for me the Saviour stands, shews His wounds and spreads His hands.” And I wanted to shout in ecstasy, “God is love, I know I feel Jesus weeps and loves me still.”11
So, the first sanctuary and its furniture reminds us of what all sanctuaries must stand for, the revealing of Law and love, the call to obedience and the call on gratitude. And when conscience reproves us and in penitence we know ourselves lost and undone, then must ever be the glorious proclamation that we may, “Come boldly to the Throne of Grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in every time of need.”
10. This is a line from stanza 2 of the hymn “From Every Stormy Wind That Blows,” written by Hugh Stowell in the nineteenth century.
11. These are lines from Charles Wesley’s hymn “Depths of Mercy.”
“THE DAY OF DAYS”—Deuteronomy 16.3
(Preached once at Spring Head Mission 11/10/40)
Deuteronomy 16.3 “Remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt.”
You would have thought they never could forget that day. What a day it was! It marked the end of their bondage, the beginning of individual freedom, and the inauguration of their national life. It was clearly a day which the Lord made. Their deliverance was the Lord’s doing and it was, at the time, marvelous in their eyes. But the reiterated “remember” of the book of Deuteronomy reveals the fact that their memories were no better than ours.
The text calls the Israelites to concentrate their minds upon a definite point of time and definite experience of God’s goodness to them. They are not simply asked to amble through their past history selecting this incident or that according to their fancy, but to remember, in all its intensity and detail, the great day when, with high hand and outstretched arm, God brought them out of the land of bondage and into the experience of freedmen. They were to remember that particular day, and not casually or hurriedly, but patiently and deliberately. They were to surround themselves with things that would arrest their memory. The food they ate was to be of the plainest, to remind them of the food their fathers were glad to eat in the great day of escape.
We can all realize the good that would come to the people through the deliberate attempt to recall that day. It would be a reminder of the goodness and power of God and of the journey they had made. It would help to keep faith and love alive within them. It would cure them of those tendencies they sometimes had to return to Egypt. And therein lies the value of making certain anniversaries, days of specific remembrance. We all need them, for our memories are short and great experiences are in danger of fading into the commonplace. So, let us give heed to the call of the text and set ourselves to the definite observing of certain days.
A DAY TO REMEMBER
You will all realize that tomorrow is the anniversary of November 11, 1918. Some of you are old enough to recall it. Those of you who are not ought to be told of it. What a day it was! Through four long years we alternated between hope and despair. We had not the alarms that now startle us but we had casualty lists as the result of trench warfare that filled us with dismay and sorrow. Hardly a home but was darkened by loss. How we prayed! Then suddenly the end, a victorious end for us loomed in sight. Through the weekend we wondered and waited, there was no wireless then to give us news. Even the Monday morning found us uncertain. Then the sirens sounded and we knew that the end of the agony had come. We all laughed and wept at the same time.
I was in Manchester at the time and shall never forget the scenes. Train-drivers and conductors left their trains in the lines and joined in the celebrations. It was the anniversary at my church. Someone passed a note with the words, “What about we sing outside?” We went and the crowd stopped all the traffic. Thanksgiving services were held and the people joined in singing, “Now thank we all our God.”12 We ought to remember that day. Remembrance will recall gratitude and the vows we made. It should rekindle faith and renew consecration.
It is easy to pass from that great day of deliverance to great days in our spiritual experience that ought not to be forgotten. Here is the value of the observance of days in the Christian year. And there is one great act of love and mercy those of us who are free in spirit ought never to forget and an act of worship that ought not to be omitted.
“THIS DO IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME”
Thus said Jesus on the eve of His death. And he broke bread and gave it to the disciples. Then He went out and on the cross gave His life for the sins of men. I am not now thinking of any theory of the atonement, or of any special way of observing the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. I am only saying that there was an expression of Divine love, a Divine act of deliverance that ought not to be forgotten. And I know how soon and how eagerly we forget. Though I am little of an ecclesiastic and nothing of a ritualist, I am sure that we cannot, as Christians, afford to forget that “Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.” I need the reminder there is in the Communion Service that “He loves me, and gave Himself for me.” To remember the day is to be sure of His love and to acknowledge our debt.
Now to come to more personal experience, all of us who are Christians in any real sense have behind us a day, a special signal, which stands out above all other days. It is the day which, in a simple song, we hail as the “happy day when Jesus washed my sins away.” The day when one greater than Moses led us out of a bondage greater than that of Egypt. The day when we were “translated out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God’s love.” Some of us can fix the date on the calendar, others cannot. But if we cannot fix a precise date, we are sure of the personal experience. Though we cannot put our hand on the moment we are in no doubt of the fact. The power and love of the Lord broke the power of canceled sin and set us free, our chains fell off, our hearts were free, and we went forth and followed our Lord.
Perhaps there are people who speak too much of the past and have too much in it. Maybe we get a bit tired of hearing those who are continually telling us of their confessions. I am convinced that many of us are on the other side. We allow time to blur what used to be so distinct and to trivialize what used to be so precious. We ought always to remember and sometimes to tell what the Lord hath done for our souls. It would remind and assure us of God’s wonderful love, it would recall the glow of our faith and renew our love. We are all inclined to forget and as we grow older the danger is of our losing our heart—our heart for loving and serving. Remember the day you came out of Egypt and you will set your face with a fresh zeal to the promised land.
12. This is a translation from a German hymn, “Nun Danket Alle Gott,” by Martin Rinkart, written in 1636.
“MOUNT PISGAH—THE HILL OF VISION”—Deuteronomy 34.1–4
(Preached at Bishop Street 3/7/1948)
Deuteronomy 34.1–4 “And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo to the top of Pisgah . . . and the LORD shewed unto him all the land . . . and the LORD said unto him . . . I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither.”
There are some pictures which, once seen, are never forgotten. By their beauty or awfulness they lay hold of the
