"If one be found slain in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee
to possess it, lying in the field, and it be not known who hath slain
him; then thy _elders_ and thy _judges_"--the guardians of the claims
of truth and righteousness--"shall come forth, and they shall measure
unto the cities that are round about him that is slain; and it shall
be, that the city which is next unto the slain man, even the elders of
that city shall take a heifer, which hath not been wrought with, and
hath not drawn in the yoke; and the elders of that city shall bring
down the heifer unto _a rough valley_ which is neither eared nor
sown, and shall strike off the heifer's neck there in the valley. And
_the priests the sons of Levi_"--exponents of grace and mercy--"shall
come near; for them the Lord thy God hath chosen to _minister_ unto
Him, and _to bless_ in the name of the Lord, and by their word shall
every controversy and every stroke be tried;"--blessed, comforting
fact!--"and all the elders of that city that are next unto the slain
man shall wash their hands over the heifer that is beheaded in the
valley; and they shall answer and say, Our hands have not shed this
blood, neither have our eyes seen it. Be merciful, O Lord, unto Thy
people Israel, whom Thou hast redeemed, and lay not innocent blood to
Thy people of Israel's charge. And the blood shall be forgiven them.
So shalt thou put away the guilt of innocent blood from among you,
when thou shalt do that which is right in the sight of the Lord."
(Ver. 1-9.)
A very suggestive and interesting passage of holy Scripture now lies
open before us, and claims our attention. A sin is committed--a man is
found slain in the land, but no one knows aught about it; no one can
tell whether it is murder or manslaughter, or who committed the deed.
It lies entirely beyond the range of human knowledge; and yet there it
is--an undeniable fact. Sin has been committed, and it lies as a stain
on the Lord's land, and man is wholly incompetent to deal with it.
What, then, is to be done? The glory of God and the purity of His land
must be maintained. He knows all about it, and He alone can deal with
it; and truly His mode of dealing with it is full of most precious
teaching.
First of all, the elders and judges appear on the scene. The claims of
truth and righteousness must be duly attended to; justice and judgment
must be perfectly maintained. This is a great cardinal truth, running
all through the Word of God. _Sin_ must be judged ere _sins_ can be
forgiven or the sinner justified. Ere mercy's heavenly voice can be
heard, justice must be perfectly satisfied, the throne of God
vindicated, and His name glorified. Grace must reign through
righteousness. Blessed be God that it is so! What a glorious truth for
all who have taken their true place as sinners! God has been glorified
as to the question of sin, and therefore He can, in perfect
righteousness, pardon and justify the sinner.
But we must confine ourselves simply to the interpretation of the
passage before us, and in so doing, we shall find in it a very
wonderful onlook into Israel's future. True, the great foundation-truth
of atonement is presented, but it is with special reference to Israel.
The death of Christ is here seen in its two grand aspects, namely, as
the expression of man's guilt, and the display of God's grace. The
former, we have in the man found slain in the field; the latter, in
the heifer slain in the rough valley. The elders and the judges find
out the city nearest to the slain man, and nothing can avail for that
city save the blood of a spotless victim--the blood of the One who was
slain at the guilty city of Jerusalem.
The reader will note with much interest that the moment the claims of
justice were met by the death of the victim, a new element is
introduced into the scene. "The priests the sons of Levi shall come
near." This is grace acting on the blessed ground of righteousness.
The priests are the channels of grace, as the judges are the guardians
of righteousness. How perfect, how beautiful, is Scripture, in every
page, every paragraph, every sentence! It was not until the blood was
shed that the ministers of grace could present themselves. The heifer
beheaded in the valley changed the aspect of things completely. "The
priests the sons of Levi shall come near; for them the Lord thy God
hath chosen to minister unto Him, and to bless in the name of the
Lord; and _by their word_"--blessed fact for Israel! blessed fact for
every true believer!--"shall _every controversy_ and _every stroke be
tried_." All is to be settled on the glorious and eternal principle of
grace reigning through righteousness.
Thus it is that God will deal with Israel by and by. We must not
attempt to interfere with the primary application of all those
striking institutions which come under our notice in this profound and
marvelous book of Deuteronomy. No doubt there are lessons for
us--precious lessons, but we may rest perfectly assured that the true
way in which to understand and appreciate those lessons is to see
their true and proper bearing. For instance, how precious, how full of
consolation, the fact that it is by the word of the minister of grace
that every controversy and every stroke is to be tried for repentant
Israel by and by, and for every repentant soul now! Do we lose aught
of the deep blessedness of this by seeing and owning the proper
application of the scripture? Assuredly not. So far from this, the
true secret of profiting by any special passage of the Word of God is
to understand its true scope and bearing.
"And all the elders of that city that are next unto the slain man
shall wash their hands over the heifer that is beheaded in the
valley."[22] "I will wash my hands in innocency, and so will I compass
Thine altar." The true place to wash the hands is where the blood of
atonement has forever expiated our guilt. "And they shall answer and
say, Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen
it. Be merciful, O Lord, unto Thy people Israel, whom Thou hast
redeemed, and lay not innocent blood unto Thy people of Israel's
charge. And the blood shall be forgiven them."
[22] How full of suggestive power is the figure of "the _rough
valley_"! How aptly it sets forth what this world at large, and the
land of Israel in particular, was to our blessed Lord and Saviour!
Truly it was a rough place to Him, a place of humiliation, a dry and
thirsty land, a place that had never been eared or sown. But, all
homage to His Name! by His death in this rough valley, He has procured
for this earth and for the land of Israel a rich harvest of blessing,
which shall be reaped throughout the millennial age, to the full
praise of redeeming love. And even now, He, from the throne of
heaven's majesty, and we, in spirit with Him, can look back to that
rough valley as the place where the blessed work was done which forms
the imperishable foundation of God's glory, the Church's blessing,
Israel's full restoration, the joy of countless nations, and the
glorious deliverance of this groaning creation.
"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." "Unto you
first, God having raised up His Son Jesus, sent Him to bless you, by
turning away every one of you from his iniquities." Thus all Israel
shall be saved and blessed by and by, according to the eternal
counsels of God, and in pursuance of His promise and oath to Abraham,
ratified and eternally established by the precious blood of Christ, to
whom be all homage and praise, world without end!
Verses 10-17 bear in a very special way upon Israel's relationship to
Jehovah. We shall not dwell upon it here. The reader will find
numerous references to this subject throughout the pages of the
prophets, in which the Holy Ghost makes the most touching appeals to
the conscience of the nation--appeals grounded on the marvelous fact
of the relationship into which He had brought them to Himself, but in
which they had so signally and grievously failed. Israel has proved an
unfaithful wife, and, in consequence thereof, has been set aside; but
the time will come when this long-rejected but never-forgotten people
shall not only be reinstated, but brought into a condition of
blessedness, privilege, and glory beyond any thing ever known in the
past.
This must never, for a moment, be lost sight of or interfered with. It
runs like a brilliant golden line through the prophetic scriptures,
from Isaiah to Malachi, and the lovely theme is resumed and carried on
in the New Testament. Take the following glowing passage, which is
only one of a hundred: "For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and
for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof
go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that
burneth. And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings
thy glory; and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of
the Lord shall name. Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand
of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God. Thou shalt no
more be termed Forsaken, neither shall thy land any more be termed
Desolate; but thou shalt be called Hephzi-bah [My delight is in her],
and thy land Beulah [married]; for the Lord delighteth in thee, and
thy land shall be married. For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so
shall thy sons marry thee; and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the
bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee. I have set watchmen upon
thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor
night: ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence, and give
Him no rest, till He establish, and till He make Jerusalem a praise in
the earth. The Lord hath sworn by His right hand, and by the arm of
His strength"--let men beware how they meddle with this!--"Surely I
will no more give thy corn to be meat for thine enemies; and the sons
of the stranger shall not drink thy wine, for the which thou hast
labored; but they that have gathered it shall eat it and praise the
Lord, and they that have brought it together shall drink it in the
courts of My holiness.... Behold, the Lord hath proclaimed unto the
end of the world, 'Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy
salvation cometh; behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before
Him. And they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the
Lord; and thou shalt be called, Sought out, A city not forsaken.'"
(Is. lxii.)
To attempt to alienate this sublime and glorious passage from its
proper object, and apply it to the Christian Church, either on earth
or in heaven, is to do positive violence to the Word of God, and
introduce a system of interpretation utterly destructive of the
integrity of holy Scripture. The passage which we have just
transcribed, with intense spiritual delight, applies only to the
literal Zion, the literal Jerusalem, the literal land of Israel. Let
the reader see that he thoroughly seizes and faithfully holds fast
this fact.
As to the Church, her position on earth is that of an espoused virgin,
not of a married wife. Her marriage will take place in heaven. (Rev.
xix. 7, 8.) To apply to her such passages as the above is to falsify
her position entirely, and deny the plainest statements of Scripture
as to her calling, her portion, and her hope, which are purely
heavenly.
Verses 18-21 of our chapter record the case of "a stubborn and
rebellious son." Here again we have Israel viewed from another
stand-point. It is the apostate generation, for which there is no
forgiveness. "If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will
not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that
when they have chastened him will not hearken unto them; then shall
his father and his mother lay hold on him and bring him out unto the
elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place; and they shall say
unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious;
he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard. And all
the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die; so shalt
thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear and
fear."
The reader may with much interest contrast the solemn action of law
and government in the case of the rebellious son, with the lovely and
familiar parable of the prodigal son in Luke xv. Our space does not
admit of our dwelling upon it here, much as we should delight to do
so. It is marvelous to think that it is the same God who speaks and
acts in Deuteronomy xxi. and in Luke xv; but oh, how different the
action! how different the style! Under the law, the father is called
upon to lay hold of his son and bring him forth to be stoned; under
grace, the father runs to meet the returning son, falls on his neck
and kisses him; clothes him in the best robe, puts a ring on his hand,
and shoes on his feet, has the fatted calf killed for him, seats him
at the table with himself, and makes the house ring with the joy that
fills his own heart at getting back the poor wandering spendthrift.
Striking contrast! In Deuteronomy xxi, we see _the hand of God_, in
righteous government, executing judgment upon the rebellious; in Luke
xv, we see _the heart of God_ pouring itself out, in soul-subduing
tenderness, upon the poor repentant one, giving him the sweet
assurance that it is His own deep joy to get back His lost one. The
persistent rebel meets the stone of judgment; the returning penitent
meets the kiss of love.
But we must close this section by calling the reader's attention to
the last verse of our chapter. It is referred to in a very remarkable
way by the inspired apostle in the third chapter of Galatians. "Christ
hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us;
for it is written, 'Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.'"
This reference is full of interest and value, not only because it
presents to us the precious grace of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ, in making Himself a curse for us, in order that the blessing
of Abraham might come on us poor sinners of the Gentiles, but also
because it furnishes a very striking illustration of the way in which
the Holy Spirit puts His seal upon the writings of Moses in general,
and upon Deuteronomy xxi. in particular. All Scripture hangs together
so perfectly that if one part be touched, you mar the integrity of the
whole. The same Spirit breathes in the writings of Moses, in the pages
of the prophets, in the four evangelists, in the Acts, in the
apostolic epistles, general and particular, and in that most profound
and precious section which closes the divine volume. We deem it our
sacred duty--as it is most assuredly our high privilege--to press this
weighty fact upon all with whom we come in contact; and we would very
earnestly entreat the reader to give it his earnest attention, to hold
it fast, and bear a steady testimony to it, in this day of carnal
laxity, cold indifference, and positive hostility.
CHAPTERS XXII.-XXV.
The portion of our book on which we now enter, though not calling for
elaborate exposition, yet teaches us two very important practical
lessons. In the first place, many of the institutions and ordinances
here set forth prove and illustrate, in a most striking way, the
terrible depravity of the human heart. They show us, with unmistakable
distinctness, what man is capable of doing if left to himself. We must
ever remember, as we read some of the paragraphs of this section of
Deuteronomy, that God the Holy Ghost has indited them. We, in our
fancied wisdom, may feel disposed to ask why such passages were ever
penned. Can it be possible that they are actually inspired by the Holy
Ghost? and of what possible value can they be to us? If they were
written for our learning, then what are we to learn from them?
Our reply to all these questions is at once simple and direct; and it
is this: The very passages which we might least expect to find on the
page of inspiration teach us, in their own peculiar way, the moral
material of which we are made, and the moral depths into which we are
capable of plunging. And is not this of great moment? Is it not well
to have a faithful mirror held up before our eyes, in which we may see
every moral trait, feature, and lineament perfectly reflected?
Unquestionably. We hear a great deal about the dignity of human
nature, and very many find it exceedingly hard to admit that they are
really capable of committing some of the sins prohibited in the
section before us, and in other portions of the divine volume; but we
may rest assured that when God commands us not to commit this or that
particular sin, we are verily capable of committing it. This is beyond
all question. Divine wisdom would never erect a dam if there was not a
current to be resisted. There would be no necessity to tell an angel
not to steal; but man has theft in his nature, and hence the command
applies to him. And just so in reference to every other prohibited
thing; the prohibition proves the tendency--proves it beyond all
question. We must either admit this or imply the positive blasphemy
that God has spoken in vain.
But then, it may be said, and is said by many, that while some very
terrible samples of fallen humanity are capable of committing some of
the abominable sins prohibited in Scripture, yet all are not so. This
is a most thorough mistake. Hear what the Holy Ghost says in the
seventeenth chapter of the prophet Jeremiah. "_The heart_ is deceitful
above all things, and desperately wicked." Whose heart is he speaking
of? Is it the heart of some atrocious criminal, or of some untutored
savage? Nay; it is the human heart--the heart of the writer and of the
reader of these lines.
Hear also what our Lord Jesus Christ says on this subject.--"Out of
_the heart_ proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications,
thefts, false witness, blasphemies." Out of what heart? Is it the
heart of some hideously depraved and abominable wretch, wholly unfit
to appear in decent society? Nay; it is out of the human heart--the
heart of the writer and of the reader of these lines.
Let us never forget this; it is a wholesome truth for every one of us.
We all need to bear in mind that if God were to withdraw His
sustaining grace for one moment, there is no depth of iniquity into
which we are not capable of plunging; indeed, we may add--and we do it
with deep thankfulness--it is His own gracious hand that preserves us,
each moment, from becoming a complete wreck in every way,--physically,
mentally, morally, spiritually, and in our circumstances. May we keep
this ever in the remembrance of the thoughts of our hearts, so that we
may walk humbly and watchfully, and lean upon that arm which alone can
sustain and preserve us.
But we have said there is another valuable lesson furnished by this
section of our book which now lies open before us. It teaches us, in a
manner peculiar to itself, the marvelous way in which God provided for
every thing connected with His people. Nothing escaped His gracious
notice; nothing was too trivial for His tender care. No mother could
be more careful of the habits and manners of her little child than the
almighty Creator and moral Governor of the universe was of the most
minute details connected with the daily history of His people. By day
and by night, waking and sleeping, at home and abroad, He looked after
them. Their clothing, their food, their manners and ways toward one
another, how they were to build their houses, how they were to plow
and sow their ground, how they were to carry themselves in the deepest
privacy of their personal life,--all was attended to and provided for
in a manner that fills us with wonder, love, and praise. We may here
see, in a most striking way, that there is nothing too small for our
God to take notice of when His people are concerned. He takes a
loving, tender, fatherly interest in their most minute concerns. We
are amazed to find the Most High God, the Creator of the ends of the
earth, the Sustainer of the vast universe, condescending to legislate
about the matter of a bird's nest; and yet why should we be amazed
when we know that it is just the same to Him to provide for a sparrow
as to feed a thousand millions of people daily?
But there was one grand fact which was ever to be kept prominently
before each member of the congregation of Israel, namely, the divine
presence in their midst. This fact was to govern their most private
habits, and give character to all their ways. "The Lord thy God
walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up
thine enemies before thee; _therefore shall thy camp be holy_; that He
see no unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee." (Chap. xxiii.
14.)
What a precious privilege to have Jehovah walking in their midst! what
a motive for purity of conduct, and refined delicacy in their personal
and domestic habits! If He was in their midst to secure victory over
their enemies, He was also there to demand holiness of life. They were
never for one moment to forget the august Person who walked up and
down in their midst. Would the thought of this prove irksome to any?
Only to such as did not love holiness, purity, and moral order. Every
true Israelite would delight in the thought of having One dwelling in
their midst who could not endure aught that was unholy, unseemly, or
impure.
The Christian reader will be at no loss to seize the moral force and
application of this holy principle. It is our privilege to have God
the Spirit dwelling in us, individually and collectively. Thus we
read, in 1 Corinthians vi. 19, "What! know ye not that _your body_ is
the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which ye have of God,
and ye are not your own?" This is individual. Each believer is a
temple of the Holy Ghost, and this most glorious and precious truth is
the ground of the exhortation given in Ephesians iv. 30--"_Grieve_ not
the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of
redemption."
How very important to keep this ever in the remembrance of the
thoughts of our hearts! what a mighty moral motive for the diligent
cultivation of purity of heart and holiness of life! When tempted to
indulge in any wrong current of thought or feeling, any unworthy
manner of speech, any unseemly line of conduct, what a powerful
corrective would be found in the realization of the blessed fact that
the Holy Spirit dwells in our body as in His temple! If only we could
keep this ever before us, it would preserve us from many a wandering
thought, many an unguarded and foolish utterance, many an unbecoming
act.
But not only does the Holy Spirit dwell in each individual believer,
He also dwells in the Church collectively. "Know ye not that _ye are
the temple of God_, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth _in you_?" (1
Cor. iii. 16.) It is upon this fact that the apostle grounds his
exhortation in 1 Thessalonians v. 19--"_Quench_ not the Spirit." How
divinely perfect is Scripture? how blessedly it hangs together! The
Holy Ghost dwells in us individually, hence we are not to _grieve_
Him; He dwells in the assembly, hence we are not to _quench_ Him, but
give Him His right place, and allow full scope for His blessed
operations. May these great practical truths find a deep place in our
hearts, and exert a more powerful influence over our ways, both in
private life and in the public assembly.
We shall now proceed to quote a few passages from the section of our
book which now lies open before us strikingly illustrative of the
wisdom, goodness, tenderness, holiness, and righteousness which marked
all the dealings of God with His people of old. Take, for example, the
very opening paragraph. "Thou shalt not see thy brother's ox or his
sheep go astray, and _hide thyself from them_; thou shalt in any case
bring them again unto thy brother. And if thy brother be not nigh unto
thee, or if thou know him not, then thou shalt bring it unto thine own
house, and it shall be with thee until thy brother seek after it, and
thou shalt restore it to him again. In like manner shalt thou do with
his ass; and so shalt thou do with his raiment; and with all lost
thing of thy brother's which he hath lost, and thou hast found, shalt
thou do likewise; _thou mayest not hide thyself_. Thou shalt not see
thy brother's ass or his ox fall down by the way, _and hide thyself
from them_; thou shalt surely help him to lift them up again." (Chap.
xxii. 1-4.)
Here the two lessons of which we have spoken are very distinctly
presented. What a deeply humbling picture of the human heart have we
in that one sentence, "Thou mayest not hide thyself"! We are capable
of the base and detestable selfishness of hiding ourselves from our
brother's claims upon our sympathy and succor--of shirking the holy
duty of looking after his interests--of pretending not to see his real
need of our aid. Such is man!--such is the writer!
But oh, how blessedly the character of our God shines out in this
passage! The brother's ox, or his sheep, or his ass, was not (to use
a modern phrase) to be thrust into pound for trespass; it was to be
brought home, cared for, and restored, safe and sound, to the owner,
without charge for damage. And so with the raiment. How lovely is all
this! how it breathes upon us the very air of the divine presence, the
fragrant atmosphere of divine goodness, tenderness, and thoughtful
love! What a high and holy privilege for any people to have their
conduct governed and their character formed by such exquisite statutes
and judgments!
Again, take the following passage, so beautifully illustrative of
divine thoughtfulness: "When thou buildest a new house, then thou
shalt make a battlement for thy roof, that thou bring not blood upon
thine house, if any man fall from thence." The Lord would have His
people thoughtful and considerate of others; and hence, in building
their houses, they were not merely to think of themselves and their
convenience, but also of others and their safety.
Cannot Christians learn something from this? How prone we are to think
only of ourselves, our own interests, our own comfort and convenience!
How rarely it happens that in the building or furnishing of our houses
we bestow a thought upon other people! We build and furnish for
ourselves. Alas! self is too much our object and motive-spring in all
our undertakings; nor can it be otherwise unless the heart be kept
under the governing power of those motives and objects which belong to
Christianity. We must live in the pure and heavenly atmosphere of the
new creation in order to get above and beyond the base selfishness
which characterizes fallen humanity. Every unconverted man, woman, and
child on the face of the earth is governed simply by self in some
shape or another. Self is the centre, the object, the motive-spring,
of every action.
True, some are more amiable, more affectionate, more benevolent, more
unselfish, more disinterested, more agreeable, than others; but it is
utterly impossible that "the natural man" can be governed by spiritual
motives, or an earthly man be animated by heavenly objects. Alas! we
have to confess, with shame and sorrow, that we who profess to be
heavenly and spiritual are so prone to live for ourselves, to seek our
own things, to maintain our own interests, to consult our own ease and
convenience. We are all alive and on the alert when _self_, in any
shape or form, is concerned.
All this is most sad and deeply humbling. It realty ought not to be,
and it would not be if we were looking more simply and earnestly to
Christ as our great Exemplar and model in all things. Earnest and
constant occupation of heart with Christ is the true secret of all
practical Christianity. It is not rules and regulations that will ever
make us Christlike in our spirit, manner, and ways. We must drink into
His spirit, walk in His footsteps, dwell more profoundly upon His
moral glories, and then we shall, of blessed necessity, be conformed
to His image. "We all with open face beholding as in a glass [or
mirroring--κατοπτριζόμενοι] the glory, are changed
into the same image, from glory to glory even as by the Spirit of
the Lord." (2 Cor. iii.)
We must now ask the reader to turn for a moment to the following very
important practical instructions--full of suggestive power for all
Christian workers: "Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with _divers
seeds_, lest the fruit of thy seed which thou hast sown and the fruit
of thy vineyard be defiled." (Chap. xxii. 9.)
What a weighty principle is here! Do we really understand it? do we
see its true spiritual application? It is to be feared there is a
terrible amount of "mingled seed" used in the so-called spiritual
husbandry of the present day. How much of "philosophy and vain
deceit," how much of "science falsely so called," how much of "the
rudiments of the world," do we find mixed up in the teaching and
preaching throughout the length and breadth of the professing church!
How little of the pure, unadulterated seed of the Word of God, the
"incorruptible seed" of the precious gospel of Christ, is scattered
broad-cast over the field of christendom in this our day! How few,
comparatively, are content to confine themselves within the covers of
the Bible for the material of their ministry! Those who are, by the
grace of God, faithful enough to do so, are looked upon as men of one
idea, men of the old school, narrow, and behind the times.
Well, we can only say, with a full and glowing heart, God bless the
men of one idea--men of the precious old school of apostolic
preaching! Most heartily do we congratulate them on their blessed
narrowness, and their being behind these dark and infidel times. We
are fully aware of what we expose ourselves to in thus writing, but
this does not move us. We are persuaded that every true servant of
Christ must be a man of one idea, and that idea is Christ; he must
belong to the very oldest school--the school of Christ; he must be as
narrow as the truth of God; and he must, with stern decision, refuse
to move one hair's breadth in the direction of this infidel age. We
cannot shake off the conviction that the effort on the part of the
preachers and teachers of christendom to keep abreast of the
literature of the day must, to a very large extent, account for the
rapid advance of rationalism and infidelity. They have got away from
the holy Scriptures, and sought to adorn their ministry by the
resources of philosophy, science, and literature. They have catered
more for the intellect than for the heart and conscience. The pure and
precious doctrines of holy Scripture, the sincere milk of the Word,
the gospel of the grace of God and of the glory of Christ, were found
insufficient to attract and keep together large congregations. As
Israel of old despised the manna, got tired of it, and pronounced it
light food, so the professing church grew weary of the pure doctrines
of that glorious Christianity unfolded in the pages of the New
Testament, and sighed for something to gratify the intellect and feed
the imagination. The doctrines of the cross, in which the blessed
apostle gloried, have lost their charm for the professing church, and
any who would be faithful enough to adhere and confine themselves in
their ministry to those doctrines might abandon all thought of
popularity.
But let all the true and faithful ministers of Christ, all true
workers in His vineyard, apply their hearts to the spiritual principle
set forth in Deuteronomy xxii. 9; let them, with unflinching decision,
refuse to make use of "divers seeds" in their spiritual husbandry; let
them confine themselves, in their ministry, to "the form of sound
words," and ever seek "rightly to divide the word of truth," that so
they may not be ashamed of their work, but receive a full reward in
that day when every man's work shall be tried of what sort it is. We
may depend upon it, the Word of God--the pure seed--is the only proper
material for the spiritual workman to use. We do not despise learning;
far from it; we consider it most valuable in its right place. The
_facts_ of science, too, and the resources of sound philosophy, may
all be turned to profitable account in unfolding and illustrating the
truth of holy Scripture. We find the blessed Master Himself and His
inspired apostles making use of the facts of history and of nature in
their public teaching; and who, in his sober senses, would think of
calling in question the value and importance of a competent knowledge
of the original languages of Hebrew and Greek in the private study and
public exposition of the Word of God?
But admitting all this, as we most fully do, it leaves wholly
untouched the great practical principle before us--a principle to
which all the Lord's people and His servants are bound to adhere,
namely, that the Holy Ghost is the only power, and holy Scripture the
only material, for all true ministry in the gospel and the Church of
God. If this were more fully understood and faithfully acted upon, we
should witness a very different condition of things throughout the
length and breadth of the vineyard of Christ.
Here, however, we must close this section. We have elsewhere sought to
handle the subject of "The Unequal Yoke," and shall not therefore
dwell upon it here.[23] The Israelite was not to plow with an ox and
an ass together; neither was he to wear a garment of divers sorts, as
of woolen and linen. The spiritual application of both these things is
as simple as it is important. The Christian is not to link himself
with an unbeliever for any object whatsoever, be it domestic,
religious, philanthrophic, or commercial; neither must he allow
himself to be governed by mixed principles. His character must be
formed and his conduct ruled by the pure and lofty principles of the
Word of God. Thus may it be with all who profess and call themselves
Christians.
[23] See a pamphlet entitled "The Unequal Yoke," post-paid, 10 cts.