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THE K I NG ' S BUS I NES S
With tears in His voice, our Lord said (Matt. 23:37): “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets and stonest them that are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wing, and ye would pot!” What more could the King do? What more can he done? God calling! Christ calling! The Holy Spirit calling! The Church calling! In a few words the indifference of men is described,— one to his farm, an other to his store,^-and then the min-' istry of the servants. God calling—men refusing; Christ calling with outstretched arms from the cross—men reviling; the Holy Spirit calling—men resisting. ■ Satan con trolling their hearts and lives. (2 Cor. 4:4.) , “In . whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the ligh t of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” What a wonderful opportunity for the teacher to paint the picture of the natural man,—with* a nature opposed to God,—and of the fearful conse quences of trampling under foot His tender, loving, compassionate pleading for the children of men to come to the feast which He has prepared! Can God be angry? Can God visit judgment? Can the rejecters be pun ished? Read the seventh verse and dwell upon the history of Israel, and the destruction of Jerusalem (Luke 19: 42-44) and the crucifixion of our Lord. God has not .changed. He can judge, and He will. The King will have His feast. The company is to be gathered from the highways and hedges. Poor Israel lost her opportunity, and many of the great ones of the earth have turned away from the call, and His anger is kindled (Luke 14:21); but the house is to be full. “The common people heard Him gladly,” and “the poor have the Gos pel preached unto them.” We are the servants. We must have the compell ing power of the Holy Spirit in our
entreaty to men. We are ambassadors, and must represent the King. Many will refuse. The great bulk of -people in our land have spurned the invita tion. But we must go on, giving the call in this and other lands, as fasi and as far as possible, knowing that He will have the feast and that His house will be filled. (3) THE FLIPPANT GUEST and the FEARFUL PUNISHMENT, vs. 11- 14. The last scene in the parable por trays a sad picture. An enemy is pres ent; a follower of Cain; a self-satisfied, self-righteous man; a representative of all the false systems and cults. There is but one wedding robe—a robe of righteousness (Isa. 61:10). “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, m y soul shall be joyful in m y God; for he hath clothed me w ith the garm ents of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh herself w ith ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself w ith jew els.” We have no righteousness of our own (Isa. 64:6). Christ Himself is our righteousness. We put Him on when we accept Him (Col. 3:10). "And. have put on the new man which is re newed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.”' Christ is the end of the law for righteousness (Rom. 10:4) and we are made the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor. 5:21). “Friend-—how?” The audacity, the presumption, the wickedness of it! Your home is your castle, and no one has the right to enter but by your grace. Men talk of their “right” •to go to heaven! Show them this par able. There is but one place for-these people— outer darkness. Let us loving ly labor to gather to His wedding feast those who are to be, not only the guests, but the Bride of the King’s Son. PRACTICAL POINTS (1) God’s great Festival will be a marriage feast. (2) The Bride’s place is next to the
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