Covenanter Witness Vol. 54 - Rparchives.org

prisoners'
new."
can"
of divination. Her masters lost their gain
and complained. So Paul and Silas were
arrested. Folks were just as
sensative
about their pet idolatries then as they are
now.
The nature of devil-possession in the
days of Christ, has been much dis
puted. Some would find it even now in
some forms of insanity. Others consid
er it a special attempt by Satan to imi
tate the incarnation of Christ. If so, the
attempt was a dismal failure, and no
wonder. Christ, Himself pure, took to
Himself a true body and a reasonable
soul. Satan, himself evil, could get only
evil .bodies. Satan may have thought to
discredit the apostles by having them
proclaim by a soothsaying slave. They
rebuked the devil, and were imprisoned.
Paul and Silas were in no condition to
sleep, with their wounded backs un
washed and their feet in the stocks. In
stead of grumbling and groaning, they
began to pray and sing. Notice Wey
mouth's translation of verse 25. "About
midnight, Paul and Silas were praying
and singing hymns, and the prisoners
were listening." This quite literal trans
lation, would suggest a prayer meeting.
Some of the hearts may have
been like the good soil of the parable.
Perhaps that is why they did not try to
escape in the earthquake. We do not
know if the Jailer was listening. We do
not know how much Paul may have said
to him before he asked his great question.
He must have known about sin and sal
vation, before he could ask the question,
or understand the answer. It is interesting
to notice that the answer given to the
jailer was the same that Christ gave to
Nicodemus. A learned teacher of the
Jews, and a jailer, probably Roman,
one claiming the covenant of Abraham,
the other an idolater: the answer was the
same, because their need and opportun
ity were the same.
The Jailer was so glad and had ex
perienced so great a blessing that he
treated the apostles with the kindest
hospitality, and had them teach his
household so they were all baptized to
gether. So that prayer meeting bore
fruit.
Baptism is the sign of cleansing from
sin. If it is sincere, there is the regenera
tion by the Holy Spirit, giving the New
Life, the New Birth. Jesus did not come
into the world to make men better. He
came to make them good. Christ came
not to improve men, but to change them.
Not to make them better, but to make
them .perfect.
Salvation is a new experience, and
gives a new outlook on life. If our heart
is centered on this world,
we know that
there is nothing that cannot be taken
from us, and so we become peeved if we
think someone has wronged us. In the
50
new life, we know that nothing can be
taken from us, that no-one can injure us.
So we can smile and return good to those
who would do us evil. If in this life only,
we have hope, then it is quite natural
to hoard the things that will buy this
world's goods. If we have experience of a
place and work in Christ's Kingdom, then
naturally, we will find a motive in
acquiring and using earth's values for the
service of Christ's Kingdom. For our own
personal health and comfort, just so
much as is for the glory of God,
and
no more. And if we have not paid to
the Lord the tithe from the wheat that
we owe, we will likely take the Lord a
bucket of turnips as a present.
We cannot become perfect except by
being born again by water and the Holy
Spirit. "Therefore, if any man be in
Christ, he is a new creature: Old things
are passed away; behold, all things are
become
PRAYER MEETING TOPIC
For February 16, 1955
Rev. Roy Blackwood
THE DANGER OF SPURNING GOD'S
Psalms
LOVE AND WORSHIP
(Malachi 1:6-14 & 2:1-9)
Psalm 122: page 316
Psalm 5: page 8
Psalm 50: page 129
Psalm 116: page 282
This man whom God has called "My
(Malachi), began the mes
Messenger"
sage (1:1-6) by stating and proving
God's love. Against that rich background
of God's gratuitous love, he now pro
ceeds to describe these people to them
selves; and their actions and inward
thoughts betray a lack of love that
stands out in naked and ugly con
trast. God charges that they didn't give
Him the honour a child would give his
parent, nor the fear a servant would give
his master. He was their Father (Hos.
11:1; Is. 63:6; 64:8) because He had
made them and all that they were, and
He was also their Master or Lord (Is.
43:8). In other words, "He had made
them and He had bought them" from
bondage safely through the wilderness.
He could have commanded their obedi
ence on either count, but He wanted a
"service"
of love. Bernard said, "God requireth
to be feared as a Lord, honored
as a Father, loved as a husband. Love is
the chiefest of these . . . Honor
and glory
belong to God alone ; but neither of them
will God accept, unless seasoned with
the honey of love." Love keeps fear from
being servile torment, honor from being
adulation. It makes of honor a thing of
grace.
PROOF NO. 1
OF THE SPURNED
LOVE
The people denied God's charges with
another sullen "prove it if you
question (1:6 last sentence),
and God
answered by describing
their services
to Him around the temple. Their lack
of love showed up first in their WOR
SHIP services. God considered that evi
dence the most direct and important and
He gives three indications of it: (1) their
wouldn't
sacrifices, they dare to offer to
a human governor the things they were
God for sacrifice (1:8,7); (2)
offering
Their prayers, weren't being answered
for this very reason (2 :3) ; (3) Their at
titude, the temple itself wasn't cared for
as it should have been (1:10). This was
their response to all God's love at the
"touchpoint"
of WORSHIP service
where He longed for it most and where
it should have been most in evidence.
Some, today,
to church because they
work for God and come
FEAR Him
as a servant; fear what will happen to
them if they don't. They're afraid not to.
Some, today,
work for God and come
to church because they honor God as a
child does
get out of it. They
and creation
But God looks
a parent, because he can't
respect God's power
He's bigger than they are.
.beyond these for a
service born of love and without it, these
others will begin to forget their tithes,
they'll sleep through the worship (1:13),
forget to sing and pray, and become easi
ly distracted. They will, in effect, show
God less courtesy and reverence than
they
would give a human governor in
an interview. Their prayers will be un
answered, their church will fail to grow
in usefulness, they will be spurning God's
love.
On the other hand, with that Love,
anyone can grow beyond a service of
servile fear and limited honor to that
point from which he can see that his
actions and attitudes in God's services.
are caused by the fact that "He first
loved them."
Young people may begin
their "service" to God because of fear
or a desire to honor God's power but
everyone should grow through these to
a motive of love.
Not selfish fear, not
just a filial sense of responsibility, but
love should be the motive that connects
us and all our services to God. Dionysius
said; "As we are said to sanctify God,
when we minister to Him in holiness and
righteousness, and so, as far as in us lies,
show that He is holy; so we are said to
pollute Hirn, when we conduct ourselves
irreverently and viciously before Him,
especially in His worship, and thereby,
as far as in us lies, shew that He is not
dishonored."
holy and is to be
REASON NO. 1
God not only
FOR THE SPURNED
LOVE
put His finger on what
was to him the most hateful indication of
their lack of responding love, He went to
the source of the problem when He said
who was most at fault. He was also hold-
THE COVENANTER WITNESS