CHINA'S MILLIONSA New Year's Message/
••A ribband of blue."--Num. 15:38. WE would remind ourselves at this season, and draw the attention of beloved friends to the
instructive passage with which the fifteenth chapter of Numbers closes ; and may God, through
our meditation on His precious Word, make it yet more precious and
practical to each one
of us, for Christ our Redeemer's sake. The whole chapter
is full of important
teaching. It commences with instructions concerning the burntoffering, the sacrifice in performing a vow, and
the free will offering.
It was not to be supposed that anyone
tnight present his offer- ing to God according
to his own thought and
plan. If it were to be acceptable—a sweet
savor unto the Lord
it must be an offering
in every respect such
as God had appointed. We cannot please God
in ways of our own
devising ; from begin- ning to end it must be, "Not my will, but Thine be done." Then from the sev- enteenth verse to the
twenty-first verse the Lord claims a first- fruits. The people of God were not to eat their fill and consume
all that they cared to consume, and then give
to God somewhat of the remainder ; but before they touched the bread of the land a heave-offering was to be offered to the Lord, and when the requirement of God had been fully met, then, and not till then, were
they at liberty to satisfy their own hunger and supply
their own wants. How often we see the reverse of this
in daily life ! Not only are necessaries first suppliedfrom the income, but every fancied luxury is procuredwithout stint, before the question of consecration to£>od of time and substance is really entertained. Then follow the directions concerning errors fromheedlessness and ignorance. The people werenot to imagine that sinwas not sinful if it wereunconsciously committed. Man's knowledgeand consciousness donot make wrong rightor right wrong. Thewill of God was revealed, and ought to havebeen kno
kilo m : that wil
to do that a conscious!}
not to1 wasinand not, whetherr unconNew Year. MosaS
t Mr. HuJson Tay
sciously, was sin—sinthat could only be putaway by atoning sacrifice.God dealt in muchmercy and grace withthose who committedsins of ignorance,though when the sinbecame known andrecognized, confessionaiid sacrifice were im-mediately needful. But,thank God, the sacrificewas ordained, and thesin could be put away.It was not so with thepresumptuous sin. Nosacrifice was appointedfor a man, whetherhoste. born in the land. hui.i inland Mission, or a stranger, whoreproached the Lord by presumptuous sin. Of thatman it was said, " That soul shall be utterly cut off ; his iniquity shall be upon him."
This distinction is very important to make. Weare not to think that our holiest service is free fromsin, or can be accepted save through Jesus Christ ourLord. We are not to suppose that sins of omission,any more than sins of commission, are looked lightlyupon by God : sins of forgetfulness and heedlessnessToronto, January, 1906.
CHINA'S MILLIONS.
or ignorance are more than frailties—are real sins, needing atoning sacrifice. God deals very gently and
gracionslv with us in these matters, and when trans- gression or iniquity is brought home to the conscience,
" if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to for- give us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unright- eousness." Even when walking in the light, " as He
is in the light," we are not beyond the need of atone- ment. Though our fellowship with God is unbroken
by conscious transgression, it continues unbroken only
because " the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, is clean- sing us from all sin." The man, however, who would presume on God's
forgiveness, and despise God's holiness and claim upon
His people, by doing deliberately the thing that He
knows to be contrary to God's will, that man will find
spiritual death and spiritual dearth inevitably follow. His communion with God is brought to an end, and it is hard to say how far Satan may not be permitted to carry such a backslider in heart and life. It is awfully
possible not merely to " grieve " and to " resist," but even to " quench " the Spirit of God. We have a solemn example of presumptuous sin in the case of the man found gathering sticks on the Sab- bath day. He was not—he could not be ignorant of God's ordinances concerning the Sabbath. The gath- ering of sticks was not to meet a necessity ; his case was not parallel with that of the poor man who perhaps
has received his wages late on Saturday night, and has had no opportunity of purchasing food in time to pre- pare it for the day of rest. To the Israelite the double
supply of manna was given on the morning of the day
before the Sabbath, and as the uncooked manna would
not keep, it was necessary that early in that day it should be prepared for food. He had no need of the
sticks to cook his Sabbath's dinner. And the country was so hot that no man would kindle a fire from choice
or preference. His object in gathering the sticks was
simply to show, openly and publicly, that he despised God, and refused to obey His holy ordinance : rightly, therefore, was that man put to death. But occasion was taken in connection with this judgment to introduce the wearing of the " ribband of blue." God would have all His people wear a badge. Throughout their generations they were to make them
fringes in the borders of their garments, and to put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue, that they might look upon it and remember all the commandments of the Lord, and do them, and might be a holy
people, holy unto their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt to be their God.
Blue is the color of heaven. The beautiful waters
of the deep sea reflect it, as do the depths of the cloudless sky. When the clouds come between, then, and
then only, is the deep blue lost. It is the will of God
that there should never be a cloud between His people and Himself, and that, as the Israelite of old, wherever
he went, carried the ribband of blue, so His people to- day should manifest a heavenly spirit and temper
wherever they go, and should, like Moses, in their very countenances bear witness of the glory and beauty
of the God whom the}- love and serve. How interesting it must have been to see that rib- band of blue carried by the farmer into the field, by
the merchant to his place of business, by the maidservant into the innermost parts of the dwelling, whenperforming her daily duties. Is it less important thatthe Christian of to-day, called to be a witness forChrist, should be manifestly characterized by Hisspirit? Should we not all be "imitators of God,asdear children," and " walk in love, as Christ also hathloved us, and given Himself for us " ? And should notthis spirit of God-likeness be carried into the smallestdetails of life, and not be merely reserved for specialoccasions ? If we understand aright the meaningofour Savior's direction, " Be ye therefore perfect, evenas your Father which is in heaven is perfect," it teaches this great truth. We are to be the salt of the earth and the light ofthe world, not to break one of the least of the com-mandments, not to give way to anger, nor to toleratethe thought of impurity, to give no rash promises, orin conversation to say more than yea or nay. Thespirit of retaliation is not to be indulged in ; a yield-ingness of spirit is to characterize the child of thekingdom, and those who hate and despitefully use usare to be pitied and loved and prayed for. Then comesthe direction, " Be ye therefore perfect, even as yourFather which is in heaven is perfect." In the littlefrictions of daily life, as well as in the more serioustrials and persecutions to which the Christian isexposed, he is to be manifestly an imitator of hisheavenly Father. Now, God's perfection is an absolute perfection,while ours, at best, is only relative. A needle maybea perfect needle, in every respect adapted for the workfor which it was made : it is not a microscopic object; under the magnifying power it becomes a rough honey-combed poker, with a ragged hole in the place of theeye. But it was not made to be a microscopic object,and being adapted to the purpose for which it wasmade, it may properly be considered a perfect needle.So we are not called to be perfect angels, or in anyrespect Divine, but we are to be perfect Christians,performing the privileged duties that as such devolveupon us. Now, our Father makes according to His perfectionthe least little thing that He makes. The tiniest fly.the smallest animalcule, the dust of a butterfly's wing,however highly you may magnify, them, are seen to beabsolutely perfect. Should not the little things ofdaily life be as relatively perfect in the case ofthe Christian as the lesser creations of Godareabsolutely perfect as his work ? Ought we not toglorify God in the formation of each letter that wewrite, and to write a more legible hand as Christiansthan unconverted people can be expected to do? Ought we not to be more thorough in our sen-ice, notsimply doing well that which will be seen and noticed,but as our Father makes many a flower to bloomunseen in the lonely desert, so to do all that we candoas under His eve, though no other eve ever take noteof it?
It is our privilege to take our rest and recreationfor the purpose of pleasing Him, to lay aside ourgarments at night neatly (for He is in the room andwatches over us while we sleep), to wash, to dress, tosmoothe the hair, with His eye in view ; and, in short.
CHINA'S MILLIONS. 3in all that we are and in all that we do to use the full to enter see in us all that growth in grace which willmeasure of ability which God has given us to the glorify God ; and may tell-tale faces, and glad hearts,glory of His holy name. Were we all always so to and loving service, be to each one of us as " a ribbandlive, how beautiful Christian life would become ! How of blue," reflecting the very hue of heaven, andmuch more worthy a witness we should bear to the reminding ourselves and one another of our privilegeworld of Him whose witnesses we are ! to "remember all the commandments of the Lord,May the new year on which we are, D.V., so soon and do them." J. Hudson Taylor.