Daniel’s Band

Daniel's Band

(No. 2256)

INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD'S-DAY, MAY 15, 1892.

DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON LORD'S-DAY EVENING,
AUGUST 3, 1890.

"O Daniel, a man greatly beloved." Daniel 10:11.

IT did not do Daniel any harm to know that he was greatly beloved of
God, or else he would not have received that information from Heaven.
Some people are always afraid that if Christian people obtain full
assurance and receive a sweet sense of Divine love, they will grow
proud, and be carried away with conceit. Do not have any such fear for
other people and especially do not be afraid of it for yourselves! I
know of no greater blessing that can happen to any man and woman here
than to be assured by the Spirit of God that they are greatly beloved
of the Lord. Such knowledge might do some of us, who are Christians,
the greatest conceivable good! Daniel was not injured by knowing that
he was greatly beloved. It has often been said that Daniel is the John
of the Old Testament and John is the Daniel of the New Testament. Those
two men, Daniel and John, were choice saints. They rose to the greatest
height of spiritual obedience and then to the greatest height of
spiritual enjoyment.

The knowledge that we are greatly beloved of God, instead of doing us
harm, will be a means of blessings in many ways. If you know, my dear
Brothers and Sisters, for sure, that you are greatly beloved of God,
you will become very humble. You will say, "How could God ever love
me?–

'What was there in me to merit esteem, Or give the Creator delight?'"

I think a sense of God's love is even more humbling than a sense of our
own sin! When the two are blended, they sink the soul very low, not in
depression of spirit, but in its estimate of itself.

A sense of God's love will also excite in you great gratitude. "Oh,"
you will say, "how can I repay the Lord for such an amazing favor?" You
will be conscious that you can never repay Him, but you will begin
working out all sorts of schemes and plans to try to show how much you
value the love of God. You will bring out your alabaster box from its
hiding place–you will willingly enough break it and pour the precious
ointment upon the dear head of Him who has loved you so greatly. I am
sure that a certainty of having the love of God shed abroad in the
heart by the Holy Spirit is one of the greatest promoters of holy
gratitude–and holy gratitude is the mother of obedience. When we feel
how much we owe, then we seek to know the will of God and take a
delight in doing it. Whatever He says to us, we are glad to do as a
proof that we really are grateful for "love so amazing, so Divine."

This will also consecrate us. I believe that to know certainly that you
are greatly beloved of God will make you feel that you cannot live as
others do. You cannot trifle with sin. He who lives in the heart of the
King must be faithful to Him. If called to stand in God's immediate
Presence as a courtier and a favorite, you must take care how you
behave yourself and you will do so. "You are not your own; for you are
bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your
spirit, which are God's." In proportion as we are sure of His love, our
love to Him will burn like coals of juniper which have a most vehement
heat–and everything contrary to the will of God will be consumed in
that blessed flame.

A sense of Divine love will also strengthen us. What is there that a
man cannot do when he is in love, even, with one of his own race? But
when he gets to be in love with God and knows of a certainty that he is
greatly beloved of God–he would cut his way through a lane of
devils–he would face an army of angels and defeat them all–for love
is a conquering Grace. When faith is side by side with love, it–

"Laughs at impossibilities, And says, 'It shall be done,'" and love
goes and does it, for there is nothing which the love of God will not
enable us to do.

Moreover, this assurance of God's love will make us very courageous. If
you are a man greatly beloved and you know it, you will be a brave man!
Let me never come into collision with the sword of that man whom God
greatly loves–he will cut me in halves! The love of God makes a hero
of the man on whom it is fixed. He is in the thick of the fray. He
defies sin, death and Hell. He will burn for Christ–he would be ready
to burn a thousand times when once he was assured that he was the
object of the peculiar love of God and, like Daniel, could be addressed
as "a man greatly beloved."

This will make a man glad. If we are greatly beloved of God, how can we
be miserable and discontent? Oh, no! If you are a man greatly beloved,
you will trip with light feet over the hills of sorrow. You will be
glad in the Lord, even when you have much to depress and discourage
you. You will begin the music of Heaven even here, for a sense of God's
love in the soul sets all the bells of the heart ringing. He is the
most glad man who has the greatest assurance that he is "a man greatly
beloved."

I have said all this as a preface to show you that you need not be
afraid of knowing that God loves you. Some seem to think that a state
of doubt is a state of discretion. It is a state of folly! Full
assurance of the faithfulness and truthfulness of God is nothing but
commonsense spiritualized! To believe a lie is folly, but to believe
the Truth of God is wisdom. If you are a Believer in Christ, though the
very least and weakest of Believers, you are a man greatly beloved!
Believe it and be not afraid to rejoice in it. It will have no
influence over you but that which is sanctifying and health-giving!

Well, now, to help us think of Christ's great love to us, I am going to
talk a little, first, about the case of Daniel, the man greatly
beloved. Secondly, about the case of every Believer, for every Believer
is a man greatly beloved. And thirdly, about the case of some special
saints–Believers who are the elect out of the elect–the choicest of
the choice ones of the Most High! Of these it may truly be said that
they are men greatly beloved.

I. First, then, let us consider THE CASE OF DANIEL who was "a man
greatly beloved.

Because Daniel was greatly beloved of God, he was early tried and
enabled to stand. While he was yet a youth, he was carried into Babylon
and there he refused to eat the king's meat, or to drink the king's
wine. He put it to the test whether, if he fed on common food, he would
not be healthier and better than if he defiled himself with the king's
meat. Now, religion does not stand in meat and drink, but let me say a
good deal of irreligion does–and it may become a very important point
with some as to what they eat and what they drink. Daniel was tested
early and because he was a man greatly beloved of God, he stood the
test. He would not yield even in a small point to that which was evil.
Young man, if God greatly loves you, He will give you an early decision
and, very likely He will put you to an early test. If you are greatly
loved, you will stand firm, even about so small a thing as what you eat
and drink, or something that looks less important than that. You will
say, "I cannot sin against God. I must stand fast, even in the smallest
matter, in keeping the Law of the Lord my God." If you are enabled to
do that, you are a man greatly beloved!

Afterwards, Daniel was greatly envied, but found faultless. He was
surrounded by envious enemies who could not bear that he should be
promoted over them, though he deserved all the honor he received. So
they met together and consulted how they could pull him down. They were
obliged to make this confession, "We shall not find any occasion
against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the Law
of his God." O dear Friends, you are greatly beloved if, when your
enemies meet to devise some scheme for your overthrow, they cannot say
anything against you except what they base upon your religion! If, when
they sift you through and through, their eager, evil eyes cannot detect
a fault–and they are obliged to fall back upon abusing you for your
godliness, calling it hypocrisy, or some other ugly name–you are a man
or woman greatly beloved!

Further, Daniel was delivered from great peril. He was cast into the
lions' den because he was a man greatly beloved of God. I think I see
some shrink back and I hear them say, "We do not want to go into the
lions' den." They are poor creatures, but Daniel was worth putting in
the lions' den–there was enough of him to be put there! Some men would
be out of place among lions–indeed, cats would be more suitable
companions for them! They are such insignificant beings that they would
be more at home among mice! Lion's dens would not be at all in their
line. They would imitate Solomon's slothful man and say, "There is a
lion outside, I shall be slain in the streets." There is not enough
manhood in them to bring them into close quarters with the king of
beasts!

Even among our hearers there are many poor feeble creatures. A clever
man preaches false doctrine and they say, "Very good. Was it not well
put?" Oh, yes! It is all alike good to some of you who cannot discern
between the true and the false! But Daniel could distinguish between
good and evil and, therefore, he was thrust into the lion's den. It
was, however, a den out of which he was delivered. The lions could not
eat him–God loved him too well. The Lord preserved Daniel and He will
preserve you, dear Friend, if you belong to "Daniel's band." It is one
thing to sing–

"Dare to be a Daniel, Dare to stand alone,"

but it is quite another thing to be a Daniel and dare to stand alone
when you are at the mouth of the lions den! If you are like Daniel, you
will have no cause for fear even then. If your trial should be like
going into a den of lions, if you are a man greatly beloved of God, you
will come out again. No lion shall destroy you–you are perfectly safe.
The love of God is like a wall of fire round about you.

Once more, Daniel was a man greatly beloved and, therefore, he had
revelations from God. Do not open your eyes with wonder and say, "I
wish that I had all the revelations that Daniel had." Listen to what he
says–"I, Daniel, was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, and
the visions of my head troubled me." And again–"As for me, Daniel, my
cogitations much troubled me, and my countenance changed in me; but I
kept the matter in my heart." The revelations he received actually made
him ill! "I, Daniel, fainted, and was sick certain days; afterward I
rose up, and did the king's business; and I was astonished at the
vision, but none understood it." He whom God loves will see things that
will astound him! He will see that which will almost kill him! He will
see that which will make him faint and sick well near unto death!

When one said, "You cannot see God and live," another answered, "Then
let me see him if I die." So those who are greatly beloved say, "Let me
see visions of God whatever it may cost me. Let me have communion with
Him even though it should break my heart and crush me in the dust.
Though it should fill me with sorrow and make me unfit for my daily
business, yet manifest Yourself to me, my Lord, as You do not unto the
world!" Even men greatly beloved, when they deal closely with God, have
to find out that they are but dust and ashes in His sight. They have to
fall down before the Presence of His glorious majesty, as the beloved
John did when he fell at Christ's feet as dead.

I will make only one more remark upon Daniel's case and that is
this–he stood in his lot. Because he was a man greatly beloved, he had
this promise with which to close his marvelous book, "Go you your way
till the end: for you shall rest, and stand in your lot at the end of
the days." He was a man greatly beloved, but he does not understand all
that God has revealed–and he is to go his way and rest quite satisfied
that whether he understood it or not, it would work him no harm, for
when the end came, he would have his place and his portion–and he
would be with his Lord forever! The next time you get to studying some
prophecy of Scripture which you cannot make out, do not be troubled,
but hear the voice of God saying, "Go your way. Wait awhile. It will
all be plain, by-and-by. God is with you. There remains a rest for you,
a crown that no head but yours can wear, a harp that no fingers but
yours can play upon, and you shall stand in your lot at the end of the
days."

Thus I have briefly described the case of Daniel.

II. In the second place, I am going to speak OF THE CASE OF EVERY
BELIEVER who is also greatly beloved of God. I must be very brief
because of the communion service which is to follow.

Every Believer has been called out from others. My Brothers and
Sisters, look at the hole of the pit from which you were rescued! Like
Abraham, you have been called out from your family, and from your
father's house. Possibly, you have not one godly relative. Many here
are the only ones of their kith and kin that ever knew the Lord so far
as they know of, or can remember. Behold in this the Sovereign,
electing Love of God. Are you not a man greatly beloved? Even if you
have come of a godly stock, yet you have seen others who seemed to be
nearest to the Kingdom and yet have been cast out from it. Admire the
Grace of God which has called you, and your father, and your
grandfather, and your brother and sister, and your wife, and maybe
children, too! Oh, be grateful, and bless the name of the Lord! But,
"who makes you to differ from another?" Who but God, the Giver of all
Grace, has made you to differ from the ungodly around you? Therefore,
adore Him for His matchless mercy, His distinguishing Grace.

Remember, too, that if you have been called out from a sinful world and
transformed into a child of God, this is the token that you have been
chosen from the beginning. God loved you long before He began to deal
with you in the way of

Grace. Before you were born and before this world was made, Christ died
for you. God loved you with an everlasting love–

"Before the daystar knew its place, Or planets ran their round,"

your name was in His Book–and your image was on the heart of Christ,
whose delights were with the sons of men! Remember His Words by the
Prophet, Jeremiah, "I have loved you with an everlasting love:
therefore with loving kindness have I drawn you." Feed on that precious
Truth of God! Inwardly digest it–let it enter into your very soul. He
has loved me with an everlasting love, then, surely, I may claim the
title of "a man greatly beloved."

Remember, too, that in the fullness of time, you were redeemed with the
precious blood of Christ. Your God took upon Himself your nature and on
the Cross He bore your sins in His own body on the tree. The
chastisement of your peace was upon Him and with His stripes you are
healed. The blood mark is now on you–you are one for whom He died in
that special way which secures effectual salvation to you! He loved His
Church and gave Himself for it–and this is the song of that Church in
Heaven, "You have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every
kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and have made us unto our
God kings and priests: and we shall reign on earth." If you have been
redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus, verily, I say to you, you are
"a man greatly beloved."

You have also been pardoned and put among the Lord's children. Remember
your sin for a moment. Dare you remember it? Have you remembered it?
Then forget it, for God has blotted it out! He has cast all your sins
behind His back. The depths have covered them–there is not one of them
left. They sank like lead in the mighty waves of oblivion and they
shall never arise to condemn you! You are forgiven! Perhaps you were a
drunk, a swearer, disobedient to parents, or unchaste. But whatever
your sin, the blood of Jesus has cleansed you and you are whiter than
the snow–and He has covered you with the robe of His perfect
righteousness and you are "accepted in the Beloved." Are you not a man
greatly beloved?

I remember one who came creeping to the Savior's feet. It was myself,
black as night, condemned in my own conscience and expecting to be
driven to the place where hope could never come! I came to Christ
wearing the weeds of mourning, but, in a moment, when I looked to
Jesus, He put on me the garments of salvation! He took away my sin and
placed a fair crown upon my head–and set my feet upon a rock–and
established my goings. Blessed be His name! If there is a man in the
world who can sing–

"Oh, 'twas love, 'twas wondrous love,

The love of God to me!

It brought my Sa vior from abo ve,

To die on Calvary."

I am that man! And you can sing it, too, dear Friend, can't you? I mean
if you have been forgiven your trespasses for Christ's sake. I feel
sure that your heart is now speaking, even if your tongue is silent,
and it says, "Indeed, as a pardoned man, I am greatly beloved."

Since the Lord forgave your sin, you have been a praying man and God
has heard your prayers. From the horns of the unicorns has He delivered
you! Out of the depths of the sea you have cried and He has rescued
you, like Jonah. With the Psalmist, you can say, "Verily, God has heard
me. He has attended to the voice of my prayer." Are you not greatly
beloved? As our dear Friend, Dr. Taylor, said in prayer this morning,
we have a Mercy Seat to which we can always go. Not only have we gone
to it in the past, but we may go to it whenever we need. We have the
entree' of the King's palace at will. Are we not men greatly beloved?

Beside that, remember that the Lord has upheld you until now. In your
pilgrim path, how many times have your feet almost slipped? How often
have you been tempted? Ah, worse than that, how often have you yielded
to temptation? Yet here you are, your character not ruined, your soul
not lost, your face towards Jerusalem and the enemy's foot is not on
your neck–and it will never be, glory be to the name of the Lord! When
I think of all our experience in the way in which the Lord has led us,
I can truly say of all His people that they are men and women greatly
beloved!

Now, tonight you are invited to feast with Christ and His Church–not
to come and be dogs under the table–but to sit with Him at the royal
banquet, with His banner of love waving over you! You are invited to be
His companions here, His comrades at His feet. Oh, what a festival is
this sacred supper! Haman thought himself honored when he was invited
to his king's banquet–but what shall we say who are bid to come to
this high festival?–

"What food luxurious loads the board, When at the table sits the Lord!
The wine howrich, the bread how sweet, When Jesus deigns the guests to
meet!" Only one thing more will I say under this head, but the story is
so marvelous that we may be forever telling it and yet it will never be
all told! The love of Christ to some of us has been so wonderful that
when we once begin the theme, we seem to forget all about time and wish
there were no fleeting hours to bid us end our story! Eternity itself
will not be too long for telling "the old, old story, of Jesus and His
love."

But, what I was going to say, is this–we shall soon be with Him. Some
of us sit here heavy at heart and there are wrinkles on our brow. And
there is a weariness in the frame which makes the wheels of life drag
heavy. Beloved, it is but the twinkling of an eye, so brief is life,
and we shall be with Him where He is and shall behold His Glory! Do you
ever try to realize the greatness of that love that will take you to be
with Christ, to dwell with Him and to share His Glory forever? Can you
not put the incorruptible crown on your head tonight in fancy–no–in
faith? Can you, even now, begin to wave the palm of victory and strike
the harp of everlasting praise? Do you feel as if you could, even now,
join the sacred songsters above and sing the heavenly hymn, the
hallelujah chorus of the ages yet to be? As surely as we are in Christ,
tonight, we shall be with Christ, by-and-by. Oh, men and women, greatly
beloved, to have such a future as this before you ought to make your
Heaven begin below!

III. Time fails me, so I must speak of THE CASE OF SPECIAL
SAINTS–those who are, in a peculiar sense, men and women greatly
beloved.

There are some men who are, as I said at the beginning of my discourse,
elect out of the elect. Remember that Christ had 70 choice men–His
disciples–but then He had 12 choicer men, His Apostles. And He had
three of these who were with Him when the others were not–and out of
these three He had one John–"that disciple whom Jesus loved." His love
is so sweet, that while I would be grateful to be even outside the
seventy, so long as I might be among the 500 brethren who saw Him after
He rose from the dead, yet I would then have the ambition to get in
among the seventy–not for the honor of it, but for the love it would
bring! I would like to be one of the eleven for the same reason. I
would be glad to be one of the three and I would, above measure, be
thankful if I might be that one whom Jesus loved. Have you not the same
holy aspiration?

Well, now, let me tell you that if you would be among the choicer
spirits, greatly beloved of God, you must be men of spotless character.
Christ loves great sinners and even saints that fall and stain their
garments He will not cast away. But you will never enjoy the fullness
of Christ's love unless you keep your garments unspotted from the
world. You cannot find a fault in Daniel and if you want to live on
earth so as to be in Heaven while you are here–and to drink the wine
of Christ's love to the bottom of the chalice, even the spiced wine of
His pomegranate–you must watch every step and observe every word, for
our Lord is very jealous and half a word of evil will grieve Him! If
you would walk in the Light of God as He is in the Light and have
constant fellowship with God, I beseech you, be you perfect, even as
your Father which is in Heaven is perfect and follow after unsullied
holiness. The pure in heart shall see God! Oh, that we might, everyone,
have this purity! It is those who have not defiled their garments who
shall walk with Christ in white!

The next point is that men who are greatly beloved are men of decision.
When Daniel had the lions' den in prospect, because of his faithfulness
to His God, "He went into the house; and his window being open in his
chamber towards Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day
and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime." There
was no compromising in Daniel's case! If you want to be greatly
beloved, do not attempt any compromise with sin! Have nothing to do
with policy, craft and holding with the true and the false at the same
time. If God is to use you in His service, you must be like the tribe
of Levi, separate from your Brothers–and you must always be ready to
stand up bravely for God and for His eternal Truth at any cost. It is
my earnest desire that we may have in this Church many men and women of
this kind who will be, as Mr. Moody puts it, out and out for Christ!

Next, if you would be men greatly beloved of God beyond all the rest of
His people on whom special shining of His face shall come, you must be
much in communion with Him. Daniel fasted and prayed and communed with
God with cries and tears–and God came and revealed Himself to him. He
was greatly beloved, for he lived near to God. He was no far-off
follower of his Lord. He dwelt in the full blaze of the Sun of
Righteousness!

If a man is to be greatly beloved of God, he must live above the world
as Daniel did. Daniel became a prince, a governor, a man of substance
and position, but when Belshazzar promised to clothe him with scarlet
and to put a gold chain about his neck if he could read and interpret
the writings on the wall, he said to the king, "Let your gifts be to
yourself, and give your rewards to another." Daniel did not want them!
When he became great in the land, he walked with God as he had done
when he was poor. It is a dangerous thing for some people to be made
much of in this world–their hands soon get turned and they begin to
think too much of themselves. He who thinks that he is somebody is
nobody–and he whose head swims because of his elevation will soon have
it broken because of his tumbling down from his lofty position. Daniel
was a man greatly beloved and God showed him His great love by setting
him in high places and keeping him there in safety.

Once more, men who are greatly beloved by the Lord live wholly for God
and for God's people. You see nothing of selfishness about Daniel. He
neither seeks to be great nor to be rich. He loves his own people,
Israel. He pleads with God for the seed of Abraham. He is patriotic. He
loves Jehovah and he pleads with Him for God's own people. Now, if you
want to be greatly beloved, give yourself up to the service of God and
His Church–

"You that are men, now serve Him,

Against unnumbered foes.

Your courage rise with danger,

And strength to strength oppose." No man need wish to be born in a time
more suitable for heavenly chivalry than this. To stand alone for God
in such an evil age as this is a great honor. I pray that you may be
able to avail yourselves of your privileges. How few care to swim
against the current!

A strong stream is running in opposition to the Truth of God. Many say
that the Bible is not half Inspired. Many are turning away from Christ,
refusing to acknowledge His Deity, and some blasphemously speak of His
precious blood as a thing of the shambles. O Sirs! If somebody does not
stand out today for the cause of God and His Truth, what is to become
of the nominal Church and of a guilty world? If you are loyal to
Christ, show it! If you love Him and His Infallible Word, prove it!
Then shall you hear Him say to you, also, "O man greatly beloved, go
you your way till the end is: for you shall rest, and stand in your lot
at the end of the days." God grant it for Jesus' sake! Amen.

Portion of Scripture Read before Sermon–1 John 4:9-21. HYMNS FROM "OUR
OWN HYMN BOOK"–810, 808, 735.

EXPOSITION BY CHARLES H. SPURGEON 1 JOHN4:9221

Verse 9. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that
God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live
through Him. There is love in our creation. There is love in
Providence. But most of all there is love in the gift of Christ for our
redemption! The Apostle, here, seems to say, "Now that I have found the
great secret of God's love to us, here is the clearest evidence of
Divine Love that ever was or ever can be manifested toward the sons of
men."

10. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and
sent His Son to be the Propitiation for our sins. In us there was no
love–there was a hatred of God and goodness. The enmity was not on
God's side toward us, but on our side toward Him. "He loved us and sent
His Son." The gift of Christ, the necessary Propitiation for our sins,
was all of love on God's part. Justice demanded the Propitiation, but
Love applied it. God could not be just if He pardoned sin without
Atonement–and the greatness of the love is seen in the fact that it
moved the Father to give His Son to an ignominious death that He might
pardon sinners and yet be just.

11. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought, also, to love one another.
Here we have a fact and an argument. We ought to love. We ought to love
after God's fashion, not because men loved us. Nor because they deserve
anything at our hands. We are too apt to look at the worthiness of
those whom we help, but our God is gracious to the unthankful and to
the evil. He makes His sun to rise and rain to fall for the unjust as
well as for the righteous. Therefore we ought to love the unlovely and
the unloving. And just as God has a special love for His own people, we
who believe in Him ought to have a peculiar affection for all who are
His.

12. No man has seen God at any time. We do not need to see Him to love
Him. Love knows how good He is, though she has not beheld Him. Blessed
are they who have not seen God, yet who love Him with heart, mind and
strength.

12. If we love one another, God dwells in us, and His love is perfected
in us. He is not far to seek. If you love one another, God is in you.
He dwells in you–He is your nearest and dearest Friend–the Author of
all other love. The Grace of Love comes from the God of Love.

13. Hereby know we that we dwell in Him, and He in us, because He has
given us of His Spirit. And His Spirit is the Spirit of Love. Wherever
it comes, it makes man love his fellow man and seek his good. And if
you have that love in your heart, it came from God, and you dwell in
God.

14. And we have seen. Yes, there is something that we have seen. John
writes for himself and his fellow Apostles and he says, "No man has
seen God at any time," but–

14. We have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the
Savior of the world. John saw Him live and saw Him die–and saw Him
when He had risen from the dead–and saw Him as He ascended. So he
speaks to the matter of eyesight and bears testimony that though we
have not seen God, we have, in the person of the representative
Apostles, seen the Son of God who lived and labored and died for us.

15. Whoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwells in
him, and he in God. Let Christ be God to you and you are saved. If, in
very deed, and of a truth, you take Him to be the Son of God and
consequently rest your eternal hopes on Him, God dwells in you, and you
dwell in God.

16. And we have known and believed the love that God has to us. How far
is this true of all of you? How many here can join with the beloved
Apostle and say, "We have known and believed the love that God has to
us"? We know it! We have felt it! We are under its power! We still know
it–it remains a matter of faith to us–we believe it. We have a double
hold of it. "We know," we are not agnostics. "We believe," we are not
unbelievers.

16. God is Love; and he that dwells in love dwells in God, and God in
him. This is not mere benevolence–there are many benevolent people who
still do not dwell in love. They wish well to their fellow men, but not
to all. They are full of indignation at certain men for the wrong that
they have done them. John's words teach us that there is a way of
living in which you are in accord with God and with all mankind–you
have passed out of the region of enmity into the realm of love. When
you have come there, by the Grace of God, then God dwells in you and
you dwell in Him.

17. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have a boldness in the
Day of Judgement. That is a wonderful expression, "boldness in the Day
of Judgment." According to some, the saints will not be in the Day of
Judgment. Then, what is the use of "boldness in the Day of Judgment"?
As I read my Bible, we shall all be there, and we shall all give an
account unto God. I shall be glad to be there, to be judged for the
deeds done in my body–not that I hope to be saved by them– but
because I shall have a perfect answer to all accusations on account of
my sin. "Who is he that condemns? It is Christ that died, yes, rather,
that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also
makes intercession for us." If I am a Believer in Christ–

"Bold shall I stand in that grand day, For who anything to my charge
shall lay?

While through Your blood absolved I am From sin's tremendous curse and
shame."

17. Because as He is, so are we in this world. Happy Christians, who
can say that! If you live among men as Christ lived among men. If you
are a savior to them in your measure. If you love them. If you try to
exhibit the lovely traits of Character that were in Christ, happy are
you!

18. There is no fear in love. When a man loves with a perfect love, he
escapes from bondage. But perfect love casts out fear because fear has
torment. He that fears is not made perfect in love. There is a loving,
holy fear which is never cast out. Filial fear grows as love grows.
That sacred dread, that solemn awe of God we must always cultivate. But
we are not afraid of Him. Dear Heart, God is your best Friend, your
choicest love–

"Yes, my own God is He,"

you can say, and you have no fear of Him now. You long to approach Him.
Though He is a consuming fire, you know that He will only consume what
you need to have consumed and will purify you, and make your gold to
shine more brightly because the consumable alloy is gone from it! He
will not consume you, but only that which would work for

your hurt if it were left within you. Refining Fire, go through my
heart! Consume as You will! I long to have sin consumed that I may be
like my God. Say you not, too, my Brothers and Sisters?

19. We love Him because He first loved us. The reason for our love is
found in Free Grace. God first loved us and now we must love Him–we
cannot help it. It sometimes seems too much for a poor sinner to talk
about loving God. If an ant or a snail were to say that it loved a
queen, you would think it strange that it should look so high for an
object of affection. But there is no distance between an insect and a
man compared with the distance between man and God! Yet love does fling
a flying bridge from our manhood up to His Godhead. "We love Him
because He first loved us." If He could come down to us, we can go up
to Him! If His love could come down to such unworthy creatures as we
are, then our poor love can find wings with which to mount up to Him!

20. If a man says, I love God. Not, "if a man loves God," but, if a man
says, "I love God." It is a blessed thing to be able to say, "I love
God," when God, Himself, can bear witness to the truth of our
statement! But the Apostle says, If a man says, I love God–

20. And hates his brother, he is a liar. It is very rude of you, John,
to call people liars! But it is not John's rough nature that uses such
strong language–it is his gentle nature. When a loving disposition
turns its face against evil, it turns against it with great vehemence
of holy indignation. You can never judge a man's character by his
books. Curiously enough, Mr. Romaine, of St. Anne's Church,
Blackfriars, wrote the most loving books that could be–yet he was a
man of very strong temper, indeed! Mr. Toplady wrote some of the
sharpest things that were ever said about Arminians, but he was the
most loving and gentle young man that ever breathed! St. John, full of
love and tenderness, hits terribly hard when he comes across a lie. He
was so fond of love, that he cannot have it played with, or mocked or
mimicked. "If a man says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a
liar."

21. For he that loves not his brother whom he has seen, how can he love
God whom he has not seen? And this Commandment have we from Him, That
he who loves God love his brother also. This is that "new Commandment"
which our Lord gave to His Apostles and, through them, to His whole
Church. "That you love one another as I have loved you." John was, in a
special sense, "that disciple whom Jesus loved." It was meet,
therefore, that he should be the Apostle to be inspired by the Holy
Spirit to bring "this Commandment" to the remembrance of any who had
forgotten it. "This Commandment have we from Him, That he who loves God
love his brother also." God help us to do so, of His great Grace! Amen.