And what then? "_Let us hold fast_ the profession of our hope ([Greek: elpidos]) without wavering (for He is faithful that promised)." Blessed parenthesis! We may well hold fast, seeing He is faithful. Our hope can never make ashamed. It rests, in holy calmness, upon the infallible faithfulness of Him who cannot lie, whose word is settled for ever in heaven, far above all the changes and chances of this mortal life, above the din of controversy, the strife of tongues, the impudent a.s.saults of infidelity, the ignorant ravings of superst.i.tion--far away above all these things, eternally settled in heaven is that Word which forms the ground of our "hope."

It well becomes us, therefore, to hold fast. We should not have a single wavering thought--a single question--a single misgiving. For a Christian to doubt is to cast dishonor upon the word of a faithful G.o.d. Let sceptics, and rationalists, and infidels doubt, for they have nothing to believe, nothing to rest upon, no certainty. But for a child of G.o.d to doubt, is to call in question the faithfulness of the divine Promiser.

We owe it to His glory, to say nothing of our own peace, to "hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering." Thus may it be with every beloved member of the household of faith, until that longed-for moment "when faith and hope shall cease, and love abide alone."

But there is one more interesting branch of Christian work at which we must glance ere closing this paper. "_Let us consider one another_, to provoke unto love and to good works."

This is in lovely moral keeping with all that has gone before. The grace of G.o.d has so richly met all our personal need--setting before us such an array of precious privileges--an opened heaven--a rent veil--a crowned and seated Saviour--a great High Priest--a perfectly purged conscience--boldness to enter--a hearty welcome--a faithful Promiser--a sure and certain hope: having all these marvelous blessings in full possession, what have we got to do? To consider ourselves? Nay verily; this were superfluous and sinfully selfish. We could not possibly do so well for ourselves as G.o.d has done for us. He has left nothing unsaid, nothing undone, nothing to be desired. Our cup is full and running over.

What remains? Simply to "consider one another;" to go out in the activities of holy love, and serve our brethren in every possible way; to be on the lookout for opportunities of doing good; to be ready for every good work; to seek in a thousand little ways to make hearts glad; to seek to shed a ray of light on the moral gloom around us; to be a stream of refreshing in this sterile and thirsty wilderness.

These are some of the things that make up a Christian's work. May we attend to them! May we be found provoking one another, not to envy and jealousy, but to love and good works; exhorting one another daily; diligently availing ourselves of the public a.s.sembly, and so much the more, as we see the day approaching.

May the Holy Spirit engrave upon the heart of both writer and reader these most precious exhortations so thoroughly characteristic of our glorious Christianity--"_Let us draw near_"--"_Let us hold fast_"--"_Let us consider one another!_"

The veil is rent:--our souls draw near Unto a throne of grace; The merits of the Lord appear, They fill the holy place.

His precious blood has spoken there. Before and on the throne:

And His own wounds in heaven declare, The atoning work is done.

'Tis finished!--here our souls have rest, His work can never fail: By Him, our Sacrifice and Priest, We pa.s.s within the veil.

Within the holiest of all, Cleansed by His precious blood, Before the throne we prostrate fall And worship Thee, O G.o.d! */

THE CHRISTIAN PRIESTHOOD

We want the reader to open his Bible and read I Pet. ii. I-9. In this lovely scripture he will find three words on which we will ask him to dwell with us for a little. They are words of weight and power--words which indicate three great branches of practical Christian truth--words conveying to our hearts a fact which we cannot too deeply ponder, namely, that Christianity is a living and divine reality. It is not a set of doctrines, however true; a system of ordinances, however imposing; a number of rules and regulations, however important.

Christianity is far more than any or all of these things. It is a living, breathing, speaking, active, powerful reality--something to be seen in the every day life--something to be felt in the scenes of personal, domestic history, from hour to hour--something formative and influential--a divine and heavenly power introduced into the scenes and circ.u.mstances through which we have to move, as men, women, and children, from Sunday morning to Sat.u.r.day night. It does not consist in holding certain views, opinions, and principles, or in going to this place of worship or that.

Christianity is the life of Christ communicated to the believer--dwelling _in_ him--and flowing out _from_ him, in the ten thousand little details which go to make up our daily practical life. It has nothing ascetic, or sanctimonious about it. It is genial, pure, elevated, holy, divine. Such is Christianity. It is Christ dwelling in the believer, and reproduced, by the power of the Holy Ghost, in the believer's daily practical career.

But let us turn to our three words; and may the Eternal Spirit expound their deep and holy meaning to our souls!

And first, then, we have the word "living." "To whom coming, as unto a living Stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of G.o.d, and precious, ye also, as living stones, are built up."

Here we have what we may call the foundation of Christian priesthood.

There is evidently an allusion here to that profoundly interesting scene in Matt. xvi. to which we must ask the reader to turn for a moment.

"When Jesus was come into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?[XXIII.]

And they said, 'Some say Thou art John the Baptist; some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.'"

There was endless speculation, simply because there was no real heart-work respecting the blessed One. Some said this, some said that; and, in result, no one cared who or what He was; and hence He turns away from all this heartless speculation, and puts the pointed question to His own, "But whom say ye that I am?" He desired to know what they thought about Him--what estimate their hearts had formed of Him. "And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the _living_ G.o.d."

Here we have the true confession. Here lies the solid foundation of the whole edifice of the Church of G.o.d and all true practical Christianity--"Christ the Son of the _living_ G.o.d." No more dim shadows--no more powerless forms--no more lifeless ordinances--all must be permeated by this new, this divine, this heavenly life which has come into this world, and is communicated to all who believe in the name of the Son of G.o.d.

"And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona; for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but My Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I _will build_ My Church; and the gates of h.e.l.l shall not prevail against it."

Now, it is evidently to this magnificent pa.s.sage that the apostle Peter refers in the second chapter of his first epistle, when he says, "To whom coming, as unto a _living_ stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of G.o.d, and precious, ye also, as _living_ stones (the same words), are built up," etc. All who believe in Jesus are partakers of His risen, victorious, _rock_ life. The life of Christ, the Son of the living G.o.d, flows through all His members, and through each in particular. Thus we have the _living_ G.o.d, the _living_ Stone, the _living_ stones. It is all life together--life flowing down from a living source, through a living channel, and imparting itself to all believers, thus making them living stones.

Now, this life having been tried and tested, in every possible way, and having come forth victorious, can never again be called to pa.s.s through any process of trial, testing, or judgment whatsoever. It has pa.s.sed through death and judgment. It has gone down under all the waves and billows of divine wrath, and come forth at the other side in resurrection, in divine glory and power--a life victorious, heavenly, and divine, beyond the reach of all the powers of darkness. There is no power of earth or h.e.l.l, men or devils, that can possibly touch the life which is possessed by the very smallest and most insignificant stone in Christ's a.s.sembly. All believers are built upon the living Stone, Christ; and are thus const.i.tuted living stones. He makes them like Himself in every respect, save of course, in His incommunicable deity.

Is He a living Stone? They are living stones. Is He a precious Stone?

They are precious stones. Is He a rejected Stone? They are rejected stones--rejected, disallowed of men. They are, in every respect, identified with Him. Ineffable privilege!

Here, then, we repeat, is the solid foundation of the Christian priesthood--the priesthood of all believers. Before any one can offer up a spiritual sacrifice, he must come to Christ, in simple faith, and be built on Him as the foundation of the whole spiritual building.

"Wherefore also it is contained in the Scripture (Isa. xxviii. 16), Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner-stone, elect, precious; and he that believeth in Him shall not be confounded."

How precious are these words! G.o.d Himself has laid the foundation, and that foundation is Christ; and all who simply believe in Christ--all who give Him the confidence of their hearts--all who rest satisfied with Him, are made partakers of His resurrection-life, and thus made living stones.

How blessedly simple is this! We are not asked to a.s.sist in laying the foundation. We are not called upon to add the weight of a feather to it.

G.o.d has laid the foundation, and all we have to do is to believe and rest thereon; and He pledges His faithful word that we shall never be confounded. The very feeblest believer in Jesus has G.o.d's own gracious a.s.surance that he shall never be confounded--never be ashamed--never come into judgment. He is as free from all charge of guilt and every breath of condemnation as that living Rock on whom he is built.

Beloved reader, are you on this foundation? Are you built on Christ?

Have you come to Him as G.o.d's living Stone, and given Him the full confidence of your heart? Are you thoroughly satisfied with G.o.d's foundation? or are you seeking to add something of your own--your own works, your prayers, your ordinances, your vows and resolutions, your religious duties? If so, if you are seeking to add the smallest jot to G.o.d's foundation, you may rest a.s.sured, you will be confounded. G.o.d will not suffer such dishonor to be offered to His tried, elect, precious, chief corner Stone. Think you that He could allow aught, no matter what, to be placed beside His beloved Son, in order to form, with Him, the foundation of His spiritual edifice? The bare thought were an impious blasphemy. No; it must be Christ alone. He is enough for G.o.d, and He may well be enough for us; and nothing is more certain than that all who reject, or neglect, turn away from, or add to, G.o.d's foundation, shall be covered with everlasting confusion.

But, having glanced at the foundation, let us look at the superstructure. This will lead us to the second of our three weighty words. "To whom coming as unto a _living_ Stone ... ye also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house, a _holy_ priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to G.o.d by Jesus Christ."

All true believers are holy priests. They are made this by spiritual birth, just as Aaron's sons were priests in virtue of their natural birth. The apostle does not say, Ye _ought to be_ living stones, and, Ye ought to be holy priests. He says ye _are_ such. No doubt, being such, we are called upon to act accordingly; but we must be in a position before we can discharge the duties belonging to it. We must be in a relationship before we can know the affections which flow out of it. We do not become priests by offering priestly sacrifices. But being, through grace, made priests, we are called upon to present the sacrifice. If we were to live a thousand years twice told, and spend all that time working, we could not work ourselves into the position of holy priests; but the moment we believe in Jesus--the moment we come to Him in simple faith--the moment we give Him the full confidence of our hearts, we are born anew into the position of holy priests, and are then privileged to draw nigh and offer the priestly sacrifice. How could any one, of old, have const.i.tuted himself a son of Aaron? Impossible. But being born of Aaron, he was thereby made a member of the priestly house.

We speak not now of capacity, but simply of the position. This latter was reached not by effort, but by birth.

And now, let us enquire as to the nature of the sacrifice which, as holy priests, we are privileged to offer. We are "to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to G.o.d by Jesus Christ." So also in Heb. xiii.

15, we read, "By Him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to G.o.d continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name."

Here, then, we have the true nature and character of that sacrifice which, as holy priests, we are to offer. It is praise--"praise to G.o.d continually." Blessed occupation! Hallowed exercise! Heavenly employment! And this is not to be an occasional thing. It is not merely at some peculiarly favored moment, when all looks bright and smiling around us. It is not to be merely amid the glow and fervor of some specially powerful public meeting, when the current of worship flows deep, wide, and rapid. No; the word is, "praise _continually_." There is no room, no time for complaining or murmuring, fretfulness and discontent, impatience and irritability, lamenting about our surroundings, whatever these may be, complaining about the weather, finding fault with those who are a.s.sociated with us, whether in public or in private, whether in the congregation, in the business, or in the family circle.

Holy priests should have no time for any of these things. They are brought nigh to G.o.d, in holy liberty, peace, and blessing. They breathe the atmosphere and walk in the sunlight of the divine presence, in the new creation, where there are no materials for a sour and discontented mind to feed upon. We may set it down as a fixed principle--an axiom--that whenever we hear anyone pouring out a string of complaints about circ.u.mstances, his neighbors etc., such an one is not realizing the place of holy priesthood, and, as a consequence, not exhibiting its practical fruits. A holy priest should "rejoice in the Lord always"--ever ready to praise G.o.d. True, he may be tried in a thousand ways; but he brings his trials to G.o.d in communion, not to his fellow-man in complaining. "Hallelujah" is the proper utterance of the very feeblest member of the Christian priesthood.

But we must now look, for a moment, at the third and last branch of our present theme. This is presented in that highly expressive word "royal."

The apostle goes on to say, "But ye are a chosen generation, a _royal_ priesthood ... that ye should show forth the virtues (see margin) of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light."

This completes the lovely picture of the Christian priesthood.[XXIV.] As _holy_ priests, we draw nigh to G.o.d, and present the sacrifice of praise. As royal priests we go forth among our fellow-men, in all the details of practical daily life, to show forth the virtues--the graces--the lovely moral features of Christ. Every movement of a royal priest should emit the fragrance of the grace of Christ.

Mark again, the apostle does not say, _Ye ought to be_ royal priests. He says ye _are_; and as such we are to show forth the virtues of Christ.

Nothing else becomes a member of the royal priesthood. To be occupied with myself, to be taking counsel for my own ease, my own interest, my own enjoyment, to be seeking my own ends, and caring about my own things, is not the act of a royal priest at all. Christ never did so; and I am told to show forth His virtues. He, blessed be His name, grants to His people, in this the time of His absence, to antic.i.p.ate the day when He shall come forth as a Royal Priest, and sit upon His throne, and send forth the benign influence of His dominion to the ends of the earth. We are called to be the present expression of the kingdom of Christ--the expression of Himself.

And let none suppose that the actings of a royal priest are to be confined to the matter of _giving_. This would be a grave mistake. No doubt, a royal priest will give, and give liberally if he has it; but to limit him to the mere matter of communicating would be to rob him of some of the most precious functions of his position. The very man who penned the words on which we are dwelling said on one occasion--and said it without shame, "Silver and gold have I none;" and yet at that very moment, he was acting as a royal priest, by bringing the precious virtue of the name of Jesus to bear on the impotent man (Acts. iii.).

The blessed Master Himself, we know, possessed no money; but He went about doing good; and so should we: nor do we need money to do it.

Indeed it very often happens that we do mischief instead of good with our silver and gold. We may take people off the ground on which G.o.d has placed them, namely, the ground of honest industry, and make them dependent upon human alms. Moreover, we may often make hypocrites and sycophants of people by our injudicious use of money.

Hence, therefore, let no one imagine that he cannot act as a royal priest without earthly riches. What riches are required to speak a kindly word--to drop the tear of sympathy--to give the soothing, genial look? None whatever save the riches of G.o.d's grace--the unsearchable riches of Christ, all of which are laid open to the most obscure member of the Christian priesthood. I may be poorly clad, without a penny in the world, and yet carry myself truly as a royal priest, by diffusing around me the fragrance of the grace of Christ.

But, perhaps, we cannot more suitably close these few remarks on the Christian priesthood, than by giving a very vivid ill.u.s.tration drawn from the inspired page--the narrative of two beloved servants of Christ who were enabled, under the most distressing circ.u.mstances, to acquit themselves as holy and royal priests.

Turn to Acts xvi. 19-34. Here we have Paul and Silas thrust into the innermost part of the prison at Philippi, their backs covered with stripes, and their feet fast in the stocks, in the darkness of the midnight hour. What were they doing? murmuring and complaining? Ah, no!

They had something better and brighter to do. Here were two really "living stones," and nothing that earth or h.e.l.l could do could hinder the life that was in them expressing itself in its proper accents.