SUNDAY READING.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1189, 14 December 1894, Page 17

SUNDAY READING.

OUR FATHER’S WORD.

By Rjev William Birch Ye received it -not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the Word of God. 1.. Thess. ii., 13; ‘Vspealcing of the: gifts of pardon and mwai'd purity, tli© apostle shows that the teaching-' of Christ is specially the Word of God to this - age. In the darkness of sm and doubt; it shows what human motives should he and exhibits Christ as the model. As the trend of all Scripture is to reveal the true- God, my purpose is to show that the Bible proves itself to be His word. 1. By-its progressive teaching. Viewed in modern lightsome of the Mosaic literature and teaching are so hurtful that you hesitate to-Call them divine; Jut foryoiir comfort, know the truth that the Old Testament is an inspired record of thegraduai unfolding of the character of God. -Bear .in mind' that the old world was nob pretHc forgiving unselfish Father. For the nation which refused to be uplifted from its barbarous morals, the God who, they supposed, gave them the law of an eye for an. eye, a tooth for a tooth, and a life.for a life was best. It is true that some- of the Psalms show a cruel bloodthirsty vengeance,, which is most painful to hear publicly read as God s Word ; but it should be remembered that in ancient times, religious people believed God to be revengeful as well as righteous, and in their-conduct they followed His supposed example; for it is. an axiom that no man is better than the God he worships. For those times a Bavid and an Elijah were as divinely inspired as a Cromwell,- and a Wesley for better instructed men. Christ did not say that the cruel customs by “ them of old time ” were wrong for the ancient world, but wrong when men are prepared for a purer knowledge of God and a more brotherly spirit between each other. He simply crossed out the temporary eye-f or r an-eye by-laws, and. gave the permanent “resist not evil with evil/’ He cTosed the first volume, which sometimes - 'pictures a jealous, revengefu elevating Gospel with -Cafviry.as the, thrilling object-lesson ofthe divine disposition, and showed that wod was always Hove and nothing else, only men were ncit able to bear that sublime revelation. ~ . , • Even in this nineteenth century, how few act. upon the truth that Christs teaching is our Father’s special word of command to, them ! The churches dodge it, creep roiitnd it, twist it, modify it, skip it, but how few Anglican bishops and ministers stand hand in hand with the religion of Christ, and say, “By precept and example, this is what I preach and how I live!” Therefore, because ancient religious vindictive and selfish, do not. blame the Bible;’ for, as you see, many of our modern orthodox champions dodge the spirit; of the religion of Christ. % Were vve; condemned to death because our good conduot witnesses against a mongrel church and an evil world, are w© to dogpair, or if we possess poifrer to escape by blinding or killing our foes, are we to injure them ? No,' no ; we shall follow Christ’s example and be like unto the true God. Instead of calling on the power of the law, the force of ; the lightning flash, or angelic swords, we are quietly to be hanged, burned, beheaded or crucified, and, while they gloat over * our suffering, we are to love them, and pray,' “ Father, forgive them ; they know not what they do !” That is the perfection of l teaching; a more beautiful example cannot be conceived, and it is the truth: which is gradually but surely taking hold of the poor, the troubled, the intelligent when, they have- time to think for themselves, and Christians who hunger and thirst to;: be disciples indeed. From Genesis to the Epistles of John, there is an "evolution of that sublime character; and therefore the Bible proves itself "to be our Word. k-2;'By r .iTa faithful promises. As a genuine bank-note obtains the money promised to the bearer, so the spirit, not the letter, of >;the Gospel promises are “ Yea and amen'” to those who believe them as the bank-itote is believed. ;3: 'By -its personal power. In the Athlone market (Ireland), behind her basket of fruit, a woman was absorbed in reading, when an English visitor remarked, “ That must be an entrancing novel which keeps you from seeing a customer.” She laughingly replied, “An’ sure, sor, it is not a novel, at all, .ait all, but the Word o’ God !” The visitor asked, “ How do you

know-; did anyone see Him write it or hear ... Him say it?” She replied, “How do I know, sbr, that it is the Word o’ God ? Why sor, there is no sun the day, but does’nt the sun give us this daylight to see with ?” “ Yes,’ truei” he remarked. “Well, sor,” she-brightly added, “ I did not see it written'; but it lights my way to God, my Father, my Redeemer, my Saviour; sure, it is the Word o’God to me, sor ; I know that bread is bread because it satisfies my hunger and makes me strong; and in the same wayi sor, the Word o’ God isthe Word o’ God to me.” As we detect a well-known author by his style in the unnamed photograph, so the Christian knows God’s fatherly voice. No ■ two human' voices are alike. Another man your size may put on your garments and enter the room with your hat pulled over his face, but the moment he speaks the children turn away in wonder or fear, the cat runs under a chair and the dog growls. In great'flocks the lost lamb of a few days old, at the sound of the bleating of its own dam, passes by scores of sheep to reach the one whose voice it knows. So in reading the outward letter of the Bible we find our, Father’s special word to - which our spirit responds as the magnet draws the steel:' 4. By its righteousness. In ancient times most of the books suggested that vice was pleasing to the gods in public worship and immorality no shame; but the Bible

always advocated truth and righteousness. . A bad, selfish, grinding man dislikes the ' Bible because it speaks against him; and . some persons who say hard things about it have only studied the sacred book to per- | suade themselves that it is not the Word ol God.

Sitting once at the bedside of a man who gloried in Thomas Paine’s writings against the Bible, I described the Mosaic poor laws, and he was amazed to learn that those wise benevolent rules to prevent pinching poverty were in the Bible. The next visit, I told him about the good Samaritan and the “ prodigal son,” both of which greatly moved him. On my third call, I showed how Christ had borne our guilt in his own body on the cross that our loving God might righteously pardon the sins of the whole world. I saw that the truth had touched the quick. Pulling a small Bible from my pocket with a pencil and putting both before him, I said, “Can you write on the first page ‘ .This book is false and hurtful ?’ ” He quietly, but firmly, replied, “ If people will rightly read the Bible, it will bless and not hurt them.” Whom.he recovered, he became an earnest Christian worker; and to hear him read and expound a Scripture lesson at out-door service, often with tears in his eyes, always brought out the truth with power, that the Gospel is indeed The Word of God. “ Pather of mercies, in Thy Word What endless glory shines ! For ever be Thy name adored For these celestial lines.”