“And the LORD God
said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet
for him” (Gen. 2:18).  The expression, “a help meet for him,” means a helper
corresponding to him or suitable to him.

            In what sense was
the woman (Eve) whom God provided for the man (Adam) a helper corresponding to
him? This provision occurred before the need to wash dishes, launder clothes,
or take care of the children. The LORD God had given Adam the tasks of caring
for the garden and making up names for all of the great variety of living
creatures (Gen. 2:15,19). There were animals that were helps to Adam as beasts
of burden and as a means of entertainment. But there was something missing.
Adam had no one to talk to.

            The “help meet”
for Adam served as one with whom Adam could communicate, one with whom he could
be intimate, not just physically, but also intellectually, emotionally, and
spiritually. If there is any truth to the expression, “A dog is man’s best
friend,” it is only because of failure in human relationships. For those of us
who are married, our wife or husband should be our best friend on earth.

Examples of Helpmates

            The following are
examples in the Bible of some women who were helpers meet for their husbands,
along with a couple of examples of women who failed to carry out this God-given
role.

            Michal.
“Michal Saul’s daughter loved David…. Saul also sent messengers unto David’s
house to watch him and to slay him in the morning; and Michal David’s wife told
him, saying, If you save not your life tonight, tomorrow you shall be slain. So
Michal let David down through a window:and he went, and fled, and escaped” (1
Sam. 18:20; 19:11,12).

            Abigail.
When David was about to kill Nabal and all the men with him, Nabal’s wife
Abigail boldly came to David with a gift of food and appealed to him not to
shed blood without just cause. “And David said to Abigail, Blessed be the LORD
God of Israel who sent you this day to meet me; and blessed be your advice, and
blessed be you who has kept me this day from coming to shed blood and from
avenging myself with my own hand” (1 Sam. 25:18-34). Even though Nabal was a “churlish
[or stingy] and evil” man (1 Sam. 25:3), Abigail did all she could to help him
get out of the messes he got himself into. She was truly “a help meet for him,”
even though he did not appreciate it. But David appreciated what he saw in
Abigail, and when the LORD saw fit to smite “Nabal that he died,” David took
Abigail to be his wife (verses 38-42).

            This example
shows how different temperaments between husband and wife can complement each
other. But for it to work, we need to respect each other’s temperament, help
each other to develop the beneficial and positive aspects of it, and to judge
the negative parts of it. The husband and wife need to help each other to grow
in the Word and likeness to Christ, which will result in a greater likeness to
and kinship with each other.

            The Virtuous
Woman of Proverbs 31. Here is Biblical testimony to “a virtuous woman”:
“The heart of her husband safely trusts in her…. She will do him good and not
evil all the days of her life…. Her husband is known in the gates when he
sits among the elders of the land…. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and in
her tongue is the law of kindness. She looks well to the ways of her household,
and eats not the bread of idleness. Her children arise up and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her” (Prov. 31:10-31).

            Priscilla.
“And [Apollos] began to speak boldly in the synagogue, whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of
God more perfectly” (Acts 18:26). Aquila is never mentioned in the Bible apart
from his wife Priscilla (Acts 18:2,18; Rom. 16:3; 1 Cor. 16:19; 2 Tim. 4:19).
Obviously they worked together as a team in ministering “the way of God” to
Apollos and, no doubt, in all of their ministries.

            Our next door
neighbor came over and asked a theological question. I gave him an answer, and
then my wife offered a supporting answer from a slightly different perspective.
Her comment, in turn, reminded me of yet another way of addressing my
neighbor’s question. We worked together; she was a help to me. I wonder if
every Christian husband realizes the spiritual treasure he has in his Christian
wife. I perceive that in some Christian homes the wife is not at liberty to
discuss her thoughts on Scriptural and spiritual matters with her husband. What
a loss! This is taking the man’s headship and the woman’s submission to an
unwarranted extreme. Notice that the Lord Jesus was willing to discuss (that
is, listen as well as talk) spiritual and doctrinal matters with women (John
4:9-26; 11:21-27).

            Eve. Being
a God-given helpmate to one’s husband is a very responsible position. The first
helpmate, Eve, in fact, failed miserably in her responsibility. She certainly
was not a help to Adam when she ate of the fruit and offered him some as well.
The LORD God had told Adam one thing (not to eat of the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil upon pain of death; Gen. 2:17), Adam had passed this
information on to Eve (Gen. 3:3), and the serpent told Eve just the opposite:
“You shall not surely die” (Gen. 3:4). Whom should Eve believe—her husband or
this serpent? Would it not have been wise for Eve to ask her husband, who had
received the instruction directly from God, about this discrepancy? Think of
the far-reaching consequences upon the whole human race of her failing to do
so!

            It works the
other way as well. It is often wise for a husband to ask his wife what she
thinks of his plans concerning an activity, a change in employment, a purchase,
an investment of money or time, etc. We all have blind spots, hidden lusts,
desires, pride, envy, or distrust, and we often allow our feelings rather than
wise judgment to rule us. Our spouses, if given the opportunity, can help
reveal to us our blind spots.

            Sapphira.
Loyalty to one’s spouse is a wonderful trait, but even this can be carried too
far. Sapphira was loyal to her husband Ananias, but failed terribly in being a
help to him. Ananias had lied to the apostles about how much he had gotten in
the sale of a piece of land. He pretended that he was giving the entire amount
of the sale to the apostles to be distributed to the poor. His wife knew what
he had done, and when asked about it, she told the same lie. The consequence?
Both fell down dead for agreeing together “to tempt the Spirit of the Lord”
(Acts 5:1-10). Why didn’t Sapphira warn her husband that he was doing wrong in
lying about it? My wife certainly would have and so would most of the wives
reading this. But there are some Christian wives who are afraid of their
husbands (even if the husband is a Christian) and would not dare correct or
contradict their husbands about anything. Again, what a loss! what a tragedy
for the whole family! How vital it is for all of us honestly to own and
acknowledge before the Lord and each other our own weaknesses and ask our
spouse (or another family member or close friend if unmarried) to alert us when
they see us getting off track.

Communication

            One of the most
important jobs of the husband’s helpmate is that of facilitating communication.
We husbands are notoriously poor at this and should try to cooperate when our
wives attempt to draw us out. In Scripture we read, “Rejoice with those who
rejoice, and weep with those who weep” (Rom. 12:15). But to do this there must
be the communication to one another of our joys and successes, as well as our
depressions, anxieties, and failures.

            Often it may be
particularly difficult for the husband to share with his wife his feelings of
depression or fear or failure. He rather prefers to regard himself as
emotionally independent and able to work out his own problems by himself.
However, an understanding wife can be an immense help to the husband in such
matters. At the very least they can pray together and unitedly seek the Lord’s
help in the matter. And the sharing in this way will have the effect of drawing
the two closer together emotionally and spiritually. Real communication in
marriage is the ability to share one’s innermost thoughts and feelings with
one’s partner. For this to be effective there must be a foundation of mutual
love, trust, patience, forgiveness, and understanding.

            It is well for a
young husband and father to consider that often while he is at work associating
with other adults all day long, his wife may be spending most of her days with
only her small children for company. So the husband—weary as he may be—should
try to put his wife’s need for adult-level communication above his natural and
selfish desire to relax in his favorite easy chair with the newspaper or
television when he gets home from work. In this way he can be “a help meet for”
his wife.

            A particularly
difficult area of communication involves things that the husband and wife find
in each other that they do not like. Marriage involves a very major adjustment
in the lives of two persons who often have quite different personalities, likes
and dislikes, collections of friends and relatives, etc. To take an oft-used
example, a matter so trivial as how one squeezes the tube of toothpaste can be
a source of friction in a marriage. Or it may be certain words or expressions
one uses, stories or jokes one tells, or other habits or manners that may
irritate the spouse. If there is no sin or compromise of Christian testimony
involved, the spouse may choose to adapt himself/herself to the other’s behavior
and, with the aid of the Holy Spirit, accept and overlook it (see Prov. 19:11).
But if the disagreeable behavior continually produces irritation, or if it is
sinful, then one should seek lovingly, patiently, and meekly (Gal. 6:1) to
express to the other the nature of the concern. Here there is a great need to
speak the truth in love (Eph. 4:15) and to have the love of God shed abroad in
our hearts (Rom. 5:5). The one with the disagreeable habit correspondingly
should learn to accept the criticism without anger, irritation, defensiveness,
or retaliation. It is best if the two can pray together about the matter.

______________________________________________________________________________

            The Greek word
for thanksgiving (eucharistia) is related to the words for grace (charis)
and joy (chara). Grace is God’s Riches at Christ’s
Expense, or favor shown to those who deserve the opposite. “By grace are
you saved” (Eph. 2:8). A deep sense of God’s grace and favor toward us will
bring joy to our hearts, and that joy, in turn, will overflow from our hearts
in outward expressions of thanksgiving.                                                                       P.L.C.

  A correspondent, calling
attention to recent statements to the effect that the kingdom of God is wholly
future, and that there is no such thing as a kingdom of God on earth today,
that in fact it does not exist, asks how we are to understand the following
texts:

  “Philip preaching the things
concerning the kingdom of God” (Acts 8:12).

  “Paul … preaching the
kingdom of God, and teaching,” etc. (Acts 28:30,31).

  “Delivered us from the
power of darkness, and has translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son”
(Col. 1:13).

  “I, John … in the kingdom
and patience of Jesus Christ” (Rev. 1:9).

  “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost”
(Rom. 14:17).

  In the view of the kingdom
above mentioned this last verse is considered to have a future, not present,
application, and so indeed with all references to the kingdom. That also would
mean, I suppose, that even John 3 in which seeing and entering the kingdom are
spoken of must be of future application if there is no kingdom of God on earth today.

  This view evidently swings
to the opposite extreme from that which denies dispensational distinctions and
refuses to admit Israel’s future place and glory as God’s nation on earth in
the coming time of the kingdom during the Millennial age. This latter teaching
cannot be too firmly resisted, but we must guard against the other extreme
also, for this too will involve us in confusion and contradiction.

  If we think of the kingdom
of God in the future, as far as this world is concerned we think of the
manifestation of the power and glory of Christ as King, reigning over the
earth, Israel being restored, saved, and made first of the nations, as prophecy
abundantly declares. Then, too, there will be no other kingdom as there is now,
for Satan will be imprisoned, he and his hosts being cast out of the
heavenlies, so that there is an end to the rule and influence of those
“principalities,” “rulers of the darkness of this world,” and “spiritual
wickedness in high places” (Eph. 6:12). Against these we now struggle. Only at
the end of the Millennium Satan will be loosed for a brief final act of
rebellion.

  It is certain that the kingdom of God does not now exist on earth after this manner. Scripture leads us to
believe that two kingdoms exist today. The one that will not exist in that
future age is present in power today, and so also is the kingdom of God in a present form suited to the time. Both are of moral and spiritual character—that of
Satan is darkness, that of God, now and ever, light, for God is
light. Now men are passing from the former into the latter by the work of the
Holy Spirit through the Word. Thus are blind eyes opened to “see,” and those
who see “enter” the kingdom of God. They are turned “from darkness to light,
and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of
sins, and inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith that is in Me”
(Acts 26:18). Thus delivered from “the power [or authority] of darkness,” they
are “translated into the kingdom of His dear Son in whom we have redemption
through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins,” for in this way the Father
makes “us meet [or fit] to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in
light” (Col. 1:12-14). Such were once darkness, but thus they become light in
the Lord (Eph. 5:8). Those made fit by the Father to be partakers of the
inheritance of saints in light are already saints as sanctified in Christ
Jesus, and begin now to participate in their inheritance as a result of present
divine operation. They thus have a present as well as future “inheritance in
the kingdom of Christ and of God” (Eph. 5:5).

  Peter assures a richly
furnished entrance into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ, if there is diligence in doing the things spoken of (2 Pet. 1:4-11).
This has its bearing for the present and the future. For all such there is that
in the future as to the kingdom which they do not now possess except in hope,
but there is that which they have of that kingdom in the present which proves
its present existence. This is found in the things, in the first fruits, of the
Spirit, and it is summarized for us in Rom. 14:17.

  Paul’s words to the elders
of Ephesus are significant. He testified of repentance toward God and faith
toward our Lord Jesus Christ, and speaks of the ministry received of the Lord
Jesus to testify the glad tidings of the grace of God. He could affirm that he
had not failed to announce all the counsel of God. But in all this he had gone
about preaching the kingdom of God (Acts 20:21-27). These things then pertained
to it, and gave to those accepting such a ministry of grace present participation
in what that kingdom really meant, while as to outward conditions on the earth
they might be accounted sheep for the slaughter and endure present suffering
for the sake of the kingdom, since in the present we are found brethren and
fellow-partakers in the tribulation and kingdom and patience in Jesus (Rev. 1:9
JND).

  When Paul disputed and
persuaded as to the things concerning the kingdom of God (Acts 19:8), it could
hardly be exclusively what was future, and then as now non-existent, for it is
immediately mentioned that some did not believe and spoke evil of “that
way”—surely that way of present faith in Christ and the attendant blessings.

  In another place the
apostle speaks of those who were his fellow-workers for the kingdom of God (Col. 4:11).

  Again, Paul enumerates the
works of those who “shall not inherit the kingdom of God” (Gal. 5:19-21). They
have no fitness to be partakers of the inheritance of saints in light. And then
he immediately says:“But the fruit of the Spirit,” etc. There are those in
whom that fruit is now produced. Thus they in the present inherit that kingdom,
for such live by the Spirit and walk in the Spirit. This cannot be apart from
righteousness, peace, and joy in the Spirit—the kingdom of God. This will still be true when the kingdom is manifested in glory on the earth; but
believers who have not the glory as yet produce the Spirit’s fruit, enjoy His
first fruits, and are partakers in those moral and spiritual features which
belong to God’s kingdom both now and forever, in present tribulation as in
future glory. Both aspects of truth have their place, neither can be set aside
without spiritual loss.

    “Sirs, you are brethren;
why do you wrong one another?” (Acts 7:26). It is evident that though Moses’
interference (referred to in this verse) may savor of fleshly activity, he
keenly felt the unseemly conduct of these two brethren in Israel who strove together—a sad testimony surely to the Egyptians about them.

    Stephen says, “He
supposed his brethren would have understood how God by his hand would deliver
them; but they understood not” (verse 25). We cannot say how far the faith of
Moses carried him at this time, but it is evident that he felt how unbecoming
was their conduct and reproved their unbrotherly ways.

    A similar incident
occurred when the herdsmen of Abram and Lot strove together. The man of faith
said, “Let there be no strife between me and you … for we are brethren”
(Gen. 13:8). Abram, to whom the land belonged by virtue of God’s promise (see
Gen. 12:7), relinquished his claim, and gave up his rights in favor of
Lot—blessed spirit of loving surrender and self-abnegation! What an effectual
way to eliminate strife, which would soon engender a “root of bitterness” and
defile many. Abram’s faith in God produced a moral elevation raising him above
the petty bickering of the herdsmen. At all times God will defend the cause of
those who commit their way to Him.

    Moses sought to impress
upon them the fact of their relationship. “You are brethren.” How unseemly,
therefore, was their conduct! Moses’ appeal has a voice for us also.
United, we can stand against external foes, but internal strife
will surely bring disintegration, and this seems to be the special effort of
the enemy’s attack today against the assemblies of God’s people.

    With purpose the Spirit
of God has written, “Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God;
lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be
defiled” (Heb. 12:15). Let us, then, be careful not to harbor envious thoughts,
suspicions, pride, jealousies—all of which spring from the flesh, which came
under God’s judgment in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us assiduously
watch against the little differences that arise, remembering that “the beginning
of strife is as when one lets out water” (Prov. 17:14) which may soon become
uncontrollable and devastating.

    A seed of discord had
evidently come up in the assembly at Philippi (Phil. 4:2). What a delicate task
lay before the apostle! They had ministered to his necessities, and while his
heart rejoiced in their fellowship in the gospel (1:5), he felt the need of admonishing
them. But how tenderly, how lovingly, he deals with this difficulty in their
midst! We find no harsh criticism, no thought of “settling things” by apostolic
power. The great antidote to strife he gives in chapter 2:“Let nothing be done
through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other
better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man
also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ
Jesus” (verses 4,5). How constantly we need to have this blessed Example before
us! He, before whom all heaven bowed, God’s well-beloved, came here in lowly
grace to serve; humbling Himself, He “became obedient unto death, even
the death of the cross” (verse 8). This was His “mind”; and shall we, the
objects of such grace and love, vaunt ourselves, or seek a place where our Lord
humbled Himself? “Strife” and “vainglory” are surely unbecoming of the
followers of Him who is “meek and lowly of heart.” We owe our all to the
One who died upon a gibbet; how this should humble our pride!

    How natural it is for us
to assert ourselves and to resent anything that might touch our
prestige; how foreign to the flesh to “esteem other better than ourselves,” but
what a blessed mark of the Spirit’s work when this precept characterizes the
saints of God. What a healer of breaches!

    “Finally,” says Peter,
“be all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren,
be pitiful, be courteous:not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing,
but contrariwise blessing; knowing that you are thereunto called, that you
should inherit a blessing” (1 Pet. 3:8,9).

     (From Help and Food,
Vol. 43).

  Since mention is made in
the article, “Complaining,” of the expression, “What would Jesus do (WWJD)?”
and since a series of articles on “The Mind of Jesus” begins in this issue, I
would like to make some comments on WWJD. The WWJD question was popularized in
1896 by Charles Sheldon in his book, In His Steps. Both the slogan and
the book experienced a revival around the time of their 100th anniversary. WWJD
is an appealing slogan for true, born again Christians, provided that we obtain
our insights from the Scriptures. We are indeed instructed to “let this mind be
in you which was also in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 2:5).

  As a cautionary note,
however, it must be stated that Sheldon’s book itself is faulty in that the
slogan is presented to all people, without discriminating between true
believers and unbelievers or nominal Christians. Thus it easily lends itself to
a doctrine of salvation by works (in this case, by following the example of
Christ). The book nowhere states the Biblical truth that every man, woman, and
child is “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1) and needs to place their full
faith and trust in the work of Jesus Christ on the cross where He paid the
tremendous penalty for our sins. Only then can we have the power and true
motivation to follow in the footsteps of the Lord Jesus.

  I suggest that we be alert
to people sporting WWJD book bags, pens, camera straps, key chains, etc., and
seek to engage them in conversation about what the Lord Jesus means to them and
what is the basis for their hope of salvation. Alternatively, we should be
prepared to hand them a gospel tract, such as “The Matchless Pearl,” that
clearly contrasts the Biblical gospel of grace with man’s gospel of works. This
tract can be obtained from the editor or publisher of Words of Truth
(see addresses below). Another relevant gospel tract entitled “WWJD?” can be
obtained from the editor or from the American Tract Society.

    One of the secrets of
good gardening is to be an indefatigable enemy of weeds. Preventing their
growth necessitates the stirring of the soil; and the more the soil is stirred,
the better the crop grows and the greater the yield. So with the Christian:the
more sincerely and earnestly he takes sides with God against himself, the more
he will grow; the weeds of his evil nature will not be able to develop, and
this will cause the new nature to have deeper roots, greater growth, richer and
more abun­dant fruit.

    This means, of course,
that such a gardener must be industrious, early and late, against the enemy,
because of his love for the goodly plants that grow in his garden.

    And what is the finest
garden of earth compared with the garden of heaven in the believer’s soul? An
earthly garden may be worth having much care and labor bestowed upon it; it may
be worth rising up early and staying up late to tend it; and all this toil, all
this enriching and watering, after all, is but for a short season. What, then, of
this wonderful garden of the soul, whose fragrance and fruit are to abide forever?
Is it not worth-while to cultivate it? Shall we be industrious for what passes
away, and careless and idle for what does not pass away?

    Most earthly gardeners enjoy
their labor. They are happy in their toil, even before fruit-time comes.
Just so, is there not holy joy in all our Christian labor and exercises of
soul? Can we fall on our knees in supplication about this or that temptation,
fear, need, or service without rising up again comforted and blessed? Does not
every victory over ourselves and our circumstances make us sing and praise the
grace of our great High Priest, and increase our acquaintance with God? And is
not this, of itself, true bliss?

    May the Lord break up all
our slothfulness of heart, all our apathy concerning sin—not sin in our
brother, but sin in ourself! We can easily be fierce against the mote in
our brother’s eye while blind to the beam in our own.

    May He also break up all
self-complacency, for there is no weed more destructive in the garden of the
soul. We are so proper, so faultless, so free from what would mar the lofty
opinion which our fellows have of us, that we can scarcely realize our
incessant dependence on Him who is at the right hand of God, making
intercession for us.

    Let all weeds be rooted
out, that Christ, Christ alone, Christ our righteousness, our sanctification,
our redemption, may stand before the soul as our all. Thus will our individual
souls flourish, and practical unity will be with love, holiness, and power.

    (From Help and Food,
Vol. 45.)

    In
that most charming idyl of inspiration, the Book of Ruth, we have depicted
before us a number of ancient Hebrew customs, one of which is the workings of
the law of inheritance. One section of this divinely given code required that
in case a man of property died childless, his brother or nearest kinsman should
marry the widow “to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, that
the name of the dead be not cut off from among his brethren, and from the gate
of his place” (Ruth 4:10). This assured the perpetuation of his name and with it
the continuance of the inheritance in his branch of the family on the male
side.

    Ruth,
the Moabitess, was, as we know, a widow. Mahlon, her husband (a Hebrew) had
died in the land of her nativity, and she with her widowed mother-in-law,
Naomi, had returned in poverty to the land of Judah. The landed estate of the
family was, according to law, nonforfeit, that is, it could “not be sold for
ever” (Lev. 25:23). It could be only what we might call mortgaged until the
year of Jubilee, or release, when it would return automatically to the original
owners, freed of all encumbrance. And the situation now at this stage of the
story is that Boaz, a kinsman of wealth, is quite willing to do the kinsman*s part and both marry Ruth and
redeem the inheritance. But he must say to trembling Ruth, “And now it is true
that I am thy near kinsman:howbeit there is a kinsman nearer than I. Tarry
this night, and it shall be in the morning, that if he will perform unto thee
the part of a kinsman, well; let him do the kinsman’s part; but if he will not
do the part of a kinsman to thee, then will I do the part of a kinsman to thee,
as the Lord lives; lie down until the morning” (Ruth 3:12,13).

    The
nearer kinsman, therefore, must be given first chance. And in the portion of
the narrative given in Ruth 4, we see how this was managed and the result. “I
will redeem it,” this kinsman unhesitatingly says at the first; but when
informed that with the purchase he must also marry Ruth, the original owner*s widow, he draws back. “I cannot
redeem it for myself, lest I mar my own inheritance,” he says. He shamefully
refuses to do the kinsman*s part; the way being cleared,
Boaz himself generously buys the “parcel of land,” and gladly takes Ruth to be
his wife.

    Two
most important lessons may be gathered from this incident. One is the kindly
consideration of God in concealing the name of the delinquent nearer kinsman.
He evidently through selfishness shirked his bounden duty toward his brother*s destitute widow; but God, ever
ready, when consistent with the interests of truth and righteousness, to
conceal the weaknesses and follies if His failing people, does not permit to be
divulged the name of him who, to save himself some trouble or expense, refused
to do the kinsman*s part. In Deut. 25:10 we are told
of the disgrace attaching to such unseemly conduct; the slighted woman, among
other things, was to spit publicly in the slacker*s face.

    But
see how the God of Israel, yes, our God, graciously keeps the unworthy
name out of the public record. Boaz doubtless knew well his name and called it
out, in hailing him at the gate (our “court house”) of the city. “Ho, such a
one! turn aside, sit down here,” he calls. “Such a one”; that is
all—and it is enough. There is no further clue concerning his identity. This is
our God! “Charity (love) shall cover the multitude of sins” (1 Pet. 4:8) and
“God is love” (1 John 4:8). He sets us here the lovely example of hiding from a
curious posterity the name of him whose conduct was so unworthy. The claims of
justice did not require that the name be made known to us. The descendants of
the man, henceforth known as “the house of him that has his shoe loosed,” were
not to be perpetually thus stigmatized. A few generations and the incident
would be forgotten and the reproach resting on the family removed. The
identification was not to be continued through the Scripture record to eternal
ages. For this we exclaim, “How good is the God we adore!”

    “Followers
[or imitators] of God as dear children” (Eph. 5:1) is the word. Let us be that
in this as in everything else, dear brethren. Only when necessity requires
either the exercise of holy discipline in the assembly or the rectification of
wrongs done to another should we make known our brother*s sin or give publicity to his
tarnished name. “Their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more” (Heb.
8:12) He says of us who believe. May His grace to us in this make us to be ever
tender toward the erring brother.

    Now
for a brief moment let us see what the delinquent kinsman missed. The divinely
preserved genealogies reveal it. His name might have gone down in the
ever-enduring Word of God as one of the ennobled ancestors of our glorious
Lord. And what honor to him that would have been! But he missed it, and the
less self-seeking Boaz, who had only second claim, obtained the honor of having
his name chronicled in the lineage of his and our and David’s Lord. Little did
the “nearer kinsman” suspect anything of this.

    And
what of you and me and others, privileged fellow Christian? Do we, regardless
of the cost to ourselves, embrace the opportunities offered us to have our
names held in everlasting remembrance in the records that shall never pass
away? Here we may serve our brethren, in doing which we “serve the Lord
Christ.” God is taking account, be assured; and if we shirk in the position and
responsibilities assigned to us by the Lord, what will we not miss! Much, every
way, we may be certain; and the loss that will grieve us most “in that day”
will be the withholding from the lips of Him whom we love that word, “Well
done, you good and faithful servant … enter into the joy of your Lord” (Matt.
25:21). It will be His joy; for He joys in being enabled to commend even
one of the least and most unprofitable of His servants.

    Oh,
“covet earnestly” the honor of His word of commendation, cost what it may. The
“light affliction,” as also the equally light earthly losses such as worldly
honors, and all else that we may suffer in our devotion to Christ and His
interests here, will surely work out for us a “far more exceeding and eternal
weight of glory” (2 Cor. 4:17). Be it yours and mine, Christian reader, to be
faithful in serving and following our beloved Lord and Saviour.

    The love of Christ is a
deep that knows no fathoming. It passes knowledge, and telling too; but, thank
God, we can know it, and speak of it too, according to our capacity.

    But let it be understood
that we could never have merited this love. There was nothing in us but
defilement and alienation from God. Therefore, if we are the objects of such
love, it is wholly because it was in Him to love us. If we do love Him, it is
because we have known His love and have been begotten of God who has given us a
life and nature to love.

    There are three aspects
of the love of Christ according to Eph. 5:25-33. Let us ponder them for a
little. First, “Christ … loved the Church, and gave Himself for it.” At this
time the Church was all in the future, and its members were sunk in sin and
distance from God. Yet He loved the Church, and gave Himself for it.

    Looking through the glass
of God’s purpose, He saw where the Church was, and would possess Himself of
that Church, and would lift it up into union with Himself. But that was a
stupendous work which involved all the horrors of Calvary’s cross, of which the
sorrows of Gethsemane were but the dark foreshadowing.

    In Gethsemane He was in
communion with His Father; but on the cross, during those dreadful hours of
darkness, He was having to do with God about sin, and hence the bitter cry, “My
God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” (Matt. 27:46).

    Did He love the Church?
would He redeem it? would He possess it for Himself? would He bring it into
eternal union with Himself? would He share His glory and kingdom with His
Church? Then all this must be endured. There was no other way. The deep waters
of the death of the cross must be passed through before all this could be brought
about. Who can tell the greatness and the eternal consequences of that work?
who can fathom the love expressed in it?

    Let it be written in gold
across the sky of eternity, “Christ loved the Church, and gave Himself for it”!

    But He is risen. The
glory of the Father claimed Him from the tomb. The One “crucified through
weakness … lives by the power of God” (2 Cor. 13:4), and as Victor has
ascended and set Himself down “on the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Heb.
1:3). But has He forgotten His Church in all her toils, and needs, and
defilements, as she sojourns here in this land of her pilgrimage? Ah, no; that
could not be. What He endured for her on the cross forbids the thought that He
could ever forget her, or the least one that forms a part of her.

    Hence we have the second
aspect of the love of Christ to the Church:“That He might sanctify and cleanse
it with the washing of water by the Word.” This is His present ministry of love
for His Church—He “nourishes and cherishes it.” His great work now is to
sanctify the Church which He has redeemed for Himself by His precious blood.
Down here she is in the midst of evil; contamination abounds on every hand. She
is in danger of association with the world, of allowing the flesh to act, of
Satan’s wiles, of doctrinal evils; thus there is need of His present ministry
as High Priest and Advocate. His great work is to sanctify the Church, to keep
it morally clean, to purify it from every pollution, so that it might enjoy its
privileges of communion and worship (Heb. 10:19-22) and fulfill its
responsibilities as His representative and witness in this world.

    This ministry of love
will go on all the while the Church is here. And what a ministry it is! It is
not a hard, righteous ministry, but what is set forth in John 13. Having loved
His own, He loves them unto the end. During supper He lays aside His garments
and takes a towel and girds Himself. He then pours water into a basin and
proceeds to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith
He was girded. How beautiful! Grace shines in every act of the blessed Lord in
this remarkable scene. It all speaks of what He is doing on high for His
wayworn and often defiled saints as they wend their way through a scene
altogether hostile to them. They are not of the world, therefore the world
hates them. Satan’s great object is to break up and blur every bit of testimony
for Christ. Hence his craft and subtlety to lead the people of God into unholy
associations, to allow the flesh, or tolerate evil doctrine—anything that will
bring in the sense of distance between their souls and God, that will becloud
their communion and darken their testimony. Alas, how often he succeeds!

    But the present ministry
of Christ’s love is to purify, to sanctify, to remove all such work of Satan by
the wholesome exercise and self-judgment of the saints, and the application of
the water of the Word. As in Peter’s case, so in the case of each one.
Restoration to God from failure is no parrot work; it goes down deep into the
depths of one’s moral being, as the sin is seen in the light of God’s holiness,
and especially in the light of that love that led the Saviour to that cross of
shame to put it away.

    But soon all this will be
changed, and the day will come of which it is written, “That He might present
it to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such
thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish” (Eph.5:27). This is the
third aspect of the love of Christ to the Church in this passage. As freed from
all the imperfections that characterize her now, how glorious the Church will
be in that day! There will be no sign of defilement or old age, but, holy and
without blemish, she will be suited to the eye and heart of her beloved Lord
and Saviour. Exceeding joy will fill His heart as she is presented before the
presence of His glory; and chastened joy will fill her heart as she finds
herself presented to Him who loved her even unto death. What thoughts of
gratitude and praise will fill her heart as she remembers what she once was,
what she is then, and all the fruit of His own love to her told out in such a
remarkable way!

    If the Lord’s present
ministry of love is to nourish and cherish the Church, what an example for us
in our dealings one with another! But, alas, how little we know how to lay
aside our garments, and in the instinct of holy love get down to wash one
another’s feet! The desire would fill our heart—if in communion with our
Lord—to remove from each other all that which clouds communion with God, brings
in the sense of distance, and hinders our fellowship with each other.

    If one of the members of
our own physical body gets hurt in any way, every other member in our body
seeks to nourish and cherish that member, and they rest not until it is restored
to health. So should it be with the members of the Church of God. To revive, to recover, to restore, to strengthen, should be the object before the mind,
and not to crush, and bruise, and dishearten. The look of love the Lord gave to
Peter, after he denied Him, broke his heart, and sent him out to weep bitterly.
It was a look of love.

    Oh for the ministry of
love among the saints of God! holy love surely, but love that seeks the
good and not the hurt, the uplifting and not the crushing of the fallen one;
that nourishes and cherishes according to the example of our blessed Lord.

    It is well to remember
that while everything else may fail, “Love never fails” (1 Cor. 13:8).

    (From Help and Food, Vol.
27.)

_________________________________________________________________

(FRAGMENT)

    Let us listen in on our
Lord’s high-priestly prayer where we are permitted to hear Him presenting us to
the Father, that in His absence from us we might be kept and sanctified:“And
now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee.
Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom Thou hast given me, that
they may be one, as We are…. Sanctify them through thy truth:thy Word is
truth” (John 17:11-17).

    Then He identifies us
with Himself before the Father, and we hear these wondrous words from the
Bridegroom of our hearts:“[THOU] HAST LOVED THEM, AS THOU HAST LOVED ME”
(verse 23).

    Oh, fellow-Christian! do
we truly believe this? Is it taking possession of our hearts? We sing, and
sometimes say to ourselves and to Him, “Wonder of wonders, Jesus loved me!” but
here our Bridegroom presents us before the Father in the same nearness of love
as He Himself enjoys with the Father. May it sanctify us to Himself to be as “a
chaste virgin” espoused to a loving, precious, glorious Bridegroom.

     (From Help and Food,
Vol. 40.)

A Healthy Tongue

  A word fitly spoken is like
apples of gold in pictures of silver (Prov. 25:11).

  The tongue of the wise is
health (Prov. 12:18).

  Pleasant words are as an
honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones (Prov. 16:24).

  A wholesome tongue is a
tree of life (Prov. 15:4).

A Wise Tongue

  The tongue of the wise uses
knowledge aright (Prov. 15:2).

  The lips of the wise
disperse knowledge (Prov. 15:7).

  A word spoken in due
season, how good is it! (Prov. 15:23).

  A soft answer turns away
wrath; but grievous words stir up anger (Prov. 15:1).

  If any man offend not in
word, the same is a perfect man (Jas. 3:2).

A Tongue of Few Words

  Let every man be swift to
hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath (Jas. 1:19).

  Whoso keeps his mouth and
his tongue keeps his soul from troubles (Prov. 21:23).

  He who keeps his mouth
keeps his life (Prov. 13:3).

  He who has knowledge spares
his words…. Even a fool, when he holds his peace, is counted wise; and he who
shuts his lips is esteemed a man of understanding (Prov. 17:27,28).

  If you have thought evil,
lay your hand upon your mouth (Prov. 30;32).

  God is in heaven, and you
upon earth; therefore let your words be few (Eccl. 5:2).

A Tongue of Many Words

  In the multitude of words
there wants not sin (Prov. 10:19).

  A fool also is full of
words (Eccl. 10:14).

  When you pray, use not vain
repetitions, as the heathen do; for they think that they shall be heard for
their much speaking (Matt. 6:7).

A Flattering Tongue

  Understanding shall keep
you … to deliver you from the … stranger who flatters with her words (Prov.
2:11,16).

  A flattering mouth works
ruin (Prov. 26:28).

  Meddle not with him who
flatters with his lips (Prov. 20:19).

  A man who flatters his
neighbor spreads a net for his feet (Prov. 29:5).

  The words of his mouth were
smoother than butter, but war was in his heart (Psa. 55:21).

  This people draws nigh unto
Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips; but their heart is far from
Me (Matt. 15:8).

  My little children, let us
not love in word … but in deed and in truth (1 John 3:18).

A Foolish Tongue

  A fool’s lips enter into
contention … his lips are the snare of his soul (Prov. 18:6,7).

  The lips of a fool will
swallow up himself (Eccl. 10:12).

  A fool utters all his mind;
but a wise man keeps it in till afterwards (Prov. 29:11).

A Lying Tongue

  The LORD hates … a lying
tongue,… a false witness that speaks lies (Prov. 6:16-19).

  The lip of truth shall be
established for ever; but a lying tongue is but for a moment (Prov. 12:19).

  A false witness shall not
be unpunished, and he who speaks lies shall perish (Prov. 19:9).

A Tongue of False Doctrine

  For there are many unruly
and vain talkers and deceivers (Tit. 1:10).

  By good works and fair
speeches [they] deceive he hearts of the simple (Rom. 16:18).

  Through covetousness shall
they with feigned words make merchandise of you (2 Pet. 2:3).

A Dangerous Tongue

  Death and life are in the
power of the tongue (Prov. 18:21).

  An ungodly man digs up
evil; and in his lips there is as a burning fire (Prov. 16:27).

  The tongue is a little
member, and boasts great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire
kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity:so is the tongue among
our members, that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of
nature; and it is set on fire of hell…. The tongue can no man tame; it is an
unruly evil, full of deadly poison (Jas. 3:5-8).

Warnings and Exhortations

  Every idle word that men
shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment (Matt.
12:36).

  If you bite and devour one
another, take heed that you be not consumed (Gal. 5:15).

  Let all bitterness, and
wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you (Eph.
4:31).

  Let your speech be alway
with grace, seasoned with salt (Col. 4:6).

  Put off all these:anger,
wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth (Col. 3:8).

  Speak not evil one of
another, brethren (Jas. 4:11).

  Speaking the truth in love,
[we] may grow up into Him in all things, which is the Head, even Christ (Eph.
4:15).

Proper Uses of the Tongue

  My mouth shall praise Thee
with joyful lips (Psa. 63:5).

  It is a good thing to give
thanks unto the LORD (Psa. 92:1).

  With my mouth will I make
known Thy faithfulness to all generations (Psa. 89;1).

  I have not spoken of Myself
(John 12:49).

  If you shall confess with
your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God hats raised
Him from the dead, you shall be saved. For with the heart man believes unto
righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation (Rom. 10:9,10).

  Be ready always to give an
answer to every man who asks you a reason of the hope that is in your with
meekness and fear (1 Pet. 3:15).

A garden contemplation suits,

    And may instruction
yield,

Sweeter than all the flowers
and fruits

    With which the spot is
filled.

Eden was Adam’s dwelling place,

    While blessed with
innocence;

But sin o’erwhelmed him with
disgrace,

    And drove the rebel
thence.

Oft as the garden-walk we
tread,

    We should bemoan his
fall;

The trespass of our legal
head

    In ruin plunged us all.

The garden of Gethsemane

    The second Adam saw,

Oppressed with woe, to set us
free

    From the avenging law.

How stupid we, who can
forget,

    With gardens in our
sight,

His agonies and bloody sweat,

    In that tremendous night!

His Church as a fair garden
stands,

    Which walls of love enclose;

Each tree is planted by His
hands,

    And by His blessing
grows.

Believing hearts are gardens
too,

    For grace has sown its
seeds,

Where once, by nature,
nothing grew,

    But thorns and worthless
weeds.

Such themes to those who
Jesus love,

    May constant joys afford,

And make a barren desert
prove

    The garden of the Lord.

    (From Olney Hymns.)

Best gift of all Thou hast

            bestowed,

The precious, priceless blood
that

            flowed

When Jesus bore our sins’
great

            load—

For this we thank Thee!

And then that wondrous love
of

            thine

Which made us heirs of wealth

            divine,

And us to Thee as sons did
join—

For this we thank Thee!

For sweetest fellowship on
earth

With other sons of heavenly
birth,

In greater joy than this
world’s

            mirth—

For this we thank Thee!

For patient grace that guides
our

            way,

While pilgrims in this world
we

            stay,

In fire by night, in cloud by
day—

For this we thank Thee!

For sickness, sadness, pain
and

            loss,

For fellowship with Jesus’
cross

That turns this world’s gold
into

            dross—

For this we thank Thee!

For loving faithfulness and
grace

That cast us down upon our
face,

And make the flesh take its
own

            place—

For this we thank Thee!

In all our joy and all our
grief,

For chastening sore, or sweet

            relief,

For lengthened days, or
waiting

            brief—

For all we thank Thee!

For many mansions in thy
home,

Where we one day with Christ
shall

            come,

And never, never from Thee
roam—

For this we thank Thee!

And when our time on earth is

            o’er,

When in thy presence we adore,

O then, for all that’s gone

            before,

We e’er shall thank Thee!

    There is a principle that
crowns and governs and gives character to all others:it is love. This, in its
root, is the nature of God Himself, the source and perfection of every other
quality that adorns Christian life.

    The distinction between
love and brotherly love is of deep importance; the former is indeed, as we have
just said, the source whence the latter flows; but as this brotherly love
exists in mortal men, it may be mingled in its exercise with sentiments that
are merely human, with individual affection, with the effect of personal
attractions, or that of habit, or suitability in natural character. Nothing is
sweeter than brotherly affections; their maintenance is of the highest
importance in the assembly, but they may degenerate, as they may grow cool; and
if love, if God, does not hold the chief place, they may displace Him, set Him
aside, shut Him out.

    Divine love, which is the
very nature of God, directs, rules, and gives character to brotherly love;
otherwise it is that which pleases us—that is, our own heart—that governs us.
If divine love governs me, I love all my brethren; I love them because they
belong to Christ; there is no partiality. I shall have greater enjoyment in a
spiritual brother; but I shall occupy myself about my weak brother with a love
that rises above his weakness and has tender consideration for it. I shall
concern myself with my brother’s sin, from love to God, in order to restore my
brother, rebuking him if needful; nor, if divine love be in exercise, can
brotherly love, or its name, be associated with disobedience. In a word, God
will have His place in all my relationships. To exact brotherly love in such a
manner as to shut out the requirements of that which God is, and of His claims
upon us, is to shut out God in the most plausible way, in order to gratify our
hearts. Divine love, then, which acts according to the nature, character, and
will of God, is that which ought to direct and characterize our whole Christian
walk, and have authority over every movement of our hearts. Without this, all
that brotherly love can do is to substitute man for God. Divine love is the bond
of perfectness, for it is God, who is love, working in us and making Himself
the governing object of all that passes in the heart.

            “Were there not
ten cleansed? But where are the nine?” (Luke 17:17). The Lord Jesus healed ten lepers
but only one returned to thank Him, and that one was a despised Samaritan.

            One of the
valuable experiences for us in life is to encounter ingratitude, for then we
can share in a small degree the heartbreak of God. When we give generously and
do not receive so much as an acknowledgment, we have a greater appreciation of
Him who gave His beloved Son for a thankless world. When we pour out ourselves
in tireless service for others, we join the fellowship of the One who took the
place of a slave for a race of ingrates.

            Unthankfulness is
one of the unlovely traits of fallen man. Paul reminds us that when the pagan
world “knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful” (Rom.
1:21).

            A missionary to Brazil discovered two tribes who had no words for "Thank you." If a kindness was
shown to them, they would say "That is what I wanted" or "That
will be useful to me." Another missionary, working in North Africa, found
that those to whom he ministered never expressed gratitude because they were
giving him the opportunity of earning merit with God. It was the missionary who
should be grateful, they felt, because he was acquiring favor through the
kindness he showed them.

            Ingratitude
permeates all of society. A radio program called “Job Center of the Air”
succeeded in finding jobs for 2500 people. The emcee later reported that only
ten ever took time to thank him.

            A dedicated
school teacher had poured her life into 50 classes of students. When she was
80, she received a letter from one of her former students, telling how much he
appreciated her help. She had taught for 50 years and this was the only letter
of appreciation she had ever received.

            We said that it
is good for us to experience ingratitude because it gives us a pale reflection
of what the Lord experiences all the time. Another reason why it is a valuable
experience is that it impresses on us the importance of being thankful
ourselves. Too often our requests to God outweigh our thanksgiving. We take His
blessings too much for granted. And too often we fail to express our
appreciation to one another for hospitality, for instruction, for
transportation, for provision, for numberless deeds of kindness. We actually
come to expect these favors almost as if we deserved them.

            The study of the
ten lepers should be a constant reminder to us that while many have great cause
for thanksgiving, few have the heart to acknowledge it. Shall we be among the
few?

            (From One Day
At a Time, Gospel Folio Press, Grand Rapids, Michigan, copyright 1998 by
William MacDonald; used by permission.)

    Leaving home for a few
days’ absence, we lowered the window shades and closed the doors. But we had
left behind us in that dark house a beautiful little plant. Upon our return we
soon discovered that a great change had taken place in it. Its freshness and
beauty had passed away and the flower had greatly wilted. We lost no time in
letting in both sunshine and fresh air; then we poured water upon and around
the plant.

    Lacking those three
things essential to plant life—sunlight, fresh air, and water—it had suffered
and withered. With the loving care that ministered these things to it again,
its freshness, color, and bloom began to reappear, and it made us rejoice. It
seemed to smile in our faces and be grateful for the care bestowed. At the same
time we had learned a valuable spiritual lesson:

    The Plant spoke to
us of each plant of our heavenly Father’s planting—those who form part of His
garden (Matt. 15:13; Cant. 4:12-16).

    Sunlight, so
necessary for the health and beauty of the plant, speaks of communion of heart
with our Lord now in the heavens. He is the true “Sun of righteousness” (Mal.
4:2).

    Water that
ministers to the life of the plant is a symbol of the precious ministry of the
Holy Spirit by means of the Word of God. Ministry like this, day by day, is the
sustaining power of the Christian’s life. It puts freshness and beauty upon it.

    Fresh Air, so
imperative for a healthy condition, speaks of the moral and spiritual
atmosphere in which we live and move day by day, including the people with whom
we enjoy heart-to-heart communion, and the things with which we are occupied.

    We might pause for a
little and take warning concerning these three essentials to all life:

    Sunlight. How
diligently we need to guard ourselves lest there be any neglect of communion of
heart and feeling with our Lord and Saviour. The least neglect in this respect
will show itself soon. It was communion with Him that made the faces of Moses
and Stephen to shine (Exod. 34:35; Acts 6:15). Neglecting this, the lovely
graces and the spirituality of the Christian life will disappear (2 Cor. 3:18;
Eph. 5:8-14).

    Water. There will
be no lack of the enjoyment of the Spirit’s ministry if communion of heart with
Christ is sought and enjoyed. It is the Spirit’s ministry, through the medium
of the Holy Scripture, that puts us in touch with Christ where He now is in the
heavenly glory. This precious ministry to God’s people is as the water to
nourish and sustain the life—to impart bloom, freshness, and beauty, and fill
the life with such fragrance as we should look for from plants in the King’s
garden.

    Fresh Air. No
plant of God’s planting can thrive except in the atmosphere of the new
creation. Where can the devoted child of God find such an atmosphere? How
important the question and what exercise and searching of heart the subject
requires:“For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of
the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world” (1
John 2:16). Well might we search ourselves and ask, “What is the fellowship
that I seek? Is it that of the Father and the Son, or that of the world?”

    How we are drawn to the
little plant to learn from it the serious lessons from the school of God’s creation! Properly learned they will lead the soul away from the
world-bordering spirit of the times in which we live, when the theater, the
opera, the novel, the loose literature, and the card games [and their
modern-day correlates] are often found with the profession of Christianity. As
impure air robs the plant of its freshness, this spirit robs the Christian life
of all spirituality! (Rom. 12:1,2; 2 Cor. 6:14-18; 2 Tim. 2:19-22).

    May we, in view of all
this, seek the bright sunlight, the good water, and the pure atmosphere
of communion with the Father and the Son. Then growth, freshness, and
fruitfulness will result, gladdening both God and His people.

* * * * *

     One great thing we have
to seek is that communion with Christ be as strong as all the doctrines we hold
or teach. Without that, the doctrines themselves will have no force.                      J.N.
Darby

    “A garden inclosed is My
sister, My spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed. Your plants are an
orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire with spikenard,
spikenard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense,
myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices:a fountain of gardens, a well of
living waters, and streams from Lebanon. Awake, O north wind; and come, you
south; blow upon My garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my
Beloved come into His garden, and eat His pleasant fruits. I am come into My
garden, My sister, My spouse:I have gathered My myrrh with my spice; I have
eaten My honeycomb with My honey; I have drunk My wine with My milk:eat, O
friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved” (Cant. 4:12-5:1).

    With these choice words
from the Song of Solomon, the Bridegroom likens His bride to a garden of
delights. Probably, all believers, with hearts opened to understand the
Scriptures, would agree that in the Bridegroom, or the “Beloved,” of the Song
of Solomon we have a beautiful figure of Christ. Most would also concede that
in the interpretation of the Song, the bride sets forth Christ’s earthly
people.

    However, while the strict
interpretation of the bride has Christ’s earthly people in view, we are surely
warranted in making an application to the Church, the heavenly bride of Christ.
Furthermore, if we may discover in this garden the excellencies that Christ
would find in His heavenly bride, do we not at the same time learn what the
love of Christ is looking for in the hearts of those who compose the bride? May
we then, for a little, meditate upon this garden, with its spring, its fruit,
its spices, and its living waters, as describing what the Lord would have our
hearts to be for Himself.

    First, we notice that the
Bridegroom always speaks of the garden as “My garden,” while the bride delights
to own it as “His garden.” “Awake O north wind … blow upon My garden,”
says the Bridegroom. The bride replies, “Let My beloved come into His garden.”
The application is plain:the Lord claims our hearts for Himself. “My son, give
Me your heart,” says the Preacher (Prov. 23:26). “Sanctify the Lord God in your
hearts,” is the exhortation of an apostle (1 Pet. 3:15). Another apostle can
pray that “Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith” (Eph. 3:17).

    It is not simply our time,
our means, our brains, and our busy service that the Lord desires, but first,
and above all, He claims our affections. We may give all our goods to the poor,
and our bodies to be burned, but without love it will profit nothing. The Lord
is still saying to us, “Give Me your heart.”

    “You have left your first
love” was a solemn word indicating that whatever excellencies belonged to the
believers thus addressed, their hearts had ceased to be a garden for the Lord.
As one has said, “A wife may take care of the house and fulfill all her duties
so as to leave nothing undone for which her husband could find fault; but if
her love for him has diminished, will all her service satisfy him if his love
to her remains the same as at first?” (J.N. Darby).

    Above all, then, the Lord
claims the undivided affection of our hearts. The garden must be His garden.
Moreover, if the Lord claims our hearts to be a garden for His delight, they
must have the marks of the garden that is according to His mind.

    As we read this beautiful
description of the garden of the Lord, we note five outstanding features that
set forth in figure what the Lord would have our hearts to be for Himself.
First, the garden of the Lord is an enclosed garden. Secondly, it is a watered
garden, with its spring shut up and its fountain sealed. Thirdly, it is a fruitful
garden—a paradise of pomegranates with precious fruits. Fourthly, it is a fragrant
garden, with trees of frankincense and all the chief spices. Lastly, it is a refreshing
garden from whence “the living waters” flow, and the fragrance of its spices is
carried to the world around.

     A Garden Enclosed.
If the heart is to be kept as a garden for the pleasure of the Lord, it must be
as “a garden enclosed.” This speaks of a heart separate from the world,
preserved from evil and set apart for the Lord.

    May we not say that in
the Lord’s last prayer we learn the desire of His heart that His people should
be as “a garden enclosed”? We hear Him tell the Father that His own are a separate
people, for He can say, “They are not of this world, even as I am not of the
world.” Again, He desires that they may be a preserved people, for He prays,
“Keep them from the evil.” Above all, He prays that they may be a sanctified
people, for He says, “Sanctify them through thy truth” (John 17:14-17).

    Does not the Preacher
exhort us to keep our hearts as “a garden enclosed” when he says, “Keep your
heart more than anything that is guarded” (Prov. 4:23 JND)? Again we do well to
heed the Lord’s own words, “Let your loins be girded about” (Luke 12:35).
Unless the girdle of truth holds in our affections and thoughts, how quickly
our minds will be drawn away by the things of this world, and the heart cease
to be “a garden enclosed.”

    Again, the apostle James
desires that our hearts may be preserved from evil when he warns us, “If you
have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not and lie not
against the truth … for where envying and strife is, there is confusion and
every evil work” (Jas. 3:14-16). Never has there been a scene of confusion and
strife among the people of God that has not had its hidden root—of envy and
strife—in the heart. We may be sure that the heart that entertains bitterness,
envying, and strife will be no garden for the Lord.

    How necessary, then, to
have our hearts kept in separation from the world and preserved from evil.
Nevertheless, the refusal of the world and the flesh will not be enough to
constitute our hearts “a garden enclosed.” The Lord desires that our hearts may
be sanctified, or set apart for His pleasure, by being occupied with the truth
and all that is according to Christ. Does not the apostle Paul set before the
Philippians “a garden enclosed”—a heart sanctified for the Lord—when he says,
“Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest [or noble],
whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are
lovely, whatsoever things are of good report:if there be any virtue and if
there be any praise, think on these things” (Phil. 4:8)?

    If the heart is full of
cares, fretting over wrongs, and full of bitterness towards those who may have
acted badly towards us, if we are entertaining evil imaginations, malicious
thoughts, and vengeful feelings towards a brother, it is very certain our
hearts will be no garden for the Lord.

    If then we would have our
hearts freed from things that defile and turn the heart into a barren waste,
choking the garden with weeds, let us follow the instruction of the apostle
Paul when he tells us, “Be careful [or anxious] for nothing; but in everything
by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known
unto God” (Phil. 4:6). Having, like Hannah of old, poured out our hearts before
the Lord and unburdened our minds of all the cares, sorrows, and trials that were
pressing upon our spirits, we shall find that “the peace of God, that passes
all understanding, shall keep our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (verse
7). Thus set free from all that might come in between the soul and God, our
hearts will be at liberty to enjoy the things of Christ, and our minds free to
“think on these things”—these holy and pure things that should mark one whose
heart is “a garden enclosed.”

    A Watered Garden.
The heart that is set apart for the Lord will have its hidden source of
refreshment and joy. It will be a garden with “a spring shut up [and] a
fountain sealed” (Cant. 4:12). A spring is an unfailing supply; a fountain
rises up to its source. The prophet could say of one who walks according to the
mind of the LORD that his soul shall be “like a watered garden, and like a
spring of water, whose waters fail not” (Isa. 58:11). To the woman of Sychar
the Lord spoke of giving “a fountain of water springing up into everlasting
life,” to be “in” the believer. The world is entirely dependent upon surrounding
circumstances for its passing joy; the believer has a spring of joy within—the
hidden life lived in the power of the Holy Spirit.

    As the spring of life,
the Holy Spirit meets all our spiritual needs by guiding us into “all truth”;
as the fountain of life, He engages our hearts with Christ above. The Lord can
say, “The Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He shall testify of Me”
(John 15:26)—Christ in His new place in the glory. Thus as the Spring, He
refreshes our souls with the truth; as the Fountain springing up to its source,
He engages our hearts with Christ.

    Let us, however, remember
that the spring, which is the source of blessing, is “a spring shut up”
and the fountain is “a fountain sealed.” Does this not remind us that
the source of blessing in the believer is sealed to this world, and wholly
apart from the flesh? The Lord speaks of the Comforter as One whom “the world
cannot receive, because it sees Him not, neither knows Him; but you know Him
for He dwells with you and shall be in you” (John 14:17). Again we read, “The
flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are
contrary the one to the other” (Gal. 5:17).

    Alas! we may mind the
things of the flesh and turn aside to the world, only to find we grieve the
Spirit so that our hearts, instead of being as a watered garden, become but a
dry and barren waste.

    A Fruitful Garden.
The “spring” and the “fountain” will turn the garden of the Lord into a
fruitful garden—“an orchard of pomegranates with precious fruits” (Cant. 4:13).
The ungrieved Spirit will produce in our hearts “the fruit of the Spirit”
which, the apostle tells us, “is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness,
goodness, faith, meekness, temperance [or self-control]” (Gal. 5:22,23). What,
indeed, are these precious fruits of the Spirit but the reproduction of the
character of Christ in the believer? The fountain, rising up to its source,
occupies with Christ and His excellencies; thus, beholding “the glory of the
Lord, [we] are changed into the same image from glory to glory” (2 Cor. 3:18).
Thus the heart becomes a garden of the Lord bearing precious fruit for the
delight of His heart.

    A Fragrant Garden.
Not only is the garden of the Lord a garden of precious fruits, but a garden of
spices from which sweet odors arise. In Scripture, fruit speaks of the excellencies
of Christ, but the spices, with their fragrance, speak of worship that has
Christ for its object. In worship there is no thought of receiving blessing
from Christ, but of bringing the homage of our hearts to Christ. When the wise
men from the East found themselves in the presence of “the young Child,” they
fell down and “worshiped Him,” and “presented unto Him gifts:gold and
frankincense and myrrh” (Matt. 2:11). When Mary anointed the feet of Jesus with
“a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly” (John 12:3), she was not, as on
other occasions, at His feet as a receiver to get instruction, or to find
sympathy in her sorrow; she was there as a giver to render the worship
of a heart filled with the sense of His blessedness. It was good to be at His
feet to hear His word, and, again, to be at His feet to receive comfort in
sorrow; but in neither case do we read of the ointment with its odor. But when
she was at His feet as a worshiper, with her precious ointment, we read, “The
whole house was filled with the odor of the ointment” (John 12:1-3).

    The Philippian saints in
their financial gift to the apostle may indeed have shown forth some of the
excellencies of Christ—His comfort of love and compassions—thus bringing forth
fruit that would abound to their account. In addition, there was in their gift
the spirit of sacrifice and worship which was as “an odor of a sweet smell, a
sacrifice acceptable, well pleasing to God” (Phil. 2:1; 4:17,18).

    In our day, if our hearts
are to be a garden of the Lord, let us not forget that the Lord not only looks
for the precious fruit of the Spirit, reproducing in us something of His lovely
traits, but also the spirit of worship that rises up to Him as a sweet odor.

    A Refreshing Garden.
Lastly, the Lord would have His garden to be a source of refreshment to the
world around—a garden from whence flow the “living waters.” Thus the Lord can
speak of the believer, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, as being a source of
blessing to a needy world, as He says, “Out of his belly shall flow rivers of
living water” (John 7:38,39).

    Thus we learn from the
Song of Solomon that the Lord would gladly possess our hearts as a garden of
delights for Himself. He stands at the door of our hearts and knocks, for He
desires to come in and dwell within our hearts. If we are slow to let Him in,
He may say, as the Bridegroom in the Song, “Awake, O north wind; and come you
south; blow upon My garden, that the spices thereof may flow out.” He may allow
adverse circumstances, trials and sorrows, in order to drive us to Himself, so
that we may say like the bride, “Let my Beloved come into His garden” (Cant.
4:16).

    If we open to Him we
shall experience the truth of His own words, “If any man hear My voice and open
the door, I will come in to him and will sup with him, and he with Me” (Rev.
3:20). In like spirit, when the bride says, “Let my Beloved come into his
garden,” the Bridegroom at once responds, “I am come into My garden, My sister,
My spouse:I have gathered My myrrh with My spice; I have eaten My honeycomb
with My honey” (Cant. 5:1).

    Here is a summary of what
we have learned from this passage in the Song of Solomon:

    1. If the heart of the
believer is kept separate from the world, preserved from evil, and set apart
for the Lord, it will become like “a garden enclosed.”

    2. In that garden will be
found a spring of secret joy and refreshment that, like a fountain, rises to
its source.

    3. The fountain,
springing up to its source, will bring forth precious fruit, the excellencies
of Christ.

    4. The fruit that speaks
of the moral traits of Christ in the heart of the believer, will lead to
worship that rises up as a sweet odor to the heart of Christ.

    5. The heart that goes
out in worship to Christ will become a source of blessing to the world around.

    In the light of these
Scriptures we may well pray the prayer of the apostle Paul when he bows his
knees to the Father and asks “that He would grant you, according to the riches
of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man;
that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith” (Eph. 3:14-17).

  When the disciples asked
the Lord, “Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” (Matt. 18:1) it is
evident that they were not expecting an answer such as the Lord gave them. They
needed to be instructed in the “kingdom of heaven,” and the Lord, after His own
perfect manner, teaches them His thoughts of what true greatness is.

  “And Jesus called a little
child unto Him, and set him in the midst of them, and said, Verily I say
unto you, Except you be converted and become as little children, you
shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” (18:2,3).

  These are stirring and
soul-searching words! What a rebuke to the pride and haughtiness so native to
our hearts! God has decreed that “no flesh [shall] glory in His presence” (1
Cor. 1:29). “Except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3).

  How rare a thing it is, in
these days of “great men” and “great things,” to find those whose character
answers to that of a “little child,” even though quite as intelligent as any.
Yet the Lord assures us with His own “verily” that none other shall be found in
His kingdom.

  Man’s way ever since the
fall has been to “get to the top of the heap,” “to be first,” to “look out for
number one.” It was this wretched principle which the arch-usurper suggested to
man in the garden when he said, “You shall be as God” (Gen. 3:5). Man, alas,
acquiesced in it, and has faithfully followed it until this day.

  Self-sufficiency!
Self-importance! What hateful things to behold in others, and how often
manifest unconsciously in oneself! What was it that led Cain to slay his
brother Abel? He was enraged when God gave Abel the place of favor. And why did
God favor Abel? Because he humbled himself before God, taking a position before
Him of one who was unworthy, and seeking His face through the merits of a
Substitute. Cain, on the other hand, expected God to recognize him and his
gifts by virtue of merits in himself, and when God refused to allow Cain
thus to glory in His presence, he wreaked his vengeance on his meek and lowly
brother.

  Thus early in man’s history
did God permit the fruit of this principle to manifest itself. And yet men
applaud each other when they outdo their fellows in reaching up to
positions of prominence and superiority. But, thanks be to God, there will be
nothing of this kind of “greatness” in that kingdom over which the Son
of Man shall sway the scepter. There, all the subjects will be in character
like Him who will rule over them. All in that kingdom will be found conformed
to the image of the Son, “that He might be the Firstborn among many brethren”
(Rom. 8:29). There all will be as “little children,” “for of such is the
kingdom of heaven.” This divine saying is not to be stripped of its spiritual
meaning, however true it may be literally. “Whosoever therefore shall
humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom
of heaven” (Matt. 18:4). The very form of this expression shows that there will
be nothing like competition found in Christ’s kingdom. All who thus
humble themselves are equally great. There is no rivalry there.

  We do not find in God’s
history of His people any who were “giants.” There were some of these abnormal
persons both before and after the flood; but they were always found to be
enemies of God and of His people, and their destruction under God’s hand is a
rebuke to man’s greatness and pride. Neither were the children of Israel renowned for their physical, intellectual, commercial, or military greatness. Indeed
they were in many respects the weakest nation on the earth; but this very fact
made their dependence upon God the more evident, and He delighted to be known
as the “God of Israel,” yes, even as the “God of Jacob.”

  The very “Lord of Glory”
has linked Himself with those who have abased themselves in His presence.
“Whoso shall receive one such little child in My name receives Me”
(Matt. 18:5). The Lord is evidently referring in this saying to those who go
forth with His testimony, having no human credentials, nothing but His name to
show to men as their authority for going forth. To go forth in one’s own name,
one must be somewhat “great” in men’s eyes, but this greatness is not of Him
who says, “I am meek and lowly in heart” (Matt. 11:29)and “I am among you as He
that serves” (Luke 22:27). It savors rather of him who will “come in his own
name,” claiming the honors that belong to the Lord Jesus Christ.

  What an honor to be sent
forth by the Lord Himself, the Sovereign of the universe! See to it, beloved
servants of the Lord Jesus, that His own lowly character be found in you in all
your ways with men, in all your appeals to the world for His sake, in all your
ministry of love among His sheep. Oh to faithfully represent Him who humbled
Himself even to the death of the cross, that He might exalt those who, counting
themselves nothing, put all their trust in Him!

  Beware lest you cause one
of the least of His own to stumble. Oh how watchful we need to be, lest in any
way we exalt self and set a false standard for Christ’s “little ones.” A child
readily imitates a parent or an older brother or sister, and the people of God
are unconsciously molded, to a large extent, by those who are their spiritual
guides. What a responsibility therefore rests upon those who are the pastors
and teachers of Christ’s flock, and what care is needed lest they should cause
“one of these little ones to stumble.”

  On the other hand, what a
blessed place to be in as one of the Lord’s “little ones!” To have the
assurance of His care, His protection, His grace and His love. The Lord here
warns any against despising those who thus look up to Him in true dependence.
He says, “Take heed that you despise not one of these little ones” (a thing we
are apt to do if puffed up with a feeling of our own importance), “for I say
unto you that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of My Father who
is in heaven” (Matt. 18:10).

  A comparison of this
Scripture with Numbers 12 will probably make clear what is in the Lord’s mind.
Aaron and Miriam had despised and spoken against Moses on account of his
marrying an Ethiopian. Moses meekly bears their cruel words in the true spirit
of one of the Lord’s “little ones”; but the Lord answers for him, and shows
them that Moses has an intimacy with Himself to which they were
strangers. Why then did they not fear to speak against one whom the Lord so
honored? It seems to be a parallel here. Those whom men despise for their
lowliness and self-abasement have an intimacy with the Father to which the
world’s “great” ones are utter strangers.

  The Lord now speaks of
these “little ones” as those who have acknowledged themselves to have “gone
astray” like lost sheep. It has given Him more joy to recover one of
them than for ninety-nine who, in their own estimation, went not astray (Matt.
18:12,13). If God could rejoice in Adam unfallen, how much more over those whom
He has redeemed to Himself from the distance and condition they were in by the
fall. Has He not as the Good Shepherd come to seek and save the lost? Those who
have owned themselves lost, and trusted as their Saviour Him who went to the
cross for them, are the “little ones” over whom He rejoices. They have given
Him more joy than all the so-called righteous who went not astray, and it is
not the Father’s will that any one of these “little ones” should perish (Matt.
18:14). The self-righteous will perish, for they have no Saviour. They are
sufficient to themselves.

  In closing, what we have
said here in no sense denies that the Lord included the little children in the
literal sense of the word. But He so speaks as to take in all who humble
themselves in His sight and put their trust in Him.

  (From Help and Food,
Vol. 31.)

    “Whom have I in heaven but Thee? and there is none
upon earth that I desire besides Thee” (Psa. 73:25).

    Thus speaks the Bride whose feet have trod

    The chamber of eternal rest,

    The secret treasure-house of God,

    Where God is manifest:

    “Created things, arise and flee,

    Ye are but sorrow and care to me.”

    This wide, wide world, so rich and fair,

    Thou sure canst find thy solace there?

    “Nay, ’neath the flowers the serpent glides

    Amidst the bravery envy hides.”

    And is not heaven enough for thee?

    “Were God not there, ’twere a tomb to Me.”

    O bride, the saints in glory shine;

    Can they not fill this heart of thine?

    “Nay, were the Lamb their Light withdrawn,

    The saints in gloom would weep and mourn.”

    Can the Son of God not comfort thee?

    “Yea, Christ and none besides for me.

    For mine is a soul of noble birth,

    That needeth more than heaven and earth;

    And the breath of God must draw me in

    To the Heart that was riven for my sin.

    For the Sun of the Godhead pours His rays

    Through the crystal depths of His Manhood’s grace,

    And the Spirit sent by Father and Son

    Hath filled my soul, and my heart hath won;

    And the longing and love are past and gone,

    For all that is less than God alone—

    God only, sweet to this heart of mine,

    O wondrous death that is life divine!”

     (From
Hymns of ter Steegen and Others, Vol. 2.)

    Why are we having an
issue on sowing seed, gardening, and fruit-bearing in January, of all months,
and on the heels of a horticultural issue in 2001 about pruning branches and
the like?

    1. January is when
serious gardeners in northern climates begin receiving seed catalogs in the
mail.

    2. Our readers who live
in southern climates and south of the equator may already be gardening when
they receive this issue.

    3. Those of us who are
kept indoors by the snow and cold of winter may enjoy more quiet time during
this season to cultivate our spiritual lives as gardens of the Lord.

     4. In the March-April
2001 issue of Words of Truth the emphasis was on God’s chastening of
believers (corresponding to pruning branches of a vine or fruit tree) to help
increase our fruitfulness. In the present issue the focus is more on what we as
believers are and should be to the Lord as His garden, for His joy and
pleasure.                   The Editor

    Adam and Eve had it easy, didn’t they? They didn’t
have to try to figure out whom they were supposed to marry; they were literally
made for each other—by God. Christian young people today who want to
find the right marriage partner—the one God has prepared for them—may find it
more difficult than did the first bride and groom.

Examples in Scripture of

Premarital Interactions

    Let us look at some examples in the Bible of
“boy-meets-girl” situations and man-woman interactions before marriage; then we
shall try to draw some lessons and principles from these examples for Christian
young people today.

    1. Isaac was content to let Abraham’s servant,
through God’s guiding hand, find a bride for him (Gen. 24).

    2. Jacob helped his cousin (and future wife)
Rachel water her sheep (Gen. 29:10,11).

    3. Dinah “went out to see the daughters of the
land” and got raped (Gen. 34:1,2).

    4. Moses protected the seven daughters of Reuel
as they watered their sheep; as a reward, he was given one of the daughters,
Zipporah, to be his wife (Exod. 2:17_21).

    5. Samson’s relationship with Timnath was a
selfish one—based on her pleasing him (Judg. 14:1-10).

    6. Samson supposedly “loved” Delilah but didn’t
have an open, honest relationship with her, and it destroyed both the
relationship and himself (Judg. 16:4_21).

    7. Ruth was a Moabite whose Israelite husband
died. Boaz learned of Ruth’s loyalty to Naomi—her mother_in_law and Boaz’s
cousin-in_law—and so he encouraged Ruth to glean in his field and provided
protection for her. Ruth had a reputation as a virtuous woman and this
attracted her to Boaz (Ruth 2,3).

    8. David committed adultery with Bathsheba while
she was married to Uriah, and then had Uriah killed so he could marry Bathsheba
and cover up her pregnancy. The consequences of these sinful actions haunted
David the rest of his life (2 Sam. 11-18).

    9. Joseph felt disgraced and nearly broke his
engagement when he discovered that Mary, his bride, was pregnant (Matt. 1:19;
Luke 1:27_35).

Dating and Courtship Today

    The following questions often are asked about dating:
How old should a girl be before going out alone with a boy? How late should a
couple be allowed to stay out? Should kissing be permitted on the first date?
any date? Is it okay for a Christian to date a non_Christian? We won’t try to
answer all of these questions because there are other, more basic, questions
that need to be asked about dating:Is dating scriptural at all? What purpose
does dating serve in discovering God’s choice for my marriage partner?
Does dating tend to turn one’s attention away from (1) seeking God’s
will concerning a lifetime partner, and (2) devoting oneself to growing in the
Word of God and in likeness to Christ so as to be the best possible marriage
partner for the one of God’s choice?

    Let us see what we can learn about dating from the
scriptural examples given earlier and from scriptural principles.

    1. Scripture forbids marriage between a believer
in Christ and an unbeliever because it is an unequal yoke (2 Cor. 6:14). The
believer and unbeliever have totally different goals and objectives in life
which their love for each other will never be able to overcome. Therefore, a
believer should never enter into a relationship that could lead to marriage
with an unbeliever. If an unbeliever asks you for a date, make a counter
invitation to gospel meeting, Bible study, or a discussion of the Scriptures at
your home with you and your parents.

    2. Scripture also instructs us to marry “only
in the Lord” (1 Cor. 7:39). This means that a woman who loves the Lord and is
seeking with all her heart to know and do God’s will in every area of her life
should not enter into a serious relationship with a man who claims to be
a born-again Christian but shows no interest in engaging in Christ-centered
discussions or activities.

    3. Going out and looking for a fellow or girl or a fun
time or a romantic evening often leads to disaster (Dinah was raped; Samson’s
marriage with Timnath was very short-lived; Samson’s friendship with Delilah
led to the loss of his strength; David’s voyeurism led to his committing adultery
and murder; Bathsheba was inviting trouble when she bathed in view of nearby
residents.

    4. Several women in the Bible were discovered by
men—eventually leading to marriage—while they (the women) were engaged in their
daily household responsibilities or helping their parents. These include
Rebekah, Rachel, and Zipporah when they came to the public well to draw water,
and Ruth when she was gleaning in Boaz’s field to provide food for herself and
her mother_in_law. Abigail impressed David at their first meeting because of
her industriousness (she prepared a huge meal for David and his men) and
because of her fearless, faithful, but gentle rebuke to David which kept him
from shedding innocent blood (1 Sam. 25:24-42).

    5. The wife of Proverbs 31 was attractive to her
husband because he could safely trust her (verse 11), she consistently did good
things for him (verse 12), she worked diligently each day to provide the family
with food and clothing (verses 13_22), her labors resulted in enough additional
clothing to sell (verse 24), she was not selfish but helped the poor and needy
as well as her own household (verse 20), she habitually spoke words of wisdom
and kindness (verse 26), and she feared the Lord (verse 30). She did not
require physical beauty to be attractive and highly respected (verse 30).

    6. Sex before marriage is forbidden by God (Prov.
5:1-14; 6:20-35; Matt. 15:19; Acts 15:20; 1 Cor. 6:18; Eph. 5:3; 1 Thess. 4:3)
and can lead to disastrous consequences. It was an expected thing in Israel that a bride be found to be a virgin on her wedding night (Deut. 22:13-21; Matt.
1:19). Therefore, avoid any and every situation that might give room to
temptation. Don’t trust your ability to triumph over temptation. Peter
confidently claimed, “Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison and to
death” (Luke 22:33). Pray, “Lead us not into temptation” (Matt. 6:13), and then
cooperate with God by not giving temptation any opportunity to assert itself.
Instead of going out on “dates,” just the two of you alone, try taking walks in
public places. Or plan activities at home where you can be doing things
together (like baking cookies, washing the car, making a puzzle, playing a
game, or studying the Bible together), are free to talk together, can interact
with other family members (perhaps your future in_laws), and thus not be far
away from other people who can serve as a buffer zone against temptation.

    7. Some may ask:“Isn’t sex okay if we love each
other, particularly if we are planning to get married anyway?” The Scriptures
and arguments in the preceding section still apply. Mary’s purity during her
engagement to Joseph qualified her for great blessing from God. God will also
bless all young men and women who remain virgins until marriage.

    8. Scripture places a high value on being a
“One-Woman Man” and a “One-Man-Woman” (1 Tim. 3:2; 5:9). This doesn’t forbid
breaking an engagement if it becomes clear that it is not God’s will for the
two to marry. But it does suggest that it is not God’s purpose for His children
to be flitting from one date to another or one relationship to another.

    9. Follow the example of Abraham and his servant
who counted upon “the LORD God of heaven” to provide just the right wife for
Isaac. Pray much and experience the blessed result, “I being in the way, the
LORD led me” (Gen. 24:27). Girls, don’t try to attract a potential husband by
your beauty (or attempts to be beautiful or sexy); fellows, don’t try to
attract a potential wife by your handsome looks, muscular build, or athletic ability.
If you marry someone who is only attracted by your youthful good looks, what is
your mate going to do when your beauty fades, the wrinkles appear, the muscles
lose their tone, and the fat begins to build around the middle?

    10. Take advantage of school lunch hours,
athletic events, Bible conferences, Christian youth groups, retreats, and other
large group events to get to know and be known by different young people. Be
diligent in your school studies; be diligent in carrying out your household
duties and responsibilities (remember the three R’s—Rebekah, Rachel and Ruth);
be conscientious, honest, dependable, and responsible in your employment (Rom.
12:11); be respectful to your parents (Eph. 6:2); dress modestly (fellows too!)
so that those of the opposite sex will not be overly attracted to your body (1
Tim. 2:9; 1 Pet. 3:3,4); exhibit the nine_fold fruit of the Spirit (Gal.
5:22,23); be faithful in speaking of your Lord and Saviour (2 Tim. 4:5) in your
conversations with other young people. You may not attract Handsome Hunks and
Homecoming Queens this way, but you might attract the attention of a
serious-minded, dedicated Christian who is God’s choice for a life_partner for
you.

      11. Introduce
your friends to your parents and give them an opportunity to get to know your
friends. Ask for your parents’ approval and advice before pursuing any
relationship with one of the opposite sex (Prov. 6:20_24; 13:1; 30:17).

    “A sower went out to sow
his seed:and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down,
and the fowls of the air devoured it. And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as
it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. And some fell
among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. And other fell
on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had
said these things, he cried, He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Luke
8:5-8).

    Here is how the Lord
Jesus explained this parable to His disciples:“The seed is the Word of God.”
Let us be clear about this. We are to give God’s Word, not our own thoughts and
imaginations. The seed is the Word and those who are children of God should sow
the seed. What about the different classes of hearers? “Those by the way side
are those who hear; then comes the devil and takes away the Word out of their
hearts, lest they should believe and be saved” (Luke 8:12). They listen
casually, pay attention for a while, and then become occupied with other
things. “Then comes the devil and takes away the Word out of their hearts, lest
they should believe and be saved.” You remember the apostle Paul’s words to the
Philippian jailor, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved”
(Acts 16:31). People say that it is too simple, that it is too easy a way. One
cannot be saved just by be­lieving the gospel. But even the devil knows that
you can! We are told that “he who believes on the Son has everlasting life”
(John 3:36). Do you object to this? Stop and think what has trans­pired that
you might have everlasting life by believ­ing. “For God so loved the world that
He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not
perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). You see you cannot separate the
last part from the first part of that verse. God has already given His only Son
to settle the sin question. “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,
even so must the Son of Man be lifted up” (John 3:14). The Son of Man had to be
lifted up on the cross in order that you might be saved. The devil knows this,
and that is why he tries to take the Word away from you. That is why we who are
servants of God are so eager to have you trust Christ at once because we know
how the devil will bring in other things to try to get you not to believe.

    “Those on the rock are
those who, when they hear, receive the Word with joy; and these have no root,
which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away” (Luke 8:13). It
is not always a good sign when people seem to receive the Word with joy. A dear
friend of mine told me of a young woman who was frivolous and careless all
during a meeting one evening. When he returned the next night some­one came up
and said, “You remember that girl who was in the service last evening; well,
she has found peace at last.” The preacher inquired, “Did she ever find
trouble?” The servant of God must present to the people the truth of God so
that they may see their need of repentance; then when they judge themselves in
the sight of God, He gives peace when they be­lieve the Word. But when people
receive the Word only with joy, it is often like the soil in which seed is sown
which is just barely covering the top of the rocks. It is generally an evidence
of shallowness when people who have known no real exercise about their sins
profess to receive the message of the gospel with gladness. God’s way is to
wound that He may heal (Deut. 32:39). Men need to see their need in order to
appreciate the remedy. It is a great mistake to try to lead souls to make a
profession of faith in Christ who have never known what it is to face their
sins in the presence of God. This is the root-cause of much of the falling away
after so-called “revivals,” where many, under emotional stress, or
over-persuasion, have made a profession of faith, but with no exercise of
conscience or repent­ance.

    “And that which fell
among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with
cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection”
(Luke 8:14). They have heard and really have been quite concerned, but they are
so occupied with the cares and pleasures of this life that they bring no fruit
to perfection. These are people who have been interested to some extent in the
gospel message, but are far more interested in the things of this life such as
pleasure-seeking, money-making, and similar things. Many of these objects may
be innocent enough in themselves, but if you become so occupied with them that
you forget your responsibility to God, you will be sorry all through eternity
that you did not put the things of the Lord first.

    “But that on the good ground
are they who, in an honest and good heart, having heard the Word, keep it and
bring forth fruit with patience” Luke 8:15). “An honest and good heart”! Does
not the Bible say that “the heart is deceitful above all things and desper­ately
wicked” (Jer. 17:9)? What then is meant by a good and honest heart? It is
referring to a person who says, “I know I have been wrong and occupied with the
wrong things, but I am going to face these things and acknowledge my sins and
confess them to God.” When a man takes that stand, then he is honest before
God.

    When a man condemns
himself and says, “I have sinned,” then the rest is easy. At last he has
reached the place where God can justify him.

    The four classes of
hearers are found wherever the gospel is preached. Some pay no attention and
the devil plucks away the good seed. Some give apparent heed, but there is no
realization of their guilty condition before God. They accept the gospel
mentally, even gladly, but soon give evidence that there was no exercise of
conscience. Others are seri­ously perturbed and appear to be earnest believers,
but the things of this world are soon seen to be far more important in their
eyes than spiritual realities. A fourth group face their true condition before
God, confess their sinfulness and acknowledge their guilt. Trusting in Christ
they enter into peace, a peace that abides, the fruits of which are seen in the
life.

    The seed is the same in
each instance. It is the attitude of the hearer that is different. Some are
utterly careless, others effervescent and easily moved, but vacillating. Others
again are in earnest to begin with, but allow other interests to crowd out
spiritual things. Then there are those who are seeking to know God and are
ready to receive His Word when it is presented to them. These bear fruit to
perfection, and so glorify the Father. Fruit-bearing is the proof of spiritual
life. If there be no fruit, profession is a mere sham, as the after­-experience
will soon make manifest.

    (From Addresses on the
Gospel of Luke; used by permission of Loizeaux Brothers, Inc., Neptune, NJ.)

    “When you shall besiege a
city a long time, in making war against it to take it, you shall not destroy
the trees thereof by forcing an ax against them; for you may eat of them, and
you shall not cut them down (for the tree of the field is man’s life) to employ
them in the siege; only the trees which you know that they be not trees for
meat, you shall destroy and cut them down; and you shall build bulwarks against
the city that makes war with you, until it be subdued” (Deut. 20:19,20).

    Many are the beneficial
lessons that the Holy Spirit has put before us by means of the instruction
given to Israel. We are familiar with the fact that the things that happened
unto them were our types, and written for our learning. And such is the passage
quoted above. Just as, when God com­manded Israel saying, “You shall not muzzle
the ox that treads out the corn,” He had His own servants in mind (as so
clearly shown us by the apostle Paul in 1 Cor. 9:9-14), so here may we not see
pictured by the “trees good for food,” these same servants in another aspect,
and made the objects of the Lord’s particular care?

    The children of Israel were admonished against all reck­lessness and waste in felling standing timber when
they besieged the cities of the land. They were carefully to ascer­tain the
character of each particular tree before venturing to lift an ax against it.
All fruit trees were to be spared because they were part of God’s gracious
provision for min­istering food to His people.

    May we not say that God
would have us make the same distinction today? There are trees to the very
roots of which the ax must be laid; trees that are either mere cumberers of the
ground, or producing only that which is noxious and poisonous. Such are the
present day advocates of human righteousness as a basis of acceptance with God,
or the propagators of wicked teachings that deny the very founda­tions of the
faith. Soldiers of the Lord of Hosts may be assured of His approval when they
use the ax against these—exposing their fallacies. “Every plant,” said the Lord
Jesus, “that My heavenly Father has not planted shall be rooted up.” To oppose
fearlessly such evil teachers and denounce their doctrines and practices is in
accord with both the Spirit of the Lord Jesus and His apostles. None reproved
hypocritical pretensions more scathingly than Christ Him­self. No modern
controversialist, with any claim to piety, would be likely to use stronger
words than those of John the Baptist when he sternly arraigned the “generation
of vipers” of his day. Tremendously telling are the denunciations of the
apostle Paul when necessity compelled him to meet the errors of false teachers
troubling the early Church. John, Peter, and Jude did not hesitate to decry the
antichrists, the purveyors of damnable heresies, and the ungodly men “turning
the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and deny­ing the only Lord God and
our Lord Jesus Christ,” who were creeping in among the saints and seeking to
overthrow their most holy faith.

    But, be it noted, those
so solemnly accused and vigor­ously combated were not erring saints or brethren
with mistaken views, but they were relentless “enemies of the cross of Christ,
whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, who mind earthly things.”
And wherever such are found today, and are manifestly proven to be such, they
should be dealt with in the same way.

    But there is grave danger
lest the ax be lifted up against another class altogether—the fruit-bearing trees—whom
the Lord has forbidden our judging or condemning. Every fruit tree is the
object of His tender solicitude. Such are truly born of the Spirit, and genuine
lovers of our Lord Jesus Christ. They may at times, in their zeal for God, or
their earnest passion for the souls of lost men, overstep bounds and use
methods of which their more conservative or better instructed brethren disapprove,
but they are the Lord’s ser­vants and He has said, “Who are you who judges
another man’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls.”

    The spirit of criticism
may lead to very unhappy results, and often one is in danger of finding himself
arrayed against people and movements which God is owning and blessing. The
utmost care is required to distinguish things that differ—that what is of God
and what is of Satan may not come into the same sweeping condemnation. And our
Lord Him­self has given us the rule whereby we may make this dis­tinction. He
has said, “By their fruits you shall know them.” A corrupt tree produces
corrupt fruit, whereas a good tree brings forth good fruit. In either case, the
fruit may not always be the same in quantity or quality, but it will be either
deleterious or “good for food.” Because healthful fruit is sometimes small, or
not up to the standard, one does not necessarily chop down the tree, but
rather, wisely uses the pruning knife and purges it that it may bring forth
more and better fruit.

    This pruning process is
one that all God’s fruit trees have at times to undergo. Often He uses one
servant to correct and help another; but this is accomplished far better by a
kindly personal admonition, or a brotherly effort to instruct, than by unkind
criticism and a hard judging spirit. A beautiful example of this gracious care
for one of God’s fruit trees is given us in the Book of Acts, in the case of
Apollos whose earnestness and love for the Scriptures ap­pealed to the hearts
of Priscilla and Aquila, though he was not at all up to the standard of New
Testament truth. He had not gotten beyond the baptism of John. But this godly
couple, instead of exposing his ignorance to others, or round­ly denouncing him
as a legalist without true gospel light, took him into their home, and there in
true Christian love expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly. What
precious and abiding fruit was the result!

    It is to be regretted
that the same gracious spirit does not always characterize us when we meet
with, or hear of, those who are manifesting similar devotedness, while igno­rant
of much that we may value. How senseless the folly that leads us often to array
ourselves against such servants of Christ, in place of manifesting a godly
concern for them. We thoughtlessly lift our axes against God’s fruit trees and
would destroy where we might save. Many a one who is ignorant of such precious
truth is nevertheless bearing fruit in the salvation of souls and the refreshment
of the spirits of believers; while, on the other hand, one may have a very
clear intellectual grasp of divine principles and understand much that is
called high truth, who produces very little of this same blessed fruit.

    Oh, beloved brethren, let
us keep our axes sharp for the deadly trees of sin and fundamental error that
abound on every side; but shall we not seek grace from God that we may have
spiritual discernment to refrain from damaging in any way trees that are good
for food?

    Satan and his emissaries
can be depended upon to be­stow enough abuse on real Christians and true
servants of the Lord Jesus without their fellow servants joining in the same
unworthy business. Let us not forget the words already quoted:“Who are you who
judges another man’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls.” And the
Holy Spirit goes on to say, “Yes, he shall be upheld; for God is able to make
him stand” (Rom. 14:4).

    (From Help and Food, Vol.34.)

  Have you ever played King
of the Hill—especially you who once were boys? Those who live in northern
climates play it on snowbanks, while others may play on mounds of dirt at
excavation sites. The object of the game is to be first to get to the top of
the hill, and then to keep from being dragged down by others who want to be
“King of the Hill.”

  Doesn’t that sound like
fun—being at the top? But wait a minute. Is being at the top a safe place to
be? Do the other players respect the one who is at the top? “Wherefore let him
who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Cor. 10:12).

  When we play a game, which
do we prefer—to win, to lose, or does it not make any difference whether we win
or lose? Why is it that most of us prefer to win? be “King of the Hill? be #1
in our class or department or on our team? Is it not the pride of our heart? “I
say … to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly
than he ought to think” (Rom. 12:3).

  Do people like you better,
do you get more respect, if you win the tennis match or the Scrabble game?
Sometimes the losers say you cheated, or were just lucky and got all the good
breaks. They let you know that it certainly was not your superior skill or
intelligence that beat them. Or, turning it around, do you always have high
respect for those who just defeated you or your team? Do you “rejoice with
those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep” (Rom. 12:15)?

  The King of the Hill game
has been around for a long time. It is described a couple of times in the
Bible:“How are you fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!… For
you have said in your heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne
above the stars of God…. I will be like the most High” (Isa. 14:12-14). “God
knows that in the day you eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and you
shall be as God, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree
was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be
desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave
also unto her husband with her; and he did eat” (Gen. 3:5,6).

  God is the highest of all,
#1, the Creator, all-powerful, all-knowing. Is God respected and liked by all
His created beings because He is #1? No! Both Satan and Eve wanted the place
that God Himself occupied.

  Have you ever played
King of the Hill with God, like Satan and Eve? The following verses may help
you to answer this question:“Every man did that which was right in his own
eyes” (Judg. 21:25). “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every
one to his own way” (Isa. 53:6). “But his citizens hated Him, and sent a
message after Him, saying, We will not have this Man to reign over us” (Luke
19:14,27). “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23).
In a sense, we throw God off His throne whenever we sin and do our will
in opposition or without regard to His perfect will. We were all at one
time the enemies of God (Rom. 5:10; Col. 1:21).

  People say, “I have never
hurt anyone.” But you hurt God every time you challenge His authority. Have you
sought to do all things to glorify God throughout your lifetime? Or have you
ever turned to your own way? done your own thing? said “No!” to your parents
when you were a child? whined “Why can’t I?” or just did what you wanted to do
anyway when you were a teenager? Sadly, if we are truly honest with ourselves,
we all will have to confess that we have pushed God off His throne and sat on
it ourselves—many times!

  Now here is the situation:
God, the true King of the Hill, the Creator and Sustainer of the universe (Gen.
1; Col. 1:17; Heb. 1:3), the Creator of mankind (Gen. 1:26,27), found Himself
disrespected, despised (Mal. 1:2,6), and reproached (Psa. 69:9) by man whom He
created. What should He do? God decided to do something so awesome, so
stupendous, so amazing, so wonderful, that people would want to respect
Him, obey Him, serve Him, worship Him. What did He do? Did He send a ball of
fire to kill a third of people of the world? No. In fact, the Bible says that
God will do just that during the Great Tribulation, and even then, “the
rest of the [people] who were not killed by these plagues yet repented not”
(Rev. 9:18-20).

  What did God do? He sent
His Son. And His Son humbled Himself, allowed wicked men to take Him, mock
taunt, beat, strip, falsely accuse Him, and nail Him to the cross. Notice that
not once did He say to His enemies, “You can’t get away with this! I’m King of
the Hill!” (see 1 Pet. 2:23). Rather he prayed for them, “Father, forgive them,
for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).

  Yes, Christ was—and is—the
King of the Hill. But He willingly, voluntarily, came down from His throne in
heaven—for your sake and mine! “I am counted with those who go down into the
pit; I am as a man who has no strength…. Thou hast laid Me in the lowest pit,
in darkness, in the deeps” (Psa. 88:4,6). “You know the grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you
through His poverty might be rich” (2 Cor. 8:9). “Let this mind be in you,
which was also in Christ Jesus:Who, being in the form of God, thought it not
robbery to be equal with God:but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon
Him the form of a Servant, and was made in the likeness of men … and became
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Phil. 2:5-8). “We see Jesus
who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death” (Heb.
2:9).

  What is so special about
God’s Son going to the cross?

  1. He was the co-eternal,
co-equal Son of God (John 1:1; 10:30).

  2. He had the power to
escape—but didn’t (Matt. 26:53).

  3. His sufferings were so
great and terrible (Psa. 22; 40; 69; 88; Isa. 52:13-53:12; Matt. 26:57-27:50).

  4. His sufferings and death
were for our sins (1 Cor. 15:3; Eph. 5:2; 1 Pet. 2:24).

  How does this affect you?
Does it make you weep “with joy and sorrow mingling”? Or do you shrug your
shoulders and say, “Duh, whatever.”

  When we realize that we are
sinners, rebels, enemies of God, deserving eternal separation from Him in the
lake of fire—and when we learn that the Lord Jesus Christ bore God’s holy anger
and punishment for our sins—doesn’t this give us a great deal of respect for
Him? Don’t we want to honor Him, please, obey, serve, and worship Him? We
surely do! Every morning when we awaken, and every night before going to bed,
and in between as well, we should remember that all our blessings and hopes and
assurance of eternal life are a result of the sufferings, death, and
resurrection of Christ.

  Whom do you want to be
like? Do you want to be like Satan who wanted to be King of the Hill, to exalt
his “throne above the stars of God” and “be like the Most High”? Or do you want
to be like Christ who “made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the
form of a servant … in the likeness of men … obedient unto death, even the
death of the cross”?

  What happened to Satan when
he wanted to be King of the Hill? God said, “You shall be brought down to hell,
to the sides of the pit” (Isa. 14:15; Rev. 20:10). What were the consequences
of Eve wanting to be King of the Hill? “I will greatly multiply your sorrow and
your conception; in sorrow you shall bring forth children…. Cursed is the
ground for your sake…. Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to
you…. In the sweat of your face shall you eat bread” (Gen. 3:16-18).

  On the other hand, what
happened to Christ when He humbled Himself? “God also has highly exalted Him,
and given Him a name that is above every name” (Phil. 2:9). “Exalt” means to
lift up very high. “Highly” is added to that.

  What will happen to those
who follow Satan? “Whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast
into the lake of fire” (Rev. 20:15). What will happen to those who follow
Christ? They “shall not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). “The
Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout … and the dead in Christ
shall rise first; then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together
with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be
with the Lord” (1 Thess. 4:15-17).

  Finally, for those who
desire to be the King of the Hill:“The day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon
every one who is proud and lofty, and upon every one who is lifted up; and he
shall be brought low…. And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the
haughtiness of men shall be made low:and the LORD alone shall be exalted in
that day” (Isa. 2:12,17; also 40:4; Ezek. 17:24).

  For those who humble
themselves and allow God to remain on His throne—to be King of the Hill:
“Though the LORD be high, yet has He respect unto the lowly” (Psa. 138:6).
“Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt
you in due time” (1 Pet. 5:6).

            “Giving thanks
always for all things onto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ” (Eph. 5:20).

            It is easy to
give thanks for the pleasing things. He would be ungrateful indeed, who, after
having brought his petition to the Lord for some good thing and having had it
abundantly answered, failed in the grace of gratitude and did not bow in
thanksgiving before God. But to give thanks when everything seems to go awry;
when bereavement and sorrow come into the life; when misunderstanding and false
reports cause poignant anguish; when disappointments and perplexities seem to
crush the heart and trouble the mind so that one hardly knows even how to pray;
then, indeed, it is only the manifold grace of God controlling the inmost being
that enables one to give thanks. And yet if we realize that we are but pupils
in God’s school where He is preparing us for service in the ages to
come—service that will be beyond our highest expectations, we may well praise
Him even in the midst of deepest trial. We are keeping our knightly vigil amid
the darkness and the cold, preparatory to being honored by the King of kings in
the coming day. We may rest assured that He will not permit one trial too many
or one sorrow too great.

            We are told in
the book of Proverbs that “the refining pot is for silver and the furnace for
gold, but the Lord tries the hearts” (Prov. 17:3). And, blessed be His name, He
sits by the refining pot and watches intently until He sees His own countenance
reflected in the molten silver. He walks in the midst of the fire with His own;
and the furnace, though heated seven-fold, can but burn away the bonds, or, to
change the figure, purge the dross from the gold. With that glorious Fourth One
with them, the Hebrew children did not even have the smell of fire upon their
garments.

            The trusting soul
may well rest upon the promise:“When you pass through the waters, I will be
with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you:when you walk
through the fire, you shall not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon
you” (Isa. 43:2).

            Our blessed Lord
Himself is our great Example in this as in all else. He could and did give
thanks in the hour of deepest trial. In Matthew 11 and Luke 10 we see Him
rejected of men, grieving over the cities in which His mightiest works had been
accomplished and which had yet refused His message. With the dark shadows of
the cross already falling across His path we read, “At that time”—when all was
darkest and He had unutterable anguish to look forward to—“Jesus rejoiced in
spirit and said, Father, I thank Thee” (Luke 10:21). Oh, for grace to imitate
Him in this attitude, not only of subjection to the will of God but in
receiving the heaviest trials from the Father’s hand, knowing that all is for
eventual blessing.

            “Whether joy
or whether trial,

            All can only
work for good.”

            We may rest
assured that no trial will ever come to one of His own for which He did not see
a needs-be. And,

            “When we stand
with Christ in glory,

            Looking o’er
life’s finished story,”

we will understand as we
cannot now, and we shall praise Him then as we will wish we had praised Him in
the midst of the fire.

            (From Help and
Food, Vol. 46.)

Mutual Submission

    “Be not drunk with wine
… submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God” (Eph. 5:18,21). I
have linked these two verses together because verse 18 is the beginning of the
sentence that ends with verse 21. What is the connection? One who is drunk with
wine is controlled by the wine, just as one who is “filled with the Spirit”
(verse 18) is controlled by the Spirit. In like manner, our relationships with
one another are not to be characterized by seeking to control one another but
rather by submitting one to another under the control of God.

    Verse 21 applies to the
Christian marriage relationship as much as it applies to every other
relationship among God’s people. However, the specific manner of this mutual
submission differs for wives and husbands. Wives, before you decide you don’t
like this passage, please read the instructions given to your husbands as well
as those given to you.

Submission by Wives

    “Wives, submit yourselves
unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the
wife, even as Christ is the head of the Church; and He is the Saviour of the
body. Therefore as the Church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to
their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ
also loved the Church, and gave Himself for it…. So ought men to love their
wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man
ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the
Lord the Church” (Eph. 5:22-29).

    First, the wife is to
submit herself to her husband, as the Church is subject unto Christ. What does
this entail? Let us note first that the One to whom the Church is to be subject
is all-knowing, all-wise, righteous, good, and loving. His commandments and
actions and decisions are not grievous but for the blessing of the Church (1
John 5:3). So it is in the best interests of the Church to listen carefully to
all that Christ enjoins and to obey implicitly and unquestioningly.

    Let me ask you wives a
question:If your husband were totally Christlike, if every household decision
he made and everything he did for you were in accordance with God’s will and in
the best interests of you and your family, would you have any difficulty being
submissive to him? Once when I asked this question in a home Bible study a lady
responded, “Yes.” It turned out that her problem with submission was much
broader than toward her husband; she didn’t want to have to be submissive to
God. This attitude was similarly expressed by a woman who said, “For me, would
I describe Jesus as my master? No. Would I describe Jesus as my mentor?
Absolutely.” In other words, Jesus could be her teacher as long as she remained
free to decide for herself what she wanted to accept and follow and what she
wanted to reject. So if you have a problem with submitting to your husband, ask
yourself first of all if you have a more basic problem of being submissive to
God and to the Holy Scriptures.

    Most often, however, a
Christian wife’s problem with submitting to her husband comes from the fact
that her husband is not all-knowing and all-wise; he may not
always be seeking to do God’s will; rather than always being good and loving he
may at times act out of selfish interests. Is the wife to suppress all her own
thoughts, knowledge, and wisdom, and quietly, submissively leave all decisions,
large and small, to her husband? In Gen. 2:18 we read that “the Lord God said,
It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for
him [that is, a helper suited to him].” Thus, since the husband, unlike Christ,
is not all-knowing, all-wise, and completely unselfish, he should value
the help and input of his wife in the decision-making process. If she feels
that a decision he has made or is about to make is contrary to God’s mind, or
may be harmful to the family or to others, or is in any other way unwise, she
should be free—as his helpmate—to communicate in a loving way her disagreement
and her suggestions for a more appropriate course of action. Such communication
is for the good of all and should be encouraged by the husband.

    What about those areas in
which the wife’s expertise and experience far exceed the husband’s? In
situations like this, it is important to observe the order laid down in
Scripture:“The head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the
man; and the head of Christ is God” (1 Cor. 11:3). The husband may be willing
to delegate completely some areas of household decision making to his wife.
However, he must realize that God has appointed to him the ultimate
authority and responsibility for the running of the household; thus he must
keep in close communication with his wife on such matters and be prepared at
least to share in the responsibility for any unwise decisions made by his wife.

    Husbands often are quite
happy to delegate all child discipline responsibilities to their wives.
However, the Book of Proverbs makes it clear that the Father needs to take the
lead in this regard. “My son, hear the instruction of your father, and forsake
not the law of your mother” (Prov. 1:8; also 4:1; 6:20; 13:1; 15:5). “Whom the
LORD loves He corrects, even as a father the son in whom he delights” (Prov.
3:12; also 13:24). If he delegates this authority to his wife while he is away
at work, he needs to affirm his backing of the mother’s discipline when he
returns home.

Love by Husbands

    Let us now focus more
directly upon the husband. On his part there is to be no lording over his wife
just because she is to be submissive to him. She is not his slave to do his bidding
nor his property to use as he pleases. The Lord Jesus gives a very clear and
strong message that can apply to husbands who go overboard in asserting their
headship over their wives:“He who is greatest among you, let him be as the
younger; and he who is chief, as he who serves” (Luke 22:26). As head of the
wife and head of the household, the husband has the primary responsibility to
see that all of the material, physical, instructional, emotional, and spiritual
needs of his wife and children are provided for.

    In full agreement with
this we have the word to husbands in Ephesians 5—“love your wives.” This love
is far deeper and inclusive than romantic love, or the love that is associated
with physical intimacy. Husbands are to love their wives “even as Christ also
loved the Church, and gave Himself for it.” This is agape love, that
self-sacrificing love that seeks the benefit and blessing of others, whatever
may be the cost to oneself. So the decisions made by the husband, if he is
filled with love for his wife and family, will be designed to please his wife;
thus he will draw upon the wisdom of his wife and seek to have her share in
every household and family decision.

    The model presented by
Christ to Christian husbands does not stop there:“That He might sanctify and
cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word, that He might present it to
Himself a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but
that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as
their own bodies…. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh, but nourishes and
cherishes it, even as the Lord the Church.” What a tremendous contrast is this
to what, sadly, has been meted out by all too many Christian husbands to their
wives! Wives have been brutally beaten, sexually abused, emotionally
traumatized, or almost totally ignored by their Christian husbands, all in the
name of the headship of the husband. For shame!! Let every Christian husband
examine whether he so values his wife that he nourishes and cherishes her,
helping her—and encouraging her to help him—to grow in holiness and likeness to
Christ.

Final Authority

    There may yet, with all
this, be matters on which the couple continues to disagree, even after
patiently discussing each other’s viewpoints and even after praying together
about the matter. In such a case, it must be recognized that God has ordered
that final authority rest with the husband and that the wife is to submit to
his decision. If it is a decision which the wife feels could lead to adverse
consequences for the family (for example, purchase of a luxury item beyond the
family’s financial means), the wife might still pray that the Lord will deal
directly with her husband to prevent or undo the decision or action; she should
also pray for patience and seek the Lord’s help to do whatever she can to
minimize the possible adverse consequences of the decision upon the family.

    If any of our female
readers resent the fact that God has granted to the husbands the final
authority for running the household, please realize that at all levels of
society there is a need for a chain of command, an ultimate authority.
Otherwise there would be anarchy. Thus, God has given parents to be over the
children; teachers over the pupils; employers over the employees; mayors,
governors, and presidents over the people in political subdivisions. The
“powers that be” are ministers of God for good (Rom. 13:1-4). All the more
should the Christian husband be a minister of God for the good and blessing of
his wife and children.

    It has been observed that
in non-Christian households, or households in which the Holy Scriptures serve
as bookends rather than floodlights, a great deal of time and emotional energy
is spent by newlyweds trying to establish who will be the head and who will
take primary responsibility for the various household activities. Isn’t it a
blessing for Bible-believers that God has already settled those questions?
Well, maybe. It will only be a blessing if both husband and wife seriously follow
the model provided in Ephesians 5.

    In conclusion, when the
husband and wife can learn to work together, communicate their feelings and
desires to each other in a friendly and loving atmosphere, make decisions
jointly which are motivated by the desire for the welfare of each other and the
family and the glory of God, and follow the scriptural order of wives being
submissive to their husbands if agreement cannot be reached, there will be a
strong basis for a truly happy marriage.