^ George MacDonald, Poetical Works, ii. 358. 2 J. Lightfoot, Wtyrks, vi. 123.
2o6 THE FOUR ACTS OF RELIGION
grant me that repentance and remission of sins which He is exalted to give."
^ How monstrous and shameful the nature of sin is, is sufficiently apparent from that great atonement which is necessary to cleanse us from the guilt of it. Nothing less has been required to take away the guilt of our sins than the sufferings and death of the Son of God. Had He not taken our nature upon Him, our nature had been for ever separated from God, and incapable of ever appearing before Him. And is there any room for pride, or self-glory, whilst we are partakers of such a nature as this ? Plave om- sins rendered us so abominable and odious to Him that made us, that He could not so much as receive our prayers, or admit our repentance, till the Son of God made Himself Man, and became a Suffering Advocate for our whole race; and can we in this state pretend to high thoughts of ourselves ? Shall we presume to take delight in our own worth, who are not worthy so much as to ask pardon for our sins without the media- tion and intercession of the Son of God ? ^
There is one only Way
From death to life for me:
It is by Thee, 0 Crucified!
I, also, in Thy death have died,
And, since Thou livest, live in Thee,
Who art the living Way.
There is one only Way Of righteousness for me:
0 Jesus, risen — living now — My only righteousness art Thou!
1 draw my life and strength from Thee, Who art the living Way.^
IV.
Self- Abandonment.
" Put your trust in the Lord."
1. How graciously the passage closes! The awe and the trembling converge in fruitful trust ! The discovery of the holy
^ William Law, Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life, 299. 2E. H, Divall, A Believer's Ecd, 154.
PSALM IV. 4, 5 207
Sovereignty, the discovery of personal defilement, the discovery of a Eedeemer, are consummated in the discovery of rest. When 1 have found my " Eighteousness " my part is now to trust. The awe, the purity of the holy Sovereignty will become mine. Trust keeps open the line of communication between the soul and God. Along that line convoys of blessedness are brought into the heart ; manifold gifts of grace for the weak and defenceless spirit. When I trust I keep open the " highway of the Lord," and along that road there come to me from the Eternal my bread, my water, my instructions, my powers of defence. " I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." I can " work out my own salvation with fear and trembling."
^ It seems to me that the great diflterence between the Christian and the unbeliever is this : the unbeliever says that he cannot lay hold of God, and so believes in himself only. The Christian in proportion as he lays hold of God cannot believe in himself. Now the highest point of the Christian character is that in which we attain forgetfulness of self and act simply as God's creatures. Such is the temper seen in St. Paul and St. John very clearly. But this self-forgetfulness is the fruit of a long process of training in trust in God. To you and me the pain of life lies in the perpetual contrast between the aspiration of our spirit and the poor realization of our actual life. It is no wonder that people have tried at many times to simplify the problem — that they have sought a special form of life in which they might be free from ordinary temptations — the monastery, the brotherhood, the ascetic practice; but all in vain, for the difficulty lay not without, but within — not in the world, but in their own heart.^
^ Looking back, I can say that the hardest battles of life are those fought with self ; this is the one ever-present foe ; the great crisis-fights are those which are fought within. Interpret life as we may, there are moments in which we cannot do without God ; we must invoke His aid against the foe within. The victory lies in the gift of being ready to meet life's vicissitudes with calmness. Such a victory is won with the conviction of the presence and providence of the living God, in whom worldly anxieties and ambitions may be vanquished.^
2. How are we to put our trust in the Lord ?
(1) First, we are to trust Him as willing to receive us, to forgive
^ Life and Letters of Mandell Creightmi, i. 327.
2 Bishop Bovd Carpenter, So7ne Pages of My Life, 173.
2o8 THE FOUR ACTS OF RELIGION
us, to accept us, and to bless us. Are we despairing ? Do we say, " There is no hope " ? " Put your trust in the Lord." Are we saying, " I am without strength, and, therefore, cannot be saved " ? Why not ? " Put your trust in the Lord." Does the evil one say that God will not receive us ? " Put your trust in the Lord," who is infinitely gracious, and full of compassion. " As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked ; but that the wicked turn from his way and live." Surely we may trust in Him whose mercy endureth for ever.