The World.

The World as it Truly is.
NOW this world, so beautiful to the natural eye of man (even though the shadow of death everywhere hovers over it), is what man himself has reduced it to, blinded in heart and mind (though he is not aware of it) by the enemy of Him who created him for His own glory. Man through the Fall and the reign of sin has, so to speak, become color blind. His eye, his ear, his heart are all deceived. We read in various scriptures,’ that Satan deceiveth the whole world (Rev. 12:99And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. (Revelation 12:9)), that man is blinded through the deceitfulness of sin (Heb. 3:1313But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. (Hebrews 3:13)), that his heart is deceitful above all things-and desperately wicked (Jer. 17:99The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9)), that he deceiveth himself (1 John 1:88If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. (1 John 1:8)), and that he deceiveth his own heart (James 1:2626If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. (James 1:26)). How then can he arrive at a true estimate of all that surrounds him? The most learned, the most refined are amongst the deceived ones. There is one only source to which one can turn to get light about it all, that ‘is, to God Himself. He is light, and in Him is no darkness at all (1 John 1:55This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. (1 John 1:5)). Would you have right thoughts about Him, yourself, and the world that surrounds you, you must accept His thoughts. His thoughts are not as ours. Would you be truly wise in your generation, you will forsake your own thoughts and bow to His. You will find them in His Word.
In the midst of this world of man’s exaltation, vanity, and pride, God has revealed Himself. He spake in His Son. His Son came into the world. He came in manhood, Emmanuel, God with us. What was His estimate of the whole state and course of things? Did He approve and uphold it, or did He condemn it? His testimony was faithful, true, and uncompromising. He was the light of the world, and His presence fully exposed its condition. The contrast between a Man who did God’s will, a Man perfectly after God’s own heart, and a world which did its own will and loved darkness, was striking in the extreme. And the power of Satan and the will of man were provoked against Him. Man, with all manner of enlightenment, and proud of his accomplishments, was so completely blind, and his heart so completely callous and deceived, that not a single ray of light could penetrate. He was in darkness and he loved it. More he hated light, and sought to put the light out. His world, so beautiful in his own estimate, centered in himself, and was suited morally to his blind condition. Light exposed all, and utterly destroyed his imaginary happiness. “Away with him, away with him, crucify him, crucify him!” was the bitter and awful expression of the human heart against perfect goodness and unsullied light. There was nothing whatever in common between the holy Christ of God and man’s world. Under the outward garb of Judaism on the one hand, and only thinly veiled, was all the corruption of the human heart. The blessed One who sought to win them in patient grace, closed His ministry by calling their leaders hypocrites, blind guides, whited sepulchers, serpents, a generation of vipers that could not escape the damnation of hell! (Matt. 23).
On the other hand was the heathen world, walking in the vanity of their mind, with darkened understanding, blinded heart, past feeling, given over to lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness (Eph. 4:18, 1918Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: 19Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. (Ephesians 4:18‑19)). See also Romans 1. This was the moral state of the world that cast Christ out, both Jew and Gentile combined. They crucified the Lord of Glory. The world sealed its own doom and signed its own death warrant in the death of Christ; and judgment, the holy judgment of God, has rested on it from that day to this. Beautiful as all may appear to the natural eye of man, the world’s glory is the merest tinsel, the garb of civilization a mere spider’s web, and the polish of educated society the very thinnest veneer.
Now the fact that man does not perceive this, shows that a moral cataract is over his eyes. Brilliant and showy as the world’s great cities and exhibitions, &c., may appear, take an honest glance beneath the surface, and the awful traces of sin, the utter corruption and wickedness of the human heart and mind will meet you at every turn. Lying, dishonesty and deceit, perjury and corruption, drunkenness and immorality, theft and wickedness, with bodily and mental suffering, and disease and death abound on all hands. Discontent, socialism, opposition to authority, anarchy, revolution, nihilism impregnate the moral atmosphere of the world. With such a crop of poisonous weeds, must there not be something radically wrong at the root? What mean these law courts, judges and magistrates, these reformatories, prisons, and thousands of detectives and police? What mean these vast hosts of armed men, these mighty armies and navies of the modern world, if all is fairly as it should be, as so many vainly think? What means this great struggle for existence among the, nations, and the struggle for daily bread among the masses, the world itself in many respects but a prison with travaux forces? What mean these hospitals, orphan houses, asylums, homes? Are they the signs of prosperity, the evidences of peace? Is the Prince of Peace already reigning, as some would vainly tell us? Alas no, the Prince of Peace and Righteousness has been rejected and murdered, and an usurper has mounted the throne. Satan reigns, and holds the human race in his thrall. The power of darkness has folded him in its deadly embrace. Sin and unbelief have triumphed, and the heart of man, with the thin veneer of external religion as his outward garb, is infidel and corrupt to the very core. If you deny it, dear reader, your denial is but one more proof of the fact. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.” And “that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.”
And what will be the end thereof? Thousands reply (notwithstanding that the twentieth century, with all its advance and enlightenment, is opening with wars and revolutions, and the attempted murder of potentates) that the world is getting better, and that science and art, education and discovery, will go on till all the great social questions that shake society will be solved, and men’s efforts produce a period of peace, and happiness unparalleled in the history of the world. Revelation tells us that infidelity will triumph over, religion (Rev. 17), and the world’s boasted progress, end in the worship of the devil, and universal strife and slaughter (Rev. 13:19). No doubt, in the mercy of God, education, civilization, and scientific discovery, &c., have greatly ameliorated the state of man in many parts of the globe, and that things, in that sense, are better than they were in the past. But all the civilization and education in the world, and all the scientific discoveries that ever were, or ever will be made, never touch for a single instant the state of the human heart before God.
Man is a sinful and lost creature, under judgment (Rom. 3); the world lies in the wicked one (1 John 5:1919And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness. (1 John 5:19)); and all man’s efforts to put himself right are utterly vain. And evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. The shadows are deepening, the darkest hours of the long night are approaching rapidly. The mass are caught in the terrible vortex of pleasure-seeking, vanity, and fashion. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life are ministered to on all sides. A few bow to the authority of God; many profess, whose hearts are far from Him. Some churches and chapels are filled on the Lord’s Day. Many are half empty. The mass are scarcely entered from Monday till Saturday. Whereas music-halls, theaters, circuses, exhibitions, and shows find their thousands of votaries night after night! The gospel in its purity in many pulpits has become almost a strange sound! A once a week external form quiets the consciences of millions. And where the eye and ear are best ministered to, is generally found the best throng. Where is the glory of God in it all? “My people (and all who bear the Christian name today profess to be that) love to have it so,” but what will be in the end thereof? Ah, what indeed?
Reader, halt. You have gone on long enough. “Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, Where is the good way, and walk therein” (Jer. 6:1616Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein. (Jeremiah 6:16)). The outline of the future is clear. The world is under the usurper, Satan, and he is using his-mighty and deceptive power, duping men on all sides. The world’s political power, speaking broadly, is becoming rapidly infidel, and the professing element rapidly apostate. The infidel power (the beast and ten kings) will overthrow the religious (Babylon), eat her flesh and burn her with fire, practically seize her wealth and destroy her utterly. Then will men worship Satan, the beast, his image, and the false prophet or antichrist, and with the beast’s brand-mark on the forehead or on the hand, accept the devil’s millennium as their long-looked-for goal!
Now the question of all questions for every reader of these lines in view of all these things is, Where shall I be in that day? The world, man’s world, is without God; its fashion passeth away. All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. If honest, you will admit it does not satisfy you, and out of it sooner or later you must go. You may go by the way of death this moment, or the Lord at this moment may come for His own, and you be left to live on till Satanic rule and antichristian power get completely the upper hand. The outlook for you is terrible, whichever way you look, if unconverted. But is there not a remedy? Yes, there is. God offers you
CHRIST.
When the world crucified Christ, God made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; and He died, His blood was shed. In Him God was glorified, and He exalted Him to highest glory as a present Saviour for all. He alone can satisfy your heart. What think ye of Him? He is the chiefest among ten thousand, the altogether lovely, and fairer than the children of men. Without Him, you had better never have been born. With Him, all is yours (1 Cor. 3:22, 2322Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; 23And ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's. (1 Corinthians 3:22‑23)), blessing inconceivable, which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither bath entered the heart of man. It is revealed to the believer by the Spirit. In Him are unsearchable riches―riches which become the portion of every one that believeth.
Your life, dear reader, hangs as it were upon a thread, which may be snapped at any moment. It is then the height of folly to take another step, without looking eternal realities in the face. Have to do with God now. He is a Saviour-God, the God of all grace, and will meet you in grace. If in your folly you let the hour of grace slip by, you will bitterly rue it in the day of judgment. Grace waits on you. Bow in self-judgment before God, and believe His blessed testimony concerning His Son and His finished work. Then shall you know that all your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake, that you are justified by God Himself, and that you shall never come into judgment. You are in the midst of a complete wreck, under death, in a world built up by fallen men under Satan’s power. But Christ has overcome Satan, it and death, and sits as a crowned and victorious Saviour in glory. It is Christ you need. Accept Him as your present Saviour and all is well forever. Believe on Him, your Saviour and Lord, and a present deliverance from the power of evil will be yours; and then follow Him till the bright and blessed moment when you shall enter upon eternal blessedness in the presence of God on high.
Will you or will you not receive Christ? You will receive Him. Then, to use His own words to another―
“Thy sins are forgiven,
Thy faith hath saved thee. Go in peace”
E. H. C.