Part 7 (1/2)

No, no, reader; it is a fatal mistake to imagine that the world is improving. It is stained with the murder of the Son of G.o.d; and it proves its consent to the deed in every stage of its history, in every phase of its condition. The world is under judgment. Its sentence is pa.s.sed; the awful day of its execution is rapidly approaching. The world is simply a deep, dark, rapid stream rus.h.i.+ng onward to the lake of fire. Nothing but the sword of judgment can ever settle the heavy question pending between the G.o.d and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and that world which murdered His Son.

Thus it is, if Scripture is to be our guide. Judgment is coming. It is at the very door. Eighteen hundred years ago, the inspired apostle penned the solemn sentence, that ”G.o.d is _ready_ to judge.” If He was ready then, surely He is ready now. And why tarries He? In long-suffering mercy, not willing that _any_ should perish, but that _all_ should come to repentance. Precious words! Words of exquisite tenderness and matchless grace! Words that tell out the large, loving, gracious heart of our G.o.d, and His intense desire for man's salvation.

But judgment is coming. The awful day of vengeance is at hand; and, meanwhile, the voice of Jesus, sounding through the lips of His dear amba.s.sadors, may be heard on every side calling men to flee out of the terrible vortex, and make their escape to the stronghold of G.o.d's salvation.

2. But this leads us, in the second place, to look at the cross as the expression of G.o.d's heart toward man. If on the cross of our adorable Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, we read, in characters deep, broad, and unmistakable, the true state of man's heart G.o.dward; in the selfsame cross, we may read, with no less clearness surely, the state of G.o.d's heart toward man. The cross is the divinely perfect measure of both.

”The very spear that pierced Thy side, Drew forth the blood to save.”

We behold, at the cross, the marvellous meeting of enmity and love--sin and grace. Man displayed at Calvary, the very height of his enmity against G.o.d. G.o.d, blessed for ever be His name, displayed the height of His love. Hatred and love met; but love proved victorious.

G.o.d and sin met; G.o.d triumphed, sin was put away, and now, at the resurrection side of the cross, the eternal Spirit announces the glad tidings, that grace reigns through righteousness, unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. At the cross, the battle was fought and the victory won; and now the liberal hand of sovereign grace is scattering far and wide the spoils of victory.

Reader, do you really desire to know what the heart of G.o.d is toward man? If so, go and gaze on that centre cross to which Jesus Christ was nailed, by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of G.o.d. True it is, as we have already seen, man did, with wicked hands, crucify and slay the blessed One. This is the dark side of this question. But there is a bright side also, for G.o.d is seen in it. No doubt, man fully let himself out at the cross; but G.o.d was above him. Yes, above all the powers of earth and h.e.l.l which were there ranged in their terrible array.

As it was, in the case of Joseph and his brethren; they told out the enmity of their hearts in flinging him into the pit, and selling him to the Ishmaelites. Here was the dark side. But then, mark these words of Joseph: ”Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither; for G.o.d did send me before you to preserve life.”

Here was the bright side. But to whom were these wondrous words of grace addressed? To broken hearts and penitent spirits, and convicted consciences. To men who had learnt to say, ”We are verily guilty.” It is only such that can at all enter into the line of truth which is now before us. Those who have taken their true place, who have accepted the judgment of G.o.d against themselves, who truly own that the cross is the measure of their guilt--they can appreciate the cross as the expression of G.o.d's heart of love toward them; they can enter into the glorious truth that the selfsame cross which demonstrates man's hatred of G.o.d sets forth also G.o.d's love to man. The two things ever go together. It is when we see and own our guilt, as proved in the cross, that we learn the purifying and peace-speaking power of that precious blood which cleanseth us from all sin.

Yes, beloved reader; it is only a broken heart and a contrite spirit that can truly enter into the marvellous love of G.o.d as set forth in the cross of Christ. How could Joseph ever have said, ”Be not grieved with yourselves,” if he had not seen his brethren broken down in his presence? Impossible. And how can an unbroken heart, an unreached conscience, an impenitent soul enter into the value of the atoning blood of Christ, or taste the sweetness of the love of G.o.d? Utterly impossible. Joseph ”spake roughly” to his brethren at the first, but the very moment those accents emanated from their broken hearts, ”We are verily guilty,” they were in a condition to understand and value the words, ”Be not grieved with yourselves.” It is when we are completely broken down in the presence of the cross, seeing it as the perfect measure of our own deep personal guilt, that we are prepared to see it as the glorious display of G.o.d's love towards us.

And then and there we escape from a guilty world. Then and there we are rescued completely from that dark and rapid current of which we have spoken, and brought within the hallowed and peaceful circle of G.o.d's salvation, where we can walk up and down in the very sunlight of a Father's countenance and breathe the pure air of the new creation.

”Thanks be to G.o.d for His unspeakable gift!”

3. And now, one word, ere closing this branch of our subject on the cross as displaying the heart of Christ toward G.o.d. We can do little more than indicate this point, leaving the reader to prove its suggestive power, under the immediate ministry of the Holy Ghost.

It is an unspeakable comfort to the heart, in the midst of such a world as this, to remember that G.o.d has been perfectly glorified by One, at least. There has been One on this earth whose meat and drink was to do the will of G.o.d, to glorify Him, and finish His work. In life and death, Jesus perfectly glorified G.o.d. From the manger to the cross, His heart was perfectly devoted to _the_ one great object, namely, to accomplish the will of G.o.d, whatever that will might be.

”Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of Me) to do Thy will, O G.o.d.” In the roll of Scripture it was written of the Son that, in due time, He should come into this world, according to G.o.d's eternal counsels, and accomplish the will of the G.o.dhead. To this He dedicated Himself with all the energies of His perfect being. From this He never swerved a hair's breadth from first to last; and when we gaze on that centre cross which is now engaging our attention, we behold the perfect consummation of that which had filled the heart of Jesus from the very beginning, even the accomplishment of the will of G.o.d.

All this is blessedly unfolded to us in that charming pa.s.sage in Philippians ii. ”Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus; who being in the form of G.o.d, thought it not robbery to be equal with G.o.d; but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men; and being found in fas.h.i.+on as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Vers. 5-8).

How wonderful is all this! What profound depths there are in the mystery of the cross! What lines of truth converge in it! What rays of light emanate from it! What unfoldings of heart there! The heart of man to G.o.dward--the heart of G.o.d to manward--the heart of Christ to G.o.d! All this we have in the cross. We can gaze on that One who hung there between two thieves, a spectacle to heaven, earth, and h.e.l.l, and see the perfect measure of every one and everything in the whole universe of G.o.d. Would we know the measure of the heart of G.o.d--His love to us--His hatred of sin? we must look at the cross. Would we know the measure of the heart of man, his real condition, his hatred of all that is divinely good, his innate love of all that is thoroughly bad? we must look at the cross. Would we know what the world is--what sin is--what Satan is? we must look at the cross.

a.s.suredly, then, there is nothing like the cross. Well may we ponder it. It shall be our theme throughout the everlasting ages. May it be, more and more, our theme now! May the Holy Ghost so lead our souls into the living depths of the cross, that we may be absorbed with the One who was nailed thereto, and thus weaned from the world that placed Him there. May the real utterance of our hearts, beloved reader, ever be, ”G.o.d forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” G.o.d grant it, for Jesus Christ's sake!

Having dwelt, for a little, on that marvellous centre cross to which the Lord of glory was nailed, for our redemption, we shall now turn to the other two, and seek to learn some solemn and weighty lessons from the inspired record concerning the men who hung thereon. We shall find in these two men samples of the two great cla.s.ses into which the human family is divided, from the beginning to the end of time, namely the receivers and the rejecters of the Christ of G.o.d--those who believe in Jesus, and those who believe not.

In the first place, it is of the utmost importance to see that there was no essential difference between those two men. In nature, in their recorded history, in their circ.u.mstances, they were one. Some have labored to establish a distinction between them; but for what object it is difficult to say, unless it be to dim the l.u.s.tre of the grace that s.h.i.+nes forth in the narrative of the penitent thief. It is maintained that there must have been some event in his previous history to account for his marvellous end--some redeeming feature--some hopeful circ.u.mstance on account of which his prayer was heard at the last.

But Scripture is totally silent as to aught of this kind. And not only is it silent as to any redeeming or qualifying circ.u.mstance, but it actually gives us the testimony of two inspired witnesses to prove that, up to the very moment in which Luke introduces him to our notice, he, like his fellow on the other side, was engaged in the terrible work of railing on the Son of G.o.d. In Matthew xxvii. 44, we read that ”The _thieves_ also, which were crucified with Him, cast the same in His teeth.” So also in Mark xv. 32, ”_They_ that were crucified with Him reviled Him.”

Now, this is divinely conclusive. It proves, beyond all question, that there was no difference between the two thieves. They were both condemned malefactors; and not only so, but when actually on the very confines of the eternal world, they were both occupied in the awful sin of reviling the blessed Son of G.o.d.

It is utterly vain, therefore, for any one to seek to establish a distinction between these two men, inasmuch as they were alike in their nature, in their guilt, in their criminality, and in their profane wickedness. There was no difference up to the moment in which the arrow of conviction entered the soul of him whom we call the penitent thief. The more clearly this is seen, the more the sovereign grace of G.o.d s.h.i.+nes out in all its blessed brightness. ”There is no difference; for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of G.o.d.”

And, on the other hand, ”There is no difference, for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him” (Compare Rom. iii. 22, 23, with chapter x. 12).

The only standard by which men are to be measured is ”the glory of G.o.d;” and inasmuch as all have come short of that--the best as well as the worst of men--there is no difference. Were it merely a question of conscience, or of human righteousness, there might be some difference. Were the standard of measurement merely human, then indeed some shades of distinction might easily be established. But it is not so. All must be ruled by the glory of G.o.d; and, thus ruled, all are alike deficient. ”There is no difference; for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of G.o.d.”

But, blessed be G.o.d, there is another side to this great question.

”The same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him.” The riches of the grace of G.o.d are such as to reach down to the very deepest depths of human ruin, guilt and misery. If the light of divine glory reveals--as nothing else could reveal--man's utter ruin; the riches of divine grace, as displayed in the person and work of Christ, have perfectly met that ruin, and provided a remedy in every way adequate to meet the claims of the divine glory.

But let us see how all this is ill.u.s.trated in the striking and beautiful narrative of the penitent thief.