What we have now before us is rather the cool indifference on the part of professing Christians as to Scripture; the little power which pure truth wields over the conscience; the way in which the edge of Scripture is blunted or turned aside. You quote pa.s.sage after pa.s.sage from the inspired volume, but it seems like the pattering of rain upon the window: the _reason_ is at work, the _will_ is dominant, _interest_ is at stake, human opinions bear sway, G.o.d"s truth is practically, if not in so many words, set aside.
All this is deeply solemn. We know of few things more dangerous than intellectual familiarity with the letter of Scripture where the spirit of it does not govern the conscience, form the character, and shape the way. We want to tremble at the word of G.o.d, to bow down in reverential submission to its holy authority in all things. A single line of Scripture ought to be sufficient for our souls on any point, even though, in carrying it out, we should have to move athwart the opinions of the highest and best of men. May the Lord raise up many faithful and true-hearted witnesses in these last days,--men like the faithful Mordecai,--who would rather ascend a gallows than bow to an Amalekite!
For the further ill.u.s.tration of our theme, we shall ask the reader to turn to the sixth chapter of the book of Daniel. There is a special charm and interest in the history of these living examples presented to us in the Holy Scriptures. They tell us how the truth of G.o.d was acted upon, in other days, by men of like pa.s.sions with ourselves; they prove to us that in every age there have been men who so prized the truth, so reverenced the word of the living G.o.d, that they would rather face death, in its most appalling forms, than to depart one hair"s breadth from the narrow line laid down by the authoritative voice of their Lord and Master. It is healthful to be brought into contact with such men--healthful at all times, but peculiarly so in days like the present, when there is so much laxity and easy-going profession--so much of mere theory--when every one is allowed to go his own way, and hold his own opinion, provided always that he does not interfere with the opinions of his neighbor--when the commandments of G.o.d seem to have so little weight, so little power over the heart and conscience. Tradition will get a hearing; public opinion will be respected; anything and everything, in short, but the plain and positive statements of the word of G.o.d, will get a place in the thoughts and opinions of men. At such a time, it is, we repeat, at once healthful and edifying to muse over the history of men like Mordecai the Jew, and Daniel the prophet, and scores of others, in whose estimation a single line of Holy Scripture rose far above all the thoughts of men, the decrees of governors, and the statutes of kings, and who declared plainly that they had nothing whatever to do with consequences where the word of the Lord was concerned. Absolute submission to the divine command is that which alone becomes the creature.
It is not, be it observed and well remembered, that any man or any number of men have any right to demand subjection to their decisions or decrees. No man has any right to enforce his opinions upon his fellow.
This is plain enough, and we have to bless G.o.d for the inestimable privilege of civil and religious liberty, as enjoyed under this government. But what we urge upon our readers, just now, is plain decision for Christ, and implicit subjection to His authority, irrespective of everything, and regardless of consequences. This is what we do most earnestly desire for ourselves and for all the people of G.o.d in these last days. We long for that condition of soul, that att.i.tude of heart, that quality of conscience, which shall lead us to bow down in implicit subjection to the commandments of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. No doubt there are difficulties, stumbling blocks, and hostile influences to be encountered. It may be said, for instance, that "It is very difficult for one, now-a-days, to know what is really true and right. There are so many opinions and so many ways, and good men differ so in judgment about the simplest and plainest matters, and yet they all profess to own the Bible as the only standard of appeal; and, moreover, they all declare that their one desire is to do what is right, and to serve the Lord, in their day and generation. How, then, is one to know what is true or what is false, seeing that you will find the very best of men ranged on opposite sides of the same question?"
The answer to all this is very simple. "If thine eye be single thy whole body shall be full of light." But, most a.s.suredly, my eye is not single if I am looking at men, and reasoning on what I see in them. A single eye rests simply on the Lord and His Word. Men differ, no doubt--they have differed, and they ever will differ, but I am to harken to the voice of my Lord and do His will. His Word is to be my light and my authority, the girdle of my loins in action, the strength of my heart in service, my only warrant for moving hither and thither, the stable foundation of all my ways. If I were to attempt to shape my way according to the thoughts of men, where should I be? How uncertain and unsatisfactory would my course be! If I really want to be guided aright, my G.o.d will surely guide me; but if I am looking to men, if I am governed by mixed motives, if I am seeking my own ends and interests, if I am seeking to please my fellows, then, undoubtedly, my body shall be full of darkness, heavy clouds shall settle down upon my pathway, and uncertainty mark all my goings.
Christian reader, think of these things. Think deeply of them. Depend upon it they have a just claim upon your attention. Do you earnestly desire to follow your Lord? Do you really aim at something beyond mere empty profession, cold orthodoxy, or mechanical religiousness? Do you sigh for reality, depth, energy, fervor, and whole-heartedness? Then make Christ your one object, His Word your rule, His glory your aim. May the blessed Spirit be pleased to use for the furtherance of these ends our meditation on the interesting narrative of
"DANIEL THE PROPHET."
"It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom a hundred and twenty princes, which should be over the whole kingdom; and over these, three presidents, of whom Daniel was first; that the princes might give accounts unto them, and the king should have no damage. Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm.
Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion or fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him" (Dan. vi. I-4).
What a testimony! How truly refreshing to the heart! "No error or fault!" Even his most bitter enemies could not put their finger upon a single blemish in his character, or a flaw in his practical career.
Truly this was a rare and admirable character--a bright witness for the G.o.d of Israel, even in the dark days of the Babylonish captivity--an unanswerable proof of the fact that no matter where we are situated, or how we are circ.u.mstanced, no matter how unfavorable our position, or how dark the day in which our lot is cast, it is our happy privilege so to carry ourselves, in all the details of daily life, as to give no occasion to the enemy to speak reproachfully.
How sad when it is otherwise! How humiliating when those who make a high profession are found constantly breaking down in the most commonplace affairs of domestic and commercial life! There are few things which more tend to discourage the heart than that.
No doubt worldly people are only too ready to find occasion against those who profess the name of Jesus; and, further, we have to remember that there are two sides to every question, and that, very frequently, a broad margin must be left for exaggeration, high coloring, and false impressions. But still, it is the Christian"s plain duty so to walk in every position and relationship of life, as that "no error or fault" may be found in him. We should not make any excuses for ourselves. The duties of our situation, whatever it may happen to be, should be scrupulously performed. A careless manner, a slovenly habit, an unprincipled mode of acting, on the part of the Christian, is a serious damage to the cause of Christ, and a dishonor to His holy name. And, on the other hand, diligence, earnestness, punctuality, and fidelity, bring glory to that name. And this should ever be the Christian"s object. He should not aim at his own interest, his own reputation, or his own advancement, in seeking to carry himself aright in his family and in his calling in life. True, it will promote his interest, establish his reputation, and further his progress, to be upright and diligent in all his ways; but none of these things should ever be his motive. He is to be ever and only governed by the one thing, namely, to please and honor his Lord and Master. The standard which the Holy Ghost has set before us, as to all these things, is furnished in the words of the apostle to the Philippians, "That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of G.o.d without rebuke in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world." We should not be satisfied with anything less than this. "They could find none occasion nor fault, forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him." n.o.ble testimony! Would that it were more called forth, in this our day, by the deportment, the habits, the temper, and ways of all those who call themselves Christians.
But there was one point in which Daniel"s enemies felt they could lay hold of him. "Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning _the law of his G.o.d_." Here was a something in the which occasion might be found to ruin this beloved and honored servant of G.o.d. It appears that Daniel had been in the habit of praying three times a day with his windows open toward Jerusalem.
This fact was well known, and was speedily laid hold of, and turned to account. "Then these presidents and princes a.s.sembled together to the king, and said thus unto him, King Darius, live for ever. All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counsellors, and the captains, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a pet.i.tion of any G.o.d or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions. Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not. Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree."
Here, then, was a deep plot, a subtle snare, laid for the blameless and harmless Daniel. How would he act in the face of all this? Would he not feel it right to lower the standard? Well, if the standard was something of his own, he might surely lower it, and perhaps he ought. But if it were something divine--if his conduct was based upon the truth of G.o.d, then clearly it was his place to hold it up as high as ever, regardless of statutes, decrees, and writings established, signed, and countersigned. The whole question hinged upon this. Just as in the case of Mordecai the Jew, the question hinged upon the one point of whether he had any divine warrant for refusing to bow to Haman; so, in the case of Daniel the prophet, the question was, had he any divine authority for praying toward Jerusalem. It certainly seemed strange and odd. Many might have felt disposed to say to him, "Why persist in this practice?
What need is there for opening your windows and praying toward Jerusalem, in such a public manner? Can you not wait until night has drawn her sable curtain around you, and your closet door has shut you in, and then pour out your heart to your G.o.d? This would be prudent, judicious, and expedient. And, surely, your G.o.d does not exact this of you. He does not regard time, place, or att.i.tude. All times and places are alike to Him. Are you wise--are you right, in persisting in such a line of action under such circ.u.mstances? It was all well enough before this decree was signed, when you could pray when and as you thought right; but now it does seem like the most culpable fatuity and blind obstinacy to persevere; it is as though you really courted martyrdom."
All this, and much more, we may easily conceive, might be suggested to the mind of the faithful Jew; but still the grand question remained, "What saith the Scripture?" Was there any divine reason for Daniel"s praying toward Jerusalem? a.s.suredly there was! In the first place, Jehovah had said to Solomon, in reference to the temple at Jerusalem, "Mine eyes and My heart shall be there perpetually." Jerusalem was G.o.d"s earthly centre. It was, it is, and ever shall be. True, it was in ruins--the temple was in ruins; but G.o.d"s word was not in ruins; and here is faith"s simple but solid warrant. King Solomon had said, at the dedication of the temple, hundreds of years before Daniel"s time, "If Thy people sin against Thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,) and Thou be angry with them, and deliver them over before their enemies, and they carry them away captive unto a land far off or near. Yet if they bethink themselves in the land whither they are carried captive, and turn and pray unto Thee, in the land of their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done amiss, and have dealt wickedly; if they return to Thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, whither they have carried them captive, and pray toward their land, which Thou gavest unto their fathers, and toward the city which Thou hast chosen, and toward the house which I have built for Thy name: then hear Thou from the heavens, even from Thy dwelling-place, their prayer and their supplications, and maintain their cause, and forgive Thy people which have sinned against Thee" (2 Chron. vi. 36-39).
Now this was precisely what Daniel was doing--this was the ground he took. He was a captive exile, but his heart was at Jerusalem, and his eyes followed his heart. If he could not sing the songs of Zion, he could at least breathe his prayers toward Zion"s hill. If his harp was on the willows at Babylon, his fond affections turned toward the city of G.o.d, now a heap of ruins, but ere long to be an eternal excellency, "the joy of the whole earth." It mattered not to him that a decree had been signed by earth"s greatest monarch, forbidding him to pray toward the city of his fathers and to his father"s G.o.d. It mattered not to him that the lion"s den was yawning to receive him, and the lion"s jaws ready to devour him. Like his brother Mordecai, he had nothing to do with consequences. Mordecai would rather mount the gallows than bow to Haman, and Daniel would rather descend to the lion"s den than cease to pray to Jehovah. These, surely, were the worthies. They were men whose hearts and consciences were governed absolutely by the word of G.o.d. The world may dub them bigots and fools; but, oh! how the heart does long for such bigots and fools, in these days of false liberality and wisdom!
It might have been said to Mordecai and Daniel that they were contending for mere trifles--for things wholly indifferent and non-essential. This is an argument often used; but, oh! it has no weight with an honest and devoted heart. Indeed, there is nothing more contemptible, in the judgment of every true lover of Jesus, than the principle that regulates the standard as to essentials and non-essentials. For, what is it?
Simply this, "All that concerns my salvation is essential; all that merely affects the glory of Christ is non-essential." How terrible is this! Reader, dost thou not utterly abhor it? What! shall we accept salvation as the fruit of our Lord"s death, and deem aught that concerns Him non-essential? G.o.d forbid. Yea; rather let us entirely reverse the matter, and regard all that concerns the honor and glory of the name of Jesus, the truth of His Word, and the integrity of His cause, as vital, essential, and fundamental; and all that merely concerns ourselves as non-essential and indifferent. May G.o.d grant us this mind! May nothing be deemed trivial by us which has for its foundation the word of the living G.o.d!
Thus it was with those devoted men whose history we have been glancing at. Mordecai would not bow his head, and Daniel would not close his window. Blessed men! The Lord be praised for such, and for the inspired record of their actings. Mordecai would rather surrender life than diverge from the truth of G.o.d, and Daniel would rather do the same than turn away from G.o.d"s centre. Jehovah had said that He would have war with Amalek from generation to generation, and therefore Mordecai would not bow. Jehovah had said of Jerusalem, "Mine eyes and My heart shall be there perpetually;" therefore Daniel would not cease to pray toward that blessed centre. The word of the Lord endureth forever, and faith takes its stand on that imperishable foundation. There is an eternal freshness about every word that has come forth from the Lord. His truth holds good throughout all generations; its bloom can never be brushed away, its light can never fade, its edge can never be blunted. All praise be to His holy name!
But let us look for a moment at the result of Daniel"s faithfulness. The king was plunged into the deepest grief when he discovered his mistake.
"He was sore displeased with himself." So well he might. He had fallen into a snare; but Daniel was in good keeping. It was all right with him. "The name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous runneth into it, and is safe." It matters not whether it be a lion"s den at Babylon or a prison at Philippi; faith and a good conscience can make a man happy in either. We question if Daniel ever spent a happier night on this earth, than the night he spent in the lion"s den. He was there for G.o.d, and G.o.d was there with him. He was there with an approving conscience and an uncondemning heart. He could look up from the very bottom of that den straight into heaven: yea, that den was heaven upon earth to his happy spirit. Who would not rather be Daniel in the den than Darius in the palace? The one happy in G.o.d; the other "sore displeased with himself." Darius would have every one pray to him; Daniel would pray to none but G.o.d. Darius was bound by his own rash decree; Daniel was bound only by the word of the living G.o.d. What a contrast!
And then see in the end what signal honor was put upon Daniel. He stood publicly identified with the one living and true G.o.d. "O Daniel," cried the king, "servant of the living G.o.d." Truly he had earned this t.i.tle for himself. He was, unquestionably, a faithful servant of G.o.d. He had seen his three brethren cast into a furnace because they would worship _only_ the true G.o.d, and he had been cast into the lion"s den because he would pray _only_ to Him; but the Lord had appeared for them and him, and given them a glorious triumph. He had allowed them to realize that precious promise made of old to their fathers, that they should be the head and their enemies the tail; that they should be above and their enemies below. Nothing could be more marked--nothing could more forcibly ill.u.s.trate the value which G.o.d puts upon plain decision and true-hearted devotedness, no matter where, when, or by whom exhibited.
Oh! for an earnest heart in this day of lukewarmness! O Lord, revive Thy work!
How gentle G.o.d"s commands!
How kind His precepts are!
We"ll cast our burdens on the Lord, And trust His constant care.
Beneath His watchful eye His saints securely dwell: The hand that bears all nature up, Will guard His children well.
Why should an anxious load Press down our weary mind?
We haste, O Father, to Thy throne, And sweet refreshment find.
Thy goodness stands approved-- Unchanged from day to day: We drop our burdens at Thy feet, To bear a song away!
---_Philip Doddrige._
FOOTNOTES:
[III.] ["Thou hast magnified Thy word (or saying) according to all Thy Name," seems more exactly to give the meaning of the pa.s.sage. ED.]
[IV.] It is deeply interesting to note that neither the Jews" best Friend nor their worst enemy is once formally named in the book of Esther; but faith could recognize both the one and the other.
PRAYER,
IN ITS PROPER PLACE
There is a strong tendency in the human mind to take a one-sided view of things. This should be carefully guarded against. It would ever be our wisdom to view things as G.o.d presents them to us, in His holy Word. We should put things where He puts them, and leave them there. Were this more faithfully attended to, the truth would be much more clearly understood, and souls much better instructed. There is a divinely appointed place for everything, and we should avoid putting right things in wrong places, just as carefully as we would avoid setting them aside altogether. The one may do as much damage as the other. Let any divine inst.i.tution be taken out of its divinely-appointed place, and it must necessarily fail of its divinely-appointed end. This, I imagine, will hardly be questioned by any enlightened or well-regulated mind. It will be admitted, on all hands, to be wrong to put things in any place but just where G.o.d intended them to be.
And in proportion to the importance of a right thing is the importance of having it in its right place. This remark holds good, in a special manner, with respect to the hallowed and most precious exercise of prayer. It is hard to imagine how any one, with the word of G.o.d in his hand, could presume to detract from the value of prayer. It is one of the very highest functions, and most important privileges of the Christian life. No sooner has the new nature been communicated by the Holy Ghost, through faith in Christ, than it expresses itself in the sweet accents of prayer. Prayer is the earnest breathing of the new man, drawn forth by the operation of the Holy Ghost, who dwells in all true believers. Hence, to find any one praying is to find him manifesting divine life in one of its most touching and beauteous characteristics, namely, dependence. There may be a vast amount of ignorance displayed in the prayer, both in its character and object; but the _spirit_ of prayer is, unquestionably, divine. A child may ask for a great many foolish things; but, clearly, he could not ask for any thing if he had not life.
The ability and desire to ask are the infallible proofs of life. No sooner had Saul of Tarsus pa.s.sed from death unto life, than the Lord says of him, "_Behold he prayeth_!" (Acts ix.) Doubtless he had, as "a Pharisee of the Pharisees," said many "long prayers;" but not until he "saw that Just One, and heard the voice of His mouth," could it be said of him, "behold, _he prayeth_."
Saying prayers and praying, are two totally different things. A self-righteous Pharisee may excel in the former; none but a converted soul can enjoy the latter. The spirit of prayer is the spirit of the new man; the language of prayer is the distinct utterance of the new life.
The moment a spiritual babe is born into the new creation, it sends up its cry of dependence and of trust toward the Source of its birth. Who would dare to hush or hinder that cry? Let the babe be gently satisfied and encouraged, not ignorantly hindered or rudely silenced. The very cry which ignorance would seek to stifle, falls like sweetest music on the parent"s ear. It is the proof of life. It evidences the existence of a new object around which the affections of a parent"s heart may entwine themselves.
All this is plain enough. It commends itself to every renewed mind. The man who could think of hushing the accents of prayer must be wholly ignorant of the precious and beautiful mysteries of the new creation.
The understanding of the praying one may need to be instructed; but oh!
let not the spirit of prayer be quenched. Let the beams of divine revelation, in all their emanc.i.p.ating power, shine in upon the struggling conscience, but let not the breathings of the new life be interrupted. The newly-converted soul may be in great darkness. The chilling mists of legalism may enwrap his spirit. He may not, as yet, be able to rest fully in Christ and His accomplished work. His awakened conscience may not, as yet, have found its peace-giving answer in the precious blood of Jesus. Doubts and fears may sorely beset him. He may not know about the important doctrine of the two natures, and the continual conflict between them. He is bowed down beneath the humiliating sense of indwelling sin, and sees not, as yet, the ample provision which redeeming love has made for that very thing, in the sacrifice and priesthood--the blood and advocacy of the Lord Jesus Christ. The joyous emotions which attended upon the first moments of his conversion may have pa.s.sed away. The beams of the Sun of Righteousness may be hidden by the heavy clouds which arise from within and around him. It is not with him as in days past. He marvels at the sad change which has come over him, and well nigh doubts if he were ever converted at all.
Need we wonder that such an one should cry mightily to G.o.d? Yea, the wonder would be if he could do aught else. How, then, should we treat him? Should we teach him not to pray? G.o.d forbid. This would be to do the work of Satan, who, a.s.suredly, hates prayer most cordially. To drop a syllable which could even be understood as making little of an exercise so entirely divine, would be to fly in the face of the entire book of G.o.d, to deny the very example of Christ, and hinder the utterance of the Holy Ghost in the new-born soul. The Old and New Testament Scriptures literally teem with exhortations and encouragements to pray. To quote the pa.s.sages would fill a volume. The blessed Master Himself has left His people an example as to the unceasing exercise of a spirit of prayer. He both prayed Himself and taught His disciples to pray. The same is true of the Holy Ghost in the apostles. (See the following pa.s.sages; Luke iii. 21; vi. 12; ix. 28, 29; xi. I-13; xviii.
I-8; Acts i. 14; iv. 31; Rom. xii. 12; xv. 30; Eph. vi. 18; Phil. iv. 6; Col. iv. 2-4; I Thess. v. 17; 2 Thess. iii. I, 2; I Tim. ii. I-3; Heb.
xiii. 18; James v. 14, 15.)
If my reader will look out and ponder the foregoing pa.s.sages, he will have a just view of the place which prayer occupies in the Christian economy. He will see that disciples are exhorted to pray; and that it is only disciples who are so exhorted. He will see that prayer is a grand prominent exercise of the household of G.o.d, and that he must be of that household to engage in it. He will see that prayer is the undoubted utterance of the new life; and that the life therefore must be there to utter itself. He will see that prayer is an important part of the Christian"s privilege; and that it enters in no wise in the foundation of the Christian"s peace.
Thus, he will be able to put prayer in its proper place; and how important it is that it should be so put! How important it is that the anxious inquirer should see that the deep and solid foundations of his present and everlasting peace were laid in the work of the Cross, nineteen centuries ago! How important that the blood of Jesus should stand out before the soul in clear and bold relief, in its solitary grandeur, as the alone foundation of the sinner"s rest! A soul may be earnestly seeking and crying for salvation, and all the while be ignorant of the great fact that it is ready to his hand--that he is actually commanded to accept a free, full, present, personal, and eternal salvation--that Christ has done all--that a br.i.m.m.i.n.g cup of salvation is set before him, which faith has only to take and drink for its everlasting satisfaction. The gospel of G.o.d"s free grace points to the rent vail--the empty tomb--the occupied throne above. (Matt. xxviii; Heb. i. and x.) What do these things declare? What do they utter in the anxious sinner"s ear? Salvation! salvation! The rent vail, the empty tomb, the occupied throne, all cry out, salvation!
Reader, do you really want salvation? Then why not take it, as G.o.d"s free gift? Are you looking to your own heart or to Christ"s finished work for salvation? Is it needful, think you, to wait that G.o.d should do something more for your salvation? If so, then Christ"s work were not finished; the ransom were not paid. But Christ said "_It is finished_,"
and G.o.d says, "I have found a ransom" (Job x.x.xiii. John xix.). And if _you_ have to do, say, or think aught, to complete the work of salvation, then Christ would not be a whole, a perfect Saviour. And, further, it would be a plain denial of Rom. iv. 5, which says, "To him that _worketh not_, but believeth on Him that _justifieth the unG.o.dly_, his faith is counted for righteousness." Take heed that you are not mixing up your poor prayers with the glorious work of redemption, completed by the Lamb of G.o.d on the cross. Prayer is most precious; but, remember, "without faith it is impossible to please G.o.d" (Heb. xi. 6); and if you have faith, you have Christ; and having Christ, you have ALL.
If you say you are crying for mercy, the word of G.o.d points you to mercy"s copious stream flowing from the finished sacrifice. You have all your anxious heart can want in Jesus, and He is G.o.d"s free gift to you just as you are, where you are, _now_. If you had _to be_ aught else but what you are, or _to go_ anywhere else from where you are, then salvation would not be "by grace, through faith" (Eph. ii. 8). If you are anxious to get salvation, and G.o.d desires you should have it, why need you be another moment without it? It is all ready. Christ died and rose again. The Holy Ghost testifies. The word is plain. "_Only believe._"