"THE NIGHT IS FAR SPENT: THE DAY IS AT HAND!"

Nelson Evening Mail, Issue XLIII, 7 January 1909, Page 1

"THE NIGHT IS FAR SPENT: THE DAY IS AT HAND!"

(Substance nf a sermon preached i the Baptist Chapel, Richmond, 271 December, 190.5.) Romans XIII., IL— "And thai, knov ing the time, that now it is high tiin to awake out of sleep, for now is ou salvation nearer than when we (first believed. Tho uight is far spent, tii day is at hnnd; let U!i therefore cast o the works of darkness, nnd let ns pt on the armour of light." To-day is a day worthy of notiee, bi ing the last Lord's Day of the presen year. It is, therefore, fitting, that should choose a Scripture which n niinds us of the passing of lime. Th part I would especially choose as text for- my discourse is "The night i far ppent the day is at hand. ' ' Hero the "Night" is contrast* with the "Day," and we are not lef in doubt as to what is meant Ay thes words. The night is the period o this world's history while separate and estranged from God. This perio hnd run very much of its eour.-e prf vious to Paul's time, so he =ays tha tho night is far spent. The perioi called the Day, we are told in the pre vious verse, will begin with the day o our "salvation," which here mean the day of tho coming of the Lon Jesus, the resurrection of sleeping be lievers,' and the transforming (in i moment- of all living believers. Th salvation of the soni is secured heri -and now to every human heing whi will put his faith nnd confidence wholly upon the Lord Jesns Christ ai th* Son of God and the Saviour of th< world. The salvation of the body— this means salvation in its complete ness — its consummation — will tak< place at the time I just now described viz., at "the manifestation of tht sons of God." In this sense we ar< "saved by hope," — that is, in hopein anticipation -f and we are "waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemp tion nf onr body." — Romans VITL 19—24. The period called th< "night " began when sin ■entered int< the world. Man became alienatec frum Uod, and his understanding bc came darkened. Deeds of dnrknesi quickly showed themselves. The firs: man born after the fall was a mur derer. The whole race, excepting i few only, so depraved and corruptee themselves that God wipfd tliem of the face of this planet by a flood Since t hen, too, the course of man': history has been one of darVress anc of death. "Destruction aad miserj aro in their wnys, and th." way oi peace have they not known." Reac tho nld inscriptions found nn the monuments in Egypt, A-w'Xi, and other ancient lands — what do yon find? Kings in their chariots leading captive hapless women and children, whose husbands and fathers have been erii c hcd and conquered; or again, vanquished warriors having their eyes blinded, and laden wilh chain=, following after their cruel tormentors And not only such things as the^c, but other miseries nnd horrors have followed humanity all along the line, And is it not. dark in our own day? Look at the miseries of foreign enn n tries — India, Burmah, China, Truly tbe dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty. Coming near home, and looking atthe civilised and so-called Christian nations, what do we see? Huge sums spent upon mighty armaments. Men's ingenuity taxed to t he uttermost to invent horrible instruments to destroy their fellows, nuge battleships bristling with death-dealing' cannon, and torpedo boats so constructed as to send those 'lattloships to the bottom with their living freight! And besidos this, our papers are filled day after day with '•_■•■ rrors of all sorts — accidents, Qruelties, plagues, suicides, crimes, and vlinl net — mostly too horrible to read I Surely we may weil call it the blackness of darkness and death! But. God has told us of a coming "Day" — when the night shall be over ind gone! The Old Testament is full of it. Take 2nd Samuel, XX111.., 2. 3, 4:— ' 2. The Spirit of tbe Lord spake by me, and his word was in my tongue. 3. The God of Israel said, the Rock ■f Israel spake to me. He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God. 4. And he shall be as tbe light of the morning, whon the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain. Isaiah XXXX., IO.:— 10. And the ransomed of the Lord <hall return, and come to Zion with -ings and everlasting jov upon their heads: they shall obtain jjoy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee ■iwny. And many, other similar words of promise and beauty. Then comes the glorious event that we celebrated last Friday— the birth of the promised Messiah!* What an event that was! The Christ was born —a Light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of God's people Israel!" He proclaims Himself as the "Light of tho World." He declares that whol ever will follow him shall not walk in I darkness; but shall have the light of lifo! And this is true. Although the world that rejects Him is still in darkness, and the darkness grows, deeper and denser as the years roll on.' yet God has a people — the' followers of _■ Christ — who are illuminated with a light from heaven. The eyes of their ' understanding are enlightened. Hearken to what the Word of God says of them: — "Yc brethren are not in dark- • ness. Y.e are all the children of light, and the childron of the day: wc ! nre-uot of the night nor of darkness. ' Therefore let us not sleep as do others, but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night', and they that be drunken are .drunken in the night; but let us who "arc of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of. faith and love, and for an helmet the ' hope of salvation." — I Tbcss. V., 4-8.. Here the word salvation has the same meaning as in t he passage we have before us — "Now Is our salvation nearer than when we believed." What a, glorious thing to be a child of the , light and of the day! And here I ] pause to ask everyone who hears my voice, "Are you one of the-ef Can you give a good sound reason, based upon ■ the word of God, for regarding your- ': self as one of the sons of light? It is obtained in one way onlj-, and that is 1 •an acceptance of salvation as the freo gift of God, given us in Christ our ' Lord and Saviour. It is obtained only I on God's condition — repentance to- | ward God aud faith toward onr Lord j Jesus Christ. Surely everyone of < us who knws that this is true regard- .' j ing himself may start singing the new | song, and may_go on his way rejoicing, i . ■ \

:n Then remember that every child 'oi Day is to give forth light in the- dark ; ness of the world's night. Jesua Chrjsi said to His people, "Lot yonr light" s( shine before men that they may set your good works and glorify ypin i Father which is in heaven." Th' moon in herself ha.s no light, but she is bathed in the light of the sun, an-; she sheds back some of that dark ligh upon the dark side of our planet. T-rui e it is but a very little portion of it. ]<; '. am told that the full moon only giye ' us less than a half-millionth part'.-o: ' the glowing sunlight; yet it is a fai: and beautiful light, of great serviced us. So let 'every Christian bathe hi soul in the glorious light of -thjrSun'o: Righteousness, that he may shed sofsv 1 little portion of it on this' dark worh of ours, darkened by- its iinbß'ief ani ignorance and sin. ■ Another way for the Children o: | light to bless the world is by holdinj s forth the world of life.- £auVsayV,.<>! . the Thessalonions: "From yon. sound J ed out the word of the Lord. " ' Re \ member this Bible is fte word of God J It is given by inspiration of Gol He>< : I might pause and explain that tlit ! Scriptures- as -originally»given are th< 1 inspired word of God; but th ! 3 is noi my subject of discourse to-day. Thanl . Ood we havo in our English Bible '''a very good and ciose representa'i >i ei j whr»t was originally given, ani we «u: show Ihat this is so. Let this 21:bl« ! then be sounded forth: let tho words of Christ bo faithfully preach*! — licl only when He tells of God's love -fc men — not only when He tells of glojy and joy to como; but also when He says that if we believe not on Him We ' shall die in our sins, and where Ho has gone we shall never cohie. We preachers are to declare the whole counsel of God. If Christ warns us of a hell .whore their worm dieth not, and where the fire is not quenched, .we must sound this out as plainly as His foretellings of heavenly bliss. I know that many do not bplieve this; but- it is the testimony of tho Son of God, and if I were not prepared to speakit out plainly, I had better stay at hoine and cease preaching. The world :s full of unbelief. It has been so all along. Infidels have denied the truths of the Gospel from the time they were first proclaimed; but it is a feature of our own time that Bible truth is denied in the Christian, or would-be Christian, pnlpit! Men professing to be Ministers of Christ's Gospel, and teachers of the Christian faith, are telling us that Christ is not the Son of God — that the teachings of Matthew, and Luke regarding the birth of tho Holy Child Jesus are not to be received as fact. This is part of the darkness of the world's dark night. This dark^ ness will grow darker and denser, for "darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the peoplp. " Let them all who aro children of the light and of the day be faithful to our trnst; let us point to the glorious One whom we know ana love; so shall we be blessed indeed, and so shall we be made blessings to others I J ~