THE DAY OF REST. A Repeated Question and its Answer.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 311, 27 October 1888, Page 5

THE DAY OF REST. A Repeated Question and its Answer.

BV PASTOR Y. K. MAKSK, SUNDERLAND. "Is anything too hard for tho Lord?" (Gen. "Is anything too liavd for the Lord?"' (Jer. xxxii. 27.) •Is There nothing too ham foy Thoe, (Jer. xxxii, 17) " I wish some day you would give me an outline cm Jer. xxxii. 57, 'Is anything too hard for Uie Lord V or, in other words, th 0 possibilities of faith. I want n firm grasp of that subject, a simple bdief bhixb God can work wonders yet unknown in a heart possessed by Him." So wrote a lady friend recently, and the reply we gave was, "All things are possiblo with God and those that believe," adding:, " That God's> possibilities do nob do away with our responsibilities."' Faith without Christ as its sole object is false. Faith without the warrant of God's Word is presumption. We see this al< a glance if we compare Israel and Pharaoh at the Red Sea. Israel had the Word of God to go forward, and they passed through the l\ed Sea, but the Egyptians had no word to follow, and they were overthrown in consequence. This is by way of caution, because men are talking about acting in faith when they have no warrant from God's Word ; but, on the other hand, when we have God's Word for any tinner, do not doubt Him, or limit Him by want of faith. Wo bhall iind that all the Old Testament saints who are commended for their faith acted on the authority of God's Word. We may be sure of this, what God has promised He will perform. Faith, mighty fai'h, the prouiiso &cis, And looks to God alone. Laughs at impossibilities, And cries, It shall be done. " Is anything too hard for the Lord?"' Twice this is put in tho form of a question by God Himself, and once the prophet u&cs it in speaking to God in prayer. If we take the marginal reading of Jer. xxxii. 17 of the Authorised Revised Versions we get two other readings — " Is anything too hard for the Lord ?' (Gen. xviii. 14 ; Jer. xxxii. 27). '•Nothing is hid from Thee" (A.V. margin, Jer xxxii. 17. ) "There is nothing too wonderful for Thee" (R.V. margin, Jer. xxxii. 17). Now in looking at these Scriptures the following thoughts have been suggested to us :—: — 1. A spur to the Christian worker to encourage himself in the Lord. 2. A stimulus to the believer to simply trust in the Lord. 3. A searching word to the unsaved. 4. A sure word to the anxious. 5. A solemn word to the unconcerned. I. A spur to the Christian worker to encou> aye himself in the Lord. — Very often the worker is apt to bo discouraged, and there is a good deal to discourage us if we look arouna us at the coldness of professing Christians, the little veal Sciiptural and spiritual work, the fake doctrine being preached, and the sway of sin over the minds and lives of the people ; but while it 13 well we should be cognizant of these facts, and also know io will be so in the latter days from the Word of the Lord, yet we must not look around on these, but look to Him, who bids us to be strong and of good courage. For He will assuredly accomplish His own purpose, and we need not fear that the ark of the Lord will fall, although the oxen stumble or put our hand to protect it. If we take note of what the wicked say, we shall be discouraged even as Elijah was when he ran away and stretched himself under the juniper tree and asked the Lord to let him die, and all because a woman had threatened to take his life. If we look to our own weakness we shall be discouraged, a3 Moses was when the Lord told him to go and speak to Pharaoh. He looked to his stammering tongue and began saying thai he could not speak ; it should have been sufficient for him that the Lord told him to go. If we look to our resources we shall be discouvaged, and say with Andrew, when he saw the multitude to be fed find the supply, ' Five barley loaves and two ."mall fishes, but what are they amon^ so many V If we note our surroundings we shall be alarmed, as Gideon was. When the Lord told him what he would do, he began to look at his family and his circumstances, and met the Lord with his vocabulary of unbelief. Oh ' If! Why! Where! Wherewith ! Behold ! If we listen to man we .shall be disqualified to meet our enemies. Even a? David when at the bidding of Saul he pub on his armour, we shall not be fitted to tio-ht and serve. If we trust to moans, and not in God, vvc shall be like Elisha's staff in Gehazi's hand, when he laid it on the dead boy. We must, like Elisha, have contact with God, then dead sinners shall rise. It we rest on each other we shall be discouraged even as the father who brought his son to the disciples for them to cast out the demon, and they could not because of their unbelief. The one thing for us is to look to the Lord. "Is anything too hard ior the Lord ?" When there vva^ no heaven and no earth He made them out of nothing. Ho spake, and the heavens appeared, and their glory, the stars with their magnitude, tho moon with its splendour, and the sun with its magnificence. He holds up the world in space, yea, all things by the woid of His power, and clothes the earth with beauty. When the earth was a chaos, God had only to speak the word, and light and order appeared. Man and his sin may seem an insurmountable barrier, but God had provided for man's sin before he had sinned, for Christ is the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world. Never such a thing before that a man should go to heaven without dying, but in the case of Enoch we see the possibility of faith and God. Sarah's dead body and Abraham's old age cannot hinder God's purpose, He can bring life out of death. The Red Sea may be a difficulty to Israel, bufc since God holds the waters in the hollow of His Hand, if we may &ay it with reverence, He had only to lift up His little finger and the sea is divided, and it thus gives an opportunity to show what God will do. It was an utter impossibility that those thousands of Israelites could be supplied, says reason, by God in the wilderness," bub what does the Word say? " Yea, forty years didst Thou sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing : their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not." What fools those Israelites seemed to think that the walls of Jericho would fall down at the blowing of rams' horns, bufc God, because Israel was obedient and believing, honoured His word to them by rasing the walls of Jericho to the ground. Jehovah means the One who always is, always was, and always will be, the self-existing and almighty One. " Who is." Is ! Is ! ! Is !! ! The self- . existing, unchanging One. He is depen-

dent upon none, and therefore Divinely sufficient for all. Every breath Aye draw speaks out this fact, every throb of the pulse speaks out the same, and every heart beat says amen. The twitter of the birds, the lowing of the cattle, the bleating of the sheep, the beauty of the butterfly, the glory of the flowers, the corn with its eolden grain, the dewdrop upon the blade of grass, the ripple of the brook, the roar of the ocean, the gontle breeze, the rushing wind, the lightning's flash, the thunder's boom, the pelting rain, the biting frost, the star's twinkling at night, the moon in its brightnoss, the sun in its spleudour, life with its joys and disappointments, and death with its sorrows and release, all speak out the truth that God h. How often the Psalmist loves to dwell upon the fact that God is a present help to meet all our need. We well wmember commencing to mark the places in the Psalms where the Lord is said to be such in connection with the words — " The Ijord ii." The following will illusti ate what, wo mean : '• The Lord i* my Shephard " (Psa. xxiii. 1): IC The Lord is my salvation" (Psa. xxvii. I); "The Lord in my shield (Psa. xxvii 7); " The Loid i-i my shade" (Psa. c\xi. 5); "The Lord is my keeper" (Psa. cxxi. 5) ; f( The. Lord h my defence" (Psa. xciv. 9.2) ; "The Lord is my rock " (Psa. xviii. 2). ' Who i* (o come'V The immutability of God ! What a rod- for our feet ! \Vhat a pillow to rest upon ! What a slronyhold for safoty ! What a Jouudation to build upon! W hat a bnlm for our spirits ! What a cordial to revhe us! What a Hi vine reality and certainty to assure us ! The unchanging, ever-living, always fuo, everpresent, all-wise Jehovah. Let us all encourage ourselves in the lord, for there is nolhing too hard for Him. 11. A stimulus to (he bdiercr to simply (rust in th Lord. When we think what the Lord has done for others ifc is a stimulus for us to trust Him to do the same for us, and more so when we have His promise to do it. It matters not how difficult the ca;C, how peculiar the circumstances, or how deep the need, it-, is all met by " Is anything too hard for the Lord V" We may be tried as Abraham was when the Lord told him to take his son Isaac and offer him up as a burnt-offering, but if we trust Him we shall prove as ho did that the Lord is Jehovah-Jireh. Things may &eem against us as they seemed against Joseph when he was sold and put into the prison, but all that seemed against him was but cairying out God's purposes, and hence they were for him, and so shall we find. As one has said, ' Christ never allows any faithful servant of His to suffer loss, but He turns that loss to great gain.' * God always honours faithful servants, and comforts persecuted ones. ' Is your temper so stubborn that you cannot tame it? Is your heart so foolish that you cannot make it wise? Aie your thoughts so wandering that you cannot concentrate them ? Is the old desire for some besetting sin so strong that you almost give way to it at times, yea, further, like Israel hankering after the flesh pots of Egypt, you desire the thing you detest? Is the temper too hard for the Lord ? The heart so loolish, that He cannot teach ? Cannot He fix the thoughts and drive out the desire ? Christ puts the same question to you that He put to the two blind men : "Believe ye that 1 am able to do this V" Shall your answer be the same as theirs, "Yea. Lord?" 111. A searchiuij word to the unsaved. " Nothing is hid from Thee" (margin A. Y. Jer. xxxii. 17). IWiat you are is not hidjrom Him. You may cover yourself, as Adam did, with the fig leaves of your self-righteousness, but yon are open and naked in his sight, you cannot hide from Him. You may talk as Balaam did, but God knows you, as well as He did him to be an hypocrite. You may profess as Simon Magus did, but God knows you to be in the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity. God wants you to know what ycu are, namely, a lost hell-desen ing sinner ; one who is wrong, and therefore docs wrong, one who is polluted, and therefore pollutes ; one who is a sinner, and therefore sins, one who is flesh, and therefore is lleshly : ono wlio is impotent, and therefore is unable to do anything to save himself. What you have done is not hidfiom Him. There is not a single sin but what he knows it. Sins of omission and commission, sins of thought and action, sins against God, sins against others, sins against yourselves, sins in the home, sins in the business, sins in the work, and sins in the street. You may not call your sins, sins : ' tricks in trade " you may call it when you rob your customer, but God calls it robbery, and an abomination ; you live ior self and say you are looking after number one — remember, God calls it idolatry. All the sins you have committed are known to God, and, unless thej' arc pardoned, will be so many witnesses to condemn you hereafter, and whips to lash yon. Wh&f you desei ye is not hid from Him. Having broken His law, you deserve to have the sentence executed upon you ; having Binned, you are guilty ; having offended His justice, you descise wrath; having preferred the world, you deserve to uo to the company of him who is the god ot it ; having chosen your own way, you deserve to bear the cousequence — death ; and you cannot say a .single word or give a single reason why what you deserve should not be passed upon you. What /he difficulties were, were not hidfiom Him as to providing salvation. Sin must be punished, the curse of a broken law must be borne, justice must be satisfied, sin must be removed, penalty must be paid. God Himself has met these difficulties, for He has given His Son who has borne the punishment due to sin, been mado a curse, satisfied justice, puL away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. "Is anything: too hard for the Lord ?' May we say it, the hardest thing that God ever had to do was to settle the question of sin, and to give up His Son to die for the sinner. When God would make a world, He did it by a word, but when ho would provide salvation for the lost, He had a work to do. j What the hindrance on, your part to accepting Christ is not hid from Him. We well remember speaking to a young person at tho j close of a meeting, and we plainly saw that j there was something that was keeping her from decision, and at last we asked her if it was so. She replied by asking the following questions :— " Can I have Christ and dancing?" We replied by asking, "Can you have Christ and dancing ?" ' ' No," she said. " Well, you have answered your own i question." She decided for Christ, and turned her back on the world. Whatever hinders you from accepting Christ and giving yourself to Him let it go, as Bartimauis did the garment that hindered him from coming to Christ. IV. A sure icord to the anxious. "Is anything too wonderful for Me?" (margin R. Y. Jeiemiah xxxii, 17.) You may fool that you have no feeling ; you may feel dead and dark ; you may feel weak and wandering ; you cannot pray or promiso ; your case is expressed in the following lines : — I -would bufc cannot sing ; J would but cannot pray ; For Satan meets mo when I try, and frights my soul away. I would, but can't ropent, though I endoavour oft;

This stony heart can ne'er relent, till Jesus makes it soft. I would but cannot lo?o, though wood by love Diviao ; No arguments hnvo power to movoa soul so bnso as mine. I would, but cannot rest in God's most holy will ; 1 know what He appoints is best, yet murmur 1 at it still, Oh, could I but bcUeA r o! then all would easy be : 1 would, but cannot, Lord relieve, My iielp must como from Thee. Now look at your ploa and you will dud that it is all self, religious self, it is true, bufc that is the worse self. You want bo be saved for your repenting sake, for your praying sake, for your believing sake ; bub the Lord saves only ior His own sake. Look nofc on those efforts of thine own, but to the Son of God. .Remember what Ho did here on earth, and what Ho has done for others ; wonderful things, indeed, but nob too wondoiful for Him. He raised the dead, healed the .sick, opened the blind eyoc, unstopped deaf ears, unloosed stammering tongues, straightened crooked ones, released bound ones, and g-ave doliverance to demon-possessed oues. But the most wonderful of all His mirae'es i? when He makes a sinner into a saint ; when He makes a bloody Manasseh into a bright gem of Hii grace ; persecuting Saul into praying Paul ; demon-possoa&ed Maiy into devoted Mary ; a curbing ma'efactor into a companion to go with .Him to Paradise. This should be an encouragement to you. Look not to your faith, but to the Loid. Remember, Israel, en the night of the Passover, were safe because they were sheltered by the blood, and were *urc of it because they had the word of God for it, for He said, '"When I s-ce the blood 1 will pass over you." "Will He take mo?" said a young man who had been boeking Him for eight months, and goiny from meeting to meeting trying to find Him. Wo leplied, "That is noo the question, Will i/ov take Him'] that i:< the point just now.'' "Oh ! 1 see. Yes, 1 will." Now, anxious one, you have a .sure God who paves, a sure foundation in Christ, and a sure word of promise. Look lo Him ior life, and then look at Him for likeness — lo be like Him. Y. ,4 sjUihh word to (he uuronternul. Many years ago, a gipsy, guilty of a great eiime, was standing before a judge, who pronounced the sentence of death according to the law. The criminal was horrorstricken, for he had ne\er believed that it would come to this, and, falling on his knees, he asked metcy. " I cannot, alter the sentence," was the calm reply. The criminal ciied out most piteously, " 0, my lord, save my life!" '' 1 eannofc,"' was the calm leply. His young wife, with her child in her arms, was in the court, and, looking towaids her the prisoner cried out again, "Do, my lord, do, ior God's sake ! for my -wife's sake! for my baba's sake, do save 'my lite ! ' But the judge solemnly replied, " l r ou should have thought on all the consequences before,'' and lu-ing up, gave the ordei that the man should be led to his cell. "Is anything too hard for the Lord V Men are saying that it is impossible for Ciod, who is Love, to condemn a soul, Lo send lb to eternal darkness. If .^ouls are eternally lost it is their own fault and choice ; but be aspured of this, He who could scatter His people Israel and give them up to captivity because of their sin will assuiedly see that those \Uio reject the Son of (lod, and trample beneath their feet the blood of Christ, who do not accept the Gospel, and who do despite to the spirit of Grace, and die in that condition, will certainly be for e\cr banished iiom the presence of God, from the bliss of heaven, to the blackness ot hell. Arouse thee sinner, to see thyself as a lost oue in the light of God's throne and His Word, sec the atonement Christ has made and believe in Him now, and you shall get the benefit of His work, and then live to His glory and labour for His cau&e.