"On mine Account."
"Put that on mine account."--Philem. 18.
When St. Paul asked Philemon, in a most beautiful letter, to take back
Onesimus, who had run away from him, he said, "If he hath wronged thee, or
oweth thee ought, put that on my account." Onesimus had been a bad servant
to Philemon; and being willing to come back and do better, would not pay
for what he had wronged him in before, and would not pay his old debts.
And he evidently had nothing himself to pay them with. But St. Paul
offered to pay all, so that Onesimus might be received, "not now as a
servant," but as a "brother beloved."
This is an exquisite picture of what the Lord Jesus Christ does. He not
only intercedes for us with Him from whom we have departed, and against
whom we have sinned; but, knowing to the full how much we have wronged
God, and how much we owe Him, He says, "Put that on mine account."
And God has put it all on His account and the account has been paid, paid
in blood. When "the Lord laid on Him the iniquity of us all," Jesus saw
and knew all your sins; and He said, "Put that on mine account."
Oh, what wonderful "kindness and love of God our Saviour!" Let the
remembrance of it be like a silver bell, ringing softly and clearly
whenever you are going to do, or letting yourself feel or think, something
that is not right. "Put _that_ on mine account!" Yes, that sin that you
were on the very edge of committing! that angry word, and the angry
feeling that makes you want to say it; that untrue word, and the
cowardliness which makes you afraid to speak the exact truth; that proud
look and the naughty pride of heart that made it come into your eyes;
Jesus stands by and says, patiently and lovingly, "Put _that_ on mine
account!"
Can you bear that? does it not make you wish, ten times more than ever, to
be kept from sinning against such a Saviour?
"Jesus, tender Saviour,
Hast Thou died for me?
Make me very thankful
In my heart to Thee;
When the sad, sad story
Of Thy grief I read,
Make me very sorry
For my sins indeed."