Publishing Committee · Battle Creek, Mich. · Mar 19, 1861
INFIDEL OBJECTIONS.
(Concluded.)
Objection 5. "It can be proved by mathematical calculation, that there is not water enough in the world for a general deluge; and therefore the account which is given in the Bible of such a deluge is a fable, and the book which contains such fables is not worthy of any credit."
Answer. 1. It is difficult to know how to reply to a man who has such a crooked mind as to think that he who made all worlds, and holds the ocean in his hand, is unable to roll a flood of waters over this little globe. The God of the deist must be impotent indeed, if he cannot make a flood of any dimensions to suit his purposes. The God of the Christian is all powerful, there is nothing which he cannot do.
2. But even this frivolous assertion is not to be assented to as true. Nearly three-fourths of the whole surface of the globe are now covered with water, and it is not so easy to prove that the comparatively small portion of land may not sink and be inundated by the deep. Bold assertions are not arguments.
3. The fact of a deluge is almost universally asserted by geologists. The present appearance of the rocks and mountains and caverns of the earth, irresistibly proves that it must have been at some former period covered with water. This is now admitted by every distinguished geologist, whether he be friend or foe to the christian cause. The wreck and ruin everywhere visible upon the surface of our planet, have satisfied every careful observer that wild floods and rushing torrents have swept over the globe. Thus does science give her testimony to the truth of revelation.
Skeletons of whales have been found upon the sides of high mountains far from the ocean. The remains of animals which can live only in the torrid zone, are found far away in the frigid regions of the north, showing that they must have been borne there by the mighty rush of waters. Immense forests are found many feet beneath the surface of the earth, indisputably proving that the action of the water must have washed them down and covered them with earth. And there are evidences still more striking in the position of the various strata of which this earth is composed. The fact that there has been a deluge is written in living characters upon the face of nature. Blot out the record from the Bible, and still the evidence remains indisputable.
Objection 6. "Noah's ark, as described in the Bible, was not large enough to contain one half of the animals for which it was intended."
Answer. By an accurate measurement, taken from the proportions given by Moses, it is ascertained that the ark was about as large as eighteen of the largest ships of the present day. The distinct species of four-footed animals, known, amount to but about two hundred and fifty. These eighteen ships will carry twenty thousand men, with eighteen hundred pieces of cannon, and provisions for six months. Who then can for a moment doubt that the ark, built not for speed nor for beauty, but merely for buoyancy and strength, would afford accommodations for these two hundred and fifty pairs of quadrupeds, with the specified number of birds and insects, and eight human beings, with provisions for a year? It seems almost like trifling to answer such arguments, and yet deists are scattering them about among the ignorant and the credulous as powerful objections to the credibility of the Scriptures. The fact is, as stated by bishop Wilkins, "that of the two, it is more difficult to assign a number and bulk of necessary things to answer to the capacity of the ark than to find sufficient room for the several species of animals, and their food, already known to have been there."
There is one very interesting fact in this connection, deserving of notice. "It can be proved to demonstration, that the proportion of the length to the breadth, and of both to the height, in Noah's ark, is exactly that which renders any substance most buoyant, and the most perfectly secure even in a storm." Now it is a question really deserving of thought, how did Noah obtain such skill in architectural dimensions? It has been the result of long experience and careful observation, by which architects of the present day have obtained this knowledge. It did not come to them intuitively. How then did it happen that Noah, far back in the infancy of the world, was so accomplished a ship-builder? It is not an easy question for the deist to answer.
Objection 7. "The Israelites were ordered to wage exterminating war against the Canaanites. They were to show no mercy, they were to feel no compassion. Neither helpless age nor innocent infancy were to be spared. Men, women and children were to be exterminated by indiscriminate massacre. Is it possible to believe that God would issue such a command—that he would commission one nation to carry fire and blood to the habitation of another?"
Answer. 1. May not God use any instruments he pleases in the execution of his judgments? God poured an ocean of burning lava on Herculaneum and Pompeii. He spared neither age nor infancy, neither mother nor babe. All were overwhelmed in indiscriminate destruction. He shook the foundations of the earth, and opened one wide grave, in which was swallowed Lisbon, with her thousands of inhabitants. He sends pestilence and famine to desolate a city and a nation. Neither women nor children are spared. For hours and days they cry in the protracted agony of incurable disease. And are the horrors of war more fearful? May not God with as much propriety deliver up an abandoned city to the horrors of war as to the ocean of liquid fire, or the earthquake, or the all-devouring famine, or the dreadful plague? They who urge this objection, seem to be perfectly unconscious that it is just as powerful against the God of nature as against the God of revelation. In point of fact, God is continually sending judgments which spare neither age nor sex, neither female helplessness, nor unoffending infancy.
2. It is represented in the Bible, that on a certain occasion God found it to be necessary to check the pride and presumption of the Israelites by sending upon them deserved punishment. A judgment was to be sent sufficiently appalling to produce an impression upon their obdurate hearts. The choice was therefore offered to David, between seven years famine, three months of exposure to conquering enemies, and three days of pestilence. Now, is the sending of the horrors of war a greater impeachment of the divine justice, than sending the famine or pestilence? The deist says, God may send the famine—he may send the pestilence—but he must not send the sword. How perfectly childish such a distinction! And what arrogant presumption, for a man to sit in judgment upon the instruments which God may use in the execution of his will!
3. Is it asked, why did God desire the extermination of the Canaanites? We reply, why did he desire the destruction of Herculaneum and Pompeii? Why does he roll the cloud of pestilence over Barbary and Turkey? Why does he suffer a third part of the human race annually to die in infancy? This asking of questions is easy work, and when the deist has answered one half of those which are continually arising before the thinking mind he may begin to expect that perhaps the human mind will eventually be able to answer all. Even if we could see no reason why God should desire the extermination of the Canaanites, the occurrence would be burdened with no greater difficulties than everywhere meet us as we look upon the universally admitted acts of God.
4. But we can see a reason why God should desire the destruction of the Canaanites. They were abandoned to the most polluting idolatry. They were celebrating their degrading rites, with deeds of impurity and crime of the most revolting character. Will the deist say that it was criminal for God to exterminate such a race? Will138he say that it was expedient to expose the Israelites to the temptation of their sensual rites, or to the attacks of such a savage race? He must indeed be sorely pressed for an answer, to assert this. If God had swallowed them up by an earthquake, or rolled the waves of the Mediterranean over their habitations, or rained upon them the fires of heaven, destroying age and infancy together, all objection would be silenced. It seems, then, the only difficulty is, that God should have made use of the instrumentality of man in executing his judgments.
5. Why, then, the infidel asks, admitting that it was right that they should be exterminated, was it not done in some other way? Why not send pestilence or famine, rather than excite the passions of man, and deliver them over to the fury of the sword? Even here God has so unfolded to us the circumstances, as to furnish us with a conclusive answer.
The great object God had in view, in his dealings with the children of Israel, was to preserve them from the sin of idolatry, and to confirm them in the true religion. This object is to be seen in many of the otherwise unmeaning ceremonies of the Mosaic law. Now, what could produce upon the mind of a Jew such a deep conviction of God's utter abhorrence of idolatry, as to be himself the commissioned executor of the divine judgment? God did not send the pestilence, or the famine, or the flood. They would have produced but a comparatively trifling impression. He said to the Israelites, "Go, and exterminate that abandoned nation. Spare neither age nor sex. Purify the earth from the polluted race of idolaters with which it is now deformed." Can the ingenuity of man devise a measure more effectually calculated to produce the impression desired? Think you that the Israelites, as he passed through these awful scenes of fiery judgment did not feel more deeply than he ever felt before the danger of incurring the displeasure of God? As he saw the armies of God prosecuting their work of extermination from village to village, destroying root and branch, and every vestige of idolatry, think you he could easily be guilty of the same sin, and expose himself to the same awful judgment? The very measure adopted, bears the impress of the hand of that God who is wise in council, and fearful in judgment. In fact, no one can look at the measure, in all its bearings, without seeing that it was dictated by infinite wisdom.
The objection of the deist, then, is simply this, either,
1. God has no right to exterminate an abandoned nation in any way, either by flood, or pestilence, or famine, or sword. Or,
2. He has no right to exterminate them in that way which will produce the deepest impression of the enormity of sin upon the minds of those that remain.
The man who will attempt to defend either of these positions, is beyond the reach of argument. The man who has sufficient candor to admit that neither of them is defensible, must also admit that this much vaunted objection of the deist is completely overthrown.
Will any one say, that if God can wage exterminating war with his enemies, and deliver them over to the sword, man may do the same, and, uncommissioned of God, take the sword into his hand?
And is it so? May man do what God does? God sends disease, and takes away my neighbor's life. May I therefore poison my neighbor? God sends the lightning and burns my neighbor's dwelling. May I therefore kindle the flame of midnight conflagration? These are the frivolous cavils that the deists of the present day are putting forth as arguments which demand refutation. And they are received as arguments only by the giddy who are wedded to worldly pleasure, by the ignorant who are sunk in degraded sin, and the unreflecting who are in chase of the honors and opulence of the world.
Our rulers have authority from God under certain circumstances, to take away life, and leave a family in a situation worse than death. They are thus, as Moses was, the executors of the divine will, and are they therefore murderers? Does it impeach the divine goodness? Why then was Moses a murderer? Why did his conduct impeach the divine goodness?
The destruction of the Canaanites showed the Jews how powerless were the gods on whom the heathen relied, and impressed upon their minds the power of Jehovah, the God of Israel.
Objection 8. "David was a murderer and an adulterer. The catalogue of human crimes can hardly afford one of greater atrocity than his conduct in the affair of Uriah; and yet he is represented in the Bible as a man after God's own heart."
Answer. 1. The Bible condemns his sin as severely as it can be condemned by any one. The plain truth is stated, that David was guilty of such a crime, and it is spoken of in terms of the most unmeasured abhorrence. God sent a prophet to David with a special message of condemnation. He punished David for the crime with great severity. "Because," said the prophet, "by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme." 1. Your beloved child shall die. 2. For the remainder of life you shall not have one moment of domestic peace, but shall suffer as severely as man can suffer from domestic sorrows. 3. You shall have no more peace upon the throne. Bereaved of your child, and harassed for the remainder of your days with domestic discord and political disasters, you shall drag out a melancholy existence.
This was the sentence God sent the prophet to pass upon David; and this is the occurrence the deist quotes to prove that the God of the Bible countenances sin. Is this palliating sin? Is this passing it by as a slight occurrence?
What is the objection of the deist? It is, that notwithstanding this sin, God regarded David with approbation.
And what is the answer? It is, that God regarded his sin with the utmost abhorrence, and that for it David suffered to the very last hour of his life. He did not in this respect regard David with approbation. He was approved only for those things in which he did justly, and loved mercy, and walked humbly with God.
Even David himself does not attempt to palliate the sin. He acknowledges the righteousness of God's judgment. He condemns himself in language of the most abject humility and the deepest penitence. Read the fifty-first psalm, which he wrote in reference to this transaction. How heart-rending his penitence. How is he overwhelmed with self-loathing and self-abhorrence. "Have mercy upon me, O God," he cries, "Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgression, and my sin is ever before me. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence, and take not thy Holy Spirit from me." These were the confessions which David made; the feelings with which he was oppressed. And yet, strange to tell—almost incredible to believe, this is the transaction which the deist quotes to prove that the God of the Bible encourages adultery and murder.
Why did the writers of the Bible record this sin of David? They must have been very honest men, to give such an impartial statement of the vices as well as the virtues of those whose lives they describe. The historian surely knew, for he declares "that the deed would give great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme." Why then did he place this deed upon record, to be handed down through all coming time, to furnish occasion of scorn to the enemies of religion? The historian might have been silent upon this point. He might have recorded only the virtues of David. But without one word of palliation or extenuation, he records this sin in all its atrocity.
And these are the writers who, the deist thinks, are trying to impose upon the world; men who are so honest that they state the whole truth, without asking whether it will strengthen the believer, or furnish arguments to the infidel.
This affair of David taken in all its circumstances, is a strong evidence of the truth of religion.
1. It shows the inflexible impartiality of the sacred writers.
2. It shows God's utter abhorrence of David's sin, and the awful judgments with which he visits sin.
3. It shows the nature of genuine repentance with all its heart-rending agony, and the consolation which religion can afford to the penitent soul, burdened with the consciousness and enduring the awful consequences of guilt.
Objection 9. "The prayers of David are dictated by a spirit of most bitter revenge. Instead of forgiving his enemies, and praying that God would bless them, he imprecates vengeance upon their heads, and even pronounces a benediction upon those who shall dash their children against the stones. And yet it is said in the Bible that those prayers are dictated by the Holy Spirit."
Answer. "Suppose there is a horrid murder committed in our neighborhood. The axe and the knife of robbers have covered the floor of our friend's dwelling with the mangled corpses of the family. The Christian, appalled by the horrid spectacle, in the fervor of his morning prayer, says, O God, bring these guilty men to justice; O let them not escape; let swift retribution overtake them; let them suffer the just punishment for their crime, that the honor of our laws may be preserved, and that terror may fill the hearts of the wicked."
While thus praying, the infidel cries out, "What a revengeful wretch this man must be. Instead of praying that these murderers may escape and be prospered, he prays that the unhappy men may be caught and hung; and yet the man pretends that he is a Christian."
And does the infidel really think that David, the king of Israel ought not to pray that the laws should be honored, that the community should be protected, that the violators of law should be punished. Does he really think that it is wicked to pray that those who are scattering firebrands, arrows, and death through the community, may be shut up in prison; may be punished with all the rigor which wholesome laws enjoin? If he does think so, he must think that all law is malignity, and all penalty revenge. Perhaps he does think so; for he most pertinaciously asserts that God must be cruel to threaten transgressors with punishment—that is, to make laws; and that he must be malignant and revengeful to execute the penalty—that is, to shut up the wicked in the prison of hell. No wonder he is unwilling honestly to sit down to the study of the Bible. If he comes to the light, he will see the truth, and his deeds will be reproved.
Such are some of the most plausible and most popular of the arguments urged by infidels at the present day. And there are not a few who are persuaded by such arguments to renounce the hopes and consolations and restraints of Christianity. I cannot find it in my heart to speak of such in any other spirit than that of sorrow. They are depriving themselves of that which magnifies every earthly joy, and alleviates every earthly sorrow; which promotes peace on earth, and good will among men; which sustains in darkness, and gives triumph in the hour of death. Yes, we mourn for the unhappy infidel.—Abbot's Magazine.
ZOAR.
By Mrs. Sigourney
BY MRS. SIGOURNEY.
Look not behind, neither stay in all the plain.Gen. xix, 17.
LOOK not behind! you've broken the chain
That bound to folly and despair;
Press onward to the glorious land,
Nor falter till you enter there.
LOOK not behind! unnumbered snares
Are for the loitering Christian spread;
False hopes, strong habits, wild desires,
And ruin's pitfalls dark and dread.
LOOK not behind! a blighting curse
Was hers who paused at Sodom's bound;
She, lingering, loved those haunts of sin,
And fearful retribution found.
LOOK not behind! 'tis Satan's lure
To tempt you to his realm again;
The guiding angel bids you haste,
And tarry not in all the plain.
Escape for life! the flames of wrath
Are reddening on the winged wind;
See Zoar's sacred refuge nigh—
Look not behind!—look not behind!
A Future Judgment.
THE common sentiment of mankind has always regarded a future retribution as something required by reason, in order to reconcile the facts of human life with the justice of God. No feature of our condition in this world has more generally arrested the attention of the thoughtful observer139of human life, than the obvious want of correspondence between the character of individuals, and the awards of divine providence towards them. It is true that the inequalities of our condition are sometimes exaggerated by superficial observers. Outward prosperity does not necessarily imply inward happiness, nor outward adversity the absence of it. But one of the chief reasons why the relative happiness of different men cannot be inferred merely from their external circumstances, is, this instinctive anticipation of a retribution to come, which is a terror to the prosperous sinner, and a support to the suffering saint.
Remove this anticipation, and the inequality would be vastly greater than it is.
But in spite of this qualifying consideration, it is still great and potent. David observed it in his day. Jeremiah was so struck by it that he could not refrain from expostulating with God as it were, yet with reverence and acquiescence. "Righteous art thou, O Lord when I plead with thee, yet let me talk with thee of thy judgments, wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? Wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherously?" Our Lord himself admitted it when he represented Abraham as saying to Dives, "Son, remember that thou in thy life-time receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and thou art tormented."
But it is not needful to lay any great stress on this argument to prove a future judgment. The scripture testimony on the subject is copious and decisive. The references to the judgment in the Bible cannot be explained in the theory that God's retributive justice has its complete exhibition in this world. The judgment is habitually spoken of in the future tense. It is expressly connected with the second coming of Christ. "Judge nothing before the time," says the apostle Paul, "until the Lord come." "We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body." If the judgment day begun at his advent and has continued ever since, how does he say, "I came not to judge the world?" How does Peter say that "the earth which is now, is reserved against the day of judgment?" How was it that Paul reasoned before Felix of "a judgment to come?" How is it that he speaks so emphatically of "that day," and always as of something future? And how shall we understand the parable of our Lord, in which he likens the kingdom of heaven to a man travelling to a far country, who calls his servants, assigns them their duties, departs on his journey, and after a long time cometh and reckoneth with them?
Costly but Precious.
STANDING before a magnificent picture not long since we were told that it had been purchased for $15,000! At first mention the price seemed enormous; but when we recalled the fact that the peerless landscape before us had required months of toil by the most celebrated artist of the land—that in order to make the necessary studies he had doomed himself to the perils and hardships of a distant dangerous clime—then we did not wonder that a millionaire should deem it but just to barter away his own thousands for the companionship of such a picture in his drawing-room.
There are sometimes rare and beautiful wares brought into the market, that are invoiced at almost fabulous rates. The simple reason is that they cost so much to procure. That luxurious ermine labeled $500, cost terrible battles with polar ice and hurricanes. The pearl that flashes on the brow of the bride is precious because it was rescued from the great deep at the risk of the pearl-fisher's life, as he was lifted into the boat half dead, with the blood gushing from his nostrils. All choicest things are reckoned the dearest. So it is in heaven's inventories too. The universe of God has never witnessed aught to be reckoned in comparison with the redemption of a guilty world. That mighty ransom no such contemptible things as silver and gold could procure. Only by one price could the church be redeemed from hell, and that was the price of Jesus' blood—the precious blood of the Lamb, slain from the foundation of the world.
And so is it that the best part of the Christian character is that which was procured at the sorest cost. Patience is a beautiful trait, but it is not worn oftenest by those who walk on life's sunny side in silver slippers. It is the product of dark nights, of tempests, and of days of adversity, whose high noon is gloomy as midnight; for the trial of our faith worketh patience. Purity of character is often costly, too; more than once it has been bought in wicked cities by the bitter price of a crust of bread eaten with a good conscience in an attic, when a guilty connivance would have been rewarded with French satins and a harlot's sumptuous coach.
As God reckons jewelry, there is no brilliant which flashes with such luster as the tear of true penitence. Yet God only knoweth what heart pressure as in a vice, what rendings and wringings of soul, what crushings of pride and wrestlings in agony may have been needful, in order to press out that jewel-drop upon the cheek of the stubborn sufferer. We have sometimes met a person in social circles who possessed a peculiar gentleness and docility of character. As we came to know her better, we were charmed by her calm self poise, and her heroic submissiveness to God under sudden shocks of calamity. We could not but admire so beautiful a character. We envied its possessor. We coveted such a spirit for ourselves. Ah! we little knew at what fearful price of severe chastisement and bitter disappointment—of hopes desolated, and expectations crossed; of faith put to the rack, and patience burned bright in seven times heated furnaces—all that meek loveliness of character had been gained. So true is it that he who would be "rich towards God" must be willing to toil hard and bear sore affliction, in order to win the precious acquisitions.
To be a complete, symmetrical Christian, all these graces of patience, purity, meekness, long-suffering, and godliness must be attained. We must pray for them; we must toil for them; we must suffer for them. He is a meager, half-ripe, unfinished Christian, who does not possess those peculiar graces which God only sends to us through suffering, privation and trial. Let us not draw back from the possession of any spiritual treasure, through the dread of paying dearly for it. Precious things are always costly. The merchant withholds no extra labor, or extra hours of thought over his ledgers, if thereby he can secure an extra return of profits. The sculptor counts not long months wasted away which see him with hammer and chisel pursuing the imprisoned "Hercules," or "Greek slave," which his keen eye detects within the block of marble.
What are hardships and privations on Labrador ice fields, or amid Grandean mountains, to Frederick Church, as long as he is transferring those very icebergs to his canvas, and rearing in the "heart of the Andes," a new monument to his imperishable fame? If the children of the light were always as eager for holiness and beauty of character as the children of this world are for gold, and fame, and honors, they would not begrudge the toils or the trials necessary to secure them. Precious graces are always costly; happy is he who "buys and sells not again."—Chris. Intel.
A Lamentable Fact
A LAMENTABLE FACT.—The Brighton (England) Herald says that Spiritualism, instead of losing ground in England, is flourishing and vigorous, not only among the ignorant and insane, but among men of repute, who might fairly be looked on as superior as to any trickery so bare-faced and wicked. At this moment there are several literary circles in London who are lending their aid to the spread of the delusion, and we could name more than one man who is a decided victim to it. Sittings are frequent in the best circles; mediums are tolerated in the highest quarters; and even the church does not fail to add its quota to the herd of the misguided and the deluded. Among the recent converts are Lord Lyndhurst, Sir E. Bulwer Lytton, Robert Chambers, Mrs. Browning, and many other literary and scientific celebrities.
History of Thousands
By Dr. Chalmers
HISTORY OF THOUSANDS.—Thousands of men breathe, move, and live, pass off the stage of life, and are heard of no more. Why? They do not a particle of good in the world, and none are blessed by them; none could point to them as the instruments of their redemption; not a word they spoke could be recalled, and so they perished; their light went out in darkness, and they were not remembered more than the insect of yesterday. Will you thus live and die? Live for something. Do good, and leave behind you a monument of virtue that the storm of time can never destroy. Write your name in kindness, and love, and mercy, on the hearts of thousands you come in contact with year by year; you will never be forgotten. No; you name, your deeds, will be as legible on the hearts you leave behind as the stars on the brow of evening. Good deeds will shine as the stars of heaven.—Dr. Chalmers.
TRIALS PRODUCTIVE OF GOOD.—
I remember, says Mr. Whitefield, some years ago, when I was at Shields, I went into a glass house; and standing very attentive, I saw several masses of burning glass, of various forms. The workmen took a piece of glass and put it into one furnace, then he put it into a second, and then into a third. I said to him:
“Why do you pass this through so many fires?”
He answered, “Oh, sir, the first was not hot enough, nor the second, and therefore we put it into a third, and that will make it transparent.”
This furnished Mr. W. with a useful hint, that we must be tried, and exercised with many fires, until our dross be purged away, and we are made fit for the owner's use.
Little Crosses
LITTLE CROSSES.—As a general thing, it may be expected that all Christians will find themselves able to bear the great crosses of life, because they come with observation; they attract notice by their very magnitude, and by putting the soul on its guard, give it strength to meet them. But happy, thrice happy, is he who can bear the little crosses which ever lie in wait, and which attack us secretly, and without giving warning, like a thief in the night.
Constant Employment.
THE man who is obliged to be constantly employed to earn the necessaries of life and support his family, knows not the unhappiness he prays for when he desires wealth and idleness. To be constantly busy is to be always happy. Persons who have suddenly acquired wealth, broken up their active pursuits, and begun to live at their ease, waste away and die in a very short time. Thousands would have been blessings to the world, and added to the common stock of happiness, if they had been content to remain in an humble sphere, and earned every mouthful of food that nourished their bodies. But, no; fashion and wealth took possession of them, and they were completely ruined.
They run away from peace and pleasure, and embrace a lingering death. Ye who are sighing for the pomp and splendor of life, beware! Ye know not what ye wish. No situation, however exalted; no wealth, however magnificent; no honors, however glorious, can yield you solid enjoyment while discontent lurks in your bosom. The secret of happiness lies in this—to be always contented with your lot, and never sigh for the splendor of riches, or the magnificence of fashion and power. Persons who are always busy and go cheerfully to their daily tasks, are the least disturbed by the fluctuations of business, and at night sleep with perfect composure.
WITH YOU ALWAYS.
"Lo I am with you always," says Christ, "even to the end of the world." Matt. xxviii, 20. Like every other promise, this, too, rests upon conditions. He does not promise to be with every one; nor with those with whom he has once been, if they persist in leaving and departing from him. He promises to be with no one in wickedness and sin. He will be with us only so long as we will be with him. Christ does not leave his people: they leave him. The rule is plainly laid down in John xiv, 23: "Jesus answered and said unto him, If any man love me he will keep my words, and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him." Again, chap. xv, 7: "If ye abide in me and my words abide in you," &c. Such are the ones he has promised to be with even to the end of the world. Reader, are you fulfilling these conditions? If so, rejoice in the consolation afforded you in this precious promise.
But who is this who promises to be with you? It is he to whom is given all power in heaven and earth, who is exalted to the right hand of the throne of the majesty on high. It is he who now ministers in the Sanctuary as the advocate to whom alone is committed the interests of a perishing world; he who knows all our weaknesses, sorrows, motives, hopes, and fears; he who can be touched with a feeling of our infirmities; he who has said, My grace is sufficient for thee, be of cheer, I have overcome the world; he who knows what help we most need, and just when to afford it; who is able to save to the uttermost all who come unto him; he who has said, Ask and ye shall receive; and who will at last clothe this corruptible frame with incorruption, fashioning it like unto his most glorious body. Who then is he who can estimate the wealth of the promise which gives us the companionship of such a being as this?
But when will this exalted guest be with us? Is it only at some favored intervals? Will he not perhaps be far away when most we need him? And how shall we obtain his help in sudden emergencies. He says, I am with you always—yes, always. There is no time when Christ places himself beyond the reach of his people. Israel's Keeper slumbers not nor sleeps. And more than this, no power on earth can separate us from his love and presence. The world may turn coldly away, and friends may forsake; be not disconsolate; for the Lord does not leave you on that account: he is with you still. Trials and perils may surround us; but the Lord forgets us not: he is with us still, knowing our danger and affording us his help. Persecution may rage, and the walls of a dungeon may bury us from the notice of the world, and cut off our intercourse with earthly friends; but that voice from one whose heart glows with a diviner friendship, is yet heard saying, Lo I am with you always. No prison walls can bar his entrance, nor separate us from his presence. Death may remove us from the province of man's power; but even this does not put us beyond the reach and remembrance of our heavenly Friend, for then our life is only hid with him in God.
But says some desponding believer, This might have been so when the promise was fresh, and before the first ages of his church had passed away; but surely it cannot be that after so many ages, he yet regards it. The answer is, He regards it still. On this very point he made provision when the promise fell from his lips. He does not say, Lo I am with you for a few years, or even for a few ages; but, Lo I am with you always even to the end of the world. The end of the world has not yet come; the promise therefore has not yet expired. Be assured, he is not slack concerning it. He does not forget it. He has not become weary in fulfilling it. It is still for the believer in all its length and breadth and fullness. And so it will be till the Master appears, and faith is lost in sight.
Have you the evidence the Lord is with you? You may have it. Be sure that you fulfill that which is required of you, that you love him and keep his commandments, and that his words abide in you. Then you may know that you abide in him and he in you; that he is with you, and will be with you to the end.