SUNDAY READING.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 250, 27 November 1909, Page 6

SUNDAY READING.

SERMON PREACHED 11Y REV. J. GUi' , at tho Primitive Methodist Church , last Sunday. 1 Is there no balm in Cilead? Is there ( no physician there? Why, then, is not . the health of the daughter of my people . recovered?— Jeremiah viii., tl. , The prophet Jeremiah asks three questions, and he leaves us, with the 'history of his people before our eyes, to lind the answers. At the time he asked these questions the Jewish nation was' sick nigh unto death, lit was suffering from a complication of disease—corrupt religion, corrupt social life, and bad politics; and when a community is afllieted with such a combination of disorders its condition is desperate. The Jewish people commenced their life in the promised land with the (iod of Abraham as their God, and they became idolaters. They brought with them the law of God, which David said was a lamp unto .is feet and a light unto his path, and they had flagrantly broken it. Their polities were simple, their home and foreign policy was to obey God and mind their own business; but they had distrusted God, and had attempted to take their share in the politics of the day, with the result that Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, was crushing them beneath his mighty hand. Some men might have stood on one side and said, There, I told you so; you have made your bed, now you can lie on it. Jeremiah did not do that, wibi a pity deeper than that of a mother for her sick child on whom she has lavished all her caro and love, Jeremiah asks, Is there no balm in Gilead? Why, then, arc these things so! The balsam of Gilcad was famed for its healing properties, and it became the symbol of the healing power of God. The physician whom Jeremiah enquires about stands for God, who declares, "1 am the Lord that healcth thee." The prophet wanU to know if tilings have drifted into this condition because there was no help for it. What is the answer? Absolutely, and for ever, No. The history of Judali is suggestive. The drama of its national life was only a fragment of man's life throughout the centuries, part of a great who|c, in which we see the old struggle going on between right and wrong—right sometimes asserting itself and spreading its blessings around, and then wrongdoing breaking all up into disorder. We can road in Judan's history, as in an objectlesson, the story of abused privilege, of slighted mercy, of evil communications corrupting good manners, of second chances thrown away, of self-deception, and then irremediable ruin. These things are all there, and we find parallels to them in the life of our own-day. No serious-minded person pretends that the men and women of our time have reached the highest life possible to our pace. There are symptoms of soul sickness which are apparent on every hand. There is something wrong when a man does not read the best booK in the world, the Bible; there is somei thing wrong when he does not want to go to God's house; there is something wrong when he does not pray; there 's something wrong when he gives himself up to the service of mammon and neglects his spiritual lifo. We do not need to wait until some great calamity befalls us, such as a perilous sickness, a business crash, or a foreign invasion. , When God, and holiness, and heaven cease to be real our life has reached a ■ critical phase, the very soul is sick, i Why are these things so? i When we went to school they gave . us, as a copy to write in our booKs, i the words, "Prevention is better than i cure." Alas, the advice comes too late. , We have all sinned' and come short of I the glory of God. ft Is there no remedy? I Soul sickness shows itself in many ways. One man uses the Lord's day for plea- . sure or profit and openly disregards an ; religious ordinances, another cheats, an- . other Ihis, another gives way to drunken- • lies-;, another is unclean; all these are ■, symptoms of the one universal disease . which the Bible calls sin. Now, in nature there are certain I things which have healing properties. Our forefathers have discovered these healing properties, and have placed their experience on record, and these discoveries form the basis of our medical knowledge to-day. Are we to suppo-'e , that God has made provision for the ; healing of our bodies, hut has made none for the healing of our souls? Is [ that what we should expect? There is . a remedy for sin, and it is to be .found in the Bible. That sovereign remedy is i the Grace of God. "Where sh abounded grace did much more abound." "By , grace are ye saved, through faith, and (hat not of yourselves; it is the gift of , God, and not of works, lest any man should boast." The law of God does nol save: it only reveals to us our sill. Like the test tube that the doctor uses , when lie wants to discover the tempera- ,! ture of a patient, the law of God reveals the intensity and aggravation of our sin. "By the law is the knowledge of sin." It is the grace of God that saves. When we acknowledge our sin, and confess it, and give it up, and rely ourselves upon the love, the undescrvea favor—the grace of God, then God in effect says, Dost thou repent of thy sin? Dost thou trust to my mercy? Then 1 forgive. Be healed. The Bible is the record of God's grace. Some people mistake the remedy. They say, Why, here is what God wants us to do: if we keep the commandments il "vill be well with us. But God's Word assures us that "by the deeds of the law shall no flesh living be justified. Tho commandments might 'have done for Adam in Eden, as a means of righteousness, but they do not meet our ease. The commandments' are holy, just, and good, and life would be nobler if all their precepts were carried out. Tue law made known the forbidden path ami the path of safety, but there was something the law could not do: it could not ensure that men would obey it. "What the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh," God's grace ■has done. The sin sickness of the soul is not healed by its observance of the law. Spiritual health comes another way. "Being justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." The obedient life that follows is the evidence that the soul is healed. In the Old Testament the emphasis is placed upon the mercy of God. "Grace" is the New Testament word. 11 is the same thing. "The grace oi God which bringcth salvation to all men hath appeared," and the manifestation of that grace was in Jesus, "by whose stripes we are healed."

I 11. Is there any one to apply ulie remedy': Is there nn physician? Yes. Jesus read from the Scripture roll 'n the synagogue of Xazarol.li lhc„c winds: "The spirit of the Lord is upon me hecause he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the pool'; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted." And when he had finished the reading lie said, 'This day is this scripture fulfilled .n your ears." There is a remedy for thrills of men. and there is a physician who knows how to apply it. The. healer of men came and lived amongst us, and acquainted himself at first hand Willi our disease. He knows not. alone as God all knowing, but as man also, for sin came to Him in manifold temptations, but He did not yield, lie has Suil'ered, being tempted, so that we have a sympathetic healer. Now, Jesus knows all about sin, how it undermines the will, how it. stains tiie heart, how it separates from God, how it spoils our whole nature, but there is one marked feature about Him, and that is His unparalleled optimism. The remedy lie brought was applicable to all, and lie had an unvarying faith m i!s pov.-<-r. The prophet said of Him. "A bruised reed shall He not break, a smokiiii; flax shall He not queilci.' When ii en i.nlv saw ruin, lie saw hope. If any i: mi wa<'beyond the reach of the healing power of Christ, then the mini put himself there. And there were some who did. They said, "lie hath a devil, and is mad. Why hear ye him?" They are the one exception. And iu Murk's gospel, chapter Hi., v. 28 to 30, Jesus says: "Verily I say unto yon, All their sins shall be forgiven unto the sons "I men, and their lilaspheniies wherewith they shall blaspheme: but .whosoever | shall blaspheme against tho Holy Spirit 'liat'li never forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin, because they said, lie hatih an unclean spirit." Tho soul's cure depends upon the Willingness and sincerity of tho patient as well as tlie adequacy of the remedy. Christ cannot cure any man unless he willingly and sincerely puts himself into His hands. Why, your own doctor cannot do that. If you won't call him in when you are sick, if you won't take the medicine lie sends, and eat the food he prescribes, and do what ho tells you, he can do nothing for you. There was a hoy in one of our public institutions who was being treated for some complaint. He got better, and then, to the disappointment of the doctor and the nurse, went back again. The same thing occurred again; then they watched and they discovered that he 'got some other boy to buy him from the confectioners some of those toothsome delicacies ot ■which, boys are so fond, and he ate them. This was against orders, and it explained Jiow he tvont back. Where w« some people- who would like '

the blessings and joys of spiritual Jjealth, but they don't seem willing m phtco themselves fully into tlio hands of tho Physician of Men and to follow lfis I directions. He says, "Deny yourself," and they want to indulge self. How can there be spiritual health unless Christ's instructions are followed? There are contradictions iu life that no one can reconcile. "Ye cannot serve God and mammon." No man can indulge himself in all the desires of the flesh and oi the mind, and at the same lime attain a healthy spiritual life. Your own medical man will tell you that, there arc things you must not eat and drink, that thero are indulgences you must not allow yourself if you would have perfect mental and physical health, .mere is a remedy for our sickness, and there is a physician for the soul. ill. Why, then, is any one still sinsick? We see advertisements in the papers and on the covers of the magazines about some medicine that U warranted to cure all the ills that llcsh is heir to, and you meet with some sulfering friend, and you ask, Did you ever try such U7id such a remedy for your complaint? And sometimes the answer comes back, lea, I tried it, but it did not do me much good. Cod has provided a remedy which is universal. Wherever it is applied u works in the same way, whether in China or India, or the islands 01 the Pacific, or the Homeland, or the uttermost part of the earth. ...en a man trusts himself to the grace of God in Christ Jesus it Saves him. And the centuries make no difference. Whether it be under the ministry of the apostles who personally knew our Lord, or whether in the Dark Ages, or in these hitter days, the Gospel of Christ is the power of Cod unto salvation to every one that bclieveth.

Wo may well ask, then, with Jeremiah, Why is not the health of tho daughter of my people recovered? The answer is, Becauso they won't take the remedy. And why won't they? Some do not think their cnac is so bad; they think it will right itself. No, it never will. Sin ends in ono way only—deterioration and death, if you leave it alone. 'lUie Bible gives us the natural history of sin in the following words: "Each man is tempted when he is drawn away by his own lust and enticed. Then tho lust, when it hath conceived, bearcth sin; and the sin, when it is full grown, bringeth forth death." (James i., 14-15.) Other people think it undignified to openly manifest any religious interest and to humble themselves before God. The great message of John, wno came to prepare -tllic way of the Lord, was "Repent," and he demanded such a repentance as would straighten up their conduct in every phase of life. The first message of Jesus was, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Repent, and believe the Gospel." The apostles preached repentance. "And God now commandcth all men everywhere to repent." \\ hat matter about the comment of the indifferent, when so much is at slake? And there are others who are not sure i that people are much better for having professed to avail themselves of the remedy. There is not much mystery about that. If people do riot do as Christ tells them there is no reasonable prospect of spiritual vitality and health. Christ challenges the religion of mere intellectual assent. "Why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things that I say?" There is no other way for it: a man who would be spiritually sound must put himself into the hands of Jesus as his physician, and must do as Jesus tells him to do. He is not able to heal himself, and a mere intellectual assent that Jesus is the healer of men will not make him whole. He mu«t put his case into Ohrist's hands and follow His instructions.

Jesus said to some of the people oi his day, "Ye will not come to me that ye may have life," and He says so still. And with what an infinite regret He must say it, when wo remember the purpose of his coming into our world. ' 1 am come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." Life and (health are to he had in union with Jesus Christ, and in obedience to His word. Your doctor will tell y!ou that idle people are seldom healthy. Take Christ into your life, Do something to make men better, and you will he healthy in soul, and the glow oi spiritual licalth will thrill through every nerve, and make life a strong, joyful thing. The miracle of Naaman will be worked over again. As Hie washed seven times in Jordan in obedience to the command of God, his leprous' skin came in contact with the healing power of God, and his flesh came again as .the flesh of a little child, and' lie was clean. So if any man will receive the grace ot God in Christ, and will place liimselt without reservation in the tads of the Son of God, he will know that Christ has not failed him, but that he also is made whole.