June 1, 1865. ship is in heaven, from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ." " 'Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him." A writer on the important subject of "the heavenly calling" has in a very striking manner contrasted the two callings in the persons of Caleb, who inherited Hebron because he wholly followed Jehovah, his God, and the apostle Paul, suffering for Christ's sake, and looking for his portion at Christ's coming. An extract from his tract must conclude this article, for it is impossible to go through the subjects proposed for investigation without a third paper:— "The faithful Caleb might look upon his vigorous frame as strong for war at fourscore and five as it had been at forty, and on Hebron, the goodly portion conquered by his valiant hand, and confirmed by the oath of Moses to him and to his children for ever, and he might say with truth, 'This I had, because I kept thy precepts.' This I had, because I wholly followed Jehovah my God.' (Josh. xiv. 9.) "But what a contrast is this to the position of the apostle of the Gentiles, who could say, 'What things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord; for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.' "Yet were both these faithful men of God, but the former had been called to exercise faith in Jehovah in connection with gaining a princely inheritance in the earth as one of God's earthly nation; the latter 'a partaker of the heavenly calling,' willingly embracing the fellowship of the sufferings of Christ,' and 'pressing towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.' "But the difference between these two men, let us remember, consisted not in their original character, nor even in the strength of their faith, but in their calling. Let us suppose for a moment that they could have changed places, that Paul had been born a chief in Israel Caleb a chosen vessel to bear Christ's name to the Gentiles. We might then have found Paul, as a man of faith, foremost in hewing down the tall sons of Anak, and as a prince dividing to his daughter a portion in the south land, with the upper and the nether springs.' Whilst Caleb would have been 'gentle among' his Thessalonians, as a nurse cherisheth her children,' or among the Corinthians, approving himself as the minister of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses. By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things." Lynmouth. * "The Heavenly Calling." A tract. Yapp, Welbeck-street. THE DYING REDEEMER COMFORTED. "Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom."-Luke xxiii. 42. THE uniqueness of the case of "the thief on the cross," as, on the one hand, affording no legitimate encouragement to any who would rashly and sinfully postpone to the last hour of life the all-important work of "repentance towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ," and yet, on the other, casting one, though only one, blessed ray of hope even upon the sinner's dying bed, has formed the frequent subject of devout and profitable reflection alike to the preacher and the writer. And so again, the greatness of the faith exhibited by that dying malefactor-a faith which, when all the circumstances of the case come to be considered, seems to stand out as the very greatest example of that primary Christian grace to be found among the sons of men-has in like manner not failed to attract the attention and excite the admiration of many commentators. But it is remarkable that in both these aspects the subject is viewed altogether in a subjective light. It is exclusively the bearing of the confession upon the man himself, his character and destiny, or upon the analogous cases of other men, which seems to be regarded. Let us, however, very briefly consider what effect may have been produced by this confession of the dying thief, not on himself, but on his expiring Redeemer. Now in order to do this intelligently, we must in the first place bear in mind the terms of this remarkable confession: " "Lord, remember me when thou comest in (not ' into ') thy kingdom." Mark! he does not say, "Lord, be merciful to me a sinner," as did the publican (Luke xviii. 13); or, "Lord, let the cruel death thou art even now enduring make atonement for my heavy offences." No; all this may doubtless have been virtually included in the confession, but its express reference is to far other things; not to the "sufferings" of Christ, but to the "glory" that should hereafter follow. We must call to mind, secondly, how, according to the apostle Paul's express declaration, it was "for (or 'because of') the joy set before Him" that the Lord Jesus "endured the cross, despising the shame." (Heb. xii. 2.) This joy, whereinsoever it consisted, was, it is plain, the animating hope which nerved Him to the endurance of His "unknown" sufferings; it was the bright goal which, seen from afar, encouraged and strengthened Him to "run with patience" the arduous race set before Him. Of the influence of this hope or "joy" we have several interesting indications in the Gospel narrative. Thus, for instance, we read that when "the seventy returned with joy, saying, Lord, even the demons are subject unto us through thy name" (Luke x. 17), receiving this, as it would seem, as an indication of His final triumph over Satan, the Saviour burst forth in the sublime response, “I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven." And so again, on the occasion of certain Greeks who had come up to Jerusalem to worship at the feast of the Passover, coming to Philip with the request, "Sir, we would see Jesus," our Lord, on receiving the information, and seeing, doubtless, in the seeking of these Gentiles unto Him an anticipation of the coming time when His name should "be for salvation to the ends of the earth," exclaims in a transport of realizing assurance, "The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of June 1, 1865. wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit." (John xii. 21—24.) We may learn, I think, from these examples, how grateful to the heart of Jesus was any indication of, any reference to, the final result of His mediatorial work, to be realized in His future kingdom and glory. Now, "the joy that was set before Him," and on account of which, or having respect to which, He "endured the cross, despising the shame," was, I apprehend, just this final triumph, this everlasting and glorious kingdom. It was not, as Bengel and others have maintained, simply His present session at the right hand of the throne of God, though that was indeed the first step, so to speak, towards the attainment of that joy; for what is His mental attitude as thus sat down at the right hand of God? Is it not "from henceforth expecting -not enjoying-till His enemies be made His footstool? (Heb. x. 12, 13.) While, on the other hand, in the parable of the Talents we have this joy clearly associated with the coming kingdom, since alike to the improver of the five talents and of the two talents it is said, "Well done, good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” (Matt. xxv. 21, 23.) How interesting a light does this train of thought cast upon the confession of the dying thief! The last and darkest hour of the great Redeemer's humiliation had arrived; the cup which the Father had given Him to drink was even now being drained to the dregs; angels were held afar off; men in their deicidal rage mocked His dying agonies; the Father's face, that sun in whose light His soul alone could live, was hidden; hell in the frenzy of its fancied triumph pressed around to behold the sceptre of God's power broken; but in the midst of all this, and from the lips of the dying sinner at His side, the thought -the ever-welcome, blissful thought-of His KINGDOM is suggested, and in the very act of "enduring the cross the "joy is set before Him" to mitigate its bitterness! Can we hesitate to believe that the thought thus presented was as a grateful cordial to the Redeemer's soul? Can we doubt that, as on the other occasions already mentioned, so now, He regarded this penitent sinner as the living pledge and oracle of His final triumph over all the powers of darkness? Or can we fail to discern in the emphatic " Verily, verily," of His reply, a recognition of this perhaps unconscious service-the outpouring of a divine gratitude to the meanest but not the least beloved of His ministering servants? Is it, in fact, too much to say that this man was, at that supreme moment, the only comforter the blessed Saviour found in God's universe? And if not, then let it nevermore be said that this dying thief had no opportunity of showing his faith by his works; that to him it was not given to glorify his Father in heaven; or, though saved by grace, to win for himself the reward of faithful service. For if in truth-and we have the divine assurance of it-the cup of cold water given to one of Christ's little ones shall in no wise lose its reward, who shall estimate the reward attaching to his deed who was thus privileged to hold forth with his dying hand the only refreshment presented to the lips of his expiring Redeemer; and in that most solemn hour to render-not to a fellow-servant, but to the great Master Himselff-a service which none before ever had the opportunity of rendering, and which through all the coming ages none will ever find it possible to repeat. Tranmere. W. MAUDE. June 1, 1865. Correspondence. [The Editor wishes it to be distinctly understood that he is not responsible for the sentiments of his correspondents. In every case, also, name and address are required, not necessarily for publication, but as a proof of good faith.] DO ALL BELIEVERS ENTER "THE DEAR SIR,-Allow me to intrude a few words into the discussion which Mr. Govett's paper in your April number has given rise to. "A Reader of the RAINBOW says, "It must be admitted that there are but two states-in Christ, and out of Christ; but two places-heaven and hell." I cannot admit this. It is indeed true that so far as eternity is concerned there are but these two states, the state of being in Christ, which is heaven, and the state of being out of Christ, which is hell. But when we come to speak of the dispensation of "the kingdom" we must acknowledge that there are more than two states-viz., the state of being in Christ, and out of the kingdom; the state of being in the kingdom, yet in a position of inferiority to others who are in it; and the state of being out of the kingdom and out of Christ too. Take the parable of the talents, which your correspondent cites, as a practical illustration of this. equally, the one being more trusted than the other (and the Lord had His own reasons for this), and up to the point when they both receive commendation for their profitableness, and welcome to "the joy of their Lord," the inequality is maintained. Can we doubt that they enter the kingdom on different terms, with different powers of aptitudes, and to occupy different stations? Up to this point we have been taking as our text the version of the parable in Matthew; but if we look to the version in Luke (or if Neander is right, and the parable in Luke be not another version of that in Matthew, let us speak of it as the analogous parable in Luke), we shall find that the servant who gained ten pounds was appointed ruler over ten cities, and the servant who gained five pounds, ruler over five cities, which I take to be a very clear: intimation of the different status of these two servants in "the kingdom." And now with regard to the third servant, who was slothful and unprofitable, but still a servant. He had committed no overt act against his lord; no sin of commission is charged against him. He had not been guilty of fraud or robbery, but of sloth and neglect in not using that talent committed to his charge. He rendered back to his lord what he had received from him, but without interest. He was barren and unfruitful. He had not grown, nor enlarged. We have in the parable a full-length portrait of three servants servants, mark you, not enemies. To one of these his lord had committed five talents (the measure of his gifts and responsibilities), and by the right use of these he had earned five other talents, in which statement we find the measure of his profitableness. To the second servant his lord committed two talents, and he by What he was when his lord the faithful use of these made the two gave him his commission, he remained. four. In both cases there was equal He had even some reverence for his lord, profitableness in the use of the Lord's though he had very mistaken views of treasure, for the results were in propor- him, for he had been careful to preserve tion to the original endowments. To what he had received, that he might give both these servants the Lord, therefore, it back again. This is a life-like porsays, "Well done, enter thou into trait of a timorous, narrow - hearted the joy of thy Lord"-or in other words, Christian; but it is not by any means a "enter thou into the kingdom." It is, portrait of an enemy of Christ. It is a however, manifest that the two servants photograph of an ill-grained, morose, do not enter into the kingdom or equal mistrustful servant, wanting in zeal, but terms. They began their service un-not destitute of honesty. We, therefore, The prayer of Christ that all believers might be "one," cannot be adduced as a proof that all believers will enter "the kingdom." It shows His desire, and the aim of His work on earth, but nothing more. The passage from Romans, " And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ," is a very strong one if we stop at these words; but the whole of the sentence should be quoted: "And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together." Here it is made the condition of being "glorified" with Christ, that we suffer with Him," and this implies self-cenying, zealous, exemplary, profitable service. But we cannot deny that there are men who will be saved, who are not exemplary servants of Christ. do right in reckoning him as a servant, or "punishment." It is simply the though unfaithful- a member of the withholding of a special reward which is household, though not an ornament to it promised to special faithfulness. If it -" a vessel" in the great house, though be "positive retribution" to exclude not "to honour." Well, what happens some believers from "the kingdom," to this servant? He is "cast into outer then it is also "positive retribution" to darkness." Surely we cannot infer from place some believers in posts of less disthese words that the unprofitable believer tinction and honour than others in "the in Christ is cast into hell. The meaning kingdom," or in the eternal heavens. must be that he is excluded from" the And yet we believe that there are kingdom." It is only by believing in hierarchies in heaven - seraphs who "the kingdom" that we can understand "burn before the throne," and some who the passage; and understanding it by only "stand and wait" at a distance. this light, we cannot conceive that the It is surely not contrary to the spirit of exclusion extends to the eternal state. the Gospel to hold that the state which we speak of by the name of heaven is one of continual progress," from glory to glory," and that, existing in this state, there are myriads of happy beings in different stages of progress. Yet we should not say that the least glorious of these glorious beings suffers under the rod of "positive retribution." The positions they occupy will be according to their fitness; and it is in this sense we must understand the Scriptures when he discerns all the difference between they speak of rewards. Mr. Rees thinks negative and positive retribution, in the giving the believer "a lower place, both in the kingdom and after it," and in "utter exclusion" from the kingdom. I cannot detect this difference, since exclusion from the kingdom is not exclusion from the glorious immortality which is the inheritance of all believers. That "the kingdom' was the special Mr. Rees meets the argument of Mr. object of early Christian faith and hope Govett, that there are true believers who cannot be doubted; and even in these will be excluded from "the kingdom" days there are many who feel that to be on account of their shortcomings, by shut out of it would be to lose the asking, "whether repentance, however crowning felicity of enjoying the long tardy, will not obliterate these sins, and Sabbath of the world; but the eternal if so, whether they will be positively hope remains: the heavens will receive punished in another world?" The the saved, though they may be unmeet answer to this seems to be, that true to reign with Christ, as kings and repentance enables a man to reach the priests-as judges and administrators, mercy of God, offered to him in Jesus over the earth, which is the promised Christ to the saving of the soul; but possession of the "meek "- —a large, inthat it does not ensure for the laggards clusive word, which grasps all the higher in the Christian race the prize and the Christian qualities of patient endurance, crown, which are the reward of those faithful service, unfailing trust, and inwho run well. This much Mr. Rees extinguishable hope. seems to admit, for he says, "Misspent time cannot be recalled by sighs and tears; but positive retribution for repented sin is another matter." He, however, errs in regarding exclusion from" the kingdom' as "retribution I am, dear Sir, Hertford. S. H. ERRINGTON. |