EDITORIAL
Another year has come and gone. Another day has come and gone; another hour, another moment. This means we are another year, another day, another hour, another moment nearer to the coming of the Lord.
My heart is sad as I write this. Sad, not because the coming of my Lord draws nigh, but because I know many of you who read this are not ready for His return. His coming is imminent, could take place immediately. Should the heavens this moment resound with the trumpet blast and the clouds split to reveal the coming Lord of Glory, you would not be ready. You would remain behind with the workers of iniquity, to have your part in the awful tribulation which shall come upon earth, and to be eventually cast into the lake of fire prepared (not for you, but) for the Devil and his angels. This would be your fate even while many of your friends and loved-ones were caught up to be forever with the Lord.
Many truths from God's Book have blessed me during my present paralytic condition, but this of the soon coming of the Lord has been one of those gospel pillars upon which my faith and hope have been established. Often it has been the Spiritual pillow for a weary head. One man once asked me if I wished to stay as I am, My answer was a ready "No!" No indeed, I don't wish to stay as I am. And that's the reason (one reason, at least) the Lord's soon return cheers my heart. When He calls us paralytics to meet Him in the air, the Bible declares, "we shall all be changed." In that split-second He "shall fashion anew the body of our humiliation, that it may be conformed to the body of his glory." So when Christ says, "Surely, I come quickly." I quickly answer, with the Apostle John, "Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus."
But as for you who are not ready, you must join in Jeremiah's lamentation. "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved." I can't believe you are deliberately rejecting Christ, flippantly toying with eternal realities. I must believe you are merely neglecting your soul's salvation. But you must not forget the Scriptural admonition, "How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?" We cannot escape. Our souls shall indeed be required of us.
Possibly you have thought or reasoned with yourself, as did the people immediately before the flood in the days of Noah, that there is plenty of time. Have not things been continuing in much the same way for thousands of years? You know the story. Only eight souls were saved that horrifying day when the flood burst upon the world. The Bible says that in the last days people will be reasoning in the same manner. And it warns that, although God waits for you to believe and be saved, there is coming a day when He will wait no longer. "The day of the Lord WILL come . . . " And after that, the judgment. That day is near. Who knows how near? Maybe this editorial will be your last warning.
I wish there were some way I could believe for you, that you might be saved. But it is entirely up to you. I wish I could somehow adequately convey to you the urgency of this matter. But I must depend on the Holy Spirit and your intelligent mind and tender conscience for this. I wish I could describe the fulness of joy that comes to one who trusts in Christ as his Savior--joy in knowing the future is secure, joy in daily fellowship with "a friend who sticks closer that a brother." But here again I must leave this to your own experience.
Before another moment becomes history, do what God requires of us all: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." Start this new year with Him. The future holds no terror for the child of God. It's later than you think.
Hopefully yours,
Arthur E. Gordon, Editor
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Dear Shut-In . . .
By C. H. Spurgeon
IN TIME OF AFFLICTION
I invite every troubled brother and sister here to cry for grace from God to be able to see God's hand in every trial, and then for grace, seeing God's hand, to submit at once to it, not only to submit, but to acquiesce, and to rejoice in it. "It is the Lord, let Him do what seemeth Him good." I think there is generally an end to troubles when we get to that, for when the Lord sees we are willing that He should do what He wills, then He takes back his hand, and says: "I need not chasten My child; he submits himself to Me. What would have been effected by My chastisement is effected already, and therefore, I will not chasten him."
There are two ways of getting help. The one is to go around to all your friends, and get disappointed, and then go to God at last. The other is to go to God at first. That is the shortest cut. God can make your friends help you afterwards. Seek first God and His righteousness. Out of all troubles the surest deliverance is from God's right hand. Therefore from all troubles the readiest way to escape is to draw near to God in prayer. Go not to this friend or that, but pour out thy story before God.
"Were half the breath thus vainly spent
To heaven in supplication sent;
Our cheerful song would oftener be,
Hear what the Lord hath done for me."
Human friends fail us. The strongest sinew of an arm of flesh will crack, and the most faithful heart will sometimes waver. But our God is eternal and omnipotent; whoever trusted in Him in vain? Where is the man that can say, I looked up to Him and hoped in Him and I am ashamed of my hope.
The beauty of David's looking alone to God came out in this quite calmly and quietly. He said to himself: "God will get me out of this;" Therefore he was not angry with Shimei; he did not want his head, or anything of the sort. "God will do it." If a man keep in that frame of mind, what can disturb him? Though the mountains were cast into the midst of the sea and the earth was moved, yet still would he in patience possess his soul, and still be calm, for of such a man I may say: "His soul shall dwell at ease, his seed shall inherit the earth."
God hath given His angels charge concerning such a man to keep him in all His ways; for this is the man that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High, and he shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. The Lord saith of him: "Because he hath set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him. I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He has proved it by trusting in Me, and Me alone; therefore will I never fail him."
"Trust ye in the Lord forever; for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength." Gather up your confidences, make them into one confidence, and fix them all on Him. Lean not here and there--thou wilt grow crooked in thyself, and the staff thou leanest on shall turn to a spear, and pierce thee. Lean wholly upon God, and as He is everywhere thou shalt stand upright in leaning upon Him.
Reprinted by permission of Bible House of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
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BACKWARD, FORWARD, UPWARD
I don't look back; God knows the fruitless efforts,
The wasted hours, the sinning, the regrets;
I leave them all with him who blots the record,
And mercifully forgives, and then forgets.
I don't look forward; God sees all the future,
The road that, short or long, will lead me home,
And He will face with me its every trial
And bear for me the burdens that may come.
But I look up--into the face of Jesus,
For there my heart can rest, my fears are stilled;
And there is joy and love, and light for darkness,
And perfect peace and every hope fulfilled.
-- Annie Johnson Flint
THE YEAR BEFORE US
Standing at the portal
Of the opening year,
Words of comfort meet us,
Hushing every fear:
I, the Lord, am with thee,
Be thou not afraid!
I will keep and strengthen,
Be thou not dismayed!
Resting on His promise,
What have we to fear?
God is all-sufficient
For the coming year.
-- Francis Ridley Havergal
THE COMING YEAR
Another year is dawning!
Dear Master let it be,
In working or in waiting
Another year with Thee.
Another year in leaning,
Upon Thy loving breast,
Of ever-deepening trustfulness;
Of quiet, happy rest.
Another year of mercies,
Of faithfulness and grace;
Another year of gladness,
In the shining of Thy face;
Another year of progress,
Another year of proving
Thy presence "all the days."
Another year of service,
Of witness for Thy love;
Another year of training
For holier works above.
Another year is dawning!
Dear Master let it be
On earth, or else in heaven,
Another year for Thee.
-- Francis Ridley Havergal
HITHERTO AND HENCEFORWARD
Hitherto the Lord has helped us
Since we've walked the heavenly way;
Filled our cup to overflowing
With His joy from day to day;
Cheered us by His constant presence,
Blessed with mercies daily new;
Let us raise our Ebenezer,
All His promises are true!
Hitherto the Lord has helped us
When our way was rough and steep;
Safely led us o'er the mountain,
Sometimes through the waters deep:
Yet He gives us strength for weakness;
Thus with confidence we say,
"let us raise our Ebenezer;
He has led us all the way."
Hitherto the Lord has helped us
When on Him we have relied;
Food for soul and food for body,
Not a need but He supplied.
There are times when faith has wavered,
Doubts and fears our peace assailed;
Still we raise our Ebenezer,
Never has His promise failed.
Hitherto the Lord has helped us
Can we doubt Him? Dare we fear
Though from earthly help we're severed,
Facing now another year?
While our future paths are clouded,
Faith tonight o'er doubt prevails,
Let us raise our Ebenezer,
For His promise never fails.
-- MOODY MONTHLY
(These poems reprinted from "Three Thousand Illustrations" by permission of
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan.)
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GROWING OLD?
By M. R. DeHaan, M.D.
"And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you . . ." -- Isaiah 46:4
A CHRISTIAN should never grow old -- only older. The fall of the year is as beautiful as the springtime. Every season has its own beauty. The frost of autumn upon the brow of the aged is as becoming as the kiss of the springtime dew on the cheeks of the youth. God hath made "everything beautiful in its time."
To make every age beautiful one must act one's age. There is something ludicrous and depressing about a precocious child who acts older that he is, and there is something obnoxious about silly old people who are ashamed of their age and seek by every foolish method to hide it.
A visitor once met a very gracious and cultured lady and remarked impulsively, "You are beautiful." The gracious lady replied with dignity, "Why shouldn't I be. I am seventy-five years old."
Yes, the Christian should grow sweeter with the years. Fruit does not ripen until autumn. The sugar is not made in the grape until the nip of frost is in the air. A persimmon is as bitter as gall until after a frost and then is as sweet as honey. Age means mellowing. It is too bad some folks become rotten instead of mellow.
There are some things we cannot see until a certain maturity is reached.
"For age is opportunity no less
Than youth itself, though in another dress
And as the evening twilight fades away
The sky is filled with stars, invisible by day."
There is nothing so tragic as a sour old man or woman. To make the evening bright, one needs to think of the NEXT morning, not the past NIGHT. To brood over the past, to envy the years of youth brings only bitterness. But looking for the new morning puts the soul at rest, and gently rocks us to sleep with dreams of that day when we shall awake in His likeness.
The dweller in my little "house"
Is young and bright and gay;
Just starting on a life to last
Throughout eternal day.
You only see the outside
Which is all that most folk see.
You tell me I am getting old?
You've mixed my "house" with ME!
-- Dora Johnson (88 years young)
Reprinted from "Our Daily Bread," by permission of
The Radio Bible Class, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
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GOD KNOWS WHERE YOU LIVE
HAVE YOU ever stopped to consider this wondrous fact? God knows where you live!
When Israel was camped in the wilderness, before they entered Caanan, it is recorded concerning them: "These are the words which Moses spake unto all Israel beyond the Jordan in the wilderness, in the Arabah over against Suph, between Paran, and Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, and Dizahab" (Deuteronomy 1:1 ASV). God had Israel pinpointed. He knew exactly where they were at all times. In this instance they were beyond the Jordan River. More specifically they were in the wilderness. More specifically yet, they were in that geographical depression called the Arabah and just opposite the town of Suph. To narrow it down even more, they were between Paran and Tophel and Laban and Hazaroth and Dizahab. God knew where his people were dwelling.
God knows today where His people live. He has us pinpointed. In my case He knows I live this side of the Atlantic ocean, that I live in Pennsylvania, in southeastern Chester County, in the fifth house on the right looking north. You may make it just that practical for yourself.
But He knows even more. He knows the circumstances in which you live. We are inclined to believe this when the circumstances are favorable, but when not, we are more inclined to believe He has lost sight of us.
To the church at Smyrna our Lord said, "I know thy . . . poverty." He knows yours also. He knows all about your being laid off work, the rent that's due, the grocery bill, the car payments, and the thousand and one things that drain the purse and deplete the savings. God knows and He cares.
The Lord also told the church at Smyrna: "I know thy . . . tribulation." So are your tribulations known to Him. When Israel cried out in Egypt because of their awful misery the Lord reminded them: "I have surely seen the affliction of my people . . . and have heard their cry." If your lot has fallen among the thorns, be assured, O child of God, your God sees and hears, He knows your plight.
Again concerning Israel in Egyptian bondage, the Lord said. "I know their sorrows." When sorrows whelm up like a flood around you, when they hang over you as a thick cloud, when they compass your coming and going, reflect upon this truth, God knows your sorrows.
No matter how deep the poverty, how great the affliction, how overwhelming the sorrow, how dark the circumstances, God looks our way and proffers the question (the one He put to Abraham), "Is any thing too hard for the Lord?" He may well rebuke us as He did the disciples: "O ye of little faith!" Our cry, like that of the anxious father of the Gospels, should be, "Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief."
Nothing is too hard for our God. Let the poverty stricken be assured that our God owns "the cattle upon a thousand hills," and "the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof." And to you He says, "Call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me."
Let the afflicted know that "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." His counsel to you: "Be still, and know that I am God."
Let the sorrowing know assuredly that "Thou art my hope, O Lord God," and that "he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord." "And hope maketh not ashamed." To you, then, He says, "Hope thou in God."
God knows where you live. He is concerned with your welfare. He is more than sufficient for your every need. May you learn to be "casting all your care (anxiety) upon him; for he careth for you."
-- A. E. G.
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KNOWABLE
By Donald J. Tschetter, B.D., Dean
Grace Bible Institute
Omaha, Nebraska
THE TRANSCENDENCE of God does not preclude the possibility of knowing God. We affirm, of course, that God is in a complete sense incomprehensible by the human and finite mind. We also affirm that this same God has revealed Himself sufficiently enough to permit a great deal to be known. This revelation comes to man through various agencies -- the greatest of these being the Holy Scriptures and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Not everything that could be known about God was revealed in the Scriptures. What is discovered here is perfect, and if we find it difficult to appreciate what we find here, it is not the fault of the Bible but of the frailty and incompetency with which man has handled the Divine Record.
The complete and final revelation of God comes in the Lord Jesus Christ. "For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." When we see Christ we are face to face with all that God is, and hence, in Him dwells all there is to be known about God. Fortified with the objective to know Christ we proceed to comprehend God. The degree of our comprehension is the extent of our knowledge concerning Jesus Christ. Surely Paul had this in mind when he prayed that the Ephesian Christians "May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God."
Our immediate responsibility is, therefore, to discover a portrait of Christ which we shall proceed to study. In casting about for just such a portrait we discover that there is only one authentic presentation of Christ in His revelation of God. This portrait we find in the Bible.
As we give ourselves to an apprehension of Christ in the Bible we soon discover that we cannot know all the truth about Christ. This is not discouraging in itself because we remember that this is the finite attempting to know the infinite. More than that we would indeed be discouraged if we could completely know Him. At the moment of complete knowledge He would cease to be God. God has revealed sufficient to make worship possible but our capacities are not so great that we can know everything about God and thus make worship impossible. Our highest spiritual experience comes when we discover ourselves in the presence of one who is infinitely greater that we. Our only response can be one of adoration and praise for a personal intimate relationship with one so great and majestic.
God has revealed Himself in Christ through the Scriptures for redemptive purposes. Jesus said, "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." What a glorious day it was when at the cross of Christ our capacities to know God came alive, sin was removed and God became a living reality.
With the crisis of regeneration there opens before us a whole new arena of truth. Whereas previously we were unaware of the things which God had prepared for them that love Him, now we become conscious that "God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit . . . that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God." God is no longer a nebulous notion but a personality with whom I am in fellowship. As I learn to know Him in the Person of Jesus Christ through the revelation given in the Scriptures, the cry of my spirit becomes that of the Psalmist, "As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God." God is knowable, thus such desire does not go unrewarded.
Today it is the joy of every Christian to submit to the ministry of the Holy Spirit whereby we are progressively changed into the image of Christ. This process permits us to "grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." This is a satisfying experience but a future day will allow an experience which even exceeds that of the present. Then I shall know more about God than is revealed in the Scriptures. "For now we see through a glass darkly; but then face to face; now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known." When we see the face of Jesus Christ we shall discover a great deal more than we previously knew about God.
Whereas this experience will be glorious indeed it is not exhaustive. God is still infinite and my joy throughout the ages of eternity will be to explore the inexhaustible depths of His greatness.
May I repeat that the transcendence of God does not preclude the possibility of knowing God. God has revealed Himself. The portrait is before us on the pages of Holy Scripture. Every believer has the opportunity to enlarge his capacity to know God. Ours is a profound and sacred responsibility to hear the voice of the Spirit say, "I have many things to say unto you."
Reprinted from "Grace Tidings," by permission of
Grace Bible Institute, Omaha, Nebraska.
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SERMON SERIES
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PETER
No. 17
Wives, Be In Subjection . . .
Husbands Too!
I Peter 3:1-7
MANY PRACTICAL commands grace the pages of Holy Writ. Our present study in the First Epistle of Peter brings us to a couple of these commands. They may not be what we want to hear, yet they were put here for our consideration and if we will admit it, are needed today.
WIVES
"Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives" (1).
Please note, this is not my word but God's command. Wives, this is your obligation to God. Just as Christian citizens are to subject themselves to the laws of the land and Christian servants are to subject themselves to their masters so Christian wives are to subject themselves to their husbands. This means that you submit to their control, yield to their admonition of advice. The present tense means you do it continually. This is a humbling thing, yet what in the Christian experience isn't humbling? And should it seem too hard, remember the One who humbled Himself to sinful men, and that for their good. For this reason too, wives are commanded to submit to their husbands. It is not only for the Lord's sake but for their husbands.
Apparently in the day when Peter penned this letter, there were several wives who had unsaved husbands. Thus he commands the wives to subjection "that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives." Here we have husbands who heard the Word of God concerning salvation but who refused to comply with it. But he would have the wives take courage, these may yet be won "without a word." As it reads in the Authorized Version, "without the word," is misleading. The Greek has no definite article and should read, "without a word," that is, without a word from the wives. How then can they be won to Christ? Strictly "by the conversation of the wives." This refers to the conduct of the wives, her manner of life, deportment.
The word conversation is made up of two words in the original, the one meaning "up," and the other "to turn." Thus it refers to turning up in this place and that, or turning hither and thither. It refers to a person's daily walk. It might be pictured by mapping out the steps a wife takes in one day. Throughout the day she may turn up in many different places. Her steps will lead her, not only about the home, but often about the village on different errands. She may contact several different people in a day's time. Different circumstances will confront her. Decisions have to be made. Sum up these experiences the wife has during the day and we have a picture of her "conversation." Truly it can be said of her that she has turned hither and thither. But our interest lies with the question: what has her "walk" been? How has she conducted herself?
Verse two sets forth the proper walk of the Christian wife. "While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear: (2). Though these husbands have not received the gospel, they are observing with real interest the pure (or otherwise) conduct of the wives. This may not be apparent, but whether apparent or not, the husband is a committee of one to oversee the wife's manner of life. He views attentively every move she makes. He wants to see if her walk matches her faith; he wants to see the gospel in action. The fear or reverence the wife shows for her husband makes an indelible mark on his soul. It is this rather than her nagging that will gain her husband for the Lord. In fact it is this more than anything else that wins anyone to the Lord. The world wants to see the gospel demonstrated in us who believe.
A PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATION
Peter next presents a practical illustration of what he means. referring to wives, he says, "Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; but let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price" (3,4).
Negatively, "let it not be that outward." Outward adorning counts for nothing in winning the husband to the Lord. It is not the hair style, the golden bracelets, the magnificent dress that impresses the unsaved husband for Christ. Peter wants Christian ladies to understand that "clothing doesn't make the woman."
He is not here teaching that women should not fix their hair or wear gold bracelets. If that were being taught then we should have to say he is also teaching that women should not put on apparel. What he is teaching is that outward adornment will not win the mate to Christ. Elsewhere in the Bible, women are told to dress modestly. This means they are not to attract undue attention to themselves. It is the duty of Christian women to attract attention to their Lord.
The wife may win her husband to Christ, not by outward adornment, but in another way. Positively: "let it be the hidden man of the heart . . . a meek and quiet spirit." What some men wouldn't give for a wife with these attributes. A noted evangelist once visited in a home where the wife was saved and the husband not. The couple was very unhappy and due in large part to the constant arguing of the wife with her husband. After the service that night, where the evangelist preached on the total depravity of the human before God, and his inability to do anything pleasing for God, the lady in whose home he had stayed approached him with the comment, "We can't do anything, can we?" In a very blunt way, the evangelist turned to the woman and said, "Oh, yes, you can, you can argue with your husband."
But we cannot lay it all to the women, when it comes to the evil habit of talking too much. We men must share in it. The Bible commands us all, "study to be quiet." It's going to take some study for most of us. It commands again, "let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath." But we have turned this around. If we could learn this, many of the troubles in our churches would disappear, and many worldlings would be attracted to Christ.
The world puts a high price on fashions. But God puts a high price on "a meek and quiet spirit." If we would impress the world, then fashions will do it. If we would please God, then we must adorn "the hidden man of the heart" with "a meek and quiet spirit."
"For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted (hoped) in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands" (5).
In the Proverbs, God paints for us a word portrait of a Christian wife. It reads, in part, "A wife with strength of character who can find? Far more precious than jewels is she. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will never lack profit. She does him good and not harm all the days of her life . . . and works with willing hands . . . Strength and dignity clothe her . . . She opens her mouth with wisdom (wisely) and gentle teaching is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household and eats no bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband, too, and he praises her . . . Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, but a woman who reveres the Lord will be praised" (Proverbs 31:10-30 Berkeley Version).
AN EXAMPLE
Sara was such a women. "Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement" (6).
On the day of Abraham and Sara's (Greek for Sarah) greatest blessing, when the everlasting covenant was established with them, God changed her name from Sarai, which means "she that strives" to Sarah, which means "princess." "Sarai" was the name she brought with her from Mesopotamia. "Sarah" was the name God gave her in Caanan. These names might well represent this woman's past and present. In her former life in the old country she may have lived up to the meaning of the name "Sarai," by being contentious. But we know in the new country she was every inch a "princess." God has placed her in the Bible Hall of Fame of the faithful in Hebrews eleven as an outstanding personage full of faith. Our text reminds us that she excelled as a wife being in subjection to her husband, publicly acknowledging him as her Lord.
Sarah manifested her subjection to Abraham in at least two obvious realms, the two realms which are most closely tied to a woman's heart--her home and her child. Without apparent argument Sara left her home, friends, and relatives and traveled with Abraham to a new land, among strange people, to live as nomads, dwelling in tents. Some missionary wives know what this means. Mrs. Jonathan Goforth suffered much mental depression on this score. Not only did she have to leave behind many of her precious possessions when they went to China to serve, but several times she lost everything they collected on the field through fire and theft. What woman wants to give up a comfortable home for a tent in the desert? Sara was no exception, but she obeyed her husband, and the Lord, whose will it was that they should go.
With relation to her son, her only son, Sara again proved subject. God tested Abraham, and Sara, telling Abraham to offer their son Isaac as a burnt-sacrifice. Without any hesitancy or question Abraham proceeded to carry out this strange command. And the record gives no evidence that Sara once opened her mouth against the whole proceeding. Would not a protest from the mother seem natural at such a time? She was capable of protest as the record shows. On one occasion she argued bitterly with Abraham. On another she became very jealous and had her handmaid expelled from the home. Once she manifested a very grievous lack of faith. Without doubt she could be a contentious woman. Yet when her only son was taken out to be slain, we hear no word of complaint, no protest. This silence speaks volumes. She was evidently manifesting "a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price." No wonder God gives her as an example to the women of all ages. In the place where it would hurt the most, with relation to her home and child, Sara showed herself subject to her husband and to her God. God more than made up to her the loss of home by giving the promise of a better home, a heavenly one, and God gave her back her son and a seed innumerable.
Christian ladies today, God considers you spiritual daughters of this "princess" of by-gone days, when you "do well, and are not afraid with any amazement." or when you "do good, and are not fearing any terror." "The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe: (Proverbs 29:25). "Be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest" (Joshua 1:9b).
HUSBANDS
"Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered" (7).
As wives are commanded to be in subjection to their husbands, so husbands are commanded to be in subjection to the will of God, and especially as it is here presented.
Here we have Christian husbands, ones who have a saving knowledge of God and of Christ. They know of their own subjection to the Lord. They are called upon, to dwell with their wives according to this God-given knowledge.
This knowledge tells them that their wife is "the weaker vessel." As such she deserves to be given "honour." This knowledge tells them also that their wives "are heirs together (with themselves) of the grace of life." Eternal life comes to us by grace. We cannot earn nor merit it. It comes not to one sex more than the other. It comes to women as freely as to men, with all the benefits accruing therefrom, in this life and the next. Her prayers are just as vital, her worship just as precious, her faith just as strong, her life just as beautiful, and the promise is just as true and lasting to her as to her mate.
The Christian husband's knowledge tells him moreover that if he fails to subject himself to God's will in this, his prayer life will be "cut into." That is the literal meaning of "hindered." How often have we been speeding down the highway only to be stopped and turned aside by some red flares and a detour sign? Men had cut away some of the highway to make repairs. Such is the case with our prayer life. We may be ever so successful in our prayers, making requests and getting answers, until one day we fail to live up to this specific command of God toward our wife (or the wife toward the husband.) This is sin in the sight of God, and the Psalmist declares: "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." Isaiah adds: "Your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear." Sin has "cut into" our prayers and fellowship is broken.
Since the home is a picture of our heavenly home and the husband-wife relationship is a picture of the relationship between Christ and His Church, it behooves us to keep our relationships proper at all times and regulated according to the Word of God. May we be very careful how we hear, remembering we have a Master in heaven.
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