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hill. Its towers are to be noted in prophecy; its foundation is bu ilt upon perfect obedience; its walls are th e fin ished work of Jesus Christ. God has ordained Him ^to be th e p ropitiation of sin, th e Saviour of souls. The refugee is free. No one is excluded. (1 Cor. 6:9-11.) There are sinners of every kind and degree. The way is plain, accessible to all, not far away. There is provision for all need. No crim inal can ever be punished in th a t city. It is a sanctuary. “ God so loved.” It is a stronghold. “There is no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesu s.” There is fellowship there. God tells ou t th rough Christ all of the wonders of His love. It is a joy ful place, “Whom having not seen we love.” “The joy of th e Lord is th eir stren g th .” W hat provision alm ighty God has made for poor sinners. We ought to spend our lives in telling out the story of God’s plans and purposes in Christ Jesus, clearing th e pathway of obstacles, making plain the directions, aiding in every Way men and women and chil dren to find refuge in Him. PRACTICAL POINTS (.1) L iberty is the life of a nation. Li cense is death. (2) Punishm ent of crime is for the purification of our civilization. (3 ) Whoever w inks a t wrong-doing is doing wrong. (4) God is the avenger of every broken law. (5 ) The City of Refuge is a type of our Saviour and His work for sin ners. (6) “The soul th a t sinneth it shall die.” (“All have sinned and come sho rt of His glory.” ) (7) Jesus says, “ I am th e Way, the T ru th and th e L ife.” He has shown us th e way, left us th e tru th and given us the life. (8) The way is plain. “The w ayfaring man, though a fool, need no t err th erein .”
Noah’s a rk was a refuge to Noah and his fam ily from th e storm and waves w ithout. And like th e cities of refuge it had to be entered in order to shield the of- LESSON fender. So we must ILLUSTRATIONS en ter th rough the W. H . P ik e door of Christ (Jno. 10 :9 ) if we would find sh elter from the judgm ent of our sin. Heb. 6:18. N ear th e Door B u t Lost. Some of you will remember thé door of th e E lectricity Building a t the W orld’s P a ir in Chicago in 1893. The door could only he opened in one way. One m u st step on a m at outsifie the door and an electric cu rren t opened the door. Stepping on th e m at suggests our w illingness to en ter; believing th a t the door will open if we step in faith. They go hand in hand in en tering into salvation th rough Christ. “A strang er once, in Syria, saw An old sheepfold w ithou t a door, A square enclosed by rough stonewall, An opening, and nothing more. He asked in wonder, “W here’s the doo r?” A Syrian answered his surprise “The shepherd is the door, him self; J u st in th a t opening he lies.” So Jesus, by thy parable Thou art, th e Shepherd and th e Door, Keep put our deadly enemy, Keep in Thy sheep foreverm ore.” Molineaus du ring , St. Bartholomew ’s massacre took refuge in an oven. There he laid, crying in his h eart, “Oh God, cover me w ith thy h and .” As he prayed a spider wove its web across the oven’s mouth, a gu st of wind filled th e web w ith du st and th e dew settled down upon th e dust of th e web. His pursuers, next morning, seeing th e spider’s web said, “He is not h ere,” and passed on. The T ru e Refuge. How applicable is Phil. 3:9, “And be found in Christ, no t having any rig h t eousness of m ine own, even th a t which is of th e law, bu t th a t which is through
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