Mr. Eames[1] Cottage Meeting[2] Oct 16. 1954  10

1 Cor 9. 24. So run that ye may obtain. There is one thing that I had best point out at the very outset. It is this “This scripture is found [in] the epistle that is addressed to the saints at Corinth[3], and not to the unsaved sinners of Liphook, and there is no reference here, or anywhere in scripture to obtaining salvation by running[4]. We are saved by grace, and that’s not of ourselves it is the gift of God not of works lest any man should boast[5], but there is very frequent reference[6] to obtaining a reward for faithful service to the Lord and [this] is, the subject before us this evening. Some few years ago my wife[7] and I arranged to attend the funeral of our dear old brother, Chas Lantolt[8] of Chiddingfold, and as I went to my home, to change in readiness, a letter and a postcard were put into my hand. The letter brought the news of the home-call of a dear old brother in Christ and the card told of the birth of her son to a very dear friend of our family. And as I read them there I thought of a visit we made to the Grammar School[9] Sports to watch our boys run. In one race in which there were both engaged a 440 yards relay race two incidents stood out very prominently in my mind. Four boys were chosen to run 110 yards each, and carry a baton and pass on [to] the others engaged in their team of four. All four winning boys came up for the prize presented at the end to the team. But in one team the baton was dropped in passing over and they were disqualified, and they did not so run that they might obtain. Now we know there were certain regulations to be observed by all the runners and in like manner there are regulations to be observed by all who would run the race of the Christian life. The apply to the starting place and, the course marked out by lines to prevent crossing and impeding other competitors, and of course there is the tape to breast at the end. And it is necessary for each runner to be sure he knows and conforms to these regulations lest he should be disqualified at the end of the race. There is also many[much] exhortation and much advice given to enable the runner to give of His best, and all these are found within the covers of the book of rules, and I wanted to call your attention to a few of them that we may all run better in the future days than in the past. The first one may be found in Isa 40. 31. They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength (change strength RV[10]), they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. We all know there are times when the race is very trying, and discouraging and we often feel like fainting by the way, and are afraid our strength will not hold out. Well here is a message of hope by the way, we are exhorted to wait on the Lord and be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart, and in order to press it home on our hearts it is repeated Wait I say, on the Lord Psa 27. 14. Now what does it mean to “wait on the Lord.” I think you will agree with me that in the scriptural use the term is used mostly in connection with God’s promises. Now most mornings when I look out of our back windows our hens have heard me about and they ceased not to parade up and down in their run till they have been fed. They know what it is to wait on me, or my wife to feed them. Do we pray and wait on God like that. The ox knoweth his owner and he asked his master’s crib, but Israel doth not know my people my people doth not consider[11].. Those that wait on the Lord shall – run and not be weary. Reading the report[12] of a race the other day I noticed it said that our British runner had enough energy for a final burst of speed that brought victory[13]. That is not be weary in well doing, but let us wait on the Lord. There are times when the race must be a much slower pace. The mounting up of youth may be a thing of the past, and the running of middle-age is beyond us, and we cannot keep pace with the runners but we are told also that we old uns shall walk and not faint. So let us ever remember that [if] we are to obtain the prize we must wait on the Lord. Then we must not forget the beautiful exhortation of Heb 12. 1. Let us run with patience the race that is set before us. Looking unto Jesus the author & finisher of faith. Weymouth’s translation[14] of this is very suggestive. Let us run with patient endurance the race that lies before us.. Fixing our gaze upon Jesus, and, I think we shall see more patient endurance in Him, than in anyone who has walked this earth before or since. It was a lonely path He trod. From every human soul apart. Known only to Himself and God was all the grief that filled His heart. Yet from the track He turned not back. Till where I lay in want or shame. He found me Blessed be His Name. Then dawned at last that day of dread When, desolate, yet undismayed. With whired frame, and thorn crowned head. He, now forsaken and betrayed. Went up for me to Calvary And dying there in grief & shame. He saved me Blessed be His Name[15]. In all this wide world no picture of patient endurance can be found to equal this, and we say, Let us run with patient endurance. What have we to endure? Nothing to compare with this but let us remember words which follow closely after these. Consider Him – lest ye be weary, and faint in your minds. We cannot let this pass without referring to the beloved apostle[16] as he neared the end of the race. Still laying in a Roman prison he looks back over the race he had run, and says I have finished my course. I have kept the faith[17]. I was called a few years ago to see my father-in-law[18] who had for 58 years been running the race, and his last words to me were It is well with my soul[19] I have kept the faith, and he added, Tell the boys to keep the faith[20]. I spoke of the dropping of the baton in the relay race, faith is the baton let us hold it fast and gaurd it well and we can rest assured that with Paul we shall obtain the prize.



[1] Brother Eames was a good friend

[2] Cottage meetings consisted of a hymn, a prayer and an address based on Bible reading followed by tea, biscuits and questions. They were informal and consisted of up to 12 people (RRA)

[3] The opening quotation marks would seem to indicate that this is a quotation but if so I don't know from where. Quotation marks are quite often begun but not ended

[4] That is he is not giving a gospel address but speaking to a small group of committed Christians. The address is notably warm and homely

[5] Ephesians 2:9

[6] e.g. 1 Corinthians 3:8 & 14

[7] I am assuming this is his second wife Amy and the two boys referred to later are their sons David and my father Raymond. Lloyd's first wife died and he married Amy in his 40s

[8] This name is difficult to decipher precisely

[9] Sutton County grammar which David and Raymond attended

[10] That is, presumably, the Revised Version of the AV that Lloyd habitually uses although no alternative reading is given in the RV so it is unclear what this means. The Revised Version or English Revised Version of the Bible is a late 19th-century British revision of the King James Version of 1611. It was the first and remains the only officially authorized and recognized revision of the King James Bible [Wikipedia]

[11] Isaiah 1:3

[12] Report is a guess word is undecipherable

[13] Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile a few months earlier on 6 May 1954

[14] Dr. Richard Francis Weymouth (M.A., D.Litt.) (1822–1902) was an English schoolmaster, Baptist layman and Bible student known particularly for producing one of the earliest modern language translations of the New Testament… well known for The Modern Speech New Testament, known as the Weymouth New Testament, edited by his secretary, Ernest Hampden-Cook, and published in 1903 in New York and London England. Weymouth wanted up to produce a version that ordinary people could read. The version retains its interest for its insightful rendering of Greek idioms into fresh, vivid, modern, and literary English. [Wikipedia]. It is not popular with biblical inerrantists for its free rather than literal translations

[15] A rather rare hymn by C. A. Tydeman who is believed http://www.praise.org.uk/hymnauthor/tydeman-ebenezer-alfred/ to be Ebenezer Alfred Tydeman a Baptist minister who interestingly was minister of Godalming Baptist Church and died there in 1914 so may, perhaps, have been known to Lloyd the full hymn is:

 

I have a Friend, whose faithful love

Is more than all the world to me:

’Tis higher than the heights above,

And deeper than the soundless sea;

    So old, so new,

    So strong, so true;

Before the earth received its frame,

He loved me—Blessed be His name!

 

He held the highest place above,

Adored by all the sons of flame,

Yet such His self-denying love,

He laid aside His crown and came

    To seek the lost,

    And at the cost

Of heavenly rank and earthly fame

He sought me—Blessed be His name!

 

It was a lonely path He trod,

From every human soul apart;

Known only to Himself and God

Was all the grief that filled His heart,

    Yet from the track

    He turned not back,

Till where I lay in want and shame,

He found me—Blessed be His name!

 

Then dawned at last that day of dread,

When desolate, yet undismayed,

With wearied frame and thorn-crowned head,

He, God-forsaken, man-betrayed,

    Was then made sin

    On Calvary,

And, dying there in grief and shame,

He saved me—Blessed be His name!

 

Long as I live my song shall tell

The wonders of His dying love;

And when at last I go to dwell

With Him His sovereign grace to prove,

    My joy shall be

    His face to see,u

And bowing there with loud acclaim

I’ll praise Him—Blessed be His name!

 

[16] Normally this is applied to John but here is referring to St. Paul

[17] 2 Timothy 4:7

[18] Presumably Amy's father Mr. Lanaway, a wheelwright and exclusive brethren

[19] "It Is Well with My Soul" is a hymn penned by hymnist Horatio Spafford and composed by Philip Bliss. First published in Gospel Songs No. 2 by Sankey and Bliss (1876), it is possibly the most influential and enduring in the Bliss repertoire and is often taken as a choral model, appearing in hymnals of a wide variety of Christian fellowships. [Wikipedia]

 

It Is Well With My Soul

 

When peace like a river, attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll;

Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to know,a

It is well, it is well, with my soul.

 

Refrain:

It is well, (it is well),

With my soul, (with my soul)

It is well, it is well, with my soul.

 

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,

Let this blest assurance control,

That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,

And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

 

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!

My sin, not in part but the whole,

Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

 

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:

If Jordan above me shall roll,

No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life,

Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

 

But Lord, 'tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,

The sky, not the grave, is our goal;

Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!

Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul.

 

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,

The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;

The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,

A song in the night, oh my soul!

 

[20] When the eldest of these boys David died his wife commented to my mother that while he had not kept the faith, my own father Raymond had