beautiful than the word _purity_. What tender, mellow light beams out
from its depths through its crystal clearness! what a halo of glory
encircles it! what a sweet melody is contained in the sound, which, as
it falls upon the soul, awakens all that is manly, noble, and godly
there! Purity! who can repeat this word and not feel and hear a sweet
rythm reverberating through all the avenues of his spiritual being?
"_Keep thyself pure."_ Is there a soul so deep in slumber, so stupefied
by the opiates of sin, as to know no awakening by the sweet melodious
chimes that ring out from this heavenly command! Dismal, indeed, must be
the heart in which no aspirations for a pure, devoted life are awakened
by these glorious words.
Listen, O my soul, to the sweet music, "_Keep thyself pure_." Tuned by
the Spirit and sung by the voice of inspiration, in the bright morning
of this glorious gospel day, it comes ringing down through the ages and
is awakening desires and aspirations for the truest nobility of manhood,
the deepest piety, and the highest plane of moral purity to which man
can attain through the redeeming grace of God.
The command to you, young man, is, "_Keep thyself pure_"; and to you,
young lady, "_Keep thyself pure_"; and to all who are farther down the
stream of life and hastening on to the boundless ocean of eternity,
"_Keep thyself pure."_ If you desire to comprehend something of the true
meaning of purity, think of heaven: what purity is in heaven, so it is
on earth; what it is in the life of Christ, so it is in the life of man.
Here upon the shores of time we look away, by an eye of faith, and
behold the purity of heaven and its inhabitants. We behold the angels
and the great white throne, upon which sits the King of glory; but who,
of all mankind, will really be eye-witnesses of that fair scene? The
Lamb, who is the light over there, makes answer, "Blessed are the pure
in heart: for they shall see God."
From that golden throne of God and the Lamb, the "beloved disciple,"
from the land of visions, saw flowing a pure river of water of life,
clear as crystal; and he heard the Lord of heaven and earth saying, "I
will give unto him that is athirst of the water of life freely"; and the
Spirit and the bride repeat the invitation, saying, "Whosoever will, let
him come and take of the water of life freely." But what is this pure
river of water of life? It is the wonderful river of God's saving grace,
issuing forth from out his throne and flowing throughout all his
kingdom. The Son of God extended his Father's kingdom to this earth and
set the glorious stream of salvation flowing here. This wonderful stream
is just as pure and its waters just as sweet in their onward flowing
here, as they are when they come sparkling forth from out the throne. If
you will come and wash in this crystal stream; if you will drink of its
delicious waters,--they will make you as pure as the throne from which
they flow. If you will allow them to ripple over your soul, they will
cleanse you and make you pure, so that purity in your heart will not be
inferior to that purity which encircles the throne of God. Glory to his
name!
The Psalmist says, "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me,
and I shall be whiter than snow." White is an emblem of purity. When
John beheld the multitude of all nations standing before the throne and
the Lamb, clothed in white robes, he asked whence they came. "These are
they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes,
and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." Rev. 7:14.
Purity of soul and heart and mind and conscience and thought and life
is an experience to be attained to and enjoyed in this life. Peter says,
"Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth." 1 Pet. 1:22.
Jesus says, "Blessed are the pure in heart." Mat. 5:8. Paul says, "I
thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience." 2
Tim. 1:3. Peter says, "I stir up your pure minds." 2 Pet. 3:1. Paul
says, "Whatsoever things are pure, ... think on these things." See Phil.
4:8,9. Christ is the standard of purity. "And every man that hath this
hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure." 1 John 3:3. Purity
in all the affections, in all the desires, in all the motives, and in
all the thoughts. The heart that is made pure in the light of God
reveals nothing contrary to heaven. Nothing can be more noble and
beautiful upon earth than a pure life. Oh, how many unclean and impure
thoughts and desires are filling the minds and hearts of men and women
in these awful iniquitous days! Dear reader, "Keep thyself pure."
MEANS FOR GROWTH.
You have started out fairly upon the Christian way. You have been "born
again"; you have been immersed in water, or buried with Christ in
baptism; you have been baptized with the Holy Spirit and fire. With such
an experience you are admitted to the contest for the "crown of life."
Now since you are thus started out upon the Christian way, it is a fact
that you must "grow in grace."
There are certain means for you to use that will promote growth. If you
neglect these, you will not, you can not, grow. You must live much in
prayer; you must read the Bible; you must attend meetings that are
ordered of God; you must partake of the Lord's Supper as you have
opportunity; you must wash the saints' feet. You will be blest with
grace to your soul if you do these things as unto the Lord. You must
give of your means to God's cause freely and cheerfully; you must
diligently follow every good work; and you will be neither barren nor
unfruitful in the knowledge and grace of God.
LAY HOLD ON ETERNAL LIFE.
The "crown of life" lies at the end of the race. Some run well for a
time, and then because of slight hindrances turn from the way. You must
endure unto the end. You must follow the example of the zealous apostle
who said, "I reach forth to the things that are before," and, "I press
toward the mark for the prize." The prize was the crown of life. He
bends forward in the race with all the energy of his soul. Down at the
end of the race he beholds the crown. Sin, Satan, nor the world shall
not hinder him in securing it. You must be just as much in earnest. You
must strive, and that lawfully, lest some one take your crown.
Some years ago a number of boatmen off the coast of New England raced
for a prize in single boats. As they were nearing the end of the race it
was discovered by the spectators that a special favorite was a
half-boat's length ahead of all its competitors. His friends began to
cheer him, and he, animated by their cheers, gave a responsive cheer,
and, in doing so, lost a stroke of the oar; a competitor seeing his
opportunity bent to his oar with all energy, shot past him and won the
prize.
The apostle Paul warns you against youthful lusts, and tells you to flee
from them; to follow peace, righteousness, godliness; to fight the good
fight of faith; and to lay hold upon eternal life.
We are in days when the love of many is waxing cold because iniquity
abounds. You must keep the ardor of love glowing in your heart. Allow
not the world nor aught else to extinguish the tender flame. Everything
that has a tendency to suppress love, to cool its ardor, to dilute its
sweetness in your soul, to lessen the yearnings of your heart for more
of God, to deprive you of the sweet realization of constantly leaning on
his breast,--consider all such things your bitter foes and rout them at
any cost.
Run life's race with all the energy of your soul, never relaxing effort
until the prize is in full possession. The dying testimony of the
apostle Paul may be yours. When he had come down to the end of his
journey he said as he stood, as it were, one foot upon time and the
other in eternity, "The time of my departure is at hand." Then taking a
last retrospective view of his life, he said, "I have fought a good
fight." Then taking a look at inward conditions, he said, "I am ready to
be offered up." Then looking out into the future's prospect, he said,
"Henceforth there is a crown of righteousness laid up for me." O beloved
young saints, run well your race. Keep your eyes upon the goal, fight
the good fight of faith, be in earnest, live every moment for God, and
you can have a dying testimony like the above.
CRUCIFIXION OF SELF.
It requires no little courage, coupled with the grace of God, to go to
Calvary. There are many Christians who will follow Jesus so long as it
is "Hosanna to the King of David," who fail to follow him to Calvary.
Most persons love the sweets of grace, and thus many follow the Lord for
the loaves and fishes; but when it comes to following him for his own
sake, even unto judgment, where our earthliness is revealed, then too
often we follow "afar off." Many will serve for reward, who refuse to
serve for righteousness' sake. Satan understood this in the case of
Job; so he said to the Lord, "Doth Job serve God for naught?" Job
endured even unto the end, and proved by actual test his devotion to God
and not to His gifts.
Saints are like soldiers--many there be who enlist, but few who
fearlessly face death. All like life, though it be a life out of harmony
with God. Satan said of Job, "All that a man hath will he give for his
life." So Christians' last surrender is their own earthly life. They
love the earthly, the dust; and to die to all that is not divine is a
price that few will pay.
Many talk of crucifixion, yea, claim to be crucified, who know hardly
the first step away from self. To let self, the flesh, and all evil
within perish; to draw the last drop of earthliness from our veins,--is
a price but few will pay for all the life of God. God through Moses gave
to the children of Israel a heritage; but never in their greatest
conquest did they attain all of that heritage. So with Christians: how
few ever attain all of that God-life offered them through our Lord Jesus
Christ. The Israelites made a league with certain of the inhabitants of
the land whom they should have destroyed. How many Christians spare
those enemies within which should die. They may force the death of many,
perhaps most of their earthliness; but somewhere there is that with
which they will not part. Of course, the earthliness may not be manifest
as before; "hewers of wood and drawers of water" they become, yet they
are there and live there. "I will be found of them when they seek me
with their whole heart." Wholehearted devotion to God is a rare quality,
and only the fewest of the few ever attain it. An idol somewhere, a
desire, a wish, a preference, a hope not born of God, but of man or of
the flesh, is the separation line. Yea, to cease from our labors as God
did from his, and thus reach true rest, is a haven but few ever reach.
To literally cease, that Jehovah may be the beginning and the end, means
blood, and thorns, and nails in the hands. Yes, it means Calvary and the
tomb. This is too much for many who go part way with Jesus. How few
realize that perhaps the most of our religious aspirations are born not
of God, but of blood, or of the will of the flesh, or of man; and this
is why our efforts are so barren, futile, and earthly. Yes, to hide away
so that every act, every purpose, every hope, centers in God and points
to him and away from man--what a rare spiritual attainment! Many who are
said to be very spiritual and leaders in the work of God, if robbed of
this glory, would cease. To work for the eyes of God alone is not a
sufficient reward for very many who have climbed well up the gospel
ladder. To know when we are dead in the highest light. Self-abnegation
can not be discerned so long as we want to live. If we never reach the
point where we literally "hate our own life," we shall never know how
much there is in us not divine. The flesh is ever the veil that
separates between the holy place and the holy of holies. Until we have
reached that place where we have lost sight of all that is human, and
hunger and thirst for all the life of God, Christian perfection is an
impossible attainment.
This little book has been written for your success in the divine life.
We have hoped and prayed for your well being in the grace of God; but
unless you are dead to self our prayers are but in vain. Oh, the
beauties and the blessings and the rich glories, and happiness and
usefulness for you in life, if you are fully possessed with life of God!
Be dead indeed to self, and let God live in you to his praise.
LOVE NOT THE WORLD.
If you value your success in the Christian life, keep a wide gulf
between you and this world. By the expression _the world_ I mean its
amusements, its revelry, its praise, its fashions, its society, its
spirit. The present-day amusements or entertainments offered by secret
orders and sects and by others are very destructive to spiritual life.
Unless you are willing to walk alone with Jesus and let the blessedness
of his companionship suffice for you, you had as well quit the race now.
Mingle with worldly people, only to tell them of God's love.
To love and enjoy the society of the world is to have a heart destitute
of grace. Therefore keep away from the world. Beware of it. It is a
bitter foe to grace. It is an enemy to God; and if you befriend it, you
make yourself an enemy to God. "Whosoever is a friend to the world is an
enemy to God," so says the Bible. To be a friend to the world is to help
it along in any sense--to encourage its spirit; to add to its pleasures,
to its levity, its fashion, its foolishness; or to abet it in any way.
You go into the world, only for the purpose of saving people from the
world, and thus you are the world's enemy; and so you must continue to
be, or miss heaven.
HAVE A CARE.
The world has many gaudy wings--
Have a care!
She flits among the flow'rs and sings--
Many a snare.
Beware
Of the hidden poisonous stings.
Earth's pleasures are a golden cup--
Have a care!
She bids you take one little sup--
Many a snare.
Beware
Of the hidden sting in the cup.
Earth's riches have a charm most rare--
Have a care!
She bids you seek a goodly share--
Many a snare.
Beware--
She will sting with many a care.
Vain worldly fame's a painted flow'r--
Have a care!
She dwells in an enchanted bow'r--
Many a snare.
Beware--
She'll chide you in an evil hour.
The world is but an empty show--
Have a care!
Of true joys a dangerous foe--
Many a snare.
Beware--
Her greatest gain's oft deepest woe.
AFFINITIES.
By the term _affinity_ I mean that enamored feeling which arises in the
hearts of those of opposite sex for each other. This Satan may take
advantage of; and in this awful snare many a soul has gone down into the
darkness; many a heaven-born and happy soul has received its awful
blight, and gone down to an eternity of woe. Some one may ask, "Is not
marriage honorable? and does not God join hearts together in love?" He
certainly does; but when he does and all is kept in God's order the
parties in love will not suffer any loss of spirituality. Courtship can
be carried on in the will and order of God, and the parties engaged have
a constant growth in grace. But so many times they become silly-headed
and allow their love for each other to carry them out of God's order,
and consequently they will soon be graceless-hearted.
Now I speak the truth when I say that by far the greater number of
saints who fall in love suffer spiritual loss. This need not be so. In
the first place, the love for each other must be genuine; but, though
God is calling two together and the love which springs up is in the
order of the Lord, this does not insure them against spiritual loss. If
they are not watchful they will lose their heads, so to speak, and step
away beyond the bonds of propriety.
There is many a young man and young woman united in marriage these days,
even young saints, whom wisdom has not directed. Such may succeed in
getting through and escaping the damnation of hell, but they will have
trouble in the flesh.
Now, dear young saint, if you desire to be successful in life and gain
heaven, if you will keep your senses you can keep clear from all the
meshes of unholy affinities. You desire to have a life companion if God
selects you one. I can not blame you for this, neither does the Bible
condemn you; but the utmost caution needs to be exercised. Be careful
your desire for companionship does not turn your head and render you
incapable of knowing or understanding the will of God. Whenever you find
yourself losing love for God, you had better beware. Whenever the object
of your affection is getting so upon your heart and mind that you think
less of God you are going beyond His ordering. If your last thoughts in
the evening and your earliest thoughts in the morning are of the loved
one, you are being estranged from God and losing spiritual life. I feel
like giving you warning and counsel you to move very cautiously and
prayerfully in these matters, lest you make a mistake and suffer a loss
that neither time nor eternity will ever make up.
Young saints must not keep company with the unsaved. Those who do, lose
spirituality. If you love God and desire to live a spiritual life, wait
on God and let him select your life companion.
THE GUARDIAN ANGEL.
When you entered the Christian race God gave an angel to guard and guide
you in the way. You need have no fear of this world.
Live in God's service and do his will, and this guardian angel will
keep you. "The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear
Him, and delivereth them."
It was this angel that stood with Daniel in the den of lions and with
the three Hebrew children in the fiery furnace. It was this angel that
led the weeping Hagar to the well of water when her child was dying of
thirst; and that led the righteous Lot out of the wicked city of Sodom
and saved him from its awful burning. When Elijah was hunted for his
life and sat down to weep and to starve under the juniper-tree, it was
this guardian angel that brought him a cake and a cruse of water. It was
this good angel that unbolted the prison doors and set Peter free. When
Paul and Silas were lying fast in the stocks singing praise to God at
midnight, it was the angel of the Lord that shook the earth and opened
the prison doors.
[Illustration: LIFE.]
You once were lost, but the Son of man came to save you. Now you are
saved; you have entered his fold; you have become one of his "little
ones." Once lost, but now saved. Jesus says to this cruel, mocking
world, "Take heed that ye cause not one of these _little ones_ to
stumble; for their angels do always behold the face of their Father
which is in heaven." As you journey along the way of life, Christian
reader, there is an angel of mercy guarding you by day and night. Naught
in all the world can harm you. 'Their angels do always behold the face
of God.' By this we understand that your guardian angel has constant
access into the presence of God to bear him an intelligence concerning
his _little one_ under his charge. Glory be to God!
If you will but live holy and confide in God, he will guide you safely
and triumphantly through this world and bring you in a ripe old age to
an eternity of rest. Trust not in the world, trust not in man, trust not
in yourself; but give up all; give up your life to God and trust in him.
You are safe in his care; nothing can harm you. You need not have a
fear. What a blessed life to live! how peaceful! how secure! how full of
rest! And when the last hour has come those guardian angels will be
gathered round waiting for your spirit to come forth from the tomb of
clay, and they will waft it in rapture to the God who gave it.
FLEDGING THE WINGS.
The inspired Word of God abounds in evidences of the twofold nature of
man's being. Man, entire, consists of an outer physical being and an
inner spiritual being. The one is for time, the other for eternity. The
physical being is the transient home of the spiritual being, and is,
therefore, called an earthly house. "For we know that if our earthly
house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an
house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." 2 Cor. 5:1. When the
earthly house in which the soul is tabernacled comes to dissolution, we
(the spiritual beings) pass to our eternal home, a building not made
with hands, but builded by the Lord of heaven.
The passport from the earthly house to the home in the heavens is spoken
of by the Psalmist as a "flying away." "The days of our years are
threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore
years, yet is their strength labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off,
and we fly away." Psa. 90:10. The physical being is cut down, or comes
to dissolution, and we (the souls) fly away, when redeemed by the
blood, to our eternal home of rest.
Since it is spoken of as a flying away, the idea of wings is suggested,
from which we derive our subject. The inspired apostle said, "Though our
outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day." 2 Cor.
4:16. As the outward, physical man, day by day, becomes more feeble, the
furrows on the brow grow deeper, the locks more silvery, the steps more
tottering, the voice weaker and more husky, the cheeks more sunken, the
ear more deaf, the eye more dim, and the heart-beats more slow; the
inward man is gathering strength, or fledging his wings, ready for his
upward flight to his beautiful mansion in the sky. Oh, how often the
redeemed soul, full of life, love, and hope, looks out through the
fading windows of the crumbling house of clay, to its fair home on the
Elysian shores eternal, and longs to take its flight! May you, dear
reader, and I, as we travel along life's swift journey, so live in
prayer and devotion to God, walk in such purity, so feed upon the divine
life, that we shall gather strength to our souls day by day and be ready
for the hour of our departure. Amen.
SOME TIME
Some time, when all life's lessons have been learned,
And sun and stars forevermore have set,
The things which our weak judgments here have spurned,
The things o'er which we grieved with lashes wet,
Will flash before us out of life's dark night,
As stars shine most in deeper tints of blue;
And we shall see how all God's plans are right,
And how what seemed reproof was love most true.
And we shall see how, while we frown and sigh,
God's plans go on as best for you and me;
How when we called, he heeded not our cry,
Because his wisdom to the end could see.
And e'en as prudent parents disallow
Too much of sweet to craving babyhood;
So God, perhaps, is keeping from us now
Life's sweetest things, because it seemeth good.
And if, sometimes, commingled with life's wine,
We find the wormwood, and rebel and shrink,
Be sure a wiser hand than yours or mine
Pours out the potion for our lips to drink;
And if some friend we love is lying low,
Where human kisses can not reach his face,
Oh, do not blame the loving Father so,
But wear your sorrows with obedient grace.
And you shall shortly know that lengthened breath
Is not the sweetest gift God sends his friend,
And that, sometimes, the sable pall of death
Conceals the fairest boon his love can send.
If we could push ajar the gates of life,
And stand within and all God's workings see,
We could interpret all this doubt and strife,
And for each mystery could find a key.
But not to-day. Then be content, poor heart;
God's plans like lilies pure and white unfold;
We must not tear the close-shut leaves apart,
Time will unfold the calyces of gold.
And if, through patient toil, we reach the land
Where tired feet, with sandals loosed, may rest
When we shall clearly know and understand,
I think that we shall say, "God knew the best!"
THE PRECIOUS OINTMENT.
In the Bible we learn of a woman who took "a pound of ointment of
spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus." This spikenard
was very rich in perfume. It was the very best gift she could bring to
Him whom she loved. This is a very beautiful symbol of the life work of
a Christian. We, as Christian, are a sweet odor unto God in Christ
Jesus. Everything you do for Jesus scents the air around the throne of
God with a sweet fragrance.