BV 4501 .T47 1916 Thomas, W. H. Griffith 186li 1924.

Grace and power

Grace and Power

By

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Grace and Power

Some
Aspects of the Spiritual
Lifj&,.^j^o^>{

OF

Pfi/f/^^

JAN
By
Rev.
.

-54191
SUV|

OfilCAL

W.

H.

GRIFFITH THOMAS,

D.D.

Wycliffe College, Toronto

New York

Chicago

Toronto

Fleming H. Revell Company

London
Edinburgh

Copyright, 19 16, by

FLEMING

H.

REVELL COMPANY

New

York:

158

Fifth

Avenue

Chicago: 17 North

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Wabash Ave. Richmond Street, W.

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Street

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To Rev. Prebendary Webb-Peploe^ M.A.,

and
Rev.

Evan H. Hopkins, A. K. C,

Who, at Kcszvick and elsezuhcre, have taught so 7nany of us how to '^possess our possessions"

O
call

Lord,

we beseech Thee

mercifully to

receive the prayers of

;

Thy

people which

upon Thee and grant that they may both perceive and know what things they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to fulfill the same through
;

Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen,
Sunday
after the Epiphany.

Collect for the First

Preface

ITthroughout
Christians, there

is

fact,

perhaps a significant

fact,

that

the Epistles of the

New

Testament,
for

where, naturally,
is

we

find

full

instructions

only one exhortation to do the

iv. 5),

work

of evangelization (2 Tim.

while appeals to

carry out the duty of foreign missions are equally

conspicuous by their absence.

the Christian
secrets
will
life, its

On
and

the other hand,

its

provisions and possibilities,

its

and methods,

duties

responsibilities,

be found emphasized almost everywhere.

Is there

any connection between the

silence

and the

emphasis
Christian

May
is

it

not be a reminder that

it

when the

life

what

should be, the duty of evanwill

gelization at

home and abroad

Be
this as
it

be the natural

and necessary outcome,

to source
?

as effect to cause, as stream

may, there can be no ques-

tion about

the

way

in

which the
life

New

Testament

calls attention

to the Christian

and demands the

highest possible standard while providing the fullest

possible power.

The

believer's

life

is

described in the
:

New

Testa-

ment under two

approved of

aspects

" acceptable to xiv.

18).

God and
arc to

man" (Rom.
7

We

"

PEEFACB
please

"walk and

God"

(i
all

Thess.

iv. l)

to

"walk
i.

worthy of the Lord unto

pleasing" (Col.

lo);

and to " do those things that are pleasing

sight"
(I

in

His
in-

John

iii.

22).

Nothing can be more

spiring than this requirement, leading us to pray,

"

Teach me to do the thing that pleases Thee

cxliii.

(Psalm

10; Prayer

Book

Version).
is

But the

life

of the Christian

also to

be " ap-

proved of man."

This

is

one of the best recom-

mendations of the Gospel the believer claims to possess,

for

nothing so readily impresses and attracts

those around as reality in daily living.

When
is,

the

Seven were appointed, one requirement was that they

should be "

men

of honest report," that

" well

spoken
is

of,"

men

of

good

reputation.

This feature

more prominent

in the

New
12;

Testament than many

Eph.
7).

imagine
Col.
iv.

(Acts x. 22; xvi. 2; xxii. 12;

5
;

v. 15 It

Thess.

iv.

Tim.

iii.

has

been said that the " Christian

is

the world's Bible and

sometimes they

will

read no other."

All the more

favour with

necessary, therefore, that

we should be in "

God and man

**

"

(Luke

ii.

52) and thereby show that

Our lips and lives express The Holy Gospel we profess."

is

This book
tention to

intended, in

its

first

part, to call at-

some of the

possibilities of Christian liv-

PREFACE
ing
;

9
its

in the second, to

some
its

of

provisions,

and

in the third, to a few of

It

guarantees of protection.

embodies the substance of addresses given at

various places in

England and the United

States.

Contents

PART
I.

Possibility

II.

Knowledge Power
Privilege Satisfaction

15

III.

34 48

IV.

66

PART
V.
VI.
VII.
VIII.

II

Provision

Grace
Justification

83
loi
.

Sanctification

,116
141

Consecration

PART

Possibility

*'Thc power of God unto

salvation."

Rom.

i.

i6.

" His

divine

power hath given

and godliness."

us

all

things that peri.

tain to life

Pet.

jj.
til

"

How

shall
?

he not with him freely give us

things
**

"

Rom.

viii.

J2.
freely given

That ye may know

to us

of God."

the things that are

Cor.

it.

12.

KNOWLEDGE

"T
-

HIS

is

preeminently a day of inquiry, of

questioning as to fundamental principles.

Several years ago, mainly under the guid-

"^

ance of the German scholar, Harnack, the question

was very
tioning

rife,

"

What

is

Christianity

"

Such questo

is

natural and inevitable,

and ought

be
tell

heartily welcomed.
their children the

The Jews were expected

'*

to

meaning of the Passover when-

ever, the inquiry

was made,

What mean ye by
who
it

this

service

"

And

the Apostle

Peter bids us to be
asks

ready to give a reason to every one

why

we

are

what we are

(i Pet.

iii.

15).

In matters Bibis

lical,

spiritual,

and even

ecclesiastical

essential

for us to
tion.

be able to explain and vindicate our posithing, however,

is

One

we must never
It
is

forget,

that truth

many-sided.

like a crystal

with

several faces rather than

like a piece of glass

with

one
so

flat

surface.

As
shall

diamond with various

aspects,
far

facets,

truth

has

its

different

and

if

only

we

realize
arises

this,
if

we

not go
is

wrong.

Trouble

only one aspect

emphasized, for we are

15

16

POSSIBILITY
this is the

tempted to think that

istence.

only truth in ex-

During the Christian history there have been, perhaps, three

main periods

in

which emphasis has been

largely placed

upon

certain aspects of truth.

During

the early centuries the great thought was Christ as the Divine Redeemer.
stress fell

In the sixteenth century the

Justifier.

on Christ as the Perfect

During

the nineteenth century the chief point seems to have

been, as
it

still is,

on Christ the Complete Deliverer.

in the

So
"

that
;

we have

early

centuries, "

My

Sa-

viour

" at the

Reformation, "

My

Guilt

"

and now,

My

Weakness."
last

The

Christian hfe

is

concerned
;

with the

of these three

My Weakness
He
;

Christ

the Complete Deliverer.

But, of course, the other

It
is

two

are presupposed.

because Christ
is

is

the

Divine Saviour, and because

fier,

the Perfect Justi-

that

we

are enabled to contemplate

Him

as

our

complete Deliverance from sin

and thus

to consider

our weakness, our bondage, our defilement, everything that touches the
to sin.
little
life

of the believer in relation

It will

therefore be wise and well to look a

at the

fundamental implications and presuppoChristian

life,

sitions of the

in

order that

we may

thence proceed from stage to stage, from strength to

strength,

and from glory

to glory.

This can best be done by concentrating attention

KNOWLEDGE
Hever's hfe in all the divine plenitude of grace

17

on one of the numerous passages that reveal the beand

blessing

In that day ye shall

know that I am in
"

My

Father and ye in
I.

Me

and

in

you

(John xiv.

20).

"

am

We may think first in My Father."

is

of our

Strong Protection.
the foundation, the
"

This

is

relation of Christ to

His Father.

What

think ye

of Christ ? "

the question of questions to-day, and

the union of the Lord Jesus Christ with His Father

is

the presupposition of everything.

'

book was

published some time ago entitled

teenth Century and After."
of " Jesus in the First

Jesus in the Nine-

But we have to think

;

Century and Before

" this

is

where we must

start.
'

Now, our
means
tion

strong protection,
:

am

in

My Father,"
Father,

this first of all

the Lord Jesus as the Revelato

of truth.

and

He

said

He claimed He was the

come from the

truth.

He

promised that
His conis

the truth should

stant

make His

disciples free.

word was,

" I say unto you."

This

the Lord

Jesus Christ in

His aspect as the Prophet of God.

Truth

in

the

New

Testament means two things,

is

veracity and reality, and Christ

and reveals both.

as

But

it

also

means the Lord Jesus Christ

Re-

deemer from
save
;

sin.

He came

not only to show, but to

not only to teach, but to redeem.

Sin has to

be faced.

We

have to know what

it is,

and how

it

18
is

POSSIBILITY
to be removed. "

God was

in Christ, reconciling

the world unto Himself."

This means, in the third place, the Lord Jesus

Christ in His Rule over
life.

He came preaching the

is

Kingdom
reign
of

of God, and

by

this

to be understood the

God

over

human

hearts "
"

and

lives.

His

claim was absolute over men.

"

Come
Abide

unto Me,"
in

Learn of Me,"

"

Follow Me,"

Me "
:

these were His constant assertions and claims.

This

is

the idea found in old-fashioned theology

Jesus

my
is

Prophet,

Priest

and King."

He

is

Prophet to reveal, Priest to redeem, King to

Here, then,
protection.
Christ,

rule.

where we
is

start

what
this

I call

our strong

This

what we think of the Lord Jesus

will satisfy either

and nothing short of

the

New

Testament teaching or the needs of any

heart and
Sir
life.

in-

dividual

In the introduction to a

book by

Robert Anderson, the Bishop of Durthese words, and they are

:

ham
God
n.
tion.

(Dr. Moule) used

worthy of constant repetition

is

'

Saviour not quite

a bridge broken at the farther end."

Then we can go on
"

to think of our

Safe Posi-

Ye

in

Me."

After thinking of Christ as in

"

the Father,
in

we

consider ourselves as in Christ.

are in Christ,
first

Ye

Me."

We
the

of

all,

for

pardon.
truths.
else.

Let us not be indifferent to these elementary

They

are

presupposition

of

everything

KNOWLEDGE
Pardon
is

19

the

first

blessing associated with the Chrisis

tian religion.

There

no other religion

in the

world

that has this

message of pardon.
There
is

Professor

Huxley
and

once said
all

"

no forgiveness

in nature,"
fifty

the great writers of fiction for the last

for their

years
law.

have had

theme the nemesis of broken

Kipling says somewhere

" The sins ye do by two and two, Ye must pay for one by one."

And
we
rest

yet

all

through the ages we have been ex-

pressing our belief in the forgiveness of sins because

upon the revelation of the Lord Jesus

Christ.

His message of pardon makes forgiveness possible for

every one, perfect forgiveness, eternal forgiveness,
assured forgiveness.

Then we
eousness
is

are in Christ for righteousness.

Rightis is

much more than pardon.

clothes instead.
is

Pardon

Hke
like

being stripped of old clothes.

receiving

Righteousness

new

Pardon

is

negative.

Righteousness

positive.

The King
in prison,

of

England

can bestow his royal pardon and manifest his royal

clemency

to a

man who
is

is

and when that

man

goes out, he

a free man, with the King's

pardon.

Yet
is

as

we

see

him going along the

road,

we know he

a pardoned criminal.
is

of England cannot do

to reinstate

What the King the man as if he

20

POSSIBILITY

had never broken the law.

he
will

To

the end of his days

be a pardoned criminal.

But the Christian

is

is

not

only a pardoned criminal, he

perfectly

righteous man.
do, the

What

the King of England cannot

King

of Kings can do.

That

is

the meaning
said, " It
it is

of righteousness.

An

old

woman

once

is

too good to be true, but, praise the Lord,

true

"
!

We We
St.

can heartily endorse that old woman's theology.

have righteousness, we are righteous

in Christ,
is
:

in the

Lord who

is

our righteousness.
the

That

what
"

Paul means
sin

in

well-known passage
sin for us that
in

He

who knew no

was made

we might
safety

become God's righteousness

Him."
If

And we are in
guilt,

Christ for peace.

pardon

is

from condemnation, and righteousness safety from

peace
is

safety from fear.

all

In some respects

fear

is

the most terrible of

our daily experiences.

gift

Yet the new blessing of pardon, and the new

righteousness, will always issue in the

of

new

relation-

ship of peace.

First

comes peace with God, and out

of that " the peace of

is

God "
in

filling
:

our souls.

This
I

exactly what our Lord said

"

These things have

spoken unto you that

Me

ye might have peace."

sinned there were

On

the day

when Adam and Eve

three immediate results.

The moment they sinned

They knew they

there was a consciousness of guilt.

had done wrong.

That was immediately followed by

KNOWLEDGE
a sentence of condemnation.
sin.

21
their

God condemned
by an

That in turn was followed

act of separa-

tion.

They were
;

driven out of the Garden of Eden.

;

Guilt

condemnation

separation.

Now

think of the

Gospel.
three

At the end
:

of

Romans
shall

viii.

the Apostle asks

questions

"

Who
"
"
?

lay anything to the

is

charge of God's elect ?

There

no

guilt.

"

Who is
?

he that condemneth
"

There

is

no condemnation.
"

Who
lost
is

shall separate us
is

from the love of Christ

There

no separation.
through
sin

So

that the very three things

in Christ.

we

we more than gain

This

our safe position, "

Ye

in

Me."

III.

We

proceed to notice our Sure Provision.

Christ in the Father
is

" I in you."

is

our protection
;

the believer in Christ the believer

first
is

our position
" I in

and Christ
"
is

in

our provision.

you

intended
;

of

all for life.

life.

Christ provides

more than pardon

"

He

gives

He

provides more than peace;

tells

bestows

life.

Our Lord Himself

life,"

us this
all

He I am
is

come

that

ye might have

and

through the

fourth Gospel the key-note of almost every chapter

life,

until at length

we have

the purpose of the whole,

"
life

" That ye might believe, and, believing, have

(xx. 31).

So

that the highest gift

is

life,

and

this

means Christ
says
:

in the believer as his life, just as St.

Paul

" I

live,

yet not

I,

but Christ liveth in me."

this,

Let us take time to dwell upon

and when we are


22

POSSIBILITY
moment and
lives in

alone, let us spend a

say to ourselves

perhaps aloud, " Christ

Christ
is

me."
life,

in

us

not only for

but for grace,

respects one

Grace in the

New

Testament
It

is

in

some

of the greatest words.

always means two things

;

God's favour and His blessing

action.

His attitude

arid

His

We
;

are told of grace to " help in time of

is
'

need

"

that grace

sufficient "

that "

God

is

able to

make
alike.

all

grace abound."
is

There are no two people

is

It

probable there

no experience that

can be paralleled exactly by any other experience.

And

yet,

whatever

may be
is

our personal need, or our

different hereditary tendencies, or our actual experi-

ence, God's grace

false pride that
life

sufficient,

and

it is

really only a
is

would hide

itself

saying, " There

no

like

mine, and
!

my needs
us face
all

are too exceptional to be

supplied
"

"

Let

Scripture

when

it

says,

God

is

able to

make

grace abound towards you,

in
all

that

ye, having
all

all-sufficiency

things,

may
This

abound unto

good work
is

"

(2 Cor. ix. 8).

Then

Christ

in

the behever
"

for hope.

points to the future.

Hope
is

springs eternal in the

human
graces,

breast,"

and hope

one of the three Christian

in

and a very prominent feature

New

Testa-

ment

Christianity.

We

find there not

is

only faith and

love, but hope.

Hope

always associated with the

Christ.

coming of the Lord Jesus

The

reason

why

KNOWLEDGE
people are not
full

3S

of

hope

is

because they are not con-

cerned as they ought to be about the Lord's coming.

In Scripture the Lord's coming
three hundred
times.
is

mentioned over
its

This prominence shows

importance.

Hope,

in the

New

Testament,

is

never

mere buoyancy of temperament, but a Christian

grace centred on the coming of the Lord.

This

is

what we mean by Christ

in us for hope.

" Christ in

you the hope of

IV.

glory."
also

We

are
"

reminded of our Satisfying

Privilege.

mean?

Ye To know,

shall

know."

What

does
is
is

this
far

in

the

New

Testament,
;

more than something merely

which may be
mind, heart, conscience and

intellectual

it

that

called the verifying faculty, including

will.

Knowledge

in the

New Testament is experience expressed in assurance. And the text promises that we shall " know " the
very three things mentioned.
"

Ye

shall

know

that

am

in

My

Father."

There
is

shall

be assurance

in the believer's life that Christ

in

the Father.

This comes through the Resurrec-

tion.

From
is

the time of the Resurrection onwards

It is al-

Christ

never said to have raised Himself.

act of
act,

ways the
Christ's

God.

The Resurrection was

not

own

but God's act in vindicating His

Son,

in

bearing witness to what

He

thought about

Christ.

When

the believer

is

assured that the Lord

24
Jesus Christ
is

POSSIBILITY
raised

from the dead, he gets the

it,

as-

surance that

God
know

did

and that

this

is

what God

thinks of His beloved Son.

"

Ye

shall

" also that the believer is in Christ.

This comes through the death of Christ.

the assurance that
death.

We

have

we

are in Christ because of His

That death

in the
:

New

Testament always

means these three things

instead of
half

Substitution
"

"

of

me me "

"
;

Identification "
Representation
all

He

died

He

died on be-

died

when He
and the
is

died."

We
unless

cannot properly understand the Atone-

ment

we

take
shall

these three together

assurance, "

Ye

know
all

that ye are in Me,"

the

assurance that the death of Christ took place for our

salvation,

and covers
is

our need.
is

Then
*

there

the assurance that Christ

that I
life
is

in us
is

Ye

shall

know

am

in you."

This

as-

sociated with the

of Christ.
living.

We have the assuris

ance that Christ

story of a
in a

There

a well-known

man
it.

looking at a picture of the Crucifixion

little

shop window, and a

ragged urchin also

looking at

The man

pretended to

about

it,

and said

to the boy, "

know nothing What's that ? " The

boy, astonished, replied, " Don't you

Jesus on the Cross

know

that

is

who

died

"

And

he told him the

story of the Crucifixion.

Oh," said the gentleIn a

little

man,

"

is it ?

"

and walked away.

while he


KNOWLEDGE
heard footsteps coming after him.
boy, and he said,
is
'

26
It
tell

was the

little

Sir, I
is

wanted to

you

that

He

alive."

Yes, this

the

New

Testament perspec-

am He that liveth and was dead, and, behold, I am alive for evermore." The assurance of Scripture is, " Ye shall know that I am in you," the
tive, " I

living Christ.

So we have

life

and death and Resur-

rection as the guarantee of our assurance in Christ.

This knowledge provides us with certainty.

shall

"

Ye

know."

St.

Luke wrote
"

his Gospel, " that

thou

mightest

know

the certainty."

Certainty

is

what
is

every one desires.

so

That ye may know."

There

much
so,

uncertainty to-day.
all

Some one

has said

that " Mystery involves

this
is it is

spiritual truths."

But

if

not the mystery of vagueness and con-

fusion, but of truth's Divinity

and glory.

It is

not

the mystery of fog, but of sunshine, a mystery " dark

with excess of light."

The mystery

is

not

the

truths, but in those associated with

them.

A modern
I

writer said not long ago that in the old days the

prophets were absolutely certain, and said, " Here

am," but nowadays the people say, " Where

am

"
I ?

The New Testament has no such

of

uncertainty.

It

has been acutely pointed out that there are two notes

modern

life

not found in the

New
is

Testament
nothing wist-

wistfulness
ful

and pensiveness.

There

and nothing pensive about

New

Testament Chris-


26
tianity
:

POSSIBILITY
"
I

know," "

have," "

I believe."

"

am

persuaded that

committed unto
to find out nation.

He is able to keep that which I have Him against that day." It is usual
religious

on enlistment a man's
soldier

denomiis

was

once asked, "

What

your

persuasion

? "

He

replied, " I

am

persuaded that

nothing shall separate

Just so; and this
is

me from

the love of Christ."

the assurance of the

New

Tes-

tament.

V.

But the

Word

does not leave us without

" In that

tell-

ing of our Spiritual Power.

day ye

shall

know."

What
here,

does this

mean ?

" In that

day

"

we
day

find

the phrase three times in these chapters

once
"
is

and twice

in the sixteenth.

" In that

means, of course, the Christian dispensation,

" In that

from the day of Pentecost onwards.

in

day

"

the day
shall

when the Holy

Spirit should
all

come.
life

"
is

Ye
to

know," and therefore

our Christian

be associated with the Holy

Spirit.

First, the

Holy

Spirit

is

a Divine gift.
It

Pentecost

was a kind of watershed.

looked back upon the

time when the Lord Jesus was upon earth, and looked
forward to the time
influenced and

when

the disciples should be

Christ above.

empowered by the Lord

The Holy Ghost was

Pentecost.

the gift of the Father to the

gift

Son, and the Son shed forth that

on the day of

The

Spirit of

God was

not given before,


KNOWLEDGE
in that sense,
fied.

27

because Jesus Christ was not yet glorifor

It

was necessary
could

Him
He

to

go up before the

Holy

Spirit

come down.
gift,

But when
poured
it

He

as-

cended and received the

forth,

and

the Divine Spirit has been with the Church ever since.
" In

that day," therefore,

means the whole of

this

dispensation, including the present moment.

From

this

comes the thought of the Holy

Spirit as

an inward witness.

The Divine

Gift of Pentecost

becomes the inward possession of every individual

believer

who
;

accepts the

Lord Jesus Christ

is

as his

Saviour
Spirit.

for,

on believing, he
Spirit

sealed with the

his,

Holy
once

The Holy

becomes

and

at

the
give

Holy

Spirit begins to

work

in his soul

and to

him assurance. Then there is the Holy

life,

Spirit as

an outward power

in the

manifesting

itself in

character and service.

This

is

the meaning of " In that day."

is

Every
Spirit.

gift in

Christianity
is

associated with the

Holy

This

the unique feature of the Christian religion, con-

trasted with

which

all

other religions are as nothing.

their books, their ethics, their

Other religions have

philosophy, but not one of them has a

as Christianity has,

Holy

Spirit,

" And every virtue we

possess,

And every victory won, And every thought of holine

Are His alone."


"

98
This, then,
is

POSSIBILITY
the

New

Testament
perfect

life

these four
perfect

things:

perfect

safety,

standing,

strength, and
' saved in the

perfect satisfaction.

Perfect safety
salvation
;

Lord with an everlasting

perfect standing

" accepted in the

Beloved

" perfect

strength

"

strong in the Lord and in the power of

;

His

might
full

"

perfect

satisfaction

" satisfied

with

favour,
rest

with the blessing of the Lord."

Let us

upon

these, let us rejoice in them, because they

are ours in Christ.

But now comes the question whether we " know

these things.

"

Are they

ours

Does anything hinder

?

us from enjoying this Christianity

Shall

we not ask

ourselves this question

We
will

have our needs, and

our

difficulties,

but

God

meet and overcome our

if

difficulties,

and

satisfy all

our needs,

we

will just

face this question,

and get right with Him.

five possibilities

There are perhaps only

planation of the reason
Christian religion.

in

ex-

why we do
first,

not enjoy our

The

and

in

some

respects
us,

the greatest,

is

sin.

Yet that need not trouble

of Jesus

because

"

The blood
(Rom.

Christ cleanseth us
is

from

all sin."

The Lord
iii.

Jesus Christ

able to deal

with " sins "

7)

25),

and also "

sin "

(Rom.

vi.

It

the root of sin and

its fruit in sins.

He

can deal

with every one of them under

all

circumstances.

may

not be

sin,

but sorrow.

There are some


KNOWLEDGE
who
are weighed

29

down with

a burden of sorrow,

sorrow in their hearts, sorrow in their homes, sorrow

in their

church, sorrow
that
is

among
cheer."

their acquaintances

some sorrow

terribly

burdensome.

To all such
a post-

God

says, "

Be of good

man wrote

card to a friend, and on that side of the post-card

where
'

it

says " Address only " he wrote the words,

Be

of

good

cheer."

When

the friend received the

post- card

he was compelled to pay extra postage,

and was not particularly pleased.

He

looked to see

what the reason was, and on the "Address" side he

saw the words,

"

Be of good

cheer,"

and underneath

the postal authorities' stamp, " Contrary to regulation."

There are many Christians who think that to

is

be of good cheer
is

contrary to regulation.

That
it

why

they are doleful and sad.

if

They

look, as

has been said, as

their religion did not agree with

them.

Cheerfulness and smiles ought to belong to the

;

Christian religion
lations.

these are not contrary to the reguI

"

These things write

in

unto you, that

My joy
full."

may remain
Then
these

you, and that your joy

may be

there are

some people whom

religion.

circumsta7tces

keep from enjoyment of

?

And

yet what are

Just think of the

word

" circumstances "

those things that " stand round " us.

But

if

they
so

stand round they cannot keep out the sky.

And

we must not

trouble about things around us, but keep

30
looking up.

POSSIBILITY
Isaiah
:

xli.

lo:

"Fear thou not;

thee, for
I

for I

am

with thee

look not

around

am
"

thy

God

" (Hebrew).
us.

Circumstances should never overis

come

"

How

Mrs.

So-and-So

? "

She

is

pretty well," was the reply, " under the circumstances."

Then came the

under her."

rejoinder, "
?

What

is

she doing under

the circumstances

The

circumstances ought to be

But some one says that

it

is

Satan; not

sin or

sorrow or circumstances, but Satan.

is

And

yet Satan
of

a defeated

foe.

The Lord

said, "

The prince

this

world cometh and hath nothing in Me."

And
flee

the Apostle said, " Resist the devil, and he will

from you."

If

we

resist

him, he

will go.

He

can

never overcome your individuality, and the grace of

the Lord Jesus Christ
is

more than

sufficient to

meet
the

every onslaught.

" I give

you power over

shall

all

power

of the

enemy; and nothing

by any
That

means hurt you."

Some one else says is, in many cases, the

the Apostle says, " the grace of

that

it

is

due to

self.
all.

greatest trouble of
I,

Yet
I,

Not
is

but Christ "

"

Not
I,

but

God

that

with

me

"
;

"

Not
I,

but the
. .

Lord."
If

Three times over he

face self in that

says, "

Not

but

."

we

way,

self shall

never have the

victory.

"

It

is

just as different as can be," said

young

believer.

KNOWLEDGE
"
"

31

What

is

so different

"
?

Being a Christian.
I

Everything

is

so different

from what
*'

expected."

What

did

you expect ? "

used to talk to

"

When you
I

me
'

about being a
I

Christian
I

used to say to myself,

No,

cannot, for
I

shall

have to do so
If I

many hard

things,

and

never

can do them.

become a

Christian, I shall

have
It

to attend church,
is

and pray, and read

I

my

Bible.'

so different from what

"

thought."

What do you mean ?

Yes, but then
the difference.
I I

You go
Bible."

to church,

and

you pray, and you read your

love to do them.

That makes

all

love the Lord Jesus Christ, and

that

therefore love to do

all

He

wishes

me

to do."

A man man became

"

said to another, "

Did you not say

that

if ?

a
"

a Christian he could do as he liked

" Well,
!

Yes,

did."

come with me
don't like!'

to-night to the

theatre."
I

"

Ah

but

once heard a friend say, " Faith makes

all
I

things

possible,

and love makes

all

things easy."
all

would

venture to add that hope makes

things bright.
to

Here
to

is

Christianity,

and

if

you want

know how
'

become
is

a Christian, and enjoy Christianity to the

full, it

all

summed up

in the little

word

trust."
;

It

means,

first,

the acceptance of God's

;

Word

sec-

ondly, surrender to Christ

and

thirdly, the reception

32
of His
grace.
if

POSSIBILITY
In Ephesians
iii.

I2

we

find four

words, and

we

reverse
" In

them we get

Christianity

in the proper order.

whom we

have boldness,
faith

and access with confidence, through the

of

Him."

First faith, then confidence, then access,

;

and

then boldness
Christian hfe.

and there we have the whole of the

That

is

the meaning of " trust," of

in the

which we read so much

New

Testament.

It

means taking God

at

His word, surrendering to Him,

receiving His grace, and, of course, living in His presence.

Some
him

will

perhaps remember the story of the two

friends of the great painter, Turner.

in order to see his pictures.
for

They

visited

When

they arrived.

Turner kept them

a short while in a closely-

shaded room before he sent the servant to take them

up to the

studio.

Arrived

in the studio,

he apolo-

gized for his apparent rudeness by telling them that

it

was necessary for their eyes to be emptied of any

glare before they could appreciate the colours in his

pictures.

We

need to

live

in

the presence of the

Lord Jesus

Christ, in order that

is

we may be emptied
earthly,

of everything that

common and

and

in

order also that

we may

see and rejoice in His beauty.

life

Living with the Lord Jesus Christ, living a

trust

of

and fellowship

will give us all this true Chris-

tian experience.

; ;

KNOWLEDGE
**

Live every day with Jesus, And tell Him everything;

life

of richest blessing
years will bring
;

Thy months and

Tell

Him thy aims and wishes, Tell Him thy hopes and fears
sunshine of His presence
Illumines smiles

The

and

tears.

" Live

every day with Jesus

Let

Him

thy

life

control,

His voice of love inspiring

Each impulse of the soul Lean on His word for guidance, Speak to Him of each grief,
Telling
all

things to Jesus
relief.

Brings gladness and

**

Live every day

for Jesus;
!

Oh, happy, restful lot His watchful care about Thee Never by Him forgot In darkest hour still with thee, In loneliest hour thy Friend,

Who

never

will forsake thee

Unto thy
" And then
?

journey's end.
to live with Jesus

In the full sunlight, where

No

pain, or loss, or sorrow

Will need thy trust and prayer;

But joy

His joy forever

J. H.
S.

Will crown His work of grace,

And thou shall serve, beholding The glory of God's face."

II

POWER

ST.pened
given

PAUL

tells

us that the things which hap-

to Israel

happened unto them

for en-

samples or types, and that the record was

for our

admonition

(i

Cor. x. ii).

We

are

therefore justified in utilizing the history of Israel for

spiritual
is

purposes

to-day.

One important
in

caution

necessary.

We

must bear

mind

that

whenever

there are promises of future glory to Israel in the

Old Testament our use of those promises

is

spiritual
is

and secondary, by way of

historical

application,

and

not
If

and primary, by way of

interpretation.

we

are not careful in this matter

true

we

shall incur the

somewhat cynical and yet

those

condemnation of

who

take

all

the blessings to themselves and

!

leave the curses to the Jews

The headings
in

of our
Isaiah,

Authorized Version, page and chapter,

have much to answer for in

this respect,

because

they take the promises to Israel and apply them to

the Church, with which primarily they have nothing

whatever
clearly

to

do.

But when we keep

in

this

truth

and constantly

mind, there

is

no reason

34

POWEE
why we
With
reference to our
this in
life

36

should not use Old Testament passages with

to-day.

view we
in

may

look at an Old Testait

ment prophecy
crets shall

Obadiah to learn from

hoUness
:

the se-

of

power

for

"

Upon Mount Zion

:

be deliverance, and there shall be holiness

and
"

the

House
17).

of Jacob shall possess their possessions

(Obad.

This prophecy seems to indicate some of the

vital

and fundamental realities associated with the Christian

hfe.

Israel

is

depicted as redeemed, restored to their

former glory, after bondage to their terrible enemy,

Edom.

They
there

are told that there will

come

day
a
all

when
fresh

shall

be deliverance from their

to

foe,

consecration

God, and a recovery of

their possessions, as in the former time.

What do we understand by the Christian life ? What are those blessings of which the Old and New
Testaments are
I.

full?

The
"

first

element

is

Safety.

" In

Mount Zion

there shall be deliverance."

it
is

In the Revised Version

those that escape."

This

is

the foundation of
starts

everything
great

safety.

The Gospel

here.

The

New

Testament word
nothing

" salvation "

means nothplace, than

sin.
it is

ing more and

less,

in the
'Cao.

first

safety, deliverance, escape

from

penalty of
life
;

This

is

the

first

step into the Christian

and

36

POSSIBILITY
Have
I

well for us to ask this question, "

It
is

taken

it

"

not altogether inaccurate to say that from time

to time people

have the second step

in

mind

rather

than the

first.

Yet we know

it is

utterly impossible

to take a second step before

we have taken

the

first,

and

holiness, a truer

and purer and nobler and unless we have

life, is

utterly impossible until

this first question

settled

escape,

deliverance, safety, from

the penalty of

sin.

Sometimes we speak of
fication.
is

this theologically as Justi;

The word

matters not

what

is

essential

the reality, the experience.

'

So there comes

to
I

every one of us this question,

Am
?

safe?

Am

delivered from the penalty of sin

true reply
tion to
is,

"

To which
It

the

"

There

is

therefore

now no condemnaneed
the

them which

are in Christ Jesus."

hardly be said that the

way

of deliverance

is

way

of faith, the acceptance of

Him who

died that

we

might

live,

ness, " that

who we might become

This
is

by His death became our righteousthe righteousness of

first

God

in

Him."

the
life,

and fundamental

element of the Christian

penalty of
sin.

deliverance from the

But, of course, deliverance goes on to refer to the

power of

sin

"

Those that escape," that

sin.

is,

those

who

are

safe

from the power of

is

This again,

theologically,

sometimes spoken of

perhaps

POWEE
little

37
;

inaccurately

as

Sanctification

but

it

will

serve for our present purpose

deliverance from the

is

power of

sin,

whether that power

realized in con-

nection with Satan, or with circumstances, or with

self,

our three spiritual foes.

We

read in St. John's

is

Epistle
in

and elsewhere of victory.

This

the thought
;

connection with the prophecy of Obadiah

escape,
sin as

deliverance, safety, in regard to the

it

power of

faces us to-day.
it

Assuming

that

we have

learned

what
sin,

means

to be delivered

from the penalty of

it

assuming that we have learned what

means to

have entered into that experience, we are to learn

more of what deliverance from the power of

world, and over
" In

sin

means, the secret of victory over Satan, over the

self.

Mount Zion

there shall

be safety."
II.

Then comes

the thought of Sanctity.

It will

"

And

there shall

be holiness."

be worth while to

remind ourselves afresh of the fundamental conception

of " holiness

"

in

the Old Testament and in

is

the

New.

The

root idea

always " separateness."

or the Greek,

Whether we take

the

Hebrew word

whether we think of the English words connected

with holy and holiness, or with saint, sanctification

and

saintliness,

the fundamental, basic

thought

is

" separateness."

There

is

an entirely different set

Purification

of words connected with purification.

38

POSSIBILITY

does not enter into the etymology of the word which

we

translate as " sanctification,"

is

though the experivital

ence of purity
consequence.
V.

an

essential
at a

and

result

and

If

we look
might
it."

passage like Ephesians

for the
it,

26 we see that our Lord gave Himself

Church that
"having
clearly

He

sanctify, that

is,

separate
texts

purified

There are other

which
of

mark the
and

distinction

between the thought

sanctification

purification.

What do we mean by separateness ? Negatively, we are to understand separateness from sin posi;

tively,

separateness

unto

God.

"

There

shall

be
is

separateness," or " There shall be sanctity."

That

one of the fundamental and predominant notes of the

New
This

Testament
is

separation from,

separation unto.

why

places can be called holy.

There was
It

no moral

virtue in

any part of the Tabernacle.

place, but
it it

was not purer than any other

theless
called holy, because

was never-

was separated unto

;

God.

And

so

it

was called a sacred place

idea as holy

because

sacred has the

same

cut

off,
'

separated,

devoted.
son."
fanity "

We

read that Esau was a

profane per-

Our modern
is

idea of " profane " and " pro-

very specific, and has reference to one or

two
'

definite
is

forms of

evil.

The

original idea of

profane "

quite different.

Outside every temple

there was an enclosure which was perfectly public.

"

POWEE
It

89

was called by the name oi pro fanum, " before the

fane," " before the temple."

Everybody was allowed

;

there

the ground was trodden on

everybody had

a right to

do what he

liked.

But inside was the

rest.

sacred enclosure, cut off from the

That was

the

" fane "

the other was the /fro

fanum.

Esau
but

was

just that kind of

man, not necessarily

evil,

what we should
his
life.

call secular.

God

did not enter into

There was no sacred enclosure where God

reigned supreme.
a
"

That

profane person."
this
sin.
is

why he was spoken of as There are many to-day of

is

whom
open

true.

They never
;

fall

into gross or

They

are not sensual

perhaps only par-

tially are
life

they sensuous, and yet they are living their

altogether separate from God.

is

They

are secular,

there

nothing devoted to God.

Let us therefore

keep

this

thought before
is

us.

Sanctification in the

Bible use of the word

separateness.

There are

two words
and hosios

in the
{ayto^^

Greek, as students know, hagios

oaco^).

One means

"

devoted

and the other means

" devout."

We
a

are

now

con-

cerned with the former, and the idea of the Old

Testament as well

as the

New
is

is

life

that

is

sepa-

rated from everything that

life

known

to be wrong, a

that

is

devoted to

God

at all times.

III.

Then comes,
"

thirdly,

the truth of Suffi-

CIENXY.

And

the house of Jacob shall possess

40
their

POSSIBILITY
possessions."
Safety,
sanctity,
sufficiency.

Tliere was a vast area of land called originally the

holy, the separated land, which Israel

had allowed
given
it

to

be taken up by their enemy.

God had

it

to

them, but they had not properly possessed

it.

or kept

The enemy had taken it; and this promise is that the day would come when they should again
enter into their heritage and possess their possessions.

Let us think for a

spiritual

moment

of the fact of our

sanctity,

possessions in Christ

safety and

with a view to spiritual possessions in Him.

Think

of those passages which are famihar to us, though

they are well worth putting together.

not with
viii.

" Shall

He
22).
life

Him

also freely give us all things ? "

(Rom.

32).

" All things

are yours

" (i

Cor.

iii.

"

Hath given unto

us

all
i.

things that pertain unto

3).

and

godliness " (2 Pet.

"

Blessed be the
Christ,

and Father of our Lord Jesus

blessed us with
lies in Christ "
is

God who hath

heaven-

all

spiritual blessings in the

i.

(Eph.

3).

" So, " accepted in Christ

intended to

mean

"

endowed
'

in Christ."

It is

not
all

future, " will bless," but past,

spiritual

has blessed us with

blessings."
i.

In

that

wonderful

passage,

Ephesians

3-14,

we

see

that the Apostle, after

having stated the

ceeds to

fact of all spiritual blessings, pro-

show how

these blessings have

;

come

in

the purpose of the Father (verses 3-6)

by the pur-

POWEE
chase of the Son (verses 7-12)
the Spirit (verses 13-14).
;

41

and by the power

of

Each

section of that para-

graph ends with a similar phrase.

purpose was intended to be
glory of His grace."
" to the
'

The

Father's

to the praise of the

The

Son's purchase was to be

praise of His
"

glory."

The

Spirit's

power
So,

was to be

unto the praise of His glory."

in the

whether eternally purposed

Father, or his-

torically provided in the Son, or personally applied

by the

Spirit, these are the possessions

which are

in-

tended for us, for our abundant provision day by

day.

There are many passages

message
is

in
us,

which

this
is

specific

brought before

but there

one of

perhaps special importance.

The very

heart of the
viii.

Christian Hfe will be found in

Romans

1-4, for

not only do they contain the substance of the Gospel for the saint, but there
is

a wonderful connection

between them and the chapters that immediately precede and follow.

Verse one of Romans

v.,

viii.

looks
sort

back on and takes up Romans

of condemnation to
(Greek)."

"

There

is 710

them

that are in Christ Jesus

This
I-I
"
i).

is

how

the

Christian

life

begins

(Rom,

v.

Verse two of Romans

viii.

takes up

chapter

vi.,

The

Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath

made me

free."

The whole

of chapter

vi. is

conviii.

cerned with freedom.

Verse three of Romans

42

POSSIBILITY
vii.,

deals with chapter

"

What

the law could not

do

"
;

for

Romans
viii. is

vii. is

concerned with the power-

lessness of the law to give holiness.

And

verse four

of
ter.

Romans

the

germ

of the rest of that chap-

So we need freedom from condemnation, we

;

need deliverance

we need

to realize the powerless-

ness of the law of holiness, and then the power of the

Spirit to

enable us to live according to the will of

this
is

God

and

the

sum and

substance of spiritual

possessions.

But, of course,

we

are also concerned with posit is

sessing our possessions, for

only too possible to

is

have and not to enjoy.

told of a farmer

There

a familiar story
toil,

who,

after

long years of

died

lamenting that he had so

sons.

little

to leave to his needy

The

sons had the same idea of their patrilittle

mony, and thought very

any value

of

it

by reason

of

the poverty of the soil and their inability to realize

in
it.

So they

sold

it

to

men who knew

The

that underneath there

was vast mineral wealth, which

they turned in due course to good account.

father

and the sons were potentially

rich, possessors

of a wonderful property, and yet did not possess their

possessions.

The Lord

Jesus

Christ

is

to

many

Christians like a vast estate with infinite possibilities,

with wealth unexplored, territory uncultivated, beauties

not enjoyed and produce unused.

Yet God

is

POWER
asking each one of us this question
sessing your possessions
"
? fail
:

43
'

Are you

pos-

Why
What

do Christians so often

at this vital point ?

are

some of the reasons why God's people do

not possess their possessions?

One

is

ignorance.

They do not know, they do not

possessions are in Christ Jesus,
sires

realize,

what

their

And

yet

God

de-

us to

have illumination, enlightenment,

" that

we may know
of God."

the things that are freely given to us

In other cases

it is

slothfulness that prevents God's

people from entering into their possessions.

They

have touched the

realized

hem

of Christ's garment
in

they have

something of safety

Him

from the penalty

of sin, but they do not go forward.

sloth, spiritual listlessness
;

There

is

spiritual

and they do not possess

their possessions.
It is self-satisfaction in

other cases.

They are con-

tent with imperfect possession, and therefore imperfect

enjoyment.

They

are content with a lower standard

of Christian living than

God

intends

them

to

have
:

and they think that we should heed that word

not righteous overmuch."

"

Be
!

Spiritual self-satisfaction
all

They

believe that

we can never accomplish

these

things, that

we must be
in

content with living for the

most part

the experience of

Romans

vii.,

and

only occasionally getting a glimpse of the glory of

44

POSSIBILITY
Their experience
a most
is

Romans
that

viii.

something

like

seen

in

unfortunate

hymn, one
:

that

should only be sung with

vital alterations

" Fighting, following, keeping, struggling,

Is

He
not

sure to bless?"

That

is

full

Christianity

it

comes from the

dark ages of the Greek Church, one of the translations of

hymns
"

that are not completely Christian,

We also sing
If
I

find

Him,

if I

follow,

What His guerdon here ? Many a sorrow, many a labour,

Many
But
is

a tear."

this all

May we
Him,

not say
if I follow,

"

If I find

What His guerdon here ? Many a joy and many a blessing

Never a
fear

it is

"
!

The

latter

is

not worth

much

as poetry, but
original.

truer to the

New

Testament than the

There

is

another reason

why we do
timidity.
in Gilead

not possess our

are
afraid.

possessions,
"

and that

is

We
is

Know
still ?

ye that Ramoth
"

ours,

and we
to-da}-

be

That

is

what many Christians are

"

we
"

are

still.

We

read about the road to victory.

?

Who

is

he that overcometh

" His

command-

POWER
ments are not grievous."

45
secret of victory
is

The
that
It

whole-hearted surrender to Jesus Christ as the Son

of God.

Let us see to

it

no timidity keeps us
has been

from

the

Promised

Land.

pointed
visit to

out that

when

the spies
as

came

back from the

said, a

Canaan there was,

some one has

Majority

Report, and a Minority Report; and very often the

Minority Report
told

is

correct.

The Majority Report

inability.

them

of the wonderful glories of that land, but

also of the

enemies and their own

The

Minority Report was equallly clear about the glories

of the land, and also about the enemies; but they
also said
:

"

We

be well able to overcome," because

they were thinking not of the Anakim, but of God.

We
If

must never allow timidity to rob us of any part

of our possession in the Promised Land.

we look

at the rest of this

prophecy, from verse

eighteen to the end,

we
;

shall find the

word

" possess

"

in almost every verse

and the one thought running

through

it

is

specially that of verse eighteen, "

shall

The
that

house of Jacob
victory.
"

be a

fire,"

with

its

assurance of

More than conquerors through Him

God's purpose for every one of us
all
is

loved us."

en-

joyment, the enjoyment of

those things that are

for ourselves,

ours in Christ Jesus, enjoyment not

not for anything in the form of what would be called

spiritual luxury, but for service, that

we may be

able

46

POSSIBILITY

through that enjoyment to pass on the joy and the

blessing to others.

What
swer
ture?
is,

is

the secret, the simple, all-embracing secret

?

of this Safety, Sanctity, and Sufficiency

Faith.

The

an-

Why is
it

faith

so emphasized in Scrip-

Because

is

the only possible response to

faithfulness
trust.
is

God's revelation.
faith,

His

to be
is

met by

my

His truth by
I

my

He
them

trustworthy;
all

therefore

must be
;

trustful.

Faith accepts
as our

these

things in Christ
session
;

faith claims

faith appropriates

them

to our

own posown personal

to

use

faith uses

them

to the glory of God.

And
fourfold.

this will

be the result as

we endeavour
life is

possess our possessions.

First,
it is

The
of

Christian

always

life

Inward

Peace, the peace

of reconciliation, the peace of restfulness

"

peace
it

with
will

God
be a

"

and
of

" the

peace of God."

Secondly,

Upward Progress, progress in knowledge and progress in fellowship, God becoming better known and fellowship with God becoming more fully realized. Thirdly, it will be one of Outward Power,
life

in the sense of victory over sin,

power
will

in

our equip-

ment

for service.

Fourthly,

it

be one of Onits

ward

Prospect,
"

the

prospect of hope, and of

realization.

That blessed hope, and the glorious

appearing of our great

will

God and Saviour

Jesus Christ,"

occupy

its

proper place on the horizon of our

POWER
Christian
life
if

47

we

are Christians according to the

New

Testament pattern.

truth that

is

found so
real

often in the

New
it

Testament must have some

meaning, or

would not be so prominent.

is

The

Lord's coming
to holiness. " to be ?
"

one of the most powerful incentives

of persons ought ye

What manner

Inward Peace, Upward Progress, Outward Power,

Onward

Prospect.

That

is

Christianity.

And

if

only the Holy Spirit enables us to see and to enter

into our possessions

we

shall live in

our homes, go

to our work, serve in our church and continue wher-

ever

we may be
full

situated, full of God's blessing, full

of His grace,

of His power, to live henceforth as

never before to His eternal praise and glory.

Ill

PRIVILEGE

THE
in

first

word of the Psalms, Blessed,"

is

some

respects the key-note of the whole

It

book.

occurs nearly thirty times.

But

the interesting point about the Beatitudes of the

Psalter
is

that they are nearly

all

concerned with our

relation to

God, and scarcely ever do circumstances

blessedness.

enter

into this
it

So, according to the

Psalms,

is

not what

we

have, or what

we know,

or

what we can do, but what we

blessedness.

are, that

constitutes

One
life

of those

numerous passages
it

is

found in Psalm
life is

Ixxxix. 15-18, and

of privilege in

shows that the Christian

blessing.

power and
it

Let us

re-

member, even though

needs constant repetition, that

we
of

are to

know
and

the things that are freely given to us

God

as

we look

at this passage, at least of

we

shall

be able to see something

what the Bible

means by the Christian

life,

that

life

which we are to

meditate upon, to understand, and, by the mercy of

God, to experience.
I.

The

first

thing

is

that

it is

Life of Perpet-

48

PEIVILEGE
UAL Fellowship.
light

49

"

They

walk,

Jehovah, in the
of
is

of
is

Thy

countenance."

The countenance

God

a symbol of the Divine presence.

;

The word

literally " face "

and the face of God

in Scripture al-

ways means His presence.

Divine favour.
" In

Then

it

also

means the

the light of the king's countethat was

lift

nance

is life."

The benediction

pronounced

upon

Israel closed with, "

The Lord
said of

up His counin relation to

tenance upon thee."

It is

David

Absalom
him
or

that " the face of the

king was not towards

face

as aforetime."
is
it

Thus the idea of the Divine

His
also

countenance
of course,
is

presence and
implies

His favour.

And,
There

Divine guidance.

a phrase in the Psalm about the servant

2),
is
;

looking to the eyes of the master (Ps. cxxiii.

that
is,

desiring to

and here we have,

light of
ress,

know what " They shall

the master's will

walk,

Lord,

in the

Thy

countenance."

Walking implies progDivine counte-

and walking

in the light of the

nance means guidance as we take our journey and

make

progress through
is

life.

Walking

one of the

illustrations

used in the

Bible to express spiritual progress.

part of man's

Almost every

body

is

associated with spiritual things.

Sometimes we are
times

to " look "

and be saved

at other
;

we

are to " hear "

and our souls

to
" take

shall live
"

at

another

time

we

are

hold

of

God's

00
strength
;

POSSIBILITY
at another

we

are to " taste and see."

But

most frequent of

all is

the

word
it

" walk."

In the

brief Epistle to the Ephesians

occurs seven times.

i

We
is

recall also the

well-known

text,

John

i.

7,

If

we walk
the

in the light, as

He

is

in the light."
life,

So

this

first

feature of the

new

life

of perpetual

fellowship, in the Divine presence, with the Divine

favour, and under the Divine guidance.

At
our

this

point

it

will

be well to ask ourselves,

?

What do we know
life ?

of this
is

Is this the

experience of
If

For
life is
all.

this

what the Bible intends.

life

the
it is

Christian

not a

of perpetual fellowship,

nothing at

There are two men who are said to

Many-

have walked with God, Enoch and Noah.

people think that Enoch had a very delightful time

of
it,

full

of blessed contemplation.

But we are told

in

by

St.

Jude that he had a very severe experience

against

testifying

ungodliness

and, therefore, not

life.

even Enoch had altogether an easy and quiet

But whatever we may think about Enoch, Noah was

a practical

man

of

affairs,

and

for

one hundred and

twenty years he preached the Gospel of righteousness without getting a single convert, though
all
life

the
in-

while he was walking with God.

This

is

the

tended
II.

for us, the life

of perpetual fellowship.
life
is

The
" In

Christian

Life of Unchanging
all

Joy.

Thy name do

they rejoice

the day."

PRIVILEGE

51
is

We

must not

forget,
is

though

it

often repeated in

our ears, that there

a vast difference between joy

and happiness.

Happiness depends upon what hap"

pens, upon circumstances, the

hap

" of Hfe.
is

Joy

is

independent of circumstances, and

our relationship to God.

connected with
is

Happiness

very

much
at

hke the surface of the

other times calm
;

sea,
is

sometimes turbulent,

joy

like the

bed of the ocean,

Joy,

which

is

untouched by anything on the surface.

to

referring

our relationship to God,

is

threefold.
at the

There
past
;

is

the joy of retrospect, as

is
;

we look back

there

the joy of aspect, as

there
is

we look around on

the present

the joy of prospect, as

we look
memory,
is

forward to the future.

There

is

the joy of

the joy of love, and the joy of hope.

There

the

joy of the peaceful conscience, the joy of the grateful

heart,

the joy

of

the

teachable

mind, the joy of

spirit,

the trustful soul, the joy of the adoring

the

joy of the obedient Ufe, and the joy of the glowing

hope.

Thy name do they rejoice." That is where we get our joy " In Thy name," in the revelation of God. The name of God is all that is known of Him. Wherever the word " name " occurs it never means
" In

a mere

title

or epithet, but a character, the revealed

character of

know

this "

God and in proportion name " and what it means

;

as

we

get to

in all its full-

52
ness,

POSSIBILITY
we
shall

have joy, which

will

thus depend, not

upon

ourselves, but

upon God.
they rejoice
all

" In

Thy name
all

shall

the day,"
St.

i. e.,

under

circumstances.

That

is

what

Paul

meant when he

said, " Rejoice in the

Lord alway."

He did not say, " Be happy in the Lord always." He knew very well it was impossible. We cannot
be happy always.
If

we have anything troublesome

if

in our circumstances,

we have any

bodily pain,

if

we

have any mental or social anxiety,

we cannot
not very

possibly be happy.

The Apostle Paul was

happy when he
" Sorrowful yet

called himself sorrowful, but

he

said,

alway rejoicing."

While we cannot

be happy always, we can

rejoice in the

rejoice always, because

we

Lord always.

Our joy
;

is

independent

of happiness, of what happens

it

is

associated with

God.
This, too,
is

need of the Christian

life,

one

which ought to be considered again and again, the

need of unchanging joy.
If in our daily Hfe

we do

not realize what this means,

we

are lacking in one

of the essential features of Bible Christianity.

III.

The

Christian
"

life

is

Life of Perfect

Righteousness.
they exalted."

Thy righteousness are What do we mean by righteousness ?

in

And

We

might put

it

in this

way, and say

it

means

right-

ness, the state

and condition of being right with

God

PRIVILEGE
In some respects righteousness
is it

63

one of the greatest

very frequently in

words

in the

Bible.

We

find

that large section, Isaiah xl. to xlvi.

But righteous-

ness

is

the great message of the Apostle Paul.

is

We
the

sometimes think that the essence of the Gospel

mercy of God, or the love of God.

think so.
of Christ

St.

Paul did not

He

said, " I
for

am

not ashamed of the Gospel

is

...

therein
i.

the righteousness
It

of

God revealed" (Rom.

felt

i6, 17).

was because

Paul

that righteousness, even

more than mercy,

it

was necessary, that he emphasized

as the key-note

of his Gospel, the truth of righteousness, the state of

being right with God.

The whole
up
ness

of the Epistle to the

Romans

is

built

in a seven-fold
:

way on

this

thought of righteousi.

Righteousness

Required, chapters
iii.
;

and

ii.

Righteousness Revealed, chapter

Righteousness
Received,
vi.-viii.

Reckoned,
chapter
v.
;

chapter

iv.

Righteousness

Righteousness Realized, chapters

;

Righteousness Rejected, chapters ix.-xi.

ness

Righteous-

Reproduced, chapters

xii.-xvi.
is

The

entire

teaching from beginning to end

this
is

righteousness, and
life

the meaning of the Christian

life

of

perfect righteousness.
" In

Thy
It

righteousness."

That

is

the sphere and

the atmosphere of true living.

ness."

" In

Thy

righteous-

means that wc are to be surrounded by

54

POSSIBILITY
by
it,

that righteousness, covered

protected

by

it.

If

that

is

not true of us
it is

now, then there

'

will

be no

blessing until

settled.

In

Thy

righteousness."
is ?

Do we know

what God's righteousness

until

We have
received

no concern with His holiness

His righteousness,
that holiness
for
it is

we have

only

when we

possess this

becomes

possible.

There are those who

life.

wish to

know
of

the best

way

of living the holy

But perhaps they have never made sure of

question
necessity.
alted."

this

righteousness.

This

is

the
are

primary
they ex-

" In

Thy

righteousness

Exalted above our foes, exalted above our

fears, exalted

above our

failures.
? I

What do we know
taking a walk

of God's righteousness

was

some years ago with

and

a beloved friend, a

well-known clergyman, and as we passed a particular

house he pointed to
it,

said, " I

never pass that

I

house without calling to mind

this incident.

was

summoned
dying.
I

to see a lady,

an entire stranger to me,

and, indeed, to this town,

who was thought

to be

went

in,

and

very soon saw that she

could not live long.

interest

After a few words of personal

I

and sympathy
will that

said to her,

'

Now,
Said

be God's

you should
'

recover.
"

may May I
it

not
ask

how you
"

regard the future

my

friend,

She opened her eyes wide, and

said,
*

fixed

them on me,

and

Not having

mine own righteousness,

PRIVILEGB
which
is

05
is

of the law, but the righteousness which

faith of

through
is

Jesus Christ, the righteousness which

faith.' "

of

God through
all

And my
it

friend added,
sufficient."
life,

"

That was

she said, and

was quite

In the same
is

way now, not

for death,

but for

this

the secret,
is

Not having mine own

righteousness,
is

which

of the law, but the righteousness which

faith of Jesus Christ, the righteousness

through
is

which

of

" In

God through faith." Thy righteousness are

This

is

the thought here.

they exalted."
if

And day
we are when we

by day and hour by hour,

able to sing, and able to

this

is

settled,

mean what we say

sing

"

Jesus,

Thy

blood and righteousness

are, ray glorious dress

My beauty
With joy
IV.

'Midst flaming worlds in these arrayed,

shall I Hft

up
is

my

head."

The

Christian Ufe
"

Life of Complete
the glory
of their

Protection,
strength."

For Thou
is

art

Strength

one of the great needs of

the Christian, and

it is

associated with righteousness.

In more than one passage in Isaiah

" In the

we

find

both

Lord have

righteousness and strength."

it

Strength follows righteousness here because

refers

to the next great need of the Christian hfe, strength

for daily living.

There

is

an old Latin phrase which

we might almost put

into very literal English

when

66

POSSIBILITY
of the need of power to " resist," to
"
'*

wc speak
and
tian Hfe.
their

insist,"

to " persist

power
Not

for
it is,

everything in the Chris"

The

secret of

Thou

art the glory of

strength."

self,

not circumstances, but

God is our strength. " In the Lord have I strength." " Thou art the glory of their strength." His presence
is

salvation.

Both

in

the Old Testament and in the

is

New

the

word

"

glory " or " boast "

utilized for right

If there
is

and

true and pure ideas and ideals.

one perit is

son

who
or

is

more contemptible than another,

boasts.

man man
most

woman who
and

Whenever we
he
is

find a

boasting

we always

feel that

one of the

deplorable

contemptible

specimens of
not

humanity.

We

know what Uriah Heep means,

is

only in the pages of Dickens, but everywhere

the

else,

man who

always " very 'umble."

:

Caroline

Fry has a

fine definition of humility

*'

Unconscious
that
is

self-forgetfulness."

The

self-forgetfulness

conscious

is,

of course, the most acute, intense and

;

subtle form of pride

and yet here and

in the

New

Testament

this

very word " boast " in the original,

is

although rendered often " glory,"

transformed, and

taken over and

we
"

are enabled to boast in a great

number
save
"

of things.

God

forbid that

should boast,
tribulation."
'

in

the Cross."

"We

boast

in

We

boast in hope of the glory of God."

And


PEIVILEGE
not only so,

57

we

boast in God."

We
in

can glory as

much

as

we

like so

long as we glory

Him and

not

in ourselves.

And
"

in this connection let us

it

emphasize the word

complete," because

is

intended to
all

mean what
give

it

says.

At
is
.

all

times, under
for
us.

circumstances, God's

grace

sufficient
.
.

"

Behold,

you

power

over

all

the power of the

enemy;

and nothing
V.
tory.
alted."

shall

by any means hurt you."

life is

The
"

Christian
in

Life of Assured Vic-

And
The
"

Thy
"

favour our horn shall be exin

horn

the Old Testament

is

the

symbol of conquest, of
occurs
it
it is

victory.

Wherever the word

associated with complete victory.

When

says here, " In

Thy
it

favour our horn shall be exin

alted," of course

means that
is

union and com-

munion with God

there
It

assured victory, as well as

complete protection.

may be

questioned whether

we have

ever sounded the depth, or rather scaled the

Paul's word, where, in
as
'

height, of St.

Romans

viii.,

he speaks of us

more than conquerors." One of

" les vainqueurs et

the French versions

" conquerors,

is,

au dela

"
is

and beyond
It is

that."

Yes, but what

;

the

'

beyond that " ?

" super-conquerors "

not

merely the bare victory, not merely that which just

manages
fect

to get

home, but that which gives us a per-

and abundant conquest over the enemy.

58

POSSIBILITY

A
into

Christian

man,

in his humility,

once said on his

if

death-bed that he would be thankful

he just crept

heaven on

his

hands and knees.

We

fully ap;

preciate the spirit in which he said those words

and

yet

God

does not expect

us, or desire us, or

intend
for

us to creep into

heaven on our hands and knees,

'

has

He

not spoken of the

abundant entrance into

the everlasting

kingdom "

And

this is the

thought

here, " conquerors

and more than

that," super-con-

querors

victory and

more than

victory assured in

the favour of God.

VI.

The

Christian

life

is

A Life of Absolute
says, "

Guarantee.
the

The Authorized Version

That

For
of
it

Lord
is

is

our defence; and the Holy

is

One

Israel
is

our King."

perfectly true, but

the truth of verse seventeen, and therefore

it is

best to read with the Revised Version, "

Our

shield

belongeth unto Jehovah, and our King to the Holy

One

of Israel."
is

Who

is

our Shield

The

Messiah.
is

Who

our King?

The

Messiah.
of
Israel.

Who

Jeit

hovah?

The

Holy One
That
God's."

Therefore

says that Christ, our Messiah, our Shield, our King,

belongs to God.

is

the meaning of St. Paul's

words, " Christ

is

This introduces us to one of the profoundest and

yet one of the simplest truths of the Bible, the cove-

nant between the Father and the Son on our behalf.

PRIVILEGE
If

50
viii.,

wc

read very carefully Hebrews

that the
it

New
is

Covenant

is

not

we shall between God and

see
us

is

between the Father and the Son.

this

Again and

again there

wonderful thought of a solemn

covenant and agreement between

God and

Christ.

We
it,

must, of course, use

is

human language

to express

but the idea

of a definite covenant on our behalf.

It

was

this,

no doubt, that the Psalmist regarded as

life.

the culminating point of the behever's

"

Our

Shield belongeth unto Jehovah, and our King

to the

Holy One
to say

of Israel."
I

So

St.

Paul

is

not only able

what

have

just quoted, but

he says, "All
is

things are yours, and ye are Christ's, and Christ

God's."
as

That

also

is

the meaning of such a passage

John

x. 28, 29, " I give unto

My My

sheep eternal

life;

and they

shall

never perish, neither shall any

pluck them out of

My
My

hand.

Father, which
is

gave them Me,

to pluck

is

greater than

all

and none

able

them out of

Father's hand."

It is well

known

that philosophy

and evolution, and indeed

the general trend of modern thought, have during the past

things. table
fifty

years emphasized the

human

side of

Perhaps that was the necessary and inevi-

rebound from an overemphasis of the Divine

side fifty years before.

Be
is

that as

it

may, we must

never forget that there

a Divine side as well as a

us overlook the fact that

human

side.

Never

let

60

POSSIBILITY
us,

God keeps
selves.

and

this

is

prior to our keeping our-

An

Irish

boy was once asked whether he

did not sometimes feel afraid.

He

replied, " I often

trimble on the rock, but the rock never trimbles

under me."

hold," says the motto

it

another side to
thing to hold thing for
tires,

but there
It is

is

"

and

am
;

held."
is

a great
greater

God by

faith

it

much

God
I

to hold us with a grasp that never

;

" Fear thou not

for I

am

with thee

be not

dismayed, for

am

thy
;

God

I will

strengthen thee

yea, I will help thee

yea, I will uphold thee with

xli. lo).

the right hand of

My

righteousness " (Isa.

" Let me no more

my

comfort draw

From my

frail

hold of Thee

In this alone rejoice with awe,

Thy mighty

grasp of me."

This idea of the covenant has almost entirely fallen

out of modern theology and modern writing, and

we

must get back to

it

as the bed-rock of everything.

in

There was a woman

Scotland on her death-bed,

waiting for the end, after forty years of Christian

life

and

service.

She was deeply taught of God.

Her

friends felt they could say pretty

;

much what
" Well,

they liked to her

so one of

them remarked,
;

you have been a

Lord were to
would
lose
let

Christian forty years

suppose the
said, "

you go
I

? "

"

Ah," she

He

more than

should."

She meant that

PEIVILEGE
He would
Himself
people.
in

61

lose

His

character.

God
the

has

pledged

covenant with Christ on behalf of His

If

you read the

great,

real

Lord's
call

Prayer, not the disciples' prayer which

we

the

Lord's Prayer, but the Lord's Prayer in John

xvii.,

you

will

find

a reference to the covenant between

God and
to the

Christ

on behalf of those who were given

Son by the Father, and concerning whom,

said, " I

with

one exception, the Lord

This
It will
is

have

lost

none."
antee.
this

what

mean by
if

the absolute guarget

be worth while
realize,

we can
all

down

to

basis

and

apart from

our feelings

and circumstances and problems and doubts and

needs, "
I

am

the Lord

change not."

"

The

foun-

dation of the Lord standeth sure, having this seal,

The Lord knoweth them

from iniquity."
VII.

that are His.

And, Let

every one that nameth the

name

of Christ depart

The

Christian

life
is

is

Life of Personal

Relationship.

" Blessed

the people that

know
It

the joyful sound."

The

"joyful sound" had refer-

ence to two things in the Jewish religion.

associated,
first

was

of

all,

with the trumpet on the day

years the trumpet of Jubilee

of Jubilee.

Every
and

fifty

sounded,

that

meant deliverance.

And

this,

translated into the

pel.

New

Testament, means the Gos-

" Blessed

is

the people that

know

the joyful

62

POSSIBILITY

sound," the sound of deliverance, the note of the

Gospel.
"
St.

Paul says of the people of Thessalonica,

From you sounded out the word of the Lord." They had received it, and they were sounding out
that trumpet of Jubilee, of deliverance.

Here again

we

are at the beginning of things.

Do we know

Do we know the "joyful sound " of deliverance? Do we know the Lord Jesus Christ as our Saviour? Has He come to us with His Jubilee of
this ?

deliverance, deliverance from the guilt of sin, deliv-

erance from the penalty of

sin,

deliverance from the

bondage of

sin,

and deliverance hereafter from the

of sin?

very presence

DeHverance

is

the great

thought of the "joyful sound."

But

it

means more than

fifty

this.
;

Trumpets were used

they were employed
people to worship.
find reference

oftener than every

years

from time to time to

If

summon
of

we

look at the

Book

Numbers, we

to the silver trumpets the priests

used on special

occasions.

According to some
is

authorities,

render the passage, " Blessed

the
festal

the

we might people that know

with

shout,"

i. e.,

the shout associated

worship.

After deliverance comes worship.

After

the altar outside comes the tabernacle inside, and so

the "joyful sound"

worship.
It is for

first

means

salvation

and then

us to face this question

Is this

a personal

PRIVILEGE
experience
?

63

Do we know the
deliverance

" joyful
?

we know what
have

means

Do Do we know
?

sound "

what worship means?

this

Do we know
Blessed
is

what

it

is

to

opportunity of spiritual worship with our

Father

in

heaven

If so, "

the people."

So we come back
started
:

to the note with

It

which we

" Blessed."

has been well pointed out

that festivals of gladness are based

It is

on

religious facts.

worth while remembering that Rationalism has

never been successful in originating anything glad

or joyful.
It

would be interesting
tell

for

our mission-

ary brethren and sisters to

us

how many hymn-

books they have found

religions.

in

connection with heathen

Heathenism knows nothing about hymn-

books, or joy, or gladness.

belief,

Joy

is

the essential of

and so we may put

writer, "
"

it

almost in the words of a

is

modern
ness."

Where
is

there

faith,

there

is

glad-

Blessed

the people that

know

the joyful

sound."
is

The

greatest
is

day of joy

in the present

age

that which

at

once a holiday and a holy day,

" I bring

the birthday of Jesus Christ.

tidings of great joy."
I

you good
do not
life

heard once of a clergyman

I

who looked on
quite

the dark side of things.

it,

wonder

at

because he had spent a noble

as a missionary,

and had got a severe touch of

this

liver.

His people used to say that

good man never

All his ser-

gave them anything bright or joyful.

64

POSSIBILITY
associated with gloom, until one Christas his text,

mons were
you good
*

mas Day he announced

Behold

bring
said,

tidings of great joy."

The people
!

Now we

are going to have a change

"

But the

main substance of the sermon was a description of

the blackness of the time

when
!

Jesus Christ was born.

is

That was
that

all

he could do

" Blessed

the people
is

know
let

the festal shout "

life.

that joy which

this
:

the

key-note of ah Christian

So

each one ask himself

it

Do

know

it ?

Some know
the Bible
;

by hearsay
"

others have read of

it

in

but the word

know

" in the

Old Testa-

ment and the

"

New always

means personal experience.

Perhaps some
is

Blessed

is

the people that know."

one

says, " I

do not know."
not, there

Well, there
is

only one

reason

why we do

only one reason

we cannot know.
hast set our
in

We find
Thy

it

in

Psalm xc. 8

"

why Thou

iniquities before

Thee, our secret sins

It
is

the light of
is

countenance."

because

there

some

sin

between God's face and ours that

prevents us from knowing the joyful sound.

so

And

we have need
" Oh
!

to sing,

and

to pray

may no

earth-born cloud arise

servant's eyes."

To
If there
is

hide

Thee from Thy

any
is

sin unconfessed

and unforgiven,

this

and

this

only

the explanation

why we do

not

know

PEIVILEGE
the " joyful sound."
that sin

66
are willing to have

But

if

we

removed and blotted

out, so that in the

life

King's countenance there will be

and favour,
the "joyful

from

this

time forward

we

shall

know

sound," and
It

know
that

it

increasingly in our experience.

all

means

this,

now and

through

life

there will

be the
the

test,

there will be the trust, and there will be

taste.

We

shall test these things,

and God

will

welcome
trust

us in fellowship with Himself.

in that trust will
all

We
And
'

shall

Him, and

come the removal

then,
taste
taste,

of
all

all

the clouds and

the

difficulties.

through hfe there

will
is

be the

O
the

and see that the Lord

that trusteth in

good

blessed

is

man

Him."

IV

SATISFACTION

THE

Apostle

Paul

desired

that

those to

whom

he wrote might know the things

that

were freely given to them of God.

In his prayers in the Epistle to the Ephesians

we

have, perhaps, the highest revelation of his conception of the Christian

life.

He

prayed

in the first of

the two prayers that believers might have a spiritual

illumination, that the eyes of their heart might be

opened to see the wealth of grace stored up

in

for

them
the

Christ

and made available

for

them.

Now

prophet Jeremiah, foretelling something of the great

future,
is

concerned with a similar subject, the pos-

sibilities

and

realities

of a Divine

life

in a personal

experience.

He
"

utters

a magnificent promise and

satisfied

assurance

My

people shall be

with

My

goodness

" (xxxi. 14).

Although, of course, we know

its

that this whole section has

primary and

still

future

interpretation in regard to God's people Israel, there

is

no reason,

as

we have

already seen,

why we may

not look at the words in a secondary, spiritual application,

and think of them

life

as intended for us.

The

Christian

surely

means

this, if it

means

66

SATISFACTION
nothing
else,

that

we may be

led to understand as

much
for

as possible of those things

that are provided

as, for
lips

us

of

God

and many a passage,

ex-

ample, the outburst of praise from the

of the

Apostle Peter

(i Pet.

i.),

is

altogether concerned with

those wonderful

realities

of grace

that have been

brought near to us

in Christ Jesus. this

So

it

will

be well to strike

note of encourage-

ment, and to give this word of promise to every

believer,

"

goodness."
Christian
for
us, in

My people shall We will look at

order that

be

satisfied

with

My

the Divine side of the

life,

at the provision

which God has made

realize afresh,

we may
life

and by

His grace enter into the

I.

that

He

desires us to live.

First of

all,

we

notice the Divine

is

Splendour

"

My goodness."
is

This

God's character, than which

"

there
fied

nothing higher.

My

people shall be

satis-

with
;

My

goodness

"

not

greatness, but good;

ness

not

glory, but

goodness

not grandeur, but

is

goodness.
"

This goodness of
of

God

seen in Nature.

The goodness
"

God endureth
is full

yet daily," says the

Psalmist.

The

earth

of the goodness of the

Lord."
ness."

"

Thou crownest the year with Thy goodstill

:

But

more, the goodness of

will

God

is

seen

in revelation

" I

make
shall

all

My
. .

goodness pass
.

before thee."
in

"

The Lord God

"

abundant
with the

goodness."

They

be

satisfied

68
goodness of

POSSIBILITY
Thy
house."
"

The goodness

of

God

leadeth thee to repentance."

This Divine character of goodness

is

intended to
is
.

be

ours,

for
It

" the
is

fruit

of

the

Spirit

goodness."

said of Barnabas that "

is

he was a

good man."

This

in the past tense, at the time, but

it

and reads as
whether
it is

though he were dead

intended as an epitaph or not,

acter,

expresses his charfiner.

**

than which there

is

nothing

He

was

a good man."

People often discuss their clergy and

talk very freely of them.

They
"

say, " Yes,

when he

comes to see me he hasn't much

is

to say, but then, he

such a good

man

"

When we
we

go

to church

he's

somewhat

dull in the pulpit, but then,

he

is

such
un-

a good

man

"

Well, while

are sorry for

all

interesting people in the pulpit,

and

also sorry for

the

man who
that he
it

has not

much
if it

conversational power in

pastoral visitation, yet

can be said of a clergy-

man
that

is

a good man,

we may

well thank

God

is

so, for

we have

the finest treasure in this

world

in goodness. laid

We can understand, therefore, the

New Testament
"

emphasis

by the

on good works,
" in the

because good works are the outcome of goodness.

There are two words rendered

good

New

Testament and applied to works.

that which
is

The one means

inwardly and intrinsically good; the

is

other means that which

outwardly beautiful, and

SATISFACTION
for the

69

most

part, in the Pastoral Epistles, the phrase

translated "
tiful

good works
There
is

"

might be rendered

" beau-

works."

a similar distinction between

the

the righteous

man and

good man
at

in

Romans

v.,

and our works are intended to be

beautiful.

once ethical and

The two words

are often associated with

God
but

Himself.
it

God

is,

of course, essential goodness,

is

helpful sometimes to

remember

that our

Lord
herd

said, " I

am

the Beautiful Shepherd," the Shep-

who

is

outwardly attractive as well as inwardly

good.
It is just

here where our goodness often

fails

it is

not beautiful.
ethical
is
is

Yet

if

our goodness

is

not at once

and beautiful

it fails

at a crucial point.

There

a story that the salt

when some one

earth,"

said of another, "

She

of the
is

the

reply

was,

'

Salt ?

Why,
cruet
!

she
"

mustard and pepper and the whole

is

Yes, that

the sad

meaning of unlovely

goodness.

We often emphasize
ment of other virtues.
thrift,

particular virtues to the detri-

There arc some who emphasize

and

sacrifice

everything to economy.

There

are

others

who emphasize
!

generosity, and do not

pay

their debts

There are yet others who emphasize

humility, and have not an

character.

atom of
others

force in their

There are

still

who emphasize
if

individuality,

and are very much put out

they do


70

POSSIBILITY

not get the chief places in the synagogues.

We
their

emphasize one virtue

at

the

expense of another.
themselves

There

are

men who
it

pride

on

candour, and

degenerates into brutality.

One
is

of
I

such

men

said to

John Wesley

once, " Mr. Wesley,

pride myself on speaking

talent."

my
that

mind
"
!

that
" the

my
Lord

" Well,"
if

said

John Wesley,

wouldn't mind

you buried

We
which

need that characteristic of Christian ethics

is

only found in Christianity, that indefinable

is

something which
one quality

called Christlikeness.

It is

the

in Christianity

which marks off the ethic

of the Gospel from every other ethic in the world,

the combination of strength and sympathy, the blend

of tenderness and force, the association of righteousness

and

love.

There

is

nothing higher than

this

beautiful goodness.
to

It is

something

for us to
;

be able
it is

know

it

is

something to be able to do
to
is

but

infinitely

more

be.

Wisdom

in

God

is
is

great
greatest
first

power, perhaps,
of
all.

greater, but goodness

In the definition of the Deity in the

Article of the " infinite

in

Church of England,

He

is

described as

wisdom, power and goodness."

And
;

now
II.

abide these three, wisdom, power, goodness

is

but

the greatest of these

goodness.

When we

look at the passage again,

"

we

ob-

serve the Divine Standard.

My

people shall be

; :

SATISFACTION
satisfied,"

71

and the word "

Satisfaction
will ?
;

satisfied " at
is

once compels
;

us to think.
is

this possible

is

this true

this
is

God's

The ordinary view

of the Christian

life

for us to

have enough, but with no thought of

absolute and complete satisfaction.

quite content with his ease
that he
all
is
;

The

worldling
is

is

the Pharisee the Stoic

is

thankful

not as other
;

men

indifferent to

these things

the selfish

man

pays no regard to
is

others; while the conventional believer

tent with his low standard of morality.
is

quite con-

The

trouble

that

we

are content with so httle.

In one of the

Anghcan

Collects for

Good Friday
meanI

we
ing.

read that our Lord Jesus Christ " was contented

to be betrayed."

The word

has changed

its

that

When nowadays I say " I am I am barely ready, or I am just

it,

content,"

mean

ready.

I cannot
difficulty.

very well avoid

" I

but

I will

put up with the

am

content."

But

in the old English the

word

" content "

(/. e..

meant
full

" contained."

"

He was

contained

He

was

of readiness) to be betrayed."

The

same

old English

word
xl., "

is

found
I

in the

Prayer

Book
will

Version of Psalm
yea, I

Lo
it,"

come
is,

to
" I

do Thy

am

content to do
will of

that

am

contained

by

it."

The
life,

God

filled

up the whole of our

" contained "

Lord's

and the Master was

will of

by His

desire to

do the

God.

That

is

the meaning
is

here

and the right view of Christian privilege

not

72

POSSIBILITY

merely bread enough, but " bread enough and to

spare."

As

Scripture promises, "

will satiate the

soul of the priests."

Some may
Think of the
river."

not have noticed the figures of speech

this spiritual satisfaction.
'.'

used in the Bible to express

river in this connection,

Peace as a
plccisures."

" Drink

of

the river of

Thy

'

Out of Him

shall flow rivers of living water."

Re-

member
to
his

the symbol in Ezekiel of the waters to the

ankles, then to the knees, then to the loins,

and then

swim

in.

Notice

St. Paul's three

full,"

nouns and adjectives, "

metaphors, with " abundant," " rich "

the fullness, the abundance, and the wealth of

God's grace.

This

is

the standard.

God can
satisfies

satisfy

and God does

satisfy

our

life.

He

the past

with forgiveness, the present with grace, and the

future with glory.

He
He

satisfies

the past with

justifi-

cation, the present with sanctification

and the future

with glorification.

satisfies

the past with pardon,

the present with power and the future with peace.

So we
tainty,

have, in the familiar phrase, " Safety, Cer-

and Enjoyment."

Let us mark

it

as

it

ap-

pears in the

Word

of God, especially in the Psalms.

Bible students should notice the

it is

word

" satisfied " as

found in the

Psalter.

One
shall

or two of these will

enable us to see the force of what

God
be

intends for us

here and now.

'*

My soul

satisfied as

with

SATISFACTION
marrow and
of
fatness."

73 goodness

" Satisfied with the

Thy

house."

"

With honey out

'

of the rock would

shall eat

I have satisfied thee."

The meek
with

and be
" In

satisfied."

"

satisfy us

Thy

mercy."
"

the days of famine they shall be satisfied."

satisfieth

Who
"

thy mouth with good things."

" I shall be

satisfied

when

awake with Thy

"

likeness."

He

satisfieth the

longing soul."

With long
be

life will I

satisfy

him."
tells

No wonder
us that

that Isaiah takes

shall

up the
the

word and

we

satisfied in

time of drought.

Now when
clear

Christianity

is

understood aright,

it

is

intended to lead to soul-satisfaction.

Let us be very

and very

careful as to

what we mean.
with

Are
"
?

we

satisfied ?

We
our

reply, " Satisfied

what
forbid

Satisfied

with

attainments
?

"

God

"
!

Satisfied with
fied

knowledge
?

" Far from

"

it."

Satis-

with our experience

is

Oh, no."
it

What is really
Are you

meant and the Lord

satisfied

asking

of each one,

with Christ

word
"

in

Psalm

Ixiii.,

We remember the wonderful " My soul thirsteth," and then

Are we
satisfied

My

soul shall be satisfied."

?

with

Christ

It is

so easy to sing

" Thou,

Christ, art all I want,"

and then to go out and

faction outside Christ.

find

some
is

part of our satis-

So here

the truth for the

74
Christian
life

POSSIBILITY
of every one.
It

matters not

how

long

we have been Christians. Nor is the question how much we know of our Bible. It is not even a question as to how much we have in heart and mind of
orthodoxy, but
satisfied
life

this

one question

is

supreme

Am I
my
life,

with Jesus Christ?

Is there

any part of

into

which

He

does not enter, intellectual

life,

social
tions,
life

life,

recreative

hopes, ambitions, aspiralife ?

and even physical

its

Is

there any part of

?

that finds
;

satisfaction elsewhere
is

This

is

the

real test

and

this

why we need
any

to ask God's

Holy

Spirit to convict us of
in our
life

dissatisfaction,

anything

that
It is
all

is

causing spiritual concern at this

moment.

a sure and certain test that at any

circumstances,

time, under

we can gauge our

one question, "

own
is

spiritual life

by asking

this
? "

What
with

Jesus Christ to
?

me now

Am

I satisfied

Christ
III.

My We look
"

soul shall be satisfied."

again at the promise and notice in

"

it

the Divine Secret.

My

people shall be

satisfied

with

My
;

goodness."
" the

The Divine Splendour,

"

My

goodness
fied
;

Divine Standard, " Shall be

satis-

" the Divine Secret, "

in

My

people."

Now again
they

and again
something
shall

the

Word
I

of

God we
be their
is

find a phrase

like this, "

will

God and

be
it

My

people."

There

no doubt whatever
full

that

is

only with a true and

understanding of

SATISFACTION
what
"

76
shall find

My

people

"

means
is

that

wc

what

spiritual satisfaction

in our personal experience.

What then is it ? What is it to be the God ? " My people." It means, first and
Pardon.
as those

people of
foremost,

In

Peter

ii.

lo God's people are described

who had
else will

not obtained mercy, but

If

now have

obtained mercy.
point,
all

any one

is

not certain on this

count for nothing until and unless

we have
"

received God's pardon, for

until

we never can be
are pardoned.

one of the people of God

we

As many

as received

Him,
"

to

them gave He power

"

to

become the sons

of God."

Ye
in

are

all

the chil-

dren of
It is

God"

how?

By

faith

Christ Jesus."

only too possible

for

people
life.

who do not know

this

to desire the Christian

We

have to take

for granted the fact of forgiveness, the consciousness

of pardon, as the
life
;

first

requirement of the Christian

is

but

if

by any

possibility there

any reader who

does not

know
way

this,

the

way

is

simple and clear, and

It
is

" as old as the hills," as

trust,

we

say.

the

way

of

the

of simple acceptance, and

we

enter into

the number of the people of

taining mercy..

God

as the result of ob-

The next mark

sion.

of the people of
ii.

God

is

His Posses-

In

Peter

9 they are
" peculiar "

called " a peculiar

people."

The word

does

not

mean

strange, but specially His own.

It

does not mean as

76
in

POSSIBILITY
our modern sense eccentric or singular
;

it

means

God's

own

property, His peculium, a people parFirst,

ticularly

His own.

Pardon, then, Possession

we belong to God, and

people "
if

He

is

able

to say "

My

we belong
mark
is

to

Him.

The

third

Purity.

We

are told
"

more than
"

once of those who have to " come out

separate,"

and to

be

and to put away the unclean thing

our

in order

that

God may be

God and
to
is

that

we may be His
people

people.

He

is

purifying
It
;

Himself a

specially His

own.

another of the marks of

God's people, purity

purity of thought, of motive,

of desire, of will, of conscience and of action.

The
have
I

last

of these marks
for
;

is

Praise.

" This people

formed

Myself they shall show forth

My

praise."

Pardon, Possession, Purity, Praise.

These

are the four infallible

marks of the people of God.

Now comes
It

the question,

How can
It is

all this

be ours?
threefold
sin

can at once be answered.

by a
all

way.

There must be separation from

known

there must be surrender to

God and
;

the outcome of

surrender will be service for God.

said, "

George Eliot once

far

There are many who are living

below

their

possibilities

because they are continually handing

individualities

over

their

to

others."

There are

many who

are Hving below their possibilities because

they have handed over their individualities to a

SATISFACTION
priest
;

77
will

and

as long as they

do that they

continue

to

hve below their

possibilities.

There are others

who

are living below their possibilities because they

have handed over their individuaUties to a clergyman,

and he takes the place of the

priest.

Although he

is

only a pastor they are so dependent upon him that they

are living below their possibilities.

There are others

because they

who

are living below

their possibilities

have handed over their

devotional author.

individualities to a favourite

They read and read and read this

and
the while they are
liv-

man's books, imbibing his thoughts and appropriating

his ideas for their
life,

all

ing below their possibilities.

And

there are others

who

are liable to Hve far below their possibilities be-

cause they have handed over their individualities to a

special speaker.

never realize what

do.

As long as they do that, they will God intended them to be and to

Let every reader ask himself.

Am

handing over
so

my

individuality to
it

any man

If this is

whatover to

ever form

may
it

take, then the individuality will

never be what

ought to be.

Handing

it

some one
and the
sibility.

else will

be the destruction of personality

its full

utter failure to realize

and proper pos-

But now

let

us notice this.

There are many who

are living far below their possibilities because they

78

POSSIBILITY

are not continually handing over their individualities

to Christ.

What we
If

dare not do with man,

I

we must

do with

Christ.

you and

do not hand over our

always remain on
is

individualities to

Christ

we

shall

a lower level of possibility.

Gospel.
"

That

the secret of the

Not

I,

but Christ Hveth in me."

"

This

is

found in connection with grace.

grace of

Not

I,

but the
for life

God

that

was with me."

I

Whether
I,

or for service, "

Not

but Christ," " Not

but the

grace of God."

Tkere happen to be two words

in the

New

Testa-

ment which go

to

the very heart of the matter.

in the
is

They may be given

English.

Greek, and then in the

One word
is

Tzapadidwfii, " I

hand over," and

I

the

other
if

napaTidTjfit, " I

commit," "

deposit."

Now

we

look at Acts xv. 26

as

we

find Paul

and

Barnabas described
their lives

men

on behalf of the
'

who have handed over name " not " hazarded,"

"

there

is

nothing of
lives

hazard " in the word.

"

Handed
That
is

over their

for the sake of the

name."
;

the secret of the power in their lives

they had

handed themselves over

for the sake of the

name.

We
who
with

also find the

word

in

connection with our Lord,

" kept

on committing Himself to
that judgeth righteously " (i
is

Him
Pet.

that

judgeth righteously," " kept on depositing Himself

Him

ii.

23).
let

The

other word

used of Christians.

And

SATISFACTION
them
that suffer according to the will of

79

God commit

their souls (deposit themselves) in well-doing unto a

faithful

Creator "

(l

Pet.

iv.

19).

Well may the

believed,

Apostle Paul say,

" I

know whom I have

and

am

persuaded that
I

He

is

able to keep

my

deposit,

that which

have handed over, committed unto Him,

i.

against that day " (2 Tim.

12).

This
if

is

the

New

Testament message.
our
possibilities,

You and

I,

we would

realize

must hand over

This must be

our individualities to Jesus Christ.

the language of our lips and of our hearts, "

offer

Here we

and present unto Thee,

Lord, ourselves, our

lively

souls

and bodies, to be a reasonable, holy and

unto Thee."

sacrifice

Then we
say

shall begin to pos-

sess our possessions, to be satisfied with God's

ness,

good-

and

lip

and

life

will

" Blessed be the God and Father of our Saviour

Jesus Christ,

Who

hath blessed us with such blessings,

uncounted,
all

all

unpriced.

Let our high and holy calling, and our strong

salvation be,

Theme

of never-ending praises,

God

of sover-

eign grace to Thee."

^F.

R. Havergal.

PART

II

Provision

My

grace
all

is

sufficient for

thee."
things."

Cor. xii. p.

" Having

sufficiency in

all

2 Cor.
ly.

ix. 8.

"Thoroughly furnished."

2 Tim.

Hi.

" What He had promised. He was

form."

able also to per-

Rom.

iv.

21.

GRACE

OUR
stated in

Lord came that there might be a Gos-

pel to preach.
it.

Then He

sent His Apostles

that

to preach

The Gospel

He

was

in

His Person, and that

He

provided by His Word, and

is

the Gospel that they received and proclaimed,

best

the one word, Grace

;

"

The Gospel

of the

Grace

Christ "

God " " the Grace of our Lord Jesus Word of His Grace." What do we mean by Grace " ? It is a large
of
;

" the

word, a great word, an all-inclusive word, perhaps

the greatest

word

in the Bible,

because

it is

the word

most
in

truly expressive of God's character

to

and attitude

relation

man.

It

comes from two or three

In the Greek

roots in the
find

Hebrew and Greek.

" forgive,"
" rejoice,"

we

words and derivatives meaning

freely,"

" grace," " gift,"

to

" give

to to

to

"

bestow grato

ciously,"
" give

" joy,"

" thanksgiving,"

thanks,"

" thankful."

In

English (derived

from the Latin) we have

" grace," " gratis," " grati-

tude," "grateful," " gracious," "gratuity," " graceful,"

and such opposites

as " un-grateful," " un-gracious/'

83

84
" disgraceful."
aspects
;

PEOVISION
The
subject
is

large,

and has many

the passages, too, are numerous and well

closest study.

worthy of the

What
mean
to

does the word

mean ?

The

root seems to
it

" to

give pleasure," and then

:

branches out
in relation

comprehensively in two directions

the

one

Giver

the other in relation to the receiver

of the pleasure.

Grace

is first,

a quality oi graciousin

ness in the Giver,

and then a quality oi gratitude

the recipient, which in turn makes him. gracious to those around.

But the idea has two

distinct yet

connected aspects

even when appUed only to God the Giver.

^^
It

expresses the Divine attitude to

man

as guilty

and condemned.

Grace means God's favour and

good

will

towards us (Luke
is

of our Lord
("

So the Mother i. 30). " described as " permanently favoured

i.

graced,"

Luke

28).

This favour

is

manifested

without

any regard

to

merit; indeed, grace and

merit are entire opposites.

Grace

is
;

thus spontanefree (no condiis

ous (not prompted from outside)

tions are required)
;

generous (no
is

stint

shown)

and

abiding (no cessation

favour)

experienced).
"

It is also (as

opposed to " wrath

which means
it

judicial
distinits

displeasure against sin.

Further,

must be
is

guished from mercy even though mercy

one of

methods of expression.

Mercy

is

related to misery

GRACE
and to the (negatively) non -deserving.
lated

86
Grace
is

re-

to redemption

and to the

(positively)

unde-

serving.
It

then expresses the Divine action to

helpless.
;

man

as

needy and

Grace means not merely favour

but also help

faction
;

not only benevolence but also bene;

not simply feeling but also force

not solely

good

will

but also good work.

It is

Divine favour
attitude
gift,

expressed in and proved by His

gift

shown
in-

by

action.

Thus from grace comes

which
v.

variably implies a gift of or

I

by grace (Rom.

15

Cor.

iv.

6;

Rom.
Effect.

xii. 6).

These two ideas are thus connected and united as

Cause and

They

tell

of God's Heart and

is

God's Hand.

Etymologically, therefore, Grace

term that

refers to the beautiful

it

which gives

delight.

Theologically,
gift.

means God's favour

it

as seen in

His

Practically,

implies God's presence and re-

demptive power
aspects

in

human

life.

Blending

all

these

we may

think of grace as God's spontaneous

gift which causes pleasure and produces blessing,

Hort defines grace

produces "joy
daily living.
"
It

as " free
is

bounty " and,

as such,

it

and

the cause of actual power in

includes the
;

two

ideas of God's atti-

tude and God's action

gift
;

His graciousness and His

;

His pleasure and His provision

His benedic-

tion

and His benefaction.

In a sentence,

we may

86

PROVISION
shown and proved by His

define God's grace as His favour to the sinner, that

favour being
St.

gift.

Paul

is

preeminently the Apostle of Grace.

Out

of one hundred and fifty-five

it,

New
and

Testament
his, di-

references to
rectly

one hundred and thirty are

Grace
opens

or

indirectly.

closes his

Epistles.

Grace

is

the key-note of his teaching.

his life

Grace was the secret of

close.

from conversion to
he was what he was,

"

By

the grace of
suffered,

God

"

suffered

what he

and accomplished what he

accomplished.

More, perhaps, than any other man,

his Christianity.

Grace was the characteristic of

Grace

is

the predominant feature of the Bible.

in

There

is

no grace

heathen

religions.

It is

not

a pre-Christian word or idea.

cruelty not
ligions.
It is

Ugliness not grace,

grace, merit not grace

mark other

re-

therefore worth while to ponder this wonder-

ful truth,

and to look
Scripture.

at

it

in the varied light

provided

by Holy

I.

What

is

Grace

in

God?

Grace

is

God's

Mercy

pitying.

We
sin.

can never
It

speak of grace without speaking of

that

was

sin

prompted
it

grace.

At

first

God "saw"
i.).

everyalas

thing that

was very good (Gen.

Then

He saw
"

" that every imagination of

man's heart was

GRACE
only evil continually (Gen.
that there was "
vi.).

87

And
i6).

then

He

"

saw

"

no man, and wondered that there

" (Isa.
Iviii.

was no intercessor

This threefold

" sight " led to the revelation

for "

and provision of grace,

own arm brought Grace God's Wisdom

His
is

salvation."

planning.

To

see

was to

ponder and plan, and the promise of Eden (Gen.

iii.
1

6) runs

through the entire Old Testament.

farther

In-

deed,

we may go
study what

back and think of the Di-

vine purpose of grace " before the world began."

As we
xiii. 8),

is

said both of

what God has done

" ("

"from the foundation of the world

and
also of
I.

from

"

Rev.
(" be-

what

He

purposed before
little

it

fore "

Eph.

4),

we can

see a

of the plan of

grace in the eternal wisdom of God.

Grace

is

God's Power preparing.

For four thouat

sand years the grace of

God was

work, and the

the Jews a

Divine preparation went on.

Among

Saviour was prepared for the world, and

Gentiles

among

the

the

world was

prepared for a Saviour.

Dimly

realized

by

patriarchs, the truth

became grad-

ually clearer through the ages

by means of Moses

and the prophets,

tion.

until the

end of the old Dispensa-

At

length in the fullness of time the prepara-

tions were complete,

invitation

and Christ came.

first

The primeval

had been given when

God

"

bade

many," and then when the preparations were made,

88

PEOVISION
given:

the second invitation was

things are

"Come,

for all

now

ready."

Grace
plan,
for "

is

God's Love providing.

all

The

pity, the

and the preparation were

prompted by

love,

God

so loved the world that

He

gave His only-

begotten Son," and

when

Christ appeared

He was

the revelation of the " grace of

salvation."
ing, for

God

that bringeth

We
God
is

note that

it
'

was bringing, not sendfull

His character was

so

of grace and truth."

And
grace,"

rightly revealed as " the

God

of

all

and Christianity

as the religion of grace.

In

Nature we see preeminently the wisdom, the majesty,

and the power of God.

law,

In Providence
the
justice

we

see the

the

righteousness,

of

God.

In

Heathenism we see
in Christianity

ugliness, hardness, cruelty.

But

the very heart of

expresses
principle
pel.

we see grace, because it issues from God Himself The word " Grace "
definitely than

more

any other term the

on which God

deals with
all

It is

the very opposite of

men in the Goshuman ideas and

principles.

Human

life

knows of justice, and accord-

ingly of dealing out rewards and punishments.

is

Man

aware of the meaning of law and

its

results to inno-

cent and guilty.

Man

is

familiar with culture, edulife.

cation, progress, discipline, as processes in

But

by nature he knows nothing of

grace.

The

idea of

dealing with sinfulness and unworthiness as

God

has

GEACE
done
in the

89
its
is

Gospel by grace, and of making

in-

iquity the occasion for

utterly

superabundant blessing

so

unUke
it

all

things

human,

that

we can only

speak of

in the

words of God through the prophet

My

thoughts are not your thoughts, neither

saith the Lord.

My

ways your ways,

For as the heavens

are higher than the earth, so are

My

ways higher
than

than

your

ways,

and

My
far

thoughts

your

thoughts

" (Isa. Iv. 8, 9).

Grace means more,

into words, because
infinite character of
it

more than we can put

less

means nothing
Himself,

than the

God

It includes

mercy

for the

undeserving and

unmerciful, help for the

for the

helpless

and hopeless, redemption

renegade

and

repulsive, love for the

unloving and unlovely,

kindness for the unkind and unthankful.

this in full

And

all

measure and overflowing abundance, be-

cause of nothing in the object, and because of everything in the Giver,

God

Himself.

Grace

is

the character of God, including mercy

righteousness and peace.

and

truth,

Grace

is

the

union of love and holiness, the very foundation of

the nature of

God

in Christ.

n.
It
is

What

is

Grace
This

in
is

Christ?
suggested by the
i.

Saving Grace.

Name

" Jesus,"

which means Salvation (Matt.

21),

" ;

90

PROVISION
it

and the Apostle rejoiced to say, and said

"

twice,
calls

By

grace are ye saved."

"

The
is

full

statement

for attention.

For God who

rich in mercy, for

His great love wherewith

He

loved us, even

when

we were dead
'.

in

sins,

hath quickened us together

;

with Christ (by grace are ye saved)

i

and hath raised

us

up together, and made us

:

sit

together in heavenly

places in Christ Jesus

that in the ages to

come He

might show the exceeding riches of His grace in

;

His

kindness
ii.

towards

us

through Christ Jesus

(Eph.

4-7).

Divine inspiration seems to have

itself in

endeavoured to exhaust
the glory of grace.

the effort to express

" rich in

Not only mercy but

mercy."
with

Not

only love but "

His great love whereexstill

is

He

loved us."

ceeding riches of

Not only grace but " the His grace." And to make it

more
" His

beautifully

human, the culminating point

kindness towards

us through Christ Jesus."

And
tion.

then
"

this is

seen to be the source of our salvafaith

For by grace are ye saved, through

:

and that not of yourselves

(Eph.
ii.

it

is

the gift of

God
that

8).

It

is

grace,

as

we have

seen,
it,

purposed salvation, grace that purchased

that proclaimed
it,

grace
it

and

it

is

grace that applies

it,

to

our souls.
provide
to
last,
it,

We

did not deserve

we could not
it.

we do not
is all

primarily seek
of grace.

From

first

salvation

GRACE
*

91

O the love that sought me, O the blood that bought me, O the grace that brought me

to the fold."

Whether, therefore, we think of the condemnation

or of the guilt of sin, the only
"

way

of deliverance

is

by grace."

Grace

is

the gift purchased for us by

the tribunal that found us guilty.

effort,

No
effect

merit,

no

no payment of man can

lest

salvation.

"

Not by works
two

any man should boast."

of

There
:

are only

classes

men

in this world

those
;

who

think they can win or earn God's favour

cannot.

the

who are certain they approach God and say,

others
**

The former

Something

in

my

hand

I bring.**

The

latter say,

*'

Nothing in my hand Simply to Thy Cross

I I

bring,

cling."

The hand
it

clings to the Cross,

and

this alone fills

with "something."
is

The reason why

trust

is

so

emphasized

that

it

expresses at once the cessation

of dependence

on

self

and the commencement of

else.

dependence on some one

And

this explains

how

St. Paul can ring out the Gospel, "

By

grace are

ye saved, through

faith."

It is

not because of " our

tears of repentance or prayers " that

He

saves us

it

92
is

PEOVISION
not even because of the strength of the faith by

which we accept

Him

that

He

accepts us

it is

not

because of any pledge of

receives us
;

future faithfulness that

He

it is

not because of His foresight of our

subsequent obedience that

back.
It
is

He

is

willing to take us

solely of

His unmerited mercy, His

undeserved grace, and unrequited love that

He

wel-

comes

us to Himself.

" That Thou should'st love a wretch

like

me,

And
Is

be the

God Thou

art.

darkness to

my
to

intellect,

But sunshine
It is

my

heart."
is

Sanctifying Grace.
Christ,"

This
"

suggested by the
Jesus the

word

'

which means

Anointed."

Saviour was anointed of the Holy Ghost, and this

anointing was given to
ii.

Him

for

His people (Acts

33).

He

is

" Christ," the

Anointed One, and they

xi.

are " Christians," the

anointed ones (Acts

is

26).

This anointing of Christ by the Spirit

for holiness.

Grace not only brings salvation, but

sanctification.
is

A very usual
of salvation
effort;

conception of the Christian Hfe

that

by

grace, but sanctification

by our own

justification
;

by

faith,

but sanctification by
sanctification

fighting

salvation

by acceptance, but
and miry

by

struggle.

But God does not rescue and redeem

pit

from the horrible

clay,

and
to

set our feet

upon a rock, and then expect us

go on

alone.

GRACE
This

93

way disappointment
"

lies,

and often backsliding.

No,
is

He

orders our goings."

"

The grace

that saves

the grace that sanctifies.

As

ye received Christ

Jesus the Lord, so walk in

Him."

We

received

Him
grace

by grace through
wherein we stand

faith

we must
step.

continue by the

same way, and walk the same

"

There

is

" as well this

as

grace whereby
fills

we
and

have been saved, and

keeps.

grace sanctifies,

Goodness

is

not a matter of temperament

with grace merely supplementing nature.

is

Goodness

not culture

and education,

as

though grace means

ideals,

only the introduction of high

tives,

powerful moto face the old

and splendid models by which

sinful nature.

The seventh

of

Romans

with

its

deadly

warfare of two natures does not represent the normal

Christian
life

of sanctification.
;

There

is

no Divine

grace in that chapter

to be

only man's nature struggling

law.

good and holy by

The

processes of penthis

ance and self-mortification are only examples of

endeavour to be holy by
God's way
is

effort,

struggle and law.

all

of grace, the gift of Christ

by the

Holy

Spirit entering in to abide, to cleanse, to keep,

to guide, to overcome, to transform.

Grace does not

it.

improve the old nature,

it

overcomes
it
it

Grace does

not educate the natural heart,

to extirpate
it,

promises hereafter
its

and meanwhile

counteracts

tendlife."

encies, and enables the believer to " reign in

PROVISION
life,
is

Grace means a new

a Divine

life,

which

lifts

us of

above the natural, and

nothing else than the

This
is

life

Christ Himself in His people.

what

St.

John

meant when he
received,

said, "

Of His
"

fullness

have
i6).

all

we

and grace

for grace

(John

i.

Grace

provides and produces what

we

require for holiness.

patience, holiness,

Everything that we need

love,
it is

meekness, in a word, Christlikeness

as grace controls,
liveth in

becomes
I,

ours

and because

" not

but Christ

me."
is

Let no one say that grace

ness or that
it

insufficient for holiit,

excuses
It

sin.

Far from

and quite
lusts,

the contrary.

teaches us to deny worldly

and to

live

soberly, righteously,
it

and godly

in this

present world, and then

gives the

power

to

do

all

The Gospel
merely
chariot.
for

is

for life here

and now, and not

death.

It

provides not a hearse but a

It is

intended to give a good soul, a sound

It
;

mind, a healthy body, a strong nerve.

subtract from anything right or bright
(2 Pet.
i.

does not
" adds "
/

it

5), it

" multiplies " (2 Pet.

"

i.

2),

and provides

^ abundance

of grace

(Rom.
it

v.

17),^

So

far

from

dispensing with morality,

insists

on

it

as essential,

and not only

so,

but grace and grace alone secures

morality in quality and quantity.

**

Talk we of morals

Thou

bleeding

Lamb,

The

best morality

is

love of

Thee."

GRACE
It
is

96
is

Sovereign Grace.

This

suggested by the

word

"

Lord," which impHes the rule and masterSt.

ship of Christ Jesus.

reigns "
Christ
is
is

Paul
this

tells
is

us that " Grace

(Rom.

v. 17),

and

so because " Jesus

Lord."

From

the very outset to the very

end
'

He
To
is

and must be Lord.

end Christ both died, and
" rose,

this

and

re-

vived, that
this
tl;ie

He might be Lord (Rom.

is

xiv. 9).

And as
nothing

realized His grace

is

seen to be sovereign, and

soul

called

on to be humble.

There

is

so humbling as grace because

we know
is

it

can only

be ours in proportion as Jesus Christ

is

our Lord.
?

What

hast thou that thou didst not receive

"

This

the constant and grateful language of the soul.

"

By

the grace of

God

am what
This

I
is

am."
suggested by the

It is
full title,

Satisfying Grace.

" Jesus Christ our Lord."

It

Grace

satisfies at

every step.
tion
;

meets the claim of law with

justifica;

it

meets the breach of love with forgiveness

it

meets the consciousness of solitariness by fellowship

it

meets the sense of misery by love

;

it it

meets the
meets the

hideousness of defilement by holiness

realization of

weakness by power

it

meets the haunt-

ing of fear by hope.

We

can therefore look back

Christ's
;

and praise the grace that made us

we can
for the

look round and trust the grace that keeps us His

and we can look forward and hope perfectly

"

96
grace that
is

PEOVISION
to be brought to us in the revelation of
i.

Jesus Christ (l Pet.

13).

" Grace fathomless as the sea, Grace flowing from Calvary. Grace enough for eternity, Grace for you and for me."
III.

What

is

Grace

in

Us ?
All that

Our

Life

is

to be a

Monument
is

of GraccT^

we

are, have, do,

and become

of grace, and

we

are

so to live that our lives are to be to the " glory of His

grace."

Our Lips

are to be Mouthpieces of Grace.

We
God
"
in

are to " testify the Gospel of the grace of

(Acts XX. 24).

(Col. iv. 6),

Our speech
" (Col.

is

to "

be with grace

and we are to " sing with grace

our

hearts to the

Lord
is

iii.

16).

Our Love
only

to be a

Means

of Grace.

God's love

is

made

available for others through His children,

and

for this_ reason

beUevers are to be " means of

grace."

The

truth needed for salvation, the comfort

needed

for cheer, the holiness

needed for living are

in

mediated by us to others, and

see the love of

proportion as they
lives

God

in us will
will

our

be means of

grace to them.

Grace

make

us gracious in our

dealings and enable us to avoid the spirit of hardness,

hatred, severity,

and manifest the

spirit

of

love,

patience, mildness, forgiveness,

and tenderness.

The

GEACE
love of
others,

97

God
and

in our hearts will lead to the love of /

all

our relationships

will

be sweetened,

hallowed, purified, uplifted, and transfigured.

all

And
\

this will

be so powerful

in its influence that those

will find

around

will see

God

in us,

and

our

lives true

means of desiring
There
is

to

come

into contact with

Him.

no means of grace to compare with a Christ-

like spirit.

Our Labour
and

is

to be a

Messenger of Grace.

The

works of grace are to be carried out by God's people,

if

they do not do

this,

they

will

thereby prove

that they

know nothing of grace. What we receive from God as " gratia " comes to us " gratis," and is
make
us " gratum," grateful.
gratitude,

intended to
is

His grace
is

intended to

elicit

and gratitude

to be

shown
it

in graciousness to others.

And

yet

all

along

will

be " Not

I,

but the grace of

God which was

Spirit

with

me

" (i Cor. xv. lo).

The Holy

endows

us with gifts of grace, and

we

minister according to

the ability that

of
self,

God

giveth.

Our

sufficiency
is

is

not

but of grace, and our service

the outflow of

the grace of

God

in the heart.

the love, the power, the

pass on to others
;

From Him we receive blessing we endeavour to

the grace which
acceptably.

from

Him comes

enables us to serve

God

And

thus

we

indeed

" testify "

to the " grace of

God," and reveal

something of

" the

exceeding riches of His grace."

98

PEOVISION
As we
review the marvellous record of Grace in

God,

in

Christ,
It is

and

in

us,

we

see very plainly

It

two

things.
all

a Gospel for the Sinner.

excludes

human

merit, renounces all

human

claim,
say,

and
It is

centres in

God
let

alone.

If

any one should

" It

too cheap,"
to

him look

at

Calvary and see the cost

is

God.

If

any one should say,

at

too easy,"

let

him again look

" If

Calvary and realize what was

It is as if

needed to put sin away.

God were
look at
it is

saying,

you want
cheap,
if it
it

to
is

know what

sin

is

My

Son."

It is

easy for us because

gratuitous,
salva-

and

were not gratuitous there would be no

all.

tion at

But to God

it

was unspeakably

costly,

because sin was so hideous and awful as to necessitate

it.

But the

" precious " blood of Christ

is

the glory
is

of grace, and

now

to us

who
all

believe

He

indeed

" precious," and will be to

It
is

eternity.
It

also a

Gospel for the Saint.

it

not only pro-

vides redemption, but

humbles

pride, guarantees

holiness, inspires to service, incites to hope, pledges

heaven, and
that

glorifies

God.

No

wonder, therefore,

we

are invited to receive this grace and

it

warned

against receiving

in vain (2 Cor. vi.

i).

It calls for

appropriation and application.

apart
believe
little

Grace does not work

from our
it,

responsibility.
it,

We
it.

must use

it,

respond to

reproduce

We

can have
rejoice

or

much, we can be

rich or poor,

we can

"

GBACE

99

in the Divine wealth or exist in miserable poverty.

But those who accept the Divine invitation know by

experience what
St.

Paul meant

when he

said, "

They
"

which receive abundance of grace and of the

righteousness shall reign in Ufe

gift of

by one, Christ Jesus

(Rom.

V. 17).

And

so, " the

Lord

will

give grace and glory

(Ps. Ixxxiv. II).

First grace, then glory.

No

grace,

no glory.
glory.

Much
it

grace,

much

glory.

If grace,

then

Be

ours to say

Amen.

"

Amen Amen " " Amen " " Amen " " Amen "
"

" as a prayer. as a purpose.

May

it

be so

It shall

be so be so

as a prospect.
as a persuasion. as a possession.

It will
It

can be so
so

It is

" Grace 'tis a charming sound, Harmonious to the ear ; Heav'n with the echo shall resound
!

And
*'

all

the earth shall hear.

Grace

first

contrived a

way
;

To save rebellious man And all the steps that grace

Which drew
**

display.

the wondrous plan.

'Twas grace that wrote my name In life's eternal book ; 'Twas grace that gave me to the Lamb

Who

all

my

sorrows took.

IQO

PROVrSIOX
" Grace taught

my wanderiug feet To tread the heav'nly road And new supplies each hour I meet
;

While pressing on

to

God.

" Grace

taught

my

soul to pray,

And made my

eyes o'erflow
this

'Twas grace which kept me to

day

And
" Grace

will not let

me go.
shall

all

the

work

crown

Through
It lays in

everlasting days

heav'n the topmost stone.

And
" Oh,
let

well deserves the praise.

Thy

grace inspire
!

My

soul with strength divine

to

May all my powers And all my days

Thee

aspire,

be Thine."

VI

JUSTIFICATION

THE
not

spiritual life

can be considered from the

standpoint, from the

Divine or the

human
As

point of view of God's provision or from

that of our appropriation. a rule differences do

show themselves

in

connection with the great obSpirit,

jective concerning

God, Christ, the Holy

It
is

Sin

and Redemption.
them
to individual

only in the application of

life

and corporate
this
in

that differences

emerge.

We

see

the great

Reformation

Movement

of the sixteenth century.

There was no
;

essential difference

on fundamental doctrine the

vital

differences

were

in

regard to the precise methods

of applying Christ's

Redemption

to individual

life.
is

This

is

especially

seen in connection with what

it

known
tion

as the doctrine of Justification, for

was the

theological and spiritual foundation of the

Reforma-

Movement.

People

sometimes

wonder

why

Luther called that doctrine "the

article of a

standing

or falling Church," but his spiritual insight was per-

haps never more evident than when he did

101

so.

102

PEOVI8ION
question of Justification was not only the
;

The
all

foundation of the Reformation

Christian
life

it lies

at the root of

and

service, for

only

when

it

is

settled are real peace,

power and progress

to
its
it

possible.
is

The prominence given

striking

at the

Reformation
as, in

testimony to

importance

some
"

respects, the

supreme question of the ages.

Justifica:

tion

is

concerned with the great inquiry

How
is

should

man be
far

just

with

God?"
ix.

This inquiry

found as
less
It
is

back as the Book of Job, and then no

(iv.

than four times

17;

2; xv. 14; xxv.

it is

4).

seen throughout the history of the Jews,

is

ex-

pressed in heathen sacrifices, and

implied, in one

way

or another, in

all

oriental religions.
it

The
this

Bible

alone gives the true answer, and

all

was

beyond

else that led to the

emphasis on the Bible as the

It

Rule of Faith

at the time of the Reformation.

may be

said

that

the

whole

movement

of

the
prin-

sixteenth century was

bound up with the two

ciples of the Sufficiency

and the Supremacy of the

Faith.
latter

Bible,

and

Justification

by
the

The

first

hint of
6,

subject

comes

in

Genesis xv.

and then gradually through the Old

light
is

Testament more and more

sages as Psalm cxUii.
until at length in the
full 2,

given in such pas-

Micah

vi. 6,

Habakkuk
It

ii.

4,

New

Testament we have God's

will

revelation in answer to man's inquiry.

JUSTIFICATION
help us to understand this subject
if

108

we proceed

to

ask some questions.

I.

What

is

the Meaning of Justification ?

be understood either
else as the
gift.

Justification can

as the

Divine

act

and

gift to

man, or
Divine

human

reception

and

result of the
is

Justification

thus connected with our true rela-

tion to

God.

good

definition of
"

it is

found in the

Church of England Article,

righteous before God."

We

are
is

accounted

Justification

not concerned

with our spiritual condition, but with our spiritual relation

;

not with our actual state, but with our judicial

position.

This should be continually borne in mind

in order to avoid spiritual confusion

and

difficulty.

This true relation to

Sin
is

God was
and

originally lost

by sin.

always disobedience of the Divine Law, rebelin regard to

lion against God's Will,

our true
:

re-

lation

to

God, there are three

results of sin

guilt,

condemnation, separation.
the

We

see these three in

Garden of Eden

as the direct

and immediate

result of sin.

Justification

is

the restoration of this true relation

(a) the

to

God, and as such includes

gift

removal of con;

demnation by the

of forgivenesss

[d)

the re-

moval of

guilt
;

by the reckoning
(c)

(or imputation) of

righteousness

the removal of separation by the

104
restoration
to

PROVISION
fellowship.
as just
Justification

therefore

means, to treat
righteous, to

or righteous, to

account

regard as righteous, to declare right-

eous, to pronounce righteous in the eyes of the law

(Ps.
xi.
it
is

n.

4; Prov.
;

xvii.
;

15

Ezek. xvi. 51, 52; Matt,

35).

19

xii.

37

Luke

vii.

As we have

seen,

at least a coincidence that St. Paul's three quesat the close of his eighth chapter in

tions

Romans

deal with

these three results of sin as seen in the

:

history of the Fall

{a) "

Who

shall lay

anything to

the charge of God's elect?" (verse 33).

guilt,
(d) "

That

is,

No
?

Who is
No

he that
(c) "

condemneth ?

No

condemnation,

Who

shall separate us

" (verse 34). "

(verse 35).

separation.

Justification

is

therefore

much more than

by
But

pardon,

and the two are

(Acts
xiii.

clearly distinguished

St.

Paul

38, 39).

criminal

is

pardoned, though
Justifica-

he cannot be regarded as righteous.

tion
is

that

act of

God whereby He
is

accepts and

accounts us righteous, while in ourselves

unrighteous.

we

are

The

Christian

not merely a par-

doned

criminal, but a righteous

man.

Man

can for-

give his fellow man, but he cannot justify him.

God
life;

can

do both.

Forgiveness
is

is

an act issuing in an

attitude.

Forgiveness
is

repeated throughout

justification

complete and never repeated.

It re-

lates to our spiritual position in the sight of

God

JUSTIFICATION
and covers the whole of our
future.
life,

105

past, present

and

Forgiveness
;

is

only negative, the removal

is

of condemnation

justification

also positive, the

removal of guilt and the bestowal of a perfect standing before God.

statement.
cation
is

In a word, justification means reinis

Forgiveness

being stripped

justifi-

being clothed.

Day by day we approach

God

for forgiveness

and grace, on the footing of a

relation of justification that lasts throughout our lives.

In regard to the justified man, the believer,

" Faithful

God

is

and righteous to

forgive."

Thus

justifica-

tion

is

the ground of our assurance.

"
is

The reason

why

"

we know
and
is

because of what Christ has done

for us

to us.
is

Justification

also different

from

"

making

right-

eous," which
tion.

is

the usual interpretation of Sanctificaare inseparable in fact, but they are

in

The two

distinguishable

thought, and
if

must certainly be

kept quite clear of each other

blessing.
tification

we

desire peace

and

Justification concerns our standing;

Sanc-

our

state.

The former

affects
first

our position

the latter our condition.

tionship
;

The

deals with rela-

the second, with fellowship.

And

even

though they are bestowed together, we must never

confuse them.

The one
;

is

the foundation of peace

is

"

Christ for us "

the other

the foundation of
deals with accept-

purity

" Christ in us."

The one

106
ance
;

PROVISION
the other with attainment.
Sanctification ad-

mits of degrees,
Justification has

we may be more
no degrees, but
all
is

or less sanctified

complete, perfect

and

eternal.

" Justified from

things."

Our Lord

indicated this distinction between Justification and

Sanctification

when He

said, "

He

that hath been

bathed

(justification)

needeth not save to wash the

feet (sanctification)."

At
tion.

this

point

it

is

necessary and important to

consider the

Roman

Catholic doctrine of Justificadifferences

While there are other prominent

between the

New

Testament and the Church of

is

Rome,
well.

it

is

apt to be overlooked that there

a fun-

damental difference between them on Justification as

brief

reference to

what happened

at the

Council of Trent will enable us to understand this

difference.

Dr. Lindsay describes the statement put

forth

at that Council as " a masterpiece of theolog-

ical dexterity."

This was doubtless due to the

little

fact

that there was not a

evangelical doctrine of the

to be considered,

Roman Church which had

much was
that time,

and so

this the case, that at

one time

it

had been
But

thought possible to win over the Protestants.

if
it

ever existed, had gone by, and the

discussion in the Council revealed fundamental lines

of difference.

small minority was ready to accept

the Lutheran view of Justification by faith alone, but

JUSTIFICATION
the majority easily

107

won

the day on behalf of a view

which was almost the exact opposite of the Lutheran

doctrine.

The

result

was that Justification was no

longer regarded as

a change of state, but as the

actual conversion of a sinner into a righteous

man.

The

fact

is

that

Rome

teaches forgiveness through

Sanctification, while Scripture teaches the opposite.

Rome

confuses Justification and Sanctification, and

says that the former comes

by the

infusion of Grace,

and includes remission and renovation.

really to

But

this

is

rob the soul of the objective ground of

to

righteousness, and

confuse spiritual acceptance

Justification in Scripture
spiritual state

with spiritual attainment.

is

independent

of,

and anterior to the

or condition, which, however,

It

necessarily

follows.

has often been pointed out that Justification, acis

cording to the Scripture,

complete from the

first.

As

a modern writer has remarked the father in the

parable does not leave his prodigal son outside the

house
works.

until

he has shown his repentance by his

goes forth to meet him and heartily

He

welcomes him.

And

in the

same way the sinner

is

not taken back into the Divine favour by degrees,

but

is

restored at once to
This, as
it

all

his privileges as a child

is

of God.

has been well urged,

the only
It

way
is

to

make

the

work

of sanctification complete.

a work which can go forward only after the

re-

108

PROVISION
and sonship has been
fully re-

lation of fatherhood

established.

It is

only by such love that the sinner's

perfect (i

love can be
It is

made

John

iv. 19).

of vital importance, therefore, to keep clear

the distinction between

the

doctrine of the

New
is

Testament and that of Rome, because there

so

much

confusion

to-day in regard to the essential

meaning of our acceptance with God.

II.

What

is

the Basis of Justification?

on

We
is

are accounted righteous before God, " only

account of the merit of our Lord Jesus Christ."

the language of the Anglican Article, and
in the

This
it

can

be parallelled by identical teaching

ster Confession

WestminIt is
.
.

and other similar documents.

" In

an echo of the Pauline language,

justified " (Acts xiii. 39).

Him

The

" merit " of

our Lord

Jesus Christ, of course, refers to

His atoning work,

by which He removed the

alienation between

God

and the sinner and brought about our

It

reconciliation.

must never be forgotten that the

New

Testament

doctrine of Reconciliation implies a change of relationship,

part.

and not a mere

alteration of feeling

on our

This doctrine of Justification because of the

Christ
is

work of
ment.

seen

all

through the
obedience,

New
even

Testa-

Our

Lord's

perfect

unto

death, His

payment of the penalty due

to our trans-

JUSTIFICATION

109

gressions, His spotless righteousness, the entire merit

of His Divine Person and work, form the ground or

basis of our justification.
us,

This merit

is

reckoned to

put to our account;

God

looks at us in Him, not

"

only as pardoned, but as righteous.

He who knew
This
is

no

sin,

was made

sin for us, that

we might become

God's

righteousness in

Him"

(2 Cor. v. 21).

the great and satisfying doctrine of the imputed

righteousness of Christ, which
is

clearly taught in
behalf.

the
It is

New

Testament as meritorious on our

this

sometimes stated that

its

theory

is

not found
is

in Scripture, because of

association with what

sometimes called "

legal fiction," but in the light of

the teaching of the

New

Testament on our Lord's

are accounted righteous
is

atoning death, by which

we

before God, the doctrine of Imputation

quite clear,

and

is

taught plainly, in Scripture and therefore in

the truest theology.

This reference to the " merit " of our Lord brings

into greater contrast the negative aspect

emphasized

by

St.

Paul that our justification

faith,

is

due to Christ
or deserv-

through
ings.

and not

for our

own works

Our obedience

to law could not merit or

It is

work

out our Justification.

absolutely impossible for

anything

human

to form the foundation of acceptance

with God, for our obedience to law could not bring

this

about.

God

requires

perfect

obedience (Gal.

110
iii.

PEOVI8ION
lo),

and man cannot render

this.

Human
its

nature
right-

has ever been attempting to establish

own

eousness, but failure has been the invariable result.

The Jews
alike
fail

of old

(Rom.
and

x. 3),

and mankind to-day,

;

because of the twofold inability

inability

to blot out the past,

inability to guarantee the

present and future.

Justifying

righteousness must
is

be by a perfect obedience, and the Lord Jesus

only

the

One who

ever rendered

it.

Nothing could be

clearer in the
possibility of

New

Testament than the absolute immerit in connection with Justifi-

human

cation.

III.

What

is

the Method of Justification?

"

The merit of our Lord becomes ours " by faith." Through Him all that believe are justified " (Acts
Faith
its
is

xiii. 39).

never the ground of Justification,

All the

but only

means or channel.

New

Testa-

ment

references to faith indicate this in the clearest

possible way.

Trust implies dependence upon an-

other and the consequent cessation of dependence

upon

ourselves.

Faith

is

therefore the acknowledg-

ment of our own

need of another's
is

inability

and the admission of our

ability.

Faith links us to Christ and

the means of our appropriation of His merit.

The
trust,
v. I).

full

meaning of Faith

in the
is

New

Testament

is

(i)

The primary

idea

belief in a fact (i

John

JUSTIFICATION
(2)
(3)

111
iv. 21).
iii.

The next
But the

is

belief in a person's

word (John

fullest is trust in

a person (John

16).

Thus,
of the

faith in its

complete sense includes the assent

will,

mind and the consent of the

the credence
heart.

of the intellect

and the confidence of the

As
one

such,

it is

best understood as trust, the attitude of

person to another.

The
earliest

reason

why

faith

is

emphasized

is

that

it is

the the

only possible answer to God's revelation.

From

days

this has

been

so.

The word
the

of the Lord

came

to

Abraham and he

at

once responded by sim-

ple trust (Gen. xv, 1-6).

To

same

effect are the

xi., all

various illustrations of faith in

Hebrews

im-

plying response to a previous revelation.

Between

man and man

Faith in

the absence of faith

it is

is

a barrier to

communion, and

just the

same

in things spiritual.

man
self

answers to grace in God.

Faith
;

is

the

correlative of promise.

Trust answers to truth

free gift.

faith

renounces
is

and emphasizes God's

There

no merit

in faith.

It is self-assertion

with a view

to self-surrender.

As Hooker once
man, yet not

said, "

God doth
believed."

justify the believing

for the

worthiness

of his belief, but for His worthiness

who

is

We are
in
its

not justified by belief

believe.
is

in Christ,
is

but by Christ

whom we
object,

Faith

nothing apart from

it

and

only valuable as

leads us to

Him
it

who

has wrought a perfect righteousness, and as

112
enables
us
to

PROVISION
appropriate

Him

as the

Lord our

righteousness.

IV.

What

is

the Value of Justification?

Article speaks of the doctrine as
" very full of comfort,"

The Anglican
"
this

most wholesome," and

is

and

not surprising because every revival of spirhas been associated with

it

itual life

as the true exis

planation of the

way

in

which the Atonement

ap-

propriated by sinful men.

Justification in Christ
for spiritual health.

through

faith is a necessity

The Council

of Trent clearly

taught the meritoriousness of

Good Works.

But

as

long as this
that spiritual

is

emphasized there cannot possibly be

life

which

is

found in the
is

New

Testa-

ment.
peace.

Justification

by

faith

the foundation of

The

soul looks backward, outward, upward,

is

onward, and even inward, and

Apostle, "justified from
of
*

able to say with the

all

things,"

and

as a result

being justified by
"

faith,

we
is

have peace with

realized, all ques-

God

(Rom.

v. i).

When
falls

this

tions of

human
is

merit disappear, and the fabric of

to

Roman
abiding.

Catholicism

the

ground.

This

Justification

immediate, certain, complete

and

Justification

by

faith

is

really the only

answer to
sin.

the moral perplexities of the doctrine of original

JUSTIFICATION
It

113

vindicates God's righteousness while manifesting

xvii. 30,
is

His mercy (Acts

R. V.

Rom.

iii.

25, R. V.).

Our deepest need

the

a right idea of the character of

God

with

whom we

have to do.
is

How He
is

can

be just and yet justify the ungodly

an insoluble
the proof

problem apart from Jesus

of God's

Christ.

Christ

capacity to forgive while remaining just.

A sin
is

convicted soul demands at least as

much

right-

eous indignation of sin in

seen in the Cross.

God

as

it

feels itself.

This

It is

characteristic of St. Paul's

is

teaching in

Romans

that the Cross

the manifesta-

tion of God's righteousness rather than of His

mercy

(Rom.

iii.

21-26).
is

In

all this it will

never be forgot-

ten that faith

not the ground but only the means

of our justification, and the strength or weakness of

our trust

will

not affect the fact but only the enjoy-

ment of our

justification.
is

This doctrine

also the secret of spiritual liberty.

felt

All the Reformers

repeat that
it

and declared
spiritual

this,

and we

was with true

it

insight that

Luther spoke of
falling

as " the article of a standing or

Church

"
;

indeed,

we may go
it is

further

and say
a

with a modern writer that

standing or falling soul."
of the soul, sets
directly to

" the article of

It

removes the bondage

free,

the prisoner

introduces

him

God, and gives continual access into the

It

Holiest.

therefore cuts at the root of

all

sacer-

114

PEOVISION
and dangerous.
account
easy to understand the intense

dotal mediation as both unnecessary

On

this

it is

opposition

shown

to this doctrine

on the part of the

theologians of the Church of

Rome.

This doctrine

is

also the necessity for spiritual

power.
is

It is

the foundation of holiness.

The

soul

introduced into the presence of God, receives

the

Holy

Spirit, realizes the indwelling

presence of

Christ,

and

in these finds the secret

It

and guarantee of

purity of heart and Ufe.

brings the soul into rela-

tion with God, so that from imputed righteousness

comes imparted righteousness, and

this

keeps the

doctrine from the charge of mere intellectual ortho-

doxy without

spiritual

vitality.

So

far

from the
it is

doctrine putting a
in reality

premium upon

carelessness

one of the springs of

charged with what

holiness.
is

When

St.

Paul was

now

called Anti-

nomianism, he did not tone down

least,

his doctrine in the

fully as the

but declared

it

all

the

more

very

heart of the Gospel.

It
is

also the secret of true spiritual service.

is

The
show
from

soul released from anxiety about itself

free to

concern about others.

itself

The

heart

is

at leisure

to set forward the salvation of those around.

When

Christian workers obtain a clear insight into

this doctrine

and yield the

life

to

its

power and

in-

fluence,

it

becomes the means of

liberty to spiritual

JUSTIFICATION
captives,

115

and the secret of peace and blessing to

hearts in spiritual darkness and fear.

From

all

this

it is

esisy to see

what the

New

Tes-

tament teaches, the intense and immense

spiritual

blessing of the doctrine, and there are signs that the

truth
is

being realized afresh by

many who have

"

been " tied

and bound by the chain

Certainly,

of a purely

legal view of Christianity.

if

we

are to get

back not merely to the joy, peace,

of Reformation days, but
still

liberty,

and power

more

to the primitive

truth of the Christian Ufe recorded in the

New

Testa-

ment, we must give the most definite prominence to

this truth of Justification in Christ

through

faith.

"

VII

SANCTIFICATION

IFwere

an average congregation, or even Bible

asked, "

class,
?

Why
for
;

did Jesus

Christ die

the answer in almost every case would prob-

ably be, "

He

died
all

our

sins,
all

in

our stead."

This would be

true

but not
is

the truth.

The

purpose of the death of Christ

the

brought before us in

New

Testament in a variety of ways, and each of

them
pose

calls for careful attention.

For our present pur:

we must look
Ephesians

at three passages

2 Corinthians

V. 15,

v. 25,

Titus

ii,

14.

When we
"

do so
salva-

we

shall easily see that " for

:

our sins

means

tion from at least three things

the penalty, the power,

is

and the presence of

sin.

Salvation

one of the

greatest and widest words in the

New Testament, and

It

concerns the past, present, and future.

Justification, Sanctification,

embraces

and

Glorification.

These

three

great truths
:

are

expressed for us in three

phrases
least

in Christ, like Christ,

all

with Christ, and at

it

one passage has

three in

(Acts xxvi.
first,

18).

We have
intimate

already considered the

Justification;

now we have

to look at the second, which has an

and necessary connection with what has

116

SAliCTIFICATION
preceded.
Justification
is

117

is

to Sanctification as the

foundation

to

the

buildnig,
effect.
i

the source

to

the

stream, the cause to the

Let

us, therefore,
iv.

give heed to the teaching of

" This
is

Thessalonians

the will

of God, even your Sanctification."

I.

The

Principle of Sanctification
is

Sanctification

a famiUar word, but perhaps

its

very familiarity prevents us from understanding the

two great

truths involved

and included
of
all,

in

it.

Sanctification means,

first

Consecration, era

true relation to God.

It

needs to be reiterated that

for

the root idea of the

" holy," " sanctify,"

Hebrew and Greek word

their cognates
is

and

separation.

The

original

idea

seems to be ceremonial, and,

is

etymologically, that which

holy " or

" sanctified

"

means

" that

which belongs to God," the primary

This original

idea being not moral, but ceremonial.

meaning

is

seen in connection with days, places, in-

stitutions (as well as persons)

being holy or sanctified,

where the meaning can only be separation (Gen.

ii.

3; Exod.
its

xiii.

2; Josh.

vii.

13).

Thus

Sanctifica-

tion, in

etymological sense, means being set apart

for

from other things

Eph.
i.

God's ownership
iii.

(Isa. xliii.

21

12;

ii.

10;

lO).

We

can see the same

truth in connection with the dedication of the priests

of the Old Testament.

Then, too, we observe the

118

PROVISION
passage, "
sanctify myself" (John xvii. 19),
It is, therefore,

use of the word as applied to our Lord in a well-

known

meaning

" I consecrate myself."

im-

portant and essential to remember, as one of the

foundations of our
life

and experience, that the root

Consecration.

idea of Sanctification

is

We

are re-

deemed

to be set apart, dedicated, consecrated, " kept

for the Master's use."

Then, as a
Purification, or

result, Sanctification

comes to mean
This
is

a true condition before God.

the natural and necessary consequence of our possession

by God.

Scripture proceeds from etymology to

usage, and goes on to

show the moral and

ethical

meaning of our being consecrated, or separated.

be used when set apart involves
speaks of a twofold
of
all

To
first

fitness,

and Scripture

fitness,

meetness.

We

are

"

made meet
i.

for the inheritance of the saints in

light" (Col.
are

12).

Then,

as the

outcome of

this,

we

made

"

meet for the Master's use" (2 Tim.ii. 21).

possesses us

When God

we

are possessed

by His

presence, and the

Holy

Spirit cannot

be

in us with-

out purifying our thoughts, desires and motives, and

so equipping us for His service.

Thus
fact of

Sanctification

means primarily the

act

and

belonging to God, and then, as the outcome,

life

the proof of this in the

we

live.

This

ie

how

it

has been put by a recent writer

8ANCTIFICATI0N
'

119

" Wherever one finds in the Bible * holy or cognates, whether in the Old Testament or the New, whether in the Psalms or Wisdom Literature or Gospels, the meaning is everywhere fundamentally the same. God as God only is holy in the absolute sense, for He alone possesses the perfection of moral being. They who belong
its

to
in

God by self-dedication belong to Himself also moral likeness for they share His life." '
II.

The Place of Sanctification

if

It will

help us to understand the meaning and

importance of Sanctification
tion to
its
i.

we

consider

it

in rela-

place in St. Paul's teaching in

to
viii.

Romans,
20 the

chapters

In chapters

i.

i8 to

iii.

Apostle shows that man's unrighteousness demanded

Divine righteousness; then, from

points out
Christ,

iii.

21 to

iv.

25 he

how God
it

provided this righteousness in

to be received

and how
I

is

by

faith

and

then
lasts

in V.

to 12

he shows how the righteousness

in

spite of every obstacle.

Up

to this point

he has been concerned only with these three great

truths, but
tion.

now

at

once comes an important ques-

If this righteousness thus covers the past

and

guarantees the future, what about the present in be-

tween

This

is

the problem of chapters

vi,

to

viii.,

dealing with Sanctification.

Justification
is

Since Righteousness as
;

Salvation from the penalty of sin

is

so

Righteousness as Sanctification
J

Salvation from the

Sweet,

"The Study

of the English Bible," p. 214.

120

PROVISION
sin,

power of

and

this,

with a brief reference to Glorisin, is

fication as Salvation

from the presence of

vi.

the

great theme of chapters

It is

to

viii.

important to remember that the believer has

been

set apart for

God through
"

Christ's

Redemption

from the very outset

of Jesus Christ, once
sense,

by the

offering of the
x. 9, 10).

Body
In this

for all "

(Heb.

the

who moment
all

believe are " Saints," or sanctified from

of their acceptance of Christ (Col.

Spirit bears witness to this,
'

i.

12, 13).

The Holy

By

one

offering

He

hath perfected forever them that are

Spirit also
is

sanctified,

whereof the Holy

the Witness

to us " (Heb, X, 14, 15).

said to be " sanctified

All believers are, therefore,

by God the Father, and prei).

served in Christ Jesus" (Jude

To

this effect

we

read in

St. Paul's

Epistle to the Corinthians, "

is

The

Church of God which

sanctified in
I,

at Corinth, to

them

that are
i.

Christ Jesus, called Saints "(i Cor.

2).

This refers to the Christian's position, and,

of course, in

no way depends upon

his spiritual

condition

at

any moment,

for

the weakest, most

ignorant behever has this relationship.

that

We

know
de-

among

these Corinthians there were contentions,

there was pride in

human wisdom, they were

still

scribed as " carnal " and

" babes in Christ," they

sin

were " puffed up," they were sadly indifferent to

in the

Church; and yet the Apostle says of these

SAKCTIFICATION
very people, "
in the
'.he
it

121
vi.

Ye

are sanctified "

of

(i

Cor.

ii)

and

same chapter he speaks

them
(i

as possessing
iii.

indwelhng of the Holy Spirit

thus

Cor.

i6).

It

clear that a sanctified person

is

one who
is is

btlongs to God, whose position in Christ

qu'te apart

settled

from anything that he himself

or does.
is

Evtry one
in Christ,

who

believes

on the Lord Jesus Christ

sanctified

and has been

once for
position.

by the

offering of
is

Jesui Christ

all,

and, as such,

truly a

" Saiit "

in
it.

He
is,

grows

in

grace,

rather

than hto
positio\

But

it

of course, essential that our

should become expressed in our personal

experie\ce.
classes.

The Apostle
calls

divides

men

into three

Some he
(

" natural,

not having the

Spirit "

Cor.

ii.

14).

This refers to
are,

men who have

neither
as

not

been born again, and

lor

therefore,

justified

sanctified.

Others

are

described

"carnal"

believers,

who walk
Christ

after the flesh, those

who

are

bbes
ini^

in

when they ought

(i

to be
1-4).

growing

Christian

manhood

Cor.

iii.

Yet, notvvitl^tanding this weakness, these believers

are

includedamong those who are

called

"Saints"
is

at the outsetof the Epistle.

The
;

third class

de-

scribed

by
is

th\

word

" spiritual "

this refers to the

man who with God

to

wlking in the Holy Spirit in fellowship

in Cnjst.

And

so the believer

is

intended

become mor^nd more thoroughly separated unto

122

PE0VI8I0N
in heart

God, consecrated, dedicated

and

life,

and
Mas-

more and more conformed

ter.

to the
"

image of
growth

his

This

is

the
is

meaning of

in

grace."

The
tion,

believer

not only to be
sin,

free, as in Justifica-

from the penalty of

but also free from the

it.

power, the bondage, the dominion of

This

is

a
is

pathway

for the

whole of the Christian

life,

and it

sometimes described as " progressive sanctificaton."

It is clearly

taught by the Apostle in such a passage

iii.

as 2 Corinthians

17, 18.
life

This process goes on to

the close of the believer's

on earth (Eph.

v. -5, 26),

and

will

be completed when the Lord Himself apv.

pears (Eph.

27; see also

is

Phil,

iii.

20, 21).

This, then,

the place and force of San(tification

life.

in the Christian

It

refers

exclusive^ to one
is

who
as

is

already saved, and

who

desirois of
-in,

being

delivered from the

power

and control of

as well

from

its

penalty, and

made more

anc

more godfirst

like.

This state requires a

man

to reali?,

of

all,

his position in Christ,

and God's purpoe concerning

him, and then to be conscious that Godequires what

He

has purposed.

Thereby

Sanctificrion

is

seen to

be the logical and inevitable outcome

f Justification.

III.
It

The

Provision for Sancification

will

again help us to undertand St. Paul'*

teaching in

Romans

vi.

to

viii.

iftve

consider the

SANCTIFICATION
Divine
provision
for
it

128

our

becoming holy.

The
vi. i).

Apostle leads up to

by a question (Rom.
"

Some one

is

assumed to object to
and to ask
:

his teaching

on

Justification,

Does not

this doctrine
?

of righteousness

by

faith

encourage to sin

"

The
also

Apostle answers by showing that the death of Christ

has two results
:

(i)

it

meets a guilty past

It

(2)

it

meets a sinful present.

thus deals not only with

sins (plural), but also with sin (singular), not only

with the

fruit,

but also with the root.

Sin

is

Death,

Disease, and

Departure; and Righteousness must

In chapter
is
iii.

meet

all

these three aspects.

v. 11, v.

21 to

chapter
in

the main thought

viii.

of sin as Death
;

chapter

12 to chapter
xii.

39, of sin as Disease

while in chapters
as

to xvi. the

ruhng idea

is

of sin

Departure.

And

thus

the Apostle deals with

Justification, Sanctification, Consecration.

Now
God
first

let

us

observe by a careful study of the

vi.-viii.

general teaching of chapters

what provision
It is

has
of

made

for

our Sanctification.

assumed,
is

all,

that the person to be sanctified

already
iii.

justified,

according to the teaching of chapter

iv.

21-26 and chapter

5.

Then comes
still

the needed

provision for the sin which

dwells in the believer.

The

subject

is

introduced generally in chapter v.

12-21 by the contrast instituted between

Christ.

Adam

and

Through

Adam we

have become involved

"

124
in sin in

PROVISION
and death, and through Christ wc are involved
life.

righteousness and

Then

in chapter vi.

is

shown the
sible (verses

Christian's relation to sin.

is

First

comes

the teaching that continuance in sin

I-14).

utterly imposfact that the

This

is

due to the

believer has union with Christ in His death

and

life.

This does not refer to personal experience, but to

actual fact as accomplished

by

Christ.

It is this that

gives
"

force

to

the

first

key-word of the passage,

death changes our

Know

ye not."

As
it

Christ's

relation to

God and
and
it

provides for our justification, or

also
is

legal discharge, so

intended to change our

character,

does this by means of a spiritual

union with Christ.

And

herein hes the force of the

'

second
(verse

key-word, the
1 1),

important word

reckon

a word which means to count upon a thing

Christ died

as true.
as

When

we

are reckoned

by God

having died with Him, and when

are regarded as having risen.
is

He

rose again

we

This reckoning of

God
what

to be met by a corresponding reckoning on

our part, and we are to believe concerning Christ

God

teaches
it is

us

has actually
that

taken place.
are spiritually
life.

Thus when by

realized

we

united with Christ in His death and

tion
faith
is

Justifica-

shown

to involve no license to sin.

Then

the Apostle goes on to teach with equal

is

clearness that continuance in acts of sinning

equally

SANCTIFICATION
impossible (verses
15-23).

125

This

is

shown by the

thought of subjection to Christ as a Master, together with the contrast between the old hfe and
the new.

In the past

we were

slaves to sin

in the

present

we

are servants to holiness,

and

it

follows

that the old master

and the old service are absolutely

this
is

impossible.

It

is

at

point that the third key" and important, " yield

word of the chapter

(verse 19).
to
sin

vital

and

alive

ourselves to

As we have reckoned ourselves dead unto God, we are to surrender Him as those who are alive from the
is

dead, and every faculty of our being

to be pre-

sented
thus

to

Him

for

His

use
is

and

service.

And
in-

Justification

by Faith

seen to be an

troduction
the

and an incentive to holiness, and while

has
It

Christian

liberty
is

from

sin,

he

has

no

license to sin.

particularly important to note

that chapter

vi.

14 sums up the entire subject of these

three

chapters, " Sin shall not have

dominion over
"
:

you, for ye are not under law, but under grace."

" Sin shall not

have dominion over you

vi.

this

is

the

teaching of chapter
this
is

"Ye
we
is

are not under law":

the teaching, as
:

shall see, of chapter vii.

" But under grace "

viii.

this

the teaching of chapter

Then

follows the important

and

essential question
vii.).

of the relation of the Christian to law (chap.

126
In
**

PEOVISION
this

connection

it is

necessary to remember that

self-effort,

Law
by

" stands
its

here for

the endeavour of
will of

self

own unaided powers

to

do the

God.

Up

to the present the Apostle has taught that the

Grace of

God

in the death

and resurrection of Christ

sin.

provides for victory over

But now he has to

deal with the experience of struggles against indwell-

ing

sin.

The problem may be

nevertheless,
is

stated thus

if

the be-

liever

need not and ought not to

sin (chap,

vi.),

can

he

not,

make

himself

holy?
is

The
in

answer

a very decided negative, and

lines

shown

two main
old
life
is

of teaching.
fruitless,

In the

first

place, the
life

seen to be
1-6).

and the new

alone

fruitful (verses

The

Apostle's argument pro-

ceeds along the line of the illustration of marriage, and, without going into the detail of his treatment, the threefold thought
Service.
is

perfectly clear

Union, Fruit,

This

is

intended to teach the result of our

life
;

union with Christ in His death and

and

just as

he had spoken of " newness

of life " (chap. vi. 4), so,

spirit " (chap. vii. 6).

now, he emphasizes " newness of Then,

in

an important passage (verses 7-25), he goes

on to show that the believer cannot possibly sanctify

himself by effort of his own.

Law may
enable.

order, but
;

it it

cannot

effect

it

commands, but does not equip

does
not

condemns, but

The

struggles

within cannot possibly bring about holiness, because

"

SANCTIFICATION
of the fact and power of indwelling sin.
as a

127

And

thus,

man
is

contemplates himself in his

efforts to

be

holy, he

necessarily led to utter despair (verse 24).

Hence, just as the Apostle had previously taught that

man, by no
(chap,
that
iii.),

effort

of his own, can justify himself

so now, with equal clearness, he teaches

sanctify himself
it is

man cannot

(chap.

vii.).

At
in

this point,

however,

necessary to guard against a

struggle depicted

misconception.
chapter
vii. is

The

terrible

not to be understood as giving an ex-

cuse for sin, for this chapter does not depict the

normal Christian

life,

which

is

one of victory.

The

struggle here described cannot possibly

inevitable, or else

make

sinning

no

real

conquest and no real holishall see this as

ness would be possible.

We

we study

the next chapter.

The
subject

last
is

and most important aspect of the present

the Christian's relation to Divine grace, as
viii.

brought out in chapter

ready stated
(chap.
vi. 14),

The Apostle
is
it

has

al-

that

the believer
in this

" under
is

grace

and

chapter

shown what
it

the grace does.

Christ's

Redemption, while

covers

the past, does not leave the present unprotected, and

it
is,

therefore,

wrong

to say that the Christian can-

not help sinning.

original

modern

writer

'

says that the

"

meaning of the word rendered

1

condem-

Deissmann, " Bible Studies," p. 264.

'

128
nation " (chap.
viii.

PEOVISION
i)

refers to civil disability

and

means that there was no

legal

embarrassment on land

which could therefore be conveyed from one person

to another.

This has been aptly rendered into the

spiritual

language of

experience by another writer

who
the

translates

the word

by

" handicap," so
is,

that

verse
'

will
'

read
to

"

There

therefore,

now
be
vii.

no
It

handicap
of

them

that are in Christ Jesus," that

this

is

vital

importance

should

seen, experienced

and enjoyed.

Just as chapter

teaches the impossibility of holiness in man's way, so

chapter

viii. is

equally clear about the possibility of

holiness in God's way.

And

as in chapter

vii.

"

"
I

occurs thirty-three times, without a single reference

to the

Holy

Spirit, so in

chapter

viii.

there are no less

Spirit,

than twenty references to the Holy

tically

and prac-

none

referring to ourselves.

It is impossible,

and

for

our present purpose unnecessary, to outline

it

the whole of the teaching of the chapter, but

will

be worth while looking generally at what the Apostle

teaches.
If special attention

be given to the

first

four

verses, as, in
ing,^

some

respects, the heart of the teach-

every disability or " handicap " will be seen to

be more than met by the Divine provision.

ability of the flesh

The dis-

through sin
i-ii).

is

met by the power

disability of the
*

of the Spirit (verses

*

The

Rev. Harrington C. Lees,

See page 42.

SANCTIFICATION
heart through fear
Spirit
is

12d

met by the presence of the

(verses

12-173).

The
is

disabiUty

of circum-

stances through persecution

met by the peace of

the

Holy
Holy

Spirit (verses

17b- 30).
is

And

the disabihty

of Hfe through opposition the

met by the possession of

Spirit (verses 31-39)-

And
Christ
victory

so the Apostle shows that righteousness in

means victory over

is

sin (chap,

vi.),

that this

impossible

by any

effort of self
vii.),

which
this

is
is

powerless for holiness (chap,

blessedly possible
in

and that

and through the

Spirit,

who

equips, assures and triumphs in and for us over the

flesh,
viii.).

over

sufferings,

and over opposition (chap,

Now we

are able to understand

what the Apostle

from
sin."

means by the

believer being " free

He

uses this term in three places, and each time in a different sense.

First of

all,

there

is

freedom from the

is

penalty of sin (Rom.

of

vi.

7).

This

the judicial act

God

in
It

justifying

the
refer

repentant and believing

to a moral change

sinner.

does

not

of

heart, but simply to the act

and

fact of

God

account-

ing the believer as righteous in Christ, and therefore

released from the penalty of sin

by reason of what
of freeservice

Christ has done.

Then comes the thought

by a change of
is

dom from
(chap.
vi.

ih^ practice of sin,

17,
18).

The

believer

regarded as hav-

130
ing
left

PEO VISION
the service of one master for that of another,
is

and under the new Master there any claim on the part of the
a

no possibiUty of
on the contrary,

old, but,

new

service in the practice of righteousness (verses

20-22).

Then,

lastly,

comes the thought of

viii. 2).

free-

dom from
ier force

the power of sin (chap.

life

might-

has entered into the

Spirit,

of the believer, that

of the

Holy

which, having set him free from

enables
is

the dominion of

sin,

him

to

fulfill

the will of

God, and do that which

right

and

true.

And

thus

the righteous requirements of the law are

fulfilled in

him who

walks " not after the

This
is

flesh,

but after the

Spirit " (verse 4).

the teaching found else-

where,

when
shall

the Apostle says, " walk by the Spirit,

and ye
V.
16).

not
it

fulfill
is

the lusts of the flesh " (Gal.

And

this

presence and power of the

heart that, in spite of the
sin,

Holy

Spirit

within

the

presence of indwelling
tory.
for

assures the soul of vic-

There
this

is,

perhaps, no passage more important

is

purpose than one that

often

misread

through
nal,

failure to see the precise point of the origi-

"

The

flesh

lusteth

against the Spirit, and the

Spirit against the flesh,

and these are contrary one

to the other, so that ye

may
It

not do the things that

is

ye would"

(Gal.

v.

18).

the presence of the

Holy

Spirit that

prevents the believer from doing

the evil that he would otherwise do, because the law

SANCTIFICATION
of the Spirit of
life in

131

Christ Jesus gives

him the

vic-

tory over the law of sin and death. All this

gives special point to the question often
is

asked to-day, whether sinning

liever.

inevitable to a be
is,

Must

Christians sin

The answer

"

No,

certainly not."

This

is

the teaching of the Apostle

I

John, for he says: "These things write

that

unto you
If,

ye

may

not sin"

(i
it

John
says,
its

ii.

i,

R. V.).

therefore, this

means what

it

indicates that

he

wrote that Epistle, with

all

wonderful depth and

wealth of teaching, for the very purpose of showing

Christians

how they might

of the

live

without sinning.
of the
;

The
sin
is

question

relation

believer to

one of very great importance

possible
to

indeed,

it is

scarcely

exaggerate

the

momentous

issues that spring

from a true conception of what

It will

the Bible teaches on the subject.

simplify

matters
tirely to

if

we

limit ourselves at this point almost en-

the teaching of the First Epistle of John,

is

especially because there

so

much

in that part of

God's word which bears on the matter.

tian
life is

The

Chris-

intended to be one of continual safety.

It is

a subject that needs careful study, and, there-

fore, careful
if

handling

but

we

shall

be perfectly safe

we proceed along
in front

the line of God's

Word,
First of

neither
all, it is

going

nor dropping behind.

essential to study every passage in the Epistle

where

132
the
"

PROVISION
word
sin "

" sin " occurs

;

Chapter
;

i.

7, "

Sin "
"

i.

8,
i,

No

i.

" 9, " Sins

iii.

i.

10,

Not sinned
"
;

ii,

" Sin
sin."

not "
It is

8,

" Is

sinning

iii.

9,

"

Cannot

only

when we look

at all these passages

that

we

are in a position,

by induction,

to arrive at

the truth concerning our relation to

that there
is

sin.

We

find

a clear distinction to be kept in

mind

between
fruit,

" sin "

and

'

sins,"

between the root and the

practice.
:

between the principle and the

We

observe this as
that

we study
sin "
(i.

three verses
8).

" If

we say
" is to

we have no

To
is

"

have sin

possess the principle.

" If

we say

that

we have not

sinned"
ciple
(ii.

(i.

10).

To "sin"

to express that prin" If

in

practice.

Now

notice,

any man
"

sin
i.

i).

There

is

an alteration from the

'

we"
we

of

and

10 to the

any man

"

of

ii.

i.

Possibly the
sin," be-

Apostle rather shrank from saying,

cause
the
ideal

" If
is

of the Christian

life

sinlessness.

What

that sinlessness

means we

shall see presently,

but we must notice that there are parallel words, and

three lines of teaching
" If " If " If
:

we say we have no sin " we say we have not sinned

:

"

any man

sin."
is

The
and
sin.

reference to the Christian

perfectly clear;
saint

" If

any man
if

sin "

shows that even a

But

the saint should sin

mark that

may

We

SANCTIFICATION
have an advocate with the Father."
fect

1^3

There

is

a per-

propitiation

provided

" If
is

any man

sin,

we

have an advocate."

There

no allowance

for sin,

but a perfect provision in case

to
sin,

we do

sin;

no need
sin,

no right to

sin,

no compromise with

no

license,

but a provision in case

we

do.

On
is

board

ship the provision of life-belts and life-boats

sociated with

not as-

any intention
in

to

have a shipwreck, but

they are there

here, " If

case of need.
sin,

When

it

is

said
it

any man

we have an

advocate,"

is

the provision in case of need.

cates.

There are two Advois

The Lord
John

Jesus Christ

the Advocate with

the Father, and the

Spirit in St.
xiv.
1

same word
is

is

used of the Holy

He
So

the Advocate within (John

6,

Greek).

that

we have
Holy

Christ's perfect

provision for us, and the

vision in us.

Spirit's perfect pro-

There are three views about the relation of

sin to

the believer, and the believer to sin, which have a

special bearing

on our

life.

Two

of

them are wrong;

one

is

right.

By

the use of the ordinary terms

we

may
the

see

what these three views mean.

is

The

first

often called Eradication,

sinful

and means

removal of the
it

principle within.

Now,
it is

this goes too far;

goes beyond Scripture, and

" If

contrary to experience.
sin,

we say

that

we have no
not deceive

we deceive

ourselves," but

we do

134

PROVISION
else.

anybody

Ask any one who

teaches eradication

this question

question that goes to the very basis

of the whole matter

petual need of the

"

Do you

believe in the perto cover

Atonement

any defect
?

from the moment of supposed eradication

Is

the

Atonement necessary
" Certainly,"
is

for

the rest of your life?"

the answer.

obvious

"

Then you

are a sinner."
is

To which the reply is As long as we

whether
in defect or

need the Atonement there

otherwise.
is

sin,

For we must never forget that

;

sinlessness

not merely the absence of sinning

it is

the presfulfilled

ence of the complete and perfect

in our
life,

will of
is

God

and to mention

this

to see at once the

need of the Atoning

days.

Sacrifice, to the

very end of our

'

The second view

sion.

is

called

by the term Suppresfar, this

Now,

if

eradication goes too

does not

go

far

enough, because suppression emphasizes that

fighting

and struggling which

will

almost inevitably

land us in defeat again and again.

of those
Christian

This

is

the error

who
life.

think

Romans
viii.

vii.

depicts the normal

Romans
It closes

begins with "

No

con-

demnation."

with "
is

between the two there

true

"

No separation." No defeat." This

But
is

the

and proper Christian experience.

is

Suppression,

therefore,

inadequate, miserably inadequate, to the

truth of God.

SAKCTIFICATION
The
Not
real

135

word and the

real thing

is

Counteraction.
not suppression

eradication

that goes too far

far

that

does not go

enough
truth.

but counteraction,
"

which just expresses the

Spirit of
life in

The law

of the

Christ Jesus hath

made me

free

from

the law of sin and death."

just as gravitation can

There are two laws, and

be counteracted by volition,
so the lower law of sin and

the higher law of the

.

will,

death can be counteracted by the presence of the

Holy Ghost
seen, in

in

our hearts.
vii.

That

is

why,

as

we have

Romans

there are about thirty occasions

where we
the

find " I," " I," " I,"

Spirit, while

with no reference to
viii.

Holy

in

Romans

we

get

all

those references to the Holy Spirit and almost nothing about

*'

I," " I."

It
is

is

the law of counteraction.

little
:

girl,

so

it

said,

was once asked by her

teacher

"

What
"

did St. Paul

'

mean by

the words,
it ?

keep under
answer was,

my body

How

did he do

"

Her
is

By keeping
is

his soul

on top,"

that

the law of counteraction.

We
it.

must not dream that

and we must not
must allow the

the sinful principle

eradicated,

trouble about suppressing

We
life,

Holy

Spirit to

come

into our

and reign supreme

in the

throne-room of the

will,

so that there

may be

this

constant,

continuous, blessed,

and increasing

counteraction.
it,

That
had

is

the word, or something like

said, "

that St. Paul

in

mind when he

Our

old

18

PEOVI8ION
(our unrcgcncrate self) was crucified with him,

man

that the

body of

sin

might be rendered inoperative

(not destroyed or annihilated)."

used, katargeo, always

The Greek word

power, to

means

to rob of

render inoperative, to put out of employment, to

place

among

the unemployed.
short
of

This

is

why
this

St.

Paul
is

always

stopped

eradication,

and yet
is

never content with suppression, and

is

what

meant by saying that our

life is

life

of continual

safety.

Some

of us

say every Sunday,

this

'

Vouchsafe,
This
this
is

O
the

Lord, to keep us

day without
"

sin."

teaching of counteraction.
fall

Grant that

day we

into

no

sin."

This

is

the law of counteraction.

"

That we may perfectly love Thee, and worthily mag-

nify

Thy

holy name."

How

marvellously those old

!

writers

knew

the secret of holiness

So the

Christian,

while he continues to have the principle of sin in

him, need not, and ought not to express that principle in practice.

But

if

he does, there

is

a provision,
Christ the

" Jesus Christ the Righteous."

Not Jesus
and

loving, or the merciful, but " the righteous."

Christ

deals with us

on a righteous

level,

treats the sins

of His people by a righteous principle.

favourites,

He

has no

and makes no
whether
in

qualifications or allowances.

Sin

is

sin,
is

God's people or not.

The

provision

there in case

we should need

it.

SANCTIFICATION
IV.

137

The Practice of Sanctification

all

In view of
practical
fication

that has been said,

it

becomes

a very

and

definite question as to

how

this Sancti-

What is its method ? How is this provision to be made part of the personal life To this question there are two anof the believer ? swers, according as we consider one or other aspect. The Divine side. St. Paul speaks of our being
can be realized.
" sanctified in

Christ " (i

Cor.

i,

2).

He
i.

also says

that Christ
fication

is

made unto

us " Righteousness, Sancti" (i

and Redemption

Cor.

30).

These
life

three truths

sum up

the whole of the believer's

and of

Christ's

relation to him.

The one
is,

Gift of
different

God

is

the Person of Christ

who

from

aspects, our Righteousness in regard to the past, our

Sanctification in regard to the present,

and our Reour Sancti-

demption
fication.

in

regard to the future.

He

is

complete work

in this respect has

been

wrought

for us

by Him

as

complete as our

Justifi-

cation, " Sanctified

through the offering of the body

all "

of Jesus Christ once for

(Heb.

x. 10).

So
is

that

Christ

is

our Sanctification, the Holy Spirit

our

Sanctifier,

and we are the Sanctified.

The possession
is

of Christ as Saviour and Sanctification

to us

made

real

by the Holy Ghost, who

glorifies Christ to

our

souls according as

we need Him.
The Holy
Spirit does

The human

side.

His work

138

PROVISION
Word of God, " Sanctify them through Thy word is truth " (John xvii. 17) may be sanctified through the truth "
;

through the

Thy
"

truth

That they

(John

xvii. 19).

The

truth of

God

is

the great in-

strument used by the

at

Spirit.
sin,

Through

this

we

obtain

once a knowledge of

of salvation, of sonship,

of the indwelling of the Spirit, and of the real value

and power of the

Sacrifice of Christ.

St. Paul's

emon
9,

phasis in his great chapter on Sanctification

is

knowledge, "
16;
vii.
i).

Know

ye not " (see Rom.

vi.

3, 6,

This thought of the truth of

is

God

in

relation to our Sanctification

found

in a

number of
all

passages in the
the same lesson.

New
"

Testament, and they

teach
" "

Ye

are clean through the

word

(John XV.
(Eph.
v.

3)
;

"
"

The washing
(i Pet.

of water

by the word

26)

Seeing ye have purified your souls

i.

by obeying

the truth "

22).

Associated with the

Word

of

God

is faith,

which

is

our response to the Divine revelation.

priates

Faith approas
it

Christ

for

Sanctification just
is

did for
Paul's

Justification.

This

the

meaning of
(Acts xxvi.
if

St.
18).

words, " Sanctified by

faith "

We

can also see the same truth

we

consider the force

of the Apostle's " as " and " so," "

fore received

As ye have there?

Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in

6).

Him
faith.

" (Col.

ii.

How

did

we

receive Christ
faith.

By
there

Even so we

are to walk

by

As

SANCTIFICATION

139

are four factors at conversion, so there are four in the

Christian hie
Faitli.

the

Lord, the

Spirit, the

Word, and

Faith, as an act, receives Christ for JustificaFaith, as an attitude, appropriates Christ for

tion.

Sanctification.

The Lord
new

provides for us a
nature,

new

rela-

tionship and also a

and these two

to-

gether

sum up
is

the meaning of Righteousness.

This

holy nature

gift
is

bestowed on our souls by the

faith,

Holy
by

Spirit,

and

accepted by

and maintained

faith.

Then

in turn will

come

the graces of love

;

and hope.

Faith looks up to the living Lord

love

looks round on those for

whom He

died

and hope
Sa-

looks on to the coming of our great

viour.
ent,

God and

And
error

thus the whole Christian

is

life,

past, pres-

and

future,

realized

by the

believer.

An
is

very

prevalent

among

uninstructed

Christians,

and one to be guarded against constantly,

assuming that Christ
is

that of practically
faith,
if

to be

accepted by
fighting.

and then maintained only by

Christianity were pardon
purification

Just as

by the

Saviour's free

gift,

and

by the

believer's
is

constant struggling.
Justification

On

the

contrary,
in

it

both

and Sanctification

the one Lord, and

faith.

both are to be appropriated and maintained by

Holiness
is

not an achievement, but a

gift,

and

in

the

acceptance, appropriation, enjoyment and use of the

gift will

be found our growing Sanctification.

Sane-

140
tification
is

PEOVISION
first

and fundamentally a position

in

in

which we have been placed

Christ

by His Re-

demption, and in which we are to realize experimentally

Christ
faith
all

that

is

involved in what

He

has done,
;

is all

pardoning,

justifying, sanctifying

and

means surrendering, yielding, dedicating,

trust-

ing, using, obeying.

last is the Christ-life
It is

The
and a

Christian
life

life

from

first

to

of faith.
is

significant that almost everything

associated

with
iii.

faith.
;

Thus, we are "

I),

justified

by

faith "
ii.

(Rom.

28

v.

and saved by
ii.

faith
;

(Eph.

8).

We
faith

"

Hve by

faith " (Gal.

faith "
;

20)
2)

we have
"

'

access to
"

God by
XV. 9)

(Rom.

v.

we walk by
"

(2 Cor. v. 7)
;

our hearts are " purified by faith

faith (i

(Acts

we overcome by
Holy
Spirit

John

v. 4), 14).

and we

receive the

by

faith (Gal.

iii.

When

the soul learns this lesson of the all-embracing nature

and necessity of

faith, it

has become possessed of the

Faith receives Christ,
faithfulness,

true secret of Christian living.

rests
alizes

on Him, reckons on His

His Presence.
it

and

re-

Faith appropriates Divine grace,

appreciates
It is
its

applies

to
in

momentary need,
it

value,

and abides

every moment.

of no wonder
life

that the Apostle lays such stress

in the great chapter

on the

of faith
"

known

as " the roll call of faith

it is

(Heb.

xi.),

by saying

that " without faith

impos-

sible to please

God

" (verse 6).

VIII

CONSECRATION

WE
vision of a

have already seen something of the

of Justification
is

meaning

and

Sanctifica-

tion.

Justification

the

Divine

pro-

new

position for the soul in Christ, inrelationship.

volving

new

Sanctification

is

the

Divine provision of a new condition for the soul

through Christ, involving a new fellowship.

connection between the two
tion,
is

The
in

found
gift

in

Regenera-

understood as the Divine

itself in

of

new

life

Christ which expresses

Spirit.

the

new

birth of the

Now we

have observed that both Justification and

in

Sanctification are complete

Christ

when viewed

from the Divine

of

standpoint, for Christ as the

Wisdom
and Rereal-

God

is

made

to us Righteousness (or Justification)

for the past, Sanctification for the present,

demption
ization
spiritual

for the future (i Cor.

in

i.

30).

But the

of their results blessing

is

personal experience and

Justification
is

often gradual.

complete and eternal and admits of no degrees; we

are not

more or

less justified

but "justified from

all

141

142

PEOVISION
This
is

things " at once and forever.

so, quite apart

from our experience of

sense of

it.

Sanctification, too, in the

God having
it

separated

us for

Himself

is

equally complete in His intention and purpose, but

the realization of
gressive.

in

our

lives

is

gradual and prothis

The

act

by which we accept

Divine

position, purpose

and provision develops

into

an

attitude, a process, a progress.

We
At

obtain in order
is

to maintain, retain and attain.

this point

seen

the

New Testament

distinction

between Consecration
and
as involv-

as God's separation of us for Himself,

ing the consequent purification of soul necessary for

His use of

us.

The
it.

latter is

included in the former

and
own,

arises

out of

Because

God marks

us as His

He

prepares us for His service

by conforming
of

us to the image of His Son.

It is to this truth

the gradual and progressive maintenance, retention

and attainment that we must now address ourselves.

When

the matter of Justification

is

is

settled,

and

Sanctification

realized as the will of

iv. 3),

God

for the

believer (i Thess.

the question at once arises,

How

can

this will of

God be
?

done,

how
is.

can the hfe

of Sanctification

be lived

The one

answer, and

that both fundamental

ization of our true

and

inclusive,

By

the real-

and abiding relation to God and

our position before Him, as not only redeemed from

sin,

but also redeemed for God's possession and serv-

CONSECRATION
ice.

143

In the realization, acceptance and maintenance

position will be found one of the secrets of
in the spiritual
life.

of

tills

power and blessing

It

must be

considered from the Divine and

human

standpoints.

I.

The Divine Requirement

in

We

can see this very clearly

it

Romans
"

xiv. 9.
this

Let us face

carefully

and

definitely.

To

end
"

Christ both died

and rose and revived, that

" that

He

might

be Lord."

This means

He might
is

be Lord

of our lives, Master of our entire existence.

The

"absolute

monarchy

"

of Jesus Christ
living.
18.

the one con-

dition of genuine Christian

We
He
11,
is

have the
the head

same truth
.

in

Colossians
all

i.

"

that in

things
i

He might
Peter
iv.

have the preemi-

nence."
in
all

Consider also
things

"That God
note that

may be

glorified."

And

St. Paul's

most frequent and

fullest title for

our Sa-

viour

is,

" the

Lord Jesus

Christ," or " Jesus Christ

settle
it

our Lord."

Let us therefore
it

once for

all

and then

realize

continuously, "

We

are the Lord's

"

(Rom.

xiv. 8).

The Old Testament

affords unmistakable illustra-

tions of this great truth.

We

remember

that Israel
;

was a redeemed people, delivered out of Egypt

delivered from
ever.

but
for-

Egypt

in

order to belong to
out and brought

God
in,

They were brought

saved

144
to serve.
first

PEOVI8ION

We

notice in Leviticus, chapter i.,that the

is

offering

named

the Burnt Offering, and as this

it

offering
is

means not

Propitiation but Consecration,

it

sometimes wondered why we have

first

of

all,

and not, instead, the Sin Offering.

But we must
were for the

remember

that all the five offerings

people of God, for believers and not for the unconverted.

The people

of

Israel

were already God's

people on the basis of the Passover Sacrifice of Re-

demption and when

this

is

realized the place

clear.

and
It is

meaning of the Burnt Offering become

the logical, immediate, and necessary outcome of a

redeemed

position,
fire,

and

as the offering
life

was entirely

consumed by

so was the

of the offerer to be

wholly the Lord's.

counterpart of

We

have the

New

Testament

all this in

exact and beautiful sequence

In chapter
iii.

in the Epistle to the

Romans.

we

see

the great Propitiation whereby

to

we

are brought nigh

vi.

God, forgiven,

justified.

In chapter

we have

our identification with Christ in His Death and Life.

Then
"

in chapter xii.

comes the Burnt

is

Offering, the

Living Sacrifice" which

It is

our " logical "service (see

Greek).
cies of

the " logical "

outcome of those
are

"

meri

God

"

by which we

redeemed

(verses

and

2).

Another notable
in the story of

illustration of this truth

v.

is

found

Joshua (chap.

13-15).

Israel

had

OONSECEATION
been redeemed
;

146

and

after the

long wanderings and

backsliding of the wilderness-life was again in cove-

nant
V.

with
1).

God

on

redemption
of the

ground

(chap.

2-1

The ordinances
fulfilled

Covenant were

once more

and the old position resumed.

What was now needed ?

elation, nite step.

They

required a

new

revdefi-

a new and distinct lesson, a fresh and

But what was

this ?

Not the

revelation

of

God

as

Redeemer

they had that in Egypt.

as

Not

the revelation of
Sinai.

God

Teacher

they had that at

What was really necessary was the revelation And this is exactly as Lord and Master. what was given, " As Captain of the Lord's host am I NOW come." He was there not merely to asof

God

sist

Israel against the Canaanites,

efforts,

not simply to sec-

ond Joshua's
full

but to take charge, to assume

command,

to be Captain, Master, Lord.

The

practical

power of

this truth

is

evident.

It is

the secret of peace in Christian experience, and of

ever-increasing peace in proportion as the Lordship

of Christ

is

realized.

In Isaiah
If

ix.

it is first

gov-

ernment, then peace.

the government be

upon

His shoulder, peace

stant result.
It
is

will

be the immediate and con"

also the source of power.

Our

wills are ours to

make them Thine," and

" of Jesus Christ
is

in the " abfor char-

solute
acter

monarchy

power

and conduct.

Just as the riots in Trafalgar

"

146

PROVISION
Crown

Square, London, years ago were quelled by the assertion of the rights of the
assertion
to that area, so the
"

and acceptance of the

Crown

rights

of Christ will give peace and

life.

power

to the Christian
is

Holiness

is

'

wholeness " and

intended to
feel-

apply to each faculty of our being, body, mind,

ing, imagination, conscience, will, everything.

**

That
In

all

my

powers with

all their

might

Thy

sole glory

may

unite."

Into every part of our Hfe, inward and outward, this

Lordship of Christ
does,
it

is

intended to enter, and

when

it
is

is

the guarantee of blessing.

This, then,

the Divine Requirement, absolute, imperative, universal.

II.

The Human Response

is

All God's revelation

conditioned upon

human
This

acceptance for
is

full realization

and enjoyment.
is

so at every stage.

Christ as Saviour
faith,

only real-

ized

by the acceptance of
before us
it

and

in the aspect

now

is

necessary for us to respond to

the claim of

God upon
It is

our

lives.

The
word

first

part of the response

may be

stated in the

" Receive."

one of the great words of the

as

New
(John

Testament.
i.

12).

"

To They
"

many

as received

Him "

that

receive

abundance of

CONSECKATION
grace" (Rom.
v. 17).

147

All through the

New
'

Testa-

ment much
our
lives

is

made

of our receiving, welcoming into

God's
Christ

full

provision in Christ.
the

As ye
6).

received

Jesus

Lord

"

(Col.

ii.

It

means the acceptance, appropriation, and application

of Christ

by

faith for all

our need.

The second
by
tlie

part of the response

"

may

be expressed
" is

word

" Realize."

Know
6;
is

ye not

one of
16

the great key- words of Holiness

vii.
I
;

(Rom.

vi. 3, 6,

Cor.

iii,

16;

v.

vi.

2, 3, 9, 15, 16,

19;

ix.

24).

This knowledge

intended to cover the

the
fact,

fact,

nature and effect of Sin

character and
force of

power of Salvation, the

fact,

meaning and

our union with Christ in His Death and Resurrection,

and the

fact, force

and blessedness of the Holy

Spirit dwelling in us.

Holiness very largely depends

full

on a
tion

full

knowledge and a

assurance of our posi-

and provision

in Christ.

Our
sin,

position

is

that

we were

slaves of Satan

and

but

we have been
facts

redeemed by the blood of

undeniable and
unalterable.

Christ.

These are

But they carry with

them the

inevitable consequence that

we belong

to

Him who

has paid the price

we

are His property,

His possession.

He

is

first

our Saviour and then

our Lord, our Master, our Disposer.

tion

And

this posi-

and possession involve and ensure perfect pro-

vision

and our knowledge

("

Know

ye not

") includes

148
this
:

PROVISION
" That

given to us
ize all this,

we may know the things of God " (i Cor. ii. 12).

and accept
it

that are freely

We

must

real-

in its

definiteness, certainty

and

blessedness.

Then we
and
can
"

shall

have taken the sec-

ond step towards Holiness.

From
the

this reception

realization

we proceed
This

to

next step which

"

best

be stated in the
vi.
1 1).

Apostolic word

Reckon

(Rom.

is

another of the practical words of holiness.

"

It is

metaphor taken from accounts."

all

It

means that we

are to regard as true

that

God

says about Christ

are to account

and about our position

in Christ.

We

as belonging to us all that Christ has

done by His

Death and Resurrection,

our own.
buried,

to reckon, literally, this as

When He

died,
;

we

died

when He was
rose,

we were

buried

when He

we

rose

when He ascended, we
one with
united to

ascended.

We

are absolutely
as so

Him Him

and are to regard ourselves

that
all

the benefits and blessings of

His Redemptive work

reality.

shall

become

ours in practical
to sin comes,

So

that

when temptation

we
and and

at

once reckon ourselves dead to

it

and

it

will

have

no power over us; when the

obedience
with
is

call

to purity
in

heard we reckon ourselves alive

to
it,

Christ

and the power

is,

at

once comes.

And

thus, " reckoning," that

continually depend-

ing on and appropriating Christ,

we

find the " in-

CONSECRATION
numerable benefits
ours and the result
"
is

149

of His
holiness.

redemption becoming

Then we come

to the next step,

which may be
In

expressed by the word " Surrender."

Romans
and

vi.

we have

it

in the

word

" Yield."

We are called
1

first

to " yield

ourselves unto

God

" (verse

3),

as a

consequence, to " yield our members as weapons of

righteousness for God," and as " slaves to righteousness with a view to holiness " (verse 19).
attitude

The same
xii.

and word are found

It

in

Romans

" Present."

denotes one definite act of surrender,

presentation, committal of ourselves to

God

as those

who

are His, and

is

who wish

to show, in daily experi-

ence, that this

so.
is

The
word
"

last

stage of our response

" (John xv. 4).

found

in

the

Abide

This means the main-

tenance of our realized position, the act becoming an

attitude, the
initial

presentation being continued in

full

one long, constant attitude of

dedication.
" (i

"
ii.

And
28).

now,

little

children, abide in

Him

John

This means " Stay where you are."

" abide
in

We

are

to

the calling "

in

(i

Cor.

vii. 20).

This will
viii.

include

abiding

Christ's

word (John
9),

31);

abiding in His love (John xv.

abiding in Christ

Himself (John xv. 4-7), abiding with

vii.

God

(i

Cor.

24).

It

means

that

we simply continue

as

wc

have begun, never drawing back, never retreating,

150

PROVISION

but letting God's fact of consecration become a constant

factor
art art

by means
mine
"
is

of a

life

of dedication.
" I

His
;

"

Thou

to be
"
is

met by

"

Thou

my God

to be

am Thine " followed by " I am

Then we
of the

Thy

servant " (Ps.

cxliii.

lo and

12).

shall

learn the secret

and enjoy the blessedness

life.

only

true Christian

If

we

thus " admit " Christ as

in everything,

Lord, "submit" to

Him
His

"commit"

everything to Him, and " permit "

thing, and to

Him

to be every-

do
"

all

will

in us,

then we shall
to others,

indeed " transmit

all

His

life

and grace

and

that

we

are and have and

do

shall

be to the glory

and praise of God.

PART

III

Protection

"Sin
vi.
'*

shall

not have dominion over you."

Rom.

14.
all

Rich unto
that

that call

upon Him."
in

Rom.

x. 12.
i.

" So "

ye come behind

no
till

gift."

i Cor.

y.

Sincere and void of oiFencc

the day of Christ."

Phil.

i.

10.

IX

MEDITATION

THE
is

spiritual life

which becomes ours, and

constantly realized

by means of

Justifica-

tion, Sanctification

and Consecration, must

if
it

be maintained and sustained

is

to

grow and

in-

crease in vigour, power, and blessing.

in the true sense of the

Spiritual life
spiritual

term

is

far

more than

existence

it

implies strength, vigour, progress, joy,

'

and
life,

satisfaction.

am come

that they might have

it

and that they might have

X. lo).

more abundantly
the only
life

"

(John

This abundant

life is

that

will really influence others

and

fully reahze the will

of God.

For the maintenance of

tions are necessary.
spiritual
life,

spiritual life certain condi-

As

with physical

life,

so with
re-

we

have to use means and

fulfill

quirements, and this, not intermittently, but as the

habit of our
that
life.

It is

with the chief means or methods

in this

we
bear

shall

be concerned

and the remaining

from the body,
let

chapters.

Taking an
in

illustration

us

mind

that

for
life

the

maintenance
require

and

furtherance of spiritual

we

good food,

13

154
pure
these
air,

PROTECTION
and
regular
exercise.

To
"
is,

the

first

of

we now

turn our attention,

when we speak
of course,

of meditation.

The
of

"

good food

the

food of the
tissues

Word
the

of God, for as food builds

up the

body, repairs waste, and

preserves us in health, so the

Word

of

God

is

the

complete food of the

soul.

It is

noteworthy that we
for

have
babes

it

brought before us in the Bible as milk

ii.

(i Pet.

Cor.

iii.

2), as strong

meat

for

adults (Heb. v. 14), affording us the necessary constituents

of spiritual nutrition, and as honey (Ps.

xix. 10) suggesting the pleasure

and enjoyment of

dessert in addition to the food actually necessary for

life

and work

(Jer. xv. 16).

Coming now more

closely to the details of this

life,

important element of spiritual

we

notice

I.

The

Subjects of Meditation
the
is

One

of these

is

Word
The
8),

of God, that revelation

of God's will which

enshrined in the Old and

New

Testament Scriptures.
phasized this (Josh,
truly blessed
feature (Ps.
i. i.

counsel to Joshua em-

and the description of the

meditation a prominent
great Bible psalm (cxix.)

man makes
2 and
3).

The

has at least seven references to meditation, while the

value and necessity of the
life is

Word

of

God

to the godly

the outstanding feature of the whole psalm.

MEDITATION
Let
it

155
in

be clearly and constantly borne

is

mind

that

no true Christian living

tation on the

possible apart from medi-

Word
is

of God.

Meditation

also to

be exercised on the Works of

God.

The

Psalmist realized the value of this form

of meditation (Ps. Ixvii. I2

and

cxliii. 5).

The works

of
in

God
in

in Creation, the actions

and

activities of

God

history and general providence, the dealing of

God
all

our

own
all fit

experience and in particular provisubjects for meditation,

dences, are

and should

have

their place in our

thought and
all,

life.

But above and beyond

be centred upon

our meditation should

"

God
34).

Himself.

My

meditation of

Him"
Works
eration

(Ps.

civ.

"I

will

meditate

on Thee"
God's

(Ps. Ixiii. 6).

is

Our

use

of God's

Word and

only intended to lead us up to the consid-

and contemplation of God Himself, and on

must ever
is

Him we
life.

fix

our gaze.

God

first,

God

everywhere,

the secret of the " highest " Christian

It

is

important to notice that meditation

is

nothe

where associated with ourselves, or our

subjects.

sin, as

Such an

attitude of introspection
it

would

be as unhealthy as
disheartening.

would prove discouraging and

is

To

be occupied with ourselves

is

dangerous
ing, for

to be occupied with our sin

depress-

we cannot fathom

either the treachery

and

156

PROTECTION
gauge the depths of
But
our hearts are led out from

deceitfulness of our hearts, or

our depravity.

if

themselves and fastened on God, then " in His light

we

shall see light "

on

ourselves,

and see ourselves

as

we

really are, while the

same gaze

will also lead us to

the secret of grace and blessing in

is

God
at

Himself.

It

sometimes

said,

'

For one look

self,

take ten
at

looks at Christ."
Christ and
profitable.

But why not take eleven looks

It

none

at self?

might be

infinitely

more

II.

How
It

shall

The Character of Meditation we meditate ? What does it mean ?

this text,
its

must be an individual and personal meditation.

Let us look well and long at

as the printer's art can

made

as clear
:

emphasize
civ.

teaching

"

My

meditation of

Him

" (Ps.

34).

Do we

see the
else's.
is first-

point?

"My"

meditation;

not

some one

The

great, the primary, the essential point,

hand meditation of God's Word

Christian living.

as the secret of

Who

does not remember Dr.

Anso

drew Murray's

definition of milk as " food that has

passed through the digestion of another."

all

And

the

little

books of devotion, the helps to holiness,

in-

the series of manuals of thought and teaching,

cluding these very

lines,

represent

food that has

passed through the spiritual digestion of others be-

MEDITATION
fore
it

157
as such.
;

comes to

us,

and has to be used

?

Do

we then decry

all

these

God

forbid

we

establish

them, but only in their place and for their purpose.

If

they are put

first,

to the exclusion of the Bible

alone,

and the Bible day by day, they become dan-

gerous and disastrous, crutches that prevent vigorous

exercise,
senility.

and that

will

inevitably lead

to spiritual

If they are put second they can

become

delightful

and

helpful, inspirations to further thought,

and suggestions of deeper

blessings.

had our own meditation of the

better able to enjoy

When we have Word we are the whom

So
it

what God teaches us through

others of His children, and especially those

God honours
must be
tation of
first,

with special

gifts

of teaching.

foremost, and constantly, "

My

medi-

Him."
real.

Meditation must be
tation of

It

must be " the mediand

" the heart " in

my

heart " (Ps. xlix. 3),

Scripture means the centre of the moral being, in-

cluding the intellect, the emotions, and the

implies that

will.

It

we come

to the

Word

to be searched
ef-

thoroughly, guided definitely, and strengthened

fectually.
It is

not a time for dreamy, vague imagin-

ings, but for

living, actual blessing,

whether in the

form of guidance, warning, comfort, or counsel.

Meditation will also be practical.
stages or elements
?

What

are

its

First, the careful reading of the

158

PROTECTION
its

particular passage or subject, thinking over

real
it

and original meaning.

into prayer for

Next, a hearty turning of

that
its

mercy and grace

teaching

may become
fusion of
it

part of

my

life.

Next, a sincere trans-

into a resolution that

my

life shall

repro-

duce

it.

Lastly, a whole-hearted surrender to, and

trust in

God

for

power to

practice

it

forthwith,
is

and

constantly, throughout the day.

that the

It

to be noted

word

" meditate," in

our English version,

represents

two
or

Hebrew words
and

one

meaning to
implying
i).
;

muse

"

" think,"

the

other

" speech," or audible thinking (see Ps. v.

These
thinking
its

two elements should always be blended

over the Word,
its

meaning,

its

application,
it,

mes-

sage, and then talking to

God about

in confession
fel-

of past failures, in prayer for future blessing, in

lowship in present joys or needs.

tion

Thus

will

medita-

become
in

so practical, so
it

vital,

so blessed that

we

shall find

our chief joy, and our indispensable

daily

power
III.

for service.

The Outcome of Meditation

necessarily
us

We

have

anticipated

this

in

some

degree, but

let

note more definitely a threefold

result of meditation.

The

first

is

Spiritual Strength.

When we
man
in

study

carefully the description of the blessed

Psalm

MEDITATION
i.,

159

we

sec very clearly his spiritual strength

by reason

of his

meditation.

He

is

as the tree as contrasted

with

the chaff steadfast and dependable, because

rooted in the strength of God.

Why
(i

did St. John

say the young

of

men were strong ?

abiding in them

Because the

Word

God was

John

ii.

12-14).

When do none of the steps of the righteous slide ? When the law of God is in the heart (Ps. xxxvii. 31). When do we not sin against God ? When His Word is hidden in our hearts (Ps. cxix. Ii).
Then comes
Spiritual Success.

Twice

at least

is

" prosperity " associated

with
Ps.
i.

meditation of God's
2 and
3).

Word
if

(Josh.

i.

8 and 9

And

even

we

translate "

do

wisely," instead of " prosper,"

it is

we

get the the

same

idea, for

abundantly evident from

New

Testament that

spiritual

wisdom and
of God's

per-

ception

come from the knowledge

Word
i,

and fellowship with

Him

(Phil.
testifies

i.

9,

10

Col.

9).

All Christian experience

to blessing, power,
in exact

and prosperity

in

spiritual life

and service

proportion to meditation of the

Word

of God.
*

Not
tion of

least

is

Spiritual Satisfaction.

My

medita"

sweet

Him shall be sweet." Is it not so ? are Thy words to my taste " (Ps. cxix.
of the joy of the

How
is

103).

The
heart.

physical enjoyment of food and dessert

but
the
;

a faint illustration "

Word
did eat

in

Thy words were

found, and

them

'

160

PEOTECTION
me
"

they were to
(Jer. XV. i6).

the joy and rejoicing of

I

my
as

heart

rejoice at

Thy Word
If

one that
at

findeth great spoil " (Ps. cxix. 162).

we look

the

titles

of the Scriptures given in Psalm cxix. such

as ordinances, statutes, judgments,

we

see that they

are words which, as a rule,

we

associate with
!

what

is

dry and dull and uninteresting

statutes

Yet these very

satisfaction

were a delight, a joy, a supreme

to the Psalmist, right with God.

and so

it

ever

is

if

our hearts are

How

precious are
17).

Thy

thoughts

unto me,

O God "
IV.

(Ps.

cxxxix.

The Times of Meditation

God and His
it

There

is,

of course, a sense in which our thoughts

should ever be turning to

the day long
is

Truth.

" All

my

study in
if

" (Ps, cxix. 97).

The

attitude of our souls,

in a healthy state, will ever

tend to the recollection of

tunity occurs.

God whenever

the oppor-

But

this

attitude

is

only possible by means of

stated times for meditation.

for

These are the occasions

providing fuel for daily use.

is

Now,

there can be

no doubt that early morning

for this.

the very best time

brain
is

The body

is

rested, the

free

and

unencumbered, and hence the receptive powers are

more

available.
;

It
let

may

not be possible to spend

much time

but

no one be discouraged because

MEDITATION
of this, for quality
is

161

the desideratum, and that can

be put into even

five

minutes.

Let the attempt be

made with

five

minutes on a single text, or phrase

itself,
!

of a text, and the exercise will soon justify

and

a hunger will spring up for five minutes more

it

And
!

will

soon be found

how

marvellously
five

v^^e

are able

to

do without that extra

minutes' sleep

Let

but the time, long or short, be well spent, and the

fruit will

be quick to appear and lasting

in effect.
is

Another time mentioned

tide "

in the Scripture

" even-

(Gen. xxiv. 63), that time

of twilight, " 'twixt

the lights," which often brings a quiet

moment
is

or

two

to

many
its

life.

When
is

the toil of the day

ap-

proaching

close, or

over, or

between the work

of the afternoon and any evening duties, there often

steals

over the soul a sense of God's nearness and a

tells

peace of heart that

of the Spirit's presence.

Then
and

is

the time for dropping the

book

or paper,
to

for

allowing the soul to listen to

If

God and
it,

speak to Him.

our circumstances allow

and,

hke

Isaac,

we can go

" into the field " for our mediin the quiet

tation, there will

be an added delight, as

of the gathering shadows, broken only

tling of trees, or the

by the

rus-

evensong of the

birds,

we
to

stand

face to face with

God, and allow His

Word

have

" free course " in us

and
is

"

be glorified."
often

Once more,

night

an opportunity for

162
meditation (Ps.
well.

PROTECTION
Ixiii.

6),

and

if

so

it

be, let us use

it

Before retiring to

rest, let

the heart be bathed

v. 26),

in

the water of the

Word

(Eph.

and then
will "

if

" in the night

we

sleepless lie," the

Word

heav-

enly thoughts supply."

In any case, however, and

whatever our circumstances,

we must
marvellous

find time,

and

make

time,

and take time

for this blessed exercise

of meditation.

And

it

is

how

easy

is

that apparently impossible task of

It is

making

time.

hardly possible to exaggerate the importance

of the meditation of Scripture for the maintenance

and progress of the

spiritual

life.

The

Bible enters
it

into every part of our experience, because

is

the

revelation of God on which our

life

is

necessarily

based and to which

sponse.

it

should

make
no
life

a constant re-

And

for this reason

can be either

safe or strong that does not put meditation of Scrip-

ture in the forefront.

It

should be with us as with

the Psalmist, "

feet

thought on

my

ways and turned

my

unto

Thy

testimonies " (Ps. cxix. 59), and with

Thy words were found and I did eat me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart for I am called by Thy name, O Lord God of Hosts " (Jer. xv. 16). Our contact with the Word of God will thus be an
the Prophet, "

them

and Thy word was unto

;

exact test of our discipleship and character.

Bible
is

The

the mirror in which

we

see ourselves as

wc

MEDITATION
are
if

163

and as God sees

us,

and

it

must be evident that

we never

use, or rarely use, the mirror

we cannot
is

be sure of our real state before God.

Christianity
is

largely a matter of the condition of soul, stress

laid

on character, and character

needs solitude
for

is
;

power.
solitude

Now,
is

character

growth
"
;

" the mother-

country of the

strong

but solitude without the

Bible tends towards morbidity, while with the Bible

it is

a guarantee of vitality and vigour.

us, then,

Let
scurry,

be sure that amid the hurry,

life

flurry,

and worry of

by means of meditation

we on God

" take time to be holy

in

"

His Word.

Let not

even Christian work rob us of this secret of true service

and

blessing.

Let the superficiality of

many

lives

warn

us " to give attention to reading," to meditate

on these things, " that our profiting may appear to

all,"

and also glorify God.

Like the Psalmist,

let

us

be able to remember past seasons of blessed meditation

(Ps.

cxix.

23),

to

realize present seasons

of

equally blessed privilege CPs. cxix. 97) and to resolve

that the future shall also be
life

full

of such seasons of

and health and joy

(Ps. cxix. 15).

X
PRAYER

IN

addition to good, suitable and regular food,

the

body

requires pure atmosphere in order to

life.

a healthy and vigorous

the spiritual
life

In like manner

must have both the food of God's

atmosphere of prayer
if it is

Word and
now

also the pure

to be thoroughly healthy, strong

to consider

and

true.

We are

some of the

aspects of prayer as the

" native air."

" Christian's vital breath "

and

The

illustration

of breathing
fills

may

help to intro-

duce a subject that

revelation of God's

so prominent a part in the

will.
life.

Breathing
It
is

is

the function

of a natural, healthy

a spontaneous, un-

conscious, incessant act and habit, and marks the

person as in normal health and vigour.

if

So, also,

the spiritual

life

be healthy, prayer will be the natit.

ural,

spontaneous, and unceasing expression of

is

This

what the Apostle spoke of

as " continuing

instant in prayer."

We may

therefore be sure that the emphasis laid

in the

upon continual prayer

prominence given to
it

Word

of God, and the

in the lives of all the

most

164

PRAyEE
eminent Christians
of
its

165

in all ages, are

two sure tokens

absolute necessity for every believer.

I.

Continuance

in

Prayer
"

What

it

Means
in

The word
(Rom.
xii.

translated

continuing "

prayer

12,

and Col.

iv. 2) is

used in several conin prayer.

It

nections,
is

which

illustrate its
little
iii.

meaning

used of the

boat that waited on our Lord

9)
;

continually

(Mark
to

of the Apostles
vi. 4)
ii.
;

giving
of the

themselves
Disciples

their

ministry (Acts

on the

Day

of Pentecost (Acts

42)
viii.

of

Simon Magus remaining with

maining constant

Philip (Acts

13).

It includes the ideas of " clinging closely to

and

re-

in,"

and impHes continuous devoand earnestness.

tion expressed in steadfastness

It

means, therefore, very

much more
This
is

than
is

fre-

quently-recurring times of prayer.

to water

down

the true idea

for the

thought
it

of an attitude

rather than an act, even though

be frequently per-

formed.

Prayer

is

something vastly beyond the

;

utterance of words

it

is

the relation and constant

attitude of the soul to

God.

This attitude towards

ments, chief
trust,

God
is

consists of several ele-

among them being

There
first

submission, desire,

fellowship.

and foremost the

submission of the soul to God, the attitude of surrender whereby

we

are

in

harmony with

the will

166
of God.

PBOTECTION
Then
"
.

there

is

the desire of the soul for

for

God, the aspiration and longing and grace.

"

His presence

My soul
.
.

longeth, yea, even fainteth."

crieth

My

heart

out

for

the

hving God."

Then comes the confidence

of the

soul in God, the sense of dependence

on Him, and
will

the utter distrust of self and our

own

and way.

Last of

all

there

is

the fellowship of the soul with

God, the delight

in

His presence and freedom of

communication with
This
is

Him

at all times.

something of the meaning of continuance

in prayer,

and

it

can be easily seen that

this

may be

at times quite independent of words.

It is

the soul's

realization

of

God and

its

deep, quiet joy in His

presence and grace.

n.
It

Continuance

in

Prayer

What
real.

it

Does

makes God's presence very

This presence

brings peace, which calms the soul in the presence

of dangers.
It

brings joy, which cheers the soul in

It

the pathway of difficulty and duty.

brings glory,

which sheds a radiance on ordinary

life

and

illumi-

nates the commonest tasks with the light of heaven.

It
is

makes God's power very manifest.

sin.

The
is

heart

thereby garrisoned against

There
us

nothing

like continuance in prayer to

keep

from

sin.

The
life

soul

is

thereby armed against temptation, for the

PEAYER
of
life

167

prayer surrounds us with Divine power.

is

The

thus protected against leakage.

God's power
spiritual
life

seals

up the crevices and preserves the

intact.
It

makes God's

will clear.

By

life

of prayer the
it

perceptions of the soul are clarified.

By

the moral

powers of the soul are kept balanced.

By

it

the

determining powers are strengthened and rendered

vigorous, and decisions are

more

easily

and safely
at

made.

Thereby we have preservation from error

any

critical

moment, because through a

life

of prayer

we
of

learn to understand the providence

and guidance

God much more clearly, and are enabled to " perceive and know what things we ought to do, and
faithfully to fulfill the

have grace and power

same."

There

is,

as

it

were, an accumulation of grace and

power
all

in the ordinary life

which makes us ready

for

emergencies.
It

makes God's service easy.

Through continuance
might ac-

in

prayer

we
God's

are " strengthened with all

cording to
service.

His

glorious
calls

power"

for all necessary

are readily

met because we

are

prepared, "
service
is
is

ready unto every good work."

seen to be perfect freedom, "

And His whom to

and

serve

to

reign "

(" cui

servire est regnare "),

we

learn to realize in blessed experience that His

is

yoke

indeed easy and His burden hght.

168
III.

PEOTECTION
Continuance
in

Prayer

What it Needs
Spirit of

We
Spirit

must honour the Holy

of

God.

The

God

is

the source, the atmosphere, the

power of prayer.
Supphcation."

He

is

the

*'

Spirit of
is

Grace and

Three times

He
viii.

very clearly as;

sociated with prayer

(Rom.

26 and 27

Eph.

vi.

18; Jude 20), and

we must honour Him

definitely
life

and constantly
of prayer.

if

we would know

the secret of a

We
is

must meditate on the

Word

of God.

The
will,

food of the Scriptures, God's revelation of His

needed

to sustain

prayer.

The promises

are to

elicit

prayer.

The Word and prayer always go

no prayer
is

together, and

of use that

is

not based on,

of God.

warranted by, and saturated with the

Word

We
learns
itself,

must include prayer

for others.

True prayer

cannot be limited to our

own
and

needs.

As
it

the soul
enlarges

more of God's
and goes out

will

and purpose

in love

pity for all the souls

is

for

whom
life

Christ died.

Intercession

not only a
real Chris-

definite but a very

prominent part of the

23).

tian

(I

Sam.

xii.

Our priesthood means

intercession for
vii.

intercession.
its

Our Lord's work has

viii.

crowning point (Rom.

intercedes.

34; Heb.

25).

The Holy Ghost

others,

and

in so

We, too, must pray for praying our own life of prayer will

be

fully realized.

PEAYER

169
for prayer.

We
hfe
is

must have special occasions

fed

The

by

these.

The

attitude

is

based upon acts.

The

Hfe of the

body depends on separate and succesit is

sive acts,

whether of breathing or eating, and so

with the soul.

These times of prayer are the storage,

the reservoir of daily

power and progress.

morn-

The

best times for this are undoubtedly the

is

ing and evening, and of these the morning

the most important.
also of
it

by

far
is

A
if

few moments at midday

it

immense

help.

But whenever

be, time for

we must have, and,

Let
us, then,

necessary, make.
five

begin at once, starting with but

minutes, and not attempting too

five will

much

at once.

The

soon grow to

six, seven, eight, ten,

and even
It will
it

more.

The

habit will

come

to

be a delight.

prove as strange and impossible to omit

regular

as our

meals.
delight
;

God's

presence will be
will

more and

more a
felt;

God's power

more and more be

all

God's blessing more and more realized in

our influence and service.

XI

FAITHFULNESS

FIVE compared
are
xiv.,

times in the

New
v.,

Testament Christians
(i
i

to "

babes "

Cor.
Pet.

iii.,

Cor.

Eph.

iv.,

Heb.

and

ii.),

a term

which normally indicates the commencement and

early stages of the Christian
life.

But there

is

this

great difference between them.

fifth

The

first,

third

and
to

refer to the

beginning of the Christian

life,

the need of growth, and of not remaining children.

But the second and fourth partake of the nature of

warnings, though there
is

a significant difference
in

between the point of the warning

I

each case.

In

Corinthians xiv. an appeal

is

made

to the Corinthian

Churches not to "

life,

become

" children in their

mental

though they are to continue babes, innocent,

In Hebrews
v.

childlike, in regard to evil.

they are

warned on the ground that they had once made progress

but had reverted to spiritual babyhood

12).

("

beit

come," verse
is

This
;

is

worse than childhood,

second childhood

it is

not immaturity but dotage,

not juvenility but senility.

safeguard them that he

And

it

is

to

warn and

now

writes in such plain

170

" ;

FAITHFULNESS
terms.
full,

171

He

says he cannot teach

them high, deep,

rich truths, such as that of the Priesthood of

Christ (verse ii) because of this state of spiritual

dotage.

There are thus four

growing Christians
;

classes of Christians

" babes "

;

mature or full-grown Christians

I

and

invalids.
first

If

we study

John

ii.

12-14 we
if

shall

see the

three classes described, and

we wish

to

avoid becoming
shall

Christians of the fourth class

in

we
v.,

do well to ponder the passage

its

Hebrews
hves as

and apply

truths rigidly to our

own

we

consider the solemn truth of Spiritual Degeneration.

I.

Spiritual Degeneration
will for us is progress.
iii.),

is

Possible
in grace

God's
(2
Pet.

"

Grow

"

Let
vi.

us
i).

be borne on to maturity
Progress
is

(Greek of Heb.
lation

always in
will
is

re-

to

the

will

of

God.

That

to

be

increasingly

known, accepted, obeyed, loved and

enjoyed.

The Old and New Testaments teem with

entreaties,

commands, encouragements,
this

warnings on
is

subject.

Conversion
is

is

but the start; what

" Daniel
vi.).

also

needed
i.).

continuance.

continued

(chap.
fore

"

Daniel prospered" (chap.

I

"Whereye coni.).

...

continue

"

(Acts xxvi.).

" If

tinue " (John

" Patient

viii.).

" Continue in the faith " (Col.

ii.).

continuance" (Rom.

172

PROTECTION
progress almost spontaneously, as
is

The body makes

it

were, though even this

according to law.
is

The

progress of mind and soul, however,

parently spontaneous, but
is

not so apwill,

dependent on the

and upon the constant and strenuous observance of

definite laws of training.

Yet

it

must be borne

in

mind

that

spiritual

progress

does not

mean

priin-

marily intellectual

power of achievement, but

creased spiritual capacity and deeper experience, a

tenderer conscience, a

more

fully

surrendered
is,

will.

In reference to these elements God's message

forward."

"

Go

God's
is

will for us is often

not

fulfilled.

The growth
life

stunted, the capacity contracted, the

hindered

through lack of progress.

of this
evil,
is

The main

characteristic

an inability to discern between good and

better,

between good and

i.

between good and

Christians are de1

best (Phil.

9-10).

The Hebrew
(v.

scribed as " heavy of hearing "

ful " (v.
1 3).

1),

and

" unskill-

This does not

mean

that the soul ever

it

becomes unregenerate again, but

that
it

certainly

means

becomes

t/rgenerate.

What

are the causes of this backsliding and de-

generation?

Sometimes

it

is

due to worldliness

which, like a bad atmosphere, penetrates, lowers the

temperature and chokes the

vitality.

There are not

a few sad instances of

this spirit influencing earnest

FAITHFULNESS
Christians.
"

173

Yc

did

run well, what doth hinder

is

you

"

Sometimes the trouble

'

due to what

may

be called

weariness," a spiritual and moral sluggish-

ness which does not wish to

go forward, an
spiritual
is

inertness

which tends to sap the vigour and

Sometimes, however, the cause
secret sin
eat

buoyancy.

wilfulness,

some

which leads to unfaithfulness and tends to

spiritual
life.

away the

As

a rule this degenera-

tion does not occur all at once.

As

the old Latin

proverb says, "

No

one suddenly becomes base."

Like a great tree which, though gradually affected

by
and

fungi,

may

topple over at once in

life

some storm
by
error

of wind, so a spiritual
evil silently

may be

infected

and secretly

for a

long time, and

then, in a

moment

of special test and strong tempta-

tion, a catastrophe occurs.

Let

us, then, write

it

on

heart and
eration
is

mind and conscience

possible.

that spiritual degen-

IL

Spiritual Degeneration
full

is

Sinful
" Because
dif-

God
ferent.

gives us

opportunity to grow.
v. 12)

of the time (Heb.

ye ought to be" very

The time

since their conversion

was so long

that they ought to have

grown wonderfully since

illustration, a

then.

To

use Dr.

Andrew Murray's
is

babe of three months

a beautiful picture, natural

and

delightful, but a

babe of twenty years old would

174

PROTECTION
If
still

be a monstrosity.
of

a person had

come

to the age

manhood and

possessed only the body and

terribly sad

brain of a babe,
stances be.

how

would the circumfeel

What, then, must God think and

concerning those

who have been

" in Christ,"

born

again for years, and are in spiritual experience only

babes

May we

not term them, without exaggera-

tion, spiritual monstrosities ?

The

neglect of our opportunity for growth

is sin.
it,

We
and

cannot
it

command

growth, but

we can
sin.

hinder

is

this

that constitutes

our

There are

Christians

who
their

are always talking of their preference

for the " simple gospel,"

and they believe they are and humihty, when

all

showing

faithfulness

unconsciously, but very really, they are testifying to

their

own

unfaithfulness
for

and

laziness.

Those who

speak of wishing
crucified,"
(i Cor.
ii.)

nothing save " Christ, and

in that

Him

must not forget that

St.

very chapter

Paul goes on

to say, "

But we speak

wisdom among the mature

that " Christ
life

" Christians.

The

fact

is

crucified " covers

is

the whole Christian

from grace to glory, and

concerned not only

with the simplest but also with the deepest truths.

It is

a mark of immaturity to be content with that

is

which
trouble,

perfectly

obvious without
is

thought and
are neglecting

and immaturity

sin if

we

opportunities of ripeness and power.

The

call is clear

FAITHFULNESS
to be content with elementary truths

175
is,

not to continue to lay spiritual foundations, that

(Heb.

vi. l).

III.
It
is

Spiritual Degeneration
harmful to ourselves.

is

Harmful
dull, or

We
(v.

become

heavy, or sluggish of hearing

spiritual

1 1).

We

have no

digestion,

but must perforce be content

(v.
1

with the plainest fare

ceptions and

2).

And

with dull per-

weak powers

of assimilation

we

are a

prey to the microbes of temptation which are powerless against the

vigour of health.

We

are liable to
all

contract

the malaria of worldliness, and

other

dangers attendant on a low state of health.

In the

East a gentleman once wished to test the truth of the

statement that the sheep will not follow a stranger,

and the shepherd told him that only the sick sheep
would respond to
his
!

call.

And

so he found

it.

What
here

a lesson

is

this

Who

are the people that

go

and

there, accept this or that

newest fad in
?

teaching, go astray into error and sin

The

sick

sheep.

Those who do not know how to discern beevil,

tween good and

It
is

and are a prey to every deceiver.

"

harmful to others.

Because of the time

"

since conversion such " babes " " ought to be teachers,"

but instead of this they need

still

to be taught

their spiritual alphabet.

They ought

to be feeding

others,

instead of being themselves fed.

Churches

176

PEOTECTION
What
a loss to others this means

remain nuiseries when they ought to be traininggrounds.

!

The
teachis

silent Christians are "

dumb

dogs," leaving

all

ing to a few, with the result that only a

little

work

done, and the neighbourhoods of their churches are

not evangelized.

"

Ye ought

to be teachers."

They

ought to have the knowledge to enable them, the

interest to
incite

them, and the loyalty to compel

them

to be helpers of others.
little

Oh

the unutterable

sadness of the

work done when so much more

could be done with the actually existing number of

Christian people.

IV.

Spiritual Degeneration

is

Remediable

How ? We
not stay there.

must

start

from the foundations, but

in

Axioms
They

mathematics are neces-

sary foundations, but no one dreams of simply going

on learning them.

are to be used.

We
we

com-

mence
do not
letters
!

all

education by learning the alphabet, but

ourselves to this process
old
;

we

limit

use the

The

masters

had only the primary

colours of red, blue and yellow, but

how

marvellous

were the combinations " by reason of use."

So

must must
ness

it
'

be

in

the Christian

life.

In one sense

we
we

leave " the rudiments and " go on " to ripeIt is "

(vi. I).

by reason of use

" (v. 14) that

grow and make

progress.

Just as in learning a for-

FAITHFULNESS
cign tongue

177

we must have
cells

daily practice, setting the

same brain

in

vibration every day, just as a

if

pianist needs constant practice

the joints are to be

kept flexible and supple, and the execution become

more
cise,

proficient, so the believer needs " use," exer-

training,
is

if

he
?

is

to "

go on to perfection."

What

this " use "

There must be the atmosphere of prayer.

There

must be the daily exercise of prayer and

Daily appearing before

intercession.

God and

realizing the spir-

itual perception, spiritual

enlargement, and spiritual

power

that

come from waiting on God.

and meditation, daily feeding on the

There must be the use of good food, the daily exercise of study

Word
mitted.

of God, and this never allowed to be inter-

There must be
love, obedience,

activity, the daily action of trust,

and hope.
Father.

Trust in the Real Pres-

ence of our

God and

Love

to Christ

and to

man

in

Him.

Obedience to every known command

of God's
" Blessed

Word.
Hope."

Hope

in

Him whose coming

daily, hourly,
fibre of

is

our

And

this

momen-

tarily, until it

becomes the very

our being.

This
ulties,

is

the exercise, or " use " of our spiritual facresult will

and the

be that we

shall

never de-

generate but go forward from strength to strength.

Thus, living in the atmosphere of prayer, feeding on

178
the food of the

PROTECTION
Word, and
and
life

exercising ourselves in
shall

practical living in

for

God, we
is

know what

the true Christian

its

really

in

its

continual growth,
its

exultant joy,
its

its

spiritual

power,

blessed useful-

ness,
its

deepening peace,

its

widening influence, and

unceasing witness to the grace and glory of God.

XII

OBEDIENCE

NO
his

one who has once understood what the

Christian Hfe

means can ever be the same

again.

Either he will be the better for

will

knowledge, or else he

be worse.

His

life

cannot possibly be lived on the same original plane

of spiritual experience.
If,

by means of
at

this

knowl-

edge,

we

obtain

ideals,

and do not

once set to
real will

work

to realize them, both the ideal

and the

be lowered from this time forward.

portance, the
necessity, of taking

Hence the imheed to such a

message

as that
:

which was given by our Lord to

ye know these things, happy are
(John
xiii.

His disciples

" If
"

ye

if
I.

ye do them

17).

The
that

Christian

life

starts

with Knowledge.
absolutely essen-

" If
tial

ye know these things."

It is

we should

"

know
is

" these things.

knowl-

edge of Christian truth

of primary necessity.
lieve.

of paramount importance,

It

does matter what

we

be-

Knowledge

is

ever one of the springs and

sources of action.
says,

"

Conduct," as Matthew Arnold

may

be

" three-fourths of life," but the other

179

180
fourth
is

PROTECTION
the motive-power of the three.

train

is

much

longer than the engine, but the engine pro-

vides the motive-power.

building

is

much
is

larger

than the foundation, but the foundation

essary.
is
is

very necit

tree

is

much

wider than the root, but

to the tree.

the root which gives

absolutely necessary.
It
is

life

Knowledge

necessary in the Christian hfe for protection.

error

If

we knew more, we should be preserved from

this

on

or that side.

In the later Epistles of St.

spiritual experi-

Paul, in

which we have the mature

ence of the Apostle, we find a strong emphasis upon

' knowledge," and in almost every case the

word so
These
as the

rendered

means
full

mature,

ripe

knowledge.

Epistles are

of the thought of

knowledge

mark

of a growing Christian, a ripening spiritual

perception, a deepening knowledge of God's truth.

And
so

in the

still

later Epistles,

the Pastorals,

we have

the phrase again and again, " sound doctrine," not

much

in the sense of intellectual clearness, as of

healthful doctrine, that

health.
sists

which ministers to

spiritual

In the

last Epistle

of St. Peter (which con-

of only three

chapters)

we

have, again, this

thought of mature knowledge.

in

In almost every case

which the word occurs

in

those chapters

it is

rendering of the word " epignosis," and at

Epistle closes with "

last

the

Grow in

grace,

and

in the

knowl-

OBEDIENCE
edge of our Lord and Saviour."
Epistle of St.

181

Then, again,
call

in that

John which we
is

the First Epistle,

the key-note
will

" that

ye may know."
all

Knowledge

keep us from error of

kinds.

clear con-

ception and perception of Christian truth will be our

greatest protection.
It is

worth while to notice the

life

three stages of the Christian

Epistle of St.

mentioned

in the

John

(ii.

12-14).

The

little

children

are those
are,

who have ;

the

young men

are those

who

and the fathers are those who hicnv.

for protection, but also for peace,
" I

Not only
edge
is

knowl-

know whom I have believed, He and am is able to keep that which That I have committed to Him against that day." is the expression of the experience of a man who knows " If ye know these things." As we look back over our past life, we may think of the things
necessary.

persuaded that

that

we have

read,

understood and

learnt.

Every
in
this

one of us has something to be included

phrase, " If ye

know

these things."

But

it

so hap-

pens that there are, at

least, five " things " in the

immediate context which are essential elements

our knowledge.

in

The

first

is,

"

He

that has been

bathed," he that has received the bath of a perfect

justification.

This

is,

as

we have

seen, at the root

and foundation of have

" the

all

Christian living.

We

must

Lord our righteousness

" for justification.


182

PEOTECTION
" If I
all."

Secondly, a perpetual cleansing.

not."
'

wash thee
is

Ye

are

clean,

but not

This

one
per-

of the " these things " enforced in Scripture,

petual
Christ.

cleansing

in

and through the Lord Jesus

submission.
"

Then, loyal

Ye

call

Me
If

Teacher and Lord, and ye say

I

well, for so I

am.

then, your

Lord and Teacher."

and Lord
what
"

Notice those two

titles,

Teacher and Lord.

it is

In the order of our expe;

rience

" Teacher
it

but in the order

of His
'

purpose

is

He

Himself claims

Lord and Teacher."

as
"

We

have been learning of

it

Him
Lord.

our Teacher, and what

is

to call
rose,

Him
and

To
that

this

end Christ both died, and

be Lord."

revived,
spirit.

He might

Next, a lowly

The Lord
as

" girded Himself " and took the

filled
:

place of a servant, though

sciousness
that
in

with a Divine con'

verse

three

Knowing
a

going

He was come from to God; He

.

God, and was nevertheless

.
.

took

towel and

girded Himself,"
consciousness.
ness.

In the very height of His Divine

He

stooped to the position of lowli-

And

whenever we have been on the mounit is

tain

top and had a glimpse of Divine things,

that

we should have the same

spirit

of lowliness.

Fifthly, social service.

tion,

He

not only took the posi-

but did the work of a servant in washing the

disciples' feet.

OBEDIENCE
" If

188

ye know these things."

Do we know

them

For
edge

it

cannot be too often emphasized that knowl-

in the
;

New Testament
it

is

not merely intellectual

perception

is

spiritual experience.
all

these things

Do we know
it is

of

Do we know these five ? Do

we know what
justification
?

to have Christ for our perfect

Do we know

what
?

as our continual sanctification

it

it is to have Him Do we know what

know Him as our Lord and Master and Teacher ? Do we know what it is to have Him as our pattern of lowliness and service ? Do we know
is

to

these things

" Christ

for us our atoning

sacrifice,

Christ in us our living power, Christ under us our

sure foundation, Christ around us our wall of

fire,

Christ beside us our perfect pattern, Christ over us our

blessed Master, Christ before us our everlasting heritage."
II.

" If

ye know these things."

Christian
life

The

proceeds to Action.

" If

ye know these things,

tianity
is

...
;

do them."
is

Chris-

not a creed alone

it

life.
is

If

knowl-

edge

is

the spring of action, action

the end of

knowledge.

There are two words

practically
"

in

the

New Testais

ment which
in

sum up

all

that

contained
"

the phrase

do them,"

" walk "

and

work."
;

These may be stated

ness

as character
"

and conduct

holi-

and

service.

The

walk " comes

first.

We
" ie

recall the

frequency with which the word

"

walk

184

PROTECTION
Sometimes we
in connection

used to express the activity and progress of the

Christian Hfe.
find
it

with sincerity; we are to walk before

xvii. i).

God

(Gen.

Sometimes

in connection with obedience

we

are to walk after

Him

(Deut.
;

xiii. 4).

Sometimes

in connection with union

(Col.
ii.

we

are to walk in

Him

10).

Sometimes

in connection with fellow-

ship
this

we

are to walk with

is

Him

(Mai.

ii.

6).
is

Perhaps

metaphor

used because walking

one of the

three perfect forms of exercise, in which every faculty

and power of our physical being are brought

play.
able,

into

There are forms of exercise quite

as enjoy-

which do not do
do.

this,

but walking, running and

" of

swimming
being.

The

"

walk

the Christian

life is

intended to bring out every faculty of our spiritual

By

" doing these things "

we

start

with the act,

and then go on to habit and character.

recall the

Many

of us

teaching of Butler about passive impreshabits.

sions

and active
if

We

continually

receive

impressions, but
at

these passive impressions are not

will, in

once transformed into acts of the

order

that they
will

may become
in vain.

habits, then the impressions

If

have been

we

are not already put-

ting into practice in our wills, in our inmost being,

what we know, we are already losing

just here that

it.

And

it

is

many

of us

fail

in the Christian

life,

OBEDIENCE
and
fail

185 not simply terrible

?

again and again.

Is

it

to think of failure

when we might be going forward

?

Why

is

it

terrible

Because

if

only
will,

we would

at

once translate, by means of the

the impression

which we

receive,

we should

get an influx of power,

habit,

and from the act would come a

our
life

and instead of

being a series of intermittent acts, the acts

this

would be joined to one another, and

would not

mean merely a chain but an Then prayer would become

Bible easy,

ever-stronger chain, one

life.

perfect line, forming at last the habit of our

easy, meditation

on the

making time

for

prayer and the Bible

easy, surrender easy, obedience easy, because of the

habit, the
tive in the
in

walk of

Hfe.

There

is

something

instinc-

movement
;

of the arm, or even of the body,

is

walking

and what that

is

in things physical, our

spiritual life

intended to be, that

we may be

"stab-

lished, strengthened, settled."

And

then

will

come work.

Not merely
His

character,

but conduct; not only holiness, but service.

Our

Lord did something

He washed
moment
will

disciples' feet,

He
to

served them in that

of exalted conscious-

ness.

And

if

we do not
work

entertain the determination

work our profession

and
social

be

in vain.

We

have
life

spiritual
is

to do.

Wherever our

treated in the
:

New Testament we

always find three

aspects

eternal, internal, external,

our

relation to

186

PEOTECTION
relation to

God, our relation to ourselves, and our

others.

The

fruit

of the Spirit

is

ninefold,

three
The
clear
is

with regard to God, three with regard to our fellows,

and three with regard to ourselves

(Gal. v.).

threefold aspect of St. John's First Epistle

and includes obedience to God, love to the brethren,

and the possession of the Holy
Spirit in the heart.

When

Paul preached to Festus, he preached right-

eousness, self-control, and judgment to

threefold relationship.

And

so

come our when we have been

deaUng with God

forth

it

is

in order that there

may go

from us to others the influence and power of

life

a holy
service.

and holy character

in blessed

and loving

There
be, for faced.

is, first

of

all,

the

home

circle,
;

and that may

but
it

some

of us, the most difficult

must be
Let
us,

We have to " show

piety at home."
difficulties

however, take care that the

are not of our

own making. Let the youngest of us remember home life we are not infallible, even after we have had spiritual enlightenment. And we must
that in the

see that those

who

are older than ourselves are not

if

able to say, " Well,

that

is

what Christian
it."

living

means,
Lord's

do not

feel

drawn

to

We read in our
with the odour
in things

life

that " the house was

filled

of the ointment."
spiritual.

So

let

it

be with u*

OBEDIENCE
Then comes our church
ministry
istry

187
If

hfe.

we

are in the

we

shall realize

what the work of the min-

means

in the light of the

New

Testament.
will

But

whether minister or layman, our work

mean
This

devoted service for God, and loving and loyal service

one

for another,

washing the
face.

disciples' feet.

is

what we have to
truly, three rules
disciples'
feet.
is

Somewhat

quaintly, but very

for

have been given

washing the

First, "

the water must not be too

hot."

There

a danger of censoriousness, a serious

risk of censoriousness in relation to others,

and

if

we

scold,

we
If

shall scald,

and that

will

be

fatal.

Sec-

ondly, " our

it."

own hands must be

feet

clean while

we do
this

our hands are not clean

when doing

work of washing the

loving service,
Master.

of others, this work of

we

shall

not do our duty to our

quite
willing
for

Thirdly, "

we must be

others to wash our feet."

of humility.

This involves a good deal

When

these things are true,

life.

we

shall

have the true home and the true church

But

it is

necessary to look wider, and to think not

merely of the

home

life
life.

and of the church

It is

Hfe, but

also of the national

sometimes said that

many
one

Christians are indifferent to the thousand

and

evils of the

present day.
It

Nothing could be more

cannot be forgotten that

unfair than that charge.

redemption and regeneration are never applied to

1S8
society or the

PEOTECTION
New
Testament, but only to the
indi-

vidual in regard to his spiritual needs, and the Gospel

is

primarily salvation, not civilization.

But with
is

this

realized

and kept
It
is

in front, the

Gospel

to be applied

to

all

life.

our bounden duty to apply the

ills

Gospel to
social

all

the social

of to-day.

We

face these

problems and bring to bear upon them the

teaching of the

New

Testament.

Nothing

in this

world can deal so quickly or so effectively with our

social evils as the old-fashioned evangelical verities

of the

New

Testament.

The problem

of the

unem-

ployed can only be solved by Christian

men and
traffic,

women,

as also the

problem of poverty, the problem

the

of pauperization, the problem of the drink

problem of gambling, the problem of impurity, the problem of the desecration of the Lord's Day, and
the problem of war.
of the use of

Not

least of all is the

problem

money.

Systematic and proportionate

giving as the great

to be applied

New
it

Testament principle ought

us in every action of

by every one of

our

life,

in order that

may be

seen that

we

are not
let

forgetful of the social claims of others.

And

us

not forget, in this connection, that the Lord Jesus

Christ does not look

upon what we

give, but

upon
recall

what we have

left after

we have

given.

Let us

that whilst the

Lord looked upon

that widow's
it

two

mites (not one mite)

He

looked upon

because she

OBEDIENCE
had nothing
left

189
social

to give.

When
will

problems are

thus faced, none of

them

prove insoluble.
still

But

it

is

necessary to look wider

life,

and think of

the universal
are ye
if

" If

ye know these things, happy

There
is

ye do them."

an application to

evangelization.

The home,
is

the church, the nation,

will,

the world.
Christian

This

in the

hne of God's

and the

who

puts world-wide evangelization in the

in his life,

proper place
will find in

the

first

place, God's place,

it

the key to everything in the home, in

" If

the parish, in the nation.

.
.

ye know these things,

do them."

III.

The
*'

Christian

life

culminates in Blessedif

ness

If

ye know these things, blessed are ye

ye

do them."

We

shall

know by

experience the bless-

edness of holiness.

This

will involve the blessedness

of spiritual peace, the blessedness of spiritual power,

the blessedness of spiritual provision, the blessedness

of spiritual permanence, the blessedness of " abiding,"

" stablished, strengthened, settled."

The joy
as our

of the

Lord

will

be deep as we

know Him

righteousness for justification, our righteousness for

sanctification, our righteousness for consecration.

Then

there will be the blessedness of service

Is

there any blessedness comparable with the blessedness of love

?

A
tell

man once went

to his minister

and

asked him to

him something about heaven, and

; ;

190

PROTECTION
Down
Go
the street
is

the minister said, "

widow with

some small

children.

to the grocer,

do

not

send but go ; buy what you can from that grocer's

shop; then go to the baker, then to the greengrocer, and then take the things yourself, give
to this

them

widow and pray with

her."

The man

did so,

and
I

in a little time

he came back and

said, " Pastor,

do not need to know anything now about heaven

been there "
joy,
;
!

I've

He had
is

realized

something of

the

the
for "

unspeakable joy of

love!

That

is

heaven

God

love."

And
ence.
practice

not least will

It

come the

blessedness of obedi-

will

be the blessedness of putting into

it
fills

what we know, and

the soul with the

peace of

God in an ever-increasing degree. And so we rejoice in the blessedness

will

of work.

Work
hymn
and

no longer be a

toil

and

a moil, but a joy

no longer a weariness, but a

that

delight.

There

is

we sometimes

sing, " I've found a Friend,"

selfish,

it

seems somewhat
for selfishness,

though we do not
sing those words in

mean
it:

it

when we

" And now

to

work, to watch, to war,

And

then to rest for ever."

Would

it

not be better to sing,

**

And now to work, And then to work

to watch, to war.
for ever."

OBEDIENCE
It
is

191

of

course true that " they rest from their

it

labours," but

is

also true that " they rest not

day

nor night
tian

"

and to every healthy, vigorous Chrisand ever

will

work

is

be the joy and delight

of

life.

And
ence
?

what can we say of the blessedness of

This
is

influ-

the blessedness of realizing, in howlittle

ever small a degree, and to however

the influence that
others.
is

an extent,

holy as

it

flows out from us to

Some

years ago a lady was walking

after

home
at

from the station about midnight

a large meeting
in

speaking

London.

As

she neared her

home
that
girl

she thought she saw some one leaning against

the wall, near the gateway of her house.

it

She found

was a young
ill.

girl,

and very soon saw that the

in that night,
for

was

She took her

gave her a

bed and everything possible

next morning she

her comfort.

The

made arrangements

for the girl to

be taken to a suitable
be attended
to.

home where

her needs would

near.

But the end was very

afterwards to

They come
this

telegraphed soon

the lady to

and see

her.

When

she leaned over the bed to speak

to the girl
is

and spoke to her about better things,

girl said
:

what the

" I
I

think about

God

since

have not found it hard to saw you " Is there any!

thing in this world higher than that

that

people

should not think

it

hard to think about

God by

192
reason of our
think about
if

PEOTECTION
life ?

"I have not found

I

it

hard to

God

since

saw you."

" Blessed are ye

ye do them."

That
in

is

the

life

to

which God

is

calling us, the life

the home, in the church, in the nation, in the

" Therefore,

world.

my

beloved brethren, be

ye

steadfast,

unmovable, always abounding in the work

of the Lord, forasmuch as ye

is

know

that your labour

not in vain in the Lord."

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1947