The king's highway

Front matter

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« A company was gathered round a stranger, who was addressing them."

King's Highway.

Contents

PAGE

I.— THE FIRST COMMANDMENT.— Pakt 1 9

II.— THE FIEST COMMANDMENT.— Part II 42

Preface

A highway is a road, or way laid out. and prepared for people to walk in. In a country governed by a king, it is expected of him to have public roads made for the convenience of the people. Such a road, when made, is called " the Icing's highway."

Now this world is God's country. It belongs to Him. He is the owner, and king of it. We should expect Him, therefore, to have a highway prepared for His people to walk in. And He has such a way. We read in the Bible, — Isaiah xxxv. 8, — that there shall be " an highway ; it shall be called the way of holiness. The redeemed shall walk in it." This way means, the path of obedience to God's commandments. It is this path which is intended by " The King's Highway." When we repent of our sins, and believe in Jesus as

PREFACE.

our Saviour, and try to love and serve Him, this is the way He wishes us to walk in. Hence, He says to us, " If ye love me, keep my commandments." Whatever we do from love is always pleasant. And ' ; The King's Highway " is a pleasant way to walk in . because those who walk in it are prompted by love.

May God give grace to all who read this little volume, truly to love that Saviour who died for them, and to show that love by walking in " The King's Highway ;" and may He bring us all, at last, in safety to that blessed home above, to which this Highway leads !

For the series of very appropriate and beautiful " Hymns on the Commandments," connected with this volume, I am indebted to the ready pen of my dear brother, the Rev. William Newton, of West Chester, Pennsylvania. It is intended to have them published by themselves for the use of Sunday-schools.

RICHARD NEWTON.

I. %\t first €ammmtsmmt.— fart 1

" I am the Lord thy God ;— Thou shalt have no other gods before me."

— Exodus xx. 2, 3.

SUPPOSE you have all seen a procession, at some time or other? And no doubt you like to see processions. The longest procession, that ever was seen, took place more than thirty-three hundred years ago. It was formed when the children of Israel went up out of Egypt. There were more than two millions of people in it. That is nearly four times as many as all the people in Philadelphia put together. Moses was the leader of this procession. It started, from the land of Egypt, to go to the land of Canaan. The Israelites, in this procession, had to travel through the wilderness. There were no roads through that wilderness ;

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no milestones, or finger-posts, to point out the way. Not one person, in the procession, had ever travelled through that wilderness, or knew any thing about the way. The mariners 7 compass, — with its needle always pointing to the north, and enabling people now to travel safely, across oceans, or deserts, where there are no paths, — was not invented then. But God gave the people, in that procession, something that was very wonderful, instead of a compass. It looked like a mass of white smoke. The Bible calls it " a pillar of cloud." In the day-time it looked like a piece of one of those soft, fleecy clouds, that we often see, floating in the sky. But at night it changed its appearance, and glowed, and brightened, and shone like a flame of fire. It floated low down, and hung right over the ark of the covenant, which went before the children of Israel.

Now, the procession is in motion. It is formed in regular ranks, like a great army of soldiers. They march out from Egypt they come to the Red sea. There is no bridge across it. They have no boats. High ranges

THE FIEST COMMANDMENT.

of mountains shut them in, on either side. What are they to do ? God commands them to go forward ! What, right into the sea ? Yes, right into the sea. They obey God ; and, the very moment that the priests, who are at the head of the procession, touch the waters of the sea with their feet, the waves are divided, and roll back before them. A broad road is open for them through the midst of the sea. The waters are piled up, on each side of them, like great walls of glass, or ice ; and remain so till the procession has passed over.

Now, they are all safe through. They begin to travel into the wilderness. They have made three days 7 journey ; and, at last, a great mountain appears in sight. They move on till they come to it. At the foot of the mountain the procession halts. The people pitch their tents, and rest there. That is Mount Sinai. On the top of that mountain God told Moses that He would come down, and meet him ; and give him a law, to show the Israelites, and all other people, what He wanted them to do. God ordered Moses to build a fence, round

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the bottom of the mountain, to keep any of the people from coming up. Then He told him to come up to the top of the mountain, when he should hear a trumpet giving a long, loud sound.

The fence is built, and Moses is ready, waiting for the signal. The top of the mountain is all covered up with dark, black clouds. The lightnings flash out from amidst them. The thunders roll down the sides of the mountain. The mountain shakes, and trembles : God has come down upon the top of it. And the sound of the trumpet is heard. It is an angel's trumpet ; the same that shall be heard at the last day, when the graves are opened, and the dead come forth. How solemn it must have been to hear that trumpet ! Moses hears it. He goes up the mountain. The people all watch him, as he travels up, higher, and higher. Now, he enters the cloud ; and they see him no longer. Moses is on the top of the mount talking with God. There God gave him His great law of the Ten Commandments. God wrote these commandments, with his own fin-

THE FIRST COMMANDMENT.

ger, on two tables of stone. The first four commandments, which show us what our duty to God is, were on one table ; and the remaining six, which show us what our duty to man is, were on the other.

And now the trumpet sounds again. All the people hear it, and are afraid. They listen tremblingly. The trumpet ceases. Another sound, more awful than the angel's trumpet, is heard. It is the voice of God. It sounds like thunder. And God spake all these words, saying ; — " I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt ; out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me."

This is the first commandment. There are two questions that may be asked about this commandment ; one is this : What is it to have a god ? The other is this : Why should we have no other gods but the Lord ?

Our sermon to-day will be about the first of these questions. We must have another sermon on the second question. 2

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The question we are now to try and answer

is ; — What is it to have a God ?

I mean by this a true God, such as the Lord Jesus Christ is to us. This is the answer to the question ; — it is to have one who is able to do three things for us ; and one who has a right to expect three things from us.

To have a God is to have one who can do three things for us.

The first thing we want our God to be able

tO do is, ALWAYS TO HELP.

The little child always needs the help of its mother. The blind man always needs the help of some one to guide him. The sick man always needs the help of the physician. We are here, in this world, like children ; like persons who are blind, or sick. We need to be taken care of like children. We need to be guided, like the blind ; and to be watched and tended, like the sick. And who can do this for us? Our parents can help us in some things. Our teachers and friends can help us in some things, but not in all. They can't be always with us ; nor can they always help us

THE FIEST COMMANDMENT. 15

when they are with us. At the quiet hour of midnight, when they are fast asleep themselves, what can they do to help us ? When we are far away from home, what can they do to help us ? We need some one who can always help us. Then it must be some one who is present in every place ; whose eye never slumbers, and whose arm never grows weary. Is there such a one to be found ? Yes, God our Saviour is just such a one. He is with us by night, as well as by day ; abroad, as well as at home. His eye is never closed. His arm is always strong. He is always everywhere. The Bible tells us He is " a very present help, in every time of trouble." David says, " The Lord is my help, whom then shall I fear ? " He didn't fear the lion, or the bear, that came to steal his sheep, because God helped him to kill them. He didn't fear Goliath, the great Philistine giant, because God helped him to fight, and conquer him.

People are needing help in different places, at the same time, all over the earth. And no one can really be a God who is not able to

THE KING'S HIGHWAY.

hear, and help, all these different persons at once.

The heathen have many gods. They think each god has a particular place to attend to ; and that he can only help people in the place to which he belongs. But this is very foolish. The truth is, the gods of the heathen can't help, those who pray to them, in one place any more than another. They help nobody. We need a God who can always help. And there is only one such God.

" Mother, how many gods are there ? " asked a little boy, one day.

A younger brother, who heard him, said, " Why, one to be sure."

" But how do you know that? " said the one who asked the question.

" Because," said his little brother, " God fills every place, so there is no room for any other."

The first thing we want our God to be able

tO do is ALWAYS TO HELP US.

The second thing we want our God to be able to do is — always to save us.

Our bodies are often in danger, as well as our souls ; and we want a God who can save them both. When Daniel was thrown into the den of lions, he needed a God who could preserve him from their devouring jaws ; and he found such a one in the Lord.

When the three Jews were thrown into the blazing furnace, because they wouldn't worship Nebuchadnezzar's image, they needed a God who could save them from being burnt up by the flames ; and they found such a one in the Lord our God.

When Jonah was cast into the stormy sea, he needed a God who could take care of him and bring him safe to land again. He found such a one in our God, who sent the great fish, like a living ship, to take him on board and carry him ashore.

When the disciples were in their little vessel, tossed by the storm on the sea of Galilee, they needed a God who could control the violence of the storm, and make it obey Him. They found such a one in Jesus their Saviour ; for when they awoke him, " He arose, and rebuked the winds, and the sea, saying, ' Peace ! be

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still !' and immediately there was a great calm."

And so we are all exposed to sickness, danger, and death, continually. We can't preserve ourselves ; and our best friends can't preserve us. We need some one who can keep us alive, and protect us in all danger. Jesus can do this. He is called " the Saviour of the body." He counts the hairs of our heads. He is about our path, and about our bed continually. He is able to save our bodies. The birds of the air, the beasts of the field, the people in the world, are in His hands. He can take care of them all. He can save the body.

But the soul is more precious than the body. We want a G-od that can save the soul. We all have many sins that must be pardoned. We have a conscience, a something in our bosoms which troubles us, and makes us feel uneasy, on account of sin ; and we want to have this conscience quieted, and made at peace. We have wicked hearts that must be made new and good, or we never can be happy ; and we want a God who can do this for us.

Suppose I break the main-spring of my watch ; it runs down ; it won't go. I try to mend it, but I can't : I ask one of you to do it. You shake your head and say, " I can't do it." I take it to a shoemaker ; he can't do it. I take it to a carpenter, a wheelwright, a blacksmith, a lawyer, a doctor, but none of them can mend it. After a while I take it to a watchmaker ; he understands all about it. He puts a new spring in it ; and it goes as well as ever.

Now the soul is like a watch ; sin has broken the main-spring ; it won't go ; we want some one to mend it. We want a new heart, or a new main-spring for the watch ; but the soulmaker is the only one who can do this. To try to get this done in any other way, is like carrying your broken watch, for repairs, to a shoemaker, or a blacksmith.

There was once a man in India, a heathen, who felt that he was a sinner. His conscience troubled him dreadfully, about his sins ; but he knew not how to get rid of them. He had spent several years in consulting the priests, and visiting the different temples, in the hope

THE KING'S HIGHWAY.

of getting relief. He did all that he was told to do ; but it did him no good. At one temple, he was told to take a long journey, on his hands and knees. He did it ; but was no better. He had washed himself in different fountains ; he had fasted, till he was almost worn to a skeleton : he had done many painful things, but without any relief. At last, he was told to put pebbles in his shoes, and travel to a distant temple, and make an offering to the idol, and he would be relieved. He had been there, and offered his sacrifice, and prayers, but in vain.

Sad, and sorrowful, he was returning home, with the pebbles still in his shoes. Wearied with his journey, he halted one day, in the shade of a grove, by the wayside, where a company was gathered around a stranger, who was addressing them. It was a missionary preaching the gospel. The poor heathen listened with great interest. The missionary was preaching from these words ; — " The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin." He showed how Jesus was able, and willing, to save all who came unto Him. The heart of the heathen was drawn to Jesus. He took off his shoes, and threw away the pebbles, exclaiming, " This is the Saviour I have sought in vain. Thank God, I have found salvation."

This poor man had been carrying his broken watch to tinkers, and blacksmiths. They could do nothing with it. At last he found the watchmaker, and all was right.

Jesus says, " Look unto me, all ye ends of the earth ; for I am God, and there is none else. Besides me there is no Saviour." We need a God who can always save.

But then there is a third thing that we expect God to be able to do for us, and that is,

ALWAYS TO MAKE US HAPPY.

When we are in health, and have affectionate parents, and kind friends, and many comforts and enjoyments around us, we do not feel, so much, our need of God. We are ready to think that we can be happy without Him. But, when sickness comes, and pain is racking our body ; when our parents die, and our friends are taken away from us ; then it is that we need some one to make us happy.

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Yes, and when we come to die ourselves ; when we are to leave all that we have known, and loved, on earth behind us, we need some one to make us happy then. And if the God we have is the true God, this is just what He will do. Now, it is easy to find those who can tell us that Jesus does make them happy, in health and prosperity. There are many teachers in this school, and many members of this congregation, who are ready to come forward and say, " That is so. He has made me happy. He makes me happy all the time."

But, the one who is a God to us must be able to make us happy, in sickness, and suffering, in death, and eternity. Can Jesus do this ? Yes, He can.

" I was called upon," said a minister, " some time ago, to visit a man who was suffering from a cancer. It had eaten away a part of his face. It was going on to eat the rest. His appearance was awful. He was suffering dreadfully, all the time. I said to him, ' Suppose, my friend, that God should give you your choice ; to have your cancer, with all its pain and suffering, and the certainty of soon dying, but being happy with Him for ever ; or, to have health, and prosperity, and long life, in this world, with the risk of losing your soul hereafter ; which would you prefer ? ' ' Ah, sir,' the man instantly exclaimed, ' give me the cancer and the pain, with Jesus and the hope of heaven ; let others take the world, and long life and prosperity without Him.' "

This shows how Jesus can make the sick, and suffering happy. I could fill a volume in showing how He makes the dying happy.

I will only mention one or two cases. A dear child, between five and six years old, who had a happy home, and fond parents, was on his death-bed. His father asked him which he would choose ; to live with his parents, and friends here, or die and be with Jesus in heaven. He answered, cheerfully, " I would rather die, and be with Jesus in heaven ; and wait there till you come. 1 ''

A Christian was dying, after long suffering. These were his last words as his friends stood weeping round his bed ; —

" Almost horae ! almost home ! My precious Bible ! True, every line. I never thought it could have supported me thus ; but it does. I never thought I could have enjoyed so much on a dying-bed. I have not one anxious wish. It is heaven already begun. I am as happy as I can be, this side of heaven."

Now He who can do this for His people, in sickness, in suffering, and in death, can make them always happy.

These are the three things which we expect Him, who is our God, to be able to do for us. We expect Him to be able always to help ;

ALWAYS TO SAVE ; AND ALWAYS TO MAKE US HAPPY.

But then there are three things that He, who is our God, has a right to expect from us.

He has a right to expect our highest love. The gods of the heathen don't expect the people to love them, at all. And it is very well they don't, for no one could love them.

The character, and the appearance, of those gods are such that it is impossible to love them. Some of those gods are represented as often

THE FIRST COMMANDMENT.

getting drunk ; some as robbers, and others as murderers. Why, if we were to do what some of those gods are said to do, we should be put in prison, or hung. We should not be fit to live in decent society. Can any body love such gods ?

And then think of the appearance of some of the heathen gods.

The god Moloch was a frightful-looking monster, with a great red mouth, and grinning teeth, to show that he was fond of blood. Could any one love such a god?

The goddess Kalee, now worshipped by a great portion of the people in India, is a fiercelooking female figure, with instruments of death in her hands, and a string of human skulls hung round her neck, as . an ornament. Her followers think that they can do nothing to please her, better than to murder people, whenever they have an opportunity. Can any one love such a god ?

G-anesa, another of the gods of the Hindoos, is represented by a most strange and monstrous figure. He has the head of an elephant, 3

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with four arms and hands. He always appears riding on the back of a huge rat. He has the figure of a serpent, in a sort of ring round his head, with some sacred letters in it.

And then, I might speak of the great Juggernaut ; — of Hanniman, the monkey-god ; of Manesa, the snake-god ; and many others, all very much of the same character. It is impossible for any one to love such gods. And these gods do not expect to be loved. They do not ask people to love them. All they want is to be worshipped, and have offerings made to them.

But, the true God must be one who can be loved. He is one who has a right to expect, not only our love, but our highest love. He expects us to love Him ; and to love Him better than any other person, or thing in the world. We must love Him more thaa we love father, or mother, or brother, or sister, or any one that we know. Jesus said, when He was on earth, that we must love God with all our heart, and soul, and mind, and strength. And our God, the God of the Bible, can be loved in this way. He is pure. He is good. He is holy. " G-od is love." He expects, and he deserves our highest love. It is right to love Hiro better than any one else. But it is neither right, nor possible to love any one else in this way. And this shows that He is the true God. He has a right to expect our

HIGHEST LOVE.

This is the first thing He has a right to expect from us.

The second thing, He has a right to expect from us, is our unquestioning obedience.

These are larger words than I like to use, but I think you can all understand them. You know we are taught to pray that God's " will may be done, on earth, as it is in heaven." This means that ice should obey God as the angels do in heaven.

A Sunday-school teacher once asked his class, how the angels obey God. Different answers were given ; but the best was that of a little boy, who said, " They obey without asking any questions." That is true. It was a capital answer.

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I have sometimes heard a mother call to her daughter, " Mary, come here in a minute !" Mary is playing with her doll ; and instead of getting right up, and running to her mother, she goes on fixing her doll, and says in a very ugly tone, " Oh, what do you want ? "

" John, here, I want you to go on an errand f says a father to his son. John is making some bobtails for his kite. Instead of minding, at once, what his father tells him, he keeps on with what he is doing, and says, " Won't it do by and by, when I get through with fixing my kite ?"

That is not the way in which the angels obey. They do every thing that God tells them to do ; and they do it at once, without stopping to ask any questions. This is what I mean by unquestioning obedience. God has a right to expect this kind of obedience from us. He expects us to do every thing that He commands. And it is proper for us to do this, because we know that every thing that God commands is right. Others may command things that are not right, and then we are not to obey. It is right to obey our rulers ; but only when their laws are according to the laws of God.

Nebuchadnezzar made a law, that all people should worship the graven image, which he had set up, or be cast into the fiery furnace. Shadrach, Meshech, and Abednego refused to obey, and they did right.

The rulers of Jerusalem forbade the apostles to preach about Jesus. But they went on preaching ; and when they were brought to trial they said ; — " We must obey God rather than man." And they were right. We must not obey even our teachers, or parents, if they command- us to do any thing plainly contrary to the will of God.

I knew a Sunday-school boy, once, who became a Christian when he was about fourteen years old. His father used to keep a grocery store ; and on Sunday mornings he would open his store, for an hour, to supply his customers with goods. The father always called his son, in the morning, to go down, and open the store. The boy never thought there was any thing

3*

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wrong in it, till lie became a Christian. Then he thought about God's command to keep the Sabbath holy. He felt that to open the store, and sell things on Sunday, was breaking God's command. This thought troubled him very much. He knew not what to do. He was very unwilling to disobey his earthly father ; and yet he felt still more unwilling to disobey his heavenly Father. He was afraid his father would turn him out of doors, if he refused to open the store, when he told him to do so ; and he had no one to offer him another home. He was greatly distressed. But he prayed for God to show him what to do ; and, at last, he determined to obey God, whatever the consequence might be ; and trust that God would take care of him. When he had taken this resolution, he waited, very anxiously, for the end of the week to come. It came, at last. Then, late on Saturday night, when the store was closed, and the work all done, just before going to bed, he told his father that he wanted to be an obedient son, and do all that he told him to do, but he felt that opening the store,

THE FIRST COMMANDMENT.

and selling goods on the Sabbath, was breaking God's commandment, and he hoped he would excuse him from that.

Just as he supposed, his father got very angry ; and told him if he was too good to do what he did, he must leave his house, and seek another home. He told him he might stay till Monday morning, and then go.

The poor boy was greatly distressed, and knew not where to go. But, on Monday morning, his father called him to open the store, as usual, and said no more to him about going away. In a short time after, his father gave notice, to his customers, that he wouldn't open his store any more on Sunday. Then he took to going to church regularly ; he soon became a member of the church — and loved that son more than ever.

It may not be always right to obey, without questioning, all that others command us ; but, it is always right to obey, without questioning, every thing that God commands. He never does wrong Himself ; and never commands others to do wrong. Whatever He tells us