Lasting Memorials
Lasting Memorials LASTING MEMORIALS
By THOS. E. MILHOLLAND
There is an instinctive desire within us—all of us— to be remembered by coming generations. In all ages this has been so. It is really sad to think of being forgotten. Hence we hear Job say, "O, that thou wouldest hide me in sheol, That thou wouldest keep me secrete till thy wrath be past. That thou wouldest appoint me a set time and remember me", Job 13:14. David said, "According to thy loving kindness remember me". Psalms 25:7. Even the poor old "dying thief" from the same irrepressible desire said, "Jesus remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom". Luke 23:42. And again David said, "Yea when I am old and gray-headed, O God forsake me not". Psalms 71:18.
Men desire to be remembered. And God desires his people to remember Him? "Beware lest thou forget Jehovah thy God in not keeping his commandments". Deuteronomy 8:11, Hebrews 10:25. If we do this God will remember us. "O Israel thou shall not be forgotten of me". Isaiah 44:21. "Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion upon the son of her womb? Yea these may forget, yet will I not forget thee". Isaiah 49:15. What wonderful love! and attachment God has for those who love Him. Keener and firmer and more certain that a mother for her child. In the days of Malachi it was said, "Then they that feared the Lord, speak often one to an other: and the Lord hearkened and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord and thought upon his name". Ma. 13:16. And God remembered and blessed them and comforted them, "as one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you". How sweet this promise. "As one whom his mother comforteth". That is good enough Lord. If you love me "as mother" did, if you will comfort me as my own dear mother comforted me, that is enough for me.
Yet with all these precious promises from God, many of them forgot God. "Can a virgin forget her ornaments (not in this age) or a bride her attire? Yet -my people have forgotten me days without number". Jeremiah 2:32. In the New Testament aged men did the same thing. The world left him, "Many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him". Jno. 6: 66. Peter says: "This is now, beloved the second epistle that I write unto you; and in both of them I stir up your sincere mind by putting you in remembrance; that ye should remember the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and the commandments of the Lord and Savior through your apostles: knowing this first, that in the last days mockers shall come with mockery, walking after their own lusts and saying, Where is the promise of His coming? for from the day the fathers fell asleep all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation. 2 Peter 3:1-5.
Now to remind us of God's promises, pledges and covenants to us, and our promises—man's promises to Him and to prove to the world, that "God is not slack concerning his promises as some men count slackness". I call your attention to some of—NATURE'S MEMORIALS.
Mountains, Rocks and Rivers.
In the "Land of the Bible" these natural, material memorials were used by God and man as mementos and reminders of many wonderful events.
Ararat, Mount Moriah. Sinai! Nebo. Hor. Herman and Olivet! What wonderful memories hang around these solemn silent sentinels of nature.
Nature does not change. The same sun that shown on Homer's head shines with undimmed luster on the people of earth today. The same moon that beamed on the Patriarch's path is the same one that lights the pilgrims' path today. The same flowers that gemmed the fields and forests then, bloom in their season still. And the great mountains mentioned are still standing in their places, as solemn reminders of the awful tragedies, conquests, victories, shame, sorrow, sighing, sickness and sin—dangers and deliverances, power and providences of Almighty God—covering history of six thousand years!
MEMORIALS. Ararat. Who can look upon this mountain, and not think of the story of the great deluge. When the heavens weeped great drops of water, and the fountains of the great deep were broken up, When wicked man was destroyed off the face of the earth, We think of the grace of God, the faith of Noah, the purpose of the Ark, The new world, and no one on it but those who "by faith moved with fear prepared an Ark for the saving of his house—condemned the world and became the heir of that righteousness which is by faith". The Master thought about it and said: "As it was in the days of Noah so shall the coming of the Son of Man be".
MORIAH? It would take many pages to record the wonderful things that have been enacted on that wonderful mountain! There God appeared to David "in the threshing-floor of Araunah the Jebusite". There, it was that Abraham, "the father of the faithful" raised his arm to plunge the glittering blade into the warm blood and bosom of his son—his only son, his son whom he dearly loved. How terrible this trial! How great this faith! Many are the sweet sad words in this account. " On the third clay, Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place afar off". "And Abraham took the wood of the burnt-offering and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took in his hand the fire and the knife; and they went both of them together. And Isaac spoke unto Abraham his father and said, My Father: and he said, here am I my son: so they went both of them together. How could he do it? Who will ever know the battle that was raging in that father's breast. But God had commanded it. Abraham believed God. They have reached the place. The altar is built, the wood laid thereon. The last moment is come! Isaac is even bound and laid—yes gently laid by his own sad father—on the altar, and Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son! Here the curtain falls. But a grander scene follows. An angel appears—calls to Abraham out of heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham: and he said here am I, and he said Lay not thy hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him, for I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son thine only son from me". "Was not Abraham our father justified by works in that he offered up Isaac his son upon the altar". "And Abraham believed God and it reckoned unto him for righteousness; and he was called the friend of God".
SINAI. The sight of this mountain brings to mind the awe-inspiring scenes of 6,000 years ago! How vivid their memory still. There Moses, the great law giver of the Hebrew race, spent forty awful days and nights in the immediate presence of Almighty God himself. Amid the thunders and lightnings of that cloud-covered mountain the FIRST written law by Jehovah was given to Moses on two tables of stone.
Mount HOR. The sight of this mount stirs sad
memories in the Hebrew heart. It was here, here that Aaron, Moses' brother died. Moses stripped Aaron of his priestly garments and put them on Eleazar, Aaron's son, and Aaron died there.
NEBO. This mountain stands—as it were—guard, as an awful silent sentinel over the sacred dust of Israel's greatest lawgiver. Here Moses, a youth of a hundred and twenty summers, his eyes undimmed, his natural force unabated, and "viewed the landscape o'er" for his last time. From this vantage ground his eyes could sweep the whole of the sublime scenery of the "promised land" from the Dead Sea, to Herman's holy height. Sad to think this great leader was denied the pleasure of entering into that goodly land. But this is a solemn reminder that even preachers MUST obey God. Can we say, "Could I but climb where Moses stood, and view the landscape o'er, Jordan's stream nor death's cold flood could fright me from the shore".
HERMAN. Here words fail me! Who can describe the scene and tell the story of that wonderful mountain. "After six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, James and John his brother, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart; and was transfigured before them; and his face did shine as the sun and his garments become as white as the light''. Matthew 17:1-2. Here Moses and Elias, from the unseen world came and laid their trophies at Jesus feet. Here stood—in the days of his flesh—the son of man. Look at him. A strange change has passed over him. That sad and solemn countenance, which has been so often seen stooping over the couch of the dying, entering the door of the hut of poverty passing through the streets of Jerusalem, and pausing by the wayside—awe-bedewed with the tears of pity—now burn like the sun in his mid-day splendor. Meekness has given away to majesty, sadness to dazzling glory—the look of pity, to the grandeur of a God! Peter is bewildered! Carried away with the glory of the scene, and enamoured with the conversation of heavenly visitors, he offers to build three tabernacles and stay there!
OLIVET. Here the scene changes. This mountain, and the garden at its base bring memories of sadness and gladness. Gethsemane, associated with this word are the memories of that awful sorrow, that heart-rending agony. Hear the Master himself, "I have a baptism to be baptized, and how am I ' straitened till it be accomplished. Luke 12:50. A baptism yes, not a sprinkle. Hear Him pray: "Father if it be possible let this cup pass from me".
Dark was the night, and cold the ground, on which the Lord was laid,
Great drops of sweat like blood ran down, in agony he prayed,
Father remove this bitter cup if such thy sacred will, If not content to drink it up, thy pleasure I'll fulfill.
From the mount of Olivet, the blessed left this old world forever—till he "comes in glory, by, and by." The ROCKS and Stones of nature, remind us of David's refuge, of Moses' sin at Meribah, of Jacob's dream at Bethel. The crossing of the Jordan by the hosts under Joshua, where the stones left in Gilgal "shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel forever" Joshua 4:7. The great RIVERS of the "Holy Land". The "Euphrates", "Tigris", "Nile", the Jordan, and others remind us of God's dealings with the people of the past, and of their departed glory. Time would fail me to tell you of the glory and grandeur, fate and fall of the great city of Babylon (on the Euphrates), of the wickedness of the people of Ninevah (on the Nile), of Jonah's preaching (after he was whaled) of people's repenting at the preaching of Jonah, and their subsequent salvation. Of the wonders of the lazy Nile, on whose bosom rested the little ark that contained the sweet little son of Amram and Jochubed —the destiny of the Hebrew race. Of the thousand sacred memories of the never-to-be-forgotten Jordan. That memorable stream in which the blessed Master was "buried away from view, the emblem of his future grave and resurrection too" and the numberless other memorials of nature that silently, but eloquently testify to the truths revealed in our Bibles that "God hath spoken to man." The BOW in the cloud, The PASSOVER SUPPER, could be added to these memorials, pregnant with meaning to the reverent student of God's word. But as men increased upon the earth they desired to honor themselves, and immortalize their names. Hence, we read: "Their inward thought is, that their house shall continue forever, and their dwelling places to all generations:" THEY CALL THEIR LANDS AFTER THEIR OWN NAMES. Psalms 49:11. So we find in all ages of the past.
MAN MADE MEMORIALS
This desire and longing to be remembered, and to remember our friends and loved ones is evidenced on every hand. You can hardly enter a home where you do not see some little memorial, memento, or reminder of some absent loved one. A picture, maybe, or a little pair of shoes. A book, or some work of art, or something held as a priceless treasure, because of the fond memories attached to it. From these little things, it is but an easy- step to the greater and more portentous memorials of men. The fading tomb stone, the crumbling piles of granite and marble, the gorgeous mausoleum, the venerable cathedrals, the ancient temples and tombs, of the east are but melancholy evidences of man's desire to be remembered, by coming generations.
Men have tried to immortalize themselves with the works of their own hands. They builded the great Pyramids, the mighty Sphynx, the temples of Karnak, Obelisks, the Pantheon and Colosseum at Rome. But these will not last forever. Already the tarnishing hand of time has despoiled of their beauty and razed many of them to the ground. The soil of twenty centuries is heaped upon the noblest monuments of art the world has ever seen! Alas! for the mightiest efforts man has made to immortalize himself without God. Paul says; "Because that knowing God, they glorified him not as God, neither gave thanks: but. became vain in their reasonings, and their senseless hearts were darkened, professing themselves to be wise they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God, for the likeness of an image of corruptible man, and of birds and four footed beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore, God gave them up! (how awful when God gives up a man, or a nation!)—to dishonor themselves among themselves." Three times in this first chapter of the Roman letter Paul says, God "gave them up"! What then is the doom? David said; "The enemy are come to an end, they are desolate forever: And the cities which thou hast overthrown, the very remembrance of them is perished." Psalms 9:6.
Why this desolation, this lost remembrance? God was not in their work, that is why. "Except the Lord build the house they labor in vain that build it". Psalms 127:1. This brings us now to consider, MEMORIALS THAT WILL LAST
We are ALL builders too, But how are we building? What are we building? And on what are building? On the Rock, or on the sand? For time or eternity! Is the rising generation of young people—our young people—such as the splendid body of students now being trained, and taught under the direct vision and supervision of that man of God—Jesse P. Sewell, and his able assistants—faculty— of consecrated men and women—destined to pass off the stage of action leaving no LASTING MEMORIALS of their lives and labors to bless humanity when they are gone? I am sure they are not. They are building, not temples made with hands, but characters made sure by the word of the eternal God. "The world passeth away and the lust thereof; but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever''. 1 John 2:17. THE ESSENTIAL ELEMENT THAT GOES
INTO THE MAKE-UP OF EVERY HUMAN LIFE?
ORGANIZATION ORUNDERTAKING? THAT
GIVES IT VALUE THAT MAKES IT WORTH WHILE,
LASTING AND EVERLASTING IS THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST. The individual, family, school, or church government or nation that leaves God out of its plans is doomed to failure. "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly''. "Blessed is the nation whose God is Jehovah". Christians are the "salt of the earth" the "light of the world." And we are "salty" and "light" to the very extent that the spirit of Christ dwells in us. Education, is a good thing but it will not atone for the lack of the spirit of Christ. Christian education, with the emphasis on the "christian" should be the slogan of the church of christ today. We need more christian boys and girls, and more "christian" preachers.
Many gospel preachers of the past, (and some of the present) with little or no education, did a great work for the Master, But they were men of spiritual power. They went to school of God. They were much with God. A gentleman once asked an old lady of the success of a certain evangelist—why he did so much good? She replied; "Sir, that man is thick with God". The world and the devil, can tell when a man—a preacher—has been with God.
"Now when they beheld the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and took knowledge of them that they had "been with Jesus." There we get our power! He is the Spiritual dynamo of the universe! Notwithstanding Moses was "instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians" he had to go to school in Midian for forty years, learning the hardships of life, and finally come into the immediate presence of Jehovah on Sinai, with fear and trembling take his Master Degree that he might become the writer of the world's FIRST law book. And there amid the thunders and lightnings of that cloud- covered mountain, gain the secret power that the wisdom of the Egyptians could not give. If then men have done great things without education what might they have done with more—more tools. In many good boys in this country there slumber latent powers which if they were evolved by christian training and discipline could with Larimore's language carry the sweet story of the gospel to thousands of people. Or with Lipscomb's logic could convince the gainsayers and drive the truth home to the hearts of many strong men! Their lives then would be lasting memorials to christian education. And their good works like Mary's would be told "wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, as a memorial of them. But of all memorials, natural or supernatural, of earth, land, or sky! The GREATEST of all is summed up in the language of our blessed Lord in these words. "This do in remembrance of me". What do? "As oft as you eat this bread and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till he comes again". Here is one—a memorial that has to do with every race, kindred and nation. Here ALL NATIONS can focus their affections and lavish their love, upon one common Lord, and Master. This, and this alone, brings sacred memories that no mountain, rock, stone or river of earth could suggest! The dying love of the Prince of peace. This memorial will outlast them all ALL. W'hen the memorials of men have all crumbled, fallen, and passed away. When the waters of the rivers have dried up, and the mountains have cast into the sea—this memorial will remain—the memory of the dying Savior. CHRIST, had no money, no estate to leave to His loved ones. He was born in a stable, cradled in a manger buried in a borrowed tomb. But he was rich. And for our sakes he became poor, very poor, He said; "The foxes have holes, the birds of the air have nests, but the son of man hath not where to lay his head". But he left something better than money, He left a legacy of a life sublimely simple, and simply sublime! Filled with unselfish labor to bless, and save humanity. May God help every one of us to help in this great work of christian education. To pray more, to pay more. To increase our spiritual voltage, that we may be seen and known and felt, in this world for the good we can do. Dear reader, use the means the Lord has given you. Break your cruise of spikenard on the splendid school in Abilene, or some other of the same type, so use your time and talent, muscle, mind and money, that when you come to the end of the way, you will rejoice that you have left on earth a LASTING MEMORIAE..