SUNDAY READING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XIX, Issue 6362, 8 April 1882, Page 3

SUNDAY READING.

"I, JESUS." r,T AKCIIIIIAI.I> C. BKOWS

"I Jesus hfvesral Mine auitel to testify unto you these things iu the churches. ,, —liev. sxii. lij. Vi-KY trutlifully, us well as sweetly, lias the poet stititr,

Stniiu walla ilo not ii prison ni-ik.; Nor irjii lj.ii-3 ii c;igc.

There are some things that cannot be shut ill by prison door, or bolt, or bar, or bo secured by any gaoler's vigilance ; and, blessed be the name of our God, there is one who never can be shut without. Here is John, far away from all the noise and turmoil of the city. 11.: is banished to the islo of l'atmos, and the world says, " There is an end to his preaching and talking. Ho is a prisoner." John a prisoner? John was never so tree iu all his life. John excluded from society? Yes, from all that would have hindeied his writing the book he did. John secluded? Yes, in tho presence of bis tiod. The Lord had such sights to show His servant—such won.irons sounds to make fall on his ear—that it was necessary His servant should be put away somewhere in a quiet place. Those visions wen; all too brio-lit to bo scon amid the glitter and tho glare of the city, and the sounds he had to hear were all too soft to be distinguished in the din o[ a great metropolis. The world thinks that all he hears is the splash of tiie wave upon the rock, and that all he beholds is tho occasional iliyht of wild sea birds overhead. Oh, great mistake ! John in silence and solitude? He hears a voice like that of a trumpet, and a voice lie learns to know full well. It is the voice of Him who says, "1, Jesus." And those eyes, instead of only watching tho tlight of the sea birds, obtain a glimpse into glory, and see the King there" in His majesty. Now, you will see, if you look at the context at your leisure, that an angel had been showing John the New Jerusalem, and that John was so struck with the majesty of the angel that, in a moment of weakness, lie was actually going to worship him, when the angel arrested him, and said, " Worship God." All of a sudden another voice speaks to John. It is r.o angel's. Now it is one to whom he may bow the knee. It is one who can say in the language of my text, "I, Jesus." Then it is my Lord whs speaks.

"I, Jesus, have sent Mine angel"—that angel you wanted to worship just now—" to testify these things unto the churches." Let me ask your careful attention as we note four things taught us in our short text. The tirst is that Jesus is still alive iu Heaven. A voice speaks and says, "I, Jesus." Next, that Jesus has royal dignity in Heaven, for He says, "I, Jesus have sent Mine angel." Note, thirdly, that Jesus is not ashamed of His own name now He is iu Heaven, for He says, "I, Jesus," picking out tho one name most associated with earth's humiliation. And then, lastly, that Jeaus, though iu Heaven, still thinks'of His churches. "I, Jesus, have sent Mine angel to testify these things unto the churches."

Let us turn to the lirst point. Jesus is still alive iu Heaven. Tho Jews thought all was finished at the crucifixion. Doubtless they said one to another, "Dead men tell no secrets. Now that Ho is dead and buried, there is an end to the whole imposture. We shall hear nothing more of Jesus the Nazarene. That grave will not only contain Him; it will contain all the hopes of His party." And most certainly it would if that grave had always contained Him. The Jews were keen and shrewd enough to see that if Jesus rose from the dead, or if the world believed that He did, the latter error, as they put it, would be worse than the former. In order, you remember, to keep that from being the case, all possible precaution was taken against His rising, Cod overruling their fear of His resurrection to the providing additional proof and witnesses of tlie same. .So, as Scripture says, His resurrection has been assured by

"infallible proofs. , ' Forty days after, He ascends, and a cloud receives Him out ol sight. Now, the question that came to my mind some little while back was this—Have we equal proof of Christ's life in Heaven as we have of His resurrection ? The Word says that His resurrection has been infallibly proved. There were many witnesses. How do we know that Jesus is still a'iive in Heaven ? Have wo any proof ? It may be, this thought flashed through the minds of t'te disciples when He was received out of their sight. You will see, then, that; it was absolutely imperative that after the ascension of Christ—after He entered the cloud— there should bo some to bear witness that He had only passed through it to take His place iu glory.

Now, have you ever noticed who was the first beholder of Christ's life in Heaven ? It is a remarkable thing that the lirst one who shed his blood for Christ was the first one who had a glimpse of Him in glory. .Stephen, the proto-martyr, stands forth as the first witness of Christ's life in Heaven. You will lind the full description given in the 7th chapter of the Acts. If you look there at your leisure, you will see that Stephen is the centre of an infuriated crowd. He has been charging right home to their consciences. They begin to gnash upon him with their teeth, when all of a sudden one touches another and points to Stephen, and there is a hush in the assembly. Why are they hushed ? Why are all looking at him ? Because Stephen himself has a face transfigured. He is looking upwards ; he is gazing intently. What is that he sees? It is something which has lifted him right up abeve the rage of all that hooting mob. O sirs, Stephen is superior to you all kow. There is something that has riveted his eye. There is a glow upon his ..'ouiitenatice; there is Heaven shining iu his face. What does lie see? He opens his lips, and these strange words fall upon the ears of the infuriated mob, "1 see Jesus standing on the right band of God." See Jesus; , Yes, here is the tirst witness. Then the Lord was not lost in the cloud, for nigh a year had passed since that ascension, and now Stephen sees Him in His glory. They rush upon him—take him out of the city—stone him. What is it that lights up the countenance of the martyr? Listen to his words as, still looking at that bright One yonder, lie says, "Lord Jesus, receive my .spirit." Stephen stands forth then as the first witness to say, " I saw Christ alive in Heaven."

J>ut now Stephen could hardly be said to be an impartial witness, be was one of the Nazurene's professed followers. How beautiful, then, to notice the divine wisdom of (>od in the selection of the second witness. Who is tlie second witness tc Christ's life in Heaven '! There was a young man who saw Stephen in the crowd, and "who held the clothes of those who helped to stone him. Everyone knew that young man, for he was a man of promise. He was Saul, and he came from Tarsus. Now, he was not; a very impulsive man. He was rather a cool, clearheaded, logical thinker. He heard .Stephen say, "I see Jesus." And see the curl of the lip. Oh, what a sneer of disdain ! He laughs to scorn Stephen's fanatical folly in s.iying he sees a once crucified man. Ah ! bow wonderful that be himself should be the second witness; for about two years passed after Stephen said, "I see Jesus," and this same young man is riding towards Damascus. A light shines from Heaven, and he is hurled to the ground. All that the others who are with him see is a great li-lit, and all that they hear is a sound ; but when St. l.'aul gives the account of it in the 'Jlith chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, you will sec that he particularly states that he saw more and heard more than they did. Read from the 15th verse, "And 1 said, who art Thou, Lord:' and lit; said, I am Jesus whom thou persooutest."

"1 am the One .Stephen saw, and you would not, believe bis testimony." "1 am Jesus whom thou persecutest, but rise and stand upon thy feet ;" so that here the second witness who comes forward and says that Jesus is still alive in Heaven is the one who held the clothes of those who stoned the lir.st witness. And now sixty-one years pass, and during that time we know not that any other obtained a view of Cnrist iu glory ; and in sixty-one years what changes there must have been in the membership of the dillerent churches. John is now out on the isle of I'atmos. He has written all this book ; he has come now to the close of the Revelation ; but before the last chapter is finished—before tho word " Finis" is penned, the One that Stephen saw—the: One that Saul saw—comes to .lolin, and whispers in his ear to write before the book is done —

"I, Jesus," so that we know when the last of the apostles was penning the last chapter of the book of inspiration, .le:,us, who had been received out of the disciples' nii»lit by a cloud, was still living, and so He is now ; for if you look to the Ist chapter of this book, and the 18th verse, you will see that Christ says, "I am He that liveth, and was dead ; and, behold, I am alive for evermore." It is a living Christ, believer, we must trust in. If ever you get into deep water-iloods, and know the meaning of trouble by going to the dictionary of your own heart, you will learn then, if you have not learnt already, that a mere Christ of history is not enough to keep you above the ljillovrs, You want a liviug Saviour, then,

who stands by your side, still saying, as He 1 did to John, "I, Jesus." Do you not think that here we have the secret of the weakness of some believers ? Christ is not real enough to them. They have a Christ in the Bible ; but they have not a living personal Jesus, who is as much a friend, and as intimate a companion, as anyone on earth. What you need is a living Christ, who dwells in your home, walks witli you day by day, and communes with you. Oh, rest not until you grasp this fact; Jesus who died livetli again; He liveth now. He is l>y your side ; His Spirit still says, "I, Jesus." Note, secondly, that Jesus is not only alive, but that He has royal dignity in Heaven, for He says, "I, Jesus, have .sent Mine angel." This'is not the language of a glorified mortal. I know that the ang.-!« i are ministering spirits, but then they are j sent to minister to tlie heir of salvation. It is the angels' Master who speaks here, j

"[, Jesus, have sent Mine angel." And, I .suppose, we may, in a measure, judge of the uiory of a person's home, and somewhat of his wealth, by the appearance of bis retinue, and the servants that he keeps. Now, Ibis angel was .so bright that John was ready to worship him. But Jesus said to him,

"John, John, are you so overwhelmed with tin; sight of that angel? Why, he is only My servant. That is all. He is one that I »end to bear testimony unto tlie churches." Oh, when Christ passed through that cloud He entered upon royal dignity. All Heaven turned out to greet its returning Lord. Then was heard the triumphant shout,

'■ Lift up your l.c:id a , Oye gates, .-ind he y (! lifted up, ye everlasting doors." Then was Hung from side to side the question, with its majestic, answer, "Who is the King of glory? The Lord—the Lord of hosts — lie is the Km- of glory." And right through those serried ranks He went, until He took His rightful place at the Father's right hand upon the throne, all Heaven doing Him homage. That is wlioru Christ is now. He who stooped to the. cross has now risen to the throne. If you turn to the Ist chapter, and the Ith chapter, and the Hltli chapter of this reverend book, you will see there how He appeared to His servant with a priestly -ariiient that wont down to the feet, with a golden girdle round about His p:ips, those eyes that wept over Jerusalem like a ll.'iine of lire, and those feet that were dusty through walkin" the lanes of Samaria, and ultimately blood-stained by the nails driven through them on Calvary—those very feet now burning like brass in a furnace. He who was despised and rejected, and without form and comeliness, is now the loveliest among ten thousand, so awful in

His splendour that John fellas one dead at His feet. This is what your Lord and mine is. "I, Jesus." No longer servant. "I, Jesus," the Master, "have sent Mine angel." Note, on the third point, that our text tells us that Jesus is not ashamed of His name. He said to John, "I, Jesus." Remarkable, is it not, when you think of all the other names He might have used ? What a choice collection of titles He had ! Why should He select the only one name that appeared in great letters over Golgotha's cross? No other name of His appeared there. It was "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews." Why, then, when He speaks to John, should He describe Himself by the one name most linked with the world's shame? I believe to show this—and it is a sweet thought—that now He is up in glory He is not ashamed to be known by the name that was the song of the drunkard in the gate—the name associated with His deepest degradation and bitterest agonies. .My Lord and yours went right up from a cross on earth to the throne of J leaven, and yet when He speaks to John in the isle of l'atmos, to show that He has the same hiving heart up in glory that lie had on earth, He says, "J, Jesus, have sent Mine angel." Lastly, I want you to note that Jesus, though in Heaven and in glory, thinks of His people still; for He says, " I have sent My angel to testify these tilings unto the Nothing iu connection with Christ's church is a matter of indifference to Him. He knew that His people would often have sorrow, and, therefore, He sent His angel to testify concerning a world where there is .iot a tear. He knew that His people would, in all ayes, be sutlering from bereavement, and He knew that loving hearts would often be sayiiiL , , "Oh, I wish I knew something about that departed one—where she is— what she is doing;" or, "I wish I could know how that dear one is occupied ;" and so Christ sent His angel to testify, among other things, that they are arrayed in white —that Ciod wipes nil tears from oil' their cheeks—that they follow the Lamb whitherauever He goeth, and that their cup of bliss is full. He tells thee, poor, heavy-laden, weary one—He tells thee in this book—of a laud where there is no heat, no burden, no sorrow, no sighing, because the former things are passed away. Oh, these glimpses of Heaven iu this Hook—these chinks in Heaven's lloor, through which some of the glory comes—they are also so many proofs that, tliough Christ is in Heaven, He thinks oi His Church with loving compassion.

Thoujj'li cluidreii die, tliough wives be cut down, though husbands to the grave, tlioii»h fortunes break, tliotigli all depart, yet in tlie darkness, ami through the storm, "there comes a voice, and it says, "I, Jesus —I live still. Whatever else thou mayest have lost, I .festis, am with thee yet."

THE FOUR METHODS OF PREACHING.

I beheld, said Christmas Evans, the Welsh preacher, such a one as Lazarus lying in tlie cave, locked in the sleep of death. Now, how shall he be raised? How shall he be brought back to life? Who will roll away for us the stone from this sepulchre ? First came one, who went down to the cave with blankets, and salt, to rub with the fomentations of duty, to appeal to the will, to say to the sleeping man, that he could if he would ; dialing and rubbing the cold and inert limbs, ho thinks to call hack the vital warmth ; and then retiring, and standing some distance apart, he says to tlie other spectators, "Do you not see him stir '.' Are there no signs of life? Is he not moving?" No, he lies very still ; there is no motion. J low could it lie otherwise? How could a sense of moral duty be felt by the man there ?—for the man was dead !

The (irst man gave up in despair, and then came tlu second. "1 thought you would never do it," he said, "but if you look at me, you will see a tiling. No, your treatment has boen too gentle." Ami he went down into tho cave with a scourge. Said he, "Tho man only wants severe treatment to be brought back to life. I warrant me ] will make him feel,'" he said. And he laid on in quick succession the fervid blows, the sharp threateiiings of law and judgment, and future danger and doom, and then he retired to some distance. "Is he not wakiiiL'?" he said. "Do you not see tho eorpse"stir ?" No! A corpse he was before the man began to lay on his lashes, and a corpse he continued still —for the man was dead !

"All!" said another, advancing, "but I have wonderful power. You, with your rubbing and your .smiting, what can you do? but. 1 have it, for I have two things." And he advanced, and he fixed an electric battery, and disposed it, so that it lorn-hod the dead man, and then, from a lluto which ho held, he drew forth such sweet sounds that they charmed the oars which wen: listening : and whether it was tho battery, or whether it was the music, so it was that effects seemed to be produced. " Heboid," said lie, " what the refinements of education and cultivation will do !" And, indeed, so it was ; for tlie hair of tlie dead man seemed to rise, and his eyeballs seemed to start and dilate ; and—see ! ho rises, starts up, and takes a .stride down the cave ! Ah ! but it is all over; it was nothing but the electricity in tho battery ; and he sank back again Hat on tho Hour of the cave—for the man was dead !

And then, when all were, filled with despair, tlifi-e came One and stood by tlie entrance of tin- cave ; but He was the Lord and Giver of life, and, standing there. He said, "Come from the four winds, O breath,

and breathe 11)1011 this slain one, that he may live. Christ bath given thee life. Awake! Thou that, sleepest." And the man arose: he shook oil' his grave-clothes: what he needed had come to him now—life : Life is the only cure for death. Not the prescriptions of duty, not the threats of punishment and damnation, not the arts and the lelineiiieiitH of education, but new, spiritual, Divine life.