MEN think lightly of sin, and hence sin lightly. This is part of sin’s deceit. We are conceived in it (Psa. 51:5), brought up under it (Rom. 3:9), live in it. It entered the world through man’s disobedience to God. Its wages is death (Rom. 6:23). God said to him in Eden, if he partook of a certain tree, he should surely die (Gen. 2:17). He eat, and he died. He broke God’s sole command, the test of his subjection to Him as His creature, and in so doing sinned. God’s word is ever true. He was henceforth alienated from Him, a sinner in a state of moral death; and, further, subject to bondage all his lifetime here through fear of the death of the body, the portal to eternal judgment beyond. Most surely is the whole human race in a state of death. Man’s mind is darkened, his body diseased, his soul depraved, and he is a dupe of the devil, with his every and highest aspiration clouded by the dark shadow of death.
Now man in this state of darkness, distance, and death, instead of turning to God, vainly seeks to make himself happy and content here. Shutting his eyes fast to sin and its consequences, staying off the thought of death, and oft denying judgment, he pleases himself and lives for the present. Some indulge the lusts of the flesh and the mind; others pride themselves on their moral culture and conduct. Some live a life of constant vexation and trouble; others struggle with every energy after the prizes of this life for a season-honor and riches. Hear the word of the Lord about all: ― “Verily, every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah. Surely every man walketh in a vain show; surely they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them” (Psa. 39:5, 6).
Dear reader, will you learn a lesson from the Psalmist, who says in view of it all, “Lord, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am” (vs. 4). He was a truly wise man; he considered his latter end; he thought seriously of the future. Have you? Death is here, stamped upon everything; it may overtake you today: Now, where are you going? Are you concerned about it? Is it the all-burning question of your soul, “Where am I going; what must I do to be saved?” Once the question is fairly raised in the soul, there can be no peace, no rest till it is answered, and answered according to God.
Now when Israel of old ‘realized their terrible condition in bondage and affliction in Egypt, the Lord said, “I have surely seen.” “I know their sorrows.” “I am come down to deliver.” How forcibly applicable is this language to the state of troubled souls today! Are you troubled on account of the hard bondage of sin and Satan?
The Lord says, “I have surely seen.” His eye is on you; He is not unmindful of your state. He fully knows the depth of the sorrow of your soul; and, moreover, He has come down to deliver you. Yes, He has actually visited this world of sin, sorrow, and death, and Himself wrought a work in the midst thereof whereby you can now be delivered. He, the sinless One, has solved the whole question of sin, by being made sin, and bearing its judgment. Christ died for the ungodly, and lives again, triumphant in glory (Rom. 5:6; Heb. 1:3). Salvation, full, free, and eternal, is now offered to all in His blest Name. “Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him.... Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other” (Psa. 85:9, 10). “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” If, through the fear of Him, your soul has been aroused to a sense of its deep need, surely His salvation is nigh you. Why should you not receive it now? “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” “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” (Rom. 10:9).
You may exclaim, But I am unrighteous; and though I have tried again and again, I find I am powerless to please God. True, but in Christ you will find His righteousness, and from Him you will receive the gift of the Spirit, the alone power to please Him. “Surely, shall one say, in the Lord I have righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come” (Isa. 45:24). All are unrighteous without exception, and all without strength, and hence every effort to be righteous before God utterly vain. Submit to Him, and to His righteousness. He has provided all for you, and all you need is ready for you today. You can find it alone in Christ. Bow to Him, believe on His blessed Name, and henceforth He is your righteousness before God, and the Holy Ghost will enable you to walk in practical righteousness here.
But, “if ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established” (Isa. 7:9). There is no other way of receiving the blessing your soul craves. The work is done, and the One who did it enthroned at God’s right hand. You can do nothing. Your works as a sinful man of Adam’s race are worse than useless, an insult to God. You must believe. Thus alone can you be established in the blessed grace of God. If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be.
Moreover, “if ye believe not that I am He,” said the Saviour, “ye shall die in your sins” (John 8:24). If you remain in unbelief, you remain among the ranks of the enemies of God―the wicked. Now hear what the Word of God says of them: “Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: depart from me, therefore, ye bloody men. For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain” (Psa. 139:19, 20). Unbelief shuts you up to judgment. There is no other alternative. “God is angry with the wicked every day. If he turn not, he will whet his sword; he hath bent his bow, and made it ready. He hath also prepared for him the instruments of death; he ordaineth his arrows against the persecutors” (Psa. 7:11-13). God is “ready to judge the quick and the dead” (1 Peter 4:5); and His judgment is eternal (Rev. 21:8; Jude 13).
How blessed, on the other hand, for every one that believeth! For them, instead of awful threats of judgment and eternal woe, the Word abounds with promises, exceeding great and precious, and Christ is about to come and fulfill them. His last message to His people is, “Surely I come quickly” (Rev. 22:20). No man knoweth the day nor the hour of His return (Mark 13:32). But the all-important matter for every reader of these lines is, Can you respond with joyful heart in the words of Scripture, knowing that all is settled forever through grace between God and you. “Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Rev. 22:20).
“‘What think you of Christ? is the test
To try both your state and your scheme;
You cannot be right in the rest
Unless you think rightly of Him.
As Jesus appears in your view, ―
As He is believed or not;
So God is disposed to you,
And mercy or wrath is your lot.”
E. H. C.