Publishing Committee · Battle Creek, Mich. · Sep 25, 1856
THE INSTITUTION OF THE SABBATH.
By J. D. Merriam
In the article in a late Herald on the Institution of the Sabbath, it is admitted that the children of Israel in their Egyptian bondage must have been unable to gain time for the observance of the Sabbath, from the rigor of their servitude, and had probably become careless and indifferent respecting it; but he expresses doubt, as to the day which the Lord designated for the observance of the Sabbath whether or no, it was the original seventh day in regular succession from creation.
From the language of the fourth commandment, in connection with what is said in Gen. ii, 2, 3, I see no reasonable ground for a doubt on that point. The command is, to remember the Sabbath day. How could it be remembered, unless it had been before in the memory? Again it says, "The seventh day is the Sabbath;" not a seventh day, but the definite seventh day. A reason for the observance is given. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. What day did he bless and hallow? The Sabbath day. What day is the Sabbath? "The seventh day is the Sabbath." When did he bless and hallow it? When he rested on it. This is plain unequivocal language and need not be mistaken.
The writer conveys the idea that as God instituted the Sabbath, it is his prerogative alone to change or abrogate it, either by direct precept, or by his Providence.
It is admitted indirectly that there is no direct precept for its change; but it is endeavored to be proved, that the providence of God was manifest in its change.
The first reason given, is, that Christ rose from the dead on that day, and that doing that was an event of more momentous interest to the human race than any event that had previously transpired since the creation.
By what rule the writer came to this conclusion, he has not informed us. Who knows whether the resurrection of Christ is an event of greater interest to the human race, than his being "delivered for our offences?" We have "redemption through his blood even the forgiveness of sins." Eph. i, 7; Col. i, 14; Rom. iii, 24, 25; 1 Pet. i, 18, 19. That both these events are worthy of being commemorated, no one doubts; but that there is a necessity for a change in the law of God, that either event should be commemorated, there is room for doubt: for, to commemorate the first, we have the ordinance of the Lord's Supper, instituted by the Saviour; and is not the first shadowed forth in the ordinance of baptism? So I think.
Again, the writer says, that the day of the resurrection of Christ "was more fitting for Christians of all nations to observe, than a day which commemorated only the national deliverance of the Jews." Before this, he had said that "The Sabbath was commemorative of God's great work of creation in six days; which these do not commemorate who keep no Sabbath." How these two statements harmonize, I am not able to see.
If the Sabbath is a type of the rest which remains to the people of God, [Heb. iv,] and that is in the seventh thousand year of the world, how would the first day of the week have any significance respecting it? It is asserted that after the resurrection of Christ, "there is not on record any marked Christian observance of the (Jewish) Sabbath." Was not the Evangelist Luke a Christian writer? and did he not write the Acts of the apostles some thirty years after the resurrection of Christ? and do we not find in that record, an account of the observance of at least eighty-four Sabbaths by the apostle Paul and Christians with him, both Jews and Gentiles? Please examine a few texts. Acts xiii, 14, 44; xvi, 13; xvii, 2; xviii, 4, 11. I think these declarations by an inspired penman, are sufficient to show that assertion to be incorrect. Again, "Apostolic practice is equally significant with apostolic precept."
A precept I understand to be a command, order, or mandate. It has not been shown that there is an apostolic command for the first day of the week; and as to their practice, according to the references above, it savors more of an observance of the Sabbath according to the commandment, than of the first day, there being only one text referring to the first day of the week, in the Acts, and it lacks positive proof, that that day was observed as a Sabbath.
Again, "since then the first day has been universally recognized as 'The Lord's Day.'"
That it has been universally recognized as the Sabbath, I think must be a mistake, if any reliance can be placed on history. I have seen extracts from various writers which speak of the observance of the Sabbath according to the commandment by Christians in almost every century since the commencement of the Christian Era. Their numbers were, however, not great, compared with the body of professed Christians.
The mystery of iniquity began to work in the days of the apostles; and it would not be strange, if that power made an effort to change the laws of God, and substitute his own in their place, and institute a day for worship, which the Lord did not sanctify and hallow. Because God permitted the change, it does not follow that he sanctioned it.
The Scripture texts brought to sustain the position taken, fail to do it to my mind and I presume to the minds of many others.
The first text [John xx, 19] does not prove that the disciples were together for the purpose of celebrating the first day, in honor of his resurrection, for they did not believe that he was raised, at that time; and we learn from Acts, i, 13, that they abode together; and as their hope seemed to be lost, their doors were shut for fear of the Jews, when the Saviour came among them. If the day commenced at the going down of the sun, I should think the evening must be the commencement of the second day; as two of them were at Emmaus, about seven and a half miles from Jerusalem, when it was towards evening, and the day was far spent.
The next passage, [verse 26.] And after eight days, &c. I should think that after eight days would be the ninth day; would be the second day of the week, if the first meeting of Christ and his disciples was on the first.
Acts xx, 7. And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, &c.
If the coming together in that instance to break bread constituted that day a Sabbath, then on the same principle might every other day in the week become a Sabbath; for the disciples continued "daily with one accord in the temple, and in breaking bread from house to house"—there being the same proof for the one, as the other.
The text in 1 Cor. xvi, 2, rather proves that Paul did not consider the first day of the week the Sabbath, for he advised them to do what would not seem proper business for the Sabbath; for how could they know how the Lord had prospered them unless they looked over their secular concerns?
The command to lay by them, would indicate that they were at home rather than at meeting.
Rev. i, 10. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, &c. That day is claimed to be the first day of the week; but where is the proof from the Bible? If the first day is anywhere else in the Scripture called the Lord's day, there then is satisfactory proof that such was the case; but I have been unable to find a single text which designates the first day of the week as the Lord's day. On the contrary I do find frequent mention of the seventh day as being the Sabbath of the Lord; my holy day. Keep my Sabbaths. The Son of man is Lord of the Sabbath day. The inference I should draw, would be that the Sabbath day, was the day in which John was in the Spirit. Christ, in Matt. xxiv, when referring to an event to take place some forty years in the future, spoke of the Sabbath as though it would continue to that time certain, as it then was.
I fail to see from these considerations and others, which I have not time or space to enumerate, that God has honored the first day of the week above the seventh; neither do I find that all of God's church has uniformly testified to the observance of the first day of the week in place of the Sabbath.
God in his providence has permitted the Man of Sin to sit in the temple of God; but it does not follow as a matter of course, that all the doctrines, which have been thundered forth from the Vatican, are the commandments of God.
If men can commemorate God's great work of creation, by keeping the first day of the week as the162Sabbath; why cannot those who rest on the Sabbath day according to the commandment, by the same rule commemorate the resurrection of Christ? If a person must of necessity keep the first day of the week, in order to commemorate Christ's resurrection, then by the same rule, he must keep the seventh day to commemorate the work of creation. How can we come to any other conclusion?
The close of that article is worthy of being remembered. "To keep Jehovah's Sabbaths it is needful to observe the day that He recognizes, which is significant of all the truths for the perpetuation of which he has instituted it."
In deciding which day that is, let us appeal to the law and to the testimony, rather than to the commandments of men, who have made void the law, through their traditions.
What I have written has been done with a sincere desire for the truth. If I have misapprehended the matter, I stand for correction; but as the subject appears to my mind, I see no way to avoid the conviction that it is my duty to turn away my foot from the Sabbath; from doing my pleasure on his holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord honorable. So I mean by the grace of God, to live by every word that proceedeth out of his mouth. If this position is not truth I would not take it on any consideration. I may err in judgment, and thus be led into error in practice; but my prayer is, Sanctify me through thy truth: thy word O God is truth. May all the children of God who are striving for the kingdom, be found in the path of obedience, be among those who do his commandments; that they may have right to the tree of life, and enter in through the gates into the city. And O pray the time soon come, when the gates of the city shall open, and the righteous nation that keepeth the truth enter in.
Idle in the market-place!
Poor day-laborer, can this be?
Who thy daily bread shall earn?
Who thy wages give to thee?
Idle in the market-place!
When the wearied reapers bend,
Wrestling with the bearded wheat,
And the harvest soon will end?
When the ripened field is wide,
And the morning flies apace,
How, contented, canst thou stand
Idle in the market-place?
Listen to the toiling ant;
"Work," she murmureth, "and be wise;"
"Work," the unresting waters say;
"Work," the fruitful earth replies.
Nature in a thousand forms
Gives thee counsel, not in vain;
Heaven, that highest teacher, cries,
"Work," and thy salvation gain.
[L. H. S.]
From the ADVENT HERALD
Probabilities against the Sinner.
By L. H. R.
My impenitent friend, you hope and expect to be saved; but, humanly speaking, you have more reason to fear that you will be lost.
1. It is easier to be lost than to be saved. To be saved, you must resist the current; to be lost, you have only to float with it. To be saved, you must awake to the greatest earnestness, and use the powers that you have; to be lost, you have only to remain as you are, indifferent, quiet. "The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force."
2. The number of believers is small in comparison with the company to which you belong. "Wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat; because strait is the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." Yet all the impenitent, and you among them, seem to be expecting salvation.
3. You have heard truth enough, if this were all, to save the world. In how many instances in the days of our Lord, in reply to the briefest statements and instructions, perhaps a declaration so simple as, "I am he," was the answer returned, "Lord, I believe." But you have had "line upon line, precept upon precept," from your youth up. Many of the heathen melt and bow with vastly less light and knowledge than you possess.
4. In how many ways and instances have you been warned—by the expostulations of the pulpit, by pious friends, by personal afflictions, public calamities, and mysterious providences. You have seen others fall on your right hand, and on your left. You have lost dear friends. You have been brought down to death's door yourself. But you are yet in your sins. Is it likely that there is any form of the approach of death in reserve, or any kind of trials or other warnings which will be likely to bring you to Christ, when all these that are past have not? No new Saviour will be provided for you—no new gospel preached.
5. You have been wooed by the Spirit. You have perhaps seen and felt the power of the Spirit in what are called "revivals of religion," and at such times particularly have been almost persuaded to become a Christian. But you said to the Spirit, "Depart." You suffered opportunities, more favorable in themselves than any you will ever again enjoy, to pass unimproved.
6. Added to all this is the force of habit, which has been, and is hourly riveting your chains. Oh, what a hold has sin upon your heart! Sooner may the "Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots," than you "do good, who are accustomed to do evil."
7. Does not the indifference which you now manifest with regard to your soul's salvation, show that you are one of those whom the god of this world has blinded, and that there is great danger you will be numbered with the lost?
How critical, how fearful, is your situation! And yet there is hope for you in Christ. You are not yet lost. Oh, avail yourself of the help proffered in the gospel. Look to Him, and live.
"Haste, O sinner, to be blest,
Stay not for the morrow's sun,
Lest perdition thee arrest,
Ere the morrow is begun." [L. H. R.]
God's Long-Suffering.
By Guthrie
WERE there but eight, only eight saved? There were thousands, millions sought. Nor is it justice to God to forget how long a period of patience, and preaching, and warning, and compassion, preceded that dreadful deluge. Long before the lightning flashed from angry heavens; long before thunders rolled along dissolving skies; long before the clouds rained down death; long before the floor and solid pavement of this earth, under the prodigious agencies at work, broke up, like the deck of a leaking ship, and the waters rushed from below, to meet the waters from above, and sink a guilty world; long before the time when the ark floated away by tower and town, and those crowded hill-tops, where frantic groups had clustered, and amid prayers and curses, and shrieks and shouts, hung out their signals of distress—very long before this, God had been calling an impenitent world to repentance. Had they no warning in Noah's preaching? Was there nothing to alarm them in the very sight of the ark, as story rose upon story; and nothing in the sound of those ceaseless hammers to waken all but the dead?
It was not till mercy's arm grew weary ringing the warning bell, that, to use the words of my text, God "poured out his fury" on them. I appeal to the story of this awful judgment. True, for forty days it rained incessantly, and for one hundred and163fifty days more, “the waters prevailed on the earth;” but while the period of God’s justice is reckoned by days, the period of his long-suffering was drawn out into years; and there was a truce of one hundred and twenty years between the first stroke of the bell and the first crash of the thunder. Noah grew grey preaching repentance. The ark stood useless for years, a huge laughing stock for the scoffer’s wit; it stood till it was covered with the marks of age, and its builders with the contempt of the world; and many a sneer had these men to bear, as pointing to the serene heavens above and an empty ark below, the question was put, “Where is the promise of his coming?” Most patient God! Then, as now, thou wert slow to punish—“waiting to be gracious.”—Guthrie.
To-Morrow.
WHOEVER saw "to-morrow?" They to whom the midnight cry brought no alarm, because the lamp was burning. They who could meet suddenness with readiness. They who, when the Bridegroom gave time for no more than instant following, found that time enough, and went in with him to the marriage feast; who, at the cry, "Go ye forth to meet him!" had nothing to do but to "go forth;" whose lamps burned clear when their companions' had gone out; who lacked no oil when there was no longer time to go and buy; who were "entering in" when others were hastening in terror to begin their first works; who were shut in with the King by the same door which, but that they were ready, would have shut them out; who were singing salvation's song when the foolish were crying without, "Lord, Lord, open unto us," and receiving their sad answer, "Depart, I never knew you." They who needed no "to-morrow," having rightly used to-day and could, therefore, with joy, and not with grief, prove "to-morrow" and eternity to be the same.
Who ever received mercy "to-morrow?" None. Not to find mercy to-day is to lose it for ever. Where is God's invitation to be found for "to-morrow?" No where! God is too just to be mocked, too pitiful to mock. Who ever was put off by God to "to-morrow?" No one. When God says "Now," he means "now." Who ever died on "to-morrow?" No one. Salvation, life, death, heaven, hell, all are gathered up in "to-day." To those whose last hour is come, "to-morrow" will be as though a thousand years had rolled away since they heard "Come in," or "Depart."
"Thou Knowest that I Love Thee."
By Philanthropos
WHAT a world of instruction is contained in the answer of Peter to the thrice-repeated question of Jesus, "Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee."
How did Jesus know that he loved him? It was but a few days since he had deserted his Master in a time of the greatest danger, and denied him with oaths. Many of the present day would have pronounced him a hypocrite, and no better than Judas.
How did Jesus know that Peter loved him? "Man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." Peter had "wept bitterly" over his sin, and had been forgiven.
Beware, Christian, how thou findest fault with thy erring brother. It may be, that he has wept as bitterly over his fall, as did Peter over his.
David committed two of the most atrocious crimes known to Jewish law; and yet, after his repentance, we never hear that he was not "the man after God's own heart."
Be kind to thy brother. Try to help him upon his feet again. It can never injure you; and it may be the means of saving his soul.
Sin and Suffering
SIN AND SUFFERING.—Sin has brought many a believer into suffering, and suffering has kept many a believer from sinning.
Temptations.
CONVERSION to God is not without a struggle; nay, not without many struggles. He who turns his back upon sin and selfishness; he who strives to resist temptations, temptations which come upon him like an armed man, must fight for the victory. If it were only one grand struggle, which when ended, the fight was over and the victory accomplished, then there would be far more Christians in the world, and far better Christians. But the fact is, when the great struggle of conversion is over, the difficulties just begin; temptations then are like the continual dripping of water. We resist one, which is no sooner resisted, than behold another is seeking admittance. We prepare ourselves for one, which we shall certainly by God's help overcome; when lo! one that we did not expect comes, and we yield. And thus it is, not for once or twice; nor for a month or year; but every day we are tempted, and every day we must resist.
The little temptations, we very much fear, are the worst. Temptations to impatience, to forgetfulness, to anger, to vanity, to pride; and that too by the most trifling matters in the world. And we yield to these little things. And then we become discouraged and think there is no necessity for striving. “It is of no use. We try every day to resist the quick word, the impatient feeling, the angry thought, but we fail.”
But shall we allow the devil to tempt us to give up? This were then, not a little, but a great temptation; yea! a mighty temptation. It is no less a thing than yielding to him. And he who commences by yielding one thing to Satan, the traitor who commences by yielding up the outposts to the enemy, will end by giving up the citadel itself. No! we must remember the terms of our enlistment on Christ's side.
“To continue Christ's faithful soldier and servant unto our life's end,” were the words in which our enlistment was effected. Are we going to stand up to this; or prove cowards and traitors, and yield? We must expect temptations; they will come to us every day we live. There will not be one single day in which we shall be able to say, This day I have not been tempted to do any thing wrong, or leave undone any thing right. Our temptations may be very different. One is tempted to one thing, another to another. The young to giddiness and thoughtlessness. The old to covetousness and hardness. The middle-aged to worldliness and ambition. Temptations differ, but they are all gilded. They seldom alarm. The devil is wary as well as active. Resist him and his temptations. Pray God's forgiveness for past yielding. Strive to overcome in future. But do your best, and still you will yield sometimes. Therefore be humble and prayerful. God will help us; this we know. In Christ's power and faithfulness lies our strength. In this we will put our trust.
[Southern Churchman.
Pay Thy Debt, and Live Thou and Thy Children
By J. M. McLellan
“Pay thy Debt, and Live Thou and Thy Children of the Rest.” 2 Kings iv, 7.
THIS is the language of the Bible; and it teaches us the principles of moral honesty, and this sentiment is embodied in the second great commandment by the Son of God. “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Matt. xxii, 39. If a man loves his neighbor as himself, he will, if he owes him, certainly pay the debt, and if he refuses or will not pay the debt, then he loves himself better than he does his neighbor, and covets that which rightfully and honestly belongs to his neighbor, and in so doing breaks the law of God which says, “Thou shalt not covet . . . any thing that is thy neighbor’s.” Ex. xx, 17.
If one man owes another and neglects to pay him, this neglect on the part of the debtor does not release him by any means from the claims of his creditor; for the debt just as much belongs to the creditor as it ever did; and a debtor who thus retains unlawfully the dues of his creditors covets the things that are his neighbor’s; and the debtor who acts upon such a principle as this shows conclusively that he is still in possession of the carnal mind, which is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God neither indeed can be. Rom. viii, 7.
This same lesson of moral honesty is also taught by the Son of God in what is called the “Golden Rule:” “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them; for this is the law and the prophets.” Matt. vii, 12. Can those who profess the Third Angel’s Message, and keep the Commandments of God, refuse or neglect to pay for their valuable paper, and at the same time be justified in the sight of God for so doing? I think not, if they are able to pay for it; for all that we have is the Lord’s, and we are our Lord’s stewards, and the Review is the Lord’s, wholly given to the advocacy of his cause. When we therefore neglect to send in the pay to the Office to those who send us the Review weekly, richly laden with present truth, and leave them and others to bear the whole burden of its publication, do we not do very wrong? Certainly. Hear the prophet: “Will a man rob God? yet ye have robbed me; but ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.” Says David, [Ps. 1, 5.] “Gather my saints together unto me: those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.” “Bring ye all the tithes into the store-house that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open unto you the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” Mal. iii, 8, 10. We should render unto God the things that are God’s. Matt. xxii, 21. But if there are any that are poor and cannot pay for their paper, yet have an earnest desire to pay for it, let such report themselves to the Office as such; and I believe that our brethren there will send the paper to you with just as much cheerfulness as though you had paid for it.
Let us now turn our attention for one moment to the text, “Pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest.” The person that was thus addressed was a poor widow. Her husband had died, and before his death he had contracted a debt, and he being now dead his creditor came to take her two sons to be bondmen, as their law made provision, [Matt. xviii, 25.] and in her distress and deep anguish of soul she appealed unto Elisha, the prophet of God, and he told her to go and borrow empty vessels not a few. She did as he bade her, and poured out of the full oil-pot into the empty ones until they were all full. “Then she came and told the man of God, and he said, Go sell the oil and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest.”
These people feared the Lord. They were the Lord’s poor. He loved them and took care of them. The Lord always had, and still has, a special regard for his people. It matters not how poor they are in regard to this world’s goods if they are only rich in faith. Give him your heart, it is all he asks.
J. M. McLELLAN.
Hastings, Sept 9th, 1856.
Almost Sundown.
WHEN in college, a professing Christian who subsequently became a missionary, deemed himself ill-treated by a fellow-student, and in consequence, got very angry. To the surprise and grief of his brethren, he gave somewhat free expression to his feelings. No one ventured to rebuke him, or to remonstrate with him, while he was uttering things very little adapted to promote the edification of the hearer.
Toward the close of the day, a judicious friend was passing his room. Pausing before the open door, he said in a significant tone, “It is almost sundown.” The reproof so kindly and delicately administered, was felt by his erring brother. The divine commandment, “Let not the sun go down upon your wrath,” was called to remembrance. The perturbation of passion was exchanged for that of conscious guilt. The latter was calmed by prayer, and was followed by confession before those who had been witnesses of his sin.
It is our duty to rebuke sin, to endeavor to arouse the conscience to a perception of wrong doings, and to a sense of guilt. To do this successfully, and so as to secure beneficial results, requires wisdom. Wisdom seldom prompts the direct and stern rebuke. It never assumes the attitude of a prosecuting attorney. It never allows the rebuker to assume an air of superiority.
In the example given above, the rebuke was indirect, and by means of an allusion to a passage of Scripture. There is nothing comparable to Scripture in power to convince of sin, and yet much depends on the skill with which it is applied. When bluntly or boisterously presented, it is more likely to repel and harden than to convince. When the conscience is thus directly addressed, it puts itself on its guard, and endeavors to steel itself against impressions. An indirect mode of address throws the conscience off its guard, and allows the light of truth to enter and reveal the sin.—Sel.
The Devil’s Temptation.
By I. S. Spencer
“There is an order in the snares and temptations of the devil. He has three classes of temptations.
1. Satan employs the world—just aims to keep sinners satisfied to love earthly things, and pursue them. If he cannot do that—if they cannot be made to live on without any kind of religion, hunting for riches, honor, pleasure, ease, and some such thing, then—
2. Satan aims to lead them into a false religion, into deception, into some delusion, which shall lull them into a false peace to their ruin. But if he cannot do this—if they have too much knowledge of the Bible, and too much of the influence of the Holy Spirit to be led into a false hope, then the old liar shifts his ground; and—
3. Aims to drive to despair. This is his last effort, and, I do believe the most devilish one of all. It is most like him, for it is at once the most false, and most miserable.—I. S. Spencer.
Words and Their Consequences
Your word is your servant, so long as you retain it; but it becomes your master when you suffer it to escape. We may live by forms, but there is no dying by forms.
Ambition and Friendship
The road ambition travels is too narrow for friendship, and too crooked for love.
Scatter Ye Seeds.
SCATTER ye seeds, and flowers will spring
Strew them at broadcast o'er hill and glen;
Sow in your garden, and time will bring
Bright flowers, with seeds to scatter again.
Scatter ye seeds—nor think them lost,
Though they fall amid leaves and are buried in earth;
Spring will awake them, though heedlessly tossed,
And to beautiful flowers those seeds will give birth.
Scatter ye seeds in the garden of heart,
Seeds of affection, of truth, and of love;
Cultivate carefully each hidden part,
And thy flowers will be seen by angels above.
Then scatter ye seeds each passing year;
Sow amid winds and storms of rain—
Hope give thee courage, Faith cast out fear,
God will requite thee with infinite gain.
The Dying Thief.
By Ryle
I WANT you thoroughly to understand that the leading principles of the penitent thief’s religion were just the same as those of the oldest saint that ever lived.
See, for one thing, how strong was the faith of this man. He called Jesus, "Lord." He declared his belief that he would have a kingdom. He believed that He was able to give him eternal life and glory, and in this belief prayed to Him. He maintained His innocence of all the charges brought against Him: "This man," said he, "hath done nothing amiss." Others perhaps may have thought the Lord innocent; none said so openly, but this poor dying man.
And when did all this happen? It happened when the whole nation had denied Christ, shouting, "Crucify him, crucify him; we have no king but Caesar"—when the chief priests and Pharisees had condemned and found Him guilty of death—when even His own disciples had forsaken him and fled—when He was hanging, faint, bleeding, and dying on the cross, numbered with transgressors, and counted accursed. This was the hour when the thief believed in Christ, and prayed to Him. Surely such faith was never seen since the world began.
He only saw our Lord in agony and in weakness, in suffering and in pain. He saw Him undergoing a dishonorable punishment, deserted, mocked, despised, blasphemed. He saw Him rejected by all the great and wise and noble of His own people, His strength dried up like a potsherd, his life drawing to the grave. Ps. xxii, 15; lxxxviii, 3. He saw no sceptre, no royal crown, no outward dominion, no glory, no majesty, no power, no signs of might. And yet the dying thief believed, and looked forward to Christ’s kingdom.
See, for another thing, what a right sense of sin the thief had. He says to his companion, "We receive the due reward of our deeds." He acknowledges his own ungodliness, and the justice of his punishment. He makes no attempt to justify himself, or excuse his wickedness. He speaks like a man humbled and self-abased by the remembrance of past iniquities. This is what all God’s children feel. They are ready to allow they are poor hell-deserving sinners.
In one word, you see in the penitent thief a finished work of the Holy Ghost. Every part of the believer’s character may be traced in him. Short as his life was after conversion, he found time to leave abundant evidence that he was a child of God. His faith, his prayer, his humility, his brotherly love, are unmistakable witnesses of the reality of his repentance. He was not a penitent in name only, but in deed and in truth.—Ryle.
The Hidden Shoals of Life
A SHIP on the broad, boisterous and open ocean needeth no pilot. But it dare not venture alone on the placid bosom of a little river, lest it be wrecked by some hidden rock. Thus it is with life. 'Tis not in our open, exposed deeds that we need the still voice of the silent monitor, but in the small, secret every-day acts of life, that conscience warns us to beware of the hidden shoals of what we deem too common to be dangerous.—Sel.
Wholehearted Devotion to Christ
If Christ had our whole hearts, if we were entirely his, we should be more peaceful, happy and holy.