Ministry of the Word 2003

Isaiah 42:1 - 9

In taking up this subject, I assume that every one who belongs to the Lord Jesus is devoted to Him for service. I cannot conceive any other position. An appreciation of Christ can only produce that response in our hearts. The measure of our appreciation of what the Lord Jesus has done no doubt greatly comforts our hearts, and through grace there will be great enlargement in it with us all.

I assume that as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ we are definitely devoted to service, and I make an appeal at the outset to all here as to whether that is so. I do not presume to define what the service is. Probably that is a matter that lies between the Lord Jesus and your own souls; but that every one who belongs to Him is devoted for service, and that for ever, must go without saying; for the immensity of what Christ has done lays us under eternal obligation. Our lives, our abilities, all that we possess, must be at His feet for service.

On this occasion I want to consider the Lord in the capacity of Servant. Time is insufficient to regard the Lord in that light exhaustively on this occasion, but I want to indicate some thoughts with regard to the Lord Jesus in the capacity of God's Servant.

As taking up the subject in hand I am convinced that the Lord Jesus in His manhood would have

great regard to Him whom He served. God, in the occasion of His allusion to Jesus as His Servant, outlines who He is, and what He is!

The Lord Jesus, as here typically, was occupied with His service, and spoke as Man in relation to God. He served in a greater light as Son, but He served in the conscious capacity of a Man in relation to God. He was, as we know and rejoice in, a blessed Man out of heaven, and of another order to the man who was formed out of the dust of the ground. But for all that, the Lord Jesus Christ occupied a place as Man in relation to God, and He ever served God, "God, Jehovah, he that created the heavens and stretched them out, he that spread forth the earth, and its productions".

There would be, as there was, a divine and positive issue to Christ's service. He stands out in His moral glory as greater than all who ever served. In creating the heavens, in stretching them out, in forming the earth, God had something in His mind in regard to man. In all our service, whatever form it takes, we should know what it is to serve as having that in view.

God says, "Behold my servant". Before the arrival of Jesus, God had had other servants. You remember He spoke of Moses (Joshua 1:2); Christ is distinguished above them all by the word that God utters, "Behold my servant". The Lord Jesus Christ as here in that path of grace was in the secret of all that.

I ask you, in regard to your service, Have you

waited in the presence of God? Have you a sense that He has taken you up?

There are two dangers: one is to serve unintelligently, and the other is not to serve at all. There should be a sense in our hearts that God has definitely taken us up for service. It was so with Christ. What must it have been for Him when He said, "I have laboured in vain, and spent my strength for nought" (Isaiah 49:4). For all that, there abode in His heart the secret that He was God's Servant.

It should be to us, as it was to Him, a never-failing resource to have that thought in our hearts. The Lord Jesus had it, He never lost it. At the cross He did not abandon it, but He held it. Though forsaken, He was God's Servant. I think of the apostle Paul; you will remember that when all in Asia turned away (2 Timothy 1:15), he knew he was God's servant.

"Mine elect": He was the one Person who supremely could take up things for God. What must that have been to His heart? He was ever standing, ready to serve. There was Michael, the archangel (Jude 9), there was Gabriel, who stood in the presence of God (Luke 1:19), there were myriads of angels ready to serve -- but of none of them was it ever said, "Mine elect". That was the unique place occupied by the Lord. What it was to His heart, who can tell? In the presence of the reproach, shame and scorn, God said, "in whom my soul delighteth". My own impression is that the spirit of the unique, spiritual energy in which Jesus served, was the outcome of the place He knew He had as the Object of the

delight of God. God alluded to the emotions that were His; He spoke of His soul finding delight. There was a Man here devoted to service. In Him God found delight. Though this was unique to Christ, God would have delight in us. There is a holy joy; it may be ours. We may be strangers to it as yet, but there is that place.

God says, "I will put my Spirit upon him". He was a Man in His service. He had served in the place of creatorial power, of divine greatness; but He came to this earth in manhood, and God put His Spirit upon Him. He stood up in the synagogue with the conscious dignity and grace of a Man who was anointed with the Spirit of God.

There should be with us not only the indwelling Spirit, but there should be the sense of having God's Spirit upon us, as here for power. The apostle Peter takes up the truth of the anointing of Christ (Acts 10). We should have the anointing. We should know what it is. Terms are not sufficient. Christ knew it in power. We need have no recourse to anything after the flesh. What shall we need if we have the divine consciousness that the Spirit of God is upon us? The Lord was here in the knowledge of that, and that sustained Him. God delights to allude to Him. It afforded Him infinite delight.

God says, "He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street". Christ's pathway on earth was not one of self-assertion. In His history here it certainly was not necessary that He should assert Himself, for God was with Him. He was here

as One who refrained from lifting up His voice in public. He ever had the sense of power bestowed; and what a happy thing that was!

There is never a moment in our history when we need to make use of self-assertion. If resorted to, God will not support it. "A bruised reed" -- "smoking flax". The character of Christ in this world, as the Servant of Jehovah, was that He would ever have regard to what was weak. The disposition in the world is to despise it. The movement of Christ was to regard it. The Lord was ready for the slightest evidence of life and energy God-ward; and He had power and grace to discern it.

I am under a strong impression that in the times in which we live our service might be in relation to what is weak -- the "smoking flax". This is a distinguishing feature of the Lord's service. Is it a distinguishing feature of ours? It should be. We should be prepared to serve in relation to what is weak. Do we know any one in our acquaintance, in our office, in our lives, that is marked by weakness, that which is contemptible in the eyes of the world? That would be the very direction in which the Lord would turn. We should turn in that direction. Following the flesh would give us to turn to what is great. The Lord turned to that which the world would only despise.

No mind of man will ever be able to fully estimate the value of the Lord's service. This is the direction of it, and He would have us move in the same direction, and not move in relation to what is great. The Lord was characterised by moving in

relation to what was weak and small, and God wrought with Him and by Him.

The cross is the most contemptible thing in the world's history. On the cross, and on the crucified Man, the world looked with hatred and scorn. The result of the cross will be a period of peace for a thousand years, then new heavens and a new earth, and Christ has wrought it all, the blessed Man who moved in relation to what was weak. Of Him God can say, "he shall bring forth judgment". Think of God being able to respond in the heavens, having committed everything into the hands of a Man! Adam had broken down in his position -- he had only to tend a garden -- but here was a man before the whole universe, and of Him God says, "He shall not fail" (verse 4, A.V.). Believe me, all the great powers of the world who have rejected Christ will come to His footstool. This is God's answer to the service of Christ. Truth is going to be established in this universe by that blessed, lowly Servant of God.

I have often thought of what it would be with regard to the little bit of service God has committed to me. How many of us have given up? You young people, go to see the sick and the dying, and call at the houses sometimes. You might find someone craving for the Saviour. "He shall not fail". God can say, I can leave that thing in her hands -- she will never leave that soul. One soul brought into the light and knowledge of the glory of God! If the Lord had failed, what would have happened to us? We must have gone down to an eternity of woe; but He never

failed.

I assure you that I long with a longing that I cannot describe to look into the face of the One who has never failed. I want to see Him -- I am sure you do too. "He shall not fail". What a delight for the heart of God! the magnitude of the moral glory of such a servant of Christ! God addresses Himself to Christ -- this peculiarly personal address to Christ must have delighted His heart!

Do you know what it is to wait in the presence of the Lord? You cannot go and do what some one else has done, you must get your line of service direct from God Himself. He gave to "each one his work" (Mark 13:34). This is an authoritative statement. The movement is one of righteousness. If God made this statement to Christ ("I, Jehovah, have called thee in righteousness"), think of the world calling His service into question! God will justify the one who moves in righteousness; there are those who are serving today. Your own soul will be moved by thinking that the Lord Jesus is justifying you.

We are going to follow in the path of the Lord Jesus as Servant here. It is a difficult path. The secret of it in the heart is that of being definitely taken up by God Himself. "I … have called thee … and will take hold of thy hand". Think of a servant here on the earth with God holding his hand! That is the idea conveyed to the Lord, "I … will take hold of thy hand". It is a wonderful thing to serve in the sense that, in our poor feeble measure, we may know the blessedness of this, "I … will take hold of thy

hand".

My dear young brother, are you timid in your service? What can you have more than that? Perhaps you think, I shall make so many mistakes. No; not if your hand is held. We sometimes hold the hands of children when learning to draw, consequently the outline is realised. Can anyone desire more than to be kept by God? The Lord Jesus as Man was here absolutely in the keeping of God, day and night in the presence of God. The adversaries sought to destroy Him, but what a domain in which to dwell as servant of the blessed Lord!

"I will … give thee for a covenant of the people". The idea there was that Christ was to be given to be the impression of divine thoughts set out morally in a Man. In other words, that that blessed Man was going to be morally like God. I understand that is what we are to be: morally like God -- the expression in our lives of power Godward. There is a grandeur about them which stands in elevation above anything that the world can give. I would like to manifest, in my bearing as a man, a spirit of forgiveness and grace, so that it might be said, That is on the line of what God is. This was characteristic of Christ. Men saw the grace of God in Him. "To open the blind eyes". How lovely to be capacitated to open people's eyes! Are we wasting our time here? We should be in service -- devoted to service -- with this blessed object in view. What about the man who sits next to you in the office? He does not understand, you say. Think of labouring in prayer for him.

One day the fellow will say, I see it all! I am converted! Everything has its impulse in our conscious relation to God and His house.

God says, "I am Jehovah, that is my name", that is, no one can question what I am doing. There is the enemy in the world. We are living in days when satanic influences are felt -- the believers are being made fit -- the Lord leaves them here a little longer. We shall see and feel things more and more, but remember this, "I am Jehovah". Think of His servants serving in the sense of that. Before Herod and Pilate the sense in the heart of Jesus was, "I am Jehovah". He learned obedience from the things that He suffered (Hebrews 5:8).

The Lord's Service and the Service of Believers [1 of 3], pages 3 - 13.

RECOVERY IN AFFECTION

J. H. Hill

Hosea 11:1 - 4; Hosea 14:1, 2, 8; John 21:15 - 19; Philemon 10 - 12

I was thinking of these scriptures, dear brethren, in relation to recovery: recovery in affection for God; recovery in affection for Christ; and recovery in affection for the saints. I trust I may be helped to say a little about them.

Hosea was a very feeling prophet, a man with God, and he goes over the history of some of God's dealings with His people. He says, "When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son". We see failure with Ephraim, but we also

see that God has recovery in mind for him; we see failure with Peter, but we also see recovery; we see the failure with Onesimus, but we also see recovery, and God delights in that. He delights in the fresh committal and devotedness of heart of those who belong to Him.

God speaks very feelingly of Ephraim: "I it was that taught Ephraim to walk". Think of the wonderful feelings of God Himself, that He would come near to His people in their circumstances! It says, "He took them upon his arms". The fathers and mothers here would understand what it is to teach a child to walk. Think of God, in His patient grace, taking His own along the way; if they were too tired to walk, He would carry them: "He took them upon his arms"

But God has to speak at times very straightly about Ephraim. Earlier in this prophecy it says, "Ephraim is become like a silly dove" (chapter 7: 11), yet God was thinking about him. God thinks, too, about you and me in all our difficulties and problems that we may have to face, but He wants to secure an answer from us for Himself. Think of the affections that God has for His own, and those affections, may we say, are answered to in recovery. We need to pray for recovery for one another, and pray for recovery too for those who have gone astray, that God may be pleased to come in in blessing.

God is looking for an answer from His own. He works things too for His own glory. We may not understand the things that God does -- "how

unsearchable his judgments, and untraceable his ways!" (Romans 11:33) -- but He does everything for His own glory, and His actings are perfect in every way. He keeps His hand over those nations that we may be fearful about what they may do; He keeps His hand over you and over me, and He kept His hand over Ephraim in view of recovery.

God said earlier, "Ephraim is joined to idols: leave him alone" (chapter 4: 17), and in chapter 14 the prophet says, "O Israel, return unto Jehovah thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity. Take with you words and turn to Jehovah; say unto him, Forgive all iniquity, and receive us graciously". Think of God, through the prophet, putting the very words that He wants in Israel's mouth, in order to be able to respond to Him! "Forgive all iniquity, and receive us graciously; so will we render the calves of our lips". Think of the answer that God is looking for: "Thou art our God; because in thee the fatherless findeth mercy" (verse 3). God says, "I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely" (verse 4).

Think of God in this attitude of grace and mercy, desirous of being able to say of Israel, "I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely". And then Ephraim will be able to say, "What have I to do any more with idols?" as having been brought round, though once taken up in idolatry. It is wonderful when we come to that in soul history, when God becomes the Object of the heart, and Christ Himself becomes supreme in our affections. So it says here, "Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more

with idols? (I answer him, and I will observe him.) I am like a green fir-tree. -- From me is thy fruit found. Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? intelligent, and he shall know them? For the ways of Jehovah are right, and the just shall walk in them; but the transgressors shall fall therein" (verses 8,). Let us be moving then on lines that are pleasurable to God.

Peter was an apostle called by the Lord, yet one who failed -- he denied His Lord, and it says he went out and wept bitterly (Luke 22:62). A servant of the Lord said that he thought the Lord's look at Peter at that time would convey the thought, 'Peter, I love you -- there is no change in Me, I love you just the same'; in spite of that denial, the Lord remained the same. The Lord had said to him, "I have besought for thee that thy faith fail not; and thou, when once thou hast been restored, confirm thy brethren" (Luke 22). Peter was restored, and the Lord was testing him in John 21, for He had something great in mind for Peter, and so we see Him probing Peter as to his affection for Himself. Recovery in affection is seen in Peter.

The Lord speaks to Peter when "they had dined". It is a wonderful thing that the Lord would feed us Himself before He may probe us as to our affections for Him. He wants us to be in affectionate relations with Himself, but He has a right to probe us. What about our love for the Lord Jesus? The Lord said, "If ye love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15). That is a proof of our love for Him, that we keep His

commandments, moving here as pleasing to Him and subject to His will. Whilst the Lord probes Peter as to his affections for Himself, He gives Peter certain commissions: "Feed my lambs … Shepherd my sheep … Feed my sheep". It is a wonderful thing to be able to provide spiritual food for one another, and to shepherd, or care for, the "sheep".

This was given to Peter, but then He says, "When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst where thou desiredst; 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". The Lord Jesus was looking on to what was going to happen to Peter himself. I suppose he was middle-aged when the Lord said this to him. The Lord would help us to face every vicissitude of life, and gives us power to go through with exercises, that we may be here for His pleasure. "And having said this, he says to him, Follow me". Let us take our stand, then, in committal in affection to the Lord Jesus. What is going to keep us safe in this world, but affection for Christ, and affection for one another? We need to develop in these blessed relationships, these links that we have with divine Persons, so that we may move here pleasurable to Them.

Think of all that the Lord Jesus has done for us, and His blessed, continuing service on high as our great high Priest. How valuable that is! He also serves us as Advocate: John says, "these things I write to you in order that ye may not sin", and "if

any one sin, we have a patron with the Father" (1 John 2:1). God does not want us to move on lines that are displeasing to Him, but on lines that are for His own pleasure and for our blessing, and our safety too. We will be safe as we keep in touch with our blessed Lord.

The Lord Jesus said, "If I will that he abide until I come, what is that to thee?" (verse 22). Peter was thinking about John, but the Lord was thinking about Peter, and He is thinking about you, and me. What is His word? "Follow thou me". The Lord wants your affection, and mine. What does He say? "Follow thou me". That is simple, is it not? Follow the Lord, keep in touch with Him, and seek to develop in affection for Him. The Lord has done everything for us; we owe everything to Him. He is the One who has gone right into death itself, in order that He might secure us for Himself, and that we would bear remembrance of Him here. Think of Him saying, "this do in remembrance of me" (Luke 22:19). That is the One who has died. Let us commit ourselves in faithfulness and love to Him, and be devoted to Him.

Onesimus, of whom we read in Philemon, was one whom Paul appreciated and valued. Indeed, he had been a companion of Paul in his tribulations. Paul writes here as "prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timotheus the brother, to Philemon the beloved and our fellow-workman, and to the sister Apphia and to Archippus our fellow-soldier, and to the assembly which is in thine house. Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ" (verses

1 - 3). Paul speaks to Philemon about Onesimus: "begotten in my bonds ... once unserviceable to thee, but now serviceable to thee and to me". Evidently, Onesimus had run away from his master, Philemon. What a change had taken place with Onesimus!

As returning to Philemon, Onesimus would surely "serve in newness of spirit" (Romans 7:6). What an asset he would be in the assembly in Philemon's house as having imbibed, no doubt, something of the spirit of Paul, he would bring joy and comfort to the saints. Paul said, "once unserviceable to thee, but now serviceable to thee and to me".

Think of what we once were, bound in the chains of darkness, but liberated by wonderful grace. We have been taken "into favour in the Beloved" (Ephesians 1). What a place is ours! May we then be "serviceable to the Master" (2 Timothy 2:21). A servant of the Lord said that he was a very tiny vessel, serviceable to the Master. I wonder what size of a vessel I am, but we have to be here serviceable to the Master, suitable and pleasing to Him.

May the Lord help us, and bless us in relation to these things, for His Name's sake!

Dublin, 31 August 2002.

WORK

A. J. Gardiner

1 Thessalonians 4:9 - 12; Proverbs 31:10 - 31

I wish, dear brethren, to say a little as to work, and the importance that God attaches to work. The Lord said when He was here, "My Father worketh hitherto and I work" (John 5:17), and we read of the Holy Spirit, "But all these things operates the one and the same Spirit" (1 Corinthians 12:11). So that the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are all presented to us as working.

God worked in creation for six days, day after day, and then on the seventh day He rested and sanctified it. He called upon His people Israel later to hallow the sabbath day (Exodus 20:8) in order that He might convey that, while the normal thing is to work, He also cherishes the thought of rest, and would give His people to enter into rest with Him.

So that the thought of the Sabbath goes right through Scripture. One of the most important references to it, in actual application to ourselves, being in the sixteenth chapter of Exodus, where the manna is given, and where we are told that they ate manna for six days; gathering it each day afresh, and then on the seventh day found none. Of course, it was the Sabbath, and God had provided on the sixth day a double amount to carry them over the seventh. The teaching of that is that if we habituate ourselves to feeding on manna, in connection with the ordinary responsibilities of daily life, six days feeding on manna will lead to a seventh day of rest. The more

we accustom ourselves to feeding on manna, the more we shall find rest in our souls. That is the principle. That however much we may have to do, and God expects that His people should have plenty to do, we should learn to find rest in the middle of what we have to do: rest of mind and heart, as finding in the manna, Christ once humbled here, the principle of obedience to God's will. That is what the manna represents. We should find in the daily circumstances of our ordinary life, that which will give us rest in our souls.

The Lord says in Matthew, "Come to me, all ye who labour and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest to your souls". Take my yoke! Learn from me! That is the appropriating of the manna. "And ye shall find rest to your souls; for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:28 - 30).

Now I was saying that God is presented to us as working, steadily working, and indeed, He is still working. On the sixth day He brought in the man and the woman (Genesis 1:26, 27). He created man and He blessed them and set them over the works of His hands. It looks on to the day to come when Christ and the assembly will be in supreme headship over things in heaven and earth. In that day God will rest, but now He is working.

In Genesis we find that man was set to work in chapters 2 and 3. In the second chapter we find that God planted a garden; He wanted a garden for His

pleasure, and then He placed the man in it to till it and to guard it. That is, God set man to work. Not in a slavish way, but with a view to preserving what was for the pleasure of God in the garden. I have no doubt that the garden of Eden was a type of the assembly in this world, the spot on earth that God would secure and maintain for His own pleasure in the presence of evil. Evil had already come into the world at that time. Satan and his angels had sinned, and evil was there although it had not yet covered the earth. God chose to plant a garden as a sphere which He would have for His pleasure, and He gave man the responsibility of tilling and guarding it. That is the most exalted kind of work: that we should have charge of His interests in this world, and set ourselves to promote those interests and to guard them.

In Genesis 3, you find that man sins, and then God sets him to work in another way as part of His governmental ways with him. It says in verse 19, "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, until thou return to the ground: for out of it wast thou taken. For dust thou art; and unto dust shalt thou return". That is, God introduced hard labour. You might say that hard labour is part of His governmental ways with man as a result of his sin, and that remains to this day.

It is a very serious matter for any of us to ignore the governmental consequences of the ordering of God that man should work. "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread", it says. He also brought in at

the same time, certain governmental consequences on the woman, and they remain until this day; but man has to work in the sweat of his brow, and that is part of God's governmental ways with man. Thus it is important that we should understand that it is for every one of us to submit ourselves to it, in lowliness and subjection.

As some of us were saying yesterday, God's ways in government always have in mind the furtherance of His ways in blessing. He has taken us up for blessing before the foundation of the world, and His ways with us, what He orders for us, have in mind the further promotion of the blessing which He has taken us up for, according to His purpose. Hence, in this passage in Thessalonians, the apostle is commending the brethren, saying that he had no need to write to them as to brotherly love, "for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another. For also ye do this towards all the brethren in the whole of Macedonia: but we exhort you, brethren, to abound still more, and to seek earnestly to be quiet, and mind your own affairs, and work with your own hands, even as we charged you, that ye may walk reputably towards those without, and may have need of no one".

That is a remarkable exhortation from the Lord by the apostle Paul to every one of us -- to work with our own hands, so that we may be walking with a good reputation among those without, that there should be no discredit brought on the testimony, and we should have need of no one -- not to be dependent

on others. The Lord would set us to see that we work, and that we should in that way have a good reputation and ability to look after our own affairs, and have need of no one.

All this is very practicable, and as you read Scripture, especially the epistles, you find that Christianity is not intended to alter the state of things in the world. The world has, of course, greatly benefited by its influence, but God does not intend to set aside the inequalities that exist among men; for some are servants and some employers: but God does not upset that, He rather brings in the power to adorn the doctrine as a servant, and the power to adorn the doctrine as an employer. The epistles are full of this. We shall find that Ephesians 6, Colossians 3 and 4, 1 Peter, 1 Timothy 6, this epistle (1), and 2 Thessalonians, all touch on this question.

These practical questions of our working and how we are to conduct ourselves if we are servants, and how we are to conduct ourselves if we are masters, are practical matters which the Spirit of God takes up, and they are part of our discipline. Discipline belongs to us all as children, and as sons. Hebrews 12 shows that every one of us comes in for discipline because we are sons. "Ye endure for chastening, God conducts himself towards you as towards sons; for who is the son that the father chastens not? But if ye are without chastening, of which all have been made partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Moreover we have had the fathers of

our flesh as chasteners, and we reverenced them; shall we not much rather be in subjection to the Father of spirits, and live?" (verses 7 - 9). Our employment day by day, the necessity of going on day in and day out, is part of the discipline that God has ordained for us. It is intended to help us in our spirits, and to develop in us the spirit of subjection and the spirit of dependence on God. All that is intended to further the work of God with us, that we should be sons, and practical sons: not only by title, but sons as characterised by the affections and dignity and the subjection and all that is proper to sons who have God as their Father.

Now before I pass on, I urge the brethren to bear in mind that there are those two kinds of work that God has ordained for man. I hope to speak in a moment of the more exalted kind of work, but first, there is the kind of work that comes upon us in God's governmental ways. The women have their governmental consequences, and of course, the women have to work too, they work in the house. But the men particularly have to recognise that God's government requires that they work, and work hard and continuously, until the time that they come to die, if they have the ability to do so.

There is also the more privileged and exalted kind of work. God placed the man in the garden to till it, and to guard it. Tilling would involve work. If, as I have no doubt, the garden of Eden is rightly regarded as a type of the assembly at the present time, as that which is intended peculiarly to afford

pleasure to the heart of Christ and the heart of God, we can regard the man as placed in it, first as a type of the Lord in charge of all divine pleasure on the earth, and then also, the saints as with Him in it.

Education in View of Barbados, the Testimony, pages 54 - 58. 2 February 1950. [1 of 2]

LOVING, BELIEVING, REJOICING

J. Pellatt

1 Peter 1:8, 9

What I have before me tonight is very simple and exceedingly blessed, and I want it to be a word of encouragement for all the Lord's people here; I do not think you can find any portion more encouraging than this. God has presented to us all the wonderful activities of His grace, mercy and love, etc., for His people from the very beginning, and here they are all gathered up for us, and for our encouragement, as Romans 15:4 puts it, "For as many things as have been written before have been written for our instruction", so this stamps the character of the instruction and throws it all open for us.

It is a very simple epistle -- this first epistle of Peter. Peter writes to the Jewish believers "of the dispersion" (verse 1); the fact of their being scattered made no difference in the Lord's love to them. The Lord's love to us is a wonderful thing -- how He loves us all, and how His love takes account of all that may befall us in our path down here -- poverty or sickness -- blindness or deafness, whatever it may be -- He knows all about it, and we may still have

shining hearts and be superior to it all. His love delights to cater for us, and to minister to our every need. Oh! it is very encouraging.

Now let us look at these two verses (verses 8, 9). In the end of verse 6 our trials are spoken of, and it is in connection with our trials and circumstances that the Lord says, "the proving of your faith, much more precious than of gold". There is an unspiritual way of being occupied with our trials -- a selfish way, but the Lord would have us to be exercised by everything, He would not have us indifferent to what He passes us through. Gold is at the top of the list of precious metals; and because it is precious it is subjected to the fire, so that every element of alloy and dross is separated from it.

I have often been at the house of a brother who is a goldsmith, and seen the sweepings from the shop brought in, which look like dust and dirt, but the refiner wraps it all up carefully in paper, puts it into the refining pot, opens the furnace door, and in it goes, and the fire immediately consumes all the rubbish; the refiner keeps watching, and at last he puts in the tongs and lifts out the crucible, and leaves it to cool; then with a hammer he breaks it in pieces, and then you see at the bottom a little piece of gold -- pure gold which has come out of the refiner's fire. Pure gold is precious to man, but here the trying of our faith is called "much more" precious to God.

Our very short-sightedness makes us often worry, and sometimes we are so short-sighted that we are positively mystified in our trials, but, oh!

beloved, do we realise what God has in view? Do we take in that God is going to get a big revenue of praise for Himself through these very trials, at the appearing of Jesus Christ? Saint of God, cheer up! you may be "put to grief" down here, you may have very real sorrow in your heart, but take courage, the harvest time is coming and God is going to reap a harvest; I do not know how it will happen, but I think He will say, as it were, 'Look, here are the people that have been tried and tested by the fire; look at them now -- they are all shining!' Yes, He will get His revenue.

Now see the point we have come to -- "the revelation of Jesus Christ: whom, having not seen, ye love". Are you really in the good, the present good, of being a Christian? Is your heart going out in affection to Him? We do not find a passive love in Scripture; all true love is active; when He commands your affections, they flow out to Himself.

Look at my watch, the mainspring is the secret of its working; so with us, it is when the heart's affections are right that the rest corresponds. It is an easy thing to say, 'Whom, having not seen, we love', but I want the hearts of all here to get really touched with divine encouragement tonight; God is set to encourage and comfort you. What could be more serious for us than anything that interferes with our affections; these saints to whom Peter wrote had lost everything down here, but the Lord had captivated their hearts. He commands their affections, and the Spirit could say of them, "whom, having not seen,

ye love". Ah! beloved, there is always one thing a Christian can do, and that is, he can love Christ. He can look that blessed One in the face and say, "thou knowest all things; thou knowest I am attached to thee" (John 21:17).

The next thing you get is confidence -- "believing". Do you remember His words to His disciples in John 14? -- "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe on God, believe also on me" (verse 1). They were troubled at the thought of His leaving them, because they loved Him, and thought they would lose sight of Him, but He reminds them that they had confidence in God, whom they had never seen, and would they not have confidence in Him?

Do not let the devil worry you; he will if he possibly can; he will tell you that you are a hopeless failure, but you can resist him "stedfast in faith" (1 Peter 5:9). Oh! do not give up your confidence in the Lord. Has He ever failed you? that is not His way. I believe I understand the Lord's look on Peter (Luke 22:61)! Peter had been cursing and swearing, and denying that he ever knew the Lord. What did that look say? Ah! I think it said, 'Peter, I love you -- there is no change in Me, I love you just the same'. That is not the sort of look we should give! Oh! no; but that look of the Lord's just smashed Peter's heart all to bits; he "went out and wept bitterly" (verse 62). Oh! beloved, do not give up your confidence in Him. Is He not worthy of it? He has never given you any occasion to question His love and faithfulness.

Now what comes next, "joy unspeakable and

filled with the glory" -- 'glorified joy' is the real sense of the word. Think of it! If you could see inside such a believer's heart, you would see it fairly shining with "joy unspeakable and filled with the glory". Is it not wonderful? And that can be even now. He is coming to receive us to Himself -- we are today another day nearer to that -- but while we wait for Him, we may again be put to grief, the furnace may be hot, because the "proving of your faith" is going on, yet "believing" we may rejoice with joy unspeakable. I feel we are so little up to it; we are strangely shy of being happy, strangely shy of the road to joy, but "the joy of Jehovah is your strength" (Nehemiah 8:10).

The devil will turn us in on ourselves if he possibly can; he will make us miserable, and some try hard to be wise (doctrinal) Christians, and some think it necessary to take low ground; that is just what the devil wants, and if we give him the chance he will get us to low ground and crush us. But, oh! to be simple Christians, to see that it is all Christ, and that He is the One we believe and confide in. How simple it is! And then the "joy unspeakable" follows. The Spirit of God says it is "unspeakable". Peter is not writing to a company of advanced Christians. No, he writes to simple believers. Christ is enough for them.

Now comes the "salvation of your souls", and it is a remarkable salvation from the very fact of its being soul-salvation. Do you say, When shall I get that? Well, it either takes place now, in this life, or

not at all. "Receiving" soul-salvation is when you are morally superior to everything here. I once went to see a sister in Colorado, and for three whole hours she poured out all her troubles; she had got right down under them and they were almost as big to her as the Rocky Mountains, which take forty-eight hours travelling to get round. Now, beloved, where are we? Either our trials are on the top of us, or we are on the top of them; the Lord can put us right on the top of them all, and He loves to do so.

The first link here is love, the second link is confidence, and then comes rejoicing, and receiving. These blessed things are all linked together, they keep step side by side. The Lord knows the trials of each one of you individually -- you are proved by them -- but let Him have your heart. Give it up to Him, so that it may go out to Him without let or hindrance; there is no restraining needed with that. We have to keep our loins girded; in walking here we cannot allow our robes to flow, but I can let all my heart go out to Him unreservedly, and then I can be superior to my circumstances and trials.

We have in this scripture lovers, believers, and rejoicers, all filled with glory. If we know the glory inside now we shall not feel strange when we actually enter those scenes of endless joy. Do you think that the end of your faith is only to get to heaven? Oh! no. The end of your faith is the salvation of your souls, and that is to be realised here and now. Oh! beloved, try it -- try it.

The Closing Ministry of J. Pellatt, Volume 2, pages 20 - 26.

WHAT IS A CHRISTIAN? NO. 2 -- A SERVANT

F. S. Marsh

Acts 26:29

In seeking to answer the inquiry, 'What is a Christian?' it is necessary to emphasise this most important characteristic -- the serving spirit.

The typical Christian illustrative of this feature is Paul -- once Saul of Tarsus -- who was perhaps the most distinguished servant of the Lord.

The true features shone out in Paul in a remarkable manner when he stood before king Agrippa, by whom he was examined as a Christian rather than as an apostle -- though he was that, of course. He was brought before the king as a prisoner, to answer charges founded on his testimony to Christ and upon Christianity as expressed in him.

Agrippa was sitting on the judgment throne to ascertain whether Paul was worthy of death, but after Paul had spoken to him words of truth and soberness, living words of power, and told how the Lord had met him in the way, converted and trans- formed him, a moment arrived when Agrippa came under the power of his words and said, "In a little thou persuadest me to become a Christian" (verse 28). He saw that there was something in Christianity which he had never known of before.

Think of Paul, in the dignity of a servant of God, standing before the king and saying, "I would to God … that not only thou, but all who have heard me this day, should become such as I also am,

except these bonds".

Paul wanted them all to be Christians. He would have them all to know the joy that was his; to be servants of the same Master. It is clear from this that a Christian normally is a servant, conscious of the dignity of his service. Paul stood before Agrippa in the consciousness that he, in the dignity which God had given him -- not in his own, for that would have been human pride -- he, the prisoner, was superior to king Agrippa himself; he was fully conscious of being a servant of God, and he desired that every one who heard him might be as he was -- a Christian.

Can we each be regarded as a Christian in this sense, conscious of the dignity of serving God? It is possible that there are those who have believed in Christ, but who, if challenged, would have to admit that they are not conscious of any service which they have in hand for the Lord. That is a very serious position, because before He went away, the Lord spoke of "a man gone out of the country, having … given … to each one his work" (Mark 13:34), clearly indicating that He has in mind to entrust a service to each one of us. If we do not know what that service is, it is not because there is nothing for us to do, but because we have not found out from the Lord Himself what He would entrust to us.

It might be very insignificant work, or even uncongenial; it might be the very task which we would not have chosen; but if it is His work it is worth doing, and doing well. However small certain features of the service may be, there is a dignity attaching to

the Lord's service that we should cherish in our souls at all times, as ready to do His bidding because of the glory of Him who has entrusted the task to us.

We would encourage the youngest believer to ask the Lord Jesus what He would entrust to him, and then to raise the question, 'Am I trustworthy, Lord?' Because the Lord will use trustworthy servants. You would not give an important charge into the hands of an untrustworthy person, and, the more dignified the service, the more important it is that the servant should be trustworthy. Paul was such a servant, worthy to stand before kings and testify of Christ. Did you observe that he used the words, "such as I also am"? A Christian is a person who is -- not only who speaks. So Paul, the servant of God, could stand before the king in all the dignity of what he was. A Christian is a truly wonderful person: he is not only one who has trusted in Christ, but one in whom God has wrought; he is both a disciple and a servant.

There is a peculiar dignity about one who serves Christ. He stoops down to the level of those in sorrow, for Christ's sake; he weeps with those who weep; his hands minister to the saints. It is not a matter of eloquent speaking, or of high position, but of the spirit of Jesus reproduced in those who have come under His influence and delight in the service of Christ.

It is of great interest to find that Paul was able to speak of his child in the faith, Timothy, as being characterised by this spirit, for he refers to him as

working "the work of the Lord, even as I" (1 Corinthians 16:10).

The variety of christian service is of deep importance: the service of God in the sanctuary; the interests of the assembly; the work of the gospel; the visiting of the sick; the personal life of good works, are all embraced in the word 'service'. It would be well if every one who has never yet done so, inquired like Saul of Tarsus, when he first heard the Lord's voice, "What shall I do, Lord?" (Acts 22:10). Then, having received the Lord's answer, we should be stimulated by the stirring exhortation: "So then … be firm, immovable, abounding always in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord" (1 Corinthians 15:58).

Words of Truth, Volume 2 (1934), pages 145 - 148.

DIVINE PROTECTION

C. A. Coates

2 Chronicles 3

It will be remembered that the length of the ark was two cubits and a half, while the wings of the cherubim extended over twenty cubits. So that, while the ark and the mercy-seat came under their protection, a much wider range of things was in view, including the whole width of the house.

God would have us to know in the most holy place that His government protects all that is of Himself as set forth in His house. Outwardly, what is spiritual, including the testimony of the glad tidings, may seem to be weak and defenceless; it seems to

have no power to stand up against great and hostile powers; but it is all the time protected in a secret way by the government of God. The outward look of the cherubim embraces all nations, and their mighty outstretched wings are all the time protecting what is of God. Men outside have no idea of this, but it is known for the comfort of God's elect in the most holy place.

The unseen government of God is always acting for the protection of what is of Himself. It is not always publicly manifest that it is so, for He has often allowed His saints to be persecuted and even killed. But in nearness to Him it is understood that the wings of His government are outstretched in protection over what is precious to Him. But for this, everything that is of God would have disappeared long ago from the face of the earth. Faith knows the secret, though at the present time it is not apparent to men. The government of God is veiled, but it is known to be a great reality by those who have access to Him …

We have probably little idea how far-reaching have been the movements of divine government in favour of what is of Himself spiritually, or how effective they have been. It is a comfort to be reminded and assured of this, and especially at a time when so many powerful forces seem to be working adversely to what is of God.

Ministry by C. A. Coates, Volume 27a, pages 290, 291.

WORK

A. J. Gardiner

1 Thessalonians 4:9 - 12; Proverbs 31:10 - 31

I read this passage in Proverbs because it gives us a kind of full-size picture of the assembly as marked by great activity, or those of the assembly characterised by great activity, in relation to the interests of Christ; and that is the most exalted kind of work.

The apostle says to the Corinthians at the end of chapter 15 of 1 Corinthians, "So then, my beloved brethren, be firm, immovable, abounding always in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord" (verse 58). We are always to be abounding in the work of the Lord. That does not simply mean preaching or giving addresses, it means that there is plenty to do to look after the interests of Christ, and every one of us has to be abounding in it.

There is no scripture that gives us a picture of this activity like Proverbs 31. It says, "Who can find a woman of worth? for her price is far above rubies". It describes this woman of worth. I need not say that the assembly is the true antitype of the woman that God provided for the man at the outset. God said, "It is not good that Man should be alone; I will make him a help-mate, his like" (Genesis 2:18) -- and He provided the woman to be a help for the man in all the interests God had entrusted to him. That was looking on to the assembly as given to Christ, to be with Him in all the interests that are under the hand of Christ at the present time.

We must not think that the Lord is inactive,

because He has gone to the right hand of God; He is very active, He is carrying on much in the way of work. He is not inactive. Joseph, a type of the Lord Jesus, was a man who had many affairs to look after. He came home for a meal at noon (Genesis 43:25), like many of us. He was a man of many affairs, and in that way he is a picture of the Lord Jesus with the many affairs that He has under His hand. He is working all over the world, and has many interests.

Every local company is a matter of concern to the Lord, but in those interests He wants to have the assembly with Him as a help-mate. That is one way in which we may show our love for the Lord Jesus. The woman was to become the wife, to enter into the relationship of affection which she would never lose. A true wife will show her affection by looking after every interest of her husband, and every interest of Christ is to be of interest to us. Once we get an impression of how Christ loved the assembly, we become the wife by looking after the interests of the Husband. That means that every interest of Christ in the world at the present time is to be a matter of interest to us. Maybe we can only take a part in our own locality, but nevertheless, there is something there for the interest of Christ. The assembly is to be preserved, the saints looked after, the truth ministered, the young looked after, the elderly cared for: all these things enter into this matter of the "work of the Lord", and "abounding always in the work of the Lord".

Then what is seen in this woman is that "her

husband confideth in her, and he shall have no lack of spoil. She doeth him good, and not evil, all the days of her life". Let me apply this figure of a garden for God, and a garden for the Lord. We know that the idea of a garden is that it is to yield special pleasure to the one to whom it belongs. A person has a big estate, and it may have many fields, but near the house he will have a garden; not a very large one, but the garden will be specially cultivated in order to provide pleasure to the one who owns it. Transfer that idea to any one of our local companies. Take account of the local company at Orange Hill as one of the gardens of the Lord. It is intended to provide special pleasure to the heart of Christ and to the heart of God, and it is certain that evil will find its way into that garden, which consists of the saints, each one a tree with roots hidden in the soil, but the result of the roots comes out in fruitfulness and blossoms for the pleasure of God.

Every saint is a tree, and any one who knows anything about agriculture or horticulture, will know that trees require caring for. I do not profess to know much about these things, but trees and plants require caring for and looking after. It certainly is so in regard of the trees that the Father has planted. "Every plant which my heavenly Father has not planted shall be rooted up" (Matthew 15:13). The trees which the Father has planted will not be rooted up, but they need to be cared for. If a garden is not cared for, weeds will soon grow, and weeds are things that would interfere with the pleasure of the person to

whom the garden belongs. If we transfer the idea of the garden to a local company, every one of the brethren in the company is not only a tree, a part of the garden, but he is part of the assembly, to be with Christ in the maintenance of the interests of God in that garden. We must take up responsibility to have our part in caring for it.

So, "her husband confideth in her, and he shall have no lack of spoil. She doeth him good and not evil all the days of her life". Day after day she is doing her husband good. Are we doing the Lord good day after day? Day after day we have to recognise governmentally that we have to work and earn our own living, and accept the discipline that is involved, and get the gain of it as subject to the Father's hand; but in addition to that, there is always some feature of the Lord's interests to be cared for day after day.

Then it says, "She seeketh wool and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands". As you read the passage, you will be surprised at the references to her hands, showing she is a worker and that she works willingly with her hands. Wool is for warmth. It may be the brethren here do not need much wool, but in some countries wool is very acceptable and very essential. Wool is love among the brethren. There is nothing like the warmth of love. So in the passage read in 1 Thessalonians, the apostle says, "ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another. For also ye do this towards all the brethren in the whole of Macedonia; but we exhort you,

brethren, to abound still more". It is a question of the promotion and development of love. Then it says, "She seeketh … flax". That is practical righteousness, for flax is the basis of linen. She answers to what is such a prominent feature in the first epistle of John, that we are to be marked by righteousness and love. All this is going to promote the good of the local company. If I do not follow righteousness, if I am not concerned that all my ways are right in the sight of God, I am allowing an opening to the enemy to get in. The responsibility of the man was not only to till the garden, but to guard it. If I am not maintaining what is right in the sight of God in every relationship in which God has set me, I am opening a door for the enemy to get in.

This woman's activities are of great importance. "She is like the merchants' ships: she bringeth her food from afar". That is a reference to the exercise there should be in every local company, to see that we derive our supplies from the Holy Spirit, that we bring our food from afar. That will ensure freshness in the meetings. We do not merely depend on our mental knowledge, but we are dependent on Christ in heaven and the Spirit here. You say, Christ is far off! But, thank God, He is near in the Spirit and we are to be built up in all His fulness. The fulness of Christ is near to us in the Spirit and may be brought in in constant freshness for the building up of the souls of the saints. All these are features of the faithfulness of the virtuous woman. If we can only get into our minds and souls that Christ loves the

assembly and has given Himself for it, and she is to be a true wife to Him, I believe it will greatly promote the desire with every one of us to play our part in caring for His interests. That is how the affection of the faithful wife shows itself: she is faithful to Him in all His business, and this should give character to our lives.

"She riseth while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and the day's work to her maidens". There is not a suggestion of anything in the nature of idleness. She sets the example. Those who are older, and those who lead, should set an example to the younger ones. It is one of the most important things in Scripture that there should be examples set by those who lead in any company and those who are older.

Although the apostle at Thessalonica and Ephesus had a right to devote himself to the Lord's work and rely on the saints to support him, he did not exercise that right. He wanted to set an example of working with his own hands. Although he introduced the most exalted truth at Ephesus, he worked with his own hands, and as he leaves he says, "these hands have ministered to my wants, and to those who were with me. I have shewed you all things, that thus labouring we ought to come in aid of the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that he himself said, It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:34, 35). Thus the apostle was exemplifying it that the brethren might take it on. It is an important thing that those who take the lead

should be an example to those who are younger.

"She considereth a field, and acquireth it; of the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard". I take it that means she is alert to any fresh exercise the Lord is bringing forward. She would consider it with a view to securing it. A field is a fresh area from which fruit can be brought forth for the pleasure of God, a crop from harvest. If the Lord brings forward any fresh feature of the truth, He means that it should hold something further for God. She does not ignore anything fresh that is being brought out in ministry, she gets to the Lord, and if it is of God, she is exercised to make it her own. These are the lines on which the interests of God can be cared for.

"She perceiveth that her earning is good; her lamp goeth not out by night". This has a moral bearing on us. This is the night -- not that we can do without a night's sleep -- but this is the night of the Lord's absence, and there is no room for idleness or slothfulness. Her lamp must not go out. There is no room for slackening of exercise. The lamp is maintained burning throughout the night. Until the Lord comes, the light should burn for the pleasure of God in every place in which He has set us in responsibility.

"She stretcheth out her hand to the afflicted, and she reacheth forth her hands to the needy". Hand, or palm, as is suggested in the footnote b, suggests peculiar sensitiveness and tenderness. She is caring for those who are in affliction.

Then it says, "Her husband is known in the gates,

when he sitteth among the elders of the land. She maketh body linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant". There we have the thought of clothing again, body linen, that which is nearest to the person, standing for practical righteousness and holiness. She is concerned about it. This is a most important matter. It means what I really am, not what I may appear to be. God does not look on the outward appearance, He looks on the heart. It is the garment nearest to the person that is in mind here. In Exodus 29 when we are told about the clothing of the priests, the first thing that is mentioned is linen vests (verse 5), and that is the article of clothing that is nearest to the person. I have no doubt it refers to our being practically righteous and concerned about our conduct. That is important in connection with priestly service Godward.

"She maketh body linen, and selleth it". She would bring home to the brethren that this is something to be acquired on the principle of sacrifice. She is not giving it away, she is selling it. Others will be buying. It says, "Buy the truth, and sell it not" (Proverbs 23:23). We have to do the buying. So every feature of the truth that calls for a subjective answer calls for the element of buying.

Then it says, "She ... delivereth girdles". That refers to service, serving love. You remember in John 13 the Lord laid aside His garments and took a towel and girded Himself. A girdle is an emblem of service. The Lord took on what was really a bondman's service, the most menial service, washing the

disciples' feet in order to set an example of serving love. This woman makes girdles and sells them to the merchants. That also has to be bought, and she is setting the example. We have to learn how to serve the saints in love.

All this shows the different forms that service of love would take, and these things are to be going on all the time. The caring for, the promotion and the preservation of what is for the pleasure of God in every locality. We read that "She surveyeth the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. Her children rise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her: Many daughters have done worthily, but thou excellest them all". It is a beautiful picture of the kind of activities that the Lord is looking for in those of the assembly. It is to take shape in every place where His name is cherished and the truth of the assembly is valued.

This kind of activity is intended to be in evidence as we recognise we are of the assembly as Christ's wife, so to speak. It is not legal work, but activity in work that is the result of understanding that we have a place in the affections of the heart of Christ, and we have a privilege and a duty to see that we are constantly labouring in the work of the Lord to ensure the promotion of all that is for His pleasure in any locality, and that all that would militate against it, is excluded. We must maintain self-judgment in ourselves, and we may be able to help others. So it says in 1 Corinthians 15:58: "So then, my beloved brethren, be firm, immovable, abounding always in

the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord". Now that includes brothers and sisters. It is not gifted brothers, or prominent brothers or leading brothers; it is brothers and sisters, old and young, and it says, "abounding always".

This chapter in Proverbs 31 gives us some little idea, as we understand what some of the terms mean, of the many different ways in which we may be engaged in this most exalted form of work that God has in mind for His people. But let us also remind ourselves of the form of work that has come on us in the government of God, and we must submit ourselves to this and see that we have part in it. No one can resist the government of God without suffering for it, but if we accept it and submit ourselves to the discipline that it brings from day to day, we shall gain by it and we shall find that God will help us in our souls to develop in features that are pleasing to Himself, and that is what all His ways with us have in mind.

That is all I had in mind, dear brethren, the two kinds of work which have to be going on all the time, and the importance of it -- the exalted character of work in the service of God, and that which comes upon us in God's governmental ways. The two have to be going on together all the time, as I have said. The governmental ways of God will not cease, but we are fitted to have our share in the more exalted form, in which the Father is working and the Son and Holy Spirit are operating as examples. All this is intended to impress us with the moral value, in the

sight of God, of working.

Education in View of Barbados, the Testimony, pages 58 - 66. 2 February 1950. [2 of 2]

DIVINE SETTING AND CHOICE

F. B. Frost

Revelation 3:7 - 12; 1 Corinthians 12:13 - 18, 27, 28; Ephesians 1:3 - 7

I desire to say a word about divine setting and divine choice. In Revelation, the Lord Jesus says, "I have set before thee an opened door"; in Corinthians, "God has set the members … in the body, according as it has pleased him"; and in Ephesians, the Father has chosen us in Christ and marked us out for sonship beforehand through Jesus Christ to Himself. I believe the Lord would make an appeal to each one of us that we might realise how important saints are for the fulfilment of the plans of divine love. Each one has a part to fill out that no one else can possibly do. I believe the more we realise it, the more it will help us to accept responsibility, and to be more vitally in the testimony of our Lord at the present time.

In Revelation, the Lord appeared to John in Patmos, and showed him the whole history of the assembly from the beginning to the end. But there is one assembly that He particularly loves, and that is Philadelphia. So the features that marked the assembly in that place should be of great importance to us; not that we would claim to be the assembly, but because the assembly at the beginning of this dispensation was marked by great power as the apostles

testified in the power of the Holy Spirit. In regard to Philadelphia, one great commendation is, "thou hast a little power ... and hast not denied my name". There is a little power to maintain conditions in Philadelphia that are pleasing to the Lord Jesus. What makes an overcomer in these churches is the appreciation of Christ in the way He is presented to each assembly. He presents Himself to those in Philadelphia as "the holy, the true". These are moral features that we should be exercised to display in increasing measure in an unholy world through which we move day by day. We need to remember, if unholy things cross our path, that we are holy (1 Corinthians 3:17), God is holy and the assembly is a holy vessel. Christ was "the holy one of God" (John 6:69), who considered for God in every way. How do you produce holiness? Holiness is by love; righteousness is by faith, that is what you have received in the gospel, but holiness is by love.

The Lord presents Himself in this way and then as He "that has the key of David, he who opens and no one shall shut, and shuts and no one shall open", referring to Isaiah 22:22. He says to Philadelphia, "I have set before thee an opened door", and we, dear brethren, are living in the dispensation when that door is opened, and a wonderful favour it is, too. Think of the darkness that obtained in Christendom after the days of the apostles, and then think of the light that has come in from Luther onwards, but particularly in the last hundred and seventy years, when God sovereignly revived light as to His great

thoughts as to Christ as Head of the body, the assembly, then as to sonship, and God's purposes. Two other matters that were brought out in those days were the coming of Christ at the rapture, and the preciousness of the presence here of the Holy Spirit. So attention was drawn to the fact that Christ is the living Head in heaven of His assembly united to Him by the blessed Spirit. Wonderful light was brought into Christendom when there was deep concern as to what was transpiring in the public profession. And is there not concern with us today as we see the apostasy advancing on every hand in Christendom? How are we to move in such conditions? We need to appreciate "the opened door".

Light has been given, precious truth has been brought out, which we do well to look into and to be marked by it. So the Lord says here, "I have set before thee an opened door". Dear brother and sister, that is for you, and that is for me. We are greatly favoured in having precious light as to God's great thoughts of divine purpose, all that there is to be for the heart of Christ, and for the securing of the whole purpose of God. We need to remember that God has a purpose in regard to each one of us, and He has saved us through His grace in order that we might enter in by means of this opened door. The Lord has opened it sovereignly, so that those who love Him, and those whom He loves, might enter in to the greatness of divine thoughts. You say, Well, what are the great divine thoughts? The overcomer knows them, "He that overcomes, him will I make a pillar

in the temple of my God". The truth of the temple involves that the mind of man is shut out, the mind of God is brought in, and the presence of the Lord is known. So that, instead of one man teaching everybody, saints assemble together, dependent upon the Lord, and upon the Spirit, to inquire into the truth. The temple is a very precious and extensive thought. The Lord Jesus Himself was the Temple when He was here -- light shone in the Person of Jesus as a blessed Man here devoted to the will of God. But the temple involves, too, the presence of God. Paul says, "if … some unbeliever or simple person come in, he is convicted of all … he will do homage to God, reporting that God is indeed amongst you" (1 Corinthians 14:24, 25). The truth of the temple was operating there. The word and mind of God were being made known in convicting power too; there was no gainsaying it whatever. These are things that have been brought to our notice, and through grace we seek to maintain them, and to value them more and more.

The Lord says further of the overcomer, "I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God". He is desirous of giving us a knowledge of His blessed God. Think of that message on the resurrection morn, "go to my brethren and say to them, I ascend to my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God" (John 20:17). Do you know God? Are you in the enjoyment of His love? That is what Christ wants each one to have.

To the saints in Philadelphia the Lord says, "thou … has kept my word, and hast not denied my

name". They valued the word of Christ and He says, "I make them of the synagogue of Satan" -- that is, mere religious profession -- "I will cause that they shall come and shall do homage before thy feet, and shall know that I have loved thee". What a favour to be marked by features that draw out the love of Christ! I would like to have my part in that, and contribute to it.

But then we have to keep His word, "thou hast a little power, and hast kept my word". Persons may give up principles that apply to the assembly, they may set them on one side; but there is power by the Spirit to maintain things for Christ. He says, "If any one love me, he will keep my word" (John 14:23), and in doing so you will receive a conscious sense of being loved by Christ. This is the company that Christ loves, and this is the company for me; not a perfect company, but one that loves Christ. Thou "hast kept my word" involves exercise; "and hast not denied my name", you cannot let things pass that are contrary to the pleasure and name of Christ.

He says too, "thou hast kept the word of my patience". We also are waiting in patience for that day when Christ will take up His rights and reign supremely, and there will be perfect administration. What blessing will result from Christ's reign! "And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour … saying, Know Jehovah; for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith Jehovah" (Jeremiah 31:34). That is the millennial day that is ahead. What a day it will be under the

reign of Christ! "I come quickly; hold fast what thou hast, that no one take thy crown".

Now the passage in 1 Corinthians 12 speaks about the members of the body of Christ and the power of one Spirit. "We have all been baptised into one body". Baptism by water means that you are submerged, in view of being separated from the world; but baptism by the Spirit means that you are merged with your brethren, you are not independent. You cannot say, 'I can do without that member', for you need them all; or 'They are a little awkward sometimes'. Maybe, but that is our opportunity to show the Spirit of Christ, which is a test to us, but something can be formed in our souls as a result. The One who lives for us, will help us work out the truth of the body in detailed consideration and feelings for one another, reflecting something of the priestly feelings of Christ towards you and me as members of His body.

The point I want to come to is this, "But now God has set the members, each one of them in the body, according as it has pleased him". God has set you and me where we are, as it has pleased Him, not haphazardly, it is sovereignly ordered of God. It is one thing to have the truth of the body, another thing to work it out, but it works as each individual member realises that he or she is a member "in particular". There is no other member exactly the same as you. Who is going to be you if you are not yourself? You have to be yourself, that is, according to the work of God in you, and you have a responsibility to

fulfil that no one else can fulfil exactly, and all this is divinely ordered by God Himself, for "God has set the members, each one of them in the body, according as it has pleased him".

Then Paul adds, "Now ye are Christ's body, and members in particular". He is trying to bring home to these Corinthian saints, who were following men, that Christ is to be supreme, and that they were to function as they should in the body of Christ. I should like to emphasise the expression, "ye are … members in particular". You say, I am a nobody. That may be perfectly true, for so we all would be but for Christ's grace. But on the other hand, according to divine sovereignty you are a member "in particular", and you are set in that place where you live for some particular reason, and that is to reflect Christ. As you reflect Christ, it will affect the next member, and one locality affects another locality, and things work out in mutuality, but it is the fruit of accepting responsibility. I cannot leave my service for someone else to do. You cannot say to another member, I do not have any need of you. We need one another, and we do so increasingly, and, thank God, the body is working at the present time. May it continue to do so, and may there be an increase in it.

In Ephesians 1 Paul says, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ; according as he has chosen us in him before the world's foundation … having marked us out beforehand for adoption through Jesus Christ to

himself". God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ. No other family will have all the blessings that the assembly has, and God desires that you might enjoy every one of these rich blessings that He has in His heart for you to enter into by the Spirit, "who is the earnest of our inheritance" (verse 14). God in the past eternity had His purpose, but His counsel involves deliberation, how He would carry out His purpose. It involved a divine Person coming into Manhood, going to that cross of shame, "given up by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God" (Acts 2:23). The working out of God's purpose involved the gift of His only-begotten Son.

Paul says, "having marked us out beforehand for adoption", that is what you have been marked out for. What is adoption? -- sonship. God's great purpose is to have men in the relationship of sons to praise and adore Him for ever, as knowing Him and desiring to respond to Him, and He has given the Spirit that that response might be sustained.

May we receive some impression of the riches of God's grace that has brought this about, for He has in view, "the praise of the glory of his grace", and He is going "to head up all things in the Christ" (verse ). It is good to read this first chapter of Ephesians for it is all so definite.

Now my object in reading this is that things might be deliberate with you, not casual. It is a great thing to be deliberate and definite, to have a purpose. Paul says to Timothy, "But thou hast been

thoroughly acquainted with my … purpose" (2 Timothy 3). In Philippians, Paul says, "I pursue, looking towards the goal, for the prize of the calling on high of God in Christ Jesus" (chapter 3: 14). All these blessings are centred in Christ where He is. But it is important to be believers who have a definite purpose.

God has put His mark, so to speak, upon us in view of our having part in sonship, He wants us to enter into it, and so He has sealed us "with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the earnest of our inheritance", for the enjoyment of all this now as filled vessels praising God with spiritual intelligence, knowing what God's purpose is, and the wonder of His counsel in which He has brought it all to pass.

May we appreciate these things in greater measure, for His Name's sake.

Folkestone, 27 July 2002.

FORMATION OF THE FAMILY OF GOD

J. Taylor

John 11:5; John 13:1, 33 - 35

There are many peculiarities about this gospel that might be spoken of with profit, but I want now to confine myself mainly to that feature of it that suggests the formation of the family of God. That we, as believers in Christ, have part in the divine family, is one of the most precious facts involved in our position here. I am not speaking of the place we shall have in the future, for then we shall be one family among other families, as we read in Ephesians.

Speaking of the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ the apostle says, "of whom every family in the heavens and on earth is named". Thus we learn that there shall be many families and that we shall have our place as a family amongst others. I do not intend to speak of that, but of the place that we have now whilst here on earth, as John says, Jesus, "having loved his own who were in the world, loved them to the end". This Gospel takes account of the saints as here in the world as to our outward position, and it shows how we have this place with God as a family, and that the Lord Jesus is, so to say, Head. He is our Head.

Now I read the passage in chapter 11, in order to show how He, when here, could love a family, not exactly that which was His own, or of which He was Head, but that He could love and did love a family, for although Martha's, Mary's and Lazarus' parents had evidently passed away, the family affections remained; not parental affections or filial affections, but the affections that belong properly to brothers and sisters. The circle at Bethany was evidently a parentless one: a family without parents. No greater calamity can befall a family than that it should be deprived of the parents, and so this family at Bethany afforded an opportunity to Christ to show His affection, and how He could make up for the loss that existed.

Luke records that in the house at Emmaus the Lord took the place of Head; in the margin of the better translation you have the "House father" ['…

He took the house-father's place, and blessed and gave it to them' -- footnote f, Luke 24:30]. He took that place. He could very readily have disclosed Himself to the two as they journeyed on the way. He could have told them, but He did not, He had other thoughts. He caused their heart to burn on the way, but He waited till the meal was set in order that He should have the opportunity of disclosing Himself in this peculiar function, that is, the function of Head.

Now I believe that at the present time that is where Christians are most defective. We are most defective, I believe, in the apprehension of Christ as Head, so He would seize every opportunity to bring Himself before us in that light, for a headless family is obviously not the divine thought. The divine thought is that families should have heads, all working up to the great divine idea that Christ should be Head, and that is the lesson to be read in every household.

Adam is said to be "the figure of him to come" (Romans 5:14), and Adam was head, but he made a very poor showing, I need not say, in the exercise of his function, and Eve fell in the non-recognition of it. Had she observed the place that God had given to her husband in regard to herself, she would have replied to Satan, 'Adam is my head, I am to get my instructions from him'. But instead of this she listened to the tempter, and so, beloved brethren, Christians generally are exposed to the tempter because of the non-recognition and non-understanding of the headship of Christ.

Now you will recall how Genesis 3 and 4 are both marked by the disaster that flowed from Eve's disregard of the divine function placed in Adam; she figures in chapter 4, she names the children, and it is one disaster after another: a man, the progeny departing farther and farther away from God, until at the end Seth has a child born to him, and he called his name Enosh; that is, he comes to recognise that the offspring is of a poor, failing, dying creature: he accepts the judgment, and so it says, "Then people began to call on the name of Jehovah" (Genesis 4:26).

There is recovery there: recovery brings back to the thought of headship and so in the next chapter Adam and Eve are formally taken account of; God "called their name Adam" (chapter 5: 2). God graciously takes into account recovery, and recovery to His original thought. He had never forgotten the principle of headship and He called their name Adam and so, in the line of Seth, from the one who is recovered to headship, we have the line of life, and dear brethren, John is the life-line.

In Genesis 5 the life-line is seen; in it all die except one [Enoch], and the exception, beloved brethren, establishes the line of life. One man in that chapter is pleasing to God, and mark you, the pleasure came in when he began to have a family; he begat a son; he became a parent, and from that moment he walked with God for 300 years. Depend upon it, walking with God, as he was a head of his family, he brought the influence of God into his household, and it was said of him, "he was not, for God took him"

(chapter 5: 24); God took him! It says in Hebrews, "for before his translation he has the testimony that he had pleased God" (chapter 11: 5), he walked with God. It does not simply say that God walked with him, not but that God did help him in regard to his affairs, but Enoch walked with God. That is the point for the present time. It fits in with John.

I think that John 5 places before us the opposite of what the apostle intends to present to us in that regard; that is, the pool of Bethesda. The pool is a stagnant water which is the opposite to what John would present to us. You have meetings that are only moved as an angel comes, so to say, and such a meeting as that is not in life. John would bring about life. "These are written that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing ye might have life in his name" (John 20:31). A meeting of Christians in the light and good of John's ministry is not like the pool of Bethesda.

The principle of the pool of Bethesda was that an angel came down at a period and it required some power to get the benefit; the poor man was moved, but he had no power, no energy, hence the pool of Bethesda is not the principle of John. The principle of John is rather running water, living water. He brings in living water in chapter 4, it becomes in the believer a fountain; that is, it moves of itself, it is the Holy Spirit. Do not wait for external influences; there are such and of the best kind, but the principle of John is what is internal: he presents to us the truth of the Holy Spirit as a self-acting power in the heart.

Let us learn to wait, in the exercises of our soul, for the movement of the Holy Spirit; and I ask you, Are you ever conscious of the movements of the Holy Spirit? Jesus says, "the water which I shall give him shall become in him a fountain of water, springing up into eternal life" (chapter 4: 14). Do we realise that the Holy Spirit is verily in us? If we do not, let us wait before God about it. As the apostle says, prove your own selves, see if Christ is in you (cf. 2 Corinthians 13:5). It is well to do that; that one should prove in one's own soul the reality and the presence of this self-acting power, the "fountain of water", the power of living water springing up into eternal life, and then, as you have it in chapter 7, there are rivers flowing out for the benefit of others (verse 38).

These are suggestions as to what John presents to us; as I was remarking, John speaks of movement. The spring is the Holy Spirit. You are to move, that is the fundamental principle of Christianity, viewed as a living order of things down here, and I again repeat that every one of us should find out, in his own soul, whether he has this self-acting Power, and if you have not realised it, I would seek to urge you to turn to God about it. It should be acting in you, that is the divine thought.

I have thought of Caleb's daughter; she asks her father to give her springs of water, and he gave her the upper springs and the nether springs, (Joshua 15:13 - 19) and I would especially commend to you the nether springs, the Spirit of God in the Christian acting of Himself in your affections so that they

might spring up, and move towards God. In John chapter 4 they spring up, in chapter 7, they flow out.

The Holy Spirit gathers the affections of the believer and fixes them on Christ in heaven, but then, as I was remarking, you have to move, I have to move. You find in this gospel, as the Lord comes into touch with souls, and as they come into touch with Him, each one is moved. Now to give you a well-known passage in chapter 1, John stood. It was on the morrow, he had been working, but the Lord comes to him, and he says, "he it is who baptises with the Holy Spirit" (verse 33). Now John stands, as if to say, 'The One who baptises with the Holy Spirit is on the scene, my work is done', and now he stands and looks at Jesus as He walked. What movement! What a walk that was!

Enoch walked with God, but here is the walk of the Lamb. Think of the intelligence, of the affection, of the purpose and devotedness, think of all that entered into those holy steps of Christ, the Lamb of God. John saw that: the two that stood by apparently did not see it, but they heard him, they heard what John had to say. How important it is to listen. And they followed Jesus. They heard John speak, and they followed Jesus; there was movement after Christ. The Lord says, as if to test what you have in your heart, in your movements, "What seek ye?" They say, "Rabbi (which, being interpreted, signifies Teacher), where abidest thou?" and He answers, "Come and see" (chapter 1: 38, 39). The principle is movement throughout, it is not a fixed state of things

that John is presenting.

The saints whilst down here are to be in the movement or energy of life, so He says, "Come and see", and they came and saw where He dwelt and dwelt with Him that day, and they began to move. Andrew finds Peter his brother, Philip finds Nathaniel, and in each case there is movement. Nathaniel is dubious about the Lord and asks, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth" and Philip replies, "Come and see" (verse 46). You have to move, the principle is movement. And now the Lord seeing Nathanael coming to Him says, "Behold one truly an Israelite, in whom there is no guile", and Nathaniel says to Him, "Whence knowest thou me?" and the Lord answered, "Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee". He replies, "thou art the Son of God, thou art the King of Israel" (verses 46 - 49). What results!

Ministry by J. Taylor, Newcastle, England, N.S. Volume 11, pages 56 - 61. November 1919. [1 of 2]

THE LORD'S SERVICE AND THE SERVICE OF BELIEVERS (2)

R. Besley

Luke 9:57 - 62; Luke 10:1 - 11, 17 - 21

There is a service which is open to all of us, and I believe that service today partakes of the character of Levitical service, as was seen in the tabernacle system. It is a wonderful position, for which any here may feel qualified -- a position recognised by Jehovah.

You will recall that Eleazar was the prince of princes of the Levites (Numbers 3:32). I believe it typifies the Lord Jesus as the great Servant in the service of God in this world. He may be regarded by us in all His supreme blessedness as the Prince of princes of the Levites. The Levites were taken up by God, not by man, and they were taken up from a very early age to stand in a position of approbation within the tabernacle system.

I believe that from this we may understand that God has His eye definitely upon every believer. He has, according to His own thoughts, assigned a place for service for every one. You will recall that the Lord uttered this remarkable word, "having … given to his bondmen the authority, and to each one his work" (Mark 13:34).

I am firmly convinced that the Lord has in His mind that every one of us should be employed. There is no such thing contemplated as unemployment among the people of God. Think of the Levites. Their service was to begin at thirty years of age (Numbers 4:3). They were to serve until fifty. There is no age limit in the church. None of us can place our names on the retired list. We are all to serve till the end. The age of fifty is to show that the power of service is ever to be in the power of perennial youth and energy. You will also remember that at a later time they began their service at twenty-five (Numbers 8:24). David established it that the Levites were to begin their work at twenty (1 Chronicles 23:24). The last words of David were that they were to

begin their work at twenty. There was good reason for that. It had the shadow of the spiritual type. If we are in the spirit and power of subjugation we shall be prepared to serve at the early period.

There is the divine side in connection with service. There is the moment when the person steps forward as prepared to serve. We get an answer to what we have here in Luke 9. A man steps forward and says, "I will follow thee wheresoever thou goest, Lord". Has that moment arrived in the history of every one here? The Lord has taken you up; your outlook is one of supreme blessedness as to the present moment. Have you said, "I will follow thee … Lord"? I cannot conceive that any believer will place any reservation on himself, in view of what Christ has done. Surely, under the impulse of love, every one would say, "I will follow thee … Lord". The Lord values that. You may be assured, my dear young brother, if the Lord Jesus has heard it, He has taken account, and values more than you can conceive your definite vow of following.

The Lord tested the speaker here. He said, "The foxes have holes and the birds of the heaven roosting-places, but the Son of man has not where he may lay his head". Are we prepared to follow a rejected Christ who has no place in this world? It is a very solemn consideration that Christ has no place in this world. He has a place in the church -- in the assembly -- but no place in this world. The Lord could say truly, "the Son of man has not where he may lay his head" ...

To the next one the Lord becomes the speaker. He says to him, "Follow me". It is not a question of my preparedness to follow; it is a direct summons to follow. It is not the time of service here; it is the time of probation. One says, "Lord, allow me to go first and bury my father". This was a sentimental avoidance of the claims of Christ. The divine claim shall free any and every heart. The claim of the Father's love dominated the heart of Jesus through His life. The divine claim was supreme in His heart. Thrones, kingdoms, wealth -- these had no attractions for Him whatever. He says, "Suffer the dead to bury their own dead". No claim stands: "Follow me" is the word for us!

You know that the Levites came to light according to Exodus 32 in the hour of terrible breakdown, when Aaron and the people went down to idolatry. The Levites stood for God, and God placed a high value on that standing. He took them for His first call.

Let that word be heard in every heart: "Follow me". It is the probation. Who is prepared to follow a rejected Christ -- a suffering Christ -- a poor, despised Man? Who is prepared, I say?

Another addresses the Lord: "first allow me to bid adieu to those at my house". He has not broken with the house. Social ties are a great hindrance to the servants of Christ. It is not only relations; it is the people of the house. How this must have pained the Lord's heart! Here was one who could hesitate. There are many things right in their place which are

totally wrong out of their place.

At the close of the chapter the Lord says, "No one having laid his hand on the plough and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God". It is not a question of turning back, but of looking back.

Allow me to ask -- and credit me with true affection -- you, who have been on the road for many years, is there any looking back? Has some wretched thing of the world come in; have you got your hand on the plough? Are you ready to be a labourer? Workmen are spoken of here -- not preachers. The hand of the believer should be on the plough, and he is never going to look back. The rule of the heavens is in the hands of that glorified Man in the majesty on high. He has a supreme claim on our hearts. This is no legal thing; it is a thing we do because we cannot help it.

Love is the most incalculable thing in the world; there is no looking back. It is what I may call the probationary appointment of the Levite.

I once noticed the emblem of a missionary society representing a man standing between an altar and a plough. Underneath was the motto: 'READY FOR EITHER'.

We need to know something of the plough. Considerable knowledge is required; a novice cannot plough. I have often watched men ploughing; it is a matter of education. The ploughman has to plough straight; there must be no deviation; so he must keep his eye on the end of the furrow, or he will not plough straight.

Have you started your service? The Lord will not forget you. You will know something about it at the judgment-seat of Christ. You say, I spoke to a boy at school about Christ. You will get a reward for that. Your hand is on the plough; now see that you do not look back. Consider for a moment what a kingdom you are in. I do not believe that any of us serve according to the divine conception of service until we realise the kingdom in which we are; it is a kingdom destined to stand out when every other kingdom has faded into oblivion ... The resources of the kingdom of God are at the disposal of those that serve.

"The wisdom from above" (James 3:17). I have thought much of the wisdom lately. I am not now speaking of the Deity. I am speaking of His manhood. I believe there is a wisdom that can apprehend and comprehend and know every single inhabitant by name. Think of the Lord being able to regard all the vast ramifications of the world! Everything is known to God -- every solitary item. You may know what it is to stand serving, and to be utterly at a loss; but in the critical hour you call on the Lord, and a flood of light fills your soul.

We have stepped into the place of workmen. I believe this is a day when we need to take the work to heart. It is not a day for idling, or for the pursuit of pleasure; it is not a day that justifies rest. In a general way we are called to work.

The Lord's Service and the Service of Believers [2 of 3], pages 14 - 20. [1 of 2]

THE NAZARITE SERVANT

The vow of the Nazarite (Numbers 6:1 - 12) was voluntary, and from simple devotedness to Jehovah. This always involves sacrifice and an abnegation of the excitements of this world; the Lord must have us all to Himself, and we do not want the wine -- the excitements of this world, when devoted or separated to Him. He will entirely satisfy your heart, but He will not acknowledge your separation if you take the wine -- any part of it, from the kernel to the husk. You must be simply and entirely His.

What was required of a Jew in natural things is true as to us spiritually. The Lord will not own my separation if I am not satisfied with it as the portion which He gives, distinct from the cheer that the earth offers me. This is the first condition; the second is, that my external appearance must declare my vow, and though nature may disapprove of this, God owns it. Thirdly, I am not for any relation, however near, to make myself unclean. If I mix with the world -- the dead men around me -- I know, like Samson, that I have lost. I may shake myself in vain, the distinctiveness of my character is lost, and with it the inward power to sustain such a character.

But there is recovery in expressing that you have totally forfeited your title to this mark; this simply means a complete humiliation and building nothing on a former character. The Nazarite who has defiled the head of his consecration must shave his head in the day of his cleansing. You stand before the Lord without a hair! asserting nothing for yourself, and, on the other hand, asserting atonement and a sweet savour in Christ. Thus you are restored.

Letters of J. B. Stoney, Volume 1, pages 260, 261.

THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST

P. W. Burton

Philippians 1:18 - 24; Acts 7:54 - 60; Luke 2:22 - 32

I am exercised to bring before our hearts the thought that the Spirit of Christ should mark us in an increasing way. We read of three persons in whom, I think, something of the Spirit of Christ was seen. It is a feature, I believe, that the Holy Spirit would particularly promote at the close of this dispensation, so that the Spirit of the ascended Man, the One who has gone out of this world, may be portrayed in the lives -- in the walk, words and actions -- of His people here. What He will rapture to Himself will be, in a peculiar way, characterised by His own blessed Spirit.

The men of whom we have read were each ready to depart out of this scene. I would like to suggest that the Spirit of Christ links with the thought of spiritual maturity, and a readiness to go to be with the Lord. The more spiritually mature we are, I believe, the more we will be marked by the Spirit of Christ. That does not mean to say that we have to wait till we are old before it should mark us, because the Spirit is working, and He is not working haphazardly, but He is working to an end, that, when the moment comes, and the Lord raptures His own to Himself, there will be maturity found in those that are ready to go. The Spirit, if we make room for Him, will effect growth and maturity in our souls.

Paul refers in a very affecting way to "the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ", the supply of the Spirit

of the Man, Jesus Christ. What a spirit marked Paul (as Saul) as an unconverted man! By his own description, he was "an insolent overbearing man" (1 Timothy 1:13), and one that was "breathing out threatenings and slaughter" (Acts 9:1). What a spirit marked him! a religious fervour, but in opposition to God, a spirit that was the opposite of the Spirit of the Man that met him on that Damascus road. What a changed man he became! What different feelings marked him as we see from his prayers in the epistle to the Ephesians; what a change in his out-breathings compared to a man who was threatening slaughter.

"The supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ". Is there any lack in that supply? Is it dwindling at the end of this dispensation? Surely not; it is a supply to superabundance. You can drink of this supply and drink again. The supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ is available through this whole dispensation, the Spirit of the Man that was here, who is now on high. If there is a shortage in its expression, the lack lies with me in not having to do with this Man, not being occupied enough with Him as He is and where He is, to have imbibed a rich supply of His Spirit so that I might come out like Him here.

Paul speaks of Christ being "magnified in my body whether by life or by death". Paul lived for Christ, even died for Christ. In both was the manifestation of the Spirit of the Master that he served. "Christ shall be magnified in my body". Paul could speak of himself as a model: "Be my imitators, even

as I also am of Christ" (1 Corinthians 11:1). Think of a man here that could not only display something of the glory of the Master that he served, but magnified Him in his body. Why? Because he had drunk deeply and continually of the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. He drank so that what came out in him was of the character of the life of that Man.

"For me to live is Christ". That is the expression of a man who has drunk into the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ; an expression that challenges my heart greatly. Have I anything in my life that does not magnify Christ? Is there anything there that is not of His character? For Paul, to live was Christ, and in that life the Spirit of that Man, and blessed features of Him, were displayed.

Paul was ready to depart, to go and be with Christ. There was nothing in the world, nor any event that Paul wanted to wait for; he was ready to go to be with Christ which "is very much better". Such was the depth to which he had drunk of this supply, that nothing could hold him here. Mr. Stoney often used the illustration of a balloon -- it needed to be tethered or else it would be gone! Paul was ready to go to be with Christ. He speaks later in this epistle of being "taken possession of by Christ Jesus" (chapter 3: 12). How fully and completely Paul had been taken up by Christ and allowed that blessed Man to have full sway with him. Are you longing to go and be with Christ? or are there unnecessary things tethering you to earth? Paul said that he was "pressed … having the desire for departure and being with Christ

… but remaining in the flesh is more necessary for your sakes". There is a saying which is very true: those who are most ready to go are those who are of most use to stay. There was nothing to distract Paul here; his eyes were on the glory. The Lord could entrust many things to Paul, precious truth for His own. May we drink deeply and continually into the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ! It is not, I think, something that we do once, only; I believe the way in which it is presented, "the supply of the Spirit", suggests something that we are to continually drink of, so that we come out in the features that mark Him.

Stephen was probably a younger man, whose ministry and public service was very short. His was a suffering pathway. He was one of whom it could be said that he was "full of faith and the Holy Spirit" (Acts 6:5). Stephen had made way for divine things in his heart, and the Spirit had an abiding dwelling place there, "full of … the Holy Spirit". His service, as we have said, was short, yet he comes out with a distinctive testimony of the Spirit of his Lord and Master. He had the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, and what he portrayed in the midst of very great suffering was a distinctive expression of Jesus, the Spirit of Jesus, and it must have had its effect upon Paul himself (Saul, as he was then), for he was resisting the Holy Spirit when Stephen was speaking.

Stephen speaks of resisting in his address: "Ye do always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers, ye

also". After this expression of Stephen, you find Saul more determined on his path of destruction: "Saul ravaged the assembly" (Acts 8:3). He was kicking against what the Lord was quietly saying to him, and the demonstration of the Spirit. God would bring him down. Stephen's testimony was something distinctive -- really, the Spirit's testimony to Christ on high. What was found in Stephen therefore, I believe, we should look for and seek to have at the end of this dispensation: the distinctiveness of Stephen's view into heaven should be ours; and the spirit that marked him should be ours. There should be power to display something of the features of the Spirit of the Man that has gone out of this world.

In Stephen's time, the Lord had not long left this earth. What features had marked Him as He walked here -- the compassion, the grace, the kindness, the feeling that marked the Saviour was seen day by day in His footsteps. Stephen was showing forth an extension of that. Can we still show forth the Spirit of Jesus Christ here, two thousand years on from when His blessed feet walked this scene? Is the Spirit of that blessed Man, who was not wanted here, is it still being portrayed in the life and walk of His people today? Men may think that the Spirit of Christ is one of weakness.

Stephen said some strong words to those he was addressing, but they were true words, and if those who heard them had bowed to them, they would have come into the fulness of blessing; but they rejected Stephen's words, resisted them, as always. He

says to them, "of whom ye have now become deliverers up and murderers!" (chapter 7: 52). The spirit of murder is in the world, and may be in our spirits naturally. As having drunk of the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what should come out is something very different. Here was a man about to be murdered -- they were going to add to their murderous history by stoning Stephen -- and what comes out? the same Spirit as was seen in the Lord when they murdered Him.

Which of us knows what we may be called upon to go through? Maybe we will not be called upon to go through testing like this, but we can expect to suffer reproach for His name, and if there is the Spirit of Christ to be seen in my life, it will bring forth reproach, for the same feelings that met Christ will meet those who express His Spirit here. What does Peter say? "If ye are reproached in the name of Christ, blessed are ye; for the Spirit of glory and the Spirit of God rests upon you" (1 Peter 4:14).

What darkness lay upon the hearts of those whom Stephen addressed, but what a shining of the Spirit of glory was upon Stephen. They had already beheld "his face as the face of an angel" (chapter 6: 15). Some of the words he said were hard, but his face was shining with the light and the grace of the Man that would shine upon them if they subjected themselves to the word. He said, "I behold the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God". The heavens had never been opened upon another man before, apart from Jesus, the

blessed Man who was here for the Father's delight: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I have found my delight" (Matthew 3:17). What a blessed expression of the satisfaction and joy of the heart of God in what He found in Jesus! They are opened again. Why? Because heaven had seen something of the Spirit of that Man in Stephen that it could acclaim. I trust that I am not taking away in any sense from the distinctiveness of Christ, but the heavens were opened to a man who showed the Spirit of that Man. Stephen knew he had no future here. Did it concern him? Did it worry him? Did he have regrets? No, his eyes looked into heaven where his Saviour was, where the light of glory was, where he would soon enter in spirit. That was what was thrilling Stephen's heart, despite the outward suffering -- the light of where Jesus is, "standing at the right hand of God".

"Lord Jesus, receive my spirit". Could there be any doubt that Christ would receive that spirit? No, because the spirit of Stephen had been really formed by the Spirit of Christ. Finally, Stephen says, "Lord, lay not this sin to their charge". He had walked in the steps of his Master, displaying the Spirit of the Man who had gone before.

Simeon was a man to whom the Holy Spirit could speak, and who could speak to the Holy Spirit. He was a man formed by the Spirit of God in a day in which the Spirit was not known as He is now, that is, as indwelling. But Simeon almost goes beyond his own day, and he has the light of Christ in his heart. He had no position outwardly, no official title;

he was not a priest, like John the Baptist's father, neither is he said to be a prophet. Simeon was "a man in Jerusalem", one in whom God had evidently worked in a distinctive way. As with many people in Scripture, we are not told the hidden workings of God in the soul, but what we are given to see is the result, what is brought into expression.

"It was divinely communicated to him by the Holy Spirit, that he should not see death before he should see the Lord's Christ". I do not know how long Simeon had to wait for the fulfilment of that communication, but, whether it was a short time or whether it was a long time, he was ready to depart. He must have been in expectation every time he came into the temple, ready to see the Lord's Christ.

Are our hearts in expectation for the Lord to come? Will His coming be like that of a thief in the night to us, or, as being with the Spirit, are we ready and eagerly waiting for Him? Simeon was ready for that, and in something of the Spirit of Christ, "he received him into his arms". I think heaven was delighted with this moment. John says of the Lord Jesus, "He came to his own, and his own received him not" (John 1:11), yet Simeon was waiting for Him. In the Lord's pathway here He could receive little children into His arms and bless them. As a Child, Jesus Himself was received into the arms of a man who was ready and waiting to receive Him. Simeon was characterised by the Spirit of the Man who came here, the Spirit of Jesus Christ. I think heaven was delighted with that expression found in Simeon.

When it came to that point when they brought those little children to Jesus, the disciples tried to turn them away. They were not marked then with the Spirit of the Man with whom they had companied. The Lord has to set them aside: "Suffer little children to come to me" (Luke 18:16). The disciples did not know the Spirit of the Man that was there, that longed to receive those children in His arms and bless them. Oh! how we would love to bring the little ones into the arms of Jesus, as it were, that He may bless them.

The Lord Jesus is interested in young persons. He cares about them. Though He is so great, so glorious, One that we speak of as Lord, One to whom we bow the knee, such is the Spirit of the Saviour, that He would long to have you, to receive you, as it were, into His arms. The Lord Jesus would never turn away one who desired to come to Him.

Have you received an impression of Christ today? Are you going to turn it aside, saying, 'It does not fit in with what I was thinking; it might cut across what I want to do'. Oh! do not turn aside an impression of Christ that the Spirit may have given you today. It may only be small in your appreciation, but receive it into your heart, receive it in the spirit in which He has received you, so that you might come out in the Spirit of the Man that has gone up.

Christ is not here. He is not in this world, neither should our hopes, our life, our interests or our expectations be here. Can they be here, if Christ is not here? Be like Paul, like Stephen, like Simeon, with a

hope that is outside this world, and be ready to go to be with the Lord, to meet Him in the air. May it be the expectation burning brightly in our hearts by the Spirit, so that we might say, Come, to the Lord Jesus without reservation, without anything hindering, but as being ready to go to meet Him. When we see Him, "we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is" (1 John 3:2). What a moment that will be! May it be that we are waiting for Him, for His Name's sake.

Londonderry, 28 September 2002.

FORMATION OF THE FAMILY OF GOD

J. Taylor

John 11:5; John 13:1, 33 - 35

I have been thinking today of the word the Lord uses, "nor shall they say, Lo here, or, Lo there; for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you" (Luke 17:21). It is a mistake to be looking for something special: the thing is to use what is available and what is available is the kingdom of God, and it is in you if you have the Holy Spirit. So the Lord says to Nathanael, "Because I said to thee, I saw thee under the fig-tree, believest thou? Thou shalt see greater things than these … Henceforth ye shall see the heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of man" (John 1:50, 51). What encouragement there is! There is no end to what He presents. Henceforth: the Lord holds out before us a vista of glory! "Thou shalt see

greater things than these", and so right on.

Nicodemus comes to Jesus by night and says to Him, "Rabbi, we know that thou art come a teacher from God" (John 3:2). He recognises Jesus come from God, and so does the woman, as I have remarked, as the Lord spoke to her, she "left her waterpot and went away into the city" (John 4:28), and the reason why she left her waterpot is remarkable instruction. We might say she might conveniently fill it and take it back with her. There is a spiritual significance: she acts in accord with the light the Lord had presented to her. She went back to the city and says to the men "Come, see a man who told me all things I had ever done: is not he the Christ?" (verse ). Again there is movement: she moved and urged them to move and they moved. It says they came to the Lord and they said, Now we believe ourselves. Throughout you have this principle of movement, not the energy of the flesh, but the movement that is the result of the work of God by the Holy Spirit in the souls of His people.

Now coming to the family, the Lord shows in John 2, that He can have sympathy in what we might call a family affair, a marriage. He has His disciples there. It says, He was invited and His disciples. He can be there and He is there in connection with His own family. Evidently the Lord had a place in this circle, so His disciples were invited and the result was that He became pre-eminent in the scene, and His disciples believed on Him. He had in view the formation of His own disciples and the result, as I

said, was that He manifested forth His glory and His disciples believed on Him. So they became, as one may say, the Lord's portion. I do not stretch the scripture when I say that He calls them children, and to my mind this is a precious thought. We belong to the household of Christ. We are His household, but He shows in regard to other households how He can love them, and is it not an encouraging thought for those of us who have households, who are heads of households, that He can love them? He can love a family, He has a peculiar delight in a family that is rightly ordered, where the parents are in the enjoyment of His own relation to the assembly, and where the children are brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

Jesus delights in a family like that. He never takes it as His family, it is always yours, and so in the circle at Bethany, He loves the household. You may ask, Why do you say so? Because it says He loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. It does not say He loved Mary, Martha, and Lazarus: He loved Martha, she was the owner of the house. I see in that the Lord graciously recognising her as the parents were not there. Now the Lord loved her, and her sister, and Lazarus. He can love a household.

But then it is all to lead us over to the side of His household, that we might have part in that, and so in chapter 11, Caiaphas being high priest that year prophesied that Jesus should die for the nation, and then John the evangelist adds, and not for that nation only: He had in mind the family of God, that the

children of God should be gathered into one (verses 50 - 52).

I want to call particular attention to the place that part of the truth holds in chapter 11. The evangelist adds immediately, "and not for that nation only, but that he should also gather together into one the children of God who were scattered abroad". Let us beware of national feelings; "not for that nation only". The principle of Christianity is that the children of God everywhere should be gathered. The house of God is a universal thought, not a national or international one, it is universal, it embraces all the children of God, and the Lord did not only die for that nation, but that He might gather together into one; it is a remarkable expression, "the children of God who were scattered abroad".

In chapter 13, the Lord, as I apprehend it, is acting as the Head of His family, having loved His own. Beautiful thought! Could anything in a way express His care more than that for "his own". You have an expression in Acts 20:28, very similar in regard to God's affection for Christ; "the blood of his own", without saying who "his own" is. Jesus loved His own. Think of being amongst those whom He so regards! And then it adds, "having loved his own who were in the world", for He takes account of us in that position, He "loved them to the end". I am convinced that the Lord at the present time, which is the end, as one may say, is bringing about family affections, and I believe the Supper, with all that is contingent upon it, is the centre of those affections.

It is not mentioned here in this chapter, but it was instituted at the same time, the same night of which this chapter reads. John gives us more of what was going on in the Lord's heart than any of the other evangelists, and above all this expression that He loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. Then He expresses that love in the service that follows. I do not dwell on that. I am concerned only to show how He brings about family affections. He serves them, and then He says, "If I therefore, the Lord and the Teacher, have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another's feet" (verse 14). You are to be without a head as regards your outward position in this world, but in spite of that you are to have the principle of mutuality amongst you: you are to wash one another's feet. It is not Peter should wash John's feet, or John, Peter's, they were to wash one another's feet. It would be mutual.

Do you understand there are mutual obligations in the household circle, and that no one is immune from them? These obligations rest on every member of the household, "one another's feet". He addresses them later by His parental expression of children, and it is an expression on the part of the Lord that is taken little notice of. But it is only one who is in the position of a parent literally, or in a moral sense, who can employ such an expression, and so He says here in chapter 13: 33, "Children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me … Where I go ye cannot come, I say to you also now". This intimates clearly that He was to be elsewhere and they were to

be left by themselves.

I am not ignoring what is said in chapter 14, that He would come to them, but this passage intimates plainly that they should be in circumstances in which He should not be with them, "as I said to the Jews, Where I go ye cannot come, I say to you also now". Now what? "A new commandment I give to you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another". That is how it reads. His commandment takes the place of Himself. Do you understand? How the commandment tests us! We are here, and He is there, but the commandment is here, and it is a new one. In other words, it is one that has special reference to the family circle. It is a commandment that implies mutual obligations; that is the best expression I know for the passage, it is not only mutuality, it is mutual obligations, and I would press obligations.

There is no Christian immune from obligations, and let us be on our guard against assuming to be a body of believers, to be a family apart from all the children of God; it is false and not according to the mind of God. One would say to any believer, whatever his position, 'You have obligations, the same obligations as I have. The new commandment is for you as it is for me, and His commandment is that we love one another as Christ has loved us'. That is the essence of family affections, feelings or sentiments. We learn from our Head to love. That ye love one another, as I have loved you. And, how did He love them? You say the Supper tells us. He loved them in

adverse circumstances: that is how He loved them. He never had any other kind of circumstances, as one might say, but adverse ones. At the institution of the Supper, He had to say, the hand of him that betrayeth Me is with Me at the table, and that did not alter it. What circumstances! Hence He says, "as I have loved you". Dear brethren, it was love in adverse circumstances, it must be, for there are no other circumstances as regards our outward position. We cannot allow for any other; they are the very things that bring out the love of Christ in us. "A brother is born for adversity" (Proverbs 17:17).

Christ came into the world for those in adversity, and He has taught us how to love in adversity, and the thing is to learn from our Head: we love one another as He loved us. And then He adds, "By this shall all know that ye are disciples of mine, if ye have love amongst yourselves", that you are of the stock of God's children. How testing it is as to what we have! As I remarked elsewhere, the Lord says, "Have ye here anything to eat?" (John 21:5). I would change the expression and say, Have you here any love, brethren? It is a question of what we have in our locality, amongst ourselves. Have you got it? The love of God in Christ is to be in our hearts; it is shed abroad there by the Holy Spirit, and God looks that it should work out in us. What He proposes objectively is worked out in the way of fruit. It is so in material things, and it is certainly so in spiritual things. They are presented objectively in Christ, but have you it among yourselves, and is it the kind of

love that God has expressed to us, the love in adversity. The Lord would have us to show it in loving one another. The testimony is that we are His disciples in that we have this love. We are in that way a family giving a very real testimony to our Head who has taught us how to love, love in adversity.

May the Lord bless the word, and may the thought of a family be impressed upon us, that we are of the family of God, and that the Lord is Head.

Ministry by J. Taylor, Newcastle, England, N.S. Volume 11, pages 61 - 67. [2 of 2] November 1919.

THE LORD'S SERVICE AND THE SERVICE OF BELIEVERS (2)

R. Besley

Luke 9:57 - 62; Luke 10:1 - 11, 17 - 21

We often speak of Moses -- his eye undimmed and his natural force unabated (Deuteronomy 34:7). He died alone with God -- he served to the last -- there was no abatement with Moses. So it should be with us. The Lord looks definitely for workmen -- for labourers. He sends them out, having given them appointments -- He appointed them.

I am prepared to make a statement, which I hope you will all accept. It is this: We all ought to know what it is to have divine appointments. Have you waited upon the Lord on your knees? We all ought to have our own personal links with the Lord. He knows us, and we know Him. We know what it is to have an appointment. It is a very serious, but a very blessed thing to have an appointment, and would it

be only for brothers? Far be the thought.

Phoebe was a deaconess (Romans 16:1). She had some kind of recognised service and work for the Lord -- she had her appointment; Paul had his; Peter had his; John had his; Timothy had his -- they were notable persons. Then, too, there were the seventy.

My dear young brother, have you got your appointment? Have you got your hand on the plough? Are you determined to go on? The Lord will have His eye on you. The Levite is never to go back to his field. There is no such thing as going back. We must have our appointments; otherwise we shall flag, we shall be aimless, we shall be imitators of others.

The Lord appointed other seventy also; He sends them forth. Can you think of anything more significant? Have we the sense of being before His face every year, every month, every fortnight? It is a serious matter to go forth before His face. Night and day we are to be employed in His work.

The Lord sent the seventy two by two; the thought was divine. It was on the line of the principle of corroborative evidence. It was a spiritual suggestion from Himself. We do not go two by two today, though there is nothing to hinder our doing so if the Lord sustains. My own impression is that every one working should have some one else with him. The divine thought may be that you would ever regard the other brother as greater than yourself -- some one in view, always greater than yourself. It might be a sister. Carry in your mind some one that is spiritual. That will ever keep you lowly. How

many have served and entered the ranks in the first place thinking they were doing something great. An Indian Brahmin can learn Hebrews from beginning to end. I must always have in mind that there are others with more ability than I have. Paul always had Jesus before him; he said, "To me, less than the least of all saints" (Ephesians 3:8). The Lord had some divine lesson to teach in sending two and two.

We have to understand that our work is going to be overlooked. Nothing is to be done in a slovenly manner. Every 'i' is to be dotted; every 't' crossed; everything is to be done to the best of our ability. Why? Because the Lord is going to review it. He will talk to you about it at the judgment-seat of Christ. What will He have to say? It will be a serious ordeal, but a very blessed one.

The Lord sent to every place; not only to the cities. Some might have said this was needless. It does not matter; you have to serve in the same spiritual manner as the Lord. He is coming, and He is going to overlook your work. He says, "The harvest indeed is great". The word was great encouragement. Perhaps you say, We never get a convert; there is nothing being done at all; the devil seems to be getting the whole day to himself! Not at all. The Lord assures the seventy before they began their service that the harvest was going to be great. Heaven will be full, and there will be more there than you expected to see. The Father will have His place filled. When every atom is placed in relation to God the Father, it will be found that the harvest is

great.

There is a call for workmen now -- "but the workmen few". "Supplicate therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he may send out workmen into his harvest".

We have not come to the preaching yet; there is an abundance of work to be done in the direction of ploughing. Certainly, the greater part of the ploughing is done on our knees in prayer. The hardest clods on earth give way to prayer; the greatest indifference ever found in any locality yields to the power of prayer. No one ever prayed as the Lord prayed.

If you had looked round the world to find twelve suitable persons to be the apostles who were to sit on thrones and judge, you would have said, Lord, there are no such people. The Lord spent the whole night in prayer, and that resulted in bringing to light the twelve apostles.

The Lord says, "behold I send you forth as lambs in the midst of wolves". If we are definitely committed to divine service, we are among wolves. We are in the region of ravage and the destructive power of Satan. Satan has not always calculated upon the fact that the Man who hung on Calvary's cross could say, "All power has been given to me" (Matthew 28).

The Lord says, "behold I send you forth as lambs"; therefore we are to be in the character of lambs. We are not to defend ourselves or to assert ourselves, but to be here as workmen in the character of lambs, unable to defend ourselves. We are to

"Carry neither purse nor scrip"; but we know our resources. Do not carry a bag; that will conceal something. It is a mistake for you or for me if we trust to earthly resources; we shall fail if we do. We do not need earthly resources. Having regard to this particular service, we need in no way count on earthly resources. There is something concealed in the "scrip", therefore do not carry one.

I know the folly and wretchedness of my own heart; but I know this also: there is power in the hands of God to carry on the work. The whole power of the enemy stands absolutely in utter weakness in the presence of the power of the Spirit of God.

We have to be peaceable. It is a wonderful thing to bring peace. The Lord's workmen are to be peaceable.

The work lies in healing the sick. I have no faith at all in faith-healing. I do not believe it is of God. We are enjoined to heal the sick. This tends to bring in the moral grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you think the Lord would ever call upon us to do anything that He will not support? The thought is unthinkable. You have to heal the sick.

My impression is, that one of the great steps leading up to preaching is visiting. Have you ever tried knocking at a door and saying, Do the people in this house know the Lord Jesus? Go on to the next house -- the door is slammed in your face; still go on! There are sick people to be healed. It is right to bring to bear upon persons the moral glory of Christ. We must heal the sick. I could cite wonderful cases

of healing. I well remember calling at a house in a poor neighbourhood years ago. I saw the man who lived there. He said to me, 'Do you know I have lost my wife and my child? Do you tell me that God is good?' This was a sick man. Can you heal him? Do you say it is a long process? Doctors do not give up a case because they have to go three times a day. Are we going to be less assiduous in our calling? We are supposed to be in possession of an immensity of grace.

The seventy return full of joy. They say, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us through thy name". The Lord says, I have seen something greater than that! The Lord looks right on to the end of the furrow. Have you got your eye on the end of the furrow? Satan will fall down.

My impression is that the whole of the universe will know the defeat of Satan; a great angel comes down with a chain and he binds him. He has to stay in the pit a thousand years (Revelation 20:1 - 3). God is going to tread Satan under His feet.

Now the ultimate end of this wonderful service -- "Yet in this rejoice not", says the Lord, "that the spirits are subjected to you, but rather rejoice that your names are written in the heavens".

Is there anyone here who says, I serve because I love Him? He died, hated, scorned and despised for me. I must give my whole energy out of love to Him! You may not know down here, but your name is registered in heaven! What a wonderful moment it will be when you look on that register! Think of it,

my dear young brother. You may have served unnoticed; but the time will come when the Lord will give you the sense that your name is written in heaven! It will be a wonderful thing if you could cast out a demon; but do not rejoice if you do. Rejoice because your name is written in heaven and you belong to a heavenly place; a heavenly company!

It will not be long before we go to be with Him whom we love and love to serve.

The Lord's Service and the Service of Believers [2 of 3], pages 20 - 27 [2 of 2]

THE ACTIVE GRACE OF CHRIST RISEN

C. A. Coates

John 20:1 - 23; Luke 24:13 - 36

I am bringing before you some very familiar scriptures; indeed, they are so familiar that it is well if our very familiarity with them has not hindered us from realising the importance and blessedness of that of which they speak. We have often been reminded that the first day of the week -- the resurrection day -- imparts its own peculiar character to Christianity; nor does it close without presenting in pattern the assembly -- the saints gathered, the Spirit given, and the Lord in the midst.

My object in adverting now to this day is to bring briefly before you the activities of the Lord in resurrection. Does it not awaken at once a lively interest in our hearts when we ask how was the blessed Lord engaged on that memorable day? We have often, it

may be, meditated with profound delight on His activities in the days of His flesh. We have followed Him through the day of His activity as Jehovah's Servant on earth, from its sunrise at the baptismal waters of Jordan to its sunset in that awful hour of the power of darkness, when the night came of which He spake when He could no longer work. Blessed, indeed for us to know that the night did not overtake that peerless Servant until His work was done! I speak not -- for the moment -- of atonement, but of all those ceaseless activities of grace, in which He was the Servant of Jehovah's pleasure, and the Son of His Father's love as a Man upon the earth.

Then I trust every heart in this company has lingered with adoring thoughts of faith and love in presence of the work accomplished on the cross. There we see the One of whom we can say, through grace, that He is all our salvation, accomplishing the work which gives Him title to be thus known by our poor hearts. There we see our sins and our whole state as children of Adam brought before God, and we see a divine Saviour under judgment and in death, that He might settle every question that sin had raised between God and our souls, and that He might so deliver us as to make Himself the Object of our faith and the One in whom our hearts should find their every blessing and joy for ever.

But "the first day of the week" finds Him in a new condition. The "days of his flesh" (Hebrews 5:7) ended; all His earthly associations with Israel and with men in the flesh entirely broken. He now comes

forth in resurrection to be the Source and the Giver, and to present in His own Person the character of blessings altogether new. I am increasingly persuaded, my brethren, that the Holy Spirit would lead our heart's affections to that risen One: and in order to do this my present object is to bring before you His gracious activities as the risen One. Have you thought of the round of service that occupied Him on that eventful day? We may truly say that it was a busy day for our blessed Lord.

His first action -- and surely love would have it so -- was to meet and satisfy the longings of a heart that had no object but Himself. A heart like Mary's had the first claim, we may say, on the attention of the Lord. And, beloved, to such a service as this His heart would joyously turn. His own precious words were -- oh! that we may treasure them in our hearts -- "he that loves me shall be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will manifest myself to him" (John 14:21). With what delight did His eyes rest upon that early visitor to His empty tomb! She loved Him, and her love called forth the expression of His. She wept for Him; she sought Him; she loved Him; and He loved her and manifested Himself unto her.

Now, beloved Christians, are our hearts turning from everything that is here because of the treasure we have in Himself? There is such a thing as turning from the world as philosophers and monks turn from it, in disgust, when it has disappointed and vexed us, or when our power to enjoy its things is gone, or in a religious way to build up a religious character for

ourselves. But the Lord looks for something different from this. He looks -- yes, He is looking now -- for the heart that longs after Himself. Has the treasure we have found in His love really separated our hearts from everything here?

I do not ask whether you understand church truth, or dispensational truth, or resurrection truth. You might know a great deal about these things and yet be like the disciples of whom we read in John 20:8 - 10. They saw. Yes! it was as clear as noonday that the Lord was risen. They believed, too, that He was risen. But though the intelligence was right and the faith was right, there was something else which was singularly wanting -- perhaps I ought to say dormant. Can you understand the lack of that wanting element? Have you no key to it in your own experience, which compels you now to own in your conscience that their condition is but a picture of your own? Indeed, my brethren, we see many things clearly enough; we can perhaps define them with mathematical accuracy; in a certain way we believe them; and yet our practical everyday life is but little affected thereby. We still live in the narrow, selfish circle of our own things and our own interests. "The disciples … went away again to their own home".

It was far different with Mary. Hers was a widowed heart. The sunshine of her life had gone. As someone has said, All the world was a blank to her because He was gone. Neither apostles nor angels could fill the void in that bereaved heart. Christ had made Himself everything to her; with Him she had

all, without Him she had nothing. It is easy to speak with cold criticism of her lack of intelligence: but, my brethren, it might be well for some of us if we could part with some of our intelligence, and receive in exchange a little more of that whole-hearted and self-forgetting affection for Christ, which made her homeless and without an object in the world where He was not.

It was to a heart like hers that the Lord delighted to manifest Himself. A single word sufficed to dispel the sorrow of that broken heart, and to fill it with immeasurable satisfaction and delight. It was that one word "Mary". It was not any communication made. It was nothing but Himself, and the consciousness of His presence and love borne into her heart, as the well-known Shepherd's voice called His sheep by name. Divine communications of the most wonderful nature followed, but there must be a suited condition of heart to receive divine communications, and that condition of heart was found in Mary. That one word from His lips filled and satisfied her heart. She had reached Himself, and that was everything. It was to a heart like that that the blessed Lord could make communications which surpass all human thought -- to such a heart He could unfold what divine love would do for its own delight in the blessing of its objects.

Her love would have kept Him here, and been content to follow Him still as the Messiah upon earth; rejected and dishonoured indeed, but still to her the chiefest among ten thousand and altogether

lovely. But His love had its own secrets, and He tenderly set aside her thoughts that He might replace them by His own.

"Touch me not, for I have not yet ascended to my Father". His death had proved there was nothing for Him here, but it had also proved that there was nothing for Mary here. Now He leads her heart to a new world by telling her that He is going there. She had known Him here and lost Him; now He reveals Himself to her in connection with a scene where nothing can ever break the link with Himself. He is going to His Father, but He is going as the Leader of a chosen race. He has those in this world whom He owns as His brethren -- His Father is their Father, and His God is their God, and His love would have them to know this new place of association with Himself as the risen One.

What a revelation to the sorrowing heart that yearned after Himself! She had found Him in resurrection, in a new condition where the links could never be broken, and she had learned that she was one of a company whom He owned as His brethren -- all of one with Himself. Every longing in her heart was more than satisfied. Beloved brethren, is it so with ourselves? If not, depend upon it we have not really taken in the thoughts of His love, and it may be the Lord has not found in us that freshness of affection for Himself that would set Him free to communicate those thoughts to us.

Ministry by C. A. Coates, Volume 29, pages 229 - 233. [1 of 2].

WHAT IS A CHRISTIAN? NO. 3 -- A WORSHIPPER

F. S. Marsh

Every true Christian is essentially a worshipper, for the knowledge of God must ever produce a deep and reverential consciousness that He is worthy of adoring response from every heart that has tasted His love.

The character of this response will, however, be dependent upon the measure of light and knowledge of God which is possessed by the worshipper.

In the past, God was known and worshipped as Jehovah. That He desired this response from His people is clearly seen by the injunctions given to them as to the offering of the firstfruits (Deuteronomy 26:1 - 11).

As the favoured Israelite, having entered into the land flowing with milk and honey and dwelling therein, reaped the fruit of the earth, he was to take the first of all the fruit, put it in a basket and go to the place which God chose to place His name there. The offerer was then to say, "behold, I have brought the first of the fruits of the land, which thou, Jehovah, hast given me" (verse 10), and set it before Jehovah, and worship. How suitable it was that God's great goodness should thus be recognised and that the response of a grateful heart should be expressed in the offering!

Yet this did not reach to the height of worship which is now the holy privilege of the Christian, in the power of the Holy Spirit of God!

The grandeur and dignity of this could only be unfolded by the Lord Jesus, God's beloved Son. How marvellously it was told by Him to the woman of Samaria in these beautiful words: "But the hour is coming and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; for also the Father seeks such as his worshippers. God is a Spirit; and they who worship him must worship him in spirit and truth" (John 4:23, 24).

Adoringly, too, we reverence the Person of our Lord Jesus Christ as the Object of worship, and rightly so, for He is God. Prophetically it was written concerning Him, "he is thy Lord, and worship thou him" (Psalm 45:11). It was as to Him that it was written, "when he brings in the firstborn into the habitable world, he says, And let all God's angels worship him" (Hebrews 1:6).

The following thoughts upon Christian worship, expressed by one long since with the Lord, are worthy of consideration: 'In worshipping the Father I go to One who, in infinite, uncaused love, has revealed Himself to me; brought me into the place of son; not spared His own Son for me; reconciled me to Himself by Him; and given me His Spirit that I may have the consciousness of the place He has put me in, so that I cry',Abba, Father'. It is God, but it is God known as Father'.

'Now in the worship of Christ become Mediator, I own His divine title, though He laid aside His glory

-- now taken again -- but it is One who has come down to me, has lived and died for me, loved me, washed me from my sins in His own blood'.

In John 12:3 Mary of Bethany is most touchingly seen as a worshipper of the Son of God. There came a moment when Jesus was in her home and she seized the opportunity of anointing His feet, and then laid her glory -- her hair -- at His feet. She poured upon Him the spikenard, very costly, and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment. This was the act of a true worshipper. It is encouraging that it was a sister who did this, for it indicates that it is for sisters as well as for brothers to worship. While all audible expression of worship in the assembly is, in the Lord's ordering, restricted to men, for women are to keep silence in the assembly (1 Corinthians 14:34), yet worship is to be rendered by all, sisters and brothers alike. There is a true dignity in the worship and service of the sisters, of whom Mary was one of the most distinguished. She was the one who carried out this wonderful service upon the Lord's Person, which constituted an act of worship. She lavished her all upon the Son of God: she crowned Him, exalted and worshipped Him.

Mary exemplified the conditions given in Philippians 3:3: "we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God, and boast in Christ Jesus, and do not trust in flesh". She worshipped by the Spirit of God, for He must have prompted her wonderful act. That she rejoiced in Christ Jesus is beyond question, for she took that one glorious opportunity of

expressing her joy in Him; and she did not trust in flesh, for Christ Himself filled the vision of her soul.

How important it is to recognise that the flesh can have no part in christian worship. A fleshly religion will not yield glory to God. There would not be a single feature of Christ reproduced if the flesh had its way: for "That which is born of the flesh is flesh" (John 3:6).

One of the most encouraging features of christian worship is that it is open even to the young. Was it not the children who were crying in the temple and saying, "Hosanna to the son of David"? Of whom Jesus said, "Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise" (Matthew 21:15, 16). God would have children to love and worship Him; for even a child (in years) who receives the Holy Spirit is capacitated to worship God.

Thus, as worshippers, would we hasten on to the day of glory when as it is said, "his servants shall serve him" (or, as it may be rendered, "his servants shall worship him") (Revelation 22:3). Then shall there be a full and eternal response to God and to His great love and then will He "rest in his love" (Zephaniah 3).

Words of Truth, Volume 2 (1934), pages 197 - 200.

THE TRUTH AS A WHOLE

J. B. Stoney

John 16:13

Well, beloved friends, it is a very humbling subject to us; still it is no less true, that to have the whole truth is one of the marks, one of the accompaniments, of knowing the Lord in the midst of His own, gathered together to His name. For my part, I cannot conceive anything more really interesting -- because it is not to angels, but to us that the Holy Spirit makes known the truth: "he shall guide you into all the truth". If you look into all the sects in Christendom, what you are met with on every hand is that each assumes to have more truth than its fellows; or at least one particular truth that others have not.

We cannot but see the importance of having all the truth. And though I am very far from assuming that we have it in its fulness, still I do trust there is the earnest desire after the truth. The apostle warns Timothy that the time would come when they would not listen to the truth, but would be turned away to fables. He speaks of those who were the mischief workers, they "withstand the truth" (2 Timothy 3: 8) -- not a truth, but the truth.

What I propose to present to you, as well as I am able, is what really the truth is. Because here the Spirit of God, not the church, guides into it; and one of the failures of Christendom is the boast, that the church expounds the truth. No doubt the church has it; all the truth there is, is in the church. There is a verse in Timothy (1 Timothy 3:15), which is not

sufficiently borne in mind: "that thou mayest know how one ought to conduct oneself in God's house, which is the assembly of the living God, the pillar and base of the truth" -- not 'the ground' exactly -- the base of the truth. And I think, if we look around we must acknowledge the reproach that rests on the church. We cannot free ourselves from the reproach, for it rests on each of us. We are only like convalescents; if we are any better than our fellow Christians, we are still in the same infirmary, and we own that we have been suffering from the same malady, but that we have escaped from it. We are thankful for the revival, but we have to encourage and help others to escape also. And though this is our condition, still we are connected with that which is of such value in the eyes of the Lord that it is of immense moment for us to ascertain where the truth is.

The danger I apprehend, and I warn you of it, is that the truth is slipping away; for the truth is being weakened and diluted, and you will find that as the truth becomes weakened, every section of it becomes weakened. The more you advance in truth, the more you advance all round: you cannot advance on one alone without distorting all. If a man is a great man, he has not only good eyes and good ears, all his qualities are good. So with a tree -- all the branches contribute to the tree. There can be no greater testimony to the importance among ourselves of the truth, than the assertion of each of the sects, that it has more than its fellows.

The first scripture I will turn to as expressing

what the truth is, and which will convey it to you in a very small compass, is Colossians 1:23 - 25, "if indeed ye abide in the faith founded and firm, and not moved away from the hope of the glad tidings, which ye have heard, and which have been proclaimed in the whole creation which is under heaven, of which I Paul became minister. Now, I rejoice in sufferings for you, and I fill up that which is behind of the tribulations of Christ in my flesh, for his body, which is the assembly; of which I became minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given me towards you to complete the word of God".

There, in very small compass, you get the two ministries connected with the truth -- one is the gospel, and the other is the church. They are quite distinct. Where they coalesce is an interesting inquiry; but the point for us, what is to mark us, is that we have these two ministries. It is not the question whether every person of the company understands them; but the question is, whether they accept them.

I look for an admission of the truth: not that I expect every one of the company to be intelligent as to the truth. Why were creeds ever brought out? In order to show what people believed. I do not want a creed in that formal way; but I want to understand what really belongs to us as belonging to Christ here on earth, because I take the ground that we are in company with Him. It is not only that I know Him individually. If you do not know Him in your individual circumstances, you will never know Him in

the house of God. If you have not personal intimacy according to John 10, "I know those that are mine, and am known of those that are mine" (verse 14), do not tell me that you know Him in His assembly. You may know the effect of His presence there, you may get the benefit of His presence, but you do not know Himself there. He is there in a very full way, as He would not be with an individual. When He comes to the individual, He comes in relation to the individual; and when He comes to the assembly, He comes in relation to it, as Son over the house of God.

If you look at Sardis (Revelation 3), I think you will see there that the great lack is that they have not been in company with the Lord in the assembly, and therefore they do not get beyond the Reformation. You see it in Luther; justification by faith, the truth of the gospel revived, but the church only reformed. If you really were alongside of the Lord in His own assembly, do you mean to tell me you would not understand that there is the assembly, as well as the gospel? I do not believe it. Nothing can be plainer. The Colossians were a very nice people -- they had "faith in Christ Jesus", and "love … towards all the saints" (chapter 1: 4), but they were in danger. It was not that they did not know the truth, and it was not that the truth was not accepted, but they were not holding "the mystery" (verse 26) in faith.

I would not judge a company of saints by one or two; I must take the whole. I do not judge a country by a village. I look at the whole. And you may be sure that the Lord looks at the whole. Now if you are

near the Lord you must know the gospel. If you did not know the gospel you could not be near Him. You could not be in His presence unless He had removed every cloud between Him and you; you could not be happy there. Even Peter was not happy till the Lord restored him to communion (John 21). Affection is not communion. I am sure there are many who have affection (you all know something about it), but communion is quite another thing. There is no restlessness where there is communion; on the contrary, there is enjoyment. Peter was restless, and was grieved because there was something between him and the Lord; the Lord removes it, He did so in order that there should be communion.

The apostle writes to the Colossians that they should not be "moved away from the hope of the glad tidings" (chapter 1: 23); and he prays for them according to the hope that is laid up for them "in the heavens" (chapter 1: 5). As much as to say, If I do not keep you on heavenly ground, I shall never get you to understand the mystery. You must look at the gospel as the handmaid of the assembly. The gospel connects me with heaven. No one is saved for earth now; I am saved for heaven. I am as fit for heaven now, as if I were in it.

Sometimes I have said to a person, You are fit for heaven, but not for earth. That is another thing, but you are fit for heaven. If you were not, how could you be fit for the presence of the Lord of glory? The very first thing one learns is that Christ Himself has removed every single thing that bars me

from His presence, and therefore I enjoy His presence. You have the sense that you have touched "the heavenly things" (John 3:12); you could not in any other way be in His presence. He comes into the midst; He comes in heavenly order, and I know that if there were a spot upon me, I could not enjoy Him.

Next -- if the gospel has not made me fit for Christ, and to be united to Christ, then what does? Surely union does not fit me. I am fit by the gospel, and that is the great teaching of the earlier verses of Ephesians. I am fit for union. It is like Abraham sending for Rebecca (Genesis 24), one of his own family. And that is what you have in Hebrews: "he that sanctifies and those sanctified are all of one" (chapter 2: 11). In Hebrews you get that you are fit to be His companion. It is a wonderful thing that the gospel gives that. If you are not fit to be His companion, you could not be united to Him. He could not be united to what is unsuitable to Himself.

Ephesians 1 shows that we are taken "into favour in the Beloved" (verse 6), brought really into fitness; as John says, "as he is, we also are in this world" (1 John 4:17). Through divine grace, I am fit to be His companion. And now comes out the mystery: we are His body, in the closest relationship to Him. I do not believe a soul could be in the presence of the Lord in the midst of His own without the sense that there was a relationship, though he might not be able to explain it; he has not learned the word, the divine authority for it. Scripture tells you that you are united, a member of His body, and you are

entranced; but then you were prepared for this light. I want you to understand that you could not be much in His presence without growing into a knowledge of the assembly as well as the gospel.

These two ministries comprise the truth, because they show not only what the work of Christ has effected, but what our relationship is to Christ, and that for ever. Not only in this world, but for ever, the assembly will be the medium by which He will convey His pleasure over the whole universe. Hence you see it is the expression of Himself. There is no good in anything but Himself. "As the truth is in Jesus" (Ephesians 4:21); that is, the truth was expressed in Him, a Man on earth. A Person was on earth who exposed the false, and declared the true; He was the living impersonation of what is true, and therefore He exposed all that is false. Hence, God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ. He is "the truth" (John 14:6). I think I need not say more on these two ministries. I desire before the Lord that you should dwell upon the whole truth, and my comfort in speaking on this subject -- in one sense a line new to myself -- is, that I believe the necessity of the time has called it out, that it is the Lord's will that it should be brought before you.

Now I pass on to the practical application, which I may call the test whether you know these two ministries or not. There are four great events connected with them, and they are in relation to Christ. The first (there is not one here, I hope, who is not clear about it), that our blessed Lord was on this earth,

and that He died and rose again. The second is that He has been glorified. The third is that the Holy Spirit has come down from the One who has been glorified. The fourth is not yet accomplished; it is what we wait for -- the coming of the Lord. Now by these four events, you may judge the church: you can judge Christendom, you can judge yourself, you can judge every one.

Let us look at the first. You say: I believe the Lord was here, and that He died and rose again. Well, I ask, What does that involve? It involves a momentous thing. It involves that the old man has been crucified, and that a Man has risen out from among the dead. Christ bore the judgment. He was made sin for us. You get it in the Romans; not only is your guilt removed, but your status as of the first man is set aside in the cross. I have no doubt that a great deal of darkness that is in souls, is because the work of the cross is not fully apprehended. This subject will touch you all. There is no atonement for sin. That statement may alarm some of you. There is atonement for sins, and there is atonement for a sin; that is guilt. But your state is sin: He was made sin; and sin is condemned in the flesh. There is a wonderful difference, and if you do not understand it, you have not understood the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Romans 12 tells you to present your body as a living sacrifice. How can you do that if your body is not freed from the old master? The old master was the flesh of sin.

I do not wish to go beyond the comprehension of

the youngest here, but I want you to know whether you do really believe this first event: that Christ died and rose again; that He cleared everything away, that He not only removed all your guilt when He "who himself bore our sins in his body on the tree" (1 Peter 2:24), but "in that he has died, he has died to sin once for all"; and "in that he lives, he lives to God" (Romans 6:10): that is, He was the atonement for our sins, but sin in the flesh was condemned. "God, having sent his own Son, in likeness of flesh of sin, and for sin, has condemned sin in the flesh" (Romans 8:3). The old man is condemned, and is entirely gone in judgment. I know how slow the heart is to receive it, but till you do receive it, you will never progress. You must have the fact, I am free of the man by which I was held. That man is gone in the death of Him who bore the judgment, and I am free in His life who cleared me. Therefore the scripture is, "reckon yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus" (Romans 6:11).

Now you are on new ground, and that is the reason John does not speak of the blood on the lintel, or of the Red Sea; he speaks of the brazen serpent, he says, as it were, man is brought to an end, and your liberty is in life. Therefore, in Numbers 21:9 it is, whoever "beheld the serpent of brass", lived. "Thus must the Son of man be lifted up, that every one who believes on him may not perish, but have life eternal" (John 3:14, 15). You are out of death, and in life. You come out in a new life literally; outside of everything now. Therefore, the apostle is so earnest

that "the truth of the gospel" might continue with them -- not a gospel, but the truth of it. He says, "I am crucified with Christ, and no longer live, I" (not forgiveness here) but "Christ lives in me; but in that I now live in flesh, I live by faith, the faith of the Son of God, who has loved me and given himself for me" (Galatians 2:20).

Well, beloved friends, I need not dilate upon this doctrine; but what is the actual state of the one who has accepted the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ? He is not only justified from the guilt, but he is actually freed from the old man. "He that has died is justified" (freed) "from sin" (Romans 6:7); that is clearance. The man who enjoys the result of Christ's work, the first event, knows that he is clear of everything, and that he has the life of the Christ who cleared him; in that life there is no condemnation, there could not be, there is nothing to condemn. "The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and of death" (Romans 8 2). You are now like a bird out of a cage, you enter on new ground altogether, you are in a new region. The old is set aside; the new is introduced; you are in the life of Christ. That is the first event.

Ministry by J. B. Stoney, Volume 1, pages 291 - 298. [1 of 2].

THE LORD'S SERVICE AND THE SERVICE OF BELIEVERS (3)

R. Besley

James 1:4 - 6

I desire to pursue the subject before us on previous

occasions; and I should like to say a word in regard to visiting. I have the growing impression that a great service may be rendered by visiting.

Before I enlarge on what I have in my mind, I am going to ask you to recall the fact that James wrote to the twelve tribes scattered, and there was danger with them lest they should carry on religious services and observances in an outward form. I understand the word "religion" (verse 27) means outward service, possibly of a superstitious character. If there be a fall from the elevation of the worship of God and divine service from the region of spiritual power, the thing becomes formal; and there is a danger of being marked by what is superstitious.

James had in mind some who were religious, but men who evidently were not able to bridle their tongues. There is an injunction in Scripture to this effect: our words are to be few (Ecclesiastes 5:2). The greater the power, the fewer the words. The greater the measure of spirituality, the larger the measure of simplicity.

James speaks in regard to some who were outwardly religious, but who did not bridle their tongues. He says their religion is vain, there is nothing in it. He proceeds to say, Pure religion consists in this: that one visits the fatherless and widows in their affliction and keeps oneself unspotted from the world. In regard to the service of visiting, I believe we should represent God Himself -- in speaking the word we should represent the Lord. Every trait of moral blessedness or excellency finds its expression

in Christ. We are left here in this world to be representatives of Him in visiting, in preaching, or in any other service for Him. We turn to certain passages in the Old Testament indicative of this. As we read we shall discover the divinely approved way of visitation, so that we may have pure religion not in vain. Service is to be taken up in relation to God; whether it is visiting or otherwise, it must be taken up in a conscious sense of being before the Father. So James says, "Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction …"

I allude, first of all, to the presentation of the gospel to a sinner, and in regard to this we may learn from the approach of God to Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. I need not enlarge on their sin; it is too well known to need any elaboration, but I want you to observe the way in which God made His visit. It says, "And they heard the voice of Jehovah Elohim, walking in the garden in the cool of the day" (Genesis 3:8). Although the persons to whom He drew near had sinned, yet He selected a propitious moment in which to draw near, "the cool of the day". There was no form -- there was a voice. Afterwards we have an allusion to the conversation. The sin of the woman and of the man was terrible, as far as they were concerned. Was there a voice of thunder suitable to the occasion? No. God waited for a propitious moment in which to draw near.

I am convinced that there is a propitious time for visiting, and we need divine guidance, and for that

we need communion with God. We need to be actuated and marked by divine definiteness in visiting anyone unconverted. Have you ever tried? Have you ever followed up "pure … religion"? James has actually before him orphans and widows. Well, the sinner is one who is bereaved. He knows nothing of God -- he knows nothing of the intense love of the heart of Jesus, who would succour and support as a husband. Are we prepared to visit on these lines? Are we prepared to wait on God? Waiting is infinitely better than service. Think of that! An audience with God in heaven! We need to wait with God until we know a suitable and propitious moment -- "the cool of the day". What wonderful grace on the part of God! We have Him before us as an example of a visitation with regard to those who are sinners.

This is only part of the service allotted to us. There is also the service of visitation among the people of God. It requires greater power to visit a poor brother than it does to preach.

In Genesis 18 God visited Abraham. There were three men; one was God Himself. He was pleased to take that form. It was a most suitable occasion. In the previous chapter we have a record of what Abraham had done. Though ninety-nine years old, he was circumcised and every male with him.

Again, in visiting we need a divine indication as to the spiritual situation of the persons whom we visit. God gives us indications, He gives us spiritual insight, of which no one knows anything except the person who has it. It is well to know where the

person we visit is spiritually. Take up the link of divine chain of operation; we do not visit as officials. Think of Jehovah being prepared to be one of three! At the outset His identity was disguised. Think of a leading brother going just as a brother, not wanting to disguise his identity, just as a brother! Think of Jehovah being prepared to go to the tent of Abraham, to accept the water and the meal!

The great feature in visiting is listening. We need great ability to listen. I would to God that I had learned it! As persons speak, if you are spiritual you are able to diagnose the case. How can you think if you do not listen?

The moment comes in which the identity of Jehovah was revealed to Abraham. God was walking and speaking with him. The Holy Spirit has given us a divine soliloquy, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing?" (verse 17)

It is a wonderful service to be able to furnish the saints with God's ways. We must know what He is doing, or how can we set it out to others? It is wonderful to have heaven opened to us, and to soliloquise with ourselves. God says, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing?" He speaks about Sodom. Do we need to go to the legislators of Europe to know what God is going to do to the world? We need to go to God.

There was a secret interview with Abraham; a private communication was made to him. Think of the grace of God! I do not think I ever covet anything more than to have the grace of Christ; there is

nothing so infinitely precious. It endows a person with heavenly ability.

Abraham says to God, 'Will You destroy the righteous with the wicked? If there are fifty righteous will You spare the city? Suppose there are forty-five; will You spare it?' See the yearnings of Abraham's heart! How one needs, in visiting, to enter into the yearnings of the heart, to intimate the lines on which God will work. Abraham begins to wonder whether he may speak further. 'Will You spare the city for the sake of ten?' It is as though Abraham said, 'Then Lot will be all right'. Jehovah went on His way (verse 33).

You will recall the Lord's words, "He that receives you receives me" (Matthew 10:40). Visiting requires divine patience. Never be in a hurry. If you are in a hurry, do not let the person ever know it. Go without a meal if necessary in order to serve. That is the line of service of the Lord Himself. Abraham was left with a divine sense, not only of the righteousness of God, but the compassions of God. He had brought the conditions down from fifty to ten. While ministry is desirable, visitation affords a wonderful opportunity for unfolding the truth as to the ways of God. We must ever be prepared to enter into the afflicted position of the person we are visiting.

We get another line in Exodus 3, where Jehovah comes forward for the deliverance of His people. How many of the people of God are in Egypt today, typically! It is very difficult to reach them. Difficulties are not insurmountable. Nothing is

insurmountable. "Is any matter too wonderful for Jehovah?" (Genesis 18:14). Many of the saints are in the world -- in Egypt; but we may visit them. We need the Philadelphian spirit for this, as shown in seeking for an open door. We take up these and visit in faith.

With regard to visiting people in Egypt, Jehovah says, "I have seen … their cry have I heard …I know" (Exodus 3:7). I am not assuming to teach, but I say with regard to visiting and helping people, we want to have our senses in exercise. We want to be spiritual also; and we want to be able to see, and to hear, and to know. Jehovah says, 'I have heard'. Have you ever heard the cries of the bondage in Egypt? Grace is needed in the hearts of the saints today, whether it be Egypt or Babylon.

I cannot conceive, my dear brethren, of any one hearing and seeing and not shedding tears. What about the secret moments with God? Have you heard the groan? Do you know? It is not what I have read, but what I know. Some of us here know. Think of God coming down to Egypt! How few the people compared with the millions of this world, and yet God makes a divine move.

Then one's thoughts travel on to another time referred to in Ruth. It was a day of great weakness. We have to consider visiting things weak as well as things worldly. Who is equal to it? What do the weak need? Do they need admonition, correction, instruction? What was the report Naomi heard? She heard that God had visited His people and given them bread (Ruth 1:6). In a day of great weakness

God Himself drew near and gave them bread.

Many of the people of God have not pursued the divinely appointed territory over Jordan; they have settled down in the plains of Moab, where the two and a half tribes were allowed to remain. At such a time God visited His people and gave them bread. What the saints of God need is food -- the living bread. We have a vast resource on which we may continually draw; but we must have it. May the Lord Himself help us to pursue the service of visiting on these lines. Great things are not to be secured by huge evangelical meetings; great things will be secured by visiting. Visiting is a divinely approved and appointed way.

There is another feature in Jeremiah 29, when Jehovah speaks with a view to the seventy years' captivity in Babylon. As the end draws near, Jehovah discloses His thoughts.

Do we know any one who has been in captivity for seventy years? Do we know a sister who has not moved for twenty years? Think of Jehovah! He has thoughts of peace and not of evil. Perhaps this passage is already familiar to you. There are people in captivity today -- some who have drifted. Are we going to give them up? Let us never give up a single brother or sister. Perhaps they have not been to the meeting for years -- there is nothing in them. God says, My thoughts are thoughts of peace and not of evil. "Ye shall go and pray", etc. (Jeremiah 29:12), He says. Note this passage at your leisure. There are those towards whom we must move. Never relax any

effort towards a sister or a brother.

Matthew 25:36 is the Lord's word in a day yet to come. "I was ill, and ye visited me". Think of the Lord portraying Himself in that way! I only refer to that as showing how the Lord takes account of visiting. I believe in this assembly, as in others, there is a great deal of visiting done about which no one knows. Ah! the Lord knows. You never spend an hour beside a bed where some one is ill but the Lord Jesus knows. He never forgets. "I was ill, and ye visited me".

Visiting yields an enormous amount of wealth to those who take it up. There are those who are sick and suffering. As you sit beside the bed of a sick man, say a brother (notice this), Christ says, "one of the least of these, my brethren" (verse 40) -- not My disciples. You would like the Lord to speak to you about that. I know you gave up that Saturday afternoon, the Lord will say to you, You did that for Me.

"I was in prison, and ye came to me" (verse 36). Think of the Lord being in prison! I suppose the night after the arrest the Lord was in custody.

I shall never forget going to a gaol, or the face of the prisoner that I went to see. The Lord went to prison for me. Have you ever visited any one in prison? A sister abroad visited a condemned man -- she had faith in God. She said to me, 'I shall never forget my impression when I was shown into the cell. I was locked in. To my surprise I saw not only one man, there were two. I spoke to them about the Lord'. The Lord Jesus will say to that sister, "I was

in prison, and ye came to me".

Some of you young men want to serve the Lord. Do not look for a pulpit. You may not be sent to preach. "How shall they preach unless they have been sent?" (Romans 10:15). You can visit -- you can begin today. You may not get an invitation to preach, but you may begin to visit today. May the Lord greatly bless and help you. "Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction". Orphans are singled out; they have a unique place in the heart of God. Divine emotions move towards the bereaved.

The Lord's word is "one of the least of these" sick ones, or in prison. The Lord dignifies these with the appellation, "my brethren". He associates them with Himself.

Just two other thoughts on the line of service. In 2 Timothy 1:16, 17 Onesiphorus is spoken of. Paul says, "he has often refreshed me, and has not been ashamed of my chain; but being in Rome sought me out very diligently". Are we ashamed of reproach? Onesiphorus will have a wonderful place for his service to Paul in his bondage.

Nothing is to be done in a slovenly manner. The most menial thing must be done in a proper way.

I am convinced that a great field of evangelical work is open to us from house-to-house visiting. Paul speaks at Ephesus of how from "house to house" the truth was set forth (Acts 20:20, A.V.). Perhaps we hang too much on holding meetings and asking the Lord to bring people along. Perhaps the

Lord would have it given to them. How lovely to call at a house and ask the question, 'Is there any one here in trouble who would like to know the Lord Jesus Christ?' We must tell them of the resources from heaven.

You may tell me that you are indwelt with the Holy Spirit, but you need the renewing, you need the dew of Hermon every day (Psalm 133:3). May the Lord give us the living streams, so that we may visit after the divine knowledge, and with divine success.

The Lord's Service and the Service of Believers, pages 28 - 39. [Finis].

THE ACTIVE GRACE OF CHRIST RISEN

C. A. Coates

John 20:1 - 23; Luke 24:13 - 36

But it is not with all as it was with Mary. Alas! how few there are whose hearts are wholly absorbed by Christ! There are many whose hearts are not free because their consciences are burdened. They are not right with the Lord. They are under a cloud. They can say --

'What happy hours I once enjoyed,
How sweet their memory still!'

But their spiritual joy has fled. Instead of holy thirstings after Christ, and the joy of His love, there is nothing in their soul's secret history but sadness and reproach. How is it? In some way the flesh has been allowed, the Spirit has been grieved, and the Lord dishonoured. The conscience is soiled, and the matter has never been bottomed with the Lord. On that

resurrection day, while Mary's heart was being made glad as we have seen, there was another disciple who was under a cloud. Poor Peter! Who can tell the agony of that fervent spirit since the hour when the Lord turned and looked upon him, and he went out and wept bitterly?

I may here remark that there are two things to which almost every fall can be traced. One is spiritual indolence, and the other self-confidence. David is an example of one, and Peter of the other. It was "at the time when kings go forth" (2 Samuel 11:1); why then was David tarrying at Jerusalem? A pernicious indolence clogged his footsteps, and you know the consequences. No doubt the palace royal was more congenial to flesh and blood than the battlefield, but tarrying there threw David into temptation he would never have had if, with purpose of heart, he had been acting as a king.

If the Lord has called you to any service and you neglect it, you are sure to get into trouble. Lot is another example of spiritual indolence. The mountain life, with its daily exercises and its constant demand for the energy of faith, was too laborious for him. His eye rested upon well-watered plains. The dwellings of Sodom seemed more secure than the mountain tent, and he went down to the city whose sin was "pride, fulness of bread, and careless ease" (Ezekiel 16:49). You may shrink from the troubles of faith, but if you shirk them you will have the troubles of sin, which are much worse to bear. If you look back to see where you have dishonoured the

Lord, I think you will see that it was when you had been neglecting the Word of God and private prayer, and your heart was not going diligently after the things of the Lord.

In Peter we see self-confidence. He loved the Lord and he was confident in the strength of his love, and he needed to learn what a bruised reed he was. He did learn it as we know, in a most humiliating way, and bitter was the lesson to his soul. Who can tell what scalding tears coursed down his cheeks! and what bitter self-reproaches he heaped upon himself! But was he forgotten by the Lord? Nay! Mark 16:7 reveals a precious touch of grace: "tell his disciples and Peter". Why should Peter be specially mentioned? Would it not have been enough to have said "his disciples"? Ah! Peter might have said, 'I cannot call myself a disciple any longer. I have denied Him. Such a name is not for me'. So it must needs be that Peter has special mention.

Then, furthermore, Luke 24:34 tells us of the Lord's appearance in resurrection, "The Lord is indeed risen and has appeared to Simon". We know not what passed at that private interview, but I will venture to say that there was so much confession on Simon's part, and so much tender and gracious love on the Lord's part, that when the Lord and Simon met again in the evening, no uneasiness or shyness remained to hinder Simon from enjoying the presence of his Lord.

If there is a Peter here tonight -- one who has failed, and dishonoured the Lord -- I can tell you that

that dishonoured Lord loves you still, and it would give His heart great joy to remove the soil from your conscience and to make you happy in His love. Is there a shadow between your heart and Himself? Has something been allowed to get in, so that, instead of being happy with the Lord, you are ill at ease? You feel that there is a reserve, and you are reluctant to go straight to Him and to have it all out. The Lord would have that reserve to be banished from your heart, and this is the great object of His present dealings with you. He makes you conscious of your sin, but He does not fail to assure your heart of the constancy of His love. Look at all those links in the chain of His gracious dealings with Peter:

(1) the prayer: "but I have besought for thee" (Luke 22:32);

(2) the warning: "the cock shall not crow today before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me" (Luke 22:34);

(3) the counsel: "Why sleep ye? rise up and pray that ye enter not into temptation" (Luke 22:46);

(4) the look: "And the Lord, turning round, looked at Peter" (Luke 22:61);

(5) the message: "But go, tell his disciples and Peter" (Mark 16:7);

(6) the private interview: "The Lord is indeed risen and has appeared to Simon" (Luke 24:34);

(7) the full restoration, (John 21:15 - 17).

Every link bears the stamp of divine and changeless love. The Lord would not rest until He had His poor disciple alone with Himself to have it all out. It is to

this end that He is speaking to you. Satan would keep you away from Him, and use the failure to create and widen a breach between you and the Lord. The active grace of the Lord comes after you now, as it went after Peter, that the breach may be completely healed. Get alone with Him and have it all out. Make a clean breast of the whole matter; go to the very bottom of it with Him; and you will find that He will remove the shade from your heart and the stain from your conscience, and give you a deeper sense of His love than you ever had before.

But the Risen One has now before Him another service. He first satisfies a sorrowing heart; then relieves a soiled conscience; and then He has to think of straying feet.

Mark how the Holy Spirit introduces the subject! "And behold, two of them were going on the same day to a village distant sixty stadia from Jerusalem, called Emmaus". It is as though the Holy Spirit marvelled at such a thing. They were true disciples; they loved the Lord and they were not happy in going away; they had heard that He was alive -- and yet they went! While He was with them He kept them, as He said; but now that He was gone and nothing remained for sight, they sorrowfully decided that the best thing they could do was to go back, as I suppose, to their own home.

We may be under influences of a natural kind which keep us outwardly right, without being at all in the faith of God's purpose. Then when the influences are removed we drift back to our own things.

How often we see saints whose feet are kept right so long as certain influences are acting on them, who turn into a wrong path as soon as those influences are removed. I do not mean going into sin, as men speak, but going back to think only of their own things. It was so with Paul's converts. When he was put in prison he had to say that all in Asia had turned away from him (2 Timothy 1:15), and that all were seeking their own things and not the things which were Jesus Christ's (Philippians 2:21).

The fact was that the two whose course we are now considering were disappointed. Things had not turned out as they expected. Disappointment is a fruitful source of backsliding. Then let us be quite sure that our expectations are according to God's purposes. If we expect on the line of God's purpose we shall never be disappointed. These two had been looking for earthly blessing in connection with a living Messiah, and when all hope of this had been withered by His death they were sad and disheartened. Their expectations were on a wrong line but the blessed Lord goes after them and speaks to their hearts that He might lead them on to the line of God's purposes in resurrection.

Think of Him, just risen from the dead, walking seven miles with those two wanderers that He might conduct their hearts into the wonderful secret that God was going to establish everything in resurrection! In short, He was leading their hearts to Himself in that new and 'out of the world' condition into which He had entered as the Risen One. With what

surprised burnings of the heart did they hear of the wonderful change in God's programme, which the Old Testament scriptures had announced beforehand. As their feet paced the road to Emmaus their hearts and minds were being conducted by the wondrous Stranger along a moral road which ended in the revelation of Himself in resurrection.

Do not let us suppose that the journey is one which only they needed to take. It is equally necessary and important for ourselves. It is so easy and natural for our hearts to connect the blessings of God with ourselves as men in the flesh, instead of seeing that the blight of death is upon everything that is of that order. We have to learn that all the blessings of God's present grace are wrapped up in One who is risen from the dead, and in order to reach them and have the joy of them we must reach Him who is no longer to be known after the flesh. If all expectation of blessings of a natural order is blighted by His death, He reveals Himself in resurrection as the Source of infinite blessings of a spiritual order.

When at length He made Himself known as the Risen One to the two disciples, it dawned upon their hearts that there was a new order of blessing infinitely surpassing all the earthly blessings for which they had been looking. Instinctively they turned at once to seek the company of their brethren. His death had broken all the earthly links that had held them together, and had put them outside everything that was recognized by men; but now His resurrection had put a new complexion upon everything, and

they hastened to be found with the company which had been gathered, as someone has beautifully said, by the message sent by the Risen One to His brethren. His gracious service had accomplished its end.

Thus, at the close of that memorable day, were the brethren gathered together upon the new ground that Christ was risen, and that as the "brethren" of the Risen One. He could have His own joy in being in their midst. I do not enter now into the wonderful character of that gathered company. You may perhaps feebly conceive what it was to Mary, to Peter, and to the two disciples of Emmaus to know the Lord in His new condition as the Risen One, and to be found in a company to whom He could manifest Himself! But what was it for Him to gather His own company thus for the first time around Himself as the Risen One! In the midst of that company His heart could let itself freely out.

He was in the peace of accomplished redemption, for all the judgment of sin was fully borne; God was glorified; His work was finished; the storm that had burst over His blessed head was hushed for ever. He was now in cloudless peace, but it was peace which He could share with this gathered company. He could impart to them the same peace that He was in as the Risen One. Then if He had been quickened out of death by the Spirit, He would associate this gathered company with Himself in life, breathing upon them the Spirit of Life. To that company He could declare the Father's Name; in their midst He could sing praise to God; and He could entrust to

them the maintenance of His interests and glory, as the Father's interest and glory had been entrusted to Him. It was a company gathered by and for Himself; His own company, or, as He says in Matthew 16:18, "my assembly".

May we better understand that it is the purpose of His love to have us here for Himself, and that all the wonderful grace that meets us in our need -- whether it be that of the sorrowing heart, the soiled conscience or the straying feet -- is bent upon dealing with us in such a way as to free us for Himself and for His own company!

May we know truly what it is to be gathered together to His Name!

Ministry by C. A. Coates, Volume 29, pages 233 - 239. [2 of 2].

SPEAKING AS MOVED BY THE SPIRIT

W. Chesterfield

2 Peter 1:20, 21; Acts 2:16 - 18; Judges 13:24, 25; 2 Samuel 23:1 - 4

Two of the passages above referred to -- that in the epistle of Peter and that in the book of Judges -- speak of being moved by the Holy Spirit. Peter says, "holy men of God spake under the power of the Holy Spirit". I want to draw attention to the danger of possibly being moved by the Holy Spirit and yet not speaking. One would desire that we might be concerned about this matter, especially the younger brethren, so that we might be ready not only to appreciate the movements and touches of the Holy

Spirit, but that we might speak and make available to others what we have.

Peter refers in his second epistle to "holy men of God", suggesting the kind of vessel in which the Spirit moves in view of utterances coming forth for the edification of the saints of God. It would seem as if Peter has the foundations of the assembly before him, his basic thought being that there should be holy men who are available to give expression to the Spirit's mind. Peter says, "no prophecy of the scripture is had from its own interpretation, for prophecy was not ever uttered by the will of man, but holy men of God spake under the power of the Holy Spirit". In addition to the fact of inspiration, the passage seems to show us the vast possibilities of the Scriptures, and that today the movements of the Holy Spirit would be on the line of opening up what we have as available at all times in Scripture with a fresh touch for edification.

As appreciating these possibilities we are reminded that they are connected with holiness -- holiness being a great thought with Peter. The first epistle of Peter speaks of holy women (chapter 3: 5) and the second epistle of holy men. 1 Corinthians speaks of men and women -- men praying or prophesying and women praying or prophesying (chapter 11: 4, 5). Perhaps we have not sufficiently taken account of both brothers and sisters as having part in the assembly and being marked by both prayer and prophecy -- not that women are audibly to pray or to prophesy in the assembly, but to be silent -- but Peter and Paul, two

great servants of the church, both bring this thought before us, and every one composing the assembly should be characterised by prayer and prophecy, that is, all should have to do with God in connection with His mind for the moment.

The second of Acts refers to the giving of the Spirit: "this is that which was spoken through the prophet Joel, And it shall be in the last days, saith God, that I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your elders shall dream with dreams". I would just refer to the elder brethren and the younger brethren. God would make use of both old and young in this blessed service of voicing the mind of God. So I read also the two passages in the Old Testament. The first one suggests to us movements of the Spirit of God in connection with a young brother. The Spirit of God began to move Samson.

Before, however, we come to the introduction of Samson we have much said about his parents. The 'parents' might well suggest to our minds all the saints in connection with the subjective conditions amongst us. The Spirit draws attention to Samson's mother -- we are told what the angel of God said to her. The fact of this son being born corresponds, perhaps, with what God has done in these last days, in so largely blessing the young ones among us. The scripture says the woman was barren. There was breakdown and failure, but God moves sovereignly. The Angel of God made the announcement to her

and he impressed upon her that her son was to be a Nazarite and that she herself was to abstain from wine and strong drink and everything unclean. One feels if we are to have amongst us vessels of this character, young and fresh, that we who are older -- indeed, all of us -- must be concerned as to our spiritual condition -- our food and our drink, nothing exciting to the flesh, nothing unclean; for the son should be a Nazarite. God would remind us that holiness is essential, that we must be found feeding only on what is holy, so that there might be young men whom the Spirit of God can move. We are not to expect the older men only to be moved, but young men also. One would appeal to the young to be available to be moved by the Spirit of God and to speak in relation to His movements.

We find Samson in a day of great weakness and reproach, but the Spirit of God "began to move him", suggesting the making known in that day the communications of the Holy Spirit. Deep exercise is doubtless required, but how sweet the result! There is not much recorded as to Samson's ministry, but there is one outstanding contribution that has yielded much as directing the hearts and minds of the saints to Christ: "Out of the eater came forth food, and out of the strong came forth sweetness" (chapter 14: 14).

That was a precious contribution from a young brother, and how the saints have fed upon it. It was, surely, like the five words spoken with the understanding (1 Corinthians 14:19); it directs us to the death of Christ, His victory, and His love to God and to us.

In David we have an old brother, one just about to pass off this scene, yet in energy suggesting a vessel moved by the Spirit. Indeed, it is written of Him, "The Spirit of Jehovah spoke by me, and his word was in my tongue". What movements of the Spirit his ministry brings before us! What deep feelings there are in his psalms! We find the Lord Himself speaking by His Spirit in the Psalms, for they testify of Him. David says, "The Spirit of Jehovah spoke by me". David's closing ministry is full of precious thoughts of Christ as the true King: "The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spoke to me, The ruler among men shall be just, ruling in the fear of God".

This scripture brings before us the coming day when everything will be put on a new footing -- resurrection life is suggested. "And he shall be as the light of the morning, like the rising of the sun, a morning without clouds".

What possibilities there are if only we make room for the Spirit. There ought to be such movements and the corresponding speaking. One feels how we may know something of being moved by the Spirit and yet remain silent.

May the Lord encourage us all -- young brothers as well as sisters -- that we may see to it, that there may be such speaking as moved by the Spirit in view of the continuance amongst us of ministry in freshness.

Words of Truth, Volume 2 (1934), pages 191 - 195. Abridged Notes of an Address, Plumstead (London).

GARMENTS

J. G. Frame

Zechariah 3:1 - 7; Isaiah 61:3, 10, 11; Revelation 3:1 - 6, 18; Revelation 19:6 - 8

I desire to say a word as to garments, having in mind the various circumstances in which believers may be found here, whether in the testimony, as representing God, or in the service of God, as serving Him in the assembly, in His house. God would have His people suitably clothed in view of drawing near to Him.

It is a great favour to know the wonderful place that believers have with God, for He has called us to the most wonderful things. He has called us, as believers, to represent Him here, in this scene where Christ has been rejected and cast out, and also to have part in the holy service of God, in His house. How privileged saints are! and it requires a suited state with each one, which garments would speak of. God would have us to be marked by righteousness and holiness.

This scripture we have read in Zechariah brings before us how God is operating to secure His own thoughts and purposes. It is a great matter to take account of the fact that God is going to accomplish what He desires; Job could say, "I know … that thou canst be hindered in no thought of thine" (Job 42:2). So God is working to secure that which is suitable to Himself. He would clothe believers with glory.

In this scripture the prophet sees "Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of Jehovah, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him".

Let us take account of that, beloved. Satan is ever near us individually and in our gatherings to obstruct what God is doing in and among His people, but we can see from this scripture how God triumphs over all. In Jude, Michael "did not dare" to rebuke Satan; God alone could do it (Jude 9). And so He does here. He comes in quickly: "Jehovah said unto Satan, Jehovah rebuke thee, O Satan! Yea, Jehovah that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee!" What an amazing rebuke that was! God came in to draw attention to His own work.

"Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?" Is that not a word to every one of us? Are we not brands plucked from the fire? Surely we are. We can take account of the wonderful mercy of God, who has reached out into the very circumstances in which we were and drawn us out of them. But that is not all that God has in mind. Some might be content with that, but God has in mind to complete His work in each one of us. It says, "Joshua was clothed with filthy garments". Joshua, as the high priest, would represent the state of the people, which required adjustment. Satan would resist the fact that God was seeking to come in and cleanse His people and set them up in dignity and power to represent Him. Then it says, "Take away the filthy garments from off him". It is wonderful how God has those standing by who can remove the filthy garments that are unsuitable, and then to provide what is according to His own mind..

So it says, "See, I have caused thine iniquity to

pass from thee, and I clothe thee with festival-robes". What a difference -- festival-robes, from filthy garments! Festival-robes would speak of joy and rejoicing. Surely it is something to rejoice in that we have not only been delivered from Satan's power in the world's system, but brought into touch with God's system of things in His house. How blessed that is! "I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I clothe thee with festival-robes".

"And I said, Let them set a pure turban upon his head". The turban was an essential part of the priest's garments, suggestive that we are not to be marked by fleshly thinking or mental excitement, but that we should be sober, and in a state that we can think for God. That is what the priest was to do -- to think for God, and act for God. The turban would involve that our thoughts are dignified and holy, preserved for God. He would have us to be clothed with holy garments that are suitable to His holy nature.

"And the Angel of Jehovah protested unto Joshua, saying, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts; and I will give thee a place to walk among these that stand by". Would we not all have a desire to have a place among those that stand by to serve? We have been set free to serve God. He said of His people of old, "Let my son go, that he may serve me" (Exodus 4:23). God's claims are to be recognised, for, in wonderful grace,

He has brought us in to have a place among those that stand by. God is bringing about in His people a state that is suitable to Himself. How blessed it is then for us to be clothed so as to serve God .

The passage in Isaiah 61 has in view a time of recovery and we find God coming in "to comfort all that mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn …". What a great matter it is to recognise that God would appoint certain circumstances for us and bring us into His courts, into His house. He would have us to be there suitably, and that is why it says, "that beauty should be given unto them instead of ashes". Ashes would represent a repenting condition, but then there is a time for rejoicing and that is when this matter would come in: "that beauty should be given unto them instead of ashes". Instead of sadness and sorrow as connected with mourning, God would bring in this thought of beauty, He would give us to know the beauty of all that He finds in Christ, and He would have His people formed by it so that they are clothed in beauty instead of ashes.

"The oil of joy instead of mourning". The oil of joy would suggest what should characterise us as we make way for the Spirit in our lives, our walk, our conversation. It means that the people of God are to be dignified -- their movements are dignified, their actions are dignified, and their thoughts too are dignified.

But then what affected me was this other reference: "the garment of praise instead of the spirit of heaviness". We have all known, no doubt, in our

histories, the spirit of heaviness. It involves that there has been departure in our souls from Christ, and so we do not see beauty in Him in the way that we did previously. God would afford us the garment of praise. The garment is what characterises persons, hence "the garment of praise" is for persons who are able to praise and worship God. It is a very beautiful thought. God is doing this, I believe, at the present time, and it is for each one of us to acquire a "garment of praise".

Then it goes on to say, "that they might be called terebinths of righteousness, the planting of Jehovah, that he may be glorified". The thought is that God should be glorified in His people as they move here under His eye. Terebinths would bring in the thought of stability; they cannot be shaken. Let us cling to God's thoughts, and He will bring us through our exercises for His glory. He is glorified, as we were saying already, when He sees the features of Christ coming out among His beloved people, when, instead of being marked by the spirit of heaviness, they are marked by having "the garment of praise".

It says in verse 10, "I will greatly rejoice in Jehovah, my soul shall be joyful in my God". What a great matter that is! That is the expression of an overcomer moving through this contrary scene, where Satan is active, seeking to divert the believer. But if we say, "my soul shall be joyful in my God", it suggests that we each have a relationship with God, that we can say, in wonderful grace, "my God".

Then it says, "he hath clothed me with the

garments of salvation". That is another wonderful garment. That suggests that one is free from the influences of the world. You remember that David, in Psalm 132, says, "Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness, and let thy saints shout for joy" (verse 9). The first feature that should mark us is righteousness. Later Jehovah says, "I will clothe her priests with salvation" (verse 16). That is just what we are speaking of here. The garments of salvation have been provided for us. "And her saints shall shout aloud for joy" (verse 16). You can see the two things are linked, beloved -- the garment of salvation and the garment of righteousness -- and should result in the sound of joy among the people of God. It is a great matter to be "covered ... with the robe of righteousness". God would have us to be before Him as Christ is, and to be occupied with Christ where He is. "Even as he is, we also are in this world" (1 John 4:17).

"As a bridegroom decketh himself with the priestly turban". The priestly turban suggests that you are thinking for God; natural thoughts are shut out, and you are able to think for God. Then the bride "adorneth herself with her jewels". That belongs to the bridal attire. Freshness and beauty is suggested in that attire.

"As the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as a garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth". That is a millennial touch, but by the Spirit we can now, I believe, experience something of this springing forth. Righteousness and praise will spring forth before the nations. So it will be in Israel,

in a coming day, when Christ gets His rightful place.

It says in Revelation 22, "Blessed are they that wash their robes, that they may have right to the tree of life, and that they should go in by the gates into the city" (verse 14). Do you want a place in the city? Then you need to wash your robes; it is a continuous matter. If we wash our robes we establish our right to go in by the gates into the city.

In Revelation 3 the Lord addresses the responsible element in the assembly in Sardis, which represents the condition of the church subsequent to the Reformation. The Reformation, in the ways of God, was used to reassert the great truth of justification by faith, and to make the Holy Scriptures readily available. The Lord says to Sardis, "I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead" -- that is merely profession; there is little in that for God's pleasure. But then He says, "Be watchful, and strengthen the things that remain" -- we can be thankful for the things that remain -- "which are about to die". May we be encouraged of God to strengthen that which remains.

Then Sardis is told to remember "how thou hast received and heard, and keep it and repent". A great responsibility lies on the saints of the present day because much ministry of rich character has come to us from the Lord. What are we doing with it? Do we value it? Are we being formed by it? We need to be watchful, because the Lord says, "I will come upon thee as a thief". We never know when a thief will come; it is very unexpected, hence we must be

ready.

In addressing the seven assemblies in Revelation 2 and 3, the Lord always commends what He can, what is pleasing to Him. He says, "thou hast a few names in Sardis which have not defiled their garments, and they shall walk with me in white". White speaks of purity, and the Lord would have this morally to mark His people.

It says in Ecclesiastes, "Let thy garments be always white, and let not thy head lack oil" (chapter 9: 8). That is a great matter for us to take account of. We are to be careful as to our contacts with persons: James speaks of keeping "oneself unspotted from the world" (James 1:27), and all that marks it. Our head not lacking oil suggests that we are to be governed by the Spirit in our thoughts.

"They shall walk with me in white". What a great privilege is afforded to faithful saints in Sardis "which have not defiled their garments". They shall walk with Christ in white. What a wonderful prospect -- a reward for faithfulness! Well, the Lord knows those who are desirous of being faithful to Him today, and He would encourage such to be exercised to keep their garments unspotted all their days.

So it requires overcoming: "He that overcomes, he shall be clothed in white garments". That is a very emphatic statement. Let us be on the line of overcoming, beloved, avoiding all that would hinder us being here for God's pleasure. We should merit being clothed in white garments.

Then the Lord says, "I will not blot his name out

of the book of life, and will confess his name before my Father and before his angels". How remarkable that the Lord should promise to do that for those who are seeking to walk here for Him with undefiled garments.

Laodicea represents a state of lukewarmness in the church that the Lord finds distasteful: "I am about to spue thee out of my mouth" (verse 16). And yet He is prepared to give counsel even to those who are in a state like that. He says, "I counsel thee to buy of me" -- you cannot get it anywhere else -- "gold purified by fire" -- that is, what is of true value, acquired through exercise -- "that thou mayest be rich". They were claiming, "I am rich and am grown rich, and have need of nothing" (verse 17). That is the state of Laodicea, of mere profession. The Lord also counsels them to buy "white garments, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness may not be made manifest; and eye-salve to anoint thine eyes, that thou mayest see". Oh! what a matter it is to see right. Sometimes we may need a second touch from the Lord that we might see "all things clearly" (Mark 8:25); the blind man in John 9 received his sight and came to know the Lord Jesus as the blessed Son of God.

The passage read in Revelation 19 speaks of that glorious event still to come, the marriage of the Lamb. What an occasion that will be of joy and rejoicing! The One who has been refused and rejected here will come and claim His bride. "The Lamb" suggests the Lord as the suffering One. He suffered

and died that we might be His eternally, in nearness to Himself.

"And his wife has made herself ready. And it was given to her …" That is another beautiful touch. It was not acquired, in this sense. One verse suggests that she has made herself ready. That is her side of things. But then it says, "it was given to her that she should be clothed in fine linen, bright and pure; for the fine linen is the righteousnesses of the saints". Think of all the righteousnesses of saints from Pentecost until the rapture, when the Lord will take His own to be with Him, forming part of that glorious dress with which His bride will be clothed at that time! It is "fine linen", the very finest you could get, and "bright and pure". May the Lord give us to be ready for that glorious marriage.

It is a very blessed matter to understand that, as believers, we have part in these things, and to be exercised to make ourselves ready for that day. We do not know when the Lord will come, but when He does come may we be suitably clothed and ready for Him! May He grant it, and bless His word, for His Name's sake.

Belfast, 18 January 2003.

THE TRUTH AS A WHOLE

J. B. Stoney

John 16:13

Now I turn to the second event, and it tests us. The second is, That Christ is glorified. That is a very solemn thing. I ask myself very often, Do I believe

that He is in heaven? Do I believe that the Person who set me free from all the misery and judgment of this world is glorified at God's right hand in heaven? It is a very solemn question, and a very useful one.

The idea in John and in Numbers 21 is that you are on for another country; in fact, that you belong to the place where the Life is. I do not know anything more difficult than to lead saints to understand and accept the simple fact, that they belong to heaven because the One who cleared us from the misery and judgment under which we lay, is in heaven. He is my life, and He is in heaven. Souls are very slow to learn it.

When the light broke in many years ago, there was much ignorance about this second event, there was a great deal of legality, a trying to get rid of earthly appearances, and earthly glory; that of itself was not heavenly. Still it was better than what is now. Now it is what is called a clear gospel, not a single charge against me; sins, past, present and future, all gone, as people say. But what are you doing? Trying to make yourself as comfortable here as you can? I say, Where is your Saviour? He is in heaven, and He is your life, then your 'associations of life' are in heaven.

It is one of the most interesting moments in the history of the soul when the inquiry is raised, Where is He? Mark now, that is the turn in everyone's history. Like Mary Magdalene, desolate without Him, I am in a place where my Lord is not. And the Lord introduces her to a new relationship, to a new

sphere, and to a new day, "old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17). She was like the bride in the Canticles; and He leads her from Canticles to community of relationship, and community of relationship involves union. "Go to my brethren and say to them, I ascend unto my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God" (John 20:17). It is a real start with Christians when they reach this.

But I am dealing now with events or facts which necessarily test us as to whether we hold the truth or not, not a truth but the truth. The Holy Spirit is called "the Spirit of truth". We need to test ourselves. What do I see generally abroad? I see the history of Israel repeated. There is not one of us who does not believe that there was a day of provocation in the wilderness, and we know that "all these things happened to them as types, and have been written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages are come" (1 Corinthians 10:11).

Study Numbers, and you see what happened. They only took one journey when the trouble came; they complained, and what then? Their hearts turned back into Egypt, they began lusting; and the next thing was, We will not go up. But that was not all; they essayed afterwards to go up without the power. And the worst form today is that a person says, It is the right thing to go up, but he goes up simply from the knowledge of the right thing without the power, and that is presumption. That was fatal to Israel. It is a grievous thing when your knowledge is beyond

your power; there is no power without faith.

It is a simple question for every heart in this room: we assume to hold the truth -- I will test you. You say you are clear about Christ's death and resurrection. Are you? Do you mean to tell me you are in the liberty of His life, when your heart is indifferent as to where He is, to this second event? I could not believe it while you are engrossed with the things of this life. Hence the argument of the apostle is, "If therefore ye have been raised with the Christ, seek the things which are above, where the Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God" (Colossians 3:1).

I put a plain question to every one of you, How much of the things above have you sought today? You belong to another sphere altogether. You have died, and your life is hid with Christ in God. Be like a tree that has its roots in heaven, and its branches down here. You say, That is a miracle. Very likely; nevertheless, in reality your roots are in heaven, and your branches down here. No doubt they are fretted and nipped by the atmosphere here, but nothing can touch the roots up there. "Those that are planted in the house of Jehovah shall flourish in the courts of our God" (Psalm 92:13). Planted inside, they flourish outside.

I have no doubt at all that the first fact, that is, Christ's work at His first coming, is not clear and full in your souls, or you would long to know where He is. The measure of the truth in Christendom is, Christ was on earth, and is coming again; they have no idea of what is in the interval. Thank God, you

have believed in the first; but you must hold fast to the second event, that is, Christ is in heaven.

Now, as Christ is in heaven, and I am on earth, how can I get on here in the place where He is not? The answer is, The Holy Spirit has come down, and this is the third fact or event. The Holy Spirit has come down to be with us, and in us. It is not merely that my heart is in heaven because my Saviour is there; my actual place is there, though I am bodily here. The Holy Spirit has come down to lead us into all the truth; "he shall teach you all things" (John 14 26); "He shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine and shall announce it to you" (John 16:14). He has come down to the place where we are, here in this scene of misery where we have been contributors to the misrule and disorder of everything in this world.

We have been converted through God's mercy, but still we have the same flesh that we had, and though we are in the same world, yet we are free from all, through the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. But where is He? In heaven. And when He comes into the midst of His own gathered ones, He comes in His heavenly character -- what do you know of Him as the heavenly One there? If you tell me you enjoy Him in the midst of His gathered saints, you must enjoy Him in the place where He is, and your heart is set upon Him there.

Someone lately asked, What would make me heavenly minded? Nothing but a Person, the Person who is in heaven -- your Saviour. "Seek the things

which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God: have your mind on the things that are above, not on things that are on the earth" (Colossians 3:1, 2). But I am not presenting this merely as a matter of affection; there is further, this great event, that the Holy Spirit has come down to us, and as the Lord tells you in John 16, He not only leads you into all the truth, not only conducts you into a sphere where everything is perfect according to the mind of God, but "he shall receive of mine and shall announce it to you" (verse 14).

It is not a question of the world; in one sense it is almost easier to get out of the world than to get free of the earth. The world is the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life; but I see a great many people who are not worldly, but who are earthly. They are surrounding themselves with the ease and comfort of earthly things; the grandeur and the position of the world they have given up. What I dread is the earth. There were ten thousand men in Gideon's army who were neither fearful nor afraid (Judges 7) -- but what happened? Nine thousand seven hundred of them fell before the mercies of this life. You say, What will detach me? Nothing but the truth. These are two tests for every one of us: my Saviour is in heaven, and the Holy Spirit has come down to me.

The Lord interest you more in having really your associations in heaven. I do not ask you to give up anything, I ask you to acquire, to be true to the simple fact that He is in heaven. He was on earth, that

was the first fact, you know what that is; then, next, He is in heaven; third, the Holy Spirit has come down to be with us -- in the house of God, and in each of us individually. Think then of the power you have. Think of the place He comes from. The place He comes from is necessarily the place He connects us with. You are outside what is natural, your power is by the Spirit of God. That is the third; and these two, the second and the third, are what are to mark us in the interval between the first fact or event, and the fourth, as you get in 1 Thessalonians 1:9, 10. People sometimes quote that passage, "ye turned to God from idols and to await" -- No, I say, you have left out the interval: "to serve a living and true God, and to await his Son from the heavens". Christendom accepts what it terms the first advent and the second, but it omits the interval; that is, the present time.

The moment you accept that Christ is in heaven, and the Holy Spirit is on earth, you must bring in the assembly. The gospel gives me title to be where He is, but in the assembly we are placed there. Thus you see the two ministries embrace the truth. It would be an impossibility for you to be left in this place where Christ is rejected, if there were no mystery. If He is in heaven, because He has been rejected on earth, how could we be here even for an instant? If He, the Greatest, the Son of God, has no place here, how can I be here? By the mystery, the whole question is solved. I am here simply as a member of His body; in no other way have I a right to be here. As a

member of His body, I am left here to express Him in the place where He is not, according to the grace given to me. Now, and it is very searching, are you simply here as a member of His body, standing for Him to whom all belongs, but who has been cast out? As a member of His body I have a place in heaven; I am not there as an individual, but I can enjoy it as an individual.

The fourth fact or event, I refer to only very briefly. You can easily see how it must be. What are you looking for? That you get in Thessalonians, "to await his Son from the heavens" (1 Thessalonians 1:10); and they were so carried away by it, that they did not attend to their ordinary business, thinking every day He would come. I do not dwell on that. Through the death and the resurrection of Christ you are clear of all the misery here, you are brought into a new life altogether, to soar away into the realms of light. My Saviour is in heaven, and I have association with Him there. Here you ought to have the sense that you are in the place where Christ died. The deeper my sense of His death, the more do I feel the death of anyone here.

The more sorrow you have passed through, the more you feel sorrow. Every new sorrow revives the old ones. It is different with joy: every new joy puts out the old ones. "Man is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upward" (Job 5:7). "therefore shall judgment spring up as hemlock in the furrows of the field" (Hosea 10:4). Death follows in our track. It is "the valley of the shadow of death" (Psalm 23:4). We

recall, in the declaration of our affection to the Lord, the greatest death that ever occurred. "The golden bowl" is broken (Ecclesiastes 12:6). We announce His death, we are the continuation in memory of Himself as He left this world, as He died out of it for us. This is an engrossing sorrow always before your heart as you walk through this world. "Remember me" is ever before the true heart. One feels sometimes, as one passes from the Lord's supper -- take honour there, take distinction there, seek enjoyment there, where Christ died! Never! How could I?

Well then, you are in this world, and the Holy Spirit is here, what are you looking for? I am looking for Him to come. Therefore, "the Spirit and the bride say, Come" (Revelation 22:17). See how naturally they flow one from another. We wait for Him; that is the fourth fact or event; it is not yet accomplished, but we have the certainty of it, we can count upon it more surely than upon tomorrow's sun. You are not true to the fourth, if you do not answer to the other three. I do not think I need add more. I can only look to the Lord to lead you and me to pray that we might see better how necessarily His truth is connected with those who enjoy His presence. One does not assume anything, but I have challenged people before now who profess to be gathered to His name: Just give me a short statement of what the assembly is. Their inability to do it shows where they are. If I look at the literature of the day, I see in it little or nothing as to the assembly, a partial gospel is enough. What I dread is lest the truth should slip

away from us. God has been pleased to recover the truth, and has allowed us to see it: may we not be deprived of it because of unfaithfulness. I am sure He will not permit this without plenty of notice; but He is warning us, He is drawing out attention to it; we are highly favoured, and are proportionately responsible. I say this in order that our hearts may be awakened to understand the greatness of His grace.

The Lord grant that each of our hearts may be delighting in the knowledge of the truth. As we are in His company, we expand in it. He is the Truth.

Ministry by J. B. Stoney, Volume 1, pages 298 - 305. [2 of 2].

SPIRITUAL RICHES

J. Taylor

2 Corinthians 8:9; 1 Corinthians 14:26

In reading these Scriptures I want to bring before you the thought that God seeks in us a certain spiritual prosperity, so that we may always have something with which to minister to others. God looks for practical answers in His people to the great wealth with which He has enriched us in Christ. In Ephesians the gospel is said to be the gospel of "the unsearchable riches of the Christ" (chapter 3: 8); and obviously it is not simply to make known these riches, but that those who believe should have part in them.

The passage in 2 Corinthians shows how it is possible for us to have part in them. The Lord, having been rich, became poor on our account; it refers to His incarnation and death, "that ye by his poverty might be enriched". The fact that He became poor is

one of the most touching that can be spoken of. That He came into poor material circumstances is a fact; it is also evident, when the question of tribute was raised, that He did not possess money.

There is another sense in which He was poor. It is said in the Psalms, "This poor man cried" (Psalm 34:6, A.V.) -- one having no outward means of help. He came into these circumstances in grace. What can touch the heart more than that? Think of the Lord of glory becoming poor! Poor, not only in material things, but in the sense that there was no outward means of help or support. Jehovah heard Him, of course, but that is another matter; outwardly He was poor. So we have, "Blessed is he that understandeth the poor" (Psalm 41:1). On the cross, I suppose, it was seen in its full measure, when He cried, and there was no help at all. He was without support. He was alone. We cannot measure that, we can only refer to it with feeling, one trusts, and in a worshipful spirit. He was pleased to be found thus in order that we should be rich, "that ye by his poverty might be enriched". How touching that is! The Spirit of God brings in these thoughts of poverty and riches, because He is going to speak of giving, in a material way, for the help of the Lord's people. God employs these words and one is touched by them; and, as I say, they are most blessed!

What one would remark on is that we should be rich spiritually; God loves to see the wealth that He has enriched us with in Christ worked out in our souls, so that we move about here in a certain

spiritual dignity and magnanimity. God looks for these things; He hates the smallness and niggardliness which belong to the flesh. As regards Paul, he was "as poor, but enriching many". There was a largeness of soul in him, and so he says, "Ye are not straitened in us, but ye are straitened in your affections" (2 Corinthians 6:10, 12). The principles of the world had got amongst the Corinthians, and so they had become narrowed in their affections. Even the philanthropist, so called, of the world is small, he has in view his own greatness; whereas, in Christianity, it is what God is, it is the greatness of God expressed through His people; and so the apostle looked for spiritual expansion amongst the Corinthians.

Through these letters, he labours to bring that about, and in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9, he deals with this subject of giving, and brings in these words, involving what is so touching in regard to our Lord Jesus Christ. At the end of chapter 8 he speaks about those who carried the bounty of the saints; he says, "Whether as regards Titus, he is my companion and fellow-labourer in your behalf; or our brethren, they are deputed messengers of assemblies, Christ's glory" (verse 23). What a touch as to the merit of what is in view! although the thing is material in itself, it expresses what Christ is; "Christ's glory". In that simple service there was the shining out of what Christ is now in all His wealth, "Christ's glory".

To go back to the riches with which we are enriched, I would remark on the working out of it in the assembly, and so in chapter 14 of the first

epistle, where he speaks of the order of the assembly, he brings in these remarks: "What is it then, brethren? whenever ye come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation". I call attention to the word has in the verse; we are supposed to have something, when we come together, according to the riches, or the prosperity, of our souls. And so the question is raised in my soul, What have I as among the people of God? One hopes it would be raised in each one of our souls.

In the Old Testament we have abundant foreshadowings of what is in the mind of God; in the history of creation we see how He arranged things, that although He could create out of nothing, yet His thought was that the earth should bring forth fruit, so that man and beast should have food. "The cattle on a thousand hills" (Psalm 50:10) were indirectly the product of the earth; and vegetables too, of all kinds. The idea, on the part of God, was that the earth should bring forth, and that man should be sustained by what the earth yielded. The manna was an exception; manna suggests that there was no fruit on the earth, for the wilderness was a sterile place, and in it there was nothing for man or beast, but the manna came down from heaven. The thought of God is that something should be developed in the way of fruit; He gave His sunshine and rain to water the earth. In Hebrews 6 it is said that "ground which drinks the rain which comes often upon it, and produces useful herbs for those for whose sakes also it is tilled,

partakes of blessing from God" (verse 7). God has delight in the fruit coming up, and He adds His blessing. The writer is speaking to the saints, as those who have received ministry from Christ, from heaven, and fruit was expected.

God looks for results. When you come to Exodus you have the same principle: God could easily have provided means to meet their requirements for the tabernacle but it must come through the affections of the people; and it is very cheering to see how the people responded; there was an excess (chapter 36: 5 - 7). The tabernacle was made according to the pattern, but the material came in the way of a heave-offering from His people. And so today God's thought is to work through the spiritual gifts of His people. They did not all bring the same thing for the tabernacle; but in result the material was all brought and there was abundance.

And so in Leviticus, where you have God dwelling amongst His people, he speaks of offerings. There were burnt-offerings, meat-offerings (oblations), peace-offerings, and in each case the people were supposed to have something, a handful of meal if nothing more. There was a variety of gifts, so that the rich and the poor could each contribute. Mutuality is a great thought in Scripture; that is, that each one has part, either in contributing to what we are brought into or receiving of it. God blesses each of us, the rain comes upon us all, and hence God looks for fruit, even from the very poorest spiritually, so that no one is shut out. "But to each one of us has

been given grace according to the measure of the gift of the Christ" (Ephesians 4:7).

And then in Numbers 7 we have a most remarkable evidence of spiritual giving; that is, in the princes. The princes each gave the same, and it was bountiful giving. Princes are men who are spiritually great; they are spiritually well off. We were remarking on the apostle Paul, how in writing to Philemon he uses his means for the benefit of another (verse 18); so these princes gave freely of the wealth they had, and in result it expressed the practical unity that existed in Israel. There was no rivalry between them; their gifts expressed their practical unity. They all had the same love for Christ and for His people, we may say. They provided wagons for the Levites who had heavy burdens to bear; they gave with a measure of intelligence as to what was needed. In the book of Numbers, as I said, these princes express the practical unity that should be seen among the people of God, in the way of spiritual giving. Then we may refer to the giving of David. In first Chronicles we read of the wealth with which he lavishly, one might say, and with intelligent affection, provided for the house of God; and on the part of the people also there was abundant giving for the house that was to be built. Read 1 Chronicles 28 and 29.

In the New Testament you find the importance of giving constantly, and in 1 Corinthians 14:26, you see a certain variety of spiritual contributions which could be made as opportunity offered. The chapter affords instruction as to how they should be made.

There is a variety in the unity that marks the things of God. I am speaking now of the wealth that God looks for amongst His people, and the question is, What have we? Has one a doctrine? It is something that one has in one's soul by the Spirit. A psalm is an experience that one has with God, so that one gives it out for the benefit of others; one expresses the experience of one's soul with God. Doctrine is the intelligent apprehension of the mind of God; that is important among the people of God. And so on, one has a tongue, a revelation. We do not look for these now, but I speak of the principle and the general need of having something, so that one may contribute to the edification and comfort of the saints, as opportunity offers.

God would have the riches with which He has blessed us developed amongst us, as we are together in fellowship with one another. May it be so in the power of the Spirit!

Ministry by J. Taylor, Belfast, Volume 11, pages 94 - 99. November 1919.

"THE OLD MAN", "THE FLESH" AND "SIN"

F. E. Raven

There are certain scripture terms in common use amongst us with which most are very familiar, but to which we should, if challenged, find it perhaps difficult to attach any very distinct or definite meaning, or to clearly distinguish one from another. Such are "the old man", "sin", and "the flesh", the intimate connection between which must be evident enough

to all.

I propose to enlarge on the terms a little, in the hope that the moral force of each may be more clearly apprehended. I may say, at the outset, that I am unable to realise much difference between the old man and the flesh. "Old man" may perhaps present a more complete idea than "flesh". "Old man" describes a certain order of man which can now be designated as old, because the new has appeared on the scene. I am not aware that the expressions 'old' and 'new man' are found save in Ephesians and Colossians, in both of which the thought of creation is introduced in connection with the new man. We find there the old and new man set strongly in contrast -- the one after, or according to, the lusts of deceit, the other created after or according to God.

I judge that the term 'man' speaks of an order of intelligent being set in certain relationships, and endowed with affections suited to those relationships; and this is true in both the old and new man, though in the old all is marred by sin. The term 'man' conveys to us the idea of what is outward and evident, an object to be apprehended by the mind or senses, and thus the new man is for the Christian the foundation of testimony.

Now, in 'flesh' the point of contrast is not 'the new man', but 'the Spirit' or 'spirit'; and the idea is thus evidently in distinction from that of 'man', who can be apprehended as an object. The term plainly conveys to us the thought of what is inward or subjective -- a source of thought and feeling and

purpose. It is undoubtedly used in a moral sense, and hence presents more than the thought of mere animal existence or nature. A man may be 'after the flesh' or 'after the Spirit' -- may find his springs in the one or in the other. But if in the one, he is, so to say, abstracted from the other. Now it is plain that this abstraction could not be until the Spirit was given. In Old Testament saints faith was evidently a most potent factor, and as they were helped of God there was practical righteousness; but until the cross there had not been such a setting aside of the flesh for God's glory as that the Spirit could be communicated, and consequently the saint in his experience could not be abstracted from the flesh as to his habitual moral state. He was even as a saint in the flesh. It was the state in which God took account of him, though, withal, helping him in it, or in spite of it.

'The flesh' is so habitually used in connection with sin and evil, that it becomes a little difficult to identify the term with an unfallen being like Adam; and yet I think it might be said that "in the flesh" was true of Adam, though, of course, without evil. Evidently the love of God was not shed abroad in his heart by the Holy Spirit given to him, nor did he find his springs of affection, feeling, and thought in the Spirit, though as God's handiwork he was very good. Now, alas! flesh is characteristically flesh of sin.

I think that we have seen thus far that, while 'old' or 'new man' presents the idea of an object or order which is evident and observable, 'flesh', in

contrast to it, gives the idea of a moral spring which governs the mind, temper, and spirit of man, and has its issue in practice. And in this connection we may take up the subject of sin. It is clear that sin exists apart from the state of man or flesh, for the devil sins from the outset. It is a principle that has come into the world by man, and that holds man in bondage; and the scripture has defined it as 'lawlessness', i.e., creature will impatient of restraint. Now will, as in flesh, may be spoken of in an innocent sense, i.e., as mechanical -- the power of volition. A man must will to lift up his hand in order to lift it up, and this is part of flesh or man's bodily condition. It is not in this sense that we are now speaking of will, but purely in a moral sense -- in the sense in which, in its full development, it will be seen in antichrist -- defiant disregard of, and opposition to, God.

This is perfectly compatible with a morality (like that of Paul) which claims and obtains the respect of man. The fact is that sin, as to the principle of it, is only known in relation to God, and it is the full revelation of God in Christ that has brought out sin in its enormity. The Lord said, "If I had not come and spoken to them, they had not had sin" (John 15:22); and the testimony of Christ brought out the fact that hatred of God is an essential and necessary element of sin -- God is not only defied, but hated. But this may and does exist in the condition of flesh; hence it is, I think, simple to apprehend the distinction between 'sin', 'the old man', and 'the flesh'.

Ministry by F. E. Raven, Volume 10, pages 279 - 281.

CHRISTIANITY IS CHRIST

J. Pellatt

Philippians 2

No intelligent believer would claim inspiration as to the order of the books of the New Testament; at the same time it has been felt to be striking that the epistle to the Philippians should follow that to the Ephesians. It seems fitting and right that it should be so, for Philippians gives you a practical illustration of the truth which is so characteristic of Ephesians. Without going into detail, I would remark that what is so prominent in Ephesians is the heavenly side of our calling. When Paul was writing to Timothy he said, "But thou hast been thoroughly acquainted with my teaching, conduct …" (2 Timothy 3:10). Paul was the living embodiment and exemplification of his teaching. It was Paul who wrote Ephesians, and Paul, as seen in his epistle to the Philippians, is the embodiment of his teaching in that epistle.

There is no epistle, of all those written by Paul, that gives you such an insight into his experience as a Christian as Philippians. It is not, strictly speaking, an apostolic epistle. Paul does not write to them in the character of apostle. In the beginning of it he says, "Paul … bondman of Jesus Christ", and he associates Timothy with himself in that word "bondman" ... So the epistle to the Philippians has been spoken of as an epistle of christian experience, and we do well to recall what has been said by our brother (T.H.R.) -- 'Christianity is Christ!' That is a beautiful statement! The more you think of it the

more it will impress you! 'Christianity is Christ', so if this is an epistle of christian experience it must set forth Christ, and so it is all Christ and that in a wonderful way!

It has been spoken of in different ways:

Chapter 1 -- Christ our life.

Chapter 2 -- Christ our pattern.

Chapter 3 -- Christ our object.

Chapter 4 -- Christ our strength and sufficiency.

It would be easy to show how each of these characterises each chapter.

Then again we may look at each chapter in another light:

Chapter 1 is encouragement.

Chapter 2 is humility.

Chapter 3 is energy.

Chapter 4 is satisfaction and contentment.

In chapter 1 Paul says, "for me to live is Christ" (verse 21); he says this as a "bondman" of Christ. If you make any of his experience as expressed in this epistle apostolic, you put a distance between the writer and yourself. Beloved, we are bondmen of Jesus Christ. It is a great thing to see that Christianity is what we are. There is a great deal of self-occupation in Christians trying to be what they ought to be. One would not like to be cold-hearted, but it is a great thing to take account of what we are in God's mind, and then we can be exercised that the Spirit may work in our souls so as to bring us into correspondence with it. In 1 Corinthians 7 there are two classes of believers as to their social standing -- there

are slaves and freemen. Now Paul says to slaves, "the bondman that is called in the Lord is the Lord's freedman" (verse 22). Then he speaks to masters and says, "the freeman being called is Christ's bondman". We are bondmen of Jesus Christ, He has bought us with a price.

Well, see Philippians 2 -- "If then there be any comfort in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and compassions, fulfil my joy, that ye may think the same thing" (verses 1, 2). How these words should appeal to our hearts as to what is available to us as Christians. Paul and Timothy had no comfort in Christ that you may not have. For years it has been an encouraging thought to me that the best things of Christianity are open to us all, and that the very best things remain -- the best things that were here when the apostles were here. They were official servants, but they had not any blessings better than what we have. How the Spirit seems to delight to spread these things before us, and to engage our hearts with them!

This epistle is not doctrinal. There is in it something better than correct doctrine and order, and that is an experience of Christ. It is not a doctrinal, but an experimental, epistle. The stamp on it from beginning to end is christian experience exemplified in Paul.

There is a wonderful link between Paul and the saints in Philippi. He is free to let his heart out. He says: "fulfil my joy". How happy he was about them! He says in chapter 1: 3 -- "I thank my God for

my whole remembrance of you, constantly in my every supplication, making the supplication for you all with joy". He had no anguish and tears in writing this epistle; when he wrote his epistle to the Corinthians his heart was at breaking-point. Not so here, but now in chapter 2 he says: Do you want to fill my joy full, I am very happy about you, but do you want to fill my joy up?

Now notice how he expresses his desire for these saints. Some of us have a scolding way, but look at the lovely way in which Paul begins. I commend it to you: "If then there be any comfort in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit". There are two expressions about the Spirit. In chapter 1: 19 we get "the Spirit of Jesus Christ". In chapter 3: 3, "worship by the Spirit of God". When it is a question of worship it is the "Spirit of God". But when it is a question of what is experimental which is unfolded in this chapter, it is the Spirit of that Man; and He will make us like that Man, there will be an answer in us to what He is.

The Closing Ministry of J. Pellatt, Volume 2, pages 108 - 112. [1 of 2].

PIETY

A. J. Gardiner

1 Timothy 2:1 - 4; 1 Timothy 3:14 - 16; 1 Timothy 4:4 - 10; 1 Timothy 6:3 - 9, 11

I feel impressed, dear brethren, I trust by the Lord, to say a word as to godliness, or piety, believing that there is great need of our being reminded of the importance of it.

The Lord is bringing before us in these days much that is connected with the greatest truths of Christianity, the highest privileges of the assembly, intending that we should have power to move into these things, and that requires spirituality; but I believe that before we can be spiritual, we must become marked by righteousness practically, and piety.

You will remember that the Scripture speaks of Simeon in the second chapter of Luke's gospel; how the Holy Spirit was upon him and that it had been revealed to him by the Spirit that he should not see death till he had seen the Lord's Christ; and how he came in the Spirit into the temple (verses 25 - 27). He was one who was evidently characterised in large measure by spirituality, by being spiritual. But before saying these things about him, it says that he was just and pious, meaning that he was characteristically righteous practically in all his ways and that he was pious; and I believe those two things, practical righteousness and piety, are essential foundations to spirituality. That is, unless we are concerned and helped of the Lord to maintain righteousness practically in every detail of life and to cultivate piety, we

shall not be able to go very far in the way of spirituality. The Lord is stressing, dear brethren, that the recovery of the truth which we are now enjoying -- truth that the Lord has given to the assembly over the past hundred years -- has in mind that all the thoughts of God, the best thoughts regarding the assembly, should be entered upon by us at the close just before we are taken to be with the Lord. But I say again, and I believe it is incontrovertible, that we cannot in any real power touch spiritual things unless there is a foundation with us of practical righteousness and piety.

Now this first epistle to Timothy says much about piety. If you read through the epistle, I think you will be perhaps surprised at the constant references to piety, or godliness as it is rendered in the Authorised Version. In chapter 2 the apostle exhorts "first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be made for all men; for kings and all that are in dignity, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil live in all piety and gravity". It was a prominent thought in the mind of the apostle, so that he gives exhortation "first of all", and with a view to this, that we may lead quiet and peaceable lives, in all piety and gravity; for, he says, "this is good and acceptable before our Saviour God, who desires that all men should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth".

I believe the force is, dear brethren, that not only are we ourselves to be marked by piety and the blessing that flows from it, but the result of it is to be

a testimony to others that saints who are marked by piety are manifestly in the good of salvation. God wants all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth, enjoying all the truth, involving the knowledge of God; and there is nothing like the knowledge of God to save us practically from all the different features that are current in the world around. Take discontent, for instance; a great feature of the present time is discontent, and many things of that kind, that characterise men at the present time.

The great power for salvation from things of that sort is the knowledge of God, and piety brings the knowledge of God into our everyday circumstances; so that we are encouraged to prayer and supplication, intercession and thanksgiving. All these are things that belong to the knowledge of God; indeed intercession is a wonderful privilege; it is the exercise by those who know God of their privilege of drawing near to God; it is the privilege of exercising that power on behalf of others.

Abraham, who is spoken of as the "Friend of God" (James 2:23), took up the attitude of intercession with God in regard of Sodom. What a wonderful privilege, that one man outside of those wicked cities, should exercise the power he had with God, as God's friend, in intercession on behalf of Sodom and Gomorrah! and yet not doing it in any sentimental way, but doing it with a right sense of what was due to God, having the knowledge of God. So that he says, "There are perhaps fifty righteous within the city". And God says, "If I find at Sodom fifty righteous

within the city, then I will forgive all the place for their sakes" (Genesis 18:24 - 26). And then Abraham comes down to forty-five, forty, and thirty, speaking in a becoming way, saying he was but dust and ashes, thus showing what a low sense he had of himself; for, like Job who repented in dust and ashes, Abraham had to do with God. He himself was but dust and ashes, and yet what power he had with God. He came down to twenty and he came down to ten, but he did not go below ten. That is to say, while he was thoroughly with God as discerning that men should be saved, yet at the same time he had a right sense of what was due to God, that if a city was so wicked that there were not even ten righteous in it, then it was not suitable to pray for its salvation, it should be judged. Both Sodom and Gomorrah had to be judged, yet at the same time all that was due to God was maintained by Abraham in the way he interceded. There is great need for that at the present time, for there is no question but that evil is increasing by leaps and bounds in the world.

Government, which is of God, is increasingly insecure in every country, and therefore the urgent need on the part of the saints is, that we should give ourselves to this kind of prayer, praying on behalf of all men and praying for the support of the government; praying without any political bias at all for whatever authority God has established. We are to pray for it because abstractly it is of God and it has in mind the maintenance of what is right and the repression of what is evil. These are things that the saints do well to

pray for, that we should be able indeed to lead quiet and tranquil lives in all piety and gravity.

Piety has the effect of saving the saints from every kind of bitterness of spirit, discontent, and anxiety. All these things that more and more characterise the world, and along with that the grasping after being rich with some. All these things are cured, or rather we ourselves are saved from them by piety. Piety is that we know God and we bring the knowledge we have of God in a practical way into our every-day circumstances. And so the apostle says that "the mystery of piety is great", but before this he speaks of how we should behave ourselves in the house of God which is the assembly of the living God, the pillar and base of the truth.

Now I say, for the sake of any who may be unaware of it, that we are always the house of God. The house of God is not simply when we are together. Bear that in mind. Let the young ones especially bear this in mind, but every one of us, that we are not the house of God simply when we are together. We are always the house of God by virtue of the fact that God is dwelling with us by the Spirit, and therefore this question as to how we are to behave ourselves in the house of God is a matter that affects us every day and every hour of the day; when we are by ourselves, just as much as when we are together with the saints. It is a question of the kind of behaviour that is suitable to God in His dwelling place, and we are His dwelling place by virtue of the fact that God dwells in us by the Holy Spirit. Thus

not only is there this question of suitable behaviour in the house of God, because we are the house of God, but there is also the fact that the house of God is "the assembly of the living God, the pillar and base of the truth". The assembly has a place in the testimony as the great testimony to and support of the truth. Hence, you can see how sorrowful it is if any one of us in any way, by his conduct, acts unbecomingly to God and His house. Not only is it an affront to God personally, but it brings the name of God into disrepute. The testimony of the truth is bound up with it, and hence we can see how important a matter it is, this question of how we behave ourselves in the house of God. And this involves the practical exercise of piety.

Well now, the apostle says, that "confessedly the mystery of piety is great", and great it is indeed. God, he says, has been manifest in flesh; that is, God Himself in the person of Jesus has entered into the ordinary circumstances of human life. Wonderful fact! How did He conduct Himself when He entered into the ordinary circumstances of life? What principle of life, so to speak, was set forth in the Lord Jesus, as having come into the ordinary circumstances of human life? Because that is what piety is, it is bringing God into the ordinary circumstances of human life. God Himself in the person of Jesus entered into those circumstances. According to what principle did the Lord Jesus move in these circumstances, having come in as a Man? He moved as characterised by unswerving confidence in God, and

unfailing satisfaction with the circumstances which God ordered for Him. They were not such as the natural man would choose -- to be laid in a manger when born, to be brought up in Nazareth, a despised city, His reputed father a carpenter, and He Himself working as a carpenter. All these are not things that appeal to the natural man; they are not the kind of thing that the natural man would grasp after, and yet that is what was brought into expression in this world when God, in wonderful grace, deigned to enter in the person of Jesus into the circumstances of human life. He glorified God in the way He went through life, finding His confidence in God, doing the will of God, finding His satisfaction in God's will.

In the spirit of the psalmist, Jesus could say, "The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage" (Psalm 16:6). The goodly heritage was what He found in God, in the circumstances which God had ordered for Him, and He moved through on that principle; and even though His pathway led to death, He could enter into death in confidence in God, saying, "thou wilt not leave my soul to Sheol, neither wilt thou allow Thy Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt make known to me the path of life" (Psalm 16:11).

"Confessedly the mystery of piety is great". We are to contemplate the way God has come into human circumstances in the person of Jesus, and how, in these circumstances, was set out the true principle of life for men in obedience to God, in confidence in

God, in finding satisfaction in God. We shall prove it, dear brethren, if we lay ourselves out for these things. We shall prove that the knowledge of God is the great thing that abides and gives us peace and rest of mind and heart, so that you can come through whatever circumstances are ordered in the sense that God is with you and that you are with God, as it says, "The God of love and peace be with you" (2 Corinthians 13:11). And so it says, "And confessedly the mystery of piety is great. God has been manifested in flesh, has been justified in the Spirit". There was nothing outwardly to vindicate the Lord Jesus, but He was justified in the Spirit. There was undeniable power about His movements, and there is a certain measure of power about our movements if we go on in that simplicity of piety which lies in bringing God into every circumstance of our life.

You will remember how touchingly the piety of the Lord Jesus is referred to in the epistle to the Hebrews, chapter 5, "Who in the days of his flesh, having offered up both supplications and entreaties to him who was able to save him out of death, with strong crying and tears". The Lord did not go through circumstances in any stoical or unfeeling way. The circumstances that God ordered for Him were such that they called forth from Him strong crying and tears, and then it says, "(having been heard because of his piety;) though he were Son, he learned obedience from the things which he suffered" (verses 7, 8). He moved on that principle, learning what was an entirely new thing for Him, for in

the form of God obedience did not attach to Him, but having entered into human conditions, He entered into a condition to which obedience applied, and He filled out the principle of obedience to the full in a most absolute way: "having been heard because of his piety". See the link, the affinity between our souls and Christ, as we move on that principle of obedience. He has "become author of eternal salvation to all them that obey him". It is as we are characterised by obedience, and have the principle of it in every detail of our life, that we get the full gain and support of the priesthood of Christ.

In chapter 4 we have the apostle referring to such a simple thing as the matter of our food, what we eat, and he says "every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, being received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by God's word and freely addressing him". One often wonders whether we are in danger sometimes of becoming careless, set and formal in our thanksgiving at meals, for it becomes an occasion of having to do with God. The very food we eat is sanctified by the word of God and our freely addressing Him. Every time we eat, it becomes an occasion for the heart to go out to the blessed God, our freely addressing Him. Think of the liberty into which we have been brought as His beloved children, and every meal becomes an occasion for us to receive it from the hands of the living and blessed God and address Him freely in a spirit of thanksgiving. How important are the little details of human life, becoming an occasion for us to have

to do with God in a living way and to become deepened thus in the knowledge of God. Of course, the knowledge of God brings its own exercises because of what He is. "For also our God", it says, "is a consuming fire" (Hebrews 12:29); we have to face that.

God intends that we should become partakers of His holiness. How should we ever be at liberty with Him, if we do not become partakers of His holiness? He intends that the very exercises and circumstances of human life, as taken up by us with Him, should serve to develop us with a view to our becoming partakers of His holiness. Think of that! So that we might be completely at home in the presence of the "blessed God". Hence even the ordinary meal -- and they recur three or four times every day in our life -- each ordinary meal becomes an occasion for turning to God, not in any formal way, but as having to do with the living God. It says the food is sanctified by the word of God and our freely addressing Him.

Then the apostle goes on to say, "profane and old wives' fables avoid, but exercise thyself unto piety". That is, allow it to develop with us and have scope with us. To be practical in these things means not allowing anything in our lives that is inconsistent with the knowledge of the blessed God. In all these things we shall develop strength -- first moral and then spiritual, as growing by and increasing in the true knowledge of God. So he says, "bodily exercise is profitable for a little, but piety is profitable for everything, having promise of life, of the present

one, and of that that to come", and the apostle goes on to say that he himself and his fellow workers were putting things to the test. He says, "for, for this we labour and suffer reproach, because we hope in a living God, who is preserver of all men, specially of those that believe".

In chapter 6 he brings in the thought of practical contentment. What a thing that is, dear brethren, in a world such as this is! We all know how testing the conditions in the world are, and they are likely to be more so rather than less. How easy it is for us to become in our spirits irritated, discontented, anxious, restless, and all that kind of thing, beloved brethren. This is dishonouring to God; it is as though God were not to be trusted or were not sufficient. See how important piety is in these practical matters, not only for our own blessing and our own comfort, but as a testimony in the world that there is something that is greater than all the trouble in it: the knowledge of God; something which has power to save people from all the discontent, bitterness of spirit and restlessness that are found marking the world. There is something that can practically save us from it -- the knowledge of God, and bringing this in in a practical way to bear on our every circumstance here.

The apostle speaks of some who regard godliness as the means for gain, as though material gain were to be pursued, but he says, "piety with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world: it is manifest that neither can we carry anything out".

Mr. Raven used to say (he was very fond of referring to this verse, he was constantly bringing it in), the one thing that we can carry out of the world is the knowledge of God, and that is what stands us in good stead at the present time.

I venture to say this, as impressed by the Lord with it. One great thing that we all need is to cultivate and devote ourselves to piety; that is, the knowledge of God and bringing it in practically to the circumstances of our every-day life. This will provide a moral basis in our souls on which the Lord can build up spirituality, but if we attempt to move into the higher spiritual side of our blessing without moral foundation of practical righteousness and piety, I believe we shall find that we cannot do it.

May the Lord graciously encourage us on this line of piety and the knowledge of God and bringing it into our lives in a practical way.

Piety and Other Addresses, Auckland, N.Z., pages 1 - 10. 4 December 1946.

LOYALTY

F. S. Marsh

It is beyond question that one outstanding feature needed in the day in which we live is loyalty. It is a burning question the world over. Every nation is counting upon the loyalty of its people. It is one of the greatest privileges of the Christian to be marked by loyalty to Christ, so that He may count upon us in a crisis -- that there may be no wavering, but, as walking in a straight path, the Lord may

look down upon those whose hearts are fixed and whose objective is certain. We may be sure that, sooner or later, a crisis will arise that will test our loyalty to Christ. Circumstances arise which test our loyalty to the fellowship, so we do well to face it prayerfully, that we may be marked by the loyalty of true affection.

The flesh is untrustworthy in everyone. All that we are as children of Adam would betray Christ; but in every heart that has been won by the love of God, in every soul in whom the Spirit of God dwells, there is a deep desire to be preserved in loyalty to Christ unto the end.

Enoch furnishes a stirring example. A crisis had arisen, and it seemed as if the enemy had the whole world under his control, and that there was nothing remaining for God; but "Enoch walked with God" (Genesis 5:22). For three hundred years after the birth of Methushelah he was marked by unswerving fidelity to Him. Nothing caused him to deviate from that path. He was apparently converted at the time of the birth of his son. He lived a normal life as a man on earth. He begat sons and daughters. His life was not lived in isolation, and yet it could be recorded that he "walked with God; and he was not, for God took him"(verse 24). Centuries after, the epistle to the Hebrews tells us that "By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him; for before his translation he has the testimony that he had pleased God" (chapter 11: 5). To him was given a measure of light, and

he answered to it. God saw a man walking in communion with Himself, and He could entrust Enoch with light. It is recorded in the epistle of Jude that Enoch said, "the Lord has come" (verse 14). He knew this because God had revealed His mind to him. It is a happy

of communion, which is so essential -- to speak to God and let Him speak to us. While we are living the ordinary lives of persons on earth, we may live in communion with God, and prove that every difficulty but gives a fresh opportunity of drawing near to Him. The greatest objective that any person could have is to be pleasing to the Lord in all things; but to reach this it is necessary to continue to be faithful to the light which He has given.

Another feature is the necessity for loyalty to the Person of Christ. It will be recalled that in the history of David there came a crisis when many turned away from him. Absalom, his son, had usurped the throne, having stolen the hearts of the men of Israel, so that David had to flee (2 Samuel 15 14). As he was going, there came up to him a Gentile who exhibited one of the most beautiful features of loyalty recorded in the Old Testament: Ittai the Gittite (verse 19), was recognised by David to be a stranger and an exile, hence he gave him the opportunity of going back with his brethren.

But such was the grandeur of that man's loyalty, that, looking at David in affection, he said: "As Jehovah liveth, and as my lord the king liveth, surely

in what place my lord the king shall be, surely in death or life, even there also will thy servant be" (verse 21). The king was in rejection, despised, and refused, and yet Ittai was prepared to follow him! How the king could trust a man like that! We do not wonder that the day came when David could entrust to him the charge of one-third of his army (2 Samuel 18:2). The Lord is looking to us to be loyal to Him during the time of His rejection; the day in which men are slighting Him and setting His name at naught. In this day we are being tested whether we are prepared to be true to Christ. What must it be to Him to find true fidelity in our hearts! May we inquire of each one, Has the Lord ever heard such words from your lips? Has He ever had the joy of receiving you, as David received Ittai, as one upon whom He could count -- a loyal and trustworthy servant! Have you ever said to the Lord Jesus:

'Take Thou my heart and let it be
For ever closed to all but Thee'?

The Lord entrusts little to those who are not faithful. It is one of the first features of qualification for service, that we should have such

for Christ that when a crisis arises we can be counted upon. Let us not think that the path of discipleship and fidelity to Christ is an easy one. It involves suffering, tests, self-sacrifices, and self-judgment, but it leads to the most profound blessing and joy; it opens up the most glorious possibilities in this life and the most wonderful results in the life

that is to come. Would that there were more persons like Ittai!

In John 6:68 Peter said, "Lord, to whom shall we go?". We appreciate Peter for this. We know he failed, but the Lord would never forget that there had been a moment in his life when he had thus committed himself. We would inquire of one who has turned back, Have you ever thought what this means to the heart of Christ? At one time He shone upon your face, and now you have turned your back on Him. Yet He has not ceased to shine upon your back!

The Lord inquires of the twelve, "Will ye also go away?" (verse 67). Peter rises to the dignity of the position, and in this glorious confession he comforts the heart of Christ, and gives us an example, making us long to take up the language: "Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast words of eternal life. And we have believed and known that thou art the holy one of God" (verses 68, 69). Men like that are much needed today -- men who can put their feet down firmly and move forward in the definite and positive confession of Christ; not wavering, nor seeking their own gain and advancement, but pursuing a pathway of devoted loyalty to Christ. Such are the support of the service of God on earth.

A third feature is seen in Judas and Silas (Acts 15:22 - 32). It was not Judas Iscariot, though it is to be noted there was a traitor Judas and a loyal Judas. We have to ask ourselves, in which company are we? To be a traitor is a very serious matter. We

would warn everyone against the traitor spirit. There is nothing more serious. What must it be to God to see one that is not loyal to Christ -- one ready to give information to the enemy about that which is sacred to the house of God! But Judas (of Acts 15) and Silas were trustworthy men; men that the Spirit of God and the brethren could commend. They were "leading men among the brethren". When a crisis arose they could give a spiritual lead. When a difficulty arose they could take the burden of it; when a joy developed they would rejoice with those that did rejoice. They were humble men who could be counted upon because they were loyal. Messengers had to be chosen to take a sacred communication to the brethren at Antioch. These could be trusted not to give the brethren at Antioch a wrong impression. They were proved and tried and found trustworthy.

A most beautiful thing was said about them: "men who have given up their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ". They were living men capable of taking a message, but they had given up their lives. The day of

had come in the history of each of them, when he had presented his body a living sacrifice. The Lord is waiting for you to give your life to Him: not necessarily to lay it down as in martyrdom, but to yield your body a "living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your intelligent service" (Romans 12:1). How is the service of God to be carried forward save by those who have thus yielded?

The Lord is counting upon loyal persons for all these things.

Yet one further feature of loyalty was found in the assembly in Philadelphia; that is,

to the Lord's word. Not one of us would claim to be a Philadelphian, but our earnest prayer is that the features which marked the Philadelphians may characterise us in our day. This assembly was approved by Him, for He says, "thou … hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name" (Revelation 3:8). They were loyal to what was entrusted to them. It is one thing to know the power of God that keeps us, but another to have spiritual power to keep that which the Lord has entrusted to us. There is no suggestion of retiring from the Lord's service until we retire into the Father's house; but we are exhorted to "hold that fast what thou hast" (verse 11) until the Lord comes. As we recognise His word, it is as though He gave us a precious jewel, telling us to keep it. May we never have to acknowledge that we have lost it. "Keep … the good deposit entrusted" (1 Timothy 6:20).

May we each be loyal to Christ in WALK, in AFFECTION, in SURRENDER, and in OBEDIENCE, until the Lord comes.

Words of Truth, Volume 4 (1936), pages 38 - 44.

CHRISTIANITY IS CHRIST

J. Pellatt

Philippians 2

"For to me to live is Christ". But what is it to live! To live largely depends on the heart and the mind. "As he thinketh … so is he" (Psalm 23:7), "Keep thy heart more than anything that is guarded; for out of it are the issues of life" (Proverbs 4:23). We speak of a man as characterised by this or that; it is all a question of the heart and the mind, so if we are to "live Christ", it is a question of our hearts and our minds.

In this passage it is the mind that is prominent. When Paul says, "fulfil my joy", his desire is that they should "think the same thing". Just imagine thirty or forty saints at N -- -- all thinking the same thing! They would begin to touch the confines of unity! That was Paul's desire. Then he appeals to the heart; he says, "having the same love". Is not that beautiful? I call that a divine touch. You not only think the same thing, but you have the same love. "Joined in soul". Soul is a distinct component part of man. There is spirit, soul and body. Soul is the appetite -- desire, hunger, thirst after God. "My soul thirsteth for … the living God" (Psalm 42:2). We are to he "joined in soul" -- in all our desires, spiritual appetites -- hunger and thirst, to be one.

What a wonderful putting together of saints that is! It is not an external adjustment. I do not care about any kind of external unity: if we get the inside adjusted, the outside will take care of itself. When the saints cannot get on together it is always the

inside that is wrong. Here it is thinking one thing, and then "let nothing be in the spirit of strife or vain glory". "Let nothing", but -- "in lowliness of mind, each esteeming the other as more excellent than themselves". This must be real. We must not pretend to it; the Lord will pull you up if you are a pretender. It is "in lowliness of mind, each esteeming the other as more excellent than themselves; regarding not each his own qualities, but each those of others also". To give yourself up is a fine way of being a help to your brethren!

Do you ask, How can this be brought about, how can we answer to this practically? How can we think the same thing, and how can all this be? Here is the answer for you: "let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus". In the end of 1 Corinthians 2 Paul says, "We have the mind of Christ". That means the thinking faculty, but here it is a different thought.

"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus". What kind of a mind governed Him? Men have their minds set on certain things, perhaps on making money. I know a man who set his mind on making money, and he became the richest man in the world. The minds of different men are set on different things. But what was the mind in Christ Jesus? This does not refer to His mind as now risen and glorified; it is the mind that was in Him when down here. We often try to practise Christianity, and we may be sincere and upright in the attempt, but we attempt it in ourselves. That cannot be; we must

have Christ only before us, it must be -- "to me to live is Christ" (chapter 1: 21).

There is only one mind in which we can carry out Christianity practically, and that is the mind that was in Christ Jesus. That mind is to be in you and in me. It is a question of what is in us. We charge our difficulties on our circumstances. Things and persons are trying, and so forth. All that is not the question; the question is -- what is in you? Is this mind which was in Christ Jesus in you? Christ Jesus subsisted in the form of God, and thought it not an object of rapine to be equal with God. Of course He did not. He is, and ever was God equal with Father and Spirit; but if these heights of His divine Person are brought before us, it is only to intensify what follows -- 'made himself of no reputation' (footnote n).. If any of us take the lowest place it is good, but it is no credit to us. Who are you and who am I? But, beloved, think of a divine Person subsisting in the form of God, emptying Himself, taking a bondman's form, etc. Adam thought it an object of rapine to be like God, but here is One who thought it not "an object of rapine to be on an equality with God", and from these divine heights He "emptied himself". He made Himself of no reputation.

If you and I make anything of ourselves as Christians, it is not the mind of Christ Jesus, but the mind of the flesh. Alas! what strife, what vain glory there often is. It is our common shame. I speak in the sense of the reproach it is to Christ. What marked Him? He emptied Himself, taking a bondman's

form. How it ought to touch our hearts that One who subsisted in the form of God should take a bondman's form! If we had spiritual apprehension as to His path, we should accept it as an honour to be His bondmen. Paul gloried in calling himself "bondman of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:1).

If you and I in the spirit of our minds are in the form of bondmen, we are in touch with Christ. When saints take an opposite form they are in touch with the devil. We touch Christ when we take the bondman form.

Then we get "taking his place in the likeness of men". Mr Stoney illustrated it by saying: Suppose a high-born and wealthy man determines to take the place of a servant and to live it out for a certain time, and never flinches or varies in the path; so the Lord, when He took His place in likeness of men and humbled Himself. That is the true path; that is the "mind in which was also in Christ Jesus". It is expressed in His "taking a bondman's form", "taking his place in the likeness of men", and then humbling Himself further to death -- the death of the cross. It was down, down, down all the way.

In Luke's gospel in the first nine chapters the Lord goes up till He reaches the top of the holy mount, and from that He goes down till He strikes the bottom on Calvary's cross, becoming obedient unto death, and that the death of the cross. That was what expressed the mind of Christ, and -- listen! -- "let this mind be in you". You can only find this mind in Him. It expressed itself in these downward

steps till He was obedient unto death.

Then there is the answer: "Wherefore also God highly exalted him, and granted him a name, that which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow". That is not yet; that day is coming.

The wonderful opportunity for us of the present moment, I do not know how to speak of! The opportunity to let this mind be in us that was also in Christ Jesus. What a strange hallucination if we think the present is a time to go up! This is the time to go down -- down. To be in accord with our Lord Jesus Christ is true Christianity, and if we suffer, we shall reign with Him. I would not speak of this (as one feels how short one comes of it) only that I desire to impress on your hearts the wonderful privilege and opportunity of the present moment.

The Closing Ministry of J. Pellatt, Volume 2, pages 112 - 117. [2 of 2].

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN RECEPTION AND ACTION

J. B. Stoney

Next to the salvation of our souls, through the work of our Lord Jesus Christ, there is nothing greater than that we should be individually temples of the Holy Spirit; for His dwelling in us is the seal of our faith in Christ, confirming and assuring what has been received. It is a part of the salvation; that is, there is neither positive nor permanent corroboration or enjoyment of the work of Christ without this seal.

Souls are quickened by the Holy Spirit.

The disciples in John 20 were quickened, but they had not received the Holy Spirit. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is distinct from quickening. "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty" (2 Corinthians 3:17), which could not be in the new nature simply. It is making too little of the Spirit of God to say that quickening and indwelling are identical. When I am quickened, it is a new creation (2 Corinthians 5 17), and wondrous indeed it is; but as this creation is of Christ, there is added, "the promise of the Father" (Acts 1:4). The gift of the Holy Spirit unites us to Christ and to one another, and is the power and energy of our new life in Christ. We must not reduce a gift of God to our comprehension of it, or experiences. The only true way is to accept, in all its entirety, this most wonderful gift of God; and to search and see how it is given; and then His action, which will follow, will prove the fact.

Well then, according to Scripture, after believing, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. It is the oil following the blood, as we see in Leviticus. The blood, definitely and distinctly put on, acceptance is assured, and then the oil superadded. The first thing then is, that it follows immediately the knowledge of the blood, and is distinct from it; and hence, there is distinctness in the benefits conferred by each. The blood has removed everything, of every kind and nature, contrary to God; and opened the door for His grace to create anew in Christ Jesus; but the oil, the Holy Spirit, distinctly leads the

renewed soul, in an entirely new life, into sonship and the ways of God. The former makes way, or prepares for the other. It is only by the Spirit that a soul can receive the knowledge of what the blood has accomplished; and it is only on the ground of it, that the Holy Spirit can take up His abode in me. They are two distinct actions, even though they be very connected, and the assured enjoyment of the first, dependent on the second. The first clears away what barred me from God, by the greatest work, and only accomplished by the Son of God, in all the power and goodness and love of God. The other is the Holy Spirit taking up His abode on the ground of accomplished redemption, and as an entirely new Guest, enabling one, not only to enjoy divine things, but to act in the mighty power of God. It is therefore very evident that there are two works of the Spirit, one quickening; the other, sealing; the one at conversion, the other, consequent on the known virtue of the blood.

The next thing to ascertain is, how and when the quickened soul is sealed. It is not necessary that there should be much or any lapse of time, beyond distinctness between the two. In the purpose of God there is no delay as to the reception of the gift. The sealing may immediately follow the quickening. With Saul of Tarsus there was an interval of three days. Once their distinctness is admitted, there will not be an attempt to settle down in the state of Romans 7, which is being conscious of a new nature, without power to subdue the flesh. But there will be

a looking for the gift of the Holy Spirit from Christ. Mind it is a gift, and one that He especially desires to confer. But the very term 'gift' implies that it is to be received. And there is no use in a gift if I do not receive it. Hence, Paul says, "Have ye received the Spirit on the principle of works of the law, or of the report of faith?" (Galatians 3:2) The Lord says, "If thou knewest the gift of God … thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water" (John 4:10). The Spirit is received by the hearing of faith. There is faith to receive it, otherwise the gift is of no avail.

Faith lays hold of the virtue of the blood; and faith lays hold of the virtue of the oil. But, as in the faith that lays hold of the virtue of the blood, there is a sense of the need of its efficacy; and a consequent enjoyment of it, on receiving it; even so, there is a sense of the need of the living water, in the faith that lays hold of it. "If any one thirst, let him come to me and drink" (John 7:37). This scripture in the simplest way tells us how one receives the Holy Spirit. All, I may say, is contained in the words, "TO ME". In the sense of need, of powerless-ness, of want of vigour of life, the way of relief is to "come unto me". There is first a knowledge of what Christ has done, as I have said, of the virtue of the blood.

The next step which ensures the sealing, is coming to Him; not simply making prayer to Him, but the deep wondrous sense of reaching Him; as near to Him (of course, by faith), as the woman who stood behind Him, weeping, washing His feet with her

tears (Luke 7); or like the woman (Mark 5), who, with the most comprehensive sense of His power, and readiness to impart it to the most needy, on touching the hem of His garment -- coming into the smallest contact with Him; yet after she had received the full answer to her faith, was not ready or equal to encounter Him personally. "frightened and trembling, knowing what had taken place in her, came" etc. Figuratively she was not sealed until she "fell down before him, and told him all the truth" (verse 33) Nor would the woman of Luke 7, however true her faith in Christ as her Saviour, have had assured peace had she not come practically to Him. Then she could "go in peace". In like manner, ten lepers (Luke 17) cry for mercy, and they are cleansed by Christ, but only one of them returns, to find in Jesus the sum of what the law required the leper to offer in the day of his cleansing; when he is not only pronounced clean, but made clean.

In John 7 Jesus cried and said, "If any one thirst, let him come unto me, and drink … this he said concerning the Spirit, which they that believed on him were about to receive" (verses 37, 39). Nothing now can connect me with Christ but the Holy Spirit. The moment I am simply in Christ, I have the Spirit. If I have not, there is in the converted soul the distress of Romans 7. But in chapter 8 it is, "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and of death" (verse 2). If I have not the Spirit of Christ I am "not of him" (verse 9). I am not only converted, but I am consciously possessed by a

new power, the Spirit of the Son, whereby I cry, "Abba, Father" (verse 15). A man may be spiritually in advance of his understanding, and therefore of his conscience -- he may not be doctrinally clear, that his sins are all gone; but he knows that he has a new and divine affection in his heart, and that he is a child of God, and can say, "Abba, Father".

The receiving the gift then is a positive thing. It is a new power, and as it is used, so does it increase. The first great thing to insist on, in order to help on souls in grace and power is, that the Spirit is to be received, if they have not received Him. The next, that having received Him, they walk in the Spirit, and know His action. "If we live by the Spirit, let us walk also by the Spirit" (Galatians 5:25). This I cannot do without the assured sense of possessing the Spirit. If I have not received Him, I cannot walk in Him. If I can walk in Him, He must be in me. By Him, I mortify the deeds of the body. I have in me a greater power than the flesh.

Now, I could not have received so great a power without some positive action. The action is threefold. The first action is the cry of sonship, and consequently mortifying the flesh, which is personal. Secondly, the action of uniting me to Christ, and to the members of His body, as also of associating me with them in Him in heaven, which is general; and finally, the action for Him in testimony here, which is service. Thus, there are three actions which follow from my possessing the Spirit. None of them could give me possession; but being in possession of the

Spirit, these actions, like sight to the eye, exist to be fostered, but are possessed. Lastly, I become more filled with the Spirit, as I am confined to His actions. I may, as I have said, not be in conscience equal to my grace; but if I have received the Spirit, I can say, "Abba, Father"; and as I cultivate the ability, I grow into the knowledge of His power; for "he that sows to the Spirit, from the Spirit shall reap eternal life" (Galatians 6:8). So that, when one is in any measure possessed of the Spirit, as he is when he can say, "Abba, Father", he can increase his knowledge of the great gift, which he possesses, by sowing to Him -- making Him the One who claims his attention, and from whom he expects to know more of Christ.

There are therefore three classes of saints. First, those who are quickened, but who have not yet received the Holy Spirit. Secondly, those who have received the Holy Spirit, but who, through ignorance or carnality, do not cultivate the Spirit, do not sow to Him, and therefore they are carnal and worldly, and dull. And lastly, those who continuously and sedulously sow to the Spirit, and daily reap the blessed fruits of His power, in happy communion with Christ.

Ministry by J. B. Stoney, Volume 10, pages 73 - 77.

COMMUNING OR WRESTLING?

R. Besley

That God should have been pleased to converse with men and speak to them is deeply interesting, and that He does so still will be confirmed by all those who

have known His voice.

In Eden, we are told that the voice of Jehovah was heard by Adam and Eve, in the cool of the day (Genesis 3:8). True, that voice was raised to call to account the guilty pair, but there seems no reason to doubt that, had there been no violation of His word, He would have conversed with them for their improvement and joy.

In the history of Abraham how often God spoke to him and with him, even as a man speaks to his friend, for God confided His secret to Abraham, saying, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing?" (Genesis 18:17).

And with Moses God spake face to face in the holy mount (Exodus 33:11), so that the skin of his face shined with the glory of divine presence at that most remarkable interview. And when the mercy seat was described with a view to its construction, Jehovah proclaimed with regard to the children of Israel: "There I will meet with thee, and will speak with thee". (Exodus 25:22).

It would be impossible, in this limited space, to refer to all the instances on record of God speaking to His people, but the fact remains for verification to all who are acquainted with the scriptures.

My object in referring to the subject is to point out the contrast between the way in which God was pleased to converse with Abraham and suffer him to commune with! Him, and the memorable interview which, Jacob had when there wrestled with him a man till the breaking of the day. Of that interview

Jacob said, "I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved" (Genesis 32:30).

In the one case there was a man who had answered to the call of God and walked in communion with Him; in the other a man who had shown himself a plotter and a schemer and to the last struggled and prevailed …

All who are called by God to walk apart from a world which has departed from Him will be subject to His discipline and training, but how very much more easy is the discipline if received and endured in quiet communion with God, than if endured in a spirit which wrestles with God and learns and painfully that, "As for God, his is perfect". (2 Samuel 22 31).

Little is said about Abraham as to how he accepted the details of God's ways with him, but one can be assured that deep exercise promoted in his soul. Was it nothing to have received Isaac at a time when every hope of a son had disappeared? to have had the child in the home life and the youth as a constant companion? How often the words would have been recalled: "in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves" (Genesis 22:18). And with what care did the patriarch regard the boy and train his son in view of all this.

When suddenly God called to Abraham, and said, "Take now thy son, thine only son, whom thou lovest, Isaac, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and there offer him up for a burnt-offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of" (Genesis 22 2). There was no explanation; just the commandment to obey. "Take now"! No time to argue, or

deliberate; he must act, and act at once.

Little can one form any idea of the anguish of his soul as he realised what devolved upon him. And yet one thing is certain -- he was maintained in communion, for he "found strength in faith" (Romans 4:20). God had promised the child in the hour when all was hopeless; had given him outside of every natural possibility, and it was God who now said: "Take now thy son … and there offer him up for a burnt-offering".

Abraham communed with God and accepted the commandment, accounting that God was able to raise him from the dead. Faith staggered not in the dread trial, so heavy, so keen, but God was glorified by him who believed, and Abraham's soul was maintained in the happiness of communion with God whom he knew, and by whom he was known.

The Believer's Friend, Volume 11 (1919), pages 29 - 32. [1 of 2].

THE GATES OF ZION

J. Taylor

Psalm 87

In turning to this scripture, it is my desire to set out, in so far as I am enabled to do so, that system of things in connection with which the gospel stands, and is presented to men. In using the word gospel, as seeking to preach it, the heart is touched, for it is that which prominently marks the present time.

The Lord, standing up in the synagogue at Nazareth, having spoken of the things that He had been anointed to do, in the preaching of the gospel, ends by saying, "to preach the acceptable year of the Lord" (Luke 4:18, 19). In the acceptable year, the mind is directed to time. The period of grace, on the part of God, extends for a whole year spiritually. A year is a long period in contrast to an hour, or a day, or a week, or a month. It is the longest period of time that is regulated by the sun, and it is my privilege to say to you tonight that, although the acceptable year is running out, we are still in it -- it yet remains.

I may say at this point, that all the happenings in this world, under the government of God, have this year of acceptance in view, as though God would accentuate it. By allowing woes to come into human circumstances, He intends to impress men with their need spiritually, and as they discover their need, they find that they are still within this glorious year, called "the acceptable year of the Lord".

Thus I would remind you that, although it is fast

running out, it has not yet run out, it still remains; and as your soul turns to God now, you find that He is prepared to accept you, having devised (as He alone could) a means for your returning to Him. When you do return, you will find Him ready to accept you. That is what marks the acceptable year of the Lord. Much history has taken place from man's point of view, but from God's point of view it has continued to be an acceptable year.

I desire, first of all, to speak about His foundation. "His foundation is in the mountains of holiness". We are not told in the passage what the foundation is -- the point is, where it is -- and the soul is at once assured as to this; it is "in the mountains of holiness"; in other words, "the firm foundation of God stands" (2 Timothy 2:19). Do you understand it? When Luke wrote to Theophilus, his apology for writing was that Theophilus might be sure about the things in which he had been instructed (Luke 1:1 - 4).

We can thank God for every bit of instruction that comes to us in regard to Him. If, as little ones, we are brought up under christian influence, and if we are instructed by our parents in the things regarding Christ, we may, I repeat, thank God for every bit of such influence, and such instruction. God would have parents bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Children ask questions, and Scripture provides for their questions. In the books of Moses you find that parents are furnished in view of the questions of their children, so that they should know how to answer them.

Luke discovers spiritually what Theophilus needed; he needed to be sure about the things that he had already received, and in which he had been instructed. Now are you sure in regard to those things? Have you a settled sense of security in regard to God? Are you sure in regard to judgment to come?

Luke and John are the only evangelists who explained why they wrote. John says, "these are written that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God" (John 20:31). One hears of young souls being converted to God lately. Thank God for every one such. As converted they believe in something. It may be in the forgiveness of sins. Thank God for that! I have often said when talking to souls, that even a handful of meal (referring to the type, 1 Kings 17:12) is sufficient to give a soul a status with God. The handful of meal typifies the smallness of faith that one may have in the Person of Christ, but it is a real faith. A real faith in Christ's Person suffices for God; but then God has not done with such believers. John says, "These are written that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing ye might have life in his name". He wants you to have, not only forgiveness, but life.

We have been speaking of David being ruddy when he came into the midst of his brethren (1 Samuel 16:12). He was not ill-fed; there was in his countenance the evidence of life. Look out for that! A believer in Christ has life. You do not need the life that this poor world affords you, if you have life in

Christ. It is said of the wicked woman in the book of Proverbs that "her house inclineth unto death" (Proverbs 2:18). Hence the great necessity for young believers to know something about life.

The gospel not only announces forgiveness, it also announces life, and so John says, "that ye might have life in his name". My natural life down here is held in regard to the will of God, but then I hold spiritual life in the Name of the Lord Jesus. I am not to be deprived of it; and it is further said, it is in Christ. I commend this to young Christians. I want to see a ruddy countenance (the evidence of spiritual life), and that you have a constitution for God. I have often thought of that in connection with Jairus' daughter (Luke 8:49 - 56). The Lord raises her up, and delivers her to her parents, commanding that something should be given her to eat. As converted, as forgiven, as having the Spirit, you need to eat; you have life, and that life must be sustained.

I turn to God's foundation: "His foundation is in the mountains of holiness". The foundation, as I remarked, stands -- it is sure. Are you sure, I ask again, in regard to God? Are you sure that the foundation on which you are resting for eternity is immovable? It cannot be shaken, not only is it laid in the mountains, but in the "mountains of holiness". The Lord Jesus, hanging on the cross, said to God, "thou art holy" (Psalm 22:3). He recognised that the holiness of God necessitated His being there. He was there that you should never come into judgment. His being nailed there involved a foundation which

would be immovable, for it involved the righteousness of God being fully met. The Lord Jesus Christ as bearing the judgment, looks up to God and says, "thou art holy". The holiness of God against sin required that Jesus should hang on the cross. He died there, He laid down His life, and all your sins and mine were attached to Him by God. He was made sin, and He died a sacrifice for sin. He laid the foundation of God, as it were, in the holy mountains. The foundation is laid in that which is immovable.

The psalmist further says, "Jehovah loveth the gates of Zion more than all the habitations of Jacob". Now the gates are very suggestive here, and they remind one of what is presented in the book of Acts on the day of Pentecost; God, as it were, opened the gates of Zion. I am speaking of them, not as that through which you go into privilege, but as that in which blessing is administered. The Lord Jesus says, "If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that says to thee, Give me to drink, thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water" (John 4:10). Jesus was administering divine bounty, and so, on the day of Pentecost, Peter stands up, as one might say, in the gates of Zion, and announces the gospel. He says, "having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this which ye behold and hear" (Acts 2:33).

What a moment it was! "Jehovah loveth the gates of Zion more than all the habitations of Jacob". There is administered that which is wholly according to His own heart -- the gift of the Holy Spirit through

the finished work of Christ. How God loves to pour blessings into your soul!

Zion refers to God's sovereign mercy, for blessing is poured into our souls on that principle. How it humbles one! Are you humbled as you receive the mercy of God? I love Mary's word, "Behold the bondmaid of the Lord; be it to me according to thy word" (Luke 1:38). And so with every one of us, as we rightly receive what is administered through the gates of Zion, it humbles us, and that is God's desire; we are not inflated, for we do not deserve it. "According to his own mercy he saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, which he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Saviour" (Titus 3:5, 6).

The more the gospel is understood, the more the soul is humbled in the presence of God and of Christ. One would desire to be in accord with the gates of Zion when announcing the gospel. It makes nothing of me, and everything of God and of Christ. Everything on the principle of sovereign mercy humbles one, and the more humbled one is, the more blessing one receives. God is a giving God; He loves to give, and He loves "a cheerful giver" (2 Corinthians 9:7). Let us, who are Christians, remember that! Do I understand that I am linked up with the city of God, the city whose gates are marked by blessing, on the principle of sovereign mercy? How humbling and yet how blessed! The Lord loves those gates, He loves to see the administration of bounty as it is received on the part of men down here. What a desire

on the part of God, that in this acceptable year of the Lord there should be these gates of Zion, through which He administers His sovereign bounty!

The Spirit of God now turns to speak of other cities and countries, Rahab, Babylon, Philistia, Tyre, Ethiopia. He speaks about birth-places, for in Scripture it is not only the day, but the place of one's birth. The Scriptures attach importance to both time and place. For the moment I only speak of place. Where have you been born as a Christian? Under what influence? Many true Christians are deformed and they are devoid of spiritual dignity. They are deformed because of the circumstances of their birth, they are wanting in dignity because of ignorance of their parentage and the place of their birth. The Spirit says, "I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon among them that know me; behold Philistia, and Tyre, with Ethiopia: this man was born there". Do you talk about being an Englishman, or a German, or an American? Is there any one here who has such a thought in his mind? There were heroes in Rahab, Philistia, Tyre. In Scripture the king of Tyre is likened to Satan himself; he must have been a very notable man in his day.

And so, as one scans the history of the nations, certain men stand out prominently in connection with each, and the nations make much of them. You will find in every country memorials of the heroes of that country. But, "of Zion it shall be said, This one and that one was born in her; and the Most High himself shall establish her". Paul was born there, and

Peter was born in her. I have seen in a museum the memorials of the great men of the world, including Peter and Paul, and the Lord Himself. His Name put up alongside that of great men of this world! But He is not accredited to this wicked world.

The sixth verse of our psalm refers, I believe, to Christ; He is accredited to this great system in which God delights, and in which He administers His bounty. "This man ... was born there". May I not rejoice in spirit, as I think of the blessed fact that I am connected with that in which He is the living Head? When the full result of redemption is seen, it shall be said of Him, "that he hath done it" (Psalm 22 31). Do you understand that as a believer you are born there? "Jehovah will count, when he inscribeth the peoples". Think of that for a moment -- God is going to make a census!

There is a book called the "Who-is-Who" book. You will find it on the Atlantic steamers. It is a book in which the names and particulars of people of note are written. God has got His "Who-is-Who" book; God writes up the people. Think of my name being put down by the blessed God! Think of your name being written, young Christian! You may be counted as nothing and despised because you believe in Christ. Your fellow workers may look upon you with scorn. Just think how your name is to be written up! "Jehovah", it says, "will count". Shall He omit one? He will not omit one; even the hairs of your head are numbered. What a glorious system the Christian belongs to! The Lord stands related to you,

and He upholds "all things by the word of his power" (Hebrews 1:3). He "was born there". I say this so that you might be encouraged in starting out on your Christian path.

"As well the singers as the dancers shall say, All my springs are in thee". There is enjoyment in Zion, for there are the "singers" and the "dancers". You will remember how the elder brother in Luke 15 heard the music and dancing. God has everything in this blessed system for the satisfaction of the saints. The singers and dancers say, "All my springs are in thee". They do not draw from the world's source, they find all their springs in Zion. The springs originate in Him who established Zion.

I would commend these things to you for your encouragement, that you may see, that as you begin you are to proceed, and to be instructed in the gates of Zion. "Every good gift and every perfect gift comes down from above, from the Father of lights, with whom is no variation nor shadow of turning" (James 1:17). He is "the same yesterday, and today, and to the ages to come" (Hebrews 13:8). And so we receive of His heavenly bounty "good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over" (Luke 6:38). It is all within the reach of the believer, and you belong to a system which is associated with the glorious Name of Christ. The soul is detained in His presence. In Hebrews 12, it is said that "ye have come … to Jesus, mediator of a new covenant" (verses 22, 24), the One who will make it good in our souls.

May the Lord bless His word, for His Name's sake!

Ministry by J. Taylor, Volume 11, pages 100 - 107.

THE BLESSING OF THE TRIBES

C. A. Coates

Deuteronomy 33

There may seem to be a good deal of similarity between this portion of Scripture and Genesis 49, but really there is a great difference between them.

In Genesis 49 it is really more a history than a blessing, though it is said in verse 28 that Jacob "blessed them". Judah represents the victorious power by which blessing is brought in, and Joseph is a type of Christ as the One in whom all blessing is established. It is true that we see in Gad, Asher, and Naphtali a figure of the blessing of those who are brought into the good of what God has brought to pass by Christ as the victorious Accomplisher of His will (Judah) and in Christ as the risen and glorified One -- the Administrator of all His blessing to men (Joseph). But, along with this, the moral ruin of man, and his entire failure even in presence of the grace of God, are fully developed -- the first in Reuben, Simeon, and Levi, and the second in Zebulun, Issachar, and Daniel All this gives Genesis 49 the character of a history -- a history, indeed, of God's perfect and blessed ways in Christ, on the one hand, but of man's ruin and failure on the other.

But in Deuteronomy 33 it is all blessing; every tribe gets a distinct blessing, and it is important to

notice that it is "the blessing wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel" (verse 1). There is a great contrast between Jacob and Moses. Jacob was the man of experience -- the man of ups and downs -- the man who had proved in his own experience what the flesh was, and also the recovering power of God's salvation. He was just the man to give the whole history of how the responsible man breaks down, so that everything has to be established in Christ.

But the man of experience cannot give the full and proper blessing of the saints; it needs the man of God to do that. Solomon was a man of experience, and he could write the book of Ecclesiastes to show that everything under the sun is vanity. But it needs a man of God like Paul to unfold a Person whose glory eclipses the brightness of the mid-day sun, and scenes of heavenly blessing which are above the sun. It is the man who is with God, and who knows God's thoughts, who can unfold those thoughts in all their blessedness. We see something of this in the chapter before us.

In the song of Moses in Deuteronomy 32 the responsible history and failure of the people is declared in a very solemn way. On their side all had been failure, and would be failure, that should result in their cutting off as in the flesh -- which has actually come to pass. Then in verses 49 and 50 Moses is directed to go up into mount Nebo to behold the land of Canaan and to die there. Amongst the people he could declare all their failure, and announce

prophetically the judgment of God upon them. But when he went up into the mount he saw the whole range of blessing that was in the purpose of God for His people. If it was certain that the people according to the flesh would break down, it was equally certain that the purpose of God would not fail of its accomplishment. Chapter 33 is all on the line of God's purpose and grace. Morally speaking, it is the people viewed from the top of the mount, according to the full height of God's blessing for His called and chosen people.

Verse 3 is the standpoint from which everything is viewed in this chapter. "Yea, he loveth the peoples, all his saints are in thy hand, and they sit down at thy feet; each receiveth of thy words". From such a standpoint as this the saints can only be viewed as in full blessing.

In the first place, God loves His people. Nothing can change that sovereign love. We may have to learn what poor things we are -- breaking down at every point -- but the love of God knows no change. That love is not only the source but the security of our blessing. God is working to gratify His own heart, and will not fail to accomplish His purpose.

Then, "all his saints are in thy hand". Christ has secured every blessing for the saints by His death, and all the blessing He has secured is established in Himself, but He also holds every saint of God in His mighty hand; and in this way we are kept for the blessing. He not only holds the blessing for us, but He also holds us for the blessing. God has One to

whom He has entrusted the maintenance of everything that is for the satisfaction of His own heart. If you have proved that everything fails in your hands, it will be an immense comfort to you to see how everything is maintained in the hand of Christ.

The sense of this draws us to Christ to sit down at His feet, and to receive of His words. The one that has heard and learned of the Father (John 6:45), comes to Christ the Son to sit down at His feet and be instructed in the knowledge of God, and of all that subsists for the pleasure of God.

Three wonderful thoughts are thus presented to us! The love of God as the source of all blessing; Christ the security of that blessing, and of those on whom it is bestowed in infinite mercy; and saints in the attitude that becomes them -- seated at the feet of Christ, like Mary (Luke 10:39), to hear and receive those holy words in which He declares the Father's Name.

Reuben comes first among the tribes, as in Genesis 49. There his wickedness is in view, but here we get the thought of sovereign mercy which would put away the sin. "Let Reuben live, and not die". When David was brought to repentance and confession after his great sin, the prophet's word to him was, "Jehovah has also put away thy sin: thou shalt not die" (2 Samuel 12:13). So that it seems to me we get the thought of forgiveness in what is said of Reuben.

In Psalm 32:1 - 5 forgiveness is presented in a very blessed way, and also the exercise through which the soul passes on the way to it. Then in verse

6 we see that a man is forgiven that he may be godly. No one leads a godly life in this world until he knows that his sins are forgiven. "There is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared" (Psalm 130:4). The one whose transgression is forgiven comes out in a new character in this world as a "godly" man. He is set free in conscience to take this new course. The epistle to the Romans develops this very fully.

This leads on to the blessing of Judah (Deuteronomy 33 7). "Hear, Jehovah, the voice of Judah, and bring him unto his people; may his hands strive for them; and be thou a help to him against his oppressors". This corresponds with Psalm 32:6, 7. Dependence becomes characteristic of the one whose sins are forgiven, and this finds expression in prayer, in answer to which God comes in with deliverance from all our spiritual enemies.

The soul is then ready for service and priestly approach to God, the thought of which is suggested in the blessing of Levi (Deuteronomy 33:8 - 11). Not only are our sins forgiven in view of a godly walk in this world, but in view of approach to God. This comes out in Psalm 65:3 - 5, which is very much on the line of the epistle to the Hebrews. In Romans the believer is cleared according to the righteousness of God, that he may walk in a godly way in this world; in Hebrews he is purged according to the holiness of God that he may approach God in the sanctuary. If you have forgiveness, God would exercise you as to approach.

The devotedness of Levi had been proved (verses 8, 9). We are not to be indifferent to the claims of natural affection, but superior to them when it is a question of the will of God.

Three things are connected with Levi which might almost be spoken of as three features of the assembly -- intelligence, edification, and worship. The Thummim and Urim represent intelligence in the mind of God; He made known His mind and pleasure in the Thummim and Urim. Then as being intelligent in God's mind they were to teach His people (verse 10), and this answers to edification. And, finally, they put incense before God, and whole burnt-offerings upon His altar, and in this we get the thought of worship. These three things are intimately connected with approach to God.

Many do not care to go beyond the thought of forgiveness and a godly walk in the world, but it is God's pleasure to bring us as priests into His presence. In approaching God we get the knowledge of His mind, and then there is edification. This is a great comfort. All may not enter into the privilege of priestly approach, but those who do are fitted to edify the whole company. Thus all are helped on in the same direction. One may be used to present God's blessed things in such a way that all are attracted and encouraged to draw near with true hearts.

If we approach God it is entirely apart from all the imperfection of the flesh. We approach in all the sweet savour and perfection of Christ. "They shall put incense before thy nostrils, and whole burnt-

offering upon thine altar". It is as we are identified in affection with the perfections and acceptance of Christ that we can approach and worship.

Then in the blessing of Benjamin we get the thought of communion. "The beloved of Jehovah, -- he shall dwell in safety by him". Communion is a matter of the affections; nearness is essential to it. Communications are not communion. Two hearts absorbed in one interest -- that is communion.

John is very fond of the word "abide"; he uses it many times in the gospel and in his first epistle. In John 1 the two disciples ask, "where abidest thou?", and He says, "Come and see" (verses 38, 39). They came and saw where He dwelt, and abode with Him. That is communion -- to abide with Him. When a wife comes under the power of her husband's love her interests are merged in his, and then there is communion. We do not know much about communion because we have so many interests of our own.

In getting near the Lord we are taken out of our own interests, like John who only thought of himself as "that disciple … whom Jesus loved" (chapter 21: 7). He knew something of what it was to be "the beloved of Jehovah". It is a blessed thing to abide in the consciousness of the love of Christ; then we are protected from evil, and from the snares and wiles of Satan. To "abide in the Son and in the Father" (1 @John 2:24) is the safeguard against seductions. Some think they must know errors and heresies in order to avoid them. Do you think the Lord wants us to be acquainted with what is evil in that way? Not

at all. We do not need to explore and know all the evil; we cannot afford to waste our time in this way. If we occupy ourselves with evil we shall in some way be coloured by it. The great thing is to be hidden in His pavilion. In this day of religious evil the only true preservative is to be kept near to Christ.

Then in the blessing of Joseph the prominent thing is fruitfulness. This is the outcome of communion (see John 15). If we abide in Christ, every circumstance that arises is an opportunity to bring forth fruit. Trials bring out fruit if we are in communion. Everything comes out perfectly in its season. It is said of the tree of life that it produces "twelve fruits, in each month yielding its fruit" (Revelation 22:2). Every changing season brought out its own precious fruit in Christ -- a new kind of fruit in every new set of circumstances. God changes our circumstances -- He allows the different seasons to pass over us -- to give opportunity and occasion of bringing forth different manner of fruits.

How important then to abide in Him! We all know how it is practically. Sometimes, in presence of the things that happen, we are kept in patience, thankfulness, and peace. At other times we are impatient, we chafe and murmur. What is the secret of all this? Does it not lie in these words? "As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abide in the vine, thus neither can ye unless ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abides in me and I in him, he bears much fruit; for without me ye can do nothing" (John 15:4, 5).

In Genesis 49 Zebulun was going down to commerce with the world for his own advantage, but here he goes out to call people to God's holy mountain. He still has to do with the abundance of the seas, and with the hidden treasures of the sand, but now it is for the glory of God. He is now in service for God.

Issachar wanted rest in Genesis 49 and sought it in a wrong way, but here he is seen in his tents. Taking up the proper character of a pilgrim, he gets rest. Gad is enlarged and made superior to all his enemies. Dan -- no longer a snake -- is a young lion, bold for God. Mark, after running away from the difficulties of the service at one time (Acts 13:13), is eventually found identified with Paul in prison (Colossians 4:10).

Then in Naphtali we see satisfaction, and in Asher a people divinely equipped for the wilderness journey. The time fails to take it all up in detail, but I think we see in all this a wonderful setting forth of the blessings of saints. Forgiveness, Dependence, Deliverance, Approach, Communion, Superiority, Strength, Satisfaction, Resource -- all furnished to saints by the grace of God. If we meditate on these things we shall find in them a wondrous unfolding of the all-various grace of God.

Ministry by C. A. Coates, Volume 17, pages 15 - 20.

THE ASSEMBLY BUILT BY CHRIST

W. J. House

Matthew 16:13 - 18; Matthew 17:1 - 5; Matthew 18:1 - 10, 15 - 20

The scripture in Matthew 16 reminds us of the fact that the Lord is active as Builder. It is said that "he

who has built all things is God" (Hebrews 3:4). He is the Builder of the material universe. He spoke to Job of this. When Job undertook to enter into controversy with Him, God said, "Where wast thou when I founded the earth … who set the measures thereof … or who stretched a line upon it?" (Job 38:4, 5). All these are constructional ideas. "It is he that buildeth his upper chambers in the heavens" (Amos 9:6). But the Lord in Matthew speaks, not of a material building, but of a spiritual structure which He is now building.

The first building by man as recorded in Scripture, is the city which Cain built when he departed from God after the murder of Abel. He went out from the presence of God and built a city (Genesis 4:16, 17). That line of things has gone on up to the present day -- man is raising up a vast structure for his own pleasure and aggrandisement, but apart from God. There are no moral foundations in such a building, and it will come down. In contrast to this, we find Abraham waiting for a city having foundations "of which God is the artificer and constructor" (Hebrews 11:10).

The exercises and activities of David and Solomon regarding the temple help us to see the glory and magnificence of God's building. It is most remarkable that the great structure of Solomon's temple was reared in order to house what was outwardly so small, but inwardly and intrinsically so great; that is, the ark, typifying even Christ Himself (1 Chronicles 28:20, 21; 1 Chronicles 29:1 - 5). Thus in what God is erecting

morally in the souls of His people today, a shrine is being secured for Himself in their affections; they are being "built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit" (Ephesians 2:22).

In Matthew 16, the Lord Jesus speaks of His building "my assembly". Christ the Son of the living God is the Builder of this, and the material He uses is stones such as Peter was, as his confession indicated, reminding us of the living character of what divine Persons are doing. The Lord says of His building that "hades' gates shall not prevail against it". Not all the administration of the powers of darkness will prevail against this building. The enemy first sought to get rid of Christ, and though he did succeed in having Him put to death, yet Satan did not prevail, for Christ rose from among the dead the third day, thus establishing His supremacy over Satan and over death, his mightiest weapon.

Later, when the assembly was established here by the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2), the same enemy energised the breathings of Saul of Tarsus against those who constituted the assembly. But did he prevail? No! the one who so ferociously carried out the behest of the devil, is himself brought to the feet of Jesus. So also, in the Dark Ages, and the Reformation period, when Popery manifested such bitter hatred, the people of God were not overwhelmed.

The Lord is seen in Matthew 17, securing material for His building. He takes three of the future pillars of the assembly -- Peter, James and John -- up

on the high mountain, with the intention, I believe, of conveying impressions of Himself and His glory, which, as received into their souls, would qualify them for their place in His building. It is a most important feature in our education for the assembly that we should apprehend the glory of Christ. As He was transfigured before them, "his face shone as the sun". The sun sets forth the supremacy of Christ who is to influence all for good, and as the sun gives life and warmth to all the earth, so does Christ to His own, to those who form the assembly. This impression built into the soul, renders us free from other domination, and fits us for our service in the assembly.

Matthew tells us "his garments became white as the light"; raiment speaks of that by which we are known, our ways, our circumstances. How wonderful were the ways of Christ here: pure, guileless, transparent. He was altogether that which He said He was (John 8:25): every movement was before God, and in the light. That indicates the character of those who compose this building -- all must take character from Christ, who is its Foundation.

How solemn it is to think that the religious leaders of the world, whom Peter addressed as builders, could find no way of fitting Christ into what they were building when He was presented to them. He was the Stone set at nought by the builders, but which has "become the corner-stone … and it is marvellous in our eyes" (Matthew 21:42). What a wonderful place Christ occupies in relation to God's

building! How we need to consider this.

Peter on the mount fails to give this place to Christ, and so suggests three tabernacles, one for Christ, one for Moses and one for Elias. But the Father's voice is at once heard announcing the unique place that Christ has in His affections and commanding us to "hear him". This is a further precious ray of the glory of Christ. Peter says, "such a voice being uttered to him by the excellent glory" (2 Peter 1:17) -- it was not only what was said, but the voice in which it was uttered, which impressed him. Even in human relationships, where things are right, the very tone of a father's voice as he speaks to his son will convey the special place the son enjoys in his father's thoughts and affection. So on the mount, "such a voice" conveyed to Peter and James and John the ineffable affection of the Father towards the Son. While they were also eye-witnesses of His majesty, the voice indicated the place they were to give to Christ in the assembly; they were to "hear him"!

Another step in our education, as being material for the building, is seen when they came down from the mountain to the ordinary affairs of life: the question is raised as to "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of the heavens?" (Matthew 18:1). "And Jesus having called a little child to him, set it in their midst". He would give an example of the spirit which should mark those who are to be built into the assembly. Indeed, "unless ye are converted and become as little children, ye will not at all enter into the kingdom of the heavens". The Lord Himself fully displayed the

spirit that was to mark His own; He was marked by the same humility at the close of His pathway, as when a Babe in Bethlehem. The thief on the cross found Him as approachable as did the wise men of the East. How dependent He ever was, how approachable, how transparent, how obedient! All these features properly attach to those who take note of the little child. Such a spirit is not of much account in man's world, for the element of deception is not in it. But the features of a little child are according to God.

In Matthew 18, the Lord refers to the things that offend and hinder our progress, and render us unserviceable to one another. First, He says, "if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee; it is good for thee to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into eternal fire" (verse 8). It may be objected that if one, who is exercised as to being suitable as material for Christ's building, accepts the principles suggested, his activities and apparent usefulness will be sadly curtailed, for what is indicated would mean that one's activities and movements would be greatly affected. But the Lord says it is good to cut off one hand or one foot, and to accept the limitation so enforced, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into eternal fire. It is not suggested, of course, that any true believer will be cast into the hell of fire, but the Lord is speaking of the principle of these things.

Then again, one may say he prefers to maintain a

wide outlook and be broadminded. Better, says the Lord, to restrict one's vision to what God is doing -- though such are not really restricted -- than to look into and embrace what will eventually come under the Lord's judgment. As we look at things according to God, we acquire great breadth of vision. Peter himself says, "But, according to his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwells righteousness"; and, "waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God" (2 Peter 3:12, 13).

In the latter half of Matthew 18, the Lord speaks of the relations existing among those who compose the assembly. While it is serious that offences should come in, there is instruction as to how to meet them. We are to maintain the feature of transparency, and to go direct to the offender -- not indeed with any other object than recovery. Instead alas, how often the offender is not spoken to at all, but the ear of another is sought. Such is a feature of this world, in which sometimes it is deliberately attempted to blacken a person's character; behaviour of this kind is not worthy of that world where the glory of God shines. I feel sure that in most cases where the person himself is sought out alone in the spirit of recovery, he is recovered and relations among the saints suitable to God are maintained. As we act according to these principles we may count upon the support of God.

If, however, one alone fails in this, he is to take one or two besides, and should they fail, the assembly is to be told; and if the offender neglects to hear

the assembly, he becomes amenable to its judgment, as the final court of appeal on earth. Such principles apply to all cases of trespass, and as we follow these divine principles, we find they are effectual.

Thus that which the Lord said in Matthew 16 -- He would build -- is viewed anticipatively in chapter 18, and, as consequent on the death and resurrection of Christ and the coming of the Spirit, is already here and functioning. So the Lord says, "If two of you shall agree" -- meaning two who are thus educated and intelligent, and are prepared to act on the directions indicated. Such are assembly material; and if "two of you shall agree on earth concerning any matter, whatsoever it may be that they shall ask, it shall come to them from my Father who is in the heavens. For where two or three are gathered together unto my name, there am I in the midst of them" (Matthew 18:19 - 20). According to this gospel, as long as the assembly is on earth, the presence of Christ can be counted on by those who, even in weakness, seek to follow the principles governing the assembly as indicated in these chapters.

The Great King and Other Addresses, pages 73 - 81.

SERVICE: A WORD OF EXHORTATION

P. Lyon

Mark 13:32 - 37

"Of that day or of that hour no one knows, neither the angels … nor the Son, but the Father". The sovereignty of the Father disposing of everything in relation to His pleasure is a solace to the servant in a

difficult day. The allusion to the Son not knowing is peculiar to Mark, as referring to Him in His servant character. Circumstances are apt to discourage us in our service, but the Father knows the hour, and enables us to go on serving and enduring. This very day might be our last here, and the Lord would have us so to view it. The great thing is readiness; what have we to greet our Lord with at His coming that would delight His heart?

"To each one his work". There is a good deal of discontent abroad and in this country owing to unemployment; one wonders if this feature may not be found in the church. Many are like a derelict at sea. It is a great thing to have an understanding with the Lord as to what is allotted to us. Some attempt too much, others neglect what is put to their hand. We need to have unreserved submission to the sovereignty of the Father's will. "Lord, and what of this man?" (John 21:21) is hardly the language of one who knows his own work and is going on with it. The work we are engaged in takes its character from the One who marked it out for us. We may put a relative value on it, according to its publicity, but it is all great. Each one his work. You would be confirmed that it is your work by the secret support you receive, in spite of the opposition the enemy may raise against you. The sense of this enables you to go on through evil report and good report.

"And given to his bondmen the authority". The authority lies in the anointing -- "the Lord working with them", as it says in the end of this gospel

(chapter 16: 20). It is the great answer to accredited religion. People say, 'You have not been ordained, what authority have you got?' but the Spirit carries the authority. What weighs in the balance of the sanctuary is not official appointment, but devotedness and faithful continuance.

Phoebe would serve the Lord wherever she was, whether in Cenchrea or in Rome (Romans 16:1). We are apt to take up service when we are in the mood for it, and leave it to others when we are not; but a bondman is ever a servant. There is never a moment when he is not his own; "whose I am and whom I serve" (Acts 27:23). There are times when we may engage more actively in service, but it is a question of how we hold ourselves. We should never forget that we are the Lord's, and His alone, and the cost at which He has acquired the right to us. To gratify oneself for even a short time is to deny His right to us. In that sense we are never off duty; we have no holidays. The Levites were given entirely to Aaron for the service of God.

The daily vocation can be turned into a happy outlet for our service in the openings it affords, though we are often tested by them. The opportunities the Lord gives will be just as many as we have devotedness to take advantage of.

So the idea of watching comes in (verse 33). We are to watch and pray; it is taken up in the Spirit, for the preservation of things lies in spiritual state. The danger is of sleeping; hence the Lord reminds them that He may come at any time. One wonders if His

coming may be anticipated in the allusion to "evening, or midnight, or cock-crow, or morning". He comes in the way of inspection, for example, at a crisis. How shall we stand in relation to our service when the Lord puts in an appearance? At that moment we shall just be what we are in the general course we are pursuing.

The woman in the next chapter (chapter 14: 3) was not sleeping! Our energies so tend to wane. We should dread to cultivate tastes which would turn us aside from our service. If we are casual, our spare time will be trifled with and our liberty gone, for the enemy will use anything to put fetters upon our spirit. It has often been said the price of liberty is unsparing and continual vigilance, and that lies in the Spirit. Mr Stoney used to speak of the horse put out to grass -- of no further use; we do not want to be in that position. One would love to finish one's service. Paul went straight from the battlefield to the presence of his Master.

We should imbibe the Lord's spirit in serving: "did ye not know that I ought to be occupied in my Father's business?" (Luke 2:49). In the Supper He would come before us as the Hebrew Servant, dedicated to service. There is a great deal of will under the guise of christian service; much that is really a form of self-gratification, but the Lord took up His service in a suffering spirit. Indeed, His sufferings as recorded in Mark are marked by a peculiar intensity. A servant's discipline relates largely to the peculiar service the Lord has confided to him, and those who have a special place in service have more discipline

than others. "Bearing about in the body the dying of Jesus" (2 Corinthians 4:10) is a passage that occurs in a chapter occupied with Levitical work. The discipline gives tone to the service, and is all part of the furnishing of the servant so that the flesh may not intrude.

We are all searched by a scripture like this, but the Lord would encourage us to cultivate secret understanding with Himself in relation to what He brings before us here. If we are at a distance from Him, He will not tell us what we are to do in His harvest fields! What a favour to be permitted a place there. The heart would live in the love of the One who has commissioned us to serve, and not in its results. The righteous in Matthew 25 say, "when saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in; or naked, and clothed thee? and when saw we thee ill, or in prison, and came to thee?" (verses 37 - 39). They did not live in the records of their service; they left that for heaven to disclose.

Jottings of a Reading at Rochford Street, London, 13 October 1926.

COMMUNING OR WRESTLING?

R. Besley

But with Jacob how different! Instead of faith, he was marked by expediency, and, alas! instead of communion he had to be recalled from waywardness and self-will.

He could not wait for God to come in for him, but must seize the birthright by subtlety; and when acting as a shepherd for Laban, he must needs turn the occasion to his own advantage and enrich

himself with flocks and herds. If going to meet Esau, he would put servants and wives and children forward and linger behind himself for greater safety.

But would God allow such conduct? Yes, He bore with him, until a moment came and he was alone, then God will speak with him.

"And Jacob remained alone" (Genesis 32:24). How significant these words are. Do they imply that Jacob was really alone, that he was at a distance from God in his soul? I think they do, for his actions were not those of a man of God.

Instead of being in communion he was left alone. But suddenly, apparently without warning, a man laid hold of him and wrestled with him. Jacob withstood the stranger, determined to maintain his liberty and act as he pleased, until, as the day was dawning, he perceived that the man who held him was a heavenly visitor -- he saw God face to face.

God had drawn near to him in a man, and touched the hollow of his thigh, so that he was crippled. As Jacob awaked to the fact that God had drawn near to him, he exclaimed: "I will not let thee go except thou bless me" (Genesis 32:26). And He blessed him there.

How entirely Jacob had failed to realise, that, behind all the men with whom he had had to do, God was working; but, alas! he would have his own way. And now a man wrestled with him, but by some means he realised that he had seen God face to face, and discovered that He could bless him. This could have been learned in communion, and no

doubt it was by Abraham.

There are two ways of learning things, either in communion with God or under His discipline, and in the latter too often there is the disposition to wrestle with God. But God's great desire is for our blessing; it was so with Jacob, and "he touched the joint of his thigh; and the joint of Jacob's thigh was dislocated" (verse 25). How often the saints have to be crippled before they can be blessed; but God delights to bless us and exalt us: He delights to change our name -- "Jacob" was changed to "Israel".

Who but our blessed God could change a man from a plotter to a prince? But He did with Jacob, and has done far more for us; and as we look back over the exercise, perhaps illness and sickness, perhaps bereavement and loss, can we call the name of the place "Peniel" (footnote g, 'face of God'), saying, "I have seen God face to face, and my life has been preserved" (verse 30). Happy is it if we can; but may it be given unto us to say also, "Jehovah-nissi" (Exodus 17:15, footnote h, 'Jehovah my banner').

The Believer's Friend, Volume 11 (1919), pages 32 - 34. [2 of 2].

THE GOSPEL

J. B. Stoney

I have greatly enjoyed Luke 7 and 15: God not only delights in saving us, but in having us. Nothing can satisfy love but company.

I could suppose a great man driving by and seeing a man drowning, would pull up and throw

himself into the water to save a fellow creature, and glad to do it. But where did you ever hear of a great man, after saving one from a watery grave, saying to him, 'You must come home in my carriage and share all that I have, I wish for your company!' Never -- until the gospel of the glory came!

I have been trying to find a subject that would awaken brethren to the state of things around us. What is a "good minister of Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 4 6)?

I feel there is not in the ministry the character of aim as you would see in a man of business. For instance, I admit the evangelist aims at conversions, but there as a rule, his aim ends. Thus the teacher in general aims at good conduct and no more, and I see that certain terms are used without the divine meaning that belongs to them. I take, for example, 'the washing of the feet' and the expression 'over Jordan'. I believe the divine meaning is very little known.

I only make this remark to indicate the nature and character of our decline.

Ministry by J. B. Stoney, Volume 12, page 478.

SEPARATION -- IDENTIFICATION WITH THE LORD

J. Pellatt

Jeremiah 15:15 - 21

In one way, beloved friends, what we have read is a very simple passage of scripture -- it is an appeal on the part of Jeremiah to Jehovah. The prophet was in circumstances of trial, of reproach and of persecution, and he turns to Jehovah and appeals to Him, asking that He would interpose to avenge him of those who were his persecutors.

In connection with this appeal, we learn what had brought the prophet into these circumstances of reproach and persecution; but before speaking at all of the answer that Jehovah vouchsafed to the prophet, I might say, beloved, that I have taken this scripture and bring it before you, because I believe that the time in which we are now living, in a very important sense, corresponds to the time in which Jeremiah was living; and the circumstances that surrounded Jeremiah find an answer in the circumstances that surround us as the Lord's people, or, if you please, as God's people, at this present time.

I need not tell you that Jeremiah lived on to the close of the history of the people of God in his day (cf. Jeremiah 1:1 - 3). Long before this, of course, the nation of Israel had been divided, and, so far as the ten tribes are concerned, their history had closed in judgment; Shalmaneser the Assyrian had carried them away into captivity, and they have been in dispersion to the present day. They will, as we know,

be recovered, and will yet be brought back into the land, and the whole nation will be reunited and brought into blessing; but even as to the kingdom of Judah, this prophet lived very near the end; he lived in the days of Josiah the king, and what marked Josiah's time in the beginning? -- when he came into the kingdom everything was very dark -- they were suffering under the hand of Jehovah the results of their unfaithfulness. But I just want to say that there was a wonderful revival in the days of Josiah and of Jeremiah.

The house of God was in a very sad state, and the service of God in connection with it was practically well-nigh abandoned; but God wrought -- Josiah was but a youth, but the heart of the young king was in exercise of soul before God, and he began where every true revival generally begins, that is, with God's interests here, and, of course, those interests at that time were centred in the temple -- the house of God -- just as God's interests are now centred in the assembly -- the church of the living God -- the house of God.

So Josiah began to clear up things in connection with the house of God. Shaphan was the scribe; Hilkijah, the father of Jeremiah, was the high priest, and in connection with the work inaugurated by Jeremiah, Hilkijah discovered in the house of God, the book of the law of God, the book containing the mind of God concerning His beloved people (2 Kings 22:1 - 8, etc.). I must only speak briefly, but the book was given to Shaphan the scribe, and

Shaphan carried it to the king, and the book was read, and the finding and the reading of that book was the beginning of a wonderful revival among God's people.

Now Jeremiah alludes to this. In connection with his appeal to Jehovah, he writes his own personal experience; he says, "Thy words were found, and I did eat them" (Jeremiah 15:16). Hilkijah, the father of Jeremiah, literally found them; but it is not the details that I dwell on, but with the fact itself. What a wonderful thing! "Thy words" -- the very words of Jehovah, setting forth what was in the mind of Jehovah concerning His house, and concerning His people -- concerning His interests here in this scene.

Jeremiah says: "Thy words were found, and I did eat them". You can understand the figure without any difficulty, because it is a very simple figure; in eating food we appropriate it; and in the appropriation of it we realise the good of it. Eating food is what we are in the habit of doing constantly and literally, but Jeremiah speaks of eating in a moral sense, though the simplicity of the figure is kept up, and the result of eating the words of Jehovah was that he realised in his own soul the good of those words; and the first result was they made him very happy; he says, "and thy words were unto me the joy and rejoicing of my heart". But why did they make him so happy? because those words of Jehovah made known to him the blessed fact of his complete identification with Jehovah, and his complete identification with Jehovah in the way of blessing. It is

well to know that a person is happy, but it is better to know why they are happy, and Jeremiah tells us why: "thy words were unto me the joy and rejoicing of my heart: for I am called by thy name, O Jehovah, God of hosts"; he learned his complete identification with Jehovah, God of hosts; it was such a wonderful identification. As illustration, when a woman marries, she takes her husband's name, she becomes called by his name; so Jeremiah was so wonderfully identified with Jehovah, God of hosts, that he says, "for I am called by thy name".

Then you get the next effect of 'eating those words'. First, they discovered to him his complete identification with Jehovah, and thus they brought to light his privilege, as identified with that name, and they filled his heart with rejoicing. That was one side, but then the other side was his responsibility, and that which measured his privilege and his blessing on the one side, measured his responsibility on the other side. If being called by the name of Jehovah, God of hosts, was the full measure of his privilege, it became also the measure of his responsibility; he was responsible to stand apart from everything that dishonoured that name. So he says: "I sat not in the assembly of the mockers, nor exulted: I sat alone because of thy hand; for thou hast filled me with indignation".

Now, it was not because of the rejoicing that filled his heart in the discovery of his privilege, it was not on that side that he was reproached -- although, of course, these things cannot be

disconnected -- these two sides of the truth are never really apart. You may distinguish them, but you cannot separate them, for they go together. There is joy in the apprehension of privilege, but there is also the exercise connected with the apprehension of the side of responsibility, and, in a word, that is where you get into trial.

The devil does not care how happy you are; he is not concerned about your apprehension of privilege and your joy in the apprehension of it, but what the devil is opposed to is separation, and separation will get you into trouble. It always has got the people of God into trouble. That is nothing new; it could not be otherwise. I think, in a sense, that it was Abel's separation that got him into trouble with Cain. I think one might say, speaking reverently, it was so with the Lord. Oh! it was His intense separation that man could not bear. He was "holy, harmless, undefiled, separated from sinners" (Hebrews 7:26). That was one reason why He suffered as He did at the hands of men.

There is a wonderful testimony in separation, not in denunciation. Souls will get hardened under denunciation; you can easily get hard, and bitter, in connection with denunciation, but testimony is in separation, and as sure as we are marked by separation we shall be in the reproach that Jeremiah suffered from; and we know from the body of the book how he not only suffered reproach, but he suffered in every way from the hands of his enemies.

Well now, what I want to come to is this: just as

there was a revival in the days of Jeremiah, so there has been a revival in our day, and, let me say, it is God who brings about a revival. God brings about revivals in the history of His people, and He brings them about for His own glory and for the blessing of His people. You always find, beloved, in a divine revival, that God ever has respect to that which He has established, to that which He has set up. There may be but a very few who are directly, personally, involved in the revival, but I am bold to say that in every revival God has in view, not only the maintenance of the testimony which He has established, but He has in view the blessing of His people.

Well, God has been pleased to bring about a revival in our day. He has been pleased to recover the truth for His own glory, and for the blessing, not simply of the few that may be immediately and personally concerned in connection with the revival, but God has in view the whole of His people. I wish we could think of that, because sometimes, it seems to me, we act as if we thought we were kind of favourites -- a few select ones -- and that God had some special interest in some few of us that He has not in all His people. Well there is the revival; but now the question is, What is your relationship and mine concerning it? God brings about a revival.

But then a great many people may become connected with it in a mere outward way. It was so in times of old; it is so in more modern times. In the days of Martin Luther there was a revival, and I believe God brought it about. He brought it about for

His glory and for the blessing of His people, all His people; yet how many there are that have a mere outward, historical connection with it! They still speak of belonging to reformed bodies or reformed churches; but, alas! it is only like what the Lord says about Sardis, "thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead" (Revelation 3:1). It may be so now. I am not saying whether it is so or not, but it may be a mere historical, outward, doctrinal, or ecclesiastical connection.

But what I am concerned about is this, beloved, Have you and I in our souls a living, vital connection with that revival which, unquestionably, the Lord has brought about in these last days? I do not wish to undervalue any one or any thing, but I am inclined to the conviction that we have witnessed the last revival in the history of the assembly here, and it is a very serious question -- What is your relationship and mine to it? -- for, however God may have wrought, and by whomsoever He may have wrought, the revival has come, God has brought it about, and what I think is emphasised in the passage I have read to you is this -- that whilst the revival concerns the honour and glory of God, the glory and the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; whilst it concerns the whole church of God, you and I have to be brought into it individually. God has not a remnant of the church before Him. Do you think He has given up the church? Never. He will never give it up; the church, beloved, is just as much an object of interest and concern with God, and with the Lord Jesus tonight,

as at any moment in its history.

But while it is true that the revival is not a matter that has for its object the blessing of an individual, or a number of individuals, but that in it God has the assembly in view, the honour and glory of God, the maintenance of the testimony of our Lord -- I repeat that I think what we should learn is, that you and I have got to be brought into it individually. We like large companies, and I am not averse to them; I am very thankful to the Lord for all that are here tonight; but we have to take this matter home to ourselves, each one of us, and we have to look it in the face, how far are we personally and individually in what God has brought about? Your father, mother, brothers, sisters, may be in the meeting; but that will not do for you. If you are going to touch at all what God has wrought, if you are going to know the reality of it, you must know it for yourself: "Thy words were found, and I did eat them".

These things test us as to our spiritual state, as to how it is with us in relation to God. Jeremiah ate His words; he had an appetite for them: have you an appetite for the words of God -- for the testimony of our Lord Jesus Christ? Then we see from what Jeremiah goes on to say that the question which was involved in the word of God's truth was identification of God's people with God Himself … You may say, Is not that true of the whole church? Yes, I grant it is; but have you got a personal experience with regard to it? Has there been wrought in your soul such a spiritual appetite for God's words, His truth

and His testimony? Some people are where I was once myself, when one thought the whole thing -- the acme in Christianity -- was in being saved, and I am not saying anything against safety, nor certainty, nor enjoyment; but I am opposed to sitting down on the doorstep of Christianity.

There are a great many religious people in these days, there are a number of people, Christians too, who think that the whole thing is to get a little blessing for themselves. But that is not all; of course we all have to learn our ABC; but that is not the end of it: "Thy words were found, and I did eat them". It is a very serious question -- Have we learned for ourselves our identification with the Lord Jesus Christ, as the prophet learned his identification with Jehovah, God of hosts? That is the test. I am afraid that we somehow hide ourselves under the general statement of the truth we know. Oh! you say, I have seen wonderful things about the assembly. But how have you seen them? Have you seen them through the light of the Spirit of God in connection with your own experience? If not, you are only the victim of a theory; it may be a very beautiful theory and quite correct, but that is all.

Perhaps you have been brought up in the meetings -- have been converted, and you break bread, (and I am thankful for it); but you will not mind if I ask you the question, Have you really in your soul grasped this: "for I am called by thy name"? We did not all learn it so easy; some of us learnt it alone -- apart from teachers, or evangelists, and apart from

tracts and books -- and it cost us something, and I want to press upon you the reality of it. Have you got the joy of it? We are told in the Old Testament that "the joy of Jehovah is your strength" (Nehemiah 8 10). You ought to be happy; you and I are divinely entitled to be perfectly happy, and it is a great thing to be happy; you are so safe when you are happy divinely: "thy words were unto me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; for I am called by thy name".

Then there is what comes with the happiness; there is responsibility. There are many people of God who claim to see the truth, they like the truth and hold it; but what about the separation? If your separation is not equivalent to your joy, I am rather suspicious about your joy. "I sat not in the assembly of the mockers, nor exulted: I sat alone because of thy hand; for thou hast filled me with indignation". Have you just left one thing and joined another? That will not do. "I sat alone". That will do. You have got to sit alone outside "the assembly of the mockers".

In 2 Timothy 2 we read: "If therefore one shall have purified himself from these, in separating himself from them, he shall be a vessel to honour, sanctified, serviceable to the Master, prepared for every good work" (verse 21). Then you flee youthful lusts, you do not do it in a crowd, you do it alone, and you pursue righteousness, and faith, and love, and peace; you do that, then you are clear; and when you are clear you find a few more, and then you can walk with them. We want to have a personal experience

on these lines at the present time; and now let me say this, lest I should be misunderstood: Do not think I am speaking against fellowship -- against the joy and blessedness of walking with a few of your fellow believers in these days. God forbid! But I would like you to enjoy it when you get it -- and you will only enjoy it in the measure in which this has been made personally good and true in your soul.

And then, what was the indignation about? "for thou hast filled me with indignation". It was about the Lord's name. The Lord is your joy, and you are indignant at the dishonour to Him. If you get indignant about persons you will get hard, and you will be most unlovely and unlovable. Jeremiah says, "because of thy hand". His indignation was for the Lord's dishonour; he could not go on with the mockers. It was his separation from them that got him into trouble; all manner of things were laid to his charge.

Well, it seems from the appeal of Jeremiah that Jehovah did not come in at once. I take it that He allowed Jeremiah to suffer for a while, and so he makes a desperate appeal. He says, "Why is my pain perpetual", etc. Here is the answer: "Therefore thus saith Jehovah, If thou return, then will I bring thee again, and thou shalt stand before me; and if thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth. Let them return unto thee; but return not thou unto them". What wonderful words! I have no doubt that we need them in these days. "And I will make thee unto this people a strong brazen wall: and they shall fight against thee, but they shall not

prevail against thee: for I am with thee, to save thee and to deliver thee, saith Jehovah; yea, I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem thee out of the hand of the terrible".

Of course, these words of Jehovah could be, and no doubt were, taken in a literal way by Jeremiah -- all in perfect keeping with the character of that dispensation; but we must take them in a spiritual way, and let me say that, in the answer of Jehovah taken in that way, there is everything that the heart of the believer could desire. You can count on the Lord; you can count on His making you to stand; you can count upon Him for your spiritual protection and preservation, for your deliverance.

I would like to encourage any trembling heart that has been brought face to face with a little of the consequences of what it is to be true to the Lord at a time like this. He will really cause you to "stand before me" -- to have a standing, as it were, in His presence. "And if thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth". Beware of indiscriminate condemnation or censure of anybody. Learn to discriminate; there is the precious and there is the vile; learn in your souls to discriminate spiritually. God encourages every one of us in that direction. He says: "thou shalt be as my mouth. Let them return unto thee; but return not thou unto them". If the Lord has separated you, never set your face in the direction of what He has separated you from.

Well, beloved, I have spoken simply and personally. I have not thought of entertaining or of pleasing

you; but I have spoken with some desire of helping you, and I trust the Lord may really take up these feeble, scattered thoughts, and bring them home to you, that they may be a real blessing to you and to us all. Let me say to you: the measure of your helpfulness among your brothers and sisters in the Lord all hangs upon the measure in which in your own soul you answer to the Lord and are found in intelligent response to His mind.

Remember, there is the privilege, there is the joy, and then, on the other side, there is the responsibility of separation -- of being apart from everything that would dishonour His blessed name, by which name we have been called.

The Closing Ministry of J. Pellatt, Volume 1, pages 71 - 85.

SPIRITUAL AND HEAVENLY THINGS

A. J. Gardiner

1 Corinthians 15:45 - 49; Exodus 17; Numbers 27:15 - 19

What is in mind, dear brethren, is to show that God has now brought in, and is engaged with, spiritual and heavenly things. We have been called to have part in them and, thank God, He uses the circumstances of the present time, wilderness experiences, to develop in us what is spiritual.

It says in the first chapter of the epistle to the Ephesians, in that passage we know so well, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ" (verse 3). We are to

understand at the outset that our blessings are spiritual and not natural, and that the location of them is in the heavenlies and not on earth. That is readily understood as we take account of the fact that Christ has gone on high and the Spirit has come; Christ having gone on high into the presence of God, heaven has been opened up to us, and the Spirit having come, the day of what is spiritual has come in.

There is a great tendency with us to cling to what is earthly and natural, but it is good to see from the Scriptures that what is earthly and natural has never been the final thought before the mind of God. The earthly and the natural things were brought in in His ways as a testimony to heavenly and spiritual things. Not that there will not be blessing on the earth in a coming day, for there will; indeed, even in eternity there will be a new earth as well as a new heaven, as though God has indicated that He takes pleasure in different spheres and different degrees of blessing.

But that being so, it is well for us to understand that in the sovereignty of God and the love of God, we have been taken up for the very best. You may not be able to say why; that is a matter that lies in God's sovereignty. He works according to the good pleasure of His will, but there it is, that He has been pleased to choose us in Christ before the foundation of the world for the very best, for heavenly things and spiritual things, God Himself being a Spirit; that is, He intends to bring us into the closest affinity with Himself.

God has not only made known His thoughts, but

Christ, having gone on high in virtue of accomplished redemption, has the right to give us by the Holy Spirit to enjoy His own love, and to understand that we are to share with Him as Man in a way that saints of no other dispensation will ever do. I say, that position having come about, Christ having gone on high and the Spirit having already come, you can understand that God wishes us to take an interest in heavenly and spiritual things, and that we should lay ourselves out to enter into them, and not allow ourselves to be detained by worldly things or even natural things.

We often refer to Rebecca and how the question was put to her, "Wilt thou go with this man?" (Genesis 24:58). The test with which Rebecca was faced was not whether she was going to be governed by what was worldly, but whether she was going to allow herself to be detained by what was legitimate in the natural sphere, her brother and her mother. That was the test with which she was faced, and when the question was raised with her, "Wilt thou go with this man?" ("this man" being a type of the Holy Spirit) she says, "I will go" (verse 58). The result was, that she became a comfort to Isaac's heart and was loved by him, all suggesting the possibilities that are open to us to become a comfort to Christ if we will yield ourselves to what is spiritual.

The passage I read in 1 Corinthians emphasises this. It says, "The first man Adam became a living soul; the last Adam a quickening spirit". You can see how what is spiritual comes in, how immensely

greater Christ is than Adam. It is the last Adam we are to take account of. He is a life-giving spirit. I wonder whether we all recognise that, if we have received the Holy Spirit, we partake by the Spirit in the life of the last Adam. That is a very elevating thought. In Luke 10 the Lord says, "but rejoice that your names are written in the heavens" (verse 20). But here we have not merely that our names are written in the heavens, but we ourselves are heavenly and therefore fit for heaven.

So it says here, "But that which is spiritual was not first, but that which is natural, then that which is spiritual", as though the Spirit of God through the apostle is urging upon us to take account of the fact that the change has now taken place; that there was that which was first, which was natural, but Christ having come in, and the Spirit having come, what was ever in God's mind has come in; and He is urging us to take account of the glory of it; and to take account of the fact that we ourselves have been called to have part in these wonderful things.

The apostle goes on to say, "the first man out of the earth, made of dust"; it is a question of what he was constitutionally. If Adam had never sinned he would still have been earthy, but the second Man, "out of heaven"! What an immensely superior order of manhood has come in in Christ, a divine Person, bringing supreme moral excellence into manhood. Think of the grace of God that has in mind that we should partake of it! This is not something mystical, but something which has actually come in by virtue

of the fact that we have received the Holy Spirit. We partake by the Spirit in the life of the heavenly One. "Such as he made of dust, such also those made of dust; and such as the heavenly one, such also the heavenly ones". And, "as we have borne the image of the one made of dust, we shall bear also the image of the heavenly one".

Well now, we can only enter upon what is spiritual, we can only take on the features of the One who is heavenly, in the power of the Holy Spirit. God has given us the Holy Spirit in order that we might be able to take on what is spiritual, that we might find our life in what is spiritual and take on heavenly features. We were referring to the third chapter of John's gospel where we have the truth of new birth; that is, if there is to be anything for God, He must begin entirely anew. There must be a new moral being as a result of God's work, and the character of the new moral being is that it is spirit. "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (John 3:6), showing that the two are in absolute contrast. I think the Lord puts it that way so that we may understand that God is working now on the lines of what is spiritual.

I would turn to Exodus now in order to show that God would use the exercises of the wilderness that we may realise the need for the Spirit; and to give us, if we may so say, a taste for the Spirit, that we may really lay ourselves out for that which is spiritual. I can assure the younger brethren that they will never regret it if they do so. In the living water, a

type of the Spirit, there is that which satisfies for ever. If I may go back for a moment in the history of God's people as brought out of Egypt, you will remember that at the end of Exodus 15 they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. Then when they did find it, it was bitter, so the waters were called Marah; and the question was, What were they to do? Now it is an early experience in our spiritual life to find that the circumstances which God orders for us are not at all according to our natural taste. There is nothing in the wilderness; that is, in the ordinary circumstances of responsible life, to minister to the new spiritual being that has come into existence.

We find that circumstances ordered of God for us are often exactly the opposite to those which we would have chosen; the waters are bitter. What is to be done? In what way are they to be made palatable? Moses cried unto Jehovah and Jehovah showed him wood. It is not properly a tree, but rather wood. When it was cast into the waters they became sweet. Wood in Scripture is usually a type of manhood, and here it refers to the character of manhood that was brought in in the Person of Jesus, and, I believe, that is just what alters the whole character of things.

It is of great help, support and encouragement when we first begin to take account of the fact that the Lord Jesus in wonderful grace has entered into the circumstances of human life, and has been through them as governed in every way by the principles proper to a man in relation to God. That is to

say, as having His part in Deity it did not belong to Him to obey, for you cannot attach the thought of obedience to God as such, but when the Lord Jesus entered into the human position, He entered into conditions to which obedience attached, and He filled them out in human life in perfect accord with the position which He had taken up.

The carpenter's shop at Nazareth was not what men might regard as the most desirable of circumstances, but these circumstances were the will of God for Him, and He accepted them and filled them out in a glorious way on the principle of obedience. Everything the Father ordered for Him was pleasing to Him. His Father had been pleased to hide things from the wise and prudent and reveal them unto babes, and He said, "yea, Father; for thus has it been well-pleasing in thy sight" (Luke 10:21).

It alters the whole aspect of things in regard of that which may be contrary to our natural tastes if we begin to see that, in the Person of Jesus, God has introduced the principle of obedience as that which is to govern His people in every circumstance. We find wonderful rest of mind and heart and spirit once that is accepted. The waters take on an attraction that the Spirit of God gives them. Nothing spiritual will, of course, ever be attractive to the natural man, but to the renewed mind everything of God becomes attractive. The first governing principle in a Christian's life is obedience to the will of God in everything. Marah indicates that. It was there that God said, "If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of

Jehovah thy God, and do what is right in his eyes … I will put none of the complaints upon thee that I have put upon the Egyptians" (Exodus 15:26). It is wonderful, how by moving in a simple path of obedience to God's will, we are set free from anxiety and restlessness, set free from all sorts of diseases that afflict mankind.

Following on that, we find in Exodus 16 that the manna is given. God has introduced in the Person of Jesus the principle of obedience to His will, and now He says as it were, I will give you food and I will give it to you daily on that principle. The Lord Jesus moved in the circumstances of human life on the principle of one day at a time. He had His ear opened morning by morning. It was morning by morning that the manna was given. Moses said to the people, "In the evening, then shall ye know that Jehovah has brought you out from the land of Egypt; and in the morning, then shall ye see the glory of Jehovah" (verses 6, 7). They had desired flesh, and in the evening God brought up quails, not then in judgment as on a later occasion, but just to show them that, if necessary, He could do anything; He can work a miracle.

God could order our circumstances, if He chose, so that they should all be congenial, but that would not result in any spiritual development in us. He showed in bringing up the quails that He could do anything necessary, but on the other hand, "in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of Jehovah". The manna was a small round thing on the face of

the wilderness. You say, Is that the glory of the Lord? It is indeed the glory of the Lord, that He who is God should have come down in wonderful grace as a Babe, and grown up in human circumstances, filling them out in every way on the principle of dependence and obedience. That is glory indeed, that such a One has entered into our circumstances in order to become, throughout all the ages of the testimony, food for His people.

How many millions of saints have been supported by feeding on Christ! If we are governed by the principles of obedience and dependence, it enables us to fit into any circumstance. A small round thing fits in easily anywhere, dear brethren. And it is to be gathered afresh every day. The principle of life according to God in the wilderness is one day at a time, and it greatly relieves us of anxiety if we so take it up. The inward man is renewed day by day.

Piety and Other Addresses, Auckland, N.Z., pages 11 - 17. [1 of 2] 7 December 1946.

THE LOVE OF JESUS

C. Nock

John 11:5, 6; John 14:15 - 20

I want to speak simply about these two passages which bring out the Lord's love: the love that kept Him away in chapter 11, and the love that brought Him near in chapter 14. In either case it is the same unmeasured love. These two suggestions largely cover our experiences.

It is a great thing to be assured of the Lord's

personal love. These passages contemplate a Person known. It is not so much doctrine, or what is official, or a matter of order or of administration, all of which are needed in their own place, but John brings before us the truth of a Person, a known Person.

It is said of the disciples that they knew and believed; they laid hold of a Person in faith. That is what is needed by us all: the maintenance of confidence when He keeps away, and the maintenance of conditions for Him to come near. The root of the matter is our acquaintance with Christ. Dependence without confidence is misery. In natural affairs we should have great anxiety if we were in the hands of a doctor in whom we had no confidence. In the Lord's ways with us in testing us, our anxieties would be at an end if we really knew Him. Anxieties are the result of ignorance.

In John 11 the Lord stayed away. He maintained distance until Lazarus died, and even then He does not go to the house. I suppose that sooner or later in the lives of each one of us we have to face these things; circumstances become adverse, and we seek mercy in them that things may be altered, and often it does not happen. That was the test with these two sisters. They had already had experience with the Lord, but this chapter 11 was a further imperative experience for them. We shall all have our chapter 11 in our history. There is no apparent issue. Having resources of our own, we may apply them in a way that is normal and wise, but to each one God sees that a time comes when no such resources are equal

to the difficulty, and we are cast upon Him. Then we ask Him for relief, and look for Him to intervene.

These two sisters were quite shut up to the Lord. They could do nothing, so they call upon His love. "He whom thou lovest is sick" (verse 3), involving the character of the one whom Jesus loved. Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. His love is settled and unalterable, standing over against the doubts and anxieties which so easily creep in when circumstances seem black and life has so little sunshine in it. We are tested as to our knowledge of that love when no special stress is testing us, so that, when the test comes, we are confident. When the Lord's blessing rests upon us circumstantially, we do well to get acquainted with that love. We all know our own hearts. Why do we get such a rough time, and others are let off so lightly? But this love is completely outside every circumstance. It is 'love supreme and bright' (Hymn 64). Once we are built up with the knowledge of the Lord's precious love, we shall go through difficulties with an inward tranquillity of spirit, saving ourselves a tremendous amount of sorrow. We know the settled disposition of His love. He loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. May we all lay hold of it now!

The test will come in all our histories when He will remain away. I know of nothing more testing than that. This Friend was well known, and they knew His power to help. He had been in the house, and now Lazarus was sick. They thought He would come at once, but He does not come. Lazarus gets

weaker and weaker, the disease running its course. They must have looked out urgently to see Him come, but He felt it more than they did. He did not go to them -- because He loved them. There is something we plead for in our lives, but there is no intervention. Love is behind it. I need to trust the love that went to the cross, that has served at such a cost in order that we might come into blessing. What expenditure has been laid out for us! We have been secured at tremendous cost for Christ. What depth of love! Now, in my little circumstances I am not to doubt that love, testing as they may be. If He does not come, how am I to get help? I need to seek the Spirit's help, so that the Lord is better known and His precious service better realised. Otherwise we shall always doubt.

Martha says, "Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died" (verse 21). This is the outlook of many of us. If we think only on the line of nature, we shall never be spiritual or intelligent of God's ways. What is spiritual goes beyond death. Death is ours (1 Corinthians 3:22); it is our servant. It is not that, if death comes, all is over and lost, as we naturally think. The Lord would help us to look beyond death, and to know our place on the other side. He is disciplining us all for what is beyond death, for what is spiritual. When the Lord was here He did not alter conditions publicly, but His outlook was always towards what is spiritual and eternal. If our hearts are taken up with things here, and stop in this scene, we shall never understand His ways, for they have in

view what is beyond the power of death. We need to take hold of the thoughts and desires of God. He is displacing what is of nature, day by day, with what is spiritual. Our outlook is to be beyond this life; we are to be in sympathetic accord with the Lord, and spiritually formed for what is eternal. The Lord loves us too much to let us off in our circumstances at the expense of spiritual formation. If He had loved these sisters less, He might have come.

Paul begged the Lord to remove the thorn (2 Corinthians 12:7, 8), but the Lord loved him too much to remove it, and, in our little lives, the thing we want removed is the very thing to maintain us in spiritual formation and power. He does not willingly afflict, and will deal with the pressure in His own time, as He did at Bethany. All is weighed up in unerring care, and He only applies the exact amount of discipline that is needed for the work that is to be done. The little life is soon over and past, but in John 12 their outlook is adjusted. There is a life that death cannot touch, and that is what the Lord would have us all to experience -- to find our life in Him. Hence the discipline. His non-intervention is to weaken things here in view of spiritual wealth. If we knew more the value of the work of God, we should value discipline more. Love lies behind all His ways.

John 14 presents the other side; it is the love that comes to us, that loves to come near, providing such a privilege. This chapter is filled with the Lord's personal love. He is proposing to come now. The rapture is soon to take place, when the Lord will

descend from heaven with an assembling shout (1 Thessalonians 4:16), but now is the time for the secret coming to His own: "I am coming to you". It is very real, and is characteristic of the dispensation. His presence is to be known. So in chapter 20 He came and stood in the midst (verse 19) -- in the circle where He is treasured. You may think it very mystical, but it is very real, and, if we have not had the experience of it, we should look to the matter, so that, as gathered together, we have the conscious sense of His coming to us.

First of all there is His commandment; He does not come to a self-willed people. If in our lives we turn aside from what is due to Him, rejecting His authority, how can we provide an atmosphere where He is happy to come? If in the home or in the business I am doing that which is not righteous, if I am not subject to the Lord in every department of life, I shall forfeit the enjoyment of His presence. It is unspeakable joy to know His presence, but conditions must be right.

The Lord here speaks of the sending of the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, whose presence provides suitable furnishings for the Lord to come to. The Spirit abides with us for ever, and His presence is a great comfort as we think of servants of God being taken. So we are to keep the Lord's commandments and hold the ground for Him according to the Spirit of truth, not merely in the letter of the truth. We tend to sit down to a code of regulations, a system of laws -- do and do not. Regulation has its place, but is

never to be a substitute for a personal knowledge of Christ. If communion with Christ is to be known, our spirits must be right. The experience of His coming is at stake. He says, "I will not leave you orphans, I am coming to you". He comes to the orphans, those who feel His absence. Every true orphan is most diligent that there should be nothing to hinder His coming. It is known at the breaking of bread, a unique privilege. He does not desire to be kept away. If I have links with this present evil world and want them maintained, I forfeit the enjoyment of His presence. Let us seek a fresh touch of His power to cut the link off.

As we have this experience, another realm is opened up to us. "Ye see me", He says, the great Centre of that world. "Because I live, ye also shall live". There is another realm and another life, lived on account of Him. We are participating in His life, for He is our life. This all belongs to the Spirit's day. "In that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you". This is understood as the Lord comes in. We understand the place He has in the Father's presence, in the Father's love. By the Spirit we are to have the sense of what He is to the Father.

In John 20 the Lord showed to them His hands and His side (verse 20). Let us think of the service, the cost and the love. Every time we break bread we should have a fresh sense of this. He says, "… and I in you", involving the place that He has in our love. As He looks upon us He sees every bit of gold -- true

affection for Himself. Mary would set that forth in John 20 in the richness of her affection. Her love was the product of the work of God, though it needed adjustment. Then Jesus came and stood in the midst.

May the Lord help us to love Him better, so that, in His ways with us, our confidence is unwavering, and may our love be more devoted, so that we provide conditions to which He is glad to come, for His own glory and satisfaction!

Words of Grace and Comfort, Stroud, England, Volume 36 (1960), pages 178 - 184. 10 February 1956.

"AS HE WALKED"

F. S. Marsh

1 John 2:6

In view of the exhortation that "He that says he abides in him ought, even as he walked, himself also so to walk", it is both important, and encouraging, earnestly to consider the scriptures which describe the walk of our Lord Jesus, the Son of God.

What remarkable results were produced by such contemplation on that memorable day when John the Baptist and two of his disciples stood engaged with His holy footsteps. Deeply impressed with

and looking upon Jesus as He walked, John exclaimed "Behold the Lamb of God! And the two disciples heard him speaking, and followed Jesus" (John 1:36, 37). John was not preaching, nor expounding a doctrine; he was contemplating the

Person of the Lamb of God, but these five words with the understanding were so effective that the two who were with him were attracted to Jesus and were led by Him to where He dwelt, and abode with Him that day. Who shall describe the holy joy that filled their souls; eternity will not efface the impressions they received. This is His desire for us, too, that in His presence we may have our souls filled with appreciation of His Person so that we can sing:

'And we know that Thou wouldst have us
Ever dwell with Thee,
In that holy, heav'nly circle,
Home of liberty'. (Hymn 127)

What beauteous features were displayed by the Lord Jesus on the day of resurrection, as He walked with the two of His disciples who were returning to Emmaus (Luke 24). It was

that shone in every footstep which He took with them as they were returning to their home discouraged, almost to despair. It is said that "Jesus himself drawing nigh, went with them" (verse 15). He did not rebuke them harshly, nor command them to return to Jerusalem, but He made their hearts burn within them while He talked with them on the way and opened to them the Scriptures. He went just as far as was necessary to effect their recovery, and then He vanished out of their sight. He did not remain; for that would have encouraged them to stay away from the brethren in Jerusalem, but He allured them back to the company of those who loved Him.

What an example to us of the way of recovery! How effectual it was, for although Emmaus was about seven miles from Jerusalem, they returned to Jerusalem that night and were in time to be present when Jesus "himself stood in their midst" (John 20 36)! Thus the Great Physician pours in the healing balm, and recovers disheartened ones to Himself and to their brethren. We delight to sing:

'Lord, we love to trace Thy footprints
Here amidst the desert sand,
Ponder o'er Thy path of suff'ring --
Wondrous heart and healing hand' (Hymn 77)

It is somewhat remarkable that the Old Testament should furnish an instance of the walk of the Son of God, but it is expressed in the words of Nebuchadnezzar when he looked into the burning fiery furnace into which he had cast the three faithful Hebrew young men, and said, "Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of God" (Daniel 3:25). Instead of a fearful death, they were enjoying the company of one like the Son of God and proving

over all the efforts of the enemy to destroy them as he walked with them in their hour of trial.

Many of the Lord's followers are being tested today -- it maybe their colleagues despise them, and they are called to pass through the fire of hatred and persecution for Christ's sake. Let them be

encouraged! For there they will have His companionship in the trial. The only action of the fire regarding the Hebrew young men was, apparently, to consume their bonds, so that they might walk with Him in liberty. Often it has been proved that the fire of opposition and trial has served to liberate the spirit of the loyal follower of Jesus, and has given him the joy of walking in the midst of that fire in the company of Christ.

Another incident in which the Lord Jesus was seen walking is recorded in Matthew 14, and is full of instruction and encouragement. When in the fourth watch of the night, He went unto His disciples, walking on the sea, His first words to them were, "Take courage; it is I: be not afraid" (verse 27). Then when Peter, having come down out of the ship, walked on the water to go to Jesus, and beginning to sink, Jesus immediately stretched forth His hand and caught him. This incident is a beautiful assurance of

for those who are in the midst of the sea of life, tossed with waves, and the wind contrary. His consideration, sympathy, and support are all displayed, and as we look upon Him as He walked, we can rejoice that we have such a High Priest who is "able to save completely those who approach by him to God, always living to intercede for them" (Hebrews 7:25).

Yet another presentation of the Lord Jesus as He walked is given in Revelation 2:1, for, in the address to the angel of the assembly in Ephesus, He is seen as He who "walks in the midst of the seven

golden lamps".

Ephesus was a remarkable assembly in which there was much that He could commend, but His eyes, which were "as a flame of fire" (verse 18), saw in

that it had left its first love. That fervent, pre-eminent affection which had given Christ the first place in all things had waned, and He felt it.

It is well for us ever to remember that "all things are naked and laid bare to his eyes, with whom we have to do" (Hebrews 4:13), and to learn the value of His scrutiny, seeing that He says to several of the angels of assembly, "I know thy works" (Revelation 2:2, etc.). We may thus learn to judge that which He judges and to approve that which He approves, so that we may be well pleasing to Him in all things.

May we be encouraged to contemplate Him with increased affection, that we may learn to walk even as He walked!

Words of Truth, Volume 4, pages 119 - 123.

THE REMNANT

J. B. Stoney

1 Samuel 7; 2 Timothy 3; 2 Timothy 4:1 - 8

The first mark of an enlightened soul is that he sees how contrary to God are the things with which he is mixed up; and we may trace the same thing working in the church that is working in the world. The scoffer says, "Where is the promise of his coming?" (2 Peter 3:4). The professor says, "My lord delays to come" (Matthew 24:48).

The first action of light is that it makes manifest. It is a principle with God that He does not give truth to a person unless he seeks it: "he that seeks finds" (Matthew 7:8). People can be on the very same ground, and go on outwardly with saints, who are not there in faith; therefore, when a time of pressure comes, instead of helping, they are in the way; they contribute weakness, instead of help; they have no vital power. Lot was on the right ground but not in faith; he was entirely guided by his sense; and in the end he suffered from it; while Abraham had faith and got the blessing. There is a path: the Lord says, "I am the way" (John 14:6). A mariner [of the 19th century] could not do anything without the sun or the stars; he must know his bearings. In Timothy things had got very difficult, but Paul still says, "the Lord stood with me" (2 Timothy 4:17).

We find these two things in Scripture: that we get deliverance where we get comfort. These two go together: "He delivered me, because he delighted in me" (2 Samuel 22:20). Thus I overcome all my

enemies. I have not only the comfort of the Lord's presence, but He is at my right hand. Whenever you are fed you are guided; the manna and the cloud always go together. The Lord said to the disciples, "have ye anything to eat?" (John 21:5), that is, He challenges them. The soul that is not walking with the Lord is not receiving from Him. He delights to impart. The soul that is walking with Him is always in the sense of receiving from Him.

The church has fallen from its original position, but the testimony remains the same. A perfectly novel thing is introduced, unique and marvellously grand, exceeding anything seen or expected among men: Christ is in heaven but His body is on earth, and that body is the wonderful divine illustration of His beauty, now on earth, that He is not here. Our hearts weep over the ruin and disaster of the church of God; but are we going to hang down our hands? No. The epistle to Timothy was written to him when he was at Ephesus. What did the true ones of the Lord do when awakened to a sense of the declension and ruin? One thing always characterised the remnant: they never gave up the cardinal truth; and God grant that it may characterise us. Though reduced, it may be to one person, there is no surrender by the true remnant of the truth which is to characterise the period. The colours of the regiment are the last thing that are parted with. Never surrender them.

We read in Isaiah 6 of "a tenth" that was to be left, a remnant that was to be preserved: "as the terebinth and as the oak whose trunk remaineth after

the felling: the holy seed shall be the trunk thereof" (verse 13). There is nothing outward, nothing conspicuous; it is the outward thing which is the great trammel in the present day. What people want is usefulness, something to show, without devotedness. It is like the pharisaic element, which was a great trial to our blessed Lord when He was on earth.

The support of the remnant is, "I know thy works" (Revelation 2:2). It is substance, but no leaves. There is nothing conspicuous; no eye sees it, but the substance is there. The first time the Lord came into the temple, He was met by an old man and an old woman, Simeon and Anna (Luke 2); one a sample of energy, the other of condition; both of them cleaving to the things that belonged to God. She did not depart "from the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers" (verse 37). She set forth the condition of the remnant of that day; and it is very useful and interesting for us to see what her base was. It was clinging with pertinacity to the last remnant of what belonged to God on earth. Is that the thing which you desire should characterise you, clinging to what belongs to Christ on earth?

The last thing the Lord met with when He was leaving the temple was a poor widow, casting into the treasury her two mites, giving all her substance to what was dear to God on earth (Luke 21:1 - 4). That was real devotedness, for she gave her all. What is the good of anything if it does not produce effect? There is no value in intelligence if it does not produce action; what is of value is the orderly acts of

a vigorous constitution, not the convulsive efforts of an excited mind.

See what was the character of the remnant of that day! Are we going to surpass it? What is really our course of action? Christ's body is here maintained by the Holy Spirit sent down from heaven, but there is nothing to see. In 1 Timothy there was something to see. The church was to be seen then: "the pillar and base of the truth" (chapter 3: 15). Now there is nothing to point at. My father in Christ could not point me to the church; it is all in ruin. What is to be done? Am I going to give up the truth that Christ's body is here? In this state of things what can I do?

Now Samuel is in keeping with the present state of things. There I find opposition, confusion, and no power whatever; but there is the invisible power and dependence on that; there is dependence on God. Samuel brought in this. He was the last deliverer of the people. Between Joshua and Samuel there had been the judges. The people had got mixed up with their enemies and were in bondage to them, and God had come in with deliverers in the judges. These judges used means which were not at all creditable: the knife, the hammer, the ox-goad; every kind of expedient, instead of the simple ram's horn (Joshua 6), was used. Now a new order comes in with Samuel; he returns to the first order, he returns to trust in God. The invisible power of God marked the beginning of the period in Joshua's time, and Samuel returns to this invisible power; not through any human expedient, but through prayer and fasting.

The church is Christ's body on earth, sustained by an invisible power; for though the Lord is not here, the Holy Spirit is here. Therefore, amidst all the ruin, I return to the first thing, to simple dependence on Him; and, if it is real, I get the effect of it, I get a token from Him. The Holy Spirit is here to maintain Christ's body in everything according to the mind of Christ. In Ephesians 4, the first thing is, use "diligence to keep the unity of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace" (verse 3). If I fail in this, I fail in everything else. The Philistine in the land is what hinders the testimony now; people are baffled and overcome, although on the right ground: they are weakened there by the thing that hinders the testimony, ecclesiastical laxity. It is not immorality -- that would carry no weight -- but ecclesiastical laxity.

There is plenty of usefulness, but it has usurped the place of devotedness. Men can commend the former; but the heart of Christ values the latter above everything. I am not speaking against usefulness, but what is in vogue is more a convulsive activity which gains reputation among men than the real service which is the result of a vigorous constitution. People have so little really to do with God that they live on reputation; so much so that many would be found who would doubt their own conversion if you were to say to them, You are not converted! There is a Pharisaism in this day, which, while adhering to the service and usefulness which commends in the sight of men, disregards the weightier matters of

unworldliness and devotedness.

There have always been two companies on the same line; both of them are on the right ground, but one is on it in faith, the other only in sense. Thus was it with Abram and Lot. Both were in the land, on God's ground, but one was the man of faith, the other the man of sense. Thus too with Moses and Aaron. They were brothers, and had the same truth, and were together in the service of God; but when one, the man of faith, was up in the mount with God, the other, the man of sense, was making a molten calf. Thus was it again with the twelve spies; all of them went together to see the land, and all testify, to its goodness; but ten of them say that, though there never was a finer country, it is better not to touch it. Whatever comes in with determination to crush the true thing for Christ on earth, that is the Philistine. The great hindrance to the testimony in the present day is ecclesiastical laxity. It crops up everywhere; we are hindered and embarrassed by it.

We learn clearly in the word of God what we ought to do -- what is the counsel of God. The first thing, as we see in Samuel, is separation from false gods; but it is not all. One of the things we suffer from at the present moment is a belief that separation from systems is the testimony. It is the first step to it, but it is not everything; it is only a means to an end. The testimony is, that the blessed One has gone from the scene, and has left us here to maintain His interests on the earth. We are called, not only to separate from systems, but to introduce in marked

lines and colours the life and ways of that blessed One, rejected from this scene; we are called to the maintenance through the Holy Spirit of the beauty, ways and works of Christ here on earth, in spite of every adverse influence.

"The children of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtoreths", but they are not in the testimony yet. Then there is prayer and fasting. There is never real prayer without fasting; and by this I mean not fasting from food, but from your own will. That is a much greater thing than fasting from food. There are but few people who confess their will; many confess their faults, but few confess their will. I am not under God's hand until I confess my will; then instead of giving the flesh an opportunity to act, I refuse it.

We read of the ten virgins, that five went forth with oil in their lamps (Matthew 25:4). There was moral advance. God has called us out and given us light not merely for ourselves, but that we may hold the light for others. We should be found at the very front of God's people clearing the road. When we are in the testimony we are holding the ground by the power of God; we are met together in the Lord's name in dependence on the Holy Spirit.

The children of Israel say to Samuel, "Cease not to cry to Jehovah our God for us" (verse 8). They are not in the testimony yet; they were not holding the land by the power of God. Samuel then "took a sucking-lamb, and offered it as a whole burnt-offering to Jehovah". That was the sense of acceptance. If I am not in the sense of acceptance, I am

not without fear. They had first poured out water and fasted (verse 6). That was the line of separation; there was now no support from the flesh. The next thing is, I am accepted with God. Paul could never have stood his ground if he had not been in the sense of acceptance. He can say, "the Lord stood with me", the Lord delivered me. There is nothing more encouraging than this. The Lord says, "I have set before thee an opened door, which no one can shut" (Revelation 3:8). Samuel was as true to this invisible power in the day of ruin as Joshua was in the halcyon days.

We have to abide confidently in the fact that the Holy Spirit is here to maintain for Christ according to His mind; that He is here to bind together in the bond He Himself has made. The remnant reverts to the beginning, but what we have to do is simply to hold fast in the midst of the ruin in dependence on the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is here, and Christ's body is here. Are you true to Him outside everything here? Are you depending only on Him? Have you no ostensible means of any kind? What has brought us to the pass we are in, is looking for every kind of support from man. We are to be outside the human thing, we are to be cast on God; we are to be dependent on a power which is invisible to natural sense, but well known to faith. We are embarrassed by numbers who walk by sense, who are looking for something that commends itself to man's judgment, who are not counting on God. Samuel counted on God, and he set up a stone, an Ebenezer, an enduring

monument of His succour (verse 12).

In 2 Timothy we see the terrible character of the thing, and we see also how a person ought to act in such circumstances. In chapter 3, Paul sets forth his inward experience: his "conduct, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, endurance" (verse 10). Then his outward experience: "persecutions, sufferings", which came upon him. And then, for Timothy's perfection, he adds the Scriptures. He goes on in chapter 4, to say, "I testify before God, and Christ Jesus", at His appearing He will take into account the way you have been acting for Him during His absence ...

What characterises the Spirit and the bride is that they are ready for His coming; they say to Him, "Come" (Revelation 22:17). You cannot call Him to come with an honest heart if you are not right with Him. If you are embarrassed or hindered, if the dust of the wilderness is on you, rub it off; prepare for His coming. We ask Him to come back to a world that rejected Him, but we ask Him to come back to hearts ready to receive Him. It is not that two or three say, Come, but let all say, Come; and then let him that is athirst, he who is not really delivered, not really happy, let him come. We ask the Lord to come, and now we turn round and ask you to come; and to the utmost bounds of the earth, Whosoever will, let him come.

A wonderful path is before us. The Lord grant we may be faithful to Him in it, for His name's sake.

Ministry by J. B. Stoney, Volume 4, pages 295 - 302.

THE LOST HOPE

C. A. Coates

The promise of John 14:3 is on the eve of being fulfilled; the threefold summons of 1 Thessalonians 4:16 will soon be heard; the wise and foolish virgins of Matthew 25 are about to be eternally separated: in short, the Lord Jesus Christ is coming again.

That promise, first falling from His own lips in John 14, formed the substance of a special revelation given to Paul (1 Thessalonians 4:15), and was thrice repeat-ed in the last message which a glorified Christ sent down to His waiting Bride (Revelation 22:7, 12, 20).

The Lord did not intend these words to be an empty sound, devoid of meaning, power, or effect upon the hearts of His loved ones; they were uttered to kindle there a responsive flame of joyous expectation. And this was the effect upon the hearts of the early believers. The Lord's return was to them a BLESSED HOPE. It was no visionary prospect, but a reality which commanded their affections and could be seen expressed in their everyday lives. They waited "for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 1:7); they waited for God's "Son from the heavens" (1 Thessalonians 1:10); they "went forth to meet the bridegroom" (Matthew 25:1).

It was this that made them practically a heavenly people. Links with earth were broken; connections with the world were severed. Earth's wealth and splendour, its gilded attractions, all its bewitching sorceries, have lost their charm and power over a man who knows the Lord Jesus Christ as his

Saviour, and who is continually expecting that Saviour's voice to translate him in a moment to endless glory. He is so dazzled by the bright visions which pass before 'faith's transpiercing eye', that this world's glory seems dull and dim. So the early Christians were a separate and an unworldly people. Their hearts had been touched by a Saviour's love; they knew that His precious blood had washed away all their sins, and their souls were fired by the expectation of seeing His face and being with Him and like Him for ever.

The language of their hearts was --

'O worldly pomp and glory, br>Your charms are spread in vain!
I've heard a sweeter story,
I've found a truer gain.
Where Christ a place prepareth,
There is my loved abode;
There shall I gaze on Jesus:
There shall I dwell with God'. (Hymn 71)

Their heavenly mindedness drew down upon them the scorn, contempt, and violence of men. By their separation from the world they testified against it that its deeds were evil, and the world hated, despised, and rejected them, thus affording them the high honour of fellowship with their adorable Master. They could afford to "have patience" knowing that His coming drew nigh (James 5:7, 8), when His own approving smile would more than compensate for all the contradiction of sinners they had to

endure. Ah! the Lord's coming was not to them a doctrine, or a theory, but a HOPE of strengthening, sanctifying, transforming power.

Satan sought by every means to quench their testimony. The fiery sword of persecution was unsheathed against them with relentless severity; until Satan found that the blood of the martyrs was the seed of the church, and, as the Egyptians found with the Israelites, "the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and spread" (Exodus 1:12). So, when violence failed, the world tried corruption, and began to seduce the church by offering her the very things which Jesus had refused -- the world and its glory.

Would the church have them? Would she accept flattery and aggrandisement, at the hands of the world, those very hands which were stained with the blood of her rejected and murdered Lord? Alas! she forsook her first love. She laid aside the gory crown of martyrdom and assumed the glittering tiara of earthly grandeur and supremacy. As the world crept in, the hope of the Lord's return died out. That hope which had burnt with such a vehement and ardent flame gradually grew dim. The heart ceased to long for Him; the eye ceased to watch for Him. Solemn words, "Now the bridegroom tarrying, they all grew heavy and slept" (Matthew 25:5). A worldly church could not cherish the prospect of the Lord's return. At the same time the glorious truths of eternal redemption, the present forgiveness and justification of all believers and their possession of eternal life in

the knowledge of the true God and Jesus Christ, His sent One, were obscured, perverted, or denied; so that all certainty and assurance was taken even from those who were really the children of God; and the thought of the Lord's coming became a terror for the conscience rather than a delight for the heart.

The Lord's coming was referred to the end of the world, and invested with ideas of terror and judgment, which plainly proves that the church had sunk down to the level of the world. The world's guilty conscience can only predict a day of certain judgment if Jesus comes again. But believers know, or ought to know, that there is no judgment for them (John 5:24); Jesus has borne their sins at His first coming, and has whispered the wonderful love-secret into their ears that He is coming again to receive them unto Himself, that where He is there they may be also. He is coming for us not as a Judge, but as a Bridegroom -- coming that He may have us where every affection of His blessed heart can flow out unhinderedly upon us. How strangely sad that such a hope should have been lost! Yet so it was for more than fifteen hundred years.

Theologians wrote of the Lord's coming, it is true; but how did they write? They wrote of His appearing as the Judge of quick and dead (2 Timothy 4:1); of His solemn session on the Great White Throne (Revelation 20:11); of His dividing the sheep from the goats (Matthew 25:31 - 34); and they spoke of that day as being the time when we should know whether we were saved or not; for they had not the present

knowledge of forgiveness or salvation which God gives in His word to all believers (see John 5:24; Acts 13:38, 39; Colossians 1:12 - 14).

Jesus will appear as the Judge and every eye shall see Him; but this is not the character of His coming for believers. Before He comes as the Judge to the world, He will come as the Bridegroom to call away His saints. Hence we find that when He appears publicly in glory and power, His saints appear with Him (Colossians 3:4; Jude 14; Revelation 19:8 - 14). His coming as the Bridegroom is the Hope of the church, and this was lost sight of when the church became worldly in the time of Constantine (A.D. 313); and all through the dark ages of papal supremacy, and even in the brighter days of the Reformation (early 16th century), it was never recovered, and might truly be called THE LOST HOPE.

A little over a century ago (early 19th century), God was pleased to restore many precious truths from the obscurity into which they had been driven. Amongst others, the full present knowledge and enjoyment of the forgiveness of sins, and the possession of eternal life, were seen to be the portion of every believer on the Lord Jesus Christ. The perfection of the atoning work of the Son of God in clearing all believers from all their sins was apprehended more fully than before. The fact that believers are seen of God as dead and risen with Christ, and now by the Holy Spirit have power to reckon themselves dead indeed unto sin, was discovered to be the secret of liberty, and of a holy life. It was also seen that

believers are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and thus united to Christ in glory as the members of His body; then shone forth again that blessed Star of hope which had been hidden so long by clouds of worldliness and unbelief. THE LOST HOPE began to burn again in a few loyal and devoted hearts. The midnight cry began to ring out, "Behold, the bridegroom; go forth to meet him" (Matthew 25:6).

It was at once felt that conformity to the world's fashions, customs, and conversation was inconsistent with THE HOPE; in fact, as it was cherished it exerted its purifying effects (1 John 3:3) upon the hearts and lives of those who had it, and they were marked by separation from the world, by simplicity in life, and by godliness in conversation. Their watchword seemed to be, "let us watch and be sober" (1 Thessalonians 5:6). They were a holy, happy, heavenly people.

Years passed on. From those in whose hearts the cry first sounded, it went forth to a sleeping church. What numbers of slumbering ones were aroused by that cry! What a trimming of lamps, what a girding of loins, ensued! Thousands will have cause to bless God throughout eternity that it reached their ears. Professors who had but an empty lamp, were led to obtain a supply of the precious oil of which they were destitute; doubting believers to rest in the finished work of Christ, and to rejoice in a known and accomplished salvation; and many dear saints of God saw new glories in Christ as the Head of His body, the Church. God was preparing the way for the return of His Son.

Yes, a hundred years and more are passed, and that "blessed hope" remains unfulfilled. The Lord is still seated on His Father's throne, and His people await the moment of His rising and descent into the air. Precious and true as ever is His closing word, "Yea, I come quickly", and He looks for the fitting response, "Amen; come Lord Jesus" (Revelation 22:20).

Can it be untimely or inappropriate to ask, Is this the present attitude of His bride? Alas! even yet many saints are actually ignorant of the fact that "the coming of the Lord is drawn nigh" (James 5:8); while the scoffer asks boldly, "Where is the promise of his coming?" (2 Peter 3:4). On the other hand, multitudes in Christendom have heard that Jesus is coming, and have been convinced from Scripture of the truth of the doctrine. Some have heard that midnight cry, and it has had the effect of causing them to go forth "to meet him" (Matthew 25:6); hence, for more than a century small companies of believers have gathered to His name, to remember Him who was once offered to bear their sins, and who will appear the second time, apart from the question of sin, to effect the salvation of the body; to these latter a few words are now addressed.

Are you, beloved, WAITING AND WATCHING? Is such the character which is expressed by your lives? Very loath should we be to give up the doctrine of the Lord's coming, but do we know the reality of it as a HOPE? Let the truth be faced and owned. Do our words, our ways, our surroundings bear testimony to our profession that we have "turned to God from

idols to serve a living and true God; and to await his Son from the heavens" (1 Thessalonians 1:9, 10)? Does He who reads our hearts and discerns our secret thoughts know that we dearly cherish this precious truth, possess in power this blessed HOPE, and day by day eagerly await its fulfilment? Must we not confess that in many cases where the truth of the Lord's coming is held, it fails to detach the heart from the world, to separate it from earthly things, and connect it with brighter things above? Surely in such cases, though the truth is held, THE HOPE IS LOST.

For aught we know, the Lord may come today. If so, in what state will He find us? With what are our hearts taken up, and on what subjects are our tongues moving? The Lord Himself? His unchanging love? His speedy return? The Lord grant that we may be in a state --

'Like that which was found in Thy people of old,
Who tasted Thy love, and whose hearts were on fire,
While waiting, in patience, Thy face to behold' (Hymn 194)

And what was the spiritual state of that 'people of old' -- the Simeons and Annas of that day? The Spirit of God tells us (Luke 2) that Simeon was "just and pious" (verse 25), and Anna was serving God "with fastings and prayers night and day" (verse 37), speaking "of him to all those who waited for redemption in Jerusalem" (verse 38); men and women in the power and current of the Holy Spirit.

Oh! saints of God, what course can we adopt

other than to bow low before Him, and own that we have lost the reality and freshness of "that blessed hope"; that we have allowed the things of earth to enter our hearts, and frustrate its separating power; meanwhile praying that in His great mercy He will revive again in our hearts, and restore in sanctifying power to our souls, this most precious HOPE? Nor let us forget that cheering word, "Blessed are those bondmen whom the lord on coming shall find watching; verily I say unto you, that he will gird himself and make them recline at table, and coming up will serve them" (Luke 12:37).

Oh! beloved saints, let us awake to the fact that He is just about to return; let us re-trim our lamps, if need be, again and again; let us "be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18), that we may possess, enjoy, and exhibit the effects of this HOPE in living power; meanwhile seeking, in the power of the same Spirit, to "occupy" (Luke 19:13, AV) till He come.

Ministry by C. A. Coates, Volume 15 (The Believer Established), pages 95 - 100.

SPIRITUAL AND HEAVENLY THINGS

A. J. Gardiner

1 Corinthians 15:45 - 49; Exodus 17; Numbers 27:15 - 19

Then the children of Israel came to a seventh day, a sabbath, and that is what results as we appropriate the manna, we come to rest in our souls. It produces sabbath conditions. "Come to me, all ye who labour and are burdened, and I will give you rest"

(Matthew 11:28). And then the Lord shows us the way in which we get it; He says, "Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest to your souls". He says, as it were, You must come the right way; take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me. It was after feeding upon the manna for six days that they arrived at a seventh day, a sabbath of rest.

I have said all that in order to show what Christ can be to us in the wilderness; but when we come to Exodus 17, it is not a question there of Christ so much, but of the Spirit. It is a wonderful thing that two Persons of the Godhead should come in, prepared to serve every one of us individually. I do not know whether you have ever thought about it, but the Son and the Spirit are both prepared to serve you and me in the practical everyday exercises of the wilderness path. It shows what God is like; how low He can come in condescending grace; indeed, in the sixth, seventh and eighth chapters of Romans we find that God and Christ and the Holy Spirit are all engaged in the deliverance of the believer. In chapter 6 we have the thought of being "alive to God in Christ Jesus" (verse 11); in chapter 7 we are "to be to another" (verse 4); and in chapter 8 we have the service of the Holy Spirit throughout.

Now in the seventeenth chapter of Exodus we have the question of thirst again. There was no water and the people murmured. Water evidently alludes to the idea of refreshment and satisfaction, and we might as well face it, that God does not intend that

we should find satisfaction save in the Holy Spirit. If we ignore this, we shall only be heaping up to our souls years of sorrow. We read that "the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God" (1 Corinthians 2:10). There is no limit to His activities and what He can do for us, and God intends that we should early understand that all the refreshment and satisfaction we need are to be found in the Spirit.

So Moses cried to Jehovah, and Jehovah told him to go on before the people and take with him the elders of Israel and his rod, and Jehovah says, "I will stand before thee there upon the rock on Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink" (verse 6). Think of that, the rock being smitten! Typically, it is Jehovah Himself being smitten in the Person of Jesus. It is as though God would say, so urgent is it that these people should receive the Spirit, that they should have all the joy and satisfaction that are to be found in the Spirit, that I Myself in the Person of Jesus am prepared to bear the smiting in order that the Spirit may become available to them.

Think of the love that has entered into this matter! Are we going to despise the Spirit in the face of this, when it means that the Lord has been prepared to go this way and bear the judgment? God has removed every obstacle that would hinder us from receiving the Holy Spirit. We are not told that the people drank of the water when it came, but we are told of the wonderful provision for them. We do not want to do despite to the Spirit of grace and not avail

ourselves of this wonderful gift that God has given.

Well, the next thing we find is that the position is challenged. Amalek comes up against them and Moses at once calls upon Joshua. Joshua was only a young man. I do hope that the younger brothers and sisters will not think that these things are relegated to the older ones. I read this passage because Joshua particularly represents one who is in the gain of the Spirit. In certain positions he is typical of Christ Himself, but in the main he is rather representative of one who is in the gain of the Holy Spirit. Here, he is intended to be representative of us all.

Now Amalek represents the power of Satan working through the flesh, and I am sure you will have noticed that Amalek is most inveterate. His hand is "on the throne of Jah". He is deliberately opposed to the rights of God, and God will have war with him from generation to generation. The flesh is incurable. It says that they who "are in flesh cannot please God" (Romans 8:8), and that "the mind of the flesh is enmity against God" (verse 7). We are to understand what flesh is, the awfulness of it, and that there is no escape from it save as we walk in the Spirit. The point is, on whose side are we going to be? Are we to be like Joshua, who chose men and fought against Amalek? We read that "Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. And it came to pass when Moses raised his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed" (Exodus 17:10, 11).

You may say, Is there any weakness with the

Lord? For Moses with the rod in his hand on the top of the hill is a type of Christ. What does it mean? There is certainly no weakness with the Lord, but I believe that Moses with his rod represents the authority of the Lord over our souls, which sometimes becomes weakened. Satan is aiming at that, to weaken the Lord's authority over us.

Now when Moses' hands were heavy, Aaron and Hur supported them. Aaron represents the sympathetic support of Christ. The Lord understands all about our exercises and is prepared to support us in them. If our exercises are in singleness of heart, which Hur perhaps represents, his name meaning purity, and we are set to go in for the best, although we have to feel what flesh is, how opposed it is to the things of God, yet if we will allow the Lord's authority over us, we shall be given the victory. Aaron and Hur stayed up Moses' hand, "one on this side, and one on that side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun" (verse 12).

The next verse says that "Joshua broke the power of Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword". Joshua in that way started on this journey of becoming spiritual, and he started by accepting the conflict that flesh will always bring in; but he proved the support of Jehovah. This is very important, beloved brethren, though elementary. "Write this for a memorial in the book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua".

How the Lord had His eye on Joshua, and He has His eye on every one here, because of what we are

destined for, such great things. He would have these things rehearsed in the ears of every one, "I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under the heavens". The Lord does not intend to give any quarter to the flesh. He wants us to come into line with Him and make no provision for the flesh. And so it says that Moses built an altar and called the name of it Jehovah-nissi -- 'Jehovah my banner' (footnote h). It may refer perhaps to the verse in Romans 13:14, "put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not take forethought for the flesh, to fulfil its lusts". You have an understanding between yourself and the Lord, that if God is making war with Amalek from generation to generation, you intend to make no provision for the flesh.

Until the Lord comes for us, we shall have the flesh in us, but if we will take sides with God against it, we shall prove the superiority of the Holy Spirit, so that we are not hindered by the flesh. We learn to value and lay ourselves out for the Spirit of God. We are to make no provision for the flesh to fulfil the lusts thereof; that is the first great lesson in regard of what is spiritual, and it has in mind that we are to find power to enter into the deep things of God, the things "which God has prepared for them that love Him" (1 Corinthians 2:9).

In closing, I would refer briefly to Numbers 27, where we read that God had told Moses that he was not to go into the land. He had failed in the test, to sanctify God. It says in Psalm 106 that the people provoked Moses in his spirit "so that he spoke

unadvisedly with his lips" (verse 33). They provoked his spirit. God is concerned with our spirits, rather than with our bodies. He gives us our bodies as vessels in which to serve Him, and to some He may preserve health and strength for a little while; with others He may allow poor health and suffering, but the great thing is our spirits. Hebrews calls Him "the Father of spirits" (chapter 12: 9). This scripture calls Him "the God of the spirits of all flesh". Proverbs tells us that one who rules his spirit is better than one who takes a city (Proverbs 16:32). The only power for ruling our spirits is the Spirit of God.

And so Moses, about to be superseded, shines in moral dignity. He says, "Let Jehovah, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the assembly, who may go out before them, and who may come in before them, and who may lead them out, and who may bring them in, that the assembly of Jehovah be not as sheep that have no shepherd". How beautifully Moses was considering for God's people! This is a word I believe, for leaders … Leaders must be men. The word is, "set a man over the assembly, who may go out before them, and who may come in before them", that is, all his movements must be transparent and in the light. It says that "all Israel and Judah loved David, for he went out and came in before them" (1 Samuel 18:16), showing how any one who moves in singleness of heart gains the respect and affections of the saints. "Let Jehovah … set a man over the assembly … who may lead them out, and who may bring them in". I think it is a military

allusion. When the conflict is over, the man will bring them in again. We do not want to be always engaged with conflict. When there is a need for conflict, be in it, but when the conflict is over, go in for the positive things of the Spirit.

Moses leaves it to the Lord to name the leader, and Jehovah immediately says, "Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit". Joshua was now considerably older than he was in Exodus 17. This is the kind of person we need to lead us into heavenly things. Joshua was pre-eminently the leader for the land, while Moses was the great leader for the wilderness, because he was faithful in all God's house. But a leader for the land must be one who is characterised by affording liberty to the Spirit of God so that the divine scope can be opened up before the saints.

If we commence as Joshua commenced, we may become those in whom characteristically the Spirit is. We shall have power to enter into spiritual and heavenly things. Joshua was still to be marked by dependence even though he was one who gave place to the Spirit. In verse 21 Eleazar was to inquire for Joshua at the mouth of Jehovah, showing that even though we become spiritual, we are not to become independent. One feature of a spiritual man is that he is essentially and characteristically dependent.

Thus we may understand that God uses the exercises of the wilderness to help us to get the gain of the Spirit, with a view to our entering into the things which His love has prepared for us.

Piety and Other Addresses, Auckland, N.Z., pages 17 - 23. [2 of 2] 7 December 1946.

GLORY IN THE ASSEMBLY

J. Taylor

2 Corinthians 8:23; Ephesians 3:21; Judges 1:12 - 15

I want to say a word about glory. Glory is a very great and blessed subject, so great indeed that one could not undertake to deal with it in an address in any comprehensive way. I only wish to touch on it as seen in the assembly; that is, as it is seen in ourselves. It is always well, in speaking of the assembly, not to be too abstract. In some connections we have to be abstract, but we should also have the concrete thought of the assembly ever in view; especially when in some sense it is available in that way. So that, in speaking of glory as connected with the assembly, I speak of it as connected with ourselves. Indeed, in the passage in 2 Corinthians, the glory of Christ is connected with two or three brothers who were engaged in carrying the bounty of the assemblies to meet need where it existed amongst God's people. We can, therefore, readily connect the thought with the saints.

Now one desires for a moment to refer to glory according to its source. God is said to be the God of it, the God of glory. "The God of glory" (Acts 7:2), we are told, appeared unto Abraham; and in Isaiah 51:2 we read that God said, "I called him when he was alone, and blessed him", showing how God can take up one as a vessel of glory, but He had much

more than that one in His mind. I like to think of God saying to Abraham, Now look at the stars, can you number them? Your seed shall be like the stars for multitude (Genesis 15:5). For "star", Paul says, "differs from star in glory" (1 Corinthians 15:41). Think of the variety in that respect! We read of astronomers finding the stars, this one and that one, and giving them names, but God knows all the stars by name; He knows them all; so that one is led to contemplate a vast variety of glories as one thinks of them. He that turns many to righteousness has such a glory as is seen in the stars. "And they that are wise shall shine as the brightness of the expanse; and they that turn the many to righteousness as the stars, for ever and ever" (Daniel 12:3). The stars have their varied glories, one star differing from another star in glory; and the aggregate is seen by David in connection with the whole firmament. "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth the work of his hands" (Psalm 19:1). You can see, therefore, what a subject the glory of God is, how diversified, and yet how it is seen, as one might say, relatively in one star.

The God of glory appeared to Abraham; He called him alone and blessed him. God can connect His glory with one or with myriads, and hence with the assembly, with which God specially connects His glory. In saying that, I am not overlooking that it had a peculiar place in connection with His earthly people. The apostle Paul, in speaking of his love for Israel, says, "who are Israelites; whose is the

adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the law-giving, and the service, and the promises" (Romans 9 4). These things were not partially connected with Israel; they were connected with Israel in completeness, for the article precedes each of them. But although the glory pertained to Israel, alas! Israel was not a vessel suited to it.

The book of Ezekiel becomes a very instructive study for the believer in this respect. It is the book of the son of man, and he has visions of God, and these visions are mainly connected with the glory. He sees the glory, but he sees it ascending from the city, lingering over it before it left, and we have pictured to us the image of jealousy. The city had become idolatrous. The glory had been there, it had come in as in the tabernacle, it had come into Solomon's temple and filled it; but now the hearts of the people were turned away from Jehovah, and the prophet is taken in the visions of God to Jerusalem, there he sees all this dreadful wickedness. And though the glory lingered over the city, it had to leave it.

But the glory pertained to Israel, and Ezekiel pursues the subject until he sees it returning from the way of the east, and entering again into the city and into the house in Jerusalem. God has not given up His thoughts in regard of His earthly people, for the glory pertains to them and on the ground of redemption, will yet return to them. But Ezekiel has to see it ascending from the city. The prophet John sees it coming down not to a city but in one; indeed, the city as it descends is said to have it; a very beautiful

reference to the abidingness of the glory, to the permanency and fixedness of it in the assembly.

Well now, having said so much as to its relation with Israel, I want to show how it is connected with the assembly which is the glory of Christ, and in speaking of the assembly, as I said at the beginning, we are speaking of ourselves. Now glory is first of all a question of subjection to Christ. The woman is said to be the glory of the man (1 Corinthians 11:7), and on that account she is to have a mark of subjection (verse 10).

Dear brethren, may I ask where we are in regard of subjection to Christ? The assembly is subjected to Christ; God has placed her in that position. The man was not "created for the sake of the woman, but the woman for the sake of the man" (verse 9). The assembly was made for Christ. Do I know that in my soul; that I am set here in subjection to Christ in relation to all the saints? The assembly is subjected to Christ; that is her place, and to move away from that place is to be lawless, for that is the place in which God has set her. That is the first principle of the assembly's position. How is she to be held there? The Lord nourishes and cherishes her; that is His side (Ephesians 5:29), for she is to be held there through her affections. Hence, the Lord's supper is the full expression of the love of Christ for the assembly: "This is my body, which is given for you" (Luke 22:19); it is His devoted love for the assembly. He has given Himself for her, and in the Supper He sets before us in a continuous way a testimony to that unchanging

love. It is what He is to her. He would hold her in the relation in which God has set her, for God gave her to Him. God has given us to Christ.

The first great type of the assembly is very wonderful. God Himself discerned the necessity for Eve; Adam did not ask for her. God said, "It is not good that Man should be alone; I will make him a helpmate, his like" (Genesis 2:18). Then He brought her to the man and Adam named her. God set her in relation to Adam, but how could Adam hold her in that relation?

The next chapter only too sorrowfully details how she lent her ear to the tempter; exactly what the apostle feared in regard of the Corinthians, in regard of the whole assembly. He says, "But I fear lest by any means, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craft, so your thoughts should be corrupted from simplicity as to the Christ" (2 Corinthians 11:3). Eve lent her ear to the tempter, and left her place. As in her place she was Adam's glory, but she left it, and the result was that Adam's glory was gone.

What a dreadful result, dear brethren, especially as it applies to the assembly! The assembly moving away from the place given her by God in relation to Christ has resulted in the Lord for the moment losing His glory in her. Christendom presents a terrible picture; we do well to ponder it; that which had been set in relation to Christ, subject to Him, has moved away. Is it because there is anything wanting in the Lord? Ah! He remains, as the word says, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and to the

ages to come" (Hebrews 13:8). The Lord's supper remains as that which witnesses to His unchanging love. Now, dear brethren, are we subject to Christ? It is in subjection to Christ that His glory shines in us; for in subjection to Christ we come into all the benefits of His ministry, the service of His love, so that we are nourished and cherished.

The assemblies of which the apostle speaks, in this second letter to the Corinthians, were in accord with Christ; that is why I read the passage. Certain needs existed elsewhere, and the saints were moved by the love of Christ to render help. They sent money by the hands of certain brothers, and the apostle said, If any inquire about these brothers they are "messengers of assemblies, Christ's glory"; that shows that the principle of giving, which is the outcome of love, can be taken account of as the glory of Christ. The assembly, as set here in His absence, was intended to reflect what He was; and so the apostle said to the Ephesian elders, "remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that he himself said, It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35). Giving is the reflection of Christ; that is to say, the exercise of love towards one another is the reflection and the glory of Christ.

Now, I want to show at this point how, that in the picture we have in Othniel and Achsah, the intelligence of the assembly at the beginning is foreshadowed. I apprehend that Achsah is a type of the assembly in her Ephesian aspect. She comes in in the body of the book of Joshua, as many of you will

remember, and the book of Joshua corresponds with the epistle to the Ephesians. It is the book which describes the people entering into and taking possession of their inheritance; and in no case is the interest greater than when Caleb takes possession of his allotment. The history of Caleb is intensely interesting as representing the intelligent faith that marked the assembly at the beginning. So he takes Hebron, dislodging the giants, and then he says, "He that smites Kirjath-sepher, and takes it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter as wife"; and Othniel, his nephew, undertakes to take the city, and he succeeds.

Ministry by J. Taylor, Newton Abbot, Devon, Eng. Volume 11, pages 240 - 245. [1 of 2] 24 May 1920.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF RIGHT INWARD FEELINGS

J. Mason

Philippians 1:8; Philemon 4 - 7, 10 - 13, 19 - 20; 2 Corinthians 6:11 - 13

We have been speaking of Paul and his ministry. What Paul was personally is a very interesting and instructive matter to look into. There is no doubt that the Spirit of God, in leaving so much on record as to what Paul was personally, has in mind that the spiritual features seen in him should be reproduced in the saints.

We might follow up many features that are spoken of, but I want to speak now of one feature which comes out in Paul, which comes out in the saints, too, and that is the feature that is covered by the word "bowels". This word is to convey something to us. We understand it as an organic thought in connection with our bodies. The Scriptures use it in a general way in connection with the lower organs, and therefore it refers to the inwards. There are what are called the automatic organs in the body, and I think these are what are referred to here, but these organs are affected by certain things, by certain influences, and are quite sensitive. Feelings mark them, and reaction to certain things that are presented to us.

If you look up in the Scriptures the way that this idea is presented you will find that God Himself speaks of His bowels; He is conveying to us the thought of His yearnings, His longings. We have a

very interesting reference in Jeremiah, where God in speaking about Ephraim says, "Is Ephraim a dear son unto me?" and He says, "whilst I have been speaking against him, I do constantly remember him still. Therefore my bowels are troubled for him: I will certainly have mercy upon him" (chapter 31: 20).

Jeremiah 31 is the chapter that brings in the new covenant. God is speaking about His wayward son. Are you a wayward son? Many of us know what it is to be a wayward son. You young people, how are you getting on? What has God to say about you? It is a solemn thing, of course, when our pathway becomes such that God has to speak against us. He had to speak against Ephraim, but He says, "I do constantly remember him still". What a God we have to do with! There are fathers amongst us who have had to deal with their sons similarly, because of their intransigence, their self-will, yet there are divine feelings reflected in them. "I do constantly remember him still".

Let us not forget our wayward sons, dear brethren. The new covenant is to help us, to soften us; the Supper brings it before us every Lord's day. What God has done from His own side to bring His people back! He will bring Israel back to Himself, and He has brought us back, and so we are reminded of what God is, and how He is acting in this dispensation to restore persons. Many who once walked with us are no longer available to us, yet the Lord does not forget His people. "The Lord knows those that are his" (2 Timothy 2:19), and then, of course, "Let every one

who names the name of the Lord withdraw from iniquity". If you follow that line of withdrawing from iniquity, God will lead you in the path of His will and bring you to the enjoyment of His greatest things "with those that call upon the Lord out of a pure heart" (verse 22).

We are to be touched and affected, dear brethren, by what God is Himself. Jeremiah was too; he speaks of his bowels as he addresses them, prophet as he was to that wayward people, the weeping prophet. How he felt for them! He went through with God the sorrows of the nation that he had to condemn in his ministry. The spirit of Christ was in him, and we are to be like that. We are to be formed in inward feelings that are suitable to God, especially in relation to one another. Joseph too, when Benjamin appeared before him at that time when he was working for the recovery of his brethren, "made haste, for his bowels burned for his brother" (Genesis 43:30).

We can think of Christ in that way, and what was in Him, and what is in Him now, too. We come to that in Philippians, where Paul speaks of "the bowels of Christ Jesus", the heavenly Man. The Lord is not in heaven merely in official glory; He is there as One who is yearning after His people. What would Christ Jesus be yearning about? Paul says to the Philippians that God is his witness "how I long after you all in the bowels of Christ Jesus". The reflection of Christ's longings was seen in Paul, and the reflection of Christ's longings is to come out in ourselves,

especially in those who serve the saints. What is Christ longing for in the saints? You would have to think about that. If you read this epistle you will get some inkling of it. This is a heavenly company. The assembly is heavenly, and all the local assemblies of the saints are to show that. We need to live up to what we are, dear brethren, and I think the yearnings, the bowels of Christ Jesus, stand related to that. The Lord longs for us, that we may enter fully into our heavenly portion. "Our commonwealth has its existence in the heavens" (Philippians 3:20), and so the Lord would have the saints in the gain of their heavenly relations, and, as down here in the testimonial sphere, to be marked by intense love for one another, and a unity, a oneness amongst us, that would stand the strains and tests that confront us from time to time.

I think you would see from Philippians that the yearning which marked Paul in relation to them was that they should be in the full gain of heavenly thoughts, that they should "approve the things that are more excellent" (chapter 1: 10), and then that the mind which was in Christ Jesus might be in them (chapter 2: 5). All that was in his heart for them, that they would fulfil his joy as marked by one mind, "joined in soul" (chapter 2: 2), he says. It is the inward side of things, and if we are like that we will stand strain and suffering, and who knows what may come upon us in the public side yet? The thought for the moment is that we should be building inwardly; that is the purpose of the word tonight, that we might be

strengthened inwardly, that there might be developed in us affections which are proper to saints of God, those who are of the assembly, and that there might be the reproduction of Christ in the saints in these holy affections that bind us together in bonds that will never break.

Paul speaks of his longings, and he says, "God is my witness". Do you know God as your witness to your inward longings? We have something similar in Corinthians, where Paul says, "I call God to witness upon my soul" (2 Corinthians 1:23). I cannot see your soul; God can. We do not know what may be motivating one another inwardly, but God knows. Therefore we are to live before God. "God is my witness" -- what a person Paul was! We spoke of him this afternoon in his relations with Christ as a steward, and he says, "he that examines me is the Lord" (1 Corinthians 4:4). He submitted himself constantly, no doubt, for examination, a very safe and wise thing to do. The Lord will keep us, dear brethren; the Lord loves us. How He yearns for us! Think of "the bowels of Christ Jesus"!

One would long to be formed so that there might be something of the feelings and thoughts of Christ marking one in serving the brethren in some little measure. What is service to the Lord otherwise? What is a servant if he is not bringing something of the thoughts of Christ to the saints, and if there is not something in his heart of the longings of Christ for the saints? Paul had it in such bountiful measure -- "I long after you all in the bowels of Christ Jesus". What a pattern he is! What he was saying was not as

merely claiming something for himself; "God is my witness", he says. And so it is, for God knows all about us; He knows the inward side, He knows whether there are feelings, whether there are yearnings after His people; whether in our localities these things are present.

He speaks to the Philippians later as to their own bowels when he says, "if any bowels and compassions, fulfil my joy, that ye may think the same thing, having the same love, joined in soul, thinking one thing; let nothing be in the spirit of strife or vain glory, but, in lowliness of mind, each esteeming the other as more excellent than themselves" (chapter 2: 1 - 3). How beautiful that is! These are the yearnings of the apostle for the Philippians, that as a local company they might exemplify the sweetness of the divine love and grace that had reached them.

This assembly is where Paul first set foot in Europe, bringing the testimony of God there. You have in Philippi a company that was Paul's own joy. It is a good thing if there is something in our local companies that is giving joy to Christ, and causing joy to one another as well. We should see that these things are developing with us, that we are formed in the sympathies and affections of Christ towards the saints, as Paul would be, longing "after you all in the bowels of Christ Jesus". We should notice that "all" -- the whole company. All the brethren are to be brought to the full enjoyment of the heavenly thought for them, and then to stand and participate in the testimony here in the fullest possible way. The

Philippians were like that; they were shining as lights in the world, heavenly luminaries here.

You can understand the way the Lord's affections and feelings would have gone out to a company like that, and so it is to be with us, dear brethren; there is to be that in us which is attractive to Christ. The yearnings of His heart are towards us. He will have the assembly fully for Himself and with Himself soon; He longs for that, too. But we may be for Christ now in the testimony, and for Him, too, in affection. There would be an answer in that way to His affection.

I think there was something of that developed with the Philippians, as Paul brings the impress of his own service and personality upon them. He says to them later, "Be imitators all together of me" (chapter 3: 17), so that Paul's influence would come down to ourselves. What has been worked out in a man of like passions with ourselves! It is the reproduction of Christ Jesus, the heavenly Man, the Man in the glory, in a man. The Lord Jesus is not only in an official place up there, but has yearnings and feelings towards the assembly; and those who serve the Lord would do well to get into the flow of those affections, that their service may go on influencing, helping and drawing the saints into the current of the truth and into constant response to Christ.

The Philippians were a company in whom the truth was well developed, and Paul found much joy in writing to them. There were a couple of sisters not of the same mind with each other (chapter 4: 2), and no

doubt all this feeling side would help them to get right in relation to one another. Sometimes it is brothers who are not of the same mind, and sometimes it is sisters; sometimes it is both. All these things will hinder the health of the local company, and so our difficulties should be resolved, and many of them are trivial, merely connected with personal feelings! It is far better to get away from those things, to be affected by what is flowing from Christ, "lowliness of mind, each esteeming the other as more excellent than themselves". Let the local flow of love, then, increase! Keep the divine objectives in mind.

The assembly is for Christ in your locality and mine, and let us labour for that. The Lord helps us in these things. Why should we quarrel? "Do not quarrel on the way" (Genesis 45:24), Joseph said to his brethren, and let us listen to Joseph. There is not much of the way left, and why hold ourselves back by quarrelling? Let us get on with the truth of the assembly. These things are practical, but if we are formed and affected inwardly with the very feelings of Christ Himself, much of our troubles will give way to the affections that are proper to us.

Dublin, 25 December 1962. [1 of 2].

THE LOVE OF GOD AND RESPONSE TO IT

J. Pellatt

Luke 15

I do not want to give an address this afternoon but just to talk to you quite informally about the love of God.

In the beginning of Luke's gospel we learn who the Lord Jesus Christ was as Man. He was the Son of God (chapter 1: 35). If you want to learn who He is as a divine Person you must go to John's gospel; John 1:18 brings out that truth. But in Luke we learn who He is as Man. The Angel Gabriel said to Mary, "the holy thing also which shall be born shall be called Son of God". So when He was born, God immediately owns Him in this peculiar way -- "Thou art my Son: this day have I begotten thee" (Hebrews 1 5). Now what marked Him as Man was this -- He was the Son of God. When He was baptised God opened the heavens and said, "This is my beloved Son" (Matthew 3:17), showing that the Lord Jesus Christ was the peculiar Object of the love of God, and He adds -- "in whom I have found my delight", showing that there is in Him as Man a perfect answer to God's love. How these two things mark Him! If you give your heart to anyone, nothing would satisfy you but that they should answer to that love.

What I want to bring before you is the Lord Jesus Christ as Man. Nothing was lacking in God's delight in Him; all His affection was concentrated on that Man, to whom He says: "Thou art my beloved Son, in thee I have found my delight" (Luke 3:22). But

more than that, God found in that Man a perfect response to His love. I wish I could express what that must have been to God. He created man in perfect innocence; man was an innocent creature and there was probably delightful intercourse between God and Adam. God walked in the garden, but then sin came in, and God lost all pleasure in that man and had to drive him out of the garden, and put a flaming sword at the gate of Paradise (Genesis 3). About one thousand six hundred years ran on until you come to Genesis 6, and "Jehovah repented that he had made Man on the earth", we are told, and "it grieved him in his heart" (verse 6).

Then later we get the children of Israel: God separated them for Himself, and gave them the law and said, "thou shalt love Jehovah thy God with all thy heart" (Deuteronomy 6:5). Was there any response in man? Before Moses came down from the mount (Exodus 32), man had set up an idol. Fallen man has never responded to God, he was only a disappointment to Him. God had set His heart on man but He got no response from him. But the Son of God came here into Manhood and God could look down on Him and say -- There is not only a Man on whom I can concentrate all My love, but there is One who answers perfectly to My love.