Man's Utter Break Down: God's Perfect Resource.

From: Tidings of Life and Peace: 1908

Narrator: Chris Genthree

Duration: 8min

“A man shall be as an hiding-place.”―Isaiah 32:2²And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. (Isaiah 32:2).

THE entrance of God’s Son into this world proved the crowning test as to how far man under probation was able to respond to the righteous claims of God. Other tests there had been, for the long-suffering of God waited upon His sinful and rebellious creatures (Ex. 34:6⁶And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, (Exodus 34:6); Matt. 21:33-39³³Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country: ³⁴And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. ³⁵And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. ³⁶Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise. ³⁷But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. ³⁸But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. ³⁹And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. (Matthew 21:33‑39); 1 Peter 3:20²⁰Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. (1 Peter 3:20); 2 Peter 3:15¹⁵And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; (2 Peter 3:15)). But each successive test only demonstrated the utter inability of man after the flesh to produce one bit of fruit for God; nay, more, it brought to light the solemn fact that man, under the most favorable conditions, and exalted to heaven with privileges, was in a state of enmity and complete alienation from God (Isa. 5:2-4²And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. ³And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. ⁴What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? (Isaiah 5:2‑4); Matt. 11:20-24, 26:48-49, 28:11-50; Rom. 8:6-8⁶For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. ⁷Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. ⁸So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. (Romans 8:6‑8)). Jews and Gentiles, rulers, priests, scribes, soldiers, and common people joined hands in casting out of this world the “sent one” of God (Acts 4:23-28²³And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them. ²⁴And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is: ²⁵Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? ²⁶The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ. ²⁷For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, ²⁸For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done. (Acts 4:23‑28)). But the death of Jesus was the closing up, as before God, of man’s sinful history as born of Adam; and, consequently, an end of His dealings with man under probation.

In the resurrection of Christ a NEW DAY was inaugurated, and the first Gospel message from a risen and triumphant Saviour was conveyed to the Jerusalem sinners, who deliberately preferred a murderer to the Holy Son of God (Luke 23:18¹⁸And they cried out all at once, saying, Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas: (Luke 23:18)).

Reader, who, think you, but a Being of infinite love and grace could have devised such a way of making His heart known to lost and bankrupt sinners? And still the glad message is being heralded forth, proclaiming to the hungry and thirsty and sin-laden children of men the wondrous fact that redemption IS ACCOMPLISHED; that God has been glorified in the death of Jesus; and the mighty Victor is enthroned in power and glory at the right hand of God (Eph. 1:20-23²⁰Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, ²¹Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: ²²And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, ²³Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all. (Ephesians 1:20‑23)). And it is to you, poor, needy, helpless sinner, whatever your past history may have been, that Jesus the Saviour is presented today. It is not a creed, or a doctrine, but a Living Person who is the subject-matter of the Gospel (Rom. 1:1-3¹Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, ²(Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,) ³Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; (Romans 1:1‑3)). The verse quoted at the head of this paper speaks of “the winds” and “the tempest,” two powerful adverse forces to be reckoned with, sooner or later, by every reader of these pages. The “wind” may fitly represent the active energy of Satan arrayed against all that is of God (Job 1:18-19¹⁸While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house: ¹⁹And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. (Job 1:18‑19); Jer. 4:11-13¹¹At that time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem, A dry wind of the high places in the wilderness toward the daughter of my people, not to fan, nor to cleanse, ¹²Even a full wind from those places shall come unto me: now also will I give sentence against them. ¹³Behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots shall be as a whirlwind: his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe unto us! for we are spoiled. (Jeremiah 4:11‑13); Matt. 14:30³⁰But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. (Matthew 14:30)). Jesus went into the enemy’s stronghold, and in His death destroyed him that had the power of death. The “strong man armed” has been overcome by “a stronger than he” (Heb. 11:14-15¹⁴For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. ¹⁵And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. (Hebrews 11:14‑15); Luke 11:21-22²¹When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: ²²But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armor wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils. (Luke 11:21‑22)). This is why, dear, anxious soul, He can be a present “Hiding-place” for you. And the same blessed Person voluntarily entered into the darkness and distance and abandonment, of Calvary; sustaining and exhausting there the holy judgment of God against sin (John 19:30³⁰When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. (John 19:30); Rom. 8:3³For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: (Romans 8:3)); that He might be able, righteously, to present Himself to every needy, distressed sinner, as a “covert from the tempest.”

“The storm that bowed Thy blessed head,

Is hush’d forever now.”

But the verse also speaks of a “dry place,” and a “weary land”: a twofold description of this world as we find it. No true, lasting pleasure is to be found “under the sun” (Eccl. 2:11¹¹Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labor that I had labored to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 2:11)). It is a “dry place.” The name of God is blasphemed, His beloved Son despised and “disallowed of men” (Isa. 53:3³He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. (Isaiah 53:3); 1 Peter 2:4-7⁴To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, ⁵Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. ⁶Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. ⁷Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, (1 Peter 2:4‑7)). He Who came to express the grace of God to a fallen world, could speak of it as a “dry and thirsty land where no water is” (Psa. 63:1¹<<A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.>> O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; (Psalm 63:1)). Reader, listen: “If any man thirst, let him come unto ME, and drink” (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)). The risen and glorified Christ is the dispenser of “living water,” the Giver of the “Holy Spirit” (John 4:14, 15:26). He alone can minister joy and satisfaction to the longing heart. Thirsty one, yield yourself unreservedly to Him Who is “as rivers of water in a dry place.” It is a “weary land.” Sin and sorrow and suffering abound. “Man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward” (Job 5:7⁷Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward. (Job 5:7)). He Whose mission into this world was to “seek and to save that which was lost, ‘had no place to lay His head (Matt. 8:20²⁰And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. (Matthew 8:20)). He could say: “I am weary of My crying: Mine eyes fail while I wait for My God” (Ps. 63:3). He knew what it was to weep with the sorrow-stricken children of men, and felt, as none other could, the havoc and desolation which sin had wrought in a groaning creation (John 11:35³⁵Jesus wept. (John 11:35)).

Reader, are you a mourner? “Blessed are they that mourn,” says Jesus, “for they SHALL be comforted” (Matt. 5:4⁴Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. (Matthew 5:4)). Lay your burden down at His feet, and like the weeping suppliant in the house of Simon the Pharisee (Luke 7:36-50³⁶And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee's house, and sat down to meat. ³⁷And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, ³⁸And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment. ³⁹Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner. ⁴⁰And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on. ⁴¹There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. ⁴²And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? ⁴³Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged. ⁴⁴And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. ⁴⁵Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. ⁴⁶My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. ⁴⁷Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. ⁴⁸And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. ⁴⁹And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also? ⁵⁰And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace. (Luke 7:36‑50)), you will find, for the comfort and solace of your heart, that Jesus the Saviour will be to you the “shadow of a Great Rock in a weary land.”

Careless one, hitherto indifferent to the claims of God and the voice of your own conscience, we pass on a kindly message to you. Your sins deserve judgment, and you know that you must, one day, give an account of yourself to God (Rom. 14:12¹²So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. (Romans 14:12)). The bare thought of that dread “reckoning day” has often filled you with alarm, and you have trembled as you thought of your dark history and the unsullied holiness of God. Friend, the day of grace will soon have run its course. “The Master of the house will then rise up and shut to the door” (Luke 13:25²⁵When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: (Luke 13:25)). The everlasting doom of all, outside of that closed door, will then be sealed. God has decreed that every knee shall bow to Jesus. The light of a MILLENNIAL DAY will presently dawn upon this world, and God’s glorious King shall reign in righteousness. His dominion shall be “from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth” (Psa. 72; Isa. 32:1¹Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment. (Isaiah 32:1)). That same lowly, despised Nazarene Who could meekly endure the bitter taunts, and blows, and buffetings of His faithless creatures, that God’s Name might be glorified in a Man upon earth, shall wield the scepter and be owned as “Universal Lord.” Men say, “When will He die, and His Name perish?” God has said, “His Name shall endure forever. His Name shall be continued as long as the sun; all nations shall call Him blessed” (Psa. 72:17¹⁷His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed. (Psalm 72:17)). But remember that before Christ’s millennial reign over the earth begins, the judgment of God will over sweep this guilty world, and the scene will be cleared of ALL who refuse to bow to the Name of Jesus.

Friend, hide yourself today under the safe covert of His wings. Listen to “God’s Glad Tidings,” and appropriate to yourself its countless blessings. “And a MAN shall be as an hiding-place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest: as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.” G. F. E.

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