p. 1 | Man's Misery

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Nov 5, 1894

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 20, No. 52.

Man's Misery.

In and of himself man is a most miserable being. As the apostle expresses it, he is "without hope." The reason is expressed in one sentence by our Lord, "Without me ye can do nothing." John 15:5. Absolutely this is true, as might be shown, but here it is considered in a moral and spiritual sense. Man of himself is utterly helpless to do good, and therefore utterly miserable.

This same truth is repeatedly expressed in Romans: "For when we were yet without strength" (chap. 5:6); "there is none righteous, no, not one;" "there is none that doeth good, no, not one;" "for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (chap. 3:10, 12, 23); "for that which I do, I allow not; for what I would [do], that do I not; but what I hate, that do I;" "for I know that in me (that is, in my flesh), dwelleth no good thing; for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would, I do not; but the evil which I would not, that I do" (chap. 7:15, 18, 19).

Certainly this is emphatic. God, who knows the heart of man, as man does not know it himself, declares that man's case of himself is hopeless. Man is a sinner, incapable of saving himself from sin and its effect,—death. "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God." God's glory is his character and all that is in it. See Ex. 33:18, 19. But God's character is righteous, holy, just, pure, upright, without iniquity. Having all these inherent in him, he also has life. He is life,—the King eternal, immortal. All these are his glory. Unending existence is with him and in him, because he is righteousness; but man has sinned and come short of that glory.

When man yielded to Satan, he yielded all; he became Satan's subject—slave. All things under man became subject to Satan, and Satan became "god of this world." It is for this reason that the apostle says, "I am carnal, sold under sin" (Rom. 7:14), and Isaiah represents men as being "captives," and in "prison" (Isa. 61:1). Paul says that they are "alienated from the life of God" (Eph. 4:18); and again Isaiah says that they are sick, with "no soundness" in them (Isa. 1:5, 6). Says Jeremiah: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and it is desperately sick; who can know it?" Jer. 17:9, Revised Version. Man is sick all through and through with the leprosy of sin, to which he yielded himself wholly when he yielded to Satan.

And man to some extent knows this, at least that man does who has ever tried in his own strength to do right, to even follow his own ideal. He has found himself falling short even outwardly from the mark he has set. He has known that in many of his best deeds outwardly, for which he received the most praise, his motives were the most selfish. He has seen within himself that which the world or special friends called good or great, but which he knows was little, mean, contemptible, selfish; and if he tries to balance up his selfishness, he often finds that the deeds done to pay his debts belong in the debit column. And so day after day goes by, week after week passes, and often months and years stretch away into the ages of the past, adding to his long columns of debt, and lading more heavily his burdened conscience. He finds no relief. He seeks peace, but finds strife. He longs for rest, but finds wearisome toil. He longs to be righteous, but sees only sin. He seeks to plant his feet on a rock, but, behold, it is the quicksand of sin. He looks within for light, but all is darkness. He hopes for strength, but, lo, he is weakness itself. He realizes to a little extent, so far as his brief experience has gone, and his narrow vision can discern, that "there is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked;" he is miserable, hopeless, helpless, "without strength." Hundreds have found it to be thus; and so will every conscientious soul who tries to reach in his own strength his own ideal.

Of course the sinner can shut his ears to the voice of the Spirit of God. He can harden and sear his conscience by reckless indulgence in sin. He may pursue the phantom pleasure, may drink the stupefying draughts of the siren, and imagine himself happy, but he knows no peace; he is but laying up in store misery for the future. That sinner is miserable indeed whose conscience is yet tender, whose heart has not rejected the law which points out the sin, who has not closed his ears to the voice of the Spirit which presses it home, who realizes to some extent his sin, his lost condition, his misery; but more miserable still is he who has turned from the law of God, slighted his Spirit, who is utterly miserable and knows it not at all. Happy is he who keeps his heart open, who is ever attent to the voice of God, reproof and correction though it bring. Happy indeed is he when he comes to that place where he can say with all his heart, "Oh, wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from this body of death?" for then Christ appears to save.

God's Mercy.

Here is manifest the wonderful mercy of God. Man's misery is offset by God's mercy, man's helplessness by God's helpfulness, man's sin by God's righteousness, man's death by God's life. And God's mercy in Christ Jesus has been with man all the way. When he yielded himself wholly to Satan in Eden, God did not leave him there. He fulfilled his promise, "I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed." Gen. 3:15. That "enmity" against Satan in man is that from which springs his desire to do better, which leads him to condemn the wrong, to approve the right. God in his mercy gave man this, with the power of choice by which man might choose the right, eternal right, with God, and reject the evil; by which he could renounce his partnership with Satan and be reconciled to God, and become one with him. God granted the boon, not because man deserved it, but in his mercy for man in his misery.

It is to this element of conscience and will which God in his mercy gave man, that the Spirit of God appeals. It is in this way that Christ, through whom all these blessings come, "lighteth every man that cometh into the world." John 1:9. And by all his works in nature, by all the sad results of sin, by all his bountiful providences, God has in all ages and climes been appealing to man to turn to him and live. He goes farther,—he gives his Son. He withholds not Heaven's best gift that man may be saved. In fact, he gave Christ in the beginning, and he gave all things in him then. He has told us of his love and mercy in various ways through all the ages of the past; but he told us when his only-begotten Son died upon the cross,

how much he loved the sinful sons of men, with love infinite, everlasting, full, and free.

This is what God has done. What does he require of man? What is necessary for man to do that he may receive of this mercy, that he may partake of the fullness of God?—Simply to surrender to God, nothing more. It is all comprised in that. God is man's best friend; he loves the sinner. But the sinner's "mind is enmity against God." Rom. 8:7. Then when man yields the enmity, renounces the sin, chooses God's way and God's will, there is nothing between him and God. Right here rests the whole secret of Christian life,—surrender to God. Says our Lord, "If any man willeth to do his [God's] will, he shall know of the doctrine." John 7:17. Revised Version. This is faith, to choose God, to say, He is right, I am wrong. When we do that we place ourselves on his side, and we become right, we are on the right side. He who does this truly separates from the sin, chooses the righteousness of God. Choosing God with all the heart, he chooses God's power, wisdom, knowledge, love. The man can do no more than choose, eternally, continuously, persistently choose, and God does the rest. He speaks in him who was dead in sin new life. He gives him a new heart. He makes him a new creature. By his mercy he removes the misery. In the place of strife he gives peace; in the place of turmoil, rest. And the sinner can truly say: "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels." Isa. 61:10. Sinner, are you miserable? God's mercy will remove your misery. Will you not let him do it?