Life and Times of David. Miscellaneous Writings of C. H. Mackintosh, vol. VIMackintosh, Charles Henry
Religion
Life and Times of David. Miscellaneous Writings of C. H. Mackintosh, vol. VI
Mackintosh, Charles Henry
Theology
True, they will feel--must feel--that they are not in the days of Acts
ii., but in the days of 2 Timothy. Yet Christ is sufficient for these,
as He was for those. The difficulties are great, but His resources are
infinite. It were folly to deny that there are difficulties; but it is
sinful unbelief to question the all-sufficiency of our ever-gracious
and faithful Lord. He has promised to be with His people right on to
the end. But He cannot sanction hollow pretension, or proud
assumption. He looks for reality, for truth in the inward parts. He
will have us in our right place, owning our true condition. There He
can meet us according to His infinite fulness, and according to the
eternal stability of that grace which reigns through righteousness
unto eternal life.
But oh, let us never forget that our God delights in uprightness of
heart and integrity of purpose. He will never fail a trusting heart;
but He must be trusted really. It will not do to speak of trusting Him
while in reality we are leaning on our own appliances and
arrangements. Here is precisely where we so sadly fail. We do not
leave room for Him to act in our midst. We do not leave the platform
clear for Him. Thus we are robbed, and that to an extent of which we
have little idea, of the blessed manifestation of His presence and
grace in our assemblies. His Spirit is quenched and hindered, and we
are left to feel our barrenness and poverty, when we might be
rejoicing in the fulness of His love and in the power of His ministry.
It is utterly impossible that He can ever fail those who, owning the
truth of the condition, earnestly look to Him. He cannot deny Himself;
and He can never say to His people that they have reckoned too largely
on Him.
It is not that we are to look for any special display of power in our
midst, anything that might attract public attention, or make a noise
in the world. There are no tongues, no gifts of healing, no miracles,
no extraordinary manifestations of angelic action on our behalf.
Neither are we to look for anything similar to the case of Ananias and
Sapphira--the sudden and awful execution of divine judgment, striking
terror into the hearts of all, both inside and outside the assembly.
Such things are not to be looked for now. They would not comport with
the present condition of things in the Church of God. No doubt our
Lord Christ has all power in heaven and on earth, and He could
display that power now just as He did in Pentecostal times, if it so
pleased Him. But He does not so act, and we can readily understand the
reason. It is our place to walk softly, humbly, tenderly. We have
sinned, and failed, and departed from the holy authority of the word
of God. We must ever bear this in mind, and be content with a very low
and retired place. It would ill become us to seek a name or a position
in the earth. We cannot possibly be too little in our own eyes.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account