£ibrar;p of tire Cheolojicd ^^minavy
PRINCETON • NEW JERSEY
PRESENTED BY
Dela.van L. Pie
"Son
BV 4501 .W4 1896
Webb-Peploe, H. W.
1923.
The victorious life
1837-
Delavan L Pierson,
1127 DEAN ST.
BROOKLYN, N. Y<
THE VICTORIOUS LIFE
By Prebendary IVebb-Peploe
THE LIFE OF PRIVILEGE ; or, Possession,
Peace, and Power, being the Report of
Addresses delivered at the Northfield Bible
Conference, 1895. i2mo, cloth, $1.00.
THE VICTORIOUS LIFE, the Post-Conference
Addresses delivered at East Northfield,
Mass., August, 1895. i2mo, cloth, $1.25.
The Baker & Taylor Co.
5 €r y East Sixteenth Street
NEW YORK
THE Ms
VICTORIOUS LIFE
THE POST-CONFERENCE ADDRESSES
DELIVERED AT EAST NORTHFIELD, MASS., AUGUST I7-25, I 895
Rev. H. W. WEBB-PEPLOE
PREBENDARY OF ST. PAUL's CATHEDRAL, LONDON
EDITED BY
DELAVAN L. PIERSON
Kal avTT] t6Tiv 1) riKt] ?/ viKi)6a6cx rov Kod^ov,
1) Tti6ric, i)j.i(bv. — I. John v. 4.
rcj 8e Qe(2 x«/3Z5 tc3 Sidovri i}jiuv to vIkos
did rov Kvpiov i)).i(bv 'h/aov Xpi6rov. — 1. Cor. xv. 57.
NEW YORK
THE BAKER & TAYLOR CO.
5 AND 7 East i6th Street
Copyright, 1896
BY
The Baker & Taylor Cto.
PRINTED BY
THE CAXTON PRESS
NEW YORK, U. S A.
INTRODUCTIOlSr.
The visit of Rev. Prebendary H. W. Webb-
Peploe to this country, in the summer of 1895,
is an event not likely to be forgotten by any of
those who shared the privilege of hearing him,
or even of reading the careful reports of his
addresses preserved in the "IS'orthfield Echoes."
Prebendary Webb-Peploe is well known in
Great Britain as the head of the Evangelical or
Low Church party in the Anglican Church, and
one of the chief i^romoters of the Keswick move-
ment, which has been so closely associated with
the advance of spiritual life as to come to repre-
sent almost a new era of practical religious
thought and experience. As was remarked by
one of the English visitors at the Northfield
Conference, last summer, "there is no need of
any one's going to Keswick who was at North-
field in August last ; for the cream of Keswick
teaching Avas to be found there."
This remarkable man, Prebendary Webb-Pep-
loe, is yet living, and words which might be
fitting to utter of the dead, lack delicacy and
propriety, when they anticipate such departure
iv INTRODUCTION.
for the higher sphere. But it is no fulsome
compliment to say that God has given him a
very remarkable and unusual combination of
elements, which together constitute the teaching
faculty. The Bible is his great text-book, and
of that book he is as thorough a master as any
man living. His long and laborious studies of
the Word of God, joined to a peculiarly keen
and subtle power of analysis, and a really
I)henomenal memory, enable him to outline a
whole book and cite chapter and verse in rapid
succession, as he traces the development of a
doctrinal or practical truth from Genesis to
Revelation.
But best of all, his teachings are illustrated and
illuminated by an ex2yerlence^N\\\c\\ gives unique
authority and unction to his utterance. There
is that nameless charm which always invests
the speech of one who speaks what he knows
and testifies what he has seen. There is also a
personal j)ractical gri^:) to his teaching. It takes
hold and will not let go. It seems so reason-
able. Scriptural, resistless, that the hearer feels
himself as in a vise. The will cannot easily
escape vital decisions. Unbelief is rebuked and
made to seem both too w^^ong and too absurd to
be longer cherished.
A book lacks the strange aroma of a personal
presence; and it may seem almost vain to
attempt to reproduce on the printed page the
INTRODUCTION. v
charm of a rapidly spoken, cumulative, urgent,
magnetic address. But tliese addresses ha,ve
been edited with consummate care, so that they
may be adapted to tlie printed page, and they
retain so much of their original power that tliey
will be found replete with suggestion, original
thought, convincing argument, pertinent illus-
tration, and all the best qualities of the most
helpful and stimulating reading on these grand
themes. We risk nothing in adding that no
man or woman who devoutly reads them will
ever consent to part with the volume that con-
tains them, except with the purx)oseof scattering
the seed which promises such a harvest in holy
lives and consecrated character.
Aethur T. Pierson,
1 121 Dean Street^ Brooklyn^ JV, V.
December, 1895.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
I. — The Spirit and the Believer - - 9
II. — The Second Coming of Our Lord - 37
III. — What God Hath Cleansed - - 52
IV. — The Prepared Messenger "E'X-lrK\.^l- ^5^
v.— The Way of Blessing H^^^A^ . 73
VI. — How TO Meet Temptation - - 98
VII.— The Servant of God jV^^S^S. . ^28
VIIL— The Faithful Lord - - - 152
IX.— vStand Fast 171
X.— The Daily Portion - ... 193
EXPLAN-ATORY NOTE.
It is only due to Prebendary Webb-Peploe to
say that lie has been unable to correct the
reports of any of the addresses which apj)ear in
this volume with the exception of that on ' ' The
Spirit and the Believer, ' ' therefore any mistakes
which may have crept into this volume should
not be charged to his account.
Owing to the tardy decision to report and
publish these addresses, three of them were not
taken down by our stenographer. ' ' The Second
Coming of our Lord ' ' and ' ' What God Hath
Cleansed," are taken from a long-hand report
by the editor, and ' ' The Prepared Messenger ' '
was comj)iled from very meager notes taken by
various other persons. This will explain the
comi3arative lack of fullness in the reports of
these three addresses.
D. L. P.
THE YICTOEIOUS LIFE.
THE SPIRIT AND THE BELIEVER.
" Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of
the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess ; but
be filled with the Spirit " or, as the Greek has it, " in Spirit." —
Eph. V. 17, 18.
As the declarations or revelations of God are
to be accepted with implicit faith, when they tell
us of a salvation infinitely beyond anything we
could have expected or hoped for ; so the com-
mands of God are to be received with implicit
faith, when they bid us do things far beyond
anything we could exx)ect to see carried out in
ourselves. True faith bows before the Word of
God ; for that word can only convey Divine facts
or principles concerning the salvation accom-
plished for us. We do wisely to lay our heads
in the dust ; or we may be tempted to say that
the thing revealed is impossible for us, because
it is beyond what we could have expected to be
true. When, therefore, God lays upon us a
command, we should say at once, ''It must be
true and possible ; ' ' though by nature we may
be inclined to think, " It is impossible; and
10 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
could never be earned out in such a creature as
I am." Exactly as we say to a poor helpless
inquiring soul ''This is the record, that God
hath given to us eternal life, and that life is in
his Son. ... He that believeth not God hath
made him a liar; " so, when we come to a com-
mand that has relation to our j)rogress in spirit-
ual life, we ought to remember that the record
is the word that God hath spoken to us ; that
it is for us to accept it as his command to us indi-
vidually; that it must be possible for God to
carry it out in the creature; and that by dis-
belief we make God a liar.
To the child of God, yearning for holiness,
there is something exceedingly precious and
delightful in approaching a command that seems
to be naturally impossible; because he realizes
that the Lord gave the word, and that it is for
the Lord to make x)ossible of fulfillment in his
child that Avhich he commands. For surely we
can say with Augustine, ' ' Give what Thou com-
mandest, then command what Thou wilt."
Yea, let God command what he will ; it must be
carried out ; only on one condition — that we be
*' willing in the day of his x)ower."
As we apj)roach this intensely solemn com-
mand : "Be filled with the Spirit, ' ' there is not
one of us who would not feel it to be almost
blasj)hemous for such words to be expressed by
mortal man, were it not that they came by inspi-
THE SPIRIT AND THE BELIEVER. \\
ration of the Holy Ghost ; and that the man who
wrote them was empowered by the Spirit to liand
sucli words down to the wliole Churcli of God.
Tlierefore, it cannot be an impossibility or God
wonld never have uttered the commandment. It
rests upon the creature to see that, according to
God's plan of fulfilment, it shall be carried out
in him ; and that he shall not thwart or hinder
the will of God by unbelief, or by any continu-
ance in that which is evil. It is an exceedingly
solemn thing to take up such a command, and to
believe that what hitherto seemed so absolutely
beyond our reach is intended by God for us all ;
for while we hear again and again of aspirations
after the blessings that would come from being
filled with the Spirit, very few of God's children
seem to believe that the fault is in themselves if
it is not realized ; or that the hindrance cannot
lie with God, but must lie with us, if his will is
not completely carried out. With regard to all
such commands, the full and final accomplish-
ment of them must wait for the day when our
bodies shall be fashioned like the body of the
glory of the Lord Jesus Christ ; because our
body, being still subject to corruption, cannot
receive into the corrupt parts that Sj)irit of God
which is everlasting life, and which knows no
taint of corruption.
The question for us is this : — How near to the
accomplishment of God's will is it i^ossible for
12 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
the believer to come in the life that now is, while
waiting for the full and absolute perfection of
accomplishment at the day of the Lord's ai3j)ear-
ing ? The great grief and shame that lie npon the
Church is that as a whole she is willing to remain
so far away from God's holy purjDose. For in-
stance, Christ says, "Be ye perfect," or, "Ye
shall be perfect as your Father in Heaven is per-
fect; " and the majority of Christians say that
because there is no exj)erimental perfection to be
had in this world, therefore they will not make
an essay to see how nearly they can reach perfec-
tion in this life. Dogmatic theology says that the
Holy Ghost cannot pervade that which is corrnj)t,
therefore the majority seem to think they may
be content to live a life very, very far below that
spiritual life traced in God's Holy Word.
We are desirous of ascertaining how near to
this glorious conformity to the Lord Jesus Christ
we may attain by simj)le acceptance of God's
purpose for our lives, and how near we may
come in this world of sin to knowing even
as we are known by the Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, as we approach the solemn subject,
my first charge is : — Hinder not the will of God by a
spirit of unbelief; by limiting the Holy One of Israel ;
])ecause you thereby reject his holy counsel and
purpose for you. Train your souls in a spirit
of receptivity, and by the exercise of faith, to
take all that God himself can give. Be deter-
THE SPIRIT AXD THE BELIEVER. 13
mined that " your whole spirit, sonl and body" —
whatever department of your being you can deal
wdtli — shall be placed submissively at the dis-
posal of God, to know, to receive, and to enjoy,
everything- that God can possibly give you, while
you are, alas, in the body of corruption.
There are many differences of opinion as to
how far we can be filled with the Spirit ; as to
the means by which this fullness is to be secured ;
as to what will be the signs of being filled ; and
what are the hindrances in ourselves, to our yield-
ing ample and implicit obedience to the command-
ment of the Lord. I shall therefore divide my
subject into three special branches, which I
would entitle: —
I. The Universal Endotoment with the Holy
Ghost, which God has bestowed upon the Church
and the world.
II. The Individual Enduement with God the
Holy Ghost, which takes place with regard to
every soul when it is brought into the knowledge
of its acceptance in Christ Jesus, and is made
alive unto God through Him.
III. The Personal Enjoyment which may be
known by the saint as he i^rogresses, or accepts
continually more and more of the gift that God
has bestowed w\)(d\\ him.
We ought not to feel that we are entering
upon controversy or hurting one another's feel-
ings, because terms are used that slightly differ
14 THE VICTOBIOUS LIFE.
from those which our brethren might emx)loy.
We are all equally interested in discovering the
truth, and I desire to set forth exactly what
the Word of God says.
I. Look, first, at the uis^iversal et^dowmei^t
with God the Holy Ghost as a gift. God's
Word makes it clear that there has bee a
bestowed once for all the gift by God of the
Holy Ghost as a person / and it would be as
inconceivable that we should ask God to send
his Son to be born again in the flesh, and to i)ass
again through the great work of our redemj)tion,
as it is for us (reasonably and theologically and
Biblically) to ask God to give again the gift of
the Holy Ghost, which he has once for all
bestowed. But this will not prevent a constant
repetition of earnest prayer for the exj^erience
described in Luke xi. 13: "If ye then, being
evil, know how to give good gifts unto your
children, how much more shall your Heavenly
Father give Holy Spirit to them that ask him ! "
There is no article ' ' the ' ' in that passage ; the
word is partitive, not personal; it is "Holy
Spirit. ' ' There is no doubt that none of us have
realized the fullness of the possibilities that
might be expected concerning the gift, or
powers, or qualities of this "Holy Ghost; " and
that the holiest will always be conscious of
needing more. It is one thing for me to ask
God to give me more of the Spirit in my own per-
THE SPIRIT AND THE BELIEVER, 15
sonal enjoyment ; it is another tiling to ask God
to give his own j)ei'fect gift again from heaven,
as though he never liad bestowed it. It is one
thing to recognize tliat I liave failed to take and
to use what my Father has bestowed; it is
another thing to charge my Father with not
having bestowed what he says he has given.
God's word tells us plainly that the Holy Ghost
is already given as the universal income of the
Church. He is called " the earnest of our in-
heritance." We shall know the full extent of
our inheritance when w^e see Jesus as he is, but
meanwhile the Holy Ghost is described as " the
earnest." A man may possess a splendid income
and yet may never have seen his magnificent
property. What we enjoy of our income is the
measure of holiness Avliich we really i)ossess and
exhibit in this life. Holiness may be said to be
the expenditure of income received through God's
gift of the Holy Spirit. Hereafter the inheri-
tance will be ours in its fullness ; then we shall
know^ as we are known.
In order to l)e assured that there has been an
actual ])estowment, once for all, of the Person of
God "The Holy Ghost," as distinguished from
his qualities, turn to God's Word, and judge ye
w^hat is said ! Look first into the Old Testament
Scriptures, and see the nature of the promises
concerning the Spirit. Jesus bids his disciples
look for the Holy Ghost as "the promise of the
16 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
Father." What is the nature of that promise?
— First there is the thought in Psahn Ixviii. 18,
that the Lord Jesus Christ ascending on high,
led ca J) tivity captive, to "receive gifts for men.^''
If we turn to St. Paul's declaration of the fulfill-
ment in Ephesians iv. 8, we find that he changes
the words to read: "He led captivity captive
and gave gifts unto meny In the former case
it was '' received gifts for men;" in the latter
case, after Pentecost, he "gave gifts unto men."
Therefore, clearh^, tluit promise or x>i'opliecy
has been fulfilled.
AVith regard to the promises which distinc-
tively mark God's intention to give the Holy
Ghost, turn to Isaiah xliv. 3 : "I will pour water
upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the
dry ground ; I will jiour my Spirit upon thy seed
and my blessings upon thine offspring." Again
in Isaiah xxxii. 15, the prophet said that full
blessings could not come upon the land "until
the Spirit be poured upon us from on high."
Again God, by the mouth of the prophet
Ezekiel, says : "I will jDut my Spirit wdthin you,
and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye
shall keej) my judgments " (Ezekiel xxxvi. 27).
"I have poured out my Spirit ui)on the house
of Israel, saith the Lord God" (Ezekiel xxxix.
'2'6). And later on in the same prophecy : It is
a solemn question w hen these words shall have
received their fulfillment. Turn next to Zacha-
THE SPIRIT ASD THE BELIEVER. 17
riah xii. 10, and read : ^'I will pour upon the
house of David, and upon the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplica-
tions; and they shall look upon me whom they
have pierced." I cannot deal fully with these
texts, but simply point them out that you may
•study them and judge for yourselves to what
particular period of history they refer.
We now come to the great passage in Joel ii.
28, 29, which must always be considered the
special promise for this dispensation: "I will
pour out my Spirit upon all flesh ; and your sons
and your daughters shall prophecy, your old
men shall dream dreams, your young men shall
see visions; and also upon the servants and
upon the handmaids in those days will I pour
out my Spirit." I have noted several texts that
speak of God's '^pouring out" of his Spirit,
and this one is the key text to the whole, because
in Acts ii. IG the apostle Peter makes use of a
most remarkable expression, as far as I know,
found nowhere else in the Bible, with regard
to the fulfillment of a prophecy. He says :
"Thisis that which was spoken by the prophet
Joel. ' ' In every other case in the Xew Testament
you read, ''That it might be fulfilled" (show-
ing that it is an application); or ''as the
prophet has said" (showing that the writer
takes up the prophet's words). But here Peter
says : ' ' Th is is that icli icTi was spolcen hy Joeiy
18 THE VICTOEIOrS LIFE.
I have three great authorities for my interpre-
tation of these words. Dr. Pus^y, a very eminent
theologian, says in his ''Commentary on the
Minor Prophets " : " Concerning this ^Dromise of
the Spirit, God says, I will pour out, /. e., give
largely; as though he would empty out him
who is Infinite, so that there should be no meas-
ure of his giving, save our capacity for receiving. ' '
Rev. H. C. G. Moule, who is likewise considered
no mean authority, says in his ' ' Outlines of
Christian Doctrine " (p. 127) : ''As the Messianic
Age approaches, the prophecies indicate a com-
ing universal 'effusion' of the Spirit ('upon
allJlesJi,^ Joel ii. 28). The universality seems to
refer to an extension to all races and ranks of
men. The K'ew Testament (Acts ii. 16-21)
finds this fulfilled at Pentecost, when represen-
tatives of the race received the Gospel, and the
universal believing Church definitely began to
be under the power of the Spirit. True, that
beginning has a future in which all the ends of
the world shall remember and turn unto the
Lord (Psalm xxii. 27). Limits upon the work
of grace at one period are no proof that it will
be always limited ; but the passages here in ques-
tion indicate not so much a work in every indi-
vidual, as a world-wide extension of the Spirit's
full action upon individuals, resulting in union
with Christ in his Church universal."
Dr. Wordsworth says that the pouring of the
THE SPIRIT AND THE BELIEVER. \\)
Spirit "upon all flesh" received its fuHillinent
in tlie person of the Loid Jesus Christ, because
the Word was made flesh ; and tliat now this
blessing is to be poured through hiui upon us;
so, as he received the fullness of the Spiiit, the
fullness of the Spirit w^as poured down on him,
and through him upon all flesh that would
take it.
AVith these three great authorities before us
we can have no hesitation, I think, in under-
standing that the term "upon all flesh" does
not mean upon each individual man, but is to
be taken generically and that the coming down
or descent of the Holy Ghost was to be on
human flesh as a wdiole. The question is then :
Has this promise ever received any distinct
fulflllment?
The Lord Jesus, before he x)assed away, spoke
in John xiv., of sending a Person^ Whom my
Father will send in my name" (ver. 26); and
"Whom I will send"' " (xv. 26). In Acts ii.,
where we find the declaration that the lu'ophecy
has been fulfilled, the apostle Peter, quoting the
prophecy, says (ver. 17): — "It shall ccmie to
pass in the last days, saith God, I will j^our
out of my Spirit on all flesh." In ver. 33
he uses the same word in the Greek : — "Being by
the right hand of God exalted, and having
received of the Father the promise of the Holy
Ghost, he 7iat7i poured out this which ye now
20 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
see and hear." So that, according to these
prophecies, according to the promise of the Lord
Jesus, and according to the dechiration of Peter,
we shoiikl say that there has been once for all
a historical f ulhllnient in the Advent of the Holy
Ghost as a Person, exactly as there ^Yas in the
Advent of the AYord made flesh when Jesus
Christ came down from heaven to earth. Such
an advent we all would acknowledge to have
taken place on that solemn day of Pentecost on
which Peter speaks. Can the^^irit then be said
to be constantly ' ' descending " or " being
poured out, "as on Pentecost day ?
There are special terms used concerning the
advent of the Holy Ghost as person. When
Jesus Christ came, John the Baptist spoke of
him as one who should do all his work in the
jDOwer of the Holy Ghost ; and in connection
with our Lord's baptism we notice some remarka-
ble facts. Hi Matt. iii. 16 we read that, as Jesus
came out of the water, ' ' the heavens were
opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending
like a dove and llgliUng upon Him. Mark
these two terms. First there is the universal
endowment of Christ as the Second Adam by
the descent of the Holy Ghost from heaven
at his baptism. Then there is the Indiindual
enduement of the Master as the " Son of Man"
by the Holy Ghost lighting u^Don (or coming
upon) him, so that the Sj)irit claimed him for
THE SPIRIT AXD THE BELIEVER. 21
his own (see the same thoughts expressed in
John i. 38). Thus we have an liistorical ful-
lillment in Christ at his baptism, when the Holy
Ghost descended and lighted upon him; and
then the historical fullillment for the Church
on the day of Pentecost with its glorious results.
In the fulfillment of the prophecy that the
Spirit should be poured upon all llesh, there
would appear to be three manifestations of
the fact that the descent had taken place, by
the use of the term "falling upon," which
occurs only three times in the Acts. It is parti-
tive in the sense that it comes upon three
generic classes of men; but absolute in the
sense that these three classes generically
embrace all Hesh. From Acts ii. we know how
the Holy Ghost descended upon those who w^ere
called saints in Jerusalem, but here this term is
not used. In chap. xi. 15 the Apostle says, con-
cerning the Gentiles:— ''The Holy Ghost fell
on them as on us at the beginning." There is
the historical declaration of the Holy Ghost
having descended as a Person at Pentecost;
and thus he ''fell upon" the Israelites: for
they were all Israelites wdio then knew the
Lord, and were waiting for the fulfillment of the
promise.
The next instance in the Acts is where the
Spirit fell on the Samaritans, who were a half-
breed race, a mixture of Israel with the Gentiles
22 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
as we know from II. Kings xvii. In Acts viii.
we are told that Peter and John went down to
Samaria : ' ' Wlio, when they were come down,
prayed for them that they might receive the
Holy Ghost (for as yet he was fallen upon none
of them). Then they laid their hands npon
them, and they received the Holy Ghost." He
had fallen upon Israel, and now He fell
on the Samaritans. In Acts x. 44, w^e have
the record of his falling on the Gentiles, as
already mentioned : ' ' The Holy Ghost fell on
all them which heard the word," /. e., the cen-
turion and his household.
Thus, we have these remarkable facts. First,
the Holy Ghost descended upon the Lord Jesus
as representative Man. Then Christ went back
to heaven, and at Pentecost the Holy Ghost
descended as a Person, and became the absolute
gift of God to men. There is a generic fulfillment
of God's promise upon the Israelite, the half-
breed and the pure Gentile. Thus all mankind
are included, and you find the Holy Ghost
"poured out," and "descended" or "fallen
upon " all flesh according to the promises con-
tained in the Old Testament prophecy. This, as
I understand it, is the historical fulfillment of
God's blessed intention of Love and Grace, and
is Avhat I call ' ' The universal endowment, or
gift to man, of God TJte Holy Ghost."
Consider next, the individual enduement,
THE SPIRIT AXD THE BELIEVER. 23
which is a totally distinct thing. The first fact
is one in which Uod acts alone ; man has no part
in it whatever. In this second stage there is
partly the work of God, and partly the work of
man; a mixture of the objective and the subjec-
tive. And as I look for this individual endue-
ment, what do I find ? That when a man — any
man, no matter who — is dealt with by God, the
Spirit conies to work in him a j)rocess of the
conviction of sin, of righteousness, and of judg-
ment (John xvi. 8). The moment a man receives
the blessed truth that God was in Christ saving
him, he receives regeneration ; he is a saved
soul, and is given a new life. At that moment
there is in him, first, the old natural life which
remains with us to the end of our existence, and
secondly, the new Spirit life which God the Holy
Ghost has bestowed. What has the man now
received? Just this gift of God, the blessed gift
of the Holy Ghost, and in him the life of the
Lord Jesus Christ. The moment he takes these,
he is endued with the Holy Spirit. '' H any
man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of
his." Therefore, all the Church are as one uj^on
the simple fact that when we believe, we are
partakers of the Holy Ghost. What some of us
do not agree upon is the extent of the income that
we now possess, or the extent to which we ought
to enjoy God's absolute gift.
What has really happened to the regenerate?
24 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
St. Paul says, in Gal. iv. 6, "God 7iat7i sentfortli
the Spirit of his Son into your hearts crying,
'Abba, Father.'" "The babe's cry and the
man's cry put together," as one old writer ex-
presses it. Again, St. Paul says (II. Tim. i. 7)^
" God liatli given to us the spirit of power, of
love, and of a sound mind." We have, more-
over, as he says in Rom. viii. 15, "not received
the spirit of bondage, but we have received the
Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry 'Abba,
Father.' " As Christians, we are not "waiting
for the promise"; but we have received the
blessed Spirit of liberty and of power. It is
ours as a gift from God, and the individual
enduement has taken place, for the Holy Spirit
has come upon us at the moment of our new
birth.
Notice again, how it Avas with the Lord Jesus
Christ. In Matt. iii. 16, we are told that the
Holy Ghost descended and lighted upon him.
Then he says to his disciples (Acts i. 8). "Ye
shall receive x)ower after the Holy Ghost is come
upon you." Again (Acts xix. 6), "When
Paul laid his hands upon them [the disciples at
Ej^hesus] the Holy Ghost canie upon them."
This word ' ' came upon " is a totally different
word from that translated " descended." Christ
received the Holy Ghost after he had descended.
The Spirit descended first and then came upon
Christ. So that Avhile God has given the gift of
THE SPIRIT AND THE BELIEVER. 25
the Holy Ghost as a Person, there comes the
l)artitive*^ distribution on each incliviclual soul
who is made alive unto God. Each true believer
has the Holy Ghost as his own spiritual income;
but alas ! he knows but little of Him yet.
I believe that I have noted every text in my
Bible, Avhere the Spirit is mentioned, and I find
(though some differ with me) that, wherever tlie
Person of the Holy Ghost is mentioned, you
have the article ''the," but wherever the quali-
ties or gifts of the Spirit are put before us,
the name is without the article. You will
never find any man, not even the Lord Jesus
Christ, who is described as being (I do not say
that the Lord Jesus ^oas not; I only say that we
do not read of him being), as a man, full of
the Person of the Holy Ghost, i.e., where the
article is used, which denotes the Person, and
not quality.
In Luke iv. 1, this distinction is remarkably
preserved: ''Jesus, being full of (the) Holy
Ghost, returned from Jordan, and was led by
the Spirit." In the first part of the sentence
there is no article; it is his subjective experi-
ence. In the second clause it is an objective
fact, an historical tvutXi— the Holy Ghost led
him into the wilderness. Of course I do not
here touch upon our Lord's divinity; I am
simply speaking of him in his humanity, and as
the Word of God speaks of him.
26 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
When we are born into tlie kingdom of God,
he gives to each of us tlie Holy Ghost, but we
cannot take him in; he is far beyond our
capacity. Therefore, all that we enjoy is ' ' Holy
Ghost;" but that does not prove that we have
not received, as a gift from God, our whole
income. It is ours, but we are not "of full
age," or sufficiently "perfect" (Heb. v. 4) to
be able to enjoy our inheritance. God allows
us to take and use what we can use properly,
but we are such babes that we do not know how
to use the income that he waits to give. The
moment we are perfected, he will allow us to
take all our possession. So there comes the
question, — How much can we enjoy or spend of
our income on earth? Certainly, there is room
here for much self-reproach, and for wider and
nobler aspirations for the future.
III. Having seen that the individual indue-
ment takes place at the new birth, we come now
to consider the third part of the subject. There
is a most solemn distinction between the general
endowment, or the individual enduement, by
God, with the gift of the Holy Spirit, and man's
PERSONAL ENJOYMENT of the gift from the
moment that he has received it.
We should, perhaps, best explain what it is to
be "filled with the Spirit," if we ask ourselves
what the Holy Ghost is meant to be to those who
receive him at all from God. I may not stay to
THE SPIRIT AXD THE BELIEVER.
'Z(
speak much of his absolute personality as God.
He is described as "the Spirit of the Father; "
"the Spirit of the Son;" "the Spirit of God;"
" the Spirit of Christ." But when we speak of
his qualities, we find him described under many
ditferent terms — "the Spirit of power, of love,
and of a sound mind," " the Spirit of wisdom,"
and so on. In Isaiah xi. 2, 3, the Lord Jesus
Christ is spoken of as having a sevenfold power
of the Spirit upon him ; and what he was to
Christ as man, I humbly believe he is meant to
be to us ; that is to say, we ought to know him
and use him, as the Lord Jesus did, up to the
measure of the possibility in which faith can
enable us to appropriate and enjoy our glorious
possession.
There are no less than seven figures by which
the Holy Ghost is described at different times
in the Scriptures. First, he is compared to toater.
At the very outset of our spiritual career, we
are buried by baptism into death ; even as when
mankind were buried by water under the flood.
But as God put Noah and his family into the
Ark, which is a type of the Lord Jesus Christ, so
we are not only buried in but "saved by water,"
when "by one Spirit (Greek : " hi one Spirit ")
we are all bai)tized into one body. ' ' Again he
is water, that he may be to us as a refreshing
draught, to cheer us in the struggle and toil of
daily life. He is spoken of also asflre to purify
28 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
and destroy whatever is evil in ns ; also to illu-
minate, invigorate and warm. He is oil, to
soothe and comfort and to give us peace. He is
^chid, to permeate every part of our being by
the searching and cleansing power of God.
Then we come to a solemn thought. He is a
seal, stami^ing us with the very image of God,
and setting Christ's mark upon us, as he claims
us for his own ; for "we, beholding as in a glass
the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same
image from glory to glory even as by the Spirit
of the Lord." Again, he is " ichie that maketh
glad the heart of man.'' And lastly you read
of him as the dove, but that apparently is not
for us. It is a remarkable fact that nearly all
the others are qualitative or partitive — what we
call elements. But as the dove he came upon
Christ alone as a living manifestation and
embodiment of the Spirit in his work — He being
the true representative Man, to whom for us the
Sj^irit was given without measure (John iii. 34).
Now we, as men, are called to be filled ; and,
in order that we may be so filled, the question
arises, what does the expression mean in this
particular passage ? There are two words used
with regard to "filling.'' One is nXypjjs, the
adjective, and the verb akin to it. TiXrjpoco
which expresses the normal, or constant con-
dition. But there is another word, 7t\i]a6ei3,
which signifies an abnormal or s]3ecial condition,
THE SPIRIT AND THE BEIJEVER. 29
and which also is frequently found in the Acts of
the Apostles. The distinctive use of these several
words should be most carefully noted in all the
passages where they occur. I think that it is
the idea conveyed by this latter word of which
some men are thinking when they speak
about the " baptism of the Spirit " ; little recog-
nizing that tJiat expression is absolutely
un-Biblical, as it never occurs once in the whole
Bible.
There are live passages that speak of Christ
doing his great work of baptism with regard to
the Spirit. The first is Matthew iii. 11, and
Mark i. 8, where John the Baptist in preaching
uses the words: "He shall baptize you in''—
not i^/^Zt— "Holy Ghost." In Luke iii. 16,
there is the same expression: "In Holy Ghost
and in lire." In John i. 33, we read again:
"He shall baptize In Holy Ghost." Christ
himself makes the promise once : " Ye shall be
baptized in Holy Ghost not many days hence "
(Acts i. 5). There are these five promises; but
it is only once alluded to as a fact accomplished.
This is very remarkable. We find it in Acts xi.
15, 16, where the Apostle Peter is describing
the baptism "in Holy Ghost." In everyone
of these passages we observe that the word
''in" is used, not "with." The great accom-
plishment of it is declared by Peter to have
been at th*e day of Pentecost; there is a fulfill-
30 THE VICTORTOUS LIFE.
ment of it also in the case of the Gentiles, upon
whom the Holy Ghost descended. So that
when the Holy Ghost descended npon all flesh,
the baptism of humanity generically took place.
With regard to the individual, this should take
place at his baptism. In his "Yeni Creator"
(p. 20), Mr. Moule says that baptism is the
initial act by wdiicli a man is introduced into the
Church, and therefore baptism with the Spirit,
the same as baptism wdth water, must be an initial
act. The moment the man commences to live,
he is baptized in the Holy Ghost.
I humbly believe that there is no after-baptism
in or by the Holy Ghost for any man from the
moment he has become a child of God. He
simply remains in the element into which he was
introduced, and it is his own fault if he be not
j)erpetually drinking in the heavenly element
which now surrounds him. The Holy Ghost is
to the soul wdiat pure air is to the body.
"Open thy mouth wide and I will hll it." At
the same moment that spiritually he is baptized
into the death of Christ, he is also quickened in
or by the Spirit. That is what St. Paul says in
I. Corinthians xii. 13 : ''By (or in) one Sx3irit w^e
are all baptized into one body." He goes on to
say: "And have all been made to drink (into)
one Spirit. ' ' I seldom find these w^ords spoken
of at all. The Revised Version leaves out the
w^ord "into," and we read, "have all -been made
THE SPIR IT A XD THE BEL IE \ ^ER. 3 1
to drink one Spirit." Whose fault is it if, as
the beloved of the Bridegroom, we have refused
to drink abundantly? (Canticles v. 1.) We
read in I. Corinthians x., that the Israelites
' ' were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and
in the sea." The cloud is the only figure
describing the Holy Ghost that I did not men-
tion among the seven, because it is more of a
type than a figure. It represents the abiding
presence of God. All Israel, whether spiritual
or carnal, were baptized, because they were
Israelites, into the cloud and into the sea. So
St. Paul says to the carnal Corinthians: "Ye
were all baptized into (or in) one Spirit, and are
thus made into one body." Therefore this bap-
tism in the Spirit is true for all believers, how-
ever carnal or babe-like they may be.
What then are we to expect if we cannot again
be baptized by the Spirit, or Avith the Spirit, or
even in the Spirit? The only real question now
to be answered is : What can we do to be filled
with (or in) the Spirit? Mark what St. Paul
says to the Corinthians in his first Epistle, iii.
16, " Know ye not that ye are the temple of God,
and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?"
Again (vi. 19), "Know ye not that your body
is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you,
and which ye have of God ; and ye are not your
own? Therefore glorify God in your body, and
in your spirit which are his." Once again
32 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
(II. Cor. vi. 16), " God hath said, I will dwell in
them, and walk in them; and I will be their
God, and they shall be my people."
The Apostle states a fact in all these passages
— that we are the temple of the Holy Ghost
already, and have the Holy Ghost in us. I need
not refer you to such texts as Rom. v. 5, '' The
love of God is shed abroad in your hearts by the
Holy Ghost which is given unto us;" or II. Cor.
i. 22, where we read that God liatli given unto
us "the earnest of the Spirit, in our hearts,"
II. Cor. V. 5, "Who also liatli given onto us
the earnest of the Spirit," and many other
texts, showing that we have received the Holy
Ghost besides having been baptized into one
body in one Spirit. " What then shall we do to
be filled?" What did they do in the days of
Hezekiah, wdien the Temple had had all kinds of
iniquity and filth brought into it? The priests
came and purged out all the filth that they
found, and cast it into the brook Kidron.
What did they do in Nehemiah's day, when
Tobiah had filled God's chambers with house-
hold stuff? The prophet cast it all forth out of
the Lord's house. What did the Lord Jesus do,
when the temple was filled with money-changers
and sellers of merchandise ? He made a scourge
of small cords and drove them all out.
That is the first step which must be taken by
us. The moment it is taken I humbly believe
THE SPIRIT AM) THE BELIEVER. 33
that the Holy Ghost will lush into our hearts as
air does into a vaciiuni when opened; or as water
into a vessel when placed under a fountain.
Hezekiah and the others only cast out all that
they found ; and we can only cast out all tlie
evil that we find. Therefore we are told to wait
in prayer for the gift of the Spirit. I would
rather say : Go down on your knees and say like
David, ' ' Search me, O God, try my heart, and
see if there be any wicked way in me." It is
not God who has not given ; it is you who have
not taken. You have filled the Temple of God
with your household stufi", and have put the
money changers and divers kinds of folly into
the Father's house; therefore, you are not
filled with the Holy Ghost. Let a man, let the
Church, go down before God and say : " Search
me, O God." When he has searched you, he
will show you things you never knew. You can
onlj^ get rid of what you find ; and God gives no
further than man can take; and man can take
only w^hat he knows. Let us go to God and tell
him of all our sin and folly, and of the pride that
has prevented us from confessing the evil things
of which we knew.
We may all rise to the normal condition of
the Christian if we are yielded to God ; but if he
wants some special service from us, he will show
us that there is something wanting. Then it is
that by the confession of our need, and bv the
34 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
humble prayer of faith (as in the case of the dis-
ciples in Acts iy. 31, when they needed boldness
in the hour of trial) we may find ourselves ' 'filled' '
(TtXtjaOevTes) in that department of our being in
which we lacked the Spirit. This is the only
form in which a sudden accession can be known,
and it is obtained by discovery and confession of
the fact that in that department of our being we
have not yielded to God.
There is this difference between the old dis-
pensation and the new. The Old Testament
prophets were carried and ''borne along" by
the Spirit (II. Pet. i. 21). The Spirit was
then rather acting upon., than iii^ those whom
he used ; and some people think that if they had
the Spirit, they would be drmen or carried along
like the prophets of old. But he does not so
deal with men to-day. We read in Ram. viii.
14 : "As many as are led by the Spirit;" also in
Gal. V. 18 : God only leads by his Spirit that
dwelleth in us ; and He will lead us just so far
as we are willing to go. He never drives now.
The Gospel is not a driving dispensation; you
must be willing to be led.
But what is to be the result of it all? Notice
first at the negative results of yielding to the
Spirit. Look at Gal. v. 16: ''Walk in the
Sj)irit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the
flesh." I do not believe that that ]3assage is
meant to be clone away with by the Christian.
TIIK srilllT AXD THE BELTEVER. 35
I have heard it said : ''I pity St. Paul wIk^u lie
wrote that; lie was in a low, grovel I iiiii,- experi-
ence." Nay, brethren, the lust of the Hesh is
in all men to the last. If a man says that he is
delivered from the flesh, so that it has no longer
any existence in his experience, he is contradict-
ing God's Holy Word. The flesh is there, and
what is the Christian to do? "Walk in the
Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the
flesh." The flesh is lusting against the Spirit,
and the Spirit against the flesh, and you are
between the two. The question is "To which
are you going to yield? " Walk in the Spirit,
because willingly led of the Spirit; and stay
there all the days of your life ; if you do, you
will never fulfill the lust of the flesh.
But what are to be the jyositive results ? In
Gal. V. 22 we have the answer. Do not speak
of W^ fruits of the Spirit ; it is the fruit of the
Spirit — nine grapes in one bunch. It is all of
one Spirit who desires to work one and the same
blessed fruit in us all. Here are nine beautiful
grapes, and they all relate to character, rather
than to conduct. Perhaps you are longing for
splendid canduct; wanting to go and do some
great works. God wants you to begin Avith
character. The Holy Ghost works character;
then he can fill you for service ; and assuredly
God wants all to be thus blessedly filled. It is
no man's special prerogative, or gift, above his
36 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
fellows, to be lilled in the Spirit. But remem-
ber that, while the world "resists the Holy
Ghost," even a child of God may "grieve " and
"qnench" him.
"Fill the water-pots wdth water, and bear
nnto the governor of the feast." Such is the
command of the Lord Jesus to his servants.
God deals with yon as "servants" to the end.
The servants must fill the water-pots ; and by
God's grace take out everything that is not the
pure water of the Spirit : and Avlien you have
borne out to the governor of the feast, he will
say: "Every man at the beginning doth set
forth good wine, and when men have well drunk,
then that which is worse ; but thou hast kej)t
the good wine until now. ' ' The water of God is
meant to be iDoured out of these poor earthen
and feeble vessels (John vii. 33), and to be
turned to ' ' wine that cheers the heart of man, ' '
even the blessed heavenly wine — not wine of
earth. When the Lord sees that the water-pots
are filled with water, he will begin to make use
of us and to pour out of his riches all over the
earth. The command of the Lord to each one of
us is: "Be filled in the Spirit," and then
"Yield yourselves unto God."
THE SECOND COMING OF OUR LORD.
" The secret things belong unto the Lord our God, hut those
things which are revealed belong unto us and unto our children
forever. " — Deuteronomy xxix. 29.
The study of prophecy is, therefore, profitable
to us, especially since as St. Peter writes : " We
have also a more sure word of prophecy wliere-
unto ye do dwell that ye take heed ; . . .
knowing this first that no prophecy of the
Scripture is of any private interpretation. For
the prophecy came not in old time by the will
of man ; but holy men of God spake as they
were moved ((f>ep6/x€voij borne along) by the
Holy Ghost" (II. Peter i. 19-21). Again he
says: ''Of which salvation the prophets have
inquired and searched diligently;
searching what, or what manner of time the
Spirit of Christ which was in them did sig-
nify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings
of Christ, and the glory that is to follow. Unto
whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves
but unto us they did minister the things which
are now reported unto you ; . . . which things
the angels desire to look into (I. Peter i. 10-12).
38 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
From these passages Ave learn that we have a
more sure word of prophecy even than the voice
heard upon the Mount, and that the prophets
themselves studied to understand God's revela-
tion and could not. We are even better off than
the angels in our understanding of God's revealed
prophecies.
Now look at Titus ii. 11-13: "For the grace
of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to
all men (or, that bringeth salvation to all men
hath appeared), teaching us that, denying ungod-
liness and worldly lusts we should live soberly,
righteously and Godly, in this present world;
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious
appearing of the great God and our Saviour,
Jesus Christ. ' ' Here we notice three facts stated :
(1.) That the salvation which has appeared is a
universal salvation. (2.) That it is to teach men
that they are not to live ungodly or lustful lives
but, as we might state it, are to live soberly in
respect to themselves, righteously in respect to
their neighbors, and Godly in respect to God.
(3.) That we are to be in the attitude of expect-
ancy, ' ' looking for that blessed hope and the glo-
rious apxDearing " of our Lord. The three things
refer to three periods — past (the appearance of
salvation) ; j)resent (teaching us how to live) ;
and future (the glorious appearing of Christ).
If the prophets of old had to search concern-
ing the truth which they communicated, may we
THE SECOXD COMTXG OF OUR LORD. 39
not hope to gain an understanding by searching
into tlie meaning of i)ro})hecy? If not, why lias
prophecy been given to us ?
The first coming of our Lord has now })assed
into history and the field of investigation and
speculation is therefore limited. The second
advent is still in the realm of prophecy, there-
fore the opportunity for study is almost without
bounds. Some think that a man who studies
prophecy is a fool because he can arrive at no
certain conclusion and because, as they say, it
makes a man unj)ractical and visionary. On the
contrar}^, however, we find that students of
prophecy are more practical, more powerful and
more spiritual than those who ignore it. There
are fanatics and enthusiasts who preach fool-
ishness in this sphere, but that is true in any
great field of thought, and ought not to prevent
wholesome study. Again we are charged with
studying in a field of prophecy where there are
unfathomable difficulties. If, however, we cannot
come to an understanding of these predictions,
why are these prophecies given and why are we
urged to be ready and looking for their fulfill-
ment. Still further it is said that it is futile to
teach anything concerning this subject while
there is so much diff'erence of opinion. It is true
that there is much that will never be settled,
that never was intended to be settled, especially
as to dates, for then men would no longer be
40 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
expectant. It is not intended that we should
know exact details. For instance we may not
speak dogmatically as to the ' ' time, times, and
half time," or the 1290 days mentioned by the
prophet Daniel.
Although I have for thirty-five years studied
the subject of prophecy, I feel to-day like a
child who stands on the seashore looking out
upon the vast expanse of waters, utterly unable
to fathom the great depths of God's revelation.
Like Canon Hore, the older I grow the more
dogmatic I become on the great doctrines of
man's salvation, and the less dogmatic as to the
details of events of the future. I am only dog-
matic upon the facts and the principles.
Have you ever considered why the subject of
prophecy should engage our attention ? Is there
any intelligent being capable of carrying on
Christian life without reference to prophecy ?
Are not all of God's x^romises concerning our
future really prophecies ? A man who calcu-
lates with reference to the future is accounted a
wise man ; so should a man be considered wise
who studies the field of prophecy concerning the
future, which should guide us as to the present.
Moreover, if Christ is the center of my life,
how can I abstain from the study of the pro-
phetic utterances which pertain to his kingdom ?
The world's future is wrapped up in prophecy,
and only through this can we study the destiny
THE SECOND COMING OF OUR LORD. 41
of the kingdom, the Church, the world, or of
ourselves. To refuse to study prophecy, there-
fore, is to be wanting in the si)iritual intelligence
and hope of the Christian.
The department of prophecy which we now
take up relates especially to Christ, the Church,
and the world. There are three general schools
of thought with reference to the interpretation
of the predictions relating to the second advent
of our Lord — namely, the Pretorists, the His-
toricists, and the Futurists.
The Pretorists hokl that all that was written
by the Old and New Testament prophets was
written from their own perview or immediate
lield of observation, and are prophetic only in so
far as any keen-sighted politician might foresee
coming events. Some even say that every word
in Revelation was fulfilled before the end of
Nero's reign. When on one occasion in Eng-
land I had made an address on this subject before
a body of British divines, one brother who held
the opposite view to myself arose and said that
he had made a careful study of this subject, and
that more consummate foolishness he had never
listened to in all his life; that anything more
fatuous, foolish, and futile could not be imagined.
After a few more similar compliments he added
that there was not one single line in the whole
apocalypse that was not fulfilled before the year
100 A.D. I said somewhat under my breath,
42 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
' ' What about the thousand years ? " He con-
tinued, "I catch from Mr. Peploe's lips one of
those foolish questions which only shows the
ignorance of the questioner and with which they
are accustomed to try to entrap us. I am fully
prepared to answer the question — it is one so
foolish, so inane that we simply pass it by as
unworthy of notice."
The Historicists say that all of Revelation, at
least from chax)ter four to the end, has been ful-
filled in detail, age after age, at various stages in
the world's history. They say that we stand
somewhere near the end of the final fulfillment.
So they interiDret the messages with regard to
the seven churches, saying that these represent
the condition of the church at successive periods
in her history.
The Futurists regard Revelation iv.-xxii. as a
vision of the future ; to be fulfilled suddenly and
absolutely at the time of Christ's appearing.
The Old Testament predictions are taken to
apply to the same period and they hold that
as yet we have not entered upon any of the
fulfillment.
My own view is that all three schools have in
them a measure of truth, and are intended by
God to find a field for study in these prophecies.
But none are sufiicient, although I believe the
Futurists to be nearer the truth.
The great division on this subject is between the
THE SECOND COMrXQ OE OUR LORD. 43
pre-millenarlans and the post-millenartans. I
have no sympathy with the views of tlie post-mil-
lenarians, but am a strong ])eliever in tliei)re-niil-
lennial advent of our Lord. This view is that
Christ will appear in the air, take to himself one
class of his saints — it is not certain what the
dividing line will be — and is then to reign on or
over the earth; it is not clear which, though
probably over, since it would be difficult to local-
ize Jesus in an earthly Jerusalem so that every
eye might see him and worship him. I do not
wish to speak dogmatically, for prophecy is an
humbling study. I only wish to lead you to a
closer study, to be less dognuitic as to details,
and more positive as to events. At any rate
Christ will come in the air and 10 ill call certain
or all of his people to himself.
In order clearly to understand these prophe-
cies a knowledge of the Greek is very essential.
Paul uses live or six different terms to express
the expectant attitude of Christians towards the
coming of Christ. In Titus ii. 13, it is npos-
SeKo^evoi^ ^'looking for;" in Romans viii. 23,
aneKdtxofAai, "waiting for; " I. Thessalonians i.
10, are/Atveiv, ''to wait for," "expect." These
various terms all involve the same general idea
in different aspects — " reaching out and longing
for, " " tarrying patiently till , " " waiting to re-
ceive with soul upturned" — various altitudes
all teaching us to be alwavs readv and waiting.
44 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
Why is it said tliat Christ loill come in the
air f Paul writes to tlie Tliessalonians in tlie
first epistle that tliose wlio were alive at his
coining should not go before those that were
asleep, but that they were to be caught up
together; therefore, they were to solace one
another and to be stimulated to greater activity.
In the air, but lolienf Do we look for Christ's
coming for his saints before the great tribula-
tion, or after ? Christ says (Luke xxi. 36),
"Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that
ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these
things that shall come to pass, and to stand
before the Son of man ; ' ' yet in another i^lace he
says (Matt. xxiv. 22) : ' ' Except those days be
shortened, there should no fiesh be saved; but
for the elect's sake those days shall be short-
ened." Will the elect then go through this
tribulation which is to occur in the latter days?
If so, who then can escape it? The "elect"
cannot here refer only to those on earth, nor can
it refer to all the elect, for many of the elect
have died. Then for whom of the elect will the
days be shortened? Some of the elect must pass
through the trial, and some will escape, I think.
Let me suggest (only as a suggestion) that you
study in this connection the parable of the ten
virgins (Matt. xxv. 1-13) . The ten were all virgins
and w^ere waiting for the bridegroom, but only
five of them had sufficient oil. The five wise
THE SECOXD COMrXG OF OUR LORD. 45
entered to the iiiamage feast while the five foolish
were excluded. Does not this mean that all the ten
were saints in one sense, and not that five were
redeemed and five sinners, five saved and five
eternally lost? I humbly believe that all
were accepted in the Beloved. The five wise are
described as comparatively ready (none were
really ready) and had oil — meaning stores of grace,
the power of the Holy Ghost. The other five had
no oil except a little in their lamps and said,
"Our lamps — not are gone out but — are going
oiity Our lamps never go out if we are the
children of God. These foolish virgins were in
peril of not being able to folloAv the bridegroom
because of extinguished lights, therefore are bid-
den to go and buy oil. Would the other ^\%
have refused them aid, and, in mocking contempt,
have told them to go and buy for themselves,
if they had been the children of the world and
had been in danger of eternal exclusion from the
kingdom ? "I never knew you " is a marriage
term, and here means that Christ could not
accept them and receive them into the feast,
but that they must be restored to grace by under-
going tribulation.
It seems to me that we might say of the
church to-day, that one-half (I wish it were
as large a proportion as that) are ready to go
into the marriage feast of the Lamb, and that
half, though among the elect, must pass through
46 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
the tribulation of the latter days. For their
sakes the days are to be shortened. The trial
will come ujion them at sore cost to their com-
fort, but they will be accepted at last. The Lord
comes and takes the ready and waiting part of
the church into the marriage feast in the air,
away from the world where they may learn to
know each other — as a bridal couple to-day leave
their parents and go into seclusion, that each
may learn to know and trust the other. If
then the Lord is to come, and lift his waiting
church into the air before the great tribulation,
we must look at the signs of the times to dis-
cover whether or not our redemx)tion draweth
nigh — the redemption for which our Lord is
waiting ; — so shall we be ever with the Lord.
This view of the coming of our Lord enables
me to believe that the dull, sleepy Christians
who are members of the body of Christ as believ-
ers, and who are yet grinding along without real
hope and joy, and are not ready and waiting to
go, are nevertheless not to be lost. The germ of
truth is in them, and while "one shall be taken
and the other left, ' ' it will be for trial and not
for eternal destruction. Apparently they shall
be in darkness without the presence of the Holy
Spirit (their oil); but having been ripened by
tribulation they shall become ready, and at the
descent of our Lord, at the close of the feast, and
the retirement into air (we can't say for Iioav long.
THE SECOND COMIXG OF OUR LORD. 47
some say three and a lialf years), will be received
by him when he shall come with all his saints, and
shall stand on the Mount of Olives (Zech-
ariah xiv. 5). Then comes the thousand years'
reigu, the millennium, when Christ will have his
throne on or over tlie earth, and during- wliich
time the world will have the last o^^i^ort unity to
accept of Christ.
Mankind has had in the past six thousand
years many opportunities to turn to God; there
has been various dispensations of grace. Man
was first tried in Eden surrounded by x)urity and
in communion with God. He failed and fell.
Then came the promises of God to redeem men
before the flood ; then the covenant with Abra-
ham ; then the law under Moses ; then God sent
his Son Jesus Christ to die and to bring men the
oifer of salvation. All of these have failed to
save the majority of mankind. There remains
but one w^ay for God to draw men (I say it rev-
erently), and that is by a living, reigning, visible
Christ over the earth, and Satan bound. Also
when the Lord returns all Israel, as a nation,
shall "look on hiiu whom they pierced " and
be saved; they shall lead the nations of the earth
in seeking the Lord (Isaiah Iv. and Ivi., and
Zechariah xiv.), and shall become such preach-
ers of the Gospel as have never been known.
In the thousand yea is coiues mankind's last
oj)portunity. The earth will continue to) have
48 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
seed time and harvest ; men will die (the child shall
die at a hundred years); still some will reject
Christ and die in their sins. At the end Satan
will be loosed for a season to see if men will
turn away from serving God, or if they have
become true subjects of the Lord (Revelation
XX.). Then Satan prex)ares to fight with the
world against God, but there is no battle. The
fire of God consumes the Devil's host, and Satan
himself is finally cast into the lake of fire. God
now sets nj) his judgment seat, at Avhich all the
dead stand before God to be judged according to
their works; nations are brought up for judg-
ment ; those condemned to the second death are
sent into everlasting fire. After this comes the
voice from heaven, ' ' Behold, I make all things
new" — not made anew, but renewed. The
universe is purged by fire as in former days it
had been purged by water, and the earth
becomes the tabernacle of the Lord; the new
Jerusalem descends out of heaven having '^ tJie
glory of the God " — a remarkable expression
found nowhere else and signifying the perfection
of God's glory. Then God becomes all and in all
as Christ had been, who now gives up the king-
dom to his Father.
ISTow comes the trial of the saints according
to their use of the talents entrusted to them
(Matthew xxv. 20-30). After this the Son of
Man in his glory judges the nations of the
THE SECOND COMING OF OUR LORD. 49
earth not according to tlieir use of gifts, but
according to their works. Remember that there
are few, if any cases where, in judgment, much is
made of shis committed^ for they are purged
away by the blood of Christ; men are judged
because of what they have not done^ not because
of what they have done. Men are rejected not
because of impotence. As a Christian said on
his death bed, when asked by a friend Avho saw
him weeping, if he was afraid to die, " Oh, no, I
am not afraid, but I am so ashamed to dle^ for I
have done so little for my Lord." What have
you done for Him in return for what He has
done for you ? How many of you could say with
peaceful and rejoicing hearts, "Even so come
Lord Jesus."
Now, what are the reasons for thinking that
the glorious event of Christ's coming may be
near at hand ? How about ' ' wars and rumors of
wars?" There are wars in many parts of the
world, but it is especially noticeable that all
EurojDe is arming herself seemingly pre^^aring
herself for a great battle. "Earthquakes in
divers places. " I have no less an authority than
Mr. Gladstone for saying that the earthquakes
of the past two thousand years have been care-
fully chronicled, and that in the last half cen-
tury there have been more than during the pre-
vious two thousand years. "Men's hearts
failing them for fear." It is the opinion of
60 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
the most prominent men of the day that never
was there so mnch general anxiety as to what
will be the outcome of the i3resent social and
political conditions. There was never so critical
a period in history. ' ' The Gospel shall be
preached in all the world as a witness." This
has certainly been fulfilled as never before in
the history of the world. It can never be real-
ized in its fullest sense seemingly, for, as has
been frequently calculated, the natural growth
of heathen populations is more rapid than their
conversion.
There seems to be, then, an agreement that
the preliminary events have taken X3lace as far
as is necessary to a fulfillment of the predictions.
All indicates that we are now about at a great
crisis in the history of the Avorld.
In addition to this we read in Ezekiel xxxviii,
and xxxix. that " Gog, of the land of Magog, the
prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal (which have
been lately discovered in the Russian archives to
be names for Russia, Moscow, and Tobalsk, and
by which name the Czar is called) shall come out
of the north and shall as a cloud cover the land "
(of Israel). Genesis x. shows that Magog is a
descendant of Japheth, and Revelation xx. con-
nects Gog and Magog with the last days and
destruction by the fire of God. It may not be
generally known, but it is true, that Russia is
now seeking to capture Palestine by estab-
THE SECOND COMING OF OUR LORD. 51
lishing throughout that country what are osten-
sibly monasteries, but are in reality garrisons of
armed soldiers, who are there witli the X)uri)ose
of rising at a moment's notice to capture the
Holy City and forever exclude the hated Turk.
This seems to point to a fulfillment of Ezekiel
xxxviii. and xxxix., to be followed by what
is prophesied in Zechariah xiv-., when there is
foretold the siege of Jerusalem, and after it has
been two-thirds taken the Lord descends upon
the Mount of Olives and there follows the battle
of Armegeddon. Palestine is cleared of its
enemies ; Israel becomes God's servants, and the
millennial reign begins.
We seem, then, to be at a crisis in history. I
can see no great reason why we should not live to
see the Lord come. Oh, blessed moment; oh,
glorious i^rivilege! ''Seeing we look for such
things, what manner of men ought we to be?"
Oh, noblest privilege that I might be the man to
bring the last soul to complete the body of
Christ! And the instant that living stone is
brought into place and the whole completed, we
shall hear the shout, "Grace, grace," and the
Lord will come. Are you ready? Are you liv-
ing, looking forward, hastening unto the day of
the Lord?
WHAT GOD HATH CLEANSED.
But the voice answered me again from heaven, What God hath
cleansed, call not thou common. — Acts xi. 9.
What voice it was that gave utterance to these
words, we are not told either in the tenth chap-
ter when the vision is first recorded, or in the
eleventh chaiDter, where Peter describes it to
those of the circumcision in Jiidea. But Peter
in both places describes himself as saying, "Not
so, Lord," thus seeming to recognize the voice of
Jesus, with wdiom he had been so long and inti-
mately associated a few years before, and whose
will he was now seeking to carry out.
What a beautiful instance we have here of the
Saviour speaking from heaven. Therefore it has
peculiar force. In the first place it testifies as to
what Jesus had done : "what God hath cleansed f^
and in the second place speaks to those whom he
has cleansed and says, that from the time of
their cleansing nothing can henceforth make
them common or unclean. Jesus, who had per-
formed the wonderful act of cleansing, is the one
WHAT GOD HATH CLEANSED. 53
most qualilied to speak from lieaven and to say
this. Peter therefore says that God had showed
him this blessed truth, that all may be saved
because all are cleansed.
There is a dispensational truth in this utter-
ance by Christ. It is a beautiful truth that God
no longer distinguishes between Israel and the
Gentiles, and now for the first time Peter, the
one who had always been of the most strict and
exclusive of the Hebrews, was instructed in the
universal character of the Gospel. Therefore
Peter no longer hesitated when he knew that it
was God's will that all men should be saved. He
was a humble learner at Jehus' feet. It is a
wonderful lesson for all men to learn. Not every
man can break down the walls of prejudice
which have all his lifetime been hedging him
about. Peter had never dreamed that God was
willing to let every man come unto the king-
dom, so he had to have his eyes opened.
It is a triumph of grace to accept new truth
and to live by it. God taught Peter that now
all the barriers were broken down, and men were
to know that salvation was for all ; it was to be
preached to men on earth and in heaven, and in
hades— if that is what Peter means in his first
epistle when he says that Jesus went to preach
to the spirits under guard. Whole nations were
to see that God's love was bestowed for them.
This is a reproach to us, in reminding us how little
54 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
we have done to fullill tlie last command of
Christ.
But there is a deeper trnth here. Let ns first
consider the thought of the vessel let down from
heaven. In it were all kinds of beasts of the
earth, and creeping things, and four-footed
beasts, and fowls of the air. It seems to be a
general summary intended to represent the whole
creation, and is symbolical of man in his totality
as divided into nations, into families, into house-
holds, and also as symbolizing each individual
considered in the many departments and char-
acteristics of his being. Look at it. You see
there a mass of living animals of all kinds and
descriptions. The sheet is full of striking dis-
tinctions and great contrasts. There is the
proud eagle and the crawling worm, the mighty
elephant and the loathsome toad. All kinds,
from the highest to the lowest are here in one
sheet, struggling and striving for the mastery.
They are all thus brought together for a purpose.
What a picture of mankind; and of man's own
individual nature ! . Men differ from each other
remarkably and yet all are bound together with-
out distinction, in one sheet for the purpose of
God. Each man has also within him dijfferent
instincts, qualities and aspirations; at one time
we have the highest aspirations, and at another
we are fit to be the comi^anious of the devil.
There are some noble and some degrading pas-
WHAT GOD IIATII CLEANSED. 55
sions all present in one man, and all nien in one
sheet. Therefore all kinds of men are to receive
the blessing of the Gospel.
Notice also that the sheet is tied, literally
^'knit together," at the fonr corners. These
men are massed together so as not to escape from
contact with their fellows. Of course, the most
powerful rise to the top just as they do in the
world. Imagine the struggle for life in that
sheet tied at the four corners ! It is God's
picture of man and humanity. They are brought
together to show that all are in one place and in
one condition. The four corners to stand for the
four quarters of the globe — this sheet includes
the whole world.
What is the purj^ose of thus bringing together
all these nations, these congregations, these house-
holds, these individual men into one sheet? It
is that they may learn to know God and to
realize their own impotence and degradation;
that they may know that all are equal in the
sight of God. There is no difference, all hav
sinned and come short — the highest as well as
the lowest, as Paul says in Romans : There is
no ground for separation ; all are massed in
together in a hopeless condition, and their
mouths are stopped. God has shut them uj) in
their unbelief and there is no escape — all are in
one condition, in one jjosition — all are dead.
This applies to the most sanctified and to the most
::j
56 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
depraved who are trusting in their own efforts.
Some are noble and some are degraded, but all
are shut up to judgment. This is humanity in
its natural state.
What then is the purpose of God in thus shut-
ting them up? After the vision of man and
nature comes the revelation of God's work of
grace. The voice says to Peter : ' ' What God
hath cleansed" — those whom he has pardoned,
whom he has elected, whom he has selected.
I We know nothing of a universalism taught by
the Word of God. There is a mass of mankind
who reject Christ that will have to suffer; but
what is clearly revealed here is that all humanity
is represented in that vessel, and all mankind,
nationally and individually, is shut up in a help-
less condition. Then the words, "What God
hath cleansed ' ' must have their full force. They
mean the whole contents of the sheet. It is all
I cleansed. God hath cleansed the Avhole human
[race. And men still perish? Yes.
After God had created the earth and the
heavens and had put man into the garden of
Eden, He pronounced himself satisfied. He saw
that it was all very good. But Satan entered
the garden and from that time humanity was
separated from God. Separation involves death
and brings ruin and corruption. Thi^ condition
of things would have proceeded indefinitely and
all mankind would have perished had it not
WHAT GOD IIATII CLEANSED. 57
been for the mercy of God. If in one man's fall
all the human race was coiTui)te(l, ruined and
lost, if by one man death came upon all, is there
not gronnd for the skeptic's charge that God is
responsible for sin in us? As one man said to
me, "If I'm sinful, God made me and he's
responsible for it, not I. Why didn't he make
me holy if he wanted me to be holy?" Because
man was ruined shall God be accused of injust-
ice? God must not only be the justiher of men,
he must be just as well. Man has sinned and
shall God be therefore unjust, must he not make
a satisfaction for his broken law as well as pro-
vide away of deliverance from sin?
Therefore it was necessary that God should
make, in the sacrifice of his own Son, a provision
equal to the need, and prevailing over it. Paul
teaches this in Romans v. The five "much
mores ' ' in that chapter show that God was equal
to the occasion and, in Jesus Christ, made for
man's justification a provision absolute, perfect
and everlasting. Thus the words to Peter were
justifiable. The Greek indicates a single act of
cleansing — once and for all. If in x^dam's fall
and ruin all were included, in Christ must not
all also be included? In Christ all died (II.
Corinthians, v. 14), therefore the debt is paid.
Justification can now take place and the law be
satisfied and God justified. "As in Adain^ all
died, so in Christ shall all be made alive." But
58 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
the x)rovision of inclusion is not mere satisfaction
of tlie law. In one sense all are alive if they will
only accept the provision made for them. How
then can man perish? If all are cleansed what
need is there of the Gospel? Just at this point
notice that Peter is taught to go and preach to
the Gentiles. He is told to go not to a heathen
outcast, but to a man just and holy before God
as far as his knowledge went. Yet to him, the
Gospel of the remission of sins in the name of
Jesus must be preached, as Avell as to the vilest
outcast.
There is an awful responsibility in the Gospel.
It damns a man if he will not accept it. God
makes provision for a free pardon, but what if
you decline to take it. Here it is — God holds it
out to you — take it — if you do not there are
awful consequences and the fault is yours, not
God's. If you turn your back on God you set
your face toward the devil. If the Gospel needed
to be preached to Cornelius, then a man's own
righteousness will not save him ; Cornelius must
close with God's bargain. He must take God's
gift; that was all he had to do and all was
right.
About eighteen years ago, shortly after I had
gone to London, I was called upon to visit a
dying man who had been told that he was at the
gates of death. His wife, who was one of those
emotional Christians who always make a great
WHAT GOD HATH CLEANSED. 59
(leal of fcdincj saved, met me at the door and
said to me before I went in tliat her liusband
had been an infidel for many years, and that she
was afraid he would not receive anytliing from
my lips. She hoped that he would, not be rude to
me, but he was a confirmed unl)eliever and
scoffer. I asked her not to detain me then, but
to let me go to his bedside.
I went into the room and found him to be a
great, powerfully built man of about fifty-six
years of age. I spoke a few words to him and
he said, " Oh, you're one of those parsons,
are you ? Well, I want to tell you I don't take
any stock in you. You expect me to feel saved
just because you say I should, but you won't
get me to do it." I replied, " On the contrary,
I should be very sorry if you did /<?<?? saved, for
very probably you would feel damned to-morrow
when you were in some extra pain or anguish of
body." ''What," he said, "do you mean to
say that you don't want me to feel saved?"
"No," I answered, "I don't. Your feelings
will not alter facts, and it is the fads that I
want you to see. It is a fact that God sent His
Son Jesus Christ into the world to die for you,
and because of this God the Father offers you
free salvation from the bondage of sin and
death." "Augh," he exclaimed, "I don't
understand all that rot." "Well, I will try to
I)ut it more simply. Remember that facts are
60 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
facts, and that it is a fact that the Son of God
has literally taken your place and paid the pen-
alty for your sins ; He has died for you, and so
has opened to you the door of heaven that you
may freely enter. He has sent me with the
document which contains your freedom signed
with the blood of Jesus, and I simply ask, will
you accept it?" "I don't understand what
you're driving at," said he. ''Let me put it
to you still more plainly then," I answered.
'i Suppose that; you have committed spme
crime and you are in prison, and the €]^^mv
because the Prince of Wales has satisfied the
law for you prisoners, sends a pardon to each
one of you in prison, and says that if you will
accej^t it you can go out free ; and that if you
will come to-BieJ^ palace i^he will give you a home.
Suppose that there are ten men in ten cells, and
the messenger comes to the first man and shows
him the pardon. He says, ' I don't believe the
q;tt^Si ever wrote that pardon ; it is no more
good than just so much waste paper.' The sec-
ond man says, ' I liate the (j«eed and wouldn't
accej)t a x)ardon from \\m\ on any account, ' and
he tears up the paper. The third man says, ' I
don't want a i)ardon, I am contented where I
am. I won't take my liberty.' A fourth says,
' Ah, I have been here a long time ; this is too
good to be true, ' and he refuses. The fifth man
looks at it and exclaims, ' My God, is this for
WHAT GOD HATH CLEANSED. 61
me ! ' He grasps it and jumps up and exclaims,
'Jailer, let me out.' He presents it to the
warden who examines the paper, says ' It is all
right,' opens the door and lets him out a free
man. He goes to the queen and thanks her,
and she takes him into her royal home.
"Now all these men were pardoned, that was
the fact and it did not alter the fact whether
they believed it, or felt pardoned, or refused it,
or not. But suppose that the queen in pardon-
ing them had ordered that the prison slioukl be
burned to the ground on the morrow, as a pest
to the neighborhood, and had proclaimed that all
who remain in it must perish with it. Whose
fault will it be if I refuse the pardon and remain
there in spite of the edict?" " Why, yours, you
fool," said he. " Quite right," I replied, "only
you are the fool this time and not I." Now, it
is a fact that God has sent me as his messenger
to tell you that his Son Jesus Christ has paid
the ]3enalty for your sins and has opened the
door into heaven for you. All you have to do is
to take the pardon, walk into the kingdom, and
become God's heir." "Why, you don't mean
to say that it is a fact that God's Son died for
me?" (And this was the man who an hour
before had been a confirmed skeptic !) " Yes," I
said, "that is the fact. He died for you."
" Can it be true? " he said ; " that is a rum say-
62 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
again. " Do you really mean to say that is
true? Tell me it again. I am fifty-six years
old, and to this day no man ever told me this
before. Do you really mean that God did that
for me? Go over it again, won't you?" I
told him the story again and when I left him
there was a more peaceful look on his face, and
the next day when I called to see him, he said
' ' Go back over those facts you told me before
won't you? They have been sticking in my
gizzard ever since."
About six weeks later he was sinking rapidly,
and they called me to see him. He seemed to
be going and his wife rushed up to him and put-
ting her arm around him cried, ''John, do tell
me that you feel saved, before you go." He
straightened himself ux3 a little, and resting upon
one arm said slowly and with difficulty, " Wife -
feelings - make - no - difference. — Feelings -don't
alter -facts. — It - is - a - fact - that - God's - Son-
died - for -me -and -opened - the - door -that -
I - might - go - into - heaven. — I- die - resting - on
that -fact." And he fell back and was gone.
My friends, the Gospel message comes to all ;
there is not a sinner who may not be saved this
moment, for salvation is a finished work and it
is free to you if you will accept it. It is for all ;
the kingdom is opened alike for Gentiles and
for believers; to the just and pure and to the
vile and outcast. Salvation is an accomplished
work. Accept it.
WHAT GOD HATH CLEANSED. 63
1. Tliis truth does away with sectarianism.
You may think you are an eagle and that other
sects are the poor crawling worms. All are
equal — there is no difference. You may have
climbed up to the top of the sheet, but you can
never get out by yourself. If you begin to glory
in yourself, you are done for. Your only salva-
tion is in God's cleansing.
2. We learn that our duty is to all nations and
peoples and languages. Therefore, go and tell
them the story of the Cross.
3. Never despair of any man. Seek him out
to save him, even though he be as the vilest rep-
tile. Go and die for him if necessary.
4. There is also a lesson for the careless, the
cold and the unconverted. "^ What God hath
cleansed." Have you ever thought, when you
were giving way to some vile i^assion or unholy
desire, that God had cleansed you. What right
have you to defile — to treat as a common thing,
to pollute — the body of humiliation which God
hath cleansed. Never call it common ; never use
it for anything low ; never use your tongue to
speak vile, unholy things ; never use your eyes
to look on impure sights ; never use your hands
to perform unrighteous acts. If you do, what
must be the awful consequences ! In Hebrews x.
28, 29 we read : "He that despised Moses' Law
died without mercy under two or three witnesses.
Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall
64 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
lie be tliouglit worthy who hath trodden under
foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of
the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an un-
holy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit
of grace ? ' ' All have been sanctified — cleansed
by God. If you neglect to keep clean what can
become of you? You who want to sow your wild
oats — God has cleansed your being. If you now
count it common what can become of you?
5. Christians, God hath cleansed you, should
you then be groaning under the bondage of some
sin? Recognize the fact that God hath cleansed
you ; therefore, never again be in bondage to sin
as the children of Israel were in Egypt ; never be
wandering in the wilderness, but take your iDhice
in the high places ; live in the King's court in the
very xiresence of God. Never make common what
God hath cleansed. Of the new Jerusalem we
read (Revelation xxi. 27), " There shall in no wise
enter into it anything that defileth — the same
word, maketli common — neither whatsoever
worketh abomination or maketh a lie." If I am
common I cannot enter into the holy city.
Again, never call any man or woman com-
mon ; no prostitute, or murderer, or miser, how-
ever low or degraded. Each one is cleansed by
the blood of Christ, only he does not know it. Go
tell him that he is cleansed ; preach to him the
Word that maketh clean.
God hath justified himself. He has provided
WHAT COD IIATir CLKASSKD. 65
salvation from tlie penalty, and from the very
presence and power of .sin. Will you stand out
on this blessed truth and keep clean by the grace
of God that which he hath cleansed by the blood
of Christ?
THE PREPARED MESSENGER.
Thus Ezekiel is unto you a sign ; according to all that he hath
done, shall ye do ; and when this cometh ye shall know that 1 am
the Lord God. — Ez. xxiv. 24-
Ezekiel is here denoted a sign or type of the
servant of God — one whose delight is to make
known the riches of God's love. You will never
obtain a crown as a messenger of the Lord of
hosts, nntil you become a holy servant of God
like the prophet Ezekiel.
The people are described in this book as
having received the favor of God, being chosen
as the medium of his blessing. God allowed
the ten tribes to sever themselves from the
two, because of the iniquity of Rehoboam,
and could not use them as his witnesses and
servants.
There could not be found in all Israel a man
wholly given up to God ; a man who was sancti-
fied entirely to God's service. To this day the
ten tribes are scattered and unknown because
they despised the voice of God. But they have
not been punished as severely as the other two
tribes, because they did not crucify God's Son.
THE PREPARED MESSENGER. 67
Tliougli God spared them, and offered them
mercy, they rejected liis offer.
One hundred and thirty- three years after
Israel was taken captive into Assyria, Judah and
Benjamin were carried into Babylon. There the
Lord raised up this man Ezekiel to ])e his mes-
senger to the captive people.
Why does the Lord select one man from the
nation or parish, and give him a special blessing?
It is that he may go back to his parish and
become a witness for the Lord of hosts. We are
called of God to be his witness wherever we go.
The nations around us, like Israel and Judah,
refuse to take the blessing of the Lord. The
people of England and of America have likewise
refused to live in the full light of the Lord. We
are called to go to those who have refused God's
blessing, and are now in captivity. Our own
family, our own nation are living in bondage,
and to them God would send us.
Ezekiel is the only man to whom the title
" Son of man" is given as it is given to the Son
of God."^ We find it aj)plied to Ezekiel the same
number of times (89) that it is used with reference
to our Lord in the Gospel according to St. John.
Therefore we conclude that the name " Son of
man" is used for a special ];)urpose here. The
title Son of num is given to Jesus Christ to show
* Once you will find it in Daniel vii. 13, referring to the Messiah.
68 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
that God has called Jesus Christ to be his wit-
ness. He can thus take any man to be his
witness, who will hear and obey his voice.
''Thus saith the Lord God " is repeated over
two hundred times in this book. It is the
special voice of God to Ezekiel. The Lord pre-
pares his servants to-day exactly as he i3repared
Ezekiel.
' ' The word of the Lord came expressly unto
Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land
of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar ; and the
hand of the Lord was there upon him " (Ezekiel
i. 3). These are the first two stex)s in God's
preparations of his messengers: First, the
Word ; then, the Jiand of the Lord put upon man
to make him feel that he is a chosen vessel unto
the Lord.
Third, there must be the revelation of the
glory of God. ''As the apiDearance of the bow
that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was
the appearance of the brightness round about.
This was the appearance of the likeness of the
glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell on
my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake ' '
(Ezekiel i. 28).
Has the glory of God appeared to you as it did
to Ezekiel? It appeared to Paul, to Peter, and
to John, and every one in the Old and in the
New Testament to whom it came fell upon their
faces before it as dead men.
THE PR EPA n ED ^fESSE^r;ER. 09
Then came the Spirit and entered unto him
(Ezekiel ii. 2), and next the command beginnin*:^
with, "Thus saith the Lord God.'' The com-
mand is "Go speak to the house of Israel " (iii.
1), and then follows the message which he is to
cany to them.
The word, the hand, the glory, the Spirit, the
command of the Lord compelled him to go ; he
could not stay. How many of us have felt that
we must go and give a message — fearing to
refuse, saying, I cannot escape. The Lord must
have a man of fixed purpose. But after he has
given the fivefold call, if you still go unwill-
ingly and in bitterness of spirit, the Lord will
not anoint you with power.
But a man must abide God's time to speak.
"When I speak with thee, I will open thy
mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, thus saith
the Lord God; he that heareth, let him hear;
and he that f orbeareth, let him forbear ; for they
are a rebellious house " (iii. 27). God would not
open Ezekiel' s mouth at first (iii. 26), because
Ezekiel was not ready, and you will have no
power until the Lord opens your mouth.
Men and women go to a convention and talk
about the blessing that they have received ; they
shake the speaker's hand and say that they have
"enjoyed it so much.'' My friends, the en-
trance into God's blessed promises is not a
thing to enjoy immediately. For many days
70 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
you may not enjoy it, for there are battles to
figlit and the flesh to be mortified before yon are
ready for the peaceful enjoyment of the blessing.
Now God says to Ezekiel (chapter iv.), "I
want you to get ready and show the i^eople a
picture of the City of Peace being taken by the
heathen." Ezekiel was told to lie down upon
his left side for three hundred and ninety days,
according to the number of days that he was to
bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. Then
he was afterwards to lie for forty days upon
his right side in bearing the iniquity of Judah.
You must give up all your earthly business, all
your work; you must be separated from your
home — you \vill be called a fool for lying upon
your side for a year and a quarter — until you
feel the curse that has come upon your land,
and' until you feel the sin of the people of Eng-
land and America.
But that is not enough. The Lord tells him
to defile his priesthood by eating defiled bread.
Poor Ezekiel cries out, '' Oh, my Lord! I have
never been polluted, do not make me filthy in
the eyes of man" (Ezekiel iv. 14). God said,
" You must do it" — and we too must obey the
word of the Lord no matter what it costs us.
God says furthermore, '' Dig thou through the
wall in their sight, and carry out thereby ' '
(xii. 5). You must remove from the rebellious
house. Everybody will stop and look at the
THE PREP. [RED MESSEXGER. 7 1
man who is tearing liis house down, and carry-
ing everything ont. Men will wonder and per-
haps scoff, but you must do it. If you are
willing to give up your home, and your precious
ornaments to be kicked about or carried off by
the men of the world, God will use you. I can-
not say what God will tell you to do, but what
he commands must be done.
Some time ago at Keswick, when I was speak-
ing on this subject and was saying that a conse-
crated man, like Ezekiel, must be ready to give
up his business, his X)riesthood, his home, j)os-
sibly even his wife before he could receive a
blessing — suddenly a man arose in the audience
and bursting into tears said, " Mr. Peploe, don't
— don't — don't! Is God going to ask that of
me? It seems too much." The man was Bishop
Hill, afterwards the first bishop sent to Africa.
It was a most solemn scene to see that young
man in full strength of body, standing there,
weeping at the thought of giving up one dearer
to him than life. I said, " Brother, I cannot say
what God may do. But may you be ready
when he calls."
This man died a short time ago, and Miss
Maxwell, one of the missionaries who labored
near him in Africa, but knew nothing of what
had hap23ened at Keswick, recently told me the
striking event of his death. She said that
Bishop Hill preached at her parish one Sunday,
72 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
and seemed inspired by God tliroughout the
service. He spoke on Ezekiel, and showed how
God may require lis to give up one thing and
then another, in order that we may be brought
nearer to Him. At last he said, " You may even
be called upon to give up the dearest one on
earth to you." "It seemed wonderful," Miss
Maxwell said, "he was speaking out of his
whole heart. He said, ' Brethren, do you not
think that God will give you grace to part with
the desire of your eyes, and that you will not
sigh with pain ? '
"After service he was talking with some
friends and just then his wife came in, and he
said, 'Darling, sister has been asking me if I
could part with the desire of my heart, and not
grieve with bitter pain. ' She said, ' What did
you say, dear? ' He replied, ' I have been six
months getting ready to say it; thank God, I
can say it now. I can part even with you.' " It
took him six months to get ready to be a sign.
' ' He was seized with fever on Monday, and on
Thursday he died. The wife who had been
taken ill previously, died first, and then he died
very soon after; neither knew of the other's
death."
Be consecrated to God now. He can never
show you his glory until you are. The Lord is
better than our faith. The Lord knows what is
good for us. If he calls any of us to be an
THE rn EPA RED MESSEXCER. 73
Ezekiel, he will prepare us and give ns strength
for it. God has to call yon, as he called Ezekiel,
before he can reveal his glory, and before you
can show to others the glory and riches of God.*
The glory of the Lord cannot stay in the house
of man because of sin. God w^ants a consecrated
temple, a consecrated people. He is ready to
consecrate you, but it will cost you something.
Are you ready for any sacrifice?
*'Our light affliction, wiiicli is but for a
moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding
and eternal weight of glory ; while we look not
at the tilings which are seen, but at the things
which are not seen; for the things wdiich are
seen are temporal ; but the things wdiicli are not
seen are eternal."
"Who is Avilling in the day of his i^ower? "
May the Lord help you to say : " Here am I,
Lord, take me, consecrate me, use me, send me
as thy messenger wiierever thou wilt."
*The notes of address are imperfect here, but Mr. Peploe called attention
to the fruitful field for thought in the study and comparison with each other
of viii. 4; ix. 3 ; xi. 22, 23; and xliii. 2, 4. The glory of the Lord went up
from the city and stood over Olivet, never again to be seen until the rebuilding
of the temple. D. L. P.
THE WAY OF BLESSING.
From tliis day will I bless you. — Haggai ii. 19.
We are not ignorant, says the Apostle Paul, of
the devices of Satan ; and it is well for those
who can say as confidently as the Apostle that
they are not ignorant of the many tricks and
schemes by which Satan is trying to prevent
God's people from being blessed, and the world
from being saved. It has been well said that
where Satan cannot destroy, he seeks to dis-
hearten; where Satan cannot condemn, he
seeks to separate. That may be why the
Holy Ghost inspired Paul in the eighth of
Romans to tell us that while we begin Avith no
condemnation we complete our blessedness with
no separation.
You may have experienced heartrending dis-
tress at the thought that you might have lived
so much brighter and better and more beautiful
lives, and that you might have glorified God
so much more, if from the very beginning of
your spiritual life you had faithfully utilized
the goodness of God to his glory. It is quite
THE WAY OF BLESSING. 75
possible that after having reviewed the goodness
of God, and their own past failures and follies,
many will say, ''It is practically useless forme
to try; habits are so confirmed, efforts have
been so futile, failures have been so many that
I see no use whatever in expecting anything
better."
Where the devil cannot rob ns of our salva-
tion he often easily robs us of our expectation.
Your ability to exhibit better, brighter, more
powerful and more beautiful lives in future than
you dreamed possible in the past, depends upon
your conception of God. If we could only com-
prehend God we should live a perfect life,
because "this is life eternal, that they may
know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ
whom thou hast sent." It is for want of knowl-
edge of God that our lives are such failures.*
Look at the magnificence of God in his love,
his patience, his tenderness and his forbearance,
and then say whether you are waiting for better
and brighter things and w^ondering how it is
possible for you to live a life of blessedness, a life
of power, a life of peace.
* In Hosca, that wonderful book of revelation to men's souls, the Holy Ghost
by the prophet shows two great things: first, that sin lay in the want of
knowledge and in the refusal of knowledge; and, secondly, that, nevertheless,
God was perpetually saying to his people, " Turn and return." The key words
to the prophecy of Ilosea are kiioir'ed^p and hioir, and turn and reliirv, as much
as to say You have despised the one thing that makes eternal life, you have re-
jected the Lord and played the whore, whereas you should have been to him a
pure and holy wife; yet return, says the Lord, and understand the blessed
truth of what God is.
76 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
Before I take up the wonderful passage before
us, I want to introduce it by a few tliouglits from
the prophets, and from two or three of the histor-
ical books which show how God is ever ready to
give a blessing notwithstanding the utter deprav-
ity of man.
The Lord Jesus Christ was not revealed from
heaven until men had come to utter ruin. It
was the same in the days of Noah, and in the
days of Moses when the people had sunk until
there was not a family on the face of the earth
that really belonged to God. God then took one
man, Moses, and drew him out from the i^lace of
destruction, and manifested his grace unto him,
so that through this one man whom God forced
to be faithful, a whole nation could be saved
and brought out into absolute liberty and bless-
ing. Faithful souls may be made to see that
the Lord can be merciful to a people sunk into
utter depravity, who knew no better ; but when
the revelation of God has been made to them,
then they were brought out into light and lib-
erty, and did not fall back. Perhaps you
have heard of the keeping power of Christ, and
still have wandered away f roni him, so that now
you are ashamed to look up into the face of God.
That is exactly the position I would ask you to
occupy.
In an after-meeting in my own church in Lon-
don, I was once endeavoring to show a man that
THE WA Y OF BLESSING. 77
there was mercy for the vilest. The man said,
"I have been a backslider; I have wandered
away from my Lord until I am al)Solutely with-
out hope." I said, "God conies to the back-
slider, and there is hope for him." I turned to
the book of Micali where God says that he will
sink man's sins into the very depths of the sea,
and I said, "You are lorobably aware that even
a cannon ball will not sink beyond a certain
depth in the ocean, and yet God says that your
sins shall go lower than a cannon ball and can-
not come up again." See how the devil will
dishearten a soul! The man turned upon me
with a look of anguish and said, " Oh, my God,
you don't mean to say that a cannon ball will
not sink, and that my sins will go below a
cannon ball ! God have mercy upon me ! How
awfully heavy my sins must be; there is no
chance for me whatever ! ' '
" Resist the devil and he will flee from you."
Resist him when he comes with subtle doubts,
with difficult questions, with hard and bitter
things against you, drive him back by the sword
of the Spirit and the shield of Faith ; quench all
his ffery darts, and listen to the voice of God.
What does God say concerning the people who
have been brought out from captivity, and have
been placed in a x)osition of liberty, joy, and
peace with God, and yet have stiffened their
necks and hardened their hearts against him?
78 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
Have you noticed the turning point in the reve-
lation of God in the book of Isaiah ? Up to the
thirty-ninth chapter, the Spirit is trying to con-
vince men of sin, of tlie destruction that awaits
the sinner if he continues in his sin, of the gen-
eral provisions of God for salvation, of the tinal
judgments of God on the earth, and of God's
general provision of perfect salvation and glory
hereafter. But suddenly when Hesekiah, the
king, has refused the goodness of God, who has
brought him out of his mortal sin and given him
assurance of riches and comfort, and has become
boastful and haughty and wicked again, the
X)rophecy changes in character and God merci-
fully says : ' ' Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem,
cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished, that
her iniquity is pardoned ; for she hath received
of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. Let
the voice cry, ' Prepare the way of the Lord ! ' "
For what is he coming ? To take the poor little
lambs into his bosom, to make the earth that was
barren bring forth an hundred-fold, to make the
young men rise up with wings as eagles. Is that
consistent with the first chapter of Isaiah ? Your
high critic with all his learning, I am sorry to
think, does not know the blessed God. It is
exactly what God might be expected to do — to
turn to the depraved, the lost and the x>roud,
and to say, ' ' I still forgive, I still enable, I still
bring a blessing. Hearken to me, thou worm of
THE WA Y OF BLESSING. 79
Jacob; with thee, thou worm, will I thresh the
mountains." That is exactly like our God, is it
not? And yet you have felt yourselves such
outcasts that you thought there was no hope for
you with regard to this holy life.
Take another instance. Just before the
destruction of Jerusalem about 590 (150 years
later than Isaiah), when the last days of Jerusalem
are coming, everything is sinking into the very
dregs of humiliation, and it would seem that
there is no hope for the people of God. The
ten tribes have been scattered, and now the utter
destruction of Jerusalem is at hand, and yet,
although they have sinned against the Lord to an
awful extent, so that the prophet Jeremiah has
to say, "Shame hath devoured the labor of our
fathers from our youth ; their tlocks and their
herds ; their sons and their daughters. ^Ye lie
down in our shame, and our confusion covereth
us ; for we have sinned against the Lord our God,
we and our fathers, from our youth even unto
this day, and have not obeyed the voice of the
Lord our God" (Jeremiah iii. 24, 25). From
chapter three to chapter thirty-two it is the
same story all the way through, until at last we
read in the thirty-second chapter and thirtieth
verse, " The children of Israel and the children
of Judah have only done evil before me from
their youth ; for the children of Israel have only
provoked me to anger with the work of their
80 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
hands, saith the Lord." The next few verses
tell ns what they had done. Then notice verse
thirty-six. '' JN'ow therefore, " — one of the most
amazing theref ores to be found in the w^hole Bible
— ''And now therefore, thus saith the Lord, the
God of Israel, concerning this city, whereof ye
say. It shall be delivered into the hand of the
king of Babylon by the sword, and by the famine,
and by the pestilence." Then to the end of the
next chapter Ave have a series of "I wdlls "
betokening the unsearchable riches of God, and
his love and goodness tow^ards his people.
Let us take a stage further than the time of Jer-
emiah. Within two or three j^ears of his utter-
ing those w^ords Jerusalem was overthrown
(in 588 B. C), and the people w^ere carried away
into Babylon where they had to endure seventy
years of captivity. Now at the end of the cap-
tivity (though the seventy years w^ere not ful-
filled entirely), when the time came that Cyrus
was about to come to the throne, we read (II.
Chron. xxxvi. 22): "Now, in the first year of
Cyrus king of Persia, that the Avord of the Lord
spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be
accomx^lished, the Lord stirred up the spirit of
Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclama-
tion throughout all his kingdom and put it also
in Avriting, saying, ' Thus saith Cyrus king of
Persia, all the kingdoms of the earth hath the
Lord God of Heaven given me; and he hath
THE WAY OF BLESSING. 81
charged nie to build liiiu a house in Jerusalem,
whicli is in Jiidah. Who is there anion^- yon of
all his people? The Lord his God be with him,
and let him go up.' "
I am drawing toward solemn deductions from
these facts. The opening of the book of Ezra is
a repetition of these Avords which are there fol-
lowed by a call for the people who are willing to
go, and under Zerubbabel six thousand people
return to Jerusalem. This edict would seem to
have been passed in about 536 B. C. These men
come back to Jerusalem. They are the beloved,
the elect like you and me, avIio, having once re-
ceived the favor of God, have fallen into god-
lessness and carelessness, and selfishness and
depravity, and have as a chastisement been
allowed to come into bondage, burden bearing,
and distress. We feel we are in captivity and
are not enjoying the covenant privileges of God
as we might, and yet we believe that we are his
covenant people. Now, God gives the edict that
sets us free, and we are brought back out of cap-
tivity into a position of i)rivilege. We are in
Jerusalem. And yet it may be that, like the
beloved few who returned to Jerusalem at last,
you wander over the ruins of your own i)ast his-
tory saying, " Oh, my God, there is no hope for
me, I cannot be better. I have sought to over-
come that temper, that restf ulness, that worldli-
ness, that selfishness to which I have been in
82 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
bondage, but I cannot. Only last night I made
confession to God and consecrated myself to him.
And yet already I have fallen back again ; I am
in a city of desolation instead of prosperity. ' '
Ninety years after the time of Cyrus's edict,
Ezra says: ''Oh, my God, I am ashamed, and
blush to lift up my face to thee, my God ; for
our iniquities are increased over our head, and
our trespass is grown uj) unto the heavens.
Since the days of our fathers have we been in a
great trespass unto this day ; and for our iniqui-
ties have we, our kings and our priests, been
delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands,
to the sword, to captivity, and to a spoil, and to
confusion of face, as it is this day. And now for
a little space grace hath been showed from the
Lord our God, to leave us a remnant to escape,
and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our
God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little
reviving in our bondage. For we were bondmen ;
yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bond-
age, but hath extended mercy unto us ' ' <'Ezra
ix. 6).
Now take Nehemiah. The whole of the ninth
chapter is taken up with that wonderful con-
fession made by Nehemiah, the reforming legis-
lator, as it were, for the country. He lays
before God, how God had done for them every-
thing he could in the way of blessing, and at
last he says : ' ' Thou gavest them saviours who
THE WA Y OF BLESSING. 83
saved them out of tlip liniul of their enemies.
]^ut after tliey had rest.". . . You say," I know
what this life of rest is. I entered into it and had
blessing for a time, but I fell back, and there is
no hope for me. " Listen : ' ' After they had rest,
they did evil again before thee ; therefore leftest
thou them in the hand of their enenues, so that
they had the dominion over them; yet when
they returned, and cried unto thee, thou heard-
est them from heaven; and many times didst
thou deliver them according to thy mercies;
and testifiedst against them, that thou mightest
bring them again unto thy law ; yet they dealt
proudly and hearkened not unto thy command-
ments but sinned against thy judgments (which
if a man do he shall live in them) ; and with-
drew the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and
would not hear. They would not give ear; now,
therefore, our God, the great, and the terrible
God, who keepest covenant and mercy, let not all
the trouble seem little before thee that hath come
upon us, on our kings, on our princes, and on our
priests, and on our proph^s, and on our fathers
and on all thy people, since the time of the kings
of Assyria unto this day. . . . In thy great good-
ness that thou gavest them, and in the large and
fat land which thou gavest before them, neither
turned they from their wicked works " (Xehe-
miali ix. 27-35). From that moment of confes-
sion God began to l)less them.
84 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
I have now traced the peipetual falls of Israel
for hundreds of years; the evils of the nation's
experience and the goodness of God. He came
to them first, as a nation, in Egypt; second,
he came to them in the land of Canaan, when
they had put themselves in the power of the
enemies, and lie gave them saviours ; third, he
came to them when the kingdom had been
divided and had become still more separated
from God; he sent away ten tribes from the
other two, and then when those two utterly
failed to comprehend and prosper by that lesson
he sent them into captivity; then he brought
them back into the land of possession and privi-
lege, but the land was then nearly desolate,
and the returned captives had only a troubled
peace and a partial liberty. That is, perhaps,
your condition, and you say : ' ' There is no use
talking to me now about the life of x)eace and
holiness and of jDOwer ; it is impossible for such
a one as I."
Now I want to bring you to the x)osition of
privilege. Read in Haggai Avliat God says of
those who have just come out of bondage into a
condition of liberty, and yet have no peace, no
power, no life and no joy. The edict of Cyrus
was issued about 535 or 536 ; the people came out
from Babylonish captivity and reached Jerusa-
lem in safety under Zerubbabel ; they took pos-
session of the land again in peace, and might
THE WAY OF niESsixa. 85
have started a life of power, progress and pros-
perity from that moment. In the year 520 the
prophets Ilaggai and Zechariah were raised np
by God to speak to the i)eople of their p)resent
position. Tliey had had fifteen or sixteen years
possession of the land, deliverance from cap-
tivity, years of possibility, progress and i)eace.
What had they done with those years of oppor-
tunity?
Many say, '' I heard of this life of rest when
I was in bondage to the world, and I came back,
made a covenant, and took possession of wdiat
I thought was the land of Jerusalem — the city
of peace — but it has never been a blessing to me.
What is wrong in my consecration? I gave
myself to God, looked for x)ower, I pleaded for
the fullness of the Spirit, asked for a baptism ;
I thought I had something, but it never came to
anything." Brethren, the trouble is this : You
have been too much concerned for yourself in-
stead of 'being concerned icith the Lord God
A hn ifjli ty an d h is work. Remember those strik-
ing words, the idea of which occurs so repeatedly
in the epistles, ''Whether ye eat or drink or
whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God."
You ate and drank that you might get strong ;
you ate and drank that you might get rich and
fat in spiritual things ; perhaps you toolv work
for the Lord that you might be powerful ; you
entered upon the X)osition which the Lord
86 THE VICTOBIOUS LIFE.
accorded to yoii that you might become great in
the eves of men, and it has been one long failure.
Look at the prophecy of Haggai. It is con-
tained on but one page, yet it covers a period
of three months and a half. It begins on the
first day of the sixth month of the second year
of Darius the king, and it ends on the twenty-
fourth day of the ninth month in the second
year of Darius the king. Haggai describes four
visions in the two short chax)ters.
What is the first revelation which the Lord
gives to Haggai, whose name means '^the visi-
ble one. " " Thus speaketh the Lord of Hosts,
saying, This people say, the time is not come,
the time that the Lord's house should be built,"'
Yet, in II. Cliron. xxxvi. and Ezra i. we read that
Cyrus made an edict that the people should
build God a house. It was the one purpose of
their deliverance from the bondage into which
they had fallen. This bondage was not like the
bondage of Egypt into which they were born ;
the name Babel or Babylon means confusion, and
they had gone to Babylon, the city of confusion,
simply because they were seeking their own things
instead of the things of God. They had years
of captivity and trial and pain, and were deliv-
ered from bondage solely for one purpose, that
they might get away from confusion. God is
not the author of Babylon or confusion, he is the
author of j)eace, if we will only take it. Judah
THE WA Y OF BLESSING. 87
and Benjamin were brought out from Babel that
they might buihl a house of God, and yet six-
teen years passed by witli practically no fruit.
How many years have you gone on in what you
have called a position of privilege, as church
members, and yet have done little or nothing to
the glory of God? You have had perhaps six-
teen years of grace with grand opportunities for
building, the one purpose for which you were
saved. Now, the Lord says to you, " This peo-
ple say, the time is not come, the time that the
Lord's house should be built." He means that
Christian after Christian keeps saying, ''It is
time for me to tliink of my soul, I must go to
convention, service, meeting, conference, place
after place where I can get a blessing." But
they are not building God's house ; they are not
seeking his glory. Beloved, you get stuifed to
repletion, and grow sick at last, but you do not
go out and live and work for the glory of God
and for the true building of the church. That
is why you have been dismayed and troubled.
In the fourth verse he says, ''Is it time for
you, oh ye, to dwell in your ceiled houses, and
this house lies waste? " The object of every true
convention or service is that the spiritual house
of the Lord (Eph. ii. 19-22) might be built. If
you do not serve the Lord night and day ; if your
money, your thoughts, your j)lans, your desires
are not Avholly , absolutely, ceaselessly, consecrated
88 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
to building the house of the Lord, no wonder
that the blessing of God is not upon you. You
will never have God's blessing while you are
hugging yourself with the thought, ' ' I must get
into the ceiled house, I must be safe. Am I
safe from the devils, am I safe from the foxes,
am I safe from the miasma, can I in my family
be secure?" Poor downtrodden, disheartened
Christians are always asking what more they can
do to get the blessing into their homes, their
souls, their ceiled houses. Look at the house of
the Lord, at the church of God, at the world
around about you ! The church of God ought
to stand with its blazing dome of gold lighted
up with the light of heaven, to show to the
heathen the glory of God. What could the
prophets say of the Lord's chosen people who
had a double deliverance — first, nationally from
Egypt, and then personally from Babylon, when
they saw them putting up cedar houses, beauti-
ful villas with an elegant landscape garden,
and every provision made for their nice little
property, and their family inheritance which
they were bequeathed with such care. As long-
as Christians are so careful about their dollars,
their homes, and their ceiled houses, and the
Lord's house lies waste, there is no blessing from
God.
What came to these people in the time of Hag-
gai ? Though they have had their bread, their
THE WAY OF BLESSIXG. 89
liberty, their privileges, their possibilities, they
experienced seve7i disaj^pointments (i. 6-9).
"Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye
eat, but ye have not enough." You go to con-
ventions and try to stuff your souls, but go away
very heavy. " Ye drink, but are not tilled with
drink ; ye clothe you, but there is none warm ;
and he that earneth wages, earneth wages to put
into a bag with holes. . . . Ye looked for much,
and lo ! it came to little ; and when ye brought it
home, I did blow upon it." You go back to your
ceiled house in New York, or Brooklyn, or Lon-
don, and carry home from your conventions
three or four note-books stuffed full with notes.
Beloved, if you think that because you get a
sense of j)leasure and drink down the exhorta-
tions to holy living without any effort at all, you
are going to gain much, you will find that all has
come to very little.
A little child, a sweet little girl, sat playing
one day upon the floor of a hall, in England,
where she had just come to stay with a friend,
and where there was a beautiful ^^dndow of
stained glass. Suddenly, the sun came out, and
the whole floor was illuminated with beautiful
colors. The child saw them and uttered an ex-
clamation of delight. She ran to the spot, and,
j)ulling out her pocket-handkerchief, laid it
over the colors on the floor, and the handker-
chief took all the colors. She folded it over
90 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
three times and said, ' ' I will take it to
mamma." She carried home the handkerchief,
carefully folded, and the next day, pulling it
out, said, "Mamma, mamma, come, and I will
show you such a beautiful thing. ' ' She opened
her handkerchief and exclaimed, " Oh, mamma,
it is all gone ! where is it gone to ? "
Brethren, you cannot keep God's colors from
heaven by wrapping them up in a handker-
chief. " Ye took it home, and I did blow
upon it. ' '
I heard another story told with great effect at
Keswick some years ago. One of the speakers
said that he had a friend in Ireland who was
always afraid of death, and yet he was a Chris-
tian who longed to be nearer to God every day.
This man said, "I don't know what will happen
when I am dying, and I think the best way will
be for me to have a record of my experiences, so
that when I am dying I may have them by me
to help me recall the goodness of the Lord."
He wrote the records, and when he was dying
he told his faithful servant to bring him his ex-
IDeriences, so that he might read them and be
comforted. The servant went away, but re-
turned after a few minutes and exclaimed, ' ' Oh,
master, master, the experiences are all gone;
the rats have eaten every one of them ! ' '
Brethren, the rats will eat every one of your
experiences if they are all you are going to
THE WAY OF BLESSING. 91
lean upon. There is this sevenfold clisapi:)oint-
inent to the people of God, who dwell in their
ceiled houses while the house of God lies
waste.
Now notice the sevenfold charge of God. (1.)
Five times in this one page of prophecy the Lord
says, "Consider ! " Twice it is, '' Consider your
ways'' (i. 5, 7), and then it is to Consider and
see what the Lord is and what the Lord will do,
and what the blessing of God is meant to be
(ii. 15, 18). You must begin the life of peace
and power in the x)lace of privilege. If you
have entered the i:)lace of privilege and then go
back to the old life, you will have no blessing.
So the Lord begins, ' ' Consider your ways, your
will, your power, your love, your purposes."
But that is not all. The Lord says : (2.) " Go
up to the mountain" (i. 8). That is to say, go
to the place where God's provision is ready for
you. You want timber for the Lord's work to
build up the Lord's house ; you want supply, go
up to the mountain. (3.) "Bring wood;" and
(4.) "Build the house."
The next charge is repeated three times over
(ii. 4), "Be strong, be strong, be strong." God
does not say to go and make yourself strong,
but be made strong; the Lord does the strength-
ening. (6.) " Work" (ii. 4), and (7.) "Fear ye
not" (ii. 5).
Look at those seven charges or encourage-
92 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
ments. Consider your ways ; then consider the
Lord ; consider Jesus, the author and fini^ier of
our faith. When you have considered well say,
' ' The Lord has called me out of myself to his
work, to get right out of my ceiled house. I
will go to the mountain where the provisions of
God are. You must go and get your supplies.
God says, "Here is the supply, come up.''
When Moses said, " I cannot meet this people,''
God said, "Come up into the mountain," and
there God showed him his glory and gave him
his supply; the Lord gave him the iDattern of
the tabernacle, he gave him the strength and
said, ' ' My presence shall go with you and I Avill
give you rest." Moses went down reflecting the
glory of God. You will never reflect the glory
of the Lord at all if you simply go home with
your pocket-handkerchief full of reflections.
But go up into the presence of the Lord on the
mountain and take his supply, and go down
now in all the meekness of a servant and say,
^ ' I am going to build for the Lord ; he gives the
power, the strength, the blessing." Then when
you begin to build you will say, "I feel so weak,
I cannot teach, I cannot work, I cannot speak."
The word will come, "Be strong, be strong, be
strong " — Father, Son, and Holy Ghost all speak-
ing. "Fear ye not." How good God is ! We
poor helpless, hungering, doubting, desponding
souls, can hear him saying, ' ' Consider your
THE WAY OF BLESSrXG. 93
ways, be strong, work, fear not, for I am witli
you, saitli the Lord/'
Now notice the seven promises of God.
Brethren, these promises are very beautiful, but
to claim them you must be at the Lord's work,
not your own. All of them contain the words,
"I will bless you" — a sevenfold exclamation of
my text: "From this day will I bless you."
It refers to the day on which the foundation-
stone of the Lord's house was laid ; the twenty-
fourth day of the ninth month, after they had
been three months and a half listening to him.
The first promise, the hrst "I will," of the
Lord is, "Go up to the mountain and bring
wood and build the house ; and I will take
pleasure in it" (i. 8). The j^leasure of the Lord
shall prosi^er in your hands. The promise is so
simple, so gracious, so tender. You say, "Can
the Lord like my work? " It is impossible with-
out faith to please him, but if you have faith he
says, " I will take i^leasure in it."
The second promise is in the same verse, "I
will be glorified, saith the Lord." " Glorify ye
the Lord in your body and in your spirits which
are his." You say, "What, a worm of the
earth glorify the Lord ! " Yes, it is Avith the
"worm of the earth" that he is going to thresh
the mountain. Because the Lord Jesus humbled
himself even unto the dust to build the house of
the Lord, God set him at his own right hand
94 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
and gave him a name that is above every name,
you and I are called to the same work and the
same kind of a reward.
The third promise is in the second chapter and
sixth verse. The Lord says first of all what
view he will take of the work ; "I will like it
and be glorified in it ; '' now he says what he
will do. '' I will shake.'' It is the way he nn-
dertakes to beat back your enemies ; whether
they are in the heavenly places, in the sea or on
the dry land, he will shake them off. This very
verse is qnoted in the epistle to the Hebrews
(xii. 2Q), when the writer is telling of the glori-
ous position we have in Mount Zion, the new
Jerusalem. We have come to Mount Zion that
we may glorify God, and God says he will shake
the heavens and the earth. When the shaking-
is ended, only the permanent things remain.
" Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which can-
not be moved, let us have grace, whereby we
may serve God accej)tably with reverence and
godly fear; for our God is a consuming fire."
The very thing to make us steadfast is the fact
that God is going to shake the shakable things
of the universe in order that the permanent
things may remain.
The fourth promise is " I will fill this house
with glory " (ii. 7). That was fulfilled when the
Lord Jesus Christ came to the second tem]3le
and filled it with his glory. The house that
THE WAY OF BLESSING. 95
was built al'tri'wnrd.s wiis mIso to be lilled with
his glory. We say, ''l^oor worms of iheeartli
that we are to bring stones for God's house."
AVe put them together and say, ' ' It looks very
l^oor." " I will till this house with glory, saith
the Lord of hosts. " Take courage, brother. It
is when you have failed that the Lord comes.
Still further we read, "In this place will I
give peace, saith the Lord of hosts" (ii. 9).
Why does He keep saying, "Saith the Lord of
hosts? " It is because he is conqueror of all.
God's sixth i^romise is, " I will overthrow the
throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the
strength of the kingdoms of the heathen ; and I
will overthrow chariots and those that ride in
them; and the horses and their riders shall
come down, every one by the sword of his
brother" (ii. 22). When Jehoshax)liat went out
against Moab and Ammon, he did not have to
kill ; they killed one another (II. Chronicles xx.) ;
and you and I will not have to kill our enemies ;
they will kill each other. Only go forward in
the strength of the Lord, and he will put the
enemies to Hight.
The last promise of the seven says, " In that
day, saith the Lord of hosts, will I take thee
. . . my servant . . . saith the Lord, and will
make thee as a signet; for I have chosen thee,
saith the Lord of hosts." Humble worker
shrinking back fearfully, do you hear the words
96 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
of the Lord : "I will take pleasure in it, I will
be glorified in your poor work, I will shake the
earth and the heavens, I will fill the house with
glor}^, I will give peace, I will overthrow all
your enemies, and will make thee a signet on
my right hand, for I have chosen thee."
Blessed be God ! Can you doubt him now ?
Now, look at the grand basis on which these
promises and encouragements are built. ' ' Then
spake Haggai, the Lord's messenger in the Lord's
message unto the people, saying, ' ' I am with
you, saith the Lord" (1. 13). Again, " I am with
you, saith the Lord of hosts " (ii. 4); and again,
" My Spirit remaineth among you" (ii. 5). There
is Father, Son, and Holy Ghost — the Lord, the
God of heaven, the Lord of hosts, the king of
earth, and the Spirit remaining always ready —
the mighty Trinity in unity, undertaking for the
feeble escaped remnants, the poor despised
people. These feeble Jews built the temple and
the city of the Lord of hosts. Will you under-
take your x)art in this great work ? When you
calmly, meekly and humbly enter into covenant,
and lay the foundation-stone which God calls
you to lay, he says to you what he says to Zer-
ubbabel (Zech. iv. 9): "The hands of Zerub-
babel have laid the foundations of this house ;
his hands shall also finish it; and thou slialt
know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto
you. For who hath despised the day of small
THE WAY OF BLl-SSTNG. 97
things? For they shall rejoice and shall see the
pliimniet in the hands of Zerubbabel with those
seven; they are the eyes of the Lord." We
take the fullness of the Spirit, not for l)lessing,
peace and pleasure, but for power to serve our
God, and as the feeble remnant put their trust
in the Lord, he iills them to overllowing with
spiritual power, and the temple of the Lord
shall rapidly be built, and the last stone may
soon be put in. Who shall put it in? Perhaps
one of us shall put in the last stone of that tem-
ple with shoutings of "Grace, grace unto it."
Then the Lord shall come and all the saints with
him. Will you be ready?
HOW TO MEET TEMPTATIOI^.
" Though I walk in the midst of trouble, Thou wilt revive me ;
thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine ene-
mies, and thy right hand shall save me. The Lord Avill perfect that
which concerneth me. Thy mercy, O Lord, endureth forever : For-
sake not the works of thine own hands." — Psalm cxxxviii. 7, <?.
Intelligence is absolutely necessary in spirit-
ual matters as it is in temporal affairs. St. Paul, in
one of liis beautiful prayers for the Epliesians,
asks that the eyes of their understanding may
be enlightened, in order tliat they may know
the riches of the provision made for men in Christ
Jesus, and what would be the glory of his inherit-
ance in the saints, if they would only carry out
the high purposes of God, which he has revealed
in his Son. God deals with us according to our
spiritual purpose and earnestness, and in propor-
tion as we seek to realize our high inheritance
of reason as well as of grace, God Avill bless us in
this world of temptation and trial.
It is easy to say, " Thank God, I am saved
through the blood of the Lamb, and I need not
fear God's wrath or man's temptation; God will
keep me safely, because he has x)rovided a way
irO]r TO MEET TEMPT A TTON. 99
of salvation for me in (!hnst Jesus/' Remem-
ber that ^\ilile salvation liangs absolutely and
solely upon the free grace of (iod, the iinal and
apparent enjoyment of God hangs distinctly
upon the measure of our spiritual apprehension
and understanding of the things which (rod offers
to the true believer in his Son. Therefore, it is
by no means unimportant for us to ask oui'selves
again and again, Avhat have we apprehended of
Christy Even after St. Paul had been a Christian
for over thirty years, and had been a man of
most remarkable progress in spiritual apprehen-
sion and enjoyment, he writes to the Philippi-
ans that he does not at all profess to have appre-
hended that for which he was apprehended of
God in Christ Jesus. We are apprehended of
God in Christ for vast blessings, vast privileges,
vast possibilities, not only in the eternal glory
after we have done with temptation, but in the
present sphere of perpetual temptation. This
is no mere metaphysical distinction, but is of
tremendous practical importance.
The Lord's Prayer is perhaps one of the brief-
est we could be called upon to utter in the pres-
ence of our Father in Heaven ; it is also the full-
est that can be formed by human lips, or put
forth in human language. The Lord Jesus Christ
said, ''After this manner pray ye." He also
said, '' When ye pray, say " Our Father, which
is in Heaven." Therefore, it is a model form in
100 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
which true Christians should be constantly pray-
ing. ' ' Lead us not into temptation, but deliver
us from evil," is sufficient for a petition, but it
is not sufficient merely to say it. We must in-
telligently apprehend what it means. The
Christian church is continually falling under the
pressure of temptation from different quarters.
Christians too often fall because they never pause
to consider whether all this temptation which
crushes them comes from the same enemy, the
same source, or if there are different forms of
temptation from different sources. It behooves
us to understand whence these different forms of
temi^tation come, in what way they will present
themselves to the soul, how they will injure it,
and how these particular forms of temptation
may successfully be met.
Now, it is perfectly certain that all temptation
comes from the enemy. God tempteth no man,
says St. James, neither can he be tempted with
evil. He tries his children, as he tried Abra-
ham. The same word is used, both in Hebrew
and Greek, to express different forms of tempta-
tion or trial. When we are tried it is to bring
out that which is good ; when we are temjDted it
is to lead us into that which is evil. God must
try his creatures in order to prove that they are
good; the devil tempts the creature to see if it
be possible to lead the creature aAvay from God,
and to bring that creature under his own des-
IT(}]V TO MEET TEMPTATION. IQl
potic authoi-ity. It is one thing to be innocent;
it is another thing to be virtiions. It is one
thing to be like Achun, crented after the image
of Clod in perfect purity and simplicity; it is
another thing to be like the perfected Christ,
who was tried and tempted in all points like as
we are, yet without sin. Remember that while the
blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin,
conformity to the image of Christ, wrought in
ns by the Holy Spirit, means that we, being
changed from glory to glory, may become like
the Son of God, and at last be actually one with
him, seeing him as he is, and being exact fac-
similes of his perfect image. If we could only
apprehend this, it would change all our thoughts
about the life we are living ; we should feel that
there is not a moment, not a talent, not a possi-
bility of our being that should not be conse-
crated entirely to God, and that should not be
rendered in tender, grateful, humble submission
to his authority ; Ave should feel that we could
not afford to go out into the world and engage
in its pleasures, its pursuits, and its ambitions,
not because we have not the money, but because
we cannot afford- the peril, the temptation, the
risk to the soul's peace and progress. Our ambi-
tion, our pleasure should be to get nearer to God.
Until such a heavenly as2)iration tills our
souls, we are not even attempting to apprehend
that for which we are apprehended in Christ
102 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
Jesus. It is one tiling to be innocent, clean,
spotless; it is another thing to be powerful,
great, and glorious in the sight of God and in the
face of our enemies.
We should apprehend that our high calling
of God in Christ Jesus is that we be li/ie Tdm hi
everything; not only pure and spotless as
Adam was before he sinned, but virtuous. Vir-
tue is tested morality, it is i^ower proved, it is
the capabilities of the soul exercised until the
qualities and the graces with which a man is
endowed, come out into actual exhibition. God
has called us out of darkness into his marvel-
ous light that we might exhibit Christ's virtues
(I. Peter ii. 9). You do not prove the virtue
in a machine until you test it, and show the pub-
lic that it actually answers the purpose of the
inventor. You do not prove the intelligence or
virtue of a child simply by making it sit still
and smile. You must exhibit the iDowers of
body, brain, and heart before the neighbors, if
you Avish to prove that your child has peculiar
graces, excellencies, and powers. So it is with
the child of God ; he must expect trial in order
to develop and exhibit virtue. We have many
enemies x)resenting to us different forms of
temptation, which Ave can meet intelligently and
poAverfully only in i)roportion as Ave understand
from Avhence the temptation comes, and Iioav in
each case that temptation is to be overcome.
HOW TO MKF.T TEMPT ATTON. 103
First with regard to our enp:mii:s. Have you
ever noticed tlie strikingly solemn way in wiiicli
the different authors of the Psalms were led to
think about their enemies? These w^ere, for the
most i)art, physical enemies, hostile forces of a
human form. Yet no less than forty-two times
in the Psalms alone do we iind the words my or
" mine enemies," besides the many occasions in
which they speak of their enemies, thine ene-
ndes, enemies and enemy in general. Do you
not see at once that the writers of those Psalms
mnst have had a very solemn appreciation of
the fact that they were living in the presence of
and in danger from very great enemies ? To them
they were awfully real and really awful, and yet
they were only physical enemies. How much
more then to realize that we have great enemies
in the spiritual domain, and that they are ever
around us and upon us, and have peculiar
force to use against our jioor souls.
Praise be to God, even in the Old Testament
dispensation we find the Psalmists sj)eaking
calmly of their enemies, and glorying in the
fact that they have a grand deliverer. In nearly
every case where you find the words "mine
enemies," you find "deliverer" or some kin-
dred word.* Take for instance: "Though I
walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive
* Look also in Psalm cxliii. 3, 11, 12; cxlii.6, 7; xxv. 2, 19, 21 ; xxvii. 2, 6,
11-14.
104 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
me ; tlion slialt stretch forth thine hand against
the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand
shall save me." What confidence we see there.
Take another passage, Psahn xxiii. 5 : "Tlion
preparest a table before me in the presence
of mine enemies." That is a blessed thought.
Let the enemies come in all their power
and seem to be surrounding you, so that there
is no escape, the Lord calmly prex)ares a table,
and you sit down and enjoy your food in the
very presence of your enemies. Take one
more, because it is so beautiful; the great
Psalm of the Deliverer, xviii. 3, 37, 40, 48, 50.
No less than seven times in that one Psalm
you have deliver, delivered, or delivers; but
what do you read about your enemies ? "I
will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be
praised : so shall I be saved from mine ene-
mies. ... I have pursued mine enemies
and overtaken them : neither did I turn again
until they were consumed. . . . Thou hast
also given me the necks of mine enemies, that I
might destroy them that hate me. ... He
delivereth me from mine enemies : yea, thou
lifteth me above those that rise up against me :
thou hast delivered me from the violent man.
. . Great deliverance giveth he." Seethe
great deliverance which the Lord gives to his
anointed. That Psalm is the Psalm of the De-
liverer, coux)led Avitli the fact of the i3resence of
now TO MEET TEMPTATION. 105
the enemies; and though the man knows that
his enemies are there, he is sure of deliverance ;
he is confident of protection, but he intelligently
looks to the Lord, and claims in the Lord a
rock, a strength, a buttress, a fortress, every-
thing that is required.
Now notice how the Lord is a buttress and a
fortress, a protector and a shield against all
the assaiilts of our enemies, if we rightly under-
stand what those enemies are. We turn to the
spiritual domain, l)ut let me use the physical
enemies of Israel as an illustration of the way
in which God i^ermits the enemies to make
attacks, and yet frustrates every one of those
attacks, so long as his peoi)le trust in him.
First, Avliat are the for.als of temptation
which array themselves as the enemies of the
Christian ? The five great enemies that attempt
to injure the believer are sin, the flesh, the
world, the devil and death. Each of these pre-
sents totally different forms of temptation to the
believer, and seeks to captivate us by totally dif-
ferent lines of action, and we cannot intelligently
meet these different foes until we apprehend the
means of deliverance which God has provided
for us in Christ Jesus. Remember, however,
that no man, as long as he lives in the mortal
body, is ever free from the presence of his ene-
mies. We are delivered out of the hand of
those enemies, but are not delivered from their
106 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
existence, and to say that sin or deatli, or 2inj
other foe no longer presses upon a man's soul,
is to falsify every statement of Scripture and
every experience of the true believer. That is
neither more nor less than the devil's own lie, to
persuade a soul that this is a dispen'sation of
extinction; it is only a disi3ensation of subjuga-
tion. There is no extinction of any temptation
or enemy that brings temptation, but there is,
blessed be God, a i3erpetual deliverance in the
spiritual domain as there was intended to be for
Israel in the temporal or x)hysical domain. Be
ing delivered out of the hand of our enemies,
they have no power or claim over us lawfully ;
we are set free from all of them. Gfod does not
intend his people ever to be overcome, — '' more
than conquerors through him that loved us," is
intended to be the experience, moment by mo-
ment, of every true child of God. Unconsciously
we may yield to forms of temptation of which
w^e do not know the meaning or existence. This
is the sin of a true, faithful child of God. He is
limited not only in his ability but in his knowl-
edge ; because of the infirmity of his nature he
cannot know yet as he is known. But blessed
be God, the blood of Christ is cleansing every
moment, so that if a child of God dies at any
moment the blood cleanses, and by God's grace,
not on our own merit, we pass into the presence
of God spotlessly pure. Remember that, because
now TO MEET TE^IPTATION. 107
there are two forms of subtle temptation. One
is to ask wliat is tlie <;()()(1 of the Lord Jesiis
being a perfect Saviour if lie does not i)erfe(^tly
keep? The answer is that he never professed to
keep you i)erfectly, but only according to your
faith. The other question is, if I am perpetu-
ally sinning, what is the good of claiming holi-
ness from him? God never said there w^ould be
I)erfect holiness, but that there would be perfect
keeping according to the measure of your faith
and trust. As I once said to Mrs. Booth, '^ You
preach a perfect sinner, but I preach a perfect
Saviour. ' '
As to the forms of temptation let us first deal
with what is known as shi. Sin is totally dis-
tinct from sins. Sins are never embodied as a
foe ; they are spoken of as an outcome of sin,
the works which we have j)roduced. All the
sins of a true believer are washed away by the
blood of the Lamb, but there still remains the
old evil iDart called sin, which is personified by
the Apostle Paul in Romans, sixth and seventh
chapters. This sin, as a personified force in me,
means, I think, that old, evil taskmaster wdiicli
dominates every child of Adam from the mo-
ment that our first parents fell in the Garden of
Eden until the soul is delivered by regeneration
and by the indwelling of Christ. We are always
in the presence of temptation from sin. As
a taskmaster sin no longer stands over the
108 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
believer, but is still always pressing uiDon us as
an enemy seeking to lead us into evil. But we
have a perfect Saviour and a perfect deliverance
to the extent of our knowledge, our faith and
our trust in the Lord Jesus ; beyond that I know^
of no perfection, therefore nothing that we bring
forth is perfect in itself ~
Sin is a dominating influence that once held
absolute sw^ay over the child of Adam ; but the
moment that child of Adam is regenerated by
the Holy Ghost, and admitted into the Lord
Jesus Christ, he has died unto sin. Men say
that they are dead to sin because the Avords in
Romans vi. and Colossians iii. are translated,
" Ye are dead ; " but the Greek is, "You died."
They refer not to a state at the present moment,
but to an act performed for us by Christ Jesus.
By virtue of his death upon Calvary's cross, we
by inclusion died in him, because he died as if
he were all of us in one. We do not experience
a sense of death for Ave have none of the dying
to do ; it Avas done. Christ died so as to have
done Avith sin, and to give us the same position
and the same appreciation of the position AA^hich
he occupies and enjoys, namely, that Ave have
been released from the poAver and domination of
sin as a slave-master. St. Paul says again and
again that he is freed from sin, freed from the
condemnation, and also from the task-power of
sin (Romans vi. 7, 18). He goes on to say
now TO MEET TE.VPTATrOX. 109
(Roiiinns vii.) tliat sin as a present pressing force
came upon liis soul once when he was under the
law, and sin revived and he died. Then he
says, " If I do anything wrong, now that I have
come to appreciate Christ, if I am led to do any-
tliing evil by the pressure of sin, it is no more I,
but sin that dwelleth in me." lie asks, "What
is to be done? How am I to get free from the
power of this awful temptation? Thanks be to
God," he says, "I thank God, through Jesus
Christ our Lord." He takes bold of the truth
that once for all he has been delivered from that
fearful bondage, that terrible task-powder, which
sin had over him in Adam's state, and now hav-
ing been put into Christ, he is a delivered soul.
Now in order to make this doctrinal state-
ment experimental, see the illustration of this
in the ejcperience of the children of Israel.
Egypt represents sin as a taskmaster that tries
to hold the children of Adam. God delivered
the children of Israel from Egypt by giving
them that passage through the Red Sea, and
then by drowning their present pressing task-
masters who followed them. They were thus
forever set free from the power of tlie Egyptian
taskmasters. Nothing could lead them back
into slavery in Egypt except their own free will.
God caused the Red Sea to roll between them
and their foes, and they were actually delivered,
so as to be in God's charge if they would only
110 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
face God's lioliness at Mount Sinai. The mo-
ment you are saved from your enemy, you must
be prepared to see end wallv according to the
holiness of God henceforth. If the children of
Israel had been ready to live according to the
holiness of God, they need never have stood in
fear of Egypt, their old taskmaster, as long as
their nation existed. But they chose to serve
other gods, and so in the days of the kings the
Egyptian forces came into the land of the people
of God again and again, and God said that he
would let them go back into Egypt simply be-
cause they would not walk in the holiness of
God. You have been set free; and are to be
forever for God, and not to fear your old ene-
mies or to meddle with sin.
How shall we meet sin when it rises up and
says : "You are my slave ; you say you are free
from the wrath of God and the power of sin, but
I claim you as mine." You know the force of
the temptation to say: ''I cannot face it; I
have not the courage ; I am afraid. ' ' What right
have you to be afraid? " Fear ye not ; " that is
the privilege of the true believer. " Be strong,
fear ye not for I am with thee. ' ' The moment
the old evil power comes and says : ' ' You know
that you were a [slave to that lust, you could
not resist it ; you were a drunkard, and you are
my slave ; ' ' then look up into the face of God
and say, confidently : "By the grace of God I
now TO MEET TEMPTATION. HI
am whnt I am, and liis grace which was be-
stowed upon me was not in vain, so that I am
delivered."
This temptation from the ohl taskmaster, sin,
is one thing tliat causes the chihl of God to fall
so often. They thought tliat tlieyhad the liberty
and freedom of the children of God, but the first
time they passed the old temptation, they said,
'' Oh, my God, I cannot resist; " and they fell.
They have not apprehended that for which they
were api^rehended of God in Christ Jesus, to
live a life delivered from the pressure of the old
taskmaster, and given absolutel}^ unto God. I
tried for two years to feel dead unto sin, and I
never experienced the liberty which that thought
ought to bring until I suddenly saw the other
side, ''1 will live unto God." The right hand of
the Lord has dashed in pieces our enemy, sin
(Exodus XV. 1-10), and when the old enemy says,
•^ ' I will iDursue ; I will follow after ; ... I
will overtake, I will divide the spoil ; my lust
shall be satisfied upon them ; " say, with Moses,
^'Tliou didst blow with thy wind, tlie sea cov-
ered them ; they sank as lead in the mighty
waters." Claim an accomplished deliverance
through the death of the Lord Jesus Christ and
the resurrection power which leads us to God.
Second, how shall we meet the temptation
that conies from the flesh f The flesli is quite
distinct from sin ; it is the medium through
112 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
wliich sin leads us into captivity. It is the force
within us which constantly inclines us to evil ;
it is that lower part of our nature Avhich has
come into the domination of sin and the devil
from the moment that Adam and Eve fell, and
which has held us captives with regard to our
l)eace of mind, our appetites, tastes, and desires,
until we are brought into Christ Jesus and
become new creatures in him. This tiesli is a
perpetual, subtle pressure from within, quite dis-
tinct from anything that oppresses us from with-
out. It claims to have opportunities for gratiii-
cation to present to us, to have pleasant things
that shall satisfy, comfort, and cheer us. The
temptation is very great and very real, and may
be expected to last to the very end of our exist-
ence ujDon earth.
St. Paul carefully distinguishes between the
flesh and the Spirit. He says that the moment
we are born again as children of God, so that
we can cry ' ' Abba Father, ' ' a new spirit of
life is introduced into us, and henceforth we
have two forces working within us and seeking
to draw us — the one called the Spirit and the
other the flesh. ''The flesh lusteth against the
Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh " (Gal. v.
17). God claims us on the one hand, and on
the other the personified evil thing called the
flesh claims us, and says, "You have always
been mine, why turn from me ? I offer you ease.
no W TO M PJh'T TEMPT. 1 TTO X. 1 1 3
I offer you pleasure, I offer you satisfaction.
Why stru<>-,<>-le against your appetites, they are
your natui'al instincts? Wliy should a man not
take a drink, and enjoy sowing his wild oats?
AYhy should he not have a little pleasure in this
world? Why shoukl he think that his appetites
are wrong, because they bring satisfaction to the
flesh?" Why? Because being set free from our
old taskmaster, sin, and being taken into the death
of Christ, and into the life of Christ, we belong-
to God, and the Holy Ghost has come into us to
give us a different life. Instead of being ruled
by the old evil appetites that gave us an inherit-
ance of evil, we should learn to live unto God.
The body as well as the mind, the mind as well
as the heart, the heart as well as the spirit
should all be brought into subjection to God, so
that we are no longer to let the old appetites
work, but are to allow the spirit, which lusts
against the flesh, to 1)ring us into the heavenly
life.
Look at the appetites called fleshly indul-
gencies: ease, carnality, covetousness, i^ride.
These are the works, not the fruits of the flesh.
St. James says that we are tempted when we are
drawn aside by lust, and "when lust hath con-
ceived it bringeth forth sin, and sin Avhen it is
finished (full grown) bringeth forth death." It
must bring death, because it separates us from
God.
114 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
How are we to meet these temptations wliicli
come from within, and are essentially the temp-
tations of the old natnre within us? The an-
swer is in every part of the writings of St. Paul,
that we walk not in the flesh, but give ourselves
over to the Spirit to walk in the Spirit. The mo-
ment that we recognize a pressure of lust or temp-
tation to sellishness, or temper, or fretting, we
must realize that our life is to be lived unto God,
and that our hearts are to be set upon things
above. This is what St. Paul means when he says
that if we are risen with Christ, we should set
our affections, our desires upon the things of
God which are above with Christ at the right
hand of God the Father (Col. iii. 1, 2). You
died in order that you might live a new life.
Live that life! How? By determinedly giving
yourselves over every moment to the indwelling
power of God, and no longer yielding to the lust
within you.
Look again at the exx)erience of the people of
Israel. We read in Exodus xii. 38, that "a
great multitude — a great mixture — went up also
with them." On the night of their deliverance
from Egypt they went up a mixed x)eople when
they should have gone up a powerful people.
We read later in JN'umbers xi. 4, that '' the mixed
multitude that was among them fell a lusting :
and the children of Israel also wept again."
They allowed themselves to be led by a mixed
now TO MEET TEMPTATION. 115
nmltitu(l(' into tliis passion. They said, '' Who
shall give us tiesh to eat? AVe remember the
fish Avhich we did eat freely in Egypt; the cu-
cumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the
onions, and the garlic; l)ut now our soul is dried
away ; there is nothingat all, beside this manna, be-
fore our eyes. ' ' The children of God are too often
to-day led by the mixed multitude to think that
the things which God provides are not enough to
give satisfaction and comfort and pleasure. The
mixed multitude say, "You know you had
pleasure in the world when you were in bondage
to sin, you liked the things you had, those
onions and cucumbers and melons. ' ' The pressure
is upon you as it was upon the children of Israel,
because you have a divided heart, because your
soul is not given over entirely to God. When the
mind and heart and spirit shall all be given over
to God the Holy Ghost, then we shall no longer
have mixed ideas within, and the temptation of
the flesh, but we shall wholly yield to, and live
in, the Spirit of God. Whether our temptations
of the flesh take the form of gross passion, or of
self-assertion, self-conceit, and self-satisfaction,
they are to be met by this, "I am alive unto
God, I belong to the Holy Ghost, I must give
myself over to him, and walk in the Spirit."
St. Paul says, "If ye live in the Spirit, then
Avalk in the Spirit ; and as many as walk in the
Spirit, let them be led by the Spirit."
IIG THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
The third temptation comes from tJie world
which represents three things. St. John says
(I. ii. 16), "All that is in the world, the lust of
the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride
of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world."
Here men's lust of the flesh is described as the
world. The lust of the flesh in the world is very
different from the lust of the flesh in us. The
one is internal, the other external. A man who
has an impure thought and is alone with himself
in a dark room, still has the impure thought be-
fore him. The more he thinks of it, the worse
it becomes ; he cannot escape from it, except by
the ai^prehension of something holy in place of
something unholy. He can only escai^e by
thinking of Christ, of God, and his deliverance ;
he will find deliverance from the evil by the
introduction of the good.
The lust of the flesh in the world is very dif-
ferent ; it is something external, such as a vile
picture, or the odor of liquor — anything which
seeks to draw a man into the act of evil. A
man who sees an imx:)ure play in a theater is
tempted from without, rather than from within,
until his own passion is aroused and he commits
sin. There must, therefore, be a totally differ-
ent way of meeting this temx^tation from the
way of meeting that from within.
Now, what are we to do with the temptation
from without, that appeals to the eye and ear
HO W TO MEET TEMPT A TION. \ 1 7
and iiiind? li' sonielxxly tells me an indelicate
story or shows me an impure i)icture, and so
offers a temptation to the hist of the flesh, how
am I to meet it? The devil said to the Lord
Jesus, "If you will fall down and w^orship me, T
will give you all the kingdoms of the wTuid.''
That was a temptation through the eye. When
he said, ' ' Take that stone and make it bread ; "
that was a temptation through the lust of the
flesh from without. Then tempting Jesus
through the juide of life, he said: ''You can
fall down from this pinnacle because God hath
said that he will give his angels charge over
you ; you need not be afraid because .you are
God's son." So through the pride of life we
are tempted to say, "I can go into places dan-
gerous to my soul, though others could not." I
have known many a man to say, '' I can go into
society, others cannot; but I can go without
any harm." They fall as Jesus would have
fallen if he had not looked up to God and said,
"It is written, Thou slialt not tempt the Lord
thy Go?l."
Here are the three forms of temptation in the
world : the lust of the flesh that seeks to kindle
passion within me through presenting some-
thing pleasant to the body ; the lust of the eye
that seeks to kindle an evil desire by presenting
something attractive to the sight; the pride of
life that would make me lean upon self where I
118 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
ought to depend upon God, and not go into
temptation. When there is a pressure within, I
can only escape by presenting a holy thought
instead of an evil one. When there is a press-
ure from Avithout, we are bound to do exactly as
God commanded Israel to do with regard to
Moab, Amnion, and Edom, who clearly represent
to Israel what the lust of the flesh in the world,
the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life repre-
sent to us.
Moab and Amnion were the children born of
incest between Lot and his daughters, and were
akin in a carnal manner to Isaac and Jacob and
the children of Israel. Edom is the brother of
Jacob, but the carnal brother, who marries into
the world and gives himself over to carnality.
These three are linked together at least fifty
times in the Old Testament, and always with the
same idea. I^otice how God taught the chil-
dren of Israel to treat these three foes, and learn
how to deal with the lust of the flesh, the lust
of the eyes, and the pride of life. God says to
Israel, ' ' Ye are to pass through the coast of
your brethren, the children of Esau, which dwell
in Seir; and they shall be afraid of you: take
ye good heed unto yourselves therefore : meddle
not with them ; for I will not give you of their
land, no, not so much as a foot breadth; be-
cause I have given Mount Seir unto Esau for a
possession. . . . Distress not the Moabites,
now TO MEET TEMPTATION. 119
neither cont end witli tliem in iKittle: for I will
not give thee of their land for ii possession; be-
cause I have given Ar unto the children of Lot
for a possession. . . . And when thou
comest nigii over against the children of Ammon
distress them not, nor meddle with them : for I
will not give thee of the land of the children of
Ammon any possession ; for I have given it unto
the children of Lot for a possession" (Deuter-
onomy ii. 4, 5, 9, 19). This is a remarkable
charge w^hen w^e consider that passing through
the wilderness, the children of Israel could not
escape going through Moab, Ammon, and Edom.
You must go through temptations of the world ;
the man who tries to be a monk, and the woman
wdio wishes to be a nun are seeking to escape
wdiat never can be escaped, for pressure must be
apprehended from Moab, Ammon, and Edom.
What are w^e to do with regard to them?
"Meddle not with them." Do not fight with
them, because they are your brethren. Do not
look in scorn on everyone who does not agree
with you. Do not condemn Mr. because he
goes to the theater. You have no right to meddle
with them either for good or for evil ; but re-
member that it is your place to keep from the
evil that is among them, and to pass by as quickly
as you can ; you have no inheritance with them
any more than they have with you.
What do we see in the tw^enty-fifth cliai)ter of
120 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
Numbers? "Israel abode in Sliittim, and the
people began to commit whoredom with the
daughters of Moab/' The whole chapter is
given to the lust of the flesh presented through
Moab to God's people Israel. The temptation
was such that Israel fell, and they had to be
blasted and blighted, and thousands of them de-
stroyed before they could be delivered from the
cursed effect of the pressure of the lust of the
flesh through Moab. Moab represents the ac-
tion of the external lust of the flesh. Look at
Moab's banishment (Jeremiah xlviii. 1, 11, 28,
32) : " Against Moab, thus saith the Lord . . .
Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he
hath settled on his lees, and hath not been emp-
tied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone
into captivity; therefore his taste remained in
him, and his scent is not changed. ... 0
ye, that dwell in Moab, leave the cities, and
dwell in the rock, and be like the dove that
maketh her nest in the sides of the hole's
mouth. We have heard the pride of Moab (he
is exceeding proud), his loftiness, and his arro-
gance, and his pride, and the haughtiness of his
heart. I know his wrath, saith the Lord, but it
shall not be so; his lies shall not so effect it."
[Why?] . . . "Thy plants are gone over
the sea, they reach even to the Sea of Jazer:
the spoiler is fallen upon thy summer fruits and
upon thy vintage." The whole chapter is filled
HOW TO MEET TEMPTATION. 121
with the idea of their being drunkards and lust-
ful men, who walk according to the Hesh, and
God says that he will have to punish them
according to the nature of their sin. They will
not give themselves to anything except vessels
that are yielded to lust, therefore God says,
"I will empty you out of your vessels, you that
are empty, and you shall be heavily punished."
Ammon represents the lust of the eye. No-
tice how (Judges x. xi), when the children of Is-
rael came into possession of their own land given
them by God, Ammon came down to claim it,
and tried in every way to rob Israel of tlieir in-
heritance. See what is said "Concerning the
Ammonites " (Jer. xlix. 1, 4, 5) : " Thus saith the
Lord, . . . Wherefore gloriest thou in the val-
leys, thy flowing valley, O backsliding daugh-
ter? that trusted in her treasures, saying. Who
shall come nnto me ? Behold ! I will bring a fear
[a punishment] upon thee," saith the Lord God
of Hosts. This is their punishment; (Ezekiel
XXV. 3) God says, "Say unto the Ammonites,
hear the word of the Lord God ; thus saith the
Lord God ; because thou saidst, aha ! against my
sanctuary, when it was profaned; and against
the land of Israel when it was desolate; and
against the house of Judali, when they went into
captivity ; behold ! therefore, I will deliver thee
to the men of the east for a possession, and they
shall set tlieir palaces in thee, and make their
122 THE VICTOEIOUS LIFE.
dwellings in thee; tliey shall eat thy fruit,
and they shall drink thy milk." It is a good
land that they have cherished and nourished ;
Avliy must they hand it over to the enemy? Be-
cause their eyes lusted after Israel's possessions,
and God brings punishment upon them exactly
according to their sin.
The pride of life is seen in Edom (Jer. xlix. 7).
Concerning Edom, thus saith the Lord of Hosts :
^'Is wisdom no more in Teman? Is counsel
perished from the i)rudent? Is their wisdom van-
ished? Flee ye, turn back, dwell deep, O,
inhabitants of Dedan ; for I will bring the calam-
ity of Esau upon him, the time that I will visit
him." The whole of Obadiah's prophecy is
given over to a judgment of the people of Edom,
because they asserted their ^Dride against Israel,
and set themselves uj) against the living Grod.
The world will have their judgment from the liv-
ing God, but it is not for me to condemn my
neighbor, because he agrees not with me. I may
try to bring him into the covenant of the Gospel
by love, but I am never to condemn a man, be-
cause I see him go over to the lust of the flesh
and become a drunkard ; I am never to condemn
those who are in the x>ride of life ; I must pass
rapidly through them, and not sta}^ to flght.
The fourth form of temptation is the devil.
The devil will never cease to tempt, but he
tempts in a very diiferent way and in a different
HOJV TO MEET TEMPTATION. 123
sphere of our being from that of the world, or
oin, or the llesh. All temptations come from Sa-
tan, but he uses ditfereut media. Sin tempts as
a taskmaster, the flesh tempts with allurements
from within, and the world from without. The
devil comes ^vith his own special forms of temp-
tation : in the two extremes of man's being, in
his highest aspirations tor good, or in his lower
feelings of cowardly fear. The devil comes to us
either with pride or with lies, to puff us up, or
to terrify us. Notice how it is put before us in
Ephesians vi., and you will see how to meet it.
We are supposed to be in the heavenlies with
Christ ; the devil is below in the air, and tries to
draw us out of the heavenlies with two forms of
temptation. He says to one Christian, '' You
claim to be in the heavenlies ; you ! do you think
yourself fit to sit above all principalities and
powers in Christ Jesus ! How dare you claim to
be where the Son of God is in the in'esence of
the Father ! '' He terrifies you out of your sj)ir-
itual life, until you become dejected and miser-
able. We say that a Christian who gets into
clouds of darkness within has lost his faith. He
has been drawn from the heavenlies into the
cloud of the wicked spirits that lie under the
heavenlies. Christians, we were meant to be
above the clouds, and to sit in heavenly places.
The other forms of the devil's temptation is
when he says, "You are in the heavenlies with
124 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
Christ Jesus ; yon are one with the Son of God ;
you are a great man, a wonderful preacher, a
splendid worker ; you are one with Christ ; you
are in a position as lofty as the beloved Son of
God can occupy.'' The devil persuades the
man to think that he is a god. First he de-
jected him until he was a devil in hell, then he
exalted him until he was a god on the throne.
You begin with cowardly terror of the old flesh-
life and passions Avithin you, then you rise to
the world around yoti, then to the heavenlies
where you meet your temi^tation from dejection
to exaltation.
We are to meet these two temptations in ex-
actly the same way. Say what St. Paul said to
the Ephesians: "You that Avere dead in tres-
passes and sins — children of wrath, vile, miserable,
helpless worms, and deserving nothing but in-
dignation— hath God exalted to his own right
hand in heavenly places." You do not deserve
it but there you are, so that pride and fear are
both put away, when you recognize that you are
in the heavenlies, strong in the Lord and in the
power of his might. ' ' Put on the whole armor
of God, that ye may be able to quench the flery
darts of the wicked one." You are saved from
the attacks of the devil as long as you use the
shield of faith, the breastplate of righteousness,
the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the
Spirit as Christ used them against the devil in
HOW TO MEET TEMPTATION. 125
the wilderness. The devil is the only enemy we
are told to light. We are never told to light the
flesh ; we are to give it the sentence of death.
We are never told to fight the world ; we are to
give it the go-by. But we are told to fight the
devil, because we are in the heavenlies, and he
is trying to drag us down.
Look at the children of Israel. They were
told never to fight until they came into Canaan.
Amalek represents the hostile world that attacks
you on your way to glory. You need not fight
them, but need only grasp the rod of God's i^ower
and stand with both hands held up to Heaven,
and Amalek is beaten. But in Canaan you have to
fight with Anakim, giants, and cities walled up
to heaven. The enemy fights, but down go the
walls when the children of Israel shout the
praises of God ; away goes the enemy when they
use the sword of the Spirit ; down fall their foes,
as soon as they really trust the Lord; there
stands the sun ; he never goes down as long as
you have a battle to fight ; you gain the victory
when you use the sword and strength of the
Lord.
There is a beautiful thought in what the harlot
Rahab said to the spies: "I know that the
Lord hath given you the land, and that your
terror has fallen upon us, and that all the in
habitants of the land faint because of you."
That is the victory over our foes in the heaven-
126 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
lies ; they have come to faint with fear because
of us. The way is all ready for the victory, if
you can only get your enemy to be afraid-
Blessed be Grod, the devil hath become an arrant
coward since Christ's death, if he never was be-
fore, and we have to meet only a cowardly
enemy. Those si)lendid fighting epistles of
St. James and St. Peter, therefore, say, " Resist
the devil and he Avill flee from you."
Lastly, consider deatJi. St. Paul calls this the
last enemy that is to be destroyed. It is only
the fear of death that the A^Dostle speaks of in
Hebrews ii. 15 : " Christ has delivered them who,
through fear of death, were all their lifetime sub-
ject to bondage." Again (II. Timothy i. 10) he
says : ^ ' Christ hath abolished death, and hath
brought life and immortality to light through
the Gospel." Thus, when we think of death, we
should say, ' ' Thanks be to God, which giveth
us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."
I have not been able to find anything in the his-
tory of Israel with regard to the way we should
deal with death, because Israel's history only
carries us to the point of dying, and never takes
us beyond the present life. Agag is the only
one who, to my knowledge, pictures our true re-
lation to death. He said, " Truly the bitterness
of death is past." We are not now to look for
death but for the coming of the Lord. There-
fore, knowing that I am conqueror with Christ
7/0 1 r rO MEET TEMPTATION. \21
whatever befalls, I need only look into the i'ace
of Christ and think of those blessed words of
Jesus, ' ' I am the resurrection and the life ; he
that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet
shall he live : and whosoever livetli and believ-
eth in me sliall never die." I liave, therefore,
no need to fear death.
Beloved, we have mighty enemies, but they
have been taken so far away from us that we are
^et free from their hand ; and now it is intended
— and surely yoti Avish to fulfill God's divine pur-
pose— that you should serve him without fear, in
holiness and righteousness before him all the
days of your life, and in death, even forever
and ever. Thanks be unto God for his unspeak-
able gift.
THE SERVANT OF GOD.
" Moses verily was faithful in all his house* as a servant, for a
testimony of those things which were to be spoken after." — Heb.
Hi. 5.
Moses, the great law-giver of Israel, was a serv-
ant in a master's house, and in considering the
subject of service I am not ashamed to call it
slavery. It must be slavery of a particular
kind, however. The word used concerning
Moses is not the word for slave, as in many
cases of others, and once of Moses in the New
Testament where he is called a "steward"
of the manifold grace of God. Remember, how-
ever, that when the Bible was written, the stew-
ard in the house of an Eastern prince was as
much a slave as the lowest menial in the house-
hold. He was a privileged slave, an interme-
diary between the other slaves and his master,
but he was an absolute slave, liable for any
offence to be castigated or destroyed. Eleazer
was the steward of Abraham, and was perpetu-
* " His house " means God's house, as it says in the sixth verse, " Christ as a
Sou over his own house, whose house are we."
THE SERVANT OF GOD. 129
ally thinking oL' liis master. In the twenty-
fourth chapter of Genesis, he used no less tlian
twenty-three times tlie expression, "My mas-
ter." It is one of tlie most beautiful passages
to display the true stewardship of tlie grace of
God, and the privileges of the servant who is
called to represent liis master in the great mat-
ters of life, more especially for those who are
called to act as stewards in seeking a bride for
the master's son. If we are called to be any-
thing as servants or slaves, it is that me may,
like Eleazer, go forth into the world under the
direction of our God, to seek a bride for our
master, God's Son.
In order to ax)preliend the reason why we are
servants, if we are really servants, we must first
recognize our position as creatures, creatures
called into existence by the fiat of God, and
therefore, like every other creation, absolutely
subject to his sovereign will. The difference
between us and a lAece of clay in a field is that
that clay obeys the Lord's will unconsciously,
because it must; we are to obey consciously,
because we may. Because we are endowed with
free-will and the glorious dignity of reason, it
behooves us to l)e far more submissive to our
Lord God than the chiy. We should obey as
absolutely, but with infinitely greater intelligence
and joy, because we are called into existence
for our Lord's own pleasure. What the elders
130 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
cry before the tlirone (Rev. iv. 11), "For thy
pleasure they Avere and are created,'' applies
to us exactly as much as to the angels in
glory.
If we are called into existence to fulfill God's
holy will (Eph. i. 5), then that f ulhllnient should
be absolute, and uninterrupted through all eter-
nity. But although Ave recognize this duty Ave
find that Ave are incompetent perfectly to fulfill
that Avill, owing to the infirmity and corrui^tion
of our nature, and we, therefore, say that the thing
cannot be, therefore it need not be, therefore it
shall not be. So we acquiesce in the difficulties
of our position, and boAv before the temptations
that assail us, and call them the ' ' infirmities of
the flesh." Men and Avomen calmly continue in
their faults, AAdiich they knoAv to be sins, but
AA^hich they try to palliate by excuses or to expi-
ate by pledges, and they scruiDle not to say,
"Man must sin, then let him sin; man must
fall, then let him fall ; God aa^II be gracious ;
God AAdll forgive, or Avliat is the good of the Gos-
pel? " We are practically saying, '• GodalloAA^ed
me to be born Avith an infirmity that necessi-
tates a fall ; then let him pardon me ; let him
lower his standard to meet niy necessities ; he
dare not demand perfection because he knoAA^y
that I cannot attain it." AAA^ay NA'ith such blas-
phemies, my brethren, I beseech you. We are
called to preach another Gospel.
THE SERVAST OF COD. 131
The Salvation Army in llicir cntecliisni say that
perfection of life only means living np to the
possibilities of an inlirm natnre, since God asks
no more of his creatnre than that creatnre can
perform ; to do right in everything means simply
to do what God wonld like me to do so far as my
conscience tells me and my mind can understand.
That is perfection ! That is making God nothing
more than a superior creature like yourself.
That sets no absolute standard toward which we
are to advance, but every man's relative view
becomes the true standard of perfection. God's
perfection then varies according to the standard
of each man's apprehension, and men take God
to task if he demands more than they think that
they can render. Away with such doctrines, and
let us come to one standard, the absolute and
perfect standard of God.
Well do I remember the beautiful effect pro-
duced upon my soul when a great philosophic
leader of the Brahmo-Somaj spoke in Exeter
Hall for the benefit of the Bible Society. He
began by saying that he had studied thirty-three
creeds to their depths, having given his life to
the study of creeds to find which was the perfect
one. He said that he never came to any satisfac-
tion of soul or rest of mind or conscience until
he opened the Christian Bible, and at the outset
read, 'In the beginning, God " He said,
*' There I stopped. That was enough for me,
132 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
for in all the creeds of the East I had never yet
met with one that portrayed a personal creator
who, out of his own inherent power, called all
things into existence. That was sufficient for
me ; I felt : ' Here is the divine revelation.' "
So I would say, that to every truly established
Christian there ought to be a fixed standard of
faith and duty, a great revelation from God of
his privilege and obligation in every respect from
the beginning to the end of eternity. We must
put God to the front, and then remember that
the standard of holiness which we are to attain
must never be lowered to meet the necessity of
man's circumstances, but must remain the same,
the absolutely true and perfect standard of God
himself. If God were ever to lower his stand-
ard to meet man's requirements, there could never
be satisfaction through eternity for us creatures,
because we hope to rise higher and higher, to
be nearer and nearer to God. If God lowered
his standard of holiness to meet our ideas down
here in our imperfection, how could we con-
tinue to reverence him as the Absolute and All-
perfect One? Therefore, a creature is called into
existence to enjoy fellowship and union with
God; to know God, until he becomes in some
sense the representative of God. Should there not
always be present to that creature's mind this
one thought, " I am made for God, I am to rep-
resent God to the things below me, I am to walk
THE SERVAXT OF GOD. 133
in oneness ^vitll God ; the aiu])ition of my soul is
so to be the very reflector of God— that I become
one with liini, and yet remain a creature to the
end of eternity?'' If that be the standard it is
evident that something must be done to meet
man's present circumstances and to bring them
into accord with what God requires which is
nothing less than perfection. Our Holiness is
the extent to which we carry out that perfection.
Hereafter, we know that ^ye shall be perfectly
holy ; but, must men content themselves with
that hope while they are constantly falling here
on earth? No. It is true tliat we shall always
come short of the glory of God, but there need
be no lowering of the standard of true holiness
which consists in unceasing and perfect service,
the carrying out of the will of God.
How has God met the need of man who is
manifestly an infirm creature tempted on every
hand to do evil? - After Adam's fall God gave
him a promise, and for centuries men lived un-
der the dispensation of that promise which, how-
ever, failed to accomplish the salvation of all
mankind. Tlien came the redemption from
Egypt, and the giving of the law^ and men lived
under the redemption from bondage and in the
possession of apparent fellowship with God ; but
the requirements of the law^ were too high, and
failed to save tliem. God next sent his Son, our
Lord Jesus Christ, and "what the law could
134 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
not do, in that it was weak through the flesh,
God sending his own Son in the likeness of sin-
ful flesh, and for sin condemned sin in the flesh :
that the righteousness of the law might be ful-
filled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but
after the Spirit. ' ' Thus we have a declaration on
the i)art of God, that in Christ Jesus there is x)ro-
vision made whereby weak and sinful man may
rise far above the standard of the possibilities of
the Old Testament, for Christ has given to man
a power to fulfill the righteousness of the law, if
he walks not after the flesh, but after the
Spirit. We are, therefore, endowed above all
others that ever lived before us, for we live in
the dispensation of the Holy Ghost, which is an
aAvful prerogative. Men talk lightly about the
scheme of redemption, the blessings of salvation,
and the glory of the believer's inheritance, and
forget that it is not the glory of the inheritance
to which the saints are to look forward, but as
St. Paul says, ^' The glory of Christ's inheritance
in the saints." It was said to Levi, '' The Lord
is your inheritance," but they were also the
Lord's inheritance. It is said in the Church to-
day, " The Lord is our inheritance," but we are
also the Lord's inheritance. We take of the full-
ness of God, but we, the church, are also "the
fullness of him that filleth all in all" (Eph. i. 23).
It is only when men are forced to the conviction
that God meant better things for them than they
THE SEE V. \XT (IE nOD. 135
have known, that they seem driven to the condu-
sion that it is not with God that tlie responsibil-
ity for man's failure rests, but in num's want of
faith. If faith could only rise to its fullness of
fruition, I believe that we sliould be perfected, as
we shall be perfected when faith is lost in sight,
and "we shall be like him, because we see him
as he is."
Let us look at Moses as an example of one who
was enabled to glorify God as a servant. It is in
the idea of a slave, but different from Moses' slav-
ery, that I wish to exhibit our highest privilege.
The position of slave is the true position for
us to occupy under the Gospel, and is a posi-
tion of honor instead of one of degradation.
It is a position of honor because Jesus Christ
was pleased to take upon himself the form of a
slave. We cannot become true children of God
in all the glories of adoption and inheritance,
until we become exactly like Christ. We must,
therefore, go through the agony of death by a
condition of slavery as the Master did. Conse-
quently, St. Paul declares repeatedly that his
highest dignity is to be the slave of Jesus Christ.
He says to Timothy (II., ii.), ''Thou, therefore,
my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ
Jesus" — and proceeds to trace out the charac-
teristics of a true son of God. He says that
when a man becomes a son, he becomes a soldier,
an athlete, a husbandman, a part of the house-
136 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
hold, a vessel, and lie closes by calling Timothy
the servant of the Lord as being the highest dig-
nity for the child of God. Thus, if we fulfill our
privileges as children of God, apparentl}' the
noblest of all our positions upon earth is in being
dovXoi, slaves. We lose the idea of slavery
when we think of perfect acquiescence in the
will of God, and the joy of the presence of
Christ.
If this be the position of the true child of
God, Christians are different from those who lived
in the Old Testament dispensation in having as a
starting-point sonship to God. We have a mo-
tive power which they never had. Moses fell, but
we may not therefore expect to fall, for we have a
motive power that was lacking to even the noblest
of God's Old Testament saints; we have the in-
dwelling power of the Holy Ghost, which gives
us a new life, the very life of the Son of God.
While the Old Testament believers were only
expected to '^ 11662:) the commandments of God,"
but the New Testament saints are '' litjyt by the
power of God through faith unto salvation,
ready to be revealed in the last day. ' '
Moses may serve us as a pattern of a true serv-
ant of God even though he was a slave in an-
other's house, while we are sons in a Father's
house. We find in him a magnificent testimony
to what you and I might be if we were only faith-
fully yielded to our Lord as his children for
THE SERVANT OF GOD. 137
enjoyment, and as servants for service according
to his demand. It is very beautiful to study
the picture of him, traced in the book of He-
brews, among what are called the ''Heroes of
Faith." We read lirst, ''By faith, Moses, w^hen
he was born, was hid three months of his par-
ents, because they saw he was a proper child ; *
and they were not afraid of the king's command-
ment.'' It is a great blessing to be born of
faithful parents. Moses' parents seem to have
had some faith in God, since they were not
afraid of the king's commandment. They seem
also to have recognized in the child some divine
call, and therefore determined to keep him
alive. But the risk became too great, and at
last they placed the child in the ark, which rep-
resents in a sense the Lord Jesus Christ as the
place of safety in the hour of death and destruc-
tion. From this ark the child was ''drawn out;"
and made the son of Pharaoh's daughter. From
that moment Moses becomes the drawn-out one.
He is taken from the place of destruction, and is
committed to the care of his mother wlio rears
him to have some knovrledge of God. At length
he is taken into the court of Pharaoh, and be-
comes heir to the throne, with opportunities
peculiarly great, and privileges that the w-orld
* Stephen uses the same expression (rtCrreZ'os) concerning Moses in his speech
before the High Priest when he says (Acts vii. 20), " In which time Moses was
born, and was exceeding fair" (fair to Uod).
138 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
would consider most remarkable and enviable.
He is brought up in the midst of the world with
all its allurements, all its difficulties, all its
temptations, all its demands, and all its terrible
l^ressures. When he has come to full age, and
has the power of choosing, he is suddenly called
upon to exercise his free will. There comes a
time in every man's career when he must exer-
cise his free will, or he cannot hope to become a
faithful servant of God.
The moment that Moses came to years of dis-
cretion we read that he "refused to be called
the son of Pharaoh's daughter." Take that as
the starting-point of the life of service. If your
circumstances are making it impossible for you
to carry out what would otherwise be the wall of
God, then drop your circumstances as Moses
did; it rests with you to do it. Refuse any
longer to be called the son of Pharaoh's daugh-
ter. You have been in the courts of men, you
have stood high in the favor of the i)eople of
this world, and your heirshii) may look exceed-
ingly brilliant. You must choose whether you
will take the heavenly inheritance or the earthly.
There comes a X3oint in every man's history
when, if he wishes to be a sanctified vessel, meat
for the Master's use, he must decide to drop
everything that prevents a holy career, and a
life of perfect service among the people of the
Lord. This is the starting-point of the life of
THE SKR V. 1 .vr OF G OD. 1 39
true service, and it is vain to talk al)()iit Chris-
tian i)rivileges and Christian prospects as the
hiwfnl inheritance of every believer wliile yon
refnse to obey God's call to come ont from
Pharaoh's conrt. Americans say tliat they own
no kini;-. I wish that none of them did. King
Money, King Fashion, King Society, King Cir-
cnmstances rnle millions of God's people and
keep them back from their holy calling, as the
conrt of riiaraoh might have kept Moses from
obeying the call of God. Brethren, if you have
not already done so you must come to a solemn
decision and say, ''I, by the grace of God, re-
fuse from this moment to be called the son of
Pharaoh's daughter; " you must turn your back
on the fashions, the customs, the honors of the
world, and determinedly take your stand against
that which keeps you from fully obeying the
call of God.
We see the next stage pictured in that Moses
chose rather " to suffer affliction with the people
of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a
season." If you are Pharaoh's daughter's son
by adoption, if the world h;is taken you into
its bosom and has said, '' Come, live with me and
enjoy the pleasures that I have to offer," no one
denies that it is very pleasant for a season.
Would the devil be what he is if he did not gild
his bullets, and if he did not find something to
boast of to offset the glorious attractions of
140 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
heaven? Of course, Pharaoh's court with all its
grandeur, its learning, its talent, its science, its
magnificent prosi)ects and possibilities and
X)ower attracts men, and they are drawn into its
snare. The half and half man says, " See wdiat
I can do if I stay where I am. When I become
king over Israel, see what I can do for God's
people. " " Thou fool ! this night thy soul shall
be required of thee, and then wiiose shall these
things be?" Who told you that the opportu-
nity would be sufficient for the purpose, or that
you would have strength to use it? The call of
God is upon you, and you must first of all exer-
cise your free will, and then you must have
your heart stirred ; you must be attracted by
God's people in their present humiliation and
distress. This weighs against the attractions of
the world, because you see what is coming by
trusting the Lord. It is not enough to say, '' I
am 'drawn out,' and I thank God for the ark
that saved me from destruction in the river of
death. I want no more, I am God's man."
You must choose Avhether you will share the
afflictions of God's people rather than enjoy the
pleasures of sin for a season. The late Bishop
Roland Hill, a witty Irishman, once said to me :
' ' Brother Pej^loe, I long to preach to all London
one sermon before I die." "What do you
mean?" I asked. "I have only one sermon,"
he replied, ''that I want to preach to all
THE SERVANT OE GOD. 141
London, to Belgravin, nnd that part where fashion
reigns." '^What will be your text?" '^The
Pleasures of Sin for a Season," he answered;
" I would cari'y them through a London season,
and show them the pleasures of sin for a London
season." I once heard of a man who preached
to a tremendous audience of the most fashion-
able people in London, taking his text from the
46tli Psalm: ^'Be still and know that I am
God." He said: '''Be still!' What a satire
upon the world of fashion ! — Be still ! God says
it to you people of fashionable society, and what
do you do to be still? — rise with a jaded brow,
a sickly tongue, and a weary stomach at twelve
o'clock in the day, and go out to the Row,^ and
from the Row to luncheon, from luncheon for a
drive, from the drive to tea, from tea to dinner,
from dinner to the theater, from the theater to
the ball, and from the ball you come home at
three o'clock in the morning sick, weary, broken-
hearted and distressed; and God says to the
weary world of fashion, ' Be still, and know that
I am God.' My God, what a satire upon re-
ligion I "
The pleasure of sin may seem very great to
you when you are young, but what will be the
end? Who is the most successful in this world?
Is it not the man who, at the outset of his
* Rotten Row, the fashiouable drive in Hyde Park.
142 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
career, calculates what will be the most propitious
method of speculatio'i or action? Men like Pears,
who spent £137,000 (s68o,000) in advertisements
of soap in one year, are generally the men who
succeed the best, because they give up the pres-
ent for the sake of the future. Why is it that
men and women wlio desire to succeed in this
world are considered wise if they make a sacri-
fice now for the sake of the future, while the man
of God alone is expected to make no sacrifice
and no preparation in spiritual speculation,
based upon good calculations of course, for the
future?
Moses refused first; there is the exercise of
will. He chose ; there is the exercise of affec-
tion ; he felt that it would be better to cast his
lot with the people of God. Now he goes one
step further and does what you and I must
do: '' Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater
riches than the treasures in Egypt, for he had
resjoect unto the recomx^ense of the reward." I
am not ashamed to calculate, and to be ambi-
tious in the spiritual domain. Moses, the servant
of God, calculated well, and he concluded that it
would be better to endure the reproach of Christ
than to have all the treasures of Egypt. Put
the two side by side, the things of the world in
one scale-i^an, and the things of God in the other,
and see which kicks the beam. Make your cal-
culation and say deliberately, ' ' I esteem the
THE SEPxVAXr OF COD. 143
reproach of Clirist ^'reater riches tlian the treas-
ures of tlie world/' We never th()ii.<;ht, perhaps,
that Moses liad anything to do with Clirist. We
read that Abraham saw Christ's day and was
glad, and now we iind tliat Moses, too, saw
Christ's day. I humbly think that Moses saw
Christ when he said (Deut. xviii. 15), '' The Lord
thy God will raise uj) unto thee a prophet from
the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me ;
unto him ye shall hearken." He must also have
seen Christ in the couit of Pharaoh somewhere,
for he actually could calculate everything, and
say, "This is better for me." You say it is
selfish, but that matters not ; it is better for you
and for the world, if you only will come to this
conclusion, that tlie reproach of Christ is greater
riches than all the treasures of Egypt. When a
man has settled those three things, his will, his
affection, and his reason, all bring him to the
conclusion that he would better give up any-
thing that hinders his soul, and join himself to
the i:)eople of the Lord, and take the reproach of
Christ. Then he is well started toward the glory
of the future inheritance.
IS'ow follow Moses, the servant of God, in the
second stage of his life. When he has left the
court of Pharaoli to join himself to the children
of Israel, God mysteriously interferes and does not
let him become a leader in his own strength.
Many men think ' • I will go back and be a leader, ' '
144 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
and Moses tried to avenge the children of Israel
by his own power, and smote the Egyptian. God
says to him, ' ' You retire ; none of that killing ; "
and sends him away for forty years. " By faith
he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the
king, for he endured, as seeing him wlio is invis-
ible." It took forty years for Moses to have his
eyes opened to see Him who is invisible. It may
take a long time for you to be brought to see
God as he may be seen by the pure in heart, the
faithful in spirit, the holy in purpose, and the
consecrated in life. Forty years God had to
deal with Moses near Horeb, the mountain of
God's holiness. Moses had to live there as a
mere shepherd in the wilderness, that he might
be taught in God's school. Men do not excel to-
day, because, after their conversion, they do not
go apart, like Moses and Paul, into Horeb or
Arabia for a season. Young Christians must go
into Arabia. Book learning will never make
pi'eachers. You must get away alone Avith God
and his Holy Word, and let God sx)eak to you
until your eyes are opened. Then you will see
the burning bush, the majesty of God, and it
will make you take oif your shoes, for you will
see that the ground whereon you stand is holj^.
Then only will God call you to be a delivered
man and a deliverer.
After forty years of schooling by God, Moses
still shrinks back from being a mere servant.
THE SER V. 1 XT OF G OD. 1 45
111 seven ways he sought to eviule the holy
call of God. It is one thing to go out and be
alone witli God, it is quite another thing to
be willing to be the servant of others. AVhen
Moses, by faith has learned to endure, seeing
Ilini who is invisible, only then does God call
him to go down into Egypt, back into the world,
the place of temptation and peril. He is fitted
now. When God has truly consecrated him
and has given him j^ower both with the moutli
and in spirit to utter the will and the purposes
of God, God sends him into Egypt to announce
to the children of Israel God's holy x>lau of
salvation.
- !N'otice the plan of salvation which Moses was
to announce. It is the only plan of salvation
that is scorned to-day, it is the passover, the
blood of the Lamb that must be put upon the
doorpost, the redemption from God's wrath by
a sacrifice, and then the feeding upon the Lamb
which God has provided in order that the soul
may be fitted for the journey that lies before
it. This is the doctrine which we must i)reach
as much as Moses had to i^reach it, that the
people of Israel might be redeemed through
God's hand, but through Moses' mouth — the
doctrine of the paschal lamb. Whenever a man
begins God's service among the degraded slaves
who are held in bondage by Egypt, he must
preach salvation obtained through God's right
146 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
hand of power b}^ blood, and by the feeding
iipon the lamb. Moses does this through faith.
" Through faith, he kept the passover and tlie
sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the
first-born should touch them." Salvation is
wont to lead to service and to service by w^hich
we seek to save.
There is one step further. By faith Moses led
them ''through the Red Sea as by dry land;
which the Egyptians essaying to do, w^ere
drowned." This is the great way in Avhich the
man becomes the leader. First, he only preaches
for himself and his neighbors, that they must use
the lamb ; but wdien he has taught them the doc-
trine of deliverance and salvation, then, in pass-
ing through the Red Sea, which is the place of
death, and coming out on the other side with the
whole church of God, the man must be their
leader. We who i)rofess to serve God must be-
come leaders to draw the people forward into
true spiritual baptism out of the land of bond-
age up to the Mount of God, and into the land
of Canaan. And Moses should have led the
people all the w^ay into Canaan.
See why Moses failed to be what Ave are intended
to be — leaders into the good land. One sin in
that wilderness life prevented Moses from tak-
ing the people into the blessed land of possession
and powder — an awful sin, but only one. The
meekest man that ever lived lost his temper once,
THE SER VA XT OF COD. 1 47
because they provoked him so that he spake un-
advisedly with liis lii)s, and then lie dared To
strike the rock, which (lod had already told him
once to strik(% and only once. The law strikes
Christ, who is our Rock, once, and the Avaters of
life flow out of the rock ; strike it again on ac-
count of temper, and you crucify the Son of God
afresh and put him to open shame. Moses by
striking the rock a second time falsifies the
types, and God therefore i)unislies him. Smit-
ing twice brings sin npon the actor ; and for that
act Moses was never admitted into Canaan. It is
very tonching to hear Moses pleading Avith God
to be allowed to enter Canaan, until at last the
Lord says, ' ' It must suffice thee to see it from
afar; speak no more." As the representative of
the law^ I suppose that God w^as obliged to deal
solemnly, judiciously, even supernaturally wdtli
him, wdiere he would not deal so with any other
of his children or his servants.
If you have taken Moses as the pattern of the
w^ay in which we should l)egin to be the servants
of God, then calculate and decide whether or not
Moses was a wise si^eculator in his choice ; decide
w^hether you w^ould be wise in making the same
choice. First you must become voluntary slaves ;
you must refuse to be called the son of Pha-
raoh's daughter and must go out to the children
of Israel ; you must pass perhaps a third of your
life with God, and then you mav be called to lead
148 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
the people into the goodly land. Was Moses a
wise s2)ecnlator? He was obliged to give np home,
family ties, i^leasures, prospects, privileges, all
connected with the earth and with human life.
If ever a man on earth longed for a home in
the earthly sense, I sujppose that Moses did. For
eighty years he w^as nothing but a wanderer —
forty years caring for Jethro's sheep, and forty
years in the wilderness Avith the i)eople he was
allowed to lead out of Egypt. Eighty out of the
one hundred and twenty years of his life that man
never had an earthly home. ]^ow the ninetieth
Psalm is called the Psalm of Moses, ' ' the prayer
of Moses, the man of God." What does he say?
" Lord, thou hast been our dwelling-place in all
generations." You have a home, but it may be
burned to-night. You have a tabernacle which
you think is very beautiful, but the wind or the
Hood may crush it down. But take Moses'
home. "Lord, thou hast been our dw^elling-
place in all generations." The man is at home
in the Lord ; he is like that man of wdiom we
read " His soul shall lodge in goodness " (Psalm
XXV. 13). Moses lodged in goodness — cheap
lodging, well furnished, always ready, plenty
of accommodations for all friends who may
come in. The Lord will send you such servi-
tors as you never dreamed of having to w^ait
on you; they shall be angels. I suppose that
Moses never lacked servants ; his soul lodged
THE SERVANT OF HOD. 149
ill <;()()(lness, and tlic l^oid wns liis dwclling-
l)lace, though he was one of the hunili)lest of
men. You like the prospect, and you say, *' I
shoukl like to be the blessed means of leading
men to know the Lord, and ])eing a deliverer for
those who are in bondage, but I should have to
give np so much,'- or you say, ''I am. like
Moses, an infirm man, I shall loose my temper, I
shall never get into the land." Brethren, God
is love, God is love. God kept Moses out of
Canaan. Did he? Yes, in the flesh; but did
he always keep Moses out of Canaan?
Fifteen hundred years after Moses lost the
inheritance of the earthly Canaan, into which
he had so longed to enter, four men from a vil-
lage in Galilee are seen w^alking up a mountain-
side one evening at sunset. When they reached
the top of the mountain at midnight, suddenly a
light from Heaven shines upon the face of one of
their number, and he is illumined beyond any-
thing man had ever seen or heard of ; his gar-
ments become whiter than any fuller on earth ever
wdiitened them, and the glory of the Lord is seen
around the four. The peasants of Galilee fall to
the ground in amazement at the vision, andwdien
they open their eyes, by the side of him who is
so beautifully illumined they see two forms, one
of wdiom is Moses, and the other Elias. Moses
has at last entered into Canaan ; he is in the very
land of God's promise, the land of possession and
150 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
privilege, and he may be said to occui)}^ a ^josi-
tion of dignity and honor above all men that ever
lived, for he is cheering the Son of God in the
face of his coming death as the Saviour of the
world. 0 gracjous, O Avonderful father, 0 ten-
der friend to the fallen sinner, and yet a saint.
When Moses pleaded," God said, " No, it may
not be, " but 1500 years afterward he sends Moses
into Canaan to comfort Immanuel, Avho Avould
die for us sinners. Did Moses make a good cal-
culation? Consider whether it is worth your
wdiile to be out and out for Christ, or whether
you are going to be one of those miserable "half-
and-halfers," trying to hold on to your treas-
ures and pleasures of Egyj^t.
A lady — and sometimes a man, too — says, " I
cannot give them up," flashing her diamonds in
the light. Men, what about your cigars and
your drinks? What about your home comforts
and your pleasures? I do not say that diamonds
are wicked ; God made them ; but those beauti-
ful things in the palace of Egypt, though there
may be nothing wicked in them, are an allure-
ment of the flesh. You must choose. Will
you esteem most the reproach of Christ and cal-
culate for the future 1500 years hence?
One step further. There is eternity, the ever-
lasting home above, and the sea of glory before
the throne of God. Of all that saints on earth
have ever envied, I suppose that they have
THE SFAl V. 1 NT OF GOD. 151
envied most those who fall with their harps be-
fore God, and sing in the glory of his i)resence,
''Holy, holy, holy." But, brethren, tlu re is
one man and only one who ever composed a song
upon earth Avhich Ave are told is to be sung in
heaven by the redeemed and the gloritied. We
read in ReveUition xv. 2: "I saw as it Avere a
sea of ghiss, mingled Avith lire : and them that
had gotten the victory over the beast, and over
his image, and over his mark, and over the
number of his name, stand on the sea of glass,
having the harps of God. And they sing the
song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song
of the Lamb." Was he a good calculator? He
makes one hymn, and it is sung before God in
the tields of glory by all Avho have gained the
victory here beloAv as martyrs.
Christian friends, are you and I draAvn out,
draAvn out for God's purposes to be fulfilled?
Choose ye AAdiom ye will serve. God help you
to say like Joshua, the typical fulfiller of the
true Jesus' purposes, and the man that had to
take Moses' jDlace, because of Moses' one sin;
say from the depths of your heart : ' ' With l)ody,
soul, and spirit all, ' As for me and my house,
we will serve the Lord.' "
THE FAITHFUL LORD.
" Behold, I set before you tliis day a blessing and a curse ; a bless-
ing, if ye obey the conimandnients of the Lord your God, which I
command you this day : and a curse, if ye will not obey the com-
mandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside out of the way
which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye
have not known." — Deut. xi. 26-28.
Some five hundred years after these words
were spoken by Moses, the Lord God gave utter-
ance through his prophet to a wondrous Psalm
in which we read these words, ''To-day, if ye
will hear his voice, harden not your hearts "
(Psalms xcv. 7, 8). That Psalm teaches us that
God could not give his people rest because they
had not sufiicient faith in him. In the third and
fourth chapters of Hebrews which treat of the rest
of God, we find the same cry going up, ^' To-day ,
if ye will hear his voice." In that fourth
chapter of Hebrews, we are told that Jesus
(Joshua) did not give the people full rest — a very
remarkable sentence. It would appear at first
sight as if that were a contradiction to the facts
which are so frequently detailed in the earlier
THE FAITHFUL LORD. 153
part of Israel's history, iiaiuely, that God did
give the people rest through Joshua. I hope to
show, however, that these doubts as to God's
faithfulness or seeming contradictions have no
foundation in fact. I desire now to point out
clearly what ought to lie before you, and Avhat
ought not to lie before you, in your endeavor to
enter God's land of possession and peace. If you
will follow God's guidance, take the warnings
given in the Old Testament Scriptures.
Three great figures that stand out prominently
in the history of Israel may be combined to sym-
bolize the person of Jesus Christ— Moses, Aaron,
and Joshua ; ]\Ioses, as the great deliverer and
lawgiver, resembling Jesus in his preliminary
work for us; Aaron as intermediary between
God and man, representing in his high-priestly
character the functions of Christ for the true be-
liever in reference to God ; and Joshua, as ex-
hibiting the great characteristics of our Lord
as our leader, our conqueror, in whom we pre-
vail at every point, and through whom we were
intended to have all the blessings that God de-
sires his people to enjoy upon earth. Moses is
simply a type of Christ in his relation to one
part of man's soul, Aaron in relation to another
part, and Joshua in a third part, and each type
needs to be expanded and exalted at every point.
It is Avhen Moses is dead, that Joshua comes
to the front as the leader of Israel into tlie land
154 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
of possession and of privilege. But before
Moses is taken away, lie speaks the remarkable
words found in this eleventh chapter of Deuter-
onomy. Seven times over in this chapter Moses,
the type of Jesus our deliverer, our lawgiver, our
instructor from God, says to the children of
Israel, ' ' You are going into the land to possess
it." It is no use going into the land, brethren,
unless you are prepared to j^ossess it afterwards.
It is one thing for God to give you the land, it
is another thing for you to go in and possess it.
It is one thing for Moses to stand upon Mount
Pisgah and look at the land, it is another thing
for the people to go in and enjoy it. He
yearned to enjoy it but he could not, simply
because of that one sin. His experience is typ-
ical of the fact that neither deliverer nor law-
giver is sufficient for man's full salvation ; even
the high j^riest is not sufficient, for he, too, died
in the wilderness. To enter the land we must
have a conqueror, the Cax)tain of our salvation,
to take us in. We must obey his command-
ments which are the same as those of Moses. It
will not suffice to acknowledge that there is a
perfect law, and say that it is too holy for me. I
must follow my Captain, and enter through him.
The Captain brings us the same ten command-
ments, the same revelation of the holiness of
God, the same demands upon character and con-
duct as Moses brought when he came down
THE FAITHFUL LORD. 155
from Sinai with the tables of stone. We cannot
escape from God if we wish victory and peace.
We shall never go to heaven unless we are ready
to live with God here on earth. Israel failed
because they did not bow every faculty in con-
tinual submission to God's holy commandments.
They took simsmodically the revelation of God's
will and tried to live up to it for a few moments,
but they w^ent back to the carnal appetites of
the llesh, and did not serve God all the days of
their life.
When the Lord Jesus Christ sent the Holy
Ghost from heaven, he told the disciples that the
Holy Spirit would come to convince (or con-
vict) men of sin, of righteousness, and of judg-
ment. I humbly believe that the convicung
w^ork of the Holy Ghost is as needful a prelude
to the spiritual enjoyment of believers, as it is
for the world at large before its peace is made
with God through the blood of the Lamb. Be-
fore the Holy Spirit can guide Christians into all
truth, he must come to them individually, and
convict them in the sense that he tells them of
whatever is still wrong in their lives, which
keeps them from enjoying the full blessing of
God. We are to pass judgment upon the god
of this world — no longer the prince — as well as
upon ourselves. Then the Holy Ghost will
o'uide us into all truth, and make us able to
enter the green pastures of God's love, the rich
150 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
mountains of God's provision, and the grand
cities wliicli God has prepared for lis to inhabit
and enjoy. My brother/' To-day, if ye will hear
his voice, harden not your hearts." Pray God
that you may not be kept from entering into
the enjoyment of God's blessings because of un-
belief.
In the words which Moses speaks to the chil-
dren of Israel just before he was taken from
them, he speaks of ''the days of heaven upon
earth'' (Deuteronomy xi. 21), as representing
the enjoyment which Israel should know if they
would only go in and possess the land, and obey
the Lord. Pause now, as it were, at the gate of
that land, on the east of Jordan, while the ark,
having entered the stream of life — not death —
stands waiting until all Israel shall have passed
over and entered into the good land to take pos-
session. The Red Sea, as the water of salt, typi-
fies death ; the Jordan is a living stream rushing
down from above, and we are waiting our turn
to go through it, past the ark, into the good
land. Brethren, what are you expecting? Let
us notice briefly what God intended that land of
Canaan to be to his people.
The Lord told Joshua of three things which
the people should have Avhen they crossed Jor-
dan. First, he promised them the land, j^os ses-
sion, when he says (Joshua i. 2): "Moses, my
servant, is dead; now, therefore, arise, go over
THK FAITHFUL LORD. 157
this Jordan, thou mid all this people, unto the
hnid which I do give to them, even to the clnl-
dren of Israel. Every place that the sole of your
foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto
vou, as I said unto Moses. From the wilderness
and'this Lebanon, even unto the great river, the
river Euphrates, all the hmd of the Ilittites, and
unto the great sea toward the going down of the
sun, Shalt be your coast.''
In the second place he promised them mctory
(;verse5), "There shall not any man l)e able to
stand before thee all the days of thy life; as I
was with Moses, so I will bejdth thee; I will
not fail thee nor forsake thee."
The third blessing promised was rest (verse
15) "Until the Lord have given your brethren
rest as he hath given you, and they also have
possessed the land which the Lord your God
oiveth them : then ye shall return unto the laud
of your possession and enjoy it, which Moses, the
Lord's servant, gave you on this side of Jordan,
toward the sun rising."
These three blessings sum up the life of holi-
ness, the life of privilege, the life of power, the
life of peace, to which the Lord calls you. From
this day forth you are to know the perpetual
enjovment of a^ possession which opens out be-
fore^ your soul's eye broader and grander every
day. Our possession is the unsearchable riches
of Christ. Secondly, you are to know unceasing
158 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
victory, with never an enemy that shall conquer
you again. As St. Paul says in the eighth of
Romans, "In all these things we are more than
conquerors through him that loved us. '^ Thirdly,
the rest and calm of soul, the enjoyment of spirit is
never to be interrupted. You say, ' ' Imi)ossib]e ! ' '
Then, my brethren, it will be impossible. Israel
entered not in througli unbelief, and you will
fail through unbelief just in proportion as you
doubt your God.
Moses saw beforehand that the children of
Israel were to have the oi)portunity to enjoy
these privileges. He says, first (Deut. xi. 22-24),
' ' If ye shall diligently keep all these command-
ments, the Lord will drive out all these nations
from before you, and ye shall possess greater
nations and mightier than yourselves. Every
place whereon the soles of your feet shall tread
shall be yours ; from the wilderness and Leba-
non, from the river, the river Euphrates, even
unto the uttermost sea shall your coast be."
Secondly, he says (verse 25\ "There shall no
man be able to stand before you ; for the Lord
God shall lay the fear of you and the dread of
you upon all the land that ye shall tread upon
as he hath said unto you." And thirdly (xii. 9),
he says, "Ye are not as yet come to the rest
and to the inheritance which the Lord your God
giveth you." Here again we have the threefold
promise, the land, victory, and rest.
THE FATTIIFUL LORD. I59
The question for iis is: Did this promise ever
come to jiass, and how far can Ave enjoy it?
These same promises are given to Joshua (Josliua
i.) as the blessings which he and his people
should enjoy, so far as they trusted and ol)eyed
the Lord, and later on in the history (Joshua
xxi. 43-45), we find the remarkable statement:
''And the Lord gave unto Israel all the land
which he sware to give unto their fathers ; and
they possessed it, and dwelt therein. And the
Lord gave them rest round about, according to
all that he sware unto their fathers : and there
stood not a man of all their enemies before
them ; the Lord delivered all their enemies into
their hand. There failed not aught of any good
thing which the Lord had spoken unto the
house t)f Israel ; all came to pass." There again
is land, rest, and victory. Then when Joshua is
making his dying speech to the people, he says
(Joshua xxiii. 14): "Ye know . . . that
not one thing hath failed of all the good things
which the Lord your God spoke concerning
you."^
* Putting these statements from the twenty-first and twenty-third chapters
side by side with the facts recorded in the other parts of Joshua and Judges,
I should be tempted, at tirst, like the " higher critics " of the day, to see dis-
crepancies between one passage and another, and to wonder if it does not
prove that the book is a mere make-up from different writers, without any
consideration of literary truth and literary justice, and therefore to be de-
spised and thrown aside if we will. God says to Moses, '' Tell them they shall
have the land from the Euphrates to the Mediterranean ; they shall have vic-
tory over every enemy, and they shall have perfect rest with undisturbed
enjoyment of the comfort of life." Joshua at the close of his life says, " You
1(^0 THE YTCTOPJOUS LIFE.
Let US turn to the facts and see first of all, if
the children of Israel ever did take possession of
the land from the Mediterranean to the Eu-
phmtes. Tliev have never possessed a fifth part
of it to this day, thongli God promised Abraham
that they should have it (Genesis xv. 18), promised
Moses that they should have it (Deuteronomy
xi. 23), and records the same promise in Joshua
xxi. 4. Yet Joshua says that there has not one
thing failed of all that was i)romised— land, vic-
tory, and rest. What is the solution of the
mystery?
In the eleventh chapter of Joshua (lG-23) we
read: "So Joshua took all that land, the hills
and all the south country and all the land of
Goshen, and the valley, and the plain, and the
mountain of Israel, and the valley of the same ;
even from the mount Halak, that goeth up to
Seir, even unto Baal-gad in the valley of Leb-
anon under mount Hermon. . . . Joshua made war
a long time with all those kings. There w^as not
a city that made i:)eace with the children of Is-
rael, save the Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon :
all others they took in battle . . . that they
have it all," and the historian says, " God gave them all these things— the
land, rest, and victory over every enemy." Then I look at the contrary facts as
the historian records them and say, Was the man a fool ? Did he know what
he said ? He says that Moses told the children'of Israel that they should have
these three things, that Joshua says they had them, and he himself adds as if
to confirm Joshuas words, " You have them all," and yet he tells us that they
never really enjoyed any of them. The explanation of the seeming discrep-
ancy is, however, not diflBcult as we shall see.
THE FAITHFUL LORD. 161
might have no favor, but tliat iie might destroy
tliem, as the Lord commanded Moses.
And tlie Lmd rested from war." There are the
same tliree tilings secured — hmd, victory, and
rest.
But have tliey taken all the land when Joshua
speaks to them ? Look at xiii. 1 . " Now, Joshua
was old and stricken in years ; and the Lord said
unto him, thou art old and stricken in years, and
there renuiineth yet very much land to be i)os-
sessed." There is land yet to be i^ossessed;
what about the people? "Nevertheless, the
children of Israel expelled not the Geshurites, nor
the Maachathites : but the Geshurites and the
Maachathites dwell among the Israelites until
this day" (xiii. 18). Those are the very people
Avho should have been destroyed. The hmd
is not fully possessed, the people are not fully
taken, and who can say they have rest when
we read (Heb. iv. 9) that ''Jesus (Joshua) did
not give them rest ? ' '
Why, and how were they limited in the en-
joyment of these promises? In the second
chapter of Judges (ver. 7, 10) we see what liaj)-
pened to those people, for ' ' The people served
the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days
of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen
all the great works of the Lord that he did for
Israel. . . . There arose another generation
after them which knew not the Lord, nor yet the
1G2 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
works whicli he had done for Israel." Now we
begin to see the explanation. God provided a
Moses to bring' Israel out of Egypt and to draw
them to himself that they ma}^ be his people. God
provided a Passover Lamb, the dying Saviour, to
give you full deliverance, and you took it. The
moment you claimed salvation God took you to
Mount Sinai, and said, ' 'Will you take my will? "
Some of you turned back to perish in the wilder-
ness. It took Israel forty years to do what they
might have done in eleven days. Through the
high priest many of you have communion and
fellowship with the Lord, and are rejoicing in
the ever-living Joshua, our Jesus, who says. "I
will take you in." God through Christ opens a
land of i^rivilege and says, "Will you go in and
possess it?" The moment you go in, instead of
having to eat manna and to draw water from the
rock, you find yourself in the possession of spir-
itual riches and j^rivileges that transcend the
utmost of your expectation. Some have known
what it was to possess a part of the land, but how
much have you? Only that on which the sole
of your foot hath trod. You will never possess
any more of Christ than you claim as your own.
You do not gain God's blessing by storing away
books full of notes ; you must take God's truth
into your very soul, and feast upon it. What
good will abundance of food, or water or money
do you, if it is unclaimed and unused? The
THE FAITHFUL LORD. 163
money that a man takes from tlie bank is his en-
joyable |)ossession, that whiclihehas in tlie bank
is only his lawful possession. You cannot pass
through the riches of God except by the study
of this blessed Book, and by constantly dealing
with God in prayer. You must go as Abra-
ham did upon the hill, and lift up your eyes
and look northward and southward, and east-
ward and westward, and hear the living God
say, '* As long as you are not joined unto the
doubtful man Lot, as long as you are not allied
to the half -believer I give you the whole." Abra-
ham enjoyed in Canaan every rod of land
over which he walked. We read repeatedly in
Genesis, that ''The Canaanite and the Perizzite
were then in the land" (xii. 7; xiii. 6). I used
to be perplexed to know the meaning of that
statement, but now^ I believe that I understand it.
The Canaanite and the Perizzite were there as
Abraham's enemy, to keep back his flocks
and his herds from enjoying the pastures ; but
though they were in the land, Abraham walked
through the length and breadth of it, and had
free enjoyment of every camping ground at
which he chose to stop, even though the
Canaanite was there, because God was with him.
The day is coming when the Jew^s shall possess
that land, even to the Euphrates, and Israel
must l)e saved and take possession. I honor the
Rothschilds if, as I have heard, they said, that
104 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
they would never buy Canaan, because it was
already their own. Brethren, do not try to buy
what God has given you.
When I lived in Herefordshire, there was one
very rich num in my parish, who had a sudden
X)aralytic stroke while I was away from home for
a holiday. He was a common ignorant farmer,
and had come into eighty thousand pounds
tiirough the death of a brother. He had told
me that he did not care far his brother's money,
because he had as much as he wanted before,
and yet he had not given more than sixpence a
year for charity. As soon as I returned home I
went down to see him and he said, "The Lord
has stricken me and I am afraid I may die. I
have sent for you at once that I may do what I
suppose is right before God; I want to go to
heaven, and I want you to take a hundred
pounds for the poor. ' ' I looked him straight in
the face, and said, " Do you think you are going
to buy your soul's way to glory by a dirty
hundred pounds ! Give your money where you
like, I will not touch it." That w^as rather
strong ; but blessed be God, the man lived seven
years, and was a very different man before he
died.
Take the land that God has given you. The
Canaanites are there, but they cannot touch you.
They always bowled down to Abraham and called
him "niv lord." Your enemies will do the same
THE FAITHFUL LORD. 105
to YOU as long as you put your trust iu God, and
daiiu the riches of Christ. Chum a perpetually
holy life that shall know no interruption ; claim
power to carrv out the character of Christ be-
fore the world, and let them see that you have a
glorious dignity, a holy privilege, and a mighty
power.
The children of Israel possessed just so much
of that land as they put their foot upon and no
more ; therefore, when Joshua came to die he
looked around and said, -We have had great
possessions given us from the Lord, but you
must not rest here; there remaineth yet very
much land to be possessed. " It is the same with
us.
" Have you on the Lord believed ?
Still there's more to follow."
Yes, always more; the Lord is ready to give you
mighty treasures in the land of privilege when
you put your trust in him.
The children of Israel were told in the second
place that they should have ^/c^^or^ over all their
enemies. Was this ever completely fullilled?
Jericho's walls fell down, but a few days after
ward miserable little Ai, with its twelve thousand
people, was able to beat back all the tribes of Is-
rael There was an accursed thing in the camp !
God cannot bless and give the victory so long as
you allow one damnable thing in you. You ask
166 THE VTCTOBTOrS LIFE.
'' AVliat is a dainiiable thing? I have my little
iulirmities, I am very fond of my little money-
bag, my Babylonish garments, but what is the
harm?'' Brethren, there will be no victory
while you set your heart on these accursed things.
There is no harm in the Babylonish garment in
itself, but it is stealing the heart and damning
your soul. You must deal Avith God. If you
set your hearts upon his commandments to keep
them, then the Lord shall give you the victory ;
but no more of victory than you have a clear con-
science, and have offered yourself a whole-hearted
sacrifice unto God. Stone the accursed thing and
victory will be yours. "Up, wherefore liest thou
thus upon thy face,'' there is an accursed thing
in the camp. Israel took only a fifth of the land.
How much did they conquer of the people ? One
of the most pitiful arithmetical progressions I
ever read is from the thirteenth chaj)ter of Joshua
through the book of Judges ; especially in the
book of Judges where we read that they began
to take the land piece by i3iece. Judah first let
the Jebusites stay in Jerusalem ; next, they
could not drive them out; then the Jebusites
drive the children of Israel out ; next, the chil-
dren of Israel are in bondage and captivity to
the very men whom they were to conquer ; and
then comes that life of ups and downs, the very
pictui-e of the greater part of the Christian
church to-day. The Israelites have only dark-
THE FATTIIFVL LORD. 167
nessaufi distress. God raises up an Otliniel, and
the land has peace for forty years. Then down
they go again, and God raises np an Khud, and
they have peace for eighty years. Then there is
bondage to Sisera and God gives them a Deb-
orah. Here is a female vessel which is nsed of
God. But down they go again, and so through-
out the book of Judges you have the typical
scene, the i)eoi)le of God in possession of the
land with promised victory over every foe, but
up and down, up and down, though w^e read
of forty years' rest, and eighty years' rest, yet
they are again brought into captivity under
their enemies. Why? Because they never trust
the Lord, because they never go forward, be-
cause they are never loyal. Those are the
I)eoi^le who say that they have all the land in
possession, and are to have victory over every
foe.
Thirdly, the Lord promised them rest^ and
Joshua could say that the Lord had given them
the land, and victory, and rest round about;
but rest from how many of their enemies?
They had conquered thirty-one kings, but there
remained yet to be thorns in their side, many of
the nations which they ought to have o\'er-
thrown. The land had no rest, because they
never fully trusted the Loud their God. That is
the case with multitudes to-day wdio call them-
selves Christians. The Lord never broke his word.
168 THE VTC'TORIOUS LIFE.
Israel had all the j)i'ivileges that they could
take ; so you will have. Wheu I see a man or
woman excited at a conference and saying,
' ' This is delightful, this is heavenly, this is
grand; do just give me a text." AYell, thank
God, if a text helps you, but you will never get
any more than you put your foot upon and claim
of this Bible. Do you suppose because a man
dishes up a few of God's truths for you by the
teaching of the Holy Ghost, that you have the
whole of the land? Brethren, w^e only give
you a key; go in and you will have all the
pomegranates, and all the corn, and grapes,
and the treasures of brass, iron, and stone for
your own ; but you must walk for them.^ You
must walk all through the land and take posses-
sion of it, then you must drive out your ene-
mies. What did St. Paul mean when he said to
the Ephesians, "Let not, let not, let not?"
That one expression goes all through the pas-
sage. In the sixth chapter he tells us that there
are enemies wiio are seeking to drive us out, to
bind God's i3eo]3le in their own land; the
old enemies will rise up against you, who have
taken their land, and they mean to take it away
from you, and they will unless you have the
grace of God to go forward courageously and
light the good fight of faith. When a soldier is
*So in the Epistle to the Ephesians the Apostle mentions the seven walks of
the Christian.
THE FAITHFUL LORD. 169
placed upon guard he has to be more watchful
than at any other time. It may bf^ in darkness,
and yet he has to be alive and earnest. You
cannot claim these blessings which the Lord is
prepared to give, except in the measure in which
you are found both treading upon the land
which God offers you, and watching and using
the whole armor of God.
How far may rest be had? Just so far as I
have perfect confidence in God. There is a dif-
ference between faith and faithfulness. Faith
takes, and faithfulness carries out God's bless-
ings in the individuaTs experience. I must be
faithful unto death, if I am to have the crown
of life. The Lord is asking us to trust him one
step at a time, one moment at a time. The life
we profess to live is a life of holy rest, a life
filled instantaneously with all the grand x)ossi-
bilities which God offers in himself.
Israel have failed u^ to this very day because
of their unbelief. Joshua says, ''Not one thing
hath failed of all that God promised," and that is
true up to the extent that the people had carried
out the commands and counsels of the living
God. As far as you trust God you will find
that he is giving you perpetual victory and
enjoyment. The promise is as full as it can be
even from the living God. The possession and
enjoyment and power are full only so far as you
trust him. There comes into your heart, x^erhaps.
170 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
a seuse of shame, and, I liope, a willingness
to coijfess that you have known so little, en-
joyed so little, been victorious so little, and rested
so little in the Lord in the days that are gone
by. Christ is all in all for every need of man.
Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift ; I
have Christ, and shall not Christ have me?
When people say, ''I want more of the Holy
Ghost," I answer, "The Holy Ghost wants
more of you." The question is not, How much
you can take in of the Spirit, but how much the
Spirit can take possession of you. If you will
yield yourself to the living God with the convic-
tion that he is all that every man can want ; not
one good thing shall fail, any more than it has
failed in the past, of all that the Lord our God
hath promised.
STAND FAST.
" Therefore, mv brethren, dearly beloved and longed for, my
joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved."— PAt7.
iv. 1.
HoLii^ESS must be carefully distinguished from
righteousness. They are closely allied, for one
is the fruit of the other; yet holiness is not
really greater than righteousness, nor is right-
eousness greater than holiness. I think, how-
ever, that we are justified in speaking of holiness
as a great advance upon righteousness in the
sense that holiness must be the offspring of
righteousness, and since no man can know what
holiness is until by God's grace he is made par-
taker of ''the righteousness of God, which is
by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all
them that believe." Righteousness, says Dr.
Horatius Bonar,^Ms legal perfection ; holiness is
spiritual character. Holiness is an advance
upon righteousness,! for righteousness is de-
* God's Way of Holiness.
t If this be true, it may puzzle some that we should read (Luke i. 74-75) that
we are to be delivered from the hand ofiour enemies, that we may " serve him
in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life." There holi-
ness is placed before righteousness, but this word for holiness is o6ior7/<i,
172 THE VICTOR lOrS LIFE.
clared to be a gift ; while holiness is the mani-
festation of that righteousness in the life. We
have no.part Avhatever in obtaining the gift, but
holiness is dependent upon the extent to which
we accept Him who brings us righteousness, as a
gift from God. l^o man will ever be made holy,
as God requires that we should be holy, who has
not gratefully accepted the gift from God, the
gift which means to us perfect acquittal and
perfect acceptance through the righteousness
which God has provided in Christ. Remember
that your acceptance before God depends in no
sense whatever upon your own conduct or char-
acter. But also remember that for your fellowship
with God and your final fruition in glory, every-
thing depends upon your own character and con-
duct. While righteousness is a free gift to them
that are utterly undeserving, holiness is the
working out of that which God bestows, so that
the credit must always be his in both cases.
The gift of righteousness then is Christ Jesus,
the Lord, taking my place as a sinner, and giv-
ing me his place, as a saint. We are, therefore,
accepted in the Beloved without credit, without
effort of any kind ; simply because by faith we
whereas elsewhere, when we are enjoined to be holy, the word is ayio6a6c,,
ayibrri<i, or ayiGo6vyrj, the fruit. In Luke i. 74-75, we are simply
called upon to be dedicated to God, and therefore are to be made righteous
in our life, so that the righteousness of the law may be fulfilled in us who
walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. The holiness generally spoken ol
is the fruit of righteousness (Rom. vi. 22).
STAXD FAST. 173
take what God bestows. Holiness, on the other
hand, is won by the goodness of God. Christ
reveals himself throngh the Holy Ghost, and
deigns to work in me to enable me to do what
God desires. The one is wronght for me, the
other is wronght in me. Righteonsness makes the
vessel meat, holiness exhibits the extent to which
it is nsed by the Lord himself. There mnst then
not be righteousness only, but there must be ho-
liness in every Christian man and woman be-
cause God demands it.
I wonder not that the scorning skeptic so often
mocks at the Christian, because he says that they
cowardly cringe at the foot of the cross, ready to
take God's gift like a sneak, but show nothing
as a fruit of that blessed gift. Remember that
God demands, and where God demands he en-
ables, and where God enables, he expects us to
fulfill.
The Apostle Paul has been exhibiting this
truth to the Christians at Philippi through the
first three chapters of his Epistle. The Philip -
pian Epistle differs much from the Ephesian
Epistle, and from the Colossian Epistle, al-
though all three were written during St. Paul's
imprisonment at Rome. The Ephesian Epistle
shows us what Ave are to God in Christ Jesus,
and the Colossian Epistle what Christ is to us
in the presence of God. But in the Philip-
pian Epistle the Apostle speaks of what we
174 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
should he for God in the midst of our fellow-
men, and what Christ is to l)e to us down here in
our own every-day life witli its duties, difficul-
ties, temptations, and trials. God expects great
things of us, brethren; the world and the devil
expect great things of us. The devil is watch-
ing to see what the grace of God can do in the
Church, and the devil's one design is to over-
throw and defeat the grand i)urposes of God
with regard to Ilis redeemed ones. The great
work of the world is to scorn tlie Christian if they
can. The great work of God is to bring about
such fruit of holiness in the Christian church
that while the world hates, and the devil abhors,
both shall l)e compelled to marvel at the won-
drous workings of God.
Are you prepared to let the works of God be
carried out in you? To be a perfect astonish-
ment to both the good and the evil principalities
and powers in the heavenlies? St. Paul says
that we are saved to be the numifestation of the
manifold wisdom of God to all those wondrous
beings above.
The Apostle is calling upon the Philippians to
exhibit Christ in their daily life, and at the
beginning of the fourth chapter he has just solved
his own problem Avitli regard to the church of
God, and its provision, and he now writes that
one word which is the turning point from the
doctrinal to the experimental in nearly every
STAND FAST. 175
one of his Epistles, and lie says, " Titer ef ore, my
brethren, dearly beloved and longed for, my joy
and crown, so steadfast in the Lord, my dearly
beloved."
''Therefore," why? Because of the provis-
ion of righteousness in Christ spoken of in the
third chapter; because of that humiliation of
Christ which brought salvation, spoken of in the
second chapter ; because of that glorious comfort
and love which is in Christ Jesus, spoken of
originally in the first chapter.
Thus we see first (chapter iii.), that St. Paul
puts himself forward as an illustration of what
Christ would do in providing a righteousness for
which they aspire ; and this aspiration, which
was to him an obligation, lifted the Apostle to
the one insatiable ambition, to be conformed to
the image of Christ, his glorious Saviour and
perfect example; to come close to Christ, his
beloved friend; to be accepted of Christ m the
day of reward. He was looking forward to
obtaining crowns, as a runner in the race, and
he writes to those Philippians whom he loved,
and says, " O ve Philippians, be my crown! "
I think that the minister of the Gospel is sep-
arated to be a winner of crowns. I cannot tell
how God gives power to the poor weak body and
the feeble mind, and the helpless soul, but then
I think that it is all by his grace, by his love
that he gives, as it were, an impulse to the soul
176 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
which enables the body and strengthens even
the mind; because one looks forward to that
blessed day when the people to whom one has
ministered wdll be one's own crown. Do you
not think that that gives support in the hour of
weakness, and failure, and depression? Oh, try
it, try it, you Christians who have never yet won a
soul to hand up as a jeAvel in the crown the Lord
is going to give you ; try what it is to see the
bright joy, to hear the redeemed one sing, to
realize that God for Christ's sake has accepted
him as a saved one.
But St. Paul also says to the Philippians (ii. 1,
2), " If there is any comfort, any power in Christ,
O beloved , ' fulfill ye my joy, that ye be like-
minded;'" that ye carry on the same blessed
privileges which I have had, seeking for souls and
serving the Lord. In the first chapter he says
that he can think of them j)erpetually with joy,
remembering them always in his i:>rayers ; he
understands their loving and faithful and holy
life, and he blesses God that it is given to them
as to him to suffer for Christ as well as to believe
on him.
The epistle begins Avith exhortations to holi-
ness, and St. Paul comes back to that again in
the beginning of the fourth chapter, and says
that he cannot be content either for himself or
for his beloved that there should be nothing but
the gift of righteousness. It is a blessed gift, a
STAND FAST. I77
glorious gift, and the starting-point of every-
thing that is perfect in man, but it is not suffi-
cient that you should be accepted in the right-
eousness of Christ Jesus; God Almighty has
been iDleased to redeem you, that you may win
Christ in all his fullness.
Listen to this appeal from the throne and
from the cross; an aijpeal from the cross that
says to the sinner, take the gift and bless God
with your w^hole being; then speaks from the
throne and says to the saint, take the perfect
work, ye that have been redeemed and are sanc-
tified, and set ajDart for the Master's glory.
You will never be satisfied until by the grace
of God you are enabled to show that Jesus
Christ can keej) his saints standing fast in the
Lord.
We must recognize at the outset that every-
thing depends upon being ' ' in the Lord ' ' — an
old and familiar, but a beautiful truth that
every saint of God delights to dwell upon. It
would be wearisome if I were to pass through
even this one Epistle and show how frequently
St. Paul uses that one little preposition "in."
I will only call attention to how repeatedly the
Apostle brings this forward in chapter four as
indicating not merely the sphere in which we
are saved^ or our j)lace of blessing in the heaven-
lies, bat as the seed from which holiness springs.
By holiness I do not mean merely "set ajmrt"
178 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
for God, as I understand the word in Luke i.
75, but a process carried on by God the Holy
Ghost, through which I am being changed from
glory to glory, into the image of Christ.
Through holiness I am being satisfied moment
by moment, comforted in trial, enabled in my
dealings with my neighbor, not to be subject to
bitterness, Avrath, clamor, or evil speaking, how-
ever provoking the circumstances of life may be.
By holiness, in fact, I understand that beautiful
land of Canaan, into which God introduces the
true believer, and where he gives him i^ossession,
and i30wer, and peace; possession, so that he
has all things (I. Corinthians iii. 22) ; power, so
that he can meet every difficulty and every duty,
be more than conqueror through Christ (Romans
viii. 37) ; and peace, not only with God, but
having the peace of God ruling uninterruptedly
in his heart (Colossians iii. 15).
' ' In Christ, ' ' then, is not a mere position of
safety, but is a condition from which springs the
power for carrying out God's demand for holi-
ness. Eight times in this fourth chapter (verses
1, 2, 4, 7, 10, 13, 19 and 21) does the Apostle
bring out this blessed truth that in Christ Jesus
the Lord, there is marvelous power for all who
really desire to stand fast, because of their hav-
ing received the Son's provisions for holiness.
(1) ''Standfast in the Lord:' (2) ''I beseech
Euodias, and beseech Syntyche that they be
SrAXD FAST. 171)
of ///r same mhid in lite Lordy (li) "- Rcjolre
in the Lord always; and again I say, Rejoice.''
In the beginning of the third chapter he wrote:
'' Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord." It
seems as if he could not get over the occasion for
rejoicing, yet this man was writing from })risoii
as Paul the aged, now the prisoner of the Lord,
expecting martyrdom at any moment ; yet, not
less than sixteen times does the man speak in
this one little Epistle about joy. Wherein is
St. Paul different from you and me in possibilities?
Eleven times in the Epistle he brings out the
words TO avTo (ppoveiv^ "to be of the same
mind,'' as if that was the exultation that springs
from the gift of joy. He says, "My beloved
brethren, you must have this mind, and if you
take the gift and gain the blessing of rejoicing
in the Lord always, you will then have the mind
that was in Christ Jesus. When joy seems an
impossibility to you, it is because you have not
learned that mind. Our blessed Mai^ter never to
our knowledge spoke of joy until the agony of
death was upon liini. Is not that wonderful?
True, it is said that he "rejoiced in spirit"
(Luke X. 21), but it was not until the night be-
fore he died when he began to feel the agonies of
death that Jesus began to speak of joy. What
a lesson to us ! The very times when we
are overwhelmed with affliction and trial and
the burdens of life, are the times when tiie
180 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
Gospel of Christ was meant to bring us joy
unspeakable and full of glory.
Again (verse 7) Paul says (4) ' ' The peace of
God . . . sliallJieejy your Ilea rts and minds
in Christ Jesus ;^^ and (5) '^ I rejoiced in the
Lord greatly that now at the last your care of
me hath flourished again " (verse 10). Fancy a
man rejoicing in the Lord because he has just
received a bit of money from the Philippian
church. People sometimes think that they can-
not give any pleasure to the great men of God.
A little gift goes a long way, if the heart goes
wdtli the gift. (6) " / can do cdl things in
Christ loho strengthenetli me^' (verse 13). Can
you take up those words and sny, "I am all-
X)revailing in Him that strengthenetli me." (7)
' ' My God shall surpply all your need according
to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus'''' (verse
19). St. Paul cannot get over the fact that he
has such a Lord to i^rovide for him. Then he
seems to say (8) "Now let everyone take the
blessing — 'Salute every saint in Christ Jesus' ^^
(verse 21).
This is not a mere tricky repetition of a num-
ber of verses. They show that a man in much
darker circumstances than you are could still
look into the face of the Lord Jesus, and recog-
nize that Christ Jesus was looking into his face,
and could say, "I have all and abound ; every-
thing is mine, and everything is yours in Christ
STAXD FAST. \^\
Jesus.'' Never forget that while you Imve
righteousness in Christ Jesus you have also a
glorious tower. ''The name of the Lord is a
strong tower; the righteous runnetli into it and
is safe." Why does the Psahnist so IVequently
speak of the Loid as a rock, a fortress? It is
because he says, '^ There my strength is sui)plied
in abundance." Everything that is recjuired
by the soul is found in Christ Jesus. When
we are in Christ Jesus, there conies the power of
the Holy Ghost which works through us to ener-
gize us for the glory of God.
Now it is that the Apostle can say, " So stand
fast in the Lord." I think that that word " so "
refers, first, to the provisions of God in Christ
as our source of strength, and, secondly, refers
to St. Paul as an example of steadfastness.
Perhaps Christ would seem too high a standard,
but surely all can be something like Paul, the
aged, the prisoner at Rome (cf. i. 30, iii. 17,
and iv. 9). He names Christ as the fountain,
Paul as a pattern, the Holy Ghost as the power,
and man as the medium.
Now, take your privilege, and no longer dare
to vilify Christ in the eyes of the world by say-
ing, "I cannot." .No one ever said f/ofi could.
Take your prepared place, and say once for all,
"I cannot; but Christ can." As one young
man said, " Formerly, my highest wish was to be
a manly Christian ; now, I have come to desire to
182 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
be a Christly man, a man taken possession of by
Christ.'^ It is true that you take possession of
Christ here for acceptance and salvation, but to
win a crown, Christ must take possession of you.
Two little boys are walking along the road
with their father. One grasps hold of his
father's fingers, and finds that it is about all
that he can manage. The other puts his hand
right into his father's large strong hand, and the
father holds it. Suddenly they come to a ditch
in the road. Both slip : the one who is holding
his father's hand loses his grip and goes down;
the other is held up firmly by the father's strong
grasp. You do the trusting, and let God do the
keeping, and you will go safe through life and
enter into glory. " Kept by the power of God
through faith unto salvation " (Peter i. 5). Let
that be your law of life in everything.
Brethren, we have our j^ossession in the Lord,
and we have our power and pattern in the Word.
The life that we are to live as Christians is ex-
pressed in these words ' ' Stand fast ' ' {rrjKere^
stand). Let me call your attention to seven pas-
sages from God's Holy Word which show what
will be our life if we stand fast in the Lord. The
first is I. Corinthians xvi. 13,'' Watch ye, stand
fast in thefaitli. ' ' Let no man shake your faith
in the great doctrines of the Gospel. Be per-
fectly clear as to the scheme of salvation, that
doctrine of the blood, that doctrine of the atone-
STAND FAST. I33
ment, that doctrineof l)iiii;il hy luiptisin, tli<* doc-
trine of the resurrection in Chiist, tlie doctrine of
the Holy Ghost coniin<;- to take possession and
make yon most powerful, the doctrine of salva-
tion, satisfaction, and sanctification. Critics,
however, will never get so high as the top of
Christ's spire, the top-stone of which is (ikace. It
is the spire that touch(\s God's throne from
Avhich the grace of God Hows to the very bottom
of the building.
Again (Galatians v. 1), '' Stand fast in the
liberty w^lierewith Christ hasnuide us free, and be
not entangled again with the yoke of ])ondage.'"'
Do not be entangled again with bonds, either of
the critics or of the poor superstitious ceremo-
nialists. Stand fast in Christ's liberty. Ye are
the sons of God, taught by the Spirit to cry,
^'Abba, Father.'' If I have liberty to go into
my Father's own sanctum, and to si)eak to him
of my affairs, and get money, counsel, strength,
and wisdom, need I go into the bondage of super-
stition and bow down to a human priest with my
confessions? But liberty means not only liberty
from sui)erstition and ceremonialism, but liberty
from the corruption of the tlesh, for Ave are to
walk in the spirit and not to fulfill the lusts of
the flesh.
Then, thirdly (Ephesians vi. 11-14), '^^it on
the wdiole armor of God that ye may be able to
stand against the wiles of the devil. For we
184 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
wrestle not against flesli and blood, but against
princii)alities, against powers, against the rulers
of tlie darkness of this world, against spiritual
wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto
you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able
to withstand in the evil day, and having done all,
to stand." — '-'• Btand fast titer ef or e^^ in alt the
armor of God. We are in the heavenlies to fight
the devils and all the principalities and powers,
who are trying to draw us out from our fortress
where God has x)laced us. Tliere can be no jDeace
between us and the devil ; Ave must fight him to
the very end, because he is always assailing
our souls and trying to draw us out of our high
place in Christ Jesus. From the pit of darkness
to the throne of God, Clirist Jesus raises us,
and putting us above all principalities and x)Ow-
ers, says, ''Having done all, stand." But mind
that you take the toliole armor of God; omit
not one piece. The devil is crafty ; let him see
one spot without its covering, and he will hurl a
fiery dart that will make you groan with ]3ain,
and would wound you unto death perhaps, were
it not for the oil and wine which the Good Samar-
itan deigns to i^our in.
Once again Paul says to the Phili]3pians (i. 27)
that he desires to hear that they " standfast in
one spirits Brethren, we should be in one
spirit only, not magnifying "isms" and cults.
We are in Christ, and blessed be God, the day
STAND FAST. 185
is comiiit!; ^\]wn the lilllr distinciioiis will be
dropped.
There is a familiar story about Joliii AVesley
and others going to the river that ])ounds the
Holy City, and iinding to thrii- astoui^hinent
that they had to drop their cloaks and garments
in which they approached. One drops his cloak,
another his robe, another his surplice, and they
come out on the other side astonished to find
that they are all in the same white beautiful
robe, the robe of righteousness, which is Christ
Jesus our Lord. Cannot we gain a little more
of heaven upon earth by stretching out moi'e of
the right hand of fellowshii)? ''Stand fast in
one spirit, with one mind."
The next step is a very serious one. We are
told that Epaphras w^as continually praying for
the Colossians that they should '' s/cmd/asf,
perfect and complete in all the will of God''
(Colossians iv. 12V We bow down and say,
''Thy will be done;" and men put up the
whites of their eyes and roll their heads al)out
as if with agony at the thought that the will of
God is to be done. One would think the will of
God was the most terrible intliction that the
Almighty could lay upon his creatures. But
the will of God is the joy of Christ Jesus. It is
the one joy of a sanctified soul that it is per-
mitted and enabled to do the will of God; so
that when a person })rays for me that 1 may
186 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
' ' stand fast, perfect and complete in all the will
of God," it is the most blessed x)rayer that can
be offered for me.
Now II. Thessalonians ii. 15 : "Standfast
tlierefore in the traditions which we have
learned, whether by word or by our Epistle."
Traditions? Certainly not what are called the
traditions of Rome, but the teachings of the
apostles, the Word of God. Stand fast in the
Word of God. When men tempt you to turn
aside into the x)leasant pastures of what they
call criticism ; when they evoke scientific dis-
play and seek to reconcile science and theol-
ogy by dabbling with both and retaining them
both, turn to the Word of God and say, ' ' The
Word of God is revealed to me in order that I
may stand fast in it, and that is sufficient for
me."
Once more I. Peter v. 12: "Testifying that
this is tlie true grace of God lolierein ye stand.^^
This is the true grace of God ; stand ye fast
therein. As at the beginning, so at the close of
our beautiful chain with seven links, we are
brought back to that word grace. IS'ever be
moved from the grace of God ; let that grace pre-
vail. St. Paul says to the Corinthian church
(II. Cor. vi. 1). "We beseech you, therefore,
that ye receive not the grace of God in vain ' '
(cf. viii. 9, ix. 9, xii. 9). Beloved, receive not the
grace of God in vain. Your privilege is to stand
STAND FAST. 187
fast in the Lord, and that position brings power
not in ourselves, but in the Holy Ghost, so that
whether we eat or drink, or wliatsoever we do,
we may do it heartily (out of our souls) unto the
Lord.
It is a beautiful life — standing fast in the faith,
standing fast in the liberty, standing fast in the
heavenlies, girt in the armor of God, standing
fast in one spirit, standing fast in the will of
God, standing fast in the traditions of the AVord
of God's revelation, and standing fast in the
grace of God. Surely we cannot ask more, for
these seven things comprise every possible want
that can rise in our hearts and they are all sup-
plied in Christ Jesus.
Twenty-one years ago I was permitted to con-
duct a ten-day Mission in a small town in England.
It was the first which I had ever conducted, and
the Lord was pleased to give abundant blessing.
A little governess, a small, delicate, retiring
young woman, came to know God and to rest in
Christ, and when I came to London two years
later she had just taken the position of governess
in a large house which had a vesy large drinking
saloon attached to it, so large that the proprietor
paid eleven thousand pounds for the good-will
beside six hundred pounds a year for the rent,
simply to sux)ply drink in the saloon, while his
family occupied the upper lloor. As soon as she
heard that I was in the city she said to the peox^le
188 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
of the house, ' * You must go and hear that man ;
he is a great friend of mine. ' ' She brought them
to my church. The man was an infidel, but
claimed to be an atheist."^ He came to the
church once, and that was enough for him ; but
his Avife came, his daughters came, and to-day,
after sixteen years, that woman and her children
are some of my most devoted adherents.
The man turned away, but, after about a year,
he was taken with a fearful attack of cancer in
the bowels, and they said that he would cer-
tainly die. The governess persuaded the wife to
send for me. I went to see the man, but had
very little effect upon him the first day. I went
the second day and the third, as I saw by the
ojDen blinds that he was not yet dead. At last,
when I could not persuade him of the goodness
of God by any doctrine, I told him this story.
I said, ' ' My friend, God wants you to take
Jesus Christ as your Saviour to-day, and simply
to say 'Thank you' for it." He said, "lean-
not see that, and I don't see anything in the
Gospel." He tried to listen, though he called
himself an atheist. I said : "It reminds me of
a story which I heard in Scotland. A gentle-
man was driving to see a large and beautiful
* Remember the difference between these : the skeptic is a man who is look-
ing around ; the infidel has no faith in Christj the atheist is one without
God. The skeptics are usually earnest people ; infidels are fools perhaps, poor
things; but atheists are rank fools, because they say that there is no God,
when they know that there is.
STAND FAST. 18!)
palace, and when tliey stopped at the gates, lie
looked out of the carriage, and said to the driver,
' Drive on.' The driver answered, ' This is what
we have come to see. ' ' Go in then. ' ' We can-
not until the gate is opened.' ' Get it opened.'
' I cannot ; it has to be opened from the inside.'
*Tell them to open it.' The driver replied,
' That is not it ; the porter must come out and
speak to you.' 'Fetch her out then.' A
woman came out and the gentleman said, ' I
wish to go in and see the palace.' 'Yes, sir,
you are perfectly Avelcome ; if you will only say
''Thank you," I will unlock the gate.' 'Is
that all? Thank you.' 'All right,' and she
touched the latch, and the great gates swung
open."
The man stopped me, put out his hand in
anguish of pain, and touched my hand, and
said, '^Stop, sir, stop, stop, I see it. 'Thank
you, Lord; thank you. Lord; thank you. Lord;
thank you.'" I never saw such a look upon
any human face, never, as there was upon that
man's face when he entered the gate, having
received the entrance for nothing but ^' Thank
you."
You may say, "That is all very well; emo-
tional excitement in the face of death." But
what happened? The next day I came again,
and I said, " I see he is not dead yet." " Xo."
"How is he?" "\Vell, he has never slept
190 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
since you were here, but he has spent the whole
night saying, 'Thank you, Lord,' ever since
you left him." ''Oh," I said, "I know what
it means; he has just got inside the gates of
the park, and he is looking at the palace, and
lie will be in the palace directly." That man
lived six months; the cancer turned, but he
never once left that room. Was the conversion
real, was the thanksgiving true? The chief part
of his trade was on Sunday. Without one word
from me, a great notice was put up on the door
the next Sunday,
THIS HOUSE IS CLOSED OIS" SUNDAYS
FROM THIS DAY FORTH,
signed by his name. That was the first fruit,
and rather practical evidence. What, to lose
his income? Yes, and trust his Lord. But be-
sides this by the goodness of God, I saw during
those six months no less than six open denomin-
ated atheists give their hearts to God in that
room, one after the other, brought there by that
man. See the remarkable change, all through
this little governess. One of these atheists
turned out to be a man, whom, in my youth, I
had heard blaspheming God before a great
crowd and saying, ' ' How can there be any truth
STAXD FAST. 101
ill tlie Bible wlieii tlie pn^cs conti'adict tluMii-
selves, one after 1h<' other. In one i)a*^<i it says,
' No man sliall see my face and live,' and in an-
other it says, ' Moses talked face to face with
God.' That is a lying l)ook."* I rnshed into the
crowd, and battening up my coat, as if I was not
a clergyman, I tried to speak to him. A gentle-
man came \i]) to me and said, ''Young man, you
are too young for this work; I have followed
this fellow for eight years, and you would better
leave him alone." Seventeen years later this
great strong man is on his knees waiting before
God in the room of this dying publican. Breth-
ren, enter God's inheritance with this one simple
utterance, " Thank you. Lord ; thank you."
Twenty-one years ago, I was called to London
to speak for the first time at the Mildmay Con-
ference, and I was staying witli a superintendent
of Mildmay. On the last day of the Conference
he said to me, '' I wish you would go into our
little hospital, and see a dying woman." I said,
" Could I help her? I would be glad if I could,
but I am very busy." "Help her?" he said,
" No, I meant her to helji you. " I said, " I wish
ver^Muuch that I could go in." lie said, "Never
mind, I will tell you. I have just been to see
her. She has had a stroke this morning, and
she must die to-night. She is a girl of eighteen,
* I need hardly say that a man may be face to face with one, and be blinded
192 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
and when I sat down by lier, I was not sure
whether they had told her that she was dying,
so I felt a certain shyness in having to tell her.
After a moment, she said, ' Have they told you
about me? ' ' Oh, yes, my child. Does it trouble
you much ? ' There was such a look upon her
face that it awed me. She said, 'Trouble me?
trouble me? No, I am so glad, I am so glad! '
The look was so wonderful that I felt awed
again, and did not know how to speak, but I
said, ' I see that they have taken all the beds out
of your room, and have left you alone ; does not
that trouble you ? Do you not mind being alone ?'
^Mind it? mind it? No, I am so glad, because
now ' — never forget the words — ' because now I
have Him all to myself, and he is so real to me ;
is he not to you? ' " Captain Martin said, '' No,
my child, he is not as real to me as he is to you ;
1 wish to God that I felt what I can see in your
face."
Brethren, He is the Christ from whom to learn
what love is ; he is a Christ by whom to live this
life; he is a Christ with whom to go through
death ; he is a real Keeper, a Saviour, a Friend
at the last, and he is a Christ to go and live with
forever in the glory of God. Will you take my
Christ, and my God shall supply all your need,
according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus ?
THE DAILY PORTION.
"Unto every one that entereth into the house of the Lord, liis
daily portion for their service in their cliarges according to their
courses ... for in their set office they sanetitied themselves in
holiness." — //. Chron. xxxi. 16, IS.
If the heart is truly filled with love, there is
but oue thing apparently that can keep it in
utter distress and that is the refusal of the loved
one to ai^prehend the intensity of the lover's de-
votion, and his i:>urpose to do good to the object
of his affections. I know not vrhat more can be
told than you have already heard to express the
infinite love of God, and to make you feel that
the heart of the Eternal is most wondrously kind.
The purposes of God towards his creatures are
simply wrapped up in that one little word love
and he can never be satisfied in the one yearn-
ing desire of his heart, to pour out upon iiinn his
infinite treasures, if they will but take according
to their need.
What would satisfy you in your religion, if
you wrote out a catalogue of everythiug wliich
you felt you could desire or above all that you
could ask or think? AVould vou not write down
194 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
at the very beginning, '^ Peace with God, so
that I should not be afraid of him ? ' ' You
know in your hearts that that is supj)lied by
the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. You
have but to say, ' ' Amen, thank God, it is true ;
I believe it. ' ' Then would you not w^rite down,
*' Constant keeping from all evil, and the supply
of every need ?' ' The Bible is full of that blessed
truth at every point; the keeiDing Christ, the
providing Lord, the comforting Friend, the ever-
lasting Portion of Gods people. Whatever you
wish, there stands the living God, and says I
AM. God must give ; he cannot withhold ; he
w^ould not be God any more than a fountain
would be a fountain if he were not perpetually
pouring out his fullness upon all the universe.
Suppose that you say, ' ' I want a future that is
clear and full of provision for eternity." The
Lord is our everlasting Portion ; the great God
is ever saying I AM, and what more can men re-
quire for the future ? The past, and the i)resent,
and the future are all set before us in the living
God as being completely and everlastingly pro-
vided for. And yet how many souls are satisfied
in Christ, how many could say that they have
found in him everything that their souls desire?
Not many, I fear.
ISTow, beloved, I wish to convince you of God's
everlasting supx)ly for what ever you can need now
and in eternity. It is exceedingly difficult to
THE DA IL y PORTION. \ tlD
express to the sons of iikmi thr mnrve-lous inten-
tions, and the niarvelons provisions of God, and
the marvelous possibilities tliat lie l)efore tliem,
if they could only apprehend wliat God is to
the creature, and what the creature is meant to be
to God.
Once more I turn to God's picture-) )()()k, the
Old Testament, so graciously provided for us,
that we may understand a little by God's deal-
ings with his people Israel what he would do
for si^iritual Israel if we would fully trust him.
Look at two or three verses in the Old Testament
which speak of what God desires to be to his
people, and to have his peojile to be to him.
First in Deuteronomy xxxii. 0, we read, " The
Lord's portion is his people ; Jacob is the lot of
his inheritance." JS^otice that carefull}^ for it
implies that the Almighty wishes to find in his
chosen people his own portion and satisfaction,
his inheritance for his personal enjoyment. But
that is not enough. Look at Deuteronomy x. 8, 9,
and see what God intends to be to his people :
^'The Lord separated the tribe of Levi to bear
the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to stand
before the Lord to minister uuto him, and to
bless in his name, unto this day. Wherefore
Levi hatli no part nor inheritance with his breth-
ren; the Lord is his inheritance, according as
the Lord thy God promised him."
When God separated the children of Israel
196 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
from other nations, if the whole people would
have drawn nigh to Mount Sinai and had heard the
revelation of God's will, then God had one great
purpose for them all, viz. , that they should be
to him ''a kingdom of priests" (Ex. xix. 6).
The people drew back, notwithstanding that they
had been delivered out of Egyptian bondage, and
brought nigh to God at Mount Sinai. God said,
^ ' I must now reveal myself to you in holiness,
but in order to see the revelation of my holiness,
you must put away everything connected with
the flesh and idolatry. ' ' The people said, ' ' The
demand is too great," and they rejected the call
of God to draw nigh to the mountain, and so
could not be made a kingdom of priests unto
God. Every soul in that nation was intended to
take part in the priesthood, and to enjoy all its
privileges : to draw nigh to God in his holy place,
to speak to God concerning the people, to receive
from God his grand revelations, to dwell in the
presence of God, with the soul's desires provided
for by God at every point, to be freed from all
hard service and burden-bearing, never to know
one shadow of care, one thought of a burden, or
distress, but to rest in the Lord, to wait x)atiently
for him, and to be assured that he would be not
only their God, but their portion, their inherit-
ance, their supply forever.
Look again at Numbers xviii. 2 and see more
of w^hat God is to his people. We considered
THE DAILY PORTION. 197
iii'st the people, then the Levites, now Aiiron.
" Thou shalt have no inlieritance in their hind,
neither shalt thou have any part among them.
I am thy part and thine inheritanee among the
ehildren of Israel." The Lord's ])(M)ple is his
portion ; the people's portion was to l)e the Ijord,
but they refused it, so that God was compelled
to take out of the people a little i)ortion, one
tribe. Why was the tribe of Levi chosen?
Because when an hour of testing came, and the
people w^ere to be questioned as to their idolatry,
into which they had fallen, when Moses was in
the Mount, the one tribe of Levi stood out and
consecrated themselves to the Lord, girded their
swords upon their sides, and stepped forward to
avenge the cause of God against their own
parents, their own brethren and all the tribes of
Israel, that they might deliver Israel from the
curse of God brought upon them through idola-
try. From that moment the Lord ai')pointed the
tribe of Levi to be his chosen tribe, his priest-
hood with constant, full fellowship with him.
But alas, even the tribe of Levi neglected their
privileges, and God had to take one family.
Again and again God endeavored, first through
the nation, then through the family of Levi to
induce the people to draw nigh to him and take
the privileges and powers of the i)riestliood. But
no; 1500 years go by, and the nations are no
better for God having delivered one nation ; they
198 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
are still in darkness and degradation, tliough
Israel had been delivered to be a light to lighten
the Gentiles. Tims, when Jesus was born, there
was no one people, no one tribe, apparently no
one family that would glorify God by whole-
hearted consecration, and so God must now choose
one man. The man Christ Jesus is born into the
world to be what Israel and Levi and Aaron
refused to be ; Christ becomes the man to glorify
God his Father in all things before God and
before the world. Then from the man Christ
Jesus, there began from the day of jjentecost to
spread the riches of God's love to other men,
who were taken x)ossession of and drawn unto
the man ; one after another are drawn out of the
darkness and degradation of sin into the comfort
and the joy of resting in Christ. The moment
that the church was constituted as a body of
X3eople who could be said to rest in Christ, God
said to that church that he had taken them again
to be a kingdom of priests " (Rev. i. 6; I. Pet.
ii. 9).
What are the privileges of the priesthood now
accorded to the church of Jesus Christ? If we
Christians had our privileges, there is absolutely
nothing for which w^e could ask God that we
have not been already supplied with in Christ
Jesus. Men may ask what then is the need 'of
Ijrayer? In one sense there is no need of prayer
from the Christian; in another sense, there is
THE DAILY l'()/rn(K\. ].,()
constant need of prayer. No need of i)niy«M',
because all tliino;s aiv yours if ye are Christ's,
and Christ is (rod's own Son, di*a wilier unceas-
ingly from the riches of the Father and pouring
them out upon us. l^nt in another sense there
is need of prayer at every moment of our
existence, because our eyes are not oj^ened to see
what God has given to us of piivilfges and of
possibilities. Moment by moment we should bn
living a life of prayei*. We can only get the
benefit of these riches as moment by moment we
open our mouths wide, for the Lord to fill them.
Look up and say, '' Lord, open mine eyes that I
may see the w^ondrous things out of thy law, and
that I may have grace to take." I need not ask
my God to provide anything further for me than
lie has provided in Christ, but I do need to ask
God to teach me how to take, because I am so
ignorant, and so helpless and so vile. I try to
draw out a few benefits for myself upon earth,
wdien all the riches of heaven are mine. '* Who-
soever will, let him take." How much ? Ac-
cording to his need and his desire. (lod cannot
give more ; it is for us to take more.
But how can we learn the secret of a perpetual
supply for perpetual need, v/liich shall take us
beyond the momentary requirements, and fill
our souls with hoh^ calm? The picture is given
us in the priesthood of what (rod intended to be
carried out first by the whole of Israel, then, as
200 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
they rejected it, by the tribe of Levi, then, as
they understood it not, by the family of Aaron,
and then, as they missed it, God now and then
gives us glimpses of what might be, if we were
but faithful. In these verses from II. Chronicles
we have one little glimpse of what we may enjoy
from this day forth and forever.
King Hezekiah was raised up as a reformer.
He gave his heart to God in his youth, and the
moment he obtained possession of the kingdom,
he set his heart upon God. He is, in this sense,
a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ, the great
Anointed of God, who is put before the world to
show what God can do for his people. The
moment Hezekiah came to the throne he desired
to deliver Israel from their dark degradation;
and he proceeded to call around him those who
could fill the house of God not only with beauty,
but men who would worship God according to
his will. The priests whom he first called upon
cleansed the temj)le of the filth found in it,
which they threw into the Brook Kedron. Next
the King called upon the people to draw nigh
and offer through the priests their holy sacrifices,
the burnt offerings and the sin offerings, while
the temple was being reconsecrated to the service
of the Lord. But the priests were not as ready
for this holy business as they should have been,
and the Levites rose, and were more zealous to
consecrate and sanctify themselves than the
THE DAILY PORTION. 201
priests, so that then and tliere the Lord appointed
the Levites to the priesthood. Tlie Levites
were called to take their part in tlie lioly work
of the priesthood, offering the sacrifices for the
people, drawing nigh to God, and ivceiving of
him everything that the priests were meant to
have — riches and honor and glory. Alas, they
could not all take the glorious provision intended
for them, because of their blindness and unbelief.
What is that provision? '' Unto everyone . . .
his daily portion for his service . . . for they
sanctified themselves in holiness."
Can you not now understand a little of what
God has purposed to give you*? lie has called
you to the priesthood, that is, to yield yourselves
to him, and that you may draw nigh to him into
the very Holy of Holies, by the new and living
way, Christ Jesus. " Draw nigh to God, and he
will draw nigh to you." Draw nigh to God!
Your heart shrinks back and you say, "I love
the Lord, but I cleave to money, I cleave to
pleasure ; I cannot come, God is too holy. ' ' Then
down you go among the heathen, and there you
tarry until you perish in the wilderness as did so
many of Israel. They could not know what
blessings God intended for his people.
The first thing denumded of everyone who
would be one of God's i)riests, is to come right
into the presence of the Holy One. The incense
is being offered by <>ur lliiili rrirst. wh(> has
202 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE,
opened the way by tearing the veil from top to
bottom. " By him we have access through one
Spirit unto the Father." We may, therefore,
go to God in perfect peace, notwithstanding
his absolute holiness and our own unworthi-
ness.
But the priesthood was not only api^ointed to
come nigh to God but that, having this privilege
they should bring blessing to the world around.
This is our second privilege, to magnify God
before our nation and the nations round about
by showing them that the priesthood has the
glorious privilege of going unto God and of
revealing God to the people.
Moses is an illustration of this office in his
holy communications with God in the Mount
which all Israel might have enjoyed, when he
came out with his face shining, though he
wist it not. Thus God was glorified in the
presence of the world in the only man that
would take the glorious dignity of access to the
dignity and majesty of God. Oh, beloved ! take
your privilege as those Levites did in the days
of Hezekiah. Cleanse the temple when you
have seen God; go out and show him to the
people.
What is the immediate result? God starts
those men in a life of abundant supply, of per-
fect satisfaction, of constant dependence upon
him, but of perfect assurance that they shall
TITK DAILY roimoX. 203
never lack anything that may be required in
their office.
The unsearchable riches of Clirist are at our
command in every time of need, but ure n<ner to
be laid np in store, hidden away in our own
peculiar treasure-house. Day l)y day God's
priesthood was commissioned to wait upon him
at the altar, and as God touched the hearts of
his people to bring sacrifices unto tlie altnr, the
priests should be abundantly supplied. Thiit is
what God is offering to you and to me. You
may say to yourself, " It sounds well ])ut it will
never do for the wear and tear of daily life." It
will, beloved ; the supply of God is for everyday
life. God says that this supply is not to be
only the priests, but for "their little ones, their
wives, and their sons, and their daughters,"
because a few came out from among their breth-
ren, and said: "We sanctify ourselves in holi-
ness this day unto the Lord '' (II. Chron. xxxi.
18). You shall lack for nothing needful if you
sanctify yourself in holiness and if you do it with
a pure heart fervently, and not sinii)ly wishing
to test God. One man said to me : '' Let us try
it, sir, in a few things." No, my brother, in
every department of your being you must
sanctify yourself in holiness; which means to
give into God's hands everything you have with
a desire that it shall be used for the glory of
God from this day forth and forevermore. Then,
204 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
the Lord says : ' ' Unto everyone that entereth
the house of the Lord, his daily portion." You
have been looking ahead and have been fret-
ting about the education of your children, be-
cause you know not how the supply will come,
how you can ever go through death, or face the
sacrifice of this dear child to the mission field,
and that one to death. Beloved, God never said
look ahead, God said look up ; God never said
look around, he only said look into the holy of
holies ; God never said look down, he only said
look into the face of the living God. ' ' Look unto
me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth. '^
As we look beyond to-day and say, '' How can I
expect that in the wear and tear of daily life,
this holy peace is to be sustained ? ' ' the answer
is, ' ' Unto everyone that entereth into the house
of the Lord, his daily portion for his service,
according to his charges in his courses." God
takes up every detail of life and says: "For
thy charges,'' whatever you have in charge;
"According to your courses;" you will have
your turn. "In your office," wherever your
work is, where you are, and where God wants
you, there he undertakes to give you your daily
supply.
But, beloved, God never can give a daily
supply for the life that is in the temple of the
Lord, until the temple of the Lord is there, and
men have entered into it. It is a remarkable
THE DA JL Y PORTIOX. 205
fact Willi IV -a 1(1 lo lliosr Lt-vites, that at tli(*
outset of their career as a separate peoi)le, they
knew none of tliis rest and daily supply. Israel
was chosen lirst as a people, but they rejected it.
Then God chooses a tribe, but thci tribe was not
fitted for the blessing, and tlioii^li they were set
apart for God's business as the priesthood, they
coidd not have it because their liearts were not
right with God. What became of them ? The
fourth chapter of the Book of Numbers tells
how God appointed the tribe of Levi to a bur-
densome service. They had a second-class serv-
ice instead of a first-class service, for their con-
secration at the time of the idolatry of Israel,
they were admitted into something better than
the people, but their service, after all, was one
of burden-bearing. They were not wholly given
to the Lord, and did not trust him as they
should, and the people could not seek at their
lips the word of wisdom and the word of power.
That burden- bearing continued all through the
journey in the wilderness, throughout their
sojourn in Canaan, until Solomon arose as the
Prince of Peace and built the temple of the Lord.
When the temple of the Lord was completed,
and was being consecrated to the Lord, the ark
was taken into the temple, then the staves were
pulled ,from its sides to show that the burden
bearing of Levi was ended, and that the people
might, like the jn-iests, enter into the temple of
206 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
the Lord for rest (I. Kings viii. 8). Solomon
built the temple of wMch the Lord said, '^Here
will I rest, and my people shall rest. ' ' Had they
accepted their i^rivilege, Levi would never again
have known the burdensome service which so
many Christians now exx3erience.
Brethren, God is calling all his peoi^le, and if
they refuse then he calls a tribe; if the tribe
refuses, he calls a family ; if the family refuses,
he calls a man. Each one must answer for
himself whether or not he will take the blessed
privilege of the life of rest, and enter into the
temple of the Lord, and look upon Christ Jesus,
our Ark, with the mercy seat and the holy
cherubim, and the law of God in his heart, and
the manna to show the supply. ' ' Here will I
rest, ' ' saith the Lord ; and we may answer back,
^'Here will I rest, O Lord, for I have a supjply
of every need."
God is closely linked to his people, if they
will be linked to him, and as we go into the
Holy of Holies to look into the face of God, as
he shows his glory upon Christ Jesus, the Ark
between the cherubim, God's voice comes out to
us, and there is peace and calm and fellowship
and communion ; we are with God in the j)resence
of Christ.
Brethren, what more do you want? Will you
trust your Lord? I know that you will encoun-
ter in your daily life difficulties absolutely in-
Tin-: PAIL)- I'oirrios. 207
sui)('i'al)l<' l>y .'iiiv iiiiiii.'iii |)()\s«'r, Imt y<»ii ai*^
called to i):iss liiioiiL:,!! Jesus Cliiist iiilo tlir
presence of (iod, .-ind nic to coinc out no more.
Would it Hot l>r hrtler lo IcMNU lo-inolTOW
alone? Thar is what is t i()iil)Iin^ men ; to-mor-
row's triiiptiilions, to-nioi Tow 's diHiciilties, to-
morrow's l)ni(lens, to-moi'row's duties. Martin
Luther in his Autobiournpliy s:iys, ''I liave on«»
preacher lliat 1 lo\e better than any othn- upon
earth; it is my little tame robin which lueaches
to me daily. 1 put liis crumbs npon my window-
sill, especially at night. He hoi)S on to the sill,
when he wants his sui)ply, and takes as much as
he desires to satisfy his need. From thence he
always hops on to a little tree close by. and lifts
up his voice to God, and sings Lis caiol of i)iaise
and gratitude, tucks his little head under his
wing, and goes fast asleeji, and leaves to-morrow
to look after itself. He is the best preacher that
I have on earth."
Brethren, the best i»reaching that we can give
each other in this world is to say, trust in the
Lord, wait on the Lord, fret not thyself in any
wise to do evil, with a calm assurance for to-day
that to be poor is best. As a i)oor, beggaily i)riest,
without any inheritance, proi)ertyor riches, hang
on God. The Saviour, our High Priest, himself
taught us to say, "Our Father, which art in
Heaven . . . give us this day our daily bread."
Our daily portion for body, soul, and spirit.
208 THE VICTORIOUS LIFE.
Leave to-morrow with Jesiis, for lie knows liow
to steal the bitter from life's woes; he knows
Avhat his priests reqiiire, and all that he has
ever said to ns is, " ISfow is the day of salvation ;
to-day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your
hearts." Israel could not enter in because of
unbelief. Let us, therefore, knowing that the
j)romise is given to us of entering into his rest,
see to it that none of us should come short in
any wise of the unspeakable blessing that is
offered to us of going unto God for holy com-
munion, coming out from Gfod to be a blessing
to the iDeople, and waiting upon God every
moment of our lives for every supply that our
souls could desire, because he says, ''Ask, and
it shall be given you, seek and ye shall find,
knock and it shall be o^Dened unto you."
How can you say no to such a God, who is
able and willing to give all that we can ask or
think, all through his blessed Son Jesus Christ
our Lord, who has been a]3i3ointed of God for
one purpose, to save to the very uttermost all
that come unto God by him. I commend you
to God and to the word of his grace, which is
able to build \ou up, and to give you an inherit-
ance among them which are sanctified unto
holiness through faith, which is in Christ Jesus
our Lord.
PUBLICATIONS OF
THE BAKER & TAYLOR CO.,
Publishers and Booksellers,
5 and 7 CAST SIXTEENTH ST.. NEW YORK.
DR. JOSIAH STRONG'S JV'/;»» ll(t*)K.
THE NEW ERA. By Dr. Josiah Stkong, author of "Qui
Country." 400 pages. Library Kdition, cloth, gilt top,
$1.50; plain cloth, 75 cents; paper. 35 cents.
Contents. — I. The Nineteenth Century one of Preparation.
II. The Destiny of the Race. III. The Contribution made by the
Three Great Races of Antiquity. IV. The Contribution made by
the Anglo-Saxon. V. The Authoritative Teacher. \ I. The
Two Fundamental Laws of Christ. VIL Popular Discontent.
VI 11. The Problem of the Country. IX. The Problem of the
City. X. The Separation of the Masses from the Church. XL
The Mission of the Church. Xll. The Necessity of New
Methods. XIII. Necessity of Personal Contact. XIV. Necessity
of Co-operation. XV. The Two Great Principles Applied to the
Two Great Problems. XVI. An Enthusiasm for Humanity.
" * The New Era' is a mighty book. — Pres. C. F. Thwing,
Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio.
" It is a glorious book. It surpasses even his first book,
and ought to have millions of readers." — Rev. Theodore
L. CUYLER, D.D.
"Ought to be read by everybody interested in the advance-
ment of the race." — New York Observer .
"Ought to be distributed in every church, every Sunday-
school, and religious convention." — Evangelist, A'. Y.
" We have found the * New Era ' abounding in facts that
are food for the thought of every teacher, preacher, public
speaker, and of evey man of any influence in social, business,
or political life. It is a book that it pays to read, and to read
carefully. — Albany Evening Journal.
Seni, Postpaid^ on receipt 0/ the price, by
THE BAKER & TAYLOR CO., Publishers-
5 and 7 East Sixteenth St., New York.
BAKER & TAYLOR CO.'S PUBLICATIONb.
QUE COUNTRY : Its Present Crisis and its Pos-
sible Future. By Rev. Josiah Strong, D.D.
12mo, 275 pp., paper, 30 cents ; cloth, 60 centSr
Revision based on the Census of 1890. A new edi-
tion (160th thousand).
The many thousands who read the earlier editions of this
book, aud were moved by its striking portra^-al of our relig-
ious, social, and economic condition and tendencies, will learn
with interest that the author has availed himself of the latest
statistics of the Census of 1890 to make a revision of his work,
which causes it to show the changes of the last ten years, and
to picture the actual situation of to-day. The matter of the
book has been increased one third, and a map and diagram
forcibly illustrate some of the more startling statistical facts
and comparisons.
** This volume is a storehouse of information. We recall no
recent volume which has so much packed into it of value for
the minister, the editor, the teacher, and in general, the patriot,
as this little volume on 'Our Country.'" — Christian Union.
** Its facts are collated and marshalled with rare skill. It is
a powerful and patriotic book. It stirs the blood ; it warms ;
it inspires ; it thrills and it instructs. It ought to be read by
every citizen of the Republic ; it will be read by all our people
who wish to keep abreast of needful knowledge regarding our
country." — Christian Inquirer.
" If the means were at Our command, we know of no service
we could perform more practical and effective for the cause of
truth and righteousness, than to place a copy of ' Our Country '
in the hands of every man and woman in the l^md..'''— Christian
at Work.
" Words are feeble in the recommendation of this book. It
enlightens, stirs, quickens, and makes the blood boil with
patriotic zeal and Christian vehemence." — Pulpit Treasury.
" No publication of the present decade has awakened a more
profound and intelligent interest. \^^ its present form, and it
is still compact and easily handled, we again commend it to
all Christian and patriotic American citizens." — New York
Observer.
6eni, postpaid, on receipt of (lie price, hy
THE BAKER & TAYLOR CO., Publishers.
5 AXD 7 East Sixteenth St., New Yokk.
BAKER <fc TAYLOR CO.' 8 PUBLICATION:^.
SERMONS BY THREE FAMOUS PREACHERS.
STIRRING THE EACJLK'S NEST, and OTHER
PRACTICAL DISCOL'RSKS. hy Rev. Thkodoke
L. CUYLER, D.D. 12in(), clutli, with a photogravure
portrait of the author, $1.25.
A collection of eighteen sermons ihoronji^hly representative
of tlie author's chanuteristic style and speech.
"In this volume we have this great Pnshylerian divine,
whose name has deservedly become a honsehold word in
America, at his best. They are strong, clear, spiritual, help-
ful."— Boston Traveiler.
" It is such sermons as these that are worth publishinij and
have a permanent \ii\ue."— I^esbi/terian Journal.
THE HEART OF THE GOSPEL. Twelve Sermons,
delivered at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, London,
England. By Arthur T. Pierson. IGmo, cloth,
gilt top, $1.25.
" They stand as examples of Dr. Pierson 's conspicuous abil-
ity as an extempore speaker. The sermons ring out the good
old Gospel in sweet clarion tones. Tiiere is no uncertainty
as to their doctrinal orthodoxy, nor is there any lack of adap-
tation in them for winning souls." — N. T. Observer.
MILK AND MEAT. Twenty-four Sermons. By
Rev. A. C. Dixon, D.D., Pastor of theHan.son Place
Baptist Church, Brooklyn, N. Y. 12ino, cloth,
$1.25.
These discourses which have been delivered to very large and
enthusiastic audiences, seek in book form a still wider hear-
ing. The author's nervous, energetic, and |»ictures(|ue stvle
of exposition gives his spoken and written woids an nntlaggfng
interest, which holds the auditor and reader to the end. Apt-
ness of illustration and pointeil and forceful presentation
characterize the book: while avoiding the grotesque, it \»
thoroughly popular, entertaining, anil natural.
Sent, postpaid, on receipt of the price, by
THE BAKER & TAYLOR CO., PiBusHERe,
o AND 7 East JSixteentji St., ^sew Yuuk.
BAKER <& TAYLOR CO.'S PUBLICATIONS.
EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS ON THE GOSPELS.
By Rt. Rev. J. C. Ryle, D.D., Bishop of Liverpool.
7 vols., 12mo, cloth, in a set, $8.00. Matthew,
1 vol. ; Mark, 1 vol. ; Luke, 2 vols. ; John, 3 vols.
Each volume, $1.25.
The seven volumes, convenient in size and agirregating-
nearly 3000 pages, are devoted as follows : one to JVIatihew,
one to Mark, two to Luke, three to John. As indicated by
the title, the w^ork is pre-eminently expository in character
In his treatment of Matthew, Mark, and Luke the author
divides the text of sacred Scripture into passages of about
twelve verses each, which, taken as a whole, serves as a basis
for a continuous series of short, plain " Expositions." To this
method he adds, w^hen treating the Gospel by John, the verse
by verse exegesis. The practical lessons and inferences from
the passages given are followed by notes explanatory, doctrinal,
and hortatory, and the views ol other commentators are pre-
sented from time to time.
"It is the kernels without the shells." — Christian Union.
" It is the master work of a master workman, and shall
abide among the noblest works of the noblest expositor of the
truth of God." — Religious Herald.
"As practical expositions, these Notes on the Gospels are
not excelled by any works on the Gospels in our language." —
Evangelical Repository.
"We are always glad to get a new book from the pen of
this admirable writer. His thoughts are w^arm, earnest, spir-
itual, and practical. Indeed there are few modern writers who
more happily combine the instructive with the popular style
of writing." — Neic York Observer.
"We regard them as taking the lead of all works of the
same kind in respect to soundness of doctrinal views, and in
regard to clear and consistent statements pertaining to the fun-
damental points of redemption. The ' Thoughts ' are critical,
historical, exegetical, and devotional, and will be of permanent
value in the family, in the school, and in the instructions of
the House of God." — Episcopalian.
Sent, postpaid, on receipt of the price, by
THE BAKER & TAYLOR CO., Publisheks,
5 AND 7 East Sixteenth St., New York.
BAKER <t- TAYLOR CO.'S PUBLICATIONS.
SPURQEON'S LAST AND BEST WORK.
THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM: A Popular
Exposition of the Gospel accohding to Mat-
thew. By C. H. Spurgeon. With IntnKiuctory
Note by Mrs. C. H. Spurgeon, and an Introduftimi
to the American Edition l>y Arthur T. Pierson.
12mo, cloth, 512 pp. $1.50.
This commentary on llie Gospel according to Mutlhew is
the latest and ripest of his life's labors. It will he found h
tree, laden Mil h rich fruit; and evidencing a soil singulaily
fertile, and the culture uhich bespeaks a divine hushiindman.
It is his latest work, and has in a sense the aroma of his dying
days, and is a simple, brief, and charming memorial of the
most effective poinilar preacher of his age. Every page is,
like his sermons, full of his Master, aud yet sparkling witli Lis
own unique individuality.
"This book is the rich fruit of an experience of the needs
of Christian readers more full aud varied than lias been given
to many men. It would be gilding refined gold to recommend
the expository work of Spurgeon to our readers : they all know
what it is. But for their information we may explain that
text by text, or two or three texts taken together, the Gospel
is gone over with brief, practical, pungent, and very spiritual
comment, rising at times into eloquence such as Spurgeon was
master of. The titles of the various sections are in tliemselves
illuminating, giving in a very few words a comprehensive view
of the contents of the section. In this book its consecrated
writer, being dead, yet speaketh to an audience larger, we
believe, than any that ever heard his voice in life."— AVmj York
Evangelist.
" This is a work in Mr. Spurgeon 's usual style, full of good
thoughts plainly expressed. The idea of the title is wrought
into every part of the book. Every section has sometliing
about either the King or the Kingdom. The work is topically
arranged, and so has a topical table of contents, sueh as the
Pedigree of the King, The Birth of the King, The King Ap-
pearing, and The King A-ssailed, and .so on to the end of iia
twenty-eight sections " — Church Advocate.
Sent, postpaid, on receipt of the price, by
THE BAKEK & TAYLOR CO., Publisiieks.
5 AND 7 Ea.st Sixteenth St., New Yokk.
DATE DUE
Ogg..a 1.J
m
gfl!f«%5'tSH.il;*Si5S;
m^^m&^Si^
1
OAVLORD
PWINTXDINU • A
./ \-i