Glad tidings ...

Front matter

LAD flDINGS

W. K. TWEEDIE

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Introduction

The grandest event in human history was announced by an angel, saying ; ' 'Behold I bring you Good Tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people." The beginning of the gospel was an outburst of triumphant song from all the host of heaven ; and the term gospel, or Good Tidings, fitly describes the message which God has sent to scatter brightness through a dark and desolate world, which makes glad the hearts of the weary and the disconsolate on earth, and which, when re-echoed to the skies, causes joy in heaven over sinners returning to the Lord. The world without the gospel would be a world of darkness. The highest joys of social and domestic life, the songs we sing, the praises we offer, and the prayers in which we pour our sorrows at a Saviour's feet, all have their birth in "the glorious gospel of the blessed God."

This gospel is a message of peace, peace to them that are afar off in the dark wilderness of sin and sorrow ; and peace to them that are nigh, who have been "brought nigh by the blood of Christ" and have been made partakers of the riches of Divine favor, and enabled to rejoice with joy unspeakable, and full of glory.

The work of righteousness is peace ; and when the righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel, it commences its peaceful work for man. First then 1 Is "Peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ." The days of rebellion are ended, the soul accepts the amnesty which God has offered, and returns to that allegiance from which fallen man has so deeply revolted. The rebellious strife is over-, and though

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IV INTRODUCTION.

there may be tumult in the world without, and conflict in the heart within, yet there is calm above, there is peace with God. The soul, freed from the disorder of rebellion, and yielding to the mild and beneficent sway of its Creator, falls into a sweet and hallowed harmony with Him who ruleth the earth and heaven, and who worketh all things according to the counsel of his will. When once peace is made with Gocl, then His peace enshrines itself within the obedient heart. The conflict being over, and the obdurate will bowed in submission, the weapons of rebellion are laid down, the Holy Spirit of God is shed forth within the heart, and the fruits of that Spirit, which are u love, joy and peace, n are brought forth in their season. From that time the trusting child of God is held as by a hallowed spell. The world may rage, storms may rise, thunders may roll, tempests burst, and billows swell outside, but there is peace within.

Seamen tell us, that sometimes, when ships are in peril from storms, a tiny stream of oil, poured over the vessel's side, will spread over acres of tumultuous water, quieting and calming the furious waves, so that in the midst of the raging sea the vessel rides securely within that charmed circle over which the oil has spread. So the peace of God, dwelling in the heart, overflows, and thus there is peace at home, peace in the family, peace in the community, peace amid the turmoil of worldly care and strife, peace in the fellowship of the saints of God, peace which causes the perturbed and despairing world to look with astonishment upon the calmness of the trusting saint, peace which is to the unsaved an insoluble mystery, — the peace of God that passeth knowledge, — the peace that passeth all understanding.

The gospel of peace has blessed the world for ages. It has beaten swords into plough-shares and spears into pruning-hooks. It has caused the warrior to lay down his weapons, and the man of blood to become a man of peace and love. And though heathenish barbarism still prevails, arrogating to itself the profes-

INTRODUCTION. V

sion of Christianity until the name of God is blasphemed among the heathen through the wickedness of the sinful nations and peoples of Christendom, yet wherever the true gospel has gone, there it has ever been a message of peace to man.

But we must distinguish between "the gospel of peace," and the peace Itself which that gospel proclaims. As "the gospel of the kingdom" is the good news of the kingdom, but it is not the kingdom in its fullness; so the gospel of peace, with ail its blessed present fruits, is but the proclamation and promise of greater peace and grander blessing than the world has ever known.

That Holy Child who was born in Bethlehem bears the titles, Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isa. ix. Wonderful in°his birth, and in the mystery of his divine existence ; a Counsellor such as the world had never known before, his counsels have for many centuries blessed a race which had long wandered in perplexity and darkness. He is Mignty God, mighty to save, mio-hty to pardon, mighty to redeem, mighty to heal, mighty to hush the winds and calm the waves, mighty to rebuke demons, conquer the powers of darkness, and burst the fetters of the tomb; mighty as the bearer of all power in heaven and in earth, which is given into his hands, while he sits at the right hand of God, expecting until his enemies be made his footstool. He is the everlasting Father; Father of eternal ao-es yet unborn, Father of that race which it was predicted that he should behold when, risen from the o T ave, he should see his seed, and prolong, his days; Father of the deathless multitudes who, having relinquished the life derived from the first Adam, lay hold on that life eternal which comes through the Second Man the Lord from heaven, and whom he shall present in the presence of the glory of the Father, saving, " Behold, I and the children whom thou hast given

13nt he is the Prince of peace, bringing peace as yi INTRODUCTION.

God's message to a lost world ; preaching- peace to the troubled and the tempest-tossed; making peace through the blood of his cross ; and finally making wars to cease to the ends of the earth, breaking the bow, and cutting the spear in sunder, and burning the chariot in the fire; scattering the nations that delight in war; breaking the rebellious as with a rod of iron, and dashing them in pieces like a potter's vessel; overcoming every foe, until death, the last enemy, is destroyed. And when all things are subdued unto Him ; and the mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness; when, there shall be abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth; when the God of peace shall bruise Satan under the feet of his saints, and glory, and honor, and peace shall be given to every man that worketh good ; — when we shall enter upon those coming cycles of eternal bliss and gladness, we shall know the meaning of that last resplendent title, "Prince of peace," and shall comprehend as never before, "how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good news of good, that publisheth salvation, that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!" Isa. lii. 7.

To those who in the midst of this troubled and disordered world would seek peace and pursue it; to those who long to share the Wonders of Redeeming Love, and who commit themselves to the guidance of the Shepherd of Israel, these pages are commended, in the hope that they will bring comfort to troubled and tempest-tossed souls, and guide the feet of weary wanderers "in the way of peace."

H. L. H.

Boston, Mass., July, 1884.

Preface

Religion may be contemplated under various aspects:

First, It may be viewed as it existed in man's soul when he was first created. A principle of veneration towards the Supreme was then implanted in his nature ; and we can no more escape from its influence than from any of the great laws which should regulate man's conduct. Religion in that aspect, however, is now seen only as a defaced and distorted thing. It is held by Atheists, in spite of all their denials of a God — by Deists — and by heathens.

Secondly, Religion may be viewed as it is revealed and recorded in the Book of Inspiration — "the Word of the Lord, which endureth for ever."

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Thirdly j It may be contemplated, as it is often embodied in a series of doctrines, which are intellectually believed upon sufficient evidence, as men believe historical or moral truths ; and this is the form of religion which satisfies many of the cultivated minds of Christendom. It is not a life — a principle of action, extending to all that has reference to man's responsibility to God — but a theory, a system, a creed — as unlike the w^,rm realities of truth, as the ice palace of the Northern Empress was unlike the ordinary dwellings of men.

Or finally, Religion may be viewed as taught to an individual soul by the Holy Spirit, according to the Inspired Book, It then regulates the life ; it purifies the heart ; it animates our hopes ; it points our thoughts to God ; it is the means of re-connecting us with the Eternal, and preparing us for glory, through Him who is the sum and the centre of all saving truth — the Son of God. In this form, religion appears in its highest manifestation as Devotion, or communion with God, according to his Word ; and when it has advanced to this stage, it becomes next of kin to glory,

PREFACE. IX

honour, and immortality, whether it be presiding over the activities of life, purifying and hallowing its joys, or directing the aspirations of the lonely soul when it is " feeling after God," and a sense of his favor.

The following brief Meditations are designed to foster godliness of the last-mentioned type. The Inspired Word is at once the standard and the substance of all that is true in regard to salvation ; and for that reason, the conscience, the heart, and soul, are here kept in close contact with the truth which the Holy Spirit inspired Nothing systematic, as an exhibition of truth, has been here attempted, though the three sections of the volume bear reference to the' three stages in which personal religion may be studied : or, first, As presented — " Good Tidings;" secondly, As attracting the soul by its " Wonders ; " and thirdly, As realized, when man is under the gracious guardianship of " the Shepherd of Israel."

Ours is a restless age. The truth of God is now in danger of being exiled from the mind by the engrossments and agitations amid which we

live. But would men be kept steadfast and unmovable ? Would they be preserved from pining in their religion, like an exotic in a chilling climate ? Then, amid their cares, their journeyings, and their spiritual perils, let the soul be at once defended and refreshed by communion with the God of the Word. In simplicity and earnestness of spirit, let at least a crumb of the bread of life be tasted, when we cannot be satisfied to the full. The world will then be more under our feet, and heaven more in our heart ; and it is to promote that result, by the blessing of the Spirit, that these Meditations upon some views of the gospel of His grace, are offered to as many as have learned to " call on the name of the Lord."