The One Great Reality Part 7

"What it meant to Thee the Holy One To bear away my sin."

We find from St. John's Gospel that Thomas, one of the twelve, was not among them when Jesus came, so the rest of the disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." He replied, "Unless I see in His hands the wound made by the nails, and put my finger into the wound, and put my hand into His side, I will never believe it." So when a week later Jesus says to Thomas, "Reach hither thy finger and behold (or feel) My hands, and reach hither thy hand and thrust it into My side," [Footnote: St. John xx. 27.] it shows how our Lord made these scars the very test of his faith, and it is the same now.

In St. Luke's Gospel we read that He said, "Behold My hands and My feet."

When He showed them the marks of His sufferings for them, it was as if He said, "Here is the guarantee of your pardon and peace." We cannot have peace until we have pardon; many seek peace instead of taking pardon first. When He showed them His hands, and His feet, and His side, it was as if He said, "You need cleansing from all sin; here are the marks of the cleansing Blood. You need the touch of healing power, and here is the Hand that will give it to you. You want companionship in your daily life.

Here are the feet that will travel with you, you never walk alone." What wonderful tenderness and love! If ever you feel depressed or ready to doubt G.o.d's love, remember how "He showed them His hands and His side,"

that they might see those sacred scars. And we read in the next verse, "Then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord." Yes, "they were filled with joy at seeing the Master." You will remember how troubled Thomas had been before this, but now the sight of the wounded hands took away all his doubts and fears. It was then that his faith rose higher than that of any of the others, for he exclaimed with adoration and worship, "My Lord, and my G.o.d!" If ever you wander away or your heart grows cold and careless, think of those words, "He showed them His hands and His side," and remember He is still the same in the glory.

When the beloved Apostle John looked through the open door into heaven, he saw Him standing there in the midst of the throne with the nail prints in His hands and feet, "a Lamb as it had been slain." [Footnote: Rev. v. 6.]

What a sight!

"Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood Shall never lose its power, Till all the ransomed Church of G.o.d Be saved to sin no more."

But _why_ did He show them the wounds in His hands and side? To make it plain that He bore all the penalty of sin. Some speak about sin as if it were only a mistake, but G.o.d says sin is guilt, and that all are guilty, for all have sinned. We have offended against G.o.d's holy law, and if any one breaks the law he brings upon himself the penalty. G.o.d says, "The soul that sinneth, it shall die;" [Footnote: Ezek. xviii. 20.] so the penalty we deserve is death, everlasting punishment. The penalty must be paid by some one. G.o.d's justice demands it.

G.o.d is not willing that any should perish; He loves the sinner, though He hates the sin. Still the penalty must be paid, so He found out a way; His own dear Son must take the sinner's place and suffer the full penalty instead, the death-penalty.

Perhaps you wonder, how can the death of One atone for the sin of the many? A lad once asked his father this question. The father made no reply but took him into the garden. Then he dug up a spadeful of earth with a number of worms in it, and turning to the boy he asked him, "Now which is of most value, your life or that of one worm, or even a thousand worms?"

"Mine," said the boy. "Now" said the father, "you can see how the life and death of the Divine Saviour is _sufficient satisfaction to G.o.d_ for the sins of the whole world."

Oh! the wonder of it all. We see G.o.d, the Holy G.o.d, the just G.o.d, the righteous G.o.d--we see man, guilty, condemned, sinful. Then we see the Son of G.o.d Who knew no sin, _made_ sin for us, [Footnote: 2 Cor. v. 21.] so that all the requirements of G.o.d's holiness and justice are fully met.

It was on the Cross, in that hour of darkness and agony when He cried, "My G.o.d, My G.o.d, _why_ hast Thou forsaken Me," that He was _made_ sin for us.

Now we see the meaning of the wounded Hands, the broken Heart of G.o.d.

"If I were G.o.d," the cynic said, "this sinning, suffering world would break my heart." But what if G.o.d's heart _was_ broken? Do we not read in the 69th Psalm, "Reproach hath broken my heart? [Footnote: Ps. lxix. 20.]"

The last night before He died He went to the garden of Gethsemane. Only three of His disciples followed Him into the place where He knelt down to pray, and even these three fell asleep. He was left alone. He says, "I looked for some to take pity, but there was none, and for comforters, but I found none." It was then the agony began which ended on the Cross in a broken heart.

It was then He prayed saying, "Father, if Thou be willing, remove this cup from Me, and there appeared an angel unto Him from heaven, strengthening Him." [Footnote: St. Luke xxii. 42, 43.]

His prayer was heard and the victory was won over the adversary, for it must be on the Cross and in no other way that the Atonement could be made.

"Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us, for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree."

[Footnote: Gal. iii. 13.] "Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree." [Footnote: I Pet. ii. 24.]

It was there on the Cross that He said, "It is finished; and He bowed His Head and died." We should not have known that He died of a broken heart if one little circ.u.mstance had not taken place. The Holy Spirit has shown us that this circ.u.mstance was foretold in the Scriptures and was all part of G.o.d's purpose in our redemption. The soldiers had orders to break the legs of those who had been crucified, so as to hasten their death, and remove their bodies without delay; but when they came to Jesus and saw that He was dead already, they brake not His legs; but one of the soldiers pierced His side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. "This was a proof that He had died of a broken heart." [Footnote: John xix. 34.]

"He died of a broken heart for you, He died of a broken heart, Oh! wondrous love for you, for me, He died of a broken heart."

When we remember that the pouring out of the blood followed on the breaking of the body, then we see the meaning of the precious words spoken by our Lord during the Last Supper. We read that, "He took bread, and when He had given thanks, He brake it and said, 'Take, eat; this is My Body which is broken for you.' [Footnote: I Cor. xi. 24.] And He took the cup and said, 'This is My Blood of the New Testament which is shed for many.'"

[Footnote: St. Mark xiv. 24.]

Why did He die? Why was His blood poured out? The Apostle Paul answers that question when He says, "G.o.d was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself." In that one sentence we have the Message of the Cross! We see G.o.d's purpose behind it all.

Two wonderful truths lie hidden in that glorious message. The first is, that "Christ _died_ to put away sin," because sin is the thing and the only thing which comes between us and G.o.d. The good news which Christ brings to us is that G.o.d Himself has taken the first step in this work of reconciliation. Oh! how wonderful it is that it is our sins which have brought out all the anguish and love of G.o.d's heart. Yes, our sins grieved Him so much He could not rest till He had devised a plan by which they could "all be blotted out," once for all.

Dear friends, whenever your sins are a burden, say these words over and over in your heart, "G.o.d was in Christ reconciling me to Himself."

[Footnote: 2 Cor. v. 19.] This alone would have been wonderful, but there is something more in the good news, and that is "G.o.d is beseeching you to be reconciled to Him." Have you ever grasped that truth?

I remember hearing of a great lawyer who was moved to shed tears, and when a fellow-lawyer asked him why he was in trouble he replied, "I see now what I never saw before. Yes, I see that G.o.d is _beseeching_ me to be reconciled to Him. I always thought it was for me to beseech G.o.d."

Many think as this lawyer did that the sinner must first come to G.o.d. No, it is G.o.d Who comes to us entreating us to return to Him. He is always sending us messages of love, and the moment we turn to Him and trust Him He gives us a full free pardon.

Dear fellow-sinners, "we pray you now in Christ's stead," and because of His great love in dying for you, "Be reconciled to G.o.d." G.o.d is now willing; are you willing? Do say "Yes." Will you say it now very solemnly in your heart to G.o.d?

ADDRESS VII

THE WORD OF G.o.d

PORTION OF SCRIPTURE--Psalm xix.

This Psalm is full of the glory of G.o.d. It tells us first of the Glory of G.o.d shining in this beautiful world which He has made, and then it shows us the glory of G.o.d shining in the Scriptures, in this Book which lies open before us.

The first verse bursts forth with the triumphant note, "The heavens declare the glory of G.o.d." Everything in earth and sky shows forth His wisdom, His power and His love.

Then it gives us a wonderful picture of the sunrise and compares it to "a bridegroom coming out of his chamber." You have seen the first streaks of light in the early morning, and then you have watched the onward course of the sun till it is high up in the sky at mid-day, full of power, "rejoicing as a strong man to run a race."

But Nature, with all its secrets, Nature with all its wonders and treasures, is only part of G.o.d's revelation of Himself; the other part is to be found in His Word.

So the Psalmist pa.s.ses from the glorious sun in the heavens to the glory shining in the Word of G.o.d. The glory we see in G.o.d's works is only an ill.u.s.tration of the glory shining in this Book. After giving the wonderful description of the rising sun, he goes on to point out that there is not a single spot in the whole world where the sun does not shine, and that its light and heat can be felt by everything. Then he shows us that it is just the same with the Word of G.o.d. It is G.o.d's message to every one, but it is only when it finds an entrance into man's heart that it gives light.

[Footnote: Ps. cxix. 130.]

If you draw down the blind the sun cannot shine into your room; so the Holy Spirit must open our hearts for the light of His Word to enter in, otherwise it will be to us the same as any other book.

"Is it dark without you, darker still within?

Clear the darkened windows, Open wide the door; Let the blessed sunshine in."

How can we know that the Bible is the Word of G.o.d? A gentleman, who was an unbeliever, stopped one day to speak to Molly, the old woman who kept a flower stall near the station. He noticed she was reading her Bible, so he asked her why she read it. "Because it is the Word of G.o.d." "How do you know?" "Because it cheers and warms my heart. I am just as sure it is G.o.d's own Word as I am that it is the sun shining up there." This simple testimony was the means of convincing him and he thanked her for it.

We have heard how the sun shines over the whole world, but is it not wonderful that every little drop of water can reflect the whole of its light? In every sunbeam there are seven colours, and when you look up at the rainbow you see all the seven in one drop of rain. This is only an ill.u.s.tration of the wonders of G.o.d's grace. If you are a child of G.o.d the whole of G.o.d's grace enters your heart, so you have grace to speak, grace to pray, grace to be loving and patient, grace for everything. The whole of G.o.d's life and light and love are for you as if there were no one else in the world. It is the same with all the precious truths of G.o.d's Word: they are _all_ yours. A minister who wanted to know how many promises there are in the Bible searched all through the Book and he counted nearly five thousand. Had you any idea that there are as many as five thousand precious promises for the believer in G.o.d's Word? Have you claimed them?

A Christian woman who was very ill asked her daughter to read the 8th chapter of the Epistle to the Romans. When she had finished the mother said, "That's mine, it's _all_ mine." How rich she was! Only think of it and it is an _Eternal_ inheritance, for the chapter begins with "no condemnation" and ends with "no separation."

If you will look at verses 7 and 8 of our Psalm, you will see four things which the Word of G.o.d does. "It converts the soul, makes wise the simple, rejoices the heart, enlightens the eyes." Let us think of these four things.

First: "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul." The law here means the whole covenant of Jehovah.

You remember how, when G.o.d appeared to Abraham, that Abraham fell on his face, feeling his utter weakness and nothingness, and then G.o.d talked with him. When a man is laid low in the dust then G.o.d can talk to him. And G.o.d said to Abraham, "I will make my covenant between Me and thee." [Footnote: Gen. xvii. 2.] A covenant is a promise made under solemn conditions, and it is G.o.d's covenant of grace which converts the soul. Such a promise as we have in Ezekiel: "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you, and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh: And I will put my Spirit within you." [Footnote: Ezek. x.x.xvi. 26.] G.o.d says "I will" five times in those few lines, because He wants us to understand that in giving this promise He undertakes to do in us and for us what we can never do for ourselves.

This reminds me of a young woman who was troubled because, although she was longing to be saved, yet she felt her heart was so hard. One Sunday the minister took this verse as the text for his sermon. When he gave it out it seemed to her as if a voice was speaking these words close to her, right into her ear, "I will give you an heart of flesh." It came like a message direct from G.o.d. She was so deeply touched she could not listen to the sermon, and after it was over she went into the fields to find a quiet place that she might look at the words again in her Bible. She is now a very bright earnest Christian.

It is through the Word that G.o.d speaks to our hearts, and when the Holy Spirit makes it a living Word and quickens us to receive it with faith, then we are converted. If you are not saved, take your Bible and read it prayerfully, and you will find in it just what you want. Remember the letter of Scripture is of no use unless we experience its power and enjoy its sweetness.

A young clergyman was converted through a very strange text. He was so much depressed he thought of committing suicide, and then his eye fell on that verse in Ecclesiastes, "A living dog is better than a dead lion."

[Footnote: Eccles. ix. 4.] The words brought fresh hope to him. He said to himself, One thing is certain and that is, I am still a _living_ man, and he was then led to seek Christ as the Way, the Truth and the _Life_.