The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1918-12-28
A NEW YEAR
SERMON
By
REV. JAMES M. GRAY, DID,.
{ A ND now, Lord, what wait
~ l for?'-Psalm 39:7.
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Il A ND now, Lord, what wait
~ for?'-Psalm 1877.
~ Another twelvemonth has
almost gone, and we are
yet in the land of the living. If we
give this serious consideration, we
must regard it as remarkable. Some
think death the strangest wonder of
human history, but is not life stran-
ger? When we reflect upon our frame,
and the shocks of life it must endure,
must we not exclaim with Young,
Strange that a harp of thousand strings
Should keep in tune so long!"
Is it to be wondered at if, like
David, we too should put the question,
what wait l for?" The mystery of
being here is not profounder than the
mystery of staying here. Let US ask
God the question. The psalmist felt
he could not trust his own conclusions,
and so he said, Lord, what wait l
for?"
1t may be you are waiting to be
saved. God is not willing that any
should perish, but that all should
come to repentance and live.
80 Ephraim, how can l give thee up,
now shall l leave thee, Judah?" Be-
nold him weeping over the Holy City,
% Jerusalem, how often would I have
gathered thy children together, as a
len gathereth her brood under her
wings, and We would not !" He is so
pleading with some of you today. To
20 back no farther than the past year,
las there been no sermon, no invitation
)r warning, no supplication or exhorta-
ion, that has appealed to your intelli-
yence, or moved your emotions, plead
ng with you to accept Christ? Have
you lost no friend or neighbor by death
Turing that period? Have you had no
escape from bodily peril or no illness
o remind you of the uncertainty of
ife? Can you conscientiously say that
D all these respects God has left you
ilone?
1t may be you are waiting to bear
ruit. You are, by the grace of God,
llready saved, let us suppose. But for
What purpose were you saved? Since
God loves you with a "love that pass
eth knowledge" and since ito depart
and be with Christ were far better
than to remain here-why did he not
call you to himself at your conversion?
Why are you here instead of enjoying
your Redeemer's presence? There
must be some reason. "Ye have not
chosen me-" said Christ, "but l have
chosen you, and ordained you, that We
should go and bring forth fruit, and
that your fruit should remain" May
it be to give you another opportunity
to glorify his father by bearing fruit,
that you are still here?
1t may be you are waiting to be
perfected. l ought to explain this, be-
cause there is a sense in which every
true Christian is perfected the moment
he accepts Christ as his Savior. He
is perfected in that he is both justified
and sanctified his sin is put away, and
by the Holy Spirit he himself is set
apart for God forever. The New Tes-
lament is very clear on this; notice
Paul's words in his epistle to the Co.
lossians, for example.
What, then, do we mean by saying
we may be waiting to be perfected?
Do we mean the attainment of a state
of sinlessness this side of heaven? No;
for if a Christian lived to be as old as
Methuselah, would he not still require
to pray, "Forgive us our trespasses as
we forgive those who trespass against
us?" We only mean that perfectness,