Covenanter Witness Vol. 55 - Rparchives.org

shame?"rebuke"rebuke."me."contains other expressions of his affection for hispeople, and his grief over their judgment. Theymight hate him, and hurt him, but he loved them.Moses was offered by the Lord the opportunityto be made a great nation, while Israel was to be destroyed. He pled with the Lord to spare the people."Blot me, I pray thee, out ofThy book." He wouldtake the punishment instead of his people.Paul loved his people, the Jews, and was willingto be accursed for his brethren's sake.If we have things to say that will hurt, but thatneed to be said, let us speak them in love. We have amessage of judgment: a message of eternal punishment for men who reject the way of salvation; amessage of destruction for nations which reject theappointed King. We have a message of truthdivinelyfor the Church of Christ, which is commonly rejected. We have a message, along with all true Protestant churches, for the Church of Rome, for thosewho are tempted to forget or to deny the recordof that Church; for the rulers of our nation, someof whom in the past have been more willing thanour people to grant official relationship with it. Wemust speak with firmness, as Jeremiah did. But wemust speak without bitterness.Senator Douglas of Illinois tells in the Reader'sDigest of receiving what he calls "the best advice Iever had" in a Chicago Quaker meeting. After a longsilence a man arose and said earnestly this singleshow himsentence: "When you differ with a man,by your looks, by your bearing and by everythingthat you do or say, that you love him." This is Paul'scounsel in Ephesians, "Speaking the truth in love."2. He did his work with earnestness. Dr. Clarence Macartney, writing many years ago on the workof the ministry, remarked that sincerity in preaching is not enough; there must be earnestness. Dr.Maitland Alexander, Dr. Macartney's predecessor inthe First Presbyterian church of Pittsburgh, in giving the charge to Dr. Casper Wister Hodge, at his inauguration as Charles Hodge Professor of Didacticand Polemic Theology at Princeton Seminary in1921, said among other things: "You must compel,and I use this word as Christ used it, the students inyour classes to believe what you teach. It is notenough to deliver what you believe to be the truth.It is not enough to demand an examination in whatyou have said. It is not dutywell done if you say,'Here it is, Take it or leave it.' You must teach withso much conviction, impart with so much skill andtact, deal so powerfully with your students, thatthey will carry away an impression that they willnever forget."Jeremiah was in earnest. He felt his message.His heart was in it. They went on heedlessly. Jeremiah saw the destruction that was to come. Studychapter eight as to this.Let us be in earnest. Whatever our work is, wemust work earnestly. With the gospel of Christ wemust give the message as a living message, whichis the message of our heart.3. He did his work with steadfastness. Remember the word of Paul ; "Be ye steadfast, unmoveable,always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain inthe Lord."A writer said that he did not believe there weremany men who could turn from 'big things to smal-July 20, 1955ler things, and grow bigger by doing it. He was referring to a scientist who had been making a namefor himself for successful research and experiment.An accident brought sudden blindness, and put anend to the work which he had been doing. In thedarkness he patiently took up the work that was leftfor him to do the writing of textbooks for studentsin the University. What he had Vped to discoverwas forever beyond his reach. Bravely and faithfullyhe took up a humbler task that was stih possible forhim. In the lesser task he became a biggei man.So Jeremiah grew in soul, and his greafo-ess appeared more clearly as he conquered his trials.. Hespoke an unpopular message. He was misundersto^He was lonely, hated, persecuted, "Woe is me,mj