LS-04-They Went Out
They Went Out And when they had sung a hymn, they went out unto the Mount of Olives--Matthew 6:30. From that tender and sacred fellowship they would go out, surely, to devoted service. Whatever failure had characterised them before, from henceforth they would never fail Him! So we should expect. But oh! the inconstancy of the human heart, the weakness of human devotion 1 One went out to betray Him; another to deny Him; all to forsake Him. And He went out to die.
One went out to betray Him. It was a settled purpose. He had steeled His heart against the gracious influence of the Lord’s presence, and for some reason--perhaps we do not understand--he determined to betray his Lord. At the Supper Table the Master made a bid for his soul, but failed, and Judas went out on the deadly errand of betrayal.
One went out to deny Him. He was the most impulsively affectionate of them all. Though all men should deny Him, he never would! So he asserted, and so would we have said for him. But the tender associations of that sacred hour were not sufficient to save Peter from a dreadful fall.
They all went out to forsake Him. They were loyal-hearted, and felt strong enough at the table. They all assured Him of their constancy. As they listened to His words, and received from Him the sacred symbols, they felt they could do anything, endure anything, for Him. But when the test came, they all forsook Him, and fled.
He went out to die. For this He came. To this end He moved through days of popularity and opposition. Only thus could God’s purpose in Rim be accomplished. He saved others; he would not save Himself.
We are met together, and presently we shall go out, away from converse with our Lord, and communion with one another. We too shall meet with temptation, to forsake Him, perhaps even to betray Him.
Oh my soul, remember! Remember the love wherewith He loved thee. Remember too thine own frailty. And may His all-embracing love sustain thee when thou goest out from this fellowship to meet with an indifferent and hostile world.