Part 23 (1/2)

He writes a book of remembrance for that man, however poor and unlearned he may be. He gives His angels special charge over Him. He maintains in him the work of grace, and gives Him daily supplies of peace, hope, and strength. He regards him as a member of His own dear Son, as one who is witnessing for the truth, as His Son did. Weak as the man's heart may seem to himself, it is the living sacrifice which G.o.d loves, and the heart which He has solemnly declared He will not despise. Such praise is worth more than the praise of man!

G.o.d will proclaim His approval of heart-religion before the a.s.sembled world at the last day. He will command His angels to gather together His saints, from every part of the globe, into one glorious company. He will raise the dead and change the living, and place them at the right hand of His beloved Son's throne. Then all that have served Christ with the heart shall hear Him say, ”Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:--you were faithful over few things, and I will make you rulers over many things; enter into the joy of your Lord.--Ye confessed Me before men, and I will confess you before my Father and His holy angels.--Ye are they who continued with Me in my temptations, and I appoint unto you a kingdom as my Father hath appointed unto Me.” (Matt. xxv. 21--34; Luke xii. 8; xxii. 28, 29.) These words will be addressed to none but those who have given Christ their hearts! They will not be addressed to the formalist, the hypocrite, the wicked, and the unG.o.dly. _They_ will, indeed, stand by and see the fruits of heart-religion, but they will not eat of them.

We shall never know the full value of heart-religion until the last day.

Then, and only then, we shall fully understand how much better it is to have the praise of G.o.d than the praise of man.

If you take up heart-religion I cannot promise you the praise of man.

Pardon, peace, hope, guidance, comfort, consolation, grace according to your need, strength according to your day, joy which the world can neither give nor take away,--all this I can boldly promise to the man who comes to Christ, and serves Him with his heart. But I cannot promise him that his religion will be popular with man. I would rather warn him to expect mockery and ridicule, slander and unkindness, opposition and persecution. There is a cross belonging to heart-religion, and we must be content to carry it. ”Through much tribulation we must enter the kingdom.”--”All that will live G.o.dly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” (Acts xiv. 22; 2 Tim. iii. 12.) But if the world hates you, G.o.d will love you. If the world forsakes you, Christ has promised that He will never forsake and never fail. Whatever you may lose by heart-religion, be sure that the praise of G.o.d will make up for all.

And now I close this paper with three plain words of application. I want it to strike and stick to the conscience of every one into whose hands it falls. May G.o.d make it a blessing to many a soul both in time and eternity!

(1) In the first place, Is your religion a matter of form and not of heart? Answer this question honestly, and as in the sight of G.o.d. If it is, _consider solemnly the immense danger in which you stand_.

You have got nothing to comfort your soul in the day of trial, nothing to give you hope on your death-bed, nothing to save you at the last day.

Formal religion never took any man to heaven. Like base metal, it will not stand the fire. Continuing in your present state you are in imminent peril of being lost for ever.

I earnestly beseech you this day to know your danger, to open your eyes and repent. Churchman or Dissenter, High Church or Low Church, if you have only a name to live, and a form of G.o.dliness without the power, awake and repent. Awake, above all, if you are an Evangelical formalist.

”There is no devil,” said the quaint old Puritans, ”like a white devil.” There is no formalism so dangerous as Evangelical formalism.

I can only warn you. I do so with all affection. G.o.d alone can apply the warning to your soul. Oh, that you would see the folly as well as the danger of a heartless Christianity! It was sound advice which a dying man, in Suffolk, once gave to his son: ”Son,” he said, ”whatever religion you have, never be content with wearing a cloak.”

(2) In the second place, if your heart condemns you, and you wish to know what to do, _consider seriously the only course that you can safely take_.

Apply to the Lord Jesus Christ without delay, and spread before Him the state of your soul. Confess before Him your formality in time past, and ask Him to forgive it. Seek from Him the promised grace of the Holy Ghost, and entreat Him to quicken and renew your inward man.

The Lord Jesus is appointed and commissioned to be the Physician of man's soul. There is no case too hard for Him. There is no condition of soul that He cannot cure. There is no devil He cannot cast out. Seared and hardened as the heart of a formalist may be, there is balm in Gilead which can heal him, and a Physician who is mighty to save. Go and call on the Lord Jesus Christ this very day. ”Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you.” (Luke xi. 9.)

(3) In the last place, if your heart condemns you not, and you have real well-grounded confidence towards G.o.d, _consider seriously the many responsibilities of your position_.

Praise Him daily who hath called you out of darkness into light, and made you to differ. Praise Him daily, and ask Him never to forsake the work of His own hands.

Watch with a jealous watchfulness every part of your inward man.

Formality is ever ready to come in upon us, like the Egyptian plague of frogs, which went even into the king's chamber. Watch, and be on your guard.--Watch over your Bible-reading,--your praying,--your temper and your tongue,--your family life and your Sunday religion. There is nothing so good and spiritual that we may not fall into formal habits about it. There is none so spiritual but that he may have a heavy fall.

Watch, therefore, and be on your guard.

Look forward, finally, and hope for the coming of the Lord. Your best things are yet to come. The second coming of Christ will soon be here.

The time of temptation will soon be past and gone. The judgment and reward of the saints shall soon make amends for all. Rest in the hope of that day. Work, watch, and look forward.--One thing, at any rate, that day will make abundantly clear. It will show that there was never an hour in our lives in which we gave our hearts too thoroughly to Christ.

XII

THE WORLD

”_Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord._” 2 Cor. vi. 17.