"A certain nobleman went into a far country, to receive for himself a kingdom and to return.... But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will, not have this man to reign over us.... And when he was returned.... he said.... Those mine enemies which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me" (Luke 19:12-2712He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. 13And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. 14But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us. 15And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. 16Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds. 17And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities. 18And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds. 19And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities. 20And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin: 21For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow. 22And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow: 23Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury? 24And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds. 25(And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.) 26For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him. 27But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me. (Luke 19:12‑27)).
A SOLEMN message to send, was it not? Another company on an eternally memorable day cried, “Not this man, but Barabbas” (John 18:4040Then cried they all again, saying, Not this man, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber. (John 18:40)), and, alas, many around us re-echo it! And who is He whom they reject? He is the One who gave” His life a ransom for many" (Mark 10:4545For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. (Mark 10:45)); “Who laid down his life for the sheep" (John 10:1515As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. (John 10:15)); Who for our "sakes became poor” (2 Cor. 8:99For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. (2 Corinthians 8:9)); Who “humbled himself and became obedient unto death” (Phil. 2:88And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. (Philippians 2:8)); and who says to you, reader, " Come unto me, and I will give you rest " (Matt. 11:2828Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)). What answer will you give Him? What message will you send to Him as He sits at His Father's right hand waiting to bless you? By and bye He will return to this world, not as a Saviour, but “in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them who know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thess. 1:88In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: (2 Thessalonians 1:8)), and " what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? "of His" enemies” who will not have Rim to reign over them?
“Slay them before me" are awfully solemn words to hear.
But how good it is to turn away from this dark picture, and. to be able to say until He comes back, the Gospel of the grace of God is being proclaimed, and that God has sent His messengers into this world to make known to sinners His love and grace. One of His messengers wrote, " Now, then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God " (2 Cor. 5:2020Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. (2 Corinthians 5:20)). Think of God, and Christ, and their messengers, beseeching sinners to be reconciled! It is not you who need beseech God to save you, but God who stoops so ow that He beseeches you to accept what He so freely offers, even His own Son as a Saviour.
Listen to what another messenger writes, “This, then, is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:55This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. (1 John 1:5)), and later on he adds, "God is love," "God is light," to show you how unfit you are for His presence, and He is come to make known to you that He has provided a way whereby you may be cleansed from your sins.
'Oh, listen to the message! God, who is light and love, has given His Son, who has borne all that sinners deserve, and He can now righteously forgive sins, and take saved sinners to dwell with Him, where the precious blood, and the One who shed it, are ever before Him. God wants you to believe what He says, and the messenger who wrote His message could say, “We have known and believed the love that God hath to us” (1 John 4:1616And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. (1 John 4:16)).
I stood at the entrance of a little fruit stall in the center of a fashionable resort, and under the very shadow of a time honored abbey. Through the half shut door a low moaning reached my ears, and seeing no one, I pushed it open and found behind a screen an old woman in bed, evidently very ill. On a table beside her were arranged all that care could provide—fruit, jelly, wine,—and close to what appeared the visitor's chair or stool, lay prayer book and hymn book, while on the foot of the bed was nailed a "daily prayer for the sick." All this I noticed while trying to sympathize with the sufferer, and to gain her attention. I told her of the precious blood which cleanses us from all sin; but she replied not. Then I said, “You are all alone to day, shall I do anything for you?" She waived me off with an unmistakable gesture; and, speaking for the first time, she said, “No—its too much talking for me.”
I turned sadly away, feeling sure that it was the "message," and not the "talking," which was distasteful to her, and fearing that she was like those who sent the message: “We will not have this man." Reader, be warned in time. Religion surrounded this woman, but religion without Christ; she had prayers in profusion (and God forbid they should not profit her), but prayers are not a Saviour.
Another aged dying woman I think of. She had found out that a religion of words will not do for God, that "God is light;" and as she sat in her cottage with none of the comforts of this life around her, she moaned bitterly, “I'm a poor creature past eighty—just to think of being doomed down to the misery of hell forever! doomed down to the misery of hell forever!" It was solemn to hear; but better to find one who realized her state before God, and who eagerly listened to the message, than to see one in like case turn away from the Gospel as "too much talking," and act like one of the "enemies" of Christ. Nest time that I visited my aged friend, it was not the misery of hell which occupied her, but she had begun to understand that "God is love," and over and over again she repeated, “Jesus is the Saviour! He is the Saviour! “and oh, what a Saviour Is He yours, reader?
H. L. H.