Exodus 20:22 - 26; Exodus 24:9 - 11; Exodus 25:1 - 9

J.T. The idea of dwelling, divine dwelling on earth, is one of the leading subjects of the Scriptures and it seems to me that we might consider, for the three readings ahead of us, if the Lord permit, the conditions of divine dwelling such as God can accept. We get the thought of dwelling first in Genesis 28, in connection with Jacob. It was named by one who was in it, that is, Jacob. He realised the presence of God and called the place "the house of God", and David later alludes to Jacob in that connection. He represents our side of the subject, that is, the side which attaches to every Christian, everyone who loves God, and who desires to have, as far as he may, conditions for God to be near him, and abide with him. So David asked Jehovah to remember his afflictions, how he was afflicted in regard to the matter. He suffered the loss of his sleep, as he says, so that he might find a place for the Lord -- a habitation for the mighty God of Jacob, Exodus is the proper book to get help from in looking into the subject. We have, indeed, in the exit from Egypt an allusion to it. As the people came out of Egypt, they spoke of it; they said "This is my God, and I will glorify him",(Exodus 15:2) and it appears that the word denotes that they would make Him a dwelling. I suppose in no way do we glorify Him more than in making Him a dwelling, a place where He can be at home here on earth where Christ has been rejected. They said that He was their God, and that they would glorify Him. We have it on good authority that the word signified that they would make Him a dwelling and the Lord takes the thought up. The song of Moses, as it is called, goes on to say at the end of it that Jehovah would bring His people unto the mountain of His inheritance, the place which He had made for Himself

to dwell in, the Sanctuary which His hands had established. So that the idea laid hold of the people immediately on coming out of Egypt -- whether it would be what they would do for Him, or what He would do for Himself. It is a question of what we do for Him, and what He does for Himself, or both.

And so in this first passage, we have the initial idea in the mind of God as to it. He prescribes that we are not to have gods of silver or gold beside Him. We know how, later on, they did this very thing, they made a golden calf beside Jehovah, formally retaining Him, but at the same time bringing in another god, a rival god, which is very common; not the refusal of God, but bringing in a rival. The next thing is as to the altar. What will help us in regard to this matter is an altar -- the kind of altar that we make to Him; an altar of earth first, and then an altar of stone. The brethren can link on with it.

H.M. God could not dwell in a place unsuitable to Him.

J.T. That is the thought. He commences this chapter by calling attention to the fact that there are thousands of those who love Him. God will have us near to Him, but why do not we seek to have God near to us, to afford Him conditions to be near us? How could we better express love than in this? If we have Him near to us, there must be conditions for Him. One thing I think we can readily understand is that God abominates a rival -- another god beside Him.

H.W. Do you connect the thought of the altar with the thought of what we provide for God in the way of conditions?

J.T. That is what I thought. The first is positive. They were not to make gods of gold or silver, but "an altar of earth shalt thou make unto me". Unto me -- the allusion is to Christ as Man. An altar of earth alludes to Christ as Man, that is, according to what He was here; an altar of stone would allude to Him as in resurrection.

W.J.Y. Is the thought of an idol a false conception of God?

J.T. Yes. Why should a believer have any conception of God other than the one he began with? The gospel is the gospel of God concerning His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. It presents God to us, the Saviour God, and the acceptance of the gospel involves reception. Why should that ever be altered?

H.W. Is that connected with the altar of earth?

J.T. That is the thought. Jesus, as here as a Man, held to that infinitely -- what God was; what God was, not only as presented in His attributes, but what God was to Him.

H.W. So the apostle John, before bringing in the warning about idols, says, "This is the true God, and eternal life",(1 John 5:20).

J.T. The Lord Himself said, "That they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent", (John 17:3). It is not only what is presented to us as profitable to us, but the conception of God that Jesus had -- that is a perfect idea of God, and ultimately that is what all are to be brought to.

E.E. In regard to the altar of earth, would this be one of the first movements of a soul in a positive way? Would there be certain instincts in a soul at the beginning that would appreciate Christ as Man?

J.T. That is the thought. God has brought in Christ. He was here for thirty years under His eye and then God announces His delight in Him. He was praying as the Spirit came upon Him and the voice came from heaven. He had an infinitely accurate conception of God.

W.J.Y. Is the making of an altar appreciation of Christ, just as the making of an idol would be lack of appreciation of Christ?

J.T. That is the thought, I think. The making of an idol would be want of appreciation of God, the divine thought of God. The making of an altar would

be the appreciation of Man -- God's idea of Man. There is man's idea of God, and God's idea of man, these are both centred in Christ. We see how the Lord speaks to God. We have not only to listen to what the Lord has to say to us but to see how He speaks to God, so that when the Lord was praying in a certain place, one of the disciples said, "Lord, teach us to pray",(Luke 11:1) as if to say. We should like to get to know your way of speaking to God.

J.S. Why is it that we have the altar brought in before the building, before the dwelling place?

J.T. There can be no thought of providing for God aside from sacrifice. There must be sacrifice. God intimates at once that that is the line. It is a question of sacrifice.

-.P. They must make an altar of earth.

J.T. That is imperative. "If thou wilt make me an altar of stone", that would be a question of your spiritual ability, but the altar of earth gives us a status. The altar of stone is progress. But verse 24 says, "An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me"; that is imperative. We must have that, or we are not Christians at all. There is no Christianity without sacrifice, either on God's part or ours. We must begin with sacrifice -- that is the first thing mentioned, the first positive thing.

E.F. Unless we know something of sacrifice, there can be no thought of God dwelling with us.

J.T. That is one of the initial thoughts. An altar of earth is the idea of Christ as Man, that is, as a Man here, as He is seen in the gospels. That is, God is intimating here that these are the lines He is on. Christ was coming in, and it is for us to get on to that line. It would be a question of a building or house or dwelling for Him. That is what is on the Lord's heart -- to find a place for God, so He reaches it first in Psalm 22. In Psalm 16, He abominates the idea of idolatry -- He speaks of what those who sought out another god should suffer. In Psalm 22 He says, "In the midst of

the congregation will I praise thee". He would afford conditions delightful to God. These conditions were found in Himself, as the voice from heaven declared, but they were to be extended. "In whom I have found my delight" (Matthew 3:17); it is not all My delight; there is room for extension, and Psalm 22 is extension. The sphere of delight would be extended, "In the midst of the assembly will I sing thy praises", Hebrews 2:12. That is how the Lord stood as entering into death. "But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel" (Psalm 22:3). The praises of Israel were His habitation. The Lord had that in mind, and immediately He comes forth in resurrection. He speaks of how He would sing in the midst of the assembly. The idea was extended.

E.F. Were you distinguishing between the altar and the burnt offerings and the peace offerings?

J.T. What we have already said refers mainly to the altar. We have to get the idea of the altar, it is what Christ is. That is, it is a question of suffering, of bearing suffering, but suffering towards God. The Lord was the altar and the sacrifice as well, and the priest also. He was all. He was the altar and the offering and the priest at one time -- a great combination of great moral elements. That is what is meant here, that we should get on to that line.

E.E. So that as God approaches men He finds all He wants in Christ, and as we approach God we find all in Christ too.

J.T. As we get on to that line God announces to the universe that "this is my beloved Son, in whom I have found my delight", Matthew 3:17. And we are to get on to that line, the line that God is on.

W.M. It would appear that God must answer that, for He says it is the way to blessing.

J.T. That is what we are coming to. It goes on to say, thou "shalt sacrifice on it thy burnt-offerings, and thy peace-offerings, thy sheep and thine oxen: in all places where I shall make my name to be

remembered, I will come unto thee, and bless thee" -- a word that ought to appeal to us. "I will come unto thee, and bless thee". Not yet dwelling but "I will come unto thee". In the coming He would find happy conditions, for His name is revered there.

E.G. Why is it "thou shalt make"? Just now it was "ye". Why is it in the singular?

J.T. The singular is used in addressing a collective number, the whole number. They are all included in the "thou". All Israel was included in it. It is a common way throughout the types.

E.G. One heart and one mind?

J.T. Quite so.

C.D. The words 'ye have seen' are used at the beginning of the previous chapter, "Ye have seen what I have done to the Egyptians" (Exodus 19:4), and in this chapter (verse 22), "Ye have seen that I have spoken with you from the heavens".

J.T. That is the idea. What a privilege to be spoken to out of the heavens! We have the thought amplified in chapter 24, because the idea of dwelling must necessarily be linked up with the heavens. Heaven is God's dwelling place. Chapter 24 shows that they went up and saw the God of Israel, and what was under His feet. They saw His living conditions. Jacob alluded to this; the first mention of the house is that it is the gate of heaven.

C.D. I was thinking of the words 'I have spoken' in connection with the hymn we sang just now. It is the response to that voice.

J.T. It is not only what the voice says, but where it comes from. The heavens were opened to Christ, as much as to say 'You have a place up here', and He knew the conditions in heaven. Indeed, He says He is the Son of Man which is in heaven. The dwelling on earth must be a transcript of what is in heaven. The idea is, what is in heaven.

A.J.D. Then we should have to understand what is spoken.

J.T. The thought here is, "Ye have seen that I have spoken with you from the heavens" -- a holy conversation with them from the heavens. Hebrews opens up that He speaks from heaven now.

E.E. Is that not an important consideration, that if God is going to dwell as He dwells now in the heavens and in Christ, the dwelling must be heavenly in its character? Is that not lost sight of today?

J.T. Entirely. They have no idea of what is called the house of God, no idea of its being a transcript of what is in heaven. If conditions are not equal to what they are in heaven, then God is sacrificing to be with us, but there must be some relation to what is in heaven. We are told that the tabernacle is a figurative representation of what is in the heavens.

A.J.D. In seeing Christ we would understand what is in the heavens, apprehending Him.

J.T. Christ brought down here what was up there.

W.J.Y. Would you open up why the altar of stone is not obligatory?

J.T. Because the Lord makes allowance for spirituality. He does not unchristianise us because we are not spiritual. The Corinthians were not spiritual, but they were not unchristianised because of that. They are still regarded as the assembly of God in Corinth. So long as the Spirit has a place amongst the saints, they are owned of God as in some sense having conditions for Him, but then allowance is made for spirituality. If you can go that far, God appreciates it all the more. What is your own idea?

W.J.Y. I just wanted it opened up a little. You connect the thought of the house of God on earth a good deal with the knowledge of a risen Christ.

J.T. We do, but to apprehend the stone altar as it typifies Him here is another matter. Romans, of course, gives us a status in that we believe in Christ

raised from the dead for our justification. It does not go so far as to say that we are risen with Him, nor does it say in Corinthians that we are risen with Him; but Corinthians intimates that the assembly is the assembly of God, nevertheless. Colossians contemplates that we are risen with Christ by the faith of the operation of God who raised Him. I believe that fits in here with the altar of stone. It is a question of what Christ is in resurrection before God. If we can go on that far, good and well. God delights that we should go that far; but still, there is an if here.

E.E. Would their standing so closely to the giving of the law be an outcome of regulating their conduct morally before God?

J.T. It is a question of spirituality, I think. The idea of His coming to us is not made to depend on it. It says in verse 24, "In all places where I shall make my name to be remembered, I will come unto thee, and bless thee". And then it says, "And if thou make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone". The blessing is secured on the ground of the altar of earth and the coming in of God. The remembrance is owned to be there. If we can go further than that, so much the better, but we are not unchristianised because we do not. It denotes poverty but we are still on ground that God can own.

J.S. I would like a little help on the thought that there should be no steps to the altar.

J.T. That is that their nakedness should not be discovered. It would mean that you would be exalting yourself like the Colossians were, adding to what they knew. That would be steps. They were adding philosophy and vain deceit to that, that is adding steps, that would be a higher altar than others. If you take on philosophy, that is going up by steps and so is ceremonialism -- these are the two things in Colossians 2 that are condemned. It is bringing the human element into the service of God. That is all it is -- mounting

up in my own strength and exposing myself as just a man in the flesh.

W.J.Y. Contrary to the liberty of the Spirit.

W.M. "To whom coming"; there would be no steps there?

J.T. "To whom coming, as unto a living stone ... ye also, as lively stones, are built up" (1 Peter 2:4,5). Built up is one thing, and climbing up by steps is another thing.

E.F. You were connecting what you were saying with that word in Colossians, "Ye have been also raised with him through faith of the working of God" (Colossians 2:12). Could you say a little as to what that means?

J.T. It is a question of faith. It is "through faith of the working of God". We are not risen literally, while in flesh and blood, though there were those who said it; they shot far beyond the mark. It is the most extravagant statement one can make, that the resurrection is past. People are dying every day, yet it was said the resurrection was past already. Colossians is not that, it is 'raised by faith'. Our resurrection is a question of time, but we may take it on spiritually as if it were already so.

E.F. Is taking that ground the altar of stone?

J.T. No. The altar of stone is Christ. It is the apprehension of Christ in that light and it brings us into accord with Him.

-.P. Is that why it is not to be of hewn stone? No human element comes in.

J.T. Quite so. It is like the stone cut out without hands, man has nothing to do with it; it is Christ in resurrection. The idea, I think, is permanency. The altar of earth would be Christ as He was, in His humanity, His incarnation. But the altar of stone is Christ as He is. He remains Man but the allusion is to what belongs to that condition of things here.

-.P. Would it be that we cannot approach God or know Him in any way except by this altar of earth?

J.T. There is no other way of drawing near to God save by sacrifice. There are no specifications for altars in Genesis, it is in Exodus you get the first specification of an altar. It is an altar of earth; the allusion is to Christ. In Genesis the worshippers are allowed to make their own altars, but in the ministerial books we get specifications; that is in view of Christ becoming Man. When we come to the later chapters we find an altar of brass, and then we have the measurements as well as the material.

R.S.T. Would it be right to say that if we are to have some apprehension of the value of Christ as the altar and as the sacrifice and as the priest, we must have some soul experience of the greatness of what is set out in verse 18? This great thought of dwelling is consequent upon some soul experience of the majesty of God.

J.T. Quite so. This thought of the stone is very compact, very concise. Permanency is suggested in the stone. It is not quarried or cut, it is in its original state. The allusion is to Christ as He is in resurrection, that is a permanent state. We might go further and say that it is as He is in heaven. The forty days on earth after He rose would be what He is now, brought within the range of the saints, that they might grasp the new state and conditions, and then we see Him as He is -- a further thought.

J.S. It is important for us to get the altar as being alone in this chapter. What I mean by being alone is Christ being the altar who stands alone.

J.T. He is to be apprehended in this way. God is leading up to the thought of dwelling and impressing upon us what the initial ideas are. He makes a covenant with the people. He loves the people who make a covenant with Him by sacrifice. The altar of earth is the initial idea. We are grasping the thought of humanity in Christ and then what He is in resurrection. We are on the high road to the dwelling place.

H.W. Is the thought that every saint of God has an altar individually, or have you the collective idea in view at the moment?

J.T. It is the collective thought, I think, right through. We do get individual altars: Moses made an altar in chapter 17 and he gave it a name there. But this altar is prescribed. God is prescribing material here. It is on the way to the dwelling, what He requires. If there is to be a dwelling, it must be according to what He requires. He is proposing His terms.

W.J.Y. We could not walk with anyone who refused the thought of sacrifice, but we might walk with one who was not up to Colossian truth.

J.T. That is the thought. The Corinthians were certainly not equal to the Colossians, and yet they are owned as the assembly of God. They are owned in both epistles as the assembly of God.

H.J.M. Why does it not speak of sin-offerings in verse 24?

J.T. Burnt-offerings and peace-offerings are mentioned, that is, offerings that are pleasing to God; burnt-offerings are wholly for God. The peace-offering is for the saints, but makes room for God. In our meetings we make room for God, another initial thought. That is just what it means.

H.W. Is the service of God the end in view?

J.T. Yes. A meeting like this is for the saints, but God would like to have a part in it. There is not a meeting the saints have that He would not like to have a part in in some sense. The peace-offering means that. It is very lovely to think that the Lord would have part with us in all these meetings in some sense. The assembly is the supreme thought.

A.J.D. That would greatly enhance the value of these meetings to us.

J.T. We never should omit the place for God in our meetings. The peace-offering means that.

A.J.D. It is incumbent upon us to recognise God's requirements.

J.T. You feel that the more you know Him the more you see that. His requirements are in our favour too, as well as in His own. Now in chapter 24, Jehovah proposes in the first verse that Moses, Aaron, Nadab and Abihu and seventy of the elders should go up. Then the next thing that comes in in this chapter is in connection with this proposal of Jehovah's that the saints should go up, and you get the richness of the circumstances. That is, God really means that we are to come up to see how things are in view of chapter 25, and the remaining part of the book which has in mind the subject of God's dwelling. God said, as it were, 'Let a goodly number of you come up and see just how things are where I am. The mediator, the priests and elders will be with you, persons capable of witnessing, so that a right testimony should be presented of what is up here'. Then the next question is. What about the state of the people themselves? This is a great proposal that God is going to make, taking up what was intimated when they came out of Egypt, that He would let them build Him a dwelling, glorify Him, but. He says, I will give you every advantage. I will let you come up, not under poor circumstances, but under rich circumstances. So Moses proposes to the people what Jehovah says and they say, 'We will do everything He says'. They answered with one voice (verse 3). "All the words that Jehovah has said will we do(Exodus 24:3)!" and then again at the end of verse 7, "All that Jehovah has said will we do, and obey(Exodus 24:7)!" They add the word 'obey' as if they are getting on. This is fine progress in a believer's soul. They commit themselves definitely.

J.J. Why are the youths of the children of Israel brought in in verse 5?

J.T. That means that service is to be in freshness. God is the living God; He looks for living things and Moses sees that. The surroundings here are full of

rich thoughts. All Israel is represented in the pillars and there is plenty of testimony to the death of Christ in the blood, the abundance of blood, and the obedience proffered by the people. It is a rich state of things; that is to say, the word for us is spiritual wealth. If God is to have a dwelling place this is the thought. Before you come up. He would say. You will have every advantage in the circumstances you leave. It is a rich state of things in verses 9 to 11: "And Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up; and they saw the God of Israel; and there was under his feet as it were work of transparent sapphire, and as it were the form of heaven for clearness. And on the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand; they saw God, and ate and drank". A wonderful scene! And they are to come down again, qualified to bear witness of what was there.

W.J.Y. Is that a heavenly experience?

J.T. I think so.

W.J.Y. A good many have difficulty about the expression, "They saw God", in view of the scripture that says, "No man hath seen God at any time" (John 1:18).

J.T. It is good to bring that up. Whilst God in the absolute sense cannot be seen by the creature, yet He will never have it that He cannot be seen in some sense, for the Lord said, "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father" (John 14:9). We see Him in His moral features. There was something there that these men could take in, for they were creatures, as representative of God. There are those who see God and are blessed according to the Lord's own words in Matthew 5. Also Moses saw the form of Jehovah.

W.J.Y. Would Paul's visit to paradise be a counterpart of this?

J.T. It would, to some extent. He speaks of what he heard.

W.J.Y. That he might help those down below.

J.T. What an effect it would have on his ministry and on his demeanour afterwards! God would be stamped on his mind, the heavenly scene would be stamped on his mind, though things were not to be uttered; he heard unspeakable things not allowed to man to utter.

C.S.S. Do you think this would suggest something more than days of heaven upon earth; they went up amid the richness of the scene and they ate and drank.

J.T. It does. It is what is up there; the assembly as the habitation of God by the Spirit comes down, really like the vessel Peter saw which came down and went up.

C.S.S. It would speak of purity. Those that are pure in heart shall see God.

J.T. That is it.

P.D. Would God show them the conditions that He was accustomed to up there that there might be conditions down here suitable for Him to dwell?

J.T. That is the thought. No one would assume that God is not visible in some sense. We have to read Scripture contextually. In the word "No one hath seen God", God's infinite essence is alluded to in an abstract way, for God is revealed and is to be seen in some sense, He is to be seen in Man, to be seen in Jesus.

C.M. Would this indicate our experience as following the Supper?

J.T. This is a suggestion of our place above, only that what is in mind is in the next chapter, which describes what God requires for His habitation, and which presents an accredited testimony as to what is required, what He seeks, what He needs, and what is due to Him. Now they are called nobles, "on the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: they saw God, and ate and drank". God was there. Abraham saw God too, but not in the absolute form; he saw Him in one of the three men, for certainly one of the three men that came to Abraham was God. Abraham discerned

that and stood before Him. Abraham could say that he saw God, but not in the sense of John 1:18. Everyone who sees Jesus, sees God in some sense. That is what I apprehend eternity will be -- God seen in Christ. The dwelling or tabernacle of God is with men; God is there.

H.W. This scene depicts the present position of the saints and what is available to us at present.

J.T. The point here, I think, is competent testimony. Not only Moses, Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, but seventy of the elders, that is seventy-four persons, are going up there and seeing God, seeing what is under His feet. How affected they would be, what a testimony they would carry down to the camp as to what was up there!

W.J.Y. Why does it emphasise that they ate and drank?

J.T. To show that they were normal, I think. It was not that their condition was merely visionary, it was real. As it says of the Lord, He ate before them. He took part of a broiled fish and of a honeycomb and ate before them; the condition was real. Their condition up there was real; they were balanced, they were sober, so that they could witness to it; it was a real thing. How important that is, that we are brought into spiritual realities in the assembly.

C.S.S. Would it suggest that the thing is to be continued? So that the Lord says, 'Give her meat' when He raised the little maid from the dead.

J.T. We might say, 'What are we to be up there?' Paul says, 'I do not know whether I was in the body or out of it. I was caught up to the third heaven; I went as far as that'. That is not exactly this; that was a very exceptional thing. Paul did not eat or drink up there. He was a man in Christ, in his senses, whether in the body or not he could not say. He repeats that.

W.J.Y. This would emphasise that the humanity of the nobles was in no way changed.

J.T. It was real humanity. They could say, 'We were perfectly in our senses when we saw God'. The idea is to bring down a balanced testimony as to what was up there.

E.F. Are you suggesting that we must know something of this to provide these conditions you are speaking of?

J.T. Yes, to get a competent testimony as to what is suitable to God.

A.J.D. They went up. The exercise is on their part.

J.T. Yes. It was not 'caught up'. It was no rapture, it was a normal, balanced state of things. There is nothing more balanced than Christianity.

C.D. Does it not suggest, too, that under right conditions the presence of God is restful, not alarming?

J.T. That is the idea. I am sure these men would say to you, 'We were perfectly at home'. They were called nobles.

E.F. Does the covenant provide these restful conditions that you are speaking of?

J.T. It has a great place. These are the conditions from which they went up. The covenant is down here. If you apply it to an assembly meeting, this properly follows the covenant. It produces liberation so that we may ascend, as it were.

E.F. Sometimes we are not able to ascend. Is that because we know so little of the covenant in its reality?

J.T. Quite so. There is no power. We are not released.

E.E. One feels if we are honest with ourselves we would say that this is where we are weak. I was wondering if you could think of some incident relating to the Lord that would help us to apprehend what you are bringing before us. Would the Lord going up the mount of transfiguration be akin to it?

J.T. Yes, very much akin. They were, you might say, the personnel of the assembly. How great the persons are! A heavenly scene comes into view. Two men, we are told by Luke, spoke with Jesus -- two men, before the names are given, as if to call attention to man. The men are perfectly free up there, so free that instead of the Lord speaking to them, they are speaking to Him. In our eternal relations I believe we shall be free to go and speak to the Lord at any time. Peter and John were not equal to the scene, but Peter refers to it afterwards as if he were then equal to it. "When we were with him in the holy mount" (2 Peter 1:18) there came "such a voice to him from the excellent glory" (2 Peter 1:17). He makes no allusion to his own failure there. He is now speaking as a competent witness, "eyewitnesses of his majesty". What he is speaking of he had actually witnessed, and that is the idea.

W.M. Would we learn from this that it is the mind of God that we should be restful before Him?

J.T. Because the thought originated from Him. He said 'Come up'. The Lord took three up. This was a divine proposal.

P.D. Would the scripture "See that thou make them according to their pattern, which hath been shewn to thee in the mountain" (Exodus 25:40), fit in with this reading?

J.T. Yes. The point for this reading is to grasp the initial ideas of dwelling, and the competency of the witnesses that went up there. How balanced they were! How real the scene was! So at any time you could speak to any of those persons and they would give you a testimony as to what divine conditions were up there.

DIVINE DWELLING (2)

2 Corinthians 3:6 - 18; Exodus 35:1 - 3, 20 - 29; Exodus 40:33 - 35

J.T. It will be borne in mind that our subject is tabernacle or wilderness conditions for the divine dwelling. We left off yesterday at chapters 24 and 25: It was intimated that we should proceed with the consideration of the new covenant as bearing on this subject. Chapter 3 of 2 Corinthians alludes not to chapter 24 of Exodus but to chapter 34, to the second giving of the law. Moses was called up again to the mount and a most interesting conversation proceeded between Jehovah and him; he had acquired great moral power in the interval between chapters 24 and 34. The golden calf had been made, and Moses shines not only as the mediator but as offering himself, offering to sacrifice himself for Israel, and through his intercession Jehovah went on with the people, but on the ground of separation. The tabernacle was taken outside the camp and pitched afar off, and Moses ascends to the mount, as having thus acquired great power and acceptability to Jehovah. So he stands out in chapter 34 as more definitely a figure of Christ, typical of Christ.

Then a peculiar glory is attached to the second giving of the law, so that his face shone, and that is what is alluded to in 2 Corinthians 3. There was glory attached to this giving of the law, but the Spirit of God proceeds in verses 7 - 16 of this chapter to enlarge on the new covenant and the glory that attaches to it, shines in it, and to compare it with the glory that shone in the giving of the law. The ministry of the Spirit subsists in glory. In fact the Spirit goes on to say, in effect, 'You could hardly speak of the glory of the first covenant at all because the glory of the second is so transcendent, and so exceeds it'. Attention is called to the richness

of glory that enters into the new covenant -- that is, what God is as seen in Christ, surrendering Him, giving Him up in love. It is called "the ministry of the Spirit", which implies that the Spirit has part in it, and the end of the chapter brings out that "the Lord is that Spirit"; that is, the two divine Persons, who have taken a mediatorial place, are merged in order to make this wonderful thing effective in our hearts.

That is what is before us to begin with, so that we might understand the richness there is when we are together in assembly, that is, not yet viewed as in the land. We are not speaking of divine dwelling as seen in the land -- that is not our subject. Our subject is the conditions of divine dwelling in a scene of contrariety as seen in Exodus and, indeed, in the Pentateuch as a whole. So that as we link all that up with the verses read in Exodus 35 we can see in the type what richness existed amongst the people. In Exodus it is not the leading ones particularly, the kings and the princes as in the days of David and Solomon, but every man and woman in Israel. Exodus brings out the mutual, yet rich, conditions amongst us; but the riches are disbursed, fully disbursed and equally divided, not all centred in the kings and princes as in Chronicles. And what is particularly worth noticing in a practical way is the allusion to the sabbath in the opening verses. It is said, "And Moses collected all the assembly of the children of Israel, and said to them. These are the things which Jehovah has commanded, to do them. Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you a holy day, a sabbath of rest to Jehovah: whoever does work on it shall be put to death. Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your dwellings upon the sabbath day". That reminds us of the need of apprehending Christ as the sabbath, and shows how we are to be restful in the enjoyment of the riches that the covenant suggests, so that we are balanced in our part in the assembly.

W.J.Y. Is the thought of glory the expression of God?

J.T. That is the idea of the covenant. It is what God is in this particular setting, the shining out of God in the gift of Jesus.

W.J.Y. Why, in chapter 24 and in Hebrews, is so much made of the blood in connection with the covenant?

J.T. What is to be observed in chapter 24 is the volume of blood. I believe it is to bring out the immensity of the love that enters into it. It is sprinkled on the book and on the people and on the altar. That is, we are all, as it were, enveloped in the volume of blood to bring out the richness of the position from the divine side, so that the ascent is made in that richness. There is no reflection or shining suggested in chapter 24, but we have the amount of blood that was put in basins and employed for different purposes, so that the whole scene is, as it were, enveloped by the testimony of the fulness of love in Christ, so that we should understand the richness of the position in which the people go up to the mount. In the second giving of the law, however, we get the shining because the second is more the spirit of the thing. In the second giving, Jehovah says, "After the tenor of these words have I made a covenant with thee", which may be taken to correspond with the spirit of the thing (Exodus 34:27).

E.F. Would you help as to what is said in Corinthians, "The Lord is the Spirit" and "even as by the Lord the Spirit". The two Persons seem to be intimately together there.

J.T. I think there is a combining, speaking reverently, of the two divine Persons that have become mediatorial. The Lord Jesus has taken a humble place in manhood, but the Spirit has also taken a humble place, not in manhood, but yet in men. He is here in the lowliest conceivable attitude, and They merge in this peculiar service of making this great thing, the love of God, effective in the saints. They

combine (it seems by the word used) to make this great thought effective in us; so that it should not be merely a theory or doctrine, but a known thing. There should be great wealth amongst us in the effectuation of this great thought, the new covenant; there is the idea of authority -- "the Lord is the Spirit", but there is the Spirit too; and in fact, in the parenthesis, we are told that the ministry of the Spirit subsists in glory. The Spirit is there alluded to by Himself without the idea of authority, but in verse 17 we have the two thoughts merged. In verse 6 we have, "Not of letter, but of spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit quickens", and in verse 17 it says "the Lord is the Spirit, but where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty". I think we should get the thought of wealth. We have it in 2 Chronicles in regard to the temple and in Exodus in regard to the tabernacle. The thought is that in the service of God we are to be consciously possessed of wealth and to use it, as in Exodus, under the direction of Moses and with the greatest skill. So that the conditions of the divine dwelling are not incongruous in any way; each is in his place in the assembly and the part he takes is under orders, under control.

W.J.Y. Would the expression, "The Lord is that Spirit" refer to Him where He is now?

J.T. Yes. He is made Lord and Christ up there. He gave the Spirit so that He is identified with the operations of the Spirit down here. The operations of the Spirit are carried on in authority.

W.J.Y. What was before me was that the value of the new covenant is not only to be found in His death but in His present position. Is that so?

J.T. Well, it could not be made effective without the Spirit and you could not have the Spirit until Christ is glorified. The effectuation of it awaited the full establishment of the divine system. What is needed in our service, among many other things, is the thought of the sabbath.

H.W. Why does that come in first in connection with the manna?

J.T. It is to call attention to the presence of Christ here -- that God found His rest there. The manna stands related to the sabbath, it is the first mention we have of it formally. The relation between the sabbath and the manna is significant because it is Christ, as we read in the hymn, "once humbled here", it is the Lord Jesus here as man in ordinary circumstances. That is to say, Philippians 2:7 says He "emptied himself, taking a bondman's form, taking his place in the likeness of men", outwardly an ordinary man, sin apart, as you would see in Palestine at that time in everyday circumstances. Whatever men may have thought of Him, God says 'I have found my delight in Him'. God rests in that.

H.W. Is the thought that the One who has provided a rest for God becomes food for man?

J.T. They synchronise, but the sabbath is carried forward. After the first forty days on the mount Jehovah refers to the sabbath again. In the closing verses of chapter 31 you find a great deal said about the sabbath and something said about it that is not said anywhere else, that God rested on it and was refreshed, meaning that He had been unfolding the glories of Christ to Moses during the forty days. God had a great time of it, speaking reverently, a much better time than Moses had. He was unfolding Christ to him and at the end of the giving of instructions about the tabernacle He refers to the sabbath and enjoins it in the strongest terms, saying that He rested on that day and was refreshed. That is what He had on the sabbath, and I think this chapter begins with this thought in the same sense, that God would bring us into the spirit of restfulness, for we are apt to be very active, even in the assembly.

H.W. Are you connecting that with the thought of the wealth that is found amongst the people of God?

J.T. Yes, there may be a show of wealth in a flow of language and hymns, but there is not much in that. It is the skilful use of wealth, and for that there must be calm contemplation and restfulness as to what God sets out in Christ.

H.W. Are you connecting the thought of the sabbath with the wealth that is found amongst the people?

J.T. The sabbath enables us rightly to distribute it and regulate it wherever it is found. It is not simply the leaders as in Chronicles; it is in every man and woman; it is the mutual state of things amongst the saints.

W.H. Is that anticipating the world to come?

J.T. Of course there will be great display of official power in the world to come, especially centred in the heavenly city, but the state of things in the wilderness as described in the Pentateuch is to establish mutual feeling amongst the saints, but mutuality in wealth, not a democratic spirit, but in spiritual wealth, in ability to be quiet and to calmly weigh what is presented in the enjoyment of the wealth, and to know how to use it.

W.M. You would say that the more we enter into the spirit of the new covenant the more we enjoy sabbath rest?

J.T. They run together. We sit down in assembly. The idea is that we sit down; it is not a time of activity necessarily but a time of quietude because it is a question of what is presented to us for contemplation.

W.H. It would preserve us from gathering a few sticks or doing that which we could do during the week.

J.T. I think that is good. The man who gathers sticks is put to death, and it is prohibited here in the strongest terms. It says, "Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you a holy day, a sabbath of rest to Jehovah: whoever does work on it shall be put to death. Ye shall kindle no

fire throughout your dwellings upon the sabbath day". That is to say, there is to be no promotion of heat in any way. It is calm restfulness that is required if we are to be in assembly according to God, the entire absence of the natural.

C.S.S. Would that be suggested in God resting in His love? (Zephaniah 3:17).

J.T. That shows how it is in God. He rested in Christ here, according to Exodus 16. He rested in Him in His ordinary circumstances here on earth, in which He was doing what other men did. He would do anything that other men might do legitimately, sin apart, and at the end of thirty years the Father's voice is heard, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I have found my delight" (Matthew 17:5). He is resting there. The beginning of everything really in the new order of things is that we are to be brought into that rest.

H.J.M. Why does it say in Chapter 34, "After the tenor of these words have I made a covenant with thee and with Israel" (Exodus 34:27)?

J.T. Moses is, I think, brought into more prominence because of what had transpired. He became more and more a type of Christ.

G.McK. Connected with what we were saying as to the sabbath, what do you understand by "None shall appear before me empty"? Exodus 34:20. Is that connected with the service of God as here?

J.T. Quite so; it calls attention to the wealth that He looks for in us. I should like it very much if people would pay attention to the idea of wealth, and how it is seen in Exodus, compared with the way it is seen in 1 Chronicles. The immensity of the wealth in 1 Chronicles is largely from the king and from the princes, but in Exodus it is every man and woman in Israel, bringing all the saints into it, brothers and sisters. Indeed they are all in it, in the tabernacle, in the silver supplied for each one, half a shekel for each one. Each saint is set up and has a status in the system.

R.S.T. Is it instructive for us that there is no lack of wealth amongst the saints? Of every article needed there was abundant supply.

J.T. That is what comes out under these circumstances. There is abundance of wealth, and what the book culminates in is not singing as in Chronicles, not music, but the completion of the work by Moses. That is, that all the saints, viewed as in assembly, are under the hand of the Lord in His authority. Each will is subdued; there is no room for the exercise of any will, because each has his niche to fill and is in that position. Moses has put him there. It is a question of the authority of the Lord.

W.J.Y. Does wealth suggest the work of God in each soul?

J.T. Quite so. It involves the Spirit in us.

C.S.S. This wealth was not found in the wilderness. God had taken care that His people would be provided with it. Is the thought that it might lie dormant?

J.T. I think it began in Egypt, which would refer to the exercises that the saints have in getting out of the world; if one does not come out of the world with wealth, he is not really out of it. The idea is that I come out of the world through exercise; I have had to suffer, and it is in that that I acquire spiritual wealth. They "spoiled the Egyptians", it says; they demanded of the Egyptians. It is a matter of right, we are not leaving anything that is of God behind. The principle in coming out of the world is that we are carrying with us all that belongs to God and spoiling the world; the world is ready to adopt things that belong to God, but the Christian in effect says 'They are not yours at all, and we are taking them all with us'.

H.W. Is that why confessing the name of the Lord helps us?

J.T. That is where it begins, I think. That brings out opposition.

-.P. It is not so much the thought of individual wealth as accumulative wealth?

J.T. It is individual wealth first -- every man and woman, but it becomes accumulative through each contributing, meaning, in a practical way, that brothers and sisters alike are supposed to contribute to the assembly. The actual use made has to be left. All is in the hands of Moses.

P.D. Does the principle come out in the beginning of the Acts where each one brought their contribution to the apostles' feet?

J.T. That is the thought. No one who had possessions called anything his own. It was a community, but stress is laid here on every man and woman whose heart prompted them. God is looking at the state of our hearts.

H.W. It is spoken of as a heave-offering. What is going to promote that feeling with us that the wealth shall be made available?

J.T. I think the stirring up of the affections. There are two ideas in the offering, one the heaving, the other the waving. A heave-offering is something raised up, the outgoings of the heart towards God; the wave-offering refers more to Christ. He is kept constantly and strikingly before the eyes of God. It is the heave-offering here because it is a question of the saints.

W.M. The wealth had been previously used in the service of the devil, but now it is brought into the service of God.

J.T. That is right. That shows the terrible breakdown. The exercise in connection with it had increased the wealth of the saints.

E.E. How can I distinguish wealth in my soul? What would wealth be in the way you are speaking of it?

J.T. It is the movement covered in the word "heave". Romans 8 brings out that the Spirit searches the hearts, or rather God does. "He who searches the hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit",(Romans 8:27).

God searches the hearts, and it is in the consciousness of the movement of the heart Godward; and another great test is whether I love the brethren, whether in relation with the brethren my heart is moved.

A.J.D. Would the call to the fellowship of God's Son have this movement in view?

J.T. I think so. We are called into it, and we ought to be able to discern the movements of our hearts. There are in a man or in a beast automatic self-acting organs, these are what are alluded to in this movement called "heave". The Lord alludes to it too in saying, "The water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life" (John 4:14). Surely one is conscious of that movement. It is not the action of one's will; it is a movement by itself; it is the effect of God being brought before the affections.

C.D. What would cover each would be the fact that this contribution was toward God's dwelling place, would it not?

J.T. What a great thought it is! God seeks to dwell amongst us. Everyone who loves God would be alive and ready to contribute to that.

H.W. I think we need help really to discover and discern the value of this wealth that is found amongst the saints and to use it rightly and hold it available.

J.T. You get initial thoughts in Exodus. There it is all a question of what Moses did. Aaron is there, but Moses and the anointing are the two great thoughts; every item in the tabernacle, meaning every brother and every sister, is in place, but not the place which he has taken, but the place which he is given. He is given his place. Moses set up the tabernacle and set every item in its place, and as there it is functioning, acting, doing what it should do. That is the idea, so it is a question of the authority of Christ exercised, but in the anointing. The Spirit is there too.

C.D. So that it is the hand of Moses that unifies the whole thing.

J.T. Moses finished the work and the next thing is that God says in effect, 'That is all suitable to Me'. It is not yet the varied woods of the temple and the other metals and the like in the temple, but just the tabernacle here -- just the saints in their wilderness setting, where contrariety is. God can say, 'That pleases Me'. There is nothing more satisfying than the sense spiritually that you are just where God would have you and that He is pleased with you there. There is not an incongruous thing in it; there is no more need for Moses to say, 'Do this or do that'. We are all perfectly restful in our position.

P.D. Is it not interesting to see that it is God that proposes the materials suitable for His dwelling?

J.T. It must be. All is on divine terms, but then everything that He requires is provided. There is plenty of it too.

C.S.S. The words 'found' and 'brought' seem to be repeated in the chapter. Does it suggest this volume of movement? Where are they brought from?

J.T. Are you speaking of chapter 35? It says in the opening verses that Moses collected or gathered all the assembly. That is, they are all there and under the hand of Moses. He is gathering, and after speaking of the sabbath, he gives a list of the things that are needed -- and then we are told in verse 20 that "all the assembly of the children of Israel departed from before Moses". That is, they are not under his influence. They departed from the presence of Moses and that raises the whole question as to fellowship, that is, what we do when we are not formally in the presence of the Lord, or in the presence of each other. We have gone back to the places of our individual settings. Shall we forget what is needed? Will our hearts be occupied with other things? Very often at a meeting we are full of a thing that is presented to us in power, but as we go back to

our individual settings it loses its force. But what comes out here is that it did not lose its force with them (see Exodus 35:20 - 29). All that takes place as the people departed from Moses; they are no longer under his influence, but act as honest men and women. Whatever these utensils had been used for before, that is now abandoned and they are brought to make a dwelling place for God. God is before the assembly. It is a wonderful picture of the normal result of the Spirit of God working in the saints as of the assembly.

W.J.Y. Carrying assembly exercises back to our homes?

J.T. That is the idea. You may go back from the meeting and forget what you heard, and you turn to your own things. When you get back other things affect you, but the point here is that they were not forgetful or affected adversely; they carried out the desire of Moses.

C.S.S. I was thinking that they brought these things out of their homes, would that be right?

J.T. Yes, it was sacrifice. People had nose-rings and earrings, and bracelets; it was sacrifice to give these up. And the women had looking-glasses, and they have them today; this book contemplates that these are given up too. All that sort of thing is given up for the sake of a dwelling-place for God.

T.P. In Hymn 4, which was written by a sister, we have, "Now with this treasure our spirits are freighted". Is that the acquisition of wealth in that sense?

J.T. Very good illustration of it. The word 'freighted' was well debated before it was put into that hymn, it is a good word.

T.P. I was thinking of the first part of the verse. It indicates that we have come from conditions where we have been, as it were, away from Moses.

J.T. That is the thought. We go back to our houses after a meeting like this. We may get a touch, but shall

I carry it back to my house? shall I forget it? It may require sacrifice, and I say, 'Well, that is not needed'. It may be I stay home from the next meeting. Or on the other hand I may resolve 'I will not miss one meeting, I will be like Anna'. Will you carry that through? God looks to you to carry it through.

J.P. What would help us as to willing-heartedness?

J.T. I think that is the covenant. The covenant is the heart of God. That is, God's heart is towards you, and now what is your heart towards God? That is what these verses mean. The covenant is in chapter 34. That is the second giving of the law; this chapter is the response to it.

-.H. Is that where the glory is seen, in the expression of all these things in the assembly?

J.T. That is the idea, I think.

DIVINE DWELLING (3)

2 Corinthians 6:11 - 18; 2 Corinthians 7:1; John 14:21 - 26

J.T. Our subject began with Exodus 20 and we went on to the covenant and the material for the dwelling. What is in mind tonight is just a continuation of that, the covenant being before us. The link with chapter 3 is maintained in these chapters, but the minister, as representative of Christ, is strongly prominent throughout as one (that is the apostle Paul) fitted of God to make divine thoughts intelligible and effective. So that we have here in chapter 6 a list of some thirty-seven items characterising Paul and leading up to the verses read, in which he indicates that his heart is expanded towards the saints, towards the Corinthians; this is all borne out in detail in the type, that is, in Moses. God directs that he, Aaron, Nadab and Abihu and seventy of the elders should go up, and says no more. Moses immediately, in true mediatorship, brings the words of the Lord, Jehovah, to the people and tells them all that He said, as if he had in mind that in going up they must go up suitably in reconciliation, and to that end in the fulness of the covenant and in the fulness and understanding of what is implied in the whole position, that is, the unity of the tribes. And so he rehearses the words of Jehovah and the people say, "All the words that Jehovah has said will we do!" (Exodus 24:3) Then Moses builds the twelve pillars and the altar, and the youths are employed as priests, the blood is put into the basons and he sprinkles the blood on the altar and the people and the book, and says, using the word covenant, "Behold the blood of the covenant that Jehovah has made with you",(Exodus 24:8) for all the people said, "All that Jehovah has said will we do, and obey!" (Exodus 24:7). So that on the ground of this Moses and Aaron and Nadab and Abihu and seventy of the elders go up and they see

the God of Israel and eat and drink and are called nobles, and then Jehovah says that Moses is to come up higher, and be there, meaning that the mediator is now a heavenly thought as we are fit to go up. The heavenly thought is established and the mediator is to be there, that is, Christ on high; as the writer to the Hebrews, commenting on it, says, "For the Christ is not entered into holy places made with hand, figures of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear before the face of God for us", Hebrews 9:24. So Moses was there forty days and forty nights, the idea is Christ on high, and the tables are given there, although the commandments are already spoken, and the pattern all comes out of heaven; that is the principle of divine dwelling.

W.J.Y. Would the going up suggest our heavenly calling?

J.T. Well, I think that is the thought that the dispensation is heavenly. It is not exactly the millennium, it is a heavenly thing, the habitation of God is from heaven. The material is, as it were, from heaven; the pattern is received up there. Moses is there forty days and forty nights in a state of abstraction from natural conditions, because he did not eat or drink.

W.J.Y. Does the thought of a heavenly calling go beyond the letter of the covenant?

J.T. It does. The covenant enables you to take up that thought in liberty. That is why Moses, without any commandments as far as this record shows, brings in the thought of the covenant, brings in the volume of the blood and applies it to the altar and the book and the people, so that all are enveloped in the idea of love, the love of God in Christ. As Romans brings it out, no one can separate us from that, the love of God in Christ; we are sustained in it. That in itself, however, is not the heavenly position; but in the power of it we go up and are owned up there. The material all comes out consequent upon that, and I think we have the same order here in 2 Corinthians. The covenant is in

chapter 3 and then we have much about eternal things and our house which is from heaven and new creation; that is, our souls are bathed, as it were, in these great eternal thoughts of God. But then, all is worked out in the servant, in the minister, and so in the end of chapter 5 he brings himself out in that way as an ambassador. Then this chapter shows how he commended himself in these items. These items, thirty-seven in all, a remarkable list, are mentioned to bring out what the minister was, and that he is thus because of what he had been engaged in. His mouth is opened; knowing, too, that they were affected by his first letter, he goes on here to call them his children. He establishes confidence in them and points out what is necessary, in view of all that he has been saying, to the dwelling-place of God. God is to dwell amongst us and walk amongst us.

W.J.Y. In measure we learn the importance of the message as we look at the messenger.

J.T. I think that is the idea. The mind of God comes out in qualified vessels; that is to say, not only is the truth spoken, but it is exemplified. The power is seen in a concrete way in the vessel.

E.E. Would his mouth being opened and his heart expanded show that on his side there is going to be no restriction in communication of these divine things nor lack of affection in the vessel?

J.T. That is the idea. The first letter, of course, had done a certain amount of work, but there was much more required, and he points out now that he is set free himself. He had gone through much and his heart was engaged with much, with these great things, the covenant and eternal things. He calls them things unseen, our bodies which are from heaven, new creation and reconciliation. All these things necessarily affected him inwardly. Now it is your turn, he says, "Be ye also enlarged", also. What we are aiming at, of course, is conditions for the divine dwelling.

E.E. We see the same things in type in Moses. All he received in the way of light on the mount, he communicated to the people in love.

J.T. Yes. The writer to the Hebrews tells us he communicated everything, he made known every word of the covenant and he spoke about the blood, too, in volume.

H.W. In connection with the divine dwelling, you spoke about tabernacle conditions. In this chapter we have the thought of the temple. Would you distinguish and help us as to the difference?

J.T. The word 'temple' has to be understood, like other words, in the context in which you find it. The context in these two epistles is a wilderness setting, because the tabernacle had the idea of the temple as much as what is called the temple. What Solomon built, of course, was the house.

H.W. Is that more in line with Ephesians -- "Increases to a holy temple in the Lord"? Ephesians 2:21.

J.T. You have to connect that with Solomon's temple. In these two references in chapter 3 of the first epistle and chapter 6 of the second epistle, the allusion is to the wilderness because walking among them (verse 16) is in the wilderness. The building of Solomon's temple is a fixed thing in view of the millennium and eternity. This is a movable idea. So that the Corinthians were temple of God locally. "Ye are [the] temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16)". The word of course is the real word for temple. "Ye are [the] living God's temple". The omission of the article in the Greek is somewhat characteristic of these epistles. It is to bring out the character of the thing without assuming that it is the whole idea.

H.W. At the same time, is it not so that the two thoughts are to be reached in the apprehension and enjoyment of the saints?

J.T. Quite so. On the one hand it is the wilderness position and on the other our position in the land.

The wilderness position is movable and provisional; the other is fixed, looking on to eternity. Not that the movable condition ceases, I mean the thing itself, because what we have is the same as what is fixed. So that in Chronicles the tabernacle is merged in the temple; the whole thing is brought in to the temple.

H.W. Would you connect the tabernacle idea with the position of the saints in the early part of the Supper and the temple with the end?

J.T. That is exactly the thought. We begin with the local setting and then pass on to the universal and eternal setting.

W.J.Y. Would it bear the thought that the tabernacle is more God approaching us and the temple what is dedicated to Him?

J.T. I think so. The tabernacle is that God is with us, that is "that I may dwell among them" (Exodus 25:8), but earlier it says, "Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, the place that thou, Jehovah, hast made thy dwelling, the Sanctuary, Lord, that thy hands have prepared", Exodus 15:17. That is the other side, which God Himself builds. In the Psalms it says, "And he built his sanctuary like the heights, like the earth which he hath founded for ever", Psalm 78:69. It is fixed in the Psalms.

H.W. The apostle John in his ministry dwells much on the tabernacle side of things -- "The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us", John 1:14, He carries it on to the final thought that God will tabernacle with men.

J.T. The idea is that God will be near us in lowly circumstances. We begin with that in Adelaide; we come together in assembly, that is the local setting, the position that comes under man's eye, and God comes there. "In all places where I shall make my name to be remembered, I will come unto thee, and bless thee", Exodus 20:24, That is not the end. The end is to draw us over to His own side, that is Ephesians.

H.W. Do you think that, in effect, when the saints come together in that way there is the setting up of the tabernacle, and then there is the carrying through the week?

J.T. That is the thought. It is a public thing and therefore there is the anointing. In the first epistle, the assembly is called the Christ, "So also is the Christ", 1 Corinthians 12:12. That is, it is the anointed position here. It is the testimony here where things are contrary. It is the dignity that comes under man's eye, so that the anointing is to begin in our houses; I mean the dignity that attaches to us as having the Spirit. As we move out to the assembly, everything is in dignity and holiness, even our deportment, the way we sit, the announcements: everything is in the power of the anointing. They are not common things. If you announce anything that is to be done amongst the saints, it is not common; it is anointed and God respects that. The Lord comes there to lead us over to His own side. Hence you have the idea of the love of Christ, and of calling Him Lord Jesus, by the Spirit; everything is by the Spirit. And then you go on to the other side. The covenant comes in to set us free, and what marks the covenant is glory. It is not only the anointing but glory.

W.J.Y. So the covenant produces the conditions in which God can come to us.

J.T. Well, yes. The anointing, I think, suffices. "In all places where I shall make my name to be remembered, I will come unto thee, and bless thee" (Exodus 20:24). That is in chapter 20; but the glory is a further thought, that is, it is the Spirit making the idea to shine, to permeate all. The glory is there.

H.W. The effect of the covenant here in Exodus 24 would seem to be to liberate Moses and the nobles who went up.

J.T. Yes. And it is above that you get the glory, in that chapter. The glory of the Lord abode on

Mount Sinai for seven days. That was where it belonged for the moment, but in the end of the book it comes into the tabernacle and fills the tabernacle because of the conditions. The glory is distinct from the anointing. The tabernacle is anointed and every part of it set up, but the glory is distinct from that; it is an advance on that. I think the glory involves the covenant. It is a further thought but it is not the final thought; the final thought is the family. You have to go to David and Solomon for the final thought.

H.W. That is what I thought in connection with the effect of the covenant. It is liberating with this other side in view.

J.T. With the other side in view, that we might go on to the eternal thought, and for that you must have David and Solomon. Joshua does not help on that at all. The book of Joshua is not the service of God in the way you get it in David and Solomon; so that if we cut out time, we have to add on David and Solomon to the end of Exodus. After all, time is only connected with the ways of God. When He reaches His end in our souls, everything merges and we are able to pass on to Ephesians. That is the divine thought. God has raised us up together and has made us sit down together in the heavenlies.

W.J.Y. Would not Joshua be a link between Exodus and Chronicles?

J.T. Not with regard to service. There is a link as regards passing out of death into life; there is a link there which is probably Colossians.

A.J.D. It is necessary for us to understand the glory of the covenant before we can move to the other sphere.

J.T. That is the thought. The covenant comes in properly in the force of it after we drink the cup; after they all drank out of it, the Lord told them what it was. Then they sang a hymn, that is, they were liberated. That is the order.

H.W. Was teaching connected with it?

J.T. Certainly there was teaching connected with it. It is the Mediator that makes it effective.

A.J.D. Is it to put glory upon us that we may be free to move?

J.T. We go up gloriously. Two men appeared in glory, that is, their dress.

R.S.T. Would you say a word as to glory?

J.T. I think it is the thing that shines out. It is what God is, not in His eternal thoughts, but in His covenant thoughts. It is what He is in love, that is, in the sacrifice He made. He "has not spared his own Son, but delivered him up for us all", Romans 8:32. The sacrifice is made. How He would let His heart flow out to us!

E.G. Is the way Stephen presents things in Acts 7 what you were saying, the testimony of Joshua, David and Solomon?

J.T. Quite so. He goes through the course in a beautiful way, he even tells us about Moses in the assembly in the wilderness. That is a good thought: Moses in the assembly in the wilderness, what he did there.

H.W. Think of the glory filling the house! In the end of Exodus it says that Moses could not enter the tent of meeting because of the glory, but in Chronicles the priests could not stand. Would you help us as to the difference?

J.T. The first alludes to what we are at now -- the necessity for obedience. That is really what it means, that I am fitting in my place in glory. I am anointed. Chapter 40 is just the saints in type, that is ourselves at any given time, as having learned to be subject. They said, "All that Jehovah has said will we do, and obey!" (Exodus 24:7) We are sanctified unto the obedience of Christ. Sanctified unto -- it is that kind of obedience, and nothing less than that will fit in the tabernacle.

H,W. Do you suggest in speaking of chapter 40 as the saints that they provide the furniture in that way?

J.T. Surely that is the thought. Every item fits; there is no suggestion of any incongruity whatever. It is all perfect, and that must involve the obedience of the Christ. We are sanctified unto that and the Holy Spirit in us would imply the anointing. It would enable us to be in that, not only in a passive way but in a living way, so that each knows how to function; as any item is set up it is functioning. It is not passive, it is active; it is active in its own place. Each of us is in the sense of the power of the Spirit, ready to function, each in his own place. That is what God has in mind. He says, I want all that, Moses does not need to say anything more, it is all met.

A.J.D. "He came unto his own" (John 1:11).

J.T. That is exactly my thought. He would say, I want all that. His glory fills it.

W.J.Y. If you sought to touch the eternal side of things without travelling the way you bring before us, it would be disastrous.

J.T. That is just what happens, it would be mental without the glory. We go via the anointing, via the covenant, the anointing and the covenant and the glory; the glory is the outcome of the covenant -- so that we go up glorious.

J.S. What you have been bringing before us has a wilderness setting?

J.T. That is the idea exactly. It is in a scene of contrariety that this comes about. Think of a number of saints sitting down together in perfect subjection to the Lord, each in his place as anointed, as having the Spirit! If a person is anointed he says. Lord Jesus. He says it in the power of the anointing and that affects everybody present; it has a powerful effect. That is the note to keep on until you get another note.

P.D. To go back again to the covenant after having addressed the Father would be out of order.

J.T. I think so. It is better just to go on. Sometimes we take up the thought of the Father too soon, we have not the glory. You need the glory. If you look through Exodus you will be impressed with the idea of the glory.

H.W. I was impressed with the great dignity that marks the saints as coming together in that way, but as together we require to be controlled.

J.T. That is what the Lord is seeking to bring about, to bring us into the dignity of the position, that things are not common. We should not sit together in any common way. We should learn how to sit bodywise, involving the Spirit.

J.S. So that there is great dignity connected with us even in the wilderness setting?

J.T. Certainly that is the thought. There is this before men.

H.W. Would you amplify that -- sitting bodywise?

J.T. Well, it implies the light in which we sit down together. "Because we, being many, are one loaf, one body; for we all partake of that one loaf", 1 Corinthians 10:17. So that as the emblems go round, we are not restless, we are not waiting for something in a common way; we are in dignity and affection together. We look at each other as one, as one body. There is enjoyment and increased power in sitting together even in silence.

A.J.D. Is that merging by the Spirit?

J.T. That is the thought. That is where you realise that in the power of the Spirit we have all been baptised into one body.

H.W. So that there will be no independent action.

J.T. That is the thought exactly. That is what Exodus 40 means. God says as it were, 'That is all suitable to Me; that is delightful. It is all Mine; I will take it all over'.

H.W. That makes Exodus 40 very wonderful.

J.T. Ephesians 2:6 touches on what we were and what we are. "And has raised us up together" -- it is

not together with Christ, but together with one another. Really, sat down together in the heavenlies, that thought comes into it. That is what is meant. You do not wish to go to heaven without the brethren. You want the brethren. If you want them up there you want them down here in the body.

W.J.Y. He has made us drink into one Spirit. Is that a present thought here preparatory to passing over to the other side?

J.T. That is right. I think drinking is for satisfaction, that you are not irritable or finding the position irksome, you are satisfied in the position. A great many are not. A great many are very irritable and find things irksome, if they would only say so, but the idea is to be satisfied. "The trees of Jehovah are satisfied", Psalm 104:16.

E.B. Is that what the Lord has in mind when He says, "Drink ye all of it" (Matthew 26:27)?

J.T. That is right. It does not mean to drink all the wine, but that all the saints should drink what is there.

A.R.G. What do you mean by 'finding things irksome'? What have you in mind?

J.T. Any discontent with the brethren. Naturally, of course, we may be in a position that we are not equal to. The anointing makes me equal to the position and the drinking makes me enjoy it. I am satisfied in it. And the merging, the baptism, is God putting me there as fit for the place. "For also in the power of one Spirit we have all been baptised into one body", 1 Corinthians 12:13. It all bears on unity, that we are satisfied together in any setting in which God places us, and God comes in. So here we have in our chapter the idea of the danger of all this being spoilt by evil associations, by unequal alliances, which are most baneful. The enemy is working in a most concerted way to cause young people to make alliances ignoring the fellowship, ignoring the Lord. The apostle stresses it here, the contrast between

righteousness and lawlessness, light and darkness, Christ and Belial, the believer and an unbeliever, and the temple of God and idols. These are all very strong statements, the Spirit of God presenting the natural disposition with us to form unholy alliances.

H.W. You are speaking of marriage now?

J.T. That is the principal one. But there are also partnerships or even companionships.

R.S.T. It would help us to see that these are definite statements -- light and darkness. There is no middle course.

J.T. Quite so. He brings in the precious thought that you are God's temple. "Ye are the living God's temple". The living God's temple, what a thing that is! The word here is the inner shrine, but it is not here a question of getting light out of it, as in chapter 3 of the first epistle, but of God dwelling in that and walking in that.

R.S.T. I was thinking of that. If we take these things up in exercise in the light of God's dwelling, it becomes a much more important thing than our own blessing.

J.T. Yes. God dwelling and walking. Well, if He walks He will come round to see what is going on. He will take note of what is going on. In the types He was very particular, not only as to what was in the tabernacle but as to what was in the camp. There was to be nothing at all contrary to His mind, that would offend Him.

-.P. There is no room for a difference of opinion and such a thing as agreeing to differ.

J.T. No. There is no room for agreement to differ at all.

W.J.Y. Separation has a very great reward here.

J.T. Quite so. It is put in that way as worth while.

C.S.S. It says that Jehoshaphat allied himself in marriage and in business and the Lord broke his works.

J.T. Quite so. The word to him was that he loved those that hated the Lord, and many of us do that. We love ungodly companions, ungodly people.

C.S.S. You were speaking of the Christ. It follows on to say that "God has set certain in the assembly" (1 Corinthians 12:28). It is the recognition of that which we need as being together. God has set in the assembly.

J.T. Yes, it is a place where He can put things. You might say that, as with a diamond, the surroundings enhance the thing He sets there.

C.S.S. That is where the glory is.

J.T. Exactly. What a great idea! It is the vessel of divine residence, the residence of divine glory in a world of contrariety. But the enemy is constantly aiming at reducing the standard amongst us, to destroy the Lord's authority. He would say, 'If I can get those two young people to unite, if I can get them into fellowship, they will lower the standard and weaken the position. The more I can do that, the more I can destroy the divine thought'. What Satan had in mind in Ananias and Sapphira was to destroy the divine thought, and make it appear that God was not there.

P.D. Your thought as to 'in the Lord' would be borne out by the daughters of Zelophehad. "Let them marry whom they please; only they shall marry one of the tribe of their father". Numbers 36:6.

J.T. That is the thought. The preposition 'in' is a strong word. It implies God's power. It is not a mere question of a person being a nominal Christian, but a question here of a real believer. The authority of the Lord is involved in it, active authority. 'In' is a preposition of power.

H.W. Would you say there might be a marriage with a believer and yet it not be in the Lord?

J.T. Certainly. "In the Lord" involves His authority; it involves the fellowship.

A.J.D. It is important for us to get the divine standard.

J.T. Quite so. I thought we might see in John 14 how all this fits in with remnant times. What we are speaking of here is normal conditions at the beginning, but John after verse 20 in this chapter records what the Lord says, speaking of one person, "He that has my commandments and keeps them, he it is that loves me; but he that loves me shall be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will manifest myself to him". Then it goes on in verse 23, "Jesus answered and said to him. If any one love me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our abode with him". I think that is the idea of tabernacle conditions. That brings the thing down to one person and, of course, to any number of such persons, alluding to remnant times, that we may have tabernacle conditions.

W.J.Y. This applies when everything official has broken down.

J.T. I think that is the way; it merges somewhat with Matthew 18. There is a division at the end of verse 20. Up till then there is normality. The beginning of verse 21, I think, alludes to a time when many who professed to be the Lord's did not love Him. "He that has my commandments and keeps them", he is the one; he is qualifying as a lover of Christ, and hence the Lord says, "He that loves me shall be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will manifest myself to him". I think we can see how tabernacle conditions and privileges are coming in. Then in answer to Judas, He says, "If any one love me, he will keep my word", meaning the whole disclosure of the divine thoughts. I apprehend that is what the word means. The keeping of that implies conditions that God can own. The Father and Son abide with such an one as that.

H.W. Do you think that John's gospel is intended especially for the overcomer, to enable the saints to be overcomers here?

J.T. I think so. You can see how this would fit in with the addresses to the assemblies.

H.W. It has often been said it was written after he got the light of the Revelation.

J.T. I think that is true. You can see how it furnishes a lover of Christ with everything they had at the beginning.

P.D. The Lord says to Philadelphia, "Thou ... hast kept my word" Revelation 3:8.

J.T. Well, that fits in here, and the Spirit in verse 26, I think, is in that connection. It contemplates forgetfulness, that things have been forgotten and brings in the idea of remembrance linking on with the Lord's supper. There is the idea of remembrance; the Spirit causes remembrance of what has been forgotten, and how much has been forgotten of all that He said! Certainly the whole history of the church is built up on ignoring what He said, but now things are brought back to us; they are brought to light.

C.S.S. What would be the difference between the abode in this verse and in the second verse? Does one lead on to the other?

J.T. The many abodes, you mean? Well, that is the heavenly side; of course, it is the same word; the heavenly side which is here is future in this second verse, but Ephesians makes it a present thing: "Has raised us up together, and has made us sit down together in the heavenlies", Ephesians 2:6.

C.S.S. You are drawing our attention to conditions necessary for this verse. Would that help us in regard to the second?

J.T. Well, the second is what has been prepared by the Lord for us up there -- a wonderful thing!

C.S.S. Sometimes we sing, 'There no stranger -- God shall meet thee!' (Hymn 76)

J.T. Well, quite so. It is what He has done up there. "I go to prepare you a place (John 14:2)". What we have below is a place for Him here.

E.E. I would like a little more help on this. This is as they were seated at the Supper table, is it not? Would the beginning of John 14 set out what the Lord has in His mind as a kind of climax? Would what you have been speaking of in the individual set out how we should be concerned to respond to such love, what the Lord is seeking to lead us to in regard of the Spirit?

J.T. It is a future thought. So when He comes, He takes us up there. What we are engaged with here is what lies in the Spirit. In this section of the chapter it is what lies in the Spirit.

G.McK. It says, "If any one love me". Do we profess each one of us to be lovers of Christ as we take the Supper?

J.T. Yes. Tell us more of what is in your mind.

G.McK. You were speaking of the dignity of our position; this would not only strengthen us in regard to the dignity of the position, but it brings out the link of affection that is proved by keeping the Lord's word. The Lord distinctly connects the thought of professing to love Him with keeping His word.

J.T. Yes, keeping His commandments and then His word. Verse 23 is an enlargement, an advance on verse 21. What we remember helps. The time had come when many were professing to love the Lord but did not. Of course, that is our own time. Well, He gives us a test here: "He that has my commandments and keeps them, he it is that loves me". He makes the keeping of the commandments a qualification for a lover. No one else has a place. Every other person is questionable. If a person professes to love Christ and does not keep His commandments, he is questionable. He may love Him, but it is questionable, and of course it is a very humbling thing for this to be questioned amongst us. If a person is questionable there is a sort of cloud over him. That is what that passage would indicate. John is very abstract, that is to say, he makes things acute in contrast. He does not want

any middle way at all. That is how he quotes the Lord here. The time would come when many would be professing to love Him and yet ignoring His commandments.

H.V. Is that in order that there would be suitable conditions among the people generally?

J.T. Exactly. How can you expect divine Persons to come in if the commandments are ignored?

W.J.Y. Any one who professed to love the Lord and refused to break bread would be very questionable.

J.T. Very. And even if they were breaking bread and disregarding the authority of the Lord they would be very questionable.

J.S. So that keeping the commandments is so important that the Spirit would bring the word to remembrance.

J.T. That is the idea. The commandments are a sort of clearing; the keeping of the commandments takes you out of any sect, any relations that are contrary or unwarranted. This is seen in 2 Timothy 2. But then there is the positive thing, that is, the word, the disclosure of the mind of God, what He wants, what He requires. It is a further thought involving more intelligence.

C.S.S. Keeping that word would lead up to the thought of dwelling that you have in your mind, and would not that be a sample of what we have at the commencement? "Days of heaven upon the earth" (Deuteronomy 11:21) -- as we sing, 'Eternity's begun'.

J.T. You come on to that. Here it is divine Persons coming to us and making Their abode with us, which of course is not final. It can only be provisional.

A.J.D. It depends on our observance of the covenant.

J.T. And conditions here amongst us, one, two or three or however many, where divine Persons come in. First the Lord says, I "will manifest myself", and then "my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him". The next thing is the

place the Spirit has. The three Persons are brought in. The three Persons are seen here.

G.McK. Why does it say 'We'?

J.T. The Lord associates Himself with the Father. It is a wonderful thought. Their coming unto you. Verse 26 is to make scope for the Spirit in these new conditions. In the earlier verses, in the beginning of verse 16, we have the Spirit here in relation to normal conditions; but verse 21 begins abnormal conditions, and verse 26 brings the Spirit in in relation to abnormal conditions, and abnormal conditions require that He is here in the Lord's name, because that is then the test. He is sent here in the Lord's name, and as here in the Lord's name He will teach us everything. It is important at the beginning to see how everything is to be learnt in any circumstances, by the Spirit as sent in the Lord's name, and the first thing He will do is to establish the Lord's authority. I do not believe that anything at all is rightly understood save by a person who has the Spirit of God, even making due allowance for the scientific men. I do not believe anything is understood unless we begin with God. The Spirit teaches all things; we get the divine view of them. Then He brings things back to us, because Christendom is really marked by disregard of what the Lord says, whether it be forgetfulness or wilful disregard. "The Holy Spirit ... will bring to your remembrance".

A.J.D. Is that the whole light of the truth brought to us in that setting?

J.T. That is the idea. The Holy Spirit is sent here by the Father in the Lord's name, Christ's name. In the next chapter, the Son sends Him from the Father. He comes as having been with the Father, as having first-hand knowledge, as it were, of what is in heaven.

W.M. The character He takes as Comforter is very striking.

J.T. It is. The word of course means that He is here to take charge of everything. It is a wonderful

thought that we can trust in the Lord in a meeting like this. The Holy Spirit takes charge of things in a meeting like this. He keeps Himself out of sight, but He is here in power.

W.M. So every holy emotion that passes through our hearts and minds is the result of the work of the Comforter.

J.T. Quite so. You are conscious of that. Room is made here for the Lord, and you are conscious that there is some power keeping things right. Things are kept right in what we say.

R.S.T. Would you run over those three things again in regard to the Spirit? The name of the Lord, and the Son, and coming from the Father. You referred to Him here in this verse, bringing to remembrance in connection with the Lord; and then you said in the next chapter that the Son sends Him.

J.T. In the end of chapter 15 we have "But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes forth from with the Father, he shall bear witness concerning me" (John 15:26). Now the Lord is sending Him Himself, but sending Him as having been with the Father. In other words, speaking reverently, there is a new experience in heaven, which is a thing to be borne in mind, that it is, so to speak, the history of heaven coming into creation. In coming into the heavenly regions He is coming into creation. He has His own realm. There is a history there; a Man is now in heaven. That is history and God enjoys that, and the Holy Spirit being there with the Father brings down here all that which is felt up there about the Son.

R.S.T. Does that involve the ten days?

J.T. Exactly.

H.J.M. Is that why He speaks of the Father's word in verse 24?

J.T. Yes. He says, "He that loves me not does not keep my words; and the word which ye hear is not

mine, but that of the Father who has sent me". That is what He was saying down here Himself. That is the Father's word. As down here the Lord was the expression of the Father, but now He has gone up there. The coming of the Spirit contemplates Him up there, and His presence up there means history and new conditions up there. The Holy Spirit is presented here as having been with the Father, meaning that He is fully cognisant of all that. He brings all that down to our understanding. The Lord says to the twelve in addition to that, "ye too ... because ye are with me from the beginning", John 15:27. They can bring in order on earth. 'I will be up there with the Father'. Of course, it can be called the ministry to bring out the place that Man has up there.

E.E. I think that is very wonderful. It says in the end of chapter 15, "He shall bear witness concerning me" (Verse 26). Would that be to the disciples first?

J.T. Well, it is "He shall bear witness" and "Ye too". That is, the Spirit is viewed as bearing witness as distinct from them. It means an additional testimony to the twelve.

H.W. Does that continue throughout the dispensation?

J.T. Certainly.

E.E. That must give a power of dignity to the twelve.

J.T. It does. It gives them a great place. "Because ye are with me from the beginning";(John 15:27) they beheld all occurrences on earth. The Holy Spirit alone can tell us of the occurrences up there.

J.S. Would it be too much to say that the Holy Spirit is so jealous of the word of God that it is His work today to bring the words of the Lord to remembrance that nothing may be lost?

J.T. That is right. This is a wonderful time. Things are coming out. For us it means that the Spirit may use this or that one, but things are constantly coming to

you. But they have been there all the time. They have been forgotten, but they are there, and the Spirit is operating to bring them all out.

H.W. Were you going to say anything further about "whom I will send to you from the Father" (John 15:26)?

J.T. It brings out the great place He has there, and He is here. "Whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes forth from with the Father" (John 15:26). I suppose the preposition implies that the Spirit is in that relation with the Father, and can bring out here the conditions, the enjoyment of things here. It is the Father's house.

C.S.S. Is it the expression of divine joy that is wanted to be made known down here?

J.T. I think so. I think the Spirit brings all that down here. Luke 15 shows the Father's joy.

STRAYING SHEEP

Isaiah 53:6; Psalm 119:176; Song of Songs 6:6

I have in mind tonight to speak to souls who haven gone astray. There are many abroad who were born into light, as indeed everyone in Christendom is, but there are those who were born into light in a more immediate sense -- in the sense that their parents were Christians. Those born in heathendom are different, of whom there are, alas, vast millions, for there are perhaps four times more of them, including Mohammedans, than there are of nominal Christians. That is a very solemn consideration, and one that baffles many, especially in view of the fact that Scripture says that the world, including the heathen part of it, is in reconciliation. But we have also to bear in mind that God is in charge of all these matters and is not obliged to give an account of them to us. Did He do so, we could, perhaps, scarcely understand. Nor are other things any clearer; there are many other things that we have to leave. We are creatures and generally very limited in our knowledge, although these modern days, days of research and investigation, may seem to have brought much to light as to things that had been obscure. Yet many things remain obscure; we look into the heavens, for instance, and the thought arises, 'What is beyond that, and what is beyond that, and what is beyond that?' and we are lost, in danger indeed of losing our minds if we keep too long on that line. So we have to admit that we are exceedingly limited, and that our very efforts to understand may endanger our health. It is well to humble ourselves, dear friends, as to these matters, and each to come back to his own little self, and even there he is baffled, at least I am, as regards his physical constitution. I mean to say that as we come back to ourselves, each is just as limited as to knowledge of what he is, and of what is current every instant in his

body and in his mind. God has intended the environment in which He has set us to affect us in this way, and it is only a fool that disregards this.

Thus such foolish questions are asked, and, indeed, were asked the Lord Jesus. "Are there few that be saved?" (Luke 13:23) one says to the Lord. The Lord could tell him every one of the saved; He could tell him every person that is in the counsels of God, and yet the book of Revelation speaks of a number of persons who wash their robes in the blood of the Lamb, and it says that no man could number them, even that particular set. The Lord could tell that particular man the exact number of those required for the counsels of God. God has His own number and the Lord knows that number, and He could have told that man that number, but what good would it have done him? The Lord did nothing of the kind. It was a question for that man to find out whether he was amongst the saved. That would be the burning question for any honest person; I mean honest in the sense that God has begun to work in his soul; there is no honest man otherwise. I am not accusing any person of being dishonest in the ordinary sense. The Lord Jesus says to Nicodemus, a very great teacher in his day, a leading teacher in Israel, You must be born anew. That word anew means that you must be born throughout, that the old birth does not count at all; and it is the effect of that operation called 'new birth', for it is really born from above, born throughout; it is the effect of that that makes an honest man, and every such man will question before God as to himself; he will smite upon his breast like a certain man the Lord speaks of who went up to the temple to pray. He smote upon his breast. Another man went up too, but he did not smite upon his breast. There are very few going to the temple, even what is called the temple of God today. There are very few going to the churches today, alas! One would very much prefer to see the churches filled than to see the picture shows filled,

not that I am commending you to go, but I am saying that we are in terrible times when men on every hand are giving up even a semblance of Christianity. But here is one man who goes up to the temple to pray and he smites upon his breast and says, "God be merciful to me a sinner" (Luke 18:13) -- to me. That is an honest man. They are very rare. Someone says that an honest man is the noblest work of God. I do not believe he meant what I am saying, I do not believe he understood what I am saying, but what I am saying and what he said is true, that an honest man is, you may say, the noblest work of God, morally so. Every such man will stand up before God and challenge himself in His presence as to whether he is fit to meet God; and not only so, he will avail himself of what God provides to make him fit for God. He will accept the gospel. He will see that it is the only remedy for man, and if he is advanced in years he will say, 'I have been a fool all these years'; moreover he will say, 'I have been morally unrighteous all these years'. And so it is, beloved friends, an honest man will face things; he will admit his limitations and he will acknowledge and answer to his responsibility before God, and he will be unhappy until matters are settled between his soul and God.

Well now, I said all that in relation to the puzzles that people are talking about. What is going to become of the heathen, of the little children and so on? To anyone who is questioning about little children I would say to you that the Lord Jesus says, "Their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven", (Matthew 18:10). A most assuring word! The truth is that we do not accept God in His infinite greatness or recognise that that greatness is also seen in His ability to take account of the minutest things, of the very smallest particles, of the very seeds put into the ground. A seed of corn, or any seed you like, which falls into the ground, God gives a body (think of that!) as it pleases Him. It shews His ability to take up details and to follow

them up; so that we can well leave everything with God. We often quote and rightly, the great believer, the father of us all, even Abraham, saying "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Genesis 18:25). What a fine question! It was no question really. It answered itself, and how settling that is to those who believe. We leave everything with God, but then we do not claim irresponsibility as to our salvation. We are responsible to God about that, and if we are honest with God and with ourselves we question before Him as to it. And what I believe some here will have to arrive at and own in honesty is that they began in light, that they came into this world into a wonderful heritage of light -- the light of the gospel. Suppose we were born into this world with no sun, moon or stars in the heavens. Well, you say, 'It would be impossible to live'. Surely, but is that not applicable to the moral system of things? Morally it is impossible to live unless there is such light as Christ in heaven and the Holy Spirit here; but think of being born into that light! That light is known here in Christendom but in no immediate or positive way; that is to say, you are born into a believer's household where God is owned, where there is an altar, so to speak, where the Bible is owned, believed in, and read and practised. Think of being born into that! Think of the heritage that is yours! Yet there are those here and myriads throughout Christendom who have gone astray. The force of the word would mean that. "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way", (Isaiah 53:6). These are not the words of a heathen, beloved friends, these are the words of persons who were born into light, for every Jew was born into light. Even the apostle Paul says, in regard to the Jew, "What advantage then hath the Jew? ... Much every way". And what particularly? "Unto them were committed the oracles of God", (Romans 3:1,2). Every Jew is born into that, no heathen is born into that. So the apostle Paul says

again, "Of whom, as according to flesh, is the Christ" (Romans 9:5). Think of the heritage a Jew was born into! And these speakers in this well-known chapter in Isaiah belong to these. "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way". One goes about the world a little, and many others here also go about, and we know that particularly in the British Dominions there are many young men and women grown up now into middle age, and perhaps old age, who were born into light and took their own way, they would go abroad and they got into the world. They abandoned their heritage. They have gone astray, you see. Many of them have been known as remittance men. Many of them would start out to see the world and say, 'The world owes me a living'. The world owes you nothing, you will find that out. It has nothing to give in the sense in which I am speaking; if you are on that line you have chosen a false way. "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way". Let each question himself here tonight as to what way he has chosen. You have gone astray, you came into light and you have left it. You have taken on a by-path instead of the highway of God, and now you are stranded. You are stranded, maybe, financially and morally, and the Lord is here tonight to meet you in the gospel; and so the Spirit of God through the mouths of these speakers says, "The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all". For it is not only that I have gone astray, but the straying means iniquity. What sins entered into those straying ways, who can tell? We can be sure that it is will from the beginning to the end; you have taken your own way. It is a way of your own choosing; not that you have inaugurated the thing, for it is usual that young people follow examples. There are very few originals. The world really is built up on leadership; you hear what others have done and you say, 'I will try too', and you do, and it is a steadily crooked way. The world, you know, is built up for such as you.

Satan has designed it and has been working at it for thousands of years and has in mind such as you.

We read in Proverbs, which is spoken to young people, to persons in the relation of sons, that the wicked woman has a flattering tongue, she flatters with her mouth. The man is froward; he says froward things. The wicked man in the book of Proverbs represents the intelligent leadership of the world; the leaders on this line are marked by speaking froward things; they always like to bring out something that catches, that has not been heard of before. It is not a question of being right or wrong, but a question of being froward, and drawing attention to the person who says it. That is modernism and all that goes with modernism. But then there is the other side -- the flattering side, that is to say, the theatre and cinema. What marks these institutions is flattery, and young people are very keen on flattery; and so it is that the foolish woman is found in the highway, and she entices, she calls out to the wayfaring and to the passers-by, "Turn in hither: ... Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant" (Proverbs 9:16,17). But he turns, as the writer says, "as an ox goeth to the slaughter" (Proverbs 7:22). "But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell", (Proverbs. 9:18). This is the situation in going astray. How many have been ruined in this way, and one would speak to young men and women here tonight, If you have veered at all from the light into which you were born, the word is for you. The speakers here are acknowledging that they have gone astray. They are enlightened and now it is for you to come in, as you get in the last verse of Psalm 119.

It is a wonderful psalm, the longest of them all, 176 verses. It is an alphabetical psalm, a psalm written by a man who had gone through the deepest exercises in regard of God, and yet he finishes up his remarks with a remarkable statement. He says, "I have gone astray like a lost sheep". How honest he is! You can

understand the force of his words if you read the psalm. He says, "I have not forgotten thy commandments". Indeed he had not. If anyone read the psalm he would be impressed with the wonderful grasp the psalmist had of the commandments of God, and the more he judges himself in the light of them, the more he will acknowledge that he has gone astray like a lost sheep.

The fact of the matter is that he is a repentant person. Repentance is not a mere historic thing at all. It has a beginning, of course, but it is never regarded as finished until we die. There may be repentance afterwards, you know, as in the unsaved, but I am speaking now of truly repentant persons. The word is a repenting sinner. "There is joy before the angels of God for one repenting sinner", (Luke 15:10). It is that kind of person. It is not the kind of person who says, 'I attended a gospel meeting 15 years ago. So-and-so was preaching and I was converted'. But where have you been ever since? 'I have been in the world'. Then you do not belong to the class that heaven rejoices in. Heaven rejoices in persons who go on repenting. The more you know of God and yourself the more you will see the need of repenting. And so this wonderful writer is one of the greatest authors I know. I do not know who it is, the name is not given. It is a question of whether I can go through with things; whether I can write down my exercises alphabetically before God, one after another, and then say, "I have gone astray like a lost sheep". You could not write anything truer. If the apostle Paul himself were to speak to us in the light of these things he would say, 'I am like that'. Do you think he ceased repenting? I do not think so. I am certain he did not. Luke tells us that what interests heaven in regard to repentance is just that they are repenting sinners, not simply persons who have repented, but who are doing it. That is this man; and he says to Jehovah, "I have not forgotten thy commandments". I say Amen to that. There is every evidence he had not.

But he says, "I have gone astray like a lost sheep". What an interesting man this is to heaven! Think of what heaven thought of him, after writing this wonderful psalm of 176 verses, and saying this at the close of it, instead of sitting down and saying, 'Look at that psalm, did anybody ever write a psalm like that?' He would be inflated if he said that. But perhaps someone is here who is accustomed to look back on his history since he was converted who says, 'I have been preaching and people have been saved by me. I have written books too'. That is not of any interest to heaven at all. Not a bit. It is the man who is able to say just where he has been spiritually after all his ministry, after all his writings; reviewing them all, he says, "I have gone astray like a lost sheep". But then he says, "I have not forgotten thy commandments". That is to say, there is a great moral element in the man, and how much God will do for this man. I believe that was a great time in heaven, if you understand me; I am not speaking lightly. I believe it was a great time in heaven when this man said that, after writing such a psalm. Would he not write another? I think he would. As we are told of the prophet John in the book of Revelation, an angel says to him, "Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel" (Revelation 10:8), and then he is instructed to eat it up. And he did, he ate it up. It was in his mouth sweet, but in his belly it was bitter; that is to say, he felt things. He felt what would be the consequences of that little book, of what that little book says, and then it was said to him, "Thou must prophesy again" (Revelation 10:11). It is the taking of the low place. "I have gone astray like a lost sheep". I do not know who the psalmist was who wrote this psalm, but you may be sure the mind of heaven is, 'You can write another'. What I want to point out is that he calls upon Jehovah. He says, "Seek thy servant". The Lord is here tonight to seek every one of us. I never think of preaching the gospel except to preach

to the saints who are present, and then to the others, the more saints the better so far as I am concerned. They receive things more freely and intelligently than others and they need to. There is something wrong very often with us. You know most of us need a second conversion, and more than two, more than three. Now this wonderful writer, this spiritual man, this writer of these 176 verses of the most remarkable matter, all treating of the ordinances of God, the precepts of God, says, "I have gone astray like a lost sheep: seek thy servant". The Lord is here tonight, as I said, to seek every one of us. If there be anything wrong with the best of us, the most spiritual of us, that should be the language of his heart -- "Seek thy servant; for I have not forgotten thy commandments". There may be something with you that you have not detected, something that is hindering you, marring your testimony, and if the light comes into your soul at this moment, this will be the language of your heart, "Seek thy servant; for I have not forgotten thy commandments".

What a history Peter had after he had denied the Lord Jesus! He did not take long to confess, that sin did not remain long on his conscience. It was not like the case in Luke 13 where we are told a woman had been bound by the devil eighteen years before. Something had happened in her life eighteen years before that had not been settled. It was not so with Peter, it took only a few hours, as far as I can see. Luke puts it very beautifully. He says, "Immediately ... the cock crew",(Luke 22:60) as it were a clock on the wall striking the hour; the Lord looked then at Peter. The Lord had put something on the calendar, so to say -- that Peter was going to do, before the cock crew twice. He said, 'You will deny Me three times before that'. The Lord had said that and the Lord kept it in His mind. Think of the wonderful Saviour we have to do with! He is here tonight on that very principle. He was before the high priest; He knew the cross was ahead of Him; He knew that

the terrible agony of the cross and the forsaking of God were ahead of Him, yet He kept that in His mind, that He had said that to Peter, that the time would come when the cock would crow the third time and that He would look at Peter, and He did. He turned around and looked at Peter, as much as to say, 'Peter -- you know'. Think of the Lord carrying in His mind what had happened to that woman eighteen years before! We would have to regard the Lord as about twelve years of age when it happened, but He knew it happened and He says, 'It is going to be rectified'. He called her, and that is the principle here tonight. "Seek thy servant". If there is any such question in any soul here tonight, how ready He is to draw near and help you.

I want to say a word about this other statement in Isaiah 53:6. These speakers, or whoever is speaking for them, say, "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all". ALL! Think of that! Jehovah, in spite of those crooked wills which took their own way, was thinking of them and of their iniquities and He laid them all upon Jesus. 'How could it be?' you say, 'Retribution should be in His mind'. But no! Retribution, of course, was in His mind for the sins must come in for judgment, but it was the retribution that was to fall on Jesus. Think of the agony of God, if I may speak so of God, of what it was to Him, as He looked down from heaven, to contemplate those wanderers, those strayers who took their own ways, and to decide that in spite of their crooked wills He was going to send His Son and He was going to lay all those iniquities on His beloved Son. Think of that! Let us rest in it. Think of the grace of it. Think of what it was to God to contemplate the laying on Him of these iniquities of those stubborn, self-willed people going astray. I refer to Saul as an example; see how he strayed. He took his own way; he held the clothes of those who stoned Stephen, and he sought letters from

the priesthood at Jerusalem to go to Damascus to hail men and women there, as in Judea, to the tribunals, to be imprisoned and to be put to death. He was an insolent overbearing man. That is what he was, but the Lord Jesus met him on the way. God had foreseen that man in his crookedness and He laid his sins upon Jesus. Is not that like balm to your soul as you look back upon your history of sin, that God had seen it beforehand and had made provision for it and laid all those sins upon Jesus? If there is one here tonight repentant, that word is for you. "The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all". We do not feel it much. One has to own it. What was it to God to think it out beforehand? He looked down from heaven, we are told in the book of Psalms, to see if there was any good, and instead of good, this is what He saw, these crooked ways, and He had them all on His mind. He knew the end from the beginning of everyone, and laid their iniquities on Jesus. He did it. Does it not touch our hearts? It ought to. What thoughts and feelings were in the divine mind, in view of the incarnation, taking account of all those ways, those crooked ways, in view of men coming to repentance one day. "The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all", and if there is one who comes to repentance tonight, this word applies to you. You will take up these words, you will look into the gospel, you will believe it. Mark says you are to believe in it. He quotes the Lord Jesus in that way: "Believe in the glad tidings" (Mark 1:15), meaning that you are to believe in the gospel in a general way, and look into it and see the depths and wonders and riches of it.

Now, having said so much, I want to go on to the Song of Songs, to show how the work of God proceeds in persons like the writer of Psalm 119, how such persons are brought together; and what a group of psalm writers are brought together in the five books of Psalms! They bring together a wonderful group of believers, but they

do not bring together all the believers. One loves to think of the myriads of the redeemed, and how the Lord, speaking poetically and feelingly to His bride in the Song of Songs (the saints are His bride), addresses them as seen together; for there are those here tonight who are really the Lord's, as much as the most spiritual of us, but they are not delivered from the world, they have not committed themselves to the brethren, nor come to see the heritage they have come into in the saints. The Lord, referring to the saints, says of them that they are the excellent of the earth, "In them is all my delight ... Yea, I have a goodly heritage", (Psalm 16:3,6). The Lord is pleased with the brethren. He would love to see some one, or more, here tonight, come to this, that the brethren are a heritage, they are God's heritage, they are the heritage of the saints, too. They have love in their hearts; think of a people in this world with love, divine love, in their hearts. They are thinking of you. They know that you are not faring as well as you ought to be faring; they know that you are out in the cold world, that you are seeking something there, that you are not getting on at all. They would love to see you take your place amongst the sheep, amongst those who have spoken so contritely, so uprightly, whose names are not only in the book of life, but in the book of Jasher, meaning the book of the upright people. Those two books go together. Those in the book of life are necessarily in the book of Jasher, the book of the upright people. That is what the people are. Think of an upright people, people who are practically righteous, but who have love in their hearts. What a heritage that there is such a society as that available in this city, as in hundreds of towns and villages and cities in this world; and yet you are outside of it all. We know you are not faring well; we know just where you are; we know that you are not in the house of feasting, the house of music and dancing that Luke 15 speaks of, and your place is vacant. It is

indeed. You are needed there; no one can take your place there. If you have a place in the counsels of God no one can take it; it belongs to you. The whole bent of heaven and of the Spirit of God upon earth is to get you there. The Lord looks at such; He calls them sheep here. He looks at them together; He looks at the saints, and pictures them in a remarkable way. He says your teeth -- the teeth of the saints -- are as a flock of sheep that go up from the washing. They are real teeth that He is looking at. They enter greatly into the symmetry and beauty of the human countenance, and no one knows better how to value a human countenance than the Lord Jesus. He says, "Let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice" (Song of Songs 2:14). Did the Lord ever address you like that? He is doing so tonight. He would love to have you look into His countenance. The psalmist refers to the salvations of His countenance, the countenance of God and the face of Jesus; but He wants to look into your countenance and see the effect of salvation in your countenance. And what are the teeth? They are important; they have an important function. There must be mastication, but I am not speaking of that, nor is the Lord here, exactly; He is speaking of the beautiful symmetry and the beauty of the ornamentation of the teeth. What is the figure? It is the saints. Young people turned away from the world; such are like a flock of sheep shorn (He uses the word 'shorn' in chapter 4), coming up from the washing. You say 'washing'? Yes, I say 'washing'. The Scriptures are full of the thought of washing. There is a great deal made of watering-places in these modern times. One often thinks of them. This month of August in Europe is a great time for holiday making. The idea of watering and bathing is very, very prominent, but not in the moral sense; in fact it is very often the other way, And so the Lord is looking at young people turning their backs on the world. What does that mean? That

means washing. "Blessed are they", says the Spirit of God, "that wash their robes" (Revelation 22:14), not who have done it. No, it is not a past thing; it is a present thing. "That wash their robes, that they may have right to the tree of life, and that they should go in by the gates into the city" (Revelation 22:14). It is a present thing.

So He looks at the saints coming up. You have been in the world, but now you have turned your back on it and want to be with the brethren, and oh, how lovely you are alongside of them! How different you look from what you looked when you were going along the street with that ungodly acquaintance, that worldly companion! Your looks are different. And so the Lord says, 'Now I want you to understand what I think of you'. He says, "Thy teeth are like a flock of shorn sheep, which go up from the washing" (Song of Songs 4:2), meaning that a Christian is now ready to give up. Shearing is taking something away from you, it means that you are yielding wealth to someone else. Is it not worth while to sacrifice, to yield your back so that you may be shorn of whatever there is in you that others can use for their benefit? The Lord says, 'You are just like that -- like a flock of shorn sheep coming up from the washing'. They have lost their wool. In the losing of it, others have gained; that is the happy thing. In truth, in the hot weather it is an advantage for the sheep to be shorn. Coming up from the washing is the important thing. How many of us are accustomed to wash? You say, 'I am washed in the blood of the Lamb'. Thank God. But that may be a historic thing, for faith in the shed blood of Jesus is good for eternity, but it may be only historic, I am not saying it is not valid, but the Lord is not speaking of that here. He is speaking of washing of a different kind, because, you know, the blood flowed from the side of Jesus for our conscience, to deal with our sins; but the water also flowed from the side of Jesus, and that is another matter; that is to do with you morally, it

means that all that wretched state that has produced all these wicked things is to be dealt with. So He says, 'Your teeth are like a flock of shorn sheep coming up from the washing; that is what you remind Me of'. It refers to ornamentation. The Lord is depicting the beauty of His people as they turn their backs on the world and join with the saints, those who not only have washed their robes, but who are washing their robes; those who do it. And all these people have a right to the tree of life. Do you ever think of that? Do you ever think that you have a right to the tree of life? It is a great time, you know, for the assertion of human rights, but it is not being handled very well in some countries. It is not very long ago that the slogan was that the world is to be fit for democracy to live; but it is not making headway. So we will not get on very well on the line of asserting our rights in this world, but we do get on well when we assert our rights to God's world. God loves it. These rights belong to people who wash. It is a moral question, that one is accustomed to apply the word of God to himself to rectify his conduct, regulating his conduct by the word of God, He allows the word to come to him in its power. "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword ... and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart", (Hebrews 4:12). That is what it is, and the true honest man I have been speaking of allows that, allows the word of God to have full sway in his soul. If you read Psalm 119, you will be impressed with the way the writer allowed the word of God to probe his very inmost being. That man has rights. Psalm 120 to Psalm 134 are all psalms of right, that is to say, they admit of persons going up to heaven. They are psalms of ascension; you have a right to go up. Think of God according that to you! It is on moral grounds. You see, you wash. "Blessed are they that wash their robes, that they may have right to the tree of life, and that they should go in by the gates into the

city" (Revelation 22:14). That belongs to people who wash, and each of us can tell if it applies to him; that is, am I allowing the word of God, the water that flowed from the side of Jesus, from the side of a dead Christ? The Lord Jesus died in order that I might have water to wash in, and hence acquire a right to the tree of life and enter by the gates into the city.

That is all I had to present, dear friends, and I would commend it to you, especially to the young ones, that you might join in with the brethren as those who wash their robes and whom the Lord delights to look at and whose praise He loves to hear. He seeks to look into your countenance and see you with the brethren whom He loves.

GOD'S SPEAKING

Proverbs 20:27; 1 Chronicles 21:9 - 13, 18, 26, 27; Romans 10:6 - 11

Some of you may be enquiring in your minds as to the connection between these scriptures, and I would say at the outset that the connection lies in means, either in or near every one, whereby God can speak to him, or affect him spiritually. The first thing is that every one has a spirit, which is the subject of the first scripture read, and the second is that every one has got a conscience. Gad is said here in Chronicles to be David's seer. He is not said to be God's seer, but God used him. Although David had sinned he had not dismissed Gad. He still retained him, and so had in him a means whereby God could speak to him. This is true of all of us, perhaps Christians here, who may in their pride have sinned: we do not give up our consciences and therein lies our salvation. Then thirdly, Romans 10 speaks of the word of the righteousness of faith, that that also is near, not by our choice, it may be, but God has seen to it that it is near. "The word is near thee, in thy mouth and in thy heart". These are the three thoughts, dear friends, that are linked in these scriptures, and every honest person here will say, as he compares, as he considers them, that they afford great possibilities. First I would say to any unconverted person here, or any person in whom God has not as yet begun definitely to work, that God is waiting to work in your soul, but you have prevented His entrance so as to operate, so far. Just as the Spirit of the Lord hovered over the deep, God, by the Spirit, is hovering over your soul; He has been for years, but He has not yet had an entrance. But He is still hovering, and particularly here tonight! The next time He is mentioned in the Bible we are told that He will not always do that. He will cease striving. I do not say that the first chapter of

Genesis says that He was striving. He was hovering or brooding over the face of the deep, as if He knew something needed to be done, and would do it, but He was waiting His opportunity. The time came when God added to that, and commanded that light should shine. When God commands, you are having to do seriously with God, or God with you. If there be resistance to His command, it is more serious, and, as I said, when the Spirit is next mentioned, it says, "My Spirit shall not always strive" (Genesis 6:3). And so, as I said, there may be someone here who has resisted so far, or it may be you have never felt the strivings of the Spirit, the efforts He makes to get an inlet, and the first scripture read is for you particularly. It tells you that you have a spirit, and that that spirit is something in you that God has put there in order to use it as He has opportunity. He has given it to you. We do not get our spirit from our parents; we get it from God. It is something additional to what the lower creatures have. God gave the spirit, we are told by the wise man in Ecclesiastes. The time comes when the pitcher is broken at the fountain, and the dust returns to the earth as it was (a very humiliating thought!), but the spirit returns to God who gave it. And in giving it, He had in mind that He would have access to you sooner or later, at these gospel meetings especially! But the spirit of the man, the Word says, the spirit of the man is the candle of the Lord. That is something that every person has, and he has it because God intends to have to say to you as differentiating between you and the cow or the sheep or the goat or the camel. He puts that there so that He might have an entry into your soul to search the inner chambers of your soul -- perhaps chambers you hardly know are there! Were you to know just what is there, were you to penetrate, yourself, into these chambers with the light that God affords, I believe you would be appalled. Things are far worse than you are aware of. When you

think of the figures used of an unconverted man, you can see the force of what I am saying. "Their throat" spiritually "is an open sepulchre", we are told (Romans 3:13). What must be below it! And the Lord Himself gives us a remarkable list of things that proceed out of the heart of man. I do not go over them. Mark 7 gives them, a terrible list of them. He says they proceed out of man's heart. If these things proceed out of the heart, what must there be there? What kind of principles? What state and condition must be there? And so, this light that God has set in us, this candle or lamp that He intends to use, is that you might, not that God might, find out what is in your heart; He does not need a candle; although He may use terms so that we may understand. He does not need anything of that kind. The candle is for you, for you to go and look at this chamber, and at that chamber -- the hidden chambers of the soul, and see what is in there. You will find it far worse even than anything you had thought of. Now God is calling upon all here tonight, who have not had any such accompanying service of God hitherto, or who have resisted, it may be, to let God into your soul with His light this evening. He will be there in a friendly way, for friendliness is the character of the moment. God is dealing on the principle of reconciliation, that is to say. He is not imputing trespasses. He is not occupied with those. He would convey to you that all His overtures and services are in your favour. He is friendly towards you. It is a time of great divine friendliness. Jesus Himself as the representative of God -- He was God Himself indeed -- was called the Friend of publicans and sinners, and He is that now. He can serve you even better now than He could have done when He was here on earth, and all His overtures are friendly, as divine overtures are. That is, God would not bring up anything at all to prejudice your mind unnecessarily. He will be true and faithful, and as He proceeds round the domain of your

inner being with His candle, with the light of His word in it. He will not depress you; He will give you to understand He is in your favour, and if He exposes these things, it is to shew you that you may be clear of them, and that He has dealt with them judicially in Another; that He has dealt with them effectively in the cross of His beloved Son, in Him who alone could be a Substitute, who could represent us vicariously in death. That is what God would impress upon you.

Now the point in this verse is for any here who have not come to terms with God, who have not had any transaction with God knowingly, who have as yet just remained in their natural state, "having no hope, and without God" (Ephesians 2:12). The overture in this verse is for you, that the spirit of the man is the candle of the Lord searching into the inner chambers of the soul. Now will you not let God in? I am presenting the facts to you, presenting the truth in as friendly a way as I know how, in order to rightly represent the evangelical spirit, and God would impress you with this, that you are really regarded by Him as in reconciliation, that is, in a provisional kind of way -- especially in gospel meetings -- not for judgment. It is a place of friendliness, of grace, where the whole atmosphere is in your favour, and where God would say to you, "Now is the well-accepted time" (2 Corinthians 6:2), and "There is ... a time to every purpose" (Ecclesiastes 3:1), and if ever there is a time for man to come to close quarters with God, it is in a gospel meeting, when you are surrounded with such friendliness, and such solicitude for your welfare.

And so I would ask you to think of this, not after you leave the hall, but now! It is the best opportunity that you can get. God is ready to do this operation, to take the light of His word through the thing that is put in you; through the spirit that you have and that is presently going to have to say to Him, to return to God who gave it. He would operate in this way, and just shew you things as they are with Him so that you might

take sides with Him, for as sure as you see them with His light, you will begin to see the situation is very bad indeed, and bodes much worse things than you already know; because the time will come, as I said, when the pitcher will be broken at the fountain and man goes to his age-long home, as the writer of Ecclesiastes says, and the dust returns to the earth as it was! What a humiliating thing that is! Who can turn aside from it? Who can dare to ignore the terrible thought, the most humiliating thought, the dust, that is what you are physically, returning to the earth as it was, and the spirit returning to God who gave it! What will become of that spirit when it goes back to God? That spirit will be reunited with the body, even of an unconverted man. There will be one thousand years, as most of you know, between the first resurrection and the second. "Blessed and holy he who has part in the first resurrection: over these the second death has no power" (Revelation 20:6). What do you think the second death is for? It is for persons who have sinned and failed to confess their sins and to believe the gospel. Their spirits will be reunited with the bodies in which they sinned, and they will stand before God at the great white throne, as it is called. Every man is judged after the books are opened, and they will be consigned -- every man whose name was not in the book of life -- to the lake of fire, the second death. These are very solemn facts; there are no facts more clearly stated in Scripture than these facts: that the spirit will be reunited with the body, for the unjust have a resurrection, the same as the just: "the resurrection both of just and unjust" (Acts 24:15). There are one thousand years between these two resurrections; the second will come as sure as the first. It will mean that all that are in the grave will come up; all in the sea will come up; and death and hell will deliver up the dead in them. All will stand before that assize, the solemn great white throne. It is well to be warned, and at a time like this to face the thing, and let God shew you

how bad things are; then to shew you the wonderful provision He has made for you in the death and resurrection of Jesus, His beloved Son, that you might not come into judgment, that you might know heaven now with the rest of us here, that you pass from death into life and do not come into judgment.

The second scripture refers to persons who are already believers, and there are a great many of them who have sinned and have not repented of their sins. David was a great saint, but he also was a great sinner. This is the last great sin that is attributed to him, this sin recorded in the chapter read. He numbered the people. You may say, 'It is not any sin to take a census'. Well, it was a sin for him to do it. It was the pride of his heart that sought to know how many people he ruled over. All our hearts are susceptible to that kind of thing. How much influence have I? How much power? What renown have I? David had sinned a great sin, and God told him so. But what I want to shew you is, beloved brethren, that David did not dismiss Gad, this great servant. He is a prophet, but he is called a seer. He is not called God's seer, but David's seer. For what I have in mind is your conscience, and, as you allow your conscience scope, it will tell the truth, and it will give you good advice too. It is another thing that God has supplied. It was not given to Adam when he was created. His spirit was given to him, but not his conscience. His conscience came later. God supplied him with a conscience when he sinned, as if God were to say, It would be dreadful if man were to be in this condition without something to reprove him'. That is what a man's conscience is. David's seer here is a man he did not dismiss. Had he been altogether away from God, he would have dismissed Gad. He would say, I will not have this man here; he will trouble me'. Some do that; they sear their consciences. The word of God comes at times, and the testimony of God comes, and they

just put it away from them; they turn a deaf ear; as Felix said to Paul, "Go thy way for this time" (Acts 24:25). Felix trembled. Why did he tremble? If the apostle Paul had spoken to a horse as he spoke to Felix, the horse would not tremble; he might preach judgment to him, but the horse would not tremble. Felix did. Why did he tremble? Because he had his conscience; he did not have it as David had Gad; if so, he could have dismissed it. He dismissed Paul, but he could not dismiss his conscience. He sent away the messenger of God. That is what many of you have done. One has done it oneself. As the light has come, you dismiss it, but there is the conscience there. God says it is there, and it will come up again, and it will be with you, and I believe it will be with you for all eternity "where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched", (Mark 9:44). It is a terrible outlook! What I am speaking of is this servant. Gad, this seer that David still retained in his employ. He was David's seer. You can understand how, when he had committed this great sin, he would say, 'That is Gad's house; I am not going near that'. He did not dismiss him. He would be afraid, you can understand, but he did Hot dismiss him. That was his salvation. We are all liable, Christians too: David was a Christian, so to speak; he was a great saint. On two occasions after he became a saint, he became a great sinner. It may be there are those here who have sinned a great while ago, and nothing has been done about it. You have not gone near Gad's house. You have not entertained him at all. He is yours; it is your salvation that you have not dismissed him altogether. He is here tonight, so to speak. And now God says to Gad, "Go and tell David". And he is here tonight. That is the idea: a trusty person that you retain, and you admit all; in fact, you would not be here tonight if you were not ready to listen to Gad; that is to say, someone who will tell you the truth. It is your salvation that you are here tonight. He is

the one who has extended the invitation to you. Heaven has watched you coming. Perhaps someone has brought you. If you have come of your own accord, all the better. Heaven has watched it. It is that you might hear what Gad says. David was already a sinner, and he knew it. Gad is going to tell you about the judgment, and give you the opportunity to make a choice. How anxious God is! There will be no thought of a sinner making any choice at the great white throne. The judgment will be meted out according to Him who sits on that throne. It is a great white throne. But now, as I said before, is the time of grace. It is the reign of grace. Grace reigns and Gad is just serving here to tell David first of all that there is judgment, and that it is for him to take his choice of three things, and David said, as shewing what a true saint he is, "Let me fall, I pray thee, into the hand of Jehovah, for his mercies are very great". Suppose you say that tonight -- 'Let me fall into the hand of the Lord; His mercies are very great', what will happen? Will He say to you there are three things to choose from -- to be pursued by your enemies? or the pestilence? or famine? No; He will just tell you how all the judgment that stood out against you has been dealt with to His glory in the death of His beloved Son. May you not well say, "Let me fall ... into the hand of Jehovah, for his mercies are very great"? One would love to know that of some heart who had sinned, it may be years ago, and had allowed matters to drag. If you are utterly without feeling, you would scarcely be here tonight. You would avoid this meeting. But you are not; you have not dismissed your Gad. You entertain the thought of Gad, and you are ready to listen to him, and the more you listen to him, the more you say "Let me fall ... into the hands of Jehovah, for his mercies are very great". And now he gets another message to David. David humbles himself, and he puts on sackcloth, an excellent dress, one of the finest garbs there is, a garb

made of sackcloth; that is, on certain occasions. When it is a question of sin, it is the proper garb to use. One has often pictured the amount of it used at Nineveh. But I cannot stop to dwell on that, the amount of sackcloth that was there! The point here is not the amount of it, but that David and the elders were clothed in sackcloth. God does not care about light-hearted people, people who confess their sin tonight, and tomorrow are shallow, and give no evidence of deep-rooted feeling. David was not a man of that kind. He was a true saint, and generally the truer a saint is, the more deep his confession would be when confession is needed. The deeper the work primarily, the deeper shall be the feeling of sorrow, of contrition. God loves those feelings; He loves the tears of contrition; He puts them in His bottle. So David shewed the depths of his feelings, and his Gad is again employed. David says in verse 17, "It is I that have sinned". Now you see how David takes the thing to heart. Others were suffering. It may be that your sin has caused suffering to others. It does usually. These sins of Christians, and alas there are many, affect others as a rule. It may be your wife, or your family, or your relatives, or, particularly, the brethren. I am sure that anything that has offended against heaven, and God's rights, occasions sorrow not only to the sinner himself, but to others. The saints readily share the sorrow in view of the recovery of the sinner, for discipline means that the sinner is to be recovered, as in the case of the man at Corinth: that his spirit may be recovered. The saints readily join in with that. David is not asking for this here. Here were seventy thousand men suffering on account of this man's sin! See the suffering! David says, 'They do not deserve to suffer; I deserve to suffer. They do not'. That is a sure evidence of genuine work in a man's soul. We may look for the speedy recovery of a man like that. It says, "The angel of Jehovah commanded Gad to say to David, that David

should go up and rear an altar to Jehovah in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite". Now you see Gad's message is the dawn of a new day for David, and so it would be to any soul here, who is truly repentant. David reared up an altar there. Now you do not have to do that. The altar was that on which Christ died. He suffered on it outside the gate. He bore our sins in His own body on the tree. That is all a settled matter. David set up an altar, and we are told that he offered burnt-offerings. God told the angel to put the sword into the sheath. There is no permanent judgment at all against the believer. So David now is clear, and he offers further sacrifices; in fact he says, 'This very spot is the house of Jehovah'. This is like a converted sinner who is also a saint, if you can understand me, coming into the light of the death of Christ, the meritorious death of Christ which bears upon us as believers as well as upon our sins before we were believers. He can say, 'Well, it is all over now. My place is in the house, amongst the brethren. This is the house of the Lord, and the sword is sheathed; that is, the house is set up, free from judgment, where God is to dwell'. And your place is there. You will not come into judgment; you have passed from death unto life; you are in the realm of life already.

The final word is in Romans 10, and that refers to the fact that the gospel of God has been preached in your ears since you have been born. It is near you, says the apostle in this passage. It is the righteousness which is of faith that is speaking, "Say not in thine heart. Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above): or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead). But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach". This has been sounded in your ears since you had an ear to hear, and it is all around you; it is near you. Beloved young people,

and it is to you I would speak, you have been born into it, born into the light. It is said of Paul, 'The light shone round about him'. If you would only let it into your heart! "The word is nigh thee ... the word of faith, which we preach". You say, 'It is in my heart; and if it is in my heart, I am saved'. No; you are not against the Scriptures; you are not against the gospel -- if you were against the gospel, you would not be here tonight. It is in your heart, and yet it has not become effective. That is the point the apostle is making. He conveniently cites from Deuteronomy: "It is not in the heavens, that thou shouldest say. Who shall go up for us to the heavens, and bring it to us, that we should hear it and do it? And it is not beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say. Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it to us, that we should hear it and do it?" (Deuteronomy 30:12,13). He says, 'Do not say that'. But he refers to it to shew that the ascending means that Christ has gone into heaven, and the descending that Christ went into death. Righteousness of faith says to you, young people, 'Do not say that; do not question in that way'. There is nothing tries one more than to hear young people who have been brought up in the meeting, and have had the Bible read every day in their houses, questioning. Young people are full of this kind of thing, if not outwardly, then it is inwardly. Righteousness of faith is speaking to you. He says, 'Do not say this; do not say. Who shall ascend to bring Christ down'. It is one of the principles of the gospel -- He has been there and has come up from the depths. These are the very foundations of the gospel; do not question them. It is your questioning these things that is keeping you out of salvation. Do not question. Do not live in the land of questioning. The righteousness of faith says to you, "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord, and shalt believe in thine heart that God has raised him from among the dead, thou shalt be saved". How simple that is! Could anything

be simpler? You cease questioning. And so the word to questioning young people here tonight is 'Keep away from this questioning; it will bring you into damnation; keep away from this modernism; the world is full of it -- this questioning'. But the righteousness of faith is in the land of certainty. It speaks of certainty. It tells you things simply and plainly and with great certainty, and the first thing is, "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord, and shalt believe in thine heart that God has raised him from among the dead, thou shalt be saved". I could not say it any plainer than that. There is not one in the world could say it any plainer than that verse. It is so simple, so plain, so conclusive that the person who simply takes that attitude and uses his heart and his mouth will be saved! And it goes on to say, "For with the heart is believed to righteousness; and with the mouth confession made to salvation. For the scripture says. No one believing on him shall be ashamed". These are wonderful verses. These three verses (Romans 10:9 - 11), and verse 12 adds to them "For there is no difference of Jew and Greek; for the same Lord of all is rich towards all that call upon him" (Romans 10:12). He is rich; but He is rich unto all that call upon Him. That is the idea. The riches are unto you who call upon Him, and He knows how to administer them to your soul, as you call upon Him.

May God help you! Young people, abandon this questioning. It is right enough to ask the meaning of things, but the righteousness of faith tells you what not to say. Do not question the death and resurrection of Christ, and His ascension into heaven. These are facts, they are the basis of the gospel; without them, there is no gospel; with them, there is eternal salvation to every one that believeth.

LIFE

Mark 4:26 - 28; Genesis 1:9 - 12; Isaiah 44:3 - 5; Matthew 4:16

My remarks, dear brethren, will have to do with life. That is, life in a spiritual sense, life, as I hope to make clear, as in believers, for believers are made to live. They are said to have passed out of death into life, and not only have they passed into a realm of life, but are themselves alive. I am speaking now of Christians characteristically. They are alive, and life is seen in them, in an active way, so that they may be said to live, and that is why I have read these scriptures about the earth, that it brings forth fruit of itself. In this sense believers bring forth fruit of themselves, not that they are at all the source of life. God is the source of life, and God only, and this is seen in the Lord Jesus, as become Man; it is said of Him, that "In him was life, and the life was the light of men" (John 1:4), meaning that it was only for men, that is, that men are supremely privileged. As becoming Man, it was man He had in view, and the life in Him shone as light, so that the whole human race should be enlightened. It was the light of men. So that believers in themselves are not the source in any sense of life; God is the source of everything, "Of him" as it says, "and through him, and for him are all things", (Romans 11:36). But we come into it, and that is why I read these passages about the earth, because they symbolise what I have in mind, the earth symbolising believers as having latent power in themselves, as believing, but not before they believe.

There is nothing virtuous at all in man after the flesh, whatever others may think. He is absolutely ruined through sin, so that the Lord's remarks to Nicodemus have intelligible force to us; to him He said: "Ye must be born again", (John 3:7). Nicodemus did not understand, but the Lord says, "That which is

born of the flesh is flesh" (John 3:6). It is nothing else. Were a man simply born after the flesh, cultured so that he knew everything that it is possible to know in the schools, blameless as regards human ethics and principles, he would, after all that culture, be flesh, just flesh, and the Lord Jesus says "flesh profits nothing" (John 6:63), and that is what the Lord Himself says in the passage I quoted, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh" (John 3:6).

Nicodemus needed to know this and the Lord explained to him by figure that the wind blows where it lists. "Thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is everyone that is born of the Spirit", (John 3:8). It is a sovereign action of God that affects a person, a human being, so that he can be said to be "born of the Spirit"; and the Lord also says that "that which is born of the Spirit is spirit";(John 3:6). Not the Spirit, but it is of that kind, it is of that quality, it is spirit as over against flesh.

Now from that time the person operated upon has something that a person merely born of the flesh has not, and if there is anyone here tonight who has not had any knowledge of that operation in himself, he is simply born after the flesh, and just flesh, however religious he may be, a member of a congregation, or communicant, as we say, of the Lord's supper. He may be a respectable citizen and all that, but he is just born after the flesh and no more, whereas a man in whom God has operated, according to the Lord Jesus' own words, has something in him entirely different, something that is eternal, that will go through, that will survive death. Through it he comes into relationship with God by believing the gospel as presented to him. The gospel is presented to him and he believes it, and comes into the knowledge of Christ as his Saviour; he comes into the knowledge of redemption, and as believing in Christ and as obedient to Him, he receives the Holy Spirit; God gives the Holy Spirit to those who obey Christ: and thus he has more,

he has not only the effect of the new birth, but he has the living Spirit of God in him, who is said to be life in Romans 8; that is life in a potential sense. It is a principle he has that no one else has: born after the Spirit. The Spirit is life in view of righteousness.

Now that is the sum total, dear brethren, of all that this is, that the believer or believers have something in them, a latent thing that operates in fruitfulness, as the Lord says in His parable here, "The earth bringeth forth fruit of herself". A man sows his seed in the ground, and he rises night and day, but he does not add anything to the growth; it is God that adds to the growth; it is latent power in the earth that causes growth of the seed -- "The earth bringeth forth fruit of herself" the Lord says, first the blade, and then the ear, then the full corn in the ear. There are three stages mentioned before the reaping; that is, the earth does that.

Now I want to work on these lines in what I have to say: to go back to Genesis 1 to show you that these principles are not new, that God was ordering things for us as we have them today in the creation; He ordered the waters, that were at that time enveloping the earth, to recede, and that the dry land should appear. That was the divine fiat, that the dry land should appear, and it did appear. A wonderful result for God, that the dry land that we call Australia, and Europe, and America, and Asia and the Islands of the Sea, the dry land appeared. What a mighty exploit of God! But then it came out of the waters, and had in it latent power, as I said, so that God says to it now: "Let the earth cause grass to spring up, herb producing seed, fruit-trees ... the seed of which is in them, on the earth. And it was so".

Now what I wanted to show is that we here, as Christians in this room, with myriads more, thank God, in many parts of the earth, are regarded in this way by God, that things are to spring up, that we are not like

dry sticks, that we are not like dead professors of Christianity; we are a living people. If there is anybody here who does not understand what I am saying, or has had no experience corresponding with what I have depicted, then it is for you to begin to think about these things, as for the moment you are outside of this realm of life, and certainly there is nothing at all in the way of fruit for God. God is looking for fruit in His creatures.

Well now, in order to make this clearer as applicable to Christians, Romans 6 tells us that as Christ was raised from among the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also are to walk in newness of life. Now the subject treated in that passage is baptism, which is called the first ordinance of Christianity. Every believer is to be baptised. The Lord says to His apostles, in sending them out, "He that believeth and is baptised shall be saved", (Mark 116:16). Whether he is baptise before his conversion or after, "He that believeth and is baptised shall be saved";(Mark 16:16) and this chapter, Romans 6, deals with baptism, not as a mere rite attached to Christianity, but as a figure of Christ's death, a real thought, the Lord speaking of it feelingly; He says "I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!" (Luke 12:50). That was really death for Him, a real thing, dear friends, which we should think of and speak of feelingly, that the Lord Jesus Himself entered the waters of death. He said, "All thy waves and thy billows are gone over me", (Psalm 42:7). Deep calling unto deep, as it were. In His case it was the real article of death, and not only so, but the forsaking of God; He entered into death in all its reality for us. He never entered it on His own account. He was immune from death; He was the Prince or Author of life Himself, but submitted Himself to wicked hands, to be crucified and slain, and so He entered into death, and lay in the tomb three days and three nights, as He tells us Himself.

But this passage in Romans 6 says that He "was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father" (Romans 6:4). What a beautiful expression that is! It means that the Father, having watched over that precious body as it lay there for three days and three nights in the earth, as the time arrived He raised it by His glory, not only by His power, but by His glory; His whole affection was in it. So it says, "As many as have been baptised unto Christ Jesus, have been baptised unto his death";(Romans 6:3) baptised unto Christ, of course, but the full bearing of that is that you are baptised unto His death, and the passage goes on to say that "as Christ has been raised up from among the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also should walk in newness of life",(Romans 6:4). Now newness of life there corresponds with this passage in Genesis 1. It is as if we were coming out of the waters of death. We have come out with Christ, buried in baptism, and also risen with Him through faith of the operation of God, as Colossians teaches. The epistle to the Romans does not go that far, but it does say, "Walk in newness of life",(Romans 6:4) meaning that there is tender fruit of life in Christians as they accept the death of Jesus, and come out of it. There is tender fruit in the way of life, delightful to the eye of God, and it corresponds, as I said, with the passage in Genesis 1, which really alludes to tender grass; it is fresh in life. That is what God is looking for. The passage in Romans does not refer to freshness but it refers to newness -- it refers to something different from any life you can depict in this world. There is no life like it. It is a new kind of life, and that is what God is looking for, dear friends, that we also should walk in newness of life. In other words, there is this man, he is a carpenter, or this, a stone-mason, or this, a clerk behind a counter, and he is converted, and he gets the Holy Spirit, and you look at him on Monday morning and he is different, he is not what he used to be. There is no logic in talking about being converted, or a believer, aside

from this, aside from some evidence of latent power in the soul to bear fruit for God. It refers to our everyday walk, Monday, Tuesday to Friday, Saturday; that in our daily toil there is a difference, there is a change, and God is looking for it, and without it our pretensions to be Christians are futile. I mean, how could anybody tell you are a Christian without such evidence? God may know there is something in your soul, but how can men know? It is by their fruits ye know them, and these fruits are the tender grass, that is what is meant.

Well now, that is what God is looking for; that is what I had in mind in these passages, and the passage in Mark is especially significant, because the Lord in that chapter gives us the celebrated parable of the seed sown by the sower, and He was that Himself, the Son of man, and He brings in this instruction, which every farmer will verify, that the earth brings forth fruit of itself. And now dear brethren, or friends, if we desire fruit, the next thing is what kind of seed are we to sow? The word of God is the seed; the Lord calls the seed the word of the kingdom, but Peter speaks of the incorruptible seed, "the living and abiding word of God", (1 Peter 1:23).

Well, if I am, to use an agricultural figure, to look for the crop, I must sow the seed according to what I wish. Every farmer understands. It is the kind of crop you wish, so that I must be particular as to what is sown, what I sow in my field, or what I allow to be sown in my field. The idea of a field is additional to the thought of the earth; the earth is a great general thought, the field is a special thought, but the garden is a still more special thought. The idea of the field is taken up in Scripture as applied to one person, and that is Jacob. You will all remember the story of Jacob deceiving his father Isaac, but still, God was in the deception; He overruled in it, for Jacob was to be blessed. It was in the mind of God that Jacob was to

be blessed. His mother knew this for God told her before the children were born that the elder should serve the younger. So there was no question but that Jacob was to be blessed above Esau, and he was. He had recourse to subterfuge, which is not to be commended, but nevertheless God saw to it that His purpose was carried out, and Jacob was blessed; hence it says, when Jacob drew near to his father with the venison, the savoury meat, that Isaac says to him "Come near .., my son" (Genesis 27:21), as if God would speak here tonight to some young man, and say to you, "Come near".

Well, that is one great thought in God's overture, that He would bring us near, a people near Him. Isaac says, "Come near ... my son", and he smelt his son Jacob, and he said, "See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the Lord hath blessed" (Genesis 27:27). A field! There is one person. He is called a field. It is an agricultural thought, and the father Isaac, representative of God in that particular instance, understands and with the use of his nostrils is able to tell that that young man has potentially the power of growth in him; he is potentially a field that will yield abundant fruit for God. He said, "See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the Lord hath blessed" (Genesis 27:27). Now that applies to every Christian in this room. I do not know anything more comforting and which is to be accepted and cherished, than that one is as the smell of a field which the Lord has blessed; and then that field is to be worked out, so that God should have what He seeks in it, what He has designed in it, and in due course the fruit will come, as the Lord's illustration shows, the earth brings forth fruit of itself; as you will observe He says, "First the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear". There is perfect order, there is nothing irregular in God's order; in God's creation everything is in order, everything is perfect, "First the

blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear", and then the harvest.

Now let us face all this, dear brethren, young people particularly, as to whether the blade has come up, as to whether there is any growth for God at all, and whether the ear is taking form as a real fruit that can be appropriated and used. The full corn in the ear is in view for God, as God has no half measures in His mind. He has presented Christ in this world as His ideal, and His thought is that everyone of us should come up to that, to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. God has furnished us with the means of it and He is looking for it: He is looking down from heaven every moment. Let us not think God is quiescent in heaven; God is active all the time. I am speaking with the greatest reverence. He is constantly active and sees things, and He looks down from heaven to see if there is any fruit and He is looking now for the full fruit, the full corn in the ear. Let us all face this in this town, and in all the meetings represented here; think what fruit there is for God!

Well, I want to go on and show from Isaiah how the children are to be brought into all this prosperity. There has been a tendency for years to segregate children in their education, spiritual education, but the divine thought is that they should be with those that are spiritual, that they should grow up where there is spiritual prosperity. That is the divine thought. Not that they should be in another room from the parents, or the parents in another room from the young at the meeting where the Spirit of God is functioning in the assembly; but the divine thought is that the little ones should be there, that they should be in the place of warmth, and the place of prosperity, that they should be where the Holy Spirit is active, and so Isaiah by the Spirit says here, "I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring; and they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water-courses".

Now notice "among the grass", and remember that this word is used in connection with the third day in Genesis 1. It is one of the things that God orders from the earth, that the grass is to spring out of it. Now He says of the seed here, that is the children, "they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water-courses". There is not much grass where little children are taught by persons who may not themselves be Christians, or if Christians, perhaps not spiritual. There is not much grass there! But there is grass, there is prosperity, spiritually, where the brethren are together over the word of God, where they are together for prayer, where they are together to worship God; the Holy Spirit is there, and every true Christian present is characteristically emitting the warmth of life, and the children feel it. A child has got five senses, as have his father and his mother, and as he feels it he is comforted by it; he may not be able to say anything about it, but he feels it and he grows up in it. There is prosperity there. If there is a happy state among the brethren the children experience it. I am not saying there are no exceptions but I am speaking of what the Scriptures present to us, that the children are to grow up as amongst the grass, and subsequently as willows by the water-courses, and the water-courses refer figuratively to the living action of the Spirit of God, the even flow of the Spirit of God, as He ministers Christ in one way and another, and through one and another, amongst the brethren.

Is not that the place for our children? It is a wholesome place, a warm place; it is the place of growth where they grow up; it says so here. "They shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water-courses". You will see them growing. You try it. God is helping the brethren everywhere on these lines. The enemy's great effort today is a very wide attack of the devil to get the children, to destroy them by the influence of the schools and other influences; the Spirit of God is aiming through

His people to get the children into the place of spiritual prosperity and warmth and instruction, where they should grow up among the grass, as willows by the water-courses. Let us be on the lockout for our children God expects it. Bring them where they can get help. You say they will not understand. Never mind, they will understand; the most exalted truths in the types are presented as a matter of enquiry by the children.

In the book of Joshua you get the placing of the twelve stones at Gilgal, and it is said, "When your children hereafter ask their fathers, saying. What mean these stones? then ye shall let your children know", (Joshua 4:21,22). These stones refer to the epistle to the Colossians, exalted truth, and the children of the people of God will ask about these stones. Where will they hear about them, but where the teaching of the Spirit is? Then they begin to ask. Let us listen for the children's enquiries. The Lord Jesus is the great example for children, as in all else. It says that He was in the temple when He was twelve years of age. He was in it when He was a Babe, His father and mother brought Him there, and Simeon took Him in his arms; let all you children think of it, the Child Jesus in the arms of Simeon; he spoke wonderful things about Jesus, about the Babe; but later on the Boy Jesus is in the temple by Himself without anybody taking Him in his arms, and He is sitting in the midst of the doctors. 'Oh', you say, 'a child of that age should not be amongst the doctors, he should be taught by somebody in school with children of his own age'; but Jesus is there amongst the doctors; the doctors allude to spiritual brethren, if I may extend the figure. It is no question there of evil in these learned men at Jerusalem, the point is that the Boy Jesus -- He is called a Babe, He is called a Boy, He is called a Child, and then He is called a Man -- the Boy Jesus was there. These are stages of growth. When He is called a Boy, that is a potential Man. He is getting on to manhood and He is preparing for

manhood, and so He is sitting amidst the doctors; He is sitting where instructed men are sitting; He is sitting there and what is He doing there? He is hearing, that is the first thing, and that is what every child should be doing; God will help them to do it, as in faith we place them there, God will help them to do it. He is hearing, and the next thing is that He is asking questions, and the third thing is, that they were astonished at His understanding, and His answers. Why should we not pursue that course, dear brethren, so that our children should come into the testimony in due time and fill up the ranks in the house of God, as the Lord takes one old brother and one old sister after another? Satan said he must have the children, Pharaoh said he must have them. No! the Lord must have them! They belong to Jesus, and they must be cultivated, there must be fruit, they must be taught. Where can they be taught according to God save where the Holy Spirit is? And the Holy Spirit is in the assembly where the dear brethren are together in the temple in the light of the house of God, that is where the Holy Spirit is operative.

Well now, I want to finish with Matthew 4; it says, "The people which sat in darkness saw great light; an to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up". It is not light shining down from heaven here, as elsewhere; from the sun, light shines down; it does not spring up from the sun. Christ is also exemplified in the sun. The light shines down from the sun, that is a great objective thought, but in this passage it is springing up, light is springing up, and it corresponds with what I have been saying, dear brethren, that the Lord here as Man was the light: "in him was life, and the life was the light of men", (John 1:4). He was down here. He had been in Nazareth, and we are told that He left Nazareth and went to Capernaum, and the Spirit of God quotes from the prophet Isaiah in a passage that covers the position; this passage unfolds that the Lord Jesus was in that

town, resident in some house, in some street, in the town of Capernaum, and that light was springing up there. Think of living next door to Jesus. Think of that. Some did. Some lived in the same house with Him. As He came out of the house in the morning you would see light. What a different kind of man He was from all others, and yet there were some in that town who could see all this. Light had sprung up. It is not a question of light coming from heaven, but a Man here, a Man in ordinary circumstances, living in a house in some street in the town of Capernaum. There He was. You would see Him in the morning, in the afternoon, and in the evening, and you would see light, it was springing up. It was the energy of life, but then it became light, the life was the light, we are told. The light that had sprung up was really the outcome of the life that was there. The life was the light of men. There He was in Capernaum and the light was springing up. Now, dear brethren, that is what God is looking for, the continuation of that, as I was saying before. In John's gospel we have the Lord as the life, and that the life is the light of men. In John's epistle we have it that that same life is in Christians; the same life, the true light that shines; where is it shining from? It shines from Christians, "Which thing", says the apostle, "is true in him and in you", (1 John 2:8).

John speaks abstractly but he speaks certainly. He speaks of what is characteristic of Christians, that the same precious light that was seen in Capernaum, that sprung up there, is now in Christians by the Spirit. It is the true light; there is no other. The devil is suggesting things today that are wicked. They are not the true light. The true light has shone in Jesus and it is shining now characteristically in Christians, and God looks for it in this place, in this town, and in every place where we are who are here tonight, that the true light, something that is true, should shine. The word true is applied to many things; it is applied to God,

it is applied to light, the true light, and this true light already shines; moreover the apostle says the darkness is passing. It is passing. You might say, 'Well, it looks to me as if the darkness is increasing, that the light is about to be put out', but it is not so. Although little may be evident, yet the great fact remains that the darkness is passing. It has passed in my soul, it has passed in the soul of nearly everyone here tonight; that is what is meant, and where it has passed it is replaced by the light; it is replaced by the same kind of light that shone in Jesus and shines in Christians. That is what God has in His mind, that in twos and threes, in His people in every part of the world, the true light should be there, that the reflection of the light of Christ should be in us.

That is what I had in mind to present, the light in you, so that there is a real testimony. The Lord says, "for a testimony unto them" (Matthew 8:4), however small, for a testimony to them that the real thing is there, it is that which corresponds to the light of Christ, "Which thing is true in him and in you" (1 John 2:8); the true light already shines.

May God bless these thoughts to us, for His name's sake.

DOING RIGHT

2 Corinthians 13:7; Matthew 3:15; 2 Timothy 2:22

What I have in mind is the idea of doing right. The first saint, or man of faith, in the list given in Hebrews is accredited with doing right; that is Abel. There can be no doubt that he is intended to furnish a lead for us in this respect, but God Himself must be the Initiator of all things according to Himself. And so we learn righteousness from God. Indeed, His is a peculiar kind of righteousness, righteousness which is of God. And it is significant that the father of all believers is said to have been accounted righteous on the principle of faith. His faith was reckoned to him as righteousness, it is said; so that the father of all believers is accounted righteous, and no one could be accounted righteous from amongst sinners, save on the principle of faith. It is on that principle that we are righteous, that is, righteousness is imputed to us. But in the possession of imputed righteousness, Abraham learned how to be righteous; and, as far as I remember, he is the first one to use the word aright, and he attributes it to God, rightly. Abraham says, "Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Genesis 18:25). A very excellent question which has its own answer, and settles a thousand questions. We can understand how the father of all believers, as reckoned righteous on the principle of faith, should have the idea in his mind and attribute it to God in the most absolute way. But he also had in mind that there were righteous men on the earth, and he interceded for such, which is also beautiful. He began the great principle of intercession in that way for the righteous: "Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?" (Genesis 18:23) He had fifty in his mind; he had forty-five in his mind, then forty; then thirty, then twenty, then he had ten in his mind, to intercede for. We may be sure that it was delightful to Jehovah to see the foreshadowing of

Christ in this great intercessory service of love in Abraham. Abraham was extremely limited, but still, relatively the principle was there. It is said of Jesus, the Priest in heaven, that He ever lives to make intercession. What infinite myriads are included in His service, in His intercession! Beyond our reckoning is the number in His mind! It says, "He ever liveth" as if that were His only employ for the moment in the mind of the writer of Hebrews. "He ever liveth to make intercession for them", Hebrews 7:25. And so in order to confirm Abraham's spiritual correctness, the New Testament says that Lot was a righteous man. There was at least one in the city. Abraham did not come down to one, but there was at least one there. And instead of saving the city on his account. Lot was saved out of it, and that is the principle. There may be the promulgation of the gospel on account of the intercession of Christ on high, and our intercession too, but it is not to save the world; the effect is to save us out of it, dear brethren, a very great matter! It is current all the time; our High Priest above regarding us for intercession, particularly those who are right -- I mean, practically righteous, for imputed righteousness, obtained by faith, is only confirmed as righteousness is practised. So that John in his epistle makes much of the practice of righteousness. And so the apostle in these two remarkable epistles finishes up with "That ye may do what is right". The Corinthians, who were generally on the way to recovery, were indeed restored, and he commended them as such. That is to say, restored to grace is one of the greatest things here. "He which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins",(James 5:20) a remarkable thing! The apostle effected it in his letters, God working with him. But he was under reproach in the eyes of many in Corinth for it, although not so much at the end as at the beginning; but God's way is to recover gradually, but where it is a

collective matter, it takes time, and patience is greatly needed. We do not know what the ultimate result was as to all at Corinth, but the apostle in this epistle (2 Corinthians 10;6) had good hope that their obedience would be fulfilled; that is, he writes on the principle of the moral whole. The assembly is simply dependent on every person in it, but in the moral sense on the many, the moral whole. The whole idea is in the many, and we can be sure the many had already begun to deal with evil and the appearance of it, and had cleared themselves. They had the assurance that the work would go on, for God is very patient, and Paul was patient; and God would teach us to be patient, especially when restoration is needed in a collective sense. As I said, we do not know just what was the final result as to detail, but there cannot be any doubt that the assembly at Corinth was set on its feet according to God. "Having in readiness to avenge all disobedience(2 Corinthians 10:6)". Nothing was to be omitted. Let no one assume that any detail of disobedience will be passed over or glossed over by God. It may take days or weeks or months or years, but the process will go on and God will have His way. It is wisdom to let Him have His way immediately. The apostle says, "Having in readiness to avenge all disobedience";(2 Corinthians 10:6) that is, the obedience of the mass at Corinth was fulfilled. He ends up here regarding any that might think him reprobate. It was terrible to think that there were those who had such thoughts about him. He says, "Now I hope that ye will know that we are not reprobates. But we pray to God that ye may do nothing evil; not that we may appear approved, but that ye may do what is right, and we be as reprobates". That is to say, each Corinthian was to take heed to himself and see to it that he was doing what was right, for, as the conditions were amongst the many, there were those who fell in with that without much question, and without much challenge to their own hearts, whereas the Spirit of God would challenge every heart, and say to each --

'You have heard what this brother says about Paul; they say his speech is naught; they would discredit him'. The Spirit of God would say to every young person at Corinth, 'See to it you do not do what is wrong. Leave Paul for a moment. See to yourself. See you do not do what is wrong'. That is the word, dear brethren, at all times, especially in crises and difficulties amongst us; it is for each to see to it that he does not do what is wrong. That is what the apostle stresses here. He says, 'My prayer for you is not that we should appear approved, but that ye should do that which is honest or right'. That is, every one. If I am under a cloud, I may say others have put me there, but then I must do what is right, whatever others may do. I must do what is right. See then you do what is right, and that is the sure way of deliverance, whatever the deliverance may be. Righteousness is stamped across the position at the present time -- it is a question of what is right. If I pursue what is right, I will reach the end I desire. If I am a righteous person, I do not want any other end, and every time I do what is right, I am nearer to the end I desire.

So that is the point the apostle makes here: that ye do what is right and what is honest. Each one is to take that to heart. And then as the Lord shows in His word to John, there is the idea of fulfilling all righteousness. It is not only righteousness in general, or in the main features of any matter, but all righteousness. I am speaking now of standards. I know full well what each of us is. James says, "We all often offend", (James 3:2). One ought to say that, feeling that he is the one mentioned. But then the standard is the point, and the Lord here is the standard. The more we adhere to the standard in spirit or in attitude, the more we shall be conformed to it. The Lord here sets a standard. "Thus it becometh us". It is not "Me", though He is supreme in it, of course. It is one of the finest statements in

Scripture. Scripture says He loved righteousness and hated lawlessness. He loved it. So here He says, "It becometh us", not you, or me, but "us", and, of course, that has to be extended to every Christian. "It becometh us to fulfil all righteousness"; not simply to say 'I do so and so, and so and so'. It is all righteousness, whatever there is entering into it. "It becometh us". It is the kind of dress we should wear, that is, the attitude of our minds. There is a standard set, and I do not want to lower it; it is a question of 'all righteousness'.

So as to the third point, in Timothy, the idea of leadership is a very great thought of God, one of the greatest thoughts of God, and in view of current conditions, that is, in view of the general breakdown contemplated in this well known epistle, the leader here is righteousness. Of course, Paul is still alive, and he enjoins Timothy to do what he heard and saw in him. No one led in such a way as Paul. He said, "Be ye followers of me" (1 Corinthians 11:1). He is the only one who says or could say that. The Spirit of God says it through him. There was one man here who answered to the mind of God in so far as it can be in a creature. "Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ", (1 Corinthians 11:1). So he sent Timothy to Corinth to remind them of his ways; not simply of his teaching or preaching, but of his ways, as they were in Christ; that they might see them in the beloved child, Timotheus. So that the idea of leadership is clearly in a man or men, but in broken times, before we can clearly see a man as a leader, we must see righteousness as a leader. The first thing is to learn that leader, to know it, to keep it clearly in mind. It is simply this, that under all circumstances, I must do right. That is simply what is meant; not only that I do it, but I am pursuing it; not only that I am doing it now, but I am pursuing it now. It is a steady thing before the mind; the necessity for doing right is ever present in all emergencies in our histories here. The necessity for right would always

be present, and I keep my eyes fastened upon it. So in a crisis, I put the question to myself -- 'is that right? Is this right?' That is the point, you see. As sure as I ask a question like that before God, I shall find my way. There will be no mistake at all. If I challenge everything before God (not men) I shall not be unrighteous. It is right there are leaders, but righteousness in 2 Timothy is the leader, the first leader. "Pursue righteousness" is the word, meaning an energetic attitude of mind. That is the first thing to think of when anything comes up. Is the thing right or wrong? If it is right, pursue it; that is, I am vigilant in regard to that point. The next thing is to pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace. That is how it is. Then the next thing after these four is "with those that call upon the Lord out of a pure heart". How can I tell people with pure hearts? This scripture requires that you and I should know, a very remarkable thing! It does not say if they exist; it supposes that they do exist. There is a certain moral triumph in the way the Spirit of God writes here that there are such in the world; those that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. The address to Corinth says, "With all that in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ",(1 Corinthians 1:2) but here it is "out of a pure heart". People say, 'I do not know them'; but I am to know, I am to find out if their hearts are pure, and I am responsible to find out. That is the point. The Spirit of God puts it on us, if they are there, to know them; they are there; as knowing them, you are to see to it that you are with them, and that you are following these four things with them; first, righteousness, then faith, love and peace.

May God bless these thoughts to us!

THE LORD'S HOLY EMOTIONS

John 11:41 - 43; John 12:27 - 30; John 17:1,26

J.T. Allusion was made this morning in thanksgiving to the Lord's holy emotions, and these scriptures serve to enlarge on this holy subject. It is a question whether we should have to look at John or Luke. In Luke we had a word from chapter 10, in which the Lord rejoices in spirit in a certain setting. The section in Luke treats of the Lord's reception into heaven. It says at the beginning of chapter 10, after it is said "when the days of His receiving up were fulfilled" (Luke 9:51). He sent out seventy disciples into every city and place where He was about to come. The thought in His mind was how He would be received on earth. The present time would be in His mind when the saints are in the light of the assembly and the fulness of Paul's doctrine.

These seventy returned speaking of the success they had in their service. The Lord speaks to them of their heavenly calling, of their names being written in heaven. He rejoices in spirit on saying that, as if He would have them on heavenly lines. Then there is the parable of the man who fell among thieves, and the development of the principle of the neighbour, and the local assembly is indicated in a certain village where they were received into a certain woman's house. The conditions were not altogether suitable in Martha's house. Chapter 11 opens up Christ's thought for man and indicates the truth of assembly conditions which would give the Lord comfort. The prayer would bring out assembly furnishings. This is the setting of the Lord's holy emotions in Luke.

In John we have the extension of this thought in these chapters. We might profit, especially in view of the assembly meetings here in this city, in seeing that the Lord not only comes in theoretically but actually and gives a holy impulse to the assembly.

In chapter 11, for the sake of those who were hearing, the Lord lifted up His eyes to heaven. It says it was on account of the crowd. Then in chapter 12 He says, "Not on my account has this voice come, but on yours", that is, things happened for their instruction. The Lord had the present time in mind in this instruction and we are to learn from the speaking of God in the assembly. The impulse from Christ as Head serves in that way.

A.G.L. When you speak of assembly meetings what have you in mind?

J.T. The meeting we had here this morning for the breaking of bread. The only meeting spoken of the saints as together in assembly alludes to their attitude as together, that is, they are the assembly themselves. The assembly convened bears on all that follows throughout the week.

W.J.Y. Is your suggestion that the way in which the Lord speaks to the Father is instruction for us as coming together?

J.T. Well, I thought that. The Lord said it was on account of those who stood by; it was for their education.

W.J.Y. I think that is very helpful.

J.T. We are prone to be governed by theory in our meetings and I thought we should come to see more definitely that the Lord does come, but not in a corporeal way. He is in heaven; He has been received into the heavenlies. He is up there in a corporeal sense, but comes here nevertheless. Christianity is a spiritual thing. The Holy Spirit is a real Person here and is the means whereby the Lord comes here. The Lord sees the conditions and would take the opportunity, when our minds are engaged in recalling Him, to come into the assembly in a spiritual sense and give us to feel spiritually that He is present. This is a wonderful thing. Jehovah came angelically of old. An angel came to Gideon, but Jehovah was there. Now there is a greater Mediator. So the Lord comes and we must be ready for Him; recalling Him in our minds is an opportunity

He would seize to come in. His presence would give impulse in that way.

H.T.R. Can we realise His presence in the morning meeting?

J.T. That is what it speaks of. It is an occasion that the Lord would use to make Himself felt. It is love's opportunity as we have nothing else before us as assembled together but to call Him to mind in the Supper. He is more interested than we are, and so would be ready to come in at that time.

P.D.S. How does the ministry of the sanctuary, the true tabernacle, stand in relation to that?

J.T. That is the idea effected. The Lord being on our side, as we said. He is the objective to us; we worship and adore Him. He said to Peter "If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me", (John 13:8). On our side, as known amongst us, the ministry of the sanctuary fits. He is with us: He takes the lead. In this way impulse is given from the Head.

W.J.Y. Is your thought that His intimacy in speaking to the Father and the response from heaven is an indication of what is open to us?

J.T. These scriptures give a clue to it. There are results, at least, in chapter 12. In chapter 11 Jesus lifts up His eyes on high. "On high" is moral as over against the ordinary or common level of things here. This section is the section of His holy emotions because on approaching the grave of Lazarus (verse 33) He was deeply moved in spirit, or groaned, and was troubled. The first word is 'groaned' and the second, 'shuddered'. Then in verse 35 "Jesus wept". This is a remarkable scripture bringing out the reality of His manhood in regard of the conditions there. He was affected by them; then in verse 41, "Jesus lifted up His eyes on high and said. Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me; but I knew that thou always hearest me; but on account of the crowd who stand around I have said it, that they may believe that thou has sent me",

P.D.S. Is the suggestion that what was around caused Him to groan and shudder, while on high everything delighted Him?

J.T. Yes, in anticipation of the power about to be exercised. Now He is in glory, but as coming in amongst us He is still capable of being affected by what He finds amongst His people: whether sorrow or joy. He is affected by it.

W.A.S. It is said that He was known in the breaking of bread. How does He come in?

J.T. I think that this gives a clue from Luke's point of view. Luke tells us that He was made known in the breaking of bread, in keeping with what He had said already "This do in remembrance of me" (Luke 22:19) -- calling Me to mind. The breaking of the loaf calls to mind. It is a question of the state of one's mind and is arrived at practically; we are capable of recalling things to mind, engaged with one thing at a time. The Lord would have first place in our minds.

A.G.L. In what character would you expect the Lord to come in at that time?

J.T. He comes in as Head in a spiritual way. It is His assembly that He is dealing with as its Head. He is Head of it. At Emmaus He took the place of Head although the head was there in the house. We must apprehend this.

W.H.S. Who would the crowd represent?

J.T. The suggestion is of persons profiting by hearing what passed.

W.H. When you speak of the Lord being affected by conditions, do you mean that which the Lord takes account of; He is affected by the moral conditions amongst His people?

J.T. Yes, the Lord is affected by the moral conditions of His assembly.

W.H. So that if there are right moral conditions He will rejoice.

J.T. Yes. He is a Man; He says, "A spirit has not flesh and bones as ye see me having" (Luke 24:39). He feels as we do, rejoicing if He finds happy conditions.

P.D.S. Would the piece of broiled fish and the honeycomb be in keeping with this -- something that was enjoyed among them?

J.T. The point there is "Have ye anything here to eat?" (Luke 24:41) and they had. It tests us all as to what we have in our respective localities that the Lord can take account of, that He can partake of. He did not ask for something specific. They had some fish and honeycomb, and He partook of it.

W.H. What do they suggest?

J.T. Fish suggest the thought of the sovereignty of God. No one knows what is in the sea but God; He knows what is there. Broiled means that it has been brought under the fire. Then the honeycomb suggests what is mutual, what is not regulated by the clerical principle, but by the mutual principle. The honeycomb is that in which all have part.

W.J.Y. Is the Supper to help us in our conditions?

J.T. I think it is. It is to bring us together in affection and in principle before we sit down. As we sit down it brings us near to one another in affection, not only in body. That comes by brotherhood. It is always in that way. In Acts 2:1 it says, "They were all together in one place" and at the end of the chapter it says that "All that believed were together" (Acts 2:44) -- it does not say in one place; that is, they were together in principle and together in affections. That they were together comes out in a real way: there is a realm of love; the undercurrent is affection. So that if we are sitting together for half an hour whilst the emblems are being passed round we enjoy the time. It is not irksome and we should not lose a minute.

W.J.Y. I wondered whether it might set us at rest. The love expressed in the Supper might prepare us for what comes after.

J.T. I think it does. The Lord comes into the conditions. He is not disturbed when He comes into Martha's house. We may receive Him, but conditions may not be right, I take it that the Lord would desire that the conditions might be right when He comes. In John 20:19, He says "Peace be unto you". It would appear that there was nothing to reprove there. They were glad when they saw Him, and then He says again to them, "Peace be unto you" (John 20:19) as if He confirms it. We are too theoretical, not feeling enough about it, not really believing. John constantly asserts the idea of believing. Believing is a great general principle.

W.J.Y. Is it right to regard the Supper as the principle on which the Lord ministers to us?

J.T. Well, it works out that way. We have something in our mind. We set out in the morning with the one thought of the Lord in our minds, that He is not here but absent. The idea permeates our minds that He is not here but is to be recalled: we would like Him here. That is what He observes. The Supper brings to mind what He said when He instituted it. The bread and cup recall Him to our minds. The Holy Spirit is always with us and His function in the assembly is to make it all a reality. So I believe what I confess.

A.G.L. In chapter 14, the Lord speaks of the Spirit abiding with us. Then He says, "I will not leave you orphans, I am coming to you" (John 14:18).

J.T. Living is contingent on the presence of the Comforter. In chapter 14, He sees us spiritually. He comes in that spiritual way. So that the Lord comes in alone, filling our minds and affections, and gives impulse; the thing is to wait on that. Here He lifts up His eyes to the Father and He thanks the Father that He had heard Him.

W.H. Would you say that the Lord shows us an example that we should lift up our eyes in that sense?

J.T. What we look at on high is not current in religious circles. It alludes to us. "Jerusalem above is free (Galatians 4:26)". This is not on the level of man's way.

W.H. That is very important.

G.G.S. With reference to the Lord finding something in our midst, does the Lord set us in our localities for that reason?

J.T. I think so. What we have is in a collective way.

G.G.S. He would see to it that it is so.

J.T. And He comes in and recognises what is there and is pleased with it. Martha's case needed adjustment, there were many things, whereas it is profitable to have one thing in our minds, not many.

W.J.Y. Would the lifting up of our eyes on high indicate that we look beyond all that which has to do with sin and death?

J.T. Just so. It is leading in that direction. In chapter 17, He lifted up His eyes to heaven. Heaven is a place. The thought of "on high" takes us out beyond man's range of things.

P.D.S. In both scriptures the looking up leads to the Father.

J.T. "Lift up now thine eyes",(Genesis 13:14) God said to Abraham. Faith taught him to do that very early. Abraham was challenged as to what he could do in counting the stars. It belongs to us to look up. In Jacob there is the thought of the ladder linking him with what is above. It is the Spirit's means of communication, The Lord comes down here and we go up. It is in the power of the Spirit, not in mental action. The Spirit takes part in these heavenly things,

"And see, the Spirit's power
Has ope'd the heavenly door". (Hymn 74)

W.H.S. Would you say that the outcome of the impulse from the Head is that there would be a similar thing in the assembly?

J.T. We learn in Luke 11 to pray to the Father. It is the first word that He says in the prayer.

P.D.S. The Lord says "I knew that thou always hearest me". Would we have the same confidence?

J.T. It is a question of confidence; every Christian should cultivate that. The Lord says "Enter into thy chamber ... pray to thy Father who is in secret" (Matthew 6:6). Every Christian should acquire the sense of confidence that God hears.

W.H.S. It is a question of right feelings or right speaking in connection with what exists immediately around. We are not detached from it. We are up against the realities of being here in this scene.

J.T. So that we are not stilted in our minds, but on our feet dealing with actual conditions.

H.C. Was not this seen in the Lord in His pathway involving the will of God: the holy emotions came out from His heart, pleasurable to God?

J.T. Quite so. What struck me was how our incidents affect Him. He is capable of being affected by incidents, known beforehand, but as they come up He is affected by them. That should be a great incentive for us to have conditions suitable for Him, as they affect Him. So we should rejoice in spirit, we should rejoice that our names are written in heaven. He opened up a vista for them of what heaven would be. Hebrews 12:22,23 alludes to a great system of things set up in Christ in heaven, "Ye have come to mount Zion; and to the city of the living God, heavenly Jerusalem; and to myriads of angels, the universal gathering; and to the assembly of the firstborn who are registered in heaven". This caused joy, the joy set before Him, and so He rejoiced in spirit and praised God, If He were with us and did that there would be an impulse. We are a living organism which is sensitive, extremely so.

W.J.Y. In looking up He is conscious both of the thoughts and power of God, although surrounded by that which speaks of sin and death?

J.T. Quite so. Here in John 11 He is conscious of power, but He groans and weeps as He looks on the

negative side of what sin had effected. Now on the positive side we see how God is meeting what is negative with holy buoyancy. The assembly is the realm for all these things.

P.D.S. I would like a little help as to the feelings of the Lord in regard to what takes place on earth. He groaned; He wept.

J.T. He said to Saul "Why persecutest thou me?" (Acts 9:4) He feels the persecution. He feels the joy and sorrow of what there is amongst us, conscious of it in the service of God. He sings in the midst, that is. He sings organically. What He has got here He uses. Headship indicates that He is the mind governing the assembly as He is amongst us.

W.A.S. Would you say that spiritual emotions today are a continuation of the emotions of Christ and so, as such, reach the ear and heart of the Father?

J.T. The Lord is affecting our organism with the view of praise to God. Christ is the sweet psalmist of Israel; "Thou ... inhabitest the praises of Israel" (Psalm 22:3). He would go on and establish this great thing, the assembly, in the midst of which He praises God.

D.D. Is an instrument often strings applicable here?

J.T. It is stringed instruments; it is more refined. There are no wind instruments in heaven: the harp is the only instrument in heaven.

P.D.S. Is "To the chief Musician. On my stringed instruments" (Habakkuk 3:19), a help?

J.T. Yes Habakkuk helps. His prayer touches various notes and then reaches "high places".

W.J.Y. Is the thought of leading the praises a characteristic one?

J.T. Characteristic. That is what I had in mind; then it becomes concrete.

D.D. Is 'ten' the thought of responsibility?

J.T. Very likely. We have a remarkable song; one has often thought of the new song in the Revelation. Revelation deals with prophetic matters and keeps

the atmosphere on the proper level in principle. In chapter 14, verse 2, it says "And I heard a voice out of the heaven as a voice of many waters, and as a voice of great thunder. And the voice which I heard was as of harp-singers harping with their harps; and they sing a new song before the throne, and before the four living creatures and the elders. And no one could learn that song save the one hundred and forty-four thousand who were bought from the earth" (Revelation 14:2,3). Their attitude is becoming. Revelation maintains the level of things. What a great matter this was! A loud sound and yet in perfect harmony. It was a new song, nothing hackneyed. We need to be kept in freshness. Only the hundred and forty-four thousand learn this: how exalted and exclusive this is!

W.H. Do the words suggest intelligence and the harps emotion?

J.T. Very good. The first song we have in Scripture bears that character: "Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song to Jehovah, and spoke, saying (Exodus 15:1) ...". There were words, beautiful, intelligent, poetic, and we go right on from deliverance from Egypt into the sanctuary, "The Sanctuary, Lord, that thy hands have prepared" (Exodus 15:17). The song rose, ascended. Then Miriam comes out with her tambour and all the women followed her with tambours and with dances, and they also sing. There were not only words but there was a state in Israel which was equal to the song. The Lord looks for that. Miriam would represent the subjective side; there was something, though it was little. It was the measure of Israel at that time; it was little, but valued. It would emphasise the importance of keeping in tune.

W.J.Y. Those who were not in tune said it thundered.

J.T. Quite so. In John 12 the people did not understand the voice.

A.G.L. What is the voice from heaven in the next chapter?

J.T. In chapter 12 the Lord is speaking about His death. In verse 23 it says, "Jesus answered them saying, The hour is come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you. Except the grain of wheat falling into the ground die, it abides alone; but if it die, it bears much fruit. He that loves his life shall lose it, and he that hates his life in this world shall keep it to life eternal. If any one serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there also shall be my servant. And if any one serve me, him shall the Father honour", (John 12:24 - 26). All that is in His mind when this happened, so that He says, "Now is my soul troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour. But on account of this have I come to this hour. Father, glorify thy name". Then there came a voice from heaven saying, "I both have glorified and will glorify it again". That is, the Lord is affected by what is said and He looks for us to be affected by what passes. He speaks to the Father and there comes the answer from heaven, the interchange between divine Persons. It is great to be able to hear this voice from heaven full of assurance and confidence.

W.A.S. We should recognise that voice as the Father's voice.

J.T. Yes. That is how it is presented. When the Lord came up out of Jordan it was the same. Unmistakably the Father's voice from heaven addressed the Lord as 'my Son'. Here it is simply, "I both have glorified and will glorify it again". Heaven is announcing His power in the resurrection of Christ: any intervention from heaven would involve power. When they prayed at Jerusalem, in Acts 4, the place was shaken; power is conveyed.

P.D.S. Do we gather that the Father would speak from heaven today?

J.T. That is, what comes in in the assembly comes from heaven.

W.J.Y. People would recognise the glory of Christ as in resurrection, and not in cathedrals and the works of man's hand.

J.T. That is what you see in His second remark. God was unfolding His glory to the assembly.

P.D.S. Surely it would affect us very greatly always to have the Father's glory before us like this?

J.T. What a sense of God intervening! Speaking to Him in this sense implies divine intervention; our souls are enveloped with something; the introduction of power resulting in that the place where they were assembled was shaken and that they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.

P.D.S. If a company loves the Lord in that way is the Father bound to come in?

J.T. That is, the Lord is in our midst as Head. He links us up with heaven in a dignified way. He links us up with a dignified heavenly company. He brings out the greatness of what we are connected with. We can understand how in the type in Exodus 40:34 "the glory of Jehovah filled the tabernacle". There was complete correspondence with what is in heaven.

In chapter 17 we come to the Lord's direct speaking to His Father. The whole chapter is an account of His prayer to the Father. It is entirely about the saints and at the end of it is "that the love with which thou hast loved me may be in them and I in them".

P.D.S. In chapter 12 it is "Father, glorify thy name", and in chapter 17 it is "Father ... glorify thy Son".

J.T. I think that glorifying His name is in resurrection -- "Raised ... by the glory of the Father",(Romans 6:4) while glorifying the Son would give Him a place up there in heaven.

W.J.Y. While He is unique, would you say that intimacy with God is possible on our part?

J.T. Well, that is what is in mind, that we might know how to speak to the Father.

P.D.S. Is this a priestly prayer or something beyond that?

J.T. It is one divine Person speaking to another. It is on a higher level. The priest maintains and guards what is due to God. He lifts up His eyes to heaven, to the abode of the Father in a sense, and is concerned about the hour. The hour had come. He says "Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son may glorify thee". He still has in mind the glorification of the Father.

P.D.S. In the last verse it says, "I have made known to them thy name". Is this an advance on the first part of the chapter?

J.T. In verse 6 it is "manifested"; here it is "made known to them thy name". It is a real service that He has rendered to them; it involved an inward process of instruction, so that they really knew it.

P.D.S. Would the inward process result in what it speaks of in the first part of the verse?

J.T. "The love with which thou hast loved me may be in them", that is, the kind of love with which the Father loves the Son is in the saints: it is that kind of love, in keeping with the Father's love for the Son: we have part in that love.

P.D.S. That is, consciously.

J.T. It is the Father's love for the Son; and so we are qualified to have part in the assembly.

W.H.W. "I have made known to them thy name, and will make it known". Is that His personal activity in the assembly today?

J.T. 'Will make it known' is more continuous. That is the allusion in chapter 20, Chapter 20 is in resurrection when the Lord says "I ascend to my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God" (John 20:17).

P.D.S. Is that continued today?

J.T. We are brought into it, it is something new, it is education.

WATER

Judges 1:12 - 15; Judges 5:6 - 11, Judges 7l-8; Judges 15:18,19

Caleb represents the element of continuance; he continued against great opposition and maintained freshness till a very great age. The element of continuance depends on what the daughter suggests here, that is, the springs of water. The daughter comes in on the family line.

The incident in chapter 5 alludes to another woman who speaks of the places of drawing water, places where the word of God is available, as it says, "The voice of those who divide the spoil in the midst of the places of drawing water". She celebrated a great victory in which we also are sharing in our own way, a victory which others have achieved. There are places where these acts are rehearsed -- "there they rehearse the righteous acts of Jehovah, his righteous acts towards his villages in Israel". These are meetings formed in the light of the assembly.

Chapter 7 brings in the thought of the denial of the natural in the service of God. The denial of the natural is seen in the lapping of the water for the sake of sustenance and not for indulgence.

Finally, the spring which Samson draws from in chapter 15 was opened up at a moment of exigency, a moment of great need. Samson was about to die of thirst when God clave the rock and water came out of it. His need was met by the immediate act of God.

Achsah denotes a church feature, that is, the saints coming to understand the church in relation to Christ. Knowing how to act, she sprang down in respect to her father, and asked for what she needed -- "Give me also springs of water". Achsah denotes a state; she understands that her father could give; she knew the wealth of his position. She is comely in attitude, recognising the man, her husband; then she speaks

to her father in a comely way: she sprang down from her ass. Caleb speaks directly to her. She is seen here as understanding the range of his position and his resources. Our prayers are based on the known resources of God. Then her word is "Thou hast given me a southern land; give me also springs of water", that is, he had done well for her and she recognises it, but she needed more to maintain her in what she had. Our prayers, then, should never be complaining.

Kirjath-sepher is the city of books. What a volume of written ministry there is for us to read today! This is a word for young people especially: Achsah did not read novels and worldly monthly magazines, she was maintained in married life by spiritual power. She is a fine type of young person in life starting out with the Spirit of God. Books are most pernicious things today, the most remarkable thing about them being the power of suggestion which they have. You say, 'But the children have to read them at school' and so on, but it is not what is obligatory that does the most damage; it is what is not obligatory that is so harmful. Daniel was on this line -- he accepted all the education of the court, but not the delicate meats. He refuses that which would qualify him socially. The women in the wilderness gave up their looking-glasses and it is remarkable that these were used in the tabernacle. Achsah was concerned about sustenance; she was a young woman. The enemy's effort is to get the present generation, the older ones will die out. In Russia and Germany the enemy is getting the present generation today, and the assumption is that, if their principles are instilled in the young and as the older ones die out, their system will be continued in this way.

Caleb gave her exceedingly abundantly above all that she asked or thought. In our prayers we ask things and God gives according to what is in us. It corresponds to what we have in the two prayers in Ephesians; these are intended to keep us going in our position.

He "is able to do far exceedingly above all which we ask or think, according to the power which works in us", (Ephesians 3:20). The first point to see is that the answer is greater than the prayer. The nether springs correspond to Romans, to fulfil the righteous requirements of the law; it is a great point before going up; it must come first. Then the upper springs correspond to Ephesians, they are to maintain us up there, "raised us up together, and has made us sit down together in the heavenlies", (Ephesians 2:6).

Othniel became a great leader and overthrew the king of Mesopotamia, which is literally the Syria of the two rivers. He was a man of great resources as suggested in the rivers; rivers greatly enrich a country. Othniel got his power on the line of the Spirit; it is by the Spirit that we overthrow worldly attacks.

Chapter 5 gives the celebration of a great victory in relation to the places of drawing water. Deborah represents the formation of meetings, the means of coming together locally. These were not in existence before Deborah. "In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the roads were unused, and the travellers on highways went by crooked paths. The villages ceased in Israel, ceased until that I Deborah arose". Deborah represents the victory that brings in the thought of the local meeting, "those who divide the spoil in midst of the places of drawing water: there they rehearse the righteous acts of Jehovah, his righteous acts toward his villages in Israel". We are justified in treating this as the local meeting. This victory of Deborah leads on to the meetings having their place. The meetings are as villages, each stands on its own feet. In England the thought of villages is very prominent; some villages are greatly distinguished, more so than many of the cities. The thing is developed locally.

There was the fire kindled for Paul, the barbarians did it and then Paul added to it. The local assembly is

to have warmth and then anyone coming should add to it. Deborah is a person who dwelt under her own palm-tree. She was a woman prophetess. While she did a man's part, she remained a woman in character. As a prophetess she had the mind of God, but in womanly way.

This victory was not against a man but against a great military organisation. Jabin, king of Canaan, reigned in Hazor and had nine hundred chariots of iron, and he mightily oppressed Israel twenty years. His captain dwelt in Harosheth-Goim. This was strategy, the military man was placed where he would be of best service. Today, this is Rome. Hazor is head of the nations in Joshua. There has never been a military organisation like Rome. Through a great victory its power has been broken. Victory comes through some person laying himself out to get power. First the power must be over himself, the victory over himself; there must be a personal victory first. I must overthrow myself. Deborah sat under her own palm-tree.

In all our meetings there should be spoil, we should get something. "Then the people of Jehovah went down to the gates". They administer things in the gates. Gates suggest a place of power. "The Lord loveth the gates of Zion", (Psalm 87:2). The movement to the gates suggests the care meeting.

Deborah is one of the few mothers in Israel. She was first a wife. No one can be a mother without first becoming a wife. She was the wife of Lapidoth, which means 'light'; she was thus related to one who was in the light. Deborah does not represent just one sister, but a subjective state among God's people. When the whole assembly is come together in one place there is that which is prophetic and then comes the victory: the man falls down. We are to discern the word of God, no matter through whom it comes.

Springs are a great general thought; they are self-acting, not pumps. The thought is self-acting energy. Water has its own place. The woman in John 4 drew water, but she left it and went into the city. But she had it. These places of drawing water suggest what Achsah had, the springs.

In chapter 7 we have the well Harod which is a place of testing. We have a good meeting and then go home and take our ease: there is no sacrifice. It is a question of how you take it: you do not take a can and then let it down, but you lap like a dog. You take what you need for the moment and then go on. It is drinking to live. What the Lord gives in the meeting is in view of a conflict. The meeting is to test; if God is ministering, there is something to be tested. "I will try them ... there". It might just furnish me enjoyment. To drink with comfort means to consider for oneself, while the test is that everything involves sacrifice. It is not an armchair matter. Scripture speaks of those "that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice", (Psalm 50:5). The flesh is never to be considered; it is always sacrifice.

Midian was naturally linked with Israel. They are persons linked with us on worldly lines. The camp of Midian was beneath him in the valley: this is a touch giving an advantage. Having this advantage over them, being thus in moral superiority, he was already victorious.

In chapter 5, persons in affluence are called upon to consider. "All seek their own things, not the things of Jesus Christ", (Philippians 2:21). The whole thought of Christianity is sacrifice. On this line the Lord Jesus is the victorious Leader in sacrifice. In Luke the word is "Take heed ... how ye hear" (Luke 8:18). The three hundred had a keener apprehension of being in the service of God. Only spiritual men could stand what they had to contend with. Paul speaks about bearing about in his body the dying of Jesus. The flesh does not like this. There is no woman here; it is a man acting for God.

With Samson it is pre-eminently what one man can do. He never had an army, it is what he did himself. Judges gives us what God can do with one man. One is apt to give way. Samson was very thirsty; he "called on Jehovah, and said. Thou hast given by the hand of thy servant this great deliverance, and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised? And God clave the hollow rock which was in Lehi, and water came out of it". It is God furnishing what was needed in a crisis in answer to Samson's calling, At a time when you feel at an extremity, the greatest spiritual history is made. All our so-called 'sorrows' have culminated in this way in crises where it is felt that the enemy has the advantage, and then God comes in. "God clave the hollow rock ... and water came out of it". It is not here speaking to the rock or smiting it as with Moses but "God clave the hollow rock". The rock is Christ. The cleaving is the bringing to light of some new feature of Christ: something which they never saw before. The refreshment came out of that. Every crisis brings out something distinctive, some new feature of Christ. Any name which signifies an event is a landmark in spiritual history.

DIVINE PLANTING

Matthew 15:13; Psalm 1:3; Psalm 52:8; Psalm 92:12 - 14; Psalm 104:16

In my word at this time, dear brethren, I have in mind to enlarge on the idea of planting, divine planting. It is a very old idea, as old as man, and, according to the Scriptures, God is the first who planted. He planted a garden, we are told. The earth in itself had the power of fruit-bearing; it was to bring forth and cause grass, herbs and trees to spring up, suggestive of what we call natural latent fertility, but later it is said that God planted a garden eastward in Eden and He caused a river to flow out of the garden to water it. It was a spot that henceforth would be of special interest to Him, but the growth was not left to nature. It was to be watched over, Adam was placed in the garden to dress it and keep it. It was of divine planting, God planting a garden. Every gardener who had the opportunity would visit the garden for it was perfect, every tree in its place. God not only considers for fruit, but shelter and ornamentation in the garden; He made everything perfect and the garden would certainly have been worth visiting as divinely planted and rooted, to say no more. We know what happened in the garden, but I am speaking of it now as the first instance of planting. The interval between it and Matthew 15 was long, but the Planter is the same, only instead of the Lord God planting we have the Father planting. The Lord Jesus is the speaker. He is not enlarging on the planting, but alludes to the Father planting; others planted also, but the Lord alludes to the Father's planting by way of contrast. There were other planters, as there are today. "Every plant which my heavenly Father has not planted shall be rooted up". The Lord made this remark in answer to His disciples, "Dost thou know that the Pharisees, having heard this word, have been offended?" (Matthew 15:12) The Pharisees! These men were

mentioned by His disciples. We have to mention such men in our prayers and ministry. In our prayers the Lord takes account of what His people mention. They made mention here of a class called the Pharisees. They were a sect. They were sectarian people, and no sect was planted of God. One of the first evils mentioned by the apostle Paul in regard to Corinth was the existence of sects in that city. He names them, He alludes to them in the eleventh chapter of the first epistle: "I hear there exist divisions among you" (1 Corinthians 11:18). There are many of them today, far more than there were, or have ever been in the history of the world, and not one of them is planted of God. There are some of great antiquity, apparently so well founded and rooted that no wind can overturn them. But there is a wind coming that will overturn the stoutest of them. No doubt the Lord had in mind the prophecy concerning a great religious system with three hundred million members, or more, so extensive that it appears that it must go on for ever. One of the most celebrated sages of men has predicted that it would go on indefinitely, but the Scriptures have a different mind about it, and we who know the Scriptures have a different mind about it. We know that this great sect and all like it shall come to an end -- like a great millstone it shall be cast into the sea never to appear again.

The gospel of Matthew has in mind, not the coming of the Lord for us, terminating things here, but His intervention to remove out of His kingdom everything that offends. He tells us in His own words, with His own lips, in this gospel of the days in which His angels will remove everything that offends, great and small. Then He says, "Then the righteous shall shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father", (Matthew 13:43). This is the viewpoint in Matthew, and we may as well make up our minds that it is the truth of the holy Scriptures. The wicked have to go; all that is not subject to Christ will have to go. He is to remove all

that offends, and then shall the righteous shine forth in the kingdom of their Father. Now in Daniel it says, "They that turn the many to righteousness" shall shine "as the stars, for ever and ever" (Daniel 12:3). Now what is in mind in reading the verse in Matthew is to bring out that the righteous are planted. In this gospel they are called the sons of the kingdom. We have in chapter 13 the sowing of the seed which is the word of the kingdom (verse 19), and the sowing of the seed which is the sons of the kingdom (verse 38), persons developed in the kingdom who will be subject, and these are the righteous. The Son of Man sows these and the enemy sows tares. The tares are called sons of the wicked one. These are persons, too, developed in wickedness. They shall grow up together till the harvest, when the Son of Man sends His angels to take out of His kingdom all that offends; "then the righteous shall shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father" (Matthew 13:43). In this world no void shall appear. The Son of God has come and come to stay; His coming here was to take possession in testimony. He has come and come to stay. The Revelation says, "He set his right foot on the sea, and the left upon the earth, and cried with a loud voice as a lion roars. And when he cried, the seven thunders uttered their own voices" (Revelation 10:2,3). He takes personal possession of the sea and land. Who can dispute His title here? Where are the armies and the navies that can cope with the lightning and thunder of God subservient to the Son of Man when He comes to take possession? So that it is a question of being righteous if we are to stay. You see all who are not God's people taken away; of course there is the rapture, but that is only a detail relative to the appearing. We shall appear with Christ; then shall we appear with Him with the holy angels, holy myriads, all shall come forth in the dignity of power. The whole domain is under His

hands, all that is of evil must go; it is only a matter of time and "Every plant which my heavenly Father has not planted shall be rooted up".

Now I want to enlarge on the righteous as viewed in this way. How important it is to be amongst them in our several localities as divinely planted, for this is where the development of the testimony lies. The righteous are planted. We have a very beautiful word in Romans about Christians. There is a correspondence in the baptism of Christians to Christ's death, for they are planted by baptism, and the apostle says, "If we are become identified with him in the likeness of his death, so also we shall be of his resurrection", (Romans 6:5). But we shall be in the likeness of Him in heavenly glory too, for our bodies are to be transformed, not only raised, but glorified.

Psalm 1 touches on this point; it shows what a godly man is like. Anyone making enquiry into the Psalms can look at him. It is said that "he is as a tree planted by brooks of water, which giveth its fruit in its season, and whose leaf fadeth not; and all that he doeth prospereth". This is a very remarkable verse, often noted by Christians. If you enquire about yourself, you can determine from this scripture something as to yourself, as to whether you belong to this class. There are those who are not certain and yet the truth in this corresponds to the godly man as he is normally. He is a tree planted by the rivers of water, and therefore anyone who is neglectful of opportunities of spiritual ministry is not characteristic of this class; he is not planted by the rivers of water. In Isaiah it is said of the children of believers that they grow up as among the grass, as willows by the water-courses. Children of that class become men of this class. It is said here that his leaf shall not wither and whatsoever he does shall prosper; that is, he is ever fresh spiritually, he is never stale, never too engrossed with ordinary affairs to take on spiritual conversation. He is never too preoccupied

with what defiles to take up his part in the assembly. His whole business in the assembly is that the service of God is foremost; all is subservient to this. All else is incidental. His business here is the service of God, and he is the confidant of God, and God has confidence in him, and whatsoever he does prospers. If I am of this class I can go out in the morning knowing that whatever my calling may be, God will prosper me today. We are reminded of David and Joshua; God was with David whithersoever he went; that is, God was with that man. He had confidence in that man, and so here whatsoever he does prospers. God delights to look down from heaven and see such a group of persons; these are infinitely more to Him than the garden of Eden with its beautiful trees literally. Here we have a living man under the eye of God in all his freshness spiritually, and whatever he does prospers. Who gives prosperity? God gives prosperity. There is no prosperity that He does not give. Nature depends on God; a grain of wheat goes into the ground, God gives it a body; the prosperity is from God. A man may prosper, as men say, as a green bay tree, but only for a moment. All true prosperity is from God.

Then there is the consciousness of this as in Psalm 52 "I am like a green olive tree in the house of God". "I am like ..." -- the consciousness of it, the sense of it! A green olive tree is a figure of a man; it alludes to the Spirit, the power of the Holy Spirit, here indwelling believers and incorporating them in the house of God. That is, one is then in the house and he says "I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever", (Psalm 52:8). I am not keeping myself there; he does not take that ground. How can we continue in the place of testimony save as kept by the mercy of God? See the stability of the man planted in the house, consciously there, a green olive tree, trusting in the mercy of God for ever. Storms will come to uproot things; no wind, no storm can overturn or uproot what God has planted. It is

set here in relation to stability. This is the consciousness of it, of being set up here, conscious of the greenness of the sap of the olive tree, of the oil.

Then in Psalm 92 "The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree". The word 'flourish' is to be noted now, flourish like a palm. I know very little of botany, but have observed palms; how they suggest the thought of flourishing! To younger brothers and sisters I would say they should begin with the first psalm, which is the moral side of the position. The second is the official side. These two psalms stand on the threshold of the whole book of Psalms; you will not understand the five books of the Psalms unless you understand the first. To older brothers and sisters, Psalm 92 alludes to us who are older: "They shall still bring forth fruit in old age".

In verse 12 it says "The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon". The palm I understand spiritually as victory, the cedar as nobility, the cedar of Lebanon. Moral victory allied with nobility is what is for our souls to take in in this verse as of divine planting, flourishing as the palm and growing as a cedar of Lebanon. The cedar of Lebanon had its place in the temple, the wood denoting dignity. The idea of victory should attach to the righteous man as he advances in years, victory and dignity! The greatest victory is over himself, victory over all his natural propensities; the Holy Spirit enables him to obtain this victory. Deborah sat under her own palm tree; she did not give out her own great personal qualities, she did not need to advertise, people came to her for judgment, they recognised her moral greatness and victory, sitting under her own palm tree. And so they will come to us if we sit under our own palm trees, and so gain the victory over our own spirit. It is said of Deborah that she dwelt under her own palm tree between Ramah and Bethel. People will come to us as they came to her for judgment. How

they came to Him! It is a great matter to avoid advertising; it is a sure evidence that we have not the victory over our own spirit: "He that ruleth his spirit" is better "than he that taketh a city" (Proverbs 16:32). One that rules his own spirit can overthrow Og the king of Bashan. He will be enquired of; people will ask him questions as they came to her for judgment. In that victory there is conscious dignity, not lying in one's own ability, not lying in birth or ancestry. Nobility does not lie in anything of our own, but is in what I am in God, what I am in Christ, the man in Christ. And so, as I said, this scripture bears peculiarly on those who are older in the faith; those that are planted in the house of the Lord flourish in the courts of God, in the care meetings, in the public relations of the assembly, in eldership, deaconship. All this comes within the range of one who is planted in the house of the Lord and flourishes in the courts of God. We have the flourishing in the courts of God: he is an ornament in the testimony of God, and the older he gets the more it is so. He does not boast in old age, he flourishes in the public relations of the testimony of God and becomes a model for the younger brethren. There is nothing more important than a good example to the young. This flourishing in the court's of God comes under the notice of the younger brethren. For example, if one reads 1 Chronicles 23 - 29 one is impressed with David flourishing in the courts of God: it speaks of his affection for the house of God; he sacrificed his best for it, the gold of Ophir indicating fine spiritual qualities, adornment for the house of God. And so an example is set in David; he passes off the scene gloriously and Solomon his son, young and tender, sits on the throne of Jehovah. The throne of Jehovah is occupied. There is a man great enough to sit on the throne of Jehovah. David would show how the king should rule. "He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God. And he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a

morning without clouds" (2 Samuel 23:3,4). And so Solomon is fit to sit down on the throne of Jehovah.

"They shall still bring forth fruit in old age ... to shew that the Lord is upright". It is a great matter for older brethren and sisters to keep bright and fresh in service. A spiritual man is a burden on no one; God will see to that. God has great regard for freshness in His own saints because they show the power of Christianity, and so in Psalm 104, "The trees of the Lord are full of sap", that is, they are satisfied; they never complain; they are perfectly restful in what God has brought them into. There is nothing better in the whole universe than what they have got. They cannot be tempted by any worldly offer; they are satisfied. The pressure will grow more and more. "Except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved" (Matthew 24:22). The temptations for the Jewish brethren will be terrible, even the elect will be in danger, the pressure is bound to get greater and greater. It is very important for the young and old to be satisfied. We have nothing but the best there is, the very best we could have. There is nothing better than what we have. Satisfaction is what is becoming. The secret of it is drinking into the Spirit, being filled with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit occupies us with Christ. No dissatisfaction is contemplated in the eternal state where things are filled to the fulness of God.

THE SUBSTANTIALITY OF CHRISTIANITY

l Corinthians 10:17; Hebrews 6:4 - 6; 2 Peter 1:4; Hebrews 3:1

I have read these scriptures because they each contain the word 'partaker'; by the Lord's help I wish to dwell on the word in these four settings. I have particularly in view to stress that Christianity is substantial, not merely theoretical or doctrinal, as in ancient and current religions accepted by the world.

Christianity is substantial in a spiritual sense, based on the great fact of the incarnation, which is substantiated by Paul, and is an essential thought. God is said to be a spirit, but in the economy He has come into He is known in manhood, as it is said, "God ... manifest in flesh". Much is developed from that fact, to establish the great principle of substance in a spiritual sense in such wise as to be within the range of the creature, to be intelligible to us whose constitutions are substantial. True indeed, man's condition involves spirit. 'Spirit, soul and body' is the formula by which he is known, and our Lord Jesus has become partaker of this condition. The word used is 'partaker'. It is a real matter, not imaginary humanity, but a real humanity; so much so that the angel Gabriel, speaking of the Son of God to Mary, the mother of our Lord, said to her, "The holy thing also which shall be born shall be called Son of God" (Luke 1:35). It is not holy Person or Babe, but holy Thing.

John says by the Spirit, any spirit that confesses not Jesus Christ come in flesh is not of God. It is not that He was Jesus Christ before becoming flesh, but the allusion is to the Person who had part in the Deity as presented in John. In this gospel he presents the Word as with God, and the Word was God. But to make this come within our range involved the fact of the

incarnation. It is Jesus Christ come in flesh, and moreover He came by water and by blood; that does not refer to birth, but to His death. Jesus Christ come in flesh alludes to incarnation. Jesus Christ coming by water and by blood refers to the death of Christ. Incarnation alone would have been ineffectual. There could be no redemption save that He came by water and by blood. The condition in which we were needed water for cleansing of our moral state, and blood for dealing with our transgressions, offences and guilt. His coming in flesh refers to tangible things, and pours contempt on mysticism and spiritism.

Christianity is founded on substantiality and divinity, and so, as I said, Gabriel begins with that thought, that holy Thing which is to be called Son of God. How much and how effectively the Spirit of God enables the saints to understand the holy name of Christ, and would impress upon our hearts that although it is in relation to birth, it, nevertheless, marks Him off as divine, such as is in mind in Romans 1:4, "marked out Son of God in power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by resurrection of the dead". A wonderful thought. He is marked off. The writer of the Hebrews says, "Since therefore the children partake of blood and flesh, he also, in like manner, took part in the same", Hebrews 2:14. The children alluded to were the saints in Old or New Testament times. "He does not indeed take hold of angels by the hand, but he takes hold of the seed of Abraham", (Hebrews 2:16). It was a genuine real thought. He took flesh and blood in that condition, in order to yield what was in the way of divine blessing for the children, the divine thought for man. So that is what I have in mind in these remarks.

We are dealing with what is substantial, and God would bring us into substantiality in ourselves, and not to be mere hearers, as many are, mentally assenting to doctrines and principles without substantial results in our souls. And so the first scripture alludes to the

saints as a body, and this is a substantial thought. What I have in mind corresponds with our Lord as He partook in flesh and blood, and took a body. We have to distinguish between the idea of the body, and the idea of the condition. Of course the condition involved the body, but the idea of the body furnishes an instrument, and the thought is carried on to the saints from Christ. The thought in this verse is -- we being many are one body, all partakers of that one loaf. The bread which we break is the communion or the fellowship of the body of Christ. We Christians, although many, are one body, expressed in the symbol in the Lord's supper, but expressed spiritually, and in spiritual substantiality. The links and bonds by which we are held, held by joints and bands, all that enters into the organism. The saints sitting down to partake of the Lord's supper as a unit are held as a body, and the idea corresponds with what was said by the Lord, coming into the world, "Thou hast prepared me a body",(Hebrews 10:5). It was not something previous to, but begins with, incarnation, coming here, as in Luke, and He speaks in it, and intimates to God that He would glorify Him in it. All the divine will should be, and was, carried out. He has now gone up to heaven bodily, but the idea of the body remains in a substantial way in the saints collectively. They are usable to God as units. But the one great idea of God in the saints in relation to Christ, and of the saints answering to the thoughts divinely seen, such as "So also is the Christ" (1 Corinthians 12:12), is that the saints are baptised by one Spirit into one body, and are viewed as a holy vessel here. It is a wonderful thought.

Attention is called to the partakers in a locality here, a local assembly; we have the wonderful statement "So also is the Christ" (1 Corinthians 12:12). We are of Christ, not that we are the body; it is a question of the character of it here, not the whole thought, but the character of it, the collective idea; "Ye are Christ's body" (1 Corinthians 12:27), where two

or three are walking together in the light of Christ and the assembly. So this verse, as I said, suggests we are one body, for we are all partakers of that one bread and that one body, partakers in a tangible way in the Spirit, experiencing a real substantial feeling as we are together. The allusion is to the body as the vessel of the Lord. In Matthew's account of the Supper, the Lord uses the word "Take, eat: this is my body" (Matthew 26:26) and in Mark's, He says "Take this: this is my body", (Mark 14:22). In John He does not speak of His body, but in chapter 6 He speaks of eating His flesh, which speaks of His condition that is to be appropriated. Both flesh and blood are connected with life. John has in mind life, that the saints are a living people here, because of His blood which has purified us. This is food with negative and positive effects on us. The Lord took up the state of death to terminate flesh and blood. God's object is not what we are in flesh, that is not what God had in mind as to the Lord.

In John 6, one of the most substantial chapters in Scripture, the Lord has in mind that we should be in life. So that at the end of the chapter, we have Peter saying, "Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast words of life eternal; and we have believed and known that thou art the holy one of God" (John 6:68,69). We being many are one bread, one body. This thought is to be carried by the saints in every locality. It is very practical if we understand the great thought. We may be in the holy bond of fellowship. That is what God intends us to be in this town. Of course one could say much more, but I wanted to present four sides of the subject. It is very practical as to what we are going on with; it challenges us as to whether we are making room for these things.

In Hebrews 6, the passage refers primarily to those who became partakers of the Holy Spirit, and then fell away. But that is not what I have in mind. What

is before me is this thought of believers partaking of the Holy Spirit. That one might do that, and then become apostate, is a solemn thought. It is a very solemn thing that one might partake of the Holy Spirit, and fall away, never again to be recovered; for such there is no recovery. It is a terrible thought that one might fall away. The Spirit of God deals with strong terms in this epistle, which refers to these times of apostasy, that one might fall away, although numbered among the people of God, never again to have repentance. What a serious matter to be lost, to have no interest in these things at all, one who had once enjoyed these things. A Christian may have part in spiritual benefits, and enjoy these things and yet become apostate. Now I am speaking of the Christian partaking of these things in a real way; he knows something of joy in the Holy Spirit, joy sent down from heaven at Pentecost, all sharing in the Holy Spirit. That is the first feature in Acts, so Peter says the believers were not full of new wine; he explained that God had made Christ Jesus, Lord and Christ in heaven, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured out this which ye now see and hear (Acts 2:33), setting forth in figure new wine -- holy heavenly joy brought down and sent down from heaven, filling all persons, partakers of the Holy Spirit. It is a challenge to every heart, not what we find in our own hearts, but the love of God shed abroad in our hearts; joy in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit makes the heart glad; joy is there. It is said of the early Christians that one hundred and twenty were all together in one place, and heard the sound out of heaven, a rushing mighty wind. It is what came out of heaven and filled the house where they were sitting. What a place it must have been! All the house was filled with that wonderful sound from heaven. This is what we can depend on. "There appeared to them parted tongues, as of fire, and it sat upon each one of them. And they were all filled with

the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:3). Next to the Lord Jesus the Holy Spirit is the greatest gift heaven provided; the Holy Spirit sent down from heaven. What a real thing it is to be partakers of the Spirit! These people referred to in Hebrews 6 shared in the present effect of the Spirit's presence in the assembly. Much is said about the Holy Spirit of God. It is a real thing to be a partaker of the Holy Spirit, and to know how substantial He is.

One might just see what is said in John's gospel; the Spirit of God in that gospel is referred to in terms which present Him substantially, not as a theory, but a Person. In his first reference to the Holy Spirit, John the baptist says that he saw the Spirit descending as a dove on Jesus, a substantial thought.

Then in chapter 3 the Spirit's activities are likened to the wind, another substantial thought. The wind is invisible but everyone knows how powerful it is. In chapters 4 and 7 we have the figure of water, speaking of how substantial and tangible the Holy Spirit is. Later the Lord speaks of the Holy Spirit as another Comforter, who would bring divine comfort and support, just the same as Jesus had. Jesus came in by incarnation, but was about to leave them, but the Spirit was to abide with them as another Comforter.

In chapter 20 the Lord speaks to them and then breathes into them. His own breath, how touching that is! Adam became a living soul, the last Adam a life-giving Spirit; He breathed into them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit" (John 20:22), something most real and most substantial. One is afraid of our having theory, but not substance. Christianity is real.

Now to come to the third point, the divine nature. We are made partakers of the divine nature, not that we could partake in deity, but it is simply what is characteristic. Peter speaks of certain qualities, for instance, divine power, life, godliness, glory, and virtue, substantial things. Then Peter says that through these ye might become partakers of the divine nature. What

we get in this verse, what Peter speaks of here and in the whole chapter, is substantial. Peter had seen that sight on the mount of transfiguration. He says they were with Him on the holy mountain. They saw the glory that was His. He refers here to qualities which are now Christian features. God has called us by glory and virtue. That is a real thing, not merely mental, but power in which glory and virtue is effected. He has called us out of the world. These words are for our meditation; I would urge brethren to study these verses in Peter. This is substantial: may we be characterised by this substance, not simply believing in these things. They are substantial things which we have and we are to add them to each other.

So divine nature understands Christ. We could never partake in the deity of God. It is a question o what has come out in "Christ Jesus: who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant", (Philippians 2:5 - 7). The Lord here was a real Man among men. Think of Him working as a carpenter, taking a place and moving here among men! How real it all was! and that, being found in figure as a man He humbled Himself. That is what He did when in figure as a man. Divine nature is what is in mind. The Scripture warrants divine nature. It is a question of character, what we can partake in, what God has set out here in men of God, not deity, but a moral setting out of what God is. We have part in that; it is a question of nature.

Peter says that our partaking of the divine nature is the outcome of certain qualities that have been given to us; he would have us possess them as a company.

In Hebrews 3:1 we have, "Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession". This is an appeal to all Christians, not excluding worldly Christians, by presenting greater things here. It is addressed to

"holy brethren", not simply 'brethren', as if the apostle would clothe the saints with God's thoughts of them. What greater incentive could there be than to be addressed as "holy brethren"! Holiness comes about by chastening, and we have the word 'partaker' in that connection.

The Lord Jesus is dealing with us as sons. The thought of enduring discipline proves that we are sons. Sons do not turn aside from God; the end is that we may be partakers of God's holiness, real holiness. We may be partakers of holiness; we are addressed as holy brethren and then as partakers of the heavenly calling; what a great prospect, dear brethren, it is to have part in this. The saints have a heavenly calling; what a great portion is ours in the assembly! This passage contemplates that we have part in it already for we are partakers of the heavenly calling.

In Philippians 3:3, which is full of the energy of the man of faith, the apostle Paul says, "We are the circumcision", not the concision which refers to people who do not go the whole way. He goes the whole way. He wants to apprehend that for which he had been apprehended of Christ Jesus. We should never lose the sense of our heirship, it should be always in our minds: it is heavenly and is with Christ, who is in the glory with God. The goal Paul had before him was the calling on high of God in Christ Jesus. John says we shall see Him and be like Him. In Philippians our body of humiliation will be transformed into conformity to His body of glory. That should be the great goal in mind for every Christian, and for the encouragement of the saints. Holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling. That is the word, dear brethren.

Pages 134 - 279 -- "Notes of Readings in New York", 1937 (Volume 138).

MINISTERING TO THE WILL OF GOD

Acts 13:36; 1 Chronicles 29:26 - 30

In referring to the will of God, we are reminded of how prominently it occupied our Lord's mind as having become Man, and as here in God's service, and in view of His departure. One is affected in referring to the unspeakable depths of feeling which, marked the Lord in facing death; He was "amazed", we are told, "and deeply depressed". So thoroughly had He taken up man's place, and so thoroughly did He understand the import of the will of God as to this position, that He felt it; hence the deep agony, and the words: "Not my will, but thine be done" (Luke 22:42).

In David, as foreshadowing all this, we have a remarkable example in that he ministered to the will of God in his own generation. The Holy Spirit dwells on the life of David peculiarly. Although not, as we would speak today, a very long life, it was a life of compression, a life into which immense events were compressed. In referring to the idea of compression in such a path, one cannot but think of the compression of the life of Jesus, especially the three-and-a-half years of His service. What a life! What events of eternal import were compressed into that life, and how in every moment of it He ministered to the will of God! What He was in private we must leave, but He was cast upon God from the outset. Every breath, every pulsation, every movement in that life was for the will of God. What that was to God, beloved, who but He can fully express? He took occasion at the end of thirty years to speak of it: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I have found my delight" (Matthew 17:5). And what that scene in Gethsemane was, who but God knows fully? those moments of amazement, of depression, when He would at all costs minister to the will of God.

So, to David, a man of like passions with ourselves, we have this beautiful tribute by the apostle Paul: "Having in his own generation ministered to the will of God, fell asleep". This is a greater thing than to minister to others, for it fills out what the mind of God delights in. There may be great exploits without ministering to the will of God, without that steady adherence to and support of what pleases God. It is what God has in any one of us that is the whole matter. "Fear God, and keep his commandments", one has said, is "the whole of man" (Ecclesiastes 12:13). It is what accrues to God that will tell; it is what has told, beloved brethren, and what will tell in that day when things are manifested.

"And the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer; with all his reign and his might, and the times that passed over him, and over Israel, and over all the kingdoms of the countries".

How keenly David felt what was current amongst the people of God! "The times that passed over him", all the years of his service, involving serious crises and conflicts, yet he did not fail of the mind of God, nor shirk the responsibility that fell to him. Thus we may well imitate his faith, considering the issue of his conversation.

It is very beautiful that the Holy Spirit mentions such recorders of David's life as the prophets Samuel, Nathan, and Gad. We may be assured that the sum total of that ministry to the will of God was gathered up faithfully for the food, the encouragement, and the stimulation of later servants, as these books of Samuel, Nathan, and Gad were read. What a stimulation to ourselves, too, to pursue the path of faith humbly, unostentatiously, but letting nothing miss us that ministers to the will of God; that we may know how the will of God enters into the times that pass over us and minister to it. May the Lord help us, dear brethren.

RIGHT FEELINGS AND AFFECTIONS IN THE SAINTS

Song of Songs 1:7 - 11; Song of Songs 2:1 - 7

It is on my heart to speak of David and Solomon as marked by deep feelings and affections. These are expressed in their writings, and I may say they furnish for us the very heart and soul of the Old Testament. They remind us that God will have His people move in the expression of divinely begotten feelings and affections. Amongst other things it is to be observed that these feelings and affections come from two kings; that is, men of immense affairs. We might assume that poetic, and even any other kind of writings, should be left to others; and that such men as David and Solomon had to give so much attention to military and state affairs, that they could scarcely be expected to give time to such a service as this; yet they reflect what God is, and what Christ is, in regard of this service.

As an illustration of this, we see how God, coming to Abraham in company with two others, could afford to wait upon Abraham until he had prepared a meal; and in the New Testament we see how the Lord Jesus Christ could devote time to individuals; as, for instance, on the two wayward disciples going to Emmaus. It is touching to see how the Father and the Son can afford to devote Themselves to one individual, for in John 14 the Lord says that the Father and the Son would come and make Their abode with one who loved the Lord and kept His word. Taking all these things into account, we can understand how David could find time to write psalms, and how Solomon could speak three thousand proverbs and write a thousand and five songs. Think of the great emperor of that day able to devote himself to such services!

Now this is the Song of all Songs; it is called "The song of songs, which is Solomon's" (Song of Songs 1:1). It is a composition

by him, as a type of Christ, to celebrate the triumph of Christ's love for an individual, as if the Lord were to remind each of us of His triumph in securing us; so that knowing His love for us, we love Him. It is a wonderful thing to heaven that there should be lovers of Christ in this world. He values every one of His lovers, and each of them says. He "loved me, and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:20). I suppose the apostle Paul was the greatest lover of Christ, and the idea of a non-lover of Christ is utterly abhorrent to him, for he says, "If any one love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha" (1 Corinthians 16:22). If anyone does not love our Lord Jesus Christ, he is incapable of loving.

This Song shows how love is begotten, and in chapter 1:7 the lover of Christ wishes to know where He feeds His flock and where He makes it to rest at noon. That is, he wishes to see how Christ serves all His flock, and this is what leads up to the Lord's service to the saints as of the assembly -- His best service is seen there. It is illustrated in Jacob, when he quickly rolled away the stone from the well's mouth as Rachel comes into view. So it is that the best service of Christ is expended on the saints who form the assembly. Therefore we can understand the desire of this lover of Christ to see Him thus serving, so that she says, "Why should I be as one veiled beside the flocks of thy companions?" Why should any one of us be under suspicion in regard to our love to Christ? If one has not come forward and put out his hand to the fellowship of the people of God, his love is under suspicion. Whatever you may say about your love, we cannot be sure of it, for love is not merely spoken of, but it manifests itself, as in the case of Ruth. She says, "Intreat me not to leave thee" (Ruth 1:16); she would be a companion of Naomi. She would have Naomi's people to be her people, Naomi's God to be her God; where Naomi died would Ruth die, and there would she be buried. That is complete identification. Hence, if one is not

openly identified with Christ as rejected in this world, one's love is questionable. This one was a true lover of Christ, for she says, "Why should I be as one veiled?" And in verse 8, "If thou know not, thou fairest among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock". The Lord is to be found by watching the footsteps of the flock, for you will find that they lead to where Christ is.

The two who were on their way to Emmaus were not marked as of the flock of Christ. Their love was apparently questionable, but the Lord, who knows all things, knew that they loved Him. But who else could have known? They had their backs turned upon the chief interest of Christ on earth. According to Mark they were going into the country, whereas the Lord had told them to remain in the city; so that as far as others could judge, they were not truly lovers of Christ. Those who have Christ's commandments and keep them not, do not manifest that they love Him, and their footsteps would not be any guide. After the Lord had manifested Himself to these two, they arose the same hour of the night and returned to Jerusalem, and their footsteps now led them to where the eleven were gathered together and those that were with them. That is the history of every soul that is truly gathered.

In verse 9 it says, "I compare thee, my love, to a steed in Pharaoh's chariots". It is as if the Lord would encourage one who is now returning to the only right path for the believer. "Thy cheeks are comely with bead-rows, thy neck with ornamental chains. We will make thee bead-rows of gold with studs of silver". It is now in the plural, for the saints are included, and you will be ornamented in accordance with the new sphere; for love in the saints is love according to Christ. If He wishes you to be adorned, so do the saints; but there is nothing in us for His pleasure according to nature.

In chapter 2 you will see that the believer is spoken of in the feminine, and regards herself as a "narcissus of Sharon" -- a beautiful product. The believer is thus coming into closer acquaintance with the Lord and with His people; and to realise what he is under the Lord's eye, "A lily of the valleys". The bridegroom says, "As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters"; that is what a lover of Christ is in a scene of contrariety; and as He gives her the lead, she goes on to say what she thinks of Him in comparison. The believer is thus marked by progress, in that he can say, "As the apple-tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons". He is not among the thorns, but among the sons, and that is where you wish to see Him. He will be eternally among the sons, but anointed above them. Therefore it is well to make this comparison, for in truth it is how we shall know the Lord Jesus in heaven; He will there be known among the sons, but the lover will detect Him among the brethren. In nothing is the bride more characterised here than by her ability to distinguish Christ, to mark Him off in His infinite excellencies as compared with others. Hence it is the beloved disciple, John, the one who was in the bosom of Jesus, whom the Spirit of God uses to portray Him here in this world, introducing Him to us as God. He is a divine Person, but a perfect Servant here below; love traces Him as such and sees Him at the end as the ascending One: "I ascend to my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God" (John 20:17).

Now you will observe how she can speak of the way the Lord served, she had come to know Him so that she could sit down in His shadow in rapture; she says, "In his shadow have I rapture and sit down". She is not now perturbed in the presence of such an One. As He came into the company in Luke, they were perturbed, they did not know Him as He is described here. In John's record of the same event

he omits that part, for he would present the work of God as ever true to itself. The believer, viewed abstractedly apart from all that he is naturally, is raptured in the presence of Christ. In His shadow he sits down, and the palate is free to enjoy His fruit; so that he says, "He hath brought me to the house of wine, and his banner over me is love". That is the abstract view of the believer, but it is short-lived, for we are still in our condition of flesh and blood and a sense of weakness comes in, so that immediately she says, "Sustain ye me with raisin-cakes", a food containing a very attenuated or mild stimulant: "Refresh me with apples"; that is to say, there is a sense of need of sustainment, and she prescribes what it shall be -- raisin-cakes; and of refreshment -- apples -- fruit which suggests Christ as pre-eminent. Also she says, "I am sick of love"; this can only allude to the mixed condition in which we are, for there will be no such infirmity as this in heaven. She goes on to say, "His left hand is under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me", suggesting the support of Christ in regard to one's intelligence, for how quickly one feels the need of support as participating in spiritual things! His left hand under the head refers to the intelligence, and His right hand embracing to the affections. So that through the gracious service of Christ, the believer is sustained in His presence in intelligence and affection. Hence, when she charges the daughters of Jerusalem by the gazelles and the hinds of the field, she is alluding to what she has experienced of Christ; that is, the speed with which He reaches us in the hour of need, we do not require to stir Him up, we leave it with Him. "Stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please". Love will do its very best for us, and hence we learn by experience that it is best to leave things with the Lord. Love never fails, so we may confide in the love of Christ and leave Him

to act as He pleases. There is nothing more important than this, that love in Christ will do its best for us, so that whatever our circumstances we will let love have its way.

I desire that we should keep before us the ministry of David and Solomon, for they both suggest the expression of right feelings and affections; these are the outcome of a personal knowledge of Christ, and of a personal link and relationship with Him.

THE WORD "PERSONS" AS APPLIED TO THE GODHEAD

J.T. The word "Persons" as applied conveys what is true. You may say the word "person" is not applied to divine Beings as such in Scripture, but the personal pronoun is used constantly of each of the three divine Persons. One old doctrine taught that what we call Persons were three phases of the Deity, but this is utterly erroneous. There are three distinct Persons, and nothing is plainer in the Scripture than that. There is nothing more definitely asserted in Scripture than the Trinity.

Ques. When we worship God, do we worship a Person in the Godhead, or the Godhead?

J.T. "To us there is one God, the Father" (1 Corinthians 8:6) -- a most important expression. The other two persons are subservient to One, and Deity is presented in Him -- the Father. We worship one God, the Father. But then in 1 Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4 we have the Spirit first, then the Lord, and after that God. We thus travel along with the Spirit and the Lord to God. In certain connections we cannot exclude the other two Persons, the three Persons are included in the one God. But as we are standing in relation to the Mediator, we do not address God as including Him; He is on our side as towards God. In this supremely important matter wisdom lies in following the teaching and example of the apostles. The early disciples persevered in their teaching. What is clear throughout Acts and the epistles is the economy into which the Godhead has come; that is, one of the Persons, as already shown from Paul's writings, occupies the place of God, the other two Persons take a mediatorial position in order to effect the divine thoughts. There is abundant evidence that in abstract Deity the three Persons are in equality; and further, that the Son and

the Spirit as in the economy act severally as God. Thus the Scriptures fully assert Deity in all three Persons. This being accepted in our souls, we have liberty in our service Godward to appropriate the Son and the Spirit in Their gracious mediatorial service on our side, enabling us to approach and worship God. Hence Ephesians 2:18 says, "Through him [Christ] we have both access by one Spirit to the Father", and other similar passages.

THE AUTHORITY OF CHRIST IN THE ASSEMBLY (1)

Numbers 16:1 - 50

J.T. This chapter is universal in its bearing and deals typically with the great rebellion which has occurred in the history of Christendom, against Christ, as Apostle and High Priest. The attitude of Moses and Aaron in meeting this rebellion is noteworthy; in verse 4 it is said, "When Moses heard this, he fell on his face". Later, in verse 45, it says, "And they fell on their faces", that is, Moses and Aaron did so; then Moses provides in his love and forethought for the people. It says further, verse 46, "And Moses said to Aaron, Take the censer, and put fire thereon from off the altar, and lay on incense, and carry it quickly to the assembly, and make atonement for them; for there is wrath gone out from Jehovah: the plague is begun". Aaron did this; it says he made atonement for the people and stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was stayed. Christ typically, in His authority and priestly grace, maintains the assembly characteristically. Although many are lost, yet the assembly is maintained; verse 42 says that the cloud covered the tent of meeting and the glory of Jehovah appeared; the tent of meeting is preserved, and taken over by God in the midst of all this defiance, and the service goes on. Then we read, verse 43, "Moses and Aaron went before the tent of meeting"; there is thus complete recovery of the position.

A.F.M. Do I understand that recovery was made, but under limited conditions on account of what had come in?

J.T. Yes; it was an extraordinary experience. Moses had to take the position of withdrawing in verse 26. Jehovah said, in verse 24, "Speak unto the assembly, saying, Get you up from about the habitation

of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram", and then it says in verse 25, "And Moses rose up and went to Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel followed him. And he spoke to the assembly, saying. Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs". That is, he had to request the assembly to depart from the habitation of these persons. Earlier there is the thought of withdrawing from the assembly in verse 21: "Separate yourselves from the midst of this assembly", but in verse 26 it is, "Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men". That humiliating experience had to be gone through, but through the intercession of Moses and Aaron, and through the atonement effected, the assembly was preserved and goes on.

A.F.M. In the first instance it seems that God would destroy the whole assembly. It says in verse 21, "Separate yourselves from the midst of this assembly, and I will consume them in a moment". But the intercession of Moses limits the destruction.

J.T. Yes, the intercession of Moses and Aaron, as already said, effected the change; they say, "shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with the whole assembly?" They are thinking of the assembly; then Jehovah spoke to Moses saying, "Speak unto the assembly". First Moses and those with him were to withdraw from the assembly; it is changed, however, through this intercession. Every man that loves God will wish to preserve the assembly, and that is what the thing resulted in; the assembly was preserved.

C.H.H. This passage corresponds with 2 Timothy 2:19 "Let every one who names the name of the Lord withdraw from iniquity".

J.T. In verse 21 it says, "Separate yourselves from the midst of this assembly, and I will consume them in a moment". Verse 19 of 2 Timothy 2, "Let every one who names the name of the Lord withdraw from iniquity", would refer to something collective, what is

leavened with evil. Then it says, "If therefore one shall have purified himself from these, in separating himself from them" (2 Timothy 2:21), that is, from vessels to dishonour; there you have persons separated from -- vessels to dishonour.

A.F.M. Can you separate the two? I was thinking of what you said in those two passages in 2 Timothy 2, the one referring to evil principles and the other to persons that hold them.

J.T. Yes; I think separating from iniquity would be collective, some evil maintained in that way, whatever it might be. The persons are then alluded to as in "the great house", and it would be what they have done or are doing, involving what they are . You have an example in Hymenaeus and Philetus, in what they were saying. What a person is, of course, comes out in what he does and says. We discern them by what they do and say.

J.E.H. Would you say that the movement of about one hundred years ago was on the principle of what is suggested in the first scripture?

J.T. Yes; that is, verse 21 says, "Separate yourselves from the midst of this assembly"; then the time came when persons had to be separated from, so that they are named: "Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men ... And they got up from the habitation of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side".

A.R. Verses 21 and 41 refer to what is general, the assembly is in view; in verse 26 it is "these wicked men".

J.T. "And the whole assembly of the children of Israel murmured on the morrow against Moses and against Aaron, saying. Ye have killed the people of Jehovah" (verse 41). Their attitude arises from what had happened -- the judgment executed; this is common, alas, when discipline has to be imposed.

A.N.W. Which of these comes closer to us, practically, here today?

J.T. Well, we need instruction on both sides; what it is to withdraw from a company where iniquity is maintained; and then, withdrawing from persons without leaving the company. I think we need instruction as to how the truth of the assembly is maintained in such circumstances. It is very wonderful to see the grace of Moses and Aaron, how they take things, and serve, so that there is the least possible lost, and the assembly characteristically is preserved.

C.A.M. So that there seems to be the two appeals. The second appeal (verse 26), is final. The sentence was about to be executed, and this warning was given to all on that account.

J.T. I think it is instructive and exemplary, to see how Moses and Aaron meet the wrath; how they fall on their faces and intercede. Then the sentence is changed to men and their habitations, instead of to the whole assembly. In the second instance (verse 41), the whole assembly is said to have murmured against Moses and Aaron. Here Jehovah intervenes and takes charge of the tent of meeting. That helps as to the idea of the assembly as being the vessel of testimony. God takes charge of that by the cloud and protects it with glory; then Jehovah said to Moses, "Get you up from the midst of this assembly, and I will consume them in a moment". The same decision is stated by God again, which Moses and Aaron meet; it says, "they fell on their faces". Then Moses proposed to Aaron to "make atonement for them", by bringing in what is positive; the censer with fire from the altar and incense upon it, referring typically to Christ. Aaron was directed to go with it quickly into the midst of the congregation. The fragrance of Christ thus presented, stays the plague. Aaron "stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed" (verses 46 - 48).

C.A.M. Was it because of reaction among the people on account of the extreme severity of the judgment, that they murmured?

J.T. Exactly; that is what we have to contend with at the present time; the reaction against those who had to exercise the discipline, because of assumed severity, but here it was God who directly inflicted the judgment. The renewed threat against the assembly (verse 45), is met by the immediate intercession of Moses and Aaron; they fell on their faces, and Moses proposed the censer and the incense, and that Aaron should go into the midst of the congregation. What is needed today is to get the brethren right, by bringing them under the fragrance of Christ brought out by the fire from the altar. He had to suffer. You could not have this fire and incense aside from the cross. If we judge sin as God sees it, we shall be slow to speak of severity in regard of judgment exercised on account of evil amongst saints. Nothing could be more severe than the judgment of God at the cross; sin is lawlessness -- it is the exercise of will against God's commandments. It is seen in Matthew 18:15 - 17, particularly in refusing to hear the assembly.

A.F.M. How do you apply the idea of Moses and Aaron falling on their faces?

J.T. I think Moses and Aaron represent the spirit that is needed today in these circumstances. Jesus fell to the earth and prayed as anticipating death in Gethsemane; so that it all comes back to what the cross means; how fragrant as seen there is Christ to God, and how we, too, come into that fragrance! So Aaron stands between the dead and the living; and though a good many are lost, yet the assembly is preserved characteristically.

A.F.M. Would you tell us the difference between the two hundred and fifty copper censers and this one golden censer?

J.T. The former were used by the two hundred and fifty men, and were taken and used for the covering of the altar as a memorial to the children of Israel, that no one but the true seed of Aaron should offer incense. These broad plates thus became a sign to Israel, that they be not as Korah, and as his band.

J.E.H. Would you mind telling us what this crisis was?

J.T. Well, it arose through Korah, a leading Levite, and Dathan and Abiram, who were sons of Reuben, the eldest son of Israel. These sons of Reuben were in the camp, south of the tabernacle, and this section of the Levites served in that locality; all were in a favourable position; thus it was a party formed by persons because of their contiguity to one another; this combination of evil is often seen in localities.

A.F.M. It says of Korah in verse 1 that he made bold. Is that not the secret of this whole movement?

J.T. Yes; the mustering of natural courage to attack what is of God. We know it is that which marks Christendom. It is particularly that brazen thing in Rome; persistent in boldness.

G.MacP. Was there not a semblance of truth in what Korah and his company said?

J.T. They say all the Lord's people are holy. Moses on hearing this "fell on his face", and "spoke to Korah and to all his band, saying. Even tomorrow will Jehovah make known who is his, and who is holy" (verse 5). That is a most comforting thought -- what God will do "tomorrow" in such circumstances.

J.T.Jr. We get the position narrowed down to two -- Moses and Aaron, do we not? -- those who are holding the position for God?

J.T. Yes; of course they represent Christ as Apostle and High Priest, but still as men of God they hold the ground; they become most exemplary in the way

they do it. Their service in preserving the assembly in its entirety at the end is striking, for the attack was immediately directed against them; they were the issue.

J.T.Jr. Do they not also represent the way the truth is held today down here? I thought the position was held by these two men in the camp itself.

J.T. Yes; it is a most stimulating account as to what two men can do, and I think it might be rightly linked on from that point of view with Matthew's gospel, which tells us about two demoniacs who were so bad that nobody could pass that way -- terrible opposition, but "two of you" is over against that -- two of the assembly, and what is needed is done.

A.P. The opposition was in laying claim to the whole assembly in verse 3. "It is enough", they said, "for all the assembly, all of them are holy" (verse 3).

J.T. Yes; the frequency of the word "assembly" throughout the chapter is remarkable. The tabernacle, of course, is typical of the saints, but the word "assembly" is very striking as seen throughout this chapter.

A.F.M. Would not the thought of assembly and congregation compare with what we get in Exodus 12? I mean, "congregation" is the people as numbered, whereas "assembly" would be the spiritual setting of the congregation.

J.T. That is the meaning J.N.D. gives, and it seems to be borne out. The word "congregation" in Exodus 12 is a word usually having a concrete significance; that is, the actual persons; whereas the other is also persons, only having the force of a moral whole, a corporate person before God, not necessarily including all, but maintaining the thought of what God owns.

C.A.M. As I understand it, the latter idea is what the gates of hell cannot prevail against.

J.T. Yes, as in remnant circumstances. "The virgin-daughter of Zion" despises the enemy, "the

daughter of Jerusalem" shakes her head at him. It was the word in Hezekiah's day in spite of the weakness (see Isaiah 37:22).

C.A.M. As I understand, that is, in principle, what is emphasised in this chapter, as the thing to be maintained.

J.T. Quite so; then the tent of meeting (verse 42), more particularly referring to the divine dwelling, and where the saints met with God and one another; the cloud covers and guards that.

C.A.M. The other dwellings -- those of the rebels -- have disappeared. They could not stand in the light of God.

J.T. That is solemn. God maintains His dwelling; in it is His testimony; He protects it with the cloud; God was, as it were, saying, I am taking over all this, whatever the opposition may be; and then the glory appears, which today would mean the manifest presence of God in the assembly convened, in connection with which such an attack takes place.

A.F.M. The door of the tabernacle would be the meeting-place generally. When Jehovah comes down He appears at the door of the tabernacle.

J.T. Quite so; and so He continues to meet with Israel. He met Moses at the mercy-seat within, and the people outside. The tent of meeting had both in mind.

A.R. Would the last verse of the chapter confirm what you are saying, that Aaron goes between the dead and the living, and returns to Moses, who was at the entrance of the tent of meeting?

J.T. That is it. The position is maintained; that is a good reference.

J.S. The tent of meeting is really where God is, is it not?

J.T. We want to hold to that; to be in keeping with it. That is what the chapter would teach us, that we should hold things for God in a crisis.

A.P. It is said that Jehovah would make known who is His and who is holy (verse 5). Does that compare with Corinthians, where Paul speaks of the approved becoming "manifest among you"?

J.T. Yes. "There must also be sects among you, that the approved may become manifest among you" (1 Corinthians 11:19); so that "tomorrow" is a word to be noticed: "tomorrow will Jehovah make known who is his, and who is holy; and he will cause him to come near to him; and him whom he has chosen, him will he cause to come near to him" (verse 5). I think the idea of tomorrow is, you go through the night God gives time for reflection, and He works, too. We learn in the book of Job, that God speaks to man in the night, so that he might judge himself in the night; the next day brings out the result.

C.A.M. Well, anyone that did not feel the intense solemnity of this pronouncement that the morrow would declare God's mind would be very brazen.

J.T. I thought that; how would we go to bed? What anxiety would there be as the test is gone through over night. In chapter 17 we have the decision as to Aaron's rod; it was laid up with the other rods over night. God gives decision in these matters, but He gives it in relation to our exercises.

J.S. So that the night season would be spent with God. Is that the thought?

J.T. The Lord Himself in a beautiful way says in Psalm 16:7, "Even in the nights my reins instruct me", that is, the inward parts instruct you. Romans 7 is the antecedent to the reins; the Lord did not need Romans 7, of course, but our inward automatic organs need to be purified, as with the woman at Sychar's well; so that the fountain of water might spring up in her. If I am to be tested by the night, I certainly ought to search myself in the evening, so that I am not governed by any

bias or any personal feeling, or any natural influence, but that I am wholly transparent before God, and desire to be only for God and what is of God.

A.F.M. So we have to maintain the last verse of Romans 7, as distinguishing between God's law and sin's law, by being on the side of the Spirit. That is the divine standard by which we should ever abide.

J.T. That is right; so you can see how the woman at Sychar's well would act when she departed from the Lord after the conversation with Him. She left her water-pot, and as she got back to the city she knew what to do, for she was wholly free from natural influence. She went to the men and said, "Come, see a man who told me all things I had ever done" (John 4:29). Christ was forthwith the Man for her.

A.B.P. The end of verse 3 of our chapter suggests that the rights of Jehovah were questioned. It says, "And why do ye lift up yourselves above the congregation of Jehovah?" They had not discerned that God had lifted up Moses and Aaron.

A.P.T. Would verse 11 supplement what our brother remarked? "For which cause thou and all thy band are banded together against Jehovah". It was really against Jehovah. I suppose that was really the position; the opposition is always against the truth.

J.T. I am sure that is right. Moses and Aaron, as has been remarked, were Jehovah's choice, and were taken up in a most remarkable way, according to divine wisdom. They represented God. It was said of Moses that he was to be God to Pharaoh, and Aaron was to be his prophet; so there was complete representation of God there.

C.H.H. Does that not, in principle, correspond with Acts 4? They were gathered together against the Lord and against His Christ.

J.T. Well, there it is again. They were banded together, as the rebels here were.

A.F.M. Do you think the thing we are speaking of is emphasised in verse 28: "And Moses said. Hereby shall ye know that Jehovah has sent me to do all these deeds, for they are not out of my own heart"?

J.T. He places himself there in the hands of Jehovah as to what he was to do in the way of judgment -- a most solemn matter, for God will vindicate those who are right, in some way or another; not always in this signal way, but He will do it.

J.T.Jr. In a previous chapter the assembly carries out judgment, but in this chapter God does it directly. Will you say a word as to the difference?

J.T. That is, in the case of the man gathering sticks on the sabbath, which is like 1 Corinthians 5. It is a most remarkable contrast. These two chapters helped us greatly in a crisis about seventeen years ago. Numbers 15 corresponds with 1 Corinthians 5:13, where direction is given that a wicked person is to be "put away from among yourselves", whereas chapter 16 is more 2 Timothy. Both chapters hold; they are Scripture, and are divine light for us. Only it is a question of comeliness now in having to separate from persons, not only individuals doing it, but the whole assembly doing it, and God deals with them. We do not put away or deliver them to Satan; we withdraw from them. God judges them, but in doing so He vindicates those that stand for the right; we may always expect Him to do this.

A.F.M. The point in 2 Timothy is to get right oneself; it is an individual thing. I was thinking about authority as seen in Moses entering into all that he did in our chapter. Those who submitted to Moses bowed to the Lord's authority. That was delegated to him, he did not need to make bold; he stood there with the conscious support of Jehovah.

J.T. Moses fell on his face; representing those who feel and acknowledge the current evil, but the others

stood with no acknowledgment at all. That was the cause of the judgment being executed.

A.N.W. Perhaps, then, there is a blending of 1 Corinthians 5, 2 Timothy 2, and Matthew 18, divine authority entering into all.

J.T. I think there is. We want to see that we are in remnant times, and that we cannot speak in the full way, as they could earlier, of the assembly doing things, because we do not have the assembly in that complete sense, and so should move in comeliness. I believe the Spirit of God has provided scriptures for us to help us to act in remnant times, in dealing with evil. We should rather avoid the use of the word "assembly"; it being perhaps a little pretentious to say. The assembly is doing this, or This is an assembly action. There is no such thing, properly, today, as an "assembly action", because we have no assembly in that sense, but there is such a thing as an action that may be in principle the same thing, and God recognises it. We avoid the use of the word as the Scripture does; so in Matthew 18:19, the Lord says, "Again I say to you". He had already spoken about the assembly and its authority, but now He says, "Again I say to you", as if He is contemplating another, a remnant state of things; "If two of you shall agree on the earth concerning any matter, whatsoever it may be that they shall ask, it shall come to them from my Father who is in the heavens" (Matthew 18:19). Now that little word 'you' is intelligible to a spiritual person. He understands that the Lord is accrediting those two with being of the assembly, without mentioning it; and then again, "Where two or three are gathered together unto my name" (Matthew 18:20), that is a very unpretentious thing, but we must recognise the Name, the name of the Lord Jesus, or we are not Christians at all. There is no ecclesiastical assumption in that, but yet the Lord says, I am with you; I am there in the midst of them. The personal pronouns are most interesting, and so the power proper to the

assembly is there. We can understand that the power is there and what is done is according to the assembly. Heaven understands it, but for the sake of seemliness and humility, we avoid official terms. We are not the assembly, but still the personal pronoun identifies us with it. It is a question of spiritual understanding and humility.

J.S. Is it the result of prayer?

J.T. I think so. It is very comely, and always right to ask God to act for us. No matter what is against those of the assembly, this united prayer will bring in deliverance.

C.A.M. Asking seemed to bring in the very spirit here that was so wonderful.

J.T. I think it enters into Moses and Aaron falling on their faces. Then we come to 2 Timothy, where we have the firm foundation of God. There is no pretension in speaking of God's foundation. It does not say. The firm foundation of the assembly. That is implied, but God brings in the moral thought. If we do not bring God in, we are not acting as Christians. "The firm foundation of God stands, having this seal,(2 Timothy 2:19)" it says; that is, the foundation has the seal, which is, "The Lord knows those that are his; and. Let every one who names the name of the Lord withdraw from iniquity",(2 Timothy 2:19) which means that we are owned of the Lord as in remnant times.

A.F.M. Would there be a distinction between Matthew and John? The local assembly in 1 Corinthians 5 was to remove the wicked person from amongst themselves. Those that did so would answer more to Matthew when the assembly was intact; the withdrawing of today would be more like John. We do not get official names in John's gospel at all, but you have the thing itself.

J.T. That helps greatly. John's gospel avoids anything that would give us official status, and yet it

makes plain that the things are there. We know that all that enters into the assembly remains here, since the Spirit remains here.

A.P. In connection with the character of a meeting for discipline, would it be right to say at the beginning of the meeting, 'We are together in assembly character'?

J.T. Yes; provided the announcement is thus carefully worded; so that people do not get the impression that we are the assembly or assume the position of being the assembly; and yet we may know that God is with us.

A.N.W. What about the authority of Mark 13:34? That was vested in the bondmen; the Lord gave to the bondmen the authority.

J.T. I think that is a moral thought connected with the servant's responsibility, as also the bondmen in the introduction to the book of Revelation. The book is on that level: "To shew to his bondmen" (Revelation 1:1). I think that may be rightly taken up. 'Bondman' is not an official word; it conveys a lowly thought. The principle of obedience is involved in it, which affords the qualification to have the authority. He gave them the authority; that is, the whole of it. The whole thought now is linked up with obedience -- subjection to Christ.

C.H.H. I thought the idea of authority also comes to light in 2 Timothy.

J.T. There is a mandate in the foundation in that epistle: "having this seal", that is, the foundation has it. And the idea of the seal, I think, is mandatory. The Lord knows them that are His, but we admit that we are in remnant days, so that our responsibility is to withdraw from iniquity; then in regard to dishonourable persons, we are told how to purify ourselves from them, that is, by separating from them; then what we do positively is to pursue righteousness, that is the leader, and then faith, love, and peace with those that call upon the Lord out of a pure heart.

J.E.H. How would you know the "two of you" that were of the assembly? What features would you look for in them to convince you that the Lord was with them?

J.T. In the gospels we see what marked the disciples, and how they stood out in the testimony in the beginning of the Acts. Such features are to be found among the people of God today. The one hundred and twenty of Acts 1:15 would be good models for us.

A.R. They would regard the authority and the priesthood of Christ?

C.A.M. In connection with our brother's inquiry as to how those of the assembly are known, what you said earlier should help; that the two in Matthew 18:19 were, as it were, set over against the two demoniacs of chapter 8:28, where we have a combination of what is against God.

J.T. Quite so. Matthew has in mind to furnish material for the assembly, in that sense; so that chapter 18 begins with a little child. The personnel of the assembly is set out in chapter 17. We have the foundation material in chapter 16, but the personnel of the assembly is set out in the heavenly scene on the mount, then later in chapter 17, sonship is attributed to the disciples. In chapter 18 they say, "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of the heavens?" (Matthew 18:1) They were saying this, which of course does not characterise those of the assembly. When it is a question of the assembly, the Lord calls a little child to Him; such a one would be amenable to the Lord's call. And He "set it in their midst" (Matthew 18:2). That is important; indeed, I think, the whole chapter is to bring out what the child represents -- what "two of you" are characteristically.

C.A.M. It would seem that as soon as the Lord has brought into view these glorious things, Satan makes an effort to spoil it: he does it in chapter 16

and at the end of chapter 17. The Lord had just spoken about the liberty of sonship, when Satan makes an effort to foster rivalry.

J.T. That is right; the dignity of sons, I think, is seen on the mount in chapter 17; the relation of sonship, when they come down from the mount. The sons are free, the Lord says: we are in liberty inwardly, as before God, but then how do I deport myself among the brethren? The Lord takes the little child and sets him among the disciples. He is there for everyone to see. The Lord says, "Unless ye are converted and become as little children, ye will not at all enter into the kingdom of the heavens" (Matthew 18:3). We learn thus something of the meaning of "two of you". The greater I am inwardly according to chapter 17, the smaller I can be outwardly.

T.E.H. Would this connect with the beginning of Matthew's gospel: Joseph was commanded to take the little Child and its mother? Should that mark the period we are in?

J.T. Quite so.

A.P.T. In Acts 3, you have Peter and John going up to the temple to pray.

J.T. They certainly represent "two of you"; perhaps in a greater sense than that of which we are speaking, because they were apostles, but they call attention to "us"; Peter said, "Look on us", doubtless because of what they were.

A.P. I was wondering, since Paul brought out the truth of the assembly, whether Timothy and Titus might not represent "two of you" in a day like ours; for instance, he could speak of Timothy as being "like-minded", as caring for the saints, and Titus brought an encouraging report about the Corinthian saints.

J.T. I think the comparison and use of the numerals two and three in the Scriptures are most interesting. The Lord brings the number down to two, and John brings it down to one. John shows how one person

qualified becomes an abiding place for divine Persons; two is Matthew's number; his instruction shows the workableness of the Lord's thought even with two or three.

J.S. We see how heaven would act for the two: "It shall come to them from my Father who is in the heavens", (Matthew 18:19).

J.T. It comes by something happening in the locality, in response to the prayers of those taking account of things; feeling as to them, and waiting upon God about a low state among the saints. God has His way of coming in, and He will give such to understand that in coming in He is answering their prayers . I am sure you and I have seen that in this city, how God comes in at a difficult time, and gives us to understand that He has heard us.

J.E.H. It proves that the heavens do rule.

A.B.P. I was wondering why you emphasised the thought of calling the little child.

J.T. I thought of it as indicative of the humble state of one as available for the Lord, who knew him beforehand. Of course. He knows all about each of us. I believe in the history of the testimony that is to be seen over and over again. The most unlikely person is called and set down, as it were, in the midst of the brethren at a juncture.

A.P.M. What have you to say about the climax here? We have already referred to it in part, that Aaron stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was stayed; then after enumerating the dead, it goes on to say that Aaron returned to Moses to the entrance of the tent of meeting, and the plague was stayed.

J.T. You have these two representative men together at the entrance of the place of meeting. I think it is most suggestive that the end reached in al this is that the service of God goes on. The tabernacle of God is secured. God's wrath is appeased through the

atonement, and now Moses and Aaron are at the tent of meeting, which means that the service is to go on. The brethren, too, can meet together.

J.T.Jr. It says that Aaron took the censer and ran; the thing is done quickly. Do you think that feature comes out in Mark's gospel? Mark tells us that things are done immediately?

J.T. Yes. Haste is certainly important in these circumstances; we are not to delay, because the matter is most urgent. It is very remarkable that the running is by Aaron; no doubt to bring out the sympathy side on the part of the man who serves, because you cannot afford to lose a brother or a sister. The plague had started; people may be floundering about and hiding behind their ignorance, and thus be lost in darkness, but the true priest would do what he could to save all. It is solemn because the judicial acts of God enter into all this.

A.F.M. You make reference to darkness, what is in your mind?

J.T. People by disregarding right principles through bias on account of persons they like or dislike may thus become dark, ceasing to have part in what is living. It says that Aaron stood between the dead and living and the plague was stayed, although fourteen thousand seven hundred were lost. I think it is to be solemnly noted that there were so many lost, in spite of the efforts to save all.

A.P. If Aaron had not run, there might have been three or four times as many die of the plague.

J.T. Yes, and we ought to be on our guard in such circumstances to see all things clearly because they may be thus seen . Righteousness is our leader, and where it exists it may always be seen -- thus to fail to see it is either negligence or wilfulness on our part.

A.F.M. When things are plain, above-board, and clear, why do I not see?

J.T. Quite so; others see it, why cannot I? God may allow darkness, or even send it, because of a previous course. Here in spite of all the efforts put forth, and it is most remarkable the way Moses and Aaron acted in this terrible crisis, there were fourteen thousand lost.

T.W. Why is it that the whole assembly said of Moses and Aaron, "Ye have killed the people of Jehovah" (verse 41)?

J.T. It illustrates how quick we are to blame unfairly those who have to exercise discipline. 'You have been too severe', people say; whereas what was done was right, and I ought to know it.

A.P.T. In Galatians 2 in connection with the matter of circumcision it says Peter separated himself; he knew the truth, but acted contrary to it. There was no excuse for him in what he did.

J.T. Exactly, and Barnabas was carried away too.

Rem. When Paul would correct such conduct, he says, "So I have become your enemy in speaking the truth to you?". (Galatians 4:16). I suppose Moses and Aaron were really regarded as enemies of the people because of what took place here.

J.T. When in truth they were serving the testimony and the people with might and main. It is very beautiful to see how they fell on their faces, and how Aaron ran to save the people, and stayed the plague.

J.S. His haste was to bring in that which spoke of the fragrance of Christ, on account of which the plague was stayed. I suppose we help one another by bringing Christ in.

J.T. We have "atonement" here, through the holy fragrance thus brought out, which speaks of Christ as entering into death to appease God, as dealing with a condition utterly intolerable to Him. The incense on the fire from off the altar placed in the censer denoted this. All is fragrant, so the plague is stayed; God was appeased in that most significant way.

W.B-w. At Galatia, there was another plague introduced by the judaisers. Paul said, "Far be it from me to boast save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ", (Galatians 6:14). Paul uses the censer with incense on the fire there.

J.T. I think so. You feel how Christ seen thus is needed under these circumstances when there is a bad odour. The fleshly feelings of the people in Numbers 16 prevailed; evil personal feelings arose; there must have been awful feelings among the people in this uprising. There were probably two millions there. What bitter remarks would be heard as one went around the tents! 'Think of what Moses has done! He slew all these people. I knew many of them, they were godly men', and so on. Of course, they were princes whom Moses used to summon to the council, but what were they doing when the judgment fell? They were banded together against God, against His servants and the testimony. The incense that Aaron brought in among the people was fragrant. This overcame the noisome odour that had permeated the camp, and God was appeased; thus Israel could go on, having God with them, and the plague was stayed.

A.P.T. Moses could not prevent the ground from opening its mouth; he was unable to do anything there. That judgment was determined of God, and it must go through; Moses could but acquiesce in what Jehovah did.

J.T. Quite; that is the thought; although some blamed Moses and Aaron for it.

A.P.T. The judgment determined was executed by God, but there was help for those who murmured.

J.T. Yes; "The whole assembly of the children of Israel murmured on the morrow against Moses and against Aaron, saying. Ye have killed the people of Jehovah" (verse 41). They would make them guilty of murder, charging them with killing the people of Jehovah. How extremely unfair! It was God who did it.

But I think, over against this, it is beautiful to see how Aaron and Moses meet the situation; the result is that the plague was stayed and the people saved; and they are at their appointed places at the tent of meeting, so that the service of God continues.

A.N.W. Jehovah's presence was manifestly there.

A.R. The authority of Christ would be seen in Moses remaining before the tent of meeting, and in Aaron returning to it; hence the priesthood is also preserved and active.

J.T. Quite so; nothing is lost in that sense.

J.S. The confirmation of what is right, I suppose, is in seeing where the glory rests, in any of these issues. It says in verse 42 that "they looked toward the tent of meeting, and behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of Jehovah appeared".

J.T. I think that is a very beautiful picture; Jehovah covers the tabernacle, as much as to say. This is mine. "Make me a sanctuary" (Exodus 25:8). He had said, and then His glory appears there, too. Who can dispute that He is there?

C.A.M. I think that if every one of us would keep our eye on the presence of God, we would be helped, and be preserved from distraction. We must recognise His presence.

A.F.M. What would you say about the choice of Aaron's staff, as coming in on the principle of life out of death?

J.T. There we have another night of exercise; the priesthood is now set up in a living way. Who could dispute Aaron's priesthood after this? Truly, that is the test today; where life is, that is where priesthood is!

A.R. In the cloud covering the tabernacle, does that infer that God will protect the position?

J.T. I think so. He takes on the securing of it. The glory appearing is a witness of His presence, as supporting those who are standing by His rights.

THE AUTHORITY OF CHRIST IN THE ASSEMBLY (2)

Exodus 32:26 - 29 Numbers 3:5 - 16

J.T. It is thought that this subject, the Levites, may be divided in the two readings before us: the two scriptures read for consideration this afternoon, and in the evening a scripture in Numbers 8 and one in Deuteronomy 33. We should direct our attention to the facts recorded in Exodus 32, where the Levites are seen as qualifying for their great service by taking the Lord's side in a crisis; this event evidently occurred before the one recorded in Numbers, and reminds us that levitical service hinges on faithfulness to the Lord. The apostle Paul speaks about being counted faithful and so appointed to ministry (1 Timothy 1:12), and these four verses in Exodus 32 show that the Levites came out in an unqualified way to the Lord's side in a crisis.

This chapter records the making of the calf and the mixture of good and evil; even after the position was clear and Jehovah came in, a mixture still remained, for the tabernacle was pitched outside the camp, and certain ones went out; that is, those that sought the Lord. Others remained in their tents, so that this section would teach us the importance of whole-heartedness in a crisis, to avoid mixed feelings, and above all, to avoid latitudinarian thoughts or a compromise between the truth and error. That is what was begun at Bethesda, a sort of straggle; there is always the tendency to put truth and error on the same plane, or perhaps to call good, evil, or evil, good. So I thought it would be wholesome to look at this incident as showing whole-heartedness and loyalty to God and to Christ; encouraging us to be on His side, and not on any other.

J.E.H. The challenge is, "He that is for Jehovah, let him come to me". It is a question of being for Jehovah.

A.P.M. You referred to the mixture of good and evil, as illustrated in what Aaron said: "Tomorrow is a feast to Jehovah!" (Exodus 32:5) -- mixing up idolatry with the worship of Jehovah.

J.T. That is what I was thinking, the tendency to level good and evil.

A.N.W. Moses took his stand by the gate of the camp. Was that position designed?

J.T. Yes; it says he stood in the gate of the camp, as if it were the crucial position.

C.A.M. I was struck with that in reading it. The gate seems to be emphasised.

J.T. It is the public position that is in mind.

W.B-w. Why do you think it is the sons of Levi only that gathered to him?

J.T. It serves to bring out what we have in mind, that they qualified for the subsequent great calling and privilege of service, as proving themselves true at this critical time.

C.A.M. That gives a great emphasis to the numbering. I was struck with what you said about this preceding the calling, or numbering. When God numbers, there is some moral reason for it.

J.T. Yes. This evidently preceded the numbering of the Levites to take the place of the first-born in Israel; that is, they were elevated into a great position -- not simply because they are the sons of Levi, but because they had qualified morally.

A.P. Would you say more as to Aaron's position at the beginning of the chapter?

J.T. Well, he evidently is weak. It says, "When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people collected together to Aaron, and said to him. Up, make us a god, who will go before us; for this Moses, the man that has brought us up out of the land of Egypt, -- we do not know what is become of him! And Aaron said to them. Break off the golden rings that are in the ears of your wives, of your sons,

and of your daughters, and bring them to me" (Exodus 32:1,2). He, I suppose, represents one in responsibility prominently, and yet allowing himself to be drawn into the evil. It was not his own thought; he was brought into it. He tells Moses afterwards, "And they said to me, Make us a god, ... And I said to them. Who has gold? They broke it off, and gave it me, and I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf" (Exodus 32:23 - 25). That is how he accounts for it.

A.P. Is the last reference to Aaron here an excuse, or how do you regard it?

J.T. He tries to reduce his own responsibility in the thing to a minimum, and puts the burden of it on the people. I think Aaron is the key to the mixed condition that existed, for, as the narrative goes on in chapter 33, it will be noted that Moses took the tent and pitched it outside the camp, afar off from the camp, and called it the Tent of meeting. "And it came to pass that every one who sought Jehovah went out to the tent of meeting which was outside the camp. And it came to pass, when Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose up, and stood every man at the entrance of his tent, and they looked after Moses until he entered into the tent" (Exodus 33:7 - 9). They stood, each at the entrance of his tent. They were not against him exactly; they looked after him, as if interested, but they did not go out; that is, it is a half-hearted position. Those that sought the Lord went out to the tent of meeting.

A.P.T. Is Peter in a like situation in regard to circumcision at Antioch?

J.T. I think there is a correspondence there. He was amenable to influence, and when "certain came from James ... he drew back and separated himself" (Galatians 2:12). He thus denied the truth -- for the time, at least.

A.N.W. What is the significance of the priesthood being allowed to fail, while the apostle becomes the rallying point? Moses says. Come to me. What is the point in that?

J.T. Well, of course, Moses was representative more of Jehovah. Aaron had not been called up to the point of "the mountain of God", to receive "the tables of stone, and the law, and the commandment" (Exodus 24:12). Aaron, in this connection is not to be regarded as typical of Christ. He with Hur was left with the people while Moses was on high. It was provisional in the absence of the mediator, and Aaron proved unequal to his responsibility. Thus he cannot be viewed here as representing the priesthood, as associated with the apostleship of Christ. There is no discrepancy in the apostleship and the high priesthood in Christ. You have to take them here severally: Moses, representing the authority of God, being called to the supreme point on high, and being there forty days and forty nights without eating or drinking. Aaron was below with the people. They are not seen as acting together, for the people said they did not know what had become of Moses. It is like Christ, gone into heaven; and Aaron is the responsible element down here with the people.

E.E.H. How do you account for the fact that Aaron did not come under the judgment although he actually made the calf?

J.T. I suppose there is discrimination in his favour, for he really was brought into the evil. It was not a movement like Korah's, which had a leader; he being the chief instigator of the movement.

A.F.M. In that relation Hur would rightly stand with Aaron as supporting him. In chapter 24, as Moses and Joshua went up to the mountain of God, he said to the elders, "Wait here for us, until we return to you; and behold, Aaron and Hur are with you: if any man have any matter, let him come before them" (Exodus 24:14).

J.T. Hur is not mentioned here at all. It is significant, for authorities say his name means purity. Evidently he was not brought into this evil matter, possibly was not consulted. It is, I think, the explanation in

part of the mixed state of things, that Aaron was amenable to the influence of others. He was drawn into the thing.

A.P. Would he give reputation to the wrong movement on account of who he was?

J.T. Quite so, and ostensibly had the right to make a proclamation; it says, "And Aaron saw it, and built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation, and said, Tomorrow is a feast to Jehovah" (Exodus 32:5). He did not proclaim the feast until he saw the idol, which is sorrowful. Instead of recoiling from his product, he proclaimed a feast to it, after he saw it, so that he was committed in that way, and the more responsible.

A.F.M. There is design, too, in the fashioning of this calf; he employed a chisel. But in the account of things to Moses, he says, "There came out this calf" (Exodus 32:24), as excusing the thing, would you say?

J.T. Yes, it says he "fashioned it with a chisel and made of it a molten calf: and they said. This is thy god, Israel, who has brought thee up out of the land of Egypt!" (Exodus 32:4) That is what they said; the people had wanted it, but Aaron saw it and built an altar before it, and Aaron made the proclamation and said, "Tomorrow is a feast to Jehovah!" (Exodus 32:5). That is, I think, he is holding them back from idolatry in linking it up with Jehovah; it was a go-between. I suppose the instigators of the thing would go the whole way, because they wanted idolatry; indeed, the prophets say that this is the beginning of the idolatrous history of things, and that God would transport them beyond Babylon; but it would seem as if Aaron was holding them back and connecting the wickedness with Jehovah.

C.A.M. That seems to account for his way of speaking about it. It was a kind of muddled way he had of looking at the whole thing.

J.T. That is always the case where we are not out and out for the Lord. Our minds are dark and confused until we take a definite stand for the truth.

R.W.S. Joshua does not miss his way, but he seems to miss the issue in this crisis. What does he represent?

J.T. Well, also a mixed state of mind. He calls it the noise of war; he had bad hearing. That is, it is putting in the thought of war instead of mirth: they "sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play" (Exodus 32:6). It was idolatry, and marked by this sort of thing, which is all around us now in the religious systems, connecting it with Jehovah, but giving way to natural mirth, which is idolatry. Joshua did not discern that it was the noise of that; Moses discerned it at once.

A.P.M. Although Aaron was foremost in making the idol, he is not cut off, as many were at that time; yet he was not immune from God's displeasure. It says in Deuteronomy, that Jehovah was very angry to destroy him. It is a serious thing to come under the displeasure of God.

A.C. Does not Aaron's position show us what is liable to occur in the most spiritual, at an unguarded moment if not near the Lord?

J.T. That is the lesson to be learned. We allow ourselves to be brought into evil, and then attach what good we can to it, to make it less wicked than it is. Aaron in connecting the calf with the name of Jehovah sought to modify the wickedness.

A.P. Would Aaron be a nominal leader, but really one led by the people? May that not be a tendency with us, to be led by popular opinion, rather than leading in accord with the thoughts of God?

J.T. Quite so.

A.R. What was lacking? Was it the absence of the authority of Christ? The priesthood was there, as seen in Aaron.

J.T. I think that was the fact; Moses was not there. Of course, it may be applied now; it is the state of Christendom in the absence of Christ. We have all this fallacy of truth mixed with error around us. It was typically an admixture of idolatry and Christianity;

the leaders, particularly, the Episcopalians, and Presbyterians, and others do not wish to go the whole road to Rome, but the mixture in doctrine and the unrestrained worldliness make them idolatrous; it is all because the Lord is not here. As soon as you make room for Him, you have recovery; so that Moses in coming down represents the drastic character of the Lord's intervention. It says, "And he took the calf that they had made, and burned it with fire, and ground it to powder, and strewed it on the water, and made the children of Israel drink it" (Exodus 32:20). That is the first thing he does as to it: the complete demolition of the idol, and the people made to drink the water on which was strewed the powder of the idol. He makes them do it; showing the moral power he had: over against Aaron who had no power at all to stand against them.

A.F.M. What is the idea of the drinking of this water?

J.T. Well, it would bring it home to them. You have the thought elsewhere of water being drunk judicially; and we have also "the little book" (Revelation 10), eaten. This water mixed with powder of the burnt idol going into the intestines, would mean the whole being absorbed it, so to speak, so that one would realise what one has done. You may not be affected really by something said to you about a matter, but in the drinking it is brought home to you in this palpable way.

J.S. Moses would make them taste the bitterness of the thing.

J.T. Quite so. That was what it really was. The Lord is asserting His authority even in Christendom today, bringing the current idolatrous conditions home to the consciences of some.

J.T.Jr. Would it be like, "Those that sin convict before all" (1 Timothy 5:20), to bring home to the conscience the truth of the matter?

J.T. That illustrates how it works out. There is no resistance to Moses here; as he comes in, evil goes down before him. It is a question of letting the Lord have His way, "Let every one who names the name of the Lord withdraw from iniquity", (2 Timothy 2:19). We want the Lord to have His way, thus there is power to deal with sin. He then says to Aaron, "What has this people done to thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin on them?" (Exodus 32:21). Moses puts the responsibility of making the calf largely on Aaron, "And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord burn!" (Exodus 32:22). It is remarkable that he should call Moses "lord" here, for the first time, I think. He was three years his senior, so that he must have felt the power of God vested in His servant at this time. He says, "Let not the anger of my lord burn! thou knowest the people, that they are set on mischief. And they said to me, Make us a god, who will go before us; for this Moses, the man that has brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what is become of him! And I said to them, Who has gold? They broke it off, and gave it to me, and I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf" (Exodus 32:22 - 24). Well, that is not the whole truth.

J.S. Moses' attitude would show how displeased Jehovah was by the presence of the calf.

J.T. Yes; when Aaron saw it, he built an altar to it. As if to say, 'This is going too far, and we must retrench'. He built an altar, and proclaimed a feast to Jehovah; he was by this means toning down the sin. Aaron had been damaged and was terribly wrong; now he drops down to prevarication.

A.P.M. Do you think that is where a lot of trouble occurs, not only in Christendom, but amongst us, that only part of the truth is told? Is there not a lot of mischief done because of that? We want the whole truth.

J.S. Aaron was damaged and the mediator was displeased. How serious that was!

J.T. Yes, quite; so that Aaron drops out of view for a while here. He is out of view during the recovery all is linked with Moses. Aaron is not mentioned again until Moses returns from the mountain, when his face shone, and then he is afraid to come near the mediator. He is called "the Levite" earlier, this evidently being characteristic, but he is not in that capacity at all here, and that brings out the point in the verses we read, that faithfulness of the true Levites is over against Aaron's weakness, vacillation, and prevarication, because he is not declaring the thing as it is. He is hiding himself as much as possible from the responsibility for the sin he committed, but Moses holds him to it, because he said to Aaron, "What has this people done to thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin on them?" (Exodus 32:21). He puts the onus of it on Aaron; he had brought the sin on the people -- although they, as we have seen, brought him into it.

Ques. Why did Aaron leave out that part about the chiselling?

J.T. He did not tell the whole truth. Job says, "Hast thou plentifully declared the thing as it is?" Job 26:3.

G.MacP. Moses knew the truth before; it was told him by Jehovah.

J.T. Quite so. It is in verses 7 and 8 that the people's part in this wickedness of making the calf is stressed.

A.B.P. It says that Moses saw that the people were stripped; the footnote says, "unbridled". Does that suggest that they were not under control?

J.T. It was the shameless idolatrous state they were in. It looks as if Aaron helped them to complete their moral degradation!

J.T.Jr. Moses did not allow his natural relationship to interfere with his judgment of Aaron, did he?

J.T. He did not. Natural relationships were ignored in the striking loyalty to the rights of God which was manifest in Moses and the Levites. It was a question of the Lord and who was for Him . When Moses demands as to who is for the Lord, all the sons of Levi gathered to him. That it should be said "all" is remarkable, because a great many Levites must have been slain, so it must be the Spirit's way of giving the facts -- that the full thought of Levi in the crisis comes to light here.

A.P.M. Towards the end of Numbers, we see Phinehas going forward with the zeal and jealousy of Jehovah, on his own initiative, but here the sons of Levi come forward as subject to Moses' demand. Is there not something to be noted in that?

J.T. Well, it is a very fine passage in the sense of exhibiting loyalty. "All the sons of Levi gathered to him" (verse 26). You would be distressed to find yourself outside of that company.

N.McC. You made a remark earlier that Aaron was drawn into the idolatrous thing in which he was half-hearted; then he makes excuses. All that was despicable to those standing for God, was it not?

J.T. It was. You see how very weak his position was here. He was self-condemned really. If he had plentifully declared the thing as it was, he would have come out commendably. You have respect for a man that tells the whole truth, although it condemns himself. He says nothing about the chisel, nor about making the altar, nor of the proclamation. He puts the whole blame on the people; whereas Moses puts it on him, for, in truth, he was responsible. If he had stood out against the evil at the outset, God would have supported him, and it is likely there would have been no idolatry.

A.C. Do you not think that the faithfulness of Moses to his brother in this crisis laid the basis for further movements on his part in faithfulness to God?

J.T. Yes; he was faithful in all God's house. At no point in Moses' history does he shine, in this respect,

more than here. It is striking to see the power in which he acted in grinding the calf to powder and strewing it on the water and making the people to drink it, and then standing at the gate and calling upon those who were for Jehovah to come to him, and in all that followed, including the pitching of the tent outside the camp, he stands out triumphantly on moral ground, as a man of faithfulness and courage.

A.R. Is there not significance in the fact that the sons of Levi gathered to Moses first before he tells them to do anything? I was wondering whether it suggests the idea of coming under his influence first.

J.T. I think that is right. In a service so momentous, involving the loss of the saints, we need to be with the Lord, to be influenced and guided by Him.

W.B-w. Aaron being damaged, as you have been saying, how was he recovered?

J.T. It is an important question. We do not get the process of Aaron's recovery. It is said in Deuteronomy, as remarked already, that the Lord sought to slay him. He was in a very serious position. According to Deuteronomy 9 Moses prayed for Aaron and thus evidently saved him from destruction. And we may be sure that Aaron went through much soul history with God in this matter at that time. He was a man capable of that. Undoubtedly he went through what was needed with God in order to be reinstated in His service.

A.P. Is there a danger of idolatry in connection with any issues that might arise amongst us, and how would it work out?

J.T. While no one seems to be against Moses as he returned, yet there was a mixed state of things in the camp. Some of them take the Lord's side, and the judgment is executed, Moses goes the whole road in placing the tent outside the camp, and those that sought the Lord went out to it; others looked after Moses from their tent doors, as much as to say, 'We have

respect for him, but we will not go the whole way'. You can understand that they would whisper and say that Moses was too extreme, too exacting; but those that sought the Lord went out to the tent of meeting.

J.E.H. They refrained from speaking disparagingly about him when he was with them, but when he was away they slightingly spoke of him as "this Moses"; then again, when he was with them they were silent and dare not do aught but respect him.

J.T. You will notice that he does not make himself the centre; he took the tent and pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp, and called it the Tent of meeting. He also stood in the gate, and said, "He that is for Jehovah, let him come to me", which would show that he represented divine authority; but in chapter 33 he makes the tent the centre, meaning that the tent was the divine thought, as the place where Jehovah could be. He pitched the tent outside the camp. It was an action of intelligence, for the tabernacle had already been spoken of. This act of Moses is alluded to in Hebrews 13. As it was divinely owned then, so it is owned today. As having gone outside the camp to Christ, bearing His reproach, He is known amongst us.

A.F.M. There is evidently a succession of steps in this movement. Firstly, Moses addresses Aaron as to his part in relation to the calf; then he challenges those for Jehovah to come to him; following that the drastic movement takes place, of three thousand people being slain; and then the tent of meeting is pitched outside the camp. Is that the order of events?

J.T. That is right. It is a new start. The truth is now asserted in the position of the tent outside . The tent represents the divinely accepted place of meeting.

A.P. Does verse 11 of chapter 33 confirm that, for though Moses leaves the tent to go to the camp, Joshua stays there?

J.T. Yes. Joshua represents the appreciative spiritual element in the new position -- that outside the camp.

A.R. And you get the divine presence here now, do you not? The pillar of cloud descends, and stands at the entrance of the tent; that is, you get divine committal to it.

J.T. Yes. "And it came to pass, when Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose up, and stood every man at the entrance of the tent, and they looked after Moses until he entered into the tent. And it came to pass when Moses entered into the tent, the pillar of cloud descended, and stood at the entrance of the tent, and Jehovah talked with Moses" (Exodus 33:8,9). Now the position taken up in faithfulness is consolidated and fixed by the divine glory. I think that is how the truth is re-set.

W.B-w. It is significant that in chapter 32 all the sons of Levi gathered themselves to Moses, but there is no word about the tent.

J.T. Well, would that not be our coming under the Lord? "Go forth to him without the camp" (Hebrews 13:13) -- coming under the Lord, standing as in the gate, is a military position. He does not go outside yet; but when the tent is pitched outside, we go forth to Him bearing His reproach. But what happened militarily is actually inside the camp, and "come unto me" would mean that one leaves the domination of others and takes his place under Christ. They did not begin to use the sword, you will observe, until they went to Moses. "He said to them. Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel: Put every man his sword upon his hip; go ... and slay every man his brother, and every man his friend ..." (verse 27). The sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses; they do not act until he directs them. An believer today, in idolatrous association is to take his place under the direction of the Lord, and then consecrate

himself "with his son, and with his brother", which really means separating from evil.

J.T.Jr. The sword is connected with that; it is to be on the hip. Would the sword be the word of God in that connection?

J.T. Quite so, and there is a blessing attached to the action (verse 29). The place of meeting is another thing; that is not the military. It is what the word signifies. It is where we meet the Lord and one another. The military matter here is in the camp, where you have to do violence to other people and to yourself.

A.N.W. Would chapter 32 of Exodus fit in with the first letter to the Corinthians, and chapter 33 with the second letter?

J.T. Quite so, and chapter 34, too. The first epistle to the Corinthians is really the sword, the word of God in that sense for slaying the evil, as it were, but the second epistle is chiefly the new covenant relation. The call in Christendom is to the Lord -- Who is on the Lord's side? And as soon as one takes up fidelity to the Lord there must be violence. He will be able to leave his nearest and dearest if necessary and consecrate himself in that way. One says to his father and mother, "I see him not" (Deuteronomy 33:9). That is the principle, that you do violence to natural feelings, and even to mere religious feelings. But chapter 33 is a question of our meeting together in peace, and where God comes in and speak with us, and the glory descends, so that the whole matter is settled. That is what happened about one hundred years ago; the position was confirmed, and has been preserved by God ever since.

J.S. It would show the conditions in which God can be with us as outside of the idolatrous camp.

J.T. That is right. The violence is in the camp and you come under great reproach for that violence, but the peaceful meeting outside by those who fear the Lord is in chapter 33, at the tent of meeting.

C.A.M. The military action is emphasised, but it always has an objective. The Levites would never acquire this setting in their normal service, would they?

J.T. No; so that I believe we may call the scripture in Exodus 32 our qualification for levitical service. Through faithfulness you are worthy of notice in view of being employed in the service of God. You may have all the education the seminaries of Christendom can give you, and yet may not be qualified to be numbered among the servants of God. The initial qualification is this act of violence in the camp.

Then the next thing is the acceptance of the Levites by Jehovah. That is our next passage -- in Numbers 3; as much as to say that He approved of them; they had qualified, and now He takes them on -- He says "instead of". "And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying. Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister unto him; and they shall keep his charge, and the charge of the whole assembly, before the tent of meeting, to do the service of the tabernacle" (verse 5 - 7). You have the tabernacle or tent of meeting in Exodus 33, and now these men have qualified themselves, and He is taking them on as servants instead of the firstborn in Israel.

C.A.M. They were really going to be a most peaceful people!

J.T. Exactly; they were not military people properly. Jehovah says, "Bring the tribe of Levi near".

A.P.T. Levi's name means "joined", does it not? Whereas this dealing with evil is the antithesis to that.

J.T. That is, you disjoin yourself, you dissociate yourself from what is evil. And now you are joined with Aaron, for in Numbers 18 they are united with Aaron. The word was taken from Genesis 29:34.

J.S. Would the Levites' faithfulness here suggest any prior history by the fact that they all came to Moses?

J.T. Why is it that they did this? There must have been some antecedent history as in the case of Aaron

earlier, of whom Jehovah said, "I know him". But the point is they did this, and God is taking them up on this ground, for they have gone the whole way in the crisis. I believe that what is creditable is that we go the whole road, without compromising; God would say of such, 'You are peculiarly pleasing to Me, and I wish you near'. Now they are associated with Aaron the priest, to be before him. They are to serve him, to keep his charge, also the charge of the whole assembly, to do the service of the tabernacle. In chapter 8, where they are presented to Jehovah and waved before Him, He says, as it were, 'I wish to have more of this', so He reduced their age from thirty to twenty-five. I believe that is the idea. God has something great for those who qualify in this way, a service in which we are to be united with Christ, in which we keep His charge, and do what is needed in regard of the whole testimony.

C.A.M. What strikes one as being so important is this: that if you are undecided in one crisis, you will fail in the next; you want to be sure of being clear in every conflict as it comes along; otherwise, you will fail when the next comes.

J.T. That is right. I think God's government goes on in that way. You may be clear outwardly in this crisis, but miss your way in another; the point for us today is to go the whole way, to go out to the Lord, to be entirely under His direction without modification; He will then take us on, as is said here, "Bring the tribe of Levi near". Numbers 3:6.

A.R. They become the best that God has, be in taken instead of the firstborn among the children of Israel.

J.T. Quite so; they take the place that belonged to others.

A.P. What is meant by that?

J.T. I think it is God's way of showing what He approved in them because they qualified in this way. I believe that is our position today. The great revival

of a hundred years ago was seen in men who went the whole road; God took them on, and identified Himself with them.

A.F.M. We have come into that movement, through grace, and it is encouraging to look back to the faithful men of a hundred years ago; but what about today -- are we following in the steps of those men?

J.T. I think the danger, especially in a crisis, is to modify, and then put evil for good, and good for evil, to mix truth and error, instead of maintaining a single eye and going the whole road with the truth. If others see it, why cannot I? God will help me to see the full truth of the position. As I take my eyes off men and look alone to Christ, and ask what He is saying about all this, my view becomes cleared.

J.T.Jr. Do these Levites correspond with the vessels to honour in 2 Timothy?

J.T. I think that is the point exactly: "If therefore one shall have purified himself from these, in separating himself from them, he shall be a vessel to honour, sanctified, serviceable to the Master, prepared for every good work", (2 Timothy 2:21). Thus we come out to the tent as pitched (verse 22): "But youthful lusts flee, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace, with those that call upon the Lord out of a pure heart" (2 Timothy 2:22). That is the tent of meeting.

A.P. I notice that they had charge of both the tent of testimony and the tent of meeting; what is the difference?

J.T. The tent of testimony is what God is setting out before men in the assembly, and the tent of meeting is where we meet one another; the two things go together.

A.P.M. In the action of Moses in pitching the tent outside of the camp, it says he called it the Tent of meeting, thus making it very prominent. The tabernacle is so designated forthwith.

J.T. It is not a pretentious name, but contains a very precious thought. It is where God meets with us and we can meet one another. We speak much about meetings, and the word thus used conveys the very precious thought of meeting one another.

W.B-w. These sons of Levi seem to be unified. They were all united on one thing. How was that brought about?

J.T. Well, we ought to be motivated by one thought. We have the Holy Spirit, we have the holy Scriptures, and we ought to be united in the truth. There is the unity of the faith and the unity of the Spirit. There should be nothing less than that amongst us; anything less, in principle at least, is simply 'open-brethrenism', and we soon get down to the level of current Christendom if we proceed on those lines.

W.B-w. I think that is very good. We want to get clear of all activity of the flesh. The flesh works in us one way or another to bring in strife and quarrelling, but there was no evidence of it among the sons of Levi here.

J.T. Well, why cannot we take the ground, you and I, for instance, or any two Christians, or any one hundred Christians? We are all blessed in Christ, we have the Spirit, and we have the Scriptures; is there any reason why we cannot be of one mind? If anyone says, I do not see that, then the question is. Have you good eyes?

A.N.W. Could we not say as to chapter 32, that what rallied them there was the man that thought for God? It seems that that cleared the situation; they rallied to the man that thought for God.

J.T.Jr. They all had the sword on -- that would be one idea?

J.T. Yes; it is the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

J.T.Jr. Each had it on his hip, where it was in readiness for use.

A.R.S. Do you not think that eye-salve is what is wanted if we cannot see the thing?

J.T. Exactly, and the Lord counsels us to buy it from Him. In every case it is a question of getting to Him. You need never be utterly shut in. The Lord gives understanding in all things.

J.S. The initial step is moving out to the Lord and then getting His thoughts -- coming under His authority and direction.

J.T. Quite so. Then the tent of meeting is the next thing. You are there as under the direction of Christ.

A.R. I was wondering whether what is seen in the Levites here would maintain unity in the whole assembly.

J.T. Well, as has been remarked, the word "united" was what governed the Levites. They are not said to be anointed. They come in under the anointing of the priesthood. In truth, the Levites are an integral part of the priesthood. In both Deuteronomy and Joshua they are regarded as priests, so that it is a question of adhering and submitting to the spiritual thought, and this is what is reached. That is, to give room to the Spirit of God in our service, however insignificant.

N.McC. Would you say something more about the query. Who is on the Lord's side? In every controversy, is it not true that each would say that he is on the Lord's side? Would you say more about that?

J.T. Well, it is a question now of the word of God. "To the law and to the testimony" (Isaiah 8:20). Having the Lord, the Spirit and the Scriptures, we shall see eye to eye, if we are subject. As "God reigneth" and as He brings back Zion, the watchmen of Israel "see eye to eye", (Isaiah 52:8).

A.P. I suppose there were many in Israel, as the Levites acted under Moses, that would say. There is another side to this.

J.T. Quite so. But surely the saints should be able to determine right from wrong. Does not the word of God settle everything? It is quick and powerful and

sharper than any two-edged sword. It discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart. If that is the weapon, we shall be transparent, and all will be clear. We must tell each other what we think and compare facts in dependence on the Lord, then as in the light of Scripture, differences will vanish; but instead of this we are prone to remain in silence, nursing our natural feelings and grievances, and darkness continues.

N.McC. Would you say we are confined to the word of God in a crisis?

J.T. Yes; each ought to have his sword. The sword of the Spirit is the word of God. It is a great weapon when the enemy has to be met. Where fleshly thoughts are harboured and divine principles refused the enemy has scope, and this situation must be met by the word of God.

E.S. In Acts 15, after much discussion, and relating of facts, James stood up and quoted "the words of the prophets" (Acts 15:15).

J.T. Yes, he spoke the word of God, as also did Peter, and thus the matter was settled.

THE AUTHORITY OF CHRIST IN THE ASSEMBLY (3)

Numbers 8:5 - 26; Deuteronomy 33:8 - 11

J.T. The passage read in Numbers 3 at our last reading shows how the Levites, as qualified according to what we have in Exodus, are taken on by Jehovah. It says in Numbers 3, "Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister unto him; and they shall keep his charge, and the charge of the whole assembly, before the tent of meeting, to do the service of the tabernacle. And they shall keep all the utensils of the tent of meeting, and the charge of the children of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle. And thou shalt give the Levites to Aaron and to his sons: they are wholly given to him out of the children of Israel. And Aaron and his sons shalt thou appoint that they may attend to their priest's office; and the stranger that cometh near shall be put to death" (Numbers 3:5 - 10), And then it goes on to say, "I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of every firstborn" (Numbers 3:12). And then again, "and the Levites shall be mine"; and again, "On the day that I smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I hallowed unto me all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and beast; mine shall they be: I am Jehovah" (Numbers 3:12,13). And then they are numbered and their names are given.

It will be observed that there were three families of the sons of Levi: the Kohathites, the Gershonites, and the Merarites. The remaining part of chapters 3 and 4 is taken up with their services; they were to be subservient to the priests; that is, those of us who serve, and of course, all the saints are serving. It says, "To each one of us has been given grace according to the measure of the gift of the Christ" (Ephesians 4:7), this having our service in view. But we are subservient to

the priests. The anointing is of the priesthood, and the Levites are united to Aaron, so that they come in subordinately; there is thus to be no independency in our service. Paul, the most exalted servant, viewed in this light, is the servant of the saints, as he said, "ourselves your bondmen for Jesus' sake" (2 Corinthians 4:5). The directions given keep those who serve in their proper relations; then in the services appointed in chapter 4 Kohath is put before Gershon, showing that the sovereignty of God enters into this matter of service; whether our service be small or great, it is a question of God's sovereignty, but on the moral line, all being based on qualification; it means that we have qualified in coming to the Lord at the gate of the camp, with our weapons of war. And then the service is being effected as in chapters 3 and 4.

The three chapters intervening between 4 and 8, namely, chapters 5, 6, and 7, have to do with conditions amongst the saints, so as to make way for the service of the Levites. Hence all impurities in the camp are dealt with, and all lepers are put out, all trespasses must be dealt with, also all unfaithfulness to Christ, as in the woman whose husband becomes jealous of her. All that is seen in chapter 5. The nazarite's vow comes in in chapter 6, which is another side of the position, suggesting entire devotedness to the testimony; then comes the unity of the tribes in their substantial giving, included in which is the provision for the Levites: all this is to have its fixed place in our minds. We are thus prepared for being presented to God, as in the chapter we read. It is said the Levites were to be offered up. "Aaron shall offer the Levites as a wave offering before Jehovah" (chapter 8:11). Prior to this, they were to be cleansed as has been noticed. "Take the Levites from among the children of Israel, and cleanse them. And thus shalt thou do unto them, to cleanse them: sprinkle upon them water of purification from sin; and they shall pass the razor over all their

flesh, and shall wash their garments, and make themselves clean" (verses 6,7). So that now we are set before Jehovah, and offered as a wave-offering, but as cleansed; not washed exactly, but sprinkled for public service. Moses is to do that, and they were to shave themselves all over, meaning that in our external appearance, what we are in life, everything is to be purified; whether it be ourselves, our business, all is to be purified.

C.A.M. This matter of purification is stressed in 2 Corinthians 7; we are to purify ourselves from every pollution of flesh and spirit. The matter of jealousy you referred to, in the intervening chapters, seems to have been met at Corinth in the first epistle, so that levitical service can be stressed in the second.

J.T. I think that is good. The apostle is relieved in the second letter, so that he is freer; his mouth is open to them. So long as the conditions at Corinth were as before Paul wrote his first letter, there was but little room for the exercise of ministerial service. What helps in chapter 5 of Numbers is that in the camp of God -- as we might say, in the assembly -- nothing is to be left unsettled. It says first, the lepers and other unclean persons are to be put out; and then it says, "And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying. Speak unto the children of Israel, When a man or woman shall commit any of all the sins of man to work unfaithfulness against Jehovah, and that soul is guilty, then they shall confess their sin which they have done; and he shall recompense his trespass according to the principal thereof, and shall add unto it the fifth part thereof, and give it unto him against whom he hath trespassed" (Numbers 5:5 - 7). This is a very practical direction. In leprosy, of course, it is a pronounced thing that you can take account of easily, but there are those who can take account of gross things, but cannot detect sins that are directly against God, and His commandments; or it may be a trespass against another. These are apt to be minimised or made nothing of; that is

to say, there are those of us who can take account of things that happen which even natural conscience can take account of, but the passage speaks of "any of all the sins of man": "When a man or woman shall commit any of all the sins of man to work unfaithfulness against Jehovah" (Numbers 5:6). It may be primarily against a brother, but it is really against Jehovah, and it cannot be left because such are guilty. They shall confess.

A.P. Would you think that Matthew 18:15, "If thy brother sin against thee", would come in under this heading?

J.T. Yes. Of course it would be a big list to go over "all the sins of man", as seen here. Man has learned to sin since Adam's time. Some people say, 'The thing was not so bad'; but Adam's was not so bad from that point of view, he only took some fruit, but it was "against Jehovah" directly. Shimei in Solomon's time was told to build a house in Jerusalem and stay there, under penalty of death were he to go outside Jerusalem. But two of his servants ran away to Gath, and Shimei went and brought his servants from Gath. People might say, 'Why should Shimei not go after his servants, they were his property?' But he forfeited his life through doing so. The idea is of man disregarding the command of God, whether it be a small sin or a great sin. It is an act of will; so here it is, "any of all the sins of man ... against Jehovah" (Numbers 5:6). Man has acquired a great ability to sin, from Adam down to the present time. I believe they are learning to commit new sins all the time, but all sins will be taken account of, and we must not say of any that it is not much. The sinner has to judge it, whatever it is. He is to confess and add the fifth part thereof, too.

J.T.Jr. Confession mainly settles the matter, does it not?

J.T. The fifth part is required too. He "shall add unto it the fifth part thereof, and give it unto him against whom he hath trespassed. And if the man have

no kinsman to recompense the trespass unto, the trespass which is recompensed to Jehovah shall be the priest's" (Numbers 5:8). So that the priesthood and the saints are enriched by this fifth part. We are richer brothers and sisters afterwards than we were before the thing happened.

J.T.Jr. Does the fifth part indicate that the confession was not merely an acknowledgment, but that a spiritual process has been gone through in the soul and the exercise which enables the person to bring in something that is profitable for the saints?

J.T. Yes, it is given to the priest. In result, it makes us all richer.

A.B.P. Why is it a fifth part?

J.T. Well, I suppose it is not so much as you might add if you were a spiritual man. It seems to be a light tax. Zacchaeus said he restored fourfold, and the Lord immediately said, "He also is a son of Abraham" (Luke 19:9). He was very liberal in what he did and the Lord honours that.

A.B.P. I wondered whether the fifth part might also indicate the recognition of our weakness.

J.T. It is a reasonable demand, and the addition shows that you really judge the trespass. It does not say. If you are able to do it. The idea, I think, is that you are able. Wealth is assumed.

A.F.M. And then verse 7 shows that you give the fifth part to the brother against whom you have trespassed. There is a personal transaction between them. Sometimes we are slow in that; we confess, but do not measure up to the requirement of the fifth part.

J.T. I think when a tax like this is imposed, it is understood that you can pay it. God is crediting you with that, and I am sure if you face the thing, you find that you have ability to pay. The very facing of it makes you rich enough. If you are an honest man you want to make reparation, so there is no shade of doubt now about the trespass being fully recompensed.

A.P.T. Is Psalm 51 like the fifth part? David goes over the ground fully, so that he really judges the sin, and says, "Behold, thou wilt have truth in the inward parts" (Psalm 51:6), showing what God would get from the burnt-offering.

J.E.H. Is not sinning against a brother also trespassing against the Lord? If one were helped to look at the matter from that standpoint it would not be so hard to make confession to the brother. In Psalm 51:4, just referred to, David says, "Against thee, thee only, have I sinned". As a matter of fact, it was against a brother, but the sense came into his soul that it was against the Lord.

J.T. The psalm is certainly an evidence of genuineness in the man, of how thoroughly he dealt with the sin. He was quick to note it from Nathan's parable, and to say what should be done to the "rich man"; and Nathan says to David, "Thou art the man!" (2 Samuel 12:7). He does not at all excuse himself, but says, "I have sinned against Jehovah" (2 Samuel 12:13).

C.A.M. As to Numbers 5, do you not think it results in comfort to the man who trespassed, when the fifth part is added to the principal? Also there is really gain to the priestly element amongst the saints?

J.T. That is the thing to be noted; we are not impoverished by trespasses of this kind. There is sorrow connected with them, but through reparation being made the saints are enriched. I believe the assembly was enriched by the outcome of Peter's guilt. He went out and wept bitterly, we are told; then the Lord, as risen, appeared to him. The saints were enriched, when as gathered they were speaking about this very thing; saying, "The Lord is indeed risen and has appeared to Simon" (Luke 24:34). They were enriched in the sense of grace.

A.P. The spoil which emanated from David's exercises at Ziklag, he sent round to the elders of Judah. Is that not right?

J.T. Quite so. There had been failure there too with David. Then we have the secret of unfaithfulness typified in the woman whose husband became jealous of her. That is the next thing in Numbers 5she is made to feel the thing inwardly in drinking the water, corresponding to what happened at Horeb. She has to drink what is called "holy water"; perhaps, the only place in Scripture where you get that term. It is a very remarkable thing that the system that speaks much of holy water is the very system that is in mind in this type as being unfaithful. This water is mixed with the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle, and it brings to light whether she is guilty or not. There is in the tabernacle, in the presence of God, the means of disclosing secret unfaithfulness to Christ. And that being dealt with, we have the Nazarite, a man devoted to God; he is in renunciation of all natural rights, which is a most essential thing in service to God. He thus ensures the continuance of the testimony, which goes on to the end. Then we have the riches seen in the offering of the princes in chapter 7.

A.F.M. Does not the end of chapter 6 morally follow chapter 5, where, referring to the law of jealousy, the woman, if proven to be immune from guilt, bears fruit, which takes form in nazariteship? The chapters evidently connect.

J.T. I am sure they do; the blessing is secured through the Nazarite in chapter 6: "Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying. On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel: saying unto them, Jehovah bless thee, and keep thee; Jehovah make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee; Jehovah lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them" (Numbers 6:23 - 27). The nazariteship of Christ thus secures a wonderful result.

A.B.P. Does Paul confirm this in 1 Corinthians 6:12 "All things are lawful to me, but all things do not profit;

all things are lawful to me, but I will not be brought under the power of any"?

J.T. That is the idea. You renounce your natural rights, and as chapter 5 is gone through, spiritual riches will ensue. Under these circumstances, recovery to faithfulness being restored, we have conditions of great wealth; this is seen in these spiritual men, who are heads of the tribes, and shows that they are united. It is very practical, underlying the unity of the Levites. The service of these princes is spread out. Twelve days are given to the service, and each of these men stood up for a whole day offering these rich things to Jehovah. The scene typifies a great product of the work of God among the saints resulting in wealthy men. Their wealth is not making them independent or rivals of each other, but uniting them, and all culminating in Jehovah speaking to Moses from off the mercy-seat. And then the Levites, coming through in that way, are presented to God, being offered as a wave-offering (chapter 8:11); that is, they are constantly before His eye as pleasing to Him even as Christ was on the banks of the Jordan.

J.T.Jr. Does David exemplify what is seen in chapter 7, in that he failed, yet at the end of his life he offers great wealth?

J.T. Yes; although 1 Chronicles does not give his great failure as to Uriah, it does give his failure in numbering the people; there was no doubt pride of heart in doing this; he thereby dropped to the level of worldly kings around him and would be inflated as well by the large number of people under him. That was a grave failure on his part, and God so regarded it; but David judged it thoroughly, and was accepted of God, as we learn in chapter 21 of that book. Then in chapter 22 you have a disclosure of the most remarkable wealth, seen in David's ability to provide one hundred thousand talents of gold.

C.A.M. The priesthood in Chronicles is a testimony to this spiritual wealth.

J.T. Yes; your soul is moved as you go through chapters 21 to 29: the wealth of David and the wealth of the princes. That is what we may see here also; that is, as we judge sin really, bringing God into it, and offer our fifth part, the saints are enriched. And then the bearing of seed, as the woman is cleared, as has been remarked, and then the Nazarite, and the blessing, and then these twelve princes with their wealth. I do not think we should hesitate in facing all the sorrowful matters that come up constantly among us, if the thought of God is that there should be the accruement of wealth , and that it should promote unity and richness in the house of God.

A.F.M. Then the thought of Moses going in to God at the end of chapter 7, when God, so to speak, anticipated him by speaking first, and then Moses speaking; would that be the order of events, that being so wealthy we are enabled to approach God according to His own greatness and dignity?

J.T. Yes; we get communications . It says, "And when Moses went into the tent of meeting to speak with Him, then he heard the voice speaking to him from off the mercy-seat which was upon the ark of testimony, from between the two cherubim; and he spoke to Him" (Numbers 7:89).

A.B.P. There is such a thing as wealth that divides. I was thinking of Lot and Abram.

J.T. That is a humbling suggestion. They were sundered by their great property; the same thing appears with the two-and-a-half tribes; their wealth held them back on the east side of Jordan; but here their wealth is utilised in unity toward God, for the enrichment of His house.

A.P. Is it because they were prepared to hold their wealth in relation to the altar?

J.T. Quite so; it was "the dedication-gift of the altar" (Numbers 7:88).

R.W.S. Barnabas was a Levite who sold his land and brought the money and laid it at the feet of the apostles.

J.T. Barnabas is a good illustration of a prince. The Spirit of God gives him that place, I think.

A.R. These princes come forward after the tabernacle is set up. Why is that?

J.T. You can understand that it has in view the recognition of the tabernacle. It says, "And it came to pass on the day that Moses had completed the setting up of the tabernacle, and had anointed it, and hallowed it, and all the furniture thereof, and the altar and its utensils, and had anointed them, and hallowed them ..." (Numbers 7:1). Now, if you connect that verse with the end of Exodus, you see that it synchronises with the glory coming in. It was when Moses had done everything and each part was in its place, and functioning, that God would say, 'I will take all that over', and He comes in in the cloud and fills it with the glory. You can see what a scene it was as the tabernacle is filled with the glory, and covered with the cloud -- how God was pleased with all this spontaneous giving. One would connect it with the assembly, where each of us in his place is functioning. There is no need for Moses to serve; for all are subject . God is saying, 'This is pleasing to Me'; and He appropriates it. What follows is this spontaneous giving by the princes, during the twelve days; then God says, 'I will speak to you now'. I think all this is very great and blessed.

You will notice in the beginning of chapter 8, Jehovah says, "Speak unto Aaron, and say unto him, When thou lightest the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light over against the candlestick. And Aaron did so; he lighted the lamps thereof over against the candlestick, as Jehovah had commanded Moses. And this was the work of the candlestick: it was of beaten gold; from its base

to its flowers was it beaten work; according to the form which Jehovah had shewn Moses, so had he made the candlestick" (Numbers 8:2 - 4). In these opening verses you have the light of the seven lamps being caused to ascend, so that the quality and beauty of what bears it is displayed; hence the whole scene is typically wonderful.

G.MacP. Is the unity of the Spirit worked out amongst us in the light of chapter 7?

J.T. Where there is spiritual wealth amongst us, it promotes unity.

F.N.W. What is the difference between what the twelve princes contributed here and what the people generally contributed in view of constructing the tabernacle itself?

J.T. This is additional. There was no demand upon the princes. The material for the tabernacle was asked for, as you will remember, in Exodus 25; then in Exodus 34 and 35, where the law is given a second time, and Moses came down with his face shining, in principle with the new covenant, Moses again puts it on the responsibility of the people that they bring the material for the tabernacle, and it says they departed from before Moses and brought it; meaning, I think, what Paul had in mind in telling the Corinthians to put by for the poor saints on the first day of the week at home, that there might be no collections when he came. That is, he wished their giving to be the outcome of love operating in their own hearts, and it is again referred to after the new covenant ministry was introduced in the second epistle.

The people departed from Moses, each man to his tent, as you might say, in Exodus 35, and brought the things required in great abundance. I think the idea is to show that under these conditions demanding was not necessary. The people would go to their tents and say, 'I will give this much', and they gave remarkably well; in fact, Moses had to restrain them from bringing;

it was too much! There was nothing of that character here. The twelve princes are not asked to bring anything. The giving was out of spontaneity -- they gave of their spiritual wealth; and how pleasing it was to God!

W.G.T. Would the "beaten gold" suggest exercise?

J.T. Quite so, it refers to discipline.

A.R. Does the tabernacle represent a system of love, and the princes in correspondence with that? Their movements were permeated with love.

J.T. That is right. There were the evidences of it there; anyone that looked at the tabernacle would see that it was a product of love.

N.P. Will you tell us why they all gave the same things, and in the same quantity and quality?

J.T. I think it is to emphasise the perfection and the unity. Philippians 2:1,2 says, "If then there be any comfort in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and compassions, fulfil my joy, that ye may think the same thing, having the same love, joined in soul, thinking one thing". I think we have a remarkable expression of unity illustrated in the offerings of Numbers 7.

A.N.W. I was thinking of the Spirit's care in giving through Moses seventy-nine verses; writing the details of what the princes offered twelve times.

J.T. I have often thought of it; each prince having his day for twelve days. Each of these men is thinking the same thing: it is Christ filling their hearts. They are not in rivalry with one another; they are not devouring one another; they are living on Christ!

A.R. I was wondering whether the spirit at Antioch was characterised by the features that we have been speaking of. It says, in Acts 11, they were first called Christians in Antioch; then later, "As they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Separate me now Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them" (Acts 13:2). The true levites came to light under these circumstances.

J.T. That is right. We may regard that as the antitype of this, we are given there the names of five persons who were ministering to the Lord and fasting. That is, they were denying themselves. What good times they must have had at Antioch! Upon that the Spirit says, "Separate me now Barnabas and Saul" (Acts 13:2), showing He had entire confidence in them.

A.B.P. The very word "separate" seems to emphasise the unity.

J.T. Just so; He contemplates, I think, that there is no rivalry, or disposition to get rid of any of the brethren. They were not an obstacle there. The brethren were reluctant to let them go on their anticipated work.

A.F.M. Chapter 8 goes on to speak of the Levites being offered as a wave-offering before Jehovah; is that a result of what the Levites have passed through experimentally? They are now a wave-offering to Jehovah, in view of His service.

J.T. That is the next thing as showing how we are viewed as in service. It is a subordinating thing, something that subordinates me to others, but God is pleased with me there. I believe that Christ Himself sets out the great levitical thought in that sense. He came up out of the Jordan as about to enter upon His service, and heaven's voice says, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I have found my delight" (Matthew 3:17). His service was in view.

G.MacP. Is that how we understand the wave-offering as linked up with the oblation and the meat-offering as seen in Him?

J.T. Yes; the wave-offering and the heave-offering suggest spontaneity. The wave-offering gives evidence of what God specially likes. What is waved before one attracts the eye. The wave-sheaf (Leviticus 23:11), is Christ in resurrection occupying God's heart. Here the Levites are offered by Aaron as a wave-offering.

J.H.E. Would the day of Pentecost answer to that?

J.T. The two wave-loaves are typical of the saints -- what came out of their houses. The point is what comes out of our houses, and whether what happens in secret in our houses is pleasing to God; does He delight in it?

W.G.T. Would what Paul presented at Corinth be the wave-offering -- Jesus Christ, and Him crucified?

J.T. Quite so. That is what he presented; the wave-offering is of course presented to God, and as presenting Christ to the Corinthians, he would present Him to God also as speaking to Him.

J.T.Jr. Is the thought that we must be acceptable to God before we can minister?

J.T. That is the idea; you cannot be effective among the brethren unless you first are pleasing to God. I believe that is what was seen at the Lord's baptism, as coming up from the water when the Father's voice is heard, for Christ was infinitely pleasing to Him. The Father speaks of the Lord in Matthew, and to Him in Mark and Luke. In Matthew it is, "This is my beloved Son" (Matthew 3:17). In Mark and Luke it is, "Thou art my beloved Son" (Mark 1:11 and Luke 3:22). The first, what others should know. The second and third, what is between the two Persons.

A.F.M. Does the idea of God's committal to Christ enter into His baptism? The Spirit came down upon Him in bodily form as a dove. Then in regard to ourselves, I suppose, God commits Himself to us in view of our service; in both cases the end in view is fruitfulness to God.

A.P.T. The Lord says of Paul, "Behold, he is praying" (Acts 9:11).

J.T. In that Paul corresponded to Christ, who was praying when the heavens were opened upon Him.

J.T.Jr. The word, "in thee I have found my delight" (Mark 1:11 and Luke 3:22), being directed to the Lord Himself in Mark and Luke, would correspond with the Nazarite, as seen in Numbers 6. It is what God found in Christ as measuring up to His own thought of service.

N.MacC. Does it always follow that because your service is acceptable to God it will be acceptable to your brethren?

J.T. That is the order normally. If in ministering to the Lord we are fasting, we show we are self-denying; that is what went on at Antioch, and the Spirit said, "Separate me now Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. Then, having fasted and prayed, and having laid their hands on them, they let them go" (Acts 13:2,3). It was the Spirit's mind and they let them go. It is a striking example of the working out of levitical principles.

W.B-w. It says in Numbers 8, "And thus shalt thou do unto them, to cleanse them: sprinkle upon them water of purification from sin; and they shall pass the razor over all their flesh, and shall wash their garments, and make themselves clean" (verse 7). How does that process work out now?

J.T. It seems to be the service of Christ. Moses was to perform this first part -- it is like, "sprinkled as to our hearts from a wicked conscience" (Hebrews 10:22). But then they were to shave themselves and wash themselves. The sprinkling is from the divine side. The Lord says, "He that is washed all over needs not to wash save his feet, but is wholly clean" (John 13:10). I think it honours the Levites. It was not a bath that they needed, it was just sprinkling, as a matter of testimony; that must be understood at this juncture. I am now brought near to serve; and hence I am sprinkled, but I must also shave all my flesh and wash my garments. I must see now to all matters in which my life is manifest. It is manifested in my house, in my business, and among my brethren; it is a great general thought. The flesh, the natural growth, is there, and I have to watch it. It is that in which my life is manifested as a Christian. I cannot say it is a question only of myself and my house; I must include my business. It is a matter of where my life is manifest; I think that is what is meant, and all

that is to come under the work of the razor. That is the idea, I think. Then there is the washing of the garments. Some of us recently were speaking about Peter's boat, of how the Lord went into it, but Peter was washing his nets; that would allude to his business affairs.

W.G.T. The apostle says he was conscious of nothing in himself, but he was not justified in this. Is it the thought, that he would continue washing?

J.T. Just so; you cannot be sure that everything with you is right, so that there is need of constant exercise.

A.R. After that they were to bring the Levites before the tent of meeting and before the people, who were to lay their hands upon them.

J.T. Yes; it goes on to say, "And they shall take a young bullock and its oblation of fine flour mingled with oil; and another young bullock shalt thou take for a sin-offering" (verse 8); the burnt-offering would be what was pleasing to God, that which goes up to God; but there was also the sin-offering. There is no peace-offering here. It was not a matter of coming together for mutual spiritual enjoyment, but of service. A meeting like this would be in line with the peace-offering as offered and eaten, where the Lord has part, but verse 8 is not that. It is a question of service; so that these two offerings are in view. They are peculiar offerings, and then the oblation with the burnt-offering. "And thou shalt bring the Levites before the tent of meeting; and thou shalt gather together the whole assembly of the children of Israel. And thou shalt bring the Levites before Jehovah; and the children of Israel shall put their hands upon the Levites. And Aaron shall offer the Levites as a wave-offering before Jehovah from the children of Israel, and they shall perform the service of Jehovah" (verses 9 - 11). So that it is "the whole assembly"; the saints are all identified in this.

A.P.T. I am not quite clear as to this service of Jehovah. It is entirely manward?

J.T. Not necessarily. They were finally set around the tabernacle, and were amenable to the priest at all times. They were also to carry the tabernacle. Their attitude was "ourselves your bondmen for Jesus' sake" (2 Corinthians 4:5). It is not enough merely to say, I am a servant of the Lord. I may be, of course, but I am a servant of the saints, and hence I must be always ready to serve them.

R.W.S. There were over twenty thousand of them. Is not that a relatively small number? I was wondering how it would work out; whether it would imply that there is not much for us to do, if each one did his own work, or whether the converse would apply today -- more work to do than there are levites to serve.

J.T. Well, I think the latter is quite obvious. There is more work to do than is done. The number of Levites actually in service was eight thousand five hundred and eighty (chapter 4:48). This number would be increased as the entry age was reduced to twenty-five (chapter 8:24). They were evidently sufficient for the service. There were enough; there were three families of them, and each had its own work to do, and there is no evidence that the work was not done. They were appointed to carry the holy things, and then the curtains and the boards. There was no suggestion that there were not enough of them, but is it so today? Are the holy things, the things in relation to the Deity, and the most sacred and precious things looked after? And the utensils of the holy place, the curtains, the boards, bars, pillars, pegs, and cords -- are these things all looked after? The precious things of the Deity, are we concerned enough about them? Zacchaeus would be a man like that. He wanted to see who Jesus was. He would be a Kohathite, I am sure. And then the brethren who are looking after the principles, the Gershonites, carried the curtains and so on. We must see to the principles

in everything that we do, the principles that govern what we do; and then finally the persons -- the boards -- particularly the boards, bars, and pillars. Who is looking after those? This was the work of the Merarites. So we have to make a comparison in this way. In the primary thought of God there were enough. It was strenuous labour, but there is no suggestion that there were not enough to do it, but our concern should be, is it being done now?

J.E.H. Would you bring principles in in relation to the pegs?

J.T. The principles would be the curtains, things that stretch out and cover the whole position, that which properly makes up the tabernacle.

A.R. Do you think we are apt to reverse the order? The Kohathites rightly come first. They were always thinking of the holy things. I was wondering whether we are not thinking of people more. We have a great number of brothers who can preach the gospel, but very few possibly who could give an address upon the Person of Christ.

J.T. I am sure that is a very important suggestion. Can I give an address on the Person of Christ? And why not, if I know Him and love Him?

C.A.M. Do you not think, in that connection, it is marvellous how the Lord has the personnel of all the local companies of His people under His own hand?

J.T. Yes. Every meeting of the saints requires these three services. The first thing is to keep God before the saints, God in the three Persons, and I believe Zacchaeus, as I was saying, is typical of that. "He sought to see Jesus who he was" (Luke 19:3), and he saw Him. The Lord had challenged the disciples as to who He was. He had asked them what men were saying about Him, and what they were saying. That enters into the service of the Kohathites. But then there are the principles that govern our position. The Gershonites see to the principles. The Merarites look after the

people, for you must have the people to sustain the principles; that is, the boards were to sustain the curtains.

A.B.P. In that connection, the service of the Samaritan in Luke 10 seems to be distinctly the care of the person, but in doing so, there was a principle asserted -- that of the neighbour.

J.T. Quite so. Those that were neighbours to him literally did no good to him; they passed by on the other side; so the Samaritan became the true Merarite and also the Gershonite.

A.F.M. You are speaking about the disparity between the number of Levites and the people generally. I was wondering whether you could tell us how that applies to the temple? There evidently were plenty to do the work there.

J.T. The same comes out here, as we have been saying. In the closing verses of the chapter, after they are presented to Jehovah, the age is reduced to twenty- five years. It is as if Jehovah would say, 'All these persons are delightful to Me. Now I can increase their number by reducing their age'. We do not get a word about this until they are waved before Him. Then under David, the age is again reduced to twenty years. There were thirty-eight thousand Levites according to 1 Chronicles 23, but then David added to them by reducing the age five years, and I think it is in keeping with the then new order of things. Solomon was "young and tender", and he sat on the throne with David. I think the idea is that God was pleased with him from the outset. Jehovah had loved him even as a babe. I think the divine thought under David was to bring typically all the young Christians into correspondence with Christ, that they are normally young and tender spiritually. There is a freshness about them, and I think we all can say that when we hear a young brother taking part in the meeting for the first time, there is

something particularly fresh and attractive about it, and we thank God for it.

J.S. The freshness in this sense is delightful to God, and hence the age is reduced.

J.T. That is what I thought; it is in keeping with the new order of things; you have Solomon as king, who was about the age prescribed by David for levitical service.

A.R. If young brothers knew what they are in the eye of God and in the eye of the saints, they would more readily take on the service.

A.P.T. What you say would help as to the matter of age when receiving into fellowship; it is a question of what we see in them for the Lord, not so much their age in years.

J.T. We may say they are too young, without thinking of their spiritual formation. Sometimes our young people are older than their years, and it is for the brethren to discern this.

E.E.H. What would you say about Paul's first preaching, in Acts 9? He preached Jesus, that He is the Son of God. It was "Jesus" whom he saw on the road to Damascus. He seemed to have gained additional light as to the Lord's Person, would you say?

J.T. Quite so. He was the first to preach Him as Son of God, as far as Scripture records. I suppose all that enters into what we are saying, that Paul advanced rapidly. He is called a young man in Acts 7. Peter had the knowledge of the Son of God, and so had all the apostles, but what is so remarkable is that they do not say anything about it in their early ministry. Paul, however, begins with it. This is evidently in view of the full thought of the house. Sonship comes in also in David in relation to the house of God. It came into David's mind to build the house, which brought out the necessity for Solomon; that is, a son , and I believe the introduction of the full divine thought of the house synchronises with the appearance of Paul.

So that he preaches that Jesus is the Son of God. At Corinth, he and Silvanus and Timotheus preached the Son of God, Jesus Christ, so that it was evidently the great burden of his preaching. I believe Solomon on the throne suggests the idea, hence for David things were not as burdensome as they had been. So today, it is really a question of the part our young brothers are taking, or should take, in the assembly , not now carrying things as in the wilderness, since the ark is at rest, all of which gives character to the present assembly position , and as showing it is their time of service.

C.A.M. All that seems to indicate the end of the assembly's history -- that we are at the end of the dispensation; it is such a privileged moment, the truth of the Son of God and all these wonderful things connected with Him, being brought to our attention.

J.T. Would to God that we all took that thought in!

C.A.M. We should take it in, it is really very wonderful. It should be exceedingly stimulating to any saint that has his Christian career ahead of him, as illustrated in the young Levites of David's day.

J.T.Jr. What is the thought of the fifty years? Does it mean that we should never reach that age?

J.T. That would be the thought. God expects from us our best . In the greatest servants mentioned in Scripture, their best went on to the end of their days. There are really no pensioners or superannuated persons connected with the testimony. That the Levites were to minister with their brethren after fifty indicates that whatever ability there is will be accepted, but restricted according to what it may be.

A.R. In Paul's first preaching, he was morally a Kohathite you might say, handling the holy things.

J.T. That is right. And in the epistles to the Corinthians we have also Gershonite and Merarite services, i.e. principles governing the assembly are

laid down, the curtains of the tabernacle largely representing these; and then he is concerned about the wicked person being put away, that his spirit should be saved, and that, as repentant, he should be restored.

A.P.T. What kind of man do you think Timothy was? Was he an all-round man?

J.T. The three levitical features would apply to one levite. It is not, in the antitype, that one set are Kohathites, another Gershonites, and another Merarites. You want to have the three ideas united, to present Christ as the Son of God, to keep the principles right, and then keep the persons right.

A.P.T. Paul says to the Philippian brethren that he would send Timothy to them as he had no one like-minded who would care with genuine feeling how they got on. I was wondering whether that refers to the service of God and where it would fit in.

J.T. Quite so; that, as having the saints in view, would be, in character, Gershonite service -- how the saints get on. Epaphroditus was concerned about the saints, too.

A.N.W. Yet Timothy was to do the work of an evangelist.

J.T. Quite so; all the levitical features appeared in him.

W.B-w. When the Lord Jesus was with the disciples on the mount (Matthew 5, 6, and 7), He taught them. Is the teaching there, the principles?

J.T. I think so; very largely the principles of the kingdom.

A.P. He spoke as One having authority. I was going to ask whether the limited number of levites would be an obstacle in any way to divine Persons speaking in a full way.

J.T. Divine activities are greatly limited and retarded today, because of the shortage of those who serve,

and because of our low state generally and consequent spiritual poverty.

W.B-w. Have you a suggestion to give on Deuteronomy 33?

J.T. We might finish this subject of the Levites with the understanding that their history is given retrospectively in that chapter. We have often noticed regarding Levi in Deuteronomy 33 that the Thummim is put before the Urim, meaning that the Levites had the needed quality and so were perfect. According to the best authorities, Thummim means perfection, which would show that all we have been speaking about had become effective in them, so that we have perfection. Then the meaning of Urim is light , which comes out in that setting. They endured the test at Massah and at Meribah; they denied natural claims: he "said to his father and to his mother, I see him not, and he acknowledged not his brethren, and knew not his own children; for they have observed thy word, and kept thy covenant. They shall teach Jacob thine ordinances, and Israel thy law" (verses 9,10).