Judges 9:48

"Handfuls of Purpose"

For All Gleaners

"What ye have seen me do, make haste, and do as I have done."-Judges 9:48 .

This exhortation may be adopted by Christian believers. What ye have seen me do in difficult business circumstances. What ye have seen me do in the presence of great temptations. What ye have seen me do in the way of self-sacrifice. What ye have seen me do in great afflictions. This may be adopted also by Christian teachers. The Apostle Paul said. "Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ." What ye have seen me do in the way of energy, in the way of faith, in the way of self-expenditure, in the way of forgiveness, make haste, and do as I have done. Is the Christian believer prepared to make himself an example to others? What Christian man would be willing to say, You need not at present look any further than to myself, for I am guide and standard enough to the Church? This exhortation may also be adopted by parents when addressing their children: each father or mother should be able to say, What ye have seen me do in the thick of domestic difficulties, in the night of pain, in the assured oncoming of poverty, in the very cloud and overshadowing of despair. If we were to accustom ourselves to the thought that we have to show forth our own conduct as a standard, it would make us more careful to see that that standard is noble and right. Even if we do not call attention to our actions ourselves, yet men are looking on, and may well claim that they have a right to copy us. We may affect humility, and say, Do not look at us, but look at our Master; but after all the men of the world have a right to say, No: Christ is too high for us: we will look at his followers, and judge his Christianity by their spirit and their action. A point, too, might be made of the words "make haste," because that which is an example today may be no example to-morrow in relation to certain practical matters; the circumstances altering, the adaptation to them must alter also. Beside, if we do not copy the example of today we may not be living to copy it to-morrow. There are circumstances under which everything depends upon a prompt use of time. The train goes at a certain moment, so does the post; the bank closes at a given hour: opportunities of all kinds are limited. Hence the great importance which ought to be attached to the words "make haste."