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 The Trinity.

“Thou dear and great mysterious Three,

For ever be adored,
For all the endless grace we see
In our Redeemer stored.

“The Father’s ancient grace we sing,

That chose us in our Head;
Ordaining Christ, our God and King,
To suffer in our stead.

“The sacred Son, in equal strains,

With reverence we address,
For all His grace, and dying pains,
And splendid righteousness.

“With tuneful tongue the Holy Ghost

For His great work we praise,
Whose power inspires the blood-bought host
Their grateful voice to raise.

“Thus the Eternal Three in One

We join to praise, for grace
And endless glory through the Son,
As shining from His face.”
 CHAPTER III.
CONFESSION.
Another element in true prayer is Confession. I do not want Christian
friends to think that I am talking to the unsaved. I think we, as
Christians, have a good many sins to confess.
If you go back to the Scripture records, you will find that the men
who lived nearest to God, and had most power with Him, were those
who confessed their sins and failures. Daniel, as we have seen,
confessed his sins and those of his people. Yet there is nothing
recorded against Daniel. He was one of the best men then on the
face of the earth, yet was his confession of sin one of the deepest
and most humble on record. Brooks, referring to Daniel’s confession,
says: “In these words you have seven circumstances that Daniel
useth in confessing of his and the people’s sins; and all to heighten
and aggravate them. First, ‘We have sinned;’ secondly, ‘We have
committed iniquity;’ thirdly, ‘We have done wickedly;’ fourthly, ‘We
have rebelled against thee;’ fifthly, ‘We have departed from Thy
precepts;’ sixthly, ‘We have not hearkened unto Thy servants;’
seventhly, ‘Nor our princes, nor all the people of the land.’ These
seven aggravations which Daniel reckons up in his confession are
worthy our most serious consideration.”
Job was no doubt a holy man, a mighty prince, yet he had to fall in
the dust and confess his sins. So you will find it all through the
Scriptures. When Isaiah saw the purity and holiness of God, he
beheld himself in his true light, and he exclaimed, “Woe is me, for I
am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips!”
I firmly believe that the Church of God will have to confess her own
sins, before there can be any great work of grace. There must be a
deeper work among God’s believing people. I sometimes think it is
about time to give up preaching to the ungodly, and preach to those
who profess to be Christians. If we had a higher standard of life in
the Church of God, there would be thousands more flocking into the
Kingdom. So it was in the past; when God’s believing children turned
away from their sins and their idols, the fear of God fell upon the
people round about. Take up the history of Israel, and you will find
that when they put away their strange gods, God visited the nation,
and there came a mighty work of grace.
What we want in these days is a true and deep revival in the Church
of God. I have little sympathy with the idea that God is going to
reach the masses by a cold and formal church. The judgment of God
must begin with us. You notice that when Daniel got that wonderful
answer to prayer recorded in the ninth chapter, he was confessing
his sin. That is one of the best chapters on prayer in the whole Bible.
We read: “While I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my
sin, and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication
before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God; yea, while
I was speaking in my prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had
seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly,
touched me about the time of the evening oblation. And he informed
me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to
give thee skill and understanding.”
So also when Job was confessing his sin, God turned his captivity
and heard his prayer. God will hear our prayer and turn our captivity
when we take our true place before Him, and confess and forsake
our transgressions. It was when Isaiah cried out before the Lord, “I
am undone,” that the blessing came; the live coal was taken from
the altar and put upon his lips; and he went out to write one of the
most wonderful books the world has ever seen. What a blessing it
has been to the church!
It was when David said, “I have sinned!” that God dealt in mercy
with him. “I acknowledge my sin unto Thee, and mine iniquity have I
not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and
Thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.” Notice how David made a
very similar confession to that of the prodigal in the fifteenth of
Luke: “I acknowledge my transgressions; and my sin is ever before
me. Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in
Thy sight!” There is no difference between the king and the beggar
when the Spirit of God comes into the heart and convicts of sin.
Richard Sibbes quaintly says of confession: “This is the way to give
glory to God: when we have laid open our souls to God, and laid as
much against ourselves as the devil could do that way, for let us
think what the devil would lay to our charge at the hour of death
and the day of judgment. He would lay hard to our charge this and
that—let us accuse ourselves as he would, and as he will ere long.
The more we accuse and judge ourselves, and set up a tribunal in
our hearts, certainly there will follow an incredible ease. Jonah was
cast into the sea, and there was an ease in the ship; Achan was
stoned, and the plague was stayed. Out with Jonah, out with Achan;
and there will follow ease and quiet in the soul presently. Conscience
will receive wonderful ease.
“It must needs be so; for when God is honored, conscience is
purified. God is honored by confession of sin every way. It honors
His omniscience, that He is all-seeing; that He sees our sins and
searches our hearts—our secrets are not hid from Him. It honours
His power. What makes us confess our sins, but that we are afraid of
His power, lest He should execute it? And what makes us confess our
sins, but that we know there is mercy with Him that He may be
feared, and that there is pardon for sin? We would not confess our
sins else. With men it is, Confess, and have execution; but with God,
Confess, and have mercy. It is His own protestation. We should
never lay open our sins but for mercy. So it honors God; and when
He is honored, He honors the soul with inward peace and
tranquillity.”
Old Thomas Fuller says: “Man’s owning his weakness is the only
stock for God thereon to graft the grace of His assistance.”
Confession implies humility, and this, in God’s sight, is of great price.
A farmer went with his son into a wheat field, to see if it was ready
for the harvest. “See, father,” exclaimed the boy, “how straight these
stems hold up their heads! They must be the best ones. Those that
hang their heads down, I am sure cannot be good for much.” The
farmer plucked a stalk of each kind and said: “See here, foolish
child! This stalk that stood so straight is light-headed, and almost
good for nothing; while this that hung its head so modestly is full of
the most beautiful grain.”
Outspokenness is needful and powerful, both with God and man. We
need to be honest and frank with ourselves. A soldier said in a
revival meeting: “My fellow-soldiers, I am not excited; I am
convinced—that is all. I feel that I ought to be a Christian; that I
ought to say so, to tell you so, and to ask you to come with me; and
now if there is a call for sinners seeking Christ to come forward, I for
one shall go—not to make a show, for I have nothing but sin to
show. I do not go because I want to—I would rather keep my seat;
but going will be telling the truth. I ought to be a Christian, I want
to be a Christian; and going forward for prayers is just telling the
truth about it.” More than a score went with him.
Speaking of Pharaoh’s words, “Entreat the Lord that He may take
away the frogs from me,” Mr. Spurgeon says: “A fatal flaw is
manifest in that prayer. It contains no confession of sin. He says not,
‘I have rebelled against the Lord; entreat that I may find
forgiveness!’ Nothing of the kind; he loves sin as much as ever. A
prayer without penitence is a prayer without acceptance. If no tear
has fallen upon it, it is withered. Thou must come to God as a sinner
through a Savior, but by no other way. He who comes to God like the
Pharisee, with, ‘God, I thank Thee that I am not as other men are,’
never draws near to God at all; but he who cries, ‘God be merciful to
me a sinner,’ has come to God by the way which God has Himself
appointed. There must be confession of sin before God, or our
prayer is faulty.”
If this confession of sin is deep among believers, it will be so among
the ungodly also. I never knew it to fail. I am now anxious that God
should revive His work in the hearts of His children, so that we may
see the exceeding sinfulness of sin. There are a great many fathers
and mothers who are anxious for the conversion of their children. I
have had as many as fifty messages from parents come to me within
a single week, wondering why their children are not saved, and
asking prayer for them. I venture to say that, as a rule, the fault lies
at our own door. There may be something in our life that stands in
the way. It may be there is some secret sin that keeps back the
blessing. David lived in the awful sin into which he fell for many
months before Nathan made his appearance. Let us pray God to
come into our hearts, and make His power felt. If it is a right eye, let
us pluck it out; if it is a right hand, let us cut it off; that we may
have power with God and with man.
Why is it that so many of our children are wandering off into the
drinking saloons, and drifting away into infidelity—going down to a
dishonored grave? There seems to be very little power in the
Christianity of the present time. Many Godly parents find that their
children are going astray. Does it arise from some secret sin clinging
around the heart? There is a passage of God’s Word that is often
quoted, but in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred those who quote it
stop at the wrong place. In the fifty-ninth of Isaiah we read:
“Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save,
neither His ear heavy, that it cannot hear.” There they stop. Of
course God’s hand is not shortened, and His ear is not heavy; but we
ought to read the next verse: “Your iniquities have separated
between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from
you, that He will not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood, and
your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue
hath muttered perverseness.” As Mathew Henry says, “It was owing
to themselves—they stood in their own light, they shut their own
door. God was coming toward them in the way of mercy, and they
hindered Him. ‘Your iniquities have kept good things from you.’”
Bear in mind that if we are regarding iniquity in our hearts, or living
on a mere empty profession, we have no claim to expect that our
prayers will be answered. There is not one solitary promise for us. I
sometimes tremble when I hear people quote promises, and say that
God is bound to fulfil those promises to them, when all the time
there is something in their own lives which they are not willing to
give up. It is well for us to search our hearts, and find out why it is
that our prayers are not answered.
That is a very solemn passage in Isaiah:
“Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the
law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah. To what purpose is the
multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the Lord. I am full of the
burnt-offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts, and I delight not
in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. When ye come
to speak before Me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread
My courts? Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination
unto Me; the new moons and Sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I
cannot away with—it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting.”
“Even the solemn meeting!”—think of that. If God does not get our
heart-services, He will have none of it; it is an abomination to Him.
“Your new moons and your appointed feasts My soul hateth; they
are a trouble unto Me; I am weary to bear them. And when ye
spread forth your hands, I will hide Mine eyes from you; yea, when
ye make many prayers, I will not hear; your hands are full of blood.
Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from
before Mine eyes, cease to do evil, learn to do well, seek judgment,
relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.
Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord; though your
sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be
red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”
Again we read in Proverbs: “He that turneth away his ear from
hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.” Think of that!
It may shock some of us to think that our prayers are an
abomination to God, yet if any are living in known sin, this is what
God’s Word says about them. If we are not willing to turn from sin
and obey God’s law, we have no right to expect that He will answer
our prayers. Unconfessed sin is unforgiven sin, and unforgiven sin is
the darkest, foulest thing on this sin-cursed earth. You cannot find a
case in the Bible where a man has been honest in dealing with sin,
but God has been honest with him and blessed him. The prayer of
the humble and the contrite heart is a delight to God. There is no
sound that goes up from this sin-cursed earth so sweet to His ear as
the prayer of the man who is walking uprightly.
Let me call attention to that prayer of David, in which he says:
“Search me, O, God, and know my heart; try me, and know my
thoughts, and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in
the way everlasting!” I wish all my readers would commit these
verses to memory. If we should all honestly make this prayer once
every day there would be a good deal of change in our lives. “Search
ME”—not my neighbor. It is so easy to pray for other people, but so
hard to get home to ourselves. I am afraid that we who are busy in
the Lord’s work, are very often in danger of neglecting our vineyard.
In this Psalm, David got home to himself. There is a difference
between God searching me and my searching myself. I may search
my heart, and pronounce it all right, but when God searches me as
with a lighted candle, a good many things will come to light that
perhaps I knew nothing about.
“Try me.” David was tried when he fell by taking his eye off from the
God of his father Abraham. “Know my thoughts.” God looks at the
thoughts. Are our thoughts pure? Have we in our hearts thoughts
against God or against His people—against any one in the world? If
we have, we are not right in the sight of God. Oh, may God search
us, every one! I do not know any better prayer that we can make
than this prayer of David. One of the most solemn things in the
Scripture history is that when holy men—better men than we are—
were tested and tried, they were found to be as weak as water away
from God.
Let us be sure that we are right. Isaac Ambrose, in his work on “Self
Trial,” has the following pithy words: “Now and then propose we to
our hearts these two questions: 1. ‘Heart, how dost thou?’—a few
words, but a very serious question. You know this is the first
question and the first salute that we use to one another—How do
you do? I would to God we sometimes thus spoke to our hearts:
‘Heart, how dost thou? How is it with thee, for thy spiritual state?’ 2.
‘Heart, what wilt thou do?’ or, ‘Heart, what dost thou think will
become of thee and me?’—as that dying Roman once said: ‘Poor,
wretched, miserable soul, whither art thou and I going—and what
will become of thee, when thou and I shall part?’
“This very thing does Moses propose to Israel, though in other
terms, ‘Oh that they would consider their latter end!’—and oh that
we would put this question constantly to our hearts, to consider and
debate upon! ‘Commune with your own hearts,’ said David; that is,
debate the matter betwixt you and your hearts to the very utmost.
Let your hearts be so put to it in communing with them, as that they
may speak their very bottom. Commune—or hold a serious
communication and clear intelligence and acquaintance—with your
own hearts.”
It was the confession of a divine, sensible of his neglect, and
especially of the difficulty of this duty: “I have lived,” said he, “forty
years and somewhat more, and carried my heart in my bosom all
this while, and yet my heart and I are as great strangers, and as
utterly unacquainted, as if we had never come near one another.
Nay, I know not my heart; I have forgotten my heart. Alas! alas! that
I could be grieved at the very heart, that my poor heart and I have
been so unacquainted! We are fallen into an Athenian age, spending
our time in nothing more than in telling or hearing news. How go
things here? How there? How in one place? How in another? But
who is there that is inquisitive? How are things with my poor heart?
Weigh but in the balance of a serious consideration, what time we
have spent in this duty, and what time otherwise; and for many
scores and hundreds of hours or days that we owe to our hearts in
this duty, can we write fifty? Or where there should have been fifty
vessels full of this duty, can we find twenty, or ten? Oh, the days,
months, years, we bestow upon sin, vanity, the affairs of this world,
while we afford not a minute in converse with our own hearts
concerning their case!”
If there is anything in our lives that is wrong, let us ask God to show
it to us. Have we been selfish? Have we been more jealous of our
own reputation than of the honor of God? Elijah thought he was very
jealous for the honor of God; but it turned out that it was his own
honor after all—self was really at the bottom of it. One of the
saddest things, I think, that Christ had to meet with in His disciples
was this very thing; there was a constant struggle between them as
to who should be the greatest, instead of each one taking the
humblest place and being least in his own estimation.
We are told in proof of this, that “He came to Capernaum; and being
in the house He asked them, What was it that ye disputed among
yourselves by the way? But they held their peace, for by the way
they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest.
And He sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any
man desire to be first, the same shall be the last of all, and servant
of all. And He took a child, and set him in the midst of them; and
when He had taken him in His arms, He said unto them, Whosoever
shall receive one of such children in My name, receiveth Me; and
whosoever shall receive Me, receiveth not Me, but Him that sent
Me.”
Soon after “James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto Him,
saying, Master, we would that Thou shouldest do for us whatsoever
we shall desire. And He said unto them, What would ye that I should
do for you? They said unto Him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one
on Thy right hand, and the other on Thy left hand, in Thy glory. But
Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask; can ye drink of the
cup that I drink of, and be baptized with the baptism that I am
baptized with? And they said unto Him, We can. And Jesus said unto
them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the
baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized; but to sit on
My right hand and on My left hand is not Mine to give; but it shall be
given to them for whom it is prepared. And when the ten heard it,
they began to be much displeased with James and John. But Jesus
called them to Him, and saith unto them: Ye know that they which
are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them;
and their great ones exercise authority upon them. But so shall it not
be among you; but whosoever will be great among you, shall be
your minister; and whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be
servant of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be ministered
unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
The latter words were spoken in the third year of His ministry. Three
years the disciples had been with Him; they had listened to the
words that fell from His lips; yet they had failed to learn this lesson
of humility. The most humiliating thing that happened among the
chosen twelve occurred on the night of our Lord’s betrayal, when
Judas sold Him, and Peter denied Him. If there was any place where
there should have been an absence of these thoughts, it was at the
Supper-table. Yet we find that when Christ instituted that blessed
memorial there was a debate going on among His disciples who
should be the greatest. Think of that!—right under the Cross, when
the Master was “exceeding sorrowful, even unto death;” was already
tasting the bitterness of Calvary, and the horrors of that dark hour
were gathering upon His soul.
I think if God searches us, we will find a good many things in our
lives for us to confess. If we are tried and tested by God’s law, there
will be many, many things that will have to be changed. I ask again:
Are we selfish or jealous? Are we willing to hear of others being
used of God more than we are? Are our Methodist friends willing to
hear of a great revival of God’s work among the Baptists? Would it
rejoice their souls to hear of such efforts being blessed? Are Baptists
willing to hear of a reviving of God’s work in the Methodist,
Congregational, or other churches? If we are full of narrow, party
and sectarian feelings, there will be many things to be laid aside. Let
us pray to God to search us, and try us, and see if there be any evil
way in us. If these holy and good men felt that they were faulty,
should we not tremble, and endeavor to find out if there is anything
in our lives that God would have us get rid of?
Once again, let me call your attention to the prayer of David
contained in the fifty-first Psalm. A friend of mine told me some
years ago that he repeated this prayer as his own every week. I
think it would be a good thing if we offered up these petitions
frequently; let them go right up from our hearts. If we have been
proud, or irritable, or lacking in patience, shall we not at once
confess it? Is it not time that we began at home, and got our lives
straightened out? See how quickly the ungodly will then begin to
inquire the way of life! Let those of us who are parents set our own
houses in order, and be filled with Christ’s Spirit; then it will not be
long before our children will be inquiring what they must do to get
the same Spirit. I believe that to-day, by its lukewarmness and
formality, the Christian Church is making more infidels than all the
books that infidels ever wrote. I do not fear infidel lectures half so
much as the cold and dead formalism in the professing church at the
present time. One prayer-meeting like that the disciples had on the
day of Pentecost, would shake the whole infidel fraternity.
What we want is to get hold of God in prayer. You are not going to
reach the masses by great sermons. We want to “move the Arm that
moves the world.” To do that, we must be clear and right before
God. “For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart,
and knoweth all things, Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then
have we confidence toward God; and whatsoever we ask, we receive
of Him, because we keep His commandments, and do those things
that are pleasing in His sight.”
Confession.
“No, not despairingly
Come I to Thee;
No, not distrustingly
Bend I the knee;
Sin hath gone over me,
Yet is this still my plea,
Jesus hath died.

“Ah, mine iniquity

Crimson has been;
Infinite, infinite,
Sin upon sin;
Sin of not loving Thee,
Sin of not trusting Thee.
Infinite sin.

“Lord, I confess to Thee

Sadly my sin;
All I am, tell I Thee,
All I have been.
Purge Thou my sin away,
Wash Thou my soul this day;
Lord, make me clean!”

—Dr. H. Bonar.
 CHAPTER IV.
RESTITUTION.
A third element of successful prayer is Restitution. If I have at any
time taken what does not belong to me, and am not willing to make
restitution, my prayers will not go very far toward heaven. It is a
singular thing, but I have never touched on this subject in my
addresses, without hearing of immediate results. A man once told
me that I would not need to dwell on this point at a meeting I was
about to address, as probably there would be no one present that
would need to make restitution. But I think if the Spirit of God
searches our hearts, we shall most of us find a good many things
have to be done that we never thought of before.
After Zaccheus met with Christ, things looked altogether different. I
venture to say that the idea of making restitution never entered into
his mind before. He thought, probably, that morning that he was a
perfectly honest man. But when the Lord came and spoke to him, he
saw himself in an altogether different light. Notice how short his
speech was. The only thing put on record that he said was this:
“Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have
taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him
fourfold.” A short speech; but how the words have come ringing
down through the ages!
By making that remark he confessed his sin—that he had been
dishonest. Besides that, he showed that he knew the requirements
of the law of Moses. If a man had taken what did not belong to him,
he was not only to return it, but to multiply it by four. I think that
men in this dispensation ought to be fully as honest as men under
the Law. I am getting so tired and sick of your mere sentimentalism,
that does not straighten out a man’s life. We may sing our hymns
and psalms, and offer prayers, but they will be an abomination to
God, unless we are willing to be thoroughly straightforward in our
daily life. Nothing will give Christianity such a hold upon the world as
to have God’s believing people begin to act in this way. Zaccheus
had probably more influence in Jericho after he made restitution
than any other man in it.
Finney, in his lectures to professing Christians, says: “One reason for
the requirement, ‘Be not conformed to this world,’ is the immense,
salutary, and instantaneous influence it would have, if everybody
would do business on the principles of the Gospel. Turn the tables
over, and let Christians do business one year on Gospel principles. It
would shake the world! It would ring louder than thunder. Let the
ungodly see professing Christians in every bargain consulting the
good of the person they are trading with—seeking not their own
wealth, but every man another’s wealth—living above the world—
setting no value on the world any further than it would be the means
of glorifying God; what do you think would be the effect? It would
cover the world with confusion of face, and overwhelm them with
conviction of sin.”
Finney makes one grand mark of genuine repentance to be
restitution. “The thief has not repented who keeps the money he
stole. He may have conviction, but no repentance. If he had
repentance, he would go and give back the money. If you have
cheated any one, and do not restore what you have taken unjustly;
or if you have injured any one, and do not set about to undo the
wrong you have done, as far as in you lies, you have not truly
repented.”
In Exodus we read—“If a man steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or
sell it, he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a
sheep.” And again: “If a man shall cause a field or vineyard to be
eaten, and shall put in his beast, and shall feed in another man’s
field; of the best of his own field, and of the best of his own
vineyard shall he make restitution. If fire break out, and catch in
thorns, so that the stacks of corn, or the standing corn, or the field,
be consumed therewith, he that kindled the fire shall surely make
restitution.”
Or turn to Leviticus, where the law of the trespass-offering is laid
down—the same point is there insisted on with equal clearness and
force.
“If a soul sin, and commit a trespass against the Lord, and lie unto
his neighbor in that which was delivered him to keep, or in
fellowship, or in a thing taken away by violence, or hath deceived his
neighbor; or have found that which was lost, and lieth concerning it,
and sweareth falsely; in any of all these that a man doeth, sinning
therein; then it shall be, because he hath sinned and is guilty, that
he shall restore that which he took violently away, or the thing which
he hath deceitfully gotten, or that which was delivered him to keep,
or the lost thing which he found, or all that about which he hath
sworn falsely; he shall even restore it in the principal, and shall add
the fifth part more thereto, and give it unto him to whom it
appertaineth, in the day of his trespass offering.”
The same thing is repeated in Numbers, where we read—“And the
Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel,
When a man or woman shall commit any sin that men commit, to do
a trespass against the Lord, and that person be guilty; then they
shall confess their sin which they have done; and he shall
recompense his trespass with the principal thereof, and add unto it
the fifth part thereof, and give it unto him against whom he hath
trespassed. But if the man have no kinsman to recompense the
trespass unto, let the trespass be recompensed unto the Lord, even
to the priest, beside the ram of the atonement, whereby an
atonement shall be made of him.”
These were the laws that God laid down for His people, and I
believe their principle is as binding to-day as it was then. If we have
taken anything from any man, if we have in any way defrauded a
man, let us not only confess it, but do all we can to make restitution.
If we have misrepresented any one—if we have started some
slander, or some false report about him—let us do all in our power to
undo the wrong.
It is in reference to a practical righteousness such as this that God
says in Isaiah—“Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite
with the fist of wickedness; ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to
make your voice to be heard on high. Is it such a fast that I have
chosen? A day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his
head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him?
Wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord? Is not
this the fast that I have chosen—to loose the bands of wickedness,
to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and
that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry,
and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? When
thou seest the naked, that thou cover him, and that thou hide not
thyself from thine own flesh? Then shall thy light break forth as the
morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily; and thy
righteousness shall go before thee, the glory of the Lord shall be thy
reward. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt
cry, and He shall say, Here I am.”
Trapp in his comment on Zaccheus, says: “Sultan Selymus could tell
his councillor Pyrrhus, who persuaded him to bestow the great
wealth he had taken from the Persian merchants upon some notable
hospital for relief of the poor, that God hates robbery for burnt-
offering. The dying Turk commanded it rather to be restored to the
right owners, which was done accordingly, to the great shame of
many Christians, who mind nothing less than restitution. When
Henry III of England had sent the Friar Minors a load of frieze to
clothe them, they returned the same with this message, ‘that he
ought not to give alms of what he had rent from the poor; neither
would they accept of that abominable gift.’ Master Latimer saith, ‘If
ye make no restitution of goods detained, ye shall cough in hell, and
the devils shall laugh at you.’ Henry VII, in his last will and
testament, after the disposition of his soul and body, devised and
willed restitution should be made of all such moneys as had unjustly
been levied by his officers. Queen Mary restored again all
ecclesiastical livings assumed to the crown, saying that she set more
by the salvation of her own soul, than she did by ten kingdoms. A
bull came also from the Pope, at the same time, that others should
do the like, but none did. Latimer tells us that the first day he
preached about restitution, one came and gave him £20 to restore;
the next day another brought him £30; another time another gave
him £200.
“Mr. Bradford, hearing Latimer on that subject, was struck in the
heart for one dash of the pen which he had made without the
knowledge of his master, and could never be quiet till, by the advice
of Mr. Latimer, restitution was made, for which he did willingly forego
all the private and certain patrimony which he had on earth. ‘I,
myself,’ saith Mr. Barroughs, ‘knew one man who had wronged
another but of five shillings, and fifty years after could not be quiet
till he had restored it.’”
If there is true repentance it will bring forth fruit. If we have done
wrong to some one, we should never ask God to forgive us until we
are willing to make restitution. If I have done any man a great
injustice and can make it good, I need not ask God to forgive me
until I am willing to do so. Suppose I have taken something that
does not belong to me. I cannot expect forgiveness until I make
restitution. I remember preaching in an Eastern city, and a fine-
looking man came up to me at the close. He was in great distress of
mind. “The fact is,” he said, “I am a defaulter. I have taken money
that belonged to my employers. How can I become a Christian
without restoring it?” “Have you got the money?” He told me he had
not got it all. He had taken about 1,500 dollars, and he still had
about 900. He said, “Could I not take that money and go into
business, and make enough to pay them back?” I told him that was
a delusion of Satan, that he could not expect to prosper on stolen
money; that he should restore all he had, and go and ask his
employers to have mercy upon him, and forgive him. “But they will
put me in prison,” he said. “Can you not give me any help?” “No;
you must restore the money before you can expect to get any help
from God.” “It is pretty hard,” he said. “Yes, it is hard; but the great
mistake was in doing the wrong at first.” His burden became so
heavy that it was, in fact, unbearable. He handed me the money—
950 dollars and some cents—and asked me to take it back to his
employers. I told them the story, and said that he wanted mercy
from them, not justice. The tears trickled down the cheeks of these
two men, and they said, “Forgive him! Yes, we will be glad to forgive
him.” I went down stairs and brought him up. After he had
confessed his guilt and been forgiven, we all fell down on our knees
and had a blessed prayer-meeting. God met us and blessed us there.
There was another friend of mine who had come to Christ and was
trying to consecrate himself and his wealth to God. He had formerly
had transactions with the Government, and had taken advantage of
them. This thing came to memory, and his conscience troubled him.
He had a terrible struggle; his conscience kept rising up and smiting
him. At last he drew a check for 1500 dollars, and sent it to the
Treasury of the Government. He told me he received such a blessing
after he had done it. That is bringing forth fruits meet for
repentance. I believe a great many men are crying to God for light;
and they are not getting it because they are not honest.
A man came to one of our meetings, when this subject was touched
upon. The memory of a dishonest transaction flashed into his mind.
He saw at once how it was that his prayers were not answered, but
“returned into his own bosom,” as the Scripture phrase puts it. He
left the meeting, took the train, and went to a distant city, where he
had defrauded his employer years before. He went straight to this
man, confessed the wrong, and offered to make restitution. Then he
remembered another transaction, in which he had failed to meet the
just demands upon him; he at once made arrangements to have a
large amount repaid. He came back to the place where we were
holding the meetings, and God blessed him wonderfully in his own
soul. I have not met a man for a long time who seemed to have
received such a blessing.
Some years ago, in the north of England, a woman came to one of
the meetings, and appeared to be very anxious about her soul. For
some time she did not seem to be able to get peace. The truth was,
she was covering up one thing that she was not willing to confess.
At last, the burden was too great; and she said to a worker: “I never
go down on my knees to pray, but a few bottles of wine keep
coming up before my mind.” It appeared that years before, when
she was housekeeper, she had taken some bottles of wine belonging
to her employer. The worker said: “Why do you not make
restitution?” The woman replied that the man was dead; and
besides, she did not know how much it was worth. “Are there any
heirs living to whom you can make restitution?” She said there was a
son living at some distance; but she thought it would be a very
humiliating thing, so she kept back for some time. At last she felt as
if she must have a clear conscience at any cost, so she took the
train, and went to the place where the son of her employer resided.
She took five pounds with her, she did not exactly know what the
wine was worth, but that would cover it at any rate. The man said
he did not want the money, but she replied, “I do not want it; it has
burnt my pocket long enough.” So he agreed to take the half of it,
and give it to some charitable object. Then she came back; and I
think she was one of the happiest mortals I have ever met with. She
said she could not tell whether she was in the body or out of it—
such a blessing had come to her soul.
It may be that there is something in our lives that needs
straightening out; something that happened perhaps twenty years
ago, and that has been forgotten till the Spirit of God brought it to
our remembrance. If we are not willing to make restitution, we
cannot expect God to give us great blessing. Perhaps that is the
reason so many of our prayers are not answered.
Perfect Cleansing.
“Who would be cleansed from every sin,
Must to God’s holy altar bring
The whole of life—its joys, its tears,
Its hopes, its loves, its powers, its years,
The will, and every cherished thing!

“Must make this sweeping sacrifice—

Choose God, and dare reproach and shame,
And boldly stand in storm or flame
For Him who paid redemption’s price;
Then trust (not struggle to believe),
And trusting wait, nor doubt, but pray
That in His own good time He’ll say,
‘Thy faith hath saved thee; now receive.’

“His time is when the soul brings all,

Is all upon His altar lain;
When pride and self-conceit are slain,
And crucified with Christ, we fall
Helpless upon His word, and lie;
When, faithful to His word, we feel
The cleansing touch, the Spirit’s seal,
And know that He does sanctify.”

A. T. Allis.
 CHAPTER V.
THANKSGIVING.
The next thing I would mention as an element of prayer is
Thanksgiving. We ought to be more thankful for what we get from
God. Perhaps some of you mothers have a child in your family who
is constantly complaining—never thankful. You know that there is
not much pleasure in doing anything for a child like that. If you meet
with a beggar who is always grumbling, and never seems to be
thankful for what you give, you very soon shut the door in his face
altogether. Ingratitude is about the hardest thing we have to meet
with. The great English poet says:
“Blow, blow, thou winter wind—
Thou art not so unkind
As man’s ingratitude;
Thy tooth is not so keen,
Because thou art not seen,
Although thy breath be rude.”
We cannot speak too plainly of this evil, which so demeans those
who are guilty of it. Even in Christians there is but too much of it to
be seen. Here we are, getting blessings from God day after day; yet
how little praise and thanksgiving there is in the Church of God!
Gurnall, in his Christian Armor, referring to the words, “In everything
give thanks,” says: “‘Praise is comely for the upright.’ ‘An unthankful
saint’ carries a contradiction with it. Evil and Unthankful are twins
that live and die together; as any one ceaseth to be evil, he begins
to be thankful. It is that which God expects at your hands; He made
you for this end. When the vote passed in heaven for your being—
yea, happy being in Christ!—it was upon this account, that you
should be a name and a praise to Him on earth in time, and in
heaven to eternity. Should God miss this, He would fail of one main
part of His design. What prompts Him to bestow every mercy, but to
afford you matter to compose a song for His praise? ‘They are My
people, children that will not lie; so He was their Savior.’
“He looks for fair dealing at your hands. Whom may a father trust
with his reputation, if not his child? Where can a prince expect
honor, if not among his favorites? Your state is such that the least
mercy you have is more than all the world besides. Thou, Christian,
and thy few brethren, divide heaven and earth among you! What
hath God that He withholds from you? Sun, moon and stars are set
up to give you light; sea and land have their treasures for your use;
others are encroachers upon them; you are the rightful heirs to
them; they groan that any others should be served by them. The
angels, bad and good, minister unto you; the evil, against their will,
are forced like scullions when they tempt you, to scour and brighten
your graces, and make way for your greater comforts; the good
angels are servants to your heavenly Father, and disdain not to carry
you in their arms. Your God withholds not Himself from you; He is
your portion—Father, Husband, Friend. God is His own happiness,
and admits you to enjoy Him. Oh, what honor is this, for the subject
to drink in his prince’s cup! ‘Thou shalt make them drink of the river
of Thy pleasures.’ And all this is not the purchase of your sweat and
blood; the feast is paid for by Another, only He expects your thanks
to the Founder. No sin-offering is imposed under the Gospel; thank-
offerings are all He looks for.”
Charnock, in discoursing on Spiritual Worship, says: “The praise of
God is the choicest sacrifice and worship, under a dispensation of
redeeming grace. This is the prime and eternal part of worship
under the Gospel. The Psalmist, speaking of the Gospel times, spurs
on to this kind of worship: ‘Sing unto the Lord a new song; let the
children of Zion be joyful in their King; let the saints be joyful in
glory; let them sing aloud upon their beds; let the high praises of
God be in their mouth.’ He begins and ends both Psalms with Praise
ye the Lord! That cannot be a spiritual and evangelical worship that
hath nothing of the praise of God in the heart. The consideration of
God’s adorable perfections discovered in the Gospel will make us
come to Him with more seriousness, beg blessings of Him with more
confidence, fly to Him with a winged faith and love, and more
spiritually glorify Him in our attendances upon Him.”
There is a great deal more said in the Bible about praise than
prayer; yet how few praise-meetings there are! David, in his Psalms,
always mixes praise with prayer. Solomon prevailed much with God
in prayer at the dedication of the temple; but it was the voice of
praise which brought down the glory that filled the house; for we
read: “And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the
holy place (for all the priests that were present were sanctified, and
did not then wait by course; also the Levites, which were the
singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons
and their brethren, being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals,
and psalteries, and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and
with them a hundred and twenty priests, sounding with trumpets); it
came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to
make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord; and
when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets, and cymbals, and
instruments of music, and praised the Lord, saying, ‘For He is good;
for His mercy endureth forever;’ that then the house was filled with
a cloud, even the house of the Lord; so that the priests could not
stand to minister by reason of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord
had filled the house of God.”
We read, too, of Jehoshaphat, that he gained the victory over the
hosts of Ammon and Moab through praise, which was excited by
faith and thankfulness to God.
“And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the
wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and
said, ‘Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; believe in
the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe His prophets,
so shall ye prosper;’ and when he had consulted with the people, he
appointed singers unto the Lord, and that should praise the beauty
of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, ‘Praise the
Lord; for His mercy endureth for ever,’ And when they began to sing
and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the children of
Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, which were come against Judah;
and they were smitten.”
It is said that in a time of great despondency among the first settlers
in New England, it was proposed in one of their public assemblies to
proclaim a fast. An old farmer arose; spoke of their provoking
heaven with their complaints, reviewed their measures, showed that
they had much to be thankful for, and moved that instead of
appointing a day of fasting, they should appoint a day of
thanksgiving. This was done; and the custom has been continued
ever since.
However great our difficulties, or deep even our sorrows, there is
room for thankfulness. Thomas Adams has said: “Lay up in the ark
of thy memory not only the pot of manna, the bread of life; but even
Aaron’s rod, the very scourge of correction, wherewith thou hast
been bettered. Blessed be the Lord, not only giving, but taking away,
saith Job. God who sees there is no walking upon roses to heaven,
puts His children into the way of discipline; and by the fire of
correction eats out the rust of corruption. God sends trouble, then
bids us call upon Him; promiseth our deliverance; and lastly, the all
He requires of us is to glorify Him. Call upon Me in the day of
trouble; I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me.” Like the
nightingale, we can sing in the night, and say with John Newton—
“Since all that I meet shall work for my good,
The bitter is sweet, the medicine food;
Though painful at present, ’twill cease before long,
And then—oh, how pleasant!—the conqueror’s song.”
Among all the apostles none suffered so much as Paul; but none of
them do we find so often giving thanks as he. Take his letter to the
Philippians. Remember what he suffered at Philippi; how they laid
many stripes upon him, and cast him into prison. Yet every chapter
in that Epistle speaks of rejoicing and giving thanks. There is that
well-known passage: “Be careful for nothing, but in everything, by
prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be
made known unto God.” As some one has said, there are here three
precious ideas: “Careful for nothing; prayerful for everything; and
thankful for anything.” We always get more by being thankful for
what God has done for us. Paul says again: “We give thanks to God,
the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you.” So he
was constantly giving thanks. Take up any one of his Epistles, and
you will find them full of praise to God.
Even if nothing else called for thankfulness, it would always be an
ample cause for it that Jesus Christ loved us, and gave Himself for
us. A farmer was once found kneeling at a soldier’s grave near
Nashville. Some one came to him and said: “Why do you pay so
much attention to this grave? Was your son buried here?” “No,” he
said. “During the war my family were all sick, I knew not how to
leave them. I was drafted. One of my neighbors came over and said:
‘I will go for you; I have no family.’ He went off. He was wounded at
Chickamauga. He was carried to the hospital, and there died. And,
sir, I have come a great many miles, that I might write over his
grave these words, ‘He died for me.’”
This the believer can always say of his blessed Savior, and in the fact
may well rejoice. “By Him therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of
praise continually, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His
name.”
The Praise of God.
“Speak, lips of mine!
And tell abroad
The praises of my God.
Speak, stammering tongue!
In gladdest tone,
Make His high praises known.

“Speak, sea and earth!

Heaven’s utmost star,
Speak from your realms afar!
Take up the note,
And send it round
Creation’s farthest bound.

“Speak, heaven of heavens!

Wherein our God
Has made His bright abode.
Speak, angels, speak!
In songs proclaim
His everlasting name.

“Speak, son of dust!

Thy flesh He took
And heaven for thee forsook.
Speak, child of death!
Thy death He died,
Bless thou the Crucified.”

—Dr. Bonar.
 CHAPTER VI.
FORGIVENESS.
The next thing is perhaps the most difficult of all to deal with—
Forgiveness. I believe this is keeping more people from having power
with God than any other thing—they are not willing to cultivate the
spirit of forgiveness. If we allow the root of bitterness to spring up in
our hearts against some one, our prayer will not be answered. It
may not be an easy thing to live in sweet fellowship with all those
with whom we come in contact; but that is what the grace of God is
given to us for.
The disciples’ prayer is a test of sonship; if we can pray it all from
the heart we have good reason to think that we have been born of
God. No man can call God Father but by the Spirit. Though this
prayer has been such a blessing to the world, I believe it has been a
great snare; many stumble over it into perdition. They do not weigh
its meaning, nor take its facts right into their hearts. I have no
sympathy with the idea of universal sonship—that all men are the
sons of God. The Bible teaches very plainly that we are adopted into
the family of God. If all were sons God would not need to adopt any.
We are all God’s by creation; but when people teach that any man
can say, “Our Father which art in heaven,” whether he is born of God
or not, I think that is contrary to Scripture. “As many as are led by
the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” Sonship in the family is
the privilege of the believer. “In this the children of God are
manifest, and the children of the devil,” says the Apostle. If we are
doing the will of God, that is a very good sign that we are born of
God. If we have no desire to do that will, how can we call God “Our
Father?”
Another thing. We cannot really pray for God’s kingdom to come
until we are in it. If we should pray for the coming of God’s kingdom
while we are rebelling against Him, we are only seeking for our own
condemnation. No unrenewed man really wants God’s will to be
done on the earth. You might write over the door of every unsaved
man’s house, and over his place of business, “God’s will is not done
here.”
If the nations were really to put up this prayer, all their armies could
be discharged. They tell us there are some twelve millions of men in
the standing armies of Europe alone. But men do not want God’s will
done on earth as it is in heaven; that is the trouble.
Now let us come to the part I want to dwell upon: “Forgive us our
trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us.” This is the
only part of the prayer that Christ explained.
“For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also
forgive you; but if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will
your Father forgive your trespasses.”
Notice that when you go into the door of God’s kingdom, you go in
through the door of forgiveness. I never knew of a man getting a
blessing in his own soul, if he was not willing to forgive others. If we
are unwilling to forgive others, God cannot forgive us. I do not know
how language could be more plain than it is in these words of our
Lord. I firmly believe a great many prayers are not answered
because we are not willing to forgive some one. Let your mind go
back over the past, and through the circle of your acquaintance; are
there any against whom you are cherishing hard feelings? Is there
any root of bitterness springing up against some one who has
perhaps injured you? It may be that for months or years you have
been nursing this unforgiving spirit; how can you ask God to forgive
you? If I am not willing to forgive those who may have committed
some single offence against me, what a mean, contemptible thing it
would be for me to ask God to forgive the ten thousand sins of
which I have been guilty!
But Christ goes still further. He says: “If thou bring thy gift to the
altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against