THE KI NG ' S BUSINESS
July-August, 1934
287
long as evil is maintained “in the camp” or in the life. The prophet called upon these people to “cease to do evil.” “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh" shall find mercy and forgiveness and restoration to fellowship with the Lord. A negative re pentance is useless; there must be that positive doing away with evil, which en ables the Lord to pour out blessing. 2. They were called to positive goodness (v. 17). The Lord’s people were to “learn” to do well, to “seek” judgment, to “relieve” the oppressed, to “judge” the fatherless, and to “ plead” for the widow. In commenting upon this verse, care needs to be exercised, lest the teacher give to the class the impres sion that this verse presents the way o f sal vation. In Scripture, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour, is presented in a three fold office as Prophet, Priest, and King. In this passage there is reference to the prophet’s word only, calling to repentance. For an understanding of the completeness o f the salvation which the Lord Jesus Christ has provided, there must be recogni tion also of the priest’s word, speaking of substitution and reliance upon Christ’s finished work, and obedience to the king’s command. III. T he H ope for th e P eople (18-20). 1. An invitation to be accepted (v. 18). “ Come . . . and . . . reason . . . saith the Lord.” In other words, the peo ple were to consider the facts in the case: They had departed from God, had become involved in that which was contrary to His Word, and hence sins lay upon them. Then they were to face the facts in the case, which would involve their acknowl edgment that they had been rejected be cause o f those sins. Finally, they were to build on the facts in the case, that if they would return and obey God’s Word, they would find mercy. 2. A promise to be trusted (v. 18). No matter what their sinfulness was, the people would find forgiveness and cleans ing; and no matter how far they had de parted from the Lord, they would find res toration, if they would return and allow the Lord to reason with them. 3. A choice to be made (vs. 19, 20). The people must choose to be willing to reason with the Lord. It is one thitig to hear the Lord’s invitation to reason with Him, and it is another thing to allow Him to do so. It is useless to reason with the Lord unless one is ready also to obey. On the other hand, the prophet .pointed out that if there was a refusal to hearken to God’s Word, the people would be de voured by their enemies; and if there was rebellion against the required obedience, there would be continued rejection by the Lord. There is nothing in the Lord’s deal ings which prohibits people from receiving either the riches o f His grace, or else His judgment. Heaven and hell are ¡Doth with in the choice of the people. The individ ual’s eternal^ destiny rests upon that indi vidual’s choice to accept or to reject the Word o f the Lord. Points and Problems The Golden Text o f this lesson is taken from Psalm 24: “Who shall ascend into the hill of thé Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure.heart.” Doubt less this text has an application to the peo ple who expect some day to stand in the presence o f God. But we ought never to forget that the Twenty-fourth Psalm is preeminently a Messianic prophecy. It speaks o f Christ first of all. O f all those
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born o f women, He alone had “clean hands and a pure heart.” Therefore, on the basis of His own righteousness, He was able to ascend into the hill o f God and stand in His holy place. I am quite sure that our blessed Lord had this psalm in mind when He said, of the Holy Spirit: “When he is come, he will reprove the world o f sin, and of righteousness, and o f judgment: . . . O f righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more (John 16:8-10). The Jewish people had denied His righteousness, and our Lord was de claring here that His ascension into heaven would be the proof o f His righteousness. The same idea is suggested in John 6:60- 62. Some o f His followers began to mur mur against Him, and He turned to them and said: “What and if ye shall see the Son o f man ascend up where he was be fore?” On the day of Pentecost, Peter preached the ascension and exaltation of Jesus (Acts 2:32-36), and immediately the Jews cried out, “What shall we do?” The ascension o f Christ into heaven was an event o f tremendous significance. It is the answer to every charge o f unrighteous ness brought against Him. W e too, who believe, shall some day ascend into the holy place o f God. But we shall ascend, not in our own righteousness, but in Him whose hands were clean and whose heart was pure. He is the “ King of glory,” before whom alone the “ever lasting doors” shall be lifted up. Without Him and His righteousness, those doors would be closed forever against us who are sinners. Golden Text Illustration A lady who had lost a little daughter took a photograph and painted it with rare skill and laid it in a drawer. She was grieved to find that soon afterwards it was covered with ugly blotches. She painted it again, and it was soon marred. There was something wrong with the paper, some chemical ingredients in undue proportions.
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