“Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see.” “Now, the righteousness of God is manifested, even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ, unto all, and upon all them which believe: for there is no difference; for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation, through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins; that He might be just, and the justifier of him who believeth in Jesus.” In place of enlarging further on these things, let us add one or two closing remarks, for the improvement of the subject:—
*In sending these notes Rev. John Tallach says: “These notes were enlarged on very much above what is written here.”—Editor.
“Be sure your sin will find you out” (Numbers, xxxii. 23).
YOU know that some Natives have more dogs than they are willing to pay licence for, and, when they hear that the police are in the district they send these dogs with boys to the bush so that they may be hid. But it happens that the police sometimes comes across these dogs and as the boys are not willing to tell whose they are they make them take the dogs from kraal to kraal. In this way they reach a kraal when, behold! the dogs run up to one man there and make a great welcome to him. No need to ask now whose dogs are they, for it is clear that they know their master only too well. When you are a little troubled about your sins you send them to the bush; you shut your eyes to them or disown them in your mind and you get on very well this way. But your sins are going on before you to judgment and they will meet you there. When you come to judgment they will run on you and acknowledge you and no one else. What is your life made up of? Just these “dogs” which on that day will fit into no life but yours.
“Take heed how ye hear” (Mark, iv. 24).
“In connection with the hearing of the gospel I find that my heart is like a badly cracked plate. I must sup in good earnest and quickly if I am to get any nourishment for my soul, for if I am at all indifferent I find that all the good food will run away through the cracks and I will have nothing left. It is a race between the devil and myself and he wins too often.”
“The heart is deceitful above all things” (Jer., xvii. 9).
The Most High gave command that Agag and all that was his was to be destroyed, but Saul spared him, and when expostulated with he made excuse. But Samuel was too great a friend of Saul and of God, to leave matters thus. Agag desires peace, but Samuel does not come with peace. The believer is told to wage war on all sin in himself and at the beginning he intends to do this, but there is a sin there which he makes light of and is tolerant of; it may be pride, or covetousness, or a bad temper. When the Holy Spirit brings the sin before the person at first he seeks to find excuse and so saves it alive. The sin may then speak like Agag, “Surely the bitterness of death is passed; I have seen many things cast out of this person’s life but there has always been a place for me, I will live on.” He comes delicately and pleads many reasons why he should be spared, as—”Everyone has something bad,” or “You have me so long that people will expect you to go through life with me,” and so on. But a day comes when the Holy Spirit comes in His power—”Bring him out,” He commands, and the soul trembling obeys. “Slay him here.” “Where?” “Before me in the presence of a crucified Christ, and the sword is the Word.” You will not hew your Agags, you will rather listen to them and excuse them, but if the Holy Spirit is to prepare you for Heaven He will hew them before Christ’s eyes and before your eyes. He is the faithful friends of Christ and your soul.
“The dead know not anything” (Ecc., iv. 2).
When the two women took the living child to Solomon each said that the child was hers, but one had taken away the living child and substituted a dead child. Here we see that people will seek religion without the life of the Holy Spirit. Death does not belong to this world as the world was made, it came into it by sin and therefore people hate it as an intruder. That is not only true of temporal, but in a sense of spiritual, death. No person likes to think that he is spiritually dead and sooner than live under the name of it one will seek to borrow the name of being spiritually alive. He takes the fact that he is born of good parents, or that he is not a heathen, or that he goes to church, or is baptised and he writes spiritual life on these things. Men may be deceived by these things but Christ sits and judges these matters and His judgment is just and exact. The one woman loves the name of having a living child and hates the name of having a dead child, whereas the true mother loves the living child for its own sake. Spiritual life is sought by the believer for its own sake and not for its name, and the Judge will reward that with eternal life. But look at the other. How people grieve the Holy Spirit from themselves and from their congregations by taking to themselves that which is His and yet what He did not bestow. And think; they do this for a name only.
“Not forsaking the assembling of yourselves together” (Heb., x. 25).
A native woman of over 70 years was very attentive on public means although she had to walk a good distance to church. On being asked what it was that took her to church she replied: “My heart is as dry pieces of scattered wood; my going to church is the gathering of them together; the Holy Spirit in the gospel puts fire to them; I then have light and heat and can return home with something to keep my soul warm until next time.”
“If thy right hand offend thee cut it off” (Matt., v. 30).
When we go to put our oxen in yoke we catch them by riems [strong ropes made of raw ox hide] so we see that if we are to keep our oxen in order and get work out of them we must at some time sacrifice one of them in order to make riems for the others. Discipline must be used in church even although it may mean the laying aside of a prominent member in order that the others may be kept.