IT is of importance that we recognize, to the very fullest extent, the various moral and religious advantages attaching to the position and character of Nicodemus; for, just in proportion as we see and weigh them, do we see the utter insufficiency of all such things to give true rest and satisfaction to an immortal soul. If we had before our eyes a grossly wicked person, a scandalous liver, a drunkard, a thief, or an extortioner, we should all of us feel disposed to say, that such a man has just cause to be dissatisfied with himself, and uneasy as to the future, for, without any manner of question, he is plainly on the broad road that leadeth down to everlasting burnings.
But when we look at Nicodemus, " a man of the Pharisees "—" a ruler of the Jews "—" a master of Israel "—a man evidently occupying the very highest position, and enjoying the very highest religious reputation; when we see such a man giving clear proof of dissatisfaction and uneasiness, it should lead us all to consider well our position and prospects. If Nicodemus, surrounded by everything calculated to lull the conscience into repose, and to fill the heart with confidence and self-gratulation—if a man like him had serious misgivings as to his entire position and prospects, then, most assuredly, it becomes all to look well to their foundations and title deeds.
And it may not be amiss to remind the reader that he must not suppose that the term " Pharisee," in our use of it, presents the same idea as it did in New Testament tunes'. Now-a-days, a man would deem it an insult to be called a Pharisee. But, in the days of Nicodemus, to be a Pharisee was about the most respectable and enviable position that anyone could enjoy. Paul, when he counts up his advantages as a man in the flesh, when he enumerates those things of which he might naturally boast himself, names this amongst the rest, '' As touching the law, a Pharisee.'' To be a Pharisee, therefore, was something to be proud of, as a man. It was viewed as an advantage of the very highest order.
Now, Nicodemus was a Pharisee. He seems to have had every possible religious advantage; and yet he was ill at ease. He had secret misgivings. He was not sure of his foundations. He was dissatisfied with himself, and with his surroundings.
We shall see presently how much reason he bad to be uneasy. We are now as occupied with the fact that he was so. He fat in himself somehow that all was not right, that lie lacked something; and that that something was not to be found in the system to which he was attached, and in which lie occupied such a high position. His heart was not at rest, and his uneasiness was evidenced by the fact of his coming to Jesus.
Now, there is something uncommonly interesting in the history of a man like Nicodemus; and not only interesting bat most instructive. We may here learn in the plainest possible manner, that no system of religion under the sun can ever satisfy the cravings of an awakened conscience, or hush the anxieties of an earnest soul. If any one could find peace in a religious position, or by means of religious observances, Nicodemus might have done so. He was a leader in that system which had been set up by God Himself,—a public teacher and guide of the professed people of God. He sat actually in Moses' seat, and could, as we say, give chapter and verse for all those institutions with which he stood connected. There is no system now existing, or that ever has existed, call it what you please, Greek church, Latin church, Anglican church, high, low, or broad, no religious organization beneath the canopy of heaven, that can put forth such claims as the Jewish polity, inasmuch as this latter was a divine institution, whereas all the former are of human devising, and cannot stand the test of holy scripture for a single moment; they are not of God, though many of God's beloved people and Christ's honored servants are enrolled as members of them.
Bat the religious system in which Nicodemus was trained could boast of having its foundation laid by the hand of the Lord God of Israel. We speak now only of the Jewish economy—its ordinances and offices, which was set up of God, for His own wise ends, a shadow, no doubt, of good things to come; but still appointed of God, and as such, possessing more powerful claims' upon the heart and conscience, than any other system before or since.
And yet Judaism could not satisfy Nicodemus. No; nor can any ism on the face of this earth satisfy the aspirations of a heart that has been roused, in any measure, to a sense of the reality of eternal things. The wants of the soul are far too deep and manifold to be supplied by the fairest and most imposing appliances of systematized religiousness.
Some, however, may feel disposed to say, ' We can understand how drat no merely human system of religion can meet the soul's need; but was not Judaism set up of God? Were not its sacrifices and its priesthood, its laws and its ordinances, of divine appointment? why then could they not moot all the requirements of the soul, and hush the anxieties of the heart?"
If the reader will turn to Heb. 9 and x he will find an elaborate answer to this question—an answer penned by the Holy Ghost, for the special benefit of those who had been taught from their earliest days to build upon the resources of the Jewish religion, and who, though, like Nicodemus, they had discovered their utter inadequacy to meet their need, and had been taught to look to something outside and beyond them all, were nevertheless in danger, through the craft of Satan and the egregious folly of the human heart, of being led back again to the unsatisfying shadows of a by-gone ago on which " Ichabod" had been written, in characters deep and broad, by the hand of Jehovah Himself.
We feel that we cannot do better than quote some passages, lest the reader should not have his Bible at hand.
Speaking of the Jewish economy, the inspired apostle says, " Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary."
Let us mark this, dear reader, " Ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary." Do we not see abundance of this around us in the professing church? May we not observe, on all hands, a sedulous effort to introduce " ordinances " and to set up " worldly sanctuaries?" And all this, not merely in strict accordance with the letter of Old Testament scripture, but according to the commandments, doctrines, and traditions of men, the dictates of the human will, and the wild wanderings of the human imagination. Alas! alas! it is so; and souls in an unconverted state, some utterly careless; some perhaps really serious and anxious, are taught to build upon and make their boast in what can only be regarded as mere consecrated vanities. All this is perfectly appalling to every thoughtful mind.
But let us proceed with our quotation. The apostle informs us that this worldly sanctuary, with all flat appertained to it " Was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation." And again, " For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect." Heb. 9:1, 9, 10; 10:1.
How was it possible for any earnest heart or awakened conscience to find rest in such a system? How could shadows tranquillize a troubled soul? Impossible. We want solid realities—divine substance—eternal verities—accomplished facts.
And yet, though this be so, is it not most deplorable to mark the way in which precious souls are being led astray by the cruel deceiver, and taught to build upon rites and ceremonies which are not even a shadow of good things to come, but a blind to hide from the sinner's view the good things that have come the glorious work that has been accomplished, and the Person of Him who has accomplished it? Is it not perfectly heart-sickening to see our fellow-men bewitched and deceived by the gross absurdities of ritualism, bowing's, scrapings, genuflections, vestments, stained windows, and candles in broad day-light? What folly! what an insult to common sense! Only think of men shutting out the light of heaven by their stained glass, and then lighting candles on what they dare to call the altar of God! And these silly vanities are offered to immortal souls as a basis for their eternal salvation! They are virtually and really, though not professedly, robbed of Christ, His sacrifice, and His priesthood, and instead of Him, they are furnished with the senseless mummeries of a dark and degrading superstition.
We write not to give offense to a single reader of Things New and Old," but we must write as we feel or else lay down the pen, and resign our Editorship. How can we be silent, when we see the glorious gospel of Christ abandoned, and immortal souls ruined by thousands? We really cannot; we must speak, whether men will hear, or whether they will forbear. We must sound a warning note in the ears of our fellow-men, and solemnly call upon them to abandon every refuge of lies, to flee from the wrath to come, and find refuge and rest in that one divine and eternal Sacrifice which was offered on the cross eighteen hundred and forty years ago, and is as fresh and as efficacious to-day, as when it was presented by the eternal. Son, and accepted by the Father. Why will the teachers of Christendom persist in leading souls astray? Why will they continue to give them shadows instead of substance? Why will they not open their eyes to see, and their ears to bear the history of the Jewish system? Why will they not learn from it the utter worthlessness of a religion of shadowy representations? Why was Judaism set aside? Because it could not niche him that did its services perfect, as pertaining to his conscience. By what has Judaism been displaced? By the Person, the Sacrifice, and the Priesthood of the Son of God. But what are the ritualistic doctors of Christendom doing? They are actually displacing the Son of God, His Person, and His work, by shadows of their own devising; by rites and ceremonies for which there is not a shadow of authority within the covers of the volume of God.
And we would ask is it not positively impious as before God, to set up a system of carnal ordinances, when He has abolished forever that system which He Himself set up, because it could not satisfy His claims, or meet the sinner's deep necessities? And is it not absolutely cruel to teach people to build the salvation of their souls upon ordinances which do not even possess the value or dignity of those which God has for over set aside by the cross of Christ? The fact is, modern ritualism is neither Christianity nor Judaism, but a mongrel system graved and fashioned by art and man's device, and used of Satan to set aside the glorious Christianity of the Now Testament, to dishonor Christ, and ruin eternally the souls of men.
Christian reader, are we sufficiently awake to the awful condition of things in the church of God? Are we sufficiently in earnest as to the truth of God, and the souls of men? Are we sufficiently alive to the great interests at stake? Are we not sadly deficient in our appreciation of the Person and work of Christ, and the value and authority of the word of God? Are we not terribly cold and indifferent as to the state of souls around us? Do let us weigh these things in the divine presence. Let us wait earnestly upon God and ask Him to stir up our whole moral being in reference to these grand realities. May He graciously deliver us from all cold formality and dead routine; and make us fresh, earnest, deep toned, thoroughly devoted to Christ, and His blessed cause. Time is very short. Souls are perishing. The door of mercy, held open for eighteen long centuries in long-suffering mercy, will soon be closed, closed forever against those who are moving up and down, and in and out before our eyes every day. May God, in His rich grace and abounding mercy, waken us all up to a sense of our responsibility, and lead us forth in calm steady purpose of heart, not in the spasmodic efforts of a fitful zeal, to serve Him in our day and generation!
(To be continued if the Lord will)