A ROYAL MESSAGE INTERCEPTED.
By H. A. St. John
To intercept mail in any government is an infraction of law with severe penalties. How much greater must be the wrong of negligently, purposely, and continually intercepting the royal mail of Heaven? Suppose the President of the United States had a message of great importance for all the people of California. He decides to send the message by a line of supposed trustworthy public servants, in high position, the last of the line being the Governor of California. Now we will suppose that the message has been carefully and promptly passed from one to another of these messengers, until it has reached the governor, who is expected to accept it for himself, as a citizen of the state to whom the message is addressed, and then without delay to give the people of his state the message. Now suppose the governor says, This message is for me, and I will absorb it for myself alone. So he intercepts this message to the people, withholding it from the hundreds of people for whom it is intended, as much as for himself. Would he not be justly accounted as guilty of a great crime, and deserving of a severe reprimand and punishment? Now the God of heaven has sent a great and important message to all the wicked and rebellious inhabitants of the world. It is a message of good news and glad tidings to all people, of every kindred and tongue. The present and eternal welfare of every soul depends upon receiving and obeying this message from the God of heaven and earth. The good message of love is not limited in its rich provisions, by caste, color, or country. The links in this royal line of communication are, God, Christ, Holy Spirit, holy angels, holy prophets, and the church of God. The message is to the unconverted, the ungodly, everywhere. With all absorbing interest, unerring accuracy, promptness and despatch, the heavenly message has reached the church. But, sad to say, the church, in the majority of its membership, has long been criminally negligent in the matter of passing the message on, without delay, to the sinful and dying world outside. They have endeavored to absorb selfishly and exclusively the good news, and by so doing bring upon themselves the guilt of intercepting the royal mail of the most royal Being in the universe. Souls are perishing everywhere for the salvation contained in this message which is intended for them, and which is being withheld, stopped in its course, by thousands of church members, every one of whom the Lord has called, appointed, and ordained, to be royal mail-carriers of a royal message to all mankind. God's great commission to His church, collectively and individually, is, Go to all the world, preach and teach the Gospel to every creature, "teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you." When will the church of God arise, shake off the works of darkness, and gird on the armor of light? Condemnation for great and long-neglected duty can be removed in no other way. When will every receiver of the Gospel message cease to intercept that message in its divinely-appointed course? When we consider the world's great distress, sorrow, and need of the things this royal message freely proffers to them, and that the receiver's benefits, both for time and eternity, instead of being diminished, are greatly enhanced by telling it out with gladness, and by every means possible passing the message along to the multitudes of suffering, sinful, and dying, this great neglect seems all the more strange. Surely a fearfully blinding deception is upon all who are thus negligent. At no distant day the great message will be withdrawn. Then the church of Christ will learn the decision of the great Judge, in each individual case. Some will hear the welcome applaudit, "Well done, . . . enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." But many will hear the awful sentence, "I never knew you; depart from Me." Dear reader, let the great truth take hold of your inmost being just now—before your opportunity is passed away forever—that it depends upon yourself now, as to which of these sentences you will hear in that great decisive day. "Are you happy in the Lord,
Tell it out with gladness;
Are you trusting in His Word,
Tell it out with gladness;
If a Saviour's love you feel,
Can your soul its power conceal?
To the world your joy reveal,
Tell it out with gladness.
"Are you walking in the light,
Tell it out with gladness;
Is your hope of glory bright,
Tell it out with gladness;
While your thoughts on Jesus dwell,
Does your soul with rapture swell?
Can you say that all is well?
Tell it out with gladness."