L^ntrodden
Rev. George H. Morrison, D.D.
“ Ye have not passed this way heretofore” —-Joshua 3:4. T HERE are some things we never get accustomed to, no matter how often they may be repeated. They thrill us every time that they arrive. No minister, however long his ministry, ever gets accustomed to a deathbed. Nobody, however hard his life may be, ever gets accustomed to the spring. And always, right to the end of life, when the New Year comes stepping up to greet us, it evokes certain responses within the heart. It is true we do not measure life by years. We live in deeds, not breaths. Our reckonings are independent of the calendar. They are regulated hy personal experiences. Yet there is something in a common pressure that adds to individual intensity, and that is always so at the New Year. We are like Israel on the banks of the Jordan. We have reached an end that is just a beginning. As back of us all there is a common journey, so before us is an untrodden way. What, then, does this old story give us, to hearten and to guide us, as our feet cross the threshold of the year? The first thing it impresses on us is that for the untrodden way we must sanctify ourselves. “ Sanctify yourselves,” said Joshua to the people, “for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.” You will note that when Israel reached the Jordan they were not immediately ordered to its crossing. For three days they lay upon its banks. They were remembering all the way the Lord had led them. And then, enriched by memory, and mindful of love that never failed them, they were commanded to sanctify themselves. What that meant for them is a matter for' scholars to determine. One turns to Exodus and Leviticus to discover what that meant for them. What that means for us, as we look forward to another year, is to be gathered from the words of Jesus, “ For their sakes I sanctify myself.” Facing the untrodden way, we are to dedicate ourselves again to God. We are to give ourselves to the duties of our calling with a fresh and unreserved surrender. And that, no matter what our calling be, whether preaching the everlasting gospel, or glorifying His name upon a sickbed. The wonders of tomorrow depend on the sanctification of today. A new surrender, here and now, is the. prelude to a wonderful ex perience, all of which ought to be borne in mind by those who are growing weary of their work, and dreading the prospect of another year.
The enthusiasm of youth may have departed, the strength we once enjoyed may have been weakened, thé freshness may have been rubbed off things a little through the ceaseless handling of the years; but if, here and now, facing the un known, in our Lord’s fashion we sanctify ourselves, tomorrow shall be more wonderful than yesterday. Another thing the story teaches is that for the untrodden way we need new commands. This chapter, as one of the Puritans has said, is notably a chapter of commands. There were long periods in the desert journey when no new com mands were given to Israel. They struck their tents, they marched, they pitched again, under the kindly leadership of Heaven. But now, facing the unknown way, there is more than a general and kindly leadership, there are new commands for every emergency. Arise—go forward—sanctify yourselves; take up—pass over—come not near. Orders follow in a swift succession for every step on that untrodden road, from which I gather that, facing a New Year, we can never rest on the commands of yesterday. We want to be in living touch with God. That is why prayer is absolutely necessary if the New Year is to be one of victory. Prayer keeps us in living touch with Him who sees the end from the beginning. And if I speak to any whose prayer- life has grown poor under the pressure of multifarious duties, may I beg of them to alter all that now. No labor can take the place of prayer. No learning can take the place of prayer. We are the followers of One who prayed, and praying won His triumph. In living, daily, personal touch with God there is strength, as there is joy and peace for the darkest mile of the untrodden way. I close by noting that for the untrodden way Israel sent on ahead the Ark of God. It was the sign and symbol that the Lord was with them, and they sent it on ahead into the swellings of the Jordan. In spite of the express command of Jesus, how we send our imaginings ahead! How we toss our selves into a fever over the fears of the untrodden way! But a living faith sends on the Ark of God, entrusts every tomorrow to His keeping, and when the floods come, they do not over whelm us. Fear is a poor hand at finding fords. Fear is a sorry bridge- builder. Fear drowns the music of today. It hears nothing but the rushing of the river. But Israel sent on the Ark of God, and that made all the difference for them, as it makes all the difference for us. With a fresh surrender of ourselves, with a spirit receptive and responsive, with a pro found conviction that God is on ahead, ordering everything in perfect love, let us go forward, with banners flying, to the high adventure of another year, for we “ have not passed this way heretofore.” —Reprinted from Highways of the Heart by permission of Harper & Brothers, Publishers. Lord, give me faith!— to live from day to day, With tranquil heart to do my simple part, And, with my hand in Thine, just go Thy way. Lord, give me faith!— to trust, if not to know; With quiet mind in all things Thee to find, And, child-like, go where Thou wouldst have me go. Lord, give me faith!— to leave it all to Thee, The future is Thy gift, I would not lift The veil Thy love has hung 'twixt it and me. — John Oxenham T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
Photo courtesy Canadian National Railtvays, Los Angeles, Calif.
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