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ALONE
WITH GOD
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Spiritual Answers and Reasons
for Faith |
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THE IDEAL
LIFE
"Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without
which no man shall see the Lord: looking diligently lest
any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of
bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be
defiled."-HEBREW5 xii. 14, 15.
How beautiful and
solemn are these words, like the swelling cadence of
heaven's own music. Evidently they do not emanate from
this sorrow-stricken and warring world; they are one of
the laws of the kingdom of heaven, intended to mold and
fashion our life on earth. It is quite likely that those
who elect to obey them may not achieve name and fame
amongst men; but they will win something infinitely
better-the beatitude of blessedness, the smile of the
Saviour, and the vision of God.
There are souls among us of whom the
world is not worthy; yet for whom the world, when it
catches sight of them, prepares its bitterest venom; who
have withdrawn their interest from the ambitions and
schemes, the excitements and passions of their fellows,
and who live a retired life, hidden with Christ in God,
content to be unknowing and unknown; eager only to please
God, to know him, or rather to be known of him, and to
preserve the perfect balance of their nature with him, as
its center and pivot and final cause. Such souls, perhaps,
will best understand the infinite meaning and beauty of
these deep and blessed words.
THERE IS OUR ATTITUDE TOWARD GOD.
" Follow after holiness." In the Revised Version
this is rendered sanctification." And this in turn is
only a Latin equivalent for "setting apart ", as
Sinai among mountains; the Sabbath among the days of the
week; the Levites among the Jews; and the Jews among the
nations of the earth.
But after all there is a deeper
thought. Why were people, places, and things set apart?
Was it not because God was there? He came down in might
and glory on Sinai; therefore they
needed to set bounds around its lower declivities. He
chose to rest on the seventh day from all his work; therefore
it was hallowed and sanctified. He selected the Jews
to be his peculiar people, and the Levites to be his
priests; therefore they were isolated from
all beside. He appeared to Moses in the bush, glowing with
the light of the Shekinah; therefore the
spot was holy ground, and the shepherd needed to bare his
feet. In other words, it is the presence of God which
makes holy. There is only one Being in all the universe
who is really holy. Holiness is the attribute of his
nature, and of his nature only. We can never be holy apart
from God; but when God enters the spirit of man, he brings
holiness with him. Nay, the presence of God in man is
holiness.
A room or public building may be full
of delicious sunlight. But that sunlight is not the
property of the room. It does not belong to it. You cannot
congratulate it upon its possession. For when the shadows
of evening gather, and curtain the face of the sun, the
chamber is as dark as possible. It is light only so long
as the sun dwells in it. So the human spirit has no
holiness apart from God. Holiness is not a perquisite or
property or attribute to which any of us can lay claim. It
is the indwelling of God's light and glory within us. He
is the holy man in whom God dwells. He is the holier in
whom God dwells more fully. He is the holiest who, however
poor his intellect and mean his earthly lot, is most
possessed and filled by the presence of God through the
Holy Ghost. We need not wonder at the Apostle addressing
believers as saints, when he was able to say of them:
"Your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is
in you" (1 Cor. iii. 16; vi. 19).
Why, then, does the sacred writer
bid us "follow after holiness," as though it
were an acquisition? Because, though holiness is
the infilling of man's spirit by the Spirit of God, yet
there are certain very important conditions to be observed
by us if we would secure and enjoy that blessed gift.
Give self no quarter. It
is always asserting itself in one or other of its
Protean shapes. Do not expect to be rid of it. Even if you
say you have conquered it, then it lurks beneath the smile
of your self-complacency. It may show itself in religious
pride, in desire to excel in virtue, in the satisfaction
with which we hear ourselves remarked for our humility. It
will need incessant watchfulness, because where self is
there God cannot come. He will not share his glory with
another. When we are settling down to slumber, we may
expect the cry, "Thine enemy is upon thee; "for
it will invade our closets and our places of deepest
retirement.
It is impossible to read the Epistles
of the Apostle Peter without being impressed with the
solemn and awful character of the Christian life, the
constant need of watchfulness, the urgency for diligence,
self-restraint, and self-denial. Oh for this holy
sensitiveness! always exercising the self~watch; never
sparing ourselves; merciful to others because so merciless
to self; continually exercising ourselves to preserve a
conscience void of offense toward God and men.
Yield to God. He is ever
seeking the point of least resistance in our natures. Help
him to find it; and when found, be sure to let him have
his blessed way. "Whatsoever he saith unto you, do
it." Work out what God works in. Translate the
thoughts of God into the vernacular of daily obedience. Be
as plastic to his touch as clay in the hands of the
potter, so that you may realize every ideal which is in
his heart. Be not as the horse and mule, but let your
mouth be tender to every motion of the divine purpose
concerning you. And if you find it difficult to maintain
this attitude, be sure to tell your difficulty to the Holy
Spirit, and trust him to keep your heart steadfast and
unmovable, fixed and obedient.
Take time to it. "Follow
after." This habit is not to be acquired in a bound
or at a leap. It can be formed in its perfection only
after years of self-discipline and watchful self-culture.
To abide ever in Christ, to yield to God, to keep all the
windows of the nature open toward his gracious infilling,
to turn naturally to him, and first, amid peril and
temptations, in all times of sorrow and trial, this is not
natural, but it may become as second nature by habitual
diligence.
But it must necessarily be the work of
time ere the sense of effort ceases and the soul naturally
and spontaneously turns to God "in every hour of
waking thought." And if we are to acquire this
blessed and perpetual attitude of soul, we must take time
to acquire it, as to acquire aught else which is really
precious. It must be no by~play; nor the work of off or
leisure hours; nor a pastime: but the serious object of
life, the purpose which shall thread all the varied beads
of life's chain, and give a beautiful unity to all.
To such a character there shall
be the vision of God. "Blessed are the pure
in heart; for they shall see God." Had you been
beside Moses during his forty days in the heart of the
cloud, when he saw God face to face, you would not have
seen him if you had not been holy. Had you stood beside
the martyr Stephen when he beheld the glory of God, and
the Son of man standing beside him, your eyes would have
discerned nothing if you had not been holy. Yea, if it
were possible for you without holiness to pass within the
pearly gate, you would not see the sheen, as it were, of
sapphire; you would carry with you your own circumference
of darkness, and the radiant vision would vanish as you
approached. "Without holiness no man shall see the
Lord."
The heart has eyes as well as the head;
and for want of holiness these become seriously impaired,
so that the wise in their own conceits see not, whilst
those who are simple, humble, and pure in heart behold the
hidden and prepared things of God. The one condition for
seeing God in his Word, in nature, in daily life, and in
closet-fellowship, is holiness of heart wrought there by
his own indwelling. Follow after holiness as men pursue
pleasure; as the athlete runs for the prize; as the votary
of fashion follows in the wake of the crowd.
THERE IS OUR ATTITUDE TOWARD MEN.
" Follow after peace." The effect of
righteousness is always peace. If you are holy, you will
be at peace. Peace is broken by sin; but the holy soul
takes sin instantly to the Blood. Peace is broken by
temptation; but the holy soul has learned to put Christ
between itself and the first breath of the tempter. Peace
is broken by care, dissatisfaction, and unrest; but the
Lord stands around the holy soul, as do the mountains
around Jerusalem, which shield off the cruel winds, and
collect the rain which streams down their broad sides to
make the dwellers in the valleys rejoice and sing. Others
may be fretful and feverish, the subjects of wild alarms;
but there is perfect peace to the soul which has God, and
is satisfied.
When a man is full of the peace of God,
he will naturally become a son of peace. He will follow
after peace with them that call on the Lord out of a pure
heart (2 Tim. ii. 22). He will endeavor to keep the unity
of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Eph. iv. 3). He will
sow harvests of peace as he makes peace (James iii. 18).
All his epistles, like those of the great Apostle, will
breathe benedictions of peace; and his entrance to a home
will seem like a living embodiment of the ancient form of
benediction: Peace be to this house. He will have a
wonderful power of calling out responses from like-minded
men; but where that is not the case, his peace,
white-robed and dove-winged, shall come back to him again.
But there must be a definite following
after peace. The temperaments of some are so
trying. They are so apt to look at things in a wrong
light, to put misconstructions on harmless actions, and to
stand out on trifles. Hence the need of endeavor and
patience and watchfulness, that we may exercise a
wholesome influence as peacemakers.
Avoid becoming a party to a
quarrel. It takes two to make a quarrel; never be
one. A soft answer will often turn away wrath, and where
it does not, yield before the wrong-doer, give place to
wrath, let it expend itself unhindered by your resistance;
it will soon have vented itself, to be succeeded by shame,
penitence, and regret.
If opposed to the malice of men,
do not avenge yourselves. Our cause is more God's
than it is our own. It is for him to vindicate us; and he
will. He may permit a temporary cloud to rest on us for
some wise purpose; but ultimately he will bring out our
righteousness as the light, and our judgment as the
noonday. The non-resistance of evil is the dear teaching
of Christ (Matt. v.39; Rom. xii. 19; 1 Pet. ii. 21). Stand
up for the true, the holy, the good, at all costs; but
think very little of standing up for your own rights. What
are your rights? Are you anything better than a poor
sinner who has forfeited all? You deserve to be treated
much worse than you were ever treated at the worst. Leave
God to vindicate you.
Do not give cause of offense.
If you are aware of certain susceptibilities on the part
of others, where they may be easily wounded and irritated,
avoid touching them, if you can do so without being a
traitor to God's holy truth. And if thy brother has any
true bill against you, rest not day nor night, tarry not
even at the footstool of divine mercy; but go to him
forthwith, and seek his forgiveness, and make ample
restitution, that he may have no cause of reproach against
thy professions, or against thy Lord (Matt.v.23).
Oh for more of his peace! -in the face
never crossed by impatience; in the voice never rising
above gentle tones; in the manner never excited or morose;
in the gesture still and restful, which acts as oil poured
over the raging billows of the sea when they foam around
the bulwarks of the ship and are suddenly quelled.
THERE IS OUR ATTITUDE TOWARD OUR FELLOW
CHRISTIANS. "Looking diligently lest any man fail of
the grace of God." It is a beautiful provision that
love to common Lord attracts us into the fellowship of his
disciples; and as no individual life truly develops in
Solitariness, so no Christian is right or healthy who
isolates himself from the communion of saints. But we go
not there only for selfish gratification, but that we may
look after one another, not leaving it to the officers of
the host, but each doing our own share.
There are three dangers. The
laggards. This is the meaning of "fail."
The idea is borrowed from a party of travelers, some of
whom lag behind, as in the retreat from Moscow, to fall a
prey to Cossacks, wolves, or the awful sleep. Let us who
are in the front ranks, strong and healthy, go back to
look after the weaklings who loiter to their peril.
The root of bitterness.
There may be some evil root lurking in some heart, hidden
now, but which Wi1l bear a terrible harvest of misery to
many. So was it in Israel once, when Achan conceived
thoughts of covetousness, and brought evil on himself, and
mourning on the host whose defeat he had brought about. If
we can discover the presence of such roots of bitterness,
let us, with much searching of our own souls, humility,
and prayer, root them out ere they can spring up to cause
trouble.
The profane and early-minded.
Of these Esau is the type, "who for one morsel of
meat sold his birthright." Alas are there not many
such? For one momentary gratification of the flesh, they
forfeit not their salvation perhaps (we are not told that
even Esau forfeited that); but their power to lead, to
teach, to receive and hand on blessing to the Church.
Are any such reading these words? Let
them beware! Such choices are sometimes irrevocable. So
was it with Esau. He wept and cried like some trapped
animal; but he could not alter the destiny he had made for
himself. The words "place for repentance" do not
refer to his personal salvation, but to the altering of
the decision which he had made as a young man, and which
his father ratified. He could not undo. What he had
written, he had written. And so there may come a time when
you would give everything you possess to have again the
old power of blessing and helping your fellows; but you
will find that for one moment's sensual gratification, the
blessed prerogative has slipped from your
grasp-never-never-never to return. Wherefore, let us
eagerly and diligently look both to ourselves and our
fellow-believers in the Church of God. ,p>
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