Mansfield mirror. (Mansfield, Wright County, Mo.) 1908-1957, 1914-02-26

can backslide. AS
Mr.. SIP urge
once said, mo one can slide back who
has not first slid forward" and 1t Is
only the believer on the Lord Jesus
Christ who has taken that forward
step. Alas! that there are so many
backslidden Christians In the visible
church, but thanks be to God that
there is hope for them If they will re-
turn unto him.
Notice the text closely. God has
not cast off his people. but they have
cast themselves off. He still says.
return unto the Lord thy God" call
ing himself their God although they
had forsaken him. And furthermore.
Thou hast fallen by thine %iniquity."
Were 1t not for their iniquity there
would have been no separation be-
tween him and them.
But his grace does not end here.
since he tells them how to return.
Take with you words and turn to the
Lord" Not works" but words"
This does not meal that the words
will not be followed by the works. but
only that the words must come be-
fore the works can really be done.
They must be words of confession,
Take away all iniquity",; words OF
faith, receive us graciously"; words
of promise, so will we render the
calves (praises) of our lips: words
of repentance, "Asshur shall not save
us. we will not ride upon horses.
neither will we say any more to the
work Of our hands, We are our gods:
words Of trust and confidence. + o in
thee the fatherless findeth mercy"
That allusion to "Asshur." or AS
SYRIA" is interesting. In her af-
Fiction at the hands Of the heather
Israel had turned to Assyria for help.
instead of Jehovah, and this had been
one of the causes as we'll as one Of
the effects Of her backsliding. but Je-
hovah now calls upon her to a
trusting in that arm Of flesh and to
trust in him. And so the reference
to horses" Is an allusion to her con-
fidence in Egypt, a nation that used
horses in Its warfare. Israel was
no longer to trust in the horses Of
Egypt II she would have Gods favor.
who could bring victory to her arms
without such material assistance.
How God Meets tho BacksIider.
And how comforting are the words
of Jehovah that follow later. On the
supposition that Israel will return as
he has indicated. he exclaims: II
will heal their backsliding; l will love
them freely, for mine anger is turned
away from them. l will be as the dew
unto Israel" The backslider is like
a sheep which has wandered from the
fold and become torn by the briers
or the wild beasts. or suffered injury
by falling over the rocks. He Is
wounded In soul and needs healing
and binding up Of his wounds, and
this God promises him. But think Of
the next promise-"I will love them
freely" or eagerly" as the word
might be rendered. 1t is the picture
Of the father in the story of the prodi-
gal, who seeing his son afar off runs
out to meet him in the gladness Of
his heart. Oh. what a God and Father
we have. Who would not return to
him! And yet, God does even more
than this for the returning prodigal.
for he says, Il will be as the dew unto
Israel" The dew was everything to
the land of Palestine in the absence Of
such rains as we experience in the
occident, and 1t is the type Of the
Holy Spirit in the believers heart
and life. AS God gave the dew to
Israel, keeping her fresh and green
and fruitful, 80 he gives his Holy
Spirit to those who come to him in
Christ for like spiritual blessing.
The Believers Blessings.
Carrying out the type, God says OF
the backslider who has returned to
him, that he shall grow as the lily,
and cast forth his roots as Lebanon.
His branches shall spread, and his
beauty shall be as the olive tree and
his smell as Lebanon. They that
dwell under his shadow shall return;
they shall revive as the corn. and
grow as the vine. The scent there
of shall be as the wine Of Lebanon"
We cannot dwell on all these beauti-
full figures, but they speak Of growth
and strength, and extensive influence.
They speak Of the beauty and the
fragrance Of the Christian life, and
Its beneficence to others in the high
est and trust sense, and all because
the favor Of God is resting upon him.
If you are a backslider, no matter
how long or how far you have wan.
dered from God, be comforted today
to return to him in the faith Of Christ
and start again in the path of a holy
pilgrimage.