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THE KING’S BUSINESS
“ No,” said he, “ I cannot, and I should be ashamed to do so, because if I could, I should know that He is no greater than myself.” This is the truth o f the Bible, “God manifest in the flesh,” “ God in Christ reconciling the world unto H i m s e l f “ God over all, blessed for ever.” And the second part o f the application is: W e must proclaim this truth with all our hearts. The message o f the Bible calls for proclamation.- There must be the testi mony o f our lips, and the testimony o f our lives. There must be what is called per sonal. work, work done for souls as we bring to bear upon them the Lord Jesus Christ. One o f the dangers o f the Christian life; a possihlst danger to all, an actual danger in some cases, is the peril o f Appreciation without application, o f reception without reproduction, o f complacency without com passion. Some years ago I had the great joy o f a sail over the Lake o f Galilee. - In the course o f nine weeks I had only thrice had the opportunity o f drinking water. I was warned to avoid it, but had been told that ofl Galilee I might drink o f the water o f the lake, and I did. I let down my cup again and again, and enjoyed the freshness o f that water. Why? In the north it enters, and in the south it goes ou t; and because the lake is always taking in and always pouring out, it is fresh. A- little while afterwards I went to the Dead Sea. But there was no possibility o f drinking that water. It is charged with salt. What is the ca,use o f the difference? The Dead Sea receives and never gives ou t; it is dead because it does not pass on what it receives. The .message o f the Lord Jesus Christ is for reception, and then for reproduction. Christ for us, our atoning sacrifice; Christ in us, our living power; Christ under us, our sure foundation; Christ around us, our wall o f fire; Christ beside us, our perfect example; Christ above us, our blessed Master; Christ before us, our eternal in heritance.
gave Him a name which is above every name. And thus we have Christ pre existent, Christ predicted, Christ pro claimed, Christ possessed, and Christ pre eminent. From »the beginning to the end, the Bible is full o f the Lord Jesus Christ.' There are just two points o f application. I would beg o f you to remember again and again that the Lord Jesus Christ lived before Bethlehem, and did not finish His life on Olivet. And we must study the Bible with’ this key. This is the first thing. W e must look at the Bible from God’s point o f view, When I went to the Dore Gallery to see the pictures, I remem ber they told me. to stand before “ Christ leaving the Pretorium” at a particular place, so that I might view the picture from the Standpoint o f the artist. That is what we need in reading the Bible—to look at it from the standpoint o f the Author, God Himself, from the standpoint o f His pur pose, and o f His; plan. His purpose is redemption, and His plan is accomplished through the Lord Jesus Christ. There is a familiar illustration, which I will not even apologize for mentioning, although so frequently used. Dr. Pierson was fond o f it, and others have used it many times. Dr. A. J. Gordon, of Boston, was one day at home with his children, and to keep them quiet he gave them a puzzle consisting o f different shaped pieces of wood to put together in a picture. He went out, and had to come back very soon,- and to his surprise he found they had com pleted the puzzle. He asked them how it was they had done it so soon. One replied: “ Oh, there was the picture o f a man on the back, and so we knew how to do it.” Just s.O with the Bible, the picture is the Lord Jesus Christ, and if we take that key we shall find we can fit it into every part o f the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. An American statesman was once asked by a friend: “ Can you comprehend how Jesus Christ can be both God and man?”
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