Covenanter Witness Vol. 55 - Rparchives.org

glorious."sheep."verily."lated to our spiritual lives. If wechoose food that will tickle our palates,we are very likely to choose for oursouls the things that will please ourphysical desires.How many things we buy to eat thatare not wholesome! If any food is notfor our health, it is for our harm. Ourrecreations and amusements should beto the advantage of our minds or ourbodies, or both. Our studies of Christ'slife from His birth to His resurrection,or our devotions, should not be dilutedwith fun. There is so much that satisfieth,why not eat that which is good,that will delight the soul.A WITNESS, A LEADER, AND ACOMMANDER.There is a change of speakers here.In the third verse, Christ speaks; "Comeunto Me." The voice in the fourth verseis of the Father who sent Him. Thispromise concerns the Promised Messiah.THOU SHALT CALL NATION.The greatest Glory of anynation isthe Glory of Jesus Christ. Isaiah said,(chapter 11)"And in that day thereshall be a root of Jesse, which shallstand for an ensign of the people; to itshall the gentiles seek;shall beand his restLasting prosperityand peace will come to the nation whoseGod is the Lord.WHILE HE MAY BE FOUND.Verses six and seven stand together.We can find the Lord if we seek Himnow. Now is the time to forsake wickedways and unrighteous thoughts and toreturn unto the Lord. Yesterday is gone,tomorrow is not promised. This is theday of salvation. God is merciful, andToday He will pardon.THY THOUGHTS, AND THE WAYSOF THE LORD.Perhaps we think that the Lord is somerciful that He will pardo'n our sinseven if we do not repent and turn fromthem. Human philosophy has suggestedmany ways in the attempt to ease man'sfears. Preaching Hell has largely goneout of style, not because there has beenany cooling off in hell, but because itfrightens people, scares them clear outof the church sometimes. It does notscare Christians. It will not frightenanyone who has ansv/ered the call ofverses 6 & 7.Whiskey will not makeyou drunk if you don't drink it. Sincan't damn those who are cleansedfrom it.HOW HIGH ARE THE HEAVENS?Everynew instrument invented formeasuring space gives us a deeper evidence of our ignorance. It is when wehave searched and found much, that webegin to learn the unsearchable richesAugust 3, 1955of God. When we go to our presenthorizon, that opens to our view marvels that we have not seen. The morewe learn of God, the more we areimpressed with the depth of what we donot know.DESERT OR GARDEN.Once it was a desert. Men lost theirlives in crossing it for lack of food orwater. I read about it as a desert. Isaw it as the Imperial Valley. Just now,I think of a few weeks ago, when thegrass was turning brown. Now, it ismost luxurient. What makes the difference? Everyone knows the answer.There is no substitute. If life seemsdry and uninteresting, go out into therain. Nebuchadnezzer would not go ofhis own will, when he needed water sosorely. So he was sent out where he gotwet and learned how to grow.SOWING AND REAPING IN GOD'SGARDEN.The garden is the Lord's and He has acertain plan for its cultivation. When wefollow His plan, the fields seem torejoice with us. We have wasted theriches of God's garden, and see the result in much barren land that was oncefertile. But God has a marvelous systemof reclamation. Land deforested anddeserted, eroded and impossible of cultivation, is beingcovered with valuablesoil building forests. While the earth isbeing saved, man is being punished;For sport we killed off the squirrels,now the fine forests of oak, walnut,and hickory are being replaced by lessvaluable timber. None of our Pestplants in the forest are native.Webrought in our worst enemies. Herein isa parable; When we come to understandthat this is God's garden, and obey Hislaws in cultivating it, the thorn andbrier will give place to that which hasbeautyand value. In the natural andspiritual world, we are His husbandmen.THE COMING DAYS. Jeremiah 3:31-35Manyof the lesson helps omit thispassage. It is difficult to understand,therefore hard to explain. Perhaps thebest commentary we can find on it isin Hebrews the eighth chapter wherePaul quotes it in full. He is showing thesuperiorityof the priesthood of Christover that of Aaron. Since the priesthood of Aaron had its limitations, thecovenant administered through thatpriesthood, could not be perfect. Christcame to fulfill the Priesthood of Aaronand to administer a perfect covenant inperfect obedience. Israel had brokenthe Aaronic covenant, even as Mosesbroke the first stone tables of the Law.In the place of the broken covenant,Christ introduced a New Covenant, (orwas it a renewed covenant?), sponsoredunder His own perfect obedience. Everysinner is invited to enter into this covenant with Christ.Psalms:PRAYER MEETING TOPICAugust 24, 1955"THE ONLY DOOR"(The "Aniens" of Jesus)Rev. John O. EdgarScripture John 10:1-18100:1-4,80:1, 2, 6,95:5-7,23:1-5,page 237page 198page 231page 52References: Eph. 2:18; Heb. 13:20,21;I Pet. 2:25; 5:4; Ezek. 34:23.Have you ever considered the important part that doors play in our lives?Usually the door stands as a symbol ofprivacy. A door may give certain privileges to some and withhold those sameprivileges from others. The doors in ahome are open to the members of thefamily, but are closed to those outsidethe family circle. Even a close neighborusually stops to rap before entering thedoor.Members of a family enjoy certainprivileges together. Each one has a rightto sit at the table and enjoy the foodwhich is provided daily. But others maysit at the table only by invitation. Within the family circle there is a measureof love which is not meted to others.Sometimes a child isadopted into ahome and the door is opened to himwith all its privileges.Jesus uses the figure of the door inconnection with the Kingdom of Heaven. Speaking in a parable, He says,"Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am thedoor of the He makes the statement emphatic by prefacing it with thewords, "Verily, The statementimplies two things: the right to includeand the right to exclude those who mayor may not enter the fold.The figure finds its basis in the lifeof the Eastern shepherd. Each day theshepherd takes his flock out to graze,and brings it back to the fold in theevening that it may be kept safelythrough the night. The walls of thesheepfold are usually built of stone, andare high enough that an animal can noteasily jump over or a thief climb over.There is an opening in the wall for adoor, but actually there is no door, forthe shepherd himself is the door. Whenall the sheep are safe within he wrapshis shepherd's cloak around him and liesdown in the doorway. He is the "door"in a true sense of the word.I. Those Who May Enter the DoorOnly the shepherd's own sheep may77