Covenanter Witness Vol. 55 - Rparchives.org

another."repenteth"want".."Under the person of the young'prodigal"country'-obedience."Since our own desire enters into theequation of the Golden Rule, it may beused subjectively, to measure our owncharacter. A pipe for tuningyour violinis effective only so far as your sense oftone is accurate. But its constant usemay correct a faulty sense of tone. Souse the Golden Rule carefully. It willhelpboth your neighborhood and yourself.Giving or TradingA college mate, years after graduating, showed me a table full of packagesshe was about to mail to her "ChristmasList."She had 36 on her list, mostlyfrom her college days. She said thepackages were mostly books, and thatshe would get a like assortment in return. I suggested that she would havea lot of reading matter. She said shedid not read any of them. She read agreat deal, but chose her own books.She said she wished she could get rid ofthat list. She did not mind the expense,she could stand that. But there weresome on the list who could not affordthe waste, and there was no way to stopwithout fear of offense. She said she gotno joy out of giving to receive again.She did find pleasure in helping somegirls who needed it, and were not ableto repay in kind.RewardsThe doing of a kind deed is its ownreward. Christ said, "Ye shall be theChildren of the Highest. A child isproud to be like his father. Then bemerciful, as your Father also is merciful. Do not judge, or condemn, but forgive. Then you will be forgiven. Whatgreater reward could there be.In all things we are dealing with God,and are sure of a generous reward. Italso pays in the long run to deal generously with men. Christ mentions thatin v. 38, "Give, and it shall be givenunto you good measure shall mengive unto you. For with the same measure . . .We have all seen this in actual life.We had a neighborhood of neighbors.It took a lot of men and horses onthreshing day. We never counted hours,only in a general way did we countdays, and I never heard a word of complaint except from neighbor John. Johnwas so honest that he counted even toa quarter day. So the neighbors counted quarter days with John, and in emergencies that was embarrassing to John.When anyone ran out of grain, they justborrowed until harvest. John stroked.the half-bushel. That was legal, but nooneelse took the trouble,except in returning grain to John. In a trade, it wasas fair one way as the other. This Honesty (?) caused John some anxiety,amused the neighbors,good.Romans 12 :9 :and did John no"Be kindly affectionateone to another, with brotherly love; inhonor preferring one another."John 13:34: "A new commandment Igive unto you, that ye love one another;as I have loved you, that ye also loveonePsalms :PRAYER MEETING TOPICNovember 16, 1955THE PRODIGAL SONLuke 15:11-32Rev. W. C. McClurkin138:1, 4-6, page 338119:part 8, page 293107:13-16, page 26673 :9-ll, page 17932:1, 2, 6, 7, 12, 13, page 74References: Ezra 10:11; Psa. 34:18;51:17; Prov. 28:13; Isa. 1:16; 53:6; 55:7;64:6; 66:2; Jer. 3:13; 31:18-20; Ezek.10:11; 18:31; Hos. 14:2; Joel 2:13; Mark14:72; Luke 18:13; Acts 3:19; 8:22;17:30; II Cor. 7:10; I Peter 5:5-7; IJohn 1:8, 9This parable is the climax in a seriesof three which our Lord told when selfrighteousJews murmured concerningHim: "This man receiveth sinners andeateth with them" (v. 2).By these parables, Jesus explainedthat His mission was "to seek and tosave that which is lost" (19:10) whether one is lost for want of knowledge,like the silly sheep; or through another'scareless trusteeship, like the woman'scoin;or through the power of one's uncontrolled passions, like the waywardboy.And, with variations and comparisons,Jesus spoke of the joy of the findersover the restoration of the lost. "Likewise", He said, "joy shall be in heavenover one sinner that(v. 7).Also, different aspects of the experience of repentance are presented inthese parables. In the former, of thesensitive Lost Sheep, and insensate LostCoin, the Saviour's part is seen; thewanderer is sought and found and borneback, as if almost passive in the experience. In this, of the reasoning, LostSon, though there were antecedent influences that caused the sinner's repentence,the sinner's own action is emphasized; he reasons and repents of hisown free will, and returns on his ownfeet.as Calvin says, "Christ describesall sinners, who, wearied with their ownfolly, throw themselves on the grace ofGod."That is to say, in this parable, ourLord stresses the sinner's experience ofrepentance.The Necessity of RepentanceIt is our previous departure fromGod, in the first Fall and in actual deviations and transgressions, that makesrepentance, on our part, necessary.Though God, in Christ,came down andshared in suffering the evil consequences of our sins, He did not come downto our wayof sinning. If we at all desire His favor, we must turn our backson sin and companions in sin, and returnto God.Our spirit bynature is like that ofthe prodigal. We are not satisfied withour Father's provisions and government;unappreciative of the comforts and privileges to be enjoyed in our Father'sHouse. As if entitled to more temporalthings, we ask for them, and for selfishreasons.Obtaining our heart's desire, beingleft to the freedom of our own will, wego into "a far without movingfrom the spot where we were born. Thatis, it is "far" as regards the alienationof the heart from God, not as regardsdistance in space. When we entertainevil thoughts not fit to print, and actually gratify lusts,we begin to be "inwhich could never be, if we werewith the Lord God, our Shepherd.What folly and madness to prefer thesocietyof the wicked to the favor andcare of the ever blessed God! Can anycitizen of the world give us what wemost need? Can the world console us insickness? Will the world be faithful tous in old age? Can the world receive usinto glory after death? As Augustineconfessed and declared, "Our souls arerestless till they rest in God," we cannever be happy till we return to God.Repentance is necessary.The Nature of RepentanceThe pinch of "want" was instrumentalin bringing the prodigal to his senses."When he came to himself" he realizedthat, before, he had not been himself;that he had been in a state of madness;and yet, that he himself was to blamefor his folly. This guilt, or sense of sin,is more than feeling sorry for the evilconsequences of sin, and is essentiallypreliminary to any true repentance.Then, once blind to the things of God,and insensible of the comforts of theFather's House, the true penitent, likethe prodigal, has a new discovery ofthem. This, as we have learned in ourCatechism and by experience, is an"apprehension of the mercyof God inChrist,"and is a part of that change ofmind essential in repentance.In the mental process, too, is the resolution :.";"I will arise and go to my fatherwhich is a "full purpose of . . . newOctober 26, 1955 285