Ministry of the Word 2004

F. B. Frost

Genesis 18:17 - 19; 1 Chronicles 28:2 - 10; 2 Timothy 2:1 - 4; John 17:9 - 12

These scriptures speak of different persons and their thoughts about those to follow them. Of Abraham God says, "I know him that he will command his children and his household after him". I want to say a word about "after him". What is going to be after you? What is going to be after me? These scriptures, I think, all bear upon that question.

Abraham was a remarkable man. Stephen says, "The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia … and said to him, Go out of thy land and out of thy kindred, and come into the land which I will shew thee" (Acts 7:2, 3). What an impression Abraham must have received of God in all His greatness! Glory has been defined as moral excellence in display, and it was displayed in Abraham. By faith he answered to the call of God, and what marked him was strangership. He was prepared just to be a sojourner; he had his tent, and he built his altars. These are remarkable features which suggest to us that the believer is not of this world. So those that are to follow us, according to the Lord's mind and will, are those that are free of this world -- they have seen the God of glory, and something of the greatness and glory of God and of His thoughts. They are prepared to leave everything here -- their own country.

It must have been a remarkable experience for

Abraham to leave his own country, not knowing where he was going, but he had faith in God, and light in his soul. It says that "he waited for the city which has foundations, of which God is the artificer and constructor" (Hebrews 11:10). Abraham was a sojourner, but faith operated with him. Righteousness was accounted to Abraham because he believed God (Genesis 15:6), and the glad tidings have come to us and we have believed what has been presented to us by God in His beloved Son, our blessed Saviour.

Jehovah had said to Abraham, "I will make of thee a great nation" (Genesis 12:2), and Abraham was very concerned as to who was going to follow after him. How was it that he was going to have a generation to follow him? He was old, his wife was old, the outlook on the line of nature looked hopeless, but he had faith in God. He commanded his household with that faith too, and he got light from God that there would be those after him. I would like you to consider those two words, 'after him', and consider what will be after you. "Abraham", it says, "dwelt in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise" (Hebrews 11:9). What a wonderful example they had in Abraham! Abraham had believed God; he had faith in God that there would be those after him that were according to God. I think that should be an encouragement to us at the present time.

Elijah had been a faithful prophet of God; he had stood for the rights of God, but he became despondent and thought that he was the only one left: "I am

left, I alone, and they seek my life, to take it away" (1 Kings 19:10), but God says, "Yet I have left myself seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed unto Baal" (verse 18). I love to think of that. Where the situation looks hopeless, and poor Elijah was very, very depressed, God would say to him, 'I have reserved something for Myself'. I believe the Lord is going to reserve to Himself here what is exceedingly precious to Him, and according to the purpose of His own love, until He comes.

King David had the desire "to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of Jehovah and for the footstool of our God", a resting place for God here on earth. That is what the house of God is, and, as believers, we form part of that house, as Peter says, we "are being built up a spiritual house" (1 Peter 2:5). I love to think of what God will dwell in -- a company of those who love Him, who are the fruit of His wondrous work.

So David, it says, "stood up upon his feet" and Jehovah "said to me, Solomon thy son, he shall build my house and my courts; for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father. And I will establish his kingdom for ever, if he be firm to do my commandments and mine ordinances … And now … keep and seek for all the commandments of Jehovah your God; that ye may possess the good land, and leave it as an inheritance to your children after you for ever". What are you going to leave to your children after you? Thank God, most of us have had godly parents -- that is a wonderful blessing -- who

had us baptised, and in their measure sought to keep us true to our baptism, that is, apart from this world, in view of entering God's world. Here Israel was to have "children after you for ever". There would be a generation following David, and there was, too. It came right down to Christ. The Lord "has sprung out of Judah" (Hebrews 7:14), the royal tribe, the tribe from which there was to be praise continually to God.

"And thou, Solomon my son", David says, "know the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind; for Jehovah searches all hearts, and discerns all the imaginations of the thoughts. If thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cut thee off for ever. Consider now, that Jehovah has chosen thee to build a house for the sanctuary: be strong, and do it". This scripture comes from God to me and to you. What are we doing? There is work to be done to provide a dwelling place for God, to provide for His own praise and response in a world that is increasingly living its life without God.

There are plenty of altars raised up to "the unknown God" (Acts 17:23). Men do not know God; it is very solemn. But in the midst of the circumstances in which we are living, there is what God is going to reserve for Himself, for His own praise and His own delight. Satan is the god and prince of this world, but God is going to have the victory, and He is getting it now. You say, 'I am the only brother in the meeting'. God has got the victory. He has got a note of praise here in the enemy's domain -- a wonderful triumph

at the present time! And do we not prove the Lord's love, sympathy, compassion and interest in a way we have never known before? These are things that are operating at the present time.

David says to these responsible persons (princes, captains, mighty men, etc.), those who should continue after him, that they should "keep and seek for all the commandments of Jehovah your God; that ye may possess the good land, and leave it as an inheritance to your children after you for ever". They were to seek for the commandments of Jehovah, that they might possess the good land and leave it as an inheritance. The principles of God and the truth are to be valued and practised today, too.

The assembly is a wonderful vessel, "the pillar and base of the truth" (1 Timothy 3:15). Think of what is expressed in the assembly, a vessel that understands something of the divine mind, not only the love of Christ in all its supremacy and greatness. What a vessel the assembly is! It knows what is in the mind of God. It is the waiting time now, before the Lord actually comes at the rapture. God knows that, and He knows that evil is going to reach a very great height in this world, and God will deal with it in His supremacy. But in the meantime, He has those in whom He has sovereignly wrought and He gets the victory through them, and may you be one of them.

Now, the question is, What are you doing with your life? What is the imagination of your heart? What are you thinking? Even as we read these scriptures, I trust you will be encouraged to arise and do

what is necessary. There are things to be done in our localities, and difficult some of them may be. I would encourage all to continue in exercise and to be fellow-workers with God. He has formed this wonderful vessel, the assembly, for His pleasure, for His praise and for the comfort of the heart of Christ, and He is going to display in the world to come His own glory. The assembly will come down, "out of the heaven from God, having the glory of God" (Revelation 21:10). Now what is of God is being formed in your soul and mine in view of the day of display. The Spirit has been given to us to magnify Christ continually in our hearts.

Now I read the passage in 2 Timothy because it applies particularly in our day. Timothy was Paul's "true child in faith" (1 Timothy 1:2), and Paul had come to the end of his life here. He was about to be poured out. It is remarkable that Paul, though, I suppose, he was to be martyred, yet he says to Timothy, "Luke alone is with me" (2 Timothy 4:11). Paul had Luke there with him; someone to carry on after him, a remarkable thing.

But the word here is to Timothy, a young brother: "Thou therefore, my child, be strong in the grace which is in Christ Jesus. And the things thou hast heard of me in the presence of many witnesses, these entrust to faithful men". Paul was concerned about who should follow after him in the testimony, that they should be faithful men. He could trust Timothy; indeed he could. He did not know any one like him: "I have no one like-minded who will care

with genuine feeling how ye get on" (Philippians 2:20). Oh! how Paul was affected by the light he had as to what the assembly was to the heart of Christ. But he had someone who was concerned as to how the saints got on. But it is a question of how things are to continue. And so he says to Timothy, "the things thou hast heard of me … these entrust to faithful men". Is that the end? No, "such as shall be competent to instruct others also". Paul desired that faithful men should be entrusted with the ministry the Lord had given to him as to the assembly, and sonship -- blessed relationship! -- and the knowledge of God as Father. Oh! how great is the truth that has come to the saints through the beloved apostle Paul.

But what is the enemy attempting to do at the present time? -- everything possible that is contrary to Paul's teaching. Many Christians are ignoring Paul's writings. Thank God there are faithful men who do not, but, in the major part of the public testimony of Christianity, Paul is increasingly given up in thought and in practice. It makes one feel that the coming of the Lord is very near, and He will have those who are faithful at the rapture.

So Paul is exhorting Timothy here how to pass on "the things thou hast heard of me in the presence of many witnesses". It is not merely that we should give interested persons a book of ministry, but that our love for the truth may be evidenced in our lives, that we have learned from Paul's life of sacrifice and suffering in his service to the Lord and the saints. Yet Paul was marked by buoyancy of spirit. The

Holy Spirit kept him above all the adversity that he had to face, and so he goes through in triumph: "the crown of righteousness is laid up for me, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will render to me in that day"; and he adds, "but not only to me, but also to all who love his appearing" (2 Timothy 4:8). There are some others besides Paul. If he was passing out by way of death, as he did, there were still those who would love the appearing of Christ. I think we need to love the appearing of Christ more -- then we shall see Him, displayed in His glory! The King of glory will come in; He will reign supreme, having put down every opposition of evil that exists in the world. The will of God will be done on earth, as it is in heaven; but with the believer, the will of God is to be done now, as it is in heaven.

Parents need to be exercised that their children are brought up true to their baptism. Baptism means that the child baptised is put out of sight in the waters of death. How then can you wish that your child should grow up and get to the top of his or her vocation? and to get a nice big salary? That is not consistent, and young persons need to be instructed so that they may not lose their way spiritually. You say, I have to get my bread and butter. God will help you with that, but He will not help if you want anything great here in this world. Bear a straight word, but it is very necessary because what is being taught in the schools is that you must develop your potential. The only potential that fallen man has got is to sin; I can tell you that, for I know my own soul. But God has

worked in your soul, despite what you are by nature. He has given you the Holy Spirit, dear fellow-believer, and the Spirit promotes desires after Christ and desires after God, and will help you to be faithful to divine Persons in a scene of unfaithfulness at the present time.

So Paul writes to Timothy, exhorting him to be a "good soldier of Jesus Christ", one who does not entangle "himself with the affairs of life" so that "he may please him who has enlisted him as a soldier". Good soldiers of Jesus Christ are needed today, those who are willing to take their "share in suffering" -- it means the setting aside of what I might legitimately occupy my time with, and give a little more time to the Lord Jesus and to His things, and to private communion with Him. And that will bear fruit that will abide, and you will have something to pass on to those who follow after.

In John 17, the Lord Jesus was about to go into death and He is speaking anticipatively to the Father. This is the Lord's prayer in chapter 17 of John. The apostles had been given to Christ by the Father -- "those whom thou hast given me" -- and the Lord says, "I am no longer in the world, and these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep them in thy name which thou hast given me, that they may be one as we". We long that that feature of love amongst ourselves and unity might be seen in testimony, and the Spirit is here to help that desire of Christ's being fulfilled at the present time. It is very precious what the Lord says, "When I was with them

I kept them in thy name". It is very wonderful, the Lord's personal service. There is no change in the Person of Christ; He is still the same. He will keep you and He will keep those who follow after you, too.

Think of what He received immediately, after His death and resurrection -- His own, His brethren -- and of what He had here on earth at the beginning of the Acts. "All that believed were together, and had all things common …" (Acts 2:44) -- they were all one, remarkable fruit of the coming of the Holy Spirit. There was a united company and a most powerful testimony, and there were additions to it. It is nearly two thousand years since Pentecost, but the work of God is still going on, and may this be true in your soul and in mine. May we take every opportunity to increase in the knowledge of God and of the truth, and may we not only have things mentally, but practise them, too. That comes about through personal communion with the Lord Jesus.

May we be helped to realise that the testimony of God continues. It is very important that we keep things morally according to God, that we may be truly here for Him. May it be so, for His Name's sake!

Markinch, 14 June 2003.

JOSEPH: TESTIMONY BEFORE EXALTATION

F. E. Raven

Genesis 37

Now the next point I notice is the effect that Joseph's testimony had upon his brethren. In Acts 7:9 we read, "And the patriarchs, envying Joseph, sold him away into Egypt. And God was with him". The motive that actuated them is thus plain enough, "they hated him, and could not greet him with friendliness", their hatred intensified. Now the truth is this: their ways were evil, and Joseph had told their father of their evil deeds, and they hated him. Their ways were evil; there is the secret of man's perversity, he will not come to the light because his deeds are evil. There was light with Joseph, and they cast him out, but it was God's way for their preservation. Joseph was to be their preserver, if they had only known it.

No one can suppose that envy and hatred spring from good works. But Joseph's brethren were short-sighted in what they did to Joseph … but we find the same principle true in the Jews in connection with Christ. Why did not the Jews receive the testimony of God? Why did they not welcome the light? The Lord gave abundant proof that He came from God; there was the most complete presentation of God to man: "in him all the fulness … was pleased to dwell" (Colossians 1:19). The presentation was complete; the Lord could say, "they have both seen and hated both me and my Father" (John 15 24); the Father dwelt in Him, and He did the works. He was a Man,

it is true, but He had become a Man that God might come near to man in goodness. It was God presenting Himself to man in perfect, divine goodness.

All the works of Christ were expressive of divine goodness, of perfect grace; the only miracle which had any other character was the cursing of the fig-tree (Mark 11), and that had of necessity to come to pass, but other miracles were for the relieving of man from the pressure which rested upon him down here. "Many good works have I shewn you of my Father; for which work of them do ye stone me?" and they say, "For a good work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy" (John 10:32, 33)! He said that He was the Son of God; but had He not given evidence of it? There was most abundant testimony that He was the Son of God, but in spite of the testimony of His works, and of the Father's testimony to Him, they saw and hated both Him and His Father. Why did they hate Him? Because their own deeds were evil.

Men will justify envy, but do you think that envy ever springs from good? Could there be such a thing as envy with God or with Christ? It is totally impossible. Envy is a work of evil; if evil were not existing there would be no such thing as envy in this world. A holy angel does not envy, simply because it is a holy angel.

But, as was the case with the brethren of Joseph, the Jews paved the way for their own weakness; Christ was their strength, if they had only known it. He had become identified with them in being born among them, "of whom, as according to flesh, is the

Christ" (Romans 9:5); He was their strength, but they did not know it, and the consequence was that when they cast Him out they had to prove their own weakness; they fell to pieces. It is remarkable with regard to the disciples, that when a traitor came to light among them they became weak: "all the disciples left him and fled" (Matthew 26:56), they proved their weakness. I refer to it because it shows that this principle runs through Scripture, and things repeat themselves remarkably.

But in the latter part of verse 9 (of Acts 7) we have the significant clause, "And God was with him"; in all the discipline through which Joseph went, God was with him ... We are told that Joseph was apart from the evil of his brethren, but if Joseph is to be exalted, it is needful that he should be passed through exercise. Very often we do not know our own motives: even in condemning evil it is difficult to distinguish our motives; we have to be taught the difference between good and evil; many things pass muster as good, but one is not so sure about the motives in them. But the object of discipline is that we may discern between good and evil. We see this in the case of Job. It is great grace on the part of God that He should see fit to pass His people through exercise with this object. In any study in this world, whether it be art, or literature, or anything else, a man must be trained. Supposing I am taken to a gallery where there are many wonderful pictures, but among them some that are mere daubs; if I have not my senses exercised I may make great mistakes in

my judgment of them: so we must have our moral senses exercised, we must be critics, and criticism must begin with myself; you will never be a good judge of good and evil in others except as you are a good judge of them in yourself. I am exercised so as to be able to discriminate between the varied motives by which a man may be actuated down here.

Now Joseph has to learn a very bitter lesson with his brethren, and it must have taught Joseph complete distrust of himself, but Joseph is not soured; when God is dealing with a man in discipline, and the man accepts it, that man is not soured. I do not know anything that has a worse effect on people than trials in which God is not with them; but on the other hand, if God is with them they are great gainers, and they have their senses exercised. Why should anything down here sour a Christian? Supposing I am soured by the treatment of my kindred, or of fellow-christians. Who is soured? What is soured? It proves that there is something in me that may be soured; but we are exhorted, "Be not overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:21); and the end of discipline is that we may overcome in the power of good.

While trials have the effect that God intends them to have, God sustains the man; as it was with Joseph, so it may be with me. And God gave Joseph deliverance; it was not, perhaps, the deliverance that Joseph would have chosen, but it was the deliverance that God intended for him. Reuben and Judah would have liked to bring him back to their father

again -- they were more tender than their brethren -- but God's way was otherwise.

What I see as a principle in the ways of God is, that if God is going to give deliverance, it must begin from Egypt. It was so with Israel, and it is so with us; that is the starting-point of every man. We have to realise that we are in Egypt, where God first begins to deal with man. Israel had to go down into Egypt, and it was there that they began to multiply; and it is from Egypt that God delivered them.

God delivers Joseph, and puts him out of reach of the machinations of his brethren. So God has set Christ in a place outside of all the hatred and malignity of men. God raised Him from the dead, and in resurrection He was set in a wealthy place. God has set Him in a place where man cannot come. The brethren of Joseph could do no more against him when he went down into Egypt. In the case of the Lord, the Jews were restrained for a long time, until the close of His pathway; then certain things were allowed, but God delivers Him. You read in Psalm 22 the list of enemies, but "from the horns of the buffaloes hast thou answered me" (verse 21). God delivered Christ, and set Him in a wealthy place, as I understand it, in resurrection.

Then there is another thing which could not be typified in Joseph, that, as being set in that wealthy place, Christ has power to subdue all things to Himself; one Man in resurrection is better than a world of men under death. Christ in resurrection is not only superior to all as being there, but exercises the

power that has been exercised towards Him. He is vested with the very power that raised Him again from the dead. So we look for the Lord Jesus Christ from heaven "… according to the working of the power which he has even to subdue all things to himself" (Philippians 3:21) -- that is, according to what He is as raised again from the dead.

And what of the Jews? They have become disunited and scattered. It was an evil day for Joseph's brethren when they sold their brother into Egypt; it was an evil day for the Jews when they refused Christ, when they said, "This is the heir; come, let us kill him and possess his inheritance" (Matthew 21:38). They never did seize on His inheritance; they were scattered abroad, and are suffering under the penalty of their rejection of Christ to this day. They will come eventually into their blessing on the ground of the sovereignty of God's mercy, but they will have to recognise Him in resurrection whom they pierced.

The important thing for us is that our souls might be in the light of the glory of the Lord, that we should appreciate the greatness of the place in which God has set Him. The right hand of God is far above all things; and that is where we are privileged to know Christ. All the gifts have come down from Christ, at the right hand of God, and we are in the light of Christ there. He is set down "up above all the heavens, that he might fill all things" (Ephesians 4 10). It is a great place where Christ is set, where what is of sin, and of the flesh, and of Satan's power cannot come; they cannot touch what is of

resurrection. And we have had good experience of His power, it has acted upon us morally; the thing is that He should subdue us to Himself. That is the power that Christ exercises in the place and scene where God has put Him.

I have taken up these few points in the chapter that we may see in them a portraiture of Christ, and I do not think that I have strained the truth at all, for Scripture has given us evidence that Joseph is presented to us as a striking type of Christ Himself, especially in His relations to Israel.

May God grant that we may have a true and right apprehension of Christ in the wealthy place in which He now is, and of the power with which He is vested, and by which He will subdue all things to Himself. As to His earthly people, they are scattered over the face of the earth, having neither true God nor false god. And why? Because they were moved with envy, and rejected and refused their Deliverer. Yet, according to the Scripture, the "deliverer shall come out of Zion; he shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. And this is the covenant from me to them, when I shall have taken away their sins" (Romans 11:26, 27).

Ministry by F. E. Raven, Volume 13, pages 6 - 11. [2 of 2].

REDEEMING THE TIME

J. Taylor

1 Peter 4:2; Ephesians 5:16; 1 Chronicles 12:32

Well now, in turning to 1 Chronicles I wanted to amplify this a bit, because I think the men of Issachar are like Ephesian Christians. It is said of them that they "had understanding of the times". It is not now that they redeemed the time, or that the time was short, but that they understood the times; and so I just seek to enlarge on this point because understanding is so important, otherwise, what we do we may do amiss. They had understanding of the times, it says, "to know what Israel ought to do". In other words, it is a question now of assembly obligations. It is not simply what I do, it is what Israel ought to do; and, may I inquire, dear brethren, as to whether we are accustomed to view the saints, and clothe the saints, with assembly thoughts? If I meet a saint I am to clothe him, as it were, with assembly thoughts; if I meet two or more saints I clothe them in the same way. In other words, I have understanding of the time and I apprehend what Israel -- that is, the assembly, speaking in christian language -- what the assembly ought to do.

Now I dwell on this thought of understanding, and, in order to make it clear, I would refer to Daniel. Daniel, in chapter 9: 2, tells us that he "understood by the books". Now I do not urge you to read everything, but it is important to read. We read of Ezra as "a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which Jehovah the God of Israel had given"

(Ezra 7 6). I would be disposed to read anything that Ezra wrote. I am not saying that Daniel acquired his knowledge by such literature (he speaks of the books, the Scriptures) as may have been written to meet the local need of the saints, but I have no doubt that Daniel would gladly read any helpful production, and if you cannot hear a man whom God has qualified to minister, then do not despise what he may write, for God uses scribes. There was a scribe in David's regime; there was a chronicler also. The scribe, or secretary, was a man who would write down at the king's mouth what the king might wish to communicate. Such a man is of great importance, especially in a day like the present, when the saints are so widely scattered, and many isolated. The preacher in Ecclesiastes indicates the exercises of one employed in this service. He says: "The Preacher sought to find out acceptable words; and that which was written is upright, words of truth" (Ecclesiastes 12:10).

The Holy Spirit has given much for the people of God, and it is for us to get the benefit of what is available. So it says, "The words of the wise are as goads, and the collection of them as nails fastened in: they are given from one shepherd" (Ecclesiastes 12:11). There are words of wisdom, words of truth, carefully set down as food for the saints. Well now, Daniel said he understood by books, and by these books he gathered that there were certain time limitations, seventy years, and then there should be a return of the captivity. We gather the mind of God in this way

from reading. Daniel understood by books that there should be a return of the captivity after seventy years, and so he prays.

I have been speaking about reading. Now I would urge prayer; so let us turn, for a moment, to the book of Daniel. It says, "In the first year of Darius, the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans, in the first year of his reign, I Daniel understood by the books that the number of the years, whereof the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah the prophet, for the accomplishment of the desolations of Jerusalem, was seventy years" (chapter 9: 1, 2). Thus he acquired an "understanding of the times". And now he says, "I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes; and I prayed" (verses 3, 4).

How much do we pray, dear brethren? I have been speaking about reading, but I ask, How much do we pray, and how far do we travel in our prayers? The more you are with God the wider shall become the area covered by your prayers, until the whole household of faith is embraced, and indeed "all men". Do not be satisfied with your prayers until you, as it were, cover the whole household of faith. As Scripture enjoins: "praying at all seasons, with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching unto this very thing with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints" (Ephesians 6:18).

So Daniel set his face to prayer; and then it says, "And whilst I was speaking, and praying, and

confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before Jehovah my God for the holy mountain of my God; whilst I was yet speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, flying swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation" (verses 20, 21).

What a wonderful experience that was! It was about the time of the evening oblation, and was what his prayer was. It was an oblation; it ascended to God. And so Gabriel speaks to him: "He informed me, and talked with me" (verse 22). Is it not worth while to pray? Pray on, until you, as it were, receive a divine communication. Something from the Lord will come into your soul. "He informed me", Daniel says, "and talked with me". Those of us here who have had to do with God in prayer know something about this.

It is a wonderful experience to have to say to God, and as you pray and embrace the saints in your prayers, you get an impression from God; you become assured He has heard you. "If we know that he hears us … we know that we have the petitions which we have asked of him" (1 John 5:15). It is inexpressibly precious to be conscious that God hears us. And then it says further, "and said, Daniel, I am now come forth to make thee skilful of understanding" (verse 22). These things are all within our reach. Is there any young brother here who desires to have the mind of God? "Think of what I say", says Paul, "for the Lord will give thee understanding"

(2 Timothy 2:7), but prayer enters into this.

Gabriel says further: "At the beginning of thy supplications the word went forth, and I am come to declare it; for thou art one greatly beloved" (verse 23). Think of that! As you are praying, God looks into your heart; He knows what is going on in your heart, and He greatly loves you, as you pray, taking into account, as Daniel did, the state of His people, bearing them on your heart before Him. And then it goes on: "Therefore consider the word, and have understanding in the vision". And now look! "Seventy weeks are apportioned out upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to close the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make expiation for iniquity, and to bring in the righteousness of the ages, and to seal the vision and prophet, and to anoint the holy of holies" (verses 23, 24). What a message!

As we look abroad in the world as it is, what a message this is! … God had determined seventy weeks, and there cannot be seventy-one. There shall be just seventy; seventy weeks are determined. What are they determined for? "To close the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make expiation for iniquity". What great results to look forward to for a man like Daniel! And then, "To bring in the righteousness of the ages, and to seal the vision and prophet, and to anoint the holy of holies". Can anything fail? No! There were just seventy weeks determined for the accomplishment of all these things. And who acquires the knowledge of this? The man who reads and the man who prays! He comes into

the light of all these great facts. In like manner the mind of God may be acquired by ourselves. Thus by reading and prayer, we become like the men of Issachar, we have understanding of the times; we know the times, and not only that, we know what Israel ought to do. And that, to me, involves assembly obligations at the present time.

You may ask, Where is the assembly? Well, I cannot show you the assembly but I know it exists here on earth. "The Lord knows those that are his" (2 Timothy 2:19); and if I am an Ephesian saint, so to speak, I love all the saints. I am concerned about them all; I pray for them, for I have "understanding of the times", and I know "what Israel ought to do". Hence it is a question of assembly obligation and, as we apprehend that, we clothe the saints with assembly thoughts. The Lord clothes them thus. As we sit down to partake of the Lord's supper, we are taking it in the light of the assembly, and the Lord views us in that light. If others are not there, we miss them, if we are with God. The Lord misses them.

One would always be prepared to partake of the Lord's supper if it is available. The Lord looks for you there, and those who love you look for you. It is a question of what Israel ought to do. I believe in these last days the Lord has shown us that there is at least that which Israel ought to do; namely, to partake of the Supper. The Supper belongs to the assembly, and every member of the assembly should partake of it. If not, why not? If something is wrong, judge it; there is grace with the Lord to adjust you,

so that you should be qualified to respond to His desire. Those who have "understanding of the times" know that Israel ought to do that, and it is for you to have part in it.

Well, beloved brethren, I have nothing more to add, but I think my thought is clear enough and simple enough, that the time is precious and it is for us to fill it out, not only in regard to our personal history, but the history of the assembly; the little that remains is to be redeemed and used for the Lord and naught else. May God bless the word!

Ministry by J. Taylor, Detroit, Volume 11, pages 342 - 347. 1920. [2 of 2]

THE SERVANT FOR A CRISIS

J. B. Stoney

The good of power is to make me equal to the occasion, but then it is of great moment whether I regard the occasion as man does, or as God does.

It is possible to meet a crisis in a way commendable, in the judgment of men, which would not be at all acceptable to God. When Moses killed the Egyptian, he was equal to the occasion according to man's judgment; but as it was not according to the mind of God, he had eventually to succumb and flee (Exodus 2:11 - 15). In order to be equal to the crisis according to the mind of God, I must enter it from God's side and not from man's. The mere fact of being able to make a stand, as the children of Benjamin withstood the power of Israel for a time, is really no evidence that you are in the power and

counsel of God (Judges 20).

We are set in an evil world where man has departed from God, having used the power with which God had entrusted him, to crucify the Lord Jesus Christ. Unless we understand the nature of our circumstances here, we cannot in any measure comprehend how we are to meet them for God, nor can we be prepared to do so. We are here to live Christ, in the place, and among the people, where He has been rejected; and the difficulty is ten-fold increased by there being, instead of avowed hostility to Him, a universal profession of His name. No one can properly or truly act for Him in any circumstances, unless he knows the relation in which those circumstances stand to Him.

The saint is set here for Christ, and as everything, whatever its name may be, is really in opposition to Him, he never can discover his true course, by (as a great general would) obtaining information from anything transpiring around, as to how he is to be master of his position -- I must, therefore, in order to be a man for the crisis, come into the circumstances, not only with the power of God, but assuredly from God; that is, I must be so formed in God's presence with that which suits God, and savours of Him, that when I take my stand in the scene here, I am not swayed by anything here, but I am set and empowered to insist on, and maintain, that which is due to God; and thus only am I equal to the occasion for God.

The weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty through God (2 Corinthians 10:4). The moment the

eye rests on the circumstances here, then the tendency is to borrow from natural things, in order to overcome natural things. We must not answer a fool according to his folly; we must come from God. It is the very opposite to human generalship; we are to know nothing of what is here, but what is of God, and whatever is due to God, on that we are to insist.

Peter, although enlightened with the revelation of one of the greatest of truths (Matthew 16:16, 17), savoured of the things which be of man, and not the things which be of God, when he chided the Lord for speaking of His death (verse 22). As a man, and among men, I know of nothing but human ways and means of doing anything; when I am enlightened by grace and my heart is turned Godward, I may have zeal like Peter when he cut off the ear of the high priest's servant (John 18:10), but I am not a man for God in the crisis when I use carnal weapons to repress carnal evil. I have come from man's side into it, and have looked at it as man and not as God sees it.

No amount of human energy, however successful at first, will eventually maintain for God, for it will surely come to nought. It is really so simple, that it ought not to require exposition, that in a scene where everything is organised in opposition to God, the saint, in order to walk in it for God, must come, not only with the heart for God, but he must be so distinctly imbued and coloured with the mind of the Lord, from association with Him, that he comes into this scene to insist on, and maintain, a novelty even -- the ways and walk of the perfect Man in

heaven, in contra-distinction and separation from the man here -- free from any bias or direction from what is here and with the simple purpose of acting in it according to God.

Just as a ray of light enters a dark room, to establish itself irrespective of all that had previously occupied the room, so is it with the man who comes from God; he has a mission of such distinct importance, that morally he is to "salute no one on the way" (Luke 10:4). The Lord was the Light that shineth in darkness, and the darkness apprehended it not (John 1 5). He was the Son of man which is in heaven. He came from God; that is the entire secret, in order to be for Him in any emergency. I have no power but as I abide in Christ, and I have no proper plan, and no skill for the exercise of the power imparted, but as I am moulded into His mind, from association with Him in His own things, His word instructing me; and as I am thus moulded, I come, not only with the spirit of power, but also that of love and of a sound mind to act here for Him (2 Timothy 1:7).

Abraham was imbued and coloured with the counsel of God, respecting himself, through the teaching of Melchisedec before he encountered the king of Sodom, and therefore he was enabled quickly and positively to refuse all the offers of the king (Genesis 14:18 - 24); he was a man for the crisis, while Lot, though a saint, returns with his goods, etc., to Sodom. The latter was doubtless thankful for the mercy vouchsafed to him, for truly there was more attention visibly paid to him in his need and

suffering, than there was to Abram. This teaches us how to acquire wisdom and strength to rise superior to things here which would influence and pervert us.

Moses, in connection with the testimony of the Lord (Exodus 32), comes from the presence of the glory of Jehovah to witness the apostasy of the whole congregation of Israel. He insists on what is due to God, and faces the whole army of Israel without fear or compromise. He exclaims, "He that is for Jehovah, let him come to me" (verse 26); he is not afraid of them that kill the body, he thinks not of the imprudence of his course; he stands for God, and is as bold as a lion; he is a man for the crisis, and pitches the tabernacle of the testimony outside the camp.

Samuel came after the judges. After every kind of human expedient -- a knife, a hammer, an ox-goad, a jawbone of an ass in the hand of the strongest of men which had proved only temporarily effectual -- he by prayer effects the desired end. "The Philistines were subdued, and came no more into the borders of Israel: and the hand of Jehovah was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel" (1 Samuel 7:13). God answered his prayers in a very remarkable manner. "Jehovah thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them; and they were routed before Israel" (verse 10).

I must add a word on Stephen and Paul. It is of all importance that I should know that my ability to be for the Lord in the crisis depends on my own state with the Lord at the time; so that it is what I am that determines what I shall do, and my own state is the

first thing to be secured. Stephen, "being full of the Holy Spirit, having fixed his eyes on heaven, he saw the glory of God, and Jesus" (Acts 7:55); he is prepared now to encounter the combination of the greatest evil here bearing down upon him; he makes no display of power, he assails no one, and there is nothing visibly marvellous, and yet never was there such a man for the crisis, or a man so superior to his circumstances: he is tranquil and unmoved, so superior to everything which most bitterly affects man, that he makes those who are battering him to death the objects of his consideration. Never in a mere man was seen before such a witness on this earth of power according to God, with love and a sound mind. Stephen properly closes up all hope for an earthly polity, during the absence of Christ, leaving his last moments here as a legacy to the assembly, because then was opened out the new line, and how the Spirit of God would sustain the saints by association with Jesus in heaven.

Now with Paul another thing is taught, even that when left alone, deserted by many who evidently were not men for the crisis, he whose earnest expectation and hope was that "in nothing I shall be ashamed, but in all boldness, as always, now also Christ shall be magnified in my body whether by life or by death" (Philippians 1:20), even he can face the array of the great Roman power, and succeed in proclaiming the truth of God, because the Lord stood with him (2 Timothy 4:16, 17). Thus we see that the man who is simply for God in the most broken condition

of things here, is supported by the Lord; and though he be forsaken by all, even by his own friends and supporters, yet by him will the preaching be fully known, and all the Gentiles shall hear. Stephen, in his last hours, shows us the way to leave this scene; Paul, in his, shows us how to be in it.

Ministry by J. B. Stoney, Volume 10, pages 22 - 26.

DIVINE PERSONS WITH THE SAINTS

H. Banks

Matthew 28:20; John 14:16, 17; Revelation 21:3

The use in these three scriptures of the word "with" has a special appeal to our hearts as indicating the desire of divine Persons to be with the saints. This is a great comfort and cheer to the saints in the dark and closing moments of the testimony here, looking on to the day of display and to the day of eternity, when God will dwell with men.

The use of the word suggests that it is not confined to a locality, or a geographical position, but rather that the thought of divine Persons is to be with believers in the way of interest, affection, tenderest sympathy and feeling. How wonderfully divine feelings came into expression in the Lord Jesus Himself here in His sighs, groanings and tears!

Those sensitive feelings are in no wise diminished in Him as now glorified, and so in Matthew He assures them, His own, that He will be with them; "I am with you" -- a definite committal on His part to be with those in the position of testimony as long as it continues -- "the completion of the age" -- in order

to fill up the dispensation in completeness. This is a great comfort and stay to His own in the testing character of the growing darkness of apostasy. Just previously (verse 18), He had spoken of all power being given to Him in heaven and on earth. He speaks from the resurrection position, carrying with it the sense of complete victory, and from that point of triumph He will be with His own.

Every hostile power has been overthrown in His glorious resurrection. Where was the vaunted power of Rome in this matter? In the ordering of God it was the world-power at the time. Its boastful pride was seen in Pilate and the seal on the tomb and the military watch (Matthew 27:62 - 66), also the false security the Jews thought they had in persuading Pilate to do all he could. But He, the Lord of glory, was risen outside and beyond the display of man's power and greatness. The Roman soldiers were as dead men, and the angel was sitting composedly on the stone but speaking to the women -- representing assembly features in His own, that to which He will commit Himself, to complete the period of testimony, the completion of the age.

In John we have "another Comforter", the Spirit of truth, sent from the Father and the Son, taking charge of every divine interest. He is with us and in us. Again we have the thought of with to assure us of His personal and tender interest and sympathy in the saints of God, and to lend His personal support all the time they are here, and to eternity, as the Lord said "with you for ever". What a profound thought

for present comfort and eternal joy! We shall have Him and His comfort for ever, yet for present teaching and guidance into all the truth; with us to this end. What unlimited possibilities this opens up for us to make full use of for strength and enjoyment!

The present realisation of this does but lead on to the eternal state spoken of in Revelation 21:3. Here we have a glimpse of the glorious consummation of the thoughts of the blessed God, the path of faith leading on to the great end. For the moment faith is tested and tried, but, when all these conditions are for ever past, there will be no needs to be met, the conflict and the testimony will be over, and what remains? The blessed God tabernacling with men. He will be their God. Three times in verse three it is said God is with men, as if to impress us with the way God will find His eternal and complacent pleasure in all that has been secured by the mighty operations of His grace in time, now seen in eternal conditions of cloudless glory.

But what seems to be the choicest thought is that the blessed God finds a peculiar joy in being with men -- not here in sympathy and support, but in His own rest and joy in the fruit of His own love: "their God", nevermore to be disturbed, never a shadow over that scene of unsullied light. The great consummation of the counsels of God as to man is reached -- God dwelling with men, their God.

Words of Grace and Comfort, Dawlish, Devon, Volume 27 (1951), pages 46 - 48. July, 1950.

BETHANY (PART 1)

C. H. Mackintosh

John 11; John 12

We want the reader to turn with us to John 11 and 12. If we mistake not, he will find therein a very rare spiritual treat. In chapter 11 we see what the Lord Jesus was to the family of Bethany; and in chapter 12 we see what the family of Bethany was to Him. The entire passage is full of the most precious instruction.

In chapter 11 we have three great subjects presented to us, namely, first, our Lord's own path with the Father; secondly, His profound sympathy with His people; and, thirdly, His grace in associating us with Himself in His work, in so far as that is possible.

"Now there was a certain man sick, Lazarus of Bethany, of the village of Mary and Martha her sister. It was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. The sisters therefore sent to him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. But when Jesus heard it, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby".

The sisters, in their time of trouble, turned to their divine Friend; and they were right, Jesus was a sure Resource for them, as He is for all His tried ones wherever, however, or whoever they are. "Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me" (Psalm 50:15). We make a most serious mistake when, in any time of need or pressure, we turn to the creature for help or

sympathy. We are sure to be disappointed. Creature streams are dry. Creature props give way. Our God will make us prove the vanity and folly of all creature confidences, human hopes, and earthly expectations. And on the other hand, He will prove to us, in the most touching and forcible manner, the truth and blessedness of His own word, "they shall not be ashamed who wait on me" (Isaiah 49:23).

No, never! He, blessed be His holy Name, never fails a trusting heart. He cannot deny Himself (2 Timothy 2:13). He delights to take occasion from our wants, woes and weaknesses, to express and illustrate His tender care and loving kindness in a thousand ways. But He will teach us the utter barrenness of all human resources. "Thus saith Jehovah, Cursed is the man that confideth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from Jehovah. And he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but he shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, a salt land and not inhabited" (Jeremiah 17:5, 6).

Thus it must ever be. Disappointment, barrenness and desolation are the sure and certain results of trusting in man. But, on the other hand -- and mark the contrast, reader -- "Blessed is the man that confideth in Jehovah, and whose confidence Jehovah is. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out its roots by the stream, and he shall not see when heat cometh, but his leaf shall be green; and in the year of drought he shall not be careful, neither shall he cease to yield fruit" (Jeremiah 17:7, 8).

Such is the unvarying teaching of holy Scripture on both sides of this great practical question. It is a fatal mistake to look even to the very best of men -- to betake ourselves, directly or indirectly, to poor human cisterns. But the true secret of all blessedness, strength and comfort is to look to Jesus -- to betake ourselves at once, in simple faith, to the living God whose delight it ever is to help the needy, to strengthen the feeble, and lift up those that are cast down.

Hence, then, the sisters of Bethany did the right thing when, in the hour of need and pressure, they turned to Jesus. He was both able and willing to help them. But that blessed One did not at once respond to their call. He did not see fit to go at once to their relief, much as He loved them. He fully entered into their sorrow and anxiety. He took it all in and measured it perfectly. He was thoroughly with them in it.

There was no lack of sympathy, as we shall see in the sequel. Yet He paused; and the enemy might cast in all sorts of suggestions; and their own hearts might conceive all sorts of reasonings. It might seem as though 'the Master' had forgotten them. Perhaps their loving Lord and Friend was changed toward them. Something may have occurred to bring a cloud between them. We all know how the poor heart reasons and tortures itself at such times. But there is a divine remedy for all the heart's reasonings, and a triumphant answer to all the enemy's dark and horrible suggestions. What is it? Unshaken confidence in the eternal stability of the love of Christ.

Christian reader, here lies the true secret of the

whole matter. Let nothing shake your confidence in the unalterable love of your Lord. Come what may -- let the furnace be ever so hot; let the waters be ever so deep; let the shadows be ever so dark; let the path be ever so rough; let the pressure be ever so great, still hold fast your confidence in the perfect love and sympathy of the One who has proved His love by going down into the dust of death -- down under the dark and heavy billows and waves of the wrath of God, in order to save your soul from everlasting burnings. Be not afraid to trust Him fully -- to commit yourself, without a shadow of reserve or misgiving, to Him.

Do not measure His love by your circumstances. If you do, you must, of necessity, reach a false conclusion. Judge not according to the outward appearance. Never reason from your surroundings. Get to the heart of Christ, and reason out from that blessed Centre. Never interpret His love by your circumstances; but always interpret your circumstances by His love. Let the beams of His everlasting favour shine upon your darkest surroundings, and then you will be able to answer every infidel thought, no matter whence it comes.

It is a grand thing to be able, come what may, to vindicate God, to stand, even if we can do nothing more, as a monument of His unfailing faithfulness to all who put their trust in Him. What though the horizon around be dark and depressing -- though the heavy clouds gather and the storm rage, "God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above what ye are able to bear, but will with the temptation make

the issue also, so that ye should be able to bear it" (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Besides, we must not measure divine love by the mode of its manifestation. We are all prone to do so; but it is a great mistake. The love of God clothes itself in varied forms, and not infrequently the form seems to us, in our shallowness and short-sightedness, mysterious and incomprehensible. But, if only we wait patiently and in artless confidence, divine light will shine upon the dispensation of divine providence, and our hearts shall be filled with wonder, love and praise.

'We leave it to Himself,
To choose and to command:
With wonder filled, we soon shall see
How wise, how strong His hand.
We comprehend Him not;
Yet earth and heaven tell,
God sits as sovereign on the throne,
And ruleth all things well' (Hymn 55)

God's thoughts are not as our thoughts; nor His ways as our ways; nor His love as our love. If we hear of a friend in distress or difficulty of any kind, our first impulse is to rush to his help and relieve him of his pressure, if possible. But this might be a very great mistake. In place of rendering help, it might be doing serious mischief. We might actually be running athwart the purpose of God, and taking

our friend out of a position in which divine government had placed him for his ultimate and permanent profit. The love of God is a wise and faithful love. It abounds toward us in all wisdom and prudence. We, on the contrary, make the gravest mistakes, even when most sincerely desiring to do what is right and good. We are not competent to take in all the bearings of things, or scan the windings and workings of providence, or weigh the ultimate results of the divine dealings.

Hence, the urgent need of waiting much on God; and, above all things, of holding fast our confidence in His unchanging, unfailing, unerring love. He will make all plain. He will bring light out of darkness, life out of death, victory out of seeming defeat. He will cause the deepest and darkest distress to yield the very richest harvest of blessing. He will make all things work together for good ... He has His own wise ends in view, and He will reach them in His own time and way; and, moreover, out of what may seem to us to be a dark, tangled, inexplicable maze of providence, light will spring forth and fill our souls with praise and adoration.

The foregoing line of thought may help us to understand and appreciate our Lord's bearing towards the sisters of Bethany, on hearing of their trouble. He felt there was much more involved in the case than the mere matter of relieving those whom He, nevertheless, deeply loved. The glory of God had to be considered. Hence, He says, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the

Son of God may be glorified by it" (chapter 11: 4). He saw in this case an occasion for the display of the divine glory, and not merely for the exhibition of personal affection, however deep and real that might be -- and with Him, blessed be His Name, it was both deep and real, for we read, "Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus".

But, in the judgment of our blessed and adorable Lord, the glory of God took precedence of every other consideration. Neither personal affection nor personal fear had the smallest sway over His movements. He was ruled, in all things, by the glory of God. From the manger to the cross, in life and in death, in all His words, and all His works, and all His ways, His devoted heart was set, with firm and unalterable purpose, upon the glory of God. Hence, though it might be a good thing to relieve a friend in distress, it was far better and higher to glorify God; and we may rest assured that the beloved family of Bethany sustained no loss by a delay which only made room for the brighter outshining of the divine glory.

Let us all remember this in seasons of trial and pressure. It is an all-important point, and, when fully apprehended, will prove a very deep and blessed source of consolation. It will help us marvellously to bear up under sickness, pain, death, bereavement, sorrow, and poverty. How blessed to be able to stand beside the sick bed of a friend and say, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God"! And this is faith's privilege. Yea, the true believer can stand, not only in the sick chamber, but by the

open grave, and see the beams of the divine glory shining forth over all.

No doubt the sceptic might cavil at the statement that "This sickness is not unto death". He might object and reason and argue on the ground of the apparent fact that Lazarus did die. But faith never reasons from appearances. It brings God in and there finds a divine solution for all difficulties. Such is the moral elevation -- such the reality of a life of faith. It sees God above and beyond all circumstances. It reasons from God downward, and never from circumstances upward. Sickness and death are nothing in the presence of divine power. All difficulties disappear from the pathway of faith. They are, as Joshua and Caleb assured their unbelieving brethren, simply bread for the true believer.

Nor is this all. Faith can wait God's time, knowing that His time is the best. It staggers not, even though He may seem to linger. It rests with the most perfect calmness in the assurance of His unchanging love and unerring wisdom. It fills the heart with the sweetest confidence that if there be delay -- if the relief be not sent all at once -- it is all for the best, inasmuch as all things work together for good, and all must in the long run redound to the glory of God. Faith enables its happy possessor to vindicate God amid the most intense pressure, and to know and confess that divine love always does the very best for its object.

The Miscellaneous Writings of C. H. Mackintosh, Volume 7, pages 3 - 12.

INDIVIDUALS AFFECTED BY THE INFLUENCE OF CHRIST

A. J. Gardiner

Luke 8:35: 10: 38 - 42; 1 Peter 5:1 - 4; John 13:23 - 25: Philippians 3:7 - 14

I have in mind, dear brethren, to speak of the personal influence of Christ upon five individuals: upon the man who had a legion of demons; upon Mary of Bethany; upon Peter; upon John; and upon Paul. The influence of Christ shows itself in the first case in subjection and sobriety; in Mary in intelligence; in Peter in serving love, Peter taking it on and enjoining it on others; in John in restful love; and in Paul in purpose of heart to acquire and take on heavenly excellence, that which is most excellent.

I believe all these things should be found in the assembly, but there cannot be anything found in the assembly that is not found in the individuals who compose it, and hence the need that each of us should be concerned as to how far we keep ourselves under the influence of Christ. There is no greater power in the universe than the influence of Christ. It is a great thing, dear brethren, to understand it: it is a most transforming influence, that exceeds, and ever will exceed, all others, the influence of Christ. His influence over millions is tremendous, and eternal in its results, and I believe God effects what He is working out in the saints now, by way of the personal influence of Christ brought to bear upon them by the Holy Spirit.

Now the man in Luke 8 presents the effect of that

influence on a man who was in a complete sense under the power and influence of evil. He was possessed by a legion of demons. He thus represents an extreme case, a case that is not intended, so to speak, to be representative of us all -- for one would not dare to say that any one here was under the influence of a demon, far less of a legion of them -- but at the same time, he presents an extreme case of a man under the influence of evil, in order to show that, what the Lord can do in an extreme case, He can do in every other case that is less extreme; and every one of us has to recognise that in some degree at least, each one is under the influence of evil until he or she is brought to do with the Lord.

But then what comes to light is that not only was the power of evil in that man completely dispossessed, but that he came in an effective and transforming way under the personal influence of Christ. That is what God intends for every one of us, that we should be brought abidingly under the influence of Christ. It says that they went out and saw the man, out of whom the demons had been cast, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and sensible. The idea of sensible here is not so much the idea of intelligence as rather that he was sober, having a sober estimate of himself. Each one of us needs that, dear brethren, for naturally each one of us likes his own will and in some degree or other has high thoughts of himself. With some it may be more pronounced than with others, with some it may be more secret than with others, but I think every one here will acknowledge

that it is natural to us, until we are brought into touch with Christ, to like our own will and to have high thoughts of ourselves. Now, the effect of the grace of God reaching us in Christ is to deliver us from all that.

I think one of the earliest results of grace being rightly apprehended is that we are delivered from every element of self-will. We present our bodies, as it says in Romans 12, "a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your intelligent service" (verse 1). The Lord came in, that that might be secured in every one of His own. He came in, as it says figuratively in Exodus 21, with His body (see footnote b, verse 3): I am referring to the Hebrew bondman. The Lord would thus, as having taken a body in which He was devoted to God's will, saying He delighted in it, set out the true idea of a human body held here for the will of God. He obtains His place in each heart to secure that result.

It is a wonderful thing to think how transforming the influence of Christ is; there is nothing so affecting as His personal influence. And, as we begin to take account of what Paul says in relation to the Lord Jesus -- "who, subsisting in the form of God, did not esteem it an object of rapine to be on an equality with God; but emptied himself, taking a bondman's form" (Philippians 2:6, 7) -- it is likely to have a subduing and transforming effect upon us. There is a certain moral excellence, dear brethren, in being here for the will of God, as well as its being our intelligent service, the only right answer to the grace

that has reached us.

So this man was sitting at the feet of Jesus; he was delivered from the power of evil and in subjection to Christ. But then, as a result of coming under the influence of Christ, we become sober. We do not begin to have high thoughts about ourselves, the cross of Christ has its right place in our hearts, and we begin to take account of things in the light of that. We say to ourselves that our old man has been crucified with Him (Romans 6:6). That is the effect in our hearts of contemplating the cross of Christ, so that high thoughts are written off. There is not only the cross of Christ, but there is the mind which was in Christ Jesus, of which we have been speaking. If one begins to have thoughts of obtaining a reputation for oneself, the Spirit of God reminds one of Him who made Himself of no reputation, and God has highly exalted Him. God has given Him all the reputation that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow.

It is these things presented to our hearts in Christ personally that have a definitely formative, subduing effect upon us. We have sober thoughts, not having high thoughts of ourselves, as it says in Romans: "as God has dealt to each a measure of faith" (chapter 12: 3). We are not to think nothing of ourselves, because we recognise that God is working in us, and when God begins to work we are not worth nothing! We are intended to work into the divine plan, but we have sober thoughts of ourselves according as God has dealt to each a measure of faith. Now that, I believe,

is what is illustrated in the man who was possessed with a legion of demons: they found him sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind.

Now with Mary of Bethany what is seen in her is that characteristically she sat at Jesus' feet and listened to His word. The Lord says of her that "Mary has chosen the good part, the which shall not be taken from her". It is very important, beloved brethren, that we cultivate the habit of listening to the word of Christ, because I do not know any way in which we shall become intelligent spiritually save as listening to the word of Christ. All divine wisdom is in Christ, all fulness is in Him, and the assembly is to derive from Him. Mary had grasped the idea; that is, in its application to us, it is not only that we read the Scriptures and the ministry and attend the meetings, but is it our exercise that the Lord will speak to us in it, that in it we will hear the Lord's voice. Are we cultivating sober thoughts, so that there is an opportunity for the Lord to speak to us? That is what is so important.

The Lord Himself, as having come in as Man to serve God, moved on the principle that His ear was opened morning by morning to hear as the instructed (Isaiah 50:4). Luke 10 provides us with certain features which are to be found marking each local company. The chapter begins with the Lord sending out seventy to every city and place where He Himself was about to come. That is, cities and places were in mind, and the Lord was intending that the ministry of the seventy would come under His review as to its

effects when He Himself would come to the place to see what results there were. The chapter gives various characteristics that are to be found in local companies; it is stated, for instance, that there is to be the rejoicing that our names are written in the heavens (verse 20). That is, we are to rejoice in our heavenly portion, so distinctive, and to praise the Father accordingly; then the spirit of care is to be there. The Good Samaritan took up the man whom He found and brought him to the inn, and took care of him, and then, in leaving, indicated that any amount of care may be expended upon the saints and the Lord will see that those who do so are repaid.

And then there is also the incident as to Mary, which shows that spiritual intelligence is also to be a feature of each local company, sitting at Jesus' feet and listening to His word, and no one is to deprive us of that. Martha was cumbered with much serving. It is a right thing to desire to serve the Lord and we are to be active in it, always abounding in the work of the Lord, which applies to us all. It does not only apply to gift, but is addressed to the brethren, but at the same time as abounding in service we are also to preserve a balance, and to see that our activities of service do not deprive us of sitting at the feet of Jesus and listening to His word. Only in that way can the intelligence that God looks for in the assembly, be learned.

Now Peter in his epistle shows, I think, how much he had been affected by the way Christ has served. It is worthy of note that Peter as an elder

enjoins on his fellow elders, and says, "The elders which are among you I exhort, who am their fellow-elder and witness of the sufferings of the Christ, who also am partaker of the glory about to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God which is among you". He is speaking as a man of experience. He is not speaking as an apostle, though he might well have done so, and he does indeed call himself apostle of Jesus Christ in opening his epistle, but he is speaking as an elder, one who had had years of experience; and I suppose there was no one who had had more experience of the shepherd service of Christ than Peter. He would no doubt carry a sense of it in his soul.

It is Peter who speaks of the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls (1 Peter 2:25). We well know how the Lord Jesus shepherded Peter. There came a time in the history of the disciples when the Lord said to them, "Will ye also go away?" and Peter said, "Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast words of life eternal" (John 6:67, 68). As though he would say, I know where the food supply is. He knew how his own soul had been fed; he was not going to be turned away from the Shepherd.

So one of the first things in shepherding is to see that suitable food is provided, and also to see that there is encouragement. How the Lord would encourage Peter! When Peter came forward as he did on one occasion with his confession, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God", the Lord immediately speaks to him and says, "Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona, for flesh and blood has not revealed

it to thee, but my Father who is in the heavens" (Matthew 16:16, 17). The Lord encouraged Peter, and there is nothing so encouraging as to bring home to the saints something of the thoughts of divine grace which they have part in. So the Lord would, so to speak, say to Peter, You are blessed indeed, Simon Bar-jona. He called him by the name by which he was known amongst men, but implies, You have something in your heart that the Father has implanted there; you have something that your neighbour has not; it is a sovereign act of God. So God has given us an appreciation of Christ. In no other way can it be explained, but that it is God's sovereign act in opening our eyes to Christ, so we may well encourage one another that we have been thus blessed.

Piety and Other Addresses by A. J. Gardiner, pages 163 - 169. [1 of 2].

"THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK"

J. Pellatt

Revelation 1:9, 10; Acts 20:7; John 20:19, 20; 1 Corinthians 16:1

I think that in these four scriptures you will find that we have a complete testimony with regard to the first day of the week, or the Lord's day. I apprehend that in the expression "the first day of the week" we are reminded of that which is entirely new. "The first of the week" (for the word "day" is not literally there) is involved in the expression "the Lord's day". We have the same day, but the day brought before us

as specially connected with the Lord, and as marked or characterised by those things which belong to the Lord.

I have no doubt that in these four scriptures we have a very comprehensive expression of what belongs to and characterises Christianity. There is only one day mentioned in the New Testament in respect of Christianity, and that is the first day of the week, or the Lord's day. There is no mention of any other day, and in this respect Christianity stands in striking contrast to what preceded it. In connection with Judaism we not only have different days, but we have different times of different days, we have hours and moments. We have days, many days, different days, and then we have weeks, months, and years, even going so far as fifty years. But in Christianity we have only one day.

I think the way Christianity is presented to us in the New Testament scriptures gives us only a week at a time. There is the "first day of the week", and whatever belongs to that day is characteristic of Christianity. So that it is a question whether the Lord will tarry through the week; if He does not come during the week (and He may come) -- that is how the truth is put before us, for there is no scriptural ground for delay or putting off the coming of the Lord. He may come this week -- but if He tarry, if He does not come this week, we begin again next "first day of the week", that is how it is presented. The point I want to press upon you just at this moment is that the "first day", or the Lord's day, is the

characteristic day of Christianity; hence it characterises all the days that may follow.

I think you will find I have read these four scriptures in their proper order. It is remarkable that the scripture in Revelation brings before us an individual Christian. You say, perhaps, But John was an apostle. We know that he was. But it is not as an apostle that he speaks in the verses I have read. But mark! he says, "I John, your brother and fellow-partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and patience, in Jesus". That is, John comes before us as a Christian, and further, he comes before us as a Christian in fellowship. "I John", who speaks of himself as "your brother" (the brother of every Christian) "and fellow-partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and patience, in Jesus, was in the island called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus". And what follows? "I became in the Spirit on the Lord's day". There is perfect order.

John is here brought before us as a Christian, an individual Christian who is in fellowship. And then he speaks of the Lord's day. He says, "I became in the Spirit on the Lord's day". That is the beginning. We shall come to the assembly presently, but there is something that precedes the assembly, there is that which is individual which underlies and precedes everything that is collective. We participate in the breaking of bread, which may be spoken of as privilege. But even in connection with the breaking of bread you find a double responsibility. There is a responsibility belonging to the assembly as such, and

responsibility belonging to every individual who has part in it. But what precedes it? Why, just what John expresses about himself -- "I John, your brother and fellow-partaker". What precedes our coming together to break bread? You have to be ready for it individually, you have to be in fellowship for it individually. It is a poor thing to be connected with Christianity only in the way of responsibility. There is responsibility, but you will find in Scripture that there is a basis upon which responsibility rests, and that is, that you are in the reality of christian fellowship.

I allude for a moment to a scripture just for the sake of making that point clear. At the end of Acts 2 after an account of Peter's testimony is given and the wonderful working of God, when three thousand people were pricked to the heart and cried out, "What shall we do, brethren?" they got a very plain answer through the lips of Peter -- "Repent, and be baptised, each one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for remission of sins, and ye will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (verses 37, 38). They responded to that answer. And what is said about them then? "They persevered in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles" (verse 42). I just want to emphasise that point -- they persevered in the apostles' teaching and fellowship. The truth had been presented and taught, and they who responded to it persevered in the apostles' teaching and fellowship. Then it goes on to say, "in breaking of bread and prayers".

I want to press this point upon you a little, as the Lord may help. I apprehend that, when you come to

the Lord's day, the first question is -- Are you in fellowship? What is the point of fellowship? The point of fellowship is the death of Christ. But mark! it is not the death of Christ as in the Lord's supper. It is the death of Christ as our Passover. In 1 Corinthians 5 we read, "For also our passover, Christ, has been sacrificed" (verse 7). Now what is the import of Christ as our Passover? It is the death of Christ as the expression of the judgment of God upon sin, on evil -- on all that is contrary to God. If you go back to the type, the literal passover in Exodus 12, what characterised that night? Judgment! Jehovah, through Moses, said: "I will go through the land of Egypt in that night, and smite". Mark that! He does not speak about blessing there. He speaks about smiting. "And smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast … I will execute judgment: I am Jehovah" (verse 12).

It was a night of judgment -- the judgment of God. He took account, solemn account, of everything in the land in relation to Himself, and all that was contrary to Him He smote. He executed judgment upon it. That is the death of Christ as our Passover. It is a serious question, beloved! Are we in the fellowship that is based upon the death of Christ as the judgment of God upon evil? Do you ask what has come under the judgment of God? We might sum it up in three terms: the flesh, the world, and Satan as the prince of this world -- all these have come under the judgment of God. Well, then, what does it mean to be in christian fellowship? It means

that you and I are morally in accord with what is expressed in the death of Christ as our Passover. But are we?

You know there are two things enjoined on Israel (Exodus 12). There was the passover, and based upon it (and you might say formed by the divine judgment as expressed in the passover), there was the feast of unleavened bread. What was that? It was the practical answer on the part of Israel to the judgment of God which was expressed in the passover. Hence every bit of leaven was to go: and to go, not only out of the bread but out of the houses -- "on the very first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses" (verse 15).

Now look at the application of it by the Spirit to Christians in 1 Corinthians 5. All is based upon Christ's death. Christ our passover has been sacrificed. What have you had to do with that? You have had nothing to do with it unless you have accepted it in the faith of your soul. The question is -- Are you in accord with it? The trouble at Corinth was that they were not practically in accord with the death of Christ; they were practically allowing that which had really come under the judgment of God in the death of Christ; that was the cause of all the trouble. The Lord never instituted the Lord's supper, the breaking of bread, and called us to it that we might eat and drink judgment to ourselves. But that was what they were doing at Corinth. And why? Because they were not in the reality of fellowship. They were responsibly in fellowship. Every Christian is responsibly in fellowship. But, oh! what a poor thing it is simply to

incur the responsibility without the spiritual reality of it. That is how it was with those at Corinth, and that is where we come short. We are not ready in spiritual condition to come together on the first day of the week to break bread if we are not in fellowship with the death of Christ, and that means that you are in accord with it, that there is that in you which morally corresponds to the judgment of God as seen in the death of Christ. What is that? Self-judgment! There is the disallowance of the flesh, the disallowance of the world, and the disallowance of Satan.

These are simple things to speak of. We know something about the breaking of bread; some of us have known it for a good many years. I ask, Did you ever hear of any trouble among the saints who break bread together? We know there has been trouble. Why does trouble come upon us? Is it not because we are not truly in christian fellowship? We are not in accord with the death of Christ. Responsibly, every Christian is in fellowship. It is not a matter of choice. "God is faithful, by whom ye have been called into the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord" (1 Corinthians 1:9). Every Christian is under that call. Each one is under the responsibility of it too. There is no such thing in Scripture as a Christian not in fellowship. Of the three thousand converted in Acts 2, every one of them persevered in the apostles' teaching and fellowship. There was no Christian in those days that was not in fellowship, and there would not be now if things were right. Well, you

cannot set everybody right, but there is one person you can see to, and that person is yourself. You can at least do what Paul said to Timothy: "Give heed to thyself" (1 Timothy 4:16). The question for me is: Am I really in fellowship?

The beginning of all christian fellowship is that you are in the fellowship of Christ's death -- that there is the answer in you to the judgment of God expressed in the death of Christ. Then you walk in habitual self-judgment, in habitual refusal and disallowance of the flesh in you, and of the world around you, and of Satan. I am bold to say that not one of us Christians is going on according to God unless we are thus in correspondence with the death of Christ as the expression of God's judgment.

The Closing Ministry of J. Pellatt, Volume 2, pages 143 - 151. [1 of 2].

ADVANTAGES AND RESPONSIBILITY

J. B. Stoney

For the ruined and lost there is no help except through grace. When there is nothing but guilt, everything must be given. To give where there is no desert, and no claim, where judgment for sin is due and impending, is grace.

Thus it is that, "for we being still without strength, in the due time Christ has died for the ungodly"; "we being still sinners, Christ has died for us" (Romans 5:6, 8). Man is so irretrievably lost and undone, that he can now be only a recipient. "What hast thou which thou hast not received?" (1 Corinthians 4:7).

If I have had nothing, or worse than nothing, all of any good in me now must be through grace. "By God's grace I am what I am" (1 Corinthians 15:10). Hence, in every instance, God conferred advantages upon His people. There would have been no difference between them and others if He had not. But plainly, according as He made their position different from the mere world around, so was it incumbent on them, and required, faithfully and truly to acknowledge, in life and ways, the favour conferred. Nay, they were responsible to do so, for otherwise they would make little of the great, distinctive advantages which they had received. They would fail to realise them, and as they in any measure slighted them, they would be weakening or losing their value to themselves.

It is evident that the more faithfully and deeply I maintain and concentrate my heart on any divine favour which I have received, the more I make of it. As a singular and wonderful expression of His mercy to me, the more must I be a witness to others of His grace; and because of this power, enjoy more deeply and fully the advantages to myself. My responsibility is simply in the first instance to be true to what I have received; as I am true to the grace and the good of it, so am I true to my responsibility. The proof that I am truly sensible of the advantages of my position is the measure of the responsibility which I attach to it; and as I maintain my responsibility, I consciously increase in the sense of my advantages. But beside this, there has been always appointed by God a testimony or course of action,

descriptive or indicative of the privileges in which He had set His people; and those privileges could not be properly or fully enjoyed, but as the testimony connected with them was duly observed.

The subtlety of Satan was successful when Eve was induced to forego what was due to God, for her own advantage; and thus man lost all. This effort of Satan, so fatal at the first, has been exerted continually, with great injury to souls, ever since.

Noah, overlooking the responsibility of his position, even to repress evil here by the power committed to him, planted a vineyard, and eventually became unfitted for both.

Abraham, called to a pilgrim's life, in faith in God, always secured the privileges of his position while he maintained the testimony of one simply dependent on God. Let him see a famine, or let Lot see the green fields of Sodom, and the testimony or responsibility is overlooked, and all the advantages of the position lost, enfeebled, or in abeyance.

No one who has once tasted of the advantages of grace, would willingly or easily surrender them; but the snare is, that one is induced to disregard the testimony, although fully intending to retain the advantages of it. But this, I see, is not possible, nor would it be happy if it were.

Naturally speaking, every creature has its place, and the higher the order of being, the more manifest the scope of its influence. A candle is not lighted to put it under a bed, or under a bushel, but on a candlestick, "and it shines for all who are in the house"

(Matthew 5:15).

The bird sings, itself rejoicing in the sound while satisfying others. If it did not sing aloud, it would never, like a musician, charm others; nor would it be so charmed itself. The responsibility is to charm others; but in doing so, the charmer is really charmed. The greatest heart would be ineffective if it could not express itself. Hence it is "with the heart is believed to righteousness; and with the mouth confession made to salvation" (Romans 10:10).

Jacob is restored to the land; and in the night of wrestling, he is confirmed in the power of Christ; and yet he settles at Shechem (Genesis 33:18). He attempts to confine himself to the advantages of the great position regained; he overlooks his responsibility to God. The note of testimony is not sounded out. Though his altar expresses a full retention of his own blessings, yet all are imperilled because he is for himself only, and not pre-eminently for God. He must leave Shechem and escape for his life, as he says, "I shall be destroyed, I and my house" (chapter 34: 30).

He goes up to Bethel, and then not only is there a true note of testimony sounded forth, but his own advantages are greatly increased and assured. Then the name of Israel is distinctly, in its true sphere, confirmed to him. The warning to Israel was that they should carefully follow Jehovah in obedience in the land, in order that they might retain the blessings of it. The danger was that they would confine themselves to the blessings selfishly, and forget what was

due to Jehovah; that the singing to Jehovah would not be heard, and that then they would lose the good of the land. The rain would be stayed, and they would be deprived of the enjoyment which singing expresses. It is in principle, "Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me; and to him that ordereth his way will I shew the salvation of God" (Psalm 50:23).

When the advantages of grace do not call forth praise to God, when God is not prominently before the soul as the Source of everything possessed, then the gifts take the place of the Giver in the heart, and must soon lose their vigour and value, like flowers cut away from their roots.

Thus it was with Israel after the captivity. They had returned to the land, at great personal cost, and with great zeal they addressed themselves to the rebuilding of the temple; but when they were opposed, they suspended the work, and grew indifferent about it, while all the time they were most diligent to secure their own advantages in the land. "Is it time for you that ye should dwell in your wainscoted houses, while this house lieth waste? And now thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Consider your ways … Ye looked for much, and behold it was little; and when ye brought it home, I blew upon it. Wherefore? saith Jehovah of hosts. Because of my house that lieth waste, whilst ye run every man to his own house. Therefore over you the heavens withhold their dew, and the earth withholdeth its fruit. And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the

oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon man, and upon cattle, and upon all the labour of the hands" (Haggai 1:4, 5, 9 - 11). They were endeavouring to secure their own advantages, apart from their responsibility to God, and the end was that both were lost.

Ministry by J. B. Stoney, Volume 10, pages 66 - 70. [1 of 2].

"JOY UNSPEAKABLE"

C. Simms

It has been well observed that Christianity differs from all pagan systems of religion in this great feature: that while those systems promise a man future happiness, they give him nothing but hope in the present. Christianity, however, in addition to the hopes of future blessedness, confers positive blessing of the very highest character upon the believer now while on this earth.

It is right that Christians should know and understand not only that there is an inheritance reserved for them "in the heavens" (1 Peter 1:4), but they should also consciously know things now. This was the earnest desire of the apostle Paul for the church of God (Ephesians 1:16 - 19; Ephesians 3:14 - 19). To enumerate the various characters of present christian blessing is more than could be attempted in this little paper. I shall content myself with drawing attention to one item -- the Christian's joy.

We all believe that to be present with the Lord, and still more to see His face and be like Him, will fill the hearts of His people with joy inexpressible;

but this is not the joy referred to in the passage from which I have taken the words at the head of this paper. On the contrary, it speaks of a joy which is experienced while we do not see Jesus Christ: "whom, having not seen, ye love; on whom though not now looking, but believing, ye exult with joy unspeakable and filled with the glory" (1 Peter 1:8). I do not ask, Are we rejoicing with joy unspeakable day by day as we go about our necessary business, for that would be to put myself to shame; but I ask, Do we accept the verse which I have just quoted as a sober unexaggerated statement of what is the Christian's present portion through all the ups and downs of life? I believe every Christian knows something of it, but what God in His grace wills is that we should have it as a deep well in our souls, inexhaustible and unfailing because the Lord Himself is its Source. If we are content without this joy are we not failing to respond to the grace of God?

The secret of the ineffable character of this joy is that it is in the Lord Jesus Christ. This is stated not only in the text above quoted, but elsewhere. The apostle Paul writes from his prison at Rome to the poor and persecuted Philippians: "For the rest, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord" (Philippians 3:1); "Rejoice in the Lord always: again I will say, Rejoice" (chapter 4: 4). Why are Christians often dull and spiritless, the very reverse of joyful? Is it not often because they have been looking for joy or satisfaction somewhere else than in the Lord, and are disappointed because they have not found it? It should be

one of the marks that distinguish the Christian from the man of the world -- that he finds his delight in the Lord. David shows this very distinctly in Psalm 4:6: the multitude say, "Who shall cause us to see good?" They are looking anywhere and everywhere for satisfaction. Those who know Jehovah, on the contrary, turn to Him and say, "Lift up upon us the light of thy countenance, O Jehovah".

Meditation on this subject and searching of the Scriptures will discover to us many particulars which give definiteness and meaning to the exhortation to "rejoice in the Lord". It is not a mere command which we are called upon to obey. God does not so deal with His children, for we are not under law but under grace. We are not now, like those under law, put under a legal requirement to love God; but God's love has been manifested in such a way that, born of Him, "We love because he has first loved us" (1 John 4:19). So with rejoicing in the Lord; we can do so because He has given us a nature capable of finding delight in Him, and has furnished us with motives for rejoicing in Him. Our hearts are attracted to the Lord Jesus because He is our Saviour, because of what He has done for us in the first place, and secondly because of the moral beauty and worth which we discover in Him. Thus attracted to Him, our hearts rejoice to see him "crowned with glory and honour" (Hebrews 2:9).

There is another very precious characteristic of the Christian's joy to which I would call attention. The Lord said to His disciples when about to leave

them, "I have spoken these things to you that my joy may be in you, and your joy be full"; and to the Father concerning His disciples, "these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in them" (John 15:11; John 17:13). The same joy which sustained the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ while walking through this world is the joy that He desires His people to be filled with. He did not derive it from surrounding circumstances. No doubt He found constant delight in doing the Father's will; to give the water of life to a thirsty soul was food to His soul; and we read of His rejoicing in spirit in view of the Father's sovereign pleasure in "revealing" the truth to babes (Luke 10:21); but still, as to the circumstances of His life here, He was "a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief" (Isaiah 53:3). Yet, within, there was always the abiding and unbroken joy of communion with His Father. Only once was that joy interrupted, when He was bearing our sins on the cross. Then He said (not "Father", but) "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46). This forsaking was all the more terrible because He had known what the joy of unbroken communion with the Father was.

The Lord has promised His people no other portion in the world than what He had Himself: "In the world ye have tribulation" (John 16:33). We have, too, or ought to have, the sorrow of heart which arises from His absence (John 16:20 - 22), and, if we are in any degree like Him, we shall be grieved for the hardness of heart of those who reject Him. But if

we are called to His portion as regards tribulation (and how little any of us know of it!), we are also to have His joy.

With us there is another source of sorrow too which interrupts the joy. We have often to grieve and to judge ourselves because of our failures and sins. But thank God He has provided for this too. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). The way is open so that we need not go on without communion or joy.

Disagreeable circumstances, though we do not meet them with stoical indifference, do not hinder this joy. The saints to whom the apostle Peter wrote exhorting them to joy were "if needed, put to grief by various temptations" (1 Peter 1:6). So the apostle Paul when he wrote exhorting others to rejoice in the Lord was himself shut up in a prison, and those to whom he wrote were in "deep poverty" and subject to persecutions.

These few remarks, I hope, will at least serve to turn the thoughts of readers towards this subject.

From an old paper by the late Charles Simms, Belfast. (Revised). Words of Truth, Volume 2 (1934), pages 160 - 164.

THE LORD JESUS AS AN OBJECT OF ATTRACTION

J. G. Frame

John 12:31 - 33; John 11:49 - 52; 1 Chronicles 12:1, 2, 8, 15 - 18, 22 - 24, 38 - 40

I want to speak from these scriptures of the Lord as an Object of attraction. He is the Head and Centre of that world which will be for God's pleasure eternally. How blessed it is to have our view centred on Christ, the Man in the glory! That is where Jesus is, and may He occupy our hearts and draw us after Himself. We have been attracted to Him so that we might have our part in that world of which He is the Head and Centre. How blessed it is that He has drawn our hearts after Himself!

The Lord Jesus could say, "No one can come to me except the Father who has sent me draw him" (John 6:44). So that, as we are brought into the appreciation of that blessed Person, we understand that divine operations have taken place in our souls, in order to give us a fuller impression of the greatness and glory of Christ as the Centre of all God's thoughts. Everything for God's eternal glory is going to be brought to pass through Him. That eternal scene, you might say, is already established for God in Christ. So it should be now for believers, as we take account of the Lord Jesus in all His glory as the Son of God. It would give us to understand the preciousness of God's thoughts, how they are all centred in Him. It lifts our hearts from this wilderness scene to take account of the Lord Jesus where He is

in the glory, and this would, surely, unite our hearts in relation to all that is for God's pleasure here.

So it says where we read in John 12, "Now is the judgment of this world". This world is under judgment, though it has not yet been carried out, but it certainly will be; but we have been drawn out of it, attracted to Christ. The prince of this world has great scope at the present time, but, the Spirit being here, Satan's movements are much limited. It says, "The God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly" (Romans 16:20). These things will be brought to pass. Meanwhile, we have this statement of the Lord Jesus, "I, if I be lifted up out of the earth, will draw all to me".

There are three allusions to the Lord being lifted up in John's gospel: "as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, thus must the Son of man be lifted up" (chapter 3: 14); "When ye shall have lifted up the Son of man, then ye shall know that I am he" (chapter 8: 28), which brings out the glory of His Deity; and, "I, if I be lifted up out of the earth, will draw all to me" (chapter 12: 32).

"Lifted up out of the earth". What a spectacle to the world, what a sight for angels, for heaven, to look upon that holy One, hanging there upon a cross! And yet He says, "I … will draw all to me". What a thought that is! Those in whom the work of God is, who have an appreciation of Christ, are not ashamed of the cross, or of the reproach and shame that is seen there. John, at the end of his gospel, speaks of a little company that stood by the cross (chapter 19: 25). How

pleasurable that must have been to heaven! Despite reproach and shame, does not faith discern the moral glories that characterised the Lord Jesus even when hanging there? How precious it is to have a sense of that and to be identified with Him too.

The crucifixion of the Lord was a public matter; what shame and ignominy was heaped upon Him, my Saviour. He was there as One who would draw all to Himself -- that is, all in whom God has wrought. Oh! that the glories and greatness of that One might draw our hearts increasingly after Himself, away from this world, for this world is passing, and the judgment of God is upon it. Provisionally, the world stands in reconciliation because of the cross of Christ. Well, what a comfort it is to our hearts to see Him where He is at the present time; not now on the cross, but in the glory, and we are attracted, by the Spirit, to Him there.

When we come to the passage in John 11, we find the high priest prophesying: "it is profitable for you that one man die for the people, and not that the whole nation perish". He did not say that of himself; he "prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation; and not for the nation only". Mark, "not for the nation only" are not the words of Caiaphas the high priest, but are the words of the Spirit of God through John calling attention to the Lord Jesus as the One who is not only the Centre but the Gatherer. Think of how He would gather! Why should the people of God be scattered? That is the enemy's work. Surely it is a sorrowful matter to take account

of the way in which the enemy has wrought to scatter the people of God. But the object of the Spirit of God would be to occupy us with Christ, the One to whom we are gathered. The Spirit of God is operating in view of the children of God being gathered together into one. Unity should mark the children of God at the present time. Think of the gathering of the Lord! Think of those two that went to Emmaus, and how He went after them, to gather them. They were surely scattered ones, who were going in the opposite direction from which the Lord would have them go, but in His grace He went along with them, and brought them round. No doubt many of us have had that experience too. He has drawn us to Himself and brought us back to the company where there is true joy and blessing.

I think that the enjoyment of family relations is a feature that is to mark the people of God at the present time. I believe the Spirit of God is drawing attention to that -- the thought of the divine family. It is a primary thought with God; it is a thought that will go through into eternity and yet it is something that we can enjoy now by the Spirit. "God maketh the solitary into families" (Psalm 68:6). As we are gathered to the Lord we can enjoy something of these blessed and eternal family relations that God has such delight and pleasure in. How precious it is to take account of Christ in all His attractiveness and glory. If we were asked, "What is thy beloved more than another beloved?" (Song of Songs 5:9), what would we say? Could we answer like the person in the

Song of Songs, "he is altogether lovely" (verse 16), "the chiefest among ten thousand" (verse 10)? "His mouth is most sweet" (verse 16). Do we appreciate the communications of Christ? Are we prepared to sit at His feet and listen to Him, to hear His word? These are features of Christ that the Spirit of God is bringing before our hearts at this time so that we might truly be affected by Him and have Him as our Object amidst all the confusion and lawlessness at the present time. It is a great thing to understand that God has a Centre to whom He would have our hearts drawn and where we can enjoy something of the things that belong to eternity.

Well, I read that portion in 1 Chronicles 12 where it speaks of David -- a remarkable section. The verses of the previous chapter give us a list of names, and it says in this chapter, "Now these are they that came to David to Ziklag, while he kept still close because of Saul the son of Kish". Saul was still reigning, but there were those who came to recognise David as the one whom God was supporting at that time. He was the true king even though Saul was reigning. David was the one who by his attractiveness was able to gather these persons together. They were mighty men and were able to help David in the conflict. Well, the Lord Jesus would have us to be such at the present time; He would have His people to be in the understanding of what our conflict is. As we are with the Lord, I think we would be helped to see that victory is assured, and that is a great thing to have in our hearts. It speaks of those

who "were of Saul's brethren of Benjamin". They were overcomers; they were able to overcome the natural and to identify themselves with David in Ziklag.

I might have read the names given in this chapter because the Spirit of God has seen fit to record them. They are names of men that have stood for David in the scene of His rejection. That is very precious to the Lord. It says of the Gadites that they "separated themselves to David in the stronghold". Notice the words, "to David". That is the key to the whole section, you might say. The stronghold would suggest the thought of fellowship, which we get in the Corinthian epistles. It speaks of something very precious, and these persons committed themselves to David. They were mighty men of valour and they were with him in the stronghold.

There are three positions in this chapter which are very important to take account of: in Ziklag; in the stronghold; and in Hebron. How attractive David must have been to draw all these persons after him! We need to be prepared to identify ourselves with a rejected Christ. Divine Persons value that.

In the fifteenth verse of 1 Chronicles 12 it says, "These are they that went over Jordan in the first month, when it overflows all its banks, and they put to flight all them of the valleys". What tremendous energy they had! I think they had acquired that energy through their affection for David, and they were thus able to overcome all that Jordan represents -- the strength of death, and all that it meant. How

important it is at the present time to be an overcomer. You will notice in the epistles to the churches in Revelation 2 and 3, that there is a word addressed to "him that overcomes". Think of the preciousness that belongs to it; it is available to us all.

Then there were those who came of the children of Benjamin and Judah to the stronghold to David. They were prepared to come to David, and he questioned them in relation to their coming to him. So I believe it is a constant test as to our loyalty to Christ at the present time, that we should be loyal to Him in the scene where He is rejected, because He is the One who has loved us and has given Himself for us.

It says, "the Spirit came upon Amasai, the chief of the captains, and he said, Thine are we, David, and with thee, thou son of Jesse". What a wonderful matter that is! How clearly and definitely he came out in support of David here. And that is what is required of the saints at the present time amidst a scene of reproach and shame, to come out definitely in relation to Christ. "Peace, peace be to thee! And peace be to thy helpers! For thy God helps thee". He discerned that God was helping David, and he was prepared to identify himself loyally and in affection with him. That is the great challenge at the present time, I believe; we are all challenged as to our affection for Christ, and our committal to Him will be evidenced in the way that we act for Him here.

And then in verse 23 it says, "this is the number of the men equipped for military service, who came to David to Hebron". We are told that Hebron was

built seven years before Zoan in Egypt (Numbers 13 22). It thus, typically, antedates the whole world system. In the scripture we are reading it says that these persons came to transfer the kingdom of Saul to David. He was the one who had attracted their hearts. One would desire that even the dear young persons at this present time might get some sense of the moral glories and preciousness of our Lord Jesus Christ and be prepared to identify themselves with Him while waiting for that moment when we will be with Him in glory. Think of the rapture, when He will come and take us to be with Himself! What a glorious moment that will be. But the challenge is now, in the waiting time, as to whether we are faithful to Christ as those who have been drawn by the Father to Jesus. How great these things are! It is a matter of divine sovereignty that such as we have been taken up and brought into such wonderful favour.

There are many other features in this section which are very important indeed. The children of Issachar "had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do" (verse 32). I believe the Spirit of God would give us to have discernment of the times so that we are here fully identified with Christ. Then there were those who "came with a perfect heart to Hebron, to make David king over all Israel" (verse 38). There was nothing partial in their thoughts; they recognised that David was the true ruler, and that he was the one who would rule over all Israel. That was God's thought. Let us keep to whole thoughts in these days, despite the breakdown and

failure that has come in, and He will carry His thoughts through to completion.

Then it says, "All the rest also of Israel were of one heart to make David king". How important it is to be united in our affection for Christ. God has crowned Him; but He loves to see the saints coming into accord with His thoughts and crowning Christ as the One who alone has the right to reign. Then it says, "there they were with David". They not only came to David but they were with Him "three days, eating and drinking; for their brethren had prepared for them". Think of the rich provision there was here. The fig-cakes and raisin-cakes would speak of necessary spiritual food to sustain us here, while we are waiting for the Lord to come. All these things were prepared "abundantly; for there was joy in Israel". I think where saints rightly provide all that is necessary for the maintenance of the testimony, there will be true joy among the people of God. When the Lord comes to reign the whole scene will then be filled with true joy and blessing.

Well, that is all I have in mind to say, beloved. May our hearts be drawn to Christ where He is in glory. He is the Centre of God's world, but now we can appreciate it by the Spirit as our hearts and affections are attracted to Himself where He is.

May the Lord help us in these things.

Sheerness, 13 September 2003.

"THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK"

J. Pellatt

Revelation 1:9, 10; Acts 20:7; John 20:19, 20; 1 Corinthians 16:1, 2

Well, now, to revert to Revelation 1. John says: "I John, your brother and fellow-partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and patience, in Jesus, was in the island called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus. I became in the Spirit …". How did he become? Things do not happen accidentally or incidentally in Christianity. My beloved brethren, it is a wonderful thing to become in the Spirit. It is not a question of having the Spirit. It is a question of coming into that condition where you are under the control and power of the Spirit of God. That is where the Lord's day begins. It begins with us individually. There was John! He could not have gone to a meeting for the breaking of bread on that Lord's day, for he was in the "island called Patmos".

I have no doubt that Satan, at the back of the Roman power, triumphantly said, 'I have stopped that man; I have got him banished'. But has he defeated and stopped him? Oh, no! John is there in the Spirit. John is in fellowship. I would say to you, Are you in fellowship? You say, perhaps, I have had to move off further and I cannot get to the meeting. I do not ask if you can get to the meeting, but are you in fellowship? John, though banished from all the saints, was in fellowship because there was the answer in his soul to the death of Christ. John had tribulation, and you will have it if you are in the fellowship of

Christ's death. If you allow the flesh, the world, the devil, you can have an easy, smooth-going time -- but do you want to have such a time here where He was rejected? Ah no! we want to be in "the kingdom and patience, in Jesus".

I know, alas! that it has come to pass that many are just Sunday go-to-meeting Christians. Excuse me for putting it in that blunt way, but I want to press on you the way to begin the Lord's day. The first thing is, You are in fellowship -- in the reality of it, in the truth of it. There is response in your soul to the judgment of God expressed in the death of Christ. You are keeping the feast, not with the old leaven of malice and wickedness, but "with unleavened bread of sincerity and truth" (1 Corinthians 5:8). You are morally transparent. There is nothing to hinder the sunshine of His love if we are keeping the feast of unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. I do not want to be in concert with the world or the flesh. I want to be in concert with God, and if I am it does not matter about my circumstances. Let me be on the island of Patmos or wherever He wills me to be, but let me be found in correspondence with God.

Well, John "became in the Spirit on the Lord's day". Now we are on the line for the next scripture that I read -- Acts 20:7, "And the first day of the week, we being assembled to break bread". Who came together? All those who were in the reality of christian fellowship. I know where they put the breaking of bread in Christendom. But what thought have we of it? I was taught once that it was a 'means

of grace' -- that we come to partake of the Lord's supper as a means of grace -- that if you do not know that your sins are forgiven the sacrament is a good place to be at. That is all wrong. I will tell you what the breaking of bread is -- it is the divinely appointed expression of christian fellowship.

The breaking of bread does not manufacture the fellowship, it supposes it to be there. If it is not there, if I am not in the fellowship of Christ's death, what is the breaking of bread? It is eating and drinking judgment, that is what it will prove to be to me; that is what it proved to be at Corinth. Why did it prove to be eating and drinking judgment to themselves? Because they were not in the truth of fellowship. They were not keeping the feast of unleavened bread. They were not morally and spiritually in correspondence with the death of Christ as the expression of God's judgment on sin. And I would emphasise this; I would that the Lord might be pleased to bring it home to us.

I do not want to surround the wonderful blessings and privileges of Christianity with an atmosphere of fear and trembling; God forbid! I do not want to frighten anybody's soul, but we are entitled to take account of these things in all their seriousness. If you are in fellowship with the death of Christ you are ready, you are eager, for the Supper. You will be in a spirit something akin to the spirit of the psalmist in Psalm 122 when he says, "I rejoiced when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of Jehovah" (verse 1). Do you know what it is to feel glad

when you are going to the breaking of bread, your heart full of joy, holy gladness filling your soul? Where am I going? I am going to meet with the saints to break bread. Some say that if you break bread so often it will become a formality. Did you ever get afraid of eating your regular meals? So long as you have got a good appetite you need not be afraid of its becoming a form. I am not afraid of its becoming formal; I am glad, like David, to "go into the house of Jehovah". David was glad when he heard the invitation, "Let us go".

"The first day of the week, we being assembled". The point is, I repeat, Are you ready to come together? If in every believer there was moral correspondence with the death of Christ, if the flesh and the world were disallowed, in coming together we should know something about having a feast, and there would not be trouble among us. When Paul heard there was trouble at Corinth he put his finger on the spot. He said, You are fleshly. What does that mean? Is it that you have got the flesh? No, but that you allow the flesh. The Corinthians were allowing the flesh and Paul puts his finger on the spot; he says -- "whereas there are among you emulation and strife, are ye not carnal?" (1 Corinthians 3:3). Do you ever have such things where you meet to break bread? If all, like John, were in the Spirit on the Lord's day there would not be trouble. When the Spirit is in power in the saints there is no trouble.

When we come together to break bread, the first thing for you is to be individually right. If you are,

when the Lord's day morning dawns upon you it finds you ready for it. Just try it. On Saturday night, before I go to sleep for the night, I like to say to the Lord, 'Lord, I want to become in the Spirit on the Lord's day'. John became in the Spirit on the Lord's day, not when he was at a meeting, but when he was in Patmos. You may say, How could he be in fellowship where there were no saints? John was more truly in fellowship than are some of us with meetings around us. He was in the reality of fellowship, and if you and I know what it is to be in the reality of fellowship we shall know what it is to become in the Spirit on the Lord's day; we shall come under the active control and power of the Spirit of God.

Take a scripture like Galatians 5"But the fruit" (not fruits, it is the one undivided fruit) -- "But the fruit of the Spirit is love …" That is good to begin the Lord's day with -- love. The blessed activity of the heart going out in love to God and Christ and to all the saints. "Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, fidelity, meekness, self-control" (verses 22, 23). Do we know anything of that?

When John became in the Spirit on the Lord's day, what happened to him? He heard a voice. I know that was a special revelation to John, but, in principle, the moment you become in the Spirit you will find yourself in touch with Christ -- the Spirit will put you in touch with Christ. Is it not wonderful, to be in touch with Christ in a living way by the Spirit? When a man gets in touch with Christ by the Spirit all the enemy's schemes will be overthrown

for him. If we come together in the reality of fellowship the Spirit will put us in tune and in time and in unity. He will put the saints together, and bring about the most wonderful unity and harmony.

Now a word as to the breaking of bread. There are the two sides to it. There is the Lord's side and our side. What is it on His side? It is all love; it is nothing about the judgment of God, nothing about demand. That does not belong to the breaking of bread. What does belong to it? Let Him speak, and let us listen. He said: "This is my body which is given for you" (Luke 22:19). That is the language of love. That is the way love takes; that is the way He would bring His love right home to our hearts. And then of the cup He says: "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you" (verse 20). It is all love on His part -- no judgment.

On the other hand, "our passover, Christ" (1 Corinthians 5:7), is all judgment, the judgment of God, and that is where we want to begin in our souls. We must be in accord with God. Everything that is contrary to God must be judged. That is where we begin. We are in the fellowship of His death as the expression of the judgment of God; but, being in that fellowship, there is nothing now to hinder the Spirit from putting us into accord with all the love that fills the heart of God, and that was told out when Christ gave His body for us and poured out His precious blood for us.

Now then, that is our side; we respond to His love. "We love because he has first loved us" (1 @John 4:19). How simple it is! It is not that we try to love

Christ; Christ brings His love to bear upon our hearts, and there is an answer to it. That is our side of the Supper. We are responsive to Christ's love, and to God's love, for the love of both comes out in the supper: "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you". Oh! how the love of the heart of God is expressed. Is your heart touched by it? It is very simple: you drink in Christ's love and God's love and there is the response to it in your heart.

That is the Lord's supper, that is the breaking of bread, and let me warn you against your minds, as such, becoming entangled with points about the Supper. See to it that you are in the reality of fellowship and in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and then the love of Christ will have full control in your heart and you will respond to His love. With your heart thus responding to Christ's love and to God's love you will never find a locked door to whatever spiritual heavenly privileges belong to the assembly, you will find every door wide open.

I like what Mr. Raven said in one of his later readings when speaking about the Lord's day morning, 'It is the meeting-place, and I would not like to go away from the Lord's day morning meeting with a feeling of disappointment in my heart'. If you get a sight of Him you will do what they did in John 20, they "rejoiced". Why did they rejoice? "The disciples rejoiced therefore, having seen the Lord" (verse 20). Your heart will rejoice, it will be ravished. Do you know what it is to have your heart ravished?

My heart has been ravished in connection with the breaking of bread.

In John 20 they have not come together there to break bread. They have come together as His "brethren" in resurrection and in the light of His ascension. That wonderful message had been brought to them, "go to my brethren and say to them, I ascend to my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God" (verse 17). They are there as His brethren. What does that mean? That they are derived from Himself. "Both he that sanctifies and those sanctified are all of one; for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren" (Hebrews 2:11). The blessed, holy grain of wheat has fallen into the ground, it has died, it is no more "alone", there is "much fruit" (John 12:24). There they are gathered as His brethren, and what happens? "Jesus came and stood in the midst, and says to them, Peace be to you". What then? "The disciples rejoiced therefore, having seen the Lord".

Let us not be content with anything less than all the reality of Christianity. Is not the Spirit here? Do not be content with simply breaking bread; do not, I beg of you, become a mere bread-breaker. Do not be satisfied with anything short of the divine touch of His love. Let your soul know what it is to be thus in the light of what you really are as one of His brethren -- in the light not simply of His death, and not alone of His resurrection, but let your soul know the light of that heavenly place into which He has gone. "I ascend to my Father and your Father, and to my

God and your God".

'From thence He comes within
our midst in heavenly grace
To lead our holy praise, who
'Abba, Father', cry'.

Brethren, I long to know more of it myself. I long that we might all know it. Do not be satisfied with anything less than a full Lord's day portion. Do not be content to touch the fringe of christian privilege, but seek to know it in all its divine fulness. He delights to come to us. What it must be to Him to have a company down here of which He is the Centre. He has been here. He was the Centre of a company when He hung upon the cross. There were those around Him who loved Him. But He has a company now, and into the midst of that company it is the delight of His heart to come.

May we know the divine reality of being in that place, and of rejoicing (as they rejoiced) "having seen the Lord".

May the Lord be pleased to add His blessing.

The Closing Ministry of J. Pellatt, Volume 2, pages 151 - 161 [2 of 2].

INDIVIDUALS AFFECTED BY THE INFLUENCE OF CHRIST

A. J. Gardiner

Luke 8:35: 10: 38 - 42; 1 Peter 5:1 - 4; John 13:23 - 25: Philippians 3:7 - 14

The Lord went on to say, "thou art Peter" (Matthew 16 18), and the Lord would say to every one of us,

that, if God has wrought in us sovereignly, we are to have part in that system, in that response in the assembly, which God is securing at the present time. So every one who has a right apprehension of Christ and of the saints may be encouraged on these lines.

But then Peter also knew how to be rebuked, for the Lord said to him on one occasion, "Get away behind me, Satan" (Matthew 16:23). A most solemn rebuke! as though to remind us that if we allow our minds to work, we shall expose ourselves to the influence of Satan. Peter knew what the care of the Lord Jesus was for his soul. As the Lord was in the presence of His persecutors, as they were reviling Him and spitting upon Him, the Lord turned and looked at Peter when he had just denied the Lord for the third time. You can understand how Peter would be affected by the look of Jesus; there was the Lord in the midst of His sufferings at the hands of men, and in the midst of all that, there was no self-consideration on the part of the Lord, but He turned and looked on Peter; the shepherd care of Christ was showing itself in serving Peter. And then when the Lord arose from the dead, how He went after Peter!

When Mary of Magdala, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome came to the tomb on the first day of the week, a young man said to them, "go tell his disciples and Peter, he goes before you into Galilee" (Mark 16:7). Then when the Lord Himself had appeared to the two going to Emmaus, they returned to the disciples who were saying, "The Lord is indeed risen and has appeared to Simon" (Luke 24:34). I

say that in order to convey an impression of the way Peter was affected by the personal influence of Christ, so that he as an elder enjoins on his fellow elders -- as one who has himself been shepherded -- to shepherd the flock of God which is among them.

Thus there is to be no element whatever of self-consideration or self-seeking in it; it is a question of the flock of God, and caring for the sheep in the flock of God requires a spirit of serving love. Peter had taken on shepherd features, and enjoins on the elders to "shepherd the flock of God which is among you, exercising oversight, not by necessity, but willingly; not for base gain, but readily; not as lording it over your possessions, but being models for the flock".

This is a most important matter, beloved brethren, for those of us who are getting to be a little older -- the older brothers and the older sisters should see the great importance of exemplification. It is one of the most important things in Christianity, the importance of the truth being set out by means of exemplification, and the elder ones are responsible to take it on. The younger ones may take it on too, but the elders are especially enjoined to be models for the flock. It is a principle that always holds good.

You will remember how Paul dealt with the conditions that existed at Corinth, how in his epistle he brought authority to bear upon them, but authority as from a distance; that is, he would not come in amongst them, he knew that if he came in amongst them, he would have to deal drastically with the conditions that existed, so he remained away, but in

order to enforce the authority in a moral way he sent amongst them Timothy, his beloved and faithful child in the Lord, who, he said, "shall put you in mind of my ways as they are in Christ, according as I teach everywhere in every assembly" (1 Corinthians 4 17). Thus Timothy, as moving about, would remind them of Paul's ways, so that there would be seen the power of exemplification, which the Spirit of God always supports.

This is illustrated, I believe, in the history of Gideon, for the history of Gideon answers to the history of the Corinthians. It is a question of which man is going to have place amongst God's people, and the wrong man was there in Gideon's time (Judges 6, 7). That is, Midian was there with the two kings and the two princes, and it says Israel was greatly impoverished because of Midian. They left no sustenance in Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass, and by what means were they to be delivered? By the sword of Jehovah and of Gideon (chapter 7: 20).

The sword of Jehovah is the authority of the word of Jehovah. It is like the apostle bringing in the Lord's commandment in his epistle, but the sword of Gideon is the power of exemplification, because Gideon said "look on me, and do likewise" (chapter 7: 17). These two things are always necessary in any local company to meet conditions that are contrary to the truth. On the one hand the authority of God's word, but on the other hand the power of exemplification of the truth. So Peter is affected by the serving love of Christ, and he enjoins on the elders to

shepherd the flock of God, as being models for the flock.

When we come to John, it is the influence of Christ in restful love, because there is such a thing as serving love and there is such a thing as restful love, and both are to be characteristic of the assembly at this present time. It is like Abigail, who, as invited to become the wife of David, said, "let thy handmaid be a bondwoman to wash the feet of the servants of my lord" (1 Samuel 25:41). That is, serving love, but in view of restfulness. Serving love is what is to characterise us here, but the assembly is also to learn restful love, and we are all to learn it, for God delights in it. He will rest in His love, He will joy over His people with singing (Zephaniah 3:17).

I believe John had learned restful love in Christ for he had companied with the Lord Jesus, as, of course, the other disciples had done, but John especially seems to have been affected by the moral glory that he apprehended in Christ. When I say the moral glory I do not mean the excellence of manhood in Jesus, but rather the glory of Jesus as with His Father that John seems particularly to have been impressed with. He speaks of glory a great deal in his gospel. He says, "we have contemplated his glory, a glory as of an only-begotten with a father" (chapter 1: 14). That is not according to man's ideas of glory, but it evidently greatly attracted John as he took account of Jesus as an only-begotten with a father, and so he goes on to speak to us of "the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father"

(verse 18). A wonderful presentation of Christ, beloved brethren, for John wrote that by the Spirit of God many years after Christ had ascended -- he wrote from that standpoint, the present position of Christ. That is, he presents the idea of settled conditions of love, the Father loving the Son, and the Son resting in the love in which He is as Man, and that, dear brethren, has come into view in Christ so that we might apprehend what our portion is as taken into favour in the Beloved. Not that any one else but Christ is said to be in the bosom of the Father, but His position in its uniqueness is apprehensible by us.

You remember in the first chapter of John's gospel, certain disciples followed Jesus and He turned and saw them following and said, "What seek ye?" and they said, "Rabbi … where abidest thou? He says to them, Come and see. They went therefore, and saw where he abode, and they abode with him that day" (verses 38, 39). Thus they were introduced into the abode of the Son, and they abode with Him. Now I believe John had peculiarly apprehended that, and so in chapter 13 we have John in the bosom of Jesus; that is, he had apprehended, if I may say so, the bosom idea; the idea of restful love, the place where love can be restful. I am sure we need to cultivate restfulness. The first presentation of love in the Scriptures is the love of a father for a son; it is set forth in Abraham and Isaac. "Take now thy son, thine only son, whom thou lovest, Isaac" (Genesis 22 2). That is, so to speak, the prime thought: how Christ is to be apprehended in sonship as loved of

the Father, and it goes into eternity. When we get a sense of the place the Son has in the affections of the Father and the place the assembly has in the affections of Christ, we understand what the Lord said, in John 14, referring to this day, "In that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you" (verse 20).

So the influence of Christ upon John was seen in the verses read from John 13. He was enjoying love in the bosom of Jesus, and in that position he was absolutely unmoved whatever arose. A serious issue is raised: the Lord says that one of the disciples should deliver Him up. Simon Peter made a sign to John to ask who it might be of whom He spoke. But John, leaning on the breast of Jesus says to Him, "Lord, who is it?" That is, it is not only a question of being restful in love, but you can rely on it, on the strength of it; and so John stresses one thing that will go through, the love of Christ. He says, "Jesus, knowing that his hour had come that he should depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, loved them to the end" (chapter 13: 1). The Lord was taking account of what the world would be in His absence, and He set Himself to love them right through to the end. It is most important, dear brethren, that we should have the sense of that and cultivate it too. There is one thing that will never fail, and that is the love of Christ, and it is a good thing to see to it that we strengthen ourselves in the knowledge of it.

Well now, finally, in regard to Paul. The

influence of Christ upon Paul was, of course, very great and varied. I do not suggest that what is seen in this third chapter of Philippians was the only result of the influence of Christ upon Paul, for it certainly was not, but it is a striking thing that when we come to the epistle to the Philippians we have Paul, who was, I suppose, the greatest of the apostles, and had more revealed to him than any other, and suffered more than any others, as he is drawing near the close of his history, marked by one desire to know Christ, and to apprehend that for which he had been apprehended by Christ Jesus.

Paul speaks of "the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord", and speaks in the first chapter of our approving the things that are more excellent (verse 10); it is a superlative expression, because literally there cannot be anything better than what is excellent. He commenced his career as a believer with the light of the glory of Christ, a light above the brightness of the sun. As far as we know he did not know Christ in the days of His flesh, and even if he did, he says in 2 Corinthians 5, "yet now we know him thus no longer" (verse 16). Certainly his history as a believer dated and took character from the light he received of Christ in glory. We have never seen Christ; but Paul had seen Him, and he apprehended in Christ in glory the full thought that God has in mind for those whom He has taken up in Christ. May our hearts live for it, as we begin to get some sense of it. What it will be to be for ever free from the hindrance of the flesh, and the limitations

of the earthen vessel, with no longer any trace of the conditions in which we are at the present time, but to be found in Christ, wholly suitable to the pleasure of God. We can appreciate it objectively in Jesus, but to think that we are to be like Him, even extending to our bodies, Christ's body of glory! The apostle is speaking of it as though his heart is filled with what he apprehended in Christ, and he says, "but one thing -- forgetting the things behind, and stretching out to the things before, I pursue, looking towards the goal, for the prize of the calling on high of God in Christ Jesus". The prize is nothing else than to be found absolutely in Christ, conformed to Him morally and bodily in every way, suitable to the presence of God, conscious of His pleasure in us.

So that was the effect upon Paul of the personal influence of Christ. I would urge upon oneself, as I would upon my brethren, that we should look to the Lord to be brought into this. The woman is to be formed in correspondence with the Man, but then in its measure it is to take effect in every one of us individually, and the means by which it will be brought about is by keeping ourselves under the influence of Christ.

Well, may the Lord encourage us to do so, for His Name's sake.

Piety and Other Addresses by A. J. Gardiner, pages 169 - 175. [2 of 2].

REGULATION BY THE WORD OF CHRIST

J. Taylor

Luke 19:1 - 10, Acts 2:47 (latter clause)

I am exercised to point out that we have to be regulated in all our relations by the Lord Jesus. It is a simple thought, but as I hope to show by the Lord's help, a most essential one for us today; for if we are not regulated by the Lord, however well regulated we may regard ourselves, religiously or socially, it will not only be outside His direct influence, and to that extent without His law, but we shall also be deprived of the privileges which He has for us as those who obey Him. He is the Regulator according to divine appointment, not only of the saints, but of everything, just as of old Joseph was set over the Egyptians, and Pharaoh said to him, "according to thy commandment shall all my people regulate themselves" (Genesis 41:40).

Hence, as a type of the Lord Jesus Christ, we see in Joseph the divine thought that all the saints, and indeed all the nations, and Israel as the head of them, as well as angels and all things, are to be regulated and ruled by the word of Christ. This is perfectly clear from the Scriptures, and I want to show you how essential it is for us; for if we do not go beyond the acknowledgment of our allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ in our baptism, we are simply a multitude without order. The Israelites came up out of Egypt, not indeed as a disorderly mob, but they did not go out according to their tribes; they came out in military rank, "arrayed" (Exodus 13:18); that is, by

fives, five in a rank, thus presenting a military front to the enemy; they were under divine control, but not yet according to their tribes. I want to show you that the divine thought is that we should be regulated according to our tribes; in other words, that we should take up assembly position in our souls. That is what the Lord has in His mind for every one of us.

Now when a young Christian begins his course he recognises the lordship of Christ; that is the initial feature of his confession. In his baptism he confesses that Christ is Lord, but baptism does not set us in our tribes; it does not place us in the fellowship of God's people; that is a later consideration, a further step, but obviously we begin with the acknowledgment, not only in the outward form of baptism, but in our souls, of the lordship of Christ. The one thing that is indicative of Israel's faith is that they crossed the sea, so that baptism is only effective as it is taken up in faith; it is a dead form otherwise.

We as parents do it for the child, but in order that it may be effective for the child it must be in faith with him, so that he may be said to have crossed the sea. He never crosses it truly except by faith, so that he begins his christian career publicly in that way by the acknowledgment of the lordship of Christ. This is what Romans teaches us: "For with the heart is believed to righteousness; and with the mouth confession made to salvation" (Romans 10:10). So that he makes a good start in that way, with the heart affected by faith, and the mouth confessing what the heart has yielded to. Then the apostle goes on to say,

"For none of us lives to himself, and none dies to himself … both if we should live then, and if we should die, we are the Lord's" (chapter 14: 7, 8). Let us recognise that. Then he adds, "For to this end Christ has died and lived again, that he might rule over both dead and living" (verse 9). Thus the Lord has an incontestable right to rule over every soul; He has the keys of hades and of death; He can enter hades at any time and announce His right over every one there. For the moment, His rights through redemption are announced in the gospel testimony, and, as it is accepted in the souls of believers, the lordship of Christ is owned; as Saul said, "What shall I do, Lord?" (Acts 22:10). He not only recognised the Lord's rights over him as a matter of property, but he said, "What shall I do, Lord?" -- that is a levitical resolve.

Now, the people came out of Egypt, and in their song, joining as they did with Moses, as it is said, "Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song to Jehovah"; they say, "Jehovah is a man of war" (Exodus 15:1, 3). That is how they apprehended Him; not yet as the Jehovah who would dwell with them, although no doubt they had it in their hearts, but what the song contemplates is the thought of a military Leader, so that they come out victoriously. They were not led by the way of the Philistines, for God said, "That the people may not repent when they see conflict" (chapter 13: 17). Before we fight, we must learn to be subject.

The book of Numbers is the great regulating

book in the Old Testament, and I want just to touch on it for a moment. In the beginning of the book it is said, "And Jehovah spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai in the tent of meeting" (chapter 1: 1). That was the position of the tabernacle; it was in the wilderness, and God spake out of it, in that position, and the speaking had in view the regulating of the people in regard to their tribes. The tribes, for faith, henceforth were always in view.

No one who loves the Lord will ever let the assembly out of his mind; the assembly will be always before him; hence you find that where the Lord Jesus is typically seen in Moses as dwelling in the affections of His people, it is said "he was king in Jeshurun, when the heads of the people and the tribes of Israel were gathered together" (Deuteronomy 33 5). It is as Christ is recognised and held in the affections of His people that they are regulated by Him in assembly relations. Moses says in Deuteronomy 33, "Yea, he loveth the peoples" (verse 3). The Lord would have us in assembly relations, and as in those relations, the heads of the people and the tribes assembled will be seen there. The Lord is seen there; if as yet He is not acknowledged in the world, yet is He acknowledged there in affection. I believe that is what the king in Jeshurun signifies; Moses was held in the affections of the people; you can see the importance of the tribes. Those who are not walking in the light of the assembly are not holding to Christ.

Thus we see throughout the Old Testament, and in the New, that the tribes are always in view for

faith. You get them in Elijah; you remember how he built an altar of twelve stones, recognising the twelve tribes (1 Kings 18:31). In the Psalms too the tribes always come in for affectionate recognition. Jerusalem is a city compacted together; it was not a city of endless suburbs like modern cities; it was divinely regulated, "whither the tribes go up". One loves to think of the saints in assembly order as before God; the psalmist says that the tribes go up "a testimony to Israel" (Psalm 122:3, 4). So the apostle Paul speaks of them; he says before Agrippa, "our whole twelve tribes" (Acts 26:7). What a witness! No one can explain how that is, only we see that it is on the principle of faith.

So James writes to them too, "to the twelve tribes which are in the dispersion" (James 1:1), for him they were all there; he does not hint at 'lost tribes'; Scripture knows no such thought. We hear people say that the British people are the lost tribes; this is not so. The scripture has all in view; you do not write to lost people. I only speak of it in regard to the assembly, my desire being that we might have before us the thought of the entire company, as being under the eye of the Lord, and, moreover, that if any one writes today, he writes as having all saints on earth in view. Scripture not only speaks of speakers, but also of writers; every scribe is like unto a householder, we read (Matthew 13:52). James writes to the twelve tribes, and so if you write it is not only for the few you know, it is for all. Anything that the Lord gives, He gives for the whole assembly, because His

thoughts of the assembly are never narrower than to include every member of it. The Lord knows those that are His (2 Timothy 2:19); they are not lost in this sense.

Now to come to the thought of regulation. In the book of Numbers Jehovah is said to have spoken to Moses out of the tabernacle in the wilderness, and the word was one of regulation. It is in keeping with Corinthians, which is the word of regulation for the assembly. The Lord, through the apostle, addresses Himself "to the assembly of God which is in Corinth …with all that in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both theirs and ours" (1 Corinthians 1 2). There is only one Lord; wherever there is a company calling on His Name He is their Lord, as He is of all other companies; and then as the apostle proceeds, you discern that one rule or law is to govern all; all are to be regulated by the same principles. So the apostle says, "Now I praise you, that in all things ye are mindful of me; and that as I have directed you, ye keep the directions" (1 Corinthians 11:2). There were some directions which they kept, and others which they disregarded, but he credited them with those they had kept.

Ministry by J. Taylor, Belfast, Volume 11, pages 419 - 423. [1 of 2] 1920.

JOSEPH'S SATISFACTION AND FRUITFULNESS IN A STRANGE LAND

F. E. Raven

Genesis 41; Psalm 105:16 - 22

There are few histories or accounts of individuals which are of greater interest than that of Joseph. But it is not for its intrinsic interest that the Spirit of God records the history, but because it delineates in a remarkable way the truth with regard to Christ.

The passage in Psalm 105 gives us the Spirit's commentary upon the history of Joseph. The psalm itself is a summing up of the history of Israel, of the goodness of God to them, a goodness that they will recognise in a coming day; at the same time you get the commentary of the Holy Spirit upon the course of certain individuals, and especially of Joseph, for the course of Joseph serves to portray the connection of Christ with Israel. I purpose, if God will, taking that up further on, more especially in connection with Joseph in the land of Egypt, and with the characteristic names which he gives his children. I think there is interest even in a detail of that kind. The names of his children are characteristic of his experience in the land of Egypt.

We saw in Genesis the circumstances which brought Joseph into Egypt, but in the commentary in the Psalms we find that he was sent down into Egypt of God. In the history in Genesis he was sold by his brethren to the Ishmaelites, and they brought him into Egypt; but the fact was that God sent him thither. God had regard to the seed of Abraham, and

sent Joseph down into Egypt that he might preserve their life in famine.

Now we see that Joseph passes through the experience of death to his brethren. His feet were hurt with fetters, the iron entered into his soul; that is experimental. He went through the painful experience of death to his kindred. But he comes out in Egypt in another character, no longer as the dreamer, but as an interpreter of dreams. In the time of his dreams, though he relates them, he does not interpret them. His brethren and his father are quick enough to give them their interpretation, but he did not himself interpret them. Now we do not get any record of dreams given to him in Egypt, but he is an interpreter, and what occurred in Egypt was in accordance with his interpretation.

"The word of Jehovah tried him"; it had to be seen whether his interpretation would hold, whether he had the word of the Lord, and that was the beginning and source of his exaltation. The circumstances are well known: he interpreted the dreams of the chief butler and of the chief baker, and though he is long forgotten, he is eventually remembered and brought to the king. The word of Jehovah tried him; then the king sent and loosed him. It appears to me that an interpreter is greater than a dreamer. A dreamer speaks of dark communications, but an interpreter makes communications plain. Joseph is no longer a dreamer, but an interpreter.

Now we come to his exaltation. All is step-by-step (verses 20, 21); "He made him lord of his house,

and ruler over all his possessions", etc. In the land of Canaan he had been one of twelve brethren, not at all a man of distinction, but God meant to give him distinction in Egypt, so the king exalted him; he was to be second to the king; there was to be no one greater than Joseph in the kingdom. Authority was conferred upon him; Pharaoh gave him a name, and power to "bind his princes at his pleasure, and teach his elders wisdom". All were to bow the knee to Joseph; he was to have unlimited authority.

Then in Egypt Joseph forms a new link, and that is a most important point in his history. A wife was given to him in the land of his strangerhood, and children are born to him, and the names given them record the experience of Joseph in Egypt. One name expressed that "God has made me forget all my toil, and all my father's house", and the other indicated that he was fruitful in the time of his affliction.

I drop now the history of Joseph. I took it up only because it portrays the history of Christ in connection with Israel, and I think too with the church. You will find the history in detail fulfilled in Christ. God sent Him, so to speak, before His brethren. He came after the flesh, but it was God who sent Him. And what would be the hope of Israel in the future if God had not sent a Man before them? Christ did not come as of His own will, but as divinely sent, and in the interests of God's people; and God has now exalted Him "by his right hand as leader and saviour, to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins" (Acts 5 31), to turn away "ungodliness from Jacob" (Romans 11:26).

God well knew the moral famine that would come to pass in regard to Israel, and sent a Man before them. Joseph had to taste, as a servant, the bitterness of man's rejection of Him; if I might use the expression, 'the iron entered into his soul'. Every class of people is viewed as responsible for the death of Christ; the Jew, of course, first, but in measure also the Gentile. You find that in the beginning of Acts, in Peter's quotation from Psalm 2 (see Acts 4:25 - 28). All agreed in the death of Christ; but the peculiar bitterness was that He was rejected of His own people: "He came to his own, and his own received him not" (John 1:11). He had ministered to them in the name of Jehovah, but He was rejected, and it was to Him a bitter experience. When the Lord entered Jerusalem for the last time He wept over it, and said, "If thou hadst known … at least in this thy day, the things that are for thy peace: but now they are hid from thine eyes" (Luke 19:42). Jeremiah, Paul, and many another servant of God, felt their rejection by the people of God, and many an expression found in such a book as the Lamentations of Jeremiah could be taken up by the Lord.

But all this was up to a point. "Until the time when what he said came about: the word of Jehovah tried him". Christ had ever borne testimony to that which man could not accept, but would deride; He bore testimony to who He was; He witnessed a good confession; it was His unvarying testimony not only that He was going to suffer, but that He would rise again. He said, "Destroy this temple, and in three

days I will raise it up" (John 2:19), and again, "Before Abraham was, I am" (John 8:58). He bore testimony to the truth, according to the will of God, and in the power of the Holy Spirit. He spoke that which He heard from the Father, and the word of the Lord tried Him, until His word came about.

Well, I believe that "His word" was resurrection -- resurrection was the great sign. He had to stand by the word He spoke; and He was raised up. Then in the beginning of the Acts the witness was, "him, given up by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye, by the hands of lawless men have crucified and slain. Whom God has raised up, having loosed the pains of death" (Acts 2:23, 24). That was the burden of the testimony there; and the gifts and powers of the Holy Spirit were testimony to the exaltation of Christ. The apostles were witnesses and the Holy Spirit; and the raising up of the lame man at the beautiful gate of the temple attested the word of Christ (Acts 3:1 - 11). All His word was fulfilled; He had borne witness that He would sit at the right hand of God, and Stephen looks up into heaven and sees the Son of man at the right hand of God (Acts 7:55, 56). The word of Jehovah tried Him, but His word came about.

We, too, are tested by the word of the Lord, but we have assurance that it is the word of God. "All flesh is as grass, and all its glory as the flower of grass. The grass has withered, and its flower has fallen; but the word of the Lord abides for eternity" (1 Peter 1:24, 25). We are tested by the word of God,

but if we stand to the word it will vindicate us; you see this in the case of Joseph and in the Lord Himself: "Until the time when what he said came about: the word of Jehovah tried him".

But Christ was not simply set at liberty in resurrection. If you turn to Philippians 2:9 - 11, you find three great points: first, exaltation; secondly, that a name is given to Him; and thirdly, authority is conferred on Him -- universal authority. This recalls to us the history of Joseph. Joseph was highly exalted in Egypt, he is second to none, except the king himself, and he gets a name. Now a name is given to Jesus -- and name expresses renown -- authority and renown are given to Christ, and the word is, as in the case of Joseph, "bow the knee"; "that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow … and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to God the Father's glory".

You may trace the history of Christ in that of Joseph. He went into death, but He is set free; He is brought out into a large place, and is set at the right hand of God -- Christ is set there. We are in the light of the exaltation of Christ; grace has taught us to bow the knee to Jesus; we believe in Him, and confess and rejoice in Him as Lord. But then every knee is to bow to Him, and every tongue to confess that He is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

I believe it is most important to apprehend that every soul has got to do with Christ as Lord. God has been pleased to cause light to shine into this world, and the light has its bearing on everybody; I do not know of a person in all the world who is not entitled

to enjoy the light of the sun, and that is the only adequate figure of the wideness of God's testimony at the present time; "there is nothing hid from the heat thereof" (Psalm 19:9) -- that is, of the gospel. The testimony of God in this world is of the glory of Christ; He is Lord of all on the ground of redemption, and every knee has to bow to Him. Exercise in regard to the gospel is not limited to those who accept it; there are many who tremble at the word, and take up Christianity for a time, and yet do not come to the reality of faith; and what is the reason? Does God hinder them? Why, God would have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth; there is nothing in the heart of God against any soul believing.

I believe that thousands are exercised about the gospel who never come to believe it. They prefer to hold to something here -- it may be some affection in this world, or to their own will -- and never really come into the light. But that does not alter the fact, the great fact, that the light which has come into the world is the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ -- Christ is Lord of all.

But I pass on to speak of the links which are formed in this present time, in which Christ is hidden from His kindred after the flesh. In Joseph's case his kindred had no knowledge of him; as far as they were concerned he might have been torn in pieces by wild beasts; he was hidden from them for the time being. That figures the position of Christ with regard to Israel at the present time. Christ is dead as to them, they know nothing about Him but

His crucifixion; they know that they crucified Him, but they know nothing of Him in resurrection.

Now I want to speak a little of links that are formed in that time. In Genesis 41:45, we see that Pharaoh gave to Joseph a name -- and a name that was symbolic in a way. He also obtains a wife. What I understand a wife often to represent in Scripture is a covenant, or system, or order of things. Sarah, as we see in the epistle to the Galatians, is used to set forth a covenant or order of things come in; and Hagar to show the legal covenant; and in the case of Joseph we see him identified with what was entirely outside of all that was natural to him; it would have been more natural to him to have married a wife from the land of his fathers.

Now the principle holds good in regard to Christ. He is identified in heaven with another order of things, represented by the wife of Joseph. A verse from Hebrews 7 will make that plain; the law which "perfected nothing" is set aside -- that is one order of things; but there is "the introduction of a better hope by which we draw nigh to God" (verse 19) -- that is the order of things with which Christ is identified at the present time. The love of God has opened heaven to us -- that is the better hope. We have come unto "mount Zion; and to the city of the living God, heavenly Jerusalem; and to myriads of angels, the universal gathering; and to the assembly of the firstborn who are registered in heaven" (Hebrews 12:22, 23) -- that is the order of things with which Christ has become identified during the time of His decease as

regards Israel, His people down here. It is wonderful to think that God should open heaven to the Jews; everything was closed to them down here, but when that was so God, in His infinite mercy, opened to them the door of heaven, where Christ has entered as Forerunner, and it is with the better hope that He has identified Himself now. When the soul understands that, it is beautiful to think of Christ being identified with the better hope: we see the answer of God's grace to the wickedness of the Jews.

Now, if they would reach Christ, they must go forth to Him "without the camp", but the door of heaven has been opened to them. The death of Christ speaks not simply of the perverseness of the Jews, but of God's glory; and on the ground of that the door of heaven has been opened, and souls have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil.

But further, a generation has sprung from that link which Christ has formed -- from the system and order of things with which He is identified. Our souls identify Him with the better hope. He is the priest of that order of things, and the effect upon us is that we are a new generation, "the sons of God, without rebuke" (Philippians 2:15, A.V.). Was there ever that generation before Christ was here? There were the children of Abraham, and men of faith, but there was not a generation, before Christ, that understood anything about the Father's love. Such a generation could not come to light until Christ had been down

here. Christ brought into the world the love of the Father. He did not take it away with Him, but left here objects of that love, that, as you get in John 17"the love with which thou hast loved me may be in them and I in them" (verse 26). Jesus did not leave the world as He found it. In one sense He left it darker than He found it; but He left here those who were the objects of the Father's love; to "as many as received him, to them gave he the right to be children of God" (John 1:12). They were not here before; but now they are here, a generation of a wholly new order, "harmless and simple, irreproachable children of God in the midst of a crooked and perverted generation, among whom ye appear as lights in the world" (Philippians 2:15). That is the character of the generation. How much do we answer to it? how much are we instructed in the love of the Father?

I will tell you the true stature of the Christian. It is the measure in which he enjoys the love of the Father; he is not measured in Scripture by his faith, but by his love, and his love is dependent upon his appreciation of the Father's love. I love only as I am conscious of the Father's love -- and that is our stature as children of God. Thus we are "without rebuke". The world itself has not improved morally; it is a crooked and perverse nation still; the pulpits of this country are largely used to disseminate error. But we are in the light; for you could not shine as lights in the world except as being in the light; you shine as reflecting light from Christ; in the light of His love we shine, and we hold forth the testimony

of life; light marks this generation, and it comes forth in life.

The satisfaction which Joseph had in the soul, given him in Egypt, is illustrative of the satisfaction which Christ has in the generation of which I have spoken, so that Christ can say, typically, "God has made me forget all my toil, and all my father's house". He will rejoin His kindred, as did Joseph, but in the meantime God has made Him to forget His toil in His satisfaction in the generation which has been begotten to Him, in the time of His separation, in the children of God, who are in the enjoyment of the love of the Father. He is fruitful in the time of His affliction; He "shall see of the fruit of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied" (Isaiah 53:11).

We are all begotten in the time of Christ's rejection by His own people Israel; we are in the light of His glory, but at the same time we have to remember that He is disallowed of men. Man's disallowance of Christ was expressed in death; but the One disallowed is chosen of God, and precious -- that is shown in resurrection. If you accept the disallowance, we too are disallowed, and have to "work out" our "own salvation with fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12); but in apprehending Christ, as "with God chosen, precious" (1 Peter 2:4), we are loved of the Father, are the elect of God, holy and beloved. We are partners with Christ in His rejection, but shine as lights in the world, holding forth the word of life. We look for the Bridegroom; the Spirit and the bride say, "Come"; and then there is the appeal, "And let him

that is athirst come; he that will, let him take the water of life freely" (Revelation 22:17) -- the word of life is held forth in the generation which is the satisfaction of Christ in the time of His rejection. That is what marks the present time, and I think you can thus trace in Christ the history of Joseph.

There is one forcible expression in Psalm 105 -- "Until the time when what he said came about: the word of Jehovah tried him". You need to stand firm to the word of the Lord in the midst of a great deal that is contrary to it; the Lord was it, and stood to it amid opposition and ridicule, until His word came. And by the grace of God we must stand to it.

When the world has passed away, the word of the Lord endureth for ever. Joseph stood to his word, and got the answer in liberty, exaltation, a new name, and authority; but there is a much greater satisfaction than all this. May God lead us into the sense of it, the satisfaction to the heart of Christ, so that He can say, "God has made me forget all my toil, and all my father's house", and He is fruitful in a strange land.

May God give us to see the reality of this, and the marks of that generation which has, if I may use the expression, sprung from Christ in the time of His decease from His own people Israel. He will be the Saviour to the latter eventually, to give them remission of sins.

Ministry by F. E. Raven, Volume 13, pages 12 - 21.

REGULATION BY THE WORD OF CHRIST

J. Taylor

Luke 19:1 - 10, Acts 2:47 (latter clause)

I dwell on the point of regulation because, although there is to be no assumption to the position of the assembly in a public way, yet we must cling to first principles, those which were given to the apostle by the Lord to govern the saints. So it says, "But if any one think to be contentious, we have no such custom" (1 Corinthians 11:16). It is contrary to the assembly to have contention; "It is better to dwell in a desert land, than with a contentious and irritable woman" (Proverbs 21:19). Contention is foreign to the assembly, so the apostle says, "we have no such custom, nor the assemblies of God". Men might meet on Mars' Hill to dispute about matters (Acts 17:19), but not so in the assembly; it is a place for subjection to one another in the fear of Christ, hence the importance of rule. So the apostle says to Titus, "For this cause I left thee in Crete, that thou mightest go on to set right what remained unordered" (chapter 1: 5); things were to be set in order.

When you come to the regulations in Numbers, the principle was that Judah was to have the first place; that cuts straight across nature. Nature and all its interests and prejudices must be excluded in the ordering of the house of God. Reuben was the firstborn, but he has not the first place in the ordering of the tribes; Judah had that; not that he was any better exactly, but God would assert His rights. Judah gets the first place in relation to the tabernacle; and that is

a very important principle; we must recognise God's sovereign right. "He doeth according to his will in the army of the heavens … and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?" (Daniel 4:35).

Now, another point in regard to that: Reuben is the firstborn of Israel; he represents natural right. Natural right was wholly refused in the ordering of the tribes, so that Reuben had his own place, and that place was adjacent to the family of the Kohathites; alas! they influenced each other injuriously, and the result was a party spirit; a servant allying himself with those who had a natural right, and so they rebelled against Moses and Aaron (see Numbers 16). There was the alliance of natural right and prejudices with those who had the position of being servants of the Lord; but that moral combination led them to become rebels against the authority of Christ in Moses, and the priesthood of Christ in Aaron. We are so apt to gender party feeling locally. Whilst the Lord emphasised in Numbers the principle of local responsibility, yet that very principle involved a danger, that is the danger of local party spirit.

If we have large meetings, or a number of large meetings in a locality, we are apt to think that we must be in a leading place. The leading place is determined by divine regulation and not by numbers. There were in that combination two hundred and fifty princes, men who had acquired renown. Renown is right in a spiritual way, for in Numbers the heads of the tribes are said to be men of renown. Paul was renowned spiritually, but you get men

living on their own renown; there you have the danger, and the result is party spirit. Jehovah comes in and decides the thing: "I will make to cease from before me the murmurings of the children of Israel" (Numbers 17:5). These men came up to the tent of the tabernacle in their brazen rebellion; they murmured before God. God says, I will make a test, and He did it by setting up Aaron's rod to bear fruit in the sanctuary. The answer to all this rebellion is in life; life only can meet it.

In the book of Numbers you have the great principle of regulation; the people are all regulated according to their tribes and set round about the tabernacle, God Himself dwelling there in love in the midst of them; each tribe had a divinely given place round about the tabernacle. "Thou that sittest between the cherubim, shine forth. Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh …" (Psalm 80:1, 2). The position of these three tribes was in immediate proximity to the holiest; God was to shine forth on them. How important to occupy your place, for you never can tell when God may shine forth on you. It is His prerogative to shine forth, He shines in the face of Jesus Christ; "Wake up, thou that sleepest … and the Christ shall shine upon thee" (Ephesians 5:14).

Now to come to Zacchaeus (Luke 19); I want to show how the principle of regulation works out in the individual. Zacchaeus is a remarkable man; he is a type of a believer, but of a believer unregulated. This is true of many today, alas! The Lord had passed through Jericho, the place of the curse, and

here is a man evidently exercised. He had heard of Jesus, and wanted to see Him, "who he was"; that was the exercise he had. I wonder if we have that exercise, to see Jesus, who He is. You remember how the Lord had put that question to the disciples, but He did not ask it of Zacchaeus; that was not the point then; Zacchaeus had not had the opportunity to know as the disciples had had. Zacchaeus runs ahead; "running on before", it says, and climbed up into a tree, but he thereby placed himself in a very awkward position spiritually, as we are all liable to do, with the very best intentions, unless we are regulated by the word of Christ. He was one of those men who go before the Lord; never do that! You may be puzzled to know what to do, you may have the best intentions, but do not ever run on before. A man who goes before the Lord may be called an extremist; extremists are never in the mind of the Lord, hence the importance of waiting for definite regulation by the word of Christ. He will come and regulate you if there is any uncertainty.

In the previous incident in Luke 18:39, before the Lord had passed through Jericho, there were certain "who were going before", and they would have silenced Bartimaeus, they would have hindered him from coming to the Lord, and that was a very serious matter, but the Lord asserts His rights and stood and commanded him to be brought. So Zacchaeus had run before the Lord, and he found himself, as I have said, in a peculiar position spiritually. Suppose the Lord were here today, how many

people who profess to own Him would He have to look up to according to man's order? A great many, I fear. If I am in a position in which He would have to look up to me, or even in one which one of His people would have to look up to me, it is a position to be given up. I very much prefer to be on a level with His people. Timothy comes in as one of the brethren; he came with them, it is said, not they with him. I would not be happy to find myself in a position in which the Lord Jesus, if He were here, would have to look up to me. He had to look up to Zacchaeus, and in His grace He did look up to him, but it was to bring Zacchaeus down, in order that he might be regulated by His word, and that he might have the privilege of the Lord's company in his house. It is a very much happier position to view the Lord, and to see Him in the environment of the home, than to view Him from the sycamore tree. Things were not right here. If that be your case, let the Lord regulate you, let His word enter your heart, for as of old Joseph's word was to rule all Egypt, so Christ's word is to rule, and regulate, you and me.

So Jesus says, "Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for today I must remain in thy house". He encourages him to come down, because He says, I am going to abide at thy house. Is it not worth while to come down so as to have the Lord? If you have never tasted what it means to have Christ in your own house, then, as one who in a measure has tasted it, I would encourage you to listen to His word. He would be near to you so that you might see Him in

His beauty. The house of Zacchaeus was no doubt a well-furnished house, quite in keeping with his means, but the Lord did not say a word about Zacchaeus's riches; He had spoken to another man about his riches, for riches were hindering him, but obviously that was not the case with Zacchaeus. He loved the Lord, and the Lord knew it, but He says, Zacchaeus, you must be regulated by My word, and in order that you should have Me, it must be so. I would urge you to be obedient to His word, not only to His commands, but to His word. What the Lord said to Zacchaeus was an appeal coupled with a promise: "for today I must remain in thy house".

So he made haste, he complied with the Lord's word, and received Him joyfully. It is a beautiful picture. How one can follow the Lord going through the door, and how Zacchaeus would attend upon Him. What a different scene from that presented in Luke 7, the Pharisee's house! Here He says, I must remain in thy house. The Lord is not in a hurry to leave any one who wants Him.

Well, I need not dwell further on that point; I turn now to Acts 2, to say a word as to verse 47. The Lord comes in in grace to your house that you may see Him in His beauty, but I draw attention to a beautiful and forcible expression, in the Psalms, "One thing have I asked of Jehovah … that I may dwell in the house of Jehovah … to behold the beauty of Jehovah, and to inquire of him in his temple" (Psalm 27:4). It is not now that the Lord might be in my house, but that I might dwell in His. You

remember how beautifully David distinguishes; he says, "I dwell in a house of cedars" (2 Samuel 7:2), but he did not invite Jehovah into that, but he went and sat in Jehovah's house. Have you ever done that? As he sits, inquiring of Jehovah, the word comes. I cannot enlarge on that now, but you can understand it. David was willing to forego his own house, to dwell in Jehovah's house all the days of his life, and in that house he would see the beauty of Jehovah.

So, in Acts, we have described what the effect of Peter's preaching was; three thousand were converted, and it says that all that believed had all things common, "And they persevered in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles, in breaking of bread and prayers" (verse 42); then it says, "and the Lord added to the assembly daily those that were to be saved".

Has the Lord done that for you? That is what He is doing; adding to His assembly. I do not overlook the fact that we have no visible assembly. A brother told me lately that the expression 'the invisible church' is St. Augustine's; it is in that way a supplementary reference; he must have come to differentiate between the real church and the visible church; at any rate, it is very suggestive of that. We have to differentiate between the visible and the invisible; the visible is in ruins, but the invisible remains and the gates of hades shall not prevail against it. Thank God, there is that here, the members of which are linked up together by the Spirit, a formation that cannot be dissolved, that will never disintegrate. The

Lord holds it, and at the end it is again presented, for it says, "The Spirit and the bride say, Come" (Revelation 22:17). I believe the Lord is adding to that, as at the beginning, daily; every day. Are you added? We have been speaking today of the revelation made to Peter as once for all; it is for you and for me to have the light of it in our souls, so that there may be a spiritual foundation for a structure to be erected upon. It is for each one to know whether he is in that structure.

Let us see to it that we have a spiritual foundation, that we have not only outward, formal links, but that we may be of those of whom it can be said, "the Lord added to the assembly". When I call someone my brother, do I mean it? Do I mean that that person is a member of Christ's body, and in that way linked vitally with me? It is all very real, and the Lord would have us to be regulated by these words, for these words convey light to the soul, and if we are regulated by them we shall come into blessing. The Lord said to Peter, "Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona" (Matthew 16:17). And it is a wonderful day in your soul when the light of Christ as "the Son of the living God" (verse 16) comes into it. You will then be designated blessed, your place in the assembly will be known to you, and you will apprehend what the assembly is to Christ.

May God bless His word.

Ministry by J. Taylor, Belfast, Volume 11, pages 423 - 429. [2 of 2] 1920.

THE OIL OF GLADNESS

W. J. House

Psalm 45

I want to say a few words about the Lord Jesus as anointed with the oil of gladness above His companions (verse 7).

We have spoken a little together about God's joy, and there is what causes joy to our hearts, but I want now to draw attention to Christ's joy: He is anointed with the oil of gladness above His companions. His joy is greater than ours, and it is an immense thing that we should have some right apprehension of it.

But first I should like to consider Him in His sufferings, for He is anointed with another kind of oil than the oil of gladness, as we find in this psalm, "Myrrh and aloes, and cassia, are all thy garments". This speaks of His suffering love, for even in that regard He is anointed with the oil above His companions.

The oil with which the ark was anointed, and which was also poured out over the table, the candlestick, the altar of incense, and the altar of burnt- offering, is the same oil with which Aaron and his sons were anointed. This oil speaks of His sufferings and sorrows. How much greater is His anointing in this respect than is that of His companions. I think the apostle Paul was the one who had the greatest share in His sufferings -- he was anointed with the anointing of myrrh more than any other of Christ's companions.

When we consider what he writes to the Corinthians about his sufferings (2 Corinthians 11:23 - 27), we are humbled and ashamed as to how little we have been tried compared with him. He was anointed with the anointing which speaks of Christ's sufferings, but when he measures himself with the sufferings of the Lord Jesus he says, "our momentary and light affliction" (2 Corinthians 4:17). The apostle considers his afflictions as small. He reckoned that the measure of the oil with which he was anointed was small compared with Christ's sufferings. Paul's part in sufferings could be measured, but Christ's sufferings cannot be measured. Peter's sufferings also can be measured. He also speaks much of Christ's sufferings, and of the saints here who suffered for God's will, but how much greater are Christ's sufferings. They are far greater than Peter's; he was bound and led where he would not.

The Lord Jesus was a Man of sorrows (Isaiah 53 3). It says, "sorrows". It does not say how many sorrows. It is said of Him that He carried our sorrows. Think of a heart that could bear all our sorrows! I wonder if anyone here has sought to bear another's sorrows. How quickly we reach the point when we cannot bear it any longer. We can only go a little way, but the Lord Jesus went the whole way and bare all our sorrows. Wherever He found a sorrow He took it on Himself and bare it. Think of the sorrows that found expression in His tears! Think of His tears over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41)! He says, "Jerusalem, Jerusalem" (Matthew 23:37). What depths are contained in those words! They had refused Him,

and He saw the judgment which God must cause to come upon them, and therefore He wept. We see Him weep too over the effect that death had caused (John 11:35). But there was one sorrow He had here in the world which I think was a very great sorrow; He says, "Reproach hath broken my heart" (Psalm 69 20). Wherever He went in this world, dear brethren, He met reproach towards God. Instead of blessing God, praising Him, thanking Him, and worshipping Him, men despised Him. The heart of the Lord Jesus was broken with this reproach. I think He felt this more than anything else; He walked through a world that did not know God, but despised Him. I wonder if any of us have a similar feeling in any degree? We are surrounded by those who do not know God. It is the greatest sorrow a heart can have who knows God.

But now we come to the oil of gladness. I think we see that oil shining out in His walk through this world. We read, "out of ivory palaces stringed instruments have made thee glad". When the Lord Jesus saw how the stringed instruments flowed out of the ivory palaces in praise and thanksgiving to God, we see He rejoiced. We understand that the oil of gladness was there for Him when He heard these stringed instruments. Think of the ivory palace where the Lord Jesus was! The ivory palace is where the king dwells, and the King was here. Wherever the Lord Jesus was, was an ivory palace. Once they took the roof off where He was and let a man down before Him. The Lord said, "Man, thy sins be

forgiven thee … Arise, and take up thy little couch and go to thine house. And immediately standing up before them, having taken up that whereon he was laid, he departed to his house, glorifying God" (Luke 5:18 - 26). From this house there went out a stringed instrument which will give God praise eternally. The oil of gladness began to come to light in this case, as also on many other occasions. As Jesus began to move forward, He saw a woman who was bound with a spirit of infirmity. She could in no wise lift up herself; she could not look up and praise Him, but the He said, "Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity" (Luke 13:12), and immediately she was made straight and glorified God. There we have a fresh stringed instrument. What joy it was for Christ to see another instrument that spoke God's praise! The thief on the cross likewise went into paradise, attuned to sing God's praise.

The chief and foremost joy of Jesus is that from the ivory palace there is an answer to God from the stringed instruments of hearts that in this manner know God and are brought under His blessed sway. What joy it is for the Lord when He sees the assembly as a vessel which He will lead in praise to God, and where He is the Centre. It says, "in the midst of the assembly will I sing thy praises" (Hebrews 2:12). In that way we see the Lord becomes more and more glad.

When the assembly comes to light the Lord Jesus rejoices -- He has then a vessel which can give God praise. It is a part of His present service and joy to

form a vessel here for this blessed end. With what joy too the Lord looks on to the twenty-four elders surrounding the throne in heaven. Every one of them will fall down and worship and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, "Thou art worthy" (Revelation 4:10, 11). The Lord Jesus will rejoice too later when He sees the great company of the hundred and forty-four thousand who play on their stringed instruments before God (Revelation 14:1 - 5). They all know God and praise Him ...

But in other ways the Lord was anointed with the oil of gladness. What gladness there must have been in His heart when Thomas said, "Let us also go, that we may die with him" (John 11:16). There was a heart behind these words which set a value on the Lord Jesus. What must it have been, too, to Him when Mary took the box of costly ointment and anointed His feet and wiped them with her hair (John 12:3). The Lord saw in the act of Mary something which was beginning to take shape -- that vessel which shall be His bride for ever, so His heart rejoiced. So also after the resurrection, what must it have been to His heart when He heard Mary Magdalene say when she thought He was the gardener, "Sir, if thou hast borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away" (John 20:15). She could not go home. She had no home where He was absent. She would have Him, even if He were dead. We can thus well understand how it gladdened the Lord's heart to gather up these blessed expressions of devotedness. He will one day

present to Himself a glorious assembly without spot or wrinkle -- a vessel whose devotion shall be exclusively for Him and whose love shall be as fresh after a thousand years as it was at the beginning. This love and devotion will continue through eternity in divine freshness. The assembly enters eternity prepared as a bride adorned for her bridegroom. Thus Christ becomes anointed with the oil of gladness above His companions. How it should rejoice us to contribute to it. There cannot be anything more blessed than to contribute to it, but He transcends us all as the One who is anointed with the oil of gladness above His companions.

The Lord will help us even at the present time and see that our harps are attuned, that we are so kept under the influence of His own grace that we live in these things and can be in the possession of these harps in order that He and God in this way can now receive praise from our hearts. This is again an addition to Christ's joy. He has the highest place amongst His people. If we understood more the meaning of His trials and sorrows whilst we are here, we should ponder and consider more the book of Psalms, where the record of His sorrows are shown. If devotedness is found, it contributes to His joy. Joy will be our portion as we in some degree contribute to the joy of Christ's heart.

Words of Grace and Comfort, Volume 3 (1927), pages 42 - 48.

BETHANY (PART 2)

C. H. Mackintosh

John 11; John 12

It gives great rest to the heart to know that the One who has undertaken for us, in all our weakness, in all our need, and in all the exigencies of our path, from first to last, has first of all perfectly secured, in every respect, the glory of God. That was His primary object in all things.

In the grand work of redemption, and in all the most minute details of our history, from the starting-point to the goal, the glory of God has the first place in the devoted heart of that blessed One with whom we have to do. At all cost to Himself He vindicated and maintained the divine glory. For that end He gave up everything. He laid aside His own glory, humbled Himself and emptied Himself. He surrendered all His personal rights and claims, and yielded up His life, in order to lay the imperishable foundation of that glory which now fills all heaven -- shall soon cover the earth, and shine through the wide universe for ever.

The knowledge and abiding sense of this must give profound repose to the spirit in reference to everything that concerns us, whether it be the salvation of the soul, the forgiveness of sins, or the need of the daily path. All that could possibly be a matter of exercise to us, for time or for eternity, has been provided for, all secured on the self-same basis that sustains the divine glory. We are saved and provided for; but the salvation and provision -- all praise to

our glorious Saviour and Provider! -- are inseparably bound up with the glory of God. In all that our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us, in all that He is doing, in all that He will do, the glory of God is fully maintained.

And, further, we may add, in all our trials, difficulties, sorrows, and exercises, if instant relief be not afforded, we have to remember that there is some deep reason connected with the glory of God and our real good, why the desired relief is withheld. In seasons of pressure we are apt to think only of the one thing, namely, relief. But there is very much more than this to be considered. We should think of the glory of God. We should seek to know His object in putting us under the pressure. We should earnestly desire that His end might be gained, and His glory promoted. This would be for our fullest and deepest blessing, while, on the contrary, the relief which we so eagerly desire might be the very worst thing we could get. We must always remember that, through the marvellous grace of God, His glory and our true blessing are so inseparably bound up together, that when the former is maintained, the latter must be perfectly secured.

This is a most precious consideration; and one eminently calculated to sustain the heart in all seasons of affliction. All things must ultimately redound to the glory of God, and "all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to purpose" (Romans 8:28). It may not, perhaps, be so easy to see this when the

pressure is upon us. When anxiously watching by the sick-bed of a beloved friend; or when treading the chamber of sorrow; or when laid on a bed of pain and languishing ourselves; or when overwhelmed by sudden tidings of the loss of our earthly all: under such circumstances it may not be so easy to see the glory of God maintained, and our blessing secured; but faith can see it for all that; and as for 'blind unbelief', it is always 'sure to err'. If those beloved sisters of Bethany had judged by the sight of their eyes, they would have been sorely tried during those weary days and nights spent at the bedside of their much loved brother. And not only so, but when the terrible moment arrived, and they were called to witness the closing scene, many dark reasonings might have sprung up in their crushed and desolate hearts.

But Jesus was looking on. His heart was with them. He was watching the whole process, and that, too, from the very highest standpoint -- the glory of God. He took in the entire scene, in all its bearings, in all its influences, in all its issues. He felt for those afflicted sisters -- felt with them -- felt as only a perfect human heart could feel. Though absent in person, He was with them in spirit, as they waded through the deep waters. His loving heart perfectly entered into all their sorrow, and He only waited for 'God's due time' to come to their aid, and light up the darkness of death and the grave with the bright beams of resurrection glory. "When therefore he heard, He is sick, he remained two days then in the same place where he was". Things were allowed to

take their course, as we say; death was allowed to enter the much loved dwelling; but all this was for the glory of God. The enemy might seem to have it all his own way, but it was only in appearance; in reality death itself was but preparing a platform on which the glory of God was to be displayed. "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified by it".

Such, then, was the path of our blessed Lord -- His path with the Father. His every movement, His every step, His every act, His every utterance, His every thought had direct reference to the claims of the Father's glory. Much as He loved the family of Bethany, His personal affection led Him not into the scene of their sorrow, till the moment was come for the display of the divine glory, and then no personal fear could keep Him away. "Then after this he says to his disciples, Let us go into Judaea again. The disciples say to him, Rabbi, even but now the Jews sought to stone thee, and goest thou thither again? Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any one walk in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world; but if any one walk in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him"

Thus that blessed One walked in the full blaze of the glory of God. His springs of action were all divine -- all heavenly. He was a perfect Stranger to all the motives and objects of the men of this world, who are stumbling along in the thick moral darkness that enwraps them, whose motives are all selfish,

whose objects are earthly and sensual. He never did a single thing to please Himself. His Father's will, His Father's glory, ruled Him in all things. The stirrings of deep personal affection took Him not to Bethany, and no personal fear could keep Him away. In all He did, and in all He did not do, He found His motive in the glory of God.

Precious Saviour! teach us to walk in Thy heavenly footsteps! Give us to drink more into Thy spirit! This, truly, is what we need. We are so sadly prone to self-seeking and self-pleasing, even when apparently doing right things, and ostensibly engaging in the Lord's work. We run hither and thither, do this and that, travel, and preach, and write; and all the while we may be pleasing ourselves, and not really seeking to do the will of God, and promote His glory. May we study more profoundly our divine Exemplar! May He be ever before our hearts as the One to whom we are predestinated to be conformed.

Thank God for the sweet and soul-sustaining assurance that we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. It is but a little while, and we shall be done for ever with all that now hinders our progress, and interrupts our communion. Till then, may the blessed Spirit work in our hearts, and keep us so occupied with Christ, so feeding by faith on His preciousness, that our practical ways may be a more living expression of Himself, and that we may bring forth more abundantly the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Misc. Writings of C. H. Mackintosh, Volume 7, pages 13 - 18.

PREACHING IN THE ACTS

C. A. Coates

God has made every provision for the maintenance of things publicly. Think of the extraordinary wisdom found with persons who spoke in the power of the Holy Spirit!

We see a very marked example of that in Stephen (Acts 6:8 - 15; chapter 7). He had no opportunity to prepare his sermon, and that is what marked the preachings in the Acts. Nearly all the preachings that took place as recorded there were under circumstances which precluded any possibility of the preacher preparing his discourse; every one of these occasions was unexpected. In the case of Stephen we see this blessed and holy man of God so furnished by the Spirit that there was no possibility of refuting him. Everything was in wisdom, not a single word out of place. They were not able to resist Stephen. They could kill him, but they could not resist the power of what he said. When we come before men we are either vessels of the Spirit or fools; we either weaken our message, or we are vessels of the Spirit.

I have often pondered the preachings in the Acts; it would be a real study for those who give any sort of public testimony to see how men spoke who were in the power of the Holy Spirit. These preachings were very short, very much to the point, not a word out of place, no repetition, everything in the greatest sobriety -- that is preaching in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Ministry by C. A. Coates, Volume 10, pages 252, 253.

GOD'S GIVING

W. R. Mason

2 Peter 1:1 - 4; 1 John 5:18 - 21; 2 Thessalonians 2:15 - 17

We have read from the writings of Peter, John and Paul concerning things that are said to have been given to us. John tells us in his gospel that "God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believes on him may not perish, but have life eternal" (John 3:16). What a gift that was for all who believe in Him! We have also the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Lord said to the Samaritan woman, "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). That should encourage us to get to God, the Source of all goodness and giving, and to ask living water from Him.

James says, "But if any one of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all freely and reproaches not" (James 1:5). It is wonderful to think of God freely giving wisdom -- not reproaching us for lacking wisdom -- He delights to give freely to us. James also says, "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" (chapter 1: 17). So these writers of the epistles refer to our blessed God in this way as a great Source of goodness and giving.

What we read from 2 Peter 1 is very interesting, coming from an aged servant, ripe and mature in his

knowledge of God, in his formation after Christ and in his understanding of the truth. He is writing to saints who "have received like precious faith with us".

What strikes you in reading Peter's epistles is the fact that he was not at all downcast, though knowing the future that lay before him. The Lord Jesus had told him by what death he should glorify God: "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" (John 21:18). The Lord was alluding to crucifixion, that Peter was going to glorify God by crucifixion like Himself; His crucifixion involved Himself as the propitiation for our sins, but Peter was going to die as a martyr. Peter was not despondent, he did not try to run away or resign his commission. He went on, steadfast in faith, holding on to the Lord who had bought him: "bondman and apostle of Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 1:1). He realises the great service that was entrusted to him, and he is going to finish it to the glory of God, by the help of the Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

Peter writes "to them that have received like precious faith with us" (verse 1). Well, that would include ourselves, dear brethren. The faith of the apostles was no greater than the faith that we have received; there is only one faith, as the Scripture says, "one Lord, one faith, one baptism" (Ephesians 4:5). And so, Peter speaks of those who have "received like precious faith with us through the righteousness of our

God and Saviour Jesus Christ". That is, the faith has not been given to us in any shallow or superficial way, or without cost. It has been given to us through the righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ. God is righteous in bestowing faith upon those who look to Him.

Peter has a lot to say about precious things, and precious faith is one of them. You see how full his heart is with affection and desire for the welfare of the saints: "Grace and peace be multiplied to you" -- a very wide statement -- "in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord". That is how grace comes to us -- God in revelation, in expression, in the Son of His love. He has given us grace and He would multiply grace to us, and not only grace, but peace. Oh! how blessed it is to have peace in a world so disturbed as the present one is.

"As his divine power has given to us all things which relate to life and godliness": that is a remarkable statement. God "has given to us all things" -- it would be good to contemplate that and consider what things he has in mind. Write down what you think he is referring to -- "all things which relate to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that has called us by glory and virtue". That came out very much in the path of the Lord Jesus here as He "went about through all quarters doing good, and healing all that were under the power of the devil, because God was with him" (Acts 10:38). You will remember the woman with the flux of blood, coming up behind, she touched the hem of the Lord's

garment, "and immediately her flux of blood stopped"; and He said, "Who has touched me?" (Luke 8:44, 45). There He was, moving by glory and virtue towards that poor suffering woman, and she was immediately healed, and knew in herself that she was healed of the scourge. And though the crowd pressed about Him and his disciples say, "Master, the crowds close thee in and press upon thee, and sayest thou, Who has touched me? And Jesus said, Some one has touched me, for I have known that power has gone out from me" (Luke 8:45, 46). Jesus was moving by glory and virtue to help needy souls.

Peter adds, "through which he has given to us the greatest and precious promises, that through these ye may become partakers of the divine nature" (verse 4). You see how much He speaks of "through" -- "through the righteousness of our God and Saviour" (verse 1); "through the knowledge of him that has called us" (verse 3); "through which He has given to us the greatest and precious promises" (verse 4).

Think of the Lord's promise in John 14"for I go to prepare you a place; and if I go and shall prepare you a place, I am coming again and shall receive you to myself, that where I am ye also may be" (verses 2, 3). These were the things that may have been filling the mind of this beloved brother, Peter, who was soon to be martyred, and the greatest and precious promises are filling his heart. And he says that "through these ye may become partakers of the divine nature". It shows that what the Lord has promised, what God has promised, helps us on in our souls.

Well now, in John's first epistle chapter 5 he had been speaking of a brother sinning. "If any one see his brother sinning a sin not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life, for those that do not sin unto death. There is a sin to death: I do not say of that that he should make a request" (verse 16). Now we have to distinguish, as we see sin appearing in believers -- is it a sin unto death, or is it a sin not unto death? But there is a sin not unto death; thank God, we can pray for recovery amongst our brethren. Scripture speaks of one who recovers a man from the error of his ways shall cover a multitude of sins, and save a soul from death (James 5:20). Well, that is fine, we have seen that happen too -- many souls recovered, rescued from the ways of sin and self-pleasing, and given life. "Every unrighteousness is sin" (1 John 5:17). "Whatever is not of faith is sin" (Romans 14:23), is another word of the apostle Paul's.

Then John says, "We know that every one begotten of God does not sin" (1 John 5:18) -- that is, the believer as looked at as of the Spirit, looked at according to the divine nature. "But ye are not in flesh but in Spirit", it says, "if indeed God's Spirit dwell in you" (Romans 8:9). It is fine to see the believer in that abstract sense. He is not in flesh, but in Spirit, and so he does not sin. He is begotten of God, it says, and he does not sin, because he has been begotten of God, and he keeps himself.

It is wonderful to think of the brethren in that way, to look upon one another in a positive sense, as keeping ourselves from evil. "To keep oneself", as it

says, "unspotted from the world" (James 1:27). To keep yourself would mean that you are a guardian of self, you are not laying yourself into the hands of Satan, or letting your mind run riot, leading you towards things that are unrighteous.

How good it is that we are begotten of God! God has worked in us sovereignly Himself -- we did not beget ourselves. That is a gift from God -- a wonderful gift! And so we can keep ourselves that the wicked one does not touch us. The wicked one sees that you are determined to follow the will of God, and to please God, and be obedient to the Son of God -- and the wicked one does not touch you. So the believer has that power to resist the devil, so that he might flee from him -- and we are often attacked by Satan. He is after the young people very much, day after day, seeking to tempt them and allure them away from the will of God and the path of discipleship. But we need to pray for them, that they, like ourselves, would learn to keep themselves in the love of God, to keep themselves in communion.

I think that is a most important thing, to attend to our communion. If you find yourself going out of communion, you need to look into things and see what is happening. When you are in communion, you will not sin; it is when you get out of communion that you sin. "Keep yourselves", Jude says, "in the love of God, awaiting the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life" (verse 21).

It says, "the wicked one does not touch him" (1 @John 5:18). It is very fine when a believer is in

that state that he can keep the devil at bay, he is not attracted to the devil. The devil tried to get Peter, and for a few hours, no doubt, he did succeed in causing Peter to fall and deny the Lord -- he "began to curse and to swear, I know not the man" (Matthew 26:74). How far down poor Peter dropped! But how quickly he is restored: "the Lord, turning round, looked at Peter; and Peter remembered the word of the Lord, Before the cock crow thou shalt deny me thrice. And Peter, going forth without, wept bitterly" (Luke 22:61, 62).

"And we know", John says, "that the Son of God has come, and has given us an understanding that we should know Him that is true" (verse 20). Oh! we know the true God, bless His Name for that, and He has given us an understanding, so that we are able to lay hold on divine things, to lay hold on the truth. I think that is what the "understanding" means here. We read at the end of the gospel of Luke that the Lord opened the understanding of the disciples, that they might understand the Scriptures (chapter 24: 45). He opened their understanding, but this is something more, I think -- "he has given us an understanding that we should know him that is true", to know the only true God.

We read from 2 Thessalonians 2, where Paul is speaking of the future. These young Christians in Thessalonica had been disturbed by others who were troubling them, and he says, "Now we beg you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to him, that ye be not soon shaken in

mind, nor troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter, as if it were by us, as that the day of the Lord is present. Let not any one deceive you in any manner" (verses 1 - 3). Some people used to say that the Lord came in the year 1915, but their folly has been made manifest to all. True believers are waiting for the coming of the Lord, according to His promise, to take them to be with Himself.

After that event, there is a great man coming, called "the man of sin" (verse 3). Before the Lord's appearing, "the man of sin will be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposes and exalts himself on high against all called God, or object of veneration; so that he himself sits down in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God" (verses 3, 4).

We read in John 5 about the antichrist: "if another come in his own name, him ye will receive" (verse 43). Jesus came in His Father's name, and He was rejected. The antichrist will deny that Jesus is the Christ, as the Jews do. He will also deny the Father and the Son (1 John 2:22), that is, he denies Christianity. Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, whom the Jews looked for.

It says in 2 Thessalonians 2:8, "then the lawless one shall be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus shall consume with the breath of his mouth, and shall annul by the appearing of his coming". Of "the lawless one", Paul says, "whose coming is according to the working of Satan in all power and signs and wonders of falsehood, and in all deceit of unrighteousness to them that perish, because they have not received the

love of the truth that they might be saved" (verses 9, 10).

Oh! how we should bless God every day, dear brethren, that we have received the love of the truth, and we are going to be saved because we love the truth, and we love the One who is the truth: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life" (John 14:6). It also says, "the Spirit is the truth" (1 John 5:6). How wonderful that we have these Persons dwelling in our hearts.

So we are to be firm, as it says, "stand firm, and hold fast the instructions which ye have been taught, whether by word or by our letter" (2 Thessalonians 2:15). Paul said something similar to the Corinthians: "be firm, immoveable, abounding always in the work of the Lord" (1 Corinthians 15:58). And here we are to hold fast the instructions received. That would allude to Paul's ministry in particular. Paul was the most extensive writer in the New Testament, and he brought out the truth in great detail -- detailed instructions as to how we should live our lives personally, and how we should live and move in the house of God, and how assembly life should be ordered. He had been amongst these believers, not for very long, but he had given them enough to set them up in the christian pathway, "by word or by our letter" -- that would refer to 1 Thessalonians, a previous letter that Paul wrote, and the truth contained in that epistle.

Then he says, "But our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us, and given us eternal consolation and good hope by grace" (verse 16). Think of the beauty and glory of that;

it is something that God has given us. He has loved us -- He has loved the world and given His only-begotten Son -- but He has loved us, and given us "eternal consolation"!

That takes your mind back to the epistle to the Ephesians, where Paul says that God "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, that we should be holy and blameless before him in love; having marked us out beforehand for adoption through Jesus Christ to himself" (Ephesians 1:3 - 5). Surely, He has "given us eternal consolation"! It is wonderful to put your head upon your pillow at night knowing that you have full peace with God, and eternal consolation is in your heart -- given to us by God, "who has given us … good hope by grace".

Paul speaks to the Colossians about "this mystery among the nations, which is Christ in you the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27). How good to know the Lord livingly in our hearts in that way, that He is the living Hope -- "Christ Jesus our hope" (1 Timothy 1 1). And "good hope by grace" is to "encourage your hearts, and establish you in every good work and word".

Well, that is just the impression I had, dear brethren, and trust that something of divine value may enter our minds and hearts through what we have had before us as to these blessed things, given to us in God's grace and goodness, for His Name's sake!

Cologne, 16 November 1997.

THE EDUCATION OF A SERVANT

R. Besley

1 Kings 17; 1 Kings 18; 1 Kings 19:11 - 17; 2 Kings 2:11

I want to say a word with regard to the education of a servant. I am sure we all desire to serve the Lord, but we must not serve as uneducated, for we should know how it ought to be done. No one should essay to do a thing unless he knows how to do it, and, if God has called us to any service, He will educate us for it.

There are incidents in the life of this great servant, Elijah, that give certain touches in his education. He appears in the reign of Ahab, king of Israel, as one who stands 'in the presence of God'. He says, "before whom I stand", meaning that he was acquainted with the divine presence, and before serving, we must be acquainted with the divine presence. Elijah was standing there ready for God to take him up. What holy joy pervades the heart of one who knows what it is to stand in the presence of the Lord! I wonder if we all know what it is to be in the presence of God and to be at home there, waiting to do what we are told.

Elijah appears on the platform of this remarkable history as one who stands before Jehovah, and he is in line with what God is doing. What is the use of assuming to serve if we are not in line with what God is doing? How utterly futile is the service unless we are in line! What is God doing where we are at the present time? Those who are standing in the presence of the Lord will know. The Lord delights to

take us into His confidence and He will acquaint us with what He is doing, if we wait upon Him.

Jehovah had determined to bring famine on the land in order to recall His people who had wandered away from Him; and so near to Jehovah was this remarkable man that he could say, "there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except by my word". Think of being able to speak as though his word was Jehovah's word! In public testimony our word should carry the authority and power of the Lord's word, in order to be effective. God supported Elijah, and the heavens were shut up for three years and six months.

Elijah was a remarkable servant. Not many of us could carry such dignity and honour as he did. I do not know how we should pass through the land, if at our word the heavens were closed for three and a half years. Are we great enough to carry that? Elijah was: and in order to educate His servant further, Jehovah tells him to go to the brook Cherith and abide there. The servant had to learn that every resource would fail but God -- a searching education.

When names are given in Scripture they are given with a purpose. We do not always know what they mean, but the name Cherith is said to mean 'piercing' or 'cutting', and Jehovah intended that this exercise should pierce to the very depths of the prophet's soul, as serving in this great service for the recovery of God's people. Corresponding to public honours there are deep and searching exercises, as you will know, and the Lord allows the one to

balance the other. Now Cherith was in a valley. Elijah with sensitiveness begotten of intimacy with God would know well what that meant. He had to go down into a valley by the brook; the word used for a brook here is the word used for a brook in a valley [A.V.]. Now there was no evidence of food for the prophet, but the man of faith knows that if God sends him to a certain place, God will sustain him in the place: "I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there". Ah! what a comfort. If God has put you in a place, He will sustain you in that place.

God had commanded the ravens to bring him bread and flesh in the morning and the evening. It is remarkable that God should speak of bread, for the first mention of bread in scripture is in relation to man as toiling on account of sin coming in (Genesis 3 19). Elijah would think about that. And flesh would remind him that God had made a covenant with man on the earth, and if God makes a covenant, He will be true to it. In the 9th chapter of Genesis God gave man in the renewed earth flesh for food, and following immediately on the instructions as to flesh, He made a covenant with Noah. Now Elijah would think of that in the valley beside the brook Cherith.

Morning and evening the ravens arrived with bread and flesh. We are not to expect what will carry us beyond a day. God intends that we should live by the day, and God will give us what will carry us through one day, and He will also give us what will carry us through one night; and so on, as long as we

have any need. Elijah is to learn that man is in a place where toil came in on account of sin, and yet there God made a covenant, so that God could be relied on. Bread as food for man was the evidence of the mercy of God. God's judgments are tempered with mercy, and Elijah would have to learn that, as subsequent history shows.

"And it came to pass after a while, that the torrent dried up". One can just picture the beloved prophet sitting there, day by day, and night by night, watching the stream gradually becoming less, a test as to how God would sustain him and what God would do. He was learning now what his own prophetic word was bringing in for the recovery of the people, for God had caused famine in the land in order to turn a wandering people to Himself, and the prophet had to taste what the people were going through. If one is to minister a word to the people of God, searching in its character, or piercing, or admonitory, then behind the scenes, unknown to anyone, the servant has to taste that himself. Unless we are prepared to go through with it to the end, our service is not effective. "It came to pass", it says, "… that the torrent dried up". And then the word comes. How wonderful to wait for God's word! Those who know what it is to live with God, know that He can be relied upon. You know that if God says a thing, with absolute certainty He will do it. We are relying on it: we know that God is going to see us through, through to the end, into eternal glory. Whether it be a matter of what is temporal, or what

is spiritual, God can be relied upon, and He has put all things into the hands of the Son. What hands to administer all things!

Well now, the word comes to the prophet, "Arise, go to Zarephath … I have commanded a widow woman there to maintain thee". There is no word, or question from the prophet -- not a word! Think of a man who had shut up the heavens by his word, having to go to a place and be sustained by a widow! God knows what He is doing. The elements of flesh need to be touched, to the end that we may recoil from them and forsake them. Such is our education. You will know well enough that Zarephath is said to mean a 'crucible'; and God puts His people in a crucible. What for? To purge away the dross that what He is Himself may shine in us.

With dignified patience Elijah moves off to Zarephath, and he meets the widow. What a state! She has not even a cake for him. She has a little meal and a little oil, just enough to make a cake for her child and herself and then to die. Yet God has sent him there … The prophet accepts it and he says, "make me thereof a little cake first". And then he gives the word, "The meal in the barrel shall not waste, neither shall the oil in the cruse fail …" It will go right through until the test is over. He had got that from God, and the barrel of meal did not waste and the cruse of oil did not fail. God has given us in Christ and the Spirit, enough to carry us through in the full strength of manhood according to God, and we shall have that to the end.

The prophet has to learn yet something more. The widow's boy dies, and she began to be afraid that her sin was going to be brought to light. The prophet says nothing about it. That is not the question in hand. What about God's son? I am speaking now of Israel as God's son. "When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son" (Hosea 11:1). Has God lost him, has death come in there? Instead of a holy people with emotions stirred towards Jehovah, there is a people worshipping Baal and sacrificing to him. God has lost His son! Israel is no longer responsive in affection to Jehovah. The prophet has to learn the bitterness of this as part of his education, and the pain of it is, that the widow implies, that his coming to the house, is the occasion of the death of the child.

But Elijah has a secret, and so have we. It says that he took the child "out of her bosom, and carried him up into the upper chamber where he abode" -- Elijah lived in an upper room, meaning that he lived in a region in touch with heaven, spiritually above the level of the earth. He lived up there. Let me affectionately enquire, Have we an upper room? Are we living near to God? Are we intimate with God? I find in moving about that there are those who are. No sooner are they on their knees than you find that they are intimate with God; the way they speak to Him reveals that He is One that is well known. That is the upper room. I would ask the young people, are you accustomed to pray? Do you know the blessedness of drawing near to the Lord and speaking to Him?

Now Elijah can take up this exercise into the upper room, he has a place of rest in the upper room. He has a bed up there. Have we a place of rest in the upper room? We not only pray there, but do we rest there? It is marvellous to see the quiet grace of many of the people of God in a world of turmoil and difficulty. Ah! they have a place of rest in the upper room. They can rest there with the Lord.

And so Elijah took the little dead boy and put him in his bed, and he measured himself -- the word means that. He measured himself upon the little dead boy, meaning that he brought himself to feel what that was -- a dead child, indeed a dead son. How God, to speak reverently, was feeling this with regard to Israel! "The son", that He brought out of Egypt, Israel, was lost to Him, dead, as it were, and there was no response. That servant, Elijah, through whom recovery is coming in, is being educated to feel this with God, and he cries to Jehovah in a most beautiful way, "let this child's soul come into him again!" A very lovely word! It is not the same thought as his spirit; it is his soul. What God looked for in His people was feeling -- and what God looks for in us are feelings: deep, reverent, holy, affectionate feelings; and the soul in a person is connected with feelings, emotions. So the child's soul was brought into him, teaching the prophet that God was going to bring back feelings in His people towards Himself.

The child is brought back and given to his mother, and Elijah is given to witness what God felt

when the people were recovered to Him. How He would feel it, and God does feel things. There in that holy place on high where God dwells in light unapproachable, there is a heart that feels with infinite love; that is the revelation -- precious theme!

The Education of a Servant, Blairgowrie, pages 3 - 9. [1 of 2] 2 January 1932.

ARE YOU READY FOR THE LORD'S RETURN?

E. H. Chater

Luke 12:35 - 48

In the course of our Lord's ministry in Luke 12 He exhorted His disciples, in view of His going away and coming again, to gird up their loins, to have their lamps burning, and to be like unto men that wait for Him, as the hour of His return was uncertain. He calls those servants blessed whom He should find watching at His return, and bids them to be ready, "for in the hour in which ye do not think it, the Son of man comes". This led Peter to say, "Lord, sayest thou this parable to us, or also to all?"

Our Lord's reply is full of instruction. He said, "Who then is the faithful and prudent steward whom his lord will set over his household, to give the measure of corn in season? Blessed is that bondman whom his lord on coming shall find doing thus; verily I say unto you, that he will set him over all that he has". Taking up the figure of a steward, in relation to his responsibility to his lord, He applies the truth to all who, during the hour of His absence, take the servant's place. And He goes on to show how He will

treat both the faithful and the unfaithful at His return.

The two chief qualities that He looks for in those whom He gives a charge over His household are faithfulness and wisdom. And the object of their appointment is, that they may give to His own their portion of meat in due season. To carry this out, the entrusted steward must walk in simple-hearted subjection to Himself. It is only as taught and directed by his Master that he will be cognisant of the need of those who are His, and will be enabled to give them food convenient for them. The Master alone reads the heart and knows the inward workings of the soul, and He only can direct to the portion that shall feed and nourish.

Now, He expects that His servant, whoever he may be, will continue this service till He come, and to him He gives this precious and encouraging promise, "Blessed is that bondman whom his lord on coming shall find doing thus; verily I say to you", (note the certainty of it) "that he will set him over all that he has". Blessing rests on the faithful and wise steward, and in the coming day of glory he shall be given a position of favour in association with his Lord.

"But if that bondman should say in his heart, My lord delays to come, and begin to beat the menservants and maidservants, and to eat and to drink and to be drunken, the lord of that bondman shall come in a day when he does not expect it, and in an hour he knows not of, and shall cut him in two and appoint his portion with the unbelievers".

"But if that bondman should say in his heart". If

the heart is not right, it very soon manifests itself in the conduct. If the Master cometh not quite so soon as the heart anticipated, it soon grows weary, and its inherent wickedness shows itself in thinking that the Lord delayeth His coming. And what are the terrible consequences? He begins "to beat the menservants and maidservants". What a sad, but perfect, picture of that which has actually taken place within the sphere of christian stewardship! The Lord's menservants and maidservants are beaten; if not openly, as of old, with the blows of persecution, they are assailed with bitter tongue and evil pen. But what will be the end thereof? Ah! what, indeed. Hear what the Lord Himself has said: "the Lord of that bondman shall come in a day when he does not expect it, and in an hour he knows not of, and shall cut him in two and appoint his portion with the unbelievers". Fearful end!

How terrible the fall! A professed servant, but a religious hypocrite; a so-called spiritual adviser, but with a heart full of unbelief; a saint in name, but content with the mere form of godliness; hand -- in-glove with the world that spat upon Christ and crucified Him. He is caught, as it were, red-handed, and the Lord will cut him in sunder, and appoint him an eternal portion with the unbelievers. No wonder he wished in his heart that the Lord would delay His return.

Moreover, "that bondman who knew his own lord's will, and had not prepared himself nor done his will, shall be beaten with many stripes; but he

that knew it not, and did things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few". In these two verses we appear to have a general description of so-called Christendom and the outside nations. In verse 47 the Lord still uses the figure of the bondman, but in verse 48 He says simply, "but he who knew not". Men are responsible according to the position that they take.

Christendom professes to be in connection with Christ; she boasts in the possession of the Bible and in its vast circulation. She says openly, or in her heart, We are not heathen, Mohammedans, or Jews; we know the Lord's will. But, said the Lord, that bondman who knew his own lord's will and prepared not himself. And is it not true? Is Christendom prepared for Christ's return? Would all the church-, chapel-, theatre-, and concert-goers, with the water of baptism on their brow, with the sign of Christ's cross upon them, like Christ to come in the midst of their religious observances or worldly pleasures?

Dear reader, if this is a description of your state, be warned in time, we beseech you; for the Lord added, that bondman "shall be beaten with many stripes". Think of it, "many stripes"! Not only will the Christless professor be shut out for ever from the presence of God, but beaten with many stripes. You have light, you enjoy privilege, you profess Christianity, and hence are far more responsible than ignorant men. According to your privileges, profession, and works will you most surely be judged by a just God.

"But he who knew not". As already pointed out, he is not looked at as a servant; its application is to those who are outside the sphere of Christian privilege -- God is very patient with ignorance -- brought up in ignorance, he follows his natural conscience; he is a responsible creature; he sees the wonders of creation on all hands (Romans 1:20), and under the power of sin, of a fallen race, he sins. He commits things worthy of stripes; hence he is justly punished. But the severity of his punishment is not so great as that of the one who had light; hence he is beaten with few stripes. The perfect justice of God shines out in all His ways with men; His balances are exact: "And to every one to whom much has been given, much shall be required from him; and to whom men have committed much" -- mark that well -- "they will ask from him the more". Is God less righteous than man? Far be the thought.

Now, seeing that our Lord has brought the final issues of faithfulness and unfaithfulness so clearly before us in this solemn passage, how deeply important that each reader should earnestly consider his course! All, in one sense, are called to serve the Lord. Are you characterised by faithfulness and wisdom, seeking to minister to others in communion with Him according to your measure, waiting and watching, ready to meet your Lord? or are you content with formality, your heart being away from Him? The Lord is at hand. No one knows the day nor the hour of His return. Blessed are those bondmen whom the Lord when He cometh shall find

watching and serving according to His mind.

Let us take these things to heart. All is fleeting here: a life of selfishness is a life not worth living. If you live and die a mere formal professor, it were better that you had never been born. If you are found to be without Christ, and living for the world, at His return -- and He may come at any moment -- your eternal punishment will be sure and your stripes many. But if found to have been faithful and wise -- a man that has given up his own will to delight in the will of the Lord, seeking alone to please Him -- eternal blessing will surely be yours, with the approval of your Lord. And His reward is with Him to give to every man according as His work shall be (Revelation 22 12). May such be your blessed portion at that day.

Simple Testimony, Volume 17 (1900), pages 105 - 111.

THE SPIRITUAL JOURNEY

J. Pellatt

Luke 8:1 - 3; Mark 15:39 - 41, 47; Mark 16:1; John 20:1 - 20

You will find in these scriptures a complete soul-history, and we have read it with the thought of bringing before you the spiritual history of a soul from the start to the finish. The history of Mary Magdalene is very instructive and comprehensive. I am not sure if I shall be understood in speaking about the finish of the spiritual history of a soul. It is necessary to eliminate all idea of time. There is such a thing as the present goal in Christianity -- a spiritual reality. The future goal is in actuality. The only

difference between the present goal in spiritual reality and the future goal in actuality is the difference between the words reality and actuality. There is such a point as the present goal of Christianity to be reached here and now.

In Ephesians 4 the apostle presents Christ as the ascended Man; he by the Spirit speaks of gifts given by the risen and ascended Christ; he speaks of the end in view, and that is, "until we all arrive at the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, at the full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fulness of the Christ" (verse 13). That, I understand, presents the present goal of Christianity. It in no way involves the termination of our life in flesh down here, and a very simple proof of your having reached the goal is that you disappear morally. When the goal is reached this disappearance takes place. It will be so in another sense with the whole assembly in the future. The assembly, as such, will disappear when the Lord takes us to be with Himself, and, when the goal is reached in spiritual reality by any of us here, we disappear. I feel even the statement of it to be very serious, because it tests every one of us, speaker and hearer alike.

It is beautifully illustrated in the history of Mary Magdalene. She first appears in Luke 8 and she disappears in John 20. She is not seen in John 21 or in the Acts of the Apostles or in the Epistles. Mary Magdalene is seen no more. She has disappeared. When she first appears it is as one completely dominated by satanic power. She is indwelt by seven

demons, and when she disappears she disappears in the assembly. That is the disappearing place. It should come home to you and to me. Have we disappeared? If her first appearance is that which speaks of sin and Satan's power, her disappearance is lovely. Most glorious! Who would not like to disappear in the brightness and glory of His presence?

I should like to trace the spiritual journey of her soul from the start to the finish. It is like starting on a journey, to speak simply. Suppose you go from Belfast to Dublin. You live in Belfast. Belfast is the starting-point, Dublin is the goal. You go to the station and get into the train. Your goal is before you, but there are stations between Belfast and Dublin. Luke 8 is the starting-point of the spiritual journey of the soul in Christianity. John 20 gives us the goal. The other scriptures give us the stations between the starting-point and the goal. I speak in this simple way in order that every one of us may take account of ourselves in connection with the spiritual journey.

The starting-point is salvation. Many of us could state the doctrine of salvation very correctly, but Luke 8 does not present the doctrine of salvation, it presents the fact of salvation. I trust salvation is a fact with every one of us here. Unless it is a fact, there is no start. It is important to get a good start in one's spiritual journey, and it is most important to get a true idea of the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour.

In Luke the Lord Jesus is presented as the anointed Preacher, and He preached the gospel of the kingdom; God is presented as a Saviour-God.

How wonderful to come under the influence of such a blessed Preacher! Mary Magdalene comes under this preaching, with the result (it is very simple) that she is saved: "from whom seven demons had gone out". Not some of them gone and others left. They all went out, she is completely saved from the domination of Satanic power. A great many are clear about the doctrine of salvation, but it is much more important to have the fact. It meant much to Mary Magdalene. Up to this time demons had held undisputed sway in her soul, but the preaching of the Lord Jesus, announcing the glad tidings of the kingdom in the power of the Holy Ghost, resulted in her salvation, and seven demons had gone out of her. It was a marvellous fact to her.

We need to be thoroughly stirred up, especially in a place like Belfast, where there are so many brethren and children of brethren who are familiar with the doctrine of the gospel. There is a very real danger of souls taking certain steps and assuming certain positions without real soul-history; but what about spiritual facts and spiritual history? There could be no doubt whatever as to the reality of Mary Magdalene's start. She had got a new Object for her heart and a new path for her feet. She was with the Lord and she followed Him. Is salvation such a fact to us that the One who has saved us is the Object of our hearts?

These women were with Him, and they followed Him, and they ministered unto Him of their substance. Sometimes people got converted, but it does

not seem to affect their hearts or their feet. Mary got a new Object for her heart (she was "with him"), and a new path for her feet (she followed him). The Lord in saving her has so touched her heart that He becomes the supreme Object of her affections. His path is her path. There is one prominent thing that characterises Mary Magdalene in scripture, and that is affection for Christ. This characterises her through every stage of her spiritual journey. Has He thus reached our hearts? When He touches our hearts we lose sight of everything else …

If He commands my heart, my eyes will have no difficulty in finding the path. Have we started in it? It is a wonderful start. Your conscience may be clear. Ah! but the question of conscience does not come in here, it is a question of the heart's affection. I have no doubt Mary Magdalene's conscience was quite clear. Conscience is a question of righteousness.

Ministry by J. Pellatt, Volume 2, pages 27 - 31 [1 of 2].

THE MINISTRY OF REFRESHMENT

F. S. Marsh

To be used of the Lord to minister refreshment to the spirit of one of His saints is a distinctive honour, and yet it is a service for which no special gift is essential, but rather grace.

Such service can be carried out unobtrusively; yet when rendered effectively it yields great results for the heart of Christ and for the spiritual welfare of His own.

The need for increased activity in this sphere of

lowly ministry is apparent, for many are weary in spirit, soul, and body. Many of God's children are experiencing what it means to pass through "a dry and weary land without water" (Psalm 63:1). Numbers of souls are drooping as plants without water, and the need for a man "carrying a pitcher of water" (Mark 14:13) is only too obvious.

That such service is very acceptable to God is clearly proved by the references in Scripture to His appreciation of those who provided refreshment. The following well-known instances from the Old Testament will be recalled: What beautiful simplicity marked that memorable occasion on which the heavenly visitors were refreshed by Abraham, when Jehovah appeared unto him as he sat in the tent door in the plains of Mamre! Running to meet them, Abraham bowed himself toward the ground and said, "Lord, if now I have found favour in thine eyes … Let now a little water be fetched, that ye may wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. And I will fetch a morsel of bread; and refresh yourselves" (Genesis 18:1 - 5). Abraham enjoyed communion with God that day, as the secrets of God were unfolded to him, for God said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing?" (verse 17). There was divine appreciation of one who could engage in ministering refreshment to God Himself.

What beauty, too, was found in the spirit of Rebecca when she refreshed Abraham's servant! That nameless servant had prayed that the damsel

appointed by God for Isaac should be the one who should manifest the desire to minister refreshment. So when the servant asked Rebecca for a little water she said, "Drink, my lord! And she hasted and let down her pitcher on her hand, and gave him to drink. And when she had given him enough to drink, she said, I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have drunk enough. And she hasted and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again to the well to draw water; and she drew for all his camels" (Genesis 24:18 - 20). The alacrity of her willing-hearted service, and delight to give both the man and his camels water, clearly indicated that she was the one who would be qualified to minister comfort to Isaac after his mother's death.

The delight of the "servant" in this spontaneous response of Rebecca evidenced the appreciation which the Spirit of God ever has of this beautiful characteristic of the bride of Christ.

An equally touching illustration of the ministry of refreshment is seen when David was refreshed by his three mighty men. It is a record of devoted affection; for when David longed and said, "Oh that one would give me to drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, which is in the gate!" (1 Chronicles 11:17). The three broke through the host of the Philistines, and drew water and brought it to David.

Their deep concern was to refresh their king. It was an objective great enough to cause them to put their lives in jeopardy; and by their exploit they gratified his heart and gave him an occasion for

worship, for "David however would not drink of it, but poured it out to Jehovah" (verse 18).

We are living in the day of the Spirit of God, and He is inseparably associated with the ministry of refreshment. The Lord's promise that the Spirit should be in the believer "a fountain of water" (John 4:14), and that there should flow out of him "rivers of living water" (John 7:38), denoted that the presence of the Holy Spirit would bring refreshment to myriads. Almost immediately after His descent, Peter made a striking reference to it when he called upon the men of Israel to "Repent therefore and be converted, for the blotting out of your sins, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and he may send Jesus Christ" (Acts 3:19, 20).

Although Israel as a nation did not then repent, these times of refreshing are being spiritually enjoyed even today, by power of the Holy Spirit.

By the power of the Spirit, too, the gospel is being preached. "As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country" (Proverbs 25:25). God's good news is still carrying refreshment to weary souls in the name of Jesus, who said, "Come to me, all ye who labour and are burdened, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). Many are proving Him to be "as brooks of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land" (Isaiah 32:2).

How diligently the companions of Paul engaged in this ministry of refreshment! Their example is stimulating, and productive of a prayerful desire to continue in this most profitable service.

Of Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus, the apostle Paul wrote: "they have refreshed my spirit and yours" (1 Corinthians 16:18); and when Titus returned from Corinth and had recounted his happy experiences there, Paul wrote: "For this reason we have been encouraged. And we the rather rejoiced in our encouragement more abundantly by reason of the joy of Titus, because his spirit has been refreshed by you all" (2 Corinthians 7:13).

Of Onesiphorus the aged apostle wrote, "The Lord grant mercy to the house of Onesiphorus, for he has often refreshed me, and has not been ashamed of my chain; but being in Rome sought me out very diligently, and found me … and how much service he rendered in Ephesus thou knowest best" (2 Timothy 1:16 - 18).

The same apostle wrote these words to Philemon, "we have great thankfulness and encouragement through thy love, because the bowels of the saints are refreshed by thee, brother" (verse 7).

It is the personal tender consideration of the brethren, "by love serve one another" (Galatians 5:13), which brings such refreshment to the spirit. It is the blessed man whose strength is in God, in whose heart are the highways, who, passing through the valley of Baca ('weeping'), makes it a well-spring (Psalm 84:6).

May each disciple of the Lord live near "the river of God" which "is full of water" (Psalm 65:9), and thus qualify for this most necessary and invigorating service, which is so gratifying to the heart of Christ,

and so productive of spiritual prosperity.

Words of Truth, Volume 2 (1934), pages 290 - 294.

PRAISE FROM GOD

J. G. Bellett

1 Corinthians 4:5

All that has been for the Lord or from the Lord among His saints shall be owned in His day. All grace in them, all love, all service, all suffering for Him or for righteousness, all forms and measures of these things and kindred things, shall be accepted and honoured.

But so, I add, all learning of His mind shall have its acceptance with Him, and its own proper joy in that day. It may be but small in comparison, but it will have its measure.

Servants, lovers, imitators, and martyrs shall be accepted then, but so shall disciples. I claim a place in that day: "then shall each have his praise from God"; for those who, in the midst of human mistakes and misjudgments, have learnt, and prized, and held to the thoughts and principles of the divine wisdom, of the mind of God in the progress of His dispensations.

Short Meditations, etc., by J. G. Bellett, page 344

THE NEED OF A PRIESTLY SPIRIT

J. Taylor

Hebrews 3:1 - 6; Luke 10:38 - 42; Luke 11:1 - 13

One is struck with the priestly skill with which the letter to the Hebrews was written. It is not written in an official way. Although undoubtedly the author is Paul, it is not written with the authority of an apostle; but the skill of a priest is easily discerned in it. In the passage I have read this is seen in the form of the address to the "holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling", and in speaking to you, dear brethren, one would desire to follow such an example, for, while we carry on levitical work, we are always to be governed by the priestly spirit, that is, the spirit of divine intelligence and holiness; levitical work, if not carried on in that spirit, is very likely to be profane. With Moses, great servant though he was, and accredited in this passage with general faithfulness (he was faithful in all God's house), yet there was this blemish, alas! that he addressed the people of God as rebels (Numbers 20 10). That was not a priestly touch.

As we shall see, the writer here sets before us the opposite of that. He addresses the brethren as "holy brethren"; and he further adds, "partakers of the heavenly calling". He took account of them in that way, as I said, in priestly intelligence and holiness. He would not admit of any profane suggestion even; the saints are holy brethren, and partakers of the heavenly calling. He lifts them up from the platform of the flesh, and, if the thoughts are received in our souls, they

produce a right appreciation of what is said.

I desire to speak to you in that light; for it is important, not only that I should speak holily and intelligently, but that you also should be both intelligent and holy, for the things of God, the operations of the Spirit of God, are in relation to what is holy. We are to keep our vessels holy, and so the thought I have is to call attention to Christ, as this passage does, as the Apostle and High Priest of our confession. The word is confession, not profession; it is what we confess rather than what we profess; and we have a confession. The we and the us of this epistle are the we and the us of mutuality. The speaker places himself alongside his hearers as one of them, magnifies what they have, and then takes his part in it mutually.

One would love to bring out in its true bearing what our confession is. I do not intend to attempt it, but it is a thought I would suggest. What the apostle desired to bring forward here was that they might consider the Apostle, the Apostle of our confession. You see much has come to us that we enjoy without thinking of the Vessel through whom it has come. Abroad in Christendom the light is to some extent appreciated, at any rate in the measure in which it adds to men in this world; but there is no thought of the One through whom it has come. So the point here is to consider the Apostle; consider Him; and in thinking of Christ in this way we have to look into the gospels. The gospels, according to the point of view in each, present to us Christ in this light.

You recall how when Aaron was to be anointed

and consecrated, and his sons with him, that they were brought to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. It is a lovely scene, typically, in Leviticus 8. Moses is the active servant, and Aaron is the passive one; so that they are both there, and besides, the tabernacle is there. The tabernacle represented the divine thoughts, and I want just to say a word about that, because Christians at times seem so limited; it seems that they have little to say one to another. The tabernacle represented the divine thoughts, and in this letter to the Hebrews it is said to be "the figurative representations of the things in the heavens"; a very vast thought (Hebrews 9:23).

Now when Christ came from heaven He began to unfold "the things", so that it is no longer a figurative representation of them, but the plain unfolding of "the things" in the ministry of Christ. You see, the gospels are not so many scattered narratives, or records of scattered events; they are records of divine thoughts methodically unfolded, and they hang together; as Luke said to Theophilus, "it has seemed good to me also, accurately acquainted from the origin with all things, to write to thee with method, most excellent Theophilus" (Luke 1:3). In him, at least, we have the methodical unfolding, by the inspiration of the Spirit of God, of the ministry of Christ, so that it is all of one piece, and understood spiritually in relation to the other inspired gospel narratives; we have the things in the heavens set before us in a spiritual way. It is said in this epistle to the Hebrews (chapter 9: 11), that the Lord came in

connection with a greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hand; that is, not of this creation; it was a great spiritual system that He unfolded in His ministry. Hence, dear brethren, the importance of paying attention to the Apostle first, considering Him, and then listening. Then, in Leviticus 8, the high priest is brought to the door of the tabernacle; that is to say, Christ Himself has taken up a place as Priest in resurrection in relation to all that He unfolded as the Apostle.

Now, in entering into Martha's house in Luke 10, it is evident that the Lord had a certain liberty in that house, for He spoke in it. In seeking to serve, there is nothing one craves more than liberty in a spiritual way, and that greatly depends on the environment, in other words, on the state of those to whom one ministers. Martha, indeed, did not afford much that drew out the words of the Lord; there was no interest in her. You can understand that, as the Lord in thought turned to Martha -- although she very kindly received Him into her house, for she was apparently a hospitable woman, and the Lord would not be slow to value that -- yet one can understand that as His thoughts were turned to Martha there was nothing there to draw out the wonderful thoughts that He had in His heart.

On the other hand, Mary was all rapt attention; she discerned what a fountain of light, what a fountain of communication, was there; she was all attention, and she was sitting. You see, it was not an occasional stop to listen to what the Lord might have

been saying; she sat down to it. There was deliberation in her attitude. Had there been others there like her, the interest would have been all the greater; it would have been augmented, but there was at least one heart open, ready to receive all that He said; mark you, she "was listening to his word".

Here was the great Apostle of our confession. In Simon's house, as you recall, He also spoke (Luke 7:40 - 50); but He only spoke as occasion required it there; that is, in His grace He speaks according to the state of people; it may be in rebuke, as in that instance, or it may be to justify some persecuted one. He was not free, for Simon's house was not the environment for the unfolding of things in the heavens; a house full of religious pride and superciliousness is no house in which to open up the things of heaven.

Think of what is in heaven, dear brethren, all the Father's thoughts and the myriads of angels; the infinite holiness and brightness and glory of that place! How can you bring that into a house such as Simon's? It is wholly incongruous. Nevertheless, the Lord would speak in Simon's house, and He did. He rebuked Simon and He justified the sinner; He will do that. But the unfolding of the heavenly things required a suitable environment, as I said, and so, although Martha was not ready, Mary was; she was attentive, and hers was the privileged part of listening to what He was saying. She would not have directed the Lord as to what He should say; she would prefer to leave it to Him. Whatever He said was of interest to her.

Let us not think that any part of the tabernacle, the great spiritual tabernacle, is of minor importance. Every peg is essential, although made of copper; every item of the great spiritual system unfolded and set up by the great Apostle of our confession, is essential; and you want to hear every word. We must not miss anything. Mary represents one who considers and listens to the Apostle of our confession, and I have no doubt that the next chapter sets before us the Priest. The Apostle is the One who speaks from God. The Priest is the One who speaks to God.

So in the next passage we are told that He was praying in a certain place. It does not say in Martha's house; the place is not the point, but what He was doing; He was praying. I do not suppose anything could be more interesting to a priest; that is, to one who is spiritual -- you will understand that I am using the word as conveying the idea of a spiritual person -- nothing could be more interesting after the unfolding of the great tabernacle system, in the word of Christ, than that He should be seen in relation to all that in prayer, that is, as Priest.

In order to be in the spiritual order of things to which we are called, we have to consider Christ, we have to consider Him first as the Apostle, and in considering Him thus and hearing Him you get the idea of the tabernacle. But now you want to see Him as Priest, and the opening of chapter 11 sets before us the Lord praying. Elsewhere we get records of the identical things that the Lord asked for. One feels that one is on peculiarly holy ground in approaching

John 17. We are, as it were, admitted to hear the actual breathings of Christ to His Father. I do not think that this chapter is set before us as a model for us; it is the Son speaking to the Father; His pre-eminence must be fully admitted in our souls in approaching that chapter; it is peculiarly holy, every breathing of it is holy; the soul is impressed with the peculiar holiness of the scene. Luke is peculiarly holy and priestly in the way in which he writes his narrative; he has in mind to bring in the priestly family. You will recall how he begins with a priest, Zacharias, and Elizabeth the daughter of a priest; and in recording the birth of our Lord, His nativity, and His boyhood, he throws out, so to say, a priestly atmosphere, so that the natural mind should be rebuked in looking at the subject.

And so, throughout, Luke has in view that the saints should become a company of priests. Hence, when you come to the end of his narrative you have the disciples led out as far as Bethany by the Lord (chapter 24: 50). It is a beautiful scene, a most touching scene; and having arrived there He lifts up His hands and blesses them -- that was a priestly act; and having blessed them, He is parted from them and carried up into heaven; that is, He has gone up in their view, and disappears out of their view as a Priest; and, dear brethren, one might add to that, we have Him in heaven in that office.

There is an anti-priest there, too, one who accuses the brethren (Revelation 12:10). It is a dreadful thing to be on that side. The Lord is there as Priest.

He is there to uphold us, and not only us, but to uphold the whole system that He unfolded in His ministry; and it is upheld; let us not think, for one moment, that there is any failure from that point of view. He is there: "minister of the holy places and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord has pitched, and not man" (Hebrews 8:2). The Lord has pitched it, and He is there as a Minister of it, and the ministry is being carried on perfectly; were it not so we should not be here as we are.

There is a great spiritual system that no effort of the enemy can touch; it subsists in Christ, the great Priest. The disciples had a view of Him as He lifted up His hands and was carried into heaven; they had a view of Him going in, and He remains there, and is supporting the whole system that He unfolded in His ministry. But now they are left on earth, that is how Luke's gospel ends. The disciples, it says, "returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God" (chapter 24: 52, 53).

Now, when you come to the beginning of the Acts, the same men are seen, not in the temple, but in the upper room, "where were staying both Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew" (Acts 1:13). The room where they abode was in keeping with their confession. A huge building such as the temple was literally not in keeping with their confession. It is true that the temple was recognised for a while in a provisional way; but there was the great spiritual temple in connection with which they were to serve,

and that is developed in Paul's ministry. Peter says, "yourselves also … are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 2:5). So that we are thus, according to Luke, qualified priests; the saints are qualified priests; they are set here in relation to what the Lord opened up and set up through His ministry; the great thoughts of God unfolded by Christ and set up in a systematised way; so that now what you come to is that those who are spiritually set together form the temple. The thoughts of God are there, and the priests serve in relation to that.

One would love to make clear what the exercise, what the function of the saint is in relation to the great spiritual system that is set up, how we are a "holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices". Peter is not speaking of what you might give of material things; these also may be sacrificed, and "with such sacrifices God is well pleased" (Hebrews 13:16). Of "doing good and communicating of your substance", even that is pleasing to God. But what Peter is speaking about is not that, but spiritual sacrifices.

Well now, the passage in Luke shows us how the disciples, having seen the Lord exercise, as I may say, His priestly function, desired to be taught to do the same. It says that one of His disciples, having seen Him pray, said, "Lord, teach us to pray, even as John also taught his disciples" (chapter 11: 1). And the Lord immediately answered, "When ye pray, say, Father, thy name be hallowed" (verse 2); that is the first

principle of priestly service. Now, dear brethren, do we pray? "When ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as those who are of the nations", the Lord says, "for they think they shall be heard through their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like them" (Matthew 6:7, 8). The prayers of Scripture are short, and usually very pointed, certainly this is; it is striking how brief and yet how comprehensive it is. But the first thought in it is "thy name be hallowed". The Speaker is thinking of God.

A priest always thinks for God. I do not begin with my own needs; a priest thinks for God. So, in the Lord's wonderful prayer to which I have alluded, He says, "I have glorified thee on the earth, I have completed the work which thou gavest me that I should do it" (John 17:4). He came in relation to God, and to carry out the will of God; and above all, in making God known and finishing His work, to have here a sanctified place, a holy place, a place in which God can dwell. What a wonderful thought He had, the Lord Jesus Christ! He would set up here in His people that in which God could dwell. But how dwell? By the Holy Spirit. The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. If God is to be in our hearts, He dwells there in holy love; He prepares the ground by the gift of the Spirit. Being the Holy Spirit, He sheds the love of God in our hearts. Now think of that. Think of the divine intent which the Lord Jesus conceived in the Spirit of holiness. You see how holiness marks Him from the outset. On the cross He says, as recorded by the

Spirit in the psalm, "And thou art holy, thou that dwellest amid the praises of Israel" (Psalm 22:3). And so in resurrection He declares the Father's name. Hence the next thing is, "in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee" (Psalm 22:22). The divine habitation must be in holiness, so that the prayer here, simple though it is, begins, "thy name be hallowed".

I do not proceed to details, only to show how that you have in the Lord's further word (in Luke 11) a 'Friend', and a "Father". We can pray to a Friend and we can pray to a Father. I need not enlarge as to who the Friend is. We have a Friend in heaven. We have One there who has befriended us in death and who befriends us in life, and we can pray to Him. The passage enlarges on the importance of importunity; but that does not in the least suggest that there is any disposition on the part of our Friend to withhold what we pray for; the point is to seek and to knock (verse 9). Let us not be at any spiritual disadvantage! There are no difficulties that can arise in our spiritual history that cannot be met. But the Lord would have us so to value what He can do for us, that we are urgent about it; you must have the thing, so you keep on asking; and you get it.

Then, He says, "But of whom of you that is a father shall a son ask bread, and the father will he give him a stone? or also a fish, and instead of a fish shall give him a serpent? or if also he shall ask an egg, shall give him a scorpion?" (Luke 11:11, 12). No father does that. And so He says, "how much

rather shall the Father who is of heaven give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?" (verse 13). What a priestly prayer that is! You have the priestly side in Luke. How the advantage of it is pressed upon us! Then let us pray. Let us draw near to God. He has become our Father. We think of His name. Let it be hallowed! And what will He give us? Even, as the Lord says, the Holy Spirit. The greatest possible gift we may have from prayer. I am not now speaking of an individual asking for the Holy Spirit. I am only pressing the point that the passage emphasises, that is, the importance of prayer.

The Lord seizes the opportunity afforded by the question raised by the disciples to unfold to them the great advantage of prayer. We learn to pray aright, intelligently and effectively, from Christ; He teaches us how to pray; and He shows that in praying you may get the greatest possible gift. "He who, yea, has not spared his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not also with him grant us all things?" (Romans 8:32). But the point is that we get them for asking. God gives us all things, according to Romans 8; having given Christ He gives all things freely from His own side; but the point here is what you get for asking, and asking according to the pattern of Christ, the true Priest.

May God bless His word to us!

Ministry by J. Taylor, Sidcup, Volume 11, pages 438 - 447. May, 1920.

THE EDUCATION OF A SERVANT

R. Besley

1 Kings 19:11 - 17; 2 Kings 2:11

The education is proceeding, and I pass on. Elijah comes to the moment when he is going to take up the difficult public service of overthrowing the enemy and recovering the people of God. As he comes out now, he has great and holy dignity about him. He meets Obadiah and he tells Obadiah to go and tell Ahab, "Behold Elijah!" (chapter 18: 8). Think of the power of the man who is with God. There ought to be power with the people of God, and there is no reason why there should not be, if our education is proceeding and we are living in the presence of God. Elijah insists on what he said. Obadiah questions it, but Elijah insists on it. He says, "Go, say to thy lord, Behold Elijah!" (verse 14).

Ahab came to him and, when he saw him, he saluted him with the words, "Is it thou, the troubler of Israel?" "I have not", says Elijah, "troubled Israel, but thou and thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of Jehovah, and thou hast followed the Baals". Then Elijah says, "gather to me all Israel to mount Carmel" (chapter 18: 17 - 19). And he did it. What power a servant of God may have. Have we not witnessed it? What is there behind the man? How dare anyone say of such a servant that God has not raised him up! A man that can bring in a word of power from God and assemble the people, that man is with God and he is a man to be respected.

And Ahab gathered together all Israel to Mount

Carmel. It must have been a marvellous sight to see this host gathered to Mount Carmel, and the priests of Baal assembling there. The passage is well known, and the method employed by Elijah to unmask the deceit of the enemy. We may count on God to unmask things in His own time. He has done it often and He will yet do it again.

So the prophets of Baal select their victim, but they are found to be wholly incapable of proving that of which they speak, so that their claim is publicly known to be a lie. Then Elijah goes forward, and he selects the victim and calls upon God, and God answers him. The people move in obedience seeing that Jehovah is there, showing His power toward them, for He answered by fire from heaven. A witness to the presence and power of God!

Now the beloved servant is in the height of power publicly, and God is going to send rain on the earth. God is going to do it now. "I will send rain", He says (chapter 18: 1). The prophet goes up to the top of Carmel, puts his head between his knees and prays, and waits upon God. But God tests him. The testing may be severe, but it is an indication from God that there is strength, and He knows it: He delights in the endurance of the saints. Elijah prays seven times and his servant goes to look towards the sea, but there is no answer. I do not know anything more testing than to wait on God and have no answer; but we must go on. God will give us an answer even if He says, 'No'. A child was once asked if her prayers were answered, and she said that they were

always answered. 'But you asked God to give you something and He did not do it'. But she said, 'God said, No!' Are we prepared to hear Him say 'No'? Now Elijah went on; he was quite sure of his ground. The seventh time the servant came back and he said, "Behold there is a cloud, small as a man's hand, arising out of the sea". Elijah knew what that meant, God had heard his prayer and rain was coming; and Ahab was charged to be up and doing, for there was the sound of abundance of rain. Ahab rode in his chariot and went to Jizreel, and the prophet ran before the chariot. This is an indication that waiting upon God imparts extraordinary strength to us.

Now it is in the hour of victory that we have to be on our guard, for that hour is the time of our greatest weakness. If God has heard our prayer, let us not say much about it. Let us cherish the holy exercise in our own souls with God, for we may have to be deeply tested. There may be an element of pride attaching to me -- 'Look at me, God has answered my prayer'. That will not do. God allows a test to His servant as another stage in the education, and the woman Jezebel, Ahab's queen, referring to the prophets of Baal says, "So do the gods to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time" (chapter 19: 2). And when Elijah saw that, he went for his life.

He came to Beersheba with his servant, though he did not stay there. Ah! if he had stayed by the well of the oath what would have happened there. Beersheba is the 'well of the oath'. A grand place to sit, even if

we have mistaken the way! He left his servant there, "and he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a certain broom-bush, and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough: now, Jehovah, take my life; for I am not better than my fathers" (chapter 19: 4).

How we need to cry to the Lord for His servants, to preserve them and sustain them and keep them. He says, "I am not better than my fathers". Why, Elijah, did you think you were? A secret is coming out now. Sad it is, if any of us think we are better than our fathers, we may have to learn something more yet about our father's God, as others have done. He says, "take my life; for I am not better than my fathers"; and in weariness he lay down and went to sleep. I say, with reverence, that God looked down with deep feelings on the beloved Elijah. Here is the man, who was standing alone for God on Mount Carmel, lying down asleep, and his last prayer is that he might die.

God will not leave us if we fail. He sent an angel to Elijah, who prepared a cake on hot stones, and a cruse of water, and he awakens him. God may use some providential circumstance to awaken me, and then He will show me that He is with me still. Not bread and flesh now, but a cake baked on hot stones, as though God would show me that the state of my spiritual health is such that I need this carefully prepared hot meal. That is like God. "Arise, eat" (verse 7). Then he lay down and went to sleep again, and God says again, "Arise, eat; for the journey is too great

for thee". God would imply that He knew Elijah was coming back again, though it might be a difficult way. Have we failed? God knows it and He would say, "Arise, eat, for the journey is too great for thee". It is a great journey, and God knows it.

But still the education is to continue, for Elijah goes now into a cave as though to hide himself. Jehovah drew near and said: "What doest thou here, Elijah?" (verse 9). Now Elijah would have employed methods of severity to recover the people. Jehovah passes by, as intimating to Elijah that He is moving, He is not stationary, He has not suspended what He is doing with His people, even if the beloved prophet had done so. Then there was a great wind that rent the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces. Elijah would have spoken to the people like that; and are not some of us like that? Judgment may be employed, but it is God's strange work. He will use other methods first. Jehovah was not in the tempest. And now there is an earthquake. The whole place where Elijah was shook and trembled, as though God was speaking into his soul a sense that He knew what Elijah's thoughts were. That is the way he would have dealt with the people who had turned away. But Jehovah was not in the earthquake.

We must remember that judgment is God's strange work (Isaiah 28:21). It is as though God would tell us, 'I am not accustomed to this. No, it is My strange work'. And then there is a fire. Jehovah is not in the fire. And then there was a "soft, gentle voice". That is the way Jehovah was going to speak,

and He would bring His servant into line with Him, that he should learn to speak to the people of God with a soft, gentle voice. We must not resort to harsh methods until every other possible avenue which is according to God has been explored. There is the "soft, gentle voice" and God is speaking thus. It is as though God would say, 'Elijah, I am not going to speak to you in a tempest, or earthquake or fire, but I am going to whisper in your ear. I am coming near to you and I want you to take on this character of address and behaviour to the people whom I love'. How this must have affected the prophet's heart!

And now, though the beloved servant's time on earth was drawing to a close, Jehovah placed him in His service again, anointing kings and anointing a prophet to continue the divine service on earth according to God. And when all was finished this beloved servant is taken up into heaven.

May the Lord grant that we do not go forward to serve without knowing, at least in some measure, the line that God takes in the education of His servants.

The Education of a Servant, Blairgowrie, pages 9 - 14. [2 of 2] 2 January 1932.

BETHANY (PART 3)

C. H. Mackintosh

John 11; John 12

We may now meditate for a few moments on the deeply interesting theme of Christ's sympathy with His people, so touchingly illustrated in His dealings with the beloved family of Bethany. He allowed

them to go through the exercise, to wade through the deep waters, to be thoroughly tested, in order that "the proving of your faith, much more precious than of gold which perishes, though it be proved by fire, be found to praise and glory and honour …" (1 Peter 1:7). Looked at from nature's standpoint, it might seem as though all hope was gone, and every ray of light faded away from the horizon. Lazarus was dead and buried. All was over. And yet the Lord had said, "This sickness is not unto death" (John 11 4). How was this? What could He mean?

Thus nature might reason; but we must not listen to the reasonings of nature, which are sure to carry us down into the regions of the shadow of death. We must listen to the voice of Jesus; we must hearken to His living, cheering, strengthening, encouraging accents. In this way we shall be able to vindicate and glorify God, not only at the sick-bed, but in the chamber of death, and at the very grave itself. Death is not death if Christ be there. The grave itself is but the sphere in which the glory of God shines out in all its lustre. It is when all that belongs to the creature is gone from the scene -- when the platform is thoroughly cleared of all that is merely of man -- it is then, and not until then, that the beams of the divine glory can be seen in all their brightness. It is when all is gone, or seems to be, that Christ can come in and fill the scene.

This is a grand point for the soul to get hold of and understand. It is only faith that can really enter into it. We are all so terribly prone to lean on some

creature prop, to sit beside some creature stream, to trust in an arm of flesh, to cling to what we can see, to rest in the palpable and tangible. "The things that are seen are for a time" have ofttimes more weight with us than "the things that are not seen" and eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18). Hence it is that our ever faithful Lord sees it right and good to sweep away our creature props, and dry up our creature streams, in order that we may lean on Himself, the eternal Rock of our salvation, and find all our springs in Himself, the living and exhaustless Fountain of all blessing. He is jealous of our love and confidence, and He will clear the scene of everything that might divide our hearts from Himself. He knows it is for our soul's full blessing to be wholly cast upon Himself, and hence He seeks to purify our hearts from every hateful idol.

And should we not praise Him for all this? Yes, truly; and not only so, but we should welcome whatever means He is pleased to use for the accomplishment of His wise and gracious end, even though, to nature's view, it may seem harsh and severe. He may often have to say to us, as He said to Peter, "What I do thou dost not know now, but thou shalt know hereafter" (John 13:7).

Yes, beloved reader, by-and-by we shall know and appreciate all His dealings. We shall look back upon the whole course, from the light of His own blessed presence, and see and own that 'the very heaviest stroke of His hand was the very strongest expression of His love at the time'. Martha and Mary might wonder why death had been allowed to

enter their dwelling, Doubtless they looked, day after day, hour after hour, moment after moment, for their beloved Friend to enter; but instead of that He kept away, and death entered, and all seemed gone.

Why was this? Let Himself reply, "These things said he; and after this he says to them, Lazarus, our friend, is fallen asleep", What touching affection! What gracious intimacy!

What a tender linking of Himself with the family of Bethany, on the one hand, and His disciples on the other! "Lazarus, our friend, is fallen asleep". It was but a gentle sleep. Death is not death in the presence of the Prince of life. The grave is but a sleeping-place. "I go that I may awake him out of sleep". Such words could not have been uttered had Lazarus been raised from a sick bed. 'Man's extremity is God's opportunity', and we can see without difficulty that the grave afforded God a far better opportunity than a sick-bed.

This, then, was the reason why Jesus kept away from His beloved friends. He waited for the fitting moment, and that moment was when Lazarus had lain in the grave four days already, when every human hope had vanished; when all human agency was powerless and valueless. "I go" -- not to raise him from a sick-bed, but "that I may awake him out of sleep". The platform was cleared of the creature, in order that the glory of God might shine out in all its brightness.

And is it not well to have the scene thus cleared of the creature? Is it not a mercy -- not in disguise, as

some people say, but -- a plain, positive, palpable mercy -- to have every human prop gone, every human hope vanished? Faith says, Yes -- says it unhesitatingly and emphatically. Nature says, No! The poor heart craves something of the creature, something that the eye can see. But faith -- that most precious, priceless, divinely-wrought principle, positively delights in being called to lean absolutely and abidingly upon the living God.

But it must be a real thing. It is of little use talking about faith if the heart be a stranger to its power. Mere profession is perfectly worthless. God deals in moral realities. "What is the profit, my brethren, if any one say he have faith?" (James 2:14). He does not say, 'What is the profit if any one have faith?' Blessed be God, those who, through grace, have it, know that it profits much every way. It glorifies God as nothing else can do it. It lifts the soul above the depressing influences of things seen and temporal. It tranquillises the spirit in a most blessed manner. It enlarges the heart, by leading us out of our own narrow circle of personal interests, sympathies, cares, and burdens, and connecting us livingly with the eternal, exhaustless Spring of goodness. It works by love, and draws us out, in gracious activity, towards every object of need, but specially towards those who are of the household of faith.

It is faith alone that can move along the path where Jesus leads. To mere nature that path is dreadful. It is rough, dark, and lonely. Even those who surrounded our blessed Lord on the occasion of the

death of Lazarus, seemed wholly unable to comprehend His thoughts, or follow intelligently His footsteps. When He said, "Let us go into Judaea again", they could think only of the Jews stoning Him. When He said, "I go that I may awake him out of sleep", they replied, "Lord, if he be fallen asleep, he will get well". When He spoke of his death, they thought that He had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. When He said unto them plainly, "Lazarus has died. And I rejoice on your account that I was not there, in order that ye may believe", poor unbelieving nature, speaking through the lips of Thomas Didymus, said, "Let us also go, that we may die with him".

In a word, we see total inability to take in the true bearing of the case, as viewed from a divine standpoint. Nature sees nothing but death and darkness, where faith basks in the sunlight of the divine presence. "Let us also go, that we may die with him". Alas! alas! was this all that even a disciple had to say? How absurd are the conclusions of unbelief! Let us go with the Prince of life, that -- what? "we may die with him!" What folly! What a gross contradiction! What should Thomas have said? 'Let us go, that we may behold His glory; that we may see His marvellous doings in the very region of the shadow of death; that we may share in His triumphs; that we may shout, at the very gates of the grave, our hallelujahs to His deathless name!'

Miscellaneous Writings of C.H. Mackintosh, Volume 7, pages 19 - 25.

THE SPIRITUAL JOURNEY

J. Pellatt

Luke 8:1 - 3; Mark 15:39 - 41, 47; Mark 16:1; John 20:1 - 20

To turn to the Old Testament for a moment, the start for Israel came in when they stood on the bank of the Red Sea. Pharaoh and his warriors were behind them, but they were commanded to "stand still, and see the salvation of Jehovah" (Exodus 14:13). There was no fighting or no talking as to what was to be done; not a blow to strike nor a word to say. Jehovah fought for them, and on the bank they saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. "Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song to Jehovah" (chapter 15: 1). That is the first station [on the 'journey'].

Now to come to the next. It follows naturally on the first. When you get into the train all you have to do is to sit still. The train is moving on and you do not need to struggle. The next station comes naturally in the history of the soul. "And there were women also looking on from afar off, among whom were both Mary of Magdala, and Mary the mother of James … who also, when he was in Galilee, followed him and ministered to him" (Mark 15:40, 41). In the opening of Luke 8 the Lord is an anointed preacher, going about "doing good, and healing all that were under the power of the devil", as Peter says in Acts 10:38. Nothing could stand before Him. Here (Mark 15) He appears in the light of a suffering, despised, scorned, cast out, rejected One, going up to Jerusalem to be crowned with thorns, to be crucified. The cross is the culmination of His rejection.

This is the test to souls. It is easy to follow a triumphant, victorious One, but rejection is the test. To turn again to the Old Testament, it is like Jonathan. David came out of the valley with the giant's sword and head in his hand -- the tokens of a complete victory. He had wrought salvation for Israel just as the Lord wrought salvation for Mary Magdalene. She was, as we have said, completely saved from the power of the enemy, consequently she found an object for her heart and a path for her feet.

So Jonathan's soul was knit to the soul of David (1 Samuel 18:1). It seemed very real. He stripped himself of his robe, his princely attire -- his garments which distinguished him as a prominent man -- even to his sword and to his bow, and to his girdle which he bore as a warrior. He stripped himself of what characterised him as a prince, a man, and a warrior, that he might place it upon David. But the test came. Jonathan's father sought David's life. There came the last good-bye, and then they parted never to meet again: "and David abode in the wood, and Jonathan went to his house" (1 Samuel 23:18). What was the end? Jonathan's body, slain on Mount Gilboa, was nailed to the walls of Beth-shan (chapter 31: 12). How sad!

How different to Mary's course. She cleaves to the Lord through His rejection. You will not travel very far in His path until you find that He is the despised and rejected One here, but you will not be turned aside if He really commands your heart.

Mary is moving on. The next step in her history is indicated in the last verse of this chapter: "And

Mary of Magdala and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was put" (Mark 15:47). They get as near as they possibly could be.

But I must hasten on. We come to John 20 and we find here the effect of the death of Christ on a heart that so truly loved Him. Mary goes down in early morn to the tomb and sees the stone taken away. She walks away -- no, she runs. Think of that lonely woman turning and running, in the early morning when it was still dark, clean back and coming to Peter and John and relating to them the story of the empty tomb. What details the Spirit of God gives us! Then Peter and John run to the tomb. John gets there first of the two; Mary returns there too. How she loved Him!

The two disciples (I will not say much about them) went into the tomb and came out of it perfectly satisfied that the Lord had risen. There was perfect order inside. The clothes were not lying bundled together, but the handkerchief that was upon His Head -- folded up in a distinct place by itself. No confusion whatever. They therefore went away again to their own home. But Mary (what a contrast! how it testifies to the affection that was in her heart) stood at the tomb weeping without. There was not a spot on earth to detain her except that empty tomb "where the body of Jesus had lain" (verse 12).

"Farewell, farewell, poor faithless world,
With all thy boasted store;
We'd not have joy where He had woe --
Be rich where He was poor".

Now, let me ask you, has the death of Christ affected you? You may think about the doctrine of it, but has it affected your heart? Mary's affection was rewarded. As she wept, she stooped and beheld what Peter and John did not see. Through her tears she beheld two angels. Angels seem to have the power of appearing and disappearing at will. Peter and John did not see the angels, but Mary did.

Two in scripture is adequate testimony. What a descriptive testimony to the dignity of the One who had lain there. They did not sit side by side, but "one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain". They say to her, "why dost thou weep?" This question drew out the expression of her heart … The Lord in His question to her goes further than the angels. He not only says, "why dost thou weep?" but "Whom seekest thou?" And then He says to her, "Mary". And she says to Him, "Rabboni". She has received Him in resurrection!

It is one thing to believe in the doctrine of resurrection, but it is another thing to reach Him there. Are we identified with the rejected One? His rejection left Mary a picture of inconsolable grief without a spot on earth to turn to, and no home but an empty tomb. She went down, so to speak, to Jordan to the river's brink, but the ark had been there, so Jordan was dry. He had been there. It has been well said that nothing will ever lead a soul to cross Jordan but love for Christ. Mary reached Him in resurrection. Have you and I reached Him there?

But there is more; some would stop at

resurrection. But what does the Lord say to Mary now? "Jesus says to her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended". What! ascended! If you have read the gospel of John through to this point, and have appropriated it, you will be quite prepared for ascension. John speaks a good deal more of ascension than of resurrection. I have counted the passages one by one. Christ came from heaven in John and goes back to heaven. What comes from heaven goes back to heaven. The Lord had been speaking all through John's gospel about going back to "my Father". I would emphasise that peculiar place, and the affection that belongs to that peculiar place. John's gospel, from the outset, prepares you for the close of it, which is chapter 20. Read chapter 12: 24: the corn of wheat has died, and has brought forth much fruit. Therefore the message: "Go to my brethren and say to them, I ascend to my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God".

Well, Mary went and brought word to the disciples "that she had seen the Lord, and that he had said these things to her". What next? She has come into the assembly! She has reached the goal. The assembly of Christ's brethren in association with Him as the risen One. She disappears! She has reached the present goal. Who would not like to disappear like this? If you have started on the line we have traced, this is the present goal of it. Are you identified with the rejected One? It is into the midst of that company He delights to come. He comes there. Mary has reached it and she disappears.

May the Lord lead our hearts into it, for His name's sake.

Ministry by J. Pellatt, Volume 2, pages 32 - 37. [2 of 2].

GARMENTS OF SERVICE

H. J. Miles

Exodus 39:1

In approaching God, or in handling His holy things, it is of all moment that we move becomingly, and that we handle divine things in a manner suitable to the One with whom we have to do.

In the scriptures in Exodus referring to the garments of service, we have suggested features which God sets out approvingly as indicative of what suits His holy eye and heart. Each of the elements mentioned for the garments of service and for the holy garments of Aaron, illustrate some characteristic which has been seen in Christ personally, and which God intends should be livingly seen in us in relation to Himself and His service.

The blue tells us of what is heavenly. The first man was "out of the earth, made of dust; the second man, out of heaven" (1 Corinthians 15:47). His words, His ways, and His acts all bespoke One who came from heaven and was expressive of what was in heaven. John's gospel presents this feature in a marked way.

"The heavens declare the glory of God" (Psalm 19 1), but His glory has been more wonderfully manifested in the coming in of the Son -- the glory of God as a Giver. Then, too, the activities of Christ were all marked by what was heavenly in character,

and we would especially consider at this time (in the setting of our scripture) His movements in relation to His God and Father, and the manner in which He touched the holy things.

How beautifully the seventeenth chapter of John presents Him in the characteristic of the blue. As He lifted up His eyes to heaven, how livingly that feature came into view, and a glory was made manifest which was greater than the glory of creation -- the mutual glories known between the Father and the Son. It is in the knowledge of the Father as revealed in the Son that we are able, in a practical way, to appropriate and appear in the blue.

Purple in Scripture is connected with regal dignity, and with wealth. The rich man in Luke 16 was clothed in purple and fine linen -- a self-assumed dignity -- but we are to be seen in God's sphere in the true dignity and the spiritual wealth that marked the Lord Jesus. Who so dignified as He? And who so rich in the bestowals of grace? He was, and is, indeed, "a mighty man of wealth" (Ruth 2:1) in relation to God, and the exceeding riches of God's grace have come to light in Him.

Lydia was a seller of purple (Acts 16:14), and as having her heart opened to attend to the things spoken by Paul, she came into the lasting possession of what the purple suggests spiritually.

Then, too, how affecting is the contemplation of Jesus as coming forth wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe (John 19:5). The heart-reception of such ministry as Paul's, and the heart-

contemplation of such a scene as we have mentioned, provide for us the element of purple for our garments of service.

Scarlet, whilst apparently speaking of the glory of Christ, as the true King of Israel, is also the colour of distinctiveness, standing out more definitely perhaps than any other colour. This would suggest the feature of distinctiveness in our service. We are not to be mere imitators. Not that we are to seek prominence, but we are to be characterised by being different from what men are naturally, and as moving with some distinctive personal impression of Christ. How He stood out from all others under the eye of God, and we are to be marked by His features of distinctiveness, so that God may see a continuation in His people of the distinctiveness of Christ.

All the colours would mingle in the garments of service, whilst the foundation material being of fine linen would suggest that every thread that enters into our service should be in the weaving of practical righteousness according to God.

Finally, all came under the sprinkling of the blood, so that in our movements, and the manner of our service, we should ever remember that we have been sanctified, consecrated to the service of God (Exodus 40:12; Leviticus 8).

To be in the gain of these things practically we need much grace. We need, too, to be much in God's presence, submissive to His word, and in the spiritual gain that comes from the contemplation of the Person of Christ, whether as presented in the gospels

or as He now is upon the throne of the Father.

Words of Truth, Volume 4 (1936), Dubbo, St. Warren, pages 124 - 127. N.S.W., Australia.

DIVINE COMPLACENCY

C. A. Coates

It is blessed to be justified, but wonderful to be set in a state in which there is divine complacency. "We are making our boast in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom now we have received the reconciliation" (Romans 5:11). You get the two sides: God is delighted in [by man], and, God delights in man. It is a great thing to have the consciousness that one is an object of delight to His heart.

I remember two brothers talking, and one said, 'You have never come to that, that you are an object of delight to God'. I think that might be said to a good many.

I do not think many Christians have the sense of that in their souls -- I am an object of delight to the heart of God. You get gleams of it; Christians get a gleam of it; but that is given, not to content us, but to draw us on, to give us the desire for the habitual consciousness of it.

The Believer's Friend, Volume 14 (1922), page 193.

ROYAL FEATURES SEEN IN THE SAINTS

J. Mason

1 Peter 2:9, 10; Genesis 49:20; James 2:8 - 13

It is in my mind, dear brethren, to say a word about royalty, or, more especially, about some of the features in which it manifests itself in the saints. It may not have laid hold of all the young people that we are kingly according to the mind of God, and that those who belong to the Lord Jesus Christ are to be in a kingly position.

It says in the Revelation that He has "made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father" (chapter 1: 6), a remarkable thing. That being the case, it is evident that we are not merely put into a certain position, but it would be in the mind of God that we should fill out that position in a royal way. You will find that in all these official positions (if I may use the expression) that God gives the saints, He has in mind some feature or features which we are to fill out in connection with the way in which He is to display Himself to the universe. This will fully be seen in another day, but has already come into our time -- that is, God is setting forth Himself in features of moral glory.

The full revelation of God, of course, is in the Lord Jesus, but now He is not personally seen; He is gone into heaven, and the Spirit is here, and the saints are here, and it is God's way to show forth what is of Himself in the saints. I believe it will largely be so in the millennium too; God will set forth His nature and attributes in the saints.

I believe that is why He has put the saints into

this remarkable position of being kings, and being priests, too, because the idea of a king, or of being in a place of rule, is connected with priesthood in the mind of God.

There would be practical effects amongst us if we take hold of the truth that rule is connected with priesthood. Influence in the care meeting is a question of priesthood. That is to say, my power for rule largely depends on priesthood. One merely assuming power or authority without priestliness is not accepted of God. There must be the priest and king together. So He has made us kings and priests to God. Those are the persons that are going to be used in the millennium. It comes into our own time also, and the more we consider Christ, the more we shall be helped in relation to it.

We could linger on Melchisedec (Genesis 14), his coming out to meet Abraham and bringing with him bread and wine, etc. It is priesthood as bringing in supply, and that is a great thought in royalty, too, in the mind of God -- bringing in something in a positive way for the blessing of souls. God is going to do that in the millennium, and He is doing it now amongst His people, bringing out the great resources that are in His mind and heart in view of testimony. Abraham got the bread and the wine, and it is for us to know what it is to be sustained, supported and stimulated by what Christ brings out. Marvellous service of Christ! We are to continue to have a part in the things of God. We are never out of conflict, in one sense. It is a time of conflict, conflict for the

truth and for the brethren. Abraham was engaged in saving a brother. There were kings against kings, but he was interested in his brother. There is plenty of conflict in the world, but we are not interested in that, other than to save our brethren out of it. As so moving, we shall obtain the service of the great King and Priest.

So Abraham was served by Melchisedec, priest of the Most High God, who blessed Abraham and the Most High God. Persons used to blessing God can bless the brethren. These things must go together. I doubt if we can do one if we do not do the other. Our praise to God is not acceptable if we are merely criticising the brethren all week. These principles always stand, for the Lord stresses that we be right with the brethren. "If therefore thou shouldest offer thy gift at the altar, and there shouldest remember that thy brother has something against thee, leave there thy gift before the altar, and first go, be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift" (Matthew 5:23, 24). God wants your gift, but He wants it on right lines. He wants the brethren to be at ease with one another -- no outstanding difficulties -- and it is on that basis that the gift is offered, and it is acceptable. Think how He would wait: "leave there thy gift before the altar, and first go, be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift"! These are immutable principles, and they enter into the Lord's teaching in Matthew -- the royal gospel.

In 1 Peter we read of the kingly priesthood. You can see that Peter is thinking about Exodus 19, when

Israel had just been brought out of Egypt, and as brought into the wilderness God proposes His thoughts to them: "then shall ye be my own possession … a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation" (verses 5, 6). But now the thoughts are carried into Christianity. I am concentrating on the idea of the kingly priesthood, although we have the holy priesthood earlier in the chapter (1 Peter 2:5), which is more a question of what is Godward, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. The kingly priesthood is connected with the setting forth of the excellencies of God: "that ye might set forth the excellencies of him who has called you out of darkness to his wonderful light".

Well, Egypt was a scene of moral darkness, just as the world is today, and we have been brought out of the world. We have been taken out of a scene of darkness and brought into God's wonderful light -- and wonderful light it is! We have been baptised to the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). That is what I understand to be God's wonderful light -- out of Egypt right into that! God says, 'That is what is in My mind for you, to enjoy the fulness of what has now been revealed by Christ. In order that you may know My thoughts towards you, I am going to put you in a position of peculiar elevation and dignity'.

Christians are not mere ordinary people in this sense, but a "chosen race, a kingly priesthood, a holy nation, a people for a possession". Although Peter does not speak of sonship, these are divine thoughts

as to the saints, and it is good when we let divine thoughts affect us. It does not do much good merely to listen to an address on these things, unless we ponder them quietly and let them soak into our hearts.

When thoughts like these begin to crowd our souls, we shall see that God had something very wonderful in His mind for His people. We might have gone on like our neighbours, but God has brought us out, and these are the things He wants us to think about. He has put it in this fourfold way, "a chosen race, a kingly priesthood, a holy nation, a people for a possession". He has called us out of darkness to His wonderful light, and He has in mind that we should set forth His excellencies.

What are the excellencies of God? That is an interesting inquiry, for they are the things we are to set forth. Everything connected with God is bound to be excellent: His nature, His attributes -- whether it be love, holiness, righteousness, patience, faithfulness, glory. And God has His own way of dignifying and forming the saints so that they can set forth His excellencies. That is the importance of receiving divine light and being formed by it; then we can set it forth.

I can see the force of the royal priesthood, the greatness of it, in that persons who can approach God on the one hand, can come out from His presence on the other to set Him forth. Coming out in royal features, graced of God and having the Spirit, they set forth the excellencies of the One who has

called them out of darkness to His wonderful light. Think of the testimony there is to be in this city. The full revelation of God is to affect us more so that in our activities before men, and in relation to one another, we set forth the excellencies of the blessed God who has so revealed Himself. God puts us in such a state that we can do that, and so He has called us out of darkness into His wonderful light. As we go in to God we are affected, and we come out as the kingly priesthood. It is not that you are trying to set forth these things, but as you are formed by them, you will. What goes with it is a real enjoyment of mercy, as we have at the end of this passage: "who once were not a people, but now God's people; who were not enjoying mercy, but now have found mercy".

We do not enjoy the sense of mercy enough. The very fact that we have been called out of darkness into God's wonderful light, out of this world with all its darkness, should cause us to glorify God for His mercy, and thus priestly features will develop with us. We have found mercy as brought into blessing; it is all on the ground of mercy. So we can set forth mercy too: "Blessed the merciful, for they shall find mercy" (Matthew 5:7). But the merciful are kingly priests, those who know God's mercy and can set it forth to others.

In Genesis 49 we have the blessing of Jacob. In this section, from Gad (verse 19) onwards, it is recovery that is in mind, which fits in with our time in a peculiar way. In Jacob's review of his sons, there had been a giving up of things and a turning away

culminating in Dan, after which Jacob says, "I wait for thy salvation, O Jehovah". Dan represents the apostasy of the nation, and this involves that God must come in in His own power if His pleasure is to be secured; and He does. So triumph is contemplated over the power of the enemy. Troops will rush upon Gad, but "he will rush upon the heel". The enemy has not had it all his own way. Consequent upon the fact that there has been victory, we have Asher, of whom it says, "Out of Asher, his bread shall be fat, and he will give royal dainties". The idea of what is royal is here connected with the food supply, a great and important matter amongst us. The enemy has done much to hinder that amongst the people of God generally, but there has been victory, thank God. We are reaping the fruits of it, so that, I think, these features have come into our time.

One is reminded about that daughter of Asher, Anna, in Luke 2. At a time when things were morally dark in Israel, she was there, and Luke shows us how things were maintained by a few so that there was an appreciation of the Lord when He came. The fact is brought forward by Luke in regard of Anna that she "spoke of him to all those who waited for redemption in Jerusalem" (verse 38). What impressions she would convey! Those were the "royal dainties" that Asher gives. If we want to give the brethren delicacies, then speak of Christ. That is where the Spirit will help us increasingly, that there should be these royal dainties for the brethren. Not food served up in any fashion, but royal dainties! It is the truth

presented in a most attractive way; what will whet our appetite. This is important in relation to the food supply. "Out of Asher, his bread shall be fat" -- remarkable suggestion of what is very rich in character. What may be in mind in that, you may think about. I think there is something for God there: His bread shall be fat. There is what God gets, and what we get too. We have to think of what is for God and what is for the brethren, and, as I see it, in times of recovery God has a way, by the Spirit, of bringing in the truth in the most interesting and attractive way.

So it is in these days that the Scriptures are being opened up to us. Is it not so that we have had the truth presented to us in a royal way, in a way most delightful, attractive and appetising? It is a wonderful thing, and it has all come as a result of conflict and overcoming, and is now to be enjoyed. It is what is fit for a king, and the saints are to be viewed from that standpoint. I have to think of them in that way as seeking to minister to them. It is not a question of putting over some novelty; it must be a royal dainty.

You cannot pass just anything over to a king. No one would dare do that. Before a supplier is appointed a purveyor to the royal household there has to be a long period during which his products are tested; the food must be good, appetising and nourishing, fit for a king, we may say. How good it is to think of one another like that. The natural mind adds nothing to these things, but, where the Spirit of God is providing ministry, there is always that which attracts the spiritual mind, which has its own appeal

to the heart, and that is what is in mind in Asher here. In regard to Naphtali later, it says, he "is a hind let loose; he giveth goodly words" (verse 21). He is not bound up nor hindered by the many things that can, alas, hinder us. The royal dainties will help us into liberty. You would be glad to hear Naphtali at the ministry meeting or the reading, indeed at any time.

Then you find wonderful things said about Joseph. It is not in my mind now to speak of them, but the Spirit of God gives us wonderful features of Christ in this blessing of Joseph (verses 22 - 26), because all these things lead us to Christ Himself, that we might have Him before our souls. He is going to fill a world of bliss, the "fruitful bough by a well"; the One who suffered too, and endeared Himself to our hearts. The Spirit is helping us to arrive at an appreciation of Christ personally in a deeper and fuller way.

The idea of royalty helps us in relation to all that. We are able to set forth what is of God on the testimonial side, and help one another by spiritual food on the inward side. Our constitutions are to be in keeping with our light. We get light, but the thing must affect us constitutionally, and that needs food. Asher is like a brother who has come into the gain of what God is doing, and out of the exercises he has been through he can bring out something. "Out of Asher, his bread shall be fat, and he will give royal dainties". We want more of these dainties, delicacies for our enjoyment. So that we are kept in the conscious enjoyment of what is in the mind of God for us, and we are thus built up in our knowledge of God.

James is a practical man. He speaks about "the royal law" (James 2:8). It is good when we act on principles that are royal, and kings ought to do that. If we know what it is to enter in some measure into the kingly position that God has in mind for us, we shall want to act in a dignified way. The royal law is, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself". It is not what the Lord called "the great and first commandment" (Matthew 22:38), which is "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God …" That must come first with the creature. But the royal law is like it, and is a question of love manifesting itself to others.

This is a most testing law for us to apply to ourselves. Who of us has kept it? Do I love my brother as myself? That is at once a challenging question, reminding me of Luke 10 when the Lord pressed the question home to that lawyer. He knew the terms, the words, the letter of the law, but when it was borne on his conscience he began to quibble -- "And who is my neighbour?" (verse 30). The Lord told that beautiful parable of the man going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and He asked the lawyer, "Which now of these three seems to thee to have been neighbour of him who fell into the hands of the robbers?" He answered, "He that shewed him mercy" (verses 36, 37).

That brings us again to mercy, as we have in James 2:13, and that is one expression of love for one's neighbour, showing mercy. It involves that we are to be like God; we are to set forth His excellencies. If faithfulness is required with a brother, I am to be faithful; if it is kindness that is required, I am

to be kind -- whatever it is that is called for. That is the royal law. I need mercy, and I know when I get into trouble I long for mercy. Well, I must act to my neighbour as I would have him act to me.

It is all a question of love, but love coming into practical expression amongst us in these royal or kingly features that speak of God Himself. John says, "he that loves not his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?" (1 John 4 20). He is speaking in the family setting; James is speaking about our actions -- "So speak ye, and so act". James is always concerned about the things we do, and you do not expect royal personages to do underhand things or stoop to do evil things. A king must act always in dignity, and so it should be with us, that this great royal principle should govern our lives: we must love our neighbour as ourselves. Each one has to do it -- "thy neighbour" (Leviticus 19:18).

It is a question of the brotherly relations we have as set near to one another, for the test is in those who live near to us -- you know more about them, and they know more about you. But it is in the presence of all that that love and true royalty shine. "So speak ye, and so act". How do we speak? Are the things I say really on the line of loving my neighbour as myself? and are the things I do on that line? Otherwise, we may act beneath our dignity. Love would work out in a royal way, not merely be in one's mind in a kind of abstract way, a distant way. James says, 'I see it in your actions', and we need to see that it works out. So with Paul in 1 Corinthians 13, he would have

love work out amongst the local company.

Further, we would like our households to be marked by kingly features, and to be speaking rightly of the brethren there. We suffer more than we think because of low levels of conversation in our houses. If there be kingly conversation there will be much blessing too. What a blessed thing it is to speak of the things of God among the family, and to speak of Christ! How attractive it all is! May there be some royal dainties, and this royal law governing us all in what we are saying and doing. We cannot afford to deviate or live beneath our dignity, or we soon lose power and weight. That is why some brothers and sisters do not have weight amongst the brethren. My life must be governed by the royal law, and the more it is, the more power, weight and dignity I shall have, and the more the Lord can use me.

I feel searched in saying these things. What the Lord is after is genuineness amongst us. He wants us to be together as those who love one another. In eternity there will not be a cloud or any distance among that wonderful family to which we belong; everything will be near and happy. The more we can bring these things into the present the more blessed for us; and the more we shall enter into the deep meaning of what God has in His heart at the present time; and the more the Spirit will open up the treasures He has to unfold.

I desire these things to be of help. They are practical and real, and we need to seek grace to be in the gain of them, so that we may set forth in a kingly way, as those who are of a kingly priesthood, the

excellencies of Him who has called us out of darkness to His wonderful light. May we do so more, for His Name's sake.

Londonderry, 8 January 1955.

"FIRST LOVE"

H. P. Wells

Revelation 2:1 - 7; Revelation 3:14 - 22

I desire to say a few words on the subject of "first love" as that which is so dear to the heart of Christ.

The Lord is presented in the scriptures read, not in the way of His deep affections, but as One who is scrutinising everything, and, in particular, those who take up the profession of things. You and I are among the professors -- I trust we are more, but we have taken up the position of being the Lord's; that is, we are part of the profession. How far we answer to that is another matter, but the Lord takes people up on their profession, and He is looking on with "eyes as a flame of fire" (chapter 1: 14; 2: 18). His affections, so to speak, are girt, and He views His saints as One who discerns. Now most will know here -- perhaps the very young not so well -- that these addresses to the seven churches present a kind of history of the church on earth, beginning with Ephesus and ending with Laodicea, and I now refer to them from this point of view.

The Lord saw at the beginning (and we can trace it in the Acts) that the first thing which declined was "first love". We might have thought, with all the

commendation that the Lord had to make of Ephesus -- for He says, "I know thy works and thy labour, and thy patience, and that thou canst not bear evil men; and thou hast tried them who say that themselves are apostles and are not, and hast found them liars; and endurest, and hast borne for my name's sake, and hast laboured, and hast not wearied" -- we might have thought, I say, that after all that commendation, He would not have detected anything lacking. I think there is something extremely affecting in what He says. He gives credit for all that there is that He can commend, and draws attention to it, and yet He detects something that is on the decline, and that is, love -- love as it existed in the assembly at the first -- and the Lord felt it deeply.

How one desires above all else, and whatever else we may lack, that we may be preserved in "first love". We may feel we lack in intelligence and in a lot of these traits and features to which the Lord calls attention, but what about our "first love"? Love as it was at the beginning -- love, not, as it were, of an infant, but as of a bride to her husband -- ardent, wholly centred on Himself. That is what Christ values and treasures, and nothing can be substituted for it. I think we can understand that. I think the Lord uses our natural relationships in life to illustrate what He means, so that things may come with conviction to us. In those we love most dearly we can put up with a great many little deficiencies if there is ardent love. How the Lord longs for the love of His saints -- not a declining love, but a love that is

maintained in all the fervour and freshness of what it was at the beginning. The prophet Jeremiah figuratively describes this love when he says to Israel, on behalf of Jehovah: "I remember for thee the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land not sown. Israel was holiness unto Jehovah, the first-fruits of his increase" (Jeremiah 2:2).

Mr. Stoney used to refer to a tree and say, It is the top shoot that goes first. If a tree is dying, you may not notice it for a long time if you only view the lower branches, but it is the top shoot that begins to lop over and show the first evidences of decline. I believe first love is like that. The Lord draws attention to this, and I would comment on it in passing, that first love and our effective part in the testimony go hand-in-hand. I mean this, that what I am in living testimony as moving about is governed by the measure in which I am maintained in first love -- love proper to the assembly, the love of a bride to her bridegroom. The Lord says, "repent, and do the first works: but if not, I am coming to thee, and I will remove thy lamp out of its place, except thou shalt repent" -- that is, the testimony in a corporate way ceases.

The saints in Ephesus were the light-bearers in Ephesus. The only real light that exists in any town or borough is the light that shines in the saints, and in this you and I should participate. But the light of the testimony that goes out from the saints is dependent upon the Lord having what He is entitled

to -- "first love". How one desires for oneself and for one's brethren, that we might be concerned as to this.

Now I pass on for a moment to Laodicea. What is seen there is, so to speak, the close of the dispensation. What marked Laodicea was self-satisfaction, and you know, dear brethren, we stand in danger of this very feature ourselves. God has given us great light -- wonderful light -- and we would humbly say, we have rejoiced in it, but if that light leads to self-satisfaction instead of the safeguarding of our first love, what we arrive at is the state of the Laodiceans, who were neither cold nor hot. You could not say they were cold and you could not say they were hot. They were neither, and worse than that, there was a spirit of self-satisfaction, which said, "I am rich, and am grown rich, and have need of nothing". 'We are not like the saints around us', we may say, 'we have light, we have meetings and ministry and magazines and all that kind of thing; we have a certain correct ecclesiastical position'.

Now that will not do for the heart of the Lord. I am sure of this, that an ecclesiastical position, if that is all we have, gives us nothing and affords the Lord nothing. No, the Lord wants the hearts of His saints, just as "a garden enclosed" (Song of Songs 4:12) to which He can come and find His delight, and so He says, "I counsel thee to buy of me gold purified by fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness may not be made manifest".

The gold and the raiment do not refer to material

things. They refer to things which can be purchased from the Lord alone. What is the most precious thing that men can possibly acquire? I believe it to be the knowledge, the conscious knowledge, of divine Persons, the knowledge of God. What wealth lies in it, dear young brother and sister. Let me encourage you to take up every circumstance in life, in your office life or school life, with God. You will learn Him in your difficulties and perplexities, you will learn what He can be to you when no one else could help, when no one else is there to support you. That is a bit of gold, "gold purified by fire".

It is in the "fire" that we learn the Lord. You take those three men, the companions of Daniel, what they learned in the fire. What a furnace it was. The king had said, make it "seven times more than it was wont to be heated" (Daniel 3:19). But what did they find as they were cast into "the burning fiery furnace" (verse 20)? Nebuchadnezzar said, "I see … the appearance of the fourth is like a son of God" (verse 25). Could you give them anything more wonderful than such company in such a sore test? They went into it in faith and they pledged God. It is a wonderful thing to pledge God. They say, "our God whom we serve is able to deliver us … and he will deliver us out of thy hand, O king" (verse 17). They pledged God in advance to deliver them. God delights in men of that kind.

I merely refer to that to bring out that what they were acquiring was gold, "gold purified by fire", and they were mightily enriched -- that is what God's thought is for us. He looks upon the pathways of His

saints, all of our pathways, with the tenderest love and compassion. Nothing gets out of hand with Him. Are you in trouble? Remember this, it is not out of hand. It is in His hand. It may seem like a furnace of affliction, but He is going to afford you some "gold" out of it. He is going to enlarge you; that is what He is giving us -- an increased knowledge of Himself. It is gold "purified by fire", that is to say, the conscious knowledge of God is acquired in affliction. It is "that thou mayest be rich".

I believe the Lord, when He takes the saints to glory, will have them go with immense wealth. Think of the wealth that there is here tonight. Every brother and sister here, every child who loves Jesus, is possessed of some little knowledge of the Lord, which is just their own and nobody else's; that is gold. Think of the "gold" that is going into heaven. It is delightful to think of the wealth in the knowledge of God there is amongst the saints. God's thought is that we should be immensely wealthy, and to that end all our circumstances are directed.

Now I come to the next point -- "white garments, that thou mayest be clothed". One feels one's need of "white garments". "White garments" are in a sense to be purchased -- "that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness may not be made manifest". Unless it is "white garments" in which we are clothed, "the shame of our nakedness" will appear. There are only the two alternatives. We know something of the shame of our nakedness appearing -- the flesh in all its ugliness and

sinfulness and wretchedness. The Lord will have us in holy garments, white garments. One thinks of Jesus on the mount of transfiguration in garments so white "such as fuller on earth could not whiten them" (Mark 9:3). J.N.D. says in his hymn (Hymn 270):

'With Thee in garments white,
Lord Jesus, we shall walk'.

It is to be a matter of exercise with us that our garments should not be defiled. Garments are what mark us; what we appear in before men. In what kind of garments do I appear before men? Are they white garments? There is, alas, so much of the flesh ready to show itself on the slightest provocation, but the Lord desires that that should not be seen, but that we should be seen in white garments. What an asset to the testimony such garments are!

Then there is "eye-salve to anoint thine eyes, that thou mayest see". It is not the Lord who puts on the eye-salve, it is we who are to put it on. What is it? It seems to me it is something that helps clear vision, so that we may see things as God sees them, so that our vision shall be keen. I greatly desire for myself that, as we near the end, I may have clear vision. One thinks of the disciples following the Lord out as far as to Bethany, and of how He lifted up His hands and blessed them, and as He blessed them, He was parted from them and carried up into heaven (Luke 24:50, 51); then of how the angels could say, He is coming in like manner (Acts 1:11). The Lord did not go in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye; He was carried up into heaven. They saw Him go. Now the

manner of His going is stated to be the manner of His return. He will come personally. And in a spiritual sense it seems as if the Lord is even now coming nearer and nearer to us, giving us to know Himself more intimately; but soon He will actually come and take us to Himself. May our eyesight indeed be keen that we may discern His near approach; lest coming suddenly He find us sleeping.

This is dependent on the maintenance of "first love", and the Lord looks expectantly for it, so that while He waits to take us, He may find a present portion in the affections of His saints.

Words of Truth, Leamington, Volume 6, pages 10 - 17. 1938.

THE CLOSING DAYS OF PAUL, PETER AND JOHN

P. H. Hardwick

2 Timothy 4:6 - 10, 16 - 18; 2 Peter 1:14 - 19; John 21:11

It would seem clear that our eyes are turned now towards the end of the dispensation; if we are not to be raptured immediately, at any rate we are to be occupied with what is suitable at the end, for it is a time, as we have often heard, of finishing, and we would use such an occasion as this to encourage one another to finish well. So I ventured to read scriptures relating to Paul and Peter and John, that we might gather up some of the features which should characterise the saints at the end of their time on earth. The verse has come to me relating to Joseph:

"By faith Joseph when dying called to mind the going forth of the sons of Israel, and gave commandment concerning his bones" (Hebrews 11:22). We are now concerned with the going forth of the sons of God, desiring that all that is suitable to sonship in dignity, love, maturity and glory should characterise us now, and not only this, but the full framework of the truth. It is now the going forth of the sons of God, not the sons of Israel going out of Egypt, but the sons of God as leaving this scene altogether, and going out characterised by every feature of the truth relating to the true Joseph, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Other features may be added, but I would speak of Paul as a characteristic son at the finish of his time; just as I would speak of Peter as an elder, and of John as a brother, believing that these features of manhood should have their place with us fully as we reach the end of the assembly's time here. It is to be noticed, in the second epistle to Timothy, that, though the times are very hard and very hostile, there is no sense of defeat. In no sense is Paul going out as a weakling. If he speaks of his death, he speaks of it as a "release". If he speaks of what is to come, it is in terms of joy -- what is laid up for him, and what he is preserved for. If he speaks of his path, it is in terms of what is finished. He says, "I have combated the good combat, I have finished the race". Although in such poor days, he is not going out in depression. He is going out like a son, conscious of his dignity and his approval. We are impressed with the quality of the person that is going out.

The history of Paul at the end of the Acts gives us an insight into many things which attach to this. Paul's active ministry, as presented in the Acts, finishes at chapter 20; thereafter we see Paul personally as representative of the testimony, the finish of the testimony. So I would interweave that with this great finish of his in 2 Timothy 4. Whether it be Paul personally or ourselves as in the testimony, both are to go out without a spot, without a stain. The testimony is not to finish in weakness; it is to finish in purity and power. That means that we are all to be in it, for we are speaking of the testimony as expressed in persons who carry it towards the finish of their own age, the assembly's time here. Hence, if we are to finish thus, we shall need, like Paul, to exercise ourselves to have a conscience void of offence towards God and towards men. Matters of purity, matters of righteousness, matters which concern us and our contact with sin and a sinful world, all are to be attended to with pure and good consciences at the end.

If we think of Israel for a moment, their going out of Egypt was just like this in principle. They not only fed upon what God had done for them in Christ typically as the passover lamb, but they fed also on the unleavened bread, meaning that we are to be concerned about "sincerity and truth" (1 Corinthians 5:8) as leaving this scene. There are to be no complaints as we go, no complaints between one and another, but sincerity and truth, speaking the truth, holding the truth, doing what is right, feeding on Christ, and feeding on the principles of sincerity and truth as

suggested in the unleavened bread. I believe that may be taken as a fair parallel between Israel's history and our own, as we go out.

Another thing I would mention is the way in which God is helping us circumstantially. In the latter chapters of the Acts, Paul, being a prisoner, came under the charge of the centurion. The centurion was bidden to keep him, but not keep him in great hardship, not to keep him in distress. He was to keep him, but at the same time allowing him to be ministered to and to be refreshed by the visits of his friends (Acts 28:16 - 31). God is helping us in these days, by making the very "powers that be" (Romans 13:1, A.V.) favourable as we may stay here just a little longer. The centurion was the very sign in himself that the Roman Empire was there. Presently it will be revived in full by God to be judged for slaying His Son.

But now God is using "the powers that be", just as He used the centurion, and the power which he represented, to preserve Paul for a time in some measure of comfort. Hence we have these occasions, and we have our fellowship meetings; we have our visits from our friends and our brethren; this is a part of the merciful ordering of our God. Alongside of that there is, as I said, this matter of the persons going out without any blame. Each of these men in authority from Claudius Lysias onwards down to Agrippa (Acts 23 - 26) says, in his own way, that Paul was without blame. There is no fault in him, nothing in him worthy of prison or bonds. What a testimony! We may well be concerned that we may go out

without blame, without stain as to the features of the testimony. It means practical righteousness; it means that all the features of our life are conducted properly; it means that piety must have its place so that God may be brought fully into all our circumstances.

I would speak finally of Paul in relation to his standing before Agrippa ... He says to Paul, "In a little thou persuadest me to become a Christian" (chapter 26: 28). Paul says, "I would to God … that not only thou, but all who have heard me this day, should become such as I also am" (verse 29). What an appeal! And what was the testimony of Paul in those circumstances? It was that he had seen a light above the brightness of the sun.

This is not merely the third reference to his conversion; it is not really an historical matter; it is Paul putting on record his impression as to the light that shone about him. It is really Ephesian light, as Paul says to the Ephesians, "Wake up, thou that sleepest, and arise up from among the dead, and the Christ shall shine upon thee" (Ephesians 5:14). It is Ephesian light; a light which we are enjoying in our own time now. It is the light under which we are to finish, the brightest light that has ever shone, the light of Christ in glory about to receive the assembly. So, he says, at mid-day he saw a light above the brightness of the sun.

Now I would just appeal for a moment to us all, especially to our younger brethren, that these things might weigh with us, for if we are to be sons, and go out like sons, we must be sure that we are taking in that which belongs to the best portion, sonship's

portion. Paul was a son. He preached the Son of God, and God revealed His Son in him. He spoke about the Spirit of adoption. He was with God as a son; he was sympathetic with God. It is one of the marks of sons, that they are sympathetic with God, not only in regard of the great things to come, but in regard of the sufferings of the present time. It says, "the anxious looking out of the creature expects the revelation of the sons of God" (Romans 8:19).

So Paul goes out thus; He says, in his closing words, "Use diligence to come to me quickly". Let us respond to this appeal to come to Paul quickly. Demas has forsaken him. Demas is now found in the world, going in for the elements of the world. It is left to Timothy and to those like him, and it is open to each one of us, to use diligence to come to Paul quickly; that is, to come in at the time of the glory, just as we are about to finish. So Paul goes out in power, like others before him, with no sense of weakness or defeat, a finished course behind him, no stain upon him, and the glory awaiting him. He is being preserved for the heavenly kingdom. What an incentive to us in these days to imbibe the spirit of Paul and to finish in dignity and in love.

J. T.(Old Series) Volume 171, Glasgow, pages 225 - 339. [1 of 2] 2 July 1947.

THE TESTIMONY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

J. B. Stoney

John 16:1 - 15

Next to the importance of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to this earth, is the presence of the Holy Spirit here; but there is a great difference between the presence of the Two. Only faith could recognise the Lord Jesus Christ, though He was visible to the eyes of men; but the Holy Spirit, though recognisable to faith, is not visible to sight.

No one in this room can doubt for a moment that the Lord Jesus Christ was once upon earth. It is as much a fact to faith at this moment that the Holy Spirit is here now. Faith can recognise this.

It is impossible to convey the gravity of this truth. Nothing makes the soul so unbelieving about any truth as acting unbelievingly about it; but, while many admit that the Holy Spirit is here, they do not act as if He were, and consequently they produce a kind of infidelity about it in their own souls. I say, I believe the Lord is coming; then I will not insure my life, for such an act would compromise my faith. But if you say, I do believe that He is coming, yet I shall insure my life, then you surely weaken your faith in that truth, by making your act contradict your faith. In the same way if I admit that the Holy Spirit is now present, I must act as if He were present.

Take the very common instance of a boy at school: if he thinks the principal is in the room he will generally act in a very different way to what he will if he thinks he is not. So a great deal depends on

my faith in a truth. There is a general admission that the Holy Spirit is here, but I believe souls have weakened their faith in the fact by acting as though He were not. Have I in my soul the sense that the Holy Spirit, a divine Person, is present? My natural eyes could not bear to see a divine Person, but I say I believe the Holy Spirit is now present to faith. It is not now a question of the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ upon earth, but of that of the Holy Spirit; it is a question of the simple fact that He is come down, and of what He effects now that He has come down.

The first thing I wish to make simple is, that it is as much an article of faith to own that the Holy Spirit is come down, as it is that the Lord Jesus Christ once came down. It is a distinct descent from heaven. He came down from heaven, and He has never gone back again.

Now, those who admit that the Holy Spirit is the One who converts hearts to God during the absence of Christ, often do not see that the Holy Spirit is here to witness to Christ. It is often asked, Where is the testimony? I answer, The Holy Spirit is the Testifier. In John 14:16 - 17 we read, "I will beg the Father, and he will give you another Comforter, that he may be with you for ever, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see him nor know him; but ye know him, for he abides with you, and shall be in you". This is all about themselves, for their own comfort.

The Holy Spirit is sent by the Father in the name of Christ; sent by the Father to us, in the name of

Him who had been here and had gone away. Surely the Holy Spirit comforts my heart in the absence of Christ. He is the Comforter. I cannot conceive anything more wonderful than to be able to say of a man walking down the street, That is a temple of the Holy Spirit!

God is doing a greater thing on earth now with man than He has ever done before. He has called His Son to His own right hand in glory, but meanwhile His body is on the earth. The Lord can say to Saul, "Saul, Saul, why dost thou persecute me?" (Acts 9 4) But this is not all. The Holy Spirit is sent down from heaven to form this body on earth. God, as it were, says to man, You have rejected My Son; but now, if you believe on Him, I will not only forgive you all your sins, transferring you into a new state, but I will set you up on the earth in the very Spirit of My Son.

It is not the millennium at all; it is living Christ on earth, on the very spot where He was rejected; living Christ. My heart is turned to Christ through grace, and now I am set up on the very spot where I was a rejecter, not as an improved man, but as an expression of that Christ whose I am. God says, I will set you up on the earth in a new style; I will make you perfectly happy there, apart from those things which minister to the natural man. You do not find a natural man happy without suited circumstances, but here is a man, Paul, who has "nothing" and who is yet "always rejoicing" (2 Corinthians 6:10). In the very spot of Christ's rejection man is set up in a

new fashion, and in that new style he is able to say, "always rejoicing", or, as the Lord expresses it in His own prayer, "that they may have my joy fulfilled in them" (John 17:13). And in John 15, "That my joy may be in you, and your joy be full" (verse 11). A benevolent man says, I will make this man happy, I will improve his mind, I will ameliorate his circumstances and thus make him a different being. While God announces, In the very circumstances in which he is, I will set him up, and make him superior to his condition, to his position, to everything, for the kingdom of God is within him.

To give you an example of this I turn to the book of the Acts, which is a book of principles. In the third chapter I find a man lame, who is laid daily at the Beautiful gate of the temple. He cannot enter in. He is a powerless man, and a craving man. Suddenly a change comes over him. What is that change? He is found in a new power. He is "walking, and leaping, and praising God" (verse 8). Are his circumstances altered? Not at all! But his state is altered.

Do you think that, if an infidel of the present day were confronted with a case like this, he would not be confounded? I never speak to an infidel of mercy, of forgiveness; I speak to him of power. When in Mark 2 they began to upbraid the Lord and revile Him as to the forgiveness of the sins of the poor palsied man, He only answered them with, Then I will show you another thing: "that ye may know that the Son of man has power on earth to forgive sins, he says to the paralytic, To thee I say, Arise, take up

thy couch and go to thine house" (verses 10, 11). And they were all amazed at the power of God, saying, "We never saw it thus" (verse 12). Here is a wonderful change: a man is found carrying his bed instead of lying on it, as we have it to the church of Philadelphia, "thou hast a little power" (Revelation 3:8). And again, "I have strength for all things in him that gives me power" (Philippians 4:13). It is the wonderful magnificence of God's grace!

Here is man set up in power in the very place of his defeat. It is not that he is an improved man, but that he is set up in an entirely new fashion. It is the finish to the work of the cross. It is not only that Christ has died, but that He has gone up to God's right hand, and that from thence He says, I have not only died for your sins, but I have obtained the Holy Spirit for you. Do you know that you, individually, are set up in the power of the Holy Spirit? No one here, of course, doubts the fact that He has the Holy Spirit, but are you walking in the power of being indwelt by Him?

It is, then, the testimony of the Holy Spirit that I now wish to speak a few words upon. The Lord states in John 15, "when the Comforter is come, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes forth from with the Father, he shall bear witness concerning me" (verse 26). The other side of the truth connected with the presence of the Comforter as sent by the Father, that which gives us power to cry, "Abba, Father", as we read in Romans 8:15, I do not wish to touch on here. I just call your

attention to the fact that in John 14, He is sent by the Father as the Comforter to the hearts of His people, whereas in chapter 15, He is sent by Christ from the Father's right hand in glory to witness to Him on the earth during His absence and rejection. It is this side of the truth I wish to look at. And the more I think of it, the more I feel that saints have lost the sense of it. I believe a flash of lightning would affect people more than the presence of the Holy Spirit does; the former would affect their natural senses. I do not wish to affect your natural senses, but I do seek to address myself to your faith.

The Lord says, "he shall bear witness concerning me". The Holy Spirit has come down, not only for our comfort, but to testify of Christ. Now, do you ever consult the Holy Spirit about the testimony of Christ? Is it the Holy Spirit who is the great Source and Leader of the testimony as to means, as to ways, as to persons? If you believe that He is present, do you consult Him as to all this? There is a prayer we very often make use of: "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ" -- thank God, we all know something of that; "and the love of God" -- of that too we can say we are not strangers to it; "and the communion of the Holy Spirit" (2 Corinthians 13:14) -- how much do we know of that? A man would not have the unblushingness to state that he had walked down the street with a great sovereign, or that the sovereign had done so with him, if it were not true; but we talk quite lightly of the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, and how much do we know of it?

I wish to impress on you the simple fact that the Holy Spirit is sent down here on two missions. Just as a man may have two distinct relationships -- he may be a father, and he may also be a master -- so the Holy Spirit has two distinct duties on earth, if I may say so; blessed be His name that I can speak so simply about Him.

It is not everything that a man is able to say: I preach five hundred sermons in the year, and get in thousands of people to hear me. So you may, but the question is whether the Holy Spirit is with you. Another will tell me of there being no one to hear him, of there being great opposition in such a place; indeed, if you persist in going to them, they will only put you out. I answer, They may put me out, but they cannot put the Holy Spirit out. I dwell upon the fact that He is here to testify of Christ. But how shall I know His testimony? What will He do? Chapter 16 supplies me with what He will do. There I get two distinct marks of what the testimony of the Holy Spirit is.

But first I will say a word as to how Christ is opposed.

Ministry by J. B. Stoney, Volume 4, pages 303 - 308. [1 of 2].

THE GOSPEL OF GOD -- AND WHAT IT SECURES FOR GOD

J. Taylor

Romans 14:7 - 9

In reading these verses, I have no thought of confining myself to what they present; my thought is to show what accrues to God from the gospel as presented in this remarkable letter to the saints at Rome, namely, that believers as set up on the ground of redemption should be here for the will of God, or, to refer to the types, should become boards for the tabernacle (Exodus 26:15 - 25).

The gospel, as spoken of elsewhere, is perhaps more comprehensive than the letter to the Romans sets forth. We have "the glad tidings of the glory of the blessed God" (1 Timothy 1:11) spoken of; then we have also the "glad tidings of the unsearchable riches of the Christ" (Ephesians 3:8), but Romans is "God's glad tidings" (chapter 1: 1), and has in view, as I said, that God should have men and women here on this earth, subject to His will, and whom He can employ, according to that will, in setting forth what they have proved Him to be in their own souls through the gospel.

The heavenly position is not in view in this epistle, although the basis for it is laid. The word 'heaven' is scarcely used in the epistle, indeed only in one instance, and in that instance it is to tell us that wrath comes from heaven, "For there is revealed wrath of God from heaven upon all impiety" (chapter 1: 18), so that it is not the glad tidings of the

land, as we may speak, that is presented to us here. In Hebrews 4, you will remember, it is said that certain had the glad tidings presented to them, but it "did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard" (verse 2); that was the glad tidings of the land. It refers to the report, brought by the twelve spies who had been sent to investigate and report to Moses and the congregation what the land was (Numbers 13, 14); it is their report that is alluded to in that passage. That is the glad tidings of heaven; that God has a heavenly place for those who believe the gospel.

Now that is not Romans. Romans is simply "God's glad tidings", and Paul, "a called apostle" (chapter 1: 1), is said to have been separated to it, as if to intimate that every primary movement in the gospel originated with God. The sending of the Lord Jesus Christ first of all, and the call of the apostle Paul, both speak of the initiative being with God; and so in regard of those in Rome that had received the gospel, they are said to be "beloved of God, called saints" (chapter 1: 7); that is, He had called them. It was not simply that they went by that name, but that they were called to that. Paul was a called apostle, and they were called saints. Then the apostle announces that he was not ashamed of the gospel, not because it spoke of a heavenly position, but because it was "God's power to salvation" (verse 16); but note it was "to salvation, to every one that believes"; as Paul says elsewhere, "to us that are saved it is God's power" (1 Corinthians 1:18), that is, the preaching of the cross.

Now I want to ask the question, whether we, as believers, have come to that, for I assume that we are all believers here tonight, or nearly all, and I would put it to you as to whether you have come to it in your soul, that the gospel is the power of God. It is an immense thing to realise the power of God in your soul, for that is where it is operative now, the power that wrought in raising Christ from the dead is operative now in the souls of believers (Ephesians 1:19, 20); as it is said in a fuller sense in another scripture, "the power which works in us" (Ephesians 3:20).

That is what we get in the opening of this (Roman) epistle, and now I want to show you when the apostle comes to his point -- for one may say the early part of the epistle (that is, the first two chapters and the latter part of the third chapter), are introductory -- when he comes to the working out of the gospel, he introduces a thought that should ever be before our souls, namely, the glory of God. "All have sinned", he says, "and come short of the glory of God" (chapter 3: 23). That is a remarkable expression, and it is one that, as I said, should be ever before our souls, because it intimates a certain standard that God has before Him in regard to things on this earth.

As yet it is not a question of His glory in heaven, it is a question of what is on this earth. In order to show the bearing of the expression, I would refer you to the well-known psalm: he "gave his strength into captivity, and his glory into the hand of the oppressor" (Psalm 78:61). It referred to Christ; that is the ark, to use a type; the ark was the glory; it was

that in which, figuratively, God could overthrow the enemy's power, and find a resting-place for His people, who in turn found a resting-place for Him.

Now I want you to bear in mind what God has embodied in this way; that is, He has brought in in Christ One who delighted to do His will. A wonderful Person to have here on earth! He says, "To do thy good pleasure, my God, is my delight" (Psalm 40 8). Even if that will involved His going down underneath the dark waters of death and judgment, He would take that way. So when the ark moved, Moses says, "Rise up, Jehovah, and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thy face" (Numbers 10:35).

That was Christ going into death. "Let thine enemies be scattered", what a scattering there was of the enemies of God when Christ went into death and rose out of it! They were all banded together there, all the elements of evil were banded together at the cross against Jehovah and against His anointed, but the Ark went forward, and as the Ark went forward the enemies were scattered, and all that hated God fled before Him.

As we read the records of the resurrection of Christ in the four gospels, our souls are filled with the sense of victory. You see the enemies melting away like snow -- scattering. "The guards trembled", as the angel of the Lord, whose countenance was like lightning, sat on the stone of the sepulchre (Matthew 28:2 - 4). What could man do with an angel whose "look was as lightning"? The guards trembled

and became as dead men, and so, beloved friends, the enemies were scattered, and all that hated God fled before Him.

But then there was not only the moving, the setting forward of the ark, but there was the returning of the ark. When the ark rested, Moses said, "Return, Jehovah, unto the myriads of the thousands of Israel" (Numbers 10:36). Now you come to the circle of faith. If the ark found a resting-place for the people, if Christ has found a resting-place for our consciences and our hearts through His death and resurrection, what is it for, but that we should find and afford a resting-place for Him? I have no doubt that in Psalm 22 we get the circle of the enemies -- "Bashan's strong ones", "dogs", an "assembly of evil-doers", "the lion's mouth" -- but in verse 21 the Lord says, "Yea, from the horns of the buffaloes hast thou answered me".

From that extreme point of evil where He stood for God, where He maintained God's righteousness and His holiness, God heard Him, and so in the next verse He says, "I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee". It was, as it were, the returning of the ark unto the many thousands of Israel; and I would have every one of us here tonight to know that we belong to that Israel, the Israel of God. God would have a resting-place in the midst of the myriads, the thousands of Israel.

So the glory of God, the standard that God sets before the soul in Romans 3, is what Christ was here

as doing His will. We all come short of that, but then God is going to bring all into accord with it. The pre-eminence of the Son of God as maintaining all according to the divine standard, the glory of God, is set forth, but God's proposal through the gospel is to bring every believer into accord with His glory, "to set you with exultation blameless before his glory" (Jude 24). What a thought that God is able to do that! He is doing it; He is working in every believer to that end.

But further, in Romans 3, we have not only the ark but the mercy-seat. The ark was made of shittim (acacia) wood covered within and without with gold. I suppose the gold is what is of God. Christ "went through all quarters doing good ... because God was with him" (Acts 10:38). It was a question of showing forth what God is. But the mercy-seat was all of gold, and its dimensions were commensurate with the ark in the sense that it was the same length and the same breadth. The ark had the additional dimension of depth, and it contained the tables of the covenant.

In the heart of Christ there was ever His delight in the law -- He delighted to do the will of God -- but the mercy-seat was all of gold, because it was in this that God was set forth. It was a delight for God to look into the heart of Christ, but God was in the mercy-seat for man. God has found One in whom He can set forth His righteousness, and that, too, in respect of the passing by of sins that had taken place before. Satan might have questioned the

righteousness of God for thousands of years, but now here is a public declaration on the part of God, in the blood of Christ, that all is covered; that He was righteous in justifying Abel, in justifying all that had gone before, in the passing by of sins that are past "that he should be just, and justify him that is of the faith of Jesus" (Romans 3:26). What a reserve God had in that way in Christ, that He could show forth His righteousness and justify Himself in what He was doing now; that is to say, He can be "just, and justify him that is of the faith of Jesus".

Are you of the faith of Jesus? Do you apprehend in your soul that that blessed Man did the will of God here? It is such an one as you that God justifies, if you are of the faith of Jesus. If that be so, God will bring you into accord with it. He will justify you, give you a good conscience, but that is not all; He gives you peace, but that is not all; He gives you His Spirit, but there is more still. Wonderful things these are, and God sheds His love abroad in your heart; all that is for you: justification, peace, the possession of the Spirit, the shedding forth of the love of God in the heart, all these are for you. God would have it so, and He would have you also to know what He is to you in Christ.

But now I would ask, what are you to be for God? That is what I wanted specially to emphasise. I shall just touch on one point so that you may have it before you. Romans 7 works out in the experience of some man, indeed, it may be, what one may call abstract experience, but it is worked out in this way,

that the writer says, "I delight in the law of God according to the inward man" (verse 22). That is a remarkable statement. He does not say that he does it, that he fulfils it, but he delights in it. Have you come to that as a believer? I have already spoken about forgiveness, justification and peace, all of which are from God's side through Christ. But now, here is a man who is in the light of these things, and although he has found out that the flesh in him is against God -- that it is incorrigible, unalterable, and remains ever what it was and what it is -- yet he speaks of what he calls an "inward man", and according to that inward man he delights in the law of God. Remarkable result! In other words, by his profession he is a board of the tabernacle. One can hardly say that he is yet standing up as a board, but he is a board in his inward feelings and resolve.

In referring to the boards, one point I would note is that there is a correspondence between the boards and the ark, in one thing at least, they are both made of the same kind of wood, shittim or acacia wood. The dimensions of the ark are peculiar, as you will observe if you read Exodus 25, and their peculiarity speaks of the Person of Christ, what He is; but when you come to the boards, what is said of them is they are "standing up". Jehovah says, "And the boards for the tabernacle shalt thou make of acacia wood, standing up" (Exodus 26:15); that is very remarkable. Ordinarily, in making them they would not be standing up, if we judge according to nature, but Scripture is written not according to nature, but according to

spirit. We are to read Scripture in the spirit of it, and indeed it is said, "the Lord is the Spirit, but where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty" (2 Corinthians 3 17). It is in the Spirit of the Lord that we take up the Old Testament, and in the Spirit of the Lord we have liberty to go through and see Christ in it, and, indeed, not only Christ, but all that concerns Christ. The boards refer to the saints in their relation to Christ.

Now do you understand, as a believer, that God's thought is to set you up here in relation to Christ? He has no other thought for you as you are down here, nor indeed has He any other thought for you in heaven, than that you should be set in relation to Christ.

Ministry by J. Taylor, Edinburgh, Volume 12, pages 119 - 125. [1 of 2] 1920.

THE CLOSING DAYS OF PAUL, PETER AND JOHN

P. H. Hardwick

2 Timothy 4:6 - 10, 16 - 18; 2 Peter 1:14 - 19; John 21:11

Now I speak of Peter. Peter addresses himself to the saints as an elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also as a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed (1 Peter 5:1). He speaks as one who has had great experience with God, and not only personal experience with God, but experience with God in the testimony. He is caring for the flock, and how they are preserved and fed and shepherded according to the Lord's words to him at the end of John. He is

anxious that the truth shall be left amongst the brethren, the truth at its best. We are told that "if any one aspires to exercise oversight, he desires a good work" (1 Timothy 3:1). This is very closely connected with the development of eldership. The apostle Paul, in dealing with the Ephesian elders, speaks of them as elders and as overseers and as shepherds (Acts 20:28); they are all connected, and these things should be in our minds.

Peter here is a man who, having already ministered to the saints, is ministering, perhaps, for the last time, and the question is what shall be left among the saints. What would an elder leave? We may say, perhaps, to ourselves, that there is not much likelihood of our becoming elders or taking on the features of eldership, but we may find great encouragement in Peter here (as we do in Jacob in the Old Testament), for he was a man who made many mistakes and yet was recovered. Peter was recovered from every one of them and, when his time came to minister, he ministered in power.

I suppose there is no ministry so powerful as the ministry of a thoroughly recovered and adjusted person, whether it be Moses, or David, or Peter, or John or even Paul; the ministry of these devoted servants as recovered is without parallel. Peter, the one who, in the presence of a spiritual revelation, had descended immediately to the sentiment of the flesh; the one who, with others, had slept in the presence of the glory; who, with others, had slept in the presence of the sufferings of Christ; and yet he was

fully recovered. The Lord paid special attention to him. Our attention has been drawn to this matter of recovery, and we would speak carefully and humbly to one another, for, if we are anything, we are recovered persons. If there is to be ministry it must be through recovered persons. Certainly the one who speaks tonight comes into that category.

Peter leaves some of the brightest possible features of ministry with the brethren in this dark setting of his second letter. He leaves a ministry of the Person of Christ, and there is nothing to affect our souls like that. He says, "we have not made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, following cleverly imagined fables, but having been eyewitnesses of his majesty". Then he speaks of the voice: "such a voice being uttered to him by the excellent glory". I suppose that refers to God the Father.

… So this is one of the finishing features. Peter speaks as one whose tabernacle is coming down. It is remarkable to see the tabernacle coming down in a great servant, whether it be in scriptural times or in our own times. How affecting it is! But what remains is not so much the servant, but his impression of Christ passed on to us, as Peter passes it on here. It is not a cunningly devised fable, but the report of that which he has seen himself. Could we not encourage one another, in this way, to exchange our impressions in a holy way concerning the greatness of the Person of our Lord Jesus Christ? We are to know what He is to the Father; the voice being uttered to Him "by the excellent glory".

We take our stand, as it were, with the disciples in the setting of John 17, and hear a divine Person in manhood speaking to another divine Person in heaven. What a privilege this is! What impressions have we of it? Peter had this impression, which he leaves for us. Not only so, but there is what we have learnt to value likewise, namely, the prophetic word. It is not the prophetic word now as showing us where we are in the history of the assembly, or in the history of the times of the Gentiles, but the prophetic word now as helping us in view of the new day. It says here, "we have the prophetic word made surer, to which ye do well taking heed (as to a lamp shining in an obscure place) until the day dawn and the morning star arise in your hearts".

So the prophetic word, as known amongst us, dear brethren, is to help us to finish. It stands related to what is going to be finished here and be taken over in our persons into the heavenly realm. How convicting are the prophetic words of Scripture! We have to ask ourselves whether our prophetic words, as known in our assembly setting, are convicting; whether they carry power and reality; whether the prophet is himself in power. This is one of the things which Peter would hand down to us.

The mind of God is to be known for the moment by way of the prophetic word in view of the day dawning. So it would be well if we had amongst us a ministry of Christ, according to His glory, and a ministry of the mind of God until the end -- the mind of God in relation to the assembly, all of us to be

searched by it and built up by it, for "he that prophesies edifies the assembly" (1 Corinthians 14:4). Peter would leave us with that, as a kind of avenue to finishing well with Paul, "our beloved brother Paul", as he says (2 Peter 3:15). He would hand us over to Paul as being equipped with great impressions of Christ and great understanding of the mind of God.

In coming to John I would add a word, speaking of John as the brother. I suppose sonship is what the saints are primarily for God, they are the sons of God, but the brother is the relation in which we stand to one another. It would involve, too, that great exalted setting in which the Lord Jesus says, "my brethren" (John 20:17). The brother means love, not only love in a general way, but in a family setting. The brother introduces the family thought. As soon as Paul comes to the brother, in the end of Romans, he can begin to speak of the mystery. He indicates that as soon as he has referred to "the brother Quartus" (chapter 16: 23), he can open out what is in his heart in relation to the gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ and the mystery.

So it is a good thing to have right impressions of a brother, and John sets it out. He says, "I John, your brother". He sets it out in circumstances of pressure, in tribulation. He says, "I John, your brother and fellow-partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and patience, in Jesus" (Revelation 1:9). So we rightly turn to his last writing to see how John treats this great matter of love. We may well encourage one another in it, not only the general expression of love, but what

it is to be lovable. John presents to us lovable persons. He speaks of our Lord Jesus Christ the Son. "The Father loves the Son", he says, "and shews him all things which he himself does" (John 5:20). He does it, we may say, because the Son is so lovable in Himself. He calls forth the Father's heart to show Him all that He is doing.

The Lord says later of the Spirit, "he shall receive of mine and shall announce it to you. All things that the Father has are mine; on account of this I have said that he receives of mine and shall announce it to you", (John 16:14, 15). He has the Father's things as well. The Father has shown them to Him, because of His lovableness. I am not seeking thus to limit the Lord's Person, of course, but that one feature which comes into that setting. The Lord Jesus, in His manhood, in His sonship, is so lovable here that the Father shows Him all that He is doing.

Then there are others. There is Lazarus, a sample person ... They said, when Lazarus was, sick, "he whom thou lovest is sick" (John 11:3). Lazarus was a person like ourselves, who called out the Lord's love; not only His help and His mercy, but His love. I must confess to desiring to be loved by the Lord in this way. John himself, "That disciple … whom Jesus loved" (chapter 21: 7), finds a place in the Lord's bosom, because he was lovable, and the disciples share that place too, the place of love. "The Father himself", the Lord says, "has affection for you" (chapter 16: 27).

This is John spreading before us, as it were,

lovable persons, so as to invite us into this great realm to which the brother really belongs. So we can understand the way in which John records, at the end of his gospel, the recovery of Peter, his brother. We have no astonishment now that John found it easy to work with Peter in the Acts, for he had seen or known of his recovery.

The Lord had visited Peter. He said to him three times, "Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?", etc. That last time is peculiarly touching. It is as much as to say, Simon, do you find anything in Me that is lovable? Peter's answer is, "Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I am attached to thee" (verse 17). It was the love of personal attachment. He says, "Lord, thou knowest all things". That is what the Lord knew intuitively, in virtue of His Person; but when he says, "thou knowest that I am attached to thee", it is as if he said, 'Lord, Thou canst recognise in me now the signs that I do love Thee. Thou canst see the signs that I am really attached to Thee'. This is John, the brother, recording the recovery of his own brother. How he delights to record that at the end!

I would add, that while Paul speaks of his release, and Peter speaks of his departure, we do not read about John's departure. We have been reminded that, in a spiritual sense, John remains with us right up to our departing, and, we may say, what he represents stays with us for all time and goes into eternity, for what he represents is love, not love in terms merely, but real love which calls forth love.

His writings assure us of the best. The good wine is kept until now -- the glory of the Person of Christ, the high levels of the ministry, reaching upward to "my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God" (John 20:17). It is the best, the highest.

This is what is reserved for us, according to John. If he speaks about the brother, he has in mind the Lord's words to Mary, "go to my brethren". He would think of the Lord Jesus, in His sonship, in His glory, as there above, and that He has sanctified Himself for us. That is, up there in glory, He so regards us here, according to His own position as Man in sonship. This is God's thought for man according to His counsels, God's counsels of love standing relative to man. So we may say, taking that into account, that he shows man at his best too; not only in Christ, but man according to the great race of which Christ is the Head. These are great thoughts, and I believe John would make them very attractive to us at the end, for he remains. The Lord says so, in this mysterious way, as we have heard. He remains, which means that all the best that love and glory have, remain too for us until the end.

So whether it be in the spirit of Paul going out in dignity, finishing in glory, whether it be in the great high levels of the testimony, or whether it be in these great relationships of love, as John presents them, we may comfort one another, clothing the brethren with these thoughts, so that we may together finish well. As the prophet says, that we may "flow together" (Jeremiah 31:12). We shall be caught up together,

and we may well be together now.

May the Lord encourage us with these thoughts, for His Name's sake!

J.T. (Old Series), Volume 171, Glasgow, pages 339 - 346. [2 of 2] 2 July 1947.

THE TESTIMONY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

J. B. Stoney

John 16:1 - 15

This blessed One had come down to earth -- never was there such a thing as the Son of God come down from heaven -- became a Man, glorified God on the earth and died for man, but He was rejected and cast out. Then He said, "I will build my assembly" (Matthew 16:18) -- the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. But this is not all. The Holy Spirit has come down, and we are all baptised by one Spirit into one body (1 Corinthians 12:13) -- the body of Christ. There is a great deal of disorder in the church, but He has not gone away. Now what is the sin of Christendom that has brought about all this disorder? It is ignoring the fact that the Holy Spirit is dwelling in the church. Positively a great many godly people pray for Him to be sent! The pope is set up by multitudes as the vicar of Christ upon earth; every one of us here refuse that; but, though numbers refuse the wrong one, they do not find the right One, the Holy Spirit.

Whatever God is most set upon is that which is most opposed by the enemy; it was so from the beginning. In the garden of Eden, Satan came in and perverted the word of God. And in the day of the

priesthood, when fire came down from heaven "and consumed on the altar the burnt-offering, and the pieces of fat" (Leviticus 9:24), what form did the opposition take? Immediately the sons of Aaron "took each of them his censer, and put fire in it, and put incense on it, and presented strange fire before Jehovah" (chapter 10: 1). They added their own fire to that which came out "from before Jehovah". They said, God has sent down fire; we will help Him by adding to it. I see this around me every day. A man may have the very best intention, but he is adding to the Holy Spirit. Oh! but you answer, it is not that; it is only helping on the work, only adding to the influence. Add to it! This is the sin of the day. It is raising the question, Is the Lord among us?

When the children of Israel got into the land of Canaan, in the very moment of victory one man took a goodly Babylonish garment and a wedge of gold, and hid them in the earth under his tent (Joshua 7:19, etc.). It was all perfectly secret; it did not compromise any one; no one knew of it; he could not hurt anyone by it. He was tempting God, as if He would not find it out. God, then, cannot bear this; and He will not go on with them. Satan's temptation was that God would take no notice of the sin. It was tempting the Spirit of God.

Other passages I might turn to as instances of tempting God, and trouble in consequence, such as Uzzah (2 Samuel 6); but I go on to Acts 5, where we find it as a principle affecting the church. Here not one could say that the Holy Spirit was not there. But

at this very time I find two people, with what motive I cannot think, who, having some land, sold it and brought part of the price and laid it at the apostle's feet. Two things are brought out in this scripture. These two were seeking reputation; it is hard to see why, for the church was not a place of distinction at that time. Like Achan, who sought to enrich himself at God's expense -- for everything in Jericho was God's -- so now these two seek to exalt themselves in God's house.

And what does their action prove? It proves that the thought of their heart is, We do not believe God is here. How does Peter meet it? "Why has Satan filled thy heart that thou shouldest lie to the Holy Spirit? … Why is it that thou hast purposed this thing in thine heart? Thou hast not lied to men, but to God" (Acts 5:3, 4). And when the wife comes in three hours later, having had time to consider her course, his words are still stronger: "Why is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord?" (verse 9). It is Satan's masterpiece. When a man is found working for his own distinction in some form or other, the while he is professing to work for God, he is tempting the Spirit of the Lord. Here two were found to agree together to act as if He were not here; and now it characterises the church's action, as though He were not here.

What is the testimony according to the Holy Spirit? It is composed of two parts. First, as it exposes the world: "And having come, he will bring demonstration to the world, of sin, and of

righteousness, and of judgment". Second, as it discloses the glory of Christ -- Himself and His things.

Jude refers to some who "set themselves apart, natural men, not having the Spirit" (verse 19); they depart from the Spirit, and act upon the ground of man and nature. There is no more dangerous thing. Nothing has more weakened the power of the truth in the present day than this very thing; I refer to what is called 'revivalism'. I am obliged to speak plainly. I believe no one adopts revivalism in his preaching but he loses the power of the Holy Spirit; he is sure to fall into human ways and means. There is an immense departure in the present day from simple acting in the power of the Holy Spirit. Then when difficulties come in, troubles as to discipline, and other things, there is not one mind, there is no power. Why? Because you have been adding strange fire to the fire of the sanctuary, and the consequence is that now, when you want power, you discover that God is not with you.

What was at the root of the action of Ananias and Sapphira? Self-exaltation. I believe if there ever were belief in and acting on the truth of the presence of the Holy Spirit, that He would undertake the arrangement of everything in the church -- would bring the right person, the right evangelist, to the place where He needed him to witness for Christ.

I once heard of an evangelist who was strongly persuaded that he should go and preach the gospel in a certain place. He went unasked, and on arriving there was told that there would certainly not be

anyone to hear him. Still I must preach tonight, he said. And he did preach, though no one came to hear him; he delivered his message, and a man listening outside the door who had not courage to go in, was converted. Here was a man led by the Spirit, and used by Him. I have not a doubt that if we were conscious that the Holy Spirit is here, we would not do a single thing without His direction, any more than a note would come out of a pianoforte if it were not touched.

As already said, one part of His testimony is to expose the true state of things with regard to the world. How then can I use worldly means in serving Christ? I cannot let a worldly man help me to preach, or in any kind of service. I am a witness to the world of its sin. I can only say to it, I stand against you. It is not a question of converting souls; the moment a soul is converted it ceases to be of the world. But as to the world, I need no statistics to prove to me its sin; I have a better proof than that can give me; the Holy Spirit is the witness to me of it: "of sin, because they do not believe on me" …

The very first time that Paul came into Europe, Satan attempted to help him in his service: he testified to his being the servant of the Most High God; but, when Paul would not receive his help, he immediately set to work to oppose him; that very night Paul and Silas were in the inner prison and their feet fast in the stocks (Acts 16:16, etc.). The prince of the world says, 'Let me help you. I do not care how small the help you take from me, or what the

character of it; but if you refuse it altogether, you shall have my opposition'.

But it is not only "of sin, because they do not believe on me", but also "of righteousness, because I go away to my Father". If it is sin here, it is righteousness there; the sin of the one proves the righteousness of the other. The world may do its worst in its opposition to me, but I have a power that makes me superior to it. True, it has power, but there is another power. It may put Paul in prison, but the prison begins to rock. The world may say to me, as it did to Paul in Philippi, I will do all I can to get people to come to hear you preach. I answer, I do not want your help, I have a power that is superior to yours, and that power is dead against you.

The power that God first gave to man in the days of Noah was a power that was downward not upward. It was the power to suppress evil. And what did they do with it? They suppressed God's Son! "Of sin, because they do not believe on me; of righteousness, because I go away to my Father". He is not here. That is what is against the world. And the fact that the Holy Spirit is here proves that there is in the world a greater power than the world, and that its prince is judged.

The testimony of the Holy Spirit to us is, "he shall guide you into all truth ... he will announce to you what is coming. He shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine and shall announce it to you". He shows us heaven. "All things that the Father has are mine; on account of this I have said that he receives

of mine and shall announce it to you". I have lost the world, but I have got heaven.

Well, in conclusion, I can only say, that if the heart does not receive, as a matter of simple faith, the fact of the presence of the Holy Spirit here now, all the teaching in the world will not give it. The Lord grant to each one of us to act more simply in the faith of I believe that He is here. Recognising Him here, I walk in the path of power.

Surely no greater subject can occupy our hearts than this on which we have been dwelling a little. If we delight ourselves in Him, He will delight us individually, will make our hearts glad with the cheer of His love, and lead us on in the power He has given us of maintaining His name on the earth.

Ministry by J. B. Stoney, Volume 4, pages 308 - 313. [2 of 2].

THOUGHTS ON EPHESIANS 1:3 - 7

E. H. Chater

In the opening of the epistle to the Ephesians, the apostle is used of God to bring out His eternal purposes in Christ in relation to the saints of this wondrous day of grace. Having addressed the epistle and saluted the saints, before unfolding God's counsel, his heart goes out to Him who is the Source and Author of the whole blessing, in a burst of worship and praise, saying, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ".

Israel, the beloved earthly people, were blessed with temporal blessings in Canaan; but the

Christian's blessings are infinitely higher, and are spiritual. Every spiritual blessing is ours now. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ hath blessed us with them. And where? Not in Canaan; not on earth; but in heaven -- in the heavenly places in Christ. We have nothing apart from Him; "Christ is everything, and in all" (Colossians 3:11). All the blessing is in Him.

"In Christ" is one chief key to the understanding of this marvellous scripture. Lose sight of Christ, and the soul may well be staggered at such wondrous thoughts of grace. But God is here dispensing grace according to His thoughts of Christ, and the love of His own heart. This is strikingly illustrated in 1 Chronicles 17:16 - 19, where "king David went in and sat before Jehovah, and said, Who am I, Jehovah Elohim, and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto? And this hath been a small thing in thy sight, O God; and thou hast spoken of thy servant's house for a great while to come, and hast regarded me according to the rank of a man of high degree, Jehovah Elohim. What can David say more to thee for the glory of thy servant? thou indeed knowest thy servant. Jehovah, for thy servant's sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all this greatness, to make known all these great things".

And mark again as to where the spiritual blessings are that are ours -- "in the heavenlies". Christ is in heaven, and the sphere where He is, is where God hath blessed us. In Him, outside and irrespective of time. He has passed out of this world, and we are in

Him. In this epistle we are a new creation in Him, where all is of God. (Ephesians 2:10; Ephesians 4:24; 2 Corinthians 5:17, 18). "Old things have passed away; behold all things have become new". And the blessings are eternal in their character. We get an unfolding of them in the following verses.

And, moreover, He hath blessed us, "according as he has chosen us in him before the world's foundation, that we should be holy and blameless before him in love" (Ephesians 1:4). This verse carries us back into the counsels of God. Before the ages and dispensations, before the creation of men, before the foundation of the world, "he has chosen us in him". Well may the apostle burst forth in blessing God before unfolding this wondrous statement! Surely every christian heart must bow in adoration as it considers such unfathomable love! And mark again, it is "in him". And what has He chosen us for? "That we should be holy and blameless before him in love". Such is God's counsel. Time has nothing to say to this. The future in contrast to the present, or the present in contrast to the future, has nothing to do with it. God has placed us in Christ before Himself, and that in love. And this is all according to His counsel in Him before the world began.

The following verse brings out a further purpose of God: "having marked us out beforehand for adoption through Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will" (Ephesians 1:5). He hath marked us out beforehand for adoption, and this we have already received. It is "through Jesus Christ".

No blessing flows through any other channel. And "to himself". We are adopted to Himself. He would have sons. Angels are passed by, and we have been marked out to a higher position and nearer place than they. And all this is "according to the good pleasure of his will". Satan has sought to frustrate it in a thousand ways, but all to no purpose. It was God's good pleasure to have us in this wondrous place of privilege and blessing; the good pleasure of the will of Him who alone has a right to exercise His own will.

Moreover, this position in which the saints are now set is "to the praise of the glory of his grace" (Ephesians 1:6). It is the fruit of His eternal counsels, excelling all His other ways in grace. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who planned it, is "the God of all grace" (1 Peter 5:10). Gracious as are His ways in ten thousand different forms, in bringing saints into this wondrous position according to the good pleasure of His will, His grace is glorified. It eclipses every other, and praise redounds to it.

The remainder of the sixth verse adds the precious statement, "wherein he has taken us into favour in the Beloved". Marvellous portion! Set now in the full favour of God, by God Himself, according to His own thoughts about, and His own heart's delight in, "the Beloved"; not simply "in Christ", but "in the Beloved". It is Christ, of course; but here only in all the Scriptures is He called by this blessed name. Elsewhere He is owned of God the Father as "my beloved Son" (Matthew 17:5), but when He brings out the wondrous position of favour into which He

has taken His saints, a new and most endearing and blessed title is brought out for the first time to convey it to our hearts and minds. Who can grasp such rich, such wondrous, blessing? And yet it is true, for it is the word of God. "He has taken us into favour in the Beloved".

In Him we have redemption, as the next verse adds. "In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of offences, according to the riches of his grace" (Ephesians 1:7). It is important to notice the full force of in whom in this passage. It agrees with "in the Beloved". In Romans, redemption is spoken of as "in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:24). In Colossians, we have it in "the Son of his love" (Colossians 1:13, 14). But here the scripture says, "in the Beloved: in whom we have redemption", etc. We have redemption then, as here presented, "in the Beloved". But it is "through his blood". No blessing is ours apart from His blood-shedding. We have it in His person, but through His work. "The forgiveness of offences", which is next connected, alone could reach us on this ground; for "without blood-shedding there is no remission" (Hebrews 9:22).

Now remark, further, that in Ephesians the blessing is presented in the richest manner. The most expressive language is employed by the Holy Spirit to convey its fulness and extent. "In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of offences, according to the riches of his grace". Can you form an estimate of the riches of the grace of God? Can you reckon their amount? Can you

conceive their fulness? Then, and not till then, beloved christian reader, can you grasp the extent of your blessing. It is immeasurable, untraceable, infinite.

Other precious truths are unfolded in the remainder of this wonderful chapter, which begins so blessedly; but we must close. We would, however, briefly call the attention of our readers to the different ways in which the truth is presented in Romans and Ephesians. In the former, it commences with man's condition, brings out the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, and, in chapters 8 and 9, brings the believer up to the purposes of God. But the latter (Ephesians) begins with the counsels and purposes in the heart and mind of God, and gradually comes down to the ground on which we enter into the blessings of His grace in the seventh verse, at which we have been looking, but more fully, in chapter 2.

Simple Testimony, Volume 4 (1887), pages 132 - 137.

WORK FOR THE LORD

J. N. Darby

An Extract from a Letter

Now, as to work for the Lord. The simple inquiry, and recorded as the first utterance of Paul to our Lord, "What shall I do, Lord?" (Acts 22:10) is the duty and expression of every one distinctly awakened to the claim Christ has on him. This inquiry cannot be too earnestly instituted, or the reply to it too rigidly attended to. The inquiry is the offspring of a soul sensible that the Lord has entire and full claim on me, without the knowledge which

authorises it. The soul feels -- I am taken out of the world, and I am given to Christ, and hence I look to Him for my place and occupation in future in it. If we are given to Christ "out of the world" (John 17:6), it is evident that it is He alone who has right to determine our way and course in the world.

I could not say, if I believe that I am given to Him "out of the world", that I have any right to reoccupy any place or engagement which I had previously held in the world. True, He does not require or permit me to infringe on any legal lord under whom I was held before I was given to Him -- but, excepting where the rights of others would be compromised, I am Christ's bondman -- vested legal rights are not to be compromised because of my being given to Christ; but I am Christ's bondman, and necessarily if I am, both from duty and inclination, my inquiry ought to be, "What shall I do, Lord?" The more I own and realize the relationship which now exists through grace between us, the more simply and continuously will this be my whole-hearted cry to Him.

Now, if it is, I will, of course, accede to and attend to whatever He may intimate to me, and this only. That is, the heart true to Him, and devotedly making this request, will wait on Him for guidance and counsel, and would find no real satisfaction in being anywhere or doing anything which was not according to His mind; our place and our occupation here would be only determined by the pleasure of Him whose we are and whom we serve; any

departure from the tie or rule of this relationship would sensibly interfere with the mutual satisfaction therein known, there would be a break in on, and a disturbance of, the true order of life, and the blessings connected with it.

Nothing so simple and nothing so important in our walk down here! I belong to Christ, and I find it my happiness and His pleasure to do nothing but as He desires and instructs me. I live where He likes, and I do what He likes. If we did this there would be no mistakes one side or the other. But we do make mistakes on both sides; on one side at one time, and on another side at another time. At one we plan out work for ourselves, and at another we do none at all. Now the first is the most difficult to deal with, simply because the counterfeit deceives one, and hence, while it is comparatively easy to convict the idle and slothful, it is not so easy to convict the Martha (Luke 10:38 - 42) that she is unwisely occupied. The work seems so right and necessary, that it appears almost impossible that there could be any plan in it.

Nothing so deceives and leads astray as the conscience working at a distance from Christ; for instance, if I feel in my conscience that I ought to be Christ's servant (true enough, I am His bondman), but if I am not near Him, if I am not in His confidence, and I begin to do something to satisfy my conscience, there is no doubt I am doing it legally, and not as simply suits Him. It is to make myself easy and satisfied. When this is the case I do not consult what He would like me to do, but I do what I

think best to be done. It is not His pleasure guides me, it is my own mind, as to what is suitable and proper. It may be quite necessary, as Martha's service, but Martha was evidently thinking of the services which were incumbent on her to render, and not governed by the pleasure of Christ.

Here is where we fail, undertaking to serve where it is in a degree creditable to ourselves, or we get disappointed (if we are true-hearted) because we have not the acknowledgment of His pleasure. How can He acknowledge what we have undertaken and done to satisfy our own conscience and to please ourselves therein? It is evident that when I am occupied with services, however useful and necessary, which I have undertaken of myself, feeling they devolved upon me, that I must lose the sense of His presence. Sitting at His feet, Mary-like, is lost and neglected. There is no growth of soul in Christ. Self is in the service from beginning to end.

It is most blessed to work for Christ, it is fruit-bearing; but if my work engrosses me more than Christ, there is damage to me, and I am not working for Him: "without me ye can do nothing" (John 15 5). If I am really working for Christ, I am getting from Christ, and growing up into Him. Sitting at His feet is the natural posture of my soul. Whenever you find anyone serving without sitting at His feet, you may be assured they are Martha-like. When any are sitting at His feet, hearing His word, they will not be behind in true and pleasing service. If you begin with serving (as many do nowadays), you will never

sit at His feet, whereas if you begin with sitting, you will soon serve wisely, well, and acceptably. The serving quiets the conscience, and the sitting is overlooked and neglected. The enemy gains an advantage, for it is at the sitting the conscience is more enlightened, and the pleasure and mind of the Master are better known, and hence there is damage done, and loss sustained by the soul when service preoccupies one to the exclusion of sitting at His feet, or where it is most prominent.

I never met with anyone making service prominent who knew what it was to sit at His feet; but, thank God, I know indefatigable workers who enjoy sitting at His feet above any service, and it is clear that they who sit most at His feet must be most competent to serve, and most in His confidence which, after all, is the clue to all efficient service.

Words of Truth, Volume 6 (1938), pages 258 - 262.

DEFINITENESS AND DEVOTEDNESS

P. Lyon

Psalm 132:1 - 10; Daniel 6:10,11; Nehemiah 2:11; Nehemiah 6:11,12

I have in mind to speak of spiritual determination in love's devotion. It involves a single eye, and a body presented to God as a living sacrifice. Definiteness is the supreme need of the hour. We are nothing for God or man if indefinite; otherwise we sway at every wind, and become a permanent source of weakness in our locality, instead of contributing to it in strength, as maintained in faith, and drawing on the power of the Spirit.

Each of these men was devoted to God's supreme interest (Jerusalem), and each one received light from God. David speaks of having had the pattern of the house given to him by the Spirit (see 1 Chronicles 28 12). Daniel is greeted as "man greatly beloved" (Daniel 10:11, 19), and God's mind was unfolded to him most tenderly by the angel Gabriel. Nehemiah had part in what prefigures the great assembly revival of our day, and under the priestly ministry of Ezra, and with the help of the Levites, the choicest thoughts of God were revived, such as the feast of tabernacles, which had not been celebrated since Joshua's day (Nehemiah 8:17). In each case it was God's thoughts about Jerusalem that governed these men, though in actual fact the conditions that marked it in their day were far from what was proper to it. We are entitled to view things abstractly, as they are in the divine mind, in the impregnability of what is

established in the glorious Man of God's purpose, Christ Jesus. The second epistle to Timothy makes clear that it is such an outlook that sustains and invigorates the man of God in a day of outward departure.

As to David, how stimulating it is to see that his feelings as to Jerusalem find expression in song. Sentiments that do not centre in Jerusalem (for us, the assembly) only give rise to a dirge of complaints and to disintegration. God has no other city; in the early part of Revelation 21 we see it as the "new Jerusalem" (verse 2) going into eternity. In the hearts of God's lovers, sovereignly enlightened as to the assembly, Jerusalem awakens the keenest feelings and emotions in relation to all that it stands for; for the assembly is indeed the touchstone of devotion to divine Persons and divine interests.

Whatever may be claimed in favour of so-called useful activities current in the religious world, our measure in relation to divine Persons is bound up with the present and continual devotion to the assembly, upon which all our activities are to converge. Grace gives us the opportunity for this in our localities. Sad indeed is the portion of those permanently isolated from their brethren. To settle down to isolation, is to cut oneself off from all church education and privilege, and to deprive oneself of the living flow of the river of God, thus providing the foe in his subtlety with an easy prey.

David used his exaltation to the throne in great simplicity in view of God being magnified in praise in His house. We are not trustworthy with any gift of

grace if we hold it not thus as furthering the glory of God. The Corinthian saints serve as a warning for us, for, while God had endowed them with every gift (according to 1 Corinthians 1:5 - 7), they used that very greatness, which He had bestowed upon them, to belittle the God whose grace had made them great in the anointing to the end that they might magnify Him.

It is clear that David's devotion to God and His supreme interest took root with him in early years. Who is there in the Scriptures who, as used specifically by God for His service, was not taken up young? David was probably still in his teens when he was thinking of the ark, and in communion with God about it as the centre of all God's thoughts. It was not when the ark -- the symbol of divine power -- was in Jerusalem that David made this vow of which Psalm 132 speaks, but when it was neglected in Kirjath-jearim (1 Samuel 7:2, 3). "Behold, we heard of it at Ephratah, we found it in the fields of the wood;" David followed up the matter in spiritual energy. Many matters had to be settled prior to the ark being brought into its resting-place in Jerusalem; Goliath had to be dealt with, and issues with the brethren patiently borne in the testings that brought out the moral worth of God's anointed, ever furnishing God with the warrant for His sovereign selection.

David links up with himself all the brethren in saying, "We heard of it … we found it". As his heart communed with God in relation to the ark, he instinctively understood that it was the gathering centre for all Israel, as it had been the centre in the

divine mind in relation to Moses and the whole tabernacle system. The fact that the ark was made of acacia wood, overlaid with gold, as were the boards of the tabernacle, witnessed to that element of affinity and sympathy between Christ and every living element of the divine system in the Spirit, prefigured by the tabernacle. Hence in 1 Corinthians 12:12, we have the expression, "so also is the Christ", as applied to a local assembly. How Paul loved to bring Christ forward, the Vessel of the will of God, and to distinguish Him in contrast to all foreign conditions!

The love that distinguishes Christ personally is the love that can carry the brethren on one's heart in relation to Him in such conditions. God is centring a world of glory in the Man of His will, and He is bringing in already testimonially, assemblywise, persons who collectively stand together in subjection to divine commandment as to the assembly, and thus furnish in their localities a spiritual environment where the glory of the Ark shall radiate testimonially in a scene filled with man's will.

This spirit of devotion in relation to God's supreme interest was seen peculiarly in David, and through him our hearts are directed to the Lord in His wondrous pathway here. What a blest pattern He furnishes for us at the age of twelve years in Jerusalem! "Did ye not know that I ought to be occupied in my Father's business?" (Luke 2 49). Then in Luke 4:43, "I must needs announce the glad tidings of the kingdom of God to the other cities also"; again in Luke 13:33, "I must needs walk today and

tomorrow and the day following" -- "I must", sorrowful words are these on our lips in self-will, pointing to early disaster! Wondrous words on the lips of Jesus! Suited words on the renewed lips of those in whose hearts Jesus as Lord has sway! "I must" in holy determination governed by the divine will; not the 'I may' of casual option or indifference!

At twelve years, dear young people, the Lord Jesus appears, according to Luke's gospel, as the Pattern for us all. Then, as anticipatively imbued with the Spirit of Christ, we see holy determination with Joseph at seventeen, with David in early years, and with Daniel, yet a youth. How God values the early resolves of love! Hundreds of years afterwards He reminds His erring people through the prophet Jeremiah of what their love to Him was, when they came after Him in the wilderness (Jeremiah 2:2). Through Hosea He also recalled to them how He had drawn them with the bands of a man, with cords of love (chapter 11: 4). Dear young people, let the charm of the Lord Jesus fall unchallenged over your spirit, as you lay yourself out for His company. There is no company like His! It will make heaven above; it makes heaven below; and as His company is the life of your soul, the company of His saints will be the delight of your heart.

Time fails to dwell in detail on this wondrous psalm of David, Psalm 132. We have first what David would do, and his consideration as to all that is requisite for divine needs; and then we have what Jehovah would do (verses 11 - 18). Perhaps God is

waiting for you to make the next move; is it not time you moved? What God will do, who shall say, with persons who move as commanded by a divine objective, at the expense of all their youthful interest or natural ambitions? God had but Jerusalem before Him as His objective; David had nothing short of Jerusalem before him -- nothing less than the best; and God gave him light and power, and made him king, that his early desires, so genuine with his God, might be given effect by him for all Israel in blessing, as he brought the ark exultantly to Zion, and danced before Jehovah with all his might (2 Samuel 6:14).

Now I would refer to Daniel. The head-winds are against him, but he is in the trade-winds, we may say. It may seem a paradox to speak thus, but while God allows head-winds to confront us, He would bring us into His trade-winds. When sailing ships came to this country of old, it was a great matter for them to get into the trade-winds, otherwise they might get stranded in what the sailors called 'the doldrums'. Many Christians, alas, are there in spiritual stagnation, and their spirits and complaints witness to that fact. But what it is to be in the trade-winds, experiencing the blessed Spirit's activities, in His present voice and movements, which carry us along, not in vain effort in the mere study of the letter, but in His joy and power.

And so let us not talk about difficult head-winds; let us trust the God who puts us in the trade-winds. Were not the head-winds against Daniel? Yes, a company plotting to murder him, and coming in a body to

apprehend him, as did that band so murderous, in the garden, gather against the Lord Jesus. But the body of men found Daniel praying as aforetime with his windows open towards Jerusalem. Cultivate holy habits, young people! Let us not give way to our changing moods and feelings. God cannot trust such, nor can we, but He will make His friends and confidants such as are constant in steadfastness, devotion and submission to His blessed will; and He will make it His pleasure to reward and illuminate the souls and minds of His friends with His choicest secrets.

So Daniel becomes richly possessed of God's thoughts in relation to Jerusalem and the holy land. Does someone say, 'I do not understand about the church'? Then, as you make Christ your glorious object there, you will make it your supreme interest here. You may find an opportunity to serve it in that bedridden sister needing your care; in serving her you are serving the assembly, for the church is not merely an idea; it is Christ substantially in the saints. Let us each, old and young, devote ourselves to the perpetuation of Christ here in the scene where He has been rejected. Would we do less? All else is but little less than beating the air!

Oh! dear brethren, let us rise to the confidence that Christ has placed in us, in leaving us here as of that great vessel, to have our part in it substantially, responsibly, worshipfully, and effectively, in the devotion that will stand to the death to preserve God's honour in the assembly, that will not deny, through the allowance of that which cost Christ His

cross to remove, that which His heart desires in assembly affections. What a vigilant service will be yours as the divine ideal lays hold of your soul! Christ is always ready to speak to you about the assembly, and He looks to you to speak to Him about it. It is the delight of His heart, and may it be the joy of your soul and the theme of your lips. Thus your contacts with the brethren will be on the line of mutual development of assembly feelings, thoughts, outlook and interests that find you well employed, divinely so, for heaven's pleasure, with none of those idle hours that give the foe all he seeks in diverting us from Christ and the assembly by some distraction, so soul-destroying, as so hindering to the appreciation of Him and the assembly.

Daniel is not changing his habits because the foe is at the door. Is not Jerusalem a long way off? He might reply, I have come to it by way of heaven, and it is very near! But is it not in ruins, Daniel? Be that so, he would answer, but I hold to God's original thoughts about it; it is "the city of the great King" (Matthew 5:35). God does not change, whatever may be our changing circumstances as under His holy government. Jerusalem as it is in God's mind, as in communion with Him about it, finds Daniel praying three times a day with open windows toward Jerusalem. Surely there is no indefiniteness with him in prayer, wandering everywhere in generalities! Jerusalem -- oh! that our prayers for it might be more definite, and that our young Daniels might be heard thus in our meetings for prayer. Where did this

definiteness find its commencement with Daniel? He had purposed in his heart as a youth that he would not pollute himself with the king's delicate food, nor with the wine that he drank (Daniel 1:8). As with God, he chose his own fare. We have to be selective, and to be definite about it. Death is the order of the day, but God is nearer than death, and will see us through, as the three young companions of Daniel proved in the fiery furnace, as having the company of One "like a son of God" (Daniel 3:25).

Now Nehemiah comes before us as arriving at Jerusalem, seeking to improve the situation by one man -- desperate undertaking for the despairing; a simple though searching matter for faith! Faith has its own wondrous way of looking at things, by way of God Himself. Difficulties are food for faith; it strengthens itself thus, and thrives on them. Nehemiah has his hands full; for his heart is full, and if our hands are not full, it is because our heart is not full. The heart of the woman of worth is full of her absent husband, and her hands are full in his name and service and interests (Proverbs 31).

How Nehemiah's enemies harassed him! They sought to ensnare him, they wrote letters about him, and circulated false rumours; but he would not give up. God's city commanded him; its walls must be built. But that being finished, will he not retire on a good piece of work accomplished? Never! That is but the first chapter of a long and blessed history of the labours of a man of God in relation to Jerusalem.

Nehemiah immediately applies himself to the

next matter on hand. The man of God does not flag, because his God does not weary in serving love. He goes on and on in holy determination. Having found the brethren and unified them in the building of the wall, joining issue with the deadly enemies of Jerusalem, he makes way for Ezra to come forward in the opening up of the truth, all the people gathering together as one man in relation to it, and reaching God's mind as to the feast of tabernacles, the climax of all the feasts of Jehovah.

May the Lord grant us grace to be definite, and devoted to His supreme interest; and may we be effectual in His service, as were these three men whose example is divinely furnished for our stimulation. Faith summons its resources in the knowledge of God the more for the strenuous battle we are called to fight. Our indefiniteness is our immediate danger. Our committal in love's engagements to Him who gave Himself for us will find us in the breach supporting assembly judgments, not questioning them in insubjection that plays into the enemy's hands, promoting a ferment of uncertainty among the saints. Humility bows to the divine mind, and acts according to His will.

The recovery of the delinquent, as of many wanderers that have left us, is surely the constant and an ardent desire of us all; but in no way are the saints preserved, or the recovery of the person promoted, other than according to the divine terms of holiness in which God has pledged Himself to go on with us, and in which we desire to pledge ourselves to go on

with Him, and with one another.

May God bless the word.

Ministry by P. Lyon, Brisbane, Australia, pages 169 - 176. November, 1957.

THE FATHER, THE SON AND THE SPIRIT IN RELATION TO THE SAINTS

A. J. Gardiner

John 4:13 - 24; John 14:15 - 28

I have read these scriptures, dear brethren, in order to speak of the Father, and the Son, and the Spirit, in relation, first of all, to the individual believer, and then in relation to the saints as moving together in the light of the assembly and forming part of it. It is a touching thing that the Persons of the Godhead should come so near to us as They have done. We are intended in that way to know God fully as He is revealed, and each individual believer is intended to know the Father as revealed in the Son by the Holy Spirit, and to be conscious too of the service of the Holy Spirit to him, and the operations of the Holy Spirit in him.

We speak much in these days of the assembly, and rightly so, and we should cherish it above everything, but it is well to bear in mind that the assembly is composed of individuals, and that we shall not get any greater measure of spiritual affections and intelligence in the assembly than is in the individuals who compose it, and therefore each individual brother or sister should be concerned as to his own part livingly in the things of God.

You remember that Andrew and another followed Jesus; they had been disciples of John the Baptist, but they heard him speaking, and followed Jesus. "But Jesus having turned, and seeing them following, says to them, What seek ye? And they said to him … where abidest thou? He says to them, Come and see" (John 1:38, 39).

That is very interesting as showing how the Lord takes notice of every individual movement toward Himself, and would certainly encourage it. He turned and saw them following and asked what they were seeking. He would have it come from them as to what they were seeking; He would have things definite in our minds as to what we desire, and would encourage every exercise, take notice of it, and indeed add to it, go beyond what we might be asking at the moment.

Andrew, having proved the grace of the Lord Jesus, went and sought his brother Simon, and brought him to Jesus, and "Jesus looking at him said, Thou art Simon, the son of Jonas; thou shalt be called Cephas (which interpreted is stone)" (verse 42). That is what the Lord would do to every young brother or sister as first having to do with the Lord; He would give you a sense that you are to be called Cephas, that is, that He has taken you up that you might be an integral part of the spiritual house, composed, not of material stones, but of living stones.

God is pleased to dwell and be served, in a house composed of persons; persons capable of affections, capable of intelligence, and persons who are to be

moved in their affections so as to serve God, not formally, not according to a man-made system, but to serve God spontaneously from the heart, and that is what Cephas conveys; Simon was to be called Cephas.

According to another gospel, the Lord said to Simon, "thou art Peter" (Matthew 16:18), which is another thing, meaning that every believer having the Holy Spirit is a stone, but it is not sufficient to be a stone, we must be called a stone; that is, we are one characteristically. While a stone is an integral part of the spiritual house, it is also a living element in it and contributes its own part, and that is what the Lord wants in regard to every brother and sister, that not only are you to understand that if you have received the Holy Spirit you are constituted a stone, but that you have the capabilities to function, and He wants you to function so that people will call you a stone. In young people it is sometimes difficult to find much in them of that kind of thing; that is, of the idea of Cephas. The Lord wants every brother and every sister to be called Cephas, so that persons understand that you yourself are contributing your own part to what is going on livingly in the assembly.

Perhaps sisters may inquire how they contribute their part, seeing that they are not allowed to take part vocally in the assembly (1 Corinthians 14:34), save in having part in the singing and in the amens, but they contribute their part just as really and as substantially as brothers, for they bring into the assembly affection for Christ, and affection for God the

Father, and intelligence too; in the Spirit they bring in feelings and intelligence that are capable of being unified, in the power of the Spirit, with what is there with the rest of the brethren. In what is living, they contribute much to the substance and wealth that is there, and every sister as well as every brother should recognise that this is why God has taken us up.

Now with that in mind, the early part of the gospel of John shows us individuals who are led, held, and fitted for that, and this woman in the fourth chapter of the gospel of John is illustrative of it. What is so remarkable is that, in spite of what this woman is, we have the Lord personally serving her and dealing with her, and He introduces her to the truth of the Holy Spirit, the "living water" (chapter 4: 10), and He leads to the thought of the Father, and the Father seeking worshippers, individuals who are constituted worshippers, not, as I said, in any formal way, but in the character of what springs up within; for that is the figure used in regard of the living water.

It is a great necessity, dear brethren, that every brother and sister should understand that the Lord is ready to serve him or her individually so that this might come to pass, and the Spirit is ready to serve him or her individually, and the Father is appreciative of our movements of affection and response toward Him. It is of great importance that every one should understand that the whole Godhead -- the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit -- are interested in us personally, and are concerned about our being set free from everything that would hinder us from

functioning in the assembly.

The Lord was weary and sitting on this well to which the woman came. "Jesus therefore, being wearied with the way he had come, sat just as he was at the fountain" (verse 6). That is, He sat there a weary Man. Why does it tell us that? I believe it is to convey to us how very near the Lord Jesus has come to us, so near that He could actually experience weariness. It is to convey to us how sympathetic He is, how tender He is, that He understands and enters feelingly, sin apart, into the experiences that we may ourselves have part in.

That is of very great encouragement, because the Lord in sitting on the well in that way was available to this woman. He was intending to convey that she need not be afraid to entrust her difficulties, and you might say, her secrets and her exercises to Him. He wanted to gain her confidence, so He said, "Give me to drink". Wonderful thing to see Him who had created the fountains of water say to a woman, "Give me to drink". It is a very touching expression of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, that He was actually asking a drink of a Samaritan woman in order to gain her confidence, and this is how the Lord will act with any one of us in order to gain our confidence, because He wants to gain and hold our confidence, and we will never cultivate individual dealings with the Lord unless He has gained our confidence.

"Jesus says to her, Give me to drink (for his disciples had gone away into the city that they might

buy provisions). The Samaritan woman therefore says to him, How dost thou, being a Jew, ask to drink of me who am a Samaritan woman? for Jews have no intercourse with Samaritans". He has gained her confidence, so He immediately 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".

You can see how skilfully the Lord is moving in order to engage her confidence and interest and increase it. He says, "who it is that says to thee" (verse 10), to raise the question in her mind as to who He was. We may well raise that question in our minds as we have to do with the Lord. We all know who He is, but are we impressed with the fact that it is open to us to have to do personally with the Son, with the Son as come so near to us, the Word who became flesh and tabernacled among men, actually moving in and out among men as accessible to them?

"Thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water". That engages her interest all the more. She begins to ask questions until she is brought to this point that she says, "give me this water, that I may not thirst nor come here to draw". He had said, "Every one who drinks of this water shall thirst again; but whosoever drinks of the water which I shall give him shall never thirst for ever, but the water which I shall give him shall become in him a fountain of water, springing up into eternal life". You can understand the woman saying, I do not know that I understand what that means, but

at least it sounds attractive. "Never thirst for ever". Think of the possibility of never being unsatisfied, of never thirsting, of a fountain in oneself springing up into eternal life, and you can understand that; however little the woman understood, it would be attractive. That is what the Lord wants, He wants us to be attracted by the possibility of never thirsting for ever, of being made superior to the desires of the flesh within, and the influence and power of the world around, so that we find our life in things that cannot be affected by death, and know what it is to enjoy eternal life.

The result of His speaking to the woman in this way is that she says, "give me this water"; she wants it. I would urge, if you cannot say that you know something of the service and power of the Holy Spirit as satisfying you with divine things, that you get to the Lord about it, ask Him to make it a reality to you. The Lord loves to see definiteness in His people. "Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you" (Luke 11:9). These are three unconditional promises, and it is for us to take them up and have to do with the Lord about these matters.

"Give me this water, that I may not thirst nor come here to draw. Jesus says to her, Go, call thy husband". Up till now He did not raise a single question as to her past. He was encouraging her to move in the direction of what He was preparing to give her, and now that she has expressed a desire, and her interest is aroused, He puts His finger on the whole

secret of her life. What for? Was it to expose her? It was not, save to herself.

The disciples had all gone into the city to buy food. There was no reason for them all to have gone, but it was no doubt of God that they went, so that the woman might be alone with the Lord; and if the Lord is going to expose us, He only exposes us to ourselves, and that for our good. He puts His finger upon the secret of this woman's life in saying to her, "Go, call thy husband, and come here". What is the result? She says, "I see that thou art a prophet", but more than a prophet was there. We have to do with One far greater than merely a prophet.

Piety and other Addresses, Foxton, N.Z., pages 176 - 181. [1 of 2] 22 January 1947.

THE GOSPEL OF GOD -- AND WHAT IT SECURES FOR GOD

J. Taylor

Romans 14:7 - 9

But to refer to the type in detail: we read (Exodus 26 15, etc.) that the boards [of the tabernacle] were ten cubits high, and a cubit and a half in width. There were forty-eight of them. I suppose the number has its own spiritual significance. It is a remarkable number, having a combination of ideas, of administration in the number twelve and universality in the number four; there is also the idea of responsibility in the height of the boards, ten cubits. I want you to follow, in a spiritual way, what I am saying, because the divine intent is that we should be set up

in relation to Christ in responsibility, at the same time having the thought of administration in our souls, the administration of the blessings of God and that the whole world should be before us, and nothing less than that; indeed, the apostle enjoins that prayers and supplication on the part of saints should be made for all men (1 Timothy 2 1).

It is further said in the book of Exodus that these boards were set up in sockets of silver, which typifies our being established on the ground of redemption; that is the truth of Romans 3, I need not remark. The blood of Christ is the foundation on which we rest in the faith of our souls; that is our public position, the ground on which we stand in the wilderness in relation to Christ, and in relation to God. We are standing up, but we are not standing up severally, each on his own responsibility, we are standing up in relation to one another; that is, as it says in Romans 12, "For, as in one body we have many members ... thus we, being many, are one body in Christ" (verses 4, 5); not of Christ, mark, but in Christ. Now that is the position we occupy as believers, according to this epistle. In other words, we are standing up, held together in that position in Christ.

In regard to the binding principle, you have in the type that there were certain bars, set in certain rings, by which all these boards as standing together were held in unity, and then it says there was one bar which reached from end to end, which, I believe, refers to the Spirit. Now do you understand that you have the Holy Spirit as a believer? In chapter 5 He

sheds abroad the love of God in your heart; but then the possession of that same blessed Spirit, that sheds abroad the love of God in your heart, means also that there should be a bond between you and all other believers, so that you are no longer an isolated believer, you are bound up with all the saints of God, and you would not have it otherwise.

There is that one long bar, as one may say, extending from end to end, holding all together. How blessed is that position. I would, as I said, put it to every one here who is a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, as to whether you apprehend that His will concerning you is that you should stand up here as a redeemed person, not on the ground of what you may be naturally, for that is all of no value to God, whatever it is; the ground on which you rest according to Romans is the ground of the redemption work of the Lord Jesus Christ, as it is said, "being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (chapter 3: 24). That is the ground on which we stand publicly.

This leaves no room for national distinctions or social distinctions; we are all on the same basis; indeed, in giving the atonement money the rich were not to give more, the poor were not to give less, than the amount mentioned (Exodus 30:15), and these very sockets, on which the boards stood, were composed of the silver that was given by each Israelite as his redemption price. What a levelling principle, dear friends; we all stand up here for God on the ground only of the redemption work of the Lord Jesus Christ,

"redemption that is in Christ Jesus".

In regard to the verses which I read in Romans 14, you will see from what I have said that I do not intend to dwell on them, but only to show how the lordship of Christ is asserted. In this chapter the apostle enters a plea for the weak brother; and it is important to bear in mind that such a plea is entered by the apostle in this chapter. The weak ones are to be the subjects of special care among the people of God.

We must always be on the look-out for the weak, because Amalek is after them (Deuteronomy 25:18). Those who are weak, and cannot march on with the others, are always exposed to Amalek, and so, "we ought, we that are strong", the apostle says in the next chapter, "to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves" (chapter 15: 1). Oh! how much self-pleasing there is among the people of God, pleasing ourselves. But we read, "For the Christ also did not please himself" (verse 3). That is what the next chapter teaches; He is the Model; "as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproach thee have fallen upon me". That was the Lord Jesus; He did not avoid the darts that were aimed against God, He bared His breast, so to speak, to receive them. He was utterly devoid of self-pleasing.

So, dear friends, to be in correspondence with Christ, as believers in Him, we are enjoined that we should not be self-pleasers -- self-pleasers cannot be boards in the tabernacle -- and I can conceive of nothing more honourable, or more to be desired at the present time, in a world of utter lawlessness, than

to be a board in the tabernacle of God. Wonderful thought!

It may be you are in some outlying place where you get little practical support from the Lord's people, but there is nothing more to be desired as here in this wilderness than to stand up in the will of God, to refuse to be conformed to this world, but on the contrary to be "transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God" (Romans 12 2). And so, as I said, the apostle in this chapter puts in a plea for the weak brother. We must not offend him; Christ has died for him; he is on a socket of silver the same as you are; you must watch him; and so the apostle says, If he regards the day, well, he regards it unto the Lord. He has the Lord before him. If he does not regard the day, well then it is to the Lord he does not regard it. You see the principle is making due allowance for the brother's conscience. And then in speaking of what may seem to be a trivial, insignificant subject, a weak brother, he brings in this great fact, that "none of us lives to himself, and none dies to himself ... both if we should live then, and if we should die, we are the Lord's". Do you recognise that? That is what I call the proprietary rights of Christ.

The Lord does not set up His standard in the way that different nations assert their proprietary rights, but He sets His mark on those that are redeemed; they belong to Him. May we be led to acknowledge it, dear friends, that "none of us lives to himself, and none dies to himself ... both if we should live then,

and if we should die, we are the Lord's". And why? "For to this end Christ has died and lived again, that he might be rule over both dead and living". He has that right through dying; He has the right to enter hades; He has the keys of hades. He can enter hades at any time, and call out of it all that are His own. He is about to do it, but then, He has a right over the living, so that "both if we should live then, and if we should die, we are the Lord's". We are His, He owns us. What will He do with us? That is the question.

In the Song of Solomon -- a remarkable book -- as you all know, it is one song of many: I do not know of any poet who composed so many pieces. He had a thousand and five songs (1 Kings 4:32), and this one is the "song of songs"; it is a love song. At the end of it, it is said that Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon. That name means, I understand, the 'master of a multitude' (chapter 8: 11 and footnote b). Now Christ as having died and risen and revived is the Lord both of dead and living. Think of the multitude! I confine my remarks, however, for the moment to the living, because one can hardly speak of the dead as a vineyard; the vineyard refers to the living. We read that Solomon had this "vineyard at Baal-hamon: he let it unto keepers". What does the Lord let out to you?

You, as a believer, come under the proprietary rights of Christ, and I do. He has given me my body; He has given me a heart, and, it may be, earthly things too. Now, what have I done with all these things? What have you done with them? You have a

heart, what about that? "Keep thy heart more than anything that is guarded" (Proverbs 4:23). For whom are you to keep it? For the Lord. "For out of it are the issues of life". I have a body. How am I using that body? How am I holding it? Am I holding it for the Lord? He has, as it were, left it to me.

In that song one says, "The thousand silver-pieces be to thee, Solomon" (chapter 8: 12). That is full measure -- a thousand pieces of silver: Christianity is full measure. Let us not forget that. Let us turn for a moment to the passage: "He let out the vineyard unto keepers; every one for the fruit thereof was to bring a thousand silver-pieces" (verse 11). Now to come short is to be rejected. Christianity is full measure, and that agrees with what I have been remarking, that the glory of God is the standard. Man in the flesh comes short of it, but man in the Spirit does not come short of it. I am not speaking about perfection in the flesh, I am speaking, beloved friends, of what God brings about by the Spirit. I want to show that what the gospel brings about is perfect, it answers to God. What I may be in my mixed condition is not what I am speaking about.

This passage says, "Every one for the fruit thereof was to bring a thousand silver-pieces"; that was the requirement. You do not bring less than that; I have no less thought in my soul than the glory of God. It would be out of keeping with Christianity to have a less thought than that; God has no other thought than that, His glory. He has justified me, He has given me the Holy Spirit in order that I might be

in accord with the glory of God. Do you think that any one of us will be in heaven in any way short of the glory of God? None. God will see to that.

Now see what the spirit of prophecy says; for I think I may call it the spirit of prophecy. "My vineyard, which is mine, is before me". He had it before Him, and then it goes on, "The thousand silver-pieces be to thee, Solomon". Christendom has lowered the standard. I make a great difference between Christendom and Christianity; Christendom is what man has brought about; it is the vitiation of the truth; the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, the doctrine of Balaam, and the doctrine of the prophetess Jezebel have brought about a state of things which is not at all in keeping with the glory of God (see Revelation 2:14, 15, 20); the standard, as I have said, is lowered, God is falsified. For that reason we have to get the truth before us if we are to be here for God. The Spirit of prophecy says here, "The thousand silver-pieces be to thee, Solomon", and more than that, and "to the keepers of its fruit, two hundred"; they get their portion.

I think in these prophetic scriptures of the Old Testament we have a reference to Christianity as confirming what God presents to us in Christ, and we should have no less thought than that. The boards were in every way in keeping with the ark. They represent what is finite, and in responsibility, but in that responsibility answering to the mind of God: whereas the ark represents what is infinite, it is the Person of Christ, the glory of God.

But the boards are in entire keeping with it in

their own relative position, and so this passage asserts that the believer does not live to himself, and does not die to himself. He lives to the Lord, he dies to the Lord; whether he lives, or whether he dies, he is the Lord's; but I am speaking of him as living, and as living he is here for the Lord's will; and the Lord being the Master of a multitude, He sets us in relation to Himself and in relation to one another for the support of the testimony in this world.

Ministry by J. Taylor, Edinburgh, Volume 12, pages 125 - 131. [2 of 2] 1920.

THE SPIRIT OF CONTRIBUTION

F. S. Marsh

John 6:5 - 15; Exodus 35:20 - 22; 2 Chronicles 31:5 - 10; Revelation 4:10

The important principle of contribution is emphasised in each of these scriptures. The Lord would stir our hearts to be increasingly desirous to be contributors to the holy service of God.

The initial thought is found in the passage in John 6, when the Lord tested His disciples whether they understood the idea of

We do well to face these tests! He says to Philip, "Whence shall we buy loaves?" though He Himself knew what He would do. He was about to stir somebody's heart to give, and in this case it was a little lad -- representative of a young believer.

The Lord was about to do a great work: there were five thousand to be fed, but He would have it

worked out on the principle of contribution. It should encourage all of us that the Lord has called us out of the world and set us in the assembly: He has opened our eyes to the glorious possibility of being contributors to the greatest and most dignified service in the universe -- the service of God! There is the need, whenever we come together, that willing contributions should be made. In His grace the Lord is working in our hearts to this end.

This boy should be an incentive to us all! Would you not like to have had the opportunity which was given to this little lad? He has brought along a supply of food, but he would not keep it for himself when he knew that Jesus desired to have it. This boy was marked by the spirit of contribution, for the Lord would never have forced him to surrender it. His heart had evidently been touched by the love of Jesus; his food was willingly yielded to the Lord; but he had the joy of seeing his tiny contribution -- five loaves and two small fishes -- in the hands of Jesus become so great that the whole five thousand were fed, and far more was left over than there was at the beginning.

Coupled with the thought of contribution is that of abundance, and then the necessity of appropriation. Think of the ministry the Lord is giving today in abundance -- the abundance of the house of God! We tasted the abundance of grace when we first came to Him, but we find that everything is abundant which He gives, and He would have us imbibe that spirit in order that there might be willing-

heartedness in our contributions.

When there is abundance it is a simple matter for the people of God to appropriate it. Are our hearts filled, or are they still hungry? The Lord would fill our hearts with such abundance that He would cause us to say that the world is not good enough for us: we desire God's world. We are assured that on God's side there is no shortage.

It was that small contribution from a little lad that formed the basis for the feeding of five thousand and evidenced the abundance of God. All the multitude was fed as the outcome of that contribution.

That wonderful chapter, Exodus 35, discloses that when Jehovah would have a sanctuary, He adopted a remarkable process to bring it to pass. It would have been simple for Him to have spoken a word, and the tabernacle would have been in being, perfectly complete. Why, then, did He not use a word of power to do this? Was it not that God loves to work on the basis that every willing and wise-hearted person should be

Every detail of the sanctuary would then speak to Him of the response of hearts that have been captivated by grace.

The opportunity was given and immediately the inflow of contributions took place. The blue, purple, scarlet, fine twined linen, and other offerings all spoke of the various glories of the Lord Jesus, and of redeeming love as the basis of worship: for if our hearts are not moved by love there will be no praise

for God. A remarkable feature was that the people were so willing that their giving had to be restrained. May we each contribute to this abundance!

Another beautiful feature was that God opened the door for contribution from the women as well as the men. Both make their contribution to the service of God. The Lord, as the great Head of the assembly, knows, as He looks into our hearts, the affection that would prompt the spirit of contribution. He would have each one bring, but we cannot offer that which costs us nothing -- the truth has to be bought.

Do we come together for that which we receive, or in order to contribute? As a test of this let us consider the value of the Lord's day afternoon. If we are prepared to make the sacrifice that is involved in spending the afternoon other than selfishly, the Lord will see to it that some spiritual wealth is acquired. There has been much cheer experienced of late in observing how many of the young people willingly come to the Lord's day afternoon meetings.

The tabernacle was thus completed and God dwelt among His people. The altar was there, speaking of the death of Jesus: the golden altar of incense was there, indicating the intercessory prayers of the people of God, but the maintenance of the service at each altar depended on their contributions.

The scripture in 2 Chronicles 31 refers to the days of Hezekiah. This is particularly encouraging because it speaks of a day of recovery. After a great declension, during which the people plunged into idolatry, this king was used of God to effect a great

spiritual revival: the temple was cleansed; the service of the house of God revived, and the offerings were reinstated. This suggests to us the recovery which has taken place during the last one hundred years. For a long period there had been a departure from God, but He has effected a recovery. There has been a revival of much truth that had been lost: for instance, the Lord's supper has been recovered to its original simplicity and sweetness; the gospel is being preached in its truth and dignity; and there is increased response to God in praise.

Hezekiah raised the serious issue that, owing to the lack of contribution, the priests had not enough to eat. The Levites had to be engaged with earning their own livelihood instead of carrying on the service of God. The king sought to bring the people to answer to the thought of the claims of God, and to bring their contributions to the house of God. Then they brought in abundance; there was no meanness about it; no reluctance, but a whole-hearted, willing response. They were

as they brought the first-fruits of corn, wine, and oil. Think of God looking down and seeing His willing people bringing these things! Corn reminds us that the Lord Jesus was the Corn of wheat which fell into the ground and, having died, brought forth much fruit (John 12:24). Thus their first contribution spoke of the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Then they brought wine, which speaks of joy. How defective the people had been in joy! The

temple was unclean; the priests were not occupied in their priestly service. How then could there be joy? But now, on the principle of contribution, joy is brought in. God would have His people happy. Then, too, they brought in oil, which is suggestive of the grace and power of the Holy Spirit of God.

Do we not often feel that there is a lack of power? The sisters need to bring their contributions of corn, wine, and oil, as well as the brothers. A spiritual sister adds greatly to the power of the meeting. Every sister has the opportunity of so contributing that there should be no lack of the appreciation of Christ, no lack of joy, nor lack of the power of the Holy Spirit. It is all brought by willing-hearted people.

Then they began to make heaps: there was abundance, a surplus, and they put the surplus into heaps. One day the king came and inquired as to the heaps, and the priest said, "Since they began to bring the heave-offerings into the house of Jehovah, we have eaten and been satisfied and have plenty left; for Jehovah has blessed his people; and what is left is this great store". How this confirmed the word of the psalmist, "They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house" (Psalm 36:8). It is well, when assembled together, to be carried above all sense of need. The abundance of the contributions forms the basis of praise to God. We are in a wealthy place. There are moments when, like David, we can say, "The prayers of David … are ended" (Psalm 72:20). It is then not a time to pray but to bow our hearts in worship.

In Revelation 4 a door was opened in heaven and John was permitted to look within. It is a scene of worshipping, adoration. Then he sees the four and twenty elders fall down before Him that sat on the throne and worship Him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne. They are also seen

for in chapter 5 their voices are heard singing the new song, saying, "Thou art worthy … for thou hast been slain" (verse 9). They are expressing their deep appreciation of the Lamb, of His atoning death, and of His suffering love. They value their crowns as giving them the opportunity of contributing to His praise by casting them at His feet.

This holy service of worship has already begun, and by the Holy Spirit we are privileged to be contributors to it, even while on earth. As yet it is to faith, and not to sight, but we can be in harmony with the homage of heaven and "worship by the Spirit of God" (Philippians 3:3).

May it please the Lord to stir our hearts to be contributing increasingly to the service of God, to the joy of the heart of Christ, to the wealth of the assembly, and to the testimony of God!

Words of Truth, Volume 6 (1938), pages 141 - 148.

THE FATHER, THE SON AND THE SPIRIT IN RELATION TO THE SAINTS

A. J. Gardiner

John 4:13 - 24; John 14:15 - 28

There are instances of prophets knowing people's secrets. The wife of Jeroboam disguised herself and went to Ahijah, who was blind, and it says, "as she came in at the door, that he said, Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam; why feignest thou to be another?" (1 Kings 14:6). He knew it because God had told him. But in the Person of the Lord Jesus we have to do with God, and the great thing in having to do with the Lord Jesus is that, while He exposes to us, as He will do, all things that we have done, yet the same One who exposes us can show us that He has Himself been to the cross, that He might for ever set aside the man who was capable of those things that He exposed, that his history might be ended judicially in the death of Christ … It is a question of the ground being prepared in our souls, so that we feel the need of the Spirit, and have the desire for the Spirit as the only power of life according to God.

There is power by which we may be set free in our souls from the things of the flesh and from the power of the world, and find our satisfaction in the knowledge of God and the things of God. We may as well accept it that our flesh will never appreciate the things of God. Do not expect it; for it never will.

After forty years of living on the manna, the flesh in God's people said, "our soul loathes this light bread" (Numbers 21:5), and that is what the flesh

will always do. Do not expect the flesh to appreciate the things of God. The Spirit appreciates Christ, the Spirit appreciates God. The Spirit in us causes us to appreciate Christ and God, and to love the things of God. God's way of meeting the condition in which we are found, and constituting us potential material for the assembly, is to set us up in a new life and a new power in the Holy Spirit.

The Lord goes on speaking to the woman, and she introduces the thought of the correct place of worship (John 4:20), which is what people do, but the Lord brushes all that aside and says, "the hour is coming and now is". Mark that. "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", and then He says, "God is a spirit; and they who worship him must worship him in spirit and truth"; that is conveying to this woman that the Father wanted her as a worshipper of Him in spirit and in truth -- nothing formal, but what is spontaneous and what is suggested by a fountain.

Living water is what God delights in. As she is secured as a worshipper of the Father, God Himself is being worshipped in spirit and in truth. There is no reason why we should not know that. I am not suggesting that we do not, but I am saying this to urge on each one to have to do with the Lord personally, as this woman did, so that there may not be one of us who is not characteristically a Cephas, as we said at the beginning.

She was herself to be a vessel of the Spirit, for she left her waterpot, the vessel that she had used to carry water for temporary satisfaction. She left that, understanding that she was to be a vessel of the Spirit, and to my mind it is a most encouraging thought, that the individual believer, as having the Spirit of God, carries with him wherever he is, a fountain of living water that is capable of springing up into eternal life. So that, if the things in which people around us find their life are done away with, or if everything that we might naturally tend to live in is destroyed, we will have within us that which is capable of sustaining us in life and satisfaction. That is very encouraging.

We see that in Paul and Silas in the jail at Philippi (Acts 16). They were restricted in regard to outward circumstances, and all that was calculated to try the spirit. In these conditions they are found in prayer and singing praises to God, showing what the effect of the Spirit is. "Does any one among you suffer evil? let him pray" (James 5:13). That is the normal outlet in affliction, and, as praying in the Spirit, you are almost sure to turn to praise. This woman goes to the men and says, "Come, see a man who has told me all things I had ever done". The divine idea of the woman is that she is to live in relation to the man, she was made for the man (1 Corinthians 11:9). This woman was beginning to set out in herself the idea of the assembly as intended to live in relation to Christ. She says, "Come, see a man". She had found a Man who held her heart. The secret of

spiritual prosperity and satisfaction is to find in Christ the Man who holds our heart, that we are to be to Him who has died for us and has been raised.

In John 14 we have the Father and the Son and the Spirit in relation to the assembly -- not that the assembly is mentioned in terms; for the assembly is not mentioned in terms in John's gospel nor in his first two epistles, but John gives us the persons who compose the assembly. From chapter 10 of his gospel he is engaged with the collective side of the truth. In chapter 10 he introduces the thought of the flock; that is, the saints as moving together, it being natural to them to move together. Sheep in John 10 are not sheep that stray. That is a side of the truth that is presented in Luke: the tendency of the sheep to stray, and its inability to recover itself; but in John, sheep are presented as those who move together as hearing the voice of the Shepherd and following. Hence from chapter 10 the apostle in his gospel is developing the collective side of the truth.

In chapter 14 the Lord is speaking in anticipation of the present time, a time characterised by our being left here in His absence, and He says, "If ye love me, keep my commandments", a most important thing as we enter upon this side of the subject. There are many, of course, who are not keeping the commandments of the Lord, and the result is that they have no idea at all of the truth connected with the assembly. There can be no entrance upon the truth connected with the assembly if we do not keep the commandments of the Lord. It is absolutely

impossible, and the state of Christendom around us is a witness to us of the state of things in which many of His people are, themselves basically lovers of Christ, but although they are lovers of Christ, their love for Him is not allowed to find expression in the way it should.

No one has a right to say that he loves Christ if he does not keep His commandments. "He that has my commandments and keeps them, he it is that loves me". We are to show our love for Christ by making a point of finding out what His commandments are, and keeping them. "If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will beg the Father, and he will give you another Comforter, that he may be with you for ever, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see him nor know him; but ye know him".

It is possible to know the Holy Spirit: "but ye know him, for he abides with you, and shall be in you". It is a most comforting statement, because any one with any sensibilities as to the state of things in the world, will realise it is getting worse in every department, and particularly in relation to the truth. The truth is being given up and corrupted and denied; on every hand that is the case. But what is our great standby? It is the presence of the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, with us and in us for support all the way, and in us in a most intimate way.

The latter part of chapter 14 shows us that the Holy Spirit is here as Teacher. "But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and will bring to

your remembrance all the things which I have said to you". How is it, beloved brethren, that we enjoy the truth, a privilege that saints around us do not enjoy? It is simply because the Holy Spirit is given the place that is His due, and as a result of the presence of the Holy Spirit and His being accorded the liberty and the honour that are His due, we are being taught "all things". Little by little we are being led into all the truth, established and built up as we respond to it.

Practically the whole truth had been lost to the assembly, and now, in these last 120 years, the Lord has been working systematically in recovery, and we are being instructed in the truth, which is entirely dependent on the fact of the presence with us of the Spirit of truth. Hence it is most important that the Spirit should be recognised by us in our meetings.

You remember when the brazen serpent was lifted up and those who looked lived, the people then came to a well and they sang. "Then Israel sang this song, Rise up well! sing unto it" (Numbers 21:17). It was a collective recognition of the Spirit of God. It goes on to say, "Well which princes digged", suggesting a responsibility on the part of those who lead amongst us locally to see that there is room made for the Spirit. The princes are made responsible in that matter to see that there is a spiritual ministry provided, and they dig by the direction of the lawgiver, and it is with their staves, which is a suggestion of dependence. Our attitude of mind when we come together, whether for a reading meeting or for ministry otherwise, must be that the Spirit is the only

power by which divine things can be ministered in freshness. The element of dependence is that with which the well is dug. Staves are most unlikely implements for digging a well; but the stave represents dependence, and the element of dependence and subjection to the Lord must always enter into it, if the resources that are in the Spirit are to become available to the saints.

The Lord also speaks of Himself in connection with the Comforter and His presence here, saying, "I will not leave you orphans, I am coming to you. Yet a little and the world sees me no longer; but ye see me; because I live ye also shall live". He indicates that in this present time, not only will He visit and come to us, but that by the Spirit we shall be preserved in the appreciation of Himself as living on high. We shall live by His life, and as in affection linked with Him by the Spirit. He goes on to say, "In that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you". That is one thing that the Spirit of God loves to keep before us, that Christ is in His Father, that He is in a settled place of love. It says, "the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father" (John 1:18).

It is a wonderful thing to take account of the Father's realm, the Father the Source of all, the Lord Jesus, Son of the Father, in the bosom of the Father, the place of love, and then we in Him also in the place of love, a settled place of love. It is wonderful to take account of these conditions that have come to pass, which faith apprehends by virtue of the Spirit

of God dwelling in us; that is, Christ in the place of love, in which He is as with the Father, our place in Christ's affections, and the place that Christ has in our affections. Wonderful reciprocity between Christ and the assembly!

After speaking of these things the Lord returns to this most important matter of His commandments and His word. A commandment is what is imperative; the idea of a commandment is that it simply must be obeyed. There are certain commandments indicated in Scripture which must be obeyed if we are to get anywhere in the truth. One is in 2 Timothy 2, where it says, "Let every one who names the name of the Lord withdraw from iniquity" (verse 19). It is an absolute commandment, and failure to observe it on the part of many of God's people has led to their being stranded, shipwrecked as regards the truth. They get nowhere as regards the truth of the assembly, although they have their title to it; they get nowhere in actual realisation and enjoyment of it.

As well as withdrawing from iniquity, there is the judging of it; and there is not simply withdrawing from iniquity -- that is, any system which is iniquitous in principle -- but also separating from vessels to dishonour. There is the authority in 2 Timothy 2 to withdraw from persons who are vessels to dishonour, a most important thing to get hold of, dear brethren. That is one of the commandments of the Lord. I would urge every brother and sister, especially those who have been brought up in the truth, to hold tenaciously to 2 Timothy 2:19 - 22, because it

is the charter of our liberty in the things of God. We are called upon to flee youthful lusts, and follow righteousness, faith, love, peace, with those that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

I am just going over this in order that we may see the ground on which we are, because it is of God. We are on it as having withdrawn from iniquity and separated from vessels to dishonour, and we are to follow righteousness, faith, love, peace, with those that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. Following righteousness involves that we follow what is right in the sight of God; and, as doing that with others, we must govern ourselves by the truth given to the assembly, for there is no other truth to regulate the movements of saints together. Hence it is that the truth of the assembly is reached as individuals face the exercises of 2 Timothy 2. They find they are able to move together, and as moving together, they see that 1 Corinthians gives instruction for the assembly. The Scriptures are available to them, and they find that by the Lord's help, and the power of the Spirit, all that is set out in Corinthians is capable of being realised.

1 Corinthians is one great commandment of the Lord. "If any one thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him recognise the things that I write to you, that it is the Lord's commandment" (1 Corinthians 14 37). The whole of 1 Corinthians has that character. It is the Lord's commandment and must be kept.

In the gospel of John we read that the Lord gave a new commandment, that we are to love one another (John 13:34). This is repeated in the first and

second epistles of John. In our relations as brethren moving together, if love does not operate, everything will be formal. We might be in the right position as governed by 2 Timothy 2, but if love is not amongst us there will be no actual enjoyment of things or power to enter into them collectively.

2 Timothy 2 and 1 Corinthians are commandments of the Lord which regulate us in the public position, and John 13, as taken up in the epistles of John, is a commandment to govern us in the inside position. They are all commandments that must be kept, and as they are kept, we will find that all the privileges of the assembly are open to us.

In these verses 21 to 24 of John 14, the Lord is occupied with the collective side of the truth, but He is bringing it down to an individual to provide for the weakest day, and also to stress that the collective side of the truth is to be entered upon by way of individual exercise: "He that has my commandments and keeps them, he it is that loves me; but he that loves me shall be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will manifest myself to him". Judas, not the Iscariot, recognises that it is not individual truth. He says, "Lord, how is it that thou will manifest thyself to us and not to the world".

The Lord then mentions something further which is very important, and that is, keeping His word: "If any one love me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our abode with him". The word of Christ, in contrast to His commandments, is what He is saying

to us at any moment; but commandments have been laid down and abide, they must be kept. The word of Christ is constantly fresh, whatever He has to say at the moment.

That is very important, because, the conditions having been brought in among the saints in whom the truth of the assembly has been recovered, the Lord loves to speak continually and in no haphazard way, but in a constructive way, and it is most important that we should have an ear attentive to His word, to whatever He is saying to the whole assembly, and also to individual companies according to the local needs of those companies. It is only in that way that we shall progress in the truth, and be maintained in freshness, and that God will secure the full answer in the assembly that He is looking for, that is, as we are formed in our intelligence and affections, and enlarged, by the living word of Christ. "If any one love me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our abode with him". We have settled, abiding conditions, dwelling conditions, for the Father and the Son secured amongst the saints.

And now, after speaking of what the Comforter would be to us as Teacher, to which I have already alluded, the Lord says, "Ye have heard that I have said unto you, I go away and I am coming to you. If ye loved me ye would rejoice that I go to the Father, for my Father is greater than I". That is, the Lord has a company loving Him, who keep His commandments and His word, and that company He is able to

lead to the Father, the One who is greater than Himself. That is the Lord's great service in the assembly, to lead us affectionately and in spiritual intelligence to the Father, the One who is the great Head of the economy.

Remember how David said as he turned to God, "thou art exalted as Head above all" (1 Chronicles 29 11). That is what the Lord loves to do in the assembly as He carries the saints with Him to the Father. He says, "my Father is greater than I", and brings them into the presence of Him who has been revealed, and who receives back through the Son, and by the Holy Spirit, an answer which satisfies His own heart. These are the things we have been taken up for. The possibilities of the assembly are immense, and the Lord would encourage us to go in for them in increasing power and liberty and joy.

May the Lord graciously encourage us to increased acquaintance with, and understanding of, Himself and of the Holy Spirit, so that we may be enriched in view of our part in the assembly, for His Name's sake.

Piety and other Addresses, Foxton, N.Z., pages 181 - 191. [2 of 2] 22 January 1947.

ENCOURAGEMENT FOR REMNANT DAYS

J. Pellatt

Isaiah 7

I want to read one scripture from the New Testament, not in a way in connection with what I have read in Isaiah, nor to unfold what we are going to read in the New Testament, but I think you will see at once the force of what I am about to read in Romans 15:4, "For as many things as have been written before have been written for our instruction" -- it is instruction for us; we learn by being instructed, as it is said -- "that through endurance and through encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope". So Isaiah 7 was written for our instruction, and the instruction is in view of giving us endurance and encouragement as Christians.

It is a simple thing to say, but it is a blessed truth that every bit of Scripture from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22 has been written for us; and I am sure, beloved brethren, of this -- I could not speak about myself with any assurance, but one can speak about the Lord with the greatest assurance, and I feel assured that the Lord has brought us together in this room, at this time, for our encouragement; and I am sure, too, beloved, that there is abundant encouragement for us in the chapter I have read.

These seven chapters -- I mean those from chapter 6 to chapter 12 -- form a distinct section of the prophecies by Isaiah. And the great theme of these chapters is the remnant. It is a very complete and definite history of the remnant; it is very precise at

both ends; that is to say, at the beginning and at the end; for instance, mark the definite way it begins: "In the year of the death of king Uzziah" -- how the Spirit of God puts His finger, as it were, down on the exact time. And what is the next word? "I" -- Isaiah; I, the prophet, the writer of this book -- "In the year of the death of king Uzziah, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple" (chapter 6: 1).

Now there could not be a more precise and definite beginning than that. And what about the end? Turn to it for a moment: the end is in chapters 11 and 12. In chapter 11 it says, "And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots shall be fruitful; and the Spirit of Jehovah shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Jehovah … And righteousness shall be the girdle of his reins … The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion and the fatted beast together, and a little child shall lead them" (chapter 11: 1 - 6).

Now then, see chapter 12, "And in that day" (verse 1) -- mark what a definite end, for, as I have said, we get a very definite beginning and a very definite end. And, beloved, what a marvellous finish it is! So far as the actual statement of these seven chapters is concerned, Christianity is not mentioned; but then we have just read that "as many things as have been written before have been written for our

instruction" -- and it is not for our instruction in ancient history or future history, but for our present instruction -- "that through endurance and through encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope" (Romans 15:4). What is the point? The remnant comes to light, and there are seven facts pertaining to the remnant brought out in chapter 7 which I want to call your attention to; but before I do so let me attempt to show you the bearing upon ourselves of what we have read.

There are two sides to the truth of the remnant as set forth in Scripture. There is one which you may call a dark side; but if there is a dark side, there is a bright side also. The dark side is on the side of God's people. There was no remnant in the days of King David and King Solomon. What would you want with a remnant then? God had just established His people. Whatever trouble there had been previously in connection with Saul, it was all wiped out, and now all the twelve tribes are there, and all are one, and we see the glory and magnificence of the kingdom as set up by God in the midst of His people. You do not want any remnant there; but another day comes. When does the remnant come to light? It comes to light in a day of failure, and breakdown, and declension.

Did Isaiah live in that kind of day? Well, listen: "The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, kings of Judah. Hear, ye heavens, and give ear, thou earth! for

Jehovah hath spoken: I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib; Israel doth not know, my people hath no intelligence. Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that corrupt themselves! They have forsaken Jehovah … they are turned away backward". God says, "From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in him; wounds, and weals, and open sores: they have not been dressed, nor bound up, nor mollified with oil. Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire …" (Isaiah 1:1 - 7). That is Isaiah's day.

And what comes to light then? A remnant! But mark! There is the dark side, and there is, thank God, a bright side, and that is God's side; the bright side is always God's side; the dark side is ours, but the bright side is His. And if there is a dark side now -- and there is -- there is also a bright side; but if there is a bright side, I repeat it is not our side. We may bow our heads in shame and self-judgment and confusion of face as to our side, but we can lift up our heads on God's side, for His is a very bright side, and we get that in Isaiah's day. I am going to dwell just a moment on the beginning of the remnant.

Now, Isaiah, in chapter 6, describes his own experience; he testifies as a man can testify if he has seen anything; he can tell what he has seen, and if he has heard anything he can tell what he has heard. As John says, "we have seen and heard we report to

you" (1 John 1:3). So Isaiah says, "I saw Jehovah sitting upon a throne" -- and what then? He saw the seraphim, and he heard them, and then he witnessed of what he saw and heard. But my point at the moment is this -- Isaiah gives us here, in connection with his own experience, what he actually saw, what he heard, and that he was constrained, as the result of what he saw and heard, to confess -- first about himself and then about the people.

But now (though it is not exactly right to speak about a remnant of the assembly), our own times are remnant times, and they have been remnant times for some time back, and that is the particular interest of this part of Scripture on account of its application to us. The conditions and the principles of the remnant must be our conditions and principles, otherwise no matter what your outward position may be, and it might be that you would pass muster in a way; for instance, you are breaking bread; that is all right -- (and hold on, beloved); but we must have things in reality. That is the particular value of this scripture.

Now then, let us look at Isaiah 6 for a moment. He begins individually -- I saw and I heard -- "I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple. Seraphim were standing above him: each had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he flew. And one called to the other and said, Holy, holy, holy, is Jehovah of hosts" (verses 1 - 3). They said, "holy", not merely once or twice, but three times, and that gives a complete

testimony -- "Holy, holy, holy, is Jehovah of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory!" There you are. And what is the effect upon you? You learn this -- that, if these are remnant times, your individual history must be involved; for if your individual history is not involved you are not in it. If we turn to the New Testament, to 2 Timothy 2, we find: "Let every one" -- that is, every individual, not every two or three -- but "let every one who names the name of the Lord withdraw from iniquity … If therefore one shall have purified himself from these … he shall be a vessel to honour" (verses 19 - 21); as another rightly says, it is 'himself, not somebody else'.

And now notice another thing about Isaiah, and a very important thing it is: What is the point of his experience here? -- he learns deliverance. Is it deliverance from what he has done? No, deliverance from what he is. He says, "Woe unto me! for I am undone; for I am a man of unclean lips" (verse 5). And then being clear about himself, of course he is clear about his associations. You often find people finding fault with their associations. They grumble about others: they do not like the sects and the systems; but they seem to like themselves pretty well. Such people are not in the remnant spirit. We touch here a very practical point. Ah, beloved, it must be an individual matter, and it must begin with deliverance.

Do not tell me that anybody can be right who is not in the experience of deliverance. It is not in vain that the Spirit of God puts it in the first person singular; the man in Romans 7 does not say, 'For I know

that in us … good does not dwell'. No; he says, "in me, that is, in my flesh, good does not dwell" (verse 18). I do not want to be in a hurry, for this is a very important point. In our own day, there has been a wonderful movement of God going on for eighty years or more. The truth has been brought out with wonderful distinctiveness and clearness; and any one who knows Scripture must feel that it has been brought out with wonderful intelligence. You can have tracts, and pamphlets and books on Scripture, and if you have a mind you can read them, and assent to them as you see they are scriptural, and further, you believe them and adopt them, and so you hold the right doctrines. But ah! that is not it. It is only when we know deliverance that we get into the good of these things. That is how Isaiah got it.