Chapter 10
Chapter 10
These brief and simple words are intended for the many sincere Christians who are dissatisfied with their present life and long to enter that more blessed state of rest and peace of which they catch occasional glimpses, like white-plumaged seabirds that flash into view for a moment, far away over the breakers and then are lost to sight.
Now from my own experience I suggest these seven rules to live by to my fellow Christians:
In his diary, Dr. Doddridge has left a very beautiful form of self-consecration. With most it would be sufficient to write out Miss Havergal’s hymn, “Take My Life and Let It Be,” and to sign their names at the bottom of the page.
Take my life and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my hands and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee.
Take my voice and let me sing
Always, only, for my King.
Take my lips and let them be
Filled with messages from Thee.
Take my silver and my gold,
Not a mite would I withhold.
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in endless praise.
Take my intellect and use
Every pow’r as Thou shalt choose.
Take my will and make it Thine,
It shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart, it is Thine own,
It shall be Thy royal throne.
Take my love, my God, I pour
At Thy feet its treasure store.
Take myself, and I will be
Ever, only, all for Thee.
In any case, it is best to write down some record of your new birth, to keep for future reference. Of course, it’s worth saying, when we have really given ourselves once, we cannot give ourselves a second time, because Jesus said, I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall anyone pluck them out of my hand. My Father, who gave them to me, is greater than all; and no one is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand (John 10:28-29). We can renew the consecration vows; we can review the deed of gift; we can insert any new clauses we like; and if we have gone astray, we can ask the Lord to forgive the dishonest wrong and robbery we have done Him, and to restore our souls into the position from which we have fallen. Oh, how sweet the promise, He restores my soul (Psalm 23:3). Dear Christian reader, seek some quiet spot, some tranquil time, and yield yourself to God.
A lady once faced great difficulties regarding certain things which she felt eager to keep under her own control. Her friend who wished to urge her into the better life of consecration, placed before her a blank sheet of paper, and pressed her to write her name at the bottom, and then to lay it before God in prayer. She did so, and instantly entered this blessed Christian life.
Are you willing to do this? Are you prepared to sign your name to a blank sheet of paper and then hand it over to God for Him to fill in as He pleases? If not, ask Him to make you willing and able to do this and everything else. You will never be happy until you let the Lord Jesus keep the house of your nature, closely scrutinizing every visitor and admitting only His friends. He must reign. He must have all or nothing. He must have the key of every closet, of every cupboard, and of every room. Do not try to make them fit for Him. Simply give Him the key. He will cleanse and renovate and make beautiful.
As soon as you give, He takes. You open the door and He immediately enters. You roll back the floodgates, and He pours in a glorious tide of fullness − fullness of wealth, power, and joy. The clay only has to be formed by the hand of a Palissy. The marble only has to be workable to the chisel of a Michelangelo. The organ only has to be responsive to the slightest touch of a Handel. The student only has to follow the slightest hint of a Faraday or a Whewell, and there will be no failure in results. Oh, to be equally swayable to the molding influences of Christ. If we will just let Him do His work unhindered, we will not fail in realizing the highest ideal of which we are capable.
If you allow acid to drop and remain on your steel fenders, it will corrode them, and if you allow sin to remain on your heart unconfessed, it will eat out all peace and rest.
Don’t wait for evening to come or until you can get alone, but there in the midst of the crowd, in the very rush of life, with the footprints of sin still fresh, lift up your heart to your merciful and ever-present Savior, and say, “Lord Jesus, wash me now from that sin in Your precious blood, and I shall be whiter than snow.” Remove the sin in me . . . and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow (Psalm 51:7). The blood of Jesus is always at work, cleansing us from unconscious sin, but it is our part to request it be applied to cleanse us from conscious and known sins as soon as we are aware of their presence in our lives.
When you feel temptation approaching you, like a bird is aware that the hawk is hovering near by some quick instinct, then instantly lift your heart to Christ for deliverance. He cannot reject or fail you. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings thou shalt be secure (Psalm 91:4). And when any petty annoyance or heavier worry threatens to mar your peace, in the flash of a moment, hand it over to Jesus, saying, “Lord, I am oppressed; take this on for me.”
“Ah!” you sigh, “I certainly wish I could live like this, but in the moment of need I forget to look.” Then do this: trust in Christ to keep you trusting. Look to Him to abide in you so as to keep you abiding. In the early morning, entrust the keeping of your soul to Him, and then with each succeeding hour expect Him to keep that which you have committed to Him.
Avoid the spirit of faultfinding, criticism, uncharitableness, and anything else inconsistent with His perfect love. Go where He is most likely to be found, either where two or three of His children are gathered, or where the lost sheep is straying. Ask Him to wake you each morning for fellowship and Bible study. Set another time in the day, especially in the still hour of the evening twilight between the work of the day and the pursuits of the evening. When you get alone with Him, tell Him everything, and review the past under the gentle light which streams from His eyes.
When a man is right with God, God will freely use him. Within him, impulses, inspirations, strong determinations, and strange resolves will rise up. These must be tested by Scripture and prayer, and if clearly from God, they must be obeyed.
But there is this perennial source of comfort: God’s commands are enabling. He will never give us a work to do without showing exactly how and when to do it, and without giving us the precise strength and wisdom we need. Don’t dread to enter this new life because you fear God will ask you to do something you cannot do. He will never do that. If He lays anything on your heart, He will do so irresistibly, and as you pray about it, the impression will continue to grow, so that now, as you look up to know what He wills you to say or do, the way will suddenly open, and you will probably have said the word or done the deed almost unconsciously.
In this life, there may be failures, but they will arise on the human side, not the divine. It will be best if we can rapidly discover the cause of failure, confess it, and seek restoration to the old peace and joy. After all, the sheep doesn’t keep the shepherd; the shepherd keeps the sheep, and feeds it, and leads it, and makes it to lie down. Can’t we expect the same from our Good Shepherd? And who can paint the lushness of the green pastures, or the crystal beauty of those unfailing springs to which He will lead the submissive and trustful spirit?
May that spirit be yours, dear reader, and mine.
A legal agreement to give property to someone without charging them any money.
Palissy ware is a nineteenth-century term for ceramics produced in the style of the famous French potter Bernard Palissy (1510–1590).