by Rev. Donald MacFarlane
Preaching
Speaking of the message of reconciliation, I said that it was the most blessed work in this world to be employed in proclaiming the Gospel to a perishing world, and that after being taken home to the eternal rest, if the Lord would send me back to the world again, and give me my choice of works — would certainly choose to be employed by him to preach the message of peace and salvation to my fellow sinners; I would say: ‘Lord send me’. There were no doubt difficulties and trials to be met with in performing the Lord’s work, but he that called his servants to that work was able to strengthen, comfort and sustain them in the midst of all their troubles.
Christ’s Death
Christ’s death is the greatest and most wonderful event that ever occurred in this world; nothing so great has ever occurred in the past, and nothing shall ever occur like it in the future. It is a unique event — and it is a glorious event for the redeemed.
Number of our Days
What do we require in order to be enabled to number our days aright? To be taught of the Lord. Teach us to number our days, without we cannot number our days, as they ought to be numbered — just like children, who never attended school, were never taught — give them exercise in Arithmetic, sums to make up, and they can’t manage them. Their calculations are sure to be incorrect. So it was with the rich man who sinned. Soul thou hast many good things laid up for many years, when he had not even one day. The Lord’s people in the days of their ignorance numbered their days in the same way, but they have through grace, discovered that their calculations were incorrect and have felt the new way of being taught of the Lord. So they pray, teach us to number our days! We are not competent for this work ourselves, so we must be taught. The Lord offers to teach us by His Word, Spirit and providence. ‘Learn of Me’ Christ says.
Lot in Providence
Are you resigned to your lot in Providence? Do you believe that your measure has been taken from all eternity? As to your lot, your neighbour’s suit would not fit you, nor would yours fit him. Christ sits upon the circle of the earth, all power in Heaven, and on earth are given Him. What do you say of His providence of His dealings with you? Can you say, blessed providence, blessed dealings, blessed afflictions? That is just the very thing you should say of them. He shall make all things work together for good to His people.
Trials
The Lord will use severe trials to bring His people back to Himself when they wander from Him. I seek to add my Amen to His dealings in this respect. I have cause to say, at least in some measure, ‘It is good for me that I was afflicted. It is good to wait on the Lord in prayer, to receive the best of the wheat and the honey from the rock, to drink at the Fountain Head. The most difficult part of this work is to begin it, once that difficulty is overcome by grace, it is easy, pleasant and profitable.
Christ’s Question
Will ye also go away? The occasion of the question — when many of the disciples went back. They were not real disciples but were followers of Christ attracted to Him, and made to follow Him for a reason — partly from curiosity and partly from selfish motives, because they did eat of the loaves. Their apostasy appears to be final and fatal, for it is said they walked no more with Him. That which occasioned their apostasy was the sublime and spiritual doctrines which Christ set forth in His address to them. From the miraculous manner in which He had fed them a short time previously, He took the occasion of directing their minds to Himself as the bread of life, and to His death, as the procuring cause of that life, and the necessity there was of a living and spiritual participation in those blessings in order to Salvation. At this they took offence, and said: “This is a hard saying who can hear it?”, and as the result of the offence they went back and walked no more with Him. It was on that occasion Christ asked His disciples “Will ye also go away?”
This question may have been put to the disciples, first to remove the doubts of some as to their being in a state of grace. To illustrate this, I may mention an anecdote I heard about a godly woman. After professing the Lord publicly she was assailed by the temptation that she was not a genuine believer. This temptation followed her so hard that she made up her mind to “send back”, as she said, her profession. Accordingly she went to the minister on that errand. The minister knowing that she was a good woman, that she was suffering from Satan’s fiery darts, took a wise way of extricating her from the temptation. He expressed his readiness to accept of her resignation (so to speak) of her profession. He at once got paper and pen and wrote down to the effect that the tempted woman was to have nothing more to do with Christ. When this was produced for her signature, she exclaimed: “I would not do it for the whole world.”
The disciples reply: “Lord to whom shall we go?” By this reply they show their unwillingness to go away. The question Christ put to them had respect to the state of their will. The will has the power of choosing or rejecting, and by the choice people make, the condition of their will may be made known. If people make choice of Christ, like Mary, that plainly indicates that the will is renewed by grace and if, on the other hand, people make choice of the world that shows that the will is unrenewed.
To whom shall we go? We shall not, will not, go to any of the false systems of religion which are of men’s devices. There is death in all these — no salvation.
Not to be Anxious. Phil. 4:6,7.
This is an exhortation not to be over-anxious about anything. Our over-anxiety about anything in worldly matters is a sin. It indicates distrust in God, is dishonouring to Him, and hurtful to the interests of the soul. It distracts the mind and unfits it for serving the Lord. Be not therefore careful, that is, over-anxious for anything pertaining to this world. The antidote to over-anxiety is prayer. What should be the matter of your prayer? Everything relative to time and eternity, to soul and body, but the things of eternity first. Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. This is the order in which they are given in Scripture, and it is also the order in which the awakened sinner views them when the Spirit of God begins to take saving dealings with him. It is not so with the unconverted. They put the things of time first, which God puts last. But one thing is needful above all other things, and there is no profit though a man gain the whole world, and lose his precious soul. Happy are they who are taught of the Spirit to make everything pertaining to the salvation of their souls a matter of prayer, and these things first. Everything lawful, pertaining to this life should be made a matter of prayer; everything relative to yourself, personally, to your family, to your worldly estate, ought to be laid before the Lord in prayer as circumstances demand, as there is nothing too great to be presented before Him at the throne of grace, so there is nothing too small to be brought forward — all blessings great and small come from the Lord, and He ought to be acknowledged as the Author and Bestower of them. This by making everything relative to time and eternity a matter of prayer. We acknowledge our dependence upon God and give Him the glory. We are to make known our requests to God. This does not imply that our desires are unknown to Him, before they are expressed in words. No! He knows all our thoughts, and desires whatever they may be; He knows all things, but the Lord likes to hear the desires of His people from their own mouths. Let me hear thy voice. Thy voice is sweet. He may hear the prayers of others on your behalf but he prefers to hear your own cry. Therefore make your requests known to Him. Tell Him your case in simple and plain words.
The Elect
Dr. Love was preaching one day on the elect people of God and said: “I’m told that they were a small number in comparison to the non-elect.” A woman who was hearing him, said to him after coming out of church, “You were making the number of the elect very small but though there should be but two chosen unto life, I will try to be one of them.”
The Idiot
An idiot was asked by a minister: “Have you a soul?” To which he replied: “No.” The minister then asked him: “Had you a soul?” He answered: “Yes.” “What did you do with it?”, the minister asked. To which he replied: “As I could not take care of it myself I gave it to Christ to keep for me.” This agrees with what the apostle said: “He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him.”
The Lord’s Righteousness
To whom should we declare the Lord’s Righteousness? “Unto a people that shall be born.” This is, the Lord’s people who are passing away, shall declare this to the rising generation — that the Lord is righteous in all His ways, and holy in all His works. (Psalm 144:17). We are indebted to our forefathers, the instruments in God’s hand for our religious instruction in the word of God, and it is our duty to transmit the same to the rising generation, to the young, on whom it will be incumbent to tell their children the things which God has revealed in His Word.
The Command to Labour
John 6.27. The command to labour — to labour for the meat that endureth, is a duty binding upon all. We ought to labour for this meat because God commands it; we ought to labour for it also because we need it. We are not, however, to think that we can earn this bread by our labour. It is so natural for us to think so. Some teach this as a doctrine. Those that engage in this duty aright are attracted by several things to labour. (1) A sense of need given by the Spirit of God, (2) Some hope of obtaining, which hope is founded upon the Gospel revelation, (3) getting a taste of this meat. This last makes those who are in any measure made partakers of it persevere to the end. We need to begin to labour and to continue to labour, day after day and year by year. No sooner does the farmer get his corn secured than he begins to labour for another crop. Last year’s crop is spent, and so will this year’s, hence the need for perseverance in labouring; continued needs demand continued labour. The needs of God’s people are increasing the longer they are in a state of grace. A grown-up person, or one who has attained to manhood, requires new food. This is a fact in nature, it is also a fact in grace. God’s people labour to receive spiritual food from the Lord, but they are soon poor and needy again. What would you think of a farmer who had a number of cornstacks standing in his corn-yard for ten years. In a spiritual sense you would be apt to say that he himself was dead. Such are those who consider themselves rich, and have no need of anything, but the Lord’s people are different. How much soever they receive from their heavenly Father, they feel themselves poor and needy.