On going to look over an empty house, in the neighborhood of London, which was to let, I found a very clean and civil old woman in charge, who most readily answered all questions — showing me over the place with the greatest alacrity and attention. Just as I was leaving, my eye lighted upon an old coverless Bible, lying on the stairs, as if not worth carrying away when the house was emptied of its furniture. On taking it up I asked my old friend what book it was?
“Oh!” said she, “sure ’tis a very good book!”
“Why is it a good book?”
“Because it tells us of heaven―and of God.”
“Are you afraid of Him?” I continued.
“Indeed I am,” ―quoth she, suiting the action to the word by placing her hands upon her hips, till her elbows stuck out akimbo― “about the only one I am afraid of!”
Poor dear! How true; how natural; a thorough daughter of a coward father―of Adam; who, when he heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the evening, and the question “Where art thou?” said, “I was afraid.” For once the world is right when it repeats the saying, “Conscience makes cowards of us all.” The fall brought in conscience―i.e., the knowledge of good and evil― and that told man he could not stand in the presence of the Holy, Holy, Holy God.
“Ah!” I replied to her; “that is because you don’t know Him as the One who loved poor sinners, and gave Jesus, His Son, to die in the place of such as you and me, who deserved eternal wrath; and now because Jesus HAS died, is risen from the dead, and ascended to God’s right hand, He has sent the Holy Ghost to tell us through the word―this Bible―that ‘all who believe ARE justified from ALL things” (Acts 13:3939And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. (Acts 13:39)). She listened as I tried to tell her of God’s love, and the “It is finished” work of the Lord Jesus Christ for sinners; a work by which all who believe are made fit to be in the presence of God; are fit NOW; Christ being their fitness; their sins having been met by His precious blood; their positive badness all put away; and the One who did this constituted their positive goodness before God, “for he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Cor. 5:2121For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)). The old woman said she would take this precious book home, and read it; giving me, at the same time, some pins, which she drew out of her dress, to mark one or two of the passages I referred to. Two of them were: “To him that WORKETH NOT but BELIEVETH on him that justifieth the ungodly, HIS FAITH is COUNTED FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS” (Rom. 4:55But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. (Romans 4:5)); and, “The blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:77But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (1 John 1:7)). May the Spirit of God have taken home to her heart these two portions; she would then have learned that, instead of the loving, giving God being “about the only one she was afraid of,” He had Himself righteously removed every cause for fear in giving His Son to die, to atone for sins, and by His blood cleanse the sinner; and, further, the poor hell-deserving sinner, thus cleansed is “accepted in the beloved,” so that not only has guilt been put away, but a perfect righteousness liar the once guilty one been established. Thus she would have been able to say, on the warrant of God’s word, “I have peace with GOD through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:11Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: (Romans 5:1)). And further, “And not only so, but I joy (make my boast) in GOD through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1111And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. (Romans 5:11)). No fear; PEACE and JOY in its place.
And now, my reader, how is it with you? “Are You afraid of Him?” If so, why delay availing yourself of the provision God has made for a fearful descendant of coward Adam. This He has provided in the last Adam―the second man―God’s own Son, so that instead of being afraid, and trying to hide from God, as your first parent did, you can stand in the full blaze of “the light,” and say, “Perfect love casts out fear,” for God Himself―the HOLY GOD―says in His own word, and THEREFORE I believe it, “Herein is love with us (margin) made perfect that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: There is no fear in love, because, as he Is, SO ARE WE in THIS world” (1 John 4:17, 1817Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. 18There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. (1 John 4:17‑18)). It is so blessedly simple. God has said it; Jesus has done it; I believe it; Do YOU?
“What shall we then say to these things? ‘If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things. . . . It is God that justifieth, who is he that condemneth?”
Clean every whit―Thou midst it, Lord;
Shall one suspicion lurk?
Thine surely is a faithful word,
And Thine a “finished work,”
S. V. H.