"WHOM SHALL I SEND, AND WHO WILL GO FOR US?"

Address at a meeting to commend brothers undertaking an extended service,

Acts 16:6 - 18.

I wish to dwell a little on what is commonly called missionary service, which signifies the idea of one being sent. All Paul's missionary journeys imply that he was divinely sent. Persons may be sent by men, but we are concerned with work growing out of a divine commission; as Scripture says, "how shall they preach unless they have been sent?" Romans 10:15. Thus the inquiry, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Isaiah 6:8.

Gifts, we read in Corinthians, are 'set' in the assembly. This, I apprehend, involves the right and means in God's hand of the control of His servants, which sometimes means restriction. God, in setting gifts in the assembly, has them under His hand, and no one who is with God in His service would wish it otherwise. To be set in the assembly is to be in that in which divine order is seen and where divine authority is recognised and asserted. This is an important matter, for the servant is given a commission with a definite end in view, and the saints, as we see in Acts 13, have part in this. There must be an objective, both as to where the potential results of the mission are to be found, and the results themselves as fully secured. For instance, if Solomon is to have gold the mariners are not to go to sea whither they will (2 Chronicles 8:17,18), there is no such thought as that. They had a knowledge of the sea, but were necessarily under royal control. All the expenses would be borne by the king, whose right was obvious. And so it is, dear brethren, in the service of God; the field is His and He knows where the results He

seeks are to be found. It is a matter of God's knowledge and direction. Going back into the history of the testimony we see that the government of God enters into everything. He has a perfect knowledge of the field in which He operates. He said of Corinth, "I have much people in this city". Acts 18:10. The Lord bade the disciples to "cast their net on the right side of the ship" John 21:6 -- that was where the fish were and the Lord knew it. Had they cast the net on the left side probably they would have caught no fish. So you see that the area for the desired result is known to the Lord; He knows where they are to be found. Divine movements in testimony in Paul's day were in a westerly direction; He seeks the assembly now; by and by He will seek for something else and will probably go east. What we see here is a movement westward and that by one who has prospered in the work and who is concerned about the assemblies already existing, that they should be confirmed; Acts 15:41; Acts 16:5. Thus the assemblies were established in the faith and increased in number every day. This is surely an important side of the ministry.

I wish now to point out that in this happy service under the blessing of God, Paul and those with him not only came under the authority of the Lord, but the guidance of the Spirit. He speaks twice here in a forbidding way and I think it implies that a gift moving in the dignity of his commission is given to understand that the Holy Spirit is here in that connection. As set in the assembly the servant may come under the criticism of his brethren. In the epistles we get the principle of the saints judging, and that is an important matter. A servant has to expect the faithful counsel and criticism of his brethren. It is his salvation to do so; if he is not amenable to his brethren, he is in independency. Here, according to Ephesians 4, Paul is in the liberty of one sent by an ascended Christ as provision for the assembly

rather than one set in it. He is thus under the direct control of the Spirit. To respond to the Spirit requires a state of spiritual sensitiveness, so that one quickly feels His touch. Paul's motive was right and he was so sensitive that the Holy Spirit could denote that the regions he proposed to visit were not to be his sphere of labour at that time. He wrought in these places later and had great results, but for the moment the Spirit does not suffer him to go there. Still the Spirit does not tell the apostle and those with him where they are to go, but Paul has a vision.

"A vision appeared to Paul" (verse 9), and who was in the vision? A man of Macedonia. This man signifies the potential result. God is not occupying the apostle with man in the sense in which the Greeks represented man. The Greek world stood for human development. You have that man in Romans 2 in the instructed Greek. That man is not asking a despised disciple of Jesus to help him, he is resourceful on his own account. Paul says there, "O man"! and the Athenians say of him, "What would this chatterer say?" they mocked Paul. It is not that man which is in view here -- it is potentially a man according to God. Why should we go to Jamaica, or anywhere else, unless we had that man before us? There is "one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus", 1 Timothy 2:5 and the testimony is to bring about other men after His order. That is what we should have in view in our service. Paul heard a man's voice. There is suggested one in the intelligent sense of responsibility, but in felt need. It was intended to impress the minister as to need in the west, and it did impress him, for he proceeds to Macedonia, "assuredly gathering", Luke says, "that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them". Paul, as a true servant, takes a "straight course" (verse 11). There were no second thoughts, no selfish motives. It is a question of "assuredly gathering" that the Lord is calling him,

and answering immediately and definitely to that call. Then Luke comes in for the first time. On this line we may look for divinely given companionship. So we have "they" in verse 6 and "we" in verse 10. What an acquisition Luke must have been! He is in the company now. May we not hope that our dear brethren going forth from us will have some sort of companionship to encourage them in their service -- companionship in the spirit of service? The Lord Himself valued it, and Paul also valued it. From the manner of the apostle's reference to him later it is evident that Luke was sympathetic, and sympathy is a great thing in the service of God. Luke was a "beloved physician". Colossians 4:14. He was a dear man, being heartily with the apostle. How he would minister to Paul and Silas in their physical sufferings!

Then what follows is that the apostle and his companions, having arrived at Philippi, "were in that city abiding certain days". That is another thing. To arrive in a place is one thing, to remain there is another. They found something of God there. "And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither". A fine position! They were only women, but they were praying women. "Where prayer was wont to be made". The servants of Christ identified themselves with what was of God there. It is a fine thing, as finding something of God in a place, to ally ourselves with it. We honour God as thus recognising His work, however small it may seem. Nothing is inaugurated as yet at Philippi. And now the enemy attacks through a woman. It is a sorrowful matter that the enemy has a foothold there. He does not limit his attack to Paul -- "followed Paul and us". Luke puts Paul forward as the special object of attack, but he and the others with Paul were not excluded, for the enemy attacks as

widely as possible. She says, "These men are the servants of the most high God". It was an attempt at flattery, and diversion from the present character of the testimony, which if accepted means ruin. Many a servant of God has been damaged, if not ruined, through this kind of opposition. The Scriptures put us on our guard against it.

I would dwell briefly on the manner of meeting this attack. Paul was "grieved" -- if we do not feel such things as before God, He may allow them to continue. Here the attack was for "many days, But Paul being grieved ...". 'What is there in me that this thing should continue?' he would perhaps say. It was most harassing, as from a female slave possessed with a spirit of Python. Why does God allow these dear men to be followed day by day? Do you not think Paul challenged his own heart as to this effort of Satan? I am sure he did. It is as we feel things that God comes in. All the consequences have to be accepted and anything upon which God may wish to put His finger owned. Paul's deep feelings about this matter brought in divine help. By the power of the Spirit he says to the demon, "I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour".

I trust these remarks will be comforting to our dear brethren as they set out on their service. Paul was confirmed in his course by the results at Philippi. The 'man' was there; the Philippian epistle denotes from the divine viewpoint the man whom God had in His mind. The mind that is in Christ Jesus was reflected in the Philippian saints, and Paul wrote to perfect them in Him. Paul met with most severe suffering and imprisonment at Philippi, but in the prison he found a man -- the jailer -- who, as believing on the Lord Jesus, showed by the treatment he accorded to His servants that he had drunk into His Spirit.

THE REMNANT

Isaiah 51:18

I am thinking, dear brethren, of the remnant. It is a leading subject in this book. You will all remember how that in chapter 7 the prophet is directed to meet Ahaz with his son Shear-jashub at the aqueduct on the highway of the fuller's field. Shear-jashub signifies, "A remnant shall return". In a large measure this is the key to this book. So that, applying it to our own times, and it does apply, the question is, Am I of that remnant? The remnant may be very small and despised, but when Sennacherib attacked it under Hezekiah, the virgin daughter of Zion is alluded to as 'unconquered', 2 Kings 19:21, (see note). So that it is a great honour to be in that remnant, and no believer in Christ can afford to be apart from it. It is unconquerable -- corresponding in large measure to the first epistle of John, in which we are told that, "This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith" 1 John 5:4 -- that which true, devoted followers of Christ hold on the principle of faith.

In speaking of the remnant, I wish to bring in what is in this chapter prominently -- the idea of father and mother. You will observe that as following righteousness and seeking the Lord the saints are reminded of the 'rock' whence they were hewn, and of the 'pit' whence they were digged. The reference to hewing and digging is remarkable, the one not involving anything less honourable than the other, for they both allude to the great parents of the household of faith. I am not alluding to the fatherhood of God, but the fatherly element that is so essential to the promotion of faith proper to the remnant; for, as I hope to show, today it comes in for divine recognition as of the assembly, that which has the greatest place

in relation to Christ. Where the assembly is left out in ministry, a great void is apparent and a great lack of power, too, for in the ministry of the Holy Spirit Christ in relation to the assembly has a great place. It is said of Him, "gave him to be head over all things to the assembly, which is his body, the fulness of him who fills all in all". Ephesians 1:22,23.

To make the subject simple, the idea of father in Abraham may be connected with Corinthians; the idea of the mother belongs to Galatians. We shall not be in the remnant nor of it, according to God, save as we understand these epistles and they affect us. One leading idea of the father in the family is authority. Authority, of course, is vested in Christ in heaven, but then He has revested it down here. We are told that He gave His servants the authority; Mark 13:34. It works out in the way of authority in a family sense. Authority in a father is where it is least irksome; and nowhere is authority less irksome, normally, than in the assembly. It is not harsh, it is not arbitrary. What it is in Christ, it is in the assembly. It is there so much that it says that if a refractory one does not hear the assembly he is to be regarded as a heathen man and a publican; Matthew 18:17.

Refusing to listen to two brothers is serious, but refusing to hear the assembly is most grave. The assembly neither teaches nor preaches, but authority is exercised there. Teaching and preaching are by persons who have gift, but authority is vested in the assembly. So that one refusing to hear the assembly, or indeed those who are walking humbly in the light of it, is regarded as outside the pale, practically, of christian fellowship. The apostle Paul, in writing to the Corinthians, asserts the paternal principle as to himself. He says, "What will ye? Shall I come unto you with a rod?" 1 Corinthians 4:21. That is a father's prerogative. And in verse 15 he says, "For though ye have ten thousand instructors, in Christ ... I have begotten you through the gospel".

1 Corinthians 4:15.

He was their spiritual father.

You will understand I am not referring to the fatherhood of God. It is a question of fatherly authority down here in the saints. Who had a better right with the Corinthians to take that attitude than the one through whom they had been converted, through whom they had been begotten in Christ Jesus through the gospel? "As my beloved sons", he says, "I admonish you". 1 Corinthians 4:14. No one can fully take that ground today, but; it will not do to assume that there is no such authority. I am afraid some young people do. The drift of things, even in a natural way, is to set aside authority altogether.

Then in the second epistle he intimates confidence in them. His first letter of fatherly authority had been effective. It had brought about mourning, etc., on account of the wickedness that had existed among them. And he says, "for an answering recompense, (I speak as to children,) let your heart also expand itself". 2 Corinthians 6:13. Do you ever think of that, "Let your heart also expand itself", as answering to the injunction of a father? As I said, no one could take that place exactly today, but let no one assume that there is no such thing as the fatherly element among the people of God. John says, "I write unto you, fathers". 1 John 2:13. They would, because of their experience, have moral authority and would use it against evil among the people of God. God will not tolerate evil. It pains Him more in the christian than in any; it is more sorrowful there than elsewhere, and He "is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints". Psalm 89:7.

So that we do well to take account of those in whom God has vested authority. It is not a question of officialism but of moral power and fatherly affection in those who, by experience, have come to love the saints, and correspondingly to hate what is of the world in them. "What fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial?" 2 Corinthians 6:14,15.

So that whilst there is the tenderest affection of a father in those marked by divine authority, there is the most stern refusal of the spirit of the world in the saints.

The world is an abhorrent thing in the saints, and God has vested authority in certain here to rebuke it. Abraham represents the thought of father. His name signifies 'father of a multitude'. Names in Scripture mean something, the idea of father of the household of faith was represented in this man. Think of belonging to that household! Two belonging to it outwardly had to be cast out of it. A solemn thing! Hagar and Ishmael were cast out.

That brings me to Sarah, by whom the order to cast out Hagar and her son was given. That is Galatians. The honour given to her in the New Testament is remarkable, and I speak for a moment to sisters, young and old. The apostle Peter refers to holy women of old who hoped in God. I do not suppose that faith shines anywhere so beautifully as it does in a woman. Sarah is the first woman who is said to have faith. She was in the household of faith, she enjoyed being in it surely, it radiated in the household. You can understand how the great father, though he was childless for a long time, as soon as he had a family, would have the fatherly faith radiate from him in that household. But Sarah had faith all her own. I speak of this that the wives, the sisters, may cultivate faith of their own, so as to be true daughters of Sarah. There were holy women of old, who hoped in God, and among these Sarah is specially mentioned. How pleasing it must have been to God, that there was a link between Sarah's own soul and Himself! It would coalesce with Abraham's faith, of course, but she had her own faith in God. She is the one example given of the holy women of old.

There can be no mother according to God without faith in Him. Sarah is the true mother, and that comes to light in the confused state of things in the household. One does grieve for persons in a divided household. It is most difficult and testing, even if one wishes to be right in it. In the same house was Sarah with Isaac, the child of promise, and Ishmael, a boy of thirteen or fourteen years, and his mother, the bondmaid, and Abraham with his natural affections for Ishmael. The scene was darkened by nature in Abraham intruding itself where faith should have shone. We are reminded that the most spiritual of us may darken his house by allowing the natural where there should be the spiritual. But in these circumstances in Abraham's house the light radiated, not through Abraham, but through Sarah, and so her words to her husband on that memorable occasion are regarded in Galatians as Scripture. How beautiful that is. God honoured her in that way. "Cast out this bondwoman and her son". Genesis 21:10. These are the words of Sarah and they grieved Abraham; I do not like to dwell on what is discreditable to Abraham, but this is noted in Scripture. Were it not for Sarah the household would have continued in disunity and darkness. Think of Ishmael mocking the little babe of promise there! In type there was persecution of Christ. But Sarah expresses the mind of God and she says to Abraham, 'Let it not grieve thee;' How tender God is with the great patriarch! He would be so with anyone of us who may be darkening his household. 'Hearken to all that Sarah thy wife hath said'.

That is what comes out in Galatians. The apostle Paul, changing the relationship, presents himself as a mother. The Galatians were slipping away from christianity, and he presents the maternal element. It is that love and care in those who would rescue saints from the legality which marks the so-called

christian religions of this world -- what the apostle calls "beggarly elements". Galatians 4:9. He triumphantly says, "We are ... children of the free woman". Galatians 4:31. Hagar answers to "Jerusalem which now is". Galatians 4:25. Today this would include the accepted religions of this world around us. I would urge upon you, if there is one here who is in bondage to those systems, to take up your heritage -- Jerusalem which is above. Thus you will be lifted out of the beggarly elements of human organisation and set up in what is above -- what is morally elevated.

Here the saints are addressed as seeking righteousness. That is the first feature. You may not have it yet, but you are pursuing it, as we are enjoined to do in 2 Timothy 2:22. Being "clothed with righteousness" Psalm 132:9 means that I am a priest. And in conflict there can be no possibility of victory without "the breastplate of righteousness". Ephesians 6:14. Well, that is the first thing, and then after Abraham and Sarah the great things that God has in view for us are brought in. Look at verse 3, "Jehovah shall comfort Zion, he shall comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of Jehovah: gladness and joy shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of song". Isaiah 51:3. Look at those promises, dear brethren!

The next thing is, "Listen unto me, my people". Isaiah 51:4. God has something to say to us as in this relation. It is not like the book of Esther, where He hides His face. Here He is addressing the saints as His people and as His nation. That is because the traits of the remnant have come into evidence, answering to Christ. The Lord says to Philadelphia, "I also will keep thee ..." Revelation 3:10. That is very beautiful and comforting. It is the Lord's recognition of the remnant, not simply as a remnant, but as the assembly. "I will make them to know that I have loved thee", Revelation 3:9. And then He says here that He will give us a law (verse 4). The vast majority of christians are in organisations in

which the law of God's house has no place. It is man's law, Here it speaks of His law. Of old the law was called a heritage, and so it is today. Those who love the Lord Jesus keep His commandments. They have discarded all others, which are largely the traditions of men. Here God says, "a law shall proceed from me, and I will establish my judgment for a light of the peoples". Isaiah 51:4. Thus the people of God are furnished with regulation and light in their position in testimony in this dark world.

In verse 7 Jehovah says, "Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness". Isaiah 51:7. Now you have another thing -- the knowledge of righteousness. There are those that follow it and seek the Lord, and they are owned as a people and a nation; and then there are those who know it. There is thus an advance. God is watching the souls of His people and knows what progress they are making, and every bit of progress they make He owns; thus He says here, "Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness". Isaiah 51:7. Do I know righteousness? That is a challenge! Practical righteousness is perhaps the scarcest thing in the world. It is valued of God. Of those who know righteousness, God says, "the people in whose heart is my law". There is further progress owned here. They have been following righteousness, now they know it; also God's law is in their hearts.

These things are very practical, dear brethren. Of the Lord it was said, "thy law is within my heart". Psalm 40:8. He "loved righteousness and hast hated lawlessness". Hebrews 1:9. What is said of the saints here corresponds with Him. That is what God seeks. As I said, righteousness is scarce, but there has never been a period in this world in which righteousness did not exist. Like the gold referred to in connection with the river which flowed from Eden, it is "good". It is said, "the gold of that land is good". Genesis 2:12. So is righteousness. Beginning with Abel it came down in the line of faith. As to

moral things, righteousness is the standard of God. He speaks here of His righteousness. He says, "My righteousness is near". Isaiah 51:5. It is an interesting thing to notice the difference between righteousness itself and God's righteousness; the latter is like gold of the most precious kind. This afternoon we read about a certain amount of gold that David provided for the house, out of his affliction. But he also says that because of his affection for the house he provided of the gold of Ophir -- evidently that was gold of the very best kind. God would impress the great value of righteousness upon us.

In verse 7 those that know righteousness, in whose heart is God's law, are urged, "fear not the reproach of men, and be not afraid of their revilings". Isaiah 51:7. Now you see, dear brethren, the order of the progress. Knowing righteousness and as maintaining the commandments of Christ we are under reproach. You will not find a company of God's people who are governed by the commandments of Christ who are popular in their locality. They do not fit in at all. People will go a long way with you on the family line (and we should be prepared to go on the family line with them), but as we see with Jacob and Laban, as soon as Laban showed that he was under obligation, Jacob brought in the thought of Rachel, in type the assembly. As we serve believers near us as our relatives and they begin to recognise obligation, we may safely bring up the subject of the assembly, involving fellowship. Alas, this often means a break, for if they are not ready for the path of separation they turn away from you!

Those of us who seek to serve the Lord and the saints know the heart-burnings that follow upon bringing in the assembly. People cease to come to the meetings. But they are thus forfeiting what involves their greatest blessing and privilege. The assembly is dear to the heart of Christ, and those who

are set for it come under His eye as of it and so draw out His deepest love and care. To them He says, "my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished". Isaiah 51:8. Thus, dear brethren, we all need to maintain this by "the law of the house" Ezekiel 43:12, that is, the commandments of Christ as governing us in our fellowship.

How is it with all here? Some of us enjoy ministry, and the Lord is pleased to give it; but it has to be followed up, or it may be just something that pleases for the moment and is soon forgotten. You may say, 'The path is too narrow'. But Christ is in it. He spoke of it Himself as narrow: "narrow is the way". Matthew 7:14. Generally, "the way" stands for fellowship in Scripture. "They spake evil of that way". Acts 19:9. What way was that? The broad way? No! The world does not speak evil of its own way. What was the way that was evil spoken of? The narrow way -- that is the one that is hated and traduced everywhere; but it is the way of righteousness, the way of God. Fellowship is in it, the love of the saints is in it; it is a holy sphere for your affections in which to let themselves loose. Do not despise it. Go in for it.

So verse 7 says, "fear not the reproach of men, and be not afraid of their revilings". Isaiah 51:7. Let us all face these things; they are the issue for the moment. One thinks with sorrow of the thousands of God's people who are not in the fellowship of God's Son and of His death. It is evil spoken of, as of old, but it was the way of God. Apollos came into it. Priscilla and Aquila "expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly". Acts 18:26. Many of the saints need that service; indeed, we may be in the way, but understand it very poorly, and so need to be taught it more perfectly. If anyone is not in it, may he come into it at once! It is a way that is evil spoken of, but it is "the way of God".

HOW GOD APPROACHES MEN IN HIGH PLACES

Acts 18:14 - 17; Acts 24:24 - 27; Acts 26:24 - 32; Acts 13:12

I thought it well to select these scriptures for this service for various reasons, as I hope to show as I proceed, but primarily that we may see how God approaches men in high places, for He is "no respecter of persons", Acts 10:34. Christ having become Man is the "mediator between God and men" 1 Timothy 2:5, whether these be kings or governors, or whether they be paupers, and these scriptures speak of five men occupying leading positions in the world, one of them occupying a throne, being a royal personage; but God in spite of the distinction or distinctions caused His testimony in Christ to be presented to them, and out of the five He got one -- a fair percentage as gospel results go. If I could hope to get one out of every five unconverted persons here tonight, I should feel that the meeting was worth while and so would heaven feel that, for, as you all know, "there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth" Luke 15:10 -- how much more if it be one out of every five. I am not assuming that there are five unconverted people here tonight -- it may be there are more; I hope not, for I have no difficulty at all in preaching to converted people, in fact I find more liberty in preaching to them than to unconverted people. So that I hope from the bottom of my heart that there is not an unconverted person in this audience, I hope you are all saved. Did I know you were all saved I should not be in the least hampered in speaking to you, but the rather helped; but if there be five here and I get one, as I said, I shall be more than thankful. But these are five distinguished men, the leading men of the world, as if it were King George or the President of France, the

President of the United States, the Governor-General of Canada, and so on; were there five such persons here tonight, if five such persons attended a gospel meeting together, I suppose it would be heralded abroad in the newspapers tomorrow; heaven would not herald it abroad specially, for there is no respect of persons there -- it is a question of their being men. But still heaven would be pleased were they to hear, to attend, to listen to the gospel, and if one of them were saved, what joy; what a brand plucked from the burning is a royal personage converted, or a great person of this world of any kind. And yet we find one deputy actually converted, indeed, as far as we can see, he was Paul's first convert after he was commissioned, after he was sent out on his first great missionary journey.

Gallio is the first one who is in my mind, and he represents just myself or yourself in his circumstances, for, generally speaking, a man is just what his circumstances make him. We are all in general of the same kind, "I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me", Psalm 51:5 only our circumstances alter us, make us different externally. Gallio was a distinguished man, a governor, a proconsul of Rome in the province of Achaia, and Paul is brought before him. These things are not recorded as mere historical matters, they are put down here as material for gospel preachers; the Holy Spirit has narrated these things so that they could be used in after years in the service of the gospel. Therefore Gallio is just one of us in his circumstances. That is to say, he represents some young man here tonight who has no interest really in what I am saying, he is here maybe because he is obliging somebody. Gallio was there because he was the governor, the deputy -- that was all, he had no interest beyond that. And it may be you are here tonight, some young man, without any interest save to oblige somebody, to

please somebody. It may be you will be glad when the time comes for me to stop speaking. Now that is Gallio -- a heartless kind of a man, and yet not a man full of hate or feeling against anybody. You may pride yourself in that, that you do not hate people, nor indeed that you oppose the servants of God or the preaching; you have nothing special in regard of that. There is not an atom of opposition to what I am saying in you, that is what you would say of yourself. You are just indifferent. But what is to be noticed in this man's case is that when Paul was about to open his mouth Gallio intervened. Not that he meant to shut up Paul, I do not think he did, but he did it. It is results we have to take account of and that God takes account of. He prevented Paul from speaking; he shut the door, as it were, against the voice of heaven, not meaningly -- it is not so put; it is just to bring out what a careless person is and what the result may be of his carelessness, not his wickedness or his hatred of God, but just his carelessness -- he shut up Paul's mouth. As far as the narrative goes, he does not say one word at all. He turns against the Jews. 'Well', you say, 'there is something in that. Apparently he thought less of the Jews than he did of Paul, apparently he had a certain resentment of them'. Well, there is no virtue in resentment of the Jews. The Jews are a peculiar people; although they have rejected and crucified Christ, they have a mark put on them like Cain by God, and anyone who interferes with them will come under divine retribution. Gallio therefore did not incur any favour from heaven in his resentment of the Jews. You may say, 'He was more favourable to the christians' -- but that is no virtue. You might have a certain respect for me, because I am speaking of the Lord Jesus here -- well, of course, I am thankful -- but you go out of that door and that is the last of it; you would not turn a finger to help me. There is not a single bit of

evidence that Gallio did a thing to help Paul, it was just that he was careless and being careless, he intervened when Paul was about to speak, and, as far as we know, he never heard Paul. And so it may be that you will leave this room tonight, and you will never hear again the voice of the Spirit of God speaking to your soul about Christ. You may go outside the door and light your cigarette and walk off, and that is the end of this matter. "Gallio cared for none of those things". Here is a poor man beaten in his presence; he is an utterly unfeeling man; if he had any feeling in him he would resent a man being taken and beaten before his judgment-seat, but he did not care -- he "cared for none of those things". That is the point, you see -- he did not care. Whether it was Paul speaking or a man being beaten because of the truth, he "troubled himself about none of these things". Not that he did not care for other things, we are not told what he did care for; were we to know the man much could be said of what he did care for. You may be sure he had his likes and his appetites; we may be sure he was not behind his day in worldliness and sinfulness, but he cared for none of these things -- that is what the Holy Spirit tells us.

Well now, passing on to the next governor, Felix, he is a different sort of man, he had some interest. I am going over ground familiar to most of you no doubt, but some points may not be familiar, and these are the points the Holy Spirit may use. Felix was a man of some interest, but he was an unconverted man of double motives. You are not here it may be to please somebody, you have a motive in being here different from that, and you would fain make belief that you are interested. It may be there is some pecuniary matter in it, it may be that you wish to incur some favour from some person who has invited you, and people begin to say, 'I have not seen such interest before with this young man'. Had we known

Felix before and had we heard him send for Paul, we might have been apt to say, 'Felix is converted'. A great man sending for a prisoner, surely there is something behind this! But is there? "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked", Jeremiah 17:9. That one should come to a gospel meeting with ulterior motives, to gain some pecuniary advantage! I have known that. Heaven resents that, there is no joy in heaven over that move. But in spite of this, the apostle Paul was faithful and he reasoned with Felix "of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come". Doubtless the apostle with his usual power of perception knew his man. The Holy Spirit here tonight knows just where you are, and He may use what I am saying to pierce your armour so that you do not get off, you do not go out of that door just as you came in. Oh, may God grant it! Even if you are not saved I would earnestly hope you will be made to tremble. Felix trembled, but then that was all. He did not get off free. The Holy Spirit tonight would seize the opportunity to pierce your armour and make you tremble even if you are not converted, Felix trembled, we are told, but then the Spirit of God does not leave him there. He sent for Paul the oftener, we are told, In spite of the faithfulness of the apostle, the servant of Christ, this man with a steel conscience sent for him, and sent for him, You say, 'Surely something is going on with Felix! Whatever is Felix communing with this prisoner Paul, this christian, this ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes, for? Is Felix exercised about his soul?' Not a bit: O, the deceitfulness of the heart! What was he after? He was after a bribe, as I was saying before. "The love of money" the Spirit of God tells us, "is the root of all evil", 1 Timothy 6:10. A remarkable statement! The love of money -- as I said before, someone may be here tonight with that in view, with some pecuniary gain in view. Oh, heaven hates it!

And with all, as you will notice here, the apparent interest of Felix, he does nothing for Paul, he left him bound. That is the way you will treat us. Coming to these meetings Sunday after Sunday with some ulterior motive, as I said, but you will leave us bound, so to speak, you will not do anything for us, you will not raise a finger. It is not that you hate the servants of Christ, but you will not raise a finger to help them. That marks a selfish person, a covetous person -- that is what Felix was -- not only covetous, but unlawfully covetous, he would get a bribe from the servants of Christ. The servants of Christ do not give bribes, you will be disappointed if you are looking for anything like that from those who are serving the Lord Jesus, they will not give that, you may as well give up at once and commune with them no more on those lines. And as soon as you discover that, you will leave us bound, you will not help us -- nor are we looking for help from you. Felix might have helped the people of God, but he would not. The Spirit of God paints the picture for us: it is a man in a certain position exposed by the testimony of God.

Now Festus is another distinguished man. He is a man taking a second place. Agrippa was the king and Festus is the official governor, but he is a man who can take a second place. A good sort of man, he makes a very good politician, he can pander to other people, and even show that he is more or less fair, a man who would pride himself on not looking for a bribe, he is fair. He said, I have no charge to lay against this man. I do not know what to do, I want to be right. How many there are like that, and men of that kind, you know, are popular men. I suppose one of the most deceptive positions is the desire for popularity, to be a good mixer, as they say -- many are like that. No politician can be successful if he has not the ability to take a second place. He has the desire for the first place, if possible, everyone has

that in mind, but a politician is a time-server and he takes a second place. So he invites Agrippa, and there is a woman, Bernice, sister of the king, she is there with pomp -- it is a show day. Oh, how we do like show! It may be you are making a show here tonight, a show of religion, a show of interest in religious things. Well, that is not of any interest to heaven either. But the servant of God is there, and we have the most wonderful address, one of the finest addresses in Scripture is this one before this august company sitting there in their royal robes and pomp. And here is a poor man -- as far as outward appearances went -- a chain on his hand, he is a prisoner, and he is preaching. Would to God I could preach like Paul! He is not a bit dismayed by the character of his audience, he unfolds the truth in wonderful terms, it was in the power of the Spirit of God. Agrippa and Festus never heard such speaking, I am sure. Not in the Forum of Rome could such speaking be heard; there can be no speaking like that which is energised by the Spirit of God, and such was Paul's address in the ears of these sinners, and Festus would say something, and in saying something he disclosed how utterly hardened his heart was. So, it may be you are sitting here tonight listening to what I am saying, and your heart is adamant. Were you to say anything in the way of comment or criticism, you would expose the state of your heart. He says, "Thou art mad, Paul; much learning turns thee to madness". He could hardly have said anything more out of place. Think of the hardness of his heart, unaffected by the wonderful address in the power of the Spirit of God by the great apostle Paul. And Paul said, "I am not mad, most excellent Festus". How beautifully he answers, how seemly his answer is as is befitting in the vessels that serve Christ, not to provoke any irritation, the gospel is not for that, the gospel is that you might be saved. "I am not mad, most excellent Festus, but utter words of truth and soberness".

That man has finished. Will he ever hear the gospel? I do not think so.

The apostle now turns to Agrippa. Will he get Agrippa? You see, I am speaking of different characteristics in men. Agrippa is a royal personage, a man with some knowledge of the gospel and not indifferent. He did not say Paul was mad. Another kind of man is listening to me here tonight from Festus. Maybe you have read the Bible from the outset and heard the gospel, and heard of conversions, heard of the power of God working here and there, and you are not indifferent exactly. "King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest". How near the Spirit of God is coming to that man and what credit He is giving him. So it is the Holy Spirit would accredit you with every bit of knowledge you have of God and of Christ, so that you might be saved; He will give you all the credit possible. If you have been listening to things about Christ and of the work of God and reading the Bible, the Holy Spirit will give you credit. "I know that thou believest". What are you going to say in your inmost heart, friend, to this? Are you going to say what Agrippa said, "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian". Is this the first time he had used the word 'christian'? I do not think so, that word had been in vogue for some time, and Agrippa had used it before. It is a beautiful term, an appellation referring to a certain class of people, no longer the sect of the Nazarenes, but dignified by the name of christian, a noble name corresponding with Christ, a derivative of Christ, involving a certain distinction practically. Persons who are anointed, who have part in the anointing, who have part in heavenly dignity here on earth, a dignity far excelling anything that Agrippa ever knew as to the significance of it. And so he says, "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian".

If some emissary from Rome had come to offer him imperial dignity, what would he have said? Almost thou persuadest me to be emperor? Is that what he would have said? No, he would have grasped at the dignity at once. But here is a dignity far superior to any dignity ever known in this world, the name of christian. It may be there are those here who are looking for earthly honours: there is no greater honour than that you should belong to the noble band of christians. We shall have other titles in heaven -- indeed we have them here, too -- but this name of 'christian' is a glorious title. But it is one that incurs suffering, and Agrippa was not ready to suffer for Christ. "If any man suffer as a Christian", says Peter, "let him glorify God on this behalf", 1 Peter 4:16. Let him glory in the name -- as we christians do. And so when Agrippa says, "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian", he is implying that he is not going to be persuaded. Is that your decision? Is that your resolve? You may say, 'That man influences me, but I am resolved never to be a christian'. I do not believe Agrippa ever became one, "Almost thou persuadest me ..." -- but he lost the dignity. Are you prepared to lose it, and all that goes with it? It is not only the dignity, but all that goes with it, it is rich with the accompaniments. The accompaniments of a christian are great and glorious. Are you prepared to forfeit them here tonight? The Spirit of God is here as really as He was in that court at Caesarea, and He speaks to you as He spoke to Agrippa. What are you saying in your inmost heart? Are you resolved to refuse ever to be a christian? God forbid. You will notice that at this point Paul said, "I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as I am, except these bonds". I suppose words were never uttered with more feeling in the testimony of Christ than those words. Out of

the depths of a feeling heart, the great apostle, the minister of Christ, spoke of what he was, the enjoyment that he had in the energy and power of the Spirit of God operating in him. He would that Agrippa should share it. And so here tonight those of us who are christians with myself can say with all truthfulness, that we would to God you were like us; poor though we are, we are infinitely better off than you, unconverted one here tonight: we would to God you had what we have, that you enjoyed what we enjoy, and we offer it to you in the Lord's name. It is for you, as it has been for us. Will you not share it with us? Did Agrippa? No. He stood up and those who were with him (all these things are mentioned) and they conferred; they conferred without Paul, they conferred without God, they conferred without the Spirit of God: what is the good of conferring like that? No good at all; the result was that Paul was left, bound. 'Oh, but', you say, 'They say, "This man might have been set at liberty, if he had not appealed unto Caesar"'. But is there not a way to set him at liberty? If Agrippa were touched divinely Agrippa would have found a way to release Paul. Well, you see, that is the position of persons who resist the gospel, they are indifferent to Christ and His interests, and the time is coming when He will be indifferent to them and their interests, when He will say, "I never knew you: depart, from me". Matthew 7:23.

Well now, the fifth man is Paul's first convert, in this great missionary enterprise. I reserved him for the last, although he comes first in the narrative. They went from Antioch and took boat across to Cyprus, and it is noticeable they are not told where to go, as far as the record shows, they were sent forth by the Spirit, but they went to Cyprus and went the whole length of the island, and the first person they met is a man called Bar-jesus, the son of Jesus. A remarkable thing that they should meet a man

like that: surely a son of Jesus would be an interesting subject for the gospel -- but is he? The most damnatory statement you can get in the whole history of the gospel is applied to this man by Paul -- son of the devil, enemy of all righteousness: he is made blind for a season. But look, beloved friends; this man, Bar-jesus, is with the deputy, he is with the man whom God has singled out to be saved. There is somebody here tonight it may be whom heaven has singled out to be saved, and there is some son of the devil interfering with him. I am not charging anybody with being a son of the devil, but I mean there is someone with whom you keep company who has influence with you, who is keeping you away from the faith. Now, you are entirely different from anyone else, you are singled out by the eye of heaven for salvation, for there are the elect, and he is doing all he can to divert this man from the faith. Now look round among your acquaintances and see if there is anyone with whom you have to do who is interfering with your soul's salvation, who is hindering you. This matter is most important, for you are being hindered, and it is by some companionship. He was with the deputy; it does not say he had any official place, he was just with him, and he was darkening his soul. Oh, I would warn you against such companionship, the devil uses it to darken your soul and keep you away from Christ, and the apostle Paul, full of the Holy Spirit, meets this man and causes him to be blind for a season. It is the power of God against evil. Thank God for that! Here is concentrated power of evil in one man, Bar-jesus -- his name by interpretation means a sorcerer. You have to interpret names to see what they really mean, he is a son of the devil and he is set for the destruction of your soul -- keep away from him. Here the servant of God relieved the deputy from that influence, and the result was he was saved. As far as we know, he

was the only one saved in the island, though I quite believe there were others; but there he is, the governor is a converted man. Is that not like God! What an advantage for the island for the governor to be a converted man. We may assume he is really converted and that he is a christian and in fellowship, and there is no evidence that anybody was left to look after him. Think of the eunuch going down to Ethiopia, a converted man, with the Holy Spirit in him, rejoicing, with the Bible in his hand. That is like God, that is how God worked at the beginning, He saved the great men of this world, and what a thing for Cyprus that the deputy was converted. It was the power of God. And what does it say about him? He was amazed, we are told, when he saw what had happened. The man was stricken blind, and the deputy was amazed, we are told, "at the teaching of the Lord". Now this is the kind of convert that I believe corresponds with much that is going on today. Persons need teaching; the greatest need in christendom, I believe today is teaching. This man was said to be an intelligent man; it is not merely that he had a good intellect and a good education, but undoubtedly the work of God was there in the man, he was intelligent, and the point that struck him was the teaching. I do not know whether there are those here tonight who just come to the gospel meeting -- I thank God if you do -- but I would urge you to come to the Bible reading. If there is a work of God going on in your soul, you will be struck with the teaching; it is different from what is current abroad in denominational circles -- it is the teaching of the Lord. That is the kind of teaching to get. Many are like this deputy, they are exposed to bad companionships, evil associations, but they need teaching, and this man got the teaching. No doubt much more was said by Paul and Barnabas than is recorded, but he was amazed at the teaching. I

would urge christians here -- I do not know what associations you may be in, but I would urge you to consider the teaching, what teaching you are under. This man was "amazed at the teaching of the Lord", not the catechism or the creed of christians, but the teaching of the Lord, it is a question of the authority of the Lord asserted in the teaching, and the deputy was saved. May God grant that some of our brethren who may be here tonight who are in evil associations or evil companionships, may be amazed at the teaching, may recognise the authority of Scripture, and may believe. The next verse tells us that Paul had a company -- "Paul and his company" -- it is a remarkable thing, it is brought in early. Would you not like to belong to that company? It is not a sect, you know. If anyone there were to say, "I am of Paul", 1 Corinthians 3:4. Paul would say, 'Do not say that, that is sectarian', yet the Holy Spirit says, "Paul and his company": that is to say, it is another companionship. Would you not like companionship with Paul? -- that is the one I have. It is companionship with Christ, of course, but think of the companionship of Paul, and contrast that with Bar-jesus. Do you not want to make a change? I think you should. It is "Paul and his company"; that is, the Holy Spirit would suggest to us the wonderful companionship there is for christians, the circle where Paul's teaching is, the teaching of the Lord through Paul.

DIVINE QUALITY IN THE SAINTS

Acts 2:41 - 47

My desire in proposing this scripture was that we might consider the thought of quality in the things of God. Verse 41 says, "there were added in that day about three thousand souls". But God's people have to prove their genuineness, and so in what follows we find that "they persevered in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles". Acts 1:15 says, "the crowd of names who were together was about a hundred and twenty"; these, however, were the result of the Lord's own work, and the occurrences in the interval between His going up from them, and the coming of the Holy Spirit, proved their suitability to receive Him. Chapter 2 records that the Holy Spirit descended upon them, and as a result of the preaching three thousand souls were added. It does not say by whom or to what they were added, as at the end of the chapter, evidently intimating that they had not yet proved the reality of their profession.

In Luke 14 we read that the house is to be filled; but it will be filled with what is suitable to it; all that is extraneous will be excluded; thus in chapter 15 the prodigal is brought in as a Son; he is set up in entire suitability to the house. There is nothing said as to repentance in chapter 14, but the prodigal (chapter 15) repented in the far country, and he rose up and went "to his own father", Luke 15:20 and "while he was yet a long way off, his father saw him, and was moved with compassion, and ran, and fell upon his neck, and covered him with kisses", Luke 15:20 showing that the prodigal was delightful to him. Every step in the return journey of a repenting sinner is pleasurable to heaven. Some think of repentance as one act, but here we read, "there shall be joy in heaven for one repenting sinner" Luke 15:7

-- repentance is evidently an element in his mind from beginning to end. Besides the father's loving reception, the prodigal gets the best robe, and the ring, and the shoes; he is made in every way suitable to God's house. As we draw near to the end, the Lord is aiming at quality in His saints, and we are challenged as to it. Paul, in writing to the Philippian assembly, indicates that it was marked by quality. He does not take the ground of an apostle, but coupling Timothy with himself, writes as "bondmen of Jesus Christ". Philippians 1:1. Their practical state is evidently noted in this; for where there is spirituality and consequent humility, there is no need to emphasise authority. So he prays that their "love may abound yet more and more", Philippians 1:9 and that they may "judge of and approve the things that are more excellent", Philippians 1:10 in view of Christ's day. Those who were convicted by Peter's word as he stood up with the eleven were prepared to be persecuted by their own people, for as baptised "in the name of Jesus Christ", Acts 2:38 they would be hated. It was no private matter, but a public confession of faith in Him whom the Jews slew; and they were "added". Then verses 42 - 47 give us the Spirit's description of them; it is in a way a continuation of the teaching of Luke 15. Their repentance was proving itself in their continuance; "they persevered in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles". The apostles were upstarts in the eyes of Jerusalem, for they were Galilaeans with no social or religious status at all; but the three thousand persevered in their teaching and fellowship. Then there was the beautiful spirit of subjection and love among the brethren; they "had all things common" and were all together. This spirit was seen in perfection in the Lord, and it is specially attractive to Him in His own. Subjection will be seen in Him eternally, for we read "then the Son also himself shall be placed in subjection, ... that God may be all in all". 1 Corinthians 15:28.

A subject spirit is delightful to heaven, for it reflects Christ. In Philippians 2 the apostle says, "let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus". Philippians 2:5. The apostles denote the authority of Christ; they were "sent" by Him; so these believers continued in their teaching and fellowship, and in the breaking of bread and in prayers; these features expressed their subjection to Christ, affection for Him, and dependence on Him. We have to ask ourselves, where are we in regard to them?

In Acts 8, though there were great results from the preaching of Philip in Samaria, the believers did not get the Holy Spirit until Peter and John went down to them and laid their hands upon them. In this way the authority of the apostles would be impressed on them. We cannot make the gift of the Spirit automatic on our believing on Christ. We have to leave it with God; it is His gift, and as we desire it and ask for it, He is pleased to give it to us. The Holy Spirit coming in makes an impression. There are evidences of His indwelling the believer. I would like to hear such a believer pray; for there are certain indications of the presence of the Spirit in a man's prayer. Now with some who might profess to have the Spirit because they believe on Christ there may not be those indications; but if not, why not? There is nothing said in John 3 about receiving the Holy Spirit. New birth is spoken of, and then the Lord says, "that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" John 3:6 -- that is to show the quality, the character of what is born, it is "spirit". The Lord says in John 3 that unless you are born anew you will not even see, much less enter into, the kingdom of God. Many think that when one believes the gospel he immediately receives the Holy Spirit, but I see no ground for such a thought in Scripture. The apostle comes to Ephesus (Acts 19), and finds certain believers there,

and says to them, "Did ye receive the Holy Spirit when ye had believed?" Acts 19:2. They were genuine believers, but they had not even heard that the Holy Spirit was come. Then they are "baptised to the name of the Lord Jesus", Acts 19:5 and it is only when Paul lays his hands upon them that they receive the Holy Spirit. So that when the apostle says, "in whom also, having believed, ye have been sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise" Ephesians 1:13, he is not speaking of anything automatic, but of something subsequent to a state of faith. God is the giver of the Holy Spirit. It is the question of a certain state of soul; He gives the Holy Spirit to those that ask Him (Luke 11:13); He gives Him also to those that obey Him; Acts 5:32. We must not deny Him His pleasure in giving the Spirit, nor seek to make it an automatic thing apart from our state as suited to receive Him. It is the dispensation of God's pleasure, and He gives the Spirit as He pleases. It would help us if we studied the two chapters to which we have referred; Acts 8 and Acts 19. In the first we are told that the Spirit did not come upon the Samaritans until Peter and John laid their hands upon them; and in chapter 19 it needed baptism to the name of the Lord Jesus, and the laying on of Paul's hands before He was received.

There are evidences when any one has received the Spirit. As was said, one's manner of praying would give an indication; then in 1 Corinthians 12:3 it is stated that no one can call Jesus Lord except by the Holy Spirit; then in Romans 8 we see that "as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God" Romans 8:14; and in Galatians 5:22 there are nine fruits of the Spirit enumerated -- distinctive fruits not to be mistaken. We take too much for granted, but at the first it was a heart matter; they said in Acts 2"What shall we do, brethren?" Acts 2:37. They were in deep earnest, and Peter said, "Repent, and be baptised, each one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for remission of sins, and ye will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit". Acts 2:38.

Things have broken down publicly today, but God has not lowered His standard, and persons taking the place of believers in baptism must prove they are genuine. So in verse 47 the Lord recognises the features spoken of in the verses immediately preceding, and adds to those who had them. These qualities seen, whether in an individual or in a company, testify to the fact that they have the Spirit. If these features are present, then the Lord will add to us. "And fear was upon every soul" -- that was not slavish fear, but holy fear.

The breaking of bread (verse 42), is our response to the Lord; we testify our love to the Lord Jesus as we break bread in remembrance of Him; and we need to pray, by which we testify to our dependence on God. The result of this is that believers learn to stand on their own feet, and moving on this line they get confirmation. "Many wonders and signs took place through the apostles' means". This would maintain their authority and show that God was with His people. This is how christianity was inaugurated -- "Together" (verse 44), would imply that they were together in heart and soul, and where that is so, we shall not want to keep away from the meetings. We shall soon find ourselves gathered together in assembly, and we shall realise the great disadvantages of being absent. We ought to be together whenever possible that we may enjoy the love of the christian circle. We are exhorted to love one another; it is His commandment. And "we know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren", 1 John 3:14. Jesus is not here, but His people are here, they are our loved brethren, and we would be with them on every opportunity of coming together. We cannot afford to miss the precious experiences of being together. In chapter 4, when they had prayed, "the place in which they were assembled shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit". Acts 4:31.

Where there is this dwelling together in unity, there is blessing -- "There the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore". Psalm 133 speaks of the "precious oil" that ran down upon Aaron's beard, to "the hem of his garments". Psalm 133:2. The "hem" would suggest a finished thing -- something complete; not loose principles, but divine things held in order and completeness. Oil is one figure of the Spirit, and then the dew is another: "As the dew of Hermon that descendeth on the mountains of Zion". Psalm 133:3. The mountains would speak of strength, and "there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore". Psalm 133:3. The features of Zion are seen here; what Zion will be by and by as the centre for God, is seen here, and the Lord added to that. Salvation is in Christ, but then it is realised in these conditions. These early saints were governed by the light that governed the moment; they were breaking bread, and also "constantly in the temple". They were a testimony to God in it, for He was still waiting on Israel. So chapter 3 opens with Peter and John going up "together into the temple at the hour of prayer". Acts 3:1. It was the most beautiful sight that the temple had seen since Jesus Himself had been there; it was a testimony to Him. Later on the temple doors were shut (Acts 21:30), but at this point God was waiting upon Israel in grace and patience.

Everyone converted today comes into what exists; the Holy Spirit is here in the assembly, and my concern should be to receive Him, "for also in the power of one Spirit we have all been baptised into one body ... and have all been given to drink of one Spirit", 1 Corinthians 12:13. You drink for satisfaction. So that as merged among the saints one is not irksome but in happy liberty there.

SPIRITUAL PROPORTION IN THE SERVICE OF GOD

Numbers 15:1 - 21,37 - 41

I had in mind to speak about balance and proportion in the saints, especially in their part in the sanctuary, but also in their general relations. God is the God of measure, we are told, a remarkable thing! He is said to be the God of things as He is the God of persons. This thought of measure is to be reflected in His people; it is to be according to the sanctuary, as we learn in types, it is never left to ourselves. Otherwise we shall be measuring ourselves with ourselves, and prove ourselves foolish. God has His measure for man, He has set it out in Christ. There is that which is measurable in Christ, and there is that which is immeasurable. We are to arrive in the unity of the faith at the knowledge of the Son of God, at the measure of the stature of the fulness of the Christ. There is that therefore which is within our range, which is a clear link with that which is beyond our range -- that which is immeasurable, that which is infinite in Christ. In speaking of His Person, He asserts His unknowableness to all save the Father. That is to keep us within our limits, and yet to remind us of what is unlimited in Him, quite beyond the creature's range, but known to the Father.

We have therefore to be concerned about measure as set out in Christ, and which will appear in the heavenly city. The city is very large, but measurable, it is finite; it is not square measure, but cubic or solid measure. It is a substantial product of the handiwork of God, to be only understood spiritually. It would be folly to make it literal in the sense of what is material, but it is nevertheless a great substantial thought into which each one of us is to fit

according to the God of measure; that is to be reflected now -- each is to know his place and fit into it. The great lesson of time is to fit in according to divine thoughts. This is the work of the "stone squarer", who has to be concerned about measure. That element is active in the power of the Spirit.

What I have been remarking fits into this chapter, which it will be observed comes between those chapters which speak of the most disastrous outbreaks of the flesh in the people of God. When these things happen, God comes in with His quieting, confirmatory thoughts of measurement. Although such sorrows are to be felt and owned by the saints, God's thoughts are not at all disturbed by them; nor are His measurements disturbed. The enemy in times of difficulty such as we have depicted in chapters 11 - 14 of this book finds an area of operations to bring in disturbances and discouragements, but God would interpose His thoughts in one way and another by ministry, to quieten the saints, assuring them that the foundation of God stands -- it cannot be overthrown. This quietens and forms us.

What formation went on in Caleb and Joshua, for instance! They are outstanding men, but we are not to be limited to such in the great congregation of God. According to His own word at Sinai, there were thousands who loved Him, not merely who should love Him, but who did. Every one of them would be formed; their formation would proceed in the face of the enemy and of the conflict. God can build in the midst of a storm; His building goes on. So in this chapter, which, as I said, comes between great disturbances, He would calm us; He reminds us that He has His measurements, and the greatest hurricane cannot alter them or upset them.

One finds in chapter 11 that even Moses was drawn into the discontent, but he soon righted himself by the grace of God. Then Miriam and Aaron, the other

two great vessels sent by God to lead Israel, were drawn into the whirlpool, so there is not flattery for any of us in these chapters. You may say chapter 10 reads well, for Israel did everything they were told to do; they moved and encamped according to the command of the Lord. God saw to that, He teaches the believer to walk, and whilst the teaching goes on, the walking goes on. He took them by the hand, but when He let the hand go, they turned to complaint and rebellion. The great manifestation of the will of the flesh in chapter 11 is complaint. First it was nothing specific, but they complained, and God was displeased. You may say, Why did He release His hold on them? Well, He would bring out what is in our hearts, a very solemn thing. I may be doing well since I was converted, but there is something in me which is essentially against God which I have not discerned and it has to be dealt with, and it must be manifested to be dealt with. The judgment of God fell on those who were in the extremity of the camp, showing that He discriminates in His dealings, but later all Israel wept and complained Numbers 11:4. Tears and feelings of that kind are utterly valueless in the sight of God! The weeping shows how deep the spirit of complaint was amongst them. It represents an unjudged condition, and even Moses was affected, he really calls in question the accuracy of divine measurement, he assumed that God had put too much upon him. I mention this to show how the spirit of complaint spreads abroad. Moses recovered himself quickly, his beautiful spirit comes to light when Joshua says to him, "My lord Moses, forbid them!" Numbers 11:28. When the men prophesied in the camp, Joshua was a party man for the moment -- how easily we may drop into that! "Would God", says the great servant, "that all the Lord's people were prophets". Numbers 11:29. He was not affected by jealousy, he was thinking of the saints.

The spirit of complaint is further seen in Miriam

and Aaron. Miriam is mentioned first, but they both complained against Moses. The Spirit of God tells us what kind of man Moses was; he was very meek, "above all men that were upon the face of the earth". Numbers 12:3. What a tribute to a man! And yet he is the object of complaint which shows us what our hearts are. God had used Moses above all others, none knew that better than Miriam and Aaron. They knew him from his beginnings, and they knew of the great change that had come over him when he took his place amongst the saints of God. What a sacrifice he had made! What a man he was! He had renounced the greatest prospects in this world to suffer affliction with the people of God. They knew all that, and much more; times without number they had heard his voice as the voice of God. Indeed, he had been made "for God" to Aaron; so that Aaron must have known him in that peculiar capacity as a man of great weight and authority, and so did Miriam. They were both capable, too, of discerning through whom God was working, for they themselves were vessels in His service. They knew what it was to be actuated by the Spirit of God, and hence all the more serious was their attack on Moses.

So Jehovah says, "Come out ye three unto the tent of meeting". Numbers 1:4 And later, "Why then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant, against Moses?" Numbers 12:8. He spoke suddenly, it was a most serious matter. The result was that "Miriam was leprous as snow". Numbers 12:10. Typically, the complaint was against Christ; that is chapter 12.

Then there is the great uprising recorded in chapters 13 and 14, which is complaint against the heavenly land. This was the more serious because the twelve spies give a good report of the land, that it was good, "a land which floweth with milk and honey". Numbers 13:27. But ten of the spies proceeded to speak in unbelief of the strength of the inhabitants, and the complaint

becomes worse. Then Caleb stilled the people, saying, "Let us go up boldly and possess it, for we are well able to do it". Numbers 13:30. As he and Joshua spoke in this noble strain the opposition became intense, and they became the objects of murderous intent on the part of the people. This shows what we are capable of; the spirit of murder may arise on the part of the people of God; hence the importance of judging the flesh radically at the beginning. God proposes to destroy the people and make a nation of Moses. If He brings out the evil, He loves to bring out the good that He has put in our hearts so we see God honours Moses by bringing out the good that was in his heart. Moses' prayer is beautiful and God heard him and says, "I have pardoned according to thy word". Numbers 14:20. God asserts, I will do it on My own terms. But terrible judgment fell immediately on the ten spies, and later the rest of those "numbered" fell in the wilderness. It is most sorrowful.

Still God says, "When ye come into the land". He comes in, as it were, in the midst of the storm of self-will on man's part and says, "When ye come into the land of your dwellings, which I give unto you", chapter 15:2. It does not say a word about their despising it here; in truth there were those who loved Him, and He thought of them. There will be none in heaven who do not love God. Abstractly, His people are characteristically those who love Him, and there is no question about their coming into the land.

In the first section of our chapter we get the thought of bringing a lamb, or a ram, or a bullock "to make a sweet odour to Jehovah". Whichever I bring, I must remember to bring the proportionate amount of flour and oil mingled with it, and of wine. The measurements are very exact. God would have us in the land that He has given to us, He would have us in nearness to Himself, and if we love Him we shall desire to be in nearness to Him, we shall be thinking of Him all

the time. The world was made by Christ, but they put Him on the cross. He is an outcast from this world but chosen of God and precious, and exalted in heaven. Through the redemption which He accomplished God has those here who are thinking of Him and who offer spiritual sacrifices to Him; that is the import of this scripture. He assumes that in this chapter in saying, "and will make an offering". Every lover of God offers to Him. How great it is to be among the lovers of God! The lovers of God as in His land will always worship Him, they will have something to offer. They will think of the sensibilities of God -- for that is how God speaks of Himself -- of His "nostrils". People complain of great numbers coming together, but if they are lovers of God, how wonderful! The more the better! But our worship has to be properly proportioned. Saul the son of Kish was a fine-looking man, "he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward", 1 Samuel 10:23 but what we want is from the shoulders down, we want the affections brought in. I am afraid our meetings are often largely from the shoulders up, whereas Scripture would bring in the range of the affections. In the description of the bride in Canticles, the whole person is described as beautiful; and in that book the whole Person of Christ is in perfect proportion, and that is what the Spirit of God is aiming at in the chapter before us, that there should be proper proportions.

So, when a lamb was brought, small but precious typically, a tenth part of fine flour was required; that speaks of the humanity of Christ, but reflected in each of us; it will be there when I give my note of thanks to God, I give out a hymn and God is pleased with me, as I am in accord with it. The flour is in right proportion. God is looking at me when I am sitting quietly as well as when I am participating audibly in His service.

Then, another offers a ram. The offerer is mature. He may have children in the faith, for a ram is a progenitive idea; but he is not a man who pushes with his horns -- he has more flour than the man who brought the lamb -- more flour and more oil and more wine. God is pleased with him as proportionate spiritually to the formal offering he has made.

Then another man offers a bullock; that is a large offering, but it has also a sweet savour to Jehovah. It may be a burnt-offering, or a sacrifice for the performance of a vow. The latter means that I have ability to make resolutions and keep them. You may addict yourself, commit yourself definitely, to God's service. This is morally very great and acceptable to God. Offering thus, one is like Christ in His unqualified committal to the will of God, saying, "Lo, I come ... to do, O God, thy will". Hebrews 10:9. This offerer is on those lines. He has the peace-offering in mind, too, in the bullock, he is "a son of peace", Luke 10:6 one who promotes holy, happy conditions among the saints, conditions in which God can have part. This offerer was required, as in the other two cases, to bring proportionate quantities of flour, oil, and wine (verse 9).

These instructions apply to every person, stranger or otherwise. God will have regularity in His land. If there be any divergence from regularity He is displeased with it, and that is not all, He has His own way of dealing with it eventually.

A further thought follows, that of a cake (verses 17 - 21). "Of the first of your dough ye shall give to Jehovah a heave-offering". This points to spiritual exercise. If I want a cake I must have dough; the wheat must be threshed and ground into flour, and the flour kneaded into dough -- it is a process. But I have a whole thought in my mind. This implies the assembly. God had the assembly in His mind when He sent His beloved Son into this world, and now He looks for the corresponding thought from us. "We, being many, are one loaf, one body"; 1 Corinthians 10:17.

"in the power of one Spirit we have all been baptised into one body". 1 Corinthians 12:13. We are to steadily maintain these great facts in our souls, otherwise we cannot be "in assembly" according to God. All the saints are in view, I am but one of them. Can I be intelligently and consciously part of the whole? That is the assembly; I have that in mind in the process of sowing, reaping, threshing, milling, and kneading so as to have a cake. God always has the whole thought in view, and He loves to see it come out in the saints. It is brought to God as a cake, but He says, "Of the first of your dough ye shall give to Jehovah". It is a heave-offering. How God works to have these great thoughts brought in and maintained in the midst of the storm of self-will and opposition to Him that is current today! The worst outbreak of sin in this book is seen in chapter 16.

The closing verses of chapter 15, which are the top stone, present the heavenly side of the truth. Although Israel had despised the land of promise, and although those who did so fell in the wilderness, Canaan was still in prospect and would be entered into by those for whom it was prepared. No true lover of God -- represented in Caleb and Joshua -- has any other thought than that, and we are not to stop short. Hebrews says, "we which have believed do enter into rest": we are to labour to do so; Hebrews 4:3,11. Viewed thus heaven is to be reflected in us. Hence Israel was commanded to "make them tassels on the corners of their garments"; and to "attach to the tassel of the corners a lace of blue". Garments spiritually correspond with external circumstances or surroundings. Hence "corners" would refer to turns or changes from one position to another. In the assembly we are in heavenly circumstances, but we are not there always; we turn and go back to our houses, and there is a tassel on the turn or corner. I am in different surroundings when I leave the assembly and

go back to my house. The conditions are different, and in turning to them I do not forget to have the tassel and the lace of blue on the corner. It is a reminder of the need of constant obedience to the commandments of God. It is a piece of fine work, it is a lace on the tassel. It shows that there is nothing spiritually coarse about me; I have been using fine language in the assembly, now all my language must be in keeping with that, and all my ways must also be in keeping with that. Then I come out from my house to go to business on Monday, that is another corner, but the tassel is there and the lace of blue is there. I am not different morally in my business from what I am in the assembly. There is nothing more practical than christianity; it is from heaven, and is superior, at every turn, over circumstances. The lace of blue is heavenly, the tassel no doubt implies strength. Both would be ornamental in a heavenly sense. As I said before, it is the divine thought interposed to keep us heavenly, whatever the storms may be, however serious the outbreaks of the flesh. What triumph!

PAULINE FEATURES

Acts 14:8 - 10; Numbers 15:1 - 21

J.T. In our reading at Wellesley Hall last evening we had these scriptures read. Numbers 15 forms a link as helping us in right proportions in the assembly, balance first and then the proportions suited to our service Godward, there is rising measure of the oil and wine according to the size of the offering made to God. The passage in Acts affords instruction for the assembly viewed in its Pauline feature. The metropolitan relation was directly under apostolic control. Nations maintain catholicity but with local furnishings and service Godward. The kind of material indicated in this man is one who has intelligence. He heard Paul speaking -- this arrested him. Paul, "fixing his eyes on him, and seeing that he had faith to be healed, said with a loud voice, Rise up straight upon thy feet". The apostle saw there was something there, the root of the matter, assembly material from the Pauline standpoint. He stood on his own feet by faith, in intelligence and faith, he had balance, he was able to stand on his own feet, the power of God bringing in this material. In type the development of this is in the offerer (verse 3), "a burnt-offering ... a sweet odour to Jehovah". This is what is contemplated -- how to offer in a balanced proportionate way.

Ques. What are Pauline features?

J.T. Non-metropolitan, the gospel is preached in localities, churches formed, each with its own hands and feet. It is important not to be insular, or isolated in thought and unduly local. "Thus I ordain in all the assemblies" 1 Corinthians 7:17 universally. The Thessalonians became imitators of the assemblies of God in Judaea.

Ques. According to the size of your offering?

J.T. Your offering is your measure -- if a lamb let

the accompanying elements be in proportion. A brother speaks eloquently of the Lord Jesus but has he got the proportion of fine flour with him, the beautiful humanity of Christ? Is there spiritual dignity in the man? Is the wine in proportion that appeals to God? We might not be offering these accompaniments. God is not pleased with that. All sweet savour offerings are assumed to be rich, voluntary offerings, vows, set feasts, etc., this is not a wilderness matter but in the land. We should be exercised that these should come into evidence. A man who can stand on his own feet is not a party man, he thinks of God. "I speak as to intelligent persons", 1 Corinthians 10:15 initially of that type. There is faith there, can we discern it? Paul fixed his eyes on him.

F.I. Though the man stands on his own feet that which is available for offering is found in the inheritance.

J.T. The land is given, "whither I bring you" (verse 18). It is here a principle of gift like the inheritance in the saints. Materials for the oblation were not obtainable in the wilderness.

Ques. What is the heave-offering?

J.T. Something spontaneous, it waves, moves, catches entirely the eye of God. The heave-offering is from the heart going spontaneously up to God. This chapter was written for us, it is one of the instances where the Old Testament becomes New Testament, so that our service Godward should become proportionate -- not learn from others. I may speak eloquently in the assembly and yet be minus the nature of our Lord Jesus Christ. What I speak in the assembly I must be always. "Let the word of the Christ dwell in you richly ... . And everything, whatever ye may do in word or in deed, do all things in the name of the Lord Jesus". Colossians 3:17. We have much more than that. It would never do for a man to speak intelligently in the meeting and outside assume a natural man's ways. It is not

proportionate. We get material for the assembly from Paul's ministry. He "heard Paul speaking". Paul saw something in him that would qualify him for the assembly. He had faith. "Thou art Peter". Matthew 16:18. The Lord saw that in him. The question is whether you are able to profit by the speaking of a spiritual person. We learn from one another. Paul was peculiarly well worth listening to, this man valued spiritual speaking. He would take character from that.

F.I. The man in Acts 3 -- Peter had to take hold of him.

J.T. Apostolic support was in evidence there, this man stands up himself, we hear no more of him. The epistle to the Romans teaches this. A man thinks of himself so as to be wise, an initial thought. A christian takes his own measure and does not go beyond it, not to think highly -- God is the God of measure, this applies in the universe and in all God's operations, the tabernacle, etc., the assembly should be marked by this. Your estimate of yourself should be just. You may be raised beyond this in the assembly. It was never intended the service of God should be ready-made, e.g., the hymn-book, phraseology -- I use it as it fits me. Better not speak at all if I have not proportion. In the large number of people in the wilderness the models would be the lovers of God. Caleb and Joshua would be representative of those. "Aaron ... I know that he can speak well". Exodus 4:14. Not only that but a brother beloved. He goes to meet you, his speaking will be attractive. Aaron spoke to them and they looked towards the wilderness, showing the power of his speaking. It is remarkable how God leaves all the rebellion (the conditions of christendom) and inserts this chapter as His own thoughts about the people. The assembly is something different. God introduces this beautiful thought which should take form in the assembly. Fine flour

in proportion, oil and wine, not a sentimentalist, not a religionist. It is all in proportion.

Ques. What did you mean by ready-made?

J.T. The hymn-book is ready-made, a provision for the saints, to be used by spiritual people. You ought to be in the thing that is expressed in the hymn, a sweet savour to God. He is quick to see if you are out of proportion. What you have taken in by exercise of what has been presented to you of Christ, and "the sojourner" likewise -- as ye do so shall he do -- no difference. One rule prevails in the assembly. It is a great matter to see what the rule is, a spiritual matter, governed by the light that governs any phase of it, whether the Lord is worshipped or the Father, i.e., the phase of the assembly referring to the Father -- there is to be no deviation from that. Irregularity robs of the sweet savour. If you are addressing the Father you are governed by the light which governs that. Christ is the Minister of the sanctuary, He has the Father in mind (verses 14,15), "As ye do, so shall he do ... one statute for you, and for the stranger that sojourneth with you, an everlasting statute ... before Jehovah. One law and one ordinance".

Ques. Who is the stranger?

J.T. That would cover the material brought in by the apostle Paul. There was the universal custom, and strangers became merged in Israel's customs. No longer strangers and foreigners but fellow-citizens with the saints. One observes great irregularity in the meeting, saints are robbed, and God is robbed of what the assembly should yield to Him. As the gifts are listened to we arrive at "the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, at the full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fulness of the Christ" Ephesians 4:13, that comes out in the assembly. The fulness of the Christ is what He is as Man before God. There is spiritual confusion if we have different

laws or standards. Observe the rule, the ordinance and the law that is the ground of the assembly. If Christward we are speaking to the Lord, but if it is the time for the Father the great feature of the assembly is speaking to the Father. The Lord is in the midst alongside of us. Christward would be a question of the state of the saints. The covenant is a closing thought with the saints, let it have its full force with us, give it scope, the Lord is the Mediator of it. There is a difference between that and the Minister of the sanctuary. The Mediator links on with the Apostle, makes the truth effective. Moses is always the mediator, the minister is Aaron -- he carries the thing on and sustains what is set up. The worship of God is sustained by the Minister of the sanctuary. Deuteronomy 26 merges in the idea of the priest himself.

Ques. Is He Minister of the sanctuary to the Lord or to the Father?

J.T. Hebrews is very initial as to the saints, God and His people, not the Father. "Not ashamed to call them brethren" Hebrews 2:11 comes near it. The point in Hebrews is to get you to go in at all. "I will declare thy name to my brethren". Hebrews 2:12. This is on the ground of the relation to the Father although not mentioned. Hebrews contemplates the wilderness, Ephesians the land. The ark is a military thought in that relation. An Israel goes over first. It is the power of Christ holding back the force of death. "The old corn". Joshua 5:11. Christ is indigenous to the land -- a humanity which never left heaven -- stored corn hardly understood amongst us -- the Father and Son. The Minister of the sanctuary is official, things must be done holily to make room for love -- ability to be quiet and to stand spiritually on new ground. David and Solomon, Father and Son. Link on Joshua with Chronicles -- we bridge all that distance by the Spirit and reach the Father and the Son. Not only risen but exalted.

the assembly is on heavenly ground. The gospel in Romans is on resurrection ground, in Ephesians it is quite different. The Father's house is a future thing and the land is a present thing. The holiest is a wilderness thought, properly of individual application. You understand the Minister of the sanctuary and follow His guidance. As you enter once you never forget it -- you are intelligently free before God. The Father's house is a wider thought and has many abodes. The Father's house is a future thought but we touch His presence now. It is a hard thing to be quiet spiritually, not naturally, to sit still and see what God has in the company. We are naturally restless. Some are quiet by disposition but this is of no value to God. We must learn to be quiet spiritually, all the faculties under control, then governed by principles which govern the position.

Verse 20, "dough" is something unusual in Scripture. In the heave-offering the first of your dough, this word is to call attention to something merging in a cake -- a whole thing, not a slice, seen here before it is baked, it is wrought, ground, kneaded. All alludes to what we have. We arrive at a peaceful, restful state of one whole, one church, one body. Three-tenth parts of flour, half a hin of oil, etc., for a bullock, and so on. There is variation all round, they are proportionate right through.

Ques. In the assembly should we be exclusively occupied with the Lord Himself?

J.T. If we are, it shows we have not risen to the full thought of the assembly, there is irregularity, a want of seeing we are on new ground. We need instruction. The apostle said, "For this cause I bow my knees", Ephesians 3:14 etc.

F.I. We should always have the Lord before us but should speak of Him as well as to Him.

J.T. It is very sweet to hear a person with a keen

appreciation of Christ as the Lamb, His intrinsic value.

Ques. What about worship by the Spirit?

J.T. The Spirit of God is the power for worship, not outward form or human sentimentality or religious feeling. In John 4 the Spirit is in contrast to the letter -- the spirit of worship -- not the letter, or the place or building, or choir -- all these are shut out by the thought of the Spirit. Hannah's song is called a prayer and there is not a word of prayer in it, Mary drew from her remarks. The Old Testament scriptures furnish the spirit of worship, that you present to God after the breaking of bread, what is within your soul and spirit. Being beside yourself is over against sobriety, in 2 Corinthians 5 it is not out of order, it is abstraction from natural conditions -- filled to all the fulness of God, a divine thought of manhood, which we are all to arrive at.

"THE PRECIOUS THINGS OF THE ANCIENT MOUNTAINS"

1 Peter 2:4,6,7 (1st clause); Deuteronomy 33:13 - 16

You will observe the occurrence of the word 'precious' in these scriptures, and I have that word in mind as denoting, in these settings, what is peculiarly valuable as attached to Christ's Person, and the things that come to Him as Man; The first scripture from the apostle Peter is characteristic of one who led in the way of appraisement of Christ, giving us a lead in this connection. The apostles are intended to lead us in regard to valuation or appraisement of what is more excellent. There are the great general foundational truths, the knowledge of which is required for the deliverance, peace and blessing of our souls. These truths acquired in their true relations, both in regard of God and ourselves, set us free for exploration and appraisement of what is more excellent. As we progress on this line we become ranged in regard of quality, for there are persons and persons. The heavenly city contains only one street according to the Scriptures, suggesting equality in dignity of all of us, yet there are gradations of quality and development. These gradations are reached now, but remain and mark us for ever.

That being so we do well to pay attention to the lead given to us by the apostles, and particularly Peter, although Paul is not behind in his ability to appraise, and attached to this appraisement is spiritual feeling, a quality that is rare but much to be sought after, for spiritual feeling marked the apostles. Amongst the twelve Peter is first in this as in other things. Paul stands by himself and carries out among the gentiles all that the twelve had, and I would venture to say adding to what they had, as to feeling

and affection. I believe Paul stands without a peer in all these respects. He thus freely speaks of himself as an example for us, so that we are to follow his epistles, noting his superlatives and comparatives, that we may become accustomed to comparison and appraisement, and be able to name what is more excellent, as we see it and come into contact with it. Peter, as I said, leading the twelve or being first amongst them in this and in other respects, had great opportunities of proving what he speaks of as precious. He uses the word in his epistles characteristically, and shows in this quotation which he cites from Isaiah 28:16 that his appreciation of Christ in this respect was according to the spirit of prophecy. It is a great thing to see that things are cumulative in the course of God's ways and testimony, so that the spirit of prophecy extending back and looking forward had the same feature of appreciation of Christ; what was more excellent. Peter had peculiar advantages, and was impressed by the opportunities that he had of observing what Christ was. His first interviews and contact with the Lord impressed him in a way at the outset that remained and entered into his ministry, for the divine intent is not only that one is to be a minister but he is to exemplify and adorn what he ministers. Peter is not behind in that. It was the beaten work of which we have read today, the beaten gold of the candlestick. In referring to the gold one might note that it stands in Scripture for what is excellent. You will recall that what came out in the recovery in Nehemiah's time was the prominence of goldsmiths. They were engaged in rather rough, but most important work, that is the building of the wall, which refers to fellowship, and which occasions the greatest and bitterest opposition. There were those in Nehemiah's time who would oppose; that is they were opposers characteristically. They would oppose by their flattering words and invitations to

meet in the plains of Ono, and they would oppose by direct attacks against the brethren. These are not wanting today, beloved, but we are not to be deterred from the building of the wall, nor is a refined workman like a goldsmith to let his hands hang down, even if gold be not the material that he is called upon to use. The refined workmanship amongst the people of God will not be damaged, nor degenerate in the building of the wall -- the goldsmiths retained their cunning -- and as soon as the time came for the use of gold they would not be wanting in skill. They were there, and they would be amongst those who would appraise and who understood values. This is most important, for the principle of generalisation is a damaging principle in the things of God; we must learn to exercise the power of discrimination and to put up the separating veil when it comes to the Person of Christ. Unless we guard against generalisation we are likely, in our minds at least if not in our words, to reduce the Lord to the level of man.

Now the apostle Peter was a skilled workman. He was a servant who could retain things for months and years, it may be, without speaking of them, and he would retain their quality, which would not diminish but rather become enhanced. You recall for instance that the Lord recognised him because of the revelation he received from the Father about Himself; the Lord recognised him as material, for he had in his soul an understanding of the Lord's Person. He understood something about the ark of the covenant; he would put the covering veil upon it. Notice his first great address at Jerusalem, how beautifully, how respectfully, how reverentially he speaks of Christ. Perhaps in no address do you find the covering veil so beautifully spread over the ark; but then he knows what to say, he does not say everything he knows; it is a great mistake in ministry to say everything one knows. If Peter were to say everything

he knew he would tell his audience about Christ as the Son of God, but he did not. We have not a word, or reference to the sonship of Christ in his ordinary oral ministry as recorded in the Acts, and yet he had it in his soul. No doubt it would give body to what he was saying, his hearers would be impressed with the fact that there was more behind than what was spoken; but it was unspoken. In service, beloved, let us gather up all possible, let us fill our souls with the precious truth about Christ, about the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, the whole range of truth, but see to it that what is spoken is from the Lord. The Lord did not say to Peter that he should announce him as the Son of God; but God revealed His Son in Paul that he might announce Him as Son of God, and he did not fail to do so. Let us therefore be careful that what we say we have authority for saying, for after all, the ministry is Christ's. The levites are all given to Him for the work is His and it is for the levites to get their orders from Him. The apostle Paul immediately "in the synagogues ... preached Jesus that he is the Son of God", Acts 9:20. He had authority for that, but then Peter knew and held the thing in his soul, and as he was about to put off his tabernacle he would stir up the pure minds of the saints, and he refers to the mount of transfiguration in the most beautiful, powerful and holy language. "Such a voice being uttered to him by the excellent glory: This is my beloved Son, in whom I have found my delight; and this voice we heard uttered from heaven, being with him on the holy mountain", 2 Peter 1:17,18. With what feeling he would write that. How the scene would come back to his soul as he referred to the holy mount when he was with Jesus, when Jesus was transfigured and when a voice out of the cloud said, "This is my beloved Son; hear him". Mark 9:7, Luke 9:7. You see from all this how evidently these jewels that are found in these verses fit in in Peter's

ministry. He reminds us that Jesus was a living Stone. What memories that would recall to his heart, as he himself had said to the Lord, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God". Matthew 16:16. How all that would come back to him as he wrote, and then he says, "chosen of God, and precious". Can we not see the feelings, the holy sentiments of the apostle entering into this word 'precious' as he wrote of the preciousness of Jesus. The Holy Spirit would bring this up, beloved, as to what Jesus is to us. The preciousness of Jesus, elect of God, and precious. Then he goes on to say, quoting from Isaiah, that God had laid in Zion a corner stone, elect, precious. Then further, "To you therefore who believe is the preciousness", 1 Peter 2:7. All that which was so in his soul, was intended as it were to extend toward us, to cover us, to bring us in that respect into accord with Jesus, so that divine pleasure rests upon us. As was said at the beginning at the baptism of our Lord, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I have found my delight" Matthew 3:17, Matthew 17:5 -- not 'all my delight' -- because there is room made for us to come in, that divine complacency should rest on all.

We now come to Deuteronomy, where Christ appears typically in Joseph. We are to learn what He is by the covering veil, the separating veil, that is "holy, harmless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and become higher than the heavens" Hebrews 7:26 as Man. There is no one like Him in that sense, He is unique, "higher than the heavens", but then He shines among His brethren. How beautiful the thought! How it should enlist our deepest interest as we think of what Jesus is among the brethren! This fairly well-known chapter is the blessing of Moses the man of God, wherewith he blessed the children of Israel before he died. The blessing is not like that of Jacob which was almost entirely prophetic, the good and the bad mentioned. Moses is engaged with the good here. He is engaged

with it as the man of God, and the man of God will think for God, and if he speaks of the saints in this abstract way, as having spent forty years with them in the most contrary circumstances, he is speaking of the work of God; he is speaking of what he had observed as the work of God; a matter of the deepest and greatest importance for us, that we should look at the saints, however contrary or wanting they may be, and seek to see something of the work of God in them. If I can see something of the work of God in a man or woman, that man or woman is potential material not only for the assembly, but for eternity. God has taken that person up for a place in His own scheme. The number in the counsels of God is known to God, and there will not be one more nor one less, and everyone will be a subject of divine workmanship so that even Balaam has to say, "What hath God wrought!" Numbers 23:23. That is really the safest way in dealing with the Lord's people; that is the safest enquiry, 'what has God wrought?' for what God has done is done for ever, and there can be no possibility of the destruction of it. It gives great leverage in dealing with the people of God to know as a certainty, as Moses did, that God had wrought in the tribes, that God had wrought in this one or that one; that is what comes out in this chapter. It is a chapter of twelve features of the people of God, wonderful features rising up to Christ, for however you look at the people of God you must see Christ towering up, whether it be a question of His deity, or of His moral worth or beauty, He must tower up above all, and so when Moses comes to Joseph he has the occasion by the Spirit of God to bring out what I have been speaking of, the precious features that attached to Christ. "Of Joseph he said, Blessed of the Lord be his land, for the precious things of heaven". It is His land -- ours to be sure in due course, but it is His first. Applying it to Christ, He was the old corn of

the land. When Israel entered the land the ark was not in view, they were in before it, really what is in view is Christ in another way, that is as indigenous to heaven; that is a word we have to understand, that His very humanity is heavenly, that the Son of man has come from heaven, that the Son of man while here upon earth was in heaven, and that He is not in it as having gone into it merely. The preposition in John 3:13 does not mean that, it means that He was there, He belonged to the place. It is not new to Him; He ascended up far above all heavens, but in entering in, it is not at all new. He is there, the Son of man; so that as Israel crosses Jordan what comes into evidence is Christ in that relation, He is the old corn, or the store corn, of the land of Canaan. So that you can understand how Moses would speak thus by the Spirit, for these words have more significance than even Moses could understand personally. Let us remember that, that the things they minister, they minister to us: "Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify ... . Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister", 1 Peter 1:11,12. It is for us to understand, "Blessed of the Lord be his land". Oh, you say, 'I shall have a share in that!' Yes, but it is His. He would say to you, if you have gift and you have been used of the Lord in conversions and other things, He would say to you, 'Glory not in this, it may give you distinction among the brethren'; but He says, "rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven" Luke 10:20 -- that you have a status there, your names are written there. In truth we are the levites of God, not as we had it today in Numbers, but as it is in Joshua; that is, our part is heavenly, not on the earth. Seeing that our names are written in heaven, and that is our place, how important, beloved, to become acquainted with the place. Ephesians gives you the gospel of the land -- it

is the gospel of place. We have another place, raised up together and made to sit down together in the heavenlies in Christ; so that the testimony of the Holy Spirit of what Christ is in heaven is to be mixed with faith; if we mix it with faith then we shall understand and become accustomed to another place.

Then there are "the precious things of heaven", that is to say, the refreshing influences of heaven and "the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath", "the precious fruits brought forth by the sun and for the precious things put forth by the moon". It would take many addresses to open up what the precious things are, and the features in relation to all these. It is a matter for enquiry as to what they are, for they are precious things. Looking into it the soul will be nourished as it traces what is meant by the heavens and by the sun, and by the moon or months, by the dew and the deep that coucheth beneath. As we trace what these things mean, what precious results accrue; and how all come to pass in Christ and attach to Him. Then there is the blessing for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the everlasting hills. Think of the stretch of mind back to the ancient mountains and forward to the everlasting hills, and the precious things of them, all coming on the head of Christ, on the "top of the head of him that was separated from his brethren". If we take these verses up and follow them we shall have to read the Scriptures from the beginning to the end with this in view. We shall become wonderfully enriched, because our minds stretch backwards and then forwards, learning that all that accrues of the precious fruits of these things is to come on Christ, and (insomuch as this is a tribal chapter) it is Christ in relation to the saints. It presents His greatness towering above us, but nevertheless in relation to us, so that we share in all these things and learn how to value them, and see their

working out. Take, for instance, the ancient mountains, who can tell what was alluded to? You may say that must be Ararat; that must be the mountain of Jehovah. Genesis is full of the idea from chapter 7 onwards, of a mountain or mountains in a literal sense; but the significance is spiritual; however far back you go in the ways and testimony of God there were outstanding features from God that stood the test of time and weather and Satan's power; and they stand now. It would be a fruitful examination, beloved, if I may commend it to you, to examine what these ancient mountains are. Take one of the literal mountains, take Ararat; what lessons there are to be learned, spiritually. The tops of all the mountains, we are told, were covered by the flood, God let nothing escape, but the mountains reappeared, they went through; they reappeared, and the ark rested, we are told, on Ararat. What lessons were to be learned on that mountain, the beginning of another world, as if God were to say from the very outset, 'man spoiled this world, that I made with such detail and skill, thorns have come up on it on account of sin, but there is another world'. Those words, I might say, are written right down Scripture, 'there is another world' -- a world that goes through death, and all that is living in it carried through in a vessel; so that God smells a sweet savour as Noah comes out of the ark on Ararat; worship begins, as you might say, for he built an altar. Are there not precious things to be gathered up in these chapters in Genesis, the great thought of something outstanding that goes through, standing against time and weather and Satan's power, yielding to God the precious savour of Christ; and all that returning upon the "head of him that was separated from his brethren"?

I just refer to two other mountains, to illustrate -- the mountain in Genesis 22, upon which Isaac was offered up. It is an ancient one, but containing the

most precious thoughts. It is the mountain of God, it refers to His resources, His provision, to the death and resurrection of Christ, yielding the most precious thoughts by which Scripture is filled; they have all reverted back, glorifying Him, resting upon His head as a diadem, on the top of the head of Him that was separated from His brethren.

So, too, Moses comes to the mountain of God; Moses led the flock to Horeb the mountain of God, and God sends Aaron and meets him there, and he is glad in his heart. What is it, beloved, but the love of the brethren at that ancient mountain? And Moses unfolds all the thoughts of God on it, and all that comes down on the top of the head of Him that was separated from His brethren.

Then there are the mountains running into eternity, the everlasting hills. Think of the sweet savour and preciousness that comes on the head of Christ, accruing from Him, and all must revert back to Him, coming upon the top of the head of Him who was separated from His brethren.

I might remark, dear brethren, as to the wonderful link of these mountains with the mount of transfiguration; we have the writer of the Pentateuch, and the representative of the prophets, carrying down all the ancient things that spoke of Christ, every precious thing would be in their minds, how they would speak of Christ; they spoke of His decease which He should accomplish at Jerusalem. We can understand that aside from that decease at Jerusalem there could be no precious things, no ancient mountains of value, yielding such precious thoughts of glory and dignity; all is based on that wonderful act of Christ, the laying down of His life at Jerusalem. Then the stretch forward from that mount as Peter speaks of it. He does not refer to it as an ancient mountain, but as a holy mountain; its sides were beaten by the blessed footsteps of Jesus, its top was

trodden by Him, it was holy. It was enshrined in holiness, the feet of the heavenly saints were there, and the feet of the earthly saints were there, linked up with them; and the cloud was there, and the voice out of the cloud was there, denoting the Father's voice, stretching on into an eternal state of things where Christ will be all and in all, and where we shall be like Him. Dear brethren, that was what I was thinking of, that the saints might be led on to the better things, to the excellent things, to the precious things, and to see how they are toward us and how God clothes us with them, that we might be fit companions with Christ in all these relations. May God bless the word to us!

HOUSEHOLDS

1 Corinthians 1:16,17; 1 Corinthians 16:15,16,19; Galatians 6:10; Ephesians 2:19

In these scriptures, as you will all observe, we have the thought of households; first in Corinthians, the household of the believer; second in Galatians, the household of faith; and third in Ephesians, the household of God. The first leads into the second and the second into the third. They may indeed be collateral one with the other, but the two first empty, as it were, into the household of God; so that the subject, I hope, will become practical in the unfolding of it.

These three features appear in the Old Testament. The first is in Genesis 7:6 - 9, indeed; that is the household of the believer. The second is in Genesis 15 -- the household of faith, for Abraham is more in Scripture than Noah, in that he is said to be the father of all believers. By the convenience afforded by the Spirit of God, he is regarded, to make the matter simple, as the progenitor of all believers -- the father of all believers -- so that he represents the household of faith. In Jacob we have the household of God; Genesis 35. Great as Abraham was, it is not with him that the household of God is commenced, but with Jacob. But the three features are there, firstly in Noah, secondly in Abraham, and thirdly in Jacob.

Now it is worthy of note that Noah is said to be righteous in his generation, and that he had found grace with Jehovah in the midst of a world which had forgotten Him. He towers up like one of the ancient mountains mid the lowlands of corruption, depicted in Genesis 6. He found grace with God. God saw to it that there was a man in those days who stood out. All was not lost, all is never lost; and in this man,

who in the midst of corruption rises up, as I said, as we look back, like one of the ancient mountains, the blessings come down to the children. He found grace with Jehovah, and that before Jehovah entered into a covenant. That is to say, whoever knew him, whether related in the flesh or otherwise, would know there was one righteous man. One was rarely found, as it is today. In the circumstances a righteous man is one of the rarest of persons, and one of the most valuable in God's house, in relation to His testimony. There cannot be any testimony apart from righteousness. It is said of him that he walked with God. What dreadful currents were against that man in his day! It is said of him, "By faith Noah ... prepared an ark for the saving of his house". Hebrews 11:7. The preparation was of long duration; the need for the ark was entirely out of view, except to faith. Possibly he was the only one who had any conception of its need. He was warned of God. The pattern, too, was wholly unique, they had no such pattern as this. It is wholly unlikely that there was -- it was a new thing. There was nothing at all in view, there is nothing said about rain until after the flood. Also there was no evidence of any need for such a structure and it therefore taxed his faith to the utmost, day after day, for one hundred and twenty years. You can understand what the walk with God meant for him. What ridicule! How they would aim their gibes at him and ridicule at his folly! It was the foolishness of God, one day proved wiser than man, as the ark rose and rose abreast the flood, as poor, weak man succumbed, engulfed in the ditch. What a triumph for his faith! And then how glorious the testimony is in one man; the thought runs through Scripture, what one man can do, while walking with God. What strength of faith he would need as those boards of gopher-wood were laid out and placed together, with the skill greater than that of any man; and with that pitch, pitched within and

without, made staunch, made impervious to all the influences without. As we may say, God was with him in every nail he drove, every wood he planed, every storey he finished. It was a three-storied affair; not three decks, but three stories. Every one was a triumph, one after the other. He prepared an ark for the saving of his house. There is not a word as to whether his wife or his sons were to build it, possibly his sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth helped. They were all blessed, but their salvation was with their parents. It was his doing, he prepared an ark for the saving of his house and he saved his house and brought them through. That corresponds with what I have read from 1 Corinthians.

The break-up of christendom is in view in this epistle. It was checked. Those same principles were needed in those circumstances, and never was there a time when these principles were more needed than in our own time. The enemy is not only endeavouring to effect a great general apostasy but has long succeeded. The great work of apostasy has been going on, as the apostle has said, but there is that which hinders, and it hindered at Corinth; and not the least through the influence of a household. I am speaking to parents, as also to children, many of whom are here. The checking of apostasy and the maintenance of what is of God until the end is seen in Scripture in certain households. The family thought must stand in the mind of God. It is a primary thought, everyone in a family. At Corinth it was seen in this distinguished brother, Stephanas. The apostle, in speaking about baptising, said he had not baptised generally amongst the Corinthians (although they were all baptised) owing to the state of things that prevailed, in case he would appear to baptise in his own name. He baptised Gaius and another. He says he did that. I am sure he said it with zeal -- he turned out well. But then it was not that he was speaking about, he was speaking

about results. He did turn out well, as the last chapter shows that in a divided state of things, such as we have to do with today, how one man can stem the tide. His house can become a rendezvous for the faithful. The household of a godly, spiritual man is sure to stand against all partisan workings. There is another household, the household of Chloe. She was a person in her day who would abhor such wickedness as was in Corinth. The doors are not guarded and the enemy gets in and he did get in in a terrible way at Corinth, so that there was seething evil in the assembly at Corinth; chapter 5. The household is honoured, is brought forward as a bulwark ... so that he says that there are those of the house of Chloe who told me that there are divisions among you. But Chloe was concerned about the divided state among the saints, and Stephanas acquired a moral influence. I apprehend the house of Chloe had little power in itself, but it was of sufficient use to convey the sad tidings to the apostle. Moral power is what is needed today, it is not simply what one says, it is what one is. And so the apostle says, "the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power". 1 Corinthians 4:20. He appeals to the Corinthians. He says, "ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the first-fruits of Achaia, and they have devoted themselves to the saints for service". What a service for the household, Stephanas and his house! Those who have acquired moral weight among us in the household, become of immense value in stemming the tide and the saints are gradually led to recognise what is of God. It is a saving element. As soon as I discern what is of God, it is to be respected; it is a moral quality; it is representative of God. Hence you will find, for instance in 2 Kings, how great a stress is laid on the "man of God". He embodies the qualities of God. Divine qualities are to be recognised and respected. Submit to it! You will never lose by submitting to what is of God. You

will perhaps say, 'I have got as much ability as So-and-so and as much experience; I am older'. But nevertheless there is something there in that brother that is of God. It is not there for nothing; it is there for a purpose; it is an outstanding thing; it is a moral quality; it is representative of God. If you discern, respect; and if you respect it, submit to it. We are enjoined to be subject one to another; the younger are enjoined to be subject to the elder. That is simple. I can respect what is of God in a younger man than I. He may know better than I do on certain questions. Why should I let my experience stand in the way? He is to be respected. God has set old and young together in this way in the household so that we may submit, that we might live in the atmosphere of submission -- be subject to such. I have no doubt that Stephanas would be under the reproach of the great men of Corinth; there were great men there, men who spoke of the apostle with disdain; they were false apostles. I am speaking thus in leading up to the apostasy. As the spirit of subjection discerns what is of God, it stems the tide of apostasy.

Then there is further in the chapter the thought of an assembly in a house. We have difficulty in finding suitable halls for our meetings -- the halls of this world were not built for the followers of the Nazaraean. They were not intended for us. But households are different. Within the four walls of the household of a christian, how different! The cherubim of glory are there. Aquila and Priscilla had an assembly in their house. Incidentally it points to the smallness of the christian companies in that day, although there were many saints in these places -- at Philippi and at Corinth. Christians were content to meet in believers' houses. We cannot assume that Aquila and Priscilla had a house of very great dimensions or that it would be finely furnished as men speak. There would be

nothing there to stumble a young christian. The book of Deuteronomy required that such households of the saints should be carefully guarded against any mishap. Young people coming in and imitating; there was nothing of that kind in the household of Aquila and Priscilla. Aquila and Priscilla are never mentioned except together, sometimes the one first, sometimes the other. They represent an ideal husband and wife, spiritually, and daily together. They earn their living together, and they had the great honour of earning it alongside of Paul; they lodged with him as workmen -- the same craft. What a view of the apostle they got! I should have liked a conversation with him as he said to Timothy, "thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life", 2 Timothy 3:10. It was such a house as the heavenly saints -- there were spiritual people in those assemblies -- could look upon with complacency. How much might be in one's house that one would seek to hide from the spiritual eye, but not so with Aquila and Priscilla. They served the saints. So much for the idea of the house, and I wish you to link on the conditions in Corinth along with our own. The apostasy has come, it is full grown.

Assembly conditions have been restored. The most wonderful thing of modern times is the restoration of assembly conditions, and they are meant to last to the end. The Lord would lay it on His people to see to the house. If divided conditions arise, as they do, a spiritual house is a great instrument in the hand of the Lord for the rallying of the saints. It will neutralise; it will promote assembly conditions.

Turning to Galatians, you can readily see how fitting is the expression in this epistle, "the household of faith". It is in its proper setting, it is set over against loose conditions in christendom. I am turning to speak of legal conditions, and the expression of the household of faith rightly fits in where legal conditions

have a place. They had a place in the gatherings of Galatia. You will observe, it is the "assemblies of Galatia". Galatians 1:2. There is no such thing as an assembly in a district. This was part of the apostasy, bringing in legality to replace grace by law, so that believers should fall from grace. If we fall from grace, as in the assemblies in Galatia, we are on the same level as fallen from love -- in the assemblies in Asia. Fallen from grace is one thing, fallen from love is another. Both are fallen. Indeed, if I have fallen from grace, you may be sure I have fallen from love. If I love the brethren, I love liberty, and so he brings in the beautiful expression, "specially ... the household of faith". The type of that is Abraham. You all remember the history. It begins in Genesis 15, where it is said, "And he believed Jehovah; and he reckoned it to him as righteousness". Genesis 15:6. What he believed God about was his family. He was to have a great household -- like the stars of heaven. He believed that. The time for numbers is coming, and that is the connection in which Abraham is said to have believed God, and he became the father of the faithful. So that we all have to range ourselves alongside of Abraham in that sense as the household of faith. And so you go through that chapter. Hagar and Ishmael appear in chapter 16. Hagar comes into that household, and she left it of her own accord; she fled. She really did not belong to it, and that was what the teaching in Galatia was effecting. The apostle would direct our view to genuine believers, and in chapter 17 Abraham has his name changed from Abram to Abraham, the first meaning. 'high father', the second 'father of a multitude'. It is a great thought of God, the family of faith, and God says, 'You have obtained "a good degree" 1 Timothy 3:13, I will change your name'. We belong to the multitude; chapter 17. God came down and spoke with him, beautiful, and He broke off speaking with

him and went up to heaven. In chapter 18 He comes back to Abraham. He is creating great atmosphere in the household of faith. There is room for God where there is faith, and so He comes to Abraham. Abraham circumcised all in his house, he carried out the thought fully, and God came back and said, 'Abraham, you have done well'. Faith takes hold of the commandment of God, the principles of God. God came back to Abraham; he was at his tent-door. He came back in company -- companionship in the household of faith. Do not company with anyone who has not faith! He will lead you into the world. There are three men, and one is Jehovah. How beautiful that God should come to us in that way! Three men, and one Jehovah, and Abraham discerns the difference between Jehovah and the other two -- the beautiful company. What companionship there is in the household of faith! Marry only in the Lord! It is a question of faith. Bring faith into it and, whatever your aspirations, God will be a Father to you. "I will be to you for a Father, and ye shall be to me for sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty", 2 Corinthians 6:18. He came in in company, and Abraham discerned Him and ministered to Him. Think of those three men resting themselves under the tree until Abraham brought the calf, milk and so forth. Think of the consideration of God to do that. Need we not look for great things in the household of faith? There is no need to go outside of it. He went after to Sodom. We come in for divine thoughts. We know what is going to happen. We know the end of things. The cleverest statesmen do not know. "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing?" Genesis 18:17. The Lord God is there to do justice, to do righteousness. In the household of faith you get practical righteousness. If we know that He is righteous, we know that everyone practising righteousness is of the household of faith. That is Galatians.

You can see how the apostle stresses the expression, "the household of faith". Chapter 19 is the destruction of Sodom. Chapter 21, Isaac is born, and we get the thought fully expressed, not in Abraham himself, but in his house. It is expressed in Sarah. "The son of this handmaid shall not inherit with" Genesis 21:10 the free. That is to say, those of the household of faith are born after the Spirit. Think of the dignity attaching to it. The "bondwoman and her son" Genesis 21:10 must go. Sarah had right instincts; she would not bring up her son with a mocker. We should be careful to select our company, that they do not mock at Christ, that they do not despise Christ. How can you be a companion of one who does not love Jesus?

One word on the household of God. It is the great final company. It is a primary thought of God, and primary thoughts are eternal thoughts. Provisional thoughts will end. Primary thoughts -- that is the family. We are told in Ephesians, in its own setting, a jewel in its proper setting, "no longer strangers and foreigners". Ephesians 2:19. It is not that I am an alien; no, I am there on the ground of sonship. "No longer strangers and foreigners, but ye are fellow-citizens of the saints, and of the household of God, being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the corner-stone". Ephesians 2:19,20. One beautiful passage in Isaiah 56 greatly amplifies this, where the alien is alluded to, "the eunuchs that keep" God's "sabbaths", and "the son of the alien" that take their place in the testimony of God, "unto them will I give in my house ... a place and a name better than of sons and daughters". Isaiah 56:4,5. Greater than any natural household could be; and the stranger is to be made "joyful" in God's "house of prayer". Isaiah 56:7. That is, when we come together, even for prayer, when we are supposed to be burdened with the cares of the testimony, even there we are made glad; such is the joy, such is the atmosphere of the place. As Luke 15

testifies, "music and dancing". Luke 15:26.

God comes down to such figures to attract the hearts of the young, to show there is joy in His house; and "the singers" and "the dancers", we learn in Psalm 87, "shall say, All my springs are in thee". Psalm 87:7. The meaning is that it is in Zion where all the divine thoughts are; where Christ is; where God is. We do not draw from the world; we do not learn to dance in the world; we do not learn to speak in the world. 'All our springs are in thee'. Everything is learned there; we do not need to go outside at all.

THE COVENANT OF GOD

Ezekiel 20:33 - 37; 2 Chronicles 34:29 - 32; Isaiah 56:6 - 8

These scriptures all speak of the covenant, the covenant of God. As many of us know, this subject has a great place in Scripture. On account of our limitations as creatures, He uses terms that are intelligible to us, terms already known amongst men, so that He might become intelligible to us, that we might know Him. For instance, we are told that the promises which He had made, He confirmed by an oath. God cannot lie, so there is no reason why He should swear, but He does, by Himself, there being no greater to swear by. He does it to assure our feeble hearts, for at best they are feeble and doubting. God entered into covenant, committed Himself to promises, and in order to assure those to whom the promises were made, He confirmed them by an oath, "that by two unchangeable things in which it was impossible that God should lie, we might have a strong encouragement", Hebrews 6:18 not only encouragement, but a strong encouragement, that our hearts should be fortified by the promises and the oath. This is in keeping with the incarnation itself. God would come in in the lowest way to get near to us, to be beside us to be compassable by us. Not that the Lord Jesus, even as a Babe, was compassable. He was ever what He was, the Same, the unchanging One. But He took the form of a Babe which would assure every heart. So the angels said to the shepherds, "Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord". Luke 2:11

They might have said 'born unto God', but no, "unto you is born ... a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord". The sign was they should find a babe wrapped

in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. He came into circumstances that were well known, a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes. Perhaps the position lying in a manger was not so common. But they were to see a sign and this was the sign -- a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger, nothing to terrify or repulse man, but rather everything to encourage him. These things were knowable, that which was unknowable would be now known, and lovable, too. 'The Creator' speaks of the eternal power and divinity of God, but that hardly suggests attraction or love. It might be said that love is spoken of before the incarnation but all had incarnation in view. The divine work of the Spirit had incarnation in view. When God came in in one way or another, it looked forward to Bethlehem's manger, and the Babe in it. He used human language to show that He was and is love. He would be loved, too, that is what He wanted -- that He should be loved. "We love him, because he first loved us". 1 John 4:19. That love is attested in Jesus become Man.

Now in the covenant God takes up a word that is intelligible to man. The covenant is one of the most important subjects in Scripture. There are several covenants, but I cannot enter into them all now. One is the covenant at Horeb, and then the new covenant of which the one at Horeb was in a certain sense the type. The new covenant into which we have come is made with Israel and Judah, but we all have part in it. There is a touching reference to it in Haggai 2:4,5, "I am with you, saith Jehovah of hosts. The word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, and my Spirit, remain among you". As if God would say 'the covenant involves all that I am towards you in love and thoughtfulness, and My Spirit makes it good in your hearts, remaining in you' -- all that God is in Christ Jesus our Lord and it is in Him that it is available to us. All that is with

us here in this hall tonight, and the Holy Spirit as well by whom it is made a reality to us. "The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given to us". Romans 5:5. So that we do not need to fear, we are rendered independent of all the human religions around us, for these two things remain with us, the covenant and the Spirit. It is in the light of these things that we are here tonight. The Holy Spirit is present to touch our hearts as to the covenant of God, so that the thing might be clear to us.

The Lord after He had blessed the cup said, "This is my blood, that of the new covenant, that shed for many". Matthew 26:28, Mark 14:24. In Mark's gospel it says, "and they all drank out of it". Mark 14:23. That may apply to most of us here. We have all drunk out of it. What a precious thought, "they all drank out of it". It is not 'cups', it is "the cup", so they all drank out of it. The Lord said, "This is my blood, that of the new covenant". Then He said, "I will no more drink at all of the fruit of the vine", alluding to the passover cup, "until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God". Mark 14:25. He says 'in a new way' which we can now understand. The new covenant is different from the old. It is to be drunk, but in a new way in the kingdom of God. We understand that, that christianity is new, and we have been brought into it, but the Lord speaks of Himself, "I will no more drink at all of the fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God". Mark 14:25. He gave up the earthly side in the last passover, and set up the new thing in keeping with the new covenant in which we have part.

I want to show how the prophet urges on us the bond of the covenant. I have spoken from Haggai, who with Zechariah is one of the latest of the prophets; they both laboured in the building of the house in Jerusalem after they returned from Babylon, so they have a peculiar place, they were peculiar men, they

not only unfolded the mind of God, but they worked with their hands to build the temple. So Haggai has a peculiar kind of right to speak to us and he tells us that the covenant remains with us. It is well to notice the place that the prophets have. In the main they refer to the patience of God, God's long suffering, the patience of His service to us, His perfect service to us. The Lord said, "The law and the prophets were until John". Luke 16:16. But there are also the Psalms which have a great place, too, but the prophets generally represent the patience of God, particularly in His service to us, that He has the very best things for us. God comes into our way of speaking, because we know God. Ezekiel was one who was in the place to receive communications for he was one of the captives by the river Chebar in Babylon. This marked him, so he has a right to speak to us because he had a part in the captivity as we have. We cannot rightly understand Scripture without seeing the moral bearing these Old Testament scriptures have on us. They speak directly to us, they have a word for us, they appeal to all circumstances, to all times. In the passage I read in Ezekiel we have God's dealings with His people. He brings them to "the wilderness of the peoples". Though they are among the nations, the nations become just a wilderness to them, nothing can make it such to them apart from the work of God in them. I know something of the Jewish way of thought, for we have about two million Jews in New York. I know the peoples are not a wilderness to them, it is all a question of making money, of getting on in the world. So the change will be wrought by the work of God. The nations will never become a wilderness to us except as we become the subjects of the work of God. Naturally the world is not a wilderness to us. We are born into it, we love it, we hanker after it, we would like to get on in it, to find our enjoyment in it. But God works in us;

young people are the subjects of the work of God, worldly companionship ceases to be a pleasure to them, rather is it a wilderness out of which they would seek to go, and find their companions among those who, like themselves, are the subjects of the work of God. The circle of the saints is a sphere of life, of course it is limited, but still it is life. "We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren". 1 John 3:14.

Then He says, "I will cause you to pass under the rod", but first He speaks of the wilderness of the land of Egypt. That is what Egypt becomes to them, because God wrought and pleaded with them, in His love for them. He would have them understand, He brings them to Himself, He enters into covenant with them. And now He says, "I will cause you to pass under the rod". These verses are progressive. He brings us into the wilderness of the peoples and how the Lord pleads with each one of us. In how many ways He brings Himself before us, as we see in the early chapters of Exodus, chapters 13,14,15,16,17,19. For instance He was in the cloud, the cloud went before them, and then it moved behind them so as to be between them and the Egyptians. What consideration of God for them that they might be free and restful. Then they come into the wilderness and He enters into covenant with them at Horeb. But here there is the thought of the rod which should be noticed. "I will cause you to pass under the rod". The rod may be found in those chapters in Exodus; certainly there was the rod of Moses, the rod of authority which they passed under. Today it is the rod of Christ. Paul speaks of coming to Corinth with a rod, it was necessary. He greatly modified that remark by sending Timotheus to them, his child, one who was a very much younger man, but he knew Paul and he knew Paul's ways. The apostle uses marvellous skill in changing from severity to meekness

and love, but the rod was there. Indeed it shows the Lord's way with each one of us. Troubles come, sickness, sorrow, and other things, they are all to be taken as the evidence of the Lord's disposition towards us, every bit is for the good of the saints. "Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth". Proverbs 3:12. There is love in the rod, and there is sonship in it, too. It makes the rod a very different thing when we see sonship in it. The rod will surely be used of God, it is not a rod of iron. When we see these two great words are blazoned on it -- love and sonship -- that enables us to submit, and thus we become partakers of His holiness. The shepherd uses his rod to count his sheep, you are honoured by being taken notice of. He leads His people, and they know they are honoured by being taken notice of -- called out by God, so that we may come into the bond of the covenant, recognising that there is the bond. He is looking for some response, not only in love but in consideration, because it is this sort of thing that makes men of us. In 1 Corinthians we read, "Quit yourselves like men; be strong" 1 Corinthians 16:13 and thus become grown men. It is the bond of the covenant, that I am obligated to God, He has made a proposition to me and I have to take it on. "I will bring you into the bond of the covenant". That involves not only my obligation to God, but it includes my obligation to my brethren. In other words, it is fellowship. That is the bearing of things, that we should take account as to whether we are true to the bond, true to God, true to the brethren.

Now I want to show from Chronicles how it works out, how a king comes into it. We have been speaking of the rod of authority in Moses. In the case of Josiah we get his whole life portrayed from eight years of age when he began to reign. You cannot attach the thought of much officialism to a boy like that, he is a tender person. You will see in this chapter how

the Holy Spirit speaks of different stages of this boy's life. That is, Josiah represents life, but life in its development. The boy draws out your sympathy, almost pity, to be found in such an exalted position. You are not afraid of a boy of eight years. But there he is the king. The Lord would come into our hearts in that way. Hilkijah finds the book of the law, the law of God, and brings it to the king, he had great interest in that; that is very suggestive, he had great interest in the book of the law. He rent his clothes with shame that the law, the covenant, had been so little regarded, should indeed have been lost sight of. That is how this chapter presents Josiah to us. He appeals to the prophetess Huldah. She tells him of the covenant of the Lord and the terrible consequences of their disobedience. The rights of God have been disregarded. But the king is in his place and he gets the elders to the house of the Lord. That is what the Lord is doing. He is getting the responsible ones to the house of the Lord.

If anyone does not understand, how He appeals to us to come to the house. So here "the king went up into the house of Jehovah, and all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the priests and the Levites, and all the people, great and small; and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant which had been found in the house of Jehovah;" That is a most important section. The thing is opened up to us, you are given to understand the need, you are responsible. Anyone who is not responsible is not worthy of the name of a christian. Responsibility marks christianity. That is the point here. The king gets the responsible ones to the house of the Lord and reads to them the words of the law. Then in verse 31 "the king stood in his place", he stands to it. Now that is what I want to press. The covenant was made that they should keep it, the covenant of God. It has been recovered, and he

brings the responsible ones there and reads the words of the covenant. Now He is calling us all to stand to it, that is what the Lord is doing. He calls us to stand to it. The way He has of doing it I cannot enter into now, but He has the means. He is the King. He can do things, we are not stronger than He. If He is bent on making us stand to the covenant He will do it and it may be a very serious matter in our histories. He is bent on making us stand to the covenant, not to be trifling with it, but to stand to it.

That is why I read the passage in Isaiah: "The sons of the alien, that join themselves to Jehovah". You see how the prophecy comes in and has a bearing on the present time. We were once aliens and strangers, but the work of God has changed all that and we are of those who have joined themselves to Jehovah, that is to God. I am not asking you to join yourself to any company, it is a question of joining Jehovah, joining the Lord to minister to Him and to love His name. Where will you get a finer statement of the position of one in whom God has worked? He has joined himself to Jehovah to minister to Him and to love His name, to be His servant. Is there anyone ready to come forward tonight for the first time? We gentiles were all aliens to God and to His covenant. What are you going to do? If there is a stranger among us, wishing to join himself to the Lord, to minister to Him and love His name and be His servant, this chapter is most encouraging to you. He goes on to say, "Every one that keepeth the sabbath from profaning it, and holdeth fast to my covenant; even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer". Now that, dear brethren, is a wonderful proposition for anyone tonight who has not taken his place as a stranger before God and joined himself to Jehovah. God shows us how He brings us to His holy mountain -- the term is full of spiritual

meaning, "My holy mountain" and "my house of prayer". Not the house of burden but the place of joy. The music and the dancing are there. God brings things down to the young that they may be encouraged as to what He has for them. The elder brother heard the music and the dancing. It is going on today and God is offering it to us. The Lord Jesus said, "We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced"; Matthew 11:17, Luke 7:32 the Lord is the Musician. In the Father's house there were both music and dancing. "The Lord Jehovah, who gathereth the outcasts of Israel, saith: Yet will I gather others to him, with those of his that are gathered". This verse is an encouragement to us at this moment. It is a question of the covenant. The keeping of the sabbath means to us our recognising the Lord's supper in the setting of the covenant to all those who keep it from pollution. He has recovered it for us and it is for us to keep it from pollution. Then there is to be positive gain, progress and addition. "I will gather others".

FELLOWSHIP -- GENERAL AND LOCAL

1 Corinthians 1:1 - 3; 2 Corinthians 1:1,2; Colossians 4:16; Deuteronomy 21:1 - 9

J.T. I was thinking of general fellowship and local fellowship, and the responsibility that attaches to each. I thought this subject would be one that would yield something for us at this meeting -- that is, the subject of fellowship in a general and local sense and particularly the responsibility attaching to each respectively, for we at times are unduly local and unduly general. So that a right balance is what the Lord would always lead to, and it occurred to me that the first scripture read links the two ideas together, or rather makes them one; for whilst the address is to the assembly of God which is at Corinth we read it is to the "sanctified in Christ Jesus, called saints, with all that in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both theirs and ours". It is not, of course, that the apostle would imply that his directions as to administration should be taken part in by all at one time, but certainly any act of administration at Corinth should not be of an independent nature, it should be such as would take account of "all that in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both theirs and ours". So that any question raised at Rome or in Jerusalem or in Africa as to an act in Corinth would be answered and would not be regarded as a matter belonging to Corinth exclusively, for the obvious teaching is that the same Lord is "both theirs and ours". It is His matter and the principle of universality would be maintained while wisdom would recognise "put away from among yourselves that wicked person" 1 Corinthians 5:13 alluded to Corinth, but as put away in Corinth he would be put away everywhere. It would be regarded as an act binding on the assembly

as a whole and the binding is necessarily the concern of all, subject to enquiry on the part of all.

I thought these remarks would cover the first part of our subject, and in the second letter the address is to the "assembly of God which is in Corinth, with all the saints who are in the whole of Achaia"; that is, the area is reduced, it is brought down to the province. Then in the epistle to the Colossians the thought is narrower still; that is, the letter addressed to Colosse was to be read to the assembly of Laodiceans, which was nearby, "and that ye also read that from Laodicea". The area is reduced to neighbouring assemblies, two assemblies, as if the exercises and needs would be somewhat alike, showing that as the area is reduced the current conditions are more nearly alike. I thought that this declining gradation of responsibility helps as to current matters amongst the saints, matters that are constantly arising in localities and the responsibility attaching to the difficulties arising.

A.N. Do you mean that the moral conditions in Colosse would possibly be true of Laodicea, so that the same epistle would apply to both?

J.T. That is what is intended to be conveyed; for example, characteristic conditions in London are likely to mark the suburbs. I think God considers for His people in that way. Adjacent meetings are likely to be suffering from nearby like conditions and therefore a word for one is a word for another.

A.N. I think that helps, that the special word which the epistle had would equally apply to the district.

J.T. That is right, and wisdom therefore as more extended to the distant meetings would take all this into account. The more adjacent meetings are more likely to be conversant with details and the Lord would use them. It seems to me that is the instruction in this declining gradation of responsibility. I

thought in suggesting these scriptures in relation to Deuteronomy that we find all these ideas condensed in this type in chapter 21. That is, we have the facts of an occurrence concerning which responsibility had to be determined. The determination was not by local people but by those that represent the general idea -- that is 1 Corinthians 1. "Thine elders", it says in verse 2, "thine elders and thy judges shall go forth, and they shall measure ...". That is, the determination of the responsibility is general, it is by those who represent the general fellowship. "Thine" is Israel's judges. And then we have the measuring and the local responsibility determined, and then the elders of the local city are brought in in verse 4; and then the priests, the sons of Levi, alluding to the spiritual condition -- that a spiritual condition is required.

A.S. Is it the spiritual condition of the local meeting or the district?

J.T. The spiritual condition is general, that is, the word is "the priests the sons of Levi". They are not regarded as local. They represent a state that God can approve, that is, a priestly condition. They are not mentioned after that, you will observe. Their office is determined in verse 5 "by their word shall every controversy and every stroke be tried". And then the local people act as priests and say, "Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it". Their solicitation is for the whole of Israel, they never lose sight of the general fellowship -- "Be merciful, O Lord, unto thy people Israel". That is the local people, but they are acting as priests.

R.G. How is the measuring done in a practical way?

J.T. Well now, before we get to that do you understand what was said in regard of 1 Corinthians and Colossians? It is important to get the basis in the New Testament. The first letter to Corinth is the

the great general fellowship merging in the local. The second epistle brings it down to the province -- the saints which are in Achaia; and the third scripture brings it down to the immediate locality, for Laodicea was very near to Colosse. They are viewed as having like exercises and yet their distinctiveness as assemblies is maintained -- they do not act together. Now if that be clear, we may consider how the elders and judges measured.

Rem. So that in that way any local company acting would have the whole fellowship in view in the acting.

J.T. Yes, that is how it stands in Corinthians. It is "to all that in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both theirs and ours". In the following address the apostle directs that certain persons be put away, delivered to Satan, and the like. Well, Corinth cannot assume that it is not the business of Rome.

Rem. So that that would be ever in view in anything that might come upon a local company, they would recognise the brethren in the district and elsewhere.

J.T. I think that it is important that we get the full bearing of the fellowship. The unity of the Spirit is a collateral thought, there is one body, one Spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all -- that is the spiritual side, the fellowship is the working out of it.

Ques. Would you say that no assembly can act rightly in regard to the local fellowship unless they have the general fellowship in view?

J.T. Quite so. We act in relation to the general fellowship. Yet wisdom would leave it, of course, with the local assembly as to whatever is done.

Rem. And yet as to the result Mr. Darby speaks very strongly, the man that was put away was outside the assembly altogether.

Ques. Is there any instruction in the identification of Sosthenes with Paul?

J.T. Well, as has often been remarked, it is the brotherly element; the Spirit of God takes account of our way of looking at things, a brother would require a brother for brotherly consideration in all matters.

Rem. In chapter 5 there is the "within" and the "without", "Ye, do not ye judge them that are within? But those without God judges. Remove the wicked person from amongst yourselves" 1 Corinthians 5:12,13 -- there is the inclusive and the exclusive.

J.T. Those that are within are in the circle of the fellowship, the wicked man was to be outside of that.

Ques. Would the fact that chapter 5 opens with the thought that it is universally reported suggest the link, that is, the general and the local?

J.T. The state of division amongst them was reported by the house of Chloe but the state of corruption was generally reported, without it being said who reported it. There was universal feeling about it. There is no doubt that in the house of Chloe there was godly concern, that there were conditions such as are spoken of in the assembly.

Ques. Would you say a word as to the difference between priests, elders and the sons of Levi?

J.T. The first thing is "Thine elders and thy judges". Now the suggestion there, clearly, is persons who are responsible. Elders today are not general, the bearing of an elder in the assembly is local. "Thine elders" means the national elders of Israel, and what they represent in the type is persons who are responsible, they are distinct from the priests. The word denotes a person of experience, one who has grown up in the testimony and loving the Lord and His interests. They would have the experience which would lead them to be concerned about any and every matter which affects the testimony, so that they would denote today the element of responsibility

everywhere. If there is no element of responsibility there is nothing for God. Responsibility means that the things of God are being looked after and if we cannot do it directly we can pray about it. And then judges refers to ability to judge, if there be not that the same thing applies -- there is nothing for God. The same persons are alluded to, of course. The first is the responsibility and the second ability to judge. Then "the priests the sons of Levi" refers to the same persons, but it is looking at what is spiritual. The apostle says, "I think that I also have God's Spirit", 1 Corinthians 7:40 but he gives his judgment of himself as one who had had mercy shown him. Generally speaking, believers dealing with the things of God reckon on the Spirit and on spirituality, so that the word in Galatians is "Ye who are spiritual" Galatians 6:1 -- that is what is alluded to. So that there are three things, the responsible element, the discerning element and the priestly element, that is the element that makes room for the Spirit of God, which applies to all christians -- all christians are priests -- hence all christians are brought into it. The priest always considers for God. The law was in his charge, he was custodian of the law and you can rely upon his word, and it says, "By their word shall every controversy and every stroke be tried". Hence we need the priestly element or there is no authority. The incident brings all this holy organism into action, a very wonderful thing in this world. Think of a holy organism of God set down here in this world and it is right in its results -- a great matter in God's account.

Rem. I wonder whether that would be exemplified in the Lord personally in regard of His judgment and the priestly character of it: "My judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me". John 5:30.

J.T. There you have perfection of judgment. In the assembly, viewed as under the divine hand, governed

by the Spirit of God, you get a like result. We are not guessing at things. It is not haphazard, the thought is you reach a judgment according to God.

A.N. If I am looking at things in relation to myself or others my judgment will be flurried, but if I look at it in relation to God there will be a right judgment.

J.T. Very good. In Deuteronomy 33 it says, "Let thy Thummim and thy Urim be with thy holy one". Deuteronomy 33:8. "Thy Thummim" is first (it is usually the Urim first), which means, I think, that the state was there before you get the light. If the spiritual state was there you can count upon the light from the Holy One. God had tested out Levi. It is interesting to compare the blessing of Moses, 'the man of God', and the blessing of 'Jacob the father'. Jacob gives the whole history of the tribes, good and bad. Genesis 49 is not based on conduct. It is prophetic, because the tribes did not really exist yet, save in the sense of family, so that the tribal conduct had not yet taken place, it was purely prophetic. But when Moses blessed the people, tribal conduct had become historic, the tribes had been tested and the blessing was based on the result of the testing. It is an important matter, especially in regard of Levi; that is, God had tested him and God had found him worthy of the Urim and the Thummim. Levi in many instances sided with Moses. In regard to the golden calf he sided with Moses and in another instance he disregarded his father, "whom thou didst prove at Massah, and with whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah; Who said unto his father and to his mother, I have not seen him". Deuteronomy 33:8,9. Much is said about Levi, he is reliable, he entirely disregards natural relationships in dealing with the things of God. They are the most treacherous matters in dealing with the things of God.

A.N. I am sure that is important, that in local difficulties, where the question of natural relationships

come in, or if I have a bitter spirit towards another, I will not have a clear judgment.

J.T. So he is called, "Thy holy one" -- that expression applies absolutely to Christ -- "Thou art the holy one of God" John 6:69 -- it is a great discovery. He is the true Levi and we are to get character from Christ.

Rem. There is a remarkable statement in 2 Chronicles 19:6, "And said to the judges, Take heed what ye do; for ye judge not for man, but for the Lord, who is with you in the judgment".

J.T. That is good. "Take heed what ye do". That scripture you quoted regarding Levi is very beautiful, "Who said unto his father and to his mother, I have not seen him; neither did he acknowledge his brethren, nor knew his own children: for they have observed thy word, and kept thy covenant". Deuteronomy 33:9 It is the father and the mother and the brother and the children that are set aside, natural relationships in the assembly; that was not prophetic, it had already come out. In Levi, God was dealing with what had already been proved. So that a person proved is reliable. God regards us as reliable and confides in us and counts on a right judgment. It is a question of what you will do tomorrow. You may succeed today but you may not tomorrow. God would have those that are reliable. So that Malachi brings out the priesthood in the end of the Old Testament. God sits as a refiner and tests us. God, as it were, puts up things to us; we may think ourselves spiritual and God says, Well, what are you going to do with this? and the testing goes on. If we are all clear about the general responsibility of "thine elders and thy judges", the next thing is the local persons -- "the city that is nearest". Measurement is made by "thine elders and thy judges", then the next thing is that the immediate responsibility is determined -- what will these do?

Ques. Before going on to that do you mind saying who is the man that is slain in the field?

J.T. Oh, it is just an occurrence; it may apply to Christ, it is just an occurrence which requires adjudication, whatever requires a solution is in view. It is just a type, it is not that we have the direct teaching in the scripture we read, it is a type. A coroner's inquest is what the law requires, whoever the man is or however it may be set.

Rem. Does it suggest a disordered state?

J.T. Yes, there is the murder, all that enters into the case. Now what is that city going to do? It is going to be tested. Is the murderer there? Do the elders of the city know anything about it? There are no loose ends in the Scriptures, things are taken up at once and we are provided with what we are to do.

Rem. So that in the beginning of Acts when Peter brings it home to them, they say, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Acts 2:37.

J.T. That is right. The suggestion is that the city is here, there is no imputation laid on the city, but they are to clear themselves. The point is for us to see how quickly the matter is taken up, and how beautiful the result of the instructions being followed. We have the priests in the locality who are able to speak to God. They are not thinking of themselves but of 'all Israel'. It says in verse 6, "All the elders of that city, that are next unto the slain man, shall wash their hands over the heifer that is beheaded in the valley: And they shall answer and say, Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it. Be merciful, O Lord, unto thy people Israel". They are able to act as priests and speak to God. But we have to take account of the "heifer ... which hath not drawn in the yoke", and "the valley which is neither eared nor sown", as it is said, "the city that is nearest unto him that is slain, even the elders of that city shall take a heifer that hath not been wrought with, that hath not drawn in the yoke; and the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer unto an ever-flowing watercourse, which is not tilled, nor is it sown, and shall break the heifer's neck there in the watercourse ... . And all the elders of that city that are nearest unto him that is slain, shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck is broken in the watercourse", Deuteronomy 21:3,4,6.

The heifer suggests the opposite to what might have brought about the murder. It represents one that has not been employed by man's will. The murder would have been the result of man's will. And there was to be no sowing in the valley. It is all the opposite of what would have brought about the murder. The scene of the murder is the scene of man's will, and where there has been sowing of some kind, wicked cultivation.

Rem. I was wondering if Numbers 1 and 2 would support what we have been considering, first the whole host, that is the universal position, secondly the families, which might suggest the surrounding companies, and then the father's house, which might suggest the local aspect.

J.T. That is right, there were four sets of tribes, one on the east and one on the south and one on the west and one on the north representing the universal position, the universal element in the testimony. Then each set is subdivided into three and then the father's house is still a further subdivision. So that you can bring the thing down, as in the case of Achan, all the tribes were brought into it, it is a universal matter. Tribe after tribe is taken, then Judah is taken, then the father of Achan is taken and then Achan is taken. That is, the thing is worked out to the responsible person. As the Lord said, "One of you shall betray me", Matthew 26:21, Mark 14:18. John 13:21 but the thing has to be determined -- each one says, "Is it I?"

Ques. Would you say a word as to the breaking of the neck?

J.T. It is a question of man's will. It is murder -- it is not a dead man, it is a slain man, and somebody did it and whoever did it had a stiff neck, he was a murderer. It all refers to conditions in this world finding a place amongst the people of God.

Ques. Do you think that this regarding the heifer is what is lacking in us, there must be the apprehension of the death of Christ in this character?

J.T. That is the idea, He is the opposite of all this. Here the point is "not drawn in the yoke". The Lord Jesus never came under the human yoke, man's yoke. Anyone that commits murder has done so. It is usually a planned thing -- the sowing in the valley. Now not being sown is the opposite of what was in those that perpetrated this wickedness. This is over against all that, and the elders of that city are to show that they are in accord with all this, and that is the point -- I am to be in accord with Christ if I am to have part in this. I think, too, that we would enter upon a local difficulty with subdued spirits if we were affected by the death of Christ in this aspect.

Ques. How does this aspect of the death of Christ work out in the breaking of the neck?

J.T. Well, the heifer's neck being broken is expiation. Christ entered into death for us and that is expiation. It says, "And the blood shall be expiated for them". That is, He became this for us. Look at Saul of Tarsus, an insolent, overbearing man he calls himself, an arrogant kind of man doing things legally and with a good conscience. A good conscience does not mean that I am right. "But", he says, "mercy was shewn me". 1 Timothy 1:13.

Ques. Why is the word 'field' used so much here?

J.T. It is to fill out the type, I think, when there is nobody to see what happened. If it had been in the city you probably would have had witnesses. Showing that, no matter what happens, it is covered;

you cannot say 'It is not in our city'. No matter where it is, it is covered. An inquest is required, the thing has to be solved. So that Israel is cleared. That is what the elders say, "Forgive thy people Israel". That is, the saints must be clear in all these matters. We cannot have the imputation of guilt upon us. We cannot be here for God if things are not solved. There is nothing left unsolved in the assembly. That is one great point. The apostle says, "in every way ye have proved yourselves to be pure in the matter". 2 Corinthians 7:11.

Ques. After they have established their innocence does their responsibility cease?

J.T. Well, they pray for all Israel. We are not concerned about our own meeting only, we pray for all Israel, as I have just read in verse 7, "Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it. Be merciful, O Lord, unto thy people Israel". That is what the Lord Jesus died for, to set up here a testimony free from guilt and He has put within us a means of solving things. This chapter has proved most helpful and has saved a great many brethren in these latter days, that is, whilst the approved might be made manifest. Well, we do not want to lose any. They do not want to lose any. They pray for all Israel, the expiation is for all Israel. It is well to keep that in mind. In the great battle with Midian it says that not a man was lost, and the greatest spoil you get in Scripture is, I think, in that battle. Phinehas, you know, proved the reality of the priesthood, the everlasting priesthood. He set to the war with the holy instruments of God, even with a trumpet, that is, the testimony of the Lord. He sounded it, and sounded it, and sounded it. Phinehas would keep on sounding out the truth.

Rem. It would seem that the responsibility is with the local city. In the Revelation it says, "The angel of the assembly" of a particular place.

J.T. Yes, then the next thing is, is the local city equal to the emergency? And that is why the priesthood is immediately brought in. Not the local priest, but "the priests the sons of Levi", that is, the holy condition amongst the people of God generally are brought into it. To my own mind that is important at the present time. God has used this scripture to save the brethren, not to cut any off, but to save them.

Ques. Have you in mind that in cases of difficulty we have been perhaps concentrated on circumstances and the culprit rather than the responsibility which is the universal sorrow?

J.T. I think that things are often made too local and we lose the wealth that is available to us. If a man anywhere in the world has ability for government, he is available. These things are set in the assembly and it is important to give them scope, God has provided them for us. On the other hand that person ought to be concerned not to go beyond his service. I think the universal side needs to be emphasised because it embraces all that God has furnished for the assembly so that we do not want to shut anything out..

Rem. The principle would be borne out in the epistle to the Corinthians, while it was apostolic yet there was a priestly element in it. That is, "In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit", 1 Corinthians 5:4. The principle of it is that he is thinking of it in relation to the Lord.

J.T. That is right, and his spirit was there. One would not be fanciful, but the idea is that he was not there in body but he was there in spirit. How far-reaching assembly elements are! Spirituality reaches out.

Rem. A sectional movement would have a tendency to lose men, would it not?

J.T. So all these conflicts should yield wealth universally.

Ques. Is verse 9 important? The guilt will never be put away when they do not do what is right in the eyes of Jehovah.

J.T. Yes, that is so. That is insisted on, "thou shalt do what is right".

THE LIGHT OF HEAVEN AND THE LIGHT OF LIFE

Matthew 2:1 - 12; Matthew 4:12 - 16; John 8:12; Philippians 4:8

I have in mind to present from these scriptures some thoughts as to guidance -- guidance by what is in the heavens, what I might designate as entirely objective, and then guidance by what is on the earth -- that is, the light of heaven and the light of life. These two means of guidance are collateral; that is, they run together and should not be separated. We find them early, the first is in the record of the fourth day in Genesis 1, and the second is in the fifth and sixth days. The principle of life precedes this -- in the third day of Genesis l -- and that is not accidental, it is designed, the divine thought obviously being that the principle of life exists; otherwise guidance, or the means of guidance, would have no force, for inanimate things need no guidance. Nor would there be anything answering at all to God in the universe aside from life, for God is the living God. So the principle of life is seen in the third day. It is but the principle, as I said, the law of life; that is, vegetable life, a kind of figure much used in Scripture as to life -- that is life according to God -- and is only capable in persons. The figure is applied to persons, even as to the Lord Himself as "the grain of wheat falling into the ground". John 12:24. And so the principle of life being there, we have the luminaries set up in the heavens which divide between the night and the day, to be for signs, for years, for seasons. And they stand, they are in a way fixed and so may be likened in some sense to principles. Principles are fixed and unvarying, whereas life is pliable and so the full thought of it awaited the incarnation of the Lord Jesus. Hence we have,

"In him was life; and the life was the light of men". John 1:4. That is not heavenly -- not that He does not remain life, for as in heaven He remains what He was, He is the same in that respect, His condition being changed He remains the Same -- but "In him was life, and the life was the light of men", not 'is' but "was the light of men" John 1:4 refers to Him as here, to the great principle of life. All the thoughts of life set out in Genesis found their answer perfectly in the Lord Jesus. So we have the two thoughts: one the heavenly, referring in the main to Matthew, and the light of life found in the main in John. It is John that tells us that "In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not". John 1:4,5.

As to the kind of light it is, it is not what we are ordinarily accustomed to, because darkness must go in the presence of light ordinarily, but the nature of the darkness is that it remains. It will go, of course; the whole universe will be cleared of darkness, but the nature of the darkness in man is that it stays. Notwithstanding the brilliancy of the light "the darkness comprehended it not". John 1:5. Now it is disappearing -- "the true light now shineth". 1 John 2:8. It is passing -- not past. In whatever measure the principle is active, there is a testimony to it, that principle is active and the darkness is passing. One may apply it to oneself and discern how in his history darkness began to move until he became light, so that we may say the darkness is passing for him. The principle is active and will be active until every bit of darkness has been dispelled.

Well now, the magi came in for consideration in regard to the heavenly side of the truth, or the light. They represent a class that is what you would call educated or scientific persons, which God takes account of, for He is not a respecter of persons. He certainly will not reject a man because he is educated. The rather will He come into his circumstances whatever

they may be. Even if they be university circumstances, God can come into them and does. In one sense these things are of little importance to God. He may come into a palace or university as into a house or a coal mine. He operates where men are, because they are men. The light is the light of men, whether wise men or ignorant men. And so these men saw the star of the Messiah, King of Judah, they had perception enough, they perceived, there was something more than natural ability to see this star. They saw it, and were affected by the sight; that is to say they were amenable to a divine intervention. They were capable of being affected by a divine intervention in their own circumstances and they removed. That is one great principle in regard to light or guidance, one moves according to it. But then one may make a start and miss, for we are not given to understand they prayed about the matter. I was remarking that life preceded in Scripture the thought of light or guidance, and it is entirely fulfilled in Matthew, for the life was there. Speaking reverently about the Lord, He is expressly called "the young child" Matthew 2:14 in this chapter. Although the life was there, it was there, we may say, in principle. It was there, all that He is was there, all that He is personally for you cannot alter His Person. How He could be there is another matter, we have to leave that, it is beyond us. I am speaking of what was external and it was a "little child". A small thought, but it was there. And so there was something in heaven in communion with the movements under heaven. We get it later in John, too, "the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man", John 1:51 that is, they begin with Him. But I am speaking now of the principle of life, however small it was, it was there, for the chapter opens with it -- "Jesus having been born in Bethlehem". The thing had happened, the life was there, and the star alluded to it. The star had in

mind that it should be reached, and so it is always the principle pointing to where the life is, however small it may be, however obscure it may be. We must never divorce the principle from the thing that it leads to. Now the wise men saw the star, "Jesus having been born", it was a fact. It was no longer a question of promise. They saw His star in the east and came to worship Him. But they do not come to the right place, no doubt governed by their natural thoughts; where would He be but in the royal city? But it was not in the royal city, nor did the star indicate that it was in the royal city. There is no connection between the star and Jerusalem. I call it the royal city, Matthew calls it the royal city, but for the moment it was where Herod was, in the days of Herod. But there is a great connection between the fact that Jesus had been born in Bethlehem and the star, and it was for them to find out, to find a way to the spot where the life was. I use the word 'life', but it was the Lord Jesus, the Person was there, as I said before, in wonderful mystery infinitely beyond any research of men, He was there. I am speaking of what is external, and they came to Jerusalem. Now, dear brethren, what I deduce from all this is that the star is accurate, it is unerring, which points to Christ, which points to what is here, to what is to be found. Whatever the outward appearance is, it is unerring. And so the wise men missed it in coming to Jerusalem. Not that God did not over-rule what they were doing, for they sought "the young child". Their object was right, they came a long way, and it is to their credit, but then do they pray? Do they ask God who sent the star and showed it to them, as to just how they should find the blessed Person? For guidance is not a matter for a year, it is a continual thing, it is a momentary thing. I have got to get it for every step, and I have got to watch for the indication because there are so many things, so many currents, that may

defile me, unknowingly even. There was the great current of national repute and politics. These men were conversant with Jerusalem and what it stood for -- it was the capital of the Jewish territory -- but then would Jehovah have directed them to the would-be murderer of Jesus? We shall never be guided in that direction if we seek guidance from heaven. They found their way to Jerusalem. I suppose the best roads led in that direction. They arrived at Jerusalem, and say, "Where is the king of the Jews?" A very worthy question -- but then I have to be wary as to the persons I enquire from. What kind of answer will they give me and what effect will my question have on them? May it stir up motives of which the flesh is so capable which will lead to disaster? They were evidently questioning in Jerusalem in a very irregular sort of way, but the tidings came to the ears of the king and although the king is worldly wise enough as to the persons who are likely to know and they give him a sort of correct answer, yet this does not make up for the great mistake of being governed by natural thoughts, so ready to come up with each one of us. It is the most momentous matter possible for us. "We have seen his star in the east". They said, "We have seen it" -- they were not seeing it now, not that they were not scanning the heavens for it. They were, as it were, labouring under their own charges. Did they not miss it? Did they not look behind to see where the star was moving? There is no intelligence. But now they move again, they come in the direction of the little Child and they see the star. That is to say, I am out of range of natural thoughts now -- the star does not belong to that realm. Whatever my motive the star is out of all that and as soon as I move out of that realm the star appears, and I am capable of being impressed. How beautiful it is, "they rejoiced with exceeding great joy". Who of us has not had

some experience of that? When that heavenly light comes into the soul it points to Christ always. Who of us has not had the joy of a ray of light from heaven directing the heart to Jesus? Directing, it may be, to some great feature of His Person. How great a joy it is; the Lord would encourage us to such experiences. "They rejoiced with exceeding great joy", and the star stayed over the house where the little Child was. "The little child" or "the young child", the Spirit would impress that it is not great externally, not yet. It is to fill the universe, as in John the Lord says, "I am the light of the world". It is a little Child, but it is to the same purpose. As a matter of fact, it is how we all reach Him -- in a small way to begin with. But when there is divine guidance, when clear of the natural realm, what joy of heart when I see the star and I know definitely that it is leading me; that there is nothing else in vision now but the sought one -- the little Child. The King of the Jews was now in their minds, that is what they had in mind -- the great thought -- but for the moment it was where the little Child was. If they had been governed by natural thoughts it was a very absurd sort of place. There would be nothing to answer to their national thoughts, it appeared, a little child with its mother. However little, it was what they sought. No hesitation -- no questioning -- for questioning denotes uncertainty. Now they are certain, there is no mistake. The natural heart might say, 'Well, there does not look to be much reality there'. But it was there, and there was no hesitation with them now. So you see that as we come out of the natural, the star would direct us to the light.

The principles are as true, as fixed, as any heavenly body and they always point to what is of Christ on earth, you may be sure of that.

Well now, I would not dwell on what is so well known to us, that is, the beautiful movement of their

hearts. They worship, and they were not empty-handed men, not mere professors curiously seeking to see this great personage. No, they were worshippers; they were in keeping with the requirement of the Old Testament, that no one should appear before God empty-handed. They had gold and frankincense and myrrh, beautiful tribute to the now suffering Saviour. He had come to suffer, murder was all around Him and that in high places. Well might they have the myrrh! How beautifully it fitted! They are amenable to heavenly guidance. They will never go back to Jerusalem again. Let us one and all, young and old, learn to renounce the realm of the natural, it is always uncertain and darkening. The principles of light point to life, they point to Jesus, however obscure. He is there, and if we wait we will find Him. Well, in the next chapter, we have not the little Child but the Man. The thing is in full activity, when He heard that John was cast into prison, that is, the time for service had arrived. There is no idea of His serving as a little child. Now His time for service has arrived, He has overcome the wicked one. You might say that He would have known of John being cast into prison, but He heard. He is the true Man here, taking account of things and as John was cast into prison His time for service is come. He is in Nazareth. He has been to Bethlehem -- the wise men saw Him in Bethlehem -- but He is now in Nazareth, the place where He was brought up and He went into Capernaum, which is a suggestion that He had no natural thoughts -- no thoughts of comfort -- in His service. Capernaum was a much less healthy place than Nazareth, several hundreds of feet below the level of the sea. There was no attraction for anyone there naturally, save as they have another motive, and the Lord Jesus had another motive. He was going down to serve and to die. You can understand the radiancy of the light now, it is not in one's own self-exaltation,

there is no light in that; the antichrist exalts himself -- his coming is after the working of the devil. Whereas we find Jesus went down, and you can quite understand what radiancy of light there was. And so you have here that "light is sprung up" -- not going down, but sprung up, as you will see, "That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, ... The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up". It was not shining down from the stars now; I wish you to notice that, dear brethren, because we are now on the lines of light as guidance, as yet that is, for people are sitting in darkness. How much of that there is abroad in christendom! "Sitting in darkness", unaware of the terrible pall of darkness that rests upon them. But here is light springing up in the midst of them. It has sprung up in the midst of them, as one often thinks of the Lord Jesus, He dwelt in Capernaum, either rented or borrowed a house -- what a thing it would be to live next door to Jesus! What lessons to be learned! When the woman of Shunem saw the man passing by her door she took notice of him. She said he was a holy man of God. What should I think if I lived next door to Jesus, what conclusion would I come to? Peter says, "Thou art the holy one of God". John 6:69. What minute things Jesus would have done; He says, "I am among you as he that serveth". Luke 22:27. What would He not do? What light there was! You never saw a man act like that, speak like that! It might be about the most trivial things, as we speak, but He was subject as to them, and every word would be light.

Well, we are to look for these things, dear brethren, what is springing up. That is to say, the work of the Spirit of God in the saints. That is the idea, there is that here that springs up, as in life the earth was to yield; so Christ is to spring up, that is the idea of

life. The well springs up. "In him was life" -- it was not in any other -- "and the life was the light of men". John 1:4,. And here it was in Capernaum, shining all around -- no wonder the Lord says, "And thou, Capernaum, who hast been raised up to heaven, shalt be brought down even to hades". Matthew 11:23, Luke 10:15. And so now, relatively, the true light is shining, dear brethren, however little it may be, it is shining in the saints of God, and it is for me to see it, that is what I am speaking about -- look out for the light. And so in John 8 you have the expression "light of life", that is just what I am leading up to. The Lord had been doing much in the way of stooping down and the Spirit of God speaks about His actions in that well-known chapter. He stooped down and then He lifted Himself up -- remarkable expressions -- and He stooped down again and He lifted Himself up. These were remarkable actions and everyone of them was full of light -- light was radiant in all of them. As Jacob says, "I wait for thy salvation, O Jehovah". Genesis 49:18. What shone there came from no other than the Messiah. His speaking and ways pointed unmistakably to His Person and so in this verse I have read He says, "I am the light of the world". Can anybody dispute it? No one! No one would, there was unmistakable evidence of it there -- He, the Light of life, was there -- who could dare to deny it? The saints could never be that, they "shine as lights in the world", Philippians 2:15 but He was the light of it! Of no other person could that be said but God Himself! But then He says, "he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life". And so this gospel is intended to unfold, among other things, of course, the deity of Christ, His Person is in the gospel, but it is intended to disclose thoughts as to principles of the "light of life" here on earth. It is not that He is in heaven, it is the light on earth here. He is the Light of life, not simply light, but the Light of life; and that is the point --

in all our uncertainties there is the unmistakable guidance of the star, that is, fixed principles, and then there is the guidance accruing from the work of the Spirit of God in the saints. There is something in them that is in accord with Christ. It is the work of God, but nevertheless it is the true light. The one is the complement of the other, it is the question of the Spirit of God being here working in the saints, so the same life is here. It may be obscure, but if we watch carefully enough we will see it, and if I see it it is for me. It is none other than the work of God and I must identify myself with the work of God. I should never look for it aside from righteousness. I should be looking in a false direction if I look in any other direction than after righteousness, "every one who practises righteousness is begotten of him". 1 John 2:29. Where righteousness is I can look for it. In Haggai we have the thought of the priest being asked if anyone bear holy flesh in his garment, will that make what the garment touches holy? No! The priest says it will not. I may have the best doctrines, as we say, in the Bible, but a garment that is unholy can never be made holy by this. Then again it says, if a man is unclean by reason of touching a dead person, will he render different articles of food clean? No! He will render them unclean. If he is unclean, will the priest make them unclean? Yes, he will, the priest will make them unclean. Whereas if I am holy and I touch the unholy thing, I am made unclean. You see how "evil communications corrupt good manners". 1 Corinthians 15:33. But good manners will not change bad manners. I have to separate, that is the principle. There is no way out of it; and so, as I was saying, the light of life is connected with righteousness. It must have righteousness as its fundamental. The structure is built up on righteousness.

I just turn in closing to Philippians, that well-known verse. It is a beautiful epistle on this subject; it is

the complement really of Ephesians. Ephesians is the great doctrinal epistle for the heavenly calling of the assembly, but Philippians is the working out of it in the saints -- a beautiful epistle for the guidance of life among the saints of God. Now you will find the apostle is guided by that very principle when he went to Philippi, he went out by the riverside. The word of God began in that connection, the roots were well set, that is Philippians. There was much in Philippi, the principle was "that ye may judge of and approve the things that are more excellent" Philippians 1:10 -- however much you may have added to it. So that this verse helps in what I am speaking of, "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things". Now these are the evidences of life, however little -- "if there be any", "whatsoever" -- think on them. So that we are to live in the realm of the positive, of what is of God; "think on these things", he says. I read the verse because it amplifies in detail what I am speaking of, that the Philippian saints, more spiritual perhaps than any of us would think we are, are enjoined to this, not to be occupied with what is evil, but to look for the good, however little. How are we to find it? I do not look for these things amongst unrighteousness. The Spirit of Christ was manifested in a remarkable way in that place, in Paul, in Silas, and so there was the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ in them, but there was to be an addition, they were to be continued, as he says, whatever there was in the way of truth -- "whatsoever things are true"; next whatsoever there was in the way of purity, "whatsoever things are pure", "whatsoever things ... think on these things". There may be much else where they are, we can admit, but

if I am on the line of pure gold that belongs to the river, spoken of so early in Genesis, I will see it "and the gold of that land is good"; Genesis 2:12 and the eye that understands mining for gold will see it, he will keep to it so as to get what is pure. Beloved, keep to that line, it becomes guidance for you, so that the light of life is there.

Well, that is what I had in mind, dear brethren, to put before you. I think that it is of God, that is, the principles of light, they are fixed principles of God for guidance and the work of God in men's souls.

THE SPIRIT'S PART IN THE ASSEMBLY

1 Corinthians 12:3,12,13; Romans 8:15; Ephesians 2:18

J.T. The Lord has been helping us as to the assembly itself, its order and its service according to God, and the place the Lord's supper has in it, but perhaps the part the Spirit has in the assembly has not been stressed sufficiently. It needs to be, because whilst we have the light governing the assembly as to its service, we cannot act in it acceptably to God save by the Spirit. All is to be in the power of the Spirit from beginning to end, so as the tabernacle was set up it was anointed. The parts were functioning as they were set up, but they were anointed. The allusion in 1 Corinthians 12 would be to that, "so also is the Christ" (verse 12), that is the anointed; the assembly is alluded to, that which is anointed. The function of the Spirit may be viewed in two ways: the first having to do with the Lord as such, "No one can say, Lord Jesus, unless in the power of the Holy Spirit", and the second, the Spirit of adoption, having to do with the Father. You say "Lord Jesus" by the Spirit, and you say "Abba, Father" by the Spirit. These two thoughts set out the service, the function of the Spirit, I think, in the assembly.

F.W.K. When you speak of 'in the assembly' are you thinking now of the saints convened, that is when we are together, for instance, on Lord's day morning for the Supper?

J.T. That is right. John's gospel separates the subject somewhat on those lines, the Spirit in connection with the individual believer, then the Spirit in relation to the company.

S.J.B.C. "Is the Christ divided?" 1 Corinthians 1:13 -- would that be the same thought as "so also is the Christ"?

J.T. I am not sure that it would be exclusive to the body. There I suppose the thought is that the anointed vessel is not divided. You cannot have the Spirit in the sense of anointing save as in unity.

H.G.N. "No man can say that Jesus is the Lord" -- that is individual, is it not?

J.T. Well, the apostle is contemplating the exercise of gift in the assembly in this chapter. The assembly is viewed as convened from chapter 11:17. In making this remark he is contemplating the exercises of gift, that is ministry, in the assembly, which follows on the Lord's supper. It is a sort of test in the assembly.

F.W.K. What is the meaning of the expression, "No one can say, Lord Jesus, unless in the power of the Holy Spirit"?

J.T. It means the thing really. The types show that things have to be real. The functioning is in the anointing. It is to preclude the mere use of words or forms, the things are to be in the power of the Spirit. God never intended anything less. When the Holy Spirit came in at Pentecost His presence was marked. It was no theory, it was obvious. He sat on each of them, and they all began to speak of the wonderful works of God, being filled with the Holy Spirit. And so when the Spirit came at Caesarea in the house of Cornelius, it was apparent that He was there, it was no mere theory.

F.G.S. Would the place Moses had in the tabernacle system have a bearing here? I was wondering as to the thought of authority, expressed in the title "Lord Jesus". Moses was to be recognised in relation to the tabernacle system.

J.T. Yes. If it be a question of authority, the acknowledgment of authority according to God is by the Spirit -- the Spirit moving in us subjectively.

H.F. Is your thought that when we come together

for the breaking of bread we address the Lord in the power of the Spirit?

J.T. Yes. The subject is very wide. What is in mind now is to confine our thoughts to the Spirit in relation to the saints as gathered, the part He has in it.

S.S. So that, in this connection, would it be the voice of the Spirit?

J.T. It would be that the Lord would hear a voice in power. "Let me hear thy voice", Song of Songs 2:14. Well, what voice does He hear? Is it the mere natural voice repeating words or is it a voice coming from mind and affections governed by the Spirit?

F.W.K. Does not the expression 'Lord Jesus' always involve that the affections are engaged, and not only the thought of authority?

J.T. Adding 'Jesus', you mean? Yes, I think that is very nice. I think you find that running through.

Rem. As with Stephen, I suppose?

J.T. "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit". Acts 7:59. Yes.

F.W.K. I think the most touching instance of that is in Acts 20, "Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that he himself said, It is more blessed to give than to receive", Acts 20:35. It carries with it the thought of the blessed character of the Giver that was in that blessed Person.

J.T. The coming in of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost brought about a condition of things very wide in its bearing, but what we are concerned about now is the part He has in the assembly as convened. What it is to God, what it is to Christ, to have those who are of the assembly energised in their affections and their minds by this power; so that what the Lord hears is "Lord Jesus" in a voice energised by the Spirit, and what the Father hears is "Abba, Father". The Holy Spirit Himself cries that, and the Father's ear hears

that. But it is not the Spirit speaking as by Himself, because He is not incarnate. It is through the saints He speaks. Not that divine Persons cannot communicate between each other, but here the medium is the saints. "God has sent out the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father", Galatians 4:6. That is where the cry issues from -- the hearts of the saints. And in Romans 8 it is by Him we cry, "Abba, Father".

W.D.R. Would this be discerned in the assembly if one was speaking in the power of the Spirit?

J.T. Well, I thought we might have that before our minds. What a place the assembly is for such speaking! It seems as if 1 Corinthians 14 would remind us that the presence of the Spirit implies that if anyone comes in they are affected by what transpires. Speaking to God is bound to have an effect on anyone, speaking to God by the Spirit.

W.E.M. I suppose in Corinth there were a number of gifted brothers, but this would be a great power to regulate things.

J.T. Things were so low there, that it seems as if room were made for demons to speak. Terrible thought! If a demon speaks it is a power of a diverse kind. I suppose division amongst them opened the door for that, so that the apostle has to allude to the possibility of a person speaking in the power of another spirit. He gives this test, that it is only by the Holy Spirit one can say, "Lord Jesus;"

Ques. Would you say, too, that Revelation 22:20, "Amen; come, Lord Jesus", is what the Holy Spirit is bringing about today?

J.T. "The Spirit and the bride say, Come", Revelation 22:17.

Rem. It is the voice of affection.

J.H.M. Does this in any way correspond with the testing of the spirits John speaks of?

J.T. Yes, it would. John's allusion, I think, is more general, what is current in christendom, not

necessarily when we are convened. Paul is alluding here to the saints when convened, when persons are assuming to exercise their gifts. The test is saying "Lord Jesus". If you are under the influence of any other spirit you will not say that.

A.L.B. There is a good deal about gifts in 1 Corinthians 12, for example the distinctions of gifts in verse 4. Are you relating that to the morning meeting?

J.T. That is only stated to bring out the full ground of administration. "There are distinctions of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are distinctions of services, and the same Lord; and there are distinctions of operations, but the same God who operates all things in all", 1 Corinthians 12:4 - 6. The three divine Persons are brought into it. The administration of the Spirit is what he is aiming at really. He is stressing the idea of the Spirit. If you bring in gift properly, I think you have to go to chapter 14. The reference to gift in chapter 12 is to bring out the body. When it comes to specific gifts, they are set in the assembly. Chapter 12 brings out the truth of the body, and that is the only part that enters into our subject today, that is the part the Spirit has in relation to the Lord's supper, and the assembly convened. If there be ministry, the exercise of gift, then you have to go to chapter 14 for that.

W.W. Will you say a little more as to the place the Spirit has after the Supper? Reference is sometimes made to Genesis 24, where the servant conducts Rebecca to Isaac, and is not again mentioned.

J.T. Well, that is a suggestion. Abraham's servant is no doubt in type the Spirit bringing the saints to Christ. They are brought definitely to Him. There is no mention afterwards of the servant, for the saints speak to the Lord as knowing Him. It is in the power of the Spirit we always speak. The Spirit, as it were, hides Himself. In Colossians there is only one

mention of the Holy Spirit -- "who has also manifested to us your love in the Spirit", Colossians 1:8. He hides Himself behind His work. It is to bring out His work in us; but nevertheless, whilst that is so in Colossians, in Ephesians the Spirit is very prominent.

Rem. After Rebecca meets Isaac, she is still clothed with the apparel and decked with the ornaments, which it had been the servant's work to bring to her.

J.T. Yes, and she is led into Sarah's tent. It does not go beyond that. Her position there corresponds to that of the assembly in the early chapters of the Acts, where she is seen, not in her own place, but in the place of another. It is not Ephesian ground, it is a transitional position that is contemplated in Rebecca's position in the tent of Sarah. It is not there that the full thought of the mystery is set out. Ephesians is a further thought. In eternity it is 'By the Spirit all pervading'. (Hymn 14). The Spirit will always be in view.

J.H.M. Would the Spirit in the saints detect whether this saying of "Lord Jesus" had a right ring?

J.T. I think so. If there are spiritual conditions in a meeting, and one speaks in mere words, the saints discern it. No one would speak now under the influence of an evil spirit -- not indeed that they are not current, but it is hardly conceivable that an evil spirit should have a place amongst those who recognise Christ as Head of the assembly. There was a divided condition at Corinth, allowing an inlet for almost anything.

F.G.S. Is that why the truth of the body comes in here?

J.T. I thought we might see that the order is first speaking, and then this power of silence. "In the power of one Spirit we have all been baptised into one body", 1 Corinthians 12:13. That does not necessarily

imply that I am speaking, but rather that I am able to maintain my place in relation to the Spirit in a spiritual way, in silence. And then the next thing is "we ... have all been given to drink of one Spirit", which, I think, underlies the power of silence and satisfaction. We are satisfied in sitting together, as realising the presence of the Spirit. We have been given to drink of it. It is our own side -- we have done it by preference. We drink because we enjoy what we drink. There is satisfaction.

F.W.K. Is not that usually the thought of drinking in Scripture -- satisfaction -- in contrast to eating, which is to meet a need?

J.T. Drinking is peculiarly satisfying.

F.H. So would you realise that you are in the presence of divine Persons?

J.T. It is as important that we should be in spiritual power in silence as when we are speaking.

J.H.M. So all the activity at Corinth was not a healthy sign?

J.T. The very opposite. As we have often remarked, it is not as when we are waiting for a bus or sitting in a train. It is in power. It is a state of things, a condition which the Lord can recognise and come into, because after all, He is just as concerned as to what we are not saying as He is to what we are saying.

F.G.S. Would the passing of the elements test us in relation to these things?

J.T. Yes. Silence is to be in power, if the Lord has part in it, because He is perfectly conversant with the state of our hearts. Therefore the sisters are included in all this as much as those who participate audibly. We are all baptised in the power of one Spirit into one body.

S.S. So, whether in silence or in speaking, if the power is there, would that lead to liberation?

J.T. The outlet is in the brothers, because they

are the ones who speak. The sisters are not to speak, but that does not mean that they are not baptised in the Holy Spirit. So that there is a state of satisfaction and power.

J.H.M. I am not quite clear how you connect the thought of silence with "in the power of one Spirit we have all been baptised into one body".

J.T. Well, the thought is connected with the breaking of bread. "The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of the Christ? Because we, being many, are one loaf, one body; for we all partake of that one loaf", 1 Corinthians 10:16,17. That is what you might call light. It is realised by the Spirit, and can only be realised by the Spirit, because you have to add this, "in the power of one Spirit we have all been baptised into one body". It alludes to us as baptised into one body by the Spirit, and that truth laid hold of makes the saints a body in principle, energised by power and satisfied by drink. I do not see how we can sit together acceptably to the Lord unless we see this; otherwise we should be so many persons sitting together, waiting until time passes, or thinking of what another says, whereas in truth the idea of the body is there in the bread.

F.F. So that gives great force to the Lord's word in the Supper, "This is my body, which is for you", 1 Corinthians 11:24. Does not what you are speaking of flow from that?

J.T. I think so.

F.F. That is that He Himself is to be seen now in the power of the Spirit.

J.T. Quite so. There is that in the saints which answers to His body. What that body was here, what He was here, how entirely under control, never ruffled or disturbed by any circumstance! He is not said to be filled with the Holy Spirit, but full; Luke 4:1. It was not a process with Him -- with us

it is. He was always in that power, whether He spoke or whether He was silent.

F.F. It is very touching that the Lord should say "for you". 1 Corinthians 11:24.

J.T. It is that by which He attests His love to us. It is His own body given for us. For the moment we can only think of it as contemplating ourselves collectively, answering to the loaf. There are the two thoughts in the loaf, the Lord's own body, and the saints as His body, the assembly, and in either case it is a question of the Spirit. For the Lord, although a divine Person, was said to be full of the Holy Spirit after the Holy Spirit had descended upon Him as Man. From thenceforth it may be said that the Spirit was there in the body and so He was an example for us. Certainly the body, the assembly, is to be actuated by the Spirit, and that appears in silence as it does in activity.

F.F. So that Paul's ministry as to the assembly seems to flow from these expressions in the Supper.

J.T. Yes. Another thing that enters into the Lord's supper is the part the Spirit has in the cup, which is the new covenant. That is another feature of the early part of the meeting. There is the speaking in the power of the Spirit, there is the silence in the power of the Spirit, and then there is the suggestion of the covenant in the power of the Spirit, for Romans 5 says that "the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given to us" Romans 5:5 -- and 2 Corinthians 3:8 teaches us that the ministry of the Spirit subsists in glory, alluding to the covenant.

S.J.B.C. It is rather striking that in the Greek it is 'poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit'. It is the same word used by the Lord, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you", Luke 22:20. So the love is poured out into our hearts.

J.T. Somewhat the suggestion of volume.

S.J.B.C. Would you say "in the power of one Spirit we have all been baptised into one body" suggests the one loaf, and "have all been given to drink of one Spirit" suggests the one cup?

J.T. Yes. We may stress the one Spirit but that precludes diversity of thought. Baptism is by another, but the drinking is our own. So that the Spirit's part in the covenant is a very important part as bringing in the love side, the love of God, so that the ministry of the Spirit is said to subsist in glory -- a marvellous thought. The glory is so great as to eclipse all that preceded it; as though the glory in Moses' face is eclipsed, is no glory at all, in comparison with the surpassing glory. Whilst it is said that the Lord is the Spirit in that chapter, it obviously means that two divine Persons have to do with the administration side of the covenant, the Lord with the authority side and the Spirit with the subjective working out of it in our hearts. These are two phases of the Spirit's action in what we may call the early part of the meeting leading out of the Lord's supper. Following upon that we have the Spirit of adoption, leading us on to the ground, not only of the light of sonship, but of the consciousness of sonship, so that we cry "Abba, Father".

H.F. How far would you say the early part of the meeting goes?

J.T. Well, it passes on, I think, to the covenant. After the Lord gave this cup to His own, according to Mark's record, they all drank out of it. Not simply He told them to do it, but they all did it. Then the Lord explains what it means. It is the blood of the new covenant. I do not think the word 'new' is used there. It is the only covenant that there is now that is valid. The Lord explains that. The allusion is the chapter in Deuteronomy. He explains it after they drank it, and I think that is our ground, our

warrant for proceeding forward a little on the lines of the covenant to set us free. Because after He explained what the cup was, it says, "having sung a hymn, they went out to the mount of Olives", Mark 14:26.

H.F. How does the Lord's coming to His own in the sense of John 14 enter into this?

J.T. We are dwelling on the conditions suitable for the Lord, the side of love. "He that abides in love abides in God, and God in him", 1 John 4:16. Light and order, of course, but love.

H.F. Spiritual conditions.

J.T. Then you have "Abba, Father". "Abba, Father" in Galatians is that which the Holy Spirit cries, as if answering to the great desire of the Father. He cries "Abba, Father". The cry is the expression of strong feeling, the Spirit answering as He does to the Father.

H.F. Between the act of the breaking of bread and the time we have liberty to address the Father, is it proper to speak to the Lord as coming into the midst?

J.T. I think it is. The Lord as in relation to the covenant. That part of the meeting, I believe, tends to liberty, to set the saints free. We should not be theoretic about it. The Spirit of adoption cries "Abba, Father". That means that He is urgent about it.

H.G.H. I am glad you mentioned about not being theoretic about it, because you would not advocate anything in the way of a programme. If we were with the Lord things would be in that order.

J.T. Well, there is light, you know. Light is important. But light is just light in that sense. Aside from the Holy Spirit you have not the consciousness and the substance of things. That part of the meeting is very important as preparing for the real

thought in the meeting, that is that there should be worship.

F.W.K. If there are the spiritual conditions, should we not often have what one might call a little period of association with Christ, a sense of being His brethren and addressing Him in the sense of liberty and joy, thinking of the wonderful thought of being gathered round Himself as His brethren?

J.T. I think that is in order, provided we do not prolong it too much, and above all things that we do not go back to it. "Through him we have both access by one Spirit to the Father", Ephesians 2:18. If that is set on, the thing is to proceed on those lines, not to work back again to what belongs to the covenant. We are on new ground really, because they went out to the mount of Olives. There is spiritual meaning in that, the position is changed.

E.Z.B. That digression would hardly be known if we were all directed by Christ as Head.

J.T. Quite so.

J.H.M. Is the highest point in the meeting when we reach the Father?

J.T. Yes, surely. "Of him, and through him, and for him are all things". Romans 11:36. The great end is always the Father.

E.Z.B. We feel the silence sometimes, but do you not think that if the brother who handed the elements to us gave us such a sense of the love of Christ our hearts would be transported, and that would result in praise?

J.T. The brother who hands the emblems to us is only doing it for us. It has to be done. I am not to say he is responsible as to giving us anything. What he has, you have, fundamentally. He may make suggestions that re-echo in your heart. Of course, if he speaks through the unction of the Spirit he does touch us.

E.Z.B. I think it has been said he is but the servant of the saints.

J.T. He has no official place. It is the bread which we break.

J.A.C. So we are all responsible in that way.

J.T. Quite so, sisters and brothers alike, as to what we have, the power we have in our souls.

G.P.T. Would the extent of our speaking in the power of the Spirit be governed by the extent to which the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts?

J.T. It would. The Spirit is here in the assembly. That is, if you get up to speak, you find you have more power than you thought you had, or vice versa. To make room for the Spirit in the assembly is one of the most important things I know. If He is in our hearts, He cries. "Because ye are sons, God has sent out the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father". Galatians 4:6. It is the urgency of it.

H.G.N. So that we make room for the Holy Spirit in silence?

J.T. That is right. The doors were shut, to use the illustration, for fear of the Jews. John 20:19. That means I have spiritual power to shut my heart against all that obtrudes, especially the mere religious element; I am in liberty. The word 'doors', the plural, means that everyone in the meeting does that.

J.H.M. I have been wondering why you gave the scripture in Romans and not in Galatians.

J.T. In Romans 8:15 in this translation, 'spirit' is written with a small 's'. The stress is on adoption -- the Spirit of adoption, which is the Holy Spirit, of course.

F.G.S. It produces this cry, "Abba, Father".

J.T. Yes. That is, we cry, but we are as urgent as the Holy Spirit is. We cry in Romans; He cries in Galatians.

F.G.S. I was wondering whether you linked your

thoughts with Mark 14:36. Is it not striking that these words fall from the Lord's own lips?

J.T. Yes. The original word is handed down to us -- 'Abba' is never translated. It is the very word the Lord used; it makes it very touching.

S.J.B.C. The language of the Jews and the language of the gentiles, both brought into the same family, both able to lisp that name. It is very sweet and precious to notice the very word the Lord used in the garden -- 'Abba' -- we are privileged to use.

S.S. The Lord used it in suffering, but we can use it in joy.

J.T. What it was to the Father to hear that word out of Gethsemane!

J.A.C. That word "Abba, Father" Mark 14:36 would involve a desire to give pleasure to the Father.

J.T. The two words mean the same thing, only the one comes down to us untranslated, pointing to the link with the Lord Jesus. It is the exact word He used.

S.S. So that in Mark the Lord leads in suffering.

J.T. Quite so.

Rem. You would have to be in the consciousness of sonship to be able to say "Abba, Father".

J.T. That is what the Spirit of sonship gives you.

E.Z.B. Why is it so rarely audibly said? We sing it.

J.T. We learn properly from the epistles. I think we should approach the gospels through the epistles. We do not find the formula used by Paul, for instance. Still, he alludes to it twice. He says the Holy Spirit cries it in us and we cry it by Him.

J.A.C. Is it not the whole company?

J.T. I should not like to limit it. 'We' is often just each of us. I do not think Romans so much contemplates the company as the individual, that is each of us

J.H.M. Will you tell us why you brought Romans in?

J.T. Just to emphasise what we are saying, the action of the Spirit in relation to the Father.

F.W.K. I suppose in Romans they are taught it, but in Galatians they are brought back to it when they had got away.

J.T. Exactly. They were not doing it, but the Holy Spirit was doing it. The Jews were not kept out. The Galatians did not shut the doors to keep the Jews out. That, of course, interfered with "Abba, Father".

W.E.M. It is very fine that divine Persons should have pleasure in bringing God near to us, and now have pleasure in bringing us near to God.

J.T. Both divine Persons are on our side now. It shows that what is in the mind of God in the assembly is to bring the saints to God, so that the ark is in the bed of Jordan till all go over. It stresses that, for the saints are to go over. That is what God is seeking.

W.E.M. The Lord delights to take us to Him. "I came out from the Father", John 16:28. "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father unless by me", John 14:6.

J.T. Reverting back to what belongs to the Lord's supper in the assembly, the divine thought in the assembly is God the Father. When the Lord has subjected all, then He Himself is subject, that God may be all in all. He is subject to Him who is God and Father. We want to be in accord with that. Not that the Lord does not hear us, even if we do go back, but He loves to see us moving in intelligence, so that from Acts 13 onwards, one is struck with the stress laid on intelligence and teaching.

F.W.K. Would you say, if we have been led to address the Father, you would hardly expect a hymn to be given out addressed to the Lord Jesus, and prayer similarly?

J.T. No, I should not.

H.F. Does it not sometimes occur that there are those who run before?

J.T. Yes, that is true, too. I think it is well to make room for the covenant.

J.H.M. Is it right to address the Father before the breaking of bread?

J.T. It is not fitting. The Corinthian epistle stresses that you keep the directions. There were directions he had given when there, directions given when away and directions he would give when he came back. It is normal procedure. To use an illustration, in a man's house you want to proceed as he proceeds.

F.G.S. If we made room for the covenant rightly, would it not liberate our affections in relation to the love of God?

J.T. It creates conditions in our souls for the Spirit to take the place of the Spirit of adoption. He changes over from the Spirit of the covenant to the Spirit of adoption. I think these two expressions help us in our minds, the Spirit of the covenant and the Spirit of adoption.

W.D.R. Would you distinguish between the love of God and the love of the Father?

J.T. The love of the Father is for His sons, for His family; the love of God is a wider thought.

P.C. Would the access in Ephesians be connected with "He shall receive of mine and shall announce it to you" John 16:14 -- so that between the first and second part of the morning meeting there would be room for a word sometimes?

J.T. It very often helps.

J.H.M. Do you mean it is a higher thought to reach the Father than to reach God in relation to the covenant?

J.T. Yes, it is really. We have "him who is God and Father". 1 Corinthians 15:24. You will never find

judgment, for instance, connected with the Father. Hence it is a title that relates to God in grace and in affection. So that it applies to God when all that is objectionable to Him is done with for ever. The Father comes out fully where there is nothing of judgment.

THE SPIRITUAL DRINK OF ISRAEL AS SEEN IN THE WILDERNESS

Exodus 15:27; Exodus 17:5 - 7; Numbers 20:7 - 13; Numbers 21:16 - 18

J.T. These scriptures will be familiar to the brethren, but the Lord, I believe, will give us something from them fitting in with current exercises that are among us. The subject of drink is always important and interesting, and has in mind that the people of God should be satisfied; and it appears in the middle of these books which treat of the wilderness, for the wilderness circumstances occasion thirst and complaint. One finds in Exodus 17 and Numbers 20 the spirit of complaint, and in order that this should be met we get a word earlier in the book of Exodus for those who serve, those who would minister to the Lord's people in a specific way. The early part of Exodus is largely to prepare such ministers. So we find a great minister, that is Moses, sitting by a well in chapter 2. It is a very significant attitude, as indicating that he had learnt not to trust to himself in the service. There can be no meeting the thirst of the saints as the ministers trust to themselves. So that the great typical minister, the one who is said to be faithful in all God's house, is seen sitting by a well; and what comes out after deliverance is effected is how the experience thus acquired is effective in the ministerial provision, that is, the seventy palm trees and the twelve wells. That is what I was thinking of, if the brethren are free to move on in it. The passages, as I said, are well known, and the teaching of the history is particularly to help young christians.

H.E.F. What have you in mind in speaking of the seventy palm trees and the twelve wells?

J.T. I think the numeral seventy alludes to ministerial provision; that is, it is early instruction that is in mind. It raises the question whether there are those today whom God can use under this heading, and the twelve wells point to the abundance; there is administrative means.

H.E.S. Is there any connection between this passage and the twelve apostles in the New Testament, and the Lord appointing "seventy others also", Luke 10:1?

J.T. I think the allusion to the seventy indicates the resources of God, that He has more than twelve. The Lord has more: "seventy others".

W.C.P. It says, "they encamped there by the waters", as though there were only the twelve wells. Is there a distinction made in that way in connection with the character of God's resources as seen in the seventy palm-trees and the twelve wells?

J.T. "They encamped there by the waters": I think it means the people were satisfied now to accept the position in the wilderness -- a very great matter -- God making such provision for them. In the next chapter they complain in relation to food, and Aaron spoke to them, and they looked toward the wilderness; that is, they are sustained by priestly ministry in their view toward the wilderness. It is the acceptance of the wilderness by the young ones which is so important.

M.W.B. Is that why Marah comes in first before this? I was wondering whether Marah was definitely the acceptance of the wilderness. Consequent on that there is God's ample provision for them, as they encamp there.

J.T. Yes; the first waters presented to them were brackish, a very great test; but the waters that had been offensive were made sweet by the wood. The passage really is remarkable as bringing out God's gracious consideration for us in our circumstances.

He comes in and shows Moses wood; that is, He calls the minister's attention to Christ. The point is first to get in our minds the thought of the minister God provides. He calls the attention of the minister to the wood; it says, "Jehovah shewed him wood, and he cast it into the waters, and the waters became sweet" Exodus 15:25. That is the minister's move; it is left to him. God, having instructed, educated and explained things to his servants, helps them and calls their attention to some feature of Christ, and they know how to use it, and use it effectively. What you find with regard to Moses throughout this book is that, whilst we constantly get the expression, "As Jehovah said unto Moses", or "As the Lord commanded Moses", yet Moses acts of himself; as, for instance, with regard to the instruction relative to the passover in chapter 12, you find it is a lengthy instruction, but Moses, when speaking to the people about it, epitomises it, and his epitome -- or his presentation of what Jehovah gave to him -- brings about worship in the people. That means that you know how to present impressions you receive from God so that they become effective in the saints.

M.W.B. So that in taking the two together -- the well in chapter 2 by which Moses sat, and then the wood to which his attention is drawn, would give a very wholesome suggestion as to not depending on ourselves, and as to having intelligence to use and apply that which is of Christ.

J.T. That is right. You have a certain service to perform; you have certain needs before you in connection with the saints; you get before the Lord about it, and He gives you some inkling, or impression. Then it is for you as a minister to know how to use that, how to present it so that it becomes effective. You know the brethren you have to deal with (or you should know them), and you know how to use what the Lord gives you.

J.H.B. In what way is Christ typified by the wood?

J.T. It is a feature of the wilderness; it has a great part in the wilderness -- that is, wood of a particular kind, acacia wood. (We are not told what wood this was.) As in the wilderness it suggests Christ, presented so as to afford material for building. But He is cast into the waters. The idea of wood comes into the mind, and that wood is Christ; so that the wood is seen as altering the circumstances.

W.R.P. How do you apply the fact that at first they found no water, and then when they did find water it was brackish?

J.T. It is a test; God would give us to taste what the Lord Jesus passed through. The brackish waters denote death; they denote what typically the Lord Jesus passed through in the Red Sea -- the bitterness of death. It is well to taste the bitterness of death; it is intended to give character to us; but as accepted it becomes sweet to the soul, as we find it is part with Christ, and understand that typically (as it says here) He was cast into the waters.

M.W.B. I had not noticed that Moses was not instructed to do that; as in other instances in the book, his own spiritual intelligence seems to come into great evidence.

J.T. That is what I thought we might see, that in seeking to serve the saints we get inklings -- impressions -- from the Lord; then He assumes that you profit by the education you have been through. The earlier chapters are full of that thought of education. Moses begins with the great impression he receives in connection with the angel of Jehovah in the bush, the fiery bush that burned and was not consumed. You would be impressed with the thought that there was a representative of God there; he was to be that himself, for he was told later that he was to be God to Pharaoh, and Aaron was to be his prophet; Exodus 7:1.

You get the great thought of representation, and for representation of God there must be the knowledge of God. God loves to see us act in our service according to the knowledge we have; that is, the servant knows what he is doing.

A.W.G.T. He is marked by spiritual initiative?

J.T. Quite so, spiritual initiative is a good expression. He profits by the experience connected with those forty years of education -- quite a long time. He sat by the well, we are told, and presently the seven daughters of Jethro came with their father's flock, and he watered the flock. As soon as you take that attitude you find something to do. No true minister in this attitude has far to go for service, but it comes to hand, and what his hand finds to do he does with his might, as Moses did in this case; he watered the flock, and he maintained the place of subjection and contentment in a foreign land; for that is the idea -- he says, "I have been a sojourner in a foreign land", Exodus 2:22. He accepts the position, though it was not what he would desire naturally; it was the very opposite to that. So it says, "Moses was content to dwell with the man" Exodus 2:21.

M.W.B. Are those restful conditions more or less reproduced in Israel for the moment at Elim?

J.T. Yes, they encamped by the waters; it is a fine result, God helping the minister, so that the saints are restful, accepting the wilderness, and that with satisfaction, for there is plenty of water. The plentifulness of it is suggested, but still it is under control, because the number of the wells is twelve.

J.H.B. What would the water at Elim represent?

J.T. It is ministry, I think; it is not yet the Spirit in the christian, but so far it is what is objective, what is brought to him. "They encamped there by the waters". The saints at a meeting like this, listening with interest to the things of the Lord, are

encamping by what is provided; as valuing it they take up a position in relation to it, and are not going to be turned away by the world's allurements from such a place of resourcefulness. The seventy palm-trees give a suggestion of beautiful shade and freshness in the desert, and there is plenty of water to drink; that is surely attractive, and if we are spiritual we shall encamp there.

R.E.S. Is this at all in line with Psalm 23?

J.T. That is exactly the idea. How beautiful it is to see the saints of God turning aside from that which this world provides on an afternoon like this, and encamping by the waters! How pleasing to God that is, and how ready the Lord is to meet such a state of things among us. "Assemble the people, and I will give them water", He says; Numbers 21:16.

E.C.R. Do the seventy palm trees involve the idea of victory and overcoming?

J.T. That is the thought; the palm is usually a sign of victory. When you have seventy of them you have a great result; it shows the earlier instruction to Moses and Aaron in the type has borne fruit. The servant has learnt to sit by the well. Sitting means a permanent attitude; he says, 'I am never going to move from this position in regard of my ministry; I am never going to exercise my will or energy again'. That is what is meant by sitting, and the result is seen here. There is victory in the ministers; they have overcome, and now are affording shelter for the people of God, and there is plenty of water. The twelve apostles allude to the presence of love which would make room for one another in mutuality, free from all pretension as regards one being above another. "Seventy" is a different number; it is seven times ten, and alludes to a responsibility in the Spirit.

W.R.P. Would that be the place for education, sitting by the well of water?

J.T. It is rather the evidence that the minister

has learnt; sitting is a permanent suggestion, meaning that he would always take that attitude in his service.

H.E.F. Is that in contrast to what he had done previously?

J.T. Yes, it is in contrast to natural energy. "I keep under my body ... lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway", says Paul; 1 Corinthians 9:27.

J.H.L. Is there any significance in the fact that Moses' life was divided into periods of forty years, the first forty being spent in Egypt, the next in the backside of the desert, and the last forty years in the wilderness?

J.T. The first two periods of forty years point to the long training and education required by all of us. There is no short road to the service of God; you have to go all the way round. The first forty years has rather to be undone; the unlearning is the most difficult thing; but Moses apparently made haste on that line. The journey from Egypt to Midian was a long one; even today it would take a long time. He learnt on the way, apparently, and as soon as he arrives he sat by the well -- a very remarkable thing.

J.A.P. What were you alluding to when you said the apostle kept his body under?

J.T. He did not allow the natural side. The allusion is an athletic one. You have to sacrifice with that in view, so that the result is wholly spiritual. The natural is brought under restraint, so that one is not a castaway after having ministered to others. Moses was not a castaway. I think the result of these seventy palm trees and the twelve wells is very significant as pointing to the effectiveness of the ministry and the effectiveness of the divine training.

Rem. So that if our service is to promote restful conditions among the saints we must learn to be restful ourselves.

J.T. Yes, the minister learns to be quiet and restful; he affects his hearers according to what he is.

G.C.G. Is Simon Peter another of the Lord's servants who had to come this way? He said at one time that he would follow the Lord even to prison and to death. Did he not have to learn not to trust in himself?

J.T. That is what he had to learn; the Lord said to him: "When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst where thou desiredst" -- that is the natural, as Moses slew the Egyptian -- "but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and bring thee where thou dost not desire", John 21:18. It is against your will. "If not of my own will", the apostle says, "I am entrusted with an administration", 1 Corinthians 9:17. No one goes into the ministry and takes it up in a natural way. So the Lord says in John 12"Where I am, there also shall be my servant" John 12:26; it is not 'would be', but what "shall be". John presents it abstractly; the true servant is in accordance with Christ, and in order to make that fit in Peter's case the Lord puts him under discipline so that he is in correspondence with Christ in his death, and glorifies God.

G.C.G. Would the attitude of Paul and Silas in the jail at Philippi show how they were maintained in this satisfied and restful attitude?

J.T. That is very beautiful; they were undergoing one of the greatest tests, you might say, but in prayer they sang praises to God at midnight -- a very great triumph. If you were to have seen them or heard them you would have said: 'What victory that is!' That is what is meant by the seventy palm trees. Such ministers must bring to light results, and the assembly at Philippi is the result in that case.

Eu.R. Would the being shown wood impress the heart with the perfect dependence on God that marked

the Lord Jesus in His pathway of service here on earth in these conditions, in contrast to the tendency of our hearts to trust in the flesh?

J.T. Very fine: you have a bit of service before you, and you want an impression. God gives you that as you seek it, and now how are you going to use it? I think the dependence of the servant is seen in being shown the wood, but the skill is seen in that he knows what to do with it.

Eu.R. So Paul and Silas used it well in the case of the jailor?

Ques. Would you say how the skill is acquired?

J.T. We were tracing that in connection with the history of Moses, and alluding to the fact that his life was divided into three parts of forty years each, eighty of which you might say were educational, so that only a third of his life was properly occupied with his commission. Now, we have to analyse all that we have of those eighty years to see how the minister is fitted for his service. That is what we get in the earlier part of the book.

Rem. He would never again turn to the wisdom gained in Egypt.

J.T. He had to unlearn all that. Stephen says, "Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds", Acts 7:22. Sitting by the well means that he has learned not to trust in that; whereas the universities are ever turning out ministers instructed in the very education which Moses had to unlearn -- not that ordinary education is not necessary, but I refer to the spiritual thing.

W.C.P. What is the value in a practical way of the casting into the water? Moses did that, as you were pointing out; did he recognise the death of Christ as the basis of all service?

J.T. Yes, it is to complete the type of the Red Sea, showing how Christ having been in death has

changed the situation for the believer. The change is in you, not in the water, for the antitype has to be understood thus. I acquire a new taste; I learn to accept death. God rolls it in upon us, and it gives us character. I believe Miriam represents that here, for her name means 'bitterness'.

Eu.R. Is it like Romans 6"Reckon yourselves dead to sin" Romans 6:11 -- that is like the life of Egypt -- and then the result is "newness of life" Romans 6:4?

J.T. Yes, Romans 6 is what answers to this; and then there is the provision for us in the minister that God raises up. The young believer finds this wonderful heritage which he knows God has provided to protect him; for the seventy palm trees suggest victory, as seen in Paul and Silas, and the jailor would know what these men were; he could trust them.

H.M.G. Would the gain of the seventy palm trees and the twelve wells fit us for the next step, for they journeyed at once?

J.T. The fact that they encamped there at Elim shows that they accepted the position, but then they had to move on, and that brings in the thought of murmuring in relation to food. Then in chapter 17 there is another murmuring, which is met by the smiting of the rock. Perhaps chapter 17 is less understood than we think. One thing to be observed is that in that chapter it does not say that the people drank at all, whereas in Numbers 20 it says that the people drank and their cattle. I think the point in Exodus 17 is to take account of the gift of the Spirit of God as the outcome of the sufferings of Christ. The rock was not spoken to here, but smitten, and not in the presence of the people as such, but in the presence of the elders, suggesting the idea of responsibility.

M.W.B. Is that why in Corinthians it says, "they drank of a spiritual rock" -- not of the water -- "a spiritual rock which followed them", 1 Corinthians 10:4?

J.T. Quite so; the allusion there would be, I suppose, to the actual drinking spoken of in Numbers 20. No doubt they drank here in Exodus 17, for they were thirsty, but God is not going to call it drinking till they are appreciating the thing; and the time has not yet come to say of such believers that they have drunk. The Lord says, "If anyone thirst, let him come to me and drink" John 7:37, that means I appreciate the provision for me.

W.R.P. And yet the rock followed them.

J.T. You mean in the antitype? Quite so. They drank, undoubtedly, but the fact that it is not said that they drank is to be noted; it is initial, and what you get instead of drinking is conflict, meaning Romans 7.

Ques. What did you mean by the water being under control in connection with the twelve wells at Elim?

J.T. Twelve is an administrative number. It is not like a river that runs off. The wells are there, and they are to be used.

M.W.B. Do you think there is an allusion in these early incidents to the idea of authority and subjection, meaning that it is only as I abide in those conditions that the gain of these privileges is realised?

J.T. Exactly; so that at the end of chapter 15 it says, "There he made for them a statute and an ordinance; and there he tested them. And he said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of Jehovah thy God, and do what is right in his eyes, and incline thine ears to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the complaints upon thee". Exodus 15:25,26. That is what you mean?

M.W.B. Exactly; and then the reference to the elders in Exodus 17, and to the staff or rod being taken, again introduces the thought of authority.

J.T. I see what you mean: it is the rod carefully

specified here; it says, "Take with thee of the elders of Israel, and thy staff with which thou didst smite the river, take in thy hand, and go. Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock on Horeb; and thou shalt strike the rock, and there shall come water out of it". Exodus 17:5,6. The rod is an interesting consideration. Here it is really Moses' own rod, but there is no differentiation between the rod of Moses and the rod of Aaron so far, because Aaron apparently used it. It is the rod of authority, and the one idea is linked with both Moses and Aaron, till Aaron's rod budded, blossomed and yielded almonds; that is where the great difference is made. Aaron's rod (according to Numbers 17) had in mind Christ's death and resurrection, and that is the rod to be used in Numbers 20.

E.C.R. What is the force of "thy staff with which thou didst smite the river"? Would it emphasise the sufferings of Christ that we might have the Spirit?

J.T. The smiting of the river would mean that it was effective. It was not only the rod that had been turned into a serpent, and had been brought back again to its normal condition, but it had become effective in its use. The thing that becomes effective is the one to use. When we come to the death of Christ, it is on the suffering side -- the smiting, with the elders present -- that it is seen in its effectiveness.

E.C.R. Why is the emphasis laid on the expression, "I will stand before thee there upon the rock"?

J.T. It is to bring out the solemnity of it. God is having to do with it; it is the judgment of God.

Eu.R. Did you allude to Romans 7 in connection with this?

J.T. Yes, as to the conflict with Amalek.

Eu.R. You mean that there being no mention of their drinking in Exodus 17 suggests that the conflict of Romans 7 is unsolved as yet?

J.T. That is right. The Spirit is there before Romans 7, but the conflict has to come in before we appreciate that fact. It is the conflict which hardly any young christian would not understand. Of course they drank, but instead of that being stated you have the conflict, because before we come to the full appreciation of the Spirit of God the conflict has to be gone through, the analysis which involves conflict in Romans 7.

M.W.B. Do you mean that the victory that is gained over Amalek is practically the way they would realise what the drinking means?

J.T. That is right; Romans 7 prepares us for Romans 8; but the Spirit is there before -- not that the experience of Romans 7 implies that one has the Spirit actually, but the principle is there according to Romans 5.

W.R.P. On God's side the Spirit is given, and on our side we have to receive it.

J.T. So that you have not the idea of the reception of the Spirit in John 4; the reception is in John 7; "which they that believed on him were about to receive" John 7:39. Reception means that I value the thing.

H.E.F. Have you in mind that when Scripture speaks of our drinking we should afterwards be characterised by what we have drunk?

J.T. Yes, and so that the inward state of the saint should be intelligent to him (it is known to God) Romans 7 is given.

H.E.F. So in John 7 it says, "Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water" John 7:38.

J.T. Well, that is the other side.

H.E.S. Your point is that in Exodus 17 the emphasis is on what God did.

J.T. Yes, there is the thought of judgment there: "God, having sent his own Son, in likeness of flesh of sin, and for sin, has condemned sin in the flesh". Romans 8:3.

There was an action of smiting. It touches the heart when by the Spirit I see what God has passed the Lord Jesus through in suffering. In Numbers 20 the smiting and the suffering are not in view; it is a question of speaking to the rock.

Eu.R. How do you distinguish between this smiting and what is set forth in the brazen serpent?

J.T. We shall have to come to it presently. I quoted from Romans 8, which alludes to Numbers 21, but only to bring out the reality of the Lord's sufferings, not only that my sins should be forgiven, but that I might receive the Spirit and drink.

M.W.B. Apart from the thought of the greatness of the Spirit, that ought to make us value the gift of the Spirit as seeing that Christ suffered for us that we might have such a gift.

J.T. That is the way Exodus 17 is intended to affect us as we read it; it should touch our hearts to see how Christ suffered.

E.C.R. Should not that help to maintain us in the conflict?

J.T. Quite.

Ques. Could we have a word about the speaking to the rock in Numbers 20 in contrast to what we have been dwelling upon in connection with the smiting spoken of in Exodus 17?

J.T. It is the other side. It is one subject, really -- one theme: He died and He rose. Numbers 20 contemplates the resurrection of Christ; it contemplates His being in heaven; in fact, it is more like John 7; "The Spirit was not yet, because Jesus had not yet been glorified" John 7:39. It is not now a question of smiting as in Exodus 17, but the rod to be used in Numbers 20 is the rod which is Aaron's; that is the only one now -- the one which had budded, blossomed, and yielded almonds overnight; and that one is not to be used in smiting at all. Aaron is not brought into the matter in Exodus 17, but he is in

Numbers 20. "Take the staff ... thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock"; and all the people are to be there -- it is not now a question of the elders -- "Gather the assembly together ... and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes, and it shall give its water; and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock, and shalt give the assembly and their beasts drink". It is the fulness of the thing now, without smiting. It is the rod that denotes life -- that is, the resurrection of Christ.

W.C.P. Does it not fit in very well with the thought of "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus", Romans 8:2?

J.T. It does; it is the law of the Spirit of life. Moses disregarded the word to him, but in spite of his action the water flowed. The allusion, I think, is to the clerical conditions of today; in spite of their action which is so detrimental, and so opposed to the free flowing out of the Spirit, the water flows. They did not act rightly at all: Moses smote the rock and called the people rebels -- a very sorrowful situation; and yet the grace of God rose above that and caused the water to flow.

H.E.S. Was Moses going back to natural resources on this occasion?

J.T. He and Aaron were relying on themselves, whereas the apostle says, "That the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us", 2 Corinthians 4:7.

M.W.B. So that this chapter must be read in the light of Numbers 17, where we read of the rod that budded, and God rising above the rebellion of Korah.

J.T. That is right; you must have the two sides -- that is, the sufferings of Christ, and the death and resurrection of Christ, and, we may say, the ascension of Christ; for it is only after Christ's ascension that we could have the Spirit.

J.H.B. Does the water in Numbers 20 refer to

something different from the water of Elim in Exodus 15?

J.T. Yes, it is directly from Christ in Numbers 20. The rock would hardly apply in connection with the water of Elim; it is not mentioned there. The water of Elim is what comes in through ministry, but where you have the rock it is the Spirit as come direct from Christ to the believer; firstly, as the outcome of His sufferings and death, and secondly, on the principle of asking. I see that, and I must have it; and the cattle get it, too; that is to bring out the plentifulness of it. The emphasis is laid on the drinking in this chapter, whereas nothing is said about that in Exodus 17.

Eu.R. So you would encourage us to face this conflict, and get deliverance from the thirst and dissatisfaction that marks the flesh, and get the gain of the Spirit in the way of satisfaction?

J.T. That is it; because we shall never be any testimony to God as unsatisfied. Satisfied christians are what are needed, those who are satisfied with what God provides. "We ... have all been given to drink of one Spirit" 1 Corinthians 12:13, which means we are mutually satisfied, satisfied together. I think it is very encouraging to see how the brethren have come together now, to see how persistent the interest is, so that our brethren are ready to sacrifice -- to encamp, as it were, by the waters. How delighted the Lord is to give the water; but in giving it to us He would tell us that He has suffered, and died, and that He has risen and gone into heaven in order that we might have the Spirit. Why not have the water? It is in abundance; but the conflict in Exodus 17 is what is so necessary, so that we might discover what is inside, and carry out the analysis and what is involved in it, so that we might know what is going on, and be able to call upon all that is within us to bless the Lord.

Eu.R. Does this speaking to the rock involve the love of God coming into the heart?

J.T. It is the principle of the dispensation -- the word of God, and men freely addressing Him; 1 Timothy 4:5. The word of God and prayer are the great principles of the dispensation. It is not the time of smiting -- that is all over; it is the word of God and prayer.

W.C.C. Would that be in keeping with what we get in Luke 11"How much rather shall the Father who is of heaven give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?" Luke 11:13?

J.T. That is exactly the point. That passage comes in at the end of a section that contemplates provision for the local assembly. How are we to carry on without the Spirit? The Lord would teach us to ask the Father and He will give Holy Spirit. Not that the Spirit is given from heaven now, for He is here; so to speak, the water is here to be drunk.

W.C.C. It is "the Father who is of heaven". Luke 11:13

J.T. That is right; it is not 'in heaven', but "of heaven", suggesting the character of it, for the Spirit is here. In the first feeding of the multitude the Lord looks up to heaven, but in the second feeding He does not look up, for He is recognising what is here -- a very important thing; for, indeed, God is here in the Spirit.

W.C.C. In the light of that it is very solemn what Stephen says, "Ye do always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers, ye also", Acts 7:51.

J.T. Quite; the Holy Spirit is here, and hence "whosoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this age nor in the coming one", Matthew 12:32.

G.P. Do you not think there is some significance in the fact that in Exodus 17 it says, "That the people may drink", but in Numbers 20 it is, "Thou shalt ... give the assembly ... drink"?

J.T. There is something in that: the word 'assembly' has its own meaning there; and then the cattle were to drink, too, referring to all the surroundings; the whole realm in which christians are is to be affected by the Spirit. It is the Spirit's day, and as affected by the Spirit, a state of holy satisfaction characterises not only the man himself, but his family and his whole environment. That is what God provides.

M.W.B. "The water came out abundantly" (verse 11).

J.T. That is very significant.

M.W.B. It does not say that in Exodus 17, but it says it here.

J.T. In Numbers 20 it is to bring out the character of christianity in type, and that in spite of the official class. There is plenty of water. God is overcoming the obstacle, and the result is that Israel now is able to speak of himself as having "feet" Numbers 20:19. He is on his way to Canaan, and is ready to walk on his own feet.

H.E.S. Did the Lord have that in view when He said, "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly", John 10:10?

J.T. That is so; He emphasises the plentifulness of it.

M.W.B. Are you referring to Numbers 20:19: "I will ... go through on my feet"?

J.T. That is what I was thinking of; the christian now has to do with Edom, and he is not to quarrel with him. It is a question whether we are great enough not to quarrel with brethren, even though they may be very provocative and unreasonable. Israel is great enough now to turn aside and go another way to avoid quarrelling with the brethren; he is ready, however, to go on the highway on his own feet. That represents that he is satisfied and set up of God.

E.C.T. Would you say he is now becoming a tree? Balaam likens Israel to trees in Numbers 24:6.

J.T. That is right: "The trees of Jehovah are satisfied", Psalm 104:16.

J.A.P. How does the exercise of Numbers 21 come in?

J.T. Now you have another thing, a deeper thing. You observe in the beginning of Numbers 21 Israel is victorious over the Canaanite: "The Canaanite king of Arad, who dwelt in the south, heard that Israel came by the way of Atharim, and he fought against Israel, and took some of them prisoners" Numbers 21:1. That is a very bitter experience; but still they are victorious in the main: "Then Israel vowed a vow to Jehovah, and said, If thou give this people wholly into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities. And Jehovah listened to the voice of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them, and their cities. And they called the name of the place Hormah". Numbers 21:2,3. That is how the name Hormah is given; although it is mentioned in chapter 14:45, the name is given here. Then it says, "They journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, to go round the land of Edom; and the soul of the people became impatient on the way". Numbers 21:4. Now there is a fresh test. You may already have been victorious over the Canaanite, and have journeyed, but you have to go round because of the brethren; you have to comply, and you have to accept the unreasonableness of the brethren. They had undertaken to accept it; but to prove it, and to go all the way round -- that is the test! It is because of the unreasonableness of the brethren, and we are all unreasonable, more or less. Edom is still the brother; it does not say yet that God hated him. Nothing tests us more, I think, than the unreasonableness of the brethren, and what it involves -- that I have to go round another way; but I have to do it.

It brings out what is in me -- something that I did not know before was there. The brethren have been unreasonable, and I did not know that I could not stand that; and they could not stand it here. They complain: it says, "The soul of the people became impatient on the way; and the people spoke against God, and against Moses" -- a very sorrowful and terrible thing that they spoke against God and against Moses, and all because they had to go round a longer way, because the brethren were so unreasonable.

H.L.T. Whereas if they had accepted the position they would have gained.

J.T. Surely; if you have to go round because of the unreasonableness of the brethren you do not suffer in the long run. You may sacrifice and suffer in the meantime, but you gain through it. It is a lesson to be learnt.

L.D.M. We get a similar circumstance in Luke 9 in relation to the Lord, and it brought out the spirit that marked Him. When His disciples desired Him to call down fire on the Samaritan village that would not receive Him, He rebuked them, saying, "Ye know not of what spirit ye are. And they went to another village" Luke 9:55, 56. Do not the next three chapters, 10,11 and 12, bring out the Holy Spirit, and spiritual things?

J.T. That is very excellent. The Spirit is given for the asking. What a beautiful spirit the Lord exhibited on that occasion! He tells them, "Ye know not of what spirit ye are". "When they persecute you in this city, flee to the other", Matthew 10:23. If He was not received by the uncircumcision (Luke 9) He goes on; but then it is sorrowful for the city which does not receive; that is another matter. The point here is what Israel had to endure because of the refusal of Edom.

M.W.B. You would make a very great distinction between Edom, whom we have to recognise as our

brother, and the Canaanite in the early part of Numbers 21, which is definitely an evil element?

J.T. That is right; these books contemplate him as the brother; it is only later that he is said to be hated.

H.E.S. Your thought is that all these different conditions which we have been considering bring to light our state; and the recognition of that should open the way for blessing?

J.T. That is right. The instruction for us is in connection with what is brought out as to the state of the people. They spoke against God and against Moses. Then the brazen serpent is lifted up, which deals with a deeper thing, involving what I have learnt in the conflict implied in Romans 7.

Ques. How would this apply to us locally, going round brethren who are difficult?

J.T. The idea is that if they do not let you go through you accept it; you wait and are patient. "The soul of the people became impatient". There was lack of patience. "Let patience have her perfect work", James 1:4. It is a question of the Inner thing in a man's soul; he had not discerned before, perhaps, that he was so impatient. "But let patience have her perfect work"; the result is sure.

W.C.C. This incident is not referred to by Rahab the harlot when she spoke to the spies of the victories they had won, and of how the heart of the people of Jericho melted; does that show that this incident in connection with the land of Edom represents a secret thing?

J.T. Quite so; though she refers to what God did at the Red Sea, and what they did to Sihon and Og, she does not refer to this experience which comes a little earlier, and which I think brings out what we did not expect to be in us, this impatience of soul. So the serpent is lifted up to deal with all this. The believer looks at the lifted up serpent and lives. It

is the great question of life coming in here. Then the verse we read refers to the Spirit viewed as in the believer now, "Well which princes digged". There is again an allusion to ministerial service, only it is princely here; that is, persons of great moral weight are having to do with things. It says, "Well which princes digged, which the nobles of the people hollowed out at the word of the lawgiver", and the result is that they sing. The people are now fully recognising the Spirit. "Spring up, O well: sing ye unto it" (verse 17). It is a question of assembling: "Assemble the people" (verse 16); and then "Sing unto it" suggests that there is response to the Spirit; but it is a poetic composition showing that the saints are brought into it intelligently and feelingly. Then they move on to Pisgah, where they look "over the surface of the waste" (verse 20).

M.W.B. So here it is not so much a question of circumstances, as in the earlier part of Exodus, but the deep springs of the moral elements of a man's life here.

J.T. That is right; it is the impatience that you did not know was there, perhaps. "The signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience" 2 Corinthians 12:12. That is the first thing mentioned.

Ques. In John 7 the Lord's brethren wanted Him to go up to the feast at Jerusalem, but He answered, "My time is not yet come, but your time is always ready", John 7:6. Were they not somewhat impatient?

J.T. Yes, they were impatient; they wanted the Lord to show Himself.

PERFECTION

Hebrews 6:1, 9 - 15; Genesis 17:1 - 11,22 - 24; Genesis 18:1 - 8,16 - 26

I had in mind, dear brethren, to speak about perfection; the idea would become simple if the Lord helped me to dwell upon the things that belong to it. That is, I believe, the meaning of the clause I read in verse 1, "Let us go on to what belongs to full growth", or perfection. As these things are detailed in any measure, I believe the youngest here will understand what is in my mind -- the idea of perfection, of full growth. The suggestion of it must always be of interest and importance; for conditions generally among the saints of God are not just characterised by perfection -- the babe state, indeed, may be said to mark the people of God generally, whereas the divine mind is full growth, or perfection, and for that there must be some standard, which is also evident. And God has brought in that -- indeed He began with it; whether we go back to His eternal counsels, or whether we go back to the detailed work of Genesis 1 and 2, we see that God began with the full thought. For instance, He made birds and fishes and cattle; there is no idea of His creating an egg or a lamb; when He came to man, there is no idea of a babe -- He made a man, He made a woman. Nor had Eve any other thought when Cain was born, she caned him a man -- "I have acquired a man with Jehovah". Genesis 4:1. The babe idea had not yet taken form in her mind; and so the Lord, in comforting His disciples, speaks of the joy at the birth of a child that a man is born into the world. And so in the types, in the Israelite's house, however many children there may have been, they were all to have an omer of manna, the father

and the mother and the children, each was to have the same measure. I refer to these thoughts, dear brethren, that we may see that God would impress us with a full thought -- with completeness and perfection.

This passage in Hebrews has that in mind; it is a passage of scripture calculated to stem the tide of retrogression which had set in. There is always, I may say, a tendency with the people of God to retrograde. If a little bit of growth has been attained, the tendency to retrograde is always present; the ministry, the general service graciously provided by the Lord, is to meet that condition amongst us and to maintain steadiness where God has begun; there should be a steadiness with us to His thought. So the word is, Let us go on to the things that belong to full growth. Young christians may say, There is Mr. So-and-so, he has been a long way in the path, I cannot hope to attain to his measure. But then, let us begin with the things. What marked that brother in his earlier days? He had to begin young, too; and his progress was marked by certain things. The writer of this epistle alludes to what he would regard, as the opposite to progress at that particular time; he refers, for instance (but not with any thought of discrediting them) to "a foundation of repentance from dead works and faith in God, of the doctrine of washings, and of imposition of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment". Hebrews 6:1,2. A christian in the Establishment might be familiar with such a category of things, right perhaps in themselves; but he must take other ground, he is not in the Establishment now. You will see what I mean. Were he there, there might be a certain consistency in his occupation with such things; but he is not there now. Those things belonged to Israel before Christ was born, or died. The Jewish believer in Christ had moved professedly, and occupation with

those earlier principles was not a mark of growth or development in the truth. He says, Let us go on to the things that belong to full growth. God has brought in Christ, Christ has died, He is risen and gone into heaven, the Holy Spirit has come down from heaven; a few years back, at Jerusalem, there were men occupied, with the greatest depth of feeling and joy, with the things that attached to Christ gone into heaven; the Holy Spirit had come down. And so today, God has wrought, and men have great joy in the things that belong to Christ as having come down into this world, as having died and risen from the dead, and gone into heaven; the Holy Spirit having come down and formed the assembly here, and having brought about a state of liberty in relation to the things of God in those who are sons of God. Well, these are the things that belong to full growth; let us go on to them.

I mention these things in a simple way so that the youngest here may understand that this thought of full growth is not simply an abstract thought of Christ personally, but the things that have come in through Him and by Him, that attach to Him as gone up into heaven, and that mark many here upon earth today. These things are practical, not far to seek; the young ones here will find them if they look about. And so the writer goes on to say, "But we are persuaded concerning you, beloved, better things, and connected with salvation"; that is just what I am saying, "things that accompany salvation". Then he suggests some of the things -- "the love which ye have shewn to his name, having ministered to the saints, and still ministering". Now this ministering to the saints is very simple -- I am speaking in a preliminary way. If anyone is concerned as to full growth, this is one of the things; the youngest here may have part in that feature. The Lord, in His wonderful discourses while here in flesh, spoke about

the reward of a righteous man, and the reward of a prophet, too; then He speaks about a cup of cold water given, not in the name of the Lord Jesus, but in the name of a disciple -- that should not lose its reward. The young sisters and brothers perhaps think little of that, but it belongs to perfection. It is a very small thing, but it sets you on the way; keep on that line, let us go on to that sort of thing. There are a thousand ways in which you can show that you belong to the class who are going on to perfection.

And so the writer says, 'That ye may be imitators of those who, like Abraham, inherit the promises'. We may take Rebecca to illustrate further what I am saying. She is, as you will know, a type of the assembly; but she is not a myth, she was a person, and she belongs to the holy women of old -- a very great distinction; many are unnamed, but she and others are named. And Abraham's servant draws near to her father's house, he is under the guidance of heaven. What a moment it was! Think of a brother coming into a district under the direction of heaven -- you have had many such occasions here. He is under the direction of heaven, a man who communed with Jehovah. He is a nameless man in Genesis 24, he is simply Abraham's servant. We must not let our minds rest too much on those who are more distinguished; distinguished persons in Scripture are usually named, but there were thousands who were unnamed, and there are today. They are in communion with heaven. This man was in communion with heaven; what a time he was having, there alone, as I may say! He had his camels and others, doubtless, and if you had eyes to see you could see how that man would bow his head in communion with heaven, with Jehovah. What a beautiful picture of real service! And here is Rebecca; she comes out with a pitcher on her shoulder -- a

common incident in the East, but there had never been such an incident as this. The servant of Abraham is looking for Rebecca; there is no uncertainty about her, her name is mentioned in Genesis 22:23. You will remember that when Abraham offered up Isaac on the mountain, it is not said that Isaac came down from the mountain. The idea is that Christ has gone into heaven as having risen from the dead; and there must be someone suitable to Him as a wife. And so Rebecca is mentioned; her genealogy is given to us in Genesis 22, so that in sending out the servant there was no doubt that there was such a person as Rebecca; just as it is here this evening, there is no doubt that there is such an element here as is needed for the assembly. No true minister of Christ has anything else in his mind in what he does but that there should be something for Christ in the assembly. So the servant is there, not in a mechanical way as sent to a certain town, and a certain street in the town, and to a certain number in the street, and to a certain woman, Rebecca; that is not the thought. The thought is that she is to be marked by the things that belong to what he has in mind. He had perfection in his mind, and she had the marks. They were, apparently, outwardly very small; but look at the beautiful grace of that young woman. I am speaking to the young sisters here, because the Lord has need of you, not because you were converted on such and such a day, but because He is looking for certain graces in you, certain things that accompany the thing He has in His mind. And so when the servant asks for water, Rebecca says, "Drink, my lord!" Genesis 24:18. How beautiful that is! She lets the pitcher down, and is ready for service, for the service that was needed. That is the point. What is the need here in Trowbridge? What can a young sister or brother do? I have no doubt you are looking at the elder brethren and you may be leaving the matter with

them; but that is an entire mistake. There are things that only the elder brethren can do; but the explanation of the weakness is that the young do not take up the things that they can do. The point is to be available. Rebecca is ready, and even goes beyond what is needed -- "I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have drunk enough" Genesis 24:19 -- no small matter for a young woman to do. Well now, I am illustrating the simple thought I have in mind for the young ones here so that you might see that the Lord has need of you in relation to the assembly. He has a certain thing in His mind, and there is perfection attached to it; and He is looking in you for something that belongs to that perfection, however little it is; and you must not be discouraged if it is only in a little way that you can show what belongs to perfection. Rebecca had that feature strikingly at the very outset, a feature that belonged to the perfection that the servant was looking for. I might multiply such illustrations, but one suffices; I am thinking of the young people here first.

Now I go on to the older ones, and I have selected Abraham, as you will see, to illustrate the idea of perfection; he is brought in by the writer to the Hebrews as one who inherits the promises, and we are to imitate him. You will notice, first, that he is to walk before God and be perfect. He was an old man, so that he certainly fits as an example for those of us who are older, Jehovah appears to him and says, "Walk before me" -- a word that comes to one's own heart, because in service we are apt to walk before the brethren. That is right, surely, to commend oneself to them; but then the word is, "Walk before me". What eyes those were that would look down on Abraham every day in his walk! And then, "Be perfect". One wishes to show as briefly as possible from these scriptures how this great thought was worked out in the patriarch. First, he is to walk

before Jehovah and be perfect. God then says to him, "It is I" -- addressing Abraham in a personal way, saying, as it were, I have a great matter in hand, and am come Myself to effect it. He is putting Abraham on his feet; he is to walk before Him and be perfect. Now He says, "It is I" -- and I am going to make a covenant with you, you are to be the father of a multitude. That is a great thought of God: that one man, who as yet had no child, save Ishmael, and nearly one hundred years old, should be the father of a multitude. And He says He will change his name, meaning that the thing is certain. It is a potential thought; he is not yet actually the father of a multitude, but he is potentially. He is that in the mind of God, who calls things that are not as though they were. Every time Abraham signed his name, that is what would be in his mind. In the book of Isaiah the young people are enjoined to subscribe themselves by the name of Israel; it is what is in the mind of God, and you are writing it down, and every time you write it it is greater to you. Well, he is to be the father of a multitude and kings shall come out of him; Isaac is to be born: this all enters into the divine proposal. God says, "It is I": He is proposing it all. Now He says, 'All your males are to be circumcised', meaning that the flesh profits nothing; these things that accompany salvation and that belong to full growth are not fleshly products; no university in the world can develop in any person a product that belongs to full growth. Circumcision means the rolling away, "the putting off of the body of the flesh" -- the totality of it -- "in the circumcision of the Christ", Colossians 2:11.

Well, what will accompany this, what will belong to full growth in Abraham after such a command? What will be required of him? God says, I have finished for the moment: and we must understand, dear brethren, that we are to learn in part, we get a

word now and a word later; if you move in the light of the present mind of God in any word given to you, you get another. God had spoken to Abraham and conveyed His mind to him in part, not altogether yet; He stopped speaking with him and went up. How often one has experienced it, God ceasing to speak to you and leaving you to yourself, as it were. Now what will Abraham do? He did exactly what God enjoined him to do. That is the secret of progress, dear brethren; you move in relation to the last word you have from God, whatever it is. Then God will come again to you and speak again to you, and speak greater things to you. But the first thing is, what is Abraham going to do now? Jehovah broke off the conversation and went up; and the selfsame day, we are told, Abraham circumcised all who were in his house, not one exempted. How delightful that was to God, the carrying out of the commandment. Look at Abraham there, in that house, on that day! What a house it was! What a scene it was! How delightful to heaven! There is an accompaniment of salvation, a thing that belongs to full growth. Dear brethren, have we all come to that? It is a very simple thing -- one of the things that belong to full growth -- the acceptance of death in a drastic way: it is the acceptance of the death of Christ, "the putting off of the body of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ". Colossians 2:11. It was a wonderful day in Abraham's house; there was the feeling of the thing, death was rolled in on that house; everyone was affected.

In the next chapter Abraham is sitting at the tent door, and three men come to him; that is to say, he is recognised as a man. The Lord Jesus says to the Father, "The men whom thou gavest me"; John 17:6. It is "the men" in John 17, not 'the children' -- though that word may be used rightly in other connections; the idea is of men, those who belong to the assembly, those whom the Father has given Him

out of the world. Now Abraham is recognised in the dignity of manhood. Three men come to him, but it was no less than the appearing of Jehovah to the patriarch. He was honouring that which was already there, that is, the accompanying feature of full growth. So Abraham was honoured by the visit and communication of the Lord, for it was none less than Jehovah who was there, but as a man with two others. How great is the position -- God coming into our circumstances to commune with us and honour us, and to give us the opportunity of ministering to Him. Abraham is ready, he is not disconcerted in the least degree. Were he a babe spiritually he would be hardly equal to such an occasion; it belongs to manhood. Abraham got the manhood, he advanced into it; the things that belong to it are with him. He is restful as sitting by the tent door by the oaks of Mamre, speaking of so much in themselves. Jehovah draws near, but as a man with two others; He comes in company, so that you have four persons now, one of them serving the other three. How dignified that is! Abraham is ready for it, he has everything under his hand; there was no consternation or perplexity, as with the women at the tomb. He is ready for the great occasion. It is a picture that may be carried on into the assembly. How urgent it is that we should go on to the things that belong to full growth, so that as a visitation takes place, we are ready; the things are all there under our hand, we are not disconcerted. The scene is beautiful; they remain under the tree, waiting for Abraham to go through what was necessary for the service. That is God coming into circumstances that are marked by full growth, honouring them and Abraham in them.

Finally, I want to call attention to God's own comment on this man; for He delights to comment on us. I have no doubt that one might hear encouraging things spoken of one (I am not speaking of myself)

if we could get up into heaven. These things should not be very far away from us. Do you not think there is holy converse in heaven, dear brethren, in regard to what is down here? I am sure there is. God says, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing?" The scene is beautiful. They move on towards Sodom, and Abraham goes with them to conduct them. What a manly thing that was! And to think that God placed Himself in such a position, that Abraham could do it! Now God says, "Shall I hide from Abraham?" Abraham clung to the Lord, he knew Him among the three; and he stood before Him. What a word to the elder brothers and sisters, some of them getting very old and weak -- how great is the opportunity for prayer when we can do nothing else! Abraham yet stood before Him, while the others went on to Sodom. "Shall I hide from Abraham", says Jehovah, "what I am doing?" He is a man now; he is showing the qualities of a man. "He will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of Jehovah, to do righteousness and justice"; that is God's commendation of him, as it were to Himself; he is worthy of being a friend of God, and of being brought into His secrets. Nothing is to be more desired than to be brought into the secrets of God. Abraham stood before him. Now he is not thinking of himself, but of others -- a very fine feature accompanying full growth, that I am thinking of others -- and others, perhaps, who have not treated me very well; Lot certainly had not treated Abraham in a very brotherly way. It is remarkable how much we have of unbrotherliness in Scripture; but, thank God, it is not only what is unbrotherly, but what is brotherly, that is found in Scripture. Unbrotherliness, however, is depicted in Scripture as in Edom and Lot. But to think unselfishly, to think of the welfare of persons who have been unbrotherly towards me is a very fine feature of full growth; and

that is what comes out here. Abraham does not name Lot, it is a question of numbers. He stood before Jehovah and said, "To slay the righteous with the wicked, that the righteous should be as the wicked -- far be it from thee!" See how beautifully he speaks to Jehovah. That Jehovah should place Himself in such a position that Abraham could speak to Him thus is what is so striking. Then he says, "Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?" As if God did not know it! But then it was a man who was talking to Him; it was delightful to Him to hear Abraham tell Him that. Now he says, Perhaps there are fifty righteous persons in the city, would you not save the city for their sake? God says, I will. And supposing there were only forty-five, will you save it for their sake? God says, I will save it for forty-five. Supposing there are only forty, he says. Jehovah says, I will save the city for forty. For thirty? Yes. For twenty? Yes. And if there are only ten, says Abraham. I suppose his heart was failing him, he would not go below ten, and he knew well enough how few there were. He did not go below ten, and God did not go below ten. But how fine the position is -- the perfect man, as you might say, marked by the features of perfection; for that is the point. He is now able to intercede in this beautifully mutual way with the great Creator of the universe. That is what is open to us. Then we are told that Jehovah finished conversing with Abraham, and went His way. He did not go up from Abraham this time; it is a finished matter. Chapter 17 is unfinished; chapter 18 is finished. Abraham is complete, in the setting; and Jehovah leaves him, and he returns to his place. What a brother he would be locally now! That is the idea: God would have us in perfection before Him, interceding in regard to persons who may have been unkind or unbrotherly. God respected that, and He respects it now. It is the

best way to serve them, however unbrotherly they have been; in interceding for them you are what you would wish them to be. If you are with God about them, and they get to God about you, the distance will soon disappear. God Himself removes the distance.

SPIRITUAL UNDERSTANDING

2 Timothy 2:7; Exodus 3:2 - 4; Matthew 1:19 - 21; Acts 11:5 - 12

I have in mind to speak about the understanding of divine things, and so begin with the verse in 2 Timothy: "Think of what I say, for the Lord will give thee understanding in all things". The apostle Paul was speaking to his beloved Timothy who was to continue in the service, being the younger, after the apostle's decease, hence it was of the utmost importance that he should understand what Paul said. Young men and women should understand, they should know what the Spirit says. We can assume that the Spirit is speaking, having come down from heaven to take the place of Christ. Whilst the Spirit remains here His speaking is a fact, and it is for the younger to hear and understand what is said. In addition to hearing there is understanding -- thoughtfulness -- of what is said. Our words sometimes offend -- there is mixture in them, but never in what is inspired. In spite of our weakness as to what is spoken, the Lord will give the understanding. He will come to us, no matter how small the understanding, and there is no mistake when He does -- it is as clear as noonday. We can say, in measure, we know: we are sure of something. We should cultivate the desire to get something from the Lord, and He will come in.

The Lord would have us move for ourselves. There are times, of course, when we should wait for the Lord, but there are also times when we should move of ourselves, and we shall not be long alone in it. There is a great deal of shallowness with us. After such meetings as this, we say we have good times yet cannot remember much or even convey one spiritual impression. Indeed, sometimes we cannot give the

scriptures read. This is a matter to be looked into, for as we ponder these things the Lord will give us understanding.

The scripture in Exodus is well known. It is the "section of the bush" Matthew 12:26, Luke 20:37 to which the Lord Himself refers. It is not only the burning bush but the whole section, and the Lord draws our attention to it as being a matter of importance; we must read before and after it. The scriptures speak of the goodwill of Him that dwelt in the bush. No one can afford to be without that. So the Lord says to His opposers, "ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God", Matthew 22:29. God is not the God of the dead but of the living. A flood of light enters the soul when one takes that in. Jesus could say, "whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die" John 11:26 -- we have the victory over death: we are brought to the realm of life, as the Lord beautifully adds, "that world and the resurrection". Luke 20:35.

Moses in this section of scripture is occupied with the flock of his father-in-law, serving unselfishly without wages, continuously and with contentment. He brought the flock to the mount of God -- you could not take saints to a better spot, for there "it shall be provided". This great servant had served for forty years and God honours him -- He shows His valuation of Moses in this way, when he turned aside to see. What valuable impressions! Moses was at the mount first and God comes in because Moses was there. Then he moves again in turning aside to see the sight, and God calls him, "Moses, Moses". God would have us know of what interest it is to Him when we turn aside to see and He will give us to know the meaning of things. To Moses is revealed the wonderful name of Jehovah. Some had used that name before with little understanding, but to Moses it is opened up.

Now the scripture in Matthew corresponds with all this. Joseph, the husband of Mary, is an illustration

of what has been said. Something happens and he ponders over it. As a spiritual father he would cover things. There is a great need of spiritual fathers, and this implies certain things. Joseph was really a great man. He is called "son of David" -- he is in a spiritual line -- forty-two generations. In reckoning time, God reckons by what He does in that measure of time by His own work; all else is a blank. So Joseph has his place as a son of David, a just man. He ponders things, and God would take on one who would do this. Joseph has to learn, and learners see difficulties; they are bound to see them, but God would lead them on and the cloud will disappear. We have to face the difficulties as Joseph did, which shows that there was something in him. And then he has a vision. That is what you will get -- a vision from God. He will give you a charge. The Lord would have us know that we are something to Him, not that we should be inflated. Joseph is called "son of David"; he is in the line, and he is given to understand that he is in it. He is to take to himself Mary his wife -- light floods his soul. He is to name things, also, and then he takes the child into Egypt, and we see how everything fits in -- "out of Egypt have I called my son". Matthew 2:15. These are features that affect the testimony. God discloses it to you and you see how it fits in. But you must take it into your closet and pray about it, and ponder it and fit it into its place.

The final thought is seen in Peter. Acts 10 and 11 taken together give an account of the introduction of the gentiles into the assembly. It is an important point -- the turning of the wall, and the turning of the wall requires great strength and care. When dealing with holy things we must allow no point of weakness for the enemy to attack, we must strengthen the position. Peter is ready; he is on the house-top praying, for we get nothing without prayer. He was a

man who could draw on the power of the Spirit; he was free from nature, he does not mix things here. The Lord foresaw that and trusted him with the keys. So Peter expounds it clearly. "I was ... praying", he says, "and in an ecstasy I saw a vision, a certain vessel descending like a great sheet, let down by four corners out of heaven, and it came even to me". On this he fixed his eyes and considered. What thoughts would come up in the apostle's mind! It was direction from heaven, and was full of food for thought. As Peter ponders it, there comes a voice from heaven; nothing can make up for that. Heaven comes in. "Rise up, Peter, slay and eat". Do not put it aside, see what it means. Not only does the creature come from God but the conception comes from God, and the voice illuminates it; there is nothing unclean there, God has cleansed it. What food for thought that is! Then immediately there are three men at the gate, and Peter perhaps has still a little doubt remaining, but he is confirmed by the Spirit to go with them nothing doubting.

In a company such as is here, there is always the work of God going on, and I would appeal to you with regard to fellowship. God has cleansed what is in this sheet. There is, of course, the other side; we are to wash our robes so that we may have right to the tree of life and enter in by the gates to the city. Do not linger. Inside the city is the tree of life. Will you not then go with these men, nothing doubting?

EARTHEN VESSELS

Jeremiah 19:1 - 3,10,11; Romans 9:19 - 24; 1 Thessalonians 4:13,14

I wish every one of us to take account of himself as an earthen vessel; this is how men are regarded in Scripture. The prophet Jeremiah is directed to take such a vessel, a potter's earthen bottle, and to "take of the ancients of the people, and of the ancients of the priests; And go forth unto the valley of the son of Hinnom, which is by the entry of the east gate". He is directed thus to take the vessel, in the presence of responsible witnesses, to the east gate; that is, the sun-gate, or the pottery-gate, where the potter makes his vessels in the light and heat of the sun. We have here a picture of fragile humanity brought into this world indeed as God's creatures, but as in it coming under influences which form them according to this world; the sun in this prophet as belonging to the "host of heaven" is seen as a powerful influence used by Satan to divert men from God; chapter 8:2 and 19:13. The influence that bears upon men and women in this world is such as to bring about in them the state that is indicated in this chapter. So that the scene is laid in the valley of Hinnom, one of the darkest spots, signifying the place of filth and judgment, and indeed the place of eternal torment.

How serious it is, beloved friends, to be taken, according to divine direction, by the prophet, a representative of God, accompanied by responsible witnesses -- the ancients of the people and the priests -- and to be faced with this solemn scene! Satan is deluding men and women at the present time; a lying spirit has gone forth, and lies are being formulated in many ways and through many persons, so that men and women should be darkened and

deceived as to this solemn picture. And yet the Scriptures abound with testimony as to the judgment to come. We read, indeed, of Tophet that it was "ordained of old" -- it is not accidental -- and that it was prepared for the king, for Satan, and that the judgment should be direct from God Himself; so that this awful picture of judgment is not accidental, nor is it merely because of men's guilt, it was "ordained of old". God, having foreseen the circumstances that would arise in the universe, ordained it. We read of eternal torment, the place of it -- hell -- being prepared for the devil and his angels. It is divinely designed, dear friends. This valley of Hinnom, Tophet, is but a picture of it -- a mere suggestion of it. What it suggests was designed of old, and it was designed for the king, that is to say, God had in mind the author of sin, for "the devil sinneth from the beginning". 1 John 3:8. He is a liar and a murderer, and, having come into this world, he has acquired influence over men in it; the whole race has fallen under his power; he is called the god of this world, and he is called also its prince. He is the head of it religiously, and the head of it politically. These facts have not yet come out openly, at least in these countries in which we live, but the time is fast approaching when they will come out. A man will come who shall set himself up in the temple of God, exalting himself against all called God. He will be, the direct representative of the king, of him who is the author of sin; of him who introduced it and maintains it in this world; indeed of him who has built up this world. He will embody the two features I have referred to; there will be the idea of god in him and the idea of prince. We are told that the beast and the false prophet are to be taken and cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone; and thus we know that the direct representative of Satan will be consigned to that awful place alive. A thousand years

later, Satan himself will be consigned to it; never again to have scope among men, never again to lift up his head against God and against Christ.

We have here some very solemn pictures presented to us, raising the question as to whether we shall choose to exist with the devil and his angels in that awful place. The prophet takes a potter's earthen bottle, which would be a type of each one of us, of every man and woman brought into the world, but as coming under powerful influences in this world and being formed by them, formed apart from the influence of God, and the influence of Christ; and as so formed, only fit to be broken, never to be repaired. That is a solemn fact that comes out here. It says of the vessel, "Even so will I break this people and this city, as one breaketh a potter's vessel, that cannot be made whole again"; note, it cannot be made whole again.

Such is the picture that we have in this prophecy of what man is -- a mere potter's earthen vessel, such as can be broken, and as it says elsewhere, "broken to shivers". Revelation 2:27. When the Lord Jesus comes out by and by and takes up His rights in this world, this king, for whom the judgment was ordained of old, will be arrayed against Him, but we read "as vessels of pottery are they broken in pieces"; "thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel". There is no power in man to stand up in the presence of God, yet we all have to stand in His presence, as it says, "the dead, small and great, stand before God". Revelation 20:12. And so I would speak to those who have not believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, and I would put it to you, as to whether you are prepared, in view of these awful facts, to let things drift along as they are with you? Are you prepared to drift along in the current of this world, and take your chance at the end? How can you continue for one instant on such a course? Here you are, as it were, as a tiny potter's earthen

vessel brought face to face with the very place of judgment, and you are shown the whole scene, you are warned of it, and it is pointed out what the end will be of those who have not believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. They will be broken like the potter's vessel, that can never be made whole again; they will never stand on this earth again; they will never enjoy the benefits of their Creator, but will be consigned to His eternal wrath. Are you prepared for that? You say, You are seeking to frighten people. But it is right that you should be made to feel how solemn it is to have to do with God.

God has the means by Him, not only of dealing in judgment with your tiny vessel, but with all the nations of the world. Take the nations banded together, as they will be, against God and against His Anointed; we read He will break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel; He will break them to shivers, so that there is nothing left of them. Such is the power that God has, that Christ has, connected with judgment; all judgment is in the hands of Christ; authority has been given to Him to execute judgment, because He is the Son of man. But you may be assured that, inasmuch as He is the Son of man, He is on our side; He will put off the judgment till the last moment. He is on man's side -- He is the "mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; who gave himself a ransom for all". 1 Timothy 2:5,6. He has given Himself for us; He has given Himself for all as a ransom, and He is waiting on men now to turn them aside from their folly. "Unto you, O men, I call", Proverbs 8:4. He says, and He warns you as to the wrath to come, for "wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men". Romans 1:18.

This tiny potter's vessel represents the smallest as well as the greatest amongst men. A bottle is a containing vessel; what have you contained from

God? What about the christians? The christian is also an earthen vessel; I am an earthen vessel, even an unbeliever is an earthen vessel, but my earthen vessel will not be broken in Tophet. When the believer dies, Jesus puts him to sleep. Is Jesus going to put you to sleep? I tell you that, if you are unconcerned as to the future, the devil has put you to sleep, for he has his sleeping draughts. The Lord never gives His people sleeping draughts; on the cross He Himself refused the sponge with vinegar; the believer is maintained in his senses. Satan has his drugs, his deadening things, by which he deadens men's senses so that they are unaware of what is coming. They do not feel divine displeasure; they are, as Peter says, "senseless men". 1 Peter 2:15. Has Satan been putting you to sleep? If so, you are oblivious to what there is for you, to what God proposes to you, and to what most of us here have accepted and enjoyed -- you are dead to it all. Why are you dead to it all? Why so senseless? Why so unmoved, when your relatives, and your acquaintances have been moved, and have accepted the gospel and enjoyed what it proposes? Why not you? Satan has been working with you. He has watched over you all these years since you came into the world, he has had his eye on you; he has brought influences to bear upon you that have deadened your senses. Perhaps you were at one time conscious of the reality of these things, but you have lost that consciousness, you are deadened to the overtures of God and Christ, and are quite senseless as to what we enjoy.

When the light of God enters a man's soul, it awakens him. Things he had never seen, appear to him; impressions that he had never felt, but should have, are now felt; he begins to think of God. Has the thought of God come into your soul? One said, God, be merciful to me, the sinner. What does that evidence? It evidences that the light of God had

come into that man's soul, and he felt that he had to do with God, and as a result he smote upon his breast and said, God, be merciful to me, the sinner. He is singled out; God had already singled him out, for God deals with us severally; His finger finds us and touches us. He singles you out and, as God singles you out, so you single yourself out. Instead of saying, 'God be merciful to us miserable sinners', you say, God, be merciful to me, the sinner. You discover yourself; you have found out that you are the sinner, and you are not concerned to include others. You say, God be merciful to me, the sinner; and what does the Lord say? "I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other". Luke 18:14. Would you not like to go down to your house justified today? I can tell you, on the authority of Scripture, that you may, however black your course may have been. You may be justified, not only forgiven -- yes, forgiven -- but justified. Forgiveness is a wonderful thing, but justification is greater, and the believer has both. The blackest sinner may be forgiven and justified. A justified man is a man against whom you can make no charge. He is not simply justified in regard of one offence or charge. Think of it, that the guiltiest person in the whole world may be justified -- "By him all that believe", it says, "are justified from all things", Acts 13:39. Do you wish it? Or, as I said, are you prepared to drift along as you have been, in the presence of the fact that you are portrayed here in this potter's earthen vessel brought to the pottery gate; you are in the presence of the whole of humanity, in the presence of responsible witnesses, and it is pointed out to you that there is nothing for you but Tophet, that which was "ordained of old" for the king, and of which God Himself says, "where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched". Mark 9:44,46,48.

Now in the epistle to the Romans there is the same thought of the potter introduced, but God is the

potter there, and there are vessels of mercy, and vessels of wrath. God had said, "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion" Romans 9:15, and as God thus asserts His will the question is asked, "Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?" Do you say that? Who has not resisted His will? It is not 'who has', but who has not? I know of no one who has not, except the Lord Jesus Christ. I know of no man, or woman, who has not resisted His will. We have all been guilty of it. Paul speaks of himself in this way, as a wilful man: "who before was a blasphemer and persecutor, and an insolent overbearing man"; 1 Timothy 1:13 he went forward in his own will, breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord. Did he not resist the will of God? Did he not resist the will of Christ? He did. And so has every one of us; there is not one of us who has not resisted the will of God, and yet God has met us in Christ and broken us down. Let no one say "who hath resisted his will?" for all have resisted His will. The Lord Jesus came into this world saying, "Lo, I come to do thy will, O God", Hebrews 10:9 "Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me" Hebrews 10:5 -- One who did the divine will in every movement of His heart, in every breath He breathed, in every word He spoke, in every step He took, in every act He did: He did the will of God. I invite you to contemplate Him who did the will of God. He never resisted the will of God, though that will led Him down to death in the body that He took for that very purpose; and the Scripture says, "By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once" Hebrews 10:10; God offers forgiveness to those who have been resisting His will.

Now God would meet you with, the gospel concerning His Son, concerning Him who did God's will, and

He proposes forgiveness. You need forgiveness; it is offered to you. He is ready now to take you up and form you into a vessel prepared for glory. Think of that! It is all mercy. "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us", Titus 3:5; it is according to His mercy. Who is there that can answer? "Who art thou", he says in this passage in Romans, "that repliest against God?" You have no moral title to call upon God to give you an answer; you need mercy. You are brought to the valley of the son of Hinnom, as I said; you are in the presence of the judgment. Why do you want to reply against God? What right have you to ask God questions, to ask Him to explain Himself? You want mercy; it is for you to cast yourself on the mercy of God; there is no other place for you. So it is "according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Spirit". Titus 3:5. God has the means of cleansing; there is the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, which christians can say "he shed on us abundantly". Titus 3:6.

God is merciful, and is calling on you now to submit. He is ready to make you, not a vessel broken never to be repaired, but a vessel of mercy prepared for glory. Think of such mercy. You say, Do not believers die? Not all; Enoch did not die, Elijah did not die; thousands of us are hoping that we shall be changed by the power of Christ, that we shall be changed and caught up to be with Him for ever. We are not afraid of Tophet, although it was ordained of old, but we bring the testimony of it before you at this time, and warn you in regard of it; and also we would bring you to the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, and show you from the Scriptures how He bore the penalty that lay upon man, and how forgiveness is consequently offered to you now; and that on the simple principle of faith, all is yours -- forgiveness,

justification, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and everlasting life.

But then, what about your earthen vessel? Paul says about his, "we have this treasure in earthen vessels", 2 Corinthians 4:7 for believers are containing vessels. The epistle to the Romans shows how the believer is brought to the idea of a vessel; he presents his body to God a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable -- as a vessel. God has in every believer a vessel. What kind of vessel? It is an earthen vessel, sure enough, but, taking the believer as a whole -- spirit, soul, and body -- he is a vessel of mercy fitted for glory. You may look at us, and say, You are not much different from us, and you die like others. Christians do not die like others, nor do they live like others. I have seen christians' death beds, and they do not die like others. They die in light, they die in love, they die rejoicing, and full of hope; in other words, they are put to sleep through Jesus. Jesus is by them. The pitcher is not broken, never to be repaired. "We know that if our earthly house ... were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens". 2 Corinthians 5:1. What a prospect! If you are an unbeliever and in your sins, you have not got that; you are just this potter's earthen bottle capable of being broken in the valley of Tophet, never again to be repaired, "that cannot be made whole again". Having passed out of the world by way of death, you will never stand on earth again, never will you contain anything of God, or enjoy any of His benefits; you will be a vessel of wrath fitted to destruction. Why? Because you resisted the will of God. The will of God now is that you should be saved, for our Saviour God desires that all men should be saved; He desires that you should submit to Christ, that you should bow and acknowledge yourself a guilty sinner, and say, God be merciful to me, the sinner; then God will take you up. I can tell

you from experience, I can tell you from the Scriptures, that God will take you up from that moment and make you a vessel of mercy prepared for glory. Think of being prepared for glory! We believers will come out with Jesus presently; when the Christ, the One by whom God is doing everything for His glory, when that great Person comes out from heaven, we shall come out with Him -- every one of us. "When the Christ is manifested who is our life, then shall ye also be manifested with him in glory", Colossians 3:4. Will there be any disparity between us? No, we shall be like Christ -- each one -- a vessel of mercy prepared for glory. We shall be containing vessels, not one of us will be empty; and so, I would say to believers, acquire the habit now of being filled. The Holy Spirit having come in, fills us; for the idea is that we are containing vessels -- containing the very greatest thing, the treasure -- and we shall come out by and by as containing vessels in the aggregate; we shall be the heavenly city, which is said indeed to have the glory of God. It comes down from God out of heaven, having the glory of God -- truly a vessel of mercy prepared for glory.

Then there is just one other thought that Jeremiah gives us in regard of an earthen vessel, corresponding with a believer; chapter 32:6 - 15. The evidences of the purchase of the field by Jeremiah, which Jehovah charged him to purchase, are put into an earthen vessel (Jeremiah 32:14); for the testimony is to be continued for a long time. There was that which was the open evidence of the purchase, and there was the sealed evidence, and these were put into an earthen vessel. And so it is, that God having taken us up in mercy and filled us, we are the repositories of the very greatest thing -- the testimony to redemption is cherished in our hearts, and we love to speak of it, and bring it forward. There is in the Holy Spirit here a testimony to accomplished redemption, and hence we

can preach to you, having the evidence of the purchase in our possession. Jesus gave Himself, and the Holy Spirit is a witness to us, a witness in us indeed, that the purchase has been made -- that He has given Himself. So it is for everyone to avail himself of it, of "the redemption which is in Christ Jesus". Romans 3:24. The righteousness of God is towards all and upon all those who believe. May God help us all to believe, and to have part in the purchase, to be "the purchased possession", Ephesians 1:14 those who are redeemed "with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot". 1 Peter 1:19.

"THE BLESSING OF ABRAHAM"

Galatians 3:6 - 9; Luke 19:1 - 10

It is said of Abraham, in Galatians 3, that the gospel was preached to him by the Scriptures, and it is also said of him that he is "heir of the world", Romans 4:13. We read also concerning Noah that he "became heir of the righteousness which is by faith". Hebrews 11:6. We may all become heirs of this, and for the sinner there could be no greater inheritance than the righteousness which is by faith. If you are an unforgiven sinner, and you are convicted, it will be interesting to you to know about this righteousness, the righteousness which is by faith. It is for you to claim it and to appropriate and apply it. It will bring relief to your conscience. Later you will find that you are heir to other things, but you now need this inheritance sorely. Not only is there an inheritance of righteousness which is by faith, but God takes great pains to let it be known, not only by informing people, but by commissioning men to preach it. Noah was "a preacher of righteousness", 2 Peter 2:5 he preached it in dark days. Righteousness is being preached now, God having fitted men to preach so that it should be forced home upon the needy, for there is power in preaching. Preaching is not merely informing you of things; it does, of course, impart information, but there is divinely given force in the preaching, indeed it is said that it is "preached ... with the Holy Spirit sent down from heaven". 1 Peter 1:12. There is a divine commission behind it. There is power in what is preached by the Holy Spirit. If you have a needy, convicted conscience, the Spirit would give you to know, as He can, that this inheritance is yours, that is righteousness not by works, but by faith.

Now, following on Noah, Abraham is said to be heir of the world, and believers, according to Galatians, are his sons, as it is stated in the passage, "Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children (sons) of Abraham", and again, "So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful (or believing) Abraham". Thus you see that you are brought into good company in taking up this inheritance. Abraham is only used conveniently in this scripture to bring the gospel close to us, and so we are told at the end of the chapter that "if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise". Galatians 3:29. Abraham is thus brought in by the Spirit of God to bring the gospel down to us and simplify it, so that we might appropriate it and understand what a company we are brought into, as blessed with such a man as Abraham.

Now Abraham is portrayed by the Spirit of God in the gospel narrative, of Luke 16, as speaking to a man in hades. God takes up this remarkable personage so as to aid men in believing the gospel, and escaping the punishment that is meted out to those who reject it. You will remember the Lord's vivid parable of hades, the place to which the "rich man" Luke 16:19 went when he died. No unbeliever can ignore the fact that death is staring him in the face. We christians, of course, are expecting, not death, but the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ from heaven, as we are told. It is the hope of our hearts, but if in the meantime we do die, the Lord Jesus has to say to the death of each, and He takes us to Himself, for as absent from the body we are present with the Lord; 2 Corinthians 5:8. In the parable to which I have referred, Abraham's bosom, into which Lazarus is carried by the angels, symbolises this truth. Lazarus is seen in Abraham's bosom. Having died, he is attended by angels, those mighty beings that were created before men, servants of God from the outset. When the foundations of the

earth were laid angels were there. Now they are employed, according to the Lord's own words, in carrying this departed saint into the bosom of Abraham. It is a parable, and Abraham is used by the Spirit of God, and by the Lord Himself, to bring the truth home to us and make it simple. What a privilege belongs to christians when departing this life, or, as the Spirit of God would say, of them "which sleep in Jesus", 1 Thessalonians 4:14 that means, falling asleep through Jesus. The Lord does it. He has to do with the closing of the eyes of the christian. This is a blessed sleep indeed. When the Lord comes the christians alive on the earth will be changed and caught up with the saints raised from the dead, to be for ever with Him. Lazarus is borne by angels into Abraham's bosom. He is received there.

It is also of interest to note that Abraham is conversant with the Pentateuch, for he speaks about Moses, although he died years before Moses was born. Such is God's way, for when we come to God in the gospel we come to the God of the living, and all live to Him. We are dealing with a living state of things. As the Lord Jesus said, that God is the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, and all live for Him; Luke 20:38. Viewed in that way Abraham is living for God, and God is pleased to use him as in the realm of the departed to symbolise the place of blessing, "the bosom of Abraham", Luke 16:22 a remarkable expression. We can understand, dear friends, that it could not be literal; it indicates the place of blessedness, which is the portion of those who have fallen asleep through Jesus. It is God's way to come down to our minds and feelings, and to show how we are cared for as believers with believing Abraham, for indeed we are his sons. This is set forth in the parable, for Lazarus had that place, but we christians realise that we are sons of God. This is a much greater thought, but still God comes down to

us and makes things simple. If anyone here is a believer in Jesus, however feeble he may be, and he dies, or 'falls asleep', the Lord Jesus has to do with that.

On the other hand, the rich man could speak to Abraham. What a picture the Lord gives us there! Is there one here who does not trust in Jesus, who fails to join with believing Abraham in believing in the Lord Jesus? What will happen if you die? Jesus will not close your eyes, nor will angels have to do with you either. You may have a burial here, and you will doubtless have mourners, men will speak well of you possibly, but there will be no attention from heaven. "In hades" the rich man, "lifting up his eyes, being in torments, he sees Abraham afar off" Luke 16:23 -- understand this is not the hell of the damned, the final place, the lake of fire, it is a provisional place, but still a place of suffering; let no one be infidel about this. These are the words of Jesus, and to reject the parable of Luke 16 is to reject the words of Jesus and make Him a liar. Think of that! -- and men do it.

The Lord tells us that the rich man lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and he spoke to Abraham. Lazarus is seen in the bosom of Abraham, as if God would bring the redeemed who are in comfort into the view of condemned unbelievers who are in suffering, though there is a great gulf between them. A conversation is carried on. You can understand this is not final, for there is no such thing as a conversation between the saved and the unsaved in the eternal place of punishment. This is a provisional state of things to bring the position vividly before us, so that we should not be foolish and reject the gospel and thus find ourselves in company with that sufferer. He begged Abraham to send Lazarus to him, but Abraham said, No, there is no possibility of that. He is perfectly conversant with the whole position, and

he can answer the man who refers to his relatives here on earth. He begs him to send to his brothers who were yet alive on the earth, but Abraham says, "If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead". How conversant he was with the truth, and how he would bring it home to us, beloved friends, that unless we believe the Scriptures today, the same doom will be ours.

I now speak a little about Abraham being heir of the world. As heir of the world he has a great outlook, and we may place ourselves beside him. When God spoke to him according to Genesis, He showed Abraham that he was to be heir of the world. Those words are not found in Genesis, they are in Romans 4, but their substance is in Genesis, and Jehovah said to him, "in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed". Genesis 12:3.

Suppose you had been alongside of Abraham at that time, what an outlook would have been yours! What an outlook he had! We learn that he prayed for the nations. God said to Abimelech, the Philistine king, "he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee" Genesis 20:7; that was his position. In other words Abraham represents the world in reconciliation, for God is looking at it in relation to Abraham. He says, I am going to bless the world in you, so that we get an outlook of grace in placing ourselves alongside of Abraham in the book of Genesis, and the scriptures say of him, "In thee shall all nations be blessed". Now that is the world in reconciliation, and it is in that way that Abraham is taken up in the New Testament, because he represents such a great thought, a thought that is very little taken into account, that the world is now in reconciliation; Romans 11:15.

Well, someone may say, Does not the Lord say, "Now is the judgment of this world"? John 12:31. Yes, but the Spirit of God says later that the casting away of the

Jews means the reconciliation of the world, so that the Lord evidently meant the Jewish world. The apostle Paul speaks of the gentile world, and says that the world has come into reconciliation because of the casting away of God's ancient people. We are in a wonderful time, and hence I would enlist your interest in Abraham, that you might see how God speaks to you in relation to him, and presents the gospel so that you might see that we come into sonship through it. We come into sonship in this great personage who is heir of the world. All that, of course, comes down to Christ, He is Son of Abraham, and as Son of Abraham He is heir of the world. He is heir of all things, but God is pleased to occupy us with Abraham so as to simplify the matter, and to show how He will bless us. He blesses us with believing Abraham. We christians here take up that attitude; we are blessed with believing Abraham.

Now I come to Luke to show you how these sons of Abraham are brought in. We have a daughter of Abraham in chapter 13:16, and John the baptist says to the Jews in chapter 3:8, that God can raise up from these stones children to Abraham. He could do that, so that in the gospel of Luke we are introduced at once to Abraham, and to the purpose of God as to him, and the power of God to raise up children to him, even out of stones. It is a question of God's ability, a very great thought in the gospel, what God can do, and I am here to present what He can do for the hardest heart in this world. God forbid that your heart should be hard. I have no difficulty in preaching to believers, I get on better with them, for normally their hearts are tender, but if you are an unbeliever, God can do great things even with your hard heart. God says to Jeremiah, "Is not my word ... like a hammer, that breaketh the rock in pieces?" Jeremiah 23:29. God can do that; He can raise up

children to Abraham even from stones. He does it in affecting our hearts, and I want to show you from Luke's gospel how He does it. Luke knew that there were hard hearts. What hard-hearted people were abroad in the gentile world, and what hard-hearted people there are today. I do not believe there ever was a time when the soil was harder than it is now. Apostate soil is hard, and that is the governing spirit at this moment throughout christendom; so the word is "harden not your hearts", Hebrews 3:8. The fact that you are ready to listen encourages us to believe that there is some little softening. It may be that God has taken away a loved one. He uses that to soften our hearts and seizes the softened time to speak to us, and to embrace us. It may be some other kind of sorrow, for God uses many sorrows to soften our hearts, and so the word is "harden not". If there be any little softening of heart under the governmental dealings of God, do not allow the hardening process to be resumed, "harden not" your heart, retain that bit of softness. God is seeking to bless you, and He would make something out of that hard heart of yours, He can turn a stone into a child of Abraham. In chapter 13 of Luke's gospel we read of a woman who had been bent together by Satan. Eighteen years earlier Satan had had to do with her -- he had bound her. We are told that he goes about like a roaring lion. I do not say that her heart was hardened, but I do say that the devil had something to do with her, and it is he who hardens hearts. If there is a little bit of faith in our hearts God shelters us, but perhaps will is at work. Some young person turns away from the authority of a mother or a father and takes her own way. The devil is waiting for such. The Lord says of this woman that eighteen years before she was bound by Satan. She must have been comparatively young then. We are not told how old she was,

but eighteen years is a considerable period, and the Lord goes back over those years, and, looking at that woman, He says, "Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years". Luke 13:16. As I said, she may have been young, and drifted away, taking her own way, and Satan laid in wait and bent her over. He damaged her, and the damage remained up to that moment. Maybe you are like that.

I often refer to this woman, for she is a very striking example of Satan's work. People come under his influence through their own wills, unquestionably. God lifts His hand and the devil is ready to attack. Eighteen years ago! It is possible that you may be aware of something that happened years back. It has never been settled, and you have never been able to pray since, never been able to look up to God. You have never confessed that guilt, and there you are like a cow or a sheep, looking down instead of looking up; no place in the christian company, unable to pray, unable to sing praises to God. Satan has done that, and it is not undone yet, whereas the Son of God has come, as John says, "to undo the works of the devil". 1 John 3:8. He is ready now by the gospel to undo that work, whatever it may be. Whether it be a year ago, or two, or three, or four, or eighteen, the Lord is here to undo what the devil did, and straighten you out, so that you might look up and join the saints, join with believing Abraham as one of his sons or daughters, as the Lord says, she is "a daughter of Abraham" Luke 13:16. He said that of this woman as straightened out. God says of Abraham that he commanded his house and his children after him to do judgment and justice. God will have a world with people like that, and the Son of God is ready through the gospel to straighten you out. Perhaps you have had to do with the devil and have come under his influence, and the matter has never been settled. The Lord is ready to help you; to

straighten the matter out so that you may look up to Him in faith.

Then there is the son of Abraham, of whom we read in Luke 19, and I want especially to speak about him, that is Zacchaeus. The Lord takes special interest in this man. One loves to notice any particular movement of the Lord. He called the woman to Him, and He said, "Thou art loosed from thine infirmity". Luke 13:12. That was a matter of words. In the case of this "son of Abraham", the Lord takes great pains with him. It may be that there is someone here like that. The Lord has taken much trouble with you, and there has been no definite result so far. In this gospel we find that the first mention of Simon Peter is that the Lord entered into his house; Luke 4:38. His wife's mother was sick of a fever, and the Lord stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her, but it did not appear to have any effect upon Peter. The Lord had come very near to him. He had come into Peter's house, and performed this wonderful cure on his mother-in-law, changing the whole atmosphere in that house. It must have been an uncomfortable house. There are today, alas, great domestic disturbances, even among the people of God, and the service of God is hindered by these disturbances. The Lord took great pains with Peter's mother-in-law. He went into the house and, standing over her, healed her, and she arose and served, causing great change in the house, and yet apparently Peter was not affected. Is your case like that?

The next point in connection with Peter, is that the Lord entered into his business affairs. He has His eye on you, and if you are in the purpose of God, He will have you. If He cannot affect you in domestic affairs, He will enter into your commercial matters. The Lord had great interest in Peter, and in entering into his business affairs -- taking his boat and using it -- He secured him. What joy there was in heaven

as the skill of the Lord secured that man! Some persons would detach their business from their christianity. The Lord says, No, you cannot do that, I will come into your business if you are not right. It was by this means that He secured Peter.

So it is with Zacchaeus, the Lord takes much trouble with him. Jesus passed through Jericho, and Zacchaeus wished to see Him, and he could not. He was the chief tax-gatherer, a notorious man, as we understand such officials were. Every person in the surroundings branded that man as a sinner. That was his reputation, he was the subject of general resentment, and the Lord knew that. It is not so where the gospel is preached; there is no such atmosphere as that in a company of christians. I always regard these gospel meetings as a great advantage. Persons seeking help from the Lord have the advantage of an excellent and sympathetic atmosphere, but concerning Zacchaeus they all pointed him out as a sinner, and murmured that the Lord "was gone to be guest" with such a man. But the Lord knew. The Lord would have His man -- a chief tax-gatherer; he was rich, and he was little, but he had a desire in his heart that the surrounding crowd did not know of, and possibly that is going on with you. In spite of the bad feelings there may be against you, or the hard judgment about you, you have in your heart a desire to know who the Lord Jesus is. Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus, "who he was", mark you, or who He is, for what He was He is. The Lord knows what is going on in your heart. Satan did not put into this man's mind the desire to know Jesus, who He was; no! he did not do that. Satan had no transaction with this man as he had with the woman. On the contrary, God had had to do with him, and that is what is so comforting about such meetings as this. In many instances God works beforehand with persons that attend them; the seed

is already in their souls; something has happened before, but the transaction was God's not the devil's. The crowd did not know of this in Zacchaeus' case, but the Lord knew. The Spirit of God says that he ran before the Lord and got up into a sycamore tree. He wanted to see Jesus, who He was. Is there anyone here like that, with a desire to know who Jesus is? This is really one of the leading difficulties at the present time. Who is He? God had had to do with that man before. Satan would never suggest it to him, or put it into his mind that he should know who Jesus is. He would turn him away and occupy him with politics, or business, but he would never occupy him with Jesus, whereas he was occupied with Jesus, however vaguely. He had the desire in his mind to know about Jesus, and the Lord saw to it that he should know. He says, I will see to it that you will know. I say that for your encouragement. This meeting is that you should know. The Lord knows what is in your heart, and His desire is that you should know "who he is". Zacchaeus went on and got up into the tree, and the Lord moved on to the spot where he was.

You will notice that the scripture says, "when Jesus came to the place he looked up". He ought not to have needed to look up, the Lord should never have to look up to a creature, but He does it in grace. Perhaps some of us have a little status in this world, a little money, ancestry, learning, or whatever it may be; we think ourselves big, and perhaps we would have the Lord look up to us! We may expect the most spiritual man on earth to look up to us; but that should not be. Naaman, the Syrian, expected Elisha to recognise his greatness, but he did not. God is a God of measure, and His measure is a spiritual one, and no spiritual man should have to look up to an unspiritual man, however great he is in this world, but in grace the Lord did look up. Luke

says, "most excellent Theophilus", Luke 1:3 but that is grace. You cannot conceive of Luke saying that to any nobleman by and by, but in this setting and in the time of grace we must not allow anything to hinder us in reaching needy souls. The Lord looked up when He came to the place, He did not turn away from the tree because that man ran up there. He came to the place, and He said, "Zacchaeus". It is most touching. He knew his name. All the crowd thought that the man was a sinner, but not only is he in the Lord's mind, but the Lord knew there was something going on within him that was changing his texture, so to speak, and He was going to finish that work. This meeting is in order that He might finish what He has begun. Some of us remain unfinished, we do not go on, but the Lord intended to continue the work, and He said, "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down", and he did. It was not a command merely, but the Lord added a premium to it; He says, "today I must abide at thy house", not simply, I will look in, but I will stay. It is His intention to get this man. He went to Calvary, into death, to secure him, He suffered on the cross to this end. Paul said, "the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me". Galatians 2:20. The same could be said by Zacchaeus, and doubtless was said many a time afterwards. Every son of Abraham will glorify Jesus and love Jesus, for Jesus is Heir to everything. What belonged to Abraham and to David belongs to Jesus.

The Lord is bent on securing this man, and He says, "I must abide at thy house". The murmurers say, "He was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner". Never mind what people say, if faith is operative in you. The Lord knows what is in your heart and that you really want to know Him; He is ready to make Himself known to you. He went into death to make Himself known, and He surely does it in detail. Zacchaeus came down quickly. Let me

appeal to anyone here who is hesitating. Do not delay another moment. Zacchaeus did not, he came down quickly, and he was in his house before the Lord arrived, we might say, to receive Him gladly. How beautiful that is! It gives joy to the Lord. If you receive the Lord into your heart now it will be a joy to Him. Do not delay. I believe the Lord was peculiarly glad with the kind of reception He got; he "received him gladly". Unlike Martha, for on the first visit to Martha's house there was no gladness, no reception. The Lord must have been uncomfortable in Martha's house, but not so in the house of Zacchaeus. He said, "I must abide at thy house". The Lord comes into our hearts to stay. He is to remain there, it is His home surely, it belongs to Him, "ye in me, and I in you". John 14:20. "Christ in you the hope of glory". Colossians 1:27. Is it too much to say that? Not at all, it is the gospel. The Lord is ready to enter and to remain there, and then to make known to you all the glories that belong to you. Zacchaeus speaks with great respect and reverence. He says, "If I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold". He speaks now as a son of Abraham, that is, he speaks righteously; every son of Abraham must be righteous, so that he establishes his righteousness and the Lord says, he is a son of Abraham. "This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost". May God bless this word in the gospel.

MINISTRY FOR THE YOUNG

(Copy of reply to a letter on this subject.)

As regards ministry for the young, it seems to me that Scripture warrants it. But it is not seen as a separate department, so to speak. He who made God known took little children in His arms, and Paul fed the Corinthians with milk as unable for meat, and John writes to little children as distinct from fathers and young men. Peter urges that those he addressed should desire the pure mental milk of the word so as to grow by it. Thus the same person ministers to old and young. It is a question therefore of discerning what is needed, and hence spirituality is essential if young people are to be properly served.

As you say, 'young people are especially exposed to the wicked doctrines and views of modernism'; and this should be borne in mind in what is set before them, that is, 'meal' is to be put into the pot to counteract the poison. What they are to be fed with is Christ, and, of course, He is the food for old christians also, so that all eat the same spiritual food; but there is the 'milk' and the 'meat', and those who serve must know how to differentiate both as to the state of those he serves, and the food he has to present. The "household" Matthew 24:45, including all grades, has to be provided for, and it is obvious that the "prudent bondman" will not set before the babes the same food (although all may use milk) that he sets before the full-grown. The same bondman provides for all, and this agrees with what I said above.

Thus it is clear that the great thought of the house, or household, should always be in view in ministry, and if young ones are to be fed, what they can eat and assimilate must be given them, and not what is beyond their digestive capacity.

Ministry -- or meetings specially for young people -- is really a matter of levitical wisdom, and the true levite will not fail to keep the household of God, the assembly, in view in all he does; he will impress on his hearers that they belong to it, or that it is in view for them, and that he is seeking to get down to their range of understanding (an important matter) in what he is saying, so as to lead them into "greater things". Thus they will hear and ask questions and have understanding and answers; Luke 2.

I trust these remarks will be of some service to you.

(Signed) J.T.

CLEANSING

John 13:2 - 11; 1 Kings 7:23 - 39

These scriptures deal with the thought of cleansing, which may be considered as a great service. However spiritual we may be and apparently free from all blame, the need of cleansing is constant. The passage in John 13 furnishes us with the full spiritual thought involved in the Old Testament scripture and stands at the threshold of the house. The Lord in the succeeding chapters is furnishing instruction for us as to the Father and our part with Him in relation to the Father, and so the section in 1 Kings helps to amplify the truth of John 13 because it shows how much water there is, how plenteous it is. The lavers are portable, so much is made of the bases of the lavers. It may be helpful to consider it because it has in view those of us who would use water to help others. The sea is that each might help himself, cleanse himself from all filthiness; the sea is stationary whereas the lavers are portable, having wheels.

You will observe that the sea is a large containing vessel that held 2,000 baths, suggesting the plenteousness of the water. It is on the right side of the house over against the south, it would be where it would be needed. It is said elsewhere that the priests washed in it. Sometimes God has to allow things to happen to remind us of the need of carefulness, the need of washing is always present. The sea means there is plenty of water for us to be used.

Attention is called in John 10 to the place where John was baptising at the first. The Lord went there where John baptised first, and many believed on Him there. I suppose the waters of Jordan are the best waters, there was much water elsewhere but where He baptised first the water was running. In

John 13 the Lord brought water to them; wonderful grace that He should go on round the table carrying the basin all round. You may say, 'nobody comes to visit me', that means you are complaining, it does not excuse the brethren, but you are complaining and overlooking that there is the sea you can go to yourself, plenty of it. 'Having wheels' -- whilst you carry the water in love to a person who needs cleansing the element of judgment is with you, if you do not bring the 'brass' with you you will not help them. This water should only be used by clean persons in one sense, it is not for the sinner, but for the christian. We have to learn everything from the Lord. The Lord after He served sat down, "as I have done unto you" John 13:15 -- it is example. First the sea is to be considered, abundance of water so that no one should assume to be unwashed or complain that the brethren are not helping, the water is there for yourself, plenty of it. When we come to the antitype the supply is infinite. The idea of the water is always present whether we are together or not. The water is for moral cleansing, there is no idea of its ever running short, it is infinite. The water is the moral side that one is purified in oneself from the influence of sin, there is constant need of it. The blood is applied once, it relieves the conscience, cleansing us from all sin, but the need of washing is constant. In 1 Kings you get a much greater description of these vessels than in Chronicles. Here it is typically the whole heavenly system with which we are connected, great stress is laid on building. Much is made of the house of God and what is inside it, specially the folding doors, as if we are reminded that God will have us near to Him; so He gives these instructions about the sea and the lavers. A christian should not be at a distance for want of water, there should be no stain upon us that would rob God. The wonderful patience in the divine system is borne

witness to in the oxen bearing the thing day and night. All is borne up by divine patience. The whole divine system is marked by that, God waiting on us, providing for us. The "Rock that followed them ... was Christ". 1 Corinthians 10:4.

Naaman's servants helped him to get down from his high horse. He wisely came to it and used the water as it was, the most effective waters for cleansing. Naaman's washing is more general than that we are dealing with; rather more the water in John 13.

There is enough to cleanse the universe but the application here is to a people who draw near to God. If we do not draw near to God we do not come into contact with these vessels at all. The idea is that in all our approach, whether personally or in serving, there is the need of the application of the water, however spiritual we may be, it must be constant. God is the judge of all, no one can escape that. "Our God is a consuming fire". Hebrews 12:29. The Father judges no one, for that name gives more the side of grace and privilege. The type in Kings is so helpful, there is so much water, it is for all, the most spiritual have to wash. If you are a priest you will wash in the sea, you will not expect the brethren to do it for you. It is a large vessel, not a common thing, it is ten cubits from brim to brim, and five cubits high. This is no ordinary matter, it is a wonderful vessel and one that requires energy to get to. Ten always involves responsibility. 1 Kings 7:24 speaks of the ornamentation, denoting the power of life attached to this service; there is great moral elevation and beauty attached to it.

There were lions, oxen and cherubim in the construction of these vessels. The lion turns not away from any; if you go to a brother to help him you are apt to be timid. The cherubim is the well-known figure of the government of God -- I am here in relation to the government of God. Then the palm trees would

mean that you gain the victory. One finds in oneself a want of courage in speaking to the brethren, not in public but in private. "The righteous are bold as a lion". Proverbs 28:1. The brass would mean the judgment of God has been executed in the death of Jesus. If you are in accord with the brass you show you are judging yourself and then you can be bold.

In 1 Kings we are in the presence of the great heavenly system of things; things are on a much wider scale. The tabernacle is a question of getting through, it is not the full thought of God in the wilderness, but provisional and therefore much more reduced. There was no cedar in it, only shittim wood, a wilderness thought. Here you have the cedar and all the great woods, it is a question of dignity as well as approach to God. When you have a fixed state of things which the temple means, you have largeness. Whilst we may have outward order we may be neglectful of the cleansing side. "If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me". Although right outwardly we may be wanting inwardly as to this service and thus miss the enjoyment of our great privilege in the assembly of part with Christ. God is patiently reminding us of the sea so that you may never draw nigh to Him apart from the use of it. "Bodies washed with pure water". Hebrews 10:22. It can only be understood spiritually. It is the death of Christ maintained in spiritual power and reality among the people of God..

THE RICHNESS OF THE LAND

Deuteronomy 8:7 - 10; Deuteronomy 10:5 - 9; Colossians 2:1 - 4,8 - 10

These scriptures speak of the richness of that into which we are brought, namely, the land, the word 'land' being used seven times in those verses in chapter 8 to call attention to the richness, the wealth, of that into which we are brought, not that into which we shall be brought merely, but that into which we are brought, for the land typifies our present portion. It is not exactly a type of heaven literally, that into which we shall be brought when the Lord descends from heaven, as we are told, and raises the saints from the dead, from sleeping, and changes us who are alive and remain; the land of promise is rather what we are brought into now, something to be understood, a place of great richness, a land which requires no imports. No nation in the world can be spoken of in this way, scarcely any nation, if any, is independent of the products of other nations. Our land is, as I hope to show in detail; there is no need of importations of commodities.

Now, in speaking thus, it is but right morally that I should refer to the one who tells us these things, for the Spirit of God loves to enhance in our eyes the vessels He uses, that we may have them in esteem if they be living, and hold them in reverential memory if they be gone; we are to remember them -- "Remember your leaders", Hebrews 13:7 whose faith we are to follow. Moses, in a sense, is unique in this respect, whether we view him typically or personally, for the Spirit of God presents him to us in this double way, what he was personally and what he was typically. Scarcely anyone in the Old Testament more agrees personally with what he was typically and officially than Moses does -- faithful, as we are told, in all God's house, one

of whom Stephen, in his address, says, "This is he who was in the assembly in the wilderness", Acts 7:38. For forty years he bore with the manners of Israel in an adverse scene, a provocative scene, for the wilderness is provocative of our proclivities, it tends to irritation and complaint and revolt, even apostasy; hence the tribute to Moses, he was in the assembly in the wilderness, and retained his freshness and sympathies and love until the last moment of his life of 120 years. This book is written when he was about to die, and it is perhaps a fact unparalleled that he could write such a book, as you will observe the date given in chapter 1:3, "in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first of the month, that Moses spoke to the children of Israel, according to all that Jehovah had given him in command to them" Deuteronomy 1:3 -- he spoke according to orders. It is not here the oft-repeated, "The Lord spake unto Moses, saying ..." -- it is the general outline of all that the Lord had commanded him to give unto them, in the eleventh month of the fortieth year -- as I apprehend, the last month of his life. What a man he was! and what an example for elder brethren, to retain all that they have received in their ministries from the outset, so as to bring it forward as needed at the end; nothing to recall, nothing to cancel, all pervaded by the true spirit of ministry to the saints, so that his speech remained to distil as the dew, it came down as the small rain at 119 years and 11 months. We may well take note of this, dear brethren, so that the elder may not discourage the younger, but rather enhance the ministry, enhance christianity indeed in themselves, in their own enjoyment of it; unsullied in their appreciation of what they have received from the Lord in earlier days, able to review it to the end, as the apostle Paul alludes to himself, "being such an one as Paul the aged", Philemon 9 simply such an one as Paul the apostle -- he was that in surprising

degree, as he tells us, nothing behind the chiefest -- "laboured more abundantly than they all", 1 Corinthians 15:10 he says, and so he addresses a beloved brother, "being such an one", he says, "as Paul the aged". No allusion to any decrepitude of old age, for that could but discredit him, but "being such an one", he retained his freshness and affection such as had always been manifested in him.

Well now, thus are Moses in the Old Testament, and Paul in the New, examples for elder brethren to encourage forward the younger. Moses knew he was about to depart, for honoured servants are not taken by surprise if dissolution come, he was apprised beforehand indeed by Jehovah; and buried honourably, no one had such a burial as Moses, as we may say, God Himself was the undertaker, speaking reverently -- dug his grave, I suppose; Jehovah buried him, no one knows where -- such is the honour conferred on this great servant. We may well listen to him, especially young ones, listen to his description of the Land.

One is reminded of the gospel of Luke; it is a peculiarly buoyant gospel, indeed to be evangelical we must be buoyant, or we shall discredit the gospel -- dolefulness ill-becomes a preacher of the gospel. Luke 15 is, I suppose, one of the best known scriptures, and one of its leading features is buoyancy: the shepherd rejoicing and calling others into the joy; the woman who lost the silver piece finding it, rejoicing, and calling others into the joy; the father of the prodigal rejoicing -- others brought into it -- "It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad". Luke 15:32. And this is merry-making, as it were, that is to continue, for the house is turned into a dancing hall, God, by His Spirit, graciously coming down to the thoughts of young believers to wean them away from the world's spheres of pleasure, to show how infinitely greater is the pleasure proposed in the gospel --

pleasures for evermore. "As well the singers as the dancers shall say, All my springs are in thee" Psalm 87:7, that is to say, in the sphere of the pleasure -- Zion, the place of it. Barzillai had no taste for it, a warning to old brothers and sisters -- lover of Christ indeed, lover of David, for he maintained him in the wilderness the other side of the Jordan and came over the Jordan with him, but returned back. He had grown too old, he said, for such enjoyment -- what will he do in heaven? He will have to change his mind -- no doubt he has. We have to anticipate, dear brethren, and not to come short now of what we anticipate; to show that what we anticipate is real, that we have the earnest of it, the Holy Spirit is the earnest of the inheritance. So that, when we go to heaven, there shall be no great change -- there should not be. 'There no stranger-God shall meet thee' (Hymn 76) -- that heavenly scene, heaven literally, I mean, surely should not be strange to us. Beyond anything perhaps we may have anticipated, but in character what we anticipate, for we anticipate what we enjoy in principle now by the earnest; hence the music and the dancing. The elder brother had no interest in it at all, he was in the field, his heart full of envy, marked by inability to take in that holy scene of love. The word 'dancing', as I said before, is God graciously using a human term to win our hearts, to show us that He has everything the world can give, but in an infinitely superior way and of an infinitely superior kind. David is the leader in this kind of thing, dancing with all his might, but clothed with a linen ephod, he was perfectly sober, although you might say, in another sense, beside himself, but he knew what he was doing, the linen ephod means priestly sobriety -- I know what I am doing; like the elders in Revelation, I always give an account of what I am doing, I know what I am doing, I give the reason for it. That is the sort of thing that begins

now with full-grown people, and Deuteronomy contemplates such, it contemplates growth; we are at the confines of Canaan and we see the great servant with all his feelings and affections, and chapter after chapter brings before us the wealth of the land, but, on the other hand, warning us as to what prevents its enjoyment.

And so these four verses in chapter 8, perhaps more than any others in the book, depict this wealth, this wealthy land, the word, as I said, being used seven times, so as to fix our minds upon it. It is not a shifting scene, it is not the sands of the desert, it is this land, it is a fixed thing; and so he says to us, "Jehovah thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of waterbrooks, of springs, and of deep waters, that gush forth in the valleys and hills; a land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig-trees, and pomegranates; a land of olive trees and honey, a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness; where thou shalt lack nothing; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose mountains thou wilt dig copper. And thou shalt eat and be filled, and shalt bless Jehovah thy God for the good land which he hath given thee". You will see here, dear brethren, that spiritually there is no need of any importation, in that land we are sustained, self-sustained. The epistle to the Colossians is intended to preclude importations, telling us that there is no need of them -- philosophy and vain deceit -- no need of them -- very appealing as they are to the modernist, the scientific man. All the creeds of christendom are, in some measure, leavened with philosophy; Colossians is to preclude all that, it is simply foreign merchandise, so to speak, which is utterly unneeded in the land. The apostle says, "I would have you know what combat I have for you ... and as many as have not seen my face in flesh". Colossians 2:1. One would be comforted with the thought that, in a generous way like the Lord Himself, the

apostle looked down the history of the assembly, and included ourselves; certainly the Lord did; "them also which shall believe on me through their word" John 17:20 were included in His prayer. The apostle says, 'I combat for you'. What is needed in this respect, dear brethren, is, as it says, that your "hearts may be encouraged, being united together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the full knowledge of the mystery of God; in which are hid all the treasures of wisdom and of knowledge" -- hidden from the gaze of the natural man, but to be entered into and enjoyed by us who believe, for whom he prayed. They are enjoyed in a certain practical state amongst us, a state of affection, a knitting together in love, and an understanding of the mystery of God in which is hid all these things, the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Wisdom and knowledge are stressed because of the danger that beset these christians, the insidious character of human wisdom and knowledge, "philosophy", as it says, "and vain deceit". 'Now', he says, 'you do not need those things'. He said that so that they should not be deceived; that is, he reminds them of his prayer for them, and all the treasures, "all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" -- all of them. The greatest Greek knew nothing of these things, they belong to the hidden wisdom, beloved brethren, "which God had predetermined before the ages for our glory" -- think of that -- "our glory". "Things which eye has not seen, and ear not heard, and which have not come into man's heart, which God has prepared for them that love him, but God has revealed to us by his Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God", 1 Corinthians 2:9,10. This is what is in mind.

Now, having referred to Colossians, I just dwell for a moment on these elements or products of the land so that we may have them before us, knowing them

and enjoying them, becoming rigidly exclusive of all else because of them, because of their sufficiency, because of the variety of them, furnishing us fully, as the apostle further says, "ye are complete in him". In whom? In Christ. Who is Christ in Colossians? It is a question of the Person. The "image of the invisible God", Colossians 1:15 he says in chapter 1, "for in him all the fulness of the Godhead was pleased to dwell" Colossians 1:19 -- all the fulness. That is to call attention to the Person, to the greatness of the Person -- that is chapter 1. In chapter 2 it is what all that is to us, that is, it is within our range, it is all the fulness of the Godhead, of the Deity -- bodily, meaning that it is within our range. As John the apostle says, "that which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes; that which we contemplated, and our hands handled" 1 John 1:1, referring to the Lord Jesus down here, referring to Him bodily; that all that God is is there, there to be available to us. What else do we need? Whatever wisdom there is is of God, it comes from God, and it has come within our range in that blessed Man, that blessed divine Person who became incarnate -- "in him dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily; and ye are complete in him". Hence we are fortified in the enjoyment of these precious things against all that is outside -- it is extraneous, we do not need it. Bad it may not be -- that is not the point, it is that it is unneeded by us, the land into which we are brought furnishes us with everything.

So that the first thing is "a land of waterbrooks". How refreshing waterbrooks are! what beauty, what attractiveness they lend to a landscape! -- a land of waterbrooks, that is the Holy Spirit manifestly moving, so that one does not need to draw things out from the brethren, the Spirit's activity is manifest. How attractive such a district or town where the saints are! -- a land of waterbrooks, a land of such refreshments. And a brook has not only refreshment,

as suggested by water, but a sound to it; there is something about it that is peculiarly attractive and enhancing to a landscape. A land of springs of water, that is to say christians full of the Spirit, where things are not superficial, as the Lord teaches us in John 4. A land of deep waters, as the word 'depths' means -- deep waters. They are indefinite, but the characteristic being 'deep', there is plenty there; the depths of God, we may say, searched out. How exclusive that is, as understood, of all that man can supply, the infinite resources of God in the Spirit. And, as it further says, "of springs, and of deep waters, that gush forth in the valleys and hills". The word is 'gush' -- the richness, the volume, gushing out of the valleys and the hills, for God is the God of the valleys, as He is of the hills, and the water gushes out; no pumping needed, no drawing things with labour from the brethren. Well, that is the thought. Valleys are fertile -- the saints viewed, I suppose, in that way, the action of the sun upon them; and the hills or mountains -- the same people viewed as towers of strength; in either case the waters gush out, no hardness, no exaction, no taxation, there all is in liberty, all is furnished in richness and fulness. Such, dear young people, is that into which you are brought if you have eyes to see and ears to hear, and sensitiveness. Such is the wealth of the land, and, as I said, it is a stable state of things -- such is its wealth. Then we have fruit, too -- "fig-trees, and pomegranates; ... olive-trees and honey". An address could be given perhaps on each of these items, the subject is inexhaustible. We are dealing with spiritual matters, with what we need spiritually, too, the rich supply.

Then the Spirit of God runs on, referring to the saints -- a land of stones; they are stones -- but what kind? They are of iron, they have strength in them; and we dig brass out of the hills, that is, we do that. Enjoying all these things -- the means of judgment,

the element of judgment, is not wanting -- we do that, we dig brass out of the hills. The land is not wanting in that. So that we eat to the full, we are satisfied, and the normal effect is that we bless, we become worshippers, we bless the One who gives it; that is, we are land worshippers, so to speak. There is worship in the wilderness, but there is worship also in the land. Worship in the land is out of the richness we have tasted, of the joy lavishly supplied by the hand of love. It is very attractive, where faith is, it is drawing in its effect; for ministry can only be to faith, without faith, the most spiritual ministry must fail, as it were. Where faith is in any little way in the saints, this is attractive.

Well now, I just want to show how, in chapter 10, there is movement in the light of all these things; that is the next thing. Colossians means prohibition; not simply heavy taxation on commodities, but absolute prohibition. Commodities are not allowed in at all, no such imports are allowed, they are rigidly refused. Now in chapter 10, as I said, the children of Israel took their journey (verse 6), that is to say, Moses here refers back to the second writing of the law in which there is no mistake made or discrepancy -- no need to break the tables. The ark is there, Christ is there; everything now is there and we can afford to move, there is no breakdown again. That is the principle -- we can afford to move; and they did move, and what comes out is that they move "to Jotbath, a land of rivers of waters", that is where the journey led to. I fit in this, dear brethren, with what I have been speaking of in chapter 8, which is the Spirit's description of the land; chapter 10 is my coming to it. How do I come to it? Well, it is a question of the shining of the glory -- of the covenant. It fits into the Lord's supper, to the saints in assembly; it fits in in a general way, too, that is "perfect love casts out fear" 1 John 4:18 -- the covenant is perfect love. The

tables are in the ark, and Moses says, "They are there ..." Deuteronomy 10:5 -- there they are, there is no change. And then there is a parenthesis, these two verses (6 and 7) are properly a parenthesis. This parenthesis anticipates, for us, some thirty-eight years; it is the principle of anticipation, like Ephesians 2 where it is said, we are "raised up together", and made to "sit down together in the heavenlies", Ephesians 2:6 not we shall be, but we are, that is, the future brought into the present -- that is a great thought, it can only be realised by the Spirit; in the power of the Spirit the future is brought into the present, and I know I am in it. The passage begins with Sinai and Horeb, which was just a year (or maybe less) after Israel came out of Egypt. The parenthesis is at least thirty-eight years later. Why is this? It is that the glory has moved us, the shining of the glory in the face of Jesus has moved us -- that is the covenant. "We all, looking on the glory of the Lord, with unveiled face, are transformed according to the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Lord the Spirit", 2 Corinthians 3:18. That is movement -- "glory to glory" -- one glory after another. What a way that is, what a shining way that is! "They go from strength to strength:" we are told elsewhere, "each one will appear before God in Zion", Psalm 84:7. It is a shining way. We walk through the valley of Baca, we make it a well-spring, the rain fills the pools. It is the perfect love of God coming into the heart, the glory shining, and I begin to move. Well now, God says, 'You have begun to move. I will bring in the new priesthood, I will antedate things for you'. It is a heavenly matter now. You say, 'It is a wilderness matter'. Yes, but a heavenly matter; it is a question of reaching the land of waterbrooks, that is the heavenly land. Whatever the geography may be, it is the heavenly land, that is the character of things, so that you get the waterbrooks. It is not a question

of the sympathy of Christ in the wilderness now. Aaron dies, and the Spirit of God brings it in now to show us how much God thinks of a movement towards Him. That is the land of Canaan; God will have you in His own land; He says, Aaron dies. The chapter begins with Horeb -- notice Aaron did not die at Horeb, he died at mount Hor; but he dies here; that is, the Spirit of God anticipates, for God would have us to get on to the line of the new heavenly priest, Christ in heaven, in other words, Christ having died and risen and gone into heaven. "Such a high priest became us, holy, harmless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and become higher than the heavens". Hebrews 7:26. That is the priest, as if God would say, 'That is My thought. The wilderness is only a tentative thing, it is only My ways with you; My thought is what can be reached in a few days'. God says, 'I am helping you; there is a heavenly priest to sustain you there'. That is the thought, dear brethren, so that the thing should not be deferred, but I should enter now in the power of the new priest, the heavenly priest, by the power of the Spirit, into a land of waterbrooks. Then it says God took over the levites at that time, that is at Horeb, but all in connection with the heavenly position, for it is God's inheritance in the levites, and they have no other inheritance but God. So you see, dear brethren, the reality of Canaan may be reached at any moment we are ready for it; it is a land to be entered into, God would have us to know we are sustained there, it has all we need and more, so that there is no lack of enjoyment.

May God bless these thoughts to us.

ASSEMBLY FUNCTION AND SERVICE GODWARD

Acts 1:1 - 14,21,22

J.T. If we compare the last verse of Luke with this chapter, we shall observe a striking difference in the bearing which is there towards the Jewish remnant, as left here with jubilant spirit "praising and blessing God" in the temple Luke 24:53; while in this chapter the bearing is toward the assembly, We have allusions to it which indicate this. In verse 4 it says, "being assembled with them"; then in verse 21, "the men who have assembled with us"; and further, we have allusions to ascension, "Having said these things he was taken up, they beholding him" (verse 9); then, in verse 10, "as they were gazing into heaven, as he was going, behold, also two men stood by them in white clothing, who also said, Men of Galilee, why do ye stand looking into heaven?" "Then", it says, "they returned to Jerusalem ... . And when they were come into the city, they went up to the upper chamber" (verse 13). These are two lines of thought running through the chapter. Then there is the statement in verse 3, that "he presented himself living, after he had suffered". I thought we might look at these scriptures under those heads: first, as indicating that the assembly was to be marked as living; then, that there is the understanding of how to assemble in the Lord having assembled with them; then thirdly, there is the thought of ascension and moral elevation in going up to the upper room; then the manner of Christ's own ascension in that "he was taken up, they beholding him", and in the two men saying, "This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven, shall thus come in the manner in which ye have beheld him going into heaven" (verse 11).

I think a careful comparison of all this would help us as to assembly function and service Godward. The epistle to the Hebrews may be linked on with this, which speaks of the assembly; the chief point or, as it says in chapter 8, "a summary" being that "We have such a one high priest who has sat down on the right hand of the throne of the greatness in the heavens; minister of the holy places". Hebrews 8:1. What is summarised includes chapter 2:12 which quotes the Lord from Psalm 22 as saying, "In the midst of the assembly will I sing thy praises". Hebrews 2:12. I think the Lord would help us as to assembly service towards God.

J.J. You are looking at this first chapter as pattern?

J.T. Just so, as containing the elements of instruction for assembly service, in view of the coming in of the Spirit; the Lord stresses that presently, and this light is furnished so that the Spirit will be free when He comes in, the saints will know how to regard themselves; and hold themselves, so that the Spirit may carry on the service. It is noticeable that the Lord's action here is by the Spirit -- He charged them "by the Holy Spirit", the power in the assembly would be the Spirit. I think the Lord would help us as to coming together in assembly, and how He presents Himself living to us. The trend of His mind would be towards God, towards the Father -- He is going back to God, to the Father -- "I ascend to my Father" John 20:17 -- all that enters into this chapter. As in heaven He is Minister of the sanctuary, whereas on earth He would not be a priest, so we are to come on to heavenly ground as in the assembly, so as to be available to Him in the service. He comes before us Himself here, as we see in a preparatory way; but as Minister of the sanctuary He is before us in relation to the service of God; it is in mind that that should be maintained.

Ques. Does "presented himself living" answer to the manifestation we would covet every Lord's day?

J.T. It is suggestive of a living state of things, I think, after He had suffered; of course He was living before, but now it is "after he had suffered" -- the "being seen by them during forty days" alludes to a spiritual state of things, that brings them into it as witnesses of the forty days, a known thing by persons like ourselves, that He was seen by them for forty days -- to bring in that there is such a thing as seeing Him in resurrection in the experience of the assembly.

Ques. So there is an advance here; in the end of Luke it is, "witnesses of these things", Luke 24:48 but here it is "my witnesses", would that involve our understanding the place into which the Lord has gone?

J.T. Yes, I think so, that He has gone into heaven; they are here, so all this is to qualify them for this service, to be His witnesses. I find in moving about that certain gatherings are somewhat confused as to assembly service, through the want of apprehending that the Minister is in heaven; and whilst He joins us here, in a spiritual sense, the service is carried on now in relation to heaven, and as the Lord is apprehended as indicated here in this chapter, He carries on the service in relation to God the Father. He is rightly enough an Object of worship, as the Father is, all are to honour Him, as they honour the Father, but if He takes a subordinate place, you see why that is so and join Him in that place, so that the service is carried on according to divine purpose, according to what it will be eternally.

J.J. The reaching of it is a spiritual experience.

J.T. Yes, that is what the chapter teaches, I think. He was seen of them forty days, they had not had that experience during His lifetime on earth; it was the same Person, but now He is in a new condition, a spiritual condition of things.

E.A.E. Would you link that forty days' experience with the experience of Moses on the mount in view of the tabernacle being set up?

J.T. I think so, it is preparatory in view of the tabernacle. Moses, Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and, in some sense, the seventy elders also, were taken up to a realm which is a pattern of what heavenly things should be. The earthly public side of it has to be distinguished from the actual thing; the tent was covered with the cloud, as it was set up and in function as set in its place in every part, and anointed, all, as it were, living, then the cloud covered that, God said, 'That is the thing now', He lays hold of that for Himself, and then He fills it with the glory; I believe that indicates what is in mind, it is a heavenly thing.

E.A.E. So that you get a vessel at the end in Paul who said the same things as Jesus -- preaching the glad tidings of the kingdom of God -- is that what is in view, the assembly left here on earth taking up this service intelligently?

J.T. Just so. While the court is part of the system, it is on earth, the public view; the cloud covered the tent, the covenant side of things where the priests officiated. If you think of its bearing Godward, it is all inward, but as present testimony here the court is included, it is outward. I think the Lord's supper is celebrated in the court, that is the public side. The tent is covered by the cloud, even Moses does not enter then, it is God's sphere.

T.J.K. Is there a passing over from the ministry connected with the remembering, for in Luke 24 two men asked the women why they sought the living One among the dead? Then, lower down, they heard He was living; but here the two men connect their hearts with the Person immediately after He had presented Himself to them. Is that a greater ministry than that connected with the two men?

J.T. The two men in Luke 24 would be what marked the resurrection, they represent the feelings proper to that; and the two men here, the ascension; and the two men in Luke 9 would be the heavenly saints above. I think if you link on the three twos you have the idea, two being a testimony: they were angels, no doubt, but they are called "men" as these are, too; the idea of man at the resurrection and the idea of man at the ascension calling attention to it, the manner of it; and men above -- two men speaking with Him above -- showing the liberty that men have up there, to indicate what is available to us even above, the two men are speaking with Him. Here they are speaking with the disciples, and at the grave they spoke with the women; but above the two men are speaking with Jesus, appearing in glory, in full heavenly attire; that is what we shall be, and such an order does enter into assembly service. I think we ought to see that in the service we are not only risen with Christ, but we belong to Him in heaven, we are partakers of the heavenly calling on heavenly ground, for it is in heaven He is Priest and Minister.

Ques. What have you in mind when you say, assembly service?

J.T. I am thinking particularly of what is inside. The Lord's supper is, I think, in the court; it has an inner bearing, of course, but "ye announce the death of the Lord" 1 Corinthians 11:26 is a public thing, that is introductory. The Lord showed Himself living here, He has His place in relation to the Supper; anyone participating there speaks of the Lord and calls Him "Lord Jesus" by the Spirit: it is the Spirit that gives the touch, it is not the words merely, but the spirit in which they are said. I think that as apprehending Him in the bread, the cup comes into view as in relation to God, it is the covenant; and He is in the current and He would draw all into that current. So we have the

Lord Himself in His sacrificing love for the assembly, and God too, who purchased us with "the blood of his own", Acts 20:28 as we are told, that is the blood of the covenant, it brings God in, God in Christ; but then there is the thought of ascending, He went up, and that, I think, changes the ground. One only suggests these things; a change of ground implies heavenly position, for christianity is heavenly, it is not earthly at all; it touches the earth in testimony, but it is heavenly, and our Priest is in heaven.

Ques. And is not the Supper to advance us to the upward position? Ought we not to be ready to ascend almost directly after the breaking of bread?

J.T. It is a question of liberty. If the Holy Spirit is amongst us and operating, He will stress these features first, so that we are free to take heavenly ground.

Ques. Would you say the covenant brings God in?

J.T. I think so. The covenant is not between Christ and us; it is between God and His people. Why should He not be recognised in it?

Ques. Do you distinguish between God and the Father, in addressing Him?

J.T. Yes; the covenant was made by God, the Father is an additional thought; when we say 'God' we think of Him as we have learnt Him in Romans -- after all we must proceed on the line of divine order in our souls; it is the Spirit of God that has shed the love of God abroad in our hearts. The Father is further on; it is a question of the family.

Ques. You are not in covenant relationship with the Father in that way?

J.T. No, the covenant is not between the Father and us, children do not need a covenant; the covenant is to assure our hearts and to establish us. We have the status of His people, and love sets us free that we might enter into our heavenly part.

Ques. Are we in order if we do not speak to God in relation to the covenant?

J.T. I should not rule a person out if he did not speak to God; the Lord is sufficient; but if you get into touch with His thoughts, He will lead you to God, He is the Mediator of God.

T.J.K. Do we come together to break bread -- and if we were ready we should do it -- then in the giving of thanks for the cup, the covenant love of God would be before us; and after that would the Lord be free to lead us to another elevation, the thought of the Father and coming to Him?

J.T. I think that would be the order; that is what appears in this chapter. The trend of the Lord's heart as the Mediator is towards God, to bring us into that. Why should He not bring us into covenant affections? -- that is what mediatorship implies; it would bring us into those affections, that we should enjoy them. So "perfect love casts out fear", 1 John 4:18 we are free.

Rem. In John 20 as He came into the midst, the hearts of the disciples were made glad; He secures His portion as the saints are taught in that way.

J.T. Just so. Luke is the public side, where He adjusts us, and where they were speaking; but they are not speaking in John, He is speaking, it is the spiritual side. Then, as you say, He has His part in it; His brethren surely ought to be in accord with Him, but the trend of His affections is Godward. We need to take heavenly ground, and this chapter teaches us that, He was taken up. Then Hebrews states plainly that it is in heaven He is a priest, and a priest that "became us". It is a very remarkable thing that we need such a high priest as that, Hebrews 7:26 showing the greatness of our status.

Ques. Would the assembly be a very important feature in view of service?

J.T. I think it is important, coming in after life;

life is the first thing, "He presented himself living" to them. Why to them? Why not to the Father? It is to impress them with the conditions after He had suffered. The stress is on the Spirit, it is the way of doing things in the assembly that is in mind.

J.J. Would the two presentations in Luke and John help us, as showing the two sides? In Luke He showed His hands and feet; but in John His hands and side. Would that have a bearing on both sides of the meeting, so to speak?

J.T. I think John's way of speaking would make way for the assembly, that is where the assembly came from, in the type, from His side.

J.J. Whereas His hands and His feet would be more the early part of the meeting.

J.T. Just so -- what He has done for us.

Ques. In presenting Himself living, were the disciples brought to understand by His teaching during the forty days, something of the meaning of an order of things out of death?

J.T. That is the thought exactly, life out of death.

Rem. He had spoken to them, and, as we find so often in the gospels, they did not understand His words, but are they brought now to understand what He said to them before the cross?

J.T. I think so. It says that when Jesus was raised from among the dead, His disciples remembered what He had said. It is the condition now, it is life out of death.

Ques. I was asking that because, lower down, we have the thought of His assembling with them, they would become acquainted with an order of things out of death, like Hebrews where the Sanctifier and the sanctified are all of one.

J.T. That is exactly the setting of the truth, I think, that we are to understand the living state of things, life out of death; and then the procedure -- He assembled with them. Later on it says. One who

has "assembled with us all the time in which the Lord Jesus came in and went out among us" Acts 1:21 -- that was their assembling, but now He is assembling with them -- that is the order of procedure.

Rem. So this had to wait till resurrection was an accomplished thing.

J.T. Yes. So, if I come in as an uncouth person, Peter would say, 'That is not the order; look how the Lord did it'. Not simply that He stood in their midst -- that is stated at the end of the gospel -- but we are to learn things from what He did, He assembled with them. We are gradually rising to a heavenly line where we shall be partakers of a heavenly calling.

Rem. There is another passage, in John 12:16, similar to the one you have quoted, "his disciples knew not these things at the first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things to him;" John 12:16.

J.T. Quite so. That would mean that the Holy Spirit had come. In John 14 the Lord said He would send the Spirit.

J.J. So, as you were saying yesterday, the future is brought into the present, and we should enter into that now. Would that not be realised if we knew what it was to go up?

J.T. That is the thing, so the basis is laid in Ephesians 2 where we are said to be raised up together. We are entitled as in assembly to take proper assembly ground; so it is no longer the local setting, but we have moved on to universal and spiritual ground, so that the Lord is in the midst of that great company as in heaven, carrying on the service.

J.J. You make the sanctuary almost equivalent to heaven?

J.T. It is; it is said to be "the figurative representations of the things in the heavens", Hebrews 9:23.

Rem. It says, "As they were gazing into heaven, as he was going, behold, also two men stood by them in white clothing"

-- would that give them an understanding of the kind of people that would be welcomed there? Then would the Lord, as in that scene of exaltation, encourage our hearts in relation to what is here?

J.T. Yes, He is waiting for us, as in assembly, to take that ground, and then to know how to carry on in it; not to be changeable, but to be governed by principles that govern that exalted level. There could be no service after the camp broke up and moved on; it is when they are in camp the service is suggested; God is there, and the priests in function and the levites and the people -- that is our first day of the week.

Ques. Is the lack of understanding of the covenant what hinders our rising?

J.T. I think so. Our hearts are not set free until the perfect love of God in the covenant is felt. We have a formal order of things so much in our minds. The covenant shows the disposition of God; as knowing the freedom and liberty it would set us in, there would be no difficulty in rising to this high level. John 14 to 17 imply a current, the current of His mind -- the Father is in mind; it says, "Jesus, having said these things" to carry them with Him. I think these are the elements that enter into assembly service.

Ques. Would you say some of the feelings are seen in the way Elijah led Elisha along till the last point when he ascended? I was thinking of the forty days Elijah had to go in the strength of that meat; then he goes up and the Spirit comes down, answering to these chapters of Acts. Would that be right?

J.T. Just so. They walked and talked together after they crossed the Jordan -- that is the forty days -- then the point is, "If thou see me when I am taken from thee", 2 Kings 2:10 and that is the point here, it is specially

mentioned that they beheld Him. Well, you want to see that move, and to know you have part in that, for He has raised us up; here "he was taken up, they beholding him".

J.J. Would the message to the brethren help us to see Him go up? "I ascend to my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God". John 20:17. Does not that hold good to all time?

J.T. Quite so. That message is the great treasure in the treasury.

J.J. The Lord says enough to secure their following Him; then He says, "Rise up, let us go hence", John 14:31. Would the Lord have us with Him in what is before Him?

J.T. Quite so. Then He lifts His eyes to heaven and says, "Father" John 17:1, and He speaks of the love with which He was loved being in them John 17:26, that they should love like the Father. It is not covenant love now, we learn to love as the Father loves.

Ques. What have you to say about the manner of the return; do you look at it in a spiritual way?

J.T. Yes, I think the assembly understands; in the interval we carry on according to this movement; the interval is to be filled out in the assembly according to these movements. "This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven, shall thus come in the manner in which ye have beheld him going into heaven". What they saw is known in the assembly, the movement is known.

Ques. And it would eventuate in the rapture, would it not?

J.T. We understand the rapture, I think, in this way, it is the manner of His coming; I think it is the rapture that is alluded to. Of course He will come publicly, but it is the manner that is in mind here.

Ques. The return from the mount called Olivet seems to have a large place, it comes into prominence

both before and after the Lord's death. It says He went, as was His custom, to the mount of Olives, His disciples following Him; here they returned to Jerusalem from the mount of Olives. What do we learn from that?

J.T. I think they are now moving as He moved; coming back to Jerusalem is coming to a public state of things where all these things are worked out, a scene of contrariety; but He had access -- He went by night, Luke says, to the mount of Olives Luke 21:37, that means a heavenly retreat. So that, whilst we work the things out in a scene of contrariety, we have an outlet in the Spirit to a heavenly state of things, where there is no contrariety.

Ques. Is that why the distance between these two points is "a sabbath day's journey"?

J.T. Yes, I think so. I suppose the distance would refer primarily to the distance between the tabernacle and the camp, they were to pitch afar off. God would not be deprived of that on the sabbath, they could walk that distance.

Rem. Directly you touch the public side, the upper chamber becomes necessary.

J.T. Well, the idea of the upper chamber is, I think, that we are apart from current religious ways. We have to distinguish between the upper room, and Olivet; Olivet means a spiritual elevation, a link with heaven; the upper room is our moral elevation, that we do not sing hymns like they do in the Church of England, we do not give thanks as they do, we have learnt assembly procedure, the spirit in which the service of God is to be carried on -- I think that is what the upper room signifies. It is not the temple, it is a level above that; the contrast is between the temple and the upper room. Olivet is a realm outside of opposition; Jerusalem is the realm of opposition.

T.J.K. Does it bring in something new, for in Zechariah the mount of Olives is "before Jerusalem toward the east", Zechariah 14:4?

Is it bringing in some new elevation connected with the spiritual realm?

J.T. I think Luke makes it very plain that it is the Lord's retreat, the link with heaven; and in view of the assembly He ascends from mount Olivet, in the Acts; whereas in Luke He ascends from Bethany, for the remnant is in view there.

Rem. The thought of Olivet would not suggest spiritual conditions so much as heavenly communications.

J.T. That is the idea, I think, it is outside the realm of opposition.

J.J. Would the names of the persons in the upper room denote the moral fibre of the assembly -- the quality of the persons?

J.T. Yes, they can stand against the evil.

J.J. And the reversal of the order -- Peter, John and James -- in the New Translation, is noticeable, as if it gave a kind of assembly order to the company.

J.T. The same order as on the mount of transfiguration -- it is changed there again.

Rem. And in Luke 8:51.

J.T. They represent the spiritual element, I think, the best, so to speak.

Ques. Andrew comes in here after Peter, John and James, and in Mark's gospel we have these four on the mount of Olives addressing the Lord as Teacher. What is the special significance of Andrew being brought in? He is linked with the three in this chapter.

J.T. I do not know. There is something in it, but one would have to enquire as to how Andrew is presented in Scripture. His introduction in John is, "Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who heard this from John and followed him. He first finds his own brother Simon", John 1:40.

Rem. I wondered if the city to which they belonged had any connection with it, they belonged to Bethsaida. Would it be an element on that line?

J.T. I think so. I think Bethsaida represents the levitical side.

J.J. Then in John 6 he knows where the food is.

Rem. The Greeks in chapter 12 came to Philip, and Philip told Andrew.

J.T. He had an important place in that he was one of the first followers of Jesus, and he was a gatherer. But these thoughts should help us in our part in the assembly, as to our thanksgivings and hymns -- the use of the means of praise, of carrying on the service of God -- in that we should know what to do in assembly as on heavenly ground.

E.A.E. You have raised a question that has been a matter of exercise, with regard to addressing God in the cup; would you go on with the thought of the Lord Jesus after that? Often many a hymn is addressed to the Lord Jesus after that.

J.T. I think that is quite scriptural, for Paul comes back to it himself in the way in which the Supper is presented from heaven. We have always to bear in mind that the Supper we have is given us from heaven; it is to pass that way, not simply by Jerusalem, by the twelve, but via heaven; and the apostle says, "In like manner also the cup, after having supped, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood". 1 Corinthians 11:25. Well, that refers to God. Then it goes on, "this do, as often as ye shall drink it, in remembrance of me". 1 Corinthians 11:26. Do you not think that?

E.A.E. Yes, that was my difficulty, if, in addressing God, we have to bear in mind that the remembrance is of the Lord. What about the oscillation we have spoken of?

J.T. The oscillation is to pass over from addressing the Lord, to the Father, where we are professedly on heavenly ground, and then come back to the Lord;

what you are speaking of in relation to the cup is in the court of the tabernacle. The covenant is an old matter, and we are sharing in it. We share in all the good things of Israel, but the best things of Israel are not our best things. What they have, I think, belongs to the court, it is a public thing, and stands in relation to us publicly. These are the people Christ is not ashamed of. But when we take heavenly ground, as we may, and have liberty to do, then the Spirit says, "Abba, Father"; if He does, the Spirit really makes the change; for He has already said "Lord Jesus" -- at least someone says it in the power of the Spirit. But then, if the Spirit says, "Abba, Father", that is another matter, and we should continue with that.

Rem. So Ephesians says we are brought "nigh by the blood of the Christ" Ephesians 2:13 -- that is positional; but "we have both access by one Spirit to the Father", Ephesians 2:18.

J.T. Yes, "by one Spirit", that is on a higher plane than Hebrews 10, where it says we draw near having boldness of access by the blood. In Ephesians we both have access through Christ by one Spirit to the Father; well, why not stay there? -- that is the highest point.

Rem. So the covenant brings us to God, but access to the Father is something beyond that.

J.T. That is the point, and if we touch that it is most blessed and exalted, it is really the highest point; and why come back?

Rem. We need much help as to that.

Ques. In connection with that, it says, "being assembled with them"; would the Lord, in that way, take headship of the company?

J.T. You could understand He would have the pre-eminence there. That is what Hebrews touches on -- "in the midst of the assembly ...". Hebrews 2:12. The position answers to Psalm 22, what was in His mind in

the praises of Israel, and for us that means the praises of the Father. After He spoke of the covenant in Mark, they sang a hymn; not 'He' sang it, for it is not in Jerusalem He sings. Then they went to Olivet -- that is heavenly ground, the ground is changed as soon as you see that.

Rem. Verses 21 and 22 would be another ground.

J.T. I only suggested those two verses to bring in the thought of assembling. The apostle selected is to be "one of those" -- he is to be an assembly man.

Ques. It speaks of "the time in which the Lord Jesus came in and went out among us", what is the thought in that?

J.T. That is a suggestion that is very precious -- He comes in and goes out among us. As soon as you touch the mount of Olives, that is, as soon as the Father is alluded to in a spiritual way amongst us -- I do not mean the actual use of the word, but in the Spirit of adoption -- a lead is given, and the saints do well to hold to that ground, it is the Father's portion now.

Ques. Do you think, in a practical way, we need to give more place to the Spirit, so that when there is a movement of the Spirit such as you mention, we should be more ready to follow?

J.T. Yes, to be accustomed to Him; in your prayers, your meditations, to learn how to be conscious of the Spirit's action in you, to give way to Him, not to grieve Him.

Ques. Would the Lord's position at the head of the table at Emmaus show the idea of assembling, that we should come under Him -- He having the place of Head?

J.T. Well, of course that is not the breaking of bread -- still, He took the place of house-father there. I think something is done in that way by you, or me, or someone else, that reminds us of Christ -- that is where the memorial is; but when He comes in

and presents Himself, you have a living state of things. Then He assembles; I understand that to mean, not the public position in the court, but what is inside, the heavenly side; He is now the Minister. What will He do if He is assembling there? He is assembling with them; He must take the initiative in everything -- you can see that.

Ques. He asked for food and ate before them; would that suggest that, even in His glorified position, the Lord finds delight in being with His people?

J.T. Quite so.

E.A.E. There are two references to the Lord coming in in John 20. First, in verse 19, "Jesus came" John 20:19; then, in verse 26, "Jesus comes". John 20:26. Does it suggest it became habitual to Him to come?

J.T. That is a good suggestion.

E.A.E. So there is no need to mention "for fear of the Jews" John 20:19; it is habitual on our side to take up that attitude.

J.T. Quite so.

J.J. And the Lord says, "I am coming to you", John 14:18.

J.T. That is the same thought.

INTELLIGENCE IN ASSEMBLY SERVICE

John 20:16 - 23

J.T. Before proceeding with what is specially in view it may be remarked that this chapter instructs us as to not only the need of love for Christ, but instruction by Him if we are to understand part in the assembly. Love alone does not suffice. Love may exist and yet our part in the assembly may be irregular, and maintained unintelligently, as alas! it often is. Mary says in this verse in Hebrew, "Rabboni" to the Lord. That is a term that signifies not only that He loved her and gave Himself for her, but that He instructed her. The word implies that He was her Teacher, and it is only as taught by the Lord Himself that we are in the assembly and have part in it intelligently. The love is there; it is manifest. The love in her was manifest; she was early at the tomb, and was affected by the fact that the Lord had been taken away, His death indeed entering into her feelings; but she was uninstructed, and she owns in her address here that the lack was being made up. The apostle in approaching the subject of the assembly in 1 Corinthians, addresses the saints as intelligent persons, wise persons. In this gospel while it is suggested in an informal way, yet most forcibly, it affords instruction. The Lord is first addressed by followers as "Rabbi". If applied to the last days peculiarly, as it may be, the suggestion is that there has been much imperfect and misleading teaching. The people of God generally have been brought up under imperfect teaching, so that the need of teaching is stressed in this gospel. What is in mind, as suggested this morning, is the distinction that has to be made between God as in the covenant, and God in the absolute, or as the Supreme, coming in in the order

mentioned here, second after the thought of the Father; that is, God in the sense in which He is generally known in His supremacy. That must be the great end in view, "of him, and through him, and for him are all things", Romans 11:36. 'The Father' is a more limited thought, though more blessed in a sense, as a term involving family relationship, also involving grace and affection, not judgment. It is inherently limited in that sense, whereas 'God' includes all that attaches to the Deity, and should ever be in mind in our worship. 'Father' comes before it in the order here. The Lord had spoken of 'God' as a Spirit in chapter 4; He has to be before us in that way in our service.

J.H.T. The apostle Paul anticipates all that in the climax of 1 Corinthians 15"that God may be all in all". 1 Corinthians 15:28.

J.T. That is what I thought. It is "of him, and through him, and for him are all things". Romans 11:36.

C.O.B. Would "My God and your God" include covenant relations?

J.T. I think not. The Lord can hardly be regarded as in covenant relations with God. He is the Mediator of the covenant. The idea is taken from Jehovah really. The Psalms would afford suggestion that He probably took that place, but properly I think He has to be regarded as the Mediator of the covenant, the covenant bearing towards the people, the house of Israel, as it says, and the house of Judah. In the quotations in Hebrews 8 from Jeremiah 31 it is the Lord that is mentioned, not God, although God is implied. It is Jehovah who is mentioned under the title 'Lord' in Hebrews 8 and Hebrews 10. I think that if we think of His God as presented here it would be God in His infinite supremacy as the Object of worship. I do not say, the alone Object of worship; the Son is worshipped too, but viewed as the Object of worship of the assembly He is the alone Object of

worship. God is to be worshipped in spirit and truth.

-.F. Would that be connected with the last verse of Ephesians 3"to him be glory in the assembly in Christ Jesus"? Ephesians 3:21.

J.T. I think that is what is in mind in Ephesians, "One God and Father of all". Ephesians 4:6. It is God. "To us there is one God, the Father". 1 Corinthians 8:6. That is not the covenant; it is God in supremacy, which is the end of everything. The covenant is a means to that, to set us free, a more limited thought; it is certain ones.

J.H.T. Do you get a moral order in John 13, the Lord departing out of the world to the Father, and then in covenant relationships, loving His own which were in the world unto the end, and then the thought of going to God?

J.T. Quite so. He came from God, and went to God. That is God in the fullest thought, the supreme God; no one has seen Him at any time; that stands. He is still the invisible God according to Colossians. He dwells in light unapproachable, whom no man hath seen nor can see. That has always to be before us in our worship, and is, I am sure, before the Lord as leading the service. I do not know whether brethren have observed that, but it came to me this morning, and I believe it is right, that the Lord would help us in moving in that way, that there are three features of love in the assembly: the love of Christ in the bread, the love of God in the covenant in the cup, and the love of God as Father. "That the love with which thou hast loved me may be in them and I in them", John 17:26 the latter being the greatest, and the great end in view in the service, and indeed, in all God's movements. All is to revert back to Himself. The covenant is a means to an end, manifestly. There will be no need for it when all is fixed divinely and eternally. The love of Christ for the assembly will remain, and the love of God as Father will be the great thought eternally. The message here is given,

the suitable vessel being available, a lover of Christ adjusted. It is instructed love in Mary Magdalene; she is capable of carrying such a message as this; she would convey not only the words, but the thought of it.

A.R.P. You would say she is spiritually intelligent?

J.T. I should say so. After she says "Rabboni", Jesus says, "Touch me not", The final touch is that the relationship is to be heavenly henceforth. "I have not yet ascended to my Father". That is the historical fact, but then He says, "I ascend"; that is the characteristic thought which is to enter into her soul. He is in principle as if He had ascended. Only instructed love, that is spiritual intelligence, would distinguish thus.

F.I. Would you say that the carrying out of what the Lord said in John 4, that God is to be worshipped in spirit and truth, could only be taken up by us, by our taking in what has come to us in the covenant?

J.T. The covenant helps us and liberates us, so that we may grasp the thought that God is a Spirit.

F.I. Although God dwells in unapproachable light, as knowing what He is as come to us in the revelation of Himself, we would have Him before us in that sense, and would be able to worship Him as such; otherwise we should know nothing about Him.

J.T. In making promises, the end in view is that we might be instructed to think of Him as He is Himself. We should never lose sight of the infiniteness of God, even His absoluteness. He is to be regarded, even apart from what is created.

J.H.B. Question re the covenant.

J.T. I think it is God coming down to us, our way of thinking. There would be no need for God to make a covenant with us if there was absolute confidence on our side.

R.T.W. Would that be the thought of 'the giving God' in chapter 4?

J.T. I think so: "If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that says to thee, Give me to drink". John 4:10.

R.T.W. That leads to worship.

J.T. Quite so. The Lord is always constructive in His teaching; He conveys a thought, He has an end in view in it. The gift of God is a great thing. It is not there any particular gift, but characteristic. "If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that says to thee, Give me to drink". John 4:10. He is leading up to speaking about God.

A.W.G.T. Is that to promote confidence on our side?

J.T. Do you mean the gift?

A.W.G.T. Speaking of God in that way as the giving God.

J.T. Then there is the greatness of the well springing up in her, not exactly to God, but in that direction, into eternal life, which seems to be a sort of platform for the working out of God's thoughts.

J.W. Is it the covenant side in chapter 3, "God so loved the world"? John 3:16.

J.T. That is wider than the covenant. We cannot say that God entered into covenant relations with the world, save in Noah's covenant. That is not alluded to in the new covenant at all. It is not with the nations, nor with the world. We must regard John 3:16 as the Creator: "the world" there refers to the creation and the order and beauty of it, that God has never given it up, and would fill it with life.

R.G.B. He has not been defeated in that way.

J.T. He has it in mind, and will establish it on the principle of life. The Lord came into the world. It was made by Him, and knew Him not. It was strange, but it was there in the abstract. The covenant applies while we are here on earth, while

conditions are contested. God has made an oath. An oath and a covenant and a promise have relation to one another. God comes down to our smallness of thought, and leads us on to know Himself, that we might have strong consolation. If we really knew God, we should need neither a promise nor an oath; we should trust Him. God comes down to lead us on. The Spirit given springs up into everlasting life. There is deliverance, and introduction into an order of things where God is known in victory and power.

R.G.B. Does this gospel bring out the divine giving?

J.T. It does. The gift of the Son in chapter 3, and the gift of the Spirit in chapter 4; these are the great thoughts of divine giving.

E.G.S. Would you distinguish between the worship of God as Father, and God as the Absolute?

J.T. Yes. The Father judges no one, meaning that He has limited Himself in that relation to grace and love. He is sometimes addressed as 'the Father', and referred to generally throughout John in this way, but He is never regarded as our Father until we come to chapter 20.

E.G.S. The end to be reached in the assembly is worshipping Him as God?

J.T. Yes. We get the full thought, as supreme. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth". Genesis 1:1. We have to come back to that. John says, "No one has seen God at any time" John 1:18; the One who is declared still remains in invisibility. We have to think of Him in His infiniteness.

-.F. Is that the last or supreme act of the Lord in Headship, to lead us intelligently to that?

J.T. Having subdued all, He is subject Himself. "To him who is God and Father, ... that God may be all in all". 1 Corinthians 15:28. Not 'God and Father', but "God". 'Father' is the most precious relationship, but the

thought of God was there before the thought of Father was introduced. We have to come back to that.

J.H.M. Why does it say, "The Father seeketh such to worship him"? John 4:23.

J.T. That is the side of affection.

Ques. As we worship the Father we worship as sons, but what are we in worshipping God?

J.T. Sons, too, sons of God; that is the general thought. We cry "Abba" as sons, but we are sons of God.

Rem. It does not seem to be so near and intimate as sons worshipping the Father.

J.T. No; when the Lord says, "My Father and your Father", there is a nearness there that you do not get elsewhere.

R.G.B. Would that nearness be carried forward?

J.T. It is. Paul pursues it in his ministry; it is he who opens this up to us. John does not open up to us the truth of sonship; he opens it up as regards Christ, but not as to us. It is Paul who is the first to preach the Son of God. We worship the Father, but we worship God, too. God must be all in all; He has never given up that thought. The other thoughts are subordinate to it. It is to assure us of His love.

-.F. Why does it say in Ephesians 3 that every family in heaven and earth is named of the Father? Ephesians 3:15.

J.T. It is a question of the family. When it is a question of the family, that is the Father's realm.

Ques. Would then every creature be brought into the light of the Father in some sense?

J.T. I think so; "every family". In the realm of blessing everyone will be in the knowledge of the Father, in some sense, according to the measure of their growth. There is the angelic group; but as regards men, the families will be grouped under the various measures of light granted, beginning with Abel.

Remark on the expression "that God may be all in all". 1 Corinthians 15:28.

J.T. That is the great end, and so this passage suggests instructed love, which is needed for the assembly; so that we should understand love in its threefold features -- the love of Christ for the assembly, and the love of God in the covenant -- that would be in the cup -- (the love of Christ would be more particularly in the bread, but it is also in the cup; the covenant love of God is in the cup); and there is the love of God as Father, and God as God in supremacy; He loves His Son, and He loves His sons. The love that is in us is that kind of love according to John 17.

Rem. The circles of love seem to widen.

J.T. They do. God is the greatest. So you get the three circles in Ephesians 4:4 - 6, leading up to the thought, "one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in us all". Ephesians 4:4 - 6.

W.E.B. Would there be a correspondence with the end of 1 Chronicles, where David said to God, "all that is in the heavens and on the earth is thine"? 1 Chronicles 29:11.

J.T. "Thou art exalted as Head above all".

F.I. In making a distinction between the Father's house and the Father's presence, does all the family come into the Father's presence? They will all be in the Father's house according to John 14. Is the presence only connected with the sons?

J.T. There are grades of nearness, I think. The assembly manifestly has the nearest place, but the others come into the range of the Father. Every family is named of Him, and every family would be named according to its formation. Its formation would be determined by the light given. The light ministered to the saints before the flood from Adam to Noah, would enable a certain formation; from Abraham to Jacob; and then Israel as a nation; increasing light as we come down. The families would be grouped in that way. Christ entered into

each family. For instance, what Abel represented, what Enoch represented, and others in that dispensation, was something of Christ laid hold of by faith, but it would not be equal to what came out in Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

F.I. I wondered whether we needed a little adjustment sometimes. We often speak of being in the Father's house, but I wondered whether that is not a future thought, whereas the privilege of the sons is to enter into the Father's presence; it would be connected with the house, but it would be the eternal side.

J.T. "In my Father's house there are many abodes; were it not so, I had told you: for I go to prepare you a place", John 14:2. It would be something special, and would correspond with what we get about the assembly elsewhere as the body of Christ, the vessel in which the service of God is carried on in the fullest way.

H.B. Why did He say, "Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended"?

J.T. What is meant is that she was not to assume the old Jewish relations. It was all for adjustment. She was spiritually equal for such a word as that. She should be instructed and adjusted in taking the message. The relation here was to be henceforth heavenly; the disciples would understand that, too. The Lord comes into the midst following that message. He would be in their midst as the ascending One.

F.I. Was she in any way lacking in what the man in John 9 had when he believed on the Son of God?

J.T. I think she was not equal to that; she had seemingly forgotten much. The Lord had said He would arise, but she did not seem to be in the good of that. What is intended to be conveyed is instructed affection. Peter and John were more intelligent than she, but had less affection. She had affection instructed directly by Himself. She is an example of what is suitable to the assembly.

J.W. Is this message intended to affect the disciples in a particular way?

J.T. It is a pattern of the assembly in the persons who form it rather than the thing itself. The persons would be equal to the visit. They do not say anything here, whereas in Luke they are speaking as the Lord comes in. He comes in on the message here that He sent to them. The doors were shut; they were not shut in Luke.

J.H.T. The expression is used in verse 19, "Where the disciples were", not 'where they were assembled', exactly, but the persons.

J.T. That is worthy of note.

-.F. I would like to ask concerning worshipping God in the absolute: is the Son as being in Deity sharing that worship?

J.T. You are touching what is inscrutable. His part as seen in 1 Corinthians 15 is that the Son Himself shall be subject unto Him who is God and Father -- the Lord is pleased to take that place -- and it is to the end that God should be all in all.

J.H.T. The reading of 1 Corinthians 15:28 helps in that connection, in the better translation, "then the Son also himself shall be placed in subjection to him who put all things in subjection to him, that God may be all in all". 1 Corinthians 15:28. It is not exactly His own act, is it? It is the supremacy of God coming to light in that holy feature.

J.T. It is important to observe the reading. It is the divine thought, and the Lord accepts it; He never loses His deity; of course we realise that.

J.H.T. I wonder whether our weakness in assembly might not lie in the fact that we may not have had the experience of using the expression, "Rabboni". Bartimaeus did.

J.T. If we are instructed on the line of responsibility we should have more power.

A.W.G.T. Would you tell us what is in your mind as to responsibility?

J.T. I was thinking of how Bartimaeus followed Jesus in the way, first having said Rabboni, as if he needed instruction for that, how to follow pleasingly.

Ques. Would that lie at the root of this?

J.T. I think it does. Following Him in the way would be for us instruction as to 1 Corinthians. Here it is not that; it is the spiritual side, the assembly convened, as we might say -- how to be instructed for that. To be intelligent in the first is one thing, but how to assemble, and how to serve in the assembly is another thing, the greater thing.

A.W.G.T. Where does that instruction come in? On occasions like this?

J.T. Quite so. Moreover you see what others do. Christianity is not merely a question of precepts, but of example. If you had seen how Peter or Paul would speak to God, you would understand. It is example, too. Young people ought to listen to older ones, and observe what they say, proving all things, of course; but we learn from others. Knowing how to assemble is important. The Lord assembled with them: you would observe how He moved. Peter and the others would take notice. That is how christianity has come down to us. The book of the Acts is that; it is not simply what is enjoined, it is what is seen there.

Rem. We learn that in movements locally.

J.T. The book of the Acts begins with things which Jesus began both to do and teach.

Ques. Is that how Timothy learnt from Paul?

J.T. He was Paul's child in the faith. The end of all the ministry is to bring the soul into touch with the One who is spoken of as "Rabboni"; He, after all, is the Teacher. You feel your need of Him to the end as "Rabboni", as the Teacher, and after all we

have had -- oh, how little do we know! The Lord is teaching.

W.E.B. The first enquiry addressed to Him as "Teacher" is as to where He abides; John 1:38.

J.T. That is the first thing in connection with teaching. What they saw in that day! -- they saw some of the tabernacle conditions; John opens up tabernacle conditions. The Word became flesh and "tabernacled" among us. You would see how He walked. The next thing is that they say, "Where abidest thou?" John 1:38. We are told that the word 'Rabbi' means Teacher there. Then in chapter 8 Jesus went to the mount of Olives. That was His special place; He went there by night, we are told in Luke. And so in chapter 14 we have the manifesting and then the abiding of the Father and Son promised to one who keeps His word. That would imply what is known as tabernacle conditions.

C.O.B. Where does the tabernacling of God with men in Revelation 21 come in?

J.T. John leads us up to that, God tabernacling with men.

C.O.B. Would we reach out to that after the Supper?

J.T. I think so, only that the assembly is more with God, having part with Christ Godward. There are two thoughts, God with us and we with God. The tabernacle is the greater thing; it is that in which we are with God; so that John's gospel from chapters 13 to 17 is to instruct us as to that, as to how we are to have part with Him. It ends up with His saying "Father", and speaking much about us, and saying that "I have made known to them thy name, and will make it known; that the love with which thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them". John 17:26. "I in them", John 17:23. I think, opens up His service in the assembly as the Minister of the sanctuary.

C.O.B. I rather thought that the cup would open up a vast vista to us that would find its fulfilment in the eternal state.

J.T. The tabernacle is yourself; I am to be that. It is the assembly that is an eternal thought. The tabernacling with men there is not so elevated as the tabernacle itself. We enjoy that ourselves. It is not simply God with us, but we with Him.

F.I. Would that come out by our being consciously where Christ abides in the presence of the Father: "Where abidest thou"? John 1:38. It seems to me that it is only as we are actually in the good of the position that Christ has with the Father that we can rise up to God as supreme.

J.T. His place with the Father is really Olivet. That is where He resorted to. If you wanted to know where His place with the Father is, John and Luke tell us it is the mount of Olives. After the Supper they went to the mount of Olives. That is where the service properly begins, where the love of the Father to Him is in us, and He in us. When we reach the thought of it spiritually, the thing is to keep on that line. It is the most blessed line; He leads the praises there. He is the Minister.

-.H. Which is the greater thought, we with God, or God with us?

J.T. God with us is more testimony here. Ephesians, a habitation of God in the Spirit, is God here in testimony. What He is seeking is our movement toward Him. Before we have the idea of the habitation of God here, the saints are said to be raised up and made to sit down together in the heavenlies. We are great enough to be God's habitation here because we are heavenly, not otherwise.

THE LORD'S CARE FOR HIS SERVANTS

Mark 6:30 - 56

J.T. This chapter contains peculiar instruction for those who serve. All the Lord's people, of course, should serve in some sense; but there are skilled labourers and unskilled labourers, and this chapter is for those who are, or who should be, skilled -- indeed it is so that we should be skilled. It occurred to me that it would be helpful for all, as well as those who serve in this way, to look into it, especially as the Lord's attention to those who serve brings out results in His being better known. Indeed He is, as it were, everything. He has His own way of distinguishing His servants, putting them forward as He may need them in the front, but the more the servant is with Him, the more Jesus is everything; what is done is done by Him; and what is to be observed here is that, at the beginning of the chapter, that is in verses 1 - 6, He is thought but little of, despised indeed; and then in verses 7 - 13 we have the sending out of the servants, the apostles; and in verse 30, the account which they give of their service; but inserted is the solemn martyrdom of, up to that time, the greatest servant among men, that is, John the baptist. So that, in serving, this stands out, that martyrdom is to be expected; the more faithful the service, the more likely the martyrdom. What is in mind particularly is the Lord's care for us, and what becomes incidental, the care of others, the feeding of the multitude, and how He becomes increasingly known through His care for His servants; they will be prominent as they are faithful, but the point is His prominence.