Te Hoa Maori 1885-1910: Number 9. 01 July 1888


Te Hoa Maori 1885-1910: Number 9. 01 July 1888

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TE HOA  MAORI,
                        WITH
" I haere mai hoki te Tama a te tangata ki te rapu ki te whakaora i te mea i ngaro," Ruka 19.10.
        " For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." Luke 19.10.
NAMA  9.)                AKARANA,    HURAE, 1888.                 Registered as
No. 9.  )              AUCKLAND,    JULY, 1888.              U Magazine.
               " Ki te mea  i te horoi tetahi, kahore atu he aha mana, ko te horoi
           anake i ona waewae, e ma katoa ana hoki ia." Hoani 13. 10.
                "He  that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean
            every whit."   John 13, 10.
     NAAMANA TE HIRIANA.


HE  mea  kia riro mai ai he pai ki ft
  tatou i nga kerero mo Naamana, me
   
mau mai aua korero mona, ma te marama o
te Kawenata Hou  e ata whaki mai ona
tikanga.   Ma tena huarahi, ka kite tatou
ko ona wahi katoa, e tino momona ana i te
pono karaipiture. "Na te ha o te Atua nga
Karaipiture katoa, a e pai ana."—2 Timoti
 3. 16. Ko tenei korero e eke ana ano hoki
ki a 2 Kingi 5. Ko te korero mo te ahua o
te mate o Naamana, mo tona haerenga atu
me  tona hokinga mai i Horano, mo tona
horoinga me tona tukunga iho, e toki tonu
 ana i te ako pai rawa, ina tirohia atu i roto
 i te marama e whakatiahoria mai ana e te
Kawenata Hou.   Mokonei kia anga tatou
 kia whakawhirinaki ki runga ki ta te Wai-
 rua Tapu whakaako, a, kia rapu i te tikanga
 o roto i tenei wahi minaminatia  o nga
 karaipiture tapu.
   "Na, he tangata nui i te aroaro o tona
 ariki a Naamana rangatira ope o te kingi o
 Hiria e whakanuia ana hoki; no te mea i
 waiho ia e Ihowa hei kai-homai i te oranga
 ki a Hiria:  he  tangata marohirohi ano
 hoki  ia, he  toa,  otira he  repara." — ii
 Kingi o.
    NAAMAN  THE SYRIAN.


   order to profit by the history of
 Naaman, we must bring it under the
light of the New Testament, and interpret
it thereby.  In this way, we  shall find
every stage and every point of the narrative
fraught, with rich and weighty principles of
evangelical truth.   "All scripture is given
by inspiration of God.  and is profitable."
This statement applies to 2 Kings v. The
record of Naaman's condition, of his course
to and from Jordan, of his cleansing and its
results, is full of most, precious teaching
when  viewed in the lie:ht''?which the New
Testament pours upon it. Let us. then, in
humble dependence upon the Spirit's teach-
ing, proceed to  the consideration of this
singularly  interesting  passage  of  holy
scripture.
  "Now  Naaman. captain of the host of the
king of Syria, was a great man  with his
master, and  honourable, because by him
the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria:
he was also a mighty man in valour; hut
he was a leper." Here, then, we have two
sides of Naaman's  condition.  As to hia
circumstances, he was all that heart could
desire. "Great"—"honourable"—"mighty"

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                       TE HOA MAORI.
  Heoi ra ka matau tatou ki nga taha e rua
o ta, Naamana kahua. Kowai ra i rahi ake
i a ia ? He tangata whai mana, rangatira,
toa; he  aha ra i kore i a ia? Ki ta te
tangata whakaaro atu, ko ia te mea i hira
ake.  Ko ia te tino rangatira o nga ope taua
o Hiria; i whakawhirinakitia ia i paingia e
te Kingi; a i runga i a ia e mau ana te tohu
o te toa.
  "Otira he repara ia!" Aue! ko te raru
tena—mau  kau ana ko nga tohu rangatira,
ko te mamae tenei i whakapouritia ai tona
kororia. Kahore  ho  wahi maori o  tona
tinana i tenei mate whakarihariha, a, na
konei te whai ahua reka ia ki nga tohu
rangatira kua opea atu ki runga ki a ia,
otira waiho rawa ano enei tohu hei whaka-
pouri i tona ngakau. Na tona whakaara-
hanga kia teitei mai ka marama te titiro atu
a te tangata ki tona mate—ko te ingoa i
kake ko te tinana he pirau. Kakahu noa
ana  ia i te kakahu  whakapaipai  o te
rangatira hoia, kaore, he hipoki enei no nga
pirau o te repera. E kore pea te tino tutua
rawa o a Naamana  pononga, mehemea i
reperatia ia, e pera te mamae o tona ngakau
me to Naamana.   Na te teitei o tona ata
tangata i mamae rawa ai tona ngakau ki
tera mate whakarihariha. Ina  ano te nui
rawa  atu  o tana e utu  ai ki te tangata
tohunga mana ia e whakaora i tona repera-
tanga.  Kaore ra meake ano ia ora i runga
i te utu kore.
   Na, ka titiro atu tatou ki tenei i na te
whakaaturanga  a nga karaipiture, ka kite
tatou he pera ano me Naamana te tangata
hara katoa, i tona ahua maori ake. Kua
 kapi katoa ia i te mate, o te hara o te kino.
Ae ra; kua kani katoa a waho ona, a ko
 roto ano hoki tokii tonu i te mate o te hara,
 kahore nei a te tangata rongoa e ora ai.
 Tera pea, he pera ia me Naamana e kara-
 potia ana e te taonga o te rangatira; ko te
 mea ia he tangata hara ia—kua ngaro ia i
 te atarangi o te mate—kua  he ia; a ka
 whakakitea tenei ki ona kanohi, ma enei
 mea i Whakahonoretia  ai ia, a ia e tino
 whakapouri ki roto ki tona ngakau.
 KUA NGAEO  IA, KO TANA E  HIAHIA AI HE
 *    *   *  WHAKAORANGA,  *    *   *
 Ka  rapu ia ko tona mate  kia whaka-
 orangia, kia horoia tona hara, kia tahia te
—"valiant;"   what  more could he  be?
He  was. as men would say, one of fortune's
most highly favoured sons. He was com-
mander-in-chief of the forces of Syria ; he
possessed the confidence and esteem of the
king; and he wore upon his brow the laurel
 of victory.
  "But he was a leper"  Alas! this was
a sad drawback—a  grievous blight upon all
his dignities—a  heavy  cloud upon  all his
glory.   The foul disease which covered his
person not only prevented his enjoyment of
the honours which fortune had heaped upon
him,  but actually changed them  into so
 many sources of humiliation and chagrin.
 His very elevation made his malady  con-
 spicuous, and the sunshine  of prosperity
made  his personal vileness apparent. His
military costume enwrapped the person of a
leper, and his laurel of victory crowned a
 leper's brow. In short, the lowest menial in
Naaman's establishment would not have felt
 the humiliation of leprosy so keenly as the
 noble captain himself. The higher he was
 in position, the more intensely he must have
 felt the degradation and depression of his
 loathsome disease. What   would  he not
 have given to any one who would but take
 his leprosy ? And yet. he was soon to have
 it taken away for nothing!
   Now, when we look at all this from an
 evangelical point of view, we discern, in the
 person of Naaman, the case of a sinner in
 his natural state. He is covered with the
: disease of sin. Yes; outwardly he is cover-
 ed,  and  inwardly  pervaded  with  the
 incurable malady of sin.  He  may. like
 Naaman,  be surrounded by wealth and
 splendour, pillowed on the bosom of fortune,
 nursed in the very lap of luxury; but he is a
 sinner—he is lost—he is undone; and when
 once he  is brought to see this, his very
 honours and dignities only serve to make
 his inward wretchedness all the more in-
 tense.   *    *     *     *     *    *     *
   HE  IS LOST, AND HE WANTS  SALVATION.
 He wants to have his malady removed, his
 guilt  cancelled, his  conscience  cleansed.
 This is what he wants, and this is what God
 has provided for him.  As in Naaman's
 case, God had the water of Jordan to cleanse
 him  from every trace of his disease, so in

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                       TE HOA MAORI.
 kino e pehi ana ki tona hinengaro.  Ko
 tana tenei e hiahia ake ai, a ko tenei, kua
 takoto i te Atua mona. Pera hoki me te
 keehi o Naamana, kua whakaritea te wai o
 Horano, e te Atua, hei horoi atu i tona mate
 kino rawa; Whaihoki te keehi o ia tangata
 e pouri ana mo ona hara; kua whakaritea e
 te Atua "nga toto utu nui o te Karaiti" hei
 horoi i a ia i ona kino katoa, a, kia whaka-
 ateatia atu i a ia nga take riringa.
   Otira, ka kimi ano tatou i te matauranga.
 e puta mai ana ki a tatou, i nga korero mo
 Naamana.   "Na, i haere atu nga torohe a
 nga Hiriana, a riro parau mai ana i a ratou
 tetahi kotiro iti i te whenua o Iharaira; na,
 ka waiho ia ma te wahine a Naamana. Na
 ko te meatanga ake a tera ki tona rangatira
\\ Aue!   Me i tata toku ariki ki te poropiti i
 Hamaria! Katahi ano he kai whakaora mo
  tona repera."  Aue!  te tatata kau atu te
  ahua o tenei kotiro whakarau, ki ta tana
  ariki rangatira! I te kotiro whakarau te
  matauranga ki tetahi taonga nui; ko tona
 ariki i te kuware! Kua matau te kotiro kei
 te whenua o Iharaira te taonga o te ora, e
  rapu noa nei tona rangatira kia kitea e ia.
 Kua matau taua kotiro ki te wahi e kitea ai
i te atawhai, a na tona mohio ake ki taua
 atawhai i whakaki tona ngakau ki te hiahia
  kia whiwhi ano  hoki tona ariki ki taua
  atawhai. "Aue, me i tata toku ariki ki te
; poropiti i Hamaria! katahi ano he  kai-
 whakaora mo tona repera." E  pena tonu
 ana. E whakaki ana te atawhai i te ngakau
  ki te hiahia rapu atu i te pai, kia riro ki era
 ' atu tangata. Hei  aha ki tena kotiro tona
  whakaraunga atu i te whenua o ona matua,
  me  tona noho ingoa herehere, i roto i te
  whare  o te Hiriana.  Titiro tonu atu ia ki
  te repera o tona rangatira, a ko te toko ake
  o tona hiahia, kia tohutohu atu ia ki tona
  ariki ki te huarahi e ora ai ia. Ko te Atua
  anake o Iharaira te tino Kaiwhakaora o te
  repera.  "Na, kua haere tetahi, kua korero
 • ki tona Ariki, kua mea, Ko nga korero tenei
 : a te kotiro i riro mai i te whenua o Iharaira.
 i Na, ko te meatanga  a te kingi o Hiria,
 i Haeremai, haere, me tuku pukapuka atu
  ahau ki te kingi o Iharaira. Heoi haere
 i ana ia, maua atu ana e tona ringa, tekau
 ! nga taranata hiriwa, e ono mano nga koura,
 | tekau nga whakarua kakahu." Te tata kau
the case of the convicted sinner, He has  I
provided "the precious blood of Christ" to
cleanse him from every stain of guilt, and
free him from every breath of condemna-
tion.
  But  let us  see how  strikingly all this 
comes  out in our narrative. "And  the 
Syrians had gone out by companies, and !
had brought away captive out of the land of |
Israel a little maid; and  she waited  ou
Naaman's  wife.  And  she said unto her
mistress, Would God my  lord were with the i
prophet that is iu Samaria! for he would 
 recover him  of  his leprosy."   What    a 1
 difference between this little captive maid
 and her noble lord! And yet she was in
 possession of a grand  secret of which he
 was wholly ignorant. She knew that in the
 land of Israel her master could find what
 he wanted.  She  understood where grace
 was to be found, and the knowledge of that
 grace filled her heart with the desire that i
 her lord should partake thereof. "Would i
 God."  said she, "he were  there."  It is
 ever thus.  Grace fills the heart with earn-
 est desire for  the  good  of  others.   It !
 mattered not to the little maid that she was
 an exile from the land of her fathers, and a
 captive in the house of a Syrian. She saw
 that her master was a leper, and she longed
 to put  him in the way  of being healed.
 The God of Israel was the only One who
 could perfectly meet the leper's need.
   "And  one went in, and told his lord, say-
 ing, Thus and thus said the maid that is of
 the land of Israel. And the king of Syria
 said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter unto
 the king of Israel. And he departed, and
 took with him  ten talents of silver, and six
 thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of
 raiment."  How hard it is for the human
 heart to rise to the measure of the thoughts
 of God!   The  idea of being cleansed for
 nothing  never entered Naaman's  mind.
 He  was, we may safely say, quite ready to
 give largely, if by that means his leprosy
 could be cleansed; but the idea of getting
 all he wanted "without money and without
 price" was  entirely beyond him, and  his
 cumbrous preparations. He  knew not,, as
 yet, the grace of the God of Israel.  He
 thought that the gift of God was to be pur-

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                      TE HOA MAORI.
atu nga whaakaro o te ngakau maori, ki te
nui o a te Atua whakaaro! Kahore rawa i
tapoko ki te ngakau o Naamana te whaka-
aro ake, e me whakaora utu kore ia. Ka
tika he peneitanga ma tatou, e,—ko tana utu
e rahi ki te tangata, mana ka taea ai tana
mate repara; Otira ko te rironga mai ki a
ia o tana i hiahia ai, i runga i tera ritenga,
"kaua he moni, kaua he utu," kahore kau
ia i hopu, a na reira ka taka nui ia i nga
utu.  Kahore  ano ia kia matau, ki te nui o
te atawhai noa o te Atua o Iharaira. I moa
ia me utu ki te moni ta te Atua homaitanga.
Ko tona pohauhau tenei—ko te pohauhau
ano hoki o te mano,—ko te pohauhau o te
ngakau maori, i nga wa, i nga wahi katoa,.
  Otira, ka ata whakaaro  ake ano  hoki
tatou, e kore e ngaro i a tatou te he o tera
whakaaro, e, ma te koura ma  te hiriwa e
utu ta te Atua Runga rawa, nana nei te
rangi me te whenua ? Ae ra e marama ana
te hopu i te he 6 tena; otira, e kore e mara-
ma  me tena, ki te tangata, te he o tona
haere mai  ki te aroaro o te Atua, me te
whakawhirinaki ki ona mahi pai ake, ahakoa
he pai whakaro, pai kupu, pai mahi. Ka-
hore te tangata e mahara ake, ka paingia
ano e te Atua te hiriwa me te koura, ka pai
ano hoki Ia ki nga mahi pai a te tangata
hei take mana mo te ora.  Kahore ra te
Atua  e pai ki  ena hei take e ora  ai te
tangata. Mehemea  kei a au nga mahi pai
katoa kua mahia  e te tangata; me nga
roimata katoa kua  maringi, nga  hemo
manawa—ara,  mehemea  naku katoa nga
mahi tika a nga tangata katoa, a koni noa
atu, e kore rawa e mawhe i enei, te mea
kotahi o aku tini hara e pehi ana ki runga
ki au, e kawe rangimarie mai ranei i te
aroaro o te Atua.  E tika ana ano ia ena
mea katoa ki tona takiwa ano, hei hua wha-
katupu atu ki te Atua, otira ko te kawenga
mai o ena mea hei putake e ora ai, kahore,
heoi he putake rangimarietanga mo tatou,
*    *  Ko TE KARAITI ANAKE.  *   *
  Me  kawe mai ko Ia anake he whakaoki-
 okitanga atu mo tatou.  E  whiwhi ana
tatou ki nga moa katoa i a Ia—a mehemea
kei a tatou a Ia, kahore kau he rapunga
 atu a tatou.
   Otira, ta tatou mahi he kawe noa, a kia
 roa rawa, katahi ano tatou ka hopu, he
 chased with money.  Here was his mistake
 —the  mistake  of millions—the mistake  of
 the human heart, in every age and in every
 clime.
   And   yet, when one looks at it closely,
 what  an absurdity to suppose that a little
 gold and silver could get aught from "the
 Most High  God, possessor of heaven and
  earth!"    Yes. this is easily seen to be ab-
  surd ; but it is not just as easily seen to be
 absurd to come before God trusting in our
 own  works, in our morality, in our religi-
 ousness, iu our amended  life, our altered
 conduct, our changed habits, our pious per-
 formances, our tears, prayers, sighs, vows,
 resolutions, alms-deeds, our feelings, frames,
| and experiences, or in anything, in short,
 which we could produce of thought, word,
i or deed.  People do  not so readily grasp
 the fact that they might just as well present
i a piece of silver or gold as the ground of
 their confidence, as all those things which
I have been named, and ten thousand times
 as much  besides.  If I had all the good
 works  that were ever performed; all the
 tears that were  ever shed;  all the sighs
 that were ever heaved; in one word, if I
 had  all that was  ever produced in  this
 world, in the shape of human righteousness,
  and that multiplied by ten thousand times
  ten thousand, it would not blot out so much
  as a single stain from my   conscience, or
  give me solid peace in the presence of a holy
  God.   These things are valuable in their
  right place; but as a foundation for our
  soul's peace,
     WE  MUST HAVE NOUGHT  BUT CHRIST.
  He must  take the place of everything in
  which our hearts would  place confidence.
 We have all in Him, and having Him we
 want no more.
    But it takes a long time to convince us of
  the worthlessness of all our own efforts. It
 seems passing strange to the human heart
I to be told that we  need  no other title to
 Christ but our utter ruin; that we need not
 wait to prepare ourselves; that every step
  in self-improvement is a step in the wrong
  direction, inasmuch as  self can never be
  mended in such a way as to make it fit for
  God—fit for heaves. Religious flesh is far
 from God, as far from righteousness, as far

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                       TE HOA MAORI.
 maumau  noa a tatou tekateka. E miharo
 ana te ngakau a te tangata, ana ka kiia atu
 ia, ko te mea e tika ai a te Karaiti mona, ko
 ona hara me whakapuaki atu ; a kaua tatou
 o tatari kia whakapai tatou i a tatou ; ko a
 tatou koha ki te whakapai i a tatou he kore
 noa iho, i na hoki e kore tenei ahau e ahei
 kia meingatia kia tika mo te Atua mo te
 rangi. Ko ta te kikokiko whakapono e tino i
 matara  atu ana i te Atua, a i te tika, i te !
 rangi hoki, pera tonu to te kikokiko whaka-
 pono te tawhiti atu i te Atua me to te kiko-
 kiko hara nui. He kupu pakeke tenei ko
 te mea  ia he pono, a he pai ano hoki kia
 mohiotia tenei kupu pono. Ko te mea nui
 rawa atu tenei, kia mohiotia e te kai-korero.
 e, ehara te mea e matea ana, i ta te tangata
 whakahou   i a ia ano, otira he ora tino hou,
 a, ko te Karaiti taua ora mona. Ko te mea
 nui rawa tenei. Me mutu tatou te whakaaro,
 ka anga mai ki a tatou he ora i o tatou mahi
 ake, a, me  hopu  atu ki a te Karaiti hei
 katoatanga mo tatou. Ahakoa kawe  noa
 koe ki te whakapai i to ahua maori, e kore
  noa iho e pai ki ta te Atua titiro, e kore e
 pai hei noho i te rangi. E kore e ahei te
kikokiko te noho i te rangi. E kore ia e
 tau hei manawa mona te manawa o tera
 kainga tapu. Katahi rawa te maumau
 mahi, he kawe kia whakahokia ki te pai, te
 mea kua kiia e te Atua he mea he rawa a e
 kore e taea te rongoa.
    Na, he  mea  pai kia kite tatou, i ta to
; tatou upoko whakaaturanga i tenei pono.
i I te tuunga o Naamana me ona tangata, me
 tona koura me tona hiriwa, ki te kuwaha o
 Eriha, rite tonu ia ki te tangata hara  e
| kawe ana mana ano e mahi he whakatika
I mona. Metemea nei kei a ia nga mea katoa
! e hiahiatia e te ngakau; ko te mea ia, ko
 ta enei mea taonga katoa, he whakatau-
 maha kau ano, a kihai i whakaroaha e te
I poropiti taua meatanga atu ki a ia, i te he
i noa iho o era taonga. Ko te kupu  poto,
  marama  a te poropiti "Haere, horoi," na
  ena anake ano, ka memeha te ata nui o te
  koura, o te hiriwa, o te kakahu, o te nui ona
  hoa haere, me te mana o te reta a te Kingi,
  me nga mea katoa, kia Naamana. Me te
  mea  nei tu kau noa iho ia ki tana titiro iho,
  he repara pirau e rapu  ana  ki te horoi.
  Kahore ena mea i whakakoni ake i te ran-
from  heaven, as flesh in its very grossest
forms.  This is a hard saying, but it is true;
 and, moreover,  it is well that its truth
 should be fully seen. It is of the greatest
importance that my reader should understand
 that what is needed is not self-reformation, 
 but a new life altogether, and this life is 
 Christ.  This  is the  grand point.   We  
 must get rid of all hopes and expectations
 from  our fallen and corrupt nature, and
 take Christ as our all and in all. Do what
 you will with flesh and you can never make
 it fit for God—fit for heaven. Flesh could
 not live in heaven.  It could not breathe
 the atmosphere  of that hallowed region.
 The most fruitless task that ever was under-
 taken is to effect any improvement in that
 which God  has condemned and set aside
 as incorrigible and incurable.              
   Now,  it is interesting to see how our chap- ']
 ter opens this line of truth to our view, in its 
 own  peculiar style. When Naaman  stood
[ with his pompous retinue, and with all his
 gold  and  silver, at the door of Elisha, he
I appears before us as a marked  illustration
I of a sinner building upon his own efforts
 after righteousness. He seemed  furnished
 with  all that heart could  desire; but, in
 reality, all his preparations were but a use-
 less encumbrance, and the prophet soon gave
 him  to understand this. The brief, simple,
! pointed message, "Go wash," swept away all
  confidence in gold, silver, raiment, retinue,
  the king's letter, everything.  It stripped
 Naaman   of everything, and reduced him. to
  his true condition as a poor defiled leper
 needing to be washed. It put no difference
i between the illustrious commander-in-chief
  of the hosts of Syria and the poorest and
  meanest  leper in all the coasts of Israel.
  The former could do with nothing less; the
  latter needed nothing more. .Wealth can-
  not remedy man's ruin, and poverty cannot
  interfere with God's remedy. Nothing that
  a man has done need keep him out of heaven;
  nothing that he can do will ever get him in.
  " Go wash" is the word, in every case.
    Naaman  evidently felt the prophet's mess-
  age to be deeply humbling. He was not
  prepared for such a total setting aside of all
  human  pretension. He would like to have
  been called upon to tell out Us pieces of gold,

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                       TE HOA MAORI.
gatira nui o nga ope o Hiria kia hira ake i
te repara tino tutua i nga akau o Iharaira.
E  kore e ora i te taonga te mate hara; E
kore e arai te rawakoretanga i ta te Atua
whakaoranga.  Ko te kupu tenei mo nga
tangata katoa, " Haere, horoi."
  Me te mea nei i hopu a Naamana i te tono
a te poropiti, whakaitiiti i a ia. Kahore ia
i hua, e, tera e peneitia te whakarere maori
i o a te tangata mea nui. Ko te mea pai ki
a ia he tono kia taua atu ana piihi koura,
ana taranata hiriwa, me  ona whakarua
kakahu;  tena ko te tono kau atu ki a ia kia
"haere horoi," a hore rawa he kupu mo
nga  taonga, katahi te mea whakaturia.
" Te tino riringa o Naamana, haere ana, ka
mea, Nana, i ki ahau, Tera ia e puta mai,
e tu, e karanga ki te ingoa o Ihowa, o tona
Atua, ka whakahaere hoki i tona ringa ki
te wahi, a ka whakaorangia te repera. E
hara ianei a Apana raua ko Parapara nga
awa o Ramahiku  i te pai atu i nga wai
katoa  o Iharaira?  Kaua  ianei ahau e
horoi ki era, kia ma ai ahau ? Na, tahuri
atu ana ia, a, haere riri atu ana."
  E  pena tonu ana. Kei te tino marama
rawa  o ta te Atua ara whakaora, me te
whakanehenehe rawa i to te tangata amaru,
te pai atu te tangata. "Ia  ratou hoki e
kuare  ana ki ta te Atua tika, a e whai ana
kia whakaukia  to ratou ake tika, kahore
ratou i ngohengohe  mai ki te tika a te
 Atua." (Roma  x). Otira, e taea ano tenei
ki atu e tatou, kei hea he tika mo te repera,
ki te whakahoki kupu ki te kairongoa, ki
te tautohe, ki te whakarite i nga rongoa?
Kua  tae ranei ia ki " Apana ki Parapara "
ki te whakamatautau ? Ko te mea ra tenei,
 i hiahia ai a Eriha kia ako ki a ia. e, hoi
 nei he maunga mai mana ki te Atua ko
 tana repera. Kahore he tikanga o era atu
 mea katoa. Katahi te whakaako pai. Me
 whakahoki atu ki Hiria ana mea katoa i
 mau mai ai i reira, heoi te mea kaua e hoki
 ko tona repera.
   I pena ra te whakaaro a Eriha, engari na
 te tinihanga a Kihehai i ahua whakahe.
 Ko ta te tangata hara whakaaro he tataku
 atu  i ona  mahi  pai  ki a  te  Karaiti.
 "Takirua aku nohonga pukutanga i te wiki,
 e hoatu ana e ahau te wahi wakatekau o
 aku mea katoa."—Ruka 18. 12  Kahore
his talents of silver, his changes of raiment;
but to be told to "go wash," without  the
slightest allusion to any of these things, was
quite too humiliating. "But Naaman was
wroth, and said, Behold,  I thought, he will
surely come out to me, and stand and call on
the name  of the Lord his God, and strike
his hand over the place and recover the leper.
Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Dam-
ascus, better than all the waters of Israel ?
may  I not wash in them and be clean ? So
he turned and went away in a rage."
  Thus it is ever. God's simple plan of sal-
vation is so thoroughly humbling to man's
pride that he cannot submit to it. "They,
being ignorant of God's righteousness, and
going about to establish their own righteous-
ness, have not submitted themselves to the
righteousness of God." (Rom. x.) And yet,
we  may  say, What  right had a leper to
reason, to argue, or to prescribe ? Had he
come to be cleansed or to dictate ? Had he
tried what " Abana and Pharpar " could do
for him ?  The  fact is that Elisha wanted
to teach him that he needed to bring nothing
to God  but  his leprosy. All beside was
superfluous. This was a noble lesson. Naa-
man  must bring back to Syria everything he
had  brought  out  of it, except his leprosy.
Such was Elisha's purpose, though that pur-
pose  was, in a measure, frustrated by the
covetousness of Gehazi. The sinner would
fain bring his good deeds to Christ. "I fast
twice in the week and give tithes." It is all
useless; you must come to Christ bringing
only your guilt. You must  learn that you
want cleansing, and that Christ has it for you
If you think you have a single atom of good-
 ness in you, then you have not yet got to the
 very bottom of your condition. You may
 try the Abanas and Pharpars of the legal
 system; but you must, after all, " go wash
 in Jordan " ere you can know what it is to
 be divinely clean.
   This is deeply humbling.  It puts the
 legalist "in a range." All those who think
 themselves wiser than God, must learn their
 own  folly sooner or later; but as far those
 •who know and own  themselves lost, they
 have but to put their trust in Jesus, and be
 as clean as His precious blood can make
 them.  This is God's simple way of salva-

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                      TE HOA MAORI:
 rawa he ritenga o tenei; Heoi he mauranga
 mai mau ki a te Karaiti ko    hara.  Me
 matua matau koe;:'he horoi te mea e tika
 ana mou, a kei a te Karaiti tera. Mehemea
 e ki ana koe, he pai ano kei roto i a koe,
 kahore ano koe kia kite i te whakatakere o
 to ngakau. E kawe noa koe i nga Apana i
 nga Parapara o au whakaaro ake; otira ko
 te mutunga ano mau "he haere he horoi i
 Horano," a katahi ano koe ka matau, ara
 ia katahi ka ma.
   He  mea tino whakaitiiti tenei. He mea
 whakatakariri ki te tangata e ki ana he pai
 ano ona ake. Ko  ratou katoa e ki ana he
 mohio ake ratou i te Atua, me hopu i to
 ratou he, meake ako  atu ranei; tena ko
i ratou e mohio ana e whaki ana i to ratou
 he, heoi ma ratou he whakapono he whaka-
  okioki ki a Ihu. a ka tino ma ratou. Ko ta
 te Atua huarahi tenei mo te ora. Kua oti
  katoa te mahi e Ihu. I mate Ia mo o tatou
  hara e ai ta nga karaipiture, a kei runga Ia
 inaianei kei te rangi, he taunaha, he tohu,
  he ahuatanga Ia mo ta te Atua pai mai.
  Ko ratou katoa, e i na te Wairua Tapu ana,
  me te whaki ake o nga karaipiture, e wha-
kawhirinaki ana ki te Karaiti i mate, a, i
I ara ake ano, kua watea i o ratou kino, i te
  ki whakamate hoki, pera tonu me te Karaiti.
  He pono kororia, whakamawete, whakaara
  hinengaro, whakana tenei! Te tomo rawa
  taku kaikorero ki roto ki te kaha o tenei!
  Kia matau ia ki te painga nui o
  TE HOPU ATU KI TE ATUA I RUNGA I TANA
  *   *   *      KUPU !    *    *   *
  Ko tenei ta Naamana i hopu ai i muri iho i tana
   oke nui. Ka matau ia, kia mutu tana whakaaro ki
   "Apana ki Parapara," a, kia whakarite marie, i
   runga i te whakapono,  ki  ta te Atua  korero.
   "Katahi ka whakatata mai ana tangata, a ka korero
   ki a ia, ka mea, E taku papa, me i nui te mea i
   korerotia e te poropiti ra ki a koe, e kore ianei e
   meatia e koe, na. tera noa ake i a ia ka ki mai nei
 i ki a koe, Horoi, kia ma ai ? " Na, haere ana ia ki
 i raro, a, e whitu ana rukuhanga ki Horano; pera
   tonu ia me ta te tangata a te Atua i korero ai, a,
   hoki mai ana ona kikokiko, ano he kikokiko no te
   tamaiti iti: na, kua ma." He korero tika, marama
   tenei, "me i nui te mea i korerotia e te poropiti ra ki
   a koe, e kore ianei e meatia e koe?"  E kore e
   hapa;  otira ko te kupu nei "haere, horoi,"\_katahi
   ano te kupu whakatutua, whakanehenehe i a ia!
   kahore i mahue iho tetahi wahi ma te kikokiko e
   mea ai.  "Tena he tangata kahore e mahi, e ngari
   e whakapono ana."—Roma   4. 5. Ehara i nga
tion.  ' Jesus has done all."' 'He died for our
sins according to the scriptures, and, He is
now up  in heaven,- as the pledge, proof,
and  measure  of the believer's • acceptance.
before; God.  All who, by the grace of the.
Holy  Spirit, and on the authority of .the 1
holy scriptures, put their trust in a dead and
risen Christ, are as free from guilt and con- i
demnation  as He is. Glorious emancipat-
ing,  elevating, soul-satisfying fact!  May
my   reader enter into its power! ..May he
prove  the deep blessedness of  *   
     SIMPLY TAKING  GOD AT HIS WORD
                                                                
   This was what  Naanan,  after; a fierce
 struggle, learnt to do. He  learnt, after all,
 to give  up confidence in Abana and
 Pharpar," and yield the simple obedience
 of faith" to the testimony of God. ''And
 his servants came near, and spake unto him,
 and said, My Father, if the prophet had bid
 thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not
 have done it ? how much rather then when
 he saith to thee, Wash,  and be clean?
 Then  went he down  and dipped himself
 seven times in Jordan, according to the saying
 of the man of God and his flesh came again
 like unto the flesh of a little child, and he
 was  clean."  This was  just and simple
 reasoning.   "If the prophet had  bid thee
 do some great thing, wouldest thou not have
 done it ? " No doubt; but then this word,
  "go wash"  was  so humiliating, so self-
 emptying  ! It left flesh nothing to glory in.
  "To  him that  worketh not  but believeth."
 Romans  iv. 5. "Not of works, lest any man
  should boast." Eph.  ii. 9.
    Such is God's principle, and to this prin-
 ciple Naaman  had to submit. He went
  and washed in Jordan.  He  obeyed the
  word of the Lord. And what was the re-
  sult ? "His flesh came again like unto the
  flesh of a little child, and he was clean."
  The very moment a sinner submits to God's
  righteousness, that righteousness becomes
  his The very moment he casts himself on
  Christ he is as safe as Christ can inake him.
  The glory of God is involved in the full and
  eternal salvation of all those who simply
  look to Christ. Naaman might have plung-
  ed himself, ten thousand times over, in the
  waters of "Abana and Pharpar," and re-

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                      TE HOA MAORI.
 mahi, kei whakamanamana te tangata."—Epeha
 2. 9.
   E penei ana ta te Atua tikanga, a, mo rongo a
 Naamana.  Haere  ana  ia horoi ana i Horano.
 Whakarongo  ana ia ki te kupu o te Atua. A he aha
 te tukunga iho ? "Hoki mai ana ona kikokiko, ano
 he kikokiko no te tamaiti iti, na kua ma ia." Te
 wa tonu ano e hopu ai te tangata hara ki to tika a
 te Atua, ka manatia taua tika. Te wa tonu ano e
 rere atu ai ia ki runga i a te Karaiti, kua ora ia i te
 Karaiti.  E kore e ahei te Atua kororia kia hoki atu
 kia whakahe i Tana kupu, e ora ano i a Ia a ratou
 katoa e titiro atu ana ki a te Karaiti. Me i tekau
 mano nga rukunga a Naamana i ''Apana i Para-
 para," kua kore noa iho ia e ma; otira whakarongo
 kau ano ia ki ta te Atua tono, kua ma ia. Me i
 mau  tonu te pata kotahi o te repera ki te tinana a
 Naamana,  i tana pikitanga ake i Horano, kua he te
 rongoa a te Atua.  Ki te whakapono  te tangata
 hara ki ta te Atua whakaoranga, a muri iho ka i
 mate ia, kua he rawa Tana kororia, a kua koakoa 
 nga rangatiratanga o te pouritanga.
   He  mea  nui te matau ki tenei. Ki te matau
  ahau, a he te kororia o te Atua ina ka kore ahau e
  tino ora, heoi ra ka tatu ka rangimarie ahau, i te
  mea e kore rawa e ahei kia he te kororia a te Atua,
  a kua ora taku ngakau. E tino whakauekaha atu
  ana ahau i tenei ki te kaikorero e mamae ana te
  ngakau.  Kua whakakororiatia te Atua mo Tana
  openga atu i te hara. Aue te pono pai moku, hei
  hopukanga mo taku ngakau mamae ! Kua mutu te
  meingatanga, me pohea e ahau oku hara; Na te
! Karaiti tena i mahi, roa atu i te kotahi mano e waru
 rau tau kua pahemo ake nei. Kua tatu te ngakau.
  Ka  whakaokioki ahau ki tenei. Kua rite katoa i te
  Atua  te mahi.  Kua  whakakororiatia te Atua—
  Kua whakaorangia ahau—kua  kahore he kiki o te
  hoa-riri—heoi maku  e haere i te huarahi HARI
 HAERE  AI.
i                                      C. H. M.
mained just as he was; but the moment he
took God's way, he became as clean as God
could make  him.  Had  a single spot of
leprosy appeared on Naaman's person when 
he came up out of Jordan, it would have
been a dishonour cast upon God's remedy.
For a sinner to trust God's salvation and
yet not to be saved, would involve an eter-
nal insult to the divine glory, and furnish
an  abiding ground of triumph to all the
powers of darkness.
  It is important to understand this. To
know  that the glory of God is involved in
my  full salvation must impart solid peace
to the conscience, and complete emancipation
to the heart.   I greatly desire to press this
upon  the anxious reader. God  has been
 glorified iu the putting away of sin. What
 a truth for an exercised heart to get hold of!
 It is no longer a question of what I am to
 do with my   sins; Christ answered that
 question over eighteen hundred years ago.
 This is enough.  I rest here, in full assur-
 ance that all has been divinely and eternally
 settled. God is glorified—I am saved—the
 enemy is silenced—I have only to go on my
 way  rejoicing.                     C. H. M.
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