August 1928
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
473
he knows o f Christ, the closer he comes to the heart o f things. “ I am the Light o f the world,” our blessed Lord once said. I know that the primary meaning here is moral and spiritual. I rejoice in Christ the moral and spiritual Light o f thé world. But He is more— He is the intellectual Light o f the world ! And I maintain that a true knowl edge o f Jesus Christ, His Person, Purpose, Power, Right eousness, Love, His work among men, His Second Com ing— sheds more light upon the intellectual problems of the world than all the philosophies o f history ever written by the hand o f man. Not yet do we know our Christ perfectly,- Now we see through a glass darkly. Some day we shall see Him “ face to face.” But we know enough about Him now to be sure that if His Purpose be at the center of human history, then it is a Holy and Loving Purpose that runs unceas ingly through the ages. And this knowledge solves a thousand problems. II. C hrist is the G uiding P ower in H istory Rev. 6:1-2. “And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard, as it were the noise o f thunder, one o f the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold' a white horse : and he that sat on Him had a bow ; and a crown was given unto him : and he went forth conquering and to conquer.” I do not propose to discuss the chronological place in human history o f these tremendous events which are here described by the Apostle John. Some good men say all this is past. Others say it is all in the future. My own opinion is that the seals o f the Book are not yet broken. They may indeed foreshadow historical movements in the past, but they certainly belong to the great Day o f God’s wrath, and that Day is not yet come. But the point I have in mind is not dependent upon either o f these interpreta tions. It is this :— Jesus Christ breaks] the seals which usher in the great movements o f human history. I believe with all my heart that Christ’s Mediatorial reign and gov ernment is yet to come. Not yet is the “ government upon His shoulder” in this sènse. But there is, and always has been, a Providential government o f God in the world. And this Providential government is exercised and maintained through the Son, our Lord and Saviour. Through Him the ages were planned, and through Him now the plan is being carried out. This does not mean what the philosophers like to call “ Absolute Determinism” in history. It does not mean that God is the only Factor; that men are only puppets in the great drama o f life. No. I have already suggested that within certain limits men are free to work their own will. But it does mean that Christ has the last word ; that He holds the “ balance o f power,” that He is the “ unaccount able Factor” in history. The most rigid analysis o f history along naturalistic lines always leaves one factor unex plained. This is the unknown quantity, the algebraic “ X ” o f history. Oswald Spengler, in his sensational book, “ The Decline o f the West,” found a mysterious over ruling power in history and, not believing in God, called it ■“ DEST INY ” ! But the Christian knows more than Spen gler. He knows that over-ruling power is Christ. Men and nations may ignore Christ in human affairs, but they do so at their own peril. “ The best-laid plans o ’ mice and men gang aft agley.” Burns may not have known why, but the Christian knows. “ God is on the side of those who have the best artillery.” But the cynical Napoleon found it was not so. The race is not always to the swift, neither the battle to the strong. A few flakes of snow falling, dancing through the air, hide the sunken road into which the flower o f his army rode and perished. “ Who is Jehovah that I should obey Him?” said the inso
lent king o f Egypt. “ I know not Jehovah; neither will I let His people g o !” But he did let them g o ! “ The Jews return to Palestine!” scoffed the unbelievers not so very long ago. “ Why, they would starve!” : But the Jews are going back, and they are not starving e i t h e r “ I T IS JEHOVAH ,” said the prophet, “ who frustrateth the signs of boasters, and maketh diviners mad; that turneth wise men backward and maketh their knowledge foolish.” It is Jehovah! Better not leave Him out o f our plans and pre dictions. A spiritual reading of history will discover the guiding hand o f Christ in all it^. various stages. I turn to a very familiar passage to show that this is so. Matt. 23:37. “ O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would’ I have gathered thy children together, even'as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not.” Many times, I suppose, you have: read this passage; and you have always rejoiced in its revelation o f the ten der heart o f Jesus Christ. I rej.oice with you. But there is something more here. In His brief lamentation our Lord sums up the whole history of the Chosen People and reveals Himself as its Guiding Spirit. He says nothing, to be sure, of Egypt, the Red. Sea, Sinai, the wilderness, the land flowing with milk and' honey,-—nothing o f vic tories and defeats, captivities and deliverances. But it’s all here, nevertheless, in one simple sweeping utterance— “ How often would I . . . but ye would.not,” This one statement from the lips ,of Christ sheds more light upon the meaning and Guiding Spirit of history than all the learned books ever written by the genius o f men. It’s all here. The God of history is here— Jesus Christ. The Purpose o f history is here— to gather sinners under the wings o f God. The Tragedy of history is here1—“ Ye would not.” : III. C hrist is the C onsummator and G oal of H istory What about the future ? That is the burning question in the hearts o f men. Is the issue certain, or must we be content to work without any guarantee as. to the final out come ? The Modernist may vaunt and rail against what he is pleased to call “ the Apocalyptic interest;” he may con demn it as a paralyzer o f human effort; he may even deny and inhibit the interest in his'own life ; but that interest in the future will never be eradicated from the hearts of men. “ What shall be the end of these things?” was the last question o f a man who was wiser than them all. And BURDENED By Lena G. Browne I am so burdened, Lord, fo r this dear friend o f mine, For whom my prayers ascend both day and night;
It seems ofttimes my very heart must break Beneath this crushing load o f hope deferred. I wonder— 0 my Master, Saviour, Lord — Whether this weight that crushes me. in dust Can be -—0 Master, Saviour, dare I say— Akin to Thine! I f so, I thank Thee, Lord, For this sweet fellowship with Thee, who bore The burden not o f one poor guilty soul, But grief beyond all human measurement, In Thine own body on the cursed tree.
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