MOST boys and girls in reading the Bible have noticed the great variety of expression and illustration contained in it. For instance, the whole of the five senses are alluded to in the Scriptures in connection with the character of the Lord Jesus as Savior of the lost.
You know what the five senses are: sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. Now I want to remind you of a few Scriptures in which one or other of these five senses is brought in. The first is connected with SIGHT.
In Isaiah 45:22, we read, " Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth." You have perhaps heard of the conversion of Mr. Spurgeon, the great preacher. When he was about fifteen years of age he heard someone preaching in a little chapel from that text, and by faith he looked up to the Lord, and was saved. The Israelites who were bitten by the flying serpents were healed when they look d upon the serpent of brass. And this is what we desire for you, to look to Jesus, who died upon the cross, that you might be saved.
“So now, the message comes to you,
Oh! look and prove the promise true."
Our next Scripture appeals to our HEARING. In the same book of Isaiah, 55:3, we read these words, " Incline your ear, and come unto Me: hear, and your soul shall live." How can anyone be saved unless he hears about Jesus, for we are told that faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God? Blind Bartimæus must have often heard of Jesus and the wonderful miracles He was doing, and so when he heard one day that Jesus was passing by, he called out to Him, and asked Him to give him his sight. He had faith to believe that Jesus could and would do so. And what reply did he hear from the lips of Jesus? These gladdening words: “Receive thy sight, thy faith hath saved thee." We read that Solomon, the wise man, said, "Hear, for I will speak of excellent things "; and while he did say many excellent things, the Lord Jesus when on earth said many things more excellent still, of which we read in the gospels. You have often heard one very excellent saying of His. It is this: “He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life." (John 5:24.) You hear many things every day which you believe, but have you believed on Jesus about whom you have so often heard?
“Oh, ask the Lord to make you quick
To hear and to receive."
Now as to the sense of TOUCH. We read in the eighth chapter of Luke of a poor woman who had heard about Jesus. One day seeing Him with many people around Him, she thought that if she could but touch the border of His garment she should be cured of her disease. She did so, and when she had touched Him she was healed, although she had been suffering twelve years. But Jesus knew she had touched Him, and He turned round and spoke comforting words to her who had such faith in Him. He said, “Thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace." How glad she would be that she had come to Jesus and touched Him.
Boys and girls, and grown up people too, like to touch things. When you go into museums and picture galleries you see tickets all about, "Please not to touch." Now Jesus does not tell us not to come near Him, but calls upon all, as the poor woman did, to come to Him for salvation,
"For all who touch He
straightway heals;
The touch of faith His
love reveals."
But boys and girls like to do something with certain things besides touching them, you like to TASTE them, do not you?
Well, now, what does the Word of God say about taste? If you look in your Bible at Psalm 34:8, you will read, "O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him." Have you, dear reader, tasted of the love of GOD? No one knows what His love is but those who have really in heart tasted it. You know about the manna with which the children of Israel were fed in the wilderness. That manna was a type of Christ, and we are told in Exodus 16:31 that “the taste of it was like wafers made with honey"; and in Psalm 119:103 we read," How sweet are Thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" A boy was once trying to explain to Dr. Bonar how sweet some honey was that he had in a jar; at last he said, "Taste it!" You do not know how sweet that apple is, nor how good that cake is, until you eat some of it; and to “taste and see” is the right way to get to know how sweet the words of the Lord are and how good He is.
“Not half His grace has
e'er been told,
So, sinner, taste and
see."
Then in regard to the sense of SMELL, we read in the Song of Solomon 1:3, "Because of the savor (or fragrance) of thy good ointments Thy name is as ointment poured forth "; and again in chap. 5. "His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers: his lips like lilies, dropping sweet-smelling myrrh." But unless you have trusted in Jesus for your soul's salvation, His Name will not be to you as a “sweet-smelling savor "; but if you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life, then it will be true of you that " Looking and listening, you will find The fragrance of His name."
Do then, dear boys and girls, come to Jesus while you are young. He loves children, do not wait till you are grown up, but come to Him now.
“Then look and see His beauty fair,
And listen to His voice,
And let His fragrance sweet and rare
Your ravished soul rejoice.
Then touch, that healed you may be,
And taste and see how good is He."
H. W. P.