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

Only a word! It was breathed in a whisper,
For the sweet story was tremblingly told,
But in the deep hidden life of the listener
It was embedded like apples of gold.

Fain would we utter "a word fitly spoken,"
We cannot tell what it yet may unfold;
But are our lives like the "pictures of silver,"
Needed to grace the bright apples of gold?

Many around us have heard of the Saviour,
Yet to His love they are lifeless and cold;
Still, as we meet them, we’d joyfully greet them
With His own life-giving apples of gold.

But let our souls be so "filled with the Spirit,"
That we shall neither be bashful nor bold;
Then with a Me that is calm and consistent,
We shall be "framing" our apples of gold.

Though to some friends we can say but a little,
They will believe what their eyes can behold,
And while preserving the pictures of silver,
May we not watch for the apples of gold?

Have we just found in the mine of hid treasure,
Some precious promise that never grows old?
Priceless it is! Might not some fellow-searcher
Welcome it too, as God’s apples of gold?

Oft it may seem we have foolishly wasted
Words that we thought were too good to withhold,
Yet we may find that some mute overhearer
Seized with delight the choice apples of gold!

Lord, we would speak of Thy grace and Thy glory,
More is to tell than has ever been told;
Oh, may our lives be kept blameless and holy-
Pictures of silver for apples of gold!

The first metalworker mentioned in the Bible is Tubal-cain, an artificer of brass (either copper or
bronze, since zinc, a component of brass, was unknown in Bible times) and iron (Gen. 4:22). The
next metal workers mentioned by name are Bezaleel and Aholiab who were to work in gold,
silver, and "brass" and other materials in order to produce the items needed for the tabernacle,
its furnishings, and the priest’s garments (Exod. 31:1-6). Hiram sent a metal-smith from Tyre to
oversee the metalworking for the temple during King Solomon’s reign (2 Chron. 2). Like the
carpenters, the goldsmiths and silversmiths corrupted their art by making idols (Isa. 40:19 and
46:6). However, goldsmiths returned to Jerusalem from captivity and were active in helping repair
the wall (Neh. 3:8,31,32). There is an interesting reference to mining operations in Job 28:2-11.
The only metal workers mentioned by name in the New Testament are Demetrius, a silversmith
of Ephesus, who made silver shrines for Diana (Acts 19:24), and Alexander the coppersmith (2
Tim. 4:14).

Metals and metalworkers are frequently mentioned in a typical or allegorical way in Scripture.
Before citing these references it might be useful to give a brief description of the properties of and
the ancient means of refining the metals mentioned in the Bible, not merely for curiosity but in
order to understand better these passages.

All metals reflect light. Silver is the most reflective and gold second only to silver in this
characteristic. Gold and silver are almost indestructible, although both are wasted by wear and the
latter by corrosion also if in the presence of acid. Gold can be dissolved by only a few substances
and never tarnishes. Silver will not tarnish in pure air, but certain impurities in the air will cause
discoloration. Gold is very soft and is the most malleable (can be hammered into thin sheets) and
the most ductile (can be drawn into fine wires) of all metals. Silver is second only to gold in these
characteristics. Both are heavy metals. Because of these characteristics of brilliance, permanence,
easy manipulation, and solidity plus their scarcity, gold and silver have always been considered
desirable and precious.

Copper is the third most malleable metal. When tin is added, the bronze alloy is harder and
stronger than native copper and more easily cast. Bronze approaches iron in hardness but is less
likely than iron to corrode. Copper is much more chemically active than gold and silver and thus
more likely to tarnish and corrode.

Iron is the fourth most abundant element in the earth’s crust. Its native strength and hardness are
twice that of gold and it can be alloyed so as to increase its hardness. It is so chemically active that
it is impossible to produce absolutely pure iron. High purity iron is highly lustrous, moderately
malleable and exceedingly ductile.

Gold is always found in the metallic state but is usually mixed with other metals, especially silver
and/or quartz. The gold ore must be ground into a fine powder before the gold can be extracted.
The gold is separated from waste by washing the particles in water. Even after grinding and
washing, the gold is still mixed with silver and base metals. In ancient times this washed gold dust
was melted and purified by heating it along with other substances necessary for the process for

five successive days in clay vessels. In the end all that remained in the vessels was gold from
which almost all traces of the other metals had been removed.

Silver is almost always found chemically combined with other elements. In pre-Roman times the
only method of producing silver in any quantity required the treatment of galena, a silver-lead ore.
If galena is dropped into the fire, the lead will burn away, leaving the silver. The silver can be
purified by heating. The impurities will oxidize and form dross which can be removed, leaving
the silver.

Gold and silver are often used symbolically in Scripture as a standard of value. For example, there
are many references which speak of wisdom as being more valuable than gold or silver. The Word
of God is also spoken of as being better than gold and silver. God is often described as a refiner
of gold or silver and His people as the finished product. His discipline of His people is compared
to the removal of impurities from these two precious metals. Job said, "When He hath tried me,
I shall come forth as gold" (23:10). The remnant of Israel will be refined as silver is refined and
tried as gold is tried by being brought through the fire (Zech. 13:9). Peter speaks of our trials
being for the purpose of testing our faith, which is "much more precious than of gold that
perisheth, though it be tried with fire" (1 Peter 1:7). This gains added significance when we
remember that except under extraordinary conditions gold does not perish. God wants our faith
to withstand even extraordinary trials without failing. Gold slowly wears away with use. God
wants our faith to become stronger with time.

Psalm 66:10-12 speaks of God trying His people as silver is tried, but after the affliction, they are
brought out into a "wealthy place." "The Lord trieth [refines] the hearts" (Prov. 17:3). In Isaiah
48:4 Israel is described as having a neck like an iron sinew and a brass brow. (In Scripture iron
and brass are often used metaphorically as indicating extreme hardness. See Lev. 26:19, Deut.
33:25, and Job 40:18.) Therefore, God must refine them in the furnace of affliction in order to
produce something more valuable (Isa. 48:10). A similar thought is expressed in Ezekiel 22:18-22.
The people of Israel had become a mixture of baser metals; therefore, they must be melted in the
furnace. (The "blowing" perhaps refers to the use of bellows to make the fire as hot as possible.)
In the day of His coming, the Lord is going to purge the sons of Levi as silver and gold are
purged, that their praise and worship may be acceptable (Mal. 3:2-4).

Let us review by means of a chart the characteristics of gold and silver and see how these might
pertain to spiritual qualities which the Lord would want to produce in us through trials and
testings:

1. Luster (ability to reflect light)

2. Malleability and ductility (softness,
ease of handling)

3. Resistance to corrosion

4. Weight, solidity

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

Many are the beneficial lessons which the Holy Spirit has put before us by means of the
instruction given to Israel. We are familiar with the fact that the things which 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, "Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth 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 hath not planted shall be rooted up." To oppose fearlessly such evil
teachers and denounce their doctrines and practices is in accord both with the Spirit of the Lord
Jesus and of 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 art thou that judgeth another
man’s servant? To his own master he standeth or falleth."

The spirit of criticism may lead to very unhappy results, and often one is in danger of finding
himself arrayed against men 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 ye 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 got 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, take him into their
home, and there in true Christian love expound 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 art thou that judgeth another man’s servant? To
his own master he standeth or falleth." And the Holy Spirit goes on to say, "Yea, he shall be
holden up; for God is able to make him stand" (Rom. 14:4).

(From Help and Food, Volume 34.)

"And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had
married; for he had married an Ethiopian woman. And they said, Hath the Lord indeed spoken
only by Moses? hath He not spoken also by us? And the Lord heard it. (Now the man Moses was
very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.) And the Lord spake
suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tabernacle
of the congregation. And they three came out. And the Lord came down in the pillar of the cloud,
and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam; and they both came forth.
And He said, Hear now My words:If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make Myself
known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so, who
is faithful in all Mine house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in
dark speeches; and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold; wherefore then were ye not afraid
to speak against My servant Moses? And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them; and He
departed. And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous,
white as snow; and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous" (Numbers 12:1-
10).

It is a most serious thing for any one to speak against the Lord’s servant. We may rest assured that
God will deal with it, sooner or later. In the case of Miriam, the divine judgment came down
suddenly and solemnly. It was a grievous wrong_it was positive rebellion_to speak against the
one whom God had so markedly raised up and clothed with a divine commission; and who,
moreover, in the very matter of which they complained, had acted in full consonance with the
counsels of God, and furnished a type of that glorious mystery which was hidden in His eternal
mind, even the union of Christ and the Church.

But in any case, it is a fatal mistake to speak against the very feeblest and humblest of God’s
servants. If the servant does wrong, if he is in error, if he has failed in any thing, the Lord
Himself will deal with him; but let the fellow servants beware how they attempt to take the matter
into their hands, lest they be found like Miriam, meddling to their own hurt.

It is very awful to hear, at times, the way in which people allow themselves to speak and write
about Christ’s servants. True, these latter may give occasion; they may have made mistakes, and
manifested a wrong spirit and temper; but we must confess we feel it to be a very dreadful sin
against Christ to speak evil of His dear servants. Surely, we ought to feel the weight and solemnity
of these words:"Wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against My servant?"

May God give us grace to watch against this sore evil Let us see to it that we be not found doing
that which is so offensive to Him, speaking against those who are dear to His heart. There is not
a single one of God’s people in whom we cannot find some good thing, provided only we look
for it in the right way. Let us be occupied only with the good; let us dwell upon that, and seek to
strengthen and develop it in every possible way. And on the other hand, if we have not been able
to discover the good thing in our brother and fellow servant, if our eye has only detected the
crooked thing, if we have not succeeded in finding the vital spark amid the ashes, the precious
gem among the surrounding rubbish, if we have only seen what was of mere nature, then let us,

with a loving and delicate hand, draw the curtain of silence around our brother, or speak of him
only at the throne of grace.

So also when we happen to be in company with those who indulge in the wicked practice of
speaking against the Lord’s people, if we cannot succeed in changing the current of the
conversation, let us rise and leave the place, thus bearing testimony against that which is so hateful
to Christ. Let us never sit by and listen to a backbiter. We may rest assured he is doing the work
of the devil, and inflicting positive injury upon three distinct parties, namely, himself, his hearer,
and the subject of his censorious remarks.

There is something perfectly beautiful in the way in which Moses carries himself in the scene
before us. Truly, he proved himself a meek man, not only in the matter of El-dad and Medad
(Num. 11), but also in the more trying matter of Miriam and Aaron. As to the former, instead of
being jealous of those who were called to share his dignity and responsibility, he rejoiced in their
work, and prayed that all the Lord’s people might taste the same holy privilege; and as to the
latter, instead of cherishing any feeling of resentment against his brother and sister, he was ready
at once to take the place of intercession:"And Aaron said unto Moses, Alas, my lord, I beseech
thee, lay not the sin upon us, wherein we have done foolishly, and wherein we have sinned. Let
her not be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed when he cometh out of his mother’s
womb. And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech Thee" (12:11-
13).

Here Moses breathes the spirit of his Master, and prays for those who had spoken so bitterly
against him. This was victory, the victory of a meek man, the victory of grace. A man who knows
his right place in the presence of God is able to rise above all evil-speaking. He is not troubled
by it, save for those who practice it; he can afford to forgive it; he is not touchy, tenacious, or
self-occupied. He knows that no one can put him lower than he deserves to be; and hence if any
speak against him, he can meekly bow his head and pass on, leaving himself and his cause in the
hands of Him who judgeth righteously, and who will assuredly reward every man according to
his works.

This is true dignity. May we understand it somewhat better, and then we shall not be so ready to
take fire if any one thinks proper to speak disparagingly of us or of our work; in fact, we shall
then be able to lift up our hearts in earnest prayer for them, and thus draw down blessing on them
and on our own souls.

(From Notes on the Book of Numbers. )

Though linked with gentleness, meekness is not simply a person’s outward behavior towards his
fellow-man. It is rather "an inwrought grace of the soul, and the exercises of it are first and
chiefly towards God" (Trench). Whatever the circumstances may be, all is accepted as from Him
without questioning or resisting in any way His hand. The heart is at rest in Him, entirely
submissive to Him. Even the insults and injuries of evil men, or of brethren, are received as
disciplinary measures of God for the purifying of the soul and the cultivating of this Christian
grace. Meekness is the opposite of self-interest and self-assertiveness. As another puts it:"It is
equanimity of spirit that is neither elated nor cast down, simply because it is not occupied with self
at all" (Vine).

Now meekness is not weakness, though at times it may appear to be so. Rather is it the fruit of
power, and that the power of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:23). The Lord Jesus could not be charged
with weakness of character, yet He is the perfect Example of meekness. He could say as none
other, "I am meek and lowly in heart" (Matt. 11:29), when He sets Himself forth as the Rest for
the weary and as the Teacher of the soul. Also, it is as King that He rides into Jerusalem, "meek,
and sitting upon an ass" (Matt. 21:5). The apostle Paul links this meekness of Christ with might
and power in 2 Corinthians 10. It was by this "meekness and gentleness of Christ" (v. 1) that he
besought the saints, yet bearing at the same time a testimony to them that was "weighty and
powerful" (v. 10).

The proper Christian adornment, according to Peter, is a "meek and quiet spirit." It springs from
the hidden man of the heart, is incorruptible and in the sight of God of great price (1 Peter 3:4).
It is contrasted with what is merely external and corruptible, and is linked with a trust in God
which adorned women of old time who were subject to their husbands. Likewise, the apostle Paul
includes "meekness" in the list of graces that become the elect of God in Colossians 3:12, and
these he exhorts them to put on.

The place which meekness should have in our lives is clearly outlined in various Scriptures. We
shall briefly mention a few references for meditation.

The "spirit of meekness" is to characterize the one who seeks to restore the erring brother (Gal.
6:1).

The "man of God" is to "follow after . . . meekness" (1 Tim. 6:11); he is to show "all meekness
to all men" (Titus 3:2); he is to exhibit the same when seeking to instruct those who oppose (2
Tim. 2:25).

In endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, it should be with "meekness"
(Eph. 4:2). As to the reception of the Word of God, it should likewise be with "meekness" (James
1:21). Then, too, when giving an answer to those who ask us of the reason of our hope,
"meekness" is enjoined upon us (1 Peter 3:15).

The blessings promised to the meek are surely an incentive to the believer. The Psalmist promises,

"The meek will He guide in judgment; and the meek will He teach His way" (25:9), and declares
with certainty, "The meek shall eat and be satisfied" (22:26).

Oh, to have the mind of Christ in all our attitudes and ways! May the Lord lead us on to follow
Him in a walk in the Spirit, that we may know more the blessedness of meekness, for His Name’s
sake.

"The just shall live by his faith." This weighty statement occurs in the second chapter of the
prophet Habakkuk; and it is quoted by an inspired apostle in three of his epistles, namely,
Romans, Galatians, and Hebrews, with a distinct application in each. In Romans 1:17 it is applied
to the great question of righteousness. The apostle declared himself "not ashamed of the glad
tidings; for it is God’s power to salvation, to every one that believes, both to Jew first and to
Greek:for righteousness of God is revealed therein, on the principle of faith, to faith:according
as it is written, But the just shall live by faith" (JND).

Then, in the third of Galatians, where the apostle is seeking to recall those erring assemblies to
the foundations of Christianity, he says, "But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of
God, it is evident:for, The just shall live by faith."

Finally, in the tenth of Hebrews, where the object is to exhort believers to hold fast their
confidence, we read, "Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of
reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive
the promise. For yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry. Now the
just shall live by faith." Here we have faith presented not only as the ground of righteousness, but
as the vital principle by which we are to live, day by day, from the starting-post to the goal of the
Christian course. There is no other way of righteousness, no other way of living, but by faith. It
is by faith we are justified, and by faith we live. By faith we stand, and by faith we walk.

Now this is true of all Christians, and all should seek to enter into it fully. Every child of God is
called to live by faith. It is a very grave mistake indeed to single out certain individuals who
happen to have no visible source of temporal supplies, and speak of them as though they alone
lived by faith. According to this view of the question, ninety-nine out of every hundred Christians
would be deprived of the precious privilege of living by faith. If a man has a settled income, if
he has a certain salary, if he has what is termed a secular calling by which he earns bread for
himself and his family, is he not privileged to live by faith? Do none live by faith save those who
have no visible means of support? Is the life of faith to be confined to the matter of trusting God
for food and raiment? What a lowering of the life of faith it is to confine it to the question of
temporal supplies! No doubt it is a very blessed and a very real thing to trust God for everything;
but the life of faith has a far higher and wider range than mere bodily wants. It embraces all that
in anywise concerns us, in body, soul, and spirit. To live by faith is to walk with God; to cling
to Him and lean on Him; to draw from His exhaustless springs; to find all our resources in Him;
to have Him as a perfect covering for our eyes and a satisfying object for our hearts; to know Him
as our only resource in all difficulties and in all our trials. It is to be absolutely, completely and
continually shut up to Him; to be undividedly dependent upon Him, apart from and above every
creature confidence, every human hope, and every earthly expectation.

Such is the life of faith. Let us see that we understand it. It must be a reality, or nothing at all. It
will not do to talk about the life of faith; we must live it; and in order to live it, we must know
God practically_know Him intimately, in the deep secret of our own souls. It is utterly vain and
delusive to profess to be living by faith and looking to the Lord while in reality our hearts are

looking to some creature resource. How often do people speak and write about their dependence
upon God to meet certain wants, and by the very fact of their making it known to a fellow-mortal
they are, in principle, departing from the life of faith! The language of faith is this:"My soul, wait
thou only upon God; for my expectation is from Him." To make known my wants, directly or
indirectly, to a human being, is departure from the life of faith, and a positive dishonor to God.
It is actually betraying Him. It is tantamount to saying that God has failed me, and I must look to
my fellow for help. It is forsaking the living fountain and turning to a broken cistern. It is placing
the creature between my soul and God, thus robbing my soul of rich blessing, and God of the
glory due to Him.

This is serious work, and it demands our most solemn attention. God deals in realities. He can
never fail a trusting heart. But then, He must be trusted. It is of no possible use to talk about
trusting Him when our hearts are really looking to our neighbors for help. "What doth it profit,
my brethren, though a man say he hath faith?" Empty profession is but a delusion to the soul and
a dishonor to God. The true life of faith is a grand reality. God delights in it, and He is glorified
by it. There is nothing in all this world that so gratifies and glorifies God as the life of faith. "Oh
how great is Thy goodness, which Thou hast laid up for them that fear Thee; which Thou hast
wrought for them that trust in Thee before the sons of men!" (Psalm 31:19).

Beloved reader, how is it with you in reference to this great question? Are you living by faith?
Can you say, "The life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who
loved me, and gave Himself for me"? Do you know what it is to have the living God filling the
whole range of your soul’s vision? Is He enough for you? Can you trust Him for everything_for
body, soul, and spirit_for time and eternity? Or are you in the habit of making known your wants
to man in any way?

These are searching questions; but we entreat you not to turn away from them. Be assured it is
morally healthful for our souls to be tested faithfully, as in the very presence of God. Our hearts
are so terribly treacherous that when we imagine we are leaning upon God, we are really leaning
upon some human prop. Thus God is shut out, and we are left in barrenness and desolation.

And yet it is not that God does not use the creature to help and bless us. He does so constantly;
and the man of faith will be deeply conscious of this fact, and truly grateful to every human agent
that God uses to help him. God comforted Paul by the coming of Titus; but had Paul been looking
to Titus, he would have had but little comfort. God used the poor widow to feed Elijah; but
Elijah’s dependence was not upon the widow, but upon God. Thus it is in every case.

(From Miscellaneous Writings, Volume 5.)

"By faith Moses, being born, was hid three months by his parents, because they saw the child
beautiful; and they did not fear the injunction of the king. By faith Moses, when he had become
great, refused to be called son of Pharaoh’s daughter; choosing rather to suffer affliction along
with the people of God than to have the temporary pleasure of sin; esteeming the reproach of the
Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt, for he had respect to the recompense" (Heb.
11:23-26 JND).

Earlier in this chapter, faith is seen as looking forward to the blessing to come. Now we see the
trials through which it has to pass before it reaches its hope.

Moses is taken here as the great example of this. Faith begins in the parents; and it is a great
comfort to think that there is where it often begins. The apostle speaks to Timothy of the
unfeigned faith that dwelt in his grandmother first, then in his mother, "and I am persuaded in thee
also." When everything was going to pieces, the Spirit of God was pleased to go back to the faith
that dwelt in the bosom of a faithful woman, then in her daughter, and then in her child.

Faith in Moses’ parents was shown in the fact that he was hid by them three months, "because
they saw he was a proper child," or, as Stephen says, "fair unto God." They believed he would
be a fitting instrument for God to use, and so they hid him in spite of the commandment that every
male should be cast into the river. And when his mother could no longer hide him, she took the
king literally at his word. She put the child at the river’s brink, but in the ark_ typically, in
Christ.

So with us now. As we look upon the children God has given us, we say, Oh let them be beautiful
for God throughout eternity! First, we throw every safeguard about them; we try to hide them
from the evil in the world; and as they grow up and we can no longer keep them under our eye
constantly, as we have to launch them out in this great world_first to school and then to some
employment_how faith, by God’s grace, does as Moses’ parents did! They put the child of their
care in the ark and said, If he must be launched out upon the river, we have put him in this ark,
and we will count upon God for him. So godly parents commit their dear ones to Christ as they
send them off_not in a careless way, but counting upon that precious Saviour who has saved us
to keep our dear ones and to bring them unspotted out of all that into which they will be thrown.

Let us not be afraid to have faith for our children, to lay hold upon God for them before they are
able to lay hold upon Him for themselves. People say, A child must believe for himself; you
cannot believe for him. But in a certain sense you can believe for him as Moses’ parents believed
for him. Suppose they had not believed for him. Suppose they had said, If he were large enough,
he might trust in God; but we must cast him into the river. That would have been the end of
Moses as far as human power was concerned. But what a place they put him in! We all know how
he was taken from the river’s brink by Pharaoh’s daughter, adopted by her, and then put back
under his mother’s care until he was of sufficient age to go permanently back to the king’s court.
Every advantage was given to him; but God’s tender care had given him also all the benefit of a
mother’s love and training in the fear of God and His ways. How diligently that dear mother must

have made use of her time! How she must have instilled into his mind the promises of the God of
their fathers! How she must have taught that young child that he was identified with those
bondsmen who yet were the people of God! How she must have told him of the promises of God,
that He would visit them and bring them up out of that land, and give them an inheritance! No
doubt she made faithful and diligent use of her opportunities; and, as Pharaoh’s daughter said to
her (in a higher sense than Pharaoh’s daughter meant, she heard another Voice saying), "Take this
child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages." What wages has a faithful mother
if she has spent time and strength and prayers in bringing up her children in the nurture and
admonition of the Lord!

Moses came to years. His feet were upon the steps that led up to the throne. He was "learned in
all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds." He had every
opportunity that a great civilization could give. What opportunities, what a chance to reform
Egypt! _to make it a place where the children of Israel could have their inheritance, instead of
some vague, intangible thing in Canaan that might never materialize!

Let us note here what the Spirit of God singles out in Moses for His approval. "When he was
come to years he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter"_he gave up that which God
Himself had put him into, as it were. Humanly speaking, there was no limit to his prospects. If
a Joseph, who was brought out of the dungeon, was exalted to a place second only to the king,
what might not a Moses
hope to attain, who was adopted into the king’s family? Was not the throne even a possibility?

Moses was not in the immaturity of his life, for he was forty years old. Then, taking in the whole
field in his survey, seeing the possibilities connected with his position in Egypt, seeing the
disgrace of his own kinsmen according to the flesh, calmly looking at both sides, what does faith
do? It refuses all this greatness, its dignity, its expectations, and says, My place, my heritage is
with those people who are groveling there in the brickkilns, and crying out under the lash of the
taskmasters! That was faith. He chose "rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to
enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season."

Ah, Egypt’s greatness may be attractive, its pleasures may be manifold, its power unlimited, but
written over all the greatness of Egypt was, "For a season"; and so it is with all this world has to
offer. Faith says, Those things are temporary, and, thank God, the affliction is temporary too; I
will take the affliction; I will identify myself with my people.

"The reproach of Christ!" Think how the Spirit of God describes it. Here were a people suffering
and rejected; and God calls it the reproach of Christ. "In all their affliction He was afflicted," and
faith sees in that the affliction of Christ Himself. As the Lord Jesus afterwards, in speaking to Saul
of Tarsus, says, "Why persecutes! thou Me?" It was the reproach of Christ, and not merely that
of His suffering people.

Look at it for a moment. Is it possible? Here are the treasures of Egypt:put in that side of the
balance all you can think of wealth and glory of this world. Here is the reproach of Christ:put
in this side all the suffering, the scorn, the self-denial, the poverty, the feebleness, the trials which

come upon us. Read the apostle Paul’s description of some of the reproach of Christ. See what
it means to endure affliction at the hands of persecutors on the one side, and at the hands of those
who were God’s own people on the other. And as you look at those two things, which in your
estimation outweighs? Surely, if we judge according to sight, we would say the treasures of Egypt
will outweigh all that suffering. But Moses, as he looks forward to the recompense of the reward,
as he thinks of the outcome, says, I will cast in my lot with those who are suffering reproach and
affliction, rather than have all this other!

(From Lectures on the Epistle to the Hebrews.)

In view of the great sin into which Peter was so soon to fall (in spite of his protestations), and of
what would follow, the Lord tells him He had already prayed for him. This ministry of our Lord
carries Peter safely through the dark valley_the result of his sin.

But why does the Lord say, "I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not" and not, I have prayed
for thee that thou shouldest not sin? Is it not more to the glory of God that we should not sin than
that we should be sustained through the results of sinning? And would we not be much happier
if we were kept from sinning from the very moment of our becoming children of God?

To these questions one has the simple answer:God gets His glory in the way He takes with us,
and it will shine out in due time; and our present happiness is not God’s highest aim. If we were
kept from sinning while in a condition of soul displeasing to God, how could we learn ourselves
and increase in the knowledge of God? Our bad condition of soul breaking out in sin reveals us
to ourselves more fully, humbles us, and brings us face to face with the riches of the grace of
God, not merely in salvation, but also in restoration. We thus learn the value of Christ’s ministry,
not only in obtaining salvation for us, but also in His present, incessant ministry toward our daily
needs in relation to the infinitely holy God to whom we have been brought. Blessed acquaintance
with God is thus produced, the full results of which are yet to come.

Is it necessary then that we should sin to reach such blessed ends? Surely not. Did we in the power
of the Holy Spirit reckon ourselves "dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ
our Lord" (Rom. 6:11), we would acquire the same end in a quicker and happier way. Ever
judging indwelling sin at the root, we would not need to judge its outbreaks. It would be
uninterrupted growth.

Be it the easier way or the more painful one, be we Jacobs or Abrahams, we are moving onward
to the time when we shall prove that eternal bliss is but another name for the knowledge of God.

(From Help and Food, Volume 25.)

FRAGMENT. One does not get rid of the difficulties of the path of faith by trying to avoid them;
one must surmount them by the power of God.

The gift of salvation and eternal life which God offers to all as a result of the atoning death and
resurrection of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, is received individually by faith. "For by grace
are ye saved through faith" (Eph. 2:8); "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be
saved" (Acts 16:31); "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life" (John 3:36). It is by
belief, trust, or faith (these terms are synonymous) in the finished work of Christ alone, and not
by trusting in our own works or goodness, that we receive God’s salvation.

But it was never God’s intention that our faith should have its beginning and end with the
acceptance of His gift of life. "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye
in Him" (Col. 2:6); "We walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Cor. 5:7); "The life which I now live in
the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God" (Gal. 2:20); "Your faith groweth exceedingly" (2
Thess. 1:3); "And this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith" (1 John 5:4).
These verses are saying, in various ways, that our entire lives as Christians should be
characterized by the exercise of faith, that is, trust and dependence upon the Lord. Just as we
received Christ into our lives by faith and have the blessed confidence that we are saved and
bound for heaven, so we with equal confidence are to entrust Him with every matter and care of
our daily lives, to count upon His guidance and supply for our every need.

There are many things in this Me which naturally tend to cause us concern, and to worry and
upset us. A few examples of these are the inflation which is eating away our life’s savings; the
rampant lawlessness which makes us afraid to walk the city streets or to leave our homes because
of the risk of burglary or vandalism; the economic recession which brings with it the fear of
unemployment; the immorality, drugs, and alcohol which are so commonplace among young
people and adults alike.

Also, we each have our own special personal problems-some small, some large and
overwhelming, some short-term, some ever-present_which upset us. One may be concerned about
finding a wife or a husband "before it is too late"; another may wonder how his family will ever
be able to get out of debt; another may be irritated and disappointed because the promotion he
expected was given to someone else instead; a mother and father may be worried about their son
or daughter who should have been home an hour ago; a student may be apprehensive about an
approaching examination; a gospel worker may wonder why he seems to be getting no results; and
so the list goes on and on. In all of these matters of our daily lives we can either act as if we are
on our own, and thus go on living in a fearful, worried, fretful state, as if our God were off
somewhere meditating, or on a journey, or perhaps sleeping (see 1 Kings 18:27 JND). Or else
we can live by faith, trusting in the Lord to provide for us, to keep us and our loved ones in
safety, to do what He knows is best for us, to give us whatever we need_even if it may not be
what we want or what we think we need (Phil. 4:19), and to guide us into the full knowledge of
His will with regard to decisions which we must make.

"The fruit of the Spirit is … faith" (Gal. 5:22). As the Spirit is allowed ever increasing control
over our lives as Christians, our faith_our ability to trust God for every detail of our lives_will
increase in proportion. While God always knows how much faith we have, He often tests us in

order to provide us with a kind of barometer to tell us how well we are growing in our walk of
faith:"My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the
trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be
perfect and entire, wanting nothing" (James 1:2-4); "Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for
a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations; that the trial of your faith,
being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found
unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:6, 7). The Bible gives
accounts of many of God’s people whose faith was tried_Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Rahab,
David, and Ruth, to name a few. Hebrews 11 provides a kind of "Who’s Who" of men and
women of faith in Old Testament times (though it is by no means complete ).

However, not every trial recorded in the Scriptures resulted in a triumph of faith. Consider the
children of Israel who wandered in the wilderness for forty years because they feared the giants
in the land of promise (Numbers 13 and 14); consider Elijah who went from a major triumph of
faith into a condition of fear and depression the next day when a new trial arose unexpectedly (1
Kings 18 and 19); consider David who put his trust in the size of his army rather than in the Lord
(2 Samuel 24); and consider Peter who denied the Lord three times in order to protect himself
(Luke 22:31-34, 54-62). How immense is the loss in spiritual and other blessings, both to
ourselves and to our families and neighbors and brethren in Christ, when our faith fails and we
are defeated as a result of some testing!

We may, like Peter, have great confidence in our faithfulness (Matt. 26:33). But the Lord, we can
be sure, will soon test to show us whether we have confidence in ourselves or confidence in Him
alone. Often our time of least faith comes, as it did with Elijah, on the heels of a great victory of
faith. How we especially need the ministry and control of the Holy Spirit at such times!

Our faith and trust in the Lord is a moment-by-moment affair. We must not rely on past or present
manifestations of faith in our lives to get us through the trial that will come next. To live a life of
victory is to live in continual trust and dependence upon the Lord, "forgetting those things which
are behind [whether successes or failures], and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
[pressing] toward the mark for the prize of the high calling [or calling on high] of God in Christ
Jesus" (Phil. 3:13,14).

When Israel first became a unified nation at the time of the Exodus, every able-bodied man over
the age of twenty years was expected to serve in the army (Numbers 1:3). These men were not
professional soldiers but more like militia called to service when need arose (Num. 31:1-6). It
would seem that there were no professional soldiers until the time of the kings. Saul evidently had
a standing army of three thousand men (1 Sam. 13:2) and some sort of draft (1 Sam. 14:52).
Abner as captain of the host was definitely a professional soldier. Most of the remaining kings of
Judah and Israel had similar arrangements_a small standing army with professional captains
supplemented by volunteers in special crises.

When we come to the New Testament, Israel no longer had a king nor a real army. There may
have been a small temple guard under the direction of the priests (John 7:32). Most of the soldiers
seen in the land of Israel at that time were in the Roman army. Some of these men were men of
faith, such as the centurion whose servant was ill (Matt. 8:5-13 and Luke 7:1-10) and Cornelius
(Acts 10). Soldiers in Rome were evidently converted by Paul’s testimony (Philippians 4:22).

The Christian is to be a soldier, not against fleshly (physical) enemies, but against spiritual (2 Cor.
10:3-6; Eph. 6:12). Our warfare is against Satan and his allies-wicked spirits who influence men
and women and who are present in the very heavenlies (Eph. 6:12). This passage in Ephesians
gives us the armor and weapon the spiritual soldier uses. Although Ephesians teaches the truth of
our standing in Christ, the armor here speaks of our actual state. Thus our loins girded about with
truth does not refer to doctrine as such, but the truth applied to our own souls and truth as the
foundation of all our dealings with God and man. Similarly, the breastplate of righteousness is not
the righteousness of Christ given to a person at the moment of salvation, but practical
righteousness in the life. A bad conscience is a gap in the armor which Satan will readily exploit
and which will greatly hinder a saint’s testimony. The word "preparation" in verse 15 can be
translated "firm foundation." The Roman soldier wore sandals with soles thickly studded with
nails. These gave him a firm footing under attack. The religions of the world can provide no firm
foundation, no real assurance on which their adherents may base their hopes for blessing. Only
the foundation of the finished work of Christ can keep us from slipping about under Satan’s attack.

With the shield of faith we will be able to quench all of Satan’s fiery darts. Darts such as "Did
God really say that?" or "Does God really care what you do?" or "Can God love you or use you
after what you’ve done?" can be destroyed by faith in God. This is not a Pollyanna faith that
everything will eventually, somehow, turn out all right, but trust in the nature and promises of
God as revealed in His Word. A Roman soldier who was skillful with his shield could fight all day
without being wounded. At the time Paul wrote, the Roman army often used a phalanx formation.
The phalanx (devised by the Greeks) consisted of heavily armed infantry troops formed in tight
ranks for the attack. These troops protected themselves with overlapping shields. Thus any given
soldier’s shield protected not only himself but helped to protect his neighbor as well. This
formation had great striking power and if commanded properly was almost invincible. What a
powerful force in the war against the enemy would be a united front of the brethren where the
strengths of each soldier would overlap the weaknesses of his brother and vice versa!

The helmet was, of course, for protecting the head. The head controls the rest of the body. The
consciousness of our salvation through the finished work of Christ should protect us from many
of Satan’s attacks and will have its effect in all areas of life.

The only weapon mentioned in Ephesians 6 is "the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of
God." "Word" here means the word for the time. Only the Holy Spirit can bring to mind just the
right part of Scripture to use at any given moment and can make it effective against Satan or in
the souls of men.

Finally, none of this equipment can be effective without constant prayer for God’s guidance in its
use. Not only prayer for ourselves but for "all saints" is required (this would be the phalanx
thought).

In 2 Timothy 2:3, 4 we find another aspect of being a good soldier_the willingness and ability
to endure hardship. On a march, the Roman soldier carried his own food, armor, and weapons.
This burden weighed fifty to sixty pounds. A day’s march was fifteen to eighteen miles and was
supposed to be carried out between early morning and noon. On occasion, more strenuous
marches were made. Rivers were usually waded, even if the water was up to the soldiers’ necks.
It has been written of Julius Caesar’s legionaries that "they would bear anything and could do
anything."

All of the soldiers in the Roman army were professionals. They enlisted for a period of twenty
years and often spent all of that time in some foreign country. They were paid, but the cost of
their rations was deducted from their pay. The last part of 2 Tim. 2:4, "that he may please him
who hath chosen him to be a soldier," may be obscure to the young man of this country who after
enlisting or being drafted never sees the recruiting officer again during his time of service. From
the time of Julius Caesar to the end of the Roman Empire, the Roman soldier did not swear
allegiance to the empire or even to the emperor but swore personal fealty to the general under
whom he served. The commanding officer decided from the qualifications of the men where and
with what arms each soldier should be allowed to serve. The commanding officer gave out
punishments and rewards at his own discretion. These details have been presented not just for the
sake of historical interest but to help us understand the context of 2 Tim. 2:3,4. May we strive to
be good soldiers of Jesus Christ, who, unlike any human commanding officer, will share His glory
with His soldiers and whose every command is for their good.

Saints of God, is it not time for us to take seriously to heart the state of things which prevails in
our midst?

God has in wonderful mercy and grace restored to us many a truth that has been lost sight of for
ages. We know that our sins are now forgiven and forever put away. We know that we have
eternal life in the Son of God.

We know that we are indwelt by the Holy Ghost, and thus united to the Lord Jesus Christ as the
members of His body. We know that the present favor in which we stand, and the future glory to
which we shall be shortly introduced, can only be measured by the delight which the Father has
found for His heart in the Person and work of His beloved Son. And we know that our Lord Jesus
is coming to take us to Himself, when His heart shall, be satisfied, and our joy shall be full
forever.

I say we know these things, and by this I mean that they are common subjects of ministry among
us, and as doctrinal truths they are familiar to the saints. But where is the practical godliness, the
zeal, the devotedness, the watchfulness and prayerfulness, which should be the result of
knowledge so extensive and blessing so rich as this?

There is so little separation from open worldliness to be found among us; and where such
separation is found, is it not often due to a concern lest our reputation among the saints should
suffer, rather than because we have found in Christ a present portion of heavenly joy?

Do we not often come together to read the Word, to pray, and even to break bread, in a cold,
formal way, with out having the springs of praise, desire, and opened in our hearts by the power
of the Holy Ghost?

Are not our seasons of private prayer and meditation frequently cold and powerless, lacking in
fervor and devoid of blessing, if, in fact, such seasons are not wholly neglected?

Does there not exist among us an appalling indifference to the interests of Christ, plainly
evidenced by the lack of prayer_private, social, and public?

Have we the same desire for the blessing of others which the apostle Paul had, who could say, "I
am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some" (1 Cor. 9:22); and again,
"I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less
I be loved"?

When we speak to other Christians are we not often more intent on proving that they are wrong
and we are right, than on ministering something that will be strength and blessing to their souls?
And is there not often an assumption of spiritual superiority on our part which counteracts all that
we say?

O brethren beloved of God, may our hearts take warning! How terrible would it be if we became
nothing more than a sect with a beautiful, correct, scriptural, but lifeless and cold, theology! The
special device of the enemy today is to reduce the blessed revelation of our Father’s will to a
theology that may be discussed, and reasoned over, and made the subject of controversy.
Remember, saints of God, that though the apostle says, "Take heed to the doctrine," he puts
before this the solemn admonition_alas! well nigh forgotten today_"Take heed unto thyself (1
Tim. 4:16).

The question may be asked in surprise by those who have not noted with sorrow the declension
that has been gradually Creeping in for so many years, and which is now so manifest to every
godly heart_"What would you have us to be or to do?"

The desire of the heart of God is expressed in the word, "Be filled with the Spirit." In affectionate
earnestness let me ask you, my brother, my sister, who are now reading this paper:Do you know
the fulness of present joy; the ineffable peace; the plenitude of power for prayer, worship, and
testimony; and the abounding hope that are the fruits of being "filled with the Spirit"?

Are you habitually controlled, directed, energized, and filled with the Holy Spirit of God? or is
this a state of soul you desire to cherish?

If so, do you not mourn the lack of power and dearth of blessing which are so frequently
noticeable in the meetings for prayer, ministry, and worship; and will you not go in brokenness
of spirit into your closet, there to pour out your heart to God in confession of the low spiritual
state everywhere apparent, and to beseech Him to visit us with a true revival in the power of the
Holy Ghost, that we may be found a waiting, watching, and working people at the fast-
approaching moment when the Coming One shall shout us up to meet Him in the air?

And oh, my brother, if your soul is not bright, and fresh, and happy in the realized love of Christ;
if you are not in the deep secret of your own heart walking in fellowship with the Father and the
Son through the power of the Holy Ghost_oh, let not the enemy deceive you by leading you to
think that you are becoming more intelligent. Is Christ more precious to you? Have you more real
delight and joy in thinking and speaking of Himself? In intelligence you may be more advanced;
but is your affection deeper truer than when you first learned that He loved Himself for you? Does
your heart glow with the fervor of "first love," the memory of which is even no precious, as you
recall it? Remember His appeal to tie gifted and "advanced" assembly in Ephesus, "Nevertheless
I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love" (Rev. 2:4). What is the worth
of a greater amount of intelligence as regards His Person and work if it be gained at the expense
of that soul affection which He prizes so dearly!

And as regards His coming, are you longing to hear His shout and see His face with a desire that
grows deeper, and permeates your life more and more, every day? Correct and orthodox you may
be as to the doctrine of the Lord’s coming, but let me ask_is it a hope you dearly cherish, and
for the fulfillment of which you are hourly waiting? Is it a doctrine you merely "hold," or does
its power hold you tenaciously in its embrace, separating you in practice from this present evil
age, and occupying your thoughts with the Person who is coming again?

Oh, that in this solemn, critical moment the cry may be heard_above the strife of tongues so
prevalent, and amidst the indifference so widespread_ringing down in heavenly power to the
depth of every ransomed soul:"AWAKE! AWAKE!" "Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out
to meet him."

(From Help and Food, Volume 46.)

"As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul
for the work whereunto I have called them" (Acts 13:2). I wish you to notice in this passage the
sovereign direction of the Spirit. They were all waiting upon God in the exercise of their various
gifts, making faithful use of the opportunities at hand, when the Spirit shows them an open door.
Twice is fasting mentioned, and it must be specially significant. I do not speak of the mere
abstinence from food, but of that spirit of earnest longing, of self-denial, of absorption, which lies
back of the actual neglect of food. Fasting is not an end, scarcely a means to an end, but an
indication of the purpose of a soul that has lost its natural inclinations in the one mastering desire.
It is to such souls, emptied of self, that the Spirit makes known His will.

How little there is of that among God’s saints. How little conviction of the direction of the Spirit
of God. New work is undertaken, special meetings are held, various activities started, but has it
been "the Holy Ghost said"? If there were, among us today, more the attitude shown by these
servants in Acts 13, would not the Spirit still definitely make known His will? They go forth,
guided, helped, sustained by that blessed One.

In line with this work of direction is the other side of the Spirit’s work in guidance. We read that
they "were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the Word in Asia" _the small province of that
name on the west coast of Asia Minor in which were situated Ephesus and other large cities. Then
they attempted to pass into Bithynia, ""but the Spirit suffered them not" (Acts 16:6,7). Here we
have the Spirit hindering. It is not providential hindrance, but a distinct prohibition clearly made
known. The reason for this hindering is soon apparent:a fresh start was to be made; that is, the
gospel was to be carried into Europe; and the next chapters give us the wonderful history of that
journey from Troas to Philippi and the cities of Greece. Later on, Paul did a great work in
Ephesus; note that the Spirit hinders and forbids in order that they may go further.

This I think will explain how they were "forbidden." They had Asia on their mind, but were
conscious of no freedom to go. There was no joy, no sense of the Spirit’s guidance. So they must
wait until clear, nor do they have to wait long, and the larger purpose of God is soon revealed.

Here again we must confess little experience. We are so full of impulse, of our own thoughts and
plans, that there is not the quiet waiting upon God for His mind, and so we lose the sense of His
approval, and the power of His Spirit. Need we wonder that little fruit attends our labors? And
yet, do we not all know something of this hindering? There is a sense of constraint and uncertainty
that surely should call us to further waiting on God. This is for the individual servant and for
companies of saints as well. Often, doubtless, the Spirit would hinder us from a special line of
service to turn us to another; or in order to exercise the hearts of others that the fellowship of all
might be fuller and the blessing correspondingly larger. "Wait on the Lord." The subject is full
of interest and profit, and needs our constant and prayerful attention.

I quote a familiar passage to show that this guidance is not for the few merely, but the common
privilege of every child of God:"As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of
God" (Rom. 8:14). Here the badge of sonship is the leading of the Spirit. Primarily, of course,

it refers to leading in paths of holiness. But can we exclude the widest use of the term? "He
leadeth me in the paths of righteousness" does not exclude the service to which the Lord calls us,
nor anything where we need His guidance.

What a comfort then to have the leading of the Spirit in all that we do; we are not to be left to
sight, "for we walk by faith, not by sight." We are not to be left even to the example of godly
saints, helpful as that is, but to be led by the blessed Spirit, in each detail of Me, in the use of
time, as to our fellowship with others, as to duties, as to expenditure of money, as to service_in
all things. What a comfort to be led of the Spirit of God! Are you thus led?

In one led of the Spirit, intelligence in divine things will be prominent. He will discern,
understand what the will of the Lord is. Here we are at the mercy of no vague impressions which
we are blindly to follow. Our patience and faith may be tested by the lack of guidance, as we have
seen; but we will not be left to uncertainty, or to unintelligent impressions. Paul’s vision of the
man of Macedonia formed the basis of a clear discernment of what the mind of the Spirit was.

But to be intelligent in the things of God means to have a knowledge of His mind as given in His
Word. To discern, we must have those principles of truth found only in the Scriptures, and the
spiritual man is ever a lover of the Word of God. With that Word dwelling in him, not in a coldly
intellectual way, but as controlling his thoughts, enlightening his conscience, and guiding his
affections, he has placed at the disposal of the Holy Spirit the instrument by which he will be made
of quick understanding. He will know the mind of the Spirit and thus be guided. How immensely
important is this!

I add a word which seems in place here. Nothing is more repulsive to a truly spiritual mind, and
grieving to the Spirit of God than a lofty assumption of spiritual guidance. A sanctified walk is
ever a walk of retirement. The man who is most subject to the guidance is the one who will lay
the least claims to being guided. He will be very slow to say, "The Lord led me here or there."
Guidance is largely for the closet and as we look into the eye of God. There are things to be
enjoyed rather than talked about. How sad to hear these sacred themes chatted about in a familiar
way as though one had a remarkable experience, which had now become a sort of second nature
to which he was quite accustomed. Such practices degrade these high and holy themes to us, and
they lose their power over our souls. Is it not true, dear brethren, that for most of us guidance is
the result of painful exercise, in which we have been compelled to see and confess much of pride
and .self-will, and other faults which we would not like to speak of publicly?

Our God is holy. Oh to realize that more deeply! How subdued and chastened we would be. We
would not talk very much about our guidance; but better than that, we would be guided. "The
secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him."

(From The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit.)

The allowance of flesh in the least degree in a Christian is to grieve the Spirit of God, by which
he has been sealed until the day of redemption (Eph. 4:30). What a motive to holiness is the
fact_true of every believer_that the Holy Spirit of God dwells in him! He may, alas, grieve Him
in many ways. Rejection of light which God has given; worldliness; in fact, everything that has
not Christ for its motive and object must grieve God’s Spirit and hinder our growth and
communion.

To quench the Spirit (1 Thess. 5:19) is to hinder His free action in the assembly. While there are
special permanent gifts in the Church (Eph. 4:11), there are also the "joints and bands" (Col.
2:19) which work effectually in the measure of every part, and by which the Body of Christ
increases. If they are hindered in true spiritual service, the Spirit of God is quenched.

There are dangers to be avoided on both sides, especially by those who seek to walk in the truth
of the Church of God. On one side the danger is that because there is liberty for all to "prophesy
one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted" (1 Cor. 14:31), there may be the
undervaluing of special ministry which is a permanent thing as long as the Church of God is here.
On the other side there is the danger of quenching the Spirit in the various helps _the joints and
bands by which nourishment is ministered in the body of Christ_by putting special ministry in
the place of the free action of the Holy Ghost in the members of Christ. Both are to be cherished,
and the most spiritual are those who will value all that God gives.

First Thessalonians 5:20,21 shows that it is ministry which the apostle has in his mind. While in
verse 12 he exhorts them to own those who labor among them and esteem them highly in love for
their work’s sake, in verses 19-21 they were not to quench the Spirit in any, but at the same time
to "prove all things" which were said and "hold fast that which is good."

(From Scripture Notes and Queries.)

FRAGMENT. Verses 25 through 29 of Ephesians 4 are summed up in verse 30:"And grieve not
the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." Inasmuch as the Holy
Spirit indwells the believer, He naturally is grieved by every manifestation of the old man, of our
former sinful self. It does not say that we will grieve the Holy Spirit away, as it is sometimes
wrongly quoted. No, indeed; He is ever with us, for we are sealed with the Spirit of God until the
day of redemption, until the Lord Jesus conies to take us home to glory. The serious thing is that
the Holy Spirit is ever with us, so that when we sin, we deeply grieve Him, for He indwells us.
And when we grieve Him, He has to leave His pleasant work of occupying us with the loveliness
of Christ, and begin to show us our own unloveliness. A realization that He, the Holy Spirit of
God, is our ever-present Host will keep us in a great measure from saying and doing things to
grieve Him. We grieve the Spirit when we do things that we are told not to do; we quench Him
when we do not do things we are told to do.

(From Ephesians.)

In view of the tendencies of our nature, how needful it is to keep it in check. Thus we are told in
this passage in Hebrews that if you are a child you must expect chastening. "He that spareth his
rod, hateth his son; but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes" (Prov. 13:24). In love God is
pledged to chasten us. His rod we are to receive as a part of the proof of that love which gave His
own precious Son for us.

It is interesting to notice the character of these chastisements. They are persecution, scorn, hatred,
the reproach of man. You say, if God would only lay me on a bed of sickness, I could stand it.
If it were God who had done these things I could tolerate it; but it is just the wretched malice of
man. I cannot see Him in it. Well, faith sees God in it. Whom did the Lord Jesus see in all that
He passed through_which was not, I need hardly say, for His discipline, for He needed neither
correction nor prevention? If He could say of the bitterest part of the cup, "The cup which My
Father hath given Me to drink, shall I not drink it?" He could say it of everything else. These
things which we bear, no matter how much they seem to come from malignity, envy, or hatred,
we know they also come from a Father’s heart who permits them for our blessing.

Look at Job, for instance:Satan was let loose upon him. He took away his property and his
family. He afflicted him with grievous sickness. And then the wife of his bosom unconsciously
lends herself as an emissary of Satan. She says, "Curse God and die." See his noble answer:
"Shall we receive good at the hands of God, and shall we not receive evil?" He does not attribute
his trial to Satan. In fact, we do not even read that Job knew it was Satan who was acting in it all.
Whatever the chastening might be, it was the chastening of God. Oh for faith to look past the poor
tools that Satan may use_whether it be the world or the flesh in fellow Christians_to look past
all second causes into the Father’s loving heart.

Now that is not an easy thing to do, for, as he says further, "No chastening for the present
seemeth to be joyous, but grievous." Do you know what we all have a desire for? It is a kind of
chastening that does not hurt_that might be a pleasure to go through. But that would be no
chastening. It must be grievous in order to be a chastening.

Then he reminds us of the effect of this. We have had earthly parents who corrected us according
to their pleasure. A father smote us with the rod, rebuked us with his lips, cut off some pleasure,
or did something that showed his desire to deliver us from evil; and the effect of it was that we
gave him respect and reverence. But now he says, Shall we not much rather, if our Father sends
affliction, bow to Him? It is not for a few days with Him, but forever. Earthly parents have done
the best they could for our temporal profit, but He has done so that we might be partakers of His
holiness.

Notice that expression:not merely "partakers of His holiness"; but there are given unto us
"exceeding great and precious promises," whereby we might be "partakers of the divine nature"
(2 Peter 1:4)_brought to the place where we can drink from the fountain-source of holiness, the
divine nature itself. God chastens us in order that we may partake of His nature, that we may
drink that in, as it were, and have the fruits of holiness in our outward Me as the result. After the

chastening come the peaceable fruits of righteousness to those who are exercised thereby.

You will notice here that there are three ways in which we can be affected by chastening. We can
despise the chastening of the Lord_we may think it a trifle, and throw it off. We have been
speaking about reproach and scorn. A man may say, "I don’t care for people’s opinion_that is
nothing to me"; he may brave it out in his own strength. He is despising the chastening of the
Lord. He does not have to go to God about it. It cannot be a severe chastening that does not bring
us to God. Then, on the other hand, there are those who "faint" when they are rebuked of Him.
They are overwhelmed and the hands hang down; they are discouraged.

These are the two extremes_neither of which is faith. But now we have, "To those who are
exercised thereby." We are to be exercised by what we pass through, not to despise it, not to faint
under it. We are to learn the lessons which God would teach us, to go to Him for comfort, help,
and guidance, to lay hold upon His grace and mercy.

(From Lectures on Hebrews.)

A vigorous branch of a noble vine rose up above the top of the wall and said to himself:"Here
is a sphere which no other branch has taken over, a place where enlarged views and enlarged
capacity are found, where nails and wires are things of the past, and where, of course, fruit of an
extraordinary character may be expected to grow."

So the branch stretched himself higher and higher, until he was very high indeed, and he heard
the gardener say, "Well, well, his time will come."

"Yes, truly," said the branch, "my time will come, no doubt. It ought to come up here. My
brethren below will, of course, do the best they can,, but one must not expect too much of them."

"Nor," said the gardener, "must we expect too much of you."

Slowly, as it seemed to the branch, which was lonely in his elevation, the season for gathering the
grapes came around, but how great was his shame and grief to hear the gardener say, "Never
mind the top branch, it is empty."

Time passed on, and the pruning hook was brought out, and the branch said to the gardener, "Oh,
my master, can you do anything for me?"

Smiling, the gardener replied, "What! are you willing to deny yourself?"

"Yes, master," said he, "I am willing."

"So be it," he said, and instantly the lofty part of the branch was cut off and the remainder brought
down upon the wall and made fast in a sure place.

When another vintage was gathered, the gatherers looked at the humbled branch and saw nothing
but a few folded leaves. "It has not recovered its wasted strength," they said. But the gardener
himself drew near and lifted up the leaves, and behold! there hung upon it the largest, richest
cluster of all.

"Master!" said the branch, "I hid it for Thee:Thou didst prune me in Thy wisdom and bind me
in Thy love."

The first person in the Bible to be described as a vinedresser was Noah (Gen. 9:20). While God’s
chosen people were wanderers, there was little or no opportunity for growing vineyards, for such
an occupation requires permanent settlement. The land of Canaan was evidently ideally suited to
the growing of grapes (Numbers 13:23,24) and there are frequent mentions of vineyards and
vinedressers in the Old Testament following the entrance of the Israelites into Canaan.

David, Solomon, and Uzziah hired vinedressers to keep their vineyards (1 Chron. 27:27, 2 Chron.
26:10, Eccl. 2:4, and Song of Solomon 8:11). Naboth had a vineyard for which he was murdered
by King Ahab (1 Kings 21:1-16).

Vineyards were such a familiar sight in Israel that God used the figure of the vineyard in an
allegorical sense to describe His relations with the nation of Israel. He was the vinedresser; Israel
was the vine or vineyard. God had brought the vine out of Egypt and planted it in Canaan where
it flourished. The divine Vinedresser had taken good care of His vineyard and had fenced it in to
protect it from enemies. But instead of bringing forth good fruit, it had brought forth wild grapes.
In judgment, God was going to remove His care from the vineyard and allow the wild beasts to
destroy it (see Psalm 80:8-16, Isa. 5:1-17, and Jer. 2:21).

The Lord Jesus used the figure of the vineyard in several of His parables. In Matthew 21:33-41
and Mark 12:1-9 the religious leaders of Israel were the hired vinedressers who refused to produce
the fruits of the kingdom of God and instead murdered God’s servants and finally the Son of God
Himself.

The Lord also used the figure of a householder hiring workers for his vineyard to illustrate the
truth that the rewards of the kingdom are dispensed by God according to His grace and goodness
and not according to our ideas of who deserves what (Matt. 20:1-16).

Perhaps the reference to vinedressing which has the most meaning for us today is found in John
15:1-8. "I am the true vine and my Father is the husbandman [vinedresser]. Every branch in Me
that beareth not fruit He taketh away; and every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth it, that it
may bring forth more fruit…. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself,
except it abide in the vine, no more can ye, except ye abide in Me …. If a man abide not in Me,
he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and
they are burned . . . ."

God expects anyone who wants to be a branch in His vineyard to bear fruit. The only source of
power for fruit-bearing is to be found in Christ the Vine (or main trunk). If the branch is not truly
connected to the Vine, it will eventually wither and its lifelessness appear to all and it will be
burned. (The same thought is expressed in James 2:14-26.)

The expression in this passage to which I wish to direct our attention is, "My Father is the
husbandman . . . and every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth it, that it may bring forth more
fruit." What does a good vinedresser do in order to have his vines bear the maximum amount of

fruit? In almost any book on vine growing a great deal of attention is given to proper pruning.
This pruning is not done in a haphazard fashion but according to a careful plan. I will not go into
detail as to these methods, but I would like to quote one who has had experience in growing
grapes.

"The grape vine bears only on new wood, never on old wood. The branches must be pruned
drastically every year. This is done before the leaves appear in the spring. It may look as if the
vine dresser is killing the vine. The more heavily the branches are pruned, the larger will be the
bunches of grapes. If the branches are pruned less heavily, there will be more bunches; but they
will not be of so high a quality."

Heavy pruning brings forth high quality fruit. Is not this what God is telling us through the writer
of Hebrews when he discusses chastening in chapter 12:3-11? Verse 11 states, "Now no
chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous; nevertheless afterward it yieldeth
the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby." Just as the human
vinedresser prunes his vines according to a careful plan, so the Father chastens and purges us
according to His careful plan. Nothing that happens to us is an accident. He must purge out all
the old, dead growth (anything of the flesh) which would hinder the production of the fruit of the
Spirit. Just as the literal vines must be pruned yearly, so God’s pruning process goes on
throughout our lives.

Let us not despise or rebel against or try to evade the chastening of the Lord. Let us be exercised
by it so that we may bring forth the maximum amount of fruit of the highest possible quality.

What is your first response when someone criticizes you, rebukes you, corrects you, or tells you
that you are wrong? Why, does not your blood rush into your neck and head, and your hair bristle
a little, and you immediately begin thinking thoughts like these:"I didn’t do anything wrong"; or
"it wasn’t my fault." Or, if, deep down, you know you were wrong, you may say to yourself:
"Boy, what a sorehead!" or "Why are people always trying to put me down?" or "Who does he
think he is, anyway? He must think he’s perfect!" or "He sure doesn’t show any Christian love!"
or "He should talk; he does things ten times as bad himself!" or "How can he talk to me like that?
he’s never been in my shoes."

Now, who can honestly say that he or she has never experienced such reactions to reproof or
correction? Most of us_and I include myself particularly_respond in such a way more often than
not. And with many of us, do not our thoughts often become open and manifest to others_ often
in bitter words of retaliation?

Such are the natural tendencies of man. But let us not excuse ourselves as to such behavior by
saying, "We’re only human." Let us rather listen to what the Word of God has to say about these
things; the Book of Proverbs is particularly rich in instruction concerning the proper response to
reproof and correction. Let’s listen:

"He is in the way of life that keepeth instruction; but he that refuseth reproof erreth" (Prov.
10:17). "Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge; but he that hateth reproof is brutish" (12:1).
"Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction; but he that regardeth reproof shall
be honored" (13:18). "A fool despiseth his father’s instruction; but he that regardeth reproof is
prudent" (15:5). "Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way; and he that hateth
reproof shall die" (15:10). "The ear that heareth the reproof of life abideth among the wise"
(15:31). "He that refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul; but he that heareth reproof getteth
understanding" (15:32).

"But what if the reprover is not fair?" a teenager may ask. "It was the other boys who were doing
most of the harm." God’s answer is, "He that regardeth reproof is prudent." Even if you were
only one tenth of one percent to blame for the trouble, you are guilty of that part and need to be
corrected. If you refuse correction this time, you may be one percent to blame the next time, and
maybe ten percent the following time, and who knows what it will be the time after that.

"But that person is ultra strict and ultra sensitive, and how can she know anything about raising
children when she has not had any herself?" bewail the young parents. God’s answer is, "He that
regardeth reproof shall be honored." It may very well be that the person who continually criticizes
the way you raise your children has selfish or unloving motives, or at least does not come to you
in the spirit of meekness (Gal. 6:1). But does this negate the force of the reproof? Does it release
you from your responsibility to respond to the reproof in a Scriptural way? Have you ever
considered that perhaps God is trying to speak to you in this way? Maybe you really do need to
modify the way you are raising your children, and God is allowing this trial in hopes that you will
respond in a right way to the reproof and correction.

Many other like questions are often raised by persons who have been reproved. The reprover is
often regarded as a "thorn in the side" by the recipient of the reproof, and thus the words of
correction are taken lightly or disregarded altogether, and this is often accompanied by a bitter
denunciation of or retaliation against the reprover. This is what was experienced by Elijah (1
Kings 19), Jeremiah (Jer. 36-38), John the Baptist (Matt. 14), Stephen (Acts 7), and the Lord
Jesus (John 8). And, sadly, this is what faithful Christians often find today, even when they go
to their erring brothers and sisters in the spirit of meekness:they find both their message of
correction and themselves despised. "He that refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul."

The next time a brother in Christ, or a neighbor, or anyone comes to you and offers a criticism,
rebuke, or a word of correction_regardless of the spirit in which he brings the reproof, try the
following:(a) Thank the person for the reproof and tell him he is right_if the reproof is
justified_or tell him that you will consider the matter before the Lord if you are not sure the
reproof is just; (b) thank the Lord for the reproof; and (c) seek the Lord’s help in accepting the
reproof as chastening from Himself (Heb. 12:5-11) and in learning the lessons which the Lord has
in it for you. Actually, it is impossible properly to carry out this advice by one’s own efforts for
it is exactly contrary to human nature. It can only be done through the power of the Holy Spirit.
We must first have a real, heartfelt desire to be instructed by the Lord, to grow into spiritual
manhood and maturity, to be controlled entirely by the Lord. We must pray continually that we
will be ready at all times to receive instruction from the Lord, not only through the reading of His
Word (2 Tim. 3:16) directly, but through His servants (our fellow-believers) who may faithfully
apply God’s Word to our Me and situation, and also through our non-Christian neighbors who are
quick to pick up and point out inconsistencies in our walk and testimony. We must pray
particularly for spiritual strength to receive reproof and correction from persons with whom we
have little bond of affection or from persons who do not bring the reproof in a spirit of meekness.

Let us soberly consider the message of God to us:"He is in the way of life that keepeth
instruction," but "he that hateth reproof shall die."

Did you think of us this morning
As you breathed a word of prayer?
Did you ask for strength to help us
All our heavy burdens bear?

Someone prayed, and strength was given
For the long and weary road,
Someone prayed and faith grew stronger
As we bent beneath our load.

Someone prayed, the way grew brighter,
And we walked all unafraid,
In our heart a song of gladness;
Tell me, was it YOU who prayed?

The disappointments of life are in reality only the decrees of love. I have a message for you today,
My child. I will whisper it softly in your ear, in order that the storm-clouds which appear may be
gilt with glory, and that the thorns on which you may have to walk be blunted. The message is
short_a tiny sentence_but allow it to sink into the depths of your heart, and be to you as a
cushion on which to rest your weary head:"This thing is from Me."

Have you never thought that all which concerns you concerns Me also? He that touches you
touches the apple of My eye (Zech. 2:8). You have been precious in My eyes; that is why I take
a special interest in your upbringing. When temptation assails you and the "enemy comes in like
a flood" I would wish you to know that "this thing is from Me." I am the God of circumstances.
You have not been placed where you are by chance, but because it is the place I have chosen for
thee. Did you not ask to become humble? Behold, I have placed you in the very place where this
lesson is to be learned. It is by your surroundings and your companions that the working of My
will is to come about.

Do you have money difficulties? Is it hard to keep within your income? "This thing is from Me."
For I am He that possesses all things. I wish you to draw everything from Me, and to depend
entirely upon Me. My riches are illimitable (Phil. 4:19). Put My promise to the proof, so that it
may not be said of you, "Yet in this thing ye did not believe the Lord your God" (Deut. 1:32).

Are you passing through a night of affliction? "This thing is from Me." I am the Man of sorrows
and acquainted with grief (Isa. 53:3). I have left you without human support that in turning to Me
you might obtain eternal consolation (2 Thess. 2:16,17).

Has some friend disappointed you? One to whom you had opened your heart? "This thing is from
Me." I have allowed this disappointment that you might learn that the best friend is Jesus. I long
to be your confidant.

Has someone said false things of you? Leave that, and come closer to Me, under My wings, away
from the place of wordy dispute, for I will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your
judgment as the noonday (Psa. 37:6).

Have your plans been all upset? Are you crushed and weary? "This thing is from Me." Have you
made plans and then come and asked Me to bless them? I wish to make your plans for you. I will
take the responsibility, for it is too heavy for you; you could not perform it alone (Exod. 18:18).
You are but an instrument and not an agent.

Have you desired fervently to do some great work for Me? Instead of that you have been laid on
a bed of sickness and suffering. "This thing is from Me." I was unable to attract your attention
while you were so active. I wish to teach you some of My deep lessons. It is only those who have
learned to wait patiently who can serve Me. My greatest workers are sometimes those who are
laid aside from active service in order that they may learn to wield the weapon of prayer.

Are you suddenly called to occupy a difficult position full of responsibilities? Go forward,
counting on Me. I am giving you the position full of difficulties for the reason that Jehovah your
God will bless you in all your works, and in all the business of your hands (Deut. 15:18). This
day I place in your hand a pot of holy oil. Draw from it freely, My child, that all the
circumstances arising along the pathway, each word that gives thee pain, each manifestation of
thy feebleness, may be anointed with this oil. Remember that interruptions are divine instructions.
The sting will go in the measure in which you see Me in all things. Therefore set your heart unto
all the words that I testify among you this day; for it is your life (Deut. 32:46,47).

Some time ago I visited a brother in the Lord who had used his sawmill for the manufacture of
broom handles. Seeing the rough appearance of the broom handles as they came from the saw and
lathe, I asked the brother how they were made smooth enough for use. "Oh, I will show you," he
replied; he then grasped an armful and placed them in a revolving cylinder. In a very brief time
he stopped the cylinder and, to my amazement, he took them out quite smooth in appearance and
feeling. He had done this that they might rub each other smooth.

"Ah," said I, "here is a good lesson for us as to the ways of the Lord with us, His people, and I
understand better than ever what it is to ‘endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit.’ When God’s
grace has saved a man, and made him personally fit to go to heaven, cleansed by the Saviour’s
blood, and with a nature capable of enjoying it, He next sees fit to put him into such circumstances
on earth as thus serve him a good purpose, like this smoothing process." Thus it is, beloved
brethren, that we are put, by His divine and unerring hand of love and wisdom, into association
with many in the body of Christ who daily try and exercise our hearts, that in the workings of His
grace we may "rub each other smooth." Even so, Father, may our hearts respond!

A Christian blacksmith who had a great deal of affliction was challenged by an unbeliever to
account for it.

His explanation was this:"I don’t know that I can account for these things to your satisfaction,
but I think I can to my own. I am a blacksmith. I often take a piece of iron and put it into the fire
and bring it to a white heat. Then I put it on the anvil and strike it once or twice to see whether
it will take temper. If I think it will, I plunge it into the water and suddenly change the
temperature. Then I put it into the fire again, and again I put it into the water. This I repeat
several times. Then I put it on the anvil and hammer it, and bend it, and rasp and file it, and make
some useful article which will do service for twenty-five years. If, however, when I first strike
it on the anvil, I think it will not take temper, I throw it into the scrap heap and sell it at a half
cent a pound.

"I believe my God and Father has been testing me to see whether I will take temper. He has put
me into the fire and into the water. I have tried to bear it as patiently as I could, and my daily
prayer has been, ‘Lord, put me into the fire if Thou wilt; put me into the water if Thou thinkest
I need it; do anything that pleases Thee, O Lord; only don’t throw me into the scrap heap!’"

As we were passing through dense forests of fir trees and cedars recently in British Columbia, one
feature struck us forcibly and brought thoughts of greater things:Where the forest was so dense
that the trees stood only a few feet from each other, they were tall, smooth, and straight as
arrows, shooting their heads far up toward the sky. Where, here and there, a little space was
comparatively bare, the trees were ill-shaped and crooked. How like God’s people! was what
came to mind. First of all, where trees are thus very dense, they are all of one kind. So, before
God’s people can stand together closely knit, they must guard against unconverted persons getting
in as if of them. Having confidence in each other as being children of God, they now can cling
to each other in love; and the more they do this, the more they will develop in Christian
perfection.

All these trees so pressed against each other that it made them shoot up their heads toward the sun.
So, if we stand close to each other in love, the pressure we shall be under from the faults and
failings we shall find in each other will compel us to look unto Jesus, the beginner and finisher
of faith. In Him we shall see love, patience, grace, and faithfulness combined in perfection and
constantly exercised toward each one of us. This will send us back to our place among our
brethren, ready to act in the same way.

If we do not thus continue with each other, like David’s men who were all "of one heart to make
David king," and therefore "could keep rank" (1 Chron. 12:38), but stand aloof in supposed
superiority, we shall not fail to grow one-sided and crooked. We need one another, if but to make
each other grow straight.

"But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keep
yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal Me.
And of some have compassion, making a difference; and others save with fear, pulling them out
of the fire:hating even the garment spotted by the flesh" (Jude 20-23).

Dark and gloomy as the scene is today, there is yet no cause for despair. "Upon this rock," said
Christ, "I will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18).
The final result is sure. Victory will rest on the blood-stained banner of the Prince of Peace. In
the hour of His triumph His faithful ones shall be the sharers of His glory. And in the present
moment of their trial and His rejection they have an abundant solace and cheer, however the
power of Satan may be manifested and error seem to be about to vanquish truth.

The saint of God needs to daily build himself up on his most holy faith. That faith has been once
for all revealed (Jude 3); on it the believer rests. Assured that it forms a foundation impregnable
to every attack by men or demons, he is now to build himself up upon it. This implies continual
feeding upon the Word that the soul may be nourished and the spirit edified.

But linked up with this we have prayer in the Holy Spirit:not perfunctory saying of prayers, but
spiritual communion with God, bringing to Him every need and every difficulty, assured that He
waits in grace to meet the one and to dissolve the other. Praying in the Holy Spirit can only result
from a walk in the Spirit. For if there be not self-judgment, prayer will be selfish. We shall ask
and receive not, because we seek to gratify our own lusts in our requests. But when Christ is
before the soul, and the heart is finding its delight in Him, the Holy Spirit Himself will dictate
those petitions that God delights to grant.

A definite command follows:"Keep yourselves in the love of God." Note, it is not, "Keep God
loving you." Such a thought is opposed to that glorious revelation of Him whose nature is love.
The cross has told out to the full all that He is. Daily the believer is given to prove this
lovingkindness. Nor does the apostle exhort us to keep loving God. The divine nature in every
believer rises up in love to Him whose grace has saved him. "We love Him because He first loved
us."

But here we are told to keep ourselves in the love of God. It is as though I say to my child, "Keep
in the sunshine." The sun shines whether we enjoy it or not. And so God’s love abides
unchanging. But we need to keep in the conscious enjoyment of it. Let nothing make the tried soul
doubt that love. Circumstances cannot alter it. Difficulties cannot strain it, nor can our own
failures. The soul needs to rely upon it, and thus be borne in triumph above the conflict and the
discouraging episodes incident to the life of faith.

Then we have a fourth exhortation, carrying the heart on to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We are to await His mercy unto eternal Me. We have eternal life now, by faith in Him who is
Himself the life eternal. But we are going on to the scene where Me shall reign, where everything
will be suited to the Me already communicated to us by the Spirit. This is at the end of the way;

so the trusting soul looks up in hope and waits in patience for the return of the Lord.

The next verse tells us how to deal with bewildered souls, led astray by the wicked deceivers
against whom we have been warned in the early part of this epistle. A godly discrimination should
be used in dealing with persons taken by error. A hard and fast rule for treating all alike is
contrary to this verse, and to the tenor of all Scripture. Undoubtedly souls have been driven more
completely into evil systems by the rigor and harshness of well-meaning but unwise persons who
so dreaded contamination with the error that they did not seek, in a godly way, to recover and
clear the deceived one before refusing him their fellowship.

The tenth verse of the Second Epistle of John is decisive and simple as to a willful teacher of what
is opposed to the doctrine of Christ. Such are to be shunned, and even refused a common greeting.
But other methods apply to dealing with their dupes, often entrapped through ignorance; though
undoubtedly a perverse will has been at work or they would have been kept by divine power in
the truth. Often what is needed is to deal with the perverted one as to his ways, rather than the
teaching he has imbibed. When there is self-judgment, the Spirit can be depended on to do His
blessed work of guiding into all truth.

Others need to be snatched from the fire; energetic effort is made to warn and deliver before the
evil gets so firm a hold upon them that it will be too late to seek their blessing. But in every
instance, one needs to remember that unholy teaching is defiling and linked up with unholy living;
thus, care must be exercised lest, in seeking to aid another, one become himself besmirched by
the evil influence, and be thus made unfit to help others because his own fellowship with God in
the truth has become marred.

Truth is learned in the conscience; and only as one walks carefully and soberly before God is there
security from error. Because Hymenaeus and Alexander did not maintain a good conscience, they
made shipwreck of the faith_as have untold thousands besides (1 Tim. 1:18-20). This is the result
of the fact that enlightenment in divine things depends on the Holy Spirit’s activity in taking the
things of Christ and revealing them to His own. Where He is grieved by a careless demeanor and
loose ways He no longer establishes the soul in the truth, but His activity is manifested in bringing
home to the conscience the sin and failure that have dishonored the Lord. Therefore, if there
would be growth in the knowledge of His Word, there must be a walk in the power of the Spirit
ungrieved.

So, in seeking the recovery of those who have erred from the truth, this ministry to the conscience
must not be lost sight of. Otherwise there may be ability to overthrow the reasonings of one
astray, to meet all objections by direct Scripture, even to cause one to see that his position is
biblically and logically untenable, while yet the state of his soul is as wretched as ever.

But when the deceived one is dealt with in the fear of God, in holy faithfulness, his restoration to
communion will be the first step sought:then he will be in a state to appreciate the seriousness of
the evil teaching in which he has been taken as in a net when he wandered out of the right way.

(From An Exposition of the Epistle of Jude.)

The Word of God says, "There is one body" (Eph. 4:4), not two, nor three, but one_only one.
That "one body" is the body of Christ (Eph. 1:23). Thus, every true Christian is to Christ what
a man’s foot, hand, etc., is to that man (1 Cor. 12:12-27). Nowhere in Scripture do we read or
find the idea of a Baptist, a Methodist, a Presbyterian, or any other body. The only thing found
there is the one body of Christ, formed by the "one Spirit" of God. The relationship therefore of
all true Christians is that of fellow-members of the one body of Christ_a divine relationship
entered into at conversion by the Spirit’s baptism, and consummated in the glory of heaven to
which the Church is destined.

Christians assuming any other relationship than this with one another, associating themselves
together on any other principle than this, are therefore sectarian. They form another tie than that
which God has formed, and by which He binds all His children of this dispensation together.

But the members of that one body are scattered all over the earth. They cannot assemble together
in one place. They therefore assemble in any locality convenient to those who live in that locality.
There may be "two or three," or two or three hundred or thousand; Christ, the Saviour and Head
of the Church, has pledged Himself to be present in the midst of them thus assembled (Matt.
18:20). He is their Center of assembling as the ark was of old the gathering-center of Israel. He
is also the attractive Object of all their hearts_every one rejoicing in the presence, to faith, of the
Lord Jesus. These local churches, or assemblies, are, of course, even as the persons who compose
them, "one body in Christ, and every one members one of another" (Rom. 12:5). If new converts
be received in one locality, they are received there on behalf of the whole Church of God
universal, and thus introduced into her fellowship_her fellowship, mark, not her membership, for
they were already made members by the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Should one move where he
is unknown, a letter of commendation gives him full access to all privileges everywhere. If one
walks in evil and is put under discipline in one place, he is under discipline in the whole Church
universal until he repents.

All these local assemblies are, for their doctrine and their practice, primarily responsible to the
Lord, inasmuch as "Christ is the head of the Church" (Eph. 5:23), and should any of them fall
into evil doctrine or practice He may visit them with judgment, as in 1 Cor. 11:27-32, or take
away its candlestick altogether as threatened in Rev. 2:5. They are also responsible to one another,
for all "are members one of another" (Rom. 12:5). No local assembly can act for itself alone. Its
actions affect all others, bind all others, and render thus all others responsible with it. It must
therefore, when questioned, be open in the fullest way to investigation, as it is accountable to all
the rest. The sense of this responsibility toward one another produces wholesome care in all that
is done in each place.

But, someone may say, this is all very true, and sound doctrine, and in accord with all Scripture,
but Christendom is full of divisions and parties, unsubject to each other, which in turn abound
with persons who are in no way subject to Scripture or to the Lord. What then are you going to
do? Walk apart from them, and, by scriptural teaching and godly labor after the fashion of the
apostles, form a fellowship on the principle of the whole Church of God, to practice among

themselves what the whole Church should practice. It may be small and weak, and cause
opposition and contempt, as in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah, when they were building afresh
upon the old foundations; but it will please God. The mere attempt will please Him. Faithful labor
at it He will bless; and when the Lord returns He will manifest that every "living stone" which
had been set on the old foundations had been set in a place of special blessing_blessing for
eternity.

(From Help and Food, Vol. 29.)

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath
found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls; who when he
had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it" (Matthew 13:44-
46).

In the first of these parables we read of a treasure hid in a field, which a man finds and hides, and
for joy thereof sells all that he has and buys the field. I am aware that many persons apply this to
a soul finding Christ. But what does the man in the parable do? He sells all that he has to buy the
field. Is this the way for a man to be saved? If so, salvation is a question not of faith, but of giving
up everything to gain Christ, which is not grace, but works carried to the utmost. When a man
has Christ, he would doubtless give up everything for Him. But these are not the terms on which
a man first receives Christ for his soul’s need. But this is not all:"The field is the world." Am I
to buy the world in order to obtain Christ? This only shows the difficulties into which we fall
whenever we depart from the simplicity of Scripture. The Lord Himself disproves such an
interpretation. He shows that there is one Man, one only, who saw this treasure in the midst of
the confusion. It is Himself, who gave up all His rights in order that He might have sinners
washed in His blood and redeemed to God; it was He who bought the world, in order to acquire
the treasure He valued. The two things are distinctly presented in John 17:2, "As Thou hast given
Him power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as Thou hast given Him."
There is the treasure:"As many as Thou hast given Him." He buys the whole, the outside world,
in order to possess this hidden treasure. (Ed. note:Some commentators identify the hidden
treasure with Israel.)

But moreover, "The kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man seeking goodly pearls; who,
when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it." The
parable of the hid treasure did not sufficiently convey what the saints are to Christ. For the
treasure might consist of a hundred thousand pieces of gold and silver; how would this mark the
blessedness and beauty of the Church? The merchant finds "one pearl of great price." The Lord
does not see merely the preciousness of the saints, but the unity and heavenly beauty of the
Church. Every saint is precious to Christ; but "He loved the Church, and gave Himself for it."
That is what is seen here:"One pearl of great price." I do not in the least doubt that its spirit may
be applied to every Christian; but I believe it is intended to set forth the loveliness of the Church
in the eyes of Christ. It could not be fully said of a man awaking to believe the gospel, that he is
seeking goodly pearls. If we consider a sinner before he has received Christ, is he not rather
feeding on husks with the swine? Here it is one who seeks "goodly pearls," which no unconverted
man ever really sought. There is no possibility of applying these parables except to the Lord
Himself. How blessed it is that, in the midst of all the confusion which the devil has wrought,
Christ sees in His saints a treasure and the beauty of His Church, in spite of all infirmities and
failure!

(From Lectures on the Gospel of Matthew.)

The zeal of Nehemiah was used of the Lord to rouse almost all of the people of Jerusalem. There
were degrees of energy among them and, it may be, lukewarmness if not hostility in the hearts
of some; but outwardly, and by profession, nearly all came forth and offered their services as
builders. It was, in fact, a real revival, and such a one as could only be produced by the Spirit of
God. And the value God set upon it is seen in that He has caused the names of those who engaged
in this work to be written and preserved. This very circumstance shows that they had His mind
in building the wall. It could not be otherwise, for what was the meaning of their proposed work?
It was that they, led forth by Nehemiah, confessed their need of separation from the nations
around, and took measures to secure it. Long ages before, Moses had said to the Lord, "Wherein
shall it be known here that I and Thy people have found grace in Thy sight? Is it not in that Thou
goest with us? So shall we be separated, I and Thy people, from all the people that are upon the
face of the earth" (Exod. 33:16). They had forgotten this truth; but now, through grace, they were
about once again to take the place of a people set apart for God.

In several cases in this chapter it is specified that certain ones repaired over against (or opposite)
their houses (verses 10, 23, 28, 29, etc.). The Spirit of God would have us understand the spiritual
meaning of this. Bearing in mind that the wall is an emblem of separation, we see-that these
servants of the Lord began first with their own houses, that they sought first of all to bring their
own families into subjection to the word of God, and thereby to effect separation from evil within
the circle of their own responsibility. And this has ever been the divine order. Thus, when God
called Gideon to be the deliverer of His people, He commanded him to throw down the altar of
Baal in his father’s house before he could go forth to battle against the Midianites. As another has
remarked, "Faithfulness within precedes outward strength. Evil must be put away from Israel
before the enemy can be driven out. Obedience first and then strength. This is God’s order."

Another interesting point may be noticed. Some who built the gates and assisted with the wall did
not repair opposite their houses. Eliashib, the high priest, for example (compare verse 1 with
verses 20 and 21), and those who repaired opposite their houses, are not said to have assisted in
building the gates, etc. Two classes of saints are herein indicated. The first class is made up of
those who may be termed "ecclesiastical saints," that is, those who are strong on Church truth,
and in maintaining the truth of separation from evil for the Church, and at the same time are
careless as to their own houses. A more sorrowful spectacle cannot be presented in the Church
of God (and one not infrequently seen), when a public advocate of the claims of Christ over His
people, of the maintenance of His authority in the midst of those who are gathered to His name,
allows his own house, through its disorder, to become an occasion of reproach by the enemy.
Eliashib is an example, in this chapter, of this class. Whatever the indifference of his heart, he was
professedly engaged in the maintenance of separation and justice and judgment in Israel_through
building, together with his brethren, the gate and sanctifying it, while at the same time leaving
others to care for the wall opposite his own house (see verses 20, 21). Tending the vineyard of
others, his own vineyard he had not kept; this is proved by the fact that he was allied unto Tobiah
the Ammonite, while his grandson married a daughter of Sanballat the Horonite. Eli, Samuel, and
David of an earlier day are also examples of this numerous class.

Then there are others, as we learn from this chapter, who are most zealous in tending their own
houses and regulating them according to God, but are almost completely indifferent to the welfare
of the Church. Such have apprehended the truth that they themselves individually are to be
witnesses for Christ; but they have not learned that the Church is to be a light-bearer in the midst
of the world. In other words, they have not realized the oneness of God’s people, that believers
are "the body of Christ, and members in particular." As a consequence, while they fully admit the
Word of God is their guide as to their individual path, they do not recognize its authority over the
saints collectively or corporately. They are thus often linked with such departures from the truth,
such disregard of the supremacy of Christ as Head of the Church, through their public connection
with the people of God, as would fill them with fear if they did but own their responsibility in the
Church as well as in their own families. But if we understand the position in which through grace
we have been set, it will be our earnest desire to unite the repairing opposite our own houses with
building the wall and the gates.

Nothing in the service of the Lord’s people passes unnoticed; thus in verse 12 we read that "next
unto him repaired Shallum the son of Halohesh, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem, he and his
daughters." The zeal of these godly women has thus obtained for them a place in this memorial
of the work of the Lord. Such a record, as well as the more abundant records of the New
Testament, shows that there is never any difficulty as to women’s place in service when they are
filled with the energy of the Spirit of God. The account preserved of Joanna the wife of Chuza,
Susanna, and many others who ministered to the Lord of their substance, of Mary and Martha,
of Phoebe, a servant of the Church, of Priscilla, of Persis, and of many more, is surely sufficient
for guidance to any who are willing to sit at Jesus’ feet and learn His mind. This scripture gives
us not necessarily what man saw, but what God saw. The father and his daughters were all
engaged in repairing the wall, and the fact that it is mentioned is its commendation. Beyond this
nothing can be said; but the examples already cited are enough to teach that there is room enough
in the Church of God, and also in the world, for women’s utmost energy and devotedness to
Christ, provided it be exhibited in subjection to Him and to His Word.

Reviewing the whole chapter, two other points of great importance may be specified. The reader
will observe that some labored in companies and some alone. Some were happiest when serving
in fellowship with their brethren, and some preferred, while in full communion with the object
their brethren had in view, to labor in single-eyed dependence upon, and alone with, the Lord.
The same thing is observed in every age of the Church. There are vessels which are adapted for
lonely service, and there are others almost useless unless in association with others. There are
dangers besetting the path of both. The former are often tempted to be isolated and to forget that
the Lord has other servants working for the same ends, while the latter are sometimes betrayed
into forgetfulness of individual dependence, as well as into the sacrifice of their own convictions
as to the Lord’s will in order to secure peace and union. The important thing is to receive the
service from the Lord, to labor as He directs, to go where He sends, whether alone or in company
with others, and ever to maintain a single eye to His glory. Happy is that servant who has learned
the lesson that it is the Lord’s will, and not his own, which must govern the whole of his activities.

The second noteworthy thing is the variety of the services of these children of Israel. One did one
thing and one another, while all were working for the same end. It was no mean shadow of the

various functions of the members of the body. Paul, speaking of this, says, "Having then gifts
differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according
to the proportion of faith; or ministry, let us wait on our ministering; or he that teacheth, on
teaching; or he that exhorteth, on exhortation; he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that
ruleth, with diligence; he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness" (Rom. 12:6-8). The importance
of occupying the position given us to fill, and of exercising the special gift or function in the body
bestowed upon us cannot be too much pressed. Every Christian has his own place which no one
else can fill, and his own work which no other can do; the health and prosperity of the assembly
depend upon the recognition and the practice of this truth.

(From An Exposition of Nehemiah.)

Carpenters and masons are all builders and repairers of buildings_one working with wood, the
other with stone or brick. Evidently highly skilled carpenters and masons were not very abundant
in Israel, for both David and Solomon imported such persons for constructing important buildings
(2 Samuel 5:11; 1 Kings 5; 1 Chron. 22:2). Carpenters and masons were hired for the rebuilding
of the temple after the Babylonian captivity (Ezra 3:7).

The third chapter of Nehemiah gives a detailed list of those who took part in rebuilding the walls
of Jerusalem. Most of these were not professional builders (verses 1, 8, 22, 31, 32), but men and
women (verse 12) who were concerned about the work of the Lord.

There is an interesting reference to the carpenter in Isaiah 44:13 which describes his tools and
methods. Unfortunately, the carpenter was using his skill to fashion an idol rather than something
good.

The only carpenters mentioned in the New Testament are our Lord and His foster father, Joseph.

Our work for the Lord is described by Paul as building (1 Cor. 3:9-17). Paul and the other
apostles laid the foundation (verse 10) and the rest of us build on this foundation. We are to be
careful how we build, for if we use perishable materials our work will be burned up (verses 12-
15). A popular verse states, "Only what’s done for Christ will last," but I think it would be more
accurate to say, "Only what’s done by Christ (through the power of the Holy Spirit) will last."
Only what is done by the Holy Spirit working through us will remain for eternity; anything done
in the flesh (even if we thought we were working for the Lord) will perish. "Except the Lord build
the house, they labor in vain that build it" (Psalm 127:1).

There are many other references in the New Testament to spiritual building. The word "edify"
comes from the Latin word meaning "to build" and originally had that meaning. It has come to
mean to instruct or enlighten, especially morally or spiritually.

Although the gifts were given to the Church for edification (Eph. 4:12), each one of us (Eph.
4:16) is to live his entire life (not just the exercise of gift) as a means of edifying. The apostle Paul
did all things for edifying (2 Cor. 12:19) and he exhorts us to do the same (1 Cor. 14:26). Our
speech and topics of conversation are to edify others (Eph. 4:29 and 1 Tim. 1:4). We are to desire
the ability to prophesy rather than the gift of tongues because prophecy edifies (1 Cor. 14). Any
spiritual gift or authority is to be used for edifying (2 Cor. 10:8), not for personal advantage (2
Cor. 13:10).

Do we have liberty to eat and drink certain things or to engage in certain activities? This liberty
is not to be used to please ourselves. We should be willing to curtail our liberty in order to edify
others (Romans 14:19; 15:2; 1 Cor. 10:23).

Let us take heed to our whole manner of life, then, as well as to our spiritual work or gift; for,
like the building of the walls of Jerusalem, edification is an occupation for all of us, not just for

the "professionals." Let us, especially, "love one another," for it is love that edifies (1 Cor. 8:1).

As the multitude followed Jesus, looking for another miracle like the feeding of the five thousand,
He said to them, "Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto
everlasting life" (John 6:27). This meat is knowledge, spiritual knowledge, a knowledge which
is necessary for the power, productiveness, and right application of every other kind of
knowledge. We are to "labor" for this knowledge, yes, labor more earnestly than for what we call
our necessary food. Every instinct of our spiritual nature claims it from us.

I believe that God has now, as never before since the apostles’ days, really opened the Bible, and
put it into our hands, and is testing us with it. How sad if now we turn away!

Our land_the Word of God_is a good land, but it must be worked in order for its value to be
realized. We need to refer continually to the Word to meet the constant demands upon us in the
world through which we pass. And thus God, in His faithfulness to us, has not put the truth into
creeds which we might learn by heart and lay aside; nor has He written everything out plainly so
that there should be no difficulty. The conflicts and bitter controversies about even fundamentals,
which at least we might have thought could have been spared us, have not been spared us, as we
all are witness. Better it is, in God’s thought, that we should have constant need of reference to
our lesson book than be allowed to sink into mere dullness and lethargy, as otherwise we are
prone to do.

Truth is not taught always in Scripture in such plain form as the epistles give us. By far the largest
part of it is not this. The Lord taught much in parables. The Book of Revelation, with all the
intensity of interest attached to it, is allegorical in the highest degree. The Christian truths in the
Old Testament are taught in typical institutions and history which we are taught to "allegorize."
The man of understanding in Proverbs is expected "to understand a proverb, and the
interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings" (Prov. 1:6). So, "if thou criest after
knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; if thou seekest her as silver, and searches!
for her as for hid treasures; then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the
knowledge of God" (Prov. 2:3-5). In fact, we are even told that "it is the glory of God to conceal
a thing" (Prov. 25:2), hiding it where a diligent spirit shall find it as its reward.

But what does all this imply? What but labor, labor, and more labor:a labor which cannot be
delegated to another, though we all are meant to help one another in it. In this there are no "laity,"
to be fed with a spoon once or twice a week, taking thankfully, and with little question, what is
given to them. In this there is no division of labor_secular things for the common people, and
sacred things for a special class. Rather, we are to "be able to comprehend with all saints what
is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height." And we shall need all saints to help us to
comprehend them.

What a new state would begin for us if we should find that, between our necessary work in the
world and our still more necessary_and more fruitful_occupation with Scripture, our time was
so fully taken up that we should have little or no time remaining for anything that was not
absolutely productive and profitable; if all that was idle, empty, and frivolous disappeared out of

our lives; if the newspaper were supplanted by news of fresh discoveries in the things of God and
of fresh blessing poured upon our lives by them!

The apostle Peter exhorts us:"Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies,
and envies, and all evil speakings, as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word, that
ye may grow thereby" (1 Peter 2:1, 2). It is not, of course, that he desires us to remain "babes";
the whole effect and pretty much the purpose of "milk" is that the babes should grow up, as he
says here. But we are to be as ardent after the Word of God as a newborn babe is for its milk! And
how much is meant by that! The one business of the newborn babe is to secure its milk! The Word
of God is to be sought and longed for after that fashion.

Then notice the incompatibility of such occupation with "all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies,
and envies, and all evil speakings." Must it not be that if the Word of God becomes to us in this
manner the nurture of our souls, all things contrary to this shall pass away out of our lives and
perish, as the dying leaf falls, crowded out by the new bud? Is it not very much what is presented
to us in the delightful picture of the Israelite in the First Psalm:"Blessed is the man that walketh
not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the
scornful." That is the negative side. Now for the positive_ and in this is the power:"But his
delight is in the law of the Lord; and in His law doth he meditate day and night." This is a sweet
and glowing picture. Let us look at the result:"And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers
of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever
he doeth shall prosper."

Would it not be a blessed thing to be able to sit for such a picture?

(From A Divine Movement and Our Path with God Today.)

The general theme of the articles in this issue of Words of Truth is the Word of God. As we begin
a new year, what better object can we have before us for the coming year than for the Word of
God to have a more prominent place in our lives. How much we need to feed upon the Word and,
indeed, to "labor … for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life" (John 6:27). But we need
much more than storing up Biblical facts, learning Scriptural doctrines, and committing verses to
memory. These are very important and necessary, to be sure, but by themselves are not very
helpful to our spiritual lives. It is like eating and swallowing a piece of bread, only to have it lie
in a lump at the bottom of the stomach; it will not provide energy to the body or build up the
tissues of the body unless it is digested, absorbed, and assimilated. So it is with God’s Word. It
only becomes good to us as we allow it to act upon our hearts and consciences, to change our way
of thinking and our way of behaving, and to guide us in all the ways of our daily lives.

I fear we often (and it is sadly true of myself) read God’s Word with the main thought of seeing
how it applies to our brother or our neighbor. So as we learn new truths, new principles, our first
thought tends to be, "This Scripture certainly applies to Brother X," or, "This is a good one to
throw at my wife’s cousin." How often, when we read the Word, do we honestly, earnestly
beseech God as did the Psalmist:"Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my
thoughts; and see if there be any wicked way in me" (Psalm 139:23, 24). In Hebrews 4:12 we
read that "the Word of God … is a discerner [or literally, a ‘critic’] of the thoughts and intents of
the heart." Do we allow the Word to criticize us as we read it? This is not an easy thing to do:the
flesh within us rebels at such a thought. But this is the only means of spiritual growth. We must
not be sparing of ourselves. We must allow the Word to do its necessary work in our own lives
before we can think of wielding that "sword of the Spirit" toward others. May we learn to use the
Word to build up others and criticize ourselves, rather than to tear down others and defend
ourselves.

The article on television m this issue may at first appear to be out of place as far as the general
theme of this issue is concerned; however, it was actually selected with the theme in mind. Can
anyone think of a force present in today’s world that so eats into the time of God’s children and
so deadens the appetite for spiritual food as television? But not only is it a negative influence in
the sense of taking the place of God’s Word in the believer’s life; there are positive though very
often insidious evils in television. I speak not only of the obscenity, the sensuality, and the
violence:these are the more obvious evils found on television, and I hope that our readers are at
least attempting to keep themselves and their children from watching programs which are
characterized by these particular evils. The more subtle evil lies in the philosophies of life which
pervade the programming These are the philosophy of permissiveness (liberty to do whatever one
wants to do his own thing"), materialism (keeping up with the Joneses), fighting for our rights
relativism of sin (that is, the idea that an action is wrong or sinful, only if another person is
harmed by it), and evolutionism, to name a few, These philosophies are presented as much, if not
more, in the "clean" programs_the news analyses, the documentaries, social commentaries, and
so-called "family programming"_than in the movies and "adult programming." I have no doubt
that Satan is using this device as a very insidious, and effective, means of chipping away at the
Christian’s foundation in the truth and filling the cracks with these worldly philosophies.

Let me hasten to add that these problems and evils are not by any means the exclusive property
of television. The same philosophies pervade the radio, newspaper, and secular magazines. The
effect on the senses may be more profound and lasting with television, hitting as it does both eye
and ear, but radio with its "talk programs" (an extremely potent source of our opinions and
thought patterns are the opinions of the common folk, the people just like ourselves), and
newspapers and magazines with their editorials, commentaries, and worldly-minded selection of
news stories.

Let us be watchful. Let us be extremely careful in our choice of what we read, what we hear, and
what we look at. May our thought patterns, our attitudes, our opinions be formed only by the
Word of God.

"Seek ye out of the book of the Lord, and READ" (Isaiah 34:16).

"HEAR the Word of the Lord, all ye … that enter in at these gates to worship the Lord" (Jeremiah
7:2).

"Go VIEW the land.. . . There remaineth yet very much land to be possessed" (Joshua 2:1; 13:1).

"But we all, with open face BEHOLDING as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into
the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord" (2 Cor. 3:18).

(Ed. note:This is the first in a series of articles submitted by one of the readers of Words of
Truth.)

Many outstanding persons of the Bible spent part or all of their lives as shepherds. Abel was the
first shepherd. Abraham and Isaac had large flocks of sheep but evidently servants actually did
the shepherding. Jacob kept Laban’s cattle and sheep and in the process built up large flocks and
herds for himself. Moses, David, and the prophet Amos kept sheep before the Lord called them
to other work. Women were also engaged in keeping sheep (Gen. 29:9; Exod. 2:16).

Keeping sheep in Bible times was often a lonely job. The sheep were the shepherd’s constant
companions and he developed affection for them. He took good care of them, not only because
it was economically wise to do so, but because he loved them. This gives meaning to Psalm 23
where Jehovah is described as a Shepherd, and also to the Lord’s description of Himself as the
Good Shepherd in John 10.

In the Old Testament those responsible for the spiritual welfare of God’s people were termed
shepherds (Jeremiah 23:1-4; Ezekiel 34; and Zechariah 11). The word pastor means shepherd; a
pastor is one of Christ’s gifts to the Church (Eph. 4:11, 12). What should characterize these
pastors or shepherds of God’s people? Feeding the sheep or leading them to good pastures was
one of the main duties of the shepherd (Psa. 23:2; Isa. 40:11; John 10:9). Peter was told to feed
his Lord’s sheep and lambs (John 21:15-17) and he passes this exhortation on to other pastors (1
Peter 5:2). Conversely, the wicked shepherds were judged because they had not fed the flock
(Ezekiel 34:2). The feeding of God’s people is of course feeding them the Word of God. This
means that the spiritual shepherd must be a student of God’s Word.

There are two aspects to this feeding. The making them lie down in green pastures and leading
them beside still waters might imply pointing them to the Person and work of the Lord Jesus
Christ in all of their varied aspects. This would be ministry suitable to the flock as a whole. But
the individual sheep have individual needs and problems. Some wander and sustain injuries of
various sorts. Others remain with the flock but still have needs. The wicked shepherds had not
cared for the needs of the sheep:"The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed
that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought
again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and
with cruelty have ye ruled them" (Ezekiel 34:4). The Good Shepherd, in contrast, is concerned
about the needs of even the lowliest members of the flock (Isa. 40:11).

Feeding the sheep does not require the ability to expound the doctrines of the Word so much as
the ability to apply them to the needs of the individual sheep. The parable of the lost sheep (Luke
15:3-7), which is evidently based on observations of real-life shepherds, shows the care and
concern a shepherd had for each individual sheep. In order to know how to apply the Word to the
problems and needs of his sheep, the shepherd must get to know the sheep as individuals with
individual problems and needs.

The sheep trust the shepherd and will follow him (John 10:4). A spiritual shepherd must be
trustworthy. His advice and counsel must be true and he must be able to hold in trust those things
which are told him in confidence.

Another duty of the shepherd was to protect the sheep from wild animals (John 10:11, 12; 1 Sam.
17:34, 35; Ezek. 34:5, 8). Both the Lord Jesus and the apostle Paul warned the disciples that
wolves would come among the flock of God’s people (Matt. 7:15; Acts 20:29). These wolves are
false prophets or false teachers. Some would proclaim sensuality as an acceptable part of the
Christian life (2 Peter 2), some would introduce false doctrines as to the person of Christ (1 John
4), and others would preach some form of law (Galatians; 1 Tim. 4:1-6). What role does the
spiritual shepherd have in protecting the flock from these wolves? If he has been faithful in
ministering the Word, the truth should be so much a part of each member of the flock that error
will be recognized immediately for what it is; and the wolf will find no hearers, but will be
rejected by the sheep themselves. If this first line of defense fails, the pastor must warn the flock
of and denounce the specific evil which any given wolf brings into the flock. If the wolf succeeds
in convincing some or all of the flock that his doctrine is true, the shepherd must use the rod of
Scriptural discipline. (A discussion of discipline in the assembly is beyond the scope of this article,
but a spiritual shepherd should understand the Scriptural principles of such discipline.)

Now, some Christians definitely have the gift of a pastor, but do the thoughts above apply only
to them? Should not each of us have a care for God’s people and be ready to give them a Scripture
which may suit their specific need? Should we not be able to pray for many of God’s people by
name and concerning specific needs? Women are not left out of this ministry. Just as there were
shepherdesses in Scripture, so there can be women today who act as spiritual shepherds _not in
the public office of pastor as usually thought of in Christendom or in public ministry of the
Word_but in loving care and concern for the spiritual needs of children and other women (Titus
2:4, 5; 1 Tim. 5:10) and even of men in the privacy of the home and in conjunction with their
own husbands (Acts 18:26). Let us ask God for a shepherd’s heart and the shepherd’s work will
follow.