THE ONLY WAY TO NATIONAL PROSPERITY
‘And Samuel said unto the people, Fear not; ye have done all this wickedness; yet turn not aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart.’
It is the special and most perilous curse of sin that it obscures, or blots out altogether, or terribly distorts the vision of God in our hearts; it gradually reduces us to that most desolate of all conditions, ‘having no hope and without God in the world.’
I. Those who need friends most are those who have fallen most and are in the most sore condition; but if even man despises and finds no forgiveness for our faults, is there any hope that He in whose sight the very heavens are not clean—that He will pity us, and take us to His breast, and suffer us to live in the glory of His presence? Will He, who is the Friend of the innocent, be a Friend of the guilty too?
II. God loathes our sins but, knowing that we are but dust, He loves our souls.—He sent His Son to seek and save the lost. When that blessed Son had taken our nature upon Him, He lived with the aged and the withered, the homeless and the diseased, with the palsied and the demoniac, with the ignorant and the blind.
III. Each new day is to you a new chance.—Return to God and use it rightly, letting the time past of your life suffice you to have walked in the hard ways of sin and shame. The mistakes, the follies, the sins, the calamities of the past may, if you use them rightly, be the pitying angels to guide you through the future. If you put off the present time for repentance, the convenient season may never come. As yet the door stands open before you; very soon it will be too late, and the door be shut.
Dean Farrar.
(SECOND OUTLINE)
Notice four things in this text.
I. We have sinned some sins which we cannot repair.—God, in His great love, takes us still as we are; takes us back to His bosom; only asks one thing; that at least we will go on in simplicity and sincerity now.
II. Though the temporal punishment may remain, it yet may be no sign that the sin is unforgiven.—It is a difficulty in our way, raised by ourselves. God takes us back though we are fallen. Let us serve Him still, though the vigour of the old days is gone.
III. This punishment is a sign, a sure sign, of destruction following unforgiven sin.—If God so punish those whom He receives as repentant, what will befall us if we repent not? Surely nothing else than that ‘we shall be consumed.’
IV. What an argument with us ought His longsuffering to be.—What peace is in the thought of forgiveness so large, so full, so free, as God has promised! Not friends, nor repose, nor confession, nor resolution avails anything without the very presence of God; but each of these things in Him may work us weal, and He in them can bring us absolution and perfect peace.
Archbishop Benson.
Illustrations
(1) ‘Comforting them with their sins, and persuading them to heartfelt contrition, Samuel points out to Israel anew the way of life. He sums up all in the clear, solemn words, “Only fear the Lord and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider how great things he hath done for you. But if ye shall do wickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king.” Thus in Gilgal a word is spoken for all time. Into that vital word nothing accidental or circumstantial enters. The law of national life is written as with the pen of the Medes and Persians. The basis of true national prosperity is revealed for evermore. In simplest paraphrase it stands now as then, that highest national well-being is only secured by hearty obedience to God.’
(2) ‘Here is the secret of national prosperity. Read it in three words, “Fear … serve … obey.” Reverence, service, obedience, these three ensure happiness and success. This is true of a nation, and it is true of an individual. “The more of righteousness,” said the Talmud, “so much the more of peace.” Then the dark side of the same truth gives us the secret of national decay. In just two words, “not obey … but rebel.” There are great lessons for us in this parting principle. The fear of the Lord is still the beginning of wisdom. His service is still perfect freedom. To obey is still better than sacrifice. On these three notes, “fear,” “serve,” “obey,” the true national anthem is written.’
(3) ‘Let Anglo-Saxon righteousness be lost, and supremacy would soon go with it. It is not inconceivable that, should we forget God as Israel did, and should China receive Him fully, the splendid intrepidity and faithfulness shown by the Chinese Christians during the Boxer ordeal, and the proverbial patience and tenacity of the race, and vast resources of the country, might give to the world a new war-cry—“Chinese supremacy.” Let no self-conceit blind us to the fact that God demands righteousness of any people who would prosper.’