Number 3. “God for Us”
WE have learned from our Chinese Characters something about SIN, something about the SAVIOUR from sin, and how He gives RIGHTEOUSNESS to those who put their trust in the Lamb of God. Today I want to tell you a little more about that precious SAVIOUR, but this must be specially for those who have trusted Him, and have that righteousness, —for if you will not believe that Jesus died for you and bore your sins on the cross, I am afraid you will not believe what I have to tell you today.
These two characters we have before us today are somewhat alike, as you can see. The right-hand part of both is the same, and they both are pronounced alike, and both mean “to protect,” but there really is a very great difference. The right-hand part of both means “the right arm,” but the left-hand part of the one in the square on the right means “man,” and the left hand part of the one on the left, might be translated ‘God.” What a difference! The one in the right-hand square might be translated, “Protected by the right arm of man,” and the one in the left-hand square, “Protected by the right arm of God.”
Now, I wonder which my little reader is protected by? What a wonderful thing to think of being protected by the RIGHT ARM OF GOD, now and forever! Have you that for your protection? Or are you like the boy I heard of once, who had a lovely new knife given to him. That night he didn’t say his prayers, and when his mother asked him
“Why?” He said, “What does a boy with a knife like that, need to say prayers for?”
You see he was trusting to the fine big knife in “man’s hand” to protect him. That might help a little down here, but it would be of no use to protect us when death comes along; or when, after death, the judgment comes, and even here. I think the little boy would have been better off with the “Right Arm of God” to protect him, don’t you?
In our last “Lesson from Chinese” we spoke about the Chinese character with the “Lamb” above, and “me” below, and we thought of the way in which the Lamb of God had borne all the judgment of God for my sins, and protected me from all the waves and the billows of the wrath of God, and how they had all rolled over our Lord Jesus, while we were safely hidden in HIM.
I think perhaps in this lesson we may think of even more than this. Not only are we protected from the righteous wrath of God against our sin, but He has given us His own righteousness, and we are counted righteous, or just. God has justified us. But this is not all. In the eighth chapter of Romans, we read,
“Whom He called, them He also justified: and whom He justified, them He also glorified. What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?”
Yes, children, God is for us. You know that if we are playing a game, and we have a very, very good player for us, we are almost sure to win. But just think what it is to have the Almighty God for us. Is that not wonderful? It is not an arm of flesh, —a man’s arm,—we have for us to protect us,—no, it is the Right Arm of God. God is for us. And yet God has to ask the question, “To whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?” O, dear children, if it has never been revealed to you, go right now, and ask Him to reveal it to you, and this is Christ.
There was once a good king called Hezekiah, and a great king of Assyria came to fight against him. Now Hezekiah didn’t have much strength, and the king of Assyria thought he could easily conquer him, but Hezekiah said to his people,
“Be strong and courageous, be not afraid, nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him: with him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God to help us, and to fight our battles.” And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah. Here was a man to whom the Arm of the Lord was revealed, and the people could rest on that. What are we resting on?
I always love those words,
“With us is the Lord our God to help us, and to fight our battles.” Now perhaps the little children who read this will say,
“But we haven’t any battles to fight, we are only little.”
Yes, you are only little, but if you have put your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. and are one of His little ones, then you have battles to fight. You have three very great enemies, each one terribly strong. Their names are, “the world, the flesh and the devil,” and you have to fight against them. If you try to fight them in your own strength, you are perfectly certain to be beaten: but if you have the right arm of God to fight for you, and let Him fight your battles for you, you are absolutely certain to win. Yes, when we believe in the Lord Jesus, then we become soldiers of Jesus Christ: He is the Captain of our salvation, and children let me tell you, we are fighting tinder a Captain Who has never lost a battle, and Who never will. We may trust Him absolutely, and all we need to do is to obey Him implicitly. The hymn says,
“The arm of flesh will fail you, We dare not trust our own.”
This is true but the Arm of the Lord will never, never fail you. May He help us to trust Him entirely!
Is God for me? I’ll not fear,
Though all against me rise;
When I call on Christ my Saviour,
The host of evil flies.
My Friend, the Lord Almighty,
And He who loves me, God!
What enemy shall harm me,
Though coming as a flood?
I know it, —I believe it,—
I say it fearlessly, —
That God, the Highest, Mightiest,
Forever loveth me.
At all times, in all places,
He standeth at my side;
He rules the battle fury,
The tempest and the tide.
ML 08/03/1924