Rejoice O Young Man in Thy Youth
Table of Contents
A Thirsty King
“WHOSOEVER drinketh of this water shall thirst again.”
John 4:13.
THERE was once a rich king who was so very rich that he never refused himself anything. He said, “Whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy.”
This king understood all about young men, for had he not been young himself? He knew all about their joys and their troubles, and he knew their temptations. He remembered how he himself had tried everything there was to try under the sun to bring happiness. He had given himself to wine; he had gathered together silver and gold and treasures; he had gotten him much cattle and forty thousand stalls of horses; he had built himself houses and planted beautiful gardens; he had tried music, the delights of the sons of men, musical instruments of all sorts. He tried laughter and mirth and singing, and he even tried folly and madness; and this is what he writes at the end of it all, "Vanity of vanities, vanity of vanities; all is vanity," and again, "Behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.”
He was not only surpassingly rich, but he was a poet and a writer; he composed over a thousand songs and three thousand proverbs. He was a student too-a scientist; he searched out the reason of things. He could talk about trees, from the greatest to the least, about birds, beasts, insects, fishes. His riches were so astonishing, his wisdom so profound, that the fame of him spread among many nations, and all kings of the earth sought his presence to hear his wisdom that God had given him. Yet at the end of it all, as he considered the matter, his verdict was:
“Behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.”
Why all this discontent, this dissatisfaction?
Why? Just this: all these pleasures, these riches, this knowledge, were things under the sun. His life had been filled with things that do not last, things that pass away; to-day they are, to-morrow they are gone. Hence this empty void, this dissatisfaction, this craving for something more, and yet more.
HE was like a thirsty man who drinks salt water, but the more he drinks the more thirsty he is. Is there no cure? no satisfaction to be found under the sun? Is there nothing that will quench this thirst?
This rich, wise king remembered so well all he passed through in the days of his youth, that he was much concerned for young men who should grow up after him. He sympathized with them and longed to help them, so he wrote down advice and instruction for them.
Here is one of the messages he wrote: "Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment. Therefore remove sorrow [or, anger] from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh.”
Ah, how well he knew that men cannot go on living just as they like, just as they choose. He says, "Know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.”
The wise king knew that young men are responsible to God. Their lives must come to an end some day, and they must answer to God for the way they have spent those lives, and the use they have made of the good things He has entrusted them with.
SO He says: "My son, be admonished."
"Remove sorrow from thy heart, and
put away evil from thy flesh.”
Eccl. 12:12; 11:10.
Living Water
THE following true sketches are sent out with the earnest desire that they may help some young man—aye, many a young man—not only to remember his Creator in the days of his youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh when he shall say, "I have no pleasure in them"; but also to rejoice in his youth with a true joy that nothing and no one can take from him, because it is a joy which has its source above the sun. We pray that these short narratives may help many to turn while they are young and strong, to the One who says:
“Whosoever drinketh of the
water that I shall give him shall
never thirst.”
If this little book should come into the hands of some who are not strong and well, some who are disabled and already know pain and weariness, we long that they too should drink of that living water and be satisfied, and that the living water springing up into everlasting life within them may overflow, so that others around may be refreshed and rejoice with the joy that lasts.
WE commit it to the One whose glory is above the brightness of the sun, to use it as He wills, to whom be praise forever and ever.
Seventy-Odd Years
An Aftermath
WAR! How far-reaching are the effects of war! We are not thinking just now of the Great War that so many of us remember only too well, nor are we thinking of the Boer War, but we carry our thoughts further back still to the time when Queen Victoria was young. It was while leading a gallant charge in the Crimean War that Captain—fell dead.
Let us leave the terrible din and horror of the battle-field and betake us to a quiet country town in far-away England. We see a young woman, a wife, a widow now. Alas! for the effects of war, and alas! for the wee son who made his appearance into such a scene of trouble.
Poor baby! there is no father to give him a welcome, and his mother is in sore grief. He is small, so tiny that they clothe him in cotton wool; and he lives, yes, he lives and grows into a sturdy, handsome boy. Alas! again, how often he tells the old nurse, when she looks at him with pride, that he wishes she had not wrapped him in oil and wool and kept the spark of life in him, he exclaims that he would have been saved a lot of trouble if she had let him die then!
“AND he shall judge among the
nations, and shall rebuke many
people: and they shall beat their swords
into plowshares, and their spears into
pruninghooks: nation shall not lift
up sword against nation, neither shall
they learn war any more.”
Isa. 2:4.
Unhappy Boyhood
POOR little lad! his mother was lonely, so she married again; brothers and sisters came, and Charlie, as we will call him, went out to earn his living when about eight years of age. No one understood this high-spirited boy, he was headstrong and self-willed, and so he was beaten.
“I was a bad boy, I was; my mother used to thrash me nearly every day. She would watch for me at the bend of the road with a stick in her hand, and as soon as I came near, dead tired after a hard day's work, she would lay it on—"this is what he told us.
Sometimes he was thrashed for his own faults, sometimes for his step-brother's misdeeds, and sometimes for the mischievous tricks of his pet jackdaw.
“Oh, Joey," he said one day in the soreness of his heart and of his back, "Oh, Joey! you naughty Joey, you naughty Joey!" and instead of stroking and playing with his pet as usual, Charlie tapped him with a little stick that he held in his hand.
Joey looked at him this way and that way, then with the sorrowful words, "Joey die, Joey die," off he flew, down into the shining water of an old butt that stood nearby he darted, and before Charlie's very eyes Joey did die.
“GOOD understanding giveth favor: but the way of transgressors is hard.”
Prov. 13:15;
Seeing the World
ALAS! poor Charlie, he had one more trouble added to his unhappy life. There was no little friend now to accompany him to work in the morning, flying from lamp-post to lamp-post all the way along. And so nine more unhappy years went slowly by, while Charlie made up his mind that when he got the chance he would see the world.
And see the world he did. He saw it in the houses of royalty and nobility—in their drawing-rooms and in their kitchens, in public and in private life, where his tall, powerful figure, his great, broad shoulders and handsome face, won much notice. But Charlie's restless spirit was still ungoverned and uncurbed, and the houses of royalty and nobility were exchanged for the streets of London, where he paraded as a tailor's manikin; thus he saw a bit more of the world.
Then for seventeen years he saw the world on a millionaire's gambling ship, and after that he saw it in the bar of a country inn.
OH, lads! ask yourselves, Is it worth while to fulfill an ambition AT ALL COSTS at the risk of losing your soul?
Long Years After
LET us look at Charlie again; we must call him Mr. Charles now, for years and years have passed and he is now an old man, a handsome old man, still tall and erect, with a florid, jovial face.
He has traveled nearly the world over, and can tell us among other things about a visit to the king of Abyssinia, when he carried a bag full of gold in payment for ivory. He tells us of adventures on land and on sea, in America, Africa, France, and many other countries, and then we begin to speak of more serious things. We mention the Lord Jesus Christ. Will he listen? Does he love to hear the name that is above every name? Alas! no. See, he turns and walks away down the garden path; this is what he is saying: "I believe in God, always have done; God, a Supreme Being: any one can see there is a God by just looking around his garden.”
Poor Mr. Charles! how much he has missed all his long life through. He has not known the Friend that sticketh closer than a brother. "He does not know Jesus, the Son of God, by whom also He made the worlds, and that" all things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.”
“GOD, who at sundry times and is divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son.”
Heb. 1:1, 2
Befalls All
A QUIET ward in hospital, not a large ward; there are only two beds in it, and it is not quite quiet, because someone is groaning. A big man tries to raise himself from his pillows, but his great broad shoulders are too heavy, and he falls back in the same uncomfortable position as before. He begs to be eased he begs to be taken home.
Poor Mr. Charles! He does not know the strength that is made perfect in weakness. He does not know the One who alone can comfort in every tribulation, who even now is looking on him with compassion, and longing to comfort him.
Someone sirs down beside him and reads aloud: “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the Chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
What beautiful words! Does Mr. Charles see beauty in them? Ah, no! he pays no heed. He is ill, so ill they say he will die. He is too ill, too uncomfortable, too full of pain and weariness to think of anything else.
LADS! is it worthwhile to go on neglecting salvation? Is it worth while to put off the Lord Jesus every time He knocks at the door of your heart while you are young and strong? Is it worthwhile to think that you will wait until you are old and ill and dying before you let Him in?
Will He Forget?
“I CHEATED them that time, I did. I cheated the doctors and nurses; they all thought I was going under, and I thought so too, but I didn't, you see! If only this old foot of mine would heal, I should be as right as right. It gives me ' what for ' sometimes, but I don't mind that so long as I'm home!”
Yes; Mr. Charles did not die after all; through God's mercy he got better. Now that he is at home again and able to hobble into the garden, will he forget how near death he has been? Will he shut his eyes and turn his thoughts away from what lies after death? Is there still no glimmer of light in that self-satisfied soul?
But listen! someone is praying. An old gentleman who has lived as many years as Mr. Charles himself; one who thought it worthwhile to bow to Jesus as Lord in the days of his youth, and has devoted his long life to His glad service; this someone kneels down and prays with him and for him. Only God could see into Mr. Charles' heart, only He knew where and when the work started in his soul; but we who watched and waited, noticed a softening of the eyes and voice when he spoke of that prayer. Had one tiny ray of light pierced through that arrogant exterior? Had that tiny ray created a faint desire, a longing for something better after all?
All we know is that to the end of his life Mr. Charles never forgot that prayer, and always spoke with esteem and affection of the one whom he heard commit his cause into the hands of a faithful and merciful Creator, in the name and for the sake of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
HAVE you ever prayed for any one, lads? Have you ever prayed for yourself? Will you not ask now, today, for a drink of that living water that springs up into everlasting life, and that you may be a vessel prepared and ready for the Master's use, so that you too may carry a draft of that living water to some other needy soul?
“LET us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith with out wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) and let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”
Hebrews 1:22-25.
Was It Worship?
GOOD morning, Mr. Charles, what a beautiful morning it is!" "Aye, it's glorious sunshine, and I have enjoyed my drive!”
“Your drive! Why, where have you been this Sunday morning?
“Been to church in the Forest.”
“In the Forest! What do you mean?”
“Well, I mean this: I know lots of folks who go to church, and those sorts of places, who think a lot better of themselves for it, but I know they're real bad 'uns, ratters! and I know plenty of good folk, not talkers, who never enter a place of worship, so-called; and of the two I'd rather have the last. Anyhow, there, I've enjoyed my drive; it was just lovely, and as I say, I've been to church in the Forest. I looked around; I looked at the trees and flowers, and the beautiful sky and glorious sunshine, and I saw God in everything; I saw Him in the beauties of nature." And Mr. Charles rose from his favorite seat near the gate, where he loved to sit and pass the time of day with neighbors, and hobbled slowly and carefully, with his two sticks and poor foot, up the garden path and into his front door.
Has he never meditated upon the words, "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst"? While he scorns to meet with others to worship God, despising them for their inconsistencies, is he content to lose a privilege himself?
“IF sinners ever were to know
The depths of love divine,
All Calvary's weakness and its woe,
Blest Savior, must be Thine.
God's righteousness is there proclaimed,
His mercy's depths are known,
While to the full Thou hast maintained
The glory of His throne.
God now is glorified in Thee,
In Thee, His only Son, His hand,
His house, His heart are free,
Because Thy work is done.”
C. A. C.
Alone
A FEW months later, through that same front door we enter; straight up the stairs we go to the very top, and into a large pleasant room. The dormer window is closed, for the evening is chilly, and close to the fire sits an old man, a big, strapping old man with broad chest and splendid shoulders. His face is drawn and haggard, and bears an expression of great suffering and weariness.
“Oh, I'm glad you've come! I'm so glad to see someone at last. It has been a long day, and I'm so lonely hour after hour all by myself. It's terrible, it is!”
“Poor Mr. Charles! has no one been to see you to-day? What do you do the day long all by yourself?”
Think!”
“Think! what do you think about? "
“What an old rascal I've been!”
“What an old rascal you've been? Why, Mr. Charles, you are the very man the Lord Jesus came into the world for. He came on purpose to save old rascals just like you. He said, I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance '! He came to seek and to save that which was lost.”
“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 3:16.
The Father Saw Him
“WELL, He did take a job on then!" "Indeed He did! He came all the way from heaven to bear the punishment of your sins that you might go free. He shed His precious blood to cleanse you from all sin.”
“Just go downstairs, will you? and get that little book, the New Testament that dear old gentleman gave me. I don't know where it is, but I want you to read me some verses from St. Luke's gospel.”
The Testament is found and he hears the words: "And when he had spent all... he began to be in want.... And when he came to himself, he said... I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee.... And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.”
But Mr. Charles did not see the compassion on the Father's face; he did not feel those arms around him, or the kisses on his cheek. How could he? He only knew God as the Supreme Being, he did not know Him as Father, and he did not know Jesus, the Son of God, who came into the world to tell out the love of the Father's heart.
IT is not worthwhile, lads, to occupy yourselves with what is impure. It is not worthwhile to resist the strivings of God's Holy Spirit, to drown thought with that which is vile, which is unfit for contemplation. A day is coming when the word will go forth: "He which is filthy, let him be filthy still.”
Oh, lads, pray, pray now while you are young, that you may be found among those of whom it will be said:
“And he that is holy, let him be holy still.”
Rev. 22
Feeding on Swine's Food
“GOOD evening, Mr. Charles." Nothing but a preoccupied grunt in response. The hand, the only hand with any use in it, is not outstretched as usual with the grateful salutation, "So glad to see you." And why? This is why—because it holds a book before his eyes.
` Good evening, Mr. Charles, good evening! What an interesting book you are reading! I wonder what it is?”
“Oh, good evening! Yes, it's interesting, it's about... (We will not repeat what that book was about.) It's a horrible story, horrible!”
“Yes, it sounds like it—horrible! Why read it? A tale like that leaves a bad taste in one's mouth.”
“Yes, that's just what it has done, made a bad taste in my mouth. Ugh! a filthy story! but I must have something to take me out of myself.”
That was just it! The Testament had been tidied away, and so had the large-type Book of Psalms that was so easy and light to hold; the little books to help him in his distress of soul had also been tidied away, put out of sight, and instead, a novel, a dreadful, filthy story, had been put within his reach, to take him out of himself.
“BE not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”
Gal. 6:7.
“He Came to Himself.”
OH, Lord, forgive my sins! “Ah! tonight the novel has gone, and he himself has come back; and so have his sins, sins of childhood, those mischievous pranks that he took pleasure in long, long ago, sins of youth, sins of manhood, sins right up to old age. Alas! why has he waited so many years without repentance and without forgiveness?
God in His mercy allowed Mr. Charles time to think, to consider. He allowed him to live his life over again while he was alone, alone with God. Vividly it passes before him, stage by stage. He does not now see other people's failures and inconsistencies; no, he is occupied only with his own. At last he is seeing the world in his own heart. "Oh, Lord, forgive my sins," is his cry.
Lads, are you taking time to think? or are you filling your life so full of business and pleasure of all sorts that you have no quiet time for thought—real, downright serious thought?
The enemy of souls is keeping people on the move in these days, keeping them running about hither and thither, so that they may not have time to consider He fills their ears with noise, with voices of this world; anything to stifle the thought of what lies beyond.
“The Sinner”
WE do not all live to grow old as Mr. Charles did; life is uncertain. Some are cut off early—suddenly. Is it wise to chance it? to risk being unprepared for death—for what lies after death?
When Mr. Charles was strong and healthy, young and active, he was no worse than those around him. A sinner? Oh, yes, he was just an ordinary sinner like everyone else. But now that his health has given way, and he feels his strength, his life slipping from him, he is the sinner.
What does it matter to him, the sinner, that he has seen the world? that he has played cricket with young princes, that he has run in a race carrying a baby princess on his shoulders, a princess who became a queen? What does it matter that he has seen lands beyond the seas? that he has piled up gold, shoveled it together from the gambling tables? He remembers all this well, and much more, too well, for with these scenes the sins that accompanied them come back to his mind with overwhelming distinctness.
Satan is a hard master, lads; but it was God who in His mercy allowed the arch-enemy to put his hand on Mr. Charles' body, that He might save his soul. That tall, splendid figure, those great, broad shoulders, his pride, those fine limbs that were not yielded to the Lord Jesus in youth, to be used in His service, are useless now. But ah! God is behind it all: He is watching, and the enemy cannot do more than he is allowed.
BLESSED be His name! He willeth not the death of a sinner.
“A broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”
Psa. 51:17.
He Listens
“I DREAMED, and behold, I saw a man clothed with rags standing in a certain place, with his face from his own house, a book in his hand, and a great burden upon his back. I looked, and saw him open the book and read therein, and as he read, he wept and trembled; and not being able longer to contain, he brake out with a lamentable cry, saying, ' What shall I do? '
Now, I saw, upon a time, when he was walking in the fields, that he was, as was wont, reading in his book and greatly distressed in his mind; and as he read, he burst out, as he had done before, crying, ' What shall I do to be saved? '
“I also saw that he looked this way and that way, as if he would run; yet he stood still, because (as I perceived) he could not tell which way to go. I looked, and saw a man named Evangelist coming to him, who asked, 'Wherefore dost thou cry? '
“He answered, ' Sir, I perceive, by the book in my hand, that I am condemned to die, and after that to come to judgment; and I find that I am not willing to do the first, nor able to do the second.' “AND as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” Heb. 9:27.
“Then said Evangelist, Why not willing to die, since this life is attended with so many evils?’ The man answered, 'Because I fear that this burden that is upon my back will sink me lower than the grave, and I shall fall into Tophet. And, Sir, if I be not fit to go to prison, I am not fit, I am sure, to go to judgment, and from thence to execution; and the thoughts of these things make me cry.'”
“TO day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts”
Heb. 3:15.
He Listens Still
“THEN said Evangelist, If this be thy condition, why standest thou still?’ He answered, Because I know not whither to go.' Then he gave him a parchment roll, and there was written therein, Flee from the wrath to come.'
“The man therefore read it, and looking upon Evangelist very carefully said, Whither must I fly?’ Then said Evangelist, pointing with his finger over a very wide field, Do you see yonder shining light?' He said, I think I do.' Then said Evangelist, Keep that light in your eye, and go up directly thereto, so shalt thou see the gate; at which, when thou knockest, it shall be told thee what thou shalt do.' So I saw in my dream that the man began to run. Now he had not run far from his own door, but his wife and children, perceiving it, began to cry after him to return; but the man put his fingers in his ears, and ran on, crying, 'Life! life! Eternal life! ‘So he looked not behind him, but fled towards the middle of the plain. The neighbors also came out to see him run; and as he ran some mocked, others threatened, and others cried after him to return; and among those that did so there were two that resolved to fetch him back by force.”
“You'll bring that book with you next time you come, won't you? I want to know how that chap got rid of his burden.”
“Oh, yes, I'll bring it. Good-night, Mr. Charles, good-night.”
I WILL leave this text for your pillow tonight:
“The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Rom. 6:23.
He Listens Again
HAVE you brought that book with you this evening, that Pilgrim's Progress?”
“Yes, I've brought it all right; here it is.”
“I want to know how that fellow lost his burden.”
“Now I saw in my dream, that the highway up which Christian was to go, was fenced on either side with a wall, and that wall was called Salvation. Up this way, therefore, did burdened Christian run, but not without great difficulty, because of the load on his back. He ran thus till he came to a place somewhat ascending, and upon that place stands a cross, and a little below, in the bottom, a sepulcher.
“So I saw in my dream, that just as Christian came up with the cross, his burden eased from off his shoulders, and fell from off his back, and began to tumble, and so continued to till it came to the mouth of the sepulcher, where it fell in, and I saw it no more.
“Then was Christian glad and lightsome, and said with a merry heart, He hath given me rest by His sorrow, and life by His death.' Then he stood still awhile to look and wonder; for it was very surprising to him that the sight of the cross should thus ease him of his burden. He looked therefore, and looked again, even till the springs that were in his head sent the waters down his cheeks. Now as he stood looking and weeping, behold, three Shining Ones came to him and saluted him with, ' Peace be to thee.'”
The Only Way
“WHO'S this? the Pilgrim. How! 'tis very true
Old things are passed away, all's become new.
Strange! he's another man, upon my word—
They be fine feathers that make a fine bird.”
“Then Christian gave three leaps for joy, and went on singing—
‘Thus far did I come laden with my sin;
Nor could aught ease the grief that I was in
Till I came hither: What a place is this!
Must here be the beginning of my bliss?
Must here the burden fall from off my back?
Must here the strings that bound it to me crack?
Blest cross! blest sepulcher I blest rather be
The Man that there was put to shame for me!‘”
“You see, Mr. Charles, he could not by any means get rid of that burden himself, nor could anyone else relieve him of it, however anxious and willing they might be to help him. There is only one way, only one Person who can release us from the weight of sin, the Lord Jesus Christ. One look in faith to Him is sufficient, for He has made peace through the blood of His cross.”
“SO the first said unto him, Thy sins be forgiven thee'; the second stripped him of his rags and clothed him with a change of raiment; the third also set a mark on his forehead, and gave him a roll with a seal upon it, which he bade him look on as he ran, and that he should give it in at the Celestial Gate. So they went their way.”
He Waits and Watches
“HE'S not been yet!" "He's not been! Who do you mean, Mr. Charles?”
“Why, that gentleman you told me about. You said he would come to see me, and he hasn't been.”
The words were spoken quietly and with much difficulty. Our poor old friend is very weak now. Entirely helpless, his sufferings are distressing to see, and his patience marvelous; but here is a bitter disappointment! The weary eyes have watched the door all day in the hope of seeing "that gentleman" come in. He has strained his ears moment by moment to hear his footsteps on the stairs, and he never came!
Lads, have you ever thought what it must be to lie hour after hour, day after day, night after night, week in and week out, unable to do anything but endure?
Have you helped one of those long, lonely hours to pass a little more quickly? one of those dull, all-the-same sort of days to be a little brighter? Listen to what weary old Mr. Charles is saying, "If he'd known how much I missed him when he didn't come, he would have come!”
In those busy, happy days and evenings of yours, have you ever had the pleasure, just for a few minutes even, of seeing a tired face light up at the sight of you? Have you had a feeble hand press yours, while a quiet voice says, "So glad you've come"?
“AND the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”
Isa. 35:10.
He 'Listens Once More
“SURELY he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
“But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
“That's beautiful; beautiful!”
“Yes, Mr. Charles, it is beautiful. Isn't it wonderful that the Lord Jesus Christ took our sins, our iniquities, on Himself? He bore the punishment in our stead, so that we might be able to say, ' with his stripes we are healed.' "If He hadn't a' done it, nobody else could have!”
“No, nobody else could have done it, because Jesus is the only One pure enough, holy enough, humble enough, and great enough to bear the wrath of a righteous, sin-hating God; He bore it all, and so made peace by the blood of His cross.”
ARE you rejoicing that at the end of all the days you will hear the words, "I was sick and ye visited me.... Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me"?
Matt. 25:40.
“Have You Peace?”
“HAVE you peace with God, Mr. Charles?
“I don't know.”
“Oh! Mr. Charles, will you not rest on the finished work of Christ? When those sins of yours come crowding before you again, when Satan worries you with them will you not tell him that the Lord Jesus settled about them long ago, that He paid the penalty for them, He has made peace by the blood of His cross, so that all is clear between your soul and God?”
Jesus is no longer on the cross or in the grave, He is risen, He is at God's right hand, where He lives to make intercession for us. God looks at those who believe in Jesus for the salvation of their souls, through Him. Instead of seeing a sinner full of sin, He sees Jesus with the nail-prints in His hands and His feet, and the spear wound in His side, and He says of the sinner: “Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom.”
“THE blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”
“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”
John 1:7; John 3:36.
The Need Is Now
TWO or three more weeks of distressing suffering patiently borne, without even the power of speech, only just a movement of the hand and a pointing upwards to, show us that he was going to be with the One whom he had learned to speak of as "my Savior," and then there was nothing more to be done but to lay the poor worn body out of sight, to await that day when the trumpet shall sound, and "this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality.”
Lads, you need salvation not only for eternity, but now, for time. You need saving from temptation, you need saving from evil, you need saving from yourself.
You need a Friend beside you all the way along, you need a strength beyond your own.
Mr. Charles was punished for his faults in early life, but we do not know that he ever had the narrow pathway that leads to life pointed out to him. He may never have had a warning given to him as you have through this little book. He may never have had his eyes directed to the only One who can cleanse from sin.
But we do know that it took months of invalidism, much pain and discomfort, and hours of loneliness, to bring him to see himself a sinner who needed a Savior.
How good of God to give him time to think!
OH' lads! you who have not yet lived your life, we entreat you not to waste that life. "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," before you grow old, before you may be cut off suddenly and that without remedy.”
2 Cor. 5:20.
He Missed Much
IN his great need Mr. Charles turned to Jesus, the only One who could give relief, the One who died for sinners, for the ungodly when they were yet without strength, the One who said, "Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”
But oh! how much he missed all his long life through because he did not come to Him in his youth.
Lads, will you not bow the knee to Jesus now, before you go a step further on life's journey? Every knee will bow to Him and every tongue own Him Lord presently, because they must. Will you not do so now willingly?
“There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth," but think what it will be to have an "abundant entrance" into the kingdom, and to hear the words:
“Well done, good and faithful servant... enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”
Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.”
“'THERE is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.”
Prov. 18:24.
JUST as I am, without one plea,
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bidet me come to Thee,
Oh, Jesus, Lord, I come.
Just as I am, Thy love, I own,
Has broken every barrier down;
Now to be Thine, yea, Thine alone,
Oh, Jesus, Lord, I come.
Signed—
A Wanderer
I THOUGHT long ago that I was I converted, and so did those who knew me then; but since going amongst other people I have dropped all that sort of thing—don't believe in it.”
You are not happy then, you could not be, because you have lost the joy you ought still to have.
You gave yourself to the Lord Jesus once, you knew that you were a sinner and He the only Savior, and you committed your soul into His keeping. Jesus said, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and none is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.”
You have left off listening to His voice, you have left off following Him, but you can never get yourself out of those hands. However much you may try to shake yourself free of that clasp, you cannot do it; nor can those other people that you have been amongst, or "any" else, drag you from those strong hands.
But when you stand before the judgment seat of Christ, how will you answer for these years of unfaithfulness? Why not tell Him everything now? Why wait till then? Tell Him all about what you have been listening to and what you have been following. You may have turned your back upon Him, but He has not forsaken you, He loves you still with faithful, unchangeable love.
All you have been going in for is uncertain and wavering; unstable things of this life have come in between your soul and your Lord, but He is the Rock, His way is perfect. Cry to Him as did the king of old when he had sinned, "Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.”
“LET no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.”
1 Corinthians 3:18-29.
“FOR my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.”
Jer. 2:13.
“I tried the broken cisterns, Lord, But, ah! the waters failed!”
Who Are “They”?
“BUT now they say..." Who are these people, lads? the "they" who say these things? “ ... ... ”
I see, they are the ones who have gone into things, searched them out, examined them from their beginnings; but why not go back farther than that, farther than the beginnings? "They" themselves had a beginning, so why not appeal to some One who never had a beginning, who was before all things. Surely He would be a better authority.
“In the beginning was the Word." Now that Word always was, there was no beginning there, therefore that Word is the first and last Word to believe. It does not matter about any other word that does not agree with that Word; we need not disturb ourselves about it or even consider it at all. We can just quietly put aside every word that does not uphold that Word, because it is not worth thinking about or taking account of.
“Yea, let God be true, but every man a liar.”
“IN the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”
“And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.”
Gen. 1:1-3,
“And God Said”
THE WORD "is one of the names by which the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is spoken of. He came in flesh to make God known to man; but long centuries before He came, in order that we might know what He would have us know about the beginnings of things, He, who was in the eternal ages before time began, and who will be, all through the eternal ages after time is over, caused this to be written:" In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”
How dignified and yet how simple it is! "And God said." And it was so." “And God saw that it was good.”
Good, this earth and everything on it, God saw that it was good; and then, "God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth." God swept the earth clean then by a mighty deluge, and He will sweep it clean again, for the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.”
Alas! for those who listen to the word, "Yea, hath God said?" for it is a word suggested by the devil himself. "It had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.”
“IN the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made." "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.”
John 1:1-3, 14
The Junior Clerk
Must He Confess?
HE was just a junior clerk at a branch, but now that it is time for promotion he is being sent to the head office. Of course he feels a little nervous about this, his first move, because he is young, only about to step out of his teens; but he has already learned that "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”
He believes in his heart certainly that God raised Jesus from the dead. Did not the soldiers who were placed as guard over His tomb tremble and become as dead men when the angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone from the door of the empty sepulcher? Was there not joy among the disciples when they saw their Lord and Master alive again, after His resurrection? Even unbelieving Thomas exclaimed, "My Lord, and my God" when he saw the nail prints and the spear wound, for he knew that it was Jesus Himself who stood before him. Yes, there are so many infallible proofs that the junior clerk cannot help believing it.
Why should he not hide up his belief? what need for anyone else to know about it? "If thou... shalt believe in thine heart... for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness." Ah, but there is that other half of the verse, that other "if"; he might wish it were not there, but there it is, and it cannot be passed over. "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus... for with the mouth confession is made unto salvation," and there is comfort in the next verse, "Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.”
“WHOSOEVER therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.”
Matt. 10:32, 33.
“No”
THE junior clerk did not know what was going on at the other end. He did not know the word had been passed along that a "saint" was coming, but when he got there he found that somebody else had done the confessing for him.
A saint? Yes, of course he was a saint he was sanctified, set apart by the Master. "And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels." So it was quite all right their calling him "saint.”
Will he join in their pleasures? go with them to their sports and their merry-makings? even once perhaps? Can he?
Music? oh, yes, he loves music and singing too. Why then should he not enjoy listening to perhaps really good music? Ah, if he goes in for the under- the-sun sort of music he will not find himself in the company of those whose names are written in God's "book of remembrance," those who will presently join in singing the "new song." A set-apart person is out of place; he feels, or should feel, like a fish out of water, wherever the interests of the One who is refused, scorned, rejected, have no place.
Will his fellow clerks share his pleasures? Will they go with him to the prayer meeting, or to hear the good news of God's great love preached? Will they stand beside him at the street corners to help him tell it out to those hurrying down the broad way that leads to destruction? Will they accompany him from door to door carrying little silent messages to those who stay at home and are indifferent to the fact that they, too, have their backs toward the celestial city, because they are "careless of their souls immortal"? No! very decidedly, no, they will not join him in his favorite pursuits. That little word of two letters is not difficult for them to say, and he can say it too. "I can do all things through Christ that strengtheneth me.”
“IF ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye.”
“If any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.”
1 Peter 4:14, 16.
“OCCUPY till I come.”
Luke 19:13
“REDEEMING the time, because the days are evil.”
Eph. 5:16.
Oh! fill me, Savior, with Thy deep compassion,
For those Thou lovedst even unto death.
To spread Thy fame inspire a living passion,
And use me wholly to my latest breath.
W. L.
They Live Again
YEARS hurry by, and the junior clerk, junior no longer, stands beside the grave of his father. From gazing at the name on that headstone, his eyes pass to the one next to it, and next to that again, then further on to others around, and he reads the names of men and women who, he knows, made their choice for Christ, the Savior of sinners.
Yes, this one and that one, and others here and there, died rejoicing in the knowledge that as their eyes closed on all that is of the earth, earthy, the under the-sun things, they would open in the land that is very far off, open to behold the King in His beauty! Oh, what joy! "Absent from the body, present with the Lord," and all because that Lord took their place, bore the penalty of their sins, so that they might stand as pure and spotless as He, in the presence of a holy and sin-hating God.
Turning to his sister the clerk exclaims, "Wouldn't it be splendid to be standing here when the trumpet sounds!”
They wait, quietly listening, awed at the thought of that scene when this grave, and that grave, and that, and that, and those over there, will open, and the bodies in them will come forth, not to know sin and suffering again, but to be changed, glorified, at the sound of that trumpet.
For 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: then 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.”
“OH, joy! oh, delight! should we go without dying,
No sickness, no sadness, no dread, and no crying;
Caught up thro' the clouds, with our Lord into glory,
When Jesus receives ' His own.'”
The Second Death
AND what about the others?
The others? You mean the graves of those who died in unbelief, who refused, or perhaps only neglected to turn to the Lord Jesus for the salvation of their souls? Oh, those graves will remain closed. The joyful voice of the archangel and the trump of God has no response from those who die in their sins. Alas! dare we consider what then? Dare we face the destiny of those who do not join that rapturous throng that rises in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, to meet the Lord in the air? Aye, we will face it because we must.
Of such it is written, "But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.... And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”
“BLESSED and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power.”
Rev. 20:6.
Why?
“Why shouldn't I? Lots of fellows who are Christians do. What's the harm?”
It is just this, lads. If you have given yourself to the Lord Jesus, if you have bowed the knee to Him and owned Him your Lord, you are not your own. You cannot do just as you like with your time or with your body, with yourself, because you have been bought with a price. All belongs to someone else, to the One who did the buying.
Think of the price He paid for you. He who was Son of God, the King of glory, made Himself lower than the angels, He took upon Him the form of a servant, He was accursed for your sake, for "Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree." It was to redeem you, your soul and body, yourself, that He took your place on that cross of shame.
In the face of all this, can you do things that appeal to you just naturally, or go where your fancy for the moment leads you? Will you lower the standard because other Christians do not rise to it?
When you were a little fellow at school learning to write, could you get your writing like the copy at the top of the page if you were all the time looking at the next boy's book? Surely not! Then is it not best to look to the only perfect Pattern, and not follow the failures of others? "For even Christ pleased not himself.”
“ALL things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.”
Corinthians 10:23.
How Can I Know?
“IF there were only rules laid down it I would be so much easier to know what we may, or may not do. It is so difficult sometimes to decide.”
Do you really think so? There were some people once whom God tried in this way. He gave them commandments; the first was that they should love the Lord their God with all their heart, and with all their might. But they did not do it, they could not. They were always loving someone or something better than they loved God; and so with all the other commandments, they broke every one of them.
After men had been tested in this way for about fifteen hundred years, Jesus came into the world and fulfilled the law. He did not set it aside, but He obeyed it in every particular. There was not a jot or tittle of the law that He did not carry out, and God looked down with pleasure on Him, the only Man who did always the things that pleased Him. He said: "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.”
This Man was obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, and He was raised from the dead, and went back to heaven; since then the "Thou shalts," and the "Thou shalt nots," of the law are not sounded in our ears, but instead we hear the words of the Lord Jesus: "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”
When you are in doubt, lads, as to whether a certain thing is right or wrong, pleasing or displeasing to the Lord, lay the matter before Him, asking, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" Remember that "Whatsoever is not of faith is sin.”
“IN all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”
Prov. 3:6
“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”
James 1:5.
“BEHOLD, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.”
Rev. 3:2.
Set Free
FIGHT? Yes, he has fought, and fought until he is weary of the struggle. He cannot get the better of it. He cannot break himself of the habit he began in the days of his youth, and now he is a middle-aged man. For many years he has been a Christian, he loves his Lord, and he wants to drop this thing because he knows it is displeasing and dishonoring to Him.
But why trouble about it so much? Does it really matter after all? Are we not given richly all things to enjoy? and is it not written, "All things are yours"?
“Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.”
Here is the trouble. He is not happy because his heart and conscience condemn him; he knows very well that this indulgence has been a hindrance in the race he started to run so many years ago. Besides this, it is a cause of stumbling to others who know that he is a Christian; but how to free himself he does not know. He has no strength in himself, he is not equal to this fight alone, so he turns to the One who says, "My strength is made perfect in weakness." He confesses his failure and his weakness, and beseeches, "Oh, Lord, take away the desire for this thing from me.”
And then, one day, the answer comes, and the desire has gone—has been taken away completely. You should see him now, lads! Why, he looks a new man, or at any rate, as though he had a new face. It is just radiant. He has been set free, delivered from the bondage of that which is unworthy of one who bears the name of Christ.
“I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
“FIGHT the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and Nast professed a good profession before many witnesses.”
1 Timothy 6:12.
BEAR in mind that what you know,
Proves its worth by what you skew;
Let your life be all aglow,
And-go on!
W. L.
Love's Claim
“Lord, if it be Thou...”
“A HARD saying that—I couldn't hate.”
Yes, lads, it is a hard saying indeed for anyone who does not know the "Me" who is speaking, for it is a right thing to love father and mother, wife, children, brothers and sisters. Families are of God's ordering, and we have responsibility one toward another. A Christian should not be among those who are "without natural affection," which is one of the signs of the last times; but he must hate anything and everything that hinders him from following the Lord Jesus, even should it be something in a loved relative or friend. If Christ has the first place in his affection all else will be in subjection. Perhaps this story will help you to understand the verse. It is about a young man named Jonathan, who was a very fine character, but we will look at him as a type of a Christian, in reference to these words.
Jonathan was the son of a king who lived some few years before the one who found everything under the sun vanity and vexation of spirit. This king, Saul, was not nearly so rich or wise as that king, but like him, when he first came to the throne he was humble-minded. After a while Saul became proud and impatient, he did that which was right in his own eyes instead of asking guidance from God. In consequence of this he fell into serious trouble and sin, and by God's ordering a young man named David was anointed to be king in his stead.
Saul was jealous of David, so jealous that he took every opportunity to try to kill him; but David was good to Saul, serving him faithfully; indeed, many a time he took his life in his hand to be of service to him. At last, however, Saul's jealousy became so unbearable that David was obliged to flee from him. He wandered far away, continually being hunted and chased from place to place. He lived on the mountains, in caves, forests—anywhere out of the reach of Saul's murderous hand.
“IF any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.”
Luke 14:26.
“IF we suffer, we shall also reign with him.”
2 Tim. 2:12.
“Into the City”
SAUL'S son loved David; he admired his courage and bravery, he saw how wisely David behaved, and how faithfully he served his father. He noticed that David never retaliated for the bad treatment he received, but always returned good for evil, and he knew that God was with him.
A day came when this son, Jonathan, had to come to a decision. He had to make a choice. Would he go into rejection with the man after God's own heart?
“Ah," you say, "it was hard.”
Hard it was, terribly hard, and we are not told that Jonathan turned to God in his extremity, or asked counsel of Him.
Jonathan made his choice, he kissed David good-bye and went into the city, but "David arose and departed.”
We read that Jonathan saw David once again, and "he strengthened his hand in God." He said, Fear not: for the hand of Saul my father shall not find thee; and thou shalt be king over Israel, and I shall be next unto thee; and that also Saul my father knoweth.”
David did come to be king, lads, but Jonathan was not "next unto him.”
“THERE is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's sake, who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life ever lasting.”
Luke 18:29, 30.
He Falls in the Fight
JONATHAN knew there was no fault in David, he knew that he was God's king in reserve. He loved him well enough to stand boldly before an angry and jealous father and plead for him. He could say truly, "He hath not sinned against thee, his works have been to thee-ward very good." Yet he did not go into exile with David, the one whom he loved "as his own soul.”
Now, lads, listen: The Lord Jesus Christ is in rejection at this present time. He is cast out of this world; but the day is coming soon when He will reign. Why not take a definite stand for Him now? Will you allow that "something" which comes between your soul and your Lord, even if it is your "own life also"?
Let us take a last look at Jonathan. He has never joined in persecuting David, but he has not suffered with him, he is in the company of the one who is not for the man of God's choice, they are fighting a common foe and they both fall in the struggle, and then—then—Jonathan's dead body is found hanging on the walls of the enemy!
“LORD Jesus, with Thee lies our excellent part:
Our Prophet, our Priest, and our David Thou art!
Oh, come! take possession of earth, air and sea;
Church, Israel and Gentiles are waiting for Thee!”
E. L. B.
Caught in the Toils
Unfaithful
HE went to Sunday School when he was young, and was well grounded in the scriptures from his earliest years, for his parents were godly people who lived what they professed, and brought up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
From them, and through the teaching he received at Sunday school, he learned to love that same Lord; he knew Him as his own Savior, and then he grew up and left home—went out to fend for himself and earn his living.
He was steady and God-fearing, and got on well in his work. Sometimes he found himself among those who did not know his Lord—he met one who took his fancy. She was gay and lively, different from girls he had been accustomed to mix with. She suited his mood for the moment and he allowed his affection to go out to her.
She was pleased for him to take her here and there to amusements, pleasures where his Lord had no place; and it pleased him that she was pleased, and he companied with her more and more until he found that he loved her.
Although the Lord was not in their company, although He was grieved that one of His children should be allied to one who cared not for Him and who preferred the pleasures of this passing life to the joys that last for evermore, this lad went on loving her until they were tied with a bond that should last "until death us do part," and they started a home together, a home that they had not asked God's blessing to rest on because they could not, for they were unequally yoked.
“WHEREFORE let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man.”
1 Corinthians 10:12, 13.
A Divided House
THEN a little one came who called him "Father," and he could not teach her things that his baby lips had lisped, because "Mother" did not care about it. As she grew older he could not take her to hear the "good news" preached or to meet with those who loved to remember his Lord according to His desire, because the mother objected and would not go with him either.
Oh, sorrowful household where the husband is not head, where the wife is not in subjection in the thing that matters most, where the parents are at variance in the one thing that is needful.
And the wife, what about her? She craves still for pleasures, for excitements, as before that knot was tied, and why not? Why should he not take her hither and thither as he used to do? Ah, he sees now that he cannot. The thrill of those things has passed, and their attractiveness has failed. His heart is with His Lord in rejection, but he has not sided with Him against himself and against his deepest affections, and now he is fettered with chains of this life.
Oh, if only he had remained faithful, who knows but that she might have been won over to that Lord too? Instead, she chafes and frets at his tastes, which are so different from hers, and he finds her company irksome, while he longs to be with those who are sharing the reproach of his Lord. Alas! two cannot walk together unless they be agreed.
BE ye' not unequally yoked together with unbelievers.”
2 Cor. 6:14.
“FOR it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.”
1 Peter 3:17
“Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe.”
Psa. 119:117.
More than Conquerors
Consenting.
A RESPECTABLE young man is standing on the outskirts of a well-known city, greatly interested in a riotous scene before him.
He is not only respectable, but well born and well educated, having been a student under one of the leading men of his time. He is religious, too, a member of the strictest sect of the day.
Just now he has evidently been at the council hall among a crowded audience gathered around a man whom some of their number have caught and brought there under many false accusations.
There he has heard a very able discourse, a brief and concise history of his own nation from the accused man, who was permitted to speak in his own defense; and strange it may seem, but as those in the council looked steadfastly at the prisoner, they saw his face as it had been the face of an angel.
During his discourse the speaker did not spare his hearers, but boldly showed them where their much favored nation had failed. He brought home to their remembrance and to their consciences how over and over again, they had refused those whom God had sent to them, and resisted His Holy Spirit. At the last he bursts out in righteous and holy indignation, accusing his audience of being the betrayers and murderers of the Just One.
These words, being true, cut his listeners to the heart, so that they gnashed on him with their teeth. Running on him they dragged him out of the hall, and thrusting him out of the city, they took up stones to throw at him.
This is what the respectable young man is watching. He does not appear to be actually joining in the outrage, but he is consenting to it, for the false witnesses come and lay down their clothes at his feet.
“BLESSED are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven.”
Matt. 5:11-12
“But let none of you suffer as an... evildoer.”
1 Peter 4:15.
“THERE, in His book, I bear
More than a conqueror's name,
Of soldier, son, and fellow-heir,
Through Him who overcame.”
“Against the Pricks”
THE tumult is wild; the mob rushes out of the city with loud cries and shouts, while stones are being hurled from many hands; and all this fury is directed against the man who has had courage to speak the truth, and who now appeals to the One for whose sake he is suffering. He says, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
It is a sight the respectable young man will never forget. As he looks, he sees the poor battered form kneel, he hears another loud voice, not one of mockery or anger this time, but of forgiveness. It beseeches, "Lord, lay not this sin to their charge," and then there is silence. That voice is never heard more on this earth.
And what about the well-educated, religious young man who was consenting to his death? That last scene, those last words, evidently goaded him on to a worse fury. He "made havoc of the church," those who were of the same persuasion as that bold and meek follower of the "Just One." He entered into houses, and haling men and women committed them to prison, and all the time he thought he was doing God service! He tells afterward that he did it with a good conscience. But were there no qualms, no misgivings, no pricks as to whether this was after all a right course to take? And the more he tried to stamp out that name, the name of Jesus, the more the perfume of it spread through the land! The more he tried to destroy the followers of that name which is above every name, the more they were scattered abroad, going everywhere, even to lands and countries beyond the seas, preaching that name, and attracting others to worship and adore the One to whom that name belongs.
And so, "breathing out threatenings and slaughter," we see him next traveling to a distant and important city, carrying with him letters from the chief of his sect, granting him authority to search out any "of this way.”
“SURELY the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain.”
Psa. 76:10
Blind!
HE is nearly at his journey's end. The city he is bound for is within easy reach, when suddenly at midday there shines round about him a light which is above the brightness of the sun. He cannot go a step further, he cannot even stand upright, but falls to the ground with that light round him. And then clearly and distinctly he hears his name being called, with the question, "Why persecutest thou me?" He asks, Who art thou, Lord? “The gracious and compassionate reply comes, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.”
Jesus! Jesus! That is the very name he is trying to stamp out; the very Person whose beloved followers he is exerting himself to get rid of, and now in the brightness of that light, at the sound of that voice, he is prostrate, and calls Him "Lord.”
Trembling and astonished he asks, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" Wondrous change! A young man in his zeal, full of hatred and bitterness, with murderous intent, going his own way, determined to carry out his own will at all costs, now with subdued spirit, being led by the hand. Into the city which he had meant to ransack for any who might be found calling on that name, he is slowly and carefully led, for he is blind.
And blind he remains for three days, eating nothing; and then someone comes, a very one of those whom he would have haled from his home and sent to prison, comes and stands beside him, and calls him "Brother"!
“THIS is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.”
1 Tim. 1:15
Ready for Reward
BROTHERS, bound in a kinship that lasts on even after death, because linked together in the One who bears that precious "Name." Yes, those two are beloved brothers in Christ Jesus, and when the scales have fallen from his eyes, the young man rises and is baptized. He goes under the water, which typifies death, the end of the natural man, the end of the old nature. Nothing can patch up, or repair, or beautify that in God's sight, so it must go. He accepts death for himself, and he can say henceforth, "To me to live is Christ.'" The life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." And then he goes forth a witness before all men for his Lord.
He speaks in public as boldly as did the one whose voice was silenced. He is not ashamed to labor, working with his hands to supply his daily necessities.
Willingly, aye joyfully, he accepts stripes above measure. He is in prison frequently, in deaths oft. Five times he receives forty stripes save one from his own countrymen; three times he is beaten with rods, once stoned; three times he suffers shipwreck, a night and a day he is in the deep.
He is in journeyings often, in perils of waters, of robbers, by his own countrymen, and by the heathen. In weariness and painfulness, in watching often, in hunger and thirst, in fasting often, in cold and nakedness; and much more he lives through by the power, and for the love of that great Name.
And when the time of his departure is at hand, and he can speak of himself as "the aged"; as he looks forward, expecting death through martyrdom, he can say assuredly, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”
HAVE you experienced such a change, lads? From taunting or making fun of—perhaps quietly annoying by petty persecutions, one who is "of this way" —have you yet turned round, not to liking him, but to loving him, because he can now call you "Brother”?
“BUT what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.” Phil. 3:7.
The Lord’s Prayer
“HOLY Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou halt given me, that they may be one, as we are.”
“I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.”
John 17:11, 15.