No darkness is too dense, no barrier too strong, for almighty grace to remove. Has the Sun of Righteousness arisen in our hearts? How may we know? Jesus tells us (John iii. 21)—"He that doeth truth cometh to the light." God is Light, and His Word is a light that makes all things manifest. It shows sin, how black it is. It reveals the hollowness of the world, the glory of Christ. It points out our dangers, our disease, our wants, and our foes; while it sets forth the remedy of all our ills, the great Refuge and Deliverer who can save unto the uttermost all who confide in Him.
Do we try ourselves by the Scriptures? Abraham compared himself to "dust and ashes"—worthless. Job said, "I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth Thee, wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes" (Job xlii. 5, 6). David, king of Israel, said, "I am poor, and needy." Are we anything like these saints of God? God says, He "will give strength to those who have no might," will "fill the hungry with good things," and for His own name's sake will bless those who feel themselves unworthy of His favour. Do these promises suit us? Are we glad that God's mercy is so free? And do we, like the Psalmist, "esteem all His precepts concerning all things to be right, and hate every false way"? (Psa. cxix. 128.) If so, we are children of the light, and, while we examine ourselves, we shall pray God to search and try us, and lead us in His everlasting way.
Jesus said, "He that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness" (John viii. 12), yet they who fear the Lord, and obey His beloved Servant, may, for a time, have no bright shinings on their pathway (Isa. l. 10), just as sometimes a change of wind, or some other cause, may make a sudden darkness overspread the sky. But day-darkness generally passes off again before long. So "light is sown for the righteous," and the glad harvest shall certainly be reaped, for "the path of the just is as the shining light, which shineth more and more unto the perfect day" (Prov. iv. 18). The morning twilight in nature may be dim and clouded, but when once the sun has risen, the light grows clearer and brighter till noon is reached; but then it begins to decline, and evening gradually comes on. But the spiritual day ends in noontide glory, the everlasting ending of all sorrow, sin, and fear; and to His people the Saviour says, "Thy sun shall no more go down, for the Lord shall be thy everlasting Light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended" (Isa. lx. 20).
May He "open our eyes, that we may behold wondrous things out of His law." May the "Sun of Righteousness arise upon us, with healing in His wings," that "in His light we may see light," and follow Him who has "redeemed us from all evil" to the realms of endless day.
Our next subject will be, God's Independence of All, and His Declared Need of Some of His Creatures. Compare Psalm l. 12, with Matthew xxi. 3, and other passages.
Yours affectionately,
H. S. L.
THE PHARISEE AND THE PUBLICAN.
The Word of God records a potent test
By which a true possessor may be known—
The Pharisee will smite his fellow's breast;
The grace-taught publican will smite his own.