Part 3
Some great man of old once declared that words were the only things that live forever. If this is true of the words of men, how much more so is it of the Word of God, the affirmation, the promise, the pledge, of the great I am. Its foundations of adamant are anchored in eternal truth, against its base the angry assaults of bigotry and unbelief will be driven in vain. Its walls will stand four square when the ancient landmarks of dogma, formalism and ecclesiasticism lapse into ruin and decay. Though the earth and starry worlds wax old like a garment, the Word of God which represents his faithfulness and the Cross of Christ which represents his Love, will stand impregnable amid the wreck of worlds.
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; but the Word of our God shall stand forever. _Isaiah 40:8_.
AMMUNITION GONE.
There is a giant cliff on the bank of the Hudson river opposite the military post of West Point. This rugged promontory has been the target for rifle practice for almost one hundred years. Tons of lead have been poured against its stubborn side and there is no apparent rift or seam in the granite walls. In a similar way the Word of God and the Truth of God have been the target for hostile attack for hundreds and thousands of years. Agnosticism, scholasticism and unbelief have trained their destructive batteries upon the most cherished promises of God and upon the earnest belief of his people, but thus far without effect. The signs are that now their munitions of war are exhausted, their ammunition is gone. In dismay they see the conquering hosts of Jehovah
Marching on to war, With the Cross of Jesus, going on before.
No weapon that is forged against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. _Isaiah 54:17._
“I CAN’T SEE IT.”
All of human experience is not contained in seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling and feeling. The five senses are not the boundaries of human knowledge. Humanity is endowed with higher faculties than these. If one chooses to live on a plane higher than that of the brute he may experience emotions and aspirations that are higher than those of the animal kingdom. He may also rise still higher and think the thoughts of God. To do so, however, one must approach God in the proper attitude and in a manner consistent with His being. God is a spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. They that approach the throne of mercy in any other manner, whether in vaunting conceit or by impertinent inquisition, will find the heavens a brazen canopy that will send back the echo of their prayers. The starry skies reveal no beauty to those who cover their telescopic lens with a flannel rag, and God’s revelation contains no word of promise to those who cloak it with their own conceit.
O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not. _Jeremiah 5:21._
INFIDELITY’S ATTACK.
So universal has the authority and influence of Jesus Christ become that it is no longer possible to dispute his sway by resort to argument. In the court of final appeal men are forced to confess that he is the most matchless character, the most loving and forgiving and patient man of history. The majority of us are compelled to admit that such rare traits would be impossible in a life that was less than divine. But there are men who see no loveliness in him and if they can not attack by argument they must attack him by abuse. They resort to ridicule, blasphemy and falsehood, and though the spectacle thus presented is one that shocks the finer sense in almost every human heart, nevertheless there are those who will pay a liberal admission to see this performance enacted.
I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh. _Proverbs 1:26._
SEEDTIME AND HARVEST.
One is apt to forget that the way of eternal life is the way of nature; that the system of rewards and punishments which God has provided for holiness and for sin is in strict accord with the laws of nature. We are all aware of the fact that we cannot sin against nature with impunity. If we do violence to any of her laws we must make prompt and strict payment for the offense. The proof of this is seen everywhere; in the bent form, the hair prematurely gray, the halting figure and the wrecks of manhood and womanhood that cross our path daily. Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap. If he sows the seeds of dissipation, he will surely reap a harvest of disease, want, sorrow and misery. If he sows the wind he will reap the whirlwind.
There is a way that seemeth right unto a man; but the end thereof are the ways of death. _Proverbs 16:25._
HIS REAL SELF.
Every man has two natures. Under the influence of one he descends to the carnal and base, under the influence of the other he ascends to the spiritual and noble. It is within the power of any man to pursue the former or the latter. To assist him in achieving the latter he is offered a model or a pattern by which he may work. With this pattern in his eye, any one, however misshapen in mind or heart, may work out for himself a moral image, grand, perfect and enduring. In the person of Christ, God has shown us what a man ought to be, and he will never be satisfied until we approach that ideal.
Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. _Ephesians 4:13._
THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD.
It is claimed by many observers that a two-horse wagon has never gone where the Bible did not go first. It is certainly a significant fact that international commerce has everywhere followed in the wake of the gospel. The intrepid missionary invaded the wilds of China, India, Madagascar and the islands of the southern sea long before the trading ships of the merchants dared to enter their ports. Everywhere the foul and ravenous beasts of tyranny, ignorance and superstition have retired at the introduction of the glorious light of the cross. Christianity has blazed the pathway and civilization has followed. Now the rainbow arch of the gospel spans the continents and seas, from Greenland’s icy mountains to India’s coral strands, and we seem to hear the glad shout of ten million ransomed souls who sing with the ancient Psalmist, “The entrance of thy word giveth Light.”
The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. _Isaiah 4:2._
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Transcriber’s Notes:
――Text in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_).
――Punctuation and spelling inaccuracies were silently corrected.
――Archaic and variable spelling has been preserved.