THE KING’S BUSINESS
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being, but to the fullness of surrender and devotion we should yield to Him. Our heart should .be a locket with -but one, our best Beloved, enshrined within it. “ Soul,” “mind,”, “strength,” these are so many words for the same thing— self —and signify that the whole self in purpose and action should be centered in God as a true lover’s in his beloved (Gal. 2:20). (3) The Lord’s answer continued: ‘ The second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." The likeness is in the sentiment love, which fills and is “the ful filling of the law.” The difference is in objects of love, which are “ first” God, and “second" our neighbor (see Luke 10:30- 37). Many teach that the second is first/ or at least all that we need concern our selves about. That if we are neighborly and “ charitable” we shall stand all right with God—if there is a God. Jesus makes a distinction and sets God first, but there can be no first without its second, nor sec ond without its first (1 John 4:20, 21). One cannot love God and not his neighbor, but he can imagine that he loves his neigh bor and not love God. W e must keep the first and not neglect the second. 4. The Lawyer's Response. In everyday speech he said, “ Good! Doctor, you’ve hit the nail on the head. For there is one God, and to love him with all,” etc. (v. 33). And we say, Good! for the latvyer. 5. The Lord’s Conclusion. He saw that he had “ answered discreetly.” Literally, that he had ‘his wits about him.” He has his wits who sees that love is law. That should make lawyers of us all, and every heart a digest of the statutes, and every hand a practitioner and—never mind the fees. But “whole burnt offerings and sac rifices” had their place, to forshadow the infinite act of love (John 3:16), and the ordinances of this age have their’s to ex press the adoration and faith of the lovers o f God. Oh, that all “ had their wits about them.” The Lord told the man, “ Thou art not far from the kingdom of God." Whether he ever got nearer we do not know, but we are warned that “A miss is
3. The Question Answered. Jesus an swered the lawyer out of the Law. It was neither rites nor right but love that was first. He answered out of Deuteronomy (6:4, 5) which the “ critics” say is a pious fraud, a forgery—and so “ the first of all the commandments" is a forgery! and love a lie. He quoted : (1) “ Hear,- O Israel? an introduction- which intimates the importance of what fol lows, a trumpet blast yet to be heard around the world. “ Hear” is “ Shema»« in He brew and the Jews called Deuteronomy 6: 4, 5 “The Shema,” it was ever on their lips and inscribed in little boxes, called “phylacteries,” which they -carried on their persons. It was their talisman, watchword and countersign, yet even their scribes miss ed the force of it, for men may be as fluent as parrots while neither their heads nor their hearts “know what they say, or where of they affirm” (1 Tim. 1:7). This was the Shema: “Jehovah our God is one Jeho vah (so the Hebrew reads), and thou shalt love” etc. The first duty is to know God, Who and What He is. We cannot love an unknown God (Acts 17:23; John 17:3). Here we learn that God is the Jehovah of the Jews. Scripture, creation, provi dence, history and, above all, Jesus, His words, works, and character tell us what He is, and agree that He is One and the Only God. Modern science has dis covered that the same matter and laws compose and govern the Universe. “God is a spirit infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, jus tice, goodness (love) and truth.” And if “ we follow on to know the Lord” we shall know and love Him more and more. To know Him is to love Him and there is no loving if you do not know Him. (2) Jesus went on to repeat— “ Thou shalt love thè Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength." In John 3 :16 we learn how much God loved us, and here how much we should love Him, viz., with our whole being. It does not mean to di rect our attention to divers aspects of our
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