We have spoken to you of God's grace; it may be well to say a few words upon God's holy law.
When God brought the children of Israel out of Egypt, He did so by grace, and after the people had been for some time in the wilderness, God gave them His holy law. You can all say by heart the Ten Commandments, no doubt, so that we need not repeat them here. God told the people what they were to do, and what they were not to do, and God promised blessings to such as kept His commandments, and uttered cursings against those who broke them. But Israel, instead of keeping, broke the law of God.
It is a terrible thing for anyone to be under and to break the law of God, for thus saith the scripture: " As many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them?' (Gal. 3:10.)
Now God tells us very plainly what is NOT to be had by the law.
Justification is not to be had by the law.
" That no man is justified by the law is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith." (Gal. 3:11, 12.)
" By the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight." (Rom. 3:20.) " A man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law." (Rom. 3:28.)
Life is not given by the law.
"If there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. (Gal. 3:21.)
God justifies those who believe, and gives them new and eternal life. You may find some difficulty in understanding these texts of scripture, but learn them, for when you grow older they will prove of great value to you.
For what purpose was the law of God given to Israel? It was given for them to keep. They broke it and they needed a Savior. Jesus the Savior has come, and the sinner now is bidden, " Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved," not, "Do this and live."
The holy law of God is not written in the Bible in order that you may try to keep it and so be saved, but by the law you may find how much you need a Savior. " We know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully." (1 Tim. 1:8.) It would be unlawful for us to try to save ourselves by seeking to keep it.
LAW REQUIRES; GRACE GIVES.
Some time ago, a friend of ours called upon a poor woman in London. She was very ill, and her half-starved children were around her crying for bread. It was a cold winter's day, and as our friend walked to the poor woman's house, the drizzling sleet was driven in his face by the bleak east wind.
Now the poor woman owed three weeks' rent, and had nothing to pay. But by the law of the land she was bound to pay every penny just the same. What was to be done?
One of her little children opened the door when our friend knocked. As he entered the room the poor mother's face told her fears. She wept with terror. She thought that lie was the agent of the landlord come to demand the three weeks' rent, and to thrust her and her children into the street.
But what was her joy when she found that instead of coming to demand her rent, our friend had come to pay her debts and to provide food for herself and her children.
You can see the difference between the law requiring and grace giving, from this true story.
And God's holy law requires from all who are under it that they shall do right. But suppose that you, like the poor mother and her children, cannot pay the debt, cannot do what the law requires. What then? Ah! then how sweet it is to trust Jesus, Who comes to us in grace, Who comes from God bringing poor helpless sinners God's rich blessings.
There are grown persons and children, too, who think that they can do a great many good things and so keep the law. They do not feel hopelessly poor, like the helpless mother of whom we have just spoken. Yet such is God's mercy to man, that sometimes He so overrules things that these mistaken persons by really trying to keep the law, as in God's sight, have their eyes opened to the truth, that they have no power within themselves to do what the holy law bids them.
The following story may help you to understand our meaning.
A LESSON FROST THE LOOKING-GLASS.
Little Johnny was promised by his father a visit to the Zoological Gardens to see the strange creatures there.
The day came, and Johnny, full of impatience to be dressed, was ready some time before his papa could take him. His mother said to him, "Now, Johnny, mind you do not make your best clothes in a mess, for if you do so, you will not be able to go; for your papa will not take an untidy, dirty child with him."
Johnny seemed to listen to what his mother told him, as he ran out of doors to wait, but he soon forgot her instructions, and thought of nothing but his play.
At last his father came; Johnny saw him, and ran to meet him, exclaiming, " See, papa, I am quite ready; do take me to the gardens."
" But, Johnny," said his father, " look at your coat; how untidy it is, and covered with mud; and how dirty your face and hands are. I cannot take you like that."
Johnny was not at all inclined to believe that he was in such a dirty state, so his father carried him indoors, and held him up before a large looking-glass, whereupon Johnny could not help seeing and owning his condition.
Now, I am sure, if I ask you whether the looking-glass made Johnny's condition any better, you will tell me, no; but it showed him how dirty, and untidy, and unfit for his father's presence he was. Did the looking-glass make him any worse? No, it only showed him what his state was. Perhaps you will ask, what was the good of showing him this? It made the boy feel his condition, and taught him to be ashamed of his dirty clothes and hands.
Now, I will tell you of what the looking-glass reminds me. It reminds me of the law. The law shows us what we are, and how unfit we are for God's presence. The law says, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart," and "thy neighbor as thyself." Take your place before the looking-glass, and see what you are like. Do you love the Lord with all your heart, and do you love your neighbor as yourself? No, indeed. The law, like the looking-glass, shows us how unfit we are for God's presence; but the law does not make us clean, any more than the looking-glass took away Johnny's dirt. You would not run to a looking-glass to wash your hands. Yet there are children who go to the law to get their souls cleansed. Saying "I must do better; I must try," is going to the law to get clean.
Well, Johnny was washed and dressed again, and then his father took him to the gardens. And God washes us in the blood of Jesus, and gives us a new dress. What is this new dress? I will tell you. It is the robe of righteousness which God puts upon us when we believe on Jesus.
C. H.
If we were all perfectly good we should not break God's holy law. But, alas, "all have sinned," and "there is none that doeth good, no, not one." Let us suppose a perfectly good child. His mother bids him not to look into the basket which she puts upon the table. Now, what would you do? Perhaps you would not disobey the commandment, but what would you wish to do? But the child whom we are supposing is perfectly good. He never so much as thinks of looking into the basket, neither does he even so much as wish to do so. Had he been like other children, no doubt something in his heart would have wished to look inside the basket, though we will not go so far as to say that he would have broken his mother's command
with his hands and eyes and have opened it and peeped into it.
Let us now suppose a thing similar to what once really took place: Elizabeth's mother says to her, " I am going out for an hour; mind, my child, that you do not open the lid on the cupboard."
No sooner has her mother gone out than Lizzie begins to say "I wonder why mother told me not to open the lid."
If Lizzie had not evil within her she would not have thus spoken in her heart. After about a quarter-of-an-hour's thinking, Lizzie, hardly observed even by herself, has crept up closer and closer to the cupboard. Presently she is saying over to herself again, "I wonder why mother bade me not to look inside; I wonder what is there?" Then she puts her ear to the cupboard and listens.
Half-an-hour has nearly gone by; Lizzie's mother will soon be home, and by this time the command of her mother has so stirred up the child's wishes to do what she ought not, that she begins to peep through the key-hole. At last she cannot resist. She opens the lid, when in a moment out flies a bird. It is too late, Lizzie's disobedience has discovered itself.
Had Lizzie been perfectly good she would not have wished to disobey her mother's word. And we, too, all of us, are like her-we have evil and willful hearts, and thus when God's holy law commands us not to do this or that, our evil hearts are stirred up to wish to do what we ought not. Because of this the apostle Paul says, "I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet." (Rom. 7:7.)
It is because we have evil hearts by nature that we do evil things, and the law of God was not given to us to make our hearts good, but it shows us what God requires of man, and proves to us how evil we are.
It is very sad when anyone tries to be made fit for God's presence by keeping the law. For if we could become righteous before God by doing what the law of God demands why did Jesus die to save us? The holy law of God is like a sword to slay guilty man; but the holy gospel of God gives both righteousness and life to all who believe.
" I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God.
" If righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain." (Gal. 2:19, 21.)
This chapter treats of a difficult subject, but you must try to understand it. We all have an evil nature, and because this is the case, we naturally do evil things. The holy law of God bids us do good and not to do evil, but it does not change our nature.
Suppose a little child wished very much to have a pet lamb, and her father said, " We have no place where to keep a lamb, Mary, but I will give you kitten instead."
So Mary's father brings her a pretty kitten. She finds that it drinks milk, and she remembers that lambs take milk. Her kitten is white, and she knows that lambs are white. Mary is very young herself, and she says, "I will try and turn my kitten into a lamb." But in vain does the child offer her pet, grass, and try to make it follow her like a lamb; for kitty puts her claws out and gives quite a cross hiss, and in a moment scrambles up a tree out of Mary's reach. A kitten's nature is different from a lamb's, and Mary finds out that she cannot change it.
Willie is plucking up the daisy roots out of his father's lawn, and he is going to plant them in his own garden, where he hopes they will grow into sunflowers. How silly he is; he cannot change their nature, and he will find it out by-and-by.
Perhaps you think that our Mary and Willie are stupid children-so very stupid that no child lived like them. Well, such children never did live. Yet there are thousands of grown-up people who are hoping to change their very natures by trying, to keep God's holy law; and if such people did not live, we should not have told you of silly Mary and Willie. For we cannot tell whether, when you grow older, you may not become, too, as unbelieving and as foolish as these imaginary children.
No, children; we all have evil natures, and no doings of our own can change them. The root is wrong, therefore the fruit cannot be right.
FRUIT AND ROOT.
I once had a beautiful little cherry tree in my garden. I took great care of it, put nice fresh earth all round it, and did. Everything I could to make it grow. If any of you have gardens you will know how I watched my tree. The trouble I took with it only made me more anxious to see it flourish. Spring came, and it looked, oh! so pretty in full blossom-so pure, and white, and rich! I shall surely have a great many cherries, I thought, on my pretty tree when summer comes. Summer came, and what happened? Oh, children! it was so sad; my pretty tree faded quite away! First the blossoms, then the leaves, and then the branches. I was so sorry after all my trouble. I asked the gardener why it faded, and he said there must be something wrong at its root. So he dug it up, and there, deep down in the earth, were nasty bed worms: a great many of them. They had eaten the root of my poor little tree, and so it had died.
Now, this is like what we all are by nature. There is a deep root of sin in all, and though we may be very pleasant and kind, all alike need a Savior, Jesus. There is no life but in Him, no way to heaven but through Him.
None of the beautiful blossoms upon my cherry tree came to anything, just because there was death in the roots; so no good promises or works of yours will avail before God, for, young as you are, you must be born again. Jesus died that we might live; believe in Him, and you shall have the new, the everlasting life, and then may you be a fruitful tree for Him upon the earth. Should you live to be old, or should you die young, may you please Him, and bring forth fruit for God.
How can we do this? By being obedient to God's holy word, and treasuring in our hearts what our Lord says to us.
But remember, dear children, that there cannot be fruit unless there be root; and, therefore, be quite sure that you are one of those who are of the Lord's planting. Be quite sure that you do indeed believe on the Lord Jesus, and that you have the new life.
R. B.
THE ONLY Savior.
Weeping will not save me-
Though my face were bathed in tears,
That could not allay my fears-
Could not wash the sins of years;
Weeping will not save me.
Jesus died for such as me;
Jesus suffered on the tree;
Jesus waits to make me free;
He alone can save me!
Working will not save me-
Purest deeds that I can do,
Holiest thoughts and feelings too,
Cannot form my soul anew;
Working will not save me.
Waiting will not save me-
Helpless, guilty, lost I lie,
In my ear is mercy's cry,
If I wait I can but die;
Waiting will not save me.
Christ alone can save me-
Let me truth Thy gracious Son,
Trust the world that He has done-
To His arms, Lord, help me run;
Christ alone can save me.