BEFORE Christ came, God was pleased to speak "at sundry times and in divers manners" by the prophets. In these last days He has taken a more wonderful way. His Son became incarnate, and He has spoken unto us by Him; He being the brightness of God's glory, and the express image of His person.
The great thing for us to feel in our hearts, dear reader, is that God has spoken. He has spoken to man all down the ages since the fall, calling him back to Himself, and now, in the blessed person of His Son He has addressed Himself to us. "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him" (Matt. 17:55While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. (Matthew 17:5)).
It is a wonderful thing, when you think of it, and what ought to affect our hearts very much, that God in the person of Christ addresses Himself to us; and if He speaks to us, it is for our everlasting good. The great question is, Have we heard the voice of God through the lips of His Son, and has it wrought any change in us? God says," Hear ye him." Have you heard Him, dear reader, and has the word affected you? The word of Christ is a life-giving word. He says, "The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live" (John 5:2525Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. (John 5:25)). Those who hear get life, everlasting life.
How important it is to hear the voice of the Son of God,—God speaking to us by His Son.
But, for a moment, we will look at God speaking by the prophets. May His word affect us.
The word of God by Haggai was, "Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Consider your ways" (Hag. 1:77Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways. (Haggai 1:7)).
The word of God by Daniel was, “Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting” (Dan. 5:2727TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. (Daniel 5:27)).
The word of God by David was, "The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.”
The word of God by Isaiah was, " Come now and let us reason together, saith the Lord: Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool" (Isa. 1:1818Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. (Isaiah 1:18)).
God spake by the prophets. And clearly the object that God had, was to turn those whom He was addressing to Himself. “Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways for why will ye die, O house of Israel?” (Ezek. 33:1111Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel? (Ezekiel 33:11).)" Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my Spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you (Prov. 1:2323Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you. (Proverbs 1:23)). But “they would none of my counsel; they despised all my reproof "(Prov. 1:3030They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. (Proverbs 1:30)).
God has come nearer to man than speaking through the prophets, so intense is His desire to bless man. He has in the person of His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, addressed Himself to man. He has Himself, veiling His glory in the spotless humanity of the man Christ Jesus, come into our very midst, as a man amongst men—the most accessible of men—and spoken to man. “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them" (2 Cor. 5:99Wherefore we labor, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. (2 Corinthians 5:9)). Such is the wondrous grace of God.
And if God's word to all is, "Hear ye him," of what importance is it to inquire, Have we heard Him? has His word affected us? has it proved life to our souls? Oh, how solemn to have God speaking to us in such a way, and for us to turn a deaf ear to all that He says, preferring the voice of the deceiver to the voice of God, " and the pleasures of sin for a season " to the everlasting joys of His presence Beloved reader, how is it with you? Have you heard God speaking to you in the blessed person of His only begotten Son? Has His word reached your heart and conscience? If not, heed, I beseech you, His voice without delay. "Hear ye him." He will not always speak in grace; that Son of God, by whom God has spoken to us in grace, is also the executor of divine judgment. "All judgment is committed into his hand," and soon He will arise, first, to gather His people to Himself in glory (1 Thess. 4:16-1816For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18Wherefore comfort one another with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:16‑18)), and then to judge and shake terribly the earth. Oh, hear Him; delay not.
What has the Son of God said? Listen, "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up; that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:14-1614And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 16For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:14‑16)).
Again: "Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink." "Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life" (John 7:3737In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. (John 7:37); John 4:1414But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. (John 4:14)).
Blessed words these, so full of love, tenderness, life, light, and rest and peace, for the needy perishing sinner.
Beloved reader, hear them, heed them, receive them as the voice of God; believe them, and they will prove life and salvation to you. Read carefully John 5:24, 2524Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. 25Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. (John 5:24‑25). E. A.