, with all its\ninhabitants, with the exception of eight persons, was destroyed by an\nact of divine government. Men, women, children, cattle, fowl, and\ncreeping things were all swept away and buried beneath the billows and\nwaves of God's righteous judgment.\n\nThen we have, in the days of Lot, the cities of the plain, with all\ntheir inhabitants--men, women, and children--in a few short hours,\nconsigned to utter destruction, overthrown by the hand of Almighty\nGod, and buried beneath the deep, dark waters of the Dead Sea. Those\nguilty cities, \"Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like\nmanner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange\nflesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of\neternal fire.\"\n\nThen, again, as we pass down along the page of inspired history, we\nsee the seven nations of Canaan--men, women, and children--given over\ninto the hands of Israel for unsparing judgment; nothing that breathed\nwas to be left alive.\n\nBut, we may truly say, time would fail us even to refer to all the\npassages of holy Scripture which set before our eyes the solemn\nactings of the divine government. Suffice it to say that the line of\nevidence runs from Genesis to Revelation--beginning with the deluge\nand ending with the burning up of the present system of things.\n\nNow, the question is, Are we competent to understand these ways of God\nin government? Is it any part of our business to sit in judgment upon\nthem? Are we capable of unraveling the profound and awful mysteries of\ndivine providence? Can we--are we called upon to--account for the\ntremendous fact of helpless babes involved in the judgment of their\nguilty parents? Impious infidelity may sneer at these things; morbid\nsentimentality may stumble over them; but the true believer, the pious\nChristian, the reverent student of holy Scripture, will meet them all\nwith this one simple but safe and solid question, \"Shall not the Judge\nof all the earth do right?\"\n\nThis, we may rest assured, reader, is the only true way in which to\nmeet such questions. If man is to sit in judgment upon the actings of\nGod in government--if he can take upon himself to decide as to what is\nand what is not worthy of God to do, then, verily, we have lost the\ntrue sense of God altogether. And this is just what the devil is\naiming at. He wants to lead the heart away from God; and to this end,\nhe leads men to reason and question and speculate in a region which\nlies as far beyond their ken as heaven is above the earth. Can we\ncomprehend God? If we could, we should ourselves be God.\n\n    \"We comprehend Him not,\n      Yet earth and heaven tell,\n    God sits as Sovereign on the throne,\n      And ruleth all things well.\"\n\nIt is at once absurd and impious, in the very highest degree, for puny\nmortals to dare to question the counsels, enactments, and ways of the\nalmighty Creator and all-wise Governor of the universe. Assuredly, all\nwho do so must sooner or later find out their terrible mistake. Well\nwould it be for all questioners and cavilers to give heed to the\npungent question of the inspired apostle in Romans ix.--\"Nay but, O\nman, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed\nsay to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the\npotter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto\nhonor, and another unto dishonor?\"\n\nHow simple! How forcible! How unanswerable! This is the divine method\nof meeting all the hows and whys of infidel reason. If the potter has\npower over the lump of clay which he holds in his hand--a fact which\nnone would think of disputing--how much more has the Creator of all\nthings power over the creatures which His hand has formed! Men may\nreason and argue interminably as to why God permitted sin to enter;\nwhy He did not at once annihilate Satan and his angels; why He allowed\nthe serpent to tempt Eve; why He did not keep her back from eating the\nforbidden fruit. In short, the hows and whys are endless; but the\nanswer is one--\"Who art thou, O man, that repliest against God?\" How\nmonstrous for a poor worm of the earth to attempt to sit in judgment\nupon the unsearchable judgments and ways of the Eternal God! What\nblind and presumptuous folly for a creature, whose understanding is\ndarkened by sin, and who is thus wholly incapable of forming a right\njudgment about any thing divine, heavenly, or eternal, to attempt to\ndecide how God should act in any given case! Alas! alas! it is to be\nfeared that thousands who now argue with great apparent cleverness\nagainst the truth of God, will find out their fatal mistake when it\nwill be too late to correct it.\n\nAnd as to all those who, though very far from taking common ground\nwith the infidel, are nevertheless troubled with doubts and misgivings\nas to some of God's ways in government, and as to the awful question\nof eternal punishment,[5] we would earnestly recommend them to study\nand drink in the spirit of that lovely little psalm, cxxxi.--\"Lord, my\nheart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty: neither do I exercise\nmyself in great matters, or in things too high for me. Surely I have\nbehaved and quieted myself as a child that is weaned of his mother: my\nsoul is even as a weaned child.\"\n\n  [5] With regard to the solemn subject of eternal punishment, we here\n  offer a few remarks, seeing that so very many, both in England and\n  America, are troubled with difficulties respecting it.\n\n  There are three considerations, which, if duly weighed, will, we\n  think, settle every Christian on the doctrine.\n\n  I. The first is this: There are seventy passages in the New Testament\n  where the word \"everlasting,\" or \"eternal,\" (\u03b1\u1f30\u03c9\u03bd\u03b9\u03bf\u03c2) occurs.\n  It is applied to the \"life\" which believers possess, to the \"mansions\"\n  into which they are to be received, to the \"glory\" which they are to\n  enjoy; it is applied to God (Rom. xvi. 26.), to the \"salvation\" of\n  which our Lord Jesus Christ is the Author, to the \"redemption\" which\n  He has obtained for us, and to the \"Spirit.\"\n\n  Then, out of the seventy passages referred to above, which the reader\n  can verify in a few moments by a glance at a Greek Concordance, there\n  are seven in which the self-same word is applied to the \"punishment\"\n  of the wicked, to the \"judgment\" which is to overtake them, to the\n  \"fire\" which is to consume them.\n\n  Now, the question is, Upon what principle, or by what authority, can\n  any one mark off these seven passages and say that in them the word\n  \u03b1\u1f30\u03c9\u03bd\u03b9\u03bf\u03c2 does not mean \"everlasting,\" while in the other\n  sixty-three it does? We consider the statement utterly baseless, and\n  unworthy the attention of any sober mind. We fully admit that, had the\n  Holy Spirit thought proper, when speaking of the judgment of the\n  wicked, to make use of a different word from that used in the other\n  passages, reason would that we should weigh the fact. But no; He uses\n  the same word invariably, so that if we deny eternal punishment, we\n  must deny eternal life, eternal glory, an eternal Spirit, an eternal\n  God, an eternal any thing. In short, if punishment be not eternal,\n  nothing is eternal, so far as this argument is concerned. To meddle\n  with this stone in the archway of divine revelation, is to reduce the\n  whole to a mass of ruin around us. And this is just what the devil is\n  aiming at. We are fully persuaded that to deny the truth of eternal\n  punishment is to take the first step on that inclined plane which\n  leads down to the dark abyss of universal skepticism.\n\n  II. Our second consideration is drawn from the great truth of the\n  immortality of the soul. We read in the second chapter of Genesis that\n  \"the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into\n  his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.\" Upon\n  this one passage, as upon an immovable rock, even if we had not\n  another, we build the great truth of the immortality of the human\n  soul. The fall of man made no difference as to this. Fallen or\n  unfallen, innocent or guilty, converted or unconverted, the soul must\n  live forever.\n\n  The tremendous question is, Where is it to live? God cannot allow sin\n  into His presence. \"He is of purer eyes than to behold evil, and\n  cannot look upon iniquity.\" Hence, if a man dies in his sins--dies\n  unrepentant, unwashed, unpardoned, then, most assuredly, where God is\n  he never can come; indeed, it is the very last place to which he would\n  like to come. There is nothing for him but an endless eternity in the\n  lake that burneth with fire and brimstone.\n\n  III. And lastly, we believe that the truth of eternal punishment\n  stands intimately connected with the infinite nature of the atonement\n  of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. If nothing short of an infinite\n  sacrifice could deliver us from the consequences of sin, those\n  consequences must be eternal. This consideration may not, perhaps, in\n  the judgment of some, carry much weight with it; but to us its force\n  is absolutely irresistible. We must measure sin and its consequences\n  as we measure divine love and its results--not by the standard of\n  human sentiment or reason, but only by the standard of the cross of\n  Christ.\n\nThen, when the heart has in some measure taken in this exquisite\nbreathing, it may turn with real profit to the words of the inspired\napostle (2 Cor. x.)--\"For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal,\nbut mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; casting\ndown imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against\nthe knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the\nobedience of Christ.\"\n\nDoubtless, the philosopher, the scholar, the profound thinker, would\nsmile contemptuously at such a childish mode of dealing with such\ngreat questions; but this is a very small matter in the judgment of\nthe devout disciple of Christ. The same inspired apostle makes very\nshort work of all this world's wisdom and learning. He says, \"Let no\nman deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this\nworld, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. For the wisdom of\nthis world is foolishness with God. For it is written, 'He taketh the\nwise in their own craftiness.' And again, 'The Lord knoweth the\nthoughts of the wise, that they are vain.'\" (1 Cor. iii.) And again,\n\"It is written, 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring\nto nothing the understanding of the prudent.' Where is the wise?\nwhere is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God\nmade foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of\nGod the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the\nfoolishness of the preaching _to save them that believe_.\" (1 Cor. i.\n19-21.)\n\nHere lies the grand moral secret of the whole matter. Man has to find\nout that he is simply a fool, and that all the wisdom of the world is\nfoolishness. Humbling but wholesome truth! Humbling, because it puts\nman in his right place; wholesome, yea, most precious, because it\nbrings in the wisdom of God. We hear a great deal nowadays about\nscience, philosophy, and learning. \"Hath not God made foolish the\nwisdom of this world?\"\n\nDo we fully take in the meaning of these words? Alas! it is to be\nfeared they are but little understood. There are not wanting men who\nwould fain persuade us that science has gone far beyond the Bible.[6]\nAlas! for the science, and for all those who give heed to it. If it\nhas gone beyond the Bible, whither has it gone? In the direction of\nGod, of Christ, of heaven, of holiness, of peace? Nay; but quite in\nthe opposite direction. And where must it all end? We tremble to\nthink, and feel reluctant to pen the reply. Still, we must be\nfaithful, and declare solemnly that the sure and certain end of that\npath along which human science is conducting its votaries is the\nblackness of darkness forever.\n\n  [6] We must distinguish between all true science and \"science falsely\n  so called.\" And further, we must distinguish between the _facts_ of\n  science, and the _conclusions_ of scientific men. The facts are what\n  God has done and is doing; but when men set about drawing their\n  conclusions from these facts, they make the most serious mistakes.\n\n  However, it is a real relief to the heart to think that there are many\n  philosophers and men of science who give God His right place, and who\n  love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity.\n\n\"The world by wisdom knew not God.\" What did the philosophy of Greece\ndo for its disciples? It made them the ignorant worshipers of \"AN\nUNKNOWN GOD.\" The very inscription on their altar published to the\nuniverse their ignorance and their shame.\n\nAnd may we not lawfully inquire if philosophy has done better for\nchristendom than it did for Greece? Has it communicated the knowledge\nof the true God? Who could dare to say, Yes? There are millions of\nbaptized professors throughout the length and breadth of christendom\nwho know no more of the true God than those philosophers who\nencountered Paul in the city of Athens.\n\nThe fact is this: every one who really knows God, is the privileged\npossessor of eternal life. So our Lord Jesus Christ declares, in the\nmost distinct manner, in the seventeenth chapter of John.--\"This is\nlife eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus\nChrist, whom Thou hast sent.\" This is most precious to every soul\nthat, through grace, has gotten this knowledge. To know God, is to\nhave life--life eternal.\n\nBut how can I know God? where can I find Him? Can science and\nphilosophy tell me? Have they ever told any one? have they ever\nguided any poor wanderer into this way of life and peace? No; never.\n\"The world by wisdom knew not God.\" The conflicting schools of ancient\nphilosophy could only plunge the human mind into profound darkness and\nhopeless bewilderment; and the conflicting schools of modern\nphilosophy are not a whit better. They can give no certainty, no safe\nanchorage, no solid ground of confidence, to the poor benighted soul.\nBarren speculation, torturing doubt, wild and baseless theory, is all\nthat human philosophy, in any age or of any nation, has to offer to\nthe earnest inquirer after truth.\n\nHow, then, are we to know God? If such a stupendous result hangs on\nthis knowledge, if to know God is life eternal--and Jesus says it\nis--then how is He to be known? \"No man hath seen God at any time; the\nonly begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath\ndeclared Him.\" (John i. 18.)\n\nHere we have an answer divinely simple, divinely sure. Jesus reveals\nGod to the soul--reveals the Father to the heart. Precious fact! We\nare not sent to creation to learn who God is, though we see His power,\nwisdom, and goodness there; we are not sent to the law, though we see\nHis justice there; we are not sent to providence, though we see the\nprofound mysteries of His government there. No; if we want to know who\nand what God is, we are to look in the face of Jesus Christ, the only\nbegotten Son of God, who dwelt in His bosom before all worlds, who\nwas His eternal delight, the object of His affections, the centre of\nHis counsels. He it is who reveals God to the soul. We cannot have the\nslightest idea of what God is apart from the Lord Jesus Christ. \"In\nHim dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead [\u03b8\u03b5\u03bf\u03c4\u03b7\u03c2]\nbodily.\" \"God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath\nshined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory\nof God, in the face of Jesus Christ.\"\n\nNothing can exceed the power and blessedness of all this. There is no\ndarkness here, no uncertainty. \"The darkness is past and the true\nlight now shineth.\" Yes; it shineth in the face of Jesus Christ. We\ncan gaze, by faith, on that blessed One; we can trace His marvelous\npath on the earth; see Him going about doing good, and healing all\nthat were oppressed of the devil; mark His very looks, His words, His\nworks, His ways; see Him healing the sick, cleansing the leper,\nopening the eyes of the blind, unstopping the ears of the deaf,\ncausing the lame to walk, the maimed to be whole, raising the dead,\ndrying the widow's tears, feeding the hungry, binding up broken\nhearts, meeting every form of human need, soothing human sorrow,\nhushing human fears; and doing all these things in such a style, with\nsuch touching grace and sweetness, as to make each one feel, in his\nvery inmost soul, that it was the deep delight of that loving heart\nthus to minister to his need.\n\nNow, in all this He was revealing God to man; so that if we want to\nknow what God is, we have simply to look at Jesus. When Philip said,\n\"Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us,\" the prompt reply was,\n\"Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me,\nPhilip? he that hath seen Me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou\nthen, 'Shew us the Father?' Believest thou not that I am in the\nFather, and the Father in Me? the words that I speak unto you I speak\nnot of Myself; but the Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works.\nBelieve Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me: or else\nbelieve Me for the very works' sake.\"\n\nHere is true rest for the heart. We know the true God, and Jesus\nChrist, whom He hath sent; and this is life eternal. We know Him as\nour own very God and Father, and Christ as our own personal, loving\nLord and Saviour; we can delight in Him, walk with Him, lean on Him,\ntrust in Him, cling to Him, draw from Him, find all our living springs\nin Him, rejoice in Him all the day long, find our meat and our drink\nin doing His blessed will, furthering His cause, and promoting His\nglory.\n\nReader, do you know all this for yourself? Say, is it a living,\ndivinely real thing in your own soul this moment? This is true\nChristianity, and you should not be satisfied with any thing less. You\nwill perhaps tell us we have wandered far from the third chapter of\nDeuteronomy. But whither have we wandered? To the Son of God and to\nthe soul of the reader. If this be wandering, be it so; it most\nassuredly is not wandering from the object for which we are penning\nthese \"Notes,\" which is, to bring Christ and the soul together, or to\nbind them together, as the case may be. We would never, for one\nmoment, lose sight of the fact that, both in writing and speaking, we\nhave not merely to expound Scripture, but to seek the salvation and\nblessing of souls. Hence it is that we feel constrained, from time to\ntime, to appeal to the heart and conscience of the reader, as to his\npractical state, and as to how far he has made his very own of these\nimperishable realities which pass in review before us. And we\nearnestly beseech the reader, whoever he may be, to seek a deeper\nacquaintance with God in Christ; and, as a sure consequence of this, a\ncloser walk with Him and more thorough consecration of heart to Him.\n\nThis, we are thoroughly persuaded, is what is needed in this day of\nunrest and unreality in the world, and of lukewarmness and\nindifference in the professing church. We want a very much higher\nstandard of personal devotedness, more real purpose of heart to cleave\nto the Lord and follow Him. There is much--very much to discourage and\nhinder in the condition of things around us. The language of the men\nof Judah in the days of Nehemiah may, with some measure of\nappropriateness and force, be applied to our times,--\"The strength of\nthe bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish.\" But,\nthank God, the remedy now, as then, is to be found in this\nsoul-stirring sentence, \"Remember the Lord.\"\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nWe now return to our chapter, in the remainder of which the lawgiver\nrehearses in the ears of the congregation the story of their dealings\nwith the two kings of the Amorites, together with the facts connected\nwith the inheritance of the two tribes and a half on the wilderness\nside of Jordan. And with regard to the latter subject, it is\ninteresting to notice that he raises no question as to the right or\nthe wrong of their choosing their possession short of the land of\npromise. Indeed, from the narrative given here, it could not be known\nthat the two tribes and a half had expressed any wish in the matter.\nSo far is our book from being a mere repetition of its predecessors.\n\nHere are the words: \"And this land, which we possessed at that time,\nfrom Aroer, which is by the river Arnon, and half Mount Gilead, and\nthe cities thereof, _gave I unto the Reubenites and to the Gadites_.\nAnd the rest of Gilead, and all Bashan, being the kingdom of Og, _gave\nI unto the half tribe of Manasseh_; all the region of Argob, with all\nBashan, which was called the land of giants.... And _I gave_ Gilead\nunto Machir. And unto the Reubenites and unto the Gadites _I gave_\nfrom Gilead even unto the river Arnon half the valley, and the border\neven unto the river Jabbok, which is the border of the children of\nAmmon.... And I commanded you at that time, saying, _The Lord your God\nhath given you this land to possess it_:\"--not a word about their\nhaving asked it--\"ye shall pass over armed before your brethren the\nchildren of Israel, all that are meet for the war. But your wives, and\nyour little ones, and your cattle (for I know that ye have much\ncattle), shall abide in your cities _which I have given you_; until\nthe Lord have given rest unto your brethren, as well as unto you, and\nuntil they also possess the land which the Lord your God hath given\nthem beyond Jordan; and then shall ye return every man unto his\npossession, which I have given you.\"\n\nIn our studies on the book of Numbers, we have dwelt upon certain\nfacts connected with the settlement of the two tribes and a half,\nproving that they were below the mark of the Israel of God in choosing\ntheir inheritance any where short of the other side of Jordan; but in\nthe passage we have just quoted, there is no allusion at all to this\nside of the question, because the object of Moses is to set before the\nwhole congregation the exceeding goodness, loving-kindness, and\nfaithfulness of God, not only in bringing them through all the\ndifficulties and dangers of the wilderness, but also in giving them,\neven already, such signal victories over the Amorites, and putting\nthem in possession of regions so attractive and so suited to them. In\nall this, he is laying down the solid basis of Jehovah's claim upon\ntheir hearty obedience to His commandments; and we can at once see and\nappreciate the moral beauty of overlooking entirely, in such a\nrehearsal, the question as to whether Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe\nof Manasseh were wrong in stopping short of the land of promise. It\nis, to every devout Christian, a striking proof, not only of the\ntouching and exquisite grace of God, but also of the divine\nperfectness of Scripture.\n\nNo doubt, every true believer enters upon the study of Scripture with\nthe full and deeply wrought conviction of its absolute perfectness in\nevery part. He reverently believes that there is not, from the opening\nof Genesis to the close of Revelation, a single flaw, a single hitch,\na single discrepancy--not one; all is as perfect as its divine Author.\n\nBut then the cordial belief of the divine perfectness of Scripture as\na whole can never lessen our appreciation of the evidences which come\nout in detail; nay, it enhances it exceedingly. Thus, for example, in\nthe passage now before us, is it not perfectly beautiful to mark the\nabsence of all reference to the failure of the two tribes and a half\nin the matter of choosing their inheritance, seeing that any such\nreference would be entirely foreign to the object of the lawgiver and\nto the scope of the book? Is it not the joy of our hearts to trace\nsuch infinite perfections, such exquisite and inimitable touches?\nAssuredly it is; and not only so, but we are persuaded that the more\nthe moral glories of the volume dawn upon our souls, and its living\nand exhaustless depths are unfolded to our hearts, the more we shall\nbe convinced of the utter folly of infidel assaults upon it, and of\nthe feebleness and gratuitousness of many well-meant efforts to prove\nthat it does not contradict itself. Thank God, His Word stands in no\nneed of human apologists. It speaks for itself, and carries with it\nits own powerful evidences; so that we can say of it what the apostle\nsays of his gospel, that \"if it be hid, it is hid to them that are\nlost; in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them\nwhich believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ,\nwho is the image of God, should shine unto them.\" We are more and more\nconvinced each day, that the most effective method of answering all\ninfidel attacks upon the Bible is, to cherish a more profound faith in\nits divine power and authority, and to use it as those who are most\nthoroughly persuaded of its truth and preciousness. The Spirit of God\nalone can enable any one to believe in the plenary inspiration of the\nholy Scriptures. Human arguments may go for what they are worth; they\nmay doubtless silence gainsayers, but they cannot reach the\nheart--they cannot bring the genial rays of divine revelation to bear\ndown in living, saving power upon the soul. This is a work divine; and\nuntil it is done, all the evidences and arguments in the world must\nleave the soul in the moral darkness of unbelief; but when it is done,\nthere is no need of human testimony in defense of the Bible. External\nevidences, however interesting and valuable (and they are both),\ncannot add a single jot or tittle to the glory of that peerless\nrevelation, which bears on every page, every paragraph, every\nsentence, the clear impress of its divine Author. As with the sun in\nthe heavens, its every ray tells of the Hand that made it, so of the\nBible, its every sentence tells of the Heart that inspired it. But\ninasmuch as a blind man cannot see the sunlight, so neither can the\nunconverted soul see the force and beauty of holy Scripture. The eye\nmust be anointed with heavenly eye-salve ere the infinite perfections\nof the divine volume can be discerned or appreciated.\n\nNow, we must own to the reader that it is the deep and ever-deepening\nsense of all this that has led us to the determination not to occupy\nhis time or our own by reference to the attacks which have been made\nby rationalistic writers on that portion of the Word of God with which\nwe are now engaged. We leave this to other and abler hands. What we\ndesire for ourselves and our readers is, that we may feed in peace\nupon the green pastures which the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls has\ngraciously thrown open to us; that we may help each other, as we pass\nalong, to see more and more of the moral glory of that which lies\nbefore us, and thus to build each other up on our most holy faith.\nThis will be far more grateful work to us, and we trust also to our\nreaders, than replying to men who, in all their puny efforts to find\nout flaws in the holy volume, only prove, to those capable of judging,\nthat they understand neither what they say nor whereof they affirm. If\nmen _will_ abide in the dark vaults and tunnels of a dreary\ninfidelity, and there find fault with the sun, or deny that it shines\nat all, let it be ours to bask in the light, and help others to do the\nsame.\n\nWe shall now dwell for a little on the remaining verses of our\nchapter, in which we shall find much to interest, instruct, and profit\nus.\n\nAnd first, Moses rehearses in the ears of the people his charge to\nJoshua.--\"And I commanded Joshua at that time, saying, 'Thine eyes\nhave seen all that the Lord our God hath done unto these two kings; so\nshall the Lord do unto all the kingdoms whither thou passest. Ye shall\nnot fear them; for the Lord your God He shall fight for you.'\" (Ver.\n21, 22.)\n\nThe remembrance of the Lord's dealings with us in the past should\nstrengthen our confidence in going on. The One who had given His\npeople such a victory over the Amorites, who had destroyed such a\nformidable foe as Og, king of Bashan, and given into their hands all\nthe land of the giants, what could He not do for them? They could\nhardly expect to encounter in all the land of Canaan any enemy more\npowerful than Og, whose bedstead was of such enormous dimensions as to\ncall for the special notice of Moses; but what was he in the presence\nof his almighty Creator? Dwarfs and giants are all alike to Him. The\ngrand point is to keep God Himself ever before our eyes; then\ndifficulties vanish. If He covers the eyes, we can see nothing else;\nand this is the true secret of peace, and the real power of progress.\n\"Thine eyes have seen all that the Lord your God hath done.\" And as He\nhas done, _so_ He will do. He _hath_ delivered, and He _doth_ deliver,\nand He _will_ deliver. Past, present, and future are all marked by\ndivine deliverance.\n\nReader, art thou in any difficulty? Is there any pressure upon thee?\nArt thou anticipating, with nervous apprehension, some formidable\nevil? Is thine heart trembling at the very thought of it? It may be\nthou art like one who has come to the far end, like the apostle Paul\nin Asia--\"Pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we\ndespaired even of life.\" If so, beloved friend, accept a word of\nencouragement. It is our deep and earnest desire to strengthen your\nhands in God, and to encourage your heart to trust Him for all that is\nbefore you. \"Fear not:\" only believe. He never fails a trusting\nheart--no, never. Make use of the resources which are treasured up for\nyou in Him. Just put yourself, your surroundings, your fears, your\nanxieties, all into His hands, _and leave them there_.\n\nYes, leave them there. It is of little use your putting your\ndifficulties, your necessities, into His hands and then, almost\nimmediately, taking them into your own. We often do this. When in\npressure, in need, in deep trial of some kind or other, we go to God\nin prayer, we cast our burden upon Him and seem to get relief; but,\nalas! no sooner have we risen from our knees than we begin again to\nlook at the difficulty, ponder the trial, dwell upon all the sorrowful\ncircumstances, until we are again at our very wits' end.\n\nNow, this will never do. It sadly dishonors God, and, of course,\nleaves us unrelieved and unhappy. He would have our minds as free from\ncare as the conscience is free from guilt. His word to us is, \"Be\ncareful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication\nwith thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.\" And what\nthen? \"The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep\n[or garrison--\u03c6\u03c1\u03bf\u03c5\u03c1\u03b7\u03c3\u03b5\u03b9] your hearts and minds through\nChrist Jesus.\"\n\nThus it was that Moses, that beloved man of God and honored servant of\nChrist, sought to encourage his fellow-laborer and successor, Joshua,\nin reference to all that was before him.--\"Ye shall not fear them; for\nthe Lord your God He shall fight for you.\" Thus, too, did the blessed\napostle Paul encourage his beloved son and fellow-servant Timothy to\ntrust in the living God; to be strong in the grace which is in Christ\nJesus; to lean, with unshaken confidence, on God's sure foundation; to\ncommit himself, with unquestioning assurance, to the authority,\nteaching, and guidance of the holy Scriptures; and thus armed and\nfurnished, to give himself, with holy diligence and true spiritual\ncourage, to that work to which he was called. And thus, too, the\nwriter and the reader can encourage one another, in these days of\nincreasing difficulty, to cling, in simple faith, to that Word which\nis settled forever in heaven; to have it hidden in the heart as a\nliving power and authority in the soul--something that will sustain\nus, though heart and flesh should fail, and though we had not the\ncountenance or support of a human being. \"All flesh is as grass, and\nall the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and\nthe flower thereof falleth away; but the Word of the Lord endureth\nforever. And this is the Word which by the gospel is preached unto\nyou.\" (1 Pet. i. 24, 25.)\n\nHow precious is this! What comfort and consolation! What stability and\nrest! What real strength, victory, and moral elevation! It is not\nwithin the compass of human language to set forth the preciousness of\nthe Word of God, or to define, in adequate terms, the comfort of\nknowing that the self-same Word which is settled forever in heaven,\nand which shall endure throughout the countless ages of eternity, is\nthat which has reached our hearts in the glad tidings of the gospel,\nimparting to us eternal life, and giving us peace and rest in the\nfinished work of Christ, and a perfectly satisfying object in His\nadorable Person. Truly, as we think of all this, we cannot but own\nthat every breath should be a halleluiah. Thus it shall be by and by,\nand that forever, all homage to His peerless name!\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nThe closing verses of our chapter present a peculiarly touching\npassage between Moses and his Lord, the record of which, as given\nhere, is in lovely keeping, as we might expect, with the character of\nthe entire book of Deuteronomy.--\"And I besought the Lord at that\ntime, saying, 'O Lord God, Thou hast begun to show Thy servant Thy\ngreatness, and Thy mighty hand; for what god is there in heaven or in\nearth that can do according to Thy works and according to Thy might? I\npray Thee, let me go over, and see the good land that is beyond\nJordan, that goodly mountain, and Lebanon.' But the Lord was wroth\nwith me for your sakes, and would not hear me: and the Lord said unto\nme, 'Let it suffice thee; speak no more unto Me of this matter. Get\nthee up into the top of Pisgah, and lift up thine eyes westward, and\nnorthward, and southward, and eastward, and behold it with thine eyes:\nfor thou shalt not go over this Jordan. But charge Joshua, and\nencourage him, and strengthen him; for he shall go over before this\npeople, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which thou shalt\nsee.'\" (Ver. 23-28.)\n\nIt is very affecting to find this eminent servant of God urging a\nrequest which could not be granted. He longed to see that good land\nbeyond Jordan. The portion chosen by the two tribes and a half could\nnot satisfy his heart; he desired to plant his foot upon the proper\ninheritance of the Israel of God. But it was not to be. He had spoken\nunadvisedly with his lips at the waters of Meribah; and, by the solemn\nand irreversible enactment of the divine government, he was prohibited\nfrom crossing the Jordan.\n\nAll this, the beloved servant of Christ most meekly rehearses in the\nears of the people. He does not hide from them the fact that the Lord\nhad refused to grant his request. True, he had to remind them that it\nwas on their account--that was morally needful for them to hear; still\nhe tells them, in the most unreserved manner, that Jehovah was wroth\nwith him, and that He refused to hear him--refused to allow him to\ncross the Jordan, and called upon him to resign his office and appoint\nhis successor.\n\nNow, it is most edifying to hear all this from the lips of Moses\nhimself. It teaches us a fine lesson, if only we are willing to learn\nit. Some of us find it very hard indeed to confess that we have done\nor said any thing wrong--very hard to own before our brethren that we\nhave entirely missed the Lord's mind in any particular case. We are\ncareful of our reputation; we are touchy and tenacious. And yet, with\nstrange inconsistency, we admit, or seem to admit, in general terms,\nthat we are poor, feeble, erring creatures; and that, if left to\nourselves, there is nothing too bad for us to say or to do. But it is\none thing to make a most humiliating general confession, and another\nthing altogether to own that, in some given case, we have made a gross\nmistake. This latter is a confession which very few have grace to\nmake. Some can hardly ever admit that they have done wrong.\n\nNot so that honored servant whose words we have just quoted. He,\nnotwithstanding his elevated position as the called, trusted, and\nbeloved servant of Jehovah--the leader of the congregation, whose rod\nhad made the land of Egypt to tremble, was not ashamed to stand before\nthe whole assembly of his brethren and confess his mistake--own that\nhe had said what he ought not, and that he had earnestly urged a\nrequest which Jehovah could not grant.\n\nDoes this lower Moses in our estimation? The very reverse: it raises\nhim immensely. It is morally lovely to hear his confession, to see how\nmeekly he bows his head to the governmental dealings of God, to mark\nthe unselfishness of his acting toward the man who was to succeed him\nin his high office. There was not a trace of jealousy or envy; no\nexhibition of mortified pride. With beautiful self-emptiness he steps\ndown from his elevated position, throws his mantle over the shoulders\nof his successor, and encourages him to discharge, with holy fidelity,\nthe duties of that high office which he himself had to resign.\n\n\"He that humbleth himself shall be exalted.\" How true was this in\nMoses' case! He humbled himself under the mighty hand of God. He\naccepted the holy discipline imposed upon him by the divine\ngovernment. He uttered not a murmuring word at the refusal of his\nrequest; he bows to it all, and hence he was exalted in due time. If\ngovernment kept him out of Canaan, grace conducted him to Pisgah's\ntop, from whence, in company with his Lord, he was permitted to see\nthat good land, in all its fair proportions--see it, not as inherited\nby Israel, but as given of God.\n\nThe reader will do well to ponder deeply the subject of grace and\ngovernment. It is indeed a very weighty and practical theme, and one\nlargely illustrated in Scripture, though but little understood\namongst us. It may seem wonderful to us, hard to be understood, that\none so beloved as Moses should be refused an entrance into the\npromised land; but in this we see the solemn action of the divine\ngovernment, and we have to bow our heads and worship. It was not\nmerely that Moses, in his official capacity, or as representing the\nlegal system, could not bring Israel into the land. This is true; but\nit is not all. Moses spake unadvisedly with his lips. He and Aaron his\nbrother failed to glorify God, in the presence of the congregation,\nand for this cause \"the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, 'Because ye\nbelieved Me not, to sanctify Me in the eyes of the children of Israel,\ntherefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I\nhave given them.'\" And again, we read, \"The Lord spake unto Moses and\nAaron in Mount Hor, by the coast of the land of Edom, saying, 'Aaron\nshall be gathered unto his people; for he shall not enter into the\nland which I have given unto the children of Israel, because ye\nrebelled against My word at the water of Meribah. Take Aaron and\nEleazar his son, and bring them up unto Mount Hor; and strip Aaron of\nhis garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son; and Aaron shall be\ngathered unto his people, and shall die there.'\"\n\nAll this is most solemn. Here we have the two leading men in the\ncongregation, the very men whom God had used to bring His people out\nof the land of Egypt, with mighty signs and wonders--\"that Moses and\nAaron\"--men highly honored of God, and yet refused entrance into\nCanaan. And for what? Let us mark the reason.--\"_Because ye rebelled\nagainst My word._\"\n\nLet these words sink down into our hearts. It is a terrible thing to\nrebel against the Word of God; and the more elevated the position of\nthose who so rebel, the more serious it is in every way, and the more\nsolemn and speedy must be the divine judgment. \"For rebellion is as\nthe sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.\"\n\nThese are weighty words, and we ought to ponder them deeply. They were\nuttered in the ears of Saul, when he had failed to obey the word of\nthe Lord; and thus we have before us examples of a prophet, a priest,\nand a king, all judged, under the government of God, for an act of\ndisobedience. The prophet and the priest were refused entrance into\nthe land of Canaan, and the king was deprived of his throne, simply\nbecause they disobeyed the word of the Lord.\n\nLet us remember this. We, in our fancied wisdom, might deem all this\nvery severe. Are we competent judges? This is a grand question in all\nsuch matters. Let us beware how we presume to sit in judgment on the\nenactments of divine government. Adam was driven out of paradise,\nAaron was stripped of his priestly robes, Moses was sternly refused\nentrance into Canaan, and Saul was deprived of his kingdom--and for\nwhat? Was it for what men would call a grave moral offense--some\nscandalous sin. No; it was, in each case, for neglecting the word of\nthe Lord. This is the serious thing for us to keep before us, in this\nday of human willfulness, in which men undertake to set up their own\nopinions, to think for themselves, and judge for themselves, and act\nfor themselves. Men proudly put the question, \"Has not every man a\nright to think for himself?\" We reply, Most certainly not. We have a\nright to obey. To obey what? Not the commandments of men, not the\nauthority of the so-called church, not the decrees of general\ncouncils--in a word, not any merely human authority, call it what you\nplease, but simply the Word of the living God--the testimony of the\nHoly Ghost--the voice of holy Scripture. This it is that justly claims\nour implicit, unhesitating, unquestioning obedience. To this we are to\nbow down our whole moral being. We are not to reason, we are not to\nspeculate, we are not to weigh consequences, we have nothing to do\nwith results, we are not to say \"Why?\" or \"Wherefore?\" It is ours to\nobey, and leave all the rest in the hands of our Master. What has a\nservant to do with consequences? what business has he to reason as to\nresults? It is of the very essence of a servant to do what he is told,\nregardless of all other considerations. Had Adam remembered this, he\nwould not have been turned out of Eden; had Moses and Aaron remembered\nit, they might have crossed the Jordan; had Saul remembered it, he\nwould not have been deprived of his throne. And so, as we pass down\nalong the stream of human history, we see this weighty principle\nillustrated over and over again; and we may rest assured, it is a\nprinciple of abiding and universal importance.\n\nAnd be it remembered, we are not to attempt to weaken this great\nprinciple by any reasonings grounded upon God's foreknowledge of all\nthat was to happen, and all that man would do, in the course of time.\nMen do reason in this way, but it is a fatal mistake. What has God's\nforeknowledge to do with man's responsibility? Is man responsible, or\nnot? This is the question. If, as we most surely believe, he is, then\nnothing must be allowed to interfere with this responsibility. Man is\ncalled to obey the plain word of God; he is in no wise responsible to\nknow aught about God's secret purposes and counsels. Man's\nresponsibility rests upon what is revealed, not upon what is secret.\nWhat, for example, did Adam know about God's eternal plans and\npurposes when he was set in the garden of Eden and forbidden to eat of\nthe tree of the knowledge of good and evil? Was his transgression in\nany wise modified by the stupendous fact that God took occasion from\nthat very transgression to display, in the view of all created\nintelligences, His glorious scheme of redemption through the blood of\nthe Lamb? Clearly not. He received a plain commandment, and by that\ncommandment his conduct should have been absolutely governed. He\ndisobeyed, and was driven out of paradise into a world which has, for\nwell-nigh six thousand years, exhibited the terrible consequences of\none single act of disobedience--the act of taking the forbidden\nfruit.\n\nTrue it is, blessed be God, that grace has come into this poor\nsin-stricken world and there reaped a harvest which could never have\nbeen reaped in the fields of an unfallen creation. But man was judged\nfor his transgression; he was driven out by the hand of God in\ngovernment, and by an enactment of that government, he has been\ncompelled to eat bread in the sweat of his brow. \"Whatsoever _a man_\n[no matter who] soweth, that shall he also reap.\"\n\nHere we have the condensed statement of the principle which runs all\nthrough the Word, and is illustrated on every page of the history of\nGod's government. It demands our very gravest consideration. It is,\nalas! but little understood. We allow our minds to get under the\ninfluence of one-sided and therefore false ideas of grace, the effect\nof which is most pernicious. Grace is one thing, and government is\nanother: they must never be confounded. We would earnestly impress\nupon the heart of the reader the weighty fact that the most\nmagnificent display of God's sovereign grace can never interfere with\nthe solemn enactments of His government.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\n\n\"Now therefore _hearken_, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the\njudgments which I teach you, for to _do_ them, that ye may _live_, and\ngo in and _possess_ the land which the Lord God of your fathers giveth\nyou.\"\n\nHere we have very prominently before us the special characteristic of\nthe entire book of Deuteronomy.--\"Hearken\" and \"do,\" that ye may\n\"live\" and \"possess.\" This is a universal and abiding principle. It\nwas true for Israel, and it is true for us. The pathway of life and\nthe true secret of possession is simple obedience to the holy\ncommandments of God. We see this all through the inspired volume, from\ncover to cover. God has given us His Word, not to speculate upon it or\ndiscuss it, but, that we may obey it. And it is as we, through grace,\nyield a hearty and happy obedience to our Father's statutes and\njudgments, that we tread the bright pathway of life, and enter into\nthe reality of all that God has treasured up for us in Christ. \"He\nthat hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me;\nand he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love\nhim, and will manifest Myself to him.\"\n\nHow precious is this! Indeed, it is unspeakable. It is something quite\npeculiar. It would be a very serious mistake to suppose that the\nprivilege here spoken of is enjoyed by all believers. It is not. It is\nonly enjoyed by such as yield a loving obedience to the commandments\nof our Lord Jesus Christ. It lies within the reach of all, but all do\nnot enjoy it, because all are not obedient. It is one thing to be a\nchild, and quite another to be an obedient child; it is one thing to\nbe saved, and quite another thing to love the Saviour, and delight in\nall His most precious precepts.\n\nWe may see this continually illustrated in our family circles. There,\nfor example, are two sons, and one of them only thinks of pleasing\nhimself, doing his will, gratifying his own desires. He takes no\npleasure in his father's society, does not take any pains to carry out\nhis father's wishes, knows hardly any thing of his mind, and what he\ndoes know he utterly neglects or despises. He is ready enough to avail\nhimself of all the benefits which accrue to him from the relationship\nin which he stands to his father--ready enough to accept clothes,\nbooks, money--all, in short, that the father gives; but he never seeks\nto gratify the father's heart by a loving attention to his will, even\nin the smallest matters. The other son is the direct opposite to all\nthis. He delights in being with his father; he loves his society,\nloves his ways, loves his words; he is constantly taking occasion to\ncarry out his father's wishes, to get him something that he knows will\nbe agreeable to him. He loves his father, not for his gifts, but for\nhimself; and he finds his richest enjoyment in being in his father's\ncompany and in doing his will.\n\nNow, can we have any difficulty in seeing how very differently the\nfather will feel towards those two sons? True, they are both his sons,\nand he loves them both, with a love grounded upon the relationship in\nwhich they stand to him; but beside the love of relationship common to\nboth, there is the love of complacency peculiar to the obedient child.\nIt is impossible that a father can find pleasure in the society of a\nwillful, self-indulgent, careless son. Such a son may occupy much of\nhis thoughts, he may spend many a sleepless night thinking about him\nand praying for him, he would gladly spend and be spent for him; but\nhe is not agreeable to him, does not possess his confidence, cannot be\nthe depositary of his thoughts.\n\nAll this demands the serious consideration of those who really desire\nto be acceptable or agreeable to the heart of our heavenly Father and\nour Lord Jesus Christ. We may rest assured of this, that obedience is\ngrateful to God; and \"His commandments are not grievous\"--nay, they\nare the sweet and precious expression of His love, and the fruit and\nevidence of the relationship in which He stands to us. And not only\nso, but He graciously rewards our obedience by a fuller manifestation\nof Himself to our souls, and His dwelling with us. This comes out in\ngreat fullness and beauty in our Lord's reply to Judas, not Iscariot,\nfor whose question we may be thankful--\"'Lord, how is it that Thou\nwilt manifest Thyself unto us, and not unto the world?' Jesus answered\nand said unto him, 'If a man love Me, he will keep My words; and My\nFather will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode\nwith him.'\" (John xiv.)\n\nHere we are taught that it is not a question of the difference between\n\"the world\" and \"us,\" inasmuch as the world knows nothing either of\nrelationship or obedience, and is therefore in no wise contemplated in\nour Lord's words. The world hates Christ, because it does not know\nHim. Its language is, \"Depart from us; for we desire not the\nknowledge of Thy ways.\" \"We will not have this Man to reign over us.\"\n\nSuch is the world, even when polished by civilization, and gilded with\nthe profession of Christianity. There is, underneath all the gilding,\nall the polish, a deep-seated hatred of the Person and authority of\nChrist. His sacred, peerless name is tacked on to the world's\nreligion, at least throughout baptized christendom; but behind the\ndrapery of religious profession, there lurks a heart at enmity with\nGod and His Christ.\n\nBut our Lord is not speaking of the world in John xiv. He is shut in\nwith \"His own,\" and it is of them He is speaking. Were He to manifest\nHimself to the world, it could only be for judgment and eternal\ndestruction. But, blessed be His name, He does manifest Himself to His\nown obedient children, to those who have His commandments and keep\nthem, to those who love Him and keep His words.\n\nAnd, let the reader thoroughly understand that when our Lord speaks of\nHis commandments, His words, and His sayings, He does not mean the ten\ncommandments, or law of Moses. No doubt, those ten commandments form a\npart of the whole canon of Scripture--the inspired Word of God; but to\nconfound the law of Moses with the commandments of Christ would be\nsimply turning things upside down, it would be to confound Judaism\nwith Christianity--law and grace. The two things are as distinct as\nany two things can be, and must be so maintained by all who would be\nfound in the current of the mind of God.\n\nWe are sometimes led astray by the mere sound of words; and hence,\nwhen we meet with the word \"commandments,\" we instantly conclude that\nit must needs refer to the law of Moses. But this is a very great and\nmischievous mistake. If the reader is not clear and established as to\nthis, let him close this volume and turn to the first eight chapters\nof the epistle to the Romans, and the whole of the epistle to the\nGalatians, and read them calmly and prayerfully, as in the very\npresence of God, with a mind freed from all theological bias and the\ninfluence of all previous religious training. There he will learn, in\nthe fullest and clearest manner, that the Christian is not under law\nin any way, or for any object whatsoever, either for life, for\nrighteousness, for holiness, for walk, or for any thing else. In\nshort, the teaching of the entire New Testament goes to establish,\nbeyond all question, that the Christian is not under law, not of the\nworld, not in the flesh, not in his sins. The solid ground of all this\nis the accomplished redemption which we have in Christ Jesus, in\nvirtue of which we are sealed by the Holy Ghost, and thus indissolubly\nunited to, and inseparably identified with a risen and glorified\nChrist; so that the apostle John can say of all believers, all God's\ndear children, \"_As_ He [Christ] _is, so are we_ in this world.\" This\nsettles the whole question, for all who are content to be governed by\nholy Scripture. And as to all beside, discussion is worse than\nuseless.\n\nWe have digressed from our immediate subject, in order to meet any\ndifficulty arising from a misunderstanding of the word \"commandments.\"\nThe reader cannot too carefully guard against the tendency to confound\nthe commandments spoken of in John xiv. with the commandments of\nMoses, given in Exodus xx. And yet we reverently believe that Exodus\nxx. is as truly inspired as John xiv.\n\nAnd now, ere we finally turn from the subject which has been engaging\nus, we would ask the reader to refer, for a few moments, to a piece of\ninspired history which illustrates, in a very striking way, the\ndifference between an obedient and disobedient child of God. He will\nfind it in Genesis xviii, xix. It is a profoundly interesting study,\npresenting a contrast instructive, suggestive, and practical beyond\nexpression. We are not going to dwell upon it, having in some measure\ndone so in our \"Notes on the Book of Genesis;\" but we would merely\nremind the reader that he has before him, in these two chapters, the\nhistory of two saints of God. Lot was just as much a child of God as\nAbraham. We have no more doubt that Lot is amongst \"the spirits of\njust men made perfect\" than that Abraham is there. This, we think,\ncannot be called in question, inasmuch as the inspired apostle Peter\ntells us that Lot's \"righteous soul was vexed with the filthy\nconversation of the wicked.\"\n\nBut mark the grave difference between the two men. The Lord Himself\nvisited Abraham, sat with him, and partook readily of his hospitality.\nThis was a high honor indeed, a rare privilege--a privilege which Lot\nnever knew, an honor to which he never attained. The Lord never\nvisited him in Sodom; He merely sent His angels, His ministers of\npower, the agents of His government. And even they, at first, sternly\nrefused to enter Lot's house or to partake of his proffered\nhospitality. Their withering reply was, \"Nay, but we will abide in the\nstreet all night.\" And when they did enter his house, it was only to\nprotect him from the lawless violence with which he was surrounded,\nand to drag him out of the wretched circumstances into which, for\nworldly gain and position, he had plunged himself. Could contrast be\nmore vivid?\n\nBut further, the Lord delighted in Abraham, manifested Himself to him,\nopened His mind to him, told him of His plans and purposes--what He\nwas about to do with Sodom. \"Shall I,\" said He, \"hide from Abraham\nthat thing which I do; seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great\nand mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed\nin him? For _I know him, that he will command his children and his\nhousehold after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do\njustice and judgment_, that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which\nhe hath spoken of him.\"\n\nWe could hardly have a more telling illustration of John xiv. 21, 23,\nalthough the scene occurred two thousand years before the words were\nuttered. Have we aught like this in the history of Lot? Alas! no. It\ncould not be. He had no nearness to God, no knowledge of His mind, no\ninsight into His plans and purposes. How could he? Sunk, as he was, in\nthe low moral depths of Sodom, how could he know the mind of God?\nBlinded by the murky atmosphere which inwrapped the guilty cities of\nthe plain, how could he see into the future? Utterly impossible. If a\nman is mixed up with the world, he can only see things from the\nworld's stand-point; he can only measure things by the world's\nstandard, and think of them with the world's thoughts. Hence it is\nthat the Church, in its Sardis condition, is _threatened_ with the\ncoming of the Lord as a thief, instead of being _cheered_ with the\nhope of His coming as the bright and morning star. If the professing\nchurch has sunk to the world's level--as, alas! she has--she can only\ncontemplate the future from the world's point of view. This accounts\nfor the feeling of dread with which the great majority of professing\nChristians look at the subject of the Lord's coming. They are looking\nfor Him as a thief, instead of the blessed Bridegroom of their hearts.\nHow few there are, comparatively, who _love His appearing_! The great\nmajority of professors (we grieve to have to pen the words) find their\ntype in Lot rather than in Abraham. The Church has departed from her\nproper ground; she has gone down from her true moral elevation, and\nmingled herself with that world which hates and despises her absent\nLord.\n\nStill, thank God, there are \"a few names, even in Sardis, which have\nnot defiled their garments\"--a few living stones, amid the smouldering\nashes of lifeless profession--a few lights twinkling amid the moral\ngloom of cold, nominal, heartless, worldly Christianity. And not only\nso, but in the Laodicean phase of the Church's history, which presents\na still lower and more hopeless condition of things, when the whole\nprofessing body is about to be spued out of the mouth of \"the faithful\nand true witness\"--even at this advanced stage of failure and\ndeparture, those gracious words fall, with soul-stirring power, on the\nattentive ear, \"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if _any man_\nhear My voice, and open the door, I will come in _to him_, and will\nsup with him, and he with Me.\"[7]\n\n  [7] To apply the solemn address of Christ to the church of Laodicea,\n  as we sometimes find it done in modern evangelical preaching, to the\n  case of the sinner, is a great mistake. No doubt, what the preacher\n  means is right enough, but it is not presented here. It is not Christ\n  knocking at the door of a sinner's heart, but knocking at the door of\n  the professing church. What a fact is this! How full of deep and awful\n  solemnity as regards the church! What an end to come to!--Christ\n  outside! But what grace, as regards Christ, for He is knocking! He\n  wants to come in; He is still lingering, in patient grace and\n  changeless love, ready to come in to any faithful individual heart\n  that will only open to Him. \"If any man\"--even one! In Sardis, He\n  could speak _positively_ of \"_a few_;\" in Laodicea, He can only speak\n  _doubtfully_ as to finding _one_. But should there be even one, He\n  will come in to him, and sup with him. Precious Saviour! Faithful\n  Lover of our souls! \"Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, to-day, and\n  forever.\"\n\n  Reader, need we wonder that the enemy should seek to mutilate and\n  misapply the solemn and searching address to the church of\n  Laodicea--the professing body in the last dreary stage of its history?\n  We have no hesitation in saying that to apply it _merely_ to the case\n  of an unconverted soul is to deprive the professing church of one of\n  the most pertinent, pungent, and powerful appeals within the covers of\n  the New Testament.\n\nThus, in the days of professing Christianity, as in the days of the\npatriarchs--in the times of the New Testament, as in those of the Old,\nwe see the same value and importance attached to a hearing ear and an\nobedient heart. Abraham, in the plains of Mamre, the pilgrim and the\nstranger, the faithful and obedient child of God, tasted the rare\nprivilege of entertaining the Lord of glory--a privilege which could\nnot be known by one who had chosen his place and his portion in a\nsphere doomed to destruction. So, also, in the days of Laodicean\nindifference and boastful pretension, the truly obedient heart is\ncheered with the sweet promise of sitting down to sup with Him who is\n\"the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the\ncreation of God.\" In a word, let the condition of things be what it\nmay, there is no limit to the blessing of the individual soul who will\nonly hearken to the voice of Christ, and keep His commandments.\n\nLet us remember this. Let it sink down into the very deepest depths of\nour moral being. Nothing can rob us of the blessings and privileges\nflowing from obedience. The truth of this shines out before our eyes\nin every section and on every page of the volume of God. At all times,\nin all places, and under all circumstances, the obedient soul was\nhappy in God, and God was happy in him. It always holds good, whatever\nbe the character of the dispensation, that, \"To this man will I look,\neven to him who is of a contrite spirit, and trembles at My word.\"\nNothing can ever alter or touch this. It meets us in the fourth\nchapter of our blessed book of Deuteronomy, in the words with which\nthis section opens--\"Now therefore _hearken_, O Israel, unto _the\nstatutes_ and unto _the judgments which I teach you_, for _to do_,\nthat ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the Lord God of\nyour fathers giveth you.\" It meets us in those precious words of our\nLord, in John xiv, on which we have been dwelling--\"He that hath _My\ncommandments_ and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me,\" etc. And\nagain, \"If a man love Me, _he will keep My sayings_.\"[8] It shines\nwith peculiar brightness in the words of the inspired apostle\nJohn--\"Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence\ntoward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him, _because we keep\nHis commandments_, and _do those things that are pleasing in His\nsight_. And this is His commandment, that we should believe on the\nname of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us\ncommandment. And he that keepeth His commandments dwelleth in Him, and\nHe in him.\" (1 John iii. 21-24.)\n\n  [8] There is an interesting difference between the Lord's\n  \"commandments\" and \"sayings.\" The former set forth, distinctly and\n  definitely, what we ought to do; the latter are the expression of His\n  mind. If I give my child a command, it is the statement of his duty;\n  and if he loves me, he will delight to do it. But if he has heard me\n  _say_ I like to see such a thing done, although I have not actually\n  told him to do it, it will touch my heart much more deeply to see him\n  go and do that thing in order to gratify me, than if I had given him a\n  positive command. Now, ought we not to try and please the heart of\n  Christ? Should we not \"labor to be agreeable to Him\"? He has made us\n  accepted; surely we ought to seek, in every possible way, to be\n  acceptable to Him. He delights in a loving obedience; it was what He\n  Himself rendered to the Father.--\"I delight to do Thy will; yea, _Thy\n  law_ is within _My heart_.\" \"If ye keep My commandments, ye shall\n  abide in My love; even as I have kept My Father's commandments, and\n  abide in His love.\" Oh, that we may drink more deeply into the spirit\n  of Jesus, walk in His blessed footsteps, and render Him a more loving,\n  devoted, and whole-hearted obedience in all things! Let us earnestly\n  seek after these things, beloved Christian reader, that His heart may\n  be gratified, and His name glorified in us, and in our entire\n  practical career from day to day.\n\nPassages might easily be multiplied, but there is no need. Those which\nwe have quoted set before us, in the clearest and fullest way\npossible, the very highest motive for obedience, namely, its being\nagreeable to the heart of our Lord Jesus Christ--well-pleasing to God.\nTrue, we owe a hearty obedience on every ground. \"We are not our own;\nwe are bought with a price.\" We owe our life, our peace, our\nrighteousness, our salvation, our everlasting felicity and glory, all\nto Him; so that nothing can exceed the moral weight of His claims upon\nus for a life of whole-hearted obedience. But above and beyond His\nmoral claims stands the marvelous fact that His heart is gratified,\nHis spirit refreshed, by our keeping His commandments and doing those\nthings that are pleasing in His sight.\n\nBeloved Christian reader, can any thing exceed the moral power of such\na motive as this? Only think of our being privileged to give pleasure\nto the heart of our beloved Lord! What sweetness, what interest, what\npreciousness, what holy dignity, it imparts to every little act of\nobedience to know that it is grateful to the heart of our Father! How\nfar beyond the legal system is this! It is a most perfect contrast, in\nits every phase and every feature. The difference between the legal\nsystem and Christianity is the difference between death and life,\nbondage and liberty, condemnation and righteousness, distance and\nnearness, doubt and certainty. How monstrous the attempt to amalgamate\nthese two things--to work them up into one system, as though they were\nbut two branches from the one stem! What hopeless confusion must be\nthe result of any such effort! How terrible the effect of seeking to\nplace souls under the influence of the two things! As well might we\nattempt to combine the sun's meridian beams with the profound darkness\nof midnight. Looked at from a divine and heavenly stand-point, judged\nin the light of the New Testament, measured by the standard of the\nheart of God, the mind of Christ, there could not be a more hideous\nanomaly than that which presents itself to our view in christendom's\neffort to combine law and grace. And as to the dishonor done to God,\nthe wound inflicted on the heart of Christ, the grief and despite\noffered to the Holy Ghost, the damage done to the truth of God, the\ngrievous wrong perpetrated upon the beloved lambs and sheep of the\nflock of Christ, the terrible stumbling-block thrown in the way of\nboth Jew and Gentile, and, in short, the serious injury done to the\nentire testimony of God during the last eighteen centuries, the\njudgment-seat of Christ can alone declare it; and oh, what an awful\ndeclaration that will be! It is too tremendous to contemplate.\n\nBut there are many pious souls throughout the length and breath of the\nprofessing church who conscientiously believe that the only possible\nway to produce obedience, to attain to practical holiness, to secure a\ngodly walk, to keep our evil nature in order, is to put people under\nthe law. They seem to fear that if souls are taken from under the\nschool-master, with his rod and rudiments, there is an end to all\nmoral order. In the absence of the authority of law, they look for\nnothing but hopeless confusion. To take away the ten commandments as a\nrule of life, is, in their judgment, to remove those grand moral\nembankments which the hand of God has erected to stem the tide of\nhuman lawlessness.\n\nWe can fully understand their difficulty. Most of us have had to\nencounter it, in one shape or another. But we must seek to meet it in\nGod's way. It is of no possible use to cling, with fond tenacity, to\nour own notions, in the face of the plainest and most direct teaching\nof holy Scripture. We must, sooner or later, give up all such notions.\nNothing will, nothing can, stand but the Word of our God--the voice of\nthe Holy Ghost--the authority of Scripture--the imperishable teachings\nof that peerless revelation which our Father has, in His infinite\ngrace, put into our hands. To that we must listen, with profound and\nreverent attention; to it we must bow down, with unquestioning and\nunqualified obedience. We must not presume to hold a single opinion\nof our own: God's opinion must be ours. We must clear out all the\nrubbish, which, by the influence of mere human teaching, has\naccumulated in our minds, and have every chamber thoroughly cleansed\nby the action of the Word and Spirit of God, and thoroughly ventilated\nby the pure and bracing air of the new creation.\n\nFurthermore, we must learn to confide implicitly in every word that\nproceedeth out of the mouth of God. We must not reason, we must not\njudge, we must not discuss: we must simply believe. If man speaks, if\nit be a mere question of human authority, then indeed we must judge,\nbecause man has no right to command. We must judge what he says, not\nby our own opinions, or by any human standard, creed, or confession of\nfaith, but by the Word of God. But when Scripture speaks, all\ndiscussion is closed.\n\nThis is an unspeakable consolation. It is not within the compass of\nhuman language to set forth adequately the value or the moral\nimportance of this great fact. It delivers the soul completely from\nthe blinding power of self-will on the one hand, and of mere\nsubjection to human authority on the other. It brings us into direct,\npersonal, living contact with the authority of God; and this is life,\npeace, liberty, moral power, true elevation, divine certainty, and\nholy stability. It puts an end to doubts and fears, to all the\nfluctuations of mere human opinion, so perplexing to the mind, so\ntorturing to the heart. We are no longer tossed about with every wind\nof doctrine, every wave of human thought. _God has spoken._ This is\nquite enough. Here the heart finds its deep and settled repose. It has\nmade its escape from the stormy ocean of theological controversy, and\ncast anchor in the blessed haven of divine revelation.\n\nHence, therefore, we would say to the pious reader of these lines, if\nyou would know the mind of God on the subject before us--if you would\nknow the ground, character, and object of Christian obedience, you\nmust simply listen to the voice of holy Scripture. And what does it\nsay? Does it send us back to Moses, to teach us how to live? Does it\nsend us back \"to the palpable mount,\" in order to secure holy living?\nDoes it put us under the law, to keep the flesh in order? Hear what it\nsays. Yes; hearken and ponder. Take the following words from Romans\nvi.--words of emancipating, holy power: \"For sin shall not have\ndominion over you; for _ye are not under law_, but under grace.\"\n\nNow, we most earnestly entreat the reader to let these words enter\ninto the very depths of his soul. The Holy Ghost declares, in the\nsimplest and most emphatic manner, that Christians are not under law.\nIf we were under law, sin would have dominion over us. Indeed, we\ninvariably find, in Scripture, that \"sin,\" \"law,\" and \"flesh\" are\nlinked together. A soul under law cannot possibly enjoy full\ndeliverance from the dominion of sin; and in this we can see at a\nglance the fallacy of the whole legal system, and the utter delusion\nof seeking to produce holy living by putting souls under the law. It\nis simply putting them into the very place where sin can lord it over\nthem, and rule them with absolute sway. How is it possible, then, to\nproduce holiness by law? It is absolutely hopeless.\n\nBut let us turn, for a moment, to Romans vii. \"Wherefore, my brethren,\nye also\"--and all true believers, all God's people--\"are become _dead\nto the law_ by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to\nanother, even to Him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring\nforth fruit unto God.\" Now, it is perfectly plain that we cannot be\n\"dead to the law\" and \"under the law\" at the same time. It may perhaps\nbe argued that the expression, \"dead to the law\" is merely a figure.\nWell, supposing it be so, we ask, A figure of what? Surely it cannot\nbe a figure of persons under law. Nay, it is a figure of the very\nopposite.\n\nAnd let us mark particularly, the apostle does not say the law is\ndead. Nothing of the kind. The law is not dead, but we are dead to it.\nWe have passed, by the death of Christ, out of the sphere to which the\nlaw belongs. Christ took our place; He was made under the law; and, on\nthe cross, He was made sin for us. But He died for us, and we died in\nHim; and He has thus taken us clean out of the position in which we\nwere under the dominion of sin, and under law, and introduced us into\nan entirely new position, in living association and union with\nHimself, so that it can be said. \"As He is, so are we in this world.\"\nIs He under law? Assuredly not. Well, neither are we. Has sin any\nclaim upon Him? None whatever. Neither has it any upon us. We are, as\nto our standing, as He is in the presence of God; and therefore to put\nus back under law would be a complete overturning of the entire\nChristian position, and a most positive and flagrant contradiction of\nthe very plainest statements of holy Scripture.\n\nNow, we would, in all simplicity and godly sincerity, ask, How could\nholy living be promoted by removing the very foundation of\nChristianity? How could indwelling sin be subdued by putting us under\nthe very system that gave sin power over us? How could true Christian\nobedience ever be produced by flying in the face of holy Scripture? We\nconfess we cannot conceive any thing more thoroughly preposterous.\nSurely a divine end can only be gained by pursuing a divine way. Now,\nGod's way of giving us deliverance from the dominion of sin is by\ndelivering us from under law; and hence all those who teach that\nChristians are under law are plainly at issue with God. Tremendous\nconsideration for all who desire to be teachers of the law!\n\nBut let us hear further words from the seventh chapter of Romans. The\napostle goes on to say, \"For _when we were in the flesh_, the motions\nof sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth\nfruit unto _death_. But now _we are delivered from the law_, being\ndead [or, having died] to that wherein we were held: _that we should\nserve_ in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the\nletter.\"[9]\n\n  [9] The rendering of Romans vii. 6 in our authorized version is\n  manifestly erroneous, inasmuch as it teaches that the law is dead,\n  which is not true. \"The law is good, if a man use it lawfully.\" (1\n  Tim. i.) And again, \"The law is holy.\" (Rom. vii.) Scripture never\n  teaches that the law is dead, but it teaches that the believer is dead\n  to the law--a totally different thing.\n\n  But further, \u1f00\u03c0\u03bf\u03b8\u03b1\u03bd\u03bf\u03bd\u03c4\u03b5\u03c2 cannot possibly apply to the law,\n  as any   well-taught school-boy can see at a glance; it applies to\n  us--believers.   Were it the law, the word would be\n  \u1f00\u03c0\u03bf\u03b8\u03b1\u03bd\u03bf\u03bd\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2.\n\nHere, again, all is as clear as a sunbeam. What means the expression,\n\"When we _were_ in the flesh\"? Does it--can it mean that we _are_\nstill in that condition? Clearly not. If I were to say, When I _was_\nin London, would any one understand that I am in London still? The\nthought is absurd.\n\nBut what does the apostle mean by the expression, \"When we were in the\nflesh\"? He simply refers to a thing of the past--to a condition that\nno longer obtains. Are believers, then, not in the flesh? So Scripture\nemphatically declares. But does this mean that they are not in the\nbody? Assuredly not. They are in the body as to the fact of their\nexistence, but not in the flesh as to the ground of their standing\nbefore God.\n\nIn chapter viii. we have the most distinct statement of this\npoint.--\"So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. _But ye\nare not in the flesh_, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of\nGod dwell in you.\" Here we have the statement of a most solemn fact,\nand the setting forth of a most precious, glorious privilege. \"They\nthat are in the flesh _cannot please God_.\" They may be very moral,\nvery amiable, very religious, very benevolent; but they cannot please\nGod. Their entire position is false. The source whence all the streams\nflow is corrupt; the root and stem whence all the branches emanate are\nrotten--hopelessly bad. They cannot produce a single atom of good\nfruit--fruit that God can accept. \"They cannot please God.\" They must\nget into an entirely new position; they must have a new life, new\nmotives, new objects--in a word, they must be a new creation. How\nsolemn is all this! Let us weigh it thoroughly, and see if we\nunderstand the apostle's words.\n\nBut on the other hand, mark the glorious privilege of all true\nbelievers. \"_Ye are not in the flesh._\" Believers are no longer in a\nposition in which they cannot please God. They have a new nature--a\nnew life, every movement, every outflow, of which is agreeable to God.\nThe very feeblest breathing of the divine life is precious to God. Of\nthis life, the Holy Ghost is the power, Christ the object, glory the\ngoal, heaven the home. All is divine, and therefore perfect. True, the\nbeliever is liable to err, prone in himself to wander, capable of\nsinning. In him (that is, in his flesh,) dwelleth no good thing. But\nhis _standing_ is based on the eternal stability of the grace of God,\nand his _state_ is met by the divine provision which that grace has\nmade for him in the precious atonement and all-prevailing advocacy of\nour Lord Jesus Christ. Thus he is forever delivered from that terrible\nsystem in which the prominent figures are, \"Flesh,\" \"Law,\" \"Sin,\"\n\"Death\"--melancholy group, most surely!--and he is brought into that\nglorious scene in which the prominent figures are, \"Life,\" \"Liberty,\"\n\"Grace,\" \"Peace,\" \"Righteousness,\" \"Holiness,\" \"Glory,\" \"Christ.\" \"For\n_ye are not come_ to the mount that might be touched\"--that is, the\npalpable mount--\"and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and\ndarkness, and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of\nwords; which voice they that heard, entreated that the word should not\nbe spoken to them any more: (For they could not endure that which was\ncommanded, 'And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be\nstoned, or thrust through with a dart:' and so terrible was the sight,\nthat Moses said, 'I exceedingly fear and quake:') but _ye are come_\nunto Mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly\nJerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, the general\nassembly, the church of the first-born [ones] which are written in\nheaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men\nmade perfect, and to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to\nthe blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than Abel.\" (Heb.\nxii.)\n\nThus we have endeavored to meet the difficulty of any conscientious\nreader who up to the moment in which he opened this volume had\ncherished the conviction that it is only by putting believers under\nthe law that practical holiness and true obedience can be attained. We\ntrust he has followed us through the line of Scripture evidence which\nwe have laid before him. If so, he will see that to place believers in\nsuch a position is to do away with the very foundations of\nChristianity--to abandon grace--to give up Christ--to go back to the\nflesh, in which we cannot please God, and to place ourselves under the\ncurse. In short, the legal system of men is diametrically opposed to\nthe teaching of the entire New Testament. It was against this system\nand its upholders that the blessed apostle Paul, during his whole\nlife, ever testified. He absolutely abhorred it, and continually\ndenounced it. The law-teachers were ever seeking to sap and undermine\nhis blessed labors, and subvert the souls of his beloved children in\nthe faith. It is impossible to read his burning sentences in the\nepistle to the Galatians, his withering references in his epistle to\nthe Philippians, or his solemn warnings in the epistle to the Hebrews,\nand not see how intense was his abhorrence of the whole legal system\nof the law-teachers, and how bitterly he wept over the ruins of the\ntestimony so dear to his large, loving, devoted heart.\n\nBut it is possible that after all we have written, and notwithstanding\nthe full tide of Scripture evidence to which we have called the\nreader's attention, he may still feel disposed to ask, Is there not a\ndanger of unholy laxity and levity if the restraining power of the law\nbe removed? To this we reply, God is wiser than we are. He knows best\nhow to cure laxity and levity, and how to produce the right sort of\nobedience. He tried the law, and what did it do? It worked wrath; it\ncaused the offense to abound; it developed \"the motions of sins;\" it\nbrought in death; it was the strength of sin; it deprived the sinner\nof all power; it slew him; it was condemnation; it cursed all who had\nto do with it--\"As many as are of the works of the law are under the\ncurse;\" and all this, not because of any defect in the law, but\nbecause of man's total inability to keep it.\n\nIs it not plain to the reader that neither life nor righteousness nor\nholiness nor true Christian obedience could ever be attained under\nlaw? Is it possible, after all that has passed in review before us,\nthat he can have a single question, a single doubt, a single\ndifficulty? We trust not. No one who is willing to bow down to the\nteaching and authority of the New Testament can adhere to the legal\nsystem for one hour.\n\nHowever, ere we turn from this weighty and all-important subject, we\nshall place before the reader a passage or two of Scripture in which\nthe moral glories of Christianity shine forth with peculiar lustre, in\nvivid contrast to the entire Mosaic economy.\n\nFirst of all, let us take that familiar passage at the opening of the\neighth of Romans, \"There is therefore now _no condemnation_ to them\nwhich are _in Christ Jesus_. For the law of the spirit of life in\nChrist Jesus _hath made me free_ from the law of sin and death. For\nwhat the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God\nsending His own Son _in the likeness_ of sinful flesh, and for sin,\ncondemned sin in the flesh; that the righteousness [\u03b4\u03b9\u03ba\u03b1\u03af\u03c9\u03bc\u03b1]\nof the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but\nafter the Spirit.\" (Ver. 1-4.)\n\nNow, we must bear in mind that verse 1 sets forth the _standing_ of\nevery Christian--his _position_ before God. He is \"in Christ Jesus.\"\nThis settles every thing. He is not in the flesh; he is not under law;\nhe is absolutely and eternally \"in Christ Jesus.\" Hence there is,\nthere can be, no condemnation. The apostle is not speaking of or\nreferring to our _walk_ or our _state_. If he were, he could not\npossibly speak of \"no condemnation.\" The most perfect Christian walk\nthat ever was exhibited, the most perfect Christian state that ever\nwas attained, would afford some ground for judgment and condemnation.\nThere is not a Christian on the face of the earth who has not daily to\njudge his state and his walk--his moral condition and his practical\nways. How, then, could \"no condemnation\" ever stand connected with, or\nbe based upon, Christian walk? Utterly impossible. In order to be free\nfrom all condemnation, we must have what is divinely perfect, and no\nChristian walk is or ever was that. Even a Paul had to withdraw his\nwords (Acts xxiii. 5.). He repented of having written a letter (2 Cor.\nvii. 8.). A perfect walk and a perfect state were only found in One.\nIn all beside--even the holiest and best, failure is found.\n\nHence, therefore, the second clause of Romans viii. 1 must be\nrejected: it is not Scripture. This, we think, would be seen by any\none really taught of God, apart from all question of mere criticism.\nAny spiritual mind would detect the incongruity between the words \"no\ncondemnation\" and \"walk.\" The two things cannot be made to harmonize.\nAnd here, we doubt not, is just where thousands of pious souls have\nbeen plunged into difficulty as to this really magnificent and\nemancipating passage. The joyful sound, \"No condemnation,\" has been\nrobbed of its deep, full, and blessed significance by a clause\nintroduced by some scribe or copyist whose feeble vision was doubtless\ndazzled by the brightness of that free, absolute, sovereign grace\nwhich shines in the opening statement of the chapter. How often have\nwe heard such words as these!--\"Oh, yes; I know there is no\ncondemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus; but that is if they\nwalk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Now, I cannot say that\nI walk thus. I long to do so, and I mourn over my failure. I would\ngive worlds to be able to walk more perfectly; but, alas! alas! I have\nto judge myself--my state, my walk, my ways--each day, each hour. This\nbeing so, I dare not apply to myself the precious words, 'no\ncondemnation.' I hope to be able to do so some day, when I have made\nmore progress in personal holiness; but in my present state, I should\ndeem it the very height of presumption to appropriate to myself the\nprecious truth contained in the first clause of Romans viii.\"\n\nSuch thoughts as these have passed through the minds of most of us, if\nthey have not been clothed in words. But the simple and conclusive\nanswer to all such legal reasonings is found in the fact that the\nsecond clause of Romans viii. 1 is not Scripture at all, but a very\nmisleading interpolation, foreign to the spirit and genius of\nChristianity, opposed to the whole line of argument in the context\nwhere it occurs, and utterly subversive of the solid peace of the\nChristian. It is a fact well known to all who are conversant with\nbiblical criticism, that all the leading authorities are agreed in\nrejecting the second clause of Romans viii. 1.[10] And in this, it is\nsimply a matter of criticism confirming, as all sound criticism must\ndo, the conclusion at which a really spiritual mind would arrive\nwithout any knowledge of criticism at all.\n\n  [10] It may be that the reader feels a little jealous of any\n  interference with our excellent English Bible. He may, like many\n  others, feel disposed to say, \"How is an uneducated man to know what\n  is Scripture and what is not? Must he depend upon scholars and critics\n  to give him certainty on so grave and important a question? If so, is\n  it not the same old story of looking to human authority to confirm the\n  Word of God?\" By no means. It is a totally different thing. We all\n  know that all copies and translations must be, in some points,\n  imperfect, as being human; but we believe that the same grace which\n  gave the Word in the original Hebrew and Greek languages, has most\n  marvelously watched over our English translation, so that a poor man,\n  at the back of a mountain, may rest assured that he possesses in his\n  common English Bible the revelation of the mind of God. It is\n  wonderful, after all the labors of scholars and critics, how few\n  passages, comparatively, have had to be touched; and not one affecting\n  any foundation-doctrine of Christianity. God, who graciously gave us\n  the holy Scriptures at the first, has watched over them and preserved\n  them to His Church in a most wonderful manner. Moreover, He has seen\n  fit to make use of the labors of scholars and critics, from age to\n  age, to clear the sacred text of errors which, through the infirmity\n  attaching to all human agency, had crept into it. Should these\n  corrections shake our confidence in the integrity of Scripture as a\n  whole? or lead us to doubt that we possess, in very deed, the Word of\n  God? Nay, rather should they lead us to bless God for His goodness in\n  watching over His Word in order to preserve it in its integrity for\n  His Church.\n\nBut in addition to all that has been advanced in reference to this\nquestion, we cannot but think that the occurrence of the clause, \"who\nwalk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit,\" in verse 4, affords\nabundant evidence of its misplacement in verse 1. We cannot, for a\nmoment, admit the thought of redundancy in holy Scripture. Now, in\nverse 4 it _is_ a question of walk--a question of our fulfilling \"the\nrighteousness [mark the word--\u03b4\u03b9\u03ba\u03b1\u03af\u03c9\u03bc\u03b1] of the law,\" and\nhence the clause is in its right, because divinely fitted, place. A\nperson who walks in the Spirit--as every Christian ought--fulfills the\nrighteousness of the law. Love is the fulfilling of the law; and love\nwill lead us to do what the ten commandments could never effect,\nnamely, to love our enemies. No lover of holiness, no advocate of\npractical righteousness, need ever be the least afraid of losing aught\nby abandoning the legal ground, and taking his place on the elevated\nplatform of true Christianity--by turning from Mount Sinai to Mount\nZion--by passing from Moses to Christ. No; he only reaches a higher\nsource, a deeper spring, a wider sphere of holiness, righteousness,\nand practical obedience.\n\nAnd then, if any one should feel disposed to ask, Does not the line of\nargument which we have been pursuing tend to rob the law of its\ncharacteristic glory? We reply, Most assuredly not. So far from this,\nthe law was never so magnified, never so vindicated, never so\nestablished, never so glorified, as by that precious work which forms\nthe imperishable foundation of all the privileges, the blessings, the\ndignities, and the glories of Christianity. The blessed apostle\nanticipates and answers this very question in the earlier part of his\nepistle to the Romans. \"Do we then,\" he says, \"make void the law\nthrough faith? Far be the thought; yea, we establish the law.\" How\ncould the law be more gloriously vindicated, honored, and magnified\nthan in the life and death of the Lord Jesus Christ? Will any one\nseek, for a moment, to maintain the extravagant notion that it is\nmagnifying the law to put Christians under it? We fondly trust the\nreader will not. Ah! no; all this line of things must be completely\nabandoned by those whose privilege it is to walk in the light of the\nnew creation; who know Christ as their life and Christ as their\nrighteousness, Christ their sanctification, Christ their great\nexemplar, Christ their model, Christ their all and in all; who find\ntheir motive for obedience, not in the fear of the curses of a broken\nlaw, but in the love of Christ, according to those exquisitely beautiful\nwords, \"The love of Christ\"--not the law of Moses--\"constraineth\nus; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all\ndead. And He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth\nlive unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them and rose\nagain.\" (2 Cor. v.)\n\nCould the law ever produce aught like this? Impossible. But, blessed\nforever be the God of all grace, \"what the law could not do,\" not\nbecause it was not holy, just, and good, but \"in that it was weak\nthrough the flesh\"--the workman was all right, but the material was\nrotten, and nothing could be made of it; but \"God sending His own Son\nin the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the\nflesh, that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us,\nwho,\" as risen with Christ, linked with Him by the Holy Ghost, in the\npower of a new and everlasting life, \"walk not after the flesh, but\nafter the Spirit.\"\n\nThis, and only this, is true, practical Christianity; and if the\nreader will turn to the second of Galatians, he will find another of\nthose fine, glowing utterances of the blessed apostle, setting forth,\nwith divine force and fullness, the special glory of Christian life\nand walk. It is in connection with his faithful rebuke of the apostle\nPeter at Antioch, when that beloved and honored servant of Christ,\nthrough his characteristic weakness, had been led to step down, for a\nmoment, from the elevated moral ground on which the gospel of the\ngrace of God places the soul. We cannot do better than quote the\nentire paragraph for the reader: every sentence of it is pregnant with\nspiritual power.\n\n\"But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him _to the face_.\"\nHe did not go behind his back, to disparage and depreciate him in the\nview of others, even though \"he was to be blamed. For before that\ncertain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles; but when they\nwere come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were\nof the circumcision. And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him,\ninsomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation.\nBut when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth\nof the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a\nJew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why\ncompellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews? We who are Jews\nby nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, knowing that a man is not\njustified by works of law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we\nhave believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith\nof Christ, and not by works of law; for by works of law shall no flesh\nbe justified. But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we\nourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of\nsin? God forbid [or, Far be the thought--\u03bc\u03b7 \u03b3\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03b9\u03c4\u03bf.]. For if\nI build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a\ntransgressor.\" For if the things were right, why destroy them? and if\nthey were wrong, why build them again? \"For I, through law, am _dead\nto law_, that I might live unto God. I am crucified with Christ:\nnevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life\nwhich I now live in the flesh, I live [not by the law, as a rule of\nlife, but] by the faith of the Son of God, _who loved me_, and gave\n_Himself for me_. I do not frustrate the grace of God; for if\nrighteousness come by law, then Christ is dead in vain [or, has died\nfor nothing--\u03b4\u03c9\u03c1\u03b5\u1f70\u03bd.].\" (Gal. ii. 11-21.)\n\nHere, then, we have one of the very finest statements of the truth as\nto practical Christianity any where to be found. But what specially\nclaims our attention just now is, the very marked and beautiful way in\nwhich the gospel of God opens up the path of the true believer between\nthe two fatal errors of legality on the one side and carnal laxity on\nthe other. Verse 19, in the passage just quoted, contains the divine\nremedy for both these deadly evils. To all--whoever or wherever they\nare--who would seek to put the Christian under the law, in any shape\nor for any object whatsoever, our apostle exclaims, in the ears of\ndissembling Jews, with Peter at their head, and as an answer to all\nthe law-teachers of every age, \"_I am dead to law_.\"\n\nWhat can the law have to say to a dead man? Nothing. The law applies\nto a living man, to curse him and kill him because he has not kept it.\nIt is a very grave mistake indeed to teach that the law is dead or\nabolished. It is nothing of the sort. It is alive in all its force, in\nall its stringency, in all its majesty, in all its unbending dignity.\nIt would be a very serious mistake to say that the law of England\nagainst murder is dead; but if a man is dead, the law no longer\napplies to him, inasmuch as he has passed entirely out of its range.\n\nBut how is the believer dead to law? The apostle replies, \"I through\nlaw am dead to law.\" The law had brought the sentence of death into\nhis conscience, as we read in Romans vii, \"I was alive without the\nlaw once; but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. And\nthe commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be into death.\nFor sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it\nslew me.\"\n\nBut there is more than this. The apostle goes on to say, \"I am\ncrucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ\nliveth in me.\" And here is the triumphant answer of the Christian to\nthose who say that inasmuch as the Mosaic law is abrogated, there is\nno longer any demand for the legal restraint under which the Jews were\ncalled to live. To all who would seek liberty for self-indulgence, the\nanswer is, \"I am dead to law, [not that I might give a loose rein to\nthe flesh, but] that I might live unto God.\"\n\nThus nothing can be more complete, nothing more morally beautiful,\nthan the answer of true Christianity to legality on the one hand and\nlicentiousness on the other. Self crucified; sin condemned; new life\nin Christ; a life to be lived to God; a life of faith in the Son of\nGod; the motive-spring of that life, the constraining love of\nChrist--what can exceed this? Will any one, in view of the moral\nglories of Christianity, contend for putting believers under the law,\nputting them back into the flesh--back into the old creation--back to\nthe sentence of death in the conscience--back to bondage, darkness,\ndistance, fear of death, condemnation?\n\nIs it possible that any one who has ever tasted, even in the very\nfeeblest measure, the heavenly sweetness of God's most blessed gospel,\ncan accept the wretched mongrel system, composed of half law and half\ngrace, which christendom offers to the soul? How terrible to find the\nchildren of God--members of the body of Christ--temples of the Holy\nGhost--robbed of their glorious privileges, and burdened with a heavy\nyoke, which, as Peter says, \"neither our fathers nor we were able to\nbear.\" We earnestly entreat the Christian reader to consider what has\nbeen placed before him. Search the Scriptures; and if you find these\nthings to be so, then fling aside forever the grave-clothes in which\nchristendom inwraps its deluded votaries, and walk in the liberty\nwherewith Christ makes His people free; tear off the bandage with\nwhich it covers the eyes of men, and gaze on the moral glories which\nshine with such heavenly brilliancy in the gospel of the grace of God.\n\nAnd then let us prove, by a holy, happy, gracious walk and\nconversation, that grace can do what law never could. Let our\npractical ways from day to day, in the midst of the scenes,\ncircumstances, relationships, and associations in which we are called\nto live, be the most convincing reply to all who contend for the law\nas a rule of life.\n\nFinally, let it be our earnest, loving desire and aim to seek, in so\nfar as in us lies, to lead all the dear children of God into a clearer\nknowledge of their standing and privileges in a risen and glorified\nChrist. May the Lord send out His light and His truth, in the power\nof the Holy Ghost, and gather His beloved people around Himself, to\nwalk in the joy of His salvation, in the purity and light of His\npresence, and to wait for His coming.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nWe do not attempt to offer any apology for what may perhaps appear to\nsome of our readers to be a very lengthened digression from the fourth\nchapter of Deuteronomy. The fact is, we have been led into what we\njudge to be a very needed line of practical truth by the very first\nverse of the chapter, as quoted at the opening of this section. We\nfelt it absolutely necessary, in speaking of the weighty question of\nobedience, to seek to place it on its true basis. If Israel was called\nto \"hearken and do,\" how much more are we, who are so richly\nblessed--yea, \"blessed with _all_ spiritual blessings in the\nheavenlies in Christ Jesus.\" We are called to obedience, even to the\nobedience of Jesus Christ, as we have it in 1 Peter i, \"Elect\naccording to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through\nsanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the\nblood of Jesus Christ.\" We are called to the very same character of\nobedience as that which marked the life of our blessed Lord Jesus\nChrist Himself. Of course, in Him there was no hindering influence as,\nalas! there is in us; but as to the character of the obedience, it is\nthe same.\n\nThis is an immense privilege. We are called to walk in the footsteps\nof Jesus. \"He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to\nwalk even as He walked.\" Now, in pondering the path of our Lord, in\nconsidering His marvelous life, there is one point which demands our\nprofound and reverent attention--a point which connects itself, in a\nvery special manner, with the book of Deuteronomy--and that is, the\nway in which He ever used the Word of God--the place which He ever\ngave to the holy Scriptures. This we consider to be a subject of the\nlast possible importance at the present moment. It holds a prominent\nplace throughout the lovely book with which we are at present engaged.\nIndeed, as we have already remarked, it characterizes the book, and\nmarks it off from the three books which precede it in the divine\ncanon. We shall find proofs and illustrations of this in abundance as\nwe pass along. Every where, the Word of God gets its own paramount\nplace, as the only rule, the only standard, the only authority, for\nman. It meets him in every position, in every relationship, in every\nsphere of action, and in every stage of his moral and spiritual\nhistory. It tells him what he ought to do, and what he ought not. It\nfurnishes him with ample guidance in every difficulty. It descends, as\nwe shall see, to the most minute details--such details, indeed, as\nfill us with amazement to think that the High and Mighty One that\ninhabiteth eternity could occupy Himself with them--to think that the\nOmnipotent Creator and Sustainer of the vast universe could stoop to\nlegislate about a bird's nest. (Chap. xxii. 6.)\n\nSuch is the Word of God--that peerless revelation--that perfect and\ninimitable volume which stands alone in the history of literature. And\nwe may say that one special charm of the book of Deuteronomy--one\npeculiar feature of interest is, the way in which it exalts the Word\nof God, and enforces upon us the holy and happy duty of unqualified\nand unhesitating obedience.\n\nYes; we repeat and would fervently emphasize the words--unqualified\nand unhesitating obedience. We would have these wholesome words\nsounded in the ears of Christian professors throughout the length and\nbreadth of the earth. We live in a day specially marked by the setting\nup of man's reason, man's judgment, man's will; in short, we live in\nwhat the inspired apostle calls \"man's day.\" On all hands we are\nencountered by lofty and boastful words about human reason, and the\nright of every man to judge and reason and think for himself. The\nthought of being absolutely and completely governed by the authority\nof holy Scripture is treated with sovereign contempt by thousands of\nmen who are the religious guides and teachers of the professing\nchurch. For any one to assert his reverent belief in the plenary\ninspiration, the all-sufficiency, and the absolute authority of\nScripture, is quite sufficient to stamp him as an ignorant,\nnarrow-minded man, if not a semi-lunatic, in the judgment of some who\noccupy the very highest position in the professing church. In our\nuniversities, our colleges, and our schools, the moral glory of the\nDivine Volume is fast fading away, and instead thereof our young\npeople are led and taught to walk in the light of science--the light\nof human reason. The Word of God itself is impiously placed at the bar\nof man's judgment, and reduced to the level of the human\nunderstanding. Every thing is rejected which soars beyond man's feeble\nvision.\n\nThus the Word of God is virtually set aside. For, clearly, if\nScripture is to be submitted to human judgment, it ceases to be the\nWord of God. It is the very height of folly to think of submitting a\ndivine and therefore perfect revelation to any tribunal whatsoever.\nEither God has given us a revelation or He has not. If He has, that\nrevelation must be paramount, supreme, above and beyond all question,\nabsolutely unquestionable, unerring, divine. To its authority all must\nbow down, without a single question. To suppose for a moment that man\nis competent to judge the Word of God, able to pronounce upon what is\nor what is not worthy of God to say or to write, is simply to put man\nin God's place. And this is precisely what the devil is aiming at,\nalthough many of his instruments are not aware that they are helping\non his designs.\n\nBut the question is continually cropping up before us, \"How can we be\nsure that we have, in our English Bible, the _bona-fide_ revelation of\nGod?\" We reply, God can make us sure of it. If He does not, no one\ncan: if He does, no one need. This is our ground, and we deem it\nunassailable. We should like to ask all those who start this infidel\nquestion (for such we must honestly call it), Supposing that God\ncannot give us the absolute certainty that, in our common English\nBible, we do actually possess His own most precious, priceless\nrevelation, then whither are we to turn? Of course, in such a weighty\nmatter, on which momentous and eternal consequences hang, a single\ndoubt is torture and misery. If I am not sure of possessing a\nrevelation from God, I am left without a single ray of light for my\npath; I am plunged in darkness, gloom, and mental misery. What am I to\ndo? Can man help me by his learning, his wisdom, or his reason? Can he\nsatisfy my soul by his decision? Can he solve my difficulty, answer my\nquestion, remove my doubt, dissipate my fear? Is man better able than\nGod to give me the assurance that God has spoken?\n\nThe idea is absolutely monstrous--monstrous in the very highest\ndegree. The plain fact is this, reader: If God cannot give us the\ncertainty that He has spoken, we are left without His word altogether.\nIf we must turn to human authority, call it what you please, in order\nto guarantee the Word of God to our souls, then that authority is\nhigher and greater, safer and more trustworthy, than the Word which it\nguarantees. Blessed be God, it is not so. He has spoken to our hearts.\nHe has given us His Word, and that Word carries its own credentials\nwith it. It stands in no need of letters of commendation from a human\nhand. What! turn to man to accredit the Word of the living\nGod!--apply to a worm to give us the assurance that our God has spoken\nto us in His Word! Away forever with the blasphemous notion, and let\nour whole moral being--all our ransomed powers adore the matchless\ngrace, the sovereign mercy, that has not left us to grope in the\ndarkness of our own minds, or to be bewildered by the conflicting\nopinions of men; but has given us His own perfect and most precious\nrevelation, the divine light of His Word, to guide our feet into the\npath of certainty and peace, to enlighten our understandings and\ncomfort our hearts, to preserve us from every form of doctrinal error\nand moral pravity, and finally, to conduct us into the rest,\nblessedness, and glory of His own heavenly kingdom. All praise to His\nname throughout the everlasting ages!\n\nBut we must bear in mind that the marvelous privilege of which we have\nspoken--and truly it is most marvelous--is the basis of a most solemn\nresponsibility. If it be true that God has, in His infinite goodness,\ngiven us a perfect revelation of His mind, then what should be our\nattitude in reference to it? Are we to sit in judgment upon it? Are we\nto discuss, argue, or reason? Alas! for all who do so. They will find\nthemselves on terribly dangerous ground. The only true, the only\nproper, the only safe attitude for man in the presence of God's\nrevelation is, obedience--simple, unqualified, hearty obedience. This\nis the only right thing for us, and this is the thing which is\npleasing to God. The path of obedience is the path of sweetest\nprivilege, rest, and blessing. This path can be trodden by the merest\nbabe in Christ, as well as by the \"young men\" and the \"fathers.\" There\nis the one straight and blessed path for all. Narrow it is, no doubt;\nbut, oh! it is safe, bright, and elevated. The light of our Father's\napproving countenance ever shines upon it; and in this blessed light\nthe obedient soul finds the most triumphant answer to all the\nreproaches of those who talk, in high-sounding words, about breadth of\nmind, liberality of thought, freedom of opinion, progress,\ndevelopment, and such like. The obedient child of God can afford to\nput up with all this, because he feels and knows, he believes and is\nsure, that he is treading a path indicated for him by the precious\nWord of God. He is not careful to explain or apologize, feeling\nassured that those who object, oppose, and reproach are utterly\nincapable of understanding or appreciating his explanation. And,\nmoreover, he feels that it is no part of his duty to explain or\ndefend. He has but to obey; and as for objectors and opposers, he has\nbut to refer them to his Master.\n\nThis makes it all so simple, so plain, so certain. It delivers the\nheart from a thousand difficulties and perplexities. If we were to set\nabout replying to all who undertake to raise questions or start\ndifficulties, our whole life would be spent in the profitless task. We\nmay rest assured the best possible answer to all infidel objectors is,\nthe steady, earnest, onward path of unqualified obedience. Let us\nleave infidels, skeptics, and rationalists to their own worthless\ntheories, while we, with unswerving purpose and firm step, pursue that\nblessed path of childlike obedience which, like the shining light,\nshineth more and more unto the perfect day. Thus shall our minds be\nkept tranquil, for the peace of God, which passeth all understanding,\nshall garrison our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. When the\nWord of God, which is settled forever in heaven, is hidden deep down\nin our hearts, there will be a calm certainty, a holy stability, and a\nmarked progress in our Christian career, which will afford the best\npossible answer to the gainsayer, the most effectual testimony to the\ntruth of God, and the most convincing evidence and solid confirmation\nto every wavering heart.\n\nThe chapter before us abounds in the most solemn exhortation to\nIsrael, grounded upon the fact of their having heard the word of God.\nThus in the second verse we have a sentence or two which should be\ndeeply engraved on the tablets of every Christian's heart.--\"Ye shall\nnot add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish\naught from it.\"\n\nThese words involve two grand facts with regard to the Word of God. It\nis not to be added to, for the simplest of all reasons, because there\nis nothing lacking; it is not to be diminished, because there is\nnothing superfluous. Every thing we want is there, and nothing that is\nthere can be done without. \"Add thou not unto His words, lest He\nreprove thee, and thou be found a liar.\" To suppose that aught can be\nadded to God's Word is, upon the very face of it, to deny that it is\nGod's Word; and, on the other hand, if we admit that it is the Word of\nGod, then it follows of necessity (blessed necessity!) that we could\nnot afford to do without a single sentence of it. There would be a\nblank in the volume which no human hand could fill up, if a single\nclause were dropped from its place in the canon. We have all we want,\nand hence we must not add: we want it all, and hence we must not\ndiminish.\n\nHow deeply important is all this, in this day of human tampering with\nthe Word of God! How blessed to know that we have in our possession a\nbook so divinely perfect that not a sentence, not a clause, not a\nword, can be added to it. We speak not, of course, of translations or\nversions, but of the Scriptures as originally given of God--His own\nperfect revelation. To this, not a touch can be given. As well might a\nhuman finger have dared to touch the creation of God, on the morning\nwhen all the sons of God sang together, as to add a jot or a tittle to\nthe inspired Word of God. And on the other hand, to take away a jot or\na tittle from it, is to say that the Holy Ghost has penned what was\nunnecessary. Thus the holy volume is divinely guarded at both ends. It\nis securely fenced round about, so that no rude hand should touch its\nsacred contents.\n\nWhat! it may be said in reply, do you mean to say that every sentence,\nfrom the opening lines of Genesis to the close of Revelation, is\ndivinely inspired? Yes; that is precisely the ground we take. We\nclaim for every line between the covers of the volume a divine origin.\nTo question this is to attack the very pillars of the Christian faith.\nA single flaw in the canon would be sufficient to prove it not of God.\nTo touch a single stone in the arch is to bring down the whole fabric\nin ruins around us. \"All Scripture is divinely inspired, and\" being\nso, must be \"profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for\ninstruction in righteousness; that the man of God may be perfect\n[\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03bf\u03b9\u03c2], throughly furnished unto all good works.\" (2 Tim.\niii.)\n\nThis stronghold must on no account be surrendered; nay, it must be\ntenaciously held, in the face of every infidel assault. If it be given\nup, all is hopelessly lost--we have nothing to lean upon. Either the\nWord of God is perfect, or we are left without any divine foundation\nfor our faith. If there be a word too much or a word too little in the\nrevelation which God has given us, then verily we are left, like a\nship without compass, rudder, or chart, to be drifted about on the\nwild, tumultuous ocean of infidel thought; in short, if we have not an\nabsolutely perfect revelation, we are of all men most miserable.\n\nBut we may still be challenged with such a question as this: Do you\nbelieve that the long string of names in the opening chapters of 1\nChronicles--those genealogical tables are divinely inspired? were they\nwritten for our learning? and if so, what are we to learn from them?\nWe unhesitatingly declare our reverent belief in the divine\ninspiration of all these; and we have no doubt whatever but that\ntheir value, interest, and importance will be fully proved by and by\nin the history of that people to whom they specially apply.\n\nAnd then, as to what we are to learn from those genealogical records,\nwe believe they teach us a most precious lesson as to Jehovah's\nfaithful care of His people Israel, and His loving interest in them\nand in all that concerns them. He watches over them from generation to\ngeneration, even though they are scattered and lost to human view. He\nknows all about \"the twelve tribes,\" and He will manifest them in due\ntime, and plant them in their destined inheritance, in the land of\nCanaan, according to His promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.\n\nNow, is not all this full of blessed instruction for us? Is it not\nfull of comfort for our souls? Is it not most confirmatory of our\nfaith to mark the gracious pains-taking of our God, His minute care\nand vigilance in reference to His earthly people? Most assuredly it\nis. And ought not our hearts to be interested in all that interests\nthe heart of our Father? Are we not to take an interest in any thing\nsave what directly concerns ourselves? Where is there a loving child\nwho would not take an interest in all his father's concerns, and\ndelight to read every line that drops from his father's pen?\n\nLet us not be misunderstood. We do not, by any means, attempt to imply\nthat all portions of the Word of God are of like interest and\nimportance to us. We do not presume to assert that we are to hang\nwith equal interest over the first chapter of 1 Chronicles and the\nseventeenth chapter of John or the eighth chapter of Romans. It seems\nhardly necessary to make such a statement, inasmuch as no such\nquestion is raised. But what we assert is that each of the above\nscriptures is divinely inspired, one just as much as another; and not\nonly so, but we further assert that 1 Chronicles i. and such like\npassages fill a niche which John xvii. cannot fill, and do a work\nwhich Romans viii. cannot do.\n\nAnd finally, above and beyond all, we must remember that we are not\ncompetent to judge what is and what is not worthy of a place in the\ninspired canon. We are ignorant and short-sighted; and the very\nportion which we might deem beneath the dignity of inspiration may\nhave some very important bearing upon the history of God's ways with\nthe world at large or with His people in particular.\n\nIn short, it simply resolves itself into this with every truly pious\nsoul--every really spiritual mind: We reverently believe in the divine\ninspiration of every line of our precious Bible, from beginning to\nend; and we believe this not on the ground of any human authority\nwhatsoever. To believe in holy Scripture because it comes to us\naccredited by any authority upon earth, would be to set that authority\nabove holy Scripture, inasmuch as that which guarantees has more\nweight--more value than the thing guaranteed. Hence, we should no more\nthink of looking to human authority to confirm the Word of God than\nwe should of bringing out a rush-light to prove that the sun was\nshining.\n\nNo, reader; we must be clear and decided as to this. It must be, in\nthe judgment of our souls, a great cardinal truth which we hold dearer\nthan life itself--the plenary inspiration of holy Scripture. Thus\nshall we have wherewithal to answer the cool audacity of modern\nskepticism, rationalism, and infidelity. We do not mean to say that we\nshall be able to convince infidels. God will deal with them in His own\nway, and convince them with His own unanswerable arguments in His own\ntime. It is labor and time lost to argue with such men. But we feel\npersuaded that the most dignified and effective answer to infidelity,\nin its every phase, will be found in the calm repose of the heart that\nrests in the blessed assurance that \"all Scripture is given by\ninspiration of God;\" and again, \"Whatsoever things were written\naforetime were written for our learning; that we through patience and\ncomfort of the Scriptures might have hope.\" The former of these\nprecious quotations proves that Scripture has come from God; the\nlatter, that it has come to us. Both together go to prove that we must\nneither add to nor take from the Word of God. There is nothing\nlacking, and nothing superfluous. The Lord be praised for this solid\nfoundation-truth, and for all the comfort and consolation that flows\nfrom it to every true believer!\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nWe shall now proceed to quote for the reader a few of the passages in\nthis fourth chapter of Deuteronomy which so emphatically set forth the\nvalue, importance, and authority of the Word of God. In them, as in\nthe whole of this book, we shall see that it is not so much a question\nof any particular ordinance, rite, or ceremony, but of the weight,\nsolemnity, and dignity of the Word of God itself, whatever that Word\nmay set before us.\n\n\"Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the Lord my\nGod commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to\npossess it.\" Their conduct was to be ruled and formed, in all things,\nby the divine commandments. Immense principle for them, for us, for\nall! \"Keep, therefore, and do them; for _this is your wisdom_ and\n_your understanding_ in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all\nthese statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and\nunderstanding people.\"\n\nLet us specially weigh these words. Their wisdom and their\nunderstanding were to consist in their simply keeping and doing the\ndivine statutes and judgments. It was not by learned discussion or\narguments that their wisdom was to be displayed, but by childlike,\nunquestioning obedience. All the wisdom was in the statutes and\njudgments, not in their thoughts and reasonings respecting them. The\nprofound and marvelous wisdom of God was seen in His Word, and this\nwas what the nations were to see and admire. The light of the divine\njudgments shining in the conduct and character of the people of God\nwas to draw forth the admiring testimony of the nations around.\n\nAlas! alas! how differently it turned out! How little did the nations\nof the earth learn, from the actings of Israel, about God and His\nWord! Yea, His name was blasphemed continually through their ways.\nInstead of occupying the high and holy and happy ground of loving\nobedience to the divine commandments, they descended to the level of\nthe nations around them--adopted their habits, worshiped their gods,\nand walked in their ways; so that those nations, instead of seeing the\nlofty wisdom, purity, and moral glory of the divine statutes, saw only\nthe weakness, folly, and moral degradation of a people who made their\nboast in being the depositary of those oracles which condemned\nthemselves. (Rom. ii, iii.)\n\nStill, blessed be God, His Word must stand forever, however His people\nmay fail to carry it out. His standard is perfect, and therefore must\nnever be lowered; and if the power of His Word be not seen in the ways\nof His people, it will shine in the condemnation of those ways, and\never abide for the guidance, comfort, strength, and blessing of any\nwho desire, however feebly or falteringly, to tread the path of\nobedience.\n\nHowever, in the chapter with which we are at present occupied, the\nlawgiver seeks to set the divine standard faithfully before the\npeople, in all its dignity and moral glory. He fails not to unfold to\nthem the true effect of obedience, while he solemnly warns them\nagainst the danger of turning away from the holy commandments of God.\nHear his powerful pleadings with their hearts. \"What nation is there\nso great,\" he says, \"who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our\nGod is in all things that we call upon Him for? And what nation is\nthere so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all\nthis law, which I set before you this day?\"\n\nHere is true moral greatness, at all times and in all places, for a\nnation, for a people, for a household, or for an individual. To have\nthe living God nigh unto us; to have the sweet privilege of calling\nupon Him, in all things; to have His power and His mercy ever\nexercised toward us; to have the light of His blessed countenance\nshining approvingly upon us, in all our ways; to have the moral effect\nof His righteous statutes and holy commandments seen in our practical\ncareer, from day to day; to have Him manifesting Himself to us, and\nmaking His abode with us.\n\nWhat human language can adequately set forth the deep blessedness of\nsuch privileges as these? and yet they are placed, by infinite grace,\nwithin the reach of every child of God on the face of the earth. We do\nnot mean to assert that every child of God enjoys them. Far from it.\nThey are reserved, as we have already seen, for those who, through\ngrace, are enabled to render a loving, hearty, reverent obedience to\nthe divine word. Here lies the precious secret of the whole matter. It\nwas true for Israel of old, and it is true for the Church now--it was\ntrue for the individual soul then, and it is true for the individual\nsoul now, that divine complacency is the priceless reward of human\nobedience. And we may further add that obedience is the bounden duty\nand high privilege of all God's people, and of each in particular.\nCome what may, implicit obedience is our privilege and our duty,\ndivine complacency our present sweet reward.\n\nBut the poor human heart is prone to wander, and manifold influences\nare at work around us to draw us off from the narrow path of\nobedience. We need not marvel, therefore, at the solemn and\noft-repeated admonitions addressed by Moses to the hearts and\nconsciences of his hearers. He pours his large, loving heart out to\nthe congregation so dear to him, in glowing, earnest, soul-stirring\naccents. \"Only take heed to thyself,\" he says, \"and keep thy soul\ndiligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen,\nand lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life; but\nteach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons.\"\n\nThese are weighty words for all of us. They set before us two things\nof unspeakable importance, namely, individual and domestic\nresponsibility--personal and household testimony. God's people of old\nwere responsible to keep the heart with all diligence, lest it should\nlet slip the precious Word of God. And not only so, but they were\nsolemnly responsible to instruct their children and their\ngrandchildren in the same. Are we, with all our light and privilege,\nless responsible than Israel of old? Surely not. We are imperatively\ncalled upon to give ourselves to the careful study of the Word of\nGod--to apply our hearts to it. It is not enough that we hurry over a\nfew verses or a chapter, as a piece of daily religious routine. This\nwill not meet the case at all. We want to make the Bible our supreme\nand absorbing study,--that in which we delight--in which we find our\nrefreshment and recreation.\n\nIt is to be feared that some of us read the Bible as a matter of duty,\nwhile we find our delight and refreshment in the newspaper and light\nliterature. Need we wonder at our shallow knowledge of Scripture? How\ncould we know aught of the living depths or the moral glories of a\nvolume which we merely take up as a cold matter of duty, and read a\nfew verses with a yawning indifference, while, at the same time, the\nnewspaper or the sensational novel is literally devoured?\n\nIt will perhaps be said, in reply, We cannot be always reading the\nBible. Would those who thus speak say, We cannot be always reading the\nnewspaper or the novel? And, we would further inquire, what must be\nthe actual state of a person who can say, \"We cannot be always reading\nthe Bible\"? Can he be in a healthy condition of soul? Can he really\nlove the Word of God? Can he have any just sense of its preciousness,\nits excellence, its moral glories? Impossible.\n\nWhat mean the following words to Israel: \"Therefore shall ye lay up\nthese My words _in your heart_, and _in your soul_, and bind them for\na sign upon _your hand_, that they may be as frontlets between _your\neyes_\"? The \"heart,\" the \"soul,\" the \"hand\" the \"eyes\"--all engaged\nabout the precious Word of God. This was real work. It was to be no\nempty formality, no barren routine. The whole man was to be given up,\nin holy devotion, to the statutes and judgments of God.\n\n\"And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou\nsittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou\nliest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt write them upon\nthe door-posts of thine house, and upon thy gates.\" Do we, Christians,\nenter into such words as these? Has the Word of God such a place in\nour hearts, in our homes, and in our habits? Do those who enter our\nhouses, or come in contact with us in daily life, see that the Word of\nGod is paramount with us? Do those with whom we do business see that\nwe are governed by the precepts of holy Scripture? Do our servants and\nour children see that we live in the very atmosphere of Scripture, and\nthat our whole character is formed and our conduct governed by it?\n\nThese are searching questions for our hearts, beloved Christian\nreader. Let us not put them away from us. We may rest assured there is\nno more correct indicator of our moral and spiritual condition than\nthat afforded by our treatment of the Word of God. If we do not love\nit--love to study it--thirst after it--delight in it--long for the\nquiet hour in the which we can hang over its sacred page and drink in\nits most precious teaching--meditate upon it, in the closet, in the\nfamily, in the street; in short, if we do not breathe its holy\natmosphere--if we could ever give utterance to such a sentiment as\nthat given above, that \"we cannot be always reading the Bible,\" then,\nverily, we have urgent need to look well to our spiritual state, for\nwe are sadly out of health. The new nature loves the Word of\nGod--earnestly desires it, as we read in 1 Peter ii.--\"As new-born\nbabes, desire the sincere milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby.\"\n\nThis is the true idea. If the sincere milk of the Word be not sought\nafter, diligently used and eagerly fed upon, we must be in a low,\nunhealthy, dangerous condition of soul. There may not be any thing\noutwardly wrong in our conduct, we may not be publicly dishonoring the\nLord in our ways, but we are grieving His loving heart by our gross\nneglect of His Word, which is but another term for the neglect of\nHimself. It is the very height of folly to talk of loving Christ if we\ndo not love and live upon His Word. It is a delusion to imagine that\nthe new life can be in a healthy, prosperous condition where the Word\nof God is habitually neglected in the closet and the family.\n\nWe do not, of course, mean that no other book but the Bible should be\nread, or we should not pen these \"Notes;\" but nothing demands greater\nwatchfulness than the matter of reading. All things are to be done in\nthe name of Jesus, and to the glory of God, and this is amongst the\n\"all things.\" We should read no book that we cannot read to the glory\nof God, and on which we cannot ask God's blessing.\n\nWe feel that this entire subject demands the most serious\nconsideration of all God's people, and we trust that the Spirit of God\nmay use our meditation on the chapter before us to stir up our hearts\nand consciences in reference to what is due to the Word of God, both\nin our hearts and in our houses.\n\nNo doubt, if it has its right place in the heart, it will have its\nright place also in the house; but if there be no acknowledgment of\nthe Word of God in the bosom of the family, it is hard to believe that\nit has its right place in the heart. Heads of houses should ponder\nthis matter seriously. We are most fully persuaded that there ought to\nbe, in every Christian household, a daily acknowledgment of God and\nHis Word. Some may perhaps look upon it as bondage, as legality, as\nreligious routine, to have regular family worship. We would ask such\nobjectors, Is it bondage for the family to assemble at meals? Are the\nfamily reunions around the social board ever regarded as a wearisome\nduty--a piece of dull routine? Certainly not, if the family be a\nwell-ordered and happy one. Why, then, should it be regarded as a\nburdensome thing for the head of a Christian household to gather his\nchildren and his servants around him and read a few verses of the\nprecious Word of God, and breathe a few words of prayer before the\nthrone of grace? We believe it to be a habit in perfect accordance\nwith the teaching of both the Old and the New Testaments--a habit\ngrateful to the heart of God--a holy, blessed, edifying habit.\n\nWhat should we think of a professing Christian who never prayed, never\nread the Word of God, in private? Could we possibly regard him as a\nhappy, healthy, true Christian? Assuredly not. Indeed we should\nseriously question the existence of divine life in such a soul. Prayer\nand the Word of God are absolutely essential to healthy, vigorous\nChristian life; so that a man who habitually neglects these must be in\nan utterly dead state.\n\nNow, if it be thus in reference to an individual, how can a family be\nregarded as in a right state where there is no family reading, no\nfamily prayer, no family acknowledgment of God or His Word? Can we\nconceive a God-fearing household going on from Lord's day morning to\nSaturday night without any collective recognition of the One to whom\nthey owe every thing? Day after day rolls on, domestic duties are\nattended to, the family assemble regularly at meals, but there is no\nthought of summoning the household around the Word of God, or around\nthe mercy-seat. We ask, Where is the difference between such a family\nand any poor heathen household? Is it not most sad--most deplorable to\nfind those who make the very highest profession, and who take their\nplaces at the Lord's table, yet living in the gross neglect of family\nreading--family worship?\n\nReader, are you the head of a household? If so, what are your\nthoughts on the subject? and what is your line of action? Have you\nfamily reading and family prayer, daily in your house? If not, (bear\nwith us when we ask you,) why not? Search and see what is the real\nroot of the matter. Has your heart declined from God, from His Word\nand His ways? Do you read and pray in private? Do you love the Word\nand prayer? do you find delight in them? If so, how is it you neglect\nthem in your household? Perhaps you seek to excuse yourself on the\nground of nervousness and timidity; if so, look to the Lord to enable\nyou to overcome the weakness. Just cast yourself on His unfailing\ngrace, and gather your household around you at a certain hour each\nday, read a few verses of Scripture and breathe half a dozen words of\nprayer; or, if you cannot do this at first, just let the family kneel\nfor a few moments in silence before the throne.\n\nAny thing, in short, like a family acknowledgment, a family testimony:\nany thing but a godless, careless, prayerless life in your household.\nDo, dear friend, suffer the word of exhortation in this matter. Let us\nentreat you to begin at once, looking to God to help you, as He most\nassuredly will, for He never fails a really trusting, dependent heart.\nDo not any longer go on neglecting God and His Word in your family\ncircle. It is really terrible. Let no arguments about bondage,\nlegality, or formalism weigh with you for a moment. We almost feel\ndisposed to exclaim, Blessed bondage! If indeed it be bondage to read\nthe Word, we cordially welcome it, and fearlessly glory in it.\n\nBut, no; we cannot for a moment regard it in any such light. We\nbelieve it to be a most delightful privilege for every one whom God\nhas set at the head of a household to gather all the members of that\nhousehold around him and read a portion of the blessed book, and pour\nout his heart in prayer to God. We believe it is _specially_ the duty\nof the head so to do. It is by no means necessary to make it a long,\nwearisome service. As a rule, both in our houses and in our public\nassemblies, short, fresh, fervent exercises are by far the most\nedifying.\n\nBut this, of course, is an open question, as to which we merely give\nour judgment, which must go for what it is worth. The length and\ncharacter of the service must, in every case, be left to the person\nwho conducts it. But we do most earnestly trust that if these lines\nshould be scanned by any one who is the head of a household, and if he\nhas hitherto neglected the holy privilege of family worship--family\nreading, he will, henceforth, do so no more. May he be enabled to say,\nwith Joshua, \"Let others do as they will, as for me and my house, we\nwill serve the Lord.\"\n\nIt is not, surely, that we would lead any to imagine that the mere act\nof family reading takes in all that is comprehended in that weighty\nsentence, \"We will serve the Lord.\" Far from it. That blessed service\ntakes in every thing belonging to our private and domestic history: it\ntakes in the most minute details of practical daily life. All this is\nmost true and invaluable. But we are most thoroughly persuaded that\nnothing can go right in any household in which family reading and\nfamily prayer are habitually neglected.\n\nIt may be said that there are many families who seem very particular\nabout their morning and evening reading and prayer, and yet their\nwhole domestic history, from morning till night, is a flagrant\ncontradiction of their so-called religious service. It may be that the\nhead of the house, instead of shedding sunlight upon the family\ncircle, is morose in his temper, rude and coarse in his manners, rough\nand contradictory to his wife, arbitrary and severe to his children,\nunreasonable and exacting to his servants, finding fault with what is\nlaid on the table, after having asked God's blessing upon it; and, in\nshort, in every way giving the lie to his reading and his prayer in\nthe family. So also as to the wife and the mother, and the children\nand the servants. The whole domestic economy is out of order. There is\ndisorder and confusion; meals are unpunctual; there is a want of\nkindly consideration one of another; the children are rude, selfish,\nand willful; the servants are thoughtless, wasteful, and disobedient,\nif not much worse; the tone, atmosphere, and style of the entire\nestablishment are unchristian, ungodly, utterly unbecoming.\n\nAnd then, when you travel outside the domestic circle, and mark the\nconduct of the heads and members of the family toward those\noutside--mark their business, if they be in business, hear the\ntestimony of those who deal with them, as to the quality of their\ngoods, the style and character of their work; the spirit and temper in\nwhich they carry on their business; such grasping and griping, such\ncovetousness, such commercial trickery; nothing of God, nothing of\nChrist, nothing to distinguish them from the most thorough worldlings\naround; yea, the conduct of those very worldlings, of those who would\nnever think of such a thing as family worship, would put them to\nshame.\n\nUnder such painful and humiliating circumstances, what of the family\nworship--the family reading--the family altar? Alas! it is an empty\nformality--a powerless, worthless, unseemly proceeding; in place of\nbeing a morning and evening sacrifice, it is a morning and evening\nlie--a solemn mockery--an insult to God.\n\nAll this is sadly true. There is a terrible lack of household\ntestimony--of common, practical righteousness in our families and in\nthe entire economy of our houses. There is but little of the white\nraiment--the fine linen, which is the righteousness of saints. We seem\nto forget those weighty words of the inspired apostle in Romans\nxiv.--\"The kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but _righteousness_,\nand peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.\" Some of us seem to think that\nwhenever we meet with the word \"righteousness,\" it must needs mean the\nrighteousness of God in which we stand, or righteousness imputed to\nus. This is a very great mistake indeed. We must remember there is a\npractical and human side of this question; there is the subjective as\nwell as the objective--the walk as well as the standing--the condition\nas well as the position.\n\nThese things must never be separated. It is of little use to set up or\nseek to maintain a family altar amid the ruins of family testimony. It\nis nothing short of a hideous caricature to begin and end with\nso-called family worship a day characterized throughout by ungodliness\nand unrighteousness, levity, folly, and vanity. Can aught be more\nunsightly or more miserably inconsistent than an evening spent in\nsong-singing, charades, and other light games, closed up with a\ncontemptible bit of religion in the shape of reading and prayer?\n\nAll this line of things is most deplorable. It ought not to be found\nin connection with the holy name of Christ, with His assembly, or the\nholy exercises of His table. We must measure every thing in our\nprivate life, in our domestic economy, in our daily history, in all\nour intercourse, and in all our business transactions, with that one\nstandard, namely, the glory of Christ. Our one grand question, in\nreference to every thing that comes before us or solicits our\nattention, must be, Is this worthy of the holy name which is called\nupon me? If not, let us not touch it; yea, let us turn our back upon\nit with stern decision, and flee from it with holy energy. Let us not\nlisten for a moment to the contemptible question, \"What harm is there\nin it?\" Nothing but harm if Christ be not in it. No truly devoted\nheart would ever entertain, much less put, such a question. Whenever\nyou hear any one speaking thus, you may at once conclude that Christ\nis not the governing object of the heart.\n\nWe trust the reader is not weary of all this homely, practical truth.\nWe believe it is loudly called for in this day of high profession. We\nhave all of us much need to consider our ways, to look well to the\nreal state of our hearts as to Christ; for here lies the true secret\nof the whole matter. If the heart be not true to Him, nothing can be\nright--nothing in the private life, nothing in the family, nothing in\nthe business, nothing in the assembly, nothing any where; but if the\nheart be true to Him, _all_ will be--must be right.\n\nNo marvel, therefore, if the blessed apostle, when he reaches the\nclose of that wonderful epistle to the Corinthians, sums all up with\nthis solemn declaration: \"If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ,\nlet him be Anathema Maran-atha.\" In the course of his letter, he deals\nwith various forms of doctrinal error and moral pravity; but when he\ncomes to the close, instead of pronouncing his solemn sentence upon\nany particular error or evil, he hurls it with holy indignation\nagainst any one, no matter who or what, who does not love the Lord\nJesus Christ. Love to Christ is the grand safeguard against every form\nof error and evil. A heart filled with Christ has no room for aught\nbeside; but if there be no love to Him, there is no security against\nthe wildest error or the worst form of moral evil.\n\nWe must now return to our chapter.\n\nThe attention of the people is specially called to the solemn scenes\nat Mount Horeb--scenes which should surely have deeply and abidingly\nimpressed their hearts. \"Specially the day that thou stoodest before\nthe Lord thy God in Horeb, when the Lord said unto me, Gather Me the\npeople together, and _I will make them hear My words_.\" The grand and\nall-important point for Israel of old, for the Church now, for each,\nfor all, at all times and in all places, is, to be brought into\ndirect, living contact with the eternal Word of the living God, to the\nend \"that they may learn to fear Me all the days that they shall live\nupon the earth, and _that they may teach their children_.\"\n\nIt is very beautiful to note the intimate connection between hearing\nGod's Word and fearing His name. It is one of those great\nroot-principles which never change, never lose their power or their\nintrinsic value. The Word and the name go together; and the heart that\nloves the one will reverence the other, and bow down to its holy\nauthority in all things. \"He that loveth Me not keepeth not My\nsayings.\" \"He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His\ncommandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso\nkeepeth His word, in him verily is the love of God perfected.\" (John\nxiv; 1 John ii.) Every true lover of God will treasure up His Word in\nthe heart, and where the Word is thus lovingly treasured in the\nheart, its hallowed influence will be seen in the whole life,\ncharacter, and conduct. God's object in giving His Word is that it may\ngovern our conduct, form our character, and shape our ways; and if His\nWord has not this practical effect upon us, it is utterly vain for us\nto speak of loving Him--yea, it is nothing short of positive mockery,\nwhich He must sooner or later resent.\n\nAnd let us note particularly the solemn responsibility of Israel as to\ntheir children. They were not only to \"hear\" and \"learn\" for\nthemselves, but they were also to teach their children. This is a\nuniversal and abiding duty, which cannot be neglected with impunity.\nGod attaches very great importance to this matter. We hear Him saying\nas to Abraham, \"I know him, that he will _command his children and his\nhousehold_ after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do\njustice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which\nHe hath spoken of him.\" (Gen. xviii.)\n\nThese words are most important, as setting before us the divine\nestimate of domestic training and family piety. In all ages, and under\nall dispensations, God has been pleased to give expression to His\napprobation of the proper education of the children of His\npeople--their faithful training according to His holy Word. We find no\nsuch thing sanctioned in Scripture as children being allowed to grow\nup in ignorance and carelessness and willfulness. Some professing\nChristians, under the baneful influence of a certain school of\ntheology, seem to think that it is, in some way, an interference with\nthe sovereignty of God, with His purposes and counsels, to instruct\ntheir children in the truth of the gospel and the letter of holy\nScripture. They consider that the children ought to be left to the\naction of the Holy Ghost, which they are sure to experience in God's\nown time if indeed they are of God's elect, and if not, all human\neffort is perfectly useless.\n\nNow, we must, in all faithfulness to the truth of God and to the souls\nof our readers, bear the clearest and strongest testimony against this\none-sided view of the great practical subject before us. There is\nnothing more mischievous, nothing more pernicious in its effect upon\nthe conscience, the heart, the life, the whole practical career and\nmoral character, than one-sided theology. It does not matter what side\nyou take, so long as you only take one. It is sure to produce what we\nmust term a spiritual malformation. We feel we cannot too strongly and\nearnestly warn the reader against this sore evil. It can only lead to\nthe most disastrous results; and as to its effect in reference to the\ntraining of our children and the management of our households--the\nsubject now before us--it is mischievous in the extreme. Indeed we\nhave seen the most deplorable consequences follow the carrying out of\nthis line of thought. We have known the children of Christian parents\nto grow up in utter ignorance of divine things, in carelessness,\nrecklessness, and open infidelity; and if a word of admonition were\noffered, it has been met by arguments based upon the dogmas of a\none-sided divinity--and the one side turned the wrong way. It has been\nsaid, \"We cannot make Christians of our children, and we must not make\nthem formalists or hypocrites. It must be a divine work or nothing.\nWhen God's time comes, He will effectually call them, if indeed they\nare among the number of His elect; if not, all our efforts are\nperfectly useless.\"\n\nTo all this we reply, that this line of argument, if carried to its\nfullest extent, would prevent the farmer from plowing his ground or\nsowing his seed. It is very plain that he cannot make the seed to\ngerminate or fructify. He could no more cause a solitary grain of\nwheat to grow than he could create the universe. Does this prevent his\nplowing and sowing? does it cause him to fold his arms and say, I can\ndo nothing. I cannot, by any effort of mine, make corn grow. It is a\ndivine operation, and therefore I must wait God's time. Does any\nfarmer reason and act like this? Surely not, unless he be a lunatic.\nEvery sound-minded person knows that plowing and sowing must go before\nthe reaping; and if the former be neglected, it is the height of\nextravagant folly to look for the latter.\n\nNor is it otherwise in the matter of training our children. We know\nGod is sovereign; we believe in His eternal counsels and purposes; we\nfully recognize the grand doctrines of election and predestination--yea,\nwe are as thoroughly persuaded of them as of the truth that God is, or\nthat Christ died and rose again. Moreover, we believe that the new\nbirth must take place in every instance--in the case of our children\nas of all beside; we are convinced that this new birth is entirely a\ndivine operation, effected by the Holy Ghost, through the Word, as we\nare distinctly taught in our Lord's discourse with Nicodemus in John\niii, and also in James i. 18 and 1 Peter i. 23.\n\nBut does all this touch, in the most remote way, the solemn\nresponsibility of Christian parents to teach and train their children,\ndiligently and faithfully, from their earliest moments? Most certainly\nnot. Woe be to the parents who, on any plea or on any ground\nwhatsoever, be it one-sided theology, misapplied Scripture, or aught\nelse, deny their responsibility, or neglect their plain, bounden duty,\nin this holy business. True, we cannot make our children Christians,\nand we ought not to make them formalists or hypocrites; but we are not\ncalled to _make_ them any thing. We are simply called to do our duty\nby them, and leave results to God. We are instructed and commanded to\nbring up our children \"in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.\"\nWhen is this \"bringing up\" to commence? when are we to begin the\nsacred work of training our little ones? Surely, at the beginning. The\nvery moment we enter upon a relationship, we enter also upon the\nresponsibility which that relationship entails. We cannot deny this;\nwe cannot shake it off. We may neglect it, and have to reap the sad\nconsequences of our neglect, in various ways. It is a very serious\nthing to stand in the sacred relationship of a parent--very\ninteresting and very delightful, no doubt; but most serious, because\nof the responsibility involved. True it is, blessed be God, His grace\nis sufficient for us in this as in all beside, and \"if any man lack\nwisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all liberally, and\nupbraideth not; and it shall be given him.\" \"We are not sufficient of\nourselves,\" in this weighty matter, to think or to do any thing as\nourselves, but our sufficiency is of God, and He will meet our every\nneed. We have simply to draw upon Him, for exigence of every hour.\n\nBut we must do our duty. Some do not like the homely word \"duty.\" They\nthink it has a legal ring about it. We trust the reader does not think\nso, for it is a very great mistake indeed. We look upon the word as a\nvery sound and morally wholesome one, and we believe that every true\nChristian loves it. One thing is certain, it is only in the path of\nduty we can count on God. To talk of trusting God, when out of the\npath of duty, is a miserable conceit, and a delusion; and in the\nmatter of our relationship as parents, to neglect our duty is to bring\ndown upon us the most disastrous consequences.\n\nWe believe the whole business of Christian education is summed up in\ntwo brief sentences, namely, Count on God for your children, and,\nTrain your children for God. To take the first without the second is\nantinomianism; to take the second without the first is legality; to\ntake both together is sound, practical Christianity--true religion in\nthe sight of God and man.\n\nIt is the sweet privilege of every Christian parent to count, with all\npossible confidence, upon God for his children. But then we must\nremember that there is, in the government of God, an inseparable link\nconnecting this privilege with the most solemn responsibility as to\ntraining. For a Christian parent to speak of counting on God for the\nsalvation of his children, and for the moral integrity of their future\ncareer in this world, while the duty of training is neglected, is\nsimply a miserable delusion.\n\nWe press this most solemnly upon all Christian parents, but especially\nupon those who have just entered upon the relationship. There is great\ndanger of shirking our duty to our children, of shifting it over upon\nothers, or neglecting it altogether. We do not like the trouble of it;\nwe shrink from the constant worry as it seems to us. But we shall find\nthat the trouble and the worry and the sorrow and the heart-scalding\narising from the neglect of our duty will be a thousand times worse\nthan all that can be involved in the discharge of it. To every true\nlover of God there is deep delight in treading the path of duty. Every\nstep taken in that path strengthens our confidence to go on. And then\nwe can always count upon the infinite resources that we have in God\nwhen we are keeping His commandments. We have simply to betake\nourselves, morning by morning, yea, hour by hour, to our Father's\nexhaustless treasury, and there get all we want, in the way of grace\nand wisdom and moral power, to enable us to discharge aright the holy\nfunctions of our relationship. \"He giveth more grace.\" This always\nholds good. But if we, instead of seeking grace to discharge our duty,\nseek ease in neglecting it, we are simply laying up a store of sorrow\nwhich will accumulate rapidly and fall upon us heavily at a future\nday. \"Be not deceived; God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man soweth,\nthat shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh, shall of the\nflesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit, shall of the\nSpirit reap life everlasting.\" (Gal. vi.)\n\nThis is the condensed statement of a great principle of God's moral\ngovernment--a principle of universal application, and one which\napplies, with singular force, to the subject before us. _As_ we sow,\nin the matter of the education of our children, _so_ we shall, most\nassuredly, reap. There is no getting out of this.\n\nBut let not any dear Christian parent, whose eye may scan these lines,\nbe at all discouraged or faint-hearted. There is no reason whatever\nfor this, but, on the contrary, every reason for the most joyful\nconfidence in God. \"The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the\nrighteous runneth into it, and is safe.\" Let us tread, with firm step,\nthe path of duty; and then we can count, with unwavering confidence,\nupon our ever-faithful and gracious God for the need of each day as it\nrolls along. And in due time we shall reap the precious fruit of our\nlabor, according to the appointment of God, and in pursuance of the\nenactments of His moral government.\n\nWe do not attempt to lay down any rules or regulations for the\ntraining. We do not believe in such. Children cannot be trained by dry\nrules. Who could attempt to embody in rules all that is wrapped up in\nthat one sentence, \"Bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the\nLord\"?\n\nHere we have, indeed, a golden rule which takes in every thing from\nthe cradle to matured manhood. Yes, we repeat, \"from the cradle;\" for\nwe are most fully persuaded that all true Christian training begins at\nthe very beginning. Some of us have little idea of how soon and how\nsharply children begin to observe, and how much they take in as they\ngaze at us through their dear expressive eyes.\n\nAnd then how marvelously susceptible they are of the moral atmosphere\nwhich surrounds them! Yes; and it is this very moral atmosphere that\nconstitutes the grand secret of training our families. Our children\nshould be permitted to breathe, from day to day, the atmosphere of\nlove and peace, purity, holiness, and true practical righteousness.\nThis has an amazing effect in forming the character. It is a great\nthing for our children to see their parents walking in love, in\nharmony, in tender care one for the other, in kind consideration for\nthe servants, in love and sympathy for the poor. Who can measure the\nmoral effect upon a child of the very first angry look, or unkind\nword, between father and mother? And in cases where the daily history\nis one of unsightly strife and contention--the father contradicting\nthe mother, and the mother disparaging the father--how are children to\ngrow in such an atmosphere as this?\n\nThe fact is, it is not within the compass of human language to set\nforth all that is involved in the moral tone of the entire family\ncircle--the spirit, style, and atmosphere of the whole household, the\ndrawing-room, the dining-room, the nursery, the kitchen; where\ncircumstances admit of such distinctions, or where the family have to\nconfine themselves to two rooms. It is not a question of rank,\nposition, or wealth, but of the beauteous grace of God shining out in\nall. There may be the stalled ox or the dinner of herbs--these are\nnot, at present, in question. But what we press on all fathers and\nmothers--all heads of households, high and low, rich and poor, learned\nand ignorant, is the necessity of training their children in an\natmosphere of love and peace, truth and holiness, purity and kindness.\nThus will our households be the practical exhibition of the character\nof God; and all who come in contact with them will, at least, have\nbefore their eyes a practical witness to the truth of Christianity.\n\nBut, ere we turn from the subject of domestic government, there is one\nspecial point to which we desire to call the attention of Christian\nparents--a point of the utmost possible moment, yet too much neglected\namongst us, and that is, the need of inculcating upon our children\nthe duty of implicit obedience. This cannot be too strongly insisted\nupon, inasmuch as it not only affects the order and comfort of our\nhouseholds, but, what is infinitely more important, it concerns the\nglory of God and the practical carrying out of His truth. \"Children,\nobey your parents in the Lord; for this is right.\" And again,\n\"Children, obey your parents _in all things_; for this is well\npleasing unto the Lord.\" (Eph. vi.; Col. iii.)\n\nThis is absolutely essential, and must be firmly insisted upon from\nthe very outset. The child must be taught to obey from his earliest\nmoments. He must be trained to submit himself to divinely appointed\nauthority, and that, as the apostle puts it, \"in all things.\" If this\nbe not attended to from the very first, it will be found almost\nimpossible to attend to it afterwards. If the will be allowed to act,\nit grows, with terrible rapidity, and each day's growth increases the\ndifficulty of bringing it under control. Hence, the parent should\nbegin at once to establish his authority on a basis of moral strength\nand firmness; and when this is done, he may be as gentle and tender as\nthe most loving heart could desire. We do not believe in sternness,\nharshness, or severity. They are by no means necessary, and are\ngenerally the accompaniments of bad training and the proofs of bad\ntemper. God has put into the parent's hand the reins of government and\nthe rod of authority, but it is not needful--if we may so express\nit--to be continually chucking the reins and brandishing the rod,\nwhich are the sure proofs of moral weakness. Whenever you hear a man\ncontinually talking about his authority, you may be sure his authority\nis not properly established. There is a quiet dignity about true moral\npower which is perfectly unmistakable.\n\nFurthermore, we judge it to be a mistake for a parent to be\nperpetually crossing a child's will in matters of no moment. Such a\nline of action tends to break the child's spirit, whereas the object\nof all sound training is to break the will. The child should ever be\nimpressed with the idea that the parent seeks _only_ his real good,\nand that if he has to refuse or prohibit any thing, it is not for the\npurpose of curtailing the child's enjoyment, but simply for the\npromotion of his true interests.\n\nOne grand object of domestic government is to protect each member of\nthe household in the enjoyment of his privileges, and in the proper\ndischarge of his relative duties. Now, inasmuch as it is the divinely\nappointed duty of a child to obey, the parent is responsible to see\nthis duty discharged, for if it be neglected, some other members of\nthe domestic circle must suffer.\n\nThere can be no greater nuisance in a house than a naughty, willful\nchild; and, as a general rule, wherever you find such, it is to be\ntraced to bad training. We are aware, of course, that children differ\nin temper and disposition--that some children have peculiarly strong\nwills and sturdy tempers, and are therefore specially hard to manage.\n\nAll this we quite understand; but it leaves wholly untouched the\nquestion of the parent's responsibility to insist upon implicit\nobedience. He can always count on God for the needed grace and power\nto carry out this point. Even in the case of a widowed mother, we\nbelieve, most assuredly, she can look to God to enable her to command\nher children and her household. In no case, therefore, should parental\nauthority be surrendered for a moment.\n\nIt sometimes happens that, through injudicious fondness, the parent is\ntempted to pamper the will of the child; but it is sowing to the\nflesh, and must yield corruption. It is not true love at all to\nindulge a child's will, neither can it possibly minister to his true\nhappiness or legitimate enjoyment. An over-indulged, self-willed child\nis miserable himself and a grievous infliction on all who have to do\nwith him. Children should be taught to think of others, and to seek to\npromote their comfort and happiness in every way. How very unseemly it\nis, for example, for a child to enter the house and ascend the stairs\nwhistling, singing, and shouting, in total disregard of other members\nof the household who may be seriously disturbed and annoyed by such\nconduct! No properly trained child would think of acting in such a\nway; and where such unsubdued, unruly, inconsiderate conduct is\nallowed, there is a serious defect in the domestic government.\n\nIt is essential to family peace, harmony, and comfort, that all the\nmembers should \"consider one another.\" We are responsible to seek the\ngood and the happiness of those around us, and not our own. If all\nwould but remember this, what different households we should have! and\nwhat a different tale would families have to tell! Every Christian\nhousehold should be the reflection of the divine character. The\natmosphere should just be the very atmosphere of heaven. How is this\nto be? Simply by each one--parent, child, master, and servant--seeking\nto walk in the footsteps of Jesus, and manifest His spirit. He never\npleased Himself, never sought His own interest in any thing; He did\nalways the thing that pleased the Father; He came to serve and to\ngive; He went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of\nthe devil. Thus it was ever with that most blessed One--the gracious,\nloving, sympathizing Friend of all the sons and daughters of want,\nweakness, and sorrow; and if only the various members of each\nChristian family were formed on this perfect model, we should, at\nleast, realize something of the power and efficacy of personal and\ndomestic Christianity, which, blessed be God, can ever be maintained\nand exhibited notwithstanding the hopeless ruin of the professing\nchurch. \"Thou and thy house\" suggests a great golden principle which\nruns through the volume of God, from beginning to end. In every age,\nunder every dispensation, in the days of the patriarchs, in the days\nof the law, and in the days of Christianity, we find, to our exceeding\ncomfort and encouragement, that personal and domestic godliness has\nits place as something grateful to the heart of God and to the glory\nof His holy name.\n\nThis we consider to be most consolatory at all times, but more\nparticularly at a time like the present, when the professing church\nseems so rapidly sinking into gross worldliness and open infidelity;\nand not this only, but when those who most earnestly desire to walk in\nobedience to the Word of God, and to act on the grand foundation-truth\nof the unity of the body, find it so difficult to maintain a a\ncorporate testimony. In view of all this, we may well bless God, with\noverflowing hearts, that personal and family piety can always be\nmaintained, and that from the heart and the home of every Christian a\nconstant stream of praise may ascend to the throne of God, and a\nstream of active benevolence flow out to a needy, sorrowful,\nsin-stricken world. May it be so more and more, through the mighty\nministry of God the Holy Ghost, that God, in all things, may be\nglorified in the hearts and homes of His beloved people.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nWe have now to consider the very solemn warning addressed to the\ncongregation of Israel against the terrible sin of idolatry--a sin to\nwhich, alas! the poor human heart is ever prone, in one way or\nanother. It is quite possible to be guilty of the sin of idolatry\nwithout bowing down before a graven image; wherefore it behooves us to\nweigh well the words of warning which fell from the lips of Israel's\nvenerable lawgiver. They are most assuredly written for our learning.\n\n\"And ye came near and stood under the mountain; and the mountain\nburned with fire unto the midst of heaven, with darkness, clouds, and\nthick darkness.\" Solemn and suited accompaniments of the occasion!\n\"And the Lord spake unto you out of the midst of the fire.\" Oh, how\ndifferently He speaks in the gospel of His grace! \"Ye heard the voice\nof the words, but saw no similitude.\" Important fact for them to\nponder! \"_Only a voice._\" And \"faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by\nthe Word of God.\" \"And He declared unto you His covenant, which He\ncommanded you to perform--ten commandments; and He wrote them upon two\ntables of stone. And the Lord commanded me at that time to teach you\nstatutes and judgments,\" not that they might discuss them, sit in\njudgment upon them, or argue about them, but \"that _ye might do\nthem_\"--the grand old story, the Deuteronomic theme of _obedience_,\nmost precious! whether out of or \"in the land whither ye go over to\npossess it.\"\n\nHere lies the solid ground of the appeal against idolatry. They _saw_\nnothing. God did not show Himself to them. He did not assume any\nbodily shape, of which they might form an image. He gave them His\nword--His holy commandments, so plain that a child could understand\nthem, and the wayfaring men though fools need not err therein. There\nwas no need for them, therefore, to set about imagining what God was\nlike; nay, this was _the_ very sin against which they were so\nfaithfully warned. They were called to hear God's voice, not to see\nHis shape--to obey His commandment, not to make an image of Him.\nSuperstition vainly seeks to do honor to God by forming and worshiping\nan image; Faith, on the contrary, lovingly receives and reverently\nobeys His holy commandments. \"If a man love Me,\" says our blessed\nLord, \"he will\"--what? make an image of Me, and worship it? Nay, but\n\"he will keep My words.\" This makes it so simple, so safe, so certain.\nWe are not called to work up our minds to form any conception of God;\nwe have simply to hear His word and keep His commandments. We can have\nno idea whatever of God but as He has been pleased to reveal\nHimself.--\"No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son,\nwhich is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him.\"--\"God, who\ncommanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our\nhearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the\nface of Jesus Christ.\"\n\nJesus is declared to be the brightness of God's glory and the exact\nimpression of His substance. He could say, \"He that hath seen Me hath\nseen the Father.\" Thus the Son reveals the Father; and it is by the\nWord, through the power of the Holy Ghost, that we know any thing of\nthe Son; and therefore for any one to attempt, by any efforts of his\nmind or workings of his imagination, to conceive an image of God, or\nof Christ, is simply idolatry. To endeavor to arrive at any knowledge\nof God or of Christ save by Scripture, is simply mysticism and\nconfusion; nay, more, it is to put ourselves directly into the hands\nof the devil, to be led by him into the wildest, darkest, and\ndeadliest delusion.\n\nHence, therefore, as Israel, at Mount Horeb, was shut up to the\n\"_voice_\" of God and warned against any similitude, so we are shut up\nto holy Scripture and warned against every thing which would draw us\naway, the breadth of a hair, from that holy and all-sufficient\nstandard. We must not listen to the suggestions of our own minds, nor\nto those of any other human mind: we must absolutely and sternly\nrefuse to listen to any thing but the voice of God--the voice of holy\nScripture. Here is true security, true rest; here we have absolute\ncertainty, so that we can say, \"I know _whom_\"--not merely _what_--\"I\nhave believed; and am persuaded that _He_,\" etc.\n\n\"Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves, (for ye saw no manner of\nsimilitude on the day that the Lord spake unto you in Horeb out of the\nmidst of the fire,) lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven\nimage, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female,\nthe likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any\nwinged fowl that flieth in the air, the likeness of any thing that\ncreepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters\nbeneath the earth; and lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and\nwhen thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the\nhost of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them,\nwhich the Lord thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole\nheaven. But the Lord hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the\niron furnace, even out of Egypt, to be unto Him a people of\ninheritance, as ye are this day.\"\n\nThere is a very weighty truth set before us here. The people are\nexpressly taught that in making any image and bowing down thereto,\nthey, in reality, lowered and corrupted themselves. Hence, when they\nmade the golden calf, the Lord said unto Moses, \"Go, get thee down;\nfor thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have\ncorrupted themselves.\" It could not be otherwise. The worshiper must\nbe inferior to the object of his worship; and therefore, in worshiping\na calf, they actually put themselves below the level of the beasts\nthat perish. Well, therefore, might He say, They \"have corrupted\nthemselves; they have turned aside quickly out of the way which I\ncommanded them; they have made them a molten calf, and have worshiped\nit, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, 'These be thy gods, O\nIsrael, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.'\"\n\nWhat a spectacle! A whole congregation, led by Aaron the high-priest,\nbowing in worship before a thing formed by a graving tool out of the\nearrings which had just been taken from the ears of their wives and\ndaughters! Only conceive a number of intelligent beings--people\nendowed with reason, understanding, and conscience--saying of a molten\ncalf, \"These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of\nthe land of Egypt\"! They actually displaced Jehovah by an image\ngraven by art and man's device! And these were the people who had seen\nthe mighty works of Jehovah in the land of Egypt. They had seen plague\nafter plague falling upon Egypt and its obdurate king; they had seen\nthe land, as it were, shaken to its very centre by the successive\nstrokes of Jehovah's governmental rod; they had seen Egypt's\nfirst-born laid in death by the sword of the destroying angel; they\nhad seen the Red Sea divided by one stroke of Jehovah's rod, and they\nhad passed through upon dry ground between those crystal walls which\nafterwards fell, in crushing power, upon their enemies--all these\nthings had passed before their eyes, and yet they could so soon forget\nall and say of a molten calf, \"These be thy gods, O Israel, which have\nbrought thee up out of the land of Egypt.\" Did they really believe\nthat a molten image had made the land of Egypt to tremble, humbled its\nproud monarch, and brought them forth victoriously? Had a calf divided\nthe sea for them, and led them majestically through its depths? So, at\nleast, they said; for what will people not say when the eye and the\nheart are turned away from God and His Word?\n\nBut we may perhaps be asked, Has all this a voice for us? Are\nChristians to learn any thing from Israel's molten calf? and do the\nwarnings addressed to Israel against idolatry convey any voice to the\near of the Church? Are we in danger of bowing down to a graven image?\nIs it possible that we, whose high privilege it is to walk in the\nfull-orbed light of New-Testament Christianity, could ever worship a\nmolten calf?\n\nTo all this we reply, first of all, in the language of Romans xv. 4,\n\"_Whatsoever things_ were written aforetime\"--Exodus xxxii. and\nDeuteronomy iv. included--\"were written for our learning, that we\nthrough patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.\" This\nbrief passage contains our chartered right to range through the wide\nfield of Old-Testament scripture and gather up and appropriate its\ngolden lessons, to feed upon its \"exceeding great and precious\npromises,\" to drink in its deep and varied consolation, and to profit\nby its solemn warnings and wholesome admonitions.\n\nAnd then, as to our being capable of or liable to the gross sin of\nidolatry, we have a striking answer in 1 Corinthians x, where the\ninspired apostle uses the very scene at Mount Horeb as a warning to\nthe Church of God. We cannot do better than quote the entire passage\nfor the reader. There is nothing like the Word of God; may we love,\nprize, and reverence it more and more each day.\n\n\"Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that\n_all_ our fathers were under the cloud\"--those whose carcasses fell in\nthe wilderness, as well as those who reached the land of\npromise,--\"and all passed through the sea; and were all baptized unto\nMoses in the cloud and in the sea; and did all eat the same spiritual\nmeat; and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of\nthat spiritual Rock that followed them; and that Rock was Christ.\"\nHow strong, how solemn, and how searching is this for all professors!\n\"But with many of them God was not well pleased; for they were\noverthrown in the wilderness. Now these things were _our examples_\"\n(let us carefully mark this), \"to the intent we should not lust after\n_evil things_\"--things in any way contrary to the mind of Christ, \"as\nthey also lusted. Neither _be ye idolaters_\" (so that professing\nChristians may be idolaters) \"as were some of them; as it is written,\n'The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.' Neither\nlet us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one\nday three and twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of\nthem also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. Neither murmur ye,\nas some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.\nNow _all these things_ happened unto them for ensamples; and _they are\nwritten for our admonition_, upon whom the ends of the ages are come.\nWherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.\"\n\nHere we learn, in the plainest manner, that there is no depth of sin\nand folly, no form of moral pravity, into which we are not capable of\nplunging, at any moment, if not kept by the mighty power of God. There\nis no security for us save in the moral shelter of the divine\npresence. We know that the Spirit of God does not warn us against\nthings to which we are not liable. He would not say to us, \"Neither be\nye idolaters,\" if we were not capable of being such. Idolatry takes\nvarious shapes. It is not, therefore, a question of the shape of the\nthing, but the thing itself--not the outward form, but the root or\nprinciple of the thing. We read that \"covetousness is idolatry,\" and\nthat a covetous man is an idolater; that is, a man desiring to possess\nhimself of more than God has given him is an idolater--is actually\nguilty of the sin of Israel when they made the golden calf and\nworshiped it. Well might the blessed apostle say to the\nCorinthians--say to us, \"Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from\nidolatry.\" Why be warned to _flee_ from a thing to which we are not\nliable? Are there any idle words in the volume of God? What mean those\nclosing words of the first epistle of John--\"Little children, keep\nyourselves from idols\"? Do they not tell us that we are in danger of\nworshiping idols? Assuredly they do. Our treacherous hearts are\ncapable of departing from the living God, and setting up some other\nobject beside Him; and what is this but idolatry? Whatever commands\nthe heart is the heart's idol, be it what it may--money, pleasure,\npower, or aught else,--so that we may well see the urgent need for the\nmany warnings given us by the Holy Ghost against the sin of idolatry.\n\nBut we have in the fourth chapter of Galatians a very remarkable\npassage, and one which speaks in most impressive accents to the\nprofessing church. The Galatians had, like all other Gentiles,\nworshiped idols; but, on the reception of the gospel, had turned from\nidols to serve the living and true God. The Judaizing teachers,\nhowever, had come among them and taught them that unless they were\ncircumcised and kept the law, they could not be saved.\n\nNow this, the blessed apostle unhesitatingly pronounces to be\nidolatry--a going back to the grossness and moral degradation of their\nformer days, and all this after having professed to receive the\nglorious gospel of Christ. Hence the moral force of the apostle's\ninquiry, \"Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them\nwhich by nature are no gods. _But now_, after that ye have known God,\nor rather are known of God, how _turn ye again_ to the weak and\nbeggarly elements, whereunto ye desire _again_ to be in bondage? Ye\nobserve days, and months, and times, and years. I am afraid of you,\nlest I have bestowed upon you labor in vain.\"\n\nThis is peculiarly striking. The Galatians were not outwardly going\nback to the worship of idols. It is not improbable that they would\nhave indignantly repudiated any such idea. But, for all that, the\ninspired apostle asks them, \"How turn ye again?\" What does this\ninquiry mean if they were not going back to idolatry? and what are we\nnow to learn from the whole passage? Simply this, that circumcision,\nand getting under the law, and observing days, and months, and times,\nand years--that all this, though apparently so different, was nothing\nmore or less than going back to their old idolatry. The observance of\ndays and the worship of false gods were both a turning away from the\nliving and true God, from His Son Jesus Christ, from the Holy Ghost,\nfrom that brilliant cluster of dignities and glories which belong to\nChristianity.\n\nAll this is peculiarly solemn for professing Christians. We question\nif the full import of Galatians iv. 8-10 is really apprehended by the\ngreat majority of those who profess to believe the Bible. We solemnly\npress this whole subject upon the attention of all whom it may\nconcern. We pray God to use it for the purpose of stirring up the\nhearts and consciences of His people every where to consider their\nposition, their habits, ways, and associations; and to inquire how far\nthey are really following the example of the assemblies of Galatia, in\nthe observance of saints' days and such like, which can only lead away\nfrom Christ and His glorious salvation. There is a day coming which\nwill open the eyes of thousands to the reality of these things, and\nthen they will see what they now refuse to see, that the very darkest\nand grossest forms of paganism may be reproduced under the name of\nChristianity, and in connection with the very highest truths that ever\nshone on the human understanding.\n\nBut however slow we may be to admit our tendency to fall into the sin\nof idolatry, it is very plain, in Israel's case, that Moses, as taught\nand inspired of God, felt the deep need of warning them against it, in\nthe most solemn and affecting terms. He appeals to them on every\npossible ground, and reiterates his counsels and admonitions in a\nmanner so impressive as to leave them, assuredly, without any excuse.\nThey never could say that they fell into idolatry from the want of\nwarning, or of the most gracious and affectionate entreaty. Take such\nwords as the following: \"But the Lord hath taken you, and brought you\nforth out of the iron furnace, even out of Egypt, to be unto Him a\npeople of inheritance, as ye are this day.\" (Ver. 20.)\n\nCould any thing be more affecting than this? Jehovah, in His rich and\nsovereign grace, and by His mighty hand, brought them forth from the\nland of death and darkness, a redeemed and delivered people. He had\nbrought them to Himself, that they might be to Him a peculiar\ntreasure, above all the people upon earth. How, then, could they turn\naway from Him, from His holy covenant, and from His precious\ncommandments?\n\nAlas! alas! they could and did. \"They _made_ a calf, and said, 'These\nbe thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of\nEgypt.'\" Think of this! A calf, made by their own hands--an image,\ngraven by art and man's device, had brought them up out of Egypt! A\nthing made out of the women's earrings had redeemed and delivered\nthem! And this has been written for our admonition. But why should it\nbe written for us if we are not capable of and liable to the very same\nsin? We must either admit that God the Holy Ghost has penned an\nunnecessary sentence, or admit our need of an admonition against the\nsin of idolatry; and assuredly, our needing the admonition proves our\ntendency to the sin.\n\nAre we better than Israel? In no wise. We have brighter light and\nhigher privileges, but, so far as we are concerned, we are made of the\nsame material, have the same capabilities and the same tendencies, as\nthey. Our idolatry may take a different shape from theirs; but\nidolatry is idolatry, be the shape what it may; and the higher our\nprivileges, the the greater our sin. We may perhaps feel disposed to\nwonder how a rational people could be guilty of such egregious folly\nas to make a calf and bow down to it, and this, too, after having had\nsuch a display of the majesty, power, and glory of God. Let us\nremember that their folly is recorded for our admonition; and that we,\nwith all our light, all our knowledge, all our privileges, are warned\nto \"flee from idolatry.\"\n\nLet us deeply ponder all this and seek to profit by it. May every\nchamber of our hearts be filled with Christ, and then we shall have no\nroom for idols. This is our only safeguard. If we slip away the\nbreadth of a hair from our precious Saviour and Shepherd, we are\ncapable of plunging into the darkest forms of error and moral evil.\nLight, knowledge, spiritual privileges, church position, sacramental\nbenefits, are no security for the soul. They are very good in their\nright place and if rightly used, but in themselves they only increase\nour moral danger.\n\nNothing can keep us safe, right, and happy but having Christ dwelling\nin our hearts by faith. Abiding in Him and He in us, that wicked one\ntoucheth us not. But if personal communion be not diligently\nmaintained, the higher our position, the greater our danger and the\nmore disastrous our fall. There was not a nation beneath the canopy of\nheaven more favored and exalted than Israel when they gathered around\nMount Horeb to hear the word of God: there was not a nation on the\nface of the earth more degraded or more guilty than they when they\nbowed before the golden calf--an image of their own formation.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nWe must now give our attention to a fact of very deep interest,\npresented at verse 21 of our chapter, and that is, that Moses, for the\nthird time, reminds the congregation of God's judicial dealing with\nhimself. He had spoken of it, as we have seen, in chapter i. 37, and\nagain at chapter iii. 26, and here, again, he says to them,\n\"Furthermore _the Lord was angry with me for your sakes_, and sware\nthat I should not go over Jordan, and that I should not go in unto\nthat good land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance;\nbut I must die in this land, I must not go over Jordan; but ye shall\ngo over and possess that good land.\"\n\nNow, we may ask, Why this threefold reference to the same fact? and\nwhy the special mention, in each instance, of the circumstance that\nJehovah was angry with him on their account? One thing is certain, it\nwas not for the purpose of throwing the blame over upon the people, or\nof exculpating himself. No one but an infidel could think this. We\nbelieve the simple object was, to give increased moral force to his\nappeal, more solemnity to his warning voice. If Jehovah was angry with\nsuch an one as Moses--if he, for his unadvised speaking at the waters\nof Meribah, was forbidden to enter the promised land (much as he\ndesired it), how needful for them to take heed! It is a serious thing\nto have to do with God--blessed, no doubt, beyond all human expression\nor thought, but most serious, as the lawgiver himself was called to\nprove in his own person.\n\nThat this is the correct view of this interesting question seems\nevident from the following words: \"_Take heed unto yourselves_, lest\nye forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which He made with you,\nand make you a graven image, or the likeness of any thing which the\nLord thy God hath forbidden thee. For the Lord thy God is a consuming\nfire, even a jealous God.\"\n\nThis is peculiarly solemn. We must allow this statement to have its\nfull, moral weight with our souls. We must not attempt to turn aside\nits sharp edge by any false notions about grace. We sometimes hear it\nsaid that \"God is a consuming fire to the world.\" By and by He will be\nso, no doubt; but now He is dealing in grace, patience, and\nlong-suffering mercy with the world. He is not dealing in judgment\nwith the world now; but, as the apostle Peter tells us, \"the time is\ncome that judgment must begin at the house of God; and if it first\nbegin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel\nof God?\" So also, in Hebrews xii, we read, \"For _our_ God _is_ a\nconsuming fire.\" He is not speaking of what God will be to the world,\nbut of what He is to us. Neither is it, as some put it, \"God is a\nconsuming fire out of Christ.\" We know nothing of God out of Christ.\nHe could not be \"_our_ God\" out of Christ.\n\nNo, reader; Scripture does not need such twistings and turnings: it\nmust be taken as it stands. It is clear and distinct, and all we have\nto do is to hearken and obey. \"Our God is a consuming fire,\" \"a\njealous God,\" not to consume us, blessed be His holy name, but to\nconsume the evil in us and in our ways. He is intolerant of every\nthing in us that is contrary to Himself--contrary to His holiness, and\ntherefore contrary to our true happiness, our real, solid blessing. As\nthe \"Holy Father,\" He keeps us in a way worthy of Himself, and He\nchastens us in order to make us partakers of His holiness. He allows\nthe world to go on its way for the present, not interfering publicly\nwith it; but He judges His house, and He chastens His children, in\norder that they may more fully answer to His mind and be the\nexpression of His moral image.\n\nAnd is not this an immense privilege? Yes, verily; it is a privilege\nof the very highest order--a privilege flowing from the infinite grace\nof our God, who condescends to interest Himself in us, and occupy\nHimself even with our infirmities, our failures, and our sins, in\norder to deliver us from them, and make us partakers of His holiness.\n\nThere is a very fine passage bearing upon this subject in the opening\nof Hebrews xii, which, because of its immense practical importance, we\nmust quote for the reader.--\"My son, despise not thou the chastening\nof the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of Him; for _whom the\nLord loveth He chasteneth_, and _scourgeth every son_ whom He\nreceiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons;\nfor _what son_ is he whom the Father chasteneth not? But if ye be\n_without chastisement_, whereof all are partakers, then are ye\n_bastards_ and _not sons_. Furthermore, we have had fathers of our\nflesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence; shall we not\nmuch rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For\nthey verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; _but\nHe for our profit, that we might be partakers of His holiness_. Now no\nchastening for the present _seemeth_ to be joyous, but grievous;\nnevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of\nrighteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. Wherefore lift up\nthe hands which hang down, and the feeble knees.\"\n\nThere are three ways of meeting divine chastening: We may \"_despise_\"\nit, as something commonplace--something that may happen to any one; we\ndo not see _the hand of God_ in it. Again, we may \"_faint_\" under it,\nas something too heavy for us to bear--something entirely beyond\nendurance; we do not see _the Father's heart_ in it, or recognize His\ngracious object in it, namely, to make us partakers of His holiness.\nLastly, we may be \"_exercised_\" by it. This is the way to reap \"the\npeaceable fruit of righteousness afterward.\" We dare not \"_despise_\" a\nthing in which we trace the hand of God: we need not \"_faint_\" under a\ntrial in which we plainly discern the heart of a loving Father, who\nwill not suffer us to be tried above what we are able, but will with\nthe trial make an issue, that we may be able to bear it, and who also\ngraciously explains to us His object in the discipline, and assures us\nthat every stroke of His rod is a proof of His love, and a direct\nresponse to the prayer of Christ in John xvii. 11, wherein He commends\nus to the care of the \"Holy Father,\" to be kept according to that name\nand all that name involves.\n\nFurthermore, there are three distinct attitudes of heart in reference\nto divine chastening, namely, subjection, acquiescence, and rejoicing.\nWhen the will is broken, there is subjection; when the understanding\nis enlightened as to the object of the chastening, there is calm\nacquiescence; and when the affections are engaged with the Father's\nheart, there is rejoicing, and we can go forth with glad hearts to\nreap a golden harvest of the peaceable fruit of righteousness, to the\npraise of Him who, in His painstaking love, undertakes to care for us\nand to deal with us in holy government, and concentrate His care upon\neach one as though there were but that one to attend to.\n\nHow wonderful is all this! and how the thought of it should help us in\nall our trials and exercises! We are in the hands of One whose love\nis infinite, whose wisdom is unerring, whose power is omnipotent,\nwhose resources are inexhaustible. Why, then, should we ever be cast\ndown? If He chastens us, it is because He loves us and seeks our real\ngood. We may think the chastening grievous--we may feel disposed to\nwonder, at times, how love can inflict pain and sickness upon us; but\nwe must remember that divine love is wise and faithful, and only\ninflicts the pain, the sickness, or the sorrow for our profit and\nblessing. We must not always judge of love by the form in which it\nclothes itself. Look at that fond and tender mother applying a blister\nto her child whom she loves as her own soul. She knows full well that\nthe blister will cause her child real pain and suffering, and yet she\nunhesitatingly applies it, though her heart feels keenly at having to\ndo it. But she knows it is absolutely necessary; she believes that,\nhumanly and medically speaking, the child's life depends upon it; she\nfeels that a few moments' pain may, with the blessing of God, restore\nthe health of her precious child. Thus, while the child is only\noccupied with the transient suffering, the mother is thinking of the\npermanent good; and if the child could but think with the mother, the\nblister would not seem so hard to bear.\n\nNow, it is just thus in the matter of our Father's disciplinary\ndealings with us; and the remembrance of this would greatly help us to\nendure whatever His chastening hand may lay upon us. It may perhaps be\nsaid that there is a very wide difference between a blister laid on\nfor a few minutes, and years of intense bodily suffering. No doubt\nthere is; but there is also a very wide difference between the result\nreached in each case. It is only with the principle of the thing we\nhave to do. When we see a beloved child of God, or servant of Christ,\ncalled to pass through years of intense suffering, we may feel\ndisposed to wonder why it is; and perhaps the beloved sufferer may\nalso feel disposed to wonder, and at times be ready to faint under the\nweight of his long-protracted affliction. He may feel led to cry out,\nWhy am I thus? Can this be love? can this be the expression of a\nFather's tender care? \"Yes, verily,\" is Faith's bright and decided\nreply. \"It is all love--all divinely right. I would not have it\notherwise for worlds. I know this transient suffering is working out\neternal blessing. I know my loving Father has put me into this furnace\nto purge away my dross and bring out in me the expression of His own\nimage. I know that divine love will always do the very best for its\nobject, and therefore this intense suffering is the very best thing\nfor me. Of course, I feel it, for I am not a stick or a stone. My\nFather means me to feel it, just as the mother means the blister to\nrise, for it would do no good otherwise. But I bless Him, with my\nwhole heart, for the grace that shines in the wondrous fact of His\noccupying Himself with me, in this way, to correct what He sees to be\nwrong in me. I praise Him for putting me into the furnace; and how can\nI but praise Him, when I see Himself, in infinite grace and patience,\nsitting over the furnace to watch the process, and lift me out the\nmoment the work is done?\"\n\nThis, beloved Christian reader, is the true way, and this the right\nspirit in which to pass through chastening of any kind, be it bodily\naffliction, sore bereavement, loss of property, or pressure of\ncircumstances. We have to trace the hand of God, to read a Father's\nheart, to recognize the divine object in it all. This will enable us\nto vindicate, justify, and glorify God in the furnace of affliction.\nIt will correct every murmuring thought, and hush every fretful\nutterance; it will fill our hearts with sweetest peace and our mouths\nwith praise.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nWe must now turn, for a few moments, to the remaining verses of our\nchapter, in which we shall find some most touching and powerful\nappeals to the heart and conscience of the congregation. The lawgiver,\nin the deep, true, and fervent love of his heart, makes use of the\nmost solemn warnings, the most earnest admonition, and the most tender\nentreaties, in order to move the people to the one grand and\nall-important point of obedience. If he speaks to them of the iron\nfurnace of Egypt, out of which Jehovah, in His sovereign grace, had\ndelivered them; if he dwells upon the mighty signs and wonders wrought\non their behalf; if he holds up to their view the glories of that land\non which they were about to plant their foot; or if he recounts the\nmarvelous dealings of God with them in the wilderness, it is all for\nthe purpose of strengthening the moral basis of Jehovah's claim upon\ntheir loving and reverent obedience. The past, the present, and the\nfuture are all brought to bear upon them--all made to furnish powerful\narguments in favor of their whole-hearted consecration of themselves\nto the service of their gracious and almighty Deliverer. In short,\nthere was every reason why they should obey, and no possible excuse\nfor disobedience. All the facts of their history, from first to last,\nwere eminently calculated to give moral force to the exhortation and\nwarning of the following passage:--\n\n\"Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the Lord\nyour God, which He made with you, and make you a graven image, or the\nlikeness of any thing, which the Lord thy God hath forbidden thee. For\nthe Lord thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God. When thou\nshalt beget children, and children's children, and ye shall have\nremained long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a\ngraven image, or the likeness of any thing, and shall do evil in the\nsight of the Lord thy God, to provoke Him to anger; I call heaven and\nearth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly\nperish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it; ye\nshall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed.\nAnd the Lord shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left\nfew in number among the heathen, whither the Lord shall lead you. And\nthere ye shall serve gods, the work of men's hands, wood and stone,\nwhich neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.\"\n\nHow solemn is all this! What faithful warnings are here! Heaven and\nearth are summoned to witness. Alas! how soon and how completely all\nthis was forgotten! and how literally all those heavy denunciations\nhave been fulfilled in the history of the nation!\n\nBut, thank God, there is a bright side of the picture--there is mercy\nas well as judgment, and our God (blessed forever be His holy name) is\nsomething more than \"a consuming fire and a jealous God.\" True, He is\na consuming fire, because He is holy; He is intolerant of evil, and\nmust consume our dross. Moreover, He is jealous, because He cannot\nsuffer any rival to have a place in the hearts of those He loves. He\nmust have the whole heart, because He alone is worthy of it, as He\nalone can fill and satisfy it forever. And if His people turn away\nfrom Him and go after idols of their own making, they must be left to\nreap the bitter fruit of their own doings, and to prove, by sad and\nterrible experience, the truth of these words: \"Their sorrows shall be\nmultiplied that hasten after another.\"\n\nBut mark how touchingly Moses presents to the people the bright side\nof things--a brightness springing from the eternal stability of the\ngrace of God, and the perfect provision which that grace has made for\nall His people's need, from first to last. \"_But_,\" he says--and oh,\nhow lovely are some of the \"buts\" of holy Scripture!--\"if from thence\nthou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find Him, if thou seek\nHim with all thy heart and with all thy soul.\" Exquisite grace! \"When\nthou art in tribulation\"--that is the time to find what our God\nis,--\"and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter\ndays, if thou turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto His\nvoice;\"--what then? \"A consuming fire\"? Nay; but \"the Lord _thy God_\nis a merciful God; He will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor\nforget the covenant of thy fathers which He sware unto them.\"\n\nHere we have a remarkable onlook into Israel's future, their departure\nfrom God and consequent dispersion among the nations, the complete\nbreaking up of their polity, and the passing away of their national\nglory. But, blessed forever be the God of all grace, there is\nsomething beyond all this failure and sin and ruin and judgment. When\nwe get to the far end of Israel's melancholy history--a history which\nmay truly be summed up in that one brief but comprehensive sentence,\n\"O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself,\" we are met by the magnificent\ndisplay of the grace, mercy, and faithfulness of Jehovah, the God of\ntheir fathers, whose heart of love tells itself out in that added\nsentence, \"In Me is thy help.\" Yes; the whole matter is wrapped up in\nthese two vigorous sentences, \"Thou hast destroyed thyself,\" \"But in\nMe is thy help.\" In the former, we have the sharp arrow for Israel's\nconscience; in the latter, the soothing balm for Israel's broken\nheart.\n\nIn thinking of the nation of Israel, there are two pages which we have\nto study, namely, the historic and the prophetic. The page of history\nrecords, with unerring faithfulness, their utter ruin: the page of\nprophecy unfolds, in accents of matchless grace, God's remedy.\nIsrael's past has been dark and gloomy: Israel's future will be bright\nand glorious. In the former, we see the miserable actings of man; in\nthe latter, the blessed ways of God. That gives the forcible\nillustration of what man is; this, the bright display of what God is.\nWe must look at both if we would understand aright the history of this\nremarkable people--\"a people terrible from their beginning hitherto,\"\nand, we may truly add, a people wonderful to the end of time.\n\nWe do not, of course, attempt to adduce, in this place, proofs of our\nstatement as to Israel's past and Israel's future. To do so would, we\nmay say, without any exaggeration, demand a volume, inasmuch as it\nwould simply be to quote a very large portion of the historical books\nof the Bible on the one hand, and of the prophetic books on the other.\nThis, we need hardly say, is out of the question; but we feel bound to\npress upon the reader's attention the precious teaching contained in\nthe quotation given above. It embodies, in its brief compass, the\nwhole truth as to Israel's past, present, and future. Mark how their\npast is vividly portrayed in these few words: \"When thou shalt beget\nchildren, and children's children, and ye shall have remained long in\nthe land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image, or\nthe likeness of any thing, and shall do evil in the sight of the Lord\nthy God, to provoke Him to anger.\"\n\nIs not this precisely what they have done? Is it not here, as it were,\nin a nutshell? They have done evil in the sight of Jehovah their God,\nto provoke Him to anger. That one word, \"_evil_\" takes all in, from\nthe calf at Horeb to the cross at Calvary. Such is Israel's past.\n\nAnd now, what of their present? Are they not a standing monument of\nthe imperishable truth of God? Has a single jot or tittle failed of\nall that God has spoken? Hearken to these glowing words: \"I call\nheaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon\nutterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to\npossess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly\nbe destroyed. And the Lord shall scatter you among the nations, and ye\nshall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the Lord shall\nlead you.\"\n\nHas not all this been fulfilled to the letter? Who can question it?\nIsrael's past and Israel's present alike attest the truth of God's\nWord. And are we not justified in declaring that inasmuch as the past\nand the present are a literal accomplishment of the truth of God, so\nshall the future? Assuredly. The page of history and the page of\nprophecy were both indited by the same Spirit, and therefore they are\nboth alike true; and as the history records Israel's sin and Israel's\ndispersion, so doth the prophecy predict Israel's repentance and\nIsrael's restoration. The one is as true to faith as the other. As\nsurely as Israel sinned in the past and are scattered at the present,\nso surely shall they repent and be restored in the future.\n\nThis, we conceive, is beyond all question; and we rejoice to think of\nit. There is not one of the prophets, from Isaiah to Malachi, that\ndoes not most distinctly set forth, in accents of sweetest grace and\nmost tender mercy, the future blessings, pre-eminence, and glory of\nthe seed of Abraham.[11] It would be simply delightful to quote some\nof the sublime passages bearing upon this most interesting subject;\nbut we must leave the reader to search them out for himself,\nespecially commending to his notice the precious passages contained in\nthe closing chapters of Isaiah, in which he will find a perfect feast,\nas well as the fullest confirmation of the apostle's statement that\n\"all Israel shall be saved.\" All the prophets, \"from Samuel and those\nthat follow after,\" agree as to this. The teachings of the New\nTestament harmonize with the voices of the prophets, and hence to call\nin question the truth of Israel's restoration to their own land, and\nfinal blessing there, under the rule of their own Messiah, is simply\nto ignore or deny the testimony of prophets and apostles, speaking and\nwriting by the direct inspiration of God the Holy Ghost; it is to set\naside a body of Scripture evidence perfectly overwhelming.\n\n  [11] Jonah, of course, is an exception; his mission was to Nineveh. He\n  is the only prophet whose commission had exclusive reference to the\n  Gentiles.\n\nIt seems passing strange that any true lover of Christ should seek to\ndo this; yet so it is, and so it has been, through religious\nprejudice, theological bias, and various other causes. But,\nnotwithstanding all this, the glorious truth of Israel's restoration\nand pre-eminence in the earth shines with undimmed lustre on the\nprophetic page, and all who seek to set it aside, or interfere with it in\nany way, are not only flying in the face of holy Scripture--contradicting\nthe unanimous voice of apostles and prophets, but also seeking to\ntamper (ignorantly and unwittingly, no doubt) with the counsel,\npurpose, and promise of the Lord God of Israel, and to nullify His\ncovenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.\n\nThis is serious work for any one to engage in, and we believe many are\ndoing it without being aware of it; for we must understand that any\none who applies the promises made to the Old-Testament fathers to the\nNew-Testament Church is, in reality, doing the serious work of which\nwe speak. We maintain that no one has the slightest warrant to\nalienate the promises made to the fathers. We may learn from those\npromises, delight in them, draw comfort and encouragement from their\neternal stability and direct literal application--all this is\nblessedly true; but it is another thing altogether for men, under the\ninfluence of a system of interpretation falsely called spiritual, to\napply to the Church, or to believers of the New-Testament times,\nprophecies which, as simply and plainly as words can indicate, apply\nto Israel--to the literal seed of Abraham.\n\nThis is what we consider so very serious. We believe we have very\nlittle idea of how thoroughly opposed all this is to the mind and\nheart of God. He loves Israel--loves them for the fathers' sake, and\nwe may rest assured He will not sanction our interference with their\nplace, their portion, or their prospect. We are all familiar with the\nwords of the inspired apostle in Romans xi, however we may have missed\nor forgotten their true import and moral force.\n\nSpeaking of Israel, in connection with the olive-tree of promise, he\nsays, \"And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be\ngraffed in; for\" the most simple, solid, and blessed of all\nreasons--\"_God is able_,\" as He is most surely willing, \"to graff them\nin again. For if thou wert cut out of the olive-tree which is wild by\nnature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive-tree;\nhow much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed\ninto their own olive-tree? For I would not, brethren, that ye should\nbe ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own\nconceits; that blindness _in part_ is happened to Israel, until the\nfullness of the Gentiles be come in.[12] And so all Israel shall be\nsaved: as it is written, 'There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer,\nand shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: _for this is My covenant\nunto them_, when I shall take away their sins.' As concerning the\ngospel, they are enemies for your sakes; but as touching the election,\nthey are beloved for the fathers' sakes. For the gifts and calling of\nGod are without repentance. For as ye in times past have not believed\nGod, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief; even so have\nthese also now not believed in your mercy [or, mercy to you. _See\nGreek._] that they also may obtain mercy.\" That is, that instead of\ncoming in on the ground of law, or fleshly descent, they should come\nin simply on the ground of sovereign mercy, just as the Gentiles. \"For\nGod hath concluded them all in unbelief, that He might have _mercy\nupon all_.\"\n\n  [12] The reader must seize the difference between \"the fullness of the\n  Gentiles\" in Romans xi, and \"the times of the Gentiles\" in Luke xxi.\n  The former refers to those who are now being gathered into the Church:\n  the latter, on the contrary, refers to the times of Gentile supremacy\n  which began with Nebuchadnezzar, and runs on to the time when \"the\n  stone cut out without hands\" shall fall, in crushing power, upon the\n  great image of Daniel ii.\n\nHere ends the section bearing upon our immediate subject, but we\ncannot refrain from quoting the splendid doxology which bursts forth\nfrom the overflowing heart of the inspired apostle as he closes the\ngrand dispensational division of his epistle--\"O the depth of the\nriches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are\nHis judgments, and His ways past finding out! For who hath known the\nmind of the Lord? or who hath been His counselor? or who hath first\ngiven to Him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For _of_\nHim,\" as the source, \"and _through_ Him,\" as the channel, \"and _to_\nHim,\" as the object, \"are all things: to whom be glory forever.\nAmen.\"\n\nThe foregoing splendid passage, as indeed all Scripture, is in perfect\nkeeping with the teaching of the fourth chapter of our book. Israel's\npresent condition is the fruit of their dark unbelief: Israel's future\nglory will be the fruit of God's rich sovereign mercy.--\"The Lord thy\nGod is a merciful God, He will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee,\nnor forget the covenant of thy fathers which He sware unto them. For\nask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, since the\nday that God created man upon the earth, and ask from the one side of\nheaven unto the other\"--The utmost bounds of time and space were to be\nappealed to, to see--\"whether there hath been any such thing as this\ngreat thing is, or hath been heard like it? Did ever people hear the\nvoice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast\nheard, and live? Or hath God assayed to go and take Him a nation from\nthe midst of another nation, by temptations, by signs, and by wonders,\nand by war, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched-out arm, and by\ngreat terrors, according to all that the Lord your God did for you in\nEgypt before your eyes? Unto thee it was showed, that thou mightest\nknow that the Lord He is God; there is none else beside Him. Out of\nheaven He made thee to hear His voice, that He might instruct thee,\nand upon earth He showed thee His great fire; and thou heardest His\nwords out of the midst of the fire.\"\n\nHere we have set forth, with singular moral power, the grand object of\nall the divine actings on Israel's behalf. It was that they might\nknow that Jehovah was the one true and living God, and that there was\nand could be none beside Him. In a word, it was the purpose of God\nthat Israel should be a witness for Him on the earth; and so they most\nassuredly shall, though hitherto they have signally failed and caused\nHis great and holy name to be blasphemed among the nations. Nothing\ncan hinder the purpose of God. His covenant shall stand forever.\nIsrael shall yet be a blessed and effective witness for God on the\nearth, and a channel of rich and everlasting blessing to all nations.\nJehovah has pledged His word as to this, and not all the powers of\nearth and hell--men and devils combined can hinder the full\naccomplishment of all that He has spoken. His glory is involved in\nIsrael's future, and if a single jot or tittle of His word were to\nfail, it would be a dishonor cast upon His great name, and an occasion\nfor the enemy, which is utterly impossible. Israel's future blessing\nand Jehovah's glory are bound together by a link which can never be\nsnapped. If this be not clearly seen, we can neither understand\nIsrael's past nor Israel's future. Nay, more; we may assert, with all\npossible confidence, that unless this blessed fact be fully grasped,\nour system of prophetic interpretation must be utterly false.\n\nBut there is another truth set forth in our chapter--a truth of\npeculiar interest and preciousness. It is not merely that the glory of\nJehovah is involved in Israel's future restoration and blessedness;\nthe love of His heart is also engaged. This comes out with touching\nsweetness in the following words: \"And because He loved thy fathers,\ntherefore He chose their seed after them, and brought thee out in His\nsight with His mighty power out of Egypt; to drive out nations from\nbefore thee greater and mightier than thou art, to bring thee in, to\ngive thee their land for an inheritance, as it is this day.\"\n\nThus the truth of God's word, the glory of His great name, and the\nlove of His heart are all involved in His dealings with the seed of\nAbraham His friend; and albeit they have broken the law, dishonored\nHis name, despised His mercy, rejected His prophets, crucified His\nSon, and resisted His Spirit--although they have done all this, and,\nin consequence thereof, are scattered and peeled and broken, and shall\nyet pass through unexampled tribulation, yet will the God of Abraham,\nIsaac, and Jacob glorify His name, make good His word, and manifest\nthe changeless love of His heart in the future history of His earthly\npeople. \"Nothing changeth God's affection.\" Whom He loves and as He\nloves He loves unto the end.\n\nIf we deny this in reference to Israel, we have not so much as a\nsingle inch of solid standing-ground for ourselves: if we touch the\ntruth of God in one department, we have no security as to any thing.\n\"Scripture cannot be broken.\" \"All the promises of God in Him are yea,\nand in Him Amen, unto the glory of God.\" God has pledged Himself to\nthe seed of Abraham; He has promised to give them the land of Canaan,\n_forever_. \"His gifts and calling are without repentance.\" He never\nrepents of His gift or His call; and therefore for any one to attempt\nto alienate His promises and His gifts, or to interfere in any way\nwith their application to their true and proper object, must be a\ngrievous offense to Him. It mars the integrity of divine truth,\ndeprives us of all certainty in the interpretation of holy Scripture,\nand plunges the soul in darkness, doubt, and perplexity.\n\nThe teaching of Scripture is clear, definite, and distinct. The Holy\nGhost, who indited the sacred Volume, means what He says and says what\nHe means. If He speaks of Israel, He means Israel--of Zion, He means\nZion--of Jerusalem, He means Jerusalem. To apply any one of these\nnames to the New-Testament Church is to confound things that differ,\nand introduce a method of interpreting Scripture which, from its\nvagueness and looseness, can only lead to the most disastrous\nconsequences. If we handle the Word of God in such a loose and\ncareless manner, it is utterly impossible to realize its divine\nauthority over our conscience, or exhibit its formative power in our\ncourse, conduct, and character.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nWe must now look, for a moment, at the powerful appeal with which\nMoses sums up his address in our chapter: it demands our profound and\nreverent attention.--\"Know _therefore_ this day, and _consider it in\nthine heart_, that the Lord He is God in heaven above, and upon the\nearth beneath; there is none else. Thou shalt keep _therefore_ His\nstatutes, and His commandments, which I command thee this day, that it\nmay go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, and that thou\nmayest prolong thy days upon the earth, which the Lord thy God giveth\nthee, forever.\" (Ver. 39, 40.)\n\nHere we see that the moral claim upon their hearty obedience is\ngrounded upon the revealed character of God, and His marvelous actings\non their behalf. In a word, they were bound to obey--bound by every\nargument that could possibly act on the heart, the conscience, and the\nunderstanding. The One who had brought them out of the land of Egypt,\nwith a mighty hand and outstretched arm; who had made that land to\ntremble to its very centre, by stroke after stroke of His judicial\nrod; who had opened up a pathway for them through the sea; who had\nsent them bread from heaven, and brought forth water for them out of\nthe flinty rock; and all this for the glory of His great name, and\nbecause He loved their fathers--surely He was entitled to their\nwhole-hearted obedience.\n\nThis is the grand argument, so eminently characteristic of this\nblessed book of Deuteronomy. And surely this is full of instruction\nfor Christians now. If Israel were morally bound to obey, how much\nmore are we! If their motives and objects were powerful, how much more\nso are ours! Do we feel their power? do we consider them in our\nhearts? Do we ponder the claims of Christ upon us? Do we remember\nthat we are not our own, but bought with a price, even the infinitely\nprecious price of the blood of Christ? Do we realize this? Are we\nseeking to live for Him? Is His glory our ruling object?--His love our\nconstraining motive? or are we living for ourselves? Are we seeking to\nget on in the world--that world that crucified our blessed Lord and\nSaviour? Are we seeking to make money? do we love it in our hearts,\neither for its own sake or for the sake of what it can procure? does\nmoney _govern_ us? Are we seeking a place in the world, either for\nourselves or for our children? Let us honestly challenge our hearts,\nas in the divine presence, in the light of God's truth, what is our\nobject--our real, governing, cherished, heart-sought object?\n\nReader, these are searching questions. Let us not put them aside: let\nus really weigh them in the very light of the judgment-seat of Christ.\nWe believe they are wholesome, much-needed questions. We live in very\nsolemn times. There is a fearful amount of sham on every side, and in\nnothing is this sham so awfully apparent as in so-called religion.\n\nThe very days in which our lot is cast have been sketched by a pen\nthat never colors--never exaggerates, but always presents men and\nthings precisely as they are.--\"This know also, that in _the last\ndays_\"--quite distinct from \"_the latter times_\" of 1 Timothy iv.--far\nin advance, more pronounced, more closely defined, more strongly\nmarked, these last days in which \"perilous [or difficult] times shall\ncome. For men shall be _lovers of their own selves_, covetous,\n_boasters_, proud, blasphemers, _disobedient to parents_, unthankful,\nunholy, _without natural affection_, truce-breakers, _false accusers_,\nincontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors,\nheady, high-minded, _lovers of pleasures more_ [or rather] _than\nlovers of God_.\" And then mark the crown which the inspired apostle\nputs upon this appalling superstructure!--\"Having a form of godliness,\nbut denying the power thereof.\" (2 Tim. iii. 1-5.)\n\nWhat a terrible picture! We have here, in a few glowing, weighty\nsentences, _infidel_ christendom, just as in 1 Timothy iv. we have\n_superstitious_ christendom. In the latter, we see popery; in the\nformer, infidelity. Both elements are at work around us, but the\nlatter will yet rise into prominence--indeed, even now it is advancing\nwith rapid strides. The very leaders and teachers of christendom are\nnot ashamed or afraid to attack the foundations of Christianity. A\nso-called Christian bishop is not ashamed or afraid to call in\nquestion the integrity of the five books of Moses, and, with them, of\nthe whole Bible; for, most assuredly, if Moses was not the inspired\nwriter of the Pentateuch, the entire edifice of holy Scripture is\nswept from beneath our feet. The writings of Moses are so intimately\nbound up with all the other grand divisions of the divine Volume, that\nif they are touched, all is gone. We boldly affirm that if the Holy\nGhost did not inspire Moses, the servant of God, to write the first\nfive books of our English Bible, we have not an inch of solid ground\nto stand upon; we are positively left without a single atom of divine\nauthority on which to rest our souls; the very pillars of our glorious\nChristianity are swept away, and we are left to grope our way, in\nhopeless perplexity, amid the conflicting opinions and theories of\ninfidel doctors, without so much as a single ray from Inspiration's\nheavenly lamp.\n\nDoes this appear too strong for the reader? Does he believe that we\ncan listen, for a moment, to the infidel denier of Moses, and yet\nbelieve in the inspiration of the psalms, the prophets, and the New\nTestament? If he does, let him be well assured he is under the power\nof a fatal delusion. Let him take such passages as the following, and\nask himself, What do they mean, and what is wrapped up in them? Our\nLord, in speaking to the Jews--who, by the way, would not have agreed\nwith a Christian bishop in denying the authenticity of Moses--says,\n\"Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father; there is one that\naccuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. For had ye believed Moses,\nye would have believed Me; for he wrote of Me. But if ye believe not\nhis writings, how shall ye believe My words?\" (John v. 45-47.)\n\nThink of this: The man that does not believe in the writings of\nMoses--does not receive every line of his as divinely inspired, does\nnot believe in Christ's words, and therefore cannot have any divinely\nwrought faith in Christ Himself--cannot be a Christian at all. This\nmakes it a very serious matter for any one to deny the divine\ninspiration of the Pentateuch, and equally serious for any one to\nlisten to him or sympathize with him. It is all very well to talk of\nChristian charity and liberality of spirit; but we have yet to learn\nthat it is charity or liberality to sanction, in any way, a man who\nhas the audacity to sweep from beneath our feet the very foundations\nof our faith. To speak of him as a Christian bishop, or a Christian\nminister of any kind, is only to make the matter a thousand times\nworse. We can understand a Voltaire or a Paine attacking the Bible--we\ndo not look for any thing else from them; but when those who assume to\nbe the recognized and ordained ministers of religion, and the\nguardians of the faith of God's elect--those who consider themselves\nalone entitled to teach and preach Jesus Christ, and feed and tend the\nChurch of God--when they actually call in question the inspiration of\nthe five books of Moses, may we not well ask, Where are we? What has\nthe professing church come to?\n\nBut let us take another passage. It is the powerful appeal of the\nrisen Saviour to the two bewildered disciples on their way to\nEmmaus--\"'O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets\nhave spoken; ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to\nenter into His glory?' And _beginning at Moses_ and all the prophets,\nHe expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning\nHimself.\" And again, to the eleven and others with them, He says,\n\"These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you,\nthat all things must be fulfilled, which were written _in the law of_\n_Moses_, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning Me.\" (Luke\nxxiv. 25-27, 44.)\n\nHere we find that our Lord, in the most distinct and positive manner,\nrecognizes the law of Moses as an integral part of the canon of\ninspiration, and binds it up with all the other grand divisions of the\ndivine Volume in such a way that it is utterly impossible to touch one\nwithout destroying the integrity of the whole. If Moses is not to be\ntrusted, neither are the prophets, nor the psalms. They stand or fall\ntogether. And not only so, but we must either admit the divine\nauthenticity of the Pentateuch or draw the blasphemous inference that\nour adorable Lord and Saviour gave the sanction of His authority to a\nset of spurious documents, by quoting as the writings of Moses what\nMoses never wrote at all! There is positively not a single inch of\nconsistent standing-ground between these two conclusions.\n\nAgain, take the following most weighty and important passage at the\nclose of the parable of the rich man and Lazarus: \"Abraham saith unto\nhim, 'They have _Moses and the prophets; let them hear them_.' And he\nsaid, 'Nay, father Abraham; but if one went unto them from the dead,\nthey will repent.' And he said unto him, 'If they hear not Moses and\nthe prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the\ndead.'\" (Luke xvi. 29-31.)\n\nFinally, if we add to all this the fact that our Lord, in His conflict\nwith Satan in the wilderness, quotes only from the writings of Moses,\nwe have a body of evidence quite sufficient, not only to establish,\nbeyond all question, the divine inspiration of Moses, but also to\nprove that the man who calls in question the authenticity of the first\nfive books of the Bible, can really have no Bible, no divine\nrevelation, no authority, no solid foundation for his faith. He may\ncall himself, or be called by others, a Christian bishop or a\nChristian minister; but, in solemn fact, he is a skeptic, and should\nbe treated as such by all who believe and know the truth. We cannot\nunderstand how any one with a spark of divine life in his soul could\nbe guilty of the awful sin of denying the inspiration of a large\nportion of the Word of God, or asserting that our Lord Christ could\nquote from spurious documents.\n\nWe may be deemed severe in thus writing. It seems the fashion nowadays\nto own as Christians those who deny the very foundations of\nChristianity. It is a very popular notion that, provided people are\nmoral, amiable, benevolent, charitable, and philanthropic, it is of\nvery small consequence what they believe. Life is better than creed or\ndogma, we are told. All this sounds very plausible: but the reader may\nrest assured that the direct tendency of all this manner of speech and\nline of argument is to get rid of the Bible--rid of the Holy\nGhost--rid of Christ--rid of God--rid of all that the Bible reveals to\nour souls. Let him bear this in mind, and seek to keep close to the\nprecious Word of God; let him treasure that Word in his heart, and\ngive himself more and more to the prayerful study of it. Thus he will\nbe preserved from the withering influence of skepticism and\ninfidelity, in every shape and form; his soul will be fed and\nnourished by the sincere milk of the Word, and his whole moral being\nbe kept in the shelter of the divine presence continually. This is\nwhat is needed: nothing else will do.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nWe must now close our meditations on this marvelous chapter which has\nbeen engaging our attention; but ere doing so, we would glance for a\nmoment at the remarkable notice of the three cities of refuge. It\nmight, to a cursory reader, seem abrupt; but, so far from that, it is,\nas we might expect, in perfect and beautiful moral order. Scripture is\nalways divinely perfect, and if we do not see and appreciate its\nbeauties and moral glories, it is simply owing to our blindness and\ninsensibility.\n\n\"Then Moses severed three cities on this side Jordan toward the\nsunrising; that the slayer might flee thither, which should kill his\nneighbor unawares, and hated him not in times past; and that fleeing\nunto one of those cities he might live; namely, Bezer in the\nwilderness, in the plain country, of the Reubenites; and Ramoth in\nGilead, of the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan, of the Manassites.\"\n\nHere we have a lovely display of the grace of God rising, as it ever\ndoes, above human weakness and failure. The two tribes and a half, in\nchoosing their inheritance on this side Jordan, were manifestly\nstopping short of the proper portion of the Israel of God, which lay\non the other side of the river of death; but, notwithstanding this\nfailure, God, in His abounding grace, would not leave the poor slayer\nwithout a refuge in the day of his distress. If man cannot come up to\nthe height of God's thoughts, God can come down to the depths of man's\nneed; and so blessedly does He do so in this case, that the two tribes\nand a half were to have as many cities of refuge on this side Jordan\nas the nine tribes and a half had in the land of Canaan.\n\nThis, truly, was grace abounding. How unlike the manner of man! How\nfar above mere law or legal righteousness! It might, in a legal way,\nhave been said to the two tribes and a half, If you are going to\nchoose your inheritance short of the divine mark--if you are content\nwith less than Canaan, the land of promise, you must not expect to\nenjoy the privileges and blessings of that land. The institutions of\nCanaan must be confined to Canaan, and hence your manslayer must try\nand make his way across the Jordan and find refuge there.\n\nLaw might speak thus, but Grace spoke differently. God's thoughts are\nnot ours, nor His ways as ours. We might deem it marvelous grace to\nprovide even one city for the two and a half tribes; but our God does\nexceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, and hence the\ncomparatively small district on this side Jordan was furnished with as\nfull a provision of grace as the entire land of Canaan.\n\nDoes this prove that the two and a half tribes were right? Nay; but it\nproves that God was good, and that He must ever act like Himself,\nspite of all our weakness and folly. Could He leave a poor slayer\nwithout a place of refuge in the land of Gilead, though Gilead was not\nCanaan? Surely not. This would not be worthy of the One who says, \"_I\nbring near_ My righteousness.\" He took care to bring the city of\nrefuge \"near\" to the slayer. He would cause His rich and precious\ngrace to flow over and meet the needy one just where he was. Such is\nthe way of our God, blessed be His holy name for evermore!\n\n\"And this is the law which Moses set before the children of Israel:\nthese are the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which\nMoses spake unto the children of Israel, after they came forth out of\nEgypt, on this side Jordan, in the valley over against Beth-peor, in\nthe land of Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon, whom\nMoses and the children of Israel smote, after they were come forth out\nof Egypt: and they possessed his land, and the land of Og king of\nBashan, two kings of the Amorites, which were on this side Jordan\ntoward the sunrising; from Aroer, which is by the bank of the river\nArnon, even unto Mount Sion, which is Hermon, and all the plain on\nthis side Jordan eastward, even unto the sea of the plain, under the\nsprings of Pisgah.\"\n\nHere closes this marvelous discourse. The Spirit of God delights to\ntrace the boundaries of the people, and dwell on the most minute\ndetails connected with their history. He takes a lively and loving\ninterest in all that concerns them--their conflicts, their victories,\ntheir possessions, all their landmarks; every thing about them is\ndwelt upon with a minuteness which, by its touching grace and\ncondescension, fill the heart with wonder, love, and praise. Man, in\nhis contemptible self-importance, thinks it beneath his dignity to\nenter upon minute details; but _our_ God counts the hairs of our\nheads, puts our tears into His bottle, takes knowledge of our every\ncare, our every sorrow, our every need. There is nothing too small for\nHis love, as there is nothing too great for His power. He concentrates\nHis loving care upon each one of His people as though He had only that\none to attend to; and there is not a single circumstance in our\nprivate history, from day to day, however trivial, in which He does\nnot take a loving interest.\n\nLet us ever remember this, for our comfort; and may we learn to trust\nHim better, and use, with a more artless faith, His fatherly love and\ncare. He tells us to cast _all_ our care upon Him, in the assurance\nthat He careth for us. He would have our hearts as free from care as\nour conscience is free from guilt. \"Be careful for _nothing_; but in\nevery thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your\nrequests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth\n_all_ understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ\nJesus.\" (Phil. iv. 6, 7.)\n\nIt is to be feared that the great majority of us know but little of\nthe real depth, meaning, and power of such words as these. We read\nthem and hear them, but we do not take them in and make our own of\nthem--we do not digest them and reduce them to practice. How little do\nwe really enter into the blessed truth that our Father is interested\nin all our little cares and sorrows, and that we may go to Him with\nall our little wants and difficulties. We imagine that such things are\nbeneath the notice of the high and mighty One who inhabiteth eternity\nand sitteth upon the circle of the earth. This is a serious mistake,\nand one that robs us of incalculable blessing in our daily history. We\nshould ever remember that there is nothing great or small with our\nGod: all things are alike to Him who sustains the vast universe by the\nword of His power, and takes notice of a falling sparrow. It is quite\nas easy to Him to create a world as to provide a breakfast for some\npoor widow. The greatness of His power, the moral grandeur of His\ngovernment, and the minuteness of His tender care, do all alike\ncommand the wonder and the worship of our hearts.\n\nChristian reader, see that you make your own of all these things. Seek\nto live nearer to God in your daily walk. Lean more upon Him. Use Him\nmore. Go to Him in all your need, and you will never have to tell your\nneed to a poor fellow-mortal. \"My God shall supply _all_ your need,\naccording to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.\" What a\nsource--\"God\"! What a standard--\"His riches in glory\"! What a\nchannel--\"Christ Jesus\"! It is your sweet privilege to place all _your\nneed_ over against _His riches_, and lose sight of the former in the\npresence of the latter. His exhaustless treasury is thrown open to\nyou, in all the love of His heart; go and draw upon it, in the\nartless simplicity of faith, and you will never have occasion to look\nto a creature-stream or lean on a creature-prop.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\n\n\"And Moses called all Israel, and said unto them, 'Hear, O Israel, the\nstatutes and judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that ye\nmay learn them, and keep and do them.'\"\n\nLet us carefully note these four words, so specially characteristic of\nthe book of Deuteronomy, and so seasonable for the Lord's people at\nall times and in all places: \"_Hear_,\" \"_Learn_,\" \"_Keep_,\" \"_Do_.\"\nThese are words of unspeakable preciousness to every truly pious\nsoul--to every one who honestly desires to walk in that narrow path of\npractical righteousness so pleasing to God, and so safe and so happy\nfor us.\n\nThe first of these words places the soul in the most blessed attitude\nin which any one can be found, namely, that of _hearing_. \"Faith\ncometh by _hearing_, and hearing by the Word of God.\" \"I will _hear_\nwhat God the Lord will speak.\" \"_Hear_, and your soul shall live.\" The\nhearing ear lies at the very foundation of all true, practical\nChristian life. It places the soul in the only true and proper\nattitude for the creature. It is the real secret of all peace and\nblessedness.\n\nIt can scarcely be needful to remind the reader that when we speak of\nthe soul in the attitude of hearing, it is assumed that what is heard\nis simply the Word of God. Israel had to hearken to \"the statutes and\njudgments\" of Jehovah, and to nothing else. It was not to the\ncommandments, traditions, and doctrines of men they were to give ear,\nbut to the very words of the living God, who had redeemed and\ndelivered them from the land of Egypt--the place of bondage, darkness,\nand death.\n\nIt is well to bear this in mind. It will preserve the soul from many a\nsnare, many a difficulty. We hear a good deal, in certain quarters,\nabout obedience, and about the moral fitness of surrendering our own\nwill and submitting ourselves to authority. All this sounds very well,\nand has great weight with a large class of very religious and morally\nexcellent people; but when men speak to us about obedience, we must\nask the question, Obedience to what? when they speak to us about\nsurrendering our own will, we must inquire of them, To whom are we to\nsurrender it? when they speak to us about submitting to authority, we\nmust insist upon their telling us the source or foundation of the\nauthority.\n\nThis is of the deepest possible moment to every member of the\nhousehold of faith. There are many very sincere and very earnest\npeople who deem it very delightful to be saved the trouble of thinking\nfor themselves, and to have their sphere of action and line of service\nlaid out for them by wiser heads than their own. It seems a very\nrestful and very pleasing thing to have each day's work laid out for\nus by some master-hand. It relieves the heart of a great load of\nresponsibility, and it looks like humility and self-distrust to submit\nourselves to some authority.\n\nBut we are bound, before God, to look well to the basis of the\nauthority to which we surrender ourselves, else we may find ourselves\nin an utterly false position. Take, for example, a monk, or a nun, or\na member of a sisterhood. A monk obeys his abbot, a nun obeys her\nmother-abbess, \"a sister\" obeys her \"lady-superior;\" but the position\nand relationship of each is utterly false. There is not a shadow of\nauthority in the New Testament for monasteries, convents, or\nsisterhoods; on the contrary, the teaching of holy Scripture, as well\nas the voice of nature, is utterly opposed to every one of them,\ninasmuch as they take men and women out of the place and out of the\nrelationship in which God has set them, and in which they are designed\nand fitted to move, and form them into societies which are utterly\ndestructive of natural affection, and subversive of all true Christian\nobedience.\n\nWe feel it right to call the attention of the Christian reader to this\nsubject just now, seeing that the enemy is making a vigorous effort to\nrevive the monastic system in our midst under various forms. Indeed\nsome have had the temerity to tell us that monastic life is the only\ntrue form of Christianity. Surely, when such monstrous statements are\nmade and listened to, it becomes us to look at the whole subject in\nthe light of Scripture, and to call upon the advocates and adherents\nof monasticism to show us the foundations of the system in the Word of\nGod. Where, within the covers of the New Testament, is there any\nthing, in the most remote degree, like a monastery, a convent, or a\nsisterhood? Where can we find an authority for any such office as that\nof an abbot, an abbess, or a lady-superior? There is absolutely no\nsuch thing, nor the shadow of it; and hence we have no hesitation in\npronouncing the whole system, from foundation to top-stone, a fabric\nof superstition, alike opposed to the voice of nature and the voice of\nGod: nor can we understand how any one, in his sober senses, could\npresume to tell us that a monk or a nun is the only true exponent of\nChristian life. Yet there are those who thus speak, and there are\nthose who listen to them, and that, too, in this day when the full,\nclear light of our glorious Christianity is shining upon us from the\npages of the New Testament.[13]\n\n  [13] We must accurately distinguish between \"_nature_\" and \"_flesh_.\"\n  The former is recognized in Scripture; the latter is condemned and set\n  aside. \"Doth not even nature itself teach you?\" says the apostle. (1\n  Cor. xi. 14.) Jesus beholding the young ruler in Mark x, \"loved him\"\n  although there was nothing but nature. To be without natural affection\n  is one of the marks of the apostasy. Scripture teaches that we are\n  dead to sin, not to nature, else what becomes of our natural\n  relationships?\n\nBut, blessed be God, we are called to obedience. We are called to\n\"hear\"--called to bow down, in holy and reverent submission, to\nauthority. And here we join issue with infidelity and its lofty\npretensions. The path of the devout and lowly Christian is alike\nremoved from superstition on the one hand and from infidelity on the\nother. Peter's noble reply to the council, in Acts v, embodies, in its\nbrief compass, a complete answer to both.--\"We ought to obey God\nrather than men.\" We meet infidelity, in all its phases, in all its\nstages, and in its very deepest roots, with this one weighty sentence,\n\"We ought to _obey_;\" and we meet superstition, in every garb in which\nit clothes itself, with the all-important clause, \"We ought to _obey\nGod_.\"\n\nHere we have set forth, in the most simple form, the duty of every\ntrue Christian. He is to obey God. The infidel may smile\ncontemptuously at a monk or a nun, and marvel how any rational being\ncan so completely surrender his reason and his understanding to the\nauthority of a fellow-mortal, or submit himself to rules and practices\nso absurd, so degrading, and so contrary to nature. The infidel\nglories in his fancied intellectual freedom, and imagines that his own\nreason is quite a sufficient guide for him. He does not see that he is\nfurther from God than the poor monk or nun whom he so despises. He\ndoes not know that, while priding himself in his self-will, he is\nreally led captive by Satan--the prince and god of this world. Man is\nformed to obey--formed to look up to some one above him. The Christian\nis sanctified unto the obedience of Jesus Christ, that is, to the very\nsame character of obedience as that which was rendered by our adorable\nLord and Saviour Himself.\n\nThis is of the deepest possible moment to every one who really desires\nto know what true Christian obedience is. To understand this is the\nreal secret of deliverance from the self-will of the infidel and the\nfalse obedience of superstition. It can never be right to do our own\nwill: it may be quite wrong to do the will of our fellow: it must\nalways be right to do the will of God. This was what Jesus came to do,\nand what He always did.--\"Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God.\"--\"I\ndelight to do Thy will, O My God; yea, Thy law is within My heart.\"\n\nNow, we are called and set apart to this blessed character of\nobedience, as we learn from the inspired apostle Peter, in the opening\nof his first epistle, where he speaks of believers as \"elect according\nto the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the\nSpirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.\"\n\nThis is an immense privilege, and at the same time a most holy and\nsolemn responsibility. We must never forget for a moment that God has\nelected us, and the Holy Spirit has set us apart, not only to the\nsprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ, but also to His obedience.\nSuch is the obvious meaning and moral force of the words just\nquoted--words of unspeakable preciousness to every lover of\nholiness--words which effectually deliver us from self-will, from\nlegality, and from superstition. Blessed deliverance!\n\nBut it may be that the pious reader feels disposed to call our\nattention to the exhortation in Hebrews xiii.--\"Obey them that have\nthe rule over you, and submit yourselves; for they watch for your\nsouls, as they that must give account; that they may do it with joy\nand not with grief; for that is unprofitable for you.\"\n\nA deeply important word, most surely, with which we should also\nconnect a passage in 1 Thessalonians--\"And we beseech you, brethren,\nto know them that labor among you, and are over you in the Lord, and\nadmonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love for their work's\nsakes.\" (Chap. v. 12, 13.) And again, in 1 Corinthians xvi. 15, 16--\"I\nbeseech you, brethren, (ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the\nfirst-fruits of Achaia, and that they have addicted themselves to the\nministry [or service] of the saints,) that ye submit yourselves unto\nsuch, and to every one that helpeth with us and laboreth.\" To all\nthese we must add another very lovely passage from the first epistle\nof Peter--\"The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an\nelder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker\nof the glory that shall be revealed: feed the flock of God which is\namong you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but\nwillingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; neither as being\nlords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. And when\nthe chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory\nthat fadeth not away.\" (Chap. v. 1-4.)\n\nWe may be asked, Do not the above passages set forth the principle of\nobedience to certain men? and if so, why object to human authority?\nThe answer is very simple. Wherever Christ imparts a spiritual gift,\nwhether it be the gift of teaching, the gift of rule, or the gift of\npastorship, it is the bounden duty and privilege of Christians to\nrecognize and appreciate such gifts. Not to do so would be to forsake\nour own mercies. But then we must bear in mind that in all such cases\nthe gift must be a reality--a plain, palpable, _bona-fide_, divinely\ngiven thing. It is not a man assuming a certain office or position, or\nbeing appointed by his fellow to any so-called ministry. All this is\nperfectly worthless, and worse than worthless; it is a daring\nintrusion upon a sacred domain which must, sooner or later, bring down\nthe judgment of God.\n\nAll true ministry is of God, and based upon the possession of a\npositive gift from the Head of the Church; so that we may truly say,\nNo gift, no ministry. In all the passages quoted above, we see\npositive gift possessed, and actual work done. Moreover, we see a true\nheart for the lambs and sheep of the flock of Christ; we see divine\ngrace and power. The word in Hebrews xiii. is, \"Obey them that guide\nyou [\u1f21\u03b3\u03bf\u03c5\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03b9\u03c2].\" Now, it is essential to a true guide that\nhe should go before you in the way. It would be the height of folly\nfor any one to assume the title of guide if he were ignorant of the\nway, and neither able nor willing to go in it. Who would think of\nobeying such?\n\nSo also when the apostle exhorts the Thessalonians to \"know\" and\n\"esteem\" certain persons, on what does he found his exhortation? Is it\nupon the mere assumption of a title, an office, or a position?\nNothing of the kind. He grounds his appeal upon the actual, well-known\nfact that these persons were \"over them, _in the Lord_,\" and that they\nadmonished them. And why were they to \"esteem them very highly in\nlove\"? Was it for their office or their title? No; but \"for their\nwork's sake.\" And why were the Corinthians exhorted to submit\nthemselves to the household of Stephanas? Was it because of an empty\ntitle or assumed office? By no means; but because \"they addicted\nthemselves to the ministry of the saints.\" They were actually in the\nwork. They had received gift and grace from Christ, and they had a\nheart for His people. They were not boasting of their office or\ninsisting upon their title, but giving themselves devotedly to the\nservice of Christ, in the persons of His dear people.\n\nNow this is the true principle of ministry. It is not human authority\nat all, but divine gift and spiritual power communicated by Christ to\nHis servants, exercised by them, in responsibility to Him, and\nthankfully recognized by His saints. A man may set up to be a teacher\nor a pastor, or he may be appointed by his fellows to the office or\ntitle of a pastor; but unless he possesses a positive gift from the\nHead of the Church, it is all the merest sham, a hollow assumption, an\nempty conceit; and his voice will be the voice of a stranger, which\nthe true sheep of Christ do not know and ought not to recognize.[14]\n\n  [14] The reader will do well to ponder the fact that there is no such\n  thing in the New Testament as human appointment to preach the gospel,\n  teach in the assembly of God, or feed the flock of Christ. Elders and\n  deacons were ordained by the apostles or their delegates, Timothy and\n  Titus; but evangelists, pastors, and teachers were never so ordained.\n  We must distinguish between gift and local charge. Elders and deacons\n  might possess a special gift or not; it had nothing to do with their\n  local charge. If the reader would understand the subject of ministry,\n  let him study 1 Corinthians xii.-xiv. and Ephesians iv. 8-13. In the\n  former we have, first, the _basis_ of all true ministry in the Church\n  of God, namely, _divine appointment_--\"God hath set the members,\"\n  etc.; secondly, _the motive-spring_--\"love;\" thirdly, _the\n  object_--\"that the Church may receive edifying.\" In Ephesians iv. we\n  have the _source_ of all ministry--a risen and ascended Lord; the\n  _design_--\"to perfect the saints for the work of the ministry;\" the\n  _duration_--\"till we all come unto a perfect man, unto the measure of\n  the stature of the fullness of Christ.\"\n\n  In a word, ministry, in all its departments, is _entirely_ a divine\n  institution. It is not of man or by man, but of God. The Master must,\n  in every case, fit, fill, and appoint the vessel. There is no\n  authority in Scripture for the notion that every man has a right to\n  minister in the Church of God. Liberty for men is radicalism and not\n  Scripture. Liberty for the Holy Ghost to minister by whom He will is\n  what we are taught in the New Testament. May we learn it.\n\nBut, on the other hand, where there is the divinely gifted teacher,\nthe true, loving, wise, faithful, laborious pastor, watching for\nsouls, weeping over them, waiting upon them, like a gentle, tender\nnurse, able to say to them, \"Now we live, if ye stand fast in the\nLord\"--where these things are found, there will not be much difficulty\nin recognizing and appreciating them. How do we know a good dentist?\nIs it by seeing his name on a brass plate? No; but by his work. A man\nmay call himself a dentist ten thousand times over, but if he be only\nan unskillful operator, who would think of employing him?\n\nThus it is in all human affairs, and thus it is in the matter of\nministry. If a man has a gift, he is a minister; if he has not, all\nthe appointment, authority, and ordination in the world could not make\nhim a minister of Christ. It may make him a minister of religion; but\na minister of religion and a minister of Christ--a minister in\nchristendom and a minister in the Church of God, are two totally\ndifferent things. All true ministry has its source in God; it rests on\ndivine authority, and its object is to bring the soul into His\npresence, and link it on to Him. False ministry, on the contrary, has\nits source in man; it rests on human authority, and its object is to\nlink the soul on to itself. This marks the immense difference between\nthe two. The former leads to God; the latter leads away from Him: that\nfeeds, nourishes, and strengthens the new life; this hinders its\nprogress, in every way, and plunges it in doubt and darkness. In a\nword, we may say, true ministry is of God, through Him, and to Him:\nfalse ministry is of man, through him, and to him. The former we prize\nmore than we can say; the latter we reject with all the energy of our\nmoral being.\n\nWe trust sufficient has been said to satisfy the mind of the reader in\nreference to the matter of obedience to those whom the Lord may see\nfit to call to the work of the ministry. We are bound, in every case,\nto judge by the Word of God, and to be assured that it is a divine\nreality and not a human sham--a positive gift from the Head of the\nChurch, and not an empty title conferred by men. In all cases where\nthere is real gift and grace, it is a sweet privilege to obey and\nsubmit ourselves, inasmuch as we discern Christ in the person and\nministry of His beloved servants.\n\nThere is no difficulty, to a spiritual mind, in owning real grace and\npower. We can easily tell whether a man is seeking, in true love, to\nfeed our souls with the bread of life, and lead us on in the ways of\nGod, or whether he is seeking to exalt himself, and promote his own\ninterests. Those who are living near the Lord can readily discern\nbetween true power and hollow assumption. Moreover, we never find\nChrist's true ministers parading their authority, or vaunting\nthemselves of their office; they do the work and leave it to speak for\nitself. In the case of the blessed apostle Paul, we find him referring\nagain and again to the plain proofs of his ministry--the\nunquestionable evidence afforded in the conversion and blessing of\nsouls. He could say to the poor misguided Corinthians, when, under the\ninfluence of some self-exalting pretender, they foolishly called in\nquestion his apostleship, \"Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in\nme ... examine yourselves.\"\n\nThis was close, pointed dealing with them. They themselves were the\nliving proofs of his ministry. If his ministry was not of God, what\nand where were they? But it was of God, and this was his joy, his\ncomfort, and his strength. He was \"an apostle, not of men, neither by\nman, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised Him from the\ndead.\" He gloried in the source of his ministry; and as to its\ncharacter, he had but to appeal to a body of evidence quite sufficient\nto carry conviction to any right mind. In his case, it could be truly\nsaid, it was not the speech, but the power.\n\nThus it must be, in measure, in every case. We must look for the\npower: we must have reality. Mere titles are nothing. Men may\nundertake to confer titles and appoint to offices, but they have no\nmore authority to do so than they have to appoint admirals in her\nmajesty's fleet or generals in her army. If we were to see a man\nassuming the style and title of an admiral or a general, without her\nmajesty's commission, we should pronounce him an idiot or a lunatic.\nThis is but a feeble illustration to set forth the folly of men taking\nupon them the title of ministers of Christ without one atom of\nspiritual gift or divine authority.\n\nShall we be told, We must not judge? We are bound to judge. \"Beware of\nfalse prophets.\" How can we beware if we are not to judge? But how are\nwe to judge? \"By their fruits ye shall know them.\" Can the Lord's\npeople not tell the difference between a man who comes to them in the\npower of the Spirit, gifted by the Head of the Church, full of love to\ntheir souls, earnestly desiring their true blessing, seeking not\ntheirs but them--a holy, gracious, humble, self-emptied servant of\nChrist; and a man who comes with a self-assumed or a humanly conferred\ntitle, without a single trace of any thing divine or heavenly either\nin his ministry or in his life? Of course they can; no one in his\nsenses would think of calling in question a fact so obvious.\n\nBut further, we may ask, What mean those words of the venerable\napostle John--\"Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits\nwhether they are of God; because many false prophets are gone out into\nthe world\"? How are we to try the spirits, or how are we to discern\nbetween the true and the false, if we are not to judge? Again, the\nsame apostle, writing to \"the elect lady,\" gives her the following\nmost solemn admonition: \"If there come any unto you, and bring not\nthis doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him\nGodspeed; for he that biddeth him Godspeed is partaker of his evil\ndeeds.\" Was she not responsible to act on this admonition? Assuredly.\nBut how could she if we are not to judge? And what had she to judge?\nWas it as to whether those who came to her house were ordained,\nauthorized, or licensed by any man or body of men? Nothing of the\nkind. The one great and all-important question for her was as to the\ndoctrine. If they brought the true, the divine doctrine of Christ--the\ndoctrine of Jesus Christ come in the flesh, she was to receive them;\nif not, she was to shut her door, with a firm hand, against them, no\nmatter who they were or where they came from. If they had all the\ncredentials that man could bestow upon them, yet if they brought not\n_the truth_, she was to reject them with stern decision. This might\nseem very harsh, very narrow-minded, very bigoted; but with this she\nhad nothing whatever to do. She had just to be as broad and as narrow\nas the truth. Her door and her heart were to be wide enough to admit\nall who brought Christ, and no wider. Was she to pay compliments at\nthe expense of her Lord? was she to seek a name for largeness of heart\nor breadth of mind by receiving to her house and to her table the\nteachers of a false Christ? The very thought is absolutely horrible.\n\nBut finally, in the second chapter of Revelation, we find the church\nat Ephesus commended for having tried those who said they were\napostles and were not. How could this be if we are not to judge? Is it\nnot most evident to the reader that an utterly false use is made of\nour Lord's words in Matthew vii. 1--\"Judge not, that ye be not\njudged,\" and also of the apostle's words in 1 Corinthians iv.\n5--\"Therefore judge nothing before the time\"? It is impossible that\nScripture can contradict itself; and hence, whatever be the true\nmeaning of our Lord's \"Judge not,\" or the apostle's \"Judge nothing,\"\nit is perfectly certain that they do not, in the most remote way,\ninterfere with the solemn responsibility of all Christians to judge\nthe gift, the doctrine, and the life of all who take the place of\npreachers, teachers, and pastors in the Church of God.\n\nAnd then, if we be asked as to the meaning of \"Judge not\" and \"Judge\nnothing,\" we believe the words simply forbid our judging motives, or\nhidden springs of action. With these we have nothing whatever to do.\nWe cannot penetrate below the surface, and, thanks be to God, we are\nnot asked to do so--yea, we are positively forbidden. We cannot read\nthe counsels of the heart; it is the province and prerogative of God\nalone to do this: but to say that we are not to judge the doctrine,\nthe gift, or the manner of life of those who take the place of\npreachers, teachers, and pastors in the Church of God, is simply to\nfly in the face of holy Scripture, and to ignore the very instincts of\nthe divine nature implanted in us by the Holy Ghost.\n\nHence, therefore, we can return, with increased clearness and\ndecision, to our thesis of Christian obedience. It seems perfectly\nplain that the fullest recognition of all true ministry in the Church,\nand the most gracious submission of ourselves to all those whom our\nLord Christ may see fit to raise up as pastors, teachers, and guides\nin our midst, can never, in the smallest degree, interfere with the\ngrand fundamental principle set forth in Peter's magnificent reply to\nthe council--\"We ought to obey God rather than men.\"\n\nIt will ever be the aim and object of all true ministers of Christ to\nlead those to whom they minister in the true path of obedience to the\nWord of God. The chapter which lies open before us, as indeed the\nentire book of Deuteronomy, shows us very plainly how Moses, that\neminent servant of God, ever sought and diligently labored to press\nupon the congregation of Israel the urgent necessity of the most\nimplicit obedience to all the statutes and judgments of God. He did\nnot seek any place of authority for himself: he never lorded it over\nGod's heritage. His one grand theme, from first to last, was\nobedience. This was the burden of all his discourses--obedience, not\nto him, but to his and their Lord. He rightly judged that this was the\ntrue secret of their happiness, their moral security, their dignity,\nand their strength. He knew that an obedient people must also, of\nnecessity, be an invincible and invulnerable people. No weapon formed\nagainst them could prosper so long as they were governed by the word\nof God. In a word, he knew and believed that Israel's province was to\nobey Jehovah, as it was Jehovah's province to bless Israel. It was\ntheir one simple business to \"hear,\" \"learn,\" \"keep,\" and \"do\" the\nrevealed will of God; and so doing, they might count on Him, with all\npossible confidence, to be their shield, their strength, their\nsafeguard, their refuge, their resource, their all in all. The only\ntrue and proper path for the Israel of God is that narrow path of\nobedience on which the light of God's approving countenance ever\nshines, and all who, through grace, tread that path will find Him \"a\nguide, a glory, a defense, to save from every fear.\"\n\nThis, surely, is quite enough. We have nothing to do with\nconsequences: these we may, in simple confidence, leave to Him whose\nwe are and whom we are responsible to serve. \"The name of the Lord is\na strong tower; the righteous runneth into it and is safe.\" If we are\ndoing His will, we shall ever find His name a strong tower; but, on\nthe other hand, if we are not walking in a path of practical\nrighteousness--if we are doing our own will--if we are living in the\nhabitual neglect of the plain Word of God, then, verily, it is utterly\nvain for us to think that the name of the Lord will be a strong tower\nto us; rather would His name be a reproof to us, leading us to judge\nour ways and to return to the path of righteousness from which we have\nwandered.\n\nBlessed be His name, His grace will ever meet us, in all its precious\nfullness and freeness, in the place of self-judgment and confession,\nhowever we may have failed and wandered; but this is a totally\ndifferent thing. We may have to say, with the Psalmist, \"Out of the\ndepths have I cried unto Thee, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice; let Thine\nears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. If Thou, Lord,\nshouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is\nforgiveness with Thee, that Thou mayest be feared.\" But then, a soul\ncrying to God from the depths, and getting forgiveness, is one thing;\nand a soul looking to Him in the path of practical righteousness is\nquite another. We must carefully distinguish between these two things.\nConfessing our sins and finding pardon must never be confounded with\nwalking uprightly and counting on God. Both are blessedly true, but\nthey are not the same thing.\n\nWe shall now proceed with our chapter.\n\nAt the second verse, Moses reminds the people of their\ncovenant-relationship with Jehovah. He says, \"The Lord _our_ God made\na covenant with us in Horeb. The Lord made not this covenant with our\nfathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day.\nThe Lord talked with you face to face, in the mount, out of the midst\nof the fire, (I stood between the Lord and you at that time, to show\nyou the word of the Lord; for ye were afraid by reason of the fire,\nand went not up into the mount) saying,\" etc.\n\nThe reader must distinguish and thoroughly understand the difference\nbetween the covenant made at Horeb and the covenant made with Abraham,\nIsaac, and Jacob. They are essentially different. The former was a\ncovenant of works, in which the people undertook to do all that the\nLord had spoken: the latter was a covenant of pure grace, in which God\npledged Himself with an oath to do all which He promised.\n\nHuman language would utterly fail us to set forth the immense\ndifference, in every respect, between these two covenants. In their\nbasis, in their character, in their accompaniments, and in their\npractical result, they are as different as any two things could\npossibly be. The Horeb covenant rested upon human competency for the\nfulfillment of its terms, and this one fact is quite sufficient to\naccount for the total failure of the whole thing. The Abrahamic\ncovenant rested upon divine competency for the fulfillment of its\nterms, and hence the utter impossibility of its failure in a single\njot or tittle.\n\nHaving in our \"Notes on the Book of Exodus\" gone somewhat fully into\nthe subject of the law, and endeavored to set forth the divine object\nin giving it, and, further, the utter impossibility of any one\ngetting life or righteousness by keeping it, we must refer the reader\nto what we have there advanced on this profoundly interesting subject.\n\nIt seems strange, to one taught exclusively by Scripture, that such\nconfusion of thought should prevail amongst professing Christians in\nreference to a question so distinctly and definitively settled by the\nHoly Ghost. Were it merely a question of the divine authority of\nExodus xx. or Deuteronomy v. as inspired portions of the Bible, we\nshould not have a word to say. We most fully believe that these\nchapters are as much inspired as the seventeenth of John or the eighth\nof Romans.\n\nBut this is not the point. All true Christians receive, with devout\nthankfulness, the precious statement that \"all Scripture is given by\ninspiration of God;\" and, further, they rejoice in the assurance that\n\"whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our\nlearning; that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might\nhave hope;\" and, finally, they believe that the morality of the law is\nof abiding and universal application. Murder, adultery, theft, false\nwitness, covetousness, are wrong--always wrong--every-where wrong: to\nhonor our parents is right--always and every-where right. We read, in\nthe fourth chapter of Ephesians, \"Let him that stole steal no more;\"\nand again, in chapter vi, we read, \"Honor thy father and mother; which\nis the first commandment with promise; that it may be well with thee,\nand thou mayest live long on the earth.\"\n\nAll this is so divinely plain and settled that discussion is\ndefinitively closed; but when we come to look at the law as a ground\nof relationship with God, we get into an entirely different region of\nthought. Scripture, in manifold places, and in the clearest possible\nmanner, teaches us that, as Christians, as children of God, we are not\non that ground at all. The Jew was on that ground, but he could not\nstand there with God. It was death and condemnation. \"They could not\nendure that which was commanded, 'And if so much as a beast touch the\nmountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart;' and so\nterrible was the sight, that Moses said, 'I exceedingly fear and\nquake.'\" The Jew found the law to be a bed on which he could not\nstretch himself, and a covering in which he could not wrap himself.\n\nAs to the Gentile, he was never, by any one branch of the divine\neconomy, placed under law. His condition is expressly declared, in the\nopening of the epistle to the Romans, to be \"without law\n[\u1f00\u03bd\u03cc\u03bc\u03c9\u03c2].\"--\"For when the Gentiles, which have not the law,\"\netc., and, \"As many as have sinned without law shall perish without\nlaw; and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law.\"\n\nHere the two classes are brought into sharp and vivid contrast, in the\nmatter of their dispensational position. The Jew, under law; the\nGentile, without law,--nothing can be more distinct. The Gentile was\nplaced under government, in the person of Noah; but never under law.\nShould any one feel disposed to call this in question, let him produce\na single line of Scripture to prove that God ever placed the Gentiles\nunder the law. Let him search and see. It is of no possible use to\nargue and reason and object,--it is utterly vain to say, \"_We think_\"\nthis or that: the question is, \"What saith the Scripture?\" If it says\nthat the Gentiles were put under the law, let the passage be produced.\nWe solemnly declare it says nothing of the kind, but the very reverse.\nIt describes the condition and the position of the Gentile as \"without\nlaw\"--\"having not the law.\"\n\nIn Acts x, we see God opening the kingdom of heaven to the Gentile; in\nActs xiv. 27, we see Him opening \"the door of faith\" to the Gentile;\nin Acts xxviii. 28, we see Him sending His salvation to the Gentile:\nbut we search in vain, from cover to cover of the blessed Book, for a\npassage in which He places the Gentile under the law.\n\nWe would very earnestly entreat the Christian reader to give this\ndeeply interesting and important question his calm attention. Let him\nlay aside all his preconceived thoughts, and examine the matter simply\nin the light of holy Scripture. We are quite aware that our statements\non this subject will be regarded by thousands as novel, if not\nactually heretical; but this does not move us, in the smallest degree.\nIt is our one grand desire to be taught absolutely and exclusively by\nScripture. The opinions, commandments, and doctrines of men have no\nweight whatever with us. The dogmas of the various schools of divinity\nmust just go for what they are worth. We demand Scripture. A single\nline of inspiration is amply sufficient to settle this question, and\nclose all discussion, forever. Let us be shown from the Word of God\nthat the Gentiles were ever put under the law, and we shall at once\nbow; but inasmuch as we cannot find it there, we reject the notion\naltogether, and we would have the reader to do the same. The\ninvariable language of Scripture, in describing the position of the\nJew, is, \"under law;\" and, in describing the position of the Gentile,\nis, \"without law.\" This is so obvious that we cannot but marvel how\nany reader of the Bible can fail to see it.[15]\n\n  [15] The reader may perhaps feel disposed to inquire, On what ground\n  will the Gentile be judged if he is not under the law? Romans i. 20\n  teaches us distinctly that the testimony of _creation_ leaves him\n  without excuse. Then, in chapter ii. 15, he is taken up on the ground\n  of _conscience_.--\"For _when the Gentiles, which have not the law_, do\n  by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law,\n  are a law unto themselves; which show the work of the law written in\n  their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness,\" etc. Finally, as\n  regards those nations that have become professedly Christian, they\n  will be judged on the ground of their profession.\n\nIf the reader will turn, for a few moments, to the fifteenth chapter\nof the Acts of the Apostles, he will see how the first attempt to put\nGentile converts under the law was met by the apostles and the whole\nchurch at Jerusalem. The question was raised at Antioch; and God, in\nHis infinite goodness and wisdom, so ordered that it should not be\nsettled there, but that Paul and Barnabas should go up to Jerusalem\nand have the matter fully and freely discussed, and definitively\nsettled by the unanimous voice of the twelve apostles and the whole\nchurch.\n\nHow we can bless our God for this! We can at once see that the\ndecision of a local assembly, such as Antioch, even though approved by\nPaul and Barnabas, would not carry the same weight as that of the\ntwelve apostles assembled in council at Jerusalem. But the Lord,\nblessed be His name, took care that the enemy should be completely\nconfounded, and that the law-teachers of that day, and of every other\nday, should be distinctly and authoritatively taught that it was not\naccording to His mind that Christians should be put under law, for any\nobject whatsoever.\n\nThe subject is so deeply important that we cannot forbear quoting a\nfew passages for the reader. We believe it will refresh both the\nreader and the writer to refer to the soul-stirring addresses\ndelivered at the most remarkable and interesting council that ever\nsat.\n\n\"And certain men which came down from Jud\u00e6a taught the brethren,\n'Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be\nsaved.'\" How awful! How terribly chilling! What a death-knell to ring\nin the ears of those who had been converted under Paul's splendid\naddress in the synagogue at Antioch!--\"Be it known unto you therefore,\nmen and brethren, that _through this Man_\"--without circumcision or\nworks of law of any kind whatsoever--\"is preached unto you the\nforgiveness of sins; and _by Him_ all that believe\"--irrespective\naltogether of circumcision--\"_are_ justified _from all things_, from\nwhich ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.... And when the\nJews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these\nwords might be preached to them the next Sabbath.\"\n\nSuch was the glorious message sent to the Gentiles by the lips of the\napostle Paul--a message of free, full, immediate, and perfect\nsalvation--full remission of sins and perfect justification, through faith\nin our Lord Jesus Christ. But according to the teaching of the \"certain\nmen which came down from Jud\u00e6a,\" all this was insufficient--Christ was\nnot enough, without circumcision and the law of Moses. Poor Gentiles,\nwho had never heard of circumcision or the law of Moses, must add to\nChrist and His glorious salvation the keeping of the whole law.\n\nHow must Paul's heart have burned within him to have the beloved\nGentile converts brought under such monstrous teaching as this! He saw\nin it nothing short of the complete surrender of Christianity. If\ncircumcision must be added to the cross of Christ--if the law of Moses\nmust supplement the grace of God, then verily all was gone.\n\nBut, blessed forever be the God of all grace, He caused a noble stand\nto be made against such deadly teaching. When the enemy came in like a\nflood, the Spirit of the Lord raised up a standard against him. \"When\ntherefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation\nwith them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other\nof them, should go up to Jerusalem, unto the apostles and elders\nabout this question. And being brought on their way by the church,\nthey passed through Phenice and Samaria, declaring,\" not the\ncircumcision, but \"the conversion of the Gentiles; and they caused\ngreat joy unto all the brethren.\"\n\nThe brethren were in the current of the mind of Christ, and in sweet\ncommunion with the heart of God; and hence they rejoiced to hear of\nthe conversion and salvation of the Gentiles. We may rest assured it\nwould have afforded them no joy to hear of the heavy yoke of\ncircumcision and the law of Moses being put upon the necks of those\nbeloved disciples who had just been brought into the glorious liberty\nof the gospel. But to hear of their conversion to God, their salvation\nby Christ, their being sealed by the Holy Ghost, filled their hearts\nwith a joy which was in lovely harmony with the mind of heaven.\n\n\"And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the\nchurch, and of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things\nthat God had done with them. But there rose up certain of the sect of\nthe Pharisees which believed, saying that it was needful to circumcise\nthem, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.\"\n\nWho made it \"needful\"? Not God, surely; inasmuch as He had, in His\ninfinite grace, opened the door of faith to them without circumcision\nor any command to keep the law of Moses. No; it was \"certain men\" who\npresumed to speak of such things as needful--men who have troubled\nthe Church of God from that day to the present--men \"desiring to be\nteachers of the law, knowing neither what they say nor whereof they\naffirm.\" Law-teachers never know what is involved in their dark and\ndismal teaching. They have not the most distant idea of how thoroughly\nhateful their teaching is to the God of all grace, the Father of\nmercies.\n\nBut, thanks be to God, the chapter from which We are now quoting\naffords the very clearest and most forcible evidence that could be\ngiven as to the divine mind on the subject. It proves, beyond all\nquestion, that it was not of God to put Gentile believers under the\nlaw.\n\n\"And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this\nmatter. And when there had been much disputing\" (alas! how soon it\nbegan!) \"Peter rose up and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know\nhow that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles\nby my mouth should hear,\" not the law of Moses or circumcision, but\n\"the word of the gospel, and believe. And God which knoweth the\nhearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as unto\nus. _And put no difference between us and them_, purifying their\nhearts by faith. Now therefore _why tempt ye God_, to put a yoke upon\nthe neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able\nto bear?\"\n\nMark this, reader. The law had proved an intolerable yoke to those who\nwere under it, that is, the Jews; and, further, it was nothing short\nof tempting God to put that yoke upon the neck of Gentile Christians.\nWould that all the law-teachers throughout the length and breadth of\nchristendom would but open their eyes to this grand fact! and not only\nso, but that all the Lord's beloved people every where were given to\nsee that it is in positive opposition to the will of God that they\nshould be put under the law for any object whatsoever. \"But,\" adds the\nblessed apostle of the circumcision, \"we believe that through the\ngrace of the Lord Jesus Christ,\" and not by law in any shape or form,\n\"_we shall be saved even as they_.\"\n\nThis is uncommonly fine, coming from the lips of the apostle of the\ncircumcision. He does not say, They shall be saved even as we; but,\n\"We shall be saved even as they.\" The Jew is well content to come down\nfrom his lofty dispensational position, and be saved after the pattern\nof the poor uncircumcised Gentile. Surely, those noble utterances must\nhave fallen in stunning force upon the ears of the law-party. They\nleft them, as we say, not a leg to stand upon.\n\n\"Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas\nand Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among\nthe Gentiles by them.\" The inspiring Spirit has not thought good to\ntell us what Paul and Barnabas said on this memorable occasion, and we\ncan see His wisdom in this. It is evidently His object to give\nprominence to Peter and James, as men whose words would, of necessity,\nhave more weight with the law-teachers than those of the apostle to\nthe Gentiles and his companion.\n\n\"And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and\nbrethren, hearken unto me: Simeon hath declared how God at the first\ndid visit the Gentiles,\" not to convert them all, but \"to take out of\nthem a people for His name. And to this agree the words of the\nprophets;\" (here he brings an overwhelming tide of evidence from the\nOld Testament to bear down upon the Judaizers,) \"as it is written,\nAfter this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of\nDavid, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof,\nand I will set it up: that the residue of men might seek after the\nLord, and _all the Gentiles_,\" without the slightest reference to\ncircumcision or the law of Moses, but \"upon whom My name is called,\nsaith the Lord, who doeth all these things. Known unto God are all His\nworks from the beginning of the world. Wherefore my sentence is, that\nwe trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God.\"\n\nHere, then, we have this great question definitively settled by the\nHoly Ghost, the twelve apostles, and the whole Church; and we cannot\nbut be struck with the fact that, at this most important council, none\nspoke more emphatically, more distinctly, or more decidedly than Peter\nand James; the former, the apostle of the circumcision, and the\nlatter, the one who specially addressed the twelve tribes, and whose\nposition and ministry were calculated to give great weight to his\nwords, in the judgment of all who were still, in any measure,\noccupying Jewish or legal ground. Both these eminent apostles were\nclear and decided in their judgment that the Gentile converts were not\nto be \"troubled\" or burdened with the law. They proved, in their\npowerful addresses, that to place the Gentile Christians under the law\nwas directly contrary to the Word, the will, and the ways of God.\n\nWho can fail to see the marvelous wisdom of God in this? The words of\nPaul and Barnabas are not recorded. We are simply told that they\nrehearsed what things God had wrought among the Gentiles. That they\nshould be utterly opposed to putting the Gentiles under the law was\nonly what might be expected; but to find Peter and James so decided\nwould carry great weight with all parties.\n\nBut if the reader would have a clear view of Paul's thoughts on the\nquestion of the law, he should study the epistle to the Galatians.\nThere this blessed apostle, under the direct inspiration of the Holy\nGhost, pours out his heart to the Gentile converts in words of glowing\nearnestness and commanding power. It is perfectly amazing how any one\ncan read this wonderful epistle and yet maintain that Christians are\nunder the law, in any way or for any purpose. Hardly has the apostle\ngot through his brief opening address when he plunges, with his\ncharacteristic energy, into the subject with which his large, loving,\nthough grieved and troubled heart is full to overflowing. \"I marvel,\"\nhe says--and well he might--\"that ye are so soon removed from Him that\ncalled you into\"--what? The law of Moses? Nay, but \"the grace of\nChrist into a different gospel which is not another [\u1f15\u03c4\u03b5\u03c1\u03bf\u03bd\n\u03b5\u1f50\u03b1\u03b3\u03b3\u03ad\u03bb\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd \u1f43 \u03bf\u1f50\u03ba \u1f14\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd \u1f04\u03bb\u03bb\u03bf];\nbut there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of\nChrist. But though we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel\nunto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be\naccursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any\nother gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be\naccursed.\"\n\nLet all law-teachers ponder these burning words. Do they seem strong\nand severe? Let us remember that they are the very words of God the\nHoly Ghost. Yes, reader, God the Holy Ghost hurls His awful anathema\nat any one who presumes to add the law of Moses to the gospel of\nChrist--any one who attempts to place Christians under the law. How is\nit that men are not afraid, in the face of such words, to contend for\nthe law? Are they not afraid of coming under the solemn curse of God\nthe Holy Ghost?\n\nSome, however, seek to meet this question by telling us that they do\nnot take the law for justification, but as a rule of life; but this is\nneither reasonable nor intelligent, inasmuch as we may very lawfully\ninquire, Who gave us authority to decide as to the use we are to make\nof the law? We are either under the law or we are not. If we are under\nit at all, it is not a question of how we take it, but how it takes\nus.\n\nThis makes all the difference. The law knows no such distinctions as\nthose which some theologians contend for. If we are under it for any\nobject whatsoever, we are under the curse; for it is written, \"Cursed\nis every one that continueth not in _all_ things which are written in\nthe book of the law to do them.\" To say that I am born again, I am a\nChristian, will not meet the case at all; for what has the law to do\nwith the question of new birth, or of Christianity? Nothing whatever.\nThe law is addressed to man, as a responsible being. It demands\nperfect obedience, and pronounces its curse upon every one who fails\nto render it.\n\nMoreover, it will not do to say that though we have failed to keep the\nlaw, yet Christ has fulfilled it in our room and stead. The law knows\nnothing of obedience by proxy. Its language is, \"The man that doeth\nthem shall live in them.\"\n\nNor is it merely on the man who fails to keep the law that the curse\nis pronounced, but, as if to put the principle in the clearest\npossible light before us, we read that \"as many as are of works of law\nare under the curse.\" (See Greek.) That is, as many as take their\nstand on legal ground--as many as are on that principle--in a word, as\nmany as have to do with works of law, are, of necessity, under the\ncurse. Hence we may see at a glance the terrible inconsistency of a\nChristian's maintaining the idea of being under the law as a rule of\nlife and yet not being under the curse. It is simply flying in the\nface of the very plainest statements of holy Scripture. Blessed be\nthe God of all grace, the Christian is not under the curse. But why?\nIs it because the law has lost its power, its majesty, its dignity,\nits holy stringency? By no means. To say so were to blaspheme the law.\nTo say that any \"man,\" call him what you please--Christian, Jew, or\nheathen--can be under the law, can stand on that ground, and yet not\nbe under the curse, is to say that he perfectly fulfills the law or\nthat the law is abrogated--it is to make it null and void. Who will\ndare to say this? Woe be to all who do so.\n\nBut how comes it to pass that the Christian is not under the curse?\nBecause he is not under the law. And how has he passed from under the\nlaw? Is it by another having fulfilled it in his stead? Nay; we repeat\nthe statement, there is no such idea throughout the entire legal\neconomy as obedience by proxy. How is it, then? Here it is, in all its\nmoral force, fullness, and beauty: \"_I_ through law am dead to law,\nthat I might live unto God.\"[16]\n\n  [16] The omission of the article adds immensely to the force,\n  fullness, and clearness of the passage. It is \u03b4\u03b9\u03ac\n  \u03bd\u03cc\u03bc\u03bf\u03c5 \u03bd\u03cc\u03bc\u1ff3 \u1f00\u03c0\u03ad\u03b8\u03b1\u03bd\u03bf\u03bd. A wonderful clause, surely.\n  Would that it were better understood! It demolishes a vast mass of\n  human theology. It leaves the law in its own proper sphere; but takes\n  the believer completely from under its power, and out of its range, by\n  death. \"Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by\n  the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to Him\n  who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto\n  God\" (which we never could do if under the law). \"For when we were in\n  the flesh\"--a correlative term with being under the law--\"the motions\n  of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth\n  fruit unto death.\" Mark the melancholy combination--\"under the\n  law\"--\"in the flesh\"--\"motions of sins\"--\"fruit unto death\"! Can any\n  thing be more strongly marked? But there is another side, thank God,\n  to this question--His own bright and blessed side. Here it is: \"But\n  now _we are delivered from the law_.\" How? Is it by another's having\n  fulfilled it for us? Nay; but, \"_Having died to that_\n  [\u1f00\u03c0\u03bf\u03b8\u03b1\u03bd\u03cc\u03bd\u03c4\u03b5\u03c2 \u1f10\u03bd \u1fa1] wherein we were held; that we should\n  serve in newness of spirit,\n  and not in the oldness of the letter.\" How perfect and how lovely is\n  the harmony of Romans vii. and Galatians ii.! \"I through law am dead\n  to law, that I might live unto God.\"]\n\nNow, if it be true, and the apostle says it is, that we are _dead to\nlaw_, how can the law, by any possibility, be a rule of life to us? It\nproved _only_ a rule of death, curse, and condemnation to those who\nwere under it--those who had received it by the disposition of angels.\nCan it prove to be aught else to us? Did the law ever produce a single\ncluster of living fruit, or of the fruits of righteousness, in the\nhistory of any son or daughter of Adam? Hear the apostle's\nreply--\"When we were in the flesh,\" that is, when we were viewed as\nmen in our fallen nature, \"the motions of sins, which were by the law,\ndid work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.\"\n\nIt is very important for the reader to understand the real force of\nthe expression, \"in the flesh.\" It does not, in this passage, mean \"in\nthe body.\" It simply sets forth the condition of unconverted men and\nwomen responsible to keep the law. Now, in this condition, all that\nwas or ever could be produced was \"fruit unto death\"--\"motions of\nsins.\" No life, no righteousness, no holiness, nothing for God,\nnothing right at all.[17]\n\n  [17] It is needful to bear in mind that although the Gentile was\n  never, by the dispensational dealings of God, put under the law, yet,\n  in point of fact, all baptized professors take that ground. Hence\n  there is a vast difference between christendom and the heathen in\n  reference to the question of the law. Thousands of unconverted people,\n  every week, ask God to incline their hearts to keep the law. Surely,\n  such persons stand on very different ground from the heathen who never\n  heard of the law, and never heard of the Bible.\n\nBut where are we now, as Christians? Hear the reply--\"I through law am\ndead to law, that I might live unto God. I am crucified with Christ:\nnevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life\nwhich I now live in the flesh\" (here it means in the body) \"I\nlive\"--how? By the law, as a rule of life? Not a hint at such a thing,\nbut \"by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself\nfor me.\"\n\nThis, and nothing else, is Christianity. Do we understand it? do we\nenter into it? are we in the power of it? There are two distinct evils\nfrom which we are completely delivered by the precious death of\nChrist, namely, legality on the one hand and licentiousness on the\nother. Instead of those terrible evils, it introduces us into the holy\nliberty of grace--liberty to serve God--liberty to \"mortify our\nmembers which are upon the earth\"--liberty to deny \"ungodliness and\nworldly lusts\"--liberty to \"live soberly, righteously, and\ngodly\"--liberty to \"keep under the body and bring it into subjection.\"\n\nYes, beloved Christian reader, let us remember this; let us deeply\nponder the words, \"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live;\nyet not I, but Christ liveth in me.\" The old \"I\" dead--crucified,\nburied: the new \"I\" alive in Christ. Let us not mistake this. We know\nof nothing more awful, nothing more dangerous, than for the old \"I\" to\nassume the new ground; or, in other words, the glorious doctrines of\nChristianity taken up in the flesh--unconverted people talking of\nbeing free from the law, and turning the grace of God into\nlasciviousness. We must confess we would rather, a thousand times,\nhave legality than licentiousness. It is this latter that many of us\nhave to watch against with all possible earnestness. It is growing\naround us with appalling rapidity, and paving the way for that dark\nand desolating tide of infidelity which shall, ere long, roll over the\nlength and breadth of christendom.\n\nTo talk of being free from the law in any way save by being dead to\nit, and alive to God, is not Christianity at all, but licentiousness,\nfrom which every pious soul must shrink with holy horror. If we are\ndead to the law, we are dead to sin also; and hence we are not to do\nour own will, which is only another name for sin; but the will of God,\nwhich is true practical holiness.\n\nFurther, let us ever bear in mind that if we are dead to the law, we\nare dead to this present evil world also, and linked with a risen,\nascended, and glorified Christ. Hence, we are not of the world, even\nas Christ is not of the world. To contend for position in the world is\nto deny that we are dead to the law; for we cannot be alive to the one\nand dead to the other. The death of Christ has delivered us from the\nlaw, from the power of sin, from this present evil world, and from\nthe fear of death. But then all these things hang together, and we\ncannot be delivered from one without being delivered from all. To\nassert our freedom from the law, while pursuing a course of carnality,\nself-indulgence, and worldliness, is one of the darkest and deadliest\nevils of the last days.\n\nThe Christian is called to prove, in his daily life, that grace can\nproduce results that law could never reach. It is one of the moral\nglories of Christianity to enable a man to surrender self and live for\nothers. Law never could do this. It occupied a man with himself. Under\nits rule, every man had to do the best he could for himself. If he\ntried to love his neighbor, it was to work out a righteousness for\nhimself. Under grace, all is blessedly and gloriously reversed--self\nis set aside as a thing crucified, dead, and buried; the old \"I\" is\ngone, and the new \"I\" is before God in all the acceptability and\npreciousness of Christ; He is our life, our righteousness, our\nholiness, our object, our model, our all; He is in us and we are in\nHim, and our daily practical life is to be simply Christ reproduced in\nus by the power of the Holy Ghost. Hence, we are not only called to\nlove our neighbor, but our enemy; and this, not to work out a\nrighteousness, for we have become the righteousness of God in Christ:\nit is simply the outflow of the life which we possess--which is in us,\nand this life is Christ. A Christian is a man who should live Christ.\nHe is neither a Jew \"under law\" nor a Gentile \"without law,\" but \"a\nman in Christ,\" standing in grace, called to the same character of\nobedience as that which was rendered by the Lord Jesus Himself.\n\nWe shall not pursue this subject further here, but we earnestly\nentreat the Christian reader to study attentively the fifteenth\nchapter of Acts and the epistle to the Galatians. Let him drink in the\nblessed teaching of these scriptures, and we feel assured he will\narrive at a clear understanding of the great question of the law. He\nwill see that the Christian is not under the law for any purpose\nwhatsoever; that his life, his righteousness, his holiness, are on a\ndifferent ground or principle altogether; that to place the Christian\nunder law in any way is to deny the very foundations of Christianity\nand contradict the plainest statements of the Word. He will learn,\nfrom the third chapter of Galatians, that to put ourselves under the\nlaw is to give up Christ, to give up the Holy Ghost, to give up faith,\nto give up the promises.\n\nTremendous consequences! But there they are, plainly set forth before\nour eyes; and truly, when we contemplate the state of the professing\nchurch, we cannot but see how terribly those consequences are being\nrealized.\n\nMay God the Holy Ghost open the eyes of all Christians to the truth of\nthese things. May He lead them to study the Scriptures, and to submit\nthemselves to their holy authority in all things. This is the special\nneed of this our day. We do not study Scripture sufficiently; we are\nnot governed by it; we do not see the absolute necessity of testing\nevery thing by the light of Scripture, and rejecting all that will not\nstand the test; we go on with a quantity of things that have no\nfoundation whatever in the Word--yea, that are positively opposed to\nit.\n\nWhat must be the end of all this? We tremble to think of it. We know,\nblessed be God, that our Lord Jesus Christ will soon come and take His\nown beloved and blood-bought people home to the prepared place in the\nFather's house, to be forever with Himself, in the ineffable\nblessedness of that bright home; but what of those who shall be left\nbehind? what of that vast mass of baptized worldly profession? These\nare solemn questions, which must be weighed in the immediate presence\nof God, in order to have the true, the divine answer. Let the reader\nponder them there, in all tenderness of heart and teachableness of\nspirit, and the Holy Ghost will lead him to the true answer.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nHaving sought to set forth, from various parts of Scripture, the\nglorious truth that believers are not under law, but under grace, we\nmay now pursue our study of this fifth chapter of Deuteronomy. In it\nwe have the ten commandments, but not exactly as we have them in the\ntwentieth chapter of Exodus. There are some characteristic touches\nwhich demand the reader's attention.\n\nIn Exodus xx, we have history; in Deuteronomy v, we have not only\nhistory, but commentary. In the latter, the lawgiver presents moral\nmotives, and makes appeals which would be wholly out of place in the\nformer. In the one, we have naked facts; in the other, facts and\ncomments--facts and their practical application. In a word, there is\nnot the slightest ground for imagining that Deuteronomy v. is intended\nto be a literal repetition of Exodus xx; and hence the miserable\narguments which infidels ground upon their apparent divergence just\ncrumble into dust beneath our feet. They are simply baseless, and\nutterly contemptible.\n\nLet us, for instance, compare the two scriptures in reference to the\nsubject of the Sabbath. In Exodus xx, we read, \"Remember the Sabbath\nday, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work;\nbut the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou\nshalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy\nman-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger\nthat is within thy gates: _for in six days the Lord made heaven and\nearth, the sea, and all that in them is_, and rested the seventh day;\nwherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.\"\n\nIn Deuteronomy v, we read, \"Keep the Sabbath day to sanctify it, _as\nthe Lord thy God hath commanded thee_. Six days thou shalt labor, and\ndo all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy\nGod; in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy\ndaughter, nor thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, _nor thine ox,\nnor thine ass_, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is\nwithin thy gates; that thy man-servant and thy maid-servant may rest\nas well as thou. _And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of\nEgypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence, through a\nmighty hand and by a stretched-out arm; therefore the Lord thy God\ncommanded thee to keep the Sabbath day._\" (Ver. 12-15.)\n\nNow, the reader can see at a glance the difference between the two\npassages. In Exodus xx, the command to keep the Sabbath is grounded on\n_creation_; in Deuteronomy v, it is grounded on _redemption_, without\nany allusion to creation at all. In short, the points of difference\narise out of the distinct character of each book, and are perfectly\nplain to every spiritual mind.\n\nWith regard to the institution of the Sabbath, we must remember that\nit rests wholly upon the direct authority of the word of God. Other\ncommandments set forth plain moral duties. Every man knows it to be\nmorally wrong to kill or steal; but as to the observance of the\nSabbath, no one could possibly recognize it as a duty had it not been\ndistinctly appointed by divine authority. Hence its immense importance\nand interest. Both in our chapter and in Exodus xx. it stands side by\nside with all those great moral duties which are universally\nrecognized by the human conscience.\n\nAnd not only so, but we find, in various other scriptures, that the\nSabbath is singled out and presented, with special prominence, as a\nprecious link between Jehovah and Israel, a seal of His covenant with\nthem, and a powerful test of their devotedness to Him. Every one could\nrecognize the moral wrong of theft and murder; only those who loved\nJehovah and His word would love and honor His Sabbath.\n\nThus, in the sixteenth chapter of Exodus, in connection with the\ngiving of the manna, we read, \"And it came to pass, that on the sixth\nday they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man; and all\nthe rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. And he said unto\nthem, 'This is that which the Lord hath said, To-morrow is _the rest\nof the holy Sabbath unto the Lord_: bake that which ye will bake\nto-day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over\nlay up for you, to be kept until the morning.'... And Moses said,\n'Eat that to-day; for to-day is _a Sabbath unto the Lord_; to-day ye\nshall not find it in the field. Six days ye shall gather it; but on\nthe seventh day, which is the Sabbath, in it there shall be none.' And\nit came to pass,\"--so little were they capable of appreciating the\nhigh and holy privilege of keeping Jehovah's Sabbath--\"that there went\nout some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they\nfound none. And the Lord said unto Moses, 'How long refuse ye to keep\nMy commandments and My laws?'\" Their neglect of the Sabbath proved\ntheir moral condition to be all wrong--proved them to be astray as to\nall the commandments and laws of God. The Sabbath was the great\ntouchstone--the measure and gauge of the real state of their hearts\ntoward Jehovah. \"See, for that the Lord hath _given you_ the Sabbath,\ntherefore He giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide\nye every man in his place; let no man go out of his place on the\nseventh day. So the people rested on the seventh day.\" They found rest\nand food on the holy Sabbath.\n\nAgain, at the close of chapter xxxi, we have a very remarkable passage\nin proof of the importance and interest attaching to the Sabbath in\nthe mind of Jehovah. A full description of the tabernacle and its\nfurniture had been given to Moses, and he was about to receive the two\ntables of testimony from the hand of Jehovah; but, as if to prove the\nprominent place which the holy Sabbath held in the divine mind, we\nread, \"And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 'Speak thou also unto\nthe children of Israel, saying, Verily My Sabbaths ye shall keep: _for\nit is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations_; that ye\nmay know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you. Ye shall keep the\nSabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it\nshall surely be put to death; for whosoever doeth any work therein,\nthat soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days may work be\ndone; but in the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord:\nwhosoever doeth any work in the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to\ndeath. Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to\nobserve the Sabbath throughout their generations, _for a perpetual\ncovenant_. _It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel\nforever_: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the\nseventh day He rested, and was refreshed.\" (Exod. xxxi. 12-17.)\n\nNow, this is a very important passage. It proves very distinctly the\nabiding character of the Sabbath. The terms in which it is spoken of\nare quite sufficient to show that it was no mere temporary\ninstitution.--\"A sign between Me and you throughout your\ngenerations.\"--\"A perpetual covenant.\"--\"A sign forever.\"\n\nLet the reader carefully mark these words. They prove, beyond all\nquestion, first, that the Sabbath was for Israel; secondly, that the\nSabbath is, in the mind of God, a permanent institution. It is needful\nto bear these things in mind in order to avoid all vagueness of\nthought and looseness of expression on this deeply interesting\nsubject.\n\nThe Sabbath was distinctly and exclusively for the Jewish nation. It\nis spoken of emphatically as a sign between Jehovah and His people\nIsrael. There is not the most remote hint of its being intended for\nthe Gentiles. We shall see, further on, that it is a lovely type of\nthe times of the restitution of all things, of which God has spoken by\nthe mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began; but this in\nno wise touches the fact of its being an exclusively Jewish\ninstitution. There is not so much as a single sentence of Scripture to\nshow that the Sabbath had any reference whatever to the Gentiles.\n\nSome would teach us that inasmuch as we read of the Sabbath day in the\nsecond chapter of Genesis, it must, of necessity, have a wider range\nthan the Jewish nation. But let us turn to the passage and see what it\nsays.--\"And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made;\nand He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made.\nAnd God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it; because that in it\nHe had rested from all His work which God created and made.\"\n\nThis is simple enough. There is no mention here of man at all. We are\nnot told that man rested on the seventh day. Men may infer, conclude,\nor imagine that he did so; but the second of Genesis says nothing\nabout it. And not only so, but we look in vain for any allusion to the\nSabbath throughout the entire book of Genesis. The very first notice\nwe have of the Sabbath in connection with man, is in the sixteenth of\nExodus, a passage already quoted; and there we see, most distinctly, that\nit was given to Israel, as a people in recognized covenant-relationship\nwith Jehovah. That they did not understand or appreciate it is\nperfectly plain; that they never entered into it is equally plain,\naccording to psalm xcv. and Hebrews iv. But we are now speaking of\nwhat it was in the mind of God; and He tells us it was a sign between\nHim and His people Israel, and a powerful test of their moral\ncondition and of the state of their heart as to Him. It was not only\nan integral part of the law, as given by Moses to the congregation of\nIsrael, but it is specially referred to and singled out, again and\nagain, as an institution holding a very peculiar place in the mind of\nGod.\n\nThus, in the book of the prophet Isaiah, we read, \"Blessed is the man\nthat doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that\nkeepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing\nany evil. Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined\nhimself to the Lord, speak, saying, The Lord hath utterly separated me\nfrom His people; neither let the eunuch say, Behold I am a dry tree.\nFor thus saith the Lord unto the eunuchs that keep My Sabbaths, and\nchoose the things that please Me, and take hold of My covenant; even\nunto them will I give in Mine house, and within My walls, a place and\na name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an\neverlasting name that shall not be cut off. Also the sons of the\nstranger,\" (here, of course, viewed in connection with Israel, as in\nNumbers xv. and other scriptures,) \"that join themselves to the Lord,\nto serve Him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants,\nevery one that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold\nof My covenant; even them will I bring to My holy mountain, and make\nthem joyful in My house of prayer: their burnt-offerings and their\nsacrifices shall be accepted upon Mine altar; for Mine house shall be\ncalled a house of prayer for all people.\"\n\nAgain, \"If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy\npleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of\nthe Lord, honorable; and shalt honor Him, not doing thine own ways,\nnor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: then\nshalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride\nupon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of\nJacob thy father; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.\" (Isaiah\nlviii. 13, 14.)\n\nThe foregoing quotations are amply sufficient to show the place which\nthe Sabbath holds in the mind of God. It is needless to multiply\npassages, but there is just one to which we must refer the reader, in\nconnection with our present subject, namely, Leviticus xxiii.--\"And\nthe Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 'Speak unto the children of Israel,\nand say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the Lord, which ye shall\nproclaim to be holy convocations, even these are My feasts. Six days\nshall work be done; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of rest, a holy\nconvocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the Sabbath of the\nLord in all your dwellings.\" (Ver. 1-3.)\n\nHere it stands at the head of all the feasts given in this marvelous\nchapter, in which we have foreshadowed the entire history of God's\ndealings with His people Israel. The Sabbath is the expression of\nGod's eternal rest, into which it is His purpose yet to bring His\npeople, when all their toils and sorrows, their trials and\ntribulations, shall have passed away--that blessed \"Sabbath-keeping\n[\u03c3\u03b1\u03b2\u03b2\u03b1\u03c4\u03b9\u03c3\u03bc\u03cc\u03c2]\" which \"remaineth for the people of God.\" In\nvarious ways He sought to keep this glorious rest before the hearts of\nHis people; the seventh day, the seventh year, the year of\njubilee--all these lovely sabbatic seasons were designed to set forth\nthat blessed time when Israel shall be gathered back to their own\nbeloved land, when the Sabbath shall be kept, in all its deep, divine\nblessedness, as it never has been kept yet.\n\nAnd this leads us, naturally, to the second point in connection with\nthe Sabbath, namely, its permanency. This is plainly proved by such\nexpressions as, \"perpetual,\" \"a sign forever,\" \"throughout your\ngenerations.\" Such words would never be applied to any merely\ntemporary institution. True it is, alas! that Israel never really kept\nthe Sabbath according to God; they never understood its meaning, never\nentered into its blessedness, never drank into its spirit. They made\nit a badge of their own righteousness; they boasted in it as a\nnational institution, and used it for self-exaltation; but they never\ncelebrated it in communion with God.\n\nWe speak of the nation as a whole. We doubt not there were precious\nsouls who, in secret, enjoyed the Sabbath, and entered into the\nthoughts of God about it; but as a nation, Israel never kept the\nSabbath according to God. Hear what Isaiah says, \"Bring no more vain\noblations; incense is an abomination unto Me; the new moons and\n_Sabbaths_, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is\niniquity, even the solemn meeting.\" (Chap. i. 13.)\n\nHere we see that the precious and beautiful institution of the Sabbath\nwhich God had given as a sign of His covenant with His people, had, in\ntheir hands, become a positive abomination, perfectly intolerable to\nHim. And when we open the pages of the New Testament, we find the\nleaders and heads of the Jewish people continually at issue with our\nLord Jesus Christ in reference to the Sabbath. Look, for example, at\nthe opening verses of Luke vi.--\"And it came to pass on the second\nSabbath after the first, that He went through the corn-fields; and His\ndisciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their\nhands. And certain of the Pharisees said unto them, 'Why do ye that\nwhich is not lawful to do on the Sabbath days?' And Jesus answering\nthem said, 'Have ye not read so much as this, what David did, when\nhimself was a hungred, and they which were with him; how he went into\nthe house of God, and did take and eat the show-bread, and gave also\nto them that were with him; which it is not lawful to eat, but for the\npriests alone?' And He said unto them that the Son of Man is Lord also\nof the Sabbath.\"\n\nAnd again, we read, \"It came to pass also on another Sabbath, that He\nentered into the synagogue and taught; and there was a man whose right\nhand was withered. And the scribes and Pharisees _watched Him_,\nwhether He would heal on the Sabbath day, that they might find an\naccusation against Him.\" (Only conceive, an accusation for healing a\npoor, afflicted fellow-mortal!) \"But He knew their thoughts\"--yes, He\nread their hearts through to their very centre, \"and said to the man\nwhich had the withered hand, 'Rise up, and stand forth in the midst.'\nAnd he arose and stood forth. Then said Jesus unto them, 'I will ask\nyou one thing, Is it lawful on the Sabbath day to do good, or to do\nevil? to save life, or to destroy it?' And looking round about upon\nthem all, He said unto the man, 'Stretch forth thine hand.' And he did\nso; and his hand was restored whole as the other. And they were filled\nwith madness; and communed one with another what they might do to\nJesus.\"\n\nWhat an insight we have here into the hollowness and worthlessness of\nman's Sabbath-keeping! Those religious guides would rather let the\ndisciples starve than have _their_ Sabbath interfered with; they would\nallow the man to carry his withered hand to the grave rather than have\nhim healed on _their_ Sabbath. Alas! alas! it was indeed their\nSabbath, and not God's. His rest could never comport with hunger and\nwithered hands. They had never read aright the record of David's act\nin eating the show-bread. They did not understand that legal\ninstitutions must give way in the presence of divine grace meeting\nhuman need. Grace rises, in its magnificence, above all legal\nbarriers, and faith rejoices in its lustre; but mere religiousness is\noffended by the activities of grace and the boldness of faith. The\nPharisees did not see that the man with the withered hand was a\nstriking commentary upon the nation's moral condition, a living proof\nof the fact that they were far away from God. If they were as they\nought to be, there would have been no withered hands to heal; but they\nwere not, and hence their Sabbath was an empty formality--a powerless,\nworthless ordinance--a hideous anomaly, hateful to God, and utterly\ninconsistent with the condition of man.\n\nTake another instance, in Luke xiii.--\"And He was teaching in one of\nthe synagogues on the Sabbath.\" (Assuredly, the Sabbath was no day of\nrest to Him.) \"And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of\ninfirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise\nlift up herself. And when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him, and\nsaid unto her, 'Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity.' And He\nlaid His hands on her, and _immediately she was made straight, and\nglorified God_.\" Beautiful illustration of the work of grace in the\nsoul, and the practical result, in every case. All on whom Christ lays\nHis blessed hands are \"immediately made straight,\" and enabled to\nglorify God.\n\nBut man's Sabbath was touched. \"The ruler of the synagogue answered\nwith indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath day.\"\nHe was indignant at the gracious work of healing, though quite\nindifferent as to the humiliating case of infirmity; and he \"said unto\nthe people, 'There are six days in which men ought to work: in them\ntherefore come and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.'\" How little\nthis poor hollow religionist knew that he was in the very presence of\nthe Lord of the true Sabbath! How utterly insensible he was to the\nmoral inconsistency of attempting to keep a Sabbath while man's\ncondition called aloud for divine work! \"The Lord then answered him,\nand said, 'Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the Sabbath\nloose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to\nwatering? And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom\nSatan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond\non the Sabbath day?'\"\n\nWhat a withering rebuke! What an opening up of the hollowness and\nutter wretchedness of their whole system of Judaism! Only think of the\nglaring incongruity of a Sabbath and a daughter of Abraham bound by\nthe cruel hand of Satan for eighteen years! There is nothing in all\nthis world so blinding to the mind, so hardening to the heart, so\ndeadening to the conscience, so demoralizing to the whole being, as\nreligion without Christ. Its deceiving and degrading power can only be\nthoroughly judged in the light of the divine presence. For aught that\nthe ruler of the synagogue cared, that poor woman might have gone on\nto the end of her days bowed together and unable to lift up herself.\nHe would have been well content to let her go on as a sad witness of\nthe power of Satan, provided he could keep his Sabbath. His religious\nindignation was excited, not by the power of Satan as seen in the\nwoman's condition, but by the power of Christ as seen in her complete\ndeliverance.\n\nBut the Lord gave him his answer. \"And when He had said these things,\nall His adversaries were ashamed\" (as well they might); \"and all the\npeople rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him.\"\nWhat a striking contrast! The advocates of a powerless, heartless,\nworthless religion unmasked and covered with shame and confusion on\nthe one hand, and on the other, all the people rejoicing in the\nglorious actings of the Son of God, who had come into their midst to\ndeliver them from the crushing power of Satan, and fill their hearts\nwith the joy of God's salvation, and their mouths with His praise!\n\nWe must now ask the reader to turn to the gospel of John for further\nillustration of our subject. We earnestly desire that this vexed\nquestion of the Sabbath should be thoroughly examined in the light of\nScripture. We are convinced that there is very much more involved in\nit than many professing Christians are aware.\n\nAt the opening of John v, we are introduced to a scene strikingly\nindicative of Israel's condition. We do not here attempt to go fully\ninto the passage, we merely refer to it in connection with the subject\nbefore us.\n\nThe pool of Bethesda, or \"house of mercy\"--while it was undoubtedly\nthe expression of the mercy of God toward His people--afforded\nabundant evidence of the miserable condition of man in general, and of\nIsrael in particular. Its five porches were thronged with \"a great\nmultitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the\nmoving of the water.\" What a sample of the whole human family, and of\nthe nation of Israel! What a striking illustration of their moral and\nspiritual condition as viewed from a divine stand-point. \"Blind, halt,\nwithered\"--such is man's real state, if he only knew it.\n\nBut there was one man in the midst of this impotent throng so far\ngone--so feeble and helpless, that the pool of Bethesda could not meet\nhis case. \"A certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and\neight years. When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a\nlong time in that case, He saith unto him, 'Wilt thou _be made_\nwhole?'\" What grace and power in this question! It went far beyond the\nutmost stretch of the impotent man's thoughts. He thought only of\nhuman help, or of his own ability to get into the pool. He knew not\nthat the speaker was above and beyond the pool, with its occasional\nmovement--beyond angelic ministry--beyond all human help and effort,\nthe Possessor of all power in heaven and on earth. \"The impotent man\nanswered Him, 'Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put\nme into the pool; but while I am coming, another steppeth down before\nme.'\" What a true picture of all those who are seeking salvation by\nordinances! Each one doing the best he could for himself. No care for\nothers. No thought of helping them. \"Jesus saith unto him, 'Rise, take\nup thy bed, and walk.' And immediately the man was made whole, and\ntook up his bed, and walked: _and on the same day was the Sabbath_.\"\n\nHere we have man's Sabbath again. It certainly was not God's Sabbath.\nThe miserable multitude gathered around the pool proved that God's\nfull rest had not yet come--that His glorious antitype of the Sabbath\nhad not yet dawned on this sin-stricken earth. When that bright day\ncomes, there will be no blind, halt, and withered folk thronging the\nporches of the pool of Bethesda. God's Sabbath and human misery are\nwholly incompatible.\n\nBut it was man's Sabbath. It was no longer the seal of Jehovah's\ncovenant with the seed of Abraham (as it was once, and will be again),\nbut the badge of man's self-righteousness. \"The Jews therefore said\nunto him that was cured, 'It is the Sabbath day; it is not lawful for\nthee to carry thy bed.'\" It was no doubt lawful enough for him to lie\non that bed, week after week, month after month, year after year,\nwhile they were going on with their empty, worthless, hollow attempt\nat Sabbath-keeping. If they had had one ray of spiritual light, they\nwould have seen the flagrant inconsistency of attempting to maintain\ntheir traditionary notions respecting the Sabbath in the presence of\nhuman misery, disease, and degradation. But they were utterly blind,\nand hence when the glorious fruits of Christ's ministry were being\ndisplayed, they had the temerity to pronounce them unlawful.\n\nNor this only; but \"therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought\nto slay Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath day.\"\nWhat a spectacle! Religious people--yea, the leaders and teachers of\nreligion--the guides of the professed people of God, seeking to slay\nthe Lord of the Sabbath because He had made a man every whit whole on\nthe Sabbath day!\n\nBut mark our Lord's reply.--\"My Father _worketh_ hitherto, and I\nwork.\" This brief but comprehensive statement gives us the root of\nthe whole matter. It opens up to us the real condition of mankind in\ngeneral, and of Israel in particular; and, in the most affecting\nmanner, presents the grand secret of our Lord's life and ministry.\nBlessed be His name, He had not come into this world to rest. How\ncould He rest? how could He keep a Sabbath in the midst of human need\nand misery? Ought not that impotent, blind, halt, and withered\nmultitude which thronged the porches of the pool of Bethesda have\ntaught \"the Jews\" the folly of their notions about the Sabbath? For\nwhat was that multitude but a sample of the condition of the nation of\nIsrael, and of the whole human family? and how could divine love rest\nin the midst of such a condition of things? Utterly impossible. Love\ncan only be a worker in a scene of sin and sorrow. From the moment of\nman's fall, the Father had been working; then the Son appeared to\ncarry on the work; and now, the Holy Ghost is working. Work, and not\nrest, is the divine order in a world like this. \"There remaineth\ntherefore a rest to the people of God.\"\n\nThe blessed Lord Jesus went about doing good on the Sabbath day as\nwell as on every other day; and finally, having accomplished the\nglorious work of redemption, He spent the Sabbath in the grave, and\nrose on the first day of the week, as the First-begotten from the\ndead, and Head of the new creation, in which all things are of God,\nand to which, we may surely add, the question of \"days and months and\ntimes and years\" can have no possible application. No one who\nthoroughly understands the meaning of death and resurrection could\nsanction for a moment the observance of days. The death of Christ put\nan end to all that order of things, and His resurrection introduces us\ninto another sphere entirely, where it is our high privilege to walk\nin the light and power of those eternal realities which are ours in\nChrist, and which stand in vivid contrast with the superstitious\nobservances of a carnal and worldly religiousness.\n\nBut here we approach a very interesting point in our subject, namely,\nthe difference between the Sabbath and the Lord's day, or first day of\nthe week. These two are often confounded. We frequently hear, from the\nlips of truly pious people, the phrase, \"Christian Sabbath,\" an\nexpression no where to be found in the New Testament. It may be that\nsome who make use of it mean a right thing; but we should not only\nmean right, but also seek to express ourselves according to the\nteaching of holy Scripture.\n\nWe are persuaded that the enemy of God and of His Christ has had a\ngreat deal more to do with the conventionalisms of christendom than\nmany of us are aware; and this it is which makes the matter so very\nserious. The reader may perhaps feel disposed to pronounce it mere\nhair-splitting to find any fault with the term \"Christian Sabbath;\"\nbut he may rest assured it is nothing of the sort: on the contrary, if\nhe will only calmly examine the matter in the light of the New\nTestament, he will find that it involves questions not only\ninteresting, but also weighty and important. It is a common saying,\n\"There is nothing in a name;\" but in the matter now before us, there\nis much in a name.\n\nWe have already remarked that our Lord spent the Sabbath in the grave.\nIs not this a telling and deeply significant fact? We cannot doubt it.\nWe read in it, at least, the setting aside of the old condition of\nthings, and the utter impossibility of keeping a Sabbath in a world of\nsin and death. Love could not rest in a world like this; it could only\nlabor and die. This is the inscription which we read on the tomb where\nthe Lord of the Sabbath lay buried.\n\nBut what of the first day of the week? Is not it the Sabbath on a new\nfooting--the Christian Sabbath? It is never so called in the New\nTestament. There is not so much as a hint of any thing of the kind. If\nwe look through the Acts of the Apostles, we shall find the two days\nspoken of in the most distinct way. On the Sabbath, we find the Jews\nassembled in their synagogues for the reading of the law and the\nprophets: on the first day of the week, we find the Christians\nassembled to break bread. The two days were as distinct as Judaism and\nChristianity; nor is there so much as a shadow of Scripture foundation\nfor the idea that the Sabbath was merged in the first day of the week.\nWhere is the slightest authority for the assertion that the Sabbath is\nchanged from the seventh day to the eighth, or first, day of the week?\nSurely, if there be any, nothing is easier than to produce it; but\nthere is absolutely none.\n\nAnd be it remembered that the Sabbath is not merely _a_ seventh day,\nbut _the_ seventh day. It is well to note this, inasmuch as some\nentertain the idea that provided a seventh portion of time be given to\nrest and the public ordinances of religion, it is quite sufficient,\nand it does not matter what you call it; and thus different nations\nand different religious systems have their Sabbath day. But this can\nnever satisfy any one who desires to be taught exclusively by\nScripture. The Sabbath of Eden was _the_ seventh day: the Sabbath for\nIsrael was _the_ seventh day. But the eighth day leads our thoughts\nonward into eternity; and, in the New Testament, it is called \"the\nfirst day of the week,\" as indicating the beginning: of that new order\nof things of which the cross is the imperishable foundation, and a\nrisen Christ the glorious Head and Centre. To call this day the\n\"Christian Sabbath\" is simply to confound things earthly and heavenly;\nit is to bring the Christian down from his elevated position as\nassociated with a risen and glorified Head in the heavens, and occupy\nhim with the superstitious observance of days, the very thing which\nmade the blessed apostle stand in doubt of the assemblies in Galatia.\n\nIn short, the more deeply we ponder the phrase \"Christian Sabbath,\"\nthe more we are convinced that its tendency is, like many other\nformularies of christendom, to rob the Christian of all those grand\ndistinctive truths of the New Testament which mark off the Church of\nGod from all that went before and all that is to follow after. The\nChurch, though on the earth, is not of this world, even as Christ is\nnot of this world. It is heavenly in its origin, heavenly in its\ncharacter, heavenly in its principles, walk, and hope. It stands\nbetween the cross and the glory. The boundaries of its existence on\nearth are, the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Ghost came down to form\nit, and the coming of Christ to receive it to Himself.\n\nNothing can be more strongly marked than this; and hence, for any one\nto attempt to enjoin upon the Church of God the legal or superstitious\nobservance of \"days and months and times and years,\" is to falsify the\nentire Christian position, mar the integrity of divine revelation, and\nrob the Christian of the place and portion which belong to him through\nthe infinite grace of God and the accomplished atonement of Christ.\n\nDoes the reader deem this statement unwarrantably strong? If so, let\nhim ponder the following splendid passage from Paul's epistle to the\nColossians--a passage which ought to be written in letters of gold:\n\"As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in\nHim; rooted and built up in Him, and stablished in the faith, as ye\nhave been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Beware lest any man\nspoil [or make a prey of] you through _philosophy and vain\ndeceit_\"--mark the combination! not very flattering to philosophy--\"after\nthe tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after\nChrist. For in Him dwelleth _all the fullness of the Godhead_\n[\u03b8\u03b5\u03cc\u03c4\u03b7\u03c2, deity] bodily. And ye are complete in Him, which is the\nhead of all principality and power.\" What more can we possibly want?\n\"In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision _made without\nhands_, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the\ncircumcision of Christ: buried with Him in baptism, wherein also ye\nare risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath\nraised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your sins and the\nuncircumcision of your flesh, hath He quickened together with Him,\n_having forgiven you all trespasses_; blotting out the handwriting of\nordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it\nout of the way, nailing it to His cross; and having spoiled\nprincipalities and powers, He made a show of them openly, triumphing\nover them in it.\"\n\nMagnificent victory! A victory gained single-handed--gained for us!\nUniversal and eternal homage to His peerless name! What remains? \"Let\nno man _therefore_ judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a\nholy day, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath: which are a shadow of\nthings to come; but the body is of Christ.\"\n\nWhat can one who is complete and accepted in a risen and glorified\nChrist have to do with meats, drinks, or holy days? what can\nphilosophy, tradition, or human religiousness do for him? What can\npassing shadows add to one who has grasped, by faith, the eternal\nsubstance? Surely nothing; and hence the blessed apostle\nproceeds--\"Let no man beguile you of your reward, in a voluntary\nhumility, and worshiping of angels, intruding into those things which\nhe hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, and _not\nholding the Head_, from which all the body by joints and bands having\nnourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the\nincrease of God. 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, [such as,] 'Touch not [this],' 'Taste not\n[that],' 'Handle not [the other]'; which all are to perish with the\nusing; after the commandments and doctrines of men? Which things have\nindeed a show of wisdom in will-worship, and humility, and neglecting\nof the body; not in any honor to the satisfying of the flesh;\" that\nis, not giving the measure of honor to the body which is due to it as\nGod's vessel, but puffing up the flesh with religious pride, fed by a\nhollow and worthless sanctimoniousness. (Col. ii. 6-23.)\n\nWe do not dare to offer any apology for this lengthened quotation. An\napology for quoting Scripture! Far be the thought! It is not possible\nfor any one to understand this marvelous passage and not have a\ncomplete settlement, not only of the Sabbath question, but also of\nthat entire system of things with which this question stands\nconnected. The Christian who understands his position, is done\nforever with all questions of meats and drinks, days and months and\ntimes and years. He knows nothing of holy seasons and holy places. He\nis dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, and as such, is\ndelivered from all the ordinances of a traditionary religion. He\nbelongs to heaven, where new moons, holy days, and Sabbaths have no\nplace. He is in the new creation, where all things are of God; and\nhence he can see no moral force in such words as \"Touch not, taste\nnot, handle not.\" They have no possible application to him. He lives\nin a region where the clouds, vapors, and mists of monasticism and\nasceticism are never seen. He has given up all the worthless forms of\nmere fleshly pietism, and got, in exchange, the solid realities of\nChristian life. His ear has been opened to hear, and his heart to\nunderstand, the powerful exhortation of the inspired apostle, \"If ye\nthen be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where\nChrist sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things\nabove, not on things on the earth. For _ye are dead_, and your life is\nhid with Christ in God. When Christ, our life, shall appear, then\nshall ye also appear with Him in glory. Mortify therefore your members\nwhich are upon the earth.\"\n\nHere we have unfolded before our eyes some of the glories of true,\npractical, vital Christianity, in striking contrast with all the\nbarren and dreary forms of carnal and worldly religiousness. Christian\nlife does not consist in the observance of certain rules,\ncommandments, or traditions of men. It is a divine reality. It is\nChrist in the heart, and Christ reproduced in the daily life, by the\npower of the Holy Ghost. It is the new man, formed on the model of\nChrist Himself, and displaying itself in all the most minute details\nof our daily history--in the family, in the business, in all our\nintercourse with our fellow-men, in our temper, spirit, style,\ndeportment, all. It is not a matter of mere profession, or of dogma,\nor of opinion, or of sentiment; it is an unmistakable, living reality.\nIt is the kingdom of God, set up in the heart, asserting its blessed\nsway over the whole moral being, and shedding its genial influence\nupon the entire sphere in which we are called to move from day to day.\nIt is the Christian walking in the blessed footsteps of Him who went\nabout doing good; meeting, so far as in him lies, every form of human\nneed; living not for himself, but for others; finding his delight in\nserving and giving; ready to soothe and sympathize wherever he finds a\ncrushed spirit or a bereaved and desolate heart.\n\nThis is Christianity. And oh, how it differs from all the forms in\nwhich legality and superstition clothe themselves! How different from\nthe unintelligent and unmeaning observance of days and months and\ntimes and years, abstaining from meats, forbidding to marry, and such\nlike! How different from the vaporings of the mystic, the gloom of the\nascetic, and the austerities of the monk! How totally different from\nall these! Yes, reader; and we may add, how different from the\nunsightly union of high profession and low practice--lofty truths held\nin the intellect, professed, taught, and discussed, and worldliness,\nself-indulgence, and unsubduedness! The Christianity of the New\nTestament differs alike from all these things. It is the divine, the\nheavenly, and the spiritual, displayed amid the human, the earthly,\nand the natural. May it be the holy purpose of the writer and the\nreader of these lines to be satisfied with nothing short of that\nmorally glorious Christianity revealed in the pages of the New\nTestament.\n\nIt is needless, we trust, to add more on the question of the Sabbath.\nIf the reader has at all seized the import of those scriptures which\nhave passed before us, he will have little difficulty in seeing the\nplace which the Sabbath holds in the dispensational ways of God. He\nwill see that it has direct reference to Israel and the earth--that it\nwas a sign of the covenant between Jehovah and His earthly people, and\na powerful test of their moral condition.\n\nFurthermore, he will see that Israel never really kept the Sabbath,\nnever understood its import, never appreciated its value. This was\nmade manifest in the life, ministry, and death of our Lord Jesus\nChrist; who performed many of His works of healing on the Sabbath day,\nand, at the end, spent that day in the tomb.\n\nFinally, he will clearly understand the difference between the Jewish\nSabbath and the first day of the week, or the Lord's day; that the\nlatter is never once called the Sabbath in the New Testament, but on\nthe contrary, is constantly presented in its own proper distinctness:\nit is not the Sabbath changed or transferred, but a new day\naltogether, having its own special basis and its own peculiar range of\nthought, leaving the Sabbath wholly untouched, as a suspended\ninstitution, to be resumed by and by, when the seed of Abraham shall\nbe restored to their own land. (See Ezek. xlvi. 1, 12.)\n\nBut we cannot happily turn from this interesting subject without a few\nwords on the place assigned, in the New Testament, to the Lord's day,\nor first day of the week. Though it is not the Sabbath; and though it\nhas nothing to do with holy days, or new moons, or \"days and months\nand times and years;\" yet it has its own unique place in Christianity,\nas is evident from manifold passages in the scriptures of the New\nTestament.\n\nOur Lord rose from the dead on that day; He met His disciples again\nand again on that day; the apostle and the brethren at Troas came\ntogether to break bread on that day (Acts xx. 7.); the apostle\ninstructs the Corinthians, and all that in every place call on the\nname of our Lord Jesus Christ, to lay by their offerings on that day;\nthus teaching us, distinctly, that the first day of the week was _the_\nspecial day for the Lord's people to assemble for the Lord's supper,\nand the worship, communion, and ministry connected with that most\nprecious institution. The blessed apostle John expressly tells us that\nhe was in the Spirit on that day, and received that marvelous\nrevelation which closes the Divine Volume.[18]\n\n  [18] Some are of opinion that the expression, \"on the Lord's day\"\n  ought to be rendered, \"on the day of the Lord,\" meaning that the\n  apostle was in the spirit of that day when our Lord Christ shall take\n  to Himself His great power and reign. But to this view there are two\n  grave objections. In the first place, the words \u03c4\u1fc7 \u03ba\u03c5\u03c1\u03b9\u03b1\u03ba\u1fc7\n  \u1f21\u03bc\u03ad\u03c1\u03b1, rendered, in Revelation i. 10, \"The Lord's day,\" are quite\n  distinct from \u1f20 \u1f21\u03bc\u03ad\u03c1\u03b1 \u03ba\u03c5\u03c1\u03af\u03bf\u03bd, in 1 Thessalonians v. 2; 2\n  Thessalonians ii. 2; 2 Peter iii. 10, properly rendered, \"The day of\n  the Lord.\"\n\n  This we consider a very weighty objection, and one quite sufficient to\n  settle the question. But in addition to this, we have the argument\n  based on the fact that by far the greater portion of the book of\n  Revelation is occupied, not with \"the day of the Lord,\" but with\n  events prior thereto.\n\n  Hence, therefore, we feel persuaded that \"the Lord's day\" and \"the\n  first day of the week\" are identical; and this we deem a very\n  important fact, as proving that that day has a very special place in\n  the Word of God--a place which every intelligent Christian will\n  thankfully own.\n\nThus, then, we have a body of Scripture evidence before us amply\nsufficient to prove to every pious mind that the Lord's day must not\nbe reduced to the level of ordinary days. It is, to the true\nChristian, neither the Jewish Sabbath on the one hand, nor the Gentile\nSunday on the other; but the Lord's day, on which His people gladly\nand thankfully assemble around His table, to keep that precious feast\nby which they show forth His death until He come.\n\nNow, it is needless to say that there is not a shade of legal bondage\nor of superstition connected with the first day of the week. To say\nso, or to think so, would be to deny the entire circle of truths with\nwhich that day stands connected. We have no direct commandment\nrespecting the observance of the day, but the passages already\nreferred to are amply sufficient for every spiritual mind; and\nfurther, we may say that the instincts of the divine nature would lead\nevery true Christian to honor and love the Lord's day, and to set it\napart, in the most reverent manner, for the worship and service of\nGod. The very thought of any one professing to love Christ engaging in\nbusiness or unnecessary traveling on the Lord's day, would, in our\njudgment, be revolting to every pious feeling. We believe it to be a\nhallowed privilege to retire, as much as possible, from all the\ndistractions of natural things, and to devote the hours of the Lord's\nday to Himself and to His service.\n\nIt will perhaps be said that the Christian ought to devote every day\nto the Lord. Most surely; we are the Lord's, in the very fullest and\nhighest sense. All we have and all we are belongs to Him; this we\nfully, gladly own. We are called to do every thing in His name and to\nHis glory. It is our high privilege to buy and sell, eat and drink,\nyea, to carry on all our business, under His eye, and in the fear and\nlove of His holy name. We should not put our hand to any thing, on any\nday in the week, on which we could not, with the fullest confidence,\nask the Lord's blessing.\n\nAll this is most fully admitted. Every true Christian joyfully owns\nit. But, at the same time, we deem it impossible to read the New\nTestament and not see that the Lord's day gets a unique place; that it\nis marked off for us, in the most distinct way; that it has a\nsignificance and an importance which cannot, with justice, be claimed\nfor any other day in the week. Indeed, so fully are we convinced of\nthe truth of all this, that even though it were not the law of England\nthat the Lord's day should be observed, we should deem it to be both\nour sacred duty and holy privilege to abstain from all business\nengagements, save such as were absolutely unavoidable.\n\nThanks be to God, it is the law of England that the Lord's day should\nbe observed. This is a signal mercy to all who love the day for the\nLord's sake. We cannot but own His great goodness in having wrested\nthe day from the covetous grasp of the world, and bestowed it upon His\npeople and His servants to be devoted to His worship and to His work.\n\nWhat a boon is the Lord's day, with its profound retirement from\nworldly things! What should we do without it? What a blessed break in\nupon the week's toil! How refreshing its exercises to the spiritual\nmind! How precious the assembly around the Lord's table to remember\nHim, to show forth His death, and celebrate His praise! How delightful\nthe varied services of the Lord's day, whether those of the\nevangelist, the pastor, the teacher, the Sunday-school worker, or the\ntract distributor! What human language can adequately set forth the\nvalue and interest of all these things? True it is that the Lord's day\nis any thing but a day of bodily rest to His servants; indeed, they\nare often more fatigued on that day than on any other day of the\nweek. But oh! it is a blessed fatigue--a delightful fatigue--a fatigue\nwhich will meet its bright reward in the rest that remains for the\npeople of God.\n\nOnce more, then, beloved Christian reader, let us lift up our hearts\nin a note of praise to our God for the blessed boon of the Lord's day.\nMay He continue it to His Church until He come. May He countervail, by\nHis almighty power, every effort of the infidel and the atheist to\nremove the barriers which English law has erected around the Lord's\nday. Truly, it will be a sad day for England when those barriers are\nremoved.\n\nIt may perhaps be said by some that the Jewish Sabbath is done away,\nand is therefore no longer binding. A large number of professing\nChristians have taken this ground, and pleaded for the opening of the\nparks and places of public recreation on the Sunday. Alas! it is\neasily seen where such people are drifting to, and what they are\nseeking. They would set aside the law, in order to procure a license\nfor fleshly indulgence. They do not understand that the only way in\nwhich any one can be free from the law is by being dead to it; and if\ndead to the law, we are also, of blessed necessity, dead to sin and\ndead to the world.\n\nThis makes it a different matter altogether. The Christian is, thank\nGod, free from the law; but if he is, it is not that he may amuse and\nindulge himself, on the Lord's day or any other day, but that he may\nlive to God. \"I through law am dead to law, that I might live unto\nGod.\" This is Christian ground, and it can only be occupied by those\nwho are truly born of God. The world cannot understand it; neither can\nthey understand the holy privileges and spiritual exercises of the\nLord's day.\n\nAll this is true; but, at the same time, we are thoroughly convinced\nthat were England to remove the barriers which surround the Lord's\nday, it would afford a melancholy proof of her abandonment of that\nprofession of religion which has so long characterized her as a\nnation, and of her drifting away in the direction of infidelity and\natheism. We must not lose sight of the weighty fact that England has\ntaken the ground of being a Christian nation--a nation professing to\nbe governed by the Word of God. She is therefore much more responsible\nthan those nations wrapped in the dark shades of heathenism. We\nbelieve that nations, like individuals, will be held responsible for\nthe profession they make; and hence those nations which profess and\ncall themselves Christian shall be judged, not merely by the light of\ncreation, nor by the law of Moses, but by the full-orbed light of that\nChristianity which they profess--by all the truth contained within the\ncovers of that blessed book which they possess, and in which they make\ntheir boast. The heathen shall be judged on the ground of creation;\nthe Jew, on the ground of the law; the nominal Christian, on the\nground of the truth of Christianity.\n\nNow this grave fact renders the position of England, and all other\nprofessing Christian nations, most serious. God will most assuredly\ndeal with them on the ground of their profession. It is of no use to\nsay they do not understand what they profess; for why profess what\nthey do not understand and believe? The fact is, they profess to\nunderstand and believe; and by this fact they shall be judged. They\nmake their boast in this familiar sentence, that \"the Bible, and the\nBible alone, is the religion of Protestants.\"\n\nIf this be so, how solemn is the thought of England judged by the\nstandard of an open Bible! What will be her judgment?--what her end?\nLet all whom it may concern ponder the appalling answer.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nWe must now turn from the deeply interesting subject of the Sabbath\nand the Lord's day, and draw this section to a close by quoting for\nthe reader the remarkable paragraph with which our chapter ends. It\ndoes not call for any lengthened comment, but we deem it profitable,\nin these \"Notes on Deuteronomy,\" to furnish the reader with very full\nquotations from the book itself, in order that he may have before him\nthe very words of the Holy Ghost, without even the trouble of laying\naside the volume which he holds in his hand.\n\nHaving laid before the people the ten commandments, the lawgiver\nproceeds to remind them of the solemn circumstances which accompanied\nthe giving of the law, together with their own feelings and utterances\non the occasion.\n\n\"These words the Lord spake unto all your assembly in the mount out of\nthe midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with\na great voice; and He added no more. And He wrote them in two tables\nof stone, and delivered them unto me. And it came to pass, when ye\nheard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, (for the mountain\ndid burn with fire,) that ye came near unto me, even all the heads of\nyour tribes, and your elders; and ye said, 'Behold, the Lord our God\nhath showed us His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His\nvoice out of the midst of the fire: we have seen this day that God\ndoth talk with man, and he liveth. Now therefore why should we die?\nfor this great fire will consume us: if we hear the voice of the Lord\nour God any more, then we shall die. For who is there of all flesh,\nthat hath heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst\nof the fire, as we have, and lived? Go thou near, and hear all that\nthe Lord our God shall say; and speak thou unto us all that the Lord\nour God shall speak unto thee, and _we will hear it and do it_.' And\nthe Lord heard the voice of your words, when ye spake unto me; and the\nLord said unto me, 'I have heard the voice of the words of this\npeople, which they have spoken unto thee: they have well said all that\nthey have spoken. O that there were such a heart in them, that they\nwould fear Me, and keep _all_ My commandments _always_, that it might\nbe well with them, and with their children forever! Go say to them,\nGet you into your tents again. But as for thee, stand thou here by Me,\nand I will speak unto thee all the commandments, and the statutes,\nand the judgments, which thou shalt teach them, that they may do them\nin the land which I give them to possess it.' Ye shall observe to do\ntherefore as the Lord your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn\naside either to the right hand or to the left. Ye shall walk in _all\nthe ways_ which the Lord your God hath commanded you, that ye may\nlive, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your\ndays in the land which ye shall possess.\"\n\nHere the grand principle of the book of Deuteronomy shines out with\nuncommon lustre. It is embodied in those touching and forcible words\nwhich form the very heart's core of the splendid passage just\nquoted.--\"O that there were _such a heart in them, that they would\nfear Me_, and keep all My commandments always, that it might be well\nwith them, and with their children forever!\"\n\nPrecious words! They set before us, most blessedly, the secret spring\nof that life which we, as Christians, are called to live from day to\nday--the life of simple, implicit, and unqualified obedience, namely,\na heart fearing the Lord--fearing Him, not in a servile spirit, but\nwith all that deep, true, adoring love which the Holy Ghost sheds\nabroad in our hearts. It is this that delights the heart of our loving\nFather. His word to us is, \"My son, give Me thine heart.\" Where the\nheart is given, all follows, in lovely moral order. A loving heart\nfinds its very deepest joy in obeying all God's commandments; and\nnothing is of any value to God but what springs from a loving heart.\nThe heart is the source of all the issues of life; and hence, when it\nis governed by the love of God, there is a loving response to all His\ncommandments. We love His commandments because we love Him. Every word\nof His is precious to the heart that loves Him. Every precept, every\nstatute, every judgment--in a word, His whole law is loved,\nreverenced, and obeyed, because it has His name and His authority\nattached to it.\n\nThe reader will find in psalm cxix. an uncommonly fine illustration of\nthe special point now before us--a most striking example of one who\nblessedly answered to the words quoted above--\"O that there were _such\na heart_ in them, that they would fear Me, and keep _all_ My\ncommandments _always_!\" It is the lovely breathing of a soul who found\nits deep, unfailing, constant delight in the law of God. There are no\nless than one hundred and seventy allusions to that precious law,\nunder some one title or another. We find scattered along the surface\nof this marvelous psalm, in rich profusion, such gems as the\nfollowing:--\n\n\"Thy Word have I _hid_ in mine _heart_, that I might not sin against\nThee.\" \"I have rejoiced in the way of Thy testimonies as much as in\nall riches.\" \"I will meditate in Thy precepts, and have respect unto\nThy ways.\" \"_I will delight myself_ in Thy statutes; I will not forget\nThy Word.\" \"My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto Thy\njudgments at all times.\" \"_Thy testimonies_ are also _my delight_, and\nmy counselors.\" \"_I have stuck_ unto Thy testimonies.\" \"Behold, _I\nhave longed_ after Thy precepts.\" \"_I trust_ in Thy Word.\" \"_I have\nhoped_ in Thy judgments.\" \"_I seek_ Thy precepts.\" \"_I will delight\nmyself_ in Thy commandments, which _I have loved_.\" \"_I remembered_\nThy judgments.\" \"_Thy statutes_ have been _my songs_ in the house of\nmy pilgrimage.\" \"I turned _my feet_ unto _Thy testimonies_.\" \"_I have\nbelieved_ Thy commandments.\" \"_The law of Thy mouth_ is better unto me\nthan thousands of gold and silver.\" \"_I have hoped_ in Thy Word.\"\n\"_Thy law_ is _my delight_.\" \"_Mine eyes_ fail for _Thy Word_.\" \"_All_\nThy commandments are faithful.\" \"Forever, O Lord, Thy Word is settled\nin heaven.\" \"_I will never forget_ Thy precepts.\" \"_I have sought_ Thy\nprecepts.\" \"_I will consider_ Thy testimonies.\" \"Thy commandment is\nexceeding broad.\" \"O how love I _Thy law_! it is _my meditation_ all\nthe day.\" \"How sweet are _Thy words_ unto _my taste_! yea, sweeter\nthan honey to my mouth.\" \"_Thy testimonies_ have I taken as a\n_heritage forever_; for they are _the rejoicing of my heart_.\" \"I will\nhave respect unto Thy statutes _continually_.\" \"I love Thy\ncommandments above gold, yea, above find gold.\" \"I esteem _all_ Thy\nprecepts concerning _all_ things to be _right_.\" \"Thy testimonies are\nwonderful.\" \"I opened my mouth and _panted_, for I _longed_ for Thy\ncommandments.\" \"Upright are Thy judgments.\" \"Thy testimonies ... are\nrighteous, and very faithful.\" \"Thy Word is very pure.\" \"Thy law is\nthe truth.\" \"The righteousness of thy testimonies is everlasting.\"\n\"All Thy commandments are truth.\" \"Thy Word is _true from the\nbeginning_; and every one of Thy righteous judgments _endureth\nforever_.\" \"_My heart_ standeth _in awe_ of _Thy Word_.\" \"_I rejoice_\nat Thy Word, as one that findeth great spoil.\" \"Great peace have they\nthat love Thy law.\" \"_My soul_ hath kept _Thy testimonies_; and I love\nthem exceedingly.\" \"I have chosen Thy precepts.\" \"Thy law is my\ndelight.\"\n\nTruly, it does the heart good, and refreshes the spirit, to transcribe\nsuch utterances as the foregoing, many of which are the suited\nutterances of our Lord Himself, in the days of His flesh. He ever\nlived upon the Word. It was the food of His soul, the authority of His\npath, the material of His ministry. By it He vanquished Satan; by it\nHe silenced Sadducees, Pharisees, and Herodians; by it He taught His\ndisciples; to it He commended His servants, as He was about to ascend\ninto the heavens.\n\nHow important is all this for us! How intensely interesting! How\ndeeply practical! What a place it gives the holy Scriptures! For we\nremember that it is, in very deed, the blessed Volume of inspiration\nwhich is brought before us in all those golden sentences culled from\npsalm cxix. How strengthening, refreshing, and encouraging for us to\nmark the way in which our Lord uses the holy Scriptures at all times,\nthe place He gives them, and the dignity He puts upon them! He appeals\nto them on all occasions as a divine authority from which there can be\nno appeal. He, though Himself as God over all, the Author of the\nVolume, having taken His place as man on the earth, sets forth with\nall possible plainness what is man's bounden duty and high privilege,\nnamely, to live by the Word of God, to bow down in reverent subjection\nto its divine authority.\n\nAnd have we not here a very complete answer to the oft-raised question\nof infidelity, \"How do we know that the Bible is the Word of God?\" If\nindeed we believe in Christ--if we own Him to be the Son of God, God\nmanifest in the flesh, very God and very man, we cannot fail to see\nthe moral force of the fact that this divine Person constantly appeals\nto the Scriptures--to Moses, the prophets, and the psalms, as to a\ndivine standard. Did He not know them to be the Word of God?\nUndoubtedly. As God, He had given them; as Man, He received them,\nlived by them, and owned their paramount authority, in all things.\n\nWhat a weighty fact is here for the professing church! What a\nwithering rebuke to all those so-called Christian doctors and writers\nwho have presumed to tamper with the grand fundamental truth of the\nplenary inspiration of the holy Scriptures in general, and of the five\nbooks of Moses in particular! How terrible to think of the professed\nteachers of the Church of God daring to designate as spurious,\nwritings which our Lord and Master received and owned as divine!\n\nAnd yet we are told, and we are expected to believe that things are\nimproving! Alas! alas! it is a miserable delusion. The degrading\nabsurdities of ritualism, and the blasphemous reasonings of\ninfidelity, are rapidly increasing around us; and where these\ninfluences are not actually dominant, we observe, for the most part, a\ncold indifference, carnal ease, self-indulgence, and worldliness--any\nthing and every thing, in short, but the evidence of improvement. If\npeople are not led away by infidelity on the one hand, or by ritualism\non the other, it is, for the most part, owing to the fact that they\nare too much occupied with pleasure and gain to think of any thing\nelse. And as to the religion of the day, if you subtract money and\nmusic, you will have a lamentably trifling balance.\n\nHence, therefore, it is impossible to shake off the conviction that\nthe combined testimony of observation and experience is directly\nopposed to the notion that things are improving. Indeed, for any one,\nin the face of such an array of evidence to the contrary, to cling to\nsuch a theory, can only be regarded as the fruit of a most\nunaccountable credulity.\n\nBut perhaps some may feel disposed to say that we must not judge by\nthe sight of our eyes; we must be hopeful. True, provided only we have\na divine warrant for our hopefulness. If a single line of Scripture\ncan be produced to prove that the present system of things is to be\nmarked by gradual improvement, religiously, politically, morally, or\nsocially, then, by all means, be hopeful. Yes; hope against hope. A\nsingle clause of inspiration is quite sufficient to form the basis of\na hope which will lift the heart above the very darkest and most\ndepressing surroundings.\n\nBut where is such a clause to be found? Simply no where. The testimony\nof the Bible, from cover to cover; the distinct teaching of holy\nScripture, from beginning to end; the voices of prophets and apostles,\nin unbroken harmony--all, without a single divergent note, go to\nprove, with a force and clearness perfectly unanswerable, that the\npresent condition of things, so far from gradually improving, will\nrapidly grow worse; that ere the bright beams of millennial glory can\ngladden this groaning earth, the sword of judgment must do its\nappalling work. To quote the passages in proof of our assertion would\nliterally fill a volume; it would simply be to transcribe a large\nportion of the prophetic scriptures of the Old and New Testament.\n\nThis, of course, we do not attempt. There is no need. The reader has\nhis Bible before him; let him search it diligently. Let him lay aside\nall his preconceived ideas, all the conventionalisms of christendom,\nall the ordinary phraseology of the religious world, all the dogmas of\nthe schools of divinity, and come, with the simplicity of a little\nchild, to the pure fountain of holy Scripture, and drink in its\nheavenly teaching. If he will only do this, he will rise from the\nstudy with the clear and settled conviction that the world will, most\nassuredly, not be converted by the means now in operation--that it is\nnot the gospel of peace, but the besom of destruction that shall\nprepare the earth for glory.\n\nIs it, then, that we deny the good that is being done? Are we\ninsensible to it? Far be the thought! We heartily bless God for every\natom of it. We rejoice in every effort put forth to spread the\nprecious gospel of the grace of God; we render thanks for every soul\ngathered within the blessed circle of God's salvation. We delight to\nthink of eighty-five millions of Bibles scattered over the earth. What\nhuman mind can calculate the results of all these, yea, the results of\na single copy? We earnestly wish Godspeed to every true-hearted\nmissionary who goes forth with the glad tidings of salvation, whether\ninto the lanes and court-yards of London, or to the most distant parts\nof the earth.\n\nBut, admitting all this, as we most heartily do, we nevertheless do\nnot believe in the conversion of the world by the means now in\noperation. Scripture tells us that it is when the divine judgments are\nin the earth, the inhabitants of the world shall learn righteousness.\nThis one clause of inspiration ought to be sufficient to prove that it\nis not by the gospel that the world is to be converted; and there are\nhundreds of clauses which speak the same language and teach the same\ntruth. It is not by grace, but by judgment, that the inhabitants of\nthe world shall learn righteousness.\n\nWhat, then, is the object of the gospel? If it be not to convert the\nworld, for what purpose is it preached? The apostle James, in his\naddress at the memorable council at Jerusalem, gives an answer, direct\nand conclusive, to the question. He says, \"Simeon hath declared how\nGod at the first did visit the Gentiles.\" For what? To convert them\nall? The very reverse--\"_To take out of them_ a people for His name.\"\nNothing can be more distinct than this. It sets before us that which\nought to be the grand object of all missionary effort--that which\nevery divinely sent and divinely taught missionary will keep before\nhis mind in all his blessed labors. It is \"to take out a people for\nHis name.\"\n\nHow important to remember this! How needful to have ever before us a\ntrue object in all our work! Of what possible use can it be to work\nfor a false object? Is it not much better to work with a direct view\nto what God is doing? Will it cripple the missionary's energies, or\nclip his wings, to keep before his eyes the divine purpose in his\nwork? Surely not. Take the case of two missionaries going forth to\nsome distant mission-field: the one has for his object the conversion\nof the world; the other, the gathering out of a people. Will the\nlatter, by reason of his object, be less devoted, less energetic, less\nenthusiastic, than the former? We cannot believe it; on the contrary,\nthe very fact of his being in the current of the divine mind will\nimpart stability and consistency to his work, and, at the same time,\nencourage his heart in the face of the difficulties and hindrances\nwhich surround him.\n\nBut however this may be, it is perfectly plain that the apostles of\nour Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ had no such object, in going forth\nto their work, as the conversion of the world. \"Go ye into all the\nworld, and preach the gospel to every creature; he that believeth and\nis baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be\ndamned.\"\n\nThis was to the twelve. The world was to be their sphere. The aspect\nof their message was, unto every creature; the application, to him\nthat believeth. It was pre-eminently an individual thing. The\nconversion of the whole world was not to be their object; that will be\neffected by a different agency altogether, when God's present action\nby the gospel shall have resulted in the gathering out of a people for\nthe heavens.[19] The Holy Ghost came down on the day of Pentecost, not\nto convert the world, but to \"_convict_ [\u1f10\u03bb\u03ad\u03b3\u03be\u03b5\u03b9]]\" it, or\ndemonstrate its guilt in having rejected the Son of God.[20] The\neffect of His presence was to prove the world guilty; and as to the\ngrand object of His mission, it was to form a body composed of\nbelievers from amongst both Jews and Gentiles. With this He has been\noccupied for the last eighteen hundred years. This is \"the mystery\" of\nwhich the apostle Paul was made a minister, and which he unfolds, so\nfully and blessedly, in his epistle to the Ephesians. It is\nimpossible for any one to understand the truth set forth in this\nmarvelous document, and not see that the conversion of the world and\nthe formation of the body of Christ are two totally different things,\nwhich could not possibly go on together.\n\n  [19] We would commend to the reader's attention psalm lxvii. It is one\n  of a large class of passages which prove that the blessing of the\n  nations is consequent upon Israel's restoration. \"God be merciful unto\n  us [Israel], and bless us; and cause His face to shine upon us, that\n  Thy way may be known upon earth, Thy saving health among _all\n  nations_.... God shall bless us; and _all the ends of the earth_ shall\n  fear Him.\" There could not be a more lovely or forcible proof of the\n  fact that it is Israel, and not the Church, that will be used for the\n  blessing of the nations.\n\n  [20] The application of John xvi. 8-11 to the Spirit's work in the\n  individual is, in our judgment, a serious mistake. It refers to the\n  effect of His presence on earth, in reference to the world as a whole.\n  His work in the soul is a precious truth, we need hardly say, but it\n  is not the truth taught in this passage.\n\nLet the reader ponder the following beautiful passage: \"For this cause\nI Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, if ye have\nheard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to\nyou-ward: how that by revelation He made known unto me the mystery;\n(as I wrote afore in few words, whereby, when ye read, ye may\nunderstand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) which in other ages\nwas not made known unto the sons of men\"--not made known in the\nscriptures of the Old Testament, nor revealed to the Old-Testament\nsaints or prophets--\"as it is now revealed unto His holy apostles and\nprophets\" (that is, to the New-Testament prophets) \"by the Spirit;\nthat the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs, and of the same body, and\npartakers of His promise in Christ by the gospel: whereof I was made a\nminister according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by\nthe effectual working of His power. Unto me, who am less than the\nleast of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among\nthe Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; and to make all men\nsee what is the dispensation [\u03bf\u1f30\u03ba\u03bf\u03bd\u03bf\u03bc\u03af\u03b1] of the mystery,\nwhich _from the beginning of the world_ hath been _hid in God_, who\ncreated all things by Jesus Christ: to the intent that now unto the\nprincipalities and powers in the heavenlies might be known by the\nChurch the manifold wisdom of God.\" (Eph. iii. 1-10.)\n\nTake another passage from the epistle to the Colossians.--\"If ye\ncontinue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from\nthe hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to\nevery creature which is under heaven, whereof I Paul am made a\nminister, who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that\nwhich is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for His\nbody's sake, which is the Church: whereof I am made a minister,\naccording to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to\ncomplete the Word of God; even the mystery which hath been hid from\nages and from generations, but now is made manifest to His saints: to\nwhom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this\nmystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:\nwhom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all\nwisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:\nwhereunto I also labor, striving according to His working, which\nworketh in me mightily.\" (Chap. i. 23-29.)\n\nFrom these and numerous other passages, the reader may see the special\nobject of Paul's ministry. Assuredly he had no such thought in his\nmind as the conversion of the world. True, he preached the gospel, in\nall its depth, fullness, and power--preached it \"from Jerusalem and\nround about unto Illyricum\"--\"preached among the Gentiles the\nunsearchable riches of Christ,\" but with no thought of converting the\nworld. He knew better. He knew and taught that the world was ripening\nfor judgment--yes, ripening rapidly; that \"evil men and seducers shall\nwax worse and worse;\" that \"in _the latter times_ some shall depart\nfrom the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of\ndevils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared\nwith a hot iron; forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from\nmeats, which God had created to be received with thanksgiving of them\nwhich believe and know the truth.\"\n\nAnd further still, this faithful and divinely inspired witness taught\nthat \"in _the last days_\"--far in advance of \"the latter\ntimes\"--\"perilous [or difficult] times shall come. For men shall be\nlovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers,\ndisobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection,\ntruce-breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of\nthose that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, _lovers of\npleasures rather than lovers of God_; having a form of godliness, but\ndenying the power thereof.\" (Compare 1 Tim. iv. 1-3 with 2 Tim. iii.\n1-5.)\n\nWhat a picture! It brings us back to the close of the first of Romans,\nwhere the same inspired pen portrays for us the dark forms of\nheathenism; but with this terrible difference, that in 2 Timothy it\nis not heathenism, but nominal Christianity--\"a form of godliness.\"\n\nAnd is this to be the end of the present condition of things? Is this\nthe converted world of which we hear so much? Alas! alas! there are\nfalse prophets abroad; there are those who cry, Peace, peace, when\nthere is no peace; there are those who attempt to daub the crumbling\nwalls of christendom with untempered mortar.\n\nBut it will not do. Judgment is at the door. The professing church has\nutterly, shamefully failed; she has grievously departed from the Word\nof God, and revolted from the authority of her Lord. There is not a\nsingle ray of hope for christendom. It is the darkest moral blot in\nthe wide universe of God, or on the page of history. The same blessed\napostle from whose writings we have already so largely quoted, tells\nus that \"the mystery of iniquity doth already work;\" hence it has been\nworking now for over eighteen centuries. \"Only He that now hindereth\nwill hinder until He be taken out of the way. And then shall that\nWicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His\nmouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming: even him,\nwhose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs\nand lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in\nthem that perish; because they received not the love of the truth,\nthat they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them\nstrong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might\nbe damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in\nunrighteousness.\" (2 Thess. ii. 7-12.)\n\nHow awful is the doom of christendom! Strong delusion! Dark damnation!\nAnd all this in the face of the dreams of those false prophets who\ntalk to the people about \"the bright side of things.\" Thank God, there\nis a bright side for all those who belong to Christ. To them, the\napostle can speak in bright and cheering accents.--\"We are bound to\ngive thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord,\nbecause God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through\nsanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: whereunto He\ncalled you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord\nJesus Christ.\" (2 Thess. ii. 13, 14.)\n\nHere we have, most surely, the bright side of things--the bright and\nblessed hope of the Church of God--the hope of seeing \"the bright and\nmorning Star.\" All rightly instructed Christians are on the look-out,\nnot for an improved or a converted world, but for their coming Lord\nand Saviour, who has gone to prepare a place for them in the Father's\nhouse, and is coming again to receive them to Himself, that where He\nis, there they may be also. This is His own sweet promise, which may\nbe fulfilled at any moment. He only waits, as Peter tells us, in\nlong-suffering mercy, not willing that any should perish, but that all\nshould come to repentance. But when the last member shall be\nincorporated, by the Holy Ghost, into the blessed body of Christ, then\nshall the voice of the archangel and the trump of God summon _all_\nthe redeemed, from the beginning, to meet their descending Lord in the\nair, to be forever with Him.\n\nThis is the true and proper hope of the Church of God--a hope which He\nwould have ever shining down into the hearts of all His beloved\npeople, in its purifying and elevating power. Of this blessed hope the\nenemy has succeeded in robbing a large number of the Lord's people.\nIndeed, for centuries it was well-nigh blotted out from the Church's\nhorizon; and it has only been partially recovered within the last\nfifty years. And, alas! how partially! Where do we hear of it,\nthroughout the length and breadth of the professing church? Do the\npulpits of christendom ring with the joyful sound, \"Behold the\nBridegroom cometh\"? Far from it. Even the few beloved servants of\nChrist who are looking for His coming, hardly dare to preach it,\nbecause they fear it would be utterly rejected. And so it would. We\nare thoroughly persuaded that, in the vast majority of cases, men who\nshould venture to preach the glorious truth that the Lord is coming\nfor His Church, would speedily have to vacate their pulpits.\n\nWhat a solemn and striking proof of Satan's blinding power! He has\nrobbed the Church of her divinely given hope, and instead thereof, he\nhas given her a delusion--a lie. Instead of looking out for \"the\nbright and morning Star,\" he has set her looking for a converted\nworld--a millennium without Christ. He has succeeded in casting such a\nhaze over the future, that the Church has completely lost her\nbearings. She does not know where she is. She is like a vessel tossed\non the stormy ocean, having neither compass nor rudder, seeing neither\nsun nor stars. All is darkness and confusion.\n\nAnd how is this? Simply because the Church has lost sight of the pure\nand precious word of her Lord, and accepted instead those bewildering\ncreeds and confessions of men which so mar and mutilate the truth of\nGod that Christians seem utterly at sea as to their proper standing\nand their proper hope.\n\nAnd yet they have the Bible in their hands. True; but so had the Jews,\nand yet they rejected that blessed One who is the great theme of the\nBible from beginning to end. This was the moral inconsistency with\nwhich our Lord charged them in John v.--\"Ye search the Scriptures; for\nin them ye think ye have eternal life; and they are they which testify\nof Me; and ye will not come to Me, that ye might have life.\"[21]\n\n  [21] The word \u1f10\u03c1\u03b5\u03c5\u03bd\u1fb6\u03c4\u03b5 maybe either imperative or indicative;\n  but the context, we judge, demands the latter. They had the\n  Scriptures; they were read in their synagogues every Sabbath day; they\n  professed to believe that in them they had eternal life; they\n  testified of Him; and yet they would not come to Him. Here was the\n  flagrant inconsistency. Now, if \u1f10\u03c1\u03b5\u03c5\u03bd\u1fb6\u03c4\u03b5 be taken as a\n  command, the whole force of the passage is lost.\n\n  Need we remind the reader that there are plenty of arguments and\n  inducements leading us to search the Scriptures, without appealing to\n  what we believe to be an inaccurate rendering of John v. 39?\n\nAnd why was this? Simply because their minds were blinded by religious\nprejudice. They were under the influence of the doctrines and\ncommandments of men. Hence, although they had the Scriptures, and\nboasted of having them, they were as ignorant of them, and as little\ngoverned by them, as the poor dark heathen around them. It is one\nthing to have the Bible in our hands, in our homes, and in our\nassemblies, and quite another thing to have the truths of the Bible\nacting on our hearts and consciences, and shining in our lives.\n\nTake, for instance, the great subject now before us, and which has led\nus into this very lengthened digression. Can any thing be more plainly\ntaught in the New Testament than this, namely, that the end of the\npresent condition of things will be terrible apostasy from the truth,\nand open rebellion against God and the Lamb? The gospels, the\nepistles, and the Revelation all agree in setting forth this most\nsolemn truth, with such distinctness and simplicity that a babe in\nChrist may see it.\n\nAnd yet how few, comparatively, believe it! The vast majority believe\nthe very reverse. They believe that by means of the various agencies\nnow in operation all nations shall be converted. In vain we call\nattention to our Lord's parables in Matthew xiii.--the tares, the\nleaven, and the mustard-seed. How do these agree with the idea of a\nconverted world? If the whole world is to be converted by a preached\ngospel, how is it that tares are found in the field at the end of the\nage? how is it that there are as many foolish virgins as wise ones\nwhen the Bridegroom comes? If the whole world is to be converted by\nthe gospel, then on whom will \"the day of the Lord so come as a thief\nin the night\"? or what mean those awful words, \"For when they shall\nsay, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as\ntravail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape\"? In view\nof a converted world, what would be the just application, what the\nmoral force, of those most solemn words in the first of Revelation,\n\"Behold, He cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see Him, and they\nalso which pierced Him; and _all kindreds of the earth shall wail_\nbecause of Him\"? Where are all those wailing kindreds to be found if\nthe whole world is to be converted?\n\nReader, is it not as clear as a sunbeam that the two things cannot\nstand for a moment together? Is it not perfectly plain that the theory\nof a world converted by the gospel is diametrically opposed to the\nteaching of the entire New Testament? How is it, then, that the vast\nmajority of professing Christians persist in holding it? There can be\nbut the one reply, and that is, they do not bow to the authority of\nScripture. It is most sorrowful and solemn to have to say it; but it\nis, alas! too true. The Bible is read in christendom, but the truths\nof the Bible are not believed--nay, they are persistently rejected;\nand all this in view of the oft-repeated boast that \"the Bible, and\nthe Bible alone, is the religion of Protestants.\"\n\nBut we shall not pursue this subject further here, much as we feel its\nweight and importance. We trust the reader may be led by the Spirit of\nGod to feel its deep solemnity. We believe the Lord's people every\nwhere need to be thoroughly roused to a sense of how entirely the\nprofessing church has departed from the authority of Scripture. Here,\nwe may rest assured, lies the real cause of all the confusion, all the\nerror, all the evil, in our midst. We have departed from the Word of\nthe Lord, and from Himself. Until this is seen, felt, and owned, we\ncannot be right. The Lord looks for true repentance, real brokenness\nof spirit, in His presence. \"_To this man_ will I look, even to him\nthat is _poor_, and of a _contrite_ spirit, and trembleth at My Word.\"\n\nThis always holds good. There is no limit to the blessing when the\nsoul is in this truly blessed attitude. But it must be a reality. It\nwill not do to talk of being \"poor and contrite,\" we must be in the\ncondition. It is an individual matter. \"_To this man_ will I look.\"\n\nOh may the Lord, in His infinite mercy, lead us, every one, into true\nself-judgment, under the action of His Word. May our ears be open to\nhear His voice. May there be a real turning of our hearts to Himself\nand to His Word. May we turn our backs, in holy decision, once and\nforever, upon every thing that will not stand the test of Scripture.\nThis, we are persuaded, is what our Lord Christ looks for on the part\nof all who belong to Him, amid the terrible and hopeless _debris_ of\nchristendom.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\n\n\"Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments,\nwhich the Lord your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them\nin the land whither ye go to possess it: that thou mightest fear the\nLord thy God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments, which I\ncommand thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of\nthy life; and that thy days may be prolonged. Hear therefore, O\nIsrael, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that\nye may increase mightily, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised\nthee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey. Hear, O Israel:\nThe Lord our God is one Lord.\"\n\nWe have here presented to us that great cardinal truth which the\nnation of Israel was specially responsible to hold fast and confess,\nnamely, the unity of the Godhead. This truth lay at the very\nfoundation of the Jewish economy. It was the grand centre around which\nthe people were to rally. So long as they maintained this, they were a\nhappy, prosperous, fruitful people; but when it was let go, all was\ngone. It was their great national bulwark, and that which was to mark\nthem off from all the nations of the earth. They were called to\nconfess this glorious truth in the face of an idolatrous world, with\n\"its gods many, and lords many.\" It was Israel's high privilege and\nholy responsibility to bear a steady witness to the truth contained\nin that one weighty sentence, \"The Lord our God is one Lord,\" in\nmarked opposition to the false gods innumerable of the heathen around.\nTheir father Abraham had been called out from the very midst of\nheathen idolatry, to be a witness to the one true and living God, to\ntrust Him, to walk with Him, to lean on Him, and to obey Him.\n\nIf the reader will turn to the last chapter of Joshua, he will find a\nvery striking allusion to this fact, and a very important use made of\nit, in his closing address to the people.--\"And Joshua gathered all\nthe tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel,\nand for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers; and\nthey presented themselves before God. And Joshua said unto all the\npeople, 'Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the\nother side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of\nAbraham, and the father of Nachor; and _they served other gods_. And I\ntook your father Abraham from the other side of the flood, and led him\nthroughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave\nhim Isaac.'\"\n\nHere Joshua reminds the people of the fact that their fathers had\nserved other gods--a very solemn and weighty fact most surely, and one\nwhich they ought never to have forgotten, inasmuch as the remembrance\nof it would have taught them their deep need of watchfulness over\nthemselves, lest by any means they should be drawn back into that\ngross and terrible evil out of which God, in His sovereign grace and\nelecting love, had called their father Abraham. It would have been\ntheir wisdom to consider that the self-same evil in which their\nfathers had lived, in the olden time, was just the one into which they\nthemselves were likely to fall.\n\nHaving presented this fact to the people, Joshua brings before them,\nwith uncommon force and vividness, all the leading events of their\nhistory, from the birth of their father Isaac, down to the moment in\nwhich he was addressing them; and then sums up with the following\ntelling appeal: \"Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve Him in\nsincerity and in truth; and _put away the gods which your fathers\nserved on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt_; and serve ye the\nLord. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this\nday whom ye will serve; whether _the gods which your fathers served\nthat were on the other side of the flood_, or the gods of the Amorites\nin whose land ye dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the\nLord.\"\n\nMark the repeated allusion to the fact that their fathers had\nworshiped false gods; and further, that the land into which Jehovah\nhad brought them had been polluted, from one end to the other, by the\ndark abominations of heathen idolatry.\n\nThus does this faithful servant of the Lord, evidently by the\ninspiration of the Holy Ghost, seek to set before the people their\ndanger of giving up the grand central and foundation truth of the one\ntrue and living God, and falling back into the worship of idols. He\nurges upon them the absolute necessity of whole-hearted decision.\n\"Choose you _this day_ whom ye will serve.\" There is nothing like\nplain, out-and-out decision for God. It is due to Him always. He had\nproved Himself to be unmistakably for them in redeeming them from the\nbondage of Egypt, bringing them through the wilderness, and planting\nthem in the land of Canaan; hence, therefore, that they should be\nwholly for Him was nothing more than their reasonable service.\n\nHow deeply Joshua felt all this for himself is evident from those very\nmemorable words, \"As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.\"\nLovely words! Precious decision! National religion might, and, alas!\ndid, go to ruin; but personal and family religion could, by the grace\nof God, be maintained every where and at all times.\n\nThank God for this! May we never forget it. \"Me and my house\" is\nFaith's clear and delightful response to God's \"Thou and thy house.\"\nLet the condition of the ostensible, professed people of God, at any\ngiven time, be what it may, it is the privilege of every true-hearted\nman of God to adopt and act upon this immortal decision: \"As for me\nand my house, we will serve the Lord.\"\n\nTrue, it is only by the grace of God, continually supplied, that this\nholy resolution can be carried out; but we may rest assured that where\nthe bent of the heart is to follow the Lord fully, all needed grace\nwill be ministered, day by day; for those encouraging words must ever\nhold good, \"_My_ grace is sufficient for _thee_; for My strength is\nmade perfect in weakness.\"\n\nLet us now look for a moment at the apparent effect of Joshua's\nsoul-stirring appeal to the congregation. It seemed very promising.\n\"The people answered and said, 'God forbid that we should forsake the\nLord, to serve other gods; for the Lord our God, He it is that brought\nus up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of\nbondage, and which did those great signs in our sight, and preserved\nus in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people through\nwhom we passed: and the Lord drave out from before us all the people,\neven the Amorites which dwelt in the land; therefore will we also\nserve the Lord, for He is our God.\"\n\nAll this sounded very well, and looked very hopeful. They seemed to\nhave a clear sense of the moral basis of Jehovah's claim upon them for\nimplicit obedience. They could accurately recount all His mighty deeds\non their behalf, and make very earnest and no doubt sincere\nprotestations against idolatry, and promises of obedience to Jehovah,\ntheir God.\n\nBut it is very evident that Joshua was not particularly sanguine about\nall this profession, for he \"said unto the people, 'Ye cannot serve\nthe Lord: for He is a holy God; He is a jealous God; He will not\nforgive your transgressions nor your sins. If ye forsake the Lord, and\nserve strange gods, then He will turn and do you hurt, and consume\nyou, after that He hath done you good.' And the people said unto\nJoshua, 'Nay; but we will serve the Lord.' And Joshua said unto the\npeople, 'Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you\nthe Lord, to serve Him.' And they said, 'We are witnesses.' 'Now\ntherefore put away,' said he, '_the strange gods which are among you_,\nand _incline your heart unto the Lord God of Israel_.' And the people\nsaid unto Joshua, 'The Lord our God will we serve, and His voice will\nwe obey.'\"\n\nWe do not now stop to contemplate the aspect in which Joshua presents\nGod to the congregation of Israel, inasmuch as our object in referring\nto the passage is to show the prominent place assigned, in Joshua's\naddress, to the truth of the unity of the Godhead. This was the truth\nto which Israel was called to bear witness, in view of all the nations\nof the earth, and in which they were to find their moral safeguard\nagainst the ensnaring influences of idolatry.\n\nBut, alas! this very truth was _the_ one as to which they most\nspeedily and signally failed. The promises, vows, and resolutions made\nunder the powerful influence of Joshua's appeal soon proved to be like\nthe early dew and the morning cloud, that passeth away. \"The people\nserved the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders\nthat outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the Lord,\nthat He did for Israel. And Joshua, the son of Nun, the servant of the\nLord, died, being a hundred and ten years old.... And also all that\ngeneration were gathered unto their fathers; and there arose another\ngeneration after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works\nwhich He had done for Israel. And the children of Israel did evil in\nthe sight of the Lord, _and served Baalim_; and they forsook the Lord\nGod of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt,\n_and followed_ other gods, of the gods of the people that were round\nabout them, _and bowed themselves unto them_, and provoked the Lord to\nanger. And they forsook the Lord, and served Baal and Ashtaroth.\"\n(Judges ii. 7-13.)\n\nReader, how admonitory is all this! how full of solemn warning to us\nall! The grand, all-important, special, and characteristic truth so\nsoon abandoned! The one only true and living God given up for Baal and\nAshtaroth! So long as Joshua and the elders lived, their presence and\ntheir influence kept Israel from open apostasy; but no sooner were\nthose moral embankments removed than the dark tide of idolatry rolled\nin and swept away the very foundations of the national faith. Jehovah\nof Israel was displaced by Baal and Ashtaroth. Human influence is a\npoor prop, a feeble barrier. We must be sustained by the power of God,\nelse we shall, sooner or later, give way. The faith that stands merely\nin the wisdom of men, and not in the power of God, must prove a poor,\nflimsy, worthless faith. It will not stand the day of trial; it will\nnot bear the furnace; it will most assuredly break down.\n\nIt is well to remember this. Second-hand faith will never do. There\nmust be a living link connecting the soul with God. We must have to do\nwith God for ourselves individually, else we shall give way when the\ntesting-time comes. Human example and human influence may be all very\ngood in their place. It was all very well to look at Joshua and the\nelders, and see how they followed the Lord. It is quite true that \"as\niron sharpeneth iron, so doth the countenance of a man his friend.\" It\nis very encouraging to be surrounded by a number of truly devoted\nhearts--very delightful to be borne along upon the bosom of the tide\nof collective loyalty to Christ--to His Person and to His cause. But\nif this be all,--if there be not the deep spring of personal faith and\npersonal knowledge,--if there be not the divinely formed and the\ndivinely sustained link of individual relationship and communion, then\nwhen the human props are removed,--when the tide of human influence\nebbs,--when general declension sets in, we shall be, in principle,\nlike Israel following the Lord all the days of Joshua and the elders,\nand then giving up the confession of His name and returning to the\nfollies and vanities of this present world--things no better, in\nreality, than Baal and Ashtaroth.\n\nBut, on the other hand, when the heart is thoroughly established in\nthe truth and grace of God,--when we can say--as it is the privilege\nof each true believer to say--\"I know _whom_ I have believed, and am\npersuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him\nagainst that day,\" then, although all should turn aside from the\npublic confession of Christ,--although we should find ourselves left\nwithout the help of a human countenance or the support of a human arm,\nwe shall find \"the foundation of God\" as sure as ever, and the path of\nobedience as plain before us as though thousands were treading it with\nholy decision and energy.\n\nWe must never lose sight of the fact that it is the divine purpose\nthat the professing church of God should learn deep and holy lessons\nfrom the history of Israel. \"Whatsoever things were written aforetime\nwere written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of\nthe Scriptures might have hope.\" Nor is it by any means necessary, in\norder to our thus learning from the Old-Testament scriptures, that we\nshould occupy ourselves in searching out fanciful analogies, curious\ntheories, or far-fetched illustrations. Many, alas! have tried these\nthings, and instead of finding \"comfort\" in the Scriptures, they have\nbeen led away into empty and foolish conceits, if not into deadly\nerrors.\n\nBut our business is with the living facts recorded on the page of\ninspired history. These are to be our study; from these we are to draw\nour great practical lessons. Take, for example, the weighty and\nadmonitory fact now before us--a fact standing out in characters deep\nand broad on the page of Israel's history from Joshua to Isaiah--the\nfact of Israel's lamentable departure from that very truth which they\nwere specially called to hold and confess--the truth of the unity of\nthe Godhead. The very first thing they did was to let go this grand\nand all-important truth, this key-stone of the arch, the foundation\nof the whole edifice, the very heart of their national existence, the\nliving centre of their national polity. They gave it up, and turned\nback to the idolatry of their fathers on the other side of the flood,\nand of the heathen nations around them. They abandoned that most\nglorious and distinctive truth on the maintenance of which their very\nexistence as a nation depended. Had they only held fast this truth,\nthey would have been invincible; but in surrendering it, they\nsurrendered all, and became much worse than the nations around them,\ninasmuch as they sinned against light and knowledge--sinned with their\neyes open--sinned in the face of the most solemn warnings and earnest\nentreaties, and, we may add, in the face of the most vehement and\noft-repeated promises and protestations of obedience.\n\nYes, reader, Israel gave up the worship of the one true and living\nGod, Jehovah-Elohim, their covenant-God; not only their Creator, but\ntheir Redeemer--the One who had brought them up out of the land of\nEgypt, conducted them through the Red Sea, led them through the\nwilderness, brought them across the Jordan, and planted them in\ntriumph in the inheritance which He had promised to Abraham their\nfather--\"a land flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all\nlands.\" They turned their backs upon Him, and gave themselves up to\nthe worship of false gods; \"they provoked Him to anger with their high\nplaces, and moved Him to jealousy with their graven images.\"\n\nIt seems perfectly wonderful that a people who had seen and known so\nmuch of the goodness and loving-kindness of God--His mighty acts, His\nfaithfulness, His majesty, His glory, could ever bring themselves to\nbow down to the stock of a tree; but so it was. Their whole history,\nfrom the days of the calf at the foot of Mount Sinai, to the day in\nwhich Nebuchadnezzar reduced Jerusalem to ruins, is marked by an\nunconquerable spirit of idolatry. In vain did Jehovah, in His\nlong-suffering mercy and abounding goodness, raise up deliverers for\nthem, to lift them from beneath the terrible consequences of their sin\nand folly. Again and again, in His inexhaustable mercy and patience,\nHe saved them from the hand of their enemies. He raised up an Othniel,\nan Ehud, a Barak, a Gideon, a Jephthah, a Samson--those instruments of\nHis mercy and power--those witnesses of His deep and tender love and\ncompassion toward His poor infatuated people. No sooner had each judge\npassed off the scene than back the nation plunged into their besetting\nsin of idolatry.\n\nSo, also, in the days of the kings; it is the same melancholy,\nheart-rending story. True, there were bright spots here and\nthere--some brilliant stars shining out through the deep gloom of the\nnation's history; we have a David, an Asa, a Jehoshaphat, a Hezekiah,\na Josiah--refreshing and blessed exceptions to the dark and dismal\nrule. But even men like these failed to eradicate from the heart of\nthe nation the pernicious root of idolatry. Even amid the unexampled\nsplendors of Solomon's reign, that root sent forth its bitter shoots,\nin the monstrous form of high places to Ashtaroth, the goddess of the\nZidonians; Milcom, the abomination of the Ammonites; and Chemosh, the\nabomination of Moab.\n\nReader, only think of this. Pause for a moment, and contemplate the\nastounding fact of the writer of the Canticles, Ecclesiastes, and\nProverbs bowing at the shrine of Molech! Only conceive, the wisest,\nthe wealthiest, and the most glorious of Israel's monarchs burning\nincense and offering sacrifices upon the altar of Chemosh!\n\nTruly, there is something here for us to ponder. It was written for\nour learning. The reign of Solomon affords one of the most striking\nand impressive evidences of the fact which is just now engaging our\nattention, namely, Israel's complete and hopeless apostasy from the\ngrand truth of the unity of the Godhead--their unconquerable spirit of\nidolatry. The truth which they were specially called out to hold and\nconfess was the very truth which they first of all and most\npersistently abandoned.\n\nWe shall not pursue the dark line of evidence further, neither shall\nwe dwell upon the appalling picture of the nation's judgment in\nconsequence of their idolatry. They are now in the condition of which\nthe prophet Hosea speaks--\"The children of Israel shall abide many\ndays without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice,\nand without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim.\"\n\"The unclean spirit of idolatry has gone out of them,\" during these\n\"many days,\" to return, by and by, with \"seven other spirits more\nwicked than himself\"--the very perfection of spiritual wickedness. And\nthen will come days of unparalleled tribulation upon that long\nmisguided and deeply revolted people--\"the time of Jacob's trouble.\"\n\nBut deliverance will come, blessed be God! Bright days are in store\nfor the restored nation--\"days of heaven upon earth\"--as the same\nprophet Hosea tells us, \"Afterward shall the children of Israel\nreturn, and seek the Lord their God, and David their king; and shall\nfear the Lord and His goodness in the latter days.\" All the promises\nof God to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David shall be blessedly\naccomplished; all the brilliant predictions of the prophets, from\nIsaiah to Malachi, shall be gloriously fulfilled. Yes, both promises\nand prophecies shall be literally and gloriously made good to restored\nIsrael, in the land of Canaan; for \"the Scripture cannot be broken.\"\nThe long, dark, dreary night shall be followed by the brightest day\nthat has ever shone upon this earth; the daughter of Zion shall bask\nin the bright and blessed beams of \"the Sun of Righteousness;\" and\n\"the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the\nwaters cover the sea.\"\n\nIt would indeed be a most delightful exercise to reproduce upon the\npages of this volume those glowing passages from the prophets which\nspeak of Israel's future; but this we cannot attempt; it is not\nneedful; and we have a duty to fulfill which, if not so pleasing to us\nor so refreshing to the reader, will, we earnestly hope, prove not\nless profitable.\n\nThe duty is this: to press upon the attention of the reader (and upon\nthe attention of the whole Church of God) the practical application of\nthat solemn fact in Israel's history on which we have dwelt at such\nlength--the fact of their having so speedily and so completely given\nup the great truth set forth in Deuteronomy vi. 4, \"Hear, O Israel;\nthe Lord our God is one Lord.\"\n\nWe may perhaps be asked, What bearing can this fact have upon the\nChurch of God? We believe it has a most solemn bearing; and further,\nwe believe we should be guilty of a very culpable shirking of our duty\nto Christ and to His Church if we failed to point it out. We know that\nall the great facts of Israel's history are full of instruction, full\nof admonition, full of warning, for us. It is our business, our\nbounden duty, to see that we profit by them--to take heed that we\nstudy them aright.\n\nNow, in contemplating the history of the Church of God as a public\nwitness for Christ on the earth, we find that hardly had it been set\nup, in all the fullness of blessing and privilege which marked the\nopening of its career, ere it began to slip away from those very\ntruths which it was specially responsible to maintain and confess.\nLike Adam in the garden of Eden; like Noah in the restored earth; like\nIsrael in Canaan; so the Church, as the responsible steward of the\nmysteries of God, was no sooner set in its place than it began to\ntotter and fall. It almost immediately began to give up those grand\ntruths which were characteristic of its very existence, and which were\nto mark off Christianity from all that had gone before. Even under the\neyes of the apostles of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, errors and\nevils had begun to work which sapped the very foundations of the\nChurch's testimony.\n\nAre we asked for proofs? Alas! we have them in melancholy abundance.\nHear the words of that blessed apostle who shed more tears and heaved\nmore sighs over the ruins of the Church than any man that ever lived.\n\"I marvel,\" he says, and well he might, \"that ye are _so soon_ removed\nfrom Him that called you into the grace of Christ, unto another\ngospel: which is not another.\" \"O foolish Galatians, who hath\nbewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes\nJesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?\"\n\"Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service to them which by\nnature are no gods. But now, after that ye have known God, or rather\nare known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements,\nwhereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? Ye observe days and months\nand times and years;\" Christian festivals, so called, very imposing\nand gratifying to religious nature; but, in the judgment of the\napostle, the judgment of the Holy Ghost, it was simply giving up\nChristianity and going back to the worship of idols. \"I am afraid of\nyou\"--and no wonder, when they could thus so speedily turn away from\nthe grand characteristic truths of a heavenly Christianity, and occupy\nthemselves with superstitious observances. \"I am afraid of you, lest I\nhave bestowed upon you labor in vain.\" \"Ye did run well; who did\nhinder you, that ye should not obey the truth? This persuasion cometh\nnot of Him that calleth you. A little leaven leaveneth the whole\nlump.\"\n\nAnd all this in the apostle's own day. The departure was even more\nrapid than in Israel's case; for they served the Lord all the days of\nJoshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua; but in\nthe Church's sad and humiliating history, the enemy succeeded almost\nimmediately in introducing leaven into the meal, tares among the\nwheat. Ere the apostles themselves had left the scene, seed was sown\nwhich has been bearing its pernicious fruit ever since, and shall\ncontinue to bear till angelic reapers clear the field.\n\nBut we must give further proof from Scripture. Let us hearken to the\nsame inspired witness, near the close of his ministry, pouring out his\nheart to his beloved son Timothy, in accents at once pathetic and\nsolemn. \"This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned\naway from me.\" Again, \"Preach the Word; be instant in season, out of\nseason; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine.\nFor the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but\nafter their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having\nitching ears; and _they shall turn away their ears from the truth_,\nand shall be turned unto fables.\"\n\nHere is the testimony of the man who, as a wise master-builder, had\nlaid the foundation of the Church. And what was his own personal\nexperience? He was, like his blessed Master, left alone, deserted by\nthose who had once gathered around him in the freshness, bloom, and\nardor of early days. His large loving heart was broken by Judaizing\nteachers, who sought to overturn the very foundations of Christianity,\nand to overthrow the faith of God's elect. He wept over the ways of\nmany who, while they made a profession, were nevertheless \"the enemies\nof the cross of Christ.\"\n\nIn a word, the apostle Paul, as he looked forth from his prison at\nRome, saw the hopeless wreck and ruin of the professing body. He saw\nthat it would happen to that body as it had happened to the ship in\nwhich he had made his last voyage--a voyage strikingly significant and\nillustrative of the Church's sad history in this world.\n\nBut here let us just remind the reader that we are dealing now only\nwith the question of the Church as a responsible witness for Christ on\nthe earth. This must be distinctly seen, else we shall greatly err in\nour thoughts on the subject. We must accurately distinguish between\nthe Church as the body of Christ, and as His light-bearer or witness\nin the world. In the former character, failure is impossible; in the\nlatter, the ruin is complete and hopeless.\n\nThe Church as the body of Christ, united to her living and glorified\nHead in the heavens, by the presence and indwelling of the Holy Ghost,\ncan never, by any possibility, fail--never be smashed to pieces, like\nPaul's ship, by the storms and billows of this hostile world. It is as\nsafe as Christ Himself. The Head and the body are one--indissolubly\none. No power of earth or hell--men or devils can ever touch the\nfeeblest and most obscure member of that blessed body. All stand\nbefore God, all are under His gracious eye, in the fullness, beauty,\nand acceptability of Christ Himself. As is the Head, so are the\nmembers--all the members together--each member in particular. All\nstand in the full eternal results of Christ's finished work on the\ncross. There is, there can be, no question of responsibility here. The\nHead made Himself responsible for the members. He perfectly met every\nclaim, and discharged every liability. Nothing remains but love--love,\ndeep as the heart of Christ, perfect as His work, unchanging as His\nthrone. Every question that could possibly be raised against any one\nor all of the members of the Church of God was raised, gone into, and\ndefinitively settled, between God and His Christ, on the cross. All\nthe sins, all the iniquities, all the transgressions, all the guilt,\nof each member in particular, and all the members together--yes, all,\nin the fullest and most absolute way, was laid on Christ and borne by\nHim. God, in His inflexible justice, in His infinite holiness, in His\neternal righteousness, dealt with every thing that could ever, in any\npossible manner, stand in the way of the full salvation, perfect\nblessedness, and everlasting glory of every one of the members of the\nbody of Christ--the assembly of God. Every member of the body is\npermeated by the life of the Head; every stone in the building is\nanimated by the life of the Chief Corner-Stone. All are bound together\nin the power of a bond which can never--no, never be dissolved.\n\nAnd furthermore, let it be distinctly understood that the unity of the\nbody of Christ is absolutely indissoluble. This is a cardinal point\nwhich must be tenaciously held and faithfully confessed. But obviously\nit cannot be held and confessed unless it is understood and believed;\nand, judging from the expressions which one sometimes hears in\nspeaking on the subject, it is very questionable indeed if people so\nexpressing themselves have ever grasped in a divine way the glorious\ntruth of the unity of the body of Christ--a unity maintained on earth\nby the indwelling of the Holy Ghost.\n\nThus, for example, we sometimes hear people speak of \"rending the body\nof Christ.\" It is a complete mistake. Such a thing is utterly\nimpossible. The Reformers were accused of rending the body of Christ\nwhen they turned their backs upon the Romish system. What a gross\nmisconception! It simply amounted to the monstrous assumption that a\nvast mass of moral evil, doctrinal error, ecclesiastical corruption,\nand debasing superstition was to be owned as the body of Christ! How\ncould any one with the New Testament in his hand regard the so-called\nchurch of Rome, with its numberless and nameless abominations, as the\nbody of Christ? How could any one possessing the very faintest idea of\nthe true Church of God ever think of bestowing that title upon the\ndarkest mass of wickedness, the greatest masterpiece of Satan the\nworld has ever beheld?\n\nNo, reader; we must never confound the ecclesiastical systems of this\nworld--ancient, medieval, or modern; Greek, Latin, Anglican; national\nor popular, established or dissenting--with the true Church of God,\nthe body of Christ. There is not, beneath the canopy of heaven, this\nday, nor ever was, a religious system, call it what you please,\npossessing the very smallest claim to be called \"the Church of God,\"\nor \"the body of Christ.\" And, as a consequence, it can never be\nrightly or intelligently called schism, or rending the body of Christ,\nto separate from such systems; nay, on the contrary, it is the bounden\nduty of every one who would faithfully maintain and confess the truth\nof the unity of the body to separate, with the most unqualified\ndecision, from every thing falsely calling itself a church. It can\nonly be viewed as schism to separate from those who are unmistakably\nand unquestionably gathered on the ground of the assembly of God.\n\nNo body of Christians can now lay claim to the title of the body of\nChrist, or Church of God. The members of that body are scattered every\nwhere; they are to be found in all the various religious organizations\nof the day, save such as deny the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ. We\ncannot admit the idea that any true Christian could continue to\nfrequent a place where his Lord is blasphemed. But although no body of\nChristians can lay claim to the title of the assembly of God, all\nChristians are responsible to be gathered on the ground of that\nassembly, and on no other.\n\nAnd if we be asked, How are we to know--where are we to find this\nground? We reply, \"If thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be\nfull of light.\" \"If any man _will do_ His will, he shall know of the\ndoctrine.\" \"_There is a path_\" (thanks be to God for it!) though \"no\nfowl knoweth, and the vulture's eye hath not seen it. The lion's\nwhelps have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it.\"\nNature's keenest vision cannot see this path, nor its greatest\nstrength tread it. Where is it, then? Here it is: \"_Unto man_\"--to the\nreader and to the writer, to each, to all--\"He said, 'Behold, _the\nfear of the Lord_, that is wisdom; and _to depart from evil_ is\nunderstanding.'\" (Job xxviii.)\n\nBut there is another expression which we not unfrequently hear from\npersons from whom we might expect more intelligence, namely, \"Cutting\noff the members of the body of Christ.\"[22] This, too, blessed be God,\nis impossible. Not a single member of the body of Christ can ever be\nsevered from the Head, or ever disturbed from the place into which he\nhas been incorporated by the Holy Ghost, in pursuance of the eternal\npurpose of God, and in virtue of the accomplished atonement of our\nLord Jesus Christ. The divine Three in One are pledged for the eternal\nsecurity of the very feeblest member of the body, and for the\nmaintenance of the indissoluble unity of the whole.\n\n  [22] The expression, \"Cutting off the members of Christ's body\" is\n  generally applied in cases of discipline; but it is quite a\n  misapplication. The discipline of the assembly can never touch the\n  unity of the body. A member of the body may so fail in morals or err\n  in doctrine as to call for the action of the assembly in putting him\n  away from the table, but that has nothing to do with his place in the\n  body. The two things are perfectly distinct.\n\nIn a word, then, it is as true to-day as it was when the inspired\napostle penned the fourth chapter of his epistle to the Ephesians,\nthat \"there is one body,\" of which Christ is Head, of which the Holy\nGhost is the formative power, and of which all true believers are\nmembers. This body has been on earth since the day of Pentecost, is on\nearth now, and shall continue on earth until that moment, so rapidly\napproaching, when Christ shall come and take it to His Father's house.\nIt is the same body, with a continual succession of members, just as\nwe speak of a certain regiment of her majesty's army having been at\nWaterloo, and now quartered at Aldershot, though not a man in the\nregiment of to-day appeared at the memorable battle of 1815.\n\nDoes the reader feel any difficulty as to all this? It may be that he\nfinds it hard, in the present broken and scattered condition of the\nmembers, to believe and confess the unbroken unity of the whole. He\nmay feel disposed, perhaps, to limit the application of Ephesians iv.\n4 to the day in which the apostle penned the words, when Christians\nwere manifestly one, and when there was no such thing thought of as\nbeing a member of this church or a member of that church, because all\nbelievers were members of _the_ one Church.[23]\n\n  [23] The unity of the Church may be compared to a chain thrown across\n  a river; we see it at each side, but it dips in the middle. But though\n  it dips, it is not broken; though we do not _see_ the union in the\n  middle, we _believe_ it is there all the same. The Church was seen in\n  its unity on the day of Pentecost, and it will be seen in its unity in\n  the glory; and although we do not see it now, we nevertheless believe\n  it most surely.\n\n  And be it remembered that the unity of the body is a great practical,\n  formative truth; and one very weighty practical deduction from it is\n  that the state and walk of each member affect the whole body. \"If one\n  member suffer, all the members suffer with it.\" A member of what? Some\n  local assembly? Nay; but a member of the body. We must not make the\n  body of Christ a matter of geography.\n\n  But, we may be asked, are we affected by what we do not see or know?\n  Assuredly. Are we to limit the grand truth of the unity of the body,\n  with all its practical consequences, to the measure of our personal\n  knowledge and experience? Far be the thought. It is the presence of\n  the Holy Ghost that unites the members of the body to the Head and to\n  one another; and hence it is that the walk and ways of each affect\n  all. Even in Israel's case, where it was not a corporate but a\n  national unity, when Achan sinned, it was said, \"Israel hath sinned;\"\n  and the whole congregation suffered a humiliating defeat on account of\n  a sin of which they were ignorant.\n\n  It is perfectly marvelous how little the Lord's people seem to\n  understand the glorious truth of the unity of the body, and the\n  practical consequences flowing from it.\n\nIn reply, we must protest against the very idea of limiting the Word\nof God. What possible right have we to single out one clause from\nEphesians iv. 4-6, and say it only applied to the days of the\napostles? If one clause is to be so limited, why not all? Are there\nnot still \"one Spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and\nFather of all\"? Will any question this? Surely not. Well, then, it\nfollows that there is as surely one body as there is one Spirit, one\nLord, one God. All are intimately bound up together, and you cannot\ntouch one without touching all. We have no more right to deny the\nexistence of the one body than we have to deny the existence of God,\ninasmuch as the self-same passage that declares to us the one declares\nto us the other also.\n\nBut some will doubtless inquire, Where is this one body to be seen? Is\nit not an absurdity to speak of such a thing, in the face of the\nalmost numberless denominations of christendom? Our answer is this: We\nare not going to surrender the truth of God because man has so\nsignally failed to carry it out. Did not Israel utterly fail to\nmaintain, confess, and carry out the truth of the unity of the\nGodhead? and was that glorious truth, in the smallest degree, touched\nby their failure? Was it not as true that there was one God, though\nthere were as many idolatrous altars as streets in Jerusalem, and\nevery housetop sent up a cloud of incense to the queen of heaven, as\nwhen Moses sounded forth, in the ears of the whole congregation, those\nsublime words, \"Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord\"? Blessed\nbe God, His truth does not depend upon the faithless, foolish ways of\nmen. It stands in its own divine integrity; it shines in its own\nheavenly, undimmed lustre, spite of the grossest human failure. Were\nit not so, what should we do? whither should we turn? or what would\nbecome of us? In fact, it comes to this: if we were only to believe\nthe measure of truth which we see practically carried out in the ways\nof men, we might give up in despair, and be of all men most\nmiserable.\n\nBut how is the truth of the one body to be practically carried out? By\nrefusing to own any other principle of Christian fellowship--any other\nground of meeting. All true believers should meet on the simple ground\nof membership of the body of Christ, and on no other. They should\nassemble, on the first day of the week, around the Lord's table, and\nbreak bread, as members of the one body, as we read in 1 Corinthians\nx, \"For we, being many, are one loaf, one body; for we are all\npartakers of that one loaf.\" This is as true and as practical to-day\nas it was when the apostle addressed the assembly at Corinth. True,\nthere were divisions at Corinth as there are divisions in christendom;\nbut that did not in any wise touch the truth of God. The apostle\nrebuked the divisions--pronounced them carnal. He had no sympathy with\nthe poor, low idea which one sometimes hears advocated, that divisions\nare good things, as superinducing emulation. He believed they were\nvery bad things--the fruit of the flesh, the work of Satan.\n\nNeither, we feel persuaded, would the apostle have accepted the\npopular illustration that divisions in the Church are like so many\nregiments, with different facings, all fighting under the same\ncommander-in-chief. It would not hold good for a moment; indeed, it\nhas no application whatever, but rather gives a flat contradiction to\nthat distinct and emphatic statement, \"There is one body.\"\n\nReader, this is a most glorious truth. Let us ponder it deeply. Let us\nlook at christendom in the light of it. Let us judge our own position\nand ways by it. Are we acting on it? Do we give expression to it, at\nthe Lord's table, every Lord's day? Be assured it is our sacred duty\nand high privilege so to do. Say not there are difficulties of all\nsorts, many stumbling-blocks in the way, much to dishearten us in the\nconduct of those who profess to meet on this very ground of which we\nspeak.\n\nAll this is, alas! but too true. We must be quite prepared for it. The\ndevil will leave no stone unturned to cast dust in our eyes, so that\nwe may not see God's blessed way for His people. But we must not give\nheed to his suggestions or be snared by his devices. There always have\nbeen, and there always will be difficulties in the way of carrying out\nthe precious truth of God; and perhaps one of the greatest\ndifficulties is found in the inconsistent conduct of those who profess\nto act upon it.\n\nBut then we must ever distinguish between the truth and those who\nprofess it--between the ground and the conduct of those who occupy it.\nOf course, they ought to harmonize, but they do not; and hence we are\nimperatively called to judge the conduct by the ground, not the ground\nby the conduct. If we saw a man farming on a principle which we knew\nto be thoroughly sound, but he was a bad farmer, what should we do? Of\ncourse, we should reject his mode of working, but hold the principle\nall the same.\n\nNot otherwise is it in reference to the truth now before us. There\nwere heresies at Corinth, schisms, errors, evils of all sorts. What\nthen? Was the truth of God to be surrendered as a myth, as something\nwholly impracticable? was it all to be given up? Were the Corinthians\nto meet on some other principle? were they to organize themselves on\nsome new ground? were they to gather around some fresh centre? No,\nthank God! His truth was not to be surrendered for a moment, although\nCorinth was split up into ten thousand sects, and its horizon darkened\nby ten thousand heresies. The body of Christ is one; and the apostle\nsimply displays in their view the banner with this blessed\ninscription: \"Ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.\"\n\nNow, these words were addressed, not merely \"unto the church at\nCorinth,\" but also \"to all that in every place call upon the name of\nJesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours.\" Hence, the truth of the\none body is abiding and universal. Every true Christian is bound to\nrecognize it and to act on it, and every assembly of Christians,\nwherever convened, should be the local expression of this grand and\nall-important truth.\n\nSome might perhaps feel disposed to ask how it could be said to any\none assembly, \"Ye are the body of Christ.\" Were there not saints at\nEphesus, Colosse, and Philippi? No doubt; and had the apostle been\naddressing them on the same subject, he could have said to them\nlikewise, \"Ye are the body of Christ,\" inasmuch as they were the\nlocal expression of the body; and not only so, but, in addressing\nthem, he had before his mind all saints, to the end of the Church's\nearthly career.\n\nBut we must bear in mind that the apostle could not possibly address\nsuch words to any human organization, ancient or modern. No; nor if\nall such organizations, call them what you please, were amalgamated\ninto one, could he speak of it as \"the body of Christ.\" That body, let\nit be distinctly understood, consists of all true believers on the\nface of the earth. That they are not gathered on that only divine\nground, is their serious loss and their Lord's dishonor. The precious\ntruth holds good all the same--\"There is one body,\" and this is the\ndivine standard by which to measure every ecclesiastical association\nand every religious system under the sun.\n\nWe deem it needful to go somewhat fully into the divine side of the\nquestion of the Church, in order to guard the truth of God from the\nresults of misapprehension, and also that the reader may clearly\nunderstand that in speaking of the utter failure and ruin of the\nChurch, we are looking at the human side of the subject. To this\nlatter we must return for a moment.\n\nIt is impossible to read the New Testament with a calm and\nunprejudiced mind and not see that the Church as a responsible witness\nfor Christ on the earth has most signally and shamefully failed. To\nquote all the passages in proof of this statement would literally\nfill a small volume; but let us glance at the second and third\nchapters of the book of Revelation, where the Church is seen under\njudgment. We have, in these solemn chapters, what we may call a divine\nChurch-history. Seven assemblies are taken up, as illustrative of the\nvarious phases of the Church's history, from the day in which it was\nset up, in responsibility, on the earth, until it shall be spued out\nof the Lord's mouth, as something utterly intolerable. If we do not\nsee that these two chapters are prophetic, as well as historic, we\nshall deprive ourselves of a vast field of most valuable instruction.\nFor ourselves, we can only assure the reader that no human language\ncould adequately set forth what we have gathered from Revelation ii.\nand iii., in their prophetic aspect.\n\nHowever, we are only referring to them now as the last of a series of\nScripture proofs of our present thesis. Take the address to Ephesus,\nthe self-same church to which the apostle Paul wrote his marvelous\nepistle, opening up so blessedly the heavenly side of things, God's\neternal purpose respecting the Church--the position and portion of the\nChurch, as accepted in Christ and blessed with all spiritual blessings\nin the heavenlies in Him. No failure here; no thought of such a thing;\nno possibility of it. All is in God's hands here. The counsel is His;\nthe work His. It is His grace, His glory, His mighty power, His good\npleasure; and all founded upon the blood of Christ. There is no\nquestion of responsibility here. The Church was \"dead in trespasses\nand sins;\" but Christ died for her; He placed Himself judicially where\nshe was morally; and God, in His sovereign grace, entered the scene\nand raised up Christ from the dead, and the Church in Him. Glorious\nfact! Here all is sure and settled. It is the Church in the heavenlies\n_in_ Christ, not the Church on earth _for_ Christ,--it is _the body_\n\"_accepted_,\" not _the candlestick judged_. If we do not see both\nsides of this great question, we have much to learn.\n\nBut there is the earthly side as well as the heavenly--the human as\nwell as the divine--the candlestick as well as the body. Hence it is\nthat in the judicial address in Revelation ii. we read such solemn\nwords as these: \"_I have against thee_, that thou hast left thy first\nlove.\"\n\nHow very distinct! Nothing like this in Ephesians; nothing against the\nbody, nothing against the bride; but there is something against the\ncandlestick. The light had even already become dim. Hardly had it been\nlighted ere the snuffers were needed.\n\nThus, at the very outset, symptoms of decline showed themselves,\nunmistakably, to the penetrating eye of Him who walked amongst the\nseven golden candlesticks; and when we reach the close, and\ncontemplate the last phase of the Church's condition--the last stage\nof its earthly history, as illustrated by the assembly at\nLaodicea--there is not a single redeeming feature. The case is almost\nhopeless. The Lord is outside the door.--\"Behold, I stand at the\ndoor, and knock.\" It is not here as at Ephesus, \"I have somewhat\nagainst thee.\" The whole condition is bad. The whole professing body\nis about to be given up.--\"I will spue thee out of My mouth.\" He still\nlingers, blessed be His name, for He is ever slow to leave the place\nof mercy, or enter the place of judgment. It reminds us of the\ndeparture of the glory, in the opening of Ezekiel. It moved with a\nslow and measured pace, loth to leave the house, the people, and the\nland. \"Then the glory of the Lord went up from the cherub, and stood\nover the threshold of the house; and the house was filled with the\ncloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the Lord's glory.\"\n\"Then the glory of the Lord departed from off the threshold of the\nhouse, and stood over the cherubim.\" And finally, \"the glory of the\nLord went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain\nwhich is on the east side of the city.\" (Ezek. x. 4, 18; xi. 23.)\n\nThis is deeply affecting. How striking the contrast between this slow\ndeparture of the glory and its speedy entrance, in the day of\nSolomon's dedication of the house in 2 Chronicles vii. 1. Jehovah was\nquick to enter His abode in the midst of His people; slow to leave it.\nHe was, to speak after the manner of men, forced away by the sins and\nhopeless impenitence of His infatuated people.\n\nSo also with the Church. We see in the second of Acts His rapid\nentrance into His spiritual house. He came like a rushing mighty wind\nto fill the house with His glory. But in the third of Revelation, see\nHis attitude: He is outside. Yes; but He is knocking. He lingers, not\nindeed with any hope of corporate restoration, but if haply \"_any man_\nwould hear His voice and open the door.\" The fact of His being outside\nshows what the church is. The fact of His knocking shows what He is.\n\nChristian reader, see that you thoroughly understand this whole\nsubject: it is of the very last importance that you should. We are\nsurrounded on all sides with false notions as to the present condition\nand future destiny of the professing church. We must fling these all\nbehind our backs, with holy decision, and listen, with circumcised ear\nand reverent mind, to the teaching of holy Scripture. That teaching is\nas clear as noonday. The professing church is a hopeless ruin, and\njudgment is at the door. Read the epistle of Jude; read 2 Peter ii.\nand iii.; read 2 Timothy. Just lay aside this volume and look closely\ninto those solemn scriptures, and we feel persuaded you will rise from\nthe study with the deep and thorough conviction that there is nothing\nwhatever before christendom but the unmitigated wrath of Almighty God.\nIts doom is set forth in that brief but solemn sentence in Romans xi.,\n\"Thou also shalt be cut off.\"\n\nYes; such is the language of Scripture.--\"Cut off\"--\"spued out.\" The\nprofessing church has utterly failed as Christ's witness on the earth.\nAs with Israel, so with the Church, the very truth which she was\nresponsible to maintain and confess, she had faithlessly surrendered.\nHardly had the canon of New-Testament scripture closed, hardly had the\nfirst set of laborers left the field, ere gross darkness set in, and\nsettled down upon the whole professing body. Turn where you will,\nrange through the ponderous tomes of \"the fathers,\" as they are\ncalled, and you will not find a trace of those grand characteristic\ntruths of our glorious Christianity. All, all was shamefully\nabandoned. As Israel in Canaan abandoned Jehovah for Baal and\nAshtaroth, so the Church abandoned the pure and precious truth of God\nfor puerile fables and deadly errors. The rapid departure is perfectly\nastounding; but it was just as the apostle Paul forewarned the elders\nof Ephesus.--\"Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the\nflock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed\nthe Church of God, which He hath purchased with His own blood. For I\nknow this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in\namong you, not sparing the flock. Also from among your own selves\nshall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples\nafter them.\" (Acts xx.)\n\nHow truly deplorable! The holy apostles of our Lord and Saviour Jesus\nChrist almost immediately succeeded by \"grievous wolves\" and teachers\nof perverse things; the whole Church plunged into thick darkness; the\nlamp of divine revelation almost hidden from view; ecclesiastical\ncorruption in every form; priestly domination with all its terrible\naccompaniments. In short, the history of the Church--the history of\nchristendom is the most appalling record ever penned.\n\nTrue it is, thanks be to God, He left not Himself without a witness.\nHere and there, from time to time, just as in Israel of old, He raised\nup one and another to speak for Him. Even amid the deepest gloom of\nthe middle ages, an occasional star appears upon the horizon. The\nWaldenses and others were enabled, by the grace of God, to hold fast\nHis Word and to confess the name of Jesus in the face of Rome's dark\nand terrible tyranny, and diabolical cruelty.\n\nThen came that gracious season, in the sixteenth century, when God\nraised up Luther and his beloved and honored fellow-laborers to preach\nthe great truth of justification by faith, and to give the precious\nvolume of God to the people, in their own tongue wherein they were\nborn. It is not within the compass of human language to set forth the\nblessing of that memorable time. Thousands heard the glad tidings of\nsalvation--heard, believed, and were saved. Thousands, who had long\ngroaned beneath the intolerable weight of Romish superstition, hailed,\nwith profound thankfulness, the heavenly message. Thousands flocked,\nwith intense delight, to draw water from those wells of inspiration\nwhich had been stopped for ages by papal ignorance and intolerance.\nThe blessed lamp of divine revelation, so long hidden by the enemy's\nhand, was permitted to cast its rays athwart the gloom, and thousands\nrejoiced in its heavenly light.\n\nBut while we heartily bless God for all the glorious results of what\nis commonly called the reformation, in the sixteenth century, we\nshould make a very grave mistake indeed were we to imagine that it was\nany thing approaching to a restoration of the Church to its original\ncondition. Far--very far from it. Luther and his companions, if we are\nto judge from their writings--precious writings, many of them--never\ngrasped the divine idea of the Church as the body of Christ. They did\nnot understand the unity of the body; the presence of the Holy Ghost\nin the assembly, as well as His indwelling in the individual believer;\nthey never reached the grand truth of ministry in the Church, \"its\nnature, source, power, and responsibility;\" they never got beyond the\nidea of human authority as the basis of ministry; they were silent as\nto the specific hope of the Church, namely, the coming of Christ for\nHis people--the bright and morning Star; they failed to seize the\nproper scope of prophecy, and proved themselves incompetent rightly to\ndivide the word of truth.\n\nLet us not be misunderstood. We love the memory of the reformers.\nTheir names are familiar household words amongst us. They were dear,\ndevoted, earnest, blessed servants of Christ. Would that we had their\nlike amongst us in this day of revived popery and rampant infidelity.\nWe would yield to none in our love and esteem for Luther, Melanchthon,\nFarel, Latimer, and Knox. They were truly bright and shining lights in\ntheir day; and thousands--yea, millions will thank God throughout\neternity that they ever lived and preached and wrote. And not only\nso, but, looked at in their private life and public ministry, they put\nto shame many of those who have been favored with a range of truth for\nwhich we look in vain in the voluminous writings of the reformers.\n\nBut, admitting all this, as we most freely and gratefully do, we are\nnevertheless convinced that those beloved and honored servants of\nChrist failed to seize, and therefore failed to preach and teach, many\nof the special and characteristic truths of Christianity; at least, we\nhave failed to find these truths in their writings. They preached the\nprecious truth of justification by faith; they gave the holy\nScriptures to the people; they trampled under foot much of the rubbish\nof Romish superstition.\n\nAll this they did, by the grace of God, and for all this we bow our\nheads in deep thankfulness and praise to the Father of mercies. But\nProtestantism is not Christianity; nor are the so-called churches of\nthe reformation, whether national or dissenting, the Church of God.\nFar from it. We look back over the course of eighteen centuries, and\nspite of the occasional revivals, spite of the brilliant lights which\nat various times have shone upon the Church's horizon--lights which\nappeared all the brighter in contrast with the deep gloom that\nsurrounded them--spite of the many gracious visitations of God's\nSpirit, both in Europe and America, during the past and present\ncentury--spite of all these things, for which we most heartily bless\nGod, we return with decision to the statement already advanced, that\nthe professing church is a hopeless wreck; that christendom is rapidly\nhastening down the inclined plane, to the blackness of darkness\nforever; that those highly favored lands, where much evangelical truth\nhas been preached, where Bibles have been circulated in millions, and\ngospel tracts in billions, shall yet be covered with thick\ndarkness--given over to strong delusion to believe a lie.\n\nAnd then?--ah, what then? _A converted world?_ Nay, but a _judged\nchurch_. The true saints of God, scattered throughout christendom--all\nthe true members of the body of Christ, will be caught up to meet\ntheir coming Lord--the dead saints raised, the living changed, in a\nmoment, and all taken up together to be forever with the Lord. Then\nthe mystery will rise to a head in the person of the man of sin--the\nlawless one, the Antichrist. The Lord Jesus shall come, and all His\nsaints with Him, to execute judgment on the beast, or revived Roman\nempire, and the false prophet, or Antichrist--the former in the west,\nthe latter in the east.\n\nThis will be a summary act of direct warrior judgment, without any\njudicial process whatever, inasmuch as both the beast and false\nprophet shall be found in open rebellion and blasphemous opposition to\nGod and the Lamb. Then comes the sessional judgment of the living\nnations, as recorded in Matthew xxv. 31-46.\n\nThus, all evil having been put down, Christ shall reign, in\nrighteousness and peace, for a thousand years. A bright and blessed\ntime! the true Sabbath for Israel and the whole earth--a period marked\nby the grand facts, Satan bound and Christ reigning. Glorious facts!\nThe very reference to them causes the heart to overflow in praise and\nthanksgiving. What will the reality be?\n\nBut Satan shall be loosed from his thousand years' captivity, and\nallowed to make one more effort against God and His Christ.--\"And when\nthe thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his\nprison, and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four\nquarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to\nbattle, the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.[24] And they\nwent up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the\nsaints about, and the beloved city; and fire came down from God out of\nheaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast\ninto the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false\nprophet are, and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever.\"\n(Rev. xx. 7-10.)\n\n  [24] The reader must distinguish between the Gog and Magog of\n  Revelation xx. and those of Ezekiel xxxviii. and xxxix. The former are\n  post-millennial; the latter, pre-millennial.\n\nThis will be Satan's last effort, issuing in his eternal perdition.\nThen we have the judgment of the dead, \"small and great\"--the\nsessional judgment of all those who shall have died in their sins,\nfrom the days of Cain down to the last apostate from millennial glory.\nTremendous scene! No heart can conceive, no tongue--no pen set forth,\nits awful solemnity.\n\nFinally, we have unfolded to the vision of our souls the everlasting\nstate--the new heaven and the new earth wherein righteousness shall\ndwell, throughout the golden ages of eternity.\n\nSuch is the order of events as set forth, with all possible clearness,\non the page of inspiration. We have given a brief summary of them in\nconnection with the line of truth on which we have been dwelling--a\nline, as we are fully aware, by no means popular; but we dare not\nwithhold it on that account. Our business is to declare the whole\ncounsel of God, not to seek popularity. We do not expect the truth of\nGod to be popular in christendom; so far from this, we have been\nseeking to prove that just as Israel abandoned the truth which they\nwere responsible to maintain, so the professing church has let slip\nall those great truths which characterize the Christianity of the New\nTestament. And we may assure the reader that our one object in\npursuing this line of argument is to arouse the hearts of all true\nChristians to a sense of the value of those truths, and of their\nresponsibility, not only to receive them, but to seek a fuller\nrealization and a bolder confession of them. We long to see a band of\nmen raised up, in these closing hours of the Church's earthly history,\nwho shall go forth, in true spiritual power, and proclaim, with\nunction and energy, the long-forgotten truths of the gospel of God.\nMay God, in His great mercy to His people, raise up such and send\nthem forth. May the Lord Jesus knock louder and louder at the door, so\nthat many may hear and open to Him, according to the desire of His\nloving heart, and taste the blessedness of deep personal communion\nwith Himself, while waiting for His coming.\n\nBlessed be God, there is no limit whatever to the blessing of the\nindividual soul who hears Christ's voice and opens the door; and what\nis true of one is true of hundreds or thousands. Only let us be real\nand simple and true, feeling and owning our utter feebleness and\nnothingness, laying aside all assumption and empty pretension, not\nseeking to be any thing or to set up any thing, but holding fast\nChrist's word and not denying His name, finding our happy place at His\nfeet, our satisfying portion in Himself, and our real delight in\nserving Him in any little way. Thus we shall get on harmoniously,\nlovingly, and happily together, finding our common centre in Christ,\nand our common object in seeking to further His cause and promote His\nglory. O that it were thus with all the Lord's beloved people in this\nour day! we should then have a very different tale to tell, and\npresent a very different aspect to the world around. May the Lord\nrevive His work.\n\nIt may perhaps seem to the reader that we have wandered a long way\nfrom the sixth chapter of Deuteronomy; but we must remind him, once\nfor all, that it is not merely what each chapter _contains_ that\ndemands our attention, but also what it _suggests_. And further, we\nmay add that, in sitting down to write, from time to time, it is our\none desire to be led by God's Spirit into the very line of truth which\nmay be suited to the need of all our readers. If only the beloved\nflock of Christ be fed, instructed, and comforted, we care not whether\nit be by well-connected notes or broken fragments.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nWe shall now proceed with our chapter.\n\nMoses having laid down the grand foundation-truth contained in the\nfourth verse--\"Hear, O Israel; the Lord our God is one Lord,\" proceeds\nto press upon the congregation their sacred duty in respect to this\nblessed One. It was not merely that there was _a_ God, but He was\n_their_ God. He had deigned to link Himself with them, in\ncovenant-relationship. He had redeemed them, borne them on eagles'\nwings, and brought them unto Himself, in order that they might be to\nHim a people, and that He might be their God.\n\nBlessed fact! Blessed relationship! But Israel had to be reminded of\nthe conduct suited to such a relationship-conduct which could only\nflow from a loving heart. \"Thou shalt love the Lord _thy_ God with\n_all_ thy _heart_, and with _all_ thy soul, and with _all_ thy might.\"\nHere lies the secret of all true practical religion. Without this, all\nis valueless to God. \"My son, give me thine heart.\" Where the heart is\ngiven, all will be right. The heart may be compared to the regulator\nof a watch, which acts on the hair-spring, and the hair-spring acts on\nthe main-spring, and the main-spring acts on the hands, as they move\naround the dial. If your watch goes wrong, it will not do merely to\nalter the hands, you must touch the regulator. God looks for real\nheart-work, blessed be His name! His word to us is, \"My little\nchildren, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and\nin truth.\"\n\nHow we ought to bless Him for such touching words! they do so reveal\nHis own loving heart to us. Assuredly, He loved us in deed and in\ntruth, and He cannot be satisfied with any thing else, whether in our\nways with Him or our ways one with another: all must flow straight\nfrom the heart.\n\n\"And these words which I command thee this day, shall be _in thine\nheart_\"--at the very source of all the issues of life. This is\npeculiarly precious. Whatever is in the heart comes out through the\nlips and in the life. How important, then, to have the heart full of\nthe Word of God--so full, that we shall have no room for the vanities\nand follies of this present evil world. Thus shall our conversation be\nalways with grace, seasoned with salt. \"Out of the abundance of the\nheart the mouth speaketh.\" Hence we can judge of what is in the heart\nby what cometh out of the mouth. The tongue is the organ of the\nheart--the organ of the man. \"A good man out of the good treasure of\nthe heart bringeth forth good things; and an evil man out of the evil\ntreasure bringeth forth evil things.\" When the heart is really\ngoverned by the Word of God, the whole character reveals the blessed\nresult. It must be so, inasmuch as the heart is the main-spring of\nour entire moral condition; it lies at the centre of all those moral\ninfluences which govern our personal history and shape our practical\ncareer.\n\nIn every part of the divine volume, we see how much importance God\nattaches to the attitude and state of the heart, with respect to Him\nor to His Word, which is one and the same thing. When the heart is\ntrue to Him, all is sure to come right; but on the other hand, we\nshall find that where the heart grows cold and careless as to God and\nHis truth, there will, sooner or later, be open departure from the\npath of truth and righteousness. There is, therefore, much force and\nvalue in the exhortation addressed by Barnabas to the converts at\nAntioch--\"He exhorted them all, that with _purpose of heart_ they\nwould cleave unto the Lord.\"\n\nHow needful then, now, always! This \"purpose of heart\" is most\nprecious to God. It is what we may venture to call the grand moral\nregulator. It imparts a lovely earnestness to the Christian character\nwhich is greatly to be coveted by all of us. It is a divine antidote\nagainst coldness, deadness, and formality, all of which are so hateful\nto God. The outward life may be very correct, and the creed may be\nvery orthodox; but if the earnest purpose of heart be lacking--the\naffectionate cleaving of the whole moral being to God and His Christ,\nall is utterly worthless.\n\nIt is through the heart that the Holy Ghost instructs us. Hence, the\napostle prayed for the saints at Ephesus, that \"the eyes of their\n_heart_ [\u03ba\u03b1\u03c1\u03b4\u03af\u03b1\u03c2, not \u03b4\u03b9\u03b1\u03bd\u03bf\u03af\u03b1\u03c2] might be\nenlightened;\" and again, \"That Christ may dwell in your _heart_ by\nfaith.\"\n\nThus we see how all Scripture is in perfect harmony with the\nexhortation recorded in our chapter, \"And these words which I command\nthee this day, shall be in thine heart.\" How near this would have kept\nthem to their covenant-God! How safe, too, from all evil, and\nspecially from the abominable evil of idolatry--their national sin,\ntheir terrible besetment! If Jehovah's precious words had only found\ntheir right place in the heart, there would have been little fear of\nBaal, Chemosh, or Ashtaroth. In a word, all the idols of the heathen\nwould have found their right place, and been estimated at their true\nvalue, if only the word of Jehovah had been allowed to dwell in\nIsrael's heart.\n\nAnd be it specially noted here how beautifully characteristic all this\nis of the book of Deuteronomy. It is not so much a question of keeping\nup a certain order of religious observances, the offering of\nsacrifices, or attention to rites and ceremonies. All these things, no\ndoubt, had their place, but they are by no means the prominent or\nparamount thing in Deuteronomy. No; THE WORD is the all-important\nmatter here. It is _Jehovah's word_ in _Israel's heart_.\n\nThe reader must seize this fact if he really desires to possess the\nkey to the lovely book of Deuteronomy. It is not a book of ceremonial;\nit is a book of moral and affectionate obedience. It teaches, in\nalmost every section, that invaluable lesson, that the heart that\nloves, prizes, and honors the Word of God is ready for every act of\nobedience, whether it be the offering of a sacrifice or the observance\nof a day. It might so happen that an Israelite would find himself in a\nplace and under circumstances in which a rigid adherence to rites and\nceremonies would be impossible; but he never could be in a place or in\ncircumstances in which he could not love, reverence, and obey the Word\nof God. Let him go where he would--let him be carried, as a captive\nexile, to the ends of the earth, nothing could rob him of the high\nprivilege of uttering and acting on those blessed words, \"Thy Word\nhave I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee.\"\n\nPrecious words! They contain, in their brief compass, the great\nprinciple of the book of Deuteronomy, and, we may add, the great\nprinciple of the divine life, at all times and in all places. It can\nnever lose its moral force and value: it always holds good. It was\ntrue in the days of the patriarchs, true for Israel in the land, true\nfor Israel scattered to the ends of the earth, true for the Church as\na whole, true for each individual believer amid the Church's hopeless\nruins. In a word, obedience is always the creature's holy duty and\nexalted privilege--simple, unhesitating, unqualified obedience to the\nWord of the Lord. This is an unspeakable mercy for which we may well\npraise our God, day and night. He has given us His Word, blessed be\nHis name, and He exhorts us to let that Word dwell in us\nrichly--dwell in our hearts, and assert its holy sway over our entire\ncourse and character.\n\n\"And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine\nheart: and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and\nshalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou\nwalkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.\nAnd thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be\nas frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the\nposts of thy house, and on thy gates.\"\n\nAll this is perfectly beautiful. The Word of God hidden in the heart;\nflowing out in loving instruction to the children, and in holy\nconversation in the bosom of the family; shining out in all the\nactivities of daily life, so that all who came inside the gates or\nentered the house might see that the Word of God was the standard for\neach, for all, and in every thing.\n\nThus it was to be with Israel of old, and surely thus it ought to be\nwith Christians now. But is it so? Are our children thus taught? Is it\nour constant aim to present the Word of God, in all its heavenly\nattractiveness, to their young hearts? Do they see it shining out in\nour daily life? do they see its influence upon our habits, our temper,\nour family intercourse, our business transactions? This is what we\nunderstand by binding the Word as a sign upon the hands, having it as\na frontlet between the eyes, writing it upon the door-posts and upon\nthe gates.\n\nReader, is it thus with us? It is of little use attempting to teach\nour children the Word of God if our lives are not governed by that\nWord. We do not believe in making the blessed Word of God a mere\nschool-book for our children; to do so is to turn a delightful\nprivilege into a wearisome drudgery. Our children should see that we\nlive in the very atmosphere of Scripture; that it forms the material\nof our conversation when we sit in the bosom of the family, in our\nmoments of relaxation.\n\nAlas! how little is this the case! Have we not to be deeply humbled in\nthe presence of God when we reflect upon the general character and\ntone of our conversation at table, and in the family circle? How\nlittle there is of Deuteronomy vi. 7! How much of \"foolish talking and\njesting, which are not convenient\"! How much evil-speaking of our\nbrethren, our neighbors, our fellow-laborers! How much idle gossip!\nHow much worthless small talk!\n\nAnd from what does all this proceed? Simply from the state of the\nheart. The Word of God, the commandments and sayings of our Lord and\nSaviour Jesus Christ, are not dwelling in our hearts; and hence they\nare not welling up and flowing out in living streams of grace and\nedification.\n\nWill any one say that Christians do not need to consider these things?\nIf so, let him ponder the following wholesome words: \"Let no corrupt\ncommunication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the\nuse of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.\" And\nagain, \"Be filled with the Spirit; speaking to yourselves in psalms\nand hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart\nto the Lord; giving thanks always for all things unto God and the\nFather in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.\" (Eph. iv. 29; v. 18-20.)\n\nThese words were addressed to the saints at Ephesus; and, most\nassuredly, we should apply our hearts diligently to them. We are\nlittle aware, perhaps, of how deeply and constantly we fail in\nmaintaining the habit of spiritual conversation. It is specially in\nthe bosom of the family, and in our ordinary intercourse, that this\nfailure is most manifest. Hence our need of those words of exhortation\nwhich we have just penned. It is evident the Holy Spirit foresaw the\nneed, and graciously anticipated it. Hear what He says \"to the saints\nand faithful brethren in Christ at Colosse,\"--\"Let the peace of Christ\nrule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and\nbe ye thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all\nwisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and\nspiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.\" (Col.\niii.)\n\nLovely picture of ordinary Christian life! It is but a fuller and\nhigher development of what we have in our chapter, where the Israelite\nis seen in the midst of his family, with the Word of God flowing forth\nfrom his heart in loving instruction to his children--seen in his\ndaily life, in all his intercourse at home and abroad, under the\nhallowed influence of Jehovah's words.\n\nBeloved Christian reader, do we not long to see more of all this in\nour midst? Is it not, at times, very sorrowful and very humbling to\nmark the style of conversation that obtains in the midst of our family\ncircles? Should we not sometimes blush if we could see our\nconversation reproduced in print? What is the remedy? Here it is--a\nheart filled with the peace of Christ, the word of Christ, Christ\nHimself: nothing else will do. We must begin with the heart, and where\nthat is thoroughly preoccupied with heavenly things, we shall make\nvery short work with all attempts at evil-speaking, foolish talking,\nand jesting.\n\n\"And it shall be, when the Lord thy God shall have brought thee into\nthe land which He sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to\nJacob, to give thee great and goodly cities which thou buildedst not,\nand houses full of all good things which thou filledst not, and wells\ndigged which thou diggedst not, and vineyards and olive-trees which\nthou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full; then\nbeware lest thou forget the Lord, which brought thee forth out of the\nland of Egypt, from the house of bondage.\" (Ver. 10-12.)\n\nAmid all the blessings, the mercies, and the privileges of the land of\nCanaan, they were to remember that gracious and faithful One who had\nredeemed them out of the land of bondage. They were to remember, too,\nthat all these things were His free gift. The land, with all that it\ncontained, was bestowed upon them in virtue of His promises to\nAbraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Cities built and houses furnished, flowing\nwells, fruitful vineyards and olive-yards, all ready to their hand,\nthe free gift of sovereign grace and covenant mercy. All they had to\ndo was to take possession, in simple faith, and to keep ever in the\nremembrance of the thoughts of their hearts the bounteous Giver of it\nall. They were to think of Him, and find in His redeeming love the\ntrue motive-spring of a life of loving obedience. Wherever they turned\ntheir eyes, they beheld the tokens of His great goodness--the rich\nfruit of His marvelous love. Every city, every house, every well,\nevery vine, olive and fig-tree, spoke to their hearts of Jehovah's\nabounding grace, and furnished a substantial proof of His infallible\nfaithfulness to His promise.\n\n\"Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve Him, and shalt swear by\nHis name. Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people\nwhich are round about you; (for the Lord thy God is a jealous God\namong you) lest the anger of the Lord thy God be kindled against thee,\nand destroy thee from off the face of the earth.\"\n\nThere are two great motives set before the congregation, in our\nchapter, namely, \"love,\" in verse 5, and \"fear,\" in verse 13. These\nare found all through Scripture; and their importance in guiding the\nlife and forming the character cannot possibly be too highly\nestimated. \"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.\" We are\nexhorted to be \"in the fear of the Lord all the day.\" It is a grand\nmoral safeguard against all evil. \"Unto man He said, 'Behold, the fear\nof the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is\nunderstanding.'\"\n\nThe blessed Book abounds in passages setting forth, in every possible\nform, the immense importance of the fear of God. \"How,\" says Joseph,\n\"can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?\" The man who\nwalks habitually in the fear of God is preserved from every form of\nmoral pravity. The abiding realization of the divine presence must\nprove an effectual shelter from every temptation. How often do we find\nthe presence of some very holy and spiritual person a wholesome check\nupon levity and folly; and if such be the moral influence of a\nfellow-mortal, how much more powerful would be the realized presence\nof God!\n\nChristian reader, let us give our serious attention to this weighty\nmatter. Let us seek to live in the consciousness that we are in the\nimmediate presence of God. Thus shall we be preserved from a thousand\nforms of evil, to which we are exposed from day to day, and to which,\nalas! we are predisposed. The remembrance that the eye of God rests\nupon us would exert a far more powerful influence upon our life and\nconversation than the presence of all the saints upon earth and all\nthe angels in heaven. We could not speak falsely, we could not utter\nwith our lips what we do not feel in the heart, we could not talk\nfolly, we could not speak evil of our brother or our neighbor, we\ncould not speak unkindly of any one, if only we felt ourselves in the\npresence of God. In a word, the holy fear of the Lord, of which\nScripture speaks so much, would act as a most blessed restraint upon\nevil thoughts, evil words, evil ways, evil in every shape and form.\n\nMoreover, it would tend to make us very real and genuine in all our\nsayings and doings. There is a sad amount of sham and nonsense about\nus. We frequently say a great deal more than we feel. We are not\nhonest; we do not speak, every man, truth with our neighbor; we give\nexpressions to sentiments which are not the genuine utterance of the\nheart; we act the hypocrite one with another.\n\nAll these things afford melancholy proof of how little we live, move,\nand have our being in the presence of God. If we could only bear in\nmind that God hears us and sees us--hears our every word and sees our\nevery thought, our every way, how differently we should carry\nourselves! What holy watchfulness we should maintain over our\nthoughts, our tempers, and our tongues! What purity of heart and mind!\nWhat truth and uprightness in all our intercourse with our fellows!\nWhat reality and simplicity in our deportment! What happy freedom from\nall affectation, assumption, and pretension! What deliverance from\nevery form of self-occupation! O, to live ever in the deep sense of\nthe divine presence! to walk in the fear of the Lord all the day long!\n\nAnd then to prove the \"vast constraining influence\" of His love! To be\nled out in all the holy activities which that love would ever\nsuggest! To find our delight in doing good! To taste the spiritual\nluxury of making hearts glad! To be continually meditating plans of\nusefulness! To live close by the fountain of divine love, so that we\nmust be streams of refreshing in the midst of this thirsty scene--rays\nof light amid the moral gloom around us! \"The love of Christ,\" says\nthe blessed apostle, \"constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if\none died for all, then were all dead; and that He died for all, that\nthey which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto\nHim which died for them, and rose again.\"\n\nHow morally lovely is all this! \"Would that it were more fully\nrealized and faithfully exhibited amongst us! May the fear and love of\nGod be continually in our hearts, in all their blessed power and\nformative influence, that thus our daily life may shine to His praise\nand the real profit, comfort, and blessing of all who come in contact\nwith us, whether in private or in public. God, in His infinite mercy,\ngrant it, for Christ's sake!\n\nThe sixteenth verse of our chapter demands our special attention.--\"Ye\nshall not tempt the Lord your God, as ye tempted Him in Massah.\" These\nwords were quoted by our blessed Lord when tempted by Satan to cast\nHimself from the pinnacle of the temple.--\"Then the devil taketh Him\nup into the holy city, and setteth Him on a pinnacle of the temple,\nand saith unto Him, 'If Thou be the Son of God, cast Thyself down; for\nit is written, He shall give His angels charge concerning Thee; and\nin their hands they shall bear Thee up, lest at any time Thou dash Thy\nfoot against a stone.'\"\n\nThis is a very remarkable passage. It proves how Satan can quote\nScripture when it suits his purpose. But he omits a most important\nclause--\"To keep Thee in all Thy ways.\" Now, it formed no part of the\nways of Christ to cast Himself from the pinnacle of the temple. It was\nnot the path of duty. He had no command from God to do any such thing,\nand hence He refused to do it. He had no need to tempt God--to put Him\nto the test. He had, as a man, the most perfect confidence in God--the\nfullest assurance of His protection.\n\nMoreover, He was not going to abandon the path of duty in order to\nprove God's care of Him; and herein He teaches us a most valuable\nlesson. We can always count on God's protecting hand when we are\ntreading the path of duty; but if we are walking in a self-chosen\npath--if we are seeking our own pleasure or our own interest, our own\nends or objects, then to talk of counting on God would be simply\nwicked presumption.\n\nNo doubt, our God is very merciful, very gracious, and His tender\nmercy is over us, even when we wander off the path of duty; but this\nis another thing altogether, and it leaves wholly untouched the\nstatement that we can only count on divine protection when our feet\nare in the pathway of duty, if a Christian goes out boating for his\namusement, or if he goes clambering over the Alps merely for\nsight-seeing, has he any right to believe that God will take care of\nhim? Let conscience give the answer. If God calls us to cross a stormy\nlake to preach the gospel, if He summons us to cross the Alps on some\nspecial service for Him, then, assuredly, we can commit ourselves to\nHis mighty hand to protect us from all evil. The grand point for all\nof us is, to be found in the holy path of duty. It may be narrow,\nrough, and lonely; but it is a path overshadowed by the wings of the\nAlmighty and illumined by the light of His approving countenance.\n\nEre turning from the subject suggested by verse 16, we would briefly\nnotice the very interesting and instructive fact that our Lord, in His\nreply to Satan, takes no notice whatever of his misquotation of psalm\nxci. 11. Let us carefully note this fact and seek to bear it in mind.\nIn place of saying to the enemy, You have left out a most important\nclause of the passage which you undertake to quote, He simply quotes\nanother passage, as authority for His own conduct. Thus He vanquished\nthe tempter, and thus He left us a blessed example.\n\nIt is worthy of our special notice that the Lord Jesus Christ did not\novercome Satan in virtue of His divine power. Had He done so, it could\nnot be an example for us. But when we see Him as a man using the Word\nas His only weapon, and thus gaining a glorious victory, our hearts\nare encouraged and comforted; and not only so, but we learn a most\nprecious lesson as to how we, in our sphere and measure, are to stand\nin the conflict. The Man Christ Jesus overcame by simple dependence\nupon God and obedience to His Word.\n\nBlessed fact! A fact full of comfort and consolation for us. Satan\ncould do nothing with one who would only act by divine authority, and\nby the power of the Spirit. Jesus never did His own will, though, as\nwe know, (blessed be His holy name!) His will was absolutely perfect.\nHe came down from heaven, as He Himself tells us, in John vi, not to\ndo His own will, but the will of the Father that sent Him. He was a\nperfect servant, from first to last. His rule of action was the Word\nof God; His power of action, the Holy Ghost; His only motive for\naction, the will of God; hence the prince of this world had nothing in\nHim. Satan could not, by all his subtle wiles, draw Him out of the\npath of obedience, or out of the place of dependence.\n\nChristian reader, let us consider these things; let us deeply ponder\nthem; let us remember that our blessed Lord and Master left us an\nexample that we should follow His steps. Oh, may we follow them\ndiligently during the little while that yet remains. May we, by the\ngracious ministry of the Holy Ghost, enter more fully into the great\nfact that we are called to walk even as Jesus walked. He is our great\nExemplar in all things. Let us study Him more profoundly, so that we\nmay reproduce Him more faithfully.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nWe shall now close this lengthened section by quoting for the reader\nthe last paragraph of the chapter on which we have been dwelling; it\nis a passage of singular fullness, depth, and power, and strikingly\ncharacteristic of the entire book of Deuteronomy.\n\n\"Ye shall _diligently_ keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and\nHis testimonies, and His statutes, which He hath commanded thee. And\nthou shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of the Lord;\nthat it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and possess\nthe good land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers; to cast out all\nthine enemies from before thee, as the Lord hath spoken. And when thy\nson asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies and\nthe statutes and the judgments which the Lord our God hath commanded\nyou? Then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh's bondmen in\nEgypt; and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand; and\nthe Lord showed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon\nPharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes; and He brought\nus out from thence, that He might bring us in, to give us the land\nwhich He sware unto our fathers. And the Lord commanded us to do all\nthese statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that He\nmight preserve us alive, as it is at this day. And it shall be our\nrighteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the\nLord our God, as He hath commanded us.\"\n\nHow prominently is the Word of God kept before the soul, in every page\nand every paragraph of this book! It is the one great subject on the\nheart and in all the discourses of the revered lawgiver. It is his one\naim to exalt the Word of God, in all its aspects, whether in the form\nof testimonies, commandments, statutes, or judgments; and to set forth\nthe moral importance, yea, the urgent necessity of whole-hearted,\nearnest, diligent obedience, on the part of the people. \"Ye shall\n_diligently_ keep the commandments of the Lord your God.\" And again,\n\"Thou shalt do that which is _right_ and _good_ in the sight of the\nLord.\"\n\nAll this is morally lovely. We have here unfolded before our eyes\nthose eternal principles which no change of dispensation, no change of\nscene, place, or circumstances can ever touch. \"That which is right\nand good\" must ever be of universal and abiding application. It\nreminds us of the words of the apostle John to his beloved friend\nGaius--\"Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is\ngood.\" The assembly might be in a very low condition; there might be\nvery much to try the heart and depress the spirit of Gaius; Diotrephes\nmight be carrying himself most unbecomingly and unwarrantably toward\nthe beloved and venerable apostle and others; all this might be true,\nand much more--yea, the whole professing body might go wrong. What\nthen? What remained for Gaius to do? Simply to follow that which was\nright and good; to open his heart and his hand and his house to every\none who brought _the truth_; to seek to help on the cause of Christ in\nevery right way.\n\nThis was the business of Gaius in his day, and this is the business of\nevery true lover of Christ at all times, in all places, and under all\ncircumstances. We may not have many to join us; we may perhaps find\nourselves, at times, almost alone; but we are still to follow what is\ngood, cost what it may. We are to _depart_ from iniquity--_purge_\nourselves from dishonorable vessels--_flee_ youthful lusts--_turn\naway_ from powerless professors. And what then? \"Follow righteousness,\nfaith, love, peace\"--How? In isolation? Nay. I may find myself alone\nin any given place for a time, but there can be no such thing as\nisolation so long as the body of Christ is on earth, and that will be\ntill He comes for us. Hence we never expect to see the day in which we\ncannot find a few that call on the Lord out of a pure heart; whoever\nthey are and wherever they are, it is our bounden duty to find them,\nand, having found them, to walk with them in holy fellowship \"until\nthe end.\"\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n_P.S._--We must reserve the remaining chapters of Deuteronomy for\nanother volume. May the Lord be graciously pleased to grant His rich\nblessing upon our meditations thus far. May He clothe these pages with\nthe power of the Holy Ghost, and make them to be a direct message from\nHimself to the hearts of His people throughout the whole world. May He\nalso grant spiritual power to unfold the truth contained in the\nremaining sections of this most profound, comprehensive, and\nsuggestive book.\n\nWe earnestly beseech the Christian reader to join us in prayer as to\nall this, remembering those most precious words, \"If two of you shall\n_agree_ on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall\nbe done for them by My Father which is in heaven.\"\n\n  _C. H. M._\n\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\nTranscriber's note:\n\nText enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).\n\nSmall capital text has been replaced with all capitals.\n\nVariations in spelling, punctuation and hyphenation have been retained\nexcept in obvious cases of typographical error.","title":"Notes on the Book of Deuteronomy, Volume I","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":120960}