William Still

My friend, Wendy, handed me a beautiful hardbound book wrapped in a lovely periwinkle cover yesterday, a newly published daily devotional of selected notes by William Still, for many years pastor of the Gilcomston South Church of Aberdeen, and mentor of the mentor of my pastor, Kevin Skogen of Lookout Mountain's Reformed Presbyterian Church. She hadn't known of that small but significant connection, but I had loaned her a copy of the Letters of William Still a couple months ago in introducing his helpful comments on church life.

Through the Year with William Still includes the biblical text before each day's study notes "in the hope that some will purchase this book who are unfamiliar with the Christian Bible, but who may want to explore its contents and message. [The Editor] would assure such readers that William Still's notes may well offer them a most useful and enlightening introduction to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and to him who is Savior and Lord. If this book encourages such readers to obtain a Bible and read it for themselves, then its publication will have fulfilled at least one of its aims."

I write this to alert at least Susan to that aim, who has many ignorant and unbelieving nominal Christians in her array of friends at school And also to share with you my great delight in having a new daily study, and by such a dear pastor as William Still.

Today's reading was on "Remorse, Restraint and Mercy":

Now Cain said to his brother Abel, 'Let's go out to the field.' And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, 'Where is your brother Abel?' 'I don't know,' he replied. 'Am I my brother's keeper?' The Lord said, 'What have you done? Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will not longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.’ Cain said to the Lord, ‘My punishment is more than I can bear. Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whooever finds me will kill me.’ But the Lord said to him, ‘Not so; if anyone kills Cain, he will suffer vengeance seven times over.’ Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. So Cain went out from the Lord’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden (Gen. 4:8-16)

See again how the Lord graciously permits a defence (cf. Gen. 3:9, 11, 13) by his question, but sin has grown bolder in Cain, and he lies flagrantly; yet incautiously adds an unbrotherly justification of his professed ignorance. Even if God had not known the lie (which he did, verse 10), suspicions were aroused by his heartless attitude to his brother, especially when linked with his angry envy of him. Even then the question is asked, ‘What have you done?’ It is answered immediately to show God’s knowledge and care for righteous Abel (cf. Matt 23:35; Heb. 11:4) and for the sin which ended his mortal life. God knows and cares what people do to his righteous children, and he will deal with them. Cain is prohibited from pursuing his primitive occupation by the natural retribution of the ground, already cursed to Adam, becoming doubly cursed to Cain. But whereas the ground hardly yields its fruits to Adam in the sweat of wearisome toil, it yields nothing at all to Cain, and he is driven out a wanderer and a fugitive.

His punishment is greater than he can bear: this is not repentance, but remorse; but God is merciful and imposes a restraint upon any who would wantonly take the vagabond’s life. What mark or sign was appointed, we may not know, but it must have been some apparent indication that God still cared for Cain and would deal vengefully with anyone who slew him. Whether Cain had cause to fear his murder we do not know, but it is suggested that his fear arose from the guilt of this very sin of murder which his wounded conscience would impute to others.

It is guilt which allows entrance to the horrid imaginations of craven fear, which can only be dispelled by seeking refuge in the mercy of God. Ponder that mercy which heard cursed Cain when he cried in an agony of mere remorse. What have we to fear who are sheltered by holy blood spilled to protect us from our enemy?