The hidden life : thoughts on communion with God

MMMtMaMMaaMBaMwaaMMMMi

"""'AV','*y<*«^«'*<^''"<<'"*«*<'t<''>'**< 11)11 f MM milium

■^-tr-^

THE HIDDEN LIFE.

f^ougljts mi Siomnumion toitlj iob.

REV. ADOLPH SAPHIR.

AUTHOR OF

' EXPOSITORY LECTURES ON THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS,'

"the life of faith," ETC.

NEW YORK:
ROBERT CARTER AND BROTHERS,

530, BROADWAY.
All rights reserved.

PREFACE.

nPHE following pages, with the exception of
chapters v., vi., and xi., contain the sub-
stance of addresses, given in the ordinary course
of congregational ministration, on James iv. 8,
" Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh
to you." I have endeavoured to offer a few
elementary thoughts on the great subject of
the Christian's hidden life, and to describe the
experienced reality of revelation and of prayer,
or of communion with God.

Much is said and written in the present day
in defence of truth against the attacks of un-
belief and doubt ; much also in the way of
appeal and invitation to those who are still
strangers to the enjoyment of Christ's peace.
While fully admitting the necessity and im-
portance of both these aspects, the apologetic
and the evangelistic, we may yet regard as of
still greater importance the unfolding of Scrip-

iv Preface.

ture itself, the testimony of the reahty of the
things which are freely given to us of God in
Christ, and by the Spirit. It is right to guard
the house against the attacks of foes, or rather
to point out the strength and security of the
divinely-laid foundation. It is also right to
point out the gate wide and open, and to declare
to all the freeness and fulness of divine grace.
But to describe the home itself, the inner
sanctuary, seems to be more essential, and also
more in accordance with the practice of the
apostles, who declared the whole counsel of
God, and regarded the preaching of the gospel,
in its fulness, and with the power of the Holy
Ghost, as at once the great argument to con-
vince, and the great attraction to persuade. I
have endeavoured to point out in chapters v.
and vi. what I regard as the Scripture method
of defence of revelation and pra)cr.

When we meditate on the hidden life, we
realize the substantial unity of all who believe
in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love
of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost.
We are often astonished that Christians hold
doctrinal views which appear to us to be in-
consistent with some vital truth, or that they

Preface. v

are able to live in communions or churches
with which we could not feel at liberty to be
connected. But however perplexing this may
be, we know that none can call Jesus Lord but
by the Holy Ghost; and when we are brought
most fully and deeply into communion with
Christ, in seasons of great soul-trial or spiritual
elevation, we feel most clearl}^ and strongly that
there is one spirit which unites all who love
the Lord Jesus, and who have experienced the
power and sweetness of divine grace. Our
want of union and brotherly love arises, it
seems to me, not from attaching too much im-
portance to the points in which we differ, but
from our not beholding clearly enough, and our
not realizing sufficiently the magnitude of the
fundamental truth, held by all Christians, God
ina7iifest in the Jlesh.

Hoping that these simple pages may, by
God's blessing, prove helpful to some believers
and seekers, I conclude with the words of an
old author, applicable to hearer as well as
teacher : " It is a cold, lifeless thing to speak of
spiritual things upon mere report ; but they
that speak of them as their own, as having
share or interest in them, and some experience

vi Preface.

of their sweetness, their discourse is enhvened
with firm behef and ardent affection ; they can-
not mention them (or hear of them) but their
hearts are straight taken with such gladness as
they are forced to vent in praises."^

A. S.

' Archbishop Leighton.

Trinity Presbyterian Church,
NoTTiNG Hill,

February, 1877.

CONTENTS

©!)a})ttr 5.

THE OPEN SECRET

Page
I

Chapter 55.

SINCERITY IN DRAWING NEAR TO GOD

©iiaptrr 555.

ENCOURAGEMENTS TO PRAYER

31

58

eiiapter 5F.

THE FULFILMENT OF THE PROMISE

. 82

THE EXPERIENCED REALITY OF REVELATION

105

©fiaptfr V\.

THE EXPERIENCED REALITY OF PRAYER

127

viii Contents.

Ci)apttr FH-.

Page
GOD DRAWS XIGH IN CONSOLATION . ... I52

ffi!)aptcr T7m.

IF GOD BE FOR US . . . . . . I73

ejjaptfr IX

COMMUNION WITH GOD IN DAILY LIFE . . . I98

eJiapter X.

THE INDWELLING OF GOD BY LOVE AND BY THE HOLY SPIRIT . 228

ef)aptfv XJ-.

WITH JESUS, NOW AND FOR EVER . . . . 259

THE HIDDEN LIFE.

CHAPTER I.

THE OPEN SECRET.

" Draw nigh to God, and He will draw fiigh to yoii"
James iv. 8,

ivy OT every mystic Is a Christian, but every
^ ^ Christian Is a mystic.^

There Is a hidden wisdom. The apostle Paul
writes: "We speak wisdom among them that
are perfect : yet not the wisdom of this world,
nor of the princes of this world, that come to
nought : but we speak the wisdom of God in a
mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God
ordained before the world unto our glory." ^
The secret of the Lord is with them that fear
Him. In the hidden centre of their being'

o

God makes them to know wisdom.^ They

' See note, page 27. ^ i Cor. ii. 6, 7. 3 pg. H. 6.
B

The Open Secret.

have an unction from above, which teacheth
them of all things, and is truth. ^ " Knowest
thou where wisdom is found ? and where is the
place of understanding ? . . . The depth saith,
It is not in me : and the sea saith, It is not
with me."^ But Jesus declares that the Father
hath revealed it unto babes/

There is a hidden glory. It Is manifested,''
and yet only faith can behold it. Jesus changed
the water into wine at the marriage of Cana,
and showed forth His glory. Men saw, and
yet did not see ; but His disciples believed in
Him. ^ Jesus raised Lazarus from the grave.
There were many witnesses ; yet only they who
beHeved saw the glory of God, and the Son of
God glorified.^ The glory of God is beheld
by faith in the face of Jesus Christ ;^ and Jesus
Christ is known only by those who know the
mystery of His cross and resurrection,^ and are
waiting; to be orlorified together with Him.^

There is a hidden life, far, far away — high,
high above. It is life hid with Christ in God —
life born out of death ; as it is written, " For ye
have died, and your life is hid."^ It is myste-

1 2 John ii. 27. 5 Job xxviii. 12, 14. * Matt. xi. 25.

7 The glory of the Lord shall be revealed. (Isa. xl. 5.)

^ John ii. II. 5 John xi. 4, 40. ' 2 Cor. iii.

Phil. iii. 10. 3 Rom. viii. 17. * Col. iii. 3.

The Open Secret.

rious in its commencement. "The wind bloweth
where it Hsteth, and thou hearest the sound
thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh,
and whither it goeth : so is every one that is
born of the Spirit."^ It is mysterious in its
progress : " I live ; yet not I, but Christ liveth
in me."^ It is mysterious in its consummation —
the marriage of the Lamb/ We shall be tor
ever with the Lord.

There is a hidden manna. We have meat
to eat that the world knows not of.^ " There
is an unseen river, the streams whereof make
glad the city of God."^ Only God's children
see it, and know the Source whence it cometh,
and the Ocean whither It is flowing.

It is impossible to deny the mystical charac-
ter of Christianity when we consider such pas-
sages as these : " If a man love Me, he will
keep my words : and my Father will love him,
and we will come unto him, and make our
abode with him." "Christ will manifest Him-
self unto us, and not unto the world." " They
are not of the world, even as I am not of the
world," " The natural man receiveth not the
things of the Spirit of God." " Christ dwelleth
in the heart by faith." " I labour, striving

5 John iii. 8. * Gal. ii. 20. ^ Rev. xix. 7, 9.

^ John iv. 32. 9 Ps. xlvi, 4 ; Rev. xxii. i.

The Open Secret.

according to His working, which worketh in
me mightily."^

If we know these hidden things, then are we
ourselves hidden ones, who shall be made mani-
fest when Christ, who is our Life, shall appear.
Of this hidden life these pages treat. The
soul draws nigh to God ; God draws nigh to
the soul : the result is communion with God.
This is the simplest, the most elementary aspect
of the hidden life ; and it addresses itself to
all. For although wisdom is justified only of
her children, although they only hear and under-
stand her voice, yet wisdom speaks to all the
words of light and love : *' He that hath ears,
let him hear." Different from the exclusiveness
of human wisdom is the Divine Teacher : He
welcomes the simple and the sinful, babes and
little children, and all who are bowed down with
sorrow, and oppressed with darkness and the
shadow of death.

" Drawing nigh to God " is the most compre-
hensive expression to describe the soul's attitude

' Especially the doctrine of grace, held to be fundamental in
evangelical churches, has a mystical character; for it maintains
that grace, and not nature, is the source of all our good
thoughts, words, and works. " If I could obey in all things, yet
that would not satisfy me, unless I felt obedience flow from the
birth of His life in me. ' My Father doeth all things in Me,'
saith Christ. This was Christ's comfort ; and to feel Christ do
all in the soul, is the comfort of one that truly believeth on Him."

The Open Secret.

toward God. Prayer is the culminating- point
of this attitude. If we rightly view prayer, it
embraces our whole life, our thought and feeling,
our will and work, our conflict and rest. " Draw-
ine nieh to God " describes the character of the
Christian's life. In the meditation of our hearts,
in the desires of our soul, in the activities and
enjoyments of our daily path, we approach
God ; for we wish to live before Him, conscious
of His presence, in constant dependence and
in constant enjoyment of His grace. And " God
drawing nigh to us " is the most comprehensive
expression to describe God's dealings with us.
The Word, or the Scripture, is the great, and
in many respects the unique, channel of God's
communications to the soul ; or rather it is cen-
tral, round which all other divine influences
gather. Scripture is the divine revelation in a
special sense, but so that it connects itself with
all other manifestations of God to the soul, be
they in Nature or Providence, or by the direct
influence of the Spirit.

Hence the advice, which is a household
word among Christians, that prayer and the
reading of Scripture are the great means of
sustaining and nourishing the inner life, is per-
fectly correct, if it is understood in a spiritual
and not a mechanical manner, if prayer and

The Open Secret.

Scripture are viewed, not as isolated powers,
but as central and culminating points.

There is no safety in distance from God. If
we take the wingfs of the morning and dwell
in the uttermost parts of the sea, we cannot go
from God's Spirit, nor flee from His presence.
Fear of a guilty conscience seeks a hiding-place;
but where can we escape the eye of Omniscience,
or shield ourselves against the anger of our holy
God?

There is only one hiding-place, even God
Himself. The only safe place for helpless and
sinful men is close to God — in the arms of the
Father, at the feet of Jesus, the Friend of
sinners, once crucified and now exalted, to give
repentance and the remission of sins. Come to
Jesus, and thou art in the secret place of the
Most High, where no evil can befall thee, nor
any plague come nigh thy dwelling. There is
no condemnation to them which are in Christ
Jesus. The Lord has forgiven all our trans-
gressions, and will remember our sins no more.
There is no life, or light, or love in distance from
God. Even if man had not fallen, his only
happiness and strength would have been in
constant dependence on God and communion
with Him. In Paradise sinless Adam lived by
faith in God. It was in God's lio^ht that he

The Open Secret.

saw light, and in receiving constantly the bright
and blessed influence of divine love, his spirit
rejoiced and was strong in God. No creature
is good in itself ; no creature has within itself a
fountain of life and of blessedness ; no creature
has even committed to its care a treasure of
strength and goodness ; but with God is the
fountain of life. Constantly beholding the coun-
tenance of the Father in heaven, angels and
saints are upheld by divine love, and replenished
out of the divine fulness.

Now that sin has entered, no effort on man's
part can ever bring him nigh to God. Sin
has so clouded and darkened the mind, that
man cannot rise to the spiritual idea of God ;
he is always changing the glory of God into
the similitude and shadowy image of the crea-
turely. Jesus is the Image of the invisible
God, and in Him all previous revelations of
the Name find their ultimate and perfect ful-
filment. No human effort could have removed
sin as the obstacle between God and us. In
Jesus is both deliverance from guilt and the
source of renewal. God was in Christ. In the
Incarnation, death, resurrection, and the sending
forth of the Holy Ghost from the Father,
through the glorified humanity of His Son,
there is the most perfect fulfilment of the great

The Open Secret,

problem, How can fallen man be brought nigh
to God ? how can God dwell among and within
men ? Jesus is the way — the way of God to
man, the way of man to God. In Jesus man
finds God the Father ; in Jesus God finds the
lost sheep. Man finds in Jesus God, to have
God as his portion ; God finds in Jesus man, to
be His portion for evermore.

Blessed be God, He has brought us nigh
to Himself. We adore the great mystery of
godliness, God manifest in the flesh. We re-
joice with the joy of broken and healed, of
contrite and comforted hearts, because Jesus
loved us, and washed us from our sins in His
own blood, and brought us near to God, into
the Holy of Holies — a royal priesthood. We
give thanks for the gift of the Holy Ghost, in
whom we now worship the Father, and by
whom the light and life has been kindled within
our hearts. Herein is love, that, notwithstanding
our sin, God has brought us nigh unto Himself.
More wonderful and glorious than angelic purity
or the innocence of Paradise is the divine right-
eousness in which we now stand before God ;
and high above all hopes and thoughts of the
human heart are our union with the Incarnate
Son of God, and the indwelling of the Holy
Ghost in our souls.

The Open Secret.

" Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh
to you." The word sounds like a precept, and
yet is all promise. At first sight the words
have a somewhat legal air, and they who do
not understand the deep gospel -spirituality of
this epistle might for a moment imagine that
this exhortation does not proceed out of the
full and livinof consciousness of orrace, and that
it implies the thought that man by his own
will and exertion can draw nigh to God, who is
high above, and by reason of our sin far away.
If James required this of us, he would ask not
merely what is unevangelical, but impossible.
Only attempt to effect nearness to God by your
own exertions, when He has departed from you.
Give yourselves all possible trouble, you cannot
attain and compel it. We enjoy His presence,
then, only when He comes of His own accord ;
this most precious of all gifts none can take to
himself.'^

If it be asked which comes first, our approach
to God, or God's approach to us, the answer is
evident. Does not this very call of God, Draw
nigh, prove that God in His spontaneous and
boundless love begins, that in His condescend-
ing grace He takes the initiative, that He
draws us first by His voice and by His Spirit ?

^ ROTHE, Prediglen, vol. iii. p. 213.

lo The Open Secret.

Have we chosen Him, or has He chosen us ?
Has He not loved us with an everlasting love,
and is not this the blessed source of His draw-
ing us with loving-kindness ? All things are of
God. He who was in Christ reconcilino- the
world unto Himself has created us anew in
Christ Jesus; He who has made Christ to be
wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and re-
demption, has also grafted us into the living
Vine. "It is not of him that willeth, nor of him
that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. "^

It is therefore right to say that we must wait
on God ; but waiting on God is not in apathy
and indifference ; it implies intense activity.

God draws the heart, and the result is the
desire of the heart to draw nigh to God. God
works in us, but His work in us is to will. He
delivers us from bondage and apathy; He
reveals Himself to us as the living, loving God ;
He breaks the fetters of dead fatalism ; so that
instead of dreaming of an abstract and frigid
necessity, we behold the God and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ, and hear His voice,
" Return unto Me ! " We are no longer in the
Arctic regions of fatalism ; but the Sun of
Righteousness shines on us, and we are free.

3 John XV. 1 6 ; Jer. xxi. 3 ; 2 Cor. v. 18 ; i Cor. i. 30 ; Rom.
ix. 16.

The Open Secret. 1 1

The heart responds to the Hving God. We
will, and our face is set toward heaven. Draw-
ing nigh to God is the most concentrated energy
of the soul ; we are no longer passive, quiescent,
but, quickened by the Spirit, we are all desire,
longing, and eager expectation ; we wait more
than they that wait for the morning ; we are
conscious of our utter dependence on mercy, of
our helplessness, of our sin and misery ; the
heart is broken and contrite, and yet filled with
a new and sweet hope ; for we feel that though
with man it is impossible, with God all things
are possible. "*'

When we speak of this influence of divine
grace, of the new birth, our testimony, although
abundantly proved and illustrated in Scripture,
and although it flows from our own experience,
meets not only with objections from opponents,
but some who are sincerely seeking truth see
in this doctrine grreat and discouraorino- diffl-
culties. Our object is not to preach ' regenera-
tion,' but to preach Christ ; and no difficulty of
doctrine, or apparent contradiction of doctrines,

■* In the parable of the prodigal, the repentance of the son
is represented in its tnanifestation. He came to himself, he
said, he willed, he arose. The secret source of this repentance
is not mentioned— the mysterious drawing of the Father, and
the influence of tlie Holy Ghost. The pedagogic wisdom of
this silence is easily discerned.

12 The Open Secret.

can ever come between the voice of God, the
call of Jesus, and the sinner needing- salvation.
The response of the heart is to be given, not to
the gospel, but to God, who sends the testimony
that Jesus is the Christ, and that eternal life is
in Him. Not until the heart is thus brought
into contact with Him who says, " Draw nigh
to Me," is the gospel-message truly heard.

In a country where Christian truth is con-
stantly explained, there are many who possess
an intellectual knowledge of doctrine, who yet
have not obeyed the call of God. Their half-
knowledge of truth, which can only be fully and
correctly understood by believers, often makes
it difficult for them to understand the simplicity
of the gospel. And in their position much
humility and self-distrust will be needed to keep
them from cavilling and opposing difficulties.
The woman of Samaria, the Ethiopian eunuch,
the gaoler of Philippi, and countless multitudes
have turned to God in Christ, simply on hearing
God's message concerning His Son. They were
born again, not by understanding the doctrine
of regeneration, but by hearing the voice of
God.

When our Lord spoke to Nicodemus, He
first showed him how great a matter salvation
was. how difficult and above the reach of man,

The Open Secret. 13

in order then to declare unto him how easy
salvation was, how God in His love and by the
sacrifice of His Son gave eternal life to who-
soever believeth in Jesus. The Spirit of God,
of whom Jesus spoke in the first part of His
discourse, is not mentioned in the second. And
why } Because when man is convinced of his
sin, guilt, and helplessness, the Spirit of God
enables him to hear the voice of God : " Behold
Jesus ! Draw nigh to Me ! " The sinner, who
has given up looking iiito himself for anything
good or strong, out of which the new life is to
develop, looks now away from himself unto
God.

Say not the message, "Ye must be born
again," leaves us to hopeless inactivity. It is
the message of Him who says, " Look unto
Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth."
It is addressed to those who, seeking to save
and to renew themselves, can find no peace, no
help, and it points them to God, to the Spirit,
the giver of life. And, going still lower, it is
addressed to those who do not as yet know
that what they need is grace, not merely to
pardon, but to renew. Where sin is truly felt,
the necessity of life from above is also realized.
It is the shallow view of sin which fancies the
possibility of self-renewal.

14 The Open Secret.

But If you ask the Christian, who by God's
grace has drawn nigh, to describe his experience,
if you expect a logical and even chronological
account of this supernatural and central change,
his answer will be : I am most distinctly con-
scious of the fact of the new birth, I can
distinguish between the highest and purest
emotions, the most unselfish and o-enerous acts
of my natural state and of my old nature, and
the new life by faith in Christ. I know that
what is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is
born of the Spirit is spirit. Christ dwells in
my heart by faith ; the Spirit of God is in me.
To be spiritually-minded is life and peace. Even
the word of God, which I knew and admired,
reverenced and loved, was formerly outside me,
but now it dwells within me. But if you ask
how and when I was born again, I answer,
Jesus Himself says that man cannot tell. "The
wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest
the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it
Cometh, and whither it goeth." Is not the
beginning of all life concealed in sacred and
mysterious darkness ? And can we expect to
analyse this most wonderful of all creations ?
And when this change is compared to a birth,
does not this very comparison point to a still
more hidden commencement of life, known only

The Open Secret. 15

to the Spirit of God ? I may remember the
culminating point of decision, the efflorescence
of the bud, when the heart says, I will draw
nigh ! or the first conscious reception of vivi-
fying truth ; but I am not anxious even about
this, nor does it belong to the ' reason ' which
I am exhorted to be able to give to all who ask
me. The Lord draws nigh to the heart, and
creates it anew. It is a miracle of grace, and,
like all miracles, we see not the process itself,
but its effect. Once we were dead, now we
live ; once we were blind, now we see. Jesus,
the crucified Saviour, according to His promise,
has drawn us unto Himself.

And in this divine change we were set free.
Here is no compulsion, but the very reverse
of it, emancipation ; no limiting or altering of
our individuality, but in the strictest sense of
the word the commencement of a life personal
(or as Scripture expresses it. He called us by
name), restoration into the original divine idea
of our being. If it appears to men otherwise,
it is because they forget that it belongs to the
very idea and nature of man to be in com-
munion with God, in constant dependence on
Him, in the conscious and rejoicing receiving
out of His fulness. When God works both to
will and to do, then begins our true human

1 6 The Open Secret.

existence, our real God-intended individuality,
our sweet and dearly-bought freedom/

The most comforting doctrines of grace, and
specially of the work of the Spirit, are often
changed into difficulties, obstructing the soul's
drawing nigh to God, and into excuses^ for
continuing passive. This arises from disobe-
dience to God, who calls ; from averting the
eyes, which ought to be directed to God in
Christ, and which busies itself in introspection,
nay, the attempt of eye-inspection. Men turn
to the philosophy of looking, to the analysis of
the required act of turning unto God. They
do not realize that they are called by the living
voice ; that they have not to deal with doctrines,
but with God. But what is the experience of

5 The following remarks are from an American author : " The
soul only, when divinely influenced, receives its power. Our
faculties, like the eye that must be filled with light from without,
wait for their power from above. It is the divine energy, acting
through the human faculty, that gives to man his real existence.
Nor does any man know his power, his nature, his richness
of emotion, the height and depth of his being, until he unfolds
under the influence of the Spirit of the living God.

"That we are bound to God is as great a restriction of our
liberty, as it is to a plant's freedom to be held by the sun."

^ It is to be noticed that among all the " excuses " mentioned
in our Lord's parable of the supper, the modern one of doubt,
whether " the invitation is really meant for me," does not occur.
They all felt they were invited to a supper, and were wished to
come. And is not this what all who hear the gospel really feel
below the artificial surface of half-digested doctrine ?

The Open Secret. 1 7

those who yielded to Ggd, although at the very
time they were conscious of their sinfulness and
their utter dependence on the Spirit of God ?
It may be compared with the experience of the
apostle Peter in prison. Four quaternions of
soldiers were keeping him. He was sleeping
between two soldiers, bound with two chains.
Before the door were keepers guarding the
prison. Even if he could have escaped out of
these chains and from these keepers, there was
the first ward and then the second ward, and
beyond that the iron gate that led into the city.
Was ever man bound, fettered, and hemmed in
so helplessly '^. But what happened ? He arose
when the angel commanded him. Noiselessly,
easily, the chains fell off from his hands. He
passed from the soldiers and the watchmen ; he
passed through the first and the second ward.
The heavy iron gate opened of its own accord.
It appeared like a vision, so smooth, silent,
and perfect was the deliverance. It is in like
manner that the sinner, as soon as he says in
his heart, ' Yes ' to the heavenly call, as soon as
he lifts up his eyes unto the God and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ, finds that all fetters are
burst, all keepers are powerless, all barriers
are removed. He does arise and go to His
Father. He can pray and weep, thank and

c

The Open Secret.

rejoice, trust and hope. He draws nigh to
God.

" Nothing is more clearly written in Scripture
than, on the one hand, that the first upward
movements of the soul towards God spring from
a prevenient operation of the Spirit of God
upon that soul — in other words, that the first
pulsations of the spiritual life are divinely set
in motion ; but, on the other hand, that in the
production of this change the soul is absolutely
unconscious of any motions save its own. It
is because it is * God which worketh in us both
to will and to do ' that we are called to ' work
out our own salvation.' The instinct of every
renewed soul realizes this fact, and his every
prayer expresses, in one and the same breath,
both the divine soui^ce and the absolutely volun-
tary character of all his Christian emotions and
activities. How the two interact and blend
into one is a beautiful subject for thought, but
not to be fully apprehended here, and possibly
never.

The believer also still needs the constant ex-
hortation and encouragement — " Draw nigh to
God, and He will draw nigh to you." The
spiritual blessings, which are given to him ac-

7 Dr. D. Browu.

The Open Secret. 19

cording to the everlasting covenant, are all
treasured up in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
Once we have begun to draw nigh to God, we
must always continue to draw nigh. It is
both a necessity and our delight. A necessity,
because we are still as dependent on the crea-
tive, supernatural influence of grace. When
David prays, ''Create in me a clean heart'' this
is not the supplication of one who for the first
time draws nigh. He teaches us by this ex-
pression, "that whether in our regeneration or in
our restoration when we have fallen, whatever
good is in us is the gift of His grace. "^ We
need daily renewing ; and whence can this
renewing come but from above ? It is our
delight to draw nigh ; for our soul thirsteth
after God, the living God. To behold and to
enjoy the blessings which are freely given to
us in Christ, the believer must continually draw
near to God. The beautiful robe of rigfhteous-
ness, the abundant and perfect forgiveness of
sin, the glorious adoption of sons, the renewing
and upholding influence of the Holy Ghost, the
lively hope of the inheritance, behold, they are
ours ! But let us never think that thought,
that memory, that imagination, can bring us
into actual possession or enjoyment of them.

^ Calvin.

20 The Open Secret.

We must draw nigh to God, and He will again
bless us with all spiritual blessings.

Again, you must draw nigh to God, that the
fruit of the Spirit may be found in you. Has
God created you anew in Christ Jesus ? has
He taken from you the stony heart of unbelief
and ingratitude ? has He kindled within you
love, that love which embraces the Father and
the children ? has He given you meekness,
lowliness, patience ? has He caused you to
begin the warfare with sin, and the obedience
of life ? then remember that it is God who
works all this in you by His Spirit; that it is
grace which is disciplining you ; that it is not
Nature, but the divine life implanted in you,
from which all these fruits spring. And you
need to draw nigh unto God daily and con-
tinually, to abide in Christ, and to have His
word abiding in you, that you may continue to
glorify God. Such pensioners are we of the
Divine bounty, daily and hourly we must be
recipients of His gifts and of His power. Peter
imagines he has a stock of courage and loving
loyalty in himself; but sad experience teaches
him that his nature is feeble and selfish ; that
not he, but Christ in him, is rock. Moses,
meekest of all men, cannot of himself conquer
the hardness of Israel's unbelief by rising to

The Opeji Secret. 21

the all-forgiving gentleness of God. Solomon's
wisdom becomes folly; Laodlcea imagines herself
to have been enriched once for all, and forgets
to draw nigh unto God. Let those who have
received most, continue asking ; for we have
nothing in ourselves ; our sufficiency is of
God.

He who has been enriched with spiritual gifts
must be brought constantly to feel poor in spirit ;
for there is the danger of his cleaving to his
gifts, and contemplating his gifted self, instead
of growing up into Christ, of becoming more
rooted in Him who is our only life and strength.
We are nothing unless we abide in God ; we
can do nothing apart from Christ. We know
and admit this as a doctrine ; but to realize it
as a fact, painful and humbling experience is
often needed. But in this lowest humiliation is
our true and highest exaltation. God takes all
things from us that we may turn again to Him
as our sure Portion ; He makes us feel our
weakness, our poverty, our ignorance, in order
that we may return to Him who does not give
strength, gifts, and wisdom, but who is our light
and our salvation. And would we have it other-
wise .f* Do we not love to have it so .-^ Is not
God, the giver, more than all His gifts ? Is it
not an infinitely higher state, that it is not I,

2 2 The Open Secret.

but Christ that llveth in me ? that it is not I,
but the grace of God that worketh in me ? that
it is not I, but the Spirit, who energises in me
effectually ?

Is it not beautiful that while God gives us
grace to grow and to become strong in Christ,
to attain to spiritual manhood, able to discern
both good and evil, strong to endure hardness
in the warfare, wise to win souls and to labour
for the Master, He yet allows us to abide in all
the sweet weakness of infancy, resting always
calmly on His bosom, and calling forth His
motherly tenderness; in the confiding and peace-
ful humility of childhood, asking for wisdom
and guidance, for help and support ? The
Christian retains what is lovely and beautiful in
every age : the mysterious helplessness and
sweetness of infancy, the humility and meek-
ness of childhood, the enthusiasm and hopeful-
ness of youth, the matured and sustained
strength of manhood, the calmness and wisdom
of old age.

" Draw nigh to God," I say thirdly, because,
alas ! we are often betrayed into sin and forget-
fulness of God. We still go astray ; we often
become weary, and do not resist with all our
power. There are seasons of estrangement and
of lukewarmness. Sometimes the loving Saviour

The Open Secret. 23

has to withdraw Himself, and allow us to feel
how dreary and bitter it is to forsake Him.
Sometimes the soul that has left its first love
awakes and finds all dark and cold, and Jesus
is absent. Sometimes believers are in danger
of becoming proud, hard, self-sufficient, and it
is necessary for God to chasten them with lean-
ness in their soul. I feel sure that in all this
God is always loving. I feel sure that God
would always have us live in the sunshine and
joy of His countenance.

Why are these seasons of languor and dark-
ness ? The various experiences of the soul are
to be traced either to our sins, or to our tendency
to claim divine gifts as a right, and to forget
that we are always dependent on grace. Their
object is to chasten and to restore- — -nay, to
prepare us for a higher and deeper experience.
Only trust Him ; for blind unbelief is sure to
err. " Draw nio^h to God, and He will draw
nigh to you."

The journey through the wilderness, which
took forty years, might easily have been accom-
plished in a few days. Ten times Israel tempted
the Lord ; for years they lapsed into idolatry.
We read of Remphan and Moloch in the annals
of the chosen people. There is many a night
of darkness, many a pang and conflict, into

24 The Open Secret.

which we bring" ourselves by our own sin, by
our yielding to idolatry and conforming with
the world. In the Song of Songs we may read
a description of the soul's varying experience.
That Song- does not describe the marriage of
the Lamb. The Bride is sometimes in Jerusa-
lem, then in the mount of Lebanon ; now and at
night-time wandering in the street, now in the
wilderness, now in the garden, now in the fields,
now in the house. Sometimes she is left deso-
late ; sometimes she seeks and does not find ;
she calls, and He does not answer. Then as!;ain
she rejoices because she hears the voice of the
Beloved, and is assured of His never-changing
faithfulness. At times she is deeply conscious
of her unworthiness, and takes to heart the
bitter reproaches of the watchmen ; at other
times the loyal spirit bursts forth in exultation,
and she is persuaded that she is the chosen one,
beautiful in His sight. The Song of Solomon
describes, therefore, the experience of the pil-
grim state ; and though there are in this book
Old Testament aspects which perhaps will be
fully understood only when Israel is converted
and restored, and though since the Incarnation
and the gift of the Holy Ghost we have received
deeper and fuller disclosures, yet is this Song
a most precious and fragrant divinely-inspired

The Open Secret. 25

commentary on this word: "Draw nigh to God,
and He will draw nigh to you."

And you who feel that knowledge has puffed
you up, and that love — humble, contrite, meek,
and adoring love — has forsaken your heart,
beware of two evils. Do not underrate the
danger of your present state. Read the Lord's
estimate of lukewarmness in His epistle to the
Laodiceans. (Rev. iii.) Do not fall into despond-
ency ; for to you the loving Saviour addresses
His most tender, compassionate, and touching
words: "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock:
if any man hear my voice, and open the door,
I will come in to him, and will sup with him,
and he with Me." If any Christian has gone
astray, if the heart has become cold and dead,
draw nigh to God. Oh, you who are weary
of wandering from your God, and are now made
willing to return, say to Jesus —

" Thou knowest the way to bring me back,

My fallen spirit to restore;
Oh, for Thy truth and mercy's sake,

Forgive, and bid me sin no more !
The ruins of my soul repair,
And make my heart a house of prayer."

Draw nigh to God, you who seek to draw
others unto God — you parents and masters,
who wish to be a blessing to your children and

26 The Open Secret.

households — you teachers and evangelists and
visitors, who seek the good of souls. Have
you not felt a painful void after speaking for
Christ, or doing something in His name, even
though you spoke and acted in faith and prayer?
The soul coming back to itself feels empty and
exhausted. Power and blessing have gone out
from you, but have you yourself been enriched
and strengthened ? . . . " Draw nigh to God !"
There is no place so good, so safe, so sweet
for the teacher as the place of the learner — as
the place of Mary, sitting at the Master's feet ;
as the place of Paul, bowing his knees before
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ !
There let us all unite and meet. Here on
earth, amid all the noise and conflict, the sorrow
and the trial of our pilgrimage ; there, in glory,
where we shall see Jesus as He is, and be for
ever with Him, beholding, adoring, and serving
His and our Father.

NOTE ON MYSTICS.

Indian and Mohammedan mystics contain many surprising
glimpses of the highest truth. The deep desire and thirst
of the human heart after the Eternal Origin and Fountain,
expresses itself in their words with singular force and beauty.
What can be more profound than the description of God-
given, God-wrought prayer, in the lines on a Mohammedan
saint :

" This prayer is not his own : God Himself is speaking.

See, God prays in him, and he stands in deep contemplation.

God has given him both the contemplation and the answer " ? *

* Quoted by Tholuck on Rom. viii. 26 : "The Spirit maketh inter-
cession for us. "

There is truth and error in the remark of Schopenhauer on Christian
and Indian 'penitents' : "We are greatly struck by their similarity.
With an utter dissimilarity of dogmas, customs, and external circum-
stances, their aspirations and inner life are identical. Quietism, or
renunciation of all will ; askesis, or voluntary mortifying of the self-will ;
and mysticism, or the recognition of the identity with the all or the
root of the universe ; these stand in closest connection." The Christian
knows not only wherein religion consists, but he also knows the source
and po'wej- of the true life. The mystics outside Christianity have truly
felt the necessity of death, of hating our own will and life, and in this
respect put to shame many professing Christians who mind earthly
things, and are the enemies of the cross of Christ. But they did not
know : " Ye have died -luith Christ, and your life is hid with Christ in
God. " They did not know the power of Christ's resurrection, and the
constraining love of the Divine Saviour, who for us died and lived
again, that we henceforth may live unto Him. They may therefore be
viewed as resembling those who, through the law, have become dead
and long for life.

28 Note on Mystics.

The dangerous tendencies of Christian mystics (I use no
stronger expression, because I do not think the more im-
portant and best-known of these writers have fallen into
errors) seem to be (i) towards Pantheism. They dwell
much on the Scriptural truth, that all things are of God and
through Him and to Him. They love to contemplate the
union between God and man, between Christ and the be-
liever— a union real and essential, and not merely ethical.
It is here that they sometimes use unguarded expressions, of
our being Engoded (vergottet) — "God so unites Himself
with the soul, that they become one Spirit, one Substance "
(Makarius) — and terms still more vague and misleading.
Yet this ought not to prevent our appreciating their testi-
mony of the truth of the indwelling of God in us, and our
indwelling in Him.

2. They do not sufficiently distinguish between Christ
for us and Christ in us. Even the best of this school, like
Tersteegen, cannot state clearly the distinction between
justification and sanctification ; and a teacher so enlightened
as Tauler, says, that as long as we are on earth we cannot
attain to assurance of our acceptance and salvation.

3. They tend to divert the attention from Christ to the
soul, in which God and Christ dwell ; so that self (renewed
and God-influenced, yet self) becomes the object of contem-
plation. This tendency is subtle, attractive, and dangerous.
" I have a suspicion about the mystics," says Theremin ;
" they never are in a peculiar state of mind, but they im-
mediately reflect on it and describe it." There is, contrary
to their own theory, much of their own willing in their states
and phases. To contemplate what Christ effects in us,
instead of what Christ is — to dwell on what He has given
us, instead of the unsearchable riches and fulness of the

Note 071 Mystics. 29

Lord — will produce self-deception instead of self-jiidginent, and
can only lower the standard of Perfectness, which is none
other but Christ Himself

Our great and constant desire ought to be to know Christ,
and, having no confidence in the flesh, to rejoice in Him,
waiting for His coming, when, delivered from the body of
sin, we shall be like Him. The constant watching of the
growth of the inner man leads us also " to mistake passing
emotions for real and abiding love of good," and to exalt
any peculiar intuition into a source of self-glorification.

4. The relation of the inward teaching of the Spirit to
the Scripture is sometimes not properly maintained. It is
not clearly held that the Scripture-revelation and the direct
teaching of the Spirit always go together, and that all inner
experiences, intuitions, &c.j must be judged by the written
Word.

5. The objection most frequently urged, that they en-
courge a morbid quietism, a merely passive and receptive
attitude, is true only in a limited degree. The mystics were
driven into solitude by the mechanical and unspiritual ex-
ternalism of works which surrounded them. This evil is
not confined to any period or church. It is always man's
tendency to work and speak and run, whether sent or not,
and whether or not ' the hour is come.' Against this the
mystics protested ; but that they did not encourage false
quietism may be seen from such passages as the following,
from Tauler : " The righteous exercise themselves inwardly
and outwardly; they endure in all paths into which God
leads them, in temptation and in darkness, and do not pre-
tend that they have already reached the state of quietude.
Works of love are more pleasing to God than great contem-
plativeness. If thou art in spiritual devotion, and God

2,0 Note on Mystics.

sends thee to go out to preach or to serve a sick brother,
God will be more present to thee than if thou remainest in
secret contemplation."

The mystic writers will always be a useful protest against
the mere ' form of godliness,' and the letter that killeth ;
but the minds that feel most attracted by them need most
to be on their guard in reading them. Let everything lead
us to the spiritual and diligent study of the perfect, health-
ful, and precious word of God.

CHAPTER II.

SINCERITY IN DRAWING NIGH TO GOD.

" Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you"
James iv. 8.

A LTHOUGH man has forsaken God, the
fountain of Hving water, he has not given
up the desire for something to satisfy the thirst
of his spirit. He seeks light for the mind, love
for the heart, peace for the soul ; he seeks
honour and glory. He is not content with
existence ; he wishes to live ; he wants fulness
of life, vigorous, joyous, long-enduring. He
still wants water, though he has left God. This
it is which he seeks in broken cisterns. And
yet God is the only fountain of living water.
Have we returned to Him ? Have we found
Him whom ignorantly we were seeking ? Have
we become the disciples and children of the
heavenly wisdom ? and is our inward eye re-
joicing now in the light, so that we can say,
It is pleasant to behold the sun ? Have we, as
weary and heavy-laden ones, come to Jesus, and

32 Sincerity in Drawing Nigh to God.

has He given us the blood-purchased, perfect
peace ? Have we found the only One who is
worthy to be loved with the whole heart, and
has divine love been shed abroad by the Holy
Ghost ? Are we seeking the only true honour
which Cometh from God ? as Jesus said, "If any
man serve Me, him will my Father honour."
Are we on our way to heaven — drawing nigh
to God ? Then do we rejoice with joy unspeak-
able and full of glory, a solemn, humble, heaven-
anticipating joy —

" I 've found the pearl of greatest price ;

My heart doth sing for joy.
Christ Jesus is the heaven of heaven,

My Christ, what shall I call ?
Christ is the first, Christ is the last,

And Christ is all in all."

It is a orreat thino- to have found Christ.

o o

Once He was nothing to us ; then He became
something to us ; but now He is all to us. It
is a ereat thingr that those who have found
Christ abide in Him, even as it will be a great
thing to be glorified together with Him. As it
is great, it needs all our thought and purpose,
diligence and watchfulness ; it is the one thing
we do, we are busy in " our salvation," and this
with fear and trembling. As it is glorious, so,
alas ! there are many counterfeits, many de-

Sincerity in Drawing Nigh to God. 2)1)

ceivers, many self-deceived. Many who look
like sheep on the hill-side are seen by God to
be dead stones. Some (so the Saviour warns
us) who say emphatically and sweetly, Lord,
are strangers to Jesus ; He never knew them.
Many who are busy and troubled about many
things in the service of Christ have never yet
chosen the one thing needful, the good part
which shall not be taken from us.

It has been remarked ^ that a hypocrite
generally thinks himself the sincerest person in >'
the world. The godly, in whose spirit there
is no ofuile, examine themselves, distrust their
deceitful hearts, and pray to God : " Search
me, and know my heart ; try me, and know my
thoughts.""

' Kohlbriigge.

^ " The godly man hates the evil he possibly by temptation
hath been drawn to do, and loves the good he is frustrated of,
and, having intended, hath not attained to do. The sinner, who
hath his denomination from sin as his course, hates the good
which sometimes he is forced to do, and loves that sin which
many times he does not, either wanting occasion and means, so
that he cannot do it, or through the check of an enlightened
conscience possibly dares not do ; and though so bound up from
the act, as a dog in a chain, yet the habit, the natural inclination
and desire in him, is still the same, the strength of his aftection
is carried to sin. So in the weakest sincere Christian, there is
that predominant sincerity and desire of holy walking, according
to which he is called a righteous person : the Lord is pleased to
give him that name, and account him so, being upright in heart
though often failing." — ARCHBISHOP Leighton.

D

34 Sincerity in Drawing Nigh to God.

The Scripture warnings are very solemn, but
only drive us to Him who will never deceive
us, and who will not withhold anything that
is good from them that are upright in heart.
Searcher of hearts, I feel only safe with thee ;
and the more I know thee as the Searcher of
hearts, the more I love thee as the Healer of
hearts. Eyes of Jesus, like a flame of fire,
when you wound the heart, the unfaithful dis-
ciple goes out and weeps bitterly. Bright light
of God's throne, I cannot approach thee while
I conceal my sin, and while unloving thoughts
toward my brother fill my soul ; but if I walk in
the light, and have fellowship with my brethren,
the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth
me from all sin.

What is meant by sincerity in drawing nigh
to God ?

This question is suggested by the text itself,
and by the words which immediately follow, and
which are addressed to the double-minded. A
most forcible expression (Sii/^uxoi), reminding us
of the Psalmist's, "A heart and a heart.^ James
is most valuable as a teacher, helping us to a
knowledge of sin, and yet his pen is steeped
in grace."^ Continuing the Master's testimony

3 Psalm xii. 2 : " Flattering lips and a double heart."
" Nitzsch.

Sincerity in Drawing Nigh to God. 35

against the Pharisees, he exhorts us to have
the faith of our Lord in singleness of heart,
thought, speech, and action.

Thus in the first chapter he speaks of single-
ness of heart toward God, who giveth in sim-
plicity (dTrAws), and who is simple and unmixed
light. In the second chapter he exhorts us to
have the faith in our Lord in simplicity, without
respect to persons. He also shows us the unity
of the law; it is one, .and undivided. In the
third chapter he insists on simplicity in speech,
that we should bless God and men, which are
made in the similitude of God. In the fourth
chapter he warns us against a double heart in
our communion with God. The whole epistle
is a comment on the petition of David, " Unite
my heart," and of the word of the Lord, "If
thine eye be single, thy whole body will be full
of light."

When we speak of drawing nigh to God, we
think immediately of prayer, and yet prayer is
only one manifestation of drawing nigh to God.
True it is the most important, concentrated,
and, so to say, the culminating point of the
soul's approach to God, We may say, that as
our prayer so is our life. Our prayer is what
God hears, not merely the words we utter ; God
hears our thoughts, the desires of our hearts.

o

6 Sinceriiy in Drazuing Nigh to God.

We may also say, that as our life is, so is our
prayer, into which it returns, and in which it
expresses itself. Behold one approaching the
altar of God. He draws nigh to God; so it
appears to himself, so it appears to us. But the
last week's or month's life has left a bitter sedi-
ment in his heart. His brother has something
against him. There is a cloud of hatred, or
estrangement, or envy, or injustice between him
and his brother. Can he, does he, draw nigh
to God ? When Jesus says, " If ye forgive not
men their trespasses, neither will your Father
forgive your trespasses," He announces a prin-
ciple, of which this one particular sin is only an
illustration. There is a prayer which is not
prayer ; there is a false and fruitless drawing
near to God, and this is its character — insin-
cerity ; or as the psalmist says : "If I regard
iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear
me.

Sin is that which separates between God and
us. His ear is not heavy, that it cannot hear,
and His hand is not shortened, that it cannot
save. He delighteth in mercy: it is His joy
to bless ; it is His glory to heal and to comfort.
But we must draw near with a true heart. It
may be asked : Is not Jesus the propitiation
for our sins ? and are we not to draw nigh to

Sincerity in Draiuino^ Nigh to God. 37

God just as we are ? Let us examine this point
more closely.

God redeemed Israel by the blood of the
Lamb, that they might serve Him. They knew
what they worshipped. They adored the living
God, the Fountain of blessedness, holy, just,
and true. They knew His mercy, and the way
of access unto His throne. God appointed the
way in which they were to ' draw nigh.' The
light may have been but dim, but it was true and
God-given. They knew God, a just God, and
yet a Saviour. And yet of this people, thus
approaching God in the way He had appointed,
and offering the sacrifices which God had or-
dained, the Lord complains : " This people
draweth near unto Me with their lips, but their
hearts are far from Me." " To what purpose is
the multitude of your sacrifices unto Me .'*...
Wash you, make you clean ; put away the evil
of your doings from before mine eyes ; cease to
do evil ; learn to do well." Strange language,
when we think that not by works, but by grace
we are saved, and that the sacrifices spoken of
were types of the only sacrifice and substitute,
without whose shed blood is no remission of
sin. To translate this language into the lan-
guage of the New Testament times, it would
be thus : To what purpose is the multitude of

o

8 Sincerity in D^'azving Nigh to God.

your appeals to Jesus, as your perfect Right-
eousness, and your prayers in the name of Him,
who came to save you from your sins? Cleanse
your hands, ye sinners, and purify your hearts,
ye double-minded. " Draw nigh to God, and
He will draw nigh to you."

*' Come now, and let us reason together, saith
the Lord : though your sins be as scarlet, they
shall be as white as snow ; though they be red
like crimson, they shall be as wool." This verse
is often quoted to encourage the sinner to turn
to God. It doubtless contains one of the most
comforting declarations of the wonderful mercy
of God. It is addressed to the chief of sinners,
and speaks of grace abounding. But is it right
and safe to separate this word from the context?
Is it right to forget the now which connects the
appeal with the preceding command, " Wash
you, make you clean" ? or to sever it from the
exposure of formalism, insincerity, and hypocrisy
which goes before this exhortation ? Are we to
preach the gospel differently from prophets and
apostles ? or are we afraid that the message Vv^ill
lose its power and sweetness when we give it
fully ? This be far from us !

The difficulty may arise, however, that there
is a contradiction here to the truth of free
grace. Does the prophet mean that we must

Sincerity in Drawing Nigh to God. 39

first cleanse ourselves from evil before we draw
nigh to God, and that then God will forgive and
receive us ? No ; he declares the o-lad tidint^s
of salvation and of free pardon, or, in New
Testament language, Jesus receiveth sinners.
But sinners who wish to come to God, who not
merely wish to be rescued out of danger and
delivered from pain, but whose desire is to be
received of God, to be assured of His love, to
be renewed by His Spirit, to turn from sin to
God, from earth to heaven, from self to Christ.
If we draw nigh to God, if in Jesus we ap-
proach Him, He will immediately receive, He
will abundantly pardon.

Unless this truth be fully stated, men may
be dealing with shadows instead of realities ;
they may never realize what is meant by God,
by sin, by reconciliation ; they may deceive
themselves with the most fatal delusion and
dream of divine love, which they have never
experienced in its awful holiness and in its
fatherly sweetness.

It is strange, that what would be immediately
granted to be true in the case of very flagrant
vice, is only reluctantly acknowledged to apply
to all men and to all sin. What is the gospel
I am to preach to one addicted to some vice ^.
Am I to say to him, You must first give up

40 Sincerity in Drawing Nigh to God.

your evil habit, and then draw nigh to God ?
This would be extremely wrong, foolish, cruel.
Reminding him of what sin is, how evil, dis-
honouring to God, and ruinous to man ; what a
power and tyranny, we must speak of the love
of God, the blood of Christ, and the renewing
grace of the Saviour. But is it not part of the
message, that he must turn to God with the full
and sincere resolution to give up his sinful
habit ? I may say to him. Do not be astonished
if you find it still difficult, even after your con-
version to God, to give up this sin ; do not feel
despair if you should have most painful struggle
and occasional failure, but God will help you,
only turn to Him, surrendering your whole will
to His will, who has said, No drunkard, &c., shall
inherit the kingdom of God,

If this is true of drunkenness, of lying, of
stealing, is it not true of every sin ? And does
not drawing nigh to God — faith in Jesus — imply
the full and sincere determination of departing
from all iniquity ? Can there be a real transac-
tion between God and the soul, can there be a
real beholding of Jesus and His death on the
cross, without this inward and painful turning
away from sin ?

There are two elements, inseparably connected
by God, which when separated change their

Sincerity in Drawing Nigh to God. 41

character. God is holy and righteous Love, and
He desires truth and purity in us. God is
mercifnl and gracious Love, and He receives
sinners freely in Christ, Now when the mes-
sage is brought. Draw nigh to God, some
who are impressed with the holy and righteous
character of God, interpret the call to mean that
they must amend their lives, and, if possible,
purify their hearts. Others seem to understand
the free invitation and the immediate acceptance
of the sinner through Christ, but they do not
see the necessary connection between this grace
and the renewal of the heart, the transformation
of their character, the turning round from sin
to the service of God. Now both, although
taking hold of opposite poles of truth, make the
same mistake. They do not realize the living
God ; they do not behold Jesus Himself, and
Him crucified.

To turn away from sin, and to behold the
mercy of God in Christ, is repentance unto life.
Some are sincere in wishinof to be delivered from
sin, but they do not turn to God. Some fancy they
have come to God, but they have never turned
away from sin.^ It is true, we are to come with

5 The prophets contain many illustrations of this self-decep-
tion ; for instance, Zech. vii. 5 : " Speak unto all the people of
the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned

42 Sincerity in Drawing Nigh to God.

all our sins ; but we are to come with them
against them to condemn them before God, and
declare ourselves determined to forsake them,
that He may deliver us from them all. It is
true, that only by drawing nigh to God can we
obtain the forgiveness of sin and the victory
over sin. But we cannot ask the one without
desiring the other. We cannot be gladdened
by the light of Christ's resurrection, except
we have our heart broken on account of sin
and from sin by looking at the Lamb of God
crucified for us. We cannot be admitted into
the kingdom unless we die to sin and to the
world. This strait gate, this new birth, this
rending of the heart, this death-blow to the old
man, is indispensable. Jesus is not the servant
of sin, but the Saviour of sinners. He takes
away the false peace of a self-satisfied heart,
and heals the broken-hearted."

in the fifth and seventh month, even those seventy years, did ye
at all fast unto me, even to me ?" The frequent exhortations in
Isaiah and Jeremiah, point out that false repentance does not
go deep enough — the turning from sin; and not high enough —
turning to God. While the epistles are profitable and applicable
to the true Church, the kernel of the congregation, the prophets
are most needed by the actual mixed congregation of gospel-
hearers and professing Christians.

* We come to Jesus 'just as we are;' yet not to remain 'just
as we are,' but to be washed, renewed, and set apart for God's
service.

Sincerity in Draiving Nigh to God. 43

Without this there is no drawino- nicrh to
God. To be consciously in the presence of
God and of the Lamb, to approach spiritually
the mercy-seat, involves the reception of the
twofold truth : Jesus died for me ; Jesus is
henceforth to dwell and live in me. Unless we
realize both these truths, we do not realize God;
and Jesus may say to us, " Hitherto ye have
asked nothing in my name." For zvhat is it
that such imaginary coming to Jesus asks of
Him, but to be allowed to retain the false com-
fort of peace when there is no peace. There is
no other real petition offered, either for light, or
love, or strength, to serve God and to glorify
His name.

It was said by the angel concerning Saul of
Tarsus, after the Lord had appeared unto him,
" Behold, he prayeth." Saul had no doubt
been in the habit of praying from his childhood ;
and without charging him with hypocrisy or
formalism, it is evident that in the true and full
sense of the word he had never prayed to God
until Jesus had appeared unto him. What was
the difference between his former prayers and
his present approach ? for as a Pharisee he had
prayed to the true and living God. The differ-
ence was this. Formerly he approached, having
his own righteousness. As he felt it sufficient,

44 Sincerity in Drawing N^igJi to God.

he drew near with an imperfect thing to the
Perfect One, and therefore, unconsciously but
most really, he lowered God in his idea, and
brought Him down to his own level.

In the presence of such a conception of God,
sin does not appear exceeding sinful, and no
cry of true petition ascends out of the depth.
And as there is no crucifixion of the old man,
there is no birth of the new, no resurrection-
life and power. Such prayer leaves the 'self-
righteous as he was before. But when Jesus
appeared to Saul, then he beheld his whole past
life as sinful, his righteousness as filthy rags, his
zeal as zeal against God ; the name of the Lord
as Jesus, Saviour, deepened still further the
agonizing sense of his guilt. Now he was no
longer heart-whole ; his righteousness and his
peace vanished ; he stood before God a sinner.
He cried out of the depths, he turned with
loathing from the things of which he formerly
boasted, and hid himself in Jesus. Now it
became clear to him what Jehovah meant by
always speaking of His righteousness, of His
salvation ; now he understood that not by the
works of the law, but by the grace of the Lord,
can Abraham's seed be justified.

Thus when we really draw nigh to God, we
must take hold of Christ, and submit ourselves

Sincerity in Drawing NigJi to God. 45

to the righteousness of God, which is in Him.
When we have a view of the perfection of
God ; when we understand in our heart, to some
extent, the holy name of the Saviour- God,
Jehovah, then we joyfully accept the declaration
of grace: Jehovah- Tsidkenu — the Lord our
Righteousness. It is because men do not see
God that they do not feel the need of media-
tion. When in the presence of God, we cannot
abide without the best robe, without righteous-
ness, divine, perfect, all-glorious ; whiter than
snow, whiter than any fuller, whiter than any
earthly art or skill can make it. Like the light
of the sun, the righteousness of God falls on us,
and in Christ Jesus we are made the righteous-
ness of God.

When we thus accept Christ for us, the Son
of God is revealed in 21s. (Gal. i. 16.)

By this very act of coming to Jesus, we are
separated from sin. The same hand which blots
out our sins, writes the law of God on our hearts.
The new man is born, the old man is nailed to
•the cross. As we condemn ourselves, both our
so-called grood works and our sin- — ourselves
the guilty and polluted branches of the first
Adam — so we are transplanted into the king-
dom of God, grafted into Christ, that He may
now live in us. Paul felt now that Christ, who

46 Sincerity in Drawing Nigh to God.

was his Riohteousness, was his Master and
Lord, his guide and joy, his Hfe and strength ;
and that as Jesus had identified Himself with
Stephen, so now he would identify Himself with
him. Paul is therefore, indeed, a new creature ;
he is reconciled to God, he is in Christ. This
is conversion. The sinner, feeling the burden
of sin, cries to God, Have mercy upon me, O
God ! And as the sinner seeks God, so God
seeks the sinner, his heart, the surrender of the
whole man — the salvation and future glory of
the lost one, for whom Jesus died. Thus God
finds the sinner, and rejoices ; the sinner finds
God, and is at peace.

" Less than Thyself will not suffice

My comfort to restore.
A sense of Thine expiring love

Into my soul convey ;
Thyself bestow ; for Thee alone

I absolutely pray."

Our blessed Lord, who is Himself both the
great Evangelist and the great Gospel, while
never discouraging sinners who draw near to
hear Him, always discouraged those who wished
to substitute a mere outward reception of His
truth for the real inward turning from sin unto
God. When the multitudes came to listen to
His teaching He did not regard this as an

Since7'-ity in Drawing Nigh to God. 47

infallible sign of their right condition, or o-ive
them an immediate assurance of their safety ;
but He showed, in the parable of the sower,
what was the character of true hearing. When
men enthusiastically offered their allegiance,
Jesus put before them all the difficulties and
severe conditions of discipleship, that man
must deny himself, and take up his cross ; that
unless we prefer Christ to father and mother
and to our own life, we are not worthy of Him.
Yet is Jesus the Saviour, who will not break
the bruised reed, nor quench the smoking flax ;
yet is it God, who Himself works in us both to
will and to do.

Jesus is the great magnet. When the soul
is drawn by Him, and approaches God in
Christ, there is the twofold experience, bitter
and sweet ; the experience of death, painful
and humiliating, the experience of life, joyous
and full of consolation and peace. The sword
of the law goes again through our soul more
piercing than ever, while the kiss of the Father
heals and gladdens our heart.

In a recent poem'^ this experience is described
very forcibly, only that it is erroneously repre-
sented to take place after the soul's departure
from this life. Beholding the Lord in His holy

7 J. H. Newman, Dream of Gerontius.

48 Sincerity in Draiuing Nigh to God.

and. merciful love, the soul feels pierced with
an overwhelming sense of sin and guilt, and at
the same time blessed with the sweet hope of
ineffable orrace. The oruardian anorel thus de-

o & o

scribes the twofold effect of the approach to the
Saviour :

". . . . Praise to His name!
The eager spirit has departed from my hold.
And, with the intemperate energy of love,
Flies to the dear feet of Emmanuel ;
But, ere it reach them, the keen sanctity,
Which with its effluence, like a glory, clothes
And circles round the Crucified, has seized.
And scorched, and shrivelled it ; and now it lies
Passive and still before the awful Throne.
O happy, suffering soul ! for it is safe.
Consumed, yet quickened, by the glance of God."

This is what happens on earth, when we are
brought by the Spirit to look unto Him whom
we have pierced, and to mourn. As Newton
described it —

" In evil long I took delight,
Unawed by shame or fear.
Till a new object struck my sight,
And stopped my wild career.

" I saw One hanging on a tree.
In agonies and blood.
Who fixed His languid eyes on me.
As near His cross I stood.

" Sure never till my latest breath
Can I forget that look ;
It seemed to charge me with His death.
Though not a word He spoke.

Sincerity in Draiuing Nigh to God. 49

" My conscience felt and owned the guilt,
And plunged me in despair ;
I saw my sins His blood had spilt,
And helped to nail Him there.

" Alas ! I knew not what I did ;
But now my tears are vain ;
Where shall my trembling soul be hid ?
For I the Lord have slain.

"A second look He gave, which said,
* I freely all forgive ;
This blood is for thy ransom paid ;
I die that thou may'st live.'

"Thus, while His death my sin displays
In all its blackest hue,
(Such is the mystery of grace)
It seals my pardon too.

" With pleasing grief and mournful joy
My spirit now is filled,
That I should such a life destroy,
Yet live by Him I killed."

This is conversion, and here is the source of
our holiness.

Thus coming unto God, from one and the
same central transaction flow justification and
sanctification, distinct but inseparable. If con-
version is truly understood, and has really
taken place, no new starting-point is needed
for sanctification. When the apotles answers
indignantly the false accusation inferred from
his doctrine of justification by faith, he does
not need to add anything to that doctrine, but
only to repeat it, to show what is most unmis-

E

50 Sincerity in Drawing Nigh to God.

takeably and fully involved in it. How can we
live unto sin, seeing that by coming unto Jesus,
crucified for us, we have died unto sin ? How
can we sin, seeing that we are not under the
law, which condemns and gives no life, but under
grace, which brings to us both the pardon and
the power of God, because it brings God to us,
and us to God?^

How much does the Christian need to be
reminded of sincerity in prayer! It is easy to
mistake passing emotions for that abiding and
true faith which worketh in love, and to rest in
our admiration of intense and spiritual petitions
which have not yet become the desire of the
heart and the concentrated determination of the
will. There is often one idol, one cherished
sin, of which we are conscious, but which we
are not willing to bring into the light of the
countenance, the thorn -crowned countenance,
before which sin cannot remain uncondemned.
There may be one habit, if not of sin in the
ordinary sense of the word, yet of that which
is not of faith.^ It is from such concealment

^ So in the first epistle of John, from another point of view.
You have come to Jesus, you are born of God ; you cannot sin,
because the seed of God abideth in you.

9 " There is very much of suspense of conscience among Chris-
tians upon subjects of practical life, upon which there is no
suspense of ^zr/Zf;/."— Phelps.

Sincerity in Drawinc^ Nigh to God. 5 1

and insincerity that the mists of darkness rise,
the clouds which obstruct the Hght and keep us
without joy and strength.

And while in this state, let us not deceive
ourselves with " objective religion," or looking
away from self. McCheyne said, " that for
one look at self we ought to take ten looks at
Christ." Excellent counsel of a true Israelite,
in whom was no guile ! But we cannot do
without that one look at our heart, at our ways.
He who does not come to himself \\\\\ not go
to the Father. Can we ever say, " Bless the
Lord," if we have never said, "O my soul" ?

But we who have tasted that the Lord is
gracious can draw near boldly, pouring out all
our heart before the throne of grace. We
know that it is not merely solemn, but blessed,
to confess our sin.^ We pray for sincerity; and
mourning over our insincerity, we bring to God
the broken and contrite heart which He will
not despise.

H. As we turn from sin, so we turn also from
woridliness. Christ has delivered us from this
present evil age ; the love of the Father from

' Nitzsch, with his peculiar conciseness and depth, says of
confession of sin : '' Nothing is so truly an action, and a suffer-
ing, and a decision of the will, as confessing our sin to God."

5 2 Sincerity in Drawing Nigh to God.

the love of the world. When we think of the
birth and the consummation of our new life,
this becomes very clear.

The hidden life has its root and birth in death.
" Ye have died with Christ, and your life is hid
with Christ in God." " I have been crucified
with Christ: but I live ; yet not I, Christ liveth
in me." The hidden life has its consummation
and crown in the second advent of our Lord :
"When Christ, who is our life, shall appear,
then shall ye also appear with Him in glory."
The boundary- lines of this blessed land are
therefore the cross of the Lord Jesus and the
return of the Bridegroom. Do you think that,
with such a starting-point as baptism into the
Saviour's death, and with such a goal as the mar-
riage supper of the Lamb, Christians can love
the world and the things of the world ?

" Draw nigh to God." The call implies not
merely a turning away from sin, but also from
the world. Only they who have the mind of
strangers and pilgrims can expect to have fellow-
ship with Jesus. " They are not of the world,
even as I am not of the world." It is in the
wilderness, and not in Egypt, that the Lord
guides His people. The garden into which the
Beloved enters is that holy garden, planned by
eternal love, and prepared by redeeming grace,

Sincerity in Drazuiiig Nigh to God. 53

by Christ and the Holy Ghost. If led captive into
Babylon, the Lord will comfort all who mourn
and hang their harps on the willows ; but He is
far from all who forget Jerusalem, and feel at
home by Babel's streams. The Bridegroom is
with the chaste virgin, who goes forth to meet
Him. The narrow path, commencing with the
cross — "Ye have died with Christ" — ending
with the glory of Jesus, is the path on which the
Lord draws near and walks with His disciples.
All the epistles describe this experience.
There may be difference of opinion as to
apostolic doctrines, but there can be no doubt
as to the nature of Christian life and ex-
perience ; that the believer is separated from
sin in his inmost soul, and by the very love
which redeemed him and brought unto him
complete and everlasting forgiveness ; that the
believer is one with Jesus, and that, by faith in
Christ's death, he has consigned the old man,
with his affections and lusts, to death, even the
cross ; that his citizenship is now in heaven ;
that he is dead unto the world, and has his
affection set upon things above ; and that he
looks forward constantly unto the return of
the Master, Of this all the apostolic epistles
testify in terms most unmistakeable. I can
imagine a candid reader of the New Testa-

54 Sincerity in Drawiiig Nigh to God.

ment object, that such a character as the
Christian must needs be melancholy. The
critic might easily object, that such men as
•Christians are described to be, would not be
fit for the work and not inclined for the amuse-
ments of the world ; that they would be useless
to the State ; that they would take no interest
in war, or in politics, or in commerce, or in
literature and art. Such objections, though
erroneous, would be quite natural. And if
people were more honest, and did not take
it for granted that they are, and must be re-
garded as, Christians, such objections would be
more frequently raised. We have not laid
sufficient stress on the unworldly or other-
worldly character of the Christian's present life.
" The time is short," or, as the original means,
the time is shortened, the respite limited, the
coming^ of the Lord draweth nis^h. "It remaineth
that both they that have wives be as though
they had none ; and they that weep, as though
they wept not ; and they that rejoice, as though
they rejoiced not ; and they that buy, as though
they possessed not ; and they that use this
world, as not abusing it ; for the fashion of this
world passeth away."

But the Christian is called to live in the world,^

- Compare my work, Christ and the Chiwch, chap. vii.

Sincerity in Drawing Nigh to God. 55

to let his light shine before men, to adorn the
doctrine of the gospel in whatever calling he is
placed. He is exhorted to look upon the world
as the field where the seed of the gospel is to
be sown, where the character of Jesus is to be
manifested by His followers, and where God is
to be glorified. He is to conquer by faith and
love. He is to be a prophet, priest, and king,
teaching truth and righteousness, proclaiming
peace, and offering intercession, living in a royal
spirit above the distractions and anxieties of
time. He can be a missionary everywhere :
Christ sends him into the world. He can attain
to the dignity of a confessor and martyr, though
in humility and meekness he does not seek to
rouse opposition, but to commend himself to the
conscience of all. The less he loves the world
in its God-opposed character, the more he truly
loves the world, and is a blessing to those
around him.

Turning from worldliness, we do not turn to
a life of inactivity, but to a life of service.
What wilt thou have me to do ? is the question
of the Christ-called man. The Thessalonians
turned from idols to serve the living God. We
are emancipated from the fetters of sin and the
world, we are transplanted into the kingdom
of God, to work in the love and energy of our

56 Sincerity in Drawing Nigh to God.

renewed heart. He labours most abundantly
who realizes most fully that he is a stranger
and pilgrim on earth, that he is not a citizen
of time, but that eternity is his home, that God
is his portion.

Let all whose hearts are toward the Lord
magnify Him, and rejoice in God their Saviour.
Lift up your eyes from your sin and misery to
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Behold the manner of divine love, that it is
fatherly ! See it in its motherly tenderness,
intensity, and constant solicitude. Rise to the
exalted and confiding dignity of friendship, to
which Jesus the Son of God has called you.
Go forth with all the saved and sanctified to
meet, with solemn joy and hope, the Bride-
groom. He who made you sorry after a godly
sort, is the source of your joy. Rejoice, and be
glad in Him. Then you will say —

" My whole desire doth deeply turn away
Out of all time unto eternal day.
I give myself, and all I call my own,
To Christ for ever, to be His alone." ^

Until at last we reach our home — •

" Then long Eternity shall greet our bliss
With an individual kiss,
And joy shall overtake us as a flood,

3 Tersteegen.

Sincerity in Drawing Nigh to God. 57

When everything that is sincerely good

And perfectly divine

With truth, and peace, and love, shall ever shine

About the supreme throne

Of Him, to whose happy-making sight alone,

When once our heav'nly-guided soul shall climb.

Then all this earthly grossness quit,

Attir'd with stars, we shall for ever sit

Triumphing over Death and Chance and thee, O Time." •*

" Milton, Ode to Time.

CHAPTER III.

ENCOURAGEMENTS TO PRAYER.

T HAVE endeavoured to explain what is
-^ meant by drawing nigh unto God. Behold-
ing the two inseparable gifts which the exalted
Saviour holds in His pierced hand, repentance
and faith, we have seen what is meant by sin-
cerity in drawing nigh to God, a true turning
away from sin and worldliness unto the grace
and love and life of God, which in a crucified
and risen Saviour are freely given to us. Let
us now dwell on the abundant mercy, the over-
flowing riches, the infinite love, awaiting us
when we draw nigh ; the atmosphere of free
and all-sufficient grace which we breathe when
we approach the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ. All divine revelations encourage
us to draw nigh to God.

It is man's duty to draw nigh to God.
Reason and conscience fully admit this. The
first commandment, and the foundation of all
other commandments, is to worship God. But
it is only in times of great and grievous dulness

EficoiLragements to Prayer. 59

that the believer regards prayer as a duty, and
not as a privilege. What higher dignity, what
greater and more precious gift could we possibly
possess ? ^ " Behold, what manner of love the
Father hath bestowed upon us."

In every place, and at all times, we may come
into His presence. In the name of Jesus we
appear before His throne of grace, and He
beholds us in Him, and loves us as His chil-
dren. Though we cannot express in words
what our souls desire and long for, we know
that He interprets and hears the language of
our heart. To Him we may confide what we
could intrust to no human friend ; where all
earthly help is of no avail, we can ask His
almighty succour. The thoughts and doubts
which rise within us we can spread out before

^ " What wond'rous grace ! Who knows its full extent ?
A creature, dust and ashes, speaks with God —
Tells all his woes, enumerates his wants,
Yea, pleads with Deity, and gains relief.
'Tis prayer, yes, 'tis 'effectual, fervent prayer,'
Puts dignity on worms, proves life divine,
Makes demons tremble, breaks the darkest cloud,
And with a princely power prevails with God !
And shall this privilege become a task?
My God, forbid! Pour out thy Spirit's grace.
Draw me by love, and teach me hovv' to pray.
Yea, let Thy hoiy unction from above
Beget, extend, maintain my intercourse
With Father, Son, and Spirit, Israel's God,
Until petitions are exchanged for praise." — IRONS.

6o Encouragements to Prayer.

Him, to sift, to correct, to change them ; the
sorrow that hes too deep for human ministry
we can bring to Love, omnipotent and all-com-
passionate. And we know that we can never
weary Him with our approach, and that not one
thought or petition will be overlooked by Him ;
all good that we ask will be granted abundantly,
and with overflowing and tender mercies. And
this is not all. Had we no petitions to offer, no
gifts, no consolations, no deliverances to ask,
what a privilege is prayer, were it merely to
stand before the Lord, to be in the presence of
the Holy and Blessed One, to behold with open
face His glory, and to know that He sees and
loves us, and that, through the blood of Christ,
we have been brought into the circle of eternal
life — one with all angels and saints !

Still we often feel lassitude in prayer, and
our hearts seem heavy, and not willing or able
to rise into this serene and bright region.
The Lord Jesus, the heavenly Wisdom and
the true lover of men, counsels us always to
pray, and not to faint. Is not our tendency
always to faint, and not to pray ? If we went
to God with our cares and difficulties, with our
sorrows and fears, aye, even with our apathy
and sluggishness of mind and heart, we should
obtain calmness, patience, strength. Instead

EncoiLragenioits to Prayer. 6i

of this, we go about weak, unhappy, with self-
consuming care and self-reproach, in which
there is no recuperative power. Our dis-
inclination to pray is our most painful expe-
rience ; it is so irrational and unaccountable.
When we neglect prayer, a heavy weight is on
our mind and heart ; we anticipate, we ex-
aggerate difficulties, we succumb to them ; there
is a cloud between us and our fellow-men ;
there is a cloud and veil between us and our
heart ; we have, as it were, lost it, even as we
find our heart in approaching God.

" Prayer makes the darkened cloud withdraw ;
Prayer climbs the ladder Jacob saw ;
Gives exercise to faith and love,
Brings every blessing from above."

We are convinced of this ; we have experienced
it.^ And yet how often we feel unwilling to

^ " Lord, what a change within us one short hour
Spent in Thy presence will prevail to make,
What heavy burdens from our bosoms take,
What parched grounds refresh, as with a shower !
We kneel, and all around us seems to lower ;
W^e rise, and all the distant and the near
Stands forth in sunny outline, brave and clear ;
We kneel, how weak ! we rise, how full of power !
Why, therefore, should we do ourselves this wrong,
Or others, that we are not always strong,
That we are ever overborne with care.
That we should ever weak or heartless be.
Anxious or troubled, when with us is prayer.
And joy, and strength, and courage are with Thee?"

Trench.

62 EncoiLragcnients to Prayer.

pray, disinclined to go to Him who is all-
glorious and all-good, who never receives us
with harshness or indifference, who is always
ready to bless, to comfort, and to help ! Some-
times, even when we have abundance of leisure
and solitude, when God in His providence
seems to invite us to speak to Him, we feel
this apathy. And yet we know that God re-
gards even a look — hears even the desire of heart
unuttered ; that not even words are needful.
Let us be deeply humbled, but let us not sink
into despondency. Hear the voice: "Draw
nigh to God !" Let us dwell frequently on the
encouragements to draw nigh to God.

God draws ; Satan only tempts.^ All the evil
influences which seek to prevent our approach
to God do not deserve to be compared with
the attractive power of God. I dare not speak
lightly of the innate love of sin and the world,
or of the tendency of fallen human hearts to
gravitate to the earth, or of the force of habit,
or of the fascinations of that enchanted ground,
this present age, which lulls us to sleep, or of
the subtilty and power of Satan. No ; these
are great and potent influences, but nothing
when contrasted with God. Satan and all evil

3 Compare context, v. 7, " Resist the devil, and he will flee
from you."

Encoitragcmeiits to Prayer. 63

under and with him cannot prevail. Satan is
powerful, but not omnipotent ; he is cunning,
but neither omniscient nor wise. He has an
ally within us, even sin ; but he has never yet
understood a human heart. God alone can
search the heart; He alone can draw it, can
open, can melt, can fill it. Satan has no right,
no claim on me, on my nature, on my will, on
my affection. However wicked and polluted a
human being may be, it is not his nature to be
evil. And thouofh he be so degraded as to
feed the swine in the far country, that dark
citizen has no real claim on him, and no true
affinity with him. Man's heart was created for
the love of God, and will only be happy there.
The eye of his soul was made to behold the
sun, and to rejoice in the light. And fallen
though he be, his very misery proves his
original grandeur. Let us remember that God
created man in His image. Let us never forget
that at the ri^ht hand of God is the man Christ
Jesus. Let us behold ourselves, not in the
wreck and ruin of our fallen condition, not in
the mirror of the world and of Satan, but in
the mirror of the hope of resurrection, when
the purpose of God shall be fulfilled in us, and
we shall be conformed to the image of His Son.
When the transforming power of the precious

64 Encouragements to Prayer.

blood of Christ shall be made manifest on the
resurrection morn, there shall arise with trans-
figured and spiritual bodies, true human beings,
full of love and truth, without a single spot,
blemish, or wrinkle, holy and pure like Christ.
If it be so, look upon evil as judged, condemned,
and slain ; upon Satan as bound and cast out.
He cannot draw ; he cannot reach the inmost
depth of your self ; he has no right over you ;
he has no power except the power you give him.
Only resist, only show your face as conscious of
your divine origin, only adore God, and Satan,
powerless and abashed, will flee from you. There
is no real connection between us and Satan.^

Oh, how different is it with God ! He is the
magnet. We are His offspring. He is able to
dwell in us, and to make us dwell in Him. He
draws with an irresistible power, and yet He
does not force or compel us. He sets us free
when His love subdues our heart. He restores

'' Cowper says,

" Satan trembles when he sees
The weakest saint upon his knees."
This may seem to contradict our experience. Satan is busy
tempting and distracting us when we approach God. And this
also belongs to the various hindrances we meet in drawing to
the mercy-seat. But when we have overcome these difficulties,
when we have really got access to the throne of God, when we
are within, when we pray in praying, then it is that our
enemies cannot reach and harm us. Yet even then let us
rejoice with fear and trembling, with humility and watchfulness.

Encoiiragemejiis to Prayer. 65

us when He takes possession of our souls ; for
of Him and through Him and to Him are all
things. He is our rightful Lord, He alone the
King, whose it is to rule ; and His rule is love.
And as to Satan, so to sin and the world,
and all things of time and sense, you can say :
Think not of holding me. I belong not to you ;
I no longer gravitate downward. Christ has
redeemed me and rescued me, and lifted me up
to Himself, and, like all angels and saints, heaven
is my home, eternity is my element, God is my
centre — I draw nigh to God. All in God draws
me ; everything within and around drives me
to the throne of grace. I am ignorant, and
know not what a day may bring forth. " How
unsearchable are God's judgments, and His
ways past finding out!" Shall I not draw nigh
to infinite wisdom, to the great Sovereign, and
say, "Guide me, O thou great Jehovah!" I
am helpless ; I cannot do that which is least ; I
cannot add an inch to my stature. Shall I not
go to Him, without whose will not a sparrow
can fall to the ground, who numbers the very
hairs of my head, and ask Him to watch, defend,
and strengthen me ? Shall I not commit to
Him every thing, great and small ? I think of
God's pity and compassion, of His bounteous
liberality, of His joy and delight in giving and

F

66 Encouragements to Prayer.

consoling, and shall I hesitate to ask, to pour
out my complaints, to mourn before Him ? I
think of His fatherly omniscience, omnipotence,
and love, and I lay before Him my sins, my
failures, my disappointments and defeats in the
fight of faith. I humble myself, and yet do not
feel degraded ; I confess my sins, and I know
it will not alter or diminish His love to me, or
cause Him to doubt me for the future, and to
withhold from me His gifts. What earthly
father would make an ungenerous use of the
confidence of a child, and of his complaints
over the evil he finds in his heart ?

But our chief encourao^ement, the orreat and
unanswerable argument, the bright light before
which all shadows and doubts vanish, is the
love of God in Christ Jesus. Who of us would
ever have ventured to ask of God such a gift,
such a sacrifice, as of His own spontaneous and
infinite love He made in the sending of His
own Son, and delivering Him up unto death ?
Could any creature have imagined such love,
or been bold enough to supplicate such mercy }
When God has thus given the best and greatest
gift, when He spared not Him who was un-
speakably more precious to Him than all finite
creatures, how can we ever doubt His love to
us. His delight in our salvation and blessedness.'^

Encouragements to Prayer. 67

All of the Godhead that can be known is
manifested in Christ Jesus, and calls unto us,
Draw nigh to God ; for God has drawn nigh
to you in love !

Jesus not merely reveals God, the hearer of
prayer. He is also our Mediator. Jesus was a
Man of prayer ; He prayed without ceasing ;
and yet He had special seasons of drawing
nigh unto His heavenly Father. The evangelist
Luke, who dwells emphatically on the humanity
of Christ, speaks frequently of the Saviour's
prayers. Twice we read of the Lord going
out into a wilderness or solitary place, and twice
into a mountain, to pray. We read of his con-
tinuing all night in prayer to God.

Jesus teaches us to pray. The Son of God
knows the Father's heart, and what He is willing
to grant ; the Son of man knows the human
heart, and what we need ; and as He came to
be not merely our Mediator, but our Head, He
brings us into communion with Himself; so that
we pray in His name, in unison with His inter-
cession in our behalf, and in sympathy with His
earthly experience. For when Jesus, in reply
to the request, " Lord, teach us to pray," gave
us the model prayer. He gave it out of His own
constant experience. How did Jesus pray ? He
prayed to the Father in the full consciousness

68 Encouragements to Prayer.

that He came from God, and was going again
to His Father ; in perfect trust and love ; in the
spirit of Sonship. He prayed as the Brother,
in the spirit of fraternal and priestly love ; He,
who was always in heaven, realized the majesty,
grandeur, riches, holiness, and power of the
Father. He prayed in the royal and free spirit
to the Father in heaven — our Father in heaven.
Put your hand into Christ's hand, and your
spirit, let it be folded within His. He is the
only-begotten Son, and says, " Father ;" you are
adopted in Him, and the spirit of adoption
within you says, " Father." He loved His own;
He was full of love towards all ; He had the
Saviour- mind, the Shepherd-heart, towards all,
especially towards them that believe. Then,
like Him, say, Our; let your heart expand
towards all you love, and the Church, and the
world, and to the filial spirit add the fraternal.
Hiofh above earth is the Source of all blessing,
power, and peace, the Treasury which can never
be exhausted — the glorious fulness and riches
of God. Look up above all difficulties, sorrows,
and wants of time, and doubt not that all is
well, and all will end in perfection and peace.
Now if Jesus has thus enabled me to say,
Father, and our, and in heaven, I understand
the seven petitions, and sympathise with them.

Encourage77ients to Prayer. 69

Jesus came to declare the Father's name, to
estabhsh His kingdom, to redeem and restore
earth. Is not this what I need ? is not this
that wherein God is glorified ? So let me desire
for myself, for the brethren, for all, the Name,
the kingdom, the will of God, His Name is a
strong tower — the refuge of a poor and needy-
sinner ; it is a golden harp — full of melody ; it
is a precious ointment — fragrant ; to know it is
eternal life. His kingdom is righteousness,
peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost ; and when it
is come, it will be a manifest reign and glory on
earth. His will is my salvation and sanctifica-
tion ; His will is to work in me both to will and
to do. The fulfilment of these petitions involved
His bitter sufferings and His agony on the
cross ; for in the death of Jesus the name of
God is fully declared, the love of God is revealed
and secured. If Jesus had not worn the crown
of thorns, if He had not been lifted up to the
cross, how could the kingdom ever be established
on our sinful and enthralled earth } And how
could God's will be realized unless Jesus had
first come " to do God's will," even the eternal
counsel, which appointed Him to be the Lamb
slain for us } How difficult, then, were these
petitions for Jesus! how easy are they for us!
and yet how sincerely, how ardently He desired

70 E7ico2iragements to Prayer.

them! Will you hesitate to offer the blood-
boug-ht petitions ?

Has the soul thus mounted into the golden
heights, then, centred in God, delighting itself in
the Lord, it is anxious about nothing, but with-
prayer and supplication makes known its wants
unto the Father. Jesus had not where to lay
His head; He needed food and raiment and
shelter, and sometimes a piece of money to pay
tribute. And He felt responsible for the dear
disciples who had left all and followed Him;
so He said to the Father, " Give us this day
our daily bread." And did the disciples ever
lack while they were with Him ? So may and
must we pray for our bodily and temporal
wants, in the spirit of contentment, of charity,
and of faith — bread, our bread, to-day ; in the
spirit of moderation, and not hasting to be rich ;
of liberality, and not thinking merely of self;
of calmness, without feverish anxiety for the
future. Here come in all petitions for health,
for work, for direction and prosperity in our
daily occupations.

But the Saviour felt the burden of the world's
sin. Sinless and pure Himself, He saw iniquity
abounding. He saw His own disciples con-
tinually trespassing. And what was His desire ?
On the cross He prayed for His enemies, and

Encoiiragenients to Prayej'. 71

all the patience and long-suffering of God are
based upon Christ's mediation. The petition of
Christ is, that sinners may so know and expe-
rience the forgiving love of God as to become
themselves forgiving and merciful ; that since
sin has entered, the healing and restoring grace
of salvation may bring pardon and peace to the
children of men. And then He thinks of the
dangers and temptations and the evil with which
His people have to contend as long as they are
in the body. He commends them to God's
guidance; He asks for deliverance and victory.
And thus He returns into the bosom of His
Father, to fulness of rest and joy, in the blessed
assurance of a perfect answer; for Himself is
the Amen. So are we to pray for forgiveness
of our daily offences, and immediately vow to
the Lord to put on, as the elect of God, bowels
of mercy, forgiving and forbearing. We are
to pray against temptation, and for deliverance
from evil ; and we are to conclude with a firm
conviction and peaceful assurance of God's
answer. As is your Amen, so has been your
prayer. Prayer in the name of Christ ends
with a calm and joyous Amen ; for Jesus Him-
self is the Amen of God, in whom all promises
and gifts of God are sealed.

Learn then to pray with Christ, in harmony

'J 2 JSncotiragemejits to Prayer.

with the man Christ Jesus, the great Mediator
and Head of the family, and you will not
merely pray in His name, you will also live in
Christ's name. If we pray after this manner
we shall possess faith, love, hope ; we shall
commune with our own hearts, and examine
ourselves ; ours will be an unworldly and calm
spirit ; we shall be grave, watchful, solemn, yet
rejoicing in hope of the glory of God ; gentle
and lowly, forgiving and forbearing. Like Jesus !
Oh, brethren, is God Father? is Jesus the Lamb?
is the Spirit a Dove ? and are we to be and
to remain proud, selfish, hard, easily provoked,
and earthly-minded ? Oh let us draw nigh to
God, and be the children of the Most High !

Be encouraged, and let not your hearts be
straitened.

" Lo, the great High Priest ascended,
Pleads the merit of His blood."

He ever liveth to make intercession for you.
Before you approach the throne of grace He
has already mentioned your name to the Father;
before your feeble voice is lifted up His all-
prevailing intercession is heard of God. See
the incense of the Lord's intercession and your
prayer will rise up with and in His prayer, a
sweet savour unto the Father. And doubt not,
but believe, that the Lord heareth His Anointed.

Encoii7'aocmcnts to Prayer. 73

" High Priest of the Church Dispensation,
Lift up, we pray. Thy pierced hand,
And bless Thy ransomed congregation

In every place, by sea and land.
Before Thy Father's face remember
By name each individual member ;
Thy face now on us shine,
Grant us Thy peace divine ;
For we are thine." ^

How frequently God commands and encour-
ages us to draw nigh to Him ! He never
blames the importunity and perseverance of
prayer. We cannot ask too much, or too often,
or too earnestly. How often does He even
mourn over Israel's want of prayer and be-
lieving supplication ? If they only had asked
Him, He would soon have vanquished their
enemies, He would gladly have enriched them
with His gifts. So does God condescend to
our language, to assure us that He delights in
hearing our prayer. And if He seems not to
hear, or to chide, or to refuse, it is only to
prepare you for a fuller and more gracious
answer. Be not discouraged. Have you asked,
and is God silent ? Perhaps you are one of the
chosen, who are specially near to Him. Re-
member how he said to Mary, What have I to
do with thee ? And wait. He will soon show

s Moravian Hymn.

74 E7icoiiragC7nents to Prayer.

forth His glory and gladden your heart. Re-
member how He was silent to the Syro-
phenician woman, and then refused her, as not
belonging to the chosen people, and called her
doo^, and how after these dark clouds the sun
burst forth so brightly. " O woman, great is
thy faith," He exclaimed with joyous admiration
and omnipotent grace. Remember how He
made as if He would go further, and yet was
so easily constrained to join with the disciples ;
how He made Himself known in the breaking
of bread. Remember how Paul besought Him
thrice, and there was given him far more and
better than he asked : " My grace is sufficient
for thee ; for my strength is made perfect in
weakness." Draw niofh to God.

We are encouraged to draw nigh to God by
all the saints o{ God, whose history is recorded
in Scripture. All the stars that shine in the
firmament for ever were once men of like
passions as we are, struggling, sinful, suffering
believers. What shall we say of Abraham our
father ? Is he not called the friend of God ?
Was not his life of faith a life of childlike,
reverent, and trustful prayer ? How did Jacob
become Israel but by wrestling with the angel ?
Why did the countenance of Moses shine but
because he had been on the mount of God ?

Encouragements to Prayej^. 75

How did he lead Israel through the Red Sea
but by faith, because, although his lips were
silent, his heart cried unto the Lord ? The
harp of David still sounds in our ear ; and the
Holy Ghost has crystallized for us the prayers
and praises of the son of Jesse. Some one said
that architecture was music frosted. The Psalms
are the music of the heart, sometimes plaintive
and sad, sometimes joyous and jubilant, some-
times full of anguish and darkness, sometimes
tranquil and happy — the music of David's soul
preserved by the Spirit, that hearing it we may
feel encouraged to draw nigrh to God. Daniel
was a man greatly beloved, and of great desire.
The highest position, in the greatest and most
complicated monarchy, did not keep him from
daily, frequent supplication. What explains to
us the secret of Paul's wisdom, zeal, love,
success, and strength in suffering, but his prayer
without ceasing, his constant bowing the knees
of his heart before God ? All the saints of
God who are now in glory have only one secret
to tell us, only one, " Draw nigh to God, and
He will draw nigh to you."

I think of the whole history of Israel. How
often they forgat God, the Rock of their salva-
tion. But whenever they cried unto Him, He
heard them ; He never failed. He never dealt

76 Encoiu^agements to Prayer.

with them accordiiiQf to their sins. He forgot
their ingratitude ; but He remembered His
covenant with Abraham, His tender mercies
and compassion. What an illustration of the
words of James : "If any man lack wisdom,
let him ask of God, who giveth to all simply,
and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him."
"The giving God, who giveth simply," (i. 5.)
He giveth just because He is asked, in all
simplicity, and in giving upbraideth not for
our past ingratitude and sin.

Dear children, draw nigh to Jesus. Many
prayers have been offered up for you by parents
and teachers and friends; without your knowing
it, you have been often carried before the Lord,
that He may bless you. Now that you can
understand the words of the Saviour, " Suffer
little children to come unto Me," draw nigh to
God. Do not wait till you are grown up. To
draw nigh to God, it is not necessary for children
to become old ; it is necessary for the old to
become children. Before God we are all little,
ignorant, weak ; alas ! we are all sinful, selfish,
and guilty. But just as we are we come, and
He forgives us for Jesus' sake, and renews our
hearts. When Solomon asked God for a wise
and understanding heart, God was pleased, and

Encottrage77ients to Pimycr. 77

told him that He had given it to him because
he asked it. If you really ask God for a new
heart, He will give you a new heart. Children,
draw nigh to God. Remember —

" Around the throne of God in heaven
Thousands of children stand ;"

and of them it is said —

" On earth they sought the Lord by prayer."

Draw nigh to God, that so you may dread the
grave as little as your bed. Draw nigh to God,
that you may live a happy and useful life.
Children who come to God, are often spared
a long time on earth to serve Him. Samuel
drew nigh to God when he was a little child :
"Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth ;" and
he was a prophet and ruler in Israel for ninety
years.

" Now that my journey 's but begun,
My course so Httle trod,
I'll stay, before I further run,
And give myself to God."

Young people, draw nigh to God. None
ever regretted that in his youth he sought God
and found Him. Strange to say, even those
who have afterwards forgotten God and become
unbelievers think that religion is good, salutary,
and necessary for the young ; and if they can

yS Encouragements to Prayer.

look back on a childhood and youth of prayer,
they are not ashamed of it. Ah ! believe it,
that now is the time for you to draw nigh to
God, to listen to the voice of Wisdom, to bend
your wayward and restless heart to the sweet
will of God our Saviour, to be built on the
Rock of ages, and to take hold of the promises
of God, which are yea and Amen in Christ
Jesus. Draw nigh to God, that He may give
you a heart to love and serve Him, that He
may graft you a living branch into the true
Vine. No principle will ever make you happy,
or give you strength to resist temptation ; you
need Jesus Himself. You have read the story
of Hercules, and the choice between the narrow
path of virtue and the broad way of pleasure.
This was the best the ancient world knew.
They knew nothing of conversion, of a crucified
Saviour, who not merely shows the way, but
who is the way, who by His love makes us
love Him, and who Himself is our life and
strength. What a blessed thing for you that
you know of Jesus, if by Him you draw nigh
to God !

You parents, God has placed part of His
crown on your heads, and commanded the
children to honour and obey you. Go for them
and with them to the throne of grace. You

Encoiwageuients to Prayer. 79

who are in the active duties and various trials
of hfe, draw nigh to God. As you grow older,
do not become colder, but more fervent. Seek
not great things, either for yourselves or your
children, and beware of the worldly spirit.

Remember that man's life does not consist in
what he has, but in what he is. Serve Jesus and
the Church. Oh, let not the best years of your
life be years in which you have little communion
with God, and in which you do little for Christ !
" Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven."
Let not your biography be summed up : "He
turned to God in his youth, he then became
lukewarm, being engrossed in the cares and the
business and the social demands of the world,
and a short time before his death he saw his
mistake, and felt that one thing was needful.
For years his spiritual life was barely sustained
by the prayers of friends and the weekly ser-
vices of the sanctuary. He might have been a
pillar in the Church, but he was only a weight."
This be far from you. Oh, serve the Lord with
gladness, be strong, quit yourselves like men,
and abound in the work of the Lord ! " Draw
nio-h to God."

o

And you, aged pilgrims, honoured and beloved,
draw nigh to God ; and though it is evening,
and the day is far spent, Jesus will make all

8o EncoiLvageuients to Prayer.

shadows flee away, and your hearts will burn
with love and joy. God renews our youth. Of
Moses it is written : " And Moses was an hun-
dred and twenty years old when he died : his
eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated."
And Caleb, who followed the Lord fully, said to
the people of Israel, when he was eighty and
five years old : " As yet I am as strong this day
as I was in the day that Moses sent me." ®
Spiritually, this is true of all God's aged saints.
They that wait on the Lord renew their strength.
All the characteristics of youth are theirs —
fulness of life, and an abundant and lively hope.
The world knows of no source of rejuvenescence ;
they regard the sunset with melancholy resig-
nation. Youth appears rich in enjoyment, in
plans, in hopes, in manifold and full life ; old
age, on the other hand, poor, colourless, and
weak. But it is not so with the aged servants
of God. They have been enriched with the
treasures of divine knowledge and spiritual ex-
perience ; their interest in God's kingdom has
increased deeper and broader. Although the
outward man is perishing, yet the inward man
is renewed day by day. They are strong in
the Lord; they know Him who is from the
beginning ; they possess a hope which maketh

s Joshua xiv. 9.

Encourageinents to Prayer.

not ashamed ; they feel the nearness of the
land of perfect peace.

In conclusion, let us hear the voice of an
eminent servant in Christ, who, on his death-
bed, thus spoke to his friends :^ "If I were to ^
return to hfe, I would, with the help of God
and in distrust of myself, give much more time
to prayer than I have hitherto done, reckoning
much more upon the effect of that than on my
own labour ; which, however, it is our duty
never to neglect, but which has no strength but
in as far as it is animated by prayer. I would
especially strive to obtain in my prayers that
unction, that fervour of the Holy Spirit which
is not learned in a day, but is the fruit of a
long, and often a painful, apprenticeship. Oh,
my friends ! you who are full of life — you
whose career does not seem to be near its end
— lay hold of the opportunity and redeem it ;
cultivate new habits of prayer. Bring into
prayer, with a spirit of fervour, a spirit of order
and method that will increase its power, as it
increases the power of all human things, and
co-operates with the Divine agency itself; that
method and arrangement of which Jesus Christ
has given us an example in the model He left
us — the Lord's prayer."

* A. Monod's Farewell.
G

CHAPTER IV.

THE FULFILMENT OF THE PROMISE.
'■'■ And He will draw nigh toyou"—]hU^'& iv. 8.

A ND is it so ? Does God fulfil His promise ?
•^^^ The whole family in heaven and on earth
answer, Yes ; " I love the Lord, because He
hath heard my voice and my supplications."

It is a blessed thing to draw nigh unto God ;
but it is still more blessed when God draws
nigh to us. Even the faintest approach to God,
although in darkness and out of the depths, is
blessed; it is because God draws, because His
grace, unknown as yet, goes before, that we
ever draw nigh. The prayer, by which divine
love is conquered, is itself inspired by God's
Spirit. For this reason the Lord pronounces
the poor in spirit blessed, the mourners, and
those which hunofer and thirst after righteous-
ness. He calls them blessed, because there is
an absolute certainty that God will draw nigh
to them. The consolation, the feast, all things
are ready for them. Nay, strictly speaking,

The Fulfilment of the Promise. 83

theirs is even now the kingdom of heaven ;
they think they are only seekers, but they have
been found by divine grace, and they wiH surely
find.

All religions say, " Draw nigh to God." The
wonderful peculiarity of Christianity (and Jeho-
vahism) is, that it calls on man to draw nigh to
God, because He has drawn nigh to us. God
reveals Himself as a sin-forgiving and heart-
renewing God — as love. True worship starts
with the assurance of divine favour ; at least,
with the knowledge that there is full grace in
God. False religions always regard this as the
object and ultimate point to be gained gradually
through man's drawing nigh by prayer, sacrifice,
and works. Man tries to ascend, to work his
way upwards by steps, winding, broken, endless :
God comes down to us with the invitation and
gift of perfect love. In Jesus only we have
the full and blessed reality and assurance, God
will draw nigrh to us. Christ is a livingf Saviour.
He gives what He promises. His messengers
do not merely exhort ; but they testify of a
present heaven. They not merely direct to the
Physician ; but they ask you to test by expe-
rience that He can heal and restore. They do
not say. Go ; but they say. Come. Penetrate,
then, into the sanctuary. Rest not satisfied

84 The Fulfilment of the Promise.

with drawing nigh to God, but obtain the
promise.

The golden gates stand open ; they are beau-
tiful, but the home to which they lead is more
glorious. It is prepared for all who enter. The
casket is attractive, and resplendent with the
hidden beauty it contains ; but what when com-
pared with the pearl of great price which is
within ? Let Faith only open the casket, and
you not merely behold, but possess the precious
treasure. The passer-by is arrested by the
frag^rance of flowers and the sonof of birds. Bid
farewell to the love of sin and the world by
looking unto Jesus, and you are within the
blood-sprinkled enclosure in the garden of the
Lord. Out of the wilderness, you are trans-
planted into the kingdom of God. " Draw nigh
to God, and God will draw nigh to you." You
will be within, and no longer outside. Oh,
believe it, this is the only thing absolutely certain
and attainable on earth — this is the only thing
in which we can be perfectly successful ! We
seek pleasure and earthly happiness, and cannot
find and secure it; we seek to be great or good,
and cannot attain it. But if we seek Christ, we
must and we do find Him ; and Christ is all. The
only thing we can secure on earth is heaven.
If we draw nigh to God, God does draw nigh

The Fulfilment of the Promise. 85

to us. True, when He comes He takes from
us all we have — our righteousness, our peace,
our life. Before we possess the hidden life ; we "f
must die with Christ. He crucifies the world
to us, and He crucifies us to the world ; but He
gives us Himself, and Himself is all — more
than all; for it is He who makes "all" to be
"all." Now the soul that has sighed, " Oh that
I knew where to find Him!" says, "Whom
have I in heaven but Thee ? and there is none
upon earth whom I desire beside Thee."

In the Scriptures, written by the inspiration
of the God of love and wisdom, there are en-
couragements and invitations, so simple, affec-
tionate, and comprehensive, that none can remain
in doubt as to their meaning ; that none can fail
to see the willino-ness of God to receive and
bless the returning sinner. They are clear
and frequent ; human language can afford no
terms more lucid, urgent, and tender. Beside
these texts, written so legibly and attractively
on the door of revelation, there are other decla-
rations of Scripture which are understood and
enjoyed only by those who, obedient to the
heavenly voice, have entered in by the open
gate. There are, so to say, outside texts and
inside texts.

" Wisdom standeth in the top of high places,

J

86 T/ie Fulfibnetit of the Promise.

by the way in the places of the paths." Wisdom
cries and puts forth her voice ; she speaks unto
all. " Unto you, O men, I call ; and my voice
is to the sons of men." To the simple and to
fools she speaks of excellent things. Thus God
does not speak in secret places, not in heights
inaccessible, and depths which we cannot fathom.
"The Word is nigh thee." As Jesus said,
" I taught daily in the temple." God speaks
daily to us, where we must hear His voice.
God speaks with such directness and simplicity,
addressing the sensus communis, and command-
ing the immediate assent of the inner man.
And God speaks to all, excluding none, how-
ever foolish or sinful.

Here all is open, universal ; but if we listen
to this voice of wisdom, we enter, and, no longer
j among the multitude and crowd of the streets,
I on the dusty and noisy highway, we shall be
in the presence of God, in the school of Christ.
The Father will reveal to us the mystery of
Christ, and the secret of the Lord shall be with
us by the teaching of the Holy Spirit.

"God so loved the world, that He gave His
only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in
Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life."
What can be more encouraging and compre-
hensive than this divine message ? Here is

The Fulfilment of the Promise. 87

indeed a wide, open, golden gate ! But if we.
enter, we read, " The life of faith in the Son of
God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me!'
If we did not possess the outside and compre-
hensive texts, Scripture would be like a house
without a door. However firm the foundation,
solid the walls, secure the roof; however beauti-
ful and capacious the rooms, the wanderer out-
side in darkness, loneliness, and danger, seeking
shelter and peace, could not enter. But if
Scripture did not contain the inside, special, and
mysterious texts, it would be like doors that
lead to nothing, promises which have no fulfil-
ment, invitations to a feast without the reality
of a feast awaiting those who accept them. It
would be merely " Come ;" but not "All things
are ready."

We need not expect to read the inside texts
until we are inside.^ The love of Jesus, what ,
it is — none but His loved ones know. That
which describes the experience of the believer

' Many ask questions about election and other doctrines,
which do not yet come within their horizon, and therefore
cannot be explained to them (to a certain extent, true of us all).
The ninth chapter of Paul's epistle to the Romans, as Luther y
said, is the ninth. Learn first the eight chapters which precede
it —

" Soil ich dir die gegend zeigen,
Musst du erst das Dach besteigen." — GoETHE.
(You cannot see the view unless you ascend the height.)

88 The Fulfilment of the P^'omise.

and the dealings of God with him cannot be
known, and cannot form the ground of en-
couragement to an outsider. God speaks to
him as one of the world. God loved the
world. Believe, and you will be able to say,
Christ loved the Church. He loved me. God
speaks to him, as "every one that thirsteth,"
if you come and buy, you will then know there
is a water of life, and the sincere milk of the
Word and divine love, which is better than
wine.

Yet in God's wisdom the outside texts never
become superfluous, even to the saints who are
by grace within the fold. The first and simplest
truths of the gospel become of growing value
to our souls as we advance along the narrow
road which leadeth unto life. Truths which are
at first received authoritatively, on the evidence
of Scripture, become commended to us by their
own beauty ; and that which we received at
first, as it were by force of our own necessity, is
found in our progress to be the manifestation of
the glory of Christ, so that we are able in
measure to contemplate it apart from selfish-
ness, and to see it in the light in which God
Himself sees it. How often, I had almost said
constantly, has a believer to go back to them.
How precious is "God so loved the world" to

The Fulfilment of the Promise. 89

every saint. How welcome the "whosoever"
of the most elementary gospel declaration.
"If God had not said, ' Blessed are those that
hunger,' I know not what could keep weak
Christians from sinking in despair. Many times
all I can do is to complain that I want Him,
and wish to recover Him."^ How often we
need the encouraging word, "As I live, saith
the Lord, I have no pleasure in the death of the
sinner, but that he should turn and live." See
how the apostle Paul at the end of his long life
of service and suffering rejoices in the general
declaration, " This is a faithful saying, and
worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus has
come into the world to save sinners." But how
beautifully he changes it into an inside text by
adding, "of whom I am chief." Yet no be-
liever can be satisfied with the general and, so
to speak, introductory texts. If we have really
believed, entered in, come to the Saviour, we
must know something of what He says and gives
to those who belong to Him ; we must have
experienced the truth of His promise. If we
have accepted the invitation, we must have
tasted the feast. Here success is absolutely
necessary. It is not enough to try ; but we
must actually enter in by the strait gate. Seek-

^ Bishop Hall.

go The Fulfilment of the Promise.

ing God, as some one said, is right ; but it is
not salvation. Jesus is the Saviour, and we
must come to Him.

Pascal says : " There are three classes of
persons — Those who have found God, and
serve Him ; those who are busy in seeking
Him, but have not found Him ; and those who,
not having found Him, live without seeking
Him. The first are rational and happy; the
last are foolish and unhappy ; the other class
are unhappy, but rational." But we know that
every one that seeketh shall find. Let us not
deceive ourselves. " Draw nigh to God, and He
will draw nigh to you." Come to Jesus, and He
_f_ gives you rest. Believe in Him, and you have
eternal life. Our coming has been no reality,
if our receiving is no reality. The answer of
God, the response of Jesus, must needs follow
the prayer of the soul. Nothing can be more
precious than the free, open entrance. And
why ? Because it does lead to the love of God,
to the true peace, and to the eternal life.

Nor are the inside texts without blessing to
the seeker. He hears that God has a people ;
that there are hearts renewed by grace, and
inhabited by the Spirit ; that there is 'a peace
which passeth all understanding ; comfort in
-^ affliction ; hope in death ; glory in eternity.

The Fiiljibncnt of the Promise. 9 1

The very fact that there is an experience which
he has not had yet stirs him up to pray, to seek.
Thus Jesus described unto His disciples, but
hi the hearing of all the people, the beatitudes
of the kingdom. There is a hidden hfe of the
soul ; there is communion with God ; there is
an immediate'^ and real contemplation and en-
joyment of divine things ; there is a manifestation
of Jesus to the believers of which the world has
no experience. " My sheep hear my voice."

What is this life ? It is not mere knowledge.
The word knowledge is often used in Scripture
in a high and comprehensive sense ; and then
to know means, not merely to understand intel-
lectually, or to form a mental conception, but
to discern and appropriate by an inward expe-
rience, to love and to possess. In this sense, to
know is eternal life.* This knowledge is the
gift of the Holy Spirit, this vision is the fulfil-
ment of the promise, " They shall know Me."

But it would be a fatal mistake if any one
consoled himself with the fact, that he under-
stood and accepted the doctrines of the gospel.
We may possess much knowledge, yea, all know-
ledge, even of mysteries, and yet be nothing.

3 Immediate. Doctrines having been grasped by the intellect,
and received in the heart, we can enter directly into communion
with God. ■* John xvii. 3.

92 The Fiiljihne7it of the Pro77iise.

Knowledge puffeth up. The kingdom of God
is not in word, but in power. "If ye know
these things, blessed are ye if ye do them."

Doctrine is, as it were, the form and outline,
the shape and vessel ; the substance is God
Himself. Jesus is the Bread of life, and we
must feed on Him. It is not enouQfh to see
the bread and the cup, and to know that it is
the true nourishment ; it is not enough to take
it, thus recognising that God freely and lovingly
offers it to me as I am ; I must eat and drink.
We must appropriate Christ. To feed on Christ
is an act of the will ; it is with the heart that
man believeth.^ This is the secret and inner
life, as Jesus saith : " Behold, I stand at the
door, and knock : if any man hear my voice,
and open the door, I will come in to him, and
will sup with him, and he with Me."

God Himself draws nigh ; and God only can
satisfy the heart. The most subtle idolatry and
image-worship is when the soul rests in doctrine,
however true. When delighted with the pro-
found and comprehensive scheme of Scripture
truth, it forgets that this is but the abstraction,
the theory, the shadow of great and living
realities. How different is the description of a

5 When divine truth is presented, the question is not merely,
Do I see it.? but, Do I will W.

The Fulfilment of the Promise. 93

rose in a botanical manual, however correct,
from the beauty and fragrance of a real rose as
you hold it in your hand ! " Draw nigh to God,
and He will draw nigh to you" — He Himself,
although He may use various channels and
instruments ; it may be Paul, or Cephas, or
A polios ; it may be affliction or prosperity ; it
may be through the voice of Nature or of Pro-
vidence ; it may be through the word or the
example of a Christian ; yet it is God Himself.
But of all instruments and channels the written
Word is of the utmost importance ; it stands
supreme. It is through Scripture, eminently,
that God draws nigh to the soul. But let us
never mistake the reading of the Scripture for
that real drawing nigh of the living God, towards
which it is the great help, and of which it is the
great witness. Scripture is not the substitute
for God's drawing nigh to us, it is only the
channel ; the written Word of the past must
become the living Word of ih^ present.

There never were more learned, skilful, and
laborious interpreters of the Scripture than the
scribes and Pharisees. They possessed a very
minute knowledge of the written Word, and do
not let us forget it, in the main it was correct.
They knew which were the greatest command-
ments ; they knew where the Messiah was to

94 ^/^^ Fulfilment of the Promise.

be born ; they taught so that Jesus could say,
Do what they tell you. And yet they did not
hear the voice of God. When the Word of
God incarnate stood before them, and spoke to
them, they rejected Him. Oh, how deeply
astonished and grieved was Jesus, the single-
hearted and loving child of God, when He
discovered this strange anomaly! But He
Himself gives us the sad solution of this the
most tragic fact of history. ^

They had not the right aim. They did not
seek God in the Word, and therefore did not
find Him ;" they sought the honour that comes
from man, and therefore could not believe.
They loved the present world ; and it is only
in proportion as we have died unto the world
that we can understand and love God's truth.
They were anxious to be thought masters and
expositors ; and even when they tried to find

^ The gospel of John (specially chapters v. and viii.) throws
much light on this point. The Lord tells the Jews they have
not the word of God abiding in them, though they possessed
and valued the Scriptures.

^ " Men are apt to seek everything in the Bible, except God.
The man of learning goes to it with his erudition, sees and
hears nothing but what gives scope to his art ; the inquisitive
goes to it with his curiosity, prying into things which the Father
hath reserved in His power. Others again seek it in relief from
burdensome feelings, and only wish to rejoice in its light for a
short season." — Beck.

The jF2il/ilment of the Pro7nise. 95

out the practical meaning of Scripture, it was
to solemnize and edify others, and not them-
selves. They prepared dainties for others, while
they were starving themselves ; they pointed to
others the way, and remained only dead and
wooden sign-posts. They came to Scripture, as
Nicodemus came to Jesus, acknowledging that
it was a book come from God, expecting Infor-
mation and improvement, not knowing that they
needed to be born again.^ They quoted com-
mentaries, and stole the Word one from the
other, saying, the burden of the Lord, this is
the text and the interpretation; and never
prayed, Open Thou mine eyes ; and never
sought a message from the living God : " Open
Thou my lips ; and my mouth shall shew forth
Thy praise."

Such was Pharisaism. But when God draws
nigh, when It pleases Him to reveal His Son
in us, then we count the erudition so eagerly
acquired at the feet of Gamaliel but dross ; we
become God's children, Christ's disciples, and
the Spirit of God teaches us that wisdom which
the world counts foolishness.

God speaks In and through the Word. It Is
not that God spake long ago, and that the
record of His acts and words. His revelation,

^ Francke.

96 The Ftdfilment of the Promise.

was embodied in a perfect manner, and preserved
for us in Scripture. This is true. But God gave
us the Bible, not to be silent now and let the
Bible speak instead oi Him, and be 2i guarantee
for Him, but that He Himself may through
His word speak, comfort, and confirm the soul,
filling it with His light and love.

Did not David possess and love the five
books of Moses ? yet did he not continually
pray, "Be not silent unto me" ? Because we
have Scripture, we say, " I will hear what God
the Lord will say." Does not the author of the
1 19th Psalm express it in more than a hundred
ways ? " Thou hast given me Thy blessed word ;
speak to me — teach, guide, enlighten me. From
Thee direct, from Thee, living and loving One,
I seek all through Thy word — not from the
ancients or tradition, not from the seniors or
authority."

It is God's word, and therefore all \'s> profitable
to us at present. Every incident, every charac-
ter, every promise, every command, is a present
and living reality to us. Not for the preacher,
not for the theologian, not for the literary man,
not for the man of taste, not for the man of
principle, but for the man of God, is Scripture
insoired. It is to make us the children of the
Most High, to make us Christ-like, to conform

The Fulfilmetit of the Promise. 97

us to the image of His Son, to furnish us
throughly unto every good work ; so that after
the discipHne of this earthly life we may be
made manifest in glory,

God draws nigh in the Word. Do we know
what it is to read the Bible in the original ? It
does not mean in Hebrew or Greek. God speaks
neither Hebrew nor Greek. This is the original
language of Scripture — the love of God to the
soul : " I have loved thee with an everlasting
love : therefore with loving-kindness have I
drawn thee." And all God's vocabulary is
summed up in Jesus — Alpha and Omega, He
is the Word. When God takes the written
Word back from the paper into His own
mouth, then we read the original ; then it is
again God - breathed, and the word which
Cometh out of His mouth shall not return
void.

None but the Lord our God can teach us
to profit. People advise us how to read the
Bible. They suggest, probably from their own
experience, various methods and plans how to
study the Bible. External knowledge of Scrip-
ture is very valuable, but let us not rest in it.
Method is useful, but let us not be taken up
with it. Rather let us look to our motive in
reading Scripture. We do not want knowledge

H

98 The Fulfilment of the Promise.

to shine before men, but to be humble before
God. Let us consult the living commentaries
brought before us in God's providence — our
work, our friends, our lives. And as prayer is
only the culminating point of our drawing nigh
to God, so the reading of Scripture is only the
culminating point of God's drawing nigh to us ;
for the living God connects His providence, our
daily life, work, and suffering, with His word.
If, as Jesus says, he that docs the will of God
shall know of His doctrine, then we may be
assured that the diligent, conscientious, and
prayerful performance of our daily duties will
be made the preparation for receiving greater
and deeper blessings in the reading of God's
word. It is not time and leisure we want. If
we are in the Spirit, if we draw nigh to God,
God can draw nigh unto us in one little text,
in the remembrance of one Bible narrative or
promise, in the remembrance of one single
feature of the Lord's countenance and character,
and fill our souls with marrow and fat.

As we read of the Lord Jesus, that He fed the
multitude of thousands with five loaves and two
fishes, and all were satisfied, and there remained
seven baskets of fragments, so God can make
a few Scripture verses, or a single promise,
supply abundantly all our need, be it of guid-

The Fjdfihnent of the Promise. 99

ance in perplexing" circumstances, or of strength
under exhausting difficulties, or of consolation
in heart-sorrow. And not merely supply our
need, but so fill us with divine light and grace,
that with this sinorle Word we shall gro and
enrich and comfort others, so that nothing of
God's marvellous bounty is lost.

Scripture itself teaches us how to use Scrip-
ture. It is in Scripture that we find the deepest
and most far-reaching protests against a super-
stitious and mechanical, against a merely intel-
lectual and sentimental, reading of the Bible.

In the Psalms of David especially, God has
given to us a perfect picture of the spiritual
use of Scripture.^

Take the first psalm. It is most solemn and
awful. It describes the broad road and the
narrow way; the wheat and the chaff; the
judgment which shall separate with unerring
and inexorable severity, gathering the precious
into the orarner, and burnino- the chaff with un-
quenchable fire. Who is the godly man ? He
is characterized not by fear and terror, but by
an indwelling, bright, and peaceful joy. That
which really separates him from the wicked, is
the secret treasure he has found in God's love.

' Like the play within the play in Hamlet, we see here in the
Bible how a godly man reads the Bible.

lOO The Fulfilment of the Pro77iise.

His delizht is in the law of the Lord. He medi-
tates on it day and night. Even by night ; for
our spiritual life is deeper than our consciousness.
Thus God draws nigh unto him, and sustains
and guides him in all his ways. Thus, while
no human eye sees the vitalizing and refreshing
element in which his soul is rooted, every one
beholds his strength, his good works, his peace-
ful and rhythmical life ; " like a tree planted by
the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit
in his season ; his leaf also shall not wither ;
and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper."

Look again at the nineteenth Psalm. David
hears the voice of the living God in the world
or nature around him, in the Scripture, and in
the heart within. He rejoices in God, who is
not silent to him. Always and everywhere he
hears the voice, he sees the glory, he sees the
grace. The heavens declare it to him, and the
sun, emblem of the light and love of God, of
the Bridegroom of the soul, of the free gospel,^
preaches to him glad tidings. He can under-
stand the voice of Nature, because Scripture
tauoht him God. The word of God, enliehtenine
and renewing, rejoicing the heart, and guiding
the walk, has become more precious to him than
gold, sweeter than honeycomb. This would be

' Rom. X. 1 8.

The Fidfilme7it of the Promise. loi

superstition and idolatry, as well as self-deception,
were it not that C^^f reveals and bestows Him-
self in the Word. This voice speaks to him
personally ; and therefore he looks zuithiu, and
in humility he prays, " Who can understand his
errors ? cleanse thou me from secret faults."
And in all this he has been speaking both
before and to God. " Let the words of m}'-
mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be
acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my strength
and my redeemer."

Look at the 119th Psalm, the golden ABC
of the Jews. This, as every one knows, is the
longest psalm ; but let us see that it is 2\?>o2.great
psalm. It extols the excellency of the word of
God ; and in doing so, describes the nature,
power, and blessing of Scripture in a most com-
prehensive manner. God, man, and Scripture,
human life in all its aspects, and the divine
Word — these are the topics of the psalm. He
begins (Aleph) by stating the ideal of the godly
life, to be undefiled in the way, seeking God
with the whole heart, keeping God's statutes,
having respect unto all His commandments — •
the man of God throughly furnished unto every
good work, and that by the Word, And then
(Beth), starting with youth, its ignorance, sin-
fulness, and temptations, he goes through all

I02 The Fulfilment of the Promise.

human experiences, and shows how God's word
sanctifies and comforts, helps and directs us.
The temptations of sin, the snares of the world,
the reproach of the ungodly, the contempt of
the wicked for God's truth, the opposition of
the proud and mighty, the false and Pharisaic
spirit of the formalists, the afflictions and trials
which come from without, the soul's distress
and languor, cleaving unto dust, the enlarge-
ment of the heart unto willing obedience, the
inward calmness and peace of the trustful saint,
the joy and jubilant thanksgiving of the soul —
all is described here in simplest language of
experience. Here is orbis pictits. The whole
world, outer and inward — and everywhere God
speaking through the Word — guiding, quieting,
sustaining, bringing light and strength and joy.
This wonderful psalm is given (and we ought
to read it frequently) to make us know what a
life-treasure we have in the word of God.

Behold a witness nobler still — the man
Christ Jesus. When I think of Him, I wonder
how priestly mediation, ecclesiastical authority,
human genius and learning, have ever ventured
to lord it over God's heritage ! " Where is
the wise ? where is the scribe ? where is the
disputer of this world ? " Christ is our Master
and Teacher, the Holy Ghost our Light, and

The Fulfilment of the Proinise. 103

all Christians have the unction from above.
Jesus came in humility. He was poor. He
was brought up in despised Nazareth. He was
called a carpenter. He had no wealth. We
easily admit all this, and more or less remember
it. But notice, He had no learning. His was no
scholastic erudition. He possessed no exegetical
lore, and the theologians said of Him, " How
does this man know exegesis, having never
studied?" Yes; but He was the man Christ
yesus, the man of God. He understood the
Scriptures, because He drew nigh to God, and
God drew nigh to Him. His heart was pure;
love to God and man filled His soul. His aim
was the Father's glory ; His daily meat was to
do the will of Him that sent Him. From his
childhood he knezv the Scriptures. Prayer and
obedience, humility and love, were his com-
mentaries. He learned in the carpenter's shop
of Nazareth, by the daily and hourly guidance
of His heavenly Father. His heart was calm
and lowly, and the whole light of Scripture was
reflected in it. He had the word of God abiding
in Him. Jesus teaches us to pray, to draw nigh
to God ; Jesus teaches us to read the Scriptures,
so that God draws nigh to us. When Jesus
quotes the Scriptures, it is not merely a quota-
tion of the intellect and of memory, but it is

I04 The Fuljibitent of the Promise.

out of His own heart and experience ; it is out
of His own treasury; it has become His very
life-blood, and therefore it is life and light, it is
power and authority.

Let us learn of Jesus; let us be like Him;
for in order to be like the natural (psychical)
man, to whom the Word always remains some-
thing external, we need not be regenerated.
Our new birth is the commencement of the
Christ-life. God hath sent the Spirit of His
Son into our hearts. We hear the Father's
voice ; we pray in Christ's name.

When thus we read Scripture, we feel as if
praying ; as in the Psalms and Prophets there
is constant dialogue, the soul immediately con-
verting the divine message into the response
of faith and longing. And when we pray we
often feel the Scripture-word brought nigh to
our heart, nay, brought Into us, so that we utter
it with full consent and central soul-illumination.
And thus do we learn to go forth into our
life-path, praying without ceasing, and always
listening to the heavenly voice.

CHAPTER V.

THE EXPERIENCED REALITY OF REVELATION,

^^ Draw iiigJi to God, and He will draw nigh to yon."
James iv. 8.

T TNBELIEF appears strange to all who
^^ know God, because they love Him ; to
the children of the new covenant, who need no
longer that any human authority or instruction
should say unto them, " Know the Lord." God
has manifested Himself unto them in forgiving
their iniquity, and remembering their transgres-
sions no more. Unbelief cannot pray to the
living God, and hear the voice of the eternal
and ever-speaking Word, the wisdom of God,
the Divine Lover of the sons of men. That
which is to us the greatest reality, appears a
vague and doubtful abstraction to unbelief; it
regards as obscure what is to us light, manifest-
ing itself, and making all things manifest ; it
deems inaccessible and far off what is constantly
around us, nay, lives within us — a well of water
springing up into eternal life.

io6 The Experienced Reality of Revelation.

And again, this very certainty which we
possess, which we in our Christian language call
faith, is unintelligible to the merely psychical
man. He may sometimes express envy of our
happiness, and say he wishes he also could
believe ; but he thinks that our certainty is
either the unreasonino- and somewhat infantine
rest in an outward authority, or that it is a
sentiment of the heart which gives us peace
and joy, but which has no foundation in reality.
He does not know that faith is the eift of God,
a light kindled by the Spirit, who reveals unto
us " the things freely given to tis of God."^ He
does not know that God has spoken to us, and
that faith cometh by hearing this voice. He
is therefore not able to understand how the
Spiritual man, who by reason of a new birth
sees the kingdom of God, knoweth of a cer-
tainty all things, and how all the objections,
doubts, and difficulties of the learned do not
touch him or even disturb his mind. And
this is his knowledge, there is the living God ;
prayer and the word of God are experienced
realities ; he has tested the Word, " Draw nigh
to God, and He will draw nigh to you."

Into this simple question all must finally re-
solve itself: Is there the living- God? If we

' I Cor. ii. 12.

The Experienced Reality of Revelation. 107

believe that God lives, then we shall experience,
God hath spoken, and we shall also experience
that He is the hearer of prayer. If we do not
know the living God, all our acknowledgment
of Scripture is superficial, and we have not
yet heard that voice which begets faith, nor do
we know the blessedness of prayer, of that
constant life in God's presence, and conscious
dependence on Him.

God manifests Himself to the simple, the
ignorant — unto babes; and His self-manifesta-
tion must be of such a nature, that no human
authority is needed to attest it, or human learn-
ing to defend it. Is the faith of a simple
Christian shaken because difficulties of science
or metaphysics, of history or chronology, are
brought forward — is his faith suspended until
they are answered ? Has there been a single
century in which unbelief had not many diffi-
culties, and some very subtle and specious,
to urge against the truth ? Has the Church,
though able to answer all arguments, been
able to alter the doubting heart and the
God-estranged mind, which ever invents new
difficulties, and ever changes its method and
weapons of attack ? But all this time has not
the Church believed without hesitation and
faltering, because the true Light now shineth,

io8 The Experienced Reality of Revelation.

and the Spirit beareth witness, because the
Spirit is truth.

Christians know God, and Jesus the heavenly
Friend! The Holy Spirit has revealed unto
us the Father and the Son. We know the
Word also, in which He has made us to hope,
and least of all can the vain philosophy of the
world move us ; for this very unbelief is fore-
told. Could human wisdom receive and defend
the truth, the Holy Ghost would not be needed ;
but the simplest and most uncultured may,
by the grace of God, have perfect assurance,
light, the knowledge, " God hath spoken to
me.

I am well aware that men are always wishing
to find some other foundation than that which
is laid. They wish something over and beyond
the word of God wherein to trust. They wish
us to prove that Scripture is the word of God.
It is as if you asked any one to prove the
brisfhtness of the sun, or the loudness of
thunder, or the sweetness of honey. The
word of God proves itself divine. But again
it is objected : Because it has proved itself thus
to you, it may not prove itself to me. We
answer : If any man thirst, let him come and
taste that the Lord is gracious. He who speaks
to you in the Word is no stranger ; it is the

The Expej^ienccd Reality of Revelation. 109

Lord who made you. Your mind, your heart,
your will, your whole inner man, have been
created for God and His word, as much as your
eye for light, and your ear for sound. Faith is
as natural to your soul as breathing to your
lungs.

Man in Paradise heard God's voice, and be-
lieved. Doubt was the suggestion of Satan. It is
a foreign growth, a poison instilled from without.
The enemy hath sown this. " Hath God said ?"
or skepsis, or criticism of the divine Word, is
not the development of something originally
human, but the sophism of the old serpent.
Truly, it is not merely the first impression from
a mother's lovinof teaching that makes it difficult
for men to give up faith in God, in His word,
in prayer. There is the great and glorious fact,
that God has indeed spoken ; that He who
made the heart has had fii'st entrance to it ;
that He has spoken first ; that, as in a palimp-
sest, deep, deep below all the writing of doubt
and unbelief is the writing of God, and shall
remain there, either in an eternity of blessed-
ness or anguish.

When believers, who walk with God, testify
of their inward experience of the reality of
divine revelation, it may seem at first as if they
were deficient in the wisdom of love, which

1 1 o The Expei'ieiiced Reality of Revelation.

adapts itself to the position and capacity of the
hearer. But both Scripture and experience
teach us that such is the best and most loving
method. We are bound to remove difficulties
and to answer objections. It is profitable also
to point out those peculiarities and excellencies
in the Scriptures, which distinguish them as
unique in kind, and unparalleled in the literature
of the world. It is rieht to brinof forward the
great and unanswerable evidence of prophecy,
which is miracle stereotyped for the reading of
all orenerations. It is instructive and stimulatingf
to review the wonderful effects produced through
this book in every age of the world's history,
among all nations, and on every variety of man-
kind^ — ignorant and learned, high and low, young
and old. The outward bulwarks and fortresses,
defending the citadel of Scripture, are strong
and impregnable ; the inward beauty and excel-
lence, of unequalled magnitude and attractive-
ness. And yet, to use the words of one of
the Confessions of the Reformation,^ when the

^ The Reformers' teaching on the authority of Scripture was
singularly lucid and spiritual. It was the teaching of men who
had experienced the reality of divine revelation. Hence, while
they opposed the pseudo-mysticism of those who exalted the
inward revelation over the letter of Scripture, they always laid
great stress on the teaching and power of the Holy Ghost, with-
out whom Scripture is as a sun-dial without the sun.

The Experienced Reality of Revelation. 1 1 1

authority of the Scriptures was held in so scrip-
tural a way, as connected with the supreme
authority, power, and light of the Holy Ghost :
" We may be moved and induced by the testi-
mony of the Church to an high and reverend
esteem of the holy Scripture, and the heavenli-
ness of the matter, the efficacy of the doctrine,
the majesty of the style, the consent of all the
parts, the scope of the whole (which is to give
all glory to God), the full discovery it makes of
the only way of man's salvation, the many other
incomparable excellencies, and the entire per-
fection thereof, are arguments whereby it doth
abundantly evidence itself to be the word of
God ; yet, notwithstanding, our full persuasion
and assurance of the infallible truth and divine
authority thereof is from the inward work of
the Holy Spirit, bearing witness by and with
the Word in our hearts."

He who accepts the Scriptures on external
evidence, including even the sublimity of the
doctrine it contains, without experiencing in his
heart that God is in the present speaking to
him in this written Word, still stands without,
and has not yet received the testimony of the
Spirit. Scripture is still an external authority
to him, because as yet the word of God as such
has not been received, and does not abide in

1 1 2 The Experienced Reality of Revelation.

his heart.^ Our great object Is to testify to
such that God Hves; that He who spake of
old by the prophets, and at last in His Son,
who gave a record of His revelation in the
Scriptures, now reveals Himself by the Word
to the soul, when the Spirit manifests Christ
to our hearts. We are sent to testify of Christ
according to the Scripture ; not to defend the
Scripture, which points to Christ.

Hence that which is our grreat messao-e is not
in the region of human argument and ratio-
cination, criticism, and evidence, although con-
nected with it ; it announces an experience, a
new life ; it is received by a new birth ; it is
accompanied by the heavenly power and demon-
stration of the Holy Ghost.*

God lives : this is the testimony of the Church.
He lives, and He is Love. Hence we believe

3 A very interesting illustration of these remarks will be found
in Dr. D. Brown's Life of the Rev. Dr. Difucan, page 157, when
Dr. Malan said to him, " You have the word of God in your
mouth," it passed through me like electricity, that Cod meant
man to know His mind. Cf. page 175, &c., where also the same
view I have endeavoured to unfold is elucidated by refer-
ences to John Owen, Halyburton, and Olshausen. In modern
times much stress has been laid on the internal evidences, or
the self-evidencing light and power of Scripture. This is very
valuable, but there may still be in this the rationalistic leaven
of the old evidence school. The internal evidences are also of
no use without the enlightening influence and power of the
Holy Ghost. '* i Cor. ii.

The Experienced Reality of Revelatio7i. 1 1 3

in miracle, God interfering in redemptive mercy ;
in prophecy, God interfering in redeeming wis-
dom/ We believe that God speaks to us, and
gives unto us deliverance from sin and evil, and
the assurance of His favour ; nay, we experience
that we live before, wath, and in Him. We
believe that what corresponds to the longings
and desires of our minds and hearts is not any-
thing abstract and impersonal, but the living
God Himself. " He that formed the eye," we
say with the psalmist, "shall He not see?"
Not, Is He not light? but. Is He not the See-
ing One ? " He that planted the ear, shall He
not hear ? " What corresponds to the eye, or
the light-receptive, light-desiring element in
man, is another Eye, full of light, all-seeing.
What alone responds to the love of man is
God, who is Love. What alone can renew and
heal man's will is another Will, even God, who

5 Miracle is not the evidence of what we beheve, rather is it
the very thing which we beheve. It is a constitutive element of
our creed, that God Himself, in His omnipotent love, interferes
to redeem us from evil, and to renew us after His image. It is
not evidence that is wanted to verify the miracle ; the very men
who saw Lazarus rise from the grave believed not. The organ
is wanted to recognise the interference of the living God in
saving love. Jesus, after His resurrection, appeared only to His
chosen disciples ; and they, as witnesses, not defenders of His
resurrection, preached Him according to the Scripture — with
the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven.

I

1 1 4 The Experienced Reality of Revelation,

worketh all things of His good pleasure. Thus
from the very outset we are drawn to the solemn
and most blessed conclusion, that God, infinite
above us, is to be known and experienced by
love, by His dwelling within us.^

Why should it be deemed strange that there
is communion between God and man, when
the deepest and simplest knowledge we have
of God is, " God is love " (and love is never
silent) ; when the truest conception we can form
of man is, that He is created in the image
of God ? What are all laws compared with
this fundamental law — nay, so to speak, this
source and origin of all law — "God is love"?
Or, what is there in man, who alone of all earthly
creatures lifts up his eye to heaven, that renders
it impossible or improbable that God should
speak to him and hear his voice ? And where
else but in this communion can the human heart
find rest ? Are we not constantly seeking in
the created, and seeking in vain, that Thou,
who can understand and satisfy the heart, who
can be loved supremely, and whose love can be
an ever-increasing joy and blessedness to us,
to us, who have to confess —

* Jesus speaks of the eye as the light of the body — the eye,
seeing in God. Man is created for God, to live, move, and be
in Him.

The Experienced Reality of Revelation. 1 1 5

" Not e'en the dearest heart, and next our own,
Knows half the reason why we smile or sigh " ?

Is there no authority and attractive power in
the only Voice that says, " Give Me, my son,
thy heart." " Thou shalt love the Lord thy
God"?^

But the question arises. Is such a communion
possible ? Can fallen and exiled man rise to
this height ? Can the holy and righteous God
thus descend to sinful and guilty man ?

How bright is the light which emanates from
the Lord Jesus Christ ! In Him we behold
God manifest in the flesh ; in Him we see also
man according to the divine idea. The very-
fact of the Incarnation announces to us the
great purpose of God, that we are to be par-
takers of the divine nature— that a real and
eternal communion is to be established between
God and man. Is not Jesus in His own person

' "Love thy God, and love Him only,
And thy breast will ne'er be lonely.
In that one great Spirit meet
All things mighty, grave, and sweet.

Vainly strives the soul to mingle
With a being of our kind ;
Vainly hearts with hearts are twined,

For the deepest still is single.
An impalpable resistance
Holds like natures at a distance.
Mortal ! love that Holy One,
Or dwell for aye alone." Aubrey de Vere.

1 1 6 The Experienced Reality of Revelation.

the full realization of the word, " Draw nigh to
God, and He will draw nigh to you " ?

Is not His whole life a life of communion
with God, so that He always is, speaks, and
works in the Father, and the Father in Him ?
And does not this, His inexistence in the Father,
prepare us for the mystery which He revealed
" plainly " and without parable on that memo-
rable evening, that He came from the Father,
and again was going to the Father, and to
the glory which He had with Him before the
foundation of the world ? When we thus behold
the man Christ Jesus, and believe that He is
the Son of God, does not the hope arise in our
hearts, that He came, not to abide alone, not
merely to manifest the Father and the divine
eternal life, wrought into humanity, but to com-
municate \}i\\'s, life unto us, so that we also, through
and in Him, should have communion with God ?
How gladly do we then receive the mystery of
His death and resurrection, that by the sacrifice
of Himself Jesus has taken away all that sepa-
rated us from God, and has Himself become
the new and living way of access unto the
Father; that by His resurrection He became
the First-born among many brethren, and that,
as the quickening Spirit, He is now our life.

Here is the point from which all revelation

The Experienced Reality of Revelation. 1 1 7

is seen as possible and real. It was only after
the disciples understood the mystery of Christ's
death and resurrection, that they "understood
the Scriptures." They had always believed the
Scriptures to be the " oracles of God," and re-
garded them with profound veneration as the
very word of the Most High. They had
gathered around Jesus, drawn by the sweet and
irresistible magnet of His light and love, and
an inward conviction made them exclaim joy-
fully, "We have found the Messiah — Him of
whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did
write!" And yet, as the evangelist John testi-
fies, they did not know the Scripture, even
when the words and facts, which they heard and
saw, w^ere the clearest and fullest comment on
the written record. "Jesus spake of the temple
of His body. . . . When therefore He was risen
from the dead. His disciples remembered that
He had said this unto them ; and they believed
the Scripture^ and the Word which Jesus had
said."«

The same misconception, which fancies a
collocation of Messianic passages, and their
fulfilment in the New Testament, is all that is
needed to convince a modern Jew of the truth
of Christianity, prevents a realization of the

^ John ii. 21-23.

1 1 8 The Experienced Reality of Revelation.

manner in which the apostles beHeved. The
Messianic passages are indeed numerous, for-
cible, and, viewed in their connection, they form
the grand foundation of apstolic doctrine. But,
excepting acquaintance with their general tenor,
and the expectation of the Messiah, we may say
it was Jesus who led the disciples to the Mes-
sianic passages, and not the observed fulfilment
of the predictions which brought the disciples
to the Lord,

It is the risen Saviour who explains to us the
mystery, " through suffering unto glory." This
is the key, and the only one, which opens to us
the Scriptures. Jesus is the true David, who
possesses the key. And while He thus speaks,
our hearts burn within us ; and it is this glowing
heart which receives the indelible impression :
Jesus is the Christ of Scripture, and Scripture
is the word of God. As truly as Jesus is the
Word, the Son of God, the Saviour of sinners,
the Source of resurrection-life, so true is it that
the Scripture is the divinely-given record, testi-
fying of Him.

" Thus it is written, and thus it behoved
Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the
third day." This is the strong and indissoluble,
the tender and thrilling bond, which connects
our deepest experience of the revelation and

The Experienced Reality of Revelatio7i. 1 1 9

love of God in Christ Jesus, with the inspired
Scriptures, Our communion with Jesus intro-
duces us into the full acceptance of the divine
record. And as Jesus, in whose name we pray,
and who is the fulfilment of our petitions, prayed
Himself, and thus is the true Mediator, so Jesus,
sum and substance, centre and glory, of the
written Word, lived Himself in the constant
faith, meditation, and comfort of the Scriptures,
and thus leads all His disciples to be followers
of Him, knowing the Scriptures and the power
of God.^

Now Scripture is seen in its beauty, and we
feel at Jioine in this vast and magnificent temple.
From the height of Grod's eternal counsel, and
out of the depth of God's infinite love, Scripture
beholds all things, comprehends all ages, and
is sufficient for the guidance and perfecting of
souls in all generations.

But while we thus stand in awe, beholding
the grandeur and infinite depth of the Scripture
as one organic spirit-built temple, and the beauty,
perfection, and exquisite skill which characterize
the most minute portion of this structure, we
feel at home and as in a peaceful and fragrant
garden. We see Jesus, the Centre, and though
many things are obscure, and all things of un-

9 Compare my Christ and the Scripture, chap. ii.

1 20 The Experienced Reality of Revelation.

fathomable depth, yet all is full of light and
peace.

And this also betokens the divine origin of
Scripture, that while it forms one organism,
every portion of it is complete, is spirit and life.
All ages of the Church cannot exhaust its ful-
ness, and yet Timothy knows it from a little
child, and is made wise unto salvation. To
take comprehensive views is granted unto us at
times, but one single verse or psalm, one name
of God or promise, brings unto us, as it were,
the power and consolation of the whole. N othing
made of man possesses this wonderful pecu-
liarity of the Spirit's work.

There is no book which so reveals to us our
inmost self — sin in its depth of guilt and misery
— and which at the same time testifies of the
love of God, redeeming, healing, and restoring.
Nowhere but here do we see the depth of the
fall, and the height of glory to which God in
His omnipotent grace raises redeemed man.
The grandeur of the remedy both unfolds the
depth of our misery, and comforts us in our
sorrow. Men have often pointed out the sinful-
ness and wretchedness of man, and they either
degrade him, forgetting his high nature and
destiny, or leave him in despondency. Where
else but in this divine Word do we learn the

The Experienced Reality of Revelation. 1 2 1

dignity and elevation of humility before God ;
so that, lying at the footstool of divine mercy,
the contrite and broken heart does not feel
degraded, but exalted ? Where but here do we
see man raised to communion with the Most
High — yea, to union with the incarnate Son of
God — -and yet retain the spirit of lowliness, of
self-condemnation, of utter dependence on divine
grace ? It is this combination of the full revela-
tion of our sin, disease, and misery, and of the
abundant grace of God, which produces in us,
in our inmost soul, the assured conviction of the
divine authority of Scripttire, of God's own
voice speaking to us in this inspired Word.

No other book is such a mirror both of man
and of God. Here we see our own countenance,
and we are humbled ; here we see the counte-
nance of God, and we are comforted. Here we
behold the human heart, with its unbelief, its
selfish and carnal thoughts, its tendency to
hypocrisy, to seek rest in mere shadows. In
reading Scripture, we feel in the presence of
Him unto whose eyes all things are naked and
open. The Word is like a sharp sword ; all
that is confused and mixed in our thoughts and
hearts is severed, the heavenly separated from
the earthly, and the thoughts and intents of the
heart discerned. When in this book we read

X

12 2 The Experienced Reality of Revelation.

the experiences of God's people, the patriarchs,
the wanderings of Israel in the wilderness, the
life of David, we feel that we are reading our
own history. As Ulysses wept when he heard
his own sorrows recited by the minstrel at the
court of king Alkinoos, so, as we read in Scrip-
ture of the sins, failures, hopes, and fears of
God's children, we see our own hearts and lives.
When the inne^ life of God's saints is unveiled
to us, as in the Psalms, the Book of Job, the
Lamentations of Jeremiah, and indeed through-
out Scripture, so that, as Luther says, " we see
into the very hearts of these men, and not
merely behold paradise and heaven itself there,
but also death, and even hell," we possess in
these apparently subjective and purely human
delineations the teaching of the Holy Ghost, who
presents to us truthfully and perfectly the conflict
in human souls between God's grace and their
sin and weakness, and provides us with a guide-
book in which all possible difficulties and errors
are noticed, and the true remedies and correc-
tives indicated. Hence no Scripture is purely
human and temporary ; all Scripture is divine
and eternal. It possesses vitality, fulfilling itself
continually, and containing throughout the reve-
lation of God's character and of God's salvation.
All that Scripture asserts of itself we experience

The Experienced Reality of Revelation. 1 23

to be true. The Word sifts and divides what
no human analysis could separate. It purifies
and intensifies the conscience; it exerts a cleans-
ing and vivifying power on our heart and walk.
It is like a seed, and we experience that it
grows ; it does not remain dead and dormant
in the memory or understanding ; it does not
remain a picture, unsubstantial in the imagina-
tion, but it manifests vitality, and mingles with
all our thoughts, feelings, and actions. It re-
mains ever new, and ever indispensable. The
Spirit of God brings it into remembrance, and
applies it with power and consoling efficacy.
It can still the stormy waves, and bring peace ;
it can dissipate densest darkness, and we walk in
the light, and do not stumble. It is a book for
life, for human suffering, work, and trial. It must
be lived, and not merely read. It leaves nothing
alone ; it passes over no phase of experience.
It takes cognizance of our very seasons of
apathy and of sleep; it brings before us our worst
and most hidden thoughts, doubts, and regrets,
down to despair ; it throws light on everything,
and brings salutary medicines for every disease.
And thus it becomes to us an engrafted, im-
planted Word, inseparably connected with the
Father, with the living Saviour, and with the
indwelling Spirit. God reveals Himself con-

124 The Experienced Reality of Revelation.

tinually to us in the Word — God in Christ and
by the Holy Ghost,

The Scripture reaches the highest idea of
God's hoHness and justice, and of God's tender-
ness and mercy. It is merciful in its severity ;
it is holy in its love. Hence the rebukes of
Scripture may give pain, and produce godly
sorrow ; but they do not irritate, embitter, and
harden. The consolations of Scripture calm,
but they do not weaken and effeminate. The
bitter arrows of reproof are sent by the loving
hand of the Father ; the words of warning are
uttered by the voice of yearning compassion,
they come from the home of everlasting truth
and peace. It is God who speaks, and the
love revealed is holy ; the righteousness and
justice declared, full of truth and mercy.

The Scripture testifies of things unseen, and
brings us into contact with heavenly realities.
" God being invisible, and the centre and soul
of that which is invisible, the difficulty we find
in fixing our thoughts upon what is not seen,
arises from our being by nature at a distance
from God. What characterizes the word of
God is, that its life and action are centred in
the things not seen ; and this fact alone, for a
man who reflects, is sufficient to prove its in-
spiration. It is not given to man, who by his

The Experieiiced Reality of Revelation. 1 2 5

fallen nature became a slave to thinofs that are
seen, to rise above them ; that is to say, to
shake off self sufficiently to rise up to the
unseen, and speak from the midst of the in-
visible world as the word of God does ; as not
only Jesus Christ the Son of man does, who is
in heaven and speaks from heaven, but as do
all those agents who are commissioned to trans-
mit to us the word of God, which, being full of
Jesus Christ, speaks from heaven, even though
upon the earth, by that miracle of the grace of
God which we call inspiration, and which con-
stitutes the authority of His word."^

The Bible is the divinely-given guide-book ;
for no other would so constantly point away from
itself to the unseen, spiritual, loving Guide ; no
other would warn us against making it a sub-
stitute for the teaching of the Spirit, for the
presence of Jesus, for the ever-renewed mani-
festation of God,

Thus do we experience the reality of the
Scripture revelation, unfolding to us, in con-
nection with all God's dealings in Providence,
His truth, and comforting us with everlasting
consolations. As we advance step by step,
God appears greater and more glorious ; as
we receive out of the fulness of divine wisdom,

' A. Monod.

126 The Experienced Reality of Revelation.

we feel more that the well is deep, nay, inex-
haustible ; for we are brought here into contact,
not with the powers of man, stretched to the
utmost, and giving us their highest conceptions
of divine things, but with the Holy Ghost, who
searcheth the deep things of God, and revealeth
to us, as we can bear it, and as it pleases Him,
out of the ocean of divine wisdom.

Here also we feel our profound union with
all God-taught Christians, in that very convic-
tion and knowledge of spiritual realities which
man cannot give to man — in that community of
light and life which in Christ Jesus, the crucified
Redeemer, the Father of spirits giveth of His
abundant mercy through the Holy Ghost.

CHAPTER VI.

THE EXPERIENCED REALITY OF PRAYER.

" Draw 7iigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you."
James iv. 8.

T T Is a fact worthy of earnest consideration,
^ that Scripture never attempts to remove
the doubts and difficulties which human reason-
ing advances against the efficacy of prayer.
The argument which has been brought forward
against prayer, in the strict sense of the word
— that is, not adoration and contemplation, but
petitions offered to God and answered by Him,
either from God's omniscience or immutability,
or spontaneous and perfect goodness — has so
far been anticipated by Scripture, that the facts
on which these reasonings seem founded are
stated in the word of God with greater clear-
ness, fulness, and uncompromising definite-
ness, than in any other writings. Where do
we meet with such lucid and forcible state-
ments as in Scripture, teaching us that God is
omniscient, that He seeth the end from the

128 The Experienced Reality of Prayer.

beginning, and that the inmost thoughts and
desires are known to Him, even in their most
secret origin, and before we ourselves become
conscious of them ?^ How emphatic is the
Scripture assertion of God's sovereignty, com-
prehending all things, and unchangeably fore-
ordaining whatsoever comes to pass in time !
" The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever,
the thoughts of His heart to all generations."^
" He worketh all things after the counsel of
His own will."^ How numerous and con-
soling are the Scripture assurances, that God
delights in giving and in showing mercy, and
that He is ever bountiful, and that He blesses
above all that we can ask or think !

If reason therefore says, in various forms,
* Prayer is unnecessary, because God knows all
things, and is full of goodness to bless and to
help,' or ' Prayer is of no avail, because there is
no room for its action, as all things are ordered
and under the reign of fixed and all-wise law,'
the difference between reasoning and Scripture
is mostly, though not altogether, in the in-
ferences deduced from premises, the knowledge
of which, in so far as they are accurate, was
originally derived from the divine revelation
itself.

' Ps. cxxxix. ^ Ps. xxxiii. ii. 3 Eph. i. ii.

The Experienced Reality of Prafer. 1 29

The Scripture method of deahng- with these
erroneous inferences is simply to ignore them.
As Scripture always pre-supposes faith in the
existence of God, so it does not prove the
reality and efficacy of prayer, but continually
takes belief in it for granted, asserting and
illustrating it in every variety of form.

God hears prayer. This simplest view of
prayer is taken throughout Scripture. It dwells
not on the reflex influence of prayer on our
heart and life, although it abundantly shows the
connection between prayer as an act, and prayer
as a state. It rather fixes with great definite-
ness the objective or real purpose of prayer, to
obtain blessings, gifts, deliverances, from God.
"Ask, and it shall be given you,"'^ Jesus says to
us. "Ask what I shall ^^W thee," ^ Jehovah said
to Solomon. " Call upon Me in the day of
trouble, and I will deliver thee."'^ " If any man
lack wisdom, let him ask , . . and it shall be
given him."''

Besides commandments so simple and definite
in their objective character, we have the clearest
statements of fact that God answered prayer.
The passages stating that God heard prayer are
too numerous to quote. In the 107th Psalm

"* Matt. vii. 7. 5 I Kings iii. 5.

* Ps. 1. 14. ^ James i. 5.

130 The Experienced Reality of Prayer.

the need and misery of man is described under
four images, and in each the history is the same :
man, brought low, cries to God in his helpless-
ness, and God delivers him. " They cried unto
the Lord, and He delivered them out of their
distresses." {vv. 6, 13, 19, 28.)

All the great manifestations of divine power
and grace are connected in Scripture with prayer.
Even when prayer is not mentioned in the narra-
tive itself, it is sometimes brought before us in
some subsequent portion of Scripture, to remind
us of the uniform dealings of God, connecting
His grace and power with believing prayer.
Thus the prophet Elijah appeared before Ahab
with the declaration, "As the Lord God of Israel
liveth, there shall not be dew nor rain these
years, but according to my word." \n the epistle
of James we are told that this announcement of
faith was the result of fervent prayer. Perhaps
the most striking illustration, or rather unveiling,
of the power of prayer is in the memorable
passages of the prophecy of Daniel : "And
whiles I was speaking, and praying, and con-
fessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel,
and presenting my supplication before the Lord
my God for the holy mountain of my God ;
yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the
man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at

The Experienced Reality of Prayei^. 1 3 i

the beginning, being' caused to lly swiftly, touched
me about the time of the evening oblation. And
he informed me, and talked with me, and said,
O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee
skill and understandinij. At the beo'innino- of
thy supplications the commandment came forth,
and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly
beloved : therefore understand the matter, and
consider the vision,"*^

Here we see, as it were, the fulfilment of the
divine promise to Israel : " If my people, which
are called by my name, shall humble themselves,
and pray, and seek my face ; . . . . then will I
hear from heaven''^ Daniel's prayer ascends
to the throne of God ; and at the beginning of
his supplication, God gives the commandment
to the anorel Gabriel to brinof the divine answer
Linto the greatly-beloved man, or the man of
intense spiritual desire.

All these assurances of Scripture, illustrated
by almost every great saint in Israel's history,
from Abraham to Moses, to Samuel, to David,
to Elijah, to Daniel, are brought before us with
a still more intense brightness in the person,
teaching, and example of the Lord Jesus. He
is in all things the Mediator ; prayer and answer
to prayer are embodied in Him as their eternal

^ Dan. ix. 20-23. ' - Chron. vii. 14.

132 The Experienced Reality of Prayer.

Centre. He who is the way from man to God,
and the way from God to man, is the prayer of
God's children to the Father, and the Yea and
Amen of God's promises to the children. He
was a Man of prayer, and all His disciples knew
that He was heard : " I know that, whatsoever
Thou wilt ask of God, God will give it Thee."^
In Jesus praying — in the distinct command of
Jesus to pray, and to pray in His name — in His
oft-repeated and most forcible assurances of the
certain answer from God, the Scripture testi-
mony concerning prayer reaches its culminating
point ; and it is from this central light that the
Christian's experience of the reality of prayer
must continually emanate and be renewed.

However true and valuable the reflection
may be, that God, foreseeing and foreordaining
all things, has also foreseen and foreordained
our prayers as links in the chain of events, of
sequences, of cause and effect, as a real power
and influence, or viewed from the Christian's
point, that prayer like faith is one of the cove-
nant gifts and blessings ; yet we feel convinced
that this is not the light in which the mind can
find peace on this great subject, nor do we think
that here is the attractive power to draw us to

, ' John xi. 22.

The Experienced Reality of Prayer. 133

prayer. We feel rather that such a reflection
diverts the attention from the Object, whence
alone comes the life, impulse, and strength of
prayer. It may be a valuable thought after we
have prayed and been heard, but it has no power
to draw out prayer. The living God, cotem-
porary and not merely eternal — the loving,
merciful, compassionate, righteous, and holy
One — God manifesting Himself to the soul —
God saying, " Give me, my son, thy heart ; " or^
" Ask what shall I give thee ; " or, " Seek my
face ; " or, " Behold the Lamb of God," — this
is the magnet that draws us — this alone can
open heart and lips.

We may by careful explanation succeed in
keeping such minds as are capable of such
thoughts from mistaking our attempt to harmo-
nize the eternal counsel of God and prayer, for
the cold regions of dead and silent fatalism^
where there is no voice and no response. The
Scripture method is entirely different ; it con-
nects prayer with the self-manifestation of the
living God. The knowledge of God, as Father,
Son, and Holy Ghost, is the root and foundation
of prayer ; the simple word, " God is love," the
unanswerable argument arainst all doubts.

For we can only speak to a Person, to
One living now, listening to us. Because God

134 'r^^^ Experienced Reality of Prayer.

lived from all eternity, does He not live now ?
Because God has foreseen all things, does He
not see this instant my need, my sorrow, my
heart crying out for Him ? Because there is
no evil in the city but the Lord has foreseen
it, and connected it with the development of
His kingdom, and the manifestation of His
character, is He not testifying to me against
all evil, and willing and able to deliver me, nay,
to be asked not to lead me into temptation ?
The highest idea of God, as revealed unto
Israel, and at last in all its fulness in Jesus
Christ, is connected with prayer. " God is
Spirit," the Lord taught the woman of Samaria.
"He seeth in secret," Jesus repeatedly says in
the sermon on the mount. And what is the
inference ? God is Spirit, God is Father, and
therefore He seeks zvorshippers. " He seeth in
secret," and therefore prayer is delivered from
all fetters and all limitations. Pray, and God
hears. God forgives sin, He removes our trans-
o^ressions, and clothes us with divine riofhteous-
ness, in order that He may be worshipped."
All that we know now of God is, that having
removed all obstacles which were in the way, it
is His will and delight that we should come to
Him, that we should live in spiritual communion

^ Ps. cxxx. 4.

The Experienced Reality of Prayer. 135

with Him — spiritual, that means real, inward,
our very self speaking to Him, and living in
His presence, jesus therefore continually com-
mands us to pray to the Father, who Himself,
in spontaneous and infinite love, loveth us in
time and in eternity.

In Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the Son
of man, we have the full solution of the difficulty.
He prayed on earth, and that not merely as man,
but as the Son of God incarnate. His prayer
on earth is only the manifestation, in His state
of humiliation, of His prayer after His exalta-
tion, and of His prayer from all eternity, when
in the divine counsel He was set up as the
Christ. The intercession of the Lord Jesus is
based on His death, resurrection, and ascension.
He is our Advocate, because He is our Right-
eousness. He is our Representative, because
He is our Head, the last Adam. The Lord
Jesus identifies Himself with us, and the Father
regards Christ and the Church as one. Our
prayers ascend with, through, and in Christ's
prayer. Thus the Father hears only one voice,
the voice of the Son, whom He heareth (an-
swereth) alway. On the other hand, Jesus,
identifying Himself with the Father, sends the
Spirit into our hearts, so that we pray in the
Spirit, according to God's will, in the name of

136 The Experienced Reality of Prayer.

Christ ; we offer the very petitions which Jesus
presents on our behalf.

But the intercession or prayer of the Son of
God did not begin in time. We must conceive
of it as eternal. Not merely did the saints
of God before the advent draw near to God's
throne through His mediation (more or less
clearly apprehended), but He is the Beginning
of the creation of God. He was appointed to
be heir of all thingfs. He is the Lamb fore-
ordained from before the foundation of the
world. All things were ordained and created
for the manifestation of God's glory in Christ.
And thus the Son of God was from all eternity
the Mediator, the Way. He was, to use our im-
perfect language, from eternity speaking unto the
Father on behalf of the world, on behalf of the
manifestation of God's glory in His love. And
the Father from all eternity hears the Son, gives
unto Him, and is glorified in Him,^

3 " We do not realize sufficiently the distinctness of the Per-
sons in the unity of the Godhead. The eternal life of Liod is
the communion of the Three blessed Ones ; 'each divine Person'
— to use the words of Schmieder — 'vvorkfng in His peculiar
sphere in original and creative glory that which the other
Persons could not work and express in the same way.'" {Hohe-
priesterliche Gebet.) " Thus the Son spoke from all eternity to
the Father, and the Father answered and gave ; and herein is
the Father's glory and joy, as well as the glory and joy of the
Son. That there might be a glory given the Son from ever-

The Experienced Reality of Prayer. 137

God, in hearing His Son, heard only the echo
of His own will. As we distinguish the persons,
we hold fast the unity, of the Godhead. The
Father's will and the Son's prayer are one ; yet
is the Son's prayer real ; even as now Christ
assures us that He prays for us ; and again, to
remind us of His oneness with the Father, He
adds, " I say not, I will pray unto the Father ;
for the Father Himself loveth you."

There is no antagonism between prayer in time
and the unchangeable will of God in eternity;
for Christ — the Wisdom set up from everlasting;

lasting is clear from this, that there was the highest and freest
mutual converse held between the Three Persons amongst them-
selves from everlasting, when no creature was ; and in that con-
verse they drove and carried on designs of what was to come,
and gave the glory to one another, of what each of them was,
or should be, or do, in their several activities, to all eternity.
They spake one to another, and one of another, as Heb. x. :
the Son of man said to the Father, 'A body hast Thou prepared
Me;' and the Father to the Son, 'Thou art my Son; this day
have I begotten Thee.' And this latter was from everlasting, in
the decreeing of it, spoken to Him ; for the words spoken before
are, '■J will decla7-e the decreed Whereof that speech therefore
was the matter. Likewise there were mutual engagements and
promises passed between tliem. (Titus i. i, 2.) Eternal life was
promised afore the world began ; and there must be an inter-
course of persons promising, and that received and accepted the
promise. And in like manner in their converses they glorified
one another. ' The Spirit shall glorify Me,' says Christ. (John
xvi. 14.) He says it indeed of His glorifying Christ to us; but
if He doeth it to us, much more among themselves." — Goodwin
on the Knowledge of God.

138 The Experienced Reality of Prayer.

the Word, speaking unto God as well as out of
God — is the bridge, the solution of all problems,
the peaceful light in our darkness and exile.

Praying in the name of Christ, we pray
according to the eternal purpose, according to
the perfect will of God. We pray in perfect
righteousness and liberty ; for we are identified
with Him who bore and took away our sins,
thereby glorifying God, and bringing to us
divine righteousness. We pray in newness of
life ; for in the resurrection of Christ, He became
the quickening Spirit. We pray in the bright
region of divine love, according to the Saviour's
intercession, "that the love wherewith Thou hast
loved Me may be in them, and I in them."^

The Holy Spirit, proceeding from the Father
and the Son, is the Spirit of prayer. He is
given unto us. He is sent into our hearts by
the Feather, as the Spirit of His Son ; and all
He teaches us, and works in us, is summed up
in this, that He cries in us, "Abba, Father;"
that is, that by Him we realize, in a clear, fer-
vent, and continuous manner, that we are the
children of God in Christ Jesus. Hence to
possess the Spirit is both the power and the
object of all prayer. The Father gives the

"• Compare my Lord's Prayer, chap. i. : " Prayer as revealed
in Christ."

The Experienced Reality of Prayer. 139

Spirit unto them that ask Him, because the
Spirit is the sum of all good gifts. The pro-
mise of the Father — the culminatinor mft of the
Lord Jesus glorified — the highest of all divine
manifestations, He by whom the Father and
the Son take up their abode in us — is the Spirit
of grace and supplication. If the Spirit dwell
in us, we pray without ceasing ; in our infirmi-
ties we have an ever-present help — the lamp is
continually renewed and cherished with the holy
oil. In our most languid condition, when the
soul cleaves to the dust. He maketh interces-
sion for us, and God knoweth the mind of the
Spirit in our sighs and groaning. Conscious of
our ignorance and of our utter weakness, we
change our very helplessness into a source of
comfort ; for the Spirit of all knowledge, power,
and love is within us — our Paraclete.^

* " The prayers I make will then be sweet indeed,
If Thou the Spirit give by which I pray ;
My unassisted heart is barren clay,
That of its native self can nothing feed ;
Of good and pious works Thou art the seed,
That quickens only where Thou say'st it may.
Unless Thou shew to us Thy own true way,
No man can find it. Father ! Thou must lead.
Do Thou, then, breathe those thoughts into my mind,
By which such virtue may in me be bred,
That in Thy holy footsteps I may tread ;
The fetters of my tongue do Thou unbind,
That I may have the power to sing to Thee,
And sound Thy praises everlastingly." Wordsworth.

140 The Experienced Reality of Prayer.

Thus the self-manifestation of God as Father,
Son, and Holy Ghost, contains throughout the
strongest and clearest call to prayer ; and to
know God as Father, to behold Him in Jesus,
and to experience the communion of the Holy
Spirit, is impossible without bowing the knee
before the God and Father of our Lord, without
invoking Christ, and learning to pray in His
name, without the trustful and fervent prayer
in the Holy Ghost. God lives, " God is Love,"
we therefore pray.

Let us consider now the same subject from
the human point of view.

What is Christianity or religion ? " Chris-
tianity does not leave us in a state of loneliness,
only in communion with our own hearts ; it is
dependence on God, dependence acknowledged,
believed, loved, cherished. When this humility
lives in the heart, it speaks out of the heart ;
there is question and response, supplication and
thanksgiving. Again, is Christianity confiding
faith } Faith prays, seeking forgiveness of Him
with whom it is. If Christianity implies virtue,
benevolence, meekness, purity, faithfulness, it im-
plies the fight of faith, and its ultimate strength
is to take hold of omnipotence ; it is prayer."''

Christianity is, above all, love. If we love,

^ Nitzsch.

The Experienced Reality of Prayer. 141

God dwelleth in us, and we in Him. Because
"God is Love," He dispenses His gifts and
blessings in such a manner as to draw us into
the circle of love. In our salvation, Father,
Son, and Holy Ghost work together in love
and joy. The Father blesses us in the Son
of His love, and rejoices over the sheep found
and saved by the Good Shepherd. Jesus
rejoices over us, as given unto Him of the
Father. The Holy Ghost, who reveals to us
the Father and the Son, sheds abroad in our
hearts divine love. And now begins the prayer
of love, love speaking both for ourselves and
others ; for God makes all believers workers
together with Him. They are to be channels
of His blessing to others, and the gifts, which
He purposes to bestow, are first to be asked
and prayed for by our loving hearts, that so we
also may rejoice and give thanks for the abun-
dant grace bestowed by the God of love.

" More things are wrought by prajer

Than this world dreams of.

For what are men better than sheep or goats,
That nourish a blind life within the brain,
If, knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer
Both for themselves and those who call them friend ?
For so the whole round earth is every way
Bound by gold chains about the feet of God."

Tennyson.

142 The ExpeiHenced Reality of Prayer.

God, who cannot hide anything from the
children of faithful Abraham, calling them friends,
reveals to them not merely His counsel, but,
giving them the loving Spirit of intercession,
makes them sharers of His love and of His
joy.^ The angels also, who rejoice over every
sinner that repenteth, and who minister unto
the heirs of salvation, are associated with us in
the golden circle of love, the centre of which
is, and ever shall be, the Lamb of God, once
slain, and now exalted on the throne to the
glory of the Father,

To live before God, to meditate on His words
and works, to ascribe glory to His name, revealed
unto us now fully, is impossible without the tran-
sition of this state of realizing God into the act
of prayer. Meditation and adoration are the
necessary basis and element out of Avhich prayer
proceeds, and into which it returns. But they
are not prayer. In prayer the soul concentrates

^ Abraham's intercession for the cities of the plain illustrates
the spirit of truth and love which characterizes God's children.
Luther says: "Six times he intercedes, with such earnestness
and heartfelt yearning, that in his great anguish and desire he
utters almost foolish words. But it is a most precious prayer, if
you judge of it by the attitude of his heart ; for it was a very
violent emotion and profound importunity. There was more in
the holy man's heart than that heart could understand and feel.
I am sure tears ran down his face, and his words passed into
unspeakable sighs."

The Experienced Reality of Prayer. 143

all its energies, and appears before God, speaking
to Him, and giving itself to Him in humility,
repentance, trust, love, and childlike petitions
for grace and strength, and all needful gifts.
Wishes, cares, anxieties prepare the heart for
prayer,^ but are not prayer until they are con-
verted into direct address, supplication, and cry
unto God. Remembering with gladness the
gracious invitations of God, who continually
encourages us in our weakness, and reopens the
sin-disturbed communion, this also is not prayer.
It leads to prayer when we say to God, When
Thou saidst unto me. Seek ye my face, my
heart said unto Thee, Thy face, Lord, I will
seek.^

In prayer we pass from the general to the
individual, from contemplation to appropriation
by the will, from the indirect He to the direct
Thou. There is nothing more solemn, more
difficult,~ more glorious, than prayer ; there is
nothing, blessed be God, so easy, so accessible,

5 The promises are not given to our wants, but to our
petitions.— WnKT'E.hY. ' Ps. xxvii. 8.

- " Believe me," said Coleridge to his nephew, two years before
his death, "to pray with all your heart and strength, with the
reason and the will, to ^believe vividly that God will listen to
your voice through Christ, and verily do the thing He pleaseth
thereupon — this is the last, the greatest achievement of the
Christian's warfare upon earth. Teach us to pray, Lord." —
Coleridg^e's Table-talk.

144 The Expe7de7iced Reality of Prayer.

so tenderly and sweetly implanted in us by
divine grace.

We are accustomed to compare prayer with
the breathing of the quickened soul now trans-
planted into the atmosphere of divine love and
life ; we may also compare it with eating, assimi-
lating divine truths, promises, commands, so that
they are appropriated by our hearts and wills,
and converted into our spiritual life-strength.
It is in prayer that we hear the word of God,
and live by it.

It is the experience of the Christian, that
through prayer he obtains light — insight into
divine truths — which he could not gain by any
other means. Natural power and penetration,
the letter of Scripture and human instruction,
have proved to be of no avail ; we try to gain
or force from without an entrance into the
temple of truth. When we pray, God opens
from within, and He gives unto us a knowledge
which is not formal and abstract, but a vision
and appropriation of realities. The Spirit, who
knows our need, reveals unto us such truth,
which we can assimilate, and which thus be-
comes nourishment to our spiritual life. Nor
does it in the least lessen the reality of this
divine answer to prayer, that the humble and
expectant attitude prepares the mind, tranquil-

The Experienced Re.iliiy of Prayer. 145

lizes the heart, and purifies the soul, and that
the asking must be followed by seeking and
knocking. This Is doubtless true. Prayer is in
harmony with all God's dealings, and with all the
operations of the Spirit ; but the light Is sent
in answer to prayer. The apostle Paul is so
convinced of this, that he not merely writes
the epistles according to the wisdom given unto
him, but he tells the churches that he prays for
them, that God may enlighten their minds, and
give them spiritual understanding and know-
ledge. And so it is with all spiritual blessings.
" Prayer brings all heaven before our eyes," and
within our reach.

If we estimated rightly the relative magnitude
of temporal and spiritual blessings, the relative
difficulty of removing spiritual maladies and
evils, and of delivering us from external ills, we
should be more astonished at the marvels of
divine grace, manifested in the answer to spiri-
tual petitions. We are astonished when we hear
of remarkable answers to prayer, in deliverance
from sickness, from bodily danger, from outward
distress and necessity. But how much more
wonderful are the gifts of patience, meekness,
fortitude, of persevering and forbearing love,
of cheerfulness and diligence, of victory over
besetting sins ; or the secret and deep-reachino-

L

146 The Experienced Reality of Prayer.

influences of the Spirit, calming the heart in
anxiety, subduing the power of subtle and per-
plexing sin, upholding the soul with the joy of
divine salvation! If the inward experience of
the saints were known, if the journey through
the Spirit-land could be described, how many
marvellous answers to prayer would be seen —
manna descending from heaven, rocks opening
to send forth streams, guarding angels keeping
us from falling over precipices and shielding us
against the fiery darts of the wicked one ! The
outward answers to prayer strike us more for
this, among other reasons, that we are not so
conscious of our absolute dependence on God
for every spiritual gift and deliverance, as we
are at times of our absolute dependence on God
for providential help and succour. Only be
humble, and look back on your past life, and
you will acknowledge how God has heard your
prayer always and abundantly, else would you
not be now where you are, a believer at the
throne of grace.

Greater difficulties are felt with regard to
petitions for temporal blessings, gifts, or deliver-
ances.

The Christian feels that there is no desire,
plan, or enterprise, no act and no relationship
of life, in which he is not dependent on divine

The Experie:iccd Reality of Prayer. 147

guidance, help, and blessing. He also feels
that his relation of a child involves the con-
fiding and unreserved love which pours out
the whole heart before God,^ And if we are
to give thanks in everything, and do all
things to the glory of God, how is it possible
that any step or duty or activity of life should
be excluded from our petitions ? The only
difficulty is in ourselves. God, without w^hose
will not a sparrow falls to the ground, is willing
and able to hear us in our most minute petitions,
to guide and help us in all things. The reason
we hesitate in offering such petitions is because
we are not perfectly sure that what we desire
is a real blessing, or that we desire it from a
pure motive, or that our desire is in due relation
to the one great aim of the Christian life. The
difficulty is not whether it is right to ask for
temporal things, but whether the things we desire
are really good gifts, and whether in desiring
them our hearts are right before God. We
often mistake a stone for nutritious bread, and
instead of a fish ask for a serpent, which would
tempt us into evil. It is this consciousness

^ " This is the blessed privilege of speaking out our heart to
God. We know from the outset that we are wrong. We do not
doubt that God will do what is right ; yet we feel our breast
oppressed. And to whom else can we go but to our Lord, the
eternal and living God ? " — Zinzendorf.

148 The Experienced Reality of Prayer.

, which often cramps the Christian in prayer for
earthly blessings. The importance of spiritual
petitions is felt to be much greater, according
to the command to seek first the kingdom of
His righteousness, coupled with the promise,
that all other things shall be added to us.

But, bearing these subjective difficulties in
mind, let us not fall into the error of excluding
from prayer what really occupies and interests
us ; for do we thereby avoid or decrease the
danger of desiring wrong objects, and in a
wrong way ? Is not our only safety to bring
our desires before God, to place them in the
lieht of His countenance, to sift them on our
knees, and see whether we can convert them
into petitions ? And what cannot be turned
into petition can yet be brought before God,
that He may correct and guide, that He may
deliver us from self-will and fretful disappoint-
ment, that He may keep us in perfect peace.
Thus our conviction that God doeth all things
well, and our feeling, which is often tempted to
doubt, murmur, and repine, will be brought into
harmony. We notice this " parrhesia," speaking
out all and pouring out our heart, with its fears
and hopes, doubts and sorrows, murmuring and
resistine. in the Psalms of David and in the
prophets. Walking thus with God, answers to

The Experienced Reality of Prayer. 149

prayer in our daily life will continually be vouch-
safed to us ; nay, it may be said, that the more
fully we are brought into spiritual communion
with God, and the more we enter into the spirit
of the prayer Christ gave us as a model, seeking
first the divine and heavenly blessings, the more
do we obtain the continual guidance and help
we ask for our daily and earthly life.

The Scripture encouragements are very dis-
tinct. We are not to be over-anxious about
anything ; but by prayer and supplication, with
thanksgiving, make our requests known unto
God. And how frequent and abundant are
God's answers to our petitions for guidance and
help in our life, even in its minute detail !^ How
does God connect the enjoyment of His pre-
sence, the assurance of His favour, and the
desire for greater spiritual blessing, with the
realized help from above in the ordinary duties
and trials of our path ! If our affections are

■* Rothe, in his very valuable exposition of this subject (Ethic
iii. 498), quotes the remarks of Reinhard : " It must excite the
attention of every thoughtful person, that the belief, God hears
prayer, is found among all nations who have a knowledge of
Deity, and is fundamentally peculiar to the whole human race.
There must be a greater number of experiences of answers to
prayer than is generally supposed, else the belief in the utility
of prayer would not be so general, vivid, and prevalent." The
experiences of Francke, W. Huntington {Bank of Faith), and
George Miiller, are most instructive and CHCOuraging.

150 The Experienced Reality of Prayer.

set on things above, if our petitions are not a
tempting of the Lord while we disregard His
precepts, if in all our seeking we seek Him,
then let no false spirituality or world-wisdom
keep us from bringing before God all our
thoughts and desires, plans and purposes, work
and labour, fears and hopes — from speaking to
Him as a child to his father

Let nothing shake our confidence. David
often cried unto God, Why art Thou silent ?
Yet unless he had believed even then that God
does hear and answer, he would not have per-
severed in prayer. The answer may be delayed
to test our faith, to sift our motives, to prepare
us for the right reception of the answer ; but
let us never doubt that whatsoever we ask in
Christ's name will be granted unto us. And
this faith, nothing wavering, is itself the test
of the sincerity of our heart, and the Christ-
conformed character of our petitions.

Prayer is not one among many manifestations
of spiritual life ; it is not even enough to say
that it is the first and most important. It stands
by itself, and pre-eminent. It is the mani-
festation of our personal relation to God ; it is
the essential and immediate expression of our
filial relation in Christ to the Father. " Behold,
he prayeth," is the beginning of the new life ;

The Experienced Reality of Prayer. 1 5 1

" Abba, Father," is the first word of the re-
generate. Here again we behold the unity and
equahty of all God's children. However weak
their faith, knowledge, utterance, they can pray,
they offer the soul's sincere desire ; the Spirit
Himself helpeth our infirmities. " The golden
thread of prayer goes through the life of the
just, excluding what is evil and false, and
securing what is pure and good."

CHAPTER VII.

GOD DRAWS NIGH IN CONSOLATION.

"Draw nigh to God, a7id He %v ill draw nigh to you."
James iv. 8.

nr^HERE is only one thing which we can
-*- secure on earth, which we can obtain with
absolute certainty and keep with perfect security.
All other things which we may desire and seek
we can only obtain partially, and then their
possession is most insecure, and at best only for
a short season. The only thing which we can
most absolutely and certainly gain on earth is
heaven. It is the only thing, and at the same
time the highest, the best — life and blessedness
everlasting. There is only one thing which
every one that seeketh is sure to find. There
is only one thing which, when once found, can
never be taken from us. It is the love of God
which is in Christ Jesus our Lord; it is Jesus
Himself, the Son of God, the Pearl of great
price.

As there is only one thing we can secure on
earth, it is only on earth we can secure this one

God Draws Nigh in Consolation, 153

thing. Unless we gain Christ, our earthly life
is a total and irreparable failure. How solemn
and how sweet is the gospel-message ! It is the
offer of a gift, without which we are lost. The
gift is Jesus. We can never receive any gift
equal to or like Him to all eternity. The most
marvellous experience of the love of God is
here on earth, when we believe in Jesus. God
Himself draws nigh to us with the assurance
of His eternal and immutable love. Christ is
ours — wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and
redemption — and the sinner, who but a moment
before was poor and sad, is able to rejoice in
unsearchable riches, and to glory in God.

When we have once experienced the love of
God in Christ Jesus, we cannot but draw nigh
continually, that God may draw nigh to us.
Having tasted that the Lord is gracious, we
desire the sincere milk of the Word, that we
may grow thereby. We know now that our
Father in heaven has 07ily good gifts to give
to His children. We are not afraid of the word
of God, although it is sharper than a two-edged
sword. Our God is a consuming fire, and yet
we draw nigh with the confiding and joyous
expectation of abundant and peaceful blessings.
" I will hear," saith the believer, " what God the
Lord will say : for He will speak peace to His

154 God Draws Nigh in Consolation.

people, and to His saints." How blessed the
assurance, that whatever God says. He speaks
peace ! In all His rebukes and chastenings, the
thoughts of His heart concerning us are peace.
Scripture is nothing else but consolation,^ be-
ginning with the poor in spirit and the contrite
mourners, and accompanying us to the very end
of our earthly pilgrimage.

God comforts, comforts His people, and speaks
to the heart of Jerusalem.^ To the soul, turn-
ing away from sin and earth, He has only con-
solation ; in the valley of the shadow of death
His staff and His rod comfort us, and beyond
the grave we behold Lazarus is comforted, and
God Himself wipes away all tears from the eyes
of His children.

The consolations of God, sweet and lovely
as they are to the new man, are bitter and
piercing to the old Adam nature. Jesus is
the consolation of Israel, and Jesus is a Saviour
from sin. Jesus is not of this world ; Jesus was
crucified that sin miofht be condemned in the

o

' " Christianity does not bring consolation only in part or at
the end, but it is consolation-doctrine from the beginning and
throughout to the end ; altogether it is organized consolation.
Jesus begins with pronouncing the poor and mourners blessed.
He is regarded by prophets and apostles as the day-spring of
mercy." — NiTZSCH, Seelenpflege, p. 173.

^ Isa. xi. 2, orig.

God Draws Nigh in Consolation. 155

flesh. The Holy Ghost is the Comforter, and,
as the very name indicates, the Spirit, who in
His infinite love condescends to dwell in our
hearts, in whom the Father and the Son draw
nigh, even so nigh as to take up their abode
within us, is holy, separating us from all sin
and worldliness. Are we willing to be com-
forted by God, in Jesus, through the Holy
Ghost ? Have we courage, let me rather say
faith, to be filled with divine light and love ?
Have we resolved to give up all things, nay,
to hate our own lives, that God may draw nigh
to us ? Then let not our hearts be troubled ;
the Lord, whose love is infinite in majesty,
wisdom, power, and tenderness, saith, " I, even
I, am He that comforteth you."^

We need consolation throuofhout our whole
course. This may seem strange at first. As
without Christ there is not a single gleam of
light to break our darkness, so with Christ
there ought not to be a single cloud on our

3 " There is no truth, however warning, threatening, yea, even
terrifying, its aspect, which does not bring us nearer con-
solation, though apparently removing it from us. How faithful
and truthful is the truth, which aims at our liberty and blessed-
ness, that it takes from us step by step all false consolation, and
in such a manner, that though at first we do not feel thankful,
yet at last we must offer praise and adoration for this very
discipline." — NiTZSCH, Seelenpfiege, p. 175.

156 God Draws Nigh 171 Consolation.

horizon, no doubt or fear to interrupt the peace
which His precious blood has purchased for us.
Under the law there was nothing but condem-
nation ; under the gospel there is nothing but
the all-sufficient Saviour-grace of God. Yet
what is our experience ?

The soul asks, Why have I such a constant
and painful remembrance of past, of forgiven
sin ? It is true that all prophets and apostles
testify of Jesus, that in Him is forgiveness of
sins to every one that believeth. Even to the
little children the beloved apostle writes, because
their sins are forgiven for His name's sake. In
all the Pauline epistles the believer is assured
that in Christ we have, we possess, redemption,
even the forgiveness of sins ; that this is the
fundamental blessing of the new covenant ; that
God hath forgiven our iniquities, and will re-
member our sins no more. God has assured
us that He has blotted out our sins as a thick
cloud, that He has removed them from us as
far as the east is from the west, that He has
buried them in the depths of the sea, and that
this perfect and absolute forgiveness is that in
which He delights, and wherein He manifests
to all angels and ages His glory. And yet we
cannot forget our past sins, and we feel the
need to be constantly reassured by the voice

God Draws Nigh in Co?isolaiio7i. 157

saying, " Take, eat ; this is my body, broken
for you : this is my blood, shed for the remission
of sin," Why is this ?

When we first returned to God we had very
shallow and limited views of the nature of sin,
of the depth of the fall, of the hidden alienation
of the carnal mind from God. Our heavenly
Father, in His loving-kindness and tenderness,
allowed us then to experience chiefly the sweet-
ness of His mercy. We rejoiced in the bright
robe, in the ring of adoption, in the shoes of
the new obedience, in the joy of the Good
Shepherd, who had found His lost sheep. God
blessed us, and assured us of His never-changing
love. But it is necessary that we should learn
more of sin, in order that we may continue to
rest exclusively on Christ. If the atoning blood
of Jesus is to remain our only trust, if the
indwelling of Christ by the Spirit is to be our
only strength, it is necessary that we should
know and remember our sins, that we should
feel them painfully, and be ashamed before God.
It is after the brethren of Joseph are pardoned,
it is after Israel has experienced the marvellous
love of God, that the sense of sin, the over-
whelming and crushing sense of sin, is felt.
" Thou son of man," said God to the prophet
Ezekiel, " shew the house to the house of Israel,

158 God Draws Nigh in Consolation.

that they may be ashamed of their iniquities."^
The completeness and glory of the temple call
forth the deepest repentance.

Let no man think the believer's sighs the
language of unbelief, or his tears the expression
of unconsoled sorrow. Let no presumptuous
hand remove the bitter herbs from the paschal
feast. It is a orreat forgfiveness which God
bestows, which Jesus purchased, which the
Spirit seals, and we fed it to be great. And
as we feel God's forgiveness orreat, so we
cannot forget that all our sins, though forgiven,
are still within us. They are blotted out, they
are judged, they are crucified ; we hate them,
we fight against them ; but there they are, within
us, ours. Our whole old man, with all its mem-
bers, is still in existence. Grace has not anni-
hilated him, although grace enables us to
crucify him, to mortify the members which are
on earth. How can we help remembering what
we were, and what we did, when sin, although
no longer reigning within us, is still present
with us, when the flesh still, daily and always,
is in mortal enmity against the Spirit. Poor
believer ! wretched man ! chief of sinners ! God
will comfort thee. How often dost thou cry —

3 Ezek. xxxvi. 31 ; xliii. 10.

God Draivs Nigh in Consolation. 159

" Say this word of love again,
Christ receiveth sinful men ! "

How often does thy soul respond — -

" Chief of sinners though I be,
Christ is all in all to me ! "

Believe and rejoice in the Lord. " Worthy is
the Lamb." Say not merely, "I am black;"
but behold the beauty of the Lord.

"Your many sins are all forgiven ;
Oh, hear the voice of Jesus !
Go on your way in peace to heaven,
And wear a crown with Jesus."

The soul mourns over her many sins, and the
fewness of her good works. She thinks grace
hath won but scanty triumphs ; she wonders
why sin is not extirpated ; she is disappointed
that the heavenly Gardener does not remove
the bitter root of sins ; she has sometimes
imagined for days and weeks that He had done
so. A subtle and sweet calm, an unwonted
energy as of the Spirit, a Sabbatic freedom from
the attacks of old sins and habits, seemed to
descend into the soul ; she felt herself pure,
beautified, no longer in the wilderness, always
victorious. Alas ! it was Satan appearing as an
angel of light. Jesus Christ, the crucified, the
Physician of the sick, the Healer of the broken-

i6o God Di'aws Nigh in Consolation.

hearted, the Saviour of sinners, is not the centre
and root of this experience. This sweetness
and honey come not from the cleft Rock.

God's thoughts are not our thoughts ; His
ways are not our ways. We discover this con-
tinually. Not merely when we are first brought
to a knowledge of salvation, and see with re-
joicing surprise the marvellous method of free
grace, but ever afterwards we learn that the
ways of God are different from our wisdom and
the expectation of our hearts. How natural is
the thought and desire of the soul that has
begun to love Christ, that its progress may
now be continuous and rapid ! How natural
even the conception, that in some moment of
faith and ardent soul-surrender, there will be
given from above a complete and final victory
over the love of sin and the world ! Yet how
different is the experience of the Christian ! Is
it not true of all, what an old saint describes
as his history ? — ■

" I ask'd the Lord that I might grow
In faith and love, and ev'ry grace ;
Might more of His salvation know,
And seek more earnestly His face.

"'Twas He who taught me thus to pray.
And He, I trust, has answer'd prayer ;
But it has been in such a way,
As almost drove me to despair.

God Draws Nizk in Consolation. i6i

" I hoped that in some favour'd hour
At once He'd answer my request,
And by His love's constraining power
Subdue my sins, and give me rest.

*' Instead of this, He made me feel
The hidden evils of my heart ;
And let the angr)' powers of hell
Assault my soul in every part.

" Yea, more ; with His own hand he seem'd
Intent to aggravate my woe ;
Cross'd all the fair designs I schem'd,
Blasted my gourds, and laid me low.

"' Lord, why is this ? ' I trembling cried ;

'Wilt Thou pursue thy worm to death?'
"Tis in this way,' the Lord replied,

' I answer prayer for grace and faith.

"' These inward trials I employ.

From self and pride to set thee free ;
And break thy schemes of earthly joy.
That thou mayst seek thy all in Me.'"

The heavenly wisdom speaks to us in this
wise : God has commanded us to fight the good
fi^ht of faith as lonof as we are on earth ; the
city of palm trees is beyond ; vision and strife-
less joy await us in the heavenly Jerusalem.
Our rest is in God even now ; but it is not the
rest of glory. The old man is not annihilated
in us, else were there no conflict. Do we wish
to be pure and faultless, in order to give the
glory to God ? If suddenly our sin was re-
moved, would we ascribe it to God, and to God

M

1 62 God Draws Nigh in Consolation.

alone ? And though we should say so with our
lips, would not our secret thoughts be, My idol
hath done this ? would not the enemy whisper
it to our heart ? Have we not often experienced
how a smooth and outwardly faultless and peace-
ful course only concealed a disease more dan-
gerous and more loathsome — the sin of hard,
self-contained and self-satisfied Pharisaism, which
needs no Saviour, and has no tears of joy, grati-
tude, and shame to shed ? ^ We cannot be too
earnest, diligent, and watchful ; we cannot have
too high an aim, and too hopeful a trust in the
strength of Jesus.

It is an essential feature in the Christian,
that he lonofs after holiness. Sanctification is

■* The following extract is from the diary of Philip M. Hahn
(Feb. 8th, 1786) : " During my private prayer I remembered my
impatient speech to-day, and this brought before me my sins in
so clear a light, and with a deep feeling of sorrow and abhor-
rence. It showed me so clearly the necessity of an atonement,
and the greatness of God's mercy, and that we live entirely by
the grace of God, and are unworthy. I thought within myself,
How necessary are our failures ! For I know from experience
that when some considerable time has passed without open
failure, I become proud, unmerciful, self-complacent, censorious.
One does not recognize God's mercy and compassion, and that
God delights only in a childlike, humble heart. But this is by
no means to encourage us in carelessness. It is to my shame
that I have not the mind of Christ," &c. This remark, rightly
understood, does not contradict the frequently-expressed exhor-
tation of Scripture : " These things write we unto you, that ye
sin not."

God Draws Nio-Ji in Consolation. 163

inseparably connected with justification, not only
as its companion, but its end. "If we compare
them in point of time, if we look backward, holi-
ness was always necessary unto happiness ; or if
we look forward, the estate we are appointed to,
and for which we are delivered from wrath, is
an estate of perfect holiness."^ If we look to
the eternal election of the Father, if we reflect
upon the great work of redemption, if we by
faith realize the fulfilment of the promise, and
behold the new Jerusalem, into which nothing
shall enter that is defiled, everywhere we see
holiness as the great object of the divine pur-
pose and the divine acts of grace. Again, every
privilege of the Christian points to this great
end. Are we the children of God ? Then the
command follows naturally: " Be ye holy; for I
am holy." " Be ye therefore perfect, even as your
Father which is in heaven is perfect." " Be ye
followers (imitators) of God, as dear children."
Are we the disciples of Christ ? Then it is ours
to learn of Him, who was meek and lowly in
heart. Are we His friends ? Then it is for us
to do whatsoever He commands us. Are we
members of the Church, of the body of which
the Son of God is Head '^. Then is it for us to
walk worthy of the vocation wherewith we are

s Archbishop Leighton.

164 God Draws Nigh in Consolation.

called, and to remember that the Holy Ghost
Himself dwelleth in us.

As the desire after holiness*^ is an essential
feature in the Christian character, and constant
sorrow and conflict on account of sin — our
worst, and in one sense our only, enemy^ — -the
mark of every true believer, so the desire after
a state of perfection and completeness is also
well founded ; only that here misconceptions
easily creep in, especially if they flatter our
self-complacency, and give room to glory in
ourselves. We are complete in Christ. We
receive in Jesus, once and for ever, all things
pertaining to life and godliness. We are by
faith one with Him, whom God has made for
us wisdom and righteousness, sanctification and
redemption. Jesus, the ascended Lord, is our
perfection. As our righteousness is in heaven,
as the name both of the Lord and of Jerusalem
is Jehovah-Tsidkenu, so is our perfection Christ
at the right hand of God. And our hope is,
that we shall be like Him; that when Jesus

^ Dr. Duncan somewhere expresses doubt as to whether there
is in the present day as much real anxiety and honest striving
after assurance of faith, as interest in the discussion of the
subject. Let us hope there is much real and sincere heart-
longing for holiness, and for a close walk with God. The Scrip-
tures contain simple and ample directions to all who wish to
abide in Christ and bring forth fruit.

God Draws Nigh in Consolation. 165

comes again we shall be, in body, soul, and
spirit, conformed to the image of God's Son,
according to the working whereby He is able
to subdue all things unto Himself.

The Christian is at peace ; he possesses in
the present all he needs ; he does not look for-
ward to a gradual and slow progress, and to
an indefinite goal, but to a constantly-renewed
apprehension and enjoyment of what, by God's
grace and through faith, has been given unto
him in Christ Jesus.

There are three subjects of which the Chris-
tian has an experimental and real knowledge l
sin, grace, and the new life and walk ia Christ..

I. He has knowledge of sin, partly by self-
observation and experience, but chiefly through
faith in the testimony of God. Examining
his thoughts, feelings, words, and actions, he
cannot fail to discover pride, self-seeking, cove-
tousness, and other evils within his heart.
Sometimes sins, which he fancied he detested,
will, to his great shame and terror, appear in
his own heart ; and evils, which he thought he
had conquered and laid aside, are felt to have
only slumbered to assert themselves with new
and greater power.

But however humiliating such discoveries
are, it is not in this way that we arrive at

1 66 God Draws Nizh in Consolatioii.

a true knowledge and conviction of sin ; it is
by believing what God says of us in His word.
If we measure our sinfulness by our own dis-
covery and experience of it, we may indeed be
deeply abased, but we do not see our condition
in the true lisfht. When we bow to the de-
claration of God's word — when we accept the
testimony of Scripture, the estimate of divine
justice, holiness, and truth — when we receive
the judgment of Him, who searcheth and trieth
the heart, then it is that we see and know our-
selves to be sinners. Once we have accepted
the divine testimony concerning sin, we retain
this conviction of our sinfulness, even while
we have the most comforting and encouraging
experiences of divine favour. We know that
Christ Jesus saved sinners, we also know "of
whom I am chief."

The Scripture portraiture and anatomy of
the human heart (as for instance Rom. iii.
lO-iS) may appear at first sight to be not
merely appalling, but inapplicable in its full
extent to our own case. If we measure it by
our own feeling and experience, we may find it
difficult to submit ourselves to the divine judg-
ment, and to acknowledge its justice ; but if we
accept it in faith, if we remember that it is the
sentence of God, of the Omniscient One, whose

God Draws Nigh in Consolation. 167

eyes are as a flame of fire, and whose word is
perfect, we shall then, also in our experience
and feeling, come to the knowledge of the
truth of the Scripture declaration of our sinful-
ness. We shall then attribute to prevenient
and restraining grace our comparative freedom
from some of the manifestations of sin ; we
shall learn "that what is born of the flesh is
flesh." Though we have not always the con-
scious feeling of our guilt and sin, yet, if we
believe God's word, we always know ourselves
to be sinners, and therefore are able always to
rejoice in Jesus, who " receiveth sinners, and
eateth with them."

2. In like manner our knowledge of Jesus, or
of grace, is not according to our feeling, but
according to the testimony which God has given
of His Son. When we come to Jesus, we re-
ceive Him at once, as He is, in all His fulness,
as God hath made Him for us ;" we receive the
whole Christ. The moment we are enabled to
give our heart unto Jesus, we possess all; we are
blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly
places in Him. The believer is gradually grow-
ing in the knowledge and enjoyment of the
blessings he has received ; but the possession
of them is not a gradual acquisition, but an

7 I Cor. i. 30.

1 68 God Draws Ni^h i^t Consolation.

immediate and perfect reception. The word of
God declares that, beheving in Jesus, I have
eternal life. This is far beyond my conception,
experience, and feehng ; yet I beheve and re-
joice in this wonderful gift of life eternal. The
peace of the Christian is perfect, because he
possesses a perfect Christ.

3, And in like manner we have perfection
and completeness in the spirit and character
of our walk. The Christian's new life is not a
gradual reception of isolated precepts and com-
mandments, an isolated and mechanical exercise
of individual virtues and self-denials, but the
putting on of the new man ; so that the mind
which was in Christ Jesus is in us. By the death
of Christ we have been crucified unto sin and
the world. Sin in its totality has been condemned
in the flesh. We, who believe on Jesus, have
died unto sin with and in Him. Our whole life
has sprung out of the resurrection of Christ.
The one motive of our actions is, "We live not
unto ourselves, but unto Him, who loved us,
and gave Himself for us." The more we re-
member this completeness and unity of the
" mind of Christ," into which we have entered
by faith in the death and resurrection of our
Lord, the more shall we be prepared and strength-
ened to overcome every temptation, to fulfil

God Draws Nigh in Consolation. 169

every duty, to solve every doubtful case, as it
arises. The Christian's life and obedience is
thus something complete, an organic whole.^

To sum up : if we are God's children, our
experience will be, I must decrease, Christ must
increase. Yet we grow. We are humbled, and
yet we rise. God comforts us, that He will
perform the work which He has begun in our
souls, that He will perfect that which concerneth
us, that we shall mount up with wings as eagles.
And God's consolations give us perfect peace
while we remain a poor afflicted people.

" Lowly, my eyes, be lowly !

God from His throne above
Looks down upon the humble

In kindness and in love.
Still as I rise I shall

Have greater depths below me,
And haughty works must fall :

Therefore, my eyes, be lowly."

^ Condensed from Steinhofer, who adds : r

1. "If we are frequently attacked by the same sin, and fight
against it, by itself, without going to the root of our being
Christ's, and of our possessing the mind of Christ constantly
indwelling, we are worsted, and become faint and without power.

2. "A believer has sinned, he perceives the defect, and he
wishes to remedy the matter by feeling anxious, and by humble
and sorrowful supplication for mercy (which is certainly right) ;
but he fails to take his refuge in the strong tower of the Atone-
ment. He does not remember that his sins are forgiven him ;
then he shall experience that ' the law is the strength of sin.' ''
He has returned to the stand-point of law, in which there is
neither peace nor power.

1 70 God Draws Nigh i?i Consolation.

Out of the depths we look to our true joy.
As the children sing —

" Oh, how happy we shall be ;
For our Saviour we shall see
Exalted on His throne ! Oh, that will be joyful ! "

We have a foretaste of this heavenly joy when
it pleases God to give us a deep sense of our
sin and unworthiness. To think of our sin and
nothingness leads to humility. The true humility
is to think with joy of Christ, and to magnify
our God and Saviour. In the sweet valley of
humiliation we behold Jesus exalted on His
throne. Then the happy land, far, far away,
seems very nigh ; for we see the King in His
beauty; our eyes behold the land that is far off.
When we can truly say, " Christ is all," then
God enables us to add, " And Christ is mine."
When we have no righteousness of our own — ■
when we can find nothing within ourselves
wherein to trust and rejoice — when, more deeply
and painfully than at our conversion, we feel
our exceeding sinfulness and helplessness — then
God comforts us with His abundant mercy ; we
behold the amazing, infinite, and immutable love
of God ; we rejoice with joy unspeakable and
full of glory. Jesus Himself is our Righteous-
ness, our Beauty. We sing the new song. God
Himself is our Light and our Salvation.

God Drazus Nigh m Consolation. i 7 1

The fulness and sweetness of divine love can
be seen and felt by the soul, only when emptied
and abased. There are only two heavens — one
above in glory, the other below in the broken
heart. When it is perfectly still within, when
every voice of self-commendation or excuse is
hushed, then is heard the voice of the Lord,
full of majesty and consolation. God reveals
His presence, God manifests His love, and we
adore.

See, the frail bark is far away from the shore
of time and sense ; no longer are the hills of
this earth within view ; the last thin line of the
coast has disappeared from the vision ; the soul
is alone with God. The ocean is infinite, and
it is love. He loved us ere the foundations of
the world were laid. We look no more for
works of rio^hteousness which we have done.
Chosen in Christ, redeemed with His most
precious blood, we know ourselves loved with
a love which is its own source, which ever sus-
tains and renews itself, and which brings us all
that pertains to life and godliness.

Here is the true Sabbath of the soul. Ceasing
from our works, from all spiritual labour and
anxiety, we rejoice in Christ Jesus with the
simplicity of little children. As in our earthly
life, when we are far from the noise and dust of

172 God Draws Nigh in Consolatioji.

crowded streets, in some distant lonely spot, the
deep, still, virgin silence makes us forget the
burden of our daily routine, and there returns
to us the freshness and fragrance of our child-
hood, so is it sometimes given to the Christian
to return to his first love, and to the first Christ-
absorbed adoring joy.

We are then in the Spirit. Is it above? As
Moses was on the mount, high above the people,
above the darkness of Sinai and the clouds of
earth, and beheld the blue of heaven at the feet
of the God of Israel, so is the soul lifted above
the crowd of thoughts, accusing and excusing
one another, and the works of the law, and the
earthly imperfect willing and doing, and beholds
the covenant faithfulness of everlasting love.
Or is it within ? Eyes and ears are closed ;
reason, fancy, and all energies of the soul rest
in quiet expectation. The heavenly Friend has
gently opened the door, and in the heart is
heard His salutation : " Peace be with thee.
Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your
God. Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, and
say unto her that her warfare is accomplished,
that her iniquity is pardoned, that she hath
received of the Lord's hand a Benjamin-portion
for all her sins."

CHAPTER VIII.

IF GOD BE FOR US.

" Draw nigh to God, attd He will draw nigh to you."
James iv. 8.

'HPHERE is no exhortation more solemn and
^ profound, more fundamental, reaching" into
the very beginnings of spiritual life, and more
comprehensive, embracing the deepest expe-
rience of divine grace, than these words : " Draw
nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you."
No frequency of repetition can weaken their
force or exhaust their meaning ; but they grow
in power and sweetness as we obey the com-
mand, " Draw nigh to God," and test the truth
of the promise, "And He will draw nigh to
you."

You who are still far from Him, do you not
know that He is ? and knowing that He is, can
you resist the magnet of almighty love, mani-
fested in human sorrow, in Jesus lifted up to the
cross ? You hear the word of God ; but do you
not know that the word of God lives because

God lives ? You hear the invitations of divine
grace ; but do you not reahze that God sends
them forth, and that this moment there are the
outstretched arms of Fatherly love ready to
receive you ? You hear the ambassadors of
Christ ; but have you never looked through
them unto the heavenly throne, where Christ
lives, exalted a Prince and a Saviour, to give
repentance and remission of sins ? " Draw nigh
to God."

How long will you draw nigh to things which
cannot draw nigh to you, to the creature which
cannot even understand, far less satisfy, the
depth of your thirst, or heal your conscience,
or give you the peace which only an infinite
love can bestow ? How long will you allow
sin, or the world, or the force of dull habit, to
prevent you from facing the solemn realities of
your eternal life, from turning unto the living
God ? And you who are satisfied with the
shadow of Christ flitting across your mind and
imagination, who rest in the knowledge of doc-
trine, and the theory of religion, " draw nigh to
God," rend your hearts, repent and believe on
the Lord Jesus Christ, and your sins shall be
blotted out, and Jesus Himself shall dwell in
your hearts. See, the poor and guilty one hears
the call, " Draw nigh." Between the cherubim,

If God be for tis. 175

on the blood-besprlnkled mercy-seat, is the pre-
sence of the sin-forgiving and yet holy God ;
but the sinner stands afar off; an overwhelming
awe, fear, shame, self-condemnation, transfix
him to the ground. He cannot advance ; he
cannot draw nigh ; he has no strength, no cour-
age ; he would not lift up so much as the eyes,
the expression of hope and entreaty, to heaven.
Upon his breast he smites ; for he knows his
sins came not from without, but from the depth
of his own heart. So still is he, and absolutely
poor. Behold, he has drawn nigh to God, and
God has drawn nigh to him ! ^

Not in dark symbol, not in partial and frag-
mentary types, has God spoken to us. Who of
us is ignorant of the name of Jesus ? Who of
us has not heard from childhood the sweet story
of old ? Unto whom is the image new of the
Good Shepherd who laid down His life for the
sheep, and whose greatest joy it is to seek and
to save the lost one ? And when the thought
of judgment and eternity alarms the worldly
heart, is it not the thought of God, who was in
Christ, and who sent the message of reconcilia-
tion to His enemies ?^ It is not the remembrance
of mount Sinai, but of Golgotha, which alarms
the conscience in the prospect of death.

' Luke xviii. 13, 14. "2 Cor. v, 19, 20.

I 76 If God be for its.

Oh, how near is God ! The Word is nigh
unto thee^ — in thy mouth and in thy mind, in
thy imagination and in thy conscience. Let it
sink still deeper, where alone it can effect its
grand object. Believe with the heart in Jesus.
Faith is the opening of the heart to the love of
God. " Draw nigh to God."

God draws nigh, only to comfort". The con-
solations of God have their centre in the cross
of the Lord Jesus; but there is no human sorrow
which they cannot reach, and no wound of the
heart which they cannot heal.

Many, who do not feel the burden of sin, pass
by Jesus, because they imagine He has nothing
else to give but pardon. And it is true, that
only through the forgiveness of sins all divine
blessinsfs descend into our hearts. But what
Jesus has to give us, and He alone, is all that
which we need. He possesses the only remedy
for poor and weary humanity. He alone can
give peace and health to the sick and restless
heart. He calls to Himself all the heavy-laden
and weary ones : "If any man thirst ! "

For it is not a question about sin only, it is
a question about myself. Man, who is not at
peace with God, is not at peace with himself.
Man lost many blessings, gifts, and treasures,

3 Rom. X. 8.

If God be for tis. 1 7 7

many joys and hopes, when he departed from
God. But above all, he lost himself when he
forsook God. He is lost — he, and not merely
what he once possessed. The centre of human
existence is either outside us- — in those whom
we love, in activity and success in the world —
or within us. " My mind to me a kingdom
is, my self- approbation, my character." But
from neither of these centres can peace and
happiness flow into the soul. Created in the
image of God, we have not lost the thwst, though
we have departed from the fountain of living
water. We are all seeking 'goodly' pearls. Alas!
many receive and try to be satisfied with their
good things, as we read of the rich man ; ^ but
all saints in heaven, and all lost ones in hell,
testify that there is only 07ie genuine, true,
beautiful, and precious Pearly the only One,
all-comprehensive, all-sufficient, and eternal.

Men will never truly thank God for their
creation until they praise Him for their redemp-
tion. Men must feel overwhelmed with the
darkness of Providence until, inscribed upon
the cross, they read, in shining letters, " God is
love." A threefold pain takes hold of our souls

" Luke xvi. 25 : " But Abraham said" (unto the rich man),
'' Son, remember that thou in thy hfetime receivedst thy good
tilings, and Hkewise Lazarus evil things."

K

lyS If God be for us.

when we realize the irreparable Past, with its
errors, sins, and losses; the unsatisfying Present,
with its emptiness and weary agitation ; and the
dark Future, with its uncertainty and gloom ; *
until we turn to that eternal love, which, with
the bright eye of all-comprehensive wisdom and
the tender hand of unfailing omnipotence, orders
all things to work together for our good ; unless
we look to Jesus Christ, the same yesterday,
to-day, and for ever ; unless we draw nigh to
God, and God draws nigh to us.

Do we know from experience this mysterious
reciprocity and communion ? Here is the true,
the real life. There is a hidden life of thoughts
and feelings in every man, and even this inner
life is full of mysteries which we cannot fathom.
But the Christian's hidden life is the life which
is not merely hid in his own soul, but which is
hid with Christ in God. It has two sanctuaries —
one in heaven, one in the heart. It is dialogue,
and not monologue ; it is the continuous approach
of God to the soul, and of the soul to God ; it
is the uninterrupted manifestation of Christ to
the heart, and the constant response of adora-
tion and love ; it is the constant inworking of
divine grace, and the constant outworking of

s Compare on the contrast between time life and eternal life.
(Chap. xi. II.)

If God be foj" tis. i 79

the believer in willing and doing ; it is the Spirit
indwelling, witnessing, comforting, Christ-con-
forming ; and our spirit, thus energized, taking
hold of the Father and His Son Jesus Christ.

Say not that all I have described amounts
simply to our praying to God, and to our re-
ceiving God's answer through the written Word.
Surely prayer and the written Word are of
essential importance. But drawing nigh to God
means rather the essence and the culminating-
point of prayer than prayer itself; it is that
prayer which does not seek so much separate
gifts of His grace, but which seeks to take hold
of Himself. We ask not light, but that God
should be our light ; we ask not for pardon, but
we desire to be kissed by the Father ; we ask
not holiness, but that the Holy One should
dwell in our hearts and lives. We come to
God; and in like manner, God Himself draws
near unto us. Herein is the exceeding love of
God, that His gifts and graces are not separate
from Himself, but are part of His life within
us. For the Father and the Son dwell in us
by the Holy Spirit,^ and thus we understand and
possess in fulness what the Psalmist rejoiced in
of old, that God Himself is our refuge and
strength, our salvation and glory, the strength

^ Compare chap. x.

i8o If God be for us.

of our heart, and our portion for ever. It is
the constant desire of the Christian thus to
realize the indwelHng of God. He speaks unto
us as truly as He did unto Abraham, Moses,
Paul. For we know that the revelations of God
to them, the divine promises and commands,
could be received only by faith. Peculiar and
fundamental as are these revelations recorded
in Scripture, yet are they not anomalous and
isolated, but rather typical of all the self-mani-
festations of God to His chosen people.

Jesus gives unto us as immediate, all-sufficient,
heart- convincing manifestation of Himself, as
when He appeared unto the disciples, and said,
"Peace be with you;" as when His conde-
scending grace caused Thomas to cry out, " My
Lord and my God ;" as when He sent forth His
deeply-tried and well-nigh despairing apostle
with the assurance, " My grace is sufficient for
thee." After His resurrection our adorable
Lord manifested Himself to His disciples. He
who in the days of His flesh taught daily in
the temple, and was seen and heard of the
multitude, appeared now only unto His chosen
friends. " God," as the apostle Peter says,
" raised Him up the third day, and showed
Him openly ; not to all the people, but unto
witnesses chosen before." He appeared. He

If God be for us. i8i

drew near, He made Himself known. He after-
wards called Saul by name, and revealed unto
him His grace and power. The manifestation
of the risen Saviour to His chosen ones, as
recorded in Scripture, is typical of the dealings
of the ascended Christ with the soul throughout
this dispensation. It is the Lord Himself who
appears, who speaks, who makes Himself known
unto the heart. Mary Magdalene often seeks
Him in great anxiety. Her intense anxiety
partly prevents her recognising the presence of
the beloved Master ; but when He calls her by
name, she knows it is He. The salutation,
" Peace be with you," is heard, and, after sorrow
and darkness, the sweet light shines again.
And as in the instances recorded in the gospels,
the Saviour honours the written Word in the
most marked manner, connecting it in an in-
separable manner with Himself, His work, and
His self-manifestation, so in all the subsequent
experiences of the church Christ reveals Him-
self in, with, and by the Word, and yet in such
a manner that it is known He reveals Himself.
The written Word is indeed the pre-eminent
and, in many ways, indispensable and unique
channel ; but it is God Himself who draws nigh
to the heart drawing nigh to Him.

Here and here only is peace and consolation.

1 8 2 If God be for us.

Seek it not in doctrines skilfully and soothingly-
arranged to give you calm slumber and a kind
of logical and legal trust-deed security ; seek it
only in and from the living God. " I, even I,
am He that comforteth you." It is a divine
prerogative. Thus God says often emphatically,
" I, even I," to exclude all idols, however beau-
tiful and elevated — to shut us up to Himself.
God alone created the heavens and the earth —
" I, even I ;" God alone redeemed us, and for-
giveth all our iniquities — "I, even I;" God
alone, who knows the heart, can heal and glad-
den it.

And as God draws nigh to comfort us in our
sorrow for sin, so it is His manifested presence
which alone can comfort us in affliction, and
amid the various difficulties of our earthly life.

The soul is troubled because of errors and
self-chosen paths, which have brought to us
trial and disappointment. We feel that our own
mistakes, wrong decisions, and culpable yielding
to worldly and sinful influences have borne bitter
fruit. While we fear that we have thus marred
and injured our future, and while with bitter
regret we dwell on the past, we feel that it would
involve much self-abasement to draw nigh unto
the Lord, that His presence might bring us,
above all, inward calm, and afterwards deliver-

If God be for ns. 1 8

o

ance. When our own conduct has converted a
brother into an adversary, and the homeward
path into a dangerous journey, we feel Hke Jacob,
near a severe conflict/ But when God draws
nigh. He, it is true, begins the conflict with us ; "^
but how wonderful is the victory which by His
own grace we gain ! For we draw nigh to God,
and He to us. The soul says : " Peniel : I have
seen God face to face, and my life is preserved."
Or, in seasons of affliction and bereavement,
in times of difficult and perplexing duties, of
deep and sore inward trials, does not God's
Spirit then so bring us into the experience
described by the apostle Paul in his epistles ^ to
the Corinthians, when we are pressed out of

'' Genesis xxxii.

^ Gen. xxxii. 24. This important point, viz., that the conflict
is begun by The Man, and not by Jacob, is often overlooked.

' In no epistle is the inward hfe of the apostle Paul so fully
described as in the epistles to the Corinthians. Other epistles
give us a fuller view of his mental history and his great spiritual
experience of grace as distinguished from law. In the epistle to
the Philippians we have a more perfect portraiture of his real
inmost character, of his deep-rooted joy and peace in Christ.
But to the Corinthians he unfolds the conflict, the sorrow, the
weakness, the crucifixion, which he constantly experienced.
Here we see him in his "weakness," and yet it is a weakness
in which he can glory. When we see him weak, we see him
strong. " Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infir-
mities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." In these
epistles we may learn what is meant by " the fellowship of
Christ's sufferings."

184 If God be foi^ us.

measure, above strength, in order that God
Himself might draw nigh, and His presence
bring to us all we need ?

When the heart is in trouble, it must ascend
to the loftiest height, to God Himself. Out of
the depths we cry unto Him. The contempla-
tion of doctrines, the remembrance of truth,
cannot satisfy us, unless we convert it into
present reality, unless we use it as a medium
through which we see the countenance of God,
as a ladder whereby we ascend to the mountain-
height of communion. We need not the atone-
ment merely, but God the Father in Jesus ; not
redemption, but Jesus Himself our Lord. We
then hear again the great unanswerable argu-
ment, central and supreme : "He that spared
not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us
all, how shall He not with Him also freely give
us all things ? " We do not hear the argument
merely, but we behold God. We feel the pre-
sence of God, and say, He. The believer beholds
the loving Father. The soul is now beyond
and above mere doctrine. He needs not now
to be reminded of the harmony between mercy
and truth, grace and justice. The gift of Christ,
crucified and exalted, is the true measure of
divine love. The eyes of his heart cannot
rest on any lower height. The presence of this

If God be for us.

Christ-giving God hushes every murmur, dries
every tear, banishes all unbelief. The Father
is beheld loving us with the love wherewith He
loves the Son. God, who has bestowed on us
this greatest gift, never to recall it — who, in
order to bestow it, made the inconceivable sacri-
fice, will freely give us all things with Him. All
without Him would be nothing. If God were
to give us health and wealth, influence and
honour, without and apart from Christ, how
miserable we should be! If He were to give
us brightness of earthly things, to the obscuring
of Christ to our heart, as was the case with Lot
and with the Israelites when He sent leanness
into their souls, how sad this would be ! But
whatever God may withhold, and whatever
persecutions and troubles He may add, as long
as He gives with Christ, He gives "all things."
And what are all things, contrasted with
Christ ? All things are still finite and exhaust-
ible ; Christ is inexhaustible and infinite. All
things are outside God ; Christ is within God —
the only-begotten, eternal, and sovereign Son
of the Father. All things are objects of divine
favour, according to their position and capacity;
Christ, the adequate object of infinite love. 'All
things" may form helps to bring us to some
knowledge of God; they reflect something of His

1 86 If God be for us.

character and glory ; they speak some part of
the divine message ; they encourage and comfort
us, to some extent, on our way. But Christ is
the perfect, adequate, uhimate revelation of God.
In Him dwelleth the fulness of the Godhead
bodily; and He not merely reveals, He imparts;
for we dwell in Him, and He in us.

And " all things " are ours ; and those of the
" all things " God sees we need, are given to us
when and as we require them. The same free
and self-moving grace which made the stupen-
dous sacrifice, is now providing for our every
want, and supplying our every need. Infinite
love in the Lord Jesus Christ is constantly flow-
ing towards us ; God is always loving us with
the same intensity as when Christ died for us.
Christ's death remains the measure as well as
the channel ; and all this we are assured of —
and why } Because God draws nigh. When
we behold Him, this our living God — when we
feel the personal presence, then all that is within
us asks, ''He that spared not His own Son, but
delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not
with Him also freely give us all things } " Then
is fulfilled the word of the prophet — "We know
that it is He!'^

' He is, according to the Kabbala, one of the names of God,
as also " 1." Comp. Isaiah and gospel of ]o\\\\ passim.

If God be for us. 1 8 7

It is true, without any restriction, that all
things are freely given unto us. The mind is
not able to take in the immensity of this con-
ception ; it is a thought on which the apostle
Paul seems to have dwelt often. ^ Let us think,
then, of God, to whom all things belong. Before
they were created they were His; it was His
pleasure. His omnipotence, His sovereignty,
that called them into being. How truly are
they His ! The very possibility of their exist-
ence, the very idea of their being and nature,
can only be traced to this sovereign and eternal
Source. His are all angels and men, all things
visible and invisible, things present and things
to come. His — and God is from eternity to

^ Thus in Rom. viii. 28 and 32, all things freely given, and
working together. In i Cor. iii. 21, all things are the believer's.
In Eph. i. 22, all things put under the feet of Christ at the right
hand of God. In Col. i. 16 and 20, all things are said to have
been created by Christ, and for Christ, who is before all things
(as their eternal Source and beginning. Comp. Prov. viii. and
Rev. iii. 14), and by whom all things are reconciled to the
Father. Again, in Heb. ii. 8, the apostle emphasizes the "all
things" of Psalm viii., that are put in subjection to the Son of
Man. (Comp. i Cor. xv. 27.) And lastly, the magnificent con-
clusion of the stupendous argument of Rom. i.-xi. : " For of
Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things : to whom be
glory for ever. Amen." We may find in such passages of Scrip-
ture all elements of truth and beauty, which have been mingled
with dangerous error in Pantheistic systems. Scripture, like
Christ, came not to destroy (anything good and true), but to
fulfil.

1 88 If God be for us.

eternity — Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. All
things are of the Father, and all things are in
and for the Son, and all things are through the
Spirit. God gave all things which were made
by the Word unto His Son, the Mediator, the
Christ, whom He hath appointed heir of all
things.® How glorious and rich is Christ! and
this Christ is God's gift to us. Christ is ours
by the Father's eternal donation, and by the
Saviour's own voluntary reception of us, imply-
ing His incarnation, death, and resurrection, and
His drawing us unto Himself by His Spirit.
Marvellous chain ! God sfives all thinofs unto
Christ — God gives Christ unto us ; and if Christ
is ours, then all things are ours — we are joint-
heirs with tlim. " He that overcometh shall
inherit all things T

But how is it that we enter into the conscious-
ness of this amazing possession and boundless
wealth ? Ah ! it is by the old strait gate.
We must first become poor. What do I mean
by poor- — not relatively, but absolutely, poor ?
Have we given away and renounced everything
we had ? then we must descend into still lower
depths of poverty ; we must give up our very
self "Ye are not your own." Only when we
are not our own, when we are Christ's, are all

3 Comp. Rev. iv. ii ; John i. 1-3 ; Heb. i. 2 ; John iii. 35.

If God be for us. 189

things ours — " We having nothing, and yet
possessing all things."* Christ has purchased
us with His precious blood, and we are His
slaves. Our bodies and our spirits are now
God's, both by right of creation and redemp-
tion, and, may I add, by our conversion, or by
our consent to be absolutely the Lord's. How
rich is Christ in the bosom of the Father ! how
rich are we in the bosom of Christ! How hieh
is Christ at the ri^ht hand of God ! how hi^h
are we, in spirit and reality already, upon Christ's
right hand, "the queen in gold of Ophir!"

God draws nigh — and whom shall we fear ?
Say not, "How are my foes increased! many
there be that rise up against me."^ Say not,
My own sins have injured my future ; my errors

■* I often remember a little German fairy-tale which used to
delight me in my childhood. There was a very poor little orphan
girl. She was without home and friends. Alone she went out
into the wood as night was coming on. She was very thinly
clad ; a single small coin was her only possession, and a piece
of bread which she carried in her hand. She met a poor man,
and she gave him her piece of money ; she met another, and
she gave him her bread ; she met a little child, cold and shiver-
ing, and she gave away her only garment. And now she had
nothing — nothing. And she looked up to heaven, and saw the
many bright stars, and behold, they all came down in a golden
shower, and she was rich and beautiful for ever !

s Thus begin the Psalms of poor and afflicted David, after
the introductory objective, grand first and second Psalms, with
their commencement and end of Blessed. (Ps. i. i ; ii. 12.)

1 90 If God be fo?^ tts.

cannot be cancelled ; my false choice cannot be
rectified. " All things " work together. Mar-
vellous truth ! That all things work, we know
to our sorrow. The hasty word uttered, the
unkind look, the selfish omission — in short,
whatever is not of faith and of love — once it
goes forth out of the secret chamber of the
heart, alas ! it works both without and, by a
reflex action, it defiles and weakens the soul.
The hostile worldly influences, and natural and
demoniac powers, all work ; but who would
have thought they would work together ? Who
could have hoped that the same Lord who
hateth iniquity, and whose judgment always
begins with His own house, will yet lead the
sons of Jacob through the devious and wicked
path of their evil, to the love and generosity of
their brother Joseph ? Here sin is not felt less
sinful, but God more glorious. I bow my knees
before the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ. " How unsearchable are His judgments,
and His ways past finding out! Oh the depth
of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge
of God ! " We thought evil against the Lord ;
but God meant it unto good. Thus Israel's
rejection of the Messiah becomes the occasion
of the Gentiles being brought in, and Israel
itself shall at length adore the ways of God.

If God be for us. 191

Nay, in the presence of Christ we are led still
deeper into this mystery, and more unfathom-
able still is the mystery which explains it. Sin
itself has become the occasion of our being
exalted into a far higher than Paradise-state.
The grace of God doth more abound unto eter-
nal life. One with Jesus, the incarnate Son of
God, we cannot regret the fall, though we con-
fess with deep self-abasement our radical and
inherited corruption. Sons of Adam are now
one with Jesus, the Son of God. Marvellous
exaltation of the dust of earth ! The eternal
purpose and the ultimate object is, that Jesus
be exalted. We cannot understand, but we
adore, this all-comprehensive and all-victorious
counsel of divine love. Satan's victory and
man's fall is a dark enigma ; but —

" No purpose of wisdom

Was altered thereby ;
'Twas all for the lifting

Of Jesus on high.
Here Satan was baffled

In what he had done ;
The fall wrought the channel

Where mercy should run
In streams of salvation

Which never run dry ;
'Twas all for the lifting

Of Jesus on high."

"We know that all things work together for

192 If God be for tis.

good to them that love God." It is not merely
a devout wish and hope, but a certain convic-
tion. God comforts with realities. The Spirit
reveals things freely given to us of God, and
then the soul responds, I believe ; or, I know ;
for faith substantiates the unseen. Faith is the
most absolute and certain knowledge. Join, oh
sorrowful and doubting believers who love God,
the great company of thy fellow-sufferers, and
say. We know ! Hear the apostle Paul. Who
ever suffered more ? and yet there is no hesita-
.tion in his voice.

Experience is not transferable. No human
testimony, even inspired, can be to us more
than testimony. It cannot be a substitute or a
guarantee. But in the experience of the apostle
Paul (Rom viii.), every child of God will find
both a description of his own, and abundant
encouragement, guidance, and consolation.

Here is a man in Christ Jesus. There is
now no condemnation to him. Sin has been
judged, condemned, and put away. The Spirit
of Christ dwells in him. He is not in the flesh;
but the flesh is still in him. He has to mortify
the deeds of the body ; it is a painful and daily
struggle Besides, he is in manifold afflictions.
He is living in a world of suffering. The very
creation even groans by reason of bondage.

If God be for iis. 193

He also groans within himself, waiting for the
redemption of the body.

This justified one, inhabited by the Spirit,
is thus saved only in hope. He has still the
conflict with sin amid the afflictions of this
time, and he has to possess his soul in patience.
Thus he draws nigh to God. But there he
feels his weakness. His infirmities overwhelm
him. He knows not what to pray for as he
ought. Full of want, he is silent. But the
Spirit of God helps him. He creates within
him deep and believing longings after the eter-
nal blessings ; too deep for utterance, but not
too great for the Father's response. And now
he has reached the highest point. He sees God
for us. God loved us from all eternity, and
called us according to His promise. All things
must work together for good. Beholding this
God as He gave up His own Son, he trium-
phantly asks : "Shall He not with Him freely
give us all things ?" Beholding the Lord Jesus
who died, yea, rather that is risen again, who is
even at the right hand of God, who this very
moment in faithful love maketh intercession for
us, he asks : "Who can accuse or condemn us ?
and who can separate us from the love of
Christ ?" Afflictions and sufferings abound ; but
in overcoming them, we are more than con-

o

1 94 If God be for us.

querors ; we are not exhausted after the victory,
but invigorated, and more deeply rooted in the
love of Christ. Perfect is our peace. " Neither
death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor
powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
nor height, nor depth "^ — has he forgotten any
possible adverse power ? is there any other ad-
versary in the realms of space ? is there any
other shadow of dark and vague apprehension '^.
— " nor any other creature, shall be able to sepa-
rate us from the love of God, which is in Christ
Jesus." Love of God in Christ Jesus ! It con-
tinues sounding in our hearts, as when silver
bells have ceased ringing. Love of God in
Christ Jesus !

"Is God for me ? I fear not,

Though all against me rise ;
I call on Christ, my Saviour ;

The host of evil flies ;
My Friend, the Head all-glorious.

And He, who loves me, God ;
What enemy shall harm me,

Though coming as 2. flood?
I know it, I believe it,

I say it fearlessly —
That God, the best, the highest.

Doth heartily love me.
At all times, in all places.

He standeth at my side ;
What works me woe He hinders ;

He checks the storm and tide.

If God be for us. 195

" A Rock that stands for ever

Is Christ, my Righteousness,
And there I stand unfearing

In everlasting bhss ;
No earthly thing is needful

To this my life from heaven.
And nought of love is worthy

Save that which Christ has given ■
Christ, all my praise and glory,

My light most sweet and fair ;
The ship in which He saileth

Is scathless everywhere :
In Him I dare be joyful

As a hero in the war.
The judgment of the sinner

Affrighteth me no more.

" There is no condemnation,

There is no pang for me ;
The torment and the fire

My eyes shall never see ;
For me there is no sentence,

For me death hath no sting,
Because the Lord who loves me

Doth shield me with His wing.
Above my soul's dark waters

His Spirit hovers still.
He guards me from all sorrows,

From terror and from ill ;
In me He works, and blesses

The life-seed He has sown,
From Him I learn the 'Abba,'

That prayer of faith alone.

" And if in lonely places,
A fearful child, I shrink.
He prays the prayers within me,
I cannot ask or think —

196 If God be for us.

The deep unspoken language,

Known only to that love,
Who fathoms the heart's mystery

From the throne of light above.
His Spirit to my spirit

Sweet words of comfort saith.
How God the weak one strengthens,

Who leans on Him in faith ;
How He hath built a city

Of love, and light, and song,
Where the eye at last beholdeth

What the heart had loved so long.

" And there is my inheritance,

My kingly palace, home ;
The leaf may fall and perish —

Not less the spring will come ;
Like wind and rain of winter.

Our earthly sighs and tears.
Till the golden summer dawneth

Of the endless year of years.
The world may pass and perish,

Thou, God, wilt not remove ;
No hatred of all en'mies

Can part me from thy love ;
No hungering nor thirsting.

No poverty nor care,
No wrath of mighty princes

Can reach my shelter there.

"No angel, and no brightness,

No throne, nor power, nor might —
No love, no tribulation,

No danger, fear, nor flight —
No height, no depth, no creature

That has been or can be.
Can drive me from thy bosom.

Can sever me from thee :

If God be for us. 197

My heart in joy upleapeth,

Grief cannot linger there ;
She singeth high in glory

Amidst the sunshine fair ;
The Sun that shines upon me,

Is Jesus and His love ;
The fountain of my singing

Is deep in heaven above."

CHAPTER IX.

COMMUNION WITH GOD IN DAILY LIFE.

" Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to yon"
James iv. 8.

T HAVE endeavoured to lead you into the'
'■■ sanctuary of the hidden Hfe. In speaking
of the communion, which divine grace insti-
tutes between God and the soul, my object has
been not so much to teach or to exhort as to
say : Oh, come and taste that the Lord is gra-
cious ! — Brethren, there is a river, the streams
of which make glad the city of our God. The
source of that river is the eternal love which
chose us in Christ Jesus, and the end of that
river is the everlasting glory ; but this very
moment the river, full of divine vitality, power,
and beauty, flows with fertilising and refreshing
power through our hearts and lives. We see
it, we rejoice in it ; and would it be what it is
were its source not in the hidden, mysterious
mountain-heights of eternal election ? were its
end not in the shoreless ocean of infinite
blessedness ?

ComnuiniojL with God in Daily Life. 199

As our minds have dwelt on the central
experience of communion with God, it may be
profitable to consider now the connection be-
tween this centre and the large circumference
of daily life, with its duties and trials. How is
the Sabbath of the heart to be maintained
among the alternations of joy and sorrow,
activity and recreation ? The favourite expres-
sion of the day is : Religion in common life-
Let us rather ask the question : How can we
at all times obey the precept, Draw nigh to God,
and enjoy the promise. And God will draw nigh
to you ? Open your hearts to the love of God,
and let all that is within you go forth to meet
the Brideofroom. For such is His affection and
the tenderness of His heart, that He is not
willing to leave you anywhere or at any time
without His presence. Let it suffice us to have
spent so many hours and days in unnecessary
separation from Him, and to have understood
so little the attractive power and sweetness of
our crucified Lord. " Love doth the whole —
not part — desire."

It is because God is love that it is His desire
that we are always to be in communion with
Him. Here is our highest privilege, our truest
liberty. To follow the Lord fully, to be always
giving thanks, and to do all things in the name

200 Comnm7iion with God in Daily Life.

of Christ, is to walk in the Hght of God's
countenance. It is necessary to think of this,
because the world and the worldly mind within
us think differently. You know how at all
times the world has reo^arded earnest Christians
who endeavour to do all things to God's glory
as exaggerated and legal, righteous overmuch,
pietistic, Puritanic, and even as hypocritical.
How strange that it should not be clear to all
that God must be first to those who know and
love Him ; that Christ, who died for us, claims
all our heart and all our life ; that the love or
fear of God is something so deeply rooted in
the heart, that we can never lay it aside or
separate it from our feelings and thoughts, our
tastes and habits. May we not rather charge
those with pietism and hypocrisy who pray to
God only occasionally, who reserve the remem-
brance of Christ and of immortality only for
rare and outwardly-striking events of their life ?
But is it not in accordance with reason, and all
the deeper feelings of the human heart, that,
having found our one Master and Love, and
having entered in by the strait gate on our
journey to the pearly gates of the heavenly
Jerusalem, we should now wish our life to be
of one piece, real, sincere, harmonious, where
everything is pervaded by the same spirit, so

Commtmioti with God in Daily Life. 201

that whenever our Lord comes, and wherever
He finds us, in meditation, or in our daily work,
at play with our children, or in social converse,
He may find us in loyal and obedient affection ?
And as this is the desire and aim of the
Christian, so is it of the loving God ; He has
given us both guidance and promise in His
w^ord that it may be thus. He has by His
Holy Spirit taken up His abode within us ; He,
according to His promise, will so walk in us,
in our thoughts and will, our energies and
activities, as well as our feeling and imagina-
tion, that, like the apostle, our ways are in
Christ Jesus,

Even before the advent of Immanuel- — ^oh,
happy Christians who know Jesus! — even before
the advent of Immanuel, the saints of God knew
that the love of God desired their whole heart
and their whole life. Of Enoch it is said, he
walked with God. And to Abraham no less
comprehensive and loving command was given
than this : " Walk before me, and be thou
perfect." As a mother delights to be always
seeing and watching her child, so all our days
are to be spent in the presence of God, and our
heart is to seek always to please Him. We are
to hide nothing from God ; all our thoughts
and works, pursuits and enjoyments, are to be

202 Co7n7mcnio7i with God in Daily Life.

transparent before Him ; He is to be with us
in all our cares and sorrows, in all our pros-
perity and mirth.

So simple were God's dealings with the pa-
triarchs. But when the law was given through
Moses, then, adapting Himself to man's weak-
ness, the Lord minutely analysed and unfolded
this one precept of walking with God. We
Christians are accustomed to regard the law of
Moses as contrasted with the gospel of Jesus.
Ye are not come to mount Sinai, but to mount
Zion. By the law is the knowledge of sin, by
the gospel the knowledge of salvation. The law
pronounces condemnation, the gospel declares
eternal life. The law cannot give life, the gospel
brings the Holy Ghost.^

This contrast is true, and most important.
Every Jew who comes to the Lord Jesus ex-
periences this contrast with great distinctness
and intensity. So, I suppose, does every one
who has gone about to establish his own right-
eousness. But having experienced this contrast,
let us remember that the law is to be considered
in another aspect. The apostle Paul does not
overlook this second aspect," though he dwells
more on the first. In the epistle of James it
is always pre-supposed. It is the view which

' Heb. xii. i8 ; Rom. iii. 20 ; Gal. iii. 5. * Gal. iv.

Co77tm7i7iion with God in Daily Life. 203

the godly Israelites themselves took of the
law while they lived under it ; it is the view
which, in my opinion, converted and restored
.Israel will take, when in a modified and trans-
figured way, they shall yet fijlfil every jot and
tittle of that law which was given them for all
ofenerations.

David and all the godly Israelites were saved
by grace, and justified by faith. They did not
seek salvation by the works of the law.
Zechariah and Elizabeth, John the Baptist,
aged Simeon, and all who waited for the re-
demption of Israel, rejoiced in grace, and yet
walked in all the ordinances of the law. Nay,
the apostles themselves, in Jerusalem and
among Jewish Christians, observed the law of
Moses. And what is this law ?

The kernel of the law, given to Israel through
Moses, is, love to God and to man. But this
general and central principle finds man a mem-
ber of a family, of society, of a nation. It
finds him living in this world of seed-time and
harvest, of work and rest, of buying and selling,
of sickness and death. What does the law do }
The law says, God loves you ; and God desires
that you may have His presence and blessing
always. Therefore the law takes cognizance
of every branch of human life. It refers to our

204 Communio7i with God in Daily Life.

food and to our garment ; it accompanies us
from our birth to our grave. It claims our
time and our wealth ; it connects seed-time and
harvest, all natural life, with spiritual truths,
redemption-acts, and anticipations of the future
glory. There is nothing in our life in which
God is not interested, where He is to be absent ;
there is nothing wherein we may not glorify
and obey Him. Israel's whole life is to be a
life in communion with Him who chose them,
and brought them out of Egypt, the house of
bondage.

The law moreover finds us sinful and defiled.
Sin is in us and around us. God gave His
people Israel laws to remind them of their sins,
to bring before them even their unconscious
sins, and sins of ignorance, that they may not
be like the thoughtless and degraded world,
which do not notice or forget their sins, until at
last the very power of discerning sin becomes
blunted. The inner light itself becomes dark-
ened, and sin, which is no burden on the con-
science, is only the more securely enshrined in
the heart as an idol. Israel was under the
discipline of a law ; severe, as it brought their
whole life into the light of divine truth and
holiness ; merciful, in that it provided the
assurance of forgiveness and purification. The

Co7n7nunion with God in Daily Life. 205

sacrifices and offerings were ordained that they
might continually confess their sin and defile-
ment, and continually receive the consolation
of expiation and cleansing. The conscience
was purified, and their communion with God
continued

Thus the breadth of the law connected the
whole life with God ; the depth of the law
demanded constant meditation on God's word.
The Israelite was to. speak of God and of His
wonders to his children morning and evening ;
and not merely was the fear of the Lord the
fundamental principle of the family, but Israel
was tauo-ht that our relation to our neiofhbour
was in reality only another aspect of our relation
to God. Jehovah identified Himself with the
stranger, the widow and orphan, the helpless,
the blind ; and in doing acts of kindness to them,
we are to remember that they are His repre-
sentatives ; hence all commandments concern-
ing them have this seal : I am the Lord.

A godly Israelite would therefore speak in
this manner : How dearly God does love us !
Our whole life is in His presence. Whether
we eat or drink, sow or reap, rejoice in our
families or go about our work, in our solitude
and in all our dealings with men, we are with
Him, doing what He commanded us ; pleasing

2o6 Conimtinion with God in Daily Life.

Him, and then receiving His gifts with thanks-
giving. True, His law reminds us daily of our
trespasses ; and not merely of our actual sins,
but of our sinfulness and defilement This
humbles us ; but there is forgiveness with Him.
The law reveals to us atonement, and His
promise to circumcise and renew our hearts.
God makes us constantly draw nigh to Him,
and He constantly draws nigh to us. This
joyous character of the law, traces of which
may still be noticed among the Jews, especially
in the spirit in which they observe their festi-
» vals, meets us in the books of Moses and the
Psalms. Happy art thou, O Israel, is the key-
note ; blessed are they whom God chooses to
approach unto Him.

How easily is this translated into New Tes-
tament language, or rather re-translated into
the original. For the law was a parenthesis ;
the gospel was before Moses in the Abrahamic
covenant, even as it is from everlasting. The
law is now written in our hearts, and the out-
ward and minute regulations are no longer
needed. But can the gospel idea of life be
less spiritual and comprehensive than that of
the law ? Is it possible for us to separate eating
and drinking, working and resting, family and
social life, nature and Providence, from the

Communion zvitJi God in Daily Life. 207

inward centre of love to God, who redeemed
us with the precious blood of Christ ? No ;
the life which we now live in the flesh ; mark it,
in the flesh ; that is, our whole earthly life, in
all its aspects, is a life of faith in the Son of
God, who loved us, and gave Himself for us.
All things must be brought to Christ, and Christ
must be brought unto all things. Love doth
the whole, not part, desire.

" Love doth the whole, not part, desire.
My Lord, so doth Thy love require ;

And such is my heart-cry for Thee.
Thus love by love shall mount yet higher ;
All mine, all Thine, the bond shall be."

Tersteegen.

The obedience of the Christian, as Leighton
observes, though imperfect, hath a certain, if I
may so say, imperfect perfection. The whole
man is subjected to the whole law, and that
constantly and perse veringly.^

And now let me suggest a few thoughts,
which may encourage and help us. If God
loves us, and we love God, if our own will is
clinging to His sweet will, then will obedience

3 That this threefold perfection of obedience is not a picture
drawn by fancy is evident in David (Ps. cxix.), when he subjects
himself to the whole law, his feet {v. 105), his mouth [v. 13), his
heart {v. ii), the whole tenor of his life ico. 24). He subjects
himself to the whole law {v. 6), and he professes his constancy
therein {vv. 16, 33), " I shall keep it to the end." — Leighton.

2o8 Communion with God in Daily Life.

be an easy yoke and a light burden. Only let us
avoid the insipid mediocrity and lukewarmness,
which cannot and will not rise to the height of
divine love, demanding our whole self— body,
soul, and spirit, which never beholds the glory
of Jesus, who transforms us by the daily renew-
ing of our mind, even as He changed the water
into wine.

I. GOD HIMSELF CAUSES US TO GROW IN GRACE.

Who knows human nature as well as He
who created it ? and who regards our infirmities
with such fatherly pity, and bears so patiently
with our slow and unbelieving hearts, as the
Lord our God ? He is our all-wise and all-
merciful teacher. The growth and guidance
of our spiritual life is altogether in His hands.
All things are His; the world around us, and
the daily events and circumstances of our earthly
life, are under the same government as the
spiritual and inward influences of grace in our
hearts. The Holy Ghost within teaches, re-
bukes, comforts, strengthens ; and nature and
providence are concurrent teachers without.
We may often wonder what passages of Scrip-
ture we ought to read, and on what subjects of
divine truth we ought to ponder. But the page
of nature and of providence is opened for us

•N

Communion with God in Daily Life. 209

by a higher hand. Let us be docile and
childlike, and give our whole mind to the
divinely-chosen lesson. Keep your eyes and
hearts open. The face of nature, the ordinary
events of the day, the remark of a friend, the
countenance of a passing child — all are used by
the heavenly Teacher to speak to us, and to
mould our minds and characters. And as God
rules without, so also He alone understands
our souls, and governs within. Sunshine and
rain, calm and wind, seasons of quiescence and
rapid development, work in the inner world,
as well as in the outer, under the omniscient
and omnipotent direction of divine love. In
the spiritual life also we must learn not to be
over-anxious, not to please ourselves, and not
to substitute human inventions and expedients
for heavenly influences. As the Lord said of
the lilies, "They toil not, neither do they spin:
yet Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed
like one of these," so may we say to the Chris-
tian who is rooted in Christ, It is for you
only to grow, and growth is from within. God
alone rules in this mysterious sphere; and how-
ever thankful we must feel to good teachers
and books, we must be carefully on our guard
against allowing any one to interfere with our
spiritual development. If we abide in Christ,

p

2IO Communion with God in Daily Life.

we grow. The ministry of pastors and teachers
is divinely appointed, necessary and useful.
But there is a morbid desire, not confined to
any church, for father confessors, for human
direction in the path and conflict of the Chris-
tian life. When we feel the need of human
sympathy and counsel in our most secret soul-
life, have we not the Psalms of David and
the Epistles of Paul '^. Can we ever be lonely
with them ?

We cannot always sit at the Lord's table
receiving impressions of divine truth and favour.
The enjoyment of food is only for a short time,
while we are eating ; in the strength of our
daily bread we go on for hours, and fulfil our
work. So God gives us, from time to time, the
enjoyment of spiritual food ; but we are not
always to enjoy the fat and marrow ; but having
obtained renewal of grace and peace, we are to
go to our daily work. Glimpses into the higher
sanctuary are vouchsafed to cheer and help us
on our way. " Often a man in the multitude
and pressure of his avocations exercises a more
God-pleasing humility and real waiting upon
God than in highly-favoured moments of ele-
vated devotion."^

We need these seasons of special prayer and

^ Bengel.

Co7itmiinion with God in Daily Life. 211

meditation, these feasts of communion and joy,
these moments when we taste of the powers cf
the world to come. No Christian Hfe can be
sustained without them. The more frequent
they are in our hves the better. Such spiritual
impressions through the reading" of God's word,
in prayer, in the affection and Christian en-
couragement and hope of a brother, are like
refreshing breezes, like the rain and dew, which
descend from heaven ; they are even more im-
portant, they form a capital of strength which
stands to us even without our beinof conscious
of it. The Lord's day, the Lord's supper, the
prayer meeting, the fellowship with Christ's
people, the missionary news, and especially
meditation on Scripture, and the experience of
the Church as expressed in hymns, are the
channels of such influence. Let us highly value
them. Young Christians should not have long
intervals between meals.

Wait then on God's guidance. Seek to be
replenished and refreshed. Be quiet and trustful.
" So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should
cast seed into the ground ; and should sleep, and
rise night and day, and the seed should spring
and g7^ow tip, he knoweth not how. For the earth
bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade,
then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear."

212 Coin7nunio7i with God in Daily Life.

II. ALTERNATIONS OF PROSPERITY AND ADVERSITY.

God draws nigh in providence. If He gives
you prosperity, rejoice and sing psalms ; if He
sends sorrow, learn again to pray. Let us not
merely call a bad harvest, or illness, or loss
of wealth, a visitation of God ; no doubt God
draws ni^h in those chastenino-s ; but let us call
a eood harvest and health and success in our
work a visitation of God, to deepen our grati-
tude, and to encourage us in the ministry of
love and in faithful stewardship of His gifts.
But all unusual conditions of the mind, joy or
grief, are dangerous, unless God is sought in
them. To be kept in humility, in heavenly-
mindedness, and in love to the brethren, when
we are prosperous, requires grace ; to be patient,
trustful, hopeful, in adversity, requires grace.
But God's purpose in sending prosperity or
sorrow is not fulfilled if we merely avoid their
dangers: God intends that we should derive
positive benefit from His dealings. As to
affliction, this is more obvious. It yieldeth
afterwards the peaceable fruits of righteous-
ness to them that are exercised therein. "After-
wards." For, like the benefits of the Lord's
Supper, we may say, the benefits of afl^iction are
not confined to the actual time of our partaking

Communion with God in Daily Life. 213

of them. " Afterwards " extends to our whole
subsequent life ; nay, to eternity.

But God has also great purposes in sending
earthly prosperity, providential blessings, family
sunshine. He then draws nigh to you. We
are commanded to rejoice with them that do
rejoice. Hence it is right and pleasing to God
to rejoice. Joy ought to be a good, holy,
heavenward-drawing thing. Dear friend, when
God sends you the desire of your heart and
prospers you, may He give you a deep sense
of your unworthiness, and a joyous assurance
of His fatherly love. Treasure up every im-
pression of gratitude, and every feeling of
praise. Let the sunshine call forth abundant
thanksgiving. Take deep views of the love of
God, whose joy it is to give. Learn to anticipate
the cloudless and unspeakable felicity of heaven.
Let all the goodness of God lead you to see the
beauty of the Lord. As David, after God had
given him the wonderful promise, sat down
before the Lord in silent thanksgiving and
adoration,^ so look upon all the things which
God giveth you richly to enjoy as covenant
ofifts zuitJi Christ.

Now it is for you also to give and to bless.
Be enlarged in your affections, sympathies, and

5 I Chronicles xvii. i6.

2 14 Commtinion with God in Daily Life.

energies. In the strength of gratitude and love,
devise Hberal things. Try to serve the Church,
and to do good unto all men.

III. DAILY WORK AND RECREATION.

There is a legend of a monk, to whom in
his chamber the Lord vouchsafed to appear in
a vision. The vision of Christ brought great
peace and joy to his heart. Scarcely had he
been thus favoured for a few moments, when
the bell was heard, which summoned him to
the duty of distributing loaves of bread to the
poor. For a moment he hesitated ; but he went
to his work. Oh, what a sacrifice to leave this
glorious vision for the dull routine of duty !
But when he returned to his cell, what was his
surprise and joy to find the vision of the Lord
as before.

It is only sin, not work, which separates us
from Christ. To be faithful in little, to be
faithful in the perishable things of this world,
is a great thing in the eyes of our Lord. It
does not matter in what material wc work,
whether it be mean or cosdy. " Do all things,"
saith the apostle to servants, and to us all,
" heartily, as unto the Lord." The most com-
mon and trivial work is to be connected with
the deepest. Take an interest in it ; do it with

Comm2inio7i with God in Daily Life. 215

all your ability, from the deepest motive, and
with the highest aim ; do it to please the Lord ;
He will bless you in the labour, and He will
reward you for the work.

Contact with the difficulties and weariness of
work, and with the trials of our temper and
patience, with the world's injustice or hardness
— contact with all this often shows us how weak
we still are ; how irritable and self-willed ; how
little inclined to suffer wrong-, or to do what is
right without being acknowledged and praised ;
how covetousness, which is idolatry, is not yet
uprooted. In all this God holds up a mirror
before you, that you may go to the fountain of
cleansing. We often fancy that we have reached
a high level of Christian character, because we
see it clearly and approve of it fervently. Actual
life tests us, and teaches us a more truthful,
though less pleasing, estimate of our condition.

Glorify God by carrying truthfulness and
love, faithfulness and honour, unto all things.
We are to live the gospel, and to adorn it, not
merely to preach and to extol it. Men cannot
see our hearts, but they can see our good works ;
and if the works are fruit of the Spirit, they will
be lumi7ions, pointing to the Father in heaven.

If the love of God or faith is to pervade our
whole life, and to enter into all our thoughts

2i6 Communion with God in Daily Life.

and actions, how necessary that itself should be
kept strong and pure !

The larger the building is that is be lit up in
every part, or to be warmed uniformly, the
more you require a strong central source of light
and heat. If we therefore speak about religion
in common life, as you expand the " common
life" you must intensify the "religion." You
wish to enrich and enlarge life, your business,
your social enjoyments, your knowledge of
literature, science and art. I say nothing to
discourage or dissuade you ; ^ but I appeal to
your own common sense when I say. Then you
must deepen your knowledge of God and your
love to Jesus ; you must meditate and pray
more frequently ; you must increase the motive
power. Keep the heart with all diligence ; keep
it pure, unspotted from the world ; keep it full ;
be filled with the Spirit, with love to God and
man, with joy and gratitude, with heavenward

* In an essay on " Poetry and Christianity," Harless points
out clearly, that poetry which refers to " worldly things " is not
necessarily poetry of the unholy and ungodly spirit of the world.
He recommends Christians to study and to enjoy thankfully the
gifts of the poet, and quotes the words of an earnest theologian
of the pietistic school : " They who are always busy with sacred
subjects get at last accustomed to them, and none are in greater
danger of hypocrisy than ministers;" or we may add, what are
usually termed decided Christians. A pious man need not be
narrow, as, alas ! the narrow man is not always pious.

Communion zvith God in Daily Life. 2 1 7

longings and with God -glorifying aims ; keep
it strong in ardent love and constant prayer,
receiving strength by waiting on the Lord.
This is the apostolic exhortation : " Not slothful
in business ; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord."
How forcible is the exhortation of an eminent
teacher of the church : " Lo, my brother, if thou
wouldst seek out the still Jiour, only a single
one every day ; and if thou wouldst meditate
on the love which called thee into being, which
hath overshadowed thee all the days of thy life
with blessing, or else by mournful experiences
hath admonished and corrected thee, this would
be to draw near to thy God. Thus wouldst thou
take Him by the hand. Bat whenever in cease-
less dissipation of heart thou goest astray, the
sea of the divine blessing shall surround thee
on all sides, and yet thy soul shall be athirst.
Wilt thou draw near to God ? . . . Then seek
the still Jiouri'

Take heed to your recreation. We need
recreation. A story is told of the evangelist
John. A stranger went to see him, and to his
astonishment found him playing with a pet
bird. " The bow that is always strung," he
said, " loses its strength." But what is re-
creation, and what is recreation suitable to a

7 Tholuck.

2i8 Communion with God in Daily Life.

Christian ? Here no rule can be given, but
principles. And even principles are of little
use, unless you seek the personal guidance of
the Holy Spirit. Only remember to do all
things with a clear mind ; for whatever is not
of faith (though in itself lawful) is sin. What-
ever God has forbidden, whatever interferes
with our spiritual life and with our daily work,
whatever hinders our own growth and our use-
fulness in the world, let us willingly give up ;
it would not profit us, or send us back with
greater elasticity and vigour to our ordinary
path.

Even the wisdom of the world has found out
that life would be very pleasant were it not for
its pleasures, and that they who most seek
pleasure least find it. The search for pleasure
and amusement seems to be a characteristic of
the present day. A man of deep thought and
of a most genial and loving spirit observes : ^
" The present generation is not willing to
undertake anything without utilising it for the
purpose of pleasure. None is willing to work
quietly and contentedly in the sweat of his
brow, and without assumption ; fetes and holi-
days are always required. This must use up,
more or less, the marrow of life. And how

^ ROTHE, Eihik.

Communion with God in Daily Life. 219

little true enjoyment is in all this ! How much
suffering, even bitter suffering-, is in what is
called life -enjoyment. Truly, one need not
seek pleasure. If our inward sense is open to
pure joy, it meets us everywhere on our path ;
and we are astonished how people ever came
to the thought of purposely seeking pleasure."^

9 The following remarks on social life are translated from a
sermon (on John iv.) of Schleiermacher, whom none can accuse
of narrowness of views or sympathies. They seem to me as
important and wide in their application as they are beautiful :
" How much of our time do we devote to social intercourse of
various kinds. There are not many among us who confine
themselves to such a small circle of closely-united men, among
whom no special occasion and reason is needed to speak also
about the highest interests of life, but who consider them as a
topic of conversation ; but in those larger circles, to which we
all belong, more or less, in which there is neither the intimacy
of friendship, nor the entire strangeness which subsisted between
the Lord and the woman of Samaria, how much and how long
do we dwell on trifles, on isolated and unimportant occurrences !
and when we touch on personal matters, which concern not
merely the absent, how rarely is it done in such a way that a
salutary train of thoughts is called forth, and that the heart is
influenced, to connect the unimportant with what is truly great !
How rarely does anything permanently good result from those
social meetings, even when they achieve their design of cheer-
ing our earthly path, and dissipating the anxieties of life ! 1 do
not require that graceful cheerfulness, and exhilarating play
of thought and conversation should be banished, and that we
should always endeavour to look into the secrets of the heart,
and to speak of eternal and divine things. No ; but can and
ought there to be a moment in the Christian's mind, in which it
is not his desire to contribute to the inner life of those with

2 20 Communion with God in Daily Life.

The Christian is afraid of everything which
disturbs his concentration of purpose and which
blunts his spiritual perception and enjoyment.
Our great difficulty is, not to lapse into that
mediocrity and lukewarmness which in a Chris-
tian world characterise the worldly Christian.
This danger is always greater in times of peace,
when we are without the bracinor north wind of
persecution ; and in times of quiet, when we are
without the south wind of special revival. We

whom he meets even in this larger circle — to contribute to it
out of that life which dwells in him in glorious and vigorous
fulness ? And this desire, which is the mark of true Christian
love, ought it not to run as a golden thread even through our
harmless relaxation and mirth, and be able to find the suitable
and favourable moment, as our Saviour did, to lead our social
conversation from trifles unto the great subject? We leave an
innocent and pleasant circle, and feel more animated and
cheerful ; but this feeling may be true or not. If there
has been nothing truly important and great, the conversation
which has amused and interested us by its brilliancy and
humour, leaves nothing behind to strengthen us when we return
to the cares, the duties, and the fatiguing troubles of life. But
if such social intercourse has given us a deeper feeling or more
correct understanding of some truth of eternal importance, if
it has afforded us a new insight into some department of the
spiritual life, or gladdened us by the discovery of beautiful and
noble aspirations of some kindred soul who is interested in the
same great purpose, then we carry away an enriched feeling of
life into the hours of labour and toil. There is stirred within
us a high energy, which brings to us protracted blessing.
Something out of the stream of living water has flowed into
our soul, and we are strengthened for the next moments of
anxiety and work.

Communion with God in Daily Life. 221

are then apt to lose the tension and fervour of
our first love.

If we wish to use this world as not abusing
it, to enjoy all things which God gives us richly,
and yet to rejoice supremely and constantly in
Him, we must go to the very root of things,
and take heed to ourselves. The Scripture
gives no minute regulations, but to a sincere
Christian sufficient guidance. It may some-
times be duty and true Christian kindness to
enter into the social life of those who as yet
are not spiritually congenial with you. If we
go in the right spirit, and with the true heart,
God will help us both to derive no injury and
to confer some blessing. We may sometimes
be with Christians, the conversation apparently
about God's word or kingdom, and yet there
may be no real ozone in the atmosphere, no
converse of heart with heart, no nourishment,
and no refreshment. On the other hand, there
may have been no " religious conversation,"
and yet the animating and restful influence of
affection, friendship, and the contact of minds
livinor in the fear and lio^ht of God.

This is a large subject, and yet one on which
each one must find for himself what is right,
safe, and profitable. Only let us be sincere,
and avoid all Pharisaism. The next best thinof

2 22 Communion with God in Daily Life.

to grace is nature. Only let us be heavenly-
minded, and avoid worldliness. For the time
is shortened ; the coming of the Lord, blessed
be God, draweth nigh : " it remaineth, that both
they that have wives be as though they had
none ; and they that weep, as though they wept
not ; and they that rejoice, as though they re-
joiced not ; and they that buy, as though they
possessed not ; and they that use this world, as
not abusing it ; for the fashion of this world
passeth away."

It is narrated of Diogenes, that when Alex-
ander the Great asked him to request a favour,
the only thing that poor man wished of the
conqueror of the world was, not Xo stand
between him and the sun, whose genial light
and warmth he was enjoying. If Diogenes
stands for the Christian, Alexander for the
world, and the sun for Him who is the light
and joy of His people, we may look upon this
story as an allegory : all that the Christian
really wishes is, that the world should not
obstruct and intercept the rays of happiness
which come to him from the heavenly sanc-
tuary.

If we are anxious always to look first to
God, and to place Him between us and our
circumstances, and the people we have to deal

Commimion with God in Daily Life. 223

with, then we shall be able to exercise love and
patience, and to be calm and peaceful at all
times. We have to deal with God on the one
hand, and with our fellow-men and circumstances
on the other. Now the great point is, how we
place ourselves. If we allow people and cir-
cumstances to come between us and God, then
the smallest provocation, disappointment, and
difficulty may obstruct to us the light of heaven,
and intercept the supply of grace and strength.
But if we place God between us and the men
we have to deal with, and the work we have to
do, we shall walk in light and in love ; for God
is light and love, a translucent and strength-
ening medium. Look first at Him, and then
at men and things. Have you met with trial ?
do not look first at the trial, and then at God,
with the question : Does God, who allows this
sorrow, love me ? Look first at God, and with
the renewed assurance of God's love, look at
the trial, and say, God chastens whom He loves.
When the servant, to whom his master had
forgiven a great debt, met his fellow-servant
who owed him money, he forgot the mercy he
had experienced ; but if the kind and merciful
countenance of his benefactor had stood before
him, between him and his debtor, could he
have acted with such severity and cruelty ?

2 24 Coinmimion zvitJi God in Daily Life.

If we looked at all men throus^h the medium
of Christ crucified, we should possess that love
which in all things endureth and hopeth ; we
should treat all with patience and meekness.
If we looked throuo-h Christ our streno^th at
all duties and trials, we should be able to say,
" I can do all things through Christ which
strengtheneth me." When Shimei cursed David,
David remembered that it was God who per-
mitted this trial. Before his feelings settled on
Shimei, they rested on God, and humbled them-
selves before Him. Place then Christ as the
medium of light and love and strength between
you and all men and all things. Remember,
God's will is our sanctification. " We are
opposing God's method of working if our life
has a tendency to incapacitate us for the enjoy-
ment of prayer at all times. If by needless
excess of worldly cares- — ^if by inordinate de-
sires, which render it impossible for us to accom-
plish our objects in life luitJioiit such excess of
care^ — if by frivolous habits — if by the reading
of infidel or effeminate literature ■ — if by an
indolent life — if by any self-indulgence in phy-
sical reo^imen — we render the habit of fraor-
mentary prayer impracticable or unnatural to
us, zue are crossing the methods of God's working.
Something has gone wrong, is going wrong, in

Com7minio7i with God in Daily Life. 225

the life of that Christian who finds himself thus
estrang-ed from filial freedom with God." ^

Start daily and often with the joy of God's
salvation, and end always with the praise of
God. Begin with the gospel, the glad tidino-s
of God's love in Christ. Say to yourself. He
first loved me. I have obtained mercy. God
has given me Christ. Let your heart be first
established by grace. Rejoice in the Lord. Do
not think of giving unto God until you have
received from Him. And let no sense of your
unworthiness prevent your taking hold of the
boundless and all-sufficient grace of God. A
sense of divine love will keep you more humble,
more loving, more active and fervent in service
than anything else. This is the only startino--
point of Christian life — the assurance of God's
love through faith in Christ. And therefore, to
those who have not yet come to God through
Christ, the only practical message is, Repent and
believe. You cannot carry religion into daily
life till you first have it in your heart ; and you
cannot have it in your heart till you come to
Jesus the Saviour. Starting with the joy of
God's salvation, let our end always be praise.
Thanks be to God for His unspeakable o-ift.
Blessed be God, who hath called us unto im-

' Phelps.

Q

2 26 Communion with God ifi Daily Life.

mortality and glory. Faithful is He who hath
called us, who also will perform it. As with
thanksgiving we are to make our requests
known unto God, so thanksgiving is to be the
prevailing and the ultimate note of our life.
At last all our thoughts and petitions will end
in praise. For God will perfect that which
concerneth us.^ We shall yet more than ever
praise Him, and only praise Him. " Awake,
psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early."
After I have remembered all His benefits and
promises, I will forget even them in the con-
templation of Himself, and say to my soul :
" Bless the Lord ; my soul doth magnify the
Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my
Saviour."

See, every veil is removed. There is the
veil of Moses ; for Israel could not behold sted-
fastly the face of Moses for the glory of his
countenance. There is also the veil upon the
heart which has turned from God in unbelief.
There is the veil of creaturely distance, for the
seraphim veil their faces before the glory of
Christ, the great Jehovah. But we all, who by
the Holy Ghost through Jesus draw nigh, we
all, weak and strong, babes in Christ as well
as experienced soldiers who endure hardness,

^ Psalm cxxxviii. 8.

Communion with God in Daily Life. 227

and fathers who have known Him, that is from
the beginning, we all with open face behold
the glory of the Lord, we see the glory of God,
the image of the Invisible, the beauty of the
Lord ; in the mirror of the gospel we see
Immanuel, Christ, who is God above all, and
yet our Brother. Thus beholding, thus adoring,
are we changed into the same image from glory
to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. ^

" Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh
to you."

3 2 Cor. iii. 15-18.

r

CHAPTER X.

THE INDWELLING OF GOD BY LOVE AND BY
THE. HOLY GHOST.

I. UNION WITH CHRIST (UNIO MYSTICA).

nPHE teaching of Scripture on the union of
-"- Christ and believers belongs to the highest
and most precious disclosures of revelation. It
is, as it were, the most holy place of the sanc-
tuary. All manifestations of divine grace pre-
pare our minds and hearts for the reception
of this mystery. Before the advent it was
symbolised and promised that God will dwell
in us, and we in Him. Israel, as a nation,
failed in realizing the high idea of God's love ;
but as Israel's failure became more evident the
promise of the Messiah became more distinct ;
of the servant of God, in whom the Spirit
dwells in sevenfold plenitude, and through
whom there would be at last granted unto
Israel the presence and glory of Jehovah among
them, and the indwelling of the Holy Ghost in
their renewed hearts.

The Indiuelling of God by Love. 229

Yet this was in the future, though many-
godly and specially -favoured Israelites had a
deep and strong realization of present com-
munion with God, and wonderful anticipations
of a still closer union. For such expressions as
" The Lord is my light and salvation," " The
Lord is our refuge and strength," " The Lord
our righteousness," are evidently the language
of an experience high above that which only
knows that God gives protection and strength,
that He sends light into our hearts, and clothes
us with righteousness. How much must these
men have known of the mysterious indwelling
of God in us, to which all our good thoughts
and works are to be traced, and of our indwell-
ing in God, who alone is our salvation ! And
what further prophetic insight was given them
of the still brighter and yet nearer approach of
God in the promised One may be inferred from
such passages as the forty-fifth Psalm, which
speaks of the marriage of Him who is fairer
than the sons of men, and into whose lips grace
is poured, with Israel, the bride, who stands at
His right hand in gold of Ophir. Yet is this
royal Bridegroom spoken of as God, whose
throne is for ever and ever. This psalm is the
bud, out of which has flowered forth the song
of songs. The Beloved who is here spoken of

230 The Indwelling of God by Love

is none other than God incarnate. In no other
book of Scripture, except in the book of Reve-
lation entrusted to the disciple whom Jesus
loved, have we a description of the beauty,
grace, and strength of the Son of God in His
perfect humanity. The Spirit who was in holy
men of old testified within them of the glory of
Jehovah, the heavenly Bridegroom.

Let us not forget, however, that before the
day of Pentecost Israel, even including John
the Baptist, did not see the " mystery " of the
Church as it is now revealed. The union of
Christ and the Church is the mystery of our
dispensation, prepared in the gospels, and es-
pecially in that of John, who dwells so fully on
the promise of the Holy Ghost and the indwell-
ing of the Father and the Son by the Spirit in
our hearts, but fully announced in the epistle of
Paul to the Ephesians. While it was given to
the apostle of the Gentiles in harmony with the
peculiar character of his conversion and mission
to unfold this mystery, it was the object of the
Joannean epistle to dwell on the spiritual and
ethical aspects of the New Testament Church.

The Scripture in teaching, or rather making
known and unveiling mysteries, leads us to
heights which are far beyond our vision, and yet
it does not dazzle our eyes with light, which only

a7id by the Holy Ghost. 231

confuses ; nor does it puff up our minds with
speculative knowledge, which leaves the heart
cold and the daily life untouched. Clearly and
definitely is this supernatural union with Christ
taught, and yet we exclaim, Great is the
mystery ! And as there is no vagueness,
though the well is deep, so is there no cold
and barren abstraction. The apostle connects
with this mystery the most lowly exhortations,
such as lie not one to another, for you are
members of the one body ; such as the warn-
ing against impurity, for our members are the
members of Christ. Here are also the sweetest
consolation and brightest hopes of the Christian.
The Head is in glory, and will He leave us
behind? The last Adam, who loved the Church
and gave Himself for it, loves and cherishes us
as His own body, and after our earthly dis-
cipline will present us to Himself a glorious
church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such
thing.

Illustrations from every sphere are used to
describe to us the reality and the vital character
of this union. As the building rests on the
sure foundation, so the Church is built on the
Rock. Believers are lively stones, who by
faith are resting on Christ, and in whom God
has His habitation through the Spirit. As the

232 The Indwelling of God by Love.

vine gives vitality and fruit-bearing strength to
the branches, so Christ is the indwelHng Hfe,
and the resurrection -power of all who are
grafted into Him. As Eve, or the woman, is
beloved and cherished by Adam, out of whom
she was originally taken, so that they twain
are one flesh, so is the Church, sprung into life
on the resurrection morn, beloved by Him ;
she is one Spirit with the Lord. Of her it is
said: "We are members of His body, of His
flesh, and of His bones." Still higher goes the
Scripture ; for we are taught that Christ is the
Head, and that we are the members ; that we
are one ; that the Church is His body, the ful-
ness of Him that filleth all in all.

If to these illustrations, than which nothing
can be more distinct and definite, we add other
declarations of the word of God, that we have
become partakers of the divine nature, that we
are the righteousness of God in Christ, that
Christ is in us ; to use his own solemn words,
" As thou, Father, art in Me, and I in thee," we
may well exclaim, " Such knowledge is too
wonderful for me ; it is high, I cannot attain
unto it."

It is evident that two dangerous aberrations
are possible. The mysterious depth of these
words of Scripture may tempt some to reduce

a7id by the Holy Ghost. 233

them to a lower and more intelligible and com-
prehensible meaning. Accordingly we may think
that all the union spoken of is that of affection
and gratitude, of love and trust, of congeniality
and obedience.^ It is quite true that without
these elements there can be no union between
God and us, between Christ and the church ;
but it is also true that these very features of
our union must lead us to the knowledge of a
deeper union out of which they flow. For
whence this affection ? It is not of nature, but
shed abroad by the Holy Ghost. Faith also is
the gift of God, and by it Christ dwells in the

' " Many have explained the words Abide in Christ, and that
Christ abides in us, to mean simply our having thoughts about
Christ. Thus, when they meditated on Christ's sufferings and
death, they said Christ was in them, and they in Him ; there are
still many among ourselves who think that Christ is in them,
because they remember Christ and what He endured, they do
not esteem faith in Christ to be the true spiritual being of Christ
in them and our being in Christ ; but dream that there is eternal
life in their running, thinking, and fancying about Christ, and
busying themselves with semblances, which was much the prac-
tice under the Papacy, and is still, that meditating on Christ's
sufferings is considered to be the indwelling of Christ in the
heart, whereby Christ's sufferings are misunderstood and sub-
verted. But the Lord does not say, Your thoughts of me are in
me, or my thoughts are in you ; but I, I am in you. He does
not speak of bare thoughts, but that I, with body, soul, godliness,
righteousness, with sins, folly, and wisdom, am in Him, and that
Christ, with His wisdom, righteousness, holiness, and blessed-
ness, is in me." — Luther.

234 '^^^^ Indwelling of God by Love

heart. And of obedience or fruit, we know that
only the abiding in the true vine can originate
or sustain it. Our union with Christ is therefore
not merely ethical, but real (physical). Christ
is really the source and continued strength of
our life. If Christ's union with the Father
were merely a moral one, then similarly is ours
with Christ. But Jesus saith, "As the living
Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father:
so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me."
Spiritual conformity to Christ and continued
obedience to His holy and sweet will are most
precious features and results of that real and
hidden union between Christ and the believer,
of which God the Father is the author, in which
Christ is the centre, and the Holy Ghost is the
connecting link. The word. Baptism and the
Lord's Supper, are channels, faith the receptive
organ.

The root of this union is the eternal counsel
of Godhead ; the realisation is in the incar-
nation, death, and resurrection of the Son of
God. The ingrafting of the branches, the
formation of the members, the betrothal of the
bride, is the work of the co-equal Spirit ; the
consummation, the marriage feast of the Lamb.
Of which mystery neither the church nor the
individual believer must ever abate one jot or

and by the Holy Ghost. 235

tittle. The mystery of the incarnation has
changed every thing upon earth, giving us
more than an angel's nature, since God became
man. He who is perfect God became perfect
man, and now (mystery of mysteries) has taken
our manhood into God, made it one with Him-
self, never to be parted from Him, not lost,
as in the ocean of His divinity, but for ever
glorified, filled, in-oned with God. " Nearer and
closer than any union, with a nearness inferior
only to that oneness of the divine nature, is the
oneness of our nature with that of God in the
person of our ever-blessed Redeemer. Above
angels and principalities and powers, is this our
human nature glorified in God, with that glory
which the Son had before the world was." And
we, who believe, are one with Jesus. We
cannot comprehend this mystery, and we do
not measure it by our feelings ; we hold it fast
by faith, and if we were unbelieving or silent,
the Lord's supper would declare it — Christ and
the Church are one; Christ by His death has
become the life of His people.

But while we seek to avoid the danger of
lowering the meaning of the Scripture state-
ments, we may err in another direction. We
may lose ourselves in vague and indefinite
notions, and thus lose the real power and con-

236 The hidwelliiig of God by Love

solatlon of this truth. Let us bear in mind
that the marriage of the Lamb has not come
yet ; and, what is closely connected with this,
that many aspects of this truth refer only par-
tially to the individual believer, they refer to
the whole company and organism of the elect.
There is therefore much which at present we
cannot realize ; for we do not as yet possess it ;
and it is difficult for us even to form a concep-
tion of that union between Christ and the saints
which shall finally be manifested and consum-
mated.

There are two aspects of this truth, which
are, strictly speaking, experimental and prac-
tical. The one is, that the indwelling of God
is His love shed abroad in our hearts ; the
other, that Christ dwells in us by the Spirit.
The two aspects are substantially the same ;
but it may help us to consider them separately.
Is the love of God in me .'* Have I the Spirit
of Christ ?

TI. GOD IS LOVE.

Love appears lovely to all. There is no
word which possesses an attraction so strong
and sweet as love. When we say that God is
love, and that love is the fulfilment of the law,
and that love is greater than faith and hope,

and by the Holy Ghost. 237

the assent of all is immediately gained. Why
is this ? There is a problem here which leads
us into great depths. If love is so lovely, man
is without excuse ; for the law demands nothing
but love — " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God
with all thy heart, and all thy soul, and all thy
strength, and thy neighbour as thyself;" why
have we broken it ? The gospel announces
nothing but love ; why do we not accept it ?

Men who have no knowledge of sin, and of
the salvation which divine love has secured,
have very confused and erroneous thoughts
when they say, God is love ; and yet we are
glad that the word love has such a powerful
attraction ; for we say unto them : The love
which you ignorantly exalt we declare unto
you. " Herein is love, not that we loved God,
but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be
the propitiation for our sins." This love of God
is not merely revealed to us, but by the Holy
Ghost it is shed abroad in our hearts. And this
perfect love of God now dwelleth in us. It has
kindled love in us, as light is begotten of light ;
but it is not our limited and weak love to God
w^hich gives us confidence, which casts out
all fear, which begets hope, that maketh not
ashamed, and which is the constraining power
of our life ; it is God's love to iis which dwells

238 The Indwelling of God by Love

in us — the infinite and eternal love of the Father
through the self-sacrifice of the Son, revealed
and imparted by the co-equal Spirit.

None know the love of God, except those
who know the God of love. The whole Old
Testament may be considered as the exposition
of the word God ; the whole New Testament
as the unfolding of the word love. If we say,
" God is love," do we know what is meant by
God ? He is light, and in Him is no darkness
at all. His majesty and truth, His righteous-
ness and justice, His mercy and compassion.
His condecension in electing a people, and His
jealousy for their exclusive loyalty and allegi-
ance, all the features of the divine countenance,
must be seen in union, before we pronounce
with the spirit and the understanding that mys-
terious word " God." As is the idea of God,
so will be the conception of love. Can we call
that love, which can tolerate evil — evil, which
is the opposite of love, and destruction of it ?
Can love be indifferent to the true blessedness
of its object, or can love be satisfied without
response and return ? The love which the
world attributes to God is unworthy of the
name. According to this view, God remains
unknown and unloved, and instead of holiness,
power, truth, grace, harmoniously blended, bring-

and by the Holy Ghost. 239

ing- the bsiloved object into an atmosphere of
peace, and communion, and conformity with
God, there is but a feeble indulgence and pity,
which overlooks sin, and leaves man in his
wretched condition, without the assurance of
divine favour, and without a renewal of his
heart.

Such is the usual undefined and unproductive
feeling concerning divine love. But take the
Old Testament revelation of God, and you are
prepared to understand the New Testament
declaration — God is love.

God is good, and the fountain of good, and
of good only. He must needs hate iniquity,
as that which is opposed to Him and to all
blessedness. He choses men that they may
be brought near unto Himself. He therefore
teaches them by the law to know His character,
and to know their sinfulness. By the bitter
conviction of sin and guilt He turns them
from sin and destruction ; and by the sweet
revelation of His grace and favour He draws
them unto Himself. They now understand
that He loves them, and that He hates their
sin ; they are to live, sin is to be destroyed.
Their true self He seeks, and therefore He is
jealous ; an undivided heart and an uncon-
ditional surrender of the will is His demand,

240 The Indwelling of God by Love

and that because He is loving. Yet it is not
sufficient that Jehovah — " I, even I," — forgives
and removes His people's sin, giving unto them
His righteousness, He even gives them a new-
heart, and puts His Holy Spirit within them,
so that they are now able to love and serve
Him. Nay, He has promised to dwell in them,
and to walk in them ; so that He who loved
them, who redeemed them, is also He who
lives in them, who by His Holy Spirit renews
and sanctifies them with a most real, intimate,
and mysterious union and communion with
Himself. This is the substance of the Old
Testament revelation. Jehovah condescending
in election, redeeming in righteousness-grace,
renewing and indwelling by the Spirit, — who
is a God like unto Him }

This God is Love; so the New Testament
still further unfolds. Love seeks the object
itself; God seeks us, our true self. Shall I say
our immortal spirit ? No ; God seeks us — man
according to the divine idea — body, soul, and
spirit ; His desire and purpose is to possess us,
knowing, loving, serving Him, and rejoicing
in Him as our fountain and centre. Love
rescues us, by the stupendous sacrifice of
Christ, delivering us from the condemnation
of sin, from the curse of the law, from the

and by the Holy Ghost. 241

power of death, and from the thraldom of
Satan, and separating us, by a painful and yet
blessed co-crucifixion, from sin, the great oppo-
site of love. Love then communicates itself
to us, and that by the Holy Ghost, so that we
see, accept, and respond to the Father's elec-
tion and the Saviour's redemption by a will
divinely wrought in us — the first act of liberty,
the birth-moment of the emancipated new man.
Love then takes up its abode in us.

This most real experience is described in
various ways. When God reveals and gives
unto us His love in Christ Jesus the new life
commences. Contrasting it with our past con-
dition, we call this crisis "regeneration." Re-
garding the change that is effected in our will,
we call it " conversion " or turning unto God.
Looking at the attitude in which the soul then
stands to the divine love, we call it " faith." But
viewing it as the starting-point of a new course,
it is the receiving of the Holy Ghost as an in-
dwelling spirit, it is the entrance of Christ into
the heart, it is the communication of that love
of God which is perfect, infinite, unchanging.
God now dwelleth in us because we love, and
because He hath given to us of His Spirit.
Thus are we betrothed unto Christ and sealed
by the Spirit ; but the purpose of love is not

R

242 The Indwelling of God by Love

yet fulfilled, for the marriage of the Lamb is
not yet come. We wait for the adoption ; that
is, the redemption of the body. When we shall
see Jesus as He is, and be like Him, when,
delivered from the body of sin and death, as the
children of the resurrection, changed into the
likeness of the transfigured Saviour, we shall
know as we are known ; and in perfect union
and communion with the Head and all the
saints shall evermore serve Him in childlike
humility, in brotherly likemindedness, with the
undivided and restful affection of the wife, and
with the mysterious and at present incompre-
hensible unity of incorporated members ; then,
brethren and companions in tribulation and in
the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, then
shall we know that God is love, then the words
of Jesus shall be fulfilled, " I in them, and thou
in me ; that the love wherewith thou hast loved
me may be in them, and I in them."^

When the sinner returns to God, he finds
himself surrounded by divine love. As a new-
born child, he opens his eyes on a world of
love. Now he understands the shepherd-love
of Jesus, who sought and saved him, who laid
down His life to bring him unto God. Now

^ Rom. viii. 23 ; Phil. iii. 20, 21 ; Eph. iv. 13 ; John xvii. 23
to end.

and by the Holy Ghost. 243

he understands the motherly love of the Spirit,
who, by the enlightening and searching power
of the Word, rescued him out of the darkness
when he lay helpless, and brought him a pre-
cious jewel into the treasury of heaven. Now
he understands the generous and joyous love
of the Father, who adorns him with Christ as
his robe and righteousness, giving him the ring
of adoption and inheritance, instead of the
fetters of sin and fear, endowing him with the
power of the new obedience, so that the heart
being enlarged, he is able to run in the way of
God's commandments. They begin to make
merry and to be glad, and the feast lasts
throughout time and eternity.^ Love com-
passes us about. The past appears to us as
an island, enclosed by the ocean of love —
love electing, love dying, love drawing. The
future appears as the endless manifestation of
love and enjoyment of it. In the present we
see love above ; God is for us ; love around
us ; Jesus is with us ; love within ; the Spirit of
Christ is given us, assuring us of the love of
God, and constraining us by the love of Jesus.

Jesus has the pre-eminence. He is the way
of divine love to us. Only in Him could re-
demption come to us, including deliverance

3 Luke XV.

244 '^^^ Indwelling of God by Love

from evil, and restoration unto glory ; only in
Him can we behold, accept, and return the love
of God to us. Jesus has the pre-eminence, yet,
in order that we may come to Him, whose Son
and gift He is ; we confess Christ to be the
Lord, to the glory of the Father. And as
Jesus points to the Father, so He reveals and
gives Himself unto us by the Spirit.

And thus are we brought again to the ulti-
mate mystery, God is love, because God is
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. He is love,
from everlasting to everlasting. Creation is
the result, but not the beginning of love. Re-
demption is the manifestation of God as love,
and therefore points to a love of absolute
necessity and eternity. God is love, not God
became love. Above all creation, above every
beginning and end, from everlasting to ever-
lasting in Himself, God is love; Father, Son,
and Holy Ghost is the one living and loving
Jehovah. It is into this love that we are planted
by the incarnation, death, and resurrection of
Jesus. " The Father loveth the Son." " I and
my Father are one." Here is the ultimate
foundation of our salvation and glory.

But when such thoughts of the eternal cove-
nant and the future glory are too high for us,
there is a centre where we find repose ; there is

and by the Holy Ghost, 245

a magnet which draws our hearts ; there is one
point where the eternities meet, and all mys-
teries become irradiated with the sweet light of
peace. It is the little hill outside Jerusalem ; it
is the cross outside the camp; it is Jesus cruci-
fied for us.

" Time's undefined dimensions,
Eternit/s expansions,

Can give my heart no rest ;
When on such depths I ponder,
My soul is lost in wonder,

And feels with awe opprest.

" The Son of God is dying.
Faith hears the Saviour crying,
'Tis finished ! ■ Lamb of God,
I see now my election,
And glorious resurrection.
In Thy most precious blood."

III. IF WE LOVE, GOD DWELLETH IN US.

We cannot love God until we believe that
God loves us ; but as love presupposes faith, so
there can be no faith in God's love without our
loving Him. We are saved by faith only ; but
faith is never alone. It contains the germ of
love.

As Scripture teaches, that there is no love
except by faith in God's love, so Scripture
equally teaches that there is no faith without
love. We know that God loved us, because

246 The Indwelling of God by Love

Christ died for us ; we know that having thus
loved us while we were enemies, He loves us
much more now, being reconciled to Him by
the death of His Son. The love of God is
now in our hearts, and it is thus that God
dwells in us. The apostle John, in harmony
with all Scripture, gives us two descriptions
or tests of the indwellinor of God.^ The first
is love ; the second is the possession of the
Spirit.

"If we love one another," he says, "God

"^ dwelleth in us."^ It is narrated that the aged
apostle was carried into the assembly of the

\ saints, and that the only words he addressed to
them were, " Children, love one another." It
seemed to him the comprehensive summary,
the highest point Christian experience can reach.
If God is love, then, wherever He is, there must
be the presence, the power, the blessing of love.
If God is in us, then, wherever we are, there

^ I John iv. passim.

5 Simple words of the " Wiirtemberger Original" Flattich :
" Because God loved the world and delights in human beings,
I would like to take more delight and pleasure in the humblest
person than in the most beautiful buildings and possessions. I
am therefore glad to have so many people about me, and that
I can exercise myself in love, and have pleasure in men ; and
I notice that if I have a feeling of displeasure even towards
one individual, it mars my happiness ; but when I can love all,
1 am happy."

and by the Holy Ghost. 247

must be love, going forth as light, consolation,
help; forgiving, restoring, healing. But why does
he not say : If we love God, He dwelleth in us ?
Why is his exhortation, "Love one another"?
Because he is anxious we should not deceive
ourselves. We may imagine we love God, when
we only love His gifts, or His worship, or the
enjoyment of His promises, and of our con-
templation of His truth. To love God is to love
Love. If we, then, do not live in an atmosphere
of love, we do not live in God. If affection
and tenderness, and the spirit of helpfulness and
kindness, do not animate us towards the brethren
whom we see, do we possess the loving mind
towards God, whom we do not see ?

The apostle John was called by the ancient
Church the theologian. He was compared to
the eagle, who soars high above mountains, and
gazes into the bright sun. It was given unto
him to testify of the glory of the only-begotten.
And yet although in the writings of the beloved
disciple we are instructed in the deepest mys-
teries, we find there also the simplest and most
practical aspect of truth. He who lived in the
contemplation of God, and whose fellowship
was with the Father and the Son, beheld most
clearly that reality of love which is the source
and strength of all obedience.

248 The Indwelliiig of God by Love

The first epistle of John dwells chiefly on
love, viewed in its comprehensive character as
love to God and man. Here we must not
separate what God hath joined together. Our
Lord was delighted with the answer of the
scribe who had recosfnized love to be the sum
and substance of the law ; and Jesus has taught
us that the second commandment, though
necessarily second, as it rests on and is born of
the first, is yet equal to the first. The beloved
disciple emphasizes love to our brethren. He
presents it as the evidence of regeneration, of
our having passed from death unto life ; and
not merely as the evidence and symptom of
our condition, but as the condition itself. He
that loveth his brother abideth in the ligfht.
God is light, because God is love. If we walk
in love, we walk in God and in light.

If we examine our own hearts, we shall find
the truth of John's teaching. We do not need
to soar up into high and mysterious regions, or
to wait for influences of a special nature, if we
wish to enjoy fellowship with God. If we look
into our hearts, and if we find there clouds of
darkness, envy, jealousy, apathy, uncharitable-
ness, if there is a lack of sympathy and brotherly
kindness, or if we cherish unforgiving thoughts,
if we withhold sympathy and help from our

and by the Holy Ghost. 249

brother, these clouds are not merely between
us and our fellow-man, but between us and
God. Let them be dispersed, and you will
see within you the reflection of the bright,
peaceful blue of God's heaven. God dwelleth
in you.

If we regarded the indwelling of God in this
light, we should be more truly humbled and more
truly comforted. Many, it is to be feared, walk
without the power and enjoyment of God's
light, because they exercise themselves in things
too high for them ; and this does not himible the
soul, although it perplexes it. Whether I love
my neighbour, and walk in lowliness, kindness,
tenderness, imitating the example of the Lord,
and illustrating the apostle's description of love
(i Cor. xiii.), is a question requiring for its
solution no metaphysical and theological sub-
tlety, but leading to much real humility and to
a deep sense of our selfishness, pride, and hard-
ness of heart. To whom then can we go but
to the Lord Himself, who is love; to Jesus,
who died for us, to deliver us from our selfish
hearts, that we may live unto Him }

Love to God cannot exist without love to
man. It is incompatible, as need not be
pointed out, with hatred, even the hidden be-
ginnings of it, as anger in the heart, envy and

250 The hidwelling of God by Love

malice. It is also incompatible with indifference ;
for how can love to God manifest itself and
find room for activity except in relation to our
fellow-men ? And it is the very nature of love
to manifest itself and to work.

All we know of God in Christ and by the
Spirit immediately involves in it love to man.

God is Father, and from this simplest truth
the Lord Jesus deduces the command, " Love
your enemies," be filled with love, springing
out of the spontaneous and inexhaustible ful-
ness of the Father's love ; love all, and not
merely those who by their love deserve and
attract yours. (Matt. v. 44.) God is Father,
in a more special sense, of all who are born
again, and by faith have received the adop-
tion ; and again the immediate inference is,
"Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ
is born of God : and every one that loveth
Him that begat loveth him also that is begotten
of Him."

If we look to Jesus, we see in Him an em-
bodiment of the two commandments in their
unity. He loved God, and therefore laid down
His life for the sheep ; He loved man, and
therefore He sanctified Himself for us. Loving
Him, we love the Father and we love mankind,
and especially the church. One with Christ,

and by the Holy Ghost. 251

we are members one of another ; and the more
we understand and feel the love of Christ, the
more we enter into the great purpose and final
reward of the Saviour, the Church, which is
His body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in
all. This is the new commandment which the
Lord gave His disciples, that they love one
another. It is new, because the love of God
in the incarnation, and the self-sacrifice of the
Son of God, and in the gift of the Holy Ghost
as an indwelling Spirit, was new, although
testified and foreshadowed in the law and
prophets. It is the one commandment, because
in keeping it we enter into the meaning as well
as the fruition of the highest manifestation of
God in Christ, of the new covenant of the
blood of Jesus and the Holy Ghost.

If we love the Lord Jesus, we have been
transplanted out of the world into that element
and community of which Jesus is the centre.
We belong now to the flock, to the brotherhood,
to the body, in which all members are organi-
cally united, growing together, and strengthen-
ing one another. In every Christian we behold
some feature of Christ's countenance reflected,
some gift of grace which we do not possess,
some manifestation of the Spirit in which we
are deficient, and thus we learn Chj'ist in him.

252 The Indwelling of God by Love

and our faith and love are stirred up and
increased by that which he suppHeth, In and
through him we learn to love Jesus more fully
and with deeper insight. And the very defects,
failures, and sins of our brethren give us occa-
sion to exercise ourselves in the love of Christ,
which in all things shows faith and endurance
and hopefulness. We learn to wash the dis-
ciples feet by our prayer and kindness ; by our
counsel and example we endeavour to deliver
them from the defilement of sin and the infir-
mities and inconsistencies of their walk.

As we cannot love the Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ without loving man, so the in-
dwelling of the Holy Ghost brings before us
still further the essential necessity of love in its
comprehensive meaning. He is pre-eminently
the Spirit of communicating and sanctifying
love. To be in the Spirit is to love ; to walk
in the spirit of adoption, in the Spirit of the
Son, is to walk in love, as Christ also hath
loved us, and given Himself for us unto God
an offering and a sacrifice for a sweet-smelling
savour. The Holy Ghost is the real [objective]
bond between Christ and the believer, between
the believer and the whole Church. How
then can the Spirit be in us unless we love
the Head and the members 1 If as indivi-

a7id by the Holy Ghost. 253

duals and as congregations we desire to be
more conscious of the presence of God's Spirit,
and to be strengthened with might by His
Spirit in the inner man, let us begin with
love to one another; for the Spirit is pre-
eminently love. The connection between
brotherly love and the manifested blessing and
power of the Holy Ghost is brought before us
in that beautiful and touching Psalm : " Behold,
how good and how pleasant it is for brethren
to dwell together in unity! It is like the
precious ointment upon the head, that ran
down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard :
that went down to the skirts of his garments ;
as the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that
descended upon the mountains of Zion : for
there the Lord commanded the blessing, even
life for evermore."

IV. THE INDWELLING SPIRIT.

The gift of the Holy Ghost as the indwelling
Spirit is the consummation of all divine pro-
mises, and the crown and fruit of the Saviour's
death and resurrection. Jesus has not left us
orphans, but He has, according to His promise,
sent His Spirit, and so dwells in us, and we in
Him. Because the Spirit dwells in us, we can
say, " To me to live is Christ." We pray in

254 The Indwellmg of God by Love

the Holy Ghost ; the very fainting of our hearts
and longings of our souls in unutterable groan-
ings are the Spirit's breathings ; any good words
we utter, it is the Spirit of our Father which
speaketh in us ; our diligence and zeal arise
only out of the energy which worketh in us
mightily ; our whole spiritual life is contin-
ually sustained and nourished, enlightened and
directed by the Holy Ghost, in whom the
Father and the Son have taken up their abode
within us.

Sin is now not merely against God above
us, and against God for us, but against God
within us. It is against the very presence of
Him who in amazing love hath taken up His
abode within us. It is against the very pre-
sence of Him who proceedeth from the Father
and from the Son, through that humanity m
which He died for our sins, and is now glorified
as our Lord, our righteousness, and life.

And if we ask, What is the manifestation of
the Spirit ? what is His first gift ? what the
first and most important fruit of His indwelling ?
the answer can only be. Love. Nay, the in-
dwelling of the Spirit is the indwelling of love.
The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts
by the Holy Ghost, who is given unto us. It
is for this reason that the epistle of John co-

a7id by the Holy Ghost. 255

ordinates these two aspects of the indwelhng
of God in us ; the first, that we love, and the
second, that we have received the Spirit.

Love is the substance of the law, and instead
of the law, we have now received the Spirit ;
for the law could not give life, and the Holy
Ghost can only come through the preaching of
the gospel. Hence the indwelling of the Spirit
must be love, or the fulfilling of the law.
(Compare Jer. xxxi. and Gal.)

Love is the new commandment of Christ. If
we love, we abide in Him. But the Spirit is
the real, vital link between the Vine and the
branches. Hence the Spirit is love. Love is
the very being of God. The Father loveth
the Son, His co-equal and co-eternal Son, by
the Spirit, who is the love and bond of both ;
"He loveth the human nature of His Son as
joined in one person with the Son of His love ;
and now He loveth us as joined on to Him,
whom He loveth everlastingly. And that we
may love Him, He hath given us His Spirit,
that Spirit of love in whom the everlasting
Father loved His co-eternal Son, so that He,
who is the bond of both, should be the bond of
our love with the Father, and with one another."
Our nature is now exalted at the right hand of
God, and the fulness of the Godhead dwelleth

256 The Indwelling of God by Love

in Jesus bodily. And through Jesus God has
given us His Holy Spirit to dwell in us, that
thus in truth and reality we might be made
partakers of the divine nature.

As the Spirit is sent of the Father, so He
comes from Christ in His glorified humanity.
It is to assure us of this most important and
precious fact that Jesus, after His resurrection,
breathed upon the disciples, and said, '* Receive
ye the Holy Ghost." God breathed into Adam,
and thus Adam was a living soul ; from Christ,
the quickening Spirit, from His inmost body,
proceed the rivers of living water, even the
Spirit, now dwelling in us. Hence the advent
of the Spirit is the fruit of Christ's return to
glory after He had finished His work of atone-
ment. The Spirit is the pledge as well as the
bond of our indissoluble union with the incarnate
Son of God.

Now God is no longer to us outside ourselves,
but within. The Spirit of God is the Spirit of
our spirit. Our whole inner life is under His
omnipotent and all-tender influence. We ascend
to God by the Spirit. God communes with us
by Him. How solemn is the exhortation,
"Grieve not the Holy Spirit." We were once
without the indwelling Spirit, and then the law
of God and the gospel of Christ were outside

and by the Holy Ghost. 257

of us, external authority and invitation ; and the
warning was, Obey, yield. But now Christ
dwells in us by the Spirit. It is Jesus Himself
who is represented by the Spirit in us. Grieve
not the Holy Spirit ; for He, like Jesus and the
Father, is no mere influence or power, but the
Holy One, living and loving, who is pained by
the resistance and disobedience of men. It is
written of Israel, that God sent unto them the
Messenger, in whom was His name; "that
He was afflicted in all their afflictions ; that the
angel of His presence saved them ; that He
bare them, and carried them all the days of
old. But they rebelled, and vexed His Holy
Spirit."^ Behold the fulfilment. Christ is our
great Captain and all-loving, merciful, and com-
passionate Immanuel. We are guided by Him,
and upheld by His sympathy and intercession,
during our journey in the wilderness. The
Holy Ghost is given unto us ; He is God,
light and love ; grieve Him not.

As in every sin against Jesus men dis-
honoured and rejected the Father, so in every
sorrow we cause the Holy Ghost we grieve
Jesus, from whom He comes — Jesus, who by
Him dwells within us. And who is it that will

^ Isaiah Ixiii., to which the apostle Paul evidently refers in
Eph. iv. 30.

S

258 The Indwelling of God by Love.

gladden us if we grieve the Spirit, the only
giver of consolation and joy ? He is the oil of
gladness, which, from Jesus the High Priest
and Head, descends on all the members of the
mystical body.

CHAPTER XI.

WITH JESUS, NOW AND FOR EVER.'

A CELEBRATED German mystic used to
•^ ^ write in the albums of his friends this
motto :

HE, TO WHOM TIME

IS AS ETERNITY,

AND. ETERNITY

AS TIME,

IS DELIVERED

FROM ALL STRIFE. 2

The experience of every Christian testifies of
this truth. The Lord, who is from everlasting
to everlasting, is the dwelling-place, the safe
and peaceful home, of His saints in all genera-
tions. Even now God is our portion, and the
eternal life is begun. Our life is hid with
Christ in God. We are strangers and pilgrims
on earth ; our citizenship is in heaven, and we

' This chapter is published in a separate form, price twopence.
^ Jacob Boehme (died 1624) : "Wem Zeit ist Wie Evvigkeit,
und Ewigkeit wie Zeit, Der ist befreit Von allem Streit."

26o Wiih Jesus, Now a7id for Ever.

are the inhabitants of an abiding city. It is
equally true that we are strangers and pilgrims
in time, and that we are living the eternal life.
We can more easily realize the local contrast,
earth and heaven, than the contrast, time and
eternity. Yet the life of faith is the life which
breathes the atmosphere of eternity, which
looks on the things unseen and eternal, and
beholds the glory of God. And as the heavenly
citizenship is ours while we are still walking on
earth, so the eternal life is ours though we are
still in time. In the most transitory and earthly
things, such as eating and drinking, we are to
keep in view the eternal ocean, the glory of
God. In the midst of cares and sorrows, toil
and labour, conflict and struggle, we have a
still deeper and more real possession, even that
hidden life in which there is no pause and no
change, but perennial sunshine and inexhaustible
fulness, perfect rest and the peace which passeth
understanding. Part of the daily bread which
our heavenly Father gives to His children on
earth is to enter daily into the secret place of
the most high, and to be in eternity.^ Eternity

3 " We must go many times every day into the unseen world,
and realize that we are there, much more truly than in our room,
and in this present evil world." — Otinger. Another Christian,
says : " The first thing I desire to do in heaven is to thank God
for having had so much heaven on earth."

Wiih yesus, Now and for Ever. 261

is wrought into time. He who Hves in eternity
finds time and strength for every good work
which God lays before him/

But not merely is time as eternity, but eter-
nity is as time. We look forward to another age.
We await the Lord's return and the Father's
house, in which are many mansions. It is this
same Jesus who loved us and redeemed us, who
is now dwelling in our hearts by faith, who will
come again and receive us to Himself, that we
may thus be for ever with the Lord. It doth
not yet appear what we shall be, but it is no
vague, shadowy, and colourless infinity to which
we look forward. Even now we know and
love God ; we have union and communion with
Jesus, the Son of the Father; we have fellow-
ship with the brethren ; we praise and serve,
nay, we rejoice with joy unspeakable and full
of glory. Even at present we are come to
mount Zion and the heavenly Jerusalem, and
the angels of God worship by ministering unto
us the heirs of salvation.^ When the Lord

■* It is a commonplace remark, that time is short ; but it is
also true that time is long, and every day and hour a vessel into
which immeasurably much may be poured before it is filled.
The saying, " Time is money," is the true index of the worldly
spirit. The Christian may say, " Time is eternity ;" my moments
are precious, because I live, work, and suffer for eternity.

5 Heb. xii. 27 ; i. 14.

262 With Jesiis, Now and for Ever.

returns, the hidden life and the hidden glory
will become manifest. Without imperfection
and sin, without conflict and danger, delivered
from all bondage and sorrow, we shall be with
Jesus and the saints in perfect love, and in the
joy of perfect service. Eternity is to us as
time, the age to come, the continuation, the
manifestation, and perfection of our present
and true existence.

It is the Lord Jesus who gives this eternal
life; in Him only can we find rest. How soon
in our earthly existence do we become conscious
that we are not at rest ! We remember child-
hood. " The young spirit has awakened out
of eternity, and knows not what we mean by
time. As yet, time is no fast-hurrying stream,
but a sportful, sunlit ocean. "^ But how soon
do we leave this mysterious morning- land of
our earthly life, and discover that we are im-
prisoned in darkness and in sin ! It is man's
misery which bespeaks his grandeur lost. It
is because he is a dethroned king that he feels
unhappy without the royal spirit, dignity, and
power. It is because he is fallen — he who was
created in God's image— that he feels hampered
and fettered when he sees himself the creature
of time, surrounded with things that perish,

^ T. Carlyle, Sartor Resartus.

With Jesus, Now and for Ever. 263

and unable to find anywhere that "type of
perfect in his mind." If we had no idea of
eternity, could we have the idea of time, and
feel the sadness and bondage of it ? If there
is no fountain of living water, whence and why
our thirst ? If there is no heaven, no eternity,
who has invented the language of the human
heart, the deep sigh, though all the waters of
this life have been tasted ?

And in this darkness and misery we are con-
scious that sin is the deep and bitter root, and
that not without a great and painful wrench
(may we not call it death ?) can we come to the
true human life. Meanwhile we go on existing ;
but it is not life ; for there is no present in it.
It is made up of remembrance of the past, and
anticipation of the future. Memory and hope
meet, and the meeting-point is called the pre-
sent. But this so-called present is empty ; it is
not filled with anything substantial and satis-
factory. We seek diversion ; that is, we flee
from the emptiness of the present. It is in-
structive to study the testimony of the poets of
all ages and nations on this point/ They all
confess, that apart from God there are only
broken cisterns, which can hold no water. We
never are, but expect and dream we shall be

7 Goethe's Faust, " Werd'ich zum augenblicke sagen," &c.

264 With Jesus, Now and for Ever.

blessed. This life without a true present is in
reality death. What the world calls enjoying
life is enjoying death ; living in pleasure, men
are dead while they live.^ Worse than pain
and care, more exhausting than suffering and
anxiety, is this empty and dreary existence, in
which the soul has no bread, no water, no sun-
shine, no love ; in which the immortal and
God-breathed spirit knows only time-life.^

But, blessed be God, Jesus has come ! The

^ I Tim. V. 6.

9 All men, even the most successful, feel that there is some-
thing fragmentary and unsatisfying in every thing that is merely
temporal. Goethe says, in his conversation with Eckermunn
" I have always been regarded as exceptionally favoured by
fortune, and I do not wish to complain or find fault with the
course of my life. But, after all, it is nothing but labour and
toil ; and I may truly say that during my seventy-five years I
have not had four weeks of real comfort. It is the never-ceasing
rolling of a stone, which must always be lifted anew." (Quoted
by Fabri in his suggestive pamphlet, Zeit unci Ewigkcit) This
author also holds the following view : " Believers in Jesus have
eternal life ; by faith they behold and realize things unseen and
eternal. Above this eternal life in time is the eternal life to
which we look forward, when all that is imperfect and sinful
shall have vanished, and we shall be in the perfect enjoyment of
present eternal life. Below the eternal life in time is the region
of death, in which there is no present (in the true sense of the
word) and no future, but only the past. The past is remem-
bered, the present contains no substance for the soul to dwell
and to live on, the future does not exist ; that is, there is no
hope- -no prospect of change." Thus Dante writes that the
inscription on the gate of hell is, " Let all who enter here
abandon hope."

With Jestis, Now and for Ever. 265

life was manifested, and we have seen it, even
that eternal life which was with the Father.^
He has come to give rest unto the weary and
heavy-laden, light to the mind, peace to the
conscience, love to the heart, and all is real,
divine, eternal, inexhaustible. Not as the world
giveth, for the world does not give freely ; it
only lends to recall, it only exchanges and
barters, often taking more and better things
from us than it bestows. The world's gifts are
not what they seem to be. They do not enrich
the heart ; they do not last ; and, above all,
they are dead things which cannot give life.
But Jesus gives, and gives Himself. Himself
is the light, the life, the peace. God and man,
eternal and in time, sinless and a Saviour, the
Holy One and Redeemer ; there is no question,
no longing, no disease, which He does not
solve, fulfil, heal. He is the way, where before
we saw no way, no possibility of either depar-
ture out of our misery, or arrival in the far-off
eternal city. Only by Him can we come to
the fountain of living water, to the Father.

And as we anticipated, though dimly, it is
by a great and painful wrench, something like
death. He says, "You must be born again."
Mysterious words ! He is to be our life. We

' I John i.

266 With Jesiis, Now and for Ever.

are near Him ; but this is not enough, we must
be transplanted, as it were, grafted into Him.
And He can draw us into Him only by His
death. The new birth can only be by our
looking unto Jesus lifted up as the Sinbearer,^
In this look there is the wrench, the death. By
the cross of Christ we have been crucified to
the world, and the world to us ; the old man
has received his death wound, and we have
begun to die daily. But it is also the birth, the
commencement of the resurrection-life.

And now we live ! We have a present. Not
merely has the past lost all bitterness — for our
sins are forgiven, blotted out, and forgotten — -
and the future possesses no terror, but the
present is full of life and reality. For the
Lord is our God. When we think of Him,
when we love and serve Him, when we pray
and hear His voice, we do not merely exist, we
live. " To me to Hve is Christ." We are with
Jesus. And in this present we possess all the
treasures of the past and of the future. Now
we know that He, who loved us with an ever-
lasting love, has taught and guided us from
our youth, and that He has prepared for us
an everlasting home of blessedness.

The remembrance of the first advent, cul-

^ John iii. 3, 14.

Wilk Jesus, Now and for Ever. 267

minating in the sacrifice of love on Golgotha,
and the hope of the Lord's return, bringing
glory and joy to His ransomed Bride ; this past
and this future form the element in which the
Christian lives ; they are, so to speak, blended
in his consciousness, and form his true present,
his real, blessed, eternal life. The Lord's Sup-
per is the emblem of the inner and hidden life.
Li the midst of all the fleeting and distracting
things of time, the constant change and fluctua-
tion of things temporal, there is quiet fruition,
perfect repose ; it is at the table of the Lord,
it is in communion' with Him who is the life.
Here is the most vivid remembrance and reali-
zation of the death of Christ ; here is the most
vivid anticipation of the return of the Bride-
groom. It is the Spirit of God who makes
both the first advent a present and constant
reality to the Christian, and who influences and
animates us by the hope of the second coming
of our great God and Saviour. Without the
teaching and power of the Holy Ghost, we do
not realize or possess in the present either the
death or the glorious return of our Lord. To
the Christian, Christ's death and resurrection
are a present fact, power, consolation, an ever-
new separation from sin and birth unto holiness
^—painful to the flesh, yet full of peace and joy

268 With Jesus, Now and for Ever.

to the Spirit. " I feel as if Jesus had died only
yesterday," said Luther.

" I can see Him even now,
With His pierced thorn-clad brow,
Agonizing on the tree :
Oh, what love ! and all for me,"

sings another saint. " Dear dying Lamb " is
the invocation of another, when contemplating
redeeming love. And the return of Christ is
that ultimate and yet most proximate point to
which the believer constantly looks, towards
which is all his hope, and from which he
receives constantly the deepest impulses and
motives for purification and diligent labour.
"This Jesus" is our all. "This Jesus," born
in Bethlehem, crucified on Calvary, risen and
ascended — behold, our Past — "shall so come
again" — behold, our Future. The same Jesus
and Saviour shall return unto us, coming meekly
as the Prince of Peace, and in the fulness of
love. The grace of God, bringing salvation,
hath appeared — this is our sunrise^ — teaching
us to wait for the appearing of our great God
and Saviour — this is our perfect, never-ending
day. If through the faith of the first advent
we are enriched by Christ in all utterance and
in all knowledge, so that we come behind in no
gift, then truly we are waiting for the coming

WUk Jesus, Now and for Ever. 269

of our Lord Jesus Christ, we go forth to meet
the Bridegroom.

II. 1 1 is a blessed persuasion, wrought in us by
the Spirit, that nothing shall be able to separate
us from the love of God, which is in Christ
Jesus ; not death, and what is still more, not
"life" (Rom. viii. 38), with its duties and trials,
and our constant failures and sins. It is diffi-
cult to believe that in all our departures from
God, and in all our sins, the ever-watchful and
tender eyes of divine love and pity never depart
from us ; and that the Saviour, who will never
allow any of His sheep to perish, is ready to
heal and to restore, and to give us even through
our falls a fuller knowledge of his all-sufficient
grace. Nay, grace never ceases her work within
our hearts ; the Holy Spirit, though grieved, is
ever abiding in the soul. And as this is the
constant source of our failures and falls — that
we forget that we are with Jesus, and instead
of leaning on Him as our only strength, gird
ourselves, and go whither we choose, so is this
our deepest and sweetest repentance — to return
to the Lord, who never leaves us, and to find
Him the same loving Saviour, ready to receive,
us and to draw us close to Himself.^

Often we think we are far from Jesus ; we

3 Rev. iii. 20 ; Hosea xiii. 4-7.

270 With yesus. Now and for Ever.

have no sense of His nearness, and it seems to
be night. Yet all the time we are with Him.
Our life is far deeper than our consciousness —
I sleep, but my heart waketh* — and when we
complain that we cannot discern any progress
or growth, we are with Jesus, and His grace is
training and moulding us in infinite wisdom.
There are divine delays ; the soul mourns over
the lack of wine, and the Master seems only to
rebuke us ; but we are with Jesus, and He will
soon manifest His glory, and gladden us with
His love. There are monotonous and irksome
duties, lowly and commonplace occupations, and
the spirit knows not at first that to be faithful
in this appointed and humble path is the true
and royal dignity of God's children. But we
learn that here also we are with Jesus ; and we
remember the thirty years of His quiet and
obscure life at Nazareth. He did not preach
or show any miracle ; yet neither in heaven nor
earth was ought so lovely in the Father's sight,
or so God-glorifying, as He who was called the
carpenter's son.

There are manifold temptations. Who can

enumerate or even classify them ? Luther's

division is a simple one — temptations which are

painful, and temptations which are pleasing.

* Song of Sol. V. 2.

Wii/i Jcstis, N^ow and f 01" Ever. 271

When we experience trouble and disappoint-
ment, ingratitude and reproach ; when our will
is crossed, and our cherished expectations frus-
trated ; when we are prevented from carrying
out good and favourite projects, we are tempted
to impatience, doubt, bitterness, despondency.
Or when we have prosperity, health, the praise
of men, and other things pleasant to the natural
man, we are tempted to pride and subtle self-
conceit, to lukewarmness in prayer, and hard-
ness of heart. There are sudden temptations,
fierce and vehement, when the enemy storms
the citadel of the soul by an unexpected and
violent attack. There are gently insinuating
temptations, when the tempter approaches us
like a serpent. When it is given us to re-
member that we are always with Jesus, then
we betake ourselves at once to Him, and He
gives us wisdom and strength. This is Satan's
masterpiece, to beguile us from the simplicity
which is in Christ Jesus. As a child says, " I
do not know ; I must ask my father. I cannot
go ; I must ask leave of my father ; " so let us
always retreat into Christ. He is always near,
and within sight of the subtle fowler's snare,
and the roaring lion, we are " safe in the arms
of Jesus."

We are with yesus in our daily life. He is

272 With Jesus, Now and for Ever.

Alpha ; we have no other starting-point. Be-
cause He loved us, we love Him ; because He
saved us, we now live to serve Him. He is
the beginning and strength of all our outgoings
Godwards. We forget this so often. We admit
that apart from Christ we cannot think a good
thought, say one good word, and do one good
act ; but do we always pray, as really believing,
that we thus depend on Christ ? And after
prayer do we continue in this dependent atti-
tude and trustful expectation ? We practically
think we can live, and walk, and do the daily
life-path work without this constant drawing
on Christ, or we fancy we must continue in sin
and weakness. When we remember we are
with Jesus, when we behold the blessed Master,
full of love and power, willing to be unto us
mouth and wisdom, guide and strength, then it
is easy to pray without ceasing, and to be of
good courage, to go on and prosper. Our daily
trespasses do not then discourage us, and fill us
with the disappointment of a wounded vanity ;
but we return immediately, and with deep
humility, to the Lord ; for we are not astonished
at the discovery of our vileness, and are willing
to abase ourselves before God, and to trust in
His mercy.

And if Jesus is Alpha, so is He Omega. We

With Jesus, Now and for Ever. 273

pray in His name, we live in His name, and we
desire the glory of His name. To whom should
ascend our thanksgivings but to Him who gave
us all, who wrought all things in us ? Who is
the end, but He who is the beginning ? To
whom and for whom are we to live and to
work, but to Him who redeemed us, the author
and finisher of faith ? Let us then do all
things unto the Lord. To please Him, and to
be approved of Him, is the only right aim.
Thus remembering continually the '* tribunal of
Christ," we shall do all things heartily, and
then Jesus Himself is our immediate reward,
and we can look forward that we shall not be
ashamed before Him at His coming.^ Love
makes obedience sweet. The presence of
Jesus, our divine Lord, will make our lives not
only solemn, but also strong and vigorous. It
will quicken and sustain every energy. He is
with us who loves us with more than a father's
affection, more than a mother's tenderness, more
than a brother's sympathy, more than a friend's
faithfulness, more than a bridegroom's delight.
This thought will animate us. We need never
be lonely and faint. In all the meditations of
our hearts, in our intercourse with men, in our
silent and secret sorrov/s and strug^Mes, in our

5 I John ii. 28.
T

i

274 JVi^A Resits, Now and for Ever.

public words and actions, we are with Jesus.
His presence is our rest and strength.

In this communion with Jesus we are con-
formed to His image. We learn to possess the
mind, which was in Him. "O Jesus," exclaims
an aged servant of the Lord, " let thy whole
walk on earth stand before my eye, that I may
be continually renewed thereby, and that I may
be a savour of life, filled with the fruits of right-
eousness, to them with whom I live, and for
whom I pray!" " Thy whole walk on earth."
It is summed up in one word — love. It is sym-
bolized by one symbol — Lamb. Here we see
love to God and man perfectly united, constantly
blended. Here we see One, who was always
meek and lowly in heart, who came to minister
and lay down His life. Every thing in Christ's
earthly life breathes the spirit of the Son and
the spirit of the Servant. He came in lowli-
ness, and yet He showed forth His glory.
Every gospel incident, and every saying of
Jesus, is of everlasting importance, and pos-
sesses inexhaustible vitality. The Holy Spirit
brings before our soul Jesus, as He was on
earth, as a present living reality ; Immanuel,
God with us, in our joys and sorrows, in our
daily walk and struggle.

The character of the Lord Jesus, as described

IVtih Jesus, Now and for Ever. 275

by the evangelists, surpasses in depth, beauty,
and comprehensiveness all that human thought
and imagination could ever reach. It unites
perfectly and harmoniously elements which are
blended nowhere else. His innocence, purity,
meekness, and gentleness co-exist with His
burning zeal, unremitting vigour, uncompromis-
ing severity, and holy indignation. His love
of solitude and His sublime loneliness never
prevent Him from entering into the wants and
sorrows of men, or from descending to their
iornorance, doubt, and weakness. His teachinp-,
so divine and yet so human, is perfectly lucid
and clear, direct and convincing ; in the simple
intuition of His filial spirit He speaks the words
of eternal life, in which all is truth, transparent,
all-sided, eternal. He is a man of sorrows, and
acquainted with grief, and yet He never pro-
duces the impression of austerity and morose-
ness. He rejoices in spirit; He changes water
into wine at the marriage feast of Cana ; He
takes little children into His arms and blesses
them ; He defends the joy of His disciples be-
cause the Bridegroom was with them. We feel
in His presence, as in the presence of the Son
of God, holy, solemn, peaceful ; of one who
possesses without measure the spirit of joy and
gladness, of joy unspeakable and full of glory,

276 Wiik Jesus, Now and for Ever.

of joy which the world cannot understand or
take from Him, which even in the prospect of
the bitter agony of the cross and the darkness
of death is so strong and sure of itself, that He
can comfort His disciples, and bequeath to them
as His legacy, "that they might have my joy
fulfilled in themselves."

Jesus, the Son of God and Son of man, must
needs be above our comprehension ; the union
of the divine and human surpasses all our
thought. And yet is this " man Christ Jesus,"
who is above all — God blessed for ever — the
most distinct, living, and bright reality to us,
divine, infinite Light, Love and Life wrought
into true and real humanity ! And the Spirit
of God keeps this wonderful and attractive
Image before our eyes. Jesus is our model,
and from the nature of the case our only, one
Master. Jesus is heavenly- minded ; as He
Himself expresses, the Son of man who came
from heaven is in heaven. In Him we see that
to be spiritually-minded is life and peace. But
in this stranger and pilgrim on earth there is
nothing morbid or ascetic; His spirituality is
so deep and free, continuous and joyous, strong
and full, that there is no effort, no unevenness,
no disturbance of His affectionate and humble
and helpful intercourse with those around Him.

With yesiis, Now and for Ever. 277

His obedience to the Father, His fulfilment of
the divine law, is perfect. In every detail of
life, in every word He utters, in every feature
and attitude. He is in the presence and con-
scious enjoyment of the Father, always glori-
fying and manifesting Him. And yet there is
nothing in Him that savours of the spirit of
bondage ; He walks with the step of royal
liberty. His life is full of light and rhythm.*'

He loves God and man ; He loves His dis-
ciples with a special love and tenderness, yet
rebuking and disciplining with holy severity.
He loves mankind, especially the poor and
helpless, the sorrowful and contrite. His object
is always to heal and to do good; He is the
Light of the world ; He came to bless and to
save. Whatever man's attitude may be, He
cannot deny Himself. He is perfect Love.

^ " Men undertake to be spiritual, and they become ascetic ;
or, endeavouring to hold a liberal view of the comforts and
pleasures of society, they are soon buried in the world, and
slaves to its fashions; or, holding a scrupulous watch to keep
out every particular sin, they become legal, and fall out of
liberty; or, charmed with the noble and heavenly liberty, they
run to negligence and irresponsible living ; so the earnest
become violent, the fervent fanatical and censorious, the gentle
waver, the firm turn bigots, the liberal grow lax, the benevolent
ostentatious. Poor human infirmity can hold nothing steady-
Where the pivot of righteousness is broken, the scales must
needs slide off their balance." — Bushnell.

278 Wii/i yesus, Now and for Ever.

We are to be followers of Christ, continuing
His testimony of truth, and His ministry of
love. Sent by Him, as He was of the Father,
we are to show forth Christ in our characters
and lives. Let us then be with Jesus, as an
example and model. It is only when we know
the saving power of His death and resurrection
that we can be followers of Jesus We need
the Pentecostal light of the epistles to gain
a spiritual and practical understanding of the
gospels ; for the exalted and glorified Re-
deemer leads His children to walk in the
footsteps He left behind. When we walk on
this narrow but luminous path, we are with
Jesus.

The Spirit brings us to Jesus, the Royal
High Priest in heaven; and He also brings us
into fellowship with the earthly life and obe-
dience of our Saviour. "As He is, so are we
in this world;"' behold, this is our great task,
and our true dignity.

HI. We are zuith yesiis, and therefore sepa-
rated from the zuorld. We know there is a false
sep:irateness from the world by eccentricity, in
ambition, in pride, in Pharisaic conceit, in self-
centred isolation. But the words of our Saviour,
" They are not of the world, even as I am not

7 I Johniv. 17.

With yesiis, Now and for Ever. 279

of the world," have so impressed us with their
awful solemnity and wondrous love, that we
look with suspicion and dread on everything
that tends to weaken their force, and to make
us forget that cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,
in which alone we are to glory. Remembering
that our citizenship is in heaven, we are sure
that they over whom the apostle Paul wept
were not opposed to the doctriiie of the cross,
but they were enemies of the cross of Christ
itself. They did not believe in the crucified
Saviour with the heart, with the will ; they
minded earthly things. The expression is
earthly, not sinful ; the contrast is between this
present time- world and the heavenly eternity.

Men make little of sin, and they doubt or
deny the existence of Satan ; and in like man-
ner they also deny the "present evil world" to
be opposed to the Spirit of Christ. But we
know these are our three great enemies, and
we must think of no compromise, of no armis-
tice in our warfare against them.

The simple fact that we know Jesus separates
us from the world ; for " the world seeth me no
more." It is Christ's peace which now fills our
heart ; and if our joy is to be full, it must be
because Christ's joy is in us. The love of the
Father cannot be in us if we love the world,

28o With yesus, Now and for Ever.

and the things that are in the world. Our
treasure is in heaven, and our heart waiteth in
expectation of the Lord, and of the heavenly
inheritance.

We do not forget that God loved the world
which He created, that the earth is the Lord's,
and the fulness thereof; we do not forget that
God's saints have always rejoiced in the mani-
7^ fold works of their Father, and adored the
wisdom and power of the Creator. We are
taught that not merely things future are ours,
but also things present ; that to those who are
not high-minded, but trust in the living* God,
God giveth richly all things to enjoy. We
remember that we are called to admire and
think on everything that is honourable and
lovely, to take a cordial interest in the whole
sphere of human affection and friendship, in-
tellect and energy.

But yet we are strangers and pilgrims on
earth. We know that whosoever drinketh of
the water which this world g-iveth shall thirst
again. We can never forget the transitory
nature and subordinate importance of all earthly
joys and gifts. We cannot possess, we cannot
desire, that satisfied happiness and absorption
in the present things, even though they be
sinless, which worldly men either have or seek.

With Jesus, Now and for Ever. 281

We can see no blessedness in being rich, or
strong, or great, in being anything in this world.
By the cross of Christ we have been crucified
to the world, and the world to us. And this
great separation was actually effected in us
when our heart was renewed, when our will
was broken, when the Spirit drew us to Jesus.

How can we ever in this earthly life be free
from this feeling of sorrow, of longing, when
we are with Jesus, of whom it is written, " A
man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief"?

"A pilgrim through this lonely world
The blessed Saviour passed ;
A mourner all His life was He,
A dying Lamb at last.

" That tender heart that felt for all,
For all its life-blood gave ;
It found on earth no resting-place.
Save only in the grave."

Are we identified with Him ? Are we at all
like Him ? Then we cannot be what the world
calls happy. The Lord pronounces them blessed
that mourn.

But as we are delivered from the tumultuous
and eager striving after happiness in the present
life, so we have now in God that peace which
passeth all understanding, which the world can
neither give nor take away. We have within

282 With yesus, Now and foi'' Ever.

us the well of water springing up into eternal
life. Instead of seeking them, we regard the
pleasures and recreations of life not without
misgiving ; for we feel they are apt to cloud
our peace, and to blunt our enjoyment of the
heavenly blessings. The world seeks diver-
sion ; we seek to collect all the energies of our
souls, and concentrate them on the great object
of our heart's desire. The world seeks to go
out into wide and boundless fields ; we desire
to abide within, where Jesus sups with us, and
we with Him.

If it is objected that such a character is
melancholy, the answer is, And what if it is ?
Is not Paul's description of the Christian '' sor-
rowful, yet always rejoicing " ? ^ But what if it
be only thus that we can have the true joy of
the Lord ? If only thus, dead with Christ, the
light and power of the resurrection-life gladdens
our heart ? If only by this constant inward
dying and fasting, by this constant self-restraint
in earthly prosperity and joy, by this constant
prayer and humiliation of the Father - spirit
within while the sons and daughters are feast-
ing,^ we can abide in the presence of Him who

® Cheerfulness is quite compatible with this aspect of the
Christian character. (Compare Matt. vi. 16-18, Phil. iv. 4, &c.)
5 Job i. 5.

Wiih Jesus, Now and for Ever. 283

alone can make us lie down in green pastures,
who anoints the head with oil, so that our cup
runneth over ? What if only in this way we
can draw what is truly good and precious out
of the present life ?

How can we ever forget this truth, when it is
declared on every page of Scripture, and to be
read in every feature of Christ's countenance
and walk on earth ? And what truth has been
more frequently and emphatically asserted of
the Saviour? Why did He put the cross so
prominently and almost deterrently before those
who professed themselves willing to follow Him ?
Five times He utters the axiom of the eternal
life, the essential mark of the heavenly-minded.

1. "He that findeth his life shall lose it : and
he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it." ^

2. " For whosoever will save his life shall
lose it : and whosoever will lose his Hfe for my
sake shall find it." ^

3. " For whosoever will save his life shall
lose it ; but whosoever shall lose his life for my
sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it." ^

4. *' Whosoever shall seek to save his life
shall lose it ; and whosoever shall lose his life
shall preserve it." *

' Matt. X. 39. " Matt. xvi. 25.

3 Mark viii. 35. ■* Luke xvii. 33.

284 With Jesus, Now ajid for Ever.

5. " He that loveth his Hfe shall lose It; and
he that hateth his life in this world shall keep
it unto life eternal."^

It is evident from the variety of expressions
used (and they are all full of meaning) that
this was a leading, favourite, and oft-repeated
thought of our Lord.

" Two loves," said Augustine, " have made
two cities : the love of self, reaching on to
the contempt of God, has made the city of the
world ; the love of God, reaching on to the
contempt of self, has made the heavenly city."

" Something every heart is loving —
If not Jesus, none can rest ;
Lord, to Thee my heart is given,
Take it, for it loves Thee best.

" Thus I cast the world behind me,
yesus mast beloved shall bej
Beauteous more than all things beauteous,
He alone is joy to me."

IV. We are with Jestis ; and yet, when we
are most truly with Jesus, and feel His presence
and our oneness with Him, there arise also
most vividly the thought and hope of His re-
turn, when the heavenly Bridegroom and His
Church shall meet to part no more, when we

5 John xii. 25.

With yestcs, Now and for Ever. 285

shall be for ever with the Lord. Spiritual
communion with Jesus, even when most pre-
cious and sweet, as in the Lord's Supper, never
can so satisfy the heart as to exclude the desire
of His return ; nay, it is part of the feast, that
it contains the promise, " till He come." The
Spirit is our comforter during the absence of
our Lord ; He is not a substitute for or instead
of Christ, but by the Spirit we are joined to the
Lord, and Christ dwells in our heart. But the
Spirit Himself says in us, "Come, Lord Jesus."
Let us then cling to those simplest and sweetest
words of the Lord, " I will come again." The
hearts of the disciples were full of sadness ; the
thought of ever having to part with their be-
loved Master had never been realized by them,
and the whole world seemed dark and lonely in
the prospect of His leaving them. Jesus com-
forted them. And this is the comfort, that in
His Father's house there are many mansions,
that He is going to prepare a place for them,
and that He would come again and receive
them to Himself. As if He said unto them,
" This world is not your home ; you are indeed
strangers here below. My Father's house is
the home of those who through me are the
Father's children. I leave you for a little, and
during this little while my love is with you, and

286 IViik yesus, Now and for Ever.

my heart and hands working for you : I go to
prepare a place for you. And I myself will
come again, never to leave you, but to receive
you to myself for evermore." It is as when a
mother says to her children, " I '11 soon be back
again." Who can misunderstand the words ?
Spiritually He is never absent; He is always
with His people : His peace. His love, His
grace. His power — when have they ever left
His children ? But we have not at present His
personal, actual, bodily presence ; we do not see
Him. Christ our life shall appear, and then
we shall be made manifest with Him in glory.
Thus the promise of Jesus was confirmed by
angels to the disciples, who gazed with wonder
into the heavens ; and all apostolic teaching
directs our hearts to the return of our Lord.

They who are with Jesus yet desire to depart
and be with Christ, which is far better. They
are at rest, and have found in Jesus their
peaceful and eternal home ; and yet are they
home-sick ; for while they are in the body they
are absent from the Lord. Even when Jesus
is nearest, when He brings them into the
banqueting-house, their hearts are gladdened
by the thought — Till He come ! They are
waiting for the revelation of Jesus Christ,
although in all things they are enriched by

With yesics, Now and for Ever. 287

Him, in whom all blessings of the covenant
are theirs. Waiting is the attitude, the inces-
sant heart and life-work of the Christian. It is
the heart that waiteth. It is there that the
flame must be nourished with the sacred oil,
the flame which only the eye of God discerns ;
it is there, where Jesus is Alpha and Omega,
the root and strength, as well as the end and
object, of all our life. The true waiting for the
Lord, and going forth to meet the Bridegroom,
is hidden from outward observation. It consists
in our earnest endeavour to please the Lord, to
be accepted of Him.'' In consists in our keeping
ourselves in the love of God, while we look for
the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal
life ; in our abiding in the True Vine, and thus
bringing forth the true fruit, which only the
heavenly gardener sees, and of which He only
eats. It consists in guarding anxiously the door
of the heart, that out of the multitude of in-
fluences seeking entrance there, none may be
admitted which would be displeasing to Him
to whom we belong, and who claims our un-
divided love.

We believe that our ascended Royal High
Priest is preparing for each believer, for each
child of God, a peculiar and individual place.

* 2 Cor. V. 9 (orig.) ; Jude 21.

288 With yesus, Now Mid for Ever.

As one human countenance differs from another,
as the glory of one star differeth from that
of another, so there is a great variety and
manifold peculiarity among the children of God.
Each has a name, known only to the Lord and
himself, and the Good Shepherd, who knows
each sheep by name, is preparing for each "a
place." All are children and heirs, all are united
in the Father's house ; but each finds as he was
led personally during the time of his earthly
pilgrimage, so the end of the way is also per-
sonally adapted to him. Thus all our earthly
experiences have an eternal result. As our
spiritual life progresses on earth, our eternal
mansion progresses. Jesus fits us for our future
abode, and prepares our future abode for us.
" Let not your heart be troubled ; " infinite wis-
dom and love is preparing an inheritance for
you, and preparing you for an inheritance. But
let the heart awake ; let us be faithful unto
death, that we may obtain the crown of life.
We are with Jesus. He is all — the beginning
and the ending. With Him all our hopes
begin, in Him all our hopes are crowned. Only
by Him are we children, and therefore heirs :
only grace can lead to glory. The end is most
inseparably connected with the beginning ; for
this is the beginning : He loved us, and washed

Wiih yesus, Now and for Ever. 289

us from our sins in His own blood. This is the
beginning : A poor lost sinner beholds the
Lamb of God. And this is the end : To see
and adore the Lamb. In the Father's house
we shall be for ever with Him " who was dead,
and is alive for evermore." " I have a desire
to depart and to be with Christ."

Thank God that towards eternity

Another step is won !
Oh, longing turns my heart to Thee

As time flows slowly on !
Thou Fountain whence my life is born,
Whence those rich streams of grace are drawn

That through my being run.

I count the hours, the days, the years,

That stretch in tedious line.
Until, O Life, that hour appears

When at Thy touch divine
Whate'er is mortal now in me
Shall be consumed for aye in Thee,

And deathless life be mine.

So glows Thy love within this frame,

That, touched with keenest fire,
My whole soul kindles in the flame

Of one intense desire,
To be in Thee, and Thou in me.
And e'en while yet on earth to be

Still pressing closer, nigher !

Oh, that I soon might Thee behold,

1 count the moments o'er !
Ah ! come, ere yet my heart grows cold,

And cannot call Thee more !
U

290 Wiik Jesus, Now and for Ever.

Come in Thy glory; for Thy Bride
Hath girt her for the holy-tide,
And waiteth at the door.

And since Thy Spirit sheds abroad

The oil of grace in me,
And Thou art inly near me. Lord,
^ And I am lost in Thee,

So shines in me the living Light,

And steadfast burns my lamp, and bright,

To greet Thee joyously.

Come ! is the voice then of Thy Bride ;

She loudly prays Thee come !
With faithful heart she long hath cried.

Come quickly, Jesus, come !
Come, O my Bridegroom, Lamb of God I
Thou knowest I am Thine, my Lord ;

Come down and take me home !

Yet be the hour that none can tell

Left wholly to Thy choice ;
Although I know Thou lov'st it well.

That I with heart and voice
Should bid Thee come, and from this day
Care but to meet Thee on Thy way,

And at Thy sight rejoice.

I joy that from Thy love divine
No power can part me now ;

That I may dare to call Thee mine,
My Friend, my Lord, avow ;

That I, O Prince of life, shall be

Made wholly one in heaven with Thee.
My portion, Lord, art Thou.

And therefore do my thanks o'erflow
That one more year is gone,

And of this time, so poor, so slow,
Another step is won ;

With Jesus, Now and for Ever. 291

And with a heart that may not wait,
Toward yonder distant golden gate
I journey gladly on.

And when the wearied hands grow weak,

And wearied knees give way
To sinking faith, oh quickly speak,

And make Thine arm my stay !
That so my heart drink in new strength,
And I speed on, nor feel the length

Nor steepness of the way.

Then on, my soul, with fearless faith ;

Let nought thy tenor move.
Nor aught that earthly pleasure saith

E'er tempt thy steps to rove.
If slow thy course seem o'er the waste,
Mount upwards with the eagle's haste

On wings of tireless love.

O Jesus, all my soul hath flown

Already up to Thee ;
For Thou, in whom is love alone.

Hast wholly conquer'd me.
Farewell, ye phantoms, day and year !
Eternity is round me here,

Since, Lord, I live in Thee.

A. H. Franke. 1691.^

" Composed on his journey to Gotha after his unjust expulsion from
Erfurt, as we are told in the oration delivered at his grave, "in the full
experience of the unspeakable consolations of the Holy Spirit."

London : John F. Shaw &^ Co., 48, Paternoster Row.

Date Due

-:-— i,NhU«*H

_^«^*..rfu<JKliM

^

-fiWIWIWWIKWUOHlllMWUWHIHIIMIIW

■ - ■ [ •--*■• * ■ ■ •*' ' ■ ■ — '-*-■ -^^

#

NMMMM

1 1012 01002 4091

t 4Hf itHMJ

• o • o • o

'^i^