We would know nothing of the Saviour, nor of the sinner except through
His word. He came to seek and to save that which was lost. Yes, it
was lost, the soul of man. What we know of sin, of Satan, of hell, of
heaven, of repentance, of faith, of justification, of sanctification,
of glorification, we know through His word, and whatever we shall
experience of these blessings, we shall experience through His word.
“I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the
last, which is and was and is to come.” We must be saved through His
word. Job said, “I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that I shall
stand upon the earth at the latter days and though after my skin worms
destroy this body, yet in my flesh will I see God whom mine eyes shall
see for myself and not another.” How did Job get this knowledge? It was
through the Word of God, doubtless spoken to him. And whatever we know
of salvation, of sin, or of the resurrection of the dead, of Heaven
and hell, of eternity, of immortality, we must get it out of the Word
of Christ. I exhort you, therefore, my dear brethren, to have the Word
of Christ dwelling in you richly in wisdom; study it daily, commit it
to memory, put it into practice every hour, turn its precepts into
practice, and you will rejoice in its power to redeem you from your
sins, and to fill your hearts with power, joy and peace. Amen.
Where Is Your Tent?
“And Isaac departed and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar and
dwelt there.”--Gen. 26:17.
Our text is found in connection with a paragraph of peculiar weight and
sublimity. The Israelites in all their wanderings had a high regard
for the Levites. They formed the tribe of Levi, which filled a most
important place in the life of the Israelites. The entire nation and
government was permeated with their influence. They were the officers
and teachers in the synagogue, or Tabernacle. The Tabernacle was the
center of Hebrew life. All the encampments of the Israelites was made
around the Tabernacle. This tent was God’s dwelling place, and whither
the Israelites moved, they followed the Tabernacle, it was not only
their guide but their guard. When on the march they carried it with
them, and when they were at rest they set it up.
It is worthy of note that the Israelites always had a high regard for
their women. These women were thoroughly identified with the history
of this people, and often filled prominent positions. The influence
and power of the Israelitish women is well worth careful study that
we may learn some valuable lessons therefrom. Miriam was very closely
associated with Moses and Aaron. Deborah was a mighty leader of her
people. There were many prophetesses such as Anna at the temple. The
wives of such men as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob exerted a great influence
over these men, for they were women of fine judgment, and highly
developed religious characters. The wife of Abraham was always with him
for “better or worse,” through good and evil report. She was faithful
and efficient as his life-companion. She did not live with him for
ornament or social distinction, but for what she could contribute to
his happiness and success. She made her life, his life; her destiny,
his destiny.
On this occasion of your anniversary, I take this opportunity to call
your attention to the direction in which you are pitching your tent.
We cannot stand still. We choose the place of our tent today, and we
will have to choose the place where we will pitch it tomorrow. Whither
are you going and where are you to pitch your tent? How important these
questions. You are here tonight, with your tears and affection, your
sympathy and smiles, not for show, but that you might hear the Gospel,
and let the world know that you are moving in the right direction,
and that your tent will be pitched nearer Heaven. You are here, as
wives and mothers and sisters, to do your part by the men whom God has
placed you with, and to do your part by the children whom He has given
you. This is what the Gospel teaches and your works and teachings,
your by-laws and Christian characters, as a noble band of workers, all
prove that you are pitched tonight about the Tabernacle of God, and
that when His tent moves you will follow it. Moses tells us that at the
commandment of the Lord the Israelites marched, and at the commandment
of the Lord, they pitched their tents. The cloud of His presence was a
shadow by the day and a light by night. They were safe with this Divine
Leadership.
In the same way He deals with us. He is still present, although not in
the visible cloud, to shade us and give us light, but He is present
in and through Jesus Christ who dwells in our midst. He will look
after you, mothers and sisters, who with tenderness and care will lead
our girls and young women away from the dens of vice and sin, from
brothels of debauchery and licentiousness, into the paths of virtue and
holiness. You will teach them those lessons of dignity and character,
and teach them the spirit and works of our blessed religion, which will
bring them unto God and make them wise unto salvation.
“Isaac pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar and dwelt there.”
He had a reason for so doing. We find that a jealousy had sprung up
between Abimelek, the Philistines, and Isaac and his followers. They
could no longer remain near neighbors. The Philistines had filled the
wells which Abraham had dug in his day, and in many other ways they
were annoying the righteous heart of Isaac.
So there are jealousies today that spring up among God’s people, and
they cause a great deal of trouble. These troubles must be settled in
some way, and the example of Isaac is now and always before us. You
will not wait to carry out the purposes of such evil passions, but will
cause your heart-tent to be pitched in another direction.
You have adopted the Lily for your name. It grows in the valley. It
is the symbol of Christ. It represents beauty and purity. Christ
taught us, consider the lilies, how they grow; they grew in their
loveliness under the sunshine and showers which God sent them. They
fulfilled their mission. The Master told us that Solomon, in all his
glory was not arrayed like one of these simple little flowers, and so
it was, the heart may be so arrayed, but not the body. The lily is an
emblem of the purity of God Himself. You have chosen this name. “The
lilies of the valley,” as your name and title, and it should make
you as the hand-maidens of the Lord, tender, pure, strong, noble,
Christ-like; no anger, jealousy, hatred, and like passions should be
permitted to dwell in your hearts for one moment, and my advice to all
the members present, is that you should go into this or some other
similar society, for these dear sisters have pitched their tents in
the valley of Christianity, and not only that, but thank God, they
are dwelling there. Yes, they have pitched their tent in the valley
among the lilies. They are humble and meek. They are willing to do the
little things for God and humanity. They are willing to be his humblest
servants. They have planted the lilies in their hearts. They are living
like the lilies, I trust.
I compliment and congratulate you for the splendid work which you have
done during the year just closed. Your faith is proven by your works,
and your works are the fruit of the Tree of Life. We shall know the
tree by its fruits. You are devoting your time and energies to God
along new lines of thought and service, and new fields of usefulness
are opening up before you. It is always the case when God’s children
are earnestly seeking to do his will, He will lead them into greater
fields of usefulness. I bid you Godspeed. The army of God is hard
on the march. There are many trials and tribulations, but God is our
Captain, and He will lead us to grand victories.
Abimelek and the Philistines have gone to their place. Moses, the
servant of God, was succeeded by Joshua, and Joshua, by another as
leader, and so God has been marching with His people through all the
ages, leading them from one victory to another, into the very land
of Promise, on the other side of Jordan. Study the history of God’s
people, follow the example of these illustrious leaders, do not fear,
do not fret, but ever march along the Highway of the King. Ever take
the name of Jesus with you. Pitch your tent always in the valley of
Christianity and toward Heaven. Always dwell in the right place, and
move in the right direction, and at last you will wear the white robe
of the righteousness of Jesus Christ your Lord. Let this passage of
Scripture be closely inscribed on your hearts, and Grace be unto you
from Him who was and is and is to come.
“Unto Him who hath loved us and washed us in His blood, and made us
kings and priests, unto God the Father, to Him be glory and dominion
now and forevermore. Amen.”
Christ’s Ascension.
“And it came to pass while he blessed them he was parted from them and
carried into heaven.”--Luke 15:51.
The coming of the Lord to the nations of the earth was not that He
might advertise Himself as a candidate for some high office among the
nations, or in the nation to which he belonged. He came not as the Jews
expected Him, for they were looking for some temporal ruler who would
re-establish their temporal kingdom on the earth. Their idea was that
some man would come and sit on the throne of David. Their dream was
that the Hebrew people would be formed into the most powerful nation
on the earth, and that in some mysterious, some mystic way, this great
feat would be accomplished. God’s own chosen people at that time had
practically no spiritual conception of what the Kingdom of God meant.
The disciples of Christ most frequently misconstrued His teachings on
this subject. The case of Nicodemus is an illustrious example of the
spiritual misconception of the Jews.
Christ came on a special mission, the saving of the lost, the saving
of man. He is therefore represented as the Lamb that taketh away the
sin of the world. When John, the Baptist, saw Him coming towards him,
walking on the shore of the river Jordan, he exclaimed, “Behold, the
Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.” This spiritual work
of Christ is unchanged. He will rule until the kingdoms of this world,
become the kingdom of God.
“He came unto His own and His own received him not,” we read, because
He did not come doing the temporal work which they expected Him to do,
but He came unto His own, and in a grand sense it was through this
coming, that the world has received a true conception of this Kingdom,
and millions of hearts have experienced this Kingdom set up in these
hearts. The Kingdom of God is within you, and as heaven, it will work
in and through you, until you are entirely made spiritual. Christ has
ever been the Light of the Word. He inspired our Pilgrim Fathers; He
was the friend of the poor Samaritans; He sought and saved the needy,
poor and sinning of His day. Indeed, the human founders of His Kingdom
on the earth were the ignorant fishermen of Galilee. The law came
through Moses, but grace and truth by Jesus Christ. His presence, His
revelation, His manifestation, His power, His goodness, thrilled the
angels when they sang, “Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace,
good-will to men.” We are here to laud and to praise Him, and to say
as the Scriptures say, “Blessed is the womb that bare thee and the paps
that gave thee suck.”
Sir Knights, we congratulate you on this noble spirit of acknowledging
the ascension of Jesus Christ. We are here not to talk about the mystic
ties which bind you together as a noble band of brothers, but to honor
and glorify Him who rose from the dead that our life and immortality
might be brought to light. You have come from your asylum to this
tabernacle that you may pay tribute to this ascension, the ascension
day of the King of Kings. As Christ climbed the rugged hill of Calvary
that He might set the captives free so we have climbed, as weary
pilgrims, the holy mount of privilege that we might view the landscape
o’er of our liberty on this and that side of Jordan. Let us raise our
banners and wield our swords for the defense of our country, and our
helpless women and children. Let us be valiant soldiers not only of our
own teaching as knights, but also of the Cross of Jesus Christ. We can
know but one real captain; we can follow but one real leader; we can
march in but one army; we can have but one victory; these are all in
the Kingdom of God.
When Jesus arose from the dead, He met His disciples and blessed them,
and having completed His mission on earth, He went on High, but He
has drilled us as He drilled those disciples; He has left us human
leaders in His name and with His authority, and to us He said, “If ye
would be my disciples, deny yourselves, take up your cross and follow
me.” His work on earth is done, excepting through you and me, the human
agency which He employs. He is doing His work at the right hand of
His Father’s throne that we may be able here, to come off more than
conquerors through Him.
He passed through the scenes of Gethsemane, He died on the cross of
Calvary; He descended into hell or Hades that He might taste death for
every man, and forty days after the resurrection, He ascended on High.
He went up on the pinions of the clouds until they received Him out of
their sight. Then two men stood by the disciples who were gazing into
heaven and said to them, “Why stand ye gazing into heaven, as ye see
Him go up ye shall see Him likewise come down again. You have heard
of Zerubabel, you have met Darius and Cyrus, the Great, you have seen
Jesus Christ ascending; those great men will not return, but Jesus will
come again to take you with Him in the next ascension. He will not come
again as the victim of pagan hostilities or Jewish persecution, but He
is coming without sin unto salvation as the spoiler of the grave, the
conqueror of the world, the hero who conquered hell, and will lead us
to victory over Satan and his forces.”
The Gospel and the Word are preached to you because you dwell in His
secret place; thus you are abiding under the shadow of the Almighty,
stay with Him, fight on through the conflict, the battle may be
fierce, but you shall win. You see the triumph from afar, your faith
is your power. God the All-Glorious One is with you, for remember that
when star will shine no more unto star, and planet cease to revolve
around planet, when flowers fade to bloom no more, the Word of our God
endureth forever. Heaven is His throne and earth His footstool, and we
are His children.
I exhort you therefore to take Him more than ever before, as the Man of
your counsel, the friend that sticketh closer than a brother.
He has gone to prepare a place for you that where He is there ye may be
also.
“Unto Him who hath loved us and washed us from our sins in His own
blood, be glory and dominion now and evermore.”
There is death in the pot.--II Kings 4:40.
In the year 895 B. C., in Syria, a certain woman resided. She was the
wife of Obadiah, a devoted companion, a good, genial spirit; she was
a model wife, but misfortune overtook her, and the bright days of
prosperity and enjoyment passed under the dark clouds of adversity.
The pleasant fragrance from the flowers faded and her husband too had
passed to the bourne from whence none returns.
She is now a widow left to contend against the hard and unsympathizing
world.
“Trouble like a gloomy cloud
Gathered fast and thundered loud.”
Her husband and father was God above. Her old-time friends who knew
and recognized her in her prosperity, now passed her by unnoticed.
Adversity makes a great change in friendship. It renders friends,
strangers, and breaks asunder the dearest ties. These friends were
willing to see her suffer and her children torn from her side and sold
into slavery that her debts might be paid. There was no helping hand,
no money to loan, no salvation from this awful condition, no one to
become her surety, but above all this darkness of night and of cloud,
God was dwelling, and watching. He never forsakes His own, He may seem
to do so, but never, never.
God sent His servant Elisha to her and through him relieved her of
all her troubles. Elisha was a mighty man of God. He had received the
mantle of Elijah and was a student under him. He was full of wisdom
and understanding, going about in the spirit of Jehovah serving the
people, instructing them, leading them to higher life, and making them
acquainted with God and His ways.
Elisha during a famine had the people to gather herbs that their hunger
might be relieved. Among those herbs which were thrown into the pot,
there was some poisonous herb which some one had gathered by mistake,
it too was thrown in. In the boiling of these together, the poison was
spread through the pot. When they began eating the vegetable soup, the
poison was discovered. Elijah was informed and destroyed its bad effect.
It is well for us to note that.