recklessness, and indifference to possible happenings, is wrong. You
hear persons say, 'Oh, never mind; what does it matter? Don't fash or
bother yourself.' But such expressions often spring from pure
selfishness, and sometimes exhibit a sinful disregard for the happiness
of other people. Nothing makes it right to ease yourself at the expense
of others, or to shirk burdens by shifting them to other shoulders.
Some are clever at that, but such action may be positively sinful. On
the other hand, God can deliver us from that anxious care and
foreboding and unrest with which so many good people are afflicted.
Oh, my friends, can you not learn to come to God as the Apostle
directs, making known your requests in 'prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving'? for then 'the peace of God which passeth all
understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ'.
We need far more trust in the providence of our Heavenly Father. What
needless pain we suffer! what agonies of mind we endure! what clouds
hang above and around us! because we do not trust Him in respect of the
circumstances of life.
There are those even who are trusting God to forgive their sins and
save their souls, who yet will not trust Him to carry them through a
difficulty in ordinary life and association, or help them with their
bread and butter. The fact is, they doubt God's personal interposition
in the affairs of men; consequently, their affairs get muddled, and
their hearts and minds are disturbed, often to distraction. No truth is
more plainly taught than that God does interpose. 'In all thy ways
acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.' 'The steps of a good
man are ordered by the Lord.' 'Who is he that shall harm you if ye be
followers of that which is good?' 'No weapon that is formed against
thee shall prosper.'
I know that distrust and doubt can erect all sorts of difficulties, and
perhaps none is more common and specious than what is called by the
sceptical men 'the logic of proportion'. This argument says, 'In a
universe so vast, what is man? As a speck of dust is to a planet, and
as a star is to the vast universe, so is man to the world in which he
lives'. Well, it certainly is not strange that the mind should stagger
at the thought of the Creator of the universe putting His hand to the
management of the details of a human life. And yet God's truth in the
Bible completely wipes out this so-called 'logic of proportion'.
Let us look at a familiar illustration used by our Master of God's
minute care for those who fully trust and follow Him. One able man has
called what I am referring to 'the doctrine of the odd sparrow'.
Matthew records how, on one occasion, Jesus said, 'Are not two sparrows
sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall to the ground
without your Father'. But, turning to Luke, we find a slight variation
in what Jesus said, 'Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and
not one of them is forgotten before God'. Now, do you see the point of
Luke's putting of it? It is as if the dealer had said to the buyer,
'Look here, you want a farthing's worth of sparrows. Well, you can have
two; but, if you will buy two farthingsworth, I will _throw the odd
one in for nothing_'. Two for a farthing; five for a halfpenny.
But see; of that odd sparrow thrown in as hardly worth counting, Jesus
said, 'Not one of them is forgotten before God. Not one shall fall to
the ground without your Father. Are ye not of more value than many
sparrows?' Now, in the light of that illustration, turn once more to
the Apostolic message, 'Be careful for nothing', and I think you will
find good reason for believing the promise, 'The peace of God shall
keep your hearts through Jesus Christ'.
Before leaving this matter of worry, I suggest that we look well to
find the cause of the trouble; for, alas! it is not unfrequently the
case that care or undue anxiety arises from positive sin in the heart.
Some of you worry in respect of your position in life as compared with
other people's; but are you sure that some of this fratch and distress
does not arise from feelings of envy, or jealousy, or discontent?
Others may worry because of comparative poverty, but is it not often
pride or ambition concerning yourselves or your children, and a desire
to be level with your neighbours, which causes the trouble? You worry,
perhaps, because people cross your purposes and upset your plans and
irritate you needlessly; but is not the secret really that you resent
interference, and want to have your own way? Now, before blaming your
circumstances, I suggest you have a thorough self-examination, for it
may be that the inward trouble is due to unbelief, selfishness,
ambition, pride, or some other form of heart sin, and that evil must be
dealt with before perfect peace can prevail.
May I come very close to you, and ask, Is it not true of some that, far
from being kept by the peace of God which passeth all understanding,
you are in a condition, an attitude of mind, which distinctly hinders
the enjoyment of such a blessing? Some, I fear, have not got even as
far as saying, 'Being justified by faith, I have peace with God'. There
is some sin, some indulgence, which God is against; and as rebellion
and peace are opposed to each other, you cannot have guidance and peace
and spiritual blessings until you cast yourselves at the mercy-seat,
and take Christ as your Saviour.
Again, it may be some point of controversy. Something in regard to your
circumstances, or your consecration, or even your inward condition; you
refuse or hesitate to obey God's call, and follow the light. God has
not left you to yourselves, but the Spirit is grieved by your
unwillingness; and the result is, that you have conflict in your
hearts, clouds in your sky, and failure in your lives.
Take it from me, that you cannot have this deliverance which the
Apostle describes, this keeping power and peace, unless the will of God
is supreme in your heart. Controversy must be given up, the full
surrender made, and then you must trust yourselves and your lives in
God's hands. If this is done, and the Apostolic direction followed,
then you will be able to sing--
_Careless through outward cares I go,
From all distraction free;
My hands are but engaged below,
My heart is still with Thee._
XX
An Appeal and a Response
'_I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who
will go for Us? Then said I, Here am I; send me! And He said, Go._'
(Isaiah vi. 8, 9.)
The incident with which these words are connected was a real mosaic in
sacred history. You have the record of a vision which was not a dream
but a revelation--a panorama of actualities. The background of this
vision might well absorb our attention. The temple and the glory which
filled it; the throne and Him who sat thereon; the seraphim, with their
wings and ascriptions of Holiness. The atmosphere was, indeed, electric
with the presence of God and the angelic host.
Isaiah, the solitary human figure in the scene, was overawed with the
glorious majesty of the Divine character; shame at the revelation of
his own impurity overwhelmed him. He rightly felt that he was a blot
upon this temple scene, but the Divine touch of the living fire
transformed him, and prepared him for that which was to follow.
Analyse this conversation, and you see three things standing in a most
natural order:--
First. An Appeal sounds out: 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for
Us?'
Second. A Response is made to that Appeal: 'Here am I; send me'.
Third. A Commission was given: 'And He said, "Go"'.
Now this conversation was not only important and imperative as regards
Isaiah and his circumstances, but in its application to ourselves and
our surroundings. I think we shall get some blessing and inspiration
for duty if we consider the three facts as they stand.
1. _The nature of the appeal was a very simple one._ The Lord wanted a
suitable representative to stand for Him among a sinful, backslidden
people.
Isaiah was already supposed to fill that position--at any rate, on
special occasions; but he was so much like the people themselves that
in the ordinary way his religion had little weight with them. No doubt
he felt the honour and privilege of being a prophet when a special
message had to be sent, but he hardly realized the high purpose of his
mission, and maybe his cry, 'Here am I; send me', was a pleading for
another chance to better represent His Lord.
The same appeal, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?' is
sounded in our ears to-day. There are certain aspects which I would
like you to note. _It was an appeal based upon a great need._ Then,
as now, the people were without God; indifferent to His claims, few
of them with any experimental knowledge of His Salvation, and,
consequently, having no hope in the world. And in these respects God
wanted a man who would arouse the people, assert His claims, and lead
them back to His service.
Believe me, the world's need to-day is a deep and terrible one. I need
hardly enlarge upon it. You know it, because samples of it are at your
door and around you. But do not forget that the deepest need of the
people lies in their lack of knowledge of God and that Salvation which,
after all, is the panacea for human woe.
We live in days when the practical aspects of religion are most
emphasized. The social conditions and physical needs of the poor people
are regarded as affording a sphere for Christ-like effort quite as much
as is the preaching of the Gospel. Bread, not creed; relief as well as
pity; material improvements in place of missions and Gospel addresses
and such-like are demanded on every hand. God forbid, however, that the
doing of these things should be regarded as quite sufficient.
There are humanitarian considerations, and we must not ignore them.
Squalor, poverty, debauchery, harlotry, oppression, war, and ignorance
are existing evils which must have attention. We must not be so taken
up with the souls as to neglect the temporal, social, and physical
needs of our fellows. But the deepest wail of want and woe which comes
from the world is not to be met by bread, or sovereigns, or sanitation,
or education, or more equal conditions of life. It is the absence of
God and eternal hope which gives the deepest and most sorrowful tone to
the world's bitter cry.
This was also _an appeal for human help_. I do not know why God has so
tied Himself up as He has, but it is a fact. Although angels are
available, and the direct operations of His Spirit would be almighty,
His plan is to get His will made known by one man telling another. Men
to save men; men to help men; that seems to be God's method, and He
appeals now, as before, 'Who will go for Us?'
2. The second point I named was _the response to the Divine appeal_:
'Here am I; send me'. Cannot that be repeated in various directions
among us? Thank God for the responses already made, and but for which
dark and hopeless, indeed, would be human hearts and places which have
been illuminated by the light of God's Salvation. But, Oh, for more
ready and larger responses to the appeal which is ever sounding in our
ears!
Isaiah's response was a _voluntary_ one. Some people are like the horse
whom his owner said had only two faults; one, that he 'took such a lot
of catching', and the other that 'he would not work when he was
caught'. Others have to be disciplined and broken by trouble before
they fall in line with God's will. But why should not every one who
names our Lord's name cry out with a ready spirit, 'Here am I, Lord;
send me'?
This was also _a response without conditions_; or, as we put it, an
unreserved surrender, an unconditional consecration. It is a matter to
rejoice over when men and women express willingness to do any service,
but it is infinitely better when, coming up to the Divine altar, they
say, 'Here am I, Lord; have your own way; do as you will with me;
anything for Jesus--anywhere for Thee'. Have you got there yet? If not,
let that be the advance which you make now, without further bargaining
and reserves.
But _this response came from a heart qualified to make it good_. Ah!
that is the secret of all successful service. Isaiah, cleansed,
sanctified, and touched with Divine Fire, was a different person from
the one who lay grovelling in the dust, and crying, 'Woe is me!' Up to
that moment he was too much like those around him; but now, touched,
baptized, and qualified, he was fit to be God's witness and agent.
That just touches the point where some of you are lacking. You need
this cleansing, this 'unction of the Holy One', or you need it afresh
in the face of the world's crying need. You hold back, you stumble and
often fail; but why? The answer is, you need just what Isaiah got to
qualify him for his mission. You must get this so as to be able to
respond to God's appeal as he did.
3. Then I also spoke of the _Divine commission which followed the
response_. Observe the process, 'Who will go?' 'Here am I.' '_And He
said, Go_'. That is still the line upon which our Lord acts in sending
out His representatives.
We sometimes dwell upon the 'Come's' of the Bible, quoting the Divine
invitations for the encouragement of hesitating souls. May we not with
equal force quote the 'Go's' of the Book as indicating the will of God
concerning our duty?
You remember the Lord's 'Go' to Moses, when, appearing to him in the
burning bush, God set out His plan for Israel's deliverance: 'I will
send thee to bring My people out'. In the same manner the Lord gave
Joshua his marching orders to 'Go over Jordan, and possess the land'.
Paul had a similar experience when the Lord bade him rise and receive
his commission to go to the Gentiles.
Christ's Parable of the Great Feast strikes the same note when the
liberal host sent out his servants, saying, 'Go out into the highways
and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled'.
But the grand chord was sounded out by our Risen Lord when He said to
His disciples, 'Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to
every creature'. That is the commission given to us.
During successive years I have, on behalf of The General, had the
privilege of commissioning from our International Training Homes
batches of 400 or 500 young men and women who have been trained to be
Officers of The Salvation Army. That is a grand annual contribution
towards the world's Salvation. But the word comes not only to the
leaders of God's hosts, but to every Soldier and follower of Jesus
Christ who is consecrated to His service.
_The Lord's 'Go' means different things to different people._ To some,
the Divine finger points one way; perhaps to a distant field, where
millions lie in the darkness of heathendom, or to Army Officership
somewhere. To others it points to spheres of testimony and work near at
hand. The kinds of places and labour are varied, but the purpose is the
same, and all who go out in obedience in God's name will find His
almighty power behind them and blessings in their train.
I cannot direct you in detail, but in general terms I can say, _Go
where you know God wants you_. Where the streams of sin are sweeping
the people down to damnation and dark despair--go there. Where the poor
people are being ruined by that cup which not only curses now, but at
the last 'biteth like a serpent and stingeth like an adder'--go there.
Where struggling souls are crying for sympathy and help--go there.
Where the youth of our land are being polluted by depraved men and
women among whom they earn their daily bread--go there. Where God seems
unknown, or His claims unheeded for lack of living witnesses--go there.
Go where you may lift up your voice for your Master; go where a helping
hand or kindly words can minister comfort to depressed and hopeless
hearts.
_Hark! for the Master calls,
Child, I have need of thee;
Man in thy pride of strength,
Youth in thy beauteous glee,
Aged and young, and rich and poor,
Trifles and toys no more pursue;
The world is wide, and time is short;
There's work for all to do._
These thoughts have revived in my memory Scott's poem in which he
records an ancient custom found amongst the traditions of Scottish
history. A chieftain desired to summon his clansmen to war in great
urgency. The shrill blast of the bugle called together his immediate
followers, but those at a distance must be summoned by other means.
Before sending out a swift and trusty messenger, the priest was called
and certain rites which had been observed from time immemorial
performed.
A cross was constructed from the branches of the yew tree, and then
held aloft by the priest, whilst he pronounced awful curses on the men
who, at the sight of the signal, failed to obey the summons of their
chief. The cross was then held in the fire until it blazed, was again
uplifted and fresh curses added; then it was plunged in the blood of a
newly-slain sacrifice, and, smoking and reeking with gore, the charred
and bloody cross was given into the hands of a swift messenger, who
leaping away as an arrow sped from a bow, flies along the
mountain-path, and, holding the crimson sign before the eyes of the
clansmen, names the place of assembly, and passes the signal on
throughout the borders.
I have no yew-tree cross, no bleeding sacrifice visible to outward
eyes, but before the eyes of your souls, I lift up the cross of
Calvary, charred by the fires of sin, and reeking with the Blood of the
Divine Victim, and in God's name I charge you to go forth to rescue the
needy souls of men.
_See the brazen hosts of Hell
Art and power employing,
More than human tongue can tell
Blood-bought souls destroying;
Hark! from ruin's ghastly road
Victims groan beneath their load,
Forward, O ye sons of God,
And dare or die for Jesus._
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End of Project Gutenberg's Standards of Life and Service, by T. H. Howard