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T HE K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
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before you, a m utable man, as un changeably the same: before yoji, who w ithout Him can do nothing, as Al m ighty: before you, who are not suf ficient to th ink anything of yourself, as the Omniscient One whose riches are unsearchable: before you, frail and de fective, as the Holy, the Ju st One w ith out sin: before you, a creatu re of the dust, as your C reator: before you. whose goodliness is as th e flower of the field, as your P reserver: and before you, who confess y6ur feebleness in self- government, your short-sightedness in self-knowledge, and vour reliance on a court of final appeal, as the Ruler of all things, the Searcher of all hearts, and the Judge of all men. Can it be, th a t in the presence of such infinite goodness and glory, no feelings of ador ation arise in your heart? It is not th a t He is a t an immeasurable distance from you, so th a t what He is and what you are, have no intim ate connection. But He made you, sustains you, watches you. The offices He fills towards you are those of God. And He is so un u tterab ly good and gracious. W hat re mains? If yon believe th is testimony, you must confide in Him— you must love Him— you must adore Him. No other feelings th an those of en tire re liance and supreme love would a t all answer the claims of such an one upon you. And they are the Scriptures of tru th which, by portraying so gracious t. Lord, have elicited th a t confidence and w arranted th a t affection.
^luuiuiiiiiiiiiimiioiitiiiiiiiiimumiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiNmiNiiliHiiiitiiiiimiimiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiittiiuH!^ Christians and the Commandments C hristopher G. Hazard, D. D. fiiiiH iliiiia iilii..... m iiiiiiiiliiijii........
Christians are as be- hed as were th e Galatians. r have been justified once _ all by faith, but they are
seeking to ju stify themselves by keep ing the commandments. They feel th a t they have been forgiven for th eir sins, provided th a t they do not renew them. They go about to establish their own righteousness, instead of subm itting themselves unto the righteousness of God, which is unto all and upon all th a t believe. Having begun in the Spirit, they strive for perfection in the flesh. They give power to the sin th a t dwelleth in them by their legal efforts to fulfil a law to which they should count them selves dead. F o r Christ Eg the end of the law for righteousness, to every one th a t be- Ireveth, and, if- righteousness come by th e law, Christ died for naught. There is no way to live unto God bu t th a t of reckoning ourselves to have been repre sented upon the cross, to have been crucified w ith Christ, to have there ful filled, in him, the only righteousness possible to a sinner, th a t of paying the penalty of death; thus to have satisfied th e law th a t we m ight, in Christ, rise in newness' of life to fulfill in love all divine requirem ents, leaving self and its old relationships and history in the grave. Christians do not fail to obey God’s laws; they increasingly love them, know them aad fulfill them . The law of the sp irit of life in Christ Jesus makes them free from the law of sin and death as certainly as the-rising sap pushes th e old and dead leaves off from an oak tree in th e spring. They lift up th eir hands unto the commandments which they lcve. They run the way of
“DAY BY DAY” (2 Cor. 4:16.)
Trust in the Lord to hide thee; Wait on the Lord to guide thee; So shall no ills betide thee Day by day. Rise with His fear before thee; Tell of the love He bore thee; Sleep with His shadow o ’er thee Day by day.
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